A/N: I hope everyone enjoyed the previous chapter. Since I was on a roll, I was able to get the next chapter written quickly.

Hope you enjoy this one as well.

"Okay, now play properly," Alanna, said pointing her finger at her dad as he returned to the patio with a pitcher of lemonade and a couple of beers for him and John.

"I was playing properly," he said laughing. "How can I not, it's Life, not poker."

"Which is why you always managed to spin a low number, it took you nearly ten spins to hit the marriage spot," Alanna said getting wound up. "And when you did reach it, you picked up another blue peg."

"Ally, Cutie, give it up, your dad doesn't do anything normally," John said grabbing his beer from the table.

"Hey, a blue beg is normal for me," Randy said trying to defend his actions but unable to keep from laughing himself.

John pulled Randy into the seat next to him and stretched Randy's legs out over his own, "Spin, to see who goes first. I got eight and Ally two."

"So I need to get nine or ten to go first?" he asked reaching for the spinner in the centre of the board. "Six, at least I can say I did that right, unless you wanted me to go first."

"Ha ha," Alanna said sarcastically.

John went first, choosing a career over the college route. When he managed to select the Athlete career from the pile, Randy and Alanna shot a barrage of comments at him. He spun to move his minivan and stopped four squares later, receiving his payday money.

"Here we go," he joked when Randy went to spin. Randy stopped his movements and looked at John as though he couldn't believe he was getting a comment before he'd even done anything.

"You have to choose between College or Career first dad," Alanna said swatting his hand away from the spinner.

"Oh, I don't know, career, you'll make me take a loan if I go the college route," he said as Alanna held out the cards for him to choose. He picked the middle one and ended up with Hair Stylist. "Jesus Christ, a hair stylist? Can I spin now before you make a comment about that?"

"Yeah, and no one's or two's," she said through her laughter.

Randy spun and ended up with ten. He received his pay, and then moved the ten squares, hitting the marriage spot on his first go causing John to burst into fresh laughter and Alanna to sit there in shock. Randy gave Alanna a look only a dad could give his child and then spun for a gift. When he spun another high number, Randy joined in the laughter as Alanna and John each handed over their money.

He grabbed a blue peg from the box, popping it into the minivan.

"Dad, you're supposed to put a pink peg in," Alanna said trying to take it out the van. "How else can you have kids when you land on those squares?"

"We'll adopt, just like in real life."

"If you want it to be like real life, you need it to be a pink peg, have a baby girl, get divorced, land a square which says you've turned gay and come out to the world, get a life partner, which by the way is when you can add a blue peg. Then if you so wish you can adopt," she said looking smug.

Before Randy had the chance to answer, he heard the doorbell. He lifted his legs from John's and went inside.

"Honey, your life is surreal," John called out as he entered the house; he grabbed his wallet from the kitchen counter and went to answer the door. At least the food had finally arrived. He checked his watch, it was only just within the half hour delivery time, and he didn't see the point in challenging it.

He paid for the food and went back into the kitchen grabbing some chopsticks, forks, plates and napkins before heading back out to the family on the patio.

"Grubs up," Randy said placing the food on the far end of the table. "Are we eating from the cartons or do you want to dish up onto plates?"

"Save the washing up, we can eat from the cartons, is that okay Cutie?"

"Fine by me, oh and dad, I took after John in life and became a mechanic," Alanna said pointing to the game.

"And I got married, but I decided to try the real life route Ally described. I married a woman. However after I've had a baby girl, we may need to make some radical changes to the board. You owe me $5,000."

"What the hell for?" Randy said as he went to lift noodles to his mouth.

"You love me as my best friend and want to support my marriage and help me out in my new life," John said biting into a spring roll.

They continued playing as they ate their dinner, laughing and joking as they hit all manner of squares on the board; John had a set of twins and ended up changing his career, becoming a police officer. Alanna had to boys and became an Accountant by the end of the game and Randy suddenly remembered they were the same jobs she had in the first game. He jokingly challenged her on it, claiming he wasn't sure how possible that was on pure luck and maybe she needed to play properly next time.

Randy however was in despair by the end of the game, he ended up with a third job, becoming a vet, and had two girls and a boy. He even needed to take out a loan to cover some of the payments he needed to make to John and Alanna.

Once they were through with the game, they moved inside and sat in front of the television in time for Raw. Randy sat in the corner of the sofa and John lifted one of his legs and wrapped it around his waist getting cosy to watch the show.

"If you two start getting all lovey-dovey, I'm going upstairs to read," Alanna said when Randy kissed John.

"We would never make you feel like you had to leave the room," Randy said seriously. "We'd go upstairs and-"

"Randy." "DAD."

Randy laughed again, a genuine smile on his face as his family finally moved forward from the anguish of the last eight months.

"Do you want me to pick you up later or are you getting the bus back?" Randy asked as Alanna grabbed her bag from the back seat of the Bentley.

"I'll get the bus back. It's easier when you need to get the dinner started," she said with a shrug.

"I don't mind, Sweetheart."

"I know, and neither do I mind catching the bus home. I get time to do some reading. See you later," she said closing the door and heading into the school grounds.

She skipped a couple of steps when she noticed the time was getting on and she had to be in homeroom for the start of the day. That was the easiest part of her days. Their homeroom teacher was strict. If they spoke out of turn, they were in detention. If she arrived there at the right time, she'd have just enough time to get in and sit down without needing to speak with her friends.

Then it was off to Algebra. She was barely able to avoid the girls but she managed it after the teacher held her back, they let her get her head down for a few weeks. They at least paid attention enough that they didn't need to scrounge answers off her.

Since her night of getting drunk, and the consequential awkward home life, even with her grandparents there, Alanna would go to the library on her breaks to avoid the girls, if they challenged her she said she was working on a project for her English Honours class. She even skipped eating some days just so she didn't need to see them.

"Miss Orton," Mr Humphrey's called as Alanna and the other students packed their bags. "I'd a word please."

"Yes sir," she called back slumping her shoulders. She'd barely spoken in the class, why would he be holding her back this time?

She heard the girls giggling as they walked away and she slumped into her seat waiting for everyone to go.

"I wanted to catch up with you after our chat before Christmas," Mr Humphreys said. "Your grades have rapidly improved and I'm impressed with your commitment to your grades. Part of that I suspect is because of your separation from Mr Faulkner."

"Partly, yes, sir," Alanna said without wanting to go into detail. He was her school counsellor and she didn't feel it was any of his business.

"I wanted to let you know I'm impressed and would like you to consider applying for the honors course in Algebra next year. You have the capability to handle the course along your English," he said.

"Okay, I'll think about it," Alanna said with a small smile. "I need to discuss it with my dads."

"As much I think that is a good idea, just remember this is your future, your dad shouldn't make your decision for you."

"Plural," she said grabbing her bag.

"Excuse me?"

"You said dad, it should be plural, I have two," she said her smile growing at the confusion on Mr Humphrey's face. "My actual dad is gay, his partner helped raise me since I was five."

"Oh... okay..." he said to himself as Alanna left the room.

Alanna skipped down the corridor, suddenly remembering it was recess and she needed to get to the library before the girls caught up with her and she was stuck acting.

She was just about to head in when she heard Ava call her name. She turned around taking a breath hoping it was just her and not the other girls as well.

"Why have you been avoiding me, the only time you spoke to me was Friday when you needed to collect your precious book," Ava said turning her nose up. "Why you brought a book to a booze up I don't know."

"I haven't been avoiding you, I just, my grandparents were visiting," Alanna said trying to find an excuse.

"They didn't come to school with you can't use that excuse," Ava said challenging her.

"I've already told you, I've got a project on in English, I've needed to put a lot of time into it," Alanna said. "You can ask my dad as well, they'll both tell you I've been nonstop on my homework. Besides, it wasn't like they were very happy when we arrived at the house drunk and then started throwing up everywhere."

"Whatever... have one last day of avoiding us," Ava said snidely. "You're coming around Chloe's tonight, she's got the key to her dad's den, and apparently he has some stronger alcohol in there."

"Umm, okay, sure, tonight, I'll meet you by the school gate," Alanna said faking a smile.

Ava sneered at her and turned on her heel to walk away. As soon as she was around the corner, the school bell rang and her recess was over. Her shoulders slumped and she headed off toward her English class. At least she had two hours away from all of them.

She tried to focus on what they were discussing in the class. She had enjoyed the Dickens novel and usually she would be quite vocal in any discussions that took place, however her mind kept wandering back to her conversation with Ava. It was praying on her mind so much that she put two bookmarks in her copy of the novel so she could re-read the section later that night to help with the homework that was required.

Most people would use the York notes to help with the text and the essay, however she enjoyed the story, and she made more sense of it when she read the full text. Of course, if she had to go to Chloe's then she'd be reading until the early morning to catch up, and neither of her dad's would be pleased with that.

"Alanna can you stay please," the English teacher said as she packed her bag. Her shoulders visibly slumped so much she was sure the teacher was going to notice. "Mr Rawlins, I have PE now and I need time to get changed, can I go now and we can talk tomorrow."

"I just wanted to check you were okay, I was expecting to you to be leading that discussion considering how vocal you've been with previous discussions," he said sitting at his desk.

"I'm fine," she said with a shrug and headed for the door.

"Alanna," he called stopping her exit.

"Yes sir," she said exasperated, she was sick of the teachers trying to interfere in her life, even if they were trying to help.

"Are you going to be able to catch up on the reading you missed today?"

"Yes sir."

"Let me know tomorrow if you haven't. I'll find you some time during the day," he said.

"Yes, sir. Can I go now sir?"

"Of course, you must be the only person eager to get to sports," Mr Rawlins said with a shake of his head.

Alanna ran from the classroom to her sports lesson, grumbling the whole way there for being late. She changed as quickly as she could and just made it in time for the teacher to arrive. Although it wasn't her favourite sport, Alanna enjoyed the tennis they were playing, especially when she could watch some of the better players who she could see turning professional in years to come.

They only had five courts, so they would generally play mixed doubles so everyone would get to have a game or two during the lesson. This really was the lesson she enjoyed best out of her day at the moment. The teacher did the pairing up and she was never paired with any of the girls she was trying to avoid.

Today she was paired with one of the best, Michael something, she couldn't remember his last name, but they were making a good team. She would play the volleys and a shorter game while he played a baseline game. On occasion they would switch it up to fool their opponents. Some of the guys thought they blast a hard shot down the court and she would end up flinching like her so called friends. However, she would return the shot comfortably and sometimes the shock of receiving a return meant they weren't prepared for a rally and they'd either miss the shot or hit it widely out of court.

"Nice shot, Orton," Michael said giving her a high five after she smashed a shot to the outside of her opponent as they went to the centre of the court to win the game.

"Cheers, Michael," Alanna said, smiling triumphantly at her shot.

"It's Mike," he said holding his hand out to her. "Mike Pagano."

"Was it that obvious I didn't know your surname?" she said cringing.

"Nooo," he said smiling as he lofted the ball before serving.

Alanna smiled as she ran to mid court to cover the short balls though it wasn't necessary when Mike aced their opponent.

"I have history with you, don't I?" he asked as she returned to the baseline.

"Yeah."

"Well, if you fancy a change of seat for the day, you're welcome to sit next to me. James isn't in this week, he's got tonsillitis apparently," he said serving his next shot.

Alanna smiled in return and nodded.

The rest of the class went by too fast for Alanna's liking, especially when she returned to the changing rooms and felt the girls eyes on her. She was definitely going to take Mike up on his offer of the spare seat in history. She hoped he enjoyed the subject as much as she did.

She left the changing room and headed for the library, bumping into Mike again as she was about to enter. He queried what she was up to rather than eating and before she realised what she was saying, she told him the truth. She was avoiding her friends.

He didn't press the matter but invited her to get something to eat. They went to the canteen and grabbed some sandwiches and chips but rather than eat in the canteen they went out to the front of the school and sat out in the courtyard. They continued chatting, getting to know one another and she didn't feel tense or on edge anytime during the conversation, she was as relaxed as she had been the night before with her folks.

"Come on," checking his watch and heading back into the school building. "I'll see you in history, I'm at the-"

"Front on the right, I know," Alanna said smiling at his puzzled look. "What? I'm observant. Plus I only sit two seats behind you."

"I'll catch you in an hour," he said laughing and heading to his own homeroom.

As with the sports, the rest of the day sped by and she was happier than she'd ever been at school before. Mike had further tennis practice after school so they said goodbye at the end of history, which she thanked god they both enjoyed.

She made her way merrily to the school gates but before even leaving the building, Ava, Chloe and Brianna stopped her and asked to have a word.

They led her to the girl's bathroom which was deserted.

"Why are you suddenly so friendly with Mike Pagano?" Brianna asked snidely folding her arms over his chest.

"We got talking during tennis," Alanna shrugged, suddenly nervous of the way they were crowding her.

"Really, and it has nothing to do with the fact that you've been avoiding us like you think you're better than us," Chloe said shoving at Alanna's shoulder.

"What? No."

"It looks that way," Brianna said stepping closer causing Alanna to step back until she hit the wall. "Awww girls, she looks a little scared."

"She should be," Ava said. "Little bitch says she better than us."

"I never said-" she was cut off when Chloe slapped her face. She put her own hand to her face to cover the spot which was hit so forcefully. "I just have stuff on."

"But," Ava said shoving her head to the side. "You agreed to come to Chloe's tonight."

"Then we hear you telling Mike you've got to catch the bus home," Brianna said shoving Alanna back against the wall so the back of her head bounced off the wall.

"Oww," Alanna cried trying to cradle her head from the blow.

"How about we teach her what happens when you lie to your friends," Brianna said smiling.

With that the three girls started slapping and scratching at her. Ava grabbed her hair, pulled her away from the wall, and shoved her to floor. Chloe and Ava started kicking her while Brianna held her arms hard enough to bruise her.

"Bitch thinks she's better than us," Brianna said.

"Such a sissy girl, her gay dad would be so proud," Ava laughed kicking her again.

"I guess you're not a future wrestler," Chloe said stomping on her fingers as Brianna let go of her and she fell to the floor.

"Come on girls, she's a waste of space."

The three girls walked away leaving her crying on the floor in too much pain to move for a moment. She lay there for a few minutes and steadied her tears and breathing. She pulled herself to her feet and checked her watch. She only had five minutes to get to the bus before it left.

She went to the washbasins and checked her reflection. Red puffy eyes, slap marks on her cheeks, and a split lip. She didn't want to check her arms or the rest of her body just yet; she'd do that when she got home.

She took a deep breath and picked her bag up from the floor. She made her way through the corridors of the school, keeping her head down so no one could see the bruises or split lip. She ran through the school grounds and jumped on the bus just before it closed the doors and pulled away. She sank down in her seat and covered her face from everyone who was trying to look. Already hearing the whispers making their way down the bus.

"Didn't I tell you, the pool doesn't have to be off limits," Randy said swimming up to John and pulling him into his arms. "It's safe, what happened was an accident, nothing more."

"I know," John, said kissing him. "But people are allowed irrational fears when it comes to their loved ones and near death experiences."

"Well, we just have a rule, if the phone rings, we both get out of the pool, no leaving the other to entertain himself," Randy said instigating another kiss, sucking gently on John's bottom lip.

"Yeah," John mumbled, staring at Randy's lips. "I agree."

Randy kissed him again, letting his hands slide up John's back and moving up further to cradle John's head to hold him as he deepened the kiss and pressed his tongue gently into John's mouth, teasing him to return the gesture.

He moaned gently himself when John pressed back and moved his arms to wrap around Randy's neck and sink himself fully into the kiss. Randy continued the kiss, keeping it as gently as he started it, wanting it to smoulder rather than letting John spark and burn. He and John could go for hours just kissing and keeping the touches light. And although he was looking for anything more than kissing to happen on this occasion, the thought was enough to spur on a reaction further south.

John moaned into the kiss again as he felt the reaction, and Randy had to try and stay in control of his actions at the sound. John wasn't the only one to spark and burn, not to mention it had been a good few weeks since they'd been able to enjoy some time together.

"Ran," John moaned between kisses. "Please."

Randy was seriously considering lifting John from the pool and having a quick fumble right there in the open, but it wasn't what he was looking for. He wanted to take his time to appreciate his boyfriend's body.

He lifted John's feet from the pool floor and wrapped him lightly around his waist. John tried to push the kiss deeper but Randy managed to break the kiss.

"Not rushing this, darling," Randy said short of breath. "Now be-"

He was interrupted by the slam of the front door and he was amazed, concerned, and annoyed he could hear all the way at the bottom of the yard. It had to be Alanna and he wondered why she was slamming it that hard.

A couple of minutes later, she stepped out onto the patio and within seconds of seeing her he and John were leaping out of the pool and rushing to her. His little girl, was bruised and had a split lip. He pulled her into his arms and she collapsed into floods of tears.

He picked her up and carried her to the nearest sunbed, cradling her in his arms trying to calm him. John grabbed a towel to put between Randy and Alanna to stop her clothes from getting wet and then perched on the end of the seat, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"Sweetheart, calm down," Randy said rocking her as though she was a young child again. "It's going to be okay, Alanna. You're okay, you're home."

John sat watching his partner comfort their daughter, catching sight of the bruises on her arms and legs. He silently prepared they weren't over her body as well.

"Al, sweetheart, what happened?" Randy asked as Alanna's tears lessened.

She sobbed the words out but neither Randy nor John could understand what she said. They let her sob for a few more moments and then heard her take a deep breath.

"Ava and the girls cornered me at the end of school," she sobbed gently. "Said I thought I was better than them."

"Even if I didn't think they were the best girls for you to be friends with, I didn't think they were violent," Randy said.

"Apparently they are," John said quietly. "Did you speak with a teacher?"

Alanna shook her head in her dad's chest.

"I'm going to speak with the principal. She better do something about this," Randy said getting het up over his daughter.

"No, dad, please no," Alanna begged. "Please don't. They'll get worse if you. It's always like that. They'll think it's funny."

"Al, I could go to the police and press charges, they wouldn't think its funny then," Randy said pushing her hair behind her ear when she sat up.

"Daddy, please, don't, promise me you won't," she said tears falling faster again.

"Okay, but if it happens again I'll be having a word with the principal at the very least," Randy said.

"Why don't we get you cleaned up? Come on cutie," John said holding his hand out.

The three of them went back into the kitchen and Randy went to fetch the first aid kit from the downstairs bathroom while John sat comforting Alanna in the family room. He went through to them and sat down on the coffee table opening the box.

Years in the wrestling business meant they both knew how to deal with cuts and bruises and how to help them heal faster. They weren't medically trained but they'd seen worse over the years, thankfully.

Randy spent ten minutes cleaning up the cuts on her lip and hands, asking her if she had any bruises they couldn't see. Alanna lifted her top enough to show them her stomach where they could see a huge bruise forming under her ribs. Randy had to take a couple of breaths before he went off the deep end.

"Ally, I know you made your dad promise but this has to be brought to the principal's attention. They could have done some serious damage," John said calmly as Randy was being heavy handed with the first aid kit as he packed it away.

"It's just bruises," Alanna cried.

Randy took the first aid kit back to the bathroom and returned pulling Alanna back into his arms. Alanna curled up on the sofa letting her dad hold her and John switched the television on, before settling next to Alanna, lifting her feet to rest on his lap, his hand reassuring in its touch.

An hour later, Alanna was fast asleep and Randy signalled to John to lift her from him. John carried her upstairs and led her on her bed tucking a stuffed toy under her arm. She snuggled into the cuddly toy and drifted deeper into sleep.

John tiptoed out the room and quietly closed the door, turning round to see Randy sat at the top of the stairs looking lost, unable to protect his daughter in her time of need.

"Come on honey, you and I are having an early night," John said taking Randy's hand and leading him to their room.

He helped Randy out of his clothes and into his pyjama bottoms, tucking him into the bed. He followed suit and then pulled Randy into his arms where he let the silent tears flow until he drifted off to sleep.

"She'll be okay," John whispered brushing his lips to the top of Randy's head, though he was trying to convince himself as much as his lover.

A/N: Hope you enjoyed. I'm giving up on the reviews and just going to write, when I get the chance. This was the second story I chose to write however I've been swayed by people wanting other stories. I'm going to finish this one before returning to the others.