Chapter 46: Back Together
Randy's POV; Late Thanksgiving morning
"Ah . . . it's good to be back in my hometown," I whisper to myself with a grin as I walk out of the security baggage checkpoint and into the area where relatives and associates usually wait for passengers coming off their flights. I easily spot a few cell phones and cameras go off, all of them pointing at me as I turn to my left to get away from the main crowd. "I wonder where my ride could be . . ."
I continue walking at a steady pace through the terminal, scanning the many faces in the crowds until I saw who I was looking for. She was sitting at a bench all the way at the back of the terminal, a purple stroller fit for two positioned right beside her. She wasn't paying attention to anyone around her; all of it was on the two babies in the stroller. By now, I was only a good 15 feet away from them, and since she didn't notice me yet, I thought it would be a good time to take a photo of the mom and kids for my social media contribution of the day.
"Ah, this is such a pretty scene . . ." I say with a smirk as I take out my phone and tap the camera app. I quickly take the photo before she even has a chance to notice, but thanks to the camera light flashing, she quickly looked up to see me. I quickly upload the photo to one of my accounts before putting it away. "Oh . . . hey babe, I'm back from my movie!"
"I can see that . . ." she tells me with a smirk as I help her stand. "How was your flight from New Mexico?"
"It was a little bumpy, and the airplane food really wasn't that good," I tell her as I drop my duffle bag on the ground and pulled her in for a hug. "But now that I'm home, I can't wait to get my hands on some good ol' home cooking."
"Your mom will be glad to hear that. The mothers and grandmothers are in charge of Thanksgiving dinner this year," 'Manda tells me with a shake of her head. "They're not letting anyone in the kitchen unless they ask someone to come in to help them out with something. Other than that, the room is off limits to everyone else."
"I see . . . Wait a minute, did you just say grandmothers?" I ask with an eyebrow raised as she quickly glanced at Dani and Gabi, who were both sleeping in their seats. ". . . As in, with an S at the end?"
"Yeah . . . I said grandmothers," she tells me as she looks at me with a smirk. "And when I say grandmothers, I mean your dad's mom and my mom's mom. My grandparents flew in from Jamaica four days ago. They're going to stay with my parents till after New Year's."
"Oh . . . So I finally get to meet Grandma Chu-Hua and Grandpa Liam in person huh?" I ask with an eyebrow raised.
"Yes you do . . ." I say with a smirk as she walks behind the stroller and grips the handles. "Wade already met them face to face already."
"Wait a minute . . . Wade met them already?" I ask her in slight shock as I pick up my bag. "He's in town too?"
"Yep; Monica invited him to join our families for Thanksgiving dinner this year and he agreed. He's staying with us at the loft . . . You should see him and my dad when they watch boxing together. It's amazing how well those two get along when they watch two guys punch each other's lights out in a boxing ring." she tells me with a smirk as she looks around the terminal.
"I got to see it to believe it," I say with a smirk as she continues to look around the terminal. "'Manda, what are you looking for?"
"I'm looking for any signs of your brother. He said he wanted some fresh air and so he came along with me to pick you up," she tells me as she continues to look around. "Oh . . . there he is. He's trying to hit up that barista at the Starbucks over there."
"Oh is he now . . .?" I ask as I follow her gaze to the Starbucks stand down a good fifty feet away from where we were standing. Nate was right where 'Manda said he was: at the counter flirting with the brunette barista, and judging from the way she was chuckling, she was actually liking my brother. "Huh . . . from where I'm standing, it looks like his flirting game is really on point today."
"It does like that way don't it . . ." she tells me with a shake of her head. "Hey, do you think if we leave now without telling him, he wouldn't notice that we left until, like . . . Thanksgiving dinner started?"
"Now that's just a mean thing for you to suggest, especially since today's Thanksgiving," I say with a proud smirk on my face. "I guess you being a mom have not calmed down that mischievous side of yours Ms. Anaconda."
"On the contrary, my mischievous side is still as tricky as ever Mr. Viper," she tells me with a chuckle. "But on to another thing . . . Monica suggested that I play some of our friends' entrance themes for the twins yesterday."
"Now why would she suggest something that sounds so random?" I ask with an eyebrow raised.
"She heard this theory from one of the stage producers for Raw that if you play different types of music for a young kid, it'll give you a glimpse of what the kid may be like once they're older, especially in terms of their taste in music." she tells me with a small shrug. "I thought it was interesting, so I decided to give it a try."
"And how did they react to the music?" I ask, curiosity starting to appear in my voice as I spot Nate writing something down on a napkin for the barista, probably his phone number.
"To put it simply, they are so our girls," she tells me with a chuckle. "Dani reacted more to the rock song entrance themes than anything else, especially to yours. As soon as I let 'Voices' play, she instantly brightened up . . . Oh, she had such the cutest smile on her face."
"What about Gabi?" I ask with a chuckle as I looked at the little girl, who was now slowly opening her eyes.
"Tch . . . she reacted to every song she heard . . ." she tells me with a wave of her hand. "The only songs that she didn't like was all the entrance themes John ever used . . . I have a feeling she's not going to like rap music when she's older."
"Oh . . . I bet she'll like rap music," I say with a smirk as I think about it. "I just don't think she'll like any music that John makes when she's older."
"Why do I have the feeling that once you see John again, you're gonna rub this little tidbit in his face?" she asks as we spot Nate finally walking over to us.
"Because when I see John again, I'm totally gonna rub it in his face . . ." I say with a chuckle. "Then again, I may need to have some evidence with me if I'm going to pull that off."
"Don't worry your pretty, voice infested head over it . . . I already got you covered. I videotaped their reactions with my cellphone. I have it in my car. You can watch it once we get to your parents' house," she tells me as she pecks my cheek before moving on to Nate. "How'd it go at Starbucks Nate? Randy and I saw you putting the moves on the barista at the counter, and it looks like she took a liking to you."
"It went well, it went well . . . Left her my phone number and she gave me hers . . ." says Nate as he holds up a napkin that held the girl's digits, his face beaming with pride. "So what have you two been talking about while I was gone?"
"We were talking about the twins' reactions to some of the entrance themes used in the WWE," Amanda tells him as we start walking toward the exit. "Remember the video I showed you earlier?"
"Oh yeah . . ." says Nate a she shakes his head. "Gabi's reaction to all of John's theme songs was priceless. Even though a few other wrestlers use rap songs as their themes, like good ol' vision-having Ted, Gabi liked them all . . . It was John's theme songs she just didn't like."
"After hearing that, now I really want to see the video . . ." I say with a smirk as we walk out of the terminal to see the storm clouds high above us.". . . I want to see the video, preferably in much drier conditions than this right now."
"We came in your Range Rover. It's in the lot across the street . . ." Amanda tells me as she nods her head forward.
"Then we better not waste any more time," said Nate as he began to run for the lot. "Last one there is a rotten snake!"
"Sometimes I just want to slap that boy across the face . . ." 'Manda mumbles with a scowl on her face as we followed after him at a much slower pace.
"You can do that later . . ." I say as we quickly cross the street. "Let's just get in the car before the rain starts to spill on our heads. I prefer to get home dry rather than wet."
Normal POV
Randy and 'Manda got the twins into their car seats, put his duffle bag and the baby stroller in the trunk, and quickly got seated in the car before the rain started to fall. Nate originally asked Randy if he could drive them back home, but Randy shot him his signature glare, which instantly shut the younger Orton up. However, what he didn't realize was that Daniella finally woke up when he pulled out the glare, and once she saw it, she instantly started crying, while Gabi looked like she was on the verge of breaking out into tears.
"Randy, what have I told you about pulling out the Viper glare when the girls are around?" asked Amanda as she unbuckled Gabi from her seat before taking her in her arms in order to calm her down. "It's okay Gabi . . . Your daddy didn't mean to scare you. He was just meaning to scare Nate"
"Tsk, tsk Randy . . ." said Nate as he shook his head at his brother disapprovingly. "You know very well your girls don't like that scary glare of yours. You should know better to pull that out when they're around."
"If you didn't ask to drive my car, I wouldn't have gone into Viper mode in the first place . . ." grumbled Randy as he drove the car out of the parking spot. "And I'm sorry for scaring the girls. I didn't mean to freak them out."
"It's okay . . . They'll get used to that Viper look of yours eventually . . ." said Amanda as she put the settled down Gabi back in her seat and buckled her up before moving on to the still crying Dani on the other side of her. "The more times they see it, the quicker they'll get used to it I guess . . ."
"I think you may be right in regards to Gabi, but Dani seems to be the exact opposite, in my opinion of course," says Nate as he turned his head to face her. "I bet it's going to take a lot longer for her to get used to her father's 'scary face' than it will for Gabi. . . . Any monetary bets are welcomed."
"Betting money on how long it'll take my daughters to get used to my Viper face . . . That just shows what kind of uncle you are Nate . . ." said Randy as he shook his head at him.
"What?" asked Nate as he looked at him wide eyed. "I'm just joking here. You don't need to take everything I say seriously."
"Oh Nate . . . when will you ever learn," said Amanda as she shook her head at him as Randy drove them out of the airport. "When it comes to anything that sounds offensive to your brother, like a threat or a really bad joke, he takes it seriously no matter what . . ."
"I treat offensive things with different levels of seriousness . . ." said Randy as he kept his eyes on the road. "If it's a simple bad joke, or a bad bet in your case, I treat it with a low level of seriousness, but if it's something major like someone threatening my friends and family's lives, then I treat it with a high level of seriousness, like . . . kicking your ass level seriousness."
"Randy, what have I said about using bad language around the girls?" asked 'Manda in a warning tone as she shot a look at the back of his head.
"C'mon babe, the twins are not even a month old. They're not going to remember it . . ." said Randy as he shook his head. When he looked up at his mirror to see 'Manda giving him a cold look, he quickly backtracked. ". . . I'm sorry for cursing in front of the girls."
"That's better . . ." said 'Manda as she turned her attention back on Dani. Nate couldn't help but let out a small chuckle, so Randy responded by hitting him in the arm with his free hand. Nate then scowled at his brother for the action, but Randy just shot him a smirk in return as they continued on their way to Bob and Elaine's home.
The three reached the home after an hour had passed, and by that time, the rain had slowed down to a nice drizzle. With the driveway already filled with cars, the Viper was forced to park the car on the curb in front of the house. The two Orton brothers quickly got out of the seats and grabbed and quickly turned their attention on the backseat. Nate ended up taking Gabi's car seat out of the back while Randy did the same with Dani. With Amanda bringing up the rear, the three quickly made their way to the house's porch, which was where Monica and Becky were waiting for them with smirks on their faces.
"I'm glad you made it . . ." said Becky as she gave her brother a hug. "For a second there, I thought your flight may have been delayed by the rain."
"Nope; it arrived in the nick of time . . ." said Randy as he handed Dani's car seat to 'Manda. "Is everyone already here?"
"Yep . . . all the men in the house are in the living room waiting for the Rams game to start on TV." said Monica as Nate handed her Gabi's car seat.
"When is it supposed to start?" asked Nate as he raised an eyebrow.
"Uh . . . it started two minutes ago actually. . ." said Becky as she looked at her watch. When she felt two large gusts of air blow right by her, she looked up to see Amanda and Monica looking into the house, Randy and Nate were no longer in sight. ". . . They rushed inside to see the game huh?"
"Yep . . . They just looked at each other and then swiftly ran inside," said Monica as she shook her head at them. "There's no point in that anyway. Football games usually don't start till like 15 minutes after it's supposed to start."
"Try telling them that . . ." said Amanda as the three walked inside. "When it comes to their football, there's just no stopping them."
"You got that right . . . football to them is like shopping for us," said Becky as the three walked through the hallway. "It's just something we're just naturally drawn to."
"Uh huh . . ." mumbled Amanda as the three walked into the living room to see all the men sitting around watching the TV as the first play of the football game was underway. All the men's eyes were glued to the screen, except for Wade's, which were glued on his laptop as he watched the soccer match on the screen.
"How can you be paying attention to your laptop when there's a perfectly good football game playing on TV?" asked Nate as he looked at the British werewolf.
"Technically, I am watching football. I'm just not watching American football at the minute," said Wade as he kept his eyes on the screen. "I'll watch the Rams game just as soon as England finishes giving a good beating to New Zealand."
"What's the score?" asked Monica as she walked over to him and peaked over his shoulder.
"10-1, and with there being only one more minute left in the game, there's no way New Zealand is going to come back in this one," said Wade as he looked up at her with a smirk. "It's as good as done."
"It's no big deal though. It's just an exhibition game anyway," said Nate as he kept his eyes glued on the screen. Wade shot him a sharp look, but the younger Orton paid it no mind.
"There's no use of trying to shoot him a dirty look Wade," said Randy as he pushed himself off the wall he was leaning on. "Once Nate watches football, he keeps his eyes glued to the screen for practically the whole game, including commercials."
"I couldn't have said it better myself . . ." said Elaine as she walked into the room while drying her hands on a towel. "And it's nice to see that you have finally arrived Randy."
"I wouldn't miss this for the world . . ." said Randy as he walked over to his mother and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "So, is it true that you, grandma, and Calypso have basically made the kitchen off-limits?"
"Yes, so don't try to sneak into the kitchen to sneak a taste of food mister! I've already had to stop your brother from doing the same thing earlier when we just started cooking and I don't want to see the same behavior from you!" said Elaine as she shot him a stern look.
"Yes mother . . ." said Randy, disappointed that he wouldn't be sneaking into the kitchen like he previously planned. When he heard Becky and Wade stifling their laughter behind him, he shot them his signature glare, but his twin girls saw it again, and thus were starting to cry again. "Oh crap not again."
"Huh, so the Viper's glare does scare his own kids . . ." said Wade as he turned off his laptop. "Now that's definitely something I have to share with the rest of the lads at work."
"And he did the same thing on our way from the airport," said Amanda as she shook her head. "Wait a minute, where are my grandparents Elaine?"
"Your grandmother is helping us in the kitchen while your grandfather is upstairs in one of the guest rooms taking a nap," said Elaine as she looked at the two sad looking twins. "Amanda, why don't you and Randy take Dani and Gabi to Bob's office down the hall? It has a door, so you can just close it behind you two in order to shut the noise out, and since these men here are watching football, I think you'll appreciate taking the twins away from the profanities."
"Mom, we can control our tongues when it comes to cursing," argued Nate as he watched as Randy took Gabi from Monica. "We're not uneducated savages you know?"
"Uh huh . . . says the Orton that cursed like a sailor after Wade beat you in a game of checkers yesterday." said Elaine as she walked out the room.
"You beat Nate in a game of checkers . . ." asked Randy as he raised an eyebrow, sneaking a look at the Anaconda as she walked out the room with Dani.
"Yep . . ." Wade told him simply as he looked at him. "Your brother has no talent in board games whatsoever."
"Hey! I resent that!" called Nate as he turned to the two wrestlers.
"You may resent it . . ." mumbled Becky as Randy walked out the room. ". . . But we all know it's true."
"Please don't start with me sis."
Amanda's POV
"I'm sorry that your father made the Viper face . . . again," I say with a shake of my head as I walked into Bob's office. I set her car seat down on the floor before taking her out of it and sitting down on the leather couch. "Your father just can't help himself sometimes."
Dani looks up at me with a disgruntled face. I slowly rock her back and forth, and soon enough, her face softens to what appears to be content. I found out a lot of things about my girls these past few weeks. One of those things is that when they feel upset about something, rocking them gently back and forth helps to soothe them. They stay awake through the rocking most of the time, but on occasion, they'll fall asleep right in my arms.
"Randy, where are you?" I call out into the hallway. Randy walks in a minute later with a smirk on his face as he continues to nibble on the peace of ham in his hand, which instantly makes me raise an eyebrow as he closes the door behind him. "You actually managed to sneak some food from the kitchen?"
"Yep; your grandmother is one sneaky woman, just like her granddaughter," Randy tells me with a smirk before sitting down next to me. "Gabi managed to settle down herself, so I'm guessing she's starting to get used to my Viper look. What about Dani? How's she holding up?"
"She's fine, emotionally scarred at the moment, but she's fine," I say with a smirk as he gives me what's left of his piece of ham. I take it from the napkin in his hand with my mouth, freeing him to take Gabi out of her car seat with both of his hands. "You know, they don't react the same way they react to your Viper glare when they see me pull out the eyes."
"Really . . . ?" Randy asks me with a look of disbelief as Dani looks up at me with that little baby smile of hers. "How do they react when you go all red eyes on people?"
"Well, let me show you . . ." I say with a smirk as I let my eyes go red. As soon as I looked at the twins with my red eyed stare, they instantly brightened up, especially Dani, who let out a squeal of delight as soon as she locked eyes with me. "See . . . they love it."
"So when I pull out my Viper glare, Dani and Gabi start to cry, but when you pull out your red eyed glare, they squeal in happiness?" Randy asks me in a disbelieving tone. "How is that logical? To an average human, your stare would probably be scarier to them than mine."
"Maybe they just like the color red?" I suggest as I let my eyes return back to normal. "Anyway, I have some news to share with you . . . Steph and Hunter has scheduled me for in-ring action again."
"That's great babe!" he tells me as he pecks my lips. "Wait, they're not making you do it real soon are they?"
"No . . . they've scheduled my return for the house show at MSG after Christmas," I say with a smirk as I began playing with Dani's little fingers. "You're not the only one making their re-debut that day hon."
"That's great! We can make it a family affair! The girls will have their first true taste of the family lineage there, and what better place to do it than one of the best arenas for wrestling like Madison Square Garden," Randy tells me with a grin as he looked at the girls. ""You're gonna love it girls. I guarantee it."
"Hmm . . . I can imagine it now. The four of us and Hal traveling around the country so that you and I can do our jobs," I say with a smirk. "Wait a minute? How's Hal doing anyway? I haven't talked to him since I was still in New Mexico pregnant with the girls."
"He's fine, but he wasn't too happy to be left out of the loop when you gave birth. When I got back to the bus after flying back after being with you for the birth, he wouldn't talk to me for a good three days . . . Now he's worrying about whether or not the bus isn't suitable for our twin girls. He said the bus could accommodate one baby. He's just not sure about two."
"What do you think?" I ask him curiously as I clutched Dani a little closer to my body.
"I think it'll suit them just fine. Some things in the bus may have to be moved around a bit to accommodate a two baby mobile crib and a couple of car seats, and some baby stools for when they're a little older now that I think about it . . ." says Randy as a thoughtful look came across his face. "But still, the bus we have now is fine in my opinion."
"I guess I'm okay with that."
"So babe . . . how has the losing baby weight mission been going for you?" Randy asks me with a smirk as he wraps his free hand around my waist.
"It's been going great actually," I say with a superior smirk as I look down at my gut. "I never realized being a vampire gave you a lot more endurance when it comes to exercising."
"Can I see the result of your progress so far . . . ?" he asks me hopefully as I feel his fingers play around with the hem of my shirt.
"Nope . . . you're just going to have to wait another day . . ." I say with a smirk. "Unless you want to wake up bright and early tomorrow morning and exercise with me . . ."
"Hmm . . . it's a date . . ." he tells me with a smirk. "Although, I do consider Thanksgiving as one of my days to really pig out on food, if I wake up with a food hangover tomorrow and I find that I'm unable to exercise with you tomorrow, will you be willing to take a rain check?"
"Hmm . . . will see . . ." I say with a smirk as I rested my head on his shoulder. " . . . But I make no promises."
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