CHAPTER TWELVE

MOLLY

She'd gotten in a rental and driven. She didn't know where she was going, only that she had to go. She couldn't explain what she was feeling, but she didn't like it. Nearly three and a half hours later, she parked and got out of the car.

She knocked on the door. A familiar face appeared. "Molly?" Danny Havoc asked. "Are you okay?"

"I need to hit shit," Molly said. "Hard. Harder than they'll let me."

Danny hesitated for a moment before nodding. "Welcome home," he said, allowing her inside the CZW Dojo.

Danny was right. This was her home. Molly had spent her life on the road with her father. CZW was the only place she had settled down for any extended period of time. The experiences she had there were ones she wouldn't trade for anything in the world.

In spite of the fact that Dean hated Danny Havoc, Molly was close to him. "Don't go easy on me," she told him.

"I wouldn't dream of it, Molly," Danny said with a grin.

Danny kept his word. As soon as she made a move, he countered it and hit her with everything he had. Danny was famous for bloody, hardcore matches. Since figuring out she could handle it, he never held back on Molly. This training session was no different. It was like no time had passed. He pulled out chairs and tables and Molly felt the familiar rush of using these props to train. Danny hit her hard with the chair. She thanked him by doing a hurricanrana to put him through the table. In the end, he stayed down for a minute and she felt much better. She collapsed beside him on the mat, breathless.

"Thanks," she said.

"Anytime," Danny replied.

"Wanna go again?"

He grinned. "Definitely."

They wrestled again as the CZW students and trainers stopped to watch them. Drew Gulak started explaining the moves to the students as Molly and Danny hit them. This time, Molly went at Danny even harder. Danny responded in kind, hitting her with move after move, not stopping to let her catch her breath. He smashed her back against the ringpost. Molly could feel him getting ready to hit her side and she dodged it, but the second time he tried, he hit her hard. Molly doubled over before recovering and kicking his legs out from under him. She put some distance between them and clutched her side. Danny got up quicker than she expected and pulled her down by her head. She landed it badly and started seeing stars.

Danny pulled back. "Sloppy, Young Moxley. You can do better," he said. Gentler and quietly enough that the students couldn't hear him, he added, "Are you okay?"

Molly nodded. She was sore, but it was a good sort of pain. This was the kind of training she yearned for. A hand reached for her, but it wasn't Danny.

"Good to see you back, Kid," Drew said. "Now take a break before you hurt yourself."

She knew better than to argue with Drew. He'd had a huge hand in training het. She nodded and sat down on the sidelines watching the CZW students train. "Is Sami around?" She asked Danny as he checked her head to make sure she was okay.

"He's off today," Danny replied. "He's with Jess."

She nodded. Sami Callihan (or Johnstone, no relation to that skank Claire) was her father's best friend outside of Joe, Colby, and Corri. He'd briefly worked for WWE under Solomon Crowe, but he hever made it past NXT and had wisely chosen to go back home to CZW before Molly was even born. He was huge on the indies and had once been her father's tag partner in Switchblade Conspiracy long before Jon Moxley ever became Dean Ambrose. He'd helped take care of Molly at CZW and was practically family, but she didn't want to worry him, so she was glad he wasn't there. She kind of hoped he'd come by with his wife later, though. Molly loved Jessicka Havok like an older sister. It might be good to see her again.

Molly rested her head on Danny's shoulder as the students trained. She remembered being part of the Academy, and eventually, the roster. Danny and his Nation of Intoxication brothers had taken Molly under their wing, a fact her father didn't need to know about. She got drunk with them, but never tried any drugs, no matter how much Conor Claxton insisted she'd love them. It was hard to tell how serious he was. Lucky Thirteen had told Conor to "back off the toddler" more than once, which she kicked him for. She might have been too young to drink at the time, but she was hardly a toddler. Devon Moore was especially good to her, teaching her new moves and making sure the CZW guys didn't cross any lines with her that she wasn't comfortable with. It was Danny, however, that she was closest to. He and her father had a fierce hatred for one another, but as long as Danny didn't call "Mox" a sell-out in front of her, they got along great.

Her father came from these people. This was her family, not that bitch who had abandoned her. Molly took comfort in this fact as she watched the students who were now where she had once been.

DEAN

Dean was starting to worry. Molly had been gone for a while now. He called the person he always called for parenting advice. "What's up?" Corri answered on the third ring.

"Corr... The offspring's run off and I'm not sure if I should chase after her," Dean said.

"What happened?"

"Her mom showed up."

"Seriously? Fuck."

"Yeah."

"Okay, when did she leave?"

"Nine hours ago."

"And you haven't heard from her?"

"Nope... Do I worry?"

"She needs time, Dean... I'll see what I can do."

"But you're like a thousand miles away right now."

"Yeah, and? I know you're bad with technology, but this thing you're using to talk to me is called a cell phone, and Molly has one, too." She paused. "I've got her, Dean. I get this. And if I can't help her, Cayla can. She went through this with our dad."

"I had her thrown out. Molly told them she was a random ring rat."

"Good. That bitch doesn't deserve anything from her."

"How's Randy?"

"Better. I appreciate you asking. I'll try to get ahold of Molly. I'll let you know what's up tomorrow, sooner if you need to know."

"Thanks Corr... I just... I think she needs you right now, not me."

"No problem." They hung up and Dean tried not to worry.

MOLLY

After spending several hours at CZW, Molly was finally feeling better. The Dojo always helped her focus. She hugged Danny. "I'm gonna head back," she said.

"Are you driving?" Danny asked.

"Yeah. Why?"

"No way. You're exhausted, Molly. You can't be on the road like this. Come crash with me tonight and get some rest first."

She knew better than to argue with him. Molly allowed Danny to drive her back to his place. He insisted on feeding her before putting her to sleep in his bed.

"You can join me, you know... Wouldn't be the first time," Molly said with a smile.

Danny kissed her. "Not tonight, Mol," he said. "You need to rest."

Molly was slightly disappointed, but she knew he was right. She curled up into a ball and let exhaustion win.

DEAN

When he saw Molly's number on his caller ID, Dean relaxed. "You okay, Offspring?" He answered.

"She's fine," a voice replied. "Sleeping. I thought you might be worried, Mox."

Dean knew that voice. "What the fuck is my kid doing with you, Havoc?" He cursed at Danny.

"I just told you, she's sleeping."

"If you touched my kid-"

"Alone, Mox. She's sleeping alone. I'm on my couch. Stop flipping and listen to me. She had a rough day, but she came to the Dojo and she's okay now. She was exhausted and I didn't think you'd appreciate her driving like that."

Dean took a deep breath. He hated Havoc, but he was helping Molly. The guy was trying to do the right thing. He shouldn't attack him over that.

"Right. Thanks, I guess." It hurt to say that to him. "I can come get her-"

"Let her rest. She can drive back in the morning. She's a strong kid, Mox. She'll be fine."

Dean reluctantly hung up. He would have preferred to hear from Molly directly, but Danny was right. She was a strong kid. She'd work through this and be better for it. He tried to stop worrying, but it seemed parents never got to stop doing that. He settled for distracting himself with a karaoke bar and a couple of strong drinks.

MOLLY

When Molly woke up, she was no longer alone. A dark figure cloaked in shadows stood over the bed and someone else lay beside her. She was slightly concerned until the figure beside her shouted, "Hiya, Kiddo!" and flung his arms around her.

Jessicka Havok stepped out of the shadows and smiled down at her while Sami held her close. "You sleep like death, Kid," Jess informed her. "We've been here for a while."

Molly struggled out of Sami's death-grip so she could hug Jess. "I missed you guys!" She told them.

"We missed you, too, Molly," Sami said. "I heard shit went down yesterday. Is shit better today?"

"I think so," Molly said.

"So shit is less shitty? Good. Let's go make it even better. Me and Jess are kidnapping you today. Breakfast, joy riding, lunch, and maybe we'll get you back to WWE on time." He and Jess had matching mischievous grins on their faces. Molly relaxed knowing everything was going to be fine now. Sami and Jess always made things better, and time spent with them was never dull. Her problems faded into the back of her mind as she wondered what they had in store for her.