CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

TRIXIE

She'd run for what felt like hours before collapsing against a lamppost in the park. Trixie wasn't sure what to do. Nikki could be lying, but somehow, she knew she wasn't. Her mum was busy wrestling and her mom was with her aunt in Florida. She didn't want to have this conversation on the phone, but she had to know…

She dialed Cayla's number. Her mom picked up almost immediately. "Hey, Baby, what's up?" She asked.

"Mom.." Her voice cracked.

"Trixie, what's wrong, sweetheart?" Her mom asked.

How could Trixie ask her this? She sighed. "Mom, I need to know something."

"Of course, Baby… What is it?"

"Who's my father?"

Cayla fell silent. It was obvious Trixie had shocked her. "I… Baby, where is this coming from? What's wrong? You sound like you've been crying."

"Answer me, Mom! Please."

Cayla paused. Finally, she said, "I don't know what happened, but I wish we could talk about this in person-"

"Just tell me. Tell me if it's true!"

"If what's true?"

"Tell me if Fred is my father!" She was yelling and she didn't care. She needed answers. She was sick of being lied to.

"Oh, Baby…" Her mother sighed. "Who told you that?"

"It doesn't matter. Is it true?"

She expected her mom to avoid the question again. Instead, she said, "Yes, Sweetheart. Fred is your biological father."

Trixie started sobbing. "Why didn't you tell me? He was there! All this time, he was right there!"

"I'm sorry, Baby… Fred agreed you'd be mine and your mum's… He didn't want to cause any confusion for you."

"Well he failed at that!" Furious, Trixie hung up and flung her cell phone across the grass. It took her several moments to catch her breath. When she finally did, she decided there was someone else she needed to confront.

CAYLA

Realizing her daughter had hung up, Cayla clutched the phone to her chest. She'd never heard Trixie so angry. She's always been such a happy child, and she was about as mellow as they came.

"I'm so sorry, Baby," she whispered. She and Saraya had never intended to hurt Trixie by keeping the truth from her. They'd figured if Trixie ever asked, they would tell her the truth, but she never had… And now, someone had thrown it at her, clearly to hurt her, and Trixie might never trust them again.

Cayla was crying when Corri found her in her room. "What's wrong?" She asked. "Cay, what happened?"

"All hell just broke loose with Trixie," Cayla said.

"Seriously? That's new. What's going on?"

"She knows about Fred…"

Corri knew what she meant. "Oh, fuck… How did she find out?"

"She wouldn't tell me. I think all that mattered to her is that she didn't hear it from me or Saraya."

"You need to call Saraya… Maybe I can run damage control with the kid?"

"If she realizes you knew, she'll be mad at you, too." Cayla sighed. "I need to handle this myself."

"Go back. Drive there and check on your kid."

"She needs space. One thing I know about Trixie is when she's upset, she needs to work it out herself. But as soon as she calls me, I'll be right by her side… God, she hates me, Corri!"

"Trixie could never hate you, Cay. She'll calm down in a few days." Corri hugged her.

"We've never fought…"

"Welcome to having a teenager. It's about five years overdue, really." Corri laughed. "It'll be fine, Cay. Kids get angry. They say things. Sometimes, you say things, too. But everyone gets over it eventually. I promise."

Cayla tried to take comfort in her sister's words and hoped she was right.

DEAN

The sound of his phone ringing woke him up. Dean groaned. Colby, who'd crashed with him for the night, had grabbed it but looked at the caller ID with concern. "I don't know the number," he said, "but it comes up as a police station-"

"Crap," Dean mumbled. He took the phone from Colby and answered it. "Yeah?" He asked.

"Um… Sire?" Came the response he'd been hoping he wouldn't hear.

"Offspring, what did you do?" He asked.

"I might sort of be in a bit of a jam… I'm sort of… Slightly… A little bit… in jail."

"Back up, Kid, and tell me what happened. Start at the beginning."

"I sort of stabbed Nikki Bella with a fork… Not very hard, mind you, but-"

"Molly! What have I told you about that?"

"Not to get caught?"

"Fuck. Alright, Offspring, I'll figure something out… I'll be there as soon as I can be."

"Nikki's in jail, too," Molly added.

"What?"

"Well, she hit me after I used the fork and I pressed charges when she did."

"Right. I'll be right there, okay? Sit tight, Offspring. I'm coming."

"Thank you, Sire."

He hung up and looked at Colby. "Assault with a deadly fork?" Colby asked.

"Yep. Wanna come with me? Maybe bring Joe? We can see if we can distract them with how awesome we are as the Shield and get them to release her," Dean said.

"Anything for that girl. I'll get Joe."

About forty minutes later, they all finally arrived at the precinct. Dean spotted Brandon sitting at a desk and looking miserable and suspected there was more to the story than he knew. Brandon stood when he saw them.

"It's okay," he said quickly. "They're going to drop the charges."

"How are you involved in this?" Dean asked.

"Trixie was with us, and… Well, Aunt Nicole said some really awful things, and Molly got upset… It got very bad, and Trixie left, but then it got physical." Loudly, he added, "My aunt attacked Molly and she had to defend herself."

Joe raised an eyebrow at that. "You're an awful liar, Kid, like your father," he said. "What really happened?"

Brandon spoke very softly. "Nicole attacked Molly after Molly stabbed her in the arm with a fork…"

"Why would you lie about it?" Colby asked just as softly. "Nikki's your aunt."

"After what she did, she's lucky I didn't just let Molly kill her," Brandon said.

"Is Trixie okay?" Dean asked, because that was obviously the reason Brandon was so upset.

"No, but she ran off, so I don't know what's going to happen. Molly insisted I not run after her because Trixie needed to be alone… And then things got bad, and I had to help. Anyway, Molly had to agree to drop her charges, but as long as she does, Nicole's are dropped, too."

"Thanks for watching my offspring's back, Brandon," Dean said.

When Molly came out a few minutes later, she hugged Dean immediately. "I'm sorry, Sire… Don't be angry?" She asked.

"Molly, honestly, we've all wanted to stab Nikki Bella at least once in our lives," Dean said. "Most of us just don't act on it."

"She had it coming."

"So I heard. Come on, Offspring. Let's go get-"

"Dean, if you offer her ice cream after she just got arrested, so help me!" Joe said.

"She's had a rough night and I'll do whatever I damn well please, Joe, thank you," Dean said. "Besides, after waking up to that phone call? I need ice cream."

"Do you need a ride, Brandon?" Colby asked.

"Yes, actually, that would be great," Brandon said.

"Aren't you sticking around for Nikki to get released?" Joe asked.

"No. I can't deal with her right now… I don't understand how she could be so cruel…"

Dean had to stop himself from telling Brandon his aunt had always been a bitch. The kid was clearly upset. "Ice cream for you, too," he declared.

"I… No, thanks, I should get back-" Brandon began.

"Nope. You saved my offspring's ass tonight and you're stressed. I'm going to show you how my family handles that. Come on, it's on me."

Brandon stopped arguing and Dean led the way back to Joe's rental car.

TRIXIE

It took Trixie a while to work up the courage to go knock on Fred's hotel room door. When she finally did, he answered looking confused and half-asleep. She'd forgotten how late it was. She almost changed her mind, but she couldn't stand waiting any longer.

"Trixie?" Fred asked. "Are you okay?"

"No," Trixie said, closing the door behind her and walking toward his bed. She sat down on the edge while she gathered her thoughts. Fred waited patiently for her to continue. "I know," she finally said.

"You know what?" Fred asked.

"That you're my father, Dad." She tried to fill her voice with anger, but instead, it cracked and she felt tears in her eyes.

"Oh God, Trix… I'm going to assume your mothers didn't just tell you this..." He tried to comfort her, but she pulled away from his arms.

"No. No one I trust told me. In fact, the last person who should have told me is the one who did! Nikki Bella blurted it out to me because she wanted to hurt me! And you know what? It worked."

Fred sat on the farthest corner of the bed from her, giving her space but still getting closer to her than he had been. "I'm so sorry you found out like this."

"It's fine. I get it. You didn't want me, right? Why would you?"

Fred looked stunned. "Trixie, that's not it at all!"

"Then why, Fred? Why didn't you tell me? You were there! You were at every birthday, every school play, ever major milestone, but I didn't know! I thought I had no father! And maybe I was okay with that, but you know what? It would have been nice to know I had a father who was there for me, too!" She hated that she was crying.

Fred pulled her into his arms and she didn't fight it this time. His arms had always been a comforting place and right now, she wanted comfort more than anything. "Honey, I am damn proud of the person that you've become! I'm happy I was there for all the big moments, even if it was just as someone who loved you very much and not as a father."

"You should have told me… I had a right to know you were there the whole time."

"I'm sorry, Trixie. I really am. We didn't do this to hurt you. Your moms really wanted a baby, and they had a lot of trouble. They'd been through so much… So much… And this was something I could do for them. I figured if I could help one of my best friends finally have a baby, it was the least I could do to make her happy."

Trixie looked at him with blurred vision and asked, "Did you love me?"

"Honey, you know I love you! I always have. You're an amazing person and I'm thrilled to have you in my life. I'm blessed to have had any part in making you the woman you are today. It was the best choice I've ever made and I don't have any regrets."

She stood. "I need time," she said. "I have to… Work through this, I guess. You all lied to me. Everyone I thought never would… You kept the biggest secret in the world from me, and I had to find out from the worst person possible. I have to go."

"Trixie, sweetheart, you shouldn't be alone right now."

She nodded, but said nothing as she left. She headed up two flights to Nicky's room. She knocked on the door. Nicky answered it. He was still wide awake and his eyes were bloodshot. At first, Trixie thought he was just tired, but then she smelled the alcohol on him.

"Nicky! You've been drinking!" She gasped.

"So? You're not my mother, Trixie," Nicky said defensively. "And keep it down, would you?"

"You promised your parents you'd stop."

"It's no big deal. They don't have to know."

"Nicky, what the hell is going on with you?"

"I just… I'm stressed, Trix. I needed to relax." He looked at her with pleading eyes. "Don't tell anyone, okay? Please?"

Trixie couldn't deal with this. "Forget I was here," she said quickly, turning around. Nicky hadn't even noticed she'd been crying. He'd always been there for her. He was even more sensitive than she was at times and he was a great shoulder to cry on. Apparently, that was no longer true. She wandered the hallway unsure of where else she could go.

KEITH

The knocking on his door was frantic and somehow, Keith knew who was on the other side. Claire looked annoyed when he gently pushed her off of him. "Baby, it was just getting good!" She protested.

"It's my cousin," Keith said. He pulled on some clothing and tossed Claire hers. Reluctantly, she got dressed. When she had barely covered herself, Keith opened the door.

Trixie stood on the other side looking like a mess. She began sobbing as he pulled her into his arms. "Trix? What's wrong? What happened?" He almost asked her if he needed to kill someone on her behalf. He'd never seen her so upset.

"Everything's a lie," Trixie sobbed.

"What do you mean?"

"My parents lied to me… My whole life… My dad… My dad was right there!"

Keith looked at Claire apologetically. "Babe, I need you to go," he said gently. "This is serious."

"Are you kidding me right now?" Claire asked in shock.

"My cousin is crying and it has to do with a family issue. You need to understand… My family is important to me."

Claire changed her tune quickly, but it seemed forced. "Of course. I'm sorry. I hope she feels better. I'll see you tomorrow." She grabbed her things and left the room and Keith knew she was pissed. He couldn't care right then.

"Tell me everything," Keith said gently as he led Trixie to the bed.

Slowly, she told him the whole story. He was as shocked as she was, and that seemed to make her feel better. "I don't know who to trust," she said. "Everyone's been keeping this from me."

"I had no idea," he said. He stroked her hair and tried to soothe her. She finally calmed down after several minutes.

"I'm sorry about interrupting you and Claire," she said.

"It's okay," Keith said quickly. "You're my cousin and you need me. She'll understand."

"I don't think she will…" She looked embarrassed.

"Then she'll just have to deal, because nothing's more important than my family."

She leaned against him. "Can I crash here tonight? I don't want to sleep alone, but I can't go to anyone else… I'm not ready."

"You can always crash with me when you need to, Trix." He hugged her, then guided her toward the bathroom to shower to try to calm herself down more.

By the time Trixie came back out, she'd changed into one of his long t-shirts and looked significantly calmer. He tucked her into his bed and, just like they were little, turned her into his teddy bear for the night.