*Thank-you for the reviews on the last chapter they were greatly appreciated thank-you all so much*
"How's Willow doing?" asks my friend Seth as we are in the locker room getting ready for our match at Money in The Bank.
"She's recovering," I say. "They finally sent her home last week. She's supposed to be taking it easy with her ankle and all plus she's recovering from her C-Section."
"What the hell happened?" he asks.
"We were driving home from a meeting and it was raining really hard. It was hard to see but I needed to get her home so that I could get to the airport for the upcoming house shows a couple weeks ago I couldn't see and a truck on the other side of the road slid over onto our side and hit us. It was a terrible accident."
"Damn, Man, I'm glad you two are okay."
"Me too, it could have been a lot worse. The car was completely totaled I don't even know how I walked away with just a few bruises and Willow ended up with a sprained neck and a broken ankle. I should have listened to her. She kept telling me to pull over but I was too worried about making my flight. I see now that the flight wasn't worth any of it. I never made it to my flight because I was at the hospital watching them deliver my son it was a selfish move."
"You can't blame yourself, Joe."
"Everyone keeps telling me that but I do. I keep blaming myself for the accident. I should have listened. If something had happened to Kekoa or Willow I would have been devastated. I would have never forgiven myself."
"But nothing did happen to them," he says. "You should be grateful they are alive. Stop thinking about what could have happened and be happy with what did happen. How is the baby?"
"He's doing okay. He's a fighter and he's strong. He's my little warrior. They say he has a good chance of survival but he will be in the NICU for a little while longer. We got lucky. Other than him being in the NICU he is doing well. I can't wait to take him home. He's gaining weight. He is at 3 lbs. right now. They said once he can breathe on his own and he hits 5lbs. and he is able to eat by sucking on the nipple we can take him home. He gets stronger every day. That's my little man."
"I'm surprised you didn't take any time off. I know you must be exhausted," he says. "You are working a full-time schedule, making appearances, doing autograph signings and media appearances I am sure you're exhausted and I thought you would want to be there with the baby."
"I'm still taking time off in September to be home with Willow. I am planning on taking off from September until after Christmas I'm shooting for the first week of January that way Willow and I can take a honeymoon together. Kekoa probably won't even go home until after Summerslam."
"That's a long time in the NICU," he says. "I hope everything works out for you. Do you have pictures of him?"
"No, not yet," I answer. "I'll take a few this week when I go to the hospital to see him."
"Willow hasn't even posted any pictures on Instagram."
"Because she's keeping everything private, she has this thing with social media and our family. She doesn't want to put his pictures on social media because she wants him to have his privacy. And they have their right to privacy. No one even knows she had the baby because it is no one's business. They don't need to worry about my son."
"I understand but I want to see pictures of the baby," he says. "I bet he is adorable."
"He's perfect," I say. We haven't told anyone other than our family and Dean, who will be his godfather and Renee who will be his godmother that he has down syndrome. It's just not something we have been ready to announce to our friends let alone the media. I fully agree with Willow's decision to keep Kekoa off social media. He does deserve his privacy but I'm also not the most popular guy in the WWE universe so the last thing I ever want is for one of my haters to say one negative comment about my son because they don't like me. Kekoa deserves better than and my wife deserves respect but I would love to get involved with organizations that help children with Down syndrome, donate money to help them. It's something I have been thinking about. I think my son is gorgeous but mostly I think he is perfect, the epitome of perfection. He is the creation of the love between my wife and me. I couldn't have asked for a more handsome, precious and perfect baby boy. I can't wait until I can hold him in my arms, take him home he is the best thing to ever happen to me.
"I'm happy for you, Man. Congratulations," he says to me as he pats me on the shoulder. "You ready for tonight?"
"I'm ready," I say. "I think this is the match everyone has been waiting for," I say with a smile. "I mean every time you and I were supposed to have a one on one match something stopped it from happening the first time I had to get surgery because of my hernia and the second time it was you blowing out your knee. I think the fans have been waiting for this match."
"I've been waiting for this match," he says. "It's been a long time coming and I know every time we were supposed to wrestle something would come up. It was crazy almost like it wasn't supposed to happen."
"It wasn't supposed to happen then," I respond with a smile, "but now it's meant to happen. We are going to tear the house down."
"Of course we are," he says as there is a knock on our locker room door.
Seth invites the person in as I am going through my bag to pull out my ring gear. I hear the door open and I look up when I hear, "Joe, can we borrow you for a minute?" he asks.
"Sure," I say as I put my ring gear on the bench before I stand up to walk with one of the big guys. "Is something wrong?"
"Stephanie, Hayes and Dave want to speak with you," he says.
"Okay," I say as we make our way down the backstage hallway to the office of my bosses. I don't have a good feeling as we walk.
"Congratulations on the birth of your son," he says to me to make conversation but it is awkward you can feel the tension in the air.
"Thank-you," I say as the tension continues to hang in the air. "He is perfect," I smile thinking about him and his head full of dark hair and his little hands and feet. He's the perfect creation from the perfect love.
"I'm sure he is. It's always a joy having a new child brought into the world. How is Willow?"
"She's doing well, healing up from everything it probably won't be long until she's back if she is willing to come back."
"I hope she comes back," he says. "The divas division could definitely use her. We had so many plans for her until she blew out her knee. We hope to continue on with those plans when she returns. Let her know that we haven't forgotten about her," he says. "We are hoping she comes back."
"I think in a way she wants to come back but she wants to do what's best for the baby," I say. "She has some time to think about it," I say as we reach the office. He opens the door for me and allows me to walk in before him. I see Stephanie, Hunter, Dave and Hayes sitting waiting for me. It makes me nervous. I can feel my stomach turning and the anxiousness building inside of me as my heart starts to pound.
"Joe, please have a seat," says Stephanie as she puts her hand out in the direction of a couch. I take a seat on the couch across from them as they sit in their chairs. "How are you feeling after the accident, Joe?"
"I'm doing much better than I was. I just finished healing up. I am cleared to wrestle now if that's what this is all about. The doctor cleared me."
"We are aware, Joe," says Stephanie, "but this is bigger than your concussion you just recovered from," she says. "As you know we randomly do the drug testing to make sure every WWE superstar and employee is in compliance with the Wellness Policy that has been put into place to make sure no one is using illegal substances, enhancers or anything that can cause serious harm to you or anyone else around you. We test you every 30 days sometimes every 20 depending on the schedule. Did you take your last drug test, Joe?" she asks.
"I took it at Smackdown," I answer, "I didn't miss taking my drug test."
"So you are aware that there was a substance found in your test that is not in compliance of the Wellness Policy and there was an illegal substance found in your results did you know about this substance?"
I sit quietly for a moment debating which is easiest to lie and say I had no idea that I had a substance in my body that showed I was violating the wellness policy or just telling them the truth. Either way I knew I was going to be suspended for violating the policy. I figure that telling the truth and being honest is my best policy. "Yes," I answer. "I was aware."
"Why would you take a substance that is in violation of the policy?" asks Hayes. "If you know you're tested every 30 days why would you risk a policy violation?"
"I wasn't thinking," I respond honestly. "I just took it and didn't think about it."
"Do you have a substance abuse problem?" asks Hayes, "because if you have an abuse problem we are able to finance your way through rehab and get you the help that you need. You need to be honest with us, do you have a substance abuse problem?"
"No," I answer, "I do not have a substance abuse problem."
"How often would you say you took the substance in question, daily, weekly, monthly, periodically? What is the time frame in which you took the substance," he questions.
"It wasn't often. I was probably taking it at least once or twice every other week," I say honestly. "I wasn't addicted in anyway. I made a mistake and I shouldn't have been taking it."
"What was the purpose of taking Adderall? Did you enjoy the high that it gave you or what was it?"
"I have no excuse," I answer. "I was tired and I need the energy to keep me awake so I took them and I regret my decision and I apologize for my actions."
"You are the WWE champion, Joe," says Hayes, "you should be setting a better example for the WWE Universe. You're the face of the company. There is nothing acceptable about your decision. We cannot have you as the face and the champion if you're going to make poor decisions like this."
"Once again, I apologize for my actions and my decision to violate the Wellness Policy. I will not do it again and I accept any punishment you have intended for me. I deserve to be punished."
"Since this is your first violation of the Wellness policy and hopefully your last and final violation you will only be suspended 30 days from the company."
"I understand," I say as I put my head down in shame. I am ashamed of my actions and I do owe the WWE Universe an apology for my actions but not even just the WWE Universe or my bosses but my wife and my children. They deserve the biggest apology I can give them.
"And you will lose the title tonight in the match against Seth Rollins," announces Hayes.
"I expected as much," I say.
"And your 30 day suspension will begin tomorrow. You will be announced as being suspended and you will leave to go home. If there is anything we can do to help you with your substance usage please let us know we can find the rehab center and handle all financial responsibility if you feel you need help," suggests Stephanie.
"I am not addicted," I respond, "after I am suspended may I address the WWE Universe with an apology for my behavior?"
"That is your choice," says Hayes. "If you feel you need to apologize to the fans for your behavior and your choice that is up to you. We cannot stop you."
"I think I owe it to them," I say honestly, "and once again I apologize for my violation of the wellness policy. There is no excuse for my actions."
"Thank-you, Joe," says Stephanie, "we want you to take the next 30 days to think and reflect on your actions and ways you can fix the problem. We want you to come back strong and healthy."
"Thank-you," I say before they excuse me to continue getting ready and prepared for my match later tonight. I want to call Willow to apologize and tell her what's about to come our way but I decide to wait till after the show that way if it takes a negative turn I will still be on top of my game so I can perform.
I lost the match later that night just like I was supposed to do. I worked so hard to be at the top and the chances of me being at the top again for a long time are pretty slim. I don't want to lose my top spot but it is deserved for my behavior and I am not opposed to working my way back up to the top, proving to them I am worthy of being in the top spot again. I shower after my match and make it back to my hotel. As soon as I get back to my hotel I strip down into my briefs before I call my wife to tell her the news. "Hey, Baby," she says in her soft southern Texan accent making me smile after a long night. "I saw the show. I'm sorry that you lost the championship."
"Me too," I say.
"You okay with it?"
"Yes," I answer. "How are you?"
"Tired you woke me up," she says and I can hear the smile in her voice, "but I don't mind. I miss you."
"I miss you too," I say as I play with my blanket nervously. "Willow, how is Kekoa?" I want to ease into the conversation.
"He's doing well. The doctor said that in a couple days we could probably hold him. He's doing so much better. I can't wait to bring him home and that perfect face," she says making me smile. "I just want to kiss it. His skin is starting to feel like real skin not fuzzy anymore."
"That's good," I say, "I can't wait to come home and see our baby boy."
"Wednesday," she says with excitement. "I can't wait."
"Actually," I say. "I'll be home tomorrow."
"Tomorrow?" she asks.
"Yes tomorrow."
"What about Raw and Smackdown?" she asks. "Don't you need to film for them?"
"I do but I'm leaving tomorrow morning," I say nervously.
"What's going on?" she asks. "Did I miss something, are they giving you time off for the baby because I thought we agreed that come September you would take time off."
"Well," I say, "I have 30 days off."
"30 days off?" she asks in a tone that tells me she knows what's going on. "Did you violate the wellness policy?"
"Yes and I am so sorry. I made a mistake and I am taking full responsibility for my actions."
"So why are you telling me this over the phone, this is something we should talk about in person not over the phone."
"I know and we can but I wanted to let you know because tomorrow I will be issuing a public apology for my violation."
"Joe," she says. "I don't even want to talk about this on the phone. I'm not arguing on the phone with you."
"I'm just respecting you informing you of everything because I wanted to tell you first because I don't want you to read it on social media and be pissed."
"Do you think I'm not pissed, Joe?" she asks. "I'm beyond pissed right now. I told you I'm not talking about this on the phone. You can talk to me tomorrow in person. We'll talk about it then."
"I'm sorry, Willow," I apologize.
"We'll talk about it tomorrow. Goodnight. I love you," she says.
"I love you too," I say back to her just before the other line goes dead because she hangs up on me.
*A/N: What did you think of Joe's comment about leaving Kekoa off of social media out of the public eye and worrying a fan may say something negative? Do you think it is a good idea to keep Kekoa private? Is Willow making the right choice about their privacy? What do you think of Joe violating the wellness policy? Do you think he intentionally did it? What about how he owned up to it and made an apology? How do you think his talk with Willow will go? What did you think of her not wanting to talk to him on the phone about it? Is it a conversation that should have been done in person? Please review and thank-you for reading.