Chapter 19
Randy was waiting on his front porch by the time his sister ran up the driveway. He had felt her distress for over half an hour and when it grew in intensity, he was on his way to her when he sensed her nearby.
'The benefits and curse of being twins.' He thought while opening his arms to take his sister in his embrace.
Despite their rocky relationship throughout life, the Orton twins always knew when the other was in trouble, pain or just needed simple comfort. Randy knew Syd would never admit it but that connection is why she followed him into the WWE. With her background in Sports' Medicine, she was in the unique position to take care of her brother when his pain or need filtered into her.
"What happened? Who do I have to kill?" He whispered into her hair, rocking gently side-to-side.
"I can beat people up better than you." She sniffled; wrapping an arm around his back, the other clenching his shirt while he walked them inside.
"Daddy?" Alanna spoke softly and Randy felt his sister tense up in his arms. "Is Auntie Syd alright?"
"She'll be fine, Ally." He wasn't entirely sure that statement was correct though because Syd began to sob hysterically into his chest. "What is it, little sis? Tell me what's wrong so I can fix it."
"You can't fix everything, Randal." She stepped out of his reach, darting sad obsidian eyes between his steel blues. "Sometimes I just need my big brother to hold me and let me get it out." Her voice cracked with emotion; her eyes looking desolate before she turned and disappeared down the hall.
He heard the bathroom door slam shut and flinched from the swat to the back of his head before glaring at his best friend.
"You're a douche." Cena shook his head in disapproval. "It's a good thing you're pretty or you'd never score with women. You can't even give your sister what she needs."
"Why don't you ever go home?" Randy shot back while he rushed to follow his sister.
"Lina! What is taking so long?" Joe shouted out to his fiancée while he shifted impatiently in the foyer. "Jon already has the car started and will leave without us."
"I had to grab something for her first." Galina gripped the brown paper bag in her hand while she rushed towards him. "Let's go."
"Auntie Syd?" JoJo knocked on the bathroom door, glancing up at her uncle that encouraged her and Ally to continue. "Please let us in."
"We're worried, Auntie Syd." Alanna whispered against the wood; smiling at her father when he winked and gave them a thumb's up.
Randy was at his wits end trying to get through to his sister. She stormed into his house a few minutes ago, crying and looking incredibly lost before she locked herself in the bathroom. No amount of coaxing from him or John got her to open the door so he used his secret weapon.
He wasn't too proud that he wouldn't resort to cheating and using the girls to break her down. Alanna and Joelle were a fantastic tag team that could beat any challenge put in front of them. All he had to do to remind himself of that was look at the miniature Doberman that they conned him into buying them.
'I might as well use that power for my benefit for a change.' He raised his fists in victory when Syd let the girls in before his attention was drawn to the front door of his house banging open. "By all means, come on in." He walked out of the hallway to the foyer and nodded his head in greeting to Joe and Galina before focusing on Jon. "What did you do to my sister?"
"Where is she?" Jon gripped Randy's shoulders; hands shaking on the verge of panic.
"Locked in the bathroom and you aren't getting in there if you have a dick. Trust me, John and I both tried several times." He followed on Jon's heels, grabbing his wrist when he went to knock. "I wouldn't do that if I was you. She's freaking the fuck out. The girls are on it. Let them work their magic and maybe send Lina in there as adult backup." Randy held up the key and the woman he now considered family took it from his hand.
"I'm on it." Galina nodded, moving to the door before glancing at Jon. "Stay close. She's going to need you."
"I'm not going anywhere." Jon said confidently; waiting for the chance to get to his lady.
"Syd, it's me, I'm coming in." Galina called through the door before unlocking it and walking in. "Oh honey!" She gave her a sympathetic pout when she found her sitting on the floor with the girls on either side of her, arms embracing their aunt.
"What am I going to do?" Syd asked on the verge of hyperventilation; tears flooding down her face.
"What makes you think you have to do anything?" She crouched down before the crying woman, brushing some loose hair back.
"It is so soon. What if he doesn't want this?"
Galina's heart broke in her chest when that usually strong voice came out in a child-like broken whisper.
"Have you met the man you're talking about?" She smiled softly, lifting up her chin to look in her sad eyes. "He thinks of nothing but you. His first love in life; wrestling comes after you now. Sydney, Jon loves you more than anything on this planet. Don't ever forget that." She wiped the tears from beneath her eyes and gave her a quick yet firm hug.
"So the first thing you're going to do is get up, go back to the bathroom and take this." Gal helped her to her feet and handed her the brown paper bag. "I had a scare last week and bought a few; turns out it was just stress because its here now. Now go on; tinkle on that stick and let's see if we're right." She shooed her out of the vanity area through the threshold leading into the tiled area housing the shower, bath tub and toilet. "This damn bathroom is bigger than the downstairs of my house." She mumbled, looking around Randy's huge master.
"It's smaller than Auntie Syd's." Alanna informed her; looping her arm through JoJo's while they waited.
"You Ortons know how to live." Gal winked at the girls before biting her lip; crossing and uncrossing her arms nervously. "How is it going in there?" She called out; looking up when Syd came out, gripping the pregnancy test in her hands.
"It takes a few minutes to cook, I guess." She took a deep breath, shuffled over to the vanity and hopped up to sit on the counter. "Uh, Gal, I appreciate the help with this but; as uncomfortable as this will be, I really need my twin right now." She lowered her eyes, placing the test beside her.
"I can't imagine that kind of connection. I'll get him for you but just so you know, Jon is waiting out there for you too." She squeezed Syd's hand in hers before turning to the girls still sitting on the floor.
"The girls can stay." Syd cut her off before she got the chance to herd them out the door.
"Good plan. A buffer between you and Randy is probably a good thing." She smiled at her over her shoulder and walked to the door, stepping out into the crowded hall. "Randy, your sister wants to see you." She took in the surprised look on the elder Orton's face, nodded, and moved aside to let him in before closing the door behind him.
"What's going on, little sister?" Randy moved to stand before her; placing his hands on the counter on either side of her thighs.
"I need your help with something but I need you to promise you won't flip out on me until after because if you yell, I might throw up all over you." When he crossed his heart, she swallowed heavily, reached down to her side and lifted the stick to hand over to him. "I can't bring myself to look. Will you? Please?" Her watery black eyes focused below his; her trembling hand raised between them.
"Oh shit, that is what I think it is, isn't it?" He released a deep breath, taking in his sister's shaky nod before he took it. "Okay. Okay, here we go." He bit his bottom lip, darting his eyes between hers while he held it up and focused on the window. He smiled softly; tossing the stick in the sink and wrapped his arms around his twin. "You'll be a wonderful mother." He whispered in her ear; tightening his grip when she began to shake against his chest.
"We're gonna have a cousin!" Alanna shouted; jumping from excitement with her "sister" until the door flew open. "Uncle Jon! JoJo and I are gonna have a cousin!"
"Girls, we need to give Aunt Syd and Uncle Jon some privacy." Randy groaned that his daughter's exuberance got in the way of his talk with his sister. He placed a quick kiss on her forehead, giving her a smile before herding the girls out the door. "Be very careful here, Good. I've lived here long enough to know where to dump a body." He warned the man with a deadly smile before following the kids out and pulling the door shut.
"Kitten, are you okay?" Jon moved in, taking her face between gentle hands.
"I'm so sorry, Jon! I got the reminder in the mail from my doctor right after we left on this last European tour. It has been so long since my last implant that I forgot all about it." She began to ramble quickly, staring into his eyes in pure panic. "And then we got back and Joe went out and the last thing on my mind was checking the damn mail or the status of my damn period…" She found herself silenced by a pair of insistent lips on hers.
"Syd, stop." He chuckled; resting his forehead against hers. "Why did you run here? Why didn't you come to me?"
"I was scared and; regardless of how much I upset him, Randy is my twin and will accept me as I am. He's my family." She said in a small voice that broke his heart.
His girl was terrified.
"Kitten, you need to calm down. I understand Randy is your twin but you have a houseful of family now, and they all love you. This stress isn't good for our little peanut either so bring that panic down." He could see the mix of shock and uncertainty cross her features, and placed soft kisses on her forehead, her nose and lips.
"I'm not upset by this if that is what you're worried about. If you don't want this then we definitely have something to talk about though. Is that it, Kitten? Do you not want this?" Panic and pain arced through Jon with the mere thought of his lady not wanting his baby but outwardly he remained calm. He had to for her. "I tell you that you're mine; and that is true, but in this case, it is your body, darlin. I support you in whatever decision you make." He placed a gentle hand on her abdomen, reassuring her with his touch, his voice, but letting her know his preference.
"I want our baby!" She gasped out in an explosive sob. "I want our baby more than my next breath. I was just so scared that it was too soon. Everything we've done has been so fast. I was worried that you'd finally realize this is too much for you." She was cut off again by another kiss before Jon dropped to his knees with his hands resting on her stomach.
"We were made for each other, Syd. That is why it has been so easy for us to live with the way our relationship developed and; as everyone keeps telling you, I've loved you for a very long time. I've had dreams of you carrying our baby, giving birth to him, nursing him, and us watching him grow up, and now I get to live it." He smiled up at her before lifting her tank and kissing her still flat stomach.
"Hi peanut. I'm your daddy and I can't wait until I get to hold you. In the meantime, I'll hold you with your mama." He kissed her belly again before resting his forehead against her flesh; tears of joy falling from his eyes and wetting her flesh.
Syd calmed down completely, staring in awe at Jon nuzzling his face against her stomach while he whispered to his child. A few minutes passed before he kissed her abdomen again, replaced her tank and stood up to palm her cheek while his lips met hers.
"I love you, Kitten. Please don't ever run from me again. You and our peanut belong by my side, always. Okay?" He waited until she nodded her head. "You know you can tell me, talk to me about anything, right?" She nodded again. "Good girl. Now let's go tell our family the good news." He wrapped an arm behind her back and the other behind her knees, picking her up and holding her close. "Open the door, Kitten."
They found Randy, John, Joe, Galina and the girls sitting in the den pretending to watch TV. "Here we go, Kitten." Jon settled in a recliner with Syd across his lap, facing the others. "Well we're pregnant." He announced with a smile; one hand splayed open on her stomach. He couldn't stop touching it to save his life. His baby was in there and it made his heart swell with love.
Galina and the girls squealed, Joe moved to kiss Syd on the forehead and hug his brother, and John plucked Syd off of Jon's lap, wrapping her up in a bear hug.
"Congratulations, little mama." John whispered softly in her ear; the smile leaving his face when he caught Jon's scowl over her shoulder.
"Man, you are full body-hugging my girl and squashing my kid. Let go, Captain America, and give her back." He made grabby hands and sneered at the face of the company once he had Syd back in his grasp. "Why is he always here?" Jon asked Randy when he settled them back down on the recliner.
"I don't know. I asked the same thing less than an hour ago." Randy shrugged; rolling his eyes when his friend flipped him off.
"So little sis, you know this means no more RKOs for a while." Randy turned his attention back to his quiet sibling.
"Uh, this means no ringside work at all until our peanut is born." Jon reiterated; placing a finger over her mouth when she went to argue. "Hush, Kitten." He gave her a stern look; one she had never seen before, that drew her up short. "It is too dangerous ringside, even behind the announcers' table or timekeeper's area, and you know it. All it takes is one time of not moving fast enough and our peanut would be at risk." He settled his palm over her abdomen; his expression changing to one of fear and worry.
"He's right, Mama Bear." Joe added from his spot on the couch.
"I agree, little sis. I won't have you risk my niece or nephew and I'll call Paul right now if you give us any lip over it." Randy smirked at his sister's narrowed gaze.
"We'll do better than that and call Vince." John pulled his cell from his pocket, giving her a full-dimpled grin. "Now you can sit that cute ass of yours in the back and wait for them to come backstage, and you know Daddy Vince will have every superstar lined up to keep you from running out there. I imagine he'd go so far as to ban you from the arenas if you don't listen to reason. You are making him a grandfather again and he won't take any of your bullshit." He wagged his eyebrows, laughing when she flipped him off.
"Fine! You win! I'll stay in the back." She crossed her arms over her chest, feeling thoroughly chastised.
"Now on to the next topic of discussion." Randy scooted to the edge of his chair, forearms resting along his thighs while he focused on Jon. "When do you plan to make a respectable woman out of my sister?"
"I hate that saying. It makes it sound like I'm not respectable now." Syd rolled her eyes with a huff.
"What does that mean, Daddy?" Alanna glanced over at her father from between Galina and JoJo.
"It means when is your Uncle Jon going to marry your Auntie Syd, sweetheart."
"He already did." She smiled at her father, settling back on the couch, completely unaware of how uncomfortable her aunt and uncle just became with those three words.
"What?" Randy cocked his head at his daughter, brows furrowed in confusion.
"Isn't that what that ring on her finger means?" JoJo pointed across her father's lap, glancing up at the startled looks on the surrounding adults' faces.
There on Sydney's ring finger sat a three carat round stone set above a platinum double band with inlaid princess and round cut diamonds. It was bold. It was stunning. She hadn't taken it off since Jon placed it on her finger. And no one noticed except for her two nieces.
Jon had only removed his platinum band when he entered the ring. The instant he was out, it went right back on his finger. He was proud to wear her ring; the symbol of their union.
"How?" Joe glanced between them with a saddened expression.
"When?" John furrowed his brows, crossing his big arms over his chest.
"Oh my God! It is beautiful!" Galina squeaked excitedly, leaning across her husband to get a better look.
"Why?" Randy shot to his feet, hands on his hips and bitter resentment in his eyes. "Why didn't you tell us? Didn't you want us there?"
"No offense but no, we didn't. Okay, that isn't true; it's more like we couldn't have you there." Jon spoke up, holding his lady close to his chest. "To answer your questions, I sprung it on her when we were in Vancouver for my filming. I arranged everything on the off chance that she'd say yes, and we got married on September 15th in Niagara Falls." He smiled fondly at his kitten; kissing the top of her head while his hand moved in gentle circles over her stomach.
"I know it seems like a shitty thing to do; not having any of you there when we exchanged our vows, but you know how shit works if you're in this company." Jon leveled his eyes on Randy and John, knowing they would understand above anyone else that what he was saying was true. "A large crowd of our people showing up anywhere would draw too much attention and the next thing you know; we're plastered all over social media. I didn't want that. Syd didn't want that. We're too fucking private to let the outside world into the most important day of our lives."
"Don't think for a second that we didn't want you there." Syd stood to face her brother; her eyes brimmed with tears. "I would've given anything to have you walk me down the aisle, anything; and it would have been you. You and Ally are my only real family." She gave a small smile with a shrug. "Jon would've loved to have his brothers stand beside him. Having our nieces act as flower girls would have brought warmth to our hearts. Despite all the things we wanted, Randal, there is nothing we wanted more than to marry each other in peace. Can you understand that?"
The elder Orton shifted his weight between his feet; hands on his hips and head lowered, for several minutes before he looked up into his sister's eyes, and nodded with a long sigh. "I understand, Syd." He pulled her into a tight hug, placing a kiss on top of her head before resting his cheek against her hair. "You realize you're going to have to have another ceremony that we can take part of, don't you?" He mumbled lowly in the quiet of the room.
"You guys can get married with us! We're finally doing it the first weekend in December." Gal stated excitedly, grasping Syd's hand to look at her ring again.
"That is sweet, Lina, but you and Joe have been engaged forever and we don't want to mess with your day." Jon smiled at his brother; taking in his nod of thanks. "If we do another one, it will be somewhere we can disappear from the public eye, and have all the important people there to share it with us."
"You know fans are going to notice those rings sooner or later. I'm surprised they haven't so far." John sat back, placing his ankle on his other knee. "Since Booker outed you as Randy's sister and considering you're always together, they will put two and two together."
"I don't care anymore." Jon reached for Syd's hand and guided her back down on his lap; smiling softly at his lady. "We hid our wedding from them with very little in the way of disguises. What did we use, Kitten; shades and baseball caps when we checked in?"
"Yeah, that is all it took." She nodded with a laugh. "Apparently Jon and I don't stick out like you three." She glanced over Joe, Randy and John.
"The point is I don't care who knows that she's Mrs. Good or Mrs. Ambrose. I just don't want them invading our privacy. Our special moments are our special moments." He glanced down and pecked her lips before leaving a lingering kiss on her forehead. "And when my peanut starts to grow, I will try to prevent anyone from taking that from us too but one thing is for certain, no one will get a picture of our newborn unless we release it. That is ours too."
"You will have your work cut out for you, brother. It isn't easy to hide from others if you're us." Joe gave them a sympathetic look before directing his attention towards the foyer.
"Where is everyone?" Colby called out upon walking in.
"I rest my case." Joe shrugged.
"I need to start locking my door." Randy rolled his eyes, glancing over his shoulder when his Authority teammate walked into the den.
"Here you all are!" The Architect furrowed his brow, picking up on the mood of the room. "What's going on?"
"I expect an explosive rant and extremely unmanly shrieking in less than five minutes." Randy looked at his watch; glancing between Joe and John while they checked the time.
"I'll give him seven." Cena nodded with a grin.
"Three. I've got a hundred on it." Joe shook his head at both of them before he turned his attention to Jon running his hand over Syd's abdomen.
"Deal." Randy and John agreed, keeping an eye on their Rolexes.
"What the fu-hell? We agreed he wasn't allowed to reproduce." Colby frowned at Joe who shrugged in response.
"It was inevitable with the way they go at it like rabid rabbits, bro."
"That is true. I shudder to think Jon Jr. was made while I was in the same bus." Colby shook for added effect. "So when…what the fu-hell? Oh, come on! What the sh-hell? When did you get married?" He screeched; his voice pitching so high it made the others wince.
"I win." Joe laughed when Randy and John dug their wallets out and passed him his money.