A Light In the Dark
Chapter 15
"Vince, did you bring down the-"
Linda McMahon huffed in annoyance. How many times was Vince going to disappear while she was trying to talk to him? He was in the living room listening to her no more than a minute ago... How in the hell could he vanish without making a noise?
Then again, Linda had a feeling she knew exactly where her husband had wandered off to... And it was the same room she found him in almost every night for the last few months. Before she knew it, she was standing in front of Shane's old bedroom, and wasn't shocked to see Vince sitting on the bed, looking around the room as if he was seeing it for the first time. And, standing completely unnoticed in the corner of the room observing the two, was none other than Shane McMahon.
"Are you sure you want to do this today?" Linda asked, taking Vince by surprise.
"What?" He asked, looking her in the eyes.
"I asked if you were sure you wanted to do this today... Is it too soon..? I mean... How do we know if it's too soon?"
Vince shrugged. "I don't know. But a year is a long time. I think we're allowed to have some fun with some of our closest friends."
Linda sniffled and nodded at Vince. "I know this has been difficult..."
"It's been a very difficult year, Linda... Losing Shane... Having Shawn act the way he's acting-"
"Don't blame Shawn for his actions!" Linda shouted.
"Who else can I blame, then?"
"You know he isn't okay! Mentally, I mean. If anyone is taking this harder than us, it's Shawn... Poor thing."
Vince rolled his eyes. "I know he isn't alright, Linda... We're trying as hard as we can to get him the right help, but he just isn't responding to it the way he probably should be."
"That's because he doesn't need help... Not that kind of help, anyway..." Shane stated, looking at his father in disbelief.
"Everyone is different, Vince." Linda replied, narrowing her eyes at her husband.
"Alright, fine. So I'm the bad guy for saying it's taking him too long to mellow out?"
"You know what sucks more than being dead..? Trying to help when your family thought you were insane and, in turn, doesn't believe in the paranormal."
"No, I'm just saying... You're wrong."
"Oh? And Randy is right?"
"Vince... Everyone is different. Everyone responds to situations differently. Was Randy in the room when Paul killed Shane? No. Shawn was. You need to-"
"Shawn was unconscious!"
"Still! He was there! He was the reason why Shane went there! Do you not understand the guilt that Shawn feels over the situation?"
"It wasn't his fault! I don't know how many more times I have to go over this with everyone! Him, included!" Vince shouted.
"Stop fighting," Shane shouted.
Vince and Linda quieted down when they heard Liam start crying down the hall. Shane blinked and looked towards Liam's room.
"Right. Forgot about that."
Vince sighed. "I don't know why you're being so damn protective of him."
"Well, for one... He's very strong for someone who went through what he did. You forget all of the pain he endured even before Shane died," Linda paused for a moment to make sure Vince was looking her in the eyes. "And because Shane loved him very much and you aren't being fair." Linda snapped.
"Damn right."
Vince sighed again. "I'm sorry... You're right... Shawn is one of the strongest people we know. I still don't understand how he just... Went back to some normality after we got him back last year... Everything was going okay until... You know... Let's just... Go downstairs and finish setting up."
A soft knock on the door frame took them by surprise, and they turned to see Stephanie standing in the door way holding Liam, who was looking directly at Shane and smiling.
"Were you two fighting?" Stephanie asked.
"Why?"
"Well, because Liam was playing and all of a sudden he started crying... I was wondering if maybe he heard some yelling or something."
"It wasn't them he heard." Shane stated, smiling at Liam, whose smile only got bigger.
"Yeah, we had a bit of a disagreement, but everything is okay now."
Stephanie looked at her father, then her mother. "Oh... Okay, then... Well, Andrew just called me and said he was turning down our block with Randy... So... They're almost here," Stephanie cut herself off when Liam tried to lunge out of her arms and tried to force the child to stay with her. "Liam, what in the world are you trying to do?!"
"Listen buddy, you can't do that. Stay with your mother."
Liam snorted at Shane and stilled in Stephanie's arms, not taking his eyes off of the other man.
"He has a mind of his own." Linda stated.
"He's a lot like his Uncle," Vince whispered, taking a few steps closer to Liam. "Boy, how I wish you could have met him."
"No worries. He has met me. But he won't tell. Right, bud?" Shane winked at the young boy, who did his best to wink back at him.
"Well... If they're close, we should get downstairs and finish setting up..."
Moments after Linda and Vince finished setting everything up, Stephanie ran to the door moments before the doorbell went off. Andrew and Randy were standing outside, smiling at her.
"Hey guys."
"Hey, Steph." Andrew greeted, giving the woman a hug and walking into the mansion.
"Hiya... Anyone else here yet?" Randy asked.
"No, just us," Stephanie accepted Randy's hug and waited until he was inside before shutting the door. When she turned, she was slightly surprised to see Randy staring at the same spot Liam was looking, but decided not to question it. "Want me to take your coats?"
Randy snapped out of whatever trance he was in. "Yeah, sure," He took his coat off and gave it to Stephanie, then turned to Vince and Linda. "This is for you."
Linda accepted the bottle of wine with a smile on her face. "Thank you, Randy, but it was unnecessary."
"Nah, it's alright. I feel like this has been the year from hell and you've been really nice to me..."
"With perfectly good reason." Vince stated, giving the younger man a hug, then turning his attention to Andrew.
"Mr. McMahon." Andrew greeted.
"Andrew... Please, call me Vince."
Andrew smiled. "Alright." He was slightly taken aback when the older man hugged him, but thought nothing of it.
"Hey, little guy," Randy stated, rushing over to Liam and taking a seat on the floor next to him. "How's my handsome little man doing these days?"
"He's a little more perceptive of things he probably shouldn't be acknowledging at his age." Shane stated.
Randy looked up at him, then back down at Liam. It didn't really surprise him that Liam was paying full attention to his Uncle, but if it bothered Shane, then maybe he should share the same feelings. "Is that right?"
Vince, Linda, Stephanie and Andrew looked around at one another.
"Randy..?"
Randy looked up at Shane again, slightly annoyed that the other man was trying not to laugh. "You fucked up, man."
"Yeah?"
"Who are you talking to?" Stephanie asked.
"Liam. Duh," Randy looked back down at Liam, desperately trying to ignore the fact Shane was laughing at him, and cleared his throat. "You know... You probably shouldn't be doing that, man... It's not good for you. I mean, you're still learning... But you can't eat whole foods yet."
"Right. Anyway. I'm gonna find something on TV that we can all enjoy." Stephanie stated, moving over to the remote and turning the TV on. She sat down on the couch to flip through the channels.
Andrew stared at Stephanie for a few moments. Judging by the look on her face, she wasn't really impressed with anything she was seeing, so he sat down next to her and put his arm around her shoulders. "See anything you like?"
"No. I'm not really used to watching TV anymore, to be perfectly honest..."
"Why don't you just put the guide up and look for something that way?"
Stephanie huffed in mock annoyance and did what Andrew suggested. "Oh, I love this movie!"
Andrew instantly regretted suggesting using the guide when 'The Little Mermaid' came on.
Vince was heading towards the stairs when the doorbell went off again, so he opened the door and nearly dropped the box he was carrying when he saw Marissa, Declan and Kenney in the doorway. "Oh my God!"
"Not God." Marissa replied, smiling at her father-in-law.
"You know what I mean. Come on in," Vince waited until everyone was in before closing the door again, then followed them to the living room. "I'm sure you know everyone here, right?"
Marissa looked around, then smiled at Vince again. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure."
Linda rushed back into the living room. "Marissa!"
"Hi, mom." Marissa accepted the hug and kiss, then smiled at Linda.
"How are you doing?" Linda asked.
"I'm okay... We're okay. Boys, say hello to your grandmother." Marissa forced Kenney to turn his attention to his grandmother, which only ended up with the young boy trying to lunge for her.
"Hi, Kenney," Linda smiled and took Kenney from Marissa, holding the young boy close. She turned her attention to Declan, who was looking over at Randy and Liam with curious eyes. "Why don't you go say hi to Randy and Liam, Dec?"
Declan looked up at his grandmother, then shrugged his shoulders. He put his arms around Marissa's legs and refused to budge. The action made Linda look Marissa in the eyes.
"Ever since... Well... You know... He's so attached to me." She whispered.
Randy looked over at Declan, then up at Shane to see if he had any input. The other man was oddly quiet, and his face only expressed concern as he looked over at Declan.
"Come on, big man. I don't bite." Randy pleaded, looking over at Declan again.
Declan looked over at Randy again, slowly letting go of his mother, and made his way over to where Randy was sitting on the floor with Liam. He hugged Randy the moment he got to him, which surprised Marissa, who then jumped at the sound of the doorbell.
"That must be Shawn." Vince stated, walking over to the door and tugging it open.
"Hi Vince!" Rebecca greeted, smiling at the older man.
Vince smiled back at her and Shawn, then smiled at Cameron and Cheyenne. "Hello, everyone. Come on in. I'll take your coats in a minute," Vince stepped to the side to let everyone in, then closed the door and waited while the family took their coats off. "You know everyone here, right?" Vince asked.
Rebecca took a look around the room and smiled. "All except for the adorable little children spread out!"
Cameron scoffed, then walked over to where Stephanie was sitting with Andrew and Aurora. "Hi Stephanie!"
Stephanie smiled at the little boy. "Hi, Cameron. Why don't you take a seat with us?"
Shawn looked around the room and was trying his hardest not to allow tears to well up in his eyes. Randy was sitting on the floor with Liam and Declan, who was attached to the other man. The three of them were facing the back of the room, so their backs were turned on everyone else. Stephanie, Aurora, Andrew and Cameron were on the couch watching The Little Mermaid. Linda, Rebecca and Marissa were standing close to one another talking about Kenney, who was desperately trying to get away from Rebecca (or maybe Cheyenne..?). Vince, of course, was standing in the front of the room watching everyone.
The moment Shawn locked eyes with Vince, he felt the familiar stinging in his eyes and tried to blink it away. He slowly crept out of the room and down the hallway towards the bathroom, trying to avoid getting any attention other than that of his boss.
"Are you alright, Shawn?" Vince asked once he found the other man in the hall.
"He needs to cry." Shane commented, knowing he would go unheard.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Shawn replied.
"Liar." Shane seethed.
Shawn gave Vince a sad smile, but the older man wasn't convinced. "It's okay if you're upset. I know how much you miss him. We all do."
"If I would have listened..."
"Shawn," Vince stepped closer to the younger man and put his hands on his shoulders, completely surprised when he didn't shrug them away. "Nobody blames you for what happened. Nobody. Not me, not Linda... Not Marissa... How many times do I have to explain this to you?"
"You have terrible bedside manner." Shane observed.
"I should have listened."
"How were you supposed to trust anyone after what happened to you? You didn't know which way was up. Shane could have told you the sky was blue and you wouldn't have believed him."
"I didn't listen."
Vince sighed. "Shawn... Listen... He wouldn't want us to be like this. Any of us. He certainly wouldn't want you blaming yourself for what happened when it wasn't your fault. You didn't ask for any of that. None of us signed up for it. You didn't twist Paul's arm and force him to do what he did... He's the one who we're all angry at... He's the reason why Shane isn't here. Not you. Shane loved you very much... You should know that."
The tears glistened in Shawn's eyes. "I miss him."
Vince gave Shawn a sad smile and pulled him into a hug. "We all do, Shawn... We all do. But we have to move on. The only way this will get easier is if we all just accept it and move on... Shane wouldn't want us to dwell over it. Hell, he'd be the one to start moving forward."
"But-"
"It's okay, Shawn."
Shawn pulled away and nodded his head, wiping his face with his sleeve. "I'm gonna... Wash my face..." He mumbled, slipping passed Vince to get into the bathroom, quickly shutting the door behind him.
Vince sighed, looking up at the ceiling. "Goddammit..."
Shane moved closer to Vince, wishing the older man could see him. He saw the pain in his father's eyes, and he wanted to help him, but he knew he couldn't... Not without Randy's help, anyway. "Dad... I'm sorry..."
Just as Shawn exited the bathroom, Linda walked up to her husband with Kenney in her arms. "Dinner is ready, and everyone voted to eat sooner rather than later."
Vince smiled and nodded. "Alright, let's head to the dining room."
A/N: Hey guys! I'm so sorry for the delay. I've been really busy with work and just procrastinating like it was nobody's business. I also had a hell of a fight with writer's block when it came to getting this chapter out. I've been reading more fanfics than I've been working on... And that just kinda adds to my laziness when it comes to updating.
I don't know if I told you guys, but I'm working on an idea for a SuperWhoAvengerLock fic... I have a solid one... I hope... And I have the first two chapters handwritten already. I have no idea when, or if, I'll even be posting it... So I guess you're gonna have to stay tuned for details, lol.
A friend of mine also asked me to write a crossover fic where Dean and Sam Winchester, Kevin Tran, Castiel, Lucifer, Gabriel, Daryl Dixon, Rick Grimes, and Captain Jack Harkness all get together for a night of drinks at an Applebee's. I wrote that a few months ago on another website... Let me know if you'd like to read it!
Back to more important matters... The next chapter will probably be the final one for this fic.
Let me know if you have any story requests, questions or need advice or anything of that sort! I'm always willing to help!
Til next time.