A Light In the Dark
Chapter 16

Vince was surprised that the people sitting around the table were actually chatting away. Well, he didn't necessarily think they would sit there like mindless zombies forking whatever food was on their plates into their mouths and staring at the wall, but he didn't think they would be this talkative. Then again, some of them hadn't really seen each other in awhile... And he liked to think of his employees as one giant family... Always happy to talk to one another and catch up on things when too long had passed since their last meeting.

Rebecca was, by far, the most talkative person there. She was asking so many questions, and Vince couldn't help but chuckle whenever he saw Shawn's eyes widen at her sudden high pitched squeal or laugh when she found out something extremely exciting... Like Declan having his first crush on a girl he met at the park. Naturally, the little boys cheeks turned a fine shade of pink, and he lowered his head in embarrassment, which only made Rebecca squeal over how adorable he was.

"Moooom!" Declan groaned.

Marissa chuckled. "I'm sorry, honey. Eat your carrots before they get cold."

Declan stuck out his tongue in disgust. "Carrots are for Bugs!"

Vince and Linda turned to look at Declan in shock, and, out of the corner of his eye, Randy watched as Shane physically started. Shane walked over to Declan and stood behind him, raising his eyebrows in amusement.

Shane's behavior was kind of suspicious, so Randy cleared his throat. "Uh... What's wrong?"

"'Carrots are for Bugs.'" Vince repeated, turning to look at his wife.

"It's been so long." Linda commented.

"Uh... Hello? Confused family and friends sitting pretty close to you." Stephanie stated.

"Huh? Oh, sorry! Shane used to say that when he was around Declan's age... 'Carrots are for Bugs.' Never let up on it. He thought every rabbit was named Bugs. Somebody's been watching a lot of Looney Tunes, huh?" Vince asked.

Marissa shrugged her shoulders. "I guess."

Her response made Randy look at Shane to see if he had another take on the situation, but he was oddly silent. He was leaning against the wall with his arms folded across his chest, and it took awhile for Randy to remember what Shane had told him about Declan and Liam... Which was probably why he was being so quiet.

"Are you still seeing Kelly, Andrew?" Rebecca suddenly asked.

Andrew's head shot up at the mention of his name. "You mean Barbie..? Nah, we called it off right before I came back to the WWE."

"Oh, that's unfortunate... May I ask what happened?"

"Uh... Sure, I guess," Andrew sighed, then threw a side glance at Stephanie to see her reaction. When he saw the tiniest smile grace her face, he continued. "Well... We kinda hit it off one night and we were fine... Got to know each other and all that jazz, but... After I left, I got concerned that she would start getting heat for dating me while she was still in the business. I suggested we take a break, mostly so I could figure out what I wanted to do with my life, and she told me that wasn't a good idea. How could self discovery not be a good idea? Anyway... We had an argument a few nights after that and she said something pretty stupid, then I said something pretty damn insensitive... The next day, I called it quits... I never realized how different we actually were once we didn't have the same employer in common anymore."

"I'm sorry to hear that. She seemed like a decent girl, and I think you two made a great couple." Rebecca stated.

Andrew smiled. "Thank you, Becky. I mean... I think I had good intentions that night and I'm kinda pissed about how that turned out, but... What can ya do? Everything happens for a reason. We might not like it, but we sure as hell have to live with it..."

"That's completely true..." Randy mumbled, chancing a look at Shane, who smiled sadly in response.

The table fell into a complete awkward silence, which Randy silently berated himself for. A few moments passed before anyone started eating or talking again, and it was Stephanie who broke the silence when it came to talking. And it wasn't even her striking up a conversation with anyone. She was simply trying to get Aurora to stop squirming and eat her food.

"I hate to be rude..," Everyone looked at Shawn in mild shock when he spoke. "...I think I'm gonna crash on the couch for a few… If that's okay…"

Vince nodded and gestured in the direction of the living room. "Sure. Go right ahead, Shawn. Make yourself at home."

Shawn nodded, a ghost of a smile tugging at his lips, and pushed away from the table, heading for the living room.

"That's a first..." Randy mumbled.

"What is?" Vince asked.

Randy gestured in the direction Shawn went. "He spoke more than five words at a time. It's been awhile since he's done that."

"Wow. That's right." Rebecca commented.

"Mommy?" Declan asked, tugging on Marissa's sleeve.

"Yes, sweetheart?"

"I wanna go take a nap, too!"

Marissa sighed. "You haven't even finished eating yet."

"Please, mommy?"

The little boy pouted, and it absolutely broke Marissa's heart. He looked exactly like his father, the man Marissa had been in love with since her freshman year of high school… The man she never got to grow old with… The man she never even got to say goodbye to.

Trying her best to fight off a fresh batch of tears, Marissa smiled sadly and nodded at Declan. "Sure, honey. Just try not to disturb Uncle Shawn, okay?"

Declan smiled and hugged Marissa tightly. "Okay, mommy. Love you. Muah!"

Everyone watched as Declan followed Shawn's path toward the living room.

"My God…" Andrew's voice trailed off, and he chuckled softly.

"What?" Vince asked.

"Nah, it's just..," Andrew paused, trying to find the right words to describe how he was feeling. "He's exactly like Shane… I mean… That's how I picture him at that age."

"That's exactly how he was at Declan's age." Linda stated.

"Damn shame, what happened…" Andrew softly stated, then took a sip of wine and averted his gaze.

"Randy."

Randy looked up at Shane and quickly became alarmed at how upset he was. When he looked at the person Shane was focusing on, he sighed… Marissa was hiding her face in her hands, but it was very obvious she was crying, and Rebecca was trying to console her by rubbing her back. A quick glance at the adults told Randy everyone was on the verge of tears… Even Cameron didn't seem to know what to do or how to react to the sudden change in emotion around the table.

Stephanie suddenly stood up. "Well… I'm gonna take the kids into another room, if that's alright with everyone…"

Linda stood up, as well. "Yes, that's a good idea. I'll help. Come on, Cameron. Grab your sister."

A few short moments later, Vince, Andrew, Randy, Rebecca and Marissa were the only occupants left in the dining room. Shane was still standing behind Marissa, wondering what he could possibly do to help, but the only thing he could do was look pleadingly over at Randy… Who was also at a loss. Helping emotional women was never really his forte, after all.

"It's alright, Marissa." Vince stated.

Marissa looked up at him, desperately trying to wipe the tears away. "I know… It's just… I didn't sign up for this."

"None of us did." Rebecca replied.

If anyone in that house could possibly understand what Marissa was going through, it was Rebecca. Although Shane had died as a result of poor timing and trying to stick up for a friend in need, Marissa always felt him around her, especially when she was with their boys. Shawn, on the other hand, was still very much alive, but he wasn't exactly the man Rebecca had come to love and cherish. Marissa wondered how the other woman dealt with how Shawn's personality drastically changed over the course of a year. Sure, Rebecca had met Shawn before religion saved him, but the new Shawn was different. It almost seemed like the lights were on, but there was nobody at the wheel. Which, in itself, was understandable, considering what had happened, but the change was so heart breaking, Marissa didn't know how to cope with it herself. Her heart really went out to Rebecca, and poor little Cameron, who was inadvertently being forced to act so much older than he was.

Shane suddenly looked over at Randy again. "You can tell her."

Randy quirked an eyebrow. Are you sure?

"Yeah, I'm sure. She's known me for years. She knows."

Randy sighed, then stood up and walked over to where Marissa was sitting. He placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. "I need you to take what's about to come out of my mouth seriously… Okay?"

Marissa raised a confused eyebrow, but nodded. "Okay..?"

Randy sighed again, then looked Marissa in the eyes. "Shane is here."

Vince slammed his fist on the table, effectively scaring everyone in the room. "Jesus Christ, Orton! Of all the goddamned times to pull this shit! Hasn't she been through enough?!"

Randy looked up at Shane for help. The other McMahon was smirking and shaking his head. "Such a shame he never believed in this, yeah? Okay. Two can play at that game. Tell him… No. Ask him what he wants to know so he can believe you."

Randy looked over at Vince. "What do you want to know?"

Vince narrowed his eyes angrily at Randy. "What do you mean?"

"In order to believe me. Something only Shane would know."

Vince muttered angrily to himself for a moment, then sighed. "Alright. I'll play your little game. What did I name him after?"

Randy raised a confused eyebrow and looked up at Shane again.

"The 1953 movie Shane starring Alan Ladd. Too easy. Something more specific." Shane replied.

"He said it was the 1953 movie Shane starring Alan Ladd, but that's too easy. He wants something more specific."

Vince rolled his eyes. "Alright, fine. What happened the night… Ahem… Um… How did he rip a stitch?"

"We went to a diner. Me, dad and Paul. Paul told us Bret Hart was in cahoots with Payne, but I didn't believe him. He got agitated and started teasing me. He specifically told me my 'ghosty friends were wrong.' Then he tripped me and slammed my head on the table. I broke a bread dish with my face and tore a stitch in my chest."

Randy blinked, looking completely baffled for a few moments. "Dude, you have to slow down when you're talking..," Randy looked at Shane, then at everyone else. When he noticed people were staring at him like he was absolutely insane, he cleared his throat awkwardly. "Ahem… Anyway… Uh… He said you, him and Paul went to a diner… Paul was saying something about how Bret Hart was working with Payne, but Shane didn't believe him and Paul got mad, then started teasing him about his ghosty friends being wrong… Then Paul slammed Shane's head into the table, making him break a bread dish and tear a stitch."

Vince stared at Randy in complete and utter silence. He knew for a fact nobody else knew about what had happened that afternoon except for the three people involved, as well as Shawn. There were very few things involving Paul that Vince played over and over in his mind, and the trip to the diner was one of those things. He should have seen right then and there by the way Paul had treated Shane that there was something extremely wrong… He wished he could go back and do it all over again. But he couldn't, and Randy had recounted the events exactly as they happened. "Did Shawn tell you about that?"

Randy quirked an eyebrow. "I didn't know Shawn knew."

"Shawn knows. I told him. He noticed blood on my shirt." Shane stated.

"Oh. Uh… Shane told Shawn? He just told me Shawn noticed blood on his shirt, so that's why he told him."

Vince nodded his head. "I know..," Vince sighed and rubbed his head. "This is difficult for me to understand... Let alone accept, you know…"

Randy nodded. "I know, Vince. I swear to you I wouldn't make any of this up to hurt you or your family."

"I didn't even try to understand it when it was coming out of Shane's mouth."

"It isn't exactly an easy thing to comprehend, Vince."

Vince sighed. "Where is he?"

Randy looked up at Shane, who hadn't moved at all, and gestured behind Marissa. "Standing right there."

"What's he doing here?" Andrew asked.

"My family is in fucking knots, you putz. What the fuck do you think I'm doing here?"

Vince was almost amused at the odd look Randy had on his face. It was an interesting blend of amusement, shock, confusion and slight hesitancy. "What'd he say?"

Randy blinked. "I don't know if I should repeat that."

"Go ahead. They'll know it was me."

Randy closed his eyes and sighed deeply. "Lord, forgive me. Okay. He said… And I quote… 'My family is in fucking knots, you putz. What the fuck do you think I'm doing here?'"

For a moment, Randy felt as if Andrew would jump across the table and beat his head in. However, the bigger man smiled and broke into hysterical laughter, which faded almost instantly as his eyes filled with tears. "Damn, I miss him…"

Vince looked in the direction Randy had gestured to, and actually looked Shane in the eyes by doing so. "So… What's it like on the other side?"

Shane scoffed. "It isn't exactly a happy eternity floating around in the clouds, I'll tell ya that… Grandpa's disgusted."

Randy quirked an eyebrow. "Why?"

"'Cause of Paul… And how it's unnatural for a parent to bury their child."

"He said your father is disgusted because of what happened with Paul… And it's unnatural for a parent to bury their child."

Vince shook his head. "Yeah, dad wasn't really fond of the type of man Paul turned out to be… Dad was also very fond of Shane. Wasn't he the least bit happy to see him?"

Randy watched the bewildered look manifest on Shane's face. "Dad, would you be happy to see Liam before you see Stephanie?"

"He wants to know if you'd be happy to see Liam before you see Stephanie… If you were in this situation, that is."

Vince sighed. "No, I guess not. Dad's got a point… He always did know best, after all. Does he look okay..? I mean, I don't even know what I'm supposed to be asking."

"Yeah, he looks fine-"

"A little transparent." Shane commented.

Randy bit his cheek. "He's fine. His normal self. Sarcasm and all. There's something he wanted me to tell you, Vince… But I'm not exactly sure how to say it."

"Just say it."

"Okay, fine. He wants me to tell you that nothing that happened last year was your fault in any way whatsoever. Nothing. It was all Paul's doing. And I know you're going to try to object and say you had something to do with Shawn spending more time with Paul instead of going home after the ordeal, but Shane stood up for that decision, too. Nobody knew at that point. And it isn't healthy for you to continue blaming yourself for what happened. You never twisted Shawn's arm and forced him into anything. You never demanded Shane go to their hotel room that night. It wasn't your fault."

Everyone in the room watched as Vince lowered his head and tried to fight back the tears, which only made it worse. He was silently sobbing to himself in no time, which made Shane hang his head in sadness.

"I wish I could see him." Vince finally stated, his voice just barely above a whisper.

"I wish you could hear me." Shane responded in the same tone, walking over to his father and kneeling down next to him as he did so.

"He's right next to you." Randy commented.

"Tell him… Tell him I'm so proud to be his son."

Randy sighed, then smiled sadly at Shane when the other man turned to look at him. "He said he's proud to be your son."

Vince blinked at him, remaining silent for a couple moments. This whole conversation was a lot to take in. He didn't really understand why, but anything paranormal always made him feel uneasy. After all, it was very awkward watching his son grow up in that world... Watching him talk to walls and hearing him mention things he couldn't possibly know. But the hardest thing to accept so far was what Randy just told him. Shane was proud to be his son? No... He was beyond proud to call Shane his son.

"What? Why would he say that?" He finally asked.

Randy blinked at him. "Because it's true?"

Vince sighed. "If anyone should be proud, it's me."

Rebecca shook her head. "Oh, Vince... Don't say that. Shane was very proud to be able to call you his father, just like I'm proud to be able to call you my friend."

"Here, here!" Andrew stated, smiling over at Vince.

Vince looked around the tabled at the people - no, the family - remaining there. He felt so proud that he was able to meet these individuals, let alone bond with them... And it was obvious how much they all cared for Shane. His son had done so much good in his life, and the people sitting around the table made that obvious...

"I had one hell of a son."

Shane smirked and rolled his eyes playfully. "Flattery will get you everywhere in this world."

Vince turned to look at Randy in time to see him start laughing. "What's so funny?"

Randy glanced at Shane, then turned to Vince. "He said 'flattery will get you everywhere in this world.'"

Everyone at the table started laughing. Yeah, that was Shane.

"He's quite right," Vince replied. "Can he hear me?"

"Most definitely can. He can hear and see everyone here. Blocks in perception don't work that way," Randy explained. "So... I guess if you wanna say anything, just go ahead and say it."

"Oh God. Don't give them permission to get all mushy."

"Look at them, Shane. They don't need reasons to get mushy." Randy stated between gritted teeth, completely forgetting everyone else could hear him.

"What's up his ass?" Andrew asked.

Randy shrugged. "He seems bothered by the fact I told you guys to just talk to him if you wanted to..."

"Guess he doesn't want the extra attention." Andrew joked.

"No... I miss everyone already. Just being here makes it hurt more... Having people get emotional will make it so much worse."

Vince watched as Randy lowered his head with a sad smile on his face. Soon enough, there were unshed tears in his eyes. He reached over, accidentally (and unknowingly) elbowing his son in the face, and placed a gentle hand on Randy's shoulder. "What's the matter?"

Randy looked up at Vince, trying his hardest to ignore the burning in his eyes, as well as Shane pacing semi-angrily in the background, and shook his head. "Nothing. I'm fine."

"If it's too emotionally draining or something, just let me know."

"No, I'm okay."

Vince smiled. "Good. I never understood any of this, so I don't know how any of it works."

Randy blinked. "Your son was a hot spot for it... All you had to do was ask him."

Shane scoffed. "He really didn't care much for it when I was around, ya know..."

Vince sighed. "I was so afraid of it... I saw what it did to him," Randy noticed Shane stopped pacing and turned to look over at his father. "Especially when Owen died. I've never been more terrified in my life. He was falling apart and I couldn't even help him... I didn't know how. There's no treatment for it... This, I mean."

"It isn't an illness." Randy and Shane stated in unison.

"It's unnatural." Vince mumbled, looking down at the floor to avoid eye contact.

"Don't do that, dad," Everyone turned to look at Marissa, who had been silently observing the conversation the whole time. "Don't speak ill of it. It's a gift, and many people are capable of it if they open their minds to it. Shane was damn amazing when it came to his gift, and I'll be damned if I allow you to mock what other people can do just because you don't understand it or you can't do it yourself."

Vince lowered his head in shame. "That's not what I was doing, Rissa... But I guess you're right. I apologize for my comments, Randy... And Shane, wherever you're currently hanging out."

"I never thought I'd see the day he gives in so easily and apologizes for mocking it." Shane stated.

Randy chose to ignore that comment. "He's standing right there... And he says he accepts your apology. As do I."

Vince smiled at Randy, who returned the gesture. When a sudden movement caught his eye, Randy looked over at Shane and saw the other man was listening intently to something. It must've been interesting because of the odd look on his face and the fact he wasn't talking. When Shane finally realized Randy was watching him, his eyes lit up and he stood up straight with a slight smirk on his face.

"I believe we should relocate to the living room... Something's gonna happen, and it's gonna change everything."

Randy's face fell, even though Shane was clearly trying to announce some good news was coming their way. "Shit."

A/N: *hides behind dog* Hey guys... I know it's been a really long time since I updated this, and I wanted to apologize in the best way I could... And that was a new chapter!

I want to thank you guys for being so patient during this year that I haven't been active at all (sans for being a Beta). Things got hectic because I went back to school for eight months but I'm done now.

I do have good news. I already started on the next chapter and I know how this story is going to end. Does that earn me any brownie points?

I know I keep saying this, but I genuinely mean it... If you guys have any fic requests, Beta requests or questions about anything, feel free to message me.

Cheers!