Even if Kane hadn't been a potential father of the baby, Lita still trembled when she bought the pregnancy test at a local drug store. It had just been one time with Kane…but she had only recently reunited with Matt. Something internal tells her that the baby belongs to Kane. She realized It must've been part of his game plan. She'd seen him resist seduction attempts made by Debra and Trish. Why had he picked her? Or, hell, why did he want to do this to any of the divas?
This wasn't supposed to happen. She'd been religious about taking her birth control pill since she turned seventeen, and her mom found out she'd been sneaking around with the neighbor boy. She'd never even had a pregnancy scare in the five years she'd been with Matt.
"I have a proposition for you, Lita," Kane announces as he paces around her while she's trapped to a chair in the arena's basement. He reminds her of a shark circling its prey. "I'm in need of…someone like you, Lita." Kane stops behind her and leans in until he can whisper in her ear. "You're the right choice."
"What do you want?" Her voice shakes even though she tries to be strong.
"You, Lita. You."
She believes there's no way she will agree to his request until Matt's life is on the line. Lita's choice is made when Kane puts a chair around Matt's neck, choking the life out of him. She can't let Matt be hurt. Her career wouldn't have taken off without him; she owes it to him to protect his livelihood, so she agrees to Kane's vile request.
A grin crosses Kane's grotesque face as she reaffirms her agreement. Kane creeps behind her until he circles her, his thick arms bringing her closer to him. He whispers to her, "Tonight. And if you don't show up…"
He doesn't need to finish the threat.
Lita zones out while he crawls on top of her, keeping her face emotionless as he thrusts in and out of her. She had glared at Kane when he tried to warm her up. She quickly abandons the idea of imagining him as Matt; she won't risk remembering this when she's with him. She senses Kane wants her to enjoy it as he watches her closely and is strangely gentle with his movements, but she won't give him the satisfaction of pleasing her. She resists flinching as his sweat rolls off his body and onto her. Although he's carefully positioned himself to not crush her with his weight, she feels suffocated by him. Her mind keeps replaying him saying it'd be all over once he got what he wanted. This mental chant continues until his rhythm falters as he nears his orgasm. His face contorts in pleasure as he plunges himself in as deeply into her as he can go. She hears him choke out her name as he shudders against her, filling her up with his seed.
He rolls off her and doesn't say anything as she redresses and leaves.
It's supposed to be over, she thinks as she showers, scrubbing his touch off her. Lita resists the urge to vomit as his semen rolls down her leg. She feels tainted.
But it's supposed to be over. Matt will be safe.
No wonder Kane hadn't left her alone after his false promise. She believed he must've known he'd impregnated her. Was this some weird primal instinct? To conquer another man's woman and force her to carry his child? Did he even want the baby, or just the glee of seeing her grow a child that doesn't belong to Matt.
Abortion crossed her mind.
But it could be Matt's, she reasoned, so she told him about the baby after taking the test.
"Lita! Wow, I don't know what to say, I mean, I'm happy, totally," Matt rambled, pacing back and forth. He stopped suddenly and fell to his knees to touch her flat stomach. The joy in his eyes felt like a knife in Lita's chest. "I'm really happy, babe. I love you."
"I love you, too. So much, Matt."
"Have you told anyone? Bischoff? You can't wrestle, Lita. It's too dangerous."
Lita nodded. "I know. I'll tell them later, but let's just keep it our secret for now. Please."
Let Matt think it's a happy secret, she thought. Kane had stolen her career and her happiness. She'd rather he not know for as long as possible, knowing he'd find out anyway.
The secret doesn't last long. The next time she was alone in her locker room, Kane entered as if it were his domain. She saw her pregnancy test in his gloved hand and couldn't decide whether to roll her eyes at him creeping into her garbage or scream for help.
"Go away, Kane."
"Oh, is that anyway to talk to your baby's father, Lita? I'm crushed you didn't tell me the good news." His voice had that mocking soft tone he used to lure his victims into a sense of false security. In a mirror image from a nightmare, he walked over to her and dropped to one knee, gingerly placing his gloved hand on her stomach.
She glared.
"Have you had any morning sickness?"
"The only thing that makes me sick is you!"
He smiled. "I've read about mood swings in pregnant women." The smile faltered. "You're not to step foot into the ring until our child is born."
"You mean my child."
"I think my half counts for something, dear ."
"It's not yours!"
"Oh, okay." He nodded. "I didn't know there'd be another virgin birth."
"Leave me alone or I'll —"
"Surely you didn't think I only wanted to fuck you?"
"You're disgusting." She threw her arm back, slapping him, the noise echoing throughout the room.
It angered her that he refused to get angry with her.
He laughed. "That's it. I would prefer that over you just lying there like a corpse."
"You'll never touch me again, Kane."
"We'll see about that…"
Lita swears she'll never make such a mistake as sleeping with Kane again.
Until she does.
"Let's say we…raise the stakes. Let's say you'll marry the winner."
Lita can't hold back her stunned expression. He wants to marry her? It's bad enough that he won't leave her alone at work. But to go home to Kane every night? Share his hotel room?
"Not so confident now."
She shakes it off. Matt has already beaten Kane. Lita believes she has a guardian angel looking over her when Matt forgives her, tells her he still wants her and the baby.
"He's beaten you once already, Kane."
"Uh huh. But SummerSlam will have the biggest prize of all."
He tips her chin.
"And I intend to win it, but you're already mine, Lita."
She jerks back. "I'm marrying Matt! And I belong to myself."
"Oh, you're getting married alright. Married to me."
1…2…3…
A pinfall sealed Lita's fate. Kane turned to grin at her while Matt's broken body splayed across the mat.
She stumbled back, the commentary of JR and Lawler not reaching her ears. Kane stalked towards her as everything felt like it blurred.
This has to be a nightmare, she thought. I'll wake up next to Matt, and this whole thing will be a nightmare.
But her reality is worse than anything a dream can conjure.
Kane opened his arms outward as if she should've been overjoyed to be marrying him.
"Aren't you happy, Lita?" He mocked. "We're getting married."
She'd been legally compelled to marry the victor of the match due to the shady legal team working for the business. Lita officially became betrothed to the man known as the Big Red Machine.
Lita stares at the white wedding gown Kane gave her. She didn't even plan on giving him the pleasure of seeing her in a wedding dress; she brought a simple, black dress fit for a funeral.
She puts the gown on.
She doesn't recognize herself in the gown. Lita wasn't the type to dream about her wedding day, but she'd never wear something like this, nor would the groom be someone she hated.
Lita debates taking scissors to the gown and begging for a ride away from the arena.
But she knows she can't escape Kane.
He's already slowly infiltrating her personal life, demanding she pack up belongings and move in with him. She's scheduled to move in following their wedding. Her conservative family frowns when she says she doesn't want to marry him.
"He got you pregnant!"
"He wants to do the right thing…"
How can this be right when it hurts me?
I will make every single day hell for Kane, she thinks, glaring at her own reflection. A twisted grin crosses her face as she remembers having some leftover black dye from previous clothing customization sessions.
"It'll be an all-white wedding to symbolize the purity of our child," he told her. How strange it was that a groom, let alone a monster like Kane, would be the one to arrange all the details of their wedding. She's only asked about flowers, but she shrugs. Her only input will be the vows she scribbled down in the back of the cab to the arena.
And how could any spawn of Kane be pure?
Walking down the aisle in her still slightly damp dress, she stops suddenly upon seeing Kane glaring at her. She hopes her own matches the intensity of his. He couldn't control everything. Somehow, a white suit makes him look even taller than usual. Lita remembers the time she'd been face to (masked) face with Kane in the ring when she attempted a Litacanrana on him. His eerie masked visage had nothing on how he looked now as she made her way to the makeshift chapel. She wonders why the Undertaker isn't the best man let alone not in attendance. And where is Paul?
It's bad enough her mother and sister are in the audience. She knows they're currently gossiping about her unconventional wedding attire.
The signs declaring "Honeymoon in Hell" and "Marry Me!" don't escape her notice, nor do the chants for her to run.
But she has nowhere to run. Kane's control over her tightened when the DNA test proved the child belonged to him.
Kane had already warned her against contacting Matt, having moved her phone plan onto his so he could monitor her calls.
"It's unbecoming in a bride to speak to other men before her wedding."
Kane specifically has Bischoff plan for extra security to ward off Matt. He personally picks her up when they get their wedding license.
Her hand shakes as she signs her name next to Kane's, feeling like her soul is being signed away.
She's forced to sign it twice after Kane rips up the original when she marks her intent to keep her maiden name.
"I want my wife and my child to share my name." His intense tone warns her not to resist. She retorts, "You're not a Bearer."
"You're right, Lita. I'm a bastard, but my child won't be one. I won't make my father's mistakes."
The clerk shakes as they notarize the document.
Lita screams inside as she takes her place at the altar, facing Kane.
"Very nice…very nice," he taunts, clearly incensed about her defacing the gown he picked for her.
He's not the only one who can ruin what others want.
Trish and Bischoff make further mockery of her as the nuptials proceed. Lita wonders where the flower girl and ring boy came from. The priest decides the audience in Anaheim doesn't count when he asks for any objections to their marriage.
Her wedding ends with Matt broken again, chokeslammed off the ramp. Lita's heart races as she hears Matt's music following her "I do." Her first smile in weeks happens when Matt comes out of nowhere to attack Kane.
She hopes for a good ending to this nightmare as Matt takes her hand, guiding her away from the makeshift wedding chapel. Her stomach sinks as Kane does his eerie sit-up.
"Hurry!" She screams at Matt.
The next thing she knows, she feels searing heat against her face. A wall of fire blocks their escape path.
Not only is her groom-to-be a monster, he also has some supernatural prowess. Her stomach knots as she wonders if her child will develop Kane's powers.
Kane drags her back to the alter and demands the priest finish the ceremony.
She becomes Mrs. Calaway when Kane looks directly at her and says, "I do…"
Kane scoops her up bridal style and brings her to examine Matt's injuries, enjoying her distress. He's crass enough to have arranged Slow Chemical play as they exit.
It feels like he's holding her forever, his hold nearly suffocating. She's finally sat down in the back of a waiting car.
The door slams as Kane gets in behind her. She turns to the other door and reaches for the handle.
"I wouldn't do that, Lita."
Her hand slips away, and she keeps her body turned away from him.
"I told you you'd be mine."
"I'll never be yours."
She can sense his smile fade even without looking at him.
Kane attended all her doctor's visits, particularly enjoying the ultrasounds. Lita couldn't decide if her growing attachment to her baby was a betrayal to Matt or a natural reaction to impending motherhood.
Her baby slowly morphed into more of a concrete idea in her mind as she saw it grow and began to feel its movements. She was surprised at the height of Kane's concern for her and the child, always reminding her to take her prenatal vitamins and offering to get her food. He dictated she take it easy with her athletic pursuits, growling if he caught her working too hard according to his standards. He'd even begun transforming a spare room into a nursery. Lita came home one day from shopping for maternity clothes to find the Undertaker helping Kane put a crib together.
"I've done this before." Taker shrugged upon seeing Lita's stare. "Take care of my little brother and that little one."
Lita heard a non-stop litany of don'ts from Kane. Her own mother backed him up completely.
"You need to rest."
"It's bad for the baby."
"Go lay down."
"Why don't you tell me when you need to do that? I'll do it."
Kane's aggressive tendencies fused with his concerns over his child's well-being. His demands on Lita are a product of such.
He nearly came unglued upon catching Lita on a ladder, trying to reach something he'd moved on a high cabinet.
She jumped as he removed her from the ladder with gentleness before he growled at her. "What are you doing? What if you fell?"
"I'm pregnant, not stupid!"
"You could get hurt!"
It was odd that he kept such a protective demeanor at home and yet he demanded that she stay at ringside while he performed. Lita thought it was some primal thing again, insisting she watch him destroy other wrestlers. Maybe he wanted to flaunt her pregnancy as a sign of his virility.
Lita shivers as the cool gel is applied to her lower stomach.
"Sorry about that," the technician says, eyes darting to Kane.
Lita held back a sigh. She missed being able to interact with people who weren't scared of her husband.
"We'll be able to tell the sex of your baby today."
She smiles. "Oh wow."
She doesn't miss the smile Kane has either upon hearing the news.
It makes the baby feel more real.
She watched the black and white blob fill the screen. It's still bizarre to see her name written as Calaway, Lita. In a few months, that blob will be a baby in her arms.
"Let's see…"
The technician studies the image for long moments.
"You're having a baby boy."
Kane's voice is full of wonder. "A boy."
"Of course you'd want a boy," Lita says, half-joking.
Kane's face grows serious. "I'd be okay with a daughter."
"Yeah…"
"I would." He insists, reaching out to stroke a piece of her hair. "Maybe the next one will be a girl."
The technician is clearly uncomfortable.
Lita scowls. She barely accepts being pregnant by Kane, let alone the idea of having more children with him. "Don't press your luck."
"Okay, dear," he mocks.
Lita feels a weird sensation in her chest as she sees Kane put a print of the ultrasound in his wallet.
He really wants this baby…
Was this his desire to be normal? Did he want to live vicariously through their son to replace his own terrible childhood.
She caresses her baby bump as she promises to protect her son. Her son was innocent in all this.
Her desire to protect her son was nearly destroyed one night on Raw. She stood ringside as usual, watching Kane inflict pain onto his opponents, this time a debuting wrestler named Snitsky.
Lita resisted the urge to interfere in another of Kane's matches despite her displeasure at his unorthodox move with a chair placed between an opponent's neck, risking crippling them. It was what he'd done to gain her compliance in conceiving their son.
He ignored her as she shouted at him to stop. Kane climbed to the top rope to prepare for an aerial assault.
Snitsky suddenly sat up, dislodging himself from the chair. Kane climbed down from the rope to change his next move. Seeing Kane stalk towards him, Snitsky threw the chair out of the ring, not looking.
While ringside wasn't the safest place for a pregnant woman, Lita did enjoy any chance to be in an arena. She'd been able to hang out with Victoria and Stacy again with the occasional insult from Trish. Trish's impromptu bridal / baby shower was meant as an elaborate insult. Only Victoria backed Lita up.
"Oh, Lita…couldn't make it as a champion, so you became a homemaker. How cute.
You're looking a little chubby.
Kane waved away any concerns from JR regarding Lita watching from ringside. He should have listened.
Snitsky's throw happened to be directly in Lita's direction, the chair striking her in the abdomen, sending her to the floor. Lita's hands instantly went to her stomach as she wailed out in agony as a searing pain tore through her. The sudden fall made her head spin, but she heard Kane's wail as he rushed to her side.
"Lita!"
He knelt beside her, his hand going to touch her stomach, but she slapped it away.
Seeing Snitsky peering from within the ring, Kane shot to his feet to yell at the referee. "Get him out of here!"
Returning to Lita, he attempted to comfort her, patting her arm. "Are you okay?"
He doesn't recognize his own voice.
"No! Oh, my baby!"
Kane turned towards the referee again. "Get a doctor!"
Lita was too focused on the agony from the impact and her growing fear over her son. She couldn't lose him. Her acceptance of her pregnancy had brought her a sense of peace. She wanted her little boy, even if he was half Kane.
Now she could lose him.
She barely made out Kane's platitudes as EMTs poked and prodded her until they placed her on a stretcher. Kane stayed right beside her the entire time, even when she didn't remember falling asleep. She woke to him fretting over her, holding her hand, and asking her how she was.
Lita bursts into tears when the doctors tell her the baby will be fine.
Kane misread her reaction. His face grew solemn. "You didn't want him?"
Lita wiped away tears with the back of her hand. "W-what?"
"You're crying."
"I thought we were going to lose him." She sniffed. "I was so scared."
Kane relaxed. "Me too, Lita. He's gonna be okay. He's strong like us."
Her stomach still hurt from the impact, but the pain from nearly losing her child tormented her more than anything.
"Snitsky did this…"
Kane met her eyes when he said, "Snitsky's a deadman."
"Kane!" Lita yells out one night from her bedroom.
She needed a separate room as Kane's body heat mixed with Death Valley temperatures kept her up.
It feels like a second passes when her bedroom door flies open, Kane taking up the entire space. He rushes to her side, frantically checking over her.
"Lita! What's wrong?"
"Stop, stop," she says, stilling his roving arms. "I'm okay."
"Why are you holding your stomach?"
Kane sounds like he doesn't believe her.
"I'm okay," she repeats before smiling at him. She moves his hand to her stomach, pressing it.
"What? Tell me wha—"
Kane trails off as he feels their son kick.
"You feel that?" Lita asks, laughing at Kane's stunned expression.
"Does he do that all the time?"
"Sort of. But I read this is the time that other people can feel him."
"That feels so…weird." Kane looks away from her baby bump to meet her eyes. Does he keep you up?"
Lita shrugs. "Sometimes…but it makes me feel better to know that he's doing okay after, you know…"
"Yeah."
Kane continues to feel their son move around even as Lita dozes off.
The next morning, he's surprised when she wakes up the next morning to find him in her bed and doesn't shout at him. She simply ignores it. Lita doesn't kick him out when he joins her the next night or the next.
Most shocking of all is when she allows him to hold her one night as she cries, suddenly overcome with grief from all the changes in her life. She hates not bring Lita Dumas anymore. Lita doesn't feel like the Queen of Extreme anymore; her identity has been reduced to Kane's baby momma. Every time she sees her wedding ring she resists the urge to tear it off. She worries she won't be a good mother. She misses being able to compete. She misses Matt and all her friends. She even misses her sex life as her hormones stir to the point where she even debates having sex with Kane again. Most of all, she misses what it's like to feel love.
She wonders if Kane is capable of feeling love. Lita tells herself she doesn't want it, but she wants a loving father for her son. She also questions if Kane feels any remorse for the pain he's caused her and Matt. Did he have any guilt?
Lita decides not to ask. She doesn't want to know the answer.
The next time Lita saw Matt following her disastrous wedding, she felt big as a house, no longer able to disguise her pregnancy with any of her baggy clothes. She didn't attend any shows for a few months following her injury at Snitsky's hands, but finally she was able to talk Kane into letting her hang out backstage with Victoria instead of keeping her in a hotel or at home.
Upon seeing Matt again, she felt like she's viewing her past life as if it belonged to someone else. Matt no longer belonged to her.
She didn't miss the disturbed look in his eyes as he took in her advanced pregnancy.
"Lita…"
"Um, hi, Matt." Lita fiddled with her now natural brown hair, having heard hair dye was bad for pregnant women.
"Are you okay? Is Kane — does Kane treat you right?"
"I'm okay." She nodded. "Everything's okay."
She's surprised to realize that it was the truth.
It may not have been her happy ever after, but she felt content.
"I just — I miss you, Lita. I think about you all the time, wondering if you're safe, if the baby's okay. I swear I wanted to kill Snitsky myself when I saw what he did."
"I miss you, too, Matt." She missed her old life, but wishing for it only made adjusting to her new life harder. "And Kane took care of Snitsky."
Needless to say, Snitsky's wrestling career didn't last long.
"I saw that, too." Matt struggled to find what to say to her. "How are things?"
"They're good. I'm having a boy."
"A boy." Matt smiled sadly, wishing Lita carried his son. The few days he'd thought the baby was his were his happiest.
Lita shrugged. "Don't have a name yet."
"Oh yeah, that's hard. Mom couldn't think of what to name me or Jeff until after we were born. One of the nurses gave her my name."
Lita laughed.
"We can't think of anything that fits. Or anything me and Kane agree on," Lita explained. "I like the name Alexander. Call him Alex."
"Like the guy who wrote The Three Musketeers? Alexander Dumas?"
Lita playfully scoffed. "Not you too. Everyone says that. Besides, it'd be Alex Calaway, not Dumas."
Matt ducked his head. "Oh yeah."
She changed the subject upon seeing Matt's discomfort. "How is your mom? Jeff doing okay?"
"We're all okay. You look different." He gestured to her hair.
"I'm not a fan of it myself, but it's just for now."
Matt swallowed. "Look, Lita, if you ever need me…"
She nodded. "I know."
Lita didn't resist as he hugged her tightly, gradually returning it. She hadn't felt such genuine affection in so long."Thank you, Matt. You'll always be in my heart."
Matt patted her back. "I'm always here if you need me."
She stiffened as she heard her husband's voice boom behind her.
"Well, isn't this cozy?"
Lita stumbled out of Matt's embrace while Matt glared at her husband.
Kane stepped between them, shoving Matt away. "I thought I told you to stay away from my wife."
"She's not your property!"
"Stop it!" Lita tried to separate them before anyone got hurt.
"She's mine," Kane reiterated, his body shaking with rage.
"Matt, please go," Lita pleaded with him, not wanting him to get hurt on her behalf again.
"Lita…"
She waved him away. "Go!"
He exhaled loudly before turning away, looking over his shoulder once to see if she'd beckoned him back.
Lita turned toward Kane, whose breathing had hitched. "How long has this been going on?"
Each word was growled out.
"Nothing is going on. It was two friends talking to each other. Catching up."
"Oh, you were doing more than just talking."
"He gave me a hug. I accepted. Big deal."
He stepped closer. "Is that all he gave you?"
"Yeah, it is." She shot a defiant look at Kane. "He asked me how I was and if you were treating me right."
"Asking him to save you?"
"I told him everything was fine, but maybe I was wrong."
She held his gaze before walking away herself. Lita didn't even want to stick around for any of the matches, finding herself a ride back to the hotel.
The tailspin of seeing her husband and former boyfriend go at it again exhausted her. She curled under the covers and fell asleep, wanting to escape her situation.
The next thing she knew, she was being shaken awake by Kane.
His voice was breathless.
She rubbed one eye. "What?"
"I couldn't find you."
Lita threw one arm up. "Well, here I am, Kane. Ya found me."
He scowled. "I looked all over the arena."
"Well, I wasn't there."
"I started to wonder if you ran off with your precious Matt until I found him out drinking in the cold."
Lita frowned. "It's like twenty degrees outside."
"Imagine how I felt wondering if my pregnant wife was out there in the freezing weather, pitch black outside, didn't tell anyone where she was." His voice grew angrier with each word.
Maybe she should've told him, but then again, he was the reason she wanted to leave in the first place. Why did he get a free pass to ruin all her relationships? Her girl friends didn't even want to visit her unless they were reassured Kane wasn't home.
"I should've told someone I went back to the hotel."
"Yeah, you should've," Kane snapped. "Should've told me, your husband."
Lita looked away from him.
"I thought maybe something had happened to the baby, had Bischoff call all the hospitals in the area."
"I just wanted to come back here. I saw Matt out of nowhere, and then you had to ruin it with your assumptions. I've given up my entire life based on your whims. I think I have the right to say I wanna go back to the hotel and sleep."
She heard Kane's heavy breathing.
"You can go back to wrestling after the baby's born," he offered.
"Oh, and have a bottle warmer on ringside? How am I supposed to manage caring for a baby by myself and be a wrestler?"
"By yourself? Do you forget that I'm the baby's father?"
"It's kinda hard to forget when you're constantly around me."
"So enlighten me on why you think you'll be a single mother? Or did Matt tell you that —"
"Don't bring him up —"
"Because if Matt thinks he's going to play father to my baby, he's sorely mistaken, Lita."
"I don't want Matt to be the father. I'm just trying to figure out my life here and what control I have left."
"I want to be a father, Lita. That's what our deal was to begin with."
"You didn't tell me that part."
"I had…my ways of knowing you were fertile. You were durable."
"So my whole autonomy as a human was just baggage to your plans."
Kane huffed. "Can I say anything without you twisting it? At least let me finish!"
Lita wanted to argue more, but her curiosity over Kane's demented ploy won over.
"I've been on my own most of my life. I never had family ." He nearly spat the word. "Didn't want one after a while. But last year I suddenly had this need to create life, to ensure I'd go on in some way."
Lita resisted rolling eyes at his arrogance.
"My brother…he told me he felt the same way with Sara. Maybe it's in our blood."
It was that very blood that unnerved Lita. She'd wondered if it was too silly to wonder if her baby could summon fire in utero but then again she still didn't understand what Kane was exactly. He certainly wasn't a normal human in any sense of the word. While she knows men often had hang ups about passing their names on, she wondered what compelled Kane to want a child considering he definitely didn't seem the type to attend a PTA meeting or warm a bottle up. Early on, she'd found some relief in the fact he'd be gone minimum four or five days a week while she would stay at home with their baby. Now it made her uneasy. What if she didn't get that so-called mother's intuition?
"You couldn't have gone about this the normal way?"
"Which way is that, Lita? Oh, you mean finding a woman to fall in love with me and carry my babies. Women are just lining up to be with me."
"There'd be somebody."
"Somebody that'd just betray me like everyone else has. It doesn't matter now. You're my wife, and you're having my baby. End of story."
"No, not end of story. I still have things I need to know."
"Such as…?"
"You really want to be involved with our baby?" Her voice came out oddly soft.
"Yes, I do. He's…important to me."
"Okay, next thing. How long do you intend for me to be with you?"
Kane cocked his head. "What are you referring to?"
Lita sighed. She waved between the two of them. "Us. This whole marriage thing. When our kid starts kindergarten?"
Kane shook his head. "Oh no, you haven't been listening, Lita. You're mine just as much as he is." He nodded toward her baby bump.
"Yeah, yeah, your 'property,' she said using air quotes. "Just some woman to knock up and yell at.
Kane looked away from her. "Don't say that. I don't want it to be like that."
Lita wanted to slap him. "You're the one who makes it like that , Kane. We aren't exactly a normal couple."
"You could try to see me as something other than a monster. I've tried to take care of you. I ran off Snitsky. I watched you fight to keep our son…" He trailed off at the painful memory. "I don't want to hurt you, Lita. You're not disposable to me like you like to think."
"Why did you pick me? Or was it all just my durability and eggs?"
"No. I…have always admired you."
Lita reared back, not expecting that. Kane wasn't exactly one to give compliments.
"Don't look at me like that. You were one of the first women to take wrestling seriously. People like Matt don't appreciate what it's like having a woman that's loyal to them, that will go against someone like me to protect them. I wanted what he had."
"You mean that time I tried to do a hurricanrana and you caught me."
"Yeah…"
Lita smiled, thinking about her daredevil ways. She never knew Kane felt that way. It wasn't easy to read him now, let alone when he wore a mask and rarely interacted with her. If she could tell her past self that she'd end up married to the hulking monster, she'd laugh in her own face. Kane had always kind of creeped her out, reminding her of a slasher movie villain with his body language, penchants for inflicting pain, and taciturn nature. A mask and tragic backstory only added to that idea.
"I always wondered why you and Taker came out that time Steve and Triple H ganged up on me."
"I'd seen you take chair shots from Austin before. It didn't need to happen again."
Lita felt oddly touched.
But it didn't stop her annoyance with her husband.
"So let me recap. You wanted a child, so you picked me. Why the whole marriage thing?"
"I wanted our son to have both parents. It's also easier to watch over someone you're married to."
"We could've done that either way."
"Yeah, right. You'd probably try to leave me off his birth certificate. Besides, I know you wouldn't give him up. You're not like that."
She clutched her stomach. "I'm not leaving my baby with anyone."
"And that's good. You'll be a good mother to him. I was worried you'd hate our son. Resent him."
"No, I could never. I'll admit I didn't want to be pregnant at first, but now…"
"Yes?" Kane said it with a trace of eagerness.
"I want him more than anything."
"Me too, Lita."
Lita is at home when her water breaks. She's fortunate to have her sister with her.
"Li?" Carmen calls out, rushing over to her sister who is doubled over.
"I think it's time…"
In the heat of the moment, neither thought about calling any WWE officials to tell Kane, who is due in the ring in thirty minutes. He'd been hesitant to accept any in-ring action so close to Lita's due date, but she'd assured him it'd be fine. Besides, the arena happened to be somewhat close to their house and their chosen hospital.
Lita focuses on her breathing the entire ride, ignoring her sister's prodding questions. In just a few hours, she'll finally have her baby boy in her arms. Once they arrive at the hospital after a half-hour drive, she's wheeled up to the delivery room to wait out her dilation.
Carmen paces beside her.
It's then that Lita realizes her error. "Carm! I need you to call Bischoff right now."
Lita jots down the number from memory, having forgotten her cellphone at home. Carmen leaves to find a phone, not having one herself.
Lita stares at the ceiling between a contraction. Her mom hadn't lied when she said giving birth hurt like hell, but luckily she'd been blessed with a high pain threshold. Between breaking her neck and taking chair shots, she could handle delivering her son. She'd decided to deliver him naturally.
Carmen rushes back to her side but stays tight lipped.
Despite a tight pain ripping across her abdomen, Lita notices her sister's demeanor. She manages to ask what's up.
"Bischoff said the match is still on."
"Wha—oww!" Lita curls into her side as the pain worsens. Carmen rubs her back. "But it's supposed to be short. It's against some…jobber, I think he said?"
Carmen's lack of wrestling terminology always amuses Lita.
"Yeah," Lita says, breathlessly. "Oh, I'm gonna kill him."
"Who? Kane?"
"Maybe, but I mean Bischoff."
The next time a nurse examines Lita, she's told she's nearing nine centimeters, almost delivery time. "We don't normally see first time moms labor this quickly."
Lita has heard all the horror stories about endless labor, but now that she's due to deliver within an hour, she's overwhelmed. Paul even told her Kane's mother sat the delivery room on fire while she was in labor. She suspects that's a lie, though.
Lita shakes.
Carmen squeezes her hand. "What's wrong, sis?"
"Nothing. I'm just kinda scared. I'm about to have a baby!"
"Breathe."
"That's all I've been doing!"
"Well, breathe some more."
Lita scoffs right as her hospital door crashes open revealing Kane still in his wrestling attire.
The nurse stares.
Carmen holds back a laugh. "Well, look who showed up after all."
Kane rushes next to Lita. She manages to smile. "Didn't think you were gonna make it."
"I'm gonna kill Bischoff."
"Lita's already said that," Carmen points out.
"That man really had the audacity to not tell me my wife was in labor."
"How did you find out?" Lita asks.
Kane looks away. "I have ways."
Great. More mysterious ways, Lita thinks.
The nurse resumes checking Lita. "Alright, Mrs. Calaway, you're right at ten centimeters. I'm gonna go fetch the doctor."
Kane crouches next to her. "You got this, Lita. Just think about how soon you'll be holding our son."
She nods despite the pain evident on her face.
Kane caresses her hair and reassures her. "Just breathe. It'll be over soon."
Carmen thinks it's a touching scene.
Kane then looks over his shoulder and barks, "Where's the doctor?"
The labor team finally arrives as Lita begins to feel the need to push.
Kane is to one side of her holding her hand while Carmen is the other patting her arm.
If the dilation went by quickly, the birth seems to be over in seconds. Grueling, intense seconds, but it's over.
She hears a squall before a bundle is laid on her chest. Lita uses her free hand to stroke her son's tiny hand. He looks perfectly normal, not at all a hellspawn like she sometimes had nightmares about.
"Lita, he's perfect!" Carmen declares, fawning over her newborn nephew.
Kane remains silent, but he is clearly transfixed by the sight before him. His plan has reached its end.
Lita nearly decks the nurse who removes her son to be cleaned up and weighed.
"You just had a baby, sis!"
Lita can hardly believe it. "Yeah."
She instantly cradles her son once he's returned to her, now cleaned and swaddled in a blanket, and she's delivered the placenta. He looks so innocent, she thinks. He keeps his eyes closed, thumb by his tiny mouth, no longer crying. A small patch of brown hair covers his head. The heartburn and crowning were worth it, she decides, smiling down at her newborn.
How could something so…whatever Kane was make something like him?
Kane may have forced this life upon her, but she would never regret having her son.
She carefully sits up, adjusting her son in her arms so as not to disturb him. She turns towards Kane, who is still watching them silently.
Lita holds the baby out to him.
He doesn't move for what feels like forever before he copies her cradling motion, cautiously moving their son into his arms. Lita doubts he's ever held a baby before unless he held Taker's, but he's a natural.
"You did good, Lita," he finally says.
"I hope so," she jokes.
"I can't believe he's actually here."
"Me either, Kane. I mean, I've felt like I've been pregnant forever, but now it feels so sudden."
"He doesn't cry much," Carmen notes.
"He's the silent type like his daddy," Lita laughs.
She doesn't miss the unexpected smile from Kane.
"Nothing wrong with that. People talk too much."
"Now, you two just need to figure out what to name him," Carmen says.
Lita and Kane stare at each other.
What would follow would be their first parenting debate. He doesn't find her joke about naming their son after the Undertaker amusing.