Daughter of the Deadman III
Chapter 5: Stressful Times
Angel sighed as she sat in the locker room. She was surrounded by her friends and family. Everyone was there except for David. He had left now. Before he had left, he had given Angel a pair of custom made earrings. They were in the shape of her father's symbols. Right now, they were stowed safety in her bag. She was only going to wear the earrings on a special occasion. David was already signed to New Japan Pro Wrestling where he would be wrestling under the name Davey Boy Smith Junior. Angel was lost in thought.
"Baby girl? Are you alright?" Taker said.
"I'm fine. Don't worry." Angel said.
"Come on, Little Angel, don't give us that. You miss David don't you?" Kane asked.
"Of course I do. But I'm glad he can be happy." Angel said.
"But that doesn't change the fact that you're upset that he left, does it?" Kane asked.
"No...and...I hope nothing happens to him...and that he doesn't cheat on me...or forget about me." Angel said.
"No way, Ang. My brother loves you way too much to cheat on you or forget about you!" Kristy said.
"Not to mention if he does, I'm going to kill him." Davey said.
"You'll be waiting in line behind me, Bulldog." Taker said.
"And me." Bret said.
"You'll be behind me, Hitman." Kane said.
"Brother or no brother, if he does anything to hurt Angel, I will castrate him!" Kristy said.
"Thanks, guys." Angel said.
"No problem, baby girl." Taker said.
"I'm going to go for a walk. I'll be back in a bit." Angel said, standing up.
She left the locker room. Everyone looked at each other and then looked at Taker. They were wondering what it was that had Angel so upset and if it was just because of David leaving. Kristy stood up to go after her, but Taker stopped her.
"Just let her go. She's having a hard time right now." Taker said.
"I know, but it's dangerous for her to walk around with Big Nose out there." Kristy said.
"I know, but she needs to be alone." Taker said.
"What's getting her down? I mean, is it something other than David leaving?" Bret asked.
"She's worried that she's the reason that David stuck around when he wasn't happy." Kane said.
"Then there's the fact that she's generally not happy." Taker said.
"The stress getting to her?" Owen asked.
"Partly. And she's questioning if it's worth being here." Taker said.
"Sounds like Kristy lately." Bret said.
"Uncle Bret, please. This is about Angel not me." Kristy said.
"Angel's had more than her fair share of break downs in the last little while. She woke up crying in the night last night a couple of times." Kane said.
"That poor kid. She's always going through something..." Davey said.
"What was she upset about, Uncle Taker?" Kristy asked.
"She was missing Beth." Taker said.
"Again?" Bret asked.
"No, not again. Still." Taker said, giving Bret his trademark glare.
"Uncle Bret, sometimes I swear that Grandpa Stu needs to wash your mouth out with soap." Kristy said.
"She misses Beth a lot at night for whatever reason. It also happens when she has a big match or something else important happens. She also misses Lea. She wants to be back home and be a big sister. At the same time, she wants to wrestle and loves the fans. She's very confused." Taker said.
"I know that feeling." Kristy said.
"She loves being here and wrestling, but eventually she gets to the point where stress starts getting to her and she wants to be home again. But when she's home, she's always got to be doing something. She's a lot like me in that way." Taker said.
Before anyone could reply, Nattie let out a scream. Everyone looked at her and realized she was staring at the monitor in shock. Hunter was in the ring. Not only that, but he had Angel there with him. She was handcuffed to one of the turnbuckles. Taker growled under his breath and stood up, but Kane stopped him. Hunter was speaking.
"Last week, the Director of Operations, Kane turned on me. I had given him a strict order to come out here and get rid of his niece, the Dead Girl. Now, I'm out here to do two things. One is to permanently relieve him of his duties at the Director of Operations. The other is to get an explanation from him. And Kane, if you don't give me what I want right now, something horrible may happen to your niece." Hunter said.
He nodded at Angel as he spoke. Angel's expression remained stoic but on the inside she was terrified. Kane didn't say a word as he left the locker room. He headed for the ring. Out in the ring, Hunter continued to threaten harm on Angel. He was cut off mid-sentence by a pyrotechnics explosion. Kane walked out to the ring and asked for a microphone.
"You know, Hunter. I knew you were a bastard, but I never thought you would stoop so low as to threaten harm on a woman to get what you wanted." Kane said.
"He's pissed." Kristy said.
"He's not alone." Taker growled.
"You know what I want, Kane. How dare you?" Hunter asked.
"Simple. Family, Hunter. The Dead Girl is my family and you forced me to hurt her and treat her like dirt under my feet. And I'd had enough of it! She doesn't deserve that!" Kane snapped at him.
"OK, Kane. I can see where you would think that. I mean, she is your niece after all and family is important." Hunter said.
"Why do I get the feeling that there's a double meaning behind that?" Bret asked.
"Because it's Hunter and he's an asshole." Taker growled.
"I was going to relieve you of your duties as the Director of Operations tonight, but I've changed my mind. You can redeem yourself. You can take on the family member that you seem to not care about so much. You can face the Undertaker next week. If you beat him, you can save your job as the Director of Operations, but you lose and you lose that job and go back to being a nobody." Hunter said.
"I am not stepping into this ring against my brother. Find someone else to do your dirty work..or better yet...grow a set and do it yourself." Kane snapped.
"Either you do it, Kane, or you're fired." Hunter snapped.
Kane sighed, but thankfully he was spared having to answer by the familiar sound of his brother's gong. Now, Taker made his way to the ring and took a microphone. Hunter seemed worried now. Angel just watched. Taker actually smirked before he spoke.
"And what if I refuse to face my brother, Mr. Businessman? Are you going to fire me for it?" Taker asked.
"Deadman..." Hunter said.
"If you want Kane to redeem himself, step in the ring and face him. If he wins, you leave my family alone. If he loses, he is relieved of his duties as the Director of Operations." Taker snapped.
"And if I win?" Hunter asked.
"If you win, you win." Taker snapped.
"Fine. I accept." Hunter said.
"Good. Now let the Dead Girl go. And I'll see you next week." Kane said.
Hunter nodded. He unlocked Angel's handcuffs and she left the ring with her Dad and Uncle. Angel kept a straight face till she got back to the backstage area. Then Taker noticed that she was scared. He hugged her. Angel burst into tears. Taker and Kane looked at each other. This had been happening a lot lately.
"Are you OK, Little Angel?" Kane asked.
"Are you hurt, baby girl?" Taker asked at the same time.
"Yeah, I'm alright. Just...scared." Angel said.
"Little Brother, I'd hate to leave you here to deal with Hunter on your own, but I think Angel needs to go home. She's stressed and needs a break. And Lea's missing us." Taker said.
"It's alright. I'll be fine." Kane said.
"I don't know...I don't trust Hunter, Daddy." Angel said.
"Angel, if you don't go home soon you're going to have a nervous breakdown, baby girl. You need a break." Taker said.
"If you think so..." Angel said.
"Don't worry about me, Little Angel. I'll be fine." Kane said.
Angel nodded and hugged him. Then she headed back to the locker room with the two of them. Taker explained that he was taking Angel home because she needed a break before she had a mental breakdown. After that, they headed back to the hotel. Angel locked herself in the bedroom as soon as she got there. Taker looked worriedly at his brother.
"I get the feeling there is something she's keeping from us." he said.
"So do I, big brother. So do I." Kane said.
Taker sighed. There was only one way to find out for sure. He walked over to the room and opened the door. Angel was just lying there, staring at the ceiling. Taker walked over and sat down on the bed. He didn't say anything. He just waited.
"Daddy?" Angel asked.
"I'm here, baby girl. What's the matter?" Taker asked.
"I'm so confused." Angel answered.
"How come?" Taker asked.
"I want to be here, but I want to be home." Angel said.
"I know, baby girl." Taker said.
"Lea needs us...but when I'm not here I miss the fans..." Angel said.
"I know baby girl. It's hard to be normal and work for the WWE at the same time." Taker said.
"And...I've been having this awful feeling lately. I've been feeling that if I go back home, something bad is going to happen to me." Angel whispered.
"I knew there was something you were keeping from your Uncle and I. You didn't want to worry us?" Taker asked.
"Exactly." Angel said.
"Baby girl, whatever happens, everyone who loves and cares about you will be there for you. And that's an awful lot of people." Taker said.
"I know." Angel said.
"I'm going to take a guess and say that you're still missing your Mom too?" Taker asked.
"As always." Angel whispered, "But at night it's worse. I lay here and think about her and what might have happened if she had never been hurt.."
"Baby girl, you can't always think of the "What ifs?" in life because we can't change the past. All we can do is learn from it." Taker said.
"I know...but it's not easy." Angel whispered, starting to cry again.
Taker sighed and pulled Angel into a sitting position. He hugged her. He wondered if Angel had started having nightmares again about what had happened to her Mother.
"Baby girl, I need you to be honest with me, having you been dreaming about your Mom again?" Taker asked.
"They're not dreams..." Angel whispered.
"What do you mean?" Taker asked.
"It's more memories." Angel said.
"Oh, baby girl..." Taker said.
"I wish they would stop...I mean, at first it was alright. There was some really sweet stuff there...but now..." Angel said.
"It's all bad ones, am I right?" Taker asked.
"Yes. And I'm thinking that Mom isn't actually the one showing me them. I thought it was her when I was seeing all the happy memories, but now I'm wondering." Angel said.
"I don't know, baby girl." Angel said.
Just then, Bethany herself appeared. She knelt down and hugged Angel. She looked up with tears in her eyes. Beth wiped them away. Taker decided to go ahead and ask what it was that was going on with their daughter.
"Bethy, what are you doing? Why are you torturing her with all these bad memories that she doesn't need to see?" Taker asked.
"It's not my fault, Mark. I don't mean for her to see them. It just happens." Beth said.
"Well, you've got to stop. She has enough to contend with when she's awake." Taker said.
"Daddy...Mom...please...don't fight with each other." Angel whispered.
"We're not fighting, Angel Baby. Your father is being stubborn as always." Beth said.
"Sorry." Taker said.
"I get your point though. I'll watch which memories I show her. But it's not just that. She's been having nightmares about my accident too." Beth said.
"Angel..." Taker said.
"I'm sorry." Angel whispered.
"It's not your fault." Taker said.
Angel nodded. Taker laid her down in bed and covered her with the blanket. Then he kissed her forehead and left the room, leaving Bethany with her. Taker sighed as he thought about what Angel had said. He was hoping that she was wrong and nothing bad would happen to her when she got back home.