Daughter of the Deadman III
Hey, all. Holy crap it's been forever. March was the last time I updated this. A mixture of life, burnout, lack of confidence and depression kinda put a halt to this for a bit. I have to thank Dean's Country Angel for helping me out with the beginning of the chapter here. Also, thanks to: Wolfgirl2013, tomwilliams1990, and ASPIE95 for their reviews on the last chapter.
Chapter 43: Changing Tide
The next morning, everyone woke up early. They were all still reeling from everything that they had learned the night before. They were sitting around the hotel room, looking worried. Bret was still working on his recovery from his stroke and they knew that stressing him out wasn't the best idea, but at the same time, they needed to know his role in all this and if he really was putting the Hart Family Legacy ahead of Kristy. Taker took a deep breath and dialled Bret's number. After a few rings, he answered. He sounded tired, as though they had just woken him up from a sleep.
"Hello?" he asked.
"Hey, Bret. It's us. How are you?" Taker asked.
"I'm fine, but I know that tone of voice, Mark. Something is up. Spill it" Bret said.
"Well...the thing is…" Taker said.
"We know about that damn back door deal. So what the hell is your reasoning? Putting your family's legacy in the forefront of your mind, everything else be damned?" Angel snapped, not able to hold in her anger anymore.
"Oh. That. I should have known you and Kristy would find out about that. You always find out about stuff you shouldn't know about" Bret answered.
"Uncle Bret, look, we know you're still trying to recover from your stroke and that stress isn't good for you right now, so the best thing that you can do is just tell us what the hell went through your head when you signed that deal" Kristy said.
"What went through my head was the fact that you'd be able to live your dream, Kristy. I know that from the time you learned what wrestling was, you wanted to be like Owen and I. You used to watch Ty, Harry, and Matt practice all the time and told them that you'd be in the ring someday too when you were bigger. And in spite of what happened between Vince and I, you wanted to be in the WWE. As far as I was concerned, if signing that deal meant you could live your dream, I was going to do it" Bret said.
"You...really? You...did that for me?" Kristy asked.
"Of course I did. It wasn't about the Hart Family Legacy. Although, I will say, you've certainly added to it and I'm proud of that" Bret said.
"Uncle Bret…" Kristy said.
"What can I say? My stroke has made me realize that sometimes I can be...set in my ways for lack of a better term and I know that. It also made me realize that putting all that pressure on you about the family legacy wasn't right either" Bret said.
"Is that an apology, Uncle Bret?" Kristy said.
"It is. I know it's not much, but…" Bret said.
"It's good enough, Uncle Bret. Thank you so much. We'll let you get back to your recovery. Take care of yourself, OK?" Kristy said.
"I will, Kristy Cat. I love you. Oh, and this had better mean that you have managed to find a loophole in the stupid thing." Bret said.
"We did, Uncle Bret. don't worry. We will talk to you later. Love you too, by the way" Kristy said.
They said goodbye and hung up. Everyone looked at Kristy. She wasn't crying or upset. She was smiling from ear to ear. Kristy took a deep breath and dialled her Dad's number. She was nervous about this one even though she knew full well that her father would never throw her under the bus and there had to be another reason for him signing the deal. She waited patiently for her father to answer. He did after the third ring.
"Hello?" Davey asked.
"Hey, Davey. It's us. We need to talk" Mark said.
"I know that tone, Mark, what did Angel and Kristy find out that they weren't supposed to this time?" Davey asked.
"We need to change our tactics here, Kristy. I think we're becoming too predictable" Angel said.
"I think so. We need to find some new tactics. Apparently, everyone realizes that we have a knack for finding stuff out" Kristy said.
"Alright, you two, back on topic here. Look, Davey, we know about the back door deal you made with Hunter when Kristy signed with the WWE. We've already talked to Bret about why he did it. Now, we want to know why you signed it" Taker said.
"I signed it because I needed to stay in the company. I wanted to be there so that I could protect Kristy if something sketchy went down. I wasn't about to let anything happen to her because of what had happened between Vince and Bret" Davey said.
"So, you weren't throwing me under the bus or anything?" Kristy asked.
"No. I would never do that. I wasn't about to stand in the way of you being in WWE. It has been your dream since you were little to wrestle in the WWE" Davey said.
"So, both of you did it to protect me?" Kristy asked.
"I don't know about Bret, but I did, that's for sure." Davey said.
"Thanks, Daddy. I mean, I...didn't think you'd throw me under the bus, but I wanted to be sure" Kristy said.
"I understand. Does this mean you guys have found a way out of it?" Davey asked.
"Yep. Just watch Night of Champions tonight. Kickoff show and all and you'll see" Taker said.
"Will do. Hang in there, Little Kristy. I love you" Davey said.
"Love you too, Daddy" Kristy said.
They said goodbye and hung up again. Then Taker stepped outside. Everyone stared at each other. All they could do was wait and see what he was up to. It was almost an hour and a half before he came back again. Everyone was waiting expectantly, wondering what he had been doing.
"I called Vince and told him what was going on and that we found a loophole in the deal. Then I told him to put together a contract for Dean vs Hunter tonight and to get Hunter to sign it. He said he would and then work out how to fit it in, even if it has to go on the Kickoff show. Then I told him that he needed to tell Steph what was going on. He said he would and then he told me that when we get to the arena, Kristy and I have to go to his office and he would negotiate a new contract with her" Taker said.
"No wonder it took so long for you to come back. At least everything is ready to go" Roman said.
"And...I also called Owen and brought him up to date. He's not happy about it, but he's glad that we found a way to get Kristy out of it" Taker said.
Kristy nodded. She thought it was probably better that Owen hear what was going on from Mark rather than someone else. With that, everyone packed up their bags and headed for the arena. All of them were nervous, but Kristy was more so. She had never been in a contract negotiation before. When she and Angel had signed to WWE, her father had signed it on her behalf and Taker had signed on Angel's behalf since they weren't old enough at the time.
"It will be fine, Kristy. If you want I can talk on your behalf" Taker said.
"No. It's OK. It's just...when Ang and I signed originally, you and Daddy signed on our behalf so that we didn't have to worry about it, so I'm nervous" Kristy said.
"Do you know what you want in your contract?" Taker asked.
"Well...I was hoping to get the same contract that Ang has. Well, minus the things that were put in there due to her being blind. Do...I just tell him that?" Kristy asked.
"Yeah. Just tell him that and he'll make it happen" Taker said.
"You're sure?" Kristy asked.
"Positive. I already told him that if he didn't do what you wanted, I'd take you and Angel and leave. He didn't like that idea" Taker said.
"You always do that. You threaten to walk away and take Ang with you. I'm scared that one day you actually will" Kristy said.
"That won't happen. Besides, Vince likes his money and if we leave, he loses money and he doesn't want that to happen" Taker said.
Kristy nodded. She knew that Taker was right about that. Vince was a nice guy, but when it came to his business, he cared about money almost more than he cared about the people who worked for him. When they arrived at the arena a few minutes later, Angel got Roman to take Lea and Wyatt to the locker room while she, Dean, Taker and Kristy headed to Vince's office. Taker knocked on the door and heard Vince call for them to come in. When they walked in, Stephanie and Vince were there. Kristy and Dean sat down while Taker stood behind them.
"Before we start, I want to apologize, Kristy. Hunter had no right to make Davey and Bret sign that deal and he had no right to put you in that position. We're going to do whatever we can to make this right for you" Stephanie told her.
"Thanks, Stephanie. Now, what I want from your Dad in terms of this contract is simple. I want the exact same contract that Angel has" Kristy said.
"I'm guessing without the blindness contingencies, right?" Vince said.
"You got it" Kristy said.
Vince agreed. He fiddled around on his laptop for a minute and printed out a contract. Kristy hesitated for a second and then began to read the contract over. Then she handed it to Taker so he could read it. He looked at Kristy and nodded. Everything was good and there was nothing fishy going on. He handed it back to Kristy, who promptly signed it. Then Vince pulled out the contract for Dean and Hunter's match. Kristy smirked when she saw that Hunter had signed it. Dean read the contract over and signed it. It was a No DQ match and Dean was looking forward to it.
"You two will be opening the show. That way, Kristy and Angel's match can come after yours. Good luck, Ambrose" Vince said.
"Thanks, boss. And sorry about this. He is your son in law and I'm about to kick his ass" Dean said.
"If you want my honest opinion on this, he deserves it after what he pulled on Kristy. And I'm sure Steph would agree" Vince said.
"Of course. Normally, I don't say this since he is my husband and I do care for him, but this was wrong, so feel free to do what you see fit. Just make sure that he gets the message that career sabotage is not acceptable" Stephanie said.
"That I can do" Dean said.
With that, everyone stood up and left the room except for Angel. Everyone was staring at her, looking concerned.
"Don't worry. I just need a private word with Vince and Stephanie. I'll meet you in the locker room" Angel said.
"Alright" Taker said.
They left the room. Angel sighed. She was a little bit nervous about what was about to happen. She was scared that they would be mad, although she knew that sometimes things happened in the ring that were out of someone's control.
"Is everything alright, Angel?" Stephanie asked.
"Look, since my match against Charlotte for the Title, I haven't wrestled. I mean, I've been doing other things, but yeah. There's a reason for that. During my match with Charlotte, something in my back popped. I've tried to use heat and ice to try and make it better, but it hasn't really worked. I'm still in pain and I don't want to be like my Dad and ignore my injuries." Angel said.
"So what are you saying?" Vince asked.
"I'm saying that I'm injured and I need Kristy to take over the title ." Angel said.
"Alright. We'll set that up. I think your father is right by the way. Ignoring your injuries is never smart." Stephanie said.
"Right. I hope you guys aren't angry" Angel said.
"No. No way. You need to take care of yourself first and foremost. I would rather have you healthy and in good shape than wrestling hurt" Vince said.
Angel nodded. She stood up and left, feeling relieved and grateful that her bosses understood what she was going through. When she got to her locker room. She opened the door and stuck her head in, asking to speak to her father and Kristy. They walked out of the locker room, looking confused.
"What's up, Ang?" Kristy asked.
"I've been hiding something. I'm injured. I haven't said anything because I was hoping that it would resolve on its own. That's why I haven't wrestled since I took the title from Charlotte. It's a back injury. At some point during the match, my back popped and it's been hurting ever since. I'm leaving after tonight before it gets worse. Whatever is wrong, I need to fix it" Angel said.
"Well, if you're going home, baby girl, Lea and I are coming with you" Taker said.
"I knew you'd say that" Angel said with a smile.
"So what does this mean for our match?" Kristy said.
"Well, I need you to be more careful and cautious then you are already. I'm hurting and I don't need it made worse" Angel said.
Kristy nodded. This was something that no one had expected, but they were going to make the best of it. One thing was for sure, this night was going to change a lot.
Alright, that's it for now. I will be back with the next chapter as soon as I can. Thanks so much for all your love and understanding. Please leave a review. See ya next time!~Taker's Soul Girl