| ~ Chapter Forty-Three ~ |
| Ryann and Jeff had been married for seven months, and Matt and Lexi were living together. Chris had been sentenced to fifteen years in jail, and life had pretty much gotten back to normal. Matt and Jeff had split as a tag team, and were working on different shows. Jeff and Ryann were on Raw, and Matt and Amy had gone to Smackdown. Both Matt and Jeff were doing very well in their singles careers, and Ryann was in promos with Jeff, and occasionally would go out to the ring with him during his matches, but didn't get involved. When she reached her third tri-mester, she could not longer travel with Jeff, so she stayed home. Jeff didn't like to leave Ryann at home, but had no other choice. He had a job, and Ryann could not travel with him. Jeff did take some comfort in knowing that Chris had been sentenced to prison and would not be getting out for a long time, but he still hated the thought of leaving her alone. But since Ryann hadn't been traveling with Jeff for almost three months, they had gotten into a routine. Ryann would drive Jeff to the airport Friday morning, and pick him up Tuesday morning. Jeff would call Ryann when he landed and right before he took off to head home, and he would call her every night after the show to say goodnight to her. Ryann's doctor's appointments with Lexi were always on a Wednesday, because Jeff wanted to be there with her. When Jeff was on the road, Ryann spent a lot of her time with Lexi and Shannon's wife, Crystal. Crystal was also pregnant, two months less than Ryann. The two of them would laugh about how much Jeff and Shannon would freak out if they tried to do anything without help. Ryann missed the WWE, but was also enjoying her time at home. She hadn't realized how much she missed it, until now. It was late Friday morning, and Ryann had just gotten home from Raleigh. She had just dropped Jeff off at the airport. When she got home, Lexi was in the driveway. Ryann parked her car and got out. "Hey Lexi." She said. "Hey Ryann� what are you doing today?" Lexi asked. "I just got back from dropping Jeff off at the airport. Where's Matt?" "He said he had some things he wanted to do. So I figured we could hang out or something." "Sure�" Ryann replied. "What would you like to do?" "I don't know� how's that baby doing?" "It keeps kicking me all the time. I swear it thinks my stomach is a football or something." "Don't worry Ry, in a couple weeks you have a baby boy or girl in your arms, and it will all be worth it." "Worth it? Sometimes I wonder. My back hurts all the time, and Jeff is constantly treating me like I'm going to break in two." "He just worries about you Ryann, because he loves you." "Yeah, yeah�" Ryann said as she and Lexi went into the house. Lexi sat down in the living room, as Ryann began cleaning up. "So when is Jeff taking his vacation?" Lexi inquired. "He said he's going to work this weekend and next, then he's going to take a couple of weeks off. He wants to make sure he doesn't miss the birth." "I understand that�" Lexi stated. "Matt is getting really excited about it too." "About me having a baby?" Ryann asked. "Yes, it is going to be his niece or nephew. He said he can't wait so he can spoil him or her rotten and drive you and Jeff up a wall." "That's my brother-in-law. Speaking of Matt, what's up with the two of you?" "What do you mean?" "I mean that the two of you have been living together for what, seven months now? When is he going to propose to you?" "We've talked about getting married, but he hasn't asked yet. What can I do?" "Ask him." "No way. I am not asking Matt to marry me. When he's ready, he'll ask me. If he's not, then we won't get married." "Lex, Matt is so head over heels for you. He loves you, and you love him. I think you should just talk to him more about it." "I am not going to push him. He'll ask when he's ready." "Ok, I hear you already. You're about as stubborn as Matt is." "I know�" Lexi said as she grinned at Ryann. "So we should do something today." "Well, what would you like to do?" Ryann asked. "Let's go out to lunch. Then we can go shopping or something." "Ok�" Ryann agreed. She grabbed her purse and the two of them left the house. Lexi drove the two of them to Aberdeen, and they went to Applebee's for lunch. After eating, they went shopping at a few different places. Lexi and Ryann had parted ways for a short while, because Lexi had a phone call about work. So Ryann was walking around, window-shopping, when her phone rang. "Hello?" "Hi honey." "Hi Jeff. So you made it to New York ok?" "I am here. Where are you?" "I am in Aberdeen with Lexi. We had lunch together, and now we are shopping." "You are in Aberdeen with Lexi?" "Yeah." Ryann said inquisitively. "Is that ok?" "That's fine, except Matt is shopping in Aberdeen for an engagement ring for Lexi. You two haven't run into him, have you?" "No, we haven't. Did you just talk to him Jeff?" "Yeah, I just hung up with him right before I called you. He's at Littman's� please tell me you guys aren't near there." Ryann stopped walking and looked around to notice where she was. "I am standing right in front of Littman's now, and I see Matt." "Is Lexi with you right now?" "No, we separated. She had a phone call from one of her patients." "Will you go in and warn Matt before Lexi shows up?" "Yes honey, I will. I'll talk to you later, ok." "Ok Ry. I love you." "I love you to honey." Ryann hung up her phone and walked into the jewelry store. She walked up behind Matt, who was looking at diamonds. "She won't like that one." Ryann said. Matt just about jumped out of his skin, and then he grabbed his chest. "Ryann�" he said as he let out a sigh. "You scared the hell out of me. What are you doing here?" "Lexi brought me to lunch, and then we decided to do some shopping." "Lexi is with you?" Matt asked, sounding very worried. "Not at the moment, she had a phone call. So have you picked out a ring?" "I can't decide which one to get for her. What do you think between the two of these?" Matt showed Ryann the two rings. One was a large single diamond, and the other was a smaller diamond. It came as a set with a wedding band, which had two amethysts on it. When put together, the diamond was in the middle and there was an amethyst on each side of it. "She will definitely like the ring with the amethysts. I'm not sure about the other one. If I was going to propose to Lexi, I would buy the one with the amethyst." Matt looked down at the two rings, set the single diamond down and handed the other one to the jeweler. "I'll take this one, size six and a half." The jeweler took the ring and said he would be right back. While they were waiting, Matt put his hand on Ryann's belly and said, "How's my niece or nephew doing today?" "Kicking the crap out of me. I swear this kid is going to be a soccer player." "Ohhhh�" Matt said as he rubbed Ryann's belly. "So you've got to promise me that you won't tell Lexi that I bought her a ring." "My lips are sealed Matt. You are my brother-in-law, and thank goodness for that. If Jeff hadn't called me, you may have gotten busted." Ryann no more got the words out of her mouth when her phone rang, so she answered it. "Hello?" "Ryann, its Lexi. Where are you?" "Why, what's up?" "I've got to get to the hospital right away; one of my patients is in labor." "Calm down Lex, I just ran into Matt. You can go to the hospital, and I'll have Matt give me a ride home. Is that ok Matt?" "Sure�" Matt replied. "Can I talk to her for a second?" Ryann handed Matt her phone, and he talked to Lexi for a few moments. He said he'd see her at home, hung up, and handed Ryann her phone. "Now," Ryann said, "You don't have to worry about getting caught." The jeweler came back out with the ring in the correct size, and it was all boxed up for Matt. He paid for the ring and put it in his coat pocket. The two of them left the jewelry store and headed down the street to Matt's car. Matt helped Ryann in and then he got in and headed toward Cameron. "Thanks for helping me pick out the ring Ryann." "No problem, what are sister-in-laws for?" "Can you do me another huge favor?" "What might that be?" Ryann inquired. "Can I give you the ring to hold on to until my brother comes home Tuesday?" "Why? Are you planning on proposing to my husband?" Matt rolled his eyes at Ryann, and then responded with, "No. I can't leave the ring at my house because Lexi might find it. I asked Jeff if he would hold onto it for me until I was ready to ask her, and he said he would. But he's not in town right now." "Yes Matthew, I'll hold the ring for you. And I promise I won't tell Lexi anything about it." "Thank You Ryann. You don't know how much this means to me." "Matt, you are my big brother, and I'd do almost anything for you. Through it all, you've always been there for Jeff and I, and we do want to see you happy. It's about time you asked Lexi to be your wife. So when are you going to do it?" "Not before next week. I want to take her out to dinner, and spend a romantic evening with her. I want everything to be perfect." "Want some ideas?" "Sure. After all, you are her best friend. Yo do know her pretty well." "Ok. If you want to do the dinner thing, cook for her and have a quiet evening at home. She will love that." "You want me to cook?" "Matt, you are an awesome cook, and you never cook for her. Trust me, she'll love it." "Do you really think so?" "Yes, I do. So just let me know when I need get her out of the house for a few hours, and I'll take her shopping or something. You can call me when you are ready, and I will bring her home. She won't suspect a thing�" "I don't know, I'll have to plan it out. But I will let you know if I need your help." "Ok." Ryann said. Matt finally pulled into Ryann and Jeff's driveway, and Ryann got out. She asked Matt if he wanted to hang out for a while, but he said he had things to do. He left, and Ryann went inside and let Liger out. She fed all of the animals and finished picking up the house. She was exhausted when she was finished, so she laid down on the couch and took a nap. |
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