Amarantha hung up the phone and flung it onto the bed. Then she slid off the bed and grabbed her clothes, heading for the bathroom. “JP?” she called. “Yeah?” he replied.
“You don’t seem as happy as Shane to hear this news,” she said, pulling on her skirt.
“Oh, no, Ama. I’m happy for you,” he replied, shifting around the room.
Amarantha pulled her shirt over her head and walked back out, crumpling her hospital gown and throwing it on the floor. “Then what is it?” JP shrugged, dragging a hand through his hair. “I don’t know. I mean, I was all right with this whole set up when you first mentioned it to me, but now, I just don’t know. Two babies is a lot to handle. I guess I didn’t think about what I was getting myself into when I agreed to do this.”
Amarantha put her hand on his muscular chest. “Oh, JP, you’re not regretting it, are you?”
He shook his head. “No, but I didn’t exactly plan to marry you, either. I mean, you know that I love you, Ama, but things just got out of hand.”
“I didn’t plan on marrying you either,” she snapped, crossing her arms over her chest. “Don’t worry, in a few months, we’ll just tell Daddy that things have changed, and we can’tbe married anymore. The longevity of this marriage isn’t my main concern. Just the fact that he thinks I’m pregnant with your baby---I mean, babies is the important thing.”
“After they’re born, how are we going to handle it?” JP asked, noting her annoyed tone. “I don’t think Shane is going to be happy with them calling me ‘Daddy’ while he is just ‘Uncle Shane.’”
Amarantha bit her lip. “I hadn’t thought of that. Well, he’ll just have to deal with it if he knows what’s good for him.”
Amarantha’s stomach growled. JP looked at her with a half smile. “Hungry?”
She nodded, putting a hand to her stomach. “I’m really craving an omelet.”
Amarantha collapsed, utterly and completely exhausted, on to JP’s king-sized bed after dinner. She was completely full, having enjoyed three of JP’s excellent omelets. They had watched a movie after dinner, a sappy love story, that had left the hormone fueled Amarantha sobbing her eyes out on JP’s shoulder. After that, JP had insisted that she go to bed. It had been a long day. She didn’t have any of her own things, so she had borrowed a huge t-shirt of JP’s to wear to bed.
JP poked his head in the door, already changed into his ‘nightgown’ consisting of a pair of boxer shorts. “Well, I’m off to bed. I’ll be in the living room on the sofa if you need me.”
Amarantha sat up, bracing herself on her elbows. “I’m not going to be responsible for kicking you out of your own bed, JP.”
He waved a dismissive hand. “Don’t worry about it. I don’t mind.” Amarantha shook her head. “No way. We can both sleep in here. We are married after all.”
“I don’t know…”
She jumped up off the bed and grabbed him by the arm, pulling him into the room. “Nope, you’re sleeping in here, and I don’t want any arguments about it.”
He smiled, allowing himself to be pushed on to the bed. “You know, you’re really a pill if you don’t get your way.”
She sat down beside him, crossing her legs. “I’m a McMahon, I’m supposed to be that way. You’ve seen how Stephanie is.”
He rolled his eyes. “Boy, have I ever.”
“Well, I’m a million times worse because I’m the baby, and I’ve been spoiled rotten my entire life,” she replied, with a devilish grin.
“I find it hard to believe that anyone could be worse than your sister,” JP groaned. “She gets on my damn nerves.”
“She has that effect on everybody,” Amarantha assured him. “You’ll be rid of her soon enough. I get to be your new wife.”
“In more ways that one,” he added. “Are you sure you’re okay with the way the storyline is going?”
Amarantha nodded. “Yeah. I guess it doesn’t really matter. I’ll be out of it for a while anyway.”
“I think if you had it your way, you’d be on that stage until you went into labor,” JP teased.
She smacked him on the shoulder. “You’re probably right.” Amarantha sighed, and then stretched out beside him, putting her head on his chest. “Did you ever think things would turn out this way, JP? That I’d be pregnant and your wife?”
“Definitely not,” he answered. “I thought you were gaga over Edge a while back.”
Amarantha rolled her eyes. “Well, I was, but he didn’t seem to feel the same way. I decided that I couldn’t be with someone who spends more time looking in the mirror than me. Besides, I think that he and Christian are a little more than just tag team partners, if you know what I mean.”
JP laughed, his chest shaking and bouncing her head. “I think you could be right.”
Amarantha sighed happily. “Do you remember that summer when we all went to the Cape and shared that huge house?”
“The summer when you and Shane tried to dye your hair blonde?” he asked, a smile playing across his lips. “You two had orange hair for a month!” Amarantha elbowed him in the ribs. “That’s not funny. Man, Daddy was pissed about that. Yeah, that’s the summer. You know, I had a really big crush on you that summer.”
“Really?” JP asked sarcastically. “I couldn’t tell. I guess that was you that left the big huge “I love Hunter Hearst Helmsley” sign in the sand outside my window.”
“You knew?” she asked, incredulously.
He nodded. “Yep. Shane kept teasing me about it the entire summer.” She smiled. “If I had known then that I would be married to you three years later, I probably would have had a nervous breakdown.”
“It was very flattering,” he said, gently stroking her hair. “If I had been a few years younger, I would have gone after you.”
“That makes me feel better,” she replied. “Now that I look back on it, I realize how stupid I must have seemed.”
“Not at all,” he answered. “You were adorable.”
Amarantha groaned. “I hate that. People have always called me adorable. I don’t want to be called adorable any more. I never want my children to be called adorable.”
“Well, you certainly have become quite the vixen in the last few years,” JP added to make her feel better.
Amarantha put her head up and looked at him. “I’m glad you noticed.” They stared at each other for a moment before Amarantha leaned forward. “Kiss me, JP.”
He turned his head. “I can’t, darling.”
“Why not?” she whimpered, her pride suffering a full force blow. “Because, I just can’t,” he replied softly. “It’s not right.”
Her hand drifted to the seam of his boxer shorts. “Like what?” she asked boldly.
JP grabbed her by the wrist and pushed away her hand. “Stop it. I’m not going to let you do this to me.”
“Do what to you?” she asked angrily. No one says ‘no’ to a McMahon, she thought bitterly.
“Amarantha, you might not realize it, but you are obviously manipulative,” he answered roughly. “You’re used to getting what you want, and when you don’t, you pout just like you are doing now.”
“I’m not pouting,” she snapped nastily.
“Yes, you are, and I won’t play into your foolish whims,” he replied. “No matter how badly I want to, I won’t do it.”
Amarantha grinned. That little admission would be his undoing. Oh, JP, you should never let your enemy know that you are weak, she thought.
Amarantha sat up, put her knees on either side of his huge thighs, resting her full weight on him. She could feel him through his boxer shorts, and she knew she had him. “You might say that you don’t want to, but someone else tells me that you do,” she whispered huskily, putting her hands on his waist. She bent down to kiss him, and he turned away again. Dammit, she cursed. She shrugged. “Fine, whatever you want. I guess you aren’t that damn good.”
Suddenly, JP moved beneath her with lightning speed and she found herself on her back, JP looming above her with a deadly look in his eyes. “You think you’re so damn smooth, don’t you? Well, guess what? Two can play at this game.”
Amarantha smiled in victory as he bent his head to kiss her, shedding his boxer shorts in one quick motion. She arched her back as he pulled the t-shirt over her head, slipped her silk panties off, and gently touched the soft flesh between her legs. Shane’s face suddenly flashed in her head, and Amarantha pushed it away, locking her hands into JP’s hair. She gasped as he entered her in one quick thrust.
“Hunter…” she whispered.
He laughed. “You’ve never called me that before.”
She smiled up at him, then tilted her head back and basked in the pleasure that was washing over her. Something about him—they didn’t fit as well together she and Shane had. Amarantha shook her head. This isn’t Shane, she told herself. He’ll never be Shane, so stop trying to make him Shane.
“We aren’t going to hurt the babies, are we?” JP asked quietly, his breath ragged. He had stopped in mid-thrust, and Amarantha was in agony.
She shook her head. “They’ll be fine,” she assured him, locking her legs around his hips and pulling him deeper into her. He licked his lips and kissed her again, resuming the powerful thrust that was making Amarantha shiver. As their tempo increased, she suddenly felt that he was too big for her, that he would tear her apart if they went any further.
“Hunter…” she whispered again, this time her voice laced with apprehension.
“Am I hurting you?” he asked sweetly, concern for her in his voice. Amarantha smiled, shaking her head. “No, please don’t stop.”
Her body was nearing its climax, and she could tell that he was holding back, trying to prolong it. "Now, Hunter…” she breathed, her lip quivering.
He responded by quickening his thrusts, harder and deeper every time. She moaned and writhed beneath him. When she hit her peak, she screamed loud enough to knock a picture off the wall beside the bed. He spilled over, then collapsed on to her, kissing her frantically.
“I love you, Amarantha,” JP whispered, his hot breath against her. Amarantha blinked. Did he just say ‘I love you?’ she thought frantically. I don’t love him! She didn’t know what to say to that. This isn’t about love! It’s just sex.
“Me too,” she whispered, hating herself. What have I done now?
~~**~~
The next evening, Amarantha and JP showed up at WWF NY right on time as they had promised Vince. The day had been a tense one between them. Neither of them said very much, and Amarantha slept until three in the afternoon—mostly because she was tired, but partly because she didn’t want to have to face JP after what had happened the previous night.
She didn’t regret it, but hearing him say ‘I love you’ had set something off inside her. She didn’t love him, not the way he loved her, and she probably never would. Was she just using him? Had the whole thing been a mistake? JESUS CHRIST, I’m going crazy!
“We’re here, so don’t have a conniption,” JP grumbled as they walked through the dressing room doors.
Vince, Shane, and Stephanie were all sitting on the couch along with the rest of the Faction. Vince looked up and checked his watch. “So you are. Well, let’s get out there. We might as well get this started.”
JP nodded, then turned and kissed Amarantha goodbye as the Faction all filed out of the room. Shane stayed behind a few steps and approached her, whispering quietly. “Ama, is everything all right?”
She sighed and nodded. “Yeah, I’m just tired.”
“Are you sure? I get the feeling that something happened between you and Hunter. You both seem like you’re uncomfortable around each other,” Shane replied, rubbing her arm. Amarantha squeezed the bridge of her nose. “What can I say? When you sleep with someone for the first time, it’s always awkward the next morning.” Shane’s face went blank. “What?”
Amarantha nodded, suddenly becoming angry for no apparent reason. “That’s right. We slept together last night.”
Shane ignored the calls from the hallway and stared at her. “I don’t believe it. You slept with him?"
Amarantha nodded again. “Yep, and I had a damn good time, too.” The sting of the slap that Shane laid across Amarantha’s left cheek brought tears to her eyes and the metallic taste of blood to her mouth. She turned and looked at him, fury raging in her dark eyes.
“What, Shane? Are you jealous?” she hissed. “Are you jealous that JP can fuck your sister and you can’t?” Ding. Amarantha 4, Shane 3—but what a hard fought point.
“I’m not jealous, just disappointed,” he replied, turning to leave. “That’s low, even for a McMahon.” The score was tied, 4-4.
He slammed the door behind him, and Amarantha kicked it as hard as she could, leaving a dent. She pounded her fists against it, refusing to cry. She wouldn’t let her brother get the best of her.
On the contrary—he would bring the best out of her.
~~**~~
“So, come on out, Amarantha. We’ve got something to say to you!” The Carmina music started up, and Amarantha burst through the curtain to a huge pop from the crowd. How she would miss that sound for the next nine months. The hand holding the microphone was shaking. Even after all the times in front of the crowd, she still got nervous. As the music faded, Amarantha put the microphone to her lips.
“Hello, dear family,” she intoned gravely. “I’ve got something to say to you, as well. You go first.”
Shane wouldn’t even look at her. Vince took up the microphone and began speaking in his “Mr. McMahon” voice.
“We’re sick and damn tired of you coming out here every week and running your mouth about how you’re going to give us what’s coming to us!” he shouted over the cries of “asshole” that always accompanied him. “Just hurry up and give it to us, if you can.”
Amarantha smiled. “All right, since you asked for it. It’s mostly for my dear sister, Stephanie. I’ve got a little surprise for you, sis. Be careful, it might knock off some of that cheap slut make-up right off your face.”
Stephanie looked at her with a look of total surprise and resentment as JP---Hunter jumped out of the ring, apparently going to defend his wife’s honor. Amarantha could hear JR and The King screaming from the monitor.
“Where the hell does Triple H think is going? He’s not going to knock Amarantha around, is he? That damn fool, doesn’t he know that Stone Cold is probably waiting backstage to protect her?”
“He’s crazy!”
Hunter walked up to her, microphone in hand. “I’ve got something to say to you!”
Amarantha smiled. “Then spit it out, the way you spit that water out before every fight. Personally, I think you look like a wet dog when you do that, but that’s just my opinion.”
As the crowd roared in approval, he stepped forward as if to hit her, then wrapped his arm around Amarantha’s waist, leaned her back, and kissed her full and hard on the mouth. The audience screamed, and the Faction stomped around the ring as Stephanie stood in disbelief. Hunter pulled back and turned and smiled at Stephanie.
“Sorry, Steph,” he said with a grin. “I’ve found a McMahon I like better than you. You are just a nasty two dollar slut.”
Amarantha glared at her sister. “I’m sorry too, Steph.” She paused, thinking. “Actually, I’m not!”
She heard it from JR before she felt the blow from behind her.
“Amarantha, watch out, it’s Kurt Angle!”
His carefully planned and perfectly executed kick from behind sent Amarantha flying across the stage. She crashed to the floor, smacking her knees against the metal grating, as Angle ran down the ramp and jumped into the ring to plant one on Stephanie.
Hunter bent down to help her. “You all right?” he whispered, his back to the crowd.
Amarantha got to her feet, brushing herself off carefully. “Fine,” she replied, putting the microphone to her lips. “Real nice, Steph! We’ll just see how big and bad your American hero feels when he faces my man, Triple H, in a match later tonight.”
“You’re on!” Stephanie raged, putting her arm around Angle’s shoulders. “My American hero will tear your Game apart!”
“We’ll see about that,” Amarantha spat as the Carmina music started up again. She exited the stage quickly, JP on her heels, and bolted for the dressing room.
~~**~~
As soon as she got inside, she plopped down on the couch, biting her lip in thought. Shane hadn’t even looked her way during the whole scene, and that worried her. Never, in all the time they had been brother and sister, had they ever had a fight like the one they had before she went out, and nothing scared Amarantha more than when Shane was mad—particularly at her.
JP burst into the dressing room. “What the hell happened with you and Shane? He was stomping around the ring, cussing and screaming about you!” Amarantha waved a dismissive hand. “It’s nothing. He’s just pouting. I told him about us, and he got pissed off at me. That’s all.”
“That’s all?” JP replied, incredulously. “That’s all? You’d think that you killed his best friend the way he was going on about you. It must have been one hell of a fight.”
“Jealously will do that to my brother,” Amarantha tossed off, trying to seem as apathetic as possible. It wouldn’t do any good to have JP know that she was upset because of Shane. She looked up at him, a sinister gleam in her eye. Shane would be back in the dressing room in a matter of minutes. The timing was perfect.
“I’m sick of talking about Shane,” she whispered, motioning for him to come closer. He inched toward the couch nervously. “I’ve got something to say to you. Bend down here so you can hear me perfectly.”
JP shrugged and bent down, and Amarantha locked her arms around his neck and pulled him down on top of her. He let out a cry of surprise, then grinned and put his lips to hers. She giggled, feeling the stubble on his chin scratch against her face, and Amarantha wrapped her legs around his hips as she pushed her tongue into his mouth. It would tear Shane up to see them like that when he walked in, and Amarantha would make sure it was believable.
“Ama, you are just full of surprises,” JP whispered, running his hands down the length of her body. “I thought you were pissed at me the whole day.”
Amarantha smiled. “Nope. Enough talk.” She pulled him back down to her as she heard the sounds of the Faction coming up the hallway.
The doorknob turned and JP jumped off her quickly, but not before Shane, who was the head of the crowd, had seen an eyeful.
“Uh, hey guys,” JP stammered, looking very embarrassed.
Shane glared at Amarantha. “Nice, sis.”
Amarantha licked her lips and glared back at her brother. “Thought you might enjoy that.”
Shane stomped his foot, his face growing red. “I’ve had enough of this shit!”
Vince looked at his son strangely. “Shane, what the hell is the matter with you?”
“Why don’t you ask Amarantha that?” Shane screamed, frightening even Amarantha who was trying to keep a straight face.
“What are you talking about?” Vince asked, looking back and forth between his daughter and son.
“I’m talking about the fact that JP and Amarantha are not dating, but they sure as hell are fucking!” Shane raged, throwing his hands up in the air. “They were never dating. We got JP to lie for us so you wouldn’t find out that it’s my baby that Amarantha is pregnant with!”
Amarantha jumped up off the couch as the entire Faction gasped collectively. “What the fuck are you talking about?” Vince shouted, his voice drowning out all the other chatter going on in the room.
“It’s my baby—only, it’s not just one, it’s two!” Shane continued, as though Vince hadn’t even spoken. “She’s having twins, and they’re mine, not JP’s! We fucked two and half months ago, Dad. Your adopted slut daughter and your son fucked, and now she’s pregnant. We’ve been lying to you all along.” “Shut your fucking mouth, Shane,” JP hissed furiously.
“Is it true?” Vince asked, looking right at Amarantha.
She didn’t answer, just glared at Shane.
“IS IT FUCKING TRUE?” Vince repeated, his voice ringing in everyone’s ears.
Amarantha looked at Shane. “You fucking bastard. I’ll never forgive you for this, as long as I live. I’ll never forgive you.”
She stormed past the lot of them, down the hallway, and out to her Jeep. No one dared to try and stop her as she floored it and tore out of the parking garage.
~~**~~
Four months later…
Amarantha looked up as JP keyed into the house. She pushed herself, and her enormously large stomach up, off the couch and walked to him, kissing him on the cheek. “Hello, JP. How was your day?”
He smiled and tossed his keys to the table beside the door, pausing briefly to look through the day’s mail. “Fine. Same old shit with your father, but fine.”
Amarantha walked back to the couch and eased herself back down on to it. Her feet were swollen and aching terribly. “That’s good. I just sat here all day, like I do every day, getting fatter and fatter.”
JP rolled his eyes. “Amarantha, you’ve barely gained any weight. You know you’re not that big, so stop fishing for compliments.”
Amarantha grinned. “Just wanted to hear you say it.”
The phone beside JP suddenly rang. He picked up the receiver.
“Hello? Oh, hey, how’s it going? Sure, she’s right here,” he said before handing the base and receiver to Amarantha. “It’s Shane, again.”
Amarantha took the phone and put the receiver to her ear, against her better judgment that told her to hang up immediately.
“Ama, I know you can hear me,” Shane said quietly. “Talk to me. I’m sorry, how many times to do I have to say that? I’m sorry. I love you.”
Amarantha slammed the receiver down, put the phone beside her on the couch, picked up the remote control, and began channel surfing. JP shook his head at her.
“Ama, it’s been four months,” he said quietly. “Won’t you at least talk to him?”
Amarantha glared at him. “No, JP, I won’t. I have nothing to say to him.”
“Nothing to say to him?” JP asked, in that annoying way of turning everything Amarantha had said around into a question. “Ama, you’re having his babies in three months. Surely, you’ve got something to say to him.”
Amarantha pushed herself up off the couch again and began walking to her room. “JP, I don’t want to hear this from you. You, above all people, should know what he did to me. He ruined everything, including my relationship with my father, that I’ve had to put back together, piece by piece. I have **nothing** to say to him, and that is that.”
She slammed the door to her room, the one that she and JP had shared for about a week after the tragedy at WWF NY that night, until they decided that it was best to call the whole relationship off and live as a married couple who didn’t sleep in the same room. She sat carefully sat down on the bed and laid back, turning her head to the side.
There it was, the thing that had caused her so much grief since her fight with Shane---the tape of songs that he had sent her a week after she refused to take his calls. She had put tape in her tape player the moment she received it and spent the night sobbing, listening to the words that Shane had found to cause her even more misery.
Ama, the note had said, I don’t know what to do to tell you how sorry I am for what I did to you---to us. I’m not much with words, but I know how much you love music. I hope this can tell you how I feel in a way that I can’t. Love eternally faithful, Shane.”
Amarantha had been perfectly fine reading the note, and actually got through a few of the songs on the tape before bursting into tears. Though she hadn’t listened to the thing since she first got it almost four months before, the words were still ringing in her head…
How can I just let you walk away
Just let you leave without a trace When I stand here taking every breath with you You're the only one who really knew me at all How can you just walk away from me When all I can do is watch you leave 'Cause we shared the laughter and the pain And even shared the tears You're the only one who really knew me at all So take a look at me now There's just an empty space There's nothing left here to remind me Just the memory of your face
Take a good look at me now There's just an empty space And you coming back to me Is against all the odds And that's what I got to take
I wish I could just make you turn around Turn around and see me cry There's so much I need to say to you So many reasons why You're the only one Who really knew me at all
But to wait for you is all I can do And that's what I've got to face Take a good look at me now
'Cause I'll still be standing there
That was the song that made Amarantha realize how much she really missed her brother, and how much she needed him. I don't wanna live without your love I don't wanna face the night alone I could never make it through my life If I had to make it on my own I don't wanna love nobody else I don't wanna find somebody new I don't wanna live without your love
I just wanna live my life with you With you Guess I had to go away So much I had to go through Guess I had to lose you To realize how much I love you Can we make the fires burn again Burn a little stronger 'Cause I've been alone, and baby I can't be alone any longer
It was then that Amarantha realized that she did still love Shane, and he still loved her. I see you there, a silhouette in the moonlight; looks like you've given up on love. You used to be the face in the spotlight; now loneliness fits you like a glove. You walk around in your cloak of darkness, too blind to see the light. Your wings are broken, now your spirit can't take flight. You're not alone, you're not alone, while your heart's still young and free. You're not alone, pick up the phone and talk to me; baby, you will see you're not alone. Although your heart is in pieces, you can't find a reason to try. You're not alone, while I'm still standing by.
Amarantha hadn’t had a good night’s sleep since the argument because she didn’t have Shane to sing to her.
Look into my eyes - you will see What you mean to me Search your heart - search your soul And when you find me there you'll search no more Don't tell me it's not worth tryin' for You can't tell me it's not worth dyin' for You know it's true Everything I do - I do it for you
Look into my heart - you will find There's nothin' there to hide Take me as I am - take my life I would give it all - I would sacrifice Don't tell me it's not worth fightin' for I can't help it - there's nothin' I want more Ya know it's true Everything I do - I do it for you
With that, Amarantha had realized that everything Shane had ever done had been for her.
Wherever you go I'll be with you Whatever you want I'll give it to you Whenever you need someone To lay your heart and head upon Remember after the fire After all the rain I will be the flame I will be the flame
Amarantha knew that what the song was saying was true. Everywhere she went, everything she did, Shane’s image was there, haunting her. I'm still the man for you And I'm still the man that's true And I'm still the man who's lucky And I'm still in love with you…
… I can't stop loving you And no matter what I say or do You know my heart is true
Oh, oh, I can't stop lovin' you
She still loved him, and always would, but she would not forgive him. Not yet. When can I see you again When can my heart beat again When can I see you again When can I breathe once again And when can I see you Not for a while, Shane, she thought. Not until my heart is mended. Please forgive me, I know not what I do Please forgive me, I can't stop loving you Don't deny me, this pain I'm going through Please forgive me, if I need you like I do Please believe me (Oh believe it), every word I say is true Please forgive me, I can't stop loving you
She couldn’t forgive him until she forgave herself. It would be a long time before she could see Shane again and not want to scratch his eyes out and crush him to her in a kiss that would never be forgotten—all at the same time! The only thing she was worried about, at the moment, however, was how the situation would turn out once the babies were born. That time would be rapidly approaching…
~~**~~
Three months later…
“GET THESE FUCKING THINGS OUT OF ME!!!” Amarantha screamed, biting down on her lip hard enough to draw blood. As it turned out, Amarantha was allergic to every drug in the book, so she had nothing to dull the pain. It was going to be a long night.
“Mrs. Levesque, you have to calm down!” the doctor who was on call in the emergency room yelled. He would regret that he had answered the page after Amarantha was through with him.
JP rubbed Amarantha’s forehead with a wet towel. “You’re doing great, Ama. Hang in there.”
“Oh, you hang in there,” she snapped nastily. “Why don’t you go hang yourself?”
JP didn’t flinch. The Lamaze classes had prepared him for Amarantha’s probable moodiness.
Suddenly, Vince came rushing in, Shane on his heels. He stopped short at the sight of his daughter laying there for the world to see, then shook his head and ran to her side. Shane stayed as far away as possible.
“Sir, I’m sorry, you can’t be here right now,” a nurse came in and said, trying to pull Vince away from the vice-like grip of his daughter.
“You leave him alone! That’s my father, goddammit!” Amarantha screamed at her, preparing for another contraction. “JESUS CHRIST!”
“That’s it, Mrs. Levesque. Breathe, this one is almost over,” the doctor coached.
Vince bent down close to Amarantha. “Princess, Shane is here. Would it be all right—“
Amarantha looked around the huddle of people and saw Shane leaning against the wall, watching with interest. “Get that cocksucking bastard out of here. I don’t want to see him!”
“Ama, he’s the father,” JP whispered, holding her other hand. “He has a right to see his children being born.”
“NO, HE DOESN’T!” Amarantha screamed just as another contraction seized her.
“This is it, Mrs. Levesque! Now, when the next one comes, I want you to push!”>Br/ She grabbed her father by the lapels of his sport coat and pulled him down to her. “I swear to high Heaven that if you don’t get him out of here right this fucking instant, I WILL NOT HAVE THESE BABIES. Daddy, get him the FUCK OUT OF HERE!”
Vince pulled away, momentarily stunned by the viciousness of his daughter’s words, and waved Shane out of the emergency room. Amarantha saw him go around the corner, shaking his head, but she knew that he wouldn’t be too far away.
“Here it comes, Mrs. Levesque, now push!”
The pain shot through Amarantha, and she sat straight up in the bed, holding Vince’s and JP’s hands tight enough to break them. She screamed as she beared down the way all the classes and books had told her.
“I can see the first baby’s head, Mrs. Levesque! Push!”
Amarantha bit her lip again, tearing it open even further, as she pushed with all the strength that she had. When the baby’s first cry split the air with an ear-piercing shriek, she collapsed against the bed, knowing that the second would soon be on the way.
“It’s a girl, Princess,” Vince said, tears filling up his dark eyes. “It’s a beautiful baby girl.” He kissed her forehead.
Amarantha smiled, tears running over her cheeks. JP bent down and kissed her softly on the lips, and as he did, another contraction signaling the arrival of the next baby hit her, and she bit down hard.
“FUCK!” JP cursed, pulling away from her. His lip was now bleeding, but Amarantha didn’t have time to apologize.
“JESUS CHRIST!! Kill me NOW!” Amarantha pushed as hard as she could and didn’t stop pushing until the second baby’s cry hit the air.
“It’s a boy,” Vince whispered. “A perfect little boy.”
Amarantha lay back, her body finally relaxing. She had done it. She was the mother of two children, and as the nurses placed the screaming babies into her arms, she saw Shane peek around the corner. She didn’t have the strength to protest.
“Mrs. Levesque, what are the babies’ names?” a nurse with a chart in hand asked, leaning in close to her.
Amarantha looked right at Shane, his dark eyes finding hers. “Shane Brandon McMahon Jr. and Hannah Arrisen McMahon.”
Shane smiled, then immediately headed for the exit with his head down and his shoulder sagged.
The nurse took down the names, then the babies were taken from her to be put in the nursery. As she laid back against the bed, another all too familiar pain shot through every inch of her body.
She screamed, grabbing JP and Vince’s hands again, this time feeling the bones in her father’s crack under the pressure. He screamed as well as the doctor came running back toward her.
“WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?” Vince roared, trying to pull his hand away from Amarantha’s.
The doctor looked up at them, a puzzled look on his face. “There’s another baby.”
Shane heard the words and came running back through the ER.
“WHAT THE FUCK?” Amarantha, Shane, Vince, and JP all said in unison. ~~**~~
Four years (exactly) later…
Amarantha sat in the back of the limo, humming along quietly to the song that was on the radio. On her lap, she held pictures of the children, and beside her sat a mountain of presents. It was their birthday—they were four.
The third baby that had surprised them all was another boy. Dr. Bailey explained later that the third baby must have been hidden behind the other two for the entire duration of the pregnancy. Amarantha couldn’t have been more overjoyed, and the second son was named Cage Kennedy McMahon.
Amarantha sighed, looking at the pictures. Hannah was an exact replica of her mother at four years old. They had the same dark features, and Hannah already had a smart mouth at her young age. The twins, Shane Jr.—who preferred to be called Brandon—and Cage looked exactly alike, and exactly like their father. They had his same dark eyes and pale skin. Amarantha smiled. The McMahon family certainly had strong genes.
The triplets had become Amarantha’s whole life. She made occasional appearances on Raw when she had the time, and she and “Hunter” were still together, though Amarantha had moved out of JP’s house about six months after the children were born. They were still very close, but the atmosphere of the house was not something that she wanted to which she wanted to expose the children. Brandon and Cage adored “Uncle JP,” and she often brought them over to see him. Hannah had instantly taken to her grandfather, and it was no secret that she was Vince’s favorite. All Hannah had to do was say “Grandpa” in that special way, and there was nothing that he wouldn’t give her. Hannah had asked for a pony for her fourth birthday, which Amarantha was on her way to celebrate, and instead, he bought her a horse farm. Vince had spoiled all three children rotten.
None of the children had asked questions as to why their father was actually their uncle as well, and Amarantha had decided that it was best to let it rest until they came to the age that they starting wondering.
Amarantha bit down her lower lip, still scarred from that night in the ER. (JP had an identical scar on his lower lip. Amarantha had apologized repeatedly for it.) She hadn’t spoken to Shane in four long years. When she dropped the children off to visit their father at the McMahon estate, where he was still living, she didn’t even get out of the car. Shane had tried to talk to her on more than occasion, but Amarantha had managed to avoid him. The bad blood between them was still thick.
Shane adored his children, and he was the best father Amarantha could have wished for her children. He always let little Hannah have her way, but such was the relationship between fathers and daughters. Brandon and Cage looked up to their father immensely, and Amarantha could see Shane in them whenever they tried to cry crocodile tears to get out of being in trouble. Looking at them was a painful reminder of the destroyed relationship between she and Shane, but looking upon her children gave Amarantha her biggest sense of joy.
What a crazy mess her life had become. She was 22 years old with three children, a millionairess, and a star in the WWF. She lived in a beautiful house just up the street from JP, and she had the money to buy anything she desired.
She had everything except the one thing she really wanted--- Shane.
~~**~~
“Mommy!” Three unison cries came from the triplets as Amarantha came out the back door of the McMahon house. The place was decorated with balloons and streamers and children were everywhere. The triplets’ fourth birthday was a main event, thanks to Vince, who insisted on throwing them a huge and lavish party every year. Stars of the WWF all showed up to celebrate the event, giving the triplets outrageously expensive gifts. Needless to say, their birthday was the triplets’ favorite day of the year.
“Come here, my little darlings,” she cooed as she crouched down to hug her children. Hannah had a party hat on her head, and she took it off and put it on her mother’s with a smile.
“Mommy, Grandpa got me a bunch of horses for my birthday,” she squealed with delight.
“Is that so?” she asked, straightening Hannah’s purple birthday dress.M
“I got a real fighter jet,” Brandon bragged. “It really flies.” “Well, I got a monster truck,” Cage interjected, not to be outdone by his brother. “Grandpa says that he will take me to see REAL monster trucks soon.”
“Well, we’ll see about that,” Amarantha replied. She scanned the assembled guests, taking the party hat from her head. “Where’s Grandpa?” Hannah pointed in the direction of the pool. “He’s over there talking to Rocky and Steve.”
Amarantha kissed her children then ushered them off to play with their friends. She headed straight through the crowd toward her father, giving the occasionally hello and wave to those who called her name.
“Amarantha, what a pleasure to see you,” Duane said as she walked up beside her father.
She smiled pleasantly. “You too, Duane. How long has it been?” He put a hand to his head. “Well, my skull isn’t fractured, so it’s been a while since you cracked me with that chair.
Amarantha smiled. “Hello, Dad,” she said kissing him on the cheek. “Hello, Princess,” he replied, smiling back. “Here to take the guests of honor away so soon?”
She shook her head. “Not exactly. Where’s Shane?”
Steven, Duane, and Vince all did a double take, then looked strangely at her. “He’s out sitting on the back deck.”
“Thanks,” she replied, then she turned to leave before any of them could say anything. She did see the pleased smile on her father’s face before she left to go and find Shane.
An uneasy feeling took over her as she approached the back deck. Shane was sitting in a chair with his back to her, a drink in his hand. He appeared to be staring out into the distance. Amarantha took a deep breath before continuing. Four long years of silence, of resentment, of utter and complete hatred—all of it melted away as Shane turned at the sound of her high heels clicking on the deck.
He stared up at her, not believing what he was seeing. “Ama…”
Amarantha smiled, stopping a few feet in front of him. “Hello, big brother,” she said sweetly.
Shane stumbled to his feet, spilling his drink all over the deck. He shrugged and discarded his glass into the grass. He scratched his head. “Um…I didn’t expect to see you.”
“I know,” she replied, taking in every inch of him. He was just as perfect has she remembered, every bit of him. Even after four years, he was still the same Shane he had always been.
“Ama, I don’t know what to—“
Amarantha stepped forward and put a finger to his lips. “Then don’t say anything. Just hold me.”
Shane wrapped his arms around her, hugging her so tightly that he almost crushed her ribs. Amarantha put her arms around his neck, burying her face into his chest as the tears rolled over both of their cheeks.
“Ama, I’ve been waiting for four years to do this,” he whispered, his voice cracking.
“I know, Shay,” she replied, breathing in the scent of his cologne—Polo, the same as their father wore. “I’m so sorry for all that has happened.” “No, it’s my fault,” he replied, shaking his head. “It’s all me. I shouldn’t have—oh, Ama, I’m so glad you’re back.”
“Me too,” she replied.
And as they held each other, as though they would never let go again, the last song on the tape Shane had sent her so many years ago came to Amarantha’s mind. The words were true; he had waited for her, and deep inside, Amarantha was crying.
See the stone set in your eyes See the thorn twist in your side I wait for you Sleight of hand and twist of fate On a bed of nails she makes me wait And I wait....without you
With or without you With or without you
Through the storm we reach the shore You give it all but I want more And I'm waiting for you With or without you With or without you I can't live With or without you
And you give yourself away And you give yourself away And you give And you give yourself away
My hands are tied My body bruised, she's got me with Nothing left to win And nothing else to lose
With or without you With or without you I can't live
With or without you
~~*THE END*~~
