October 2, 2017
Monday Night Raw
Denver, CO
Buying a house isn't as easy as I thought it would be. When it was just Joe and myself, we bought a place that was small, two bedrooms, a basement... very intimate for us. But now, we have a lot to accommodate for. Joe wants a man cave, Joelle wants a pool, it has to be kid friendly so not too many windows that could break, it has to be less than 3 mil and we need bedrooms for everyone.... Sigh... it's a lot but we can do it.
"What cha doin' babe?"
"Looking for houses." I say as I scroll on my MacBook.
"Any luck?"
"Meh." I continue to scroll.
"6 bedrooms?" He says once he looks at the checklist on my phone. "Why so many?"
"Well you and I need a room, Joelle needs her own since puberty should be starting soon, Mark, Anjali and I've been thinking about the new baby."
"Go ahead."
"Well if we have twin girls or twin boys, they stay get their own room and Anjali stays with Mark. If we have a boy and a girl, the girl goes with Anjali and the boy goes with Mark."
"What if we have one kid?"
"Then they get their own room and Mark and Anjali bunk together, and of course we need one guest room."
"Then who's the other room for?" he asks.
"... Galina..." he raises his eyebrow.
"Seriously?"
"Yeah. I mean I'm gonna need help with all the kids while you're on the road. There's no sense in hiring help, we'll just have her and Joelle move in. Joelle would love that."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes. I'm sure." He sighs.
"Alright. It makes sense, so why not?" I smile and look back at my computer.
Joe's POV:
I leave my wife to her searching and go to the locker room.
"What's up with you brother?" Dean asks when he and Colby approach me.
"Malaika is looking for houses."
"That's not a bad thing... is it?" Colby asks.
"It's not the actual house, she wants Galina to move in with us."
"Why?" Dean asks.
"To help her with the kids."
"Oh come on bro." Colby says. "I thought you were past the whole thing. Clearly she is."
"I'm past it."
"Clearly not." Dean says.
"You know, ever since you two hooked back up, you two have been more in sync than ever and it's getting on my nerves." I complain.
"If you don't want Galina to move in, just tell Malaika." Colby says.
"I want Malaika to have help and if she finds that in Galina, then so be it." I argue.
"Then whatever is holding you back, you need to figure it out and squash it real quick before Malaika picks up on it." Dean says.
"Cause if Malaika picks up on it..." Colby says.
"When she picks up on it..." Dean finishes.
"Boom." They both mimic an explosion.
~
Malaika's POV:
"I think it's a great idea." Renee says.
"Really?" She nods.
"You two are good now and it's much cheaper than paying for a complete stranger."
"True. I don't think Joe is good about that idea."
"Why not?"
"I have no idea. I mean if anything I should be the hesitant one. Not him."
"Do you think her moving in will spark something in him again?"
"It better not."
"You should talk to him."
"That's the only thing I can do."
"Malaika."
"Hey baby." Renee leaves us.
"I need to talk to you." We say at the same time.
"You go first." Joe says.
"If you don't feel comfortable with Galina moving in—"
"Let her." he sighs. "I just... I don't know what's going on with me. Galina is great and I think she's a great help."
"But..."
"But I just keep flashing back to all the problems from before."
"I get it, trust me I do but I know you won't act on them so I'm not worried."
"You know I love you right?"
"I know."
"Then I am willing to push everything aside and compromise."
"Really?" he nods and takes my hand.
"All I want is for you and the kids to be happy. And if Galina moving in with us does that, then I'll agree."
"Thank you baby." He kisses my hand. "I'm really excited."
"Let's see what you got so far." He pulls the chair up next to me.
"Well I narrowed it down to 8. The cheapest is $609,000 and the most expensive is $1,465,000." He looks at me. "What? It's under 3 mil... and we don't have to choose that one. Just give me the benefit of the doubt."
"Alright, alright. Let's just look." After our discussion, we decided that after we see them all we should pick our top 3 and then pick from there. "I think once we decide, we should get it right away. I don't want to put our heart in it and then we lose it."
"Yeah. You're right. When do we want to start moving in?"
"I think we should wait until after Anjali's birthday. At least put the down payment and hold our spot."
"But then we have to worry about Lina selling her place, selling our place and going through the process of buying a house again."
"We don't have to worry about selling our house..." Joe says.
"And why not...?"
"As soon as we put our house on the market and people find out whose house it used to be, WWE Superstars Indira and Roman Reigns used to live here, it won't take long to sell."
"Alright cocky." I say with a chuckle.
"You know it's true."
"So what's our schedule like this weekend?" he pulls out his phone.
"Not good. We're booked for the next couple of weekends."
"Damn it. So we're just gonna have to look at them during the week. Private showings." I sigh. "You don't think we're moving too fast right?"
"Nah. Just planning ahead. Being proactive." He answers. Cesaro walks by us.
"Hey Toothy!" he turns around. "Did my sister see you yet?" he nods.
"I gave her a picture. She said she would hang it up."
"Of course she did."
"3 more years." He calls out as he walks away.
Yep. 3 more years...
~
"Malaika."
"Yes Carrano?"
"I just finished talking with everyone and there's something that we would like you to do for the Las Vegas memorial to kick off Raw."
"Go ahead..."
"We know that you love Dear Evan Hansen..."
"Go on..."
"We would like you to sing something from the musical."
"Did you have a song in mind?"
"You Will Be Found."
"Got it. And everything is all set with the Evan Hansen people? We're not gonna get sued or anything?" he shakes hid head.
"We spoke to them earlier. It's all cleared. And we need you to do the same for Smackdown tomorrow night."
"Sounds good Mark."
"Thank you." He leaves me. When it's time, all the Superstars line up when the show opens. I already have my mic in hand when the cameraman signals for me to go ahead.
Have you ever felt like nobody was there?
Have you ever felt forgotten in the middle of nowhere?
Have you ever felt like you could disappear?
Like you could fall and no one would hear.
Well, let that lonely feeling wash away.
Maybe there's a reason to believe you'll be ok.
Cause when you don't feel strong enough to stand,
You can reach, reach out your hand.
And oh, someone will come running
And I know they'll take you home.
Even when the dark comes crashing through,
When you need a friend to carry you,
And when you're broken on the ground
You will be found.
So let the sun come steaming in
Cause you'll reach up and you'll rise again
Lift your head and look around
You will be found
You will be found
You will be found
You will be found
You will be found
X
October 9, 2017
Monday Night Raw
Indianapolis, IN
Tonight is a very big night. The Shield is reuniting and I couldn't be happier. And with that, that means Joe is part of a group now, which means I am no longer his valet...
The Miz, Sheasaro and Axel are standing in the ring congratulating each other when my music hits. I take a deep breath and step out.
"Helllooo Indianapolis! How's everyone doing tonight?!" The crowd cheers. I look through the crowd and see a Roman and Indira are relationship goals sign. "Yes I see you with that sign! We are relationship goals aren't we! You better wave that sign." I look over at the ring. "Oh shoot. I forgot you guys were there. I was so focused on the WWE Universe. Hello A-Lister A-Hole, Toothless Wonder, Great White Bitch... Curtis... Sorry about Bo getting hit with a chair two weeks in a row... yeah that's a lot for one man. I know you weren't expecting me to come out here. You all were expecting a certain trifecta of men to come out and see you guys. I just wanted to come out here and tell you three, and yes I mean three because Curtis you're not important. You haven't been relevant for a while." The crowd jeers. "I just wanted to say that I really hated what the three of you have been doing over the past few weeks. And if I could, I would come down and beat each and every one of your ass but—"
"But you can't." Miz interrupts. "This is what you came out here to say? To stand all the way over there and talk all that trash to us and do nothing?"
"I really don't like it when people interrupt me. It's really—"
"What? Rude? You know you and your husband are exactly alike. You come out here, talk all that trash and don't back it up. Speaking of your husband, my friends over here gave him a pretty good beating. And now there are rumors spreading around about the Shield coming back together. But if they were coming back together, they would be here by now and they wouldn't have sent Roman's little cheerleader out instead." I raise my eyebrow.
"Rumors?" I start laughing. "Who said anything about rumors?" the crowd cheers. "That's what I came out here to say Miz, I wanted to announce that I am now managing The Shield. Gentlemen, if you would." Joe comes out first followed by Dean and Seth and the crowd is going absolutely crazy. After the guys clean house twice, they can finally rest but they're not really resting because they're so freaking hyped. "Dean... I love you but you really need to stop jumping..."
"I can't. I just feel so great!" I roll my eyes.
"You can't deny babe, it felt good to be out there with us..." Joe says. I break into a smile.
"Yeah. Yeah it was. It's a new day gentlemen. It's a new day."
X
October 16, 2017
Monday Night Raw
Portland, OR
I loved spending time with my baby girl so I brought my baby with me to Raw. We want to look at the houses with Joelle and Galina so it's gonna be a while before we can make it a family thing. Galina took the whole "move in with us" thing really well. She's actually excited. And now—
"Anjali." I say breaking my own train of thought.
"Hm?"
"Please don't eat like your father. Chew your food."
"I chew my food..." Joe says.
"Yeah... ok. Whatever you say Joseph." He rolls his eyes.
"Dee!" Anjali scream with a mouth full of food.
"Chew your food!" she pouts and chews as Dean sits down.
"I finished."
"Open your mouth." She opens it and all her food is gone.
"I go with Dee now?"
"Not yet. We have a very important matter that needs to be discussed." She gives me a confused look and I sigh. "There's something we need to talk about. Your birthday. What do you want to do?" she thinks about it for a few seconds.
"Chuck E. Cheese!" She pumps a fist in the air.
"Well that was easy enough." I say.
"How many people?" Joe asks.
"Well I definitely want Kim to come with the kids. Maybe Mark, then we can have the home visit. Kill two birds with one stone. You know what? We should just buy the place out."
"We can't do that." Joe says. I look at Dean.
"Dean?" I ask.
"We can totally do that."
"But—"
"But nothing." I interrupt. "We're going to have a party swarming with WWE Superstars and their kids. The last thing I need is to have random strangers interrupting our daughter's birthday for pictures and autographs. It's a privacy concern."
"But I don't want to take away from the other kids..."
"Those other kids have 364 other days to go to Chuck E. Cheese. They're not missing much for one day. And it's for her birthday."
"Please daddy..." Anjali says.
"Yeah. Please Daddy..." I repeat.
"Ugh. I hate it when you two do that." He says with a smile. "Fine. Chuck E. Cheese."
"Yay! I go with Dee now?"
"Yes." I say. "Go."
"We'll split the cost three ways." Dean says.
"Fine by me." I say. "Fine by you?" Joe nods. "Fine by us."
"Let's go sunshine!" Dean lifts Anjali under his arm and she squeals as he carries her away.
"What does Joelle want to do for her birthday?" I ask Joe.
"I asked Galina the other day, and she's not sure yet. Galina thinks she may just want to do a movie and pizza."
"So Kane huh?"
"Yep." Joe says. "As if our match wasn't complicated enough..."
"I mean in my honest opinion, I think it's kind of stupid. If they wanted to go with the "Revenge for Taker" angle, they could have done it at Wrestlemania. That would make more sense but hey, I don't write this stuff."
"How's Nia?"
"She's good I guess." I sigh. "It happens. We all get to that point of our careers where we don't know what's going to happen, we get so close and they just snatch it away from us... You just get tired."
"I know you know the feeling..." Joe says.
"Yeah. It's uh not an easy feeling. I just couldn't take a leave of absence like that. I mean I was strong for staying but her and Neville, they're stronger for walking away."
"Why didn't you? Take a leave of absence?" I shrug.
"I couldn't leave. I love it here. And if you stay, chances are they'll pick you sooner than someone who leaves. I've been going through it for years, but Nia, she's new. She's not used to it. But she will be. We all get used to it eventually."
"Did you guys see the app?" Renee asks when she comes over to us.
"No. Why?" I ask. She hands me her phone and I look at the events page. "HA! Someone's getting fired!"
"What happened?" Joe asks.
"All the dates are messed up. They all say Wednesday December 31, 1969."
"All of them?" I nod.
"Raw, Smackdown, NXT, Superstar Appearances... everything." I show him.
"They have the locations right at least... Do you think they know about this?"
"I bet they do." Renee says.
"Mama." Anjali comes running over to us with a lollipop.
"Where'd you get that from?" she pulls it out her mouth.
"Bayley. Hi Renee." She pops it back in.
"Personally I think she's too young to have a lollipop." Dean says. "But what princess wants, princess gets."
"Yeah... she's spoiled." I finger through her crazy curls. "But it's ok. Our kids can be spoiled, but they will learn how to work for themselves and be independent."
X
October 18, 2017 Tampa, FL
We're currently at home because Joe has the mumps. Anjali is with Galina and Joelle and I'm keeping all three of them away from Joe. I even put the dog with my parents. Since Anjali is very young, she can catch it and I really don't want my daughter to go through that. I was afraid that I had it too so they tested me and I came back clean. But I'm sleeping on the couch and Joe gets the bed. If I caught it and Joe didn't, he wouldn't be able to handle it. I'm stronger than him when it comes to things like this. Things like this break him.
We're waiting to see how our job is going to handle it, who they're going to use to replace Joe. I already told them that I won't be there either, just to stay with him and so I don't have to be around my co-workers in case they get very paranoid thinking that I have it too.
Joe groans as his eyes open in bed.
"Hi." I say to my husband.
"Hi." He says softly. "You ok?"
"I should be asking you that." I answer.
"It could be worse." He whispers.
"That's my line." I say with a smile.
"How are my girls?"
"Scared. Anjali has been very quiet."
"I'm sorry babe."
"For what? This isn't your fault."
"I know but I feel bad for myself, and you, the girls, the fans... I know they're gonna be really disappointed when they find out I can't compete. The first match that the Shield has together and I can't be there."
"What you need to do is get your mind off of that. Think about something else." He sighs.
"How's it going with the party?"
"Good I made the reservations and we're all set. Dean will send a check and then I can pay the rest of it. And then I just have to the invitations and we're set. They take care of the food, decorations and the goodie bags. We just have to get the cake."
"Hopefully I'll be fine by then."
"You will be fine by then. You're gonna beat this, just like you do everything else. Don't worry baby. You want some soup?" He nods.
~
I go downstairs to put some of the leftover soup together and my phone rings.
"Hello?"
"Hi baby."
"Hi mom."
"How are you doing honey? Have you been eating?" Just what every Hispanic mother asks.
"Yes mom, I'm eating."
"How's Joe?" I sigh.
"Struggling. It's not easy. On any of us."
"Is there anything I can do?"
"No. Just keep staying away. I don't want this to spread."
"I don't like it, but I'll do it. What about your job?"
"I don't know. They have to decide what to do next. I got food on the stove, I talk to you later mom." We say our goodbyes and I hang up the phone. I stir the soup a little more, turn the stove off and put the soup in a bowl. I grab another bottle of water and go upstairs. "Soup's here." He leans up in bed and I give him the bowl and I take a seat on the bed.
"Thank you babe."
"No problem." He picks up the spoon and begins to eat his soup. "Hmm... so good." I shake my head and laugh lightly.
"So what are you doing today?"
"This." I answer. "Answering to your every call. The house is clean, laundry is done so there's not much left to do."
"It's so quiet in here with Anjali and Boo." I sigh.
"I know. Imagine what it's gonna be like with a full house."
"We'll know soon enough."
"This sucks."
"I know."
"No I mean this is the first time in a long time that we've had a completely empty house and we can't even have sex... ridiculous..." I shake my head.
"You know when we have a full house we definitely won't be able to have sex."
"Oh yes we will. You have one more baby to put in me. So we better find a way. Even if it means doing it in the car. But not my car. Definitely not my car." He finishes his soup and puts the bowl on the nightstand.
"Why not?" I raise my eyebrow.
"My car is brand fucking new. The last thing I need is it smelling like sex."
"And my car can smell like sex?" he asks.
"Babe if the scent of our sex was turned into a cologne, you'd wear it every day. You'd snort that shit like cocaine." He laughs.
"True. I would." I nod. "What can I say? When we make love baby, that scent is euphoric."
"Go to sleep you big lug."
X
October 20, 2017
Tampa, FL
"Alright. Yep. Thanks Carrano." I hang up the phone and go back into the bedroom. He's looking better. Not as pale but he's still swollen and having trouble swallowing.
"What's going on?"
"Well they're going to announce the replacements today."
"And?"
"Don't freak out ok?"
"I'm not."
"Well Bray is sick too so Styles will be replacing him..."
"And who's replacing me?"
"Don't freak out."
"Just say it." He groans.
"Kurt."
"What?!"
"Didn't I just say don't freak out?"
"Of all people Kurt Angle? I mean are they trying to re-break his neck and kill him?!"
"Joseph..."
"He's against Kane and Braun!"
"Joseph..."
"This is ridiculous! I mean who's stupid idea was this?!"
"Joseph!"
"Huh?"
"Not. Your. Problem. Ok? You are at home in Florida. There is nothing you can do about it now. Got it?"
"Mhm." He sighs. "I should be there."
"But you're not. Deal with it. There will be other matches. Don't fret love."
"I'm not fretting."
"You're totally fretting."
"When can I see my girls?"
"You know when Joseph. When the doctor says you're clear. Anjali is too young to get mumps You know you would feel terrible if she got it." He sighs.
"I just miss them."
"I know baby. I miss them too." I take his hand. "We'll get through this just like we always do."
"Can I call my mom?" I nod.
"Sure baby." I hand him his phone and he calls her. I leave the room and go downstairs to give them privacy. I thought the hernia was bad... but this is so much worse. But we'll get through it. Just like we always do.
X
October 22, 2017
Tampa, FL
"Good morning." I walk into the bedroom with a cup of coffee.
"No coffee for me?" I look at him. "Ok never mind."
"Good boy." My phone rings with a FaceTime call. "Look who's calling." I hand him the phone.
"Daddy!" Both girls scream on the other end.
"Hi princesses."
"Where mommy?" Anjali asks.
"Right here pumpkin." I show my face in the camera and continue to drink my coffee.
"I miss you daddy." Joelle says.
"Me too." Anjali says.
"I miss you both so much. I'll be with you both soon. Don't worry."
"I sorry you no fight tonight." Anjali says. "But we see Dee and Colby fight."
"Yeah dad." Joelle says. "It sucks. Alright dad, we'll call you later. Love you."
"I love you daddy!"
"I love you both bye." He hangs up. "UGH! I hate this. I hate being under quarantine."
"How do you think I feel? I'm not even sick."
"Bet I can make you sick... Then we could be sick together."
"You know, if you weren't sick I would punch you right now. If I'm sick, who's gonna take care of us?"
"Oh yeah... I forgot."
"Thank you. Anymore bright ideas?" he shakes his head. "Good."
X
October 23, 2017
Tampa, FL
"Woah. You look like shit." He says to me.
"Yeah. Like you're ready to do a Vanity Fair photo shoot. You get any sleep?" I ask.
"Little bit. You?"
"Same. That's why I'm dressed like a bum."
"Well you're a very sexy bum." He compliments.
"Any relief?"
"Meh."
"You want anything for breakfast?" he shakes his head.
~
The two of us are in bed watching Smackdown beat up the Raw roster.
"Wow. This is good." Joe says.
"Yeah. It is." I sigh.
"You ok babe?"
"Yeah." I say. "I just really want us to be back in time for Survivor Series. Well you more than I."
"You don't think they'll put you on the team?"
"No. They're basically filled. Fox is captain, Bayley, Sasha, Mickie and probably Asuka. And the team is filled. I mean it's all good because I got to do it last year and it was really fun, we need to give other Divas a chance."
"But if they let you?"
"Babe I would drop your sick ass so quick and call your momma."
"Seriously?"
"Yes. Gotta get money somehow. We got a house to buy." Joe's phone rings. It's a FaceTime call from Jon.
"What up Uce!"
"Hey bro." Joe says.
"Hi Jon."
"What's going on Ucette? Damn Uce. You look bad."
"Thanks for the compliment." Joe says. "Your brand did pretty nice tonight."
"Thanks man. I'm proud of them."
"You ready for the match?" I ask.
"Girl we're always ready. It's gonna be good. We just miss y'all that's all."
"Yeah we miss you too Uce."
"Bro. I know you're not talking to Joe without me." Josh squeezes his way into the camera. "What up Uce! You look good man!"
"See? There's the encouragement that I was looking for."
"Whatever." Jon says. "I was just being honest."
"Your wife taking good care of you man?" Josh asks.
"The best care ever. You know Laika."
"Yeah man she's a good one."
"Alright bro. We'll let you go." Jon says. "We just wanted to make sure you wasn't dead."
"Ignore him." Josh says. "Will we see you two at Survivor Series?" Joe shrugs.
"If not competing then hopefully backstage." He answers.
"Well we're all praying for you man. We love you Uce." Josh says.
"Tell the girls we said hi." Jon adds. "Bye Malaika."
"Bye twins."
"Later Uce." Joe hangs up the phone.
"Was it like that growing up with them?" I ask.
"All the damn time. It's worse now that they're older."
X
I'm so happy that the Shield is back and I really hope they keep it going until Roman gets better.
Congrats to Miz and Maryse. I'm really glad they're having a girl.
One of the things I love about following a wrestler's storyline when writing fanfiction is when you have the entire chapter planned out and then something changes, like he gets sick and you have to pull some creativity out of your ass and change it.
I had the rest of this chapter pretty much done. I had Joe in the hospital with meningitis but then I found out he had mumps so I had to go back and change everything. It's great. Really it is.
Depending on how Raw responds to the Smackdown invasion, it could change what I will do with Malaika's storyline. I have a promo planned out in my head to put her on the women's team but like I said before, everything could change. But I would really like to have one or both at Survivor Series.
ATTENTION! ATTENTION! KURT ANGLE STILL FUCKING GOT IT!
QOTC 1: Favorite part of TLC?
QOTC 2: Thoughts on Mahal vs. Lesnar?
QOTC 3: Match you're looking forward to at SS?
On a quick side note: The next story I will be posting is about the TV show Gotham. Now I honestly don't care if no one reads it. I love the story I have written out and I won't take it down. So if you like Gotham, get ready.
On another side note: There's something really funky going on in that Raw locker room. Between people leaving and people getting sick, there's a funky spirit in there that needs to be prayed out and kept out. We don't want it jumping to Smackdown and NXT too.
Coming soon: Anjali's party, the house options and Survivor Series
Until next time: Please watch the Black Panther trailer. I know see where everyone's donation money to Africa is going towards.
Gif of the Chapter: