Finn's phone vibrated on the floor beside him early Friday morning as he packed for the weekend house shows. He didn't recognize the number and normally he wouldn't answer but the location read San Antonio, TX. He went ahead and slid the bar in case Lily changed numbers.
"Hello?"
"Fergal, sweetie?"
"Sweetie?" Shawn's voice was heard in the background and Finn realized that the first voice was Lily's mom. "Need I remind you that he defiled our daughter under our roof? I shouldn't have to because you knew before I did!"
"Shh!" she hushed him. "I'm calling on behalf of my husband because I know he's too prideful to contact you himself."
"I can take it from here," Shawn interrupted. "A few weeks have gone by and I'm aware that you've been secretly transporting Lily from show to show. I wanted to put a stop to it but it's been brought to my attention by Lily and then confirmed by my wife that there have been no further embarrassing incidents since she's been back under your watch. This was a very difficult decision to make and the truth is, I don't want you within 50 feet of my daughter but until she matures, I'll allow it."
"Oh, I, uh," Finn didn't quite know how to respond.
"She explained to me that you two were still on hiatus and I'd prefer it to stay that way. Strictly business but if these last few months have taught me anything it's that Lily is going to do what she wants. Let's get one thing straight, Balor, I am by no means giving you permission to have sex..." Shawn said the word 'sex' as if it tasted bad on his tongue"...with my daughter and it damn sure isn't a blessing to carry on whatever relationship you two had. You'll never get the greenlight for any of that if it has to come from Michael Shawn Hickenbottom."
"Maybe this isn't the time to ask this but do you hate me specifically for Lily or would you have felt this way about any of the guys in the back?" Finn boldly asked.
"You're right, this isn't the time," Shawn replied. "But yeah, you're hired again. I'll see you at Raw."
"And make sure you control that Cathy bitch!" Lily's mom yelled in the background before the call disconnected.
Finn smiled to himself about the slight victory he'd just won before scrolling through his contacts to find Lily.
She answered on the first ring. "Hey, have you left yet?"
"No, I got sidetracked by a phone call from your mommy and daddy," he revealed. "How did he know we were still traveling together?"
"I'm too embarrassed to say," she groaned.
"Lily, you saw me beat to a bloody pulp and I washed vomit out of your hair. The word embarrassment doesn't exist between us anymore."
"Okay," Lily paused, sighing. "I already had an Uber account before and that's the one I used to catch my rides. Of course my dad's card was linked to it and I didn't think to remove it now that I have my own cards. So when he finally looked at his statement he was confused as to why he was being charged for 2 and 3 mile trips to the arena. I had no other choice but to come clean."
"Wait," Finn erupted into laughter. Sometimes he forgot her age and moments like this reminded him.
"Stop laughing! It's not funny," Lily said all while laughing herself.
"Well, it all worked out in the end so..."
"It did? He told mom and me that he'd consider it but I thought he was only saying that to shut us up," she said.
"No, he was telling the truth apparently. He did give restrictions such as he wants me to keep things strictly business while also acknowledging that you're going to make your own decisions regardless."
"Aww, he's learning," she cooed. "Well, I'm about to go through TSA so I'll see you this evening."
***
It was now Sunday and Lily was in the middle of her match against Nia. She felt like crap and Nia throwing her around didn't make it any better. The crowd was booing. Lily didn't know if it was because they were still upset with Nia for injuring Becky a few weeks ago or if they genuinely cared that she was being beat up. Maybe it was a mix of both. She'd been putting on great matches every time she went out so the crowd didn't give her hate anymore and online she'd only get a few occasional trolls...and Finn fangirls calling her a drunk who didn't deserve him.
Her legs felt weak and she could barely run the ropes. Nia tagged in Tamina who Lily was booked to make a comeback on and get the win but she felt lightheaded and dizzy so she tagged a confused Ember in to pick up the win for their team.
Lily had barely made it backstage in time to drape herself over the toilet bowl in the bathroom. She washed her hands and splashed water on her face. In the mirror, she noticed a stall opening and made direct eye contact with Alexa who joined her at the sink.
"Pre-match drinks?" Alexa asked after a long awkward silence.
"I haven't tasted alcohol since that fateful night," Lily denied.
"Oh, wow. I was actually kidding during my promo a few weeks ago but I guess you really are pregnant with Baby Balor."
"I'm not pregnant. I think I have food poisoning. Fergal finds the weirdest eating establishments to take me to in different towns. So I woke up sick like this...and still went out there and out worked your average match," she mumbled the last bit to herself.
"Food poisoning, you think," Alexa put her hands up and backed away. "I have enough medical issues, I don't need another."
"Lilith, you look horrible," Finn commented when he found Lily backstage after the show.
"Thanks," she replied sarcastically.
"I'm serious! You're pale, sweaty and you look like you'll collapse at any second. You knew you were sick this morning and I begged you to pull out of your match tonight but you went out there anyway in this condition," he felt her forehead with the back of his hand. "Jesus, you're burning up with a fever."
"Fergal, I'm fine. I just need sleep," she yawned.
"Give me your bags," he slung them over his shoulders. "Let's go."
Lily felt the car stop underneath her. Her eyes were still closed but she could detect bright lights shining on the other side of her lids. She squinted her eyes open and saw 'Emergency Room' in big red flashing letters. "Seriously?"
She didn't remember much after he took her inside. One minute Finn was asking her information as he filled out paperwork and the next minute she was asleep again. When she woke she heard steady beeping. She tried to move and found IVs hanging from her arm. Finn and who she assumed was a female doctor stood at the foot of her hospital bed.
"Ms. Hickenbottom?" the doctor called out.
"Y-yes," Lily weakly acknowledged.
"I'm Dr. Patel and your examination finished about an hour ago," she replied.
"What's wrong with me?" Lily questioned.
"Would you like to tell her?" Dr. Patel looked over at Finn.
Finn walked forward to her bedside. "Lilith, remember when we were climbing up Bray Head and we discussed our future offspring? Well, he or she is coming sooner than we thought," he explained.
"Wha?" Lily was in disbelief as she looked up at the doctor. "Am I...?"
She nodded. "Yes, you're about six weeks along."
"And we've been broken up for about six weeks," Finn added. Lily's heart pounded and the heart monitor picked up in sync. "Lilith, we're going to be parents. Isn't this great and we get the news right in time for Christmas next week?"
"No!" Lily began crying, sobbing hard.
"Why are you crying?" he asked. "I'm the one who was fooled into thinking you were responsible enough to take your pills and it's me who's going to feel Shawn's wrath."
"But my career..."
"You're a Michaels and that means you'll always have a career in WWE. We can both work a reduced schedule that consists only of raw and Pay Per Views once the baby is born."
"Stop trying to make sense of this! My dad is going to kill me. I don't want to see the disappointment on his face grow as my belly does so I'll have to move into your cottage during my pregnancy and you can have your family check on me every now and then."
"Sure, we can do all of that...in about 5 years."
"In 5 years?" Lily gasped. "Wait, so I'm not pregnant?"
"No," the doctor confirmed. "You have a stomach flu. You were dehydrated so we're currently pumping fluids and electrolytes into your system. According to your baby daddy you wrestled a match in your weakened state so your body is physically exhausted."
"And I was just getting used to the idea of being a teen mom," Lily shrugged. "Now what?"
"We want to keep you overnight. I understand that you WWE people do a lot of traveling so hopefully this doesn't throw you too far off schedule," the doctor replied.
"It won't. We're only 2 or so hours away from Raw's location so we can easily knock that out in the morning. I'm already comfortable so I might as well stay."
"Thank you so much for bringing me here and not letting me potentially die in my sleep. I don't know what I'd do without you. Let's get back together so I can stop masturbating to your memories. I love you, Fergie," Finn mocked her after the doctor left.
"Your American country girl accent sounds more like Mickie James than me," Lily snorted. "You did get three things right in that statement though. I'll let you figure out which is which."
"Let's see, thank you so much?"
"Yep."
"I don't know what I'd do without you?"
"Uh hmm."
"You masturbate to my memories," he teased.
"You wish! Skip to the next sentence."
"Well, if you love me, why disregard the thought of us getting back together?"
"I told you already," she sighed. "I want to focus on me and my career right now. Add in my family life and I'm spread pretty thin. I'm hospitalized for god sakes."
"Speaking of family, should I call Shawn since I'm technically back on duty?"
"No, I don't think this is serious enough to bother him with. He probably isn't flying out until the morning which means he's still home so my mother will be worried as well."
Lily's phone rang. Her first instinct felt for her pockets until realizing she was in a hospital gown. Finn dug into the pile of clothes on the sofa.
"It's H," he read the screen.
"What? How does he know?" she asked aloud. She didn't recall seeing any fans that could've spread the word that they were there.
"The only person who recognized me was some old guy and somehow I doubt he knows what Twitter, Instagram or Reddit is," Finn replied, handing her the phone.
"Maybe he has a grandchild," Lily muttered, sliding the bar. "Everything is okay, Hunter. No need to worry."
"Worry about what?" What are you talking about, Lily? What are you up to?" Hunter sounded legitimately confused.
"Oh, nothing. What's up?"
"I've booked you on an early morning talk show with Alexa to promote tomorrow night's Raw," he informed.
"Me?" Lily's brow scrunched. "Do you think I'm ready for that?"
"Sure, you're pretty well spoken when you aren't arguing with me and Shawn," he chuckled.
"What's the catch?" she asked.
"Statistics on underage drinking were just released and it's crazy. This will be a great opportunity to clean up your image and turn a negative into a positive by speaking out against it," he explained.
"What time?"
"8 AM but of course you'll have to arrive by at least 7:30. I assume you and Finn are on your way to the next stop so you won't have to make the drive in the morning."
Lily glanced over at the heart monitor. "Yeah, we are."
"Alright, I'll see you backstage tomorrow. Goodnight," Hunter said.
"Goodnight," she replied. "Fergal, find Dr. Patel and tell her to get my discharge papers ready. We have to get out of here ASAP."
"What's going on?"
"I'll tell you on the way," in a quick move, Lily pulled the IV out of her arm with a hiss and blood began to stream from the tear in her vein.
"What the fuck?!" Finn exclaimed in horror.
"We have to go," she replied, standing to her feet. She was still weak but she felt a lot better than she did earlier. She concluded that if she drunk a gallon of water and got some sleep once they made it to the hotel, she'd be fine.
****
She was right. When she woke the next morning, there was still lingering feelings of sickness but her health had gone from 15% to 75%. By tomorrow or maybe even that night she'd be 100%. Concealer did its job and covered the dark circles under her eye and blush brought color to her cheeks.
She heard the door that connected her room to Finn's open. He appeared in the bathroom door with a breakfast tray but she didn't want to chance it knowing that she wasn't fully recovered. "Thanks but please no. I don't even want to look at food right now. Imagine another barfing caught on camera."
"Yeah, if they gave Nattie a farting gimmick a few years ago, giving you a vomiting gimmick won't be too far out there."
"Eww," Lily shivered. "I wish I had Alexa's number so we could touch base and stuff."
"I have it," Finn said pulling out his phone.
Lily raised a brow. "You do?"
"Calm down, it's not like that. She's in one of the group chats we have going."
"Why am I not a part of any group chats? I'm in one with a few of the women but they never talk about anything worth noting."
"Well, before the reveal you were known as this random girl who got lucky and now you're the daughter of Shawn Michaels and not to mention you practically live in Hunter's office so people may not feel comfortable saying what they really think in your presence yet..."
Lily was taken aback. "Wow, I have complaints and gripes about this company of my own so I'm not interested in running back to Hunter or my dad to tell on anyone. I bet Ashley is in the group."
"Yeah but everyone knows Charlotte by now and Ric isn't our boss like Hunter is. Don't worry about it. Give it some time," he replied.
"Whatever, what's the number," Lily had her phone ready to type.
Lily: Alexa?
Alexa: Who is this? *eyes emoji*
Lily: It's me, Lily. I don't know if they told you but we're doing an interview together this morning.
Alexa: How did you get this number?
Lily: One of your basement dwelling fanboys (aka 80% of your fanbase) shared it on Twitter.
Alexa: What?!
Lily: Just kidding, I got it from Fergal.
Alexa: Room 537.
Lily: Omw.
Lily knocked and Alexa answered with a finger pressed to her lip, signaling quiet. When she entered the room, she saw the reason why. Alexa's fiance, Buddy Murphy was asleep in bed.
Alexa escorted Lily into the bathroom and analyzed her appearance. "It's almost 7, why aren't you dressed?"
"I am dressed," Lily looked down at herself wearing a blue sweater and jeans.
"Dressed for what? Dave and Busters?"
"I got the call for this at midnight. There were no malls open so I had nothing else to wear," Lily explained.
"When you stay ready, you don't have to get ready, newbie. Just like you pack 3 or 4 different ring gears, always pack a few business casual looks. That's rule number 1. You don't know what management will spring on you at the last minute. A visit to a museum or a children's hospital or an interview," Alexa opened her bag. "You're like an inch or two taller than me but you're still skinny enough to fit something of mine."
Lily noticed the assortment of black that Alexa shuffled around in her bag. "Do you have anything less...funeral-ish? I'd think so considering all the pink you were to the ring."
"Rule number 2. Always establish the difference between your gimmick and your reality. Alexa Bliss likes sparkles and pink. Lexi Kaufman isn't that flashy. Plus, black is slimming," Alexa quietly finished. That's when Lily remembered her previous eating disorder and for a moment Alexa seemed human.
Lily fitted herself in a black skirt suit. "I'll take this home and wash it and have it back to you next week."
"No, you can burn it when you're done. I don't want your sickness or alcoholism to rub off on me," and just like that Alexa transitioned from human back to evil blonde robot.
"I'm conflicted. I can't exactly call you a bitch after you were nice enough to dress me."
"As it should be. It's time," Alexa walked into the hallway and saw Finn waiting. "Must you follow her everywhere? I suppose you are old enough to be her dad so maybe that's where your fatherly concern stems from."
"Maybe Murphy should've been following you everywhere especially during that first Mixed Match Challenge. Team Little Big, anyone? They brought him up to 205 Live just in time," Finn shot back.
Lily watched Alexa memorize her talking points backstage at the show. She turned to Finn. "I'm so nervous."
"Don't worry, you'll be fine," Finn encouraged her. "You've been great on the mic so far. If you can talk in front of at least 12,000 people in the arena, you can talk in front of 100 people in the studio audience."
"Yeah, but the difference is when I talk I'm in a wrestling ring, my element. Today I have to speak with 2 overly botoxed hosts silently judging me and an at home audience of suburban housewives who probably can't tell you what WWE stands for. Neither World Wrestling Entertainment nor Walk With Elias. Speaking of the at home audience, this show averages around 11 million viewers every morning. The last Raw was 2.19 million thanks to football season and the sucky writing."
"Okay," Alexa cleared her throat, interrupting Lily's conversation. "Let me do most of the talking. You just smile, nod while I speak and wait until they bring up your incident."
"Actually, that's fine with me," Lily replied.
Lily watched on the monitor as the hosts walked out and did their opening monologues. "WWE will be live tonight here in Sacramento at the Golden 1 Arena. Please welcome our first guests, Alexa Bliss and Lily Michaels."
Lily smiled and nodded as Alexa shilled tonight's show, talked up the women's revolution and even threw in Vince McMahon's appearance tonight.
"Have you two had any run ins with each other yet, Lily?" one of the hosts asked. She asked Lily by name so she had no other choice but to respond.
"Uhm, we had a little preview of a feud a few weeks ago but we're friends, for now," Lily fake smiled at Alexa who fake smiled back in return.
"Lily, we saw your very handsome boyfriend backstage. He's WWE Superstar, Finn Balor," the other host said and a shirtless picture of him appeared on screen which led to a lot of ooohs from the mostly female audience.
"Oh God," Lily cringed. She thought about denying their relationship but she wouldn't give Cathy the satisfaction of seeing her publicly disown him. "Yeah, Finn is amazing, unreal and mine. I love him to death and he truly inspires me to keep doing what I'm doing in this business," Lily heard awwws from the crowd.
"He inspires you more than your father, WWE Hall of Famer, Shawn Michaels? How does he feel about your relationship?"
"I think it goes without saying that my father is my idol and the reason why I wanted to do this but it's nice to have someone on your level going through it with you and that's what Finn is. My father is...adjusting to our relationship," Lily finished.
It was now the other hosts turn to speak. "Speaking of father, nepotism is dominating the entertainment industry whether it's modeling,acting, singing and it seems the wrestling industry is no different. Alexa, you're a self-made, homegrown wrestler, do you think Lily has it easier than you?"
"I-uh, well," Alexa was thrown off by the question and the answer definitely wasn't found in her talking points.
"Let me answer that question for you, Alexa. Yesterday, I unknowingly woke with a stomach flu. I rode 5 hours in a car to get from Saturday's house show location to Sunday's. I worked a 20 minute match against a 272 pound Samoan woman, I checked into a hospital where I was diagnosed with the stomach flu plus exhaustion. I ripped the IV out of my arm when I learned about this appearance and if I'm allowed, I'll be wrestling again tonight so make sure you all come out to see the show. If that's my easy ride, I'd hate to be on a bumpy one," the audience clapped at her answer.
Alexa cleared her throat. "As long as she works hard for her spot, I have no issue with her last name. Clearly she's willing to put in the work and is on the right track."
"She's on the right track, professionally but a few weeks ago a video of Lily intoxicated made its rounds on social media..."
Lily refused to watch as they played a clip of the video. "The night it happened, I wasn't thinking. I wasn't thinking about my family, I wasn't thinking about the other women in the locker room and I wasn't thinking about my reputation. Women in WWE are on the rise and with that, I'm bound to attract little girls and teens who'll look up to me as a role model. I feel horrible knowing that when you Google my name, the TMZ article is one of the top results. I've done a lot of research and found out that each year, approximately 5,000 people under the age of 21 die as a result of underage drinking. This includes about 1,900 deaths from motor vehicle crashes, 1,600 as a result of homicides, 300 from suicide, as well as hundreds from other injuries such as falls, burns, and drownings. Together, WWE and I are working on a project to get that number down by this time next year. Remember kids, underage drinking is not cool, when the video goes viral, you'll look like a fool."
"So what's this project?" Finn asked after the interview was done.
"There is no project but it sounded good," Lily shrugged. "We'll have to come up with something now which may actually make a difference so there's that."
*****
"Knock, knock!" Lily said in time with her actual knocking. She opened the door to see Shawn and Hunter on the other side. "So what did I do wrong today, guys?"
"Actually, we're very proud of how you conducted yourself in the interview today. They threw a few hardball questions at you and you knocked it out of the park," Hunter praised.
"Yeah, you did outstanding, Lily. However, you could've kept that Finn lovefest to yourself," Shawn added.
"What was I supposed to say? We're not together anymore and this is why. First, we secretly snuck around with each other until my dad caught us via sext messages given to him by Finn's deranged ex. My dad beat him up, I decided to stay with him until the pressure became too much for me to handle. I'm sure the dirt sheets would have eaten that up big time," Lily scoffed.
"A simple 'we aren't together anymore' would've sufficed," Shawn replied.
"She did the right thing," Hunter said. "There's nothing the suburban mom demographic loves more than a attractive power couple. Since that interview searches on "Lily Michaels and Finn Balor," "Finn Balor shirtless," and "Finn Balor bulge" have doubled. Let's do the math, curious suburban mom's will tune into Raw tonight. Suburban moms will introduce their kids to the product to have an excuse to go when the show comes to their city. Suburban Mom's kid's want merch. Suburban Mom uses Suburban Dad's credit card to buy. We profit."
"How nice of you to exploit, I mean, approve of our relationship now that it's over," Lily rolled her eyes. "But yeah, you're proud of me, where's my reward. Can I win the gauntlet match tonight?"
"Lily, you're not even going to be in the gauntlet match tonight. You went on national television and told the world that you were hospitalized last night. There's no way I can send you out there without looking like a slave driver," Hunter replied.
"We're on the road 300 days a year away from our families and friends. You are a slave driver!" Lily countered.
"If you wanted to get out there with an injury that would be fine because it affects you only but we're talking a stomach flu. Do you not remember last year when Bray Wyatt came down with a case of the mumps and it sideline Roman, Bo and Jojo? Yeah, we don't want that to happen again especially in the women's locker room. It's only like 10 of you in there."
"I ran into Nia earlier and she wasn't sick. I also did the interview with Alexa and she isn't sick either..."
"...yet," Shawn said. "He's telling you right, Lily. One thing you can't be in this business is selfish and putting your locker room at risk is being just that."
"But, we're taping next week's Raw after this one is finished so if you don't let me out there I'll miss two straight shows! I had custom Christmas gear made for tonight. I even packed a Santa hat," Lily pouted. "What am I supposed to do?"
"Enjoy your night off," Hunter stood, looking at his watch. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm in the opening segment and it's almost show time."
"Every time I start picking up steam you find a way to ruin it," Lily mumbled.
"Excuse me? So I infected you with the stomach flu virus in an attempt to hold you back," he asked humorously.
"Stranger things have happened here in WWE," Lily shot back.
"What to do...What to do..." Lily wondered aloud as she wandered aimlessly backstage too afraid to step into the women's locker room even though she felt much better now. Finn's match was on and she hadn't watched him wrestle in a while so she decided to stop in front of a monitor in gorilla. He was wrestling Dolph. She noticed Drew standing in wait behind the curtain and knew it was going to be a screwy ending.
"Are you flying home with me or going to Orlando?" Shawn crept up behind her.
"I'm done with all my Christmas shopping so I guess I'm going home," she answered.
"You were in the hospital and didn't tell me?"
"I didn't want to worry you," she said. "I know the only reason you're allowing us to be around each other is for babysitting purposes but thank god he was there. I was not going to get checked out on my own. As it turned out, I was in pretty bad shape."
"My hero," Shawn mocked sarcastically.
"Dad!"
"Fine, whatever," he rolled his eyes. "I'm happy that he took care of you but don't expect me to kiss his ass."
"No, but you can thank him," she replied.
The match was over and like Lily suspected, Drew attacked both men.
"I've changed my mind. What am I even thanking him for? He's damn near 40. Why the hell should I be impressed that he used common sense and took a feverish girl to the hospital?!"
"Because that feverish girl was your daughter who initially refused. Stomach flu plus dehydration plus exhaustion is not a good combination of things to leave untreated," she pointed out.
"Fine," Shawn grumbled.
Lily met Finn at the curtain when he entered. She traced a single bead of sweat that fell from his chest to his belly button.
"I'd ask you to go a few inches lower but Shawn is burning a hole through my head," he said.
"About that," Lily grabbed his hand and walked him over. "Dad, don't you have something to say to Fergal?"
Shawn was frowning and his lips were set in a straight line. Lily cleared her throat and he inhaled deep through his nostrils before extending his hand. "Thank you for taking Lily to the hospital. I don't want to think about what would've happened if you didn't."
"It was no problem, Shawn. I wouldn't have been able to sleep if I didn't take her not knowing what could've happened in the night. I just wanted to make sure she was okay," Finn replied.
"Well, I'm done here since Hunter banned me from wrestling," Lily remarked.
"I have to stay because I'm wrestling Ziggler and McIntyre in a three way tonight for next week's show."
"I'm going to miss you so much. No house shows this weekend, no Raw next Monday. It's going to be a long week," she hugged him. "I assume you're going to Ireland, huh?"
"I am and I want you to come with me," Finn requested, a small smile playing around his lips.
"Ferg, we're technically not together. Your mom is probably still disappointed in me and I don't have Frankie so your nieces and nephew will be disappointed as well. Plus, this is the first Christmas that I have a job and my own money so I bought my parents gifts and want to be there to present them."
"I understand," he nodded. "It would've been nice to have you there though."
"There's always next year but in the meantime..." Lily held an imaginary mistletoe over her head and he didn't hesitate to bring his head down to hers. Their lips met and she'd finally realized that she'd been missing a piece of herself for the last six weeks. She opened her mouth readily to his tongue and moaned.
"Enough!" Shawn yelled, prying them apart. He tossed Lily his rental car keys. "You go get your shit and wait for me in the car. I'm going to set Fergal here straight."
"Dad!"
"Go!" he hissed, pointing to emphasis it.
She couldn't meet Finn's eyes as she turned knowing she'd gotten him in trouble with her father again. As she walked off she heard the beginning of the conversation.
"I'm sorry, Shawn, I got a little carried away," Finn said.
"Damn right you did and right in front of me!" Shawn replied.
****
Lily woke Christmas morning to Frankie barking at her bedside wearing a dog Santa sweater. "Merry Christmas to you, too. I guess you smelled your treat, huh?"
She went reached on top of the dresser and threw him a gingerbread man dog biscuit. Stepping out of her room, she saw that her mom had gone overboard on Christmas decorations this year. Christmas lights twinkled around every door frame, and all available wall space displayed a wreath or a star or some other Christmas trinket. It was treading a thin line between festive and tacky. She could smell food already.
Lily found her mom icing cookies and Shawn reading a newspaper when she walked into the kitchen. "Good Morning, parents. Merry Christmas."
"Merry Christmas, Lily," they said simultaneously.
"Okay, let's get right into it," Lily pulled a bag from behind her back. "Since you two have been going first the last 17 years, I guess it's finally my turn. Dad, I bought you a new hunting watch and Mom, I got you a VIP membership to the best spa in San Antonio. I covered the cost for the next 2 years."
They thanked her for her gifts and now it was there time to present. She noticed that her Mom held an envelope but it was Shawn who went first.
"Close your eyes," he asked like he did every year. Since she was 12 years old, Shawn bought her a new purse every Christmas. The only surprise was the brand and color. She heard him shuffling and he cleared his throat. "Okay."
She gasped when she saw a powder blue Chanel bag held in front of her face. "No way! You will not believe this but Fergal and I were out one day and I pointed out this exact same purse on a woman's shoulder. This is crazy. I love it!"
"Thank you," the accent gave Lily pause and that's when she noticed that it wasn't Shawn's hand dangling the purse in front of her.
"What?!" Lily pushed back from the table. "Fergal? What are you doing here?"
"Shawn invited me," he informed her and she raised a brow. "I was surprised, too."
She turned her head to address her father. "Okay, if the purse is from him, what did you get me?"
"My gift is allowing him to set foot in my house again after what happened the last time...and the new iPhone that's no different from the last," Shawn said, placing the box on the table in front of her.
"And this is mine," her mom said, sliding her the envelope. Lily felt it before opening it. She slid the contents into her palm. It was plane tickets that she read aloud.
"Let's see. First class...December 31, 2018 from San Antonio to...IRELAND! This is not happening!" she shook her head in disbelief. "I'm going back to bed and then I'm going to wake up because clearly this is a very vivid dream of some sorts."
"It's real...unfortunately," Shawn begrudgingly confirmed.
"Can you guys excuse us for a moment," Lily said, dragging him away.
"Leave the door open!" Shawn yelled behind them.
"Unlike your dad, when my dad says it, he means it," Lily laughed. "What are you doing here? I saw fan pictures of you in Ireland so you were there as of yesterday!"
"Yeah, I went to celebrate with my family early and left in time to be here with you. When Shawn invited me, I knew I couldn't pass up this rare opportunity," he replied.
"I'm so glad you didn't. I was going to be okay this morning but I was probably going to be lonely later on today knowing that I have a life outside of here now," she smiled. "I freaking love you."
"I freaking love you, too," he returned.
"Did Frankie see you this morning?"
"Yes, I'm the one who brought him the Santa outfit. His excited barking was so loud when I walked through the door, we thought he'd wake you."
"Well, he came in here to wake me, I guess but I thought his hyper behavior was over a dog treat," she laughed.
Finn held his phone high above his head. "I told my parents that I would Facetime them when I arrived."
"Hiiii," Lily greeted when she saw Finn's parents appear on screen.
"Merry Christmas, Lily," Leonie and Fintan greeted.
"Nollaig Shona Duit," Lily struggled to say. She planned on sending it to Finn in a text later and Google translate told her that it meant, Happy Christmas or something like that. She knew she didn't pronounce it right judging by their facial expressions.
"Uh, it's NO-Lihg HO-nuh ghwich," he gently corrected.
"Oh, sorry, what he said," she smiled awkwardly.
"It's okay. You get an A for effort," Fintan replied. "At least you care about his culture."
"If he's running out before Christmas on us to be with you, I assume you two have reconciled," Leonie questioned.
"Have we?" Finn pressed for an answer.
"We have," Lily kissed him on his cheek. "As a matter of fact, we will be spending New Years with you guys next week."
"Fergal, for the love of god, please teach her how to pronounce Happy New Year before she arrives," Fintan joked.
"Ha ha," Lily responded sarcastically.
"Alright you two," Finn said. "Mum, Dad, I, I mean, we will see you next week."
"Bye guys," Lily waved.
"Did you really mean that or did you only say it to spare my feelings in front of my parents?" he asked.
"I meant it. I can't believe I let myself stay romantically separated from you as long as I did. Forgive me," she pleaded.
"There's nothing to forgive. You felt overwhelmed with everything happening so fast and you had every right to take a step back from it all. The way I saw it, we were never separated. We were just platonically dating," he assured her and this seemed to brighten Lily.
"Lily, come help me prepare the table," Lily's mom called out from the kitchen.
Lily pulled out a Christmas tablecloth and Finn helped her spread it. "If I knew you were coming, I would've tried to make one of those dishes I helped your mom with to make you feel at home."
"No, this is fine," he replied, taking his spot beside her at the table. He cleared his throat. "Shawn, for you to invite me here today let's me know that you, A. trust me or B. tolerate me. Either way, I feel like this is a new beginning and I don't want to start it with lies or deception therefore it's my duty to inform you that Lily and I are back together as a couple."
Shawn never stopped carving the turkey. "Shit, my arm is tired already."
"I can't believe he refused to acknowledge what you said," Lily said later as she forced him to watch some of her favorite Netflix movies.
"Well, it's better than him jumping across the table on me holding that huge knife he had," Finn shrugged.
"Before I met you I thought he was going to be my husband," Lily spoke of Noah Centineo on her screen.
"Him?" Finn looked confused and slightly disgusted.
"What can I say? I have a thing for infectious smiles," she shrugged. "If it makes you feel any better you're hotter and his chin is weak."
"Will you get mad if I tell you that I've hated every movie you've shown me tonight especially the ones starring your husband? I don't know why but I just couldn't get into them."
"I know why. It's because you're old!" she teased.
"That's one thing you've never had a problem with," he winked.
"You want to know the best part about being back together is..." she trailed off as she slid her hand down waist and to his crotch, squeezing him through his jeans. It felt like a steel rod in her hands and he groaned in response.
"Lilith, I'm not on Shawn's bad side, I'm not on his good side. For now it feels neutral and in order for it to stay that way you need to kindly remove your hand. It's been six weeks. Six long, hard weeks and now knowing that I can have you again is going to make me not only close that door but lock it as well," he said, placing her hand on the bed. He looked around her bedroom. "It's nice to finally see your room in the light."
"It's nice to finally have you back in here because never in a million years did I think you'd set foot in my house again, let alone the place where the magic happened," Lily yawned. Both heads turned when they heard light tapping on the open door and saw her mom.
"I assume you're here to show me to my room," Finn commented.
"Actually, Shawn is going to show you to your room...across town," she said, flashing a key card. "He's in the holiday spirit alright but he's not cheerful enough to make the same mistake twice. You two may be a couple again but there will be no after hours couple activity under our roof. I know you two have to fly to New York tomorrow for the Holiday Tour so you're welcome back in the morning to have breakfast with us."
****
"Enough!" Shawn yelled, prying them apart. He tossed Lily his rental car keys. "You go get your shit and wait for me in the car. I'm going to set Fergal here straight."
"Dad!"
"Go!" he hissed, pointing to emphasis it.
Lily looked embarrassed and couldn't look at him as she walked away.
"I'm sorry, Shawn, I got a little carried away," Finn apologized.
"Damn right you did and right in front of me!" Shawn replied.
"Shawn, Raw isn't even in its second hour yet and we have to turn around a film it again for next week so it's going to be a long night for me. Can you save the 'stay the hell away from my daughter' rant for another time? I bought Lily a present so can you sneak it under the tree for me? I have to retrieve it from my bag in the locker room so if you have a minute to spare I'll go get it."
"No!" Shawn replied.
"Come on, Shawn. It's Christmas," Finn begged.
"You're a 37 year old man," Shawn said.
"I am," Finn was confused by the comment, wondering where he was going with this.
"I'm sure you've spent plenty of years at home with your family during the holiday so I don't think it'll hurt you to miss one..."
"What are you saying?" Finn thought he had an idea but with Shawn he couldn't be too sure.
"I'm saying you can give that present to her yourself," he clarified.
"Shawn, are you inviting me over for Christmas?!" Finn's lips spread into a smile.
"Don't get too excited," Shawn warned.
"Are we okay, Shawn?" Finn asked during the car ride to the hotel.
"The only reason I invited you here is because I couldn't stand to see my daughter unhappy during her first adult Christmas and because you were there when she was sick. Now you two are back together. Should've known it would happen. Only time will tell if we're okay, Fergal," Shawn replied. "You asked me if I hated you or if I wouldn't felt this way about any of the guys. Out of all the guys you're the one I liked and respected most of all. You're a good kid, Fergal. The truth is, after a few years when Lily was at least 21, I probably would've offered her to you so none of the other assholes would get to her but you going behind my back and stealing my 18 year old daughter was the ultimate betrayal."
"That's the thing, Shawn. Lily isn't an object that can be offered or stolen. We chose each other. Yes, I do regret going behind your back but from now own I'm going to be straightforward with you about our relationship. I love her and one day we're going to get married and give you lots of grandchildren to destroy your wife's decorations..."
"Fergal, this isn't a movie or some sappy romance novel so if you're looking for a feel good moment where we hug it out and I realize that you were what was best for her from the beginning and I was too stubborn to realize it, that's not happening," Shawn shook his head as the car came to a stop. "The best I can do is tell you that I won't interfere unless I have to."
"I'll take it," Finn said, stepping out of the car. "You enjoy the rest of your Christmas, Shawn."
******
Lily decided to make use of her Christmas ring gear. Her dad returned from dropping Finn of 30 minutes ago and the house was silent. Being as quiet as possible, she tiptoed out of her room and headed to the door.
A lamp in the living room clicked on, illuminating the area to reveal her parents sitting on the sofa. The sight caused her to jump.
Shawn cleared his throat. "It's Christmas night so there will be a lot of drunk driving and craziness going on. You be careful out there."
"T-that's it?" Lily blinked.
"Yeah," he nodded.
"Are you sure?"
"Go before I change my mind, Lily..."
"Okay," Lily grabbed the doorknob before looking back again. "Not even a curfew?"
"Lily!" Shawn huffed.
When Lily arrived to the hotel, she walked right up to the front desk attendant. "Hi, did Michael Hickenbottom book a room here?"
"Yeah, Shawn Michaels. He did," she confirmed.
"Well I'm his daughter," Lily said, flashing her driver's license. "And I was wondering if I could have the key to that room."
"Sure. I've seen you on RAW a few times," the woman nodded.
Lily slid the key card in Finn's hotel door and slowly opened it.
When she entered his expression changed from frightened to relief and then panicked. "What are you doing here? Shawn is going to kill us both if he wakes and doesn't find you in bed! I'm finally gaining some ground with him, let's not piss it away."
"Relax, in a strange turn of events, he saw me leave..."
"Well he said he wasn't going to interfere anymore but I didn't think it'd immediately take effect. Did he know where you were going?"
"Fergal, it's 11:45 PM. I'm wearing assless chaps with candy cane patterns and a matching bralette up top. I'm sure he knows I'm not going Christmas caroling with a church choir," she snorted.
"He wants you back in an hour, huh?"
"I wondered the same but no, I'm yours all night," she said seductively.
"I don't recall receiving a Christmas gift from you today..."
"I kind of thought you were going to be in another country today so I didn't bother but I can give you something I've never given you before..." She slid down his body and onto her knees, pulling his pants and briefs down with her. It popped out, springing to life. "Oh, hi there."
Her tongue made contact with his head just as a test. It tasted like skin, not gross or dirty like she expected but of course Finn was cleaner than most men. She pressed her tongue on the underside and he shuddered. She carefully licked up and down the length, feeling the ridges and curves of him.
Finn pulled her by her forearms into a standing position. He struggled to remove her chaps until she unbuttoned them in the front. She could feel a sense of urgency in his touch so she didn't want to delay things any further. Lily bent herself over the bed and he wasted no time accepting her invitation. He grasped her hips again and began sinking into her body gently but firmly. Her mouth opened in a silent scream. She couldn't believe how much she missed the feeling of him inside of her.
He started slowly, but quickly increased the pace until the room filled with the slapping sound of his actions. She began thrusting back against him, moaning loudly, unbelievable pleasure emitting through her body. By the time she felt her orgasm starting to build he grunted loudly and stilled against her.
"Wait, did you...?"
"Babe, I told you, it's been six long, hard weeks without you. I'm surprised I lasted that long to be honest," he laughed. "Give me a few minutes to recover and we can go into round 2."
"No, it's fine. I forgot you had to take a long flight to get here so rest. We have tomorrow night, the night after that and the night after that to pick up where we left off," she smiled, moving to lie on a pillow.
He didn't say anything as he joined her on the bed. Only his spent body, heavy breathing and strong arms holding her tight spoke to her for a while. "We're back."
"We are and legitimately this time," she replied. "I just thought about something?"
"What?"
"I attempted to tell your parents Merry Christmas and you corrected me on how to tell them Merry Christmas but we never told each other Merry Christmas..."
He clicked his phone and it was after midnight. "Yeah, Christmas ended about 45 minutes ago..."
"Okay, well, I wish you a Too Sweet Holiday," her fingers formed the iconic hand gesture and he met it with his own. "Goodnight Gorgeous."