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Summary: Five years after a plane crash leaves Jeff Hardy presumed dead, his fiancée is ready to move on, to a new life with her autistic son. But what happens when her life is turned upside down with a blast from her not so distant past and she is forced to reevaluate everything she thought she knew?
Authors Note: This is a story I am writing off line first as a real fiction that I hope to sell to a major publisher and also as a WWE fiction. I own the rights to my character Mariska Devlin and her autistic son. This story as born out of my real life struggle trying to raise a recently diagnosed son with Autism. I hope in some small way you enjoy this fiction because it has been inspirational as I have been writing it and I am happy to share it all with you. Thank you for any and all support.
"Mariska, after all the diagnostic testing that was done between you and the school; I am ready to diagnose JJ. With all of the time spent monitoring him, and interacting with him, what we have found is that JJ has a form of Autism that is actually quite common in young boys. It is called Asperger Syndrome. I have some material for you relating to it if you would like to take it home with you later today."
As she sat in the pediatric office, colorful childhood drawings adorning the walls; the lump in her chest grew bigger. Of course she had seen this coming, there had been small signs of it for years leading up to these doctors visits. She just hadn't prepared herself fully for what she was hearing.
JJ; as he was affectionately known, Jeffery Junior was her five year old son. The son she had always dreamed of having. The son who just happened to look like his father. But while she was blessed to have the wonderful young man in her life, she felt her heart rip open with the knowledge that his father would never get to have that same blessing.
Jeffery Nero Hardy. The only man she had ever allowed herself to completely, mind; body and soul love. The only man she had given her body to, all those years ago. Jeff Hardy, the man who was presumed dead more then five years ago after a plane he was flying aboard crashed. There were no known survivors.
Allowing herself to come away from the memories of her long ago love, she shifted her attention back to the doctor. He was still going through the motions of explaining the facts about autism and the more she listened, the sadder she became.
You should be here with me right now Jeff. You should be here with all of your inner strength. To pull me up before I fall apart." She thought to herself, trying with all of her might to pay attention to what the doctor was explaining about JJ.
It wasn't that she couldn't do it alone, she had been doing just that since the day he had been born all those years ago. It was just that at times like these; she just wished she had his strength. His strong but silent body there beside her.
"What can I do Doctor?" she blurted out, cutting him off mid sentence, wanting a more human answer then what she was getting now. "What I mean is, what can I do for him to make him feel like the amazing young boy that he is, despite being Autistic?"
Mariska knew the answers she sought would never come; at least not from this doctor and not on this day. What she needed more then anything was Jeff back in her life again. Helping her to raise their child.
"You need to be patient with him, help him the way you have been. Nurture him and you will both get through this. Autism is a part of him but it doesn't have to be the thing that defines him. You can do this Mariska."
That was easy for the Doctor to say. He didn't have to be a single parent to a boy prone to outbursts and what the school called "trouble making." Some days were easier then others but it took all of her energy and all of her patience just to make it through the entire day.
But you wouldn't change a damn thing because this little boy was made from the most powerful of loves.
She knew that to be true and she also knew she would get through all of this now as well. There was no other option for her because JJ was her entire world.
Mariska listened again as the Doctor went on about when he wanted to see them again and she mentally took down the information and appointment in her mind. Just another thing she had to remember and another thing she had to do alone.
She thanked the doctor, shaking his hand firmly as she did and made her way out of the office; JJ in tow behind her, more then happy to be out of the cramped and stuffy room. As they left the medical building, she took a long lingered look at her son, his smile just infectious.
He looked more and more like his father with each passing day and she was secretly thankful. With no body ever been recovered, Mariska; over the years believed that maybe Jeff could still be alive. As the years passed by that hope seemed to have faded and had turned to thankfulness that at least she had little JJ.
From his natural blond hair; to the extreme never say die attitude that Jeff had possessed when he had been alive, JJ was the epitome of his father and watching him now really warmed her heart.
Bringing her back to the present her son tugged on her arm excitedly. When she looked down at him her face filled with love. Despite the diagnosis, he was still her little boy and she loved him with every fiber of her being.
"Can we go and see Uncle Matt?"
Mariska, her mind lost for so long in memories of the past just nodded her head in agreement. If there was one person that had stepped up since Jeff's death, it had been his brother Matt. Another Angel she was thankful to have.
The plans had been made to visit Matt anyway, something she felt needed to be done. Because today, exactly five years after Jeff had passed on and the birth of their son; there was news to be shared.
For Mariska was finally going to become a Hardy, it just wasn't the way she had imagined it all those years ago.