Chapter Forty-Four: Hell Unleashed

Day 31 of suspension

Week 9 of pregnancy

Alex sat nervously in between Randy and Jeff at the clinic that specialized in SNP Microarray. All three had already given their blood samples and were awaiting the results.

Randy hadn't spoken to her since he blew up at her in front of Trish. Jeff also refused to speak to her even after she had called and left a message to let him know of Randy's threats of an order of protection for the kids if the baby wasn't his. To say the situation was tense was a severe understatement.

Finally the moment of truth came when the nurse walked in with a clipboard in her hand. "Sorry for keeping you waiting for so long. We have gotten the results back and they show that the baby's DNA matches that of Mr. Hardy's."

Tears immediately sprang to Alex's eyes as she heard Randy's breath catch in his throat. Jeff's face showed a mixture of emotions; none of which Alex could completely identify.

The tension in the air was palpable and the nurse had apparently noticed because she slowly backed out of the room and shut the door. As soon as the latch clicked, Randy stood up and removed a folded packet of papers from his back pocket.

"You knew this was coming," he said flatly and tossed them in Alex's lap.

She didn't even have to look at them to know what they were. "Please, Randy," she began.

"Don't. It's over," he replied and walked out.

Alex bent over and placed her head in her hands as the tears rolled down her face.

"So," Jeff spoke. "I hate to make an already bad situation worse, but we need to talk about custody arrangements."

"Do we really need to do this right now, Jeff?"

"I think it's best that you know early on that I want sole custody. And I will stop at nothing to get it."

Alex instantly flew into hysterics. She dropped to her knees from the chair she had been sitting in and grabbed Jeff's arm. "Please, Jeff. Don't take my baby away! I'll do anything! We can move in together and once my divorce is final, we can get married. Anything, please, just don't take all my babies away! I've already lost Jayda and the twins! Please, don't take this one too. I can't live without my kids."

"Honestly, Alex," Jeff sneered. "That's what Randy and I are counting on."

XxxxX

Alex shot straight up in bed, drenched in sweat. She immediately snatched her phone off the nightstand and dialed a number. It was very unlikely that he would answer. It had been weeks since he talked to her, but to her surprise a groggy voice picked up on the other end.

"Hello?"

"Are you going to take my baby away?"

"Alex, you do realize that it's three o'clock in the morning, right?"

"Just answer my question, Jeff," she pleaded.

"No, I'm not going to take the baby. Why would you think?"

"Do you and Randy want me to die?"

"I can't speak for Randy, but no I don't. Where is all this coming from?"

Alex took a deep breath and felt some of the tension leave her body. "I had a dream that the baby was yours. You and Randy were conspiring together to take all the kids away from me, sending me into a spiraling depression and eventually suicide."

"I would never wish that on you, Alex. Never in a million years," Jeff replied.

"Well, I wouldn't know that considering you've refused to speak to me for weeks."

"I'm sorry about that, Alex, but I had to remove myself from the situation for a while. But let me make it clear to you, that if this baby is mine, I could not ask for a better mother for him or her than you."

"Excuse me? You had to remove yourself from the situation? Damn, I wish I had that luxury. Seems like you and Randy both decided to check out while I'm stuck in Fucked Up Hotel. Do you even realize how fucking difficult and stressful it is trying to explain to your daughter why her dad hasn't tried to see or talk to her for weeks? Or why her favorite Uncle Jeff doesn't come by anymore? Add that to the constant attention the twins need and it has been pretty much hell."

"Hasn't Trish or Amy been there to help?"

"Every so often. Amy is here now to watch the kids while we go to the paternity test, but I can't expect them to stay here. They have their own lives to live. It's just overwhelming. Especially with this DNA test looming…and what's going to happen afterward," she said and paused, emotion catching in her throat. "I can't lose my kids, Jeff."

"I know. How about we just take this one step at a time? If this baby is mine, I will do whatever I can to make sure you keep your kids. And if not, then I'll walk away for good."

XxxxX

Later that morning, Alex pulled into the parking lot of the clinic for the DNA test. As she got out of the car, she looked up at the sky which had grown dark during her drive. She wanted to get this done and over with and get back to her babies before Mother Nature unleashed hell. She walked up to the door and noticed Jeff standing there, waiting for her. She pulled her lips into a small smile before looking around the parking lot.

"He's not here," Jeff said, softly.

Alex sighed and walked through the door that Jeff had opened for her. They checked in with the receptionist and then sat down in the waiting room.

"Do you think he'll show up?" Jeff asked as Alex pulled out her phone to check for messages.

"I don't know what to think when it comes to Randy anymore. I sent him a text last night and I called him this morning to remind him. No response. Even if he doesn't show, we'll have answers."

Jeff nodded and was silent for a few moments before speaking again. "I was thinking that after…this is over…maybe I could come by and see the kiddos."

"I'm not sure that's a very good idea, Jeff."

"Alex, you know yourself that I grew really close to those kids. If the baby isn't mine, I'm going to stand by my word and walk away. Please let me see them; it may be the last time I do."

As he spoke, Alex could see the emotion in his eyes. "Okay. Yeah, you can come by."

A few minutes later, they were called back and were joined by a nurse shortly after. She was a plump, older woman with short, graying hair and a friendly smile on her face.

"Good morning. I'm Barb and I'll be taking care of you today. Now, the schedule says that there's supposed to be three of you here today. Where's our third?" she asked.

"Um…yeah, Randy's not here and I'm assuming he's not coming," Alex answered.

"Would you like to reschedule?"

"No, no. If Jeff's doesn't match, I know Randy's does."

"Okay, that works fine, too. I'll try and be quick and get you folks out of here before this storm hits. It's supposed to be pretty bad and it's already looking nasty out."

Within ten minutes, both Jeff and Alex had given their blood samples and were walking toward the door.

"Now, normally," Barb stated, "we have you wait here for the results, but seeing how the weather is taking a turn for the worse, I want to get you two home. We will call you this afternoon with the results."

"Thank you," Alex replied as Jeff nodded. As Jeff began to open the door for the two of them, the wind blew it from his hand and slammed against the building.

"Holy shit!" he yelled in surprise as lightning lit up the sky and thunder rumbled around them. "Do you want to ride with me? I can bring you back to get your car once the storm passes."

"No, I'll be fine," Alex said as rain began to fall. "I've driven in a lot worse than this."

"Are you sure? I don't mind."

"I'm positive, Jeff. I'll see you at the house."

XxxxX

Isolation: the state of being in a place or situation that is separate from others.

It's what Randy had been living for the past two weeks. He took no visitors and answered no phone calls or text messages. He hadn't even stepped foot outside the house.

After his reality check with John and Dave, Randy felt the best place for him to be was alone with his thoughts. He had thought that maybe the time alone would be the catalyst to finally figuring out what he was going to do, but he was horribly mistaken. He couldn't bring himself to face his daughter who had overheard his malicious words to the only mother she had ever really known and to the only woman he had ever loved.

He knew she had called. He had heard "She Will Be Loved" by Maroon 5 ring out from the drawer of his nightstand more times than he could count. And man, did he hate that song, but she loved it and had set it as her ringtone on his phone to ensure a quick pick up.

Every time it rang, he had to stop himself from reaching into the drawer and answering it. He had to stop himself from telling her how unbelievably sorry he was for saying those awful things to her. He had to stop himself from telling her to come back home again so they could be a family again.

And he wanted to so damn bad. But there was still that question of whether or not the baby she was carrying was his or Hardy's. He didn't know if he would be able to handle helping care for another man's child.

Randy sighed as he sat on the edge of the bed, staring intently at that damn drawer as rain and wind pounded against the windows. That's when the what ifs started running through his head.

What if something was wrong? Something with the kids? Or the baby? Or Alex?

Randy jerked the drawer open and retrieved his phone. Nineteen voicemails. Twenty-five text messages.

"Randy, it's me. Just wondering if you want to see your kids. Jayda has been asking about you."

"Randy, it's Mike Chapman. You missed our appointment today I was calling to see if you wanted to reschedule."

He went through several more before he got to one that made his heart break.

"Daddy, why aren't you answering your phone? I miss you a lot. And so does Sadie and Jace. Do you not love us anymore like you don't love mommy? But mommy still loves you. And I do, too. I want you to let us come back and live with you. I bet if you did, mommy wouldn't cry every night. Please come see us. I love you, Daddy."

Tears silently streamed down Randy's face and he almost quit listening, but the sound of Alex's voice made him hold the phone closer.

"I've texted you ten times about this and you never replied. I thought maybe, just maybe, you might answer a phone call. But I was wrong. In case you decide you at least want to pretend to be interested in anything other than the bottom of a bottle, the DNA test is this morning at ten. The address is in your texts."

Randy hung up the phone and looked at the clock. It was 11:15. He had missed it, like he was sure he had missed a lot of things in the past few weeks. But damn it if he wasn't going to try to make it up to her. He wanted to make it all up to her.

He hurriedly threw on his tennis shoes and grabbed the keys to the Bentley. As he was heading toward the door that joined the garage and the house, a forceful knock sounded from the front door.

Of course, as soon as he was actually going to leave the house, someone would knock on the door. He tried to ignore it and continue on his way, but they were persistent and knocked even louder and harder a second time.

Randy sighed and walked to the front door and opened it. To his surprise, a police officer stood in front of him.

"Can I help you," Randy asked, a confused expression on his face.

"That depends. Are you Randy Orton?" the officer asked as Randy nodded. "And your wife is Alexandra Orton?"

"Yes, she is. Why? Is everything okay?"

"I'm afraid not. Your wife has been in an accident. It doesn't look good."

Thank you to Kinley Orton-Reigns, Guest, Bingobaby, RKOsgirl92, CapriceCC, XNeonxDreamsX, Pinayprincesa, Guest, BinksBella and Randysgurl for reviewing chapter 43 and CoDesha for reviewing chapter 42.