Author's Notes: This fic is the sequel to the story Where Love Lies. Events in this story may refer back to events that took place in Where Love Lies.

Disclaimer: All the events and character description taken place in this story is COMPLETELY FICTION. No copyright infringement intended. All characters are copy written to their respective owners. No profit is being made from this story. It should be viewed only as entertainment.

Chapter One

"It my birfday Mommy!" Aurora exclaimed. Her little nose scrunched up as she smiled wide.

It was her third birthday party which was being held in the backyard of Stephanie and Kurt's home in Greenwich. The party was somewhat extravagant with a clown, petting zoo animals, and even Haflinger ponies for Aurora, her cousins, and the children of fellow WWE superstars to ride. Kurt had requested that Karen allow him to have his two children for the weekend so that they could come to Aurora's birthday party but the former Mrs. Angle refused to allow Kyra and Kody to come. She was still very bitter; especially after Kurt married Stephanie last year. In Karen's mind, Steph was a home wrecker who had betrayed her friendship and slept with her husband.

"Yes it is sweetheart! This is your special day, birthday girl!" Stephanie replied beaming with pride at her three year old daughter before she ran her hand through the little girls light brown locks of hair.

"Look baby brovfer, see my cake?" Aurora asked her eleven month old half brother, Andrew Vincent, as he sat on Stephanie's hip. She was pointing at her elaborate Dora the Explorer birthday cake with three candles sunken into the white cream icing. A few lines of gibberish escaped baby Andy's wet mouth as he smiled at his older sister causing his mother to give him a kiss on the cheek.

"Honey, are we getting ready to start soon?" Kurt asked coming up behind his wife. His hands he placed on her hips as he rested his chin on her shoulder.

"We need to wait a little longer. Paul still hasn't shown up. I don't think he wants to miss seeing Aurora blow out her three candles. Where the hell is he?" Steph whispered, turning her head to her husband so that her daughter would not hear her through all the birthday party noise and festivities.

"Hey Aurora, how about we get an action shot of you on a pony. Come on I'll give you a piggyback over there." Kurt said with a smile as he leaned down to where Aurora was standing on the chair in front of her cake.

"Okay!" Aurora said with a large smile before she hopped onto Kurt's back. He quickly grabbed hold of her legs, holding her in place before he turned to face his wife again.

"Do you need me to take him too?" Kurt offered looking at his son who began to squirm a bit in his mother's arms.

"No, he's acting like this because he's hungry. I'm going to feed him. You and Aurora go have fun." Steph replied before giving Angle a quick peck on the lips and then walked away with the baby.

Paul Levesque slowly stepped out of his Hummer that he had parked in the driveway behind the number of cars that were already there. Paul stopped for a moment, taking in the grand view of the Angle home. The large home looked very much like the house he and Stephanie had shared. It was obvious that Stephanie had picked out this house too. He knew the style of homes that she preferred.

Levesque had made it a point never to visit the home in the past year. He would pick Aurora up at whatever arena the Angles happen to be at. It wasn't always easy to do so because he had continued his stay on the SmackDown roster despite his requests to be moved to RAW. Vince's excuse had to do with Kurt Angle. Angle had finally come back to wrestle in WWE a month ago and McMahon wanted him on RAW. According to Vince, Kurt Angle and Triple H shouldn't be on the same show. How did that make any sense? It was bullshit. This was the McMahon-Angle family's way of keeping him from seeing his daughter Aurora.

Paul walked up the three stone steps before approaching the front door. With some hesitation, he lifted his hand and rang the door bell. As he waited for a response, Levesque began to mentally prepare himself for what he was going to have to be subjected to. He was going to see Stephanie on the other side of that door. Paul knew she was going to look just as beautiful as when they were married. That's what was so hard for him to take. The fact that he was going to see her new wedding ring on her left hand; exactly where the wedding ring that he had bought for her used to be. There was even the possibility that she would be answering the door with her and Angle's baby in her arms. The son that at one time he believed was his. He didn't know if he was going to be able to handle this. Just when he was contemplating making a run for it, the front door opened.

"Hello Paul."

Levesque let out a sigh of relief when he saw that it was not Stephanie who answered the door but her mother, Linda. Despite the fact that Paul was no longer married into the McMahon family, Linda McMahon still treated him fairly unlike her husband.

"Hi Linda, I'm sorry I'm late. Where's Aurora?" Paul asked with a polite smile.

"Everyone's in the backyard. Kurt and Stephanie put on quite a birthday party for your daughter. Come on inside, I lead you through the house to the French doors to the backyard." Linda offered stepping away from the door entrance to allow her former son-in-law to enter.

"No that's okay. I'll just go around the back." He replied moving away from the front door and back down the stone steps.

Levesque left Linda standing at the doorway and quickly made his way around the house. It was a bit of a long walk because the house had a large amount of square footage. When he made it to the backside of the home he saw the fan fair that was his daughter's birthday party. He took a moment to scan the sea of people that populated the back yard. When his eyes fell on his ex-wife sitting at the main tables set up on the lawn, Paul quickly made his way over to her. He wasn't even thinking. Something inside of him made him go over to her. As soon as his eyes casted upon her, he was drawn to her like a magnet.

"Hey Steph…" Paul heard himself instinctively say aloud once he reached his ex-wife.

"Where have you been? You're an hour late. We've been holding off singing happy birthday to Aurora." Stephanie quickly replied the moment she heard and saw her ex-husband standing before her. She was sitting in one of the folding chairs with a light baby blanket draped over her infant's head and her bosom.

"It couldn't be helped. I had an appearance in New York earlier this morning, I drove straight from there." Paul explained.

"Well whatever appearance you were making in New York, which is none of my business by the way, thank God, I hope it was worth being an hour late to your daughter's third birthday party." Steph replied not even looking up at Paul while she tending to her nursing baby.

"Spare me the guilt trip, Steph. You know I love Aurora more than anything. Isn't that kid almost a year old? You're still breast feeding him?" Levesque asked completely changing the subject.

"I'm weaning him off slowly. He prefers breastfeeding a lot more than Aurora did at this age. I'm just trying to offer it to him less." Stephanie explained as she quickly fixed herself back into her shirt before removing the blanket and sitting the baby up to burp him.

"He's a little homely looking, isn't he?" Paul commented studying the baby's face while she patted his back.

"Excuse me? No, he's perfect. He's just as adorable as Aurora was as a baby. I thought you came here to see your daughter not to belittle me and my family." She quickly said back shifting the baby so that he was now standing in her lap.

"Okay, I'm sorry I said anything about your new kid. Where is Aurora?"

"She's with Kurt. He took her to ride one of the ponies. They're over there." Steph told him before pointing across the yard. Paul turned in the direction that she was pointing. He quickly picked out his daughter who was being lifted off the pony by Kurt. She looked precious. Stephanie had dressed her in a cute little green summer dress. A big smile was across her face as Angle took her into his arms. Levesque's heart sank as he watched Aurora place her arms around Kurt's neck to hold onto him as he held her. She looked happy to be with him; just like she used to be with him as a little baby. He should be the one spending time with her, not Angle.

"Levesque, I was wondering when you would show up. Have you met my youngest grandson? This is Andrew Vincent Angle. He's named after me, you know. I think we have a future WWE champion here." Vince said with a chuckle as he walked up to the table. He was beaming with pride as he looked down at baby Andy.

Vince's unannounced approach caused Paul to lose focus on his daughter and Kurt Angle. Levesque was now looking directly at his former father-in-law, Vince McMahon. He was taking a moment to internalize what Vince was babbling on about before he could reply.

"He's not even a year old…" Paul muttered looking at Vince like he was crazy. Why was Vince making such a big deal about that kid? He already had two other grandsons from Shane.

"Let me have my grandson for a little while, Steph." Vince told his daughter as he held his hands out for the baby.

"Okay, but Dad, I just fed him, don't shake him or move him around a lot." Stephanie warned her father as she handed over her youngest child to him.

Vince quickly gave his daughter a wave, blowing her off. His face lit up with excitement as he took his grandchild into his arms. Once in Vince's muscular arms, Andrew looked back at his mother with his arms stretched out toward her as he began to fuss.

"What's wrong my little wrestling protégé? Gramps knows just what to do!" Vince said with his voice full of enthusiasm. He quickly lifted the baby in the hair and placed his mouth on the baby's clothing covered belly and blew with enough force to provide a vibration that caused his grandson to howl with laughter.

"Hey Aurora, look who's here, it's your dad." Kurt told Aurora as he approached with her in his arms. He was quick to put her on her feet so that she could make her way over to her father.

"Kurt, where have you been? I thought we were going to have that talk." Vince said before giving Angle a slight nod. It was obvious to Paul that he did not wish to divulge the details in which he was talking about.

"We'll talk about that over some birthday cake, Dad." Kurt replied giving his father-in-law a pat on the back."

"Dad?" Paul repeated interjecting himself into the conversation. He looked over at Stephanie and shrugged his shoulders as a nonverbal way to ask her if Angle was really serious. Seeing the obvious mutual stroking between Vince McMahon and his "long lost son" Kurt Angle was enough to make Levesque sick. The only thing that made it all worth it was seeing his three year old daughter.

"Hey princess, happy birthday! Come here and give Daddy a hug and a kiss." Paul told his daughter as he wore a loving smile across his face. He knelt down so that he was a bit more on his daughter's level.

Aurora gave him a slight smile showing her little pearly whites before turning to hug Kurt's leg. After a moment of hiding her eyes, she slowly turned to look at her father again before changing her focus to Stephanie who was standing next to Angle. She was looking for her mother's reaction to her father's presence. It was almost as if she was waiting for her mother to tell her it was okay to go to Paul.

"Aurora, go see your dad. He missed you. I bet he got you a terrific birthday present." Steph said softly bending down to encourage her child to venture over to her own father.

After the little bit of coaxing from her mother, Aurora apprehensively walked over to her father who was ready to take her into his arms. Paul let out a long sigh after he picked up his little girl and held her tight. It felt like forever since the last time he was able to spend time with her. There were so many interruptions with SmackDown appearances and house shows that he was barely able to see her once a month. The way she was behaving, it was obvious that it wasn't enough time. She didn't hug him back as tightly as he held her. Then again, she was only three years old. Still, her arms were not around his neck, like they were when she hugged Kurt, they were at her sides.

"Daddy didn't know what you wanted for your birthday. How would you like Daddy to take you shopping at FAO Schwartz to get anything you want? How does that sound, princess?" Levesque asked after he let go of his embrace and ran his hands through his daughter's hair as he studied her cute little face.

"Mommy and baby brovfer coming too?" Aurora quickly replied while she looked over at Steph who had taken a moment to take her eleven month old from her father who she believed was bouncing the baby around a bit too much.

"No, it's just going to me you and me, sweetheart. It's going to be our special time this weekend. Then I'll take you back to your mommy."

"No, I want Mommy. I no go." Little Aurora whined twisting her body while in her father's arms toward her mother. Just like her younger half brother, she had her arms outstretched to Stephanie.

Levesque couldn't help but feel rejected. He had been able to take rejection from his former wife and her family but having his own child, his own flesh and blood, not want to spend time with him was almost too much for him to take. Feelings of sadness and resentment began to fester deep inside. This was the McMahon family's fault. It was because they would not allow him the appropriate amount of time to see his daughter that she was no longer comfortable with him. He gave Stephanie his meanest scowl to show her that he didn't approve of their child's behavior toward him. Maybe she would get the message and own the blame for Aurora's misbehavior.

"Okay, I think we're finally ready to sing happy birthday!" Steph announced aloud. It was almost her way of defusing the situation that she sensed was building with Paul judging by the look on his face.

"Do you want to go to Daddy so Mommy can get the cake ready for big sister?" Steph asked the baby who let out a few kicks and a smile before he was passed to his father while Aurora watched from Paul's arms.

All the party guests crowded around the main table as Stephanie carefully lit the three birthday candles on the cake as Aurora watched from the edge of her father's lap. Angle stood behind his wife as he slowly rocked his son in his arms while he smiled awaiting the happy birthday song that was going to commence in a matter of moments.

"Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday dear Aurora! Happy birthday to you! Yay!" Everyone sang in unison before giving the three year old a round of applause.

Aurora blushed and smiling, loving all the attention she was receiving from her party guests. Steph leaned down and gave her child a kiss on the cheek before helping her lean over and blow out the candles which caused everyone to cheer again.

"Is the cake good, sweetheart?" Paul asked as he sat next to his daughter while she sat in her booster seat and ate her cake with her fork.

"Yes…" She replied in between bites.

After Stephanie, Kurt, and Linda finished serving everyone their cake, they made it a point to allow Paul some one on one time with his daughter while they talked amongst themselves. Even though Levesque liked spending time with his child, it was somewhat overshadowed when he noticed the McMahon-Angles sitting at another table. Stephanie was seated with Kurt, her son sleeping in her arms while Kurt had his arm around her while he talked with Vince. It wasn't long ago when he was the one sitting with Stephanie and her family. He used to be in the circle but now he was only an outsider looking in. He was really treated no differently than any of the other WWE employees that had come as party guests to Aurora's third birthday. The fact that he was Aurora Rose's father meant nothing to them.

"I wanna see Mommy." Aurora told her father as she too noticed Stephanie sitting at the other table across the yard. Seeing her mother took immediate precedence over the piece of cake that was in front of her. Paul was somewhat happy that his daughter wanted to go see her mother because it would give him an excuse to approach them and find out what they were all huddled up talking about. Slowly, Levesque made his way to where they were all sitting. He stood a foot or so away from them so that they wouldn't see him but he could see and hear them.

"Kurt, if you really want to do MMA, you have my full support. You'll be representing us, WWE, so you better know what you're doing in that cage." Vince told Angle.

"Kurt isn't going to do MMA, Dad. He knows how I feel about him putting his health at risk. Don't even bring it up to him because it's a dead issue." Stephanie quickly replied before her husband could even say a word after Vince's comment.

"Steph, you know I'm in good health now. Being successful in mixed martial arts isn't out of the realm of possibility for me. I'm not getting any younger, you know. The time for me to do it is now." Kurt told his wife as he watched her stand up with their sleeping baby. The look on her face showed her disapproval in her husband's logic.

"We are not having this discussion during Aurora's birthday party. You already know how I feel about you fighting. I want you to stay in good health so you can be with me to enjoy our little boy growing up. I want you to be able to play with him when he gets older. Now can you two please drop the MMA talk?" Steph asked getting somewhat annoyed with her husband's stubborn athletic drive that her father thought made him such an unstoppable force for the company.

"All right babe, whatever you say." Angle replied rolling his eyes which made his father-in-law chuckle a bit.

"I'll put baby Andy in his crib if you want to clean up the kitchen." Linda offered holding her arms out for the sleeping baby. Stephanie smiled and quickly took her mother up on her offer before they both walked off leaving Angle and McMahon sitting at the table.

"Pop, where Mommy go?" Little Aurora asked approaching her grandfather after her father set her down on her feet.

"She's inside cleaning up in the kitchen. Why don't we go get you a balloon animal from that goofy looking clown over there?" Vince said before standing up and taking Aurora's hand in his. She was happy to go with her grandfather without any hesitation. This only made Paul feel worse; he seemed to be the only one that she showed uncertainty with.

"Wow, the only Olympic gold medalist in WWE history is actually pussy whipped by his wife. Damn Angle, and I thought you had some balls. Stephanie's got you by the short and curlies. You're letting her run your life. Who is she to tell you when you can compete? She's supposed to support you not discourage your path to success." Paul said to Kurt as soon as Vince walked away with Aurora.

Angle let out a sigh before he shifted in the folding chair he was sitting in. Paul watched as Kurt digested everything he had spewed out at him. Levesque had done his best to paint his ex-wife as a controlling and manipulating bitch. It wasn't always that hard to do so. Despite her bitchiness, Levesque still wanted her back and hopefully this was one way to go about it. After he thought for a few quick moments, Angle spoke.

"She's just worried about me. I don't blame her for that. She's a great wife and mother. I love her with all my heart." Angle finally replied showing a faint smile. It was obvious that Paul's baiting didn't work.

"You can call it whatever you want, Angle. You're just blind to her controlling ways. Take it from the guy she was married to for almost five years. I wish someone would have warned me about her bullshit."

"Stephanie is none of your business anymore, Paul. She's not your wife anymore. She's mine. I don't need any of your 'advice'. But I will thank you." Kurt said getting up from his chair so he could stand face to face with Paul.

"For what?" Levesque asked going toe to toe with his ex-wife's new husband.

"For being such a shitty husband and a conniving prick; you helped Stephanie and I see that there was so much more to our relationship than being just friends. If it wasn't for your bullshit, Stephanie would have never come to me for strength and support and we would never have fallen in love. So thanks for that, buddy." Kurt said with a smirk before he gave Paul a good smack on the arm before he walked away.

Levesque was left standing there seething. Angle's insult was like salt in a deep open wound. He knew exactly what to say to play on Paul's emotions. He probably even knew that Paul was still in love with Stephanie. That was Kurt Angle's power. He had the higher ground. Stephanie was no longer Stephanie McMahon-Levesque but Stephanie McMahon-Angle.

"Do you need any help with anything?" Paul asked his ex-wife the moment he walked into her kitchen to see her scrubbing out her kitchen sink. It was officially the first time he was stepping foot in the Angle home. He was only doing so at a chance to speak with Steph in private.

"No Paul, I'm fine, thank you. Where's Aurora? I thought you came here to spend time with her." Steph replied without even looking up at her ex-husband as he moved further into the kitchen area where she was cleaning.

"I came here to spend time with you too. Steph-" Paul confessed in a whisper as he placed his right hand on her right arm while moving behind her.

"Paul, don't. Don't make this about us. There is no 'us' anymore. The only thing we share is our daughter. When you're not with her, you're free to go off to New York and sleep with whatever cheap slut is taking your photograph that week. It doesn't concern me anymore and I don't care." Steph quickly replied jerking away from his touch as she cut him off before he could finish his sentence. Her words were coarse as she quickly rattled the sentences off her tongue with ease.

Paul closed his eyes feeling her hateful words tear at his heart like tiny daggers which created a slightly bigger whole than what was already there. She never missed a chance to bring up his year affair with former WWE photographer, Michelle North. Funny, she never acknowledged the fact that he broke up with her in an attempt to fix their marriage. Why was she so negative toward him even a year after their divorce? It was as if she only remembered the end of their marriage and not the beginning or middle. Didn't she remember falling in love with him? What about their wedding or the birth of their daughter? The happy memories certainly outweighed the bad ones.

Slowly Paul leaned in slightly again so that she could hear the words he was about to mutter into her ear.

"It wasn't always bad, Stephanie…"