If the buildup to Wrestlemania was filled with dreaded anticipation and stress, its aftermath had proved to be quite the opposite. It was a time to decompress when life could calm down and slowly filter back to normal. Though Phil's presence was still heavily felt backstage, there had been no interaction between he, Memphis and Randy. The overseas tour came and went without incident and Memphis could breathe a sigh of relief that the heavy cloud of darkness that seemed to hang over all of them had all but disappeared.

And things had been calm with Randy as well. He and Memphis were getting along well in their relationship, the drama seemingly behind them. The road leading up to Wrestlemania had been a turbulent one for them and she had seen a side of Randy she hadn't seen in a very long time and one she hoped she would never see again. In dark times like that, she silently contemplated if being him was the right thing, if it was even worth it. But when things were calm…good, she, they, were happy. She wanted to be with him but in the back of her mind, their troubles and his penchant for mistake making and blowing up at even the littlest things, always was high on the radar. Nevertheless as the bus barreled down the highway, a groggy Memphis raised her weary bed head and yawned.

Traveling by bus was a major perk. It was nice to stretch out. Relax. Watch some TV. Sleep. Make food. Make love. It made the drive more pleasurable when one wasn't cramped in the back of a too small, overloaded Economy sized rental car. It was nice seeing the different trees and sights and cities. And it made it even better when it was in Randy's arms.

"Hey," he rolled over.

Memphis turned to face him. He rubbed the sleep from his blue eyes and licked his lips. The thin sheet fell from his hip showing the outline of his naked male form. Randy Orton loved to sleep in the nude and that was always an exquisite sight, like one of the world's great natural wonders.

"Good morning, or shall I say afternoon."

"Come here," Randy's voice was even deeper when first waking up.

He pulled her close as they were facing. She pulled her knees up so that they rested against his bare, firm chest. His hand rested on her hip, partially covered by the covers as her sleep shirt and bunched up a little over her waist.

"Hey you," she cupped his face in her hands, her long, slender fingers stroking his face. "Did you sleep well? How's your back?"

He had landed hard during a match in the UK versus the Big Red Monster, Kane. It was nothing beyond the normal occupational hazard of nightly bumps, bruises, aches, and pains but still she worried about him.

"It's good. Honestly, the jet lag gets me more than the pain."

"I know. That tour was so crazy. I loved it. I mean, I had never been overseas before so that part was pretty awesome. Wish we'd had more time to sight see and stuff. But it's good to be back in the good old USA," she smiled.

"We got shows coming up in Miami, Tampa, and Orlando."

"Yeah."

"That's where you're from, right? Orlando?"

Memphis cleared her throat.

"Yeah, that's where I grew up."

He looked at her as she didn't elaborate.

"You gonna see your folks? Are they coming to the show?"

"Probably not."

"Memphis…" he said after a few seconds.

"What babe?"

"Nothing," he shrugged. "It's just that…I don't know. It's weird. I guess I don't know a whole lot about you aside from what I read in FHM."

She grinned as she leaned up on her elbow and kissed him.

"I am awesome and I am totally in to you. That is all you need to know."

"That's fucking awesome," he kissed her and slapped her on the behind. "But I'm serious. What's up with all the mystery?"

"You sound like a woman," she pouted.

"Babe…"

She took a deep breath.

"Fine. I am not close with my family. At all. I never see them, hardly ever talk to them. My mom and I…we're like oil and fucking water, I swear. We just don't mix. Never did. Ever since I can remember, we've been at odds. There was an always an argument about something…we just, I don't know. We never ever got along."

"And your Old Man?"

Memphis raised an eyebrow.

"Remember back when we were at odds and that time on the flight from hell together and you said I had daddy issues?"

Randy cringed.

"Look, I was an asshole…"

"It's okay."

"Actually, it's not. I remember that day pretty well, in fact and um…it never should have gone down like that. I know later on you told me I was right but it doesn't matter. I had no right to go there."

"Yeah but those days feel like a lifetime ago and we're together now so uh, you may as well know the whole story. I…wow," she took a deep breath. "Okay. My parents are just the people, that, you know, never should have been allowed to have kids. I swear to God if there was legal criteria for it, like for how you have to pass a written and road test to get a driver's license, they would have failed. Horribly. Miserably."

She gave a nervous chuckle as Randy's eyes narrowed.

"They didn't…"

Memphis already knew what he was trying to get at.

"Nah. Nothing like that, I promise. There was never any abuse or anything like that going on. My mom and I just clash a lot. We never got along. Nothing I do or did is ever good enough. And it's just argument after argument and when we're not fighting there is just this weird tension between us. She is just a really mean, really miserable person and it sucks."

"Same thing with your dad?"

"No. Quite the opposite actually. He doesn't get mad. In fact, he doesn't react to much of anything. Probably because he never wanted to be a dad and probably because my mom drives him crazy and probably because he hates his life. He is just this detached, monotone guy that doesn't care about shit. But he did watch wrestling. I remember that. That's how I started getting into it. I mean, he wasn't a super fan because it is not his personality to get real excited about anything but he watched. You remember the Saturday Night Main Events on NBC?"

"Yeah," Randy grinned. "Sometimes they came on Friday nights."

"Exactly. And we'd never miss them. So when you said I watched wrestling just to get my daddy to pay attention to me…well, it really struck a nerve at the time because you were right. It was a chance to spend time with him. And it was the only time that he paid attention to me."

Randy looked at her and genuinely felt bad.

"What about now? I mean, their daughter is a lawyer and a WWE Superstar. That's got to count for something, right?"

She sighed.

"You'd think so but um…the answer is no. They don't care."

Randy made a face.

"Memphis, come on."

"What?"

"That just, I don't know, it doesn't make sense. I mean, I had my issues and stuff with my folks. Let's say they were less than thrilled when I was crashing in their basement after I went AWOL."

"You made a mistake. They were disappointed…worried, may have even been angry for a while but the bottom line is, they had your back and you knew that they loved you no matter what."

"Memphis, your parents love you, too."

"When I was in high school, my best friend was killed," her voice sadly trailed off. "Car accident. It, it was horrible. Anyway, everyone was just in shock, you know? It was the saddest thing ever and her mom was like a mom to me and she was having such a rough time so I started spending a lot of time over there. One night, I guess I stayed too late and I had my mother's car and when I got home, she was furious. Fucking irate, I tell you. She was screaming and in my face and I just wanted her to leave me alone and I was trying to explain that I had to be there, you know, for Helen…that was the lady's name."

"What'd your mom say?"

Memphis laughed bitterly at the painful memory.

"My mother looked me right in my face and said she wished she could trade places with Helen."

Randy felt his heart catch.

"That sucks. Look, babe, she probably didn't mean it. It was still a shitty thing to say but she was just mad."

Memphis shook her head.

"She meant it. It was in her eyes. I saw it. It, it was always in her eyes."

"So it never got better when you left the house?"

"Nope."

"What about law school? Shit, my folks would have been over the moon if I had done something like that."

"They didn't give a hot fuck. At least my mom showed up at my graduation…complained the whole time. My dad didn't even bother."

"Damn."

"You know I never called them Mom and Dad?"

"Get out of here."

"I'm serious. Ever since I can remember, I guess since I could talk, they have always been David and Joanna."

"You called them that to their face? Wasn't it weird?"

"That's how they raised me."

"Man, babe…I'm sorry."

"Don't be. I'm not."

But she was. He could see it in her eyes. Memphis was hurt.

"You're a great person. And uh, not so long ago, I took that for granted. I was threatened…intimidated even. I was a dick. Didn't bother getting to know you, the real you. I acted a fool and I can admit it now even though I'm ashamed of it."

"Ran…"

"Hear me out. My point is, people make mistakes. People change. You gave me a second shot. What about them?"

"Apples and oranges, Randy. Besides, you wanted your second chance. They don't."

"How do you know?"

"Because I just do. I know them."

"When is the last time you talked to them?"

She shifted uncomfortably.

"I, I don't know. It's probably been a couple of years."

"Call them up."

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because…"

He smirked.

"You're being stubborn."

"Since when did you start giving life advice?"

"Taking a page out of Super Cena's book, I guess."

"I'm serious."

He stroked her cheek.

"Because I care about you. I want you to be happy."

"I am happy."

"Then I guess I want you to be whole."

His choice of words took her off guard. She felt her chest tighten.

"Ran…"

"You're a wonderful person. You've definitely made my crazy life better. You are beautiful and smart and talented and successful. You worked your ass off for everything you got. Maybe it's time to show them your world. And they still might not want to be a part of it. Hell, maybe you won't want them to be a part of it but at least you would have tried. That's the worst that could happen."

Memphis was quiet for a few moments.

"And the best?" she asked in a shaky voice.

He leaned over and gave her a kiss.

"You never know until you try. So um…call them up. We'll take them out to dinner. Get them a backstage pass for the Orlando show."

Memphis nodded.

"Yeah, um…okay."

She was putting on a brave face but secretly she was terrified. There was a lot of history there. And also pain. Randy had no idea. His heart was in the right place but he truly did not know what he was messing with. Still, that touched her. Who was this man? Gentle, tender, sensitive…so interested in her life. It was like a different Randy, a welcome change from the weeks leading to and especially the night of Wrestlemania. He was a great guy and he was her guy. When they were together and he was like that, he made her feel like she could do anything. Memphis loved that feeling. In fact, she needed it. Up until that moment, she hadn't realized just how much.