Childhood Friendships
Lifelong Connections
by Mistress Anna

David had first met Angela when he had started with Smack Down as the short lived character the Deacon. He was her first choice to meet through the “Make-a-Wish” foundation. He didn’t realize that fans knew his name yet, he had only been on TV for a couple of weeks. She was ten years old at the time, and coping with complications related to muscular dystrophy. She wasn’t mobile and was in constant pain, but her whole face lit up when he walked through her door the first time. He made sure to keep in contact with her through letters, pictures and any other thing he thought would make her smile since then. Her spirit was an inspiration to him. He was humbled that she thought he was worthy of her adoration. He always made the time to visit her when he was near. Carrie had checked with Angela’s mom, Vicki, to ensure she was up for a visit today and asked to keep it a surprise.

This was not an officially sanctioned visit, the office didn’t know about it. This was something David did on his own. Carrie knew that both Hunter and Mr. Flair (Rick, damn) also had special fans in other parts of the country they visited. It was just something they all did and didn’t make a big deal out of it. Carrie knew they were all a bunch of big softies at heart, no matter how hard they tried to hide it.

They pulled into the facility, noting the time. They would be able to visit only 30 minutes, but that would have to be enough for now. Vicki had said Angela was having a tough time today, so a visit from her favorite tattooed wrestler would be just the ticket. David knew her room number, but checked in with the desk to make sure it was okay for Angela to have a visitor. The charge nurse looked up to see who had the very quiet deep voice and was greeted by a surprising sight of a very large man in an immaculate suit and a small pretty lady with a large contusion on her face. She assured the couple that it was fine to visit, but don’t “stay too long and tire her out.”

“We won’t,” he said with a smile to her surprised look.

He knocked on her door, waiting for a response from within. He knew Vicki was with her and would be able to answer for her.

“Who would be visiting us today, just before dinner? Come in,” Angela’s mother said.

David peeked around the door, with a new t shirt for her. He knew she collected t-shirts and would love this new one that said animal lover on it.

“Hey sweetie. I wanted to make sure you got my new shirt. But I didn’t want to trust the post office, they can loose stuff, ya know. So, the only way to make sure you got it was to bring it to you.”

She was not able to speak, being on a respirator, but she was very expressive and was able to communicate with gestures and facial expressions most of the time. At the first word out of David’s mouth, her head spun around and her brown eyes almost popped out of her head seeing him in her doorway. She was so excited to see her hero, she couldn’t attempt to communicate anything at first. She held out her hand to him and he took it gently, knowing how painful touch was to her sometimes. She smiled at her mom, looking back and forth between his mom and Batista. They both knew she was trying to say thank you.

Carrie stayed in the background. This was not her place to interrupt. David spoke quietly to Angela, telling her of his recent victories, his battles with Triple H and the Nature Boy. She was soaking up every word he said. He eventually reached behind him so he could grab the poster he brought for her already crowded walls. He unrolled it for her so she could see it. He asked her where she wanted him to hang it for her. She pointed to a spot on the wall that wasn’t covered with Batista and Evolution posters completely. He obliged and finished hanging it by signing it with his special pen he saved just for Angela, he said.

He could tell she was exhausted from the excitement of his visit. He leaned over and told her he had to go, but if he had a match tonight, he was gonna win it just for her. He knew her mom taped them so she could see them when she felt up to it. He kissed her forehead and told her to be good and listen to her mom. Vicki thanked them for coming and walked them to the front doors of the facility.

“Thank you so much, it means so much to her that you stopped by” Vicki said through tears.

“She means a lot to me, too. I hope she knows how special she is. Please keep us posted on the next doctor visit. Let’s hope good things are happening,” David said.

They got back in the car, David in the driver seat, Carrie slid in to the passenger seat. Neither spoke for a few, just sat, quietly. Eventually she reached to grab another cold pack, knowing that unpleasantness was just around the corner in the form of a big blonde, angry man.

David finally turned the key on the car saying, “Damn, that puts it all in perspective, doesn’t it?”

***
Damn! It wasn’t like Dave to be late, he thought as he continued to pace, especially when Carrie was with him. He had taken off his tie and jacket and kept running his fingers through his hair. He was chewing his gum rhythmically, walking the length of the room, checking his watch and pacing back again. Damn, he was getting worried. He’d already had to hedge Dave’s where abouts with some of the crew. Nan was sitting on the couch, tucked up under an oversized blanket that he insisted she use, watching him get more and more anxious. She pitied the big man when he finally arrived; Hunter was working himself into a fury. She could tell he was worried, but he was also still beating himself up over making Carrie cry earlier, she guessed. She had listened to his account of their lunch time prank and the unexpected outburst calmly, knowing there must be more to the story. Either he didn’t know or wasn’t telling her yet. She knew Carrie wasn’t one to cry over something so harmless, usually.

“Hunter?”

“Mmm?”

“I really could use some more tea, if you know where to find some,” she said quietly. She didn’t usually ask him to do things like that for her at events, but knew he needed something to do and why not use his protectiveness regarding her against him.

He had taken one look at her as she walked off the plane, enveloped her in his arms and said, “Baby, you shouldn’t have come.”

“Not happy to see me?” she asked from within his embrace.

“Always. You just look worn out. You didn’t have to come.”

“Yes, I did. I was going crazy in the house. Do you know Law & Order is on a hundred and eight times a day? Who knew? I just need a few to catch my breath and we can go to the arena. You can help me feel better later this evening, “she purred.

He had stopped his pacing and was looking at her, trying to understand what she had said, since he only heard part of it.
Patiently she said, “Tea? Can you bring me a nice hot cup of chamomile?”

He nodded his head in understanding and left.

“Think he’ll find any”, Rick asked quietly from his place on one of the big comfy chairs.

“I don’t know, but he needed to do something and watching him pace was making me tired.” She pulled the oversized blanket up to her chin.

“You’re an evil woman,” he stated simply.

“Yes, I know”, she stated wearily. “I just hope Dave and Carrie are okay. I think that’s his biggest worry. He said there was something else eating at Dave but didn’t know what it was, do you?”

“Now that you mention it, he did seem to be preoccupied and quieter than usual. Although with Big Dave, there’s only so many ways to be more quiet,“ the veteran wrestler joked.

The current world champion’s quiet nature was well known to all of Evolution. If Hunter had said he was more quiet than normal, he must be almost comatose. She hoped they were okay. God, she must be tired. Why the hell didn’t she think of calling Dave’s cell before? Oh yeah, he lost another one. She had laughed as Hunter had filled her in on their trip back from checking in at the hotel. Did she know Carrie’s number off the top of her head? Maybe not, but it was probably in her phone somewhere. She grabbed her purse, found her cell and started scrolling through the numbers. Rick was watching her movements and smiled his understanding. She found what she thought was a likely fit and dialed it.

The phone rang three times before Carrie picked up with a strange sounding voice, “Ms. Martin. Can I help you?”

“Carrie, It’s Nan. You okay hon?”

“Yeah, fine. What’s up?

“Hunter’s in a state, ready to kill because of the time.”

“Yeah, sorry. We’re almost there now. In fact we’re pulling in to the parking garage now. We should see you in just a few.”

“Sure you’re okay? You sound…different.”

“I’m fine, David’s driving and it’s making me nuts.” Nan could hear Dave’s protests over the phone. It was good to hear that they could give each other shit. Maybe Hunter had been imagining things.

“K, see you in a few”

Just as she hung up, Hunter came back with her tea. “Sorry baby, no chamomile. I chose the green tea since I know you also drink that. Hope that’s okay for you.” He handed her the cup carefully, not wanting to burn her or drop it.

“Thank you, baby. It’s just fine. I just hung up with Carrie, they’re just pulling in now”

“They had better have been dead in a ditch or something,” he said as his temper flared. He started to pace, pop his gum and rake his fingers through his hair again. The door to the room opened and Dave stepped through.

“It’s about fuckin’ time buddy. What the fuck happened? Whatever it was better’ve been good, man. People have been asking where the hell you were,” his voice was starting to rise to match his temper.

“Yeah, sorry. We had an unexpected stop to make,” the big man said quietly without making eye contact with Hunter.

“What the fuck does that mean,” Hunter shouted.

“It’s my fault,” said Carrie as she stepped from behind the big man.

“I doubt that, you’re never late. In fact I bet you were born early just so you wouldn’t miss anything” he snapped at the small woman.

She turned toward him, but didn’t get a chance to say anything before three sets of eyes widened at her appearance. She heard Rick hiss, and Nan said, “Oh hon, what happened?”

“Jesus Christ! What the fuck!” Hunter was furious, she could see, but not at her. He looked like he wanted to hit something, anything. He looked at David as a likely target to take his anger out on. ’’I am gonna fuckin’ kill you if you don’t talk fast,” he said turning his anger onto his fellow Evolution member.

“What the fuck are you talkin’ about! You think I did this? Are you insane? Why the fuck would I hurt my little sister,” the big man’s face had darkened and his anger matched his mentor’s.

Things deteriorated quickly, both men were furious and unreachable. Nan had tried to get Hunter’s attention by speaking his name, but it didn’t register, Carrie had noticed. Rick was trying to get either man’s attention, but having no luck either from outside their focus. They were shouting almost incoherently at each other. Carrie stepped between them, reached up with both hands and yanked hard on David’s tie. His head came down and he broke eye contact with Hunter.

“SHUT UP! Shut up! Both of you, SHUT UP for once!” Carrie shouted, noting that both of the big men were staring at her like they’d never seen her before. She was usually quiet and rarely yelled, especially like that. She waited a couple of moments before she said anything.

“You”, she pointed to David who was working on his tie, “Sit down and be quiet.” He did as he was told and sat next to Nan, who was watching all from her comfy nest amidst the oversized blanket. He took the opportunity to loosen up his tie some more.

“You! Be quiet and let me talk,” she said sternly to the big blonde man. She usually didn’t speak to him in that tone, but he accepted it, although he was still flushed.

“This had better be good, Lil’ Sis,” he warned her as he perched on the arm of the couch, trying to calm himself. Nan reached out and took his hand.

“No one is to blame for this but me.” David looked at her sharply but didn’t say a word. In fact, he clamped his lips shut to keep from saying anything.

“Don’t tell me you hit yourself?!” Hunter barked sarcastically.

“Of course not! Even I am not that uncoordinated. What I meant to say is I brought this on myself, wrong place wrong time kind of thing. There was a minor altercation at the end of the signing and I happened to get in the way.” Well that was vaguely true, she thought.

He knew she wasn’t telling him everything, but he could tell by the tilt of her chin she wasn’t going to say anymore, at least not right now. Why did he surround himself with stubborn women? He’d find out eventually.

“I hope the other guy looks worse than you! If not, you better let me finish ‘em off for ya,” Hunter said as he popped his gum. She kept quiet in response. Hunter was surprised, but let it go. He knew he’d find out eventually, even if he had to corner the big man to do it.

“Do you have any more cold packs? I only have two more left and I’m sure I should sleep with at least one on my face” she said, switching the subject to more immediate matters.

“Sure, you want just one for now?” he asked as he got up to get into his kit. He gave her one and let her sit down without asking any more questions of her. Both of them knew they weren’t finished, but they were done for now.

“So, what’s our timing for tonight, Triple H,“ Rick spoke up as the blonde man was sitting back down on the arm of the couch.

Turned out they weren’t due to go out until the last segment, so they had plenty of time. They were also scheduled to wrestle after the cameras stopped rolling. That was always a favorite of all the guys. It meant they got to be a little loose and not so stuck to specifics in the ring. The fans always appreciated getting something extra, especially from Evolution.

Carrie absorbed the news of their schedule quietly. She knew she needed to make a call and it couldn’t wait until the boys were in the ring. She also needed to take something for the headache that was now pounding. She noticed that Nan was drinking some tea.

“Ooh, where did you get that,” she asked Nan who was holding her tea in her free hand looking like she was trying to draw some warmth from it.

“Hunter got it for me, not sure where.”

“What’s that baby?” Hunter asked her.

“Carrie was asking about the tea, and wondered where to get some,” Nan supplied. She had a good guess as to Carrie’s motives, so she helped her along.

“When was the last time you guys ate something? You don’t have to do any interviews before the last segment, right? Why don’t you go get some food and bring us both back some more tea when you’re done?” Carrie looked over at Nan from the chair she was occupying, and gave her a small nod.

“Yes, please. Tea would be great. Unless you want me to go out and find some,” she asked in a small voice. All three male voices responded negatively, some more so than others. They’d be happy to go get the ladies some tea, after their dinner.

“Okay, only if you’re sure you’ll be okay?”

“We’ll be fine. Now get out of here!!’ Nan softened her words with a smile from her nest.

David, Hunter and Rick all got up, almost in unison, and headed towards the door. Almost out the door, and Hunter turned around and said directly to Carrie, “We’re not done, ya know.”

“I know, now git”

end
 

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