"Do you think she would like this?" Adam asks, as he holds up a huge nightgown.
"Dude, she won't be pregnant all her life."Paul Wight says, looking a bit awkward standing in women's clothing.
"Don't buy clothes for Rachel for Christmas, it might offend her either way." Chris said, as he walked up to them with a buggy. "Good God, look at this thong! How can anyone wear one of these?" He asks, as he holds up the barely there underwear.
"I wear them." Adam says with a smile.
"I didn't need to know that." Paul says, and walks out of the women's clothes area.
Adam and Chris follow him laughing. Chris wanted to look at rings, even if it was just Friendship rings. After thirty minutes of debating over the rings, a man walks up and watches them.
"If it's a friendship ring, the one you are holding looks more like a wedding ring. I don't think she would take it." The man says nervously. "Try that one." He says, and points to a ring that has a heart on it. He smiles, and walks away quickly.
Chris stares at the back of the mans head, as he watches him walk away. " I feel like I have seen him before." He says, as he plays with his growing beard. He had seen so many people out on the road, maybe it was just another fan trying to help him out.
"That is a pretty ring." Adam said, as he bought a necklace with an angel pendant on it.
"Can I look at it closer?" Chris asked the employee. He stared at it for a few moments and handed it to the employee." I'll take this. I must be mad, I think the man was right. I hope a ring is not too much to give her." Chris says to Paul and Adam.
"It's just a friendship ring right? Right." Paul replies.
It was already afternoon, and there was still more Christmas shopping to do. Adam still wanted to buy more things for Rachel and the baby. If they didn't hurry now, they would end up doing the last minute shopping on Christmas Eve. That was never fun, he thought.
They walked outside, to head to another store. Chris had the feeling he was being watched. He hated that feeling. It was so odd, and he had been feeling this way a lot lately. He thought of Rich's warning. Was Keith watching him, he wondered. If so, why hadn't he just tried to jump him the many times he had been alone?
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Rachel sat on a few boxes just outside of a dressing room relaxing. It was the last house show before Christmas. She was five months pregnant, but she felt as if she were further along. Maybe she was having twins, she thought. The ultrasound said one, but what if it was wrong. She started to laugh at herself with such silly thoughts, as Taka and Funaki walked in the hallway.
"BABY! Taka says smiling and pointing.
"Indeeeeed." Funaki says laughing.
Rachel starts to laugh uncontrollably."OW!" Rachel says as the baby kicks.
"She's going into labor!!" Taka yells and runs off. "LABOR!!!!"
Rachel continues to laugh as Jeff runs up.
"Are you OK?? Taka just told me you were going into labor." Jeff says, as he watches his sister laugh.
"No no. Just a kick. I must have disturbed it's sleep." Rachel says with a smile.
Jeff puts a hand to her belly and sighs. "I can't wait to be able to feel the baby in Beth's stomach." He says with a smile.
Adam walks up, sweaty from wrestling, and watches as Jeff puts his head to Rachel's stomach.
"What are you going to call him?" Jeff asks, looking at Adam.
"How do you know the baby is a he?" Rachel asks.
"It's just a feeling." Jeff says as he looks up at his sister.
Amy runs up to them, after hearing Taka screaming. "Are you OK?" She asks Rachel.
"Fine, I'm fine." Rachel replies.
"She's having a...." Jeff starts as Rachel puts a hand over his mouth. He keeps mumbling under her hand. Rachel sticks her tongue out at him, as Amy gets called away by Ivory.
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Adam and Chris were sent to the grocery store to pick out the perfect ham. Everyone had voted, and Turkey was out this year. No gumbo, no sandwiches, no BBQ turkey for weeks. Ham was the choice, and ham it would be, thought Chris as they looked through the meat.
"Dude, I just want a ham." Chris said, as he put down the third ham he had picked up.
"You don't just want any ham, you want Butterball." Adam says as he searches for a Butterball ham.
"ADAM, there is no such thing. Butterballs are Turkeys." Chris says laughing. He picks up a ham and puts it in the basket.
"Oh, yeah, that's right. I think I will go pick out the veggies." Adam says blushing. He walks off, leaving Chris alone.
A buggy runs over Chris' foot, and he looks up to see the man that had pointed out the ring to him.
"Watch it!" Chris said, as the man pulled the buggy away from him.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to run you over." The man says nervously. He picks up a ham and puts it in his basket. " It looks like ham for you too this Christmas." He says with a smile.
"Will this type of green beans do?" Adam asks walking back to Chris with a few cans of green beans.
Chris stares at the man as he walks off. Was this guy following him he wondered? "Adam, do you ever get the feeling you are being followed. That was the same guy that showed me the ring." Chris said, as the man walked out of sight.
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Keith sat in his car waiting for the men to exit the building. His groceries in the trunk, almost forgotten. He had no idea what he was going to do when he saw the men exit the building. All he knew is that he was an emotional wreck. His mind was pulling him in two different directions.
The warm breeze flowed through the windows of his car, as he sat silently. Not even the radio stirred the silence. He sat nervously biting his nails, or what was left of them anyway. He watched as Adam exited the store, and Chris follow a few moments behind. A part of him wanted to pull out and crash into them. That part of him still wanted revenge on Michelle.
They exited the parking lot, and Keith made sure to follow behind. He made sure a few cars were between them. To his surprise, Chris lived not far away from the store. He made a mental note, and decided he would visit soon. If Michelle didn't live here, he would still find her. The world wasn't big enough to where he couldn't.
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Rachel sat in a chair at the kitchen table. Christmas was going by way too fast, she thought, as she watched Beth and Chris cook. It was usually her thing to cook on Christmas, but no one wanted her on her feet. Four more months, she thought. Everything smelled good, and she was ready to eat.
She played with one of the many bibs she had gotten for Christmas. It was a year of presents for the baby. By the time the baby gets her, she won't be in need of anything, she thought. Her and Adam were still thinking of names.
The door bell rang, and Adam went to the door to answer it. A man stepped into the room with Adam, and Rachel dropped the bib she had been holding. Standing in her house, was the second most dangerous man she had heard of.
"Rachel, are you OK?" Adam asks, as he rushes over to her.
"It's Keith." Rachel whispers.
Michelle screams, as she turns to see who entered the room.
"What's going on?" Chris says, as he turns away from the food on the stove.
"Keith." Rachel says, and looks as if she is going to pass out.
"Keith." Adam says, as he holds onto Rachel. He turns around and stares at the man. "Get out of my house!" Adam says, as he feels Rachel pass out. He sits her on the ground, and Beth sits next to her with Rachel's head in her lap. Adam stands in front of the man, and Chris joins him.
"You've been following me." Chris says to Keith. "Now I know why. If you wanted revenge, you could have had it by now. Why didn't I recognize you?"
"Get out." Adam says, as he sees Keith's gun in the waist of his pants.
"Wait. I just want to talk..."Keith starts.
"What do you have to talk about?" Michelle asks, finally finding her voice. "Really, I don't feel like hearing what you have to say. I think you just need to leave." She says, as she stands in front of Chris and Adam.
"Please hear me out." Keith says, as he takes a step backwards. "Yes, at first I was coming after you. But in my journey, I have changed. I don't want to hurt you Michelle. I don't want to hurt anyone. I am so confused." He said, as he stood in the doorway.
"Yeah, right. I am supposed to believe you after all that you have done?" Michelle says, walking towards him. She had no idea what she was doing, but she liked the feeling of being strong!
Keith pulls out his gun and stares at her. He drops the gun on the floor, and kicks it over to Chris. Chris picks it up, still watching Keith. "I have changed. I don't know what else I have to do to prove it. I got here, all I want now is closure. I learned something along the way from a loving family. Michelle, I never thought a family could be so loving. And real, they were real. When I leave here, I am not going back to Chicago, or Panama City. I am going back to where I am loved." He said, as tears fell down his cheeks.
As long as she had known Keith, she had never seen him breakdown this way. It was all the proof she needed to know that he was telling her the truth. He was confused still, yes, but he was on the right track. And with to the shock of everyone else in the room, Michelle reached out and huged him.
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Rachel laid on the couch full from dinner. Adam sat on the floor in front of her as they watched TV. They both jump as they hear Beth scream in the kitchen. Michelle looks at them, and runs into the kitchen to see what was going on. Jeff enters the room, and sits where Michelle had been sitting.
"What's going on in there?" Rachel asks her brother.
Jeff stares at her and smiles. "You'll find out soon enough."
A few seconds later they hear Michelle scream. A second later she flies out of the kitchen and stands in the center of the room laughing.
"Is there a rat in there?" Rachel asks, sitting up.
Beth enters the room, and kneels down in front of Rachel. She whispers in Rachel's ear, and then showed her a beautiful diamond ring. Jeff had just proposed to her. Beth stood up, and fell into Jeff's lap laughing.
"Now we have something else to look forward to next year." Adam says with a smile.
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The year had gone by fast, Rachel thought as she looked around her dads house. There were so many people there, his friends, her friends, her brothers friends. There was no where in the house that was quiet. She walked out into the yard and turned back to stare at the house that was booming with life. There were only a few minutes left of the year, she thought.
So many things had happened in the year, she thought, but all came out good in the end. She had almost died, now she was married to Adam and having his baby. Less than five months and counting, she thought. She watched as Adam stepped out on the porch.
"Sweetie, are you coming back inside?" He asked, as he walked over to her, and wrapped his arms around her.
"I'll be back in. I am just breathing in the night air." She said smiling. "I'm just thinking about next year."
"You're going to be a good Mom." Adam says as he rubs Rachel's swollen stomach.
"Adam, let's just stay out here and watch the New Year come in. This way, I can see all my loved ones at once." She says, as she looks at the house again.
They stand and watch as the people inside start with the countdown from ten. Cheers, clinking glasses and fireworks could be heard from where they stood. It was such a magical night, and a new beginning for some. Rachel started to cry as she listen to her dad's speech..
Her dad looked out the window and raised a glass of wine to her. He winks, and turns away. She looked up into the midnight sky and blew a kiss. She new her mother was looking down on all of them. And she new at that moment, that her mother was proud of everything they had accomplished.
She dried the tears from her eyes, as Adam took her hand and led her back inside. Rachel was ready to start the New Year. With babies to be born, a wedding, and possibly a rekindled relationship, the year was going to be more than anyone could ask for.