Disclaimer: The characters of the WWE do not belong to me but Kat and her family, past and present, are my characters to do with as I please.
Distribution: Wild Kat's Flights of Fancy
Notes: I found out a few things about my family over the week and it makes me angry enough to write.

Katia sat down in a chair between her parents and smiled down at Josh and Alex as they went through her old picture albums, pointing at pictures of her and her sister.
"How old were you in this picture?" Alex asked her mother.
"I think I must have been about seven."
"Where did you and Aunt Nadine get the cool hats?"
"Well your grandfather took Nadine and me across the border to Frontier Town, a western themed amusement park, in New York State for the day and he got us those hats."
"Dad?" Josh asked, turning to Shane, "you think you can..."
"Not going to happen Josh... you're still in trouble for that kissing party of yours."
"Daaaaad..."
"You're grounded until your mom delivers. In what Kat, a month or two?"
"Six weeks."
"Exactly."
"Totally unfair and unjust," Josh pouted.
"Then stop trying to kiss everything in a skirt."
"But Dad, Sandra looked so fine in..."
Kat slapped her hand over her son's mouth and shook her head, "I'm about to deliver a baby but I am not ready for my first baby boy to talk about women and girls this way."
The doorbell ran and Igor, Nadine's first husband, got up to answer the door. He was a frequent visitor to the McMahon household and a good friend to both Katia and her husband, not to mention how much he loved the kids. Out of the corner of her eyes, Katia watched him sign for a package and frown at it for a moment before carrying it over to her.
"It's for you," Igor said, "it's from France."
"France?"
Without a word, Katia slit open the large envelope and out came pictures, books and two letters. She went through the pictures, passing them on to her equally silent parents, shocked at the sight of their daughter Nadine, who had been dead for almost ten years now, looking very happy and very French, dancing and singing, laughing with friends and being herself in the best way she knew how. Then Kat smiled at the books she had given her sister when she'd initially left from France. She'd remembered to send them back to her.
Kat then moved on to the first letter, written by a French lawyer who Nadine had initially contacted for her divorce from Igor. Apparently, something had made Nadine write out a will and prepare this package for her sister. But then, with profuse apologies, Nadine's lawyer explained that he'd had a long and hard battle with lung cancer and he hadn't been made aware of his client's death and as such, had been unable to carry out his instructions.
Blindly, the pregnant woman reached out for her husband and the letter from Nadine and rose to her feet, "Excuse me for a moment," she said softly, "but I need a moment."
"What is it?" Shane asked Kat as they walked into the den.
"A letter from my sister."
"I don't understand. What could she have to say?"
"We'll see, won't we?"
Shane pulled Kat to him and together, they sat on the couch and she started reading her letter from beyond the grave.

To my sister Katia,

Kid, if you're reading this, it means bad things... it means that I'm dead. I hope I went well, but as I'm writing this letter, I'm not too sure. If all goes well, then, you'll never get this letter and it's all good. But if you do... well, I'm sorry for the pain.
I never intended to tell you why I divorced Igor but things have happened lately that scared me and since the police won't do anything about it, you're my only shot at the truth. You remember all those made-for-TV movies we watched on Sunday nights? About dumb women who got the crap beaten out of them by their husbands and never walked away?
Well, believe it or not, it happened to me. Igor loved me... or so he said, over and over again. But he wasn't mentally stable... at first, he'd have fits, tantrums but you and me, we're Daddy's little girls and we're stubborn as hell so no matter how loud he got, I held my end of things without a problem.
But things got worse, especially after we got married. One day, after I had told him I wasn't really in the mood to make love, he jumped into his new car and drove it straight into a wall, hoping I would feel guilty or some shit like that.
Come on... I mean, this is me. His dumb ass drives himself into a wall and I feel guilty for not wanting to get it on? Excuse me, loonie bin... crazy boy has escaped. Anyhow... that wasn't the worst of it... he hit me once. I hit him back, of course but still... and I didn't just pack my bags and go... I always thought I would. When a man hits you once, make it the last time... and it wasn't...
One night, we had a fight. He thought I was cheating on him with a guy from my choir and he jumped me...tried to strangle me. Katia, I was so scared. And I went limp and let him do it until he realized what he was doing. It was the last straw. After that, I packed my things and left him... he hasn't found me since. But he has firearms and I'm afraid that if he does find me...
Katia, please. If something happens to me, be very careful around him. I caught him sneaking around in your old room an incredibly long time ago and I don't know what he found but he's dangerous. Just be very careful.
By the way Gribouille, I love ya, no matter what.

Nadine

Through the ages, Shane's French had improved and he'd read along with his wife, his heart breaking along with his wife over his sister-in-law and now, he looked at Kat and squeezed her hand, nodding at her.

Igor was lying flat on his back, play-wrestling with Josh and Alex when Shane and Katia came back to the living room, their fingers twined.
"Do me a favor Igor," Shane said, "get your hands off my children before I rip your arms from their sockets."
"Shane!" Bernadette said, shocked.
"It's okay mom... I want Shane to hurt him... after all, the man who hit your daughter deserves nothing less."
"Darling, that was in the past and Igor has changed and..."
"You knew?"
"Igor told me he'd made a few mistakes and if your sister had only..."
"Get out of my house Mom. Get out now. I will deal with you... eventually, but right now, if I get mad at you, I risk my baby's life. Igor, I don't know what you're waiting for but trust me... you want out of here right now."
"Katia please try to understand... I was sick..."
"Get out... your excuses don't mean shit to me. Go back to France and forget me and mine... just get out..."
Igor got up and reached out to Kat but Shane moved faster and grabbed his arm, pulling it up behind his back and shoving him toward the door. "When you get asked to get out of a house, you do it... don't beg... just do it," Shane snarled, giving him a good shove out the front door.
"You're too harsh Katia," Bernadette said softly, "much too harsh."
"Mom you knew and tried getting him back together with Nadine... after he tried to kill her. Do you understand what that means?"
"It's just..."
"I don't want excuses... I need you out and I need to mourn my sister appropriately. Can you imagine if he had... mom, you were facilitating a batterer... a possible murderer... do you get that? Do you understand it?"
"Kat..."
"Leave mom... please..."
Katia moved aside and let her mother walk past her, her tears covering her face. Her father followed his wife, shaking his head, his eyes full of tears too. "She never told me Kat... never..."
"I know Daddy."
"Or I would have done something... I don't know what but I would have done something."
Kat nodded and hugged her father before he followed his wife outside. Alex and Josh stood there, fidgeting until Kat pulled them to her for a long hug. Shane joined them and kissed his wife's forehead, hoping her hatred for Igor would soon pass. But in his heart of hearts, he knew that some things just didn't pass.

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