Ty #1
"Dead Dog"

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When Tyler George Michael West was ten, Gina West, his mother, was given a dog. A friendly mix mutt that seemed to enjoy his new life. Of course, Gina had made it clear that the dog was only a guest until they could find it a new home, but Ty fell head over heels for the sloppy monster. As much as Gina tried, she never could get anyone to take the dog and finally resigned herself to keeping him. Ty, of course, was ecstatic but no sooner had his mom agreed than the dog bound into an oncoming car and that was it.

Ty never really recovered from that. It had made him afraid to own another pet, let alone a dog. In fact, it had changed Ty in how he dealt with relationships in general and it might have been why he often appeared clingy or over-emotional. He had a hard time dealing with death. So needless to say, his taking Wilson had been no easy decision for him, but Cats were not dogs. Cats didn't give the same love as dogs did. Cats were... safe, aloof, easily triggered...

(Funny how those things also described his love too...)

When Ty was twelve, he saw his dog. A dog he had named Ollie. He swore up and down that it was his dog, sitting across the road with a big goofy one only dogs can give. Ty had bounded from his house, across that same busy road and was clipped by a truck, breaking his arm. When he looked up, trying not to let himself faint from the shock and pain, there was his dead dog, giving him that doggie smile before running off into nothingness.

He'd never dared tell his mom. He's obviously imagined it. How could a thing that was no longer alive appear like that? He didn't believe in ghosts.

So it was now, staring at his phone that his arm ached in remembrance because the missed call was from his Dead father.

Effie Bingham, newly divorced and eager to rejoin her life with her adoptive family shook her head. In front of her was the largest tropical drink Ty had ever seen, including the cheap paper umbrella. She had been especially insistent on being in Honolulu for Ty's Title match.

"Are you sure it wasn't just a glitch? Maybe the numbers and contacts on your phone got scrambled."

She takes a long swig through her straw. Ty shakes his head.

"No, I double-checked the number. I've even called the number back and it comes up as no longer in service. The phone company confirmed it. I canceled all his accounts when he died."

"And I saw him at the morgue too. Definitely a stiff."

Ty was used to Effie's bluntness. It was one of the things he appreciated most because he knew it meant she'd never lie to him. It was something he also appreciated in Kristjan as well.

"Did you tell kickboxer Barbie?"

For those new to Effie's character, calling Kristjan different names with Barbie references was her thing. In fact, the two had this weird relationship where although they didn't much like each other, they had settled in this sort of acceptance...? Perhaps? that neither was going anywhere so they would just have to deal with their respective annoyances.

"Not yet. I will though. I learned my lesson last time I kept something from him but I don't think he's going to care much about it. Like you, he'll probably write it  off as some sort of phone glitch."

"There's no other explanation Ty. Unless someone somehow used your Dad's number to call you. Honestly wouldn't put it past some of the psychopaths in SCW to do it just to fuck with you."

"I dunno Eff, it feels different. Do you remember that story I told you about my dog?"

Effie nods, "Right... that whole creepy Pet Cemetery story. Yup."

"It feels like that. Like it defies logic but I saw Ollie and I feel like this was my Dad."

Effie still doesn't appear to be alarmed in the slightest.

"And would he be calling for some afterlife funds? 'Cuz that seemed to be the only reason that deadbeat ever called you when he was alive."

She smirks. Ty had to admit she was right. It was no secret that his father had abandoned him his whole life.

"Or maybe he wanted to give me luck..."

Effie bursts into laughter. It's so obnoxious that it causes a couple beside her at the bar to move to a table, giving Effie the dirtiest cut eye he'd seen in a while,  and Ben had been pretty good at his recently.

"Good Joke. I know you want it to be something positive but I can't lie to you. And I can't deny it either, it's there on your phone as a missed call. Maybe you should just wait and see if dear old Dad calls again."

She offers another shrug. Ty, however, is still staring at it, "Maybe..."

He seems to wander off mentally into the space around him as if in another world.

"You're still not bothered by Cancer boy are you?"

This causes Ty to break from his current thoughts to roll his eyes at Effie,  "He didn't have cancer."

"Well, whatever it was I almost feel like he was making it up. I mean who goes from on his deathbed to now suddenly wanting a shot at the title? I mean I get how you could have a renewed zeal for life but it seems awful convenient that he's suddenly all better when it's your turn. And you know why I think it has to do with you? Because he has some sort of bro crush on your long-haired beau. Arguably, he went soft too when he married that weirdo he's married to. She can't make up her mind if she wants to stay in SCW either. She wins a few times, gets the Roulette title, loses it and then jets. So don't sweat anything he says because while he's trying to say that you aren't meant to do this, you have a fucking title shot for Chrissakes! You beat Austin finally. You have earned the respect of almost everybody here and despite everything you have gone through this year you are still fucking here and people want you here. Naw, 'Kristina' didn't lose to Austin because you made him soft and you definitely were not jealous of him spending time with that freak either. Apparently couples can't have their own lives away from each other either. Pfft."

She only pauses long enough to drink and swallow.

"Yeah he won but you didn't make it easy. Your first loss in how many? Four or five? I hope Fen kicks his ass, maybe he reactivates whatever STD he had too."

"Effie..." Ty is stunned into silence, he may not have been happy about Ben's lack of respect but, to be frank, he hadn't exactly earned it either.

"I have never been a 'good person' Ty. You know that. I'm going to say what I feel. It's partially why I'm not firing up the old tweet machine because I'll probably get myself into trouble and we both know how much Mark loves me..." She smirks, "But that doesn't mean I'm not going to tell it how it is. I bet in a rematch he wouldn't be able to pull off that shit again."

Ty shrugs. "He can have his rematch when he earns a title shot."

Effie's mouth drops open. In all the time she had known Ty, he was never this cocky.

"So you're going to win the title from Uncle Vinny huh?"

Ty chugs his beer, "Of course I am winning. And I can't sit here and let one loss against an undeniably talented wrestler make me less focused. I know all of what he said is bullshit. I am not trailing after Fen like a puppy. I was not jealous because frankly, it took a lot to get him to commit to me so I highly doubt he'd cheat on me, plus Ben is not into men. I didn't feel it was appropriate to 'hang out' with the man who took offense to an interview question. He jumped to conclusions, assumed I was getting involved. Oh and better still, he obviously doesn't support our relationship for whatever reason. What sort of friend does that? He'd supposedly Kristjan's friend yet insults his relationship by saying I made him soft? One loss in singles and one in tags in the two years he has been in SCW is... soft?"

He shakes his head.

"Oh but he's Ben Jordan and his word is law!" Effie says in a mocking tone and then laughs. "Dude will lose to Rockstar barbie and then disappear again like yesterday's news. He has no right to say anything about you leaving for a couple breaks when he's done it repeatedly.  And I know you won't leave if you don't win this title either."

Ty looks at her, "I'm not losing Eff. Not again. I have risen from the ashes and it is my turn. I don't care who it is in that ring. I am not going to let anything stop me this time. It's my time."

"You know... for a sensitive guy, you sure have done well... especially since you're so thin-skinned and all..." Effie says again in her sarcastic tone.

"It's like he thinks I just started here or something... Eighteen months. And I defend myself and suddenly I am this horrible person corrupting his friends. If anyone is jealous, I think it's him."

He sighs deeply. "Alright, I'm good. I'd never say any of this publicly because it won't do a lick of good for anyone. If Jan wants to be friends with Ben, then that's his prerogative but I have zero personal respect for a man that would assume things about me despite the evidence to show otherwise."

"Maybe good guys make him nervous. Some people think that guys like you are fake. Like no one could be a good guy this much and not be hiding anything."

Ty frowns, "I have nothing to hide Eff... I have been forthright about everything since day one. Sometimes you just can't be friends with everyone. I accept that. Now I move on because in the grand scheme of things, nothing Ben says actually matters. The opinions I actually care about are from the people that matter most to me. So that's what I'm going to focus on."

Effie sucks back the rest of her drink, pushing it toward the handsome bartender with a salacious smile and a wink, "Keep em coming Sir mix a lot." She then looks back to Ty, "Such a boy scout..."

Ty narrows his eyes at her and she laughs. Soon he is chuckling back.

***

This video recording is not the same as Ty’s other entries into his online blog, titled the “West-Ward biologicals” in fact it seems to just be a direct promo in which he stands, stony gazed in front of some sort of brick wall. Although Ty was never one to use theatrics in his entries regardless, this one seems particularly serious.

“Here we are, finally. The match of the century. But not because the title is on the line, that is just an extra incentive, no this is a match that everyone has been waiting for because lord knows I have been waiting for this. Contrary to popular belief, I don't hate Vinnie. In fact, I don't hate anyone on the SCW roster, despite what they chose to say about me. I dislike certain people, sure but hate takes so much energy and attention and I have better things to focus on.”

His gaze remains steely as if he is far more serious than he normally is.

“Like Senor Vinnie or it seems now 'Uncle" Vinnie and not a cool Joe Pesci kinda Vinnie that defends you when you are falsely accused of murder who, conveniently has an attractive fiance like Marissa Tomei. Naw. This is a relative that hasn't exactly endeared himself to me. I don't think I need to rehash specific details of that but let's just say that he can't be trusted. Family or not. Sometimes you can have family that treats you like an ATM or family that would stab you in the back in a heartbeat for something as trivial as a title shot. Either way, being somehow related does not give you a free pass.”

He finally lets out a sigh, his eyes not looking so unmovable.

“Maybe he is a different person now or even behind the scenes with my aunt. That's cool, as long as he continues to treat Valora like the Queen she is then I have no issues there but he can't do a couple good deeds and all the wrongs are suddenly forgotten. It's not as easy as all that. Just like I know I have to watch him constantly and never have my back turned. I want to believe him so badly. I want things to be good because I am not someone that relishes any sort of discomfort with a person. It truly does bother me if there is a conflict with someone that actually means something to me and there was a time that I considered Vinnie my friend. I have no idea if we will ever recover from that. I suppose deep down I want it to go back to how it was, but apparently I am much too soft and make those I associate with just as soft. It's time to toughen up and that means not letting personal issues cloud my judgment.”

And once again, he is unrelenting in showing the camera just how serious he is. Blue eyes looking almost as cold as his lover’s do when shooting a promo.

“Vinnie is a versatile wrestler. He adapts to his opponents, hence why after losing to Austin for the first time, losing to Alex before, it made him stronger, he adapted to that and came back to win against them both in the second round. That is a good skill to have, but the thing with skills is that for every skill, there are at least two flaws. Once he beats an opponent, he writes him off as not needing to adapt any further and second, he is vain. You know that Carly Simon song? Yeah well, that would describe Vinnie. He thinks everything is about him. And that this match is still entirely about him. This match isn't about him, it's about me. I know, wouldn't that make me the vain one now? No. Well... yes, but here's my point, Vinnie loves Vinnie. No one, not even my aunt, loves Vinnie as much as he loves himself and every time he wins, that vanity clouds his judgment a little more. Now that adaptability that I mentioned, that makes him lucky. It evens it out, but what about while facing me? Someone he probably is not particularly worried about because he's faced me before. He just saw me lose the match coming into this and likely will say that, like my last opponent, that I am too sensitive. That I will just fall because of these insecurities. “

His jaw takes on a strong determined set, or he’s just clenching due to him trying to keep his emotions in check on camera, but either way, he is trying hard not to show any true emotion, one way or another.

“Wrong. So, so very wrong. And foolish, which as we know is part of who Vinnie is. We have all sort of let him continue on this... delusion about Pete the Cactus because it wasn't hurting anyone. Other than that and his odd bouts of manic rage, he's really not the worst I have seen. But again, I have been preparing for that. And as much as I have been preparing for my shot at the SCW Heavyweight title, I have been preparing for this match with Vinnie for much longer. As I said, match of the century.”

He gives a bit of a smirk, recalling something that people watching the video may not have any idea about. He continues,

“I know there are people that have been buying tickets or tuning in to the broadcast that have wanted to see how this ends. What will I do? They ask. Will I go easy on him because of the love I have for my aunt? Will I have doubts? Will I choke because I always seem to do that with title matches. I am not obtuse to all of that. I know that there are some that want me gone.”

“Well, sorry to disappoint you but, I am not going anywhere and I am going to end Vinnie's short reign as champion.”

His fist clenches, the colour starting to drain from his knuckles as he attempts to not let his anger get the best of him.

“Based on every single promo this man has produced, it will be a jumbled, nonsensical production that will start with him praising my abilities only to then tear me down and pick me apart like a vulture, because that's what he does. He is a scavenger. He will find the oddest things and rip it apart until the point is so completely pulverized it's unrecognizable.”

He pauses for a while as if reflecting on that imagery when it appears another point comes to mind like something of a “Eureka” moment and his eyes once again regain their normal shine of determination and ‘grit’.

“I am tired of always being overlooked. My name is always part of the same sentence, "like Ty" and a list of other guys that seem to be hanging off that second rung, clinging for dear life as to not lose their relevance. I am never my own sentence. So like I said, this is my time, my opportunity. It's why I am not going to let this be another snide factoid from Mercedes about "Man with the most failed attempts at a title," because frankly I feel like Caleb Storms and I are neck and neck and we all know how much I like that guy...Something else to take into consideration, which seems to be overlooked is that I have evolved. With every devastating loss, I have pulled myself back up and every time it has been with more determination. More fight.  Vinnie claims that he's a changed man but yet I can't see much evidence to show he actually has changed at all.  I have shown it with every move, every win and even in my few loses. What about him? How has he changed? A few apology tweets and marrying my aunt is supposed to make me believe that he is not the same self-absorbed cretin he was when he stabbed me in the back, lied to my face? No. I don't believe it.”

His face softens now.

“No matter who wins, though it probably won't renew our friendship at all. I am not in the business of purposely setting myself up to be hurt. Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice... well shame on me.”

Before saying what’s next, he sighs deeply once again, raising his shoulders in somewhat  of a ‘whatever’ shrug,

“There really isn't much else for me to say at this point that I haven’t repeated since I started this journey back to the top. Never have I been this focused and this prepared. Never have I wanted the title as bad as I do now. I mean part of it could very well be just like a giant middle finger in his face but no one can deny how hard I have worked. People can try to discredit my work by throwing up insignificant and unrelated things but it cannot take away from everything I have accomplished and finally, I will have the one accomplishment that might legitimize me finally.  I know that I can’t change everyone’s minds but to me, once you’re a champion, people know that you are serious. I am serious about winning. Make no mistake about that.”

“So, If I ever end up in jail, I know who I won’t call. My ‘uncle’ Vinnie may be quirky but not in the fun-loving, comedic way.  I want this to have a good ending, but my skepticism has me believing that it will not have a happily ever after.”

He ends the video with a genuine laugh, but there is a bit of sadness to it as well like he is somewhat disappointed that it has come to this.


***

It’s pretty dark, the only light is from the reflection of the moon on the water. Having grown up in a state that didn’t really have any sights like this, it was always a fascination of his. He liked sitting on beaches, taking his shoes off so he could feel the sand between his toes or the way the water flowed over his feet as if it were alive. He did the same thing every time he went to Los Angeles too. He'd just went out to the beach when he knew no one else was going to be there. Some people did yoga or meditation to clear their minds, not Ty West. Ty liked beaches.

In his modeling days, he had visited a lot of places and when he was old enough to leave the hotel room to do his own site seeing if the place had a beach and water, that’s where he went. Old buildings and fresco painting was not really his idea of history because out of all of that, the one thing that could tell you the story of the earth was the water that life came from.

Maybe all of that seemed far too deep for what was on his mind. How could he be worried about facing a man in a wrestling match when confronted with what could be the answers to why life existed? Or maybe Ty came here because it made his own issues seem so small that it felt foolish to worry so much about them.

“Nice night...”

Ty startles as a hooded figure comes up beside him. IT was a man, based on the voice and the build, a voice that was definitely not a native Hawaiian, there was almost a bit of a European ‘twang’ or even an Americanized french, often called Creole.

“It is...” Ty offers, not sure how he felt about someone invading his thoughts, even if they weren’t exactly coming together to give him the answers he actually wanted.

“I like to come out here to think sometimes.” Ty offers, trying to ease the awkward tension the man’s sudden appearance had caused.

“I was never much of a fan of water. It’s dangerous to anything but fish.”

Ty couldn’t help but chuckle. “You picked a weird place to come on vacation then.”

The man shakes his head, still not turning to look at Ty directly.

“I came to see family. I don’t really do the whole ‘vacation’ thing. My son has this tournament he’s in and I wanted to see him win it all. He doesn’t know I'm here though.”

Ty tilts his head. “Why not?”

The man’s voice appears to crack with the emotion behind it, “We aren’t on speaking terms, but I’m still proud of him, I wish I could be half the man he is.”

“Somehow I think he knows you’re here.”

Ty takes a deep breath and he wonders if this is it, is this his Dad come to give him the message he wanted. Was he really come back from beyond like Ollie had to reassure him that he had what it took?  He stands, walking toward the man in the dark sweatshirt. The man reaches into his hoodie pocket and pulls out a pack of cigarettes, he turns, offering the pack to Ty.

“Want one?”

Ty shakes his head, all he wanted was to see the man’s face. To know for sure if this was just pure coincidence or if this really was his dad.

“Suit yourself.’ he pulls one, the light from the match illuminates his face under the hood and Ty holds his breath only to see for sure that the man looks nothing like his dearly departed father, but rather than make it obvious, he stays in the same spot, looking out at the water.

“I really should quit, but it’s the only thing keeping me sane. I am hoping that maybe I can talk to his mother about sharing custody once we’re back on the mainland. He’s ten.”

Ty sympathizes. “My Daughter is nearly twelve. It’s a tough age.”

“Indeed. I want the chance to build a relationship with him before it’s too late and I lose him.”

He finishes his cigarette and uses the sand to extinguish the flame. Under Ty’s watchful eye, he keeps the butt. “I’ll toss this in the bin upon the path. I hope whatever you’re out here trying to forget, the answer comes to you.”

He turns, leaving Ty once again alone with his thoughts. It maybe wasn’t the same thing but maybe Ty needed to give Vinnie the benefit of the doubt after this match was over. Maybe he would be someone he could trust again, but it was hard. After the many people who had used him or wrote him off without actually getting to know him, the hurt was real.

He turns to leave himself and his phone buzzes in his pocket. He fumbles for it but misses the call. Once again, his Dead father had tried to contact him but hadn’t left a message.

“This can’t just be a phone glitch... Maybe it’s time to tell Jan about this...”

He jogs up to the path, not noticing the eerie-looking shadow in the little grove of trees, watching him.

 The West-Ward Blogicles
Season 4, Entry #9 -- “Baggage”

I can feel it now. The mixed reactions of my being number one contender. There will be those that fully support me, love me and believe in me, but everyone else... well...

There will be those that tell me that I have already been here. Several times. Faced off against Fenris, twice and lost. Twice I was in a ring with my opponent this week, and once again, lost. They will tell me how nothing has changed. That just because I beat a man that let social media bother him to the point of distraction does not mean I am ready to carry the mantle of champion.

Others will say that I will be distracted myself since Senor Vinnie is now my uncle by marriage. That I will be too focused on making a good impression or not upsetting my aunt.

And the last are just the people who have never liked me regardless and take pleasure in my series of missteps. People that only pay attention to the things that suit their arguments without actual proof to back them up. But I digress.

It is not my responsibility to prove my doubters wrong. That was why I failed. I put this responsibility on my own shoulders and eventually I broke down with the weight of it. It's happened twice and the second time I let it drag me down the same way as the first. But this time, this third time, I am not carrying anybody's baggage. Not even my own.

Luggage is meant to be stored and only brought out on trips, not something you carry around constantly. So, I unpacked my luggage. Yeah there was some items that were broken beyond repair. That's going to happen but most of it, I found a place for. Not forgotten by any means but definitely not shoved in a pack, putting weight on my back. Everyone saw what I did out there, despite my own personal turmoil. I still went out there and did what I needed to do. I proved every word I said about Jake Raab was true and I really hope that instead of being bitter and putting it all in his luggage, he unpacks it and uses it to move forward. Just like I hope Austin is not coming into this match with his loss to Vinnie in his.

I am in no way demeaning Austin's accomplishments. My god, this is the man who took out Fenris. A man that until he faced Austin, had zero losses. I know I've already said this before but it's worth noting again. This man has also held the Heavyweight title for 154 days.

Thanks Mercedes! *Wink, wink*

That is roughly five months. Five months! That is nothing to scoff at. It deserves respect and I humbly offer that. I have no reason to come at him like I did Jake. Austin has always been completely honest. He respects me as a competitor, but I am a competitor and if he didn't feel like he had what it took to take me down again he would have no business being here. Just like despite all the praise I give, I fully believe that this is my match to win. Not because Austin isn't qualified. Or that he's distracted or emotional. Nothing to do with him losing to Vinnie either. It has less to do with him and more to do with where I am right now.

See despite all the confidence I have put on the screen in the past when going up against a champion, deep down I was afraid. Afraid of what another loss was going to do to me. How it might just be the one that breaks my back, figuratively speaking. I know I am not someone that has been trained to do this since I was young. I started three years ago. My agent at the time got this bright idea to turn my childhood love of wrestling and my martial arts background into something profitable. In his mind it was just another acting job. He wasn't concerned about what I wanted, only what wasn't going to make him money.

It was part of that baggage I unpacked not too long ago. So when my contract with his agency officially expired last month, we both agreed it was mutually beneficial to go our separate ways. The freedom to not have anyone making my decisions anymore was liberating.  It was like I woke up and knew what it was like to breathe real air and see the real sunlight.

Dramatic... I know...

But you get the point right? I had this part of me that had been locked away, just... released. I am in charge now and I am making decisions that I want. And I want to win against every man I have faced and lost too. I want to cross them off this list and know for certain that I was holding myself back in every single one of those matches because of the heavy baggage I carried. And that, is why Austin should be worried.

He beat the version of myself that let things hinder his ability, and if that version was only narrowly beaten, then how is he going to fair against Ty Unleashed? A Ty West that has absolutely everything to live for now. That has been constantly slipping off that final rung of the ladder, only to have to start again at the bottom. I am not falling again. I am not being weighed down and dragged back to the bottom any longer. I am ready to keep climbing until I am the man on top. Where I should have been against Fenris. Where I should have been against Vinnie. Where I should have been against Austin. I know that this match is for essentially bragging rights only, but to me it has so much more meaning.

Austin, you know for the last little while I have been so envious of you. Not jealous. Envious. You had it all. The title. A good group of supporters and a family. I wanted all of that for myself too. I thought that some of those things just couldn't happen for me. I let my envy start turning into a deep seeded hatred, but not for you buddy, but for myself. It was then I knew it was time to stop shoving it all deep down and pretending it wasn't eating away at me. Courage is not bravery. We often get that confused. Courage is the ability to be vulnerable and to stand up even when the world is crumbling around you. I stood up Austin. I allowed myself to be vulnerable and you know what? I learned that being brave isn't about not showing everyone what's going on, it's about taking ownership of the things that could hurt you and continuing on with them. It's not about demolition, it's about incorporating them into the existing structures and buildings around them.

I have risen from the destruction and started to rebuild. I am using my rubble to build something else. Not new per say, it's still the same buildings just put back together differently. These buildings will stand taller, be stronger.

I am the building that fell in the rain but now I am the structure that will withstand any storm.

***

Ty West only had a few days at home before he had to fly to Aruba. This time however it would be without his niece. While the family was on board the Sun Princess, word had arrived from the Canadian Children's Aid Service (Americans know it as Child Protection Services) that Ty had officially been given full custody of Evan Lee Caron. It was the first step to formal adoption which, from what his lawyer had said, could take up to eighteen months to be finalized. For now though, Ty was happy just to legally be her caregiver. So of course this meant that he was responsible for making sure she was fully set up in school.

Twin Lakes Elementary was a newer school. Red brick with a blue roof. Ty put a hand gently on Evan's back to guide her towards the door but she stiffened.

"What's wrong? Are you nervous about not having friends?"

Evan smirks and rolls her eyes. "Uncle Ty, I didn't have any friends at my old school. I was the weird hyper kid who wore wigs."

Ty feels a pang of something. Sympathy maybe? He wasn't sure. Evan had felt isolated her whole life because of her differences.

"Then what's the issue?"

She looks up at him. "What if the American school system isn't as advanced as the Canadian one and not only will I be the weird hyper kid that wears wigs but also the kid who knows it all too. People definitely do not want to be friends with the brainer kid."

Ty turns her and crouches down so that they are eye to eye.

"I really don't know. You know I was homeschooled. I never went to a public school. What I know, I have learned from other people. But what I do know is that anyone that can't accept you for everything you are, doesn't deserve to be your friend at all anyway."

Evan looks at him a minute before laughing. Ty couldn't help thinking that she really was like Jan.

"Oh Uncle Ty... you really are a boy scout." She smiles. "But I know what you mean. And that's good to say but that doesn't mean the other kids care too much."

"I wish I had all the answers..."

Ty suddenly feels that same pressure from before. That maybe he wasn't good enough to be her parent. Then she puts a hand on his shoulder.

"You don't have to have the answers. You just gotta be there. And you are."

She then takes a step back and adjusts the pretty blue wig she had decided to wear today. Ty stands and they head to the office. Of course there were a lot of questions from the principal about her parents and what level she was at in her education and when her ADHD came up the good natured smile faded away.

"Is she medicated? You know that there are special schools that are better equipped for children with her..."

Ty sighs heavily, shaking his head. "Disability? We don't look at it like that. It's not a disability, it's just a difference. She just learns things differently but that doesn't mean she is in any way not as smart as other ten year olds."

He looks out the glass window of the man's office to where he could see Evan. She had put on her noise cancelling headphones and pulled out a notebook. She liked to doodle and some of them were actually quite good.

"She is on medication but even if she wasn't it in no way means she should be treated like she's got an incurable disease. Evan gets A's and B's."

The principal looks skeptical. "In Canada maybe but here in the United States..."

Ty cuts him off. "From the research I did quickly on my phone while waiting for you, it says that Canada's Elementary education is actually ranked 3rd, just under the United States, so don't try to tell me that we are superior. In fact Canada placed 3rd on the world scale for best country, compared to us at number eight. So, don't use that card on me, please. What I was trying to get at was, Evan is smart, and all she needs are the tools to help her."

The Principal doesn't know how to respond so simply nods his head in agreement.

"Good.  For the next few weeks, Evan's caregiver Analise will be caring for her while I travel for work. It's all in the paperwork you had me fill out. I hope that if there are any issues you can call me directly to deal with them."

"Of course Mr. West. I'm sure Evan will fit in well here."

"I hope so, Principal Radbury. It was a pleasure to meet you."

Ty offers his hand to the man who is obviously very intimidated by him. Mr. Radbury then hands Ty a paper with all of Evan's class information and uses an intercom to call down another student to bring Evan to class.

Ty exits, sitting next to his niece.

"So, did he try to tell you I should be locked up like a crazy person?"

She doesn't stop doodling or look up at him when she speaks.

"More or less..." Ty says honestly.

Evan nods her head. "I'm not surprised. A lot of people assume I must be dumb. They way Gran explained it was that my brain just moves faster than everyone else so I don't know how to stop and work out all the little details. The pills help me work on those little details."

Ty nods. He was often blown away by the level of intelligence that Evan had. She struggled with literacy but yet was so intuitive about the world around her. It almost felt contradictory.

A young girl, Evan's age, enters the office and walks toward them.

"Are you Evan?"

The girl seemed bubbly and friendly to Ty but it could have been a clever disguise. Children were good at deceiving adults yet were monsters to each other.

Evan looks up at the blonde girl and nods

"My name is Paige Knightley. I'm in your class. I'm going to show you around today."

Evan stands, grabbing her backpack and starting to walk away.

"Hey, kid..." Ty yells,after her. Evan looks over her shoulder. "You got this..."

Evan gives him a smile. "So do you... Dad..."

She winks and walks next to the girl who has started chatting Evan's ear off. Ty fights back a tear in his eye. After he had talked to Jan on the ship, he had decided to move forward with the formal adoption, and then every once in awhile since, Evan had thrown in a 'Dad' during conversations. He had so much pride seeing her. He may not ever have biological children, but Evan was everything he ever needed.

Once she's gone, he leaves barely making it to Lora's car before he tears up.

 The West-Ward Blogicles
Season 4, Entry #8 -- “Who's the Coward?”

You know what is funny? The fact that Jake is more concerned about twitter than anything else. His promo didn't come across as someone fighting and deserving of a shot at the Heavyweight title. It came across as someone that is more concerned about what people say about him then what the real concern should be.

He says, 'You would be upset too if people said things on twitter behind your back...' no. I wouldn't be. Do not assume anything about me Raab. You don't know me. It's so obvious that you weren't listening at all to my promo. You decided before even loading it up what you wanted me to say and responded to that assumption. You have already made up your mind about who I am without even following it up with research. You didn't prepare to listen to communicate, you listened merely to reply.

You know why I wouldn't care Raab? Because the opinion of people not part of my life do not matter. The fact that you didn't hear a word I fucking said only further proves my first point. You're not ready for this. You are not worthy of being a champion. Sure you got the moves and the skills, but mentally you are just a scared little boy. You don't have time to talk about me as an athlete? Really? That is the point of this entire thing Raab. Contrary to your beliefs, I do not hate you.  That would require me to actually care about you. And I don't. Maybe that's the problem. You are too concerned about how others see you that it gets inside your head. That's why you lose in these meaningful matches.

I am not going to be one of those guys that tells you to quit. That is not up to me. You are free to do whatever you like, and it's how I know that you're going to sit on this twitter thing like a mother hen. Letting it grow, waiting for it to crack. The problem is, it's not a baby chick, it's a parasite. It is going to continue to eat at you until it finally kills you.

I am still waiting for something you haven't already said. Some proof that you are more than a little boy wearing his cousin's pants. You seem to be living in the shadow of your famous relatives and not doing anything to prove otherwise. Unlike you, this match is important to me. Therefore I make time to talk about it. I make time to study you and be prepared for you. Regardless of my opinion of you, which I may add are based on your actions, you are still a wrestler that is going to be on the other side of that ring next week. You are still going to try to pin me and you are still going to fail. This title means more to me than you realize and if you bothered to 'make time' you would know that. This is finally going to be my opportunity. I am not letting anything interfere with my chance at the Heavyweight title. It is what I have been working for. I have gotten stronger, faster, all to get back here, to this moment. To be good enough to go up against either Mercer or Vinnie.

If you are waiting for some sort of apology for what I said, you won't get it. I am not sorry. I will never need your forgiveness for saying the truth. So it's better to just accept it and move on. Beating the dead horse of what you think is 'talking behind your back' is not going to bring the horse back to life.

Just like I am not going to beat this horse thinking you actually get any of it. You are so blinded by it, it has won this match for me already. That's not arrogance, that's truth. You let me get into your head long before we were even scheduled to face. I'm not sure what happened to you before to cause you to be so paranoid of people saying things about you, but I highly suggest that when we get back on land, you go and talk to a professional. We are in an extremely tough industry. There is always going to be someone saying something. It's unavoidable and if your loss to
Mercer or anyone else who has used the social media platform is an indicator, you are going to continue to lose and continue to have your buddies showing you tweets from other people. You cannot control the world's opinion of you. That's Just the way it is. All you can do is rise above it and prove people wrong.

Which is what I do, every time I step in that ring. I can't let what others say affect what I do. I have to put out thoughts into the universe of what I want for myself. I want to be a champion. So that is my focus. After this match Raab, you can relax. You will go back to being someone I pay no attention too. I can't tell you not to name drop me again like somehow that will make your case for you but I can tell you that I will go back to not caring, but don't expect any respect from me on a personal level. That disappeared the moment you uttered the words 'I don't have time for that..."

You have time to reply to my promo only focusing on the questions relating to some tweets but not the things that actually mattered. Like this match. About me as your opponent. You spent more time talking about the buddies who looked on twitter. Whom I don't follow or who follow me so again, stalking. thanks. People who have absolutely nothing to do with this match and did not need an introduction. You want to talk about having guts? Take time to actually talk about our match. Care about how important this is to your career.

You know what happens if I lose Raab? I have to start from scratch again. Prove myself and once again make my way up for another opportunity. I won't get in a promo and blame you for that. I won't get butthurt at the comments that say how I wasn't good enough to beat you. I will move on and fight harder. But I will not cry about it. I will not go to Mark & Christian demanding retribution for the naysayers.  

I admit that you did get to me. Then I realized what you were about and it was easy to see you for who you are. You don't just live in your relatives shadow, you ARE their shadow. You haven't done anything to stand out from them. You haven't stepped ahead, into the light. There is nothing uniquely defining about you which it is why it is so easy for others to call you, 'just another Raab'. You haven't grown since coming to SCW.  When people were talking about my relationship with Fenris, I didn't let that stop me. I knew I wasn't with him to get focus on me. I wasn't with him because he was champ. I didn't need validation for those things because I knew the truth.

If my words were not hitting you close to the chest than it wouldn't bother you so much. That is just basic psychology 101. You are obviously not good at controlling your emotions. Like I said, you were most definitely hurt by this sort of thing in the past. And no. Do not regale me with the story in what will be another reply promo. I honestly don't care that much about you to want to know. I don't want to help you. I don't want to be buddies. I have seen your character and it just doesn't mesh with the type of people I surround myself with. All I am saying is don't squander this golden opportunity by focusing on how butthurt you are. We get it. You cannot handle criticism. Doesn't mean anyone is going to take pity on you. No one is going to pat you on the back and soothe your ego.

We as people in general lack the ability to take ownership of the things we put out in the universe. Unable to take responsibility for our actions and deal with the consequences. I shit talked you on twitter. Am I sorry? No. Will I carry some sort of guilt over your hurt feelings? No. You need to accept that. I have never denied my words. Not sure why you keep thinking I'm somehow frightened of you. You mistake not giving a shit for fear and if that's the case, you really should not try to psychoanalyze anyone. You are bad at it.

I try to be a decent person but I am not perfect and I never claim to be. I was the only one called out by Mark. Not the others who were part of that conversation. I suppose because he saw me as this... goodie two shoes that went to bat for everyone. He mistook me for someone that is meek and sweet. I have had my share of garbage. My life is not a fairytale. But I do not live in Fen's shadow. I don't sit at home brooding about what could have been or what people think of my choices. If I lived my life only to appease the people around me I would go insane.

So, my strange little opponent, you can assume whatever you like. You can judge my entire character on a set of tweets if that's what gives you the balls to step in that ring with me. But don't think for one moment that you matter outside this match. I am not a bully. I don't want to destroy you. I don't want to kill you or make you quit. My advice is just that, advice. You can take it or leave it but that is where my scope of caring ends. I really hope you actually show you care enough to 'make time' to talk about this match. To show me and the fans the reason why you deserve to be in this match.  Proof you are a talented athlete, not just someone Mark took pity on and threw you a bone, because that is what it looks like right now.

But continuing to make the basis of this fight about your lack of a tough skin only proves what everyone says about you. The only coward, is you.

***
***OFF CAMERA***

Ty instantly thinks of the movie Titanic as he enters the dining room of the Sun Princess. His companions are all seated at tables close to each other but the dining room was very posh. He felt underdressed, even though all his relatives, his family unit as it were, were all dressed casually. The grand design made him feel small, but as he walked toward the table, one set of eyes looked up and met his. Even now, months into their relationship, the look that Kristjan gave him when he walked in the room made butterflies take flight in his stomach. He knew from that one look how deeply the great white wolf, Fenris, cared about him.

He already has a plate of food in front of him, piled high from a buffet setup especially for those on board to see the show or that were the talent on it. Ty remembers last year when his fan club had stalked him. That particular fan club had consisted of one very energetic girl, whom he had learned was now in college and not very interested in chasing a late twenties man who was in a serious relationship.

He was sort of disappointed by that but in the same breath, was relieved at not having to hide in broom closets, at least not as a means of escape anyway.

"Sit!" The Icelandic man barks. At the place setting was another plate and much to Ty's surprise, Fen had picked out some of his favourites and actually not done the plate as haphazardly as his own. Evan giggles at Kristjan as he shovels in the food like a starving man.  He gives Evan a playful stink eye as if to silently ask what her problem is.

"You're like Jughead."

Jan's brow furrows in confusion. He looks at Aron across the table and then at all the faces sitting around him.

"I'm no jughead..."

"No. Jan. Jughead is a comic book character. From Archie. He was the best friend that ate a lot of food. The comic relief so to speak." Ty tries to explain but knows as soon as the words leave his mouth that it was a bad choice of wording on his part.

Kristjan is still not happy about the comparison.

"I am not comic relief!"

He's serious and it makes Evan's smile fade from her face and she slinks back into her chair. Ty gives her a sympathetic smile. The silence is awkward for a few moments before talk of the upcoming wedding changes the mood. Lora is obviously excited for the event. Just as much as Vinnie seems to be. Ty is first to notice how different he is when the aforementioned absent cactus is not around which causes Ty to think about the deeper meaning. He is deep in thought when Evan suddenly blurts out her opinion.

"When will the adoption be final for me?"

The words cause Kristjan to stop eating. He looks up.

"Adoption? Whose adoption?"

"My adoption." She says and then Ty notices the young girls demeanor changes. Her eyes go darker, her face serious. Ty holds his breath, waiting to see what she says and how Jan reacts to the news he had been to scared to talk to Jan about before now.
"Auntie Lora is going to adopt me because uncle Ty can't. Because of you."

Her voice takes on the angry pre-temper tantrum voice of a girl that was younger than Evan's actual age. It was one of the bad parts about her learning difficulties. She had no filter and her self control was sometimes difficult to comprehend.

"I didn't do anything." He looks at Ty. "Did you tell her that?"

He looks hurt for a brief second before anger replaces that vulnerability in a heartbeat. Ty can't say he didn't say it, because he had. Even though Lora had told him why he was probably not ready to be a father, he had to admit that his main issue had been Jan saying he didn't want kids. The lack of a response and Ty suddenly looking down at his plate was enough of a response for the hot headed wolf. He stands, pushing his chair violently and walking out of the dining room. Ty gives one look at the table, including the young woman they had hired to be Evan's companion on this cruise before Lora gives him a wide eyed stare.

"Go after him."

Ty nods, excuses himself and runs after his lover. He's a fast walker even on a normal stroll but now his march was much quicker, anger seething off his body like a halo. Ty finally catches up to him and puts a hand to his shoulder. "Hey... let me expl..."

Quick as lightning, Jan has his lovers arm in a hold, pinning him face first into the wall beside them. The hot air from his mouth breathing, seething,into his ear as he talks. It's low, dangerous.

"How dare you blame me for that. You told her I am the reason. I had no idea. You haven't said shit to me about any sort of adoption."

The words come out in a hiss of fast icelandic that Ty can barely translate fast enough in his own head.

"I know. I was afraid." Ty says back in english.

Jan steps back, releasing Ty. Once again a look of hurt crosses his blue eyes.

"Afraid? Of me?"

Ty is trying to hold back tears now. Not something he ever did, but now, seeing how much he had fucked up by not talking to Jan about this only seemed to ignite that fear anew.

"Afraid of losing you..."

Jan seems to still be trying to comprehend the situation before it clicks for him.

"You gave up adopting your niece because you thought I would stop seeing you if you did?

Ty nods and Jan closes the distance, getting right in Ty's face.

"You were supposed to know me best. I guess I was wrong about that. I also guess I don't know you like I thought either."

He shakes his head, an inappropriate smile on his face. Not one of amusement or pleasure. One of almost grief stricken disbelief. Borderline insanity. He raises his fist as if he were going to hit Ty. But doesn't. Instead he shakes his head and walks away. Inserting his keycard into the lock and entering their suite without even looking back at Ty.

Ty slides down the wall, sinking down and pulling his knees into his chest. He places his forehead against his knees, searching internally for the answer. The way to make this right but all he can keep telling himself is 'way to go boy scout, way to fuck up a good thing.'

He doesn't even realize he's not alone until a warm hand pats his shoulder.

"Senor. I couldn't help but listen. I must admit, I do not know the language of the vikings but I could tell it was not good words..."

Ty doesn't look up. "Vinnie, it's not a good time, okay?"

"Oh I get that senor Ty but my beautiful fiance has beckoned me to come see to your well being. To offer you my well intended advice..."

Ty rolls his eyes behind his knees before looking up at the man who would be his uncle.

"See, easy. Now. I am a mariachi. I have sung of many a tale of fights between couples. Fights of far more consequence than this. You will make up. You are destined for each other like me and my beloved senorita."

There was one thing that Ty had missed about Vinnie and that was his dramatic flair and the ability to enhance many a conversation with it.

"This is about more than the adoption. This is about me not trusting him with this. Me assuming what he was going to say. Out of fear. And my fear only made this situation worse. I am so stupid."

Vinnie hits the younger man in the arm. Hard enough that Ty actually complains.

"You are not stupid senor. You just have a big heart that has been hurt before. I do not know senor Fenris well but maybe he has faced hurt before too. You are close amigo. You need to tell him the whole truth."

"What if he dumps me anyway?"

Vinnie shrugs. "Then he was not the great love we thought him to be for you..."

"But you just said we were destined..."

Vinnie puts a hand over Ty's mouth.

"Ah ah ah Senor Ty, you need to listen. If you do not tell him all that is in your heart, you will always wonder."

"I can't even handle our first fight, how would I handle a kid? I am making the right decision by letting Lora adopt her."

Vinnie shrugs. "You have never been a Dad before, nephew Ty.  You will not be perfect at it. That is something you learn. You have to listen to this..."

He taps Ty's chest

"And here..."

Vinnie taps Ty's head.

"And make the decision that is best. I think you did not give Senor Fenris the doubt of benefits."

"You mean the benefit of the doubt?"

He waves his hands. "Yes yes. You need to go into that room and talk and listen. Really listen. Don't go in there already on the defence."

He stands and offers a Hand, which Ty takes. Vinnie makes a great show of dusting off the bigger man and straightening the lapels of his hoodie like it was a suit jacket. He then licks his thumb and starts coming toward Ty's face like a mother with a dirty faced toddler. Ty pushes his hand.

"What are you doing?"

Vinnie steps back. "Please forgive me future nephew Ty. I got carried away. Please."

He bows to allow Ty to pass. He walks the short walk  to their shared cabin. He looks at Vinnie. Vin waves his hands, urging him to go inside. Ty turns the knob and is surprised to find it unlocked.

***
***Off Camera but visible to others on deck***

Ty remembered his first love vividly. It was a constant reminder. Constantly floating around. Making him doubt his relationship with Kristjan, or rather his ability to be a good partner.

The relationship with Rebecca had been his longest. Two years of his life had been spent with her. He had even proposed. The whole time he had no idea that anything was wrong. He had never lied to her, never fought. He'd also never been the type to speak up.

She'd been the type to spend money easily. She was frivolous and looking back now, shallow. So it was a surprise when she appeared at the bar beside him. Her dark hair was pulled back in a french braid, designer sunglasses and a bikini covered in rhinestones.

"Well aren't you a sight for sore eyes..." she leaned her hip against the bar, looking at him from the side. He looks up and offers her a fake smile.

"Hello Rebecca." He says politely and turns back to his drink, he'd asked Jack to give him something strong, straight up. His fight with Kristjan was ongoing but the heaviness in his heart was there. He had no idea how to fix it. He definitely did not need her in the mix, especially with his current relationship being rocky.

"Ouch. So cold, Ty-Ty."

She asks Jack for a 'Sex on the beach' to which Jack looks at Ty and rolls his eyes. Even though Ty held a lot of disdain for the rookie, this was one time when he appreciated his being a prick.

"Why shouldn't I be? You rejected my proposal and then left telling me I was too nice to be a good husband."

She waves her hand just as Jack places the drink on the bar. He waits for a minute.

"What are you looking at?" She says with a snarl.

Ty looks up at her, realizing she hadn't changed.

"A tip, Rebecca."

She looks insulted by the idea. "Uh no. This cruise is all inclusive. I don't have any cash on me."

Jack is biting his tongue and Ty actually finds amusement in the arrogant man being muzzled by the job he had taken. He had no idea why, rumour had it, he came from a family with a lot of money. Still, that didn't mean he didn't deserve to be tipped for his skills, surprisingly he was very good at it.

Ty, being a nice guy, pulls out his wallet and puts a five in Jack's tip jar. The two share a look and Ty swears there is a bit of hostility lost because of it. Jack nods and walks away.

"So you're a wrestler now huh?" She takes a sip of her drink. Ty had never been much of a drinker besides an occasional beer, but today was different.

"For the last year, yes."

She smiles at him. "You make a lot of money doing that, I hear?"

Ty shrugs. Truth was he made okay money. He still got a bit of royalties from his past movies and he had made some good investments that paid decent dividends.

"Are you seeing anyone now?"

Ty almost laughs. He realizes that she must have looked him up and maxed out her credit card to book this cruise. He wouldn't be surprised if she had her cabin close to his as well.

"Yes. Another wrestler."

He tried to keep his answers short. He wanted nothing to do with this woman. She had broken him. There was no forgiveness for that.

"Is it that red head? The sweet one? I wouldn't be surprised..."

"Blonde..." but Ty burps before he can finish. Seems he may be a little tipsy but the action apparently doesn't repulse the woman who was almost his fiancee.

"Oh that little english girl? She's young for you. Maybe I can show you what I have learned since the last time we saw each other..." she moves in when Jack slaps the counter with his bar towel and it not only startles the pair but sprays them both with liquid.

Rebecca gives him a nasty glare.

"Sorry, there was a fly..." he looks at Ty again. "Tiny pests, am I right?"

"The only pest is you..." Rebecca spits out while dabbing her face with the napkin from under her drink.

Jack smirks and Ty knows he is at the limit of being charitable. He may not know his colleague personally but he knew his anger was not something he kept a leash on.

"You only say that because you think I only make minimum wage as a bartender. I am Jack Asher and on the weekend me and my partner are going to win the tag titles. My partner is the little english girl you think so 'highly' of.  But Ty here, well he's not into girls, young or old..."

He looks her up and down and smirks again.  And her mouth drops open at the insinuation.

"He is seeing someone. His name is Fenris and he especially does not appreciate cougars trying to dig their claws in his boy toy's flesh. Seems you ruined him for girls, sweetheart."

Rebecca's mouth opens and closes rapidly several times as she tries to think of how to respond to that.

"Do you need a refill?"  He looks at Ty now. He nods and Jack fills his glass with more whisky. Ty pays for it immediately.

"Keep the change."

Ty mockingly salutes the would be #1 contender before leaving, brushing by another man who was starting his shift.

"You're gay?" Rebecca finally manages to get out. The new bartender looks uncomfortable and moves on to serve another guest.

"Technically, I'm bi but yes, I am in a relationship with another man and no, I do not miss being with a woman. My last two hetero relationships turned out pretty badly."

"You just didn't find the right woman..."

Ty has finally had enough. "You were one of them. I wasn't 'bad' enough for you last time so what makes you think that's at all changed?"

"I was wrong to turn down your proposal." She replies but there is a tone to her voice to say she didn't actually have any regrets.

"Why? Because you didn't realize I would stop being some B movie actor and become a wrestler that could be a future champion?"

Rebecca smiles. "So? I have expensive tastes and you couldn't support me then. But now, I see how you have changed all that. You did that to win me back and here I am."

Ty starts laughing. Rebecca looks uncomfortable. "Why are you laughing?"

"Because you haven't changed at all. I found someone that accepts me no matter what I do, no matter who I am. I didn't have to change who I am for him to love me. If you think I would ever give that up to resume being abused by you, you are delusional."

He takes the rest of his drink like a shot and stands.

"Leave me alone. I want nothing to do with you."

He starts walking away but it's awkward and he nearly falls into the lap of someone lounging in a deck chair.  From the other side of the pool, Aron sees this and is immediately there to help him.

"Let's get you back to your room."

"I fucked up A... I really did..."

Aron tried hard to keep his own annoyance at his brother's partner in check. He normally would stay out of it, but he needed to know why.

"Did you really tell Evan that you couldn't adopt her because of my brother?"

They get to the door. Ty tries to open it but after a few failed attempts Aron takes the key and opens it for him.

"I did but..."

He doesn't finish his words as he falls face first on the bed.

"What a dick move..."

He takes off Ty's sneakers but doesn't help him with anything else.

"I was trying to make it so I wouldn't lose him..." there is a sob in his voice. "I know he doesn't want kids... I didn't blame Kristjan, Evan didn't like that Jan didn't get his joke..."

Everything was coming out jumbled and just the right amount of coherence that a drunk could make.

"Now he's gone. I hurt him A...."

Aron still has mixed feelings. He loved them both but when it came to family and them being hurt, he chose the side that mattered most.

"Just let him deal. Hopefully, you guys can work it out."

He leaves Ty to sleep it off. He hadn't admitted to Ty that he had heard his speech to the mysterious brunette at the bar. He was pretty sure that the whole deck had heard. Ty was still a good person, just a good person struggling.

 *** Please Note: I have amended the Character of Evan to be not Transgender but ADHD instead. I hope that this doesn’t confuse any of the readers who followed the story so far.***


Ty's uncle looked uneasy across the kitchen table. He was holding his coffee mug rather tightly. Ty couldn't tell if it was to stop his shaking hands or just a way to quell the anxiety in him as a whole.

Ty could tell that his work was taking a toll on him. He seemed to have more silver in his reddish-blonde beard and the lines around his eyes were more pronounced.

"Well, I thought you should know that my folks have agreed to move to a retirement settlement. My Mama is riddled with arthritis and papa is struggling with diabetes. It's too much to have a full-time nurse here."

Ty was saddened by the news that his paternal grandparents were not well but he understood that it was better if they were in a facility that could help them.

"And that being said, Evan won't have anyone here twenty-four/seven anymore. I'm an old crabby bachelor. I don't even know where to begin with raising a child."

Ty didn't know where this was going. What was going to happen to his niece?

"So I was hoping that you might consider taking custody of her..."

Ty was taken aback. He had only just started to get to know his Canadian family and now he would be a surrogate father?

"I know it's a lot. And if you can't I understand. I would just have to hire a companion for her when I'm away but I think she would be better off with someone younger. I think your sister would have wanted it too."

So far, Ty had been at a loss for words. He had always wanted kids but had resigned himself to the fact that Kristjan didn't and having Kristjan meant more than having children.

"I don't know what to say, I wasn't expecting this at all."

Jesse nods. "The social worker assigned to us after your sister passed had asked if there were younger family members that could care for her then and at the time we didn't know where you were, only that you existed. If I was a younger man myself I wouldn't have an issue."

Ty understood Jesse's position. He was in his late fifties. He owned his own business and often worked long hours. His grandparents had raised her, now they couldn't care for her properly.

"And with her special needs..."

At the age of six, Evan had been diagnosed with severe ADHD and sensory issues. She could be a handful, but medication and therapy had been a tremendous help to the young girl, but she still needed structure and support. Something Jesse didn't feel he could provide.

"Maybe a trial. For the month of July. School starts where I am in August. Plus I want to ask Evan about how she feels about it. I don't want to disrupt her entire life if it will cause her issues."

It wasn't until Evan was sitting in the passenger seat of Valora's car that Ty decided to talk to her.

Evan Carron had a fondness for wigs. Not because her own hair was bad but because she just felt secure while wearing them. Today she had a bright purple one and it was tied into two braids down her back.

"Do you know why Uncle Jesse wanted you to come on this trip?" Ty asks. The girl was very intuitive. Even though she struggled with her reading and her Math was also behind, it didn't affect the fact that she picked up on things other kids didn't normally see. Ty actually found it interesting that she could sit and draw amazing pictures from her mind but yet if she had to sit and read, she struggled to stay focused on the book she had.

"He wants me to live with you and Auntie Lora, doesn't he? Because grammy and papa have to go to the retirement home."

"Yes. But I want it to be your idea. I don't want you to feel like you don't have a choice. I know you have friends in Montreal."

"I don't really."

Ty is confused. "Don't have a choice...?"

She shakes her head. "I don't have friends. Not really. The kids all remember when I used to have accidents so they avoid me now. New school, none of those kids will know about that."

She was so matter-of-fact. Like her disorder made her brain see the truth in situations that other neurotypical children wouldn't see. Evan saw it as a fresh start, rather than leaving a life she knew and was comfortable with.

"So you want to leave?"

She shrugs. "I'll miss Grammy and papa. And Uncle Jesse too. But I'm not really happy."

"We can visit. A lot. I mean I missed out knowing them for all of my life too."

"What about Uncle Jan? Will he be okay with you having a kid?"

That was a big question. One he had to ask him about. Deep down, he feared that Jan would back off. But the last time she came for a visit, he had been very supportive of her disorder. Accepting even. He especially liked that she had gotten him a beer too.

"I don't know."

The rest of the car ride was awkwardly quiet. Evan had watched the scenery through her window with silent awe. Vegas was an acquired taste for sure.

"If I do live with you, would you adopt me?"

It comes so suddenly that Ty has to fight the wheel to make sure he stays focused on the road.

"Is that something you want?"

She nods. "I never knew my Dad. Uncle Jesse said he was bad. I found out that he was a drug dealer and he got killed. And I never knew my mom because I was just a baby. I'd like to have a real Dad."

The words pulled at his heart. He stayed back in the car as she got her own suitcase and went up to the couple steps to the house. He watched as Valora smothered the young girl with hugs and brought her inside. Ty had to catch his breath. It was happening so quickly now. He had less than a month before a decision had to be made about where Evan was going to live. In his heart, he wanted her to live with him. He wanted to call her his daughter. On the other hand, he didn't want it to scare Jan away either. He loved him. They had only just officially admitted it recently too.  He needed to bring it up and had no idea how to bridge the subject.

***
The West-Ward Blogicles
Season 4, Entry #5 -- “Not About Age”

As per usual, Ty West has his go-pro camera poised and filming when his face appears before it. He looks good, even with his scruffy golden beard and short moppy looking hair. He is also shirtless and it’s hard to say whether it’s for his own benefit, as it has been a rather hot summer or if it’s just to make the fans swoon. Either way, he does not look like a man that is not ready for a fight.

Ty: Ace is an accredited fighter. He has a long list of accomplishments.  Accomplishments that he has earned in his long career. I take that into consideration when sizing him up for our match.
Me beating him would look good. Beating a veteran in the ring, like him... man the bragging rights would be super but based on last week's performance I have to call a lot into consideration. Like why this guy was nowhere to be seen the week leading up to his match? The only tweets I see are in regards to him being involved with his old company opening up again. That's great and all but he signed a contract with SCW. He has a commitment to THIS company. And as much as I do not agree with the Good Shepherd's message, they still deserved to have Ace at least acknowledge the match. Much like I deserved the same this week for our match.

He bites his inner cheek, trying hard to stay level headed.

Ty: That sort of disrespect is not something I take lightly. I get that twitter is not everyone's bag. It's something you have to take with a grain of salt for sure, but again, no mention of our match, or of SCW. Not a promo in sight either. Something... anything... just some sort of acknowledgment that joining was not a marketing strategy to promote your new company, especially not on the back of a promotion with notoriety and respect. I don't know for sure and I want to give this guy the benefit of the doubt. I want to believe that there is inherent good in everyone, even the most wicked. Maybe it is my deadly character flaw but it is part of who I am. And I know it it is one of the things that has made me a rising star here in SCW. I will be damned if anyone comes into this company thinking that age or experience gives them some automatic respect or that any of us should cower at their feet like obedient dogs. Haven't you heard? I'm a cat person anyway.

He smirks and then winks at the camera. Truth be told, he loved dogs too. Kissa was one of his best fur buddies

Ty: I know I have had my ups and downs here. I know that a lot of people doubt that I will ever be able to reach that brass ring I have been trying to get since the beginning. I don’t expect anyone to believe me when I say that I am going to win the SCW championship... eventually. Whether it be against Austin or Vinnie... or even someone else. It doesn’t matter. I will face anyone and everyone on this roster to get what I desire. You know what I admire most in a champion though, a man that can take any challenge. Austin has already beaten me but yet he is willing to step into the ring with me again and I know he’ll never turn down a match with me. I dunno if it’s just that he’s a fighting champion or if he actually feels I am someone that challenges him, either way, I have been pushing for this for an entire year. This is my year. This is the year of Ty West. I am not going to let anything stand in my way. So... I hope that Ace doesn't disappoint me, or the fans. I hope he sees this and actually steps up.  I hope that he is just another challenge on my journey to gold. And Dare I say, I hope that if he doesn’t show interest in our match that Christian tosses him out on his ‘experienced ass’. Just saying...

He shrugs and then chuckles.

Ty: It takes five minutes minimum to record even a short video about our match. That's it. I'm sure the rebuilding of a defunct company will not fold again over his absence for five minutes. Either show up one hundred percent focused or don't bother showing up at all. And I am ready to give my one hundred percent. I don’t feel that way about Ace. I think that SCW is just a stepping stone and I’ll be god damned if I am going to let someone treat MY company that way. I want to believe that he’s just busy but my instincts are saying no. I suppose we’ll see. I may not be a champion yet but I will act like I am. SCW gave me a chance when everyone thought I was just some washed-up B Actor. I won’t ever forget that. SCW had me meet the love of my life. I won’t forget that either. SCW is my home, and I will defend my home.

He blows a kiss, as per usual, to the camera before it fades out into blackness.

***

That night had Ty lying in his bed, wide awake. He had worries. Worries about his future with Jan should he adopt Evan. Worries about whether he was good enough to be a father to her. Worries that he could deal with her ADHD and Sensory issues. Worried about the proper school and whether he was a good role model. He went over them, one at a time and then over again. It was a knock on the door that had him finally thinking of something else. Lora quietly opens the door and enters. In her hand is a mug with steam rising from it.

“Camomile tea? I figured you would still be up.”

She enters the room, dressed in her bright yellow bathrobe and worn out bunny slippers that matched. Her hair was pulled up into a ponytail and Ty knew she probably had just finished her ‘beauty regime’ as she called it. Night creams and face washes. All in an effort to calm her skin from the onset of menopause. She sits on the edge of his bed and hands him the mug.

“You know me too well...”

“You forget that for the first ten years of your life I lived next door and then for the other seventeen I have always been there for you. I know when something is bothering my boy.”

She pats his leg over hte blanket. His Aunt was like a second mother and at this point, a mother to Evan as well. He wanted her to have a good female rolemodel. Since his own mother was in Arizona and not really able to be there for him with her arms full with baby Taryn.

“It’s just... What if...”

She shakes her head and shushes him.

“You have to do what feels right to you. No one else can make that decision.  Not even Kristjan. You have to make this decision and then tell him what you have decided. I'm sure if he loves you as much as he says he does, then this will not be a deal-breaker. Besides, he liked Evan last time.”

“I know... I just worry. I don’t want this to mess up my or her life. But she seems like she wants to come here to live and she really wants me to take up that Dad Mantel she’s been missing. Am I good enough?”

Valora stood. “You know you are and you definitely don’t need my validation for that. Whatever happens, we are not going anywhere. I promise.”

With that, she leaves and it makes Ty feel a little better but it hadn’t helped him reach his decision yet.

 Emmie Ward prided herself on her appearance, her fashion sense and her ability to motivate people. Not even someone like Jonathan Asherson King the third could crack her surface, despite how stubborn and insufferable he was. So she had been determined to try and motivate him to get back in a ring since his loss to Lachlan Kane had defeated his will to fight, leading to their first loss as a tag team.

She knew what he was capable of, the scar on his hand was proof of that. She knew that he would do whatever it took to become the king of the mountain. She just needed to nudge that person inside him.

The guard that sat in the booth outside Jack’s gated community knew her and waved her in. she had been there every single day in the weeks since their last match. She rolls down the window of her beat-up little corolla and he leans out from his booth.

“Think you’ll make any headway today Miss Emmie?”

George Franklin was a nice man. Emmie had taken the time to get to know the man, to the point of always asking him about his wife, his kids, and his ill mother. She had a way of making an impression on anyone, even the seemingly impeachable Jack Asher.

“I come with an actual match and it has meaning, so I think so,” she replies. She is still getting used to being on the opposite side of the car and the road, but unlike what most people complained about the most, she had taken to the adjustment quite well, further proof that most Americans that came to the UK were wimps when confronted with a real issue... like adapting to a different way of life.

“Well, I offer you all the luck in the world.”

Emmie isn’t stupid, not by a long shot. She had given up a scholarship to Oxford University to go after her wrestling dream, much to the dismay of her parents and her much older first cousin once removed, meaning that her father and Mark Ward were first cousins. She just called him Uncle Mark out of respect though. He had actually been like an uncle to her growing up and had been instrumental in making sure that when she refused to give up on her dream of being in the wrestling business, she got a decent trainer.  And just to prove that Mark didn’t hand out contracts, he told Emmie she had to prove herself worthy, by teaming with the most difficult man on the roster, Jack Asher.  She knew he was just trying to dissuade her further from being in the business. He was always mentioning how she should go to Uni, be a doctor or a lawyer. But Emmie wanted this. She had always wanted this. Since she was eight years old and she had gone to a show with her ‘unke’ Mark.

She pulls into the driveway of the house that Jack’s father owned, of course, he owned a Tesla Model S. She rolled her eyes. While she was more than happy to do what she could to help the environment, spending nearly sixty K on a car was just more than she was willing to sacrifice but for the King family, that was peanuts.  Much like the house. It  wasn’t a huge house by house standards but for Emmie, who had grown up in a semi in London’s downtown, this house was huge. Three bedrooms, open concept main floor and a fully functioning personal gym in the basement.  She sighs deeply and waves at a neighbor walking their poodle across the street. She smiles in a way that Emmie knows is that way that snooty people do when they are about to go home and gossip. She was sure there were rumors circulating since Jack’s long-time girlfriend had left him and now that she had been showing up every day for weeks, well...

She then turns her attention to the lock on Jack’s door. It was coded instead of key’d so she types it in. It beeps at her.

“Oh, Bollocks...” she scrambles through her purse for a piece of paper but manages to dump half of its contents on the concrete of the porch.  And that’s where she is when Jack answers the door. He smirks at her mess.

“Jesus Ems, you’ll wake the dead with how much noise you make.”

He then turns, leaving her to clean up her own mess. She respected that he wasn’t one of those guys that bent over backward to impress people but in the same respect, the man had no idea what chivalry was, or that it wasn’t dead like most women tried to claim it was.

When she finally collects the receipts and makeup from the porch, she walks into the house and immediately notices the smell. It reminded her of a locker room. That errant stale smell of just generally being unwashed wafted up and made her flair her nostrils in disgust, and even though she had been here nearly every day in the last few weeks, she still wasn’t prepared for it and it seemed to ferment more every day.  He had returned back to his lounger, his laptop on his lap and on the screen is an animated game. One in which the user can clean, remodel and flip a home to resale.

Emmie got the concept. She thought she might even enjoy playing it too but this had been all Jack had been playing. For hours. Except when she came over and they worked out in the gym in his basement. The ring set up down there was not nearly as big as the six-sided one that SCW used but it was enough to practice their skills and get to know each other’s moves so they could anticipate each other. It was part of what made being partners stronger. To know each other well enough. To have each other’s backs. To not make the same mistakes that they had made a month ago against Amy and Vinnie.

She watches him for a moment before she reaches over and presses the power button on the laptop.

“Wha... Emmie... What the...”

Emmie crosses her arms across her chest.

“You have been holed up in this place for too long. When was the last time you actually went outside?”

He shrugs. “Yesterday.”

“Really?” she raises her eyebrows, skeptical.

“Yes. I went to get the mail.”

Emmie sighs deeply. “That doesn’t count. You’ve been using a service to bring you food. You haven’t cleaned this living room for over a month. Your house smells like you had the entity of the Manchester footie team changing in here. I think it’s time to clean this up. I just got word from Uncle Mark. They’re forcing Gamer’s Inc to vacate and they’re doing a tourney. We are wrestling this Sunday and we need to beat that dragon team from SCU to advance.”

Jack’s immediate displeasure with the game being shut off is disrupted as he looks at her with a smirk. “Really? Those imbeciles think they can play in our schoolyard?”

He chuckles as he places his laptop on the coffee table, which by the way was littered with empty cartons and cans that once held various kinds of beer.

“This is a big opportunity, Jack. We have to be ready for this and that means you gotta stop feeling sorry for yourself. Yes, you lost to Lachlan Kane. Yes, we lost to Amy and Vinnie but not again.”

She knew that it was the motivation he needed to get off the lounger. It was the motivation he needed to stop pouting, to stop feeling pity that his girlfriend left him.

“You claim to be the uncrowned prince well people just think you are some fool that can’t live up to that. Don’t you think it’s time to shut up those wankers? I’d like to see you shut up Kane and his girlfriend.

“They kept talking about their past success as tag champs but yet they couldn’t cut it in the singles division. Lachlan beat me but couldn’t get past Griffin. So here they are crawling back to tags like there is no competition. Plus the #1 thing that makes us the best candidates is that we are one hundred percent committed to SCW, no secondary companies. If you divide your time how can you be worthy? But there is us and they are already underestimating us. I won’t let that happen.”

He stood and the waft of sweat causes Emmie to gag.

“Go have a shower and I’ll call a maid to clean this house. I'd do it myself but I think I’d end up speaking welsh..”

Jack raises an eyebrow. “What?”

Emmie immediately laughs. “You Americans... You’ll know our slang soon enough. Throw up I believe is what you say. Just go get yourself cleaned up, alright. I’ll meet you downstairs and we’ll discuss strategies. I’ve been doing some research on these... Dragons.”

He nods and disappears upstairs. Emmie looks around and rolls her eyes. She wasn’t an advocate for thinking that relationships actually made things better but she was seriously considering letting Bobbie be his wingman and at least get him laid. Maybe it would make him feel manly... or something.


***
“Dragonade” - A Promo

There is no physical proof that Dragons ever really existed. Just like Unicorns, trolls, and elves. They are all fantasy, much like the idea that Fire Dragons will win. I am well aware that they have more experience in the ring together, but Jack and I have spent every day together for the last month, learning, getting to know each other. There is nothing that can truly replace that. I don’t want to use that old adage of “They’re on the B show” like Jack does because I think everyone deserves a chance to prove themselves, however... There is more to being a champion than just being thrown together by chance and being successful and successful has been a good word for them in Sin City Underground.

But this isn’t underground. This is Sin City Wrestling. The main show. And the Tag titles are more than just one of how many sets you could win while there? Three was it I believe? If you want to be an SCW tag champion you gotta be the best in the division and I truly believe that Jack and I have what it takes.

Say what you will about Jack and his attitude, but Tell me, Mark? Valentina? Would you put your hand willingly into the fire to obtain the titles? And I mean that both literally and figuratively. Because Jack did to get the chance at the Roulette title. Then he put that contendership on the line despite the stakes.  Yes, he lost to Lachlan but that was because of me. I distracted him because I didn’t know him then. If we were in the place we are now, back then, then he would still be the Roulette #1 Contender... or better yet, the Roulette champion.

Life has this funny way of throwing us curves. And you can either take those curves on the chin or you can let them knock you down. We are getting back up. We are not letting a few missteps leave us in the dust. We have used those curves to be better. Because that is what you are supposed to do when life hands you lemons. Make some lemonade.  And that’s what we’re doing, only we’re going to be making fire dragonade.

Honestly, I have nothing against either of you personally. You both seem like lovely folks, but this isn’t tea social. We aren’t here to make friends, we are here to win some titles. I'm not sorry about that and I hope you aren’t either. In fact, I would rather people not feel bad about coming into a match with me, especially if they think I am too nice or too sweet. I am a Ward. I can be very nasty if the mood strikes but get on my good side and you have a friend for life.

And by all means, if either of you wanna grab a pint sometime I am more than happy to, but  I have wanted this since I was eight years old and I have sacrificed a fair bit just to be here. I wasn’t handed anything, despite me being related to one of the owners. He has made me work even harder than most of you lot ever will have too. But I’m glad for it, it just means that there should be no doubt about how much I deserve to be here. So if you guys or anyone else think I just batted my eyes and got signed then you are most certainly wrong.

I have a good partner, he knows wrestling and he’s good at it, but like me, he’s new to this particular industry as a participant so a lot of people take that for granted. That won’t be the case this time though. Not just the Fire Dragons, but every team entering this tourney is going to be surprised at the chemistry that Jack and I have. It’s not friendship, it’s not because we’re sleeping together, which we are not, by the way, It’s because we have the same goal, the same focus.

I may not be as strong as Devona, or as decorated as Mercedes but I am not without skills. Frankly, I love being me. I don't mind being small or thin. I don't mind being new either because I won't be new forever. I don't like when anyone thinks they are invincible. I know I am not, and Jack definitely knows he isn't either but that doesn't mean that one loss as a team indicates what we will be going forward. We are not destined for failure, we are meant to be the mixed tag champions.

Jack wanted so badly to put Gamers Inc in their place but now, he has new 'fish to fry'.

So like I said, I like Unicorns and Dragons but that doesn't mean I believe they have any sort of magical influence over my confidence in a ring. I'll show that with a win on Sunday.

The first and most important part about being part of a team is thinking like a team. That’s why we are what SCW needs. We are the saviors. Get used to that idea, we are not going anywhere.


***

Emmie Francis Ward was a stubborn girl. She refused to give up simply because someone said she should. Once she had an idea in her head, she went for it and she pushed until she succeeded and much to the chagrin of her parents, Patrick Ward and Sylvia Parker-Ward, she had turned down a full scholarship to Oxford University in lieu of training to become a professional wrestler. Her ‘uncle’ Mark had even offered to pay for her own flat if she decided not to go through with it but it wasn’t enough. She had decided at eight years, four months and twenty-six days old that she was going to be a professional wrestler and now, at age seventeen, three months and sixteen days she was going forward with that.

Her mum was a pleasant-looking woman, an implant from Nevada USA into London via a job with a well-known lawyer's office had brought her here. It had only been a year-long contract but that year had her falling in love with Patrick Ward and staying permanently.

At this point, She leaned on the doorframe of Emmie’s room and watched as Emmie filled her suitcase with her clothing. She was moving to Nevada herself, staying with her Maternal Grandparents while she was trained by the best. Sylvia was trying her best not to cry at the idea of her only daughter leaving. The only daughter that the couple had been able to carry to term.

Emmie got lonely sometimes growing up being an only child, but she was thankful for her parents and for the life she had, despite never being particularly wealthy, but now, she had to spread her wings even if it meant facing the disappointment from her parents, even if they were trying hard not to let it show.

“Have you got everything you need?” Sylvia asks. She hides her sob in a kleenex by pretending to sneeze.  It was her allergies of course, not that her daughter, not even an official adult by USA standards, was moving away.

“Yup. And I'm sure Granny and Poppy will have everything else.”

Sylvie bites her lip but then can’t hold it back and immediately starts to sob. Emmie is quick to give her mother a hug of comfort.

“I know Mum. I know you and Da don’t like that I'm going but you’re both trying too hard to be supportive anyway and you know I love you both all the more for that. I promise I’ll be okay. I’ll call home every weekend. And I’ll come home when I can. Uncle Mark has said that if I ever needed that, he’d pay for my ticket.”

And he had. Emmie had returned home for both Christmas and Easter every year since she had gone to the United States.

“I know. And I know you’ll be fine. I grew up in Nevada. I mean it’s changed a lot but still, You’re just as bullheaded and strong as I am. I just wish...”

She cuts herself off, not wanting to make her daughter feel guilty.

“I know mum. It’s okay. You don’t have to like everything I do. I just need you to be my parents, ya? And I know that won’t change.”

Once when Emmie was young, she had asked her mom if there was ever something she could do that would cause Syvie not to love her anymore, the woman and replied, “there is nothing you could ever do that would ever make me stop loving you Emmie, even if you murdered someone. Mind you, I would want you to pay for your crimes, but that wouldn’t change my love for you.”

And Emmie had lived with those words, understanding that it wasn’t her behaviour that her parents loved or didn’t love, it was just her. Whoever she turned out to be, that love was never dying. It was for that reason that Emmie was comfortable with her career decision. It was also why she had turned out to be a pretty terrific kid.

Emmie returns to her suitcase to latch it closed and then looks up at her mother with a smile.

“I know this is going to be hard but I know that this is what I was meant to be. I can feel it, in my stomach. It’s like a need. I can’t fully explain it.”

Sylvie clears her throat. “I get it. I wanted to be a lawyer since I was little too. And I fought to be one even though the odds were against me. I had to do extra credit work, I had to take summer school. I had to take so many tutoring classes in college and university but I got there and I’m better for it and one of the things that helped me succeed was because my parents treated me the same way your Dad and I treated you. I am proud of you Emmie. I really am.”

During the flight to Las Vegas, where her grandparents had relocated in the years after her mother had left home, she kept thinking about how she could have been a much different person had she had different parents.

Her 'uncle' Mark gives her a curious look over his newspaper.

"You good?"

Emmie smiles. "Absolutely."

"Because if you still wanna take that scholarship..."

He raises an eyebrow. Her cousin had never had siblings and so her own father had been something of a surrogate younger brother, hence why he was more of an uncle than her father's cousin.

"I have never been more sure of anything..."

Flash forward to the current day and Emmie is standing at the top of the ramp. The stage is being setup in preparation for Sunday's show. She's in yoga pants and a t-shirt tied in a knot on the side. The words, "WARD-EN of the north" cheekily embossed across the lime green. She's more nervous about this match then her debut against Amy Santino and Senor Vinnie. Because this one meant more. This was the one where she made it up to Jack. Where she proved to him that she was as good as she claimed to be. A hand on her shoulder doesn't even startle her. Partly because she had seen him coming but she wasn't going to tell him that.

"So, big opportunity huh?"

It's Ty West. A man that she respected. A man that she had to admit was very good looking.

"You bet. I will not fail."

He offers her a smile. "I wish I could say you had a great partner though..."

She turns angry eyes to the former Roulette champion. "I do have a great partner. I really wish people would stop treating him like he doesn't have any business here. Especially you... Mr. Actor-turned-wrestler..."

Ty steps back. "Woah...I didn't mean..."

"To offend me? Ya I bet. Look, I respect you a lot and despite what Jack says, I think you will be champion sooner rather than later, but please don't add to the growing amount of jokes about Jack. It might seem trivial to you but he had his heart smashed and his confidence crushed. Cut him a break."

Ty smiles. "You are a Ward." He laughs. "Alright, I'll reserve judgement on his skills in a ring. He's still an arrogant prick outside it though."

She waves it off. "We can't all be a boy scout." She winks and he laughs again.

He shakes his head as he walks away and Emmie feels proud. She wasn't some girl that shied away from conflict.  This was her chance and she was not going to let everyone down.

 ~Sorry this is so short. I have been dealing with some RL stuff and have found my motivation lacking.~


“I don’t want to partner with anyone, let alone some pop tart that is related to one of the owners...”

Jack looks at the screen with earnest. The one thing that anyone in SCW could count on it was Jack’s brutal honesty.

“But I am also good at knowing when I am beaten, and at this point, I really don’t have anything left to lose. So Why not give it a shot, right? I know that it is probably going to be a talking point for my opponents.  That’s fine. The Porn Actress and the Thirsty Mexican can do all the shit talking they want.”

He sighs deeply.

“Senor Vinnie is scared of real competition. Do you know how I know this? Because he won a shot at the main title and then asked to wait until Summer Extreme to use that shot. It seems to me that he is scared to face Fenris again so he waved it off to see if someone else would beat him. I get that... He wants to impress a woman but he even had trouble doing that. He couldn’t impress an overweight washup that couldn’t even make it as a real nurse until riding on the coattails of her famous Nephew. Talk about the best of the worse.”

He offers a shrug.

“And Amy? Amy has been having minimal success in the singles competition so why not try the tags right? I mean that is what I’m doing right? The difference is that the only loses I have were at the hands of someone else. I lost in the Blast from the Past because I had a shitty partner and losing to Kane? Again, that was because Emmie thought she was helping.”

He laughs, almost insanely.

“But here I am, agreeing to partner with the woman who screwed me over. Stranger things have happened, especially here in SCW, am I right? But the thing that really hit home for me with Emmie, it was what she said. That I have this need to get revenge on those that have screwed me. Eventually, I’ll get that revenge on Calia, my ex-girlfriend who Dear John’d me and Emmie will also feel that wrath but right now, she is my best chance at getting revenge on the one person that originally spoiled my goal. Char Kwan. And I know that I”m not facing her this weekend but she’s going to watch my partner. She’s going to see how determined and fierce she is. She’s going to see what a tag partner should be.”

“Emmie might not be good enough to take out a veteran with some ring rust right now. Heck, I’ll probably lose because of that, however, this is not a match for titles and it’s not even a match for the team I want to eliminate. Therefore winning or losing is not really something I am particularly worried about right now. It doesn’t change what I said being true. Vinnie is not going to win that title from Kale or Austin. Let’s be honest here, it doesn't’ matter who wins that match, it is just another lackluster opponent for the man who holds the Heavyweight title. And his reign is on borrowed time too but we won’t get into that right now.”

He almost looks bored now.

“No, what we’re going to get into is that fact that we are being thrown into a random match with two people that have been pretty much pushed into the back row. This is like Let’s throw you into this match with two people that have been getting noticed to try and throw some of that limelight back on you. Anything to make sure these two don’t disappear into obscurity. Sorry that you didn’t get a more high profile match considering that the whole fo the roster thinks about me. It either says that they think I’ll run at another loss or that they think pretty lowly about you so they’ll just give you some random people to keep you from complaining later. Your choice. Doesn’t matter to me. My sites are set higher. My sights are set on Gamer’s Inc. What a ridiculous name. We aren’t gamers, we’re wrestlers. We’re athletes. This stupid movement where people who are good at hitting some buttons while sitting on their asses are some sort or unique cool new athlete is just... the concept is so lazy. Just indicative of how stupid this generation is I suppose.”

Jack doesn’t appear to be all that impressed.

“Regardless... I am the uncrowned prince. Princes don’t always win and perfection isn’t always perfect. Imperfect perfection is true perfection because humans are incapable of fo being flawless. Eventually I’ll prove it, but for now, we’ll just have to settle for you all hating me and me not giving a fuck.”

 "I was taught growing up to always be one step ahead of your opponents. To anticipate anything. That hasn't changed. I knew that Griffin Hawkins would be victorious on Sunday, how? Because I do my research. Travis Levitt talks a big game, but in the end, he is just like every other flash in the pan that glides through SCW. He couldn't hold onto the Roulette title the first time, thinking he could do it again was laughable. But now, it is my turn. See I am not content to sit by idly and wait for things. The Irish dullard known as Lachlan Kane can complain all he wishes about my ability to vocalize my wants, in the end, it does get me what I need."

"I wanted a match this week and conveniently, another company buffoon couldn't compete. So now instead of seeing a monkey brawl, the fans will be treated to the sight of me, beating Kane so badly he'll wish he stayed in tags where the competition is easy. Not to insult his lady friend. I think she will do quite well in the bombshells division. No more carrying around 220 pounds of dead weight on her back."

"While on the topic of the tag division, let's talk about how once he lost the tag titles he was jumping ship to try his hand at singles competition. He acts like he has made the tag team division what it is? Well here's the thing, planting a seed is easy, it's the care you have to provide after that turns it into a flower. It's easy to say you made the division when you are the best of the worst. And look now, those video game simpletons are acting like they are god's gift to this company. Char Kwan was the reason I am competing for a title I don't want. All because she's too weak to be in her team or a wrestler in general, but I digress. Where were we? Oh yes... the leprechaun."

"I offered you respect and you decided instead to jump on Alex Jones's broken down bandwagon. So sad because I actually do feel you will be decent competition, it's a shame really that you seem to be easily distracted my shiny bobbles, in particular, the fake ones hanging from between Alex's legs. All you knuckleheads are the same. But please, tell me how I'm just a... what did he call me? A whiny git? I think I'd prefer that to being a coward who can't put my own brother in his place. But what do I know? I am actually a good brother and my sister doesn't hate me."

"I am not here to make friends. I am not here to have a gaggle of hens following my twitter and talking about how much they would like to have coitus with me. I am here solely to win matches and win titles, in particular, the Heavyweight title. But I am not calling for that shot. My complaints come at not being booked. I am an athlete and I want to do what I trained to do. Sitting on the sidelines is a waste of not only my time, but all of those people out there that are excited to see me because let's face it, the fans love a survivor."

"I may have a wealthy family, but since when is hard work frowned upon? My grandparents came to the United States following a dream. That dream became King's family bookstore. It grew until my grandfather sold it to put my father through law school. Despite what stereotypes you get in your head, I have had to work twice as hard as everyone else in this world because of this ridiculous pigeonhole ideal you force on me. I had to prove that I have gotten where I am based on my own hard work. You can't buy talent."

"So no, my arrogance doesn't come from being wealthy or good looking, it comes from years of training. Years of pushing my body to its limits. That's why I call myself the perfect eleven. I have that extra something no one can explain or deny. I have never been pinned in SCW. My only loss has been at the results of a bad drawing. Char Kwan. What a joke."

"So yes. I will not hesitate to make my voice heard and no match is going to change that. So be annoyed. Rant on the tweet box all you like. The fact remains that I would burn this city to the ground if that was what stood between me and my crown. Here is some free advice Lachlan."

"Stop underestimating your opponents. Stop acting like you are the best when your accomplishments are because you had a partner to help you. When you start winning singles matches, start winning titles... then... then you’ll have something to brag about. Everyone eventually loses, it is inevitable in life. I don’t expect everything to come easily but what I can tell you is that those that work for it, end up getting it. Just not when facing me. I put my title shot on the line because I’m not a coward. I know that even in the very slim chance I lose to you, I could just as easily get it back... if I wanted it. How is my tweeting about wanting a match any different than you complaining about your obviously more talented brother? Heck, even your sister is a better person than you are. You are not Jack and I am not the giant. Beating me is not going to prove anything. In the end, you didn’t earn this shot, I GAVE it to you. Me. So even if you win, you will forever owe it to me for having it. Just remember that.”


***
~Off Camera~

“GO away...”

Jack’s words are pretty venomous. They are directed at the pretty blonde girl from Climax Control last week. She had been following him around Las Vegas for the last week. He’d gone for a coffee, only to find she was at the shop he frequented. She was there, running on a treadmill of the gym he was using. She was here now, slipping into the empty seat in front of him while he had lunch.

“Why won’t you just listen to my reasons?”

Emmie Ward, the first cousin, once removed of SCW co-owner Mark Ward was eager and young. Jack recognized the fire in her eyes. He saw that she was fresh, new and annoyingly innocent. He knew it as soon as he met her. She had no personal boundaries. No idea on a man’s body language. He didn’t think she liked him in a romantic sense, but she still couldn’t read the signs. In fact, he actually admired her tenacity, but not enough to agree to partner with her.

“I don’t need too. My sights are firmly set on being the Heavyweight Champion. Not Tag, not Roulette... the Main title.”

She gives him a smirk. He had to admit, she was cute but this whole good girl from London setup was not his bag. Also, he just left a relationship with someone who appeared to be cute and she came with a whole mess of emotional baggage he had no closet space for.

“So are you going to lose the Roulette title shot?”

He rolls his eyes.

“Of course not. I may not want it, but I”m not going to just give it away either. Look, You seem like a good kid...”

She scoffs, “Kid...? I’ll have you know that...”

He puts up a hand to shut her up.

“Yes, Kid. You are what? Eighteen... Nineteen?”

She looks down at her hands. “Nineteen...”

“Yeah. You’re new to adult life, not just wrestling. Why not pick someone that can actually do something for your career. You’re the cousin of the owner. You basically have them eating out of your hand. Use that. Become the Bombshell Roulette champion. Move mountains, take names... whatever... Don’t saddle yourself in the Tag division with a partner that is just going to let you down.”

“So you’re saying we would lose if you were my partner?”

He once again rolls his eyes. “Of course not, we’d dominate simply on my talent alone. I mean, I assume that you are actually good? I don’t think your cousin would bring you in if he didn’t think so. Better partner than Char Kwan. She was so bad they had to bring in another chick to their group to even it out.”

She smiles. “I don’t see anything here to say that it’s not a good idea.”

He sighs deeply, pinching the bridge of his nose in agitation.

“Are you not listening? I don’t want to be in a tag team. I tried to rely on someone else and they ended up betraying me. I am not setting myself up for that again.”

She leans forward on her elbows, watching him take a sip of his wine.

“We’re not dating though. Nor do I want to date you. You are not my type. That’s the difference. You and Calia were dating. You loved her so you didn’t see all the faults. The fact that for all the training she got, she wasn’t very good. For all the trouble you give Char about losing Blast From the Past for you, she was no better than Calia was as a partner. That’s where I am different Jack. I am actually good. And I am not going to let you down like she did, like Char did. And I know you would like nothing better than to defeat Char and make her pay for taking away your chance to get a chance at the title you want so bad.”

The words sunk in. Revenge. As much as he liked to play up the fact that he was cultured and refined, revenge was something that coursed through everyone’s veins. For a brief second, he considered it and then brushed it off.

“No. Absolutely not. I have a Roulette title to win.”

He waves his hand in the air, calling for the Martire D.

“Yes, Sir?”

“I’d like the check. And please, put anything Miss Ward wants on my tab.”

The server nods and leaves. Jack looks back to Emmie.

“I’m going to give you a final warning Miss Ward. Stop this. Find someone else. I will press charges if I have too, but I don’t want to have to do that. You’re a smart girl. Know a lost cause when you see one.”

He pulls out his wallet and throws three hundred dollar bills onto the table. He then dabs at his face with the cloth napkin and rises.

“Stay. Get yourself something to eat. You probably survive on Pizza and ramen noodles. A good meal will do you good. Consider it my good will gesture.”

He then nods at the approaching waiter and leaves the restaurant. Emmie suddenly feels underdressed for the place.  The waiter makes quick change and hands the remaining money to Emmie. Unsure what to do with it, she gives him a large tip and escapes with a hundred dollar bill burning a hole in her pocket.  She wasn’t going to stop though. She had to get through to him. She’d done the research. She down the statistics spreadsheets. Jack was the best suited to help her save the tag division.

 Jonathan Asher King, The 3rd, didn’t like to travel.  He was someone that preferred to spend most of his time back in Colorado where he was comfortable. He knew what to expect there. The same could not be said for London. It was very busy, he could hardly understand half the people he talked too and looked like a tool by saying ‘pardon’ every two minutes and he was disoriented with his directions, which had led him to his current predicament.

Standing outside the underground stop he had just come up from, he was looking at an awkward city map. After failing to charge his phone, it was no sitting dead in his pocket and about as useful as most of the people he had asked for directions. He just wanted to get back to his hotel after doing a bit of site seeing. Not that he had done it for himself, it had been for Calia. She wanted pictures of the city but deep down he knew it was just a ploy to force him from his self imposed seclusion.  He never claimed to be cultured or even debonair in the least. He was simply charismatic enough to be a lawyer... or a wrestler but he had no desire to be a playboy. He was most definitely around the baby finger of his beautiful girl back home.

He sighs deeply before dumping the map into the trash bin.

It must have been over an hour of random walking before he catches sight of someone he actually was acquainted too. The Tall Blonde man wearing dark glasses steps into a jewelry store in front of him and he runs to catch up to him, hoping that even though he had not seemed to endear himself to most of the roster, he’d be kind enough to direct him back to his hotel.

Stepping inside, he sees Ty West looking at the Gold and silver watches, all very expensive and quite attractive. Even though Jack was not one to be in the public eye, it didn’t stop him from appreciating fine things. Jack moves in beside the tall man and clears his throat.

Jack
“Personally, I prefer the Omega Speedmaster. It’s durable but doesn’t break the bank in case it happens to get damaged in the gym and even if it does, most retailers will honor a warranty and replace it.”

Ty doesn’t look up but continues to view the watches under the glass display.

Ty
“And what do I owe the honor of your company Jack? From what I have seen of you, you have a very selective group you talk to or hang out with. Usually Blonde but a lot prettier than me...”

He smirks and finally looks to Jack.

Jack
“I won’t insult your intelligence, yes, I normally wouldn’t go out of my way to talk to you, although I am impressed by what you have down with SCW, you do understand that eventually, it’s going to be me taking that title....”
Ty gives him an amused smile and looks at him, urging him to continue his thought.

Jack
“But actually, I’m not really someone that does well with traveling. My phone died and now I am unfortunately lost. I need to get back to my hotel and I have a hard time understanding the local variety of people.”

Ty laughs in his throat, looking back to the watches.

Ty
“So the Speedmaster? The black one is nice. It’s not for me. It’s a gift.  To be honest I could get him one out of a vending machine and he’d look at it the same but still, I attempt to be a good partner.”

Jack watches, not sure how to respond as Ty calls over a saleswoman and asks for the watch to be wrapped and then hands her a credit card. Ty is busying signing when he speaks again.

Ty
“You’re staying at the Lanesborough, right? Just flag a cab and tell them you need to go there. Easy. The best way to save yourself embarrassment is to just fake it. Seems to be something you know how to do well.”

The undertone is not lost on Jack and usually, he would start an argument and then put him in his place, but right now, he just wanted to get back to the comfort of his suite.

Jack
“Thanks.”

He then turns, leaving the store. Why hadn’t he thought of just hailing a cab? He felt like an idiot in front of the potential future champion and he knew it would bite him in the ass later if he had to face him for the title. Although his money was on Fenris recapturing the title in their four-way-dance. The odds were against Ty seeing as how he was so attached to Fenris.  Those thoughts are lost as a cab finally pulls up alongside him and he slips inside. He tries not to gag at the noxious odor of what appears to be Cattle excrement. The man, a withered-looking gentleman with grey hair turns his head over the seat to look at Jack, his eyebrows raised in question.

Jack
“The Lanesborough please.”

The man smirks and then pulls out into traffic amidst a few long-winded horn blows. By the time that Jack makes it to the hotel in question, the cabbie’s driving has him almost wanting to kiss the sideway outside it.  He tips him generously which warrants a genuine smile.
Once back in his suite, he plugs in his phone and waits.


***
Promo: The Prince Without a Crown

Jack Asher is sitting in a wingbacked chair, in what appears to be a library. He has donned a purple velvet cape with white fluffy edges, a perfect example of kingly attire. On his head is just a gold circlet, much like an un-coronated prince might wear, not quite as elaborate as the big puffy crown that the actual monarch would wear.

“Over the course of history, there have been many that have sat on the throne belonging to England. Some were young, too young that it was actually someone pulling their strings. Some got ill and passed much like most juveniles in the ages before penicillin and vaccines. Some were even women. Strong, proud women that proved that your gender does not determine whether or not you are a capable ruler. The problem though is that until Queen Elizabeth the 1st took the throne, seeing someone on the seat of power for more than a few years was a wonder and as the times advanced, they sat longer. Queen Elizabeth II is now the longest reigning monarch in all of England’s history and the longest ever Female monarch in the world. Placing 6th in the overall list, she is really not far off from being #1 with the longest being Louis XIV of France with Seventy-two years to her Sixty-seven. That being said, in the world of wrestling, Reigns do not last years. In fact, if someone held a title for longer than a month at a time it would be downright amazing. And such a sad state has befallen the Roulette title. It has exchanged so many hands over the last year that it has lost its significance. You can’t honestly tell me that people sign a contract here and automatically say, yes I want the Roulette title because it has a champion holding it that is the one to beat here.”

His sarcasm does not go unnoticed at this point, even though he is keeping a straight face.

“Sadly, that isn’t the case. I have done my research. And since Kris Ryans vacated it, it has been just another hand me down that no one seems to be proud of. I don’t see our current champion going out of his way to talk about how proud he is to be it’s keeper presently? In fact, have you ever heard much out of him in general? I was under the impression that champions were supposed to go out of their way to represent the company for which the title was for. Where is his promotion? I see more about his matches in some other company that honestly, no one cares about. That’s not what the fans want to see, someone that treats the Roulette title like a consolation prize.”

He rolls his eyes and then crosses his ankle over his knee.

“Yes, eventually I do want to have that coveted main title but right now, my path is for the Roulette and so, that is where my focus is going to be. No talking about what I am going to do in the future, but only what I plan to do now, right here. And on Sunday, I get to be paired up with two of the most ignorant, underserving buffoons that SCW has to offer. Blade Alexander likes to talk like he’s got this all tied up... Like he is the inevitable winner in this when the man cannot even do his research. How can I take him seriously when he judges me based on stereotypes taken from crass and unentertaining cinema and television. The Young man that comes from a family with money obviously has to be the idiot playboy that has nothing better to do with his time than to play at something he knows nothing about. Obviously, he paid off his entire school, the judges and his trainer and he has no discernable talent.”

He scoffs thinking that the whole notion is absolutely absurd.

“Yes because Mark Ward and Christian Underwood just want to line their pockets and just hire anyone that can flash a billfold of cash at them... Right?”

He raises his eyebrows while he asks the question. In his mind, his logic is flawless. Coming up with arguments was what he had been training to do, he actually came to good use in this setting as well.

“Not only does he make himself look particularly idiotic but he then underhandedly insults the decisions of our owners. And if he was right and I was only hired for how much money I could give them, then what does that say about you Blade? I mean if they only hire people based on how much money they make then how in the hell did you get yourself a contract?”

To Jack, he believes himself to be good at having an affluent-radar. He was able to know exactly which people came from a lifestyle without financial worry.

“You have no place to talk about how you are better than me because of BFTP either. You had a champion as your partner and you still lost. At least my excuse is having a girl more focused on her fortnight challenges being completed than actually winning her matches. That wasn’t my fault that she essentially laid down and took the L for us.  To be honest Blade, I have no idea what you think you bring to the table that I should be particularly intimidated by... I am not even going to waste my time trying to think of any because we all know how this is going to end on Sunday. With you and Old man Aqcuin laid out on the mat and me, having my hand held high and announced the new challenger to the Roulette title.”

His heady and self-entitled smile as returned. It was the one that pissed off countless people each and every day.

“Now Joshua... How pathetic are you? You can’t even talk about your opponents. You did it once with Effie Bingham when you did a promo against her... your own partner. And then when we faced, pretty much you shit the bed and made me laugh. I laughed even harder when I pinned you and walked way proving that maybe your talents are best suited to behind the scenes. And now... I  am not even going to bother to waste much time talking about you. Maybe it is presumptuous of me to think that I will just repeat what I did last time we got in a ring together but honestly if you look at your list of matches over the last few months... the only real stand out thing is beating Jon Dough... That’s pretty sad. I actually feel bad for you that your career has to end as you looking like a joke. You can’t even get recognized by your peers for something significant you have accomplished in your time here.  But you know what, I’ll be nice. When you do retire, I’ll make sure to get you the very best Golf Clubs on the market. You can travel to world-class courses and ride along in your little cart. I actually think you will probably slay at that.”

He removes the gold circlet from his head and places it on the table beside him, he then reaches out of the sight of the camera for something, bringing back a crown and on the wrong is the same symbol that decorates the Roulette title. He looks at it, not actually placing it on his head.

“So here we have it. I am a prince without my crown. I am the Jacobite usurper in need of my rebellion, only in this story, I will not be defeated. I will take my rightful place as the Roulette champion that SCW deserves and it all starts with earning my shot to take it.”

 [~]-CONTACT INFORMATION-[~]

Handlers Name: Mandy
Any Messengers: Twitter is fine. Best way to contact me is via Ty’s @Westwarrior11
[~]-WRESTLER INFORMATION-[~]



Picture Base (Name Only, real picture bases no cartoons. Check Taken Pic Bases List): Marie Avgeropoulos
Wrestlers Twitter: @BlackCat0625
Wrestlers Name: Catarina Franklin
Nickname(s): Black Cat, Cat
Age: 31
Height: 5’5
Weight: 120 lbs
Hometown: New York City, NY
Personality: Sweetheart with a sense of humor
Strengths: Flexibility, fearless
Weaknesses: Rookie
Gimmick If Any: Rookie with Martial Arts Experience. Naturally gifted.
Alignment: Face

[~]-ENTRANCE DESCRIPTION-[~]

Entrance Theme Music: America’s Sweetheart - Elle King
Entrance Description: “America’s Sweetheart” Cues and she appears at the top of the ramp. She gives a smile, raising her arms in the air before starting to walk down the ramp. She gets to the apron, flipping herself into the ring, she climbs the turnbuckle and waves at the crowd


[~]-WRESTLING MOVES-[~]

Wrestling Move Packages
-Martial Arts (More known for there MMA style of fighting) -Known for there quick strikes, grapples, and submission.

Signature Moves
1.) Jumping Heel Kick
2.) Dropkick to Knee
3.) Tornado DDT

Finishing Move
1.)Sweet Heart Flip - Springboard Hurricanrana

[~]-MISC INFORMATION-[~]

Weapon Of Choice: None
Match Of Choice: N/A

[~]-BIOGRAPHY-[~]
Superstar Bio:
Cat is a well educated and athletically inclined young woman who took the time to get an education before pursuing acting. She has black belts in both Tae known do and Krav Maga as well as a certified Yogi. She is not like a typical naturalist. She doesn’t push her beliefs on others but encourages a healthy lifestyle. Although she enjoyed acting, during her time with THE FIRM she discovered a love of wrestling and has been training with her boyfriend, Jared Black for the last few months. She wants to see how this opportunity goes but won’t give up on also acting on the side.
She’s also done Stunt Double work.
She knows SCW superstar, Ty West from his small role on The FIRM as well

Past Accomplishments:
Played Sofia Critelli-Quinn on THE FIRM which was a dramatized Wrestling show

 The West-Ward Blogicles
Season 4, Entry #1 -- “The Worth of a Man”

Ty West looks refreshed and happy. He is sitting on what appears to be a park bench. Around him is unfamiliar territory for any of his fans but any geographical minded person would recognize it as the shore of the St.Lawrence River in Montreal, Quebec in Canada.

“This episode is the premier of my new season of blogs. Why? Because this is the true start of my journey towards the greatest prize in SCW, the Heavyweight championship. What better opportunity to start a new series. A fresh start for a new adventure. Much like the reason behind me being in Canada this week.”

He gives a genuine smile, showing that he doesn’t seem stressed or uncomfortable at all. Finally in his real element.

“The worth of a man is measured by deeds, not words though many remember the words. Since the very first day I stepped between those ropes I have given everything I had. Some of those times, I wasn't one hundred percent. I know that, this whole company knows that. I hear it every time someone brings up the fact that before I went to Iceland, I was convinced that this wasn't my calling. And now? I know that it is. From the very first day. I knew it was my turn to be recognized. I struggled for years wondering what I was on the earth to do. My own father seemed to regret my existence. I struggled with finding an acting or modelling job that might just be my big break. All this time I thought that my looks were what was going to get me my success and all this time, it wasn't that at all.”

He adjusts himself on the bench as two people pass by, lovers holding hands while arm in arm. Happy contented smiles on their faces. Once they are past the view of the camera, Ty continues.

“I have loved wrestling since I was a child. When my mom and I weren't traveling, you would find me in front of a TV with my wrestling action figures, acting out the action on the set in front of me. I had all these ideas, made the figures tell the imaginary audience why they were going to win that top title.I've come along way from plastic miniatures, but my dreams haven't changed. I want to be the best at what I do and I think I've found it in SCW.The only thing has ever truly held me back was myself. I put these ideas into my own head about not being good enough. Maybe I needed the validation from Fenris and Ben to come back, maybe I needed that to step into that ring and take the Roulette title. Once I had it though, part of me knew that it wasn't good enough. It wasn't what I came here to accomplish. I always intended to be the top champion and I couldn't quite get there before. I wasn't ready mentally. Am I there now?”

He gives the camera a raised eyebrow in question before letting it fall back into his natural, determined and confident demeanour.

“I am.”

The confidence that Ty had shown recently had really shined in his recent matches, making even people that he didn’t know recognize his skills instead of resorting to insults about his past or his nickname, that in fact wasn’t one he gave himself.

“Caleb. Man. I honestly don't know what to say to you. Not without reducing you to more of the sniveling little rodent you already are. I don't like straight up putting guys down but what have you done to deserve otherwise? You haven't struck back. You haven't proven you are deserved this title shot. Week after week you sit in front of a camera and tell everyone about how unfair life has been to you. Let me give you some advice. Stop looking at what you don't have and appreciate what you do. Despite everything you claim to be owed to you, you still have a wonderful partner by your side. A woman that for reasons none of us understand, is still there, supporting you unconditionally even when you act no better than those spoiled little millennial rich girls. Me. Me. Me. I deserve. I deserve. I WANT. Tell me something Caleb, how is a title shot a punishment? Somehow you impressed someone enough to be given this opportunity. To prove to the masses of doubters that maybe... just maybe, you could be the one to pull off the biggest heist in SCW history. It is an opportunity, yet all you can think about is Fen’s dominance. And we see how everytime you see Fenris, you piddle on the floor like a scared little puppy. Why? I mean I know why. I probably know Fen better than anyone in this company. If anything it makes it more difficult to have to face him again but you don't know him at all and you pass out at his mere presence. Also you would think if anyone would be nervous about being in the ring with him it would be me, afterall, I could potentially hurt my best friend and lover... But you, You resort to subtweets without being willing to back it all up. You were happy he lost. You think everyone else in this company is inferior but yet you quiver at the chance to face the arguably best champion SCW has had. Why wouldn't you just work harder to be able to face him? And even if you lost, if you gave it everything you have, Fen would recognize that. It’s a compliment when a champion tells you that you are worthwhile opponent.  But I tell you this now, if you are afraid of anyone in the ring you shouldn't be in the ring at all. Fear makes you stupid and then you do stupid mistakes. Mistakes lead to injuries or death. Are you afraid of death Caleb? Because that is what will happen if you continue to make decisions based on fear. Based on something without logic.”

This time, Ty’s face contorts to one of frustration and maybe even disgust.

“Now I am not the type to tell people to give up on their dreams. I will never tell anyone they can't do anything but I will tell you Caleb that if you have any doubts or insecurities, then maybe you do need to give up. There are only two options. You either fight harder or you call it a day and look for something else. I wish I could say you have been SCW's most improved. I wish I could stand here and tell you that I am looking forward to this fight or even that you plan on giving me a good fight. You know what's going to happen? You are going to run your mouth about me and Austin all the while saying how Fenris makes you shit your pants and to add just a bit of flavor to the already disgusting scent, you'll talk about how the Management is punishing you. But AJM and I are not the cause of your fear right? If it were a three-way Dance you would have no problem telling us how superior and deserving you are. It's insulting that you basically take this opportunity and flush it down the toilet.”

He crosses his arms over his chest.

“You are the weakest link, good bye.”

He takes a second to let go of the anger starting to well inside him, closing his eyes for only a moment and open them again to go back to his confident stance.

“And Fenris. I am speaking to Fenris the competitor, the White Wolf, Fenris the man that had no qualms about kneeing me in the face.”

Ty laughs, showing off the purple bruise on his cheek.

“The thing I respect the most about you, Jan, is that you are able to separate church and state.  You can be my partner in crime in the locker room and two minutes later we are beating the ever-loving fuck out of each other in that ring. I have never doubted that when this opportunity came around, you wouldn’t shy away or have doubts about stepping into a ring against me. You gave me everything you have and didn't hold back and come LB2, I know it will be more of the same. You have accomplished so much in the last year. You and Courtney beat out all others to win in The BFTP tournament. Even though back then, I thought Court carried you to the victory. I know different now. I had to eat my words and they were pretty bitter. I know your championship match was not against Kris Ryans like you wanted. It was against me.And as disappointed as you were with that, you still gave me respect at the end.  So isn’t this just a perfect way to start a new year at SCW, a re-match. Once again it is you and I. Even though there are more in this match then the original one. Doesn't that say so much about where we rank in SCW? You and I are two of the best this company has to offer. We may not be the main event but I almost feel bad for Alicia and Kate having to follow us. Even with Caleb in the mix, this is still an award worthy match in the making. You know how I feel about you Jan. And it's because of that, I will not hold back on you. I intend to prove to you that I am finally ready to hold this title high and proudly.”

He blows the camera a kiss.

“And Austin. I left you last for a reason. You have the most to lose here. You are in a similar position that I was in with the Roulette. Newly crowned. Sure, I did defend the Roulette first before losing it but I'm not playing a game of who wore it better. Every champion brings something different to the table. You can calm any fears of Fenris and I teaming up on you. Neither of us are like that. Neither of us want a tainted win. What you can count on from me is the fight of your life. I realize that losing in your first real defense can be crushing. I am looking forward to the fiercest fight of my career. Like a mother bear defending her cub, you will do whatever it takes to bring that title back home with you. I respect that. I also respect the fact that you know the stakes I have in this as well. I appreciate opponents that take time to commend their opponents. Those that only choose to underestimate and trash are not worth my respect, hence why Caleb has obliterated any shred of respect he had from me. Have no doubt Austin, I want this title and it has made me salivate for over a year. The times it has been so close I could nearly smell the leather only to see it slip away before I could get my hand to it. It is frustrating. Each time I have fallen, I have fought harder to rise back up. Each time returning a stronger man.”

He relaxes again.

“But I tell you, all of you watching,  the worth of a man is not the prize at the end, the measure of a man is the journey he took to get there. I believe my journey has led me to finally be at the top. I sympathize with your past disappointments Austin, but I am not letting anybody stop me from what I have been working a year to earn. Not a callous little boy, not a ravenous wolf, not even a prince.”

***

In all his travels, Ty could honestly say that the province of Quebec, in Canada was not a place he had ever visited before. He knew that Canadians could be friendly and gracious, but he also knew they could also be hard and fierce.

He hoped his dialect of french translated well enough. His was not French Canadian but French from France. There were slight variations, being looked at more like slang.

Upon arriving at Montréal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport he was greeted with the hustle of any modern airport. There was nothing distinctly “Canadian” about it except for the bilingual signage. So many people talked shit about Canada but he had no idea why. It was a lovely country full of talented people. And apparently, half of his genes were also red & white.

He had expected that if he took a DNA Ancestry analysis he was going to find European, maybe even American Native aboriginal but Canadian was not something he ever expected. Especially not French Canadian like the two newest recruits of Kahlan's.

The Belanger Twins had given him some pointers but at this moment, they seemed hard to recall as he saw what could have been his father's twin standing only a few feet in front of him.

He was dressed in tan Carhartt overalls, and a white t-shirt underneath a wool lined plaid jacket. His hair was still dark, although peppered with streaks of silver. The lines in his face were coated with a fine whitish dust and Ty remembered the man was a carpenter and probably came straight from work to collect him. He knew that Jesse was several years older than his father. Never married, no children of his own. He still lived with his elderly parents and took care of the house.

Ty walked up, suitcase in hand. Jesse smiles.

“Well, no doubt you are Mickey's boy.”

His voice has a slight twang to his words. Remnants of the fact that English was actually his second language. This wasn't a definitive guess , if you didn't already know, that he was a frenchman, only that there was definitely something unique about his speech.

Ty got the impression that Jesse had wanted to hug him but was holding off, not wanting to frighten him off. Ty appreciated it, considering his grandparents might not have the same boundaries once he met them.

“It's nice to meet you in person, Uncle Jesse.”

He smirks. It had occurred to him, on the plane ride, that he might have been expecting a man in a leather jacket, 80’s mullet and an affinity for Elvis.  He was actually relieved that his uncle was not a John Stamos look alike.

He waves him off.

“No need for the uncle part. Just Jesse is fine. And my parents don't expect you to call them grandma and Grandpa either.”

He offers to take Ty's bag but Ty politely declines. It was only one suitcase. He only planned on staying a few days before heading back to Vegas for a slight stop-over before going straight out to London. He knew how much Jan disapproved of this trip. Family was one of the most important things to him so the fact that his ‘other’ family had waited this long to find him was suspicious. Ty was aware that the timing was worrying but he wanted to know his background. Jan reluctantly accepted that.

The house wasn't far from the airport. A small war-time house with a manicured lawn. It was in good shape proving what his father's friend had said about his Uncle taking care of it.

“I hope you're hungry. Mama has been busy all morning making a feast for your arrival.”

Food was a universal language. Ty was never one to shy away.

“Mama was sure to make everything vegetarian. We were told you didn't eat meat.”

Ty was once again relieved. His aversion to animal cruelty had made it impossible for him to eat anything containing animals. Since he was a child and seeing the hanging carcasses of cows and sheep on a field trip, it had scarred him and had become a champion for animal rights.

Entering the house, Ty was surprised at the modern decor. Not at all like when he went home and his mom's 80’s onslaught of dated decor and brass accents.

“Maman! Papa!”

The accent was perfect and from the kitchen, a man came through, using a cane for support. He smiled at Ty and once again he was shocked. The man could be him in another thirty or fourty years.

“Regarde toi...”

The words slipped out as the old man's blue eyes appraised him.

“Bonjour monsieur Caron. Merci de m'avoir invité chez vous.”

The older man laughs, a wide smile forming over his lips.

“No need for formalities boy. You may call me Dick.”

Just like his son, his English was perfect except for that slight difference that pointed out that he was french first.

“Absolutely.”

Ty smiles just as a woman emerges, wiping her hands on her apron. Upon looking at Ty, she shuffles forward quickly, grabbing his face in both hands and laying quick kisses on both cheeks.

“You are a handsome young man.”

A tear starts in the corner of her eye and slowly trails down her cheek.  He sympathized with the woman. She had lost a child and a grandchild and here was one back in her life. To Ty, it was telling. They genuinely wanted him to be part of their lives.

“And you are a beautiful woman. Thank you for your hospitality.”

She blushes, pulling him by the hand into the sitting room. Dick and Jesse were already sitting.

“Tell us about you.”

His grandmother sits eagerly. Dick rolls his eyes.

“Allow the boy to settle in, Adele. He just got here.”

Adele blushes again. Despite her shyness, he didn't peg her as a demure woman at all. She was simply just in a situation she was unsure of.

“It's fine. I grew up in Tucson. My mom got me into modelling and acting early on but neither really took off for me. My agent suggested wrestling since I am a fan and I have Martial Arts experience. It sort of just fell into place.”

She smiles.

“And Tom told us that you have a special someone, Kristina is it?”

Ty nearly chokes. This wasn't going to be easy. What if his grandparents were phobic? He meant what he said to Jan. No new family was worth losing him over.

“Kristjan. He works with me at SCW.”

He waits. Waiting for the realization. For his Grandfather to disapprove.

“He's one of the guys in your match... That must be hard.”

Jesse says calmly. Both his grandparents nod their head but there didn't seem to be an ounce of disapprovement or disgust. In fact his Grandmother seemed eager to hear more about his boyfriend.

“It can be but we talked about how we couldn't avoid being opponents forever. He's definitely not happy about it.”

“He must care for you a lot.”

Adele smiles, obviously a romantic like himself.

“I think he might be the one...”

Adele smiles sweetly.

“I love happy endings.”

She then stands.

“I have to check on supper. Make yourself comfortable.”

She pats his shoulder before slipping down the hall. He makes eye contact with Jesse and the older man smiles. It had been Ty's biggest fear that they wouldn't accept his sexuality. They seemed incredibly cool about it, which seemed rare for older people.  The door opens and the boisterous voice of a young person fills the hallway.

“I'm home...”

Ty stands, expecting to meet his nephew at last when he is taken aback. Before him didn't stand a boy at all, but a girl. Blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail. Tights with hearts up the legs. The ‘girl’ sees Ty and smiles brightly.

“You must be my Uncle Ty. I'm Ethan.”

She moves further into the room and without warning gives him a hug. At this point, Ty was highly aware of the fact that the pre-teen hugging him was in fact a kid in the midst of a gender transition. He had expected there to be some uncertainty regarding his own choices, but not to be surprised by the ones in his other family.

He didn't have a nephew at all, he had a niece.