September 4
Violent Conduct
Following the Internet Title match
With one last glance around the arena, Lachlan Kane lifted the Internet title high above his head to another thunderous cheer from the crowd as the smile grew on his face. He laid the title over his shoulder as he turned to head into the backstage area, where he snagged a towel and a bottle of water from a waiting table just inside the curtains. He swiped the towel across his forehead before slinging it around his shoulders as he uncapped the water and downed half of it in one swallow. As he descended the stairs to the main floor, the crew gave him a little round of applause and a few of them clapped him on the shoulder in congratulations, while he just grinned bashfully and thanked everyone.
As he turned the corner to head back to the locker room, he heard footsteps approaching from behind, and then a familiar female voice called out to him.
“Way to go, bro!”
The grin on his face grew broader as he turned around just in time for his sister-in-law Bella Madison to launch herself at him in a tight hug. He laughed as he caught her and returned her hug, looking over her shoulder to see his brother Malachi leaning up against the wall with his arms across his chest and a smile on his face as well.
“You know, I heard rumblings that a certain sassy little starlet was making an appearance tonight, but I was so caught up in preparing for my match that I didn’t have time to check,” Lachlan said. “Is this just a guest appearance, or…”
Bella’s smile was bright and happy as she rocked on her heels. “Nope. I’m back baby! Doctor cleared me to get back into the ring, so what better way to announce my comeback than on one of SCW’s biggest events of the year!”
“That’s awesome! Good to hear!” He shot a look at his younger brother, who had just walked up to join them. “And what about you? You coming back to SCW?”
Mal shook his head as he put his arm around Bella’s shoulders. “Nah, I didn’t want to take the spotlight off her. She’d kick my ass if I did.”
The brothers laughed while Bella glared at her husband playfully. “Don’t even start, Oscar.”
The trio started off down the hallway to the locker rooms. “Don’t get me wrong, it’s gonna be great to see you back in the ring, but what about the whole baby thing? Thought you two were hell-bent on getting that going?”
“Oh, we still are, don’t even worry about that.” Mal nudged Bella lightly in the side with his elbow, giving her a coy grin.
She rolled her eyes a bit. “Yes, but the doctor did say it could take a few months for that to happen. I didn’t want to just be sitting around on my ass waiting, so I figured I’d at least keep myself occupied while I did. PWE has been great so far, and my training at Wolfslair is going well, but there’s just something about SCW that keeps me coming back…”
“I know what you mean.” Lachlan looked fondly at the title draped across his shoulder.
“Hey, we should round up the rest of Wolfslair and head out on the town! After all, we got a hell of a lot to celebrate tonight!” Bella said, clapping her hands together with an excited sparkle in her blue eyes. Lachlan glanced over to his brother, noticing a slight frown overtaking his face before it changed back into a neutral expression.
“Sounds like a plan,” Lach agreed as they approached the men’s locker room. “Let me get changed and I’ll meet up with you in a bit.”
“Alright, see ya!” Bella grabbed Mal’s hand and practically dragged him off, but before he stepped into the locker room Lachlan overheard Bella say, “Hey, maybe we should check out that curry place that Milo liked so much!” followed by an uproarious laugh from Malachi. Shaking his head with a little laugh of his own, Lachlan entered the locker room and shut the door behind him.
—-----
September 6
Just outside New York City
“As beautiful as India was, there’s nothing like being home,” Malachi said.
“I’d agree, but I’m not quite there yet,” Lachlan laughed.
“Well, at least you’re on the right continent. Besides, Alanah was quite insistent that we all come over before you jet off back to Orlando,” Bella said.
The three of them were currently driving out to the home of Lachlan and Malachi’s younger sister Alanah, which was situated in King’s Point, New York. She, along with her husband Jack, were very hush-hush on the reasoning, but they had said that they wanted them all to come over after they got back from India.
Mal pulled the car up to the large home, glancing around at all the other vehicles that were parked in the large driveway. “What the hell is our sister up to this time?”
“With her, who knows? The girl loves to host family get-togethers for any reason she can think of,” Bella said as she exited out from the passenger seat. The two brothers followed suit, and they made their way up to the front of the house. They didn’t even have to knock on the door before it flew inward and Alanah stood in front of them, smiling brightly.
“You all made it!” she squealed, hugging each one of them in turn before leading them into the living room where Jack was playing with the couple’s one-year-old twins Patrick and Elise. Also in the room were Jack’s parents Levi and Emma, his brother Charlie and sister Rosie, as well as Lach, Mal and Alanah’s mother Aileen. Everyone mingled and talked for a few moments, and soon the group was made bigger with the arrival of Mack McKane and Mattie Cormier, Jack and Alanah’s best friends. Once everyone was settled into their seats and the conversation died down a bit, Alanah and Jack stood at the front of the room with large smiles on their faces.
“We wanted you all to be here in person for the announcement we have for you…” Jack started, doing his best to maintain his composure. But beside him, Alanah was practically shaking with excitement until she finally just burst with the news.
“We’re having another baby!”
The room was silent for a second, everyone gaping at the young couple before they exploded into cheers and applause. Levi and Emma were up like a shot and hugging them both tightly, while Rosie was being her usual dramatic self and play-fainting on the couch. The room was nothing but chaos and excitement for a few moments, while everyone took their turn to congratulate the happy couple. When it was finally Lach’s turn, he beamed at his little sister as he hugged her tightly.
“Well, you’re really going for that big Irish family thing, aren’t ya Lanah?” Lachlan joked, poking her lightly in the side.
She giggled as she swatted his hand away. “You know I’ve always wanted to have a big family. I had kind of hoped to wait until the twins were a bit older, but I guess fate had other plans.”
“Well, I couldn’t be happier for the two of you. Seems like the pregnancy bug is going around, isn’t it? Sierra, Kallie, now you…”
Alanah’s face fell slightly as her brown eyes darted over to the side. Lachlan followed her gaze to see her looking at Bella and Mal, who were chatting in a group with Mattie and Mack. “I just…I kinda feel bad for Bella and Mal. They’ve been trying so hard…”
He wrapped a comforting arm around her shoulders. “Hey, when the time's right it will happen for them. Besides, Bella just made her comeback to SCW. She’s got enough to keep her busy until it happens for them. And when it does…may the good Lord help this family.” He lightly poked her in the side again. “You and Bella pregnant at the same time? Jack and Mal will have no choice but to call a truce and team up against that onslaught of hormones.”
Alanah giggled slightly. “You’re right.”
“Of course I am.” Feeling a tug at his pant leg, Lachlan glanced down to see his nephew Patrick staring up at him with a wide grin. He bent down and scooped him up into his arms, giving him a kiss on his plump cheek. “You hear that, Paddy boy? Not only are you gonna have a new cousin, but now you’re gonna be a big brother too!”
The baby simply babbled away as he stuffed his fingers in his mouth. Alanah smiled at her son as she kissed his forehead, and then smiled at her brother. “I’m glad you could be here for this.”
He returned her smile and hugged her tightly once again. “Anything for family.”
—----
“Todd Williams…this has been a long time coming, mate.”
A slightly sinister smile crept across the face of Lachlan Kane as the scene opened up on a shot of the brand-new Internet champion, dressed in his signature black leather jacket with a white T-shirt underneath, dark coloured jeans and Vans sneakers on his feet. His title was draped across his right shoulder, and it gleamed even in the low light of the room that lent a foreboding atmosphere to the setting.
“You certainly have a talent for making enemies around this place, don’t you Toddy boy? The way you run your mouth off at anyone and everyone, I’m honestly surprised you aren’t laid up in a hospital bed every other week. And I know that it may be hard to keep track of everyone you piss off on a daily basis, but let’s think back to just about two months ago, shall we?”
He paced the floor a few steps, his footfalls echoing in the room. “Back in July, you decided to start running your mouth about my sister. You remember her, don’t you? Alanah Russow, who you happened to get teamed with in the Blast From The Past tournament. You said, and I quote…” He slid his hand into his pocket and pulled out his phone, tapping on the screen with his thumb a few times. “‘Truth be told, if I didn’t get paired with sorry ass Alanah in SCW I would be champ right now, and that shit wouldn’t have gotten passed around like a hot potato. Weak ass superstars division.’” He slid his phone back into his pocket, and when he looked back up to the camera his blue eyes were hardened with barely contained fury. “I don’t know just how much you know about me, but one thing you definitely should know is that I am a family man to my very core. I will always defend and protect my family, no matter what. Now, under normal circumstances Alanah is more than capable of defending herself, believe me. But sadly, as much as she would have loved to come to SCW and shut you up herself, there are two things currently preventing her from doing so. One, she is currently pregnant with her third child. And two, SCW sadly does not allow intergender wrestling.” He sighed slightly, shaking his head. “It’s a real shame, because I know quite a number of people - myself included - who would have loved to see her get in the ring and absolutely crack you in the mouth for what you said about her. And so, the task now falls to her oldest brother, the new SCW Internet champion…me.”
The smirk on his face grew somewhat malicious as he adjusted the title on his shoulder. “Now, I know that this match isn’t some sort of grudge match by any means, but rather it’s supposed to be an opportunity for you to claim a shot at my newly won title at the next pay-per-view event in October. But boy oh boy, did you draw the short straw for this. You really think I’m going to let you just walk into that ring on Sunday night thinking you’re about to get a title shot at me?” Lachlan let out a short bark of laughter. “Well, I guess that’s why you call yourself ‘The Dreamer’, isn’t it? Because that’s about the only place you’ll ever get even a sniff at this title - in your damn dreams.”
The tension he carried in his body softened somewhat, as did the hardened look on his face. “But for argument’s sake, let’s set aside my personal feelings about you and look at what you’ve done to even merit an opportunity like this. In the research that I did, the only things I could come up with was a fluke win over Alex Rush, before you got your ass absolutely handed to you by HBC at Violent Conduct, and parading around with Cryst- uh, I mean Rosa.” He snickered slightly with a roll of his eyes. “Not exactly a great track record. But, I guess Mark and Christian wanted to toss you a bone. Or they’ve had it with your shit just like everyone else and they want to see you get ripped apart on Sunday night.” He shrugged his shoulders. “Either way, the result of the match is going to be the same - you, flat on your back, broken and beaten. And me, standing over you with my arm raised in the air. And then, it’s on to the next one who wants to step up to the Crowned Prince of SCW.”
With one final smirk to the camera, he lifted his left hand towards the camera with his thumb and index finger extended outwards as the camera slowly faded to black.
