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<td width="32%"><div align="center" class="rules">Ted E. Bahr Productions
Proudly presents:</div></td>
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"Family Does For Family"</td>
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<td>"I still recall the first time that I met her."
New Orleans, Louisiana
2005
The doorbell of the home rang with a definitive chime of bells. It was a home most different from the one we have come to know in Las Vegas in current times, one of which has been comparable to a small mansion. Those home was smaller, modest in size but no less so in Victorian charm. It might be thought of enough for a small family, yet only one person lived here and called it home, a man we have come to know within the hierarchy of Sin City Wrestling circles.
However this current scene was set far before SCW was ever even a thought, when both Christian Underwood and "Hot Stuff" Mark Ward were active competitors in a global-wide phenom called Generation-X Wrestling -- as was the man approaching the front door to the house, Synn himself.
He grasped the handle on the front door and with a deft turn of the wrist, pulled it open and there before him on the opposite side of the threshold stood...
"Yes?" Synn asked with an arched brow, much harder edged than we are now used to seeing him when he was at his full and most controversial glory. The diminutive Hispanic woman stood on the porch, looking up at him with surprised eyes. She had not expected a client of such physical... stature. Quite tall and muscular, and his youth was rather surprising for such a nice home.
"I'm Theresa Aguilera." She said to him in heavily accented English. "The agency sent me?"
"Of course. Come in." He stepped aside and with just a trace of hesitance, Theresa stepped past him and into his home.
"Mrs. Aguilera...." Synn had started to address her as she had a seat in an Old English chair opposite him in the living room, while he himself sat on a seat made sturdier for his own large frame.
However she showed immediately her head strong personality with a soft spoken interruption, "Please, call me Theresa. We are talking about me scrubbing your toilets and washing your unmentionables."
Synn simply stared at her with those burning green eyes of his, and had he not had full control on the displaying of his own emotions, he might have gifted her with the faintest trace of a smile -- might.
He said, "Fine. Theresa. There are reasons why I imagine you drew the short stick at your agency. I consider this something of a 'cushy' job. I tour extensively as a professional wrestler and manager, and sometimes I am not at home for weeks at a time. Yet I would prefer someone to actually be here, caring for what is mine and keeping it ready for whenever I am to return. However when I am home, I don't consider myself the easiest man to work for. I can be rude, moody, outspoken...."
Synn turned the switch on, flooding the small bedroom with light, illuminating it and the furnishings within. he stepped inside and waited patiently for Theresa to join him.
"Your agency informed me that you have only recently arrived here in the States." He stated matter-of-factly before turning to her. "I am sorry for your loss." Before she could thank him for what she perceived as heartfelt sympathy, he went on. "Your agency also informed me that you were living in a hotel, and I am sorry but that just will not do. So, this room is to be your own."
"My...?"
"Your own." He reasserted. "I feel things would be more reliable were you to care for my home while actually staying within it as a live-in housekeeper."
"But..."
"Problem?"
Theresa said, "Yes, I mean ... no. But the lady at the agency said they do not employ live-in housekeepers."
"Then to hell with your agency." Synn stated bluntly and without remorse. "The job is yours if you want it. Chances are I'll pay better directly than you'll get through them with their dues and fees and what have you."
Synn nodded knowingly, then turned to exit the bedroom, saying behind him, "Plus I won't cheat you with pay the way I imagine they do."
"I thought I was going to scare her off like I had all the others, but damned if she didn't stay on and rise to the challenge."
2011
Synn sat across from the kitchen table, a cup of steaming hot coffee cupped between his hands. On the other side of the table in the New Orleans home that had been her home and place of employment for the past six years, Theresa waited with a cup of tea in her own hand, for whatever reason it was that Synn had asked for this meeting.
"The reasons are not important for now, but I want you to know that I have purchased a house in Las Vegas." Synn calmly explained. "A new promotion has opened that I intend to move the two young men I have been guiding there, and I would rather remain in one place rather than the constant touring that I've been doing for the past number of years."
"Is this about the boy you've been caring for?" She asked. "The one you haven't brought here?"
"It is." Synn addressed her calmly. "He's been moved around enough since I brought him from Canada, and I think in order to help him, it best if I provide him with a stable home. One that is near what I hope to be a steady place of employment for him to compete in with his friend."
"I see." Theresa stated humbly, her eyes downcast into the mug in front of her, and her heart cast down into the pit of her stomach. For some reason, she had felt this meeting would bear the fruit of bad news, and here it was. After six years of steady employment, she was to be...
"And I want for you to make the move with me." Synn said from out of nowhere, startling her from her thoughts. She looked up, eyes wide in realization.
She said, "Y-you do?"
"I do." He reiterated. "You have been hard working and loyal these past years Theresa, and I would rather not go through all the trouble of breaking in someone new in regards to all my bad habits."
This time, he did smile, showing a softer, more tender side beneath the harsh exterior that too many have come to expect. he tilted his head to the side in contemplation and said, "What say you, Mrs. Aguilera? Would you be willing to run off to Las Vegas with me?"
She could only smile as she fought back a wave of tearful relief that this man wanted her to remain in his employment, safe and secure. She smiled for herself a smile of pearly white giddiness, and nodded.
"Yes. I would be happy to." She stressed and he nodded.
He said, "Good. Now, as far as the young man that will be living there as well, there are some things you ought to know..."
"And that was it. I could not allow her to return to the mediocrity of lower level employment. Not after she had gotten used to a certain standard of living while under my roof. Say what you will about me, but I rather pride myself on taking care of my own, be they wrestler or otherwise. The hardest part I think was getting her to understand fully about Joshua, and what was expected of her, and boundaries that were not to be crossed. Given the evidence over the past three years, I could not have chosen better."
Desert Springs Medical Center
"I'm looking for a Mister ... Synn. The doctor had said, and one would have thought lightning had struck inside of the room as practically everyone present had hurriedly stood up and approached the doctor with concern etched on their faces. All save for Despayre and Gabriel, who had maneuvered themselves closer toward the door that led to the ICU. Even Shipman, who returned from getting food for everyone with Margaret and Victoria, joined them.
They watched and waited as the doctor addressed Synn himself, but his words were for everyone.
"... a very mild heart attack." The doctor told Synn. "It could have been worse. Much worse, but Mrs. Aguilera is in very good shape for her age, and as I understand it, this young man..." He indicated Phillip, Rage's brother. "... also should be given due credit for preventing it from worsening."
"Phil?" Fantasia said, looking to the young man, and Rage patted his younger brother on the shoulder and gave it a firm squeeze.
Rage said, "He gave Theresa CPR while I was on the phone with the paramedics."
Synn made a mental note of this, determined now to repay Philip by any means necessary, but the doctor's continued words drew him temporarily away from this train of thought.
The doctor stated, "That, above all else, saved Mrs. Aguilera from suffering far worse."
"Can we see her?" Shane asked, but the doctor shook his head.
"Under normal circumstances, I would have to say no. At least, not until she is moved out of ICU but we are going to keep her for observation for a few days."
"I have power of attorney." Synn stated, drawing some stares from those around him, as if in surprise. Truth be told, they did not know this little piece of information concerning Theresa and her friend and employer. Synn continued, "Considering her sons are over five thousand miles away..."
The doctor nodded, "As I wanted to say, under normal circumstances I would have to say no, but as we are still trying to get in touch with her sons, and she is asking for you, I believe I can allow a brief visit. But only two for now."
"We understand." Margaret Young said, then turned to address her son. "Joshua? Would you like to...? Joshua?"
All present turned their heads to glance about the hospital waiting room to find that Despayre was now gone, as was his teddy bear Angel -- and Gabriel himself.
Synn softly exhaled. "Damn it."
"Is there a problem?" The doctor asked, clearly not understanding but Synn answered by shaking his head.
"No problems. But if you would be so kind as to show us to Mrs. Aguilera's room, I'm certain we'll find my missing son and his friends."
"Oh no, that's quite impossible." The doctor stated. "You obviously aren't familiar with our rules."
Synn glanced up toward the doctor. "And you are obviously not familiar with my son."
"Or his 'big brother'." Fantasia stated.
In the hall of the Intensive Care Unit, the tandem of Despayre and Gabriel (and Angel, always remember the teddy bear!), slowly move down the hall, trying to pretend that they belong there as opposed to the fact that they actually had snuck inside while the doctor was distracted. Despayre was unaware but Gabriel knew enough that there were strict rules in hospitals in regards to visitors to the patients in ICU. Most often it was family ONLY, but this time Gabriel was not going to pay attention to the rules of another laid out before him.
This ONE time?
Gabriel carefully led Despayre past several open doors, glancing at the name card below the room number, all the while by passing several nurses and nurses aides who were too busy themselves to take note of these two who did not belong here. Truth be told, for all they knew, Gabriel and Despayre were the family of some patient and had every right to be there -- and they would be right. They were family, as far as they were concerned.
Theresa's family.
Despayre kept his eyes open and straight ahead, but deep inside he was reminding himself that this place was not the 'bad hospital' from years past. Despayre hated hospitals, and only set foot inside of them under the strictest of circumstances. The risks were high of him having terrible flashbacks and God only knows what would happen if that were to occur, and how it would be subdued. The fact he had Angel snuggled up against his chest gave him hope and security, as a teddy bear was prone to do for a child of any age.
Despayre almost went on walking when Gabriel stopped him with a hand on his shoulder.
"Despy." Despayre turned around and Gabriel nodded at the open door they stood before. he had found it. Theresa's name was on the card at the left of the door, and from where they were standing, they could see the end of the hospital bed that she resided in.
Despayre stared hard into the room and Gabriel took note that his 'little brother's' arms wove themselves even tighter around his plush friend. He could not help but ask, "Are you sure you want to do this?"
Not surprisingly, Despayre nodded without pause. He whispered, "I want to see her. make sure she's alright."
"Okay." Gabriel patted him on the back and gently guided him into the room, careful not to make any undue noise to startle the patient or attract the attention of a nurse outside.
Despayre whispered, "We should have brought a present. People in hospitals are supposed to get presents."
As if expecting such a statement, Gabriel held up a fairly large whisker basket adorned in ribbons and filled with an assortment of flowers and candy, and a bite-sized teddy bear nestled in the center. Despayre's eyes sparkled in delight at this and he looked to Gabriel.
"Where did you get that?"
To which, Gabriel answered simply, "Old woman was delivering these to patients. Got it off her cart."
Despayre nodded, a smile now spread on his youthful face, clearly having no qualms at Gabriel lifting a present from another so long as it went to their Theresa. the two slowly walked around the curtain that was drawn around the bed and their hearts caught in their chests, looking down at the form of their friend laying in the hospital bed, the wires attached from her body to the monitors stationed at her bedside.
"She doesn't look so good." Despayre whispered, his words almost caught in a choked display of emotion. He clearly did not know what to expect, and perhaps was not ready to see 'his' Theresa like this.
"She'll be okay, Despy." Gabriel said. "You heard the doctor. It was very mild, but it still took a lot out of her."
Despayre stepped up to her bedside, his fingers clasped around the metal handles of the bed, while setting Angel at her side so, at least in his mind, the teddy bear could examine her himself and conform what that other doctor had diagnosed.
Gabriel set the basket down on her bedside and with his fingers, gently brushed a lock of her thick, black hair from her eyes to her temple. The touch of his hand startled her from her rest and she jolted awake, but at the very first glance at who was there at her bedside, a smile grew on her weary lips and she allowed her eyes to drift closed again. Too tired from the physical strain of her ordeal to do much else, save for a soft mumble.
"Thank you for coming chicos."
"Anytime." Gabriel replied, just as gently, unsure if she heard him but the fact he had said it was enough. Then the sound of someone clearing their throat softly caused the two 'guests' in the room to turn their heads to find Synn standing in the door frame, alongside the doctor who appeared quite surprised that someone had managed to sneak past him and into the ICU.
Synn said nothing, but with a tilt of his head, Gabriel slipped around from the side of the bed he was standing on and walked past Despayre whose eyes remained fixated on Theresa under the covers.
"How is she?" Synn asked as the magician approached him and the doctor.
"Tired." Gabriel answered, casting a quick glance back at the patient. "She woke up for a second, saw us, then went back to sleep."
"She was waiting for you, I believe." The doctor admitted, and Synn looked at Gabriel to say,
"It's late. Do me a favor and take Joshua home, or to stay with his mother."
"What about you?" Gabriel frowned.
"I'm staying." Synn answered simply, and Gabriel would have expected nothing less. "I'll be home in the morning, but I have to do this. Just for the night."
"I understand." Gabriel said. He turned back and the three walked into the room and Synn wrapped an arm around his son's shoulder.
"Gabriel's going to take you to your mother's to stay the night." Synn said gently. Despayre's head turned to face his father, but before he could utter the childlike protest he knew was coming, out of a desire to stay where he was, Synn continued, "Just for tonight. You need your sleep, and Theresa needs her rest. She'll be safe. I'll stay the night to watch over her."
It was clear to each one in the room that Despayre did not like this. In fact, he was altogether quite uncomfortable at the prospect of leaving Theresa's side, but he knew deep down that if anyone would care for Theresa the best, it would be his dad. ... With a little help, of course.
"Joshua?" Synn started to say as Despayre lifted up the corner of the blanket covering Theresa, and tucked Angel under the fold. This action was a clear testament of just how much this woman meant to the young man, despite any mental misgivings he might wield.
Despayre turned around and addressed his dad, a tar streaming down his cheek as his voice choked, "Angel wants to help watch over her."
"Then she'll be just fine." Synn said as he steered Despayre over to the waiting arm of Gabriel to guide the young man out of the room and back to his waiting mother and grandmother. Gabriel paused just long enough to spot Synn fixing the blankets over Theresa's sleeping body, then taking a seat in the lone chair beside her bed.
"To quote a villain in one of Despayre's favorite movies: 'Everything comes to he who waits, and I have waited so very long for this moment.'"
"truer words could not have been spoken since the first moment that your feet stepped into the territory of the Seven Deadly Sins, Andrew Watts. You waltzed in here like you owned the place, and to a slim degree, I could almost come to respect that arrogant trait in anyone -- until they find themselves opposite of one of my own. The that arrogance becomes something akin to a hindrance, Andrew. Not against the man you will find yourself up against this coming Sunday when one or the other gets tagged into the mixed tag team match, but a hindrance against you, yourself, and the thing that you hold most dear to your heart and soul; your precious unbeaten streak."
"You see, you have aspirations to get to the top of the class here in Sin City Wrestling, and you'd be a fool not to want that very thing. Everyone else has the same hopes and dreams, but it's the getting there, and how or if you can manage to do so that defines your place in the annals of wrestling history. You have been here for what? Four months? Perhaps five if we stretch things a bit? Your opposition in this encounter, Despayre, has been here in SCW since day one. Well over three years ago. If anyone has earned a place in SCW history, it's him. You? You'll go down in history as the man who arrogantly believed he could simply walk past Despayre without a care, and paid for it as a tragic result."
"Impressive as that win-loss record of yours is, you need to do a little bit of research Andrew. You might find others here in SCW who have had it so much better than you, with a spotlight shining far brighter on them. People like Delia Darling. Jade Manendez-Arcador. And the man who you will have the most unfortunate opportunity to test your so-called skills against, Despayre himself. If you allow his little antics and fun loving demeanor to make you believe he is anything BUT a capable and talented athlete inside of that six-sided ring, then you have already condemned yourself to ruin. Former three-time SCW World Tag Team Champion. Undefeated NWA World Tag Team Champion! And as far as his personal record, well I don't enjoy telling you this as it might actually make you come to understand that there is someone out there with a superior record compared to your own..."
"No, I tell a lie. I think I will enjoy telling you this, Andrew. Despayre started competing in this business almost five years ago. Five years of a full schedule in a well documented singles run, as well as the tag team forte' he had come to be known for. And do you know how many times in that span he himself has had his shoulders pinned to the mat? Once, Andrew. One time in near five years has Despayre been pinned, never submitted, and take a little guess as just who it was who bested him, and when. Give up? Gabriel. The current reigning World heavyweight Champion, and Despayre's best friend and former tag team partner, was the only man who ever beat him, and it was three years ago in the first-ever Blast From the Past tournament."
"So when you compare track records side by side, yours suddenly doesn't look as impressive as you once thought, does it? Tragic."
"With your ego and reputation as much up for grabs as the prizes to the winners of the entire tournament, I wouldn't blame you if you were to simply abandon your partner and leave her to the whims of chance. It would prevent you from suffering the brunt of your first SCW loss to a man that so many have over looked due to his innocence and the love of a teddy bear. Your own teammate in Alex Kaelin once made that critical error in judgment, and even though it wasn't he who was defeated, his team is no longer of any concern in this tournament. Despayre fought him, and fought well, and now, Andrew? It's your turn. Your turn to face a young man who has more heart and determination within his soul than half this roster combined! A man that has proven time and again that in order to be a success as a professional wrestler, you not only have to be able to dish it out but you had better be able to take it! Despayre is capable of both."
"You would be a fool amongst fools who have time and again looked at Despayre and thought him incapable of being a threat due to his childlike whims and lack of size. Make those same foolish assumptions, Watts, and your fate would have been preordained. Beneath those childish mannerisms, lies the heart of a beast. A beast that is both brave and bold, and one who will fight without mercy toward the one that seeks to bring him harm or defeat. You fight Despayre, and you have no way to prepare. Are you fighting the young man who is capable of the most unorthodox maneuvers seen in this sport, or the animal that would as soon bite your fingers off should you get too close. What to do, Andrew Watts. What to do? How can you prepare a strategy for a man that is capable of absolutely anything?"
Your friends within the Rejects won't be of any assistance either, should they decide for themselves to be your safety net. Despayre has as many friends waiting to back him up as you do. In fact, I dare say he has more. So don't press your luck any more than you already have, Andrew. Savor the sweet tang of all the victories that you've basked in thus far in your career, because the end result of stepping into the ring with Despayre will leave nothing more than the bitter taste of defeat."
The wait had been excruciating for those that called her family, but ten days that Theresa's doctor had ordered for observation had come to an end. As they had left the hospital the previous afternoon, the doctor had taken Synn aside and assured him that they could come tomorrow and she would be discharged into her care. The primary caution, however, was that for several weeks she would need to take it easy, complete bed rest and perhaps, if possible, consider retirement. Synn had his doubts whether that was something Theresa would even deign to consider, but first things first, they wanted to bring this special woman home.
She had been transferred out of ICU and into regular care on the third floor, and as the elevator doors slid open, Despayre was the first to charge out, a bright and eager smile on his face as they were going to have Theresa home again!
"Joshua!" Synn called, albeit not too loudly so as to cause a disturbance in the hospital, the effect was still the same as it drew his boy to a screeching halt and Despayre hopped around full circle as Synn and Gabriel stepped up along with him. Only then did Despayre turn around and hurry without running to Theresa's room.
The door itself was open, and as Despayre rushed inside, Synn paused to rap his knuckles on the frame of the door to alert they were there.
"Theresa?" Synn spoke up, but as they moved further into the room, they saw that the bed was empty, and she was not there.
"Where is she?" Despayre asked but no answer came forth from the two men with him.
Gabriel himself could only shrug as she said, "She must be off having some tests done before she gets released."
A nurse waked past the door, a woman with iron gray hair and a stern countenance in her manner. Synn called out to her, "Excuse me?"
The nurse stepped back into the frame of the door and looked questioningly at the three men inside, but before she could ask them anything, it was Gabriel who spoke up.
He said, "Excuse me, but we're here to pick up a patient. Did she get moved for some reason or ...?"
"Theresa Aguilera?" The nurse frowned, and all three men nodded. The nurse sighed, and looked at the clip board in her hands, before she spoke again, "I am sorry for having to tell you this, but Mrs. Aguilera went into cardiac arrest this morning. She's being prepped for surgery."
Regrettably, she then turned away and moved on to further her rounds, leaving three very shocked men alone in the room. Synn stared hard, his breathing growing visibly heavier. Gabriel's eyes were wide, and his fingers ran through his shoulder-length locks. Despayre, however, seemed the most visibly shaken. he might not understand completely what had just been said, but he knew enough to know that it was bad.
Very bad.
"What does that mean?" He looked pleadingly towards his father and Gabriel. "What does that mean?"
"If there were ever a Bombshell outside of my own inner circle, and this time I do include Despayre's partner in Amanda Cortez, that I would be forced to admit an admiration towards, it would be the female icon of Sin City Wrestling itself, and yes, I am referencing Misty."
"Misty has had her detractors over the years, my own people included amongst them, but can any of us look past our own words and deny the simple fact that when the chips are down, this woman continues fighting until she simply is unable to fight any longer? No. Her record speaks for itself. Three-time World Bombshell Champion. World Bombshell Tag Team Champion. Woman of the Year. Match Of the Year! The barbed wire battle against Roxanne was evidence enough that the women can and will prove themselves to be as vicious, if not more so than any of the men in this business. A brutal and blood soaked battle against our own Odette Stevens had the experts cringing, believing that the females had no business doing such atrocities to one another, but herein lied the evidence right in front of their faces to prove otherwise."
"Misty is a fighter. That much is clear, and despite the simple fact that the woman has only too recently been relieved of her memory, that legacy continues on."
"Who would have believed that a woman with amnesia would have made it all the way to the championship finals of the third annual "Blast From the Past" tournament, besting some of the top females in not just SCW, but the entire sport? Clearly the memories suppressed by her injuries have not quelled her vast experience and fighting spirit, as she has gotten this far, even if it is with the aid of her partner. The problem, however, is that while she has gotten this far, she will sadly go no further."
"I admit I won't go on and on about the women in this match up, as they have to worry about one another while Despayre focuses his full attentions on Andrew Watts. But I won't ignore the female opposition altogether because when it concerns Misty, ignoring her will be as good as leading toward your own loss."
"Very few gave the team of Amanda Cortez and Despayre much of a chance at getting this far, or even going all the way. They ignored the very evidence before them why these would be the team to beat. Amanda was at one point the very woman that Misty had been three times over, and that is the World Bombshell Champion, and currently? Ms. Cortez reigns as one-half of the World Tag Team Champions. This is the woman that you will have to contend with inside of the ring this Sunday Misty. Amanda has been fierce from day one, and has proven she is worthy and here to stay amongst the very elite!"
"You yet have your fears and insecurities distracting you, Misty, whereas Amanda Cortez has none. None save for her raging desire to do her partner and herself the prideful justice of putting your shoulders down for the count of three and earning both shots at the top. I have confidence in Ms. Cortez and her abilities to accomplish this very task. Despayre has the same feelings in regards to his partner helping his get that brass ring on the proverbial merry-go-round. And I dare say that all doubts in the minds of the so-called experts and a number of our own peers have now been silenced."
"When the pairings had first been announced, your team had been listed among the very top as the favorites to walk away with it all. Amanda and Despayre? Not so much. Where are they now? Now they stand across the ring from you and that partner of yours, and the hunger in their bellies is as a raging inferno, compared to the flickering taper of a candle within your own."
"Determination. Heart. Skill. All things I admit you are in possession of, but nothing by comparison to Amanda. She has been competing for almost as long as you. her championship record here in SCW is close by comparison. She is all you are, Misty, but more. She is younger. Hungrier. And I dare say more loyal to her partner than you are to yours. In the end, all of that will be what spells success for the so-called underdog combination of Despayre and Amanda Cortez."
"What in Hell are you talking about... 'cardiac arrest'!?" Synn confronted the doctor in an openly hostile and direct manner as Gabriel tried to keep Despayre backed up and away from what was happening, lest the little guy feel the need or desire to jump in at his father's side. "You told me she was in the clear! You told me she was going to be able to go home...!"
The doctor, all too used to these types of outbursts, held up a hand to ward away the two security officers of the hospital who had heard the disruption. remaining calm, the doctor spoke evenly, "Sir, I told you I believed Mrs. Aguilera to be in the clear. This is why we keep patients over for observation. On the off chance that something like this might happen."
"And it just happened out of the blue, is that it?" Synn asked with no small amount of skepticism. Synn had a lot of pride and even his most adamant detractors would say that he had brains, but as there were many things he was not an expert on, and this was a testament to being one of those very things.
The doctor answered, "Yes sir. We tried contacting you but I'm afraid that you must have just left your home and been on your way here. We missed you but we did manage to get in touch with her family."
"Speak of the devil..." Gabriel spoke up, the disdain in his voice all too evident as two young Hispanic men in their late twenties to possible early thirties hurried at top speed into the waiting room. They looked around for the front desk of this floor, but spotted the doctor and company in the middle of the floor, talking. The two sons of Theresa knew well who these three men were. Not because they were world-renowned professional athletes, but because they were close to their mother, and she had many a time sent pictures of herself alongside them to her family back in Spain.
"Sir -- sir!" The oldest of Theresa's two sons, Lucas, hurried over to the group with his younger brother at his heels. His words were heavily accented, English being neither man's first language. "Our mother?"
"Your mother is being made ready for surgery." The doctor stated as plainly as possible so that they might understand him.
"Can we see her?" Augustin asked, and that was when Despayre piped up.
"I want to see her too!"
"We are her sons!" Lucas stressed through clenched teeth, the stress of having his and his brother's mother at high risk surgery slowly causing him to succumb to temper.
"Sons who only now manage to get here?" Gabriel spoke up. "As opposed to us who have ben at her side since all of this bullshit first started two weeks...!"
"Enough!" Synn growled, and his tone was enough to even get Gabriel to quiet down before the flared tempers caused a 'pissing contest' between Theresa's sons and his own and the one who was as good as a son. Synn turned his head aside from Theresa's sons and his own to again address the doctor that had been in charge of Theresa's care.
"What kind of surgery are we talking about, doctor?" Synn asked icily. "Open heart? Bypass?"
The doctor sighed, hating to have to talk about such things with the loved ones of his patients, but it was a necessary evil in his medical profession.
"We will have to be performing a triple bypass today." The doctor finally answered, and Despayre quickly looked to Gabriel, and the fact the magician's eyes were shut tight, as were his lips, told Despayre that this meant something of the absolute worst of possibilities.
"Will Theresa be alright?"He asked timidly, drawing the attention of those around him.
"I can't tell any of you not to worry." The doctor said. "You'll do that anyway. I will tell you that I will be doing my absolute best."
With that being said, the doctor took Lucas by the arm and steered him around so that he and his brother, and not the Sins men, would be able to see Theresa before the risky surgery.
Gabriel stood up and started to protest, "Now wait just a god damn..."
"Don't." Synn said, turning around to face him and his son, and if either man was surprised to see the always strong Synn's eyes red rimmed, they said not a word. He shook his head and sighed. "Let them go. She is their mother."
"Are you okay?"
"I'm okay. I'm always okay."
"You're not scared?"
"Of course I am. I'd be a fibber to say I wasn't, and I may be a lot of things, but I'm no fibber."
"Yes, I know. I just can' picture you being scared of anything. You go after those monsters under my bed and in my closet without a second thought."
"Of course I do! Because I'm protecting you! But that doesn't mean I'm not afraid."
"Really?"
"Really. The key is to face your fear and overcome it. Every teddy bear has that bit of knowledge instilled in them during basic training. It's the key to facing those beasties and defeating them in order to protect our loved ones."
"Yeah but this is different."
"Not really. In a way, this is a little harder to face down. Those shadow beasties are tough, no doubt, and they can give us a whopper of a battle every now and then, but this here isn't really something that we can control. It's all in the hands of the doctor taking care of Theresa."
"Do you think he'll do a good job?"
"Well if he doesn't, I'll feed him to that thing that was under your bed last night!"
Despayre laughed audibly, drawing the eyes of everyone in the waiting room towards him. Everyone was there, including Theresa's sons who at first had kept to themselves away from their mother's makeshift family, but soon had found Synn and Shane sat by them, conversing with them in an effort to both pass the time as well as allow themselves a brief respite of their mind wandering on what could be happening. Odette had even insisted on being there, despite her personal discomforts, knowing full well what Theresa meant to her husband, and as such, the family she had come to be surrounded with.
Despayre was curled up in the far corner, near his mother and grandmother. The tension was everywhere, within everyone's minds as they waited for a word, any word, on what was happening in the operating room. Angel was on a vacant chair beside Victoria, facing Despayre and nobody said anything to indicate anything was out of the ordinary as Angel sought to console his bestest buddy and assure him that everything would be alright.
"Waitaminute... WHAT thing!?"
Oh how they all would have loved to have heard the other side of this conversation between a man and his teddy bear. Every time Despayre found himself having a chat with his fuzzy little friend, everyone from Synn to Gabriel and yes, even Rage, wished they knew what exactly Angel said to him time and again. But deep down, perhaps had they found out anything, anything at all, it would spoil the wondrousness of this special relationship.
"It's been almost two hours." Shipman grumbled, sitting back and trying to keep himself distracted before he did anything to relieve his stress level and most likely end up with his being either arrested or banned from the hospital.
"Augustin went to check on his mother." Fantasia said softly, noticing that Theresa's other son, Lucas, had passed out from sheer exhaustion over stress, worry, and a fair amount of jet lag. It was then that the sound of footsteps on the tile floor of the hospital's corridors alerted them and they looked up, just in time to see the aforementioned Augustin and the doctor set foot inside of the waiting room.
Lucas stirred and was immediately on his feet, fast approaching his brother...
"Mother?" He said and he turned from Augustin to the doctor who removed his mask and nodded.
"The surgery went as well as we could have hoped." The doctor stated, and all present sighed in a vast amount of pent up relief. The doctor went on, "However I have to stress that these next few hours are extremely critical, and if -- when -- she pulls through, she is going to need a lot of physical therapy."
Theresa's sons exchanged a look of worry, and it was evident that their resources were slim. They had explained that was actually why it had taken them as long as it did to fly from Spain to Nevada. They had to scour up the spare money for the airline tickets. Now, this operation plus physical therapy? How would they manage to pay...?
But that was once again when Synn displayed that their mother had a safe and secure place in his own heart as he placed a hand on Lucas's shoulder and said,<.I> "Whatever care she needs, she'll have." Lucas and Augustin turned around in surprise that such an offer was being made by a man that they had just meant face to face mere hours ago. Synn went on, "And as far as physical therapy, I know a person or two. Plus I am well acquainted with perhaps the best damn nurse in the business."
His words were directed at Victoria, Despayre's own grandma, and she smiled and winked at him. The message delivered to the two sons loud and clear.
Their mother would be well taken care of.
"Despayre and Amanda Cortez -- 2015 Blast From the Past Tournament Champions. Has a nice ring to it, wouldn't you agree?"</td>
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