Hurt But Not Broken

Back home

A.N. Guys, I'm starting the sequel!! I'm so happy! Be prepared for this one to be more emotional than Shield Precious People. I thought for this one I'd go with how Dean felt about what happened with the baby situation, since SPP did go into more how AJ felt. Just a warning, I will probably switch into using real names in this story, it's easier for me. Enjoy and review.

It had been April's choice if she wanted to wrestle again; to which she had happily told her boss 'Yes'. But it was a matter of when it would happen that had concerned not only April, but everyone around her.

With the drama that had happened nearly six months before, she wondered if she would ever have not only the physical strength but mental strength to go on with her career. She wanted to be married with a family; it was something she almost had. But like nearly everything else in her life, it was snatched away from her.

Jon was another factor in her life, another person who was feeling almost the same as she did. But he didn't have to go through a baby growing in him; he didn't have to feel the heart-break when the baby was lost. April had felt so empty inside, and he didn't know what it felt like.

That didn't mean that Jon didn't feel saddened and lost. His unborn baby was gone just because two people were jealous of his and April's success. Jon didn't want to see her upset, but he didn't want to leave her for too long at home on her own, either.

Since he proposed, April had asked Jon to move either to Florida with her, or back to Cincinnati (she wasn't comfortable with living in Vegas) and they both agreed on Florida. He promptly sold his house there and moved in quickly, having April make all of the furniture arrangements that could suit both of them.

A simple master bedroom, guest bedroom, ensuite, a second bathroom, two living rooms, a kitchen, pool and an empty room; that was the make-up of the two story home.

As April packed her bags to be ready to be on the road again, Jon had excused himself. April knew what this meant, and didn't disturb him as he walked out of the bedroom with his hands in his pockets. It was the same thing that happened every day since he had moved in.

The empty room was a little further down the hallway, with the door almost always closed. The dark purple curtains were always drawn shut and made the light pink walls dark. Jon slid down in the corner diagonal from the door, shutting his eyes for a brief moment. When he opened them again, the room was no longer empty.

On the wall where the door was, there was a small bed with a pink bedspread and purple flowers on it. Attached to the bed head was a little purple and pink dream catcher. Next to him was a large wooden bookshelf that only had two of the five selves filled from the bottom going upward. On the selves were various toddler and children's books, as well as a few of the books April had when she was a child. Directly across from him was a small wardrobe, also wooden, which opened up with door on the top half and contained about six shelves (three on one side and three on the other) that went down to the bottom.

Just outside the door there was a child's laugh. April had told him when she cleaning out the room that was once stored for junk, she heard a giggle from somewhere in the room. Jon had called her crazy and then proceeded to ask how much sleep she had had the night before over the phone. It hadn't been until he sat inside the room that he heard the laugh too.

But what happened next always made him want to cry. Inside, a vision of himself came through the door, with a little girl at about two or three years old being carried on his shoulders. She flopped down onto the bed when Jon kneeled down to his back against the bed and the small girl pushed the covers away and lay there smiling at him.

"Where's mummy?" The young girl asked as he tucked her in tightly.

"She isn't feeling too well, Bells. She'll be better soon." The girl moved one arm out from the covers and laid her palm upwards beside on the edge of the bed. Jon reached under the bed and pulled out an old and clearly weather damaged stuffed bear. He placed it in the girl's hand.

"Sir Teddy was keeping all of the monsters away for you so you can be safe when you sleep." The girl giggled again and hugged the bear to her face. It had been one of the very few things Jon's mother had kept from his childhood; it had been a bear he kept for a short amount of time. He would talk to it about his problems when he was a child, and his daughter did the same.

"Are you and mummy going to have another baby?" The bear was now resting near her face. He leaned over and kissed her on the forehead.

"I hope so, baby girl." He stood, switched on a nightlight near the girl's bed and turned off the ceiling light when he reached the door. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight daddy." She yawned and drifted off to sleep.

Jon's eyes saw everything for how it was when his vision shut the door. No furniture was to be seen, no little girl laughing, no happy man to be known. Every day he was home he saw his dream flash in his eyes, and be gone just as quickly as it came. It was the life he could have had, the life he and April both deserved after everything they went through in their lives.

"Honey, are you okay?" April's voice rang through on the other side of the closed door. Jon wiped his eyes, and saw April with her rolling suitcase when he opened the door.

"Yeah, I'm just thinking about..." He couldn't finish, and April couldn't blame him for it. She leaned up and quickly kissed him before grabbing his hand.

"I know, but now we can start over as we want to." The two went around the house, going through to see what any last minute items needed to be packed, switching off power points all though the home and Jon packed their bags in the boot of his car.

April was back on the road with him, at least he wasn't lonely anymore.