Relief

Chapter One

'C'mon Drew, we're gonna be late,' I yelled as I put my suitcase into the trunk of the 4x4. 'I don't want to keep the boss waiting.' I turned to my sister. 'Call us if you need anything, or Steph is just down the road. Please don't burn the house down whilst we're away.' I kissed AJ's little nose. 'Mummy loves you and we will be back in 2 weeks.' This was going to be the hardest tour ever, my first one away from AJ.

We were heading to Rhode Island for Raw tonight, anxious as to what was going on. Vince had called Drew at 6am this morning and said that we were now needed for Raw and that he was sending his private jet down to pick us up. We weren't scheduled to be on Raw this week, so we had booked an earlier flight to Glasgow, so we could spend a few days with Drew's dad before the UK tour started, then fly to Dublin for the first night of the European tour. I hadn't left AJ for more than a couple of days, so to leave him for 2 weeks was going to be hell. It was hard to believe that our baby was no longer a baby, but a 13 month old toddler who was already learning to walk and talk. And we had not long since celebrated our first wedding anniversary.

It was shortly after 2pm by the time we checked in at the hotel. When we got to the arena, I left Drew to catch up with a few friends and went in search of Vince's office to see what the hell was going on. Finally finding it, I knocked on the door.
'Come in,' came the gruff response. I opened the door, stepped thru, closing it behind me and sat down in a chair opposite Vince, surprised to see Joe sat in the chair next to me.
'Hey Joe,' I gave him a small half smile. He looked up and I could see the turmoil in his eyes. 'So, what's the deal with you bringing us to Raw, boss?'
'We have to nix yours and Drew's storyline with Roman for now.'
'What? Why?'
'You will find out tonight, I don't want this leaking before the show.'
'Oh come on, we have cancelled our mini break to come here and I wanna know why,' I demanded, looking from Vince to Joe. 'Joe, what's going on?' I placed my hand on his forearm and he looked down at it. After everything that he put me through last year, I tried so hard to pretend that Joe Anoa'i didn't exist, even though we had been friends for years and the fact that he lived next door to me didn't help either.
'Why are you being so nice to me?' he asked.
'Everyone deserves a second chance Joe. Now will you please tell me what's going on?' Joe looked at Vince, who nodded once.
'What I'm about to tell you cannot leave this room, you can't even tell Drew.'
'Okay.'
'I have leukaemia, I've been living with it for 10 years and it's back.' My hand flew over my mouth and I could feel tears forming. 'Maybe this is God's way of punishing me for what I did to you and what I put you through, I don't know, but it means I have to go home and fight this.' To say I was shocked was an understatement. I stood up and hugged him.
'Oh Joe, you can't think like that. Listen, we will get through this. Just know that I am going to help you through this.'

Sat in catering with Drew as the show started, I felt sick from what Joe had told me. On the TV screen, the shows theme music played and there was a shot of the crowd. Roman's music hit and I watched as he walked down to the ring, the crowd looking confused as to why he was in the ring wearing jeans and a black t-shirt and not his ring attire. After the crowd settled down, Joe began to talk.
'I feel like I owe everyone an apology. For months, maybe even a full year, I've come out here and spoke as Roman Reigns and I said a lot of things, y'know. I said I would be here every single week. I said I was gonna be a fighting champion, I said I was going to be consistent and I said I was going to be a work horse, but,' he paused for a second. 'That's all lies. It's a lie because the reality is my real name is Joe and I've been living with leukaemia for 11 years.' He paused again. Tears streaming down my face, I wanted to look away from the screen, but I couldn't. Drew nudged me and asked if I was okay, but I couldnt answer him. 'And unfortunately it's back. And because the leukaemia is back, I cannot fulfil my role, I can't be that fighting champion and I'm going to have to relinquish the Universal Championship.' A chorus of nos went up from the crowd. I couldn't watch after that, I stood up and walked out of catering, Drew hot on my heels. I managed to make it to our locker room before breaking down completely. Drew pulled me into a hug.
'Hey, baby, it's okay,' he said, rubbing my back as I sobbed into his chest.
'No it's not,' I wailed. 'Joe could die and this is all my fault.'
'No, it isn't. These things happen. Cancer can come back. Joe is a tough guy and he will fight this. He has an amazing support network and the best thing we can do is just be there for him, Galina and the kids.'
'When did you get so smart?'
'Trust me, I made some big mistakes in my life. So, do you know the plan for tonight?' I nodded.
'I come down to the ring with you and Dolph, cause a distraction and Seth pins you for the win.'
'Good. Try not to show any emotion out there. I know it will be tough, but you can do it. Then we can get on that plane in the morning and go see Dad.' Drew leaned down and kissed me on the nose. 'I love you Katelyn Galloway. Don't you ever doubt that I don't because I do.'
'I love you too babe.'

As I pulled on my black button down shirt, I heard the door to the locker room open. I turned to see Joe stood by the door.
'I'm so sorry Joe,' I said, crossing the room and enveloping him in a hug. I fought back the tears, not wanting to ruin my make up, as Joe sobbed onto my shoulder. 'Listen to me,' I held him at arms length. 'You're going to get through this. I will be by your side, so will Galina and your family and friends. You can do this.' Joe closed the door and pulled me into the centre of the room.
'Why are you so nice to me? I almost ruined everything for you.'
'I believe in giving second chances to those who have redeemed themselves. You are one of my oldest friends here and what happened is in the past, you were in a rough place in your marriage and you just happened to take it out on me.'
'I still mean what I said, y'know. I do love you. Not as a friend, but actually love you.'
'Joe, we're both married with kids. It would destroy 2 families and I don't want Galina to hate me anymore than she already does. I have to finish getting ready for Drew's match.'
'I can help you there,' came his reply. Joe slid my shirt down my arms and tossed it across the room, then pulled me close and kissed me. This was the first time he had kissed me where I didn't pull away. Instead, I melted into the kiss and allowed him to guide me to the couch. He pulled me on top of him, never breaking the kiss, and we made out, neither of us hearing the door open again.
'Katelyn?' I heard Drew say.