Post by Emma Danielson on Jan 19, 2013 8:58:06 GMT -6
”It sure feels good to be back in the ring. Believe me, spending all my time cooped upp at home was driving me up the wall. I’m not the kind of person that takes well to ridiculous amounts of free time. I’m back off the bench, though, and my first match back…my first match in proving myself ready for another shot at the Starlets Title…is against someone who, unbeknownst to me, has apparently been a thorn in the side of our bosses for a while now.”
“Hello, Rose. Nice to see you. Well, it’s actually not all that nice, since you’ve apparently become a lunatic and more than a bit misinformed. You’re all too eager to cut me down as some sort of attack dog, like this is me slavishly obeying orders from the Conways. I’m just a wrestler, Rose. I’m here to wrestle, I’m here to win. Who they put across the ring from me doesn’t matter. If you were Shelly Taylor-Jones, or Cindy Warren, or Mercedes Vargas, I would be pushing myself just as hard. Maybe they had some ulterior motives? I wouldn’t be surprised, they’re very clever individuals. But that doesn’t change the fact that I’m more than prepared to knock you flat on your back and pin your ass.”
“I…I guess what I take exception to the most is your accusations. I’m not trying to steal away Jake. I’m not flirting with him, I’m not trying to seduce him, I’m not doing any of that. I’m being myself more than I’ve been myself in a long time, and if that means I’m opening up to someone that you don’t like, then boo hoo. I don’t need your approval to be myself. Frankly, I feel less like you want me to be myself and more like you want me to be someone you can approve, put your little rubber stamp on as “acceptable” among the roster. Not going to happen.”
“Jake respects me for who I am. He doesn’t want me to drop everything and become someone different. I’m proud of who I am. He makes me feel proud to be who I am. That’s more than I can say for a lot of people on this roster. I wasn’t going to approach this as anything but a match, Rose. You insulted my honor, though. You insulted my integrity as a wrestler. Big mistake, basket case. You’ll be lucky if you walk out of that ring with all your pieces still in place.”
“You really were right. You’re the underdog here. And you know damn why. You know you’re up against the powerhouse of NCW, the true bruiser among the roster. I’ve been in more fights than you’ve had hot meals, Rose. That’s no exaggeration. So trust me when I say that I’m ready to bring all that experience to bear for the sole purpose of making you the most miserable woman on Earth. And to think, if you’d just shown me a little more respect I wouldn’t be nearly this upset. Self-fulfilling prophecy, maybe?”
“Rose, I’ll still respect you as far as the fact that I’ll beat your ass without bringing out any of the plunder. If this were a hardcore match, you wouldn’t be walking away from it. Since it’s not, I’ll just have to settle for leveling you with a well-placed Brooklyn Hangover or two. Make no mistake, though. You didn’t earn this ass-whooping because I was ordered to beat you down by Jake or Kathy. You earned it by questioning my relationships. You earned it by reading into things you really shouldn’t have. You’re almost as bad as Andrew. See, at least he’s known me for years. He gets a little bit more of a pass when trying to read my intentions. And he certainly didn’t imply that I’m trying to be the sort of homewrecking bitch that Mercedes Vargas was. I’m associating myself with people that respect me, Rose. You couldn’t say the same, because, well…nobody really respects you. I’ll give them another reason not to on Trauma. Say your prayers.”[/i]
Open in the church where the funeral service for Laura Smith are over, the mourners milling about and commiserating among themselves. As we pass by Andrew Jacobsen speaking with Jason Conway, we see, split somewhat off from the group, Emma Danielson and Jake Conway walking along a corridor, hand in hand. Emma’s speaking somewhat quietly, but with a very noticeable current of happiness in her voice as she recalls days gone by.
”I don’t remember her all that much, but...what I do remember of Mom is that she was…she was an amazing woman. She kept my dad sober, kept him sane…Dad said that she’d joke about me and her pulling him back down to Earth. Those were the days, back when neither of us had any real problems…she…she was killed by a drunk driver when I was about five. I remember my dad that night…oh God, it was…”
She shudders, looking away as all the bad memories come flooding back to her. Jake notices and squeezes her hand softly, prompting her to look up and into his eyes. The Englishman smiles softly and speaks to her quietly, in very reassuring tones.
”Emma, if you don’t feel comfortable discussing it with me, I understand. I don’t want to cause you more grief, especially today of all days.”
Emma shakes her head, waving him off as tears threaten to spill forth from her eyes. She takes a deep breath, focusing herself, and continues to look Jake in the eyes as she speaks, voice wavering.
”N-no, I’ll be fine…Dad…when he got the news, he just…I don’t know what broke inside him, but it’s not fully fixed yet. I don’t know if it’ll ever be. He was cursing and angry and drinking…you’d think that it would have driven us both away…the thing that killed the love of his life, my mother…I guess I was too young to really understand, and Dad…he couldn’t think of any other way to handle it. He didn’t lose his job, but he came damn close. I…I saw him fold in on himself, almost. He was a lot more outgoing and friendly before it happened…I remember seeing a video of my fifth birthday party a few years back, and it was just night and day. Hearing him be so happy…seeing her again…”
Emma trails off, sobbing, and she buries her head in Jake’s shoulder, body heaving with each sob. He pats her back, holding Emma close as the Hellion’s past spills forth, old demons being dredged up and given new life by new loss. She sniffles, holding him to her body as her secrets come spilling forth from her. Jake unconsciously begins stroking her hair, speaking to her in those same reassuring, confident tones he’s well-known for, but without a hint of malice or artifice. This isn’t an act, at least not to him.
”It’s perfectly alright to miss her. Keep her alive in your heart, Emma. I believe that if she were here today, your mother would be incredibly proud of you. You’ve grown up to be a successful, beautiful, confident woman. I want a life like that for my children. Even if they can’t always be proud of me, I want them to be proud of themselves.”
His smile fades a bit as he says this, but Emma looks up at him with almost a sense of wonder in her eyes. She smiles at him, uncharacteristically shyly. As the two stare at each other, almost longingly, Andrew Jacobsen rounds the corner, glancing back and speaking to someone back around the corner.
”I’ll find your daddy, Solitaire, just give me a seco…”
He trails off as he looks up and sees the two in each other’s arms. As he watches, dumbfounded, Emma reaches up and kisses Jake on the cheek, smiling warmly. Andrew’s eyes suddenly go ice cold, and he makes sure his voice projects down towards them as he calls out.
”Never mind, Solitaire. I found your father. He’s right here.”
Both Jake and Emma jerk their heads up abruptly at this, and, noticing their potentially compromising position, quickly let go of each other as Solitaire rounds the corner, sniffling. Jake looks to Emma, shrugging apologetically, and walks over to his daughter as Emma, blushing, walks the other way down the corridor. Andrew starts after her, thoughts clearly swirling as we fade to black.
“Hello, Rose. Nice to see you. Well, it’s actually not all that nice, since you’ve apparently become a lunatic and more than a bit misinformed. You’re all too eager to cut me down as some sort of attack dog, like this is me slavishly obeying orders from the Conways. I’m just a wrestler, Rose. I’m here to wrestle, I’m here to win. Who they put across the ring from me doesn’t matter. If you were Shelly Taylor-Jones, or Cindy Warren, or Mercedes Vargas, I would be pushing myself just as hard. Maybe they had some ulterior motives? I wouldn’t be surprised, they’re very clever individuals. But that doesn’t change the fact that I’m more than prepared to knock you flat on your back and pin your ass.”
“I…I guess what I take exception to the most is your accusations. I’m not trying to steal away Jake. I’m not flirting with him, I’m not trying to seduce him, I’m not doing any of that. I’m being myself more than I’ve been myself in a long time, and if that means I’m opening up to someone that you don’t like, then boo hoo. I don’t need your approval to be myself. Frankly, I feel less like you want me to be myself and more like you want me to be someone you can approve, put your little rubber stamp on as “acceptable” among the roster. Not going to happen.”
“Jake respects me for who I am. He doesn’t want me to drop everything and become someone different. I’m proud of who I am. He makes me feel proud to be who I am. That’s more than I can say for a lot of people on this roster. I wasn’t going to approach this as anything but a match, Rose. You insulted my honor, though. You insulted my integrity as a wrestler. Big mistake, basket case. You’ll be lucky if you walk out of that ring with all your pieces still in place.”
“You really were right. You’re the underdog here. And you know damn why. You know you’re up against the powerhouse of NCW, the true bruiser among the roster. I’ve been in more fights than you’ve had hot meals, Rose. That’s no exaggeration. So trust me when I say that I’m ready to bring all that experience to bear for the sole purpose of making you the most miserable woman on Earth. And to think, if you’d just shown me a little more respect I wouldn’t be nearly this upset. Self-fulfilling prophecy, maybe?”
“Rose, I’ll still respect you as far as the fact that I’ll beat your ass without bringing out any of the plunder. If this were a hardcore match, you wouldn’t be walking away from it. Since it’s not, I’ll just have to settle for leveling you with a well-placed Brooklyn Hangover or two. Make no mistake, though. You didn’t earn this ass-whooping because I was ordered to beat you down by Jake or Kathy. You earned it by questioning my relationships. You earned it by reading into things you really shouldn’t have. You’re almost as bad as Andrew. See, at least he’s known me for years. He gets a little bit more of a pass when trying to read my intentions. And he certainly didn’t imply that I’m trying to be the sort of homewrecking bitch that Mercedes Vargas was. I’m associating myself with people that respect me, Rose. You couldn’t say the same, because, well…nobody really respects you. I’ll give them another reason not to on Trauma. Say your prayers.”[/i]
Open in the church where the funeral service for Laura Smith are over, the mourners milling about and commiserating among themselves. As we pass by Andrew Jacobsen speaking with Jason Conway, we see, split somewhat off from the group, Emma Danielson and Jake Conway walking along a corridor, hand in hand. Emma’s speaking somewhat quietly, but with a very noticeable current of happiness in her voice as she recalls days gone by.
”I don’t remember her all that much, but...what I do remember of Mom is that she was…she was an amazing woman. She kept my dad sober, kept him sane…Dad said that she’d joke about me and her pulling him back down to Earth. Those were the days, back when neither of us had any real problems…she…she was killed by a drunk driver when I was about five. I remember my dad that night…oh God, it was…”
She shudders, looking away as all the bad memories come flooding back to her. Jake notices and squeezes her hand softly, prompting her to look up and into his eyes. The Englishman smiles softly and speaks to her quietly, in very reassuring tones.
”Emma, if you don’t feel comfortable discussing it with me, I understand. I don’t want to cause you more grief, especially today of all days.”
Emma shakes her head, waving him off as tears threaten to spill forth from her eyes. She takes a deep breath, focusing herself, and continues to look Jake in the eyes as she speaks, voice wavering.
”N-no, I’ll be fine…Dad…when he got the news, he just…I don’t know what broke inside him, but it’s not fully fixed yet. I don’t know if it’ll ever be. He was cursing and angry and drinking…you’d think that it would have driven us both away…the thing that killed the love of his life, my mother…I guess I was too young to really understand, and Dad…he couldn’t think of any other way to handle it. He didn’t lose his job, but he came damn close. I…I saw him fold in on himself, almost. He was a lot more outgoing and friendly before it happened…I remember seeing a video of my fifth birthday party a few years back, and it was just night and day. Hearing him be so happy…seeing her again…”
Emma trails off, sobbing, and she buries her head in Jake’s shoulder, body heaving with each sob. He pats her back, holding Emma close as the Hellion’s past spills forth, old demons being dredged up and given new life by new loss. She sniffles, holding him to her body as her secrets come spilling forth from her. Jake unconsciously begins stroking her hair, speaking to her in those same reassuring, confident tones he’s well-known for, but without a hint of malice or artifice. This isn’t an act, at least not to him.
”It’s perfectly alright to miss her. Keep her alive in your heart, Emma. I believe that if she were here today, your mother would be incredibly proud of you. You’ve grown up to be a successful, beautiful, confident woman. I want a life like that for my children. Even if they can’t always be proud of me, I want them to be proud of themselves.”
His smile fades a bit as he says this, but Emma looks up at him with almost a sense of wonder in her eyes. She smiles at him, uncharacteristically shyly. As the two stare at each other, almost longingly, Andrew Jacobsen rounds the corner, glancing back and speaking to someone back around the corner.
”I’ll find your daddy, Solitaire, just give me a seco…”
He trails off as he looks up and sees the two in each other’s arms. As he watches, dumbfounded, Emma reaches up and kisses Jake on the cheek, smiling warmly. Andrew’s eyes suddenly go ice cold, and he makes sure his voice projects down towards them as he calls out.
”Never mind, Solitaire. I found your father. He’s right here.”
Both Jake and Emma jerk their heads up abruptly at this, and, noticing their potentially compromising position, quickly let go of each other as Solitaire rounds the corner, sniffling. Jake looks to Emma, shrugging apologetically, and walks over to his daughter as Emma, blushing, walks the other way down the corridor. Andrew starts after her, thoughts clearly swirling as we fade to black.