Chapter 26

August

Of all the things Sasha Banks had been through in her life, telling Dean the truth about his daughter was without a doubt the most nerve wracking, terrifying thing she had to do. Every possible scenario, from Dean suing for custody to a fist fight breaking out with Dean and Seth, played out in Sasha's mind as the Barclay's Center came closer.

Sasha realized she was holding her breath. She inhaled slowly through her nose, then exhaled just as easy through her lips. She repeated the process until she pulled into the staff parking lot of the famous arena. Then, as if her self meditation was for naught, Sasha's nerves got the best of her again and she started to panic.

"Fuck," Sasha thought internally, not wanting to cuss in front of her children. Lizzie and baby Tyler sat in the back row of Sasha's SUV, none the wiser of what was going to happen within the next few minutes.

Sasha texted back and forth with Alexa over the course of the weekend. The blonde woman's encouragement was settling Sasha's mind a little, but the matter of fact was starting to eat away at her. Sasha asked for last minute advice as she found a parking spot. Alexa tried her best, but there she didn't know what to really say in this situation since she had never had to do something like this before.

"Mama?" Lizzie called from the backseat.

"Yes, baby?" Sasha answered, turning in her seat to face her kids.

"Can we see daddy?" Lizzie asked, voice full of hope.

Sasha chuckled at that. Not from finding the question at all humorous, but the irony of the entire situation. Lizzie quite obviously meant seeing Seth before the show, but she would also be meeting her biological father for the first time in Dean.

"Yes, princess, we can go see daddy," Sasha promised. She turned back around in her seat. "Both of them," she muttered under her breath with a sigh.

Tyler on her hip and Lizzie's tiny hand held tightly in her free hand, Sasha walked the back hallway of the Barclay's Center to the catering area where she knew her husband and two best friends would be. Her jangled nerves only sky rocketed to a whole new level of terror when she checked in with security and stepped inside the arena. Often times, even before today, Sasha wondered what life would've been like if she had just stayed loyal to Seth all those years ago. Then again, she wouldn't be smiling at the sounds of her daughter saying hello to every producer, tech hand or makeup stylist as she made her way around the building if she hadn't cheated on Seth.

Sasha's busy mind was to put to ease when she and the kids finally arrived in catering and saw Seth chatting with Finn and Alexa. The twins exclaimed excitedly when they saw Elizabeth and the tiny blonde took off to join her friends at their own table. Sasha handed Tyler off to his father, then took a seat after exchanging a brief kiss with him.

"Today's the big day, huh?" Finn asked with a chuckle.

Sasha exhaled heavily. "Yep. Today is the day I finally tell Dean I lied to him about his daughter. I have NO idea how he's going to handle it. I just hope he doesn't demand any custody."

Seth shook his head. "I don't think he will. I'm pretty sure he and Renee aren't having any kids, so I don't think he'll bring up custody."

"That'll look bad on you if he does, Sasha," Alexa mentioned. "If he goes off the claim that you lied about the paternity test, you could lose at least joint custody. I don't think a judge would give him sole custody though."

Sasha tensed at that thought. Would Dean really do something like that? Renee Young, Dean's wife, expressed that she wasn't sure if she wanted to have babies to several of her coworkers, and on her podcast, but would the sudden reveal of Dean having a long lost daughter suddenly change her mind?

"They won't get any custody," Seth said in a harder tone than he probably meant. "I don't want that freak going anywhere near me or my family."

"Jesus, you two were best friends," Sasha sighed. "What the hell happened?"

Seth looked at Finn and Alexa, then back at Sasha. "You're joking, right?" He asked rhetorically.

"Dean isn't a mean person, I know that much," Alexa stated. "He's just hostile if you rub him the wrong way..." She quickly added, "Metaphorically," when she caught a weird glance from Finn.

Seth shook his head. "I still think you should tell him," he said to Sasha. "I'm just worried about what he might do."

Sasha turned her attention to the next table over with her baby girl and Alexa and Finn's children playing at. Lizzie and the boys were playing with WWE action figures and giggling up a storm. Sasha dreaded to do anything that took that smiling face away, regardless if it was the right thing to do or not.

Sasha sighed. "Well, I might as well go look for him and get it over with."

Seth nodded. "I'll wait here with Tyler. I'll get him some lunch, ok?"

Sasha wrapped her arms around Seth's frame. Her voice broke and she began to cry, but Seth pecked her on the cheek and lifted her spirits a little.

"You'll be ok, baby," Seth told. "I love you so much."

Sasha kissed Seth one more time before breaking away. Lizzie whined momentarily when Sasha told her to follow, but she gathered her action figures and hurried along side Sasha when promises to get ice cream after were made.

This was it. The moment of truth Sasha had been dreading ever since Elizabeth Mercedes was born.

A few feet in front of her was the men's locker room. From what Sasha was told, Dean was inside talking out his match with a few others. Sasha sat Lizzie on a production cart, told her to stay put, then knocked on the locker room door.

Johnny Gargano opened the door and greeted Sasha with a smile. "Hey, Sasha, what can I do for you? I think Seth's down by catering."

"Actually, I wanted to talk to Dean, if that's ok?" Sasha asked.

Johnny nodded. "Sure thing. I'll go get him for you."

The door closed and Sasha considered grabbing her daughter and making a mad dash for her car again, but before she could try anything rash the locker room door opened again and she came face to face with the man she'd been avoiding for nearly a decade.

"Dean..." Sasha breathed, looking nervously into his bright blue eyes.

"Hey," Dean said, a confused look on his face. "Johnny said you wanted to talk."

Sasha nodded. "Yeah, I kinda have something to say to you."

Dean snickered. "Seth's not gonna jump out and kick my ass, is he? I'm all out of dentist appointments for this year."

Sasha shook her head, but did manage a small smile. "No, he's with Tyler in catering. I just..."

"Just...?" Dean mimicked, trying to bait an answer out of his ex.

Sasha exhaled sharply. Tears already started to form in her eyes and she wondered how she was going to get herself out of this one without breaking anymore hearts than she already did.

"Uh, do you remember when you, Seth, Finn and Roman were all in my hospital room when Lizzie was born?" Sasha asked.

Dean thought for a moment then chuckled. "Yeah, I do. Shit, that was a long fuckin' time ago. I can't believe I got so caught up in all that dumb shit. How is the little ankle biter?" He looked past Sasha's shoulder at the little blonde girl talking to herself and mashing two action figures together. "She's a little cutie, that's for sure. Dirty blonde hair and blue eyes never looked so adorable."

Sasha swallowed hard. "Well..."

"You a natural blonde?" Dean asked, making Sasha's stomach drop. "I know Seth ain't, but I was wondering that the other day when Renee was showing me a few pictures on Instagram."

Then all at once, Dean's face lit up like all the gears started to turn and every puzzle piece fell into place. He looked down at Sasha, who was staring up at him with teary eyes and a nervous grin, then at the little girl giggling a few feet behind her mom.

"She..." Dean muttered. "Why... I don't..."

"It's ok, Dean," Sasha assured. "It's ok. Lizzie is yours, not Seth's."

Dean chuckled as tears started to roll down his cheeks. His hands threw up at his sides, then raked through his messy blonde hair.

"Can..." Dean began, but couldn't finish his sentence.

"Go talk to her," Sasha insisted, giggling tearfully when Dean took off like a rocket.

Dean slowly approached the little girl sitting on a metal crate. Lizzie looked up at him, completely unaware who he really was, and flashed him a smile.

"Hi," Dean said.

"Hi," Lizzie chirped.

"Whatcha doin'?" Dean asked.

Lizzie held up her action figures. "Playin' with wrestlers. This one's my daddy and this one is Uncle Finn. They have a match tonight. It's Summer Slam."

Dean nodded. "It sure is... Do you know who I am?"

Lizzie giggled and nodded her head. "Dean Amb'ose. My mommy says you're a wrestler too."

Dean nodded. "Yep, I sure am."

Lizzie tilted her head to one side. Her face scrunched, then she stood up on the crate and ruffled her hands through Dean's hair.

"Your hair looks just like mine," Lizzie commented. "That's funny."

Dean grinned to hide the fresh tears welling up in his eyes. "Yeah, we have the same eyes too."

Lizzie nodded. "Mmmhmm, do you like cheesebu'gers too?"

"Yeah, they're my favorite," Dean agreed.

Lizzie's face lit up. "Really? Me too! Mama doesn't let me eat them all the time though."

"No? That's too bad, I really like them," Dean said.

"Do you have any kitties? Mama says we can't, 'cuz I'm 'ayergic', but we might get a puppy." Lizzie said.

Dean grinned. "I'm allergic to cats too. How's your brother doing?"

"How do you know about Tyler?" Lizzie asked, clearly amazed that Dean knew who he was.

Dean cracked a grin in Sasha's direction. "I used to be friends with your mama. She's a really nice lady."

Sasha grinned at that.

Lizzie nodded her head. "Yeah, she is. But not when she makes me eat broccoli," she stuck her tongue out and made a face, causing Dean to burst out laughing.

Dean wiped his eyes dry with the sleeve of his jacket. "I'm gonna talk to your mama quick, ok?"

Lizzie spread out her arms and hugged Dean. "If you're my mama's friend, does that mean we're friends too?"

Dean gently hugged his daughter back. "Sure, honey. If that's what you want."

Lizzie cheered excitedly, then went back to her action figures.

"How is she?" Sasha asked when Dean pulled her aside.

Dean chuckled softly. "She's the most amazing little girl I've ever met. She gets it from her mom, I can tell."

Sasha grinned, but then her smile faded. "Dean-"

"I won't press for any kind of custody," Dean said. "Seth... Is her dad, no matter what. I would just like to see her every once in a while. Maybe a few times a year, just so she doesn't forget about me. Then, maybe when she's in high school or something, we can all get together and tell her who I really am. But only if you're cool with that."

Sasha nodded. "Of course, Dean. I won't keep Lizzie away from you anymore if you want to be a part of her life. I think you should be anyway."

Dean nodded. "Good... Just so you know, and I haven't told anyone about this yet, Lizzie has a little brother on the way."

Sasha's eyes widened. "Renee's pregnant?"

Dean grinned. "Yep, just found out the gender yesterday. We're still deciding between Jonathon and Henry. I like Jon more, but it's Rey's decision in the end."

The two former lovers shared a friendly embrace. Dean placed a kiss on the top of Sasha's head, then stepped away.

"Thank you for telling me the truth," Dean said.

"I should've told you a long time ago," Sasha admitted. "Do you want me to take a picture of the two of you?"

Dean chuckled. "Yes, please."

Dean approached Lizzie and lifted her into his arms. She giggled excitedly, then rested her head on his shoulder. Dean practically burst into tears again on the spot, but he managed a strong face and a grin for Sasha as she snapped a photo of the two of them.

13 Years Later

Elizabeth Mercedes Rollins maneuvered her trusty beaten up mini van through the suburbs of outside Las Vegas to visit her father for the Christmas Holidays. Luckily, she was in town for a wrestling show and she didn't need to be anywhere of importance until New Year's where she'd go and visit her mom and step-dad.

Lizzie checked her sunglasses in the rear view mirror, mentally preparing herself for the blistering heat she was about to re-enter. With a quick hop in her step, Lizzie bounded up the driveway and knocked lightly on the door.

"Lizzie, Merry Christmas!" Renee answered, standing aside for the younger woman. "Your dad's outside grilling some hamburgers, so you're just in time for dinner."

"Awesome, thanks Rey," Lizzie said, giving her dad's wife a hug for courtesy sake. "What's up, Jon?"

"Hey, Liz," Jon, Lizzie's half-brother, waved to his sister from the living room. "How'd the tryout go?"

Lizzie nodded her head. "I think it went ok. I didn't bust my shit up this time, so maybe they'll think I'm good enough."

Dean's head perked up from the grill when he heard the patio door slide open. He grinned brightly and chuckled upon seeing it was his eldest child.

"Good, your mother called for the millionth fuckin' time wondering if you made it here," Dean joked, hugging his daughter and then going back to his cooking. "Seth won't shut up either. Fuckin' tellin' me to make sure you don't do anything stupid and yadda yadda."

Lizzie chuckled. "Yeah, he's a little overprotective sometimes. You should've seen the shit fit he threw when I told them I started training without telling them."

Dean took a swig from his beer. "I know, I remember because I got fifty phone calls from both of them threatening to kill me for getting the idea in your head." He pointed at the red cooler sitting beside the grill. "Want one? Don't tell your mother."

Lizzie nodded her head. "Fuck yeah. It's fuckin' hot out here."

Lizzie happily accepted the ice cold beverage and took a thirsty sip. Dean closed the lid on the grill and took a seat on one of the lawn chairs he had set up.

"How's the girlfriend?" Dean asked.

"She's fine. Kayla's waiting for me back home, then we're heading over to mom's for late Christmas and New Year's. I told her she'd get to meet y'all the next time I get a few days off."

Dean checked over his shoulder. "So, what's the word?"

Lizzie smirked. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Bullshit," Dean laughed. "You had a tryout match with NXT. How'd it go?"

Lizzie shook her head and sighed. "Well, I thought it went well," she paused to take a sip of her beer. "Then they offered me a NXT contract on the spot."

Dean jumped to his feet. "FUCK YEAH, BABY! MY LITTLE GIRL IS AN NXT SUPERSTAR!"

Lizzie yelled out with her dad, then embraced him. Dean cried happy tears behind his dark sunglasses.

"Darlin', I'm so proud of you," Dean said. "Now please go convince your brother to follow in our footsteps and make this whole thing a legacy. Did you pick out a name yet? They usually have you do that before they announce you're signed."

Lizzie nodded her head and handed Dean her phone. "Yeah, they just sent me the link. Hot off the presses."

Dean scanned over the title. "WWE NXT Signs Four Performance Center Recruits... Randy Holden, Amanda Francis, Luke Olly and... Deanna Rollins."

Lizzie grinned. "Yep, Deanna Rollins, that's me."

Dean drank from his bottle to conceal his emotions. He cleared his throat. "Deanna, as in Dean, but on a chick."

"That's right," Lizzie said.

"You know Seth's gonna kill me, literally, when he reads that, right?" Dean asked.

Lizzie nodded her head. "Yeah, I'm aware."

Dean cackled loudly. "Shit, my baby girl... Fuck, I'm so proud of you, Liz. Seriously, you're gonna make all of us proud one day."

Lizzie smirked a smirk that closely resembled Dean's. "Thanks, dad. I think so too. I'm gonna take this fucking place by storm."

THE END

A/N: This officially marks the end of "Baby, Help Me". It's been a long and winding journey full of delays and some... "weird" chapters I don't want to really discuss, but we did it.

Sasha's story is officially over, but it looks like Lizzie's has just begun. I may come back to this world in the future, but until then let me know what you would think about a possible follow up to "Baby, Help Me" with the focus on Lizze and her WWE career.

As always, thanks for reading and don't forget to let me know what you think in a review.