I Do Cherish You

Chapter 21

A year later or so- Present Day 2010...

Things with Melanie had drastically changed. She was no longer dating Ken because of what happened. She had found out that Ken had been cheating on her with Michelle McCool since the beginning of their relationship. She had gone pretty crazy with finding out about Ken cheating on her but also Ken had found himself in deeper trouble with the McMahon family so Melanie didn't have a much harder time moving on. She had also chose to step out of the limelight and was now just working behind the scenes. She made appearances on the show every now and then but not as often. She still enjoys spending her free time with her nieces and nephews. They had always been the one thing that she considered her happiness. But as of right now, Melanie was busying herself with trying to schedule and plan out photo shoots for the Superstars and Divas.

Right now, Melanie stood outside of her sister and her brother-in-law's backyard. She was watching her nieces and nephews play outside with her dog which was a baby Labrador. She watched as Murphy, who was now over a year old, tried to chase the dog. She was adorable and was looking more like Stephanie each day. Though both Aurora and Murphy were both looking like their mom more than their dad. As she watched her nieces and nephews playing, she never noticed the figure that was walking towards her. The figure wrapped their arms around her waist and placed a kiss on her head.

"Hey beautiful, what are you doing?" They asked as Melanie placed her hands on top of theirs.

She rested her head against the person's shoulder and looked up at them.

"Hey babe, I was just watching the kids play." She said.

"Admiring how much they have changed throughout the years?" The person asked her.

"Very much. It's weird watching them grow up, Cody." Melanie said.

"Why so?" Cody asked.

"Because I remember when I was their age and how nothing really mattered to me. The only happiness that we had at their age came from the little things that occupied our minds." Melanie said.

"I think that's how we all remember the moment when we were that young and that's something that we have to be thankful for. Now what do you say we head inside? It's almost time for dinner." Cody said.

"All right. Wanna help me gather the kids?" Melanie asked her boyfriend.

"Yeah. I call Murphy." Cody said as Melanie shook her head.

"I wonder why." Melanie said as the couple walked over to where the kids were playing.

Declan and Kenyon, Melanie's nephews and Shane's sons, were both playing with Aurora and Murphy when Melanie and Cody walked over.

"Hey guys, it's time to head inside for dinner." Melanie said.

"Yay!" Declan responded as Melanie and Cody laughed at him.

"Let's go inside." Melanie said as the boys nodded their heads.

Kenyon reached for his auntie and so did Aurora. Melanie picked the two kids up and noticed Murphy looking at Cody. She noticed the smile Murphy gave Cody and watched as Murphy rushed into Cody's arms.

"Unca Cody!" She squealed out.

"Hello baby girl, ready to eat?" Cody asked as he picked her up.

"Uh huh!" Murphy responded as Cody laughed at her.

"Well then let's head inside, baby girl. I'm sure your mom is waiting in there to feed you." Cody said as they all headed into the house.

"Mommy!" Murphy squealed as Cody walked into the house following Melanie, Declan, and Melanie's puppy.

Stephanie smiled at the sight of Cody holding her daughter. When it came down to who Melanie was dating, Murphy favored her Uncle Cody more than Ken. Stephanie thought it was because of the fact that Cody was more of a family man. He loved being with family not that Ken didn't like being with family. It was just that Ken tended to cater to other needs and Cody knew how to balance his family and work. Plus it was the fact that not only did Murphy favor her Uncle Cody but Aurora favored her Uncle Cody as well. The two of them had grown up with their Uncle Cody around. He helped Melanie take care of them.

"Hey baby girl. Are you giving Uncle Cody a hard time again?" Stephanie asked as Cody handed Murphy to her.

"Nah uh!" Murphy replied as everyone laughed.

Melanie put down Kenyon and Aurora who ran around the house. Cody stepped closer to Melanie and wrapped his arm around her waist. Stephanie smiled at the two. They were adorable together. She was happy that Melanie was happy again. Deep down in her heart, Cody was the right guy for her sister. He had always been there to protect her and take care of her. Especially when it came down to the night where Melanie had found out that Ken had been cheating on her.

"Well we should get to eating dinner." Stephanie said.

"Oh yes of course." Melanie said Cody let her go.

Cody and Melanie reached for each other's hand and followed Stephanie towards the dining room where they met the rest of the family.

Hours later...

Melanie stepped out of the bathroom dressed in pair of baby blue boy-shorts and a matching baby blue camisole. She walked over to her dresser and pulled her hair out of its ponytail before brushing through it with a comb. Cody walked into the room and smiled at the sight before him. He missed watching Melanie get ready for bed. That was something they had used to do before she had dated Ken and way before he had gotten with Brooke. Things back then seemed to be so complicated for them that once they started dating again now, it felt like the past was meant to stay in the past for them. Melanie stopped brushing her hair and placed the brush down. She was going to get on the bed when she jumped at the sight of the person who was in the room.

"Goodness Cody, you didn't have to scare me like that." Melanie said placing a hand over her heart.

Cody shut the door and looked at her sheepishly. He walked over to her before wrapping his arms around her.

"Sorry. I was just taking in the wonderful beauty in front of me." Cody said as Melanie blushed.

"Cody." Melanie whined as he placed kisses all over her shoulders.

"What?" Cody asked innocently as he guided them over to the bed.

"Why do you do that?" She asked as she climbed onto the bed and watched as Cody got on after her.

"Because it's the truth." Cody said as they both got under the covers.

"It just feels weird hearing you say it." She whispered as Cody pulled her closer to him.

"Cause it's been a while since I've seen you getting ready for bed." Cody said kissing her.

"Uh hmm, I love you." Melanie whispered as she ran her hand through Cody's short hair.

"I love you too, baby girl." Cody said as he reached over to turn the light off.

Melanie snuggled closer to Cody as he rested his head close to hers. Cody kept his arm wrapped around her and placed a kiss on her head. He listened to her breathing steady as she fell into a deep slumber. He loved the fact that he was able to be in her life again. She had meant everything to him and losing her was the one thing that he had hated himself for. He had never meant for them to drift apart and he had never meant to hurt her. Things had just gotten complicated and that's why he had turned to Brooke. But he knew now that Melanie was the important thing in his life now. It would be all about her and making sure that she had everything she wanted in her life.

He wanted everything to be perfect for her because of what Ken had put her through. It wasn't fair to Melanie that she was the one being loyal in the relationship while Ken was sneaking around behind her back. Cody thought back to the day when Melanie had called him to come over to her house.

Flashback

Cody walked around the house trying to get to his kitchen so that he could grab something to eat. He was starving and after tonight's match all he wanted to really do was relax. He wanted to enjoy the couple of days that he had off. It was rare for him to have a couple of days off because there was always something that Legacy was needed for. That was something that Cody was getting used. He loved being part of Legacy and was enjoying his time while being part of it.

Strolling past the living room, Cody finally got to the kitchen and walked over to the refrigerator. He was just about to open it when he heard his phone playing, "Sunshine" by Lil' Flip and Lea. He knew exactly who was calling him. He pulled his phone out quickly and answered the call.

"Hello?" He said into the phone.

"Hi. I know this is a big favor to ask but I need you to come over." He heard the voice responded over the phone.

From the way that her voice sounded, he figured that she was crying. He quickly looked around for his keys before responding to her.

"All right. I'll be there in a few minutes." He said as he hung up the phone and quickly looked for all of his belongings that he needed.

After gathering everything that he needed, he rushed out of the house and struggled to get into his car. Within a couple of minutes, he was on his way to Melanie's house. He wondered what had gotten her so upset that it led her to call him? He was thankful for whoever allowed her to do that because he wanted to talk to her about things as well. He wanted to express how he really felt for her. He loved her and he had figured that out the hard way. He knew that through Brooke, it was then that he realized that Melanie was the one for him. She had always been the only girl for him. They had each other's back since the very beginning.

They had met back when Cody was only starting to train for the WWE. Melanie was also training because she felt that this was a good way of defending herself when she was in trouble. And the truth was that Melanie was really training because she wanted to allow herself the ability to fight back if she ever saw her ex-father or had an encounter with him. It was something Vince had wanted for her ever since he had taken her into the McMahon family.

They had built a strong friendship because they had felt so comfortable with each other. Cody knew everything about her and she knew everything about him. There wasn't much that they could hide from each other. They trained together everyday until Cody made it into the WWE and made his debut on Raw. By then, Melanie was done with her training as well and that's how everything started for them.

Cody looked around at the houses till he spotted the familiar car sitting in the driveway. He pulled up slowly into the driveway next to the car and turned the engine off. He grabbed his stuff and got out of his car. Looking at the house, he never realized how much he missed being inside of it. This was where he spent most of his time when he wasn't on the road. Though he was occasionally at home with his family too. Melanie would sometimes spend time with his family too.

Finally getting to the door, Cody pushed the doorbell and waited for Melanie to open the door. It felt like he was waiting for a long time before the door opened and that's when he saw her. He saw the redness in her eyes that sent him a signal that something was wrong. She had been crying. He wanted to know what was wrong. She moved out of the way to let him into the house. He stepped into the house and watched as she slowly shut the door. He dropped his stuff before looking at her again. Her tears were coming down her face. He walked back over to her and pulled her into his arms. He didn't need to know what happened. He knew that all she needed right now was someone to take care of.

"Come on, let's get you upstairs. The girls over?" He whispered.

He felt her nod her head. He didn't know how he remembered that Aurora and Murphy were over. He just happened to remember it within the moment. It must have been because of all the times that he had been over helping her watch them. He loved them just as much as she loved them.

"Well then I'm assuming it was nap time for them since the house is quiet?" He asked trying to lighten the mood.

Melanie looked up at him and gave him a smile. He smiled back at her before they started to walk up the stairs and towards her room. When they got to her room, he watched her get situated on the bed. She was waiting for him to come lay next to her.

"Let me go check on Rorah and Murphy. I'll be back." Cody said as he made his way over to the room that Melanie used as the girls' room.

He opened the door and smiled to himself. They were both still asleep or so he thought. When he walked over to fix the blanket that covered Murphy, he heard a voice whispering to him.

"Unca Cody?" He heard from behind him.

He turned around to see Aurora standing up in the playpen across from Murphy. He walked over to her and picked her up.

"Hey baby girl. You're not tired anymore?" Cody asked.

"Me want my baba." Aurora whispered.

"Did Auntie Mel make you an extra bottle?" Cody asked.

Aurora nodded her head and wrapped an arm around Cody's neck.

"All right let's go get it downstairs. I'm sure she left it in the fridge." Cody said.

Cody walked out of the girls' room and headed downstairs towards the kitchen. Aurora was resting her head against his shoulder trying to get herself comfortable. Cody rubbed her back slowly as he walked towards the kitchen. He walked over to the fridge and opened the door. He noticed that Melanie had rearranged the way things were in the fridge. There were bottles labeled for Aurora and then bottles labeled for Murphy. He reached for one of Aurora's bottles and unscrewed the lid. walking over to the microwave, he noticed that Aurora now had her head up in excitement.

"Baby girl, are you excited to see your bottle?" Cody asked laughing.

Aurora looked at her Uncle Cody strangely.

"No! Me excited to see you." Aurora said as she wrapped her ting arms around his neck to hug him.

Cody almost wanted to shed a tear when Aurora had said that. He had missed her and Murphy so much. He guessed the reason he cared so much for them was because he had in some way helped to raise them. He helped Melanie watch them countless times and he loved them both. They were very special in his hearts.

"I'm happy I'm here, baby girl." Cody said kissing her head as they heard the microwave go off.

"Baba!" Aurora squealed as Cody laughed.

He opened the microwave and pulled the bottle out. He screwed the lid back on and made sure that the milk was just right. That it wasn't too hot for Aurora to drink. When he was done checking, he handed the bottle to Aurora who took the bottle quickly and placed it in her mouth. Cody laughed at her again and fixed her position in his arms so that she was in a laying position. He walked them back to the girls' room and placed Aurora down in the playpen.

"Get some sleep, baby girl." Cody said as he watched Aurora slowly close her eyes again.

He smiled at the sight. He knew that one day he wanted to have his own kids who he would love and care for the same way as he cared for Aurora and Murphy. Walking out of the room, he shut the door and made his way over to Melanie's room. When he got inside he chuckled to himself at the sight before him. Melanie had fallen asleep waiting for him. He slipped off his shoes before laying next to her where she instantly curled up at his side.

"What happened?" He heard her whisper to him.

"Rorah wanted her bottle so I went to make her another one. She's asleep now though." Cody said.

"Thank you." She whispered as he pulled her closer to him.

"It's nothing, Princess. I missed you." He whispered kissing her head.

"I missed you too." She whispered as she reached for his hand.

"Do you wanna talk about it?" He asked.

She looked up at him. She reached for her phone and showed him the picture. He couldn't say that he was shocked at the picture. Everyone knew that Ken had been cheating on Melanie but no one wanted to tell her. No one thought that she deserved to get hurt. She was too kind to deserve anything like that.

"I'm sorry, Princess." Cody said.

"I'm okay. I'm better off without him." Melanie said.

"That's right. Now let's just talk about it later. You get some rest." Cody said.

"Thank you, Cody." Melanie whispered.

"It's nothing, princess." He said kissing her head again.

*End Flashback*