Soul Of A Lion

A Warrior fanfiction

Enjoy.

The sound of a blaring alarm clock shattered the silence in a quiet West View, Pennsylvania home, a petite, soft figure rolling over to hit the snooze button. Jenevieve Eames swung her feet over the side of her bed and pressed them to the cold floor before standing tentatively with her weight on her good leg, rubbing her sore knee.

"Damn war injury," she muttered, walking into her bathroom.

She emerged with her toothbrush in her mouth to walk down the hallway, going into her oldest child's room and sitting at the foot of his bed. "Its time to get up Shane. Come on sweetheart, up," Jen said, ruffling his hair. Her six-year-old son groaned and she empathized with him, knowing he dreaded their early mornings as much as she did. "I know bubba, but we gotta do it." Once Shane was up, she went to wake the twins, bending down over Henry's crib to lift the already awake toddler onto her hip. "Good morning my darling. Mommy loves you," she said, pressing a kiss to his cheek before placing him on his feet and allowing him to toddle out of the room. "Henry's on his way to you Shane!" Jen turned her attention to Dakota and smiled, rubbing her daughter's stomach to wake her up.

With all of the kids up and moving she went to the bathroom and finished brushing her teeth, running a comb through her curls before piling her dark burgundy locks on top of her head in a loose bun. Jen pulled on a black skirt and a nude-colored top, standing in her closet as she struggled to choose a blazer. "Hey Shane-"

"The purple one," he shouted, Jen chuckling and sighing. She pulled on her blazer as Dakota came down the hallway with a dress in her hands, holding it out to her mother. "Help?" Jen smiled and knelt down to pull her daughter's nightgown over her head, her daughter shaking out her curls before holding her arms up so that her mother could get her dressed. Jen then pulled Dakota's hair into a ponytail, checking her watch before cussing loudly. "Come on Shane, Henry!"

"Mommy, you said a bad word," Dakota said as they ran down the stairs, Jen picking up her nude pumps as she rushed to pack their lunches. "I know honey; mommy's going to put herself in time out as soon as we get home today," the panicking mother said, stepping into her shoes before grabbing her purse and the twins' book bags. She shuttled the kids outside and into the car, making it Shane's school and into downtown Pittsburgh in record time through morning traffic.

She and her two young children ran down the sidewalk from where she parked towards her office building, entering through the closest entrance through the garage.

The twins began to fight over who got to call for the elevator and she sighed, reaching out to press the button herself. She shifted her weight from foot to foot, glad when the doors began to open. The man inside the elevator looked up at her, smiling as he moved over to give her some room, "Morning Jen. Looks like you're in serious need of a cup of Joe."

"You have no idea," she replied breathlessly, smiling. "You have the file for our nine o'clock?"

"Right here in my hand," her coworker said, holding out a manila envelope out to her. Jen smiled even wider and took a deep breath, "Good boy Adam."

They got out on the third floor where the daycare was, Adam waiting for her as she took her children to the woman running the center. She checked them in and bent down to say goodbye, fixing their book bags and their hair hurriedly. Her son let out an anxious noise, patting my hands away as he smoothed his hair back down and wrinkled his nose at me. "Mommy, you messed my hair," Henry said, pouting. Jen smiled apologetically before kissing his forehead and Dakota's cheek, "Be good guys. I love you."

"Love you back."

Jen stood and the children waved to her before going to play with the other children, the young mother still finding it hard to tear herself away.

"They're cute kids," Adam said as she returned to the elevator, Jen beaming at him proudly.

They made small talk before the elevator opened to the marketing floor where Ms. Eames was a powerhouse at Bayer USA, smiling as a woman came to meet her with a fresh coffee in hand for her. "Caramel mocha, just how you like it: three sugars, two creams, one shot expresso," Jen's new assistant said, swallowing nervously. She took it and thanked her, looking at the tall woman waiting in front of her office.

"Danielle Pearson," Jen said warmly, embracing her.

"Jenevieve Eames- you look great in Armani. Now, lets talk business."

It was much later in the afternoon when Jen went to scoop up her two youngest children, knowing that she only had a short amount of time to get to Shane's school before wrestling practice let out.

She pulled up at the school at five-thirty, knowing that she was in trouble for being late.

Jen got out of the car to run over to the gym doors, seeing Shane's coach standing there. "Hi Coach Wallace, I am so sorry about being late-" The man looked up from his clipboard, a confused expression on his face, "Ms. Eames? I thought that your husband had called you?"

"My husband," Jen asked slowly, her heart starting to race. "Wait- where is my child?"

"He went home with his father," Coach Wallace said, a fearful look coming into his eyes. Jen found it increasingly hard to breathe, pressing her hands to her hips and inhaling a few times before she could find it in her to speak. "So you, just let some man you have never seen before who claimed to be my husband come up to this school and take my child without any consent on my part?"

The coach backed away a step, feeling helpless, "Shane went to him and hugged him like he hadn't seen the man in years."

"Because he hasn't."

The father and son walked down the street hand in hand, Shane beaming up at the man who looked just like him. "I've missed you daddy," he said, the older man pushing open the door to Shane's favorite ice cream shop. He helped his son up on a barstool and took a seat beside him, ordering a Coke while Shane decided on what kind of ice cream he wanted. "Well, I've missed you too buddy. I'm sorry I haven't been able to come home- daddy was working and things kept coming up… I'm just sorry Shane," he said, ruffling his son's dark hair. The young boy ordered a sundae and looked at his father, smiling again. "Mommy will be happy to see you, daddy. She cries a lot because you're gone- ooh, and you'll get to meet Henry and Dakota too!"

"Who are they, kiddo? Your friends," the man asked, curious as she sipped at his Coke.

"No, they're my brother and sister," Shane said absentmindedly as he tucked into his ice cream.

He knew things had probably changed in the past two years since he'd seen Jenevieve, but the realization that she'd moved on and ended up with some shmuck who had knocked her up twice really pissed him off. They'd always said no matter what- and especially after Shane's birth- that they'd be a family, that they'd work all their problems out for the sake of their son. And now she had just up and started a new family- and he swore right then and there if someone had been playing daddy to his son, he'd kill him…

The sound of squealing tires on the pavement made him glare out the window, seeing Jen step out of her beloved BMW and slam the door. "Uh oh Shane, better finish that up," he said, paying the waitress and standing as his wife stormed into the ice cream shop. She glared at him before snatching their son's book bag from the counter, looking at Shane, "Go to the car. Now."

Once he was out of the crossfire she got into her ex's face, trying her best to keep her voice down and her tears at bay. "You have a lot of nerve coming back into our lives Tommy Conlon-"

"And you have a lot of nerve fucking around on me. Congrats on your little boy and girl," Tommy replied angrily, seeing how her hazel eyes widened just a fraction. Jen didn't miss a beat though and shoved his shoulder back angrily, starting towards the door, "Stay the fuck away from my family or I'll-"

"Or you'll what Jen? Get your old man to beat the shit out of me? You already know that that's what I used to do to all those other assholes that used to run up on you in the Burgh," Tommy scoffed, Jen chuckling humorlessly. She looked at her ex and half-smiled, the gesture cold. "Yeah, yeah Tommy, start talking about shit that happened ten years ago to make yourself feel better. Because the fact of the matter is that you walked out on your family: your four-year-old son, your wife and your unborn twins. And by the way, I don't need a boy to handle my shit, but you know that much already."

Jen walked out just as angrily as she had stormed in, Tommy waiting a heartbeat before going after her, "Jenevieve Conlon! What the fuck do you mean, my unborn twins? Are you… you're saying I got another son? And a baby girl?"

"Funny how much you miss when you've got your head up your ass. Fuck off Tommy."