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"Mommy! Daddy!"
Adam and Amy quickened their steps to meet Mandy halfway. Adam released hold on his wheeled suitcase and knelt down to his daughter's level, and the little girl instantly threw herself into his strong arms for a hug.
He gave her a kiss hello, ruffling up her blonde hair.
"Hey there, kiddo... We missed ya."
Amanda moved onto her mother, who picked her up to plant a juicy kiss on her cheek.
"Have you been a really good girl for Linda, Mandy?" the redhead asked with a smile.
"Yes!" came the enthusiastic response.
Linda, the nanny in question, caught up to the small family, baby Tommy in tow in the stroller she pushed. The woman greeted the parents with a warm smile.
"Thank goodness... Many just took off running the second she saw you," she said, partly out of breath.
"Mandy, you know better than that," Amy said softly but firmly. She set the child on her feet to hold her hand as they walked through the airport.
"I know." The girl shuffled her feet and avoided her mother's concerned hazel eyes.
The redhead met the gaze of her husband, who made a silent gesture with a tilt of his head. She knew he was telling her to relax, but she couldn't help herself. After all, the last time Amanda had been alone, and that had been for a mere moment, she'd been snatched away, kidnapped. Amy's mood soured at the not-so-distant memory of it. She thought she would probably never forgive her ex-boyfriend, Matt Hardy, for doing such a terrible thing. All the worry and grief he'd caused them, and all the trauma and turmoil he'd put Mandy through... Although, not so surprisingly, the little girl seemed perfectly fine, back to normal and without fear of the same thing happening to her again. Children truly were miracles in this world.
As they made it outside, into the pleasant sunshine of the afternoon, Mandy tugged on her hand. There was an adorable hint of excited anticipation on the child's face as she eyed her and Adam in turn and then back again. She couldn't help but smile.
"Can we go to the park and feed the ducks? Please?"
Amy groaned inside. Somehow, she knew her daughter would ask for something like that. Too bad she was feeling so jet-lagged.
"I'll tell you what," Adam said, reaching out for Mandy's other hand. "I think your Mommy is feeling kinda tired. How about if I take you there after we have lunch?"
"Yay!" The little girl jumped up and down a little.
Amy laughed at her reaction, and the tall blond man met her eyes and winked.
"Thanks," she mouthed to him.
They reached Linda's car and got in, the nanny strapping Tommy into the Copelands' baby carseat in the back as Adam stashed the fold-up stroller into the trunk. Meanwhile, Amy and Mandy got into the back, with the mother in the middle.
Adam and Linda followed suit by getting into the front, and they were off. The redhead sighed as she leaned back slightly, grateful they would soon be home. She was exhausted.
"Honey, you really did great in your first match back."
Amy opened her eyes and met those of her handsome spouse in the rearview mirror. He was smiling brightly at her.
"You think so? Thanks, baby," she said. In truth, she thought she'd had way too much ring rust in spite of her training and having practice matches at Deep South Wrestling. She'd had to execute one of her signature hurricanranas on Mickie during RAW the previous night, but she certainly hadn't executed it to perfection. Then again, of course nobody was perfect, but she couldn't help being her own worst critic.
"Yeah, I do," Adam said. "Hey, I bet they'll have you competing for the Women's championship in no time."
"Yeah, right," she said with a bit of a sarcastic snort-laugh. She might have believed the Canadian's praises that she'd done great in her match, but she wasn't naive enough to believe she would be getting a shot at the prestigious Women's title anytime soon. "Besides, I just returned."
"We'll see," Adam said.
Amy let out a soft laugh. It was actually a bit comical that she was arguing that she wasn't that good while her husband believed otherwise.
A few minutes later, they were just approaching the house. Amy let out a sigh again, relieved that pretty soon, she would be able to just lay down and collapse - that was, if Tommy continued to sleep as he'd done all throughout the entire car trip.
Linda parked the car in the driveway, and everyone got out. Adam retrieved the stroller and their bags, setting all on the ground. The baby somehow, blessedly, remained asleep as he was lowered into the stroller. They all made their way to the door, and Amy winced as she heard Creampuff and Princess barking up a storm from inside the house. She only hoped Tommy wouldn't get woken up.
The dogs greeted the family in the doorway, with Adam making certain to keep them inside. Mandy raced in ahead of everyone, and Creampuff chased after her. Amy closed her eyes with relief. Tommy was still, miraculously, asleep.
They all failed to notice a pair of eyes watching them from a short distance.