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Nora Reso giggled as she sat at the head of the table, a long-stem glass of red wine in her hand.
"To us!" she exclaimed as a toast.
It was the one day off that Nora, her husband Jay, and their friends Adam and Amy Copeland, Shane and Stephanie McMahon, Kurt Angle and Torrie Wilson, had this week. Tomorrow, they would all be back on the road with the WWE, but tonight, they would enjoy this wonderful dinner party.
"I'll drink to that!" Kurt said with a small smile, his gaze shifting to his girlfriend, Stephanie. The brunette, in turn, after taking a dainty sip of her own wine, reached up to pat the Olympic Gold Medalist on his now bald head. It had been just over two years earlier that Angle had competed in a hair vs. hair match against Edge at the Judgment Day pay-per-view. Adam had been reluctant to compete in it, but not because he'd feared getting his own long blond hair shaved off - he'd felt for having to do that to Kurt. But his buddy hadn't minded, and, in fact, Stephanie had expressed a desire to see him shave his head.
"I hope everyone likes dinner..." Nora said, a sheepish expression on her face. "I spent all day cooking."
"Hey, I did half of it!" Jay exclaimed, a playful pout on his face as he regarded his wife.
The diva smirked as she shook her head, her shoulder-length brown hair shaking slightly. "Peeling the potatoes doesn't count, honey."
"I guess Jay's not a master chef like my Shane, huh?" Torrie teased, her blue eyes sparkling as she gazed at her boyfriend, also Stephanie's older brother.
The dark-haired man eyed the platinum blonde sweetly, then grasped her hand, raised it and pressed a kiss to the back of it.
"Nope," Adam answered for Nora, a mischievous grin spreading across his face, "ever since I can remember, Jay could never cook. Though he tried a few times back when we were roommates in college."
"Hey!" the short-haired blond Canadian snapped. "Shut up, Adam!"
"I get it..." Nora said, her blue eyes merry as she turned them back to her husband. "A real disaster in the kitchen, huh?"
"Oh, you can say that..."
"Nora, this is *delicious*!" Amy spoke as she sampled her first bite of the broiled chicken. "You've outdone yourself..."
"Aww, thanks!" the brunette said with a smile.
Dinner was pleasant all around, what with the delicious food, pleasant company, and just an overall good feeling that overcame Nora. She was so happy - something she'd hardly imagined possible just three years earlier. Three years ago had been pure hell...
As she ate, she shook the unpleasant thoughts from her head, not wanting to dwell on them. Now was especially not a time for such unpleasantries, as tonight was all about fun, friendship and love. The people gathered here at her and Jay's house were family.
The sound of a baby crying could suddenly be heard from one of the bedrooms beyond, and Amy stood up.
"Angelina is awake - I'd better go get-"
"Nothing doing, angel..." the redhead's husband cut in. "I'll get her - you just stay here and enjoy your dinner." Then, before his wife could utter a single word in thanks or protest, the tall blond man rushed off to go to their eight-month-old daughter.
"So..." Stephanie spoke, a soft smile on her face. "Are you ladies excited about the upcoming photo shoot?"
"Definitely..." Amy said. "I think I can speak for Nora and Torrie when I say we're *all* looking forward to a trip and shoot such as this one." The WWE would be touring the beautiful country of Italy, and there was to be a divas' photo shoot in Venice in the midst of it. And even though they'd be working, it would be like a vacation - a second honeymoon even, in Nora and Jay's and Amy and Adam's case.
"Here she is!"
Everyone looked up to see a returning Adam, the blond man grinning as he carried little Angelina into the room. The baby was no longer crying, and was now making little happy sounds. Nora smiled at the sweetness and sheer beauty of the little girl, who'd inherited an equal mix of traits and characteristics from both her parents. Angelina Christine Copeland had her father's blond hair and her mother's hazel eyes, and Nora could only imagine how much more gorgeous she would be when she was a little older. She could hardly wait until she and Jay had a little one of their own - but for now, she preferred to put that on hold because of her career.
The baby was suddenly reaching one small, chubby arm out, and Adam chuckled.
"You want Aunt Stephanie, do you, sweetie?" He rose from his seat beside his wife and crossed to the opposite side of the table, where the brunette held out her arms and gratefully accepted the infant.
Nora and Jay exchanged happy glances at the adorable display.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Later, after everyone had gone home, he was relaxing in bed with a magazine, while she was nestled beside him watching the eleven o'clock news.
"You really looked cute tonight, the way your eyes just lit up when Adam brought Angie in..." Jay said, tweaking Nora's nose.
"Mmm... Did I? Well, I guess I can accept that..." She leaned over to kiss him, but it was cut short.
"Nor...?" Jay frowned at the odd expression that was suddenly on her face.
"Oh, my God..." The brunette's heart nearly stopped its beating, her face grown white as a sheet. "Did you *hear* that, Jay?"
"Huh? What?" he asked in puzzlement.
"No... It can't be! It just *can't*!"
"Nora, what is it? Come on, you're scaring me!"
She turned to fully face him, the horrendous fear all too evident in her blue eyes.
"The... the news - I could swear the anchorwoman just said Paul Levesque escaped from prison..."