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"Hey, Rips?" Damian didn't have to raise his voice to get Rhea's attention. He towered over everyone else in the corridor and his voice felt like thunder. He quickly caught up with her and drew her over to the side. "Have you and Liv been in the clubhouse?"
Rhea blinked in confusion. "What? Like today? No. I haven't even seen Liv yet today. Why?"
Damian raised an eyebrow. "You sure? Because the couch is looking a little bit haggard, if you catch my drift. And most of the pillows are missing, so I thought you and your girl might have been busy...."
"That was one time, Priest," Rhea countered, blushing slightly. "And we used a blanket every time after that and I paid the props department back for the pillow."
Damian's laugh drew the gazes of everyone walking by. "I hope you kept that pillow too. You saw how much someone was willing to pay for a piece of paper you licked. Imagine what they'd pay for a pillow you and Liv fu—"
"We didn't—nevermind," Rhea said brusquely. "It was... collateral damage. It happens. Don't tell me you've left all your hotel rooms spotless."
"Hotel rooms, no. A staged room for TV promos?" Damian slung an arm around her shoulders. "Okay. If you and Liv didn't... damage the pillows, then at least help me find them, because I'm not paying to replace them."
Rhea shrugged. "Dom's the youngest. We'll make him cover it." She followed him to the Judgment Day clubhouse set anyway, though she would have preferred catching up with Liv first. "Maybe someone needed a nap?"
"Maybe. But I'm sure Props has—hold up." Damian stopped suddenly, gripping her shoulders so she did the same. "The door's open."
"So? Maybe someone's bringing the stuff back. Was the room clean the first time you saw it," Rhea asked, "or did you only see it when it was already a mess? Maybe the Props guys aren't done setting everything up yet."
A high-pitched giggle bubbled out of the room and Damian glanced over at Rhea. "You know anyone on the Props crew that laughs like that?"
A moment later, one of the couch cushions emerged from the room, gripped by tiny hands; a small pair of army-style boots was just visible below. "I got it, Auntie Liv!" Then the hands lost their grip and the cushion dropped to the floor, revealing Roux's surprised face. "Uh oh. Auntie Liv!"
Liv poked her head out of the clubhouse, holding another cushion. "Oh... hey, babe. Hey, Damian." Her smile wavered slightly. "What's up?"
Damian crouched down slowly and grabbed the couch cushion Roux had dropped. "Whatcha doing with this, little queen?"
Roux quickly looked up at Liv. "I... nap. Yeah. I'm taking a nap."
Laughing, Liv came over and ruffled Roux's curls. "It's okay. Uncle Damian only looks scary. He's really a big softie." Then she crouched down too and mock whispered, "I bet if we asked nicely, Uncle Damian and Auntie Rhea might even help."
Roux scampered around the cushion Damian was now holding and went over to Rhea, tugging on her hand. "Help, please?"
Rhea lifted her onto her hip. "Help with what?"
"We're building a pillowfort—" Liv began.
"Nap shack!" Roux declared.
"A nap shack," Liv corrected herself. "Roux thought we must get really tired from wrestling, so she thought it would be nice to have a spot where we could nap."
Even Rhea had to admit it wasn't a bad idea. Between their travelling schedules and their constant aches and pains, most wrestlers would probably appreciate a quick nap when they weren't needed on screen. She wasn't entirely sure why someone couldn't just sleep on the couch as it was, but she was willing to play along. "So where is this nap shack? I might need to sleep later." When Damian coughed emphatically, she smacked him with her free hand.
"Catering," Roux replied proudly. "Nap and snack! Snack and nap!"
"Nap and snack shack!" Liv sang along. "Talk about a winning tag team, huh?" When Damian gave her a dubious look, she added, "I already checked it out with Pearce. There's no filming in Catering tonight, so we're all good."
"You know, some kids make lemonade stands...." Damian tossed the cushion in the air and caught it easily, smiling at Roux's awed expression. "But I like the sound of a nap shack better." He leaned down so he could meet Roux's gaze. "Yeah, I think me and Auntie Rhea could help out."
Roux's eyes went wide. "Yes please!" Then she turned in Rhea's arms, gently playing with Rhea's ear tunnel. "Yeah?"
Rhea smiled as she set the little girl down. "Yeah, I'll help too. It's been a long time since I built a pillowfort, though," she said, "so you'll have to tell me what to do."
That made Roux perk up even more. "I'm good at that!"
Damian chuckled as he followed them into the clubhouse. "I bet." He set his cushion by the wall and looked around the room. "Let's see. Do you have a blanket?" He pointed to one of the Judgment Day blankets that was hanging from the wall for decor—and to promote the merchandise. "When I used to make pillowforts, we always had a blanket."
"You fit in a pillowfort?" Liv teased. "You mean you weren't five feet tall by the time you were six years old?" When Damian turned to her, she ducked behind Rhea.
Roux looked around the clubhouse again before tugging on the last remaining couch cushion. "We need these," she declared. "And... the blankie?"
"On it." Damian reached up and detached the blanket from its clips, draping it around his shoulders like a cape. "I bet Cody has some blankets too. He's got all the good stuff."
"And Pharaoh?" Ever since Roux had met Cody's dog, she asked about him constantly.
Rhea shook her head. "I don't think Pharaoh's here today, sweetheart, but I'm sure if you talk to Uncle Cody, he'll say hi to him for you."
"Okay." Roux went back to directing traffic, asking her aunties and uncle to collect various things. Rhea didn't want her to feel left out, so she carried one end of a cushion while Roux carried the other. They must have made a strange sight, heading to Catering while laden down with couch cushions and blankets, but most of the backstage crew were used to having kids around now. When Roux spotted Cody at the coffee table, she waved. "Hi, Uncle Cody! Hi to Pharaoh!"
Cody immediately set his coffee down and went over to Roux. "Hi, Roux! What's all this for?"
"Nap shack!" Then Roux looked up at Damian. "He says you have blankies?"
Cody didn't miss a beat. "You need blankets? I am on it." He gave her a solemn salute. "I'll be right back." The he grabbed his coffee cup and headed down the corridor that led to the merchandise area.
"Pretty soon the whole roster's going to be involved," Liv remarked. "By the time Becky and Seth are done their shoot, they're going to wonder what's going on."
"Then we better get making this nap shack, right?" Damian set his cushion down and looked at what Liv and Roux had managed already. "You know how to set up a table," he complimented her. "This is really good."
"What do you expect from a kid born to two wrestlers?" Rhea quipped. She helped Liv sort out their newest collection of supplies.
Catering wasn't too busy at the moment and Liv had wisely picked an unused corner of the room, but most of the wrestlers who came in were still glancing over with a mixture of curiosity and amusement. Some had children themselves and no doubt recognized the grave import of making a pillowfort, or maybe they simply remembered making one when they were a child themselves. Cody returned as promised with three American Nightmare blankets and, of course, a plush Pharaoh. "I know you already have one for at home," he said, handing the stuffed dog to Roux, who hugged it instantly. "But this one can stay on the bus with your mom and dad and take care of them when you're not there. Then they won't get lonely."
Roux kissed the spot between plush Pharaoh's ears. "He'll need hugs, though."
"He will. You'll have to tell your mom and dad to kiss him goodnight too," Cody agreed. Then he knelt down and gave her a hug. "I'll talk with your mom and see if you guys can all come over sometime during the holidays and visit Libby and Pharaoh and Auntie Brandi. Would you like that?"
"Yes, please!" Roux hugged him back and made plush Pharaoh kiss his cheek before he stood up. "Thank you, Uncle Cody!"
By the time Becky and Seth were done with their commercial and had finally tracked their daughter down to Catering, Damian had reconfigured the tables—under Roux's direction, of course—and Liv and Rhea had helped her arrange the couch cushions and pillows. The Judgment Day and American Nightmare blankets were at odds in terms of colour schemes, but Roux was delighted with her nap shack. "Look, Mama! Look, Daddy!" Tucking plush Pharaoh under her arm, she ran over to her parents and pointed excitedly.
Seth raised an eyebrow at Liv. "And where did you get all this?"
"Uncle Cody gave me a Pharaoh! For the bus!" Roux declared.
"And he contributed some blankets," Liv answered helpfully. "The rest was... borrowed from the Judgment Day clubhouse."
"Which means we might need it back at some point," Damian pointed out, "because they don't usually set it up if we're not shooting in there. I'll go check with Creative." Then he crouched down beside Roux. "Thank you for letting me help with the nap shack."
"Thank you, Uncle Damian." Roux gave him a cautious hug and stepped back to Rhea after he left. "Thank you, Auntie Rhea!"
"Any time, sweetheart." Rhea crouched down and looked inside the pillowfort. "So who gets the honour of the first nap?"
"Me!" Roux hopped over to Auntie Liv, had plush Pharaoh give her a kiss, and stood in front of the entrance. "Night night!"
Becky's eyes widened in surprise. "But the snack table's right there...."
"Nap then snack," Roux declared, crawling into the pillowfort.
The adults all shared a look and shrugged, and Liv was the first to give in to her curiosity, peeking inside. Sure enough, Roux was curled up with her new Pharaoh under an American Nightmare blanket. "First time she's been on the road with you guys in weeks," Liv marvelled, "and she wants to nap."
Seth shrugged. "Growth spurt. Her legs have really been bugging her lately. I remember how much it could hurt. My mom used to rub this cream on them. It smelled horrible, but it made my legs feel better for a little while, at least."
"Thanks for watching her, Liv. We appreciate it." Becky came over and hugged her. "I owe you one."
Liv shook her head. "Nah. It's fun. Although maybe you can help me put the Judgment Day clubhouse back together. Roux and I did make a bit of a mess."
Becky grinned. "Probably not as much of a mess as when you and Rhea—"
"It was one time!" Rhea protested. "Roux's got the right idea, hiding from all of you...."
Liv came up and kissed her. "Aw. Do you have pillowfort envy? We can make one at the farm this weekend." Then she went on tiptoe and whispered, "And you can ruin as many pillows as you want."