Family Dinner
By PrincessLala95
Disclaimer: This is a WWE fanfiction. Brock Lesnar is not my character.
"What do you mean, tonight's show was canceled?"
Cancelling shows was almost unheard of within the WWE. Even when ticket sales were abnormally low, they generally still went on with the show for the sake of the few who had bought tickets. Valerie frowned as she heard Brock's words while he spoke on the phone.
"I see," Brock said. "That's fair, I guess. Weren't we supposed to have Friday's show there too, though?"
Again, silence. Valerie desperately wanted to know what was going on, but he wasn't saying anything yet.
"So we've got tonight, tomorrow, and Friday off?" asked Brock. "No, no, I'm not complaining! Just surprised is all. Thanks for letting us know. Oh, and don't worry about calling Valerie, she's here with me, I'll let her know myself. Okay, awesome. Thanks for calling. See you Saturday."
"Why's the show canceled?" Valerie asked the instant he'd hung up the phone.
"Snowstorm last night did some damage to the arena," Brock replied. "They're not fully operational and can't have us."
"That's awesome!" Valerie said, grinning. "What should we do instead?"
"Let me make some phone calls and then I'll have a plan," he said, grinning.
Brock left for about an hour. In the meantime, Valerie opened up her laptop to Skype with her brother. He was still with their parents, and apparently that night was going to be their big family dinner. "It won't be the same without grandma," her brother said to her, "but our uncle's coming, and our cousins, and we haven't seen them in ages."
"Aren't they normally in Cuba this time of year?" Valerie asked.
"Normally, but they canceled their trip since grandma passed away," her brother replied.
"I really wish I could come," Valerie said. "We've got a few days off, but Brock seems to have an idea what to do."
"That's fine," her brother said with a shrug. "You guys are in a new relationship. You should go do something fun together anyways."
She'd already hung up with her brother by the time Brock returned, and he was grinning. "Pack up, we've got to be at the airport in two hours," he told her. So, she did as he asked, and every time she asked him where they were going, he refused to say. "Oh, and don't look at your boarding pass, or at the screen by our gate," he added.
Once on the airplane, he put headphones on her so that she wouldn't be able to hear the pilot say where they were going and he recommended that she take a short nap. "You're putting a lot of effort into keeping this a secret," she said, but did as he asked. Upon landing, he even asked her to look at the ground as they went through the airport. She'd recognize the airport, he told her, and he didn't want that. So, without even so much as looking up, they went through baggage claim, got their suitcases, and he loaded her and their luggage into a cab.
"I think I'm going to go crazy keeping my eyes shut," she told Brock, so he got a scarf out of her suitcase and wrapped it around her head as a blindfold.
"I'm keeping this a surprise no matter what," he told her as he climbed into the back seat with her. He handed the driver the address on a piece of paper, apparently not wanting to say aloud where they were going, and then off they went.
It wasn't until they reached their destination that Valerie was finally allowed to look. Gently, Brock untied the scarf blindfold from around her head and a surprised gasp left her lips when she saw where they were.
"We're at my parents' house!" she exclaimed, turning towards him excitedly.
"I talked to your dad and he invited us to dinner," he said. "I hope you don't mind that I'm meeting your family without you really having a say, but they really seemed to want us here."
"I don't mind at all," Valerie said, leaning up and planting a quick kiss on his lips. "But wait, now you're going to see my childhood room!"
"Nah, your parents said they had a fold-out couch bed in the basement that we could use," Brock replied with a grin. "Why are you looking at me like that, babe? I remember thing!"
They got out of the cab and got their suitcases, and while Brock paid the driver, Valerie started up towards the front door. She hadn't even reached it yet by the time her parents opened it, eagerly grinning as they saw Valerie with Brock a few feet behind her. "You made it!" Valerie's mother exclaimed.
"We did!" Valerie replied, setting her suitcase down on the shoveled walkway to hug her parents.
"You must be Brock," Valerie's father said as the tall blond man came up behind her.
"I sure am," Brock replied as he shook her father's hand. "It's good to meet you."
"Good to meet you too," her father replied. "We've heard a lot about you."
"All good, I'm sure," Brock said with a grin.
"Come inside, come inside!" Valerie's mother exclaimed. "You two must be exhausted, you made it here in record time I'd say!"
They headed inside, and once they'd deposited their suitcases in the basement, Brock was treated to a tour of the house - minus Valerie's bedroom, of course, since she insisted on keeping her stuffed animal collection a secret for the time being - and then they all sat in the living room. Valerie's dad was very curious to hear about Brock, and asked him a lot of questions.
Valerie was excited when her uncle and his three children arrived. He was a widower, as her aunt had died a few years ago, but he was coping well and doing a great job at being a single father. They didn't see him often, since he was quite well-off compared to the rest of the family and he spent a lot of time traveling both for work and for leisure, so it was nice to see them for once.
When dinner was finally served, the table was packed. At the head of the table sat Valerie's father, and her mother sat across from him at the other end of the table. To her father's left sat Valerie's brother, and then Valerie, and then Brock, and on the other side of the table, to her father's right, sat her uncle and then his three children.
"It's a shame grandma can't be with us tonight," said Valerie's uncle when her mother stood up to go and get the turkey from the oven. "I'm sure she's with us in spirit, though, and she knows how loved she was."
"I'm certain you're right," Valerie's father agreed, smiling at his brother. Valerie also missed her grandma, but as Brock squeezed her hand, she knew that everything was okay. For the first time in years, the whole family was together for a nice holiday dinner, and to top it all off, Valerie finally had a worthwhile guest to bring with her. If that wasn't magic, then she didn't know what was.