Closure

It had been about five months since Ellie and AJ's divorce was finalized. They had seen each other here and there when they brought the kids to each other and such, but they never really had the chance to talk about how things would go from here. Of course, Ellie had no reason to dislike AJ or anything like that, he was great to her and the kids and tried his best, so did she. There was no bad blood between them...well at least she hoped. She wanted to remain friends with him because regardless, they had children together and would see each other. Heading into a local coffee shop where she agreed to meet AJ at, she just found an empty table and took a seat. She waited for AJ and sent him a text to let him know that she made it already and then she took a sip from her water bottle as she waited for him to arrive.

AJ was almost there and finding parking when he got Ellie's text. He was glad that this wasn't some big, ugly, messy situation. They just drifted apart. Yes, it was sad and yes it did affect their kids, but it definitely could have been worse. He parked and found her table, smiling at her. "Hey." he said as he went to sit with her. "How you doing?" he asked, taking his sunglasses off and setting them on the table.

"Hey." she smiled. "I'm good." she chuckled. "How about you?"

"Exhausted." he admitted. "But good." he smiled. "Thanks again for letting me have Ajay and Maddie for the weekend." he smiled.

"Well of course." she said. "I wouldn't keep them from you."

"And believe me, no one appreciates that more than I do." he admitted. "Jeff mentioned you started seeing someone." he noted, no hint of anger or jealousy but of just curiosity and confirmation.

She nodded. "Well, it's still pretty new but yes." she said.

He nodded. "Good for you." he said with a small, genuine smile.

"Thanks." she nodded. "The kids get along with him and vice versa, but I always remind Maddie and Ajay that you're their Daddy and nobody could ever take that away from you."

He smiled at that. "Thank you." he said sincerely. "I appreciate that...but I am glad you're with someone the kids get along with. The two things you just said would have been my only requirement...oh and as long as it wasn't Chris." he joked with a chuckle.

She laughed. "No way, that'd be too weird and I would never even think about him like that. Gross." she chuckled.

He laughed with her. "Next time I see him, I'll tell him you think he's gross." he snickered. "But I'm glad you were able to find someone to make you happy...I'm sorry I couldn't do that for you and be there for you and the kids as much as I should have." he said softly.

"AJ..." she said as she shook her head. "You did make me happy and you were there for us as much as you could be. I understood that work would be hectic and such, but after a while...it was frustrating because I was starting to feel...lonely, you know? We both tried, but things happen for a reason."

"I know...but I never apologized for what I put you guys through before." he told her. "and yeah...shit happens. you're right." he said with a slight shrug.

She nodded a bit. "I would like it if we could still be good friends though." she said. "We'll be in each other's lives forever." she chuckled a bit.

He smiled at that. "We are going to be good friends." he told her. "You can't get rid of me that easy." he winked.

"Good." she chuckled. "I wouldn't want that anyway...we were good friends before we got together anyway."

He nodded. "That we were." he smiled. "My WWE contract is coming to an end soon..." he noted.

"Oh? Are you going to re-sign with them?"

"I'm thinking about it...but that's what put me in a bad place with you and the kids in the first place...and Dixie's been in contact with me. TNA would be a lighter travel schedule and I'd still be able to wrestle. So I'm weighing my options."

"Well whichever one is better for you, I think you should go with it." she said. "Staying with WWE is great money wise and such, but I don't know...I think if I were in your shoes I'd go to TNA. Like you said it is a lighter schedule, you still get to go out there and wrestle...plus you have a lot of your friends there. That's just my opinion though."

He nodded. "I know...I think I'm leaning more towards TNA myself." he admitted. "and it be better for me to be a part of the kids' lives more...and ultimately they come first."

She nodded. "Plus, they obviously would want to stay with you longer if they visit Disney over there." she joked.

"This is true...and I would have the Wizarding World of Harry Potter." he laughed. "Though you may ditch the kids and make me take you." he teased. It was obvious he didn't mean it as a date but just because he knew her.

"Duh. I'd go all decked out too." she chuckled.