Part 1 of 3


She watched her walk to her door. She was carrying a tray. It must be lunch time, she thought to herself. Shit, it looked like there were two of them this time. They must not have been kidding this morning, she thought. She stayed silent on her bed with her legs pulled up and watched them come in.

“Lunch time, Olive Oyle”, the first one told her. She hated that nickname, and they knew it, so they used it as often as possible. She looked at the blonde and nodded, hoping they’d just leave the tray and go.

“C’mon. We got orders to make sure you eat. Don’t make me force you,” she said with a grin. Both of them knew that was exactly what she wanted to do. Her partner stayed silent, but had taken a step toward the figure on the bed.

“Does she understand English,” her partner asked. She looked back at the other woman, thinking maybe that was why she never talked.

“She understands real good, trust me,” the first one said with a smirk. “Eat,” she ordered her.

The object of their discussion picked up the piece of bread and put it in her mouth whole, chewed and swallowed. She looked at the rest of the lunch and knew things were going to get unpleasant, just as the first woman wanted. She sat and looked at the wall. She knew what was coming. She took a deep breath and let it out quietly.

“You better eat more than that, Olive. That ain’t good enough,” the blonde woman said with an evil grin. The second one that was closer to her, reached out and shoved her hard on the shoulder, to emphasize the other’s point. She didn’t know or care, but did know they were going to force her to eat. They had done it before and they were going to do it again, shortly. The blonde un-strapped her baton deftly and slapped in into her opposing hand, enjoying the sound it made. She smiled as she slapped it repeatedly, imagining how much she was going to enjoy herself. Her partner was much smaller, but heavier and had her brown hair cut very short, almost military short. All of the details were important to remember, she knew. She also read their name badges and had them burned into her brain.

Blonde Bitch (as she always thought of her) stepped towards her and raised her baton for a strike to her head. She could see it coming and knew how to counter it easily. She reached up, stopped the motion, flipped her wrist and sent it spinning into the opposite corner. She was not going to let them strike her without a fight.

“You little bitch!” Blonde Bitch snarled at her. The military brunette reached over and slapped her across the face. She locked eyes with her and knew it was going to get worse today. Military Brunette smiled and spoke quietly into her radio. Blonde Bitch had retrieved her baton and was ready to try to strike her again as several others arrived.

“No need for that now,” the older gentleman said with disdain as he walked through the open door. He let several others walk past him to deal with their problem child. “What’s this? Not eating today, are we? Can’t have that. You’re here for your safety and well being. It is my duty to make sure you are cared for. You must eat. If you choose not to, these ladies will force you. You now how I hate that,” he said with a small regretful sigh. She didn’t believe a word of it. She had heard him and his opinions when he didn’t think anyone was listening.

She woke with a start, drenched in sweat and shaking. Why? Oh shit, now she remembered. She reached for the call button, hoping that someone would come and help her clean herself up. She hadn’t vomited on herself in her sleep in a long time. All that was long past and she had made sure every single one of them got exactly what they deserved, saving him for last. She knew he thought he was untouchable. Bastard.

She hoped Wease wouldn’t stir when they came in. He needed his sleep and she didn’t want to worry him any more than he already was. The nurse came in and quietly asked her what she needed. She pointed to herself and her bedding. The nurse looked surprised, but nodded silently. She returned several minutes later with a new gown and many wipes and a towel to help in the clean up. She drew the curtain around her bed for privacy, but stayed to help her. She hadn’t realized she had a curtain around her bed before. The things she never noticed she thought, as she started to clean herself up. Once she had changed her gown and cleaned herself up with help, the nurse drew back the curtain. She saw that Wease was awake and looked concerned, but didn’t ask. She was thinking back to all the bruises she saw on herself as she changed gowns. Where the hell did they all come from, she wondered.

“Think you’ll be okay,” the helpful nurse asked her small patient. She received a nod in response. “Let me grab you something to eat, you need to put something in that empty tummy,” she said.

“Thanks, just some jello or fruit would be nice,” she said quietly. Damn, now Wease would know, she thought to herself. And if he remembered, he would know exactly what had happened. She hoped he didn’t remember why it originally started. The nurse left with an armful of soiled linens, smiling at her patient as she left.

“Care, no. Not that,” he asked her quietly as he looked into her eyes, seeing his answer before she said anything. She shrugged, she didn’t want to talk about it and worry him. “Have you talked to Mike?” He would have been very surprised if she had.

“No,” she said in a small voice. He shook his head, knowing how stubborn and private she could be. How long would it take for her to trust Mike enough to share some of that stuff? He didn’t think Mike would shy away from her, but she did. She thought everyone would be repulsed if they knew. He wasn’t even sure if Kris was aware of all of it. He thought he’d try a different tack.

“Why tonight? Why now,” he asked her. She shook her head signifying, he thought, that she didn’t know. “Want another candy bar? I gotta grab something for myself to snack on anyway,” he said with a grin as he tried to tempt her.

“Sure” she said quietly. He could see that she didn’t care one way or the other right now, but wanted him to feel useful. They understood each other too well. He’d bring her one for later, just in case. She watched him walk out the door, knowing that he was just trying to be kind. She didn’t want to talk about it, with him or with anyone. She was stewing about that as her door opened again to admit Mike. She was surprised, she wasn’t expecting him.

“Hi Babe,” he said quietly, surprised to see her awake. She smiled at him as she recognized the fact that he was in desperate need of a shave. She didn’t know what time it was, but he had his morning stubble. She loved his scruffy, rough face. He walked over to her bedside, moving the other chair close. He reached for her hand as he sat down.

“You all alone,” he asked her quietly.

“No, Wease is making a candy run for me,” she said as he took her hand and brought it to his lips gently. She pulled her hand away and rubbed his rough cheek with a smile. “You trying to tempt me or something,” she asked him quietly. His brows knotted for a brief second.

“No, sorry. I can’t find my shaving stuff. I’ll probably have to go to the store later,” he admitted.

“Mmmm, too bad I’m in here,” she grinned at him. He grinned back and wagged his finger, indicating she was a bad girl. They were interrupted from any further conversation by the nurse returning with a small container full of orange jello.

“This is all I can find at this time of the morning. Hope it’ll do for now,” she said as she noticed the other man. He looked at her and what she brought with a slight frown but stayed quiet. “You okay for now, sweetie,” she asked as she prepared to leave. She received a nod from her patient.

“Thanks, for everything,” she said as the woman was leaving.

“Orange jello at four am, is this some kind of new pregnant lady craving? Do I need to stock up on it,” he asked her with a smile as he opened it for her. She shook her head and took her spoon so she could eat it and help settle her empty stomach.

“Carrie, I need to tell you something. I did something without your permission and I know you’re going to be pissed at me, but I...” Mike was interrupted from saying anything else by Wease walking through the door. They grinned at each other.

“Is my shift over? I thought I still had a few more hours,” Wease looked at Mike.

“Nah. You’re the man I was just talking about anyway, asshole landlord,” he said with a grin. Wease chuckled at Mike. Mike saw Carrie look from one to the other, not sure what was going on.

“Did you tell her yet,” Wease asked him.

“Just getting to it and you got here in time to bail my ass out,” Mike said to her brother with a smirk.

“What’s going on, you two,” she demanded as she waved her spoon at them. Mike took a deep breath before he tried again.

“Babe, I moved out of my parents’ house finally. Wait, before you say anything,” he said because she had opened her mouth to comment, “let me finish.” Wease watched in silence as his sister complied. It was something that didn’t happened very often. “I decided I needed to get serious and contacted your asshole landlord for a key.” At that announcement she narrowed her eyes at her traitorous brother but stayed quiet. Wease grinned back at her.

“I moved some of my stuff into your place because that’s where I need to be. I want to be able to take care of you and I sure as hell can’t do that very well from my parents’ house. I’m picking up some of my other stuff tomorrow, I mean today, with Dave’s help,” he finished and reached for her hand. She pulled it away. She took a deep breath before she said anything. She glared from one side of her bed to another, making sure both knew she was not happy with either one of them.

“What makes you think I want to share my place with you,” she said quietly. Mike blinked and opened his mouth to speak, but she stopped him by holding up her hand.

“I live alone on purpose,” she said evenly. She was too tired to be as furious as she would normally be, but she was still mad and wanted him to know it.

“Care, that’s not very fair,” Wease scolded her.

“Who said I had to be fair,” she replied with some fire in her voice. She struggled into an upright position.

Mike was stunned, he had expected her to be irritated, but not like this. It didn’t matter, he decided, he wasn’t going to budge on this. Look what happened last time. She ended up here. Nope, he was going to be more stubborn than her on this, especially since they weren’t just talking about her anymore. Wease saw Mike straighten his shoulders a little. He smiled to himself as he thought, here it comes.

“Carrie, I’m not talking about just taking care of you. I’m talking about taking care of those babies, too. You might not care, but I damn sure do,” he glared at her. Wease put his hand to his mouth to hide his smile. This was very interesting, he thought. Carrie looked at him and saw the stubborn set to his chin and just glared at him.

“I don’t want anybody taking care of me. I can do it all by myself, damn it,” she said loudly.

“Yeah, right,” Mike said sarcastically. “That’s why you’re here. You did such a good job, Babe. Shit, next time….well there won’t be a next time and you better get used to it.” He glared right back at her and waited her out, knowing he had more stamina than her, this time.

She dropped her eyes eventually and looked at her bruised hands. “Why are you being such an asshole about this? I like living alone,” she said quietly.

“Carrie, I think you like living alone because it’s easier. You don’t have to deal with stuff, with life,” Mike said quietly. Both men saw her eyes tear up and knew he’d scored a direct hit.

“Please leave,” she said eventually. Wease got up and grabbed his stuff without a word, knowing that Mike wasn’t going to budge. He could already tell that by his scowl. Carrie might not see it yet, but he did. He’d go home and get a little extra sleep while he could. He had some things that she had asked him to do later and he was gonna do his best to do them. Mike watched her brother leave in silence, knowing that wasn’t who she meant. But he wasn’t going anywhere, not this time.

“Do you feel better now that you’ve chased your brother away,” Mike asked her as he saw her tears start.

“no,” she said in her small voice. He reached for her hand and wouldn’t let her pull away.

“Carrie, I don’t know all of your demons, you’ve obviously got more than I know about, but I’m here. I’m not going anywhere, no matter what you say. Hunter warned me what he’d do to me if I did. I might not be scared of Dave, but Hunter…that’s another story,” he smiled at her.

She felt a smile start, in spite of herself. She could imagine the kind of thing Hunter had threatened Mike with. She knew most of his favorites, some of them weren’t anatomically possible, but they sure sounded painful anyway.

“When did you talk to Hunter,” she asked him, shifting the topic from the living arraignments.

“Yesterday? Today? Whatever. He called Dave. He chewed his ass first, then he chewed mine. But that was after Ric chewed both our asses,” he grinned at her.

“What?” she exclaimed. Ric wasn’t known for that, at least not to her.

“Oh yeah, Babe. He made sure we both knew how disgusted he was with us, Dave and me. I thought Hunter was the tough one, but Dave straightened me out on that one,” he said remembering. She frowned, not really understanding him correctly.

“Ric yelled at both of you,” she asked him, in case she didn’t understand. He smiled and nodded. “Damn it. I thought now that I wasn’t traveling with them they’d let me live my own life,” she said and paused. She sighed, knowing that their actions belied her hopes.

“Carrie, Dave tells me you’re always going to be Evolution’s Little Sister, so you better get used to it,” he said as gently squeezed her hand for emphasis.

She looked down at her bedding, not sure what to say to that. She’d never had so much family before. It was always just Wease and her, plus Kris and her folks.

“You ready for your candy bar, Babe,” he asked her with a sly wink.

“You sure you want to live with me, Mike? You see what a bitch I am,” she asked him shyly. He blinked at her abrupt change, but accepted it and nodded. “I’m not sure how much fun it’s going to be for you. I’m used to living by myself. I like my space and quiet. I don’t like to talk all the time, you know that,” she looked at him.

He sighed, he knew. He wished he could get her to talk more. He knew that many of his buddies had the opposite problem, trying to get their women to shut up once in a while. He didn’t see that happening with her, any time soon. She reached out and rubbed her palm over his cheek and chin. She felt the abrasiveness against her skin and loved it. She looked into his eyes as she realized for the first time that he wasn’t going anywhere, not matter what she tried or how hard she pushed him away. She hoped he would still feel that way if he ever found out the truth about her, the whole truth. But she doubted it.

“Yeah, I feel the need for a chocolate fix,” she said quietly. He grinned as he handed it to her, looking at her, loving her, even now, after their little disagreement.

That thought stopped him for a moment. That was their first fight? He didn’t count the ones where he did all the yelling and she stayed mute. Is that how she fights, he thought to himself. He could get used to that. No name calling, no having to dodge things thrown at him. Just disagreement and terse words, then drop it. He could definitely get used to that.

“Carrie, did we just have our first fight,” he couldn’t help asking her. She looked up at him quickly and smiled. She couldn’t say anything because she was right in the middle of her sweet snack.

“Babe, my mom is dying to help you, help us. She knows I moved myself in. But she doesn’t know the whole reason you’re here, yet. I just didn’t want to step in that shit with her, right now,” he admitted.

He watched her as she relaxed and her hand relaxed its hold on his. It didn’t take very long before she fell asleep. He sat back in the chair and knew he had some serious thinking to do. He was right when he described her as changeable, no wait, mercurial to ‘Taker. She wasn’t ever going to be boring, that’s for sure. He wondered how his buddy dealt with it on a day to day basis. He knew Dave was usually very patient and tolerant, but even she must push him past his limits some times. He knew that she did that to himself, many times. How did the rest of the guys in Evolution deal with her. Hell, how about the guys from his poker game at Smack Down? They all admitted they looked out for her too. He questioned if she knew how many people she had watching over her, ready to step in at a moment’s notice.

He woke up as a nurse or something, he couldn’t tell who was what, pulled some of her bags down and didn’t replace them with fresh ones. That’s a good sign, it must be, he thought to himself. He looked at the man that had the empty bags in his hands and threw him a questioning look. He was rewarded with a smile, but nothing else as the man left. Mike thought seriously about getting up and getting a cup of coffee, but wanted to wait until her next visitor showed up. He didn’t have long to wait, Darlene walked through the doors, right on time at six am. She gave him a smile as she spotted him. He stood up and gave her a hug. He knew she’d be by Carrie’s bed side all day, making sure she ate something. He knew Dave and he had arraigned to meet up at his house at nine. It gave him enough time to get some coffee and breakfast and get to the gym. He knew today was going to be a test of his patience.

***

He pulled up to the curb and waited for Dave, feeling as prepared as he could after his workout to face his biggest demon. He wasn’t sure what he had that would be useable, except he had some gym stuff and tools he wasn’t leaving behind. Plus he hoped to snag some of his kitchen stuff. His mind drifted back to the last song he heard on his player at the gym. Yeah, those guys had it exactly right.

You think your head's achin'
I'm not finished yet
I won't be mistaken how soon you forget
Take back what you said and I'll spare you pain
Then you can spare me all your fuckin' lies
I can't wait to get away
I ask you twenty more times
Don't you hear a thing
Your testing my patience again
Godsmack - Stress

Dave knocked on his window, startling him out of his reverie.

“You ready to do this thing,” Dave asked him as he jumped out.

“Yeah, as ready as I’ll ever be,” Mike said as he took a deep breath and walked towards his front door with boxes in his arms. Dave had snagged a few boxes out of the bed of his truck as he followed Mike to the front door.

Mike turned the key in the lock and stepped into what used to be his home. The thing that hit both men first was the stench. Dave looked at Mike and grimaced but stayed silent. Mike couldn’t quite identify all the smells, but some of it was rotten food, that much he could tell. As they stepped into the main living area, they both saw what was left of his white leather couch. Dave looked at Mike and saw his jaw clench at the shredded couch. He turned silently and went into the kitchen. The small kitchen had dirty dished stacked on every surface. David looked at his friend and saw him clench and unclench his jaw. He knew he was furious.

“Hey, you want a piece of gum,” David asked his buddy. Mike nodded but didn’t make a sound. He hoped the gum would incapacitate his sense of smell. He set down his boxes and opened the cupboards. He saw most of his valued items were still there and proceeded to load them in the first box. Dave looked at him and asked if he wanted any help. Mike shook his head and continued loading the box with his favorite kitchen necessities.

“I’ll go in the garage and get started there,” Dave said as he walked away. He walked into the garage, prepared for the worst, having seen the kitchen. He flipped on the light and took a quick look around. Not much change or damage done that he could see. He was surprised. He didn’t know where Lisa was, but her car was there. He hoped for Mike’s sake she wasn’t home. He opened the door so he could begin loading stuff into his truck. Mike was busy loading up his second box in the kitchen and didn’t hear her walk in.

“Did you come back so we could finish making up,” Lisa sneered at him. “I am kinda hungry, sweetheart. Why do you make me something as an appetizer then we can see about lunch,” she purred at him in her t shirt and panties.

She reached out her hand and ran her fingers across his shoulders as she licked her lips, remembering. He didn’t react to her touch. Instead, he focused on his task of loading items in boxes. She thought she’d up the stakes by stroking herself, then him. She knew he used to love it. She slid her hand into her panties and groaned loudly for him as she imagined what he was going to do for her as a lunch time treat. He flicked his eyes over to her and saw her actions. He quickly bent back to loading up the next box carefully as he chewed his gum furiously. It didn’t take her very long until she was at a fever pitch, in part because she had been interrupted by the front door opening. Her groans brought the other occupant of the house out to see what was happening.

“Baby, you said you weren’t going to start without me,” Sara said from the hallway. She could see Lisa and a kneeling man from her view in the hallway. Mike glanced her way but continued his task. The sooner he was out, the better.

“You know me better than that, honey. I was just warming up for our lunch time treat. Mike was nice enough to drop by so we could have a lunchtime frolic,” Lisa leered at the man in her kitchen.

Mike paused in his packing for a moment as her heard her words. No fucking way, he thought. He thought about saying something, but realized it would be easier if he stayed quiet and concentrated on his treasures.

Sara chuckled, “That was thoughtful of him, wasn’t it.” She licked her lips as she thought about the treat they were in for. She remembered Mike. She could imagine what he’d do to them. Just thinking about the possibilities made her nipples hard in anticipation. Since she hadn’t bothered with a bra, her state was evident to everyone.

Lisa looked over at her lover and friend and smiled an invitation to join her in the kitchen. She reached out her hand to the man that was kneeling near her and caressed the side of his head, signaling him she was ready. He ignored her and looked quickly around to check for more items. He saw a few more behind her that he didn’t want to part with. She grabbed for his hand and he held it in place, not letting her put his hand where she wanted. Her brow furrowed in confusion. She was ready and wanted him, why wasn’t he responding the way he was supposed to. He always had before. Maybe if she tempted him more, she thought. She looked over at Sara and smiled before she lifted her shirt off so he could have access to her tingling breasts.

She flicked her hand over her sensitive breasts as she looked at him and whispered, “Sweetheart, don’t make me wait, you know how upset it makes me.”

She sighed loudly and started to groan as she slipped her hand into her panties again. Sara smiled her appreciation of the scene. She was content to watch the first time. Mike didn’t look up or react to the invitation. The thought of being any where near her was enough to make his skin crawl. He tried to stifle a shudder, but didn’t. Lisa saw it and misinterpreted it as an excited shiver.

“Yes, sweetheart, yes,” she mumbled as she felt her orgasm overtake her as she thought about the promised coupling in the near future. Sara stayed silent, but her breathing was ragged because she was enjoying the sight. Lisa always did that to her, she knew. She didn’t care if she had to share her, particularly with this man. He looked like he could satisfy both of them to their hearts content. Just thinking about it caused her to gush in her panties, she knew.

Lisa reached out a hand to steady herself on Mike. He recoiled from her touch. She disgusted him, the sight and scent of her repelled him more than he thought possible. He had stayed quiet during the few minutes that Lisa had been in the kitchen, knowing that if he started to say anything, he would loose control and end up yelling and he knew he didn’t want to do that today. She looked incredulous at his reaction. She frowned as she thought about it. He came over so they could have sex. That’s what they did, she knew. Understanding slowly dawned on her as she looked at the packed boxes at her feet. No, it couldn’t be happening again, she thought furiously. She wasn’t going to be dumped by him again. She switched into angry bitch mode faster than a blink of an eye, she was not going to take being rejected again without a fight.

“What do you think you’re doing,” she spat at him. He continued to pack his last box without granting her a look. She waited and tapped her bare foot, expecting an answer. She couldn’t believe the gall of him coming back and taking her things. Sara stopped her own pleasure for a moment as she watched. She smiled as she thought she might get to see an even more exciting encounter. A little violence was an added spice and she started to sweat in anticipation.

“I asked you, what the hell do you think you’re doing,” Lisa yelled at him as she stepped up and looked in his face.

“Just getting my shit before it gets ruined,” Mike finally said quietly, not rising to her bait. He could smell her and was disgusted that she hadn’t taken a shower in a few days. He chewed his gum furiously but stayed quiet.

David heard some voices and finished tying up the last of his load and walked back into the house, following Lisa’s voice. He found her in the kitchen clad only in her panties, staring at Mike. She looked like she was ready to pick up some of the dirty dishes and throw them at him. He glanced around and saw another disheveled woman in the hall. Sara’s eyes widened in appreciation of Lisa’s thoughtfulness of bringing two large men for their lunch time tryst. She knew she just wet her panties again, thinking about it.

“Hey, buddy. You need some help,” David said blandly, ignoring the unknown woman. Lisa whirled around at him and threw what she had in her hand. He ducked and heard the plate break against the wall.

“Nice one,” he smiled at her. Damn, now he knew what some of the other smell was, it was her. Disgusting.

She looked back at Mike and saw he was still gathering things and packing them up. She grasped his shirt, begging for him to stop. She wanted him to look at her, acknowledge her. He didn’t and she got even angrier. She glanced at the over flowing counters, looking for something else to throw.

David saw her grab at Mike and watched him ignore her. He knew that pissed her off. He closed the distance between them so she was sandwiched between them; not touched but definitely contained. Her eyes flashed as she realized her predicament and she flung the nearest thing to hand at Mike. The bowl of old spaghetti hit him in the face and David heard a crack. Lisa stopped in her search for the next thing to throw because she heard it too. Mike paused for a moment, wiped the goo from his face and started on the next box. The kitchen was suddenly overflowing with packed boxes.

“Dave, can you take those boxes,” he looked at his buddy through his profusely watering eyes and bleeding nose. David could clearly see his nose was broken and knew that it hurt like hell. He’d had that done a few times, most recently in the ring. He remembered breaking Mike’s nose once when they were kids.

“Let me get you a towel first,” he said to his bleeding friend. Lisa hadn’t said a word, just looked from one man to the other. Neither of them paid any attention to her, it was like she wasn’t there at all. David reached around his friend and grabbed some paper towels and handed them to him after he folded them up.

“God damn it Mike! Look at me,” Lisa yelled at him. Mike glanced at his friend as he held the paper towels to his face. David shrugged, letting him know he’d follow his lead on this one. Mike looked back at the disheveled and dirty woman that he had wasted more than ten years of his life on with disgust. What the hell had he been thinking all those years and how could he have been so damn blind flashed through his head.

He sighed before he said, “Okay, I’m looking at you.” She blinked, she expected an attack in retaliation, not the calm voice that spoke to her.

“What the hell are you doing, coming in here and taking all my stuff,” she yelled at him. She wasn’t ready to give up her fight. Sara watched from the hall and smiled at her friend’s tenacity.

“Lisa, I own this house. I own most of this stuff. You are staying here only until I sell it. You don’t own anything besides your car. I‘m not sure you even own that. None of that matters. All that matters is that I’m here to pick up some of my stuff so I can get out of here and never see you again. You make me sick and I don’t ever want to have see or smell you again,” Mike said in a deadly quiet voice.

David’s eyebrows rose at his last comment, but he stayed quiet with several boxes in his arms. He could see Mike was going to have at least one black eye before the end of the night. It was hard to tell through some of the goo he still had on his face.

Lisa was so enraged that she reached past him and grabbed one of the kitchen knives and walked in to the living area and started slashing the once pristine white leather couch. Both David and Mike watched her for a few seconds before they picked up the rest of the boxes and walked out through the garage.

As they were putting the boxes in the back of Mike’s truck, he asked David, “Did you get my stuff out of the garage?”

“Yeah, she didn’t touch any of it, I don’t think. All your tools and stuff seemed to be there,” he told his friend. “You need to get some ice on that, bud. It swelling and soon you won’t be able to see well enough to drive.”

“I know, hurts like a bitch too. Didn’t you break my nose once, asshole,” he grinned at him.

top

end

Part 2 of 3


Carrie looked up from her unappetizing dinner and stopped as she saw Mike walk in. Wease saw her face and turned to the door also.

“What the hell,” he asked Mike as he continued into the room.

“Don’t ask. I went and got my stuff from my house today,” was all Mike said as he sat down and took her hand. She looked at his face, noting the bruising and swelling.

“Broken nose,” she asked him. He nodded. She sighed.

“I thought Dave was going with you,” Wease asked him.

“He did. He ducked, I didn’t,” Mike said with a small smile. His face and nose throbbed like hell, but he couldn’t take anything for it until he was ready to go to bed for the night. The clinic had said it would take several weeks for it to heal and at least a week for him to be able to breathe and move without sharp pain. They wanted him to see a specialist, but all he allowed them to do was set it and insert some splints. He just didn’t want to mess with it. At least that unpleasant chore was done he thought, referring to picking up his stuff and dealing with Lisa.

“Your mom called me and said she was dropping by this evening,” Carrie informed him. He was confused. Kris said she wasn’t going to give her cell back to her for a few more days yet. She saw his brows knot at the news.

“She called my room,” she clarified. That made more sense, he thought. She hadn’t been home when they went back to unload his stuff into a corner of their garage. He wasn’t sure if he was up to facing her in his current state. He was certain Dave had told Kris by now, but he wasn’t up to dealing with his mom.

“Maybe I should just go home,” he said quietly. He knew he still had some unpacking to do and it was going to take him a long time with his face throbbing like hell.

“Big baby,” she teased him and smiled.

“Babe, my mom takes every injury to her kids personally. I’m not sure I’m up for that, too,” he said. He paused before he said, “Football season was the worst.”

Wease grinned at him, he could only imagine. Several quiet moments passed before the lady herself walked in. She smiled as she saw Carrie, then she looked at her grown son.

“Michael, have you been in a fight again,” she asked him. She always thought he was in brawls, especially when he and David were bouncers years ago. He rarely had to fight, especially since he only ever bounced part time. Val leaned over and kissed Carrie on the forehead, while still waiting for an answer from her son.

“No, Ma. This is compliments of Lisa. I went and got my stuff today and she wasn’t too happy about it,” he said in a gross understatement. Val peered at her son closely to see if there were any other injuries she wasn’t being told about. Wease was gathering his stuff, preparing to leave, partly because it was time and partly because he was having a hard time hiding his grin. The phone by Carrie’s bed rang and startled all of them. Mike reached over and handed her the phone.

“Hello,” she said quietly. Everyone watched her face as she smiled and said, “John, how was NASCAR? Did you get to drive?”

Mike turned to his mom and Wease and motioned for all of them to go outside and give her some privacy. He missed Carrie’s surprised look at his action. Wease took the opportunity to say his goodbyes and go home. His sister had given him some more stuff to do tomorrow and he was looking forward to it, he realized.

***

Val waited until Wes had left before she looked up at her son with her hands on her hips and said, “When did you think you were going to tell me Carrie was pregnant?” His face hurt like hell so it took him a moment to realize what she had just said.

“What? How did you know,” he mumbled.

“Michael, did you forget how I met your father? You might not understand the coding on her bracelet, but I do. Is she talking to the baby’s father right now,” she asked him frankly. He reeled back for a moment, trying to collect his thoughts before he stepped in to more shit.

“Um, not sure. Doubtful. I think I am, since she’s got more than one,” he said with a wag of his finger.

“Michael, that’s not possible. You told me a long time ago that you made sure you couldn’t have any because of Lisa,” she reminded her dim witted son.

He smiled as best he could through his swelling, “Ma, I went and got that taken care of recently.” Her eyes widened at the prospect and she wrapped her arms around his ribs and hugged him.

“Does she know?”

“What? That she’s pregnant? Pretty sure she knows that, Ma.”

“Michael, if you weren’t hurt, I slap you for that. No, does she know you might be the father?”

“Yes, I think she hopes that I am. I know I do.” He was going to say something more, but her serious look stopped him.

“Michael, this is very serious. Very serious that she was so dehydrated and pregnant.” He nodded, slowly so his face didn’t hurt quite so much. She looked up at him, assessed his swelling and knew it hurt and it was going to hurt worse tomorrow. “Mike, why don’t you go home honey? Put several zip lock bags of ice on your face and just go to sleep. Did you get an x-ray?” At his slow careful nod, she continued, “Just nose, not orbital?”

“No, just nose. Hurts like a bitch though,” he admitted.

“Did they give you anything for it,” Val continued in her mother mode.

“No, Ma. You know how I hate that shit. I’ll just take some Tylenol or Aleve and lay down.”

“Well, lay down with some ice on your face, honey. You’re going to have a pair of black eyes to match your nose tomorrow. I’m surprised they let you wander in here, looking like that.”

“Nobody saw me, I think. You’re probably right though. I should just go home. I feel as shitty as I probably look.” Val nodded, thinking her son was making a wise decision for once. “Ma, Carrie doesn’t know that you know. I told her I wasn’t ready to tell you and I wasn’t. But I forgot that you haven’t always been just a mom.” She frowned at his words.

“Just a mom? It’s the hardest job that I’ve ever loved so don’t go degrading it and me,” she said as she looked up into his purpling eyes. He sighed and hugged her good night and asked her to tell Carrie that he’d gone home for now. Val watched him go and shook her head at her oldest son. Until recently, he had been quiet and unhappy, unhappy for years she knew.

She waited until it was quiet on the other side of the door before she slowly pushed it in and stuck her head back in. Val noticed that Carrie wasn’t on the phone anymore, but she was far away. She was deep in something, not noticing that the older woman had entered her room again.

“Mind if I join you,” Val asked the mother of her possible grandchild. Carrie refocused herself and smiled at the older woman.

“Please. I am so bored,” she complained.

Val smiled knowingly. Hospitals were boring places, but when you start to get bored, it usually meant you’re getting better. That was how she always thought of it.

“I chased Mike home so he can put some ice on that pretty face of his,” Val smiled as she pulled up a chair.

“Oh, okay. He looked like he hurt just breathing,” Carrie said. Val reached for the other woman’s hand in a similar gesture of her son’s. Carrie noticed the similarity, but stayed quiet.

“Carrie, I don’t know if you want to hear this, but I’m going to ask you anyway.” At Val’s words, Carrie tried not to show it, but she got apprehensive. “You realize that getting run down isn’t something you can allow to happen again, isn’t it? Unless of course you don’t want to be pregnant,” Val finished and waited. Carrie blinked, remembering Mike’s words that he wasn’t going to tell his mom yet.

“How did you know? Mike said he wasn’t,” was all she got out before Val waved her quiet.

“I was a nurse, a long time ago. But they still use the same coding on expectant mothers bracelet’s,” she said simply. Carrie was stunned, she had no idea, no idea about her previous vocation or about some of the gibberish on her id bracelet.

Changing course briefly, she giggled with the older woman, “That’s why you used to treat your own kids and get upset when they’d get hurt,” she said to Val.

“Did Mike tell you that? You heard some of the stories at the picnic, but that’s only a fraction of the headaches he used to give me. He and Dave used to get into so much stuff, it’s a wonder to me either of them survived. There were times when I would’ve like to have finished the job that they started, believe me,” she said emphatically.

“Rachael and Matt aren’t like that, are they,” Carrie worried, thinking of the babies she carried.

“Oh honey, I’m afraid they are. Why else would my second son jump out of airplanes and think it’s fun? Rachael seems to have grown out of it or at least slowed down now. But she used to do similar things too,” she smiled, knowing what was in store for the woman in front of her if in fact Mike was the father of her unborn babies.

“Can I say that I cancelled my order and I think I’d like to change my mind,” she said with a smile for the potential grandmother.

“You can try, honey. But I don’t think that’s going to work very well. No, we just have to make sure you take care of yourself. Mike told me he moved in with you, finally.” Carrie frowned at her tone, she didn’t understand it. Most parents wanted their grown children to be married before they set up house, or so she thought.

Val saw her look and asked her, “Why do you look like that? Most women love to have their men take care of them. Mike has been chomping at the bit to take care of you for months. I know, I’ve had to listen to his tirades.”

“It’s just that…it’s just I like living alone,” she said lamely.

Val squeezed her hand briefly and said, “Carrie, in a few months you won’t be alone, ever again, for years. Trust me, I know. It’s not just eighteen years, it a lifetime.” At Carrie’s worried look she tried to explain it better. “You’ll always be someone’s mother, no matter what. No matter how old your child is, no matter who they grow up to be, you’ll still be their mother.”

Carrie felt her eyes burn and knew she wouldn’t be able to stop herself in time, so she didn’t even try. Her tears trickled down her cheek as she thought of Val’s words. They had many different meanings to her. It was terrifying to her to know she’d always have someone relying on her, but it was also upsetting that no matter what she did or what else happened she still had a tie to her own mother. She was almost certain that Mike hadn’t told his mom about any of her history, so she knew that Val wouldn’t understand all of her reasons for her crying like a big baby, again. The damn hormones were really pissing her off and throwing any amount of control she thought she had out the damn window.

Val just held her hand and stroked her arm for comfort. She couldn’t hug her, she still had too much equipment attached, but she stayed next to her and let her come to grips with all of it.

“I think I saw a coffee stand in this place. Would you like some tea? I’m going to get myself some,” Val told the younger woman who had finally dried her tears. She nodded and smiled her thanks as Val left on her errand. Val was so much like Louise in many ways. No wonder their boys were friends, Carrie mused. She guessed that Val was going to take care of her as much as Mike and as much as Kris and as much as Darlene. Just thinking about all of that made her want to scream, she wasn’t used to being the center of attention and accepting help from others. She better get used to it, she knew because all of them just wanted her to be healthy and happy.

Another thought intruded itself, one that she’d been pushing away for a few days. Would she still travel with David, if she stayed well? She wanted to, because his schedule with the new show was different and they were still learning things and ironing out the rough spots, as she called them. But just thinking about being around all those men, many of whom would also want to protect her, baby her and generally drive her absolutely insane with their kindness was almost too much to think about. Killing with kindness was very appropriate for her. She wasn’t very comfortable with it, but knew the reasons and the origins. It didn’t help, but at least she knew. Val walked back in with two cups and Darlene was with her.

“Look who was hanging around the halls, causing trouble,” Val giggled. Darlene grinned back at her as she hugged her adopted daughter.

“You look better sweetie. How’re you feeling,” she asked.

“I am so bored. I’ve read everything Wease brought me and I’m still climbing the walls. Kris won’t bring me my cell or computer, so I just sit and cry half the time,” Carrie admitted.

Both older women understood, and smiled at her. Val handed her the tea and sat down. She looked at her iv pole and saw what was still dripping and thought she must be getting ready to be discharged soon, but she stayed quiet in case she was wrong. Things had drastically changed since she was in the medical field, she reasoned.

“Tell me what’s going on with you two, please. No one tells me anything, they just want me to sleep, but I can only do so much of that,” she said in exasperation. Darlene chuckled, knowing that Carrie would want these days back once the baby was born. Oh wait, babies, she corrected herself. Darlene shared with them the doctor’s prognosis of Melissa and how well she was doing, but it seemed that her hearing loss was permanent.

“It hasn’t seemed to slow her down any,” Carrie said as she sipped her green tea. She didn’t really like green tea, but knew it didn’t have any caffeine in it so she’d better get used to it.

“Yes, I know. She’s a real pistol, she keeps her mommy on her toes, to say nothing of her grandparents,” Darlene chuckled.

“Yeah, but don’t I remember Mike telling me she has her daddy wrapped around her little finger,” Val chimed in. Carries grinned and nodded.

“I think he’s surprised the older kids with his dexterity and determination at learning sign. I don’t think they gave their old dad enough credit,” she said. She remembered helping David with the first few words and letters, but once he started to get it, he was off and flying and signing away to his youngest child.

Darlene shared with both of them tales from her recent cruise of the Mediterranean and all the different sights and foods. Both were very interested to hear how Neal handled all the changes. It was well known that he was a home body, liked things the way they were and didn’t really like change.

“Honey, that old man of mine just got bit by the travel bug. He was already making plans for next year,” Darlene shared. Several enjoyable hours passed as the ladies swapped stories and generally caught up with each other’s family happenings. No one realized how late it was until Wease walked in. He was surprised to see them but smiled as he walked over and kissed his mom and hugged Val.

“Sorry, I can come back later,“ he said in reference to the laughter he heard as he walked in.

“No, no. We were just leaving. We’ve stayed too long already. It was good to see you, dear,” Val said to Wease as she walked past him towards the door. He smiled at her, he liked Mike’s mom.

“I’m going, too. Your father will think something has happened if he doesn’t see me soon,” she smiled at the two. She told Carrie to take care and follow doctors orders, knowing she would try her hardest not to.

Wease sat down in his chair again and was just getting ready to flip open his computer when Carrie spoke up, “You going to let me check my emails?” He sighed and handed her his portable.

“Okay, but I’ll drag it away from you in half an hour,” he warned her. She spent many minutes just flipping through, skimming. She saw she had many emails from friends, wanting to know how she was. She’d probably just send out a big blast and get it done in one, instead of trying to answer all of them separately. She saw she had a couple from Old Man, but didn’t get to read them because Wease reached over and took it out of her hands.

“I told you,” he said as he shut it off. She frowned but nodded, knowing he was right. She could spend hours and hours reading, but she wouldn’t get any rest. She knew she better get out of the bed for more laps before she went to sleep, so she flipped the covers back and stood up on her own, amazed at how much easier it was getting. She had less bags on her iv pole too, so it made movement easier.

Wease also noticed, “You want me to come with you?” She shook her head, she’d just walk the floor and be back shortly, she knew. She managed to do three laps this time, last time was two so she was getting better, she acknowledged, even if her boredom didn’t tell her that already. She pulled the covers up and looked over at Wease as he tapped away on his portable.

“Thanks, thanks for letting me use it,” she said as she drifted off in to a black hole of dreamless sleep. Wease nodded and watched her fall asleep quickly. She was definitely getting better. She had more color, she was moving almost like herself and she lost that gaunt look she had. She was still too skinny, but she didn’t look like a victim of some kind of abuse, which she definitely did when she was admitted, Wease reflected.

top

end

Part 3 of 3


I've been drivin' all night, my hand's wet on the wheel
There's a voice in my head that drives my heel
It's my baby callin', says I need you here
And it's half past four and I'm shifting gear

When she's lonely and the longing gets too much
She sends a cable comin' in from above
We don't need no phone at all
We've got a thing that's called radar love
We've got a wave in the air, radar love
Radar Love - Golden Earring

“Honey, Min I’ll be okay. This is what I do. I wouldn’t go back if I didn’t think I was ready,” he said to the beautiful lady that was fussing over him like a mother hen. He knew she’d hate it if she knew that’s what he thought. He knew he was ready physically and he was itching to get back in the ring and shake some of the rust off, but he really had enjoyed his uninterrupted time with her and didn’t want it to end.

She had watched him pack that morning, watched him put all his gear in and his clothes. She paid particular attention to his ring gear, not all the stuff that the fans saw, the protective gear he wore underneath the big black cape.

“Min, I’ll be back in five days honey. I promise,” he reached over and tilted her chin up to look in his eyes. “I promise,” he said seriously.

She looked at him and nodded, knowing that her eyes were glassy with unshed tears. He knew the time had been coming for the office to recall him, since he had let them know he was fit and ready. He was upset that he was going to miss her graduation, but that couldn’t be helped. She’d earned it. Her brother, sister and her parents would be there he knew, but she had wanted him to be there too. He cursed the travel demands of his job, not for the first time, but knew there was nothing he could do about it this time.

He wasn’t back in five days. The office had other plans for him and booked him to do many appearances on his off days. He remembered he had to call her and tell her he wouldn’t be home for at least another week.

“Min, I promise, I’ll be home as soon as I can. They got me going all over the damn place this week. I’ll call you every night, honey. I miss you,” he heard silence on the other end. “Carrie, honey,” he asked.

“Yes,” she said in a small voice that worried him.

“You know I miss you,” he asked her.

“No,” she said quietly.

“Why would you say that,” he asked her, as he started to get seriously concerned.

“I think…I think this is just some way…some way for you to not have to tell me…” she stopped.

“What? You think I like being away from you? Are you crazy? You know how much I love your bed baby, especially when we’re in it together. Why would you doubt me,” he asked her.

“I don’t know. It just seems too unreal, I guess,” she said even quieter.

He had to shut off the TV in his room so he could hear her. Shit, she was so together most of the time, but then she’d have moments like this and he didn’t know what to do.

“I’ve decided I’m moving,” she said out of the blue.

“Oh,” he said trying to diffuse the situation.

“Yeah. I’ve decided I’d like to move to Arizona ,” she said as she pulled a state out of her ass. She thought she needed a change of scenery, since she didn’t need to stay in the cold north east any more because she was finished with school, at least for now.

“Okay,” he said cautiously. “Do you need any help Min? Arizona is a beautiful part of the country, big difference from home for you. Is that what you want, a change,” he asked her. He noticed that their conversation had shifted from him coming home to her moving away, but stayed quiet about that for now.

“Oh I don’t know. I wouldn’t want to be a burden, I can do it myself,” she said.

“You’re not a burden no matter what you think, Min. I love you and want you to be happy, honey. If moving to Arizona will make you happy, then let’s do it,” he said.

“Why are you really staying away, baby,” she asked him quietly.

He sighed before he answered her. “For the exact reason I told you. I don’t have any free time this week at all. If I could steal a day and come home to you, I would. You have to know that by now honey,” he told her seriously. She was silent on the other end.

“How do other couples do this thing? It’s hard. I miss you. I feel like a big baby, but I miss you,” she said finally.

He blew out his breath, relieved that she finally told him what was really bothering her.

“It is hard, honey. But as long as we can talk to each other, we can do this thing. Next week there’s a show in Phoenix . You want to fly out and check out the city,” he asked her.

“Is it a TV show? I don’t think I’d want to go if it’s for TV,” she said. He was surprised by her admission but accepted it. He’d ask her about it later.

“No honey, it’s a house show, lots more fun and loose. I still get to be me, but it’s a lot more fun. You’ll have fun, you’ll see. Can I count on you to be there, Min? I want to share this part of my life with you, too. I don’t expect you to come to all of them, but I’ll enjoy knowing that you’re watching me this time.

“Yes, I’d like that. I think it might be fun,” she said quietly, hoping she’d have a good time, in spite of herself. “Baby,” she asked him.

“Yeah Min,” he said with a smile, knowing something big was coming; it always did just when he thought they were done.

“Don’t you dare hurt yourself while I’m there. I don’t want to have to come out of the stands and kick your ass myself,” she giggled.

“Wouldn’t dream of it honey,” he chuckled.

He met her at the airport and swept her up in his arms, as desperate for her as she was for him. This was why he ached, he knew. He’d never felt like this with his ex wife, so he wasn’t too sure what to think of it at first. But he’d had more time than he would’ve liked to figure it out in the last two weeks. He was head over heels in love for the first time in his life.

“Baby, tell me your hotel isn’t far,” she whispered in his ear as he held her.

“No, it’s close. Might not be close enough, but we’ll have to try,” he chuckled as he set her back down so they could go to the car park.

The hotel was only five minutes away, but it would feel like five hours. As he opened the car door for her, she jumped in and scooted over so she’d be right next to him. Oh, she was going to make it hard on him, he could see. He smiled as he thought about this little lady and how full of surprises she was. He sat down in the driver’s seat and she crawled into his lap as her lips locked on his, groaning with need. He hadn’t even put the key in, thankfully. He reached around her and grabbed her hair. He missed the feeling of his fingers getting tangled in her hair. She was pulling out his shirt, almost ripping it out of his jeans. She wanted it off and she didn’t care if they were in a parking lot at seven in the morning.

“Honey, let’s get there first baby. Then we can take as long as we like. My day is pretty quiet until late in the afternoon,” he said one thing, but his hands were caressing her breasts, enjoying the sensation of her nipples contracting at his touch. Maybe just one kiss, he thought. He unbuttoned her shirt and bent his head to her waiting breast. Oh god he missed her, he thought as he groaned. She reached over his seat, trying to find the lever and he flipped back suddenly. He looked up at her and smiled, knowing they weren’t going to wait, they couldn’t wait.

“Honey, I don’t think there’s enough room in the car for both of us,” he said quietly.

His legs were already cramped and he was laying flat, so he didn’t see how it was going to work. She smiled and shook her head at him. She leaned back over him and kissed him again. He let his hands roam over her and enjoy the feel of her, remembering every contour and curve. She reached down and unzipped him. He was already straining against his pants, it was a welcome relief. She felt so good, he kept one hand on her ass, his favorite resting place for his hand, and one hand in her hair. She pulled away from him so he had to shift one of his hands. The next he knew he felt her warm mouth envelope his painfully hard shaft. He almost yelped in surprise and pleasure. Oh God, this woman, his woman, knew how to let him know how she felt. She was too much, he thought as his eyes rolled up and he surrendered to her sweet torture…

They eventually made it back to the hotel room and spent several blissful hours getting reacquainted. She was snuggled up to him with her leg thrown over, just like he liked it. He thought she might be dozing. He was thinking about last week and his road buddy’s reaction to some of his actions.

“Whadya mean you don’t want to go to the bar, man? They have some of the hottest chicks in the state. Plus they are very loose with some of the rules, if you know what I mean,” his friend smirked at him in the car.

“I’m tired, man. I don’t want to go, sorry. Still trying to get my traveling legs back under me, that’s all,” he said, hoping that’d be enough for his long time road buddy.

“Bullshit. Don’t try that shit with me. You go gay on me or something,” he looked at the other man like he must have changed places with the buddy he used to know and travel with.

“Steve, you know me better that that,”’ Taker said.

“I thought I did, but now? Who the fuck knows,” Steve said.

“You need me to clear out of the room for you tonight,” ‘Taker asked his friend, knowing what his plans for the night included if all went according to plan.

“Hell no. I got the car, that’ll work good enough man,” he said as he pulled up to their hotel.

Steve watched his buddy get out, shaking his head at the change in him. He used to be able to count on him to go drink some beers and grab some women with him, but since he came back, he hadn’t wanted to do any of that shit. A few beers didn’t count as far as he was concerned.

That had been a week ago, just before he told Steve that he was getting a separate room for the Phoenix show and arriving a half day early. Since then, Steve hadn’t stopped bugging him about his new woman, as he called her. He wasn’t ready to have her meet all the guys yet. Too many of them were wild and a little too friendly for his comfort. She had said she wanted to stay in the stands anyway, when he asked her if she wanted to come backstage. She smiled at him and said no, she didn’t want to ruin the magic. He was relieved, he was hoping she wouldn’t. But now, his long time road buddy, Stone Cold Steve Austin knew he had a lady with him and there was no telling what the asshole would do today. He was worried, just thinking about it. Worried for her, mostly. She was so small, he wanted to protect her from harm and the boys were harm, in his book.

He sighed, willing himself to relax and enjoy the few hours that he had left before all hell broke loose. She stirred next to him and smiled. She reached over and traced his newest tattoo. He got it last week when he'd finally put a name to his ache. It was still a little tender, so she was gentle. She hadn't asked him to explain it. He was looking forward to watching her reaction as he explained the meaning behind the ink. He kissed the top of her head and grinned, and thought of a better way to pass a few more hours.

He woke up to the bathroom door opening and some wonderful scents wafting out. He struggled to wake up. He didn’t know what time it was, and he didn’t remember her getting out of bed. Oh, shit, he was sore. He looked over to the vanity and saw her wrapped in a huge towel smiling at him.

“I think it’s time for lazy Old Man to wake up,” she said with a twinkle in her eye.

“I don’t know, School Girl. Old Man is mighty damn sore,” he admitted. She smiled at him, but stayed quiet as she selected her clothes to put on. She was sore too, so she could only imagine how sore he must be.

“Poor old man. You still have to go to work, baby. I get to watch all you boys in tights tonight and I think I’m going to enjoy the hell out of it,” she nodded to herself as she thought about it.

“What? I thought you’d only watch my match, Min,” he teased her.

“Oh no, baby. You tempted me with coming to a show, so now I’m gonna enjoy watching all those buff sweaty men in tights. Oh yeah,” she smiled back at him as he grimaced getting out of bed. He managed to make it out of bed and in to a hot shower. He loosened up in the shower thankfully. He had worried that he was going to be hurting tonight thanks to their lazy afternoon. But what a way to spend it, he thought to himself again as he stepped out and grabbed a towel.

“Min, what time is it,” he asked her as he ran the towel over his head.

She looked up from her book and said, “It’s just turned four. What time did you need to be there?”

“In about an hour or so,” he said as he started to get dressed. He saw that she was in her usual t shirt and snug jeans, making her look younger than she was. All the more reason he was glad that she was staying in the stands, he thought to himself. She nodded at his pronouncement, and went back to her reading. She was taking a cab to the arena and would catch a ride back with him, if possible. If not, she’d take another cab. Neither was sure of the demands on his time after the show tonight.

Right on time, there was a loud knock at his door. He knew his buddy well. Carrie looked up at him with a questioning look. He shook his head, hoping if he ignored him, he’d go away.

“C’mon you sum bitch, open up. I know you’re in there, you big bastard,” Steve’s voice could be heard clearly. Carrie smiled at him and nodded. He sighed and walked to the door, hoping he was wrong.

“What the fuck do you want, Austin . It’s not time yet,” he said as he opened the door, hoping to delay his buddy. Steve looked at him and shook his head and grinned.

“Sorry bastard,” Steve said under his breath. “Aren’t you gonna invite me in, you piece of shit,” Steve continued to badger him loudly.

‘Taker opened the door wide so he could step in and harass Carrie. He knew he’d been dying to for a week and nothing was going to stop him. Carrie had followed the exchange with interest, trying hard not to grin, knowing that neither man would appreciate it. She looked up from her chair and met Steve’s stare with a grin. All these guys are big bastards. What the hell did their momma’s feed them to make them grow so damn big, was her first thought. She stood up and reached her hand out to him.

‘Taker walked up to his buddy, slapped him on the back and said, “Steve, meet Carrie.” Steve managed to shake her hand, but he was confused. She wasn’t like his buddy’s normal taste in women, he knew that all too well.

“Sorry, I don’t know a damn thing about you ma’am. This big piece of shit hasn’t said a word to me about you,” he said with a sly smile to his buddy. She grinned.

“I’ve heard a lot about you, Steve. Some how I think were even though, because I’ve ignored most of it knowing it must be bullshit since no one can be that stupid and still be alive,” she finished with a sweet smile. It took Steve about half a second to realize she was teasing him.

“Shit,” he said with a smile to her. “You had me going there for a minute.”

She smiled back at him. ‘Taker had remained silent during the exchange. He forgot that she was a lot tougher than she looked. She handled his buddy like a pro, disarmed him, then charmed him.

After a few more minutes of banter, Steve looked at his buddy and said, “as much as I hate to leave this lovely lady, we have to go buddy. Time to go kick some ass.”

‘Taker nodded and walked over to her. Steve walked to the door and waited out of view to give them a little privacy.

“Min, you amaze me honey,” he said into her hair as he hugged her.

“I bet Steve’s going to bug you all night now,” she giggled.

“You’re bad, honey. See you later this evening. Don’t forget where to look for the car. I love you,” he said as he gave her a serious kiss to last her for a while.

“Stay safe. I don’t want to have you kick your ass,” she said with a grin into his eyes.

“We ain’t got all damn night here, kids,” Steve said from the door. ‘Taker let go of her and walked over to Steve and shook his head. “Piece of shit, sorry ass bastard,” was all Steve said in response to the other man’s dark look.

From that first meeting, his road partner and Carrie became unlikely allies and friends. If she called and he couldn’t come to the phone, Steve’d talk to her. He told her outrageous stories, just to see if he could make her laugh. They fell into a pattern of her attending pay per views, but usually staying home the rest of the month. Steve used to complain loudly when he had to have his own room because she was with them, but no one believed him. She never went back stage, tried to stay out of that part of his life, she told him. She enjoyed being entertained like every one else.

She surprised him one time with, “Baby, this next pay per view, I’d like to bring Wease. It’s killing him that he doesn’t get to go and this one is close to home for him. You think that’d be okay?”

He didn’t think it was a big deal, “Sure, honey. Your family lives in Virginia ? You never told me that,” he said quietly as he rubbed her back with lotion. They had moved to Phoenix but the dry air, combined with air conditioners everywhere, was drying the hell out of her skin. She loved it when he came home and he rubbed lotion on her back to start, but he never stopped there.

Much later, when her skin was fully moisturized and they were both sated she asked him the next question.

“Should he stay in our room, baby? He’s not old enough to be on his own,” she said quietly. He shrugged, he couldn’t remember how old her brother was. He just had a vague idea that he was still in school somewhere.

“How about we get adjoining rooms, that way he can reach us if he needs to,“ he said. He didn’t think her brother would appreciate his sister thinking he was too young to be on his own. “Or better yet, he could room with Steve,” he said jokingly. She paused in her tracing of his skin, and appeared to seriously think about it. “Min, I was kidding. Steve wouldn’t appreciate having a kid in his room, trust me. Plus it would definitely put a crimp in his style.”

“Oh, okay,” she said quietly. She knew Wease would be thrilled that he was getting to go to the next pay per view. He had griped to her that what good was it if she was dating a wrestler and her own brother didn’t ever get to go to any of the events.

***

People had been coming in and out of her room recently, so Wease found a chair outside and waited until they were done. He didn’t want to be in the way and most of them were too polite to ask him to move. He was staring off in space, watching someone walk towards him. He wasn’t focused on the face, he was just spacing off, looking at the man’s boots. He blinked as a thought struck him. He looked up the long legs from the boots and continued letting his eyes follow up the outline of the man and realized he knew him. He knew him from many years ago, but he also knew him from his weekly TV work. He grinned at the man when he was closer, not sure if he would recognize him as her brother, but Wease certainly knew him.

“She throw you out,” ‘Taker said with a grin to her brother. Wease shook his hand and shrugged. He could see ‘Taker was growing out his hair again, but it was pulled back into a long pony tail.

“No, she’s asleep, but they’re messing with stuff so I stayed out here,” Wease explained. “Did she know you were coming,” he asked the big man.

“Not sure. I sent her a couple of emails…” he left it at that. Wease nodded his understanding. “You’ve grown since I saw you last. What the hell happened,” he chuckled as he recognized Carrie’s baby brother had grown into a man.

Wease smiled and shrugged. He really liked ‘Taker, he remembered him from the time he dated his sister. He was huge, but really funny and he made his sister laugh. The last nurse left and Wease turned to the large man as he said, “All clear. She was asleep, but who knows now with whatever they were doing.” ‘Taker laid a big hand on his shoulder and said thanks quietly as he opened the door and stepped through.

He took a moment to adjust to the dim light in her room. He glanced at her quickly and saw she was asleep or at least her eyes were closed. He wasn’t sure why he changed his schedule, but he knew he needed to come and see her. He saw her most weeks, but that wasn’t the same. There was always too much stuff going on and way too many distractions for them to have any time to talk or just enjoy each other’s company. He was still a little startled by Dave’s information that she was pregnant. Last he knew, that wasn’t supposed to be able to happen. He should know, he tried. He tried for a couple of years. He was happy for her that she was finally going to be able to have a baby of her own. They had talked enough recently for him to understand that she played a large role in her brother and sister’s kids lives since she didn’t have any. It made sense to him, especially since he knew her so well.

He looked at her sleeping in the bed and was struck by her size, as always. He never thought of her as tiny, but she was. She looked even smaller with all the equipment around her. She would always have a piece of his heart, he knew. He had finally admitted that to himself a few months ago. It wasn’t that he didn’t love his wife, because he did, but he also loved her. At first he felt guilty and disloyal, but lucky for both of them she had turned him down several months ago. He pulled up a chair quietly and lowered himself into it, grimacing at the noise the chair made as he sat down. It didn’t look fragile, but it was hard to tell sometimes. He saw there were traces of some dark smudges under her eyes. Her lips looked chapped and her hair was a mess. He grinned to himself thinking she’d be so pissed if she knew how messed up her hair was. She always used to bitch about it, instead of just accept it and make the best of it. He looked at her fingers on the hand that was closest to him and saw that her skin looked pale, making her purple nail polish contrast more than normal. He grinned again as he remembered some of the colors she used to wear, just to shock people, she used to say. The first time he saw her with green nails that almost matched the color of her eyes exactly he was horrified, but wisely had said nothing. She liked to shock him and anyone else, come to think of it. But he loved her no matter what color her nails were or how messed up her hair was. He picked up her hand gently and held it, noticing it was cold. He wrapped his hand around hers, trying to give it some of his warmth. She stirred and opened her eyes. He saw a small frown form as she saw him.

“Old Man,” she asked quietly, licking her dry lips.

“Yeah, School Girl,” he smiled at her confusion. He saw her blink a few times, trying to wake up and shake the haze of sleep.

“What are you doing here? Are you okay,” she asked, automatically thinking something must be wrong if he was visiting her. He shook his head at her as he continued to hold her hand.

“No, Min. Nothing’s wrong other than you being in here. What’s the deal honey? You need me to beat on that man of yours or what,” he asked her quietly. She sighed.

“No. I just got so sick from barfing all over the place,” she said quietly.

“Honey, I thought you said he was a good cook,” he teased her. She giggled at him. He was so bad, teasing her about Mike’s cooking since it was definitely better than hers. She sighed again, knowing she should tell him the other reason she was sick.

“I guess I also have the world’s worst case of morning sickness,” she said as she looked at him. She knew how much they had wanted to have a baby together years ago, and how frustrated both of them were that she couldn’t. She hoped he wouldn’t be hurt or pissed.

“Imagine that,” he said with a wink and his half smile.

“What? You already knew? Someone told you? Who? Tell me who so I can beat their ass when I feel better,” she said seriously.

“It doesn’t matter honey. All that matters is that you need to take care of yourself and your baby,” he said as he squeezed her tiny hand.

“Babies,” she corrected him quietly. He looked astonished for a moment then threw his head back and laughed. She looked at him in alarm at first then she joined in his laughter.

“Min, you don’t do anything half way, do you honey,” he teased her. She smiled and laughed with him.

Wease heard their laughter and was relieved. ‘Taker could still make her laugh, even after all this time. After many minutes, he stirred himself to go find some coffee to drink, even though it was still technically the middle of the night. With coffee cup in hand, he was returning to Carrie’s room when he thought he recognized the man walking towards him. It took him several long seconds before it clicked.

“Mike? What’s with the hat and glasses,” he asked him once he was close.

“Don’t ask. My nose looks like hell and I hope the glasses are hiding my black eyes a little. My mom was worried they wouldn’t let me see her if I came looking like I’d been in some kind of fight,” he said. His face still hurt, but it wasn’t throbbing as much, at least not yet. Wease looked at his hat and smiled, knowing it was his sister’s.

He pointed to his baseball cap that said “American Badass” and told him, “He’s here. He’s in there with her now.”

“Really? Okay. That gives me a chance to find some coffee. Where’d you find that nasty looking stuff,” Mike asked him. Mike left in search of some coffee, leaving Wease sentry duty outside her door. He heard lots of laughter and his sister’s giggles. He also heard parts of some funny stories. He must tell stories as well as Ric Flair, he guessed. Funny that no one talked about that. But being The Undertaker probably means you’re supposed to be serious all the time. He never thought of him as serious, he knew him from his sister not from his work. Mike returned with some of the nasty coffee in hand. He sipped it and pulled a face.

“Shit, that is bad. Thanks for the warning. He still in there,” Mike asked Wease.

“Oh yeah. He’s been telling her some funny shit and making her laugh,” Wease told him. Mike raised his eyebrows at that news, knowing that Wease couldn’t see because of the glasses and hat, thankfully.

“How long’s he been here,” Mike asked.

“Couple of hours,” Wease guessed. Mike nodded and walked toward the door, knowing he had nothing to worry about, but he wanted to say hi to ‘Taker also.

The big man turned towards the door as he heard it open and stopped himself in mid laugh. “Jesus Christ Min! What the hell have you done to him? I told you I’d beat on him if you needed me to, you didn’t have to do it. You could have waited,” he said with a long look at the man in the doorway.

Mike shook his head, he forgot how much ‘Taker teased. Mike walked over to the other side of the bed and reached for her hand.

“What? You’re not going to tell me who beat the shit out of you? Since she didn’t do it and I know I didn’t do it, who the hell did,” ‘Taker asked. He could see what looked like a spectacularly broken nose and possibly a cheek bone or maybe just two big black eyes, it was hard to tell behind the glasses. “C’mon, take the hat and glasses off and let me see. You look like shit, I bet,” ‘Taker continued.

Mike sighed and took off the glasses as he looked at Carrie. Her eyes got very big as she saw more of the damage, but she said nothing. His nose and cheeks blended into each other. He was so swollen that it was difficult to tell where the side of his nose ended and his blackened eyes began. He took off the hat and turned to the other man.

“Fuckin’ A! Someone did a number on you. You piss off someone or what? Bet that hurts like hell,” ‘Taker added.

“You have no idea,” Mike said quietly.

“I bet I do, buddy. Who hit you and with what,” he asked the other man.

“Ex-girlfriend wasn’t too happy about me picking up my stuff and she let me know about it. “ ‘Taker motioned for the other man to continue. “This damage was caused by a large bowl of moldy spaghetti.”

“You’re supposed to duck when they throw shit at you,” ‘Taker teased.

“I know. Dave did. She threw something at him too, but he ducked. I didn’t and this is what I got.”

“So do we call this assault by, what did you say was in the bowl? Moldy spaghetti,” he asked Mike as a smile was tugging at the corners of his mouth.

“Asshole. Yeah, assault by Lisa’s shitty cooking. It’s a sad day when food becomes a weapon,” Mike chuckled. ‘Taker shook his head and leaned over to kiss Carrie’s forehead.

“Love you, Min. Take care and let me know if I need to beat this man,” he said with a wink to her. She smiled at his wink.

“Love you too, honey. Thanks for dropping in and making me forget about shit for a while. You probably made Wease’s week, you know,” she told him. He looked at her questioningly. “Oh yeah. He’s still a huge fan,” she told him. ‘Taker shook his head again and shook Mike’s hand as he turned to go.

“Let me know if you need anything,” he said quietly to Mike. Mike nodded, knowing what he really meant.

After the door closed behind the big man, Mike walked back to his customary side of the bed and claimed her hand again. He brought it to his lips and kissed her fingers, individually.

“Oh, no you don’t,” she said with a grin.

“What,” he asked guilelessly. She wasn’t buying it, she knew he’d done something and he was trying to avoid telling her something.

“What did you do? What do you think I’m going to be pissed about now,” she asked him as she pulled her hand back so she could listen to him with her full attention.

“What a thing to say,” he said. His face was starting to throb again, but he wasn’t sure how much more he could swell. His nose, well he didn’t even want to think about that. The clinic had put splints inside his nose to help it heal straight, but he had his doubts.

“It’s just my first time waking up at your place with most of my stuff there. It was a new experience, that’s all,” he said. He was thinking about the only thing that would have made it better was to have her in bed beside him, but they’d have to wait on that for now.

She studied him, trying to determine if there was more to it than that. He wasn’t usually devious, so he might be telling her the complete truth. Her though shifted to more immediate concerns - she really wanted a big bowl of microwave cheese popcorn, right now. Really bad for her, full of all kinds of shit that wasn’t natural, but damn it that sounded really good to her right now.

“Mike,” she asked

“Yeah, Babe,” he answered automatically.

“I’m hungry,” she said quietly. At that statement, his eyebrows rose since she never said that.

“Okay. What sounds good to you,” he asked, hoping it was something that was easy to get since he wanted to capitalize on the fact that she actually admitted to being hungry.

“Don’t laugh. Microwave cheese popcorn. I want a whole bowl of it all to myself. I don’t want to share any of it. You know the shit you always make when we watch Smack Down. I know I usually hate it, but it sounds really good,” she said seriously.

He looked at her for a moment before he said anything. He felt a laugh start, so he knew he’d better say something or she’d get pissed at him for just laughing at her.

“Welcome to cravings, Babe” he chuckled. She frowned at him. She didn’t think that was it, she just wanted to have some popcorn, damn it.

“No, I don’t think so,” she said, unsure of herself.

“Oh, yeah. You hate that shit normally. You can’t stand the smell of it, and the taste makes you gag, you say. So I think we can safely say this is a craving of yours. Not bad for your first one,” he congratulated her.

“Does this mean you won’t get me some,” she asked in a small voice.

Oh shit, he thought. “Um, there’s a quickie mart just down the street and I could pop down there and see, as long as they don’t think I’m there to hold the place up in my hat and shades,” he told her.

She smiled at him and nodded. He sighed, knowing he’d better at least try to get her the stuff. He put his hat back on and gingerly put his shades back on as he leaned over and kissed her cheek.

“If you don’t see me in half an hour, I’ve been arrested because I look like I should be holding up the place,” he laughed as he headed out the door.

Wease looked up in surprise, “Where’re you going?”

“She has a craving and she wants it now. I remember Dave’s advice; never argue with a pregnant woman. You can’t win, even if you think you did, you didn’t. So I’m off to get some microwave popcorn,” he said with a chuckle. Wease nodded at the wisdom of that statement. He knew it was true, having been through it twice already.

***


A week later, on a Tuesday afternoon –


There was a knock on the door, she thought. She listened again in case she was wrong. No, that was a louder knock. She wasn’t expecting anybody and Mike was at the store, so she got her butt up off the couch and peeked out her spy hole to see who it was.

She ripped open her door and smiled.

“Lil’ Sis, good to see you,” Hunter said as he wrapped his arms around her small frame.

“You didn’t tell me you were coming, you bastard,” she scolded him as she pulled away and smiled and hugged Nan .

“Come in, come in. It’s getting nasty out. God, it’s good to see both of you,” she smiled at them. She was genuinely pleased to see them.

“We had some time, so why not drop in on you. I warned your man I was going to so I knew I had to keep him honest and follow through. Where is the bastard anyway,” he grinned.

“Hunter,” Nan said quietly as she gently shook her head at him. They followed her through to the main living area.

“Sit down, please. Can I get you anything? Beer? Wine? Water,” she asked them both.

“Beer and a water,” Hunter said as he took Nan ’s and his coat and slung them over the back of her dining room chairs. She missed the look that passed between Nan and Hunter. Hunter had wanted to verify for himself that she was okay, Nan knew. She remembered his anger when he first got that call from Ric. He wanted to beat the hell out of Dave, she remembered. Lucky for all of them, they were too far away or he probably would have. She came back in with bottles and glasses for both of them and a flavored water tucked under her arm for herself.

“How long you staying and do you want dinner,” she asked them.

“We’ve got a few hours, and dinner sounds real good unless you’re cooking it,” he smirked at her.

Nan just shook her head. She knew he was teasing Carrie because he was relieved to see her looking relatively well. She still looked skinny, but then she was never chubby to begin with.

“Are you kidding, I don’t even eat my own cooking. Mike’s at the store, getting whatever concoction he’s got in mind for dinner. He just left, let me call him so he can expand his menu,” she said as she grabbed the phone.

“Mike, there’s a blonde asshole and a nice lady at our house. I think we should feed them to make them go away, don’t you,” she grinned into the phone as she listened to his reply. “I don’t know, let me ask them,” as she looked at them. “Salmon sound good to you two?” They both smiled and before they said anything she said into the phone, “Yeah, they’re cool with that….Okay, see you in a bit. Bye.”

“How are you two and what’s happening? It’s so good to see you Nan . I wish we could go out and get drunk again, but I’ll have to wait for a while,” she whined insincerely.

“Didn’t drinking get you in this predicament, honey,” Nan asked her with a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.

“That’s what happened. I knew it,” she said as she slapped her thigh. They both laughed and started swapping stories. Mostly Hunter and Nan had the stories, and Carrie listened. She laughed at some of the machinations going on behind the scenes, never a dull moment she knew.

“Looks like I’ll be missing the annual Halloween party again this year,” Carrie said to Nan . Nan shook her head, she knew how much Carrie had been looking forward to going this year and already had a costume picked out.

“It’s a pain in the ass. Why would you want to go,” Hunter asked. Both ladies looked at him. He was hopeless they knew.

“Because it sounds like fun and one of the few times I get to choose how I dress,” Carrie admitted quietly. Nan knew of her sister’s wardrobe manipulations so she wasn’t surprised by Carrie’s words, but Hunter was.

“What? Didn’t you choose what to wear today? Don’t you make a choice every day,” he asked her.

“No, I don’t. If you start seeing me in baggy t shirts and baggier jeans, then you’ll know I chose it, but until then, someone else chooses my clothes,” Carrie admitted.

“Even now,” Hunter asked incredulously.

“Especially now,” she giggled. “I’d love be in raiding Mike’s closet for big shirts and sloppy sweats but no, not allowed.”

Nan saw Hunter’s confusion at Carrie’s words and leaned in and said quietly, “I’ll tell you later.”

Hunter nodded and asked Carrie, “When do we find out how many and when Lil’ Sis? I can’t plan a party without a time frame.”

“Still too early, they say. They want to wait a few more weeks. Party? What party,” she asked as she started to get a funny feeling.

Nan glanced at Hunter and saw he was a little surprised too. They both knew how Mike felt about her so…

“Don’t tell me I’m going to have to beat his ass because he won’t marry you,” he said only half joking.

“Um no. You’re going to have to beat my ass. I don’t want to get married. I told you that years ago. That hasn’t changed,” she said quietly.

He remembered that conversation, but didn’t know she meant never. Nan stayed quiet since she wasn’t part of whatever that conversation was. She was surprised, not everyone wanted to get married, she knew. She didn’t know Carrie felt like that. They had never really talked about it. Hunter rubbed his hand over his moustache and across his beard. Both women knew he was thinking and didn’t want to say something stupid.

“If you want to have a party, you could have a raunchy baby shower or something. I’m sure you could think of some excuse to have a crazy party. The challenge will be dragging his butt to it.”

“I’ll let Dave take care of that for me,” he smirked.

“You’ll let Dave take care of what,” Mike smiled as he closed the door behind him.

Hunter smiled at him and said, “Beating your ass, buddy.” Mike chuckled, not sure if he was kidding or not. His black eyes had faded, but they were still visible. “Looks like she already did that,” Hunter said in reference to his slight purple eye shadow looking bruises. Mike grimaced, but didn’t rise to it.

“Good to see you guys. Nan , always a pleasure. Wish I could say the same about your man,” he grinned as he walked past them with several grocery bags. Hunter picked up his water and followed Mike into the kitchen. Carrie watched him and looked at Nan with a worried frown.

“I don’t think he’s in the ass beating kind of mood, honey. Mike should be okay,” Nan assured her friend. Carrie nodded and hoped she was right. Both men had tempers she knew and sometimes it didn’t take much to spark either of them.

“You look like you feel better, better than last week certainly,” Nan said. Carrie nodded.

“Last week was bad,” she rolled her eyes as she remembered some of it. Seeing Darlene come through her door the first time. She looked like she was going to cry, but managed to hold it, knowing her adopted daughter wouldn’t appreciate it.

“What’s this shit I hear about her not wanting to get married,” Hunter said as he watched Mike start to prep the salmon. Mike frowned and shook his head.

“I ask her every day, in case she’s changed her mind. She always says no,” he told her blonde big brother.

“She told me she never wanted to get married a couple of years ago, but I didn’t think she really meant it,” he shared. Mike shrugged. He didn’t understand it either, but he still remembered ‘Taker’s words to him, ‘do not push’.

“How’s she doing anyway? She looks okay, still underfed but okay. You’re falling down on the job of fattening her up,” he teased the other man.

“You wouldn’t believe what she eats and still isn’t putting on much weight. I wish I had that problem, let me tell you. She’s finally stopped getting sick at the mention of food,” Mike told him. “She’s had some very interesting cravings,” he laughed.

“Why doesn’t that surprise me,” Hunter asked the other man with a grin.

“I thought she was confusing before? This is a whole new level that I can’t even keep track of. She says she wants one thing and by the time I get it, even if we have it in the kitchen, she’s changed her mind,” he complained.

“I told you it was going to be fun,” Hunter reminded him with an evil smirk.

“Thanks for the reminder, asshole,” he said with a chuckle.

Hunter nodded and stood back to watch the big man in the kitchen. It looked like they were going to be treated to some very nice salmon, cooked with a sprinkle of butter and something else, lemon maybe and a few green sprigs of something.

He slapped the other man’s back and walked back into the living area to rejoin the ladies, since he knew he wasn’t needed in the kitchen. Mike looked like he had that all under control. He was reminded of how much Nan loved to cook and Mike seemed like he was the same. He grinned, thinking how much Lil’ Sis must benefit from Mike’s skill, knowing that she was a complete failure in the kitchen. Their kids are going to be interesting, he thought to himself.

top
 

Web site questions or issues?  Try
All graphics, original fiction and site ©