• Autumn 2005. 
• Since I’m the author, I have played fast and loose with facts and people, places and things.  This is fiction, so I get to make the rules.
• First time back trial run for Carrie doesn't go as smoothly as she'd hoped. 
• I chose Calgary as the setting for this, based solely on its northern latitude.  I have no first hand knowledge of Calgary and I hope the small mention of it is not offensive.  It wasn't meant to be. 
• Thanks, as always, to Nan for her great graphics!
• Also, special thanks to Nan for letting me play with her characterizations from BTS.  And if you’re not reading Empress’s Behind The Scenes, I got to words for ya!
• This chapter is the next morning, continued from Chapter 40.

Feedback: always appreciated!  In other words, yes please, even if you hate it, let me know.

Marc woke up slowly, enjoying the sensation of a warm nubile body next to his. The feeling of the female body tangled with his was something he’d never get tired of, he was sure. He planned on enjoying women as much as possible, even when he was ancient and barely moving with a walker. He’d still be ready and willing for any woman, he was sure. He slowly stretched as he took stock of himself. He tried to swallow, but his mouth was drier than hell and it tasted like…his eyes snapped open before he finished the thought. A grin played across his face as he looked at the beauty that was in his bed this morning. Damn, he needed to thank Johnny, he realized. His eyes wandered over to the illuminated display on the clock and he stared at it for several seconds before the time registered. Damn, Johnny said something about meeting him this morning and if he knew his cousin, morning did not mean 11 am, so he better get his shit together while it was still early. He tried to ease himself away from his bed partner but she had his arm tangled around her hips.

“Sweetheart,” he whispered quietly to the back of the dark blonde beauty’s head. He received a groan in response. He tried again, “Angel babe, I need to get up soon. I have a meeting to go to.” He felt her shift and take a deep breath at his words. She turned to him with a smile.

“An important meeting,” she challenged him as she slid her hand down to his ass. Damn, he might be late after all he thought, relishing her nails digging in. He tilted her face up so he could capture her naughty lips.

“Not that important,” he murmured against her lips…..
 

***

She felt warm and safe. Safe from everything, her subconscious told her. She’d be safe if she stayed where she was all day today, but the little voice perched on her shoulder reminded her she had stuff to do today and she couldn’t lounge around in bed all day, no matter how tempting. She blinked her eyes, trying to get them to focus on her surroundings, but she couldn’t. All she could see was darkness. This was safe, she worried to herself. It took several long moments as she woke up for her to realize where and how she had been sleeping. Oh shit, she worried, not again. She was laying flat on John’s chest. She didn’t need to see his face to verify, she knew his scent to say nothing of his contours. But the worst part was her legs were straddled over his hips. Geeze, what else could happen, she worried. Now she really had slept with John, just like Mike had accused her. But, she knew that she was partially clothed so nothing had happened. She knew she’d remember that. She tried to slide down, in preparation for getting up and starting her day, but she couldn’t. She was stopped by a part of John’s anatomy that was as awake as her. She had his rock hard dick trapped between her legs and rubbing up against her thong. Thank God she was wearing one or they’d both be in trouble.

John’s hands slid down to cup her ass as he groaned. She was sure he wasn’t fully awake yet, his groan was a definite waking up and horny kind of groan. She knew him too well, she realized.

“Don’t. Not yet,” he mumbled.

“Sweetie, I have to. This isn’t good,” Carrie said quietly in response to his request.

“Baby, it’s real good,” he growled and gripped her cheeks tight.

“John,” she sighed. She didn’t say anything else, but she knew he’d wake up enough to realize her meaning. Several long minutes passed as she waited. She waited for him to wake up and realize that it wasn’t right for her to be straddling his hips and having his dick rubbing her. Damn it, the more she thought about it, he was awake, since he was awake enough to control his twitching dick.

“Damn it,” she said as she put her hands out to lift herself off.

“Baby, you’re no fun,” he chuckled in his deep dry morning voice.

She shook her head at him as she slid out of the bed. She frowned as she noticed that he had left her bra on. He’d slipped her warm ups off, but left her bar on. She was glad that he had, since her breasts were so damn tender currently. She woke up with them hurting most mornings, but today they didn’t seem as bad. She might have to start sleeping in a bra for a while. She sighed, realizing that she’d have to buy different, bigger ones soon anyway. She wasn’t sure if she liked the fact that her breasts were growing. She’s always slightly envied women that were busty, but now she wasn’t too sure it was a good thing. For one, they were starting to get in her way, on top of them being tender all the time.

John noticed her silence as she sat on the edge of the bed and worried that she was upset with him and his obvious desire of her this morning.

“Carrie,” he started. “I’m sorry, Baby. I didn’t mean to piss you off. I know the damn rules.”

She turned her head and smiled at him. “No John, I’m not pissed. A little embarrassed, maybe. But not pissed. Thanks for taking care of me last night,” she said as she reached for her warm ups.

“My pleasure,” he said as he watched her slide her ass into her pants.

She turned back to him and glanced over his head at the clock. She still had some time before her breakfast date with Hunter and Nan , so she knew she should call home. She’d left as he started one of his tirades, so she wasn’t too sure he’d be happy to hear from her today, but she needed to call and apologize anyway. She reached for her bag and fished out the bags and vials and what looked like q-tips.

“John, they said it works best if you do it before you eat or brush your teeth,” she informed him as she handed him what looked like a long handled q-tip. He took it without comment and rubbed it along the inside of his left cheek. He gave it back to her with a smile and a wink. He hoped like hell he was their babies’ father. He was looking forward to it. He sat up and reached for his jeans. She busied herself with putting the swab in the vial, plugging it with a stopper and putting the whole lot in to a fancy looking zip lock plastic bag.

“I have a breakfast date with Hunter and Nan , so I should get my ass moving. Do you need anything from me,” she asked, ignorant of the implied innuendo.

“No Baby. I’ll take a shower after I wake up some more. I’m good,” he said as he rubbed his hands over his hair. An idea popped in. “You think I can order some coffee and water,” he asked her bent form. She was digging in her bag for her shower stuff.

“Go right ahead. I could use some water and maybe fruit or something anyway,” she said as she walked to the bathroom with her arms full. He nodded. He was saddened that she felt she had to get dressed in the bathroom, but from the looks of the stuff she had in her arms, that was the case. He plucked his shirt from the floor and pulled it over his head. He’d get his shit later, first he needed coffee.

Once he hung up from that, he reached for his cell and flipped it open, scanning for any messages. None from Trademarc, so he knew he’d have to call and wake his dead ass up. He hit one of his speed dial buttons and waited. The phone was answered on the fourth ring by a breathless Marc.

“Morning,” he said quickly into the phone. He was dripping wet and was trying to not drip onto the carpet too much. Marc was distracted from the phone as he watched her, Maria yeah that’s her name he chided himself, dry herself off. She made sure he could see exactly what she was drying and invited him with a look to help her. He knew Johnny had just said something but he didn’t catch it. “What? What did you just say,” he asked as he deliberately turned away from the tempting Maria so he could listen to Johnny. Her naughty laughter at his actions caused him to shake his head. He knew John would be able to hear her.

“I said, you haven’t forgotten about our meeting, have you,” John said slowly so he didn’t snap at his cousin. He heard the giggles clearly and knew he’d interrupted something and he was privately happy about that. When did he get to be such an asshole, he asked himself as the previous thought popped in his head. When he woke up with Carrie sleeping on him, was his immediate answer.

“Nah, buddy. I didn’t forget. I was just stepping out of the shower,” Marc answered truthfully. John closed his eyes against the vision that leapt into his brain at his cousin’s words. His baby, covered in slippery soap, rubbing her small hands along his shaft. He growled as he tried to banish the vision. Marc heard his growl and thought it was meant for him.

“Sorry if I’m late, Johnny. I’ll meet you in five minutes. Just give me the room number,” Marc said as he slid his jeans on. John gave him the current room number without thought. "Okay, I’ll be there in a few,” Trademarc said as he closed his phone with a snap. He turned to his tormentor with a smile. “Angel, I have to go to this meeting. I don’t know how long it’s gonna take.”

Maria smiled at his words, he’d been so tender last night. So sweet and tender, not like what she’d been led to believe about him at all. She shrugged at his words.

“I’m in no hurry,” she said as she dropped her towel purposely. She gloried in the fact that she made him gulp as he looked at her. He strode over to her and kissed her harshly, trying to devour her, she was sure.

“Angel, I’ll be as quick as I can,” he said as he bent his head to suckle her breast again. She groaned and slid her leg up his hip. He lifted his head with a grin. “Oh no, not now. I’ll take a rain check. But order from room service. I wouldn’t want you to waste away. Make sure you get plenty of rest and nourishment because honey, you’re gonna need it,” he said with a wink as he shut the door behind him. He leaned against the wall outside his room for a second so he could collect his thoughts. Why had he just promised Maria that he’d return? Usually he loved them and left them, no questions, no strings, just the way he liked it.

John mulled over the fact that he’d just invited Trademarc over to Carrie’s room without asking her first. What a dumb shit, he thought. Anything else was stopped as she stepped out of the bathroom and looked at him and smiled. He eyes widened as he took in her entire appearance. He saw she was trying hard not to laugh. He reached for her and wrapped his arms around her.

“Baby, you are a bad bad girl,” he said. He chuckled at her giggle. Who else would have the guts to wear his t shirt, and he was guessing it used to be one of his since it was miles too big for her, and cross out the word is and put was so the shirt now read, “The champ was here” and pointed down past the graphic of the belt.

“You don’t think it’s too over the top,” she said solemnly. He wasn’t fooled, he could feel her trying to stifle her laughter in his arms.

“Nah, it’s funny, Baby,” he said. He sobered as he remembered his carelessness over the phone. “Baby, I invited Trademarc to your room. He’s on his way and should be here in a couple of minutes. She pulled away from his arms and sighed.

“Okay,” she sighed. “Might as well start my day off with a bang. I have to call home soon too and that won’t be fun either.” He shot her a questioning look at her last pronouncement. She raked her fingers through her damp hair before she explained. “We had a fight. Actually, Mike had a melt down about me coming here to see you. He thought that I was running away from him so I could hop into bed with you,” she finished. John blinked at her words. It may be true that they slept together last night, but sleeping was all they did. He made sure of that. He winced at her words and the truth behind them.

“Sorry sweetheart,” he said quietly. She waved his words away.

“I needed to get out of the house. I couldn’t stand all the smothering, it was making me fucking crazy. I know he means well, but damn it!” She stared at the sliding door and the outside world for a few seconds and collected her composure.

“If you’d let me, I'd be just as bad, Baby.” John told her. She had pulled away and was looking outside at something. At his words, she turned back to him with a questioning look. His nod answered her. She sighed again. Not a great start to her day, she realized. At least John didn’t go postal on her like Mike did. She hadn’t fought with anyone like that in years and was surprised that she’d allowed herself to get sucked in to any words with him, but her control had slipped and stupid shit came out of her mouth. Must be the damn hormones, she thought. She’d have to try harder to not get reeled in by his ranting. Nothing good ever came over exchanging words in anger, she knew. Her childhood had taught her that.

“You okay that Trademarc’s coming over,” John asked. She nodded, but stayed quiet. “Carrie, I don’t want you to say anything at first. It’s between me and him and he needs to get his head out of his ass. Even if I have to do it for him.”

“He’s just protecting you, John. I understand,” Carrie said quietly. She did understand protecting family. She just didn’t understand why Trademarc was so dead set against her before he even met her.

“I mean it, Baby. Let me talk to him first, then we’ll play it by ear,” John said as he smiled at her in her outrageous shirt. He wasn’t sure if Trademarc would find it as funny as he did. A quiet tap interrupted any more thoughts. He let his breath out as he walked to the door. A quick peek through the spy hole confirmed their visitor. He opened the door quickly to a smiling Trademark.

“You thought I’d forget,” Trademarc asked John as he stepped through and pulled him in for a quick hand grip and back slap.

“Nah, I just didn’t want you to be late,” John said. Trademarc had stopped his progress into the room and his eyes were locked on the diminutive woman on the far side of the room.

Marc glared at his cousin as he said, “You didn’t tell me she was going to be here.” His lips had curled in disgust, like the air was fouled by her mere presence. Carrie’s eyes stayed calm and clear, not showing any hint of her inner turmoil. John noted she had another one of her masks on, her calm Ice Queen one.

“Do I need to tell you everything?” John teased. Trademarc shifted his glare back to his cousin.

“No, but you knew I wouldn’t come if I’d known,” Marc admitted. John nodded the truth in the other man’s words. Carrie hadn’t moved an inch from her place near the sliding door. She purposely kept the bed and the small table between her and the two grown men. She concentrated on the minute details of the room to keep herself from worrying about the expected confrontation. She saw the carpet had some sort of stain near the mini fridge, must have been a spill of some sort she reasoned. The clock on the bedside table looked like every other one she’d seen in any hotel, so nothing remarkable there. The bedspread was a relaxing display of blues in a crazy array of patterns. She wondered if she was at a different angle if she might be able to discern the pattern.

She had tuned out the two men in the room as soon as the door opened, so she was a little surprised when John touched her hand softly and whispered, “Baby, you okay?” She smiled up at him and nodded. She must have missed the angry exchange during her cataloging of the room. She sensed irritation from both men, but they were trying to be polite to her at least.

“Carrie, meet Marc or Trademarc as he’s been called for years,” John said with a warning glance to his cousin. Carrie smiled and reached out her small hand. Marc took her small hand in his and barely exerted any pressure before he dropped it.

“Marc, I’m glad to finally meet you. I’ve heard so many stories that can’t be true. John has told some whoppers, but since I haven’t been able to ask anyone I’ve just had to take everything he says at face value,” Carrie said quietly. Trademarc nodded at her and really looked at her for the first time. He was still a little surprised that she was so small, not Johnny’s type at all normally. She was petite and in proportion, not top heavy like Johnny usually fell for. His lips twitched as he finally read her shirt.

“John’s always been full of shit. It’s part of his charm. It’s how he survived in the family,” Trademarc replied and couldn’t help his smile as the full meaning of her shirt sunk in. She definitely had some brass balls, he thought.

“Carrie,” John spoke up. Her eyes flicked to his in acknowledgement. “We’re going to get something to eat. Did you want to come down with us,” John asked. Marc shot a look at his cousin. He might have to be polite to her, but he didn’t want to have to eat with her, not yet anyway.

“No John. You two go on ahead. I have a few calls to make. My legal team is bugging the crap out of me, as you know. Seems once they get an idea in their head, they won’t stop until I call or kill them. Not sure which is the lesser of two evils,” she said with a gentle smile. She knew John knew exactly why her legal team was bugging her, they’d touched on it last night. They were horrified at the possibility of either of the two potential fathers trying to usurp her or her position in her own company. She knew they were just trying to do their job, but it was damn irritating this morning.

She reached her hand out to Marc, “Nice to have met you, finally.” He took her offered hand and gave it a gentle squeeze this time.

“Yeah, same here,” he said ungraciously. He was preoccupied with another thought and she sensed it.

“We’ll be fine unless you call me knee-hi, then I’ll have to kick your ass,” she chuckled. Trademarc blinked in amazement. How did she know the words were on the tip of his tongue? John laughed and clapped a hand on his buddy’s back.

“See? What’d I tell you? Don’t mess with her. She’ll rip you apart my friend,” John said seriously. He looked back at her and winked as the two closed the door behind them.

She blew out her breath, thanking God that she’d survived that one. The next one might not be so easy, she worried. She picked up her phone and hit one of her speed dial buttons. As she waited for him to pick up, she opened the curtains to the sliding door and balcony. Snow, she realized. Damn it, it wasn’t that late in the year, but yeah she was in the great white north as it was sometimes referred to. With reason, she reminded herself.

“Babe? I’m so glad you called,” Mike’s voice said over the miles. His relief was easy to pick up.

“Sorry I didn’t call sooner, but yesterday was kind of hectic,” she said quietly.

“Are you okay? You sound tired? Are you going to make me worry some more or are you gonna tell me you’ve already eaten,” he teased. He was pacing in the kitchen. As he roamed, he opened and closed cupboard to keep himself from jumping up and down all over her. Not a good way to start his apology, he knew.

At her silence, he continued, “Carrie, scratch that. I didn’t mean to nag. I’m sorry babe. I’m sorry for making you feel like you had to run away. I’m sorry if I upset you and I’m really sorry for the stupid things I said yesterday,” he said as he finally sat down on the couch. Apologizing he knew how to do, he'd spent many years apologizing to a woman for shit he didn't understand. This time he understood and knew he needed to make sure she knew.

“I’m sorry too, Mike. I didn’t mean what I said either. I guess I’m still not used to having a room mate of any kind. It’s doubly hard when he's so damn nice to me all the time and all I want to do is run and scream,” she admitted quietly. He frowned at her words. He didn’t know she was that upset. He’d have to try harder to not bug her as much and let her make her own choices about some of the things he’d been worrying over and probably driving her wacko in the process.

“Babe, you don’t have anything to be sorry for. You’re not the one that’s being a huge pain in your ass. I can’t help myself and sometimes I forget that you have a brain too. I just get so carried away and I say stupid shit. Do you forgive me, honey? I want to do better, but you’ll have to bear with me as I try to not be so over bearing and smothering,” he joked. Carrie was surprised that he said that. She hadn’t said that he was like that, even though he was. Maybe he did actually understand her?

“Of course, you’re forgiven. We’ve got a lot of work to do. This whole living together thing is new to me and I’m out of practice. And I’m not easy to live with, I know,” she admitted. He hushed her and denied she was any such thing. She smiled into the phone, he was such a sweet man.

“Tell me what’s on your agenda today,” he asked.

“Breakfast with Hunter and Nan in a little bit. Then some shopping, unless I can’t get there because of the snow.” She slapped her forehead as soon as she said the word snow, knowing he’d worry.

“You think you should risk it,” he said automatically.

“We’ll see. I have to call my legal team too. They’ve been drafting all kinds of documents for me to sign, all of them thanks to these babies,” she chuckled.

“Ah, they’re still worried that John or I will try to get some of your company or money, right?”

“Yeah,” Carrie said quietly. "I’m sure soon we’ll all have a big signing party and then they can stop bugging the shit out of me,” she groused.

“Babe, they’re just doing their job. You’re paying them to look out for you and that’s what they’re doing,” Mike reminded her reasonably.

“Yeah, whatever. Let me go so I can call them and tell them what a good job they’re doing, according to you,” she said with ill grace.

“Carrie,” he chided her gently.

“Well, damn it. I don’t want to talk about them right now. I have to get my head in gear to have breakfast with Hunter and Nan . And chew him a new ass for calling you and David.” She heard him start to say something but she ignored it. “Don’t try to deny it, I know already. I talked to David last night."

"Tell Nan hi from me. I don't want you to mention me to Hunter, thanks all the same," he chuckled.

"Okay. You sure? You don't want me to invite him over for Sunday dinner," she teased. They didn't have Sunday dinner so she was safe.

"Ah, no. Not this century, thanks." Carrie heard his quiet sigh and knew he was rubbing his hands over his face, something he tended to do when he was confused or nervous. She knew what was coming next, it never failed. "Love you. Miss you, Babe," he said quietly.

"I miss you, too. Let me go so I can give Hunter hell. Talk to you later, bye," she said quickly and hung up. She wasn't ready to say the words he wanted to hear and saying them over the phone the first time was a chicken shit way to do it from her perspective. She might be a wuss about some things, but knew she didn't want to wimp out on something that was important to both of them.

He held the phone in his hand and listened to her hang up on him so she didn't have to say those words. He knew what she did and why. He loved her more than he thought possible, but knew he couldn't push her to tell him that she felt the same way. The moments of worry that his thoughtless comments caused him last night was a reminder of what could happen if he pushed her too much. He knew she loved him, she showed him in many ways, but she was reluctant to say those three little words. At least she had accepted his apology, he thought. She wouldn't be pissed that he was still at her condo when she came home tonight. He'd had some serious worry last night as her words sunk in.

***

She was just drifting off to sleep with her head on his shoulder when she heard him swear and slow the car down. She struggled to wake up. They’d been out late, having a moonlit meal after the show. It was late and the weather was turning so they had bundled all the blankets, wine and stuff back in the car. She felt the car slow more and come to a complete stop.

"What? What is it, baby," she mumbled as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes.

He grunted in acknowledgement as he debated with himself. She sensed he was torn about something. He shook his head and cursed under his breath about dumb shits and put the car back in drive and flipped a u turn.

"What," was all she asked. She sensed he was angry, but didn't yet know the reason. He'd tell her in time, he always did.

"Stupid asses, on the side of the god damned road," he muttered as he slowed again. She looked through the windshield and could see two forms that were by a light pole. As they got closer, she could see they were men and they were naked.

'Taker parked the car and turned the key off. He gave her the key to keep, as he sometimes did. He stopped as he reached for the door and turned back to her.

"Min, stay in the car. Please just stay in the car. Let me see what these fools are up to," he said seriously. She nodded at his severe expression. She knew he wasn't mad at her, he was mad at the naked men by the light pole. She couldn't see them very well, so she couldn't make out faces yet. He tipped her chin up and brushed his lips over her soft mouth. A mouth that had tormented him just a little while ago, he thought to himself. She watched him walk away from the car in silence. Her curiosity was killing her. Why was he pissed and who were the naked men?

He did not know how the hell these two idiots had managed to get their asses in the fix they were in, but nothing should surprise him about these two anymore. He absolutely didn't want them anywhere near Carrie. He'd done his best to shelter her from the boys in the back. But here were the worst of the bunch, naked. She'd handled Austin well enough, but he didn't want to subject her to The Kliq, particularly these two. He just hoped like hell he could help them out and send them on their way without having to expose Carrie to them. The thoughts of their probable reactions to her made him angry. That colored his words as he strode up to the two naked men.

"What the fuck have you two gone and done now," he shouted as he approached them. Kevin turned his head at the voice and smiled.

"Shawn, look. It's the fucking cavalry. I told you someone would see us," Kevin said with a grin. He tried to raise his hand, but was reminded of it's restraint as he clanged against the light pole. He grimaced to himself. He'd forgotten about that, damn. Shawn looked up at the taller man and nodded. He was seriously thinking about sitting down, ignoring the fact that he was pantless.

"Nice of you to stop by and help a buddy out," Kevin continued. "We could use some help here," he said as he rattled the handcuffs against the large light pole. 'Taker shook his head as he glanced at Kevin cuffed and naked and watched as Shawn slid down the pole so he could sit. He was also cuffed, but didn't seem as upset by the fact. It could be that he was more drunk, 'Taker wasn't sure but he didn't have a clue about how to get them uncuffed.

"How the hell did you end up like this," 'Taker asked. Kevin grinned.

"Didn't you once tell me to never trust twins?" He blinked a little owlishly and continued. "Prettiest set of legs, two sets of legs I mean," Kevin said as lost himself in his own private vision of said legs.

'Taker shook his head and started muttering under his breath again about dumb fucks. "Where the hell is the car," he asked Kevin.

"What?" was his immediate response. Kevin leaned his head against the burnished aluminum light pole for a moment. His head snapped up and he grinned, "We gave them the keys so they could get us some more beer." 'Taker shook his head at their stupidity. He wondered how much beer the two had consumed to make them agree to whatever stipulations that led up to their current predicament.

"Let me see how you're cuffed," 'Taker said as he reached for Kevin's hands He was hoping he'd find them bound by novelty cuffs that could be easily broken with the right pressure applied. To his horror, the cuffs looked like the real thing. He bent down and reached for Shawn's hands. Same thing.

"They said we'd get to play later," Shawn said through his stupor. 'Taker realized that the Heartbreak Kid was still wearing his cowboy boots. Kevin was completely naked, but somehow Shawn had managed to keep his boots on. Thinking about it, he realized he would have had to put them back on after taking his pants off. Things were getting even stranger, he thought. He glanced around for their clothes.

"Where'd you clothes go," 'Taker almost dreaded to ask.

"Bambi, that was her name wasn't it Shawn?" Shawn nodded. "They needed to get cleaned and they'd bring them back to us all nice and clan since they spilled our drinks all over. Bambi wanted to lick us clean, but Barbie thought it'd be better if they washed the clothes. Damn nice girls, don't ya think," Kevin asked. 'Taker stayed quiet, not trusting himself to speak without laughing at the two. What idiots, he thought privately. He also didn't have any idea about how to help them. They were truly stuck. His thoughts went back to the pretty woman in the car, waiting and probably watching, if he knew her.

"I'll be right back," he said over his shoulder to the two captive men. She composed her face to neutral before he opened the door.

"What's up," she said innocently as he opened the door. He wasn't fooled by her countenance.

"Stupid bastards are cuffed to the light pole and both of them are drunk as skunks," 'Taker said.

"Why the hell are they naked or do I not want to know," she asked. He chuckled.

"Supposedly some pretty twins took their clothes and their car to wash their clothes or some shit," he waved his hand in disbelief.

"Are they who I think they are," she giggled. He nodded into her naughty grin.

"Wait, you said cuffed," she asked.

"Yeah, real ones too. Not the joke shop ones," he said.

"Um, we've still got the crap in the trunk...I think we can help them," she giggled. He stepped away from the open door as she slid out. He had some serious reservations about letting her anywhere near those two Kliq members, but he was at a loss about what to do.

'Taker watched in silence as she opened their food basket and rummaged in it, obviously looking for something. "Aha," was all she said as she found something.

"Honey...I don't think," he stumbled for the right words to express his worries.

"Relax, Baby. This is one thing I do know how to do. Did you forget how I spent my fifteenth birthday,” she reminded him quietly. His eyes shuttered with his own repressed anger at her troubled past, none of it seemingly her fault. She reached for his hand to bring him back to the present and the captured drunk idiots.

“Min, you don’t know them or how they can be,” he said quietly as he held her hand. He hadn’t stepped away from the car yet. He wanted to get through to her the type of harassment she might be in for.

“I guess it’s a good thing you’re here then, isn’t it,” she smiled. He frowned at her words, thinking she just didn’t understand. “Relax. I’ve dealt with drunk idiots before. Did you forget I went to college? I think it’s a requirement in any curriculum to see how drunk you can get and how often you can get that way with out killing yourself. And, if they get out of hand…well, they are naked and vulnerable and I do have a mile wide mean streak,” she giggled. He sighed and nodded as he walked back to the light pole. He was surprised that they hadn’t attracted any attention. But they were in the middle of no where, in the middle of the night, in the middle of the damn week. He just hoped that the police didn’t happen to drive by. He knew Vince wouldn’t appreciate having to bail out three of his superstars, again.

Shawn’s head was leaning against the cold metal of the light pole, looking for all intents and purposes like he was asleep, ‘Taker thought. Thank God was his next thought.

“You decided to come back! Thanks buddy,” a drunk Kevin bellowed. He squinted as he saw the small female with his large friend. ‘Taker thought Kevin might be getting more intoxicated or it might be catching up to him finally and that worried him even more. He knew Kevin too well and some of the things he said and did to women without a second’s thought. He stopped himself from physically picking Carrie up and marching back to the car and locking her in, for her own safety. She squeezed his hand and smiled at him, letting him know she knew how he felt, but that she thought she was up for it. He hoped like hell she was right or he’d do some serious damage to Mister Nash.

He let go of her hand and walked purposefully up to his tall friend and glared, daring him to say something out of line. Kevin understood the warning, no matter how shit faced he was feeling. Do not piss off the Dead Man and do not step out of line with the tiny woman. He smirked back at ‘Taker, letting him stew about whether his message was understood.

Carrie followed closely behind and missed the look, but not the tension. She was aware that Kevin Nash had just been warned somehow. She decided to look at his bindings first since he was awake and they were almost at her eye level. His wrists were bound together in front of him, wrapping his arms around the pole. Unfortunately, it also meant something else was at her eye level too. She ignored all of him except his bound wrists. She did, however, notice that she was not introduced to the two naked men hugging the large light pole. He was so protective sometimes, she chuckled to herself but kept her face down.

“What’s she gonna do,” Kevin asked warily as he saw her look at the bindings.

‘Taker shrugged. “She thinks she can get you free.” He watched her look at the cuffs and frown.

“Sweetness, can you get the flashlight,” she said quietly. The endearment was not lost on Kevin. His brows rose, but his lips stayed sealed, for once. He had never heard anyone call The Undertaker, Sweetness. ‘Taker nodded and reached for the keys that she held out to him. Once he had them in hand he left without a word to get the requested light from the trunk. She thought she’d be able to spring the lock, but she needed to see it better to know for sure. She squatted down and looked at Shawn’s to verify the same type and design. He opened his eyes at her gentle touch. He frowned at what he saw.

“Kev? Who’s this beautiful woman and why is she smiling at me,” he asked. He managed to flirt with her with just a look. His look was filled with promises and secrets. She smiled at him and shook her head. He was drunker than a skunk, in her opinion.

“Beats me. She’s here to unlock us, supposedly,” Kevin again tried to wave his hand about to punctuate his words but end up just throwing himself off balance when his arm didn’t behave the way that he thought it should. He glared at his hands and their inability to move correctly but stayed quiet.

He kept quiet but studied the small woman next to him. He’d never seen her before and he would know since he paid attention to all things female and over twenty one. The thought occurred to him that maybe she wasn’t over twenty one? Would the Dead Man sleep with a baby? Would he risk it? He didn’t think so, but she did look pretty damn young, he had to admit. It was so hard to tell since she was so small and was keeping her head down, he noticed. He was feeling very mellow and wanted to tease the potentially too young woman in front of him so he decided to assume a horrible Scottish accent based on a recent movie he'd seen.

“Hey Shawnie, me lad,” Kevin started. At Kevin’s tone, Shawn’s eyes opened and he grinned, always ready for more shit from Kevin. “Ya think the wee bonnie lass is up past her bed time? Ya think her ma would be wantin’ to know where her wee lass has got herself off to now?” At Kevin’s words and attempt at humor, Carrie cracked a smile and looked up at him. She shook her head at his wink and answering smirk. Shawn shook his head, he couldn’t keep up when Kevin was on a roll and he knew it. He’d just listen and try to pitch in when he could.

Kevin was encouraged by her smile so he continued. “Shawnie, me lad, ya thin wee one has ever seen a man without his trousers before, laddie? You thin we might be,” was all Kevin got out before ‘Taker silenced him.

“What the fuck are you yapping,” ‘Taker asked.

“Just chatting up the wee lassie, me man. No mind us,” Kevin said with his usual panache, even though he still couldn’t pull off the casual flip of the hand to punctuate his words. ‘Taker glared at him and handed the wee lass her flashlight. Carrie was shaking her head at the men, so different but also so similar.

She shined the light at the cuffs and leaned in to see better. Yup, she thought. She knew this little bastard. They were doable, but a pain to do. She hoped she hadn’t forgotten everything she’d learned during her questionable youth. She stepped away and started patting her pockets for something.

“You need something, Min,” ‘Taker asked. She nodded and reached for the keys and turned without a word.

“Who the fuck is she and how come we’re just now meeting her? And does she have any sisters,” Kevin asked the Dead Man.

“Fuck off and no,” ‘Taker growled. He’d met her sister many times, but to anyone in the company and these two assholes in particular, she was an orphan. He liked her sister so there was no way in hell he was ever going to introduce her to any of the boys, especially these two.

“Aw man, we don’t want to hurt her,” Shawn chuckled from his sitting position on the ground. ‘Taker shook his head, but stayed quiet, in part to keep his temper. He’d had a few run ins with The Kliq recently and they weren’t on his favorite people list right now. But, it didn’t mean he’d leave them in their current state either.

“Sssshhh, here she comes,” Kevin said loudly. Shawn giggled, guessing that Kevin was going to say something else amusing. “Din I tell ya? The wee one found her way,” Kevin said. Carrie shook her head as she felt the first drop. Damn, the weather wasn’t going to cooperate after all. Luckily it was summer so it wasn’t cold, but getting wet wasn’t going to be fun.

“Can you break some off about five inches from the end please,” she said as she handed ‘Taker a wire coat hanger. He frowned but started to straighten out and unwind the wire.

“Well now, lassie. If five inches is all you been getting from tha man,” Kevin said. He was interrupted by ‘Taker.

“Shut up,” ‘Taker said quietly. Shawn spoke up.

“Yeah, honey. We can help you out if you need a grown up toy,” Shawn said quietly and chuckled.

“Michaels,” ‘Taker growled as he handed her the requested length of wire.

“Thanks,” she said quietly, ignoring the subtext of the conversation entirely. She didn’t want to get into that type of discussion, not tonight. She giggled to herself knowing that she had the upper hand since there were no secrets for once. No matter how much the two of them might brag, she’d know if they were full of shit or not with just a glance.

“Hold still,” she said quietly to Kevin. He leaned around the poll and watched. He was curious, about her and what she was doing. He thought if he watched, he might be able to figure it out in case he got in this kind of jam again. She pulled the wire back and bent it a little more and tried again.

“Stop fidgeting,” she scolded the big man. “You’re worse than a little kid,” she teased. ‘Taker chuckled at her comment and at Kevin stunned face. Did he just hear her right? Was she telling him to be still? If she’d hurry the fuck up, he could piss and he wouldn’t be so antsy, Kevin groused to himself.

“Wee one, can I have me hands yet,” Kevin asked as Mother Nature opened the tap for steady rain.

“Not if you keep moving,” she said quietly.

“I have a minor wee problem,” Kevin said. She raised her brows at him in question and waited for him to fill in the blanks. “I have to piss like a fucking race horse,” he admitted in his normal voice.

Water was dripping off her hair and onto her nose already, but she ignored it. “Why didn’t you say something,” she asked as she attempted to dislodge the wire from the lock. “Wait a minute,” she said.

“I can’t darlin’,” Kevin said as he pulled his hands from her and tried to reach around so he could piss away from himself and everyone else.

“Wait, I didn’t get the wire,” she said as he turned his back to her and pissed down the small slope. ‘Taker wrapped his arm around her damp shoulder.

“You bring a coat,” he asked. She shook her head. He frowned as he looked down at her and saw her lightweight cotton skirt and tank top were starting to become semi transparent as they got wet. Great, he thought. Not what he needed at all. His night had gone from good to bad the moment he pulled over for these fools.

“I’m fine. I won’t melt,” she said as she smiled up into his worried gaze. She winked at him and leaned into him. He tightened his hand on her shoulder briefly. “You about done there, Trigger,” she asked the tall naked man that was still standing with his backside to all of them. Kevin grunted and turned back around with a smile.

“How would a wee one know me real name, then,” he teased. She shook her head at him, not knowing what the hell he was talking about. Kevin’s smile broadened. “Tis me name. The lassies gifted me seeing as how I reminded them of a horse, don’t cha know?” Shawn giggled from his wet seat on the grass, knowing that Kevin was on a roll. “They said,” Kevin leaned away from the pole, clearly warming up to his story. “That they’d never seen the like and they all wanted to touch it.”

Shawn dissolved into helpless fits of laughter. ‘Taker looked over at the smaller man and shook is head. He knew something like this would happen if he let Carrie get anywhere near them. Kevin quirked a brow at the small nameless woman before he said anything else. He knew he was pushing it with ‘Taker, he could almost hear his growl.

“I bet wee lassie’s never seen one bigger,” Kevin said with a wink to the small woman. He saw her eyes crinkle a split second before she said anything.

“Don’t bet on it,” she said quietly. Kevin’s grin slipped as his eyes snapped to ‘Taker and saw his grin. ‘Taker couldn’t stop is grin, in part due to her words, but mostly because she had a quick wit and had managed to silence one of the company’s quickest with just a few words.

‘Taker saw her squat down to reach for Michael’s hands, ignoring the stunned big man. Shawn opened his eyes again and smiled at her. He started to say something to her but she shook her head, indicating she didn’t want to hear it or she wasn’t listening or something. Shawn wasn’t sure. He stayed quiet as she asked for and received another piece of wire from The Dead Man. He was struggling to understand how he’d gotten himself into the predicament he was in and why the Undertaker was there and who the hell was this quiet, pretty lady. Sometime later, Shawn had no idea how long, her heard Kevin say his name several times.

“Shawn. Shawn! Wake your dead ass up, time to go,” Kevin said somewhere above him. Shawn blinked as he tried to focus his eyes and saw Kevin standing in front of him naked except for a long black leather coat. He frowned as he saw a woman give him a blanket to wrap himself in. He knew he was cold and wet, but other than that, he didn’t know shit and he cared even less.

Once all four were settled into the car, with the drunk passengers in the back, ‘Taker glared at both through the mirror and said, “You fuckers need to puke, you tell me.” Two heads nodded in silence. “Min, you still cold,” he asked gently. He had noticed her starting to shiver as she finished unlocking Nash’s cuffs. He wrapped his arm around her and brought her closer to him, trying to share some of his natural body heat.

“I’m fine,” she lied. He frowned at her and titled her chin up so he could brush his lips against hers. Neither paid any attention to their backseat audience. Nash sat in silence as he witnessed ‘Taker kiss the small woman tenderly, unknowingly showing others exactly how much she meant to him. It was a side of him that few rarely saw, Nash knew.

Nash sat and fidgeted in the back, waiting on the two love birds in the front to decide to come up for air. He stuffed his hands in the borrowed coat’s pockets to try to keep himself warm and felt something. He grinned as he realized what it was.

“I've got an idea why she’s still cold,” Nash interrupted them with. ‘Taker lifted his head and glared at the other man. “She might be missing something,” he said as he pulled his hand up and showed a tiny pair of purple lacey panties to them. ‘Taker growled but Carrie stopped him with a gentle touch that the two in the back didn’t see.

“I was wondering where they went. Thanks,” she said as she grabbed them from the blonde man. He was again left speechless as she slipped them on, under her wet skirt. She smiled and turned back to him and said, “Thanks, much better.” ‘Taker laughed as he put the car in gear and they drove off, leaving Nash speechless, again.

Kevin was pleased with himself and his memory. He knew he'd remember her, and during his morning shower it had finally popped in. It was probably being naked and getting wet that helped but he chose not to dwell on that too much.

***

Hunter and Nan were already at a large corner table as John and his tired cousin walked in. John immediately saw why Triple H had selected that table, his back was to a wall and he could see the entrance to the restaurant. He saw Nan and him laughing over something. Triple H stopped his intimate conversation with his wife long enough to nod his chin in acknowledgement of John’s entrance. John did notice he was not invited over to their table. Just as well, he thought since he was going to continue his conversation with Trade and he didn’t really want Triple H in on it. Dee Bee’s anger had been bad enough, he didn’t want to even think how Triple H would react once he heard where the conversation was headed.

Nan followed her husband’s gaze, watching Cena and his cousin sit at a small table, at least twenty feet away. She had been dying to see how Cena and Carrie were around each other since she’d heard about their tryst. Hunter thought it was done, but she wasn’t betting on it. She had heard from him about their summer thing and was pissed that she hadn’t been there to share some of her quiet friend’s joy. And to give her some serious shit about it. She had talked to both sisters and knew of the potential parentage issue surrounding Carrie’s pregnancy. Plus she was just dying to see them in the same room together. It was like Clark Kent and Superman, they were never in the same room at the same time together and it drove her nuts. She knew if she could see them together, some of her questions would be answered, regardless of what Hunter told her.

“No baby,” Hunter said quietly, interrupting her thoughts. She turned her eyes back to him and gave him a sly smile. He reached for her hand and gave it a small squeeze. “No,” he tried again.

“What? I didn’t say anything,” she said vacuously, knowing it drove him crazy when she played the ditz. His jaw tightened at her words and she held back her smile.

“Don’t even think about inviting him over to our table.” At his words, she pursed her lips at him.

“Don’t you think Carrie’d like to see him,” she teased.

“She saw him last night,” Hunter growled. She threw her head back and laughed.

“Honey, you are too easy, you know that,” she asked as she continued to laugh at his mood. His brow lifted at her when he realized she’d been teasing him. His lips quirked up into a small smile.

“You’re bad, woman. And I’m gonna make you pay for that,” he said quietly.

“I hope so,” she flung back at him. He smiled as he slipped his arm back around her shoulders, pulling her closer to him as he did so.

“Let me call home to check before the others arrive,” Nan said quietly. She flipped open her purse and started digging for her cell. Hunter nodded at her, but kept his eyes on Cena’s table.

Hunter almost growled as he watched the two younger men across the room. He could guess their topic of conversation and it pissed him off that he couldn’t do anything about it. Nan watched her husband’s scowl deepen and knew their morning just got a lot more challenging. She finished her conversation up and closed her phone with a smile.

“Everybody’s well,” she said sweetly. She knew Hunter wasn’t listening, he was trying to intimidate from across the room. She touched his hand gently to get his attention. Once his eyes were on her, she said quietly, “No baby.” He scowled at her, reminding her of his temper, but knew this morning was mostly for show.

“What do you mean, no,” he asked.

“Don’t play dumb, Hunter. You know exactly what I mean,” Nan said quietly. He frowned at her, feigning ignorance. “She’s a grown woman and she’s allowed to make her own choices,” Nan reminded him.

Privately she was thrilled when she’d heard about their affair. She thought Cena was a good match for her small friend. She’d met Mike several times and thought he was a nice man, but just a little too vanilla for Carrie. Nan wondered how long it was going to take before Carrie got tired of vanilla. She could only imagine the fireworks if Carrie decided that Cena was the right one after all. She didn’t want to think about Hunter’s reaction to the news of Cena being the biological father. Nan didn’t have any idea who really was, even after questioning Carrie about her monthly cycle and extra curricular activities. She shook her head to clear those thoughts and refocused on the thought of seeing her sister in arms, as it were. Nan looked up from setting her coffee back down in time to see Shawn stroll in, looking gorgeous, as usual.

“Hey Baby Doll,” he said as he reached their table. She stood up so she could welcome him properly, with a hug.

“Shawn,” she said quietly. He pulled back from her at her tone of voice and searched her eyes, looking for answers. His eyes flicked to the blonde tense man and realized what she meant. His lip curled up in a small smile.

“Hunter,” Shawn said as he reached out a hand. Hunter nodded and took the offered hand.

"Any noise from Nash," Hunter asked Shawn as he sipped his steaming coffee. Shawn shook his head silently and continued to glance at the menu.

“He’ll be here, he said he would,” Nan reminded her husband. Hunter stayed quiet, not wanting to voice the fact that Nash rarely got up before noon on any given day. The server arrived to take Shawn’s order and just as she was walking away, in walked Kevin Nash with a smirk. He knew his arrival would surprise Hunter and Shawn, but he’d promised Nee and he wasn’t about to let her down, not after all the years.

“Son of a…” Hunter said quietly as he set his coffee cup back down in disbelief.

“What? You can't believe I’m this good looking or what,” Nash teased. Hunter snorted quietly as his fiery haired wife stood up to greet her old friend. “Looking good, Shug. You let me know if I need to take care of the small stuff for ya,” he teased her.

“Bastard,” she said fondly as she pulled away from his embrace.

“Well, gotta go with my strengths,” he quipped.

“Sit your ass down and shut up,“ Shawn teased. Nash grinned, but complied.

“This all of us this morning,” Nash asked Hunter.

“No, one more. I don’t think you’ve met her before. She’s Dave’s sister in law, Carrie. She used to help us out when we all traveled together. She saved our asses many times,“ he finished with a chuckle. Nash remained quiet, not wanting to spoil his surprise just yet. He loved yanking Hunter’s chain and this morning was worth getting up for.

“Someone voluntarily traveled with you and helped you with shit? This woman I gotta meet,” Nash said.

“Deez, you wouldn’t believe some of the stuff she had to put up with, but she did,” Nan said as she reached for her husband’s hand.

“Shug, I know your man, and I know Ric too well, so I can just imagine the shit that went on,” Kevin reminded her.

“That’s true, plus you add in Dave and Randy on top of all that. I think I would’ve killed all of them if they pulled half of their shit with me,” Nan said as she slid her eyes over to Shawn. He caught her look and winked back at her.

Nash kept this words and opinions to himself. This is just getting better and better, he thought. He ordered his food and joined in the conversation as it switched back to the Helmsley girls, one of his favorite topics….

“Why the fuck is he looking over here,” Marc asked, unable to ignore the glare directed at him from Hunter.

“Because he’s her big brother and don’t ever forget that,” John said seriously. Marc started to laugh but realized John was serious.

“How the fuck did you guys ever hook up, if that’s the case,” Marc asked.

“Why do you think he’s so pissed,” John asked his cousin as he risked a glance over at Triple H’s table and saw the man still glaring over at them. He pulled his attention back to his own table and answered Trademarc’s question. “She doesn’t like being told what to do and she’s pretty resourceful, let me tell ya.” John’s thoughts flashed back to their stolen time together, remembering some crowded and rushed encounters with her last summer. All the while knowing they could get caught, but they had continued anyway. Looking at Triple H’s scowl, he was damn happy that they hadn’t been caught with their pants down. John heard his cousin’s insistent voice intrude on his daydreams.

“Junior, what are you getting,” Marc asked. He had watched his cousin’s eyes unfocus and a goofy grin replace his usual morning scowl. He could guess exactly where his thoughts had drifted off to. John closed his mouth that he didn’t realize was open, and blinked at the waitress. She smiled back at him and waited in silence for his order.

“Look, don’t even mess with me on this,” John warned his cousin. Trademarc shook his head at his cousin’s blindness. Their attention was diverted from the escalating argument by Shawn Michaels’ arrival. Both watched in silence as he was greeted warmly by the other two. John secretly wished that he was the man that Triple H accepted into his inner circle and invited to breakfast.

“What does it take to get you to see what I’m saying,” Trademarc started in again. "You're gonna get tired of dipping that pond and then you're gonna be stuck," was all he got out before a fist grabbed his t shirt in a move similar to the previous night.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” John ground out from clenched teeth. Trademarc shook his head at his cousin’s blindness. Why didn’t he see that she was a gold digger, like all the rest of the skanks and ‘ho’s?

“Tell me she hasn’t asked you to buy shit for her? Tell me she hasn’t asked you to help her out, just a little bit, just until the next check comes,” Trademarc asked. John took a deep breath and slowly let it out, knowing he was never going to get through to his cousin if he didn’t share a few of Carrie’s secrets with him. He wasn’t sure why she kept that part of her life separate, but he respected her decision enough to not blab it to everyone. He’d have to tell her later, but he needed to make his cousin see how fucking wrong he was.

“She hasn’t. And she won’t,” John said as he glared at disbelieving eyes. At Trademarc’s attempt to interrupt him, he forged ahead. “She doesn’t need my money, Marc.” At Trademarc’s disbelieving snort, he forged ahead. “She has more money than I can count. She’s never asked me for money, because she doesn’t need any, not from me or anybody. This is only a small part of her life, you dumb shit.” Trademarc blinked at his cousin’s reemerging temper. “She didn’t get pregnant on purpose, no matter what the fuck you think. She wasn’t happy about it and purposely didn’t tell me, not because she wanted to wring money out of me. No. Because she didn’t want to hurt me,” John finished and realized his voice was loud enough for others to over hear. His cousin sat in silence as he tried to understand what he’d just heard.

“What do you mean, she has more money than you? You’ve got a shit load,” Trademarc said. John chuckled.

“Not really. Not when it comes to big money. I watched her buy a building without even blinking once.” At his cousin’s confusion he tried to clarify. “A huge building full of really nice condos. I have no idea how much it was, but I could barely afford one of the fucking condos, let alone all of them.”

“No shit,” Trademarc finally said. John nodded and thanked the server that brought more coffee. Both of the men sat in silence, lost on their own thoughts for a few moments.

“So, what about the baby? I mean babies,” Marc asked. John looked at his cousin in confusion, not sure what he was really asking. “What are you gonna do if they’re yours,” he clarified.

“Weep for joy,” John said quietly. Trademarc frowned briefly but knew his cousin wasn’t kidding by the solemn look on his face.

“Child support? Parenting or what,” Trademarc continued.

“Child support? Don’t you get it? She doesn’t need my money. She doesn’t want my money. I tried to talk to her about that but she wouldn’t hear of it.” John recalled a recent conversation with her and chuckled. “Here’s a twist. Her lawyers are dogging her ass about me signing shit. They’re worried that I’ll try and get her money.” Trademarc frowned at his cousins words, but was silent as he tried to shift his thinking in regards to Carrie.

“Fuck, he’s huge,” Marc whispered as Kevin Nash walked past them to Hunter’s table. John grinned at his cousin but with held any comment. “Do you know him, too?”

John shrugged before he said, “I’ve met him, but I don’t know him very well. He doesn’t wrestle very much. He’s kinda semi retired, I think.” Privately he was relieved that Nash didn’t wrestle very often because he didn’t want to face him.

“I forget sometimes,” Trademarc admitted quietly. At John’s questioning look, he tried again. “I forget how weird your life is sometimes. I know about the women and shit, but I forget you might have to face someone like that every night.”

It’s about fucking time, John thought to himself. Maybe, just maybe Trademarc would start to understand some of the stuff he’d been trying to tell him, about a bunch of stuff, Carrie being one of many.

“What do you know about the women,” John teased.

“I know you got some hot ones around you every day,” Trademarc said with a smirk. “Hell, one of the hottest is in my room right now,” he bragged with out thought. John set his empty water glass down in surprise.

“What? Who? Who was dumb enough to hook up with your sorry ass,” John asked.

“Oh Johnny, she’s a beauty. Damn, she is fine,” Trademarc said with a smile as he recalled some of his night with the naughty Maria.

“I get that, fucker. Who? Tell me who so I can tell her that she just made a huge mistake,” John teased.

“Oh, no way asshole. I’m not letting you ruin this thing with Maria, no way,” Marc said hotly.

“Maria,” John asked in disbelief. “Our Maria? Our sweet little Maria,” he kept repeating.

“She’s sweet all right,” Trademarc said with a lecherous grin.

“Shut up, asshole. I don’t want to hear any more. That’s our Maria you’re talking about,” John said. He gazed off into space for several heart beats before he shook is head. “Damn,“ he said quietly. “You hurt her, you’ll regret it. Just so you know. We tend to look after our own,” John warned his cousin, ignorant that he was acting exactly like Hunter did about Carrie.

“I hear ya. Who said I was gonna hurt her? We got a date after out little meeting this morning. So who knows from there,” Trademarc said. John looked at his cousin and realized he wasn’t his usual flippant self. Maybe Maria would be good for him, he thought. His thoughts drifted back to his encounter with his cousin last night and the semi naked woman on his lap. That could have been Maria, he admitted. The hair was right, but then that was all he saw of her anyway. She hid herself against Marc fairly quickly.

"Besides," Trademarc said. "Why are you dogging my ass about women? You aren't any fucking angel yourself." Before John had a chance to say a word, Marc put his foot in his mouth deeper. "If you love this damn girl so much, why won't ya marry her? You afraid she'll say yes and all your rats will have to go find someone else to play?" John's eyes flashed in anger at his cousin. He took a deep breath so he didn't reach across the table and beat the shit out of Marc. They hadn't had a knock down drag out fight in years and he didn't want to start down that road today.

"You dumb fucker," John managed to ground out. Marc's brows lifted, finally aware of how pissed off his cousin was. He quietly swallowed and waited, hoping Johnny had some of his famous self control this morning. John debated briefly not telling his cousin the truth, but thought better of it, even though he'd look like an ass. "Listen up because I'm only going to tell you this once." John waited for Marc to nod at his abruptness. "I do love her, not that it's any of your damn business. I want to marry her. Hell, I want to spend the rest of my life with her, making her and our kids happy." Marc frowned at the words coming out of his cousin. He'd never heard him admit to loving any woman before, let alone enough to want to shackle himself to one for the rest of his life. "But, she doesn't love me. At least not enough to want to get married."

"So why," was all Marc got out before John silenced him a with firm wave of his hand.

"We were never supposed to be anything more than fuck buddies," John admitted. Marc's brows rose at that. He knew how much that admission had cost Johnny. "Yeah," John continued with a grimace. "I knew that going in, but..." was all John said as he finished with a shrug.

"So what happened," Marc couldn't stop himself form asking. Johnny was never without willing females, he didn't understand how it blew up into something more. "Is it because she’s pregnant," Marc asked. That had to be it, he thought to himself. Nothing else made sense. Yeah, she was pretty, okay maybe more than pretty, but that shouldn’t make a difference to Johnny, since he’d been surrounded by pretty girls since high school. John’s eyes flicked over to Triple H’s table, knowing that his discussion was being watched and judged by Triple H for possible use against him later. He sighed as that thought formed.

“No, you dumb fuck,” John said, suddenly feeling exhausted. “Even though I’d be happy to marry her if those babies are mine.” John stopped and cracked a knowing grin at his cousin. “You think Gram would let me get away with having kids without the church’s blessing?” Marc blinked as he thought about their ferocious matriarch of the family and how she had drilled responsibility in to all her clan.

“Um, no. I guess it’s a good thing she’s not here to see this. She’d whip your ass,” Marc finished with a grin.

“None of that matters, especially since Carrie does not want to get married, today, tomorrow or next year.” At his cousin’s confusion, he continued. “She said she’s never gonna get married. Don’t know much more than she said she wasn’t going to change her mind.” John shifted a shoulder in a miniscule shrug. He didn’t understand his baby either. Maybe he’d ask her to explain it better. The only thing that made it bearable was she told Mike no, too.

“You can’t sweet talk her into it,” Marc asked. He knew their family and how this was going to go over about as well as a fart in church.

"One thing I have learned about her is that she is more stubborn than me. If she says no, she means it and she just gets pissed if you try to push. Believe me, I've tried, but it doesn't fucking work," John admitted. Marc shook his head at his cousin's predicament. The more he thought about it, the more humorous it became. A grin started, unknown to him, as he realized that his cousin who could have just about any woman he wanted couldn't get the one woman that he loved to marry him. There might just be some justice in the world, Marc realized.

"What the hell is so damn funny," John groused. Marc tried to wipe the grin off his face as he paused, trying to figure out how to explain.

"You. Her. This whole thing," Marc said as he waved his arms expansively. "Johnny the male whore can't get the one woman he wants," Marc chuckled. John shook his head at his cousin, concentrating instead on his refilled coffee. He knew Marc would give him shit about his situation once he got the whole picture. Any words he might have said were cut off as he saw the object of their discussion walk up to the entry of the restaurant. He watched as she paused at the threshold to compose herself, and to slip behind one of her facades, John noticed. He also saw she had changed and was now wearing a respectable sweater. Her eyes flicked to his for a fraction of a second and he couldn't stop his smile in response. Marc saw the change and turned in his seat to see who Johnny was grinning like an idiot at.

"Hey", was all Marc said as she walked past them. He barely heard her quiet response as she passed their table with out stopping. "Is that normal," Marc asked quietly. John nodded.

"We ain't a couple in public. No way. Too many eyes and ears and, she says too many people would try to sabotage us," John said quietly. He watched as she pulled her shoulders even further back in preparation for meeting Triple H's table.

Nothing slipped past the fiery beauty this morning, and Cena's grin at just seeing Carrie walk by was enough to confirm Nan suspicions. She felt Hunter tense beside her and realized he was worried, worried about Carrie joining them. She thought she'd nip that in the bud.

"Deez, behave yourself this morning," Nan warned her long time friend. Kevin blinked in feigned shock that she'd even have to say anything.

"What the hell," he said as he pulled his coffee away. "What a thing to say? I'm house trained."

"Yeah, but only recently," Nan quipped.

"Shug, your wit hasn't dulled, even if your sense might have," Kevin said as he leaned out of the way of her punch. He forgot to pull his legs out of the way and Nan connected squarely with her heavy winter boot to his shin. "What the hell did you do that for," Kevin demanded.

"She didn't, I did," Hunter said quietly. He looked up at the woman approaching their table and smiled into her slightly worried gaze. He stood up and reached out a hand to her. She took it with a smile. Before she realized his intent, Carrie found herself wrapped in his arms. "You look like you feel better," he said quietly so just he, Nan and Carrie could hear. She pulled in a deep breath and nodded.

"I do, thanks," she said as she pulled away.

"Lil' Sis, I'd like you to meet an old friend of mine. He's one of the ones I've warned you about before," Hunter teased. "Don't believe a damn thing that comes out of his mouth." Kevin blinked in mock shock and stood up. He used all of his height to remind this lady that she did indeed know him.

"No need, me laddy. Me and this wee lassie are well acquainted," Kevin said in his terrible imitation of a Scottish accent. Carrie grinned up at him.

"Some how, I thought you'd be taller with your clothes on," the wee lassie said. Several heart beats of silence followed her words. It was disrupted by Nan throwing her napkin to the table in disgust.

"Damn it, Deez! Is there any one of my friends you haven't fucked," Nan complained loudly. Carrie grinned but held her tongue for a moment, sensing that Nan had more to say to the large man.

"Now Shug," Kevin started to say.

"Don't give me that shit," Nan growled. "I can't seem to find one single female on this whole fucking planet that you haven't slept with!" Kevin opened and closed his mouth several times, as he tried to think of something to say to that outrageous claim. Hunter was quiet beside his wife, preferring to let her rip into Kevin. He knew that of the two, she was much better suited to verbal sparring. Shawn set his juice down at the beginning of Nan 's tirade, but was fighting a losing battle at keeping his face from showing his amusement at his friend's predicament. Carrie decided to rescue the big man, since he seemed speechless again.

" Nan , I didn't sleep with him," Carrie said quietly. Nan 's outburst had focused all eyes to their table and Carrie didn't want to give all those folks more to talk about so she deliberately kept her voice low.

"What," was Nan 's irritated response. She shook her head at Carrie's need to protect Deez. "Don't lie for him, he doesn't deserve it." Kevin, Hunter and Shawn's brows rose at the redhead's words.

" Nan , I didn't sleep with him, really." Carrie still kept her voice low and she saw that Nan had realized they were creating a scene also, as Nan took a deep breath and let it out before saying anything else.

"Okay, so you didn't stay. But did you have to have sex with him?" Carrie shook her head and laughed at her feisty friend. There was no getting through to her sometimes when she was fired up. Her eyes went to Hunter, who had been mysteriously quiet through out the tableside fun.

"Trust me," Carrie said to Hunter's amused look. "I didn't have sex of any kind with him. You think I need more than one big man in my life? Hell, no. One was enough, thanks."

Hunter immediately countered with, "Cena know you feel that way?"

"Asshole. Yeah, he does," Carrie said quietly. Shawn gave up the battle of stifling his giggles. Carrie saw his shoulders shake as he gave into his giggles.

"Wee Lassie, you could've at least protected me honor somehow," Kevin finally said.

"Yeah, whatever," Carrie said with a flip of her hand. "I'm not the dumb ass who decided to sound like Fat Bastard that night." Nan chuckled.

"Fat Bastard? Ooh, babies, the other white meat," Nan said with a devilish glint to her eye. She raised a brow at her friend as he returned to his seat, defeated for the time being.

"Why would you see him naked, Carrie," Shawn finally asked. Carrie set her water glass back down for everyone’s safety

"Shawn," she sighed as she dragged her fingers through her hair as she sat down, next to Nan . Without thought, she reached for and held Nan 's hand. The other woman didn't pull away, sensing her small friend's unspoken need. "It was a long time ago," Carrie said with a quick glance at Kevin, noting his twitching lips.

"Not long enough," Hunter teased with a smile at his momentarily silenced quick witted friend. Carrie shook her head at him, knowing he was just trying to mess with her and Kevin.

"Yeah, trust me. It was. Kevin had long beautiful blonde hair, so did Shawn." Shawn blinked as her meaning became clear. Carrie noted his look and smiled.

"Yeah, you too. I know why your wife smiles so much," Carrie teased. Shawn had the grace to blush at the small woman's words. Nan didn't bother to try to stop the unladylike snort that escaped at her small friend's words.

"Oh that is too good to not have a story attached to it," Nan said with an evil look at Deez. He'd been there for her through many times in her life, but she didn't have much background or blackmailable information on him. Kevin, in turned, squirmed in his seat, knowing that Nan wasn't going to let it go, period. "So, who's gonna tell me? Deez?" At her question he coughed and looked away. "Carrie?" Carrie smiled and gave her friend's hand a squeeze before she released it.

"Lil' Sis, do us a favor," Hunter said. Carrie turned to look at him, waiting for the next words. "Tell us so we can make our flight."

"Hey, your flight isn't until this afternoon," Kevin protested.

"Exactly," Nan said.

"Shug," Kevin pleaded. Nan shook her head to her friend's pleas. Carrie turned back to Kevin, across from her and smirked.

"Sorry, Kevin," Carrie said quietly. Kevin closed his eyes briefly and pinched the bridge of his nose. There was no way once Nan heard the tale that he wasn't gonna get shit from her for years. He had the quick thought that he needed to tell his wife before Nan did or they would be hell to pay from her.

"I think it was about nine years ago," Carrie said quietly as she looked to Kevin for confirmation. He nodded at her and waited for the tale to be told. Carrie didn't get very far in her story telling before Nan interrupted her.

"Wait," Nan said as she held up her delicate hand. Carrie smiled, she had a pretty good idea of Nan 's question. "Cowboy boots? Nothing but his boots," Nan asked as she chuckled. Shawn shrugged at her, he had no idea. It was during a time of his life that he had many blanks and he just hoped that people found it in their hearts to forgive him. Carrie nodded at her friend and waited for her to digest the information. She could see the wheels turning and knew Nan was creating her own picture of that night, long ago. After a smile crossed Nan 's face, she gestured for Carrie to continue the saga...

"Oh my God, no wonder you can't remember," Nan said to Shawn.

"Yeah, it was a long time ago," Shawn admitted. He looked at Carrie and was just about to apologize to her but she waved him quiet.

"Nothing to apologize for, Shawn. You fell asleep. You weren't the one trying to get me in your belly," Carrie giggled.

"Shit," Kevin said as he covered his face with his hands and groaned.

"I wanna know why the Undertaker didn't beat the shit out of you for being such an ass," Hunter directed at Kevin. Nan nodded, she'd wondered about that too.

"I don't know. I guess he didn't want to mess up my pretty face or something," Kevin joked. Carrie raised a brow at his excuse and shook her head. If that's what he wanted to believe, that was fine. It's was obvious that he didn't remember the words her and Old Man had exchanged over them. Another thought struck her.

"How did you recognize me anyway," she asked Kevin. "It's been a long time. I wasn't sure I'd recognize you, but you’re pretty memorable."

"Thank you, wee lassie," Kevin grinned. "Simple, I never forget a walk. And honey, you have a very distinctive walk," Kevin said with a grin. The other men at the table nodded in agreement. Carrie frowned at his words and looked at Nan . She shrugged, she didn't think Carrie walked funny.

***

Carrie slid her card back in to the lock so she could grab her stuff.  The door was opened from inside for her.  She looked up in surprise in to John’s eyes. 

“John?  What are you still doing here?  Did we…did I forget something,” she asked as she stepped through the open door, letting it close behind her.  John smiled at her words and shook his head. 

“Nah, honey.  We didn’t have anything, I just wanted to say good bye before you left,” John admitted.  Carrie blinked in surprise, understanding what he didn’t say.  She nodded and set her small bag down.  John reached for herl hand and drew her to his chest wordlessly.  His hands slid down her back, slowly caressing her.  He felt her tense briefly, but didn’t stop his actions.  He wanted to burn the feeling of her in his arms and nothing short of assault was going to make him stop until he was ready.  All thoughts of asking her about her breakfast receded as she relaxed against him again.

“I miss you already, honey,” John whispered into her hair.  Carrie didn’t know what to say to that since nothing could be said. 

“I’m sorry,” was all she got out before he shushed her.  His lips were still on her hair, but he was breathing in the scent of her, storing it like everything else.  Slowly, he let her pull away.   

Once she was standing by herself again, her brain had kicked back in and she felt like a huge piece of shit for putting him through all of the hell.  Especially since more was to come, at least until they knew whose children she was carrying.

“John, I am sorry.  It was never supposed to be like this,” Carrie said quietly.  He nodded in acceptance, more than agreement.   

“I know.  It’s not your fault honey.  You don’t have anything to be sorry about.  I’m the dumb shit here, as Tardemarc was happy to point out,” John admitted. 

“How did that go,” Carrie asked.  She busied herself checking the room for anything she might have forgotten as she waited for John to explain. 

“Um, okay.  It was a rough start, but once he finally figured out that you’re not after my money, let alone me, he seemed to be better,” John said quietly.  Carrie heard the hurt in his voice but didn’t know how to help him heal.  She knew that every time they touched, it was a special kind of pain for him.  He’d told her that weeks ago on the phone, but he said it wasn’t going to stop him either.  She knew that he'd hate to be pitied, so she tried to be impartial instead. 

“What time is your flight today,” she asked, shifting gears on him.