I just recently returned to the wonderful world of wrestling... after having missed sooo many unbelievable things, I had to do a lot of catching up. After watching all those matches and backstage stuff, story lines and funny moments, I decided to give this a try, and yes, I´m up for some smut as well. In the end, I decided NOT to specify exactly when this story takes place. You´ll meet some old friends and enemies and some new people I made up...I´ll probably refer to some things that really happened and others that can´t be found like that in the WWF/WWE history books...I also decided not to mention too many details about the respective shows and cities things take place at...I am just not familiar enough with the whole thing to do so. It may be kind of heretic to use exactly that quote, but be honest - Taker´s just the best there is, best there was, best there ever will be :-)

I don´t own any of the WWE characters.

Mark, just returning from the showers, not even turned his head at the knocking at his locker room´s door.

„Yeah", he drawled.

„Hey there."

It was T.J., one of the indispensable gofers around. „Chris sends me over, asking how your shoulder´s s doing."

Mark had sat down meanwhile, carefully moving the mentioned shoulder.

„I´d appreciate it if he could have a look at it", he stated.

„Alright!" T.J. nodded. „He thought so, says he´ll be with you in a minute!"

Mark only nodded.

The handyman had almost closed the door behind him, but then poked his head in once again. „By the way, great match!"

The nervous, never growing up help had already closed the door before Mark could answer anything. He was alone again.

The Undertaker, the legendary star of the wrestling business, sat back with a small sigh.

Bo Cedric, alias Sledgehammer, the new star, had had to be treated first. Well, as long as the boy needed the physio team more than he did, he would be contented, even if his hurting shoulder made him feel his own age right now. He was in good shape after he had had to take a break because of a recent injury. It had been an unlucky misunderstanding out there that had made him land unexpectedly hard and overstretch the muscles of his arm and shoulder about half an hour ago. Well, an unlucky misunderstanding as well as a lack of experience on his opponent´s side.

His next visitor walked into the room without any warning. Mark had just made it into some underwear and a sweatpants and turned, only to watch Shawn entering the room, a second person right on his heels.

„Hey, big man, I brought you some company", the colleague and friend told him, stepping aside to let Jade pass. She was one of the longtime assistants of the physio team´s boss, Chris. Right now, she had entered the room behind Shawn with a devilish grin on her face, obviously amused by something she and the Hearbreak Kid had just been talking about.

„Great fight, besides", Shawn told Mark.

„Thanks", the taller man only answered.

„So, your shoulder ?" Jade asked.

Mark nodded.

„Let´s have a look", she said. „And by the way, good to see you around!"

„Believe it or not", Shawn addressed Mark. „Our golden boy from down along the hall just virtually shouted our girl here out of his locker room!"

Mark only raised an eyebrow, asking a silent „Why ?" that way.

For a glorious, if even only temporary winner, Cedric had admittedly rather hurried through his victory celebration at the ring, only to haul for treatment like a spoiled child for candy the moment he had made it backstage.

Shawn put his hands to his sides and bent a little forward to emphasize his next words.

„Mr. Cedric requested to be treated by the chef physio only", he explained.

Jade had circled Mark meanwhile to palpate the shoulder in question.

„There, I take it ?" she asked.

He nodded.

„Thought so", she muttered, trailing the strained muscle with her fingertips.

„That true ?" Mark addressed the physiotherapist after another moment, referring to what the friend had just told him.

She nodded.

„Yup."

Mark didn´t comment. He only gave a small disbelieving chuckle, exchanging a look with Shawn, the two men obviously sharing the same opinion about that.

„Idiot!" Shawn commented heartily.

It was true, Chris was the boss of the physio team, a man with decades of experience and loads of know-how. But Jade had been in the same business and working with him for years by now, and it was known among the athletes that the girl had magic hands.

Mark still remembered the first time she had taken care of him, after an evening full of unlucky incidents and mishaps. He had been sore, sick and angry. Things between him and his boss had been tense back then, and he had wanted to freak out the moment they had sent him that tiny plain-Jane looking girl to take care of him. But he hadn´t. It hadn´t been the girl´s fault. And he had had to admit later on that she knew what she was doing.

Jade worked surprisingly strong small fingers through the thick muscles of his shoulder by now while he recalled that night. Thinking about it, he found that this was probably one of Bo Cedric´s uncountable mistakes that should be forgiven to the boy. Jade had worked with Mark for a long time. She knew about his injuries, his weak points, how his convalescence worked. And her boss Chris was not the guy to allow people to shout at his assistants, even if he had probably sent Jade out in the first place to calm the waves. Should that boy go on believing meanwhile that he was in better hands only because they were better paid.

„How´s that ?" Jade asked, making him outstretch his arm.

„Alright."

„Lift your arm, please."

He did as told.

„Hurts ?"

„Slightly."

„Move it backwards. Hurts as well ?"

He tilted his head, frowning.

„Yeah."

Jade gave only a small sound of acknowledge and changed position to go on with her work. She didn´t take offence by her patient´s silent manner. She knew that he was no talkative guy. Besides that, it was entertaining to watch how communication between the taciturn giant and the much smaller and much more talkative Heartbreak Kid worked. Not being that close friends, but working long enough with each other, she had witnessed them agreeing on a subject like that many times before - with Shawn usually putting into words what they both were thinking in the end.

It surprised her only more when Mark suddenly spoke up.

„You look tired", he stated, addressing her.

The statement caused a weak grin on her side.

„Well, I am tired."

„After one day on the road ?" Shawn inquired good-humoredly. „What are we old men supposed to say ?"

„I didn´t get a lot of sleep last night", she said with a shrug. "I´ll be fine tomorrow."

Concentrated on her work, Jade hadn´t even realized that her patient had been observing her.

Thinking about how Cedric had just shouted at her to leave him the hell alone, with Chris intervening quietly by sending her over here, she found that she was grateful. The man known as the Undertaker was the more polite one of the two wrestlers, easier to treat even if really injured and definitely the more agreeable character, and for that, right now, better for her raw nerves.

„I really hope that his is not about that freak of an ex-boyfriend again ?" Shawn inquired meanwhile, disapproval ringing through his voice.

Jade smiled.

„No, this is just about a kind of over-motivated next-door neighbor and his girlfriend at the hotel who kept the whole floor awake all night", she answered with a smile. „But thanks for asking."

The Heartbreak Kid nodded. His wife and Jade had been friends for a long time even before their marriage. It was why he knew about the trouble that had finally led to Jade moving again only weeks ago.

„You´re up for a drink ?" he then addressed Mark.

„I´m done for", Mark answered.

„Quitter", Shawn commented. „You´re just afraid that we´ll bump into our up-and-coming talent´s celebration somewhere!"

He got up.

„But Jade here will surely advise you not to lift any bottles with that shoulder of yours tonight anyway", he teased.

„Definitely", Jade confirmed sarcastically, winking at Mark.

„Bad luck for you, my friend", Shawn told Mark, winked at the physiotherapist, nodded to the friend and wished the two of them a good night.

XXX

Three days later, after a short enough appearance of the Undertaker at the night´s show, including the exchange of some blows, he ended up with with the same problem, the shoulder giving him trouble.

„What´s your schedule for tomorrow ?" Jade asked while taking care of him.

„Day off, so far. So only some workout."

She nodded.

„I´ll be at the arena tomorrow from nine to at least three before I return there for the night. You should probably drop in and let me have another look at that. It should have gotten better instead of worse!"

„Don´t get upset", he told her with a grin. „This is not due to your lack of competence, this has something to do with a thing called age."

She smiled.

„Yeah, come on! I got other people around complaining over symptoms like those on a daily basis and they´re way younger !"

She circled the bench he was sitting on and worked her fingers slowly along his upper arm again.

„You still look tired", he stated after a minute.

„I look again tired", she corrected with a small smile, but without looking at him.

„Any pain during the stretching ?" she inquired then, done with another round of that.

„No."

„Any pain now ?"

Carefully moving the arm again, he nodded. It made her frown.

„What the hell is causing that trouble ?" she muttered, more to herself than to him, sitting down right next to him now, letting her hand trail along his upper arm once more.

„I´m gonna ask Chris to have a look at that", she said then.

„You know, it´s not a big thing."

„Yeah, not right now, but I don´t want it turn into one", she contradicted. „Unfortunately, after all the shit that went wrong out there tonight, he´s quite busy right now."

„It´s definitely nothing that couldn´t wait until tomorrow", he said.

She threw him a doubtful look, but nodded afterwards.

„Alright. Then we´re done here for now."

She let her hands rest on her knees for a moment, composing herself before getting up again. She was very tired indeed. He watched her closing her eyes and slowly tilting her head to one side for a moment.

„Turn", he said suddenly.

She opened her eyes again and looked at him, surprised.

„I said - turn -", he repeated insistently.

Jade found herself doing as she had been told, quietly wondering why.

He put large hands down to her shoulders and slid his thumbs carefully up from there along the back of her neck, the soft stretching of the uptight muscles leading to instant relief. She had to put her palms down to the bench beneath her to steady herself when he carefully raised the pressure. She felt her muscles and skin starting to burn under his hands, but the result was already worth that.

„When was the last time someone took care of you, huh ?" he inquired.

Jade was too busy enjoying his treatment to manage an answer, but it seemed that he hadn´t expected one anyway.

Something metallic hitting the ground somewhere outside the locker room and a harsh voice swearing made Jade suddenly become aware of her surroundings again. She straightened up. He stopped what he had been doing.

She opened her eyes again, glad that she was sitting with her back turned to him. She was supposed to treat him, not the other way round. Everything else was just a damn lack of professionalism on her side, even regarding the fact that they had known each other for so long.

„Thanks", she muttered, slightly embarassed.

„You´re welcome."

She hurried to get up and gathered up her stuff, throwing her patient only the shortest look while doing so.

„See you tomorrow then", she muttered, wondering what had gotten into herself to let him do this.

He only nodded, watching her leave.

XXX

Another couple of days later, Jade followed the Hearbreak Kid with the eyes on his way out of the locker room. Turning to grab her kit, she bumped right into Mark. How he had managed to appear right behind her without a sound was a mystery to her.

„Damn, would you stop ?!" she complained. „You´re out of the ring!"

He only chuckled, leaving her wondering how he could manage to make it sound that devilish and good-humored at the same time.

She looked up to him. There was no way for her to get past him this way.

„Would you please let me pass ?" she asked after a moment, surprised by his behaviour, but nevertheless smiling.

He looked down to her, the beginning of a grin around the edges of his mouth.

„Something wrong ?" she asked when he didn´t do it, getting suspicious.

„No", he answered mysteriously, sounding quietly amused.

He took a step forward and put a large hand around her upper arm to maneuvre her carefully with her back against the wall right next to them.

„You´re not scared, are you ?" he asked, trying to read the expression on her face.

Jade gazed up to him, stunned. She had gotten used to all these gigantic guys with their swelling muscles, their moods and issues, their odd appearances, but him of all people behaving like this took her completely by surprise.

„No", she answered honestly, unsure where this conversation would lead. „But what in the..."

She wasn´t allowed to finish the sentence because he bent his head to kiss her.

It was a gentle kiss, not meant to scare her or to force her into something she didn´t want. He cupped the back of her head with one hand the moment he realized that she would allow him even more and the soft touching of their lips changed into a deep French kiss.

When he finally drew back, he left her all shaky.

This time, she stared openly at him, experiencing an odd mixture of regret and relief about the fact that he had taken a step back and had brought at least some distance back between them.

„What the hell just happened ?" she whispered, still breathless.

„Need a slowmo ?" he inquired, his expression sober.

The blunt suggestion made her legs turn to jelly.

But the question seemed to have been of purely rhetorical nature anyway. He had already turned to grab his bag.

He tapped the tip of her nose with one finger on his way past her.

„Don´t stay up late", he advised her fatherly. „Or you´ll only be looking tired again tomorrow."

She watched him leave.

Suddenly on her own at the locker room, Jade slipped slowly down the wall he had pinned her against just half a minute before. She sat several minutes there on the floor, undiscovered and undisturbed, before she felt finally able to get up again and get her equipment.

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