Warning: Mentions of rape and violence in this chapter. Can be triggering. Nothing in detail, though.

Despite being only thirteen years-old, Mary began to train to wrestle that summer. Her step-father was a part of the nWo, a very popular stable in the wrestling world at the time. Even Dusty Rhodes and Ted DiBiase, Sr. had joined them at one point. Mary, Ted, Cody, Levi, as well as Curt Hennig's son Joe spent a lot of time backstage whenever the shows were near their homes. They got to know a lot of the wrestlers in the company, especially those in the nWo.

One night before Monday Nitro, Ted sat in the front row as Mary was working in the ring with Dean Malenko and Billy Kidman. She was a natural in the ring, and Ted couldn't have been more proud. When they finished up and received notice that the show would be starting soon, Ted walked her to the women's locker room and waited while she showered off and changed. After chatting with the Nitro Girls for a bit, Mary walked out of the locker room, pecking her boyfriend's lips.

"Getting makeup tips?" Ted chuckled.

Mary smirked as they linked their fingers together, walking down the hall. "And if I were saying that I was getting kissing tips?"

Ted stopped in his tracks, blushing wildly. "I really don't think you need any help in that department, Mare Bear."

Mary smirked as she checked their surroundings before backing up against the wall, pulling Ted close to her. "Is that so?"

Ted nodded as he leaned in, pressing his lips to his girlfriend's. For the first time since their relationship began, Ted didn't pull away right after the initial peck. Instead, he slowly drew his tongue out, running it along Mary's lips.

Mary's eyes widened in surprise momentarily before she drew her tongue out to meet his. Just they were about to get into the kiss, they could hear yelling in the distance. Mary pulled away with a sigh, looking down.

Ted held Mary in his arms as he frowned. "Is that Scott?"

Mary nodded, "I think that Sean is drunk again. I wish that he'd get help for that."

Ted bit his lip as he saw the sadness in his girlfriend's eyes. "Let's go find a place to settle in for the night."

Mary nodded as she followed her boyfriend into a room where they could sit down and cuddle while watching the show in silence.

…

A few months later Sean Waltman, who was going by Syxx in the ring at the time, stayed off of WCW programming because Eric Bischoff couldn't stand his constant substance abuse. Of course, Sean did not like this at all. One night in March of 1998, he successfully made his way into the arena without anyone noticing. By this time, Mary had somehow unofficially became a part of the nWo, so she was serving as a valet for her step-father. This meant that she wouldn't be spending the entire night with Ted, who was in the catering area while Mary was out by the ring. This wasn't the first time that Mary had joined the nWo in the ring. In fact, she even added in a promo here and there. Something else she was a natural at. After the nWo segment ended that night, Mary made her way backstage alone. As she was about to reach catering, she was pulled into a dark room. She did her best to fight off her attacker, but she smelled the alcohol on his breath. He was much more forceful than he ever had been when they worked together in the ring. She did her best to fight him off, but he was able to eventually take her over.

Ted had drifted off into his thoughts, not realizing that the nWo segment had finished until he saw a couple of the members enter catering. He got up, going to look for his girlfriend, who was supposed to be meeting him. He didn't have to go too far before he heard the sounds of a girl struggling. When he heard a very weak "please stop", he realized that Mary was in that room. He swung the door open to see Sean on top of Mary, who was crying and trying to push him off.

"What the hell are you doing to my girlfriend, man?" The words slipped out of Ted's mouth before he could even think.

"What are you talking about, kid? Aren't you like thirteen?" Sean turned to look at Ted, giving Mary and opening to squirm away.

Ted's eyes widened as he saw his girlfriend beaten and completely naked. "Fifteen, actually. And I'm older than her." He rushed over to Mary, taking off his jacket and wrapping it around her body. He picked her up just as he saw blood starting to drip down her thighs.

"You mean she's not nineteen?" The drunken wrestler fell over.

"What difference would even make?" Ted sneered as he carried Mary out of the room to find her some help. Not even half way down the hall, he ran into his father, just as Mary was starting to drift out of consciousness. He looked up at the older man with tears in his eyes, "dad..."

Ted Sr. looked over the situation, quickly getting an assessment of what had just occurred. "Who?"

"Waltman," Ted sighed. "He's passed out in the room down the hall. I don't see him going anywhere any time soon."

The older man nodded, leading his son down the hall, letting security know what had happened before finding the ambulance that was waiting in case anyone had been seriously hurt. He let his son ride with his girlfriend while he stayed behind and made a few calls.

…

After being questioned by police, Ted stayed in the room while Mary was examined. He was pacing and crying the entire time. He wanted to help his girlfriend, but he didn't have the first clue as to what to do. Once the team was finishing up, a female doctor walked up to Ted, a sullen look on her face.

"How is she?" A hopeful look spread across the teenager's face.

"First thing I have to ask you if if the two of you have been sexually active in any way," the doctor took a deep breath.

Ted's face went pale, knowing what that question could possibly mean. "No, we weren't ready for that yet."

"Then it's exactly as we may have feared. Maryanne is pregnant, Ted. That means that her attacker..." she was cut off by Ted holding his hand up.

"So she's... how do you know this soon?" Ted leaned against the wall, holding his stomach.

"Well we know that conception has occurred. That doesn't necessarily mean that it's going to take. Even if it does, she may choose to not keep it, under the circumstances," she looked to Ted with concern.

Ted nodded slowly, "I understand."

"The good part of all of this is that she seems to trust you. She was asking for you when she was conscious. At the same time, there is a good chance that she's going to be afraid of even you once she fully comes to," the doctor explained.

"Yes, I know. It will suck if she turns me away, but I am prepared for it," Ted nodded.

"Oh, and you should know that your father is here. Apparently Maryanne's father told him to deal with it," she shook her head at the thought.

"He's her step-father. I can't say that I'm surprised," Ted sighed, "he mother probably doesn't care, either." He slowly made his way out to the lobby as the finished up getting Mary ready to spend the night in a regular room. He looked up at his dad, "hey..."

Ted Sr. wrapped his arms around his son. "She's going to be OK."

Ted Jr. nodded with a sigh, "can she stay with us? You know how things are with Scott and her mom."

"I honestly don't think that they're going to give us a choice in the matter," his father nodded as they looked up to see Mary getting wheeled out of the room. "You should stay in case she wakes up in the middle of the night. I'll be back to pick you up in the morning."

Ted nodded with a small smile as he wiped his tears away, "thanks dad."

…

Ted Sr. walked into Mary's room at nine the next morning. It had been a long night, and he hadn't gotten much sleep, due to his thoughts keeping him awake. The sight that was before him caused a warm smile to play across his lips. Normally, the sight of two teenagers in bed together would be troubling, but Mary had her arms wrapped around Ted. She was clinging onto him as if both of their lives depended on it. This meant that she felt safe with Ted, which was a huge thing considering what had just happened the night before. Most girls in her situation didn't want anyone near them, especially not any males. There was a good chance that she may be skittish around other people, but it was good that she was at least letting Ted in. The Million Dollar Man cleared his throat softly, just enough to wake his son up, still smiling.

Ted stirred awake, opening his eyes and quickly began to sit up once he saw his father in the room, only to be pulled back in by Mary. He looked up, giving his father an innocent smile.

The older man chuckled, "you're fine, Junior. She obviously wants you there. Kathryn has given me permission to sign her out. She's going to be staying with us until she heals up. She really isn't in any condition to travel. Not even to Atlanta."

Ted bit his lip, "heal up?"

Ted Sr. nodded, "she has some internal injuries. Her pregnancy is going to be high risk for at least a couple of months, but that is only if she chooses to keep it."

"So is it going to be okay if she stays in my room? Because if this is any indication, it looks like she may insist," Ted sighed, gently stroking Mary's unbruised cheek.

"Considering there may not even be any kissing, let alone any funny business going on, I'm sure that your mother and myself will allow it," he set down Mary's suitcase, as well as a duffle bag next to bed. "These are her things, and I brought a change of clothes for you, as well. I'll be waiting in the hall signing all of the paperwork and whatnot." He quietly left the room, leaving his son to handle things in there.

Once the door closed, Ted gently nudge Mary. "Mare Bear? Time to wake up."

Mary slowly woke up, suddenly realizing that the night before hadn't been a dream. She didn't remember very many details. Nor did she want to. Tears filled her eyes as she looked down at her hospital gown, then over to her boyfriend. "It really happened, didn't it, Teddy Bear?"

He kissed her forehead softly, "let's not think of it now, Maryanne. You're coming home with me for a while. I'm going to take care of you."

"So mom and Scott obviously don't care," she slowly sat up, wincing a little.

"You're not surprised, are you?" Ted frowned as he got up, walking over to the duffle bag. "I'm going to get changed, then I'm going to help you."

She blinked, her eyes widening a bit, "but Ted..."

He took a deep breath, "I... um... I sort of saw everything last night, Mare Bear. I did my best to not look. My eyes just kept going to the wounds. You trust me, right?"

She nodded with a smile, "of course."

He leaned over, pressing a soft, chaste kiss to her lips. "I'll be right back." He slipped into the bathroom in the room and quickly changed, returning less than a minute later. He helped her out of the bed and let her test out her legs. She was still a little shaky, needing to lean against Ted for support as she walked toward the bathroom. "Do you need a minute?" he knew that there were bars near the toilet for those in a wheel chair, so she could use those while she took care of her business. After she nodded, he made sure that she got into the bathroom before turning and going for the suitcase.

Once she finished, she looked toward the door, "you can come in, Ted."

Ted took a deep breath, opening the door and set the suitcase down on the floor before closing the door once more. After he opened her suitcase, she pointed to a pair of panties, which he pulled out and held open for her to step into as he knelt in front of her and she held his shoulders for support. She was able to reach behind her neck, untying the hospital gown and letting it fall to the ground. She then pointed to a sports bra, which he grabbed for her and stood up, helping her get it over her head, not once looking at her breasts. After getting her into a pair of loose fitting, comfortable clothing, he closed the suitcase and helped her into her sandals, picking it up along with his duffle and helped her out of the room. They made their way out to a waiting nurse, who had a wheelchair for Mary to be wheeled out of the hospital. Next stop was the DiBiase home, where Ted secretly hoped that Mary could stay for good.