Sorry! Sorry Sorry Sorry Sorry Sorry! I realize absolutely nothing all that important is happening and I'm sorry. XP To be honest I first published this story with no real plan on where I wanted it to go, except for the ending...but that doesn't help a writer none. I usually try not to write outlines because I feel like once the ideas are out there, my mind has less incentive to continue writing. I have no idea why. I know thats a bad thing, and I'm trying to work on it so I can try writing my first coherent story and actually complete it. Right now I think this slow trudge of short chapters is helpful in kind of easing me from one plot point to another. So just bear with me. I'm hoping something interesting will happen by next chapter. Keyword hoping. But flashbacks are fun, right? xD

"What are ya watching?" Cassie asked as she plopped on the couch next to her father.

George smiled at her. "Wrestling. What else? Its survivor series tonight. Its a big deal."

Her eyes grew wide with curiosity. "Can I watch?"

He looked intently at his little girl. She tried so desperately hard to fit in and be like her brothers. Would always ask to watch whatever they were watching, or to play with them, or hang out with them. She tried so hard to be a big kid. But whereas they were growing into hormonal teenagers, she was only eight, and seen as a nuisance to them. In a way George was all she had. "Sure, little one."

She giggled at the "American dream" theme music, watching the dream team file into the ring. They were just about to go up against Ted Dibiase and his million dollar team, including a mystery partner that had yet to be revealed. She listened with rapt attention as her father named off each wrestler and explained a little about them.

"Daddy I want glasses like those!" Cassie said laughing as she pointed to Brett Hart on the television, wearing his trademark shades.

George laughed. "We'll go looking for them the next time we go shopping, okay?" She nodded in response and intently watched the million dollar team enter.

She pointed at The Honky Tonk man. "Is that Elvis?"

"Naw honey, Elvis died in the seventies. That's one of the rhythm and blues guys."

"They look silly wearing just coats and underwear." George chuckled at his daughter's commentary. He loved watching television with her because she would make funny comments like this, no matter what show they watched.

Ted Dibiase came in next, strutting like a Peacock. "His hair looks so fluffy…Daddy his face is so red. He looks like a tomato." Cassie said. The two of them watched as he paraded to the middle of the ring with a microphone.

"As I've said many times before, everyone's got a price! So without further ado, I will introduce to you now my mystery partner. I give you, The Undertaker!"

A tower of black, thats what he was. He was tall, cloaked in a long black trench coat. A brimmed hat held his face in shadow. His movements were slow as he trudged his way toward the ring.

"Whoa." George echoed Cassie's thoughts perfectly.

Being shed of his coat, tie and hat, The Undertaker was revealed in full form. His skin was pale but fair. His arms were long and thick, strong, but almost unnatural. His long, full mane looked soft to the touch, red as the scruff on his chiseled jaw. Piercing green eyes bore into his opponents, cold and lifeless, accentuated by the purple coloring underneath them. Near seven feet tall, he towered over all the other men in the ring.

George watched the camera cut to the crowd, catching the terrified faces of the children with their parents. Concerned, his eyes drifted to Cassie. "He's scary, huh?"

Her eyes were glued to the tall man, mesmerized. Fear was far from what she felt in her heart, looking at him. Her words were a quiet murmur as she looked on, completely entranced. "He's beautiful, daddy."

So beautiful.

"Cass? You alright?"

She blinked her mossy green eyes, finding his olive green orbs staring back at her. They sat across from each other at island counter top in the kitchen, a plate stacked high with chocolate chip pancakes in front of both of them. A big smile spread across her face. "More than alright."

Mark quirked an eyebrow at her. "What were ya thinking about?"

She was silent for a moment before deciding to tell him, figuring he'd find out eventually. "The first time I saw you. I was eight years old when you debuted."

"Yeah?" he smiled at her.

Cassie slowly started eating her pancakes. "I was watching that survivor series with my dad." She paused. "He's beautiful, daddy. Thats what I said."

Mark just about choked on his food. "Beautiful? Girl I damn well had kids frightened and you thought I was beautiful?!" It was a strange thought but at the same time flattering. He could feel his cheeks turn a tinge pink.

"I think its safe to say that I wasn't like most kids." She said with a laugh. "Needless to say I was hooked. There was just something about the phenom that was so enticing. There was no other character like him. You were really something special to be able to pull him off. Can't say I'd ever believe I would meet the man himself even if you told me back then."

So fate would have it, Mark thought with a smirk. "So you've been watching me all this time, huh?"

She shook her head. "Up until a little while after Kane debuted, my mom started throwing a fit, yammering on about the how violent and raunchy the attitude era was becoming. So I was banned from watching it. Didn't pick it up again until my freshman year of college, thankfully my roommate was a big wrestling fan too. But it just wasn't as interesting."

Mark's smile faltered. "It wasn't, huh?"

A smile was pulling at her lips. "Nope. A certain red head was missing in action. I didn't pay much attention until the last day of the semester. It was May I think."

It took a minute for Mark to process exactly what moment in time she was talking about. Once it did he started smiling again. Judgement day had to be the event, he recalled. Cassie thought back to that day.

Cassie came into their small dorm room to find Jamie practically glued to the television, watching judgement day. "Girl, you're just in time for wrestling!"

She pushed her stick straight brunette hair out of her face. With a shrug she went across the room to grab her text book. She had an art history exam she desperately needed to study for. "I was never all that interested in it." And that was the truth. In the past she tried to watch matches that the Undertaker didn't participate in, and she just couldn't get excited. Seeing some old faces she recognized, like Triple H or Shawn Michaels, made her smile, but she couldn't make herself interested. Only Taker could get her heart riled up.

Jamie stuck her tongue out at her. "You just don't give a shit because deadman isn't around." Her thin lips faded into a smile, making dimples in her rosy freckled cheeks. She knew damn well the Undertaker was her roommate's favorite.

"Yeah? What's wrong with that? You'd be the same exact way if Kane disappeared." Cassie found it funny that they butted heads over who was the better sibling in the brothers of destruction. She didn't remember too much about Kane, seeing as her mother made her stop watching just after he debuted. He was a neat character in his own right, and she supported him fully, but he just wasn't as good as his brother. Kane didn't capture her heart the way Taker did. Jamie would beg to differ, believing that Taker only became more relevant because of his brother. They joked constantly, Jamie saying Cassie could have Taker, and she would have Kane, and they'd go on the road together with their men and live happily ever after.

"Point taken. Come hang out with me anyway. Haven't seen you in a while." her red-headed roommate patted the seat next to her on the futon on which she slept. Cassie lofted her bed just above her, giving them space for a small entertainment center, consisting of a television and Nintendo 64.

It was true. Cassie didn't like to spend to much time inside or around people. It wasn't like she was trying to avoid Jamie, she just preferred her solitude. Thankfully her friend understood that and left to her own devices most of the time. Usually Cass would be out riding the bus watching the world go by or go for long walks and meditate on her life.

With a sigh Cassie sat down next to her roommate, opening her book. She was getting pretty good at shutting everything out except whatever book or fan fiction she was reading. Her straight brown hair acted like a curtain separating her from the world as she hunched over her text book.

It was near the end of the show when it happened. The Rock and Triple H were facing off in an Iron Man match, beating the living hell out of each other. Down the ramp the McMahons suddenly appeared, making their way to the ring. They tried to interfere in the match, hopefully getting Triple H the win, but The Rock knocked them effortlessly out of the ring. Road Dog and X-Pac shortly followed, trying to thwart the people's champion.

A noise, like a roar of thunder, suddenly drew the audience's attention to the titantron. Everyone in the ring, however, was more preoccupied with Triple H gaining the victory.

"…Holy shit." Jamie muttered, giving Cassie cause to glance at the screen. Three little girls were chanting something strange as a montage of creepy imagery of them flashed across the screen. It was odd whatever it was, but she couldn't pull her eyes away. There was a faint hope fluttering in her heart.

"He's heeeeeere…" the girls sang. Her heart leaped into her throat. The entrance music was not the funeral march she recognized, then again it was barely distinguishable over the ear piercing screams of the audience. In came big red speeding down the isle on a motorcycle. The textbook she was holding slipped through her fingers and fell to the wood floor with a thud.

"Oh my god…" her voice was a breathless squeak. Her heart was racing at a dangerous pace, tears threatening to fall from her eyes. It had to have been only three years since she last saw her deadman. At a glance it didn't seem very long ago, but to her it was like an eternity. It was like the very first time she set her eyes on him, even at eight years of age, she was immediately enamored. When her mother forbid her from watching wrestling, she was heart broken. But she didn't dare defy her mother. She was an obedient child, hated to cause trouble. So she stayed away from it, until college, when Jamie came in her life and helped her grow more independent.

Cassie was baffled by his sudden appearance, but pleasantly surprised. He looked so...different, but she knew it was him. Her heart ached to see him. He was wearing a denim vest, tight black jeans and long black leather coat. A dark blue bandana covered his forehead, shades hid his eyes. His hair was back to its natural red and so long, still looking as soft as ever. Her heart swelled with joy at his return, but at the same time felt conflicted. This wasn't her supernatural superhero she loved. This was a different man before her.

The camera followed him straight to the ring, where he proceeded to climb in and choke slam everyone except The Rock, favoring him to win. He choke slammed Triple H, following up with a classic Tombstone. Something about it seemed…different though. Like there was hesitance in his movements.

"Seems like the big guy put on a few extra pounds." Jamie scoffed, but it fell on deaf ears. Her roommate was entranced.

Cassie watched on with reluctance. Was this still her deadman? As he exited the ring he gave one look directly to the camera, gritting his teeth and rolling his eyes backward. She smiled. This man was obviously trying to keep some semblance of his old self with this new character. She had to admit, without the makeup and ghoulish clothing, he was even more ruggedly handsome. She could feel herself blush at the sight of him.

Unfortunately the match did not end as he hoped, making him the cause of one last disqualification giving a win to Triple H. Taker was so pissed, he angrily stalked referee Shawn Michaels out of the arena, with Triple H and the McMahons in tow.

Jamie whistled, shaking her head. Her long red curls bobbed with her. "I can't believe he's back. You gotta admit though that was a shit way to bring him back, making Triple H win."

"Yeah." Cassie mumbled. "He wasn't trying to let that happen, though." Her gaze was still locked to the screen, the show well over.

Jamie raised an eyebrow at her roommate. Cassie was defending him, like she always did. Jamie shook her head. "Girl you have it bad for him, don't you?"

Cassie blushed again, a grin spreading across her face. "Who wouldn't? He's so handsome."

Her roommate rolled her bright blue eyes. "Sure he is, Cass."

Who would have thought she got a wrestling fan for a roommate? Cassie smiled. Jamie was something else. She was brash and as tomboy as a tomboy could be. She had a bit of an attitude on her. if someone didn't sit right with her she wasn't afraid to express how badly she wanted to wring their neck to their face. Cassie was thankful they had met. If it weren't for Jamie she would probably still be stuck as the hollow shell of a human she used to be.

"Earth to Cass." Mark chuckled. He had leaned forward, hunching over the table to bring his eyes to her line of sight.

She blinked again. "Hm?" she hummed with a smile.

His laugh was low and deep, rough, it made her shiver. "Girl you're drowning in your thoughts."

"Only a little." her pancakes had gone cold, but she finished them none the less. Mark had finished his a while ago. "Hasn't killed me yet."

A flash of a frown crossed his face only for a moment. It was an odd comment at the most but he let it slide. Over the past few days he came to realize she had a tendency to say things that most would claim to be a bit concerning, but half the time she would wave it off, not realizing what had come out of her mouth until it had been pointed out to her. "Was just thanking you for the pancakes darlin, they were great."

She blushed. "You're welcome. And thank you." Gathering the dishes she took them to the sink to wash them, losing herself in her thoughts again.

It was always Jamie's dream to run away. To where, she didn't know. She wouldn't stop talking about how Glenn Jacobs would sweep her off her feet and whisk her away to paradise where they'd marry and live in a house in the woods and she'd spend every evening wrapped up in his arms staring into the sunset. But once they both got their degrees, the truth of her reality finally began to set in, and she gave up on such foolish dreams. Instead she continued her education to pursue a masters in creative writing. Her and Cassie loved to collaborate on writing fantasies where they'd both be rescued by their favorite brothers of destruction.

In a way the two of them were a lot alike. Where Cassie was timid and shy, Jamie was proud to be an outspoken bitch. In the end they both were in love with the concept of love, and hopeless romantics, pining for men way out of their reach. In fact they had both gotten blue rose tattoos together to seal their bond as friends. Cassie stifled a laugh. If only Jamie could see her now. On the brink of a cursing fit and calling bullshit on her best friend. She'd probably come to Texas to demand every day that Mark bring her Glenn.

A frown graced her features. Sure, she missed her family, but having to disappear on Jamie really broke her heart. To her, Jamie was her best friend, her confidant, and the only one who would understand exactly how Cassie felt about her life.

Mark sighed as he watched her. "Cassie you keep spacing out on me like this then I'll have to resort to tickling ya again. We don't want that now, do we?"

A smile flashed across her face, but Cassie didn't bother to meet his gaze. "I suppose not." There was a quiet yet playful tone to her voice. Quick as a wink her thinking face took over again. Before he opened his mouth to ask, she spoke. "When do you have to go back to work?" She walked back to the counter and sat down.

Ah. Mark mulled the thought over in his head. This is probably what she had been thinking so hard about this morning. "Not sure as of yet. I wanna say not till the knee is operational, but if anything I'll have to be back for Wrestlemania."

He watched a small smirk fall on her a lips as she sipped her coffee. "Of course. Taker can't be missing the biggest event of the year."

"Which will be the middle of March. The fourteenth I think." He thought scratching the scruff on his jaw. He realized he hadn't shaved in a while, and it was due time for one. His eyes fell to hers, finally noticing how visibly frozen she was, staring at him. Yes, that was only three months away. Hardly enough time for a stable relationship. He watched as her heart sank, the emotion unyielding from her face.

She shook her head, pushing the emotions to the back of her mind. She'd worry about it when the time came. "Big evil gonna come back from the dead and kick some ass?" Her eyes watched his coffee mug lift to his lips as he took a sip.

"Actually," He paused. "I was thinking of coming back as the Deadman."

The look of surprise on her face made him chuckle. "Really? You're gonna bring back the deadman?" Cassie seemed almost too eager at this news. "Don't get me wrong, I knew the big evil was more of a representation of you as a person, and he was pretty awesome. But I can't deny my love for the Phenom."

They both chuckled into another silence. Mark frowned. She sure wasn't very talkative today. He wondered why. A part of him considered asking her to come with him while he traveled. No he thought. It was too soon. Way too soon. For both of them. Yes he liked this girl well enough but they had three months ahead of them. To him, all the time in the world to bond with one another.

The two of them spent the rest of the afternoon together, talking, laughing, enjoying one another's company. It seemed like only minutes had passed for them when in fact it was five pm.

Cassie glanced at the clock. "Trevor is expecting me soon. I should go." She stood, making her way to her stairs to retrieve her things.

Mark stood as well. "Where are you going?" His question made her pause on the first step.

An eyebrow quirked at him in confusion. "Uh…to get my things?"

He shifted his weight to one side, hands on his hips as he stared at her with a slight smile. "So you ain't coming back tonight?"

A brief silence fell between them as her eyes searched around her, as if she was unsure of herself. "Um…I can if you'd like me to." Mark let out a lumbering laugh.

"Girl what in your right mind thinks I wouldn't want you to?"