Chapter 29

Taking his time getting there, Taker made sure to stop in one of the hospital's public restrooms to clean himself up. He didn't need any blood on him. Taker made his way across the road, staring up at the building. Mentally preparing himself to be tossed out on his ass, figuratively speaking, he headed inside locating the apartment and knocked, ready to use the key if he really had too. He'd just give Geneva the chance to be polite.

Geneva groaned when she heard knocking, her head pounding like a beating drum and rolled over on her side, not wanting to be bothered. She was still in the dream, that night in Houston, Texas with the bonfire, one of the happiest moments of her life. Geneva curled up in a tight ball when it suddenly turned into a nightmare with Steve being the one making love to her and not Mark.

Taker sighed when there was no answer, quietly inserting the key into the lock and opened the door. He blinked, scanning the apartment in the dark, shutting the door behind him. Setting the key aside, Taker followed the sounds of crying and finally found his chestnut haired beauty. He halted in what had to be her bedroom doorway, staring down at her with intense green eyes. It was obvious she was having a nightmare and he wasn't sure if he should wake her.

What if the nightmare was about him?

Sweat caked her forehead as Geneva thrashed in bed, mumbling out louder as she whipped her head back and forth. "No...No Steve...NO!"

She finally bolted upright, ocean blue eyes shot open as the hot tears fell down her cheeks. Her heart hammered faster than a jackrabbit's against her chest. Geneva looked down, still wearing her scrubs from the medical center and took a deep breath, realizing she was back in Seattle.

"Just a nightmare." She murmured quietly, not seeing the dark figure in her doorway because her apartment was pitch black. Swallowing hard, Geneva wiped the sweat from her forehead until everything came rushing back to her, the announcement that'd been the final nail in the figurative coffin. "No..." She whispered heartbrokenly and drew her knees up, beginning to cry once more, tremors rushing through her body.

Taker felt his heart give a painful lurch as he watched her cry brokenly. His fists instinctively clenched when she cried out 'no Steve', guessing who the nightmare had been about. Moving cautiously, so as not to startle her if she looked up, Taker crouched down beside her.

"Neva." He whispered, reaching out to place his hand on her shoulder, fully expecting her to freak out.

Geneva's head snapped up as soon as she heard that voice, looking through the darkness for that voice, along with the touch on her shoulder, and scrambled back on her bed. She quickly flipped her nightstand light on and emerald green eyes met hers instantly. "Mark?" She whispered in disbelief, knowing the WWF was in town, but he hadn't known where she lived. Geneva wiped her tears away, knowing she probably looked like a holy terror, sniffling. "W-What are you doing here?"

"One of your friends." Taker admitted gruffly, not too sure what the woman's name had been. "They gave me a key. I had to see you, darlin'. I didn't know you'd seen what happened until I went to the hospital." Not that he'd tell her what he went to the hospital for. Some things were just better left unsaid. "I'm sorry," He whispered remorsefully. "For all of this, Neva, I'm truly sorry."

"Callie."

Geneva already knew the only woman who had a key to her apartment, aside from Lance, was Callie. She stared back at him long and hard for a few minutes, contemplating what she wanted to do, how she wanted to handle this. Then Geneva stood on the bed, reaching his height and jumped into his arms, wrapping her arms around his neck. Her legs went around his waist as tears coursed down her face, burying it in his muscular neck, not believing Taker was actually there.

"I-I should've listened to you...I should've trusted you." She sobbed, closing her eyes tightly shut. "I'm so sorry, Mark...You were just trying to protect me."

"It's alright." Taker soothed, holding her tightly against him, never wanting to let go. "Everyone told you I was the psychotic one, you couldn't have known any better, darlin'." Mark threaded his fingers through her curly hair, resting his head against hers and sat down on the edge of the bed, not moving her from her position. "Calm down darlin', you're going to make yourself sick."

"But I SHOULD'VE known." Geneva argued, angry at herself for trusting Steve. "After everything we've been through, I knew who you really were. I knew you could never hurt yourself intentionally, but Steve seemed so…innocent…"

"Innocent my ass." Taker growled contemptuously, hoping Lance and Callie made sure that bastard never left the medical center of his own volition.

Geneva slowly calmed down in his arms and looked up into his eyes, running her fingertips over the side of his face tenderly. "I never thought I'd see you again."

"Makes two of us, darlin'."

She ran her thumb over his bottom red lip before cupping his face with her hand. This was it. Geneva had to tell him before she lost him for good, so much love and admiration shining through her eyes. If he didn't know it already, he truly was blind and diluted.

"I love you, Mark." She'd been meaning to say it for so long, holding it in for 2 and half very long years, refusing to hide her true feelings any longer. He deserved to know.

Taker blinked, staring at her out of wide green eyes. It had been awhile since someone not obsessed with getting in his pants or wallet had said that. "You're not...just saying that are you?" He asked hesitantly. "On account of feeling guilty and all?"

"No, I truly do love you, Mark. I love you so much, I've been lost and empty without you. From the moment I met you, the moment I heard your deep voice and looked into your eyes, I knew you were it for me. Nobody else compared. Why do you think I agreed to come to your room that night? It wasn't just to get laid." Her voice remained low and soothing, her eyes shining with certainty.

"But you're the one who suggested no strings attached." Taker reminded her gently, stroking her sides with his thumbs. "I wanted more with you back then, darlin', but I didn't want to push you either."

"You did?" How could Geneva have been so blind? "I didn't know…"

"That day you left was the hardest thing I've had to endure, Neva. To watch you walk out the door and out of my life. You have no idea what kind of restraint it took me not to chase you down and beg you to stay with me." Taker let out a shaky breath, pressing his forehead to hers. "I couldn't do that to you though. I couldn't make you choose between me and your dream to become a surgeon."

His words left her breathless, just as they always did. "I didn't want to leave." Her voice cracked, the intense emotion overtaking her for a minute. "I-I swear to you, if I'd known how you felt, I wouldn't have left. I would've stayed with you and admitted how much I love you. I fell completely in love with you, Mark Calaway the night we met, but what sealed it was when you offered me your sweatshirt. When you took me to McDonald's for Uncle Mick because you cared about my safety. When you took me into your arms and made love to me the night I first came to your room. And I never stopped loving you, I don't think I can."

Cupping his face in her soft hands, Geneva couldn't hold back any longer and covered her mouth with his, having missed him these past 3 months. It felt like an eternity since she felt his lips against hers, opening her mouth as their tongues touched, tasting each other. She felt his hand slide from her hip up her back to bury in her curls, pressing herself closer to him as the kiss flourished with intensity.

"You don't have to say it back." She breathed once they parted for air, smiling back at him. "I just had to tell you for my own sanity. Because you deserve to know how I really feel about you."

"Fair enough." Taker rumbled, relief washing over him at her words and stared into her ocean blues, feeling lost within them like always. "I love you too, darlin'." He whispered against her lips. "I probably should've told you that before."

"You were probably scared, don't worry I won't tell anyone." Geneva replied with a wink, laughing softly and kissed him again, wrapping her arms around his neck, running her hand up his back to his hair, sighing at the silkiness. "I missed you so much." Her broken heart slowly pieced together as Geneva closed her eyes, relishing the feeling of him. "When do you have to leave?"

"Tonight." He said quietly in a low voice. "I was scheduled to leave tomorrow morning, but it's better if I leave tonight." Not that he'd tell her why, but Taker needed to be far away so when Austin accused HIM of doing illegal things, he had an alibi. He seen her face fall and smiled sadly. "Come with me, we'll go back to Houston, darlin'."

The torment shined in her eyes as she looked back at him and then out the window, the medical center in plain view, biting her bottom lip. Geneva just got him back and he already had to leave. It wasn't fair! What did she love more, Taker or Seattle? She couldn't have both and she knew it. Geneva had to make a choice, a decision on where her devotion and love rested. Slowly looking back at him, Geneva kissed his lips briefly and extracted herself from his arms.

"You're going to need to give me time to pack."

His own heart mended as soon as Geneva gave her answer. It didn't matter if she had decided to stay in Seattle, Taker would've found a way to make their relationship work. They were meant to be, fate kept bringing them back together repeatedly. Two weeks of bliss had ignited into a lifetime of passion and love that neither could fight.

Taker nodded, moving to go look out the window, arching an eyebrow when he seen a few police cars pull up to the medical center. He sincerely hoped Geneva's friends could cover their asses as well as they thought they could. Really not in the mood to go to jail twice in one night, Taker immediately walked over Geneva to try assisting with her packing.

"Need any help, darlin'?" He offered softly.

"Sure, start grabbing clothes and putting them in bags. I have four bags beneath the bed." She replied, stuffing the material in the bags.

It took about a half an hour before Geneva was fully packed, deciding she would just go in her scrubs. Taker had called the airlines and booked her a flight with his, which was granted instantly, not a major surprise. She also wasn't surprised when he carried all four bags out of her apartment and down to his waiting car, looking at the medical center and called Lance to let him know what was going on.

"I'm going to Houston with Mark." Were the first words out of her mouth and Geneva smiled when she heard Callie squeal over the line. "Thank you so much for everything. I owe you."

Callie snatched the phone from Lance, grinning from ear to ear. "It's about time you were happy, Gen, and if that means leaving to go to Houston with a giant, so be it. Your happiness is all we care about."

"I know, now put Lance on the phone."

"He was with you from the time of midnight till whenever." Lance stated, keeping his voice down. "Now get out of here and call me when you arrive or I'll kick your ass."

Geneva giggled, nodding and saluted. "Yes father."

Taker cocked an eyebrow when she hung up the phone. "Who the hell are you talking to at this hour?" He asked, slipping low in the seat as they passed the hospital, as low as he could anyway, still being more than able to see the road.

"Lance, the man you paid a special visit in order to talk to me." Geneva smirked back at him, remembering that all too well, and scooted over once they were out of harm's way, snuggling against his side. "He told me you were with me from midnight until whenever. I'm not going to ask and just assume you did something illegal."

"If you don't know, then it's not a lie." Taker teased, tempted to speed to get to the airport, but knowing that'd be a sure fire way of attracting attention. Though he did breathe a sigh of relief when they were airborne. "You going to be alright? What about your job?" He asked when they were seated, shifting so he could look down at her.

"I have a job already." She smiled up at him and kissed his lips softly. "Shane has been begging me to come back to work ever since I left and offered me double what they did the first time." She giggled when Taker's eyes widened, nodding. "Apparently everyone has been grumpy with poor Larry." Geneva remembered the call she'd gotten from Shane about a week ago, complaining about how the Superstars grumbled at Larry about her being gone. "It was quite amusing actually."

"I bet it was." He rumbled in her ear. "Jeff's ran into so many damn doors lately, Larry didn't know what to do anymore." Taker snorted, wondering if the boy had been dropped on his head when he was a baby, deciding the answer was a definite yes. "I'm glad you're coming back, darlin', I've grown fond of your...bedside manner." He frowned when he seen her yawn, knowing she was fatigued. "You haven't slept, have you?"

Geneva took his hand in hers, entwining their fingers together and looked into his emerald green eyes, her own blues sparkling. "I was sleepless without you." She said simply, accepting a soft kiss from him. "I sleep better when you're around, Mark."

"The feeling is mutual, darlin'." Taker softly replied and pulled her into his lap, wrapping his arms around her waist, kissing her neck softly. "We can be sleepless together."

"I love the sound of that."

Their love for each other was sleepless and out of control, something both would fight tooth and nail for until their last dying breath.

The End.