***This bit of the story is in Connecticut, a place I know virtually nothing about, and I hope it doesn't show too much. I got what inof I could off the internet, but I couldn't for the life of me find out if it actually SNOWS there. So if it doesn't, just call this poetic licence, okay?***

Chapter seventeen

The next two days flew by, and she enjoyed every moment of them. Mark showed up at odd times during her working day and when she wasn't with him she thought about him. The day before she was due to go to Connecticut with Vince, Amy waited backstage and watched on the monitors while Mark and Glenn had their match. Now she was more used to the place she found the whole experience more exciting, even if the sight of the huge men wandering about backstage still made her a little nervous. About halfway through the match she suddenly felt as if she were being watched and she turned her head, finding a big well-dressed man standing watching her with a smirk on his face. He had blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail and she couldn't decide whether or not he was good looking, but she quickly turned away as he continued to stare at her in that strange way. She felt rather than heard him move up behind her and she glanced hesitantly over her shoulder again, jumping when she found him closer than she expected.

"Well, hello there, you sweet thing," he said, his voice deep and his eyes running over her figure as he hemmed her in against the wall with one arm resting behind her. "Where did you come from? I thought I knew all the ladies here."

Amy opened her mouth to speak, but found she couldn't think of a thing to say. She felt extremely uncomfortable with him standing so close, but she didn't know how to tell him to go away. She frowned, wondering who he was.

As if sensing what she wanted to know he gave a cocky grin. "My name's Paul, you may know me better as Triple H," he said, tilting his head back and obviously waiting for her approval.

Unfortunately, she had never heard of him, not having watched wrestling for some years until recently and she shook her head. "I'm sorry, I don't know who you are," she said, shrugging. It was his turn to frown now, looking like he couldn't believe that she had never heard of him. He obviously had a huge ego, she thought. He looked down at her chest and she got the sudden urge to cross her arms in front of her.

"Well, that don't matter none," he said, managing to move even closer to her. "We can get to know each other, can't we?"

"I...no," she gasped, pushing against him as he backed her completely up against the wall and one of his hands rubbed up and down her arm.

"Sure we can," he continued, not taking no for an answer and bending his head, his intentions clear.

Her eyes grew huge and she pushed at him again, turning her head away quickly. "Let me go!" she said as both of his hands pulled her up against him.

"Oh, come on, honey, don't be that way, I could use a little relaxation," he murmured, nuzzling her neck in a way that made her want to be sick and making her struggle even more. Neither of them heard Mark return backstage, but all of a sudden Amy found herself free of him and she leaned weakly back against the wall.

Mark had pulled Paul away from her and had literally thrown him across the corridor so that he crashed into the opposite wall, making him fall in a heap on the floor. "What the fuck is wrong with you?" Paul shouted as Mark went to grab him, Glenn stepping up and stopping him.

"No, Mark, he ain't worth it, leave him alone!" Glenn said, trying to make sure his friend didn't get in any trouble.

Amy watched as Mark shook himself, trying to calm himself down, and then he turned to her and came over to where she was, not bothering to say a word to the fallen man. He cupped her face gently and then looked her over, checking to make sure she was unhurt. "Are you okay, darlin'?" he asked, his voice deep and slightly husky and a frown creasing his forehead when he felt her shaking.

She nodded, her eyes darting to where the other man was slowly getting to his feet being watched by Glenn. "I'm fine. I'm so glad you came, I didn't know what to do," she said, holding onto his arm as she moved to stand against him.

"I'm glad I got here in time. Want me to kill him for you?" he asked her, wrapping one big arm around her when she rested her head on his chest.

"No, I'd rather have you here than in prison," she replied, laughing softly. She glanced up at him and gave a small wobbly smile. "I wouldn't mind a cuddle though."

"Now that really is my pleasure," he murmured, lifting her up on a level with him and kissing her slowly and deeply, his arms wrapping around her securely, not in the least worried that Paul was standing watching them with his mouth hanging open. Mark broke off the kiss and slowly put her down, keeping one arm around her as he turned to face Paul, who was still looking shocked.

"Hey, Mark, I didn't realise..." he began.

"Shut the fuck up. You're lucky I don't tear your head off. Didn't you hear her say no?"

"Yeah, but you know what women can be like," Paul said indignantly.

"Maybe the women you know," Mark agreed. "But this one's different. She's mine, and don't you ever make the mistake of forgetting that. You go near her again and I will kill you," Mark threatened.

Paul gave a short laugh. "Come on man, is she really worth going that far for?"

"I mean it, Paul, I'll kill you. And I don't mean that as a euphemism, I'll tear you to pieces, and I'll do it slowly. Got it?" He waited until Paul nodded and then turned in the direction of his dressing room, pulling Amy along with him.

"Jesus, I haven't seen him that bad since...well...since Sara," Paul said, rubbing the back of his head gingerly where he had crashed into the wall.

"Believe me," Glenn told the other man, giving him a faintly disgusted look, "this'll be a whole lot worse than that if you ever so much as look at her again. Oh," he added, leaning closer to the other man, "and just for the record, she happens to be Vince's goddaughter and a good friend of mine. Next time I'll let Mark get to you and I'll join in with him. You got that too?"

Paul found himself nodding again and then staring dumbly after Glenn as he sauntered down the hall.

Mark got Amy back in his dressing room and sat her down, looking at her with worried eyes. "You sure you're alright?" he asked her, crouching down in front of her and taking her hands.

Amy smiled softly and leaned forward to place a small kiss on his lips, suddenly feeling brave enough to do it. "I am now. Thank you for being my knight in shining armour," she said with a smile, wrapping her arms around his neck and squeezing him into a cuddle.

He laughed and stood up, taking her with him and then sitting back down so she was sitting across his lap, her arms still firmly around his neck. "I don't know about the knight in shining armour," he said, still chuckling. "I bet you never imagined your hero using so many swear words?"

"Well, no, not really. But I don't mind."

He pulled her back and raised his eyebrows. "You mean I'm not gonna get told off for my bad language again?"

She shook her head and then rested her head on his shoulder, loving the freedom of being this close to him. "You're my hero. Besides, I don't want to ruin the evening. I'm leaving soon remember?"

"You couldn't ever ruin my evening, honey. How about we go out and get some food, see a movie and then I'll take you home so you can get some sleep and get ready for tomorrow?"

She stared up at him. "You trying to get rid of me or something?"

Mark stared down at her for a long moment. "I want you to stay here with me, if you want the truth. But it's too soon for that, for you," he said, putting a finger over her mouth when she went to protest. "Let's just enjoy our night together, then the sooner you leave, the sooner we can be back together again. Okay?"

She nodded, looking at him so trustingly that he wanted nothing more than to lock the door and bury himself in her. He smiled as he thought of doing just that. He could wait, and she would be worth waiting for, he decided.

"Right, time I had a shower, then we can get going."

Later that night he stopped the car outside her front door and turned to look at her, having realised she had been quiet all the way back from town. She looked so forlorn when she finally returned his gaze that he pulled her instantly onto his lap and started kissing her, putting everything he was feeling into the kiss.

Amy moaned under the force of feeling that went through her and she tried to get even closer to him, her tongue tangling with his as his hand went to her hair and threaded through it, almost pulling it in his desperation to kiss her as deeply as possible.

He broke off eventually and sat trying to catch his breath, his hand pulling her head against his neck so she couldn't see the expression on his face. God he didn't want her to go! But he knew he also needed the time apart to put his feelings into perspective. He had only known her for a handful of days, so it had to just be infatuation. But he was too old to be infatuated with anybody, let alone a young girl who knew absolutely nothing about love or sex and far too much about pain. He sighed deeply as his body finally started to calm down and he rubbed his hands up and down her back. "Come on, honey, let's get you indoors."

Amy reluctantly let him get her out of the car and then walk her to the door, looking up at him sadly when he stood under the porch light and studied her carefully. He nodded after a few seconds. "There, now I've done what you did earlier, I've got my memories of you to keep me warm while I'm not with you." He smiled down at her and brushed a strand of hair out of her face. "Give me a kiss."

She obediently stood on tiptoes and waited for him to bend down enough so she could kiss his firm mouth, trying to convey what she felt for him in each caress she bestowed on his hair, face and neck. She felt him smile against her mouth and she drew back, forcing a smile to a mouth that didn't want to smile at all, especially when he rang the doorbell.

Vince opened the door and gave them a knowing look, waiting with his arms folded as Mark dropped another quick kiss on her lips and then grabbed her to him for a brief hug. "I'll miss you darlin'," he growled into her ear.

Amy found she couldn't say anything for the huge lump in her throat and she simply nodded, watching as he said goodbye to Vince and then strode away and got into his car. She stayed where she was as he drove off, waiting until she could no longer see the tail lights before she went indoors.

Vince put his arm around her and gave her a gentle squeeze. "Don't look so sad, Peaches, it isn't for too long, then you'll see his ugly face again. Just think of that, maybe plan what you'll be doing when he gets to Connecticut, and the time will pass before you know it."

Amy found a small smile forming and gave him a hug. "Thank you."

Vince returned the hug, his eyebrows raised. "For what?"

"For everything. For giving me a family, people I can care about, a job. I've been happier here these last few days than I have in my entire life."

"Well you are most welcome, honey," he murmured, looking slightly embarrassed. "Now go on, it's late, get to bed and get some sleep. We're leaving early in the morning."

Amy gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and then did as he said, shutting her bedroom door behind her and trying not to think of Mark. An impossible task.

***

The next two weeks passed by at a crawl. Amy tried to do as Vince had suggested and think of things they could do when Mark got there, but it just made her think about him more. She was quite surprised at the difference in temperature in Connecticut compared to LA. It was December now and Vince and Linda had been making all sorts of plans for Christmas, making sure to include Mark in them, much to Amy's delight. Vince had the most enormous house and Amy had been totally speechless when she had first seen it, unable to believe that one person could need or want a place so large. Vince had been amused by her response to her first look at her new home and he had taken great pleasure showing her around. He and Linda had taken her upstairs and shown her into a set of rooms that they assured her were all hers. There was a huge bedroom all decorated in varying shades of cream and her own bathroom, along with a sitting room that seemed to have every entertainment item known to man, and the door from the hallway opened straight into this room, giving her privacy in her bedroom.

"We phoned ahead and had it kitted out for you," Linda told her, putting her arm around her shoulders and steering her into the bedroom. The bed was a huge four poster with soft voile drapes hanging from the posts and wrapped around them. It looked just like something out of a fairy tale, and Amy said so.

Linda opened the wardrobe doors and Amy's jaw dropped when she saw that it was full of clothing in every colour. She went closer and looked, finding that they were all in her size.

"I don't understand," she said, looking confused and Linda gave a big grin.

"Honey, I noticed you didn't have many things, so I stole a couple of them and got all these in your size. You've got everything you could possibly need, underwear, shoes, sports clothing, a swimsuit...I don't think I've forgotten anything. You'll need a new dress for the Christmas party, but I thought we could go shopping together for that. What do you think?"

"I can't believe it," she murmured, trying to find a way to voice her thanks. "I don't know how to thank you enough, there's so much, too much..."

Vince saw her trying to hold back tears and pulled her to him for a hug. "You deserve all of it, honey. It's about time you had nice things happen to you, and we're happy to be the ones who make them happen. Now come on, don't get all watery on me, we can't have you crying all over the dinner can we?"

Amy gave a wobbly smile and turned to give Linda a hug. "Thank you so much."

"You're very welcome. But how about that shopping trip?"

"I'd like that very much. I've never really gone on a shopping trip with another woman, not even my mother. She was always working, I guess...but I'd love to."

Linda smiled and nodded, taking the younger girls arm and leading her from the room.

They all went down and sat in the enormous dining room whilst Vince's housekeeper bustled about setting food in front of them. It was all a bit of a culture shock for Amy and she just stared around her, bemused by the luxury she now found herself in. She swore that she would do everything she could to make sure they were glad they'd taken her in.

The first evening, after dinner, they were sitting in the main living room watching television when Amy heard her phone start making weird noises from out in the hall. She went out and picked it up from the telephone table and looked at it. It had never made any noises before, no-one had phoned her on it and she looked carefully at the screen.

"It's a message," Vince said, coming up behind her and looking at the small screen. "Press that button there, and then you can read it."

He made himself scarce whilst she brought up the message on the tiny screen, grinning as he walked away, knowing full well that he had only given her number to one person.

'Hope you made the journey okay little girl. Just finished a promo shoot with Glenn and he was acting crazy. I can't stand it anymore. Come and rescue me!' the message read and Amy found herself grinning like a fool when she read it. She fiddled around with the phone for a few seconds, getting the hang of the menu on it, then she typed in a quick reply.

'I'd love to come and rescue you, but then you'd have to promise to become my slave!' she typed, biting her lip as she sent it.

She sat down in one of the nearby chairs and waited, wondering how long it would take to get a reply. The phone beeped at her again just a couple of minutes later and she eagerly opened the message.

'I don't mind being your slave darlin', as long as it's your sex slave. I have to go get some sleep now, but I miss you. xxx.'

'I miss you too. Have sweet dreams. xxx.' she typed back and sent the message, rejoining Vince and Linda by the television.

"Who was it?" Vince asked, his tone knowing, and he grinned broadly when she blushed.

"It was Mark," she said, trying not to look pleased and failing.

"I suppose he sent you a soppy message? Something like 'Oh, I miss you so much, my heart is going to wither and die without you'," Vince said in a stupid voice, laughing at her heightened colour.

Amy laughed with him. "I can't imagine Mark ever sounding like that!"
"Oh, but I notice you didn't deny that he had sent a soppy message? Ah, ain't love grand?" he asked Linda, winking at her.

Amy found herself really relaxing for the first time in years and enjoying the friendly teasing, rather than feeling baffled by it all. She felt like part of a family.

Mark and Amy continued sending messages for the next week and Amy spent a lot of time walking around the grounds of Vince's estate, traipsing through the snow and delighting in it. They hadn't had a lot of snow when she was a child and she didn't often see it as an adult. This stuff was fluffy and deep and she loved it, even if Linda did keep telling her not to stay outside for so long. It gave her a chance to think about Mark and what the future might hold. In the evenings she watched whatever matches were on television, worrying every time he took a fall and then cheering him on whenever he beat his opponent to the ground, much to Vince's amusement.

"You're becoming a vicious little thing!"

"Yeah, well...they were trying to hurt him!" she protested, smiling.

"Well, that is the name of the game. Hmm, talking about the game, I hear you had a bit of trouble with Paul Levesque?"

"Who?" Amy asked, wrinkling her brow in genuine confusion.

"Who, she says," Vince asked no-one in particular, rolling his eyes. "The big guy, blonde hair, made a pass at you the other week? Ring any bells?"

"Oh...oh, him," she muttered.

"Yes, him. I don't need to ask if it was true then, your face tells me everything I need to know. Why didn't you tell me?"

"It wasn't important really, no harm done. Mark came along and...er...dealt with him."

"Yes, I heard about that too. I'll have to call Paul in and have a word with him I think," he said holding up a hand when she went to protest. "No arguments. You're not the first one he's come on too strong with, so it's time he was told." He gave a chuckle. "I hear he lost virtually all his colour when Mark threatened him and then Glenn told him who you were. I wish I'd seen that. Still, I will when I call him in, won't I?"

Amy shrugged. "I guess so." She rubbed her temples and grimaced. "Have you got any painkillers?"

"What's up, headache?"

"Yeah, feels weird, like a migraine or something. I think I might take some and go to bed, if that's alright?"

"You do what you feel like doing honey," he said, going through a desk drawer and handing her a pack of painkillers. "You know, you look pretty flushed, maybe you're coming down with something."

Amy shrugged and gave a small smile. "Maybe it's the cold weather?"

"Hmm, could be. Get some sleep and feel better okay?" he said, watching her walk out of the door before he turned back to the sheaf of papers in his hands.

Amy made her way upstairs and took the pills, swallowing them down through a throat that felt sort of bruised. Great, she thought, I'm getting a cold. Now I'll look awful when Mark gets here!

She had a quick wash and slipped into her night-gown, sliding her body between the cool sheets and praying that what she had was simply a bad headache and nothing more.

Unfortunately, it seemed that no-one was listening to her prayers, because when she woke up the next morning she could barely lift her head off the pillow and her throat hurt unbearably, as did every muscle in her body it seemed. She started to panic when she realised she really couldn't get out of bed and she forced herself to calm down, taking a deep breath. The pain in her chest sent her into a fit of coughing that went on for what seemed like forever, leaving her even weaker than before. She let her heavy eyelids close and relaxed, wondering how long it would be before they noticed her missing.

It was about an hour later when Linda knocked on the door. "Amy? Are you up honey, we missed you at breakfast? Amy?" she called, waiting for a reply that didn't come. All she could hear was a slight raspy sound, and she opened the door and peeked her head around it, thinking that maybe the younger girl was in the shower. "Amy?" she said when she saw her laying in the bed, her eyes open and her face pale, all except two bright spots of colour high up on her cheeks. "Oh my," she said, rushing over to the bed and feeling Amy's forehead. "You're burning up!"

When Amy whispered how awful she felt she immediately took charge of the situation and pretty soon Amy found herself dosed up with cold medicine, having been efficiently bathed and dressed by both Linda and the housekeeper, Maggie, her bed remade and a drink forced down her throat. She had to admit she felt a little bit better, even if it did feel like she was swallowing razor blades.

"I told you not to stay out in the cold for so long! Good grief, you were like a popsicle when you came indoors! You wait until I tell Mark what you've been up to!" Linda admonished, walking around the bed and making sure everything was tucked in and Amy was comfortable.

"I'm sorry." Amy said, grimacing when her voice came out all grating and husky.

"No need to say sorry to me, sweetie, save it for Vince!"

"He won't be mad will he?"

Linda brushed the hair back from her forehead, frowning when she felt how hot Amy still was, despite the medicine she had taken. "No, he won't be mad. Not while you're ill anyway. When you're better he'll probably lecture you for hours on the right amount of time to spend in the snow and the appropriate clothing to wear, blah blah blah!" Linda smiled. "I'll go and get him, he'll be wondering what's going on by now."

Amy wearily watched her go out of the room and sank back against the pillows, letting her feverish eyes close and drift off into a fitful sleep. Some time later she became aware of a big cool hand on her forehead and forced her eyes open again, seeing Vince looking down at her with concern. He looked up at Linda. "I'm calling a doctor, she's been like this for two days now and we should have done something sooner. That damn cold medicine doesn't do a thing!"

Two days! Amy couldn't believe her ears. She felt as if she'd only just closed her eyes! Looking down at herself she noticed she was wearing different night-clothes and her bed had been changed again. Maybe more than once. She frowned when she tried to recall the previous two days. She had vague memories of being taken to the bathroom, of being cooled down with water at some point. Other than that her mind was a blank. She looked bewildered and Vince patted her arm. "We'll soon have you better honey, don't worry."

She tried smiling and then found her eyes closing again, her last thought being to wonder how much time would elapse before she next opened them.