Chapter 42

"Here," Beth took hold of Brooklynn's arm, smiling at Glenn before staring into her friend's face. "Why don't we go outside for some fresh air, okay?" She wasn't sure that Brooklynn's issues were from last night, but she knew better than to pry. Brooklynn would spill her secrets only if and when she wanted too.

Nodding, Brooklynn walked outside with Beth, arm in arm, looking back at Mark with worry in her eyes. He looked confused and her chest tightened, hating that she was lying to him. Sighing, Brooklynn inhaled the cool air that hit her face and closed her eyes, wearing a zip-up hoodie since it wasn't summered weather, unlike Texas.

"Okay, so what was that about?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, you freaked out when Randy went to touch you and then looked like you were ready to have a panic attack when he touched Mark. What is it about Randy's touch that scares you?" Beth was very observant, not stupid by any means and decided prying was a necessity due to what they were dealing with currently.

"Because his power scares me." That was the best lie she could come up with. "I know how much Mark hates it and I really don't need him and Randy at each other's throats. Our first priority needs to be stopping this darkness, Nemesis's offspring and protecting Claira at any cost. Besides, Mark and I have…been a lot more intimate lately and I don't want to hurt Randy by having him experience all of that."

Beth seemed to buy her explanation as she nodded in understanding, not sure if Randy still felt the same for Brooklynn as he did back then. They didn't talk much anymore ever since she left him and found Adam. "I don't blame you." That was the honest truth. "And I'm happy for you and Mark, Brooklynn. He's a good man, despite his powers being on the dark side."

Brooklynn wasn't lying, but she wasn't telling everything either. Beth didn't push because all it would do was cause Brooklynn to shut herself off even more. It was this odd thing, two women, and two men. Two men who had loved the one woman, and her, loving one of the men, but a bit on the outside. Her powers were underwhelming, which she was grateful for. Randy would never be able to have a normal life, and he had hardened over the years. Brooklynn… she had softened.

"Do you want all of us to come to Texas with you? We're all stronger together then we are apart."

Out of all the circle, Beth was the non-judgmental one and Brooklynn always got along with her. She had butted heads with everyone else, besides Glenn, but telling him about Undertaker was out of the question. Lying to Mark was eating her up inside and keeping this secret was extremely difficult.

"Walk with me, Beth." Going away from the house was a smart idea because it was less chance for eavesdropping. Beth went with her easily enough, their arms looped again and Brooklynn finally stopped at the edge of the property. "I lied to you. I've been lying about something and it's eating me up inside. Mark doesn't even know and…I don't know how to tell him. I'm scared of what he will do if he knows the truth." Now Beth looked a little alarmed. "I've been…god…"

"Christ Brooklynn, are you cheating on Mark?"

"Not…necessarily, but…at the same time, maybe?"

"Wait, I'm confused…"

Blinking, tears slid down Brooklynn's cheeks as she looked out at the stretch of land Melina and David lived on, chewing her bottom lip. "When Bastet died…I started having dreams and I couldn't understand why. They were about…Undertaker. At first, they scared me because he harmed me in the dreams, such as strangling me to death, but…there was one that changed everything." The storms, the fire…Brooklynn explained it all in as much detail as she could without being pornographic. "Nobody in the circle knows this, but…I fell in love with Undertaker before Mark, if that makes any sense. I first met him when he was evil and cruel…and he was pissed off at me for bringing him back only because I wanted him to help us with Nemesis, not because I loved and wanted him back. This time…I want him back because I do love him, and I always have. I love them both, and it's killing me because I know eventually, I'm gonna have to choose one of them. I feel like I'm in the most fucked up love triangle and it's tearing me apart and I had to tell someone before I completely lose my mind."

While Beth did have a hard time wrapping her head around Brooklynn loving the Undertaker, she knew her experience and opinions on that were based on what she had SEEN of the two and that had been 17 years ago. Brooklynn had been scared and so full of regret, Taker coming and Mark leaving…However, that was 17 years ago and during a stressful time. She sat down on the ground, patting the spot next to her and watched as Brooklynn dropped beside her.

"What does um… Taker think about all this? I mean, you, him and Mark… and Claira… oh my god…" She never fully understood the Undertaker thing, some part of Mark, or a personality, and… wow, that was making her head spin.

"Claira reminds me so much of Taker." Brooklynn smiled, despite everything that was going on and wrapped her arms around herself. "Seventeen years ago, when I asked Mark to bring him back, it was out of selfishness. It was out of panic because I didn't know how else to bring Nemesis down. It'd been a long time since I saw Taker and…how he acted towards all of us scared me. I was scared to love him, to have a shred of feeling for him, because I felt like I was betraying Mark. And now the same feeling has returned only…I can't deny what I want anymore. I love both sides of Mark, but Taker is the one who had my heart first. I fell in love with him and slowly but surely, the darker part of him went away whenever he was around me and eventually, he asked me to call him Mark." She wiped some tears away, sniffling. "Taker loves me, and that's pretty much all I know, but I know he's also pissed for missing 17 years of life and missing out on Claira growing up. And it's my fault because of my fear. Bastet was ordered to keep him locked away and I know Mark did it because of me, to protect us. But I don't want him locked away anymore. Right now, he's dormant inside of Mark because when Bastet died, he immediately merged into Mark's body again. It's not fair…I love them both equally and I have to choose and I can't because, no matter what, I lose something whether it's the passion and intensity from Taker or the softness and compassion from Mark…"

"Well, Brook, Taker is a smart son of a bitch, I'd imagine he already knows that." Beth declared truthfully. "And if he loves you as much as you say he does, he'll… he won't make you choose." She was curious, however, if Mark had locked Taker away because of Brooklynn herself or… because of himself, fear of allowing that darker part of him out. It sounded terrible if she were honest. "Mark doesn't have any idea? Or, do you think maybe he might know and isn't saying anything?"

"I promised Taker I wouldn't tell Mark. He's afraid Mark will try to destroy him and…he's not wrong. Mark doesn't have any idea what's going on, but there's been…signs Taker has left behind when he takes control over Mark's body." The pubic hair incident with Claira came to mind. "I hate lying to Mark, but…I also can't risk him trying to destroy Taker either. Eventually, the truth is going to come out and he'll find out…and Randy touching him earlier scared me because I thought he'd be able to sense and feel him. Luckily, he didn't, but if he touches me…he's going to know, Beth, and if we have to pretend to be married to Jennifer, I don't see how I CAN'T touch him. I don't know what to do about this."

Beth thought about that, frowning. "Taker can… he can hide himself, can't he? From Mickie and from Randy… kind of like this kid we're supposed to be looking for can shield himself. Taker can obviously do it too." She didn't wonder if they had the wrong male Calaway out of that body, not that the others would see it that way. "I'm not going to say anything to anyone sweetie," She assured finally, smiling reassuringly at her friend. "But it IS Taker, so… love him, but remember who he was." She didn't know the man well enough then and she didn't know him now, so she had no idea what he was like anymore, just memories.

"It's not Mark I'm worried about Randy touching because he did it anyway. It's MYSELF I'm worried about, so unless Taker can cast a spell on me that will prevent Randy's touch magic from working, I'm screwed." Beth nodded in understanding, also looking concerned now. "I'll figure it out. I'll talk to Taker since we have to go back to Dallas instead of going to Tennessee with Glenn and his wife." Glenn hadn't brought his wife with, not wanting her part of the supernatural world, even though she knew about his powers. "Thank you for listening and not telling anyone about this, Beth. I didn't know who else to confide in because almost everyone in that house would flip their shit if they knew Taker was back…somewhat."

Beth didn't doubt that for a second, scooting over on the grass to wrap her arm around Brooklynn's shoulders and pulled her in for a tight hug. The woman really needed it and someone on her side with this situation. She just wondered when the other shoe would drop and Taker would be exposed…when Brooklynn finally came clean to Mark about Undertaker being back.

"I do think we should come with you to Texas," Beth advised, after a long stretch of silence. "Everyone is stronger when the circle is together and didn't Julia mention that to you?" Providing once back on his home turf, Taker could keep himself hidden. That was just a giant ball of problems that she didn't even know how to begin to unravel. "Honestly, I mean, think about it, do you think Mark doesn't have any idea? I mean… how do you not realize something is wrong?"

"I don't know, but I do know he loses time and has no recollection of what happened once Taker takes over his body. Taker only does it at night, so far, otherwise, he invades my dreams to talk to me, if need be." Or to have sex, which Brooklynn would never turn down. "Something tells me if things continue as they are with this darkness coming for us, he's going to take charge because Mark doesn't make snap decisions the way he does. And he's a pushover when it comes to me and what I want to do. Taker isn't." That was definitely a huge difference between them. "I agree though, all of you need to come with us to Texas and…as much as I hate doing it…I'm gonna have to go through with this idea with Randy."

"I think you should ask Taker for his advice on that, see if there's anything he can do or suggest to keep Randy from knowing what's up." Beth counseled, grimacing. Randy had, back then, always gotten overloaded with information and it looked like he now had no control over any of his body, from the way he tried keeping almost everything covered. "What did he say about Claira? Taker, I mean, has… does he know about what happened here, and if so, what's he got to say?"

Brooklynn nodded, looking down at her clasped hands and explained the dream she had last night. The graveyard, the dead woman Genevieve and Taker's interference to try helping her with the spirit. "He told me not to unbind her magic, not yet. Not until we know more about this situation and what exactly she has to do in order to open the dimension Nemesis is trapped in." It sounded like Taker had some sort of plan, but the dream had ended abruptly because Mark had woken up. "I'm in agreement with him. Until we talk to Jennifer and find out, once and for all, if Seth is the offspring of Nemesis, he doesn't want to jump to any conclusions and neither do I."

Not unbinding the girl sounded like a good idea. Beth wasn't a Witch, but she knew training took quite some time and she had no idea what end of the spectrum Claira fell on. Sighing, she ran her hands through her hair. She was glad Brooklynn thought Taker had a plan, but… .eventually, that plan would have to be laid before the rest of the circle and she just hoped that they could all put what happened, in the very long ago past, behind them. Like… 17 years behind them. Claira and the rest of the world might depend on it.

"What do you think about what Randy said? About Seth? Do you think he could be or do you just have that mothering thing going on where all boys are bad?" She knew that happened, especially with Daddy's.

"When I first met Seth Rollins, I felt this…weird vibe from him that I can't explain. Mark said I was just worried because Brooklynn was dating and warned me not to overthink it. That weird vibe has never gone away though. Again, I chalked it up to being an overprotective Mom because of how special and unique my daughter is." Brooklynn admitted, plucking at her long-sleeved shirt and took another shaky breath. "But then Julia visited me in my dreams and told me to trust my instincts and trust myself. Last night, she told me to go with my gut and my gut, from day one, has been telling me something isn't right with that boy. Right now, I'm 50/50, but I don't know how Mark or Taker feels about him."

"Well, I know Mark was pissed that you let Trish and Steve one-up him on Seth coming," Beth admitted sheepishly and then smiled. "Glenn told us, and then Steve confirmed it cause I guess Mark did something really horrible to him in retaliation." She figured, after watching all her friends have kids, mixing kids and magic or supernatural things were an iffy business. One never knew what was just 'normal parenting' or that extra sense kicking in. "Taker doesn't know Seth outside of what he gets from Mark, right? Maybe you should introduce."

"Wait a minute…" Now her amber eyes were wide. "You want me to introduce Seth to Taker?"

How the HELL would THAT work? Granted, Mark wouldn't have any recollection of it happening, but if the others were coming to Texas with them, it wasn't an option. Not unless they all stayed in hotel rooms since they're house wasn't exactly the biggest, unlike Melina and David's house.

"That wouldn't be possible unless I invited him over to dinner or something…" A lightbulb suddenly went off in her head. "That's it. That's it! I'll invite him over for dinner to discuss what happened and make sure he's not feeling awkward about this trip since he took off. Beth, you are a genius, has anyone ever told you that?"

If Brooklynn could somehow get Seth to actually come to their house, she would be a miracle worker. At least, that's what Beth thought. After the boy had run out here in D.C. over the make-out session, and ensuing argument, before returning home, by himself, across the country… "Maybe a, um, more neutral setting?" She suggested hesitantly. "Something sort of public or that feels safe for him?" And for the general wellbeing of everyone anyway because Taker was less likely to do anything wicked in a public place.

"No, I think dinner is a right thing to do, only I'm gonna wait until we find out if he is Nemesis's offspring. If he is, we'll invite him over for dinner to trap him and Claira can be the one to lay it. He's had dinner with us before, Beth, with no problems." Several meals, in fact, since they'd been together over 6 almost 7 months. "I'm gonna ask Taker about this the next time he either comes out or invades my dreams to see what he thinks about this plan. But first, we need to find out if Seth is the threat."

"You really think he's going to bounce back to business as usual after what happened here?" If he did, that just proved he was either insane or the bad guy. Either way, he'd have to go. No normal teenager would. Most boys would break it off with the girl. If he was the evil being they had to watch out for and he came to dinner, he was an extremely stupid evil being, would be unusual for them, or probably likely to kick their collective backsides.

"Let me know what Taker says." It was interesting that Taker had managed to slip under the radar when he was back; she had to wonder just how strong he had gotten, all those years dormant.

"I will. Thanks again for talking to me, Beth."