Chapter 80

"WHAT?!"

"He. Was. Right. There was no other way to bring that evil bastard down, especially if he wiped the blood away on the dagger. It was the right move. The world had to be saved – if that meant my death, so be it."

Brooklynn had never been afraid of dying and stroked his face with her hand, falling more in love with him, if that was possible. No matter how long it took, even if it was years, she would wait for him to wake up and take care of him until that time came. Leaning forward, she kissed him tenderly and sniffled, resting her forehead against his.

"Thank you, Mark."

"He could have killed you."

"It was a calculated risk, and one I agreed too." Mickie shot Randy a dark look. "There was no other way. Mark was right about us, we're too damn intent on saving our family that we'd leave the world hanging. It's one of the reasons he agreed with the kids being sent. It was the only way to make we were all doing this with a clear mind and no chance to hesitate to save them."

John didn't say a word. He knew if it came right down to it, he wouldn't have sacrificed his daughter. He had a feeling Mark would've, just like he had Brooklynn. But John also remembered the agony in Mark's voice when he had said he loved Lynn and asked forgiveness, right before doing the unthinkable.

"Let's hope… we are never put in that position again."

"It was for the sake of the world, Randy. Mickie is right just like Mark is. We were put on this earth to protect it, that's why we found each other and why we've been through hell and back again. And if he killed me, it would've been for a good cause because Nemesis is dead and gone." Brooklynn reasoned softly, sighing when Randy merely stormed out of the front door and got in his car, driving away.

"That man still loves you to this day, Brooklynn."

"I know, and I was hoping over time he would get over his feelings for me and find happiness with someone else." She shrugged, not able to do much about it and knew, eventually, Randy would talk to her again. "He'll understand someday what Mark and Mickie did was the right thing to do."

"Come on, let's get you some food. You haven't eaten in 5 days and I'm shocked you're up walking."

"Hey, she just had magically repair surgery, that lung is going to work like brand fricking new." Mickie laughed, following them into the kitchen. Randy would eventually come to terms with what had happened or he wouldn't.

Either way, there was nothing she could do.

"Be that as it may, she needs to eat."

"How much longer, Mickie? How much longer do you think he'll be…sleeping?" Brooklynn didn't want to think about the possibility of having a vegetative Mark to look after for the rest of her life. It was heartbreaking. All she wanted to do was feel his arms and hear his voice again. "Damn it…"

"I don't know, Brooklynn. When dealing with magic, it depends on how much energy he exerted saving you…"

"Okay."

The fact of the matter was, Mark had extended magic and energy he didn't possess, thanks to that talisman of his. That's why he had never used it, saving it for an emergency. This had qualified. Mickie didn't know how long it would be until he recovered, or what condition he would be in once he did wake up. Hell, he might've actually killed his magic. She didn't think he'd overly mind since retirement was in everyone's future.

After waking up, Brooklynn managed to get John and Steve's help to carry Mark up to the bedroom, refusing to leave him on the couch. She gave him sponge baths, brushed his hair and changed his shirt every other day. It was all she could do because of his size and Brooklynn felt helpless, crying on an almost nightly basis, begging him to come back to her. Currently, she was outside by the roses with a cup of coffee in hand, dark circles rimming her eyes from lack of sleep. Claira and Dean had gone off on their excursion and she called in daily to check in and see how her father was doing.

The poor girl felt helpless unable to help her father when she had magic. Dean would take care of her; Brooklynn trusted him and hopefully, there were no more threats out there for the circle to deal with. What little magic Claira had, she wished she could use to help her father. Hers was regenerating slowly after being siphoned by Seth, but it was nowhere near enough. Mickie had warned them not to magically interfere as it might screw things up.

Mark had no idea how long he had been asleep. He just knew his eyes flew open one day and all he could see was darkness. Everything replayed itself over in his head, Brooklynn, the dagger, him and Mickie fighting to heal her… had it worked? Everything felt so tired and heavy; he realized even raising his hand was a chore.

Brooklynn was currently downstairs making lunch, needing to keep her strength up. Trish was checking in on a daily basis and Glen had called at least once a day to see if Mark was awake yet. All she could do was stand there, chopping lettuce and tried not to think about the possibility of Mark never waking up. NO! It wasn't an option. He had to wake up; they still had the rest of their lives to be together and this time, it would be happily. Gritting her teeth, Brooklynn finished up with the salad and began cutting up the boiled eggs to put in it, deciding something light was all she'd be able to stomach.

A massive crash, thud and the fixtures in the ceiling shaking, alerted Brooklynn to the fact that someone was awake upstairs. He had gotten enough strength to roll his own body and he had hit the floor. "Fuck…" His throat was on fire, dry, though Mark could tell he was in the house. He heard footsteps on the floor, slowly pushing himself up and blinked when the bedroom light was flicked on. Why did everything feel so weak?

Her breathing was erratic as Brooklynn stared down at Mark wide-eyed, not believing he was awake. There was no time to freak out right now, she had to help him and slowly approached him instead of rushing to his side. When he croaked 'water', she immediately went into the bathroom to grab a cup for him and filled it, coming back to him moments later. She couldn't believe he was awake and had started having doubts if he'd ever come back to her.

"Sip slowly." She cautioned, trying like hell not to let her voice crack. Holding the cup for him, Mark took very slow sips and she nodded in encouragement, a few tears sliding down her cheeks.

Grunting, Mark finally slumped there on the floor, his back against the bed and simply stared at her. He watched as Brooklynn knelt between his spread legs, his eyes taking her in, relief showing on his face. He knew Mickie had mended the lung, remembering working on the rest and then that was it. He hadn't known if she would wake up, or when.

"How long?"

"Three weeks." Brooklynn knew exactly what he was asking and relished the sound of his voice, closing her eyes momentarily. "I woke up 5 days after Nemesis was defeated. Mickie explained everything to me. Trish and Steve stayed along with her and John, but I sent them back to their loved ones and lives, once I regained my strength. Steve and John brought you up here and…I took over making sure you were alright. Keeping you cleansed the best I could and dressed from the waist up because there was no way I could change you in and out of pants." She chortled, wiping another tear from her cheek. "I'm so glad you're awake. You've gotta be starving."

Mark considered that finally shaking his head. "I can barely move…" He could talk at least, the desert thing in his mouth now relieved. "I'm not hungry, darlin'." He needed to go crawl his backside into the bathroom. He'd been out how long?

"Do you need me to call an ambulance? M-Maybe you need professional help…" Brooklynn frowned when he shook his head again and chewed her bottom lip, a little out of her league here. Magic wasn't her forte, that was Mickie and Mark, unfortunately. "Come on, I'll try to help you up as much as I can, but you gotta help me, big man." Mentally counting to three, Brooklynn managed to get him up on his feet, with a great deal of help from him, and guided him into the bathroom. "Maybe I should call Mickie and see if there's anything I can give you to help…"

"If I've been out that long, no wonder I'm weak, it'll pass, darlin'." Mark sank down onto the toilet lid, yawning as he watched her start drawing water. A bath was probably going to be better than a shower, less chance of falling and busting his head open. "You wanna get in there with me?" Mark flashed her a wicked grin.

Brooklynn missed that grin of his, the evil glint in his eyes flashing back at her and suddenly hugged him around the neck gently. "Yeah, I'll join you." She softly kissed him, just needing to feel his lips against hers for a moment and pulled back before it could get too out of hand. "I love you. Now lift up."

Smiling when he obeyed, she peeled his shirt from his body and turned to shut the faucet off before undressing herself. Mark managed to submerge himself in the tub and she followed, seated facing him. It was a huge tub that fit them both comfortably, Mark had made sure it was customized due to his size when they bought the house.

This was heaven. Mark leaned back, letting his head rest against the high ledge of the tub, enjoying the feel of the hot water soaking its warmth into his muscles. One major downside to being bedridden like that was the muscle deterioration that could start right off the bat, though in his case, it just felt like extreme muscle stiffness. He bet his cock wouldn't even work right for a few days. He couldn't even FEEL his magic.

Knowing he wouldn't be able to do much besides lay and soak, Brooklynn got the loofah sponge all foamy before beginning to wash his upper body. Those beautiful emerald eyes watched her and she didn't mind it, enjoying having his eyes on her. So many prayers had left her mouth since waking up and discovering what happened to Mark. Brooklynn didn't even care she nearly died, she was more concerned about him waking up and surviving. While she bathed him, Mark was informed of Claira and Dean's trip and made sure to tell him Claira had been calling in on a daily basis to ask about her Daddy.

"When she calls later today, you can talk to her if you're not resting." Sleeping more was definitely on Mark's agenda.

"Resting is the last thing I want to do, I don't want to sleep, darlin'." Being awake and relaxing like this, letting his tensed, stiff, unused muscles get some attention was helping his mind become more alert. "Tell me what happened after you woke up. I know Nemesis is gone…" His face fell then, remembering how that had come about, his emerald eyes moving to her chest and the slight scar. "I am sorry, Brooklynn…"

She instantly pressed a finger to lips, shaking her head with a soft smile on her face. "Don't. Don't you dare apologize. You did the right thing. If it wasn't for your quick judgment, Nemesis would still be here. I'm proud of you, Mark, and I love you so much. You have nothing to be sorry for, you hear me?" Brooklynn pecked his mouth and continued washing him, explaining what happened after she woke up. No recollection of what happened past being in Nemesis' control. "I don't remember being stabbed, or the dagger going through me to him. I guess I was in too much shock and blanked it all out."

Doing what he had done was the ONLY way in that situation to kill Nemesis and he knew, without a doubt, it would have been their one shot. The Demon had seen what they had done to his spawn, he would never allow himself to be put in that position. He would have probably followed her soon after from grief.

"I'm not surprised, Lynn. You were drowning in your own blood. Everyone was…. panicked." Mickie had kneed Randy aside and that had been hilarious in retrospect.

"I don't want to think about it. We're both fine and alive, Nemesis is gone and we can finally relax and enjoy the second half of our lives." Brooklynn had noticed the scar and it would always be a reminder of what she fought for, why she hadn't given up, even after walking away from Mark. "Lean forward." She poured some shampoo in her hands and rubbed them together before beginning to lather his hair.

No matter what she had to do, Brooklynn would make sure Mark was back on his feet as she scooted up a little on his lap to massage his scalp.

Mark almost let out a moan of sheer pleasure at how good this felt, having her fingers working out three weeks of… sleep, he supposed. Sponge baths were horrible for long hair, this was pure heaven. "Claira and Dean still in the States?" He asked after a while, figuring a change in subject, something happier, was in order. "Or did they hop abroad?"

"Dean wanted to go abroad, but Claira wouldn't because she wanted to be in the states in case something happened." Such as her father dying, for example. Brooklynn had just finished rinsing his hair when he asked that and rubbed her nose against his lovingly. "Now lay back and relax while I do my hair and you can watch." She tried saying it in a seductive manner and laughed at his eye roll, proceeding to lather up her own hair. "Now that you're awake, I'm sure she'll take Dean up on his offer to take her to Paris. Apparently, his parents stashed away money for years for him to go haywire for a year before college. Claira is going, she already told me after her year is up, her and Dean will probably attend a college nearby."

"Mmm, yeah, I know. They both got scholarships, her for them brains of hers and he got some… I don't even remember anymore."

Dean had been contemplating going to a trade school for a while, something blue collar as it were, and maybe he'd still do it, but… that was neither here nor there. Mark enjoyed the show she was giving him, not that he was actually capable of doing much other than visually enjoying it. He had a feeling Brooklynn would drive his backside back into a coma if he even tried sporting half an erection.

Somehow, someway, they had survived and found their happily ever after. Nemesis was finally dead and gone, this time for good. It had been one hell of a rocky, unpredictable road that culminated in the coalesce of Mark and Taker. The merge had been the best thing he'd ever done because now there was no more evil and good sides. It was just him, as both, and Brooklynn would spend the rest of her days proving to him how much she loved him. Never again would she walk away from him out of fear, or because she thought she was protecting him. They were sealed together in a magical bond that was even deeper than any marriage could ever be. What lied beneath Mark and Brooklynn's love for each other was complete devotion and nothing would ever change that.

The End.