Chapter 42

It was pretty late when Taker finally called, remembering he had promised he would and then… then he had forgotten. Gunner tended to do that. Somehow, Taker wasn't surprised at all when Tahlia picked up on the first ring, snorting.

"I made it. Hours ago." He said by way of greeting, trying not to sound amused. "Gunner was pretty wound up when I got here." And it had taken him awhile to get the boy to bed.

"I figured as much. I'll forgive you this time." Tahlia teased, relief flooding her body at the sound of his low voice. She could honestly listen to him talk for hours and never tire of it. It had a soothing quality to it, even when he was angry, which made it go lower and gruffer. "You sound worn out. How is everything going?" She asked, wanting to hear all about his day with Gunner. Anything and anyone in Taker's life, Tahlia wanted to hear about.

"Good. They're staying at the property closer to town, summer is coming soon enough so they'll end up heading out to the country house. Maybe." He considered that, frowning. "Mandy is pregnant, and bigger than I thought she'd be. She was pretty tiny last time I was to home, so she's going to need time off, soon. So…" She could reach that conclusion on her own. "Gunner is all right with meeting you. If you're willing."

"I'm here." Tahlia had gone silent for several seconds, trying to process what he said and didn't know how to react. He wanted her to meet his son? Even after what she said to him? She wasn't exactly mother material and took a sip of wine, knowing she had to choose her words carefully. "Let me think about it. This is a huge step for both of us and…I just want to make sure this is the right thing to do. When we see each other on Monday, I will give you my answer. But I do have a question for you about this..." Taking a deep breath, Tahlia took another sip of wine and slid a hand through her hair. "Are you absolutely sure you want to do this?" There was no turning back if things went sour between them in the future.

"I'm not introducing you as my future wife, Tahlia. He knows we're seeing each other and that it's relatively… new."

If that was the way to word it. She seemed nervous and he wondered just what this signified for her. Taker knew it was a major step on his end, bringing someone home to his son, who he had gone above and beyond for in regard to keeping safe. However, he trusted Tahlia, whether they were together or not, he knew she was the most loyal person, most honest and trustworthy.

"If you don't want to do this, it's fine. You don't have to meet him."

Shutting her eyes, Tahlia could feel him pulling away from her and didn't want that to happen. He sounded so sure of himself, it just caught her off guard and she wanted to make sure he'd thought this through. Her cheeks flamed at the thought of being his future wife…they were nowhere NEAR ready to take that step yet. However, meeting Gunner was a step in that direction and it scared her. Tahlia didn't want to let Taker down or disappoint him, feeling like she would if she didn't meet his son.

"I'm sorry, Taker. Of course I want to meet your son. Set up a time to go and I'll be ready. I just hope he likes me…" What if Gunner hated her? Would Taker end their relationship and kick her to the curb? Kids usually came first in these type of scenarios. "Did you tell him anything about me?"

"No, you will take the time and think on this, like you said." He ordered sternly, eyes narrowing as he took note of the subtle change in her tone. "Tahlia, I'm not bringing home a subservient Ministry member, do you understand that? I am asking you to come with me, and meet my son, as my… girlfriend." That was the word she had used. He would have said woman, but… he didn't want to be overly offensive. "Think about it, properly, without taking me into consideration. You won't hurt my feelings if you decide not to. And yes, I told him you were a wrestler and we worked together. He asked if you were beautiful."

That made her smile, the tension somewhat lifted. "Did he really?" She laughed softly, standing from the couch to get a glass of water before bed. "Hey, at least he has your best interest at heart." Tahlia let out a silent breath of relief when he began chuckling in her ear. She loved the fact he'd just referred to her as his girlfriend. "He sounds like a great kid. I can't believe he beat you in basketball though. I figured you would've towered over him and beat him easily. Kid's got skill. No wonder you sound so tired."

"The little jackass knows my weak spots." Taker admitted with a good-natured chuckle. "So he kept shoulder checking my hips." His son played to win and didn't hold anything back; he would definitely give him that. "He's worn out too, ran us both ragged." Trying to cram as much into their time together as possible, it was a routine he was used to and enjoyed just as much as his son. "I'm going to go to bed, Tahlia. I'll see you soon. I want you to think about this, all right? Don't go doing anything just because you want to make me happy." That seemed to go against her programming.

"I will. Good night, Taker." I love you, she added mentally, hanging up the phone and blew out a large breath.

Tahlia had told him throughout the time he was with her in New York she loved him, but she wouldn't say it again unless he reciprocated it. She wouldn't put her all into this if he wasn't willing to do the same thing. With Taker gone, it gave her a lot of time to think about their relationship and the fact he hadn't told her he loved her did bother her. Sighing, Tahlia was suddenly exhausted and went to bed, deciding tomorrow she would deal with everything.

Monday morning came and Tahlia was up at the crack of dawn, having a very early flight out to Raw's location. Taker would be meeting her at the airport, so it looked like they arrived together. He made it very clear nobody in the Ministry or the company was to find out about his son. Tahlia understood, promising she wouldn't say a word and had changed her flight to an earlier one on Taker's command. It was a safety precaution since Paul and the others wouldn't land until later on in the day. At exactly 8:30 AM, the plane landed as Tahlia walked through the terminal, wearing black and purple with her rolling luggage behind her. She spotted Taker instantly and smiled, immediately walking toward him with gusto.

His feelings for Tahlia aside, if he found out she had dared breathe one word about his son, he would snap her neck and anyone she had ever liked, loved, and called a friend. There was nothing he would not do for his son, even destroy his own heart. When Taker touched down at the airport for the layover, he headed to where they had agreed to meet, feeling more relaxed and at ease now that he had spent some downtime at home. His eyes searched the busy walkways for her, finally seeing those amber eyes fastened on him and grinned.

They had to act like they were on the same flight and spent the entire week together, so Tahlia simply took his hand. "You look rested." She murmured softly to where only he could hear her and let him guide her toward the rental vehicle station. Once keys were in hand and they were on the way to the hotel, since it was still too early to go to the arena, Tahlia finally broke the silence between them. "My answer is yes, by the way. I want to be in your life completely, Taker. Not just on the road or in New York or Texas at the mansion. I want all of you and that includes anyone who is important in your life." She looked at him, gauging his expression and could see he was trying hard not to smile. "And I've also thought about something else. I'm not calling you 'sir' or 'master' anymore. We're together in a relationship, so I'll simply call you Taker or boss. I hope you're okay with that."

"That's fine." He murmured, squeezing her hand, feeling… relieved, actually.

Taker hadn't known what her decision would be. He had known that from the start Tahlia was very loyal and had a habit of doing whatever he wanted, or what she thought would please him, without regard to herself. He was realizing, as their relationship became more complicated, that was not what he wanted. Taker wanted her to do things for her, not him or his approval. Also, he realized that before he took her home, they were going to have to have a chat about the ground rules at the house. He had warned Amanda he was bringing home 'another woman', so to speak and hadn't missed the worry in her eyes or Sam's.

Once they arrived at the hotel in their room, Tahlia took one of the bags and unzipped it, pulling out the dress she'd bought. "I want your opinion. If it's too much, I can take it back and get something lower key." Honestly, she fell in love with this dress and would keep it, even if Taker didn't want her using it to 'marry' Shane. Hanging it up on a nearby coat hook, Tahlia unzipped the bag to reveal the dress and looked back at Taker, not surprised by his poker face. "If we're going to do this, it has to look real, right? So I figured I'd go out and get the dress out of the way, at least. What do you think?"

"Write it off as a business expense on your taxes." That was the honest to god first thing that came out of Taker's mouth and even he could not believe he said it. He blinked his emerald eyes, clearing his throat. "I… did not mean to say that." It was a gorgeous dress, he could only imagine how beautiful she would look in it and she was going to 'marry' Shane in it. That was the tragedy. "Try it on for me." He suggested, trying to recover.

A business tax expense…Tahlia was at a loss for words and started laughing at his incredulous look. "No, I don't think so. You can see me in it when the time comes."

He was a man, what did she expect him to say? Taxes were the last thing on her mind, but he had a point. This was business when it came to torturing Shane McMahon and fun all at once. Zipping it back up, Tahlia could feel him walk up to stand behind her and leaned back against him, enjoying their alone time more and more. Turning to look up in his eyes, Tahlia took his hands and pulled him toward the bed, pushing him down to sit down before straddling his lap.

"You're quiet, more than usual. What's on your mind, Taker?"

"Honestly?" He flashed her a genuine smile. "I still can't believe I said that." Taker began laughing, his guard down quite a bit as he was still getting back to business after spending all weekend being himself. He was a dark man, that would never change, but he had never let that darkness have an effect on his son and never would. "Of all the things to say… that?" He dropped a kiss on her forehead.

Tahlia laughed along with him, kissing his nose and rested her forehead on his. "It's practical and truthful. I didn't think you'd lose your mind over it or whatever. I just wanted to make sure it represented the Ministry right."

She softly kissed him and snuggled in his arms, burying her face in the crook of his neck to breathe his scent in. The past few days without him were lonely and she missed him. She felt him touch the staples still in her head and smiled, knowing he was still concerned because of her concussion.

"Hopefully when Paul gets here, he'll be able to remove them. They're very tight, but no pain other than that. And I think my concussion is gone too." They wouldn't know until she was checked out properly and tested.

Taker was no medical expert, but it looked like the staples would be able to come out, nodding as he studied them. "Looks like everything is healing up alright." She'd have some bruising and whatnot still, nothing major, and already looked so much better. "I'm not losing anything over the dress. It's just… it surprised me." Honestly, based on some of her other wardrobe choices, he hadn't been expecting… tasteful and subdued. "I still say you should model it for me."

"It's a pain in the ass to put on, or I would." Tahlia said truthfully, kissing his neck and then hopped off his lap, clapping her hands together. "I don't know about you, but I'm ready to get back in the gym and get back into shape. I am the Women's champion after all and I miss working out." She hadn't been able to since she had a concussion, but that didn't stop her from doing stretches and little workouts throughout her condo after Taker left. "Wanna spar with me, show me a thing or two, boss?" She winked at him, grabbing her bag and pulled spandex black shorts and a black sports bra out, normal workout attire. "Or do you want to rest and relax and I'll go down to the gym?"

"I'll decide when we get there. I may want to rest and relax while watching you sweat and put yourself in amusing positions." Taker pushed himself up and rolled his shoulders and his neck, letting out a groan of pleasure as it cracked. "I got plenty of rest." His own bed had been wonderful, even if Gunner had fallen asleep on him at least once. That boy was heavier than he appeared. "You should learn to throw a hard punch." He said after a moment. "Add some rings, and it'd be lethal." Because she had some serious strength.

Using her legs was her main strength, along with her quickness in the ring, but maybe Taker was right. Who was she kidding? Of course the man was right! Very rarely was he wrong. But adding rings would be dangerous and she wasn't out to win matches unfairly. If he wanted Tahlia to learn how to throw a punch, she would do it the right way.

"You're the boxing master. Teach me your ways."

She bowed mockingly, giggling at his growl and flew into the bathroom to change before he could snatch her up. Her laughter flowed through the door as she changed into her shorts and sports bra, pulling on a tank top over it until they got to the gym. Taker hadn't missed the look on her face at the ring comment and shook his head. He changed into workout shorts and a tank top, leading the way when they were both ready.

"Just so we're clear, I'm not talking about you using rings at work. Not unless you're playing heel and doing it blatantly. I'm referring to your apparent enjoyment of walking around New York fucking City at night." Gun or not, the numbers game would catch up if she was put in a stupid position.

"You really have no faith in me, do you?"

Tahlia shook her head, rolling her eyes at his comment about being safe in New York City. In all the years she lived there, nothing had happened to her. Granted, it wasn't the safest place to live, but where was? Texas? Hell, there was probably danger there as well. Something told Tahlia once their relationship gained ground and took off, there would be an argument down the road about where they'd live. Texas or New York.

"How many times do I have to say I can take care of myself?" She held her hand up before he could talk. "And don't you dare mention the hotel incident because I'm STILL kicking my own ass for that happening. I was distracted and let my guard down." Because of you, she added in thought. "That's why they got the upper hand." It wouldn't happen again.