Chapter 17

Mark picked up her wedding ring, kicking off his boots before sliding into bed next to her, pulling her against him. "Stop." He whispered when she tried to move away. "Stop it, Chalice." He held her firmly, slipping her ring back on. "I love you and I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said what I did. I should've said something to Steve, but I didn't. I'm sorry."

"Go to Hell." She whispered harshly, sniffling even more and felt more tears streak down her cheeks. "I thought you loved me and yes, I know I was a bear during my pregnancy, but that wasn't my fault!" She was keeping it down so they didn't disturb their son and tried pulling away from him again. "Don't touch me, you asshole." She ordered in a whisper and scooted away from him, curling up in a tight ball at the edge of the bed, clutching the pillow to her as she began to cry silently.

Mark sat up, his heart breaking at her tears, and gently uncurled her, pulling her onto his lap, pinning her arms at her sides when she went to hit him. "I do love you, Chalice." He whispered, kissing the top of her head. "I do and I'm in Hell now because you hate me." His tone was heartbroken. "I know it's my fault, darlin. I know it is. Please don't cry. I'll go if you want, just don't cry." He wiped away her tears with his thumbs, always hating to see her cry.

"I don't want you to go. I want you to love me and to stop talking about me behind my back." She whispered heartbrokenly, crying even harder, and wrapped her arms around herself, feeling chills run up and down her body. She knew he hated to see her cry and she wasn't going to stop the tears this time as she cried harder. She wanted him to feel and understand how much overhearing that conversation hurt her.

"I do love you, darlin'. I do." Mark assured her, turning her face towards him and bending down to kiss her cheek, savoring each tear. "I'm so sorry, Chalice please. Forgive me, darlin'?"

Chalice cried harder as she nodded, wrapping her arms around his neck, and buried her face in the crook of it. Her entire body was trembling from head to toe as she clung to him, sniffling as she breathed raggedly. "I do forgive you, Mark. I just really wish you didn't feel that way about me." She whispered heartbrokenly before slowly pulling back, wiping her tears away from her eyes, and looked over at her precious angel that was sleeping. "He was worth it all. Every single bit of pain I went through to get him here with us. If I had to do it over again, I wouldn't change a thing. Not one single thing that happened."

"I wouldn't either, darlin'. He was worth it a million times over." Mark whispered in agreement, caressing her face with the back of his hand. "I shouldn't have said what I did, I wasn't thinkin' darlin'. I'm sorry; you'll never know how sorry I really am." He stared down into her blue eyes, raising her hands up and gently kissed them.

"I really hope you are because if you EVER talk about me like that behind my back again, I'm gone and I'm dead serious on that, Mark." She wasn't threatening him. She was telling him the truth, making it a promise. "That hurt me more than words could say to hear my own brother and husband, the love of my life, talk shit about me behind my back about how horrible I was during my pregnancy and everything. And no, I'm not going to have that post partum depression bullshit either so you can sleep easy." She sarcastically informed him, rolling her eyes, and scoffed in disgust as she shook her head in disappointment.

Mark hung his head, regret and shame shining in his green eyes, though she couldn't see it. His hair was hanging over his face, the gray lock included. "It ain't happening ever again, Chalice." He said softly, his voice honest. "I don't ever want to lose you, darlin'. You and Marcus are my life."

"It's fine, sweetie. I'm over it now and I forgive you." She whispered softly, lifting his head up to meet her eyes, and kissed him softly, her body lighting on fire with just one touch and kiss from him still. "I love you, Mark." She whispered, pressing her forehead to his, and entwined their fingers together as she pressed it against her chest, her eyes never leaving his.

Sighing raggedly, Mark stared back into her eyes, becoming lost in those blue pools like he always did, gently feathering his lips over hers. "You look tired, darlin'." He commented in a whisper, stroking her back gently.

"I am a little." She admitted softly, resting her head on his shoulder, and ran her hands up and down his arms. "Mark?" She softly called his name, biting her bottom lip when he responded to her, and took a deep, shaky breath. "After Marcus is a little older, I was thinking. Maybe we could try for that girl?" She asked hopefully, looking up into his emerald green eyes, and ran her finger down his cheek. "I just want to know if you want more children with me or not." She quietly asked, glancing over at Marcus.

Mark nodded, smiling. He turned his head to kiss the tip of her finger. "I want to have as many children as you're willing to bear me, darlin'." He replied honestly. "A little girl. An angel just like her momma." He smiled at the thought.

"No, I want her to have your eyes." She replied softly and yawned, snuggling further against her husband, and sighed in contentment. "Let's go to bed." She whispered softly and slid from his arms, beneath the comforter, and smiled when he joined her moments later. "I love you, Mark." She whispered, snuggling further in his arms when he pulled her into his arms, and looked over at the bassinet. "I love you, Marcus." She then closed her eyes and allowed sleep to claim her entire body.

~!~

Steve was up before anyone else, in the kitchen cooking breakfast, something he did rather well, especially stuffed omelets. He'd noticed the lack of oranges in the house and figured Challie had decided she was sick of them so he made coffee instead. While he cooked, he waited nervously for her to come down, ready to receive the tongue lashing of a lifetime.

The smell of breakfast filled her nostrils, causing her eyes to slowly flutter open, and turned on her back, gasping when she seen Mark staring down at her. "Good Lord, you scared me." She whispered, caressing his face tenderly with her hand, and kissed his lips softly. "What're you doing up?" She quietly asked, staring into his emerald green eyes.

"Watching you." He answered, bending down to lightly kiss her, smiling against her lips. "You looked so damned peaceful I didn't want to wake you." He inhaled deeply at the scent that wavered in the room. "Is that…Steve cooking?" He arched an eyebrow at her, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

"Yeah, his way of sucking up." She muttered under her breath and smiled when her son started fussing. She immediately stood up from the bed, picking him up, and hoisted him over her shoulder as she walked back over and sat down. She proceeded to feed him, wincing a little at how tender her breasts were, and leaned against Mark. "You don't mind that I chose to feed him like this, do you?" She asked softly and smiled when his arm wrapped around her shoulders.

Mark shook his head, looking bemused. "Why would I mind, darlin'? Breast milk is best for him; helps build his immune system…" He started rattling off more things Marcus would benefit from being breastfed, apparently having been reading his books again. "Though I am jealous." He teased, reaching out to stroke Marcus's tiny hand, grinning when his son wrapped his tiny fist around Mark's one finger.

"Don't worry, he's your son. You'll have plenty of bonding moments with him." Chalice assured her husband with a smile, finishing up the feeding with Marcus, and proceeded to burp him as she closed her eyes, sighing in contentment.

Smiling, Mark watched his wife and son, grinning when Marcus burped. "Damn boy that was a loud one." He chuckled, leaning over to kiss the top of his head.

Giggling softly, Chalice agreed with her husband before slowly standing up from the bed, wearing the Undertaker pajamas she'd put on the previous night, and started bouncing him. "I suppose we should go see how your uncle is doing." She grumbled, looking over her shoulder at Mark, and smiled slightly. Though, her eyes still held the hurt that the conversation the previous day had caused.

Mark stood up, ignoring the fact that he was in just a pair of loose fitting sweat pants, having changed in the middle of the night during one of Marcus's feedings. "I love you, darlin'." He murmured, hugging her and Marcus gently.

"We love you too, Mark." She replied sweetly, turning around to stare up into his eyes, and leaned against his chest as he hugged them both. "Alright, we can't prolong this anymore. If I know my brother, which I do, he'll be up here any second to drag us downstairs for breakfast." She stated and smirked when Mark started chuckling. "What? It's the truth!"

"What kinda cook is he, darlin'? I'm not going to have to fake liking it am I?" He asked playfully, following her out of the bedroom, having to admit whatever it was Steve had made smelled pretty damned good.

"Steve is a very good cook when he wants to be." Chalice admitted, holding her baby close to her, and smiled when Marcus rested his head against her shoulder, being quiet. They walked down the stairs and into the kitchen, causing tears to swell in her eyes at the beautiful white roses on the table. They always touched a place in her heart that was indescribable as she leaned in the doorway and watched him bustling about the kitchen. "Havin' fun, bro?"

Steve was wearing a frilly, lace edged yellow apron, tied in a big bow at the back with flower covered pockets on the front. "Yes Challie, I am." He answered with a grin, walking over to kiss her cheek then Marcus's head. "Sorry Mark, no smooches for ya."

"That's quite alright." Mark replied good-naturedly, standing behind his wife.

"Hungry folks?" Steve asked hopefully, staring down into his sister's blue eyes that mirrored his own.

"Actually, I'm famished. Let me go set the baby down in the playpen." She said and walked out of the kitchen, pressing her lips to Marcus's forehead, and gently set him down in the playpen. For not even a week old, the beautiful boy was adapting well to his new environment and she smiled when he closed his eyes, yawning. He'd kept his daddy up for most of the night as she admired him for a bit longer before walking back into the kitchen to join her husband and brother. "Stevie, you made my favorite!" She squealed happily, wrapping her arms around his neck, and hugged him tightly as she whispered, "You're forgiven." The breakfast consisted of blueberry waffles, eggs, toast, sausage links, bacon, and omelets.

'Thank god.' Steve thought with relief, hugging her back tightly. "Thank you, Challie girl." He whispered, kissing the top of her head.

Mark had already pulled out a seat for his wife, watching the siblings with a grin on his face. "Damn Steve, nice to see when you finally get snagged up, you're already halfway domesticated."

"Halfway is right." Steve chuckled, agreeing with his brother-in-law.

Chalice nodded as she started crying, not able to stop herself, and buried her face in the crook of her brother's neck. She knew he was sorry and this more than made up for it as she felt him hold her tighter to him. "Please don't ever think that way about me again. It almost broke me completely in half to hear you say those things." She whispered in his ear, sniffling a little, and wiped her tears away on his shirt, but never released him. She had to let him know how much he'd hurt her, since she'd put her husband through Hell the previous night. The last thing Chalice wanted was for her husband and brother to not want to be around her anymore, especially when what she did was out of her control.

Steve could only nod, not trusting himself to speak, blinking back tears of his own. He felt horrible for what he had said about her pregnancy and hearing her forgive him made him want to cry. "I love ya, darlin'." He whispered gruffly. "You have no damned idea how sorry I am for what I said."

"Shhh it's okay, Stevie. Don't worry about it anymore. I forgive you and I love you too." She whispered soothingly to him, rubbing the back of his neck, and smiled when he held her even tighter to him. Causing her to lean her head on his shoulder as she sniffled a little more. This was what her family was built on. No matter what horrible things they said to each other, Steve and Chalice always found a way to make it up to one another. They couldn't explain it. It was almost as if they were always destined to be brother and sister. "Come on, let's eat."

Mark waited until Chalice had seated herself before scooting her towards the table, waiting for Steve to sit before seating himself, glancing towards Marcus. "Poor kid, he's missin' out." Steve said, feeling bad for his nephew. "These are some awesome waffles."

"He's got plenty of time to be introduced to the finer things in life. I'm fairly certain he'd say we're the ones missing out." Mark winked at Chalice, referring to her breast feeding.

Chalice just shook her head and laughed, putting some food on her plate, and stood up as she brought Marcus in to join them. She smiled at her brother and held out a small piece of waffle to her son, grinning when he took it. It was small enough for him to swallow whole without choking on it. She laughed when he licked his little lips hungrily and began reachin for the fork, shaking her head. "Uh oh, I think we have another hook, line and sinker with your waffles there, Stevie." She smirked at her brother, her blue eyes twinkling.

Mark arched an eyebrow. "Isn't a week old too young to be giving him table foods?" He asked, watching his son curiously. "Damn, that boy's hungry!"

"Well my waffles are AWESOME. Try'em ol' man." Steve said boastfully, patting himself on the back on a job well done.

"There's nothing wrong with it, Mark. They eat the jar baby foods. Why should this be any different, especially when I'm mashing it up before?" She questioned with a smirk and quirked an eyebrow before continuing to feed herself and her son, laughing when Marcus took the fork from her grip. "Okay little man, slow down there tiger." She shook her head, wiping his mouth off.

Steve shook his head, working his way through his own plate of food, watching Marcus with wide eyes. "That boy is gonna be big like his ol' man, ya know that right?"

"Nothing wrong with being my size." Mark chuckled. "I haven't heard any complaints yet."

"Yeah, but if we ever have a daughter, she'll take after me." Chalice piped in with a smile, her eyes sparkling with such love down at her son. She cooed to her baby boy and continued feeding him, the sun radiating off of them, making her look more beautiful than an angel in their eyes. She ran a hand through her hair and laughed when Marcus took another tiny bite of waffle. "Ya like that, beautiful boy?"

"Shit, I should've made some more." Steve groaned swallowing down his coffee, wincing as it burned his tongue. "That's not gonna tear up his stomach is it?"

Mark stared intently down at Marcus, wondering the same all of a sudden, and replied, "I don't know, Steve. He seems to be handling it fine."

"Would you two stop worrying?" Chalice snapped softly at them, her blue eyes narrowing dangerously now, filling with anger. "Goddamn, you'd think the MOTHER would know what the fuck to feed her OWN child!" She then abruptly stood from the table and walked into the living room to calm down, cooing to her baby boy, who was snuggled against her chest.

Mark frowned, getting up to follow her. "Darlin', we're not trying to say you don't know what you're doing. We're just trying to learn, is that so wrong?" He asked softly, listening as Steve started clearing the table.

"No, it's not wrong, but I wouldn't feed Marcus anything if I knew it was going to harm him in ANY way." She argued back at her husband in a softer voice, staring down at her precious angel, and sat down on the couch with him as she sighed heavily. "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to snap in there. I just, you two are so damned overprotective and it's unnerving at times…" She bit her bottom lip as she raked a hand through her hair, knowing they meant well. They drove her up the wall sometimes with their protectiveness of Marcus.

"Can you blame us?" Mark reasoned, setting down besides her. "My first son, Steve's first nephew. We're learning as we go. We're men." He rapped his knuckles against his head. "We're thick, darlin'. Bear with us."

Sighing, Chalice reluctantly nodded as she looked down at her son and then scooted closer to her husband when Steve entered. She smiled at him, patting the seat, and watched as he lowered himself beside her. "I know you two are only trying to do what's best for Marcus and I love you both dearly for it. I truly do. I didn't mean to snap in there, but I want you two to realize that I would NEVER do anything to harm him. He's allowed to have table food because he's human, just not in large quantities." She spoke soothingly to both of them and smiled when the baby started squirming as she put him over her shoulder, rubbing his back.

"Here, let me." Mark gently took Marcus from her, feeling his stomach. "His belly's hard…" He groaned when he realized what that meant.

"When he drops that waffle, I'm NOT changin' it!" Steve declared, draping an arm over Chalice's shoulder, chuckling softly.

"Funny, I will." Mark replied, gently laying Marcus tummy down on his knee, rubbing his back with one hand while gently supporting his head and neck with the other.

"He's gonna have a digestive system like his father too so who better than to change him?" Chalice retorted swiftly, agreeing with her brother, and leaned against him while she watched husband care for their child. She truly felt at peace and sighed in contentment, closing her eyes, and patted her brother's leg reassuringly. She wanted him to know that she did forgive him for the previous day and they could move on as being a family.

Steve watched as Marcus started grunting, wrinkling his nose. "That's disgustin' and I don't need to know bout Mark's system thank you very much." He leaned his head against hers. "Challie, I'd say ya got that man flat out house broken." He whispered, watching as Mark stood up and started walking around with Marcus, cooing at him.

"Yeah, but he loves every second of it. He loves being a father and actually showing his love to someone other than me." She whispered back to her brother and snuggled further into him; her knees bent and shook her head. "Can you believe that you're the uncle of Mark's baby?" She asked softly out of nowhere, crossing her arms in front of her chest, thinking about the past again.

"Now if ya would've asked me that two years ago, I'd a given ya a big HELL NO." His voice was just as silent, just putting stress on certain words. "Now though, yeah, I can believe it. We're friends again and honestly, I couldn't think of anyone else I'd want to be my nephew's father. He's a good man. Dumb as an ox sometimes, but a good guy. That and he loves ya and Marcus to death."

"I told you he had a heart." She remarked with a smirk, watching her husband cooing to their beautiful baby boy, and nudged her brother. "I truly love him, Steve. He's my soul mate and I knew that the minute I laid eyes on him when we walked into the arena. He was the Undertaker back then, but deep down, I could see it in his eyes that he was masking the real him. He was masking Mark. Does that make sense?" They were speaking quietly to each other, not wanting Mark to overhear.

"Yeah, that makes sense." Steve admitted, shaking his head, trying not to chuckle before smirking back at her. "Lucky fer him ya came along or he might still be wearin' that damned musty robe and sportin' that Amish lookin' goatee."

"That goatee was absolutely ridiculous and did NOT suit him." She stated quietly, giggling softly at the memory, and sighed as she shook her head. "Did you ever think you'd actually be related to him?" She asked her brother, taking his hand in her own, and patted it gently.

"Not in a million years." Steve admitted, stroking his chin thoughtfully with his free hand. "Come on, who would've EVER thought it? Ya seen how we were…If it weren't fer ya, Challie, we'd probably still be runnin' round like jackasses tryin' to kill each other."

Sighing, Chalice knew he was right in saying that as she turned her focus back to her husband. "I'm just glad you two are back to the way you were before I even came in the picture." She murmured softly and closed her eyes, not believing how her life turned out.