Chapter 14

Taker was instantly concerned. He was about to go in after her when he saw her coming up. His concerned expression gave way to laughter when she surfaced.

"That wasn't very nice of you," she said splashing water at him.

"I told you not to push me," he said shaking his head. "But you didn't listen."

She stuck her tongue out and splashed at him again. "Now my clothes are all wet. You could at least help me out," she said.

He leaned down and held out a hand to her. She grabbed his wrist and he pulled her up out of the water. She was completely soaked. Taker was repressing laughter at the look she was giving him.

"It's not funny," she snapped.

"Maybe not to you," he answered holding back a chuckle.

She sat down and pulled off her sneakers and socks. They were soaked through. Her tank top and shorts were pasted to her body, and she was dripping wet. She stood back up and looked at him.

"I don't suppose you have a towel in the truck?"

"I might. Stay right here," he said.

"Like I'm gonna go anywhere." A minute went by and he came back empty handed.

"Sorry, no luck. Come with me. I'll ask John if there's one in his truck."

Kat mumbled something and followed him over to the tree where Shawn was. Shawn looked at her and a confused look came over his face.

"What happened to you?" he asked.

"Mark shoved me into the water," she said shooting him a look.

Shawn looked at Taker. "You what?" he asked in disbelief.

"I didn't mean for her to fall in. She lost her balance."

Shawn started to laugh, but Kat shot him a look too. "Aww I'm sorry doll. I don't mean to laugh at you. You need a towel though."

The other guys saw Kat and Taker with Shawn and they came over to see what had happened.

"Why are you all wet?" Randy asked her.

"It's a long story," she said glancing at Mark.

Taker turned to John. "Do you have a towel in the truck?" he asked.

"I don't know. Maybe. I'll go look. There might be some in the gym though."

"I'll go look inside," Taker said.

He and John walked off, leaving Kat with the rest of the guys. A breeze blew through the air and Kat shivered slightly.

"I hope they find a towel," Kat said. "I'm freezing."

"We can see that," Edge said with a smirk.

Kat eyed him curiously, until she realized that the water had made her shirt go almost completely see through. It also didn't help that it was pasted against her skin. Her light colored bra wasn't doing much to cover her up either. Great, she thought to herself, I'm a walking wet t-shirt contest. She crossed her arms over her chest.

Edge laughed. "Too bad."

She shot him a look.

"Oh geez, I'm just trying to lighten the mood." He looked at her. "How did you fall in anyway?"

"Mark pushed me and I lost my balance."

"You're kidding?" Randy asked. "That's not like him."

"It was kind of my own fault," Kat said shaking her head. "I was bothering him. He didn't mean for me to fall in. He was just playing with me."

"I think you just discovered why you don't mess with the Deadman," Randy said with a smile.

"No kidding," she answered. "I really hope one of them finds a towel. I'm twitching over here."

The guys laughed. "Laugh it up," she said. "I'd like to see how one of you would feel with an icy cold shirt against you."

"Why don't you just take it off then?" Randy asked. "If you're that cold."

"I don't think so." She caught sight of John coming back.

"Sorry," he said. "No towel."

"I think I'm gonna go inside and see if Mark needs help looking. At least there's no breeze in there." Kat stood up and started walking toward the building. I bet there's a towel in the locker room, she thought to herself. She went in through the gym and headed toward the locker room.

She was about to open the door when it suddenly swung open. She jumped back, the door barely missing her. It was Mark, and he was holding a towel.

"Whoa! I didn't see you there," he said. "I found a towel for you," he added handing it to her.

She took it from him and draped it over her shoulders. "Did you happen to see a dryer in there?"

"I didn't notice," he said. He walked back into the locker room and she followed behind him. "There's a hand dryer on this wall," he said gesturing. "And I think that's a blow dryer against that other wall."

"I'm gonna dry my clothes," she said.

He nodded. "I'll be outside," he said.

Once she was sure Mark was out, she quickly stripped off her clothes and wrapped herself in the towel. She held each article of clothing under the hand dryer until it was dry.

When she was done, she put her clothes back on and dried her hair. She shut off the dryer and walked out of the locker room. She headed back outside and went over to the guys.

"All better?" Shawn asked.

She nodded. "Yea I'm fine." She picked up her shoes and put them back on. They were still wet.

"I think we should go back to the motel," Cody said. "I just checked the weather on my phone, and there's supposed to be a storm coming."

They glanced up at the sky. Off in the distance they could see dark grey clouds. The wind was starting to pick up too, and the breeze was getting colder. They quickly got into the trucks and headed back to the motel. When they reached the parking lot it started to drizzle.

"I'll let everybody know about dinner later," Randy said. "Hopefully this clears up."

The sky had darkened considerably. The sun was completely gone, and the clouds were so grey, they looked almost black.

"This is gonna be a bad one," Shawn said.

They all went to their rooms, and no sooner had they closed their doors than the rain started in a downpour.

Kat pulled off her sneakers and climbed up onto the bed. She sat back and looked at Mark.

"You're not going to kill me in my sleep tonight are you?" he asked with a half smile.

"Kill you? For what?"

"For making you fall into the water. I am sorry by the way. I didn't mean for you to fall in," he added, sitting beside her.

She nodded. "I know. You don't have to apologize. I got over that. The more I think about it, the funnier it is. I was a little annoyed that I gave all of you guys a little show though."

"What do you mean?"

"I was dripping wet and my shirt was totally see-through. You're going to tell me you didn't notice?" He shrugged in response. She raised an eyebrow. "So either you were totally oblivious, or you're trying to make me feel better by not saying anything." She looked at him and tried to read his expression.

"So you noticed but you pretended not to."

He shrugged again. "Don't think about it. We all have our moments."

She looked at him wryly. "I guess it could be worse. I've had worse things happen, in a lot worse places."

"So you're not going to kill me in my sleep?" he asked smiling.

She smiled back. "No, I'm not. Besides, how exactly does one go about killing someone who's already dead?"

He laughed. "No idea."

"I think I'm going to take a hot shower. I still feel cold from before." Kat hopped off the bed and went into the bathroom.

Mark laid back on the bed. A minute later he heard water running. He thought about what had happened and laughed to himself. What had possessed him to push her? He hadn't meant for her to fall into the water, and he was glad that she wasn't angry about it. He couldn't help but smile when he thought about the look she had given him when he pulled her out. All in all, it was pretty funny.

He had just gotten comfortable when there was a knock at the door. He shook his head and got up to answer it. It was Shawn.

Taker let him in and then shut the door. It was still pouring outside.

"This weather is ridiculous," Shawn mumbled as he stepped in. He crossed the room and sat down on a chair that was in the corner. He looked around. "Where is she?" he asked.

"Shower," Taker answered. "She said she was cold."

"Oh, so she's talking to you?" Shawn asked with a half smile.

"Yea, why?"

"Deadman, if you had pushed me into a pond I'd be pretty pissed off. I wouldn't be talking to you."

"Hmm, maybe I should push you into a pond then," Taker answered with a wry smile.

Shawn shook his head. "You know, when she said it was you that pushed her, I was thinking that's not like you. But the more I see and think about it, the more it makes sense…" he said trailing off.

Taker looked at Shawn with a hint of confusion. "What are you talking about?"

Shawn looked up and shook his head, as if snapping himself out of thought. "Never mind."

"Was there a reason for your trip here? Or did you just feel like taking a walk in the pouring rain?"

"Oh right! I was trying to call your phone, but you weren't picking up. Randy said to let you know that he checked the weather, and the rain isn't supposed to clear up tonight. He said we could just order food or something, instead of trying to drive out in the rain."

"That's fine by me. Where is he ordering from?"

"He said there's some Chinese food place across town. He's ordering from there. Says he got the number from the desk clerk."

Taker shrugged. "Okay. I'll see you later then."

Shawn stood up and nodded. "Oh, and tell Kat if she gets bored to come to my room."

Taker nodded, and Shawn left the room. A minute later Kat opened the bathroom door. She was wrapped up in a towel. Taker raised an eyebrow.

"I forgot my clothes," she said, pulling out some clothes from her bag. She went back into the bathroom and emerged a few minutes later dressed.

"Was that Shawn that was in here before?" she asked, sitting down to comb her hair.

Mark nodded. "Yea, he was saying that Randy's ordering Chinese for dinner later. The rain's not supposed to clear up for a while."

"Oh." She finished combing her hair and put the comb down.

"He also said to tell you to come to his room if you got bored."

Kat smiled. "Maybe I will. By the way, do you mind if I use your cell phone?"

"Go ahead," he answered.

She picked it up off the dresser and tried dialing a number. "Hmm that's weird. It's not working."

"Shawn said he tried to call me and it wasn't going through. Maybe it's the rain."

"Maybe I'll ask Shawn if I can use his phone. My family is on a cruise that docks today in the Bahamas. They should have cell reception. They might get worried if they don't hear from me."

He nodded again. "Shawn's might work. He has a different kind of phone than I do. I'm going to take a shower. Take a key with you, in case you come back and I'm not out yet."

He disappeared into the bathroom, leaving Kat sitting on the bed. She finished combing her hair then went over to her bag on the floor. She pulled her hoodie out and put it on. Her sneakers weren't totally dry yet, but she put them on. It was raining and they would get wet anyway. She slid the room key into her pocket and headed toward Shawn's room.

She got there without getting too wet. The overhang on the building shielded her from most of the rain. She only got wet when the wind blew the rain under it. She knocked on Shawn's door and he quickly let her in.

"Had a nice walk in the rain?" he asked smiling.

"This weather is for ducks," she said shaking her head. "I usually like walking in the rain, but this is ridiculous."

"I guess Taker relayed my invitation?"

She nodded. "Yea, he did. By the way, I was wondering if I could use your phone? Mark's isn't working."

Shawn nodded and handed it to her. "Go ahead."

Kat quickly dialed and was very relieved when she heard ringing. A few seconds later her aunt picked up.

"Hello?"

"Hi Aunt Kris," Kat said.

"Kat honey! I was just telling your uncle that I was getting worried that you hadn't called."

"My phone died, and I haven't had a chance to recharge it. How's the vacation?"

"Oh it's wonderful. I wish you were here though. Your cousins are all whining about you not being here."

Kat laughed. "Tell them to have fun, and to have extra fun for me."

"I'll tell them. So have you gotten to the house? How is it?" her aunt asked.

"I decided to take a little detour. You know, drive around and see all the places I've wanted to check out."

"That sounds like fun, your own little adventure. Just be careful."

"I will Aunt Kris. How're Mom and Dad?"

"I have never seen the two of them more relaxed. Your mom's at the spa right now, and oddly enough so is your dad."

"You're kidding," Kat said with a laugh.

"They're getting some kind of treatments together. I have no idea honestly. I'll tell them you called and that you're okay. We're leaving port tonight, so we won't have cell reception again for a few days."

"Okay then. Have fun and tell everybody that I said hi."

"Will do honey. Have fun on your road trip, and be careful. You'll have to tell us all about it once we get back."

"I will," Kat said with a smile. "Bye Aunt Kris."

"Bye baby."

Kat hung up the phone and handed it back to Shawn. "Thanks."

"No problem. That was your aunt?" he asked.

"Yea. My family's on a cruise. They're in the Bahamas today, so they have reception. I wanted to check in with them, so they don't get worried. We usually all go away together, but this year I didn't go."

"You didn't want to go?" Shawn asked.

"I couldn't. They left a week before school ended. It's my first year as a teacher. It would look bad that I left for summer vacation a week early. But you know, even if they had left after school let out, I wasn't really feeling it this year. I kind of wanted to go away by myself, without having to deal with all the crazy people in my family."

Shawn laughed. "Your whole family went?"

"Yea. My parents, aunts and uncles, cousins, grandparents, the whole deal. Don't get me wrong, I love them all to death, but this year I just wanted to be alone."

Shawn nodded. "I know what you mean. Sometimes you just need to get away. Look at it this way. If you had gone with them, you wouldn't have gotten stuck here and met all of us."

Kat grinned. "Very true. I'm kind of glad the car broke down."

Shawn smiled. "So am I doll. You're a real sweetheart."

She laughed. "You've never seen my bad side. You and the rest of the guys have only seen me nice and sweet."

"We all have a bad side. Lord knows my ass used to strip on national television," Shawn said with a laugh.

Kat smiled. "No complaints on this end."

Shawn shook his head with a laugh. "You're a real mischievous one aren't you?"

"You have no idea," she answered.

"You and Randy would make a hell of a team. That boy is always pulling something on somebody."

She laughed. "He looks mischievous."

"Oh he is. The amount of pranks and nonsense that boy has pulled is enough to drive anybody crazy. Even worse is him and John pulling off something together."

"I can picture that. I'm sure it doesn't go too well once they get caught."

"You should have seen the time John dared Randy to prank Taker. It was probably the funniest thing I've ever seen."

"Oh no…"

"You said it. Randy never backs down from a dare, so he went ahead with it. I thought Taker was gonna kill him."

"I don't even wanna know what he did. I get the feeling that Mark doesn't like being pranked."

"No he doesn't. Taker can usually take a joke, but that time it just pissed him off. It wasn't pretty."

"Why didn't Mark just prank him back?"

Shawn shrugged. "He's not usually the type for pranks or messing with people. That's why I was so surprised when you said that he pushed you into the water today."

"I was bothering him, and I did push him first. I guess now that I think about it, I was sort of daring him to do it."

"Either way, it's not like him."

Kat shrugged. "We all have our moments."

Shawn smiled. "Yea. So you were saying your whole family went away? Nobody wanted to come with you on your little road trip?"

"I'm sure my cousins would have come with me if I had asked them to. But I didn't know that I would be able to take my time getting to Georgia. I thought I would have to get there as fast as I could. I wouldn't put them through such a boring car trip. If I had known that I would be able to make so many stops, I would have asked them to come with me."

"Your cousins are close to the same age as you?"

Kat nodded. "There are four of them close to me. The twins, Adrian and Aaron, are two years younger than me. My cousin Jamie is almost four years younger than me, and my other cousin Alex is two years older."

"Are you guys close?" Shawn asked.

"Yea, we're almost inseparable. The four of them are like my brothers and sisters. The twins are like my crazy younger brothers. Jamie is the baby, and she's the only other girl besides me. I used to always let her do whatever I was doing. It drives the boys crazy, especially my cousin Alex."

"Bad influence?" Shawn asked with a laugh.

"That's what he always says to me. Alex used to always be in charge of us when our parents went out. I used to give him the most trouble out of any of us. I would always get the rest of them in on some scheme I had. It used to make him crazy. Actually it still makes him crazy."

"Somehow I can picture you up to no good. But your cousin sounds like an older brother."

"He acts like one. Sometimes he acts like a dad too," Kat said with a laugh. "He's crazy overprotective, and I can drive him up the wall, but we're like two sides of the same coin. I'm closer to him than anyone else."

"So they're all on the cruise with the rest of your family?"

She nodded. "Yea. They're all off for the summer too. Jamie's in college and the twins are in grad school. Alex is a teacher like I am, so he's off too."

"They must miss you, since you're not there," he said.

"My aunt was just telling me that they were complaining about me not being there. They'll be fine. It's a little weird not being with them though."

Shawn nodded. "I know what you mean. When you're used to being around certain people, it feels strange to not have them there."

"Yea. But I'll see them once they get back. They're never gonna believe that I met you guys," she added smiling.

"They watch wrestling too?"

"Oh yes. They all have their favorites."

Shawn smiled. "Maybe if we're anywhere close to you, you can all come hang out with us one day."

"That would be fun. Do you guys have any idea when you're leaving here by the way?"

Shawn shook his head. "The last I heard from Taker, management still hadn't worked out our little scheduling problem. I have no idea what's happening with the shows. Nobody knows what's going on."

Kat shook her head. "That's not good. But I guess it means you guys get a few days off."

"I think we'd all like it a lot better if we had our days off somewhere a little less…deserted. I mean it's nice that we don't get bothered by anyone, but this place is a little on the boring side."

Kat laughed. "You sound anxious to get back to work."

Shawn shrugged. "Maybe a little."

Just then there was a knock at the door. It was John.

"What's up John?" Shawn asked.

"Randy ordered the food. He said for everybody to come to our room to eat."

Shawn nodded. "Alright."

They walked over to John and Randy's room to have dinner.

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Author's Note: Hope you liked this chapter! Yea I know, I put in a lot about Kat's family, but you'll see why later on in the fic. Now that school's out for me, I'll be able to post more frequently. Thanx to everyone that added this to one of their lists, and to anyone that writes a review. (And of course XOXO to my repeat reviewers!) Seeing that someone takes the time to write a review gives me a warm fuzzy feeling =) I'll have the next chapter up soon!