CHAPTER TWO

Alex spent most of the night babysitting River, glad she wasn't annoyed by it. He had seen her resume and it was impressive but… these were his boys and it was their job to make sure the performers could do just that, perform. "Okay, what kind of massage did you just do?"

"Sports."

Even he blinked.

Laughing softly, River explained it as she continued working on one of the wrestlers -who had cheerfully told his name was Cena, John Cena in this James Bond tone- who was beginning to perk up, one of the benefits of this technique. "This type of massage helps with flexibility, reduces fatigue, helps improve endurance and can help prevent injuries."

"Don't take offense River, but I'm glad you're not a physical therapist, you'd have my job."

"Hey Alex."

They both looked towards the door.

River's eyes widened momentarily. The man standing there was huge. He had to be almost seven feet, she wasn't guessing his weight. Quickly, she dropped her gaze and returned to her work.

"I need you to-" He stopped mid-sentence, piercing green eyes suddenly on the woman kneeling in front of John. "Who is she?" He demanded bluntly.

"Just a trainee. Honey, go get us a bottle of water, will you?" Alex turned to her, blocking her from view. Just how was he supposed to explain this to Shawn? He sighed in relief when River didn't question it, just walked out of the room. Shawn definitely had himself a well behaved, unassuming woman. "What was it you needed Mark?"

"My knee. I want you to look at it." Mark replied, his brow furrowed as he stared at the smaller man. He hadn't noticed Alex's sudden haste and would have questioned the guy but… he DID know how to crack bones for a living.

***

Paul sat across from his wife, chewing on his lower lip. This wasn't exactly what he had had in mind for his night.

"So what you're trying to tell me is that you don't want River around Mark because of Shawn's past?" Stephanie was staring at her husband like a hawk. Her blue eyes were skeptical, there was more to this story, obviously. But he for some reason wasn't telling. It was pissing her off.

"Paul, I can't do that. Whenever Mark goes to River, she is to treat him is that-"

"Steph, please do it." Paul was now pleading with her, his own eyes finally meeting hers. "Please."

Taken aback by the amount of guilt she found in those brown orbs, Stephanie just nodded mutely.

***

Alex mentally groaned when River came back ten minutes later, not even close to being done. Mark needed surgery, not therapy but the man was too damn stubborn to listen to anyone. Well… if Shawn came by and found out, he'd just tell the truth. The man had basically snuck up on them and he couldn't send her packing without raising a brow. Therefore… "Why don't you try that massage of yours on his knee, honey?"

River didn't say a word, setting down the bottles of water before looking at the giant's leg and inwardly cringing. "He needs surgery." She said quietly.

"I know."

Sighing, she got to work.

Mark stared down at her curiously, wondering who she was. His eyes automatically strayed to her left hand, taking in the wedding ring. Hmm, she was married, but to who? "Damn…" He growled when her fingers probed a very sore area. "You almost done, darlin'?" He demanded, blinking when her eyes met his.

"No, I'm not." She said simply, knowing in a few minutes he was going to be feeling pretty damn good. River was a bit surprised to see how beautiful his eyes were before looking down, grimacing at the sight of his knee again.

"Hey Alex, I-"

She smiled at her husband's voice.

Alex hurried to Shawn, glancing back at Mark and River. "Look, there wasn't anything I could do, Shawn." He said in a soft voice that wouldn't carry. "She was working on Cena when he showed up."

Shawn stared at Mark for a long minute, resignation on his face. "Try not to let it happen again." He said finally, walking back out.

"What'd Michaels want?" Mark asked, getting the feeling this woman was linked to his adversary somehow. They were facing each other at Wrestlemania in a few short months. When Alex said he didn't know, Mark knew the man was lying through his teeth.

Now he was curious.

River wound up switching massages, going with a deep tissue massage. "Alex, come here."

He dropped down next to her, letting her guide his fingers. "Mark.." He looked up. "You had better watch it because this knee is about to go out on this. What do you think, River?" Alex looked at her, smiling as she contemplated it.

"There's inflamed tissue here. A lot of it."

"Ready for the surgery yet, Mark?"

"After Mania, I already have it scheduled. I'm not going off right now, I'm in the middle of a feud with Michaels." He didn't miss the woman's moment of hesitation.

River soon finished after that, backing away to go wash her hands.

Mark watched her curiously, their eyes locking again. "Thanks, darlin'." He rumbled softly. Somehow he wasn't surprised to find Shawn in the hallway waiting for him.

"Stay away from my wife, Callaway."

Now he was even more curious. "She's your wife?"

"Yeah, MY wife. Stay away from her. Go see Alex from now on. Direct orders from Stephanie."

"Is that right." Mark stroked his goatee and walked off, deciding to go have a chat with the general manager. "Hey Princess." He greeted when she entered her office. A smile automatically curved his lips when her eyes narrowed at the hated nickname.

"Will you never stop calling me that, Taker?"

"Probably not." He dropped down in her abandoned desk chair, staring at her intently.

"Okay, what do you want?" It was hard to miss that he wanted something.

"Shawn's wife. What's her name?"

Stephanie blinked, wondering what the hell was going on with River. One night in the company and already she was inadvertently causing some problem. "Why do you want to know?" She asked, buying herself maybe a few seconds of time.

Shrugging, he kept his face neutral. "I am one of the longest running employees in this company, Princess. I know everyone. So what's her name?"

He had a point.

"River." Stephanie sighed reluctantly.

Not saying another word, Mark vacated.

All she could do was STILL wonder what was going on.

***

At the end of the night, River had to apply a warm compress to her hands, just to ease the stiffness in her fingers. She was pleased with the night's work, especially when Alex said unless they were called ringside or he needed her, she'd be doing her own thing.

After helping him and the other trainer's pack everything up, she went off to find Shawn, Alex walking beside her.

"Now, as you can see, we leave after the wrestlers are gone which means long night and longer days for us. Sometimes we get called to their hotel rooms for locked up joints or something else that's idiotic. It's a demanding job, think you can handle it?"

"Certainly." If it meant she got to spend more time with her husband, most definitely.

"There you are."

Speak of the devil!

River practically jumped into Shawn's arms, returning his kiss eagerly.

"Mmm… I'm glad to you see you too." He murmured against her lips. Looking over her shoulder, Shawn smiled at Alex. "How'd she do?"

"If she had any experience in the medical field other than what she has, I'd be out of a job."

Shawn started laughing as River blushed.

***

Mark was sitting on top of the building when the two walked out into the parking lot. His eyes narrowed as he watched them pause to share a tender moment, a sneer on his face.

River…

It had been years since he had seen her last. Eleven years actually. She had disappeared from the company in 1998 during the Royal Rumble and now here she was again. The funny part was that River hadn't recognized him. Maybe it wasn't the same River.

Maybe he was losing it.

But how many women had that beautiful strawberry blond hair or those sparkling blue eyes? With the name of River? That wasn't a common name, was it?

He watched the couple slip into their rental car, a scowl marring his face.

***

At the hotel, they soaked together in the tub; River leaning back against him as he drizzled water over her chest. "Shawn…" She murmured, tilting her head back to kiss his jaw. "That guy, Mark, said something about you two building a feud, what's that about?" She rarely paid attention to wrestling because she wound up going out of her mind with worry, now however there wasn't any avoiding it.

He stiffened for a moment. "Don't worry about it, honey." He said softly, his head dipping to kiss her shoulder blade. "He won't be bothering you anymore. Alex will be dealing with him." He hoped anyway. "I don't want you around him, River. Do you understand me?"

Even she couldn't just nod and say alright, usually Shawn gave her a reason. "Okay but why?" She felt him tense again and moved so she was facing him; brushing damp tendrils of hair away from her face. "Besides a bit on the frightening side, he-" She stopped at the unusual dark expression on his face, blue eyes widening and nodded. "Aright, honey."

"Thank." Shawn whispered, kissing her tenderly, glad she was so obedient and knew when not to push to his buttons. There would be no more about mark. Shawn wouldn't have it, ever. Out to distract her, he scooted forward in the tub. When she smiled at him, his heart gave a leap. Returning the smile, he drew her legs around his waist, meeting her lips in a passionate kiss. He was going to make to HIS beautiful wife.

***

When River woke up the next morning, she found breakfast waiting for her along with a note saying he'd be back after his morning workout. A smile on her face; she reached for her robe and rolled out of bed. "Mmm French toast." She giggled, wondering how she had gotten lucky enough to land Shawn.

***

"What the hell are you going to do now?"

"Paul, don't ask me that now, okay? I don't know." Shawn growled, trying to forget and just focus on pumping iron. It wasn't working too well and Paul just wasn't helping.

"You do realize-"

"PAUL!"

Paul decided to shut the hell up.

"I want to know what's going on with your wife."

Both men froze, looking up as Stephanie walked towards them.

She had been trying to piece this puzzle together, especially since mark had come to her after they had warned her to keep him away from River. "Mark came to see me last night, Shawn. He wanted to know who she was. What the hell is going on?"

"He did what?"

"Oh shit…"

Shawn's hazel eyes were on fire as he set the bar down, quickly getting to his feet. "What did you tell him?" He demanded, staring at her angrily. When she answered, he let out a string of curses that made Paul and Stephanie both flinch; flipping over a rack of weights.

"River won't know what you're talking about, babe." Paul sighed heavily, still not believing this was happening. Why did Shawn have to be such a jackass and bring her on the road anyway?

"Look!" Shawn growled, rounding on them. "Mark and I have a history and it's not friendly. I'm trying to protect my wife, that's it."

Paul could only nod mutely.

That was logical, to a certain extent. Though Stephanie was fairly certain Mark wouldn't drag a woman unknowingly into their little feud. But, she also knew that was the only answer she was likely to get so she let it slide, for now. "Fine." She said finally. Not even looking at her husband, she turned on heel and stormed off.

"See what the fuck you started, man?" Paul was pissed now, glaring at his best friend who currently had made it onto Paul's most irritating list. "Why the fuck did you have to bring her back, Shawn?"

"Because she's my wife and I want her with me!" He snapped defensively. "Don't turn this around on me!"

"But it IS on you! Because of-"

"Paul…" Shawn's tone held warning this time. "Just let it go. Steph will forgive you."

"Yeah, after I'm dead."