Chapter 7

For the life of her, Grace couldn't get what Undertaker said out of her mind as Steve drove her to the hotel later on that night. He wasn't looking too worse for the wear, though the Ministry did a number on him. He was hiding his pain, she knew it. She could sense it. Grace had tried calling her father several times, only to get his voicemail, and pleaded with him to call her back as soon as he could. She had to talk to him. How could he keep something like this from her, from the girls? Grace was considering calling her sisters, but didn't, deciding she didn't want to drag them into this when she didn't even know if it was true or not.

Steve was more than aware that something was troubling Grace and lord knows he tried not to listen as she left her father desperate voicemails, wondering what had happened during his match to set her to panicking. Finally, after they were parked in the hotel's lot, he shifted in his seat to look at her, concern in his blue eyes. "What happened?" He softly demanded.

"You need ice." She quietly said, looking over at him with those warm amber eyes, cracking a smile for him. "Don't worry about it. Get some rest." This was the last night she would be staying at a hotel that wasn't with the WWF crew, simply because the hotel they were at had no rooms available. Vince was paying for this room though so that was a plus on the side of things. "Thanks for the ride Steve." She slid out of his truck, bag in hand, and closed the door before heading inside, too deep in thought. Not to mention she was scared to death for her father's health and blinked tears away.

Granted he didn't know Grace that well, but what he had learned was that the woman talked a lot and had come to him with an ass load of problems concerning the Undertaker. So this sudden distance thing had him slightly worried. Steve quickly got out of the truck as well, hurrying to catch up with her.

"Grace, c'mon, what happened?" He asked softly, falling into step beside her.

"Steve, I've burdened you enough with my problems." She softly said, really not wanting him involved in this considering it was a family thing. Though it also involved the Undertaker. She was so confused and she seen the hurt in those blue eyes. "Come to my room." She grabbed his hand, having her keycard in hand, and nodded at the receptionist before heading for the stairs. She was trembling slightly and felt Steve stop her in the stairwell, forcing her to meet his eyes, tears glistening in her own. "What?" She whispered softly.

Steve had been about to tell her she didn't need to worry about him. He wanted to help her, but when he seen the tears and pain in her eyes, he forgot all about that. Instead he inclined his head and kissed her, a soft gentle kiss. When Steve pulled away, he pressed his forehead against hers for a moment, knowing he had probably just stepped over a line.

"I'm sorry." He whispered.

"No, don't be." She whispered and kissed him again just as softly, feeling her heart skip a beat, and smiled as his arms wrapped around her, deepening the kiss a little more. She slowly pulled back, her hands resting gently on his shoulders, and her forehead was pressed against his, their breathing slightly ragged. "I really like you Steve, don't be sorry for kissing me. I want you too." Her voice was soft and sweet, she loved his arms around her. He was so comforting and made her forget about everything bad -like the Undertaker- and anything that was wrong in her life.

Smiling, Steve took her hand, tugging Grace gently up the stairs. "Let's get somewhere private, and then I want you to tell me what's going on." He said softly. He really wanted to continue the kissing spiel, but...He also was pretty damn curious about what had happened tonight while he was in the ring. "Is your dad alright?"

"I don't know." She whispered as they walked through the door and arrived on the third floor. Grace walked up to her door and slid the keycard in the slot, opening it, and threw her bag in the corner before kicking her shoes off, Steve following. She ran a hand through her hair and sat down; closing her eyes, and began picking at her nails, which were long and clear, natural. "Undertaker paid me a visit while you were in the ring...about my father." She swallowed hard and couldn't look up at Steve or she would never finish this. "He told me my father has a heart condition and...when he gets upset, his heart rate skyrockets. He said he was going to leave me alone because...he didn't want my father having a heart attack." She felt the tears spill down her cheeks, quickly wiping them away. "I haven't talked to my dad in four years up until recently, Steve. What if he's right? What if my daddy is sick and he's not telling me or any of my sisters?"

Wow...It automatically crossed Steve's mind that this could just be one grand mind game of the Undertaker's, but that was a pretty big lie to tell. "Well," He began slowly. "Paul is a pretty big guy, it's not uncommon for men his age or weight." He felt like a jackass saying that, but it was the truth. "To have heart problems, Grace. And if he's not tellin' ya, then it's probably because he doesn't want you makin' yourself sick over it like yer doin' now."

"He's sick. My father is sick." Grace stood up and walked over to stare out the window, pressing her hand to the glass and felt the tears cascade down her cheeks. She had to talk to him. "Undertaker said my father would deny it if I questioned him." She admitted, feeling him come up behind her, placing his big hands on her arms and rubbed them up and down soothingly. "I hate admitting it, but that sounds like something my father would do. He's always wanted to protect his daughters and wanted us to think of him as indestructible. But he's not. He's not indestructible and now he's sick." Grace sniffled as her eyes drifted closed, her heart breaking.

"Grace, don't go makin' yourself sick with worry. It's a manageable condition." Steve assured her, rubbing her arms gently. "And he's managing it pretty well it seems, he's been runnin' around with the guys for the better part of a decade. He knows when to slow down." Of course if Paul was worrying his own self to death over Grace, then that was another matter entirely. "Why don't you try callin' him again?" He suggested.

Nodding, she slowly turned around and wrapped her arms around Steve's neck, hugging him tightly to her. "Thank you." She softly said, pulling back and kissed him softly before walking over to get her cell phone out of her bag. Grace had thrown it in there when she couldn't get a hold of her father after the fifth call, frustrated. She pulled it out and flipped it open, sitting on the bed and dialed his number, chewing on her thumbnail, praying he answered.

"Hello?" Paul answered, sounding exhausted. He hadn't bothered to check the caller ID, figuring it was either Grace or the Undertaker. 'Taker had been in an exceptionally good mood for the remainder of the night so Paul had figured the man was pleased with Austin's beat down. He heard the slight sniffle on the other end of the line and knew this definitely wasn't the cold hearted Phenom. "Gracie? Is everything alright, honey?"

The words of the Undertaker kept going through her mind as Grace stood up, beginning to slowly walk back and forth around her hotel room, not answering for a minute straight. "Daddy, if...if something were to happen to you...something serious...life threatening, you would tell me right?" She looked over at Steve, who was encouraging her, his blue eyes giving her the strength she needed. "If you got really...sick, you would tell me right?" She sniffled a little, wiping her tears away, and smiled when Steve handed her a tissue, now standing beside her.

Paul was silent for a moment, considering that, wondering what in the hell was going on with his daughter. "Yeah, if I was ill, I'd let you know." He said finally, wondering where this was going. "What's going on, Gracie?" He demanded. "Not drawing up my will are you?" He teased, trying to lighten the tension.

"That's not funny dad." Though she was smiling and shook her head, sighing heavily. Grace didn't know if she should tell her father what the Undertaker said or not, chewing her bottom lip. Wait a minute! Why the hell did she believe that monster to begin with? Taking a deep breath, Grace decided she wasn't keeping anything from her father and proceeded to tell him all that Undertaker told her earlier in Steve's dressing room. "He scared me to death, dad."

"I can imagine." Paul said seriously. "Though I don't understand why you'd consider a heart condition something to panic about the way you did, honey. These things happen to older people. And pleasantly plump." He added as an afterthought, laughing again. He sighed when there was a knock on his door. "Let me call you back, Gracie." He said. "Two minutes." Then hung up.

She sighed heavily and closed the lid to her cell phone, looking over at Steve, frowning at the bruises on his handsome face. "You need ice." She repeated from earlier, taking his hand and guided him over to sit on the bed. "I'll be right back; I'm gonna go get you some." Grace squealed when he pulled her back against him, his arms around her waist, and she was staring down into his blue pools. "You need-" She sighed in exasperation when his finger pressed against her lips and went back with him as he laid on the bed, sprawled on top of him. "You're not going to let me go are you?"

"Hmmm...eventually." Steve joked, kissing her forehead. As tempting as it was, he wasn't going to jump in bed with her. Well he'd already done that, but have sex with her yet. Not after knowing her only a day and some odd hours, tempting though it may be. "So is everythin' alright with your dad then?"

"He said he'd tell me if anything was wrong and pointed out that older people have heart conditions. Then he said he'd call me back." She sighed gently, her eyebrows furrowing together in worry. She hoped he called her back like he said he was going too. "He said I shouldn't worry to death over something like that, but he's my dad, you know? I love him, I feel terrible now that I didn't contact him for four years." The guilt would eat away at Grace until she apologized properly to her father, deciding she would do something special for him. Though she had no unearthly clue what to do.

"So, did he come out and say he wasn't sick then?" Steve asked, knowing how sly Paul could be at times then frowned, seeing the musing expression on Grace's face. "What're ya thinkin' bout now?" He cocked an eyebrow at her slight smile. "Okay, now you got me confused, honey."

"I'm going to do something special for him, but I don't know what yet." Grace smiled when Steve physically relaxed, shaking her head. "You're overprotective of me." It wasn't a question as she caressed his cheek with the back of her hand, smiling as he leaned into it. Grace could stare into his blue eyes for hours on end, but she knew he would eventually want to leave and go get some rest. Her mind was screaming at her to make him stay, but she didn't want to push him. She wanted to take this slow, not wanting to ruin anything between them. "You really need some ice."

"Yeah, I know." Steve sighed with obvious reluctance, gently moving Grace off of him and sat up, glancing down at her before making a face. "I also need a shower." He joked, getting to his feet with a groan, stretching his arms over his head. "You have my cell number." She nodded, having programmed it into her phone earlier in the night. "So if ya need me, call."

"I will." She promised, walking him to the door, and brought his face down to hers, softly kissing his lips. "I wanted a good night kiss." Her amber eyes sparkled when he smiled, god he had such a beautiful smile. He was a beautiful man in general. "Go get some ice and a shower. I'll see you tomorrow." She was having breakfast with him and whatever else he had planned. "Sweet dreams Steve." She watched him walk out of the door and softly closed it, pressing her back to it and felt the biggest smile cross her face. She was gushing like a school girl, the butterflies erupting in her stomach.

~!~

The Undertaker listened solemnly as Paul explained his worries over Grace and how she was fretting about him, arching an eyebrow. Apparently too many years in this company had made Paul forget that he was very likely to use this information for his own twisted purposes. "She's young, she's subject to worry when it comes to people she cares for." He said dismissively.

Paul just nodded, frowning.

~!~

After a shower, Grace paced back and forth in her hotel room, frowning. Her father hadn't called her back, probably dealing with the Undertaker. She snorted, shaking her head. Whatever made her father side with HIM was beyond her. She fingered the cross around her neck and sighed heavily, deciding she wasn't going to stay away from the Ministry's locker room. She was here to spend time with her father and come hell or high water, it was going to happen. She nodded and finally sat down on the bed, pulling a book out, a reader at heart. Her mind was filled with too many thoughts, worries, and Steve, which made her smile, to sleep.

~!~

He sat in his own hotel room, wearing nothing, but a pair of black pajama pants, sitting in a chair at the window, staring out at the night time city sky with a glass of scotch in one hand. His mind was on his current interest, Grace. Being young and impressionable she had been all too easy to convince of Paul's 'condition', though he wondered if that had been a lie since Paul's face turned an interesting shade of red when he was emotional. He drained the glass in one swallow, a cruel smirk on his lips. Of course Paul had told her he wasn't ill. Of course he wasn't, ill implied something that would pass.

"Fool."