CHAPTER TEN
Mark could only stare at River, the heartbreak in his eyes. "He took you away from me, from Steve; your family. Everything you knew, he stole from you." He said softly. "He took you away from us, Rivvie. Do you have any idea how much pain your brother went through? Your parents? How long they searched for you? No, you don't have a damn clue. All you can do is stand there and tell me that you love Shawn when the reality is you don't even know him or yourself."
"I am sorry for everything all of you went through but I don't REMEMBER any of you even IF this is true." River said, trying not to panic. He wasn't listening to her! At all! "I know exactly who I am. Amnesia or not, after a decade; I've established myself. You will NOT touch my husband and you will NOT keep me and my daughter here."
"Oh, I'm going to touch him all right. When all is said and done, you're going to be a fucking widow, count on it Rivvie." He snarled heatedly before storming out of the house; needing some air.
In all honestly, he couldn't believe things were going down like this. Though… what had he expected? He wanted to know what Shawn had done to her. How had he made it so River had no idea who any of them were. There were so many unanswered questions.
***
River went to the den, watching as Hope and Steve played some game; studying this man who was supposed to be her brother with a frown. "Can I at least CALL my husband?"
"Lemme think on it." Steve replied, not looking up. It might be interesting to hear Shawn putter his way through whatever his wife would tell him but… He'd have to talk to Mark first.
***
"Are you out of your mind?" Mark bellowed when Steve relayed River's request. "Steve, do you have any idea what this man is capable of? He'd cook up some story to cover his ass and she'd buy it. Hell no! She doesn't remember us for a reason, we need to find out why. Her and Hope-" Mark stopped his rant when Steve paled. "What is it?"
Steve glanced towards the stairs; hearing the bath going and knew River had done what she'd threatened when she had seen how grungy Hope was: dunked her. "Look, she's terrified of you; me not so much but that'll probably change. Can you stop and remember that she's spent the last eleven years of her life with that asshole?" Steve didn't like it but he knew just shoving information under River's nose wasn't going to change anything right away. "She loves the guy." He about choked on his words, knowing what else he needed to tell Mark but wasn't too keen on it; not wanting to see Mark go postal just yet.
"Only cause he brainwashed her." Mark said flatly, though he knew Steve was right and hung his head. Everything was suddenly crashing around him and Mark fell to his knees. He had found her. His River. All these years without her, he had never lost hope. Never once.
The pain radiated off of Mark in waves. Deciding now wasn't the time, Steve walked away.
***
"So when can we go home?"
"I don't know, honey. I'm sure your daddy is looking for us."
"Being kidnapped is a lot cooler than I thought it would be."
***
Later on that night, Mark was sitting out on the patio in a glider just looking through the pictures. He half smiled, half sighed as he flipped the page, running a finger down one of the photos. It was of him and River after a show. She was hanging onto him, piggy backing, with a grin on her face; her chin on his shoulder.
River was leaning in the patio door, staring at him. She couldn't sleep. How was she supposed to close her eyes and go to sleep knowing she was in a house with strange people who were obviously deranged? Wrapping her arms around herself, she just sighed inwardly. She was wearing a shirt Steve had provided. She had a closet full of clothes he had said were hers though she wasn't touching them. They were ten years out of date and a size too small.
"Mark, please, Hope and I want to go home." She said in a whisper, looking over his shoulder and frowned, seeing what he was looking at.
"What are you going to do when you finally see him again? Pretend everything's alright and forget about us?" He asked tiredly.
Sighing, she crouched down beside him. "No, I'll pray for all of you." She said quietly, staring up at him pleadingly. "I know Shawn's done horrible things, when we first married he was so angry and possessive all of the time, I don't hold any illusions when it comes to him. I don't remember anything you keep trying to make me remember, so I don't see why you keep me. Even if I did remember, do you think I would automatically fall out of love with him?"
"I searched for you for so many years…" He whispered. "I don't understand how you can just go back to his man and pretend like nothing happened, River. He LIED to you. He lied bout not having a family, bout your parents being dead." He watched her cringed and went on. "Darlin', you hated Shawn. You hated him with everything in you. The night you disappeared… you kissed me, told me you'd see me back in our room and then… you were gone. Nobody had heard from you, seen you, just vanished. Then Shawn takes off for awhile, claiming something with his back." Now she was frowning. "How can you just go back to him and not even wonder who you once were? How can you trust him?"
"I suppose I can't." River whispered after a long period of silence; hating him for making her doubt her husband. But he was right. Even she could no longer deny the evidence, not when they continuously shoved it in her face. Maybe her marriage and life were built on a lie. Theirs or Shawn's was the only question. And the only way she would know for sure was if she ever remembered.
***
"Riv, lemme ask you something." Steve began a few days later, watching as she did supper dishes. It was a bit amazing that she had established a sort of routine but he knew it wasn't for them but her daughter.
"What?"
"Shawn's folks have green eyes?"
"No."
"Neither do ours."
"What the hell is your point, Steve?" River demanded, throwing down the towel she'd been using and turned to glare at him.
"Were you pregnant before or after you met Michaels?"
***
"What're you watching?" Mark asked Hope, dropping down on the opposite end of the couch. He wasn't surprised in the slightest when she just ignored him, focusing his attention on the TV; raising an eyebrow. "Do you realize this is rated PG-13?"
"Do ya realize I don't really wanna hear anything you got to say." Hope shot back angrily, her eyes not leaving the screen; smirking when someone got shot even though the movie didn't show it.
"I realize that." Mark said softly, though it wasn't going to stop him from getting her to talk to him. "You're angry at me." It wasn't a question and he honestly didn't blame the little girl. This was a lot to take in. Though as the violence pushed the movies rating boundaries, he turned it off. "How bout we watch something a little less bloody? I have a feeling your momma don't allow violent movies, considering who her husband is."
Steve came storming into the room shortly, his cheek a very angry red. "River is PISSED." HE grunted, dropping down onto the couch between the two. "What're we watching?"
"Probably the Cares Bears, Mark took out the good movie." Hope snorted. "And by the way, her husband is my DAD."
Steve made a sound that was almost a giggle.
Mark stared at his friend, revulsion on his face. "Knock that off!"
Steve just shook his head, trying to stop.
Sighing, Mark rolled his eyes. "Why'd she slap you?"
"I'm picking out a different movie, I'm not watching this…" Hope muttered, sliding off the couch to sort through his DVD collection. "The Undertaker… putting in Milo and Otis, what is wrong with people…"
"Well?" Mark demanded, staring at Steve.
"I uh, said something that didn't go over to well." Steve winced when he heard something break in the kitchen, remembering all too well his sister's temper, it matched his own. "How bad is my face?"
"Gonna bruise." Hope said with a shake of her head. "My mom doesn't hit."
"Hell if she don't."
"Looks like she still has the Austin temper." Mark chuckled, trying to straighten his face when Hope raised an eyebrow at him. "No, that's not funny. Why are we watching this?'
"Because I thought it'd annoy you."
"Reminds me of her dad."
"I heard that Steve! Get your ass in here right now, I'm not finished with you!"
Steve groaned, slowly standing up.
Now Mark was confused, getting up to follow Steve. He froze in the kitchen doorway, just watching as River ranted and raved. It was quite amusing actually to see how red in the face she was and listen to Steve stutter over his words. He decided he'd keep his mouth shut and just observe.
"Riveria, look it's obvious she's Mark's-"
"Call me that ONE more time dickweed and-" River stopped when Steve started grinning. "What?"
"I'm just remembering the last time you called me dickweed."
"Well I hate it when you call me Riveria!"
"Do you remember the last time I called ya that?"
She blinked. "No…"
Mark had caught all of that, especially the bit about 'she's Mark's' and walked to stand between the siblings, his heart pounding in his chest. "She's Mark's what?" He demanded hoarsely. Green eyes widened when Steve finally said it, paling under his tan. "Hope…" This was simply too much, Mark actually dropped, hitting his head on a chair.
River and Steve both stared down at him with amused/concerned looks on their faces; both obviously trying not to smirk.
"You two look alike now, well, not including the facial hair." Hope commented, walking in to see what was going on, frowning at Mark. "Is he going to be okay."
"Oh yeah… eventually." Steve snorted.
"I don't even remember… you know." River whispered.
"Trust me, I'm still trying to forget it. You two were horrible."
An hour later Mark came too, opening his eyes to find Hope peering down at him, her own beautiful green orbs sparkling with amusement. "Little darlin'…" He whispered, staring at her angelic face. Those eyes… they were HIS eyes. A second later he had pulled her into his arms, hugging her tightly.
"MOM, WHAT THE HELL IS HE DOING?"
Steve was sitting at the table with River, each of them with a beer before them. "Um…"
River needed the beer after what Steve had laid on her. Somehow, she knew he was telling the truth. Hope's green eyes didn't help either.
"Dude, get the hell offa me."
Slowly, he released her, trying to swallow down the emotion welling in him. Shawn was going to die. He had not only taken away the love of his life but his DAUGHTER. Shawn had raised HIS daughter, HIS! Mark's brain was throwing up facts Mark didn't want to acknowledge.
Shawn had always been so attached to River, it was pathetic. Of course, he had gone out of his way to antagonize her from day one. She had immediately despised him. Now that Mark looked back on it; it was a love hate relationship; with all the hate coming from River.
Shawn was going to die a slow, painful death.
"I'm going outside." Hope announced, shooting Mark a disgusted look as she flew out the door.
"So… remembering anything?" Steve asked, breaking up the uncomfortable silence that followed Hope leaving.
"Not really."
"You notice your attitude has been changing?"
"I was going to blame that on being around you."
"Did you say what I think you said, Steve?" Mark demanded, dropping down at the table with them, accepting the beer Steve slid his way. When Steve just nodded, Mark had to take a deep breath, cracking the tab open. "Ten years…" He whispered. "She's MY daughter… River, were you pregnant when you woke up in the hospital?"
"Apparently I was." She said dryly, taking the second beer Steve handed her and popped the tab. Ignoring Steve's smirk, she took a long swallow. "I became pregnant two months after leaving the hospital, when Hope was born they told us it was a premature birth." She snorted, rubbing her head.
What else had Shawn lied to her about? The magnitude of what he had done was seriously hitting home. He had paid people to lie to her! People who were supposed to help other people!
Mark could see everything crashing down on River, all the lies Shawn told her; the betrayal and knew it was a break through. Granted, it came at her emotional pain but… He nodded at Steve, getting up to vacate while big brother took over comforting the now crying River. He went outside to watch Hope, his daughter. He sat on the glider, unable to stop smiling as he watched her run around the backyard like a wild child. She was beautiful, a mixture of him and River. He saw it now. She had his attitude and eyes. She was the spitting image of River except those green robs. It broke his heart that he had missed out on the first ten years of her life.
Shawn Michaels had taken so much from him. From River. From Hope.
Shawn Michaels had better run and never look back.
Steve came out thirty minutes later, dropping down by his friend. "She's sleeping." He grunted, watching his niece with a grin. "She can't deny anymore that we're telling the truth but she still don't remember shit.a nd she says if ya tell Hope, she'll kill you. She wants to have her memories back first."
"I don't plan on telling Hope, that's not my place. Though if she tries going back to that sonbitch then we're going to have problems." Mark said quietly. "We found her, man. Now we got to figure out what that asshole did to her." He raked his hands through his hair, sighing. "Do you have any idea how much planning this must've taken him? What a sick bastard."
"Why the hell didn't we see it coming?" Steve murmured just as softly. "Shawn had been bothering her for weeks, never thought he woulda… but why her? She couldn't stand his ass." That was the part he couldn't piece together. River had never hidden her distaste for Michaels, why the hell would he want a woman who hated him? "Think he really does love her?"
"He's obsessed with her. He always was." Steve's startled blue eyes didn't faze Mark as he stood up. "That night at the Rumble, when River disappeared, she told me he had been harassing her. About something big that was going to be happening and how she wouldn't be able to stop it. She told me and I didn't think nothing of it. You know how Shawn was with his idle threats. I told her everything would be fine, that I'd protect her…" He gripped the porch railing tightly, his eyes closing. "I fucked up, man. I should have taken her more seriously and I didn't…"
"Wow… and then to keep her hidden for all that time… No wonder the sonbitch was always smiling. I'd like to- Thought you were sleeping, Riv?"
"Couldn't." She dropped down in one of the chairs, her eyes on Hope.
"Want to see more pictures? I used to have hair."
"No."
Mark turned to stare down at her. "Whatever he did, it destroyed a lot of lives. When are you planning on calling the rents, man?" He asked, looking at Steve. It was making more and more sense. No wonder Shawn was hell bent on keeping her away from him. Shawn knew Mark would recognize her.
"I'm not calling them till she remembers. It'd break their hearts."
"Call who?"
"Our parents."
"Oh…"
"Good idea." Mark grunted, heading for the door. "River, we gotta go back in a few days, to work. Whatever you decide, we'll respect your wishes. But you better think damn long and hard. I'm not missing anymore time with OUR daughter." He disappeared through the door.
River frowned, looking at Steve. "I want to go back. But I don't want Hope going."
"She can stay with mom and dad, I'll just tell them something. They won't care. Why you going back?"
"To confront Shawn."
He grinned at the look on her face. "Now you're sounding reasonable."