CHAPTER TWELVE

River watched tensely as Hope watched the footage from her confrontation with Shawn; having explained everything beforehand to her as best she could. Now all she could do was wait.

"So… he's not my dad after all?" Hope said slowly, looking torn between confusion and crying.

"No, baby, he's not."

"Does this mean I have to pray at dinner?"

River could only stare at her daughter, wishing she herself possessed that kind of indifference.

"No little darlin', you don't." Mark answered quietly. He couldn't believe all that had happened and how easy it had been to trap Shawn. The man was thicker then a post if he thought he could just waltz right back into River's life like nothing had ever happened. "Hope…" He said her name this time, green eyes meeting green eyes. "I'm sorry."

"For what? Not your fault you couldn't protect my mom." Hope said with a shrug, standing up. "I'm gonna go lie down." She stuffed her hands in her pockets and trudged off to her bedroom.

"Mark, let her go." River placed a hand on his arm to stop him from following. "She needs some time to herself."

He could only nod.

***

"Are you mad at me for what I did?" Mark asked River later that night, standing behind her in the kitchen. She had been busy frying potatoes and onions. He watched as she slowly turned to face him, seeing those familiar blue eyes piercing his very soul. "I'm sorry darlin'. I have to know."

"Sometimes." River said honestly, turning back to her work. "Mostly at night. I was happy, Mark. I had the fairytale marriage. A husband who adored me, a beautiful daughter…" Her voice was trembling now, blinking back tears. "I loved him." She whispered, finally bringing a dish towel to her face. "Excuse me." She hurried out of the kitchen.

Closing his eyes, Mark held a hand over his eyes. He wanted to go after her, pull her into his arms and comfort her. She needed time though, just like Hope. Sighing, he washed his hands and took over for her, needing to get his mind off of the woman who currently held his heart hostage.

Fifteen minutes later, River came back, her eyes rimmed red but other than that no sign of having just cried until it hurt. She could hear Mark outside at the grill and finished with the potatoes and onions, adding a liberal amount of butter to the skillet. Pressing her forehead to the cupboard, she inhaled deeply; remembering a not too long ago a scene almost like this only it was with a different man.

***

Mark looked down when he heard Hope clearing her throat, closing the lid to the grill and crouched down infront of her. "Yes, little darlin'?" He drawled, blinking when her arms went around his neck and closed his eyes tightly; pulling her into a tender hug.

"It's kinda cool having the Undertaker for a dad." Hope said after a minute, looking at him. "Though… that doesn't mean ya get to boss me around."

"Hope…" River said warningly, walking out onto the patio with a glass of tea. "You know better than to talk to adults like that."

"Awww mom."

Mark found this little exchange amusing, grinning up at River alongside Hope, unaware their grins were identical. "She thinks I'm cool, how bout that?" He chuckled, straightening to his full height. "I'll let your momma handle the bossing." He teased, patting Hope's head. When he seen the look on River's face, he frowned, mouthing: "Are you okay?"

"No." She said bluntly, watching as Hope took off again; wondering where the hell she got all that energy from. She had to shake away the picture of their almost mirror expressions, sinking down into a chair and groaned. This wasn't going to get any easier and she knew that. She felt memories welling up of her life with Shawn, trying to battle the evidence of what he had done.

Her mind was winning though.

She retreated into the house to finish up. "How much longer, Mark?" She called, pouring the skillet of fried onions and potatoes into a bowl, covering it so they would stay hot. When he grunted, she walked back outside; smirking when she seen he had caught one of the steaks on fire. "That is so yours." She giggled, watching him trying to put it out. "Better be careful or you'll singe your eyebrows off again."

He froze, slowly turning around; green eyes wide. "Rivvie?" He whispered, placing his hands on her shoulders. "You remember that?"

"Huh?" River stared up at him, a flash of his face with no eyebrows drifting through her mind; trying not to giggle anymore. "Yes, no. I don't know. I remember something but… Not enough." She frowned, seeing the hope in his eyes and sighed. "It'll take time…" She began giggling again, trying not too but it was kind of funny.

"Damn woman, you have a ton of memories of me locked in your head and THAT'S the best you come up with?" Mark shook his head, suddenly feeling an overwhelming sadness engulf him as he turned back to the grill. "Another five minutes and these will be done. And if you don't quit laughing at me I'm going to have to hurt you."

"Sorry, but it's funny." She chuckled, now bringing out the side dishes and setting them on the table. River was trying to remember that particular memory, forcing her mind to unlock itself. "Damn it… so, how did you burn off your eyebrows the last time?" She asked finally.

"Grilling." He grunted, not amused when she snorted. "It's not funny woman, do you have any damn idea how foolish I looked? The damn WWF did an angle with Foley to explain it away…."

"I remember that, Janet asked if you wanted her to pencil in some eyebrows for you." River said musingly, frowning then blinked. "Hey, I remembered!" She tossed her arms around his neck, glad she could at least recall something.

"Food done yet?" Hope demanded, skidding to a halt besides them. "I'm starving!"

***

After supper, River made Hope help clean the table and then with dishes, much to Hope's annoyance. "You did it at home."

"Yeah, but things are different now."

"I am still the same, dry."

"Maybe you're not. Maybe you hate dishes as much as I do and-"

"Hope Renee Michaels, dry those dishes now."

Mark frowned when he heard his daughter's full name, clearing his throat to get River's attention. "When Hope goes to bed, I'd like to talk to you." He walked away before she could say another word, going to the living room and dropped down on the couch.

There was no way in hell Hope was keeping Shawn's last name. Over his dead body would she have any other last name except his, her real fathers. Snorting, Mark tossed aside the remote he had picked up; looking out the window broodingly.

After dishes, River sent Hope upstairs for her bath; groaning and rubbed the back of her neck. She could see Mark in the living room, looking ready to murder someone and she had a feeling she knew why. Sighing, she went to face the music, sitting down beside him. "What did you want to talk about?" She asked quietly, resigned.

"I know none of this is your fault darlin'," Mark began slowly, wondering how to word this without offending her. "That little girl up there is apart of me. She's our daughter, not yours and Shawn's." That name left such a bad taste in his mouth. "What I'm trying to get at is: I want her last name changed. If you don't want it to be mine, that's fine, give her your maiden name. I don't want it being Michaels though."

"Legally, he is her father and has been since she was born." River said, feeling one hell of a headache coming on; not helped by the disgusted look he threw her way. "I can't get anything changed until a divorce and then custody is settled, so you'll just have to wait." She closed her eyes, resting her head back against the couch.

"Not even a DNA test will speed things up?" Mark asked, seeing her shake her head and groaned, standing up. "Get some sleep, Riv. You look exhausted."

***

"So out of all them repressed memories, the one she latched onto was of you burning your face, huh?" Steve snorted later that night when Mark had called to fill him in on the latest development with river. He was trying not to laugh, honestly he was. "Well… uh, that's good Mark, real good; ya crispy mother fucker." He was full fledge laughing now, unable to stop himself.

"I'll give you crispy, Austin." Mark growled angrily, not too keen on being harassed when he couldn't smash Steve's face in. "You know, it is nice here. What with drinking all your beer, being with your sister and niece. Too bad you can't join us, man." Now it was his turn to laugh when Steve started cussing up a storm. "Now we didn't say anything bout me restocking the fridge, that's YOUR job."

"You know what, I think I'm going to come home and beat the shit outta you." Steve said after a few moments. "How're they doing? Is Hope adjusting okay to finding out your ugly mug happens to be genetically related to her? How bout Riv?"

"They're doing good. For the most part. They've each had to take some alone time but…" Mark sighed. "Is he still on the road?" They both knew who he was.

"Yeah, the cocky son of a bitch is walking around like he never did a damn thing wrong. All happy go lucky even though I'm doing the best I can to make his life miserable and so is Stephanie." Steve sounded disgusted. "Which makes me think he believes Rivvie is coming back to his dumb or he's planning something."

"Fuck." Mark muttered, not liking the sound of that. "You just keep him busy, Steve. I've got things covered on this end." So Shawn was walking around like nothing had happened, without a care in the world. That brought a sneer to Mark's lips. "I don't want to take any chances." He said finally. "I'm going to kill that sonbitch at Mania."

"I don't blame ya but the authorities will rule it manslaughter so I'd hold off on that for awhile. Look he's not going anywhere without me following his ass. So don't freak out too much." Steve said, frowning as he watched Shawn pass his open dressing room door. "Hey, I'm going to go beat his ass right now, alright?"

"Have at it." Mark hung up, shaking his head and smiled slightly. Why was it Steve had all the luck? Then he seen River walking past him and out the front door. Then again… maybe he had the luck. Getting up, he followed her, dropping down on the porch steps beside her. "Can't sleep?"

She shook her head no.

"Rivvie, I think you should know… Shawn is probably planning something. According to your brother he's walking around with a swollen head. I just think we need to be prepared."

"Yeah." River breathed, wrapping her arms around herself. "Normally I'd say he probably won't do anything because he knows he's been busted but… I guess I don't know him as well as I thought, do I?" She smiled shakily. "And he knows I'm not coming back, that was made abundantly clear."

"Don't you worry about anything, River. Nothing is going to happen to you or Hope, I promise." He placed a hand on her shoulder, seeing her pain filled blue eyes turning to him and swallowed hard. "I broke my promise last time, it's not happening again. If we have too, we'll go to my house outside of Houston."

"I'm sure it will be no safer there then it is here." River said quietly, reaching out to push his hand away. "Besides, it's not good for Hope to be bounced around like she has been lately. She's still dealing with it all, even if she does put on a brave face."

"You used to live with me." He was just as quiet. "You redid the entire house when you first moved in, saying it was too dark for your taste. I left it the way you had it." He wasn't lying. He hadn't touched a single thing she had done.

"Fine, we'll go. Just to see if it might help my memory issue." Getting up with a sigh, she backed towards the front door. "Goodnight Mark."

***

"So where is it we're going?" Hope asked for what had to be the 100th time, sitting between Mark and her mom in his truck. "Houston? We live in San Antonio and we-"

River blocked out her daughter's chatter, resting her head against the window pane.

"Houston is where I live, Hope." Mark explained patiently. He had already called Steve to let him know about the move, knowing the man would have a heart attack if he came home to an empty house without knowing what was going on. "Your momma used to live with me. I'm hoping this will jog some more of her memories." He smiled, catching her nodding her head from the corner of his eye.

"So you two used to live together before I was born… how come ya didn't get married?"

"We were going to get rings tattooed on our fingers." River said with a sigh, wondering if Hope would ever shut up.

"Were you now?" Hope asked shrewdly, staring at her mother with a smirk.

"Yes, right-" River shifted to show her daughter, frowning when she seen Hope's grin. "What?"

"Darlin', you're remembering." Mark reached across the backseat to squeeze her neck gently. "It was going to be a bonding ceremony." He said quietly. "Your memories are coming back, Rivvie."

"What's a bonding ceremony?" Was Hope's next question.

"It's like getting married only it's not considered legal." River explained patiently. "But it's… more… intense."

"So you remember huh?"

"Not really."

"She remembers we were going to do it." Mark grinned, moving his arm, knowing she was probably uncomfortable with him touching her.

***

"You live in a ranch! So do we!" Hope shrieked excitedly, hours later. "Mom, look! It looks almost like- OHHH DOGS!"

"Oh dear god… Hope, don't!" River shouted, watching as Hope took off running, sighing in relief when the dogs didn't attack her then frowned at Mark. "You can stop smiling at any time now or I might put itching powder in places you don't want it."

"I can't darlin', look how the boys haven taken to her." Mark was grinning broadly as he guided River over to the dogs, not noticing she was cringing. He watched as the mutts instantly tackled her, laughing.

"GET THEM OFF OF ME!" River screamed.

"Dad, mom's scared of dogs!" Hope shouted, flinching when her mom began really screaming. Scared was too light a word. "C'mon boys, c'mon." She whistled, patting her leg and drew their attention to her.

"River's scared of dogs?" Mark immediately got Hades off of her, swallowing hard. "You used to love these mutts. Hell, you're the one who named them." He seen how badly she was shaking and took his boys around the side of the house, pushing them through a gate. This was going to be harder then he thought. "Since when are you scared of dogs?" He demanded when he had joined them again, watching her just sitting there on the ground.

"Since I got mauled by one four years ago when Shawn and I took Hope camping." River said, climbing to her feet and brushed grass off her jeans. "People at the next site over had a pit bull that wasn't people friendly. Shawn about snapped it's neck."

"I remember that, you wouldn't let go of him and he had to carry you everywhere all night." Hope giggled.

"Jesus…" Mark whispered.

After several uncomfortable minutes, he finally led them inside, standing back and just watched as River examined the living room. There were pictures of them everywhere. He inwardly shed a few tears when she didn't seem to recognize any of them.

"Come on Hope, let's wade through the dust bunnies and find you a room." She said finally, having definitely noticed this place needed cleaned and walked down the hallway. She halted in the doorway of a room and frowned. "Mark's room, next one over, honey. Mark you have two bedrooms, this is a problem." She said, walking into his room and looked around, beginning to smirk. "Nice boxers."

Clearly embarrassed, Mark swiped them off the floor. "I haven't been here in bout a year." He grunted, ignoring her surprised look. In all honesty, it was too hard coming here. Back to the house they had lived in together. The memories always made him break down. Before she could even ask why the boxers were bright green and covered in leprechauns, he threw them into the closet. "I- Hope, what're you doing?"

"Reading." Hope said, carrying a letter in her hand. The paper was beginning to fade yellow, just looking at it showed it to be old. "Last night was incredible, the next time you decide to use your tongue you can put it-" Hope frowned. "Mom, what's this word? P-u-"

"GIVE ME THAT!" River snatched the letter, eyes scanning it and began blushing; recognizing her handwriting. Apparently she had been an avid porn writer too. "There anymore of these?"

"Shoebox full."

Mark was laughing too hard, leaning against his dress with his arms wrapped around his stomach. He couldn't get past River's flaming cheeks or wide eyes. When he could finally breathe again, he crossed the room to wrap his arms around her waist; resting his chin on her shoulder and stared down at the letter in her hand. "I read every one of those two. You were very descriptive in a few." He purred in her ear.

"I noticed." She muttered, turning to hide her face in his chest. "Hope, bring that box here and stay out of stuff until it's been gone through."

"Aww man." Hope sighed, walking back out.

"You're evil, stop laughing at me. Mark! Stop laughing!"