Chapter 13

Alexis sat in the airport, having changed into a black hoodie with black jeans, her hood up as she waited for her flight to be called. She couldn't stop crying even if her life depended on it and sighed heavily, knowing she wouldn't be back. She was going far away where nobody could find her in North Carolina. She'd already called a friend of hers for a job and sniffled, ignoring her cell phone that kept ringing. Finally, she just shut it off. She jumped when a hand planted on her shoulder, causing her to look up and blinked, seeing Paul standing there.

"What do you want Paul?" She asked tiredly, pulling her hood back and lowered her head.

"He didn't mean it." Paul said gently, sitting down beside her. "'Taker...he doesn't react well to your...attitude." He said slowly, trying to explain things without driving her away even further. "You have a fiery spirit and while he does admire it, he also hates it when it's directed at him. He had no right in doing what he did when it came to you and Christian last night." He said quickly, making his stance known. "But he's possessive of you, or haven't you noticed?"

"Yes I've noticed. What I don't understand is why." She sighed heavily, wiping her tears away, her hands trembling. "Paul, Christian came to my room and he kissed me. The only reason why I gave into him so willingly is because I've been having dreams of 'Taker." She slowly looked up at him, though she was still hunched over. "They've been driving me insane, that's why I kept having to cool myself off at the arena. He kissed me and then I saw him with that little boy and..." She knew she was not making a lick of sense, taking a deep breath. "He kissed me, forcefully, but it was a kiss nonetheless and I haven't able to stop forgetting about it. But I also will not surrender to him either. He is too possessive, he won't even let me have my own bathroom at the hotels for Christ sakes! This was all sprung on me in a big heaping blob and I...I wasn't expecting it. He literally ripped Christian away from me and I grew to not love him anymore. Besides," She actually sneered. "He wants that princess bitch now."

Paul had no idea what she was talking about, piecing together some of the things she said, but barely, then he grasped onto the Stephanie bit. "He doesn't WANT her the way you're thinking, Alexis." He said quickly, seeing her eyes widen and nodded. "What he wants is her father to cave into his demands and using Stephanie is the best way to achieve that. He wants you." How in the hell did he wind up in the middle of a crowded airport explaining this? Honestly...

"He's going to marry her though, I overheard them talking about it..." When he shook his head, Alexis's eyebrows furrowed together and she dropped her head, slowly shaking it. "He kicked me out of the Ministry, Paul. He obviously doesn't want me that badly." Granted, she'd seen the fire in 'Taker's eyes, the rage mixed with the passion, and that's why she hadn't been able to say much to him before bolting. "I like being in the Ministry." She admitted openly and stared back into his paternal dark eyes. "If you repeat any of this to him..." When he shook his head, Alexis closed her eyes and stared straight ahead. "I'm slowly falling for him, 'Taker I mean..." She swallowed hard. "We just made a truce and then he had to catch me with Christian..." She whispered that out painfully, feeling him grab her hand.

Again, he had no idea what she was thinking. He knew 'Taker had a soft side, somewhere, but somehow he just didn't see Alexis falling in love with the man who had made her life a living hell, briefly wondering if it was 'Stockholm's Syndrome' before sighing heavily. "Come back with me. He does want you there, Alexis. He's just not so good at showing it. But you've seen how gentle he can be, you seen it that day with those children."

"That's the moment I think I started falling for him." She admitted, raking a hand through her sopping wet hair, and sighed heavily as her flight was called. What did she do? Did she go back and face the wrath or did she go home and play it safe? Her heart and mind were at odds as she tried figuring out what to do. "I want him to just...romance me a little I guess. I don't know." She groaned and gripped her hair with her free hand, knowing what she had to do. "God I'm going to burn in hell for this." Alexis muttered before standing up, not releasing Paul's hand. "Lead the way, father." She smiled when he shook his head and kissed his cheek.

Paul led the way, knowing he was going to have to have a little chat with the Undertaker and wasn't looking forward to it. He knew the man cared somewhat for Alexis, but sometimes 'Taker was so hard to read! Did his feelings go past the obvious physical attraction or would he lose interest when he inevitably had her? Maybe convincing Alexis to come back wasn't such a bright idea after all. He couldn't see 'Taker romancing anybody without a personal interest at stake. It was too late now, the dice had been tossed.

No matter what happened, Alexis was taking a chance and she knew it. If 'Taker slept with her and wanted nothing more to do with her, then that was on him. She would pick up the pieces of her broken heart and go back home, but she had to take this chance. She slid into the passenger seat of Paul's rental car and buckled up, leaning back against the chair and sighed heavily.

"I'm sorry for...springing all that on you, Paul. I know I sound insane, but you honestly can't help who you fall for or how fast it happens." She seen him nod and felt him grab her hand, squeezing it gently as he drove away from the airport and toward the highway, wondering where they were going.

~!~

He sat broodingly, ignoring Stephanie's cries and whines for her mommy and daddy, wondering if knocking her out to shut her up counted as a form of aspirin. Sighing, he stood up, walked over to her and picked her up.

"PUT ME DOWN!" She screamed, voice going shrill, smacking him when she seen he was heading for the bed. "NO! NOOOO!"

He dropped her on it. "Shut up and go to sleep, Princess."

~!~

They pulled into a hotel a few hours later, causing Alexis to stare over at Paul, knowing the Ministry was here. She stepped out and grabbed her bag, knowing Paul had already called ahead of time to book her own room. He guided her up to it and unlocked the door, walking inside, and yawned as she tossed her bag to the side. "What do you want me to do?" She asked quietly after he shut the door, sitting on the bed, her hair only mildly damp now.

Um, stay out of the Undertaker's bedroom for the moment until Stephanie wasn't in there? No, that might that go over so well. "Just...get some sleep and you can talk to him in the morning." He said, patting her on the head before heading towards the stairs. "You've had a rough night, Alexis, rest." He needed to let 'Taker know she was back so the man didn't explode in the morning upon seeing her.

Alexis nodded and changed into a deep purple nightgown before calling it a night. He was right, she was exhausted, and knew tomorrow the blowup would be not of this world. "Why did I come back?" She whispered, her eyes closing and then suddenly flying open when both her heart and mind gave her the same answer. "I love him." She felt the tears flow down her cheeks, knowing he probably wanted nothing to do with her and finally drifted off to sleep, her dreams filled with the man from the dark side.

~!~

Just to annoy Stephanie, he had slept in the bed with her, as far away as possible, but in the bed. He'd watched the little princess sob quietly to herself, jumping whenever he moved, her eyes wide and innocent. It was disgusting. Now if it hadn't been for the fact that he wanted Alexis, he might have been interested in tainting the miss innocent McMahon, but Alexis had tainted him. He exhaled when Stephanie finally fell asleep, closing his own eyes.

~!~

The following morning, Alexis's eyes slowly fluttered open and she groaned, her body not used to doing all the running and walking she had. She slowly sat up and yawned, looking around the hotel room, and suddenly remembered why she was here. 'Taker. She sighed and stood up, making herself a pot of coffee, trying to wake up. She finished it and sipped it calmly before going back to sit on her bed, sighing heavily. She was prolonging the inevitable and she knew it. After her cup of java, Alexis was a little more awake and went to take a quick shower, pulling her hair in a tight messy bun before slipping into a new pair of blue jeans with a long sleeved wine colored top. She hadn't kept her word about getting only purple and black, these were street clothes after all.

'Taker listened calmly as Paul explained the situation, hearing Stephanie crying -again- in the bathroom. "Does she know the truth about-" He jerked his head towards the bathroom.

"Yes." Paul sipped his coffee, pleased 'Taker was being so calm about this.

"Think she'd mind going along with it?"

"Um..."

Her head snapped up when she heard a knock sound at her hotel room door, swallowing hard, and slowly stood up. Her heart was hammering in her chest, her breathing and pulse quickening with every step she took. 'This is why I came back, now answer the damn door.' She coached herself and gripped the handle of it shakily before opening it. Alexis could only hope she didn't regret coming back, could only hope she didn't regret running, could only hope that 'Taker felt even a sliver of what she felt for him.

He waited for what seemed like eternity as she finally opened the door, staring down at her clothes with an arched eyebrow. The wine colored top suited her better then the black and purple. Jeans also suited her better then the usual gothic get-up. Hmmm...Change of wardrobe was in order.

"Paul told me you came back he didn't tell me the reason." He said by way of greeting, wondering if she was going to make him wait out in the hallway all morning.

She just stared back at him and nodded before stepping inside, letting him walk in and closed the door softly behind her, raking a hand through her hair as she watched him sit on the bed. "You're an asshole." She stated bluntly. "An arrogant, manipulative, self-centered, egotistical, possessive asshole." She held her hand up when he went to open his mouth. "I'm not done and until I am, you will sit there and keep your mouth shut." She ordered, knowing she had to get the words out as she began pacing back and forth in front of him. "The night you caught me with Christian, I didn't want him. I've been having these dreams about a certain someone and he was there and he kissed me and I remembered how good it used to be between us. Used to be." She finally stopped and stared into his green eyes. "I fell for an asshole, okay? I want an asshole and for the life of me, I don't understand why. I was on my way to the airport to go home, to forget all about a greed eyed, black haired, Lord of Darkness ASSHOLE and I ended up back here. And I'm a bitch. I'm a stubborn bitch and I can be cruel at times. I'll admit it right now." She took a deep breath and kept walking back and forth. "I'm not done." She stated when he went to talk again. "I don't just hop into bed with a man, 'Taker. I like to get to know the other person first because, contrary to popular belief, I believe it's the right thing to do. I don't like a man who is possessive because my life is just that, mine. I feel the man I am with should respect me for my decisions and let me do what I want and TRUST me. And you can get mad all you want at the clothes because we're not at the damn arena and I actually wanted to wear color today."

Did he kill her for being a bitch and shooting off at the mouth or did he kiss her to shut her the fuck up? He just sat there on the bed, staring at her, his green eyes unreadable, processing everything she had just said. Did she say she loved him? Well what the hell? The wench just insulted him in one breath and said she loved him in the other. He would never understand this woman and kept his silence, arching an eyebrow, waiting patiently for her to let him know if she was done with her rant.

Her voice became softer as she took another deep breath before locking eyes with him again. "When I saw you with that little boy, I don't know what happened. Something inside of me just melted and I started seeing a different side of you. Don't even ask me to explain this because even I don't know." She wasn't pacing and simply leaned against the wall, the side of her head resting on it. "I don't know what happened, but somewhere along the way you managed to squash everything I ever felt for Christian and wormed your way in. So here I am. I didn't leave. I didn't run like I probably should have. I rolled the dice, I took a chance because I'm hoping maybe, just maybe, we can make this work somehow. I'm sorry for everything I've done to you. I was scared about everything that was going on and I didn't know how to handle it." She felt the tears flow down her cheeks and wiped them away, refusing to look at him as she stared at the floor. "I'm done." She whispered, sniffling slightly.