Not much to say this time. So, I'll just get straight to it! Here we go!

Chapter 26- Mortal Thoughts

The hours after our impromptu lawyer meeting in the limousine with Vince were rather interesting. Randy and I had hoped for some alone time in the hotel, to be by ourselves and try to relax from the past few days, but that wasn't to be yet. It hadn't been fifteen minutes of peace when hard knocks sounded on the door, made by John himself. I was surprised to see his bags were packed and sitting by his feet. Casie was not too far behind him, wheeling her suitcase with her. He had come to give us a message from Vince. Which I thought was strange, seeing as we had only just had a meeting with him. John said that Vince had given the entire Raw roster three days off, to do with what they will, before the pay-per-view. And I was given specific instructions to "take it easy" along with the rest of the roster. After my initial shock, I didn't know whether to feel irritated or touched that Vince cared that much for my safety. Casie told me that she and John were flying up to John's parents for his father's birthday. I couldn't help but feel happy for John that this company leave came at an excellent timing.

Randy turned to me when they had left, confounded at the free time ahead of him. "What do you want to do?"

I thought about it. And nothing came to mind. "I don't know," I said, shrugging my shoulders.

Suddenly, Randy smiled at me. He wrapped his long arms tight around my waist, and pulled me flush against his chest. I looked up in his eyes, and saw the light burning bright. "Do you want to go home?"

I knew what he meant by "home". A place where we both had connections. A place where we both had houses. The place where we first met. St. Louis. I felt the rush of excitement flow throw me and instantly I could feel my heart yearn for safe home feeling that Randy and I could go to. I squeezed myself closer to his chest, burring my face into his shirt.

"Please?"

oo

My car was parked in the same spot in the long-term airport travel parking lot. My eyes landed on my red Cobalt, and I smiled. It was like seeing a long lost friend. I helped Randy load our luggage into the trunk and I got into the driver's seat. I heard the passenger seat close, and I realized, I didn't know whose house we were going to. Mine or his? And, I felt a blush slowly creep up my cheeks; I did not even remember how to get to his house. And the idea of my fresh clothes, hanging in my closet, that I haven't worn over and over, washed so many times, in the past three months sounded so appealing.

"Do you want to go to your place tonight, and then to mine tomorrow?" Randy said, and I stared at him with wide eyes. Sometimes I wouldn't doubt that he couldn't read my thoughts. "It does not matter to me."

I nodded softly, partly stunned for words, and partly just too tired to speak. It was nearly ten at night, and we had been going all day. I knew before I left for my job that I had washed my sheets, and I knew that's what awaited us. A thought that comforted me. I pulled out of the parking deck slowly, getting my bearings. I hadn't lived in St. Louis long. Just long enough to know how to get to my house from anything big and important. Street lights blurred past us as I continued down the road. My knee began to bob up and down as we got closer to the house. I was more excited than I thought I would be to return home. I guess another reason it thrilled me to be home, was that Randy was here with me. I pulled my car into my driveway and stared up at my house.

It looked just the same as it always had; just empty. And a little sad. The grass hadn't been mowed in at least two weeks, when I had someone come out to do it, but it was my house. And it made my heart grow against my ribcage. I guess I was a little soft-hearted to get this attached to a house, but this was my first and only escape from the hell I had been living under in Georgia. I opened the car door, and walked around to the back of the car, and opened the trunk. Soft hands met mine when I reached for the luggage. I watched as Randy unloaded all the bags and sat them on the pavement. I raised an eyebrow, and defiantly grabbed my bag from the ground. There was no need for him to carry everything. He was just as tired as I was. I didn't miss his play eye roll, or his smirk, and I smiled, as I fumbled with my keys. I noted how weird it felt to not have a key card, and to have actual keys again. For the time being, anyway.

I pushed the door open, and I felt the sense of home that I needed. The sense of safety. The same cream carpet, the brown leather couch and chair, my TV and proud movie collection. I sighed in content and dropped my bag on the floor by the couch, letting myself fall back in the sinking material of the couch. I soaked in the feelings that came over me that being at home brought on. Randy sat his bags out of the way and let his eyes roam over my living room. I was nervous of what he would think. I wanted him to like it, because it was a part of me. His opinion mattered to me. And to think, the last time I was in this house, I was trying to forget he had ever happened. I felt foolish to hold my breath as I awaited Randy's response to my home.

Finally, he turned to me, "I can see why you wanted to come home."

And coming from Randy, that was an approval. I smiled, leaving the couch, and wrapped my arms, and him, in my living room. It felt good to have him in my home. Away from prying eyes. To have complete privacy. To be safe, for once. Randy pressed his face into my hair, pulling me tighter to his body. I could feel the tension he carried on his shoulders nearly everywhere melting away. And I felt proud that it was because he was hidden by the walls of my house.

"Want to watch a movie before bed?" I heard him ask in a low rumble. I giggled into his chest, pulling away. Motioning towards the spinning-three foot tall three-shelf movie rack full of DVDs, I shuffled back to the couch, kicking off my shoes, and pulled my feet underneath me. Watching Randy thumb through my movies was amusing, because he would either laugh at my taste in movies, or exclaim about a certain movie that he had never seen before. I told him that he could take some with him on the road if he wanted too; when he was finished looking, he had a stack of ten movies.

"Just don't get the others out of order," I said, pulling a blanket from the top of the couch around my knees. Randy looked over his shoulder at me as he worked the DVD player.

"Order?" He examined the rack again, noticing for the first time what was so peculiar about them. "They are in alphabetical order?" He raised his eyebrow at me, smirking, I know, only to keep from laughing.

"Yes, and you better keep them that way. I like to find the movie I want when I want it," I said, giving him a look of mock-stern. Though, I really did mean it. It was pet peeve of mine when I couldn't find what I wanted, when I wanted it; especially my movies.

Randy's eyes widen, trying to make me believe he was scared, but I could see the evident humor on his face. "Yes ma'am."

I rolled my eyes at him as he sat down next to me. Randy pulled me up next to him, stretching his legs out behind me, and I settled down in front of him, putting my head on my arm. I didn't even know what he put in, nor did I care. It could be a documentary on caterpillars and all I would be able to think about would be that I was in my house, laying on my couch, in Randy's arms. Like a normal couple. I had already come to terms with not ever being normal in the WWE; and that being with Randy was equal to more than any normal in the world. But for three days, three whole days, Randy and I didn't have to travel on a hectic schedule, perform any shows, and check in or out of any hotels. We just got to be ourselves; and with each other. I yawned and turned my attention towards the screen. And I rolled my eyes.

"Of all the movies I own, this is the one you chose? Mortal Kombat?" I felt his chest shake against my back. I knew he was laughing.

"What? I happened to like this movie. I found it pleasing to know we have the same taste in movies."

I smiled into my arm, biting my lip. "Well, I'm glad I could please you."

"Me too". I heard Randy yawn into my neck and he instinctly pulled me tighter. I felt one his legs come up and land on mine. His large, toned thigh, which I couldn't see from his jeans, was laying my hip, straddling me. Then I heard his slow, heavy breathing. He was asleep. I had to bite my lip to keep my giggle from escaping my mouth. I had never met another person that could fall asleep quicker than Randy when he was tired. I carefully snuggled closer to him, and settled into watch the movie Randy had picked out for us.

oo

The next morning, I woke up expecting to have all sorts of cramps and kinks. Randy and I had fallen asleep in the couch the night before. I figured, as I stretched my arms above my head, that my muscles would want to lock up and tense and my neck to crick up in a quick pain. But none of that happened. And I realized when I brought my hands back to rub my eyes that I was not on the couch anymore. I was lying under the deep purple comforter of my four-poster Queen-sized bed. I felt the soft sweep of cotton against my bare legs when I rolled over on my side. I distinctly remember falling asleep in my jeans. My eyes landed on the still and tranquil face of Randy. His eyes were closed, and his lips where open slightly, like they always do when he sleeps. His shirtless back moved up and down with each breath he took, captivating me.

I leaned over him, brushing my lips over his, pulling on his bottom lip slightly. I watched as his lids began to flutter softly, and then popped open. It took him a moment to push the sleep from his body, and take in his wake-up call. But not too long. He turned on his side, and I felt his hands snake around my waist, pulling my on top of him.

"I didn't know I had a new alarm clock," Randy teased, nuzzling my ear. I laughed softly against his chest. I reached down, and pulled one of his hands away from my waist, and brought back up with mine, so I could play with his fingers. I don't know why, but somehow, that action was becoming a habit for me. Like it was for Randy to run his fingers through my hair. We just couldn't help it.

"How'd we end up in here?" I asked, looking around the room. "Last thing I remember was Johnny Cage and Scorpion in the forest and you asleep behind me."

"I'm sorry," Randy said, layering kissing along my jaw bone. Though, I wasn't even upset with him, he was instantly forgiven. "I woke up right as the movie was going off. You were asleep, but looked so uncomfortable, so I carried you upstairs to bed."

I raised my eyebrow at him, "And my pants?"

"Hey, that's your rule, not mine. I know that you can't sleep in pants," he said, giving me an innocent look, which I almost believed. Almost. I saw the mischievous look in his eye. "And how did you know my favorite color is green?"

I narrowed my eyes and threw him a smirk, remembering yesterday the dark green pair of silk panties that I chosen to wear home. I discreetly slipped my hand out towards my pillow while Randy was busy wallowing in his tease. I grabbed a hand full of pillowcase, and swung it at his head. I heard the thud as it made contact, and I quickly hopped from the bed, making as much distance between him and me and as I could, while he was still in shock.

I stared as his dazed expression from the door way, and smirked. "Lucky guess?" And I headed down the stairs. I made my way towards the kitchen, but it wasn't until I had reached the cold tiled-floor, that I hadn't been home in three months. I wouldn't have anything fresh. Everything in the refrigerator would be bad, and the food in the cabinets would be stale. I sighed, and yanked the trash can out of the pantry, and began tossing everything out. I wasn't about to get creepy-crawlers in my house while I was gone. I heard Randy's footsteps head down the stairs and stall at the kitchen. And I knew he must think I was crazy. To stand in front of the refrigerator, in nothing but a shirt and panties, first thing in the morning, and be cleaning out food.

"What are you doing?" Randy asked, slowly walking around the counters. I stood up from the bottom crisper, after tossing some suspicious looking strawberries in the trash can.

"I was hungry," I said, eyeing the can with a disgusted look. I reached back in the refrigerator, closing my hand around a plastic container.

"Put the Tupperware down," Randy said, eyeing me with humor. I shot him a glare, but followed his order, and sat the plastic on the counter. "Now, step away from the refrigerator." I huffed and walked around the counter. I walked as Randy closed to the refrigerator, and pulled the trash can away. Then he turned back towards me. "Go upstairs, put on some clothes, and we'll go get some breakfast, okay?"

I felt the smile that tugged at my lips. I could never stay in an upset mood when I was around him. I smiled softly at him and rolled my eyes, but again, I followed his orders. Within minutes, I was back down in the living room, with a fresh tank top, new shorts and flip slops that Randy had never seen. I felt like a new woman. It's amazing what time away from all of your clothes will do for you. I pulled my hair in a ponytail as Randy drove to the nearest IHOP. I knew he was man after my own, because the only thing I loved more than bacon, was pancakes.

As we walked in, the hostess greeted Randy on a first name basis, which meant one of two things. Either she was a big WWE fan, or Randy was big IHOP fan. I had decided on the second one, seeing as the hostess seemed perfectly calm in his presence. Randy asked for a table towards the back of the restaurant, I assumed that way we wouldn't be in the middle of all the craning necks of other guests. And I appreciated that. She smiled and nodded us a good morning, and walked away. I sat across from Randy in our booth, wishing now that I hadn't worn a tank top; it was a little chilly in the back. I ran my hands up and down my arms, trying to create friction heat. I noticed a waitress come out from a side door, and walk up to our table.

"Hi, good morning, my name is Sandy and I'll be your server for the day. What can I start you to drink?" she turned her smile towards me first. Which was a bit surprising. Usually in Randy's presence, the female gender wanted to shun me from him, and stone me from society. Alright, maybe that was a bit too harsh. But I wasn't used to being approached like a human being by another female in front of Randy any more.

"Orange juice please," I said, and watched as she gave the same smile to Randy, as he ordered milk. And before she left, she turned back towards me, and rubbed her hand against her own head.

"What happened there? Did you fall or something?" she asked, trying to make small talk. But what she didn't know was that was the only topic that I didn't want to talk about. I had been avoiding it since we left North Carolina yesterday.

"It's nothing. It's already much better," I said, involuntarily running my own fingers across the healing cut over my left eye. I did notice that Randy was watching my every move. I shrunk a little under his stare. The waitress smiled, and handed us our menus, and left us. I unfolded my menu, trying to concentrate on the New York Cheesecake Pancakes, but I could feel Randy's eyes on me. But I wasn't giving up yet; I was still going to try and salvage this breakfast.

"Do you two know what you want yet?" Sandy asked, when she came back to the table a few minutes later.

"Well," I said, running my finger down the menu slowly, "I'm thinking about cheesecake pancakes, and then some bacon for me. What about you Randy?" I looked up slowly to see that he hadn't even touched his menu.

"I'm getting a Big Steak Omelet," he said, never taking his eyes off mine. I took his menu with mine and handed them back to Sandy, and gave her a soft smile as she walked off. But I couldn't look away. I tried. Finally, he sighed, rubbing his hands over his face. "You've been avoiding anything to do with the subject of Erik ever since we left North Carolina."

I raised my eyebrow at him. "She is a complete stranger to me, Randy. I'm not about to tell her my life story."

I knew he was angry when I saw his eyes narrow. He lowered his voice and sat straighter in his booth. "You know that is not what I was referring to."

I huffed, propping my elbows on the table, intertwining my fingers in my hair. "Look, I just want to forget what happened that night. It's being taken care of. I'm okay. Everyone is okay. No harm done."

A growl escaped from deep within Randy's throat, "No harm done?" He reached across the table, and grabbed my wrist pulling it towards him, and motioned with his other hand at the yellowing bruise of a hand print on my upper arm. "No harm done?" He ran his fingertips lightly over my left eye, where my cut was. "Forgive me, but that looks like harm to me."

I shrugged out of his grasped as Sandy was bringing our food to the table. I had a plate of delicious looking pancakes, and a smaller plate full of strips of bacon, while Randy had an oval plate, consumed by a generous omelet, with steak and tomatoes falling out on each side. But, I wasn't all that hungry any more. This conversation was making my stomach turn into knots. But I nodded kindly at our waitress anyways as she walked off.

"Why does this bother you so much Randy?" I asked him, pushing my pancakes around with my fork, wishing I had more of an appetite for these. They looked so good on the menu.

"You want to know?" Randy asked, setting his fork down. I looked up to see that he hadn't touched his food much either. I pushed my plate away altogether, and pulled my feet underneath me in the booth. I had a feeling I needed to get comfortable for this.

"Do you remember when you asked me when I was in the Marines what forced me to get discharged?" My heart immediately pounded in my chest. Something I had long wanted to know about him and this was how I was learning it? In relation to me? I nodded softly, staring at him intently. "Well, by know you know a lot about me. And you know how impulsive I get. And another thing you know is how important family is to me." That was a curve ball in the mix that I wasn't expecting. What did his family have to do with it? Randy ducked his head and rubbed his scalp with his hand. I reached out and placed a hand on his forearm, hoping to give him the courage to continue.

"I was nineteen, nearly twenty. Had been in the Marine Corps around a year by that point. It wasn't something that I enjoyed, but I wasn't a quitter. The word isn't in my vocabulary. So, I man-ed up, and was dealing with my decisions. Now, you have only met my parents, and not my other two siblings. Becky, my sister. Or Nathan, my brother. Becky is a great person, and she would stick by your side no matter what," Randy said, describing his sister. I had to smile softly at his kind words. Until his next sentence. "But sometimes, she goes in head first to situations without thinking things through. More often than just sometimes. And Nathan, he's half and half. Half level-headed, straight-shooter, the one to sit it out and think things through; but he can also have his moments. But both of them are younger than me, and I'm sure you know how that feels, especially with your younger brother, that I feel very protective of them. Dad was on the road a lot when we were younger, and Mom worked, so it was mainly just me that kept the house together.

"I was on base one day, and I got this phone call. It was from Becky. She was stuck at her boyfriend's house, and had no way to get home, and she refused to call Mom. I didn't like her boyfriend, Reid Collins. She was seventeen, and he was twenty-four. And I knew there was something off about him. But when I asked my commanding Officer if I could get a leave of duty, I was denied. I was given strict orders to stay out of other affairs. I called her back, and told her I wasn't allowed to come. That's when she told me what Reid had been doing. For several months, he had been running a smuggling operation for his friends for the distribution of banned firearms. Like semi-automatic Zastava M70 rifle, the Intratec TEC-DC9 and Uzis just to name a few. I immediately reported back to my commanding officer, and he took me seriously then. But he just reported him to the local authorities, and filed his own report, and still wouldn't let me go. So, I took matters into my own hands. I snuck out. I wasn't about to let my sister sit around in some rat hole, just waiting around to get caught in some cross-fire.

"I took her back to our parent's house, that she still lives in today. She made me swear that I wouldn't say anything to Mom, if she promised to never see Reid again. Something, that for at least two months, she held true for. Now, you can call me one of two things; you can call me a coward, for not going back right away and facing my punishment that I knew was coming to me for going AWOL, or you could say that I was homesick. I was just a kid, who hadn't had any leave for over nine months. I missed being at home. I kept pushing going back day after day. Until I couldn't any longer. I was told, when I returned, that my name had been pulled, and was under review by the court-martial. I knew I was in extreme trouble, but it was just something that I had to do. Two weeks later, I received another phone call. It was from a hospital, telling me Becky had been brought, beaten nearly to the point of death. My sister. My only sister, was in the hospital, barely breathing. I didn't even ask any commanding officer this time. I found my motorcycle, and I flew along the streets as fast as I could. But not towards the hospital. See, I knew who it was that had hurt Becky. That nearly killed her. When I reached his apartment, he was sitting on the stoop, smoking a cigarette. He saw me coming and tried to scramble up the stairs, but I grabbed him by the shirt collar, and just like with Erik, everything went black. One good thing Erik can say was that he was able to walk away from that encounter. I stopped by the hospital on my way back to the barracks.

"I'll never forget that night. My mother crying at her bedside. Nathan, stone-walled at the other. My father was given time off, and he was coming home. I went to her that night, and I told her the very same thing I told you. That he would never touch her again. I don't think she believed me that night. It wasn't until she found out about Reid's 'accident', that she finally felt any relief. But I caught hell that night on base. It was probably one of the worst nights of my life. And it wasn't three weeks later that I was dishonorably discharged, and charged to serve thirty-eight days of military jail. Which I did without complaint. I felt like such a failure."

He hung his head. And I stared at him. All throughout his story, I had kept my mouth shut, not daring to ask any questions, and just stared at him. I hadn't realized I had moisture in my eyes, and I blinked hard, forcing them away before Randy had any chance to notice. I had no words to describe what I had just heard about his sister. Never in my wildest imagination, would I have ever thought up this. I felt like a fool for every asking his mother about it; to make her think about a moment like this. I felt horrid. And I felt even worse for asking him about it. Because his mother said that he took it hard, and it wasn't easy for him to get over.

But now everything made so much sense. Why Randy acted the way he did, if any guy even looked at me the wrong way. Just like when Jake had been coming on to me, and I couldn't get him off. Randy had seen it, and snapped. All he wanted was my safety. And Monday night, when Erik was dragging me away, and then he got violent. Randy had witnessed that. Which reminded him all too well of his sister, and that Reid guy, and he came unglued. I watched Randy from across the table, staring at his omelet. And I couldn't stand the broken expression on the perfect features. I reached a hand over to his face, cupping his cheek, forcing him to look at me.

"You are not a failure to Becky," I said with resound. Then I grazed my fingertips lightly across his jaw bone. "Nor to me."

A/N

Now, we know what makes Randy tick! Hmm.. interesting stuff, huh? Shout out to IHOP! Man I want some cheesecake pancakes now.. dang.. lol

Eisac Namhort, Duchan Mandic, Christina89, JoolR, Dreamin'BIG, AshleyBabe86, SuperStar89, Viper-Desi, KimmieCena, Xandman216, Thiala, Barnsley Gal 09, roknpstergrl, miamitravel, and southern. dreamz, southerncharm21, Cecilyyy, undermyumbrella, babyxbxgurl, hardycenagrl, Krista Hardy, xLou26, littleone999, rkolover2, and rauts let's go to IHOP! Lol jk! LOVE YOU!