Chapter 10

Stephanie smiled at her mother knowingly as she handed her over her cup of coffee. "Paul sent you here, didn't he?"

Linda could only smile back and nod her admission. "He was worried about you Stephanie. And seeing you now, he'd every right to be." She pressed her lips together in a concerned frown as she took in the black circles under her daughter's eyes and the gaunt expression on her beautiful face. "Have you managed to sleep at all honey?"

Stephanie lifted her shoulder in a shrug as she sat across from her mother, tucking her feet underneath her. "Not much." she admitted as she brought her mug to her lips and blew gently on the hot drink before taking a cautious sip. "Chloe's been pretty unsettled the past couple of days. Neither one of us has gotten much rest."

"What about her father? How is he coping?"

Stephanie nodded her head as she took another mouthful of her coffee before resting her cup on her knee. "A bit better actually. But a lot of that is down to the medication the doctor has put him on, I guess."

"Well if it helps then that's the main thing." said Linda. "God knows how any of us would deal with something like that. Heaven forbid we never find out."

Her daughter sighed heavily as she brushed her hair back behind her ears feeling a sudden chill down her spine at the mere thought. "I know. It doesn't bear thinking about really, does it. I know after Jamie died, Paul and I were both so grateful that it wasn't Ellie who had ran out in front of that car."

Just then the doorbell rang and Stephanie placed her cup down on the table and got up to answer it.

"I'll just be a second Mom."

Linda smiled and drank her coffee as she patiently waited for Stephanie to return. She absently gazed around the ornate living room until a framed picture caught her eye. She stood up taking a closer look at it. She smiled as she picked it up. It was the photo Shane had taken of the family at Stephanie's birthday party. Paul was holding Ellie and stood beside Stephanie who was holding Jake. All four had beaming smiles as they looked towards the camera. She couldn't help but feel a burst of pride as she admired her family.

"Mom this is Mark."

Linda turned at the sound of her daughter's voice still clutching the framed picture in her hand. Beside Stephanie stood the boy she once knew. A boy who was now a very distraught man. His hair was messy and dishevelled and Linda smiled at him sympathetically.

"I remember you." she told him and she shook his outstretched hand. "I'm so sorry to hear about your daughter."

"Thank you." he mumbled awkwardly as he ran his fingers through his hair.

There was silence for a moment. Linda held up the picture and smiled at Stephanie in an attempt to change the subject.

"I was just admiring the photo Shane took. It's amazing isn't it? Ellie is the spitting image of Paul while Jake looks so like you."

Stephanie smiled and nodded her head as she took the picture. She ran her finger across the glass affectionately. "What's amazing is Ellie looks like Paul but has my personality. Likewise with Jake. He's still little but you can tell he's going to act just like Paul. They've even got the exact same grin." She looked up to smile at her mother. "Full of mischief."

Linda laughed as Stephanie returned the picture to the mantelpiece. However, her laughter soon ended as she noticed the impatient look on Mark's face. It unnerved her for some reason but she quickly reminded herself that the man had just lost his six year old daughter. Maybe he was entitled to be upset when people talked about families. She sat back down and picked up her coffee cup watching her daughter talk with her old school friend.

"Are you sure you're okay to look after her? I honestly don't mind keeping her here another night."

Mark shrugged his shoulders. "I don't want you to feel burdened."

Stephanie shook her head. "She's definitely not a burden Mark. Besides, she keeps me company. With everyone away at Paul's parents, it's awfully quiet around here."

He nodded. "And I guess that's one of the reasons why I want to take Chloe home. I hate being in that house all alone. It gives me too much time to think about Jamie and everything that's happened." His voice broke away and Mark furiously wiped at a tear that had started to fall. Stephanie noticed this and pulled him into a hug.

"I'm sorry. I didn't realise that keeping her here was so hard for you." She rubbed his back soothingly before pulling away. "Listen, why don't you and Chloe stay for dinner then you can see how you feel afterwards?"

Mark smiled at her gratefully. "Are you sure?"

"Of course. It's no trouble." Stephanie turned round to smile at her mother. "Mom, do you want to stay? With Dad and Shane gone, no-one will be at home will they?"

Linda smiled at her daughter and shook her head. "Thanks but I can't. Marissa decided to go to the pay-per-view with Shane as her parents had Declan this weekend. But apparently they have some business function tonight so I said I would look after him for them. They're bringing him over this afternoon." She stood up and set down her coffee cup. "Speaking of which, I'd better get going. They said they would drop him off any time after one and it's nearly that time." She smiled briefly at Mark as she passed him. "It was nice to meet you Mark."

He seems to almost ignore her apart from a distracted smile he threw her way. Raising her brow, Linda grabbed her purse and walking to the front door, she turned round to smile at her daughter as she pulled her into a hug. "Look after yourself Stephanie and try to get some rest."

Stephanie smiled and nodded her head as her mother released her. "I will. And good luck with Declan. I know he can be a bit of a handful."

"God, tell me about it. That's why I need to go home now. I need to hide all my ornaments and anything else that's breakable."

Stephanie's laughter followed Linda who waved at her daughter as she opened the door and got in her car. She watched in her rear view mirror as Stephanie went back in the house and as the door closed behind her, she sighed. She had an uneasy feeling about Mark. She didn't know why but she couldn't shake it. Maybe it had been his offhand attitude to her but there definitely something about him she didn't like.

Then there was the way he seemed to depend too much on Stephanie.

Feeling a wave of guilt at thinking that way, Linda gave herself a shake. Of course he depended on Stephanie. He was in bits after losing his daughter and it was clear from his appearance he was a mess. Still, it was a lot to lay on her daughter's shoulders like that. Linda was worried about her. Stephanie had such a big heart and there was no way she could ever refuse Mark, not when he needed her so badly right now. She could see why Paul was concerned. Still, he would be home in a couple of days with the kids and in the meantime, she was sure her daughter would be able to look after herself. After all, the guy was on old friend. Stephanie had cared for him once. Still, Linda would be glad when Paul got back. Until then, the odd phone call to her daughter here and there wouldn't go amiss especially if it meant she knew she wasn't alone….

Paul adjusted his elbow pads as he tried to mentally prepare himself for his match. It was in a steel cage and even although he loved it his body certainly took some punishment much to both Stephanie and his parents' dismay. They hated seeing him bashed up and bruised but it was all part of the game.

Paul looked up as he heard the knock on his dressing room door and smiled as he saw Shane and Marissa walk through. "Hey guys."

"Hey. We thought we'd come and wish you luck for your match tonight." said Shane.

Paul grinned and slapped his back. "Thanks Shano, but when have I ever needed luck?"

His brother in law grinned back. "That's right because you are the Game-uh!"

Paul shook his head at his poor imitation of him. "Very good." He turned to smirk at Marissa. "Can't you take him back where you got him from?"

She laughed. "I wish I could."

Shane pouted at his wife. "Hey, that's not nice."

"You know I'm only kidding."

"Yeah, Shane. We all know how excited you get at these things."

Shane snorted at Paul. "And you don't?"

He grinned widely. "Of course I do. I'm going to kick ass tonight."

"Yeah well make sure you do, because if you don't then you're fiiiiiirrrrrrred!"

Marissa shook her head as both men started laughing at Shane's impression of Vince. They really were like a couple of kids sometimes. "Hey, Paul. Where's Ellie and Jake tonight? Are they here?"

Paul shook his head. "No, Lynn is looking after them. Because it's a cage match my mom and Steph both agreed Ellie shouldn't watch it. Of course, she's none too pleased about that. When I dropped her off at Lynn's, she still wouldn't talk to me."

Shane shrugged his shoulders. "I suppose Steph is right. We probably wouldn't let Declan watch it either."

Marissa nodded her head as she rubbed her stomach. "It's bad enough us having to watch it never mind a child." She looked sternly at Paul. "There had better not be any barbed wire in there tonight. That stuff makes me cringe."

Paul grinned as he nodded his head. "Of course there is."

She shook her head as she saw Shane grin along with him. "You guys are sick."

Just then there was a knock at the door and a head popped through. "You're on in five, Hunter."

Paul nodded and let out a deep breath. Shane took Marissa's hand.

"Well, we'll see you after the match." He patted Paul on the arm. "Be safe."

He nodded and closed his eyes and blocked everything out as he tried to prepare for the match. It was time for Kurt Angle to learn how to play the game.