Chapter 22

Shane smiled fondly at his niece as he watched Stephanie remove her coat. "Thank you for the picture sweetie. Aunt Rissa will love it."

Ellie grinned as she blew a stray curl from her face and hopped onto the sofa. "Cool. Mommy, can I watch Bambi now?"

Stephanie nodded her head as she removed Jake's gloves and hat. "Just for a little while though. It will soon be time for dinner."

"Okay Mommy." Ellie sighed as she picked up the remote control and switched on the movie. Stephanie smiled in amusement as she sat her son down on the floor. He soon sped off, crawling in Ellie's direction.

"Is there still no sign of him walking yet?" asked Shane.

She shook her head. "He's not interested. Not yet, anyway." She stood up and pushed up the sleeves of her jumper. "I'm going to make a coffee. Do you want one?"

Shane nodded his head and followed her through to the kitchen. On his way there he smiled as he noticed that Jake was sitting in front of the television mesmerised by the movie.

"So thanks for coming tonight. It meant a lot to Ellie."

"It was no problem, sis. I'm just glad I could help." He pulled out a chair from the table and sat down. "So, is Paul back on Wednesday?"

Stephanie nodded. "He said he'd try and make it tomorrow night though if he could. He likes to be home when the kids wake up."

Just then the phone rang and Stephanie placed the mugs on the counter before walking across to pick up.

"Hello?"

There was nothing but silence at the other end and her brow crinkled curiously.

"Hello? Is there anyone there?"

"Paul Levesque, please."

"I'm sorry he's not home. Can I take a message?"

Just then the caller hung up abruptly. Stephanie frowned as she replaced the hand set. "Strange."

Shane raised his brow. "Why? What happened?"

"They hung up." She shrugged and poured out the coffee handing over the mug to Shane. He followed her back through to the living room and smiled when he saw that Ellie was now sitting next to Jake on the floor as they watched the television. Her small hand held his as they rested on her lap.

"So what time is Rissa's appointment tomorrow?"

Shane smiled as he swallowed his drink. "Eleven o'clock."

"You know I can't believe I'm getting another niece or nephew. It's so exciting and about time too by the way."

Shane chuckled. "Well maybe I might want another niece or nephew to spoil. After all, Jake will be one next week. It's almost time for another little Levesque don't you think?."

Stephanie smiled as she wrapped her hands around her mug and the heat of the drink began to warm her slightly chilled fingers. "I got to admit I would like at least another one or two. I mean when your kids are so beautiful and perfect like ours, it would be completely wrong not to make another one just like it." she grinned.

Shane nudged her playfully. "Well then, what's stopping you?"

"Probably the fact that the pain from Jake's labour is still too fresh in my mind. It lasted twenty hours Shane. It was brutal." Stephanie chuckled as she took a sip of the hot drink. "You are bringing Declan to Jake's party on Sunday, aren't you?"

Shane nodded. "Yep. We're going to come with Mom and Dad." He put his mug on the table and looked at his watch. "Speaking of Declan, I'd better pick him up from his friend's house. I said I'd be there by eight and it's nearly that now." He stood up and grabbed his coat from the back of the sofa. Stephanie got up ruffling his hair affectionately.

"Thanks again for coming with us bro."

Shane pulled her into a hug. "You're welcome." He raised his hand as he walked towards the door. "Bye Ellie. Bye Jake."

Stephanie rolled her eyes at the silent response although she wasn't surprised. When it came to a Disney movie, her kids were in a world of their own, especially Ellie. Paul liked to joke that she was just like her mother enthralled by fairytales and happy ever afters. Well she got her happily ever after the day she walked down the aisle and married the man of her dreams and hopefully Ellie would just be as fortunate when she grew up and fell in love. That's if Paul even let her out the house to find anyone. He'd threatened to lock her in the attic from the second she turned thirteen. Apparently teenage boys were only after one thing and they weren't getting it from his daughter.

"I'll see ya Steph."

"See ya Shane." she smiled and opened the door. Stephanie immediately let out a surprised gasp as she became aware of the man standing on the other side and it took a second for her to compose herself and acknowledge him.

"Mark. I wasn't expecting you. Did you knock?"

"I just got here." he explained as he stuffed his hands in his jeans pockets shuffling his feet on the step.

Shane smiled at the two of them completely oblivious to the tense situation that existed between them. "Hey Mark. Listen Steph, I'm going to make tracks. I'll call you tomorrow and let you know how we get on."

"Okay."

Stephanie lifted her hand in a wave and watched her brother walk to the car before nervously looking over at Mark. This was the first time she had seen or heard from him since Paul had visited him a couple of weeks ago and to say she felt a little uncomfortable was an understatement. Paul had said very little about their conversation other than Mark had got the message to leave her alone. Quite clearly he hadn't though. Clearing her throat, Stephanie leant against the wooden door frame and crossed her arms over her chest. "So what brings you here, Mark?" she asked.

"I just wondered if we could talk. I don't know." he sighed lifting his shoulder in a shrug. "I just wanted to try and clear the air a little bit I guess."

Stephanie nodded as she chewed on her lip thoughtfully. She knew she should really have no decision to make here. She should be telling him no, they couldn't talk. After all, she knew how Paul felt about the whole situation and he would be extremely upset if he knew she was even talking to Mark. But at the same time she felt terribly guilty. Mark had been through so much lately and she had just abandoned their friendship without an explanation from her and it was probably the least he deserved. They had been close once upon a time and she could give him a few minutes to talk. What harm could it do especially when Paul wasn't home? What he didn't know wouldn't hurt him surely. Besides she just didn't have the heart to turn the guy away. Her sympathy for him over rode everything else including the voice in her head that told her not to do this. Stephanie stepped aside and motioned for him to come in.

"Ellie honey, I'm just going to talk to Mark in the kitchen. Will you keep an eye on Jake?" she asked as they walked through the living room.

Ellie nodded and smiled at her brother who was still sitting beside her, totally enthralled with the movie. Stephanie let out a calming breath as she made her way into the kitchen and gestured for Mark to sit down at the table as she took the chair across from him. For some reason she felt somewhat anxious in his presence. It was probably the knowledge she was betraying Paul in some way by having Mark here in their home. But it would be the last time. After tonight, she was going to make sure he got the message to stay away loud and clear. Their friendship was over. It had to be for the sake of her marriage and her family. She had no other choice. They were her sole priority.

"So how are things?" she asked him softly, still feeling some empathy towards Mark for his current situation. She could see how badly it was affecting him. He had lost a considerable amount of weight and his usually handsome face was drawn and gaunt. Dark circles encompassed his eyes making him look tired and weary. It was clear he wasn't sleeping or eating for that matter.

"Okay I guess." Mark replied. "I'm getting by. Although we miss you. Chloe and I."

"Mark." Stephanie frowned.

"I'm sorry. And I guess that's why I've come here tonight. To tell how sorry I am. I never meant to cause any trouble between you and Paul."

Stephanie shook her head correcting him. "There's no trouble. Everything is fine between us. Really."

"Then I'm glad. I would hate to think I jeopardised things with that kiss. Paul did seem pretty upset about it."

She sighed and tucking a lock of hair behind her ear, Stephanie sat back in the chair. Her blue eyes flashed with her irritation. "Can you blame him? Another man did kiss his wife." She paused for a second before looking directly at him and narrowing her brow. "Although I understand you tried to tell him differently."

Mark's face twisted with his confusion. "What do you mean, Stephie?"

"You told Paul that I kissed you. Why did you do that?"

Mark shook his head profusely. "Stephanie, I never said any such thing. All I did was apologise to Paul for kissing you and explained it was a mistake. That was when he told me to stay away from you and then he of course threatened me."

"Paul threatened you?" Stephanie asked, her eyes going wide.

Mark looked at her tentatively for a moment before he replied. "Actually he practically had me by the throat. I'm sorry. I thought you knew."

Stephanie slowly shook her head not sure how she felt about that. She had no clue what had transpired between Mark and her husband. While part of her refused to believe Paul would be violent to Mark in any way, the other part of her knew how angry her husband had been when he had left the house that day. In fact Paul had been absolutely furious and maybe that fury had clouded his judgement somewhat. He knew how she felt about him confronting Mark and it would explain why he had been incredibly sketchy about the details of their conversation. However he hadn't been sketchy about the kiss. Paul had gone into great detail about that part and told her how Mark had blamed her for the whole thing. It had made her angry by all accounts that Mark could twist the truth that way although according to him that wasn't the case at all. He hadn't said any such thing and that conversation had never taken place. But why would Paul lie to her? What the hell was going on?

"Well, I'm sure he had his reasons for not telling you." Mark said interrupting her thoughts.

Stephanie offered him a tight smile and nodded her head. She just wondered what those reasons were because Paul wasn't in the habit of keeping things from her. He was also the most honest guy she knew and she trusted his integrity. She trusted her husband and that's why she refused to doubt him for one more second despite what Mark was obviously telling her.

"Look, all I can say is that while I don't agree with Paul threatening you, he must have felt justified in his actions to do so. My husband isn't in the habit of lashing out at people without good cause."

Mark's face flushed with his anger as he pushed back his chair and stood up. "Look Stephanie, I only came here to find out what was going on between us. I've told you my side of the story and if you don't choose to believe me then fine. It's no skin off my nose. I've got enough on my plate at the moment."

Stephanie immediately felt guilty as she watched Mark turn around to walk out. He had been through a lot and this crap was the last thing he needed. What did it really matter who kissed who? At the end of the day the kiss was over and done with. Arguing over who had initiated it wasn't going to change anything. Besides, it meant nothing at the time and it meant even less now in the grand scheme of things. Standing up and stepping back from the table, Stephanie called out to Mark. "Wait. Please don't go."

She sighed and brushed her hair behind her ears as she approached him, her cautious smile hovering on her lips.

"Look, I'm sorry if you think I don't believe you. It's just that Paul has never lied to me before and I don't see why he would start now."

"Well I do."

Stephanie's mouth parted in surprise. "And what do you mean by that?"

Mark sighed as he rubbed his chin. "Look Stephanie, it doesn't take Einstein to figure out that the guy hates my guts."

He held up his hand as he saw Stephanie about to protest and silenced her.

"Please don't waste your time denying it. Your husband has hated me from the moment he laid eyes on me. For some reason, he sees me as a threat and he can't handle it. He's jealous, Steph. It's as simple as that."

Stephanie sighed heavily in frustration. "That's not true. He's got nothing to be jealous about. We're just friends."

"No Steph. We were friends until Paul decided otherwise." Mark stated shaking his head as he ran his fingers through his short, dark hair. "I bet he has some ridiculous notion that I'm after you for myself."

He smiled knowingly as Stephanie's gaze shifted to the floor.

"I'm right, aren't I? Paul thinks I want you."

Stephanie said nothing as she avoided his gaze.

"So because of his petty jealousy and insecurity, you're going to let him dictate who your friends are now."

She lifted her head and shook it vehemently. "No. Paul's not like that. He never has been."

"Well I'm sorry Steph but it sure as hell looks that way from where I'm standing."

Mark shuffled his feet against the tiled floor and sighed.

"Look, I need to get home. My mom is looking after Chloe for me and I promised I wouldn't be long. Just think about what I've said, Stephanie. If you need to talk, you know where I am."

Stephanie watched him leave staring at the door in confusion as it clicked shut behind him. She wasn't sure what the purpose of that conversation had been other than to leave her feeling stunned and somewhat bewildered about it. Mark had obviously been trying to ruffle her feathers and he had succeeded. But why do that? Why on earth would he try to cause tension between her and Paul? Unless Paul was right and Mark wanted more than friendship from her. They did have a history together and Mark had cared for her a lot so much so he had told her she had broken his heart when she had ended their relationship. But that was then. It had been almost twenty years since they had dated and any feelings Mark may or may not have had for her were long gone. Or at least she thought they were right up until the point where he had kissed her and of course there was the whole missing wife thing and the fact that apparently she looked alarmingly like her.

"Mommy, Daddy's on the phone."

Ellie's voice lifted her from her haze. Stephanie spun on her heel and made her way out into the living room and she couldn't help but smile at the grin on her daughter's face as she talked to Paul. When he was gone, Ellie lived for his phone calls and she had to admit she did too. Just hearing the sound of her husband's voice eased her longing for him for at least a little while.

"I love you too Daddy." Ellie said as her delicate finger lifted to scratch at her nose. "I'd let you talk to Jakey but he's fallen asleep on the floor. He was watching Bambi with me while Mommy talked to Mark."

Stephanie briefly closed her eyes and silently cursed under her breath. She had a funny feeling this telephone conversation was about to get incredibly difficult. Not that she had anything to hide. But if that was the case, why did she feel just that little bit guilty about letting Mark into their home in the first place.

"Here's Mommy. Bye Daddy."

Stephanie's eyes fluttered open just in time to see Ellie smile and hand the phone to her.

"It's Daddy."

"I know sweetheart." she smiled as she ruffled her hair. "Listen could you do Mommy a favour and run upstairs and fetch Jake's pyjamas for me?"

"Okay."

"Good girl."

Stephanie let out a slow breath as she placed the receiver to her ear. "Hey."

"Hey." Paul replied and he exhaled, his breath echoing heavily down the line. "So Mark's there, huh?"

"No. He just left actually." she told him.

"Well maybe you like to tell me what the fuck he was doing in our house?"

Stephanie sighed as she turned around and walked back into the kitchen hearing the familiar sound of Ellie's footsteps on the staircase as she ran up to the bedroom. "Look Paul, he came to apologise and then he left. End of story."

"I hope you told him to stick his apology up his ass."

"Not quite. See I didn't have time." she told him deciding if Paul could give her a hard time over this then the least she could do was return the favour. "Mark was too busy telling me the day you went to see him that you practically had him by throat."

"I did not."

"So what are you saying? Mark's lying to me?" Stephanie asked.

There was a beat before Paul's sigh crackled down the receiver.

"Well…..no. Not exactly." he replied.

"Then what is it Paul? What happened?" Stephanie asked as she pulled out the stool and sat at the counter.

"Look, I grabbed him by the shirt, okay? And I'll admit I was tempted to thump him one too until Jane walked in. But nothing happened, Steph. I didn't touch the guy I promise you."

"So why didn't you just tell me that when you came home that day?"

"Because."

"Because what?" Stephanie asked, prompting him and she couldn't help the small smile that crossed her face as she did so. Paul's response reminded her of their daughter and now she could see where Ellie got it from.

"Because I wasn't exactly proud of myself, okay?" Paul told her and Stephanie's blue eyes sparkled with her sympathy for her husband.

"I know what the guys been through lately and I shouldn't have lashed out at him. But he made me so angry Steph and the way he was talking trash about you? I wanted to punch his lights out. He practically told me you were begging for it that night and that it was all my fault because you were lonely and I was away so much. I guess him saying that hit a nerve. I mean fuck. I feel guilty enough leaving you guys without someone else throwing it back in my face."

Stephanie rolled her lips together as everything started to fall into place. Paul had threatened Mark because Mark had provoked him and she could understand why. If anyone so much as said a bad word against Paul she was seething. It was a natural instinct to defend the person you love especially when that person was your world. Then of course there was the way Mark had taunted him about his absence. No one felt more guilty than Paul did every single time he walked out the door leaving his wife and his children behind. She suddenly felt terribly guilty too for even listening to Mark or questioning her husband's motives. She knew Paul and he had never given her any reason to doubt him before. Mark's crap about jealousy was just that. Crap.

"Look Paul, I'm sorry." she told him. "I should never have listened to him. The next time Mark shows up, I'll put him straight."

"Next time? How about next time he calls you tell him he'd better have health insurance."

"Paul." Stephanie warned hearing the menacing tone in her husband's voice.

"Okay, I'm sorry. Can we just change the subject?"

"Gladly." she gratefully smiled. "So, have you talked to Daddy yet?"

"Maybe."

"Paul!" Stephanie whined at his teasing.

"What?" he chuckled.

"Dad. Have you talked to him?" she asked eagerly.

"I have and he actually agreed I should be spending more time at home. We decided I can cut down on house shows and appearances. I just have to wait a month or so until they can come up with a storyline where I drop the title."

"And are you okay with that? Losing the title I mean." Stephanie asked him knowing there was no-one who carried the belt as proudly as Paul did. Being the champion meant everything to him because it meant he was the best. And he was the best in her eyes and practically everyone else's in the company. Somehow it felt unfair to take that away from him despite knowing that compared to his family, the title was practically insignificant.

"I am. Steph, you guys are more important than any belt and you all mean the world to me."

Stephanie grinned. "Well, we happen to be pretty fond of you too Levesque."

"Good. Listen babe, I gotta go. We're heading to the arena. Take care and I'll call you after the show."

"You'd better. I love you."

"I love you too Steph. And now I've really gotta go because Shawn is threatening to leave without me. I'll talk to you tonight."

"Okay. Bye." Stephanie smiled as she heard the click of the phone at the other end and she let out a contented sigh knowing the call had gone way better than expected. Paul had explained everything and in turn put her straight about Mark. She actually couldn't believe the audacity of the guy to come over here in the first place. He had to be seriously deluded to even think she would believe his lies over her own husband.

Pushing back her stool, Stephanie firmly made up her mind. She needed to stay away from Mark. That much was obvious just like it was obvious he was out to cause trouble. God knows his reasons why but whatever they were, she was better off staying away from him. The last thing she wanted or needed was Mark causing problems between her and Paul. God knows Mark had caused enough arguments lately to last her a lifetime. The next time she saw him, she was going to put him straight and hopefully he'd get the message this time. He needed to stay away from her and her family. He had to and in the meantime she would just try to ignore that part of her that had sympathy for his situation and for Mark. It was horrible what he had been through but he just wasn't her problem any more. She refused to feel guilty about it.