19: Any Other Way

When Jesse had recovered, he asked the question that had been on his mind for a while. The conversation had tapered off, everyone quiet as Billy drove, and the only thing he had to occupy himself was his own thoughts. "Those twins are 'Taker's, what happens if he goes to court and gets her for kidnap or something?"

Everyone looked at him, even Billy via the rearview mirror.

Sine frowned thoughtfully, regarding him as she chewed on her bottom lip. "I'll go to France with them. He'd have to go to the Embassy then."

"Uh, why France?" Gingerly, he began pulling himself into an upright position.

"I was born in France. My mother was French, my father an American. I have dual citizenship." She explained, wondering if people honestly thought her last name was an American name. Well, her former last name…

"And given your… fame status," Stephanie said slowly, considering it. "He would have a serious fight on his hands, and it would be all over the news, that could work…"

"Do you have passports for the twins?" Shane asked, frowning when she shook her head. "Birth certificates? Anything?"

"Mark has them all. I don't even have my ID anymore."

"Scratch leaving the country." Sean sighed, wincing when Jesse finally hit him, cursing when he got it a second time. "I said I was sorry!"

~!~

Sine had to wonder how everyone was going to fit in Paul's rather small house. Three bedrooms, one bath, and a large group of people, it wasn't going to work. She didn't imagine they would stay for long, after all, the wrestlers had work to get back too. She knew Paul and Stephanie were in some storyline were they were supposedly married, Shane sometimes a part of that line. From what Jesse said, they all were a giant, onscreen group.

Whatever. She hated wrestling.

"It's temporary." Stephanie said, coming up behind Sine, peering into the room she had placed the twins in. "Just until-"

"He finds me again." Sine whispered, frowning slightly when she felt the younger woman's hand on her shoulder. Turning, she stared down into Stephanie's pale face, remembering the first time she had ever laid eyes on the McMahon Princess. So much had changed in her life since meeting Stephanie, since becoming involved in that damn fiasco… she couldn't help but wonder if their roles would be reversed if she had never gotten involved.

From the way Stephanie was eyeing her, it was clear she was thinking along the same lines.

~!~

"I'm staying with her."

Overall, neither Shane nor Stephanie were surprised with Paul's announcement. His three, less intelligent, buddies were looking at him like he had lost his mind. The six were seated around the small table, thighs were touching, that was how cramped it was. It had been three days since they arrived and so far, no one had come up with any brilliant ideas other than 'let's hide from 'Taker'.

That part seemed to be working. He hadn't shown up yet. That did nothing to keep any of them from jumping whenever the wind blew.

"Paul, man, if you disappear, it's going to raise a lotta questions." Jesse pointed out, frowning when Shane shot him a derisive look. "What?"

"The person it's going to raise questions for, already knows we have her, dimwit."

"So I'm staying."

"And what happens to the rest of you?"

All eyes turned to Sine, who had come out of the room she shared with the twins. She was leaning against the wall, arms folded over her chest.

"What do you mean?"

"He knew you all were coming, seen you, what will happen to you when you return to the road?"

Sean groaned, dropping his head on the table with a loud thud. "Oh, that's easy. We just die."

"Brutally." Jesse added in a croaked whisper.

Stephanie would admit it, she wanted to say screw it all and run like hell. The problem with that was it wouldn't solve anything. 'Taker had already demonstrated that he had serious resources at his disposal, and he would use them to hunt people down. He was probably already hunting them down… she was going to be ill.

~!~

"You're safe here Sine, you know that, right?" Paul asked softly, two days after everyone else had left. He had watched her, aware she wasn't sleeping and knew she was expecting her husband to come barreling through the door at any second.

Slowly, Sine turned to stare at him, doubt swirling in her eyes.

"You and the twins, you're safe." He repeated, gently pulling her into his arms.

She managed a watery smile, blinking away her tears. "You keep getting stuck in the middle of this, don't you, Paul?" She murmured, remembering that day in New York when she had caught him following her. It had just spiraled from there it seemed. Of course she didn't believe him on the safe bit, she knew her husband too well.

"You already know I don't mind, Sine." He said quietly, rubbing slow, soothing circles on the small of her back with his palm. It was hard to believe that he hadn't seen her in six months until the other night or how much the twins had grown in that time. "I missed you."

"I missed you too."

~!~

"Do you need help?" Paul asked, watching as Sine struggled, three days later, with the twins, one on either hip. He wasn't surprised when she shook her head no, nodding. "I'm going to fix lunch, I bet they're hungry." He studied them, inwardly noting how much they looked like the Undertaker.

She followed him out to the kitchen, listening as the twins jabbered. They were saying 'mama' now and she knew 'dada' would soon follow. Gavin and Kalea were both obviously missing the bastard, especially at night when they were tired and cranky. "Okay double trouble, maman is going to put you down now." She set them in the makeshift play area Paul had constructed, closing the gate to the kitchen afterwards and stepped over it. "Let me help, Paul."

"Nope, I got it." He flashed her a smile, deciding on hamburgers and began setting out what he wanted for them. When she simply sidled up to him and began helping, he rolled his eyes. The woman listened great.

But then again, he wouldn't have her any other way.