24: Moo Moos

"No, no, no, no, no, NO, NO, NO, NO!" It was a mantra Sine was now screaming, throwing everything in sight, smashing the bathroom mirror as she began destroying the room. She could hear the twins playing in the living room, and Mark's rapidly advancing footsteps.

Two months, two months back and she was pregnant again. There was no doubt who the father was. She knew the signs. She was never late when it came to her period, and she was late. She was constantly nauseous, backaches, tired, and when she was late, she had finally used one of the pregnancy tests Mark had bought her as a cruel reminder of his next goal. "Son of a bitch!"

Mark pushed open the bathroom door and caught her by the arms when she flew at him, spotting the stick on the counter. He immediately knew what was going on and began laughing, dragging her back into their bedroom. "Mmmm…" He murmured, splaying a hand against her stomach. "This one will know me."

Sine deflated, tilting her head back to scowl up at him, eyes narrowed. "I hate you." She said darkly, baring her teeth when he just chuckled at her. The twins weren't even three years old but she was going to have another. There was no way she'd be able to leave him now, never. The helplessness of her situation was overwhelming and she slumped against him, beginning to cry.

"Sshhh…" He murmured soothingly, gathering her into his arms in order to carry her to the bed, gently laying her down. She was pregnant, well… that just meant he'd have to be a bit more gentle with her. It seemed his wife was rather fertile, which brought a wicked smirk to his thin lips.

Another baby, maybe even another set of twins. That would be perfect, a house full of rugrats. Mark would never let her go, and he was going to kill anyone that tried to take her from him again. He lay down beside her, gathering her in arms and smiled when the twins came into the room, climbing into the bed with them.

Perfect.

"Please, please stop." Sine whispered later that night, not in the mood for Mark's love making, even though he was being gentle with her. Surprisingly they had had a good day, as good as it got anyway. The twins behaved and Kalea was turning back into a daddy's girl. She placed her hands on his broad shoulders, staring up at him pleadingly. "Not tonight, Mark, please."

He stopped, looking up into her eyes and frowned slightly. "I'm bein' gentle, Sine." He whispered, ignoring the way her grip tightened on his shoulders and kissed her. When he moved his lips down her throat, he stopped again, both feeling and hearing her beginning to cry. Growling, he pushed himself away from her and rolled off the bed. "Goddamn it!" He cursed, storming out of the room, slamming the door shut behind him.

Why was he gentle with her when she didn't even appreciate it? The fucking whore!

Sine was out of the bed and into the bathroom as soon as the door had closed behind him. She made it to the toilet just in time, hurling everything she had eaten that day, which wasn't much to begin with. When she had finished, she just leaned back against the tub, drawing her knees to her chest.

How had her life come to this?

"If it's twins, you'll wake up with a knife in your throat." Sine said as sweetly as possible, six months pregnant now. They were on their way to her OB appointment for an ultrasound, something they hadn't had with the twins.

Today, the twins were being carted by Mark. They were just thrilled at being outside and off the ranch. Truthfully, so was she. These monthly appointments were the only time she was allowed out of the house.

Less than an hour after her threat, she was breathing a sigh of relief.

"Well, it's only one baby." The doctor informed them, studying the monitor with a slight smile. "Everything looks good, very healthy. Do you want to know the gender?"

"Yes." Mark answered before she could. When it was announced they were having a boy, he couldn't stop the gleeful hoot that escaped his lips.

Sine groaned, not as pleased as he was. Just what she needed, another Mark running around.

"Of course, we can put you on a stronger birth control after this one." The doctor said gently, seeing Sine's expression. When he spotted Mark shaking his head no, he hesitated. "No? How many do you want?"

"Doesn't matter. She doesn't want birth control at all." Mark said flatly, ignoring the disbelieving expression his wife was now wearing and folded his arms over his chest. If she so much as uttered a single word, he'd have to punish her and he'd find a creative, non-threatening to the baby way to do it.

"Very well."

Sine waited until they were in the car before saying anything. She turned in her seat to look at the gabbing twins, wondering how on earth she was going to manage three kids. More if he obviously had his way, no birth control indeed! "You going to quit wrestling?" She demanded, shooting him the nastiest look she could muster. He probably would too, just because if he wasn't around, she might very well disappear again.

"I'm retiring, darlin'." He spared her a quick glance, one hand stroking his chin thoughtfully. "I think it's time for me to stay home with my family." He reached over to take her hand.

"Oh joy and rapture, I can hardly wait." She said sarcastically, trying to pull her hand from his only to find him squeezing harder. Smiling, she brought his hand to her mouth and bit down as hard as she could, drawing blood.

Mark simply pulled back and licked at the blood.

"Freak…"

"Mom, look!" Gavin shouted, mercifully interrupting and pointing out the window. "Moo moos!"

Kalea squirmed in her booster seat to look. "Moo moos!"

"Moo moos." She echoed.