Chapter 17

When there was a lull, Steve returned looking contrite. "Look, Geneva, I don't know where it happened, but there was a misunderstandin' somewhere." He said before she could start yelling at him. "I don't know WHAT happened last night and I don't wanna know. Hell, I don't even know why YOU'RE pissed with ME." It bugged the hell out of him that she blew him off for...Taker.

"You BROKE into my hotel room last night while I was sleeping and STOLE my panties! And you wonder WHY I'm pissed at you?!" She sounded incredulous, cleaning the sink and scrubbing it furiously, her eyes lit on fire. "I'm sorry I didn't go out with you last night Steve, but Jesus Christ, this is A LOT to take in and I wasn't necessarily prepared for it. I wasn't prepared to watch your skull get hammered with a chair last night and I wasn't prepared to stitch you up. I hate it when you get hurt, okay? I HATE IT." It was almost as bad as watching Uncle Mick taking bumps in the ring.

Steve was so shocked at her outburst about hating him getting hurt that he was stunned into momentary silence. "Honey, it's part of the job." He said gently, moving to reassure her with a pat on the back, blinking. "Wait- what the fuck are ya talkin' about woman? Break into your hotel room? Are you shittin' me?"

"You had my panties in your hand when I got here. How could it not be you when you have the evidence?" Geneva demanded in a softer tone, not wanting to make a scene for other Superstars to watch. "When I woke up this morning, there was a black rose sitting on my nightstand..." She admitted, averting her gaze to the floor, feeling her cheeks turn a deep crimson red. "I didn't realize you knew what my favorite flower was."

Steve's bald head flushed dark red, his eyebrows shooting down as his eyes narrowed angrily. "I'd say you're welcome, but I'm not the one who left it." He said tensely. "I only had yer panties because I TOOK them from Taker." He folded his arms over his chest, staring down at her. "So I'm guessin' he was the one in your room."

Feeling her eyes widen to the size of potatoes, Geneva's mouth went dry as a desert. She dropped the towel that was in her hand, staring back at him in astonishment. "Oh god..." She felt like throwing up, feeling dizzy and walked over to sit on the examination table, putting her head in her hands. "No way, there's NO WAY he could've...he...did you break his hand earlier?" When Steve shook his head, Geneva groaned and closed her eyes tightly shut. What the hell was going on with Taker?! "He came in here with a broken hand when I got here and I had to tape it up for him. He said you did it."

"Hell, I WISH I'd done it." Steve growled, slamming a fist into the palm of his hand. "I'd of broken his hand, his arm, his neck..." He trailed off, grunting out an apology. "More than likely he had one of his followers do it or did it himself. Sick bastard...I'll handle this, Doc. I'll make sure that bastard doesn't bother you anymore, alright honey?"

"Steve, just let it go. You have enough problems with him as it is. I'll just pretend like it never happened. I'm sorry for accusing you for something you didn't do."

Even though Taker had possibly broken into her hotel room, there was no proof and she didn't want anything happening to him. She still loved him. Geneva slowly looked up at him and cracked a small smile, patting his hand gently. Hoping Steve listened to her, she didn't want anything happening to him either, though her feelings didn't run nearly as deep as they did for Taker.

"At least I know how slick he is and I won't be falling for anymore of his tricks." She was trying to convince herself by saying that.

"Doc, if you act like it never happened, he'll keep it up." Steve cautioned in a low voice. "He's gotta know your off-limits or he'll play games with you until you go nuts." He wondered if working for the WWF wasn't going to do that to her anyway. When he heard his name being shouted, he sighed. "Shit, I gotta promo to cut. I'll see you later?"

"Sure." The last thing she wanted was to be driven crazy, but even if Taker didn't seek her out, their past did it anyway.

The rest of the night went fairly smooth with just a few broken noses, busted ribs Geneva had to tape up and send to the hospital for x-rays, a busted nose and two dislocated shoulders. Finally deciding a break was in order, Geneva opted for outside, making sure to have her pass clipped to her jeans. The crisp night air hit her face as she inhaled it, closing her eyes as Geneva leaned against the building, just needing a few moments of tranquility.

"Where the hell is the damn doctor?" Roared an official some time later. "Find her damn it! Taker, can ya hear me? Taker?" A crowd formed around the Phenom, who lay curled in the fetal position, coughing copious amounts of blood with a crowbar lay a foot away from him. "Shit...Taker, come on man. Who the hell did it?"

"He was arguing with Austin right before it happened." One of the crew spoke up nervously, wringing his hands.

Hearing the commotion, Geneva rushed to the scene, having been in the office stitching up Matt Hardy, blue eyes widening at what she saw. Either this man was SERIOUSLY demented or she knew Steve really did a number on him. Sliding to her knees in front of him, Geneva had to fight back emotions at how bad Taker looked, shoving everyone away to do a quick examination.

"Christ, move!" She ordered, taking the flashlight out and checked his pupils, swallowing hard. "They're glassy and dilated. Call an ambulance STAT!" Geneva ordered in a shout, checking for a pulse while they did what she said, and checked his heartbeat before his lower abdomen, feeling the rigidness. "Shit...He had abdominal bleeding and possibly some broken ribs." Standing up when the ambulance arrived, Geneva watched as the EMT's put him on a gurney, strapping him down. "I'm going with him. He has a broken hand too. He's my patient, ask Larry for help!" She ignored the argument people gave her, not caring about anything else at the moment and slammed the doors shut with authority. The EMT put a breathing mask over Taker's mouth as Geneva leaned down, tears shining in her eyes. "Shhh you need to calm down Taker, you need to slow your heart rate down before you go into shock..."

If he heard her, there was no telling because blood suddenly filled the breathing mask, his eyes rolling into the back of his head. His back arched before he fell limp, head lolling to the side. Geneva's eyes widened as she took the mask from his mouth, watching helplessly as the EMT began CPR instantly. When they arrived at the hospital, Taker was taken to the back of the emergency room while Geneva was forced to wait in the lobby. It didn't matter if she had a medical degree, all her job consisted of was being an on-road physician for the wrestlers and Divas. Pacing back and forth, Geneva felt like she would break completely down, sending countless prayers above Taker made it through this.

"Please don't take him away from me…" She whispered, tears spilling down her cheeks and dropped down into a chair, burying her fingers in her hair.

Shane McMahon appeared in the lobby a few minutes later, looking completely frantic. "Geneva, where's Taker?" He demanded, rushing over to her with wide eyes and couldn't believe she was…was she crying?

"H-He's in the pit…The ER…" She corrected, stammering a little with a shaky voice and kept her eyes firmly on her hands. "I-I don't know his condition yet…"

Shane heard from one of the crew members how Geneva acted while treating Taker, deciding to overlook it. She was worried, it was understandable. Now if he knew their past, he would've had a different outlook on things, but he didn't. Walking over, Shane sat down beside her and took her hand in his, trying to give her some kind of comfort.

"He'll be okay." He hoped, not believing this happened. "Just let the doctors do their job. I need you to go back to the arena and file a report with the police regarding Taker's injuries. You're the only one who treated him before he was brought here."

"What?" Geneva looked up at him dubiously. "No, I can't…"

"Geneva, please. Steve's been arrested, there was a witness who placed him at the scene of the crime. Please, I need you to do this. I'll stay here and keep watch on him. You can come right back here." He pleaded, squeezing her hand and could feel how badly she was trembling, wondering what this was really about.

"Damn it Shane, he's my patient! I can't leave him!" Geneva shouted in frustration, her doctor instincts kicking in, and sighed heavily when he gave her a stern look as more tears spilled down her cheeks. "Fine." She stormed out of the hospital and slid in the waiting limousine, heading back to the arena where the police were waiting for her. "Don't you dare die on me, Taker."

After giving her statement, which was pretty pointless and telling them the extent of Taker's injuries, Geneva was finally released her from the police station. Could Steve really have done this? There was no way Taker could've done that to himself unless he didn't have a care in the world about his own wellbeing? The man needed serious help if he did, though Geneva doubted he nearly maimed himself, deciding to head back to the hospital to check on Taker.

Shane had left, after hearing Taker was in stable condition after surgery and told them about Geneva returning. It was way past visiting hours, but luckily Shane convinced the doctor working on Taker to let her stay with him. Something told him she wouldn't have it any other way. So when Geneva stepped into Taker's hospital room, Doctor Smith was busy taking Taker's vitals, nodding once at her.

"He's doing fine." He whispered, checking the dressing on the incision from the surgery. "He'll come around in an hour or so, if you need to talk to him. Did they find out who did this?" He asked softly, handing her the clipboard with Taker's information on it.

"Yeah, they did. He's downtown right now for questioning." Geneva answered while her eyes scanned his chart and looked back at him, shaking her head sadly. Her heart ached with pain at the sight of him. Nobody deserved the beating he took and Geneva suddenly felt drained, refusing to leave Taker's side. Steve took this feud too far and nearly killed Taker. "Thank you for being cooperative with me, Doctor Smith. It's very much appreciated. I got it from here. Go on and rest. You look exhausted. I'll have you paged if anything happens."

She guided him out of the door and closed it, shutting the blinds of the window. Then Geneva sat in the chair beside the bed, her eyebrows drawn together. At least he was extubated and breathing on his own. Geneva would never get the image of the breathing mask covering Taker's mouth filling with his own blood out of her mind as long as she lived, fresh tears forming.

"Son of a bitch." Taker groaned, not even bothering to open his eyes. From the way he moved, it was plain that he could tell he was in a hospital room. He tried to sit up and grunted, feeling his stomach. "What happened?" He demanded flatly, green orbs opening and instantly focusing on Geneva, his face still pale.

"You were brutally attacked with a crowbar at the arena." She softly replied, standing up, gently pushing him back on the bed. "Taker, you can't move. You had to have emergency surgery for internal bleeding the beating caused. You nearly bled to death." Geneva whispered that last part, staring back into his green eyes, worry evident in her own.

He was alive. Geneva thought for a second she would never look into his eyes again like this. Pulling herself away, she proceeded to check his vitals and IV bag, making sure the incision wasn't infected. There was always a chance that happened, no matter how great the dressing and Geneva refused to take any chances with this particular man.

"You're going to need to take a few weeks off from the ring to heal properly." She informed him, knowing he wouldn't like the sound of that, hoping he wouldn't fight her on it.

"Go figure." Taker snorted, eyes narrowing angrily. "Why are YOU here?" He asked then, distracting himself obviously from the unpleasant thought of being benched. "I was under the impression you didn't care much for me. Something to do with me supposedly stealing your..." He made a face. "Undergarments."

Did he really just ask her that asinine question? Geneva bit her tongue to keep from saying something mean, waving him off dismissively. "That's not important. I'm not concerned with that right now. You are my patient and my #1 priority. I never said I didn't care much for you." She actually loved him. "I don't know what's going on between you and Steve, but it needs to stop before you end up killing each other."

Sighing heavily, Geneva stifled a yawn and sat back down in the chair, feeling like she could drop at any given second. Taker nodded as he considered her words. Not blind by any means and very observant, he could tell Geneva was scared to death for him. He could see relief shining through her ocean blues and wanted to reach up to touch her, but knew now wasn't the time or place. They would have their moment, once he was out of this hellhole. He remained silent for a long time after, his eyes shut. It almost appeared as if he had fallen back asleep before he looked at her again.

"When I'm...shelved," The word sounded painful in his mouth. "I would like you to be my private at home physician, if you could?"

Geneva cracked a small smile, not questioning if he was joking with her because Taker looked completely serious, and gave his hand a gentle squeeze. "Of course, on one condition?" When his eyebrow slowly rose, Geneva reached her hand up from his hand to stroke his face tenderly, willing to go anywhere with him at this point. "I'm calling you Mark from now on." Remembering their first night together, Geneva hadn't forgotten his request to call him by his birth name.

The memory filtered through his mind as Taker nodded stiffly. "If it is your wish to call me that...you may." He said finally, adjusting a pillow behind him and watched her until his eyelids closed, falling into a deep sleep.