Chapter 19

"NEVA!"

Geneva bolted upright in bed, chestnut curls surrounding her haphazardly, giving it a wild look. She wore a pair of black cotton shorts with a red and black tank top, hearing Taker bellowing across the hallway. Ocean blue eyes widened as Geneva immediately threw the covers off, standing up and stubbed her toe on the nightstand.

"FUCK!" She hollered, her toe throbbing as she hobbled out the door and went to Taker's room, knocking once before entering, limping inside. "What's wrong?" Geneva demanded, trying not to sound pissed off, but her toe was throbbing and she'd barely gotten three hours of sleep.

Taker blinked, staring at her like she'd lost her mind, his eyes moving down to the foot she was favoring, awareness crossing his face. "Didn't realize I was bothering you." He said calmly. "I would've walked, but didn't feel like getting my head bit off." He currently stood before her, bare from the waist up off and jeans undone. "I want a shower, just have a slight problem..."

"Seriously? You called me in here in the middle of the damn night for a SHOWER?" Geneva blinked at him and held her hand up at him. "Okay sorry, that was rude. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be unprofessional. Damn it!" She gritted out as she hobbled over to him. "You're not bothering me. This is my job after all."

God why did he have to look so gorgeous, not to mention be half-naked, when she helped him? Geneva took a deep breath and pulled down the rest of his jeans, keeping her face and eyes to the floor. Sighing, Geneva had a feeling her toe was probably fractured since she hit the corner of it.

"Is there anything else you need, Mark?" She managed to grit out, trying like hell not to show pain, but it was hard.

"I'm nocturnal." He said apologetically, wondering just what her expression would be if she looked up.

He always went commando. Several unprofessional thoughts flew through his mind at the moment and Taker clasped his hands behind his back to keep from reaching for her hair. This position was just too tempting. His Neva did have the sweetest mouth, remembering one night back in 1997 where she'd actually given him head.

"Thank you, Neva." He murmured when she backed away, stepping out of the jeans. "I promise I won't bother you again for a while." Though he was giving serious thought to asking her to help him with the shower, not that he needed it.

It was just too much fun putting her in compromising situations.

"No, you bother me for anything, no matter how small of a task. I'm your physician and..." Geneva groaned when a sharp pain zipped through her toe and lowered her head, breathing heavily. "Don't hesitate to page me, Mark. I mean it because I would've yelled at you had you tried bending after a strenuous surgery such as that." She looked pointedly at his scar, still not believing Steve could be so cruel with his job. "Enjoy your shower and be careful." She warned, turning and hobbled out of the room, letting out a string of cuss words as soon as the door closed, finally letting her pain out.

Taker smiled, hearing her cussing outside the door and walked into his bathroom, leaving the door open. He turned on the hot water and stepped under the stream, adjusting it to the perfect temperature. Quickly releasing his long black hair, Taker tilted his head back and let the hot water work out the kinks in his shoulders. He groaned, tracing his hand over the stitches.

Geneva growled when she checked her toe, seeing it was black and blue, but not fractured. Thank god. That's all she needed was to be injured along with Taker. Sighing, Jaycee decided she wasn't going back to sleep and walked downstairs, or rather hobbled, looking at the pictures and decorations as she went.

A bachelor DEFINITELY lived here that was for sure. There was no light in his home, no life. It was dark and dreary, probably the way he liked it. It made Geneva miss Seattle more, fighting sudden tears. She made her decision and now she'd have to cope with it, looking up at the ceiling, wondering what she was supposed to do about her broken heart.

When Taker finished with his shower and had dried off, he realized his cell was ringing. Mildly curious as to who would be calling, he answered it.

"Got someone who would like to talk to you, boss." Mideon grunted, sounding like he was struggling with something.

"You sick sumbitch!"

Taker began roaring with laughter, knowing it was probably killing Steve that his beautiful doctor was with him alone – his Neva.

"Yer sick, you'd better not hurt her, you-" Steve was cut off when he was kicked in the ribs again. "Fuck!"

"Sweet dreams." Taker hung up, still laughing.

Frowning slightly when his stomach rumbled, Taker looked at the phone still in his hand. Nah, he'd venture down the stairs instead of paging. It was good to walk a little after a surgery like his, he knew that from experience. It would also help ease the tightness of the stitches. He considered getting back into his jeans, but shrugged, just wrapped the black towel more snugly around his waist and stepped out into the hallway.

Geneva was on the phone, trying to calm Lance down. "I'm fine, Lance, for the final time. No, I have to stay at one of the wrestler's home while he recovers from surgery. He got attacked by one of the other guys." She explained, cringing when Lance started yelling on the phone about her being in a dangerous situation. "Lance, he's my patient...I took a damn vow!" She yelled back, finally hanging up on him and tossed her phone on the table, putting her head in her hands.

Tears poured down her face as she covered it with her hands, sniffling silently and jumped when a wet nose collided with her arm. Geneva looked down at the Bull Mastiff and immediately started petting him, knowing he was trying to comfort her. She loved animals, smiling at how soft his fur was.

Grabbing her phone when it rang again, Geneva put it on silent, ignoring Lance's call. Sometimes he didn't know when to stop and crossed a line. She would call him in a few days and get an apology. Geneva sighed and turned around ready to go upstairs, only to bump into Taker, letting out an ear piercing scream that sent the dog running for the hills, eyes wide.

Taker grabbed her by the shoulders, arching an eyebrow. "It's just me, Geneva." He said calmly, watching Panic live up to his name and flee. "Damn coward dog." He muttered, stepping away and hitched the towel back up. "Didn't mean to startle you." He stepped around her and headed towards the kitchen, famished. "How's your foot?" He called over his shoulder, shaking his head when he seen Panic crouching under a kitchen chair.

"What are you doing out of bed?" Geneva demanded, ignoring his question for the moment, and tried getting her heart rate back to normal. "You should've paged me, Mark. You are to be on STRICT BEDREST for the next two weeks. Do you honestly think walking around is going to help you? I just bumped into you and you're acting like you're not in any pain." She immediately walked over to him, scowling. "Come on right now. Don't fight me on this. I will make you whatever you want, but you need to get your ass back upstairs in bed. You are to get up, use the bathroom and take a shower. That's it. No strenuous activity, no walking around. You're not superman, you don't heal overnight, whether you want to believe it or not."

"Let's just clarify a few things." Taker said suddenly, holding up his hand to stop her from talking. "You are obviously not used to being disobeyed, I am not used to obeying. This isn't my first surgery and will most likely not be my last, so I've been around the block. The pain is mildly annoying I'll grant you, but one: I'm not used to calling for help. Two: you appeared tired when I last saw you and I didn't want to wake you. You look like you need to sleep."

"You just don't understand." Geneva sighed heavily as she sat on the counter in front of him, her hands in her lap, and stared into his green eyes. "Mark, I was a second year intern at the University of Washington Medical Center. I BARELY got five hours of sleep on a 48 hour shift. I'm sleep deprived, but I've learned to deal with it. You are my patient, you are my number one priority. You are the only thing that matters to me right now until you are 100% and back on the road in the ring. I can't help you if you don't want to be helped, so you need to tell me if I'm just wasting my time by being here. But I'm telling you right now, you will NOT find a better physician than me, unless of course you don't want one. Then I will go back on the road with the WWF, leave you be and let you make your own decisions." She touched his shoulders, not backing down. "Think about it and let me know." She then hopped down off of the counter and walked out of the kitchen, having said her piece.

Taker leaned back against the counter, contemplating what she said. He did not want her going back on the road, not just yet. At the same time, he was having a hard time being treated like an invalid. Clenching his teeth, he snarled at the floor, knowing he'd brought this on himself. Taker would just have to suck it up. Finally, he pushed away from the counter and headed back upstairs, deciding he would let her rest before telling her his decision. Damn woman.

After getting a few more hours of sleep, Geneva finally got up around 6 and decided she was up for the day. She changed into a pair of blue jean shorts with an orange tank top and pulled her hair up into a ponytail, deciding to do some cleaning. Taker was still sleeping so she had some time to pass. She sighed and seen how dusty everything was, getting to work, smiling when all three dogs followed her around. Geneva didn't mind, enjoying their company, laughing when they licked at her legs and gave them each a treat before letting them outside. She wasn't hungry and wouldn't cook until Taker was.

He slept for half of the day, waking in the early afternoon. Taker glanced down at his stitches and shook his head, swinging his legs out of bed, groaning. Running a hand down his face, Taker slowly stood up, heading for the bathroom, his heavy footsteps shaking the ceiling fan on the floor below him. He splashed cold water on his face. He'd slept mostly well until he began having a dream that involved Geneva, his king sized bed and him not being injured.

"Damn." He grunted out roughly.

Geneva couldn't hear him due to having the radio on in the kitchen, making something to eat and wondered if Mark was up yet. She sighed heavily, knowing she probably shouldn't have been so hard on him earlier. The man wasn't used to being waited on and she had to understand that.

'I hope he tells me to get the fuck out so he doesn't have to deal with me anymore.' She thought sadly, only hurting herself the longer she stayed around Taker.

He had to take a cold shower, and when that failed, resorted to caring for the problem himself. When Taker managed to somehow pull on a pair of loose sweat pants and brushed his hair back, he opened his bedroom door and peered into the hallway. Something told him she was downstairs, but Taker decided to change calling out for her anyway.

"Neva?"

Geneva walked upstairs just as he stepped out of his room, smiling softly at him, holding a plate with a burger on it. "I hope you like it. I didn't know what else to make you and I knew soup was out of the question."

She smirked as he took the plate from her and cracked her neck, groaning softly. A sheen of sweat was on her arms, legs and forehead as she fanned herself with her hand, not believing how dirty this place was...and she wasn't done yet. She'd only gotten the kitchen, living room and den done, deciding to take a break for a few since it was nearing 8 at night.

"Do you need anything else, Mark?" She asked softly, seeing he was fresh out of a shower, and decided not to yell at him for trying to do things on his own. Geneva would have to learn to deal with it.

"No." Taker shook his head, staring at her curiously. "Just what are you doing to get so filthy?" He asked, reaching out with his free hand to swipe a long, pale finger down along her cheek. "You need a shower. Feel free to use mine. I know the guest room bathroom only has a…tub." If it could be called that, it was so small he wouldn't even be able to sit in it without poking his eyes out with his knees. Geneva, in his shower…What a delicious thought!

"You mean to tell me that this huge house has only one bathroom that construes as decent?" She questioned with a raised eyebrow, chuckling when he nodded and shrugged, peeling her tank top off, clad in an orange bra as she walked past him. "Thanks for the offer, Mark. Oh and just letting you know, I dusted and cleaned all of downstairs."

She winked at him, slipping into the bathroom and closed the door, locking it. Starting the shower, Geneva glanced around at all the black and white décor, shaking her head. She had to admit, it enticed her as she started the shower water and undressed fully before stepping in.

Taker blinked, groaning and set the plate down on his nightstand, no longer hungry for food. He crossed the room and placed his hand on the bathroom door, hearing her in there. Dragging his nails along the wood, Taker was not surprised that he left light gouges.

"Not professional, Neva." He murmured, retreating to sit on his bed, staring moodily at the door.

After a nice hot shower, Geneva stepped out and dried off with one of the fluffy black towels, wrapping her curly hair in another and redressed. Thoroughly towel-drying her hair, Geneva hung it on the rack and stared in the mirror, surprised the dark circles under her eyes were vanishing. She walked out and spotted Taker lying in bed staring at the ceiling, sighing.

"You can get up and walk around. I was too hard on you. I know I'd go nuts if I had to stay in bed all day like that." Geneva then walked out to get a brush for her hair.