Chapter 20

"Oh thank you lord, you heard my prayers and answered them." Taker murmured sarcastically, slinging his feet out of bed and got up.

He made his way downstairs, helping himself to a beer. Then hesitated, sniffing it and poured it down the sink. He didn't know how long it'd been in there. He tried the scotch instead, which was aged beautifully. Nothing like a good stiff drink to help with the pain, since he refused to take pills.

"Want a drink, Geneva?" He called out, his booming voice echoing through the house.

"No alcohol." She ordered, raising an eyebrow at him when he scowled at her. "You honestly want to mix your medication with alcohol, Mark?" She asked, crossing her arms in front of her chest and shrugged, deciding to let him do what he wanted. "You know what? Go ahead, do whatever you want. Just when you want some advice from a doctor, let me know." She winked at him and turned on her heel, stepping outside for some fresh night air.

Taker set down the bottle and followed her, placing a hand on her shoulder and turning her gently to face him. "Maybe what I need is some company." He said softly. "I'm not used to this Neva, I'm sorry." He raked a hand through his black hair, staring down at her, his green eyes softening. "You can be both can't you? Doctor and maybe friend?"

"You want to be my friend?"

That stab of pain in her heart grew, though Geneva had no idea why. Behind the acid in his eyes was the Taker she knew back in 1997, the saddened lonely man that she'd kept company for two weeks. The one who showed her intense passion and made her fall in love with him. Now, the sight of his green eyes tore her heart apart, but Geneva couldn't deny him anything and she knew it.

"Sure Mark, I can be both for you." She forced a smile, hating to see the look in his green eyes. He looked so lonely, it broke her heart. "As your doctor, no alcohol, at least until your pills are gone, okay?"

"May I set a condition?" Taker asked, sinking down onto the reinforced porch swing -he was a large man after all- and gestured for her to join him, scooting over to give her personal space. "When I have that drink, I'd like for you to join me." He looked down at her, attempting a warm smile, but he was so out of practice he wasn't sure if he pulled it off. If anything, he looked boyish.

"You got it, I'm a Tequila girl though." She replied, laughing at the look on his face, patting his thigh gently and looked out at the beautiful sunset, feeling at peace for some reason. "You're not as bad as people make you out to be, Mark. Deep down, I know the same man I spent two incredible weeks with is still there. You haven't changed as much as people claim." She said out of nowhere, swinging with him gently and leaned her head back against his arm since it was around her. Geneva enjoyed Texas, especially at night when a million fireflies and lightning bugs lit up the land in golden glows.

"I'd appreciate it if you didn't share that with anyone else." Taker said gruffly, though there was a hint of humor in his tone of voice. Even after two years, Geneva was still the same kind and beautiful woman he'd known back in 1997, making him wonder what the hell she saw in someone like him. "I've got a reputation to uphold." He stood up, feeling a little stiff again. "I think it's time to lie down again." He groaned, feeling the pain of moving around. "You tired?"

"No, surprisingly I'm awake, but you go ahead. I'm going to sit out here for a while longer and, don't worry, your secret is safe with me." She continued to rock, giggling when the black Rottweiler named Hades came up on the swing with her, laying his head in her lap. "Big baby." She muttered with a smile, petting his head.

Not noticing Taker hadn't gone in yet, Geneva closed her eyes, enjoying the warm night air that blew through her hair and over her body. Taker leaned in the doorway, watching her. He could almost picture her remaining here, a permanent fixture in his house and smiled slightly. When he was fully healed, Taker planned on reclaiming her in every way possible, including her heart.

"When you're done," Taker paused, his natural accent, a smooth drawl beginning to emerge, something he'd suppressed from using his LOD tone all the time. "Maybe you'd come watch a movie with me?" In his room of course, best television in the house, not to mention a comfortable bed.

Geneva smiled up at him and nodded, refusing to turn that offer down. "I'd like that. I'll be up in a few minutes."

After a few more minutes, Geneva finally went back inside, locking the sliding glass door after letting all three dogs in and headed upstairs. She changed into a pair of midnight blue cotton shorts with a matching tank top, taking the clip out of her chestnut curls, and walked to his bedroom softly knocking on it. Geneva poked her head in and smirked at him, seeing he was looking through his DVD collection.

"So what are you in the mood for?" She asked casually.

"I have no idea." Taker replied, now in just a pair of black shorts, roasting his ass off even though the air conditioning was going. Frankly, he just needed to be kept chilled, that way he wouldn't offend Geneva if any of his thoughts took a literal life of their own. "What do you like?" He swept a hand at the collection. "It's been so long since I kicked back and watched a movie I don't even know what to watch."

Geneva giggled as he sighed, walking over and started peering at the collection, tapping her chin in thought. "Hmm...how about Die Hard?" She suggested, looking up into his eyes, and had to learn how to breathe again. Not only did he have an incredible body, but those eyes were still penetrating. He was chiseled from head to toe, no fat on his body, and Geneva finally forced herself to glance back at the movies. He didn't want her that way, not anymore and she was his physician!

"Or maybe an action movie?" She shrugged, not really caring what they watched. "God the last time I sat down to watch a movie was with my friends Lance and Callie and that was nearly a year ago..."

"Die Hard is fine." Taker said, wondering just where her mind was right now because she began to turn pink. What a lovely shade. "You alright?" He asked, taking the movie from her and popping it in, their fingers brushing together momentarily. "Don't need to lie down, do you?" He gestured to the huge bed, watching the pink go deeper and turned his head to hide a smirk, his black hair falling over his shoulder to hide it from sight.

"I'm fine." She replied gently and turned around, mentally berating herself. 'Damn it Geneva, pull it together! He's not a piece of meat!' She thought and took a deep breath, sitting on the edge of the bed and watched him pop the movie in.

Geneva had to admit he had a nice set up in his room. She started looking around, running her hand over the pure dark red oak his bed was made out of and seen just how dark it was. The walls were painted black with a gray ceiling. This guy needed some light in his life, Geneva thought, as she looked at the gargoyle statue that stood next to his nightstand. As if to say, no light whatsoever, Taker picked up a remote from the nightstand pressed a button. The lights went out instantly as Taker settled himself against the headboard, pillows propping him up, tossing one down to her.

"You don't have to sit there uncomfortable, Neva. I don't bite, unless I'm asked too, of course." He drawled teasingly, remembering biting her on several occasions.

She turned to face him, her stomach tightening slightly at the look in his eyes, and shook her head. "You're evil." She commented, crawling into the huge bed and sat beside him as the movie started.

Geneva loved Die Hard and Bruce Willis, one of her favorite action movies of all time. Though Die Hard with a Vengeance was her all-time favorite of the set. That and Armageddon. Though she'd never admit that, laughing at something Bruce Willis said in the movie.

Taker was tempted to show her just how evil he could be, but restrained himself. Instead, he focused on the movie, quickly becoming interested with it. Had it really been that long since he'd done something so simple as relaxing in front of the television? Of course, the beautiful company helped quite a bit. He started laughing along with her, groaning when he felt his stitches pull a little and knew that was his body's way of telling him to calm down or suffer. Geneva saw him wince and sat up a little, placing her hand on his stomach, gently running her fingertips back and forth over the incision while staring into his eyes, the movie no longer a concern.

"Do you need another pain killer, Mark?" Geneva asked quietly, causing him to shake his head, and laid back down, leaning a little against him with her arms at her sides.

She hated seeing him in pain and hoped Steve was suffering for what he did to Taker. The thought made Geneva feel sick, but the more she thought about it, the more she felt responsible. Why hadn't she somehow tried to warn Taker of Steve's temper and the things he said in the office? Taker heard the sigh and moved an arm so he could drape it around her shoulders, keeping the gesture light and friendly.

"It's just too easy to get addicted to pain killers in my business, Neva." He explained softly, not looking away from the movie. "Too easy to start relying on them for every little ache and pain. That make sense?"

"Yes, I understand." Geneva quietly replied, patting his hand gently and snuggled further against his warm body, stifling a yawn.

She was suddenly growing tired, not sleeping very well since leaving Seattle. Hell, she hadn't slept well since she decided to become a surgeon. It was a lot harder than she ever thought it would be, quitting it for good reason, but now she was something better and found her true calling in sport's medicine.

"I will try to remember." She murmured, her chestnut curls hanging over her shoulders and down her back.

Taker wasn't the least bit surprised when she fell asleep, pulling the blankets around them and rested his head on top of hers. Inhaling the scent of her shampoo and beneath that her own natural scent, Taker groaned softly from the back of his throat. He watched the rest of the movie, though it didn't register, finally falling asleep himself.

Geneva's eyes slowly fluttered open the following day, not having slept that well in ages, and froze when she felt an arm tighten around her waist. She looked down, seeing the tattoos and swallowed hard, knowing it was Taker. She looked down to make sure she had clothes on and sighed with inner relief, thankful her dream hadn't been reality.

Trying to extract his arm from her body, Geneva sighed when she failed miserably. She didn't want to move too much and wake him up. So instead, Geneva just laid there in the comfortable bed against his warm body, rubbing her eyes, trying to wake up fully.

His grip tightened a little before relaxing. They had wound up on the bed instead of against the headboard, though Taker had kept his arms around her. He buried his face in her neck, murmuring something before tensing, apparently beginning to wake up and realize someone else was in his bed.

"Geneva?" He yawned, stuttering over her name mid-yawn. "Sorry darlin', didn't mean to smother you."

"That's okay, Mark. How are you feeling?" She asked softly, feeling him release her, and slowly sat up in bed as she stretched, cracking her back and neck, sighing with relief. Her body felt rejuvenated and, for once not sore.

"Comfortable." Taker said, watching her stretch with hungry eyes, quickly masking it before she could see it. Cold shower. "Nature calls." He grunted, glad for an excuse to get away from her before he did something she might regret, like take her down on his bed and make her his completely…again.

Geneva slid from the bed and walked out, heading downstairs for some much-needed coffee. She couldn't believe she'd slept in the same bed as Taker and it felt...right. It felt comfortable, just like old times. She shook her head.

"I'm insane." She muttered, making the coffee and leaned against the counter, pulling her cell phone out. Geneva had grabbed it on the way downstairs from her room, seeing Lance blew up her phone by calling over fifty times. She smirked, he could wait a little longer.

Lance was getting pretty pissed off with his friend. He didn't know how many times he had tried calling, only to get her voice mail. He had texted, called, left messages. He was about to find out where exactly the hell she was shacked up at and make a visit.

"Damn it, Geneva, answer your phone!" He snapped, worry and anger evident in his tone, hanging up abruptly.

Geneva sighed when she finally decided to call him back, holding the phone from her ear as he started yelling at her, letting him get his anger out. "Are you done?" She asked when he stopped, hearing his heavy breathing. "Because I swear to god, Lance, if you don't stop screaming at me, I'm going to hang up on you and get a new cell phone number." She threatened, looking out the window and yawned. "I'm still with my patient. God, you don't listen do you? It's NONE of your damn business where I am and what I'm doing! Live your own damn life and stay out of mine!" She snapped, sick and tired of being treated like a five year old. "You know what? When you decide to treat me with the respect I deserve, I'll talk to you. Until then, bye." She then hung up and threw her phone on the counter, shaking her head. "Bastard..."