Chapter One

Noel made her way through the crowd of people without too much difficulty. She hated crowds, so the crowded airport did nothing good for her mood.

"I will get you back for this, Stephen." she grumbled to herself, silently cursing her older brother.

If it weren't for him, she could be spending her first free day in almost two months lounging by the pool and catching a little catnap. But instead, she was spending a perfectly good day waiting for a plane that had already been delayed for two hours.

Earlier that morning, when her brother had called, waking her out of a dead sleep, she had no idea what the rest of the day had in store for her.

"Hello." she had grumbled into the phone after the sixth ring.

"Great! You're there!" Stephen exclaimed, stating the obvious.

"What do you want?" Noel snapped, only wanting to get back to sleep.

"I need a huge favor, and since you're my favorite sister..." he trailed off, hoping to put her in a better mood, having forgotten she was not a morning person. "Of course you are, but if we had any other sisters, you'd be my favorite." Stephen grinned. Noel rolled her eyes.

"Cut the shit. What do you want?" she asked against, as she stretched, waking herself a little more.

"Remember how I told you I ran into out old neighbor? From when we lived in Texas?" he asked.

"Uh, not really." Noel answered hesitantly, wracking her brain.

"Oh come on, you remember. They had two boys one, my age and one a little younger. Taker and Kane?" he informed her, waiting for it to sink in.

"OH YES! Now I remember!" she exclaimed, wondering how she could have ever forgotten her brothers best friends, and her own 'protectors' growing up. She remembered the way she cried and her heart had broke when her parents had packed herself and her brother up and moved them away from their closest friends. She had only been ten at the time.

"I thought you would." Stephen grinned. "Anyway, a couple days ago, Taker called me. His mother gave him my number, and he and Kane are coming to visit."

"WHAT? WHEN? Why didn't you tell me?" Noel asked excitedly.

"I'm telling you now." Stephen laughed. "That's the thing though. Taker's coming in today and Kane's coming in three days, at the end of the week. I thought everything was fine for Taker to come in early, but I just found out this morning that I have to be in St. Louis for three days. I have to leave in a few minutes to catch my flight. I was hoping you would pick Taker up."

"What time?" Noel asked, glancing at the clock seeing it was nearly eight.

"His flight comes in at ten. Uh, there's one more thing." Stephen said.

"What?" she asked apprehensively.

"Well, Taker was going to stay with me, but I'll be gone and won't be back until Kane arrives. I was hoping maybe he could stay with you..." Stephen trailed off, waiting for her answer, ready to beg if he needed to.

"Here? With me?" she asked.

"Yeah. You two could catch up on all the years you've missed. You were always closer to Taker. Besides I think he could use a friend right now.

" "Why? What's going on?" she asked

"Well, he's having some difficulty with his job, and he just got out of a bad relationship. Basically he just needs to get away for a few days." Stephen informed her.

Noel sighed, unable to say no, having always had a soft spot for Taker, and now was no exception.

"I'll get him, and he can stay here with me." Noel said.

"Sis, you're the greatest!" Stephen exclaimed.

"I know." she smiled.

After promising to call later that evening and giving her the details she needed to know about his flight, they hung up and Noel jumped out up bed and rushed to get ready.

"Should have taken my time." she thought to her self as she check the time, seeing it was nearly 12:30. At that moment she heard the announcement stating the plane had arrived. She walked over to the gate and waited for Taker to come off the plane. She could only hope he would remember who she was...

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Chapter Two

“You are a fucking asshole!” McKenna screamed at her soon to be ex-boyfriend as their most recent argument escalated slowly out of control. She was through with him this time. After putting up with his crap for over three years, finally she could take no more of his lies, cheating, and abuse.

“Yeah well, maybe if you weren’t such an ice cold bitch, I wouldn’t have to be an asshole.” Luke shot back at her, his gray eyes lit with anger. “You’ve made the last three years of my life hell, McKenna. Don’t push me!” He warned, his temper becoming more and more out of control as he slowly approached her.

McKenna noticed the crazed look in his eye and knew she had better get away from him quick or she’d be making another trip to the hospital. “You’re the one that made me the bitch that I am. As far as I’m concerned you can go fuck yourself!” She furiously spat the words at him and then quickly turned around and headed for the door.

She had just about made it there when she was grabbed roughly from behind and spun back around. Before she could react, Luke violently backhanded her. She was out cold before she even hit the floor.

When she came around again sometime later, McKenna had a hard time remembering at first what had happened. But as she tried to get to her feet, a wave of dizziness washed over her and she felt a terrible throbbing pain of her face. She waited until the lightheaded feeling passed and then she slowly tried to get up once again. She was successful on this try and made her way into the bathroom. She looked into the mirror and wasn’t really surprised at what she saw. She’d had many bruises courtesy of Luke, and this one wasn’t any different from the others. Sighing tiredly she turned and headed for the phone. Both of her brothers had been begging her to get away from Luke and come on the road with them for awhile, and each time the had asked, she’d said ‘no’.

“Not this time though.” She thought to herself as she picked up the receiver and punched in her brother’s cell number, praying that either Christian or Edge had their phones turned on.

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Chapter Three

"Kane, Man, calm down! I was just joking about you needing a woman." Edge stated as he slowly backed away from his big friend, who was purposely stalking him.

Kane stopped and put his head down his long dark curly hair hiding his face and the pain in his eyes. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, easing the tension in his big body.

"I know you were," Kane sighed as he sat down in the nearest chair. "I'm just lonely. As I'm sure you are well aware, it's nearly impossible to have a lasting relationship while you're on the road, unless she is willing to travel. And so far, I haven't met any women who are willing to travel nearly every day out of the year."

Edge nodded as he sat down also, understanding all too well what Kane was talking about.

"We just have to keep hoping we'll find that special woman." Edge commented, trying to boost his own hopes as well as Kane's.

"I've tried, Edge, but after what just happened with Taker, I've just about lost any and all hope." Kane mumbled.

Every time he thought of what Taker was going through, it made him sick. Taker and Linda had been together for nearly three years. They were the perfect couple. No one, not even Kane, had ever seen Taker happier. When they decided to be married, everyone knew it would last forever. Seeing them together gave everyone who was single hope.

For a long time, Taker thought about leaving the WWF, wanting to be with Linda and not leave her to be on the road, with only a few days off out of the year. Linda talked him out of quitting the job he loved and stopped him from leaving the people who were like family, by telling him she wanted to travel with him.

No one was prepared for what would happen. The wedding was last Saturday and was a disaster. Everyone from the WWF, family and friends were there. It was to be the event of the century, and it was, only not the way everyone expected.

Everything was going smoothly as Taker stood in the front of the church with his brother, watching his beautiful soon to be bride glide down the aisle towards him. Taker spoke his vows, knowing in his heart he had found the woman of his dreams. As Kane stood next to him, he could feel how truly happy his older brother was. All was destroyed when it was Linda's turn to say her vows.

She burst into tears, claiming she couldn't go through with it. She never truly loved Taker, not the way he loved her, and all she had ever wanted was to be set financially. She had thought she would be able to go through with it, but the idea of always being on the road was just too much. She then ran from the church leaving everyone speechless and in shock.

Taker was devastated, although he wouldn't talk to anyone about it, not even Kane. He completely withdrew in himself. Kane was more than a little worried about him, but was also glad he was taking some time off and spending it with their old friend from Texas, whom they hadn't seen in years. Kane would be joining them later in the week, but knew Taker needed this time to himself.

Both Kane and Edge were quiet as they thought about woman, and what had just happened. They nearly jumped out of their seats when Edge's cell phone rang. Edge grabbed his phone quickly.

"Hello."

"Edge?"

Edge was quite for a second when he realized who was on the other end. His eyes lit up and a huge smile spread across his face. "Sis!"

"Edge, I hope you still want me to join you guys on the road, because I can be packed and ready to go in an hour."

***

Noel couldn't prevent the smile that crossed her face, nor the quickening pace of her heart when she spotted Taker as he exited the plane. She struggled through the once again crowd of people, and made her way closer to him. She saw him looking around, obviously for his brother. He had dark sunglasses on, so she couldn't see his eyes, or know exactly where he was looking.

"Taker!" she called as he began to turn away.

Taker stopped and slowly turned around. Noel held her breath as he looked at her at least she thought he was looking at her, she couldn't tell. Taker removed his sunglasses, as he studies the woman standing before him.

Noel felt her spirits drop when she saw his eyes for the first time in years, and saw no sign of remembrance, nor a flash of recognition.

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Chapter Four

“Please tell me that you’ve finally decided to leave that bastard, Kenna.” Edge asked urgently, holding his phone in a tight grip as he waited for her answer. Both he and Christian and been pleading with her to do that very thing for over two years when they had first suspected that she was being abused.

“Yes, I have.” She answered, her voice quiet and trembling. “Edge, I don’t want to stay here any longer than I have to. Luke could be back at any time now. Please can I join you and Christian?”

Edge could clearly hear the fear in his baby sister’s voice, causing his own alarm for her to rise. “Get out of there now! Don’t even bother to pack. We’re in Miami for the next two days. Call me back as soon as you get a flight out and I’ll give you our hotel information. Once you get here, Christian and I will take care of clothes and anything else you need.” Edge paused for a moment and then added one more thought before ending the call.

“I know you’re scared Kenna, but you’re doing the right thing. We’ll take care of you.”

“Thanks Edge. I can’t wait to see you and Christian again.” McKenna finished and hung up the phone. After locating her car keys, purse and cigarettes, she immediately left her apartment and headed for the airport, hoping she would get a flight before she completely lost the nerve to walk away from Luke, this time for good.

Edge clicked his phone off and let out the breath that he had been holding since he had first heard his sister’s voice. He glanced over at Kane who was staring back at him with a curious expression clouding his hazel eyes.

“That was mine and Christian’s sister, McKenna.” Edge began to explain before Kane had a chance to ask. “She’s been with this jerk for three years now. He’s a liar, a cheater, and he is verbally and physically abusive. Christian and I have been trying like hell to get her to leave him for a long time. Finally she has made that decision.”

*****

Noel was disappointed when Taker did not recognize her at first look, but how could he. It had been almost fifteen years since her family had moved away. She had been only ten years old at the time and he had been sixteen.

“A teenager…No wonder he doesn’t remember me. He had better things to think about at that age.” She thought to herself and smiled slightly. Looking back up at him, she took a deep breath and tried again.

“It’s me…Noel….Stephen’s sister.” She told him and held her breath as she slowly saw a faint hint of recognition enter his eyes. _______________

Chapter Five

"Noel?" Taker repeated after her in a disbelieving voice. He could clearly see the skinny ten-year-old girl she had been, and that was how he had always pictured her, even knowing she had grown up. He couldn't believe the woman standing before him was that same little girl.

Noel smiled wider and nodded. "It's been a long time, Taker. How have you been? How's Kane?" she asked, anxious to catch up on old times.

Taker smiled back. "Kane is good, looking forward to coming here in a couple days. Although he is going to be surprised to see you. Steve never mentioned you were living here."

Noel nodded, knowing her brother all too well. "Steve has the bad habit of forgetting to mention certain information."

Taker laughed, "I see time hasn't changed him much."

"No. He's still the same Stephen he always was." Noel laughed.

"Are we meeting him later?" Taker asked, still wondering why Stephen wasn't there.

"No, he's very sorry, but he had to go out of town for a couple days on a business trip. He tried to get out of it, but he couldn't, so he asked me to pick you up. He'll be back the day Kane comes in." Noel informed him.

They continued talking as they waited for his luggage, and then walked out to her car. They joked and laughed during the drive, and Taker found himself feeling better than he had in days. He had been against the trip at first, just wanting to be alone, but Kane talked him into coming and spending time with Stephen. Although it wasn't Stephen he wasn't going to be spending time with, he was beginning to be very glad he let his brother talk him into it.

As they pulled up in a driveway, Taker looked around with a smile. "Well, I never imagined Stephen living in a house like this. He always seemed more the studio apartment kind of guy."

"Uh, well, you're right, he does have a studio apartment. This is my house, where you will be staying if you want." Noel replied, feeling the blush rush to her face when he looked at her questionably.

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Chapter Six

Taker continued to stare at Noel in confusion, causing her to wonder if this was going to all be a huge mistake.

“Uh…Of course if you have a problem with these accommodations, I can take you to a near by hotel until Stephen gets back.” Noel offered, knowing this was a surprise to the big man and not wanting to upset him in anyway.

“But I have plenty of room and I must admit that I am a pretty darn good cook.” She finished, meeting his green eyes levelly.

There was no way that Taker could resist the temptation of a good home cooked meal. “Okay, you’ve got yourself a deal.” Taker agreed, smiling slightly for the first time in quite a while.

******

Edge and Christian paced back and forth as they waited for their sister’s flight to come in. The plane had already been delayed an hour due to a thunderstorm. And although McKenna had promised that she would be on the flight, with each minute that went by, her brothers became more and more worried that she wouldn’t be. They knew that Luke had long ago robbed her of her self-confidence with his verbal insults and physical abuse. They knew that walking away after being under his control for the past three years was a big step for her. Both were visibly agitated when it was finally announced that the flight that they had been waiting for had arrived. Edge and Christian stood back as passengers began coming through the gate. When they spotted their sister, both breathed a sigh of relief.

Neither Edge nor Christian was prepared as McKenna walked toward them and they took a closer look at her. The baseball cap or the sunglasses that she had on did not even come close to camouflaging the huge bruise and blackened eye on the left side of her face where Luke had backhanded her. Both brothers felt cold, hard fury consume them as they silently vowed revenge for their sister.

“Hey guys. Thanks for being here. I’m sorry my flight was delayed and you had to wait so long.” McKenna began as she approached her brothers.

“I’m so glad to see you.” She added in a choked voice as tears filled her eyes and she threw her arms around both of them.

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Chapter Seven

Edge and Christian looked at each other over McKenna's head, sending each other the silent message that now was not the time to get into things, seeing how fragile she seemed to be. They both returned her hug, grateful to have her there with them, where they could keep her safe.

"We're glad you're here Kenna." Christian said gruffly, fighting the stinging in his eyes at seeing his sister so frightened and hurt.

McKenna pulled back and smiled for the first time at her brothers, feeling much better than she had in nearly three years.

Edge and Christian could see the exhaustion in her eyes. Edge took her arm and started walking towards the front of the airport where their limo was waiting.

Once in the limo, McKenna yawned and put her head back to rest, her eyes feeling very heavy.

"Are we going shopping for clothes now?" she asked sleepily, looking at her brothers through half opened eyes.

Edge smiled softly at her. "Not right now. First we are talking you back to the hotel, where you can get some much needed rest, then we will go shopping."

McKenna knew she needed clothes and the other essentials, but she was too tired to argue. She nodded her agreement, and closed her eyes. She was asleep before the limo even pulled away from the airport.

***

Taker quickly got settled in his room, then went to explore the house. He found Noel in the kitchen, looking for something in the fridge.

"So what do I get for my first home cooked meal?" He asked in a deep voice, as he leaned against the doorframe, his arms crossed over his chest.

Noel spun around from the refrigerator, nearly dropping the contents in her hands. She hadn't heard Taker come in, and was nearly scared to death.

"Nothing if you scare me like that again!" she scolded playfully. She noticed the smile that crossed his fame didn't quite reach his eyes.

"I was thinking steak, potatoes, and some kind of vegetable, but haven't decided on what yet. Unless you'd like something different." she added quickly.

Taker's stomach choose that moment to growl loudly. "I think that will be fine." he said with a laugh.

An hour later after dinner, they both sat in the living room, ready to relax.

"So, Noel, why don't you tell me what you have been up to since I've seen you." Taker broke the silence.

Noel looked over at him with a smile. "Want me to bore you to tears huh?"

Taker didn't say anything, just smiled at her and waited for her to start talking. Noel looked away for a moment, then making her decision turned back to him.

"Okay, I'll make a deal with you, I'll tell you all about me, if you tell me all about you." she said softly, not wanting to push, but wanting to know what could have caused Taker to be so sad.

Taker sighed and looked down at his beer. "Okay." he replied quietly.

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Chapter Eight

Noel was left speechless after hearing what Taker had to say about the most recent events in his life. Not only was his now ex-fiancée a heartless bitch, but she was incredibly stupid s well. How any woman could not want a man like the gorgeous one sitting before her was beyond her. Noel felt so bad that he had been left at the altar on his wedding day.

“I’m so sorry.” She said finally, breaking the heavy silence that had fallen between them. She looked down at her hands, not knowing what else to say and not being able to meet the pained expression in his eyes.

“Well, don’t be.” Taker replied softly “It’s for the best that I found out about her true intentions before we were married. It hurt at first…it hurt badly. And it’s still hard to get through each day with out thinking about it. But you know what they say….What doesn’t kill you, will only make you stronger. I’ve learned from the experience and now I just want to get on with my life.” He finished with a sigh and then waited for Noel’s reply, but when she didn’t say anything after a few moments, he spoke again.

“So, tell me about you? What have you been up to all these years?” He asked.

Noel smiled back at him, somewhat relieved that he had changed the subject. It made her sad to her the pain in his voice and see the hurt in his eyes. “Are you sure you want to hear this? It’s pretty boring.” She questioned him and then continued when he said that he was sure.

“Okay, but remember when you are sitting there in tears because I have bored you to them, I warned you.”

Noel and Taker ended up talking for the next three hours, finding out that they shared many common interests. Finally when both were too exhausted to say another word, the decided to call it a night.

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Chapter Nine

McKenna slowly opened her eyes, and her first thought was how well rested she felt. She hadn't slept that well in nearly three years. She stretched, then sat up and looked around. She was momentarily disoriented as she took in the strange room, but then a small smile touched her lips when she realized where she was and who she was with. For the first time in a long time she felt completely safe.

She got out of the bed and walked into the bathroom where she saw a huge Jacuzzi tub. The near swimming pool size bathtub called her name, and she was unable to resist. She was just about to climb in when she saw a note sitting on the sink, addressed to her.

She picked it up and read it, seeing that Edge and Christian had gone to workout while she slept. They said they would be back around seven, and take her shopping since they had the night off, and left a number where they could be reached if she needed them sooner.

McKenna glanced at the nearby clock and saw she had nearly an hour before they due back.

"More than enough time for a little swim." she smiled to herself as she got in the tub, the hot water instantly relaxing her body. She wasn't sure how long she had been in, but was nearly falling asleep when she heard a knock at the door. She jumped to her feet, taking in the time, seeing she had been in for fifteen minutes, and grabbed a towel. She frantically searched for a robe, in both rooms. Not finding one she secured the towel around her body and walked over to the door.

She didn't bother checking who was at the door, automatically assuming it was her brothers, coming back early and checking to see if she was up. She pulled the door open and found herself looking at the widest chest she had ever seen. She raised her eyes and felt her breath catch when she met intense blue eyes.

Both caught completely off guard and unable to say a word, minutes continued to stretch by. McKenna and Kane continued to stare at each other, neither able to tear their eyes away.

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Chapter Ten

“Uh…Are Edge and Christian here?” Kane finally snapped out of his daze and asked. He slowly began to realize that the pretty, young woman standing before him must be the sister that Edge had told him about the day before. She looked incredibly identical to both of her brothers. He could tell by the nasty bruise on the left side of her face that she had been through hell recently and although Kane did not even know her, he felt relieved that she had gotten away from the situation.

McKenna continued to stare up at the big man. She had never seen eyes quite like his. The blue pools glowed with a savage intensity, yet deep underneath was a warmth and gentleness that called out to her. Finally after a few moments of silence, she came to her senses and she silently cursed herself for being such a fool. What was she thinking anyway? This man standing before her was just that…A man! McKenna had adamantly vowed to herself on the flight there, that she was through with men, once and for all. Men were good for nothing but causing hurt and she definitely did not need that in her life.

“No, they are not here.” She stated in a rather icy tone that caught Kane completely off guard. “They’ve gone down for a work out and will be back shortly. But we will be leaving soon after. I suggest you try to talk to them at a different time.” With that said, she shut the door in his face, leaving Kane standing there feeling completely confused by what had just happened.

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Chapter Eleven

Kane stared at the door, unable to figure out what had just happened. One moment they had been staring at each other, both almost mesmerized, not able to look away, and the next the door was slammed in his face.

He lifted his hand to knock again, to find out what was going on. At the last second, he dropped his arm to his side, deciding against bothering Edge and Christian's little sister. He'd seen the icy look in her eyes and heard it in her tone and thought it best to leave her alone for the time being.

He shook his head as he turned and walked towards the elevator. He only knew bits and pieces from what had happened with McKenna, but even if he hadn't have known, it was all too easy to see she had been hurt...and badly.

******

Noel opened her eyes the next morning and looked over at the clock. She sighed when she saw how early it was, yet knew it was useless to try and fall back to sleep.

She got out of bed and stretched before getting clothes to change into after a nice long hot shower. She decided to go ahead and get the coffee started before she took the shower, just in case the shower itself didn't do the job with waking her up.

On her way out to the kitchen, she noticed Taker's door was still shut and was as quite as possible. After getting the coffee started, she walked back to her room and grabbed her clothes.

She noticed the bathroom door was closed, but thought nothing of it, since she always kept it closed. She pushed the door open and walked in just as Taker was about to step into the shower. They both froze. Noel couldn't prevent the shocked gasp that left her lips, nor could she move. She felt her mouth drop open and her face flamed as she took in what stood in front of her.