The Way to Eden

Tara threw her jacket on the chair and looked over at her husband in exhaustion.

"No offense, but how do you expect me to get pregnant with this grueling travel schedule?" she asked coking a brow.

"It'd work betta if ya ate mo'," Shannon shot back with a smile.

"I don't see how," she shrugged avoiding his gaze.

She knew he was right. Sven had told her that her body fat ratio was too low for a regular menstrual cycle. In effect, she wasn't ovulating regularly and thus couldn't predict when the right time for conception would be. She'd tried to up her fat intake but this situation with Jeff had her on edge. She felt she needed to keep training in order to ensure that she kept in fighting form until she knew he was safe. Shannon hadn't said anything about it to her, but Tara knew he'd noticed. She hoped he recognized her need to protect the high-flying Hardy. He was her brother as far as she was concerned and she would never be able to forgive herself if something happened to him because of her.

"Baby, i's okay," Shannon whispered, capturing her chin to force her eyes back to his. "I kno' yo' unda pressure right now. It'll 'appen when i's meant to. Inna meantime, we can be t'getha all th' time."

She smiled and kissed him lovingly. She should have known he'd understand her predicament. They would have their child when this was settled. She knew they would.

"I love you, Shannon."

"I love ya, too, Tara," he grinned pushing her back on the bed.

He started to unzip her jeans when someone pounded frantically on the door. Sighing apologetically, he gave her a final kiss before helping her straighten herself out and answering the door.

"There ya are," Matt muttered as he stalked into the hotel room.

"Come right in," Shannon chuckled as he watched the elder Hardy pull up the desk chair and plop down.

"Jeff's no' answerin' my calls again," Matt groused.

"Todd's on him," Tara assured him. "And we all get daily reports from Shane and Andrew. We know he's okay, Matt."

"I jus' hate it when he goes all cloak an' dagga."

"Ya kno' 'e was always like that, Matt," Shannon reasoned, sitting down next to his wife on the bed. "I's 'is usual M.O."

"I swear I'm gonna hafta start dyin' my hair, too, all th' greys 'e's gonna give me," Matt complained. "Why' 'e hafta fin' this girl, anyway? Why couldn' 'e jus' leave th' fight clubs behin' 'im when it was ova?"

Tara watched Matt, silently apologizing for her role in Jeff's fascination with the cruel ultimate fighting world. If she'd never met him, he wouldn't have developed the interest. Matt looked up and locked gazes with her, reading her like he always did. She hated when he and Shannon did that, but at the same time knew it was one of the things that had saved her in the past. They knew her better than she did herself at times.

"I'm no' blamin' ya, honey," he growled. "Stop thinkin' what I kno' yo' thinkin'."

"I know you aren't," she said quietly.

"So there's no reason ta blame yo'self," he added shrewdly.

"I'm not," she tried to persuade them.

"Ya are," Shannon spoke up next to her. "Ya think we don' see it? We kno' ya betta than anyone here."

"It's just that if you guys never met me, he wouldn't be in this predicament."

"Jeff put 'imself in th' predicament," Shannon laughed pulling her against him and holding her tightly. "'E always does."

"I's true," Matt concurred taking her hand. "I been chasin' afta 'im from one spot o' trouble ta anotha eva since I can rememba. Yo' not ta blame an' ta tell ya th' truth, I'm vera 'appy we metchew. Ya needed someone ta screw yo' 'ead back on right."

"An' I couldna done it wit'out Matt," Shannon teased.

Matt snorted at that but said nothing more. Tara shook her head laughing.

"I'm glad I met you, too," she said. "Now we just need to make sure Jeff stays out of trouble."

"A' leas' now I 'ave back up," Matt grinned. "Nothin' like a posse of badasses like you an' yo' daddies ta 'elp me manage tha' hothead brotha o' mine."

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Shane kept his distance from Jeff at the club. They'd come in together, but the young Hardy had made it clear he wanted breathing room. Shane didn't mind. He was used to Jeff's moods by now. He had to admit it was tough at first. He'd known Jeff for as long he'd known Matt, but the older Hardy brother was . . . well, more rational. The first few weeks of rooming with him had Shane in an almost constant headache. Jeff didn't think like most other people and often went off on tangents that made him lose track of time. Shane stopped riding to the arena with him because of it.

Then, when it was almost too much, he told Jeff he'd decided to room with Glenn for a while until their tag team solidified. The truth was, Shane had needed a break. When Matt called him to go out that weekend, he was thrilled, because now he could tell his friend he completely understood firsthand why they always spent most of the first hour discussing Jeff. Truth be told, Shane was used to the idiosyncrasies of a creative mind. Shannon and Jeff weren't best friends by accident. Like minds really do attract. In fact, that was what he and Matt were discussing for most of the night. Only Shannon had a reasonable side and knew when business needed to be handled. Jeff, on the other hand, thought timetables were mere suggestions and that poetry and song lyrics took precedence over schedules.

He understood Matt's concern as well. When he'd gone back to rooming with Jeff, the younger Hardy dragged him to as many fight clubs as he could. Shane wasn't much interested in the sport, if it could be called that. He saw nothing entertaining about the blood and violence found there. It didn't take much talent to physically destroy a person, he decided. Making it look like you really hurting someone when you weren't was the real challenge. He believed that Jeff felt the same. But Shane knew that ever since Shannon saved Tara and married her, Jeff had been looking for his own 'Rio' story. There weren't many people around WWE that didn't know Jeff had been in love with the small woman who'd been Rio since the start. When she hooked up with Shannon, the daredevil had been devastated at first. And Shane wasn't even sure Jeff fully accepted the union even now.

Jeff was looking for a replacement and Sin provided that opportunity. It was too bad she was more than likely his potential downfall. Shane admitted the woman was a piece of work. Beautiful, tall and deadly, that was how he'd described her to Matt. She was all of those things and more. Shane could see the cold satisfaction she took in slicing her opponents tendons, virtually guaranteeing they wouldn't be able to return to action ever, let alone soon. And Jeff dismissed her actions as those of a confused girl? No, Shane didn't see that. He only saw the calculating amusement. Granted half of her face was masked, but the eyes told the whole story and Shane saw nothing but danger in them.

He looked around the small, smoke-filled club until his eyes rested on Stacy and Drew. They sat with Jeff. Good, Shane thought. Jeff had become very good friends with Drew and would be less likely to think he was being watched. Drew caught his eye when Jeff turned away and nodded once, letting Shane know he could relax for a while. Shane nodded back and sat back on his stool ordering another beer.

"Hey, you okay there, Hurri-boy?" Chris asked jovially, clapping Shane on the back and taking the stool next to his.

"Yeah," he replied taking a long swig from his bottle. "I's 'ard keepin' an eye on tha' daredevil."

"I know," the Canadian sighed toying with his own bottle. "He's all over the place."

"'E gotta call frommer las' night," Shane revealed. "I lettim think I was out cold drunk."

"You mean you weren't?" Chris grinned. "You put away a twelve pack on your own."

"Did no'," Shane smirked back. "I was dumpin' them inta th' plant."

"You wasted beer?" the blonde man looked incensed.

"All fo' a good cause," Shane returned. "Ya think 'e woulda lemme listen in if I was awake?"

"Good point."

"I tried tellin' 'im befo' tha' she'splayin' 'im, bu' 'e won' listen."

"He thinks he's chasing her, Shane," Chris sighed. "There's no reasoning with him when he's convinced of something, and he's convinced he was meant to save her."

"Well, I jus' 'ope Tara can save 'im befo' i's too late."

"You and me both," his fellow wrestler agreed. "He's playing with fire this time. Did you learn anything new?"

"Yeah," the Hurricane portrayer grunted. "'E wan's 'er ta meet 'im so 'e can maker leave 'er club."

"Meet with him? Alone?"

"Yeah, tha's wha's worryin' me, too," Shane agreed, taking another swig. "I tol' Tara an' Shannon earlier. I think Tara's gonna go undacova soon."

"Shannon's allowing that?" Chris asked incredulously.

"'E tol' me 'e cain' stopper," Shane muttered. "'E also said i's probally th' only way ta watch Jeff. 'E's avoiding most o' us now, thinkin' we're watchin' 'im."

"We are."

"Bu' if 'e feels like we are, we won' be able ta do it," Shane replied. "Tara's been train'd ta keep covert."

"So's Todd, but he hasn't been able to keep a lock on him," Chris griped. "I was hoping when he finally got his mind off of Molly and on his assignment he would get better results, but that doesn't seem to be the case."

"Tara's diff'ren', Chris," the green-haired man said darkly. "I been gittin' ta kno' 'er a little, an' I can say ta you tha' if she was afta any one o' us, we'd neva see 'er comin'."

"I agree she's tough," the Canadian conceded. "I saw the way she handled her old Series buddies that day, too. But I don't think she has the potential for any real danger. Her reaction to causing pain is one of the things that drove her out of the sport."

"She 'as th' potential, man. Don' letter current mild mannas fool ya," Shane persisted. "If she thinks one o' 'er family membas o' frien's is in trouble, ya'll see a whole diff'rent side ta 'er. Jeff's a brotha ta 'er, so heaven cain' even 'elp Sin if she 'urts 'im."

"You think Tara'll be that pissed?"

"Put it this way," Shane said putting down his bottle and turning to look at Jeff, "if Tara becomes Rio 'gain an' Sin causes any mo' trouble, Rio'll send th' woman an engraved invitation ta 'er own funeral."

Chris just whistled his reply.