Daughter of the Deadman: Another Place & Time

I said I was gonna wait till DoD III was done before I even touched this, but I couldn't help it. This is the first chapter of the alternate version and a companion story to DoD I/DoD II. It's essentially a "What if?" type thing. I'm just gonna post the first chapter and see what happens and we'll go from there.

I'm thanking Randy's Viper Girl already but she gave me the title for this. And again, I'm going to ask that you not pester me with messages asking when it'll be updated. I'll do it when I feel so inclined until the main DoD series is over and done with. See ya at the bottom.

Chapter 1: Beginnings

It was an unusually cold night in Houston, Texas, even for the middle of February. It was snowing outside too, which was even more rare. Mark Calaway was sitting in a bar, enjoying a few drinks and some much needed time off. Mark was six foot ten with long black hair and green eyes. He worked with World Wrestling Entertainment(WWE) under the ring name of The Undertaker. Although his persona was that of a big, bad, supposedly evil and indestructible Deadman, outside the ring he was gentle for the most part. Although, he did have quite the temper.

Mark sighed as he sipped his drink. Being a WWE Superstar had its perks, but he was feeling the effects of having wrestled non stop for the better part of five years or so. First, with World Championship Wrestling(WCW) and then with the WWE. Also injuries—sometimes career ending ones—were part of the job too. Mark sighed again as he stared out the nearby window. It was getting worse. Guess I had better get out of here before the weather gets even worse. He thought.

No sooner had he thought it then a beautiful woman with long red hair and green eyes sat down next to him. She looked to be about five foot nine and very small and petite. Mark also noticed that there was some sort of lingering sadness in her eyes. He had this way of reading people that tended to amaze everyone he ran into. He seemed to know how they felt just by looking at their face. The woman's face turned beat red when she realized that Mark was watching her.

"Hi. I'm Bethany O'Shannon." she said in a quiet voice.

"Hi there." Mark answered.

"So...um...I don't want to be rude...but you're The Undertaker. Right?" she asked, hesitantly.

"Yes, ma'am. That's me. But you can call me Mark." he answered.

Bethany nodded. She had no idea why, but for some reason that she couldn't put into words, there was something about Mark. For whatever reason, she completely trusted him.

"Bethany? Something wrong?" Mark asked.

"Call me Beth. And...not exactly. It's just...for some reason—I can't explain it—but I trust you." Beth whispered.

"And that's a big thing for you?" Mark asked.

"Yeah. See...well, ever since my parents divorced when I was nine and my Dad and Brother left, I've had a hard time trusting people. But for some reason...I feel like I can trust you." Beth said.

"Well, in that case...I feel honoured." Mark said with a smile.

"Thanks. I...should also mention that...the fact that my mother is an emotionally and physically abusive control freak...it doesn't help with my trust issues." Beth said.

Mark nodded. No wonder she seems to be so sad. But I don't understand how she could instantly trust me. And why do I feel this way? It's like...I can trust her too. I think.. Mark thought. After that, the two of them got talking and shared a few drinks. Later that night, Mark took Bethany back to his place where one thing lead to another...

The next morning, Beth was woken up by the sun coming through the window. She sat up, looking worried. She had very vague memories of the night before. She sat there trying to work it out in her head. I met Mark. We talked and shared a few drinks. Then he brought me back here. Beth thought. Just then, Mark walked into the room, full dressed and his hair in a braid. Beth quickly pulled the blankets up over herself. For the first time, she realized that he looked incredibly handsome. He walked over and laid her now clean clothes on the bed.

"Mark...I don't remember everything about last night, but thank you. You made me feel...special." Beth said, trying to put her feelings into words.

Mark smiled, making Beth giggle. She dressed quickly and stood up. Beth walked over and hugged him. She held on for a long time., resting her head on his chest. Mark put his arms around her. He wondered if she felt safe there at the moment.

"Bethy, are you alright?" he asked.

"I don't want to leave you here alone, but my Mother is probably waiting from me...and she's not going to be happy." Beth said.

Mark realized that she was shaking as she spoke. He walked her over to the bed and sat her down. Then he picked up a pen and paper and quickly wrote something down on it. He folded it up and placed it in Beth's hand, closing her fist around it.

"Don't open this until you're home and away from your mother, OK?" he asked.

Beth nodded. They left the house and got in the car. Beth noticed a motorcycle parked in garage too. It looked like a Harley Davidson. Mark saw her looking at it and told her that if it wasn't snowy and cold, he would have driven her home on it. Beth laughed and got in the car. Neither one said much on the way to Beth's Mom's apart from Beth's whispered directions. However, when Mark pulled up to the house, Beth leaned over and kissed his cheek. She got out of the car and headed for the door. Once she got there, she turned back and waved. Mark waved back. He waited until Beth was safely into the house before he pulled away.

Meanwhile, Beth walked into the kitchen to find her mother sipping coffee and reading the paper like she did every morning. Kristal looked up with that intense glare of hers. Kristal looked more like Bethany's older sister then she did her mother. She had the same green eyes and red hair, but the similarities stopped there. Kristal was taller bigger then her daughter and while Bethany's eyes were warm and kind, Kristal's were cold and dark.

Kristal was an emotionally and physically abusive control freak in every sense of the terms, but only towards Bethany. She had never wanted to have a baby girl and had detested her daughter right from the day she was born. The only reason she had not allowed Bethany to leave with her brother and father when she was six was so that she could make Beth suffer for being a girl. At least, that was the thought process in her mind. The thought process in most people's minds was that Bethany was suffering for something she had no control over and it wasn't fair.

"H-hi, Mother..." Beth stuttered.

"Where the hell have you been?" Kristal snapped at her.

"I was...out. I met someone...last night. He thought it would be safer if we went to his place because of the weather that's all." Beth said quietly.

"Did you...?" Kristal asked.

"Mother! That's hardly any of your business!" Beth snapped.

"Bethany Lynn O'Shannon, what did you do with this man?!" Kristal asked.

"OK, OK. We got drinking...and talking...and when he took me back to his place...well...um...things happened..." Beth said quietly.

"You little fucking whore! Are you stupid?! You met a strange man at a bar and went home with him?! What if you end up having a baby?! What will you do then, hm? Not even your father and brother will want to help you when they find out that the baby is the product of a fling! How could you do something like that, you idiot?!" Kristal asked, anger creeping into her voice.

"Mother...I...look, we weren't drunk the whole time. And we talked a lot. He...listened to me. He understands me. I think he could even love me, if he doesn't already..." Beth said.

"No one could ever possibly love you, you little ingrate! He's wasting his time on you! And if you end up pregnant, you're on your own!" Kristal snapped.

Tears started to roll down Beth's face. She ran upstairs to her room, slamming the door as she went. She had dealt with this since she was nine years old and it never got any easier. She threw herself down on the bed and sobbed. It was then that she realized that she still had the note that Mark had given her. It was crumpled into the tiniest paper ball that she could possibly make since she didn't want Kristal to see it. Beth opened it up and the first thing she noticed was a telephone number. Beneath that it read:

Bethy-Call me day or night. As soon as I possibly can, I'm going to get you out of there away from your Mother. I'm not sure why, but for whatever reason, I feel as though I can trust you. Please, hang in there.-Undertaker

Beth couldn't help but let out a laugh when she saw that he had signed the note Undertaker rather then with Mark. She felt a momentary rush of relief now that she had someone who seemed to care about her. This was immediately replaced by worry as she remembered that he was a wrestler and would be travelling a lot. Even so, she picked up the phone and dialled the phone number. He picked up after two rings.

"Mark? It's Beth. I just called to thank you again for last night. But...I am a little worried. What am I supposed to do while you're away?" Beth asked.

"Hi, Bethy. I was hoping to hear from you. As for when I'm gone, I want you to call here every day and leave a message. Even if it's just hello. I have a bad feeling about your Mother and I want to know you're alright. I'll check the machine everyday and if it's not super late, I'll call back. OK?" Mark said.

"OK. Thank you." Beth said.

"You sound upset. What happened?" Mark asked.

"How did you know?" Beth asked.

"I can tell. So, what happened?" Mark asked.

Beth sighed before she explained what had happened when she arrived home. When she finished, she was nervous. She had a strange feeling that he was fuming mad. It probably didn't help that she was crying.

"Beth, I have to go on the road soon, but I promise as soon as I get back to town, I'm going to get you out of there." Mark said.

"How long will you be gone for?" Beth asked.

"A couple of months. Just till the end of April. Then I'll be back. But I'm going to call as much as I can." Mark said.

"Mark...I...thank you...and please...keep safe..." Beth said.

"I will, sweetheart. You be careful yourself. Take care. And Bethy? I...love you." Mark said, hesitantly

"I love you too, Mark." Beth said.

Beth said goodbye then and she hung up. She debated calling her Dad, Dean and her brother, Liam, but decided to wait until later when Kristal was out of the house or asleep. She couldn't help but smile as she stared out the window. Across town, Mark was looking out his own window. He knew for sure that he loved Bethany, but it wasn't just that. He knew that she desperately needed help and he was intent on helping her.

That's it for now. I'm gonna just leave this here and see what happens. Also, my CSI Miami story is gone because I'm just not feeling it. It was just sitting there not doing anything. So yeah...please leave a review and let me know what you think of it. I'll post more if I get a good response.