His fingers wrapped around the door handle, attempting to wrench it open. He didn't care if he broke the door in any way; He just needed to get to her. She was deliberately holding everything away from him. Had she really thought that he would just let her leave? Was that something she thought she would ever get away with? No, she was smarter than that. Just like she knew not to hold his children over his head in the first place.

Randy stopped what he was doing, thinking of the surprise that washed over her when her aunt and uncle's cat was let out of the bag. Running a hand over his head, he went back to the door handle, trying to figure out how to jam it open without scaring his children anymore than they already were.

"Anise," he said, slapping a hand to the door. "Open this door. You're scaring the kids. Just open the door, and we'll talk about things."

Silence was all that met him from the room. Being rational with her was never something he could really do. She never knew what was best for her. That's why she needed him in her life; To tell her what to do. Eventually she would get over this fight or flight phase.

Backing away from the door, knowing that his boot was about the only thing he had to prise the door open. He hadn't wanted to bust down her door, but she left him with no choice. Delivering a swift kick to the door lock, he grimaced at the cries of his children. She was doing this to them. It was all her. Their young minds didn't know any better right now.

At his second kick, the door cracked around the handle. There was a shuffling inside of the room, and he stilled a minute, trying to hear what was going on. All he could hear was Anise saying something to the kids, their cries reaching through the door to him. He aimed the third kick on the handle itself, and was satisfied when the door popped open, creaking as the entrance to the room widened.

Stepping inside, he didn't see his children. He only saw Anise on the carpet next to the bed. His vision shifted though to the bathroom when he heard them crying still.

"Please, Randy!" she cried out, holding up at hand to him. "Don't do this!"

Her chest heaved with a heavy sob. He felt bad for her, he did, but she had to learn. She would always be his. And it didn't matter if there were legal ties or not, Anise would always belong to him. No other random guy could ever replace him. Just like no other random woman replaced her for him. She wasn't going to get away so easily, and if it was a fight she wanted, he would give it to her. Looking at her with icy blue eyes, he slammed the door shut behind him.

"""""

Phil's head cocked to the side upon seeing the strange vehicle in the driveway. Out of anyone else he'd seen around and known to be a part of Anise's family, the black SUV didn't sit right with him. It felt out of place, like it didn't belong there. If the door wasn't already out of its frame on the house, he really would have been set off.

As he approached to the lit up doorway, something still didn't feel right. It was too quiet, yet his ears perked up as he heard a faint calling. It was Anise's voice, he knew for sure. When he heard another voice yelling, he could feel the blood drain from his face as his heart dropped to his feet. His legs never moved so fast as he threw the bag down to the floor and headed straight towards her bedroom. That voice was Randy's.

"Anise!" Phil shouted as he made his way down the hallway. "Nisey!"

He heard Randy yelling some more partnered with what sounded like flesh on flesh hits. The door was jammed, and he noticed the splintering of the wood around the golden handle. He attempted to pull the handle upwards before landing a hard kick to the handle, causing it to twist and snap off.

"What? You got your boyfriend here, Anise? With my kids?!"

"You son-of-a-bitch!" Phil shouted as he barged in and tackled Randy.

Randy grabbed him, pulling him to the floor and landed a few punches. Phil was at a slight disadvantage weight wise, but speed and agility was something he had over the larger man. A few more minutes of them struggle to land punches, Phil was finally able to jump off of Randy, and kick him in the stomach. Randy doubled over, clenching his abdomen.

"Fuck," Randy said as he rolled on the carpet. "You think... that you can just come into our lives... and it's going to be okay?"

"You're fucking sick!" Phil shouted as he kicked Randy again. "She doesn't have a life with you! And I'm starting to believe she never would have!" Another kick, this time Phil's foot connecting with Randy's jaw.

Randy merely laughed, that sick, twisted smirk on his face. Phil wanted to wipe it off permanently.

"Phil," Randy chuckled as he sat up against the nightstand. "Phil, come on now. She had my kids. She was my wife. You can't really believe that she would ever be with you after she's had me." He held his jaw firmly in his hand.

"She never had you. Everyone else did, but she never did. You were never faithful to her." Phil quickly went over to Anise, lowering himself to examine the damage that was done. Her face was completely marred, covered by bruises and blood. As he looked over her, he realized it wasn't just her face. Her arms and hands exhibited the same markings. Droplets and smears of blood over nearly all of her. "Anise," he whispered, scared that her eyes weren't opening. "Please, Anise."

His eyes were snapped away from her as he saw Randy stand. The anger in him rising more towards the man that hurt his honey. When she still didn't open her eyes, Phil stood to block her from Randy.

"Get the fuck out of this house," Phil stated.

"Or what?" Randy smirked. "I didn't know she had much of a life with you. I didn't know that you had married her, or had kids with her. Come on, Punk, we both know that she's too good for you. A sewer rat such as yourself would never hold onto – "

"Come on!" Phil shouted as he charged at Randy, running and knocking him back into the dresser. Items toppled over, crashing to the floor as they fought once more. "If you touch her again, I'll fucking kill you!"

Randy was saying something, but Phil blocked it out. He didn't care what Orton had to say. There were no excuses anymore. Nothing to say about his actions. His knuckles became numb as he punched Randy over and over, every bit of anger he had and every touch of sorrow over Anise was laid on Randy. If nothing else, Orton could at least say that on this night, he got his ass beat.

One final jab landed on the side of Randy's face, right where Anise had punched him earlier. Randy leaned against the dresser before slumping down to the carpeted floor. Phil knew he wasn't knocked out, but he was going to stay down long enough so Anise could be tended to.

"Damn," Phil said, shaking his hand as he went to Anise's side once more. "Nisey, honey, please talk to me."

"Nise!"

Phil's eyes looked up to see her brother accompanied by Jeff and two of their friends. "She's out."

"What the fuck happened?!" Shawn shouted. He pushed his way past the broken door towards his sister.

"Him," Phil said tilting his head to where Randy sat on the floor. He tried gaining his breath back before speaking.

"How did he get here?" Jeff asked, walking over to Randy. He snapped his fingers in front of Randy's face. "Hey, man. Get up." Nodding his head, he motioned for Shannon and Shane to help pick the man up. "I don't think you belong here, dude," he said as his two friends carried the man out of the room and down the hall.

"Man, what the fuck!" Shawn yelled out.

"Don't," Phil said shaking his head. "The kids. They're in the bathroom." He watched as Shawn made his way over to the bathroom door, opening it to reveal the scared little kids.

"Uncle Shawn!" he heard Gunner cry out, an ensue of tears and sniffling continued as the twins cried.

"Now, now," Shawn soothed them. "It's gonna be alright."

"Mommy!"

That cry broke Phil's heart. A daughter screaming for her mother. He hated it.

"Can you guys take the kids somewhere?" Phil asked them. "I'll stay here with Anise."

Shawn looked wearily at his father, who simply nodded at him. Grabbing up his nephew while Jeff took Gianna, they left the room to quietness again. Phil sighed, slinking down the bed, dropping to the carpet where Anise lay. He took her hand in his, laying a soft kiss on her skin. Not seeing her open her eyes, he was surprised when he heard her husky voice.

"Phil," she said as she tried to sit up.

"No, no," he said, resting his hands on her shoulder. "Don't get up."

"I failed them, Phil," she told him, her ocean-hazel eyes finally looking up at him. "I let them see his worst side. That's something they'll never forgive me for."

"No," Phil hushed her. He took a moment to lay on the carpet beside her, brushing her hair out of her face. "What they'll never forget is that their mother protected them."

She swallowed hard, trying to stop the tears from flowing. "Are they scared?" she croaked out.

"Not gonna lie, they are. But they're safe now."

"They're going to hate me, Phil," she said. "How could I let this happen to them?"

"You didn't want this to happen, honey. Don't blame yourself for something that was beyond your control."

She shook her head, her beautiful face contorting in a heartbreaking sob. "I'm so bad! I'm so bad, Phil. How could I do this to my babies?"

"No, Nise," he said, calming her the best he knew how right now. "Babes, it's not your fault."

"Where are we going to go, Phil? I can't provide a safe home for my children. What am I going to do?"

"Don't worry about that, babes. I'll give you a safe home. I don't care what it takes."

"I don't have a home. I haven't had one in a long time." She lifted her hand, gently placing it on his cheek. "I used to have dreams about my best friend, who left me behind on this earth. And he would talk to me. Tell me that things were okay." As her fingertips ran over his skin, she noticed he also had some bruising. "But they stopped when I started loving you."

She fell silent, her hand dropping from his face, the emptiness of it leaving him cold.

"Anise?"

But there was no answer. She lay there completely motionless. Panic set over him as he lifted her body to him, a titanic wave crashing down on him when it registered to his mind that she was indeed breathing. Shawn's voice broke his concentration on her short, shallow breaths.

"Hey, the kids are over at my house," he said, slowly making his way towards them. "How's she holding up?"

Phil poked his bottom lip out as he nodded his head. "All things considered, I think she'll be fine."

"Think we should get her to a hospital, or just carry her over to my house?" Shawn asked, completely relying on Phil's opinion. If Anise trust him with her darkest secrets, he had to be good to her. Randy had never dove deep into her heart, not like Phil had.

"I think she'd more appreciate your wife's care." He gave Shawn a smile, unbeknownst to him, the most reassuring smile Shawn could ever see. His eyes fell back onto the woman in his arms, while Shawn's stayed on him. Shawn had to give Phil credit. His sister was the happiest anyone had ever seen her since Zenner. That counted for something in his book.

"You need help?" Shawn asked him as he moved away from the couple. "I'll just pack her a bag of stuff."

"Thanks, I'll take her over myself."

Before Phil could secure Anise's body to his, Shawn held out a hand to him.

"I never wanted to shake Randy's hand," he told Phil, offering him the gesture. "But as a man, I appreciate all that you do for my sister. She sure as hell needs it after the shit Randy put her through."

Phil took his hand, firmly shaking it before moving back to Anise. Picking her up in his arms and holding her limp body to his, a grin crossed his face.

"Thanks, Shawn. Means a lot to me."

Shawn nodded. "I'll meet you over there."

"""""

"Arrested?" Anise repeated. "Jesus, arrested. Why were you guys fighting? That didn't solve anything."

"No," Phil commented. "But it felt good to beat his ass." Receiving a punch to his arm from Anise, he raised his eyebrows. "What? He deserved it."

"Maybe so, but he'll have an arrest now because of me."

"It was because of him, Nise," Shawn said. "He brought all of that to himself."

Anise looked up at Cristine, gladly taking the cup of hot cocoa she offered. Staring down into the swirling, sweet liquid, she exhaled deeply.

"He had me thinking for years that I couldn't be without him. I know that sounds so stupid, but I really believed in it. I felt like I was trapped, not just with the kids, but with Randy in general." She took a sip, wanting to clear the air with them about Randy. "But he never kept me away from you guys. That was my own doing."

"Why? Nise, you know that you can come to any one of us, and we'll help you no matter what," Matt said as he sat beside his brother and nephew on the couch.

"Because, I didn't want you to see what he was doing. I was so ashamed that I actually let someone take over me like that. I felt like I couldn't breathe for five years."

"Well, he's freaking gone now," Shawn said. "You know you'll have to do court stuff though."

Phil looked down at her as she placed her head on his shoulder. Cristine took to cleaning her up, helping her wash all the night's dread away. He could have gotten lost in her exotic look, her beautiful hazel-blue almond-shaped eyes, her cute button nose, and those lips... Those sweet plump lips...

"Uh, guys," Cristine's voice rang out from where she stood in the kitchen. "It might be a little slippery in here."

"What?" Shawn asked, jumping up from the couch. "What? What is it?"

Anise saw the look on her brother's face and laughed. "Child number two is on the way and you're just as clueless as ever."

"Well, this night just keeps getting more interesting," Phil commented as he stood to follow Anise.

"""""

"Mommy!" Gianna called out, waving to her mother and Phil. "I see the baby!"

Anise walked up to her daughter, pressing Gianna's head to the side of her leg. "Shh, now, baby. We have to be quiet here."

"Oh," Gianna said, pressing a finger to her lips.

"Phil?" Gunner's voice asked from where he was supported in Phil's arm. "Where do babies come from?"

Phil's face dropped, a thoughtful frown crossing his features. "Don't they teach you these things in school?"

"No," Gunner laughed, putting a hand to his mouth. He paused a moment, Phil toting him over to see the newest edition to the family. "Phil?"

Phil looked at him expectantly. "Yes?"

"Are you and mommy going to have a baby now?"

Anise's lips curled into a smile as she looked at Phil, her eyebrows now raised.

"When did you start asking so many questions?" Phil then said, defeated for any type of answer.

"Uncle Shawnie said we could ask anything we wanted," Gianna told him, though her concentration was still focused on her newborn cousin.

"Well, thanks uncle Shawnie," Phil commented sarcastically.

Phil and Gunner quieted as the door to the nursery opened, a nurse in hot pink scrubs walking out to greet them.

"Family?" she brightly asked.

Anise nodded. "I'm the aunt."

"Go on in, Nise. I'll stay out here with the kids," Phil offered, holding his free hand out to Gianna, who wrapped her small hand around his larger one.

The nurse smiled at the group. "Right this way," she said, leading Anise into the nursery for the first up-close look at her nephew.

"Oh my God," Anise gasped, a hand going over her mouth. "He's so big."

"Nine pounds, four ounces," the nurse informed her. "Quite a healthy appetite to go along too."

"Is it okay for me to hold him?"

"Why, of course it is. You just take a seat here and I'll get him ready for you."

Anise sat down in one of the plastic chairs, waiting for her nephew. Her legs wouldn't keep still as she watched him get wrapped up snugly, and a moment later was brought to her. She graciously took him into her arms, her heart flipping in her chest when she saw him smile at her.

"Hey there, baby. I'm your auntie Nise, and I'm going to spoil you just like I do your sister."

The nurse stood against the wall next to where Anise sat with the baby boy, a happy smile on her face.

"Were y'all expecting it to be a boy?" she asked cheerfully.

Anise looked up at her, a perplexed look on her face. "I didn't know what Cris was having. They never told me. Did they know?"

"Don't think so," the nurse replied, shaking her head. "I just know that I've never seen a more loving family as I have with y'all. I've been a nurse for fifteen years, and for you to love your sister so much, it's wonderful."

"Oh," Anise said, hugging her nephew closer to her. "Cris is my brother's wife."

"Shawn's your brother? Get outta here! Y'all look nothing alike." She shook her head as Anise laughed, pushing herself away from the wall. "Well, I'll leave you to it, and come back in a little bit. Sound okay?"

"Sounds great," Anise smiled at the nurse. When the pink-clad nurse stepped back behind the desk area, Anise turned her attention to her nephew. "You're so handsome. I'm already such a proud auntie to have a beautiful niece and such a handsome nephew." She looked over him, watching as his eyes shut sleepily. "You look so much like your dad, it's crazy."

She sat with him in a few moment's silence, not noticing Phil slowly walking up to where the door was jarred open. With Gunner laying on his chest in his arm, and Gianna standing beside him hand-in-hand, he looked on, listening as Anise started singing. So lost in a calm world there, sitting so peacefully with her nephew, she didn't realize that anyone could hear her.

"Hey, where's Nise?" Shawn asked as he came up behind Phil.

Phil turned to him, his lips pursed out. "Shh," he simply hushed, tilting his head towards the door where they could see inside the nursery. Shawn looked, a smile crossing his own face as he watched his sister sing to his little boy.

She patted his back, looking down at his serene face. This made her want more children of her own. Made her want to build her family once again. Build it without any of the harshness. Without any ounce of the volatile atmosphere that her twins had already suffered through. She could only hope that her children would see that she tried to protect them from their father. That she never wanted to keep them away from him.

Perhaps Phil would want to stay with her after all was said and done. Maybe he would want to have a life with her, and a home that they could call their own. His life was no walk in the park either, and she knew that's what drew them together. They understood each other. They were able to find true heart in each other. And this time, it didn't matter who agreed with it and who didn't. They were like magnets to each other. Eventually they would just come back together again.

Phil was here, with her, sharing these life moments with her. Sharing these happy times with her. He wasn't there to make himself known to her family, or try and push his way into her life. Life itself had pushed them together, and there was no stronger force that could separate them.

A/N: I thank all the readers for taking the time to read this story. Not quite as long as the previous story, but still intense all the same. I'm not so thrilled at the fight scene. I may go back at some point in time and re-do that. I hope this story didn't disappoint, and once again, thank you!