Author: Alliegirl4life

Title: "Confessions Under Circumstances,"-the sequel to "If Only."

Distribution: Here and Ladyjackyl. Anywhere else, just ask me first.

Characters: Shawn Michaels, Hunter, and mentions of Rebecca

Disclaimer: I've said it once, and I'll say it again: I do not own anybody associated with this story, just the idea for the story itself; and I am not making any money off of this work of fiction. Thank you.

Warning: Slash

Possible Pairing: Shawn/Hunter

Notes for Story: This story is in a two part series which I have combined into one. I hope none of you reading this has a problem with that, however. If you do, then I apologize ahead of time.

Enjoy this for whatever it is worth!

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'What If?'

That's the question that bombarded Shawn's mind as he watched the doctors perform Hunter's surgery from behind the glass window facing the Emergency Room. He couldn't understand it; why did he still have feelings for Hunter? To him, it didn't make any sense.

He should be feeling this way about his wife; not his best friend.

However, time had taken its tole on his marriage with Rebecca. She was a wonderful, beautiful woman, yes; but the feelings he had for her just weren't the same in intensity as they once had been. If only he could change that fact.

But no matter how hard he tried, he could not; hence why he was standing behind the glass facing the Emergency Room-watching his best friend go under the knife.

Feeling irritated with how the day was going, he looked up at the large clock on the wall facing him. Nearly one hour had passed since he had arrived at the hospital. Great.

Just as his thoughts began drifting back to Hunter, his cell phone rang. Startled, he quickly ran out of the room to answer it.

"Hello?"

"Hey Honey," he heard the familiar voice say to him. Rebecca? Hadn't he told her not to call unless it was an absolute emergency? He remained standing in the middle of the hallway as he listened to his wife ask him the usual questions that would normally start their conversation. "How are you?"

"Well, I am okay, but I'm worried about Hunter," he told her. Why was she calling? She knew where he was, that was for certain. Unless there was something terribly wrong, of course. "How are you? Is something the matter?"

"...No," his wife replied, "just wanting to see how you were doing. That's all." Though Shawn wanted to believe her, he couldn't help but feel a bit apprehensive about her response. Something didn't feel right to him; though he wished he knew what.

"Rebecca, are you okay? Is there a reason you called? Because something's telling me that you didn't call in the middle of Hunter's surgery just to check up on me." Hoping for a response, Shawn retained absolute silence; until it was obvious she wasn't answering him with real words. "Rebecca?"

"Yea? I'm sorry, yea, I'm fine, honey. It's just..."

"...What?" He took a single glimpse into the E.R doorway and saw the doctors still hard at work on Hunter's quad. If only he could end the conversation so he could go back into the room. "Listen, Rebecca, I have to go, really. Hunter's still not out of surgery yet and..."

"Okay, okay, sure, honey. I understand. So I'll let you go. What time do you think you'll be able to make it to the airport?"

Shawn glared down at his watch impatiently as he tried to come up with a response. Throughout the entire time, all he could think of was Hunter and nobody else. Unfortunately, Rebecca rarely came to his mind like that much anymore. Maybe it was due to how much time he spent on the road, or maybe it was due to the fact that he wasn't as close to her as he once was. Whatever it was, it had damaged his relationship with her. Though he personally wished he could claim otherwise, it was the cold, harsh truth.

He cared about Hunter more than he did for his own wife. It wasn't until then that he finally realized that. Thinking fast, he ended the conversation and returned to the Emergency Room; where he found the doctors attempting to finish the procedure.

"And we're done," he heard one of the surgeons exclaim, before discarding the latex gloves that he had been using for the surgery.

Shawn returned behind the glass facing the room just to be safe. The doctors knew what they were doing; but he was still worried about the outcome of the procedure. Would Hunter come out of this okay? Shawn couldn't help but ask himself.

God, he was worried sick. Yet, he shouldn't feel quite so concerned for his best friend-should he? Though he was married, Shawn couldn't keep his feelings hidden much longer. The conversation he had had with Rebecca proved to him such.

His relationship with Rebecca had definitely changed; but his friendship with Hunter had withstood the test of time. His feelings were still the same as they had been over a decade before. He still loved Hunter, and now, deep down inside, he knew this for a fact.

Though he had to make a decision. His wife had been so wonderful to him; so caring and generous. Was it worth losing all of that just to return to Hunter's side?

Honestly, he didn't know.

But, as he continued to ponder over his options, one question kept coming to mind.

"What if?"

What if being with Hunter was where he was meant to be? What if his suspicions were proven correct about his wife possibly cheating on him? He had doubts about that question in his mind for a while now, but he still wondered if there was a reason for Rebecca's sudden change of demeanor. What if he had never turned his back on Hunter? Would they have stayed together? He didn't mean to ask himself all of these questions; but he seriously couldn't help it. Just seeing Hunter lying in a hospital bed fresh out of surgery made him feel somewhat responsible for the way things had gone. If he hadn't turned his back on Hunter, then Degeneration X would have remained a faction for longer than it had; and maybe the rekindling of the faction wouldn't have been necessary. However, as the doctors and surgeons helped move Hunter out of the E.R., the possibilities for a true reunion continued to bombard Shawn's mind. He only wished circumstances could have been different then what they were.

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Part II:

After finishing the conversation with Shawn over the phone, Rebecca sat down on the leather couch in the living room while deep in thought.

It had been a while since she had even heard from her husband; and in her opinion, that was a cause for concern. She replaced the phone on the hook as a thought suddenly occurred to her: never before had Shawn been so hesitant in a conversation with her; nor had he ever been so hasty to end it. There was something going on between her husband and Hunter Hearst Hemsley.

She knew there had to be.

Meanwhile, Shawn was having a conflict of his own. Hunter had just come out of surgery and he wasn't quite sure if he should admit the truth now without any harm being done, or wait until Hunter was completely awake. To admit the truth was one thing, but to confess something that could possibly end his marriage to Rebecca was an entirely different matter all together. If only circumstances could have been different. If they were, then he'd know what to do; but unfortunately, that wasn't the case.

Slowly sitting down in the chair next to the hospital bed, Shawn began to reflect upon all of the times he had shared with Hunter; all of those times they drove down the highway without a care in the world, all of those times he had wrestled him, even the secrets he shared with him. All of those things, though, were now apart of the past; and that is what hurt Shawn the most.

Knowing that the past was just that: the past.

The circumstances now were different from what they were a decade ago. Shawn could never again be with Hunter as he once had been. He knew Hunter wanted him back, but he still had strong feelings for the woman of his dreams: his wife, Rebecca.

If he was to rekindle what he had with Hunter, he would be forced to leave his wife; and he knew he didn't have what it took to do such a thing. He loved Rebecca, he really did. However, he had begun to fear that she didn't love him in return. There was too much evidence for him not to suspect her of spending time with another man. Hell, even his neighbors had witnessed a strange man coming to the house at least twice a week. The possibility of being betrayed by her hurt him deeply; if only he could be absolutely sure. Then he would be able to make the decision of whether or not to turn his back and be with Hunter. If only he could tell one way or the other.

As he watched Hunter sleep in the hospital bed, he couldn't help but feel like he was being selfish by not telling Hunter the truth.

By not confessing.

It was then he knew he had to make a decision: either keep the truth hidden and act as though the feelings he still had were non-existent, or confess and pay any possible consequences.

Finally, he made his decision.

He was going to tell Hunter the truth.

He glimpsed around to make sure the coast was absolutely clear before saying anything; he didn't want somebody to walk in and listen to what he had to say. Because what he was about to confess would certainly shock anybody who was to walk into the room, that was for sure.

Once making sure the room was absolutely empty and that nobody would be able to listen, he took a deep breath and began to speak.

"Hunter," he began, taking Hunter's hand into his, "though you may not be able to hear me and what I have to say, I just wanted you to know that...I still care about you. Though you may not realize it, and I can imagine that you wouldn't, I do still love you."

This was a very difficult thing for him to do. Never before had he showed his emotions in this manner. For so long he had kept his feelings to himself; but now he was finally revealing them to the person who deserved to know about them more than any other. He took another deep breath and continued.

"I still remember all of those years ago when we were so close-nobody could touch us. We had it all...and then I had to take the glory and make it my own. No, it was not right of me to do that, but it was all about me at the time. The fans wanted me, and I misinterpreted that. I didn't know that they wanted the both of us, Hunt; they didn't just want me or you. They wanted the both of us...together. We were a team, one of the best tag teams around. How could I have been so selfish? Betraying you in front of the fans, in front of everyone around me? I tried to hide my feelings for you, Hunter; and in the end, I only have myself to blame." He wiped away the tears falling down his cheeks and listened to the soft beeping sound of Hunter's heart monitor before continuing. "If only I had known how you felt about me. I didn't know that the feelings you shared with me were real. You see, I had been fooled too many times before, Hunter. Kevin Nash, I thought he loved me. What a foolish mistake that was. He left me for some other guy and took off down south to TNA. I still miss him sometimes, but the feelings he told me were real, were in fact not real; and that's what got to me. I didn't take into consideration that you were the real deal. You were, and are such a jokester, that I didn't take you seriously. Until today; the way you looked up at me and told me how you felt. I only wish I could have done the same when I had injured my back. But I hadn't...and that's something I still regret even to this day. I was a coward, Hunter, a complete coward, who didn't care about anybody else but himself. I wish you were awake so I could look you in the eye and tell you this to your face, but you're not. The way I feel about Rebecca has changed recently. I don't know if she even loves me anymore. It hurts me to think that she's been seeing somebody else, but what else am I supposed to think?" He had to look away for a second in order to collect his thoughts. Why he was doing this, he had no idea. He just was, and to him, that was a good enough reason. "But you, you never cheated on me or forgot to call, you were always right there whenever I needed you. That's what I miss the most, I suppose. If only we could get back together, if only circumstances weren't as they are now; I'd take you back. Hunter, I love you." And right as he finished that last statement, he felt Hunter's hand begin to move under the weight of his own. Moving his hand away, Shawn noticed that what he had suspected was indeed the truth.

Hunter was beginning to wake up.

Shawn smiled as he watched Hunter's eyes flutter open. But as he greeted him, Shawn had to wonder if Hunter heard every word of what he had just told him.

And then, as if reading his thoughts, Hunter answered his question in one simple sentence.

Hunter turned to look at him and made a single attempt to smile before saying: "Shawn, I love you, too."

To Be Continued?

Author's Notes: Only you will decide. Shall I continue this story, or leave it as is? Need at least four reviews to continue.