A/N: Well, I am on quite the roll with this 'verse. After my little cliffhanger, the ideas just kept flowing. This next part will focus mostly on what's been going on with Steph since the end of "What the Heart Wants." Anything in italics is a flashback. As usual, I dedicate this to Lauryn, since it was her idea to begin with. *hearts*
Title: The Way Is In the Heart
Pairing: Chyna/Steph, mentions of Hunter/Steph, Hunter/Chyna
After the initial shock of seeing Stephanie on her porch, Joanie got her inside and sat her on the couch, got her a glass of water, and waited for her to stop crying. She rubbed Steph's back gently, all the while her mind racing as to what the implications of this would be for her quiet way of life.
"I'm sorry I just showed up like this," Steph began. " I just... I don't know anyone else I could go to who would understand what he's been putting me through." She took a deep breath. "I should've known better. Once a cheater, always a cheater, right?" Joanie clenched the hand that wasn't rubbing Steph's back into a fist. She was going to kill Paul the next time she saw him.
"It's okay, sweetie," she murmered to Steph. "Start from the beginning." Steph nodded and took another sip of water before she began to speak.
Being married to Paul was everything she'd dreamed of at first. He was so sweet to her, and kind and understanding. The first year of their marriage had been pure bliss. Paul was on top of the WWE, her father loved him, everything was perfect.
Wrestlemania XX was when things started to unravel. Paul was slated to drop the belt to Chris Benoit, and he was not happy about it. He considered Benoit a vanilla midget, despite the overwhelming audience reaction when he won the belt. Backstage after the match, he was in a sour mood, which only turned worse when he saw his wife watching the emotional celebration between Benoit and Eddie, who had retained his title earlier that night.
"What are you smiling at?" he growled.
"Look at them," Steph said, motioning towards the screen. "They've worked so hard for this, I'm really happy for them." Paul stalked closer to her and got right in her face.
"He took my title and you're happy for him? That belt is MINE you stupid bitch! Those vanilla midgets shouldn't even be wrestlers, much less have those belts!" he stormed off, leaving Steph in tears and confused.
He apologized later, blamed his anger on the adrenaline still coursing through him and saying he'd gotten so caught up in his character that it had just slipped out. And of course, she forgave him. Until it happened again. And then the biting words became slaps, the slaps became fists. Before she knew it, she was explaining away black eyes and bruises to Shane, who was the only one who cared enough to ask. Every day she tried to get up the courage to leave him, but she loved him. It wasn't until he began talking about having children that she began freaking out. She could NOT bring a child into this situation.
It had come to a head when she had finally decided to leave him. She got up the courage to open his locker room door, only to find him buried inside Candace Michelle. Before she even knew what she was doing, she was screaming and throwing things at him, slapping Candace in the face, and storming out and directly into her father's office, seething over Paul's betrayal and pulling up her sleeve to show him her bruises. He just stared at her for a second, before telling her "I'm sure we can all work this out." She stared at him in disbelief, then stormed out of the office. As she packed her things back at the hotel, she wracked her brain trying to think of someone she could go to for help. She knew Shane would help her, but she didn't want to put him in that position with her father. She didn't have any real friends, she'd fallen out of touch with the few she's had when she'd started dating Paul. A sudden thought struck her, and she pulled out her phone.
"American Airlines? I need a ticket on the next plane to LA."
Steph started to cry again as she finished her story.
"I'm sorry," she said again. "I know that this is probably a bad time, because of Eddie, but I just don't have anyone else to go to." Joanie shook her head, wrapping her arms around the younger girl. Steph rested her head on Joanie's shoulder, hiccuping as she calmed herself down again. When she was finally quiet, Joanie stood up and held out her hand to Steph. Steph grasped it and Joanie pulled her up.
"I'll get you set up in the guest room, you must be exhausted," she said softly. Steph nodded, her eyelids fluttering slightly as she swayed a little. Joanie sighed, then scooped her up and carried her in, laying her on the bed. Within 30 seconds of her head hitting the pillow, Steph was out.
Joanie padded into the kitchen on bare feet, rubbing her hands over her face. Her first instinct was to find Paul and smack him around. But she knew at that point that it would do more harm than good. She picked up her phone and dialed an old, familiar number.
"Hello?"
"Shane, it's Joanie Laurer. Are you alone?"
"Joanie? Yeah, I'm alone, why?"
"Your sister is here. She left Paul, she found him sleeping with some bimbo. He was also abusing her." Shane sighed over the phone.
"I suspected as much, but I could never get her to admit it. I'm glad she left the bastard though. Tell her not to worry, I'm not gonna tell Dad where she is. I know she needs time. Can you just call me every few days and let me know how she's doing?"
"I will. I'll take care of her, Shane, don't worry. This is the last place people will expect her to be, it'll be like her own Witness Protection Program." Shane chuckled.
"Thanks, Joanie. I'll try and keep my dad and Paul as clueless as I can."
"All right. I'll call in a few days."
The next phone call she made was to Vickie, explaining the situation. Vickie offered to come over and cook dinner for all of them the next night, and Joanie gratefully agreed. After speaking for a few more minutes, Joanie hung up. Exhausted, she fell into bed and was asleep within a few minutes.
She woke up the next morning to the sound of retching and rushed into the bathroom to find Stephanie bent over the toilet, throwing up. She gathered the younger girl's long hair out of her face and rubbed her back gently until she stopped, then kindly handed her a bottle of Scope. Steph rinsed her mouth out and then sat back.
"Sorry," she gasped. "I think I have a bug or something, I've been throwing up every morning for three days." Joanie's hand paused for a moment before continuing to rub her back soothingly. There were implications there, tons of them. But she couldn't think about those right now. She just needed to focus on soothing the angel in her arms.
A/N: Oh, Hunter has been a bad boy. Wait until Joanie gets her hands on him... there will be no survivors if she finds Vince too. Poor Stephy... Joanie has no idea what she's about to get into.