A/N - First off thank you for all the reviews. I sense impatience with my lengthy breaks between updates. I'm sorry about that lol but my want to write comes and goes. I can only do it when it's there but I am sorry for being such a shit updater. Second of all, I'm no doctor. I did a bit of research for this but if it's incorrect then whoops lol. Hopefully nobody goes all ER on me if my diagnoses is wrong. Anyways, enjoy...

Stephanie's fingers entwined at the back of her neck as she sat on the hard plastic chair, her elbows making a point at the end of her nose. She'd been through this drill a million times but never like this; never in an emergency, at least not for a long time. This business had brought its fair share of hospital visits for her family but most were planned. A date for surgery. A date for a check up. The last time she'd been rushed to hospital, except for her pregnancies, had been back in 2002 when Paul's throat had been crushed in that damn Elimination Chamber match and they didn't know whether his larynx would survive the night. She had been terrified but at least she knew what it was and had been able to sit with him. But this? She didn't know what the hell was going on and from the looks of the faces on the doctors she had briefly spoken with, neither did they.

Her worried blue eyes stared aimlessly ahead. Her heart felt it was stuck in her throat and no matter how hard she tried to stay calm, it simply wasn't working. How could she? "God," she let out a frustrated sigh. There was nothing worse than waiting. It was only serving to add to her current mood; a jumble of emotion, worry, panic and frustration. She remembered the pained expression on Daniel Bryan's face as the gurney had wheeled backstage. Bryan had apologised profusely. For whatever reason he had stuck in her head. Maybe it was because he'd been the last person her husband actually spoke to or maybe it was because at the time she knew her eyes had been full of blame. But it wasn't his fault. And it didn't matter. Nothing mattered except Paul and him being ok. The rest was bullshit to be dealt with later.

"Any update?"

Stephanie looked up to find her father standing with a Starbucks cup outstretched in his hand. Under any other circumstances she'd be thankful but right now she couldn't stomach any form of sustenance, even coffee. "Thanks dad but I can't."

Vince nodded and set the cup on the small table next to where she was seated. "Maybe later." His eyes ran over her in concern. Naturally she was fraught with worry, as was the entire family. He just thanked his lucky stars that the PPV had been in Hartford tonight. At least they were in their home state and only an hour away from their actual homes. It enabled him to sort out cover for his granddaughters, inform his wife and get everybody organised. And he was happy to do it if it meant easing the burden on his daughter even if just a little. "So…any news?"

"Nothing," Stephanie shook her head. "The last time anybody spoke to me was when we arrived and just before you left. I've seen a few doctors come in and out, heard some muttering but I….nothing."

Controlling his anger wasn't exactly his strong suit but Vince tried to keep it bottled down. He wouldn't take it out on Stephanie when there was a perfectly fine slew of nurses and doctors for that. How could they just leave her here without any information as to what was going on?

"Gimme a second," he rubbed her shoulder briefly and marched to the nearest person he could find. "Excuse me?"

The young woman looked up from the charts in her hand and managed a half lipped smile. "Yes?"

"Can you give me any information on Paul Levesque? We've been waiting for hours and haven't…."

"The doctors will speak to you when they're able, sir."

Vince's eyes almost bulged out of his head. The nerve of this woman to give him some bullshit answer and try to walk away. He lightly put his hand on her forearm and spun her back around. "I don't think you understand. My daughter and I have been waiting for hours for some sort of update on my son-in-law. I'm paying your damn bills lady so why don't you put your little chart down and go find out for me before I kick up a fuss so big that whoever runs this place will fire you and not think twice about it." He watched with a snarl on his face as the woman scurried off through the double doors and hopefully came back with something useful.

Usually Stephanie would be mortified at her father throwing his weight around but right now she didn't give a damn. She wanted answers and besides, if he hadn't, it was likely she would have. She was slowly losing her patience with this whole situation. If that's what it took to find out what was going on with her husband then that's what it took. Her father casually plopped into the seat next to her and wrapped his arm around her shoulder. It was more comforting than he would ever know. "Thanks, dad."

"Thanks? I'm surprised you aren't telling me off," Vince chuckled lowly.

Stephanie simply managed a tight smile. "Not today." His attempt at lightening the mood hadn't gone unnoticed but she didn't have the energy or inclination for jokes right now. She just wanted to see Paul. She needed to see him.

The two sat in silence for several minutes, each lost in their thoughts until the appearance of the young woman and thankfully a God damn doctor forced Vince to sit up. Stephanie lifted her head from his shoulder and shot to her feet.

"Family of Paul Levesque?"

"Yes, I'm his wife," Stephanie answered immediately, desperate for information.

"I'm Doctor Burke. Mrs. Levesque, your husband is suffering from a cerebral or brain edema. Basically the injury sustained at the point of impact was so severe that it caused his brain to swell to a worrying level. We've conducted x-rays, MRI's and CT scans to give us the best picture possible of his condition. The tissue is deeply bruised and swollen and the x-ray shows that small fragments of his skull have chipped off and ruptured some blood vessels." At this point the doctor slowed at the wide eyed expression on the face of the woman before him. He didn't want to scare her but at the same time he didn't want to lie to her either. "Now, don't be alarmed by that. It's perfectly normal for that to happen during blunt force trauma to the head. It's bleeding but has already shown positive signs in the few hours he's been here. We don't think that's going to be an issue. It will take time to heal but the real concern is with the swelling. If that doesn't come down then…"

"Then what?" Vince asked solemnly, fully aware that his daughter was in no state to ask questions. She looked like she'd just been punched in the gut. He felt about the same.

"Then we'll talk about that if we get there." The doctor cleared his throat and motioned with his hand to the double doors. "You can come see him if you wish. When you're ready I'll be available to answer any questions you might have going forward." Doctor Burke managed a half smile and looked between the two. "I understand how difficult this is and right now it might seem impossible but many people come out of injuries like this unscathed. The brain is a remarkable organ and your husband could be the same, Mrs. Levesque but we can't make false promises. At present time his condition needs to be carefully monitored to ensure it doesn't get any worse. I'll let you visit with him and we can discuss it further when you're finished, ok? It's just right this way."

Her heels clacked against the ground but she didn't hear them. Stephanie gripped her father's arm like a vice as they walked with Doctor Burke down the hall. She heard the beeping from the monitors before even putting a foot through the door.

"I'll let you have some privacy," Doctor Burke said quietly before taking his leave.

"Jesus," Vince muttered to nobody in particular. He looked from his son-in-law to his daughter and physically winced at the sheer look of pain on Stephanie's face.

Stephanie covered her hand with her mouth. Paul was lying there almost as if he were sleeping. There wasn't a mark on him. It was the plethora of tubes and machines hooked up to both arms and his face that were scaring the life out of her. She took a step closer, gradually releasing the grip on her father's arm until she was standing at his bedside. Only then did she notice how pale he looked.

"Paul." Her voice was barely a whisper as she reached out and took his hand. It felt…..different. He wasn't stroking his thumb across the back of her hand. His fingers weren't locked with hers. Sometimes, when it was just the two of them and they were wrapped in each other's arms she'd take his hand and they'd be so still she could feel his heartbeat, so faint at the tip of this thumb, but there. Not this time. It was something so simple but it was enough to tip her over the edge. She unsuccessfully held back a sob.

Vince was immediately at her side as she broke down and started to cry. He knew she'd been holding it in all this time and truthfully he felt like crying himself. He glanced at Paul over Stephanie's shoulder and could only shake his head. It was him but it wasn't him, not until he woke up and they all could get the hell out of here.

"I'm ok, dad."

"You don't have to hold back in front of me, Steph. God, don't you ever hold back in front of me."

"Really. I'm fine." Stephanie sniffed, wiping her eyes and getting herself together. "Can I just…"

He was already a step ahead of her. "I'll just be outside, sweetheart. I'll call your mother, check in on the girls." Vince gave her a quick squeeze and was on his way.

The room was completely silent except for the deafening sound of the monitors.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

Stephanie blanked them out and pulled the chair closer to the bed. She sat down and took a deep breath, finally pulling her eyes to her husband's face. The doctor forgot to mention that he wasn't awake although that was probably to be expected. He just looked like he was sleeping; his expression, peaceful. If only that were true. Her fingers entwined with his as her eyes slid shut. "Please be ok, baby. Please be ok."