More adorable Stephen. My muse was adamant about the rolling chair. He insisted that he would hate scooting around in a wheelchair.

CHAPTER 2

Jenna woke a few times as nurses or doctors poked, prodded or otherwise found ways to remind her of her condition. She definitely did NOT want to be awake yet - she surrendered to sleep over and over again, but every time she'd open her eyes, there was the big hulking Irishman. She wouldn't lie...she kind of liked it.

Jenna stirred again later, and after a quick pain inventory she decided that now might be a good time to stay awake. She looked down and Stephen had dozed off with his head in her lap again, and this time he was holding her hand. God, what a sweetie!

She was startled out of her reverie by a soft sound at the door. She looked up to see her sister, Sabrina, standing there, agog at the sight in front of her. Jenna couldn't help but smile an enormous shit eating grin, and the two of them began a silent conversation with their eyes and hands - a conversation that could only be held between two people that have known each other as long and as well as sisters. They call it their "Super Silent Sister Skills."

Bree's face: "WHAT IN THE HELL?"

Jenna signs "Sshh! He's sleeping!"

Bree doesn't know where to look. She signs, "Is that...?"

Jenna's head nods, but her face says, "I KNOOWW?"

Sabrina shakes her head in wonder and enters the room, sparing another glance at Stephen's sleeping face as she passes the foot of the bed. She walks around the bed to get a better look at her sister's back. Jenna braces as she feels Bree lift the sheet covering her.

Bree hisses at the sight and immediately looks up at her sister, and you didn't need any super skills to read the pity there. Jenna nods, then rolls her eyes to say "Thanks, sis. I feel MUCH better now." Bree makes like she's gonna smack Jenna, but doesn't. It's hardly fair.

Bree takes a seat at the foot of the bed and blatantly ogles Stephen. Jenna doesn't wait for Bree to undress him with her eyes any longer - she squeezes his hand with hers and whispers his name, "Stephen?"

He moans, "Oh, Jenna, love..." and pulls her hand closer to him. Jenna's eyes widen, and Bree's jaw falls down to rest on her chest. Jenna tugs on his hand now, hissing his name as her sister snorts laughter.

Stephen sits up groaning, his hand to his bum leg. He immediately scoots up to check on Jenna, asking if she's ok and if she needs more meds. Jenna shakes her head, and points to her sister at the foot of the bed. Stephen looks at Bree, then back at Jenna who mouths, "Sabrina. My sister." to him. He nods and turns to Bree, scooting the chair in her direction, extending a hand and introducing himself.

Jenna tries to pour herself more water but is swatted away as Stephen does it for her. Another pointed look is exchanged between Bree and Jenna, but this one does not go unnoticed by the Irishman.

"So...um, Stephen," Bree says, enjoying how surreal an experience this is. She chuckles to herself and continues, "First, thanks so much for taking care of Jenna - she doesn't have anyone out here and this means a lot to us both," Bree says. "But I'm here with her until she's released, though, so we both understand," Bree nods at Jenna at this point, "if you have to get back to real life...or whatever?"

Jenna rolled her eyes and mouthed, "laaaaaame" 'to her younger sister.

Stephen shook his head and said, "I'm afraid your stuck with me for the duration. I have nothing else to do - I'm out of the ring for at least two weeks, probably three. I know it was not something I could have controlled, but I still feel so responsible. You didn't see her layin there, so still and so pale..."

Super Silent Sister Skills:

Bree eyeballed, "Do you remember what happened?"

Jenna shakes her head.

Bree's eyes, again, "Nothing? None of it?"

Jenna again shook her head.

This exchange did not go unnoticed by Stephen, either.

The nurse walked in at that moment, and talk turned to Jenna's wounds. Bree and the nurse were at her back as bandages were changed, and Stephen was holding her hand throughout the whole experience. She whispered to him, "I want to see. You said you'd show me."

He sighed and got out his phone. Jenna raised an eyebrow at him and he said, "I figured a picture is the easiest way to show you. Do you want to see it when you got here, or from this morning?"

He couldn't read her body language the way Bree could, so he missed the "how long have you been taking pictures of me?" that she sent out. She whispered, "Both. Please?"

He sighed again, and scanned through his phone. "I'll show you the most recent one first, ok?"

At her nod, he handed her his phone. The moment she glanced at the picture the nurse started cleaning one of the deeper gashes on her back. She hissed and closed her eyes. The image was seared there, too. A mostly diagonal slash from her hip halfway up her back, reaching toward her shoulder. There were three spots where the skin and the bits underneath had torn badly rather than cut, requiring more work to clean and close the wound and resulting in more pain.

She handed the phone back to Stephen and picked up the button for the pain meds. His hand closed over hers and they pushed the button together. She didn't want to see any more.

Jenna awoke to her sister and Stephen talking and eating Chinese food at the foot of her bed. She felt better than she had since she woke the first time, and was pleased to see that her IV had been taken out.

Stephen was the first to notice she was awake, and wheeled over in that rolling chair to see her. He beamed a smile at her, and she felt her insides flip flop. Bree grinned hugely down at her and said, "Jenna honey, you'll be pleased to know that the WWE is paying for your hospitalization and care."

Jenna was pleased - she was an adjunct music professor at a small college and as such had very little money and even less insurance. She looked at Stephen and mouthed "thank you" to him. He nodded and asked if she was thirsty. She nodded back. He bustled away on his rolling chair to see if she could get something besides water and Bree came up to the bed.

"You are something else, sis. You know that?" Bree asked as she leaned over to smooch Jenna's forehead.

Jenna whispered, "Ew, cooties!" and pretended to wipe her forehead.

"I called Dad. I assured him there's nothing he or the crazy woman can do, and then refused to tell them which hospital we're at, just to make sure they don't do anything...helpful," Bree told Jenna. Jenna grimaced at the thought of her stepmom walking into the room and made a mental note to buy Bree something extra-nice for Christmas that year.

"I also got in touch with Liz - she hadn't heard from you in a while and was ready to send out a search party. Text her. Soon. I don't want her to think I didn't give you the message, k?" Bree asked.

Jenna nodded, smiling. Liz was a dear friend. The sisters sat in silence for a moment.

Bree opened her mouth to speak, and then closed it. She opened it again and said, "If Stephen hadn't insisted they check on you, you could have bled out there on the floor, Jen. I can't even stand to think about that!"

Jenna was quiet. "I don't remember anything after Sheamus being thrown into the wall. I think I like it that way."

Bree squeezed Jenna's hand. She looked behind her to make sure the coast was clear, and leaned over to whisper, "Stephen hasn't left the hospital since you got here. I asked the nurses. He eats and sleeps here. Whaddya think of THOSE apples, sis?"

Jenna arched an eyebrow at her sister and whispered, "He feels bad. I'm not gonna read anything into this outside of that. You shouldn't either, Bree. Fairy tale stuff like that doesn't happen to us, remember?"

Bree searched her sister's eyes for a clue as to how she was feeling, but for once she just couldn't tell. She was pretty sure this was because Jenna was deliberately not sharing, whether out loud or via their Super Secret Sister Skills. Bree was fine with that...for now. To lighten the mood she said, "Fine, but can you at least try to talk him into giving up the rolling desk chair for a wheel chair? He looks ridiculous!"

The moment was interrupted by Stephen triumphantly scooting his chair back in the room holding a can of ginger ale above his head like a prize. Jenna looked away from her sister to the big Irishman, and in that unguarded moment Bree found the answer for which she was searching earlier. She smiled.