As I walk this land of broken dreams, I have visions of many things…What becomes of the broken hearted…Who had love that's now departed…I know I've got to find, some kind of peace of mind…Help me…

Paul's big fingers clumsily filtered through his gym bag. He arrived to MSG early in the hope that the ring would be free and he could just run the ropes and spend some time alone in there. Lately it was the only place where he truly felt like himself. Usually ten thousand screaming fans would have been ideal and he was absolutely looking forward to that later on. Right now however, the special solitude that came from standing in the middle of an empty arena was exactly what he needed.

Suddenly, the door sprung open and the last person he wanted to see stuck his head inside. Paul inwardly groaned. So much for hitting the ring.

"Hunter! Just the man I'm looking for," Vince McMahon boomed loudly even though it was just the two of them. The old man just didn't know the meaning of the word quiet. "Do you have some time? I was hoping I could get us all together and run over the script for tonight?"

Paul studied his excited face and couldn't help but give in. The man had been involved in this business all his life and it still made him as giddy as a child. Funnily enough, he was exactly the same. It was something that they shared, a common bond between two guys who just loved wrestling and everything to do with it. A haphazard smile crossed his face. "Well I was just about to go hit the ring but I guess we can do this now if you want."

"Oh no, that's fine. Ste…..everybody isn't here yet anyways now that I think of it so it's probably better that we wait," Vince caught himself. That was close. The truth was, Paul didn't know that Stephanie was going to be involved in this and he didn't want him to know until right before they would go on the air so he couldn't refuse. Stephanie was a bit of a touchy subject with Paul and vice versa. Both of them had moved on with their lives but there was still that undercurrent of tension when the subject arose of their previous relationship. It was much better to wait and just spring it on him rather than give him time to say no. Not that he would. Paul loved the WWE and would do anything Vince asked of him. That's why he told him to break it off with his daughter all those years ago. It was better for everybody. Since then Stephanie was involved in the office and Paul's career had flourished without obstacle. He didn't foresee any problems with them working together now. They had matured and at the end of the day, they had walked away from each other and hadn't gone back. That meant that their feelings weren't as strong as initially believed. It wasn't going to be a problem. "Don't worry. I'll send my assistant to grab you when we're all here and can do a proper run through."

"No problem, Vince. Catch you later," Paul said basically to himself as Vince was gone in a flash. Well that was…..odd. As a matter of fact, Vince had been acting a bit strange with him all week. He just brushed it off as Vince being Vince. He was a character to say the least.

Paul started removing the various bits and pieces from the gym bag and laying them out one by one on the bench. Trunks, knee pads, elbow pads and boots. He also pulled out a pair of black shorts and a shirt to wear over his gear until the show started. A few minutes later and he was dressed except for the shirt. Just as he started pulling it on, he heard a gentle rap on the door. Now what? But a slow smile crept on to his face when he saw the blonde head that peeped through.

"Hey."

"Hey yourself," Trish Stratus returned his smile, her eyes wandering to his exposed chest just before the shirt dropped from his grasp and covered his skin. She quietly walked into the room and stood before him. "I was hoping I'd find you here."

"What brings you by?"

"I just wanted to know if we're still on for tonight?"

Paul cleared his throat and nodded his head. "Sure. You know what room I'm in. Swing by around midnight. I'll be there."

"Great," she replied, her hand briefly running along his arm. "See you later."

He watched her as she left the room as quietly as she came in, his eyes glued to her ass. That ever familiar pang of guilt threatened to flow to the surface and he pushed it down. They weren't doing anything wrong. It was just sex between two lonely people who couldn't be bothered hitting clubs or bars to look for it anywhere else. He got her off and she him. That was it. He didn't have feelings for her. He cared about her, sure, but not enough to put himself out there for a relationship. He'd tried dating in the business, twice. Both times ended up biting him in the ass and he'd just accepted the fact that his lifestyle wasn't conducive to holding a steady relationship. Nobody understood, nobody except those in the same line of work. One night Trish had very subtly come on to him in the hotel bar. An hour later and they were in her room screwing each other senseless. The next morning he wasn't there when she woke up. A few days later and the cycle repeated itself. Again, he wasn't there when she woke up. It kept happening until it became a regular thing. Finally she confronted him, telling him that she wasn't looking for something serious. She was just sick of being lonely. After that they had an arrangement and he found himself in a hollow and purely sexual relationship if you could even call it that. Paul refused to admit how much that bothered him but it was what it was. He didn't have time for anything else. His life had been reduced to this, a casual fuck on the road because he was afraid to put himself out there again. If he wasn't so eager to bury his head in the sand he would have chastised himself for being so pathetic. And lately he got the feeling that perhaps Trish was expecting a little more than he was willing to give. If he wasn't careful he could end up hurting her and current situation aside, he wasn't an asshole. The last thing he wanted was for either of them to get hurt. So far they had successfully managed to keep feelings out of the bedroom. It was a classic case scenario of friends with benefits. Hell, a lot of the boys thought he was a hero for creating what they termed the perfect get up for himself. He had a bombshell at his beckon call, ready to do business whenever he wanted a piece of ass yet he could still pull something fresh if the need arose and she wasn't around. For most guys yeah, it was probably the best set of circumstances you could have.

It was funny how strongly he disagreed with them. And he had made a strict agreement with Trish that he wouldn't sleep around on the basis that she wouldn't either. The boys didn't know that but he wasn't about to correct them. For years the locker room had ripped him a new ass over the whole Stephanie situation. If they wanted to talk him up for a change he wasn't going to stop them. As he stood there and thought about the whole thing he realised how truly fucked up it was. He hated being alone but wouldn't commit to a relationship and he didn't want to be in a relationship yet he was exclusive to one woman. Talk about retarded. His head was gone with the fucking fairies. And it was starting to hurt, the familiar dull throbbing returning to his temples. Fuck this, he just needed to get to the ring. Grabbing his water bottle, Paul headed for the Gorilla and tried to push all the bullshit in his head to the side. Tonight was a big night. He couldn't afford any distractions.