Chapter One
Part Three
24 June 2001
'Hey, watch it!'
Chris jumped back in surprise from the angry-sounding voice, tripping over his sports bag and landing painfully on the concrete. A fraction later, a body fell on top of him. Through the tangle of straight, brown hair, he could see the frowning face of Triple H looking down at him. That meant…
'Steph, are you okay?' Triple H asked, helping the person lying atop him to stand. As she stood up, Stephanie locked her eyes with Chris.
'Uh, yeah, I'm fine,' she replied, looking away.
Chris quickly moved his gaze from Stephanie to Triple H, and scowled. 'Why don't you watch where you're going!'
'Well I wasn't the one taking up all the hallway space,' Triple H snapped back. He turned to Stephanie, and peered into her face. 'You okay, babe?'
She nodded. 'Really, I'm fine.'
Chris turned away, a mixed feeling of jealousy and nausea forming in the pit of his stomach. The little movement of Triple H's hand on Stephanie's head, pushing back her hair was more than he could stand. He wished more than anything that it was him asking her how she was, touching her.
'Next time, Jericho, why don't you-'
'Hunter, forget about it,' Stephanie interrupted Triple H. 'He's not worth it. Come on, let's just find our dressing room.'
Chris knew that she didn't mean it, but her words still sent a sharp pain through his heart. He said nothing, keeping his face as neutral as he could. With one last angry look at him, Triple H led Stephanie down the hallway, into a room and out of his sight.
*
'Steph, take a deep breath,' Jessica commanded firmly, switching off the TV screen.
Stephanie did as she was told, and felt slightly better. 'I'm okay.'
'He's going to be just fine,' Jessica said optimistically.
She nodded, trying to erase the image of an unconscious Chris lying in the middle of the ring out of her mind. She had seen the same look of pain on his face that she had seen a week and a half ago, just before a chair shot to the head. He had gone down almost instantly, and Billy had gotten the win, and the Intercontinental Title, which he had just regained the previous month.
'We have to get that panicked look off your face before you go back to Hunter,' Jessica continued.
'I know,' Stephanie replied, taking a few more deep breaths. 'And he's match is next. Could you…?'
The other woman nodded, smiling. 'Of course I'll go check up on him.'
She sighed gratefully. 'Thank you. Please tell me how he is as soon as possible.'
'No problem. Now, get going.'
Stephanie hurried back to her own dressing room, hoping that Hunter wouldn't get too suspicious.
He smiled at her when she entered the room. 'How is Jess?'
She forced a smile back, her mind still on Chris. 'She's good. Sorry I took a little longer than expected. You know Jess.'
He laughed. 'Don't we all? Once that girl opens her mouth, you can't shut her up.'
Stephanie also had to laugh. 'Just don't get her started on Raven, and his poetic integrity.'
Just then a sharp knock sounded on the door, and she quickly turned around to face the person. She hoped it was Jessica.
Jessica opened the door with a huge smile. 'Hey, Steph. Everything's just fine.'
Stephanie mouthed a quick 'thank you' to her friend, before nodding and saying out loud, 'I'm glad you and Raven worked things out okay.'
*
09 July 2001
'Chris, I really think that you should go see a doctor about your sudden headaches,' Stephanie said firmly.
But he just shook his head. 'Really, it's not that bad. It's been getting better.'
'No, it hasn't. You can't lie to me.'
Chris sighed. 'It's not that bad.'
'Not that bad?' she repeated in disbelief. She stared at him. 'Chris, it kept you up for an hour last night. It's been getting a lot worse!'
'Look, I don't want to see a doctor, okay?'
Stephanie shook her head angrily. 'Damnit, Chris! You sound just like Hunter!'
His eyes flared. 'Don't even compare me to him, Steph! Don't you dare!'
'You two have a lot more in common that you realise, huh?' she taunted, hoping that it would change his mind. She hated having to do it, but she was extremely worried.
'It's not going to work, Steph,' Chris replied, his anger gone and replaced with a wry smile.
'I don't know what you're talking about.' Stephanie was surprised at how well he knew her already.
He just shook his head, reaching out towards her. 'I'm not going to see a doctor, and that's final. I'm just fine, okay.'
*
19 July 2001
'Jess, I'm really worried,' Stephanie confessed. They were having an afternoon coffee at a nearby café just before she was to meet Chris.
Jessica put down her mug. 'Have you talked to him about it?'
'All the time, but he refuses to see a doctor. He's been getting them more often lately, and they're getting longer each time.'
'Has he explained why he doesn't want to get it checked out?'
Stephanie shook her head. 'He just refuses to talk about it, and I hate it. I hate seeing him in so much pain, and not being able to help at all.'
'Well, he hides it pretty well. If you hadn't told me anything, then I would never have known.'
'That's just it. He hides everything really well, and although I know him a lot better now, it sometimes feels like I still only know as much as I did last year.'
Jessica smiled reassuringly. 'Steph, believe me, Chris loves you.'
She smiled back thinly. 'I know he does, but sometimes…'
'He loves you. Sometimes it seems like you're his entire world.'
'Then why doesn't he listen to me?' Stephanie burst out in frustration.
'He listens. He's just ignoring you.' Jessica laughed lightly. 'He's a man. What more can I say?'
*
30 July 2001
Hunter and Stephanie had just won their mixed tag team match against Matthew Hardy and Lita, and were celebrating by relaxing closely together in their dressing room. They were now watching the main event for RAW. Chris Benoit's title defence against Chris Jericho.
Hunter knew his marriage was over, but he couldn't stand the thought of not having Stephanie near him. He casually draped an arm over his wife's shoulder, and she smiled up at him softly.
'What do you think Benoit's chances are of retaining?' he asked, both of them turning back to the action on the TV.
'Both of them know each other pretty well,' Stephanie replied. 'I mean-' She stopped when, on screen, Jericho suddenly grabbed his head and stumbled to the mat in the middle of the ring. With Benoit dazed on the outside. Mike Chioda, the referee, was obviously concerned as he kneeled down beside the fallen Jericho.
Hunter frowned as he felt Stephanie tense beside him. When Mike called for EMTs, she shot out of the couch and out of the room. 'What the…?' he trailed off in confusion, also standing up, but more slowly. He took a couple of steps to follow her when JR's voice made him stop and turn back to the TV.
'Oh my…! What's this? Is that Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley coming down to the ring? What is she doing here?'
Hunter watched, completely stunned. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. Stephanie was running down to the ring with a concerned look on her face. She slid into the ring, and towards Jericho…
*
'Chris, please be okay, be okay,' Stephanie pleaded, pushing back Chris's blonde hair out of his face. His eyes were closed, and he was breathing shallowly. She was completely oblivious to the screaming fans, to JR's shouts, to the referee's yells. All she could see, all she cared about, was Chris. And that he was okay.
'…to move,' a voice was saying to her, pulling gently on her arm.
Stephanie tried to ignore it, but it became more insistent. She finally turned to the person. An EMT. 'Mrs Helsmley, please, you have to move.'
She felt tears sliding down her cheeks, not realising that she was crying. She was suddenly numb all over, unsure of what to think, to feel. All she knew was that Chris had collapsed in the middle of the ring, and was now seemingly unconscious.
Someone was pulling her away from Chris, but she was resisting. She didn't want to be separated from him, just in case-
Stephanie quickly cut that thought off. She finally allowed herself to be pulled out of the way as the EMTs checked over Chris, and then rolled him onto a stretcher. She kept her eyes firmly on his seemingly peaceful face, and her hand on his arm as she ran alongside the stretcher.
When they got to the back, a group had gathered around the waiting ambulance. She saw them only from the corner of her eye, and she ignored them. However, Hunter stepped forward and roughly grabbed her arm.
'What the hell do you think you're doing?' he hissed angrily into her face.
A feeling of guilt came over her, but Stephanie pushed it aside as she stared back at him. 'I'm going to the hospital.'
Hunter's jaw visibly clenched, and her grip tightened, but she didn't flinch. She was being forced into two directions. Her right hand, still firmly around Chris's arm was being pulled towards the ambulance as the EMTs tried to make her let go. But Hunter was refusing to let her go.
'We have to get him to hospital, Mrs Helsmley,' an EMT told her urgently.
'I'm coming,' she told him resolutely, finally looking away from her husband's face. Mustering as much strength as she could, Stephanie yanked her arm painfully from Hunter's tight hold. She knew that it was going to leave a mark.
*
31 July 2001
'Steph!'
She heard her name being called, but she didn't move. She was still trying to digest what the doctor had told her regarding Chris's condition.
'Steph?' Jessica hunkered down in front of her, a look of concern on her face. 'Honey, are you okay?'
Stephanie focused on her bestfriend's face, and slowly shook her head. 'No…'
'Where's Chris? What did they say?'
'He's…he's…oh, god…' She couldn't say it. Her mouth refused to form the words.
'It's okay, take your time,' Jessica said gently.
Stephanie stared at her. 'He's dying.'
*
Hunter heard the door quietly click open, and he shot out of the armchair he had been sitting on all night, and stalked towards the door. He had yet to calm down from his initial fury at last night's events. He had yet to feel pain at what she had done.
'Stephanie, damn-'
Jessica's furious, evil glare barely registered, but one glance at Stephanie's face made him abruptly stop. It was her eyes, red and raw, that affected him the most, draining him of all his anger. They were lifeless.
'What's going on?' he asked, unable to tear his eyes away from her pale face.
But Stephanie said nothing, just standing there and staring straight ahead.
'Now isn't really the best time for explanations,' Jessica answered flatly.
Hunter turned to her, narrowing his eyes. 'This doesn't concern you, Jess.'
'One of my friends is in hospital, and my bestfriend is in shock, so don't tell me that this doesn't concern me!' she shot back, her eyes flashing.
He felt his anger rise again, and his hands clench into tight fists by his side. 'I mean it, Je-'
'Just go, Jess,' Stephanie interrupted softly, finally moving.
Jessica turned to Stephanie. 'Are you sure? I don't want to leave you.'
'I'll handle it. Just go, okay?'
Jessica nodded reluctantly. 'I'm only an elevator ride away.' Stephanie nodded slightly, and she finally left.
Hunter couldn't keep his eyes off Stephanie, and he followed into the hotel bedroom. 'Steph?'
'Not right now,' she replied, toneless. 'I need to change and get back to the hospital. I have to be with-' She broke off.
He felt his anger begin to rise again. 'No, you need to be right here to explain everything to me. Or have you forgotten who I am? I'm your husband! You're married to me!'
She said nothing, grabbing a large, fluffy hotel towel and heading towards the bathroom suite.
'C'mon, Steph,' he continued, a sneer entering his voice. 'I thought you had more taste than that? Jericho? Of all people, you were fu-'
'Don't be crude,' she interrupted, her tone cracking slightly.
Hunter stared at her in absolute disbelief. 'That's all you have to say to me?'
Stephanie finally whirled around to face him, her eyes finally flashing fire, and life. 'Then what the hell do you want me to say, Hunter? That I fell in love with a man who doesn't shut me out? That I fell in love with a man who puts me above all else? That I fell in love with a man who makes me feel like I'm the most important person in the world to him? Is that what you want me to say?'
Her voice had risen with each word, and by the time she reached the end she was screaming at him, tears flowing freely down her cheeks. Her words pierced him deeper than he ever thought possible, paining him in ways that nothing else ever could. They were ringing in his ears – 'I fell in love'.
'Is that what you want me to say?' she repeated, a little more calmly but with tears still spilling. 'Is that what you want to hear?'
He wanted to scream and rant back at her, to tell her exactly what he wanted to hear, and what he was feeling. He wanted to grab her and shake her until all thoughts of Jericho were out of her head. He wanted to just plain hit her. But Hunter did none of those things. Forcing down everything – the anger, the pain, the jealousy, the betrayal – he hardened himself and just stared at her.
'Do whatever the hell you want,' he said coldly.
*
'Chris?' she called out softly, stopping just in front of where he sat on the side of his bed.
He raised his head and looked at her, a small smile slightly brightening his aggrieved face. 'Stephanie.'
She wrapped her arms around him as she felt him wrap his own around her waist. For a very long time they just held each other, just enough comfort for now. They were both preparing for the hardship that was to come.
*
03 August 2001
'Damn you, Vince,' Stephanie hissed at him, furious. 'Chris is in serious trouble!'
He stared back at her, unmoving. 'He looks fine to me,' he replied calmly. 'He can have a couple of weeks off, no more, then I want him back to work. He's a major fan favourite now.'
'All you care about is your damn company and your damn money!'
Vince shook his head. 'Steph, I don't like this change in you. Nor do I like you befriending Jericho. I may dislike the man, but he gets people into the seats.'
She glared at him. 'How can you dislike a change in me when you don't even know me? Just like I don't know you. You are not my father, Vince, and I'm ashamed to call myself a McMahon. I have no father.'
His face twitched at her words, and Stephanie knew she had hit a nerve. 'Don't take that tone with me, young lady,' he warned, a hint of intimidation in his voice. 'Don't make the same mistake your brother did.'
'The only mistake I made was not having stood up to you a lot sooner,' she shot back. 'And I'm proud to be compared to a man like Shane.' She whirled around and strode purposely out of the room, her head held high.
Stephanie had known better, but she had hoped that because it had been coming from her, Vince would have been a lot more lenient. He hadn't been, in fact it had been the opposite. But she didn't care. Not anymore. All that mattered was Chris.
*
'You care deeply for him, don't you?' Linda asked gently.
Stephanie nodded. 'I love him, Mom. Much more than I thought I could ever love someone.'
Her mother smiled at her. 'I'm extremely happy for you, Steph. Are you sure about this?'
'I've just found the love of my life,' she replied softly, 'only for something like this to happen. I'm very sure about this.'
'Then I'll do it,' Linda promised. 'I'll release Chris from his contract. I'll make something up, cover for the both of you.'
'Thank you, Mom,' Stephanie replied emotionally, unbidden tears springing to her eyes as she hugged her mother. She hadn't mentioned anything about Chris dying, as he didn't want anyone to know. She was so grateful that her mother would do this for her without knowing all the details. 'This means a lot to me.'
'I know that, honey,' Linda said, hugging her back tightly. 'I wish you all the best. Just don't forget us.'
She pulled away and looked at the older woman. A feeling of deep shame came over her as she remembered all the wrong things she had ever done against her mother. 'Mom, all these years, all the-'
'Stephanie, listen to me very carefully, forget all that. I love you, and I hold no grudges whatsoever. That's what being a mother is, and I'm so very proud to call you my daughter.'
'Thank you,' she whispered, knowing how completely inadequate it was. 'I love you, Mom.'
Linda smiled, elegantly wiping away her tears. 'Now go. And tell him that I said for him to look after my baby girl.'
*
'Hunter, I'm so sorry,' Stephanie apologised, looking at him sorrowfully. 'I really am.'
But he just stared at her. 'Just leave.'
She opened her mouth to say something, but then closed it and shook her head. She bent down and picked up her suitcase, turning her back on him and walking away.
Hunter wanted to scream at her to stop, wanted to run after her and beg her to stay. But once again, he did nothing. Just stared at her back. But as she reached the door, she stopped and turned to face him again. 'Goodbye, Hunter.'
He turned away. 'Enjoy your new life.'