Several weeks passed. Kane and Gabrielle continued their search for the Undertaker's attacker, both on and off camera. It also looked as if Kane would soon be in contention for the World Heavyweight Championship, but for once, titles didn't concern him. Life on the road, which had always been lonely and empty for him, had become something he actually looked forward to. He was still trying to sort out his feelings for Gabrielle, though; as one who had never let himself feel anything but hatred, he was having trouble with this new emotion. It excited him and terrified him all at the same time.

As for Gabrielle, her new life was just as exhilarating and frightening to her as it was for Kane. Unlike Kane, though, she never felt hatred for anyone….her problem was she never felt *anything*. As long as she could remember, she had always been indifferent to anyone else; she had never had a relationship or even a friend. Maybe being thrust out of her comfort zone was good, but it certainly was scary. Especially when she thought she might be falling in love with Kane; nothing she had ever encountered before had made her such a mess emotion-wise. She always tried to keep her distance, and recognized that he did as well. But he was very hard to read sometimes, and thus she didn't know for sure what he was going through.

They might have gone on like this for a long time if not for the screw-up at the hotel…

"What do you mean, there's only one bed?" Gabrielle rarely raised her voice, so Kane knew she had to be upset. He was a little upset too, although perhaps not for the same reasons she was.

The young clerk behind the hotel lobby desk cringed at the sight of this nearly 6 foot tall woman with shocking white hair looming over him. "Ma'am, I-I'm sorry. There was a mix-up in the reservations and the room you reserved only has one bed. I just thought…." He trailed off, caught in Gabrielle's emerald-eyed stare. "You thought what?" she asked in a deadly soft voice, and Kane *knew* she meant business then. Gabrielle cocked her head to one side. "You thought *what*, young man?" The desk clerk suddenly looked like he wished the floor would open up and swallow him. "I…I thought that the two of you were a couple. I thought it wouldn't matter. I am sorry, ma'am…."

Gabrielle stopped. She shook her head slightly and took the room keycard from the clerk. Without saying another word, she turned on her heel and stalked toward the elevator. Kane and the desk clerk were left to stare after her. Kane looked at the clerk and gave him a lopsided grin; the clerk tried to smile weakly and failed. Figuring the poor guy had had enough, Kane turned to go after Gabrielle.

She was waiting at the elevator for him. She pressed the floor button and they stepped on. They rode in silence for a moment, neither of them knowing quite what to say. Kane finally broke the silence. "Gabrielle, I can sleep on the floor, it's no big deal-" "No," she cut in. "You have a match tomorrow and if you slept on the floor, you'd be nothing but a mass of tight muscles. We can….we can sleep in the same bed. We're both adults. I think we know each other pretty well." Do we? Kane thought to himself. Do we really know what the other is thinking? If she only knew…

They got to the room and unpacked. The bed was a king size, which was perfect because of Kane's size. Plus there's plenty of room for us both to not accidentally touch each other, Kane thought, although if that happened….he pushed that thought out of his head.

They both took turns showering; Kane sat on the bed and tried to find something on the television to take his mind off of Gabrielle in the shower. He could just imagine the water rolling down her body as she shampooed her hair. He had never, ever had such daydreams about any woman but her, and the more he thought about it, the more he thought there would be trouble if they actually slept in that bed together. He heard the shower turn off; after a few moments, he heard the hair dryer turn on as she dried her hair. About 15 minutes later, the dryer shut off and the bathroom door opened.

Gabrielle wore a black tshirt and black athletic shorts. He had never noticed how well-toned her legs were before. She was still brushing that magnificent white hair. They looked at each other for a long moment.

"Find anything good on tv?" Gabrielle finally said. Kane shook his head. "There's never anything good on tv." Gabrielle's eyes flicked to the bed and then back to Kane. "What time do we have to get up in the morning?" "Our flight's at 9 am, so I guess…maybe 6?" Gabrielle nodded. "Then I guess we'd better turn in…."

Sorry to end this chapter on a cliffhanger so to speak! I'm still working on what's going to happen next. Enjoy!