A BIG thanks to the previous reviewers! missbean1997, stephrockprincess, ShaunG, Dodjet, & CerebralPrincess. I am REALLY starting to get into this story now, so here's a brand new chapter, and I am already working on the next one...it should be up very soon hopefully! :) Enjoy, and please let me know what you think!! :D

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After Hunter had finally went to sleep that night, Stephanie was feeling kind of down. She just wanted someone to comfort her and make her feel better. She had snuck into the bathroom and out of no where, just started balling. She of course kept it down so she didn't wake up Hunter. When did her life become a living nightmare? She was still very much intoxicated. All of a sudden, Chris entered her mind. It took her mind off of Hunter for a split second, and she smiled to herself. One of her worst former enemies was the only person she seemed to be able to go to and get the comfort she needed. She finally didn't hate him anymore, in fact, she admired him. Chris was her escape from reality. The only chance of happiness she had. She suddenly felt the urge to go to his room. She missed him! It had only been nearly two hours since she last seen him, but she wanted to see him again. She checked the clock on the bathroom wall, and it read 4:10am. She figured she would go just for a few minutes to let him know she was ok. She was sure she would wake him up, but she didn't think it would bother him. She got up from the floor, and went straight for the door. She saw Hunter was still sound asleep, and so she exited the room quietly.

As she walked over to Chris's room, she noticed a man standing a few feet away, he looked pretty familiar, but she couldn't quiet make out who it was. She was still pretty intoxicated. She gently knocked on Chris's door and waited for a reply.

Within a matter of seconds, he opened the door.

"Steph? Oh my god, what did he do?" asked Chris, who saw the mascara smeared around her eyes from crying. She had completely forgot to check herself in the mirror.

"I'm fine, Chris, I just wanted to come say hello. I'm sorry it's so late." she said.

"Come on in." Chris said as he closed the door behind her.

"Well what happened? You have make-up smeared all over your face." said Chris who looked utterly concerned.

"Oh... that." she lightly chuckled. "I was... I kinda had a breakdown in the bathroom...no biggie." she said with a small smile on her face.

"What did he do?" Chris asked.

"Well tonight it wasn't so bad actually. Just a smack or two and he was done." she said looking down at the floor.

"Come on, let's get you cleaned up." Chris said as he guided her to sit down on the bed. He went into the bathroom for a second and got a warm rag. He then sat down beside her and began wiping away at the smeared make-up.

Stephanie sat there silently while he cleaned her face up. He was so gentle and sweet, that she couldn't help but get lost in his blue eyes. For the first time, she noticed how blue they were. They were gorgeous. Only, they looked a little sad.

"Are you ok?" asked Stephanie quietly.

"I'm fine, why do you ask?" smiled Chris as he gently continued to wipe her face.

"You look a little sad." she said as she frowned a little.

He finished wiping her face clean, then sat the rag down and looked her directly in the eyes. "Of course I am, Steph... I hate what's happening to you. I can't bare to see you get hit anymore. Your an amazing person and you don't deserve this. I've made my mind up, I am going to face Hunter this morning at the meeting." Chris admitted.

"What do you mean?" asked Stephanie as her eyes widened a little.

"It's ok... he wont lay another hand on you, but I can't let him keep doing this to you, I just can't." admitted Chris.

"Chris, no! You can't say anything! Don't you know that NO ONE knows about this. My own FAMILY doesn't have a clue." Stephanie said, as she began to sound a little worried.

"Maybe they should, Steph. Then all of this madness would come to and end." said Chris.

"No, because as soon as we got behind close doors, he would REALLY let me have it. You can't say anything, Chris, PLEASE...promise me you wont say anything!" said a worried Stephanie.

"Steph..." Chris started to say. Before he could even finish Stephanie started crying.

"Please Chris, don't tell anyone, please...PLEASE." she said as she began to cry hysterically.

Chris was kind of shocked. He knew she was terrified of Hunter, so he figured maybe he wouldn't say anything to him directly, but some how he was going to stop this abuse.

"Ok..ok...don't cry, Steph...I won't say anything." Chris said as he took her in his arms to comfort her. He hated when she cried, it absolutely killed him on the inside. "Shh, it's ok." he said as he was rubbing her back to make her feel better.

After a minute or two, she stopped crying. She was so exhausted she fell asleep right there in his arms. He looked down at her and wondered if she should be staying in his room so late, after all, it was nearly 5:30am, and they all had a meeting at 9am. He knew Hunter would wake up without her there and start looking for her. But the thought of Hunter had him so angry. It was the LAST place he wanted her to be. He knew she needed some rest. She was already going to wake up with a hang-over and feel TERRIBLE for the meeting. He only hoped it wouldn't be like last time when she freaked out on him when she discovered she was in his hotel room the other morning.

He gently laid her down, and pulled the covers over her. He then turned off the light and headed over to the couch where he laid down to get some sleep. For the first time in a week, he could sleep peacefully knowing she was safe.

The morning came in what seemed to be minutes. Chris's alarm went off at 7am. He yawned and stretched out as the morning light hit his face through the window. As he got up to look for Stephanie, he noticed she wasn't in the bed, in fact, the bed was made up. He went over to the bathroom, but noticed it was empty. Then all of a sudden, he walked closer to the balcony and he saw the curtains flowing in the breeze. The sunlight was beaming down though the flowing curtains that lead to the balcony. For a moment, he almost had a stroke. The first thing that ran through his mind was that she ended it all and jumped. But he noticed the coffee was made, so he quickly poured him a cup and walked over to the door that lead out to the balcony. He saw her sitting in a chair looking over at the waves crashing at the shore. It was so peaceful and quiet. You could hear the birds chirping softly, and the waves crashing onto the sand. She was wearing her long silky gown that she came in just a few hours ago. For a moment, he wondered if she would remember him from the night before, or think she was with Hunter. She was startled by Chris as he cleared his throat.

"Chris. Good morning." she smiled.

"You remember me?" he asked, kind of shocked.

Stephanie smiled. "Yes, I remember you." she said as she lightly chuckled.

"Thank goodness." he smiled as he sat along side of her.

They both were silent for a moment. They both stared at the waves crashing on the sand. The sky was lit up beautifully with pink rays of sunlight.

"You know, I use to come out here as a little girl, when I was on the road with my father for my summer vacations...and I would always wake up at daylight to watch the waves crash on the sand, and the sky, as it was lit up a beautiful shade of pink." she said as she paused.

"..and?" asked Chris.

"I use to come out here and pray for God to send me the man of my dreams. For many years, might I add." she said as she suddenly chuckled. "I was such a dreamer. I had these visions, or shall I call them dreams...and you better not laugh!" she said as she paused and looked him dead in the eye.

"Of course I wont...continue" he said as he seemed curious.

She smiled to herself. "I use to dream every night for years that this blonde man, and I couldn't ever see his face, but he had long blonde hair, he was built, he had the most beautiful smile I'd ever seen, and not to mention, he was very charming..." she said as she paused a second. "...who pretty much resembled Hunter I guess, but I never knew because I couldn't see his face...and I dreamed over and over that he picked me up from the darkness." she said as she paused. Chris looked very curious as he stared at her listening to what she was saying.

"It's like I was sitting in this dark room, I was weak, and I was shaken up a bit, and this blonde man reached out to grab my hand, and it was like I was completely around nothing but evil, but when this man looked at me, I trusted him. I ended up taking his hand, and he pulled me to my feet... and he just held me for a minute, and I felt so safe and happy. Like, it just felt right. Like we belonged together. And I felt like I loved him in this dream. And I didn't want him to let go." she said as she practically had tears in her eyes. "...and when we went to kiss, we would lean in, but it was so dark I couldn't see his face... and before we ever got a chance to kiss, the dream would stop....and I mean RIGHT before I got to see his face." she said as she looked a little annoyed.

Chris chuckled. "Wow. That's interesting." he said.

"Yeah, but what amazes me is the fact that I have dreamed this dream EVERYNIGHT for years. It won't go away. I think about it maybe being a hint or something..." she said as she paused and looked confused.

"A hint of what? That prince charming is coming to rescue you?" he chuckled.

Chris suddenly stopped smiling when he saw Stephanie instantly frown.

"I don't know. I use to think it was Hunter, but now... I'm not sure. I mean, I certainly don't feel safe with him. I don't love him like I use to." she said as she paused. "Certainly when I use to pray to God for true love, I never bargained for THIS." she said sadly. "Did I do something bad? I mean, why else would God punish me so bad? I am living a complete nightmare. I don't even want to sleep because a lot of times he's there......and he hurts me." she said as she finally began shedding the tears.

Chris instantly moved over to her and began rubbing her shoulder. "Steph, it's nothing you did. These things happen. God wouldn't want anyone hurting if they didn't deserve it. He's just making you a stronger person." Chris smiled sweetly, hoping it would calm her down.

"I just don't think I can take it much longer. He's robbed me of everything. My pride, my innocence, my life!" she said. "I can't even talk to my dad anymore because I am afraid Hunter will get angry and hit me. This just isn't any way to live life." she said as she looked him dead in his eyes.

"Of course you'll make it, Steph, your strong, your a McMahon. We just have to figure out a way to end it." said Chris.

"We?" she asked.

"Yes, we. I am in this now, and I will remain in this until we solve it." Chris said as he smiled.

They spent the next hour talking. They never even realized they were getting close to the meeting, until Chris phone rang.

"Hello?" answered Chris.

"We have a meeting in one hour and I can't find my damn keys. Can I get a ride with you?" asked Christian.

"OH MY GOD...What time is it?" asked Chris as he jumped up.

"It's 8am." said Christian.

Chris knew they were already 45 minutes away from the WWE headquarters. Which meant they had 15 minutes to get ready.

"I got to go, come on over in 20." said Chris as he quickly hung up.

"What time is it?" asked Stephanie.

"It's 8am... I lost all track of time. I'm sorry..." said Chris as he quickly went to the closet and grabbed the suit out.

"I'm heading back to my room to get something to wear.." Stephanie said as she headed for the door.

"Ok... if you have problems...call me, you have my number." said Chris.

"Ok." she smiled, and headed on back to her room.

As she got there, she opened it quietly and noticed he was gone. His bags were missing, but her cell phone and her things were still there. She immediately grabbed her cell and noticed it had a missed message...she quickly opened the message.

BEEEEEEP: "Um, Steph... where the hell are you? I woke up and the bed was made on your side. Where did you go? I figured you'd come back to get your stuff so I left it in place. Call me ASAP when you get this. We have a meeting this morning. Alright, bye babe. BEEEEEEP.

She rolled her eyes, deleted the message, and quickly ran to the closet. She noticed Hunter had took the ONE outfit she had picked out for the meeting. Now why the hell would he take it? Did he plan on wearing it?

"Ugh!!" she yelled out as she ran to her bag and grabbed her gray skirt, and fancy, silky, white collared shirt, and put them on. The shirt was the only one she had that wasn't wrinkled. After she put it on she quickly applied her make-up. She looked HOT. Way too hot for a business meeting, but what the hell was she suppose to do? It's all she had. After she was done, she grabbed her phone, and purse... and quickly headed to Chris's room, where she knocked and waited.

"Stephanie?" asked Christian, who had a puzzled look on his face. "Are you lost?" he chuckled.

"Uh... is Chris in there?" she asked.

"Uh, yeah.... he's in the bathroom. You want to come on in and wait?" he asked, looking a little surprised. As far as he knew, they hated each other. He hadn't ever seen them be nice to one another. EVER.

"Yeah." she said as she made her way in.

"Where are you going?" asked Christian.

"A meeting." she said, wondering why he was asking her that.

"Dressed like that?" he asked as he looked her up and down. It certainly was sexy.

"Uh, long story." she chuckled.

"Oh." he said.

Suddenly Chris came out of the bathroom. His long blonde hair was tucked back in a ponytail, and he totally looked like a rock star. He was wearing black pants with a really nice white collared shirt and tie. "Damn, he looks good." she thought to herself as she noticed herself looking at him up and down. She finally got a hold of herself.

"Um, Chris....Stephanie wanted to see you." said Christian who had an amused look on his face.

"Oh Steph... is everything ok?" he asked as he walked over to her.

"Well, Hunter left already...so I don't have a ride. I figured instead of calling a cab, I'd just ride with you. Is that ok?" she asked.

"That's fine." he smiled as he looked at her choice of clothes. "Uh, Steph... you do know your father will be there?" he chuckled.

Stephanie looked down, a little embarrassed. "It isn't THAT bad is it? I mean, it's the only thing I had...Hunter seemed to have took the only outfit I had that was strictly for the meeting." she said as she rolled her eyes.

"Ok, did I miss something here? You two are normally insulting each other left and right." said Christian, who looked utterly confused.

"Long story, I'll tell you about it later." said Chris, who instantly saw Stephanie give him a worried look. "Well, parts of it anyways." Chris smiled as he glanced over at Stephanie.

Finally after a 45 minute drive, they only managed to be 10 minutes late. They began rushing to the office where the meeting was being held. They were so afraid of getting in trouble that they both walked in together quickly so that they weren't any later then they were already, which of course everyone immediately turned to stare at them. Stephanie walked in last and saw Hunter boiling. Of course he didn't show it, but she knew when he was angry. Vince stopped and looked at them funny, and Stephanie realized it was a mistake. She heard some of the boys quietly let out a "oooo". She quickly went to speak up until Vince spoke before her.

"Where the hell have you two been?" asked Vince, who stopped the meeting and sat down his papers. "If you haven't noticed it's 10 minutes into the meeting.

"Uhh...well we..." started Stephanie. Chris could tell she was nervous so he quickly spoke up for them both.

"I was already running late, and then right before I left, Stephanie came knocking on my door for a ride because I guess Hunter had left her." Chris said as he sat down next to Randy and an empty seat.

"I didn't leave her, she wasn't there this morning. Where have you been?...and what are you wearing!" asked Hunter who was staring at Stephanie will cold eyes.

"I went for a long run. Dad, I'm so sorry...it will NEVER happen again, I was just having some issue's this morning. And excuse me Hunter, but you seemed to have taken the only decent outfit I had for this meeting, so I had to improvise." she said as she quickly sat down right by Chris, because it was the only seat available. She felt everyone burning a hole into them. Everyone at that point KNEW...how stupid did you have to be to realize something between them was going on.

"Alright, you two come see me after the meeting and we'll talk about it." said Vince as he began to go on with the meeting.

Stephanie sat there through the meeting. She tried not to glance at Hunter too much... he stared at them two the entire time giving them the most EVIL look.

FINALLY, the meeting was over.

"Alright guys, thank you all for attending this meeting, until next time, good luck tonight on Smackdown." Vince said as they all got up to leave. "Oh Steph, Chris, you two stay here." Vince said as he signaled for them to sit.

"Can I stay?" asked Hunter.

"I guess so, she's your wife." said Vince.

Stephanie cringed at those words. As the wrestlers left, they shut the door. Stephanie was afraid of what he was going to ask.

"So tell me you two, what went on this morning? I got a call from Hunter telling me that you disappeared in the middle of the night." said Vince as he looked over at Stephanie.

"Like I said, I went for a long run." Stephanie simply said, hoping they bought it.

"A run? At 4am? That's like 4 hours, Stephanie." asked a suspicious Hunter.

"So what. You think I'm lying? What the hell do you want me to say?" asked Stephanie as she began to get angry, and let it out. She felt safe there with Chris and her father, she didn't even think about the consequences it would cause later behind closed doors.

"I want you to tell me what's going on between you and Chris." Hunter said, while fuming.

Stephanie looked over at Chris. "NOTHING. Why?" asked Stephanie.

"Bullshit, Stephanie. You two are the BIGGEST enemies, and lately, that's all changed." said Hunter.

"How?" asked Chris.

"Well for one, you don't ever say anything negative about her in the ring as of late, and second, you two came in TOGETHER this morning. And as I remember Stephanie saying not too long ago, she's rather chew her arm off then get near you." Hunter admitted.

Stephanie realized she didn't feel that way at all anymore. She admired this man. He saved her. He made her feel good about herself, unlike Hunter.

"So what... you want me to go out there and said rude and nasty things about her? It doesn't prove anything." said Chris as he rolled his eyes at Hunter.

"Ok, and you two together this morning?" asked Hunter.

"I've already said it ass-clown, we were both running late and I offered her a ride since she would have had to wait 40 minutes for a cab." said Chris.

"Oh but wait a minute, Chris.... you said she asked YOU for a ride. See, now your turning it around." said Hunter.

"You know what Hunter, kiss my ass. I don't have to tell you anything. NOTHING is going on between Stephanie and I...for god sakes, she's a married woman." said Chris as he shook is head in anger.

"Stephanie?" asked Hunter.

Stephanie glanced up at him...almost like he was waiting for her to reply.

"What?" she asked, a little annoyed in her tone.

"Your lieing...something happened between you two. Did you fuck my wife last night?" Hunter blurted out as he stared deep into Chris's eyes.

"OH MY GOD...I don't have to take this...and neither do you Stephanie..." Chris said.

"Oh but wait a minute... see... I just caught you both in the BIGGEST LIE." said Hunter, who still looked really pissed off. Vince just sat back and listened.

"Oh yeah, how?" asked Chris.

"Someone, and I am not going to mention any names... but someone came to me this morning like 15 minutes before the meeting and gave me these." Hunter said as he took some photos out of an envelope, and through them in front of them. Stephanie was too afraid to look, she had no idea what they could be. She hadn't ever even kissed Chris before, so she didn't know what to expect.

Chris leaned over and looked at the first photo. "What the hell is this?" Chris asked, with a disgusted look on his face.

"That is someone who saw Stephanie in the hallway last night GOING to your room. He said they were taken around 4am. So after she snuck out of OUR room, she went into yours." Hunter said.

"And how the hell would you know if that's my room or not." asked Chris.

"See this photo, it's got you both in it at the door, right before she entered." said Hunter.

DAMN! They were completely busted. Stephanie's heart dropped. Boy was she going to get the beating of her life. She still didn't look at the photos, but she glanced at one, and didn't want to look at anymore. She tried to remember the man in the hallway that night, and for some reason she briefly remembered even though she was still a little intoxicated that night. He was over in a corner, wearing black. He stared at her for a few moments until Chris let her in. She didn't even recall him taking photos. GREAT!

They didn't say a word. No one did. Chris and Stephanie all stared at the floor.

"Steph? You wanna explain?" asked Vince.

"Ok, look... NOTHING happened. I swear to god! I was just in there because I needed someone to talk to." she said.

"AT FOUR O'CLOCK IN THE MORNING? What the hell Steph, you stayed there ALL FUCKING NIGHT...don't act like I'm STUPID!!!" Hunter began to yell.

Stephanie didn't know what to say. She couldn't mention her getting abused. She was too afraid.

"It doesn't matter what either of us say, no one is going to believe us, but we had a DAMN GOOD reason as to why she was in there with me...and I think damn well Hunter knows why." said Chris who was BURNING a hole into Hunter.

Stephanie about had a stroke. What the hell was Chris doing? He was going to get her KILLED!! She felt her entire body shaking, and going numb.

"And why would Hunter know?" asked Vince.

Chris thought about it for a second.

"Because her asshole of a husband has been abusing her for god knows how long!" blurted out Chris.

Everyone froze in that room. No one moved, no one said a word. At lease for a moment....