The ride to the arena was spent in comfortable silence while Stephanie sat beside Kane watching the highway pass by. Truth be told she really didn't know what to say at this point after what transpired between them the night before. They had already spoken about it earlier anyway, there was nothing left to say, right?

"Are you okay, Stephanie?" Kane's voice broke her out of her reverie, shifting her attention to him. Looking at him, she saw he was relaxed against the seat and his eyes were set on the road ahead of them. Taking a second to study him, she noticed that he didn't look as grouchy as usual. To be honest, she had been noticing how much more elated he had become these past few months. She couldn't think of a time he was ever in a good more for more than a few hours.

Realizing he was still waiting for her response, she quickly blurted out, "Of course, why wouldn't I be?"

He chuckled softly, "You've been pretty quiet after we left… and you keep looking at me."

A blush tinted her cheeks, had she really been that preoccupied with her thoughts she wasn't even aware of what she was doing?

"Oh… I'm sorry. There's just a lot on my mind."

He quieted down almost immediately. Was she having second thoughts? He turned to look at her and saw that she had gone back to looking out of the window. Sighing, he reached over to her side and grasped her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. Bringing her hand up, he placed a kiss to the back of it and linked his fingers with hers, getting her attention again. The two lapsed back into silence as the arena drew nearer.

Xxx

Walking through the busy, crowded hallways of the arena, Kane tugged along his and Stephanie's luggage towards their "office". Office didn't mean much as it was just an enhanced locker room, but it was much better than being stuck with a ton of other wrestlers in the shared one. Glancing around, he noticed a lot of extras and stagehands nodding in his direction. Assuming it was from him being the WWE World Heavyweight Champion, he flashed each of them a smile before making his way into the room reserved for him and Stephanie.

Setting the bags down, he wondered where Stephanie had run off to. He knew that she was incredibly behind with other projects and he figured that she spent enough time focusing on him that now she could get to work on everything else. Tugging the small pack off his shoulders, he let it hit the desk and settle. Opening it up, shining diamonds and gold reached his eyes as the belt glittered in the light. A smile reached his lips as he took it out of the bag and held it in front of him. He stared at the nameplates that had his name and small design on it, and his smile grew.

"That looks great on you, you know."

He turned hearing Stephanie's voice coming from behind him, "You think so? Maybe it would look better if I had the mask."

A laugh reached his ears, "I don't think so. You proved that you don't need to mask to be on top."

He sighed softly, mulling over her response. Walking over to where she sat, he dropped down beside her, placing the belt between them.

"It just feels weird holding gold without the comfort of the mask. The last time I held this belt was almost twenty years ago, and things were so different back then. Hell, I didn't even have the belt for a day-"

His voice drifted off when a small hand touched his shoulder, "You're in a much better place now, Kane. You earned this belt through everything you have put yourself through over the last twenty years. I'm here to make sure that you keep that belt as long as possible… plus you look good wearing it, but that's just me saying that."

Feeling his cheeks heat up, he glanced down at the belt resting between them. While there was a part of him that was still wary about this, he knew that deep down this really was something he earned, and he was going to be damned if he kept sitting around thinking about all the 'what-ifs'.

Turning back to face her, he smiled, "You're right. Everything you said was right. I need to stop doubting myself and start stepping up to prove to everyone that me winning this belt wasn't a fluke."

Returning his smile, Stephanie felt so much better seeing that his confidence kept growing the longer he held the belt. Leaning forward, she kissed him before wrapping her arms around his neck and hugging him.

"If I didn't think you couldn't handle this, I wouldn't have pushed so hard for this to happen."

"I know. If we're being honest, you are the only person who has had confidence in me and truly shown it. Not many people have really done that for me, and it means a lot."

Hearing Kane say that broke Stephanie's heart. She could recall all the times when Seth and Hunter spoke down to him. Even years and years ago she knew that not many people ever believed in him. Well, she was glad she could be the one person to give him that extra boost.

Breaking away from the embrace, Kane checked the time, "The show starts soon. I have to visit with the trainer to see if I'm alright to wrestle tonight. My back still isn't 100%..." Feeling his cheeks heating up again, he mumbled out, "and last night didn't really make it any better."

Upon entering the trainer's room, the doctor greeted both of them before bringing Kane over to the table for him to sit on. Taking a seat in the corner, Stephanie watched Kane strip himself of his jacket and shirt. Trying not to stare too long, she found it difficult to stop when the doctor had him flexing and moving around. Getting lost in her own fantasies, she suddenly gasped when he turned and she saw his large, blackish-purple bruise that spread across his entire lower back.

Listening in on their conversation, she overheard Kane mumbling, "I need to compete tonight. I hold the title, I need to prove that a little bruise isn't going to stop me."

"Sir, not only do you still feel incredibly sore, but there's no way I can clear you to wrestle tonight, especially with how enflamed and irritated this is. I'm giving you the night off to recuperate. You should be fine this coming Monday."

An irritated huff left Kane's mouth as he pulled back on his shirt. He knew that he was in no shape to compete, but a part of him refused to want to sit back when he should be out there defending the championship. He watched as the doctor spoke with Stephanie before heading off, and he saw her shift back towards him. Hopping down off the table, he approached Stephanie, a frown etched on his features.

"Can you believe the nerve of that guy? What does he know about how I'm feeling?"

Stephanie heard the frustration in Kane's voice, and she felt bad hearing him and seeing him like this. Looping her arm with his, she tugged on it until he began walking beside her back to their office. Stephanie didn't know what to say to make him feel any better, so she remained quiet on their way back until Kane spoke again, "I'm going to sit out for Seth's match tonight. I can't sit backstage doing nothing."

A smile reached her lips upon hearing a sudden determination in his voice. Tightening her arm in his, she led them into the office until he was seated on the couch.

"Well, then let us get you all ready for tonight."

Xxx

Holding Stephanie's hand in his, Kane waited for his music to begin before heading onto the ramp. As he heard it, he led her through the curtain and onto the ramp and immediately was met with a chorus of loud cheering from the crowd. While his pyro blocked it out at first, he could see signs with his name on them throughout the crowd as he walked down by the ring. Helping Stephanie into the ring, he walked with her to the middle of the ring and held the belt up, hearing an increase in the cheers from the audience.

The cheers didn't last long as almost immediately Seth Rollins' music began playing throughout the arena, and the majority of the crowd turned as they heard him speaking, "Cut the music. Cut it out!"

Kane watched as Seth appeared shortly after, with J&J Security flanking him. He noticed both smaller men still looking beat up after his brutal assault the week before. Feeling a twinge of remorse, he quickly stopped himself from feeling worse for going after them. After all, they got in his way, and he wasn't going to lose that night. Feeling a soft touch on his arm, he watched Stephanie bring a mic up to her mouth,

"Seth I'm surprised you're actually here tonight. Shouldn't you be tending to Hunter's wounds? Shouldn't you be waiting on your knees to serve him?"

Kane's eyes grew wide in surprise and amusement at the look on Seth's face. He knew Stephanie could go low, but he didn't know how low.

Seth's cackle brought the attention back to him, "I don't know Stephanie, weren't you the one on your knees for him for other reasons?"

The crowd erupted in 'oooohs' and other nonsensical noise. Sensing Stephanie's embarrassment, Kane placed a hand on her shoulder and took the mic from her, anger rising inside of him.

"Gee, Seth, those are some awfully big words coming from a man with a something so small…"

Not being able to help himself, Kane laughed seeing Seth's face turn an ungodly shade of red as he tossed the mic away and began stomping down towards him and Stephanie. Taking Stephanie's hand, he quickly led her out of the ring before anything could transpire between them. Pushing her behind him, he braced himself for one of them to go after him, but the sound of Dolph Ziggler's music made Seth focus on him instead.

Taking a seat beside the commentator's table, Kane glanced at Stephanie, seeing she was transfixed on the rings on her fingers. Laying a hand on top of hers, she eventually looked over at him. Giving her a smile, he leaned over to her, "Are you alright? Don't worry about what Seth said."

She nodded in confirmation before returning his smile, putting him and herself at ease. After spending all of this time with him, she only now realized how good he treated her. She wondered if this was the real man he was always supposed to be, but never had a chance to. She wasn't about to find out his wrath if she was wrong about him, though.

Kane sat there watching the match until he felt something poke his arm. Turning in the chair, he saw one of the commentator's handing him a headset. Sliding closer to them, he took it and set it on his head so he could hear them.

"Ladies and gentlemen, Kane has decided to join us. So, Kane, what is it like holding the gold again, after almost twenty years?"

"Quite frankly, it's an unexplainable feeling. I never thought I would be holding the gold again, but now that I am, I guarantee you and everyone else that this will be a reign nobody will forget."

"What's it like having Stephanie McMahon in your corner? You two seem to have gotten very close, very fast. We take it things with Triple H didn't work out?"

Sighing softly, Kane's eyes flicked back to the match, seeing Seth was being pummeled into the ground.

"All I can say about that is that Stephanie is safe with me. After what Hunter did to her at TLC, there's nothing he can do to fix an already broken relationship."

"Kane, do you think that Stephanie is doing this just so she can turn on you when Triple H returns? I mean, they were the power couple that has taken charge time and time again. You can't think that she can move on this fast –"

Dropping the headset onto the desk, Kane shot up out of his chair, staring down the three now pale faced men beside him. Growling lowly, he locked eyes with the man who decided to say those things to him. Not paying attention to what was going on in the ring, he didn't even hear Seth getting the pinfall, or Stephanie telling him to stop. Grabbing the man by the collar of his shirt, he easily yanked him up to his feet, staring him in the eyes.

Lowering his voice, he said to the quivering man, "Say those things to me again, and we'll see how your insides look wrapped around your throat."

As he went to drop the man, he heard an uprising in the noise of the crowd and as he looked to his left, he saw a flying Seth Rollins coming his way. Before he had time to react, the smaller man collided with him, sending him tumbling into the barricade. Kane grunted in pain as his back collided with the barricade, but had no time to recover because of the flurry of punches coming from Seth. Shoving the man off of him, he tried to back off but to no avail. Seth relentlessly went after him until he was brought to his knees. Suddenly, he felt a jolt of pain go through his head from Seth's boot. Crumpling onto the ground, he watched through hazy, lidded eyes Seth tearing apart the table until there was nothing left on it. Trying to get up and get away, Kane gasped when a monitor was thrown against his back, and he was forcefully pulled up by Joey, Jamie and Seth and shoved onto the table. Knowing that he was going to get curb stomped, he braced for impact but it never came. There was an eruption of cheers when he saw a flurry of blonde hair rush past him and jump on Seth. The distraction prompted him to slide off of the table and limp his way to where Stephanie was.

Falling into her, he felt her hand on his abdomen, supporting him. His free hand took the belt from her outstretched arm and they slowly walked up the ramp. Glancing up at the titantron, Kane watched as Ziggler was curb stomped into the table after being held down by Joey and Jamie. Stopping, he continued to watch as Seth stood atop the mess and pointed his way.