(cough subtle, brief clues to identity located in chapters 10 and 14 cough). LOL. Thought I'd go a teensy bit deeper as far as the background of the mystery man. It's still fairly vague, but gives some insight as to why exactly he's blaming the McMahon-Helmsley clan for the way his life has ended up. Hunter and Stephanie's scene is just here to be fluffy and to kind of summarize how their interactions have been going. Enjoy!

Friday, May 17, 2002

Stephanie lingered in the doorway of Hunter's room, watching him toss, turn and mutter unintelligibly in his sleep. This was the fourth night this had happened. Being that he still wouldn't tell her what they were running from, her guard had gone back up. Because it hurt that he wouldn't confide in her. Was it that he didn't trust her with the secret? Or did he just think she wouldn't be able to handle it emotionally?

If he wanted to open up about whatever was tormenting him in his sleep, he would. She wasn't about to reach out to him only to have him shoot her down again.

Since they weren't actually back together, they had opted to sleep in separate rooms. Stephanie was hormonal and pregnant and neither of them wanted sex to complicate matters.

Sex itself wouldn't have been the complication. But the fact was that for them it was never solely about physical pleasure. Their hearts would tell them they were back together, even though their minds knew differently. Hunter could probably take it. But Stephanie wouldn't be able to.

The night that they stayed in Las Vegas, the only hotel room left at the late hour was one that had one king-sized bed. Unless they wanted to go out at midnight and drive around until they found another vacancy, the room at the Mirage would have to do.

Hunter was pleasantly shocked that he hadn't had the nightmare, but had kept it to himself of course. He figured that he was able to sleep through the night because he knew Stephanie was safe with him. It seemed that it only worked when she was actually in the bed next to him, though. Because on the very first night in the rental home, he'd had the nightmare again. He was going to chalk it up to coincidence, until it happened the following two nights as well.

"Don't hurt her," he mumbled as he threw an arm out to the side.

Stephanie's eyebrows drew together in concern and curiosity as she silently walked farther into the room. Don't hurt who? She wondered inside her head.

"No," he protested softly but firmly as he shook his head against the pillows.

She pressed her lips together thoughtfully. She had no idea if she should wake him up or not. The prior nights she hadn't. And other than looking nerve-wracked and sleep-deprived the following mornings, it seemed to have turned out fine. God, she just wished he would open up to her. About something. Anything, really. Maybe it would give her the courage she needed to tell him that he was going to be a father and that they'd spent the last couple of months fighting and hurting for nothing.

Distractedly, she rubbed her swollen stomach to settle the baby down. He or she wasn't kicking, just moving around and giving her a strange fluttering sensation. A low sigh escaped her and she turned, with the intention of going back to her room.

"Stephanie," Hunter said behind her.

A guilty flush of red stained her cheeks. How the hell was she going to explain being in his room at nearly midnight? Always the option of telling the truth, she thought reluctantly. She turned around to face him and explain herself.

But, her mouth parted and her head tilted as she comprehended the scene. Hunter was definitely still sleeping. So the dreams were about her, then. About someone trying to hurt her. Now she was more curious than ever. But, if something terrible was happening to her in his dreams, it explained a couple of things.

It explained why he looked like he hadn't slept in weeks.

And it explained why they had come here. He must have been trying to prevent whatever had occurred in the dream from happening in real life.

This whole time, he just blew off her questions by saying she was in danger from the people in the WWF. To her, it seemed like a silly reason to drop off of the face of the planet. But, if he was having some ominous dream about someone harming her, she could understand.

He was a proud kind of guy and probably didn't want to admit that a dream had chilled him right down to the bone. Despite the fact that she wanted him to talk about it, she'd leave it alone for now. And she'd stop being so difficult in trying to pressure him into telling her what was up with their hibernation.

Briefly chewing her lip, she walked over to the side of the bed that he was lying on. She placed her hand against his cheek gently, before leaning down to press her lips against his.

To her surprise, when she tried to pull away, one of Hunter's massive arms came around her waist and kept her where she was. "Stay," he demanded gently without even bothering to open his eyes.

"Okay," she agreed without hesitation. Hunter scooted over in the bed and patted the newly vacant space in an inviting manner. She climbed under the sheets beside him and forced herself not to let out a giddy squeal when he shuffled closer to her. She could feel the warmth of his body and it was intensified when he draped his arm across her and buried his face in her hair. Moments later, his slowed heartbeat and deep, even breathing alerted her that he was asleep again.

Saturday, May 18, 2002

He was no closer to finding Hunter and Stephanie than he had been a few days ago. And it was frustrating the hell out of him. He was on decent terms with the McMahon-Helmsley family. Hell, he might have even been on good terms where one or more of them was concerned. There was no immediate reason why any of them should suspect him of being the culprit. He'd been ridiculously careful and there was no way he could be caught for it. At least not until he wanted to be, anyway.

Even though his wife – or ex, depending on how one wanted to look at the situation – had been dead for almost four months, it felt like he'd been crafting this revenge plan forever.

There were times when he'd been allied with the family. But, more often than not he had opposed them.

Matches lost, title shots lost, titles lost, injuries given...

The things he and the family did to each other was like Russian roulette or something. And it would take too much damn research to figure out who had done the most damage career-wise. Really, it didn't matter. Because as always, eventually things had become personal. He'd been too caught up in the perks of having the first family of wrestling on his side. So much so that he hadn't appreciated his wife. He'd disrespected her both publicly and privately. And to a lesser extent he'd allowed the McMahon-Helmsley's to do so as well.

He was too blind to see what he was really doing. He was just mad and thought she was trying to stand in the way of his success. A part of him believed she was mad that she wasn't experiencing the same success.

Yes, he'd belittled her. Yes, he'd talked down to her.

Unfortunately, he'd let his temper get the best of him and he hit her. He'd watched as her light-colored hair had fanned around her face as she fell backwards over their coffee table. Though she clutched at her stomach, she refused his help.

He pressed his palms to his eyes, willing the images to fade. The baby was gone and so was his wife. All that he had was this one last plot for revenge. One that would even out the scales for good. Right now they were tipped too far in a direction that wasn't his. And that just wouldn't do.

They hadn't stopped him from being a terrible husband; they'd egged him on. They'd contributed, rather than letting him know he was going too far. He saw it for what it was now. When they were done utilizing his talent, they'd have discarded him. With his marriage irreparably damaged, he'd have no one. They would have gotten everything they wanted out of him. And he would've had nothing.

Well, he had lost what they undoubtedly wanted him to. But he still had something. He had his plans. That was it. Everything else failed to matter.

He removed his big hands from his face and picked up the 9mm gun lying at his side instead. He pressed his lips together as he turned it every which way, admiring it. It seemed like the smart thing to do would be to keep it nearby at all times. Hunter couldn't keep Stephanie hidden away forever. One of them would get restless and demand freedom. Or someone who knew where they were would slip-up. He didn't care which situation came to pass. He just knew he'd stay ready for that very opportunity around the clock.

Monday, May 20, 2002

Hunter adjusted the strap of his duffel bag nervously. He hadn't discussed today's plans with Stephanie at all. She eyed him speculatively, but remained silent. He cleared his throat. "Well since the WWE is in town I figure a surprise appearance is in order. I skipped out on my last match."

Stephanie opened her mouth to ask a question but Hunter held up his hand before she could start. "No, you're not coming. You're going to stay here, where I know you'll be safe."

"But, Hunter!" she whined. "The only reason I haven't gone out of my mind with boredom is because you've been here. What am I supposed to do to keep myself occupied while you're gone?"

He shrugged. "The arena isn't too far and I won't be gone long. I don't care what you do as long as it doesn't involve you leaving here."

"I feel like a prisoner," she said with a pout, sinking into the cushions of the couch.

"I'm sorry, Steph. But, you know it's necessary-"

"Yeah, yeah I know. Because people hate us and might try to hurt me." God, she was growing tired of that reason. Especially when he was holding back on the full explanation of it.

He nodded and gave her a quick kiss on the lips.

Suddenly, she brightened and sent him an angelic smile. "Do you have to leave right now?"

"I'm anxious to get to the arena ASAP and get back here to you," he narrowed his eyes at her cheerful attitude. "What's up?"

"Well," she droned as she batted her eyelashes sweetly. "Since I'm a prisoner and all, I was wondering if I could have a conjugal visit from you? You know, something to tide me over," she smiled again. Screw the emotional consequences. She was bored and her hormones were raging.

"No time," he told her before grabbing his coat and rushing out of the front door before she even had a chance to protest.

"What the hell?" Stephanie asked herself out loud as she threw her arms in the air in defeat. He won't touch me! I bet this has something to do with him thinking I'm carrying another man's baby. Yet again, I have no one to blame but myself. I don't have the slightest clue as to how I should begin that conversation, but I have to tell him the truth soon, before I die of celibacy.

She needed to get on the computer and find a physician in the area. It was time for her once a month checkup. Maybe if she could get the doctor to say how far along she was out loud, it might help her get the talk with Hunter started.