Always - Chapter One

Chapter One

Part One

06 February 2002

Despite the many years they had spent together, Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley still couldn't stop marvelling at how truly gorgeous he was. The only man she had ever truly loved.

As if sensing her gaze, he turned briefly and smiled at her. 'What are you looking at?'

She smiled back. 'You.'

Chris Jericho chuckled lightly, his attention back to the road. 'Baby, I ain't much to look at.'

'Yes, you are,' Stephanie said seriously. 'You are the most gorgeous man alive.'

'And you, my dear, are the most beautiful woman alive.'

It was her turn to laugh. 'Uh huh. And what about Julia Roberts?'

Chris grinned. 'Julia who?'

With a smile on her face, Stephanie finally tore her eyes away from him, and looked at the road. An oncoming semi-trailer was headed towards them, taking the upcoming turn too fast. She could see the look of panic on the truck driver's face as he struggled to control his heavy vehicle.

Losing her smile, Stephanie turned back towards Chris. 'Chris-'

*

Hunter Helmsley walked into their house, dumping his overnight bag on the floor and taking his jacket off.

'Steph?' he called out. No answer. 'Guess they're taking their time,' he muttered.

Hunter headed towards the den, and sat down tiredly on the sofa. Last night's RAW had been brutal, and he wondered how much longer he could participate in such brawls. Beside him sat the remote control, and he picked it up, turning on the TV. He had always hated the sound of a silent house.

'…passenger, an unidentified woman in her mid-twenties, suffered major injuries, including a shrapnel of metal imbedded into her abdomen. She has been air-lifted to the nearest county hospital, along with the unconscious truck driver. But in a strange twist, the driver of the silver Lexus has seemingly disappeared. More on this bizarre accident on the six o'clock news.'

Hunter stopped listening, his mind focusing on the image of the mangled silver Lexus that had just been on the screen. The silver Lexus he had bought his wife on their second wedding anniversary.

Part Two

'Hunter!'

Hunter looked up slowly. 'Shane.'

'Is she okay? What happened? What's going on? She's okay, right?' The panicked look on Shane's face pretty much matched his own feelings inside.

'They haven't told me much,' he replied tonelessly. 'She's in the operating room at the moment.'

'How…how long has she been in there?'

Hunter glanced at his watch. 'Nearly two hours now.'

'What happened?'

'She was in a…a…' He didn't even want to think about it. 'In a really bad accident.'

Shane was staring at him. 'The one that's all over the news? It's her?'

Hunter nodded. 'Yeah.'

'It wasn't…it wasn't you, was it?'

He was confused. 'Me? What are you-' It hit him. The missing driver.

'Who was it that nearly got my sister killed?'

Hunter couldn't believe how seemingly calm he was being. But inside, he was a knot of nerves. 'It was an accident, Shane. Nobody's to blame.' He wondered if he truly believed what he was saying.

'You were meant to take care of her!' Shane yelled, oblivious to the fact that they were in a hospital.

Hunter looked around uneasily as a few people glanced over, curious at the tension. And to avoid the accusation, and the truth, in his brother-in-law's eyes.

'If you had taken her home, then this would never have happened,' Shane continued.

He opened his mouth, ready to defend himself, but stopped himself just in time. Hunter had promised her. Had promised them. Instead, he just shook his head.

'Damn you, Hunt-'

'Mr Helmsley?' a voice interrupted.

Hunter looked up, standing expectantly as a middle aged woman in a white coat hesitantly approached him. 'Yes, that's me.'

The woman smiled. 'I'm Dr Grace Thomas. I just wanted to let you know that your wife is out of operation. She's in a stable, but still critical, condition.'

A wave of relief washed over him, but he was still extremely concerned. 'She'll be okay though, right? She'll recover fully?'

'I see no reason why not.'

'Can we see her?' Shane asked, impatient. Dr Thomas looked at him. 'I'm her brother.'

'Well, she's recovering in ICU. I'm afraid only one of you is able to see her at this time.'

'I'm going,' Hunter quickly said, feeling even worse. He knew that Shane had much more right to go and see Stephanie. Shane knew it too, glaring at him as the doctor led him away.

After turning a couple of corners, they approached a room with a clearly marked 'Intensive Care Unit' sign on the door.

Hunter hesitated. 'Uh, Dr Thomas?'

She stopped beside him. 'Questions?'

'What happened to her? What are the extent of her injuries?'

Dr Thomas nodded understandingly. 'It's not pretty. We're still not sure exactly how, but a large piece of metal pierced her left side, doing some major damage to her inside. Fortunately, none of the major ones were harmed too badly. She was haemorrhaging badly when they brought her in, so she's lost quite a lot of blood. She has also suffered a major blow to the head, and a few broken ribs.' She paused. 'I want to prepare you first, Mr Helmsley. She might not look too good.'

'Thank you.'

The woman nodded, and then opened the door for him. Despite everything she had just said, Hunter was still completely unprepared for what he saw.

Save for the painful looking gashes on her forehead and left cheek, Stephanie's face was devoid of all colour. Her hair, a tangled mess, lay limply around her head. Tubes seemed to be coming out from everywhere. The heartbeat monitor did not look, or sound, comforting. It seemed to be going at a snail's pace compared to his racing own.

Stephanie looked heartbreaking vulnerable.

Hunter tentatively approached the bed. 'Steph?' he whispered, half afraid at what the sound of her almost non-existent breathing might mean. He reached out slowly, hoping she wouldn't crumble under his touch. He gently pushed back a strand of hair from her face.

'I'm so sorry.'

Part Three

08 February 2002

Shane McMahon stared out the window, unable to continue watching the still body of his sister on the bed. Stephanie's life signs had drastically improved yesterday, and she had been moved into her own private room.

He was also unable to continue watching Hunter be so gentle. It wasn't disconcerting. Shane was surprised at how dedicated Hunter was to Stephanie. He had hugely underestimated the other man's depth of feelings for her.

Hunter had been insisting that he stay by Stephanie's side night and day, wanting to be there when she finally woke up. He looked tired and haggard, but he refused to move away from her. After numerous arguments with hospital staff, they had reluctantly agreed to let him sleep in the uncomfortable hospital chairs and use the private room's own utilities. He had promised the hospital that they would be more than compensated for their kind services.

Just then Shane felt his cell phone vibrate softly against his hip. He automatically picked it up and answered without glancing at the screen. He knew who it was.

'Hi, Mom.'

'Hi, honey,' Linda greeted on the other end. 'How is she?'

'Still the same.'

He heard her sigh sadly. 'I was really hoping… I'm on my way. I'll see you soon, okay?'

'Bye, Mom.'

Shane continued to stare outside, the beautiful sunny day not having any effect on him. His mind began to wander towards the mystery that still surrounded Stephanie's accident. The driver of her car was still unknown, and Hunter vehemently denied knowing who it was. Or refused to tell who it was, even when Vince had threatened his career.

And on top of that, one of their top wrestlers seemed to have disappeared. Nobody had seen Chris Jericho since the last RAW in Hartford. Apparently he had been one of the very last to leave the arena, and that he had been alone. Or at least nobody had seen him with anyone else. Of course, there were rumours flying around that Jericho could have been the mystery driver of the Lexus, but everyone knew of his intense dislike for Stephanie, which had been mutual on her part. It couldn't be Jericho.

The whole thing was driving Shane crazy. The constant silence was also beginning to grate on his nerves. Without a word to Hunter, he quickly walked out of the room, and practically sprinted out of the hospital, not wanting anyone to see the tears.

Part Four

Hunter barely noticed Shane's departure, so intent was he on his wife's face. He was certain that today was the day she would finally wake up. He just knew it.

'Please, Steph,' he begged softly, holding onto her hand. 'You have to wake up. A lot of people are counting on you.'

Hunter realised how surprised many people were at his commitment to his wife, but no one more so than him. All of a sudden the mere thought of losing her was unbearable.

'Just anytime you're ready,' he continued. 'I'm counting on you. I need you.' He paused. 'You can hear me, right? I know-'

Movement.

He was sure her eyes beneath the lids had just moved. He stood up, wanting a closer look. 'Steph?'

Stephanie was awake. Her face contorted in pain, and she groaned, though it was barely audible. Ever so slowly, she opened her eyes, and for a moment just looked blankly at him. Then her eyes clouded over, and a small frown appeared on her face.

'Chris?'

*

Chris slowly opened his eyes to the feeling of a dull ache in his chest. It took him a few seconds to try and figure out where he was. It was dim, and he was lying on a large four-poster bed. He turned his head, confused as hell. He was in a seemingly large bedroom, one he'd never seen before, and it was dark because of the heavy curtains blocking out the daylight. He could tell by the natural light seeping in through the edges of the curtains.

His first coherent thought was of Stephanie…and then he remembered. The truck coming straight towards them.

Chris bolted upright. Stephanie! Was she okay? Where was she?

'Where am I?' he asked out loud. Feeling somewhat disoriented, he stumbled out of the bed and towards the large, wall tall windows, pulling aside one of the heavy drapes.

The sun was high up, and he flinched at the glare. He waited until his eyes could adjust, but he still found himself squinting at the magnificent scene before him. Clear blue waters gently lapping over the clean white sand.

'Ah, I see you're finally awake,' a strangely accented voice greeted from behind him.

Chris whirled around, and saw a smiling, seemingly friendly man. 'Who are you?'

The man walked towards him, stopping only a few feet away. 'My name is Conner MacLeod.'

Part Five

'A what?'

'An Immortal.'

Chris wondered if he had somehow been magically transported to an alternate universe. The guy was looking at him across the huge dining table with a mixture of bemusement and concern.

But Chris had to laugh. 'An Immortal, huh? I don't mean to sound rude, especially after that delicious dinner, but are you crazy?'

The guy, Conner Whoever, just continued to smile enigmatically. 'Perhaps.'

'Look, sorry to burst your happy happy joy joy bubble, but there's no such thing. Everyone dies, even you.'

'Not if I can help it. I'm curious to see what the future is like.'

Chris was quickly tiring of this. The only thing he wanted to do was see Stephanie, to make sure that she was alright. 'Okay, fine. You've had your fun. Haha, the joke's on me. Now, if you could just kindly point me towards the nearest exit, I can go and join the land of the sane.'

'You don't understand,' Conner said sadly, shaking his head. 'Do you even know where you are?'

'I don't know, and I don't care. But I do know, and I do very much care, where I want to be, and that's beside Stephanie.'

'You are dead.'

Chris stared at the other man, his defences going on alert. 'Is that a threat?'

'You died, Mr Jericho. To Stephanie, whoever she may be, you are already dead.'

'Stephanie is the one person who I care about more than life itself,' Chris informed him coldly. 'She is not 'whoever she may be'.'

Conner inclined his head. 'My apologies. I didn't mean to upset you.' He stood up and walked out of the room.

Chris stared after him, wondering what the hell he was meant to do now.

'Get the hell out,' he thought, and stood up, ready to also leave the room.

However, Connor returned with something in his hand. 'This paper is a few days old, but you had needed time to recover and heal yourself.'

Chris reached out for the offered newspaper, and with some trepidation, looked down at the front page.

DRIVER DISAPPEARS IN FATAL ACCIDENT

An unknown driver of a silver Lexus has disappeared from a remote accident site yesterday. It appears that the semi-trailer, which had reportedly failed its brakes, had crashed straight into the Lexus, hitting it with heavy force. The driver of the truck sustained minor injuries.

Twenty-five year old Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley, daughter of billionaire and owner of the World Wrestling Federation, Vince McMahon, and wife of WWF wrestler Hunter Hearst Helmsley, was the passenger, and owner, of the Lexus. She was air-lifted to the Hartford County Hospital and is believed to be in a stable, but critical condition.

In an interesting twist, police and forensics experts have concluded that the impact of the truck on the driver's side was more than enough to have killed the mystery driver. The as yet unidentified… cont on page 3

The accompanying photograph of the smashed Lexus was enough o make Chris feel sick. The passenger side was a mangled wreck, and he didn't want to think about Stephanie having been in there and suffering. However, the driver's side of the car was even worse. It had basically been smashed right into the other side of the car. There was no way anyone could have survived it.

But he did.

Still unwilling to believe it, Chris looked back at Conner. 'This isn't a hoax, is it?' he asked, half hoping.

The other man shook his head. 'I'm afraid not.'

'But…I can't be dead! I'm right here.'

'You are an Immortal.'

'But, Steph…'

'You must keep this a secret, Mr Jericho. There are those who would do anything to kill one such as you, such as us.'

Chris was beginning to understand, but he didn't want to. 'I can never see her again, can I?'

'No.'

That one word was enough to destroy his entire world.

Part Six

09 February 2002

Despite fully appreciating all their concern and love, Stephanie was glad to finally see the last of her friends and family leaving. She wanted to talk to Hunter alone. About Chris.

Still far from comfortable from her many injuries, she was dying to know what had happened to him. She'd heard people quietly talking, rumours, but she didn't want to believe any of them. Stephanie waited for Hunter to return to her side as he waved goodbye to Shane and his wife, Isabelle.

He smiled as he approached the bed. 'Tired?'

She tried to smile back. 'A little. But I wanted to talk to you.'

His smile faltered. 'About…him?'

She wasn't sure what to make of his reaction. 'Is he…he's okay, right? I mean, I've heard…but I didn't…' She couldn't finish.

Hunter just looked at for awhile, with…pity? 'Steph, I really don't know how to tell you this…'

Stephanie forced herself to keep very still. To not jump into conclusions. To keep her newly formed tears from spilling.

'It's…well, the thing is nobody seems to know where he is. He was gone by the time the police and the ambulance got there.'

'So, he…he walked away?' Stephanie knew how completely ridiculous the question was, but it was more preferable than the alternative.

Hunter shook his head. 'They don't think so. The way the car is, they're certain that he couldn't have survived.'

She was finding it hard to maintain her composure. Tears were already beginning to slide down her cheeks. 'Someone must have taken him, to help him. He's still…still…' Her sobs made it hard to talk, as did the pain.

Stephanie felt her husband's arms gently come around her, but it was of no comfort. Nothing was anymore.