Chris found Stephanie on her bed, staring up at the ceiling. He walked over to her, unsure if she was even awake. She was, and she blinked, shook her head, and sat up when she noticed him.

                "You like zipping out, don't you?" she asked.

                "Sorry about that. Benoit came and I…listen, Deliah…I have something for you, something that might jog your memory. Wanna see?"

                "Like I have a choice." She rolled her eyes. He slowly opened his hand to show the necklace to her.

                She looked at it, almost curiously. She took it from him, turning it over, examining it closely. This isn't going to…

                "You…gave this to me…Christmas…" she stood up, holding her head slightly. "I never got anything so beautiful…"

                She turned to him. It was then he noticed she was trembling again. The memories must be smashing into her… "Steph?" he asked, taking a step to her. "Deliah?" She didn't respond, but continued to stare at the necklace. "Are you all right?"

                She suddenly fell to the ground. Chris couldn't get to her in time and her head bounced almost lifelessly against the ground. Chris rushed to her, bending down. She was breathing. She had just fainted. Still, he didn't want to take any chances and he took the necklace from her, putting it in his pocket. He scooped her up and quickly exited the room.

                "Oh my god, what happened?" Lita had seen them first, and she quickly got off the wall, looking at the fainted Stephanie.

                "She just went…bam. We have to get her to the hospital." Chris said in a rushed voice.

                "We can take my car, then." Benoit offered.

                With a ride, the trio made their way to the parking lot. They got a few stares, but most just got out of their way. Benoit hopped into the front seat to drive, and Lita sat next to him in the passenger seat. Chris sat in the back, cradling Stephanie in his arms. Maybe this was a bad idea. Her mind is so fragile. What if I lost her forever? The ride seemed unbearably too long. When they reached the hospital that was nearby, Chris easily carried her in.

                "Help her." He pleaded the nurse at the desk. She looked at him, then her.

                "What's wrong?" she asked.

                "She's sort of fainted, if you can't tell." He replied sharply. The nurse crinkled her nose.

                "All right, I'll get a stretcher for her."

                Chris watched as she was taken away after the stretcher was called. The doctor had asked what happened and Chris told him as best as he could. Then all he could do was watch her being wheeled away, and he was quickly dragged back to do paperwork. He filled in all he knew as he sat in the lobby. Lita and Benoit just watched him silently.

                After he was done filling it out, the lady took it, and seemed annoyed not all of the blanks were filled, but said nothing. Instead she hurried back to her desk. Chris sat back in his chair, closing his eyes, trying to will away all his fears. What if that just was too much for her to handle? I pushed it too much…

                After an hour, the doctor came out and walked to the trio. "Are you here for Mrs. McMahon?" he inquired.

                "Yes, that's us." Chris stood up, looking at him narrowly. "How is she? Is she all right?"

                "She's fine. She has a little bump on her head, but besides that, she's just resting. From what I hear she's had quite a bad experience."

                "Is she awake?" Chris asked. The doctor shook his head.

                "Not yet. You can see her though." He glanced at them. "Have a nice day."

                Chris instantly got up, walking away without even saying anything to his two companions. He was directed to her room by one of the nurses. As he entered he winced as a flashback of her lying there after he got her from Hunter. He hadn't even heard word of Hunter, and he didn't even care what had become of the man. He had done this to her. It was enough to make his blood boil. He walked over to her, looking down. She was quietly sleeping away, like nothing around her was wrong.

                And then Chris sat down, near her bedside, willing her to awaken and be all right. What if the bump made her lose everything, even her weird Deliah personality? I'd never forgive myself! He frowned and put his head in his hands, letting out a breath. I let everyone down. I can protect her, look at her. She's back in the hospital because of me.

                He sat there for what seemed like hours, berating himself. Of course, when he suddenly heard a noise of movement from the bed, his head shot up in shock. It was purely silent until then, and it was unmistakable when the noise sounded. He got up, walking to her bedside again. At the exact moment he looked down, her eyes slowly opened, and she squinted up to look at him. She stayed silent.

                "Stephanie? Sweetie?" he asked, his voice unsure.

                "C-Chris?" she asked, her voice sounding like she was choking back tears. "Oh my god, I thought…I thought I'd never see you again." She sat up, rubbing head. Chris couldn't stop himself from smiling.

                "Stephanie, does the name Deliah seem familiar to you?" he inquired. Stephanie looked at him oddly.

                "No." she shook her head. "…Where am I?"

                Chris pulled her into a hug that she gladly accepted. "God, Chris. I missed you. I thought…"

                "Shh." He simply said, quieting her. "You're safe now. You're back."

                He almost didn't want to pull away, but he finally did. He pulled the necklace out of his pocket, letting it dangle in front of her. Her dazed smile grew and she took it from him. "My necklace…" She took it and put it around her neck. "I thought…you weren't going to come get me after a while. Pretty stupid, huh?"

                "I'd die before I did that." He replied honestly. "God, I missed you so much. So much." He let his hand brush through her hair and she smiled, touching her hand to his.

                "I know that now. You'll always be my hero." She finally pulled him into a kiss, and it was one that Chris had been waiting for for too long.

~~

August, 2002

                "Chris! We're gonna be late!" Stephanie huffed, a little annoyed. Chris waved a hand and went back to pulling his hair into a ponytail. Stephanie tapped her foot testily, rolling her eyes. "I don't know who's more of a girl here, me or you!"

                "Well I do like to be pretty." He grinned.

                "You're impossible." She groaned.

                "I know, that's part of my unending charm." He winked, walking to her. "Am I right?"

                "I won't let you have the satisfaction of knowing." She made a face at him and he just shook his head and kissed her.

                "Love ya too." He smirked.

                She let out a little huff and rolled her eyes again, crossing her hands over her chest. "Don't think you're getting out of moving your ass a little faster, though. Come on."

                "All right, all right, I'm ready. Yeesh." He let himself be dragged out by the now annoyed brunette.

                It was Jeff's birthday, and Matt and Lita had planned a party fit for him with the help of Stephanie and Chris of course. Everything had gone back to normal since the fiasco that had made itself known during the big Hunter trouble. Stephanie was back to being herself, the wounds healed, and, even better, Stephanie and her family was more family-like.

                But Stephanie never forgot her other family.

                "Steph! Say, if you color your hair blue, it'd be the best present ever!" Jeff joked, giving her thumbs up. She giggled, even though Chris shot her a look.

                "If looks could kill." Rob laughed. Chris turned to see the mild-mannered man, grinning at him.

                "Rob, glad you could make it!" Jeff clapped him on the back.

                "Thanks for inviting me." He shrugged. "Party's…cool."

                "Sums it up pretty well, doesn't it?" Stephanie grinned. Chris nodded in agreement.

                "Vince still bugging you?" Rob asked when Stephanie left to talk to Lita. Chris watched her talk and, even better, laugh.

                "He's still a little iffy with me." He explained. "With her, too. He's pretty stubborn."

                "Well, so are you." Chris glanced at him. "I mean, I know I'm not the smartest person in the world, but I'm thinkin'…to be able to take care of her right, you'd need to be stubborn. Make sure you keep her in check and vice versa."

                Why did that make sense? I've been hanging out with him too much.

                Rob walked away. He stopped mid-step, turning to Chris. "By the way, good luck with asking the big one. Maybe you shouldn't look so nervous. It ain't too…cool looking."

                Chris blinked in shock, staring after him. He felt the lump in his pocket, a bit nervously.

                How'd he know? Chris thought a moment. You know what, maybe it'll be better if I just don't ask. Chris shook his head and turned to Stephanie again, taking a breath, taking the black box out of his pocket. He hid it behind his palm.

                "Hey Steph, come here, I have something to ask you…"

~END~

A/N: And that's it. After months and months of writing, that is the official end to this three part series. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it! Thanks for reading!!