ORIGIN OF A VIDEOTAPE



A/N: I wrote this story in two days because I was interested in finding out who had sent that videotape to Linda McMahon, who then sent it to Triple H. If I remember correctly, her exact words were, "I don't know who sent it to me, but when I saw it, I sent it right on over to you." I figured they wouldn't bother telling us who originally sent the tape, so I made up something on my own. It takes place as if wrestling was real, or at least inside the storylines. This is a one shot deal. Anyone who wants to continue this (from the perspective that Hunter was telling her the truth, or that he's mad and is planning on getting revenge, Stephanie tries to get revenge, or another idea entirely) just tell me in review - I almost never read my email - and give credit in the story. Hope you enjoy!





I've been wondering for a while now why I did it, why I mailed that videotape to Hunter Helmsly. After all, what right did I have to interfere in the life of a man I barely knew? None, none whatsoever. But it seemed like I was the one fated to save him from his bitch of a wife, Stephanie McMahon-Helmsly.

It was pure chance that I was at Smackdown on Tuesday, February 5th. I had the night off and a fellow woman wrestler had an extra ticket. I got to see Hunter and Stephanie with the doctor - lucky me. The two of them looked so happy, as if the past few weeks of turmoil had never been.

Stephanie was pregnant. I was crushed. This would tie Hunter to her forever, no matter if they remained married or not. The delight on darling Hunter's face spoke volumes - there would be no divorce, at least not for a long time to come.

I guess you can tell I have feelings for Hunter, huh? Is it love? Is it just a crush? I don't know, but it is something. It hurt so much, felt like my heart was going to explode in my stomach, where it had dropped to at the sight of Hunter.

I tried to look away from the video but that didn't work. My eyes were irresistibly drawn back to the screen. Next, I tried to avoid looking directly at Hunter by staring at the doctor, memorizing his features and voice. I wouldn't know until the next day just how much the tactic would pay off.

But all I could think of then was how heart-broken I felt. Then the double whammy hit. They were renewing their vows on the next Raw Is War, six days from that very night. Obviously I had not seen Raw Is War yesterday, on television or in person. The act was sure to cement their relationship even further.

The next day the woman that treated me to the Smackdown ticket went shopping with me. On a lark we stopped in at a travel agency and leafed through pamphlets. I was looking at one for Hawaii when I heard a familiar voice. Looking around, I saw that it was coming from a television advertising a trip to St. Ives.

The voice? Well, it just happened to belong to the good doctor consulting with Hunter and Stephanie on their pregnancy. The ramifications hit hard. This guy was an actor, not a doctor. Since he wasn't a doctor, then Stephanie wasn't really pregnant. She was lying to Hunter to bend him to her will. Damn her!

My brain went on autopilot, the only thing I could think of was getting a copy of that videotape. Obviously I got it, so I won't bore you with the details.

I knew I had to get the tape to Hunter, but I wasn't sure how to go about it. I knew how to find out where the WWF was scheduled to be, but there was no guarantee that Hunter would be there. The only ones that knew that would be the WWF execs. Well, I knew where he'd be Monday night, but I was hoping that he'd get the tape before then.

Then it hit me. D'uh!

Hunter had almost always been on good terms with Linda McMahon, his mother-in-law. If she got something as serious as this tape, something that would drastically affect Hunter's life, she'd make sure that he got it. She loved her children, sure, but she couldn't approve of Stephanie's tactics - or wouldn't, once she learned that the pregnancy was a whopping lie.

Praying that the video would make it to Hunter in time, I kissed the package for luck before anonymously Fed-Exing it to Linda's office at the WWF headquarters in Conneticut.

Anonymously? Maybe I was being paranoid, but I wasn't taking the chance that someone would kill the messenger, as the old saying goes. The fall-out this tape would bring would surely be huge and I wanted to distance myself from it as much as possible.

Waiting for Monday to come took an eternity. I called in sick - well, it wasn't a total lie, since I felt like I was going to throw up - unplugged the phone and sat down on by bean bag chair to watch Raw.

When Hunter was given a package that could only be the tape live on the show I nearly freaked out. This was cutting things a little close. Would Hunter open the package and view the tape in time? It didn't look like it because several scenes later, up to when Stephanie left to get dressed for the ceremony, the package could be seen laying unopened on the couch.

My nerves were screaming, fearing he wouldn't open the package and watch the tape before the ceremony. I'm not sure exactly why, but I felt it was important that he knew of Stephanie's treachery before then.

Hunter was told that Linda McMahon was trying to get a hold of him. I breathed a sigh of relief as he called her and she told him about the tape. When he watched it, though, I began to doubt myself. I should have been prepared for how he would react, but all I'd been concerned with up to that point was Hunter getting the video. If I'd had more time, I probably would have thought things through a little better. Okay, maybe a lot better.

Still, my heart cheered when Hunter called Stephanie a 'no good lying bitch.' The look on Stephanie's face had been priceless. Then Hunter destroyed the wedding set, pedigreed Vince, and shoved Stephanie to the ground by pushing her in the face.

I followed Hunter's career as best I could for the next three months, blaming myself every time Stephanie, Vince, or one of their lackeys interfered in one of his matches - which was nearly every time. After all, if I had just stayed out of it, Hunter would probably be seeing Stephanie through a "tragic miscarriage" and wanting to try to make another baby. He would've been blissfully ignorant and happy, except about losing a baby that he didn't know had never even existed.

Yep, I probably should've kept my nose out of it.

Then a surprising thing happened. I received word that I was being moved from Ohio Valley Wrestling up to the World Wrestling Federation. That's not the surprise I was thinking of, although it was a pretty good moment. Bear with me for a moment longer and you'll see what I mean.

It was my first night wrestling a match for the WWF. I had gotten to the arena early so I could get a look at the layout of the place before having to officially report for work. While I was walking around, thinking about how lucky I was to be here, I ran into Hunter - literally. He must've been in a hurry, because he bumped into me with more than a little force. He grabbed onto my shoulders before I could fall and my heart jumped at the contact, which I thought was all too brief.

"Miss Guenard, nice to see you again. Sorry about that, I should've been paying more attention to where I was going."

"Nidia, please. And I was as much to blame for our little run-in."

"Alright, Nidia, as long as you call me Hunter."

"Okay, Hunter." My eyes lowered a little as I pushed a lock of hair behind my ear and my eyes fell on the necklace he was wearing. A thin gold chain, but my eyes were drawn to the gold ring suspended from it. "Wow, I used to have one just like that!" I blurted out, staring at the diamonds set in the shape of a tiny four-leaf clover on a wide gold band.

"Really?" Hunter's gaze turned intense and I had the feeling that I really should shut up now. Unfortunately, the pathways that sent commands from my brain to my mouth seemed to have temporarily become disconnected.

"Yeah. I lost it about three months ago. I just turned around one day and noticed it was missing."

"Did it have your initials in it?"

"Uh huh."

"N. G.," Hunter said, seemingly to himself. He took the chain from around his neck, refastened the clasp, and put it in my hand. I looked down at it, then back up to Hunter's face, a look that must shurely hold confusion on my face.

"Look at the inside of the band," he told me, and I did. The initials N. G. and a year stared back up at me. It was the same year inside the ring I used to have, the year was the same as when I had gotten my ring from my grandmother.

"How did you get this?" I asked him. "I'd swear that this is my ring."

"Well," he said slowly, "It was sent to Lind McMahon's office in Conneticut along with a very interesting videotape about three months ago."

My eyes widened in shock. So that's what had become of my ring. I'd thought I'd lost it for good, not remembering the last time I'd seen it when I first noticed that it was missing.

"Linda sent the videotape right over, but she didn't tell me about the ring until later." He paused and my eyes suddenly found the floor around my feet incredibly fascinating. I was scared to ask why he'd kept the ring, why he wore it. Heck, forget about the asking, I was just plain scared. What was he going to do to me? What did I truly know about this man except that he was incredibly sexy and I had undefined feelings for him.

Hunter must've sensed the questions I was burning to ask because he answered them in a surprisingly gentle tone. "I asked Linda for the ring because it was the only link I had to whoever had sent me that tape. It didn't fit any of my fingers and since I didn't want to lose it, I bought that chain."

Why would he want a memento of the person that had caused him so many problems? Hunter didn't answer that unspoken question so I spoke it, still unable to look him in the eyes.

"Because I owe that person - you - a great deal of thanks. Without you I'd still be with Stephanie."

Shock did then what my miniscule courage could not - lifted my gaze to Hunter's.

"But why?" I asked. "Look at all the trouble I've caused you because I couldn't keep my nose out of something that was absolutely none of my business."

"Is that what you think? That this is all your fault? Well it isn't, not a bit of it."

"But-"

"Shush! Stephanie wouldn't have been able to keep her act up forever. Sooner or later I would've caught her in her lie and things wouldn've ended anyway. I'm glad it ended as soon as it did, incredibly greatful, actually. And now that I know who to thank for it, I'd like to show you my appreciation."

Shocking, isn't it? Far from wanting to pound me into the ground, Hunter was actually happy - well, maybe that isn't exactly the right word, but its close - about what I'd done.

He lifted the chain from my hand and placed it around my neck. The tip of my index finger touched the ring comfortingly, I was sure glad to have it back.

"Now, may I have the honor of taking you out to dinner on the day my divorce is final? I can't think of a better way to celebrate my freedom than with the woman that helped me to get it."

I couldn't trust myself to words just then so I just smiled and nodded.

"Good, it's a date. Well, good luck tonight in your match."

Like a dork, I just smiled and nodded again.

Hunter walked away first, leaving me to watch him leave before I continued on to my own destination. There was, as people might say, a lilt in my step as I strode down the hall, thinking about the encounter I'd just had with hunter. I'd never planned on telling him that I'd been the one to send the video tape, yet he'd found out about it and he hadn't been mad.

Strange, how I'd never felt my ring slip off my finger and into that Fed-Ex envelope. Not even a single tiny sensation to indicate it had loosed itself from my hand. Want to know something even creepier? That ring - wich I always wore on the fourth finger of my right hand - was a tight fit. I often had to use some kind of slippery substance to get it off when the moment proved necessay, usually around the time when I had my period, which was when I tended to retain water. There should have been no way that ring could have just slipped off on its own.

So you tell me. Could it have all been one giant cooincidence, or was fate looking out for me?