Author's notes: Set after watching the 25 July 2002 episode of SmackDown (Steph's first show as GM).

Dedication: To my twin, Merc. Sorry for having messed with your 'shipperdoms again… (actually I'm not really that sorry!).

Untitled 58

She had hated having to have asked him, but in her desperation to keep the SmackDown superstars firmly in SmackDown territory the question had come out before she had even realised it. She saw the flash of hurt in his eyes, but he hid it well with a grin. His answer had been affirmative, not just to the question she had posed him, but to the insecurity she felt regarding their new relationship.

'I trust you.'

He trusted her. Those three words meant more to her than anything else she'd heard in a long, long time, if ever. She'd heard 'I love you'. She'd heard 'I want you'. She'd even heard 'I need you'. But nobody had ever said those three words to her.

'I trust you.'

Nobody had loved, wanted, or needed her enough to trust her. Hunter had professed to have loved her, but he had never fully trusted her. Chris had claimed to have wanted her, but he had refused to trust in her. Even Kurt had declared to have needed her, but he too had been hesitant in trusting her. To her, trust was the most important aspect of a relationship. Trust enabled commitment and faith. And hope. Hope that, no matter what happens, they would get through whatever life threw at them.

That she was a divorced woman was of no significance. That their history was not imperfect didn't matter. That she was his boss was inconsequential. But above all that she was a McMahon, and he trusted her nonetheless.

Of all the relationships she'd had over the years none of them ever gave her as much hope for the future as the one she shared with him. And none of them ever made her feel as unsure of herself as he did. She feared losing him, and she feared betraying the trust he so willingly bestowed upon her.

'Miss McMahon?' a feminine voice intruded on her thoughts.

She looked up, surprised. 'Yes?'

'I'm sorry to disturb you,' her newly appointed assistant apologised. 'I knocked, but you mustn't have heard me.'

'Don't worry about it. What's going on?'

'You asked me to let you know when the steel cage match starts. They've just lowered it into place.'

She pressed her lips together, frowning slightly. She nodded without saying a word, and the other woman left. An image of his smiling face came unbidden to her mind, and she felt her heart jolt.

'I trust you.'