"Stephanie, Stephanie, Stephanie," a voice said, mockingly from behind her.
Stephanie turned to see David Flair standing in the doorway. "What do you want?"
"Is that any way to talk to me?" David asked.
"Sure," Stephanie shrugged. "I see no reason why I shouldn't."
"Look, I don't want any problems between us," David said. "I respected your old man, I really did. All of the crap between our families was between our fathers."
"Fine," Stephanie said. "But you treat people like crap."
"That's the pot calling the kettle black," David said. "When you were married you treated people like crap. You treated Hunter pretty bad too."
"It was personal," Stephanie said.
"Maybe the stuff between me and other wrestlers is personal too," David said.
"Whatever," Stephanie said, shrugging.
"Come on Stephanie," David said. "Someday I'm going to own half of this company. We should be friends."
"I don't want to be friends with you," Stephanie said.
"Why not?" David asked, giving her his best smile.
"Because you are controlled by your father," Stephanie said. "And frankly I don't trust your father at all."
"Your mother does," David said.
"What the hell does that mean?" Stephanie asked.
"Well, her and Dad have been close for a few months now," David said, sitting down in the chair in her dressing room.
"I don't trust her either," Stephanie said.
"I forget," David said. "You always were your dad's kid, weren't you? We have so much in common."
"We really don't," Stephanie said. "I have work to do. I'm sure you don't understand, but I have to get it done."
"Writing another novel?" David asked.
"It's none of your business," Stephanie said.
"Hey Stephanie," Kurt said as he walked into the dressing room.
"Kurt?" Stephanie asked in a puzzled voice.
"I have to change for my match," Kurt explained to David. "Can you leave?"
"You are with Stephanie?" David asked.
"Yeah," Kurt said. "Haven't you heard the news kid?"
"What news?" David asked.
"Stephanie and I have been married for almost three years," Kurt said, pointing to the ring on his left hand.
Stephanie looked quickly at her own left hand and was shocked to see a ring on her ring finger. She looked up in shock at Kurt.
"Well, I'll let you change then," David said, shrugging as he left the ring.
"Why did you tell him we are married?" Stephanie asked.
"Because we are," Kurt said. "I thought we decided we were going to go ahead and tell people the truth now."
"But we aren't married," Stephanie said, tears springing to her eyes. "You left me when I needed you. We aren't married."
"Shit," Kurt muttered under his breath. "Not now."
"What are you doing in my dressing room?" Stephanie asked. "Why am I even here?"
"Stephanie, I need you to stay here," Kurt said, placing hands on both of her shoulders. She quivered at his touch. "I'm going to go get Chris Jericho, okay?"
"Okay," Stephanie said, nodding. "Maybe he can tell me what you are up to."
"Doubtful," Kurt muttered to himself as he headed down the hall in search for the man he had been both friend and enemy to for the past several years.
"Hey," Kurt said, barging into Jericho's dressing room. "Can you come sit with Stephanie during my match please?"
"Sure you can come in," Jericho said. "Thanks for knocking."
"Look, I have to be out in the ring in about five minutes," Kurt said. "And I really need someone to stay with Stephanie. Would you rather me go find someone else?"
"No," Jericho sighed, getting out of his seat to follow Angle to his room.
"What's wrong?" Jericho finally asked as they neared the room Stephanie was in.
"I don't have enough time to explain right now," Kurt said. "But suffice to say, Stephanie is going to say some pretty strange stuff while you guys are in the room together. I'll explain it all when I'm done."
"Okay," Jericho said. He opened the door to see Stephanie pacing the dressing room. She looked up and smiled with relief at the sight of him.
"Chris!" she exclaimed, flying to his arms.
"I don't have enough time to change," Angle said, pulling on a pair of elbow pads. "I'll see you two in about twenty minutes."
"What's wrong sweetheart?" Jericho asked Stephanie, pushing her hair away from her face with gentle hands.
"Kurt says he and I are married," Stephanie said, tears in her eyes. "He even somehow put a ring on my finger. But he left me Chris. And I was driving."
"Driving?" Chris asked.
"It was raining," Stephanie said. "And all I could say was 'he left me,' over and over again."
"Sweetie," Jericho said, pulling her into his embrace, trying to comfort her obvious distress. "Everything will be fine."
"And what am I doing at an event?" Stephanie asked. "Hunter got me banned."
"You own a quarter of the WWE," Jericho said, suddenly feeling very confused. "Lets watch Kurt's match."
"Okay," Stephanie said. "But I sold my portion of the WWF."
"Steph, you just inherited a quarter of the WWE," Jericho said.
"What?" Stephanie asked in shock.
Jericho vaguely noted that Kurt looked distracted in the ring and X-Pac was beating the shit out of him. "You just inherited."
"How?" Stephanie asked, her eyes filled with dread.
"Vince died sweetie," Jericho said. "He left you a quarter."
"No!" Stephanie exclaimed, tears falling down her cheeks. "He can't have died!"
Jericho pulled her closer to him and stroked her back while she cried. Several minutes later, Kurt burst into the ring to see Stephanie wrapped in Jericho's arms. She was sobbing uncontrollably.
"Shit!" Kurt said under his breath. "Stephanie, I need you to look at me."
Stephanie looked up at Kurt, her eyes red from crying. "You're bleeding Kurt."
"It doesn't matter," Kurt said. He gently pulled her out of Chris' arms. "Sweetie, I need you to remember. Remember the car accident. Okay?"
"Accident?" Stephanie asked, feeling confused.
"Right after we fought and I left," Kurt said. "You went driving. You wanted to tell me about the baby, but you hadn't been able to and you thought I was gone for good."
"You were," Stephanie said, tears again filling her eyes.
"You got into an accident," Kurt said. "And the baby died."
Stephanie's eyes widened with horror. "Kurt!"
Jericho watched in amazement as Stephanie collapsed into Kurt's arms. Kurt held her closely, while she trembled in his arms. "I'm sorry Kurt. I, I don't know what triggered it."
"It's not your fault baby," Kurt said reassuringly. "It was probably David."
"David?" Stephanie asked, thinking for a moment. "David Flair?"
"Yeah, the little ass," Kurt muttered.
Stephanie stepped back and looked into Kurt's eyes. She ran her hand along the side of his face. "I'm okay now."
"I know," Kurt said. "I love you."
"I love you too," Stephanie said. She sat down and looked over at her friend.
"More secrets?" Jericho asked. His voice sounded hurt and angry.
"Chris, I'm sorry you had to see that," Stephanie said.
"What the hell was that?" Jericho asked.
"Kurt and I had a fight about a month before we got married," Stephanie explained. "And I went out to drive and clear my head. I thought Kurt was gone for good. I got into a car accident and I lost the baby I was pregnant with."
"I came and I helped her recover," Kurt said. "And we eventually decided to go ahead and get married. After about three months, we had a fight about whether or not to tell our friends we were married when all of a sudden Stephanie forgot we were married at all."
"And it happened a couple of other times," Stephanie said. "It took awhile before we realized that in any situation were I feel overly stressed, I am transported to the time of the accident and how abandoned I felt."
"So instead of taking yourself to a place where you feel safe," Jericho said. "You take yourself to a place where you feel threatened."
"Yeah," Stephanie said.
"That's why we decided to keep it a secret," Kurt said. "Our marriage I mean. We didn't want to have to explain to the world that Stephanie might not realize we're married all of the time."
"Are you okay?" Jericho asked in concern.
"I'm fine now," Stephanie assured him. "Thanks for being here."
"Yeah, of course," Jericho said.
"Well," Kurt said. "I'm ready for some rest."
Stephanie laughed as she watched her husband walk to the bathroom to change. She looked after him with concern only Jericho could see.
"What about him?" Jericho asked.
"He handles it," Stephanie shrugged. "But it has to be hard on him. What if I can't remember one day? What if I really forget our entire marriage?"
"That would probably suck," Jericho said.
"Yeah," Stephanie agreed. "But we deal."
Stephanie turned to see David Flair standing in the doorway. "What do you want?"
"Is that any way to talk to me?" David asked.
"Sure," Stephanie shrugged. "I see no reason why I shouldn't."
"Look, I don't want any problems between us," David said. "I respected your old man, I really did. All of the crap between our families was between our fathers."
"Fine," Stephanie said. "But you treat people like crap."
"That's the pot calling the kettle black," David said. "When you were married you treated people like crap. You treated Hunter pretty bad too."
"It was personal," Stephanie said.
"Maybe the stuff between me and other wrestlers is personal too," David said.
"Whatever," Stephanie said, shrugging.
"Come on Stephanie," David said. "Someday I'm going to own half of this company. We should be friends."
"I don't want to be friends with you," Stephanie said.
"Why not?" David asked, giving her his best smile.
"Because you are controlled by your father," Stephanie said. "And frankly I don't trust your father at all."
"Your mother does," David said.
"What the hell does that mean?" Stephanie asked.
"Well, her and Dad have been close for a few months now," David said, sitting down in the chair in her dressing room.
"I don't trust her either," Stephanie said.
"I forget," David said. "You always were your dad's kid, weren't you? We have so much in common."
"We really don't," Stephanie said. "I have work to do. I'm sure you don't understand, but I have to get it done."
"Writing another novel?" David asked.
"It's none of your business," Stephanie said.
"Hey Stephanie," Kurt said as he walked into the dressing room.
"Kurt?" Stephanie asked in a puzzled voice.
"I have to change for my match," Kurt explained to David. "Can you leave?"
"You are with Stephanie?" David asked.
"Yeah," Kurt said. "Haven't you heard the news kid?"
"What news?" David asked.
"Stephanie and I have been married for almost three years," Kurt said, pointing to the ring on his left hand.
Stephanie looked quickly at her own left hand and was shocked to see a ring on her ring finger. She looked up in shock at Kurt.
"Well, I'll let you change then," David said, shrugging as he left the ring.
"Why did you tell him we are married?" Stephanie asked.
"Because we are," Kurt said. "I thought we decided we were going to go ahead and tell people the truth now."
"But we aren't married," Stephanie said, tears springing to her eyes. "You left me when I needed you. We aren't married."
"Shit," Kurt muttered under his breath. "Not now."
"What are you doing in my dressing room?" Stephanie asked. "Why am I even here?"
"Stephanie, I need you to stay here," Kurt said, placing hands on both of her shoulders. She quivered at his touch. "I'm going to go get Chris Jericho, okay?"
"Okay," Stephanie said, nodding. "Maybe he can tell me what you are up to."
"Doubtful," Kurt muttered to himself as he headed down the hall in search for the man he had been both friend and enemy to for the past several years.
"Hey," Kurt said, barging into Jericho's dressing room. "Can you come sit with Stephanie during my match please?"
"Sure you can come in," Jericho said. "Thanks for knocking."
"Look, I have to be out in the ring in about five minutes," Kurt said. "And I really need someone to stay with Stephanie. Would you rather me go find someone else?"
"No," Jericho sighed, getting out of his seat to follow Angle to his room.
"What's wrong?" Jericho finally asked as they neared the room Stephanie was in.
"I don't have enough time to explain right now," Kurt said. "But suffice to say, Stephanie is going to say some pretty strange stuff while you guys are in the room together. I'll explain it all when I'm done."
"Okay," Jericho said. He opened the door to see Stephanie pacing the dressing room. She looked up and smiled with relief at the sight of him.
"Chris!" she exclaimed, flying to his arms.
"I don't have enough time to change," Angle said, pulling on a pair of elbow pads. "I'll see you two in about twenty minutes."
"What's wrong sweetheart?" Jericho asked Stephanie, pushing her hair away from her face with gentle hands.
"Kurt says he and I are married," Stephanie said, tears in her eyes. "He even somehow put a ring on my finger. But he left me Chris. And I was driving."
"Driving?" Chris asked.
"It was raining," Stephanie said. "And all I could say was 'he left me,' over and over again."
"Sweetie," Jericho said, pulling her into his embrace, trying to comfort her obvious distress. "Everything will be fine."
"And what am I doing at an event?" Stephanie asked. "Hunter got me banned."
"You own a quarter of the WWE," Jericho said, suddenly feeling very confused. "Lets watch Kurt's match."
"Okay," Stephanie said. "But I sold my portion of the WWF."
"Steph, you just inherited a quarter of the WWE," Jericho said.
"What?" Stephanie asked in shock.
Jericho vaguely noted that Kurt looked distracted in the ring and X-Pac was beating the shit out of him. "You just inherited."
"How?" Stephanie asked, her eyes filled with dread.
"Vince died sweetie," Jericho said. "He left you a quarter."
"No!" Stephanie exclaimed, tears falling down her cheeks. "He can't have died!"
Jericho pulled her closer to him and stroked her back while she cried. Several minutes later, Kurt burst into the ring to see Stephanie wrapped in Jericho's arms. She was sobbing uncontrollably.
"Shit!" Kurt said under his breath. "Stephanie, I need you to look at me."
Stephanie looked up at Kurt, her eyes red from crying. "You're bleeding Kurt."
"It doesn't matter," Kurt said. He gently pulled her out of Chris' arms. "Sweetie, I need you to remember. Remember the car accident. Okay?"
"Accident?" Stephanie asked, feeling confused.
"Right after we fought and I left," Kurt said. "You went driving. You wanted to tell me about the baby, but you hadn't been able to and you thought I was gone for good."
"You were," Stephanie said, tears again filling her eyes.
"You got into an accident," Kurt said. "And the baby died."
Stephanie's eyes widened with horror. "Kurt!"
Jericho watched in amazement as Stephanie collapsed into Kurt's arms. Kurt held her closely, while she trembled in his arms. "I'm sorry Kurt. I, I don't know what triggered it."
"It's not your fault baby," Kurt said reassuringly. "It was probably David."
"David?" Stephanie asked, thinking for a moment. "David Flair?"
"Yeah, the little ass," Kurt muttered.
Stephanie stepped back and looked into Kurt's eyes. She ran her hand along the side of his face. "I'm okay now."
"I know," Kurt said. "I love you."
"I love you too," Stephanie said. She sat down and looked over at her friend.
"More secrets?" Jericho asked. His voice sounded hurt and angry.
"Chris, I'm sorry you had to see that," Stephanie said.
"What the hell was that?" Jericho asked.
"Kurt and I had a fight about a month before we got married," Stephanie explained. "And I went out to drive and clear my head. I thought Kurt was gone for good. I got into a car accident and I lost the baby I was pregnant with."
"I came and I helped her recover," Kurt said. "And we eventually decided to go ahead and get married. After about three months, we had a fight about whether or not to tell our friends we were married when all of a sudden Stephanie forgot we were married at all."
"And it happened a couple of other times," Stephanie said. "It took awhile before we realized that in any situation were I feel overly stressed, I am transported to the time of the accident and how abandoned I felt."
"So instead of taking yourself to a place where you feel safe," Jericho said. "You take yourself to a place where you feel threatened."
"Yeah," Stephanie said.
"That's why we decided to keep it a secret," Kurt said. "Our marriage I mean. We didn't want to have to explain to the world that Stephanie might not realize we're married all of the time."
"Are you okay?" Jericho asked in concern.
"I'm fine now," Stephanie assured him. "Thanks for being here."
"Yeah, of course," Jericho said.
"Well," Kurt said. "I'm ready for some rest."
Stephanie laughed as she watched her husband walk to the bathroom to change. She looked after him with concern only Jericho could see.
"What about him?" Jericho asked.
"He handles it," Stephanie shrugged. "But it has to be hard on him. What if I can't remember one day? What if I really forget our entire marriage?"
"That would probably suck," Jericho said.
"Yeah," Stephanie agreed. "But we deal."