Title: Drowning Slowly

Chapter 4: Goodbye

Author: Kora

E-mail: KrazyKora@aol.com or WinterViolet24@aol.com

Rating: R

Disclaimer: The following characters belong to WWE and all the people and companies who deal with all that legal stuff. I am simply using the characters for my own twisted enjoyment. The lyrics are by Ben Folds Five and belong to them.

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She's a brick and I'm drowning slowly

Off the coast and I'm headed nowhere

She's a brick and I'm drowning slowly

-Ben Folds Five, 'Brick'

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The day glow clock next to Stephanie's bed read 7 a.m. Shawn lifted his head from where it had rested on Stephanie's bed and let out a sleepy sound of confusion. He looked at the clock and suddenly his mind flooded with memories of yesterday's events. He remembered finding Stephanie, taking care of her, bring her to the hospital, sitting next to her until she had fallen asleep and then resting his head on her bed for what he had thought would be just a moment.

Obviously his moment had lapsed into hours as sleep had overcome him. He rubbed at a crick in his neck and looked around. The room was comfortably dim and he wondered briefly why Doctor Russell or some other white coat hadn't thrown him out of her room. Visiting hours probably ended long ago. As he caught a glimpse of Stephanie he realized he didn't care. It was good to see her sleeping so peacefully, he knew she must have been exhausted after all that had happened and one of the best things for her was a copious amount of rest.

She looked much better now than she had earlier. The cuts and bruises were hardly visible. Color had returned to her body, her cheeks and lips flush with a soft vermilion. Much better than the earlier pale white and sickly violet that had painted her. In his mind's eye he could still see her in the gutter, her eyes wide, her body curled in a fetal position. He didn't think he'd forget that as long as he lived, the sight permanently engraved into his brain.

He ran a hand up along her arm, then rose just enough so he could lean up and placed a chaste kiss on his forehead. He didn't know quite why he did it, the urge had simply over taken him. The moment he rested back in his seat the door to her room burst open and Shane McMahon stood there looking half-mad.

His hair and clothes were in a complete disarray and he was practically foaming at the mouth as he burst in, asking in a heated blur, "WHAT HAPPENED TO MY SISTER!"

Stephanie stirred slightly, her face cringing in sleep. Shawn rushed over and shoved Shane out of the room, shutting the door firmly behind him, "Don't scream like that, you'll wake her and half the hospital up!"

"Who gives a shit! I want to know what the fuck happened to my sister! I want to know why she's here, why you were the one to call me here, and what you have to do with this in the first place. I don't want any Mysterio bullshit! I want to know why she's here and you're going to tell me! RIGHT NOW!"

Shawn sighed and rubbed his temple, he wasn't ready to deal with this, "Shane, I don't want to break her trust by telling you that without her permission."

"Fuck that! You call me on the phone, tell me my sister is in the hospital and to fly down here, then hang up on me leaving me to wonder what in God's name happened to her. Now I'm here, she's in a hospital bed and you're in her room and-just tell me what's going on! NOW!"

"Shane-"

Before Shawn could go any further Shane grabbed the collar of his shirt and thrust him roughly up against the nearest wall, shaking him hard, as he spit out viciously, "You tell me, you son of a bitch or I swear to God I'll-"

"You'll what?" Shawn asked between clenched teeth, his temper flaring up. Shane must have been intimidated by whatever burned in Shawn's eyes as he stepped down a little, releasing Shawn to reply tightly, "I'll go ask her myself."

Shane turned to go into his sister's room but Shawn grabbed his elbow, "No, wait, look..." he drew Shane away from the door and they locked eyes, "I don't want you waking her up. She needs her rest. Can't you just...can't you wait until she wakes up?"

Shane opened his mouth to continue but then a tight cry erupted from Stephanie's room. Both Shane and Shawn charged in. Stephanie was tossing about the bed, moaning and crying, tears rolling down her cheeks. Shane reached her first and took hold of her wrists, "Stephanie! What's-"

Shane didn't get much further before she slapped him across the face soundly, "Get away! GET AWAY!"

Shawn got to one side of her but avoided her flailing limbs, instead choosing to speak loudly and firmly, "Stephanie! STEPH!"

Stephanie tossed about a bit more but her eyes finally opened and she looked around as if in a haze, "S-Shawn?"

"I'm here, Stephanie." Shawn assured her and pulled in closer, running a hand along her face. She turned to him, tears in her eyes as she sobbed, "He was after me again."

"Shh, it's okay. You're safe now. Your brother is here to see you."

"Shane?" she whispered and looked around, "Where's Shane?"

"Here, Steph." Shane said and leaned over her on the other side of the bed, a hand rubbing at her cheek.

"Ohhh, Shaney," she whimpered and began to cry. Shane tried to soothe her, sitting on her bed to pull her into his arms. Stephanie pulled in close to his body, sobbing quietly. Shawn took this as his cue to leave and left the siblings alone to discuss the whole sordid affair. He sat out in the hall across from her room and waited, knowing Shane would want to speak to him once it was all over.

Just like clockwork, Shane emerged from the room two hours later and looked straight at Shawn. His face was tight and drawn as if the life had been sucked out of him. Shawn rose to his feet and the two men stood in silence, merely looking at each other. At last Shane spoke, "You found her?"

"Yes. I did."

Shane nodded and another silence settled in. Eventually Shane found the strength to continue, "Why didn't you call me sooner?"

"I didn't call you until she told me to. I didn't want to insist that she talk to people about it. This is all up to her, Shane, because this is about her and something horrible that happened to her. I don't give her advice or try to tell her what to do about it. If I was in her position would I do things different? Yeah, maybe but I'm not her. I'm doing what ever she tells me, I did the best I can."

Shane nodded again, "Why hasn't she reported it yet? I want the cops out looking for this-this monster and I want them to catch him and..." Shane shook with uncontrollable rage, his hands clenched in fists as he practically shook with fury, his voice rising as he spoke, "So why hasn't she reported it!"

"I just told you, Shane. She knows, better than anyone else does, what will be the most useful for her right now. Reporting is a very big step; it might require more time, energy, and courage than she feels ready to give at this time. I didn't want to press her or force after all," Shawn drew close to Shane at this point to cement his point, "hasn't she been forced on enough?"

Shane closed his eyes and backed down. He looked weak. Drained. Shawn sighed and ran a hand through his hair, "Look, Shane, I know how you feel..."

"No, no Shawn, you really don't! Okay? That's...that's my sister in there. My flesh and blood and when I think of what happened to her...I mean, maybe if I had been there I could have prevented-"

"Shane, 'coulda', 'shoulda', 'woulda'-there not going to help, all right? And neither is 'what if'. What happened, happened. It's horrible, awful but it happened and now we just have to force ourselves to move on from here. Especially for Stephanie's sake. Because what you and I feel is inconsequential to what she feels. I can't even begin to imagine what it's like in her shoes. Can you?"

Shane shook his head and Shawn let out a breath of relief as he patted Shane's shoulder, "Good, then you can understand why it's important that you don't tell anyone else about this. And that includes your father."

"My dad? But he-"

"Can know when Stephanie decides to tell him. It was hard enough for her to come to you. You do understand that, right?"

Shane reluctantly nodded when suddenly Nurse Patterson appeared, "Sorry to interrupt you gentlemen but I just came from Ms. McMahon's room and she told me to let you know that she has just been released. She filled out all the paperwork. As soon as she's dressed she'll be ready to leave."

"Thank you, nurse." Shane said and turned back to Shawn, a frown on his face, "I'll take Stephanie back with me to our family estate. I'll try not to pressure her but I will suggest she report the incident."

Shawn nodded, "That's just fine. As long as you don't tell her what to do, I'm okay with it. But when you suggest it, try and be subtle."

Shane glared at him when suddenly Stephanie appeared. She looked little worse for wear and gave them both a soft look, "I'm ready to go."

Shane looked her over, "Where'd you get the jacket?"

Stephanie looked down and suddenly realized she was still wearing Shawn's jacket, "Oh. This. It's Shawn's. I wore it here last night and I guess when I changed out of the hospital gown I just saw it and-here, I'll go ahead and return it."

Stephanie was about to shrug it off when Shawn gently touched her shoulder to stop her, "No, that's okay. Keep it. It's cold out."

Stephanie's eyes widened at the words but she complied, wrapping the jacket tighter around herself. Shane shot a look at Shawn but didn't say a word, instead he asked a new question, "What's with the bag?"

"Just some leftover hospital food. It's not as bad as you would think." Stephanie said as she gripped the brown paper bag in her hand more tightly. Shawn recognized the bag immediately. It was the bag of clothes he had brought in last night. Dr. Russell must have returned it to her since she had decided not to file a report. He didn't say anything but his eyes did flicker up to Stephanie's, he saw a pleading there so he kept his mouth shut, instead giving them both a warm smile, "Well, I guess you two should be on your way."

"Yes, we will be." Shane said and took his sister's arm. He turned to lead her off but she kept looking over her shoulder after Shawn. Shawn stood rooted to the spot for a moment then turned to leave. He found himself looking over his shoulder as well, his eyes often meeting with Stephanie's. He stopped. Cursed. And turned around to rush up to them, "Wait! Wait a minute!"

Shane reluctantly stopped, Stephanie had a look of relief on her face as Shawn walked over. He stood directly in front of her, looking down into her eyes so that she almost felt as if they were the only two people in the whole hospital, "Listen, Stephanie, if you ever need anything, ever need to talk, don't hesitate to call me, all right? I'll be on call for you twenty-four-seven."

Stephanie nodded, her face not changing but her insides rising just a little at his words. Shane spoke up for her, "She'll be fine."

"Right." Shawn whispered and, quickly without thought, reached out a finger to run along her cheek lovingly. He turned away swiftly, surprised by his actions. He didn't know what was happening to him. It was obvious the situation hadn't just been life changing for her. He walked away and wondered if he would ever see her again. He highly doubted it, she had Shane to take care of her now. In a couple of months he imagined the entire incident would be well behind him and hopefully her as well.