Stephanie smoothed back her hair quickly and stared ahead anxiously, but doing her best to look completely unruffled as the bedroom door slipped open.

"Oh. It's you." She said, as her face fell. Her mother's face was lit by the flashlight she was holding in her hand.

"Expecting--or should I say hoping--I was someone else?" Her mother queried.

"No! Of course not! I'm happy to see you, of course, Mother. It's just...it's been a really rough couple of days, you know?"

"Sweetie, I know....May I sit?"

Stephanie pulled her legs up into a pretzel as her mother sat on the bed.

"I didn't get a chance to welcome you home, Stephanie. I missed you."

"You did?"

"Of course! Mother/Daughter relationships are complicated. You're going to find that out very soon, from an entirely different perspective, aren't you?" Linda asked as she leaned over and touched her daughter's stomach lightly.

"Yeah...I can't wait." Stephanie sighed happily.

Linda waited for a moment and then rocked her daughters' world: "So when are you going to tell Hunter he's going to be a father?"

"Son of a--What?" Stephanie blinked, dumbfounded.

"Oh, Stephanie! Do you think I'm blind? I see the way you look at him! I've seen the way you look at Kurt! It's two completely different things! I can see you're not understanding what I'm saying, darling, so let me break it down for you: when you look at Hunter, I see a woman looking at the man who is the love of her life. When I see you look at Kurt...well, it's like you're looking at nothing. There's nothing there. And if for one minute you try and convince me that you actually slept with that idiot, I swear, I am going to march straight out of this room and into Hunter's, consequences be damned!"

"No! No, Mother, you can't do that! It would ruin absolutely everything! Why are you always trying to destroy my life? Does it give you some kind of perverse pleasure? Is it that you're not happy, so your daughter can't be either? Do you truly hate me that much?" Stephanie ranted, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Hate you? My God, Stephanie, I love you! You're my daughter, I want you to be happy more than anything in the world! It's just that--"

"Just that what, Mother?"

"It's the way you go about it! You're your own worst enemy! I just want to help you, and right now, the best thing in the world for you to do is to come clean with Hunter It could make all the difference!"

"You're right! It probably would make all the difference. And that's exactly why I can't tell him. I don't want him back because of the baby, I want him back because he's finally figured out that it hurts even to breathe without me! So I can't do that, I can't tell him, Mother! He's my husband and--"

"Ex-Husband! He's your ex--darling, I'm sorry but you have to get used to the idea of that!"

"The hell I do! He's not my ex-anything, Mother! He's my husband."

"Stephanie--"

"Mother, don't ask me any questions, just accept it. I am still Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley, okay?"

Linda looked at Stephanie shocked speechless, for once.

"Okay..." Linda said slowly. "I'm not going to ask exactly how you maneuvered that one, but do you see now what I'm telling you? You're your own worst enemy! Stephanie, when Hunter finds out..."

"When my husband finds out, he's going to be happy about it."

"Stephanie--"

"I know, you think I'm losing it or something, don't you? Well, I'm not! I'm just...desperate, Mother. Desperate people do things they wouldn't normally do, don't they? I actually have thought through this, and I believe that if I do everything right, I can get him back, Mother! Don't you want that for me? For me to be with the man that I love?"

"Of course I want you with Hunter--"

"And why is that?"

"He's the one person on the planet I actually think is good enough for you." Linda admitted to her daughter.

"Then you see? You see that maybe, for once, I actually know what I'm doing? Mother, I promise, I will tell him. It just has to be at the right time. And I'll tell him we're still married as soon as the time is right with that too! I'm not deluding myself, I know he'll be angry about my manipulating that, but he'll forgive me. He'll see how much I'm in love with him, and that I did it for us--for the three of us--and he'll be angry, but he'll get over it. Please, just please, Mother, don't tell him. Do you promise?" Stephanie begged.

"It's your life...and if you truly believe this is the best way to deal with this--"

"It is--"

"Then, I won't tell him. But I have one more thing to say, and I want you to really listen to this: If there is one thing your husband hates, it is liars. And right now, you are telling him the biggest whooper of them all, and you are going to need to be careful. Because let me tell you something else. There are a lot of women out there who would love to get their hands on him, and if I were twenty years younger, and you weren't my daughter, I'd be one of them too!"

"Mother!" Stephanie gasped, laughing.

"Well, I'm just telling you like it is, Stephanie. You do whatever you think you have to, but in the end, it's going to be the truth that will help you get him back."

"You actually hit the nail on the head with one part of your lecture, Mother. The vultures are circling, and the biggest, bitchiest one of all is Stacy Keibler. She and Hunter--they--"

Stephanie didn't have to finish, Linda could read it on her face. "Oh, I would never have thought that Hunter--are you certain?"

"Mother, believe me, I wouldn't have believed it unless I'd seen it with my own eyes. Unfortunately, I did."

"I--Stephanie, I don't want you to read too much into this but--maybe things aren't exactly as they seem."

"Meaning what?" Stephanie asked, confused.

"Meaning that Hunter's a lot of things, he's devious, he's manipulative-- actually, I think that's why the two of you suit each other so well--but in all the time he's been with you, I've never seen him even look at another woman. And he works with some--some very nice looking women, you know?"

"I know...believe me, I know." Stephanie bit out. "And it actually did occur to me that maybe it was just a one-time deal, or there was something I was missing, but I just don't know anymore! Sometimes, I can't even tell what way is up with him anymore. But you know what? I've decided it doesn't really matter. I mean it hurts, really badly, to be truthful, whenever I think of Hunter and, and--but I've decided I don't care. When it's all said and done, he's my husband, I'm having his child, and she'll be nothing but a bad memory--for both of us. And it's not like I haven't made mistakes in this marriage. We're both to blame for things getting so bad, but I'm doing my part to get it all back together again. Now, if only he'd do his, you know?"

"I know..."

"So I'm going to stick with my plan. Part of it's really simple--I'm going to seduce my own husband. And we'll be together, the three of us, and we'll be a family, no matter how long it takes me or if I have to practically kill myself doing it."

"I love you, Stephanie." Linda said simply.

"I love you too, Mother." Stephanie said, reaching out to hug her. They were silent for a while, and Linda noted that Stephanie was starting to fall asleep so she whispered:

"Well, I just wanted to come in and talk with you...I'm so glad I did. Oh! And I wanted to thank you for the roses you sent me! They're lovely! And the card you sent with them, so sweet, darling. You couldn't see them of course, with the electricity out but I have them on the coffee table in the living room. And I even found a vase that was almost as beautiful as they are, even though I did prick my finger on one of the stems. It still hurts, actually. Well...good night, sweetheart."

"Mmm-hmm." Stephanie responded, already drifting off to sleep. Linda leaned in to kiss her daughter's forehead and quietly left the room. She went down the hallway to the bathroom and walked past Hunter's room. She peeked in but to her surprise she saw him looking back at her.

"Oh, Hunter! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you! I'll just head back--"

"Linda, wait, I was already awake. I can't get to sleep. Not that I'd want to." He muttered.

"Does all of this stalker nonsense have you unable to sleep?" Linda asked as she walked over to the side of the bed.

"No, not that...have a seat, if you want." Hunter said, gesturing to the foot of the bed.

"Thank you, dear. So why don't you want to sleep?"

"Eh, that's not..."

"Hunter, you obviously want to talk about it, otherwise you wouldn't have mentioned it. So out with it."

"Yes, Mom!" he teased. "But seriously...I, uh--I have dreams." he said flatly.

"Dreams?" Linda frowned.

"Well, not exactly dreams. More like nightmares. They're vivid. Like I'm actually there. Inside the dream."

"I see." Linda said.

"No, you don't. I know...it sounds nuts. But they're starting to really piss me off, you know?"

"Why?"

"Because I really can't get any sleep. I've been running on fumes, for at least three weeks now."

"It's been almost a month since these dreams began?"

"Yeah...and they're really weird too."

"Weird how?"

"It's...it's almost like they're telling a story. A story that only I can see for some reason. But the thing is, I can't ever remember what they're about! The exact details, I mean. I wake up, ready to go kill something, like there's something seriously wrong or someone that I care about is going to be hurt, and I'm ready to go defend Stephanie, but I don't know how! And I don't know why, or from whom I'm supposed to protect them, and it's frustrating the hell out of me. I don't have dreams. For God's sakes, most people go out of their way NOT to tick me off. And somehow, I can't stop having the dreams. You can stop looking at me like that." He said irritably.

"If I'm looking at you any way you don't like, I'm sorry. But there was one part of your description that kind of stood out. Do you realize that you were talking about Stephanie?"

"No, I wasn't!"

"Yes, I distinctly heard you say Stephanie."

"Then Linda, I'm sorry, but you need to have your hearing checked. I know, I was a great son-in-law"--he laughed at this--"but you've got to get over it. Steph and I--we're divorced. Signed the papers yesterday. It's done, finito, finished."

Linda looked at the man who was still her son-in-law, and tried to adopt an innocent aura.

"Is Steph okay?" he asked finally.

"Yes, she's fine."

"I knew you'd check up on her." he said.

"But now that I'm here, let's talk about you."

"What about me?"

"Well, those dreams for starters. I know you don't want to hear this, but I believe they're about my daughter."

"I already know that." Hunter growled.

"Yes, I know that! But I don't think they're about her in the way you think they are."

"Huh?"

"I just mean, that with the a---divorce--and everything along with it, you're just starting a whole new chapter in your life, so it's probably only natural that you'd have a bout of insomnia."

"I guess..."

"I'm sure that they're nothing, really. So try not to worry about them so much! It's so unlike you."

"Boy, do I know that."

"And, Hunter there's something else I need to tell you."

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry for showing you that tape of Stephanie and that actor who was portraying her doctor. It wasn't my place to interfere like that, and I'm so very sorry I did so."

"Linda! Hey, this isn't even remotely your fault. All you did was tell the truth. Do you have any idea how grateful I am to you for that? I was being played for a fool, and you were the only one with enough courage and decency to tell me. I will be grateful forever. Really." He told her firmly.

"I agonized for so long over that decision."

"Well, stop. I appreciated it. It helped...clarify a lot of things for me."

"I'm happy you're not angry with me. And please forgive me for saying this but--well, I'm surprised you haven't struck out at Stephanie any more than you have. Forgiveness isn't exactly--"

"One of my better attributes?" Hunter finished wryly. "No, you're right about that, Linda. But I thought getting her kicked out of the Federation was punishment enough."

"But now she's managed to get back in. So this is where the question comes in: Are you going to be playing any games with her Hunter? Because I'm telling you right now, she's not in any condition to fight you off. She's never going to be more vulnerable--especially to you--than she is right now. So if you're planning something against her, I have to ask you to just stop it. Right now. For all our sakes."

Hunter looked at her incredulously. "Linda...you have such a low opinion of me! I'm not planning anything against your little Princess, okay? I'm not going after her...so long as she stays out of my way, I will stay out of hers. We'll figure out a way to coexist in the same universe. And now, with this whole maniac screwing with her and her family? Do you really think I'm that low? Oh, I'll admit, anyone else who did something like what Steph did to me, I'd knock them down so hard they'd never be able to get back up. But this is Stephanie we're talking about...and she's different. Somehow, she's just...different. We hurt each other. It's done. We're done." he insisted.

"That's really all I needed to hear, Hunter. I'm relieved."

"Yeah." he muttered, still insulted. "In Stephanie, I've created a monster. That's my fault, I accept full responsibility for that. Before me...she was a completely different person. She never would have lied like this or--"

"Who on earth do you think you are kidding? If that's what you've thought all this time, let me just tell you how wrong you are!"

"You can't deny Stephanie was completely different before she knew me! Do you have any idea how guilty I feel about that?"

"You're damn right, she was different, Hunter! But not in the way you're thinking! She was so much worse before she met you!"

"What?" Hunter asked, stunned.

"Is that seriously what you've thought, all this time? Well, I hate to break it to you, but Stephanie was always manipulative. She just hid it, buried it below a sweet facade. After she married you, she didn't do that anymore, and let me tell you, that was a relief! Finally, I started to know where I stood with her! And, when she was with you she finally started to understand that--Linda broke off, uncertain if she was going to betray her daughter with the sentence she'd been thinking of-- then continued: "You made her better, not worse, Hunter, and I think in some ways, she did the same for you."

She saw how shocked Hunter was at the revelation that Stephanie hadn't been sweetness and light before he had torn his way into her life, and wisely decided to give him time to process that.

"Hunter?"

"What now, Linda?"

"Are you in love with my daughter still?"

Hunter looked at Linda, aghast at her lack of tact. "We're divorced."

"That doesn't answer my question."

"Actually, it does. We're divorced. Don't you see? She lied to me about the most sacred thing there is, and she did it for her own personal gain. Even if I did still love her, how am I ever supposed to trust her again? How could I tell if she's ever being completely truthful with me? Time was, I could smell a liar. I could see it in their faces, read it in their bodies. Even Stephanie. But somewhere down the line, it got to the point where I couldn't even tell with her anymore. And I can't live like that, Linda. How am I supposed to share my life, my bed, me, with a woman who could say to me that the sky was green and a part of me would actually believe her?"

"So, in your mind...there's absolutely no chance of a reconciliation?" Linda asked sadly.

"None whatsoever. Linda, you have to understand. Stephanie and I...we are forces of nature. We destroy everything in our paths, everything in our way until we get what we want. And if we went for it again, we'd destroy each other. It would be inevitable. It probably wouldn't even be because we wanted to, but we would. And then we'd end up hating each other with every bit of passion that we once felt that was love. Do you understand what I'm saying, Linda?"

"Yes...yes, Hunter I do." She said softly. She rose from the bed suddenly and started for the door but at the last minute she turned around:

"But what if you're wrong, Hunter? What if the two of you have learned from the last time around, learned enough to get it right? Don't you owe it to yourselves to at least find out, for all of your sakes? It's not often that a person finds their soulmate, Hunter. And believe me, that's a truth I know all too well. And for you to actually find that other person in the world that makes them whole, and then to be afraid enough to throw it away, all because of what might happen...Hunter, it's madness. But I love you anyway, and I will always consider you to be my son. Good night, darling." Linda shut the door behind her, leaving Hunter deep in thought.

Those two, Linda though ruefully. Two of the most intelligent people in the world, and they were both being so stupid. Linda blinked as the room seemed to spin for a moment. She patted the flashlight reassuringly. Must be all the darkness, making her dizzy, she thought. She felt for the support of the wall as purple dots continued to dance in front of her eyelids. Just have to make it to the bed, she knew. She was suddenly so very tired...and her finger was just throbbing.

Meanwhile, Stephanie suddenly jerked awake, her Mother's last words to her finally penetrating her consciousness fully. "Roses?" She said aloud. "But Mother, I didn't send you any roses...God knows, I'd be the last person to send roses to anyone."