Hunter inhaled deeply, his arms reaching out to touch her, but he stopped
himself and took a step back.
She didn't even realize what she'd said, he knew. But he sure as hell did. But he wasn't going to ask her, no, no.Stephanie wouldn't know the truth if it smacked her upside the face.
"I'm uh-getting coffee." He said, beating a hasty exit, his thoughts in disarray.
What was going on here? He realized he hadn't even been letting himself think about Stephanie's pregnancy. He hadn't wanted to think about it at all. He hadn't even entertained the notion that he could be the father.why wouldn't she have called him a month ago, when she'd first found out? Unless maybe she hadn't found out then.what if she'd only found out a short while ago--and that's why she had come back? To use this pregnancy against him.could she be that cold?
Yeah, she could, but..something still didn't sit right with all of this. Something still felt off. It was this damn stalker business, he knew that was stopping him from seeing this right. Normally, he'd be able to process what all of his thoughts, his instincts were telling him, but he'd been thrown off of his game by Stephanie being in danger like this, by those insane dreams that prevented him from actually getting some sleep. As soon as Stephanie had announced her pregnancy, a part of him--apparently, the part which did his thinking--had just shut down. He hadn't even entertained the thought it could be his child because he knew that she would have used it against him, used it to make him do whatever the hell she wanted. But instead she'd claimed Kurt as the father, what possible purpose could that have served for her if she had been lying? All of this was making his head pound. Stephanie would drive him insane, even if she wasn't even deliberately setting out to do so. He turned a corner and slammed into a young blonde nurse.
"Oh, jeez. I'm sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going." He apologized as he helped her up.
She looked at him, dazed, but managed a smile. "Hey, it's not every day I bump into a man like you..Hello, again, Mr. Helmsley."
"I have to say I'm sorry again because I don't remember where I've seen you."
Her face fell. "Oh! Wait, uh, you were with the doctor who was examining my wi-Stephanie McMahon, yesterday, weren't you?"
"It's allright you didn't recognize me, I mean, you were worrying about a lot of other things yesterday. How is she doing?"
"Physically? Fine, but.she's going through some things." An idea occurred and he smiled slowly. He saw her nervously bite her lip as her eyes blinked a couple of times. He put an arm around her shoulder and asked "Nurse"-he checked her nametag quickly "Richards, actually, you could really help me out quite a bit. I was just on my way to get a cup of coffee, I would love it if you would join me."
"Well, I'm really just getting off of my break but.I could.I could take a few more minutes, I took a really short break yesterday." She leaned into his shoulder and smiled flirtatiously.
"I'm so glad. My name's Hunter, by the way. What's your first name, Nurse Richards?"
"Susan." Susan giggled, because she was passing one of her friends who was looking slack-jawed at the Adonis she had with his arm around her. She managed a little wave, but her attention was completely captured by Hunter as they went into the hospital cafeteria.
Meanwhile, Stephanie was still looking into the hospital room and trying to catch a glimpse of her mother. She glanced behind of her, wondering where Hunter had gone to. She somewhat remembered something about coffee, but she was just so stressed out, she wasn't even certain if she'd actually even called him. Sighing, she turned back to the room. Well, if he was really here, he'd come back.
"Susan, here's your coffee.thank you for joining me."
"Oh, it's no problem.what can I do for you?" There was a wealth of meaning in her tone.
"Well, you see, I'm worried about my friend, Stephanie. The woman yesterday."
"I see." Disappointment tinged in her voice.
"Yeah, she's having a baby with a buddy of mine and-"
"It's not your baby?" She asked, smiling again.
"Oh, no! She all but announced to the world her pregnancy, and she definitely said my buddy was her baby's father. You see, I'm their best friend, and I came to the hospital with her for moral support." He lied smoothly. "The father, he's having health problems"-that part was true, he had beat up Angle along with Jericho this afternoon in his little interrogations-"And so I'm just looking after Stephanie, you know, as a favor."
"That is so kind of you. He's so lucky to have you for a friend." She said, as tears shone in her eyes. To capitalize, he slid his hand near hers, not quite touching, but inviting her touch. She took his hand and stroked it.
"Oh, it's not kind at all..he'd do the same for me, you know? So I just, I want to be able to tell him everything is fine with her."
"Oh it is, she truly suffered no ill effects. It was such a small amount of senna, you see. She's perfectly fine."
"I think I just needed to hear it again. I worry about her, you know? My friend, he'd just be so upset if something happened with the baby.especially since she's only in the beginning of her first trimester.don't most miscarriages happen early?"
"Yes, that's true, most miscarriages occur in the first trimester, but Mrs. McMahon is nearing the end of her first trimester, so she should be able to breathe easier soon." Susan smiled, but that smile faded when she saw the expression on Hunter's face.
"Thank you for having coffee with me. And thank you so much for reassuring me. You have no idea how truly helpful you've been. And I have to say I'm sorry for the third time in ten minutes to you, but I just remembered that there's something I need to take care of." He stood, reached over to shake her hand, and left a thoroughly confused Susan Richards sitting at a table.
Stephanie turned around again as she heard footsteps behind her. She blinked in shock and then laughed for what felt like the first time in weeks. "You're here! I can't believe you're here!" She said as she reached out to pull him close to her. Stephanie felt her brother's surprise when she hugged him. They'd never been the hugging type of people, but it seemed that lately, she'd been hugging everyone in sight. Shane McMahon awkwardly hugged his sister back. "Hey, Steph.so what is going on?" He asked. "Is this Mom's room?" he asked anxiously.
"So you know what happened?" Stephanie asked, having mercy, and letting him out of their embrace. Shane peered past her shoulder into the room window.
"Yeah, I stopped by the house as I was driving into the city, and the neighbors were all talking. I caught most of the conversation. But I don't know that much. Is Mom okay? And where's Dad? Is he with her?"
"Yes, Dad's with Mom. And we-oh, God, Shane, everything's such a horrible mess. It's-Mom's I-" Stephanie stuttered.
"Hey, hey, hey.calm down, okay, sis? Let's go sit down, allright? We'll still be able to see the room." Shane said as he steered Stephanie over to some chairs.
"I'm sorry, I'm just really tired."
"Had a bad night's sleep?" He asked, and then cursed himself for the stupidity of that question at this time. He was never good with any of this emotional crap.
"No.actually, last night was the best night's sleep I've had for a really, really long time. But I'm just scared because of this whole damn stalker. He poisoned our mother, Shane. You do know about this whole stalker thing, right?" She asked uncertainly.
Shane nodded. "Yeah, Dad, he e-mailed me about it. Basically, he just told me to watch my back." He decided not to mention the fact that he'd started to receive e-mails of his own, e-mails that were entirely different from the ones his father had received. He hadn't even told his father yet..and he wasn't certain if he wanted to worry his father with all of this, especially with mother in the hospital..mom needed dad, and Shane would just have to take care of things for a while so his father would be able to devote all of his attention to mom.
"At least he told you." Stephanie muttered. "He might have-Shane, what if she dies? We've done so many things to her, Shane, what if we never get the chance to make up for it?"
"What's with the attack of conscience, Steph? Everything we've ever done, it pales into comparison with dear old Dad, and Mom's always forgiven him.she'll forgive us too. So if that's what's getting you here, don't let it. Mom wouldn't want that. She wouldn't want you to be upset."
"I know! That makes it all the worse! I know Mom wouldn't want me upset, but that's why I am! Of all the people who've been in my life, Mom's one of the two people who have ever made any real effort to get to know me, the real me. And I've never told her how much that's meant to me.I've been so cruel. She's my own mother, and I've done such horrible things to her.she's never hardly said anything, but I know there's a part of her that just thinks I'm a terrible person. A terrible daughter. What if that part of her never forgives me, Shane?"
Shane had been worrying about the same thing the entire ride over, had actually been thinking about it for a while now, but he didn't want to say so. He and Steph had hurt mom, and he'd wanted to try and make amends for some time now.but he just hadn't been clear on how. It was obvious his sister was on the verge of a total collapse. He wondered what else was eating at her. There had to be a lot more that was going on, because he knew his sister, and she was one of the strongest people he'd ever met in his entire life. This maniac stalker must really be doing a good job of getting into her head, he thought. Or, actually, Hunter. Had to be. Hunter was the only person he'd ever met who could wrap Stephanie into knots like this. Maybe it was a culmination of everything, but either way, he could see Stephanie was seriously falling apart at the seams. He racked his brain for something to say to his sister, anything to make her feel better, but as he looked into her eyes, the desperate need for reassurance that was looking back at him, he drew a blank and instead looked away and told her to tell him everything that had been happening. She did so, deciding not to mention her scheme with Kurt, telling him only that she'd announced Kurt as her baby's father, how she had found out about this stalker, everything that had been happening so very quickly.
Shane sat in silence for a moment, took in a deep breath. "I, uh.okay, then. I probably should've come back sooner, huh?"
"You think?"
"I'm sorry, I had no idea things had gotten so bad with you and Hunter. Somehow I pictured him coming back from his injury and the two of you taking a wrecking ball to dad, not to each other."
"Don't you ever watch television, Shane? It was on, for the world to see.or why didn't you at least call me? Or write? Or send a freaking e-mail? I called you all the time, but I could never get ahold of you.you were always out or not even at the same hotel."
"I've been traveling a lot of it was outside of the U.S. I was never really at the same place for long, for more than a couple days. I never got your messages, Steph. I'm sorry."
"Traveling? Traveling where?"
"But where is Hunter now? Hasn't the fact that your pregnant softened him up at least a little? My brother in law, he's a hard ass, but I know he likes kids..it's just hard to believe that he's being so cool about this pregnancy."
"I told you the baby's Kurt's!"
"I know that's what you told me, but how stupid do you think I am, Steph? I mean, come on! You, Kurt? That's..against the laws of God and man, okay? The mental picture alone, that just-ugh.." Shane shivered.
"What the hell do you know!" Stephanie shot back, angry.
"I know enough to know there's no way this kid's Kurt's.Steph! Even before you got married, I know you always had a thing for Hunter-"
"You are wrong about that! That's completely untrue!" Stephanie almost yelled, completely mortified.
"Stephanie! You can't seriously believe I didn't see the way you looked at him.even back then, when he used to get on you about everything. You were floored by him.it's always been him, even when you were with Andrew. Did you ever even realize that?"
Stephanie blinked in shock.
"Well, it's true.I don't even think you even realized it, but whenever you and Hunter were in a room.it was like, I don't know-like this pull, you know? I can't explain it, I never could. But it was there nonetheless. Sometimes, there's just people in the world who are supposed to be in your life, somehow, they are a part of it even when they're not. I think Hunter's one of those people for you."
"You think I was in love with Hunter when I was with Andrew? It's been two years, Shane! And you're just telling me this now? Here?"
"Not in love, exactly, you had more of a morbid fascination with him. And hey, I'm just saying.look, you're the one who's lying here, Stephanie! You're lying to Hunter about this, and it's only going to add to your problems with him. You need to tell the truth, and I mean now, or it could get really ugly."
"It can't get any uglier." Stephanie snorted.
"Wanna bet? You know Hunter even better than I do.what's going to be his reaction to this when he finds out? Right now, you can salvage it, it's only been a day since you've told the lie.blame it on hormones or something. But if you keep it going, I swear, it's going to blow up in your face. I don't want that to happen to you. You're my sister, and I don't want you hurt."
"Neither do I." Hunter said as he suddenly appeared a couple of feet away down the hall.
"Hey, man." Shane greeted his brother in law.
"How long were you listening?" Stephanie asked nervously.
"Only a second.why? Were you saying something you didn't want me to overhear?" Hunter asked carefully.
"No! Of course not! I-" Stephanie tittered, but Hunter cut her off.
"I'm glad you're here, Shane. Stay with okay? There's somewhere I need to be. But don't leave Stephanie alone, you got that? And if you need me back here, my phone'll be on. Call and I'll come back."
"Yeah, but where are you going?"
"Somewhere that's not here." Was all the answer Hunter felt like giving. He looked at Stephanie for a moment and for some reason, Stephanie felt chills zipping up and down the length of her body. She sat down warily, looking at him, but Hunter simply left.
"That was weird.why was he looking at you like that? Could he have overheard us?" Shane asked. "Cause I hope he did."
"No, he didn't overhear us.we would have seen him coming. I don't know what that look was, but I don't want to talk about it anymore. Could you just go find a doctor and find out what's going on with Mom?"
Shane looked down at his sister and decided to drop the subject. For now, at least. Sighing, he went off to locate his mother's physicians.
A Short Time Later
"Oh! Oh, man!" Kurt moaned.
"Quit being such a baby and suck it up." Stacy Keibler told him crossly.
"But it hurts!" Kurt whined.
"What, like you've never been hurt before? This is the WWF, Kurt, and if you're going to whine about this little beating, you are totally in the wrong business." Stacy said disgustedly as she cleaned out one of the gashes on Kurt's arm with antiseptic.
"Well, it does!"
"Okay, fine! You know what? I don't need this! I come by, on my way out of the gym, I see you crawling around on the ground, beaten up, and out of the goodness of my heart, I decide to help you out, and you repay me by wussing out over a couple of little cuts?" Stacy started to box up the bandages but Kurt gripped her arm.
"I'm sorry." Kurt apologized. "You're right, you are.but he knew what he was doing, all right. He knew how to do maximum damage with minimum effort. So it may not look all that bad to you, but trust me, it's bad on the inside."
"So what happened?" She asked, genuinely curious now.
"I happened." Hunter's voice came from behind them and Stacy scrambled to her feet.
"Hunter! I didn't realize-I mean, if I'd have know this was your work," Stacy trailed off.
"You would have stayed out of it?" Hunter asked mirthlessly.
"I would never want to interfere in your business.such as it is." Stacy told him.
"Good. Now get out."
"Of course." Stacy murmured. Kurt winced. As Stacy walked past Hunter, she said casually "But don't you think you've done enough damage to him? I mean, it's hardly sporting to kick the ass of someone who's hardly in a position to defend himself." She asked carefully. "And you are..such a sportsman..wouldn't you rather come out and play with me? I'd be much more of a challenge." Stacy teased softly. Kurt looked at her in surprise.was Stacy Keibler actually trying to help him out?
If she was, he would never know because in that next moment, after looking blankly at Stacy for all of a second, Hunter threw Stacy over his shoulder, placed her down on her feet outside of the room, came back in and locked it, ignoring Stacy's shrieking protests outside the door.
"I actually was finished with you Angle, but now I found that I may have missed something in our last.conversation."
"I'm not a stalker!" Kurt protested. "I'm not, I swear on my medals! I swear, Hunter!"
"I'm not here to ask you about that, Kurt. I'm here to ask you about something entirely different. And you're going to tell me truth, or I swear on your grave my face will be the last one you ever see."
Kurt believed him instantly. "Yeah, sure, whatever you want to know, really, there's no need for anymore violence. It's totally uncalled for."
"I think I'll be the judge of that, but let's just get right down to it. I really only have one question, and it's an easy one, even for you: are you the father of Stephanie's baby?"
Of all the questions he'd thought Hunter might ask, somehow that one had never popped into Kurt's brain. What answer was it that Hunter wanted? He tried to divine something from Hunter's expression, but it was completely closed. If he told the truth, Stephanie would kill him for ruining her so called grand plan. But Hunter would kill him if he didn't tell him, and well, Stephanie wasn't here, and Hunter was, now wasn't he? Kurt decided to let his survival instincts have their way in this.
"Nope." Kurt replied, hoping that was the answer to give. Otherwise, there was that chair just beyond Hunter's shoulder.he could make a dive for it, maybe. But Hunter wasn't pouncing on him yet. Kurt looked up at him warily. "Was there something else?" he asked, like this was a perfectly pleasant and civilized conversation.
"You're really not the father?"
"No."
"Really? How are you so certain? Did you even sleep with her?"
"No?"
"It's not a guessing game, Kurt! Either you did or you didn't!" Hunter squatted to look Kurt in the face.
Kurt looked Hunter squarely in his eyes, and said steadily: "No, I haven't slept with Stephanie.that is, at least not yet!" And with that, Kurt shoved Hunter off his haunches and tried to crawl for the chair, but he stopped when Hunter started laughing. Kurt turned, suspicious, but Hunter wasn't even making a move to defend himself, he was just doubled up on the floor laughing, laughing so hard that there were actual tears coming from his eyes. Kurt stopped going for the chair, it hurt too badly anyways. "What the hell are you laughing about?!" he demanded.
"Man, that was.oh, shit...whoo! You knock me over, you crawl over me.going for that chair, like it's gonna help you, oh, man Kurt, what am I going to do to you?" Hunter sobered, a complete 180, making Kurt wish he'd made it to the chair.
Suddenly Hunter stood. "You know what? I don't think I'm going to do a damn thing to you, Kurt. I don't think you ever slept with my wife, so now, all I'm wondering is why you and she would say that you had.it's not exactly the smartest thing to do, you know, saying you slept with another man's wife, especially when that man is me. So you are going to tell me exactly what my devious, manipulative witch of an ex-wife is doing to me, and you're going to tell me now."
This far, Kurt wasn't prepared to go. Hunter was scary when he was angry, that was definitely true, but in a lot of ways, Stephanie was even scarier. Hunter would just either beat you within an inch of your life, or just screw with your head just a little bit. Stephanie.she didn't have Hunter's physicality, so she had perfected the mental arts of torture, and with her in the position of being Vince's assistant, she'd be out for blood, if he knew his friend. He tried to think of some kind of plausible lie to tell Hunter, anything he might actually buy into, but he couldn't think of a damn thing. His head hurt too much, and it was really sucking that the two people in the world Kurt never would have wanted on their bad side toward him were and he felt like he was trapped.
But as luck had it, Kurt didn't even have to open up his mouth because Hunter's phone started vibrating and he answered, seriously ticked off that he had been interrupted yet again.
"Yeah?" he asked curtly, not recognizing the phone number on his Caller I.D.
"Mr. Helmsley?" Came a distorted voice.
"I believe I said, yeah?" Hunter replied evenly, but inside his blood had turned to ice. What the hell?
"I believe there is something that ought to be brought to your attention, Mr. Helmsley. Please direct yourself down the hallway and take a left."
"The hell I am! Who is this?"
"This is the person who is currently looking at your wife and had a very nasty knife in his pocket. Imagine the things I could do to such a lovely young woman in only a few seconds with that knife, Mr. Helmsley."
Hunter was silent, he swallowed hard. "You're looking at my wife, prove it. Where is she? What is she wearing? Who's with her?" he challenged.
"Mr. Helmsley.such a suspicious man! You are going to be a fun player.you are the Game, after all.I look forward to it..but, in answer to your question, the hospital, a white shirt with not nearly enough cleavage if you ask me, a long black tailored skirt.and the younger Mr. McMahon is currently with her. They look so very upset.I wonder why?" he laughed heartily.
"You sick bas-" Hunter breathed, starting down the hallway. He knew this was some kind of trap, an ambush, but if this psycho was near to Stephanie, he would have to take his chances. He couldn't depend on Shane to be quick enough to do anything to help protect Stephanie. Hunter slid across the wall, looking around him.damn, why hadn't he brought his sledgehammer? He turned left. "What now?" he demanded.
"Do you like games?"
"What?"
"Games, Mr. Helmsley. Do you like them? Are you a chess man? Parcheesi? Well, you may not realize this, but the game is now called monsters and lambs.have you ever played that game, Mr. Helmsley?"
"Yeah.when I was a kid."
"And do you remember the rules?"
"Yeah.the objective of the game is to capture all of the other team's players.you take them out of the game, one by one." Hunter trailed off, realizing.
"Well done, Mr. Helmsley! Yes, yes, that's exactly right! Linda is Lamb Number One.I do believe Shane has a date with destiny to be Lamb Number Two.after all, your wife and father in law are in a category all to themselves, now aren't they? It's so hard to think of them as lambs.but I promise you, they certainly are. As are you, Mr. Helmsley. As are you."
The phone hung up. Hunter pressed the buttons wildly, not noticing the footsteps behind him, and then, as the sledgehammer hit him squarely in the back and Hunter collapsed on the floor, he didn't notice anything anymore.
She didn't even realize what she'd said, he knew. But he sure as hell did. But he wasn't going to ask her, no, no.Stephanie wouldn't know the truth if it smacked her upside the face.
"I'm uh-getting coffee." He said, beating a hasty exit, his thoughts in disarray.
What was going on here? He realized he hadn't even been letting himself think about Stephanie's pregnancy. He hadn't wanted to think about it at all. He hadn't even entertained the notion that he could be the father.why wouldn't she have called him a month ago, when she'd first found out? Unless maybe she hadn't found out then.what if she'd only found out a short while ago--and that's why she had come back? To use this pregnancy against him.could she be that cold?
Yeah, she could, but..something still didn't sit right with all of this. Something still felt off. It was this damn stalker business, he knew that was stopping him from seeing this right. Normally, he'd be able to process what all of his thoughts, his instincts were telling him, but he'd been thrown off of his game by Stephanie being in danger like this, by those insane dreams that prevented him from actually getting some sleep. As soon as Stephanie had announced her pregnancy, a part of him--apparently, the part which did his thinking--had just shut down. He hadn't even entertained the thought it could be his child because he knew that she would have used it against him, used it to make him do whatever the hell she wanted. But instead she'd claimed Kurt as the father, what possible purpose could that have served for her if she had been lying? All of this was making his head pound. Stephanie would drive him insane, even if she wasn't even deliberately setting out to do so. He turned a corner and slammed into a young blonde nurse.
"Oh, jeez. I'm sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going." He apologized as he helped her up.
She looked at him, dazed, but managed a smile. "Hey, it's not every day I bump into a man like you..Hello, again, Mr. Helmsley."
"I have to say I'm sorry again because I don't remember where I've seen you."
Her face fell. "Oh! Wait, uh, you were with the doctor who was examining my wi-Stephanie McMahon, yesterday, weren't you?"
"It's allright you didn't recognize me, I mean, you were worrying about a lot of other things yesterday. How is she doing?"
"Physically? Fine, but.she's going through some things." An idea occurred and he smiled slowly. He saw her nervously bite her lip as her eyes blinked a couple of times. He put an arm around her shoulder and asked "Nurse"-he checked her nametag quickly "Richards, actually, you could really help me out quite a bit. I was just on my way to get a cup of coffee, I would love it if you would join me."
"Well, I'm really just getting off of my break but.I could.I could take a few more minutes, I took a really short break yesterday." She leaned into his shoulder and smiled flirtatiously.
"I'm so glad. My name's Hunter, by the way. What's your first name, Nurse Richards?"
"Susan." Susan giggled, because she was passing one of her friends who was looking slack-jawed at the Adonis she had with his arm around her. She managed a little wave, but her attention was completely captured by Hunter as they went into the hospital cafeteria.
Meanwhile, Stephanie was still looking into the hospital room and trying to catch a glimpse of her mother. She glanced behind of her, wondering where Hunter had gone to. She somewhat remembered something about coffee, but she was just so stressed out, she wasn't even certain if she'd actually even called him. Sighing, she turned back to the room. Well, if he was really here, he'd come back.
"Susan, here's your coffee.thank you for joining me."
"Oh, it's no problem.what can I do for you?" There was a wealth of meaning in her tone.
"Well, you see, I'm worried about my friend, Stephanie. The woman yesterday."
"I see." Disappointment tinged in her voice.
"Yeah, she's having a baby with a buddy of mine and-"
"It's not your baby?" She asked, smiling again.
"Oh, no! She all but announced to the world her pregnancy, and she definitely said my buddy was her baby's father. You see, I'm their best friend, and I came to the hospital with her for moral support." He lied smoothly. "The father, he's having health problems"-that part was true, he had beat up Angle along with Jericho this afternoon in his little interrogations-"And so I'm just looking after Stephanie, you know, as a favor."
"That is so kind of you. He's so lucky to have you for a friend." She said, as tears shone in her eyes. To capitalize, he slid his hand near hers, not quite touching, but inviting her touch. She took his hand and stroked it.
"Oh, it's not kind at all..he'd do the same for me, you know? So I just, I want to be able to tell him everything is fine with her."
"Oh it is, she truly suffered no ill effects. It was such a small amount of senna, you see. She's perfectly fine."
"I think I just needed to hear it again. I worry about her, you know? My friend, he'd just be so upset if something happened with the baby.especially since she's only in the beginning of her first trimester.don't most miscarriages happen early?"
"Yes, that's true, most miscarriages occur in the first trimester, but Mrs. McMahon is nearing the end of her first trimester, so she should be able to breathe easier soon." Susan smiled, but that smile faded when she saw the expression on Hunter's face.
"Thank you for having coffee with me. And thank you so much for reassuring me. You have no idea how truly helpful you've been. And I have to say I'm sorry for the third time in ten minutes to you, but I just remembered that there's something I need to take care of." He stood, reached over to shake her hand, and left a thoroughly confused Susan Richards sitting at a table.
Stephanie turned around again as she heard footsteps behind her. She blinked in shock and then laughed for what felt like the first time in weeks. "You're here! I can't believe you're here!" She said as she reached out to pull him close to her. Stephanie felt her brother's surprise when she hugged him. They'd never been the hugging type of people, but it seemed that lately, she'd been hugging everyone in sight. Shane McMahon awkwardly hugged his sister back. "Hey, Steph.so what is going on?" He asked. "Is this Mom's room?" he asked anxiously.
"So you know what happened?" Stephanie asked, having mercy, and letting him out of their embrace. Shane peered past her shoulder into the room window.
"Yeah, I stopped by the house as I was driving into the city, and the neighbors were all talking. I caught most of the conversation. But I don't know that much. Is Mom okay? And where's Dad? Is he with her?"
"Yes, Dad's with Mom. And we-oh, God, Shane, everything's such a horrible mess. It's-Mom's I-" Stephanie stuttered.
"Hey, hey, hey.calm down, okay, sis? Let's go sit down, allright? We'll still be able to see the room." Shane said as he steered Stephanie over to some chairs.
"I'm sorry, I'm just really tired."
"Had a bad night's sleep?" He asked, and then cursed himself for the stupidity of that question at this time. He was never good with any of this emotional crap.
"No.actually, last night was the best night's sleep I've had for a really, really long time. But I'm just scared because of this whole damn stalker. He poisoned our mother, Shane. You do know about this whole stalker thing, right?" She asked uncertainly.
Shane nodded. "Yeah, Dad, he e-mailed me about it. Basically, he just told me to watch my back." He decided not to mention the fact that he'd started to receive e-mails of his own, e-mails that were entirely different from the ones his father had received. He hadn't even told his father yet..and he wasn't certain if he wanted to worry his father with all of this, especially with mother in the hospital..mom needed dad, and Shane would just have to take care of things for a while so his father would be able to devote all of his attention to mom.
"At least he told you." Stephanie muttered. "He might have-Shane, what if she dies? We've done so many things to her, Shane, what if we never get the chance to make up for it?"
"What's with the attack of conscience, Steph? Everything we've ever done, it pales into comparison with dear old Dad, and Mom's always forgiven him.she'll forgive us too. So if that's what's getting you here, don't let it. Mom wouldn't want that. She wouldn't want you to be upset."
"I know! That makes it all the worse! I know Mom wouldn't want me upset, but that's why I am! Of all the people who've been in my life, Mom's one of the two people who have ever made any real effort to get to know me, the real me. And I've never told her how much that's meant to me.I've been so cruel. She's my own mother, and I've done such horrible things to her.she's never hardly said anything, but I know there's a part of her that just thinks I'm a terrible person. A terrible daughter. What if that part of her never forgives me, Shane?"
Shane had been worrying about the same thing the entire ride over, had actually been thinking about it for a while now, but he didn't want to say so. He and Steph had hurt mom, and he'd wanted to try and make amends for some time now.but he just hadn't been clear on how. It was obvious his sister was on the verge of a total collapse. He wondered what else was eating at her. There had to be a lot more that was going on, because he knew his sister, and she was one of the strongest people he'd ever met in his entire life. This maniac stalker must really be doing a good job of getting into her head, he thought. Or, actually, Hunter. Had to be. Hunter was the only person he'd ever met who could wrap Stephanie into knots like this. Maybe it was a culmination of everything, but either way, he could see Stephanie was seriously falling apart at the seams. He racked his brain for something to say to his sister, anything to make her feel better, but as he looked into her eyes, the desperate need for reassurance that was looking back at him, he drew a blank and instead looked away and told her to tell him everything that had been happening. She did so, deciding not to mention her scheme with Kurt, telling him only that she'd announced Kurt as her baby's father, how she had found out about this stalker, everything that had been happening so very quickly.
Shane sat in silence for a moment, took in a deep breath. "I, uh.okay, then. I probably should've come back sooner, huh?"
"You think?"
"I'm sorry, I had no idea things had gotten so bad with you and Hunter. Somehow I pictured him coming back from his injury and the two of you taking a wrecking ball to dad, not to each other."
"Don't you ever watch television, Shane? It was on, for the world to see.or why didn't you at least call me? Or write? Or send a freaking e-mail? I called you all the time, but I could never get ahold of you.you were always out or not even at the same hotel."
"I've been traveling a lot of it was outside of the U.S. I was never really at the same place for long, for more than a couple days. I never got your messages, Steph. I'm sorry."
"Traveling? Traveling where?"
"But where is Hunter now? Hasn't the fact that your pregnant softened him up at least a little? My brother in law, he's a hard ass, but I know he likes kids..it's just hard to believe that he's being so cool about this pregnancy."
"I told you the baby's Kurt's!"
"I know that's what you told me, but how stupid do you think I am, Steph? I mean, come on! You, Kurt? That's..against the laws of God and man, okay? The mental picture alone, that just-ugh.." Shane shivered.
"What the hell do you know!" Stephanie shot back, angry.
"I know enough to know there's no way this kid's Kurt's.Steph! Even before you got married, I know you always had a thing for Hunter-"
"You are wrong about that! That's completely untrue!" Stephanie almost yelled, completely mortified.
"Stephanie! You can't seriously believe I didn't see the way you looked at him.even back then, when he used to get on you about everything. You were floored by him.it's always been him, even when you were with Andrew. Did you ever even realize that?"
Stephanie blinked in shock.
"Well, it's true.I don't even think you even realized it, but whenever you and Hunter were in a room.it was like, I don't know-like this pull, you know? I can't explain it, I never could. But it was there nonetheless. Sometimes, there's just people in the world who are supposed to be in your life, somehow, they are a part of it even when they're not. I think Hunter's one of those people for you."
"You think I was in love with Hunter when I was with Andrew? It's been two years, Shane! And you're just telling me this now? Here?"
"Not in love, exactly, you had more of a morbid fascination with him. And hey, I'm just saying.look, you're the one who's lying here, Stephanie! You're lying to Hunter about this, and it's only going to add to your problems with him. You need to tell the truth, and I mean now, or it could get really ugly."
"It can't get any uglier." Stephanie snorted.
"Wanna bet? You know Hunter even better than I do.what's going to be his reaction to this when he finds out? Right now, you can salvage it, it's only been a day since you've told the lie.blame it on hormones or something. But if you keep it going, I swear, it's going to blow up in your face. I don't want that to happen to you. You're my sister, and I don't want you hurt."
"Neither do I." Hunter said as he suddenly appeared a couple of feet away down the hall.
"Hey, man." Shane greeted his brother in law.
"How long were you listening?" Stephanie asked nervously.
"Only a second.why? Were you saying something you didn't want me to overhear?" Hunter asked carefully.
"No! Of course not! I-" Stephanie tittered, but Hunter cut her off.
"I'm glad you're here, Shane. Stay with okay? There's somewhere I need to be. But don't leave Stephanie alone, you got that? And if you need me back here, my phone'll be on. Call and I'll come back."
"Yeah, but where are you going?"
"Somewhere that's not here." Was all the answer Hunter felt like giving. He looked at Stephanie for a moment and for some reason, Stephanie felt chills zipping up and down the length of her body. She sat down warily, looking at him, but Hunter simply left.
"That was weird.why was he looking at you like that? Could he have overheard us?" Shane asked. "Cause I hope he did."
"No, he didn't overhear us.we would have seen him coming. I don't know what that look was, but I don't want to talk about it anymore. Could you just go find a doctor and find out what's going on with Mom?"
Shane looked down at his sister and decided to drop the subject. For now, at least. Sighing, he went off to locate his mother's physicians.
A Short Time Later
"Oh! Oh, man!" Kurt moaned.
"Quit being such a baby and suck it up." Stacy Keibler told him crossly.
"But it hurts!" Kurt whined.
"What, like you've never been hurt before? This is the WWF, Kurt, and if you're going to whine about this little beating, you are totally in the wrong business." Stacy said disgustedly as she cleaned out one of the gashes on Kurt's arm with antiseptic.
"Well, it does!"
"Okay, fine! You know what? I don't need this! I come by, on my way out of the gym, I see you crawling around on the ground, beaten up, and out of the goodness of my heart, I decide to help you out, and you repay me by wussing out over a couple of little cuts?" Stacy started to box up the bandages but Kurt gripped her arm.
"I'm sorry." Kurt apologized. "You're right, you are.but he knew what he was doing, all right. He knew how to do maximum damage with minimum effort. So it may not look all that bad to you, but trust me, it's bad on the inside."
"So what happened?" She asked, genuinely curious now.
"I happened." Hunter's voice came from behind them and Stacy scrambled to her feet.
"Hunter! I didn't realize-I mean, if I'd have know this was your work," Stacy trailed off.
"You would have stayed out of it?" Hunter asked mirthlessly.
"I would never want to interfere in your business.such as it is." Stacy told him.
"Good. Now get out."
"Of course." Stacy murmured. Kurt winced. As Stacy walked past Hunter, she said casually "But don't you think you've done enough damage to him? I mean, it's hardly sporting to kick the ass of someone who's hardly in a position to defend himself." She asked carefully. "And you are..such a sportsman..wouldn't you rather come out and play with me? I'd be much more of a challenge." Stacy teased softly. Kurt looked at her in surprise.was Stacy Keibler actually trying to help him out?
If she was, he would never know because in that next moment, after looking blankly at Stacy for all of a second, Hunter threw Stacy over his shoulder, placed her down on her feet outside of the room, came back in and locked it, ignoring Stacy's shrieking protests outside the door.
"I actually was finished with you Angle, but now I found that I may have missed something in our last.conversation."
"I'm not a stalker!" Kurt protested. "I'm not, I swear on my medals! I swear, Hunter!"
"I'm not here to ask you about that, Kurt. I'm here to ask you about something entirely different. And you're going to tell me truth, or I swear on your grave my face will be the last one you ever see."
Kurt believed him instantly. "Yeah, sure, whatever you want to know, really, there's no need for anymore violence. It's totally uncalled for."
"I think I'll be the judge of that, but let's just get right down to it. I really only have one question, and it's an easy one, even for you: are you the father of Stephanie's baby?"
Of all the questions he'd thought Hunter might ask, somehow that one had never popped into Kurt's brain. What answer was it that Hunter wanted? He tried to divine something from Hunter's expression, but it was completely closed. If he told the truth, Stephanie would kill him for ruining her so called grand plan. But Hunter would kill him if he didn't tell him, and well, Stephanie wasn't here, and Hunter was, now wasn't he? Kurt decided to let his survival instincts have their way in this.
"Nope." Kurt replied, hoping that was the answer to give. Otherwise, there was that chair just beyond Hunter's shoulder.he could make a dive for it, maybe. But Hunter wasn't pouncing on him yet. Kurt looked up at him warily. "Was there something else?" he asked, like this was a perfectly pleasant and civilized conversation.
"You're really not the father?"
"No."
"Really? How are you so certain? Did you even sleep with her?"
"No?"
"It's not a guessing game, Kurt! Either you did or you didn't!" Hunter squatted to look Kurt in the face.
Kurt looked Hunter squarely in his eyes, and said steadily: "No, I haven't slept with Stephanie.that is, at least not yet!" And with that, Kurt shoved Hunter off his haunches and tried to crawl for the chair, but he stopped when Hunter started laughing. Kurt turned, suspicious, but Hunter wasn't even making a move to defend himself, he was just doubled up on the floor laughing, laughing so hard that there were actual tears coming from his eyes. Kurt stopped going for the chair, it hurt too badly anyways. "What the hell are you laughing about?!" he demanded.
"Man, that was.oh, shit...whoo! You knock me over, you crawl over me.going for that chair, like it's gonna help you, oh, man Kurt, what am I going to do to you?" Hunter sobered, a complete 180, making Kurt wish he'd made it to the chair.
Suddenly Hunter stood. "You know what? I don't think I'm going to do a damn thing to you, Kurt. I don't think you ever slept with my wife, so now, all I'm wondering is why you and she would say that you had.it's not exactly the smartest thing to do, you know, saying you slept with another man's wife, especially when that man is me. So you are going to tell me exactly what my devious, manipulative witch of an ex-wife is doing to me, and you're going to tell me now."
This far, Kurt wasn't prepared to go. Hunter was scary when he was angry, that was definitely true, but in a lot of ways, Stephanie was even scarier. Hunter would just either beat you within an inch of your life, or just screw with your head just a little bit. Stephanie.she didn't have Hunter's physicality, so she had perfected the mental arts of torture, and with her in the position of being Vince's assistant, she'd be out for blood, if he knew his friend. He tried to think of some kind of plausible lie to tell Hunter, anything he might actually buy into, but he couldn't think of a damn thing. His head hurt too much, and it was really sucking that the two people in the world Kurt never would have wanted on their bad side toward him were and he felt like he was trapped.
But as luck had it, Kurt didn't even have to open up his mouth because Hunter's phone started vibrating and he answered, seriously ticked off that he had been interrupted yet again.
"Yeah?" he asked curtly, not recognizing the phone number on his Caller I.D.
"Mr. Helmsley?" Came a distorted voice.
"I believe I said, yeah?" Hunter replied evenly, but inside his blood had turned to ice. What the hell?
"I believe there is something that ought to be brought to your attention, Mr. Helmsley. Please direct yourself down the hallway and take a left."
"The hell I am! Who is this?"
"This is the person who is currently looking at your wife and had a very nasty knife in his pocket. Imagine the things I could do to such a lovely young woman in only a few seconds with that knife, Mr. Helmsley."
Hunter was silent, he swallowed hard. "You're looking at my wife, prove it. Where is she? What is she wearing? Who's with her?" he challenged.
"Mr. Helmsley.such a suspicious man! You are going to be a fun player.you are the Game, after all.I look forward to it..but, in answer to your question, the hospital, a white shirt with not nearly enough cleavage if you ask me, a long black tailored skirt.and the younger Mr. McMahon is currently with her. They look so very upset.I wonder why?" he laughed heartily.
"You sick bas-" Hunter breathed, starting down the hallway. He knew this was some kind of trap, an ambush, but if this psycho was near to Stephanie, he would have to take his chances. He couldn't depend on Shane to be quick enough to do anything to help protect Stephanie. Hunter slid across the wall, looking around him.damn, why hadn't he brought his sledgehammer? He turned left. "What now?" he demanded.
"Do you like games?"
"What?"
"Games, Mr. Helmsley. Do you like them? Are you a chess man? Parcheesi? Well, you may not realize this, but the game is now called monsters and lambs.have you ever played that game, Mr. Helmsley?"
"Yeah.when I was a kid."
"And do you remember the rules?"
"Yeah.the objective of the game is to capture all of the other team's players.you take them out of the game, one by one." Hunter trailed off, realizing.
"Well done, Mr. Helmsley! Yes, yes, that's exactly right! Linda is Lamb Number One.I do believe Shane has a date with destiny to be Lamb Number Two.after all, your wife and father in law are in a category all to themselves, now aren't they? It's so hard to think of them as lambs.but I promise you, they certainly are. As are you, Mr. Helmsley. As are you."
The phone hung up. Hunter pressed the buttons wildly, not noticing the footsteps behind him, and then, as the sledgehammer hit him squarely in the back and Hunter collapsed on the floor, he didn't notice anything anymore.