"Hey, bro.look who's awake!"
"Mom?" Shane asked stunned. "Hey!" He too hugged Linda. "I'm so happy to see you." Linda rasped, her voice barely a whisper. He turned to Stephanie, who was beaming. "Isn't this the best news?" She cried, hugging her brother. He nodded and Stephanie got out of the doctor's way when he came striding in. "How's our mother?" Shane asked anxiously.
"Well, we're going to run some tests. But I will say that her waking up is an incredibly positive sign. I'll be back shortly." But he paused in front of Stephanie, and Shane for a moment got paranoid and moved to pull the doctor away from his sister. Luckily, he stopped himself just in time to prevent looking like a complete idiot and clenched his fists. "A good deal of the credit goes to you, Mrs. McMahon..your dedication, your time has been inspiring. You've been in here every day, reading, playing music, talking. It's helped, I'm certain." He turned to Linda. "Mrs. McMahon, you have a wonderful daughter." With that hanging in the air, he exited.
"I'm gonna go call Dad." Shane said, leaving behind the doctor. Then he reopened the door and said shortly "Don't go anywhere, okay? I mean it, Steffy."
Stephanie stared at the door, wondering why he had said that, but she shrugged it off. "As if I would go anywhere!" She smiled at her mother. Linda groaned softly and touched her lips.
"Oh! You must be thirsty! I'll get you some water." Stephanie said as she hurried to the pitcher. "Here, mom." She said, as she lifted the cup to Linda's lips. "Any better?"
"Much. Thank you, darling."
"You're welcome, mom. I'm just glad you're back."
"Hmmm." Linda sighed. "Where's your father?"
"He's back home."
"I see." Linda said, disappointed.
"No, no! He just left an hour ago.it took a lot of convincing. He's been here the entire week, he hasn't left you. I was getting worried about him, so I told him to go home, shower, sleep. He's been sleeping on a cot in here."
"He has? Your father?" Linda echoed.
"Yup! My daddy." Stephanie giggled, disbelieving it as much as she knew her mother was. "Shane's calling him now, he'll be here soon, I promise. How are you?"
"I'm..okay.uh, what happened to me?" Linda asked, afraid of the answer.
Stephanie decided to leave that explanation to her father. "Daddy'll tell you all about it." She soothed. "But it's okay now, really. You're going to be just fine."
"I heard you." Linda said abruptly.
"Heard me?"
"Yes.you read to me.I remember some of "Macbeth" and some sonnets, I believe."
"You heard all of that?" Stephanie asked, still grinning like an idiot.
"Mmmhmm..it was so nice. Thank you, darling."
"Sure thing, Mom."
"How long have I been..sleeping?"
"A little over a week."
"A week!"
"Well, cheer up, at least I didn't say that you missed the first year of your grandchild's life, huh? A week's not that bad, not in the grand scheme of things."
"Nuh." Linda grunted, struggling to sit up better. Stephanie pushed up the pillows for her and sat awkwardly back in her seat. "I guess not." She puffed. "Speaking of my grandchild, how is he? Or she?" Linda asked.
"He, or she, is perfectly fine. Having a great old time of it."
"Where's Hunter?" Linda asked, and cringed when she saw Stephanie's expression cloud over.
"Let's not talk about him."
"Oh, what's wrong now?" Linda sighed, sipped her water again.
Stephanie shook her head as it bowed toward her lap. Linda pushed the curtain of hair away from her daughter's dejected face. "He's in Houston."
Linda's face screwed up as she thought. "I see. He didn't stay with you?" She asked carefully.
"He didn't ask to. I told him to stay away from me, and leave me the hell alone." Stephanie muttered.
"And you did this because-" Linda prompted.
"Because he's not just screwing Stacy, he's in love with her."
"Stephanie.oh, good lord. And what gave you that impression?" Linda asked, exasperated.
"I don't know, maybe because he said it."
"He told you that!?"
"Yes, well.no.not in so many words.but I know what I heard!"
Linda closed her eyes, let her head sink into the pillow. "And how exactly did you hear this?" She asked tiredly.
"Mom, look, you're just waking up.I don't want to bug you with my problems. So don't worry about it, okay?" Stephanie tried.
"Oh, do be quiet!" Linda snapped primly. "You're my daughter, and in case you haven't noticed, I just have sooo many other things to do. So talk. You're hurting, and I want to know why." Stephanie stared at her mother for a moment, wondering why once upon a time she had hated her so fiercely. She lay her head at her mother's hand and explained so softly that Linda had to strain to hear.
When Stephanie had finished, Linda stroked Stephanie's hair. "Don't you think you owe it to yourself to listen to him?"
"What, you're taking his side?!" Stephanie lifted her head and demanded, outraged.
"No, no, no! I'm always on your side, but sweetheart.it sounds like he had something to say to you and you didn't even listen to what he had to say. Maybe you should, if for no other reason than to erase any doubts you might have."
"I'm not leaving you." Stephanie said firmly.
"It's a sweet sentiment, darling, but I want you to look after yourself. And right now, that means listening to Hunter's side of the story, whatever it may be. And darling? Whatever he tells you, you're strong enough to take it."
Stephanie looked at her mother doubtfully.
"You are. And if Hunter is stupid enough to choose Stacy over you, then he's not the man either of us thought he was and you're well to be rid of him."
"And-what if he tells me he loves her? It was bad enough overhearing it, but what if he tells me to my face? I don't know if I could bear that, Mother." Stephanie whispered.
"And what if he tells you he made a mistake, he doesn't love her? Don't waste your life on what could have beens, darling. They'll eat you alive. It's not the things you do that you regret when you get to be my age, Stephanie. It's the things you didn't do that tear you apart. So if you love him, which I know you still do-then fight one more time."
Stephanie looked back at her mother. "I hate it when you're right." She grumbled good-naturedly.
"I'm always right, you just never admit it. Now go, go to Houston, find your husband and figure out what the hell is going on. And don't worry about me, your father and your brother will be back soon."
Stephanie debated for all of two seconds, picked up her purse and kissed Linda on the cheek. "If you need me, call. Promise?" Stephanie demanded.
"Cross my fingers." Linda said softly. Stephanie made her way to the door.
"Good luck, sweetheart." Linda called.
"Thanks Mom, I'm going to need it."
Elsewhere in New York City
"How the hell did we end up here?" Stacy asked, laughing.
"You said you don't like hamburgers. I told you I don't want any rabbit food. So here we are." Kurt replied, pulling out his chair in the cheesy diner.
"So spill." Kurt said as he handed back the menu to the waitress.
"Spill?" Stacy asked innocently.
"Why am I really here? I know you didn't come looking for me, you just said that you did. I decided to do the gentlemanly thing and not call you on it, but now I want to know."
"I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about." Stacy said primly, smoothing her dress and spearing a piece of tomato.
"Yeah, you do. The whole walk over here, you looked like you were going to cry. And I'll tell you right now, I can't stand women who cry, so I'd probably leave." Kurt said, 100% serious.
Stacy nodded, chewing the tomato, blinking back her tears. "Yeah, I understand.I don't like wishy-washy people myself."
Kurt leaned back. "Exactly.so what's got your panties in a twist?"
"What?" Stacy dropped her fork to the plate with a clatter. "What did you ask me?"
"Don't be all outraged, now. It's just a figure of speech."
"Well, it was a stupid figure of speech, you jackass." Stacy hissed.
"And obviously, it's hit a nerve..so, like I said at the beginning, spill."
For some reason, Stacy didn't want to admit that Shane had stood her up, so she just decided to explain it away. "Hunter. What else could bug me like this, right, Kurt?"
"That's what I was wondering. So what, have you talked to Caveman in the past couple days, Stacy?"
"Nooo..it's just that, you know, he's really.hard not to think about. It hurts, whenever I think about the way he just played me, how he led me on."
"Yeah, well, you know."
"Know what, exactly, Kurt?!"
"That's life. It sucks and then you die. Maybe you earn some Olympic Gold Medals along the way, makes things interesting, but then you go back to the sucking." He said offhandedly, perfectly content, as he shoveled in a french fry. "Wow, these are really good." He said.
Stacy looked at him dumbfounded. What an insensitive idiot.and he called Hunter the Caveman! Stacy sputtered for words.
Seeing her flush angrily, Kurt explained between chewing "Well, you know, it's just that I mean, hey, you were dumb enough to fall for the guy, and he's married to a woman he's still in love with and that you really don't want to get mad at you.you had it coming, Stacy, hate to break it to you."
Stacy continued to stare, started trying to form words.
"Well, don't get all innocent with me, Stacy, it's not going to work. You went into this with eyes wide open, and you knew what you were getting yourself into. Just like I did when I was trying to get Stephanie to leave his sorry ass and be with me. So Hunter hurt you, big deal. Hunter hurts everyone. So you know what I say?"
"No, Kurt, what do you say?" Stacy asked sarcastically, finally finding her voice.
"I say-" Kurt leaned in to Stacy across the table "don't get mad, get even." Kurt looked at Stacy meaningfully. "And I'm just the man to help you with that."
"And you would help me because?"
"I want Stephanie."
"You what?"
"I want Stephanie." Kurt repeated firmly.
"Why? Why does everyone want that woman?"
"Why wouldn't they want her? She's beautiful, she's loaded.well, she will be again, I'm sure..she's powerful, and she's heiress to the entire McMahon empire.I don't know.those seem like good enough reasons. She'll be good for my career, I firmly believe that. With her by my side, I'll finally be at the top, where I should have been all along. I was only champion for a lousy two weeks.." Kurt trailed off.
"Huh. I should've figured." Stacy mused.
"So? What do you say? A little vengeance for you, a lot of Stephanie for me. Everybody wins, everybody but Hunter, of course. Unless you're still hung up on him."
"No!"
Stacy protested a little too quickly for Kurt's taste, but he'd take what could get.
"So you're in?"
"What exactly did you have in mind?"
"What did I have in mind? Now, that's an easy question. And the answer?" Kurt leaned in even closer, so close that she could feel his breath.not to mention smell the onion from his cheeseburger. "The complete and utter destruction of one Hunter-Hearst Helmsley."
Stacy fidgeted with her straw, but making up her mind, she stared directly at Kurt. "I'm in." She said simply, and Kurt nodded in satisfaction. He raised his root beer and motioned for her to do the same. "Game over." He toasted, and she smiled half-heartedly and clinked his glass. "Game over." She echoed hollowly.
"So, how do you feel about flying out to Houston"-Kurt checked his watch- "Say, right now?"
Stacy looked back at him, curious.
Houston, Later That Night
Hunter downed the last of his soda and watched enviously as Kevin ordered another beer. Hunter only indulged in alcohol on rare occasions these days, and this certainly wasn't one of them.he was in a title match tomorrow night, after all. He'd drink to celebrate retaining his title-after the match.
"Hey, Shawn's back." Kevin said. Hunter had always been amazed by Kevin's ability to drink a twelve pack and not even appear the slightest bit drunk. Even though Hunter knew he was completely out of it. Hunter could usually only do seven, maybe eight, before he started slurring.
"Shawn!" Kevin greeted heartily. "How was the divine Miss Morgan?"
"Miss Morgan is now.married." Shawn Michaels said dejectedly.
Hunter sprayed his soda. "What?!" He exclaimed. "No way!"
"Way, unfortunately." Shawn propped himself against the bar.
"To who?" Hunter demanded.
"See that giant in the corner?"
"Whew.." Kevin whistled. "What is he.360 pounds?"
"No, not him.as I was saying-the giant in the corner? Look at the guy who's sitting behind him."
"Man, he's even bigger!" Nash choked out. "But we could take him.you want us to take him down, Shawn?"
Shawn appeared to seriously consider it, but he shook his head no, and Kevin turned his attention back to his beer.
"I can't even believe Morgan's married.how long have you had a thing for her?" Hunter asked Shawn.
"Going on six years..she's the highlight of my trips to Texas."
"Don't I know it." Every time they'd ever been to Texas, Shawn had always visited Morgan for at least a night..
"This blows." Shawn said sadly.
"Aww. the heartbreak kid finally has his own heart broken. Hate to break it to you, Shawn, but you're supposed to be cheering me up." Hunter commented dryly.
"Yeah, but Morgan got married." Shawn said disbelievingly.
Hunter laughed, causing several people to look at him. A southern twang spoke up behind him. "Hey, sug. Wanna play some pool with me and my friend over there?" A petite brunette asked. Hunter blinked for a minute. She looked like a smaller version of Stephanie. But what the hell, he was here to forget all about her.
"Yeah, sure. We'll play. We'll. be over in a second, okay?" Hunter asked.
"Sure thing. I'm Cassie, by the way, that's Beth."
"Hunter, Shawn." Hunter said, gesturing to introduce himself.
"See you in a minute." Cassie sauntered off.
"Why are we playing pool again?" Shawn asked as they got up from the bar.
"Because when you get depressed, you're a real drag and I don't feel like dealing with your problems in addition to my own." Hunter explained pointedly.
" Sorry I asked." Shawn said. "Fine, let's play. Kev, you comin'?"
"No..I think the beer and I need a few more rounds together."
Shawn and Hunter rolled their eyes and went over to the table. Hunter took his soda with him and placed it on the table nearest the pool table. He picked up his cue and the others did the same. He was glad Kevin had talked him into going out with them..decent atmosphere, good friends, nice game, good-looking women..all in all, Stephanie-less life was..okay.
Two hours later..
Hunter laughed loudly, causing Cassie to murmur "Shhhhh.." As they lurched down the hall.
"God, what is this, a library..Shhhhhhh..yourself." Hunter said loudly.
"This is my room, let's get in." Cassie asked impatiently.
"Yeah..look at the door.I don't remember it being white. Huh. White. Cass, I don't think this is my hotel."
Cassie turned the lock. "Remember? We're going to mine? Okay, here we go."
" I don't remember you saying we were going to go to yours.but okay. You know what's funny, Cass? I don't even remember having anything to drink but I must have drunk something cause I really feel like I could maybe be drunk. Do I look drunk?" Hunter rambled.
"Yeah, but that's okay.." Cassie said, her voice sugary. "I just have to make a quick call. So you just get settled on the bed, allright?"
"You know what? You look like my wife, did I tell you that? You have the same color hair, the same color eyes..she's got a better body though, I'm sorry. She's going to have a really great body for the next six months.we're going to have a baby, and everything-everything gets bigger when you're pregnant, you know? So I can't wait to see that, I can't picture anything bigger, but, hey, I'm up for it, you know? Wanna see my wife? I have a picture." Hunter pulled out his wallet, and folded in one of the compartments was a picture of Stephanie. "See? That's her. God, I miss her." Hunter mumbled as he passed out on the bed.
Finally. Cassie dialed the number on her cell phone, and walked away.
"Yeah? It's Cassandra Wexler. Um, you said if I actually got him here to my room that there'd be a uh-what did you call it-substantial reward? Well, I got him here, so when can I get my money?"
The man on the other end was quiet for a moment. "You'll. get the money after you've done exactly-and I mean exactly-what I've told you to do."
Cassie looked back at Hunter, unconscious on her bed with not a small degree of nervousness.
"Okay.what do you want me to do?"
"Mom?" Shane asked stunned. "Hey!" He too hugged Linda. "I'm so happy to see you." Linda rasped, her voice barely a whisper. He turned to Stephanie, who was beaming. "Isn't this the best news?" She cried, hugging her brother. He nodded and Stephanie got out of the doctor's way when he came striding in. "How's our mother?" Shane asked anxiously.
"Well, we're going to run some tests. But I will say that her waking up is an incredibly positive sign. I'll be back shortly." But he paused in front of Stephanie, and Shane for a moment got paranoid and moved to pull the doctor away from his sister. Luckily, he stopped himself just in time to prevent looking like a complete idiot and clenched his fists. "A good deal of the credit goes to you, Mrs. McMahon..your dedication, your time has been inspiring. You've been in here every day, reading, playing music, talking. It's helped, I'm certain." He turned to Linda. "Mrs. McMahon, you have a wonderful daughter." With that hanging in the air, he exited.
"I'm gonna go call Dad." Shane said, leaving behind the doctor. Then he reopened the door and said shortly "Don't go anywhere, okay? I mean it, Steffy."
Stephanie stared at the door, wondering why he had said that, but she shrugged it off. "As if I would go anywhere!" She smiled at her mother. Linda groaned softly and touched her lips.
"Oh! You must be thirsty! I'll get you some water." Stephanie said as she hurried to the pitcher. "Here, mom." She said, as she lifted the cup to Linda's lips. "Any better?"
"Much. Thank you, darling."
"You're welcome, mom. I'm just glad you're back."
"Hmmm." Linda sighed. "Where's your father?"
"He's back home."
"I see." Linda said, disappointed.
"No, no! He just left an hour ago.it took a lot of convincing. He's been here the entire week, he hasn't left you. I was getting worried about him, so I told him to go home, shower, sleep. He's been sleeping on a cot in here."
"He has? Your father?" Linda echoed.
"Yup! My daddy." Stephanie giggled, disbelieving it as much as she knew her mother was. "Shane's calling him now, he'll be here soon, I promise. How are you?"
"I'm..okay.uh, what happened to me?" Linda asked, afraid of the answer.
Stephanie decided to leave that explanation to her father. "Daddy'll tell you all about it." She soothed. "But it's okay now, really. You're going to be just fine."
"I heard you." Linda said abruptly.
"Heard me?"
"Yes.you read to me.I remember some of "Macbeth" and some sonnets, I believe."
"You heard all of that?" Stephanie asked, still grinning like an idiot.
"Mmmhmm..it was so nice. Thank you, darling."
"Sure thing, Mom."
"How long have I been..sleeping?"
"A little over a week."
"A week!"
"Well, cheer up, at least I didn't say that you missed the first year of your grandchild's life, huh? A week's not that bad, not in the grand scheme of things."
"Nuh." Linda grunted, struggling to sit up better. Stephanie pushed up the pillows for her and sat awkwardly back in her seat. "I guess not." She puffed. "Speaking of my grandchild, how is he? Or she?" Linda asked.
"He, or she, is perfectly fine. Having a great old time of it."
"Where's Hunter?" Linda asked, and cringed when she saw Stephanie's expression cloud over.
"Let's not talk about him."
"Oh, what's wrong now?" Linda sighed, sipped her water again.
Stephanie shook her head as it bowed toward her lap. Linda pushed the curtain of hair away from her daughter's dejected face. "He's in Houston."
Linda's face screwed up as she thought. "I see. He didn't stay with you?" She asked carefully.
"He didn't ask to. I told him to stay away from me, and leave me the hell alone." Stephanie muttered.
"And you did this because-" Linda prompted.
"Because he's not just screwing Stacy, he's in love with her."
"Stephanie.oh, good lord. And what gave you that impression?" Linda asked, exasperated.
"I don't know, maybe because he said it."
"He told you that!?"
"Yes, well.no.not in so many words.but I know what I heard!"
Linda closed her eyes, let her head sink into the pillow. "And how exactly did you hear this?" She asked tiredly.
"Mom, look, you're just waking up.I don't want to bug you with my problems. So don't worry about it, okay?" Stephanie tried.
"Oh, do be quiet!" Linda snapped primly. "You're my daughter, and in case you haven't noticed, I just have sooo many other things to do. So talk. You're hurting, and I want to know why." Stephanie stared at her mother for a moment, wondering why once upon a time she had hated her so fiercely. She lay her head at her mother's hand and explained so softly that Linda had to strain to hear.
When Stephanie had finished, Linda stroked Stephanie's hair. "Don't you think you owe it to yourself to listen to him?"
"What, you're taking his side?!" Stephanie lifted her head and demanded, outraged.
"No, no, no! I'm always on your side, but sweetheart.it sounds like he had something to say to you and you didn't even listen to what he had to say. Maybe you should, if for no other reason than to erase any doubts you might have."
"I'm not leaving you." Stephanie said firmly.
"It's a sweet sentiment, darling, but I want you to look after yourself. And right now, that means listening to Hunter's side of the story, whatever it may be. And darling? Whatever he tells you, you're strong enough to take it."
Stephanie looked at her mother doubtfully.
"You are. And if Hunter is stupid enough to choose Stacy over you, then he's not the man either of us thought he was and you're well to be rid of him."
"And-what if he tells me he loves her? It was bad enough overhearing it, but what if he tells me to my face? I don't know if I could bear that, Mother." Stephanie whispered.
"And what if he tells you he made a mistake, he doesn't love her? Don't waste your life on what could have beens, darling. They'll eat you alive. It's not the things you do that you regret when you get to be my age, Stephanie. It's the things you didn't do that tear you apart. So if you love him, which I know you still do-then fight one more time."
Stephanie looked back at her mother. "I hate it when you're right." She grumbled good-naturedly.
"I'm always right, you just never admit it. Now go, go to Houston, find your husband and figure out what the hell is going on. And don't worry about me, your father and your brother will be back soon."
Stephanie debated for all of two seconds, picked up her purse and kissed Linda on the cheek. "If you need me, call. Promise?" Stephanie demanded.
"Cross my fingers." Linda said softly. Stephanie made her way to the door.
"Good luck, sweetheart." Linda called.
"Thanks Mom, I'm going to need it."
Elsewhere in New York City
"How the hell did we end up here?" Stacy asked, laughing.
"You said you don't like hamburgers. I told you I don't want any rabbit food. So here we are." Kurt replied, pulling out his chair in the cheesy diner.
"So spill." Kurt said as he handed back the menu to the waitress.
"Spill?" Stacy asked innocently.
"Why am I really here? I know you didn't come looking for me, you just said that you did. I decided to do the gentlemanly thing and not call you on it, but now I want to know."
"I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about." Stacy said primly, smoothing her dress and spearing a piece of tomato.
"Yeah, you do. The whole walk over here, you looked like you were going to cry. And I'll tell you right now, I can't stand women who cry, so I'd probably leave." Kurt said, 100% serious.
Stacy nodded, chewing the tomato, blinking back her tears. "Yeah, I understand.I don't like wishy-washy people myself."
Kurt leaned back. "Exactly.so what's got your panties in a twist?"
"What?" Stacy dropped her fork to the plate with a clatter. "What did you ask me?"
"Don't be all outraged, now. It's just a figure of speech."
"Well, it was a stupid figure of speech, you jackass." Stacy hissed.
"And obviously, it's hit a nerve..so, like I said at the beginning, spill."
For some reason, Stacy didn't want to admit that Shane had stood her up, so she just decided to explain it away. "Hunter. What else could bug me like this, right, Kurt?"
"That's what I was wondering. So what, have you talked to Caveman in the past couple days, Stacy?"
"Nooo..it's just that, you know, he's really.hard not to think about. It hurts, whenever I think about the way he just played me, how he led me on."
"Yeah, well, you know."
"Know what, exactly, Kurt?!"
"That's life. It sucks and then you die. Maybe you earn some Olympic Gold Medals along the way, makes things interesting, but then you go back to the sucking." He said offhandedly, perfectly content, as he shoveled in a french fry. "Wow, these are really good." He said.
Stacy looked at him dumbfounded. What an insensitive idiot.and he called Hunter the Caveman! Stacy sputtered for words.
Seeing her flush angrily, Kurt explained between chewing "Well, you know, it's just that I mean, hey, you were dumb enough to fall for the guy, and he's married to a woman he's still in love with and that you really don't want to get mad at you.you had it coming, Stacy, hate to break it to you."
Stacy continued to stare, started trying to form words.
"Well, don't get all innocent with me, Stacy, it's not going to work. You went into this with eyes wide open, and you knew what you were getting yourself into. Just like I did when I was trying to get Stephanie to leave his sorry ass and be with me. So Hunter hurt you, big deal. Hunter hurts everyone. So you know what I say?"
"No, Kurt, what do you say?" Stacy asked sarcastically, finally finding her voice.
"I say-" Kurt leaned in to Stacy across the table "don't get mad, get even." Kurt looked at Stacy meaningfully. "And I'm just the man to help you with that."
"And you would help me because?"
"I want Stephanie."
"You what?"
"I want Stephanie." Kurt repeated firmly.
"Why? Why does everyone want that woman?"
"Why wouldn't they want her? She's beautiful, she's loaded.well, she will be again, I'm sure..she's powerful, and she's heiress to the entire McMahon empire.I don't know.those seem like good enough reasons. She'll be good for my career, I firmly believe that. With her by my side, I'll finally be at the top, where I should have been all along. I was only champion for a lousy two weeks.." Kurt trailed off.
"Huh. I should've figured." Stacy mused.
"So? What do you say? A little vengeance for you, a lot of Stephanie for me. Everybody wins, everybody but Hunter, of course. Unless you're still hung up on him."
"No!"
Stacy protested a little too quickly for Kurt's taste, but he'd take what could get.
"So you're in?"
"What exactly did you have in mind?"
"What did I have in mind? Now, that's an easy question. And the answer?" Kurt leaned in even closer, so close that she could feel his breath.not to mention smell the onion from his cheeseburger. "The complete and utter destruction of one Hunter-Hearst Helmsley."
Stacy fidgeted with her straw, but making up her mind, she stared directly at Kurt. "I'm in." She said simply, and Kurt nodded in satisfaction. He raised his root beer and motioned for her to do the same. "Game over." He toasted, and she smiled half-heartedly and clinked his glass. "Game over." She echoed hollowly.
"So, how do you feel about flying out to Houston"-Kurt checked his watch- "Say, right now?"
Stacy looked back at him, curious.
Houston, Later That Night
Hunter downed the last of his soda and watched enviously as Kevin ordered another beer. Hunter only indulged in alcohol on rare occasions these days, and this certainly wasn't one of them.he was in a title match tomorrow night, after all. He'd drink to celebrate retaining his title-after the match.
"Hey, Shawn's back." Kevin said. Hunter had always been amazed by Kevin's ability to drink a twelve pack and not even appear the slightest bit drunk. Even though Hunter knew he was completely out of it. Hunter could usually only do seven, maybe eight, before he started slurring.
"Shawn!" Kevin greeted heartily. "How was the divine Miss Morgan?"
"Miss Morgan is now.married." Shawn Michaels said dejectedly.
Hunter sprayed his soda. "What?!" He exclaimed. "No way!"
"Way, unfortunately." Shawn propped himself against the bar.
"To who?" Hunter demanded.
"See that giant in the corner?"
"Whew.." Kevin whistled. "What is he.360 pounds?"
"No, not him.as I was saying-the giant in the corner? Look at the guy who's sitting behind him."
"Man, he's even bigger!" Nash choked out. "But we could take him.you want us to take him down, Shawn?"
Shawn appeared to seriously consider it, but he shook his head no, and Kevin turned his attention back to his beer.
"I can't even believe Morgan's married.how long have you had a thing for her?" Hunter asked Shawn.
"Going on six years..she's the highlight of my trips to Texas."
"Don't I know it." Every time they'd ever been to Texas, Shawn had always visited Morgan for at least a night..
"This blows." Shawn said sadly.
"Aww. the heartbreak kid finally has his own heart broken. Hate to break it to you, Shawn, but you're supposed to be cheering me up." Hunter commented dryly.
"Yeah, but Morgan got married." Shawn said disbelievingly.
Hunter laughed, causing several people to look at him. A southern twang spoke up behind him. "Hey, sug. Wanna play some pool with me and my friend over there?" A petite brunette asked. Hunter blinked for a minute. She looked like a smaller version of Stephanie. But what the hell, he was here to forget all about her.
"Yeah, sure. We'll play. We'll. be over in a second, okay?" Hunter asked.
"Sure thing. I'm Cassie, by the way, that's Beth."
"Hunter, Shawn." Hunter said, gesturing to introduce himself.
"See you in a minute." Cassie sauntered off.
"Why are we playing pool again?" Shawn asked as they got up from the bar.
"Because when you get depressed, you're a real drag and I don't feel like dealing with your problems in addition to my own." Hunter explained pointedly.
" Sorry I asked." Shawn said. "Fine, let's play. Kev, you comin'?"
"No..I think the beer and I need a few more rounds together."
Shawn and Hunter rolled their eyes and went over to the table. Hunter took his soda with him and placed it on the table nearest the pool table. He picked up his cue and the others did the same. He was glad Kevin had talked him into going out with them..decent atmosphere, good friends, nice game, good-looking women..all in all, Stephanie-less life was..okay.
Two hours later..
Hunter laughed loudly, causing Cassie to murmur "Shhhhh.." As they lurched down the hall.
"God, what is this, a library..Shhhhhhh..yourself." Hunter said loudly.
"This is my room, let's get in." Cassie asked impatiently.
"Yeah..look at the door.I don't remember it being white. Huh. White. Cass, I don't think this is my hotel."
Cassie turned the lock. "Remember? We're going to mine? Okay, here we go."
" I don't remember you saying we were going to go to yours.but okay. You know what's funny, Cass? I don't even remember having anything to drink but I must have drunk something cause I really feel like I could maybe be drunk. Do I look drunk?" Hunter rambled.
"Yeah, but that's okay.." Cassie said, her voice sugary. "I just have to make a quick call. So you just get settled on the bed, allright?"
"You know what? You look like my wife, did I tell you that? You have the same color hair, the same color eyes..she's got a better body though, I'm sorry. She's going to have a really great body for the next six months.we're going to have a baby, and everything-everything gets bigger when you're pregnant, you know? So I can't wait to see that, I can't picture anything bigger, but, hey, I'm up for it, you know? Wanna see my wife? I have a picture." Hunter pulled out his wallet, and folded in one of the compartments was a picture of Stephanie. "See? That's her. God, I miss her." Hunter mumbled as he passed out on the bed.
Finally. Cassie dialed the number on her cell phone, and walked away.
"Yeah? It's Cassandra Wexler. Um, you said if I actually got him here to my room that there'd be a uh-what did you call it-substantial reward? Well, I got him here, so when can I get my money?"
The man on the other end was quiet for a moment. "You'll. get the money after you've done exactly-and I mean exactly-what I've told you to do."
Cassie looked back at Hunter, unconscious on her bed with not a small degree of nervousness.
"Okay.what do you want me to do?"