PART 53
TWO DAYS LATER
Stephanie walked down the hallway of the hospital in search of the cafeteria. She hadn't eaten in hours and she was absolutely starving. She wanted to grab a quick bite to eat before everyone was ready to go. Both Britney and Shane had been cleared to leave the hospital today. The brunette was so grateful that they were being released because she didn't think she could take being in that hospital another day. She couldn't imagine how Adam felt. While she had left the hospital the past two nights with Jay to get some sleep, Adam had stayed at that hospital the whole entire time. The nurses and doctors tried to get him to leave, as they were afraid he would pass out from exhaustion, but the Canadian refused. Then, when they told him they would find him a room to sleep in he refused again. He said he wanted to stay in Britney's room, right by her side. After awhile the hospital staff gave up, learning that he was too stubborn to have it any other way. That was one of the other reasons why Steph was so glad her brother and her cousin were being released... Adam had only slept about 7 hours in the last three days.
Stephanie was actually really surprised at how well Britney and Adam were handling losing their baby. The first day was really hard for them... they wouldn't see anyone all day. The couple times that Adam had to leave the room so Britney could see the doctor, he said nothing. He sat in a chair and stared into space until he was allowed back in with her. Steph remembered one night before she'd left with Jay, she snuck up to the room, just to see how they were doing. When she got to the room and quietly pressed the door open, she could almost feel the tears as she saw the two of them. Britney was laying in the bed and Adam was there as well, half on the bed, half hanging off. It had to be the most uncomfortable positions to sleep in, but he was doing it for Britney. Stephanie was touched at how caring the Canadian was toward her cousin and for a rare moment, she smiled. Finally locating the cafeteria, Stephanie stepped inside and looked around. She searched around and found a chip counter, grabbing a bag and making her way to the register. She grabbed a bottle of iced tea as well, and after paying the woman at the counter for her items, she made her way back to the group.
IN THE WAITING ROOM
Vince, Jay and Chris sat in the waiting room, now joined by Britney. Adam and Shane had gone up to the front desk to finish filling out some papers. Chris sat on a couch with Britney, his arm around her shoulder. The room was filled with an uncomfortable silence. No one had really spoken to Britney about much since Adam told her about the baby. Chris shifted in his seat, turning towards her as he decided to strike up the conversation himself.
"You ready to get out of here kid?" he asked, trying to make conversation in the silent room. Not shifting her gaze from the floor, Britney answered him quietly.
"Yeah... I'm sick of this place," she said.
Jay looked up when she spoke, eyeing her face with concern. She just wasn't going to be the same Britney anymore. He could already tell... that glow that was always present on her face wasn't there. He missed her already, and she wasn't even really gone. He just hoped it wouldn't take too long for her to get over this. Listen to yourself Jay... get over this. She lost her baby... God, I'm an asshole sometimes. His eyes searched the room as he met eyes with Vince. The two of them had become particularly close over the last two days. Jay could honestly say that he never could have pictured himself becoming so close to Vince McMahon, but being so close to losing his son and the niece he considered to be a daughter was a very humbling experience for Mr. McMahon. He actually opened up to Jay a couple times about how scared he was, and the Canadian really respected that. Still, it wasn't a side of Vince that he was used to. As he sat back in his chair, he wondered where Stephanie was. She had left at least ten minutes ago to go find food, and she hadn't returned yet. Then, as if she was reading his mind, she burst in the door. Jay smiled at first, but his grin dropped when he saw her. Her eyes were wide, and she was as white as a ghost.
"What happened?" he asked, getting everyone else's attention. She walked over to him and sat down, shaking her head in disbelief. "What is it?"
"Oh... I... I saw..." she said, trying to catch her breath.
"You saw what?" Chris asked, pulling Britney a little closer as he saw the fear in her eyes.
"Yeah," Vince added, "What did you see Steph?" Looking back and forth between everyone in the room, Stephanie took a deep breath and told everyone what happened.
A FEW MINUTES EARLIER
Stephanie was on her way back to the waiting room. As she passed her brother and Adam at the front desk, she waved and sent the two men a small smile. She couldn't believe her brother was filling out his own release papers. Sure, he was okay and he wasn't severely injured, but he was shot between the chest and the shoulder... it had to hurt like a bitch. She continued on, turning down a hall. She suddenly realized that she was very thirsty, so she stopped to take a sip of her iced tea. Then, she decided she would stop by the bathroom, since she knew they would be in the car for awhile, driving to the city where Raw would be held. The brunette groaned, suddenly remembering that the only bathrooms were on the second floor. She walked to the staircase and up to the bathroom. When she was done, she washed her hands and headed back out. She checked herself in the mirror... she didn't look too bad, considering all the crying she had done that weekend. She expected her eyes to be really swollen, but they weren't too bad. She made her way down the stairs, stopping when she heard a noise. It sounded like someone was whispering her name.
"Stephanie..."
She shuddered instinctively, thinking of all the people that had probably died in the hospital whose spirits could be roaming around. She didn't really believe in spirits and ghosts, but it still freaked her out. She shrugged it off and continued down the stairs. She was almost at the bottom, when she heard the voice again.
"Stephanie..."
Again, she didn't turn around. What she did do was pick up her pace, practically running down the rest of the stairs. She couldn't wait to get the hell out of this hospital. She finally reached the bottom, having to stop to catch her breath after what felt like years of running. She sighed, running her hands through her long brown hair. She silently wondered if she had ever known anyone that died in the building... maybe someone was trying to communicate with her. Smacking herself in the forehead, she cursed herself for thinking such crazy things. You're losing you're mind Steph... get a grip before you go completely insane. You are overtired and you are in severe need of sleep. She shrugged off the voice again. Just as she was about to push the door to the stairwell open, she heard the voice again, only this time, it wasn't a whisper. She recognized who it was immediately.
"I know you hear me Stephanie..."
She froze as she turned around, her fears confirmed instantly. She was right about who was there. It hadn't been a spirit or a ghost saying her name... no, it had been a person alright. And that person should have been in jail by now, not in a hospital. Stephanie gasped as he blew her a kiss from the top of the stairwell. Then, without saying anything more, he turned and ran back up the steps. Stephanie leaned against the wall in absolute shock. She practically ran back to the waiting room... she had just seen Paul Levesque.
*Dramatic Music* LOL... I was debating throwing Paul in at the end like that, but it fits well in my plans for him. Haha, well let me know what you think!!!!!!
