Disclaimer: Yeah, so I don't own anything. Give me a break.

A/N: Sorry about the lack of updates. That's the way the ball rolls sometimes. Anyways, I hope to be getting back to a regular schedule sometime soon. Be looking for me to update the story primarily on Sundays. (Saturday for Australians, I think). Bottom line, it'll be on weekends whenever the free time arises. Thanks for your patience with me, and now, finally, I bring you the next chapter in the long day of Chris Irvine and Stephanie McMahon's lives!!

**7:00-8:00AM**

**7:00** "Eric Bischoff?" Stephanie asked in disbelief. "What would he be doing with Hunter's number?"

Chris looked down at the ground for a little bit, to try and collect his thoughts before giving her an answer. He ran a hand down the side of his face, dismayed to feel the prickle of facial hair against his skin. He sighed.

"I don't think that Bischoff wanted to just talk to Hunter. I think that Bischoff has some sort of plan cooked up to get back at us." He finally said. Stephanie was confused for a little bit.

"You mean Bischoff was using Hunter to ....to kill us?" Stephanie asked, her thoughts all beginning to make assumptions and twist around.

"Exactly." Chris said, his own thoughts becoming disorganized.

"Why....Why would he want to.....to do that to us? What did we ever do to him?" Steph asked him. Chris began to walk towards an embankment. He heard the screams in his head again. His stomach sank as he realized what was happening. Chris swallowed a few times, since his throat had become unusually dry. Then, he turned back to face her.

"Because I killed his family." Chris said somberly. He turned back to feel the warm rays of the sun wash over him once again as realization hit Steph like a ton of bricks.

"Oh my God, the accident. You and I..." Steph trailed off as the words she had said to him floated back into her mind. Chris swallowed again and raised his head to face the sun. The memories that had haunted him only in his dreams no found their way back to him.

**7:04** He bit his lip as all of the memories washed over him in a huge wave. He was driving along to Connecticut and something had happened to where the car had started to spin around. Bischoff had some office work to do, so Chris offered to give his wife and kids a ride home. Stephanie was also riding home with them because she needed to speak with her father about something, and since he was going that way, she wanted to ride with them. Not to mention that Steph and Chris had just started dating.

They were going around a corner and something went terribly wrong. The car slid on something and began to spin around. Chris turned the wheel back and forth, desperately trying to regain control of the car. They came to the edge of the highway and started to slide down the hill. The car hit a bump and began to roll down, flipping over and over.

Stephanie had been thrown from the car on the first roll, and miraculously made it out with only a few scratches. Her window was the only window that was down, and the car had spun around one more time before rolling the rest of the way down. She was, consequently knocked unconscious for that time and remembered nothing other than up to the time of her being thrown from the car. Chris had been flipped around and was pinned facing the backseat. Bischoff's daughter, Eliza, was thrown from the car outside the backseat passenger window. Her head was already cut beyond repair by the glass, but to add to it, the car rolled over her.

Bischoff's son, Jack, didn't even have a chance. He was tossed headfirst into a tree that cracked his skull and severed his spinal cord. He was killed instantly. Bischoff's wife, Marissa, and Chris were the only two left in the car, and the only two wearing seatbelts. Chris was facing Marissa when the windshield shattered from behind him. A piece of glass caught her in the throat. Another piece flew into Chris' back. Marissa tried to scream, but she couldn't.

She fell forwards onto Chris, driving the piece of glass deeper into her throat and initially killing her. Chris tried to get free of the seatbelt that held him, but he couldn't budge. The best he could do was get Marissa away from him. He looked out one of the side windows and noticed that a tree was coming up, so he covered his head with his hands. The roof of the car was smashed in on top of him, and knocked him unconscious.

And the rest, as they say, is history.

**7:12** Chris shook his head to get the images out of his head. He hadn't known what the hell went wrong that night; he hadn't been drinking or under the influence of drugs. The police said that it was just a freak accident.
But then again, they weren't the ones who had to explain to their boss that they killed his family, were they?

Chris stuffed his hands in his pockets and kicked a clump of dirt around. He suddenly wondered why it was so quiet. He turned around to look for Stephanie, when he saw Hunter holding the gun to her head.

**7:18** "Take one step towards me, Chris, and I'll blow her brains right out of her skull." He threatened. Chris cursed at himself in his mind, and remained motionless. He was also vaguely aware that he was still standing close to the edge of an embankment. Maybe he could use that for something....

"You are so predictable, Irvine. You love her, don't you? It doesn't really surprise me because of how protective of her you've been around her all night. You're just transparent is all." Hunter sneered. Chris bit his tongue to keep from retorting back at him. Steph wriggled around in Hunter's arms, and it was obvious that she was about to burst into tears.

"What, no smug remark? No witty comeback? Cat got your tongue? No, I know what it is, the bitch here has got you by the heart, doesn't she?" Chris' already dark glare aimed at Hunter, only darkened after the comment.
"If I killed her, I'd actually be doing you a favor, Chris, you need to see it like I do." Hunter said. Chris could take no more of this.

"That's just the problem, Hunter. I can't get my head that far up my ass." He said, his temper finally getting the better of him. Hunter smiled as he tightened his grip around Stephanie's neck.

"You know what? I think that I'm going to keep Steph alive a little while longer. Eric would be pleased to see her." Hunter said. Chris already knew what was coming. Hunter moved the gun from Stephanie to Chris. Steph screamed.

"Oh, I'm sorry Steph, you would want to watch him die, wouldn't you?" Hunter mocked, then moved her in front of him, so that she could watch.

"Now we can watch him die together." Hunter stated smugly. Steph was crying at this point, but she tried to stay firm. Chris wanted nothing more than to be able to hold her and tell her everything would be ok.

Instead, he had to tell himself that as he was staring down the barrel of a gun.

Hunter smirked.

"Got any last words, Irvine?" He asked. Chris managed a smile.

"Sure, why not?" he answered.

"So say 'em!!" Hunter yelled.

**7:26** "Well, firstly, I love you Steph. Always have and always will. As far as you go, Hunter. You and I will have something in common after you shoot me." Chris said.

"What's that?" Hunter asked, genuinely curious. Chris let the smirk drop from his face. His eyes lost their sparkle and he spoke with the utmost sincerity.

"We'll both be murderers." He said plainly. That comment hit home for Hunter, as it was plainly written on his face. Hunter pulled the trigger of the gun, obviously not caring what it made him. The bullet caught Chris in the chest and he tripped backwards.

Right off of the embankment.

The last thing Chris heard before he hit the bottom was the sound of Steph's screams in the air, and the pounding of his own heart.

Tears poured freely down Steph's face as she saw a man whom she loved fly off an embankment after being shot. She screamed and tried to free herself from Hunter's grip. Hunter merely smiled and kept his grip.

"Shut up, or I'll use it on you too!!" He yelled. Stephanie still tried to get loose from him. So he held the gun next to her arm and fired it. It resulted in Steph getting grazed by the bullet, and it also proved that Hunter didn't care who he hurt anymore. He was going to get what he wanted, no matter what it took.

**7:32** Hunter walked over to the edge of the embankment, just to ensure that he had shot Chris, and to also ensure that he wasn't moving. He actually contemplated shooting him again, but let the feeling pass. He brought Stephanie's head down so that she could see Chris.

"You screw with me again, and that becomes you. Got it?" He said hoarsely. She sniffed and nodded. She finally realized that she was going to be all alone in this fight from now on. Hunter grabbed her roughly and began to drag her back up towards the interstate.

**7:36** Eric ran a hand through his hair, thinking that it might release some tension in his mind. He had received a call from Vince, saying he wanted him to come to his office within the next hour or so. That confirmed that he was going to be GM, and he might even get named it tonight. Trish had left a while ago, so he was left alone with his thoughts...and his plan.

His grabbed his phone and dialed Hunter's cell.

The phone rang and rang. It was sitting on the ground not far from where Chris had been tossed off of the embankment.

"This is H. Leave a message because I'm too busy for you right now." Eric sighed.

"Hunter, it's Eric, I just want to know what's going on out there, and if you finished the job yet. Be warned. Trish is out in the open now, too, so keep an eye out for her. I'm still not sure if she's loyal to me or not, just a heads up."

Eric hung up the phone and tossed it on the bed. Then he walked into the bathroom.

**7:40** Hunter climbed into the front seat of his SUV and started the car. Steph was in the backseat, bound and gagged. Tears were still rolling down her face. She couldn't get the image of Chris out of her head. Hunter picked up his car phone and dialed Eric. He then pulled onto in the interstate and into some premature rush hour traffic.

"Yes?" Eric growled as he picked up the phone.

"It's Hunter." He said.

"What's going on? Did you find them?" Hunter was a little confused that he knew he was still looking for them, but shook it off.

"Yes, I found them. Irvine's dead, but Steph is here with me." Hunter said, glancing back in the rearview mirror to reassure himself. Eric smiled.

"Excellent, bring her to our agreed meeting place in Connecticut."

"Fine." Hunter said, then hung up. He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel as the traffic sped up a little bit. He hoped that he would be in Connecticut no later than noon.

**7:53** Back at the embankment, the cell phone rang again. Obviously, there was no one there to answer it. The person on the other line also left a message, which played out loud to anyone who was willing to listen.

"Hey baby," A voice said. "Can't wait until I find out something. Hope you get this soon. I need to talk to you about something, but first I have to get the results back. I'll let you know about it later." They finished, then hung up.

**7:56** Shawn Hickenbottom walked out of the airport terminal to get in his rental car. He was really curious as to why Vince had called him. Vince owns a wrestling company, and Shawn sure as hell couldn't wrestle anymore.

He shook it off and got in his car. Checked for messages and drove off.

**7:59** Trish followed the car with the plates 'AM-GAME' from quite a distance. She was supposed to be checking up on him, but she wasn't supposed to be noticeable. Easier said than done.

Back at the sight of the embankment, a single leaf fell from a nearby tree and landed on the face of Chris Irvine, who remained motionless.

**8:00**

What to expect next chapter:

-run-ins from Trish and Bisch

-a poor explanation from Hunter

-and yes!! Yet ANOTHER cliffhanger!!