Suffocate
Trial chapter
" I can't believe you would do this to me! Get out, just fucking get out of my damn house!!!!!!" she screams to her husband of 8 years. She had dealt with a lot lately and this was the last straw. She just didn't want to be around him any more. " Baby, please. I'm sorry." He looks into her baby blues, pleading. " Get out." She points to the door and tears start to flow out of her eyes. " If I walk out that door, I won't come back." He tells her, hoping that that statement would change her mind. " I'll take that risk." She fights back screams and more tears, knowing that her children are upstairs sleeping and probably can hear her, if they had woken up, which they most likely did. " I'll send for my things." " Okay." " Bye." " Bye." He walks out the door, no more words exchanged, and gets into his Mercedes. She watches from the living room window until he is out of sight. She slowly walks into the kitchen and sits on the tall bar stool, knowing that just a few hours ago they were a happy family eating a late supper right there. After sitting there for what seems like hours she reaches over to the other side of the bar and picks up her phone. She dials a number that she has memorized and hopes to god that he'll answer. " Hello?" asks a groggy voice. " Paul?" she chokes out and bursts into tears again. " Steph, what's the matter?" Paul is now fully awake and is getting dressed. " He left." " Again?" " Mm Hmm." " I'll be there in an hour okay?" " You don't have." " I'll be there." "Oh" sniffle " K" They both hang up and Paul finishes getting dressed, then he rushes out the door.
Character Explanation
Paul and Steph, were married for 3 years, but their marriage came to sudden halt when they found out that Joanie had became pregnant years earlier, think late 2000, and had given birth to a baby girl. She had claimed that it was Paul's and he believed her. Then, because he became so wrapped up in his new daughter's life, he started to spend less and less time away from Steph and the twins. So bother Paul and Stephanie had decided that it was for the best if they got divorced. And really, it was, after the divorce they took 6 months away from each other and are now once again best friends, probably even closer than they used to be. And now he spends a lot more time with his children and Steph.
Now, Stephanie's husband, he was one of the few people who were there for her through the whole Paul ordeal. He helped with the twins and eventually proposed to her 3 years after Paul and Stephanie divorced. He himself is a widower, his wife died when their son was only 2 in a tragic car accident. Now Ash is 12 and Stephanie has legally adopted him. Stephanie also has three biological children, the twins Trista Michelle and Terra Rosalie McMahon-LeVesque who are 11, and Beau Tyler McMahon-Irvine who is 5.
Chris and Stephanie also have had many problems with their marriage for a 2 or 3 years now. Chris always suspected that Steph was cheating on him with her ex-husband, and Stephanie had caught Chris with another woman on numerous occasions. The only reason that they had stayed together was for Beau. But in reality, Paul was more a father to him than Chris was.
Character List
Stephanie McMahon LeVesque Irvine Paul LeVesque Chris Irvine ( Jericho) Terra and Trista ( Paul and Stephanie's daughters) Beau ( Chris and Stephanie's son) Ash ( Chris' son) Cadence ( Paul and Jonie's daughter)
Other characters to come.
Chapter 1
Paul rushes into her house without knocking. " Stephie, where are you?" " The bar." Comes a muffled, drunken voice from a couple rooms over. He runs to where the voice came from and sees Stephanie's motionless, seemingly lifeless body crouched under the bar table and all the color drained from her face. If she hadn't told him where she was, and he would have found her, he would think that she was dead. He crouches down to her level and tilts her head up. Her eyes are big, red and puffy, all her mascara smudged everywhere. But to him, she was still beautiful. Just as he was about to say something a little boy's screeching voice comes through the house. " MOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMYYYYYYYYYYY." The second Paul turns around Beau runs into his arms. And before Beau could see his mommy, Paul brings him into the living room and sits him on the couch. " Uncle Paul, where's daddy?" Beau asks, not understanding why his Uncle Paul was there at this hour of the night and daddy was no where in sight or earshot. " He's.on a, a. He's working the weekend." " Daddy always works on da weekendz." " I know buddy. Now why did you come running down here?" Paul asks, trying to change the subject. " Because Terra and Trista woke me up with chocolate syrup." And it was just then that Paul noticed the chocolate stains on Beau's pajamas and in his hair. " Well then I'm gonna have to investigate. Go upstairs and tell them that daddy wants them down here right now. No ifs ands or buts about it." While Beau is getting his sisters Paul goes back into the bar and doesn't see Stephanie anywhere. " Steph?! Steph?!" he goes into the dining room and doesn't see her there, then the bathroom and guest bedroom. She is nowhere to be found. Then he hears the thump of four feet and the scream of a little boy. Apparently Terra and Trista had gotten a hold of Beau and one had his feet, the other his head and the two had completely lifted their brother high above their heads. But when they see their dad, the twins simply drop Beau onto the couch. " Dad." Trista screams and runs over to her dad. She hadn't seen him in a good month or so. She just thought that he had to work but what she didn't know was that her other dad, Chris, had forbade Paul from coming over to his house. " Beau why didn't you tell me dad was here?" Terra asks her little brother while walking over to her dad's open arms. After a few moments of getting reacquainted Paul finally speaks. " Alright, game over. What did you two do to Beau?" Terra," Well at dinner." Trista," . he said that he liked." Terra," . chocolate, so." Trista," . we thought that he." Terra," . might like it as a." Trista," . midnight snack." The twins say, sounding like they were reading from a script. " No you guys, that's not gonna work. Go upstairs and back to sleep. Oh yeah and I will be telling your mother about this. " But daddy." " And take your brother with you." " Fine!"
10 minutes later all the kids are back in bed, not necessarily asleep, but in bed and quiet. As Paul is about to go back to searching for Stephanie, it's as if she walks out of nowhere and plops down onto her couch. Paul comes and sits down next to her and puts her in his lap. " Pour your heart out kid." He said, knowing that she just needed to talk about stuff. " Okay" sniffle, " Well."
Chapter 2
". And that's pretty much it. He left and is never coming back. A fresh batch of tears comes streaming down her face. " Stephie, it's gonna be okay. He'll come back, he always does." " No he won't, he said that if he left he wouldn't come back. And he wouldn't lie about that." " Steph. Everything's gonna be okay. Look, why don't I take you to your bedroom so you can get some sleep." " But the kids will be up soon. I have to get them ready for school." " I'll get them ready Steph, you really need to sleep." " You will?" " Of course I will. Now come on." He picks her up and carries her to the master bedroom and tucks her into bed. Before he was even out the door she was sound asleep.
***** Two Hours Later *****
" Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Beau screams as he flies down the stairs, Terra chasing him. He is about to jump off the fourth stair but Paul catches him in mid air and spins him around, then Paul press slams Beau into the couch. Beau is laughing so hard that he can barely breathe. " Alright, c'mon little boy. Go into the kitchen and eat breakfast. And Terra," he turns his attention to his daughter, " Are Tris and Ash up?" " Ash is, Tris isn't." " Okay, then go wake 'er up and tell 'er to get her buts down here now or she won't eat breakfast." " Okay daddy." She hops up the stairs screaming Trista's name. " Terra!" " What daddy?" she turns around once she is at the top of the stairs. " Mom's sleeping. Don't wake her up. Be very quiet." " Okay daddy."
Trista and Terra are speed racing down the stairs, seeing who can get to the breakfast table first, but Beau, who was going the opposite direction as the twins, was mauled by both Terra and Trista. His head hits the hardwood floor of the dining room, both the twins run away from the scene. " Hi daddy." Terra said. " Hi dad." Trista chimed in. " Girls, why's Beau screaming?" " Ash knocked him over. The he ran back up to his room." Trista said, nodding. " Alright, you two just eat your breakfast then go get dressed." " I don't wanna go to school dad." " You have to." " But I wanna stay home with you. I haven't seen you in forever." " Well kiddo, its Friday. The day will be over before you know it. Now eat." Paul goes into the other room to check out Beau. He is sitting there holding the side of his head. " Buddy what happened?" " Trista and Terra ran me over." " Oh they did, did they?" " Yea. They did." " Is your head gonna be okay?" " Yea. It is." " Okay good. Now go ahead and get dressed." Just then the decides to pull up. Apparently Paul hadn't been looking at the clock and it was already 7:15. The kids have to be at school for 9, which is a one-hour drive but a 1-½ hour bus ride. Well with the exception of Ash, who rides his bike to his school, which is right down the street. " Oh holy Jesus." The bus' horn was honking wildly. Paul knows that Beau is ready, hopefully, and calls him down. " But I haven't brushed my teeth yet, or put a shirt on!" " Fine!" Paul hears the bus pull away from the front of the driveway. " Damn it." " Paul, what's the matter?" Stephanie appears at the top of the stairs, tear stains still on her face. " Nothing Steph. Go back to sleep." " No, I'm up now. What's going on?" she is now sitting on the counter looking at the girls, " What did daddy do?" " We missed the bus. But it's not dad's fault." " Okay, go on up to your room and dress then come down here and we'll figure something out." " Okay mom, come on Terra." " I'm coming!" " Girls, be nice!" " Yes mom." They say simultaneously and run upstairs. " I'm sorry they missed the bus Steph." Paul walks over and sits on the counter next to Steph. " It's okay. I'll drive them." She smiles. " No you won't. I fucked this up so I'll bring them to school, I insist." " You know you don't have to." " I want to." " Okay. Fine."
An hour later Steph is home alone when somebody knocks at the door. She knows it's not Paul. So who could it be?
Chapter 3
The knocking on the door just gets louder and louder the more and more she tries to ignore it. Finally, it just got to her. " Hold on! I'm coming." She walks over to the door and swings it open. " What are you doing here? I thought you said you weren't coming back!" " Well excuse me for wanting to fix my marriage." He says, with more than a hint of anger in his voice. " Can I come in?" " It's a free country." She moves out of the doorway so he can step in. " Where's the kids?" " At school." She said like he was supposed to know. " Well good then. Now we can talk." " No we can't, Paul will be back soon." She is looking for something to do, to clean up. But Paul had done all of the cleaning before he left, sometimes she wonders why she ever divorced that man. Even after the divorce he was better to her than Chris was. " That bastard was in MY HOUSE?!?!?!?!?!?!??!" " YOUR HOUSE? This is MY fucking house! And yes he was! I needed somebody last night you weren't there!" she has gone from yelling hysterically to crying hysterically in a matter of seconds. Chris hates to see her cry, it just breaks his heart, and not to mention that he had no idea what to do or say around her. " Steph stop." He whined. " Go away. I can't deal with you right now." " Steph we gotta talk." " I don't want to talk to you. You freaking cheated on me with my COUSIN! My 24 fucking year old cousin!" " But Step---" " No, let me finish. But to make matters worse, you go ahead and fuck me in that same exact bed that you fucked her in, OUR BED Chris! Ours!!!!!!!!" " Steph. I know I'm a screw up. But I can't loose you, you're my world Steph, my everything." " Please go. Please." " Fine, I'll leave, you know how to reach me if you wanna talk." " Yeah, I do. Bye Chris. Oh yeah all your stuff is in the back yard, in the pool." She closes the door right in his face and locks it before he had the impulse to try and open it.
30 minutes later Chris is still at the door, except now, instead of feeling sorry that his marriage is dead, he is scheming a sure-proof plan that will get Stephanie back. Seeing as his eyes were closed he didn't see or hear the car pull up and the next thing he sees is the green of the bushes he was pushed into.
" Steph!" " Office!" " K." Paul strides on over to the small room with a beat up lap top, a fax machine, and a phone that Stephanie called her office. He never understood why she just didn't use the luxurious den upstairs for the office, but then again, you could never figure out McMahon's. " You know that that asshole is outside?" " He is? Arghhh. What did you do to him?" she asked, fearing the worst. " Kicked him off the porch, I mean, he was in my way." " Paul, that's not nice." " Yeah well, he deserved it. Nobody stalks Stephanie McMahon except me * laughs*." He says proudly, the last comment he was joking of course. " * smiling* You know, I would be lost without you." " * cockily* I know." They just stare at each other for a few moments seeing stars in the other's eyes. " I probably should go." He says eyes still locked with his ex-wife's. " You should, but don't." He walks over to her and runs his hands down the body that he knows so well. She moves in and captures Paul's lips with hers. He lifts her up and backs her into the wall. " Paul wait. We can't do this." " Why?" " Because, somehow this will become twisted and misinterpreted by everybody." " Who says anybody has to know." " If I get pregnant then everybody would know." " Well don't you take the pill?" " No." " Then what's your fucking birth control?" " Chris is, he got fixed." She says so softly that he could barely make out the words. " * soft tone * Okay then, I guess I'll leave." " I'm really sorry Paul." " It's okay princess. I'll call you later." He kisses her forehead and leaves. " Bye." She whispers to the closed door.
Just as the clock chimes 4:00 pm, the kids come rushing through the door waving their papers and smiling giddily. " Kids, don't take off your shoes or coats, we're going to Uncle Shane's. Go out in the car, I'll be there in a minute. And Tare?" " Yeah mom?" " Start the car okay?" Steph throws her daughter the keys to the family car and then goes to the base of the stairs. " Ash! C'mon. We gotta leave." She yells to her eldest son, who had arrived home near an hour ago. " I wanna stay here." " Ash come here." He appears at the top of the stairs. " What?" " You wanna stay home?" " Yeah." She sighs in defeat, " Fine, but you know that we'll be gone all night." " I know Steph. And tomorrow's Saturday anyway." " Okay, I don't want you leaving this house and lock the doors as soon as I leave. And don't answer the phone unless you know who it is." " Alright, I promise." " If your dad calls do not tell him that your home alone okay? He would kill me if he knew." " Once again, I promise Steph. Now isn't Beau in the RUNNING car with the girls." " OMG he is. I'll call you when we get to Shane's. Bye Hon." " Bye Stephanie." " Oh yeah, and no guests either." She walks out the door leaving Ash with the house all to himself.
" Hey sis." Shane hugged his sister whom he hadn't seen in a good 3 weeks, that Chris would hardly ever let her out of the house. " Oh I missed you so much." She whispers to him as she breaks the embrace. " Uncle Shane!!!" Beau runs up to his favorite uncle. " Hey bud." Shane picks him up and spins him in the air. " Bo. c'mere Bo." Shane and Marissa's little two year old come waddling up to Beau. " Ewwwww Girls!!!!!!!!!!!" Beau runs away while Jenna follows him. Terra and Trista are laughing at their brother when someone with big masculine arms come and swoop both of them up. " Papa!!!! That wasn't very nice!" Terra scolded her grandfather once he put the girls down. " I'm sorry, truly, I am." Vince tells his granddaughter sarcastically. Then, he walks over to where Stephanie and Shane were seated on the couch to catch up, he hadn't seen Steph in so long.
When Paul left Stephanie's house, he didn't know what to do with himself. So for hours now he had just been driving aimlessly, he has remote clue to where the hell he is. He decides to pull over to the gas station and ask where he is. As he is exiting the car and goes into the tiny convenient store where you paid for the gas, a shot is fired.
Chapter 4
Paul is laying on the ground in a pool of his own blood, with nobody to help him. He later found out that the gas station manager, who had just happened to be working that day, was also shot and killed. Right now, Paul can't think straight, his head is spinning, and he is falling in and out of consciousness. And nobody is expected to be at the small off road station until morning. He really thinks that he is going to die. He's been there for hours. Just about to lose hope, the sounds of sirens can be heard blaring towards him.
* "Ring, Ring" * Stephanie's cell phone starts to ring inside her purse. " Hello." She says once it is retrieved. " Ms. Irvine?" comes an unfamiliar female voice on the other line. " Speaking, how may I help you?" " Do you know a Mr. Paul LeVesque?" " Yes, I do. What's going on?" She asks, panic in her voice. " I'm not allowed to give details over the telephone but he has been shot and is in critical, but stable condition. Before he lost consciousness he was asking for you---" " What hospital?" " Hartford Medical Center, you know where that is, correct?" " Yeah, Connecticut. I'll be there in like an hour. Thanks." Without waiting for a response from the woman she slams her cell shut. " Shane, can you watch the kids, I gotta leave." " Yeah, of course I can, but what's going on?" " Paul was shot and now he's in Hartford, I gotta get there." She gives her brother a quick kiss on the cheek and runs out to her car. Before Shane knew it, his sister is out of sight.
Within 45 minutes Stephanie is emerging from her car, and racing into the hospital. " Paul LeVesque's room." She demands to the receptionist. " I'm not allowed to give out that information miss. I'm sorry." " Well I'm his fucking w-ife." she wasn't sure if she should use the word wife, but if she was going to be able to see Paul she figured, why not?, " .and I demand to see him." " I need proof of identification." " Like fucking WHAT?!?" " Maybe a driver's license?" she asks, frightened by Stephanie's tone. " Okay, you know what? I'm really not in the mood for this. So if you won't give me his room number than I'll find it myself." she turns to walk off but then adds smugly, " not before I tell your boss though." This scares the receptionist, seeing as in she doesn't want to get fired over this minor ordeal, she gladly gives the room number over to Stephanie. " D231." " Thank you. Now was that so hard?" Steph huffs and is now in search of room D231.
Back at Chris and Stephanie's house, Ash is getting very bored, very easily. He had already trashed the house beyond recognition, made disgusting spinach-broccoli shakes, and colored the walls and carpets in colors that only he could make. There was nothing else to do in the house, except.
" God, there you are!" she walks over to a barely conscious Paul, takes his hand and just starts bawling. " You scared me so fucking much. I thought you were freakin dead." She is hysterical and Paul can't even make out the words she is saying, let alone try to make her feel any better. So all he does is rub her back and whisper to her that everything would be okay. As time went on, he was starting to think that she was more freaked out than he was. " Paul, I'm gonna go call your mom. I'll be right back." She states, almost 2 hours after arriving. " Okay. While you're out there, go get something to eat." " But---" " Steph." He says sternly, but hoarsely. " Fine. I'll be back in twenty minutes." " Take your time." " Twenty minutes." With that, she waltzes out the door and to the nearest pay phone, seeing as she wasn't allowed to use her cell phone in that part of the hospital.
Exactly twenty minutes later she is on her way back to her ex husband's room right as she is approached by a police officer. " Mrs. Irvine?" The tall, dark officer asks. " Yes. How may I help you?" " Miss, you have to right to remain silent, anything you say can and will be used against you in the court of law." " Wha--?" The officer takes her from behind and slaps the handcuffs on her.
Trial chapter
" I can't believe you would do this to me! Get out, just fucking get out of my damn house!!!!!!" she screams to her husband of 8 years. She had dealt with a lot lately and this was the last straw. She just didn't want to be around him any more. " Baby, please. I'm sorry." He looks into her baby blues, pleading. " Get out." She points to the door and tears start to flow out of her eyes. " If I walk out that door, I won't come back." He tells her, hoping that that statement would change her mind. " I'll take that risk." She fights back screams and more tears, knowing that her children are upstairs sleeping and probably can hear her, if they had woken up, which they most likely did. " I'll send for my things." " Okay." " Bye." " Bye." He walks out the door, no more words exchanged, and gets into his Mercedes. She watches from the living room window until he is out of sight. She slowly walks into the kitchen and sits on the tall bar stool, knowing that just a few hours ago they were a happy family eating a late supper right there. After sitting there for what seems like hours she reaches over to the other side of the bar and picks up her phone. She dials a number that she has memorized and hopes to god that he'll answer. " Hello?" asks a groggy voice. " Paul?" she chokes out and bursts into tears again. " Steph, what's the matter?" Paul is now fully awake and is getting dressed. " He left." " Again?" " Mm Hmm." " I'll be there in an hour okay?" " You don't have." " I'll be there." "Oh" sniffle " K" They both hang up and Paul finishes getting dressed, then he rushes out the door.
Character Explanation
Paul and Steph, were married for 3 years, but their marriage came to sudden halt when they found out that Joanie had became pregnant years earlier, think late 2000, and had given birth to a baby girl. She had claimed that it was Paul's and he believed her. Then, because he became so wrapped up in his new daughter's life, he started to spend less and less time away from Steph and the twins. So bother Paul and Stephanie had decided that it was for the best if they got divorced. And really, it was, after the divorce they took 6 months away from each other and are now once again best friends, probably even closer than they used to be. And now he spends a lot more time with his children and Steph.
Now, Stephanie's husband, he was one of the few people who were there for her through the whole Paul ordeal. He helped with the twins and eventually proposed to her 3 years after Paul and Stephanie divorced. He himself is a widower, his wife died when their son was only 2 in a tragic car accident. Now Ash is 12 and Stephanie has legally adopted him. Stephanie also has three biological children, the twins Trista Michelle and Terra Rosalie McMahon-LeVesque who are 11, and Beau Tyler McMahon-Irvine who is 5.
Chris and Stephanie also have had many problems with their marriage for a 2 or 3 years now. Chris always suspected that Steph was cheating on him with her ex-husband, and Stephanie had caught Chris with another woman on numerous occasions. The only reason that they had stayed together was for Beau. But in reality, Paul was more a father to him than Chris was.
Character List
Stephanie McMahon LeVesque Irvine Paul LeVesque Chris Irvine ( Jericho) Terra and Trista ( Paul and Stephanie's daughters) Beau ( Chris and Stephanie's son) Ash ( Chris' son) Cadence ( Paul and Jonie's daughter)
Other characters to come.
Chapter 1
Paul rushes into her house without knocking. " Stephie, where are you?" " The bar." Comes a muffled, drunken voice from a couple rooms over. He runs to where the voice came from and sees Stephanie's motionless, seemingly lifeless body crouched under the bar table and all the color drained from her face. If she hadn't told him where she was, and he would have found her, he would think that she was dead. He crouches down to her level and tilts her head up. Her eyes are big, red and puffy, all her mascara smudged everywhere. But to him, she was still beautiful. Just as he was about to say something a little boy's screeching voice comes through the house. " MOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMYYYYYYYYYYY." The second Paul turns around Beau runs into his arms. And before Beau could see his mommy, Paul brings him into the living room and sits him on the couch. " Uncle Paul, where's daddy?" Beau asks, not understanding why his Uncle Paul was there at this hour of the night and daddy was no where in sight or earshot. " He's.on a, a. He's working the weekend." " Daddy always works on da weekendz." " I know buddy. Now why did you come running down here?" Paul asks, trying to change the subject. " Because Terra and Trista woke me up with chocolate syrup." And it was just then that Paul noticed the chocolate stains on Beau's pajamas and in his hair. " Well then I'm gonna have to investigate. Go upstairs and tell them that daddy wants them down here right now. No ifs ands or buts about it." While Beau is getting his sisters Paul goes back into the bar and doesn't see Stephanie anywhere. " Steph?! Steph?!" he goes into the dining room and doesn't see her there, then the bathroom and guest bedroom. She is nowhere to be found. Then he hears the thump of four feet and the scream of a little boy. Apparently Terra and Trista had gotten a hold of Beau and one had his feet, the other his head and the two had completely lifted their brother high above their heads. But when they see their dad, the twins simply drop Beau onto the couch. " Dad." Trista screams and runs over to her dad. She hadn't seen him in a good month or so. She just thought that he had to work but what she didn't know was that her other dad, Chris, had forbade Paul from coming over to his house. " Beau why didn't you tell me dad was here?" Terra asks her little brother while walking over to her dad's open arms. After a few moments of getting reacquainted Paul finally speaks. " Alright, game over. What did you two do to Beau?" Terra," Well at dinner." Trista," . he said that he liked." Terra," . chocolate, so." Trista," . we thought that he." Terra," . might like it as a." Trista," . midnight snack." The twins say, sounding like they were reading from a script. " No you guys, that's not gonna work. Go upstairs and back to sleep. Oh yeah and I will be telling your mother about this. " But daddy." " And take your brother with you." " Fine!"
10 minutes later all the kids are back in bed, not necessarily asleep, but in bed and quiet. As Paul is about to go back to searching for Stephanie, it's as if she walks out of nowhere and plops down onto her couch. Paul comes and sits down next to her and puts her in his lap. " Pour your heart out kid." He said, knowing that she just needed to talk about stuff. " Okay" sniffle, " Well."
Chapter 2
". And that's pretty much it. He left and is never coming back. A fresh batch of tears comes streaming down her face. " Stephie, it's gonna be okay. He'll come back, he always does." " No he won't, he said that if he left he wouldn't come back. And he wouldn't lie about that." " Steph. Everything's gonna be okay. Look, why don't I take you to your bedroom so you can get some sleep." " But the kids will be up soon. I have to get them ready for school." " I'll get them ready Steph, you really need to sleep." " You will?" " Of course I will. Now come on." He picks her up and carries her to the master bedroom and tucks her into bed. Before he was even out the door she was sound asleep.
***** Two Hours Later *****
" Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Beau screams as he flies down the stairs, Terra chasing him. He is about to jump off the fourth stair but Paul catches him in mid air and spins him around, then Paul press slams Beau into the couch. Beau is laughing so hard that he can barely breathe. " Alright, c'mon little boy. Go into the kitchen and eat breakfast. And Terra," he turns his attention to his daughter, " Are Tris and Ash up?" " Ash is, Tris isn't." " Okay, then go wake 'er up and tell 'er to get her buts down here now or she won't eat breakfast." " Okay daddy." She hops up the stairs screaming Trista's name. " Terra!" " What daddy?" she turns around once she is at the top of the stairs. " Mom's sleeping. Don't wake her up. Be very quiet." " Okay daddy."
Trista and Terra are speed racing down the stairs, seeing who can get to the breakfast table first, but Beau, who was going the opposite direction as the twins, was mauled by both Terra and Trista. His head hits the hardwood floor of the dining room, both the twins run away from the scene. " Hi daddy." Terra said. " Hi dad." Trista chimed in. " Girls, why's Beau screaming?" " Ash knocked him over. The he ran back up to his room." Trista said, nodding. " Alright, you two just eat your breakfast then go get dressed." " I don't wanna go to school dad." " You have to." " But I wanna stay home with you. I haven't seen you in forever." " Well kiddo, its Friday. The day will be over before you know it. Now eat." Paul goes into the other room to check out Beau. He is sitting there holding the side of his head. " Buddy what happened?" " Trista and Terra ran me over." " Oh they did, did they?" " Yea. They did." " Is your head gonna be okay?" " Yea. It is." " Okay good. Now go ahead and get dressed." Just then the decides to pull up. Apparently Paul hadn't been looking at the clock and it was already 7:15. The kids have to be at school for 9, which is a one-hour drive but a 1-½ hour bus ride. Well with the exception of Ash, who rides his bike to his school, which is right down the street. " Oh holy Jesus." The bus' horn was honking wildly. Paul knows that Beau is ready, hopefully, and calls him down. " But I haven't brushed my teeth yet, or put a shirt on!" " Fine!" Paul hears the bus pull away from the front of the driveway. " Damn it." " Paul, what's the matter?" Stephanie appears at the top of the stairs, tear stains still on her face. " Nothing Steph. Go back to sleep." " No, I'm up now. What's going on?" she is now sitting on the counter looking at the girls, " What did daddy do?" " We missed the bus. But it's not dad's fault." " Okay, go on up to your room and dress then come down here and we'll figure something out." " Okay mom, come on Terra." " I'm coming!" " Girls, be nice!" " Yes mom." They say simultaneously and run upstairs. " I'm sorry they missed the bus Steph." Paul walks over and sits on the counter next to Steph. " It's okay. I'll drive them." She smiles. " No you won't. I fucked this up so I'll bring them to school, I insist." " You know you don't have to." " I want to." " Okay. Fine."
An hour later Steph is home alone when somebody knocks at the door. She knows it's not Paul. So who could it be?
Chapter 3
The knocking on the door just gets louder and louder the more and more she tries to ignore it. Finally, it just got to her. " Hold on! I'm coming." She walks over to the door and swings it open. " What are you doing here? I thought you said you weren't coming back!" " Well excuse me for wanting to fix my marriage." He says, with more than a hint of anger in his voice. " Can I come in?" " It's a free country." She moves out of the doorway so he can step in. " Where's the kids?" " At school." She said like he was supposed to know. " Well good then. Now we can talk." " No we can't, Paul will be back soon." She is looking for something to do, to clean up. But Paul had done all of the cleaning before he left, sometimes she wonders why she ever divorced that man. Even after the divorce he was better to her than Chris was. " That bastard was in MY HOUSE?!?!?!?!?!?!??!" " YOUR HOUSE? This is MY fucking house! And yes he was! I needed somebody last night you weren't there!" she has gone from yelling hysterically to crying hysterically in a matter of seconds. Chris hates to see her cry, it just breaks his heart, and not to mention that he had no idea what to do or say around her. " Steph stop." He whined. " Go away. I can't deal with you right now." " Steph we gotta talk." " I don't want to talk to you. You freaking cheated on me with my COUSIN! My 24 fucking year old cousin!" " But Step---" " No, let me finish. But to make matters worse, you go ahead and fuck me in that same exact bed that you fucked her in, OUR BED Chris! Ours!!!!!!!!" " Steph. I know I'm a screw up. But I can't loose you, you're my world Steph, my everything." " Please go. Please." " Fine, I'll leave, you know how to reach me if you wanna talk." " Yeah, I do. Bye Chris. Oh yeah all your stuff is in the back yard, in the pool." She closes the door right in his face and locks it before he had the impulse to try and open it.
30 minutes later Chris is still at the door, except now, instead of feeling sorry that his marriage is dead, he is scheming a sure-proof plan that will get Stephanie back. Seeing as his eyes were closed he didn't see or hear the car pull up and the next thing he sees is the green of the bushes he was pushed into.
" Steph!" " Office!" " K." Paul strides on over to the small room with a beat up lap top, a fax machine, and a phone that Stephanie called her office. He never understood why she just didn't use the luxurious den upstairs for the office, but then again, you could never figure out McMahon's. " You know that that asshole is outside?" " He is? Arghhh. What did you do to him?" she asked, fearing the worst. " Kicked him off the porch, I mean, he was in my way." " Paul, that's not nice." " Yeah well, he deserved it. Nobody stalks Stephanie McMahon except me * laughs*." He says proudly, the last comment he was joking of course. " * smiling* You know, I would be lost without you." " * cockily* I know." They just stare at each other for a few moments seeing stars in the other's eyes. " I probably should go." He says eyes still locked with his ex-wife's. " You should, but don't." He walks over to her and runs his hands down the body that he knows so well. She moves in and captures Paul's lips with hers. He lifts her up and backs her into the wall. " Paul wait. We can't do this." " Why?" " Because, somehow this will become twisted and misinterpreted by everybody." " Who says anybody has to know." " If I get pregnant then everybody would know." " Well don't you take the pill?" " No." " Then what's your fucking birth control?" " Chris is, he got fixed." She says so softly that he could barely make out the words. " * soft tone * Okay then, I guess I'll leave." " I'm really sorry Paul." " It's okay princess. I'll call you later." He kisses her forehead and leaves. " Bye." She whispers to the closed door.
Just as the clock chimes 4:00 pm, the kids come rushing through the door waving their papers and smiling giddily. " Kids, don't take off your shoes or coats, we're going to Uncle Shane's. Go out in the car, I'll be there in a minute. And Tare?" " Yeah mom?" " Start the car okay?" Steph throws her daughter the keys to the family car and then goes to the base of the stairs. " Ash! C'mon. We gotta leave." She yells to her eldest son, who had arrived home near an hour ago. " I wanna stay here." " Ash come here." He appears at the top of the stairs. " What?" " You wanna stay home?" " Yeah." She sighs in defeat, " Fine, but you know that we'll be gone all night." " I know Steph. And tomorrow's Saturday anyway." " Okay, I don't want you leaving this house and lock the doors as soon as I leave. And don't answer the phone unless you know who it is." " Alright, I promise." " If your dad calls do not tell him that your home alone okay? He would kill me if he knew." " Once again, I promise Steph. Now isn't Beau in the RUNNING car with the girls." " OMG he is. I'll call you when we get to Shane's. Bye Hon." " Bye Stephanie." " Oh yeah, and no guests either." She walks out the door leaving Ash with the house all to himself.
" Hey sis." Shane hugged his sister whom he hadn't seen in a good 3 weeks, that Chris would hardly ever let her out of the house. " Oh I missed you so much." She whispers to him as she breaks the embrace. " Uncle Shane!!!" Beau runs up to his favorite uncle. " Hey bud." Shane picks him up and spins him in the air. " Bo. c'mere Bo." Shane and Marissa's little two year old come waddling up to Beau. " Ewwwww Girls!!!!!!!!!!!" Beau runs away while Jenna follows him. Terra and Trista are laughing at their brother when someone with big masculine arms come and swoop both of them up. " Papa!!!! That wasn't very nice!" Terra scolded her grandfather once he put the girls down. " I'm sorry, truly, I am." Vince tells his granddaughter sarcastically. Then, he walks over to where Stephanie and Shane were seated on the couch to catch up, he hadn't seen Steph in so long.
When Paul left Stephanie's house, he didn't know what to do with himself. So for hours now he had just been driving aimlessly, he has remote clue to where the hell he is. He decides to pull over to the gas station and ask where he is. As he is exiting the car and goes into the tiny convenient store where you paid for the gas, a shot is fired.
Chapter 4
Paul is laying on the ground in a pool of his own blood, with nobody to help him. He later found out that the gas station manager, who had just happened to be working that day, was also shot and killed. Right now, Paul can't think straight, his head is spinning, and he is falling in and out of consciousness. And nobody is expected to be at the small off road station until morning. He really thinks that he is going to die. He's been there for hours. Just about to lose hope, the sounds of sirens can be heard blaring towards him.
* "Ring, Ring" * Stephanie's cell phone starts to ring inside her purse. " Hello." She says once it is retrieved. " Ms. Irvine?" comes an unfamiliar female voice on the other line. " Speaking, how may I help you?" " Do you know a Mr. Paul LeVesque?" " Yes, I do. What's going on?" She asks, panic in her voice. " I'm not allowed to give details over the telephone but he has been shot and is in critical, but stable condition. Before he lost consciousness he was asking for you---" " What hospital?" " Hartford Medical Center, you know where that is, correct?" " Yeah, Connecticut. I'll be there in like an hour. Thanks." Without waiting for a response from the woman she slams her cell shut. " Shane, can you watch the kids, I gotta leave." " Yeah, of course I can, but what's going on?" " Paul was shot and now he's in Hartford, I gotta get there." She gives her brother a quick kiss on the cheek and runs out to her car. Before Shane knew it, his sister is out of sight.
Within 45 minutes Stephanie is emerging from her car, and racing into the hospital. " Paul LeVesque's room." She demands to the receptionist. " I'm not allowed to give out that information miss. I'm sorry." " Well I'm his fucking w-ife." she wasn't sure if she should use the word wife, but if she was going to be able to see Paul she figured, why not?, " .and I demand to see him." " I need proof of identification." " Like fucking WHAT?!?" " Maybe a driver's license?" she asks, frightened by Stephanie's tone. " Okay, you know what? I'm really not in the mood for this. So if you won't give me his room number than I'll find it myself." she turns to walk off but then adds smugly, " not before I tell your boss though." This scares the receptionist, seeing as in she doesn't want to get fired over this minor ordeal, she gladly gives the room number over to Stephanie. " D231." " Thank you. Now was that so hard?" Steph huffs and is now in search of room D231.
Back at Chris and Stephanie's house, Ash is getting very bored, very easily. He had already trashed the house beyond recognition, made disgusting spinach-broccoli shakes, and colored the walls and carpets in colors that only he could make. There was nothing else to do in the house, except.
" God, there you are!" she walks over to a barely conscious Paul, takes his hand and just starts bawling. " You scared me so fucking much. I thought you were freakin dead." She is hysterical and Paul can't even make out the words she is saying, let alone try to make her feel any better. So all he does is rub her back and whisper to her that everything would be okay. As time went on, he was starting to think that she was more freaked out than he was. " Paul, I'm gonna go call your mom. I'll be right back." She states, almost 2 hours after arriving. " Okay. While you're out there, go get something to eat." " But---" " Steph." He says sternly, but hoarsely. " Fine. I'll be back in twenty minutes." " Take your time." " Twenty minutes." With that, she waltzes out the door and to the nearest pay phone, seeing as she wasn't allowed to use her cell phone in that part of the hospital.
Exactly twenty minutes later she is on her way back to her ex husband's room right as she is approached by a police officer. " Mrs. Irvine?" The tall, dark officer asks. " Yes. How may I help you?" " Miss, you have to right to remain silent, anything you say can and will be used against you in the court of law." " Wha--?" The officer takes her from behind and slaps the handcuffs on her.