Author's Note: Once again, my deepest apologies for not updating, and I have no excuse but laziness and forgetfulness. Sorry, sorry, sorry! Tons of thanks to my little sister who wanted to help me out w/ this chapter, and she did an awesome job and had amazing ideas! Hope you guys enjoy this chapter!

Chapter 9

He'd gotten a few much needed hours of sleep, but Randy's impatience to see her was rapidly increasing. Walking through hospital halls was definitely not what he most wanted to do, but in order to get to Stacy; there wasn't much of a choice. Rushing down the corridor in his faded blue jeans, Randy stopped abruptly to find himself face to face with the one and only, Scott Steiner. Yes, they were nearly ten feet apart, but the tension in the air was very much present as the two men exchanged hostile glares.

Scott's repulsive words broke the awkward silence.

"What are you doing here, Orton?" Scott inquired, lying in his hospital bed while Randy stood at the doorway.

"I'm here to see Stacy, why would you, of all people, give a damn?" Randy snapped back.

Scott let out a wicked chuckle from the pit of his stomach, replying, "She's my girlfriend, and no matter what you think, you won't have her." A threatening expression came upon his face as he growled, "You better stay away from her."

"Or what, Steiner? You gonna throw your little IV at me? Oh, I'm scared!" Randy joked. "Look," he continued with a serious attitude as stepped inside the room, "I just want to protect Stacy because you treat her like she's nothing, like she doesn't have any feelings. She's not your slave! And if I have anything to say about it, things around here are gonna change. You got that?"

"How do you know you'll be around to say anything about it?" Scott smirked.

"Keep your smart-ass comments to yourself. I'm not going down without a fight." Randy said, turning his back to the hospitalized man, beginning to move for the door.

Randy could take him. Scott realized this quickly, but almost too quickly. He wasn't willing to surrender to the fact, so he silently reached to his left getting a hold of a shiny metal tray full of doctor's instruments. He lifted it off of the bedside table, grasping it tightly, allowing everything on it to drop to the floor. Randy turned around at the unexpected clatter of metal crashing into the floor. Taking advantage of this, Scott mercilessly threw the tray, aiming for Randy's head but instead hitting his abs.

Feeling the pain spread through his muscular abdomen, Randy bent himself in half, wrapping his arms around his stomach. He let out a slight groan as he gritted his teeth.

"How do you like that, Orton? You wanna fight? Bring it."

Wincing at his throbbing abdomen as he stood up, Randy glared into Scott's cold eyes, showing him that he wasn't the least bit intimidated. Confidently, he reached the doorway, turning around one last time.

"I'm not done with you," Randy snarled and left the room.

Reaching Stacy's door, he raised his hand to knock but stopped dead in his tracks. Randy peeked into the room through the slightly opened door. The young man caught a glimpse of the most beautiful sight his eyes had ever beheld – the gentle rays of the sun shining through the window onto Stacy's charming face. The sleeping beauty's magnificence had Randy gazing at her, almost breathlessly. Any pain he'd felt before this moment vanished, simply vanished.

Randy found himself nearly tip-toeing inside the hospital room until he reached the chair facing Stacy's bed. Once he'd sat down, he rested his elbows on his knees and intertwined his fingers, only to rest his head in his hands. Randy couldn't help but once again stare at the blonde's innocent expression. The time and silence that surrounded him led his mind to wander.

'What am I getting myself into? Honestly, I don't even know if Stacy cares for me as I for her. I hope she does… She's unlike any other girl I've met. Yeah, I know I haven't even spent very much time with her, but there's just something about her, something that makes her different from all the rest.' Randy sat up straight, shifting his body slightly until he was comfortable and allowed his thoughts to take him back to the RAW locker room.

Randy pushed his locker room door open, feeling a gust of cool air come at him from the hallway. With all his wrestling gear on, he stepped out, stretching slightly in preparation for his upcoming match. Not a moment had passed until Stacy came strutting down the hallway. She had caught a glimpse of Randy standing there and shyly tucked the right side of her hair behind her ear. She revealed a flirty smile that showed off a rarely-seen sparkle in her eye.

"Hey, Randy," she hardly muttered, flashing another smile.

All the young man could do was grin back as his heart fluttered inside his chest…

'God, I am so pathetic. I take one look at the girl, and I melt! What in the world is wrong with me?' After he asked himself that, Randy's eyes widened, an element of uncertainty coloring his facial expressions.

'What if I—' he automatically cut himself off, figuring that was impossible. However, his mind wasn't ready to let him get away with it that easily.

'What if I love her?'

Author's Note: I hope you guys liked! I wanna give major props to my little sister who co-wrote half of this with me! She's good at this kinda stuff! Lol, once again, so many apologies for the really late update, it's been a crazy three weeks. Tons of love and thanks to those of you who reviewed! You have no idea how much I love you guys! 70 REVIEWS! Yeah, you really have no idea! Well, don't forget to review this chapter… please! D