A/N: I own no one.
Nursing His Broken Heart
Shawn Michaels sat alone in his locker room wondering where everything in his life had gone wrong. When had his life fallen apart? Why hadn't he realized what was happening? Why hadn't he been able to stop it?
His wife had cheated on him.
His wife had divorced him.
His wife had been granted sole custody of the kids.
And what did he have? What did he have to left to hold on to?
"Nothing!" he exclaimed. His voice was loud in the quiet room.
And who did he have to lean on for support? Who did he have left to love him?
"No one," he said sadly. "I have no one." He put his head in his hands and closed his eyes.
He was a hopeless case.
There was a timid knock on his closed locker room door.
"Go away!" Shawn yelled, not bothering to ask who it was.
The door opened anyway. He looked up to see who would dare enter his locker room uninvited. When he saw who it was, he gulped and stared.
"Stephanie."
"Shawn."
He hadn't seen her face-to-face in months. They'd been avoiding each other for quite a while, even before his wife had divorced him. They had shared just one innocent kiss about seven months ago, just one. And they hadn't been able to face each other since.
They stared intently at each other, trying to take in each other's appearance.
"What are you doing here?" he asked finally.
"I heard," she said. "But... Well, I just came to see how you're doing."
"How do you think I'm doing?" he asked. "I mean, look at me."
She looked at him. Really looked at him.
"What do you see?" he asked as she examined him. She was silent. "A broken man, right?"
"What I see is the same old Shawn who I've always seen," she said slowly. "It's just... I can tell that you're hurting. And I'd like to help you, if you'll let me."
"How can you help me, huh?" he asked, shaking his head.
"I want to be the one you can confide in," she said, coming to sit next to him. "I want to be the one who has a shoulder for you to lean on."
He looked at her, surprised at how she was giving him the answer to everything he'd been wondering just minutes before. But then he shook his head. He shouldn't... He really shouldn't.
"Um, yeah, that's not gonna work," he said as she put her hand on his arm. "I just can't... I need to... I've got to be independent."
"And depend on yourself to get through the hard times?" she asked.
"Yeah," he said, looking away. "Because when I depended on my wife to be there for me, look what happened. She left me."
"And you think I'm going to leave you like she did?" she asked, incredulous.
"I didn't think she would, but she did," he said. "I just don't know." He looked away.
"Shawn. Look at me," she said.
He couldn't.
"Please," she pleaded.
He wouldn't.
"Fine," she said, getting up and heading for the door. "I know when I'm not wanted, and I know when I'm not needed. I'm out of here."
He understood what she was saying, but he couldn't allow her to leave. He couldn't be left twice.
"Stephanie." His voice sounded almost harsh, even to his own ears.
She turned around, tears in her eyes. "What, Shawn?"
"Don't leave me... I need you," he whispered, and his voice broke.
"Aww, don't cry," she said as her own tears spilled over. "You're going to make me cry..."
They were in each other's arms in a flash, giving in to what they'd been feeling for years. They embraced each other, and she just hugged him while silent tears fell from his eyes. She ran her fingers through his hair and he clung to her like he never wanted to let go and wished the moment could last for an eternity...
"Feel better?" she asked. He nodded. They sat on the couch side by side, holding hands. They couldn't let go. They wouldn't let go.
"Yeah," he said. He felt embarrassed, ashamed. "Do you think I'm...less than a man now?"
"Why would I think that?" she asked, touching his face.
"I just cried like a baby," he pointed out. "Real men don't cry."
"Real mean do cry," she told him. "I think it takes a real man to have the courage to cry in front of someone."
Her voice trailed off and they peered silently at eachother, not speaking. She could see the pain in his eyes, pain that was so strong that it made her heart break for him. Then she looked down at his lips. He looked at hers. They stared into each other's eyes again. Then they both slowly leaned forward until their lips met.
A feeling of euphoria had washed over them both completely by the time they ended the kiss. They looked at each other in amazement and wonder. He traced her jaw line with a finger, then leaned in to kiss her again.
But just as their lips met again, her cell phone rang. She broke the kiss with an apologetic smile on her face and answered the phone. It was her father, and he needed to see her immediately in his office. She said ok, then ended the call.
She stood up. "That was my father. He needs to see me in his office right away," she explained. She got up after staring at him, then headed for the door.
He caught her as she was about to open the door and hugged her tight against him. "Thank you," he whispered into her ear.
"For what?" she asked, reveling in the warmth of his slim, trim body.
"For nursing my broken heart," he replied. "For the first time since the divorce was finalized, I feel happy, and it's all because of you."
She smiled. "Anything for you, Shawn. That's what friends are for." Then she headed for her father's office with him watching silently after her...