A/N: I own no one.

Nursing His Broken Heart

Chapter 2

Shawn sat in his locker room with a small smile on his face. All of a sudden, it no longer mattered that his wife had divorced him. Of course, it was still hurting. Just not as intensely as it had before his little visit from Stephanie.

Stephanie, he thought with a smile. Stephanie always makes everything better... And I love her for it.

There was a knock on his door. He hoped it was Stephanie.

"Come in!" he called.

The door opened and Triple H walked into the locker room. (A/N: I will refer to Triple H as Hunter throughout most of the story).

"How are you, man?" Hunter asked in a voice filled with sympathy.

"I feel good," Shawn replied. "Better than I've felt in quite some time."

Hunter raised his eyebrows. "This isn't what I expected, obviously, but I'm glad you're no longer down in the dumps."

"I owe it all to one special little lady," Shawn said, closing his eyes and remembering the kiss he'd shared with Stephanie a few minutes before.

"There's a woman? Already?" Hunter asked. He sat down on the couch next to Shawn. "So who is she, you beast?"

"She's my little secret," Shawn said shortly. "I'm crazy about her."

"So soon after your divorce? Are you sure you're not just rushing into the first available relationship?" Hunter asked seriously.

"I'm positive. I've been loving this lady for a long time," Shawn answered. "If I close my eyes, I can remember every detail of her appearance... Her beautiful smile, her glowing eyes, her silky hair, her lips..."

Hunter sighed. "That's how I feel about Stephanie. I've loved her for so many years, maybe from the first time I ever laid eyes on her..."

Shawn got tense. He smiled a tight-lipped smile. "Speaking of Stephanie... How is she?"

"Don't you know?" Hunter asked.

"Why would I know?" Shawn asked nervously. "There's no reason that I would know."

"But she told me she was coming to see you," Hunter said, confused.

"Oh." Shawn paused. "She did."

"Then how come you're wondering how she's doing?" Hunter asked. He looked suspiciously at his friend, waiting for his reply.

"Oh," Shawn said again. Pause. "When she came to see me, she only asked how I was doing. I didn't get the chance to ask how she was because her dad called and she had to go..." His voice trailed off as he remembered how he'd been about to kiss her again when Vince had interrupted...

"Steph's doing great," Hunter said. "Lately she's been a little quiet, a bit withdrawn, kind of like she's distanced herself. But most of the time she's her usual beautiful self."

"She was really awesome today," Shawn said in a soft voice.

"She's always awesome," Hunter said in a dreamy voice. He stood up, running his fingers through his hair. "Listen, though, I'm about to head back over to her office and wait for her."

"Ok, buddy. Thanks for dropping by," Shawn said, standing up. "You're a real friend."

"We're boys, Shawn. Of course I'm going to be here for you. I love you, man," Hunter said, hugging him. "But totally in a non-gay way."

"I love you, too," Shawn said. "In that totally non-gay way."

Hunter laughed, punched him lightly. "Later, man." He headed for the door.

"Hey, Hunter," Shawn called.

"Yeah?"

I love your wife... "See you around."

"For sure."

And then Shawn was once again all alone.

What am I thinking? My best friend's wife, he thought. He closed his eyes and the first thing he saw was Stephanie's smile. The first thing he heard was her voice: "I want to be the one you confide in. I want to be the one who has a shoulder for you to lean on..."

And then he remembered something he'd said when she was about to leave: "Don't leave me... I need you."

"How true," he said aloud, shaking his head. "How true."