Chapter 4

Hunter could hear Stephanie yelling from halfway down the hall. He stood momentarily in front of her office with his hand on the doorknob. She sounded pissed, if her screeching voice was any indication. He braced himself, saying a silent prayer, then stepped into hell (his wife's office) and closed the door quietly behind him.

"It's not MY FAULT!" Stephanie was yelling into the phone. "How the HELL was I supposed to know that he was going to do that? Don't fucking blame this on me, Daddy!"

Hunter leaned against the door and closed his eyes briefly. He felt bad that Stephanie was being forced to take the heat for his interference in Matt Hardy's favor. He felt even worse knowing that he would not be able to give her an explanation for his actions. He knew the reason, but Chyna had explicitly ordered him not to breathe a word about it to anyone, and he had to listen to the bitch or else Stephanie or Lita could be seriously hurt...and he couldn't allow that to happen.

"Fuck this!" Stephanie flipped her cell phone shut and slammed it on her desk. "I don't need this," she muttered, sitting down at her desk. She didn't notice him standing by the door. "Really fucking screwed up my night with that bullshit..."

"I've never heard you curse so much," Hunter observed quietly.

She looked up into his eyes and he thought, Damn, I've never seen her so mad, either!

"Why'd you do that?" she asked through clenched teeth, murdering him with her eyes.

"Do what?" he asked, trying to pretend that he had no clue what she was talking about.

"Don't play innocent with me, Hunter," she said angrily. "My dad is going fucking ballistic up in Connecticut. He just called here and chewed me out for that little stunt you pulled!"

"I'm sorry," he said softly.

"Sorry? You're sorry? Do you know how much trouble you would be in right now if you weren't married to me?" she asked. She went on when he was silent. "A whole shitload."

"I'm sorry, Stephanie," he said, hanging his head and looking at the floor. "But things happen for a reason."

"Then enlighten me please," she said. "Why'd you attack Edge and run off with Lita?"

"I can't tell you the reason. You just have to trust me on this," he said, walking over to her.

"Trust you? I do trust you. You're my husband," she emphasized. "But when you run off and do things that aren't in the script..." She sighed and shook her head. "I just don't know."

"Stephanie..." He pulled her to her feet and into his warm embrace. "Do you believe in me? Do you trust in our love?"

"Where is this coming from?" she asked, tilting her head up to look up into his eyes. He looks so lost and confused, she thought.

"Please, just tell me that you believe in us," he said in a desperate voice, touching her face. "Tell me you love me."

"I do love you, Hunter," she said, looking concerned but meaning the words. "I believe in us, I believe in our marriage, I believe in you. You're the king of my world."

"And you're my beautiful queen," he whispered, holding her face in his rough, strong hands. He kissed her softly, needing to feel her, to taste her, to breathe her. She was his everything... Lita was his past... And for some odd reason, he felt that he had to prove that to himself.

When he pulled back, she looked at him curiously. "Baby, what's going on?" she asked when she saw the tears in his eyes.

"Allergies," he said with a forced smile on his face. He quickly wiped his eyes, then let her go and walked over to the chair in the corner. He grabbed his DX shirt and got ready to leave.

"Where are you going?" she asked.

"I have to interfere in that match, remember?" he reminded her.

"Don't screw this one up," she said. He nodded as he headed for the door. "Oh yeah," she said. He turned around. "This package came for you."

"Thanks, baby," he said, walking back over to her. He leaned down and kissed her again, letting his lips linger on hers, then grabbed the package and left the room. Once outside the room, he ripped the package open. A slightly smaller DX shirt fell out with a note. He picked them both up. "Hunter, present this to Shawn after his match and raise his hand in victory... The old DX music will play and both of you will do the old 'suck it' routine...or else," he read aloud. He paused, swallowing hard, then kept reading. "Or Lita and your precious Stephanie will get it!"

He frowned, then crumpled the paper up and threw it on the ground. As he headed for the ring, he held the two DX shirts close to him, not wanting anyone to see exactly what type of shirts they were. He looked at a nearby monitor near the curtains and saw Chris Masters put Shawn in the Masterlock.

This was it.

Hunter pulled the DX shirt over his head. With one hand clutching the DX shirt intended for Shawn and the other hand clutching his trusty sledgehammer, he took a deep breath. Then he pushed through the curtains and ran full-speed down the ramp...

In front of Stephanie's office, Chris Jericho walked slowly by with his hands in his pockets, looking at the ground. He spotted a crumpled up piece of paper. He leaned down, picked it up, and opened it. "Hunter, present this to Shawn after his match and raise his hand in victory... The old DX music will play and both of you will do the old 'suck it' routine...or else," he read aloud. His eyes widened and his breath came in short little spurts when he read the end. "Or Lita and your precious Stephanie will get it!"

Chris reread the paper as his face went pale. "Who the hell wrote this?" he asked the empty hallway. He reread it again, then made a quick decision. "Me and Trips aren't exactly the best of buddies, but Lita's not so bad, and Stephanie... My Stephy, my princess-is in danger. I've got to find out what the hell is going on and fix it."

He folded the paper in half, then put it in his back pocket. He was going to have a little conversation with The Game as soon as he saw him again. With a look of pure determination on his face, he headed for his locker room to wait...

A/N: I have Chapter 5 written but I need to type it up. Yay me, I wrote three chapters today, and all because someone emailed me about this story yesterday. Oh, the inspiration... Look for me to upload Chapter 5 by tomorrow at the latest. Oh yeah, and please review!