For weeks, Stephanie obsessed over coming up with a plan to destroy Mark and Brandy's relationship. She had desperately wanted him for what felt like an eternity, and was tired of waiting. Stephanie McMahon ALWAYS got what she wanted, one way or another. She knew she could make it happen, it was simply a matter of figuring out how to make it happen…

) ) ) )

"Do you have it?" Stephanie asked Paul as soon as he entered the room she was in.

"Well hello to you too," he stated dryly, making her roll her eyes.

"Hi Paul, do you have what I want or not?"

"I think it should be obvious by now I've got what you want," he commented in a smug tone, making her groan inwardly.

"Just answer my damn question."

"You're so goddamn bossy, you know it? YES, I have the tape," he replied, and held it up. However, as soon as she reached for it he pulled it away. "Uh-uh, I want a thank you."

She gave a heavy sigh. "Thank you for bringing me it. Now may I PLEASE have the tape?"

He gave a cocky grin. "I think you can give a better thank you than that," he commented, and reached down to work at his belt. "On your knees."

Despite wanting to slap him, Stephanie reluctantly sank down to her knees before him, and noted to herself this plan better work, and it better be worth all her trouble.

) ) ) )

Mark grinned at Brandy's squeal of laughter, and continued to nuzzle his beard against her neck to hear more of her giggles. "Quit it, you shithead," she laughed, squirming against him to get away.

"You know you're not going anywhere," he boasted, keeping a tight grip on her, and when she began to struggle harder he finally pulled away to end his teasing. "Quit being so damn cute when you laugh, and I wouldn't try so hard to make you do so." Despite rolling her eyes, she still gave a smirk at his words.

"I need to get going for my meeting with Vince."

"Is it really that time already?" He asked, and looked at his watch. "Damn, I guess I won't be able to see you until after my match."

"I thought we had more time?"

"No, I have one of the earlier matches tonight."

She gave a small pout. "Well I hope you have a good match. Please be safe."

He gave a small smile, and leaned down to kiss her. "Always," he reassured her, and tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. "I'll walk you to him," he added, and taking her hand in his walked her to the room which currently doubled as Vince's office, failing to see the person who slipped into his locker room behind them...

When he finally stepped back into his locker room, Mark frowned when he found a blank tape sitting next to his wrestling gear on the table. Walking over to it, he picked it up, and saw attached to it was a note which read:

'I know this is not how you should (or would want) to find this out, but I could not in good conscience know about this and not make sure you knew. I'm so sorry.'

Confused by all of this, he took the tape from the sleeve it was in and carried it over to the television tucked in the corner of the room. Putting it into the VCR, he turned everything on and was taken back by the sight of two adults being intimate in a bed greeting him. His frown setting in even more, he watched in silence, and was taken back by the sound of the guy moaning Brandy's name. As he looked closer, he could see a distinct tattoo on the guy's arm, and began to grow angry when he noted to himself it was the same exact one Henry had. He could hear a small whisper of the name 'Henry', when suddenly they rolled over, and he could now see the back of a brunette's head as she continued to move on the guy. As soon as he saw the small tattoo on the back of her shoulder, the exact one Brandy had, he immediately saw red, and yanked the tape out of the VCR before shoving the television off of the stand it had been on. Tossing the tape onto the table he stormed out of the room, unsure of where he would go but knowing he needed to get out of that room.

Stephanie had just looked down at her cell phone to check the text message she had received, when there was suddenly a loud commotion of things falling to the ground. When she looked up, she saw Mark walking towards her, a furious look on his face as he continued to knock stuff over as he made his way down the hall. "Taker?"

"Not now," he snapped, his gaze staying straight ahead.

"Hey, hey, stop," she said in a calm voice, and gently reached for his arm as he walked by her.

"I said not now," he yelled, yanking out of her hold, and as soon as he finally looked at her his face softened a bit. "Sorry, Steph, I just..."

"Want to talk?"

He hesitated, before shaking his head as he said that one sentence he never thought would have to come from his mouth. "Brandy is cheating on me."

A look of shock came to Stephanie's face. "What? Why do you think that? Did someone tell you that?"

"No...apparently she decided to film herself fucking the new guy who was supposed to just be a friend, and someone sent it to me. So I don't think it. I know it."

"Wait, what? You actually saw them...?"

"Not in person, but yes I did. He's lucky it wasn't in person, because I would have legitimately killed him."

"Taker," Stephanie said quietly, and reached out for him again, only this time when she touched his arm he did not pull away. "I am so sorry."

"Yeah, me too," he muttered, and as his gaze went to the floor he shook his head again. "I'm so fucking stupid for ever taking her back."

"Stop it, you're not. From the what little bit you've told me, it sounds like whatever the situation was you two were put in was pretty serious, and that she never actually wanted to leave you. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like that is the case this time." He winced inwardly at her words. When one of the stage hands called out to him from down the hall to let him know he had five minutes before his match, she added, "Try to get some of that anger out in the ring so you can think more rationally after the match, okay? Just don't kill the guy."

She managed to get the tiniest smirk from him. "Thanks Steph," he replied, and gave her shoulder a light squeeze before walking back in the direction he had came from. She knew she should feel bad by how badly he was hurting, but all she could think was about the fact her plan was so far going exactly how she wanted it to."

) ) ) )

"Taker, you seriously need to go to the hospital," Stephanie protested as she followed him down the hall.

"Not until I talk to Brandy," he insisted, not once stopping his quick pace.

Just as he rounded a corner, the two of them were greeted to the site of Brandy running towards him. "Mark, oh my god are you okay?" she asked as soon as she saw him, and as she reached out to him she started to add, "I saw that last landing, you-"

"Don't fucking touch me," he snapped, making her immediately stop in her tracks and give him a look of confusion.

"Why are you so angry with me?"

"Don't play dumb with me, Brandy. Did you really think I wouldn't find out? Do you really think I'm that fucking clueless?"

"Mark, seriously, what are you talking about?" His anger blurring his conscience, he grabbed her arm and pulled her into the dressing room he had been using. "Holy shit, did you do this?"

"Want to explain this to me?" Mark asked as he picked up the tape still sitting on the table.

Brandy frowned as she looked at it, and then back up at him. "I have no idea what that is. What's on it?"

"You're telling me you don't remember making this cute little homemade video with your 'friend'?"

"What video? What is it? I seriously have no idea what the hell you are talking about."

"Taker, calm down," Stephanie said quietly, knowing with his head injury this was only making it worse. Her eyes grew wide when he suddenly grabbed the collar of Brandy's shirt. "Taker!"

"Mark, please," Brandy begged, a look of pure terror on her face.

Before anything else could be said, Henry suddenly stuck his head in the door. "I'm so sorry, am I-" he started to ask, and stopped when he saw Mark grabbing Brandy's shirt. "What the fuck is going on?"

Looking over, he let her go and made his way towards Henry. "YOU. YOU are what's going on. 'Just friends', huh? That was apparently a load of horseshit statement."

It started to click with Brandy why he was so upset. "Do you think we did something together?" Looking over at her, Mark remained silent but his facial expression gave her his answer. "Mark, why do you think I cheated on you with him? I've never even been in a room alone with him."

Mark went to yell something, when suddenly his head began to spin and his vision became spotty. "Taker, seriously, you need to get to the hospital," Stephanie insisted, and reached for his bag. Looking at Brandy, she added, "It might be best if you didn't come along, you're just making it worse."

Not able to find words, Brandy watched as he grabbed something from the table. "Here's the video you made and let someone else find. Now get the fuck away from me, both of you," he snarled, throwing the tape at her, and forcing himself to lean into Stephanie he allowed her to help him out of the locker room.

Brandy flinched when it fell at her feet, and still speechless she stood in silence as he walked away from her. Finally, she knelt down and with shaky hands picked up what he had thrown at her. When she stood back up, she looked at Henry. "What the hell was that about?" he asked, equally as confused as she was.

"I...I don't..." she tried to say as tears filled her eyes, but her words died off. "What did I do, Henry?"

His heart hurt for her when he heard her voice crack with emotion, and walked over to her. "Hey, you didn't do anything, okay? You did nothing wrong," he reassured her, placing a hand on her shoulder, and looking down took the tape from her. "What the fuck is this, anyway?"

"I don't know, but apparently it's what made him so angry," she replied, and watched him as he went to pick back up the fallen television. Surprisingly, it still turned on, so curious they decided to see just what was on this controversial tape. Both of them were brought back at the site of two people in bed together, and it was Henry first who noticed what had caught Mark's attention. "Wait, what the fuck, that looks like my arm tattoo...and that looks like YOUR shoulder tattoo. How in the hell...?"

Brandy looked closer, and her mouth fell open when she saw it as well. "No...how...what is happening? That...that isn't me."

"I know, and that isn't me, either," Henry stated. "I'm angry, confused and worried all at the same time. I don't know what this is, who made it or why they made it but it's pretty messed up. I don't even know what to do at this point."

"I need out of here," Brandy commented, panic beginning to rise up from the pit of her stomach into her throat, and was suddenly making her way out of the room.

"Hey, wait up," Henry called out to her as he followed after her, surprised by the speed she was getting from her short little legs.

Rounding a corner, she found Glenn and Kevin walking her way, and soon as they saw Brandy and could sense how upset she was, they immediately walked quicker toward her.. "Hey, what's wrong?" Glenn asked as they stopped in front of each other, a concerned look on his face as he placed a hand on her shoulder.

"I..." she started to say, but was unable to even know where to start.

Kevin looked at Henry. "What did you do to her?" he asked, quickly growing defensive over her.

"No, no, it's not him," she quickly reassured the two other men. "I just...someone..."

"Someone made it look like we made some kind of sex tape together," Henry explained for her. "And Mark saw it."

"What?" Glenn asked, perplexed by what he was just told. "I don't understand. That makes no sense."

"Just follow me," she said, turning back around, and together the four of them headed back into the dressing room Mark had trashed. Stepping over to the television, Brandy restarted the tape, and both men were shocked by the site on the screen as soon as they realized what they were watching. "Jesus," Glenn muttered, rubbing the back of his neck. "That's pretty convincing if it's not you two."

"It's not me," Brandy said as she began to cry. "It's not me, Glenn, it's not me. You've got to believe me."

Glenn quickly pulled her to him. "It's okay, I believe you. I believe you," he reassured her, softly rubbing her back. "I just don't get how they were able to do this. Honestly, this is a pretty big mindfuck."

"You're telling me," she muttered. "What do I do, you guys?"

"We'll figure something out, Brandy. Don't worry," Kevin reassured her, and pulled her to him for a hug. "Let's grab up your things, and we'll all to grab something to eat and try to talk this thing over." Glancing over at Henry, he added, "We all four can, if that's what you want."

"Maybe I shouldn't," Henry commented quietly, the guilt on his face and in his voice evident.

Brandy grabbed his hand. "Please," she said in a small voice. "You were there for me when I was going through my chapter in life with Tom. I need you here for me now, too."

Henry could not help but to give a small smile at her words. "I think the little lady wants you to join us," Kevin piped up, making Henry chuckle.

"Alright, you twisted my arm hard enough," he gave in, and with Brandy still holding onto his arm the four of them headed towards the exit to try and find a place to help clear their minds from the whirlwind which had just struck them all.

) ) ) )

"Hey you," Stephanie said as she peeked her head in the hospital room, the site of her earning a smile from Mark.

"Hey, come in."

Once she was in the room, she asked as she sat next to the bed, "How are you feeling?"

"Fantastic," he muttered dryly, and she could not help but to grin.

"What's the verdict? Anything serious?"

"A pretty nasty concussion, but that's it, so I guess it could have been worse." She simply nodded. "Steph, I'm sorry you saw that earlier. I just...in that moment..."

"It's okay, I get it. You don't have to explain yourself to me."

"I'm so fucking stupid."

"No, Mark, she is the stupid one." He looked at her with a surprised expression, taken back by both her comment and her use of his real name. Yelling at herself to keep going, she added, "You don't deserve what you're going through. You're such an incredible person, and you deserve someone who can see that. Clearly, Brandy does not see that...but I do. I've seen it since the first day I met you."

"I'm...not sure what to say to that," he admitted, part of him unsure if this was actually happening.

She hesitated, before saying, "Say you'll give me a chance...you'll give us a chance. I don't just want you as a friend...I want you as my partner. I want to experience life with you." When he remained silent, she added in a voice which was barely a whisper, "Please say you want the same."

As he continued to look at her in stunned silence, she took his lack of response as rejection, and when he saw her eyes begin to shine with emotion as she went to stand up he gently grasped her hand. Looking back at him, they simply stared at each other for a moment, when he gently pulled her closer. Her breath caught in her throat as the space between them grew smaller, when suddenly his lips were on hers, the contact making her give a quiet gasp. "Why didn't you say something sooner, Steph?" he asked when he pulled back.

She gave a shy shrug. "I guess I thought you would catch on, and make the first move. I've been too shy to say anything."

Giving a small smirk, he pulled her back to him for another kiss. "Well I'm glad you finally did," he replied, and as they again kissed Stephanie smugly thought to herself she once again got what she wanted.

) ) ) )

"Just talk to him. Now that he's cooled down, you know he will think more rationally," Glenn encouraged as they rode up the elevator to the floor all of them were staying on. Not saying anything, Brandy simply nodded as she looked at the floor.

Gently, Kevin had her look up at him, and added, "You're not alone, okay? You've got us all right here if he is still being an asshole."

She could not help but to smirk at his comment, and as the elevator doors opened she took a deep breath before stepping out into the hallway. She watched the three men as they walked down the hallway, before turning to walk in the opposite direction. Walking down the long corridor, she went through in her head how their conversation would go, and what exactly she wanted to say to him. As she rounded the corner, her heart leaped into her throat. She went to continue walking forward, when she found her feet stuck in place, and her heart began to race when she could see what was distinctly Mark's back in front of what was one of the hotel rooms. She watched as he stood there, frowning when he started motioning with his hands, and when he moved slightly she could see he was talking to someone. Still unable to move, she continued to watch him, and frowned once more when he bent down. When he straightened back up, there was a squeal, and her eyes grew wide when she suddenly saw he had lifted up a woman. Tears filled her eyes as she watched them kiss while he walked them down to one of the other rooms, and once they disappeared into the other hotel room she officially broke down. Covering her mouth to try and muffle her cries, she quickly walked back towards where the other three were staying, not even considering the fact she had no idea which rooms they occupied. Luckily, Kevin stepped out of his room just as she approached them.

"Brandy, what is it?" he asked, walking quicker towards her, and was shocked when she suddenly collapsed onto the floor. Quickly, he knelt next to her. "Hey, it's okay, breathe. Breathe," he coached her when she got to the point of crying so hard she was no longer inhaling air. Unsure of what to do, he pulled her tight to his chest, softly shushing her as he squeezed her close. After a moment, he noted to himself she should have her privacy during a clearly very emotional moment, and scooping her up he brought her into his room. "Hey, look at me," he gently demanded as he placed her on the bed, and when she did not do so he softly forced her to look up as he repeated, "Brandy, look at me." When she kept her gaze on his, he added, "Take deep breaths. Do what I do."

It took her a while, but she finally managed to match his steady breathing, until finally she was quiet. "Thank you," she said quietly, her body still shaking as she tried to fully calm herself down.

"Do you want a water?" When she nodded, he walked over to the mini fridge, and grabbed one of the bottled waters provided to bring to her. "You okay?" Brandy shook her head. "What happened?"

She hesitated, before stating, "I saw Mark...he..."

"Did you talk to him?" She shook her head. "Why?"

"He...there was..."

"What? He what?"

"He was with a girl," she finally blurted out, her chin quivering at the sound of those words leaving her mouth.

A look of shock came to Kevin's face. "I'm sorry, what?"

"I saw it, Kevin. I saw him kiss her. I saw him go into another room with her." Looking back down, she added quietly, "I lost him."

"Hey, listen to me," Kevin said as he had her look back up at him. "We both know Mark is hot headed, and acts irrationally when he is angry. Obviously, he still isn't going to listen to anything anyone says right now, so just let him continue to cool off overnight. You can stay in here tonight if you want, and tomorrow we will go with you to talk to him."

Suddenly drained of all energy, she simply nodded. "Where's Glenn?"

"He went down to the bar with Henry for a few drinks. Want to go down there with them? A drink might help you feel better."

"That actually does sound kind of nice," she replied, and as the two of them exited the hotel room she asked herself what she did to keep having life shit on her like it did.