Hunter hadn't slept. At all. It was only 11 am and usually he'd still be in the middle of his morning session at the rehab center. However, he'd been sent home an hour ago as even his PT noticed how distracted he was.

Ever since Shawn called him in the early afternoon yesterday and hung up on him so abruptly, he'd been trying to get a hold of his friend – but to no avail. The landline went straight to his answering machine and his cell phone was turned off.

Shawn had sounded so out of it and just… lost. And he hated that there was nothing he could do about it.

He closed his eyes briefly and started rubbing his temples. He felt a headache coming. Leaning back against the headboard, Hunter sighed. He'd give it one more try and if Shawn still didn't answer, he'd call his parents. Maybe he was panicking, but what if Shawn did something stupid?

Another deep breath and he hit dial. "Please, Shawn, pick up."

Finally, a gruff voice answered, and never in his life had Hunter been more relieved. "Yeah?"

"Shawn, it's Hunter."

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the line, before Shawn responded, "Hey."

"Hey." Suddenly Hunter was at a loss for words. His eyes lingered on the crutches he'd leaned against the wall next to the door before he'd hobbled the rest of the way to the bed. In a few weeks' time, his knee would be fine and he would be back in the ring. Shawn wouldn't be. Ever.

Some noise in the hallway snapped him out of it and he cleared his throat. "I was worried about you."

"I know." And unusually quiet Shawn added, "I'm sorry."

It was a far cry from how he had sounded the day before, but somehow Hunter's heart broke even more for him. "Don't be. It's alright. Just… Are you okay?"

Again, it took Shawn a beat to answer, "No. But better than yesterday."

Hunter wished he wasn't on the other side of the country right now. "I could fly down there, you know? Just give me a few hours to…"

Shawn interrupted him. "No, Hunter, for once you gotta take care of yourself. Here? There's nothing you can fix."

He knew Shawn was right, but still. "I wish there was."

"Me too."

They were both quiet again. Hunter couldn't even begin to imagine what it must be like for Shawn. This whole year had been nothing but a nightmare and whenever he thought about this freak accident back in January at the Rumble, he couldn't help but be angry at the world for taking away what Shawn loved the most. He didn't deserve this.

Shawn sounded devastated when he continued, "Hunter? I'm scared. What if… What if the surgery won't even help the pain? What if this is all for nothing?"

"It won't be. If nothing else, you gotta trust in that." He desperately wanted Shawn to believe, to not give up the fight before it had even started. "And I promise I'll be with you for the procedure. You're not gonna be alone."

Tears pricked the corner of his eyes, and he could tell Shawn also got choked up. Maybe it wasn't appropriate, but screw that. He'd always been good at making Shawn laugh, even in his most sour moods. And if that was the only thing he could do from a distance…

"That's a threat, you know? You're gonna be sick by the very sight of me once you're better. I'll be taking full advantage of you being out of commission. There'll be endless teasing about how flattering that hospital gown's gonna look on ya. I'll be sitting next to your bed, eating your mom's chocolate chip cookies when you aren't allowed to have any yet. Hell, I might even make sure to get a VCR into your room and force you to watch a tape of Bob Holly's greatest matches. Granted, that one will be rather short, but…"

What started as a sob turned into a chuckle, "Fuck, Hunner, I might just beg the doctors to keep me sedated. Even though that video will probably already do the trick. Some buddy you are, kicking a man while he's down."

"I have no idea what you are talking about." He was grinning himself now.

"Sure you don't, Hunner. Sure ya don't," Shawn laughed.

They'd stayed on the phone for close to three hours. Hunter had managed to lift Shawn's spirits a bit and eventually Shawn was even in the right state of mind to tell him more about what the doctors were planning to do. They were optimistic that the surgery would improve his quality of life immensely again, which was the main goal. Shawn had admitted to him that currently he could barely get out of bed without taking medication for his back. He may not like it, but deep down he knew it was for the best. And Hunter tried to make him see that if he got better, they could always stick their heads together and figure out how to get him back on TV, involve him in storylines again. It wasn't the same as being inside the ring, but he made sure to remind Shawn what a great mind for the business he had and that there was so much more he could do than simply bounce around between the ropes.

When they said goodbye, he had the impression that he'd gotten through to Shawn. That maybe it would all turn out alright after all. He just hoped he wasn't wrong.