Alright, ladies and gents, I'm back with another chapter of To Be Loved! First off, I'd like to thank my reviewers and readers for sticking with me for so long...We're truly nearing the end. I counted, and To Be Loved is going to have 50 chapters...I can't believe a little idea in my head has gone on for so long! At any rate, you all have been great, and I really appreciate it (whoa...rhyming!).

That being said, when this is over, I'll have plenty of one-shots and two-shots to post, with a "Halloween Special" currently in the works. I seriously got bitten right in the ass by a plot bunny in the middle of one of my philosophy classes! But most of them are related to "To Be Loved," so I have to finish this first before I can post them. After all, I don't want to give anything away... (grin)

Anyway, enough of my rambling...let's see how this story goes!

In the beginning, there was darkness.

Then, there was a faint buzzing in his head, nothing more, nothing less. However, the buzzing quickly changed into a painful pounding sensation that forced him to emerge from the comforting darkness of oblivion. Slowly, he became aware of himself, of his being, of his body.

And his body was hurting like hell.

"Ow, dammit," the Undertaker muttered, surprised at weakness of his voice as it echoed in the silence. Eventually, he opened his eyes, surprised yet again to see only white and light all around him. "What the hell…?" He started to sit up, but felt pain shoot through his ribs.

With the pain, his memory returned. And, from that return, he figured out where he was…and why.

For a long moment, Mark was completely and utterly crushed. Somehow, he had lost to Helmsley. He lost Shawn. It was over.

Never had he felt the urge to cry so strongly, but he kept his emotions in check as his rational mind spoke to him.

'There's no way I could have lost…I choked that son of a bitch out…So why am I here?' 'Taker turned his head, wincing as a bolt of pain blurred his vision. He sat in complete silence, staring up at the ceiling for several long minutes, trying to figure everything out, trying to suppress the feeling of being crushed under sorrow. However, his thoughts were interrupted by the sound of his door opening. For a half-second, he felt his heart beat strongly, thinking that it would be Shawn…

But no, it was just Glen.

"I hope you're fucking proud, Big Brother. I hope you're really fucking proud." The younger man snarled with disgust. "At least you're awake now."

"Shut up," 'Taker said, turning away from Kane. "I'm not in the mood."

The Big Red Machine crossed his arms. "Oh really? So you don't want to know what the hell happened after Shawn found your and Triple H's sorry asses?"

The Undertaker's green eyes widened and he looked at Kane. "Shawn found us?" he asked, alarm lacing his voice. That was the very last thing he had wanted to happen, and although the thought crossed his mind, he figured that there was no way that Shawn would finish his match in time to actually witness the fight…

"Yes, Shawn found you. Apparently he came in at the end of your ill-planned match against Triple H." Kane frowned. "I tried to stop him…I've never seen Shawn cry so much… Ever. He thought you were dead, Mark. He thought that the two people he loved most in this world were dead." And now Kane's mismatched eyes closed as he passed a hand over his face. "Dammit, even I thought you were dead. There was so much blood…"

"Why didn't you stop us? Or at least, stop him?"

"Why didn't you stop yourself?!"

'Taker felt a wave of guilt pass over him, and with it, the crushing sorrow again. "It had to be done," he said in a low voice, although it sounded pathetic even to his ears.

"Yeah, well, good luck telling that to Shawn, because he hasn't come to see you once since you were admitted--"

"How long ago?"

"You and Paul were brought in about 2 days ago. You've been out since then."

"Triple H is here too?" Mark interrupted, this time sitting up successfully, although the pain was still there. "So…he didn't win?"

Glen shook his head. "No, he didn't win. And neither did you." He sighed. "Mark, you know I'm not one to feel a lot of sympathy for others, but Shawn was heart broken. I think you both lost this one, Big Brother, and there's not much I can do about it." He turned away and walked out of the room.

The Undertaker sat there, in silence again, processing what Kane had told him. Suddenly, his fight with Triple H seemed like the worst idea he'd ever had. All that, and for what result? Nothing. He looked over at the calendar. Two days had passed.

And the only image he had in his mind now was of Shawn, alone, crying.

Hunter was likewise sitting in a hospital bed, head bowed, as Kevin Nash stared at him from across the room. Kevin had given the Game a full recap of the story, barely keeping himself from strangling the smaller man. When he had finished, Hunter merely sat there, staring down at his folded hands.

"Where's Shawn?" Triple H asked after several long minutes. "Can I see him?"

Kevin shook his head. "I don't think he wants to see you, Hunt," he said in a voice laced with condemnation. "He was pretty broken up over it all."

Hunter sighed. "If only I could explain it all to him--"

"Explain what?!" Kevin asked angrily. "There's nothing to explain, Hunter. You and 'Taker broke your promise to Shawn, and broke his heart." He shook his head again. "How could you treat him like that, man? He loves you both--"

"That why I had to do it! Because he loves us both!" Triple H put his head in his hands. "God, I really fucked up this time, didn't I?"

Diesel nodded. "Yeah, Hunt, you really did." He walked over to the Game's bed, and the smaller man flinched away from him. "Calm down, I'm not gonna hurt you. You got pretty banged up already." He sat down in a chair near the bed. "I was worried about you, Chico. 'Taker fucked you up bad. It was pure luck that you're still alive, although you did do a number on him too."

Hunter forced a smile, but it felt fake and weak. "I guess that's some comfort then, huh? At least he didn't win."

"You're being a jackass," Kevin said bluntly. "Don't you see that it doesn't matter? You hurt 'Taker, he hurts you, but the one who ends up truly hurt is Shawn. I can't believe you don't understand that, even after loving him for so long. How would you feel if Shawn and I suddenly were at each other's throats? Wouldn't it break your heart? And what if we tried to force you to choose sides?" Big Daddy Cool smiled bitterly. "Wow, this is sounding familiar, isn't it?"

Triple H didn't miss the subtle condemnation, and it hit him hard. "I'm sorry, Kev," he said softly.

"I'm not the one you should be apologizing to. And in all honesty, if Shawn doesn't accept your apology, I'll be behind him 100." Kevin stood up to leave, walking slowly towards the door. "This may have been the final straw, Hunt."

Hunter watched his long-time friend walk out the door, his own eyes filling with tears. "Shawn, I'm so sorry," he whispered as though in prayer. "Please forgive me one more time…"

The Undertaker was released from the hospital after about a week. He had healed astonishingly quickly, although he wasn't yet cleared to wrestle. Upon his release, he went to his own home and did not leave. Although his heart ached to see Shawn, he didn't know if he had the heart to face the inevitable condemnation, and very-probable rejection.

Hunter was in for another five days after 'Taker, and he wasn't cleared to compete either. When released, he also went home, still a bit battered, but able to take care of himself. He had tried calling Shawn several times, but had only gotten his voicemail. He dared not call Kevin, or anyone else who would have seen Shawn. The thought of facing any of them at this point was terrifying. No doubt, the whole locker room knew by now what had happened.

Which was why, when he received a message on his answering machine from Vince asking him to come to his office, he felt fear twist in him like a coil.

Feeling dread in his stomach, Hunter made the long walk to Vince's office the day after he received the call. He knew that he was in trouble for fighting with the Undertaker, but something about Vince's tone made him feel sick. Something much more than a suspension was coming his way, he just knew it.

'Would Vince fire me?' he wondered absently. 'No…I'm one of his top stars…but that won't stop him from making my life a living hell…'

His ill-feeling was confirmed when he opened the door to Vince's office and saw the Undertaker standing there, not once looking his way, staring at the wall, it seemed. Vince was standing behind his desk, looking pissed as Triple H had ever seen him, and that was saying something.

"Now, I don't know what the hell you two were thinking," Mr. McMahon began, crossing his arms. "But what you did was unacceptable. If you have personal problems, settle it somewhere else, and for God's sake, don't nearly kill one another while doing it! At least not on my property!"

'Taker sighed. "Vince, it's more complicated that you know," he said with a shake of his head, voice low, still not looking at either man in the room. "You wouldn't get it even if we explained it to you."

"You don't have to." And now Vince's eyes flashed for an instant. "Shawn already explained all of it to me."

"Yeah, so where is he?" Hunter asked, looking around. As much as he dreaded facing Shawn, he wanted so badly to see him that he'd gladly risk harm to see the beautiful blonde. "Is he at the hotel or something? Shouldn't he be here too?"

The Undertaker finally turned his gaze towards Vince, eyes reflecting the same question.

Vince's angry expression suddenly changed, and both the Undertaker and Triple H felt their hearts stop. McMahon's face became a mirror of…concern. Concern, and worry, and maybe even sadness.

Something was wrong.

"Vince…Where is he?" Hunter asked again, voice little more than a whisper.

"I don't know," Vince said simply, eyes closing. "I haven't seen him since you two were admitted into the hospital."

Shawn's gone missing... Where could he be?

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