CHAPTER 10: Finding Out…

The McMahon family was patiently waiting in the hospital for any updates regarding Stephanie. It has been half an hour since she was rushed here after she collapsed for reasons they weren't aware of. Declan and Kenyon stayed with Randy and John, until Shane and Rissa would be back that night.

Moreso, they were here for another reason. After falling of a 20-foot cell, Shawn was also sent straight into this hospital. Rebecca was here too, and she was a nervous wreck. Shawn had assured her that he would be fine, and that Paul would look after him. But it was Paul who actually caused this to happen. No, she was not blaming anyone; she knew it was an accident. It was just that…

Linda and Marissa tried their best to comfort Becca. Being wives of superstars themselves, they surely understood clearly how she was feeling at that very moment. Fortunately, the doctor assigned to him came out with good news.

"Mrs. Hickenbottom, your husband's in a good condition now. He's already fine… just suffered a few bruises in his body and a concussion. But he is now conscious. He just needs a lot of rest. He definitely can't work tomorrow. He'll be brought to a room upstairs soon, so he could accommodate more visitors. I just need you to tell me immediately once he awakens, so that I may give him his medicines and make another observation."

After thanking the doctor, Rebecca excused herself and proceeded upstairs to wait for Shawn. The McMahons promised they would drop by to visit later, once they've gotten an update on Steph.

On the other hand, the guys were anxious to hear what was up with Stephanie. And if nobody would come out in five minutes, Paul was going to make somebody tell him what's happening. It had been killing him that he, considering that he was Stephanie's husband, had no idea on what has been up with her all day.

"She isn't pregnant again, is she?" Paul asked into the air.

Looking at each other, Linda and Rissa replied simultaneously, "No."

And Linda added: "You would wish she was though instead."

"What? Do you happen to know what's wrong with Steph?"

Linda looked at Marissa once again, as if asking for assistance and assurance that what she was about to do was right.

When she was about to speak, a doctor suddenly came out.

"Mr. Levesque?"

Standing up at once, Paul was quick to reply. "Yeah, that's me! What's happened? What's wrong with my wife? What's going on with her?" He was definitely in a state of panic. And as much as the McMahons were equally worried about Steph, they decided that it was Paul who had the most "right" to know about her. They were just there for back up and support.

"Calm down, sir. Your wife's fine… at the moment."

"What do you mean 'at the moment'? Could you just fuckin' tell me what's going on?" Paul was now a bit too aggressive. But he couldn't help it. He wanted to see Steph as soon as possible and make sure she's okay.

"She collapsed because of a lot of reasons, giving emphasis on stress and lack of energy. It seems that she hasn't taken anything today except maybe about twenty-five cups of coffee. Work is another thing. I know who you are, who she is and what she's doing. It seems that she's been overworking herself. Now, over work and under eating would not help her in any way, especially in her condition. If she wants to get well soon, and continue living especially for your daughter, then she has to take care of herself."

"Condition? What 'condition'? What exactly is her condition? And 'get well soon'? And did I hear you right when you said 'continue living for our daughter'? Why won't she be able to live for our daughter? What in the hell is going on!" He was now in a state of panic… extreme panic.

"You mean you don't know about your wife's condition?"

"What condition!" One can bet that he was getting more and more frustrated each time and he wanted to be given an answer now!

"Uh… doctor… it's okay. Just leave this with us… thanks for giving us an update." Linda decided that it would be better that if the news just came from one of them rather than from someone else like the doctor.

"Okay Mrs. McMahon. We'll have Stephanie transferred to a private room, where she could be more comfortable. She'll be kept under observation for the next 48 hours. But please, I request that there be as less visitors as possible. If it would be okay, only one person would stay here to spend the nights and watch over her. Now if you'll excuse me…"

"Lin, what in the hell is going on!" Like Paul, Vince, too was dying to know what all of the three girls have been keeping from them.

"Uhm, I think you should sit down for this."

Getting straight into Linda's face, Paul screamed: "I don't need or want to sit down! Could you just tell me what's with Steph and get over this shit already!"

"Hey, man! Come on! Just have a seat. You need to calm down… being hot headed and aggressive won't help matters. And I don't think Steph would like it that you're screaming at her mom!" Shane, who was equally as worried and confused, was seemed to be able to keep his cool the most, although he was still a little mad that his wife (and mother) has been keeping something from him. He assisted and somehow pushed Paul into the chair were he previously sat and occupied the one next to it. It was an easier job than what people might actually think. Paul no longer fought back; it was as if he had lost all of his energy because of that day's events. Vince sat on his other side.

"Okay… uhm… here's the thing… Stephanie… is in there, because…" Linda began but could no longer continue. Sensing that her mother-in-law was slowly becoming an emotional wreck as well, Marissa took the 'privilege' and continued.

"Steph's… Steph's ss-ss-sick. I asked her to go see a doctor yesterday… because she has been complaining of abdominal pain for weeks. We decided that it would be a girl's day out yesterday after the check-up, so I went with her. But we no longer went out… after we found out… that… that… she… was… sick… and… she… had… c-c-cancer… of the… ovary… and… and… and she… she may… no longer… have kids."

"What?" Paul could no longer count how many times he has said that expression for the day. It seemed that life was playing a cruel joke on him, and he no longer found it funny. Did he just hear Rissa right? Steph, his wife and the mother of his kid, had ovarian cancer? And that they could no longer have kids?

"Noooo waaaaayy! Tell me you're kidding… tell me this is just one big joke. And if it is, stop it. It's not funny." But as he kept saying that, more and more, it only became clearer to him that this was real, and that he can't run away from it.

A lot of thoughts were running in his mind. He had always wanted to have a family of his own, and many cute little kids. It's not that Steph and Aurora weren't enough; it was just that he had always wanted to have a little Paul running around, to whom he could share a special male bonding that only a father and a son could have. But more than that, the thought of the love of his life being a victim of that no-good fucking shit they call cancer, he couldn't take that. He can't take seeing Stephanie suffer, being in pain, having a hard time. And cancer was no joke. That could mean him losing her, at any minute. And with her gone, he no longer had a purpose in life. He couldn't continue living if something happened to her.

Finally, as he could no longer hold his emotions anymore, the man known to the world as the cunning, conniving, relentless "Cerebral Assassin" Triple H, broke down.

Vince, the man whom he had considered to be more than his employer, but already a father, even before he married his daughter, enveloped him into a hug.

Seconds later, the McMahons shared a family hug, with Linda and Marissa also in tears, which got its fair share of glances from the people in the hospital. But they no longer cared what anyone thought. They never had, anyway. Screw everyone else. In times like this, they had to be together, for each other. They would stick by each other, and provide one another with strength and support that only family could give. They had to comfort each other, and as a unit, believing that everything would be fine. They would get through this storm, together. They would win this battle. And it didn't matter whether people liked it or not.

Now that Paul, Vince and Shane finally know what's going on, how would things go?