As soon as Mark heard those words from Rose's lips, he became speechless. The EMT's finally arrived with a stretcher to get him out of the ring.
"Rose..." he choked as the ceiling drifted by. Rose ran to the stretcher and grabbed his hand.
"Rose, i... i lo-" a spurt of blood shocked its way up his throat and Mark brought it up. The movement sent more spikes of pain up Mark's spine. He grimaced and looked into her frightened eyes.
"I love you" he forced out though his gargling throat. Then, he passed out.
Hours later,in hospital, Rose was still rolling the words around in her mind. She remembered the exhilaration of hearing him admit it, despite the pain of knowing he was hurt.
"Rose?" said a voice. She looked at the doctor who had appeared near her seat.
"How is he?" she asked nervously. She stood up as the doctor cleared his throat and looked at her with sympathy in his eyes.
"There's a lot of internal bleeding," the doctor said uneasily. "We've managed to stop it...but he's very weak." Rose gasped with tight breathing. She was so relieved she almost laughed.
"Weak, huh? Well it's obvious you don't know him very well," Rose said. The doctor looked at the floor. His drama had backfired. Rose composed herself. "Can I see him?"
The doctor nodded meekly. Rose brushed past him into the room. She guessed he didn't take losing very well.
As she entered the room, she saw Mark lying in the hospital bed. She walked up to his side and after a few moments, his eyes flickered open.
"Hey squirt, why so glum? Is someone dying?" Mark said, his voice stronger than it had been after the attack.
"The doctor was acting like you were," Rose smiled softly. Mark managed a small laugh."Don't worry about me, I'm fine."
Mark shuffled a little bit to get more comfortable. "But look at you," he croaked. "Women's Champ, you're on top of your game."
"Does that mean you don't want me to quit anymore?"
Mark smiled, his eyes closed. "Maybe."
"So you don't mind me being in the WWE?" Rose pushed. "No," Mark replied, still breathing a little heavily because of the dull, throbbing pain in his stomach and back. Rose felt like a huge burden had been lifted off her shoulders.
"But you're gonna be a lot more busy now you're a champion," Mark said wisely. "That belt isn't just a prize, it's a target. A huge bullseye on your waist." He looked at the title that Rose was still wearing. She hadn't even taken it off on her way to the hospital.She tenatively placed a hand on it. She hadn't thought of that.
"I guess I'd better step up my training, be ready for all that extra attention," Rose said thoughtfully. She looked back at him. "How long do you have to stay in hospital?"
"At least another week," Mark said, boredom seeping out in his voice. Rose took his hand and comforted him.
"You'll be out of here in half that time if I know you," she said. Mark laughed. "I'll be fine, you just concentrate on that title of yours. Don't worry about me."
Rose frowned for a second but she didn't say anything. She felt oddly like he was asking her to focus on herself and no one else. Mark squeezed her hand.
"You better get out before the nurse arrives. I'll be out in a week, don't worry."
Rose left Mark to get some rest, thinking about how she could keep the title but still share the ring with him.
She was so busy with her new regime that she didn't notice someone had been spying on their whole conversation. As she headed out of the hospital, Triple H looked on, with a scheming look on his face. He allowed himself a small laugh as he made his way back to tha parking lot.
Such a good opportunity...couldnt go to waste.