Author's Notes: Some things in this chapter may overlap the original ending. I'm treating this as if the last two original chapters don't exist. Part of the story doesn't change either way. Also, the epilogue is still cheesy, but not half as cheesy as the first one.

Chapter XXIX (A): Comfort from the Least Likely of People

Stephanie left Kevin behind in a rush as she stepped out of the elevator on Therese's floor. Not bothering to knock on the door, she shoved it open to find the other woman asleep in the bed. She hardly looked like she was battling for her life, so Stephanie debated on whether she should wake her up or ask a nurse about her condition. Instead, she turned to set her purse on one of the shelves in the room and shrug out of her designer rain slicker.

Stephanie's debate was over when she turned back around to see Therese's eyes focused on Kevin, who was now at her bedside. The blonde heavily blinked and whispered his name. Every bit of anger he had about her lying to him faded and he ran his palm across her cheek. "Everything's okay now," he softly said and kissed her forehead.

Therese attempted to turn her head to see Stephanie but she was too disoriented from the aftereffects of the anesthesia. The brunette shifted around the bed and laid a hand on Therese's arm. "You're okay," Therese croaked out.

"Kevin took care of me. It's all over now," she replied and squeezed the other woman's arm.

Kevin noticed Therese's eyelids struggling to stay open as she asked what had happened. "It doesn't matter now. Just go to sleep and we'll talk later."

"Love you," she replied and drifted off without a reply from him.

Stephanie chose to stay with Therese while Kevin hunted down a nurse to get a prognosis on her. "Visiting hours are over," the woman explained. "Unless you are immediate family, I'll have to ask you to leave. Your name?" Then his identity registered on her face. "You're that wrestler…Oh, um, shoot, I can't remember your name, but my son loves you."

"Kevin Nash."

"Right. Can I have your autograph?" she asked, pulling open drawers to find paper. Kevin smiled at her and scribbled a special note and his name on hospital stationary.

"Now, if you'll let me know about Therese, I'll be going back to her room," he said, still smiling at her, assuming he had just bought his visiting pass.

"Not unless you're immediate family. Are you?"

"Yeah, I'm…her husband."

"Right," she said, this time sarcastically. "Your last names are different. Your wedding band?"

If the woman didn't remember his name, she definitely wouldn't know he wasn't on SmackDown! "I'm not wearing it because I had to wrestle tonight. We're just married and she hasn't had a chance to change her last name." He couldn't believe the stuff he was making up on the spot.

"Okay," she replied, eyeing him warily. "She took two bullets to the thigh. Both missed the bone. The wounds were clean and her muscles weren't ripped, so it's nothing that time and a little physical therapy won't fix. She probably has a mild concussion but we'll run tests on her tomorrow to determine that."

Kevin thanked the woman and returned to give Stephanie, Therese's "sister," the news. The two took turns staying with her until she was released on Saturday. He acted as if nothing had happened with Shawn, barring the fact that he never once said his name. Through the haze of painkillers, Therese attempted to comfort Stephanie but the brunette was too busy fussing over her.

Kevin and Stephanie took it upon themselves to decide what to do for Therese instead of burdening her with the problem. Kevin took the initiative in staying with her but Stephanie was quick to mention that RAW might consider him in league with Shawn if he didn't show up. He agreed to go for that reason and dispel any rumors that were probably already floating around. Plus, he was looking to work off some of his aggression against anyone that dared get in his way.

Stephanie refused to allow Therese out of the apartment late Monday morning and even threatened to take her crutches if she didn't stay while she went to pick up Evan. The blonde complied but attempted to start lunch the minute the other woman was out the door. Stephanie had called for a limo to bring him home from the airport in style. She couldn't wait to see his reaction since he was expecting only Therese.

Evan's face showed how tired the kid was from six weeks of camp but his stride showed the relief of returning home. His eyes swept the crowd for Therese who always stood out above most but, on a second glance, his gaze settled on Stephanie. He dropped his luggage and rushed into her outstretched arms. She ruffled his curly hair and exclaimed, "I didn't think you could get any darker. Look at your tan."

"They let us play basketball outside every day, so it just happened," he excitedly explained.

"It makes you look so handsome."

He blushed and starting looking around for his sister. "Where's Therese?"

"She's at home waiting for you, so let's go," Stephanie answered with a smile.

Evan gave her a crooked look and picked up his luggage. "What's going on?"

"I'll tell you in the limo."

"You brought a limo for me?" Evan asked with wide eyes.

"Of course, I did," she answered, knowing she had delayed having to answer him.

When they were settled in the vehicle and moving, Stephanie gathered her composure, because talking about Shawn still hurt in the hollow of her chest, and gave Evan the rundown of what had happened. The shocked look on his face said everything. He may have run his mouth off about Shawn before he ever met him, but he had always held respect for him. After spending two weeks with him, Evan had been so star struck he couldn't imagine having any other favorite wrestlers besides Shawn and Kevin, the Undertaker not-withstanding. Nothing could ever dislodge the dark man from his place at the top of the list. Even though he knew he couldn't stand a chance, he wanted to get his hands on Shawn for even considering hurting Stephanie, his favorite woman ever in wrestling. "Are you gonna be okay?" he quietly asked her. "I know you were like going steady…"

Stephanie inwardly laughed at "going steady," a term she couldn't remember the last time she had heard. "I'll be fine, sweetie."

"I just can't believe it."

"No one can."

"And Therese is really okay?" Stephanie nodded. "I can't believe it happened again," he said, more to himself than to her.

"Again?"

"It's not the first time," the boy replied, shaking his head. "She's gonna have to quit this job or she won't be so lucky next time."

"I can tell you it'll be a little while before she gets back out there."

"If you were me, you wouldn't want her back out there at all," he stated and looked out the window.

Stephanie wasn't sure how to respond, so she decided to take his mind off it until they arrived home. "So tell me about camp, from start to finish."

The request wasn't enough to take his mind off of things and he relayed a few events to her and remained quiet until they arrived at the apartment. Therese was lounged across the couch, her face a little pale. "Rese," Evan called and she muttered something, attempting to turn over on the couch. "Rese, you okay?" he said and pushed on her shoulder. She blinked and rubbed the sleep from her eyes to see him.

"Babe," she exclaimed and hugged him to her. "I'm so glad you're home."

"I'm so glad you're okay," he said, his voice choking a little. "Shawn could have hurt you at any time."

"But he didn't. It's okay now."

"No, it's not! You were shot twice this time! I don't want you doing this anymore."

"We'll talk about that later," Therese sternly replied but then softened her tone. "I made sandwiches for lunch—"

"You did what!" Both Stephanie and Evan yelled at her.

"I'm not an invalid," she replied. "But if you want to be that way, I'll just sit right here and you can bring me my lunch."

Kevin arrived Tuesday afternoon and Stephanie left the following day. She was homesick and now Therese had two guys there who could look after her. Shane and Linda had quickly heard about what happened and had been begging her to come home since Friday. Shane had even set Marissa on her but only his wife would understand why Stephanie had to stay with Therese.

She was torn between remaining there and going home. The exhaustion of the past few months had caught up with her and a mini-vacation was needed. She hadn't realized how tired she was from last Thursday's incident until her body had finally stopped moving when they arrived at Therese's apartment. The quaint apartment was so inviting and it felt good to help Therese out instead of worrying about her own self. Another week was needed to relax and formulate a game plan. If she went home, her family would do nothing but fuss over her…but would that really be so bad, she thought to herself.

Therese tried to go with Stephanie to the airport but she would have nothing of it. So they said their goodbyes in Therese's living room. The two were already emotional over the events of the past week, so Evan and Kevin stayed out of their way until the two had quit crying. Therese handed Stephanie tissues from the end table and they attempted conversation, this time without the tears. "Promise me you won't be alone," the blonde stated. "You need someone with you so you won't think about what happened."

"I'll have my family and you know how they are," Stephanie replied and Therese weakly smiled. "You promise me that you'll let these fabulous men take care of you." She said this loud enough for the guys to hear since they were hiding in Evan's bedroom playing video games.

"As much as you all think I can't do anything for myself even though I can, I still promise."

"I'll come see you when you're completely better and we'll keep in touch. Every time we come through town, I'll get you and Evan tickets and backstage passes."

"I can't believe I'm saying this but it's like I'm saying 'goodbye' to my best friend," Therese stated with a kidding smile.

"We've got the apartment to ourselves," Kevin said, handing Therese a glass of water and her medication.

"Evan asleep?"

"Yeah."

"He's a big boy. You don't have to tuck him in," she said before taking the pills.

"I didn't exactly," he replied and sat down on the cushion beside her. "He fell asleep watching that history of the nWo tape. I was just gonna pop in and tell him what it was exactly like instead of that bullcrap they're tellin'im."

"How many times have you called him 'Mark' and he's actually answered to it?" she asked with a facetious smile.

"More than I can count."

"Does that bother you?" Therese asked, looking down at her hands.

"That he answers to it or that he's your brother?"

"Kevin, we've not really talked. I assume that you're okay with me since you're here…or do you feel somehow it's your duty to take care of an injured woman?"

"Stephanie told me everything and I am hurt…to an extent. I feel like you didn't trust me enough to tell me the truth, but I know why you didn't. It was probably best that you didn't," Kevin said, breathing out heavily and pausing before continuing, "It was the little things that made me fall in love with you. Being a sports fanatic, sleeping in jerseys instead of girly stuff, not being afraid to go out in public without make-up, the crazy things you supposedly did in college—"

"If I told you the story, whatever I did in it, that was the truth," she replied, matter-of-factly. "I just did some name swapping for everybody else. The little things are what I didn't lie about. I'm still me."

"Even when you're drugged up, you're still you," he replied. Noting the worried look on her face, he added, "You didn't tell on yourself too much." She groaned, only imagining what she could possibly have said. "I guess we'll be moving in together in my house when you're completely healed," Kevin added and put an arm around her.

"What?" she asked, pulling away from him.

"That's what you told me…in a drug-induced state," he said and smiled but then his face grew serious. "The fact that you aren't Stephanie's assistant and you don't live in Atlanta and that Evan is your brother doesn't change the fact that I love you. That offer still stands."

"But what about Evan?"

"He doesn't want you going back to work and he has adamantly told me that. I don't know if he was hinting at something on purpose but he talked about Atlanta a lot and told me about when y'all were down there."

"You know about the training facility?" Therese asked suspiciously.

Kevin nodded his head. "It's perfect. Evan wants to go back to Atlanta and you can technically still keep your job or the part that he approves of. And I can still have you," he said softly, pulling her to him again.

"It looks like you've got all this planned."

"I've thought about it more than you think. I can have you moved in before school starts in two weeks."

"It's a big decision and it's late. Let me think about it after I talk to my boss and my brother…just to make sure there's no any undue influence on him," she added the last part with a smile.

"Maybe I should send some undue influence your way," he replied and took her mouth in a long, sensuous kiss.

Stephanie settled into the recliner in her mother's living room to watch SmackDown! Linda had corralled her in the McMahon home, especially since she knew Vince wouldn't be setting foot there while he was holed up with Sable. Stephanie wasn't bothered by her mother's attention as she worked through the emotions she was feeling. Not only did she need to keep up with the show but watching it would help her begin to return back to a normal life…if that's possible, she thought. Either way, she had to return with a game plan since this entire mess had thrown her off and, when she had lost to Sable, in an essence, she lost to her father.

The show seemed to go well without her, just as it had last week. She was impressed that the Undertaker cared to confront her father about what had happened to her at Vengeance. Unfortunately, he never got to as Funaki fetched McMahon to take him to Lesnar who had been laid out with a pipe. The main event was to be Vince versus Brock in a cage match with Kurt Angle as the guest referee. However, it turned out otherwise. Lesnar faked being hurt to attack Kurt and shown himself to be on Vince's side. Stephanie was enraged at her father. First he was obsessed with Hogan and now he had somehow turned one of the most dominant wrestlers to his side. With nothing to lose, she had to go back next week and battle back against the bastard.

Exactly one week later, Stephanie took a deep breath when her father began SmackDown! by announcing "the real" Brock Lesnar. She had every intention of starting her show with her presence. The GM made her way through the halls and then asked for her music to be cued. After how much she had been through, her father didn't scare her anymore and she was going out there to tell him that. Smoothing a hand over her blue-jean skirt, the General Manager stepped out from behind the curtain and strutted to the ring with a glare on her face. "Maybe you came out here because you learned your lesson at Vengeance," Vince said with a leering grin.

"Yeah, I learned a lesson at Vengeance, Dad. I learned that you'll send a three hundred and fifty pound monster out to physically abuse your own daughter just so that your little slut could defeat me at Vengeance," Stephanie retorted.

"I had my reasons," he said, attempting to gloss over her comment.

"For your own sick demented amusement…or are you threatened because I have a position of power and you wanted to see if you could make me quit? 'Cause I'm not gonna quit, Dad. Until you fire me or until you listen to reason, I'm going to stand up to you because…as a father to Shane and I and as a husband to my mother, you are a piece of garbage." She carefully regarded Lesnar out of the corner of eye as he leered at her and edged closer and closer. "You're nothing," she shouted in Vince's face, thinking about he had cared less to check on her after the assault a week ago. He had been informed of everything and she knew it, but he chose to ignore what was buzzing around in the press.

"Who the hell do you think you are? Are you trying to stand up to me? I don't take that kind of talk from any man alive, much less a woman. You know, I've got to say that you're a terrible disappointment, Stephanie, and maybe I am to you…When I put you in the position of General Manager of SmackDown, I thought for sure I could be proud of you and you would follow in my footsteps…It looks like maybe I made a bad investment, maybe the worse investment of my life. But—oh, no, no, no, that wouldn't be the worse investment, the worst investment of my life was the day I married your mother."

That was too much for Stephanie and she reared back to slap him but Lesnar caught her arm and forced her back before letting go. "So you wanna play rough tonight? You wanna get physical tonight? You accuse me of physical abuse? I'll show you physical abuse. Right here, in this very ring, tonight, you're gonna go one-on-one with the three-hundred and fifty pound A-Train." His music started and then he shouted at her, "That's physical abuse." She knew she must have look like a deer caught in headlights as she tried to digest this news.

Stephanie had felt hopeless before walking out there to confront her father and now it was the same regarding her match. Looking back over why she had come to the ring, she was feeling stupid. What exactly did I think I was going to accomplish, she asked herself. It didn't matter to her what happened anymore. The high she had been feeling by coming back with a plan had been deflated. She didn't stand a chance against her father's power and influence. She had her head lying on her desk when a knock sounded at the door and a familiar voice called her name. "Come in," she shouted and stood, running her fingers through her hair. "John, I'm glad you came by." He had called her a couple of times and left messages, but she hadn't found the will to call him back, much like everything else in her life except for getting back to work.

Cena grinned at her and offered a hug and she wasted no time in embracing him. "How's Therese?"

"She's progressing as good as anybody can when they've had two bullet holes put in them," she answered.

"Good, but how about you?"

She managed a weak smile, not having the energy to mask her depression. "I'll make it."

"You look so terrible."

"Thanks," she sarcastically replied.

"That's not what I mean. You don't look as good as you normally do," he quickly said, trying to cover for the bad choice of words. "You know what I mean."

"I know you care, John. That's sweet," she replied, putting a hand on his arm but then withdrawing when his skin was hotter than she expected. To her, Shawn Michaels may as well have died two weeks ago. She had not finished mourning him and now she was feeling extremely guilty for feeling this attraction towards Cena. It hadn't always necessarily been there but it was evident in their banter in the ring that one time, even though she wouldn't admit it since she was struggling through what she thought was a betrayal by Shawn.

"The point is, I don't believe your 'I'll make it.' Steph, I'm here if you need me."

Before Stephanie knew it, she was spilling all of her frustrations out about her father. "I just don't care what happens out there," she sighed and plopped her head down in her hands.

"Don't think that way. You have to keep fighting," he said and she looked back up at him. "I may have only been here a couple of years but I know you're a fighter and you won't be walked on. You're stubborn—and that's a compliment. You were so determined before…before…"

"Before I found out that Shawn Michaels hired someone to stalk me," she finished for him, amazed as to how "normal" and caring John seemed to be as he stood in her office, attempting to comfort her. "It's okay. You can say it."

"I know you're having a lot of trouble dealing with that."

"Is it that obvious?" she asked and he nodded. "I just want to get on with life."

"Then keep doing what you're doing. Fight back against your dad…and let me take you out to get your mind off of these things."

It had only been two weeks and she didn't want him to be some rebound guy. Then again, going out with him would be getting on with her life. "Okay," she said, assuming she wouldn't be able to walk after tonight's match. "I'll be in town for another night. Dinner tomorrow?"

A surprised Cena nodded. "That'd be great. Pick you up at your hotel at seven?" She smiled and squeezed his arm. "Thanks for the talk."

John opened the door and turned around and said, "Any time. Just remember, nobody dominates Stephanie McMahon and gets away with it if she has anything to say about it."

Did he use the word 'dominate'? she thought. That's exactly what Shawn said he had wanted to do to me. He had been arraigned, pleaded innocent, and denied bail but, even from jail, he was still dominating her. If she caved, he would be winning. No, I have to stand up, she firmly told herself.

Stephanie faced the match with her head up but unfortunately left with her head lying against the Undertaker's shoulder. The pain in her ribs and the throbbing in her head only served to drive her more. She had gotten a piece of Sable, once again showing that the blonde bimbo couldn't stand up to Stephanie's passion for revenge for the havoc the woman had caused in her life. Her father was next on her list. Shane was avenging her mother and now she was avenging WWE. Even if she had to physically duke it out with her father herself, she would not bend to him and quit. She would stop at nothing.

Epilogue

Stephanie handed the large gold band to Therese and watched as she slipped it on Kevin's finger. To her, they were a striking pair with Therese in a modest but elegant white dress that brushed the floor and Kevin in a jet-black tuxedo, his hair beginning to brush his shoulders as he let it grow long again. Scott Hall stood on the other side of Kevin and beside him was a beaming Evan, a young man growing into a heart throb. Stephanie and Vera Morgan shared the responsibilities of maid of honor.

Therese had wanted everything as simple as possible and Kevin wanted a massive Catholic wedding, which ended in a slightly uneven compromise. The bride had only two attendants and the decorations were simple and yet beautiful but the groom called for a long guest list, a formal dinner, and an extended honeymoon in the Caribbean before they returned to the place they had called home for almost a year in Atlanta.

When the priest called for prayer, Stephanie stole a glance at John Cena, who was sitting in the second row. He was dressed in dark suit, something Stephanie had never seen him wear before. The man was good for her and she knew it. While she was Miss Prim and Proper, he was laid back, spontaneous, and exciting…and beginning to rub off on her. She was the first to tell him she loved him and he returned the sentiment. He wasn't after her for her power or position, especially since his confession came after she had lost to her father in the "I quit" match.

The bout no longer mattered because she had recently bounced back by fighting her way into being co-GM of RAW and she lived to torture Eric Bischoff as she whipped RAW back into shape. Paul Heyman now successfully controlled SmackDown! and was doing a great job of making her father's life hell. Vince was not present at the wedding but Linda, Shane, and Marissa had come, along with the first grandbaby. Stephanie smiled proudly as she gazed at them and almost missed her cue to take Evan's arm as they recessed down the main aisle behind the newly married couple.

FINI!

Author's Notes: It's finally over! sigh For those who are still reading, thank you for sticking around this far. It has definitely been a trip!

After the reviews from last chapter, it seems I should have just foregone the first ending and went with this one! I got such a great response from everyone.