"I'm glad you were able to stop by and see me, man." Hunter said as he chewed his dinner. "Because if one more asshole asked me how I was holding up, I think I would've damaged my other quad sticking my foot up his ass."

Dave Bautista chuckled. "Not a problem. I thought you could use company."

"I could use a lot of things right now." Hunter eyed his wife. "But Dave, you're going have to do for now."

Stopping by after a nearby signing in Birmingham, Dave visited his good friends, Hunter and Stephanie. Back in Evolution, both Dave and Hunter were joined at the hip—trained together, went to the fanciest restaurants and premieres, and traded stories of various indiscretions. They spoke on the phone at least once a week, catching up with each other.

So naturally, when an injury hurt one, it also affected the other. Hunter called and visited Dave when he was rehabbing his tricep tear. Dave, in turn, repaid the favor by visiting Hunter. It was also a chance for Dave to formally introduce his new girlfriend, Nicole. If looks were automobiles, Nicole was definitely top of the line. She was slender with long black hair and of Arabic descent. She had model looks with the girl next-door personality.

And she was the type of woman who could handle Dave. Hunter and Stephanie were briefly acquainted with Nicole as she was one of Dave's old friends from D.C. They always suspected there was more than a little flirtation between the pair but never pressed on.

"So you two finally hooked up?" Hunter asked.

Nicole and Dave looked at each other. They both shrugged, giving the universal sign of 'Maybe, maybe not.' "We're seeing how it goes." Nicole smiled.

"In other words," Hunter looked at Dave. "You haven't hit it yet."

"Paul!" Stephanie slapped his arm.

"What?" Hunter shrugged. "It's an honest question."

"Oh my God. Nicole, he's not really an asshole." Stephanie defended.

Nicole smiled. "It's okay, Steph. I think after knowing Paul for a couple years, I can handle a little crude humor now and then."

"How in the hell was that crude?" Hunter asked. "I just merely asked if you guys were…"

"Please don't even finish that sentence." Stephanie cut him off.

Hunter shrugged as Dave laughed at his friend. "Well, it's true. You see how big Dave's arms have become over the past few weeks. That's not by hitting the gym."

Aurora Rose broke the would-be tension between the couples by softly crying. She was almost eight months old and traveled everywhere with her parents. She was partially the reason that Stephanie and Hunter purchased their luxury tour bus to begin with. Dave and Ric Flair teased Hunter they were glad Aurora resembled Stephanie and not him. "Poor girl shouldn't be cursed with your schnauze." Dave laughed.

"It looks like someone needs a diaper change." Stephanie picked up her daughter.

"You have fun with that, Steph." Hunter smiled.

Stephanie smirked. "Mmm hmm…you won't be able to use 'I can't walk so you need to get her, Steph' excuse much longer."

"Yeah, but until now…" Hunter looked up and waved at his wife. "…you have fun with that."

Stephanie gathered Aurora and Nicole followed suit. "We all know how Paul is doing, but what about you?" Nicole asked.

Stephanie shook her head and let out a deep sigh. She wanted to say she was doing great. She wanted to smile and talk about what Aurora did the other day. She also wanted to be realistic. The couple has had a trying year with Stephanie's pregnancy and Hunter being on the road. Now it was another battle. "I've had better times."

"That bad?"

"Not bad, really. We're in a really nice hotel and Paul's been spending a lot of time with Aurora. But…" Stephanie stopped changing Aurora and looked at the wall. "We're a team. We've been together for seven years now. We've always traveled together. Instead of staying in a fancy room, we bought the bus. During his days off, we'll take one of the bikes out and go ridin'. It's just so…so…"

"Weird?" Nicole added.

Stephanie paused for a moment. "Empty. It's really empty. I can't explain it. It's like, my partner in crime isn't with me."

"He will be…soon."

"I know." Stephanie slightly grinned. She held Aurora to her face. "I just hope sooner is around the corner."

--------------------------

Dave waited for the women to be out of earshot before he spoke to his best friend. "How's Stephanie holding up?"

"She's keeping busy." Hunter sipped his coffee. "You've heard about all the firings as of late."

"So, tell me…how are you feeling?"

Hunter sighed and shook his head. "January 6th." He said.

Dave shook his head. "Yeah?"

"That was the last time I had pain-free sex." Hunter sighed. "Fucking with a quad injury isn't so pleasant."

"I didn't think you and Stephanie were still having sex."

"Motherfucker, who do you think I am?" Hunter scoffed. "My dick isn't injured and neither is Steph's mouth."

"TMI, motherfucker." Dave chuckled. "TMI."

Hunter laughed. "After we've seen each other naked on more times I would like to remember, this asshole is going to scream TMI at me?"

"There was nothing wrong with staring at what you wish you had." Dave offered.

"Okay, now I know that chokeslam from Mark fucked with your head." Hunter retorted as Dave laughed more. "But seriously now. You know how it felt when you had the title and everything was fine? Then you got the lat injury but things were on the up and up. But then you tore your tricep again and you had to give up the belt?" Hunter asked as Dave nodded. "That isn't shit compared to this.

"The most humbling and humiliating moment was when a nurse had to help me up so I can take a piss." Hunter shook his head. "I can't just get up and walk around. I have to get in this damn chair." He pointed to his wheelchair.

"When are you cleared to walk?"

"In a few weeks. My recovery is quicker than everyone's expectations but I still can't do a lot of shit. I think I'm more pissed off than anything. Yeah, I was sad and I'll go ahead and admit it, I almost wanted to cry. But what in the hell is that going to do? Make the quad heal any faster? Make me jump up out of bed one morning? Hell no. I just gotta take it day at a time."

"I know that's right."

"Besides…" Hunter smirked. "I'm too cute to retire."

"Oh shit."

"I am." Hunter added. "It's alright to feel jealous, man."

"Paul, I've seen you naked." Dave looked at him. "You have nothing I would be jealous of."