Title: Turn of the Tide (2/??)

Author: slashburd
Pairing: HHH/HBK

Rating: M?
Disclaimer: I do not know of any of this to be true, I don't know or own these people (but I'd secretly love to!).

Summary: M/M Slash, bad language, violence

The ambulance crew gave Shawn a shot to help him 'relax'. Hunter knew exactly what it was for – to stop him moving and doing any more damage before they could get him to the hospital. He gazed down at his lover, and reached again for his hand and although there was no reaction he just wanted to let Shawn know that he was not alone.

The medic travelling in the back asked the usual questions to complete the necessary paperwork and Hunter answered them as best his racing mind would let him, not even noticing the raised eyebrow when he gave his status as 'partner'.

"So Mr Levesque, can you tell me how the incident happened?"

This final question though was the hardest to answer. He closed his eyes and rested his head back against the side of the ambulance, preparing to recount the incident that he wished to God he'd never seen. It was fortunate that the nearest hospital was a few country miles away as he struggled and stammered over the words and images that came with them.

***

The tension had been building between the two tag teams for a few weeks. Jericho had gone to Vince around a month ago with a great idea for a plot line to get the tag side of the business back up to the main event. The theory was that as DX had never held the titles before they were the ideal opponents for a seemingly unstoppable Jerishow. It made sense and the story would be huge with the fans making for a good headline match for the next PPV.

The promos they'd cut had been good, in fact the crowd reaction was great with plenty of heat for Jerishow just as Vince had hoped. In a few of the run-ins though both Shawn and Hunter noticed that Paul was a little bit over the top, running off script with both his words and the in-ring action. More than once he'd tagged Shawn with a punch or crossed the line with the way he handled him. When challenged about it he'd apologised and they'd agreed to leave it at that. Hunter just didn't get it. He'd known Paul for a long time and had never seen him this out of character. It was this that had driven him to provide a little insurance under the ring for their match.

The bell rang that night and they got down to it. The rehearsals earlier in the afternoon had gone off okay and they relaxed into their roles. Hunter was in first with Paul and although he wasn't due to cop for the big right hand yet he felt a couple of the slaps coming in at full tilt and they stung like hell. Shortly after being backed into one of the corners he felt one of the punches being thrown connect with his face. His cheek throbbed and he knew that he needed to tag out to get his head together.

He went to tag Shawn in who had seen that it was going badly and whispered "What is his fucking problem?" With a shrug Hunter indicated that he was none the wiser and he watched Shawn go to work, throwing everything he could at Paul who was selling none of it. Finally he hit the Sweet Chin Music which left Paul no option but to drop to his knees and try to look stunned by it.

Hunter waited at the ring post until Jericho tried to interfere. This was Hunter's cue to go around and stop him, something which should have happened almost 5 minutes ago if Paul had done his job properly.

Running round the outside of the ring he pulled Chris down on to the padded floor and started punching at him wildly until it appeared that he was out cold. Hunter stood above him gloating, raising his arms into the DX cross and taking the cheers from the crowd. He'd taken very little notice of what was going on in the ring. Turning to look he expected to see Shawn with Paul in a roll-up and a two count being slapped out on the mat. Instead there was an empty ring and looking beyond it to the walkway he saw Shawn, high atop Paul's shoulders.

The booing is getting louder and panic strikes Hunter but before he can run back around Shawn is power-bombed to the concrete floor beyond where the padding finishes and to the side of the walkway. Hunter's heart almost stopped for a second when he saw what was happening. Shawn had made an awkward landing and then lay there perfectly still, the slow rise and fall of his chest the only perceptible movement.

Paul got back into the ring in an attempt to get the decision by count-out. This was not what they'd spent weeks planning. Paul screamed for the referee to get back in the ring and start the count. The referee however had bigger concerns. He'd had to follow them out of the ring and repeated frantically his request for them to go back to the ring knowing that they weren't following the script.

Having witnessed at close hand what had happened he was now knelt at Shawn's side asking if he was okay. Repeating the question again he still did not receive an answer. He couldn't wait any longer for the legitimately unconscious man to come round enough to speak. Making the X sign twice above his head it was clear to the entire backstage team that Shawn was in trouble.

Immediately a stretcher was hurtled down the walkway accompanied by four on-site paramedics and the staff doctor. The cameras went back to the ring where the referee was sliding under the ropes to start the count-out of the legal man who laid outside the ring so still as if he were sleeping. Jericho stirred but stayed down as per the rehearsals and Paul stood proud in the middle of the ring, smirking and counting along with the referee.

Off camera Shawn was rolled cautiously onto a spine board and wheeled backstage. Hunter stood near the steel stairs and was torn as to whether to run after the stretcher or carry on with the match.

Turning to glare up into the ring he caught sight of Paul raising 7 fingers in the air, a wide grin spreading across his face. That was when the line was crossed and Hunter reached for the hammer.

He'd almost surprised himself with the force of the blows he inflicted on Paul, not that they weren't thoroughly deserved. What he just couldn't figure out was why there had been such a deviation from the script in the first place. These days Shawn wrestled so few matches that all the rosters had been warned about his injuries and the need to avoid worsening them.

Shawn's health hadn't presented itself as a major in-ring issue before today. Sure Shawn sometimes took the rules and threw them out of the window himself but that was his nature. He pushed his luck and his broken body about as far as it could carry him these days. The guys still sold the gentle contacts as if they'd been hit by a bulldozer and the same went for the near misses with that elbow from the top rope.

If they wanted to slam Shawn they made sure that they landed him on his shoulders to give him a chance to take some of the hit there rather than on his lower back. These guys were like family to Shawn, he'd given nearly all of them a start, a helping hand or some valuable advice. They saw him as the elder statesmen of the roster, having grown up watching him live their dream he was loved if not idolised by most of them. Knowing this made it even harder for Hunter to rationalise why someone would deliberately beat him down like that. What in hell was Paul thinking?

***

The doors of the ambulance swung open and before he knew it the stretcher carrying the most precious thing in the world to him was being wheeled as fast as the crew dared towards the entrance to the emergency room.

Jumping down into the cold night air he went after them, determined to keep his promise to stay with Shawn and, despite not being a religious man, the hundreds of promises he would make to God over the course of that evening to try and cut a deal in return for Shawn to make it through this.

"C'mon God, give me a fuckin' break here. Not now, not like this...."

A/N: So, the plot thickens. Now we know how it's time to start working on the why. All reads, reviews and comments appreciated :)