Author's Note: Before I get started, I'd like to thank MarryTheNight25, xj0j0x, wertzy, CassieTheNinja, and charmedbyortonbarrett for all the lovely comments/reviews. It's great to know that you guys like my story so much!

February 22, 2012

It was early in the morning when Phil woke up. He could smell the bacon through the vent above his bedroom door. He got up and walked into the kitchen to see Penny cooking. A large stack of pancakes sat on a plate on the counter, steam wafting from it. "What are you doing?" he asked, dumbly, as if he couldn't figure it out.

Penny ignored the question, "Breakfast is almost ready. Will you get two more plates out of the cabinet for me?"

He nodded and got the plates while she placed the bacon on another napkin-covered plate. "It smells good," he told her, sliding pancakes onto each plate.

She smiled and grabbed two glasses out of the cabinet.

"What's gotten into you?" he asked.

She shrugged, "I don't know. It just kind of hit me yesterday that what has already happened is unchangeable. There's nothing I can do about it other than to move on."

He raised an eyebrow, looking at his sister as she reached inside the fridge to get the orange juice. "Really? Are you sure Stu didn't have something to do with it?"

She didn't answer right away, pretending to be preoccupied with shaking the orange juice up before pouring it in their glasses. "Why would Stu have anything to do with it?"

Phil shrugged, "I don't know. I just..." he trailed off, trying to find the right way to put it. He grabbed the plate of bacon before saying, "All this time after you and him divorced, and not once have you worn one of his shirts. Then yesterday morning you have on a Wade Barrett shirt."

Penny shrugged, brushing it off like it was nothing. She hadn't told Phil about her emotional breakdown that led her to drink, and she didn't plan to. "I didn't do laundry last week, it was at the bottom of my drawer, and I just put it in my bag. I didn't even notice it was one of his."

He looked suspiciously at her as she picked up the glasses and walked over to the breakfast table, sitting them down at their usual spots. Phil joined her, carrying the plates. She grabbed the pancake syrup off the counter before sitting down to enjoy her breakfast.

She had a busy day planned. She had to go to the gym, then she needed to get her hair redone, and then wash laundry. She only had two days off this week, and she wanted to get all of her chores and errands done with so she could relax and enjoy the next day.

March 5, 2012

In the few days that followed, Stu and Penny avoided each other when they could. After the night they had spent together, neither of them were sure how to act around the other one. Stu thought Penny wasn't in love with him, and Penny was just flat-out confused.

She had brightened up more and more each day though. She was becoming herself again. She even shared her secret with Brie as they sat in the locker room getting dressed for the show. After defeating Natalya, John Laurinaitis decided to have a Diva's Battle Royal to decide the new number one contender for Penny's championship.

"Oh my gosh!" Brie squealed as Penny wrapped up the story by telling her about waking up in Stu's arms and how he had tightened his arms around her when she moved. "That's so romantic!"

Penny shook her head, "It's not romantic. I just...he just..." she trailed off, trying to figure it out. "It was just a subconscious reaction. It had nothing to do with the fact that it was me."

"Maybe he was only pretending to be asleep. Maybe he's still in love with you, and he wasn't ready to let go of you again."

Penny rolled her eyes, "After this long, I don't see how he could still love me."

Now it was Brie's turn to roll her eyes, "Oh, Penny! Can't you see it's like a great Shakespeare romance. You and Stu are just young, star-crossed lovers!"

"He's in his thirties, he's not young anymore," Penny joked. "Besides, doesn't everyone die in Shakespeare's plays?"

"I don't know, I've only read Hamlet, MacBeth, and Romeo & Juliet."

Penny rolled her eyes and let a small chuckle escape.

"Okay, fine then! It's like a Disney movie! He's your prince, but you won't discover that it's him 'til chapter three!"

Penny couldn't help but laugh at Brie for quoting Beauty and the Beast, particularly that line. But Brie had chosen it intentionally, because Beauty and the Beast was Penny's favorite. "Stu's more of a Gaston anyways."

Brie shook her head, "No, Wade Barrett is like Gaston, Stu's more like the Beast...after he saves Belle from the wolves."

There was a pause, an almost awkward silence filled the room. Then in a low voice, Penny said, "He was perfect, wasn't he?"

Brie didn't say anything. She just stared contemplatively at her friend. They both knew Penny had made a mistake.