Stephanie had never been the pacing type and yet all this pent-up nervous energy had her walking up and down those white hallways. She had tried sitting down in the waiting area earlier, but that only got her more anxious. Maybe a bit of fresh air would do her some good? If nothing else, it sure couldn't hurt.

She made her way to the back entrance that led to a small park. Stepping through the automated doors, she felt some of the tension melt away when warm rays of sunlight hit her face. She closed her eyes briefly. Yes, this was definitely better than the sterile surroundings she had spent the past few hours in. Looking around, she spotted a wooden bench not too far and decided to settle down there for a few minutes.

She couldn't help but wish Hunter was sitting next to her. It was rare that she got this worked up, but when she did, he never failed to crack a joke and make her laugh. But seeing that her friend was the reason she was here in the first place made this line of thinking kind of silly.

The past few weeks really had slowly been getting better. Even though Hunter had indeed unblocked Shawn's number again way too soon for her liking, the calls had stopped. She had noticed him become more relaxed and his smile also came a little easier each day and actually reached his eyes again. She hated to say this as she knew how much Shawn had meant to him and probably still did, but he seemed... Maybe not happier, but definitely more at ease than in months. He had moved back to the house he had always kept in Nashua and was excited to get to spend more time with his family up there again whenever his schedule allowed it. His whole face lit up when he spoke of his niece and nephew and she was certain he didn't mind his mom pampering him every now and then, either.

Of course, not all days in recent weeks had been like that. She remembered one night in particular not even that long ago when Hunter called her quite late. He'd had some time off and although he wouldn't say what was going on at first, the somber sound of his voice gave him away. After a little prodding, he admitted that something had triggered a few memories that he had been trying to ignore. It hadn't even been anything big, just a faded shirt that Shawn must have forgotten the last time they were up North together. Finding it accidently stashed between his own clothes was enough to get him choked up in that moment.

Once he had calmed down a little, he apologized profusely for bothering her, but she had simply been glad he trusted her enough to open up and let her be his shoulder to cry on. She just listened and eventually they had managed to go from heartache to lighter subjects and she tried to lift his spirits as best as she could. By the time they hung up over an hour later, they had been sharing embarrassing childhood stories and she got Hunter to laugh, even if it still had a sad ring to it.

So yeah, there were days that still had him upset but Hunter was moving on and she was glad about it. He had also dived into work like a madman. Well, even more so than usual. Recently, he had often been the first one at the arena, before Vince or she got there, sat in at all production or creative meetings and took every opportunity to get in some extra in-ring time before the shows. She figured it helped him to keep his mind off everything. Plus, it was easy to see that he really dug his current storyline with Steve as the Two Man Power Trip. He had hardly been talking about anything other than potential angles they could still explore in the coming weeks.

She sighed. All the harder it had been to watch everything unfold this past Monday. One mismatched step, not even a crazy spot... And it had all gone to hell. Hunter had torn his quad in the ring and insane as he was still finished the match. She had been at his side instantly once it was over and straight away it was obvious that it was bad, like… really bad. Which unfortunately was confirmed only hours later at the local hospital.

That was what got her here to Birmingham, Alabama. Hunter wouldn't let anyone but Dr. Andrews have the final say on what needed to be done and be the one to operate on him. She had convinced her dad to take her off the shows and accompany Hunter, claiming something about wanting to make sure that their top talent would receive the best medical care possible. He had agreed in exchange for having the WWF cameras shoot some footage of her at the HealthSouth Medical Center, too. She hadn't been exactly overjoyed but it was a small price to pay.

And Hunter… Well, in the hours just before the surgery he had tried to keep it light and be optimistic, but she could tell that deep down he was devastated. He was determined to make it back, that she was sure of, but he couldn't quite hide the small nagging "What if?" He would have a long road of recovery ahead of him and she hated how fate could be so cruel to pull the rug from underneath him, just when he was slowly finding his footing again. She knew she was being unfair, but she quietly cursed Shawn for his timing. Hunter had always been there for him, and even though he probably wouldn't admit it, she was well aware that he could really use Shawn's support now. No matter what had happened.

Maybe it was wrong, but her gut told her she had to try. She rummaged through her purse, eventually finding her phone. Taking a deep breath, she pressed the call button next to Shawn's name.

It rang a few times and just when she thought it would go to voicemail, a rough voice answered, "Hello?"

"Hey Shawn, it's Stephanie." Silence followed that made her second-guess her decision after all. "Are you still there?"

"Yes, I am," he snapped. And after another beat, "What d'ya want?"

His dismissive attitude practically resonated through and he didn't seem thrilled to have to talk to her to begin with so she chose to cut right to the chase.

"I guess you've heard that Hunter got injured this past Monday?"

He mumbled a yes but nothing more.

"It's bad, Shawn. This might be career-ending."

There was some muffled noise on the other end of the line and it sounded as if a door was being closed. "So?"

Stephanie wanted to strangle the man, but tried to keep her cool, for Hunter's sake.

"I know things are…" She wondered how to word this carefully, "…not exactly on the best terms between the two of you right now, but… He needs you, Shawn."

She was taken aback by the laugh she got in response. It sounded cruel and resentful. "Why should I care? C'mon, princess, tell me."

Right there and then she knew this had been a mistake. How could anyone be this cold-hearted?

"You know what? You're right, you shouldn't. You really are one self-righteous son of a bitch."

Without giving him a chance to respond, she disconnected the call. Contrary to her on-screen persona, she didn't often throw around insults like that, but by God, he deserved it. What had she been thinking? She was fuming and threw her phone back into her bag with a little more force than necessary.

"Ms. McMahon?"

She had completely missed the young nurse coming up to her and only hoped she hadn't heard any of that conversation. Trying to smooth her features into a neutral expression, she looked up, "Yes?"

"Mr. Levesque has just been moved from recovery back to his room. Everything went fine. If you want to, you can go see him."

A genuine smile spread over her face and she felt relief wash over her. "Thank you so much."

The nurse retreated back inside and Stephanie watched her go. To hell with Shawn! She decided she wouldn't tell Hunter about the conversation she'd just had. He didn't need to deal with Shawn's ignorance on top of it all. The coming months would be hard enough as it was, but she'd make sure her friend wouldn't have to go through them alone.