There she was, back in Birmingham once again. These weekly trips had already become a routine in her schedule whenever work didn't interfere. And quite frankly, she rarely let that happen unless it was for a pay-per-view. Hunter hadn't asked her to, but she wanted to support him any way she could. The surgery was a little over eight weeks ago at this point and he had made the decision to stay here for the whole rehab process. They had the best specialists in this field at the facility and he wouldn't go for anything less. Deep down he probably knew that, with the severity of his injury, he couldn't accept anything less, either. They had only spoken briefly about it in the very beginning when the uncertainty was still overwhelming and Hunter had to adjust to this new situation, but she was sure he was well aware that his return to the ring would not be a given.

She smiled, thinking of his determination. In her mind, there was no doubt that he would be back eventually. The road so far might already have been tough and would continue to be like that for months to come, but Hunter would be damned before he let that stop him. They had started talking on the phone almost every night and while she could tell that he was pretty much always exhausted, on most days he still kept up a positive attitude that amazed her. Of course, there were also setbacks, but he had found a way to cope with those and not let them drag him down for too long. Actually, for the most part he had been making such good progress that he had begun coming to TV in recent weeks, helping out in any way he could just to stay involved with the business he loved so much. However, that would not be the case for a while. His doctors had just pulled his travel license so he wouldn't fall behind on rehab.

Well, all the more reason for her to still travel down to Alabama to see him. Today in particular. It was Hunter's birthday and he didn't expect her to arrive until the next day. He would be in for something else when he got back to the hotel after his session.

Stephanie had let herself in with the additional keycard he had given her. While she obviously stayed in her own room when in town, they had figured it might be a good idea with his bum leg and all. She laughed. He probably hadn't counted on a surprise like this.

She sat down the small cake that she had been carefully balancing on her left hand onto the table and placed the plastic bag with her supplies on the floor. Checking her watch, she realized she still had plenty of time until Hunter would be done for the day. Her gaze wandered across the room. This would be fun.

About an hour passed and she was quite impressed with her work. Sure, the balloons might be overkill and the place did look like a kid's party had exploded in it, but her friend would just have to deal with it. He deserved this after the grueling past few months.

Not long after she heard the familiar click that signaled that the door was opening and Hunter entered. She wished she had brought a camera when she saw the look on his face.

"Surprise!" She walked over to him and gave him a peck on his cheek. "Happy birthday, birthday boy!"

He took in all the decorations and then looked back at her. "You're mad, woman!" He laughed. "But thank you."

He gave her a big hug before he made his way into the room while Steph went to close the door. It was good to see him off crutches finally, but she didn't fail to notice the slight limp. She was glad when he sat down on the bed, propping his leg up with a wince he couldn't completely hide.

Concern crossed her face. "Do you want me to get you some ice?"

He just waved it off. "Nah, I'm fine. It's just been a long day." The corners of his mouth curved up, watching her fondly. "Not that I am not happy to see you, but what are you doing here already? I thought you wouldn't be coming in until tomorrow."

Stephanie grabbed the chair and moved it to the bed. "Well, I couldn't have you be all by yourself on your big day, could I? So I snuck away from my evil father's clutches."

His laughter was infectious. "You're gonna get me fired, McMahon."

"Don't be silly. Dad loves you." She nodded towards the table. "He even paid for the cake."

"Ah, I see. That's why it's so small and not a huge one with a stripper jumping out of it. Can't file that under employees' benefits."

She swatted at him. "Smart-ass."

They both chuckled. After a moment he leaned over and laced his fingers through hers. "Seriously, Steph. Thank you. This is beyond sweet of you."

"Ah, don't mention it." Stephanie got a little sober when she continued, "I really didn't like the idea of you having to spend your birthday alone. Especially after everything that's been going on."

Silence fell between them. She hadn't even noticed that Hunter had still been holding onto her hand until he gently squeezed it.

"Stephanie, I… I can't tell you how much this means to me. Not just this here today, but all of it. You've been by my side through all the crap that's been happening." He took a deep breath. "With Shawn. With my injury, rehab… Thank you doesn't even cover it. You've been like a rock and a big reason I made it through this okay."

When their eyes locked, she was blown away by the sincerity and emotion in his hazel ones. Her head felt like it was spinning and her palms were clammy. She was sitting here with one of her best friends like countless times before so why did it seem like the atmosphere in the room had just shifted?

"You're such a special person, Steph."

The sound of his words faded into the background when he tenderly tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, his fingers then moving down to her chin and lingering there. She was mesmerized by his intense gaze, unable to resist when he pulled her all the way over to him and their lips met. A tiny voice in the back of her mind questioned if what they were doing was right, but was immediately quashed by his tongue demanding entrance. Stephanie felt light-headed. It was too right to be wrong.

They only parted when they had to come up for air and Steph let out a quiet whimper. She hadn't noticed that she had shut her eyes, but opened them when she felt Hunter pull back. Absent-mindedly her fingers traced her lips.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have…" He trailed off. His voice was just above a whisper and his face still too close to hers.

She knew that was true, but somehow she couldn't bring herself to care. A thousand arguments could be made why she should back away from him and yet not one of them mattered in this very minute. Instead, she closed the remaining distance between them. "I know."

He didn't object, either, when his back hit the sheets and they simply let themselves get lost in the moment.

Sometime in the middle of the night, she woke up to his strong arms around her and just couldn't fight the smile on her lips. Two fingertips lightly drawing small circles on her arm told her that he was also awake. It was dark and what little light the night sky cast through the windows wasn't enough to make out each other's features.

"I can hear you thinking."

She felt his laugh more than she could actually hear it. "Am I that obvious?"

"No, but I know you." She turned in his embrace so that she was now lying on her side, looking up at him. Stephanie still tried to make out his face but failed. "Don't overanalyze this."

"I just don't want to hurt you." His voice was soft and his fingers moved up to caress her cheek.

She took his hand and kissed it before she put her head back on his chest. Her words were hushed, "…And I realize it's not always about that fairy tale ending."

Stephanie snuggled into his arms again and found herself slowly dozing off.