Stephanie was sitting in the office of her apartment in New York City. A couple of folders were piled up on her desk and drafts for next week's tapings were lying next to them. She hadn't even had the chance to as much as glimpse at those yet. Currently in front of her were some papers regarding promotional events for WrestleMania that her dad had asked her to read. Tiredly she rubbed her eyes. It would be damn near impossible to manage the workload at the moment if she hadn't been written off TV. Just the other day she left RAW kicking and screaming with Triple H leading the crowd into a "Na na na na, hey hey hey, goodbye" chant. She grinned at the memory. That had been fun. Who was she kidding? She did miss playing the power-hungry bitch, but working behind the scenes gave her just as much satisfaction. It was the best move for now.

After Hunter's return, there was no way not to turn him babyface for the time being and with the audience hating her as much as they did, it was the perfect opportunity to break up the McMahon-Helmsleys. At first it had been a little weird to be on opposite sides, but it was a new challenge and Chris and Hunter sure knew how to make it easy for her. Besides, Hunter deserved to be on his own again, without having to share the spotlight. She couldn't have been more thrilled when her father made the call to make him the new Undisputed Champion. He was finally and truly back in the place he loved the most – inside that squared circle at the top of his game.

And outside of it, they were as close as ever. They still didn't really talk about what they were to each other. Sometimes she did wonder, but quite frankly, did it even matter? At this point in her life, it was enough for her to have someone care for her as deeply as Hunter did and who totally got her crazy life. And she'd like to think it was the same for him.

Ever since that night in January, neither of them had really mentioned Shawn again, but whenever the conversation steered into that direction, it was plainly obvious that it was still a painful subject for Hunter and he was neither willing nor ready to completely put his heart on the line again. What they shared spoke for the mutual trust they had and that was much more than many so-called conventional relationships could claim in her book.

She shoved the documents in front of her away and leaned back in her chair. Massaging her temples, she closed her eyes. It was no use. She wouldn't get any more work done tonight; her mind was simply elsewhere right now.

Stephanie hadn't even heard the door opening and only became aware that she wasn't alone anymore when strong palms gently started rubbing her shoulders.

"Still workin'?"

She tilted her head and pressed a brief kiss to the back of his hand. "I'm trying to at least."

Hunter moved to her side and sat down on the corner of the table. That was when she took in the fact that he was only dressed in a pair of sweatpants, not even wearing a shirt. She would have to be blind not to enjoy that view. An amused smirk tugged at his lips when he noticed her staring but he didn't comment on it.

"You do realize it's almost eleven already?"

Her gaze wandered to the clock on the wall. He was right. She had totally lost track of time. "Vince needs to start paying me overtime."

Hunter chuckled. "He won't, you know?"

He pushed himself off the table and spun her chair around so she was facing him. Leaning down to her level, he questioned, his words low, "What am I gonna do with you, McMahon?"

Her smile came naturally. "Oh, I have no idea. You however… I'm certain you'll think of something."

Closing the rest of the distance between them, he kissed her just a little too long for it to be completely innocent and she felt herself melting into him. When they finally broke apart, he kept his eyes locked with hers and extended his hand to pull her up.

"Come on, time to get Cinderella tucked in before midnight. We wouldn't want you to turn into a pumpkin."

She laughed. "Alright, alright. I'm coming."

It was a few hours later when her cell went off. It was on vibrate but ended up bouncing against the glass of water on her nightstand and the sound rose her from her sleep. Groggily she grabbed for it while looking at the digits on her alarm. 03:27. Jesus, who was calling this late? Not bothering to check the ID on the display, she answered and at the same time tried to quietly get out of bed so as not to wake up Hunter.

It wasn't until the bedroom door was firmly closed behind her that her still drowsy mind actually registered who was on the other end of the line.

"…sorry to call in the middle of the night, but if I hadn't done it now, I feared I'd lose my nerve…"

"Shawn? Is that you?"

Steph sank down on the couch, not quite sure if she was really awake. Even less when there was a moment of silence on the phone.

"Yeah, it's me." She definitely was too tired to deal with his crap and was just about to tell him as much when he continued, "Please, Steph, I know it's late, but please, hear me out."

There was something in his voice that made her stop. He sounded… different. She hoped she wouldn't regret this. "Okay. You got five minutes."

"First off, I need to apologize to you, Stephanie. I… I'm sorry for saying the things I said to you at the taping last year. I was… angry and bitter and took it out on you."

She was surprised at how sincere Shawn seemed, and yet she wondered what this was all about suddenly. "That's all well and good, and I appreciate it, but this couldn't have waited until… Well, daytime for instance?"

"I suppose I deserve that." She heard Shawn take a slow breath. "Steph… About Hunter…" Another pause. "How is he?"

Her first instinct told her to end the call right there. It was the side of her that wanted to protect her friend from all the heartache Shawn had already caused him. But the rational part told her that this was the first time in a year that Shawn was actively reaching out. It may be too little too late, but it was not her place to make that decision.

"I'm really not sure what you want me to tell you, Shawn. A lot has happened."

There was a sigh. "It probably won't make much of a difference, but… I'm off the pills. I'm finally trying to get my life back on track."

Now it was her turn to sigh. If only Shawn had wised up sooner… "You really did fuck up, you know that, right?"

"I know. Trust me, I know." She could be wrong, but it appeared as if Shawn was getting choked up. "I wish I could undo the pain I caused him, fix what I've broken. It's probably too late, but…"

She stopped Shawn's rambling; her voice softer than she would have thought possible just a few minutes ago. "You should tell him all of this, not me."

"Why would he even still talk to me after… everything?"

Stephanie debated with herself how truthful she should be, but this might be the very last chance to make things right. If so Shawn was luckier than he had any reason to be.

"Because he still misses you. He won't say anything, but I know he does."

Her words lingered between them for a beat, before Shawn spoke, "Thank you, Stephanie."

"Good night, Shawn. And don't hurt him even more than you already have."

With that she disconnected the call. She was unsure whether she handled this the best way, unsure whether to even tell Hunter about this conversation in the morning. The ball was in Shawn's court and she could only hope he was serious about what he had said.

Even if it meant… Her eyes fell on the closed bedroom door, thinking of the man peacefully sleeping on the other side.

She shook herself out of it. Tonight it didn't matter yet. Quietly she slipped back inside and under the covers. There was plenty of time to worry about the consequences tomorrow.