"So she'll definitely be back in time for Raw?" Jeff Hardy asked Christian again. Christian nodded. "I told her you wanted her help with your hair, she said the only thing that would stop her being at Raw was death. Not neccesarily hers, she wants to haunt Rocky during his promos and bug the crap outta Edge."

"Do you two ever get along?" Matt asked Edge, who just smirked. Christian held his hands up. "I'm staying out of this!"

"Just cause you and Teg get along better than those two!" teased Chris. Edge rolled his eyes. "I can't help it if Lydia's sole purpose in life is to make you blissfully happy and me utterly miserable."

"He's got a point there." Chris nodded. "After all, I've know you four - how long?"

"Too long!" replied the blonde Canadian brothers in unison. With a groan and a roll of his eyes, Jeff signaled the waitress so he could order more food. The other three waited for Chris to continue, but he'd been distracted by something on the other side of the room. Looking over to where he was looking, they saw Stephanie and Hunter sitting alone eating breakfast and laughing.

Edge patted him gently on the shoulder. "Dude... snap out of it."

"You completely ended it right?" Jeff asked carefully, taking a sip of his orange juice. Chris nodded, still watching Stephanie and Hunter. Matt shrugged. "Well then I don't see what the problem is. If it's over it's over. No use mooning over it. Specially if you were the one who told her where to go."

Matt looked up to discover everyone staring at him. "What?"

Jeff slapped his older brother upside the head as everyone else stared at him. Matt looked confused. "What?"

"Get a clue." Jeff shook his head in disgust. Chris stood up. "I gotta get outta here."

"You gonna be okay?" Christian asked in concern. Jericho shrugged. "I don't know. I'll catch you later okay?"

Edge, Christian and Jeff nodded. Chris hurried out of the dining room. Matt looked up to see everyone shooting him dirty looks. "What?"

~~~

"So what's this surprise you have for me?" Stephanie asked curiously. Hunter laughed. "Now if I told you, it wouldn't be a surprise would it?"

"Can I have a hint?" She pleaded. He shook his head. "No. It's not much, just a little something to take your mind off that jerk and hopefully help you relax a little."

He was rewarded with a dazzling smile and couldn't help thinking how beautiful Stephanie looked. At that hour of the morning, most of the wrestlers were still half asleep or looked as though they hadn't gotten to bed yet. Jackie, for example was blearily reading the paper with Farooq and Bradshaw catching a quick nap on each shoulder. Steph, on the other hand, looked as though she'd gotten a good twelve hour sleep and had nothing more pressing on her mind than whether to have scrambled eggs or an omelette.

"Sounds great." Stephanie replied, her smile fading slightly as she caught sight of Chris storming out of the room. She turned her attention back to Hunter who was looking worried. "I hope you like it."

"I'm sure I will. But just to be on the safe side, you'd better tell me and make sure." Steph teased.

"I'm not falling for it Steph." He rolled his eyes, then checked his watch. "There's still a couple of hours before we have to go, so why don't you head up to our suite and watch a movie or something? I've gotta hit the gym with the guys and Tor and I'll get you when it's time to go."

"Actually, I might join Tori in the gym." Stephanie replied thoughtfully. "I should keep in some sort of shape if I'm going to make any kind of Women's Champion."

"You don't have to you know." Hunter looked at her with a hint of concern. "Has anyone said anything? Cause if they have -"

"No, no, it's nothing like that." She reassured him. "Just thought it was time to tone up a little. Lose a bit of excess -"

"Excess what?" He interrupted. "You've got an incredible figure."

"Thanks." Stephanie replied blushing a little. There was an embarrassed silence for a few seconds, which Steph broke. "In that case I'll see you in there."

"Yeah, sure." Hunter replied hurriedly. With a shy smile, Stephanie got up and headed out of the dining room. It wasn't until she was in the elevator that she realised that other than the usual reassurances and compliments before a show, Hunter had remarked on her looks. To her surprise, she didn't find the idea all that bad.

~~~

Stephanie sighed as the hot water eased her aching muscles. She wanted to lose a few extra pounds, not get a figure like Chyna! She was exhausted after the workout Tori put her through and it was only a light version of what the blonde did each day. ~Although~ she reflected ~It was a lot of fun working out with Jesse and X-Pac.~ Despite working out as hard as anyone, they'd kept a lighthearted attitude and a running banter throughout the whole thing. It had made the session more enjoyable and she hoped to join them in the gym again once she'd fully recovered from the work out... in several months time.

As she rinsed the shampoo out of her hair, Stephanie thought about her relationship with Hunter. Things had changed dramatically in the past few weeks. Before Wrestlemania, they'd been friends, but had still maintained their fairly separate lives. Stephanie hung out with Lydia and Integra while Hunter spent most of his time hanging out with DX - well what remained of DX after splitting with Chyna and throwing Billy out. But since Wrestlemania, they'd become close. She wasn't stupid, she knew why.

'Daisy's death.' thought Stephanie sadly, turning off the water. He knows I need a shoulder to lean on right now and that he's practically the only person I've got who not only knows the whole story but is on my side and my side alone.

Hunter flipped aimlessly through the TV channels while waiting for Stephanie to finish in the bathroom. He hadn't been this nervous since his first date with Chyna, not that the gym work out could technically be called a date. The point was he hadn't been this nervous since he'd first met Chyna. Actually scratch that. I don't think I was this nervous then.

Unable to settle, he got off the bed and looked out the window. Things weren't turning out the way they were meant to. This supposed to be strictly a business arrangement. He wasn't meant to care about her as more than friend. He certainly wasn't meant to be feeling like a 15 year old on his first date.

Hunter ran a hand through his hair. He'd been attracted to Stephanie from the first time he saw her behind the desk at Gold's Gym all those years ago. When she didn't appear at the show that night, he'd been slightly disappointed but had dealt with it. After all, he was head over heels in love with Chyna at the time and hadn't really expected to see or hear of Stephanie again. Now she was his wife and.....

~And now I'm falling in love with her.~

"Ready to go?" Stephanie asked, tying her hair back. Hunter nodded. "Let's go."

With a smile, she put her arm through his. "Lead the way Mr Helmsley."

"As you wish Mrs Helmsley." He replied. As soon as the words left his mouth he realised he'd unconsciously left the 'McMahon' off. However Steph didn't comment on it, so Hunter thought it would be best not to draw it to her attention as they left.

~~~

"Can I take the blindfold off yet?"

"No." Hunter surveyed the scene in front of them. Something wasn't quite... of course! Quickly, he moved the ice bucket to the bottom of the blanket. Moving behind Stephanie, he untied the blindfold. "Surprise."

Stephanie gasped in delight at the scene before her. Several large blankets had been laid out and placed around the edges were platters of food. There were several types of drink, ranging from ice water to champange. She turned to look at him, mouth open. "Oh Hunter..."

"Do you like it?" He asked softly, half expecting her to slap him. Steph wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tightly. "I love it. It's beautiful. Thank you."

"I'm glad you like it." Hunter smiled, hugging her back. "So shall we have lunch? Because there's plenty to eat and I bet you're starving after the work out Tori put you through."

They made themselves comfortable on the blankets and got stuck into the food. While they ate the food that had been prepared for them, Hunter and Stephanie talked. They started off with the usual small talk, then Hunter started telling Stephanie stories about some of the things that he and Shawn had done. Steph was in hysterics as he told her about the time that he, Shawn and Chyna were stuck at an airport and decided to pass the time by playing strip poker.

"So Shawn's down to his boxer shorts. Since we're in a public place, he can't really lose anymore pieces of clothing or he'll get arrested, so Chy starts daring him. He lost the next hand, so she made him put on one of her halter tops - it was the one she wore at Wrestlemania 14 with the handcuffs- and a mini skirt and go into the bar and act... well like Big Gay Al."

"What happened?" asked Stephanie eagerly. Hunter laughed. "Well.. nothing actually. Chyna went into the bar with him to make sure he actually did it. So Michaels is standing there in drag, Chy with her classic 'Try me and you'll regret it' pose, giving everyone her 'Don't fuck with me' glare."

"Sounds like everyone was too scared to go near him." observed Steph with a giggle.

"Probably were." Hunter smiled wistfully. "Those were good times."

They fell into a reflective silence which Stephanie broke. "You miss Chyna don't you?"

"I see her nearly every day Steph." He replied, looking at the blanket. "How can I miss her?"

"I didn't mean miss her as though she's not around anymore. I means miss the friendship and closeness that you guys shared." Stephanie explained. "I mean, you guys were inseparable. You were the perfect couple. But now you can barely be in the same room as each other. You must have some regrets."

"I'm not saying I don't. But people change and things change. Chyna and I changed. Maybe one day we'll be able to get past what happened, but I doubt it." Hunter replied slowly. "It's a lot like you and Chris. There's -"

"It's nothing like Chris and I! Christ, how can you even compare-"

"Whoa Stephanie! I didn't mean it like that!" He held his hands up in self defense. "I just meant that there's just too much anger and hate between Chyna and I right now. We'll never forgive each other for some of the things that were said the night we broke up."

"Do you still love her?" Stephanie asked curiously, drawing her knees up under her chin. Hunter laughed, sounding a little bitter. "No. Not anymore. Do you mind if we change the topic?"

"Not at all. What do you want to discuss?"

~~~

Hunter and Stephanie spent the entire afternoon talking. After a while, they packed up the remains of the picnic and found a quiet cafe and kept talking. They got a light dinner at the cafe, then went and saw The 13th Warrior. Hunter found himself enjoying the movie, not the least because everytime something even remotely scary happened, Stephanie grabbed at him. He was going to be black and blue the next day, but it was worth it.

By the time they got back to the hotel it was late. So late in fact, that in the lift on the way up to their hotel room, they ran into Jesse, Tori and X-Pac heading out for a night on the town. Tori raised an eyebrow "And just where the hell have you two been until this ungodly hour?"

"Doing stuff that newly married couples do." replied Stephanie with a grin. Jesse smirked and started to say something, but quickly decided to keep his mouth shut when he saw the evil look Hunter was shooting him. "Well, uh, we're heading out night clubbing.Wanna come with us?"

"Nah. I'm going to get a decent nights sleep for once." Hunter replied. He nudged Stephanie gently. "Why don't you go out and cut loose? It'll do you the world of good."

"Do you guys mind waiting 10 minutes while I get changed?" She asked. X-Pac rolled his eyes. "Goddamnit Stephanie hurry up! We're missing good party time!"

"Ignore him." advised Tori, punching him not too lightly on the arm. "We'll wait. Want me to do your make up?"

"Sure, why not?" Stephanie had promised herself that she would spend more time with and get to know her DX teamates and not rely entirely on Integra and Lydia for company. Jesse sighed. "We're gonna wait in the lobby for you. At least that way I can torment Edge and Christian on their way out without Lyd and Teg getting on my case."

"And not so you can call Lydia and tell her that her man was on the town without her right?" Stephanie asked trying not to laugh. Jesse attempted to look outraged. "I'm insulted! How dare you! I can't believe -"

"Bye Jesse!" called Tori as she dragged Stephanie off to get ready.

It took a little over 10 minutes, but soon Tori and Stephanie met the rest of DX in the lobby. Hunter wolf whistled appreciatively. "Looking good!"

"Thanks." She blushed slightly and ran her hands over her dress self conciously. Jesse sighed impatiently. "Can we go now?"

"Hang on a second okay?" It was a statement, not a request. Stephanie turned to Hunter. "I had an incredible time today. It was just what I needed to help me relax and forget about you know who for a while. Thanks very much."

"No problem Steph." He replied as she hugged him tightly. "I'll catch you tomorrow. Have fun tonight, you deserve it."

"I will. Thanks again." Standing on her tip-toes she kissed him on the cheek. "Don't wait up!"

With a mutter of 'Finally' from Jesse, they left. Hunter watched them leave, then turned around and started to head back to his hotel room. He was walking on air from his day with Stephanie and was oblivious to his surroundings. Otherwise he would have noticed the glowering figure of Chris Jericho, leaning against the wall and glaring at him angrily, having heard every word of the exchange. Clenching his jaw, Chris muttered angrily "Oooh, you're gonna pay for that one Princess. I know exactly what it takes to make you blissfully happy. I also know what it takes to make you fucking miserable and don't think I won't."