Notes: This ones a little more angsty than planned. But it's Hunter angst, which is always fun.

Part 10

Hunter lay on the roof of Mother Lilly's porch, staring up at the night sky. The past two days had been the worst 48 hours of his life and he had the horrible feeling that things were only going to get worse.

Chyna was gone. They'd spent a year in hiding and on the run so the RTC wouldn't get their hands on her. What was the reward for their trouble? To be betrayed by the person who'd suggested they all went into hiding with her.

He could still se the look of horror on Shawn's face, the cry of pain from Chyna as X-Pac sank his fist into her stomach and the sobs from Jesse. Upon arrival back at Mother Lilly's, Shawn had retreated into an empty room and refused to see or speak to anyone. Jesse had clung to Billy, not leaving his side.

So it had been up to Hunter to tell the others what had happened with Lesner and Heyman. He’d just finished, when little Spike Dudley burst the door, breathless and frantic. It had taken nearly ten minutes before he was calm enough to tell them what had happened. After several minutes of chaos, including a shouting match between Edge and Raven that threatened to disintegrate into a fight, Hurricane escorted Jackie into the room, followed closely by D-von and Bubba. Jackie headed straight for Bradshaw, bursting into tears as soon as his arms wrapped around her.

That was when everyone had started to fall apart.

With a sigh, Hunter sat up. He’d lost friends to the RTC before – he’d never forget the night he found Kevin and Scott’s bodies, no matter how much he wanted to – but for some reason, Austin’s death was more of a shock. Maybe it was because of the events that went with it. ‘Maybe I’ve denied myself the anger and grief for too long.’

"If you don’t allow yourself to grieve, then you don’t let yourself feel." A female voice came through the darkness. "And if you don’t allow yourself to feel, then you turn into Richards."

"What the fuck?" He exclaimed in surprise, springing to his feet. The moon came out from behind the clouds and for the first time, he noticed the figure curled up in a blanket barely five metres away. He moved closer. "Lita?"

"You spoke out loud. Emotions are natural and if you repress them, then you fuck yourself up." She shrugged. "Just an observation. How are you holding up?"

"Not so good. How are you doing?" The tones of their voices were casual, as though they were discussing the weather. Lita shrugged again. "I don’t think I’ve ever felt so rotten in my life."

"I know exactly what you mean." Replied Hunter, sitting next to her. "I think I’m the only one who has any concept of what you’re going through right now. The others... they can’t imagine what it’s like."

"Their grief and pain isn’t less than ours Hunter. It’s just different. We’re all grieving for something different right now, so it makes sense that our pain is different." She paused, then laughed bitterly. "I just don’t want to be around people right now."

"I’ll leave you to it then." Hunter started to stand.

"No, stay with me." Lita grabbed his wrist tightly and looked up at him almost pleadingly. Hunter understood. She didn’t want to talk, but she needed someone with her. Someone who understood how she felt without pitying. Right then, she needed him.

Hunter sat back next to her and gently pulled her onto his lap. Lita grabbed the blanket and wrapped it around him, so when he put his arms around her, she’d be enclosed within the warmth of the blanket. After a momentary hesitation, Lita leaned into him, resting her head on his chest.

They sat together for a long time, not moving, not speaking, just drawing comfort from the other’s presence. It wasn’t too long before Lita was crying again. Hunter just rocked her in his arms, knowing nothing he could do would ease the redhead’s pain. He thought of all that had been lost and wondered if there was anything left for them to lose.