Disclaimer: Don't own 'em, don't sue me
Distribution: Flights
Rating: PG
Content: Language
Summary: Kat struggles with the hands of fate.

SIX MONTHS LATER

"Get out of that fucking pool," Ray swore at Kat as she struggled to finish a lap.
"No! I can do it."
"Kat, it's enough."
"No! I am doing this Ray!"
"You don't want me to get you of that pool Kat. You just don't."
"You're right, I don't."
Driven by her will, Kat put her head in the water and forced her arms and legs to move, propelling her forward in the turquoise water. Beside the pool, Ray watched her, torn between pride and concern. Her progress was mind boggling. He'd seen few athletes with her determination to overcome their injuries. She pushed herself a lot harder and considering her body could handle the rough treatment, he wasn't that worried about her. But her mental state, that worried him.
She hadn't talked about Steve or the baby she'd lost since they'd arrived in Switzerland for her treatment. Her main concern was her health. Her only concern was her health. And though he'd had his doubts about the highly experimental replacement hip she'd agreed to have replace her shattered one, he had to admit things were coming along faster than expected.
"See," she gasped, pulling herself out of the pool, "I told you I could do it."
"You're insane," Ray said, pulling her into his arms and taking her to a nearby chair.
"Am not! I'm driven."
"Why Kat?" he asked, dropping a towel on her head, "why are you so driven?"
Kat didn't answer. She ran an absent hand over her empty womb and her eyes drifted to the pool, to its blue depths, so beautiful and clear... So like Steve's eyes.

Stephanie looked into Steve's eyes as he continued to berate her in the middle of the ring and realized she didn't need to be in character to be afraid of him. His eyes shone with anger, real anger, anger that was currently being directed at her and that was frightening, more frightening than anything else.
"Get the hell away from my daughter Austin. If you have a problem, deal with me, but leave Steph out of this."
"Why's that? Afraid your little bitch of a daughter might put her foot in it again?"
Stephanie started. Steve was a consummate professional and this was the first time she'd ever heard him step outside the script. Dazed, she struggled through the rest of the interview but once they got backstage, she reasserted herself.
"Never again Steve," she said. "We don't give you a script so you can wipe your ass with it. Read it, learn it and stick to it, is that clear?"
"Fuck you!"
"I don't think so."
"Ya think I care?"
"I think you'd better!"
"Make me!"
"Fine," Stephanie said, "you either stick to the rules or effective immediately, you're suspended."
"You can't do that."
"She can," Vince said, "and I wouldn't blame her."
"Fine, do whatever you want. I don't fuckin' care any-fucking-more!"
Steve stalked off down the hall and Stephanie ran after him.
"Steve! Wait, damn it! God damn it, Steve Austin Williams, will you just wait one god damned second?"
"What?"
"I got a letter from Ray today."
Steve stopped and turned around to face Stephanie.
"What the fuck is he? Your pen pal or something?"
"He's worried about Kat Steve."
"Why? She's with him."
"Steve, it's not like that between them. I know it's not."
"How the fuck do you know that?"
"I just do. Steve, listen to me. He's only her friend."
"If he's only her friend, why the fuck did she dump me when he came along?"
"I don't know."
"What the fuck do you know?"
"That she cries herself to sleep and that when she sleeps, she apologizes to you for having lost your baby."
Steve staggered back in shock and tears filled his eyes as he leaned against the wall.
"I need her," he whispered. "I need her back in my life Steph."
"I know Steve. I know."

ONE MONTH LATER
"You're sure about this?" Ray asked Kat as she swung her legs out of the car and put her hands and arms through the braces of her crutches.
"Yeah. It's time Ray. It's been seven months."
"I know. Oh hell, it's not like I could change your mind anyway."
"Right. So let's do this."

Stephanie was impatiently tapping her foot when her brother joined her.
"They here yet?"
"Nope. Shane, are we doing the right thing?"
"It should be fine. Steve's on his ranch taking time off. I don't think anyone will rush to tell him that Kat was here tonight. And she was specific. She does NOT want to see him on her first time back here."
"I know," Steph sighed, "but Steve..."
"Steph, why do I get the feeling you're developing feelings for the toughest son of a bitch in the WWF?"
"I am not. But he is a friend. And he is hurting and-- Shane, here she is."
Shane turned around and saw Kat slowly making her way up the stairs to the arena, a tall man behind her, watching her step.
"Who's that?"
"Ray. He's a good friend of hers and her physical therapist."
"The guy Steve wants to kill?"
"Yeah."
"I can see why."
"Shane..."
"Look at them and tell me that you wouldn't be worried if you were in Steve's shoes."
There was something very intimate and private in the way Kat often looked over her shoulder to speak to Ray, but Steph knew that it was all friendship. Did she know or did she hope? She didn't know anymore.
"Steph? Shane?"
Kat started moving as quickly as her crutches would allow and ended up tossing them aside, awkwardly running to her friends. She enveloped them in a monster hug that had all three of them crying within seconds.
"I missed you both so much," Kat said through her hiccups, "so much."
"Us too," Stephanie sobbed, "oh Kat, I was so worried about you."
While the girls cried and blubbered, Shane worked his way out of the hug and looked at Ray.
"I'm Shane McMahon," he said, sizing up Ray and shaking his hand.
"I know. Ray Jefferies."
"So how is she? Really?"
"She's improving. The new hip is doing wonders. Chances are she won't even limp at all."
"And?"
Ray pulled Shane aside and sighed.
"She's almost dead inside. She blames herself for it. That's why she pulled away from Steve. Because she thinks this is her fault. If it's her fault, she has to fix it."
"That guy hit her with his car, damn it, it's not like she hit his car with her fucking body."
"You know that, I fucking know that. But Kat's unwilling to accept that little kernel of truth."
"Well, I guess it's up to us then."
"Yeah."
"Ray," Kat called, "stop telling Shane what a great fucking physical therapist you are and come on over. We're going to meet the troops."

To say that Kat's return was triumphant would have been an understatement. When people found out she was here, they all flocked to her. They all wanted to see her. She'd always been a very popular figure in the WWF, as a writer, as a dancer and as the woman who made the Texas Rattlesnake someone people could stand for more than a minute.
When Norman saw her, he took a good moment to take in the sight of her. She'd lost weight, her cheeks were hollow and she hadn't been relaxing her hair. It was nappy and the Afro puffs on each side of her head didn't succeed in making her look carefree and young. No, those seven months had taken their toll on her.
"Where the fuck have you been?" he asked.
"Away," she snapped back.
"Excuse me? You get hurt and POOF, you disappear like a thief in the night and you leave me, one fucking dancer short!"
"Excuse me, but I had a little situation-- I couldn't walk and shit?"
"Please."
"You are such a tight ass little bitch Norman. Too bad you have a dick to ruin the effect."
"Uh, why don't the two of you just hug like normal people?" Shane asked.
"Because that, my dear," Kat said, "would have been boring."
The young woman worked her arms out of her crutches again and ambled over to Norman. She stood in front of him, put a hand over his smoothly shaven jaw and leaned down, laying a careful kiss on his cheek. Tears clogging his throat, Norman accepted her hug, tears coming to his eyes.
"I missed you, you fucking wannabe drag queen."
"I missed you too, you wannabe woman."

The ranch bored him to tears. And since his ex-wife had refused to let him have his daughters for the week, he didn't see any reason for staying. The WWF was in his blood and since Kat wasn't with him anymore, since she'd walked away from him, it was the only place he was comfortable. Only place he felt at home.
There was buzz in the air as he came into the backstage area. He followed it, avoiding camera crews, preserving the story line that had him in seclusion in preparation for the next PPV.
Then Steve heard something that made him jump. A sound he'd heard a long time ago and that he'd never forget. He elbowed his way through the amassed troop of wrestlers and sighed when he saw her. Norman and his fellow dancers were having an impromptu jam, which they did a lot, and Kat was there, right in the thick of it, laughing as she tried some of the steps on legs that were still very shaky.
Bruce, one of the burlier dancers, took her in his arms and started to twirl around with her, leading her through a somewhat complicated series of steps. Silently, Steve watched her stumble a few times but Bruce handled her like a delicate flower, being ever so careful. But then Kat looked up and saw him. Laughter immediately faded from her eyes. She struggled to get out of Bruce's arms so abruptly that his hold on her loosened before she was ready to stand and she fell on the floor.
The pain jolted all through Kat's body as she landed heavily on her hip, her injured hip. Bruce quickly got down to his knees at her side.
"Shit babe, I'm so sorry. What can I do for you?"
"Ray," she whispered, "get me Ray."
Kat lay on her side, gasping heavily when Steve knelt by her side. He cradled the side of her head in his hand and sighed heavily.
"I miss you," he told her softly.
"Please..."
"This is the only way I can tell you this shit without you bolting. Kat, I love you, I miss you and I want you back in my life. What happened, what we lost..."
"Ray," she rasped, her watery eyes straying over Steve's shoulder.
"What the hell..."
Ray shoved the stronger man out of his way and knelt beside Kat, gently easing her on her back.
"What happened?" he asked, his attention focused solely on her.
"I fell."
"You were dancing, weren't you?"
"Ray..."
"God damn it Kat, I swear to all the gods people have ever prayed to since the beginning of times, I should beat you into a bloody pulp!"
"You're mean," she grinned through the pain.
Ray didn't react as he probed Kat's hip, his face an impassible mask as he felt ran his fingers over the taut skin. He dug into her flesh and looked at her.
"Does that hurt?"
"Fuck yeah!"
"And this?"
"Ray, that hurts God damn it so take your hands off me!"
"You wish!"
Ray slid his arms under Kat's legs and neck and got up.
"Give me her crutches," he snapped at Norman, "we're leaving."
"Wait a damn minute," Steve shouted, getting in Ray's way. "I am not done here."
"Take me away," Kat whispered to Ray, "I don't want to be here anymore."
"Kat, talk to me," Steve begged. "Damn it woman, I am tired of waiting for crumbs from you."
"I'm sorry," Ray said, looking Steve right in the eye, "I'll try to make her understand, but for now, I-- we have to go."
"No! Not until she talks to me," Steve growled, stepping in Ray's way.
"I can't Ray-- not yet. I just can't."
"Steve," Stephanie said, stepping forward, "please, she can't talk to you right now. Just let her go."
"Let her walk out of my life again? Hell no! Not until I know why."
"Steve," Shane added, "she's not ready to deal with you right now. Just let her go. Let her be."
"I can't. I can't man, can't you get that? Without her, I can't be."
Steve's posture softened just then and Shane took the opportunity to push him against the wall, giving Ray the opportunity to walk away, a sobbing Kat in his arms. But what surprised the McMahon heir so much was the fact that Steve didn't even fight him back. Instead, the man slumped down to the ground, his chin almost touching his chest.
"Steve," Steph whispered, coming down on her knees by his side, reaching out to touch his bald head.
"She doesn't want me anymore," he sighed.
"Ray's just her friend."
"It's not about that. It's about her not wanting me in her life. She didn't come out and say it but the meaning was there. I'm out."
"You don't know that Steve," Stephanie said forcefully, "hell, Kat doesn't even know that yet. That accident, the miscarriage, it hurt more than her body, Steve. It killed part of her soul too. And I think she knows that and I think that's what she's trying to fix right now."
"Will she be able to fix it?"
"That, I don't know Steve. I just don't know."

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