The Lady of Darkness

2/14/01

Steph sat and listened to the rains fall. She was stressed because her father hadn't been seen in over a month, what if something had happened to him? Part of her didn't care, and she knew Mark didn't care at all, but Vince was still her father.

A knock sounded on her office door and she called: "Come in."

Nicole Bass walked in and Steph managed a weak smile.

"You OK, Steph?" Nicole asked.

Steph didn't know how to answer and just shook her head.

"Do you want anything? A soda or something?" Nicole asked.

"No. I'm just worried about the search parties."

Every city they stopped at, they checked the surrounding area for any signs of Vince McMahon, most of the time, just Mark and Selena went. But this time, Glen, Dwayne, Joan, Ryan, Mark and Selena had split into groups and went looking for Vince.

"They'll be fine. There's no risk of a tornado. " Nicole replied.

Just then a ominous rumble of thunder echoed and shook the building.

"Thanks, Nicole." Steph said sarcastically.

"I'm going to go see if there are any news reports on the weather, see you later Steph." Nicole replied.

She left and Steph's cell rang; she picked it up and learned from Mark that there was a strong chance that tomorrow night's show would have to be cancelled. Selena said the storm looked like it could form a tornado, but she wasn't sure. They also had sent the search parties back to the arena just in case something happened. Mark hung up and Steph couldn't stop herself from shaking. Hormones, seesh.

* * *

Mark and Selena returned, Selena was soaked and Mark was laughing at her.

"What happened?" Steph asked.

"She stood under a broken gutter." Mark laughed.

"Didn't realize it was broken, until after I was soaked. And then your ever helpful husband mentions the pipe is broken." Selena snapped, wringing out her hair.

"Go dry off." Steph ordered.
"Yes, ma'am." Selena replied.

Steph gave Mark the stink eye, and of course he was all innocent. "What? I didn't see it either."

She surprised herself by smiling, "Of course you didn't."

Mark smirked and pulled something out of his jacket. "Not to be a suck up, but it is Valentine's Day."

He handed Steph a small box and Steph unwrapped it, she opened it and smiled. It was a small ring with a moonstone, it stood for the baby, it was a mothers ring.

"Thank you!" Steph exclaimed, hugging him.

"I saw your mother wore one, and I noticed my mother did too. I assumed you would want to wear one too." Mark replied.

"I had thought about it, yes, you just read my mind." Steph answered.

Thunder broke up the moment and Mark noticed the lights flicker.

"Better go check on the weather. See you later, hon." Mark said.

"See you." Steph replied.

She sat back and looked at the moonstone. She thought about how grateful she was to be a wife, and even more grateful about being a mother.

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You know, the hiatus only lasted less than a week. Pfft, if you're wondering why I timeskipped, I didn't want to linger in January, plus we're going to be boucing around until we get to June. (The baby's month. Late November, mid to late June.)