A/N - Thanks for all your amazing reviews as usual. This chapter takes us back to give a little background on a couple of things so I hope you guys enjoy the change of pace. I've decided that I just might not update anything else until I get this finished because I feel like the end is drawing near...I hope lol. Anyway, I'll try to be more frequent with this and everything else too. Enjoy...

Christmas Eve - 3 Years Ago

Stephanie sighed happily as she dragged the roller case through the door, finally glad to be home. Well, she was only glad to be out of her car because truth be told, she'd much rather be back where she had just come from. She loved her family but for the first time in her life she was also desperately in love with somebody else and would give anything to spend the Holidays with him, even if it meant forsaking time with her family. The small little smile that seemed to be permanently etched on her face lately returned once again and Stephanie flicked the switch, shrouding the room in light. Nobody was home. "Must be at church," she muttered to herself. No doubt her mother would let her have it for missing mass on Christmas Eve. If she knew what she had been doing instead she'd probably let her have it even worse. It was an activity that most definitely had nothing pious about it.

The roller case made a whooshing sound as it travelled across the fine polished wood of the McMahon Mansion. It annoyed her to no end that just a few hours ago she had been in the city with Paul, just the two of them saying their goodbyes before they went their separate ways over Christmas. She wouldn't see him again until the end of the week. Today was only Tuesday. It felt like a lifetime away. Finally reaching the top of the expansive staircase, Stephanie was just about to head right towards her room when she heard a strange noise coming from down the hall to the left. A sliver of light peeked out from under the door of one of the guest rooms. Maybe somebody was home after all. Leaving the case propped against the wall, she made her way towards the door and rapped lightly. When there was no answer she rapped again, this time louder.

"Is anybody in there?"

Sudden and loud scuffling noises sent Stephanie's senses into overdrive. What the fuck was going on? She placed one hand on the handle and was just about to push down when the door creaked open and Marissa half smiled at her.

"Riss! God, you scared the life out of me. I thought there was an intruder or something," Stephanie chuckled slightly breathless. She had been one second away from freaking the hell out there.

"Sorry I…..I didn't know anybody was back yet."

Stephanie frowned at the almost mouse like response. And that's when she noticed the redness of the other woman's wrists and the heavy make-up on her face, especially around the left eye. Her blue eyes looked between her sister-in-law's hands and face frantically and full of questions, questions that would never be asked because the solemn look on Marissa's face told her all she needed to know. It was brief, cold, removed; but Stephanie knew better than to ask what she was desperate, or maybe not so desperate, to find out.

Marissa kept her gaze locked on the alarmed brunette before her until she was satisfied that her message had been received. She wasn't going to talk about it, not to Stephanie and not to anybody else. The shame was just too strong. The only thing stronger was the fear of what would happen to her if she did. Stephanie needed to understand that and her now silent expression indicated that she did. Marissa held their deadlocked stare for a moment longer before her face relaxed. "Everybody has gone to Church. I told them to go without me because I wasn't feeling well."

"And are you….feeling better…now?"

"Yes. Much better."

The two women engaged in another tense stare, Marissa determined to keep her secret and Stephanie overwhelmed with every emotion in the book. She wasn't quite sure she understood what was going on here and more importantly than that, she wasn't sure she wanted to. The sudden sound of keys in the lock followed by jovial chatter brought about an end to the conversation and before Stephanie had a chance to say anything else, Marissa had taken off down the stairs. Stephanie walked to the landing and watched from above as her brother embraced his wife. All of a sudden she noticed how his hand remained on her back, not in an affectionate way but in a controlling way. Shane moved so that he was almost standing side on to his wife, effectively controlling any movement she could make. What surprised her most was the beaming smile on Marissa's face. This looked rehearsed to perfection; the body language, the smiles, the bright but hard eyes. Stephanie observed it all from the top of the landing and felt a wave of anxiety wash over her body.

"Steph! Come down here and give your old man a hug will ya? I feel like I haven't seen you in forever," Vince Mc Mahon grinned up at his only daughter, calling her name again when she made no motion to move. "Stephanie!"

She snapped out of it, another wave of anxiety gripping her stomach at how easy it was to plaster a smile on her face and descend the stairs to hug her father. Over his broad shoulder she caught the careful gaze sent her way and nodded slightly in return. She wouldn't question what had happened tonight because nothing had happened. She had come home for Christmas, found her sister-in-law in her room and was now getting squeezed to death by her burly father. That was it. There was nothing to question.

Later that night as she lay in bed letting the gentle heat of the blankets warm her body, Stephanie's eyes couldn't help but drift to the door and what might possibly be happening at the end of the hall. No. She simply refused to believe it. Shane was her brother. Riss had just obviously taken sick or something. They looked happy as the family had settled in for the night over a bottle of wine and some Irish whiskey. From downstairs she could hear the distant chimes of the big old clock striking midnight. Almost simultaneously her phone buzzed on the nightstand and her hand shot out, picking up the device and clicking on the read message button.

I miss you already. Merry Christmas, baby.

Her heart fluttered as her eyes scanned the tiny screen. Paul. The fluttering in her chest turned to a tight ache. She would give anything to have him with her right now. He'd pull her close and tell her that everything was going to be okay. And it was. She had him and he was all she needed. Her fingers typed the message and hit send before she even knew what she was doing. "I love you." His response came through instantly.

I love you too. See you Sunday xx

Sunday. All she had to do was get through the next five days and she could see him again. That was her focus. She didn't have time to waste thinking up crazy theories and ideas about something that was honestly so ridiculous it had zero chance of even being a possibility. Marissa was fine. Shane was fine. And she only had five more days until she could be with Paul again. With him on her mind, she set the phone down and cuddled under the covers, the events of the last few hours already pushed out of her head and replaced with something much more fulfilling.

"I didn't tell her anything, I swear," Marissa managed to rasp out, her eyes wide with pure fear.

Shane stared coldly at his wife. If he wanted to, all he had to do was squeeze just a little bit harder and she'd choke. He continued to stare, making sure she knew that he wasn't going to stand for her shit, before slowly releasing his grip. The way she grabbed at her throat, gasping for breath, made him chuckle. "Good. Because trust me when I tell you this, the last thing you need is Stephanie or anybody else sniffing around, you understand me?"

"Yes."

Shane simply murmured a response as he turned and began dressing for bed. He didn't know why but he sensed his sister being a little too inquisitive for her own good tonight but above all else, she was looking at him very strangely. He was convinced his stupid wife had spilled her guts but he knew when she was lying and he believed her when she said that she kept her mouth shut. Maybe Stephanie was just distracted. Whatever. He didn't care. All he wanted to do was get this stupid holiday over with so they could go home and he could stop pretending like he gave a fuck about Marissa or anybody else for that matter. The longer he was at his parent's house the longer he was off the road. The longer he was off the road the more time he spent with his wife. The more time he spent with his wife the angrier he got. The angrier he got the more he wanted to hurt her. It made his blood boil just thinking about it.

"Shane."

"What," he spat at her, turning on his heel quickly. His fierce expression was replaced with a soft smile at the glass of bourbon she offered to him. He took the glass and with the other hand stroked her chin. "Thank you."

Marissa fought with everything she had to stop from shuddering when he kissed her on the lips. It was brief but always too long. Any time he touched her she wanted to throw up. But it was worth it to get him to take the drink. Maybe he'd knock himself out by drinking the whole bottle. He turned his back and she squeezed her eyes shut, taking just one second to compose herself before getting into bed. Tomorrow was Christmas. It was supposed to be the happiest day of the year. For her, it was just another day in her own personal nightmare.