Category: WWF/WCW/ECW - some angst, romance, drama
Disclaimer: All characters belong to the WWFE, not me.
Distribution: My site - http://www.envy.nu/selene/.
Anyone else, ask and ye shall receive.
Spoilers: Anything up to the 8/09/01 SmackDown! is free game. Starts in the
middle of the show.
She watched the monitor in the locker room in horror as Rhyno slammed into Chris Jericho and sent both of them crashing through the video screen and onto the hard steel of the platform. With an inaudible gasp she moved closer, willing Chris to get up on his own. After a few tense minutes of watching both Chris and Rhyno roll around on the steel in agony, she finally saw the Hardyz come out and help Y2J climb to his feet. Matt and Jeff held their injured friend between them and began to walk him to the back. Before the three men had even disappeared from view, the door to her locker room was swinging shut behind her.
Sneaking quietly past the other locker rooms, she made her way towards the one she knew the Hardyz, Lita, Jericho and Edge were sharing for the night. The first four always made sure to get one together, and had invited Edge to join them since Christian wasn't going to be at the arena tonight. Lita had insisted he couldn't be alone with the WCW/ECW lurking around every corner. In fact, outside the ring, the six were actually pretty good friends, especially Lita and Edge who were still trying to deny they liked each other by fighting like two third graders. They were quickly driving the rest of the group nuts. Chris had even threatened to lock them in a closet until they either worked it out, or killed each other. Whatever he had to do to shut them up.
As her thoughts were brought back to Jericho, and then to the scene from minutes ago, she immediately began to speed up. She had to get to him, and fast, to make sure he was okay. God, that bastard Rhyno had hit him hard enough to thrown him through the screen. He had to be in more than a little pain, and it was all her fault. If she had never agreed to...
BAM!
She slammed into something solid, throwing her off balance. Closing her eyes and preparing to hit the ground, she was surprised when someone grabbed her forearms, steadying her and pulling her against a solid chest. Wincing at the almost painful grip on her arms, she slowly opened her eyes. *Oh shit.*
"Well, if it isn't the Billion-Dollar Princess herself. You shouldn't wander 'round all alone, little girl. It's not exactly the best idea, considering all the enemies you've made," the strong voice of the Undertaker informed her in an amused tone.
Stephanie looked up into the face of the American Bad-Ass with wide eyes before glancing to the left to see his wife Sara, and Kane. Sara had a smirk on her face, and Kane was flexing his gloved hand threateningly. *Triple shit.* The three quickly pulled her into a darkened hallway nearby.
"Look, 'Taker, I... I uh...," She trailed off helplessly. She could never think when Chris was hurt, not until she could see and feel for herself that he was fine. Of course, it didn't look like that was likely to happen anytime soon with her being stupid enough to run into one of the other wrestlers. And the Undertaker of all people, she couldn't believe she'd allowed herself to slip so much. To top off the fact she was probably about to be choke slammed to hell, she didn't know what was going on with Chris. He could have been hurt enough to be sent to the hospital. It had looked really bad. What if...
Without warning, and to the surprise of the Undertaker, Kane and Sara, Stephanie suddenly burst into tears. Her legs gave way with the force of her sobs and the Undertaker was forced to support her weight to keep her from falling. He shared a confused look with his wife, who came over and gently took the sobbing woman from her husband's arms and wrapped an arm around her.
Stephanie choked out between her sobs, "Please. Please let me go. I, I just w... want to see if, if he's okay. Please. Please..."
Sara rubbed her hand up and down the brunette's back soothingly to try and get her to calm down, "Stephanie. Stephanie, listen to me. What are you talking about? Who do you want to see?"
The other woman's sobs gradually slowed, and she sniffled as she tried to answer, "Chris. I, I have to see if he's okay. H... he took that, that gore from Rhyno through the screen. He looked really hurt, and it's all my fault. I have to see him," She gripped Sara's arm and continued pleadingly, "Please. Please let me go see him. You can do whatever you want to me after I make sure he's okay. Please."
If at all possible, her revelation left Sara and the Brothers of Destruction even more confused. Sara asked, "You... want to see Chris Jericho? Because you're worried about him?" She paused, studying Stephanie closely for a minute before pressing on, "What in the hell is going on? There's something we don't know about. What is it?"
Stephanie looked from Sara, to 'Taker, and then Kane, before sighing in defeat and lowering her head. The whisper came so softly the other three barely heard it, "If you let me go see Chris, I'll explain everything. Please."
The three others were still reeling from the unusual behavior of the youngest McMahon, but after conferring for a moment agreed to the deal. Stephanie straightened up and wiped the tears from her face before moving to the end of the hallway and glancing out to see if anyone else was in the area. After confirming it was all clear, she signaled to the Undertaker, Sara and Kane, and they followed her as she slipped silently down the hall.
Stephanie's eyes were constantly moving as they continued, signaling them to stop each time she saw someone and continuing when he or she was gone. She wasn't about to make a bigger mistake than the one she'd already made by letting 'Taker, Kane and Sara see her, and then letting them see her break down. Pausing at a corner, she silently berated herself. It wasn't likely that Chris was hurt that badly. He'd been gored before and been fine the next morning. She was just stressed because of this whole situation. This whole stupid plan, which now, she couldn't believe she'd gone through with.
The four of them finally reached the locker room (most of these arena's were like mazes in the back), and Stephanie knocked twice softly. A moment later, Lita appeared at the door, babbling a mile minute.
"Steph, thank God. We were so worried about you. You're usually here within five minutes of Jericho getting hurt, and with those idiots hanging off you all the time, we were worried you'd been caught. Jericho probably would have been up looking for you himself if he wasn't unconscious and pretty much not *able* to get up. I was about to send..." The redhead trailed off, and her eyes widened as she finally took notice of the three people lurking behind Stephanie in the hall. She looked back at Stephanie in surprise.
"Lita, I sort of screwed up. Big time. Just," she took a deep breath, "let us in and I'll explain."
Cautiously, Lita opened the door further allowing Stephanie, the Undertaker, Sara and Kane to pass through before taking one last glance around the hallway and closing it tightly, turning the lock. She made her way back into the room, coming upon an interesting sight. Stephanie kneeled beside the bench that Jericho was currently lying on out cold. She held his hand tightly and studied his face, pretty much forgetting anyone else was in the room. Matt and Jeff stood in front of the couple, arms crossed, blank looks on their faces. They were staring at 'Taker, Kane and Sara, who stood on the opposite side of the room taking in the scene with curious gazes and raised eyebrows.
Lita sighed. *Oh, this is going to be fun.*
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