Lita sighed again seeing that no one else was planning to start this little conversation. *More like confrontation,* she thought to herself grimly. The tension in the room was only escalating, but before Lita could put a stop to it, a knock at the locker room door did it for her.
Everyone in the room, excluding Stephanie who wouldn't have noticed if a nuclear bomb had gone off beside her, turned to the door anxiously. Lita walked cautiously over and paused just before turning the lock.
"Who is it?" She called.
A moment later a gruff male voice replied, "It's us. Who the fuck did you think it was? Let us in before one of the Alliance Idiots sees us standing here."
Before the man had even finished talking, Lita had turned the lock and thrown the door open. The two men came into the room, and after she closed and locked the door, Lita threw her arms around both of them.
"Jesus, girl, get a hold of yourself," the first one ordered gently, even as he wrapped an arm around her to return the hug.
The second man remained silent but repeated the gesture of the other man. Lita laughed softly as she pulled away, "Sorry. Things got a little too complicated a little too quickly."
She began leading them to the main part of the locker room as she continued, "After what happened to Jericho, we'd been expecting Steph. She didn't show. I was just about to risk sending Matt and Jeff after her when she showed up at the door. She had Kane, Undertaker and Sara in tow."
"What?" The first man growled.
Lita smiled a little, "Yeah. That's what I thought. She was... well *we* were just about to get her to explain. She's a little preoccupied at the moment."
The second man said softly, "You can't blame her."
They reached the main area, to find everyone just as Lita had left them. Upon seeing the new arrivals, the Undertaker pushed Sara behind him and glowered at them.
"What in the hell are they doing here?"
Raven cocked his head, his dark curls falling across his face, and answered calmly, "We could ask you the same question."
Ignoring him, the Undertaker turned to glare at Lita and accused, "You're working for the Alliance."
"No, you jackass, she's not working for the Alliance. We're working for the WWF," Tazz growled at the big man.
Sara quickly moved back in front of 'Taker and laid a restraining hand on his arm. "Let's hear them out first. We did agree to let Stephanie explain before we did anything."
The Undertaker narrowed his eyes but stood back and nodded in agreement. Lita sighed in relief. She didn't need to break up a fight right now. Kane just watched silently, moving his attention from the newcomers back to Stephanie and Jericho.
After observing the latter two for a moment, he spoke up softly, "She is in love with him."
Everyone except Raven turned to the Big Red Machine in surprise. The Hardyz left their post to join Lita and Tazz in walking to stand in a loose circle with the Brothers of Destruction and Sara. Immediately, they began talking, throwing out protests and arguments.
Raven smiled knowingly and left the seven of them to it as he walked over to sit beside Stephanie. He wrapped an arm around her, and she immediately leaned into him, never moving anxious eyes from Jericho's face. Stephanie relaxed a little at the man's reassuring presence. Raven had been the only one she could talk to in the Alliance who knew what was really going on. Sure, Tazz was there, too, but he just wasn't the emotional type on a normal basis. Besides, the poor guy had his own problems what with having to pretend to betray his best friend so he could try and protect her behind enemy lines. Raven, on the other hand, had become like a brother to her. He was there for her when she had to let her real emotions out and talk, cry, scream or rage. And he had been more understanding then she would have believed possible, knowing just when she needed his advice or his silence. If Stephanie had her choice, Raven would be her brother instead of Shane. He was her best friend, and while the others were great, he was the only person other than Chris who she could count on and trust implicitly.
"Hey, baby girl," he greeted softly.
A sad smile touched her lips, "Hey, big bro."
"You doin' all right?"
"Yeah..."
Raven gave her a look and she sighed, "Okay. I'm not really all right. God! This is all my fault. I never should have agreed to this stupid plan in the first place! I should have known it wouldn't work!"
He raised an eyebrow, "But it is working. If it wasn't, the Alliance wouldn't be quickly on it's way to crumbling and turning to ashes before our eyes."
"Well... okay. It is working," Stephanie conceded. She continued angrily, "but it's not worth the price! Chris is gonna get himself killed! Or..."
She trailed off and he squeezed her free hand. The other one was currently grasping her lover's as if letting go would make him lost to her forever. After staring at Chris' face for another long moment, she finally turned her head up to look Raven in the eye.
"Or... I'm gonna get him killed," the brunette finished softly, lowering her eyes back to the man resting on the bench in front of her.
Raven sighed, "Stephy, Christopher is going to be fine. You know that. And you know that this plan is the only way for everything to work out like it's supposed to."
"Are you sure?" She asked, her voice quivering with unshed tears.
"Yes." His response was immediate.
"How can you be so certain?"
He smiled at her petulant tone of voice as he answered, "Because I am, and that's all you need to know for now. Everything will work out in the end. You'll see."
She glanced behind her for only a moment to see the others gathered in a circle, words flying between them. Turning back to look at Raven she questioned, "But what about Kane, 'Taker and Sara? I screwed up and now we have to tell them what's going one or they'll let everyone know we're all working together."
"It will be fine, Stephy. I promise you. Now, crawl up on that bench like I know you want to," Raven ordered. At her look, he smirked, "Come on, baby girl. I know you better then almost anyone. You've wanted to get up there since you got here, maybe before that."
Stephanie immediately began to protest, "But, his ribs..."
He cut her off, "Will be fine. I promise. In fact, when he wakes up with you in his arms, Christopher will feel much better than if you were not. Besides, you're exhausted. Your soul screams from it. Christopher will simply worry that much more if he wakes to find you like this."
Resigned, and not too unhappy about it, Stephanie stood on shaky legs with Raven's help. Once standing, he gently picked her up and lowered her onto the bench. Almost instantly, Chris' sleeping form wrapped his arms around her, pulling her securely against his side. She sighed contentedly and lay her head on his shoulder, her lips pressing a feather soft kiss against his throat. Resting a hand on his bare chest, over his heart, it took her only moments to join her lover in sleep.
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