The first thing Chris Jericho was aware of upon waking was the mind numbing pain in his ribs and back. The second thing was that a warm, familiar, female form was curled around him. At that realization it felt as if a force that had been suffocating him moments ago lifted, and the pain became more solid in his mind, but also more bearable.
Blinking groggily, Chris moved his eyes around him, discovering he was in a locker room. As his vision began to focus, and he worked on blocking out the pain for the moment, he picked out the forms of his friends. On the bench across the room Lita sat beside Edge with her head resting on his shoulder, moving every so often in a restless sleep. For his part, Edge didn't seem to mind all that much, just adjusting himself with her whenever she changed positions, watching over her silently. Tazz, Matt and Jeff stood a little ways from them, gathered around a chair on which Trish sat. *Her ankle probably isn't healed completely,* Chris thought to himself. The three men seemed to be talking, explaining something to the little blonde woman, but Chris couldn't make out what they were saying. Craning his neck, Chris looked behind him to find just what he expected to see. Raven sat perched on a chair by his head, keeping a silent vigil. When the dark haired man noticed he was watching him, he only smiled slightly and inclined his head in recognition.
Finally, Chris looked down at himself, to be greeted with a calming sight. Stephanie lay curled around him, her head resting on his shoulder, looking so innocent in sleep. A smile touched his lips, and he lifted his hand to gently stroke her cheek. At the familiar touch, she mumbled something that sounded distinctly like his name and slowly began to wake up.
"Mmm...," Stephanie moaned groggily, blinking to try and clear her sleep fogged brain. She looked up from her position resting on Chris' chest, only to see a pair of beautiful blue eyes staring down at her.
"Hey, Lioness," Chris greeted quietly, still smiling.
Stephanie broke into a smile of her own, responding just as softly, "Hey, Lionheart."
As if on cue, their faces moved closer, coming together to meet in a soft, sweet kiss. After a few moments, they pulled away, smiling again, until the events of earlier came back to Stephanie. Her eyes widened and she pushed herself up with one hand on the bench beside Chris, so she could gently place a hand over his ribs.
She turned worried eyes to him. "Are you okay? Your ribs... and your back probably, too... Oh, God, what am I doing? I'll get off you. Jesus, I probably did more damage..."
Chris cut her off easily by taking her hand and using it to pull her back to her former position against his side. Once she was settled again, and his arm was back around her, he reassured her calmly. "I'm fine, Steph. I promise. My ribs and back hurt some, yeah. It's to be expected when a guy like Rhyno gores you through a screen onto a steel ramp. But I'll live." At her skeptic look, he continued, "You're not hurting me any more by staying right where you are. In fact, I feel better with you here. Relax, all right?"
Reluctantly, she complied, resting her head once again on Chris's shoulder. He stroked her hair gently, fingers barely brushing the cinnamon strands, until she let out a sigh and relaxed completely. Seeing that she wasn't planning on going anywhere anytime soon, Chris looked back at Raven again and nodded his head toward the others, questions dancing in his eyes.
Raven nodded and gracefully came down from the chair to stand on the ground. He walked over to first the group of four, who stopped talking as he approached. Gesturing behind him, he allowed them to see that Chris was awake, and watched them quickly make their way towards the couple laying on the bench, before turning and going to Edge and Lita. Edge looked up at him warily as he approached, but Raven only cocked his head to the side to point out once again that Chris was awake. The blonde nodded, turning to Lita as Raven walked back over to his former position near Chris and Stephanie.
Edge looked at the redhead, who was essentially in his arms at this point, for a moment longer before gently rubbing her shoulder and calling softly, "Hey, Lita. Time to get up."
She shifted in his arms, but stayed asleep. He tried again. "Come on, Lita girl. Chris is awake. We gotta get back to the hotel."
After a few more tries, during which Edge felt like a total heel for disturbing her when she so badly needed the rest, Lita finally began to wake up. She looked up at him through hazy eyes, and asked, her voice thick with sleep, "Whas goin' on?"
He smiled softly at her. "Chris is awake. We should tell him and Steph what happened then get back to the hotel. We have a meeting to keep later, remember?"
She did remember, so she smiled back at him, blushing when she realized he had his arms wrapped around her.
He blushed, too, and quickly removed his arms, standing from the bench. Looking down at her ducking her head, he couldn't help but think about how cute she looked, like a little girl who'd just gotten her first kiss. *Stop that train of thought. Not going there, Edge. Not right now, anyway,* he berated himself mentally, shaking his head to clear it.
After a moment, he reached out his hand and she smiled at him again as she took it and he pulled her up to stand beside him. They shared one more glance, before quickly going to the other side of the locker room to join the others.
"So, Undertaker, Kane and Sara are coming to the suite at midnight so we can explain everything," Matt finished telling Stephanie and Chris as Edge and Lita finally made it to them.
Stephanie and Chris were now sitting up, with Chris leaning against the lockers at his back, and Stephanie leaning on his shoulder once more. Everyone else gathered in a loose half circle around the couple, and had filled them in on what had happened while they were asleep.
"Guys," Stephanie began apologetically, "I am so sorry. This is all my fault. I should have been more careful. I know that people are wandering around all over, and I shouldn't have lost my focus like that..."
Lita interrupted her easily. "Just stop right there, Steph." Seeing she had the brunette's attention she went on. "Don't you dare blame yourself. You were worried about Chris. We all know that, and none of us blame you for it. I was ready to fly out there myself when it happened, and I'm not in love with him. I can only imagine what it was like for you to see the man you love slammed through a piece of the set into a steel ramp." Unconsciously, she glanced at Edge before turning back to Stephanie and going on. "We understand, Stephanie. We do. Besides, this might just end up being a good thing. He's been thinking about bringing 'Taker in recently, but he hadn't found a way to do it. Now we have one."
Trish piped up reassuringly, "Lita's right, Steph. None of us blame you. Everything will work out fine. You'll see."
The rest of the group gave nods and sounds of agreement, and Stephanie smiled at them. "Thanks, guys. I don't know what I'd do without you."
Tazz snorted. "I don't think we have time to get into that one."
She glared at him, to which his only response was a grin, before turning to Chris. "Are you all right to get out of here? It's late, so none of the others should still be at the arena. A little disguise and some luck, and no one will know I'm with you guys."
The others looked at each other in surprise. Usually when this happened, Stephanie would catch a ride with Tazz and Raven, so if anyone was still hanging around the arena, the three could claim they had a late strategy session or something. Chris, Lita, the Hardyz and anyone else with them would leave together. Then, the whole lot of them would meet back at the hotel on the opposite side of town from where the rest of the wrestlers were staying, in one of the suites that served as their meeting room.
Seeing their looks, Stephanie told them firmly, "If you ever think I'm letting him out of my sight, you're insane. It's not gonna happen."
They knew that tone of voice, it was the one the youngest McMahon had inherited from her father, the one that said 'I mean business, so if you screw with me, it's your funeral.' They wisely decided not to argue with her. Instead, Raven walked over to Chris' bag, and pulled out two shirts, before going to Jeff's bag and pulling out a purple cap. He returned to the others, handing one shirt to Chris, and the other shirt and hat to Stephanie. Chris' shirt was a simple Y2J barbed wire logo T-shirt, which he slipped on with Stephanie's help. Stephanie had Chris' Y2J hockey jersey, which was a couple sizes to big, and reached down to just above her knees when she put it on. She took her long hair and twisted it around to fit underneath the purple Hardy Boyz cap Raven had taken from Jeff's bag. She stood and looked at the others questioningly.
Trish eyed her up and down for a minute, before her eyes lit up and she grabbed Lita's arm to drag her over to the redhead's bag. They talked quietly as they searched through it, finally coming up with a pair of dark green cargo pants. They returned and handed the pants to Stephanie, who eyed them cautiously before going into the private area of the locker room. She came back a moment later, wearing the cargo pants and carrying the black ones she had previously had on. She spun in a circle and raised her eyebrows at the others in a 'well, what do you think?' gesture.
Impulsively, Lita reached up from her position beside Edge, and plucked the silver framed sunglasses from his head, handing them to the brunette. Edge tried to glare at the woman at his side, but she only smiled at him and he rolled his eyes in defeat.
Stephanie put on the sunglasses and walked over to a mirror. She smiled when she saw her reflection. "I don't even recognize me. I doubt anyone else will."
"Then it's time to go," Raven told them, moving to the door without another word. Tazz shrugged, then quickly turned to catch up to him as he walked out the door.
Chris smiled at Stephanie. "You look cute."
Her smile grew even more and she moved back to him. Gently, she and Matt helped him to his feet, and they kept him between them as the group made towards the door. Edge and Lita led in the front, keeping an eye out for anyone who was hanging around. Stephanie and Matt followed with Chris, and Trish and Jeff brought up the rear, both also on the lookout for any unwanted company.
For a moment, Jeff paused. It had become second nature to him, to all of them really, to look over their shoulders all the time now. Not only over their shoulders, but everywhere. They were even used to walking in a formation that allowed them to be on the defensive at all times, always keeping injured or weaker members in the center. *God...,* Jeff thought to himself, *we sound like a covert military operation or something. I wonder if there'll ever be a time when we don't have to always be on the lookout for something bad to happen.*
"Jeff?" Trish's voice drew him from his thoughts, and he looked down to see her standing in front of him, concern etched across her features.
He tried to smile reassuringly, but from her expression, he failed miserably. He tried another tactic and told her, "I'm fine, Trish. Just thinking about some stuff."
Jeff walked around her and moved quickly to catch up with the others, knowing she was right behind him. When they finally caught up, Trish walked beside him.
They continued, still looking around cautiously, as Trish said quietly, so only he could hear, "I sometimes wonder if I'll ever be unafraid. Like I was before this started." Jeff glanced over at her silently in surprise, so she continued. "You're not the only one who wonders, Jeff. We all do."
He sighed. "Do you ever wish... that you hadn't agreed? That you had just ignored Steph and Chris and everyone, and not become a part of this whole... thing?"
Her answer surprised him again. "Of course I do. Things would be a whole lot easier. But then I think about what we're doing, the reasons we're doing it. I think about all my friends..."
She trailed off for a moment before reaching over to take his hand in hers. Trish looked him directly in the eyes and finished, "...and I think about you."
"I'm glad you didn't ignore us, 'cause I don't know what I'd do without you here," Jeff told her, a real smile coming to his face.
Trish smiled back, and they turned their full attention back to scanning the hallways as the seven of them made their way cautiously towards the parking garage. They still had a meeting at midnight at the suite, and they were going to cut it really close. Their only hope, was that this wasn't going to be a huge mistake, and the Brothers of Destruction and Sara would agree to join them. If not... the fall out would not be pretty. Not at all.
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