CHAPTER 1

There was a clang of a handbag being thrown down on the bench. The door closed afterwards. Standing in the doorway, dripping from head to toe was Beth. "Its raining!" she stated in a disgruntled tone. Jeff appeared from the other room and looked her up and down. He smiled at the image, "I noticed". Jeff rested his head on the doorframe and watched with interest as Beth hung up her dripping coat and began to rung the water out of her hair. Jeff pulled a hairtye from his pocket and tossed it at her. "Here" he offered. She scrunched her hair into a ponytail. "How was your day?" she asked, leading Jeff over to the couch. They both sat down, jeff leaned back into the folds of the chair, and Beth removed her shoes and tucked her legs under her, resting her head on her hand she focused on Jeff. "It was alright…relaxing. My knee's been giving me some trouble. Hopefully it comes right by tomorrow." Beth looked away briefly. Tomorrow was the pay-per-view which meant a lot of traveling, kissing her hubby goodbye and then sitting backstage watching him entertain the fans, trying to stop her nerves from getting to her. She felt uneasy. Jeff sensed it. "Its okay" he told her, "it's always okay. don't get worked up about it. Ive done tones of these matches before. Me and Adam are seasoned pro's. Itll be a piece of cake". Beth smiled with uncertainty. "you always say that…but sometimes its not. You know you're lucky, but some people…." she broke off mid sentence. Her and Jeff's eyes travelled to a photo of them and Owen Hart sitting on the mantelpiece. it was an old photo. Owen was smiling while Jeff and Matt stood beside him trying to look intimidating, and Beth stood beside Jeff, not quite fitting in but forced into the photo. It was taken just before Jeff and Matt made it to the wwe, about a year before Owen died. Jeff's eyes moved back to Beth. He placed a hand on her knee. "It'll be okay" he assured her. She nodded, too tired to argue and annoyed by the butterflies in her stomach. Jeff flicked on the TV and sat back to watch, ending the conversation. Beth's eyes didn't look away from Jeff. He appeared completely calm. His legs were crossed, his eyes fixed on the TV and a smile spread on his face as he got more into the show. His hand rubbed Beth's knee slowly and reassuringly. He moved his arm to wrap around Beth's shoulders and held her close. Maybe the fear didn't show….but Beth knew for a fact that he wasn't 100% confident either.

CHAPTER 2

Beth woke up the next day to find Jeff already wide awake beside her. His blue hair covering half his face and his eyes fixed on the ceiling. "Morning" Beth mumbled, still tired. Jeff didn't reply, instead he moved his arm so that beth's head was resting on him. He was a silent being much of the time, but when he did speak it was clear that thought had gone into it. "You okay?" Beth asked, her head resting on his arm, but her eyes staring up at him. He drew his eyes away from the ceiling and fixed them on Beth. He smiled slightly. "We have to hit the road in an hour or so" he told her, ignoring the question. Beth saw the spark in his eyes as he stared at her. Every day before a big pay-per-view he would wake up early and just watch her sleep. Sometimes Beth would stay asleep, feeling his eyes on her. it was Jeff's silent way of capturing a moment. He knew as well as she did, that everytime he stepped into that ring, it could be his last time. Although he never said it, he feared it. He feared he would never see his brother again, never see his father out in the tabacco field again, and never see his wife sleep beside him again. His life formed around one word - Sacrifice. The sacrifice he made every night when he stepped in that ring and entertained the millions of fans watching. The sacrifice he made when he left home to never be in a town or a city for longer than a couple of days at a time. The way he sacrificed his body day in and day out - sometimes not sleeping for days on end, not eating for hours at a time, waking up and forcing his legs to hold him up despite the pain he felt. But looking down at Beth, he realized something - the sacrifices he forced HER to make. She was just a small-town girl when he met her. Big country house in the south, family dinners on thursday nights, a one stop sign kind of town where the loudest vehicle to drive by each day was the milkman doing his milkrun (they still did the milkrun!). But when Beth and Jeff met that night at the country bar in Cameron, Beth left that life behind to join Jeff. She stepped into his crazy life - the weeks in different cities and countries, the timezones that split their worlds, the crazy life that was professional wrestling. She never complained, she was just always…there. When Jeff was down she lifted his spirits, she was like the mother he lost years before. Checking he had everything before they boarded a plane, bringing him hot coffee in bed when he was sick, holding him…when he just needed to held. But even after 11yrs together, Jeff still couldn't comprehend why she put up with him. Beth broke his thoughts "You've been staring at me for like 5minutes now. Whats wrong?" she asked in her deep southern accent. Jeff smiled and planted a kiss on the top of her head. "Nothing's wrong…you're perfect".

CHAPTER 3

Jeff shut the trunk of the car. "Good to go?" asked Beth. Jeff nodded and hopped in the passenger seat. When Beth joined him, she turned the key in the ignition and leaned over to look in the rear view mirror. She started slowly backing the car out of the generic apartment carpark. Jeff busied himself in flicking through his ipod, trying to find something that wouldn't blast them out of sleep mode, but would still keep them awake until they got to the airport. "What gate do we have to check-in to?" asked Beth casually, now on the highway. She smiled when she realized that jeff wouldn't have the slightest clue until the minute the plane was leaving. "Maybe 4? I dunno" he replied, selecting Pearljam's 'crazy mary' and sitting the ipod on the dashboard of the car as the sound leaked through the stereo speakers. "i love this song!" exclaimed Beth, she began singing along quietly, "Down that old dirt road, past the parsons place". Jeff soon joined in "That old blue car, we used to race". They sang along together until the song was over. On arrival at the airport, Jeff unloaded the suitcases out of the trunk and wheeled them into the main foyer. He turned to Beth for direction. "Gate 5" she told him, "i don't know what you'd do if i left you to get here all by yourself". After checking in, they boarded the plane and Jeff as always, rushed to the window seat. As the plane took off, Beth looked down at the itinerary. "Indianapolis tonight and then Miami before Tampa" she stated. The thought alone tired her. "I need a break from this" said jeff, still staring out the window. It was not a statement he uttered often. Beth smiled slightly and rested a hand on his knee. He looked down at her hand and took it in his own. His fingers woven into hers. "Dad once said to me, 'you should only stop when you've gone as far as you can go'. I've been all around the states, over to Australia and as far as Japan. You cant go much further than that…..Its not fair to you, either. We've been on the road for 2months straight now. I just wanna go cut some grass." His eyes were tired and his leg shook riddled with RLS. "Don't worry about me. You do what's right for you. If you need a break, you take it." replied Beth. She moved a strand of Jeff's hair behind his ear but left her hand on his face, taking in his expression. " I just wanna go home and just relax. No work. No ring. No nothing. Just me and you….if only it was that easy", for a second he seemed to drift off, going to that place. Turbulance bought him back to reality. Beth moved her hand slowly, and rested her head on his shoulder. "i wish it was that easy too…."

CHAPTER 4

Jeff stood backstage. His face half painted, his hair slicked back, in full attire. He jumped from foot to foot to try and cure his nerves. He took a breath. "this is it" he breathed out. Beth stood beside him. This was the thousandth payperview, but something about this one was bigger, it was an extreme rules match - always risky. As Beth stared at her husband jumping around on the spot, 11yrs worth of memories flooded back to her. She tried to push them back. 'This wasn't the last time' she told herself, but her eyes began to well with tears. Jeff turned to face her, still with that crazed grin he painted on before a match. He stopped jumping around when he saw the tears flowing from her eyes. His expression instantly changed and he wrapped her in a hug. "Baby, don't cry" he told her. Beth tried to wipe the tears away, but they kept flooding back as Jeff held her. He pushed her away and put his hands on her shoulders. He looked at her, his eyes fixed on hers, his full attention on her. "You know i have to do this. After tonight, im ganna try make it stop, okay? We'll get that holiday and have that break. But tonight you gotta be strong for me. We both gotta be strong." Beth nodded slowly. He pulled her into a hug again "I love you" he whispered and planted a kiss on her head. "i love you too". Slowly, he let go as his music hit. He began to walk away towards the curtain. "Hey Jeff" called Beth, a tear still flowing down her cheek. Jeff turned around. "Just be safe out there." Jeff smiled and ran out through the curtain.

CHAPTER 5

Beth sat watching the match on the backstage TV. Her hands rested on her knees, clenched into white fists. The butterflies fluttered around her stomach. Randy walked into the room, dressed in his attire and a black hoody thrown over top. "Hey….Jeff vs Edge tonight isn't it?" he said as he sat down in the chair beside hers. Beth nodded silently, her eyes glued to the screen. She watched as a trash can got flung into her husband. She winced as if it had hit her. Randy noticed and his eyes travelled away from the TV to rest on Beth. He watched as she reacted to every bump and every weapon as she watched her husband on the screen. "Are you alright?" asked Randy, half concerned, half amused. Beth drew her eyes away from the TV set to face him. She faked a smile but gave in, "not really". There was an awkward silence, and both Randy and Beth went back to watching the action on the screen. As Jeff was thrown through a table, there was a minute where Beth held her breath. Silently she whispered 'please get up….please get up'. When Jeff would crawl back to his feet, she wouldn't relax one bit. "Maybe we should turn it off" suggested Randy. Beth looked at him with fear in her eyes. "What are you afraid of?" asked Randy. Beth looked at the floor "that he wont get up. That he'll stay shattered in that table. That he wont come home to me….that when he kissed me before will be the last time he'll ever kiss me" the tears flowed as she spoke. Concern took over Randy's face. "Does he know that?" he questioned. Beth wiped her hand across her face to remove the tears. "He knows i worry." she stated. Their attention moved back to the TV.

CHAPTER 6

Jeff opened the jar and took 2 capsules. He downed a glass of water and swallowed. The pain seemed to fade almost instantly. He looked over at Beth sitting on a chair beside him, watching him. "How many have you had today?" she asked. Jeff shrugged and continued to do his facepaint. Beth watched as he carefully moved the brush in a symmetrical pattern over his face. The paint seemed to form like magic. But as mesmerized as she was, she as concerned. "Can i see the jar?" she asked. Jeff stopped and pulled it out of his pocket and tossed it to her "Why?" he questioned casually. She carefully read the label 'take maximum of 2 capsules per day' it read. She knew for a fact that he had already taken 3 that she knew of. "No more of these today, okay?" she stated, placing the jar back up on the basin. "Aha" was the reply. Beth went to make herself a coffee. She glanced at the clock and the calendar below it. Two weeks ago, Jeff had told her this was all going to stop. It hadnt. The company wasn't letting him out. It was taking it's toll on Jeff both physically and mentally. They had to be at the show in less than half an hour. Fifteen minutes later they were in the car, jeff still touching up his paint. It was a house show and Jeff was on second, so Beth wasn't going to stay backstage, instead she was going to go do some grocery shopping. "Love you, babe" said Jeff and with a kiss on the cheek he jumped out of the car and casually strolled into the arena. Once inside the arena, he high-fived the guys before doing his stretches and warming up for his match. An hour later, Beth picked him up in the car. "Good match?" she asked. Jeff nodded. He rested his head back in the seat, obviously tired. From his pocket he took the familiar jar and poured 2 capsules into his hand. "Got any water?" he asked beth. She glanced over. "I don't think you need anymore" she told him. He ignored her and rummaged round in the backseat till he found a bottle of water. He downed the tablets. Beth had tried to stop him, and had learnt that there was no way she could do it. Jeff did his thing and she did hers. But she was worried. "Matt's party in a few hours" stated Beth, striking up a conversation, "I ironed your jeans for you". Jeff smiled "can we stop by the gas station? i need to get a red bull or something". Beth pulled over at the next station and Jeff ran inside and returned with a couple of red bulls. He passed one to Beth. Like a shot glass, he tilted his head back and downed the drink.

CHAPTER 7

They arrived at Matt's party where they both split ways to catch up with their friends. Jeff found Matt and cracked open a beer while the two brothers caught up. Beth found Tiffany and the two caught up and shared some laughs. After a while, Matt ushered everyone over to the wrestling ring set up in the middle of his BCR dome. Everyone took a seat as Yuk and Shannon locked up in the middle of the ring. Beth and Tiffany cheered accordingly. "Hey Kirby's on karaoke, we should go check him out. What says you and me have a go at some Bon Jovi" suggested Tiffany. Beth agreed and the two moved away from the cheering crowd over to the karaoke machine. Kirby was jamming out with his brother TJ. Spitting rhymes and having a good time. Meanwhile, Jeff was sitting ringside with his brother Matt. The cocktail of pain killers, caffeine and alcohol beginning to take its toll. "You alright, brudda?" asked Matt, watching as Jeff sat back in his chair. Jeff tore his eyes away from the match in front of him and faced his brother. Matt was onto his fourth drink and alcohol was clearing beginning to take its toll as Matt began to get them sleepy eyes he did when he got drunk. Jeff smiled "Yeah, man. Keen to get in there. We should tag up and show these good people some entertainment" he suggested, sitting up in his chair, wiping the sluggish feeling away. Matt agreed and got up holding his drink in search of some opponents. He returned about 10 minutes later with Kimo and Shatter. "You dare to take on the hardy boyz?" joked Jeff. He flashed the Hardy gun symbols with his hands "We'll show you extreme!" His tone was jokingly but challenging, in true promo mode. Kimo laughed before taking off his t-shirt and the four men made their way into the ring. Matt grabbed the microphone and cut a quick promo inviting everyone to see the Hardy Boyz team up for the first time ever in the BCR dome. The crowd of people in the room, gathered around the ring while the four men moved into their respective corners. "You start off" Matt told Jeff. Jeff jumped in the ring and clapped his hands to get the crowd into it as Kimo approached him. The two locked up and threw punches back and forth. Matt, drunk on the outside, threw his hands up in the air and jumped around like an idiot. As Jeff went into a baseball slide, he felt a sharp pain in his head. Wanting to keep wrestling, he threw a quick tag to Matt and stood on the outside shaking his head trying to throw it off. Matt threw all his signatures as Shatter jumped into the ring to show the crowd what he could do. As he warmed up for the finish, he tagged Jeff in "Swonton the finish, baby bro!" he shouted. Jeff climbed to the top rope as Matt held Shatter down. But as he stood at the top, looking around the room and throwing the guns, the sharp pain hit him again. Suddenly, he couldn't see. He felt his legs collapse under him before he blacked out.

The crowd screamed and awed as jeff fell backwards from the top rope onto the outside and landed with a sickening thud. Matt sat with Shatter, drunk and disorientated with a goofy grin on his face, not comprehending what had happened. Yuk jumped down from the ring and bent down, he checked jeff's pulse and moved his head around trying to wake up his friend. Beth suddenly appeared with Tiffany and pushed her way through the crowd to sit beside her husband. "Jeff! Jeff baby, talk to me" she slapped his face trying to wake him up. "Someone call an ambulance!" she screamed. The crowd burst into conversation as everyone ran around awkwardly pulling out cellphones and not knowing what to do. Panic spread through Beth. Jeff not breathing, blacked out, lying unmoving on the floor. tears filled her eyes and she shook jeff viciously. "wake up, baby. come on. its okay. jeff!" Tiffany sat down beside her and tried to restrain her friend. "Ambulance is on their way," she told Beth, suprisingly calm. Beth struggled out of Tiffany's grip, still trying to shake Jeff awake. "Beth, listen to me" said Tiffany, her voice serious, "What has he had today? Did he take anything?". Beth's eyes were still glued on jeff. She went into shock, unable to blink, unable to move. Tiffany pulled beth into a hug and led her away, as ambulance officers suddenly appeared and crowded around Jeff. "Did he take anything?" Tiffany repeated. Her voice still serious as she looked in Beth's eyes. Beth's eyes were glazed with tears. She nodded silently. "What did he take Beth? They need to know." Tiffany ushered towards the ambulance workers, "they need to help him." Beth was confused, the whole situation was a mess. She couldn't comprehend what was going on. "P…p…painkillers" she stuttered. Tiffany nodded "How many?". Beth looked at her and then looked away. the room was spinning… and then the world went black.

CHAPTER 8

Beth woke up on a couch in a strange room. She blinked and looked around. The white ceiling, the bright lights. Everyone was walking around in white clothes. "You're awake" came the calming voice of Tiffany. She appeared out of nowhere, holding a hot drink and sat in an armchair beside Beth. Beth sat up "what happened?" she asked sleepily. Surely it was all just a dream. "you fainted" came the reply. Suddenly reality crashed. "Jeff….where's jeff?" Beth asked, panicked. Tiffany put a hand on Beth. "He's okay. You can go see him in a little while….he overdosed, honey. Too many pain pills and too much mixing. He fell….and took a nasty fall. But he's okay." explained Tiffany. Beth found her feet somehow. "i need to go see him…i need to see him now" she asked. Tiffany took her down to a hospital room. "he's in there…ill be down in the cafe if you need me". beth walked into the room and saw Jeff lying in a bed. Tubes in his arm, his face pale, his hair somehow faded against the white hospital sheets. His eyes fixed shut. "awww baby" sighed Beth, sitting down beside him. she found jeff's hand and locked her fingers in his. She kissed his hand softly. Jeff groaned slightly and after a few blinks, his eyes met hers. "Beth" he uttered. She smiled "im here". Jeff looked around, his eyes adjusting to the bright lights. He realized where he was, and sunk his head into the pillow "oh no…." he moaned. "One too many this time…but its okay. You're still breathing. thats the main thing." assured Beth, more attempting to reassure herself than anything. Jeff shook his head and detangled his fingers from hers. "No…its not okay." he replied. His head throbbed with pain from when he had fallen, and his back ached. "seven…." he almost whispered. Beth sat back in the chair. She drew circles on her knee with her fingers - wanting to hold him. "Whats at seven?" she asked quietly. Jeff looked at her, and his eyes drilled into her own. She knew. "I took seven" he repeated her thoughts. Beth tilted her head to the side and sighed. "Working too hard…they stopped the pain. I should've taken the break. I needed the break….". Beth offered her hand to him, but he pushed it away. "i don't deserve you. Why are you still here?" his voice was almost annoyed. Beth forced his hand into hers. Jeff stared at their interwoven fingers, feeling the hotness of her grip. "Im here…because i wanna be. And im not leaving. We're ganna get through this…together" she mused. Jeff could see a tear brewing in her eye- threatening to run down her face. He looked away. He didn't want to see her cry. he didn't want to face what he'd done to her. She'd sacrificed everything and he'd gone and topped himself and almost died. But she was still there. It didn't fit. He grimaced. Half fighting the pain in his back, and half fighting the pain of hurting her. He felt his own tears in his throat. He focused his eyes on the wall, his head turned away from her. His life was screwed up. Beth let the tears fall freely. Jeff turned back to her, his eyes filling with tears but he wouldn't let them spill….not in front of her. "You could do so much better" he told her. He felt his eyes overflowing, and quickly wiped the water away with the back of his hand. "I don't want better….i want you" her voice broke through tears. Jeff moved in the bed so that there was space for Beth. He reached for her other hand and pulled her to sit beside him. He wrapped his arm around her and she lay down beside him on the bed. For a moment they were silent. Enjoying each others company - staring at the ceiling. beth turned to focus on jeff, his eyes fixed on the roof, but the tears still welling in his eyes. "It's okay to cry" whispered Beth. Jeff blinked to look at her and silent tears trickled down his face. he smiled at her pretty face and leaned over to kiss her forehead. He lingered, his eyes open taking in all that she was. His lips moved down her face and rested on her lips. Beth opened her eyes to focus on him…so close…but still every bit as perfect as the moment she met him. As jeff leaned over her, they stared at each other. Silently smiling. "forgive me" whispered Jeff into her ear. their lips pressed together. Jeff slowly pulled away as they both opened their eyes and looked at each other lovingly. "No work. No ring. No nothing. Just me and you" Beth's voice faded into the kiss. In a world where each had nothing….they still had each other. One thing they would never sacrifice.