Authors Note: The idea for this came after seeing the pictures from Germany of Matt bleeding profusely from the head (yeah, thanks for that by the way Matthew!) I have played with time lines and time zones a bit and taken a few creative liberties.

Disclaimer: If I owned Matt Hardy, we'd all be in trouble. Emma Keating = mine all mine.

If This Isn't Love - Chapter 1


Her cellphone ringing on the nightstand roused Emma Keating out of a sound sleep, the first she'd been able to have in a few days, and she grumbled at the offending noise as she checked the caller ID. "Jeff" it read .. not the Hardy she had been expecting a call from. Her brow furrowed in confusion as she put the phone to her ear, Lucas tilting his head quizically at her from the other pillow.

"Hello?"

"Ok, don't kill me," Jeff's voice pleaded from the other end. Emma sat up, clicking on the small lamp on the nightstand.

"God, I can't TELL you how much I love conversations that start like that," she said, rubbing sleep out of her hazel eyes. "What is it Jeff?"

"I'm serious Em, promise you won't be mad."

"Considering you woke me up at 4 in the morning, your chances are already slim for that. What?"

"I kind of um .. here, talk to Beth." The younger Hardy thrust the phone to his wife, who gave him a dirty look.

"No way, you did it, you tell her," Beth said, but one pleading look from Jeff's green eyes put an end to that argument.

"Hey Em," Beth started. "So ok um. So the guys had a street fight match, as you know, and well .. Jeff gave Matt a chair shot and um .. he kind of .. missed. And Matt got opened hard way above the eye, " Beth explained in wrestling terms. "He's being stitched up now." She heard Emma curse under her breath and winced as she handed the phone back to Jeff. "She wants to talk to you."

"Damnit," Jeff muttered. "She is going to kill me for this." He took the phone again as Beth nodded at his previous statement. He could hear Emma pacing back and forth across the floor and knew he would have hell to pay from both his brother & his brother's girlfriend when this was all said and done.

"How many?" Emma demanded, twisting a lock of her long, dark brown hair between her thumb and forefinger, a nervous habit she'd had since childhood.

"He's fine Emma, I swear, it looks a lot worse than it is and you know people always bleed more from the face .."

"Jeff. How many?" she asked again, sitting on the bed. Lucas nudged her hand until she began to pet him absentmindedly.

"Thirteen," Jeff mumbled.

"JESUS JEFF! What did you tear his freaking eye off?"

"I'm sorry Em! We got into it and the lighting in the arenas over here sucks and you know I feel like shit .." Jeff sighed and immediatley Emma felt bad about getting upset at him. She knew Jeff would never intentionally hurt Matt and was probably beating himself up worse than anything at that moment. But it made her stomach turn to think of Matt hurt even the slightest bit, and thirteen stitches seemed like so many!

Emma had seen her fair share of injuries in the three years her and Matt had been together, and compared to the near death experience with Matt's appendix and staph infection, stitches were a walk in the park. Even so, every injury Matt endured sent her heart to her feet and brought tears to her eyes, and made her want him to walk away immediatley .. but Emma knew how much the business meant to him, how much his fans meant to him, and she knew he would be wrestling until his body gave out. It was one of the things she loved the most about him.

"Em? You there?" Jeff asked tentatively after her long silence.

"Yeah," Emma sighed, rubbing her eyes. "Look, just take care of him Jeff, and watch where you swing that chair from now on, because so help me God if he doesn't come home perfectly in tact .."

"I know, I know. Beth's already threatening to make me sleep alone for this." Emma snickered, knowing that was a completely empty threat. For a couple that had been together for nearly 10 years, Jeff and Beth still couldn't keep their hands off each other. "Anyway Matt wanted me to let you know he's ok and he loves you and he'll call you as soon as he's put back together .." Beth thumped Jeff on the back of the head for his wording choice on the last sentence. "Er, I mean um, when he's, ya know .. good as new!"

Emma shook her head, feeling suddenly exhausted and emotional. "Alright, thanks. You guys be safe." She hung up with Jeff and set her phone on the nightstand, sighing deeply, knowing she wouldn't be getting any sleep that night.

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