Notes: This story is intended to be a re-write/update of 'Beyond My Control' .. it will use the same concept, slightly similar set up but updated to reflect a few things such as Trish & Lita's retirement. Setting this really in place of the Divas Championship and if there are any questions, let me know.

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Stamford, Connecticut - May, 2008

Amy Dumas listened as patiently as possible, occasionally exchanging a look with Trish Stratus as the two women continued their meeting with Stephanie McMahon. When they had originally been asked to meet with the brunette, the two had been under the impression that they were needed for another one-time appearance. But, as the meeting went on, they learned that this purpose was quite different. Instead of a one-time appearance it would be more along the lines of a full time return with a partially full time schedule depending on what they wanted to do. As Stephanie explained, they would be a part of the roster again and, if they wanted to, could compete for the Women's Championship.

Amy bridged her hands together, "so do we get a say as to who we're teaming with?"

Stephanie tucked a few wayward strands of hair behind her ears, "that's what my father and I were both considering... any woman with seniority, such as yourselves, Victoria, Mickie, Melina, Jillian, Candice, Michelle and Maria would have priority over Maryse, Natalya, Eve, Beth or Kelly."

Trish pressed her lips into a thin line, a thoughtful expression on her face; "Is that who else has agreed to this?"

Stephanie shook her head, "actually, we haven't spoken to anyone else yet because we wanted to see if the two of you would be interested. Based on the crowd's reaction at the Anniversary show, it was apparent to us that they still can't get enough of Trish and Lita..."

"That did feel pretty good," Amy admitted first, "but I have a couple of questions before I consider this further." And when Stephanie made an open gesture for her to continue, the dark haired woman nodded. "You say that we'll be full time with a part time schedule.. how part time do you mean? I get that we'll have to do a weekly appearance and pay per view, but what about house shows? One reason I retired is because the schedule was getting to be way too much for me."

"House shows will probably be taken into consideration later, depending on the reception that the division receives." Stephanie flipped through her notes, "at this time we're anticipating that the division will compete on Smackdown because we're planning on keeping the Women's title exclusive to RAW."

Taking a moment to process this bit of information, Amy chewed thoughtfully on her lower lip. "And this will be the only storyline that we'll be taking part in?"

Stephanie smiled, "if that's what you want to do, then that's what you can do. Again, we're going to try and base this off of the crowd's reaction but I would think that they're expecting to see some romantic entanglements based on the partners."

Amy grimaced, really not wanting to go through what she had before; "I can't speak for Trish but I haven't done much in the way of actual wrestling since I retired. I guess it'll be like riding a bicycle getting back into it, but I need some time to train and get myself back into ring shape. Plus, the band..."

Trish nodded shortly, "I need to make arrangements for the studio and I'll also need some time to get back into ring shape. I don't want to be a liability to any of the superstars or divas."

The brunette seated before them nodded, flipping to another page of her notes, "we're hoping to introduce the start of the tournament after Summer Slam so, that's two months from now. If the two of you want to make a few appearances on television or start traveling with the rosters before then to get used to things, then you have my okay to do so. Plus, to give you a heads up, we might need that to happen anyway, just to tease the audience a bit."

A hopeful smile on her face, Stephanie turned the clipboard so it was facing the two former divas, a pen placed on top of it. Exchanging one more thoughtful look, Trish made the indication for Amy to sign first, a wary look on the dark haired woman's face before she did just that. And once Trish had signed, the clipboard was back in Stephanie's possession.

"Well, let me be the first to welcome you both to the inaugural Inter-Gender Division."

Trish cleared her throat, "who else did you contact aside from us?"

Stephanie tapped the pen on the clipboard, "I left messages with Jazz, Molly and Ivory.. both for possibly competing and if not, then to help train. Torrie told me that she would consider it depending on who else was going to get involved."

Amy arched an eyebrow, "and how many teams are going to be competing in this division?"

"We were figuring around twenty at the most," Stephanie settled her hands on the desk, "that way, if the division is received well initially, we'll have sustained competition. And we can also consider several ideas for matches, if the division goes that long."

Trish nodded shortly, "well I hate to be rude, Steph, but I have a really busy day... even more so now."

Amy also pushed her chair back, "and I'm supposed to be meeting with Jeff for lunch in half an hour, though with him it'll probably be an hour..."

Stephanie nodded easily, "just give me a call if either of you need anything else, alright?"

Amy and Trish nodded in return, the two women just reaching the door when Stephanie spoke again.

"I'll have the official contracts ready next week, so just stop by so you can sign those... and," she grinned, "we also need to discuss wardrobes and travel arrangements."

Amy and Trish rolled their eyes a little, used to Stephanie's last minute instructions. And while they were both still a little apprehensive about the division, the concept still sounded interesting enough.

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Disclaimer: I lay claim to no person, place or thing that you may recognize. I do lay claim to the plot.