A/N: This fic is a response to a challenge on a Yahoo! Fic Group I'm a part of.  All characters belong to WWE and themselves. Hope you like it! ;-)

*Someone To Keep Me Warm*

Chris Jericho reached out and twisted the knob on the car heater, turning it up all the way. He released the gas a little and then rubbed his hands together, shivering as he fought to keep himself warm. These damn rental cars had terrible heating systems. Christ, it had to be only fifteen degrees outside. Muttering a string of curses, Chris hung a left, a yawn escaping his lips. After a grueling match on Raw - which led to his being dropped on his head by Batista - the Canadian wanted nothing more than to get back to the hotel and crawl into bed... the nice, *warm* bed. He couldn't believe how absolutely frigid it was.

Pulling out onto a deserted highway, Chris reached out and fumbled with the dial once more, as though messing with it one more time would actually make the damn thing work any faster. When he put his eyes back on the road, he caught a glimpse of a shadow. Not just any ordinary shadow, but what appeared to be a person. Raising an eyebrow, Chris continued driving, squinting as he neared the object. One would have to be absolutely insane to be outside in such harsh weather. Sure enough, it was a person Chris was seeing on his journey back to the hotel. Instinctively, he slowed down, rolling down his window in an attempt to draw the person's attention. Chris's blue eyes widened when he met a pair of dark brown, almost black ones.

That nut he had seen wasn't just any nut...

It was Victoria.

Chris slammed on his breaks, sticking his head out the window and checking to see if his eyes had deceived him. It was Victoria alright, and the young woman was wearing nothing but a light jacket and a pair of jeans.

"Victoria, are you crazy?!" Chris exclaimed, jumping out of the car and rushing over to her.

"Some have said so," she replied, smiling at him despite the fact that her jaw felt as though it were frozen shut. At this point, she couldn't have cared less who was in that car, but she had to admit to herself that she was glad it was Jericho.

After staring at her for a moment in disbelief, Chris wrapped his arm around her shoulder, leading her to the car. He opened the passenger door, allowing her to sit  before leaning over her and yanking the keys out of the ignition. He quickly made his way to the trunk, popping it open and tearing at the bags inside until he found what he was searching for. He slammed the lid shut and hopped back in the car. He turned to Victoria, a gleam of concern in his eyes as he handed the item - a small blanket that he normally used on plane rides - over to her.

"What the hell are you doing out here? And where the hell is your coat?" he asked in a slightly reprimanding tone as Victoria graciously took the blanket and wrapped it around her shaking shoulders.

"Same place as yours?" she offered with a small smile as she noticed that he wasn't wearing a coat either. "My car broke down, about four miles up the road. I don't have my cell phone, so I figured I'd have to walk for help."

"Victoria, the nearest gas station is about ten miles from here. Did you honestly plan on walking that far?" he asked incredulously. The woman had guts, there was no doubt about that. Just the sight of her - shivering, teeth chattering, nose red and running - sent an unwelcomed chill up his spine.

"Well, it was that or sit around and pray I didn't freeze to death waiting for someone to find me."

Suddenly remembering that the keys were still in his hand, Chris wordlessly put them back in the ignition, turning the car back on. Victoria closed her eyes, reveling in the feeling of the warmth

blasting from the heat vents. She was actually beginning to regain some feeling in her body.

"Jesus Christ," Jericho whispered, reaching out to rub his hands up and down her arms. "You must be freezing." A short, rueful laugh escaped her lips as she nodded.

"Warmth is a luxury I've taken for granted," she noted, vowing never again to leave her cell phone at home. Her eyes quickly scanned the car before settling back on Chris.

"So, where's Trish?" she asked, reaching out and wiggling her fingers in front of the vent.

"Excuse me?" Chris replied, a little surprised by her sudden inquiry.

"I just expected her to be with you. After all, you guys are, as she put it, 'close friends', right?" Victoria asked, a playful gleam in her eye. How she managed to maintain a sense of humor while being so frozen was beyond Chris.

"Yeah, well, I think 'close friends' is all it's ever going to be. I don't think she saw things the way I did," he replied, his gaze growing serious.

"Please," the young woman scoffed. "I'll bet if she knew I was here with you right now she'd be insanely jealous."

"Maybe... but then again, so might Steven Richards," he replied, the childlike grin managing to work it's way back to Jericho's face.

Victoria shrugged... her relationship with Stevie was - contrary to what many believed - pretty much the same as Jericho's was with Trish Stratus. Friendship was about all that was there.

"I don't think he'd mind," she replied with a wink. Chris laughed, sliding across the seat towards her and placing his arm around her shoulder again.

"Guess I'll have to find someone else to keep warm," he noted, winking down at her.

Victoria wasn't sure if it was the cold getting to her, or just how damn sexy that wink was, but something sent a shiver through her. She smiled at him, suddenly feeling more warm than she had in hours.

"Well... I could certainly use someone to warm me up right now," she said tentatively.

It was then that she glanced down to notice that somehow, during the course of the mere minute he had been sitting with her, their hands had entwined together, the heat coming from his hands bringing the feeling back to her fingers. She looked back up at him, her breath nearly catching in her throat at the soft, tender gaze he was giving her. Very slowly, as if he was still contemplating the action while doing so, Chris leaned down and pressed his lips to hers, kissing her softly. The kiss was short and sweet, but was plenty enough to make Victoria forget about the cold that was still plaguing her. She smiled sweetly at him as he broke the kiss and slid back to the drivers' seat, pulling her along with him.

"Victoria... it would be my honor to take that job," he finally replied, holding her close to him as he shifted the car into drive and pulled away.

As they drove out into the moonlit night, Victoria sighed happily. Her night had most certainly changed for the better. She glanced over at Chris, smiling as she decided that maybe the cold wasn't so bad...

After all, she had the King of the World to keep her warm.