All characters copyright WWE inc. This one goes out to everyone who has ever had to sacrifice for a loved one...
Over The Edge
"You wanted to see me, Mr. McMahon." Adam Copeland, aka Edge, aka "The Ultimate Opportunist" aka "The R-rated Superstar" walked into his boss' office, a smug expression on his face.
Three weeks ago, he had been the victim of what he called "a senseless attack" at the residence that Jeff and Eric sometimes shared and he assumed that Vince was calling him in discuss his payback. With Eric still not employed by the company, Adam assumed it would involve him beating the tar out of Jeff. Except for some on-sight interviews, Jeff had not done much since losing to Matt at Wrestlemania. The official explanation was an injured throat from a Twist of Fate done around a chair, but the real reasons were known only to Vince and Jeff, neither of whom were talking to anyone, especially Edge.
"Yeah, have a seat, Adam. We have a problem." Vince leaned over the desk, lacing his fingers together.
"Sir?" Adam asked
"Yes. I received this today." Vince gestured at a legal-looking document his elbows were currently resting upon. "It's a restraining order."
"I dunno what's been going on between you, Jeff, and Eric, but until further notice, this states that you are not allowed within 500 yards of either of them..."
"You've gotta be kidding me!" Adam exclaimed "For what?"
"According to this, attempted rape, uttering threats, trespassing..."
"That's a load of crap!" Adam shouted. At least the last two were, and in his mind, Jeff had been begging for it to begin with.
"It may be, but until this gets settled officially, I have to go along with it. Therefore, I expect you to conform with this as well. Any, and I mean any, transgression of the conditions in this, and I will hang you out to dry and then I'll hang you." Vince slid the papers across his desk to the now very angry blond.
"Is that all?" Adam asked
"For now, yes." Vince replied "And I am dead serious. Unless you want a lot of trouble, keep your nose clean."
Adam stormed out of Vince's office, slamming the door hard enough to knock a painting or two off the wall, and immediately went to his dressing room.
"Fuck!" He shouted
"'sup, bro?" Jay asked
"Goddamn Hardy and his ass-fucking faggot of a boyfriend." Adam answered, his rage spewing like lava from an active volcano. "This is what's up... a fucking restraining order."
"Restraining order? What for?" Jay asked
"Matt and I decided to have a little fun with ole Jeffro, and he blew it way out of proportion." Adam rehashed the incident with Jay, glossing over some of it to make him come out in a better light.
"Lemme take a look at that." Jay scanned the document while Adam ranted.
"It was Eric, I know it. First he tries to permanently injure me, and now this!" Adam paced "I'll get them both, I swear it!"
"It looks legit." Jay handed the pages back to Adam, who crumpled them in his fists.
"I don't care if it looks legit or not..."
"Why you jumping down my throat?" Jay asked, unused to seeing his "brother" act like this. I guess he didn't watch a whole lot of WWE programming while he was in TNA? "Maybe you should just chill."
"Chill?" Adam looked at Jay like he'd been speaking Japanese. "I'm being fucked over and all you can say is 'chill'?"
"It's your deal, not mine." Jay quickly gathered his things and left the fuming superstar to his own devices.
"Dammit. If you think this will stop me, then you're dead wrong, Jeff. Dead wrong."
Around noon, Jeff finally awoke. With all his time off, he was enjoying that he was now able to sleep in once in a while. He liked it more that he was not sleeping alone, stuffed rabbit notwithstanding.
It was times like this, when he looked over at the peaceful face of his man, that he felt the happiest he'd felt in years. In fact, there was only one time that he knew he'd been happier, but thinking about things that involved his brother made him feel mildly creepy considering what had happened only weeks earlier. He could not even face the fact that his own brother was willing to hold him down while Adam... Jeff shuddered at thoughts of Adam standing over him, leering at him.
Sometimes, the thoughts got so bad, it turned into a full-blown panic attack. He'd be watching TV, or working out, and he'd start to sweat, and shake. It had gotten so bad that even Eric's comforting arms weren't enough.
"Eric, you up?" Jeff asked
"Been up for hours." Eric answered, despite his eyes being closed.
"Hours? You were so tired last night... what happened?" Jeff asked
"You don't remember last night? Oh boy. You had another panic attack around two o'clock. I must've held you for almost an hour before you calmed down enough to sleep." Eric answered
"Oh." Jeff's tone indicated that he didn't remember the events of earlier that morning.
"You must've forgotten it, but believe me I didn't. Your heart was pounding so loudly I could hear it, even when you lay down on your side of the bed," Eric reached for his face mask. His accident earlier had not healed properly yet again which had precipitated a return to the hospital and yet another re-breaking of his nose.
"I'm sorry, baby." Jeff apologized
"I know you are. But I've gotten used to it. Face it, you went through a fairly traumatic experience and it'll take some time to get over it." Thankfully, Jeff hadn't started shunning physical contact from Eric. From everyone else, yes, but not his lover. This might explain why he hadn't returned to the ring since WM XXV, but Eric knew better than to ask.
"Since I'm up, do you want breakfast in bed?" Eric stretched seductively and turned toward Jeff.
"MMM... can I have 'sketti and Skittles and..." Jeff went into his child mode.
"NO! I have told you before, you need to have a healthy breakfast so you can grow up big and strong... like me." Eric laughed
"I want Skittles!" Jeff wailed
"Play with your bunny while I make breakfast." Eric got out of bed and threw a robe on.
"Bunny!" Jeff squeezed that thing so hard, Eric thought it was going to burst. Heaven forbid something ever happen to it.
"Now you and bunny play nicely."
"Okay..." It was nice to see that some of Jeff's childish innocence had returned. Eric had started to worry.
While Jeff played with his rabbit, Eric made breakfast. He was just about to serve when the sounds of the morning mail alerted him.
Wondering if his tax refund cheque had finally shown up, Eric left the food where it was and grabbed the mail from the floor.
"Bills, bills, bills..." He mumbled
One envelope caught his eye. There was no name, no return address, no postmark... just the word "PERSONAL" in very big capitals.
"Hmm..." Eric skimmed the single sheet that was inside and immediately his stomach knotted.
"The hell you will." Eric scrunched it up and stuck it into the front pocket of his bathrobe. The rest of the mail he dropped on the kitchen table, then, taking the tray back into the bedroom, he served breakfast to himself and Jeff, who seemed to be having a lot of fun with his stuffed friend.
"Breaky is ready." Eric sang
"Breaky!" His rabbit suddenly forgotten, Jeff clapped his hands in anticipation. "What'd ya make?"
"The usual... bacon and eggs, toast, pancakes. Just chow down." Eric slid in beside Jeff and they devoured the food like it was the first they'd seen in weeks.
"Remind me... I've got to start paying some of these bills soon." Eric said around a mouthful of egg.
"Eric!" Jeff scolded him
"Hey... when Vince bought me out, the payoff was only gonna cover my needs for six months at the most. I've been living on credit ever since." Eric said, nonchalantly, trying not to worry his boyfriend. In truth, Eric was close to losing everything.
"Why didn't you say something?" Jeff demanded
"Don't worry about it." Eric waved "Eat.:"
"What do you mean don't worry?" Jeff was now completely serious. "We're in this together now. How bad is it?"
"Jeff, not now. I'm trying to enjoy my breakfast." Eric poured a second cup of coffee and stared at him over the rim.
"Eric..."
"You're not gonna let it go, are you?" When Jeff shook his head, Eric continued "I'm about 35 thousand in debt right now."
"Fuck!" Jeff replied "Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because it's not your problem?" Eric set his coffee cup down and stared at Jeff. "I appreciate your concern, but let me deal with it..."
"Hell, no." Jeff answered "As soon as we're done breakfast, we're going to the bank and paying off some of this shit."
"How... I seem to recall just telling you that..."
"I'll take care of it."
The realization of what Jeff was suggesting hit Eric and he didn't like the whiplash. "No way... uh-uh... I'm not gonna put you in debt for me. For cryin' out loud, you've got a new house to pay for."
"Dude, with my Wrestlemania paycheck, I could pay your debts off, pay for my house, and still have enough left to live for two months." Jeff answered
"Whatever." Eric sighed
"I insist... just think of it as payment for services." Jeff responded "Considering you've been sorta taking care of me for the last while."
"I guess your mind is made up, eh?" Eric leaned back onto his pillow and smirked. "You done eating?"
"Yeah."
"Room for dessert?"
"Dessert for breakfast?" Jeff asked
Eric tossed a familiar red package at his lover.
"Skittles!" Jeff squealed, tearing open the bag and devouring the candy by the handful.
"How you can eat that crap and not gain weight is a mystery to me..." Eric said, massaging his pocket where the letter he had not told Jeff about still sat, crumpled-up.
"Anyway... I'm gonna shower and dress, and then we'll talk."
Eric tossed his robe onto the bed and went into the shower. As it hit the bed, a ball of paper rolled out of the one pocket.
Always being the curious type, Jeff quickly unfolded it and read it. His eyes widened, then his whole body started to shake. He screamed. This brought Eric, naked, running from the shower. Thankfully, he hadn't actually gotten in yet.
"Whassup?" Eric asked, before seeing what Jeff was holding. "Jeff, do you always go through my pockets when I'm not around?" That was meant to be a jibe, but when two tears rolled down Jeff's eyes, Eric knew it was not from laughter.
"Shit." Much like he'd done earlier, Eric jumped into bed and quickly gathered Jeff into his arms. "Jeffro, you weren't supposed to read that... why do you think I hid it from you?"
"Why, Eric... why?" Jeff shook
"I don't know Jeff. If I did, I'd know what to do about it." Eric replied
"Who would do something like that?" Jeff whimpered
"Three guesses, and the first two don't count." Eric said, his voice taking a hard turn.
"But he can't..." Jeff knew what Eric meant. "I mean, he's not supposed to be near us."
"Unfortunately the dumb son of a bitch wasn't dumb enough to sign his name, so we can't assume that it was him." Eric brushed Jeff's hair from his eyes. "But don't you worry. I'm gonna make sure that whomever did this pays."
Eric spent the better part of that afternoon calming Jeff's shot nerves. Around four, and after Eric slipped him a double of Sleepytime Tea, Jeff started dozing off.
"I've gotta make a phone call." Eric slid out from under Jeff and went for his cell phone.
"Don't go. Please." Jeff pleaded
"I'll just be in the other room." Eric said "I won't be long."
Jeff scrunched his pillow to his chest. "Hurry."
"So much for today." Eric grumbled "Vince McMahon, please...yes, I'll hold."
When the hold music came on, Eric grimaced yet again. Such was Vince's ego, he could resist self-promotion whenever possible. His hold music was "Get Back"; his 'hit single' from the second wrestling album "Piledriver".
"Hi, Vince... it's Eric... Stryker, sir. Yeah, Jeff's dude." Eric shook his head, having to explain who he was to his ex-boss wasn't a good start.
"Not bad, sir. I was calling to find out if Adam had received those papers yet? You gave them to him today? Alright... no, no problems at home... I don't know when he's coming back, you'll have to ask him yourself... okay, I'll pass along the message."
Eric hung up before Vince could ask any more questions that Eric didn't know, or feel like answering.
"I got good news, Jeffy." Eric returned to where Jeff lay curled up. "Adam got the papers today, so there should be no more of this nonsense."
"Good." Jeff said, trying to sound relieved. He wasn't.
"Not even Adam is that stupid to violate a court-issued restraining order." Eric ruffled Jeff's hair.
"But what if he is? I'm scared." Jeff looked into Eric's face. His eyes told the whole story. The kid was terrified of Adam coming back and finishing what he and Matt had started to do.
"We'll deal with that later. Right now, and as long as I'm here, you're safe." Eric pulled Jeff close once more.
"Y'know, Jeff, maybe we are going about this the wrong way?" Eric looked down at his now-sleeping boyfriend. He looked peaceful on the surface, it was hard to believe how much emotional turmoil was going through his slight frame. "We'll talk later, but you have nothing to worry about, Jeff. Nothing at all."
For the first time in almost a week, Jeff slept soundly. This helped them both get some much-needed rest. He still clung to Eric like a child with his teddy bear. Even his long-time companion was pushed to the side.
"Jeff, you have to call the boss." Eric finally said one morning. "There are half-a-dozen messages from people at work wondering when you are gonna come back to the job."
"So?" Jeff was curled upon Eric's sofa, watching Oprah.
"Is there something you're not telling me?" Eric asked
He was rewarded with a look. Not one of acceptance, which is what Eric had hoped for, but one of terror.
"I can't go back... he'll be there! Don't make me!" It looked like Jeff was going to have another panic attack.
"Jeffy, I'm not gonna force you to do anything you don't want to. All I'm saying is that don't you think you should at least tell someone when, or if, you plan to go back." Eric patted Jeff on the back. "Man, you are fucking tense."
"Wouldn't you be?" Jeff snapped
Eric flinched. That was not the response he'd wanted. He was thinking about giving Jeff another massage.
"Fine, do whatever the hell you want... I don't care right now!" Eric snapped
"Fine, I will." Jeff stormed into the bathroom and slammed the door.
"Fine." Eric went into the bedroom and slammed his own door. Throwing himself backwards, he landed on his bed and stared at the ceiling.
"Okay, E." Eric said "You handled that real well. If Jeff isn't ready to go back, forcing the issue won't help any..."
This time, Eric didn't rush to the bathroom with an apology. Instead, he waited, hoping that for once Jeff would come out first. He waited and waited and waited some more. Eventually, he knew he'd have to give in (again!), not because he was wrong, but because he had to pee really bad.
"Dammit. I need another bathroom. What was I thinking?" Eric grumbled, stomping into the hallway. "Jeff, I hope you're not slitting your wrists in there 'cause I gotta go. Bad."
Eric waited, hopping impatiently from foot to foot. If Jeff didn't open the door real soon, Eric was gonna use one of the planters for relief. Just when he thought that he wasn't gonna be able to hold it any longer, the door mercifully opened.
"Thank-you." Shoving Jeff aside, Eric made a beeline for the john.
He didn't care whether or not Jeff was gonna give him some privacy. He really needed to go. He did his business as he normally would, he just pretended that it was a public toilet.
"So, would me going back with you help make your mind up?" Eric asked, while shaking and rezipping.
Jeff looked surprised. When Eric had said that he had nothing to worry about, Jeff had mistakenly assumed that meant that he's stay at Eric's house until everything blew past.
"Vince knows what happened." Eric said "Maybe if we tell him that if I don't come back, you won't come back. We could tell him that I'm the only one you trust right now."
"The truth?" Jeff stated
"It would be a novel idea." Eric chuckled
"Yeah. Mr. McMahon and the truth don't seem to go together very often." Jeff giggled
"So, do you want to call Vince or do you want me to?" Eric offered
Jeff thought about it. "I guess I should." He answered
Eric looked through the rest of the mail while Jeff called Titan. He was wondering when he'd actually be able to pay off all these bills. As he was shuffling through them again, he noticed another smaller envelope stuck between two of them. This one was addressed to Eric, postmarked from New York. This surprised Eric as he didn't know anybody who lived in New York. Curiosity got the better of them and he opened it. A single card dropped onto his lap.
"Stay away from Jeff if you know what is good for you." It read
"Yeah, right." Like the previous letter, Eric didn't let this one get to him either. "Copeland, if you think I'm gonna fall for your crap, then you are mistaken." He stuck it into his back pocket, with plans to dispose of it in the first trash can he saw.
"Okay... Smackdown. Yessir. And there's no problem with bringing Eric? Thank-you Mr. McMahon." Eric heard Jeff hang up the phone. He bounced into the living room, jumping over the couch and landing beside Eric. Out of nowhere, he hugged him.
"I guess everything's gonna work out."
"Thank-you, Eric. I don't know what I'd do without you." Eric turned to reply when Jeff cut him off with a big wet one on the lips.
"Probably sit on my couch, eat Skittles and sketti, watch Oprah and get fat like me." Eric patted his waistline, which had expanded since the last time he was in the ring.
"You're not fat." Jeff poked him. "There's just more of you to love."
"Whatever... let's get packing." Eric headed for his bedroom, Jeff close behind. "And just remember this. Adam and Matt cannot hurt you as long as I'm around."
Friday Night Smackdown...
Jeff and Eric entered the arena before anyone else. They had a meeting with Vince to discuss the whole Jeff/Adam/Matt/Eric situation.
"Sit down gentlemen." Vince actually seemed cordial. Maybe that was because he was one of the few people who knew the entire story, not counting those who'd heard Edge's skewed opinions.
Eric and Jeff took the two chairs.
"It is good to see you both. Jeff, I'm glad you decided to come back to work... the fans have missed you."
When Eric looked over, he could read Jeff's thoughts perfectly. While he was glad that the fans had missed him, he was still full of doubt about returning.
"And Eric... well..."
"I know, Vince, and I don't expect to be paid for this. I'm only here protecting my interests." Eric interrupted
"That is sort of why I wanted to talk to both of you... our insurance has informed us that, since you are not under contract, we are libel for anything that happens to you. To wit, I have no problems with you being here backstage, but I cannot allow to step foot in the ring for any reason."
"Fair enough." Eric had expected something like this.
"I will provide Jeff with whatever extra security he feels he needs while he is out there, plus I'm sure some of the guys would be willing to help." Vince added
"How many of them know what happened?" Eric interjected
"I don't know. From what I've heard, Adam has been talking up a storm to a few people, but how many of them believe his side only is beyond me. As for Matt, he been a real loner since Wrestlemania. And frankly, I don't know what I'm going to do with him... he's been missing spots, changing promos. His work ethic has really gone downhill."
"Maybe he didn't like the whole Hardy feud angle." Eric surmised
"He was fine with it at the time."
"Maybe it's the writers???" Jeff added
"How so?"
"Well, Vince, you've always said that a good heel has to believe that his actions are justified... Matt's having a hard time doing that. And if he can't convince himself, how can he convince everyone else?" Eric finished. It was obvious that he'd given this a lot of thought.
"Eric, maybe you should join the writing team." Vince stated. Was this a joke?
"Thanks for the offer Vince, but I'm not really that creative." Eric smiled
"I don't mean permanently. Maybe just for this angle." Vince was serious. He'd heard that Matt's heel turn wasn't going well.
"I'll think it over."
"Jeff, you do have a match tonight. You're facing Matt in a stretcher match."
"You're kidding me, Vince." Eric shot up.
"No... it's the next step. Matt and Jeff had the extreme rules match at Wrestlemania, not we're taking their feud to the next level." Vince smiled
"I guess I will be joining the writing staff." Eric answered "That's one of the worst ideas I've ever heard, next to having Howard Finkel appear on camera in his underwear."
"Well, we have to do something... I'm not killing the angle..."
"Even though it's on a respirator right now?" Eric finished "Don't worry. I'm sure I can come up with an idea or two."
Eric and Jeff left Vince's office.
"Stretcher match!" Eric muttered "What are they thinking? You okay with this?"
Jeff's forlorn expression told Eric everything he needed to know.
"C'mon, let's hit catering." Eric said "I could use some chow."
Eric and Jeff ate, away from the others. Jeff was still a little skittish about being touched, even accidentally.
"Bathroom?" Jeff asked
"Do you need me to go with?" Eric asked. He ignored the looks from some of the other wrestlers. They obviously knew little about the situation.
"I'm cool."
"If you need me, just yell."
It was uneventful; Jeff's trip to the bathroom. Coming out, however, was not. Ryder and Hawkins were waiting in the corridor for him.
"Hey, pretty-boy!" Ryder sneered
Jeff tried to ignore them and walk past. Not being used to the lack of attention, Hawkins grabbed Jeff by the shoulder and swung him around.
"We're talk to ya, you rainbow-haired freak!" He said, getting right into Jeff's face. He cringed.
"W-W-What do you want?" Jeff stuttered
"We got a little surprise for ya." Ryder grabbed one arm, Hawkins the other, and they started to drag Jeff down the hallway. "If you stop squirming, we may not have to hurt you too bad."
"Let go!" Jeff tried to break free.
"Almost there." Hawkins sang.
"If we do good, maybe we'll get a piece of... ow!" Jeff bit Ryder on the hand. He stomped as hard as he could on Hawkins' left foot and ran.
"Get him! We're dead if we don't deliver the goods." They pursued Jeff back toward catering. Jeff ran as fast as he could for the safety of the locker room.
"We got ya." Hawkins tackled Jeff just outside the bathroom door where they had first accosted him.
"Now are you gonna cooperate or not?" He demanded
"No... get offa me!" Jeff fought hard against his assailant.
"This isn't working... Ryder get some rope... Ryder?" Looking over his shoulder, he saw a large figure.
"There you are... we gotta get the gift back to Adam..." He stopped when he realized it wasn't Ryder, but the huge frame of the Big Show. "Oh shit..." That was all he could get out before a big hand wrapped itself around his throat. Hawkins flew across the hall, and splattered himself against the concrete bricks.
"You okay, kid?"
Jeff had curled into a ball and was sobbing.
"Eric!" Show shouted down the hall. "We need you!"
The sounds of leather on tile indicated his approach. "What the hell... Show, what's going on?"
"It looks like somebody still hasn't got the idea." Show indicated the bloody carcasses that were Ryder and Hawkins.
"Dammit!" Eric squatted next to Jeff, and helped him up. "Thanks Paul."
"No problem. You need anything, let me know."
"I think I can handle it, but thanks for the offer!" Eric looked at Jeff, concerned etched all over his face. "I don't know if this is gonna work, babe! Do you wanna tell me what happened?" Looking at Jeff's tear-streaked face made Eric realize that a lecture was not what was needed right then.
"They... they... they grabbed m-m-e. W-w-w-hen I was com-coming out of the bath-r-r-room. They s-s-said I was a gift for Ad-Ad-Adam." Jeff was shivering, and it sure as shit wasn't cold in the arena.
"Sonovabitch!" Eric spat. "I guess Adam is more desperate than either you or I gave him credit for. Let's go."
"Go?" Jeff looked uncertain. "Where?"
"You've got a match tonight... and I have some work to do." Looking back at Edge's two cronies who were still unconscious, Eric realized that protecting Jeff was more than he could handle on his own. There was no way he was going to be able to keep Jeff safe by himself. But who could he trust... better still who would Jeff trust? He had an idea, but would Jeff agree to it?
TO BE CONTINUED
How desperate is Adam? You'll find out... as always, read, review, and let me know how I'm doing!