(For Story Info, please see Chapter 1)


Chapter 7: Protection

Deeper Than Anticipated

Jeff doesn't know if he should cry or pitch a fit. This thing with Rated RKO is getting way out of hand, especially now that people are getting hurt. Besides the usual bumps and bruises, Matt got bruised ribs from the ambush. Punk would have been in the hospital too had it not been for Triple H making the save. He's with Jeff right now watching Matt as he sleeps.

Punk is beyond pissed. He knew that match was a glorified set up, but he didn't think that Legacy or Edge and his lapdogs would take it as far as they did! They ambushed their friends on Smackdown, banned their friends on Raw from ring side…and the topper? They sent Big Show after Kozlov. Now the big Russian's going to be out for several weeks with a broken leg. Oh yeah, Rated RKO is going to pay dearly.

He needs to clear his head. Punk gives a gentle rub to Jeff's shoulder before getting up and stepping out of the room. He gets a few steps before he stops, leans against the while wall then slides to a sitting position. He crosses his arms on top of his knees then his forehead onto his arms. Punk's in this position for a few minutes before he fees a shadow fall over him. He lifts his head to see that the shadow belongs to Triple H.

"Hey."

"Hey…"

"How are you and those two?"

Punk knows he's asking about Jeff and Matt. "They gave Matt some pain meds. He's sleeping. Jeff's stressing. And me? I'll live."

Hunter takes the spot next to Punk on the floor. Nothing else is said for a mew minutes. They watch a nurse walk by then go into another room.

'Why did you-"

"I don't trust either one of those waste of spaces." Hunter responds. "And you're welcome."

"Thanks." Punk mumbles.

Triple H continues. "There has always been something about Orton that was unnerving. I could see it. Batista and Ric could see it, but Vince wanted us to use him. So against my better judgment, I invited him to be a part of Evolution."

Punk now turns his full attention to the older man.

"One minute, he was fine. The next, he would go psycho on us, like he practically salivating for blood or something. We told him numerous times to check his behavior before it got in deep. He wouldn't listen. He thought he was above all of it." His hazel eyes darken as he recalls another memory. "When he won his first WWE title, we knew that it was time to cut him loose or we would get dragged to Hell with him."

"So, you're saying that you weren't jealous of him getting your title?"

Hunter snorts. "Jealous? Of him? Hell no. I can et that title anytime I want." He gives a sideways glance at the #1 contender. A matter that I need to talk you to you about later. But anyway, back to what I as saying, the bastard tried to take Evolution away from me. He tried to threaten me by saying he would do harm to Stephanie." He leaves out the graphic details that Randy told him. Just remembering that heated conversation is enough to anger him.

"And that's what caused him to get dropped by Batista." Punk says.

"He's lucky that's all that happened to him."

Just then, both men look up when Jeff steps out of the room. Punk jumps to his feet then steps over to him.

"Hey, is he still out?" he asks while looking over Jeff's appearance. He can see the exhaustion in his eyes and it's worrying him.

'Yeah," Jeff answers. He pushes the hair back that escaped from the hair tie. "They want to keep him over night. I'm gonna stay here."

"Jeff," Punk sighs. "You really need some rest. It's not much you can do tonight. We still have the hotel room-"

"I can't leave Matty!"

"Hardy, Punk's right." Hunter says as he gets to his feet. "They probably gave him enough drugs to sleep though a natural disaster. You look like hell and you're not doing your kid there any favors. "

"How about this. " Punks says when he sees that Jeff is about to object. "Get some rest at the hotel and we'll come back as soon as you wake up. Deal?"

"Okay.' Jeff sighs tiredly in agreement. He turns to Triple H. "Thank you for coming when you did. How is Stephanie?"

"No Problem. Stephanie's getting better. Damn food poising threw her for a loop."

"Food poisoning?"

"Yeah, she had a sandwich from catering a few shows back. Her stomach's been paying the price. What's so weird about that is that she was the only one to get sick"

"Maybe she was allergic to something in the food." Punk says.

"To a turkey sandwich?" is Trips' rebuttal. "Besides, she's had turkey before and never did she puke it back up."

Jeff's face turns to a grimace and his stomach bubbles at the thought,

"What I say?" Hunter raises his eyebrow when he notices the light shade of green take over Jeff's face.

"I'm alright. The baby kicked." He lies.

"Ok….anyway, Stephanie wants me to help you guys out. She's not too thrilled that Vickie's running Raw."

"Dude, no one is thrilled that she's running Raw." Punk says. "Thanks man. With a couple of our players out, we need all the help."

"Hold, Punk. This ain't totally free."

The expectant parents look at him warily. What is he getting at? Hunter continues.

"If I help you out, I get a crack at those titles."

Punk looks over at Jeff with apprehension. If it just his title shot, he would say yes, but this includes Jeff's shot. "Jeff?"

"Okay." Jeff responds without hesitation.

"Sure." Punk follows up. "We have to make sure that Jeff is protected."

"No problem" Triple H agrees.

Jeff makes the decision to not say anything. He looks away to crack a smile at Punk's concern. It's nice to know that he cares.

The Drop Off

Layla knocks on the door. After huffing, puffing and getting irritated over he wait, the door finally opens.

"Took you long enough." She fumes.

"I was on the phone with Michelle." Alicia explains. "She always has a thousand and one demands.

Layla puts up her hand. "Don't care." She hands Alicia a small transparent case containing a memory SD card. "Tell McCool that I want title shot soon."

"Yeah." Alicia takes the card. "I'll tell her."

The conversation ends with Layla walking away.

Gossip Boy

"Miz!"

"Yeah?"

"We need to talk."

"Okay sure. What's up?

SMACK!

"Ow! What the…what was that for?!"

The Tag Team Champion rubs the side of his head. An annoyed red head in front of him crosses her arms and continues to frown at him,

"Maria, what's going on?" Morrison joins his friend and the diva. The discomfort on Miz's face calls him to look on in concern. "What's happened here?"

"She hit me!" Miz whines and points at Maria.

"If you would learn to keep your mouth shut, then I wouldn't have to." She says hotly.

"Geez Mike." Morrison groans. As good a friend Miz is, he's not really known for keeping things to himself. "What did you do?"

'He told Melina about Jeff and Punk." Maria answers for him.

"Did you tell anyone else?"

'No!" Miz quickly responds. "And why am I getting in trouble? Maria told Hawkins and Ryder."

"I didn't tell them. They eavesdropped. There's a difference."

"You still told them."

"Oh don't even go there."

'Come on." Morrison tries to squash the argument.

"If you hadn't gotten Punk drunk, we wouldn't even be in this mess!" Maria pokes a hard, accusing finger into Miz's chest.

He brushes her hand away and argues back, "Don't try to pin this on me! I didn't force him to drink."

"Hello, Is anyone paying attention to me?" Morrison tries again to stop the argument.

"Yeah, well you're not helping it along. Stop telling everyone!"

"I don't like you."

"I don't like you either, you little troll."

"Alright!" Morrison has had enough. He steps in between the two. "Wow guys. What the hell We're supposed to be together, not rip each other apart. Maria, Miz will be careful from now on."

"But-"

Miz instantly shuts up when he gets a stern stare from his partner.

"He better, "Maria warns. "or I'll be the least of his problems."

At that moment, Morrison's cell phone rings. He checks the caller ID before answering. "Hey what's up....Yeah, he's with me. So is Maria…..long story."

Maria and Miz become curious about the call.

"Okay….we'll be there. Later." Morrison ends his call then turns back to his friends. 'Come on. We got a meeting to go to."

"What meeting?" Miz asks.

"Helms wants to talk to us?"

"Why?" this time it's Maria that is concerned.

"The quicker we get there, the quicker we find out why. Let's go people!"

Morrison grabs the arm of each person and pulls them along. He doesn't let go until they are all at the tables where Helms and other wrestlers and divas are sitting.

"Okay, ladies and gentlemen!" Helms announces as he stands up before the group. "Can I get your attention please?"

Everyone turns his or her attention to him. "Okay this is everyone? Alright. It seems that our little circle of friends is getting a little bigger." His eyes scan of the group. "We lost a few people though. Victoria decided to leave the company. Kozlov is out with a broken leg thanks to the Big Show, Matt is out with bruised ribs-"

"And Layla!" Kelly Kelly adds with a pout. "We couldn't find her."

"Right…Layla too I guess." Helms makes a note to find the London beauty. "So! First and foremost, if you feel this is too much for you to handle, this is your free pass. I'm just askin' that you keep it to yourself."

Silence follows. Heads turn left and right to see who would leave, but no one does.

"Looks like we're in it to win it then." Helms carries on. "I called this meeting for two reasons. Just looking at all the people here tells me that we truly suck at keeping secrets."

Miz wants to sink into the floor as he can feel eyes on him, one pair in particular giving him the evil eye. He clears his throat and tries that much harder to pay attention.

"No more loose lip alright?" The man formally known as The Hurricane briefly looks over at Miz. Miz reacts by crossing his arm and huffing. He flinches when he receives an anonymous smack to the back of his head. "It's getting really serious. Punk's match is in two weeks. Knowing Orton and Edge, they'll do anything to throw Punk off his game, including do harm to Jeff. "

"Maybe Jeff can stay home?" Primo suggests.

"Good luck getting that to happen, Primo. " Christian says. "He's even more determined to be here."

"Don't worry." Mickie James says. "We'll keep an eye on Jeff."

"Yeah!" Kelly Kelly and the other present Divas pipe in.

"How about we all keep an eye out, alright?" Jimmy Wang Yang advises. "And ourselves! Just for knowin' we're gettin' taken out. "

"Yeah," Helms concurs. "Keep a look out on who's hangin' around. They got do boys all over the place."

Many Talents

Cody and Ted sneak away from the meeting. They have to let Randy know what's going on. Ted pulls out his Motorola DROID and gives their leader a call. After a few rings, it's answered. He raises an eyebrow at the fumbling he hears before Randy responds.

"This better be good."

"It looks like the CM Punk-Hardy army is gearing up for something big." Ted tells him.

"And?"

"Well Randy, they mentioned your name and Edge's. Sounds like a potential hit."

A hiss then a sensual moan is the unexpected response from Randy. Cody becomes worried when he sees the blush spread over his partner's face and neck.

"What's going on?" Cody asks.

"Ted puts up his hand to silence him right before going back to his call.

"Do you need a minute?" he asks Randy.

"I'm…fine." He grunts out, "But Ted, you need to relax. You make it sound as if they're going to assassinate us. "

"But Randy!'

"Look, keep tabs on them. Let me know. How about that?"

Before Ted can say another word, the Legend Killer ends the call. His glazed over blue eyes slip close as he reaches down to run his fingers through golden tresses.

"God…Michelle….oh yeah…fuck that feels good…."

Another pair of blue orbs looks up. The Divas Champion continues to work her mouth on his cock. On the screen of his discarded Blackberry is a picture from Jeff's baby shower. Michelle soon replaces her mouth with her hand.

"You promise to give the pictures to Edge?" She asks of him. "You promise to take care of me, right?"

"Yeah, I promise." Randy growls out. He grabs the sides of her head. Michelle gasps in pain and she tries to pull away. That only provokes him into tightening his grip. "Don't you dare move again!"

Michelle tries not to gag as he forces himself into her mouth over and over. She would have preferred Edge, but Randy was there and he did promise to help her out. Unexpectedly, he shoves the diva to the floor. Randy stands over her, his hand pumping his cock urgently.

"Look at me, bitch!"

Michelle looks up just in time for the first spurt of semen to hit her on the cheek. By the time Randy is spent, her face, hair and even her pink tank top are spotted with his sticky essence.

"That was good. McCool." He pants out. "Now get out."

For the benefit of those with flash photography…

"You two. Leave. Now."

Edge, Ryder and Hawkins look up to see Christian approaching them.

"You don't tell us what to do." Hawkins barks back to him,

The older man smirks. "Maybe I should ask him to come back. He does owe me a favor."

As soon as he says that, the Edgeheads' faces pale and their eyes grow wide with fear. They quickly leave without saying a word. Now it's just E and C.

"I don't have anything to say to you." Edge fumes. His cold green eyes cut into Christian's form.

"Dude, what happened to you? You were never like this." Christian says to him.

"People change. Could you leave? I have important things to do."

He turns away just as Christian takes a seat next to him. Feeling his gaze on him makes edge concentrate that much harder on avoiding him.

"You can talk to me you know." Christian says in a more calm voice. "We're still friends."

A sarcastic snort comes from World Champion. "On now you want to be my friend. No thanks. I don't need it."

"Hey look, that was between you and Matt. I wasn't going to choose sides."

Edge spins around toward Christian when he hears those words. Years of anger and hurt are all over his face.

"You were my best friend first! How could you side with him? You stabbed me in the back, Jay!"

He blurts out before spinning back around. It's a little kid's argument, but dammit he felt like one when he saw his best friend turn away his back on him to be friends with Matt Hardy.

"I'm sorry you feel that way." Christian calmly says to the other man. "It was the only way that I could keep you both in my life."

"Well it backfired, didn't it?" Edge snarls in response.

This argument will never be resolved, Christian thinks. It's time to get what he originally came for.

"After what happened, you think you can trust Orton?"

Edge refuses to answer. He doesn't felt hat he owns him an explanation.

"Adam, I'm only asking because I care. After what happened last time you two were a team, I don't think you should trust him at all. And honestly, what has Jeff done to you that deserve the treatment you've been giving him? For a title? Is it that serious?"

"Shut up!" Edge barks. He stands up, in the process turns to look down at Christian. 'You don't care! What happened last time won't happen again. I can take care of myself. It's not like I have you to watch my back."

Christian would have been there. If he had been around, he would have never let edge around Orton. But he had left, started a new chapter with TNA. And it would be several months after the incident before he would find out. When he tried to talk to edge, he got the same attitude that's he's getting now.

"Matt took my brother, so I'm just returning the favor."

Brief confusion follows a sudden realization.

"You think…Matt took me away from you?" Christian questions.

The Rated R Superstar again clams up. He turns his attention to his suitcase.

"Adam…" Christian stands up then reaches out for the taller man's shoulder. "You got it all wrong. No one took me away. I'm still h-"

The moment Christian's hand touches his shoulder, Edge yanks it away as if his touch burned him. "Leave."

"Come on! Don't be like-"

"I said leave."

"No."

"If you don't leave, I will beat you into a bloody mess."

Christian signs in defeat. He gives him one more lingering gaze before walking.

I need your help!

The door swings open and relief washes over Punk's face.

"I'm so glad you're here, Maria!"

He steps aside to let his beautiful friend into the hotel room.

'What happened?" Maria says as she steps in. 'You sounded so frantic! Did something happ-"

Maria pauses in mid sentence when she sees what is on one of the beds. "Um, mind telling me what's all this?"

Punk rubs the back of his neck and puts on a lopsided grin. His eyes focus on the diapers and the brown teddy bear. "I need help with the diaper thing,

"Awww, sweetie." Maria coos as she pats him on the shoulder. She walks over to the bed then looks over the items. "Okay, the first thing you need is….."

Jeff waddles out of the elevator. Yep, he waddled. No matter how hard he tries to be a guy about it, his extra weight makes him walk funny. He and the baby paid another visit to Uncle Matt. Jeff did most of the talking because Matt was still under the influence of the meds. He came back to check on Punk since he hadn't heard from him for a while. Little does he know that when he waddles into the hallway that he would get the shock of a lifetime!

At the door to his and Punk's room stands Punk and Maria and they're hugging. Jeff then sees Punk give the red head a kiss on the cheek. It's not what he thinks it is. Is it? He wants to move but can't. He wants to look away, but he can't do that either. Punk said….Punk said….

Jeff regains control of his legs just as Maria and Punk start to pull away. He quickly waddles back onto the elevator before the doors swoosh shut.

"They were just hugging. They were just hugging." He pants out loud. "They're just friends. He said he likes me….he said…." His voice starts to betray him as it cracks under the dread that creeps over him. "He said…he likes me."

Punk never said that he loves him. Was Jeff falling for him? Was Jeff looking for him to say that? He wipes away tears as he presses the L button. He rubs his hand over his stomach as more tears fall. Maybe Matt was right. Punk can't be trusted.

A Request

Punk is making his way to Vickie's office. As much as it makes him ill to do this, has to ask the GM for a favor involving Jeff. Speaking of Jeff, he's been acting strange since coming back the hospital. He barely said two words to him. Did something happen to Matt? Did the Straight Edge Superstar do something wrong? Punk decides to find out later. Before meeting up with Maria, he had spoken with Hunter. Punk agrees with him that Jeff is becoming a liability. It would be better if he stays off the road until the baby is born, which looks like any day now. But first, he's got to talk to Vickie.

Once he approaches the bluish grey door marked "GM Office", he knocks on it three times.

He frowns in confusion when he hears some shuffling then hash whispers before Vickie's shrill filters through the door asking who it is. He responds by saying his name.

"Could you come back later? I'm in the middle of something." She says in a commanding tone.

"Vickie, I need to talk to you now. This is important." Punk responds back. There is now way he's going to be blown off.

After a few seconds, the door opens and Vickie's head pops out. A dark eyebrow is raised when he sees her appearance. Her hair looks tussled and some of her make up is smeared. Under all that, there is still a scowl.

"This better be important, CM Punk." Vickie hisses in disgust.

It's now or never, Punk decides.

"I need you to send Jeff home."

"Why?"

"He's becoming a liability…." It takes everything he has not to get sick at the next thing he's about to say. "…and a pain in my side."

Okay, now this has piqued her curiosity.

"Oh really?"

"Yeah. I don't want him or that freak baby around. And his brother and their friends are no talent losers. If I get rid of Jeff, then they'll all go away and I can concentrate on what's important."

On the inside, the GM is cackling with glee. With Punk on his own, Rand and her Edge will have no problem eliminating the grunge rat. And then her plans for Edge will really start!

"Alright. I'll grant you your request." She tells him,

"Vickie…." A male's voice glides from the room.

"In a second, sweetie." Vickie calls back.

Punk tries to pretend that he didn't hear it, but he knows that that voice is too deep to be Edge's!

"You can go now."

Vickie doesn't wait for Punk to leave before shutting the door in his face.

A Liability Overtaking

Mickie James and Kelly Kelly are heading toward the door of the green room.

"You sure you're going to be okay?"

Mickie asks Jeff.

"I'll be okay, Darlin'" Jeff tells her. He puts on a soft smile. "Now go on. Show the crowd how awesome you are."

Both Divas giggle as they walk out of the room. Jeff's smile fades once he is alone. His mid goes back to what he saw earlier between Punk and Maria. Why would Punk do that? Was Maria faking about being nice just to get Punk back? Does Punk really care about him and the baby? A nudge from the baby brings Jeff out of his thoughts.

"Yeah Kid." He says as he smoothes his hand over the bump. "Maybe I am thinking about this too much."

A tapping on the door get his attention.

"Who is it?" he asks as he gets to his feet.

"It's Layla!" is the reply.

Oh good, Jeff thinks. He release a breath that he didn't know that he been holding as he shuffles his way to the door. "I'm coming, Layla. I'm just a little slow these-"

The Hardy Boy barely has the door open when he is yanked out of the room.

20 Minutes Later…

Miz and Morrison are finding it hard to keep up with CM Punk. For every answer of 'no" he got, his steps become more hurried. The Tag Champs met Punk on his way to check up on Jeff. When they arrived at the green room, they saw that the door was wide open and the room was empty. All three sensed something was not right and immediately started asking around about the rainbow haired man. Time is passing; no one has seen him and Punk is panicking.

"OhshitOhshitOhshitOhshit….." Punk chants as he hurries through the backstage area.

Kofi walks out of a room just as he sees them pass by.

"Hey!" he calls out. "What's the rush?"

"Kofi!" Miz whirls around then runs up to him as Morrison continues on with Punk. "Dude, have you seen Jeff?"

"No mahn. Why? What's goin' on?"

"Miz! Kofi!"

Nikki and Brie run up to the wrestlers. They have scared expressions on their pretty faces.

"Ladies, what's-"

"Where's Punk?" Brie says cutting off Miz. "W e saw him go this way."

"We found Jeff." Nikki adds.

"Where is he?" Kofi asks.

The Bellas look at one another before answering simultaneously, "Ted and Cody have him."

"OhshitOhshitOhshitOhshit….." Miz chants as he, Kofi, and the Bella Twins run to catch up Punk and Morrison. "Punk! Hey Punk!"

Punk turns around at the sound of Miz's agitated calling. He's just about to ask Rey Mysterio had he seen Jeff. Morrison joins him after speaking with a production assistant.

"Punk!" Miz exclaims. 'Dude we gotta go!"

"I can't go anywhere until I find Jeff." Punk replies.

"You don't undastahn, Punk!" Kofi explains. "Jeff's in-"

"CM PUNK!"

Raw's crowd is not a forgiving one when it comes to Legacy. Right now the raucous bunch is nearly drowning out Orton. Ted and Cody look on as they are restraining a terrified looking Jeff.

"I know you're back there. " Orton calmly says into the mic. "It wasn't very wise to leave Jeff all alone. I'm beginning to wonder if you really do care about his wellbeing."

He does care! He said so! Jeff wants to scream out loud. His mind however keeps replaying the scene from earlier. He tries to pull out of the grips, but a growl from Ted and a tug on the hair by Cody stops him. It's not just him he has to worry about. He can feel the baby becoming restless and he can't do anything to calm it down.

A harsh gasp escapes from Jeff's lips when his green eyes meet up with Orton's ice cold predatory glare. And Orton is practically salivating at the fear that is radiating from his victim. He takes calculated steps toward Jeff. The captured man would step away if he wasn't being painfully held in place.

"Please don't. " Jeff begs as he feels Orton's hand moving over his stomach. "Orton don't…."

A sharply drawn breath comes from Orton when he feels the baby's movement under his palm. He spins around when he hears the crowd's disapproval turn to maddening cheers. Punk appears at the top of the stage, but he doesn't get far. He's attacked by Edge, Hawkins and Ryder.

"Bring that piece of trash here!" Orton barks into the mic. "I want him to see this."

Edge gets to the ring first while the Edgeheads haul Punk in. "this time, we get to finish what we started. We took care of your little friends in the back." Edge announces. His maniacal laugh sends a chill down Jeff's back.

Punk struggles to get out of the grips that hold him. Seeing Jeff's predicament makes him even more determined to get free.

"You got me! Let him go!" He shouts at Rated RKO.

"Shut up!" Edge yells back.

Orton reaches into his back pocket and pulls out a pair of handcuffs.

"Put these on." He orders as he tosses the cuffs to Hawkins.

While Punk is being restrained, he looks out into the crowd and begins a new speech.

"CM Punk and Jeff Hardy have been deceiving all of you. You see, they want you to think that they joined forces to take Rated RKO out." He chuckles as he glances over at an infuriated Punk then at a frightened, pleading Jeff. "I have it on good authority that these two freaks are more than just friends."

Edge moves over to Jeff. The rainbow haired man's face changes to that of a mask of hate as he kicks at his rival. That earns him another tug of his hair. For the second time tonight, Jeff's personal space is violated as Edge places his hand on the ball of his stomach.

"Get your filthy hands off my kid." Jeff growls low.

Just like Orton, Edge quickly moves his hand away when he feels the baby's movements and a gasp escapes his lips.

Meanwhile….

The Edgeheads have stepped way from CM Punk who is now trying to get free of the handcuffs.

"You want to get free huh?" Orton teases. "You want to get free so that you can get to your boyfriend?"

Punk watches in horror as he sees him turn away from him then stalks over to Jeff. He yells at the Legacy leader, trying to get his attention. He pulls at the handcuffs again. His wrist bruises then bleeds. He doesn't care! His worst nightmare is becoming a reality.

"Jeffery. Jeffery, Jeffery." The self proclaimed Legend Killer purrs as he approaches Jeff again.

"You can't hide under bulky clothes and call it a stomach ulcer forever." He points toward the Titantron, "Look at what I found."

Jeff moans in agony when he sees pictures from the baby shower flash across the gigantic screen.

"I've always known something wasn't right about you, Hardy." Jeff cries out in pain when Orto9n digs his fingers into his abdomen. "But who would have though that you were a queer freak of nature?"

"Get away from him!" Punk yells. Blood drips from his injured wrist onto the blue mat. "I'm going to kill you!"

Edge can feel his stomach turn as he watches his partner get sick pleasure in torturing the pregnant man. He didn't know about the pictures or how Orton got them. The voice that he tried to ignore gets more distinct: Randy Orton's bad. He hurt you before. He doesn't care about anyone but himself. He looks over at his stable mates. Even they have questionable expressions. With a silent comment, he orders them out of the ring. As they exit, he turns to Orton.

"That's enough, Randy. You made your point." When Orton doesn't respond, he grabs his hand away from Jeff's stomach. "I said that's enough!"

Orton becomes livid at the intrusion. "What the fuck are you doing!?"

oooo

Jeff can feel the grips weaken as Ted and Cody become distracted by the argument. He uses the opportunity to yank away and bolt toward Punk.

Punk's brown eyes dart back to Jeff, just in time to see him pull away from Dibiase and Rhodes and scurry toward him.

"Jeff, get out!" he urges as Jeff grabs onto the chain of the cuffs and start to pull.

"I can't leave you!" Jeff answers back. "I can't-"

Out of nowhere, Jeff is yanked back!

oooo

"What the fuck are you doing!?" Orton growls out.

"I'm trying to keep the heat off your ass." Edge barks back. He adds a hardcore glare to get his point across.

"I don't need-"

That's when Orton sees Jeff break away then moves over to Punk. He watches them for a second before snarling out orders to his charges to get him back.

"You're crazy." Edge tells him. "I'm out of here."

Edge climbs out of the ring. He doesn't stay to see what Orton does next.

oooo

Punk doesn't see Edge leave. He's too focused on what legacy is doing to Jeff. He watches in horror as Cody and Ted rip and tear off Jeff's hoodie. Jeff tries desperately to hold onto the fabric. Punk fights even more to get out of the cuffs. He doesn't' care that the world can see his tears. The two most important people in his life are being attacked and he can't help them!

Randy orders Ted and Cody out of the ring. They don't even question as they leave. The audience is now in shock that this is happening in front of them. Jeff is curled up in a ball; his arms are wrapped around his stomach. His multi colored locks, which have fallen from its tie, covers most of his tear and sweat stained face. The Legacy leader stalks around him, contemplating his next move. He sees the little trimmers that go through Jeff's body as he silently sobs. He looks love his shoulder at Punk. Punk continues to tug at the cuffs. A cold-blooded smug look spreads over Orton's chiseled features as he kneels beside Jeff.

"Punk, I can almost see why you like him." He says into the mic. He reaches down to brush away some of the hair from Jeff's face. Jeff flinches at the touch. He looks back at Punk and what he says next covers Punk like a cold clammy mist.

"I'll make sure they don't suffer…much."

Fortunately for Punk and Jeff, Orton doesn't get to make good on that promise. He scrambles out of the ring and over the barricades. Punk whips his head around to see Triple H and Christian running toward the ring.

TBC