A/N: Thanks to coolcool02 and TrishOrton for reviewing the previous chapter. Got more free time on my hands and already working on the next one. R&R. Enjoy!


Chapter 7

You call my name
I come to you in pieces

"She's good, but needs some work building up her persona." Trish muttered as she and Amy go over progress reports with Stephanie.

"Okay, what about her?"

"She's got potential. Great athletic ability."

"I agree. She could be the next…me." Amy added playfully as Trish and Stephanie chuckled in response.

"Hmm well, I definitely see improvement over the past few weeks." Stephanie McMahon observed as she began gathering the scattered papers on her desk into one big file. "But anyway, that concludes our meeting...unless you two have any questions for me before I make a conference call?"

Trish exchanged looks with Amy before responding. "Nope, I think we are done here."

"Great. You'll be given a tentative schedule for next month once I figure it all out. Until then, you ladies are free to go."

"Sounds great, Steph. Thanks."

She smiled in return. "No thank you both for your time."

Trish and Amy got up from their seats and shook hands with their boss before they motioned towards the office door and exited the room.

"So…now that's over with! What do you want to do for the rest of the day?" Amy asked quite cheerfully, grabbing Trish's arm as they began walking side by side down the empty hallway of WWE Headquarters. "I was thinking maybe we can go to the bar and catch happy hour. What do you say?"

"Ah, that sounds fun, but I can't. I promised Rey and Randy for a yoga session before tonight's show."

"Ohh! Can I join?" Amy asked excitedly as Trish let out a giggle.

"Most definitely."

"Awesome. Will Jeff be joining us?" She asked out of curiosity, seeing how they've gotten closer over the past couple of weeks. Not that she was complaining. She liked that two of her closest friends were getting along. But something tells her there was more to it than they were letting on.

"I don't know." Trish gave a little shrug. "He's been acting weird lately."

Amy raised a curious brow. "Yea? How so?"

"Well I invited him to the yoga session, and he sorta brushed it off." She spoke casually, although Amy could tell by the distant look on her face that she was rather disappointed. "Anyway, I'm sure he has more important things to do like physical therapy and working on his big return. Besides, you and I both know how badly he wants to get back in the ring."

Amy slowly nodded her head in agreement. "Yea…"

"It's just…" Trish started off again, the subject clearly troubling. "We'll be hanging out and having a great time, and all of a sudden something goes off in his head. He would mumble a few words about needing to be somewhere and then poof. He's gone."

"Poof?"

Trish nodded as she placed her arm around Amy. "Poof."

She slightly chuckled. "Don't take it personally, Trish. He just...has a lot going on right now."

"I know, and I totally understand." There was a short pause as they finally reached the end of the hallway. "Anyway, there is something I've been meaning to tell you..."

"Hey, beautiful ladies!" They turned their gazes to the direction of the familiar voice as Randy and Rey approached them. Trish smiled, placing both hands on her hips.

"You guys are early." She groaned.

"Just want to hit the treadmill before we start, sweetie." Randy winked as he and Rey each gave them a hug. The guys entered through the double doors of the gym first with Trish and Amy following swiftly behind.

"What were you about to say, Trish?" She asked while holding the door open for them.

She shook her head and smiled, "Never mind. Let's go."


Sweat slowly trickled down their faces and onto the mat below as they held a position that requires both legs to be lifted off the ground in front of them, supported by both arms; one that required balance and upper body strength. Heavy breaths and groans of struggle were the only sounds that filled the gym as Trish continued to be the voice of encouragement, walking it through them the way she would with her students back in her yoga studio. "Hold it for a few more seconds. Remember to breathe into the the nose and out through the mouth. That's it. Good. Now relax."

"Argh!" They all collapsed on their mats simultaneously as Trish returned to her neutral position with ease.

"Why must you make it look so easy." Randy grumbled as he slowly rise to his feet, wincing in slight pain.

"She's a yoga instructor, remember?" Rey added as he began collecting his belongings. "Anyway, we better get ready. Two more hours left till show time."

Randy nodded as he reluctantly grabbed his stuff and followed Rey towards the double doors. "Thanks again, Trish. Later, Ames!"

"Bye, guys. Have a good show." Amy waved as she began making her way towards Trish. "Well that was fun, Canada. Got my workout for the day." She said as she took a swig of water from a water bottle. "Now…how about those drinks, eh?"

Trish chuckled as she wiped her damped forehead with a towel. "Sure. After I hit the showers."

"Sweet. I'll see you in the locker room."

"K."

Once Amy left the gym, Trish was accompanied by mere silence as she began rolling up the yoga mat and stuffing what's left of her belongings into a duffel bag. She then drifted into her own world, unaware of her surroundings as she became fixated on clearing the area. Without warning, she turned around only to be met with a familiar face that immediately took her by surprise. "Jesus, Jeff." She stood back with her hand over her chest. "You scared me."

"Sorry," he smirked as Trish glared at him. "You alright?"

She nodded, folding her arms across her chest. "Well you missed out on an awesome yoga session."

"Yeah, yeah. I know. Amy told me."

Trish smiled as she playfully nudged his shoulders, a gesture that instantly made his stomach clench. "It's alright. I'm sure you had better things to do."

His emerald eyes then shifted nervously to the ground; his heart beating rapidly against the confines of his chest as he slowly looked up to meet with her mesmerizing brown eyes. Even after a workout, she still managed to take his breath away. 'So not fair,' he thought.

"So how's physical therapy going for yah?" She asked, breaking the awkward silence that lingered briefly between them as he returned from his reverie.

"It's going well. Listen, I uh...actually came here to let you know that Vince wants to speak with you. Sounds important."

Trish wrinkled her forehead. "Oh, thanks for letting me know. I'll head over to his office right now."

"I'll walk you." Jeff insisted as she gave him a quizzical look. He smiled. "Vince requires my presence as well."

"Oh? I wonder what this could be about."

"I guess we will both find out soon enough." Jeff smiled as he took Trish's duffel bag, his fingers slightly grazing hers as he placed it over his shoulder. "After you."

"Well, look at you, Jeff Hardy." She smirked as he followed her behind. "Quite the gentleman I see."

He rolled his eyes, holding the door out for her once they reached the exit. "Trish...I'm always a gentleman."


"I would like to revisit the Trish Stratus and Jeff Hardy angle." Vince McMahon stated firmly as Jeff and Trish exchanged bewildered looks. They barely got settled in Vince's office as they were caught off guard with the sudden news. Certainly, their boss wasted no time making the announcement. "Not romantically as we have attempted in the past, but more like partners." He explained. "It's good for the ratings and the crowd was behind it years ago. And Jeff, this is a good time for you to be behind the scenes while you heal. It'd be nice for the fans to see you after months of being out." He paused briefly to readjust his reading glasses before continuing on. "I'm aware it won't be a matter of months till you return to the ring, but until then we would like to rebuild the feud between you and CM punk."

Jeff could feel the discomfort lurking in the pit of his stomach. He wasn't sure what to make of it as he simply nodded his head. "So….where does Trish fit in to all of this?" He asked curiously as Vince shifted his gaze over to the blonde and smiled.

"Ah, yes. Well, Trish…with your tight schedule, we would only require a few backstage appearances and possibly a match or two. We haven't worked out the details just yet, but seeing that we have the CM Punk and AJ angle going on right now, we would like to eventually build up a pay-per-view match between you and AJ with Lita as guest referee."

Trish raised an eyebrow, pleased by the direction they were taking with this. She glanced over at Jeff who gave her a wary look in return. "What do you think?" She asked, unsure whether or not he was on board about working together again.

He drew in a deep breath. "Well, I'm up for it if you are."

"Yeah, I think it will be a lot of fun." She said, turning her gaze over to Vince. "I'm in."

'Oh what did I get myself into?' Jeff thought nervously as he held his hand out and firmly shook Vince's hand. "Me too."


A/N: Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think.