A/N: Thank you so much for the reviews. I really love this story and I'm really glad everyone else seems to really enjoy it. Hope you like the chapter and if you want to leave a review, it would be much appreciated, thanks and enjoy. :)

"Hey Chris, I was just wondering if…oh, Barbie, sorry…"

Stephanie had let herself onto Chris's bus to see if he'd wanted to go get some lunch now that the buses had stopped for a short while. They were in the middle of Missouri on their way to Oklahoma for the show a couple nights away. She'd had a craving for some barbeque and their drivers were really very good about choosing places to stop that included restaurants and other distractions they could partake in to break up the monotony of the bus. It did wonders for the kids, who got antsy when they were stuck on the bus for a long time, despite the many activities they had.

Stephanie hadn't been expecting Barbie at all. She hadn't spoken to Chris last night except a few parting words after the show and a promise to see each other later. The show had been a difficult one. The script hadn't been finalized so guys were getting their parts as the show was going on and Chris had had a double match. He'd started with a singles match, which had turned into a tag team match halfway through so it was like having two matches. So they'd just gathered up their kids and headed to their respective mobile homes and made the night a wash. So it was to her surprise when she saw Barbie sitting at a table, coloring with Sierra.

"Stephanie, hey!" Barbie said brightly.

Stephanie had been kidding herself. She'd pushed Barbie out of her mind while she and Chris were off having their little adventure. But she couldn't be completely pushed out of the picture if she was dating Chris. Of course she would show up at some point because she'd want to see the man that she was with and who could blame her? Stephanie had been spending every moment she could with Chris and she wasn't even with him. If she was with Chris, she might not let him out of her sight.

"Hey," she gulped. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, I'm just spending the day here, that's all," Barbie said. "I spent the night last night and I'm going to catch a flight home, I just wanted to see Chris's set-up here."

"I see," she nodded, not really seeing, but pretending to be nice instead of going over and grabbing Barbie by the hair and throwing her out of the bus. She couldn't begrudge this girl though. She'd only gotten to what Stephanie wanted first. That's all. She wasn't a bad person, she was just quicker to the draw.

"If you want Chris, he's in the shower. He didn't get a chance to take one last night," she explained and Stephanie tried not to read too much into that. In fact, she tried not to read anything into that. But did it look like she was smug? "I think everyone was pretty tired."

"Yeah, it was a long night last night."

"I know," Barbie said. "I was even feeling overworked."

Stephanie smiled at that, but it was as false a smile as she could muster. Barbie hadn't done anything on the show last night except to be seen talking backstage. She'd basically stood there. "Yeah, it was a hectic night, that's for sure."

"I know, Chris was talking about it last night before we went to bed," Barbie said. "Just, you know, how everything is really hinging on how well he does and how he wants to make a good…sorry, I'm rambling." She shut her mouth quickly and Stephanie wondered what she was going to say, but she didn't press.

"It's okay."

"You can come in if you want," Barbie said, gesturing around her. "I don't think Chris would mind."

Stephanie realized she was still standing on the steps that led up to the floor and that she was gripping the arm rail a little tighter than she normally would. "I wouldn't want to bug you guys or anything."

"You're not, trust me," Barbie said. "I'm just coloring. You know, it's very relaxing, I never realized how relaxing coloring was. I should do this while I'm traveling, but then, it might look a little odd to see a grown woman walking around with coloring books and crayons with no children around, right?" She laughed, a perky, annoying laugh that was like an ice pick to Stephanie's brain.

Stephanie would dispute the grown woman comment. She was more like a child than a woman. "Yeah, that might seem a little odd."

"Just a little," Barbie laughed, "but seriously, come on in."

"That's okay, my daughters are in my bus playing and I don't want to leave them for too long I was just going to ask if he wanted to go to lunch since I felt like some barbeque, but I don't want to bug you guys or anything."

"Like I said, you're not bugging us," Barbie shook her head. "Really, you're not. I promise."

"Okay," she said, just as Chris walked out. He was shirtless and in a pair of jeans and towel-drying his hair. He looked beyond gorgeous, the way there was still this fine sheen of dampness to his body and the smile gracing his face. Barbie glanced at him and smiled briefly before going back to her coloring. Chris saw her and his face lit up considerably. He grinned and walked over to her and she felt her breath stunt as she could smell his body wash, he was that close to her now.

"Hey, Steph, what brings you over here?"

"I was coming to see if you wanted to get some lunch, there's a pretty good-looking barbeque place over there," she said, pointing out the window to a restaurant across the street. Chris ducked a little to look out the window. "But Barbie's here and if I'm interrupting anything, it's not a big deal."

"No, it's cool, Barb, did you want to get lunch?" Chris asked, looking at the other woman.

"Yeah, I can eat," Barbie nodded.

"Sure, we'd love to join you," Chris said. "Let me just put a shirt on and get the kids ready and we'll meet you on your bus, does that sound cool?"

"Yeah, that sounds great," Stephanie, but she was lying through her teeth. She had never eaten with the two of them, but she could just picture them being all cutesy, maybe Barbie fed him or something stupid like that. Wiped his chin if there was something on it. She wasn't too keen on seeing that, hell, she didn't think anyone would want to see that.

"Awesome," Barbie said. "I'll help you with the kids, Chris."

Stephanie did not like the way that rolled off her tongue like that. She suppressed it though, "I'll see you guys in a bit."

"Okay," Chris said and she could feel his eyes follow her as she got off the bus. She walked quickly back to her bus since she'd left the girls and climbed on. Aurora's smile always helped to cheer her up.

"Hey you guys, we're going to go have lunch with Chris, Ash, Sierra, and Cheyenne."

"Yay!" Aurora cheered. She loved her new friends, Stephanie was happy that she had kids her own age to hang out with. They were like three little peas in a pod. She got their coats from the little closet they had in the front and helped them get them on when Chris and Barbie and the kids came on the bus.

"Wow, Stephanie, this is amazing," Barbie said, looking around. "It puts yours to shame, Chris."

Chris shoved her a little, "Thanks, Barb, you're supposed to think I'm the best, remember."

"Yeah, sure," she said, rolling her eyes at Stephanie like they were girlfriends and actually did things like complain about their boyfriends. Stephanie hated the hostility she was starting to feel regarding Barbie. She knew she shouldn't get so worked about this and truly, Barbie had done nothing wrong. Still, the feelings just crept up on her and she couldn't stop them. She wasn't sure she wanted to either. When she was hating Barbie, it gave her someone to blame for being lonely. It was all Barbie's fault for her being single, it was just easier to blame her, even if it was nonsensical.

"Hey!" Chris said, pretending to be offended even further. "Do you see the way she talks to me?"

"I'm only telling the truth, that I don't think of you as the best."

"You suck," Chris told her. "So who's ready for some barbeque?"

"I am," Barbie said, pretending to be jazzed. "Actually, I really am, it'll be a good send-off meal before I head home for a couple of days."

"You're not staying?" Stephanie asked, trying to keep the excitement out of her voice.

"No, unfortunately not," Barbie said. "I've got to get back home and I've got some things I need to do. An old friend of mine is having a baby so I'm going back to Jacksonville for the baby shower. It should be fun, even if I think she's a little young to be having a kid."

"How old is she?" Chris asked.

"Twenty," Barbie said. "I mean, I'm not against having kids young, I just think that she's a little too immature to be having children. I know that I'm not mature and I know I wouldn't want to be pregnant right now, besides, I'd probably get fired…oh, sorry, Stephanie, I didn't mean…"

"I know, it's fine," Stephanie said as they walked to the restaurant. She thought it was weird that Barbie didn't want kids right now. Didn't she realize that the man she was dating had 3 kids, 3 young kids so if she was going to be with Chris for the long haul at the very least she'd have to be a stepmother or stepmother-like person. "You wouldn't be fired if you got pregnant, that's illegal."

"Oh, well good, I guess, not that I plan on having any anytime soon," she laughed and Chris laughed too.

"I should hope not," he told her and Stephanie nearly gagged at the image of them trying to prevent getting pregnant. She was thankful for the hostess showing them to their seats. Stephanie ended up sitting across from Chris, with Aurora next to her in a booster seat and Murphy on her other side in a high chair. Chris was between his daughters and Kelly was on the other side of Sierra, with Ash next to her. Just one, big, cozy table.

"Do you see yourself having more kids, Stephanie?" Barbie asked curiously. "Your girls are beautiful, you'd probably have even more beautiful kids."

Stephanie wished she could blame that on Barbie sucking up, jockeying for position or power, but the girl sounded so genuine. Why did she make it so hard to just hate her? She looked over at Chris and he was staring at her, his chin in his hand, and she felt a little uncomfortable under his intense gaze, but then he smiled and she felt completely at ease. She wondered if he made every girl he looked at feel this same way. She found herself smiling back and Barbie could have been a puff of air for all she knew at the moment.

"Um, well, I've actually always wanted a big family. I once told Paul that I wanted five kids and I guess that thought hasn't changed, I'm only 32 so I think I've got a few more viable years to get pregnant."

"Wow, five kids," Barbie said, "that's a lot of kids! In fact, that's every kid at this table right now. You've got five kids right here!" She laughed and then started blushing a little, looking down and shaking her head, "But kids are cool, I mean, I want them someday, not now, but someday, not five though, but all the more power to you."

"So Steph," Chris said, obviously saving Barbie from whatever embarrassment she was going through right now and Stephanie couldn't quite figure out why Barbie was embarrassed, but she brushed it off. "When is Barbie going to get the Women's Title?"

"Chris!" Barbie cried, embarrassed again and turning to Ash, who was coloring on the kid's menu they'd given each of the kids (Aurora, Sierra, and Cheyenne were busy with theirs and Murphy was chewing on hers). "Don't ask that."

"Why not?" Chris asked. "You should give it to her."

"Don't listen to him," Barbie said, "he's just being a jerk, I'm nowhere near good enough for it, I'd suck as champion."

"I don't think so," Chris said, glancing at her and smiling, but then turning his attention back to Stephanie. "Just consider it, you know."

"Yeah, of course."

"Really, don't listen to him," Barbie said, her face red and obviously burning. "I don't need the title."

This was what Stephanie feared, having to see them interact as a couple and be happy while she was alone and wishing she was with Chris. Her jealousy was two seconds away from showing and she didn't want Barbie to show up for her flight with barbeque in her hair. She just had to make it through lunch with this fake smile and cheery demeanor, just a couple hours and she'd be home free.

And she'd have Chris all to herself again.