Unplanned and Unexpected

Rating: T for mild swearing, might go up.

Disclaimer: I don't own a thing you recognize.. That should cover it properly.

Spoilers: Survivor Series on back and a few ongoing.

Pairings: Lita/John Cena (possibly), Trish/Randy Orton, Victoria/Batista, Lillian/Chris Benoit

Summary: It was always the unplanned and always the unexpected that turned peoples lives upside down.

New Notes: I'm re-arranging the order of things on Smackdown.. Obviously, or I wouldn't be able to fit in my match, lol. I'm replacing the Sylvan vs. Lashley match with my Diva match.. And moving that so it's before the Boogeyman vs. Simon Dean. Expect some more tinkering with match orders and possibly leaving something's off the shows all together or altering them so they fit my plot. Of course, it's what I'd do anyway but uh.. Yeah. I'm also going to be covering a few appearances, mayhaps a house show or two.. I'll let y'all know if I decide to go through with that though. Basically, I'm sticking myself in an imaginary role as part of the creative team.. This is how I'd like to see something's happening. This chapter is slightly longer as I wanted to include the Diva's match. On a side.. Was anyone else a little upset to hear the term 'Ashleycanrana'? I can't remember which RAW it happened on but.. It irked me.. No offense to any Ashley fans out there..

-x-x-x-

The Diva's knew they wouldn't be needed until basically the second half of the show.. Melina had stopped by to let them know that the match would start during the end of the first half and carry on to the beginning of the second. Of course, it really wouldn't be much different then a Diva's match on RAW.. They just happened to be taping this for Smackdown. Whatever the case, Victoria, Trish and Lita ended up leaving the locker room for a bit so they could run over the match again… and so they could get in a little stretching and training in privacy. Not that they were uncomfortable around the guys, just that it made it easier for them to be women and do things like gossip. It also gave Trish a good excuse to see her boyfriend.. And for Victoria to see her boyfriend before the match started. Subsequently, Lita found herself wandering the hallways alone, the redhead currently sporting one of Kurt's 'American by Birth, Angry by Choice' shirts with a pair of Victoria's slightly too big track pants. A glance to the monitor let her know that the tag team battle royal was just ending, Lita stopping a stagehand to find out what match was up next. She had just learned that Chris would be taking on William, the Diva then turning the corner to find the hallway where the RAW locker room was located. Of course, it would figure that she would get lost in the hallways.. The redhead cursing under her breath as she turned another corner.

Matt stopped dead in his tracks, narrowly avoiding a direct run-in. "Hey.."

Lita couldn't help but bristle. "Hey.." one of her hands fisted in the hem of the shirt. "I was trying to find the locker room assigned to RAW.. I must've gotten lost or something.."

The Cameron native thumbed over his shoulder, "Catering is that way, a little bit past that.. And I'm sure you'll hear the locker room before you see it."

The redhead pursed her lips, "I guess that means John insisted on playing that crap, huh?" She shook her head, trying to avoid any eye contact. "I'll see you around.."

"I can walk you back, make sure you don' get lost or something."

Quickly, she shook her head again. "I really don't think that's a good idea." Shrugging slightly she added: "Besides, I thought you had a match tonight."

"I do, but it's only Orton--"

"Only Randy?" Lita echoed with the slightest hint of amusement. "You make it sound like it'll be a walk in the park."

Matt rolled his eyes, "I was goin' to say that it's only Orton an' I already know I'm gonna lose. The match was last minute." He waited until she was looking in his direction, "have you given any thought to--"

"No," she half lied. "I've been busy, talking to Trish, Vicki and Melina about the match…discussing plans for later and trying to organize a baby shower in my head."

"Oh.. Well you, have my phone number so--"

"I'll give you a call when I've thought about it." She interrupted him evenly, a forced smile soon on her face. "But, really.. I should get going. Chris is almost done with his match." Lita lifted her hand in what was supposed to be a wave, biting her lower lip fiercely as she made her way towards the catering hall.

John Cena raised an eyebrow as he walked out of the catering hall, the redhead running right into him. "Hey.. Either we gotta get ya a helmet with a rearview mirror.. Or we gotta strap pillows to your ass." He frowned slightly when she made no response. "Lita?"

"Unless your first name is Chris and your last name is Benoit, I really don't feel like talking." The Sanford resident wrapped her free arm around her body. "Excuse me."

The WWE Champion's forehead etched in confusion, "What the hell happened? I thought you, Trish and Victoria were goin' to talk to Melina or something."

"We did," she stated quietly, "and like I already said, if you aren't Chris Benoit…which you obviously aren't, I'm not talking." An irritated look filled her hazel eyes briefly, "that would be the part where you let go of my arm, so I can walk."

John shook his head, "Do you want me to get Trish or Victoria?"

"No, I want you to let go of my arm." Lita frowned when he wouldn't let go. "Damn it. Let go of me or I can guarantee that there will be no little Cena's running around in the future."

Rolling his eyes, he relented the light grip on her arm. John waited until she had set one foot forward, "It was Matt."

Lita squared her shoulders, "What was that?"

He moved so he was standing in front of her, "I said.. It was Matt.. I'm guessin' you ran into him again."

"So what if I did?" The Diva shook her head, "it's really not your business, Cena."

John shrugged, "You're right… it ain't my business. You just look like you could use someone to talk to."

Lita sighed, "If I was going to talk to anyone about this, it wouldn't be you. No offense, but I'd rather talk to Trish, Victoria or Chris."

"Look, get pissed at me for this later, but I overheard what he said to ya earlier." He held up a hand in defense when she glared, "I know I ain't one of the 'girls, that I ain't Benoit or whateva.. But if you want--"

"Thanks, but no thanks." Lita cut him off before he could finish. "I appreciate it, John, don't get me wrong. It's just.. They've been there since the beginning."

-x-x-x-

The redhead left it that, not wanting to explain anything further to the WWE Champion or to anyone else for that matter. And it wasn't that she didn't appreciate another ear to listen to her.. Just that, and like she had pointed out; Chris, Victoria and Trish were amongst a small handful of people who had been there from the beginning. If it hadn't been for them, Lillian, Rey, Dawn Marie, Shawn Michaels -- though it had taken him a little bit longer-- and even Dave and Randy.. Lita could also count on Glenn Jacobs to put a smile on her face.. Usually by him offering to take it to Edge while 'Kane' was in a psychotic rampage. They were the ones who hadn't turned their backs on her and the one's who didn't judge her right along with the rest of the world. Of course, Lita wasn't sure where John Cena fit into that…if he had been judging her or not, she could really give two shits less. If he did judge her, well… then he would just be one of the possible millions who did. But then, he didn't seem the type.. Sure, he had said his share of words about her, but that was scripted…wasn't it? Growling softly, Lita shook her head, she didn't care what John Cena thought about her… but she wished she could get to the point where she didn't care about what the world thought. Maybe one day she'd get there.. But at what price? Her self esteem was damn near shot, her career had taken a possible one way trip to hell and--

"Lita?" Kurt Angle approached the pair as they entered the locker room, "Red.. are you alright?"

Purposely ignoring the questioning look from Glenn, Lita nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine Kurt.. Just thinking about the Diva's match."

"About that," Kurt watched her for a moment, waiting until he had her full attention. "Teddy stopped by and he wanted to let you all know about one more change to it. It'll start as a one on one match, but Victoria will be going down to the ring with Melina. After she interferes, it'll be made into a tag match."

Lita looked utterly confused. "That doesn't make a whole lot of sense though.. I'm not a face, I'm a heel. Why would I be tagging with Trish?"

Kurt shrugged, "Creative thought it would be an interesting change." He sent a smile to her, "who knows Li.. This could be the start of something good."

"Possibly," Lita seemingly agreed. "But now I have to find appropriate ring attire. I haven't really packed that stuff with me in awhile.. And I really don't want to use that stupid referee's uniform and the only t-shirt I have with me is one of those damn 'R' rated superstar shirts.."

Glenn chuckled, "I'd let you borrow my spare, but I think it might be a bit too big for you."

"Wear what you have on."

Lita rolled her eyes, "Kurt…" she cut herself off, laughing softly to herself. "Never mind.. You wouldn't get it. I'm going to see if Melina has something.. Maybe Jillian." A frown crossed her features, "it's too bad Christy isn't around… I know her stuff would be a better fit."

Glenn frowned as the door shut behind her, a look sent to John. "What happened to her?"

John held up his hands in defense, "Don' look me at like that man, I didn' do shit. I was leavin' the catering hall an' she ran into me." When the frown of the 7 foot tall man's face didn't fade, the WWE Champion shook his head. "I don' know what happened, alright? She ran into me like that."

Trish and Victoria walked into the locker room at that moment, the two Diva's looking between Glenn and John.

"Did we miss something?" Victoria ran a hand through her slightly tousled hair. "And where' s Li?"

Kurt thumbed to the door, "Lita is looking for appropriate ring attire because the Diva's match has been changed into a tag match.. But that won't happen until the second half of Smackdown starts."

"Oh," Trish made her way over to her locker. "I'd say she can borrow something of mine, but she's taller then me.. And all of my stuff is well.."

Victoria frowned, "I have problems with my wardrobe, so no way am I forcing that on her. She could wear her street clothes.." the raven haired woman dug through her gym bag. "I have extra elbow and knee pads that she can use.."

"Thanks?" Lita's voice could be heard from the hallway, the redhead soon entering the locker room. "One of the arena crew members was nice enough to buy this.." she held up the t-shirt in her hands. "Though I'm not sure if this is the best thing for me to wear.."

John almost looked offended, though a tiny smirk had found it's way to his face. "What's so bad 'bout that?"

Lita snorted, "A million different things. I am not about to go out there in a t-shirt that reads 'Mrs. Cena' ..I'll wrestle in my bra first."

Trish shrugged, "Why not? I know you have to have at least one of your fishnet tops in there. Just wear it over like you used to."

Victoria nodded, "If you really want to borrow a pair of my boots, you can. But, to make it look more realistic.. I'd say just go out there with your regular shoes and a pair of jeans…with the top of course."

"Which even if you wanted to wear something else," Kurt spoke up before any of the three could say a word, "you wouldn't be able to. Your match is going to start in oh.. Ten minutes?"

-x-x-x-

The three Diva's shrugged in turn, Lita digging through her bag for one of her long sleeved fishnet tops. The shirt that the crew member had given her was tossed idly into her bag, though she didn't notice.. Nor did anyone else. Whatever the case, the three Diva's soon disappeared into the shower area to change in private. Trish and Victoria emerged first, the Canadian Diva grabbing her title belt before they exited the locker room. Not long after, Lita also made her exit, the redheaded Diva looking more relaxed then any of the men in the locker room could recall in the past few months. Granted, she was bouncing on her heels and looked to be restless, but.. For all intensive purposes, she finally looked comfortable with her role. She was broken from her pre-match state long enough, however, when her cell phone beckoned.. The redhead answering almost instantly when she saw who was calling. But as much as she wanted to talk to Dawn, Lita knew that she had to be ready to go out for the match. Keeping that in mind, she handed the phone off to Kurt.. The Olympic Gold Medal winner promising that he wouldn't let the battery die. Chris Benoit met her in the hallway, walking with her to the curtains before he gave her shoulder a soft squeeze.

Right before the commercial break..

"Well, now we know why Victoria was out here, Tazz. But I have to wonder.. Why would our GM make this a tag match?"

"I gotta wonder who Trish is gonna get for her partner. I mean, Stacy's out, Christy's gone.. And--" The ECW veteran cut himself off mid-sentence. "I could be hearing things, Cole, but that's Lita's music."

"Ladies and gentlemen, I apologize but we have to cut to commercials.. This match will continue when we come back."

The slut chants were still raining down on her, but tonight.. It was different. Tonight she wasn't out here on Edge's arm…tonight she was going to be in that ring as a wrestler. Lita exchanged a near imperceptible nod with Trish, Victoria and Melina as she slid under the bottom rope.. Promptly making her way over to Trish's corner.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" Trish whispered harshly, a distrusting frown on her face for the crowd's sake. "I don't need your help, you walking kiss of death."

Lita smirked, "And just how do you know I'm here to help you, blondie? The only reason you've been champion this long, is because I haven't been able to wrestle. And let's face it.. The only reason you started wearing that title again is because I got hurt at NYR."

Trish showed her approval through her eyes, the corners of her mouth turning down in a sneer. "Whatever bitch. You're all talk… and action, but not the right kind of action."

The two Diva's got closer, Lita looking down at the Women's Champion defiantly. And just when Melina and Victoria tried to attack them from behind; Trish and Lita turned to block the open palm and closed fist flying at them.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we welcome you back to Friday Night Smackdown! And no you aren't seeing things, the WWE Women's Champion is teaming with her long time enemy, Lita."

"I still don't know what to think, Cole.. I mean, I know people can change.. But people like her?"

"You got that right, Tazz.. And it looks like we aren't the only one's confused."

"Well it looks like Trish and Lita here are on the same page.. They just scored a big time double clothesline on Victoria!"

"And there's another for Melina! Trish and Lita have just cleared the ring.. And it looks like Lita is going to the outside.."

"That's gonna leave a mark in the morning.. And I can't say that Melina is going to be happy about going into the barricade like that."

"Ready?" Trish whispered to Lita, "I'll set her up with a Chick kick… you get the Litacanrana from the top.."

Lita nodded, positioning herself behind the turnbuckle, the ring rope in her left hand while the right clutched the tag team rope.

"It looks like Melina is out cold, Tazz.. And Trish is setting up Victoria for the Chick kick--"

"And she ducks out of it… the Women's Champion is tagging in Lita.."

"And Lita hit's the Litacanrana from the top turnbuckle.. Referee Charles Robinson is going for the count.."

"Here are your winners-- Lita and the Women's Champion-- Trish Stratus!"

For sake of the crowd, Trish sent her tag team partner a reluctant smile… waiting until Lita had exited the ring before she played to the Smackdown crowd.

Lita felt herself wrapped up in a hug as she walked backstage, "Hey hey.. That was my first match in awhile, I need oxygen."

Chris Benoit looked at her with pride, "What did I tell you, Red.. You are still a wrestler. Don't you ever doubt your abilities."

Lita grinned, "Thanks Chris…for believing in me." She hugged him briefly, wiping away the thin film of sweat on her forehead. "But I need to hit the shower.. Not being in the ring competing for that long.."

He shook his head, an arm settling over her shoulders. "You have to start believing in yourself, Li. There are plenty of people who already believe in you.. But the one person that matters, is you."

Lillian wrapped her arms around the redhead, "You looked great, Li.."

"Ladies," Glenn greeted as Victoria and Trish walked back. "Great match.." glancing specifically to Lita he smiled: "Great to see you back in the ring…where you belong."

The grin on Lita's face broadened as she turned to Trish and Victoria. "Tonight I actually feel like celebrating.. I haven't felt this good in a long time."

Trish beamed, "Good.. Because you deserve it. Things are changing for you, starting now."

The three Diva's returned to the RAW locker room, Chris and Lillian acting as escorts for the walk back. Granted, it had only been three or four minutes in the actual match, but for Lita.. It did a world of good. Trish, Victoria and Lillian couldn't keep the goofy smiles off their faces as they watched their redheaded friend. She was looking more like herself then she had been in months. This was the Lita they missed and the Lita that they were hoping would return. Now, they could only hope that creative would follow through where it counted…and that was on RAW. Not to say that tonight's match didn't mean anything, it meant a lot.. More then Lita could possibly put into words at the moment. But the women's division was on RAW, she was listed as a RAW Diva. In order for things to really start turning around, changes like this, would have to happen on RAW.