Chapter Twenty Five: A Dream To Make Things Right

I'm lying in bed and I can't sleep. I'll be the first to admit, some of it may be anger from what happened earlier tonight with Adam betrayed Smackdown and some of it may be the fact that I'm terrified. Whatever the reason is, I can't sleep. Phil is laying beside me, almost curled into a ball like a kitten, sleeping and resting for his match tonight. Well, what is technically tonight since it's 11:59. He deserves it to. I hope he wins. The WWE needs a set of champions like him and Luke. They would be a role model for children everywhere because of their views. They'd sure be better than me that is.

For some reason since I lead my team to a loss, I've been evalutating my reign as a champion. I know it wasn't technically my fault that they lost but still something inside my heart tells me that I should have been able to predict that something wasn't right as soon as Micheal Cole read that message off from the "general manager". And…and still what Dave said still rings in my ears. That comment about wanting to go to Raw struck a nerve. I've never really thought about jumping brands from Smackdown to Raw but there is always the possibility. I mean, Raw is where almost all the big name stars are. And…and as a champion I want everyone to remember who I am and what I've done. Smackdown's mostly watched by people who are stuck inside on a Friday night but Raw…everyone watches Raw…

I shake my head and lay back on the pillow. I want, no, I need to sleep. The nerves are getting to me and they shouldn't be. God, I bet Dad never had this problem. I bet that he was always confident, both on where he wanted to be and who he would beat. Finally, after an hour of laying in bed with a killer headache because I haven't been able to sleep, I finally manage to doze off.

I'm back in the familiar locker room and I can see my dad with the title over his shoulder. The age lines that were defined in his face the last time I saw him in this situation, the dream type situation, are still there. He has a title over his shoulder and is looking at me. In fact, the only difference is instead of the lockers being blue like they were before, they've changed to a red color. "Dad…"

"Lillie, hola," he hugs me and smiles.

"You're the best US champion that ever lived. How did you manage not to be afraid no matter who you would fight?" I ask.

"Oh, I was afraid plenty of times. Especially when it came to fighting Uncle Rey-Rey or Uncle Chris (Chris Benoit for those of you who have no idea who I'm talking about). But I always managed to look past the opponent and to what the fans wanted. You can face Chavo and Rey without being scared, can't you?"

"Yeah, their familia. I know that they won't hurt me. But dad this guy-"

"Jack Swagger. I hear you talking about him to Phil sometimes and I can see he's not a good guy. I got to meet Phil for a few minutes," he sighs.

"You mean…"

"He hasn't told anyone this but for a few minutes he was technically a dead man. I was the one who told him that it wasn't his time," Eddie smiled.

"Dad…"

"Hey, what can I say, maybe I really like this guy for you. Now, this match isn't the only thing that's bothering you bambino, I can tell." He sits me down on the bench and sits next to me. "Care to tell me about it?"

"Dad…what did you do when you didn't know what brand you wanted to be on? I mean, didn't you wrestle for Smackdown and Raw? Which one did you like better?" I ask softly.

He chuckles, "That's what I thought you were wanting to talk about all along. Changing brands was hard for me at first. Raw may look like it's all it's cracked up to be but it's really not. Smackdown, it's a dysfunctional family. You have your fights, sure, but at the end of the day you know that you're all a part of a bigger picture. Wait until the elimination type matches where you all have to work as a tag team. Once you get down who exactly the leader is, everyone falls in line to try and help."

He puts a hand on my shoulder and I look at him, "Dad…you're always there for me…even though you…" the tears come to my eyes and he lifts my head with his hand.

"Lillie Belle, what did I tell you about crying?"

"Crying is supposed to be for when you don't have the words to express yourself," I softly say.

"Now, I'm dead. You can admit you miss me. But don't cry over me. I'm still there for you all the time. I'm in your heart bambino. And no one can ever, ever stop me from being there." He hugs me and holds me. "You're mother did a fine job raising you without me there through your teenage years. I wish I would have been there for you. But fate had its own ideas. Go out there tonight and win for me."

I nod, keeping the tears back. I lay my head on his shoulder for a few minutes and then pull back, "Dad…mom needs you in her dreams too."

"I know dear. Adam hurt her badly. But she'll find love again. I know she will. Who couldn't love your mother," he smiles once again. There's a knock on the door and a head pokes in. It's Uncle Chris.

"Eddie, are you ready to go?" he asks in his Candian drawl. He sees me and smiles, "Lillie, good to see you again."

"Hey Uncle Chris," I smile. I'm not surprised to see him here. Even through those horrid things he did, I know that our creator (no matter what you want to call him) knows that he would never do them on purpose and forgives him.

"Eddie, we have to be out for a tag team match in a little bit. Wrap things up here and let's get going."

Eddie smiles at me and hugs me one last time, "Well, bambino, it looks like the both of us have to get going. It's almost wake up time for you."

"Wait, papi, I have one more question!" I protest.

"What Lillie?"

"Is Heaven really a wrestling ring?"

He laughs, "We all perceive it differently. For us WWE types, it's a wrestling ring where we can entertain everyone. Now get."

Phil moving on the bed next to me wakes me up and I look to see him staring at me, sleepy eyed. "It's six, if we plan on getting to the arena we need to get going."

I nod, "You…you were dead for a few minutes technically? When Jack attacked you?"

"Um, no. Who told you that?" he says giving me an odd look.

"I had a dream, must have been my mind playing tricks on me." Good old dad. He's still lying even in death.