Disclaimer, etc., in part 1.

Part Twenty-Six

The sound of her cell phone ringing pulled Eve from her sleep, the woman rolling over in bed - then cringing at the pain that caused her - before reaching over to grab the phone, not bothering to check the caller ID before answering the call. "Hello?"

"Eve, are you all right? What happened tonight?" a distinctly British voice questioned, but it still took a moment for the diva to place exactly who it was on the other end of the line. Rolling over, she shook her hair back from her face, resting her head against the pillow, her brow furrowing a bit.

"Layla? Is that you?"

"Of course it is, and... Oh, no. I'm so sorry. I forgot about the time difference," the woman said, reminding Eve that the divas' champion was currently pretty much on the other side of the country at the moment - which meant that it was three hours earlier where Layla was currently at. Flicking a look at the clock, Eve noted that it was currently one-thirty in the morning where she was, which meant it was ten-thirty at night where Layla was. Not exactly the best time to call, but not horribly late, either.

"It's okay. Easy mistake to make," Eve muttered, the woman pushing herself up so that she was sitting in bed, fighting not to make any sounds of pain at the pull in her injured shoulder.

"No, it was stupid. I knew you were on the other side of the country, and I just... I watched the show and then stewed about it a bit, then just had to call you and now... Now I've woken you up."

"Well, to be fair, I haven't really been getting the best sleep lately, so I probably would have woken up within the next hour or so anyway. So what's up?"

"What's up? We both know that John Laurinaitis wanted you at the show tonight so he could embarrass or humiliate you... or get you hurt worse."

"Yeah, but it didn't happen-"

"Which is why I'm asking what's going on. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad you didn't get hurt, but... Watching the show was a little ominous, given the way the announcers kept talking about how Laurinaitis planned to call you out and they kept wondering what he had in store for you. They kept speculating that Laurinaitis was mad at you for 'fraternizing with the enemy' or whatever," the woman said, and Eve rolled her eyes.

"So they didn't speculate that something was going on with me and Laurinaitis and that I threw him over for Punk or something?" the diva asked, unable to keep the disgust from her voice as she asked the question, and Layla sound equally grossed out when she replied.

"Believe it or not, no. Thank goodness. But I wouldn't put it past them to start tossing things like that around at some point, especially if Laurinaitis keeps up his vendetta against you. Of course, they could also just think him going after you would be another way to get to Punk, and I think we all know how much he hates Punk," Layla stated. "And speaking of Punk... What was he doing there anyway? He's never on SmackDown, and suddenly he had a match?"

"He showed up because Triple H told him that I would be there... And he was put in a match because Laurinaitis figured he may as well take advantage of the fact that the WWE champion was at the show. Plus, I'm pretty sure he wanted to see Punk lose. Which means he didn't get what he wanted... again."

"Triple H told him that you would be there? Hasn't CM Punk caused you enough problems already? Why in the world-"

"Because he didn't mean to, Layla. He had no intention of sending AJ after me like that."

"Or so he claims."

"And I believe him."

Layla's voice on the other end of the line was nothing short of incredulous. "Eve, you can't-"

"You weren't there tonight, Layla. You didn't see the look on his face, or the way he acted. He looked me in the eye, and he told me that he was sorry. He told me that he'd never intended for me to get hurt. He told me that he'd thought that I was the one woman in the company that AJ would dare go after."

"And you believed him," Layla intoned, her words not really a question, but Eve answered her anyway.

"Yes, I did. I know you think the worst of him, Layla, but... You weren't there. He came to that show tonight in an effort to protect me. He made a mistake, and he knows it. That doesn't come across as the actions of someone that meant to sic AJ after me. Showing up, trying to protect me?"

"Okay, so maybe not. But I was completely on edge watching the show tonight, with the way the announcers kept making it clear that Laurinaitis had something planned for you. And then CM Punk's match was announced, and when he finally came out and you hadn't been seen yet, they thought that maybe Laurinaitis was going after him instead, since everyone now seems to believe that Punk is your boyfriend-"

"I know they do. Or, a lot of people do. You know the truth, and so does Kofi Kingston. Not to mention Triple H... And of course, Punk and I know the truth, too," Eve interrupted. "And that's what is important, isn't it? That I know the truth? Because... I don't give a damn what the announcers or Laurinaitis think of me. I don't give a damn what the fans think of me, especially considering the names that they've called me in the recent past."

"Yes, but if Laurinaitis believes it and comes after you for it-"

"I'm safe for a couple of weeks. I'm not medically cleared yet, and Triple H is traveling with the shows right now. He's pulled me from Laurinaitis's administration to have me work as his assistant. Which means that, in his own way... Even Triple H is protecting me. When I'm medically cleared... I'll have to be in any match that I'm given, but still... I have a couple of weeks."

"And when you are medically cleared? When he can start putting you in matches again?"

"I hope for the best, I trust that CM Punk has my back... and I hope that if he pulls something truly awful, it gives Triple H enough ammunition to get Laurinaitis fired."

"Eve-"

"You know the old saying? You give someone enough rope, they may hang themselves? Well, here's to hoping that John Laurinaitis does exactly that."