DISCLAIMER: As much as it breaks my heart to admit it, I do not own anyone or anything connected to Vince McMahon and his awesomeness. I can only claim property rights of OC.

*** A/N -- I wasn't sure how to move the story along to where it needs to be and then this chapter came to me. I hope it doesn't suck too much. ***

Hannah stared in disbelief at Claire. Now way she was serious! Less than three months after signing her contract she was given open access to Wrestlemania? How much more awesome could her life get?

"Don't thank me, it was Randy's idea." Claire laughed softly as she looked at Hannah. She had never seen anyone look more surprised.

"No way! Shut up!" Hannah wasn't sure she believed Randy was really capable of being so generous, especially after she had proven she wasn't worthy of their trust.

Claire rolled her eyes then looked at Hannah. "I'm counting on you. You have to get your part finished in enough time that I can do the final proof."

Hannah made a soft sound under her breath.

"Hannah, I mean it. I'm counting on you."

Forcing her eyes to lock to with Claire's, Hannah nodded, "I know you are. I have no intention of letting you down." It was more than a matter of personal motivation. She owed a great debt to the two of them. If Randy hadn't spoken up for her, she knew in her gut she would be sitting back in Stamford. She was going to get her job done and done right.

Reaching out to ruffle Hannah's short hair, Claire smiled, "And I expect you to behave at the Hall of Fame Ceremony."

Hannah felt her jaw scrape the floor. She was stoked just to have access to all of the events leading up to Wrestlemania. She never expected to actually be allowed within a hundred yards of possibly the biggest night of the year! It was more than she had ever allowed herself to hope for.

"You don't have to worry about me."

Claire's sudden laughter made Hannah frown. Okay, yeah, she had a tendency not to listen and to make big jackass of herself. But she could totally tone down her behavior when she had to. Especially if it was important to Claire and Randy.

"I swear. Girl Scouts' honor, I'll be on my best behavior."

Claire nodded and looked at Hannah. She could only hope that Hannah would take her warning to heart. Randy's threat to send her back to HQ was serious. He would not allow Hannah a second opportunity to hurt herself or someone else.

"Now we have a bigger issue." Claire's voice took on a deceptively serious tone.

Slightly confused, Hannah looked at Claire, "What's that?"

Claire wasn't sure how she managed to keep a straight face, "All we have to do is figure out how to get Cody to agree to be your date."

Hannah felt her heart skip a beat. Having Cody escort her to the Hall of Fame would be a dream come true. He was smart, funny and an all around great guy. It would really make a statement if they showed up to the most important night of the year together. As far as Hannah could tell, the only problem with Claire's plan was the fact that Cody barely acknowledged her. He would spend hours on end without so much a glance in her direction.

Arching a brow at Claire, Hannah folded her slim arms across her stomach, "I suppose you have a plan?"

Claire shook her head slowly, "Not quite. But I'm sure we can think of something."

Just great! Claire had a truly brilliant idea but absolutely no idea how to make it happen. Fat lot of good that does.

"I appreciate the thought, but I don't think it's going to work."

"How do you know if you don't try?"

Well, she does have point. If she really wanted Cody to notice her, she would have to find a way to get his attention. Only what would it take to get his attention and keep it? Hannah didn't have a whole lot of ideas. Maybe the straight forward approach would work. There was no reason why she couldn't just take the bull by the horns and ask him. What's the worst he could do?

"Alright. I'll ask him."

"When?"

Hannah studied Claire for a tense moment, "Soon."

"Today?"

"Today." What was the sense in wasting time? They really only had a matter of a couple of weeks before the big night.

Claire pulled Hannah into a quick hug, "This is so exciting."

As long as he says yes, it will be.

Hannah spent the rest of the day torn between feeling optimistic and slightly nauseated. Every time she thought about having Cody's attention, she felt a wave of nerves. It wasn't that she was star struck. Being close to him made her pulse do all kinds of not so normal things. She finally decided that she would wait until they were leaving the hotel before she would approach him. If he was focused on the night ahead of them, maybe he would be too distracted to remember he was supposed to be ignoring her. She could only hope she would be so lucky. She had been sitting in the hotel lobby for a while, waiting for the others to come downstairs. Waiting in her room had been torture. You could only pace for so long before the walls started to close in. Just when she thought her nerves would snap, Hannah spotted Ted coming down the hall towards her. Where Ted was, Cody would soon follow. It was just the way nature worked.

Ted sat on the couch next to her and smiled slightly, "Been here long?"

Hannah felt a genuine smile cross her face. Ted had always been nice to her. Even when she probably didn't deserve it. "Not too long. Where is everybody?"

"They're coming. Are you having any luck with the photos?"

Hannah smiled and nodded, "Yeah. Claire's seems to like what we have so far."

"Good. That's good to hear. How long do you think you'll be with us?"

"Probably just until Claire finishes her assignment. Then I'll have to go back. This probation thing sucks."

Ted's soft laugh surprised her, "I know that feeling."

"It's so different being on the road. I didn't realize how much is involved in putting on a show every night."

Ted nodded, as if deep in thought, "It take a lot of dedication. Real commitment. You have to want to be here, doing what we do. You have to have this business at heart, or it won't work."

"That's pretty deep, Ted."

Ted smiled, "I'm sorry. I forget that I'm not supposed to be able to think for myself."

Hannah realized Ted was teasing her. She reached out and lightly tapped him on the arm, "Come on, Ted, I'm still new at this!"

"You're doing fine, Hannah. It's amazing how much you can absorb just by sitting back and watching..."

Ted's comment ended mid-sentence when he spotted Cody walking towards them. Hannah felt her throat go suddenly dry. He is so hot. All at once, the nervous feeling grabbed hold of her again. Every time she saw Cody, he took her breath away. The man was gorgeous, even if he didn't realize it. And that was truly a shame. Forcing herself to remain sitting, Hannah forced her eyes away from the object of her suddenly heated thoughts. It wouldn't help her cause if she were caught staring. Cody sat next to Ted. He didn't even look in her direction.

This isn't going to be easy. Hannah thought to herself. Just the sight of him left her as tongue tied as a teenager. An uneasy silence settled between the three of them. Ted wasn't sure what was going on but the instant Cody sat next to him, he knew something was wrong. Truth be told, he really didn't want to know. The less he knew about everything, the less complicated his life was. Randy and Claire were a good case in point. He hoped things would work out between them but no way in hell was he going to get into the middle of whatever was going on. They were both adults and could handle things quite well without him. Just like Cody and Hannah were going to have to learn to deal with each other. With that thought, Ted stood and pulled his sunglasses on, "I'll go get the car."

Cody barely glanced up at Ted as he walked away. Just great, leave me to babysit. He felt a frown creasing his brow as he tried not to go after Ted. The last thing he wanted was to be stuck making sure Hannah didn't get herself into trouble again. The whole roster could do nothing but talk about the way Hannah had gotten herself hurt. Almost all of the guys agreed that Hannah was a liability and had no business being on the road. Randy seemed to be the only one who was on her side. Then again, Randy always took the less popular stance on everything. Hannah folded her hands in her lap as she glanced over at Cody. He was staring straight ahead as if she didn't even exist. How in the hell could he sit so still without even twitching a muscle?

"I've been meaning to ask you something." Hannah surprised herself. Her voice sounded sure, without the least hint of all the emotions tumbling through her.

Again, Cody didn't even glance in her direction. Biting back a frustrated sigh, Hannah took a deep breath and tried again, "I was wondering..."

Before Hannah could finish the sentence, Cody smiled and stood. He turned fully toward the row of elevators and his smile grew. He took a few quick steps then stopped as a woman stepped into the lobby. Cody's smile turned absolutely devastating as he pulled the blonde into a hug. She said something Hannah didn't catch. Eyes narrowed, Hannah looked at the other woman as she tried to remember her name. If she remembered correctly, the woman's name was Barbie. She was known to the WWE Universe as Kelly Kelly. Hannah watched as Cody lead her across the lobby. He stopped a few feet away, his back to her. Hannah suddenly felt relief. She considered Kelly's arrival divine intervention. At least she hadn't been interrupted in the middle of making a tremendous fool out of herself.

Kelly glanced over at Hannah as she smiled politely. Leaning closer to Cody, she asked in a low voice, "Who's that?"

Cody's gray gaze flicked over to Hannah. He barely looked at her before turning his attention to the woman beside him, "That's nobody."

Hannah was blinded by the sudden sting of tears. She knew Cody was having a hard time with her around but she didn't realize he thought so little of her. It was almost as if she didn't even exist. To hear Cody put his thoughts into words was a painful sting. Grabbing her backpack, Hannah forced herself to walk calmly down the hall towards the stairs. No way in hell was she going to let Cody see her cry. Once she was out of sight, Hannah forced herself to take a deep breath. She quickly climbed the stairs to the third floor. Her steps faltered as she stepped onto her floor. Randy and Claire were waiting at the elevators. Claire started to say something as Hannah darted past them

"I forgot something. Don't wait, I'll catch up."

With a soft click Hannah closed the door to her room. She said on the edge of the bed and forced herself to take deep, calming breaths. It took all of her strength not to dissolve into a fit of tears. Tears didn't make anything better. She'd learned that the hard way. All she could do was figure out what to do next. A soft knock on the door drew Hannah's attention. She really didn't want to talk to anyone. Maybe if she just let them knock, they would figure it out all on their own.

"Hannah, open up." Randy's voice was muffled by the door separating them.

God, if it had been anybody else, she would have gladly told them to buzz off. Randy, however was a much different story. After slowly pulling herself from the bed, Hannah opened the door. Randy looked down at her with those shrewd blue eyes.

"I told you not to wait."

"I don't take orders." Randy stepped into the room and closed the door behind him, "What's wrong?"

Hannah shook her head and sat down on the bed, "Nothing."

"You're not a very good liar."

Damn! You just couldn't get anything past the man, "I don't feel good."

Randy arched a brow as he silently looked at Hannah.

"My stomach hurts."

Randy let out a soft breath as he looked at her. She had that same look her face that Claire got when she didn't want to talk about something. He was beginning to wonder if that was something all women shared. "Is that it?"

Hannah nodded. It wasn't a complete lie. Her stomach did hurt. Just thinking about what happened made her sick to her stomach. She sure as hell didn't want to tell Randy that Cody's words had affected her so much. She had already caused him enough grief.

"Maybe I shouldn't go tonight. Just in case."

Randy nodded, knowing he was being effectively stonewalled. She didn't have to tell him anything. But he knew two other people that would sing like birds if given the proper motivation. "Call us if you need anything."

Hannah nodded and forced herself to meet Randy's gaze. She could tell by the look in his eyes that he didn't believe her the least little bit. Thankfully Randy was not the kind of man that would push. Sighing with relief, Hannah watched the door close behind him.

***A/N – Please review ***