Okay peeps, here's the next chap. As always, I appreciate your reviews and I think you're all wonderful. I'm falling asleep right now so I'm not gonna babble on as much as usual. Read, Enjoy, and Review!

Chapter 37...

Cory was practically out on her feet as Randy walked her to her room. She was glad he was holding her hand because if she let him go, she would probably just lean up against a wall and go to sleep.

"Are you okay?" Randy asked, squeezing her hand.

She nodded, "Yeah..I'm just tired."

"That's it?" he asked as they reached her door.

She nodded, appreciative of his concern. She smiled, reaching up and giving him a hug. He held her for a few seconds, softly rubbing her back.

"Thanks for walking me," she smiled, pulling away and taking out her room key.

"Anytime," he smiled, touching her cheek. "I'll pick you up in the morning and we'll get some breakfast before we go to the airport."

"Okay," she smiled. "Goodnight."

"Night," he gave her a quick kiss on the cheek before he left. She opened the door and almost fell in, dropping her bag on the floor. She took off her coat, dropping it on top of the bag and stepped out of her shoes. On the way to the bed she pulled off whatever clothing she had left and tossed it aside before crawling into bed. If this was the kind of emotional exhaustion that came with lying to her best friend, she was never gonna make it another 8 months or however long it was until Dawn gave birth. She pulled the covers up over herself, nuzzling her pillow. Just as her eyes began to close, there was a light knock on the door. She considered ignoring it but she figured that anyone coming by after a show when they had to be up early had something important to say. She got up and walked over to her suitcase, pulling out a big t-shirt and slipping it on. When she got to the door, she was surprised when she looked through the peep hole and saw John in the hallway. She opened the door, stifling a yawn, "Hey..what are you doing here?"

"Hey," he smiled. "I was just coming by to see how you're doing."

He looked very concerned and she smiled, leaning her head against the door, I'm fine. I'm just..feeling a little pressure lately, that's all."

"What kind of pressure?" he asked.

"I've been working on some new things for Wrestlemania and they aren't quite going the way I want yet," she said. She wasn't exactly lying, she was working on some new moves for the pay-per-view.

"You want some help?" he smiled.

She laughed a little. He really did have a cute smile.

"Portia and I are gonna go over some things in the morning," she smiled. "But thank you."

"No problem," he laughed. He looked around, hands in his pockets and Cory got the feeling that he didn't want to leave.

She touched his arm reassuringly, "John..I'm okay..I promise."

"You're sure?" he asked.

She nodded, "And I'm sleepy…so I'll see you in the morning."

"Okay," he said. "If you need anything though…"

"I'll call you," she smiled.

"Goodnight," he waved. She waved back waiting until he was out of sight to close the door. She closed the door, walking back to bed and getting back under the covers. She thought back to the way John took care of her earlier. He forgot any tension between them and his sole focus was calming her down and finding out what was wrong with her and that meant a lot. Maybe she needed to give him another chance.

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John walked away from Cory's room feeling a little better. He could still see that there was something bothering her but he could tell from the way she smiled at him that she was feeling better. It meant a lot to him that she'd opened up to him the way she did. He didn't see her crying on Randy's shoulder. That had to mean something. Maybe, hopefully, she was going to give him another shot. That meant that he had to figure out how to let Portia down easy and he needed to figure it out soon. He still didn't understand where that kiss had come from. He had no idea that she even wanted him back. He felt somewhat guilty for not letting her down right then and there but he couldn't help it. She caught him off guard.

"John."

He turned when he heard the soft voice behind him and there, as if conjured up by thoughts, stood Portia Kelly.

"Hey," she smiled, walking up to him and giving him a quick hug.

"Hey," he smiled back. "Shouldn't you be sleeping?"

"I will be soon," she smiled. "I was just going to get some ice."

"Ah," he nodded, feeling incredibly awkward. He really needed to do this…but not now.

"Hey, what are you doing Wednesday night?" he asked. That should give him enough time.

"Nothing," she shrugged. "Why?"

"Would you, maybe, wanna go to dinner with me?" he asked.

She smiled, "Of course."

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Mark laid in bed, staring up at the ceiling. He'd been trying to sleep for almost two hours and it didn't look like it was going to happen. He couldn't figure out if he was mad or sad or what? He didn't know which way was up and he didn't know if it was his own fault or Dawn's. Was it hers for leaving or his for letting it effect him like this. He was mad at her for leaving. He was angry with her for the way it upset Cory and the rest of her friends. He was mad at her for walking away after he poured his heart out at her feet. He was upset because he couldn't understand why she couldn't be with him. All this damn emotion made his head feel like someone had hit him with a hammer and he couldn't stand it. If it weren't so damn late he would have gone out for a drink. He needed something to dull his senses and just make him forget so he could sleep through the night without trying to figure out who, what, when, where, why, and how.

He looked over at the clock and then back up at the ceiling. Taylor would be by to get him early and he needed to get some sleep so he didn't bite her head off on her first day of work. The last thing he needed was Chris in his face for freaking out his girlfriend or whatever she was. He closed his eyes, ordering himself to stop thinking about Dawn. She obviously wasn't too concerned with him.

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Dawn hung up the phone, leaning back against her pillows. She'd just tried calling Cory but got no answer. She was probably sleeping. Dawn should have been sleeping herself but she couldn't. She thought about calling Mark but she knew that it would do nothing but make things worse. It wasn't fair for her to keep messing with his emotions. She missed him and she loved him and she wanted to tell him that but it wasn't the time. She picked up her phone again, looking through the list of contacts. When she got to John, she pressed the call button and held the phone to her ear.

After a few rings he picked up, "D, this is a surprise."

"Hi John," she smiled.

"What's up with you leaving and not letting one of your closest friends know you're going?" he asked.

"I didn't want to tell too many people," Dawn said. "I just..I have some personal things I need to work through."

"Can I help?" he asked, sounding concerned.

"I'll be okay," she assured him. "But…there is a way that you could help."

"Lay it on me," he waited.

"I need you to take care of Cory for me, while I'm gone," she said. She wasn't sure if this was why she'd called him but when she heard his voice, she knew she had to ask him. He was the only person fit for the job.

"What?" John asked, confused. "That sounds awfully cryptic Dawn."

"I don't mean to," she said. "It's just..I cant be around and I wanna be sure that she's okay…I asked her to take care of Mark and I know she'll do that with every fiber of her being and I also know that she wont take care of herself…which is why I need you to look out for her."

"Me?" John asked. "I'm not exactly at the top of her list these days."

"That doesn't matter," Dawn said. "I know you care about her and I know she cares about you. And you're the only person I trust to really take care of her, whether she likes it or not."

John laughed, "I guess."

"Will you do it?" she asked.

"Of course," he agreed. "Just don't make me do it for too long, you know she's violent."

She laughed, "It wont be too long."

"Good," John said. "We already miss you."

"I miss you all too," she said. "Listen..do me one more favor."

"What's that?"

Dawn ran a hand through her hair, "Don't tell anybody that I asked you to do this."

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The Next Morning…

"I am so glad to be getting back in the ring," Cory said, her breathing just beginning to become labored as she worked out on the stair climber. Portia was next to her running on a treadmill. They were working out in the hotel gym before they headed to the arena to work out in the ring. Cory was to have her first match since her injury that night at the Smackdown taping.

"I'm happy for you," Portia smiled. "I know this has been driving you nuts."

"Oh you have no idea," Cory smiled. "And it's in my hometown, which is kind of cool."

"I thought you were from New York," Portia looked confused.

"Well I spent most of my life there," Cory said. "But my parents met here and I was born here..we moved to New York later."

"Really?"

Cory nodded, "Jessie and I were both born here."

"That's fun," Portia said, opening her bottle of water and downing some of it. "So…what's up with you and Randy?"

Cory was a little surprised at the subject change but she shrugged it off, "Um..I don't really know. I'm kind of surprised by it myself."

"Why's that?" Portia asked.

"I don't know..I mean, Randy's a great guy but-"

"Have you kissed?" Portia cut her off.

Cory was once again taken aback for a moment. After a couple seconds she recovered, "Yeah."

Portia's eyes went wide momentarily and Cory felt like an idiot. Somehow she'd almost forgotten how close Portia and Randy were. Just a week ago she was trying to push them together and now she was kissing Randy.

"Listen, Portia..it just happened," she said apologetically. "If you have a problem with it, just tell me now because-"

"It's okay, don't worry about it," Portia's smile seemed a tiny bit tense.

"Are you sure because-"

"I'm getting back together with John," Portia announced.

Cory's foot slipped and she nearly fell off of the stair climber. She held on and pulled herself back up, staring at her friend, "What?"

Portia described their dinner and Cory felt herself gripping the machine tighter by the second. She almost fell off again when Portia explained that the date ended with a kiss.

Son of a bitch

And to think, just hours before Cory had pretty much decided to give John another chance. Well..apparently he didn't need it.

Asshole

And what the hell was Portia's problem? She knew how Cory felt about John so why would she go after him?

"If it bothers you Cory…just tell me," Portia smiled sweetly. "I wouldn't want to ruin our friendship."

"Oh no," Cory smiled back. "Trust me..I couldn't be happier for the two of you."

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"That was fun," Jessica smiled.

"Yeah it was," Hunter nodded. They being driven back to the hotel after an autograph signing with Ric Flair. "I think Ric held every baby there."

"The mothers seemed to trust him with their kids more than me," she laughed. "I don't know how I feel about that."

Hunter shrugged, "Just try not to think about it."

"Good plan," she nodded.

They rode in comfortable silence for a few minutes, both of them looking out the windows at the scenery passing by.

"So, how's James?" Hunter asked. He didn't know what made him ask the question but he supposed some part of him was wondering.

"I don't really care very much," Jessica smiled.

Hunter knew he had a surprised look on his face, "Wow..that's new."

Jessica shrugged, "I'd rather not discuss him right now."

"Then we wont," he shrugged, though he was curious about this change.

"Look at you chick magnet," she laughed, pointing to all the gifts that he got, most of them from female fans. "All I got was a stuffed animal."

"Well, excluding you of course, there are a lot of women out there who find me incredibly attractive," he smirked as they pulled up in front of the hotel.

She smiled, opening the door, "I never said I didn't think you were attractive."

She winked and got out before he could respond. Not that he knew what to say, he really wasn't sure what to think.

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Taylor organized the memos that Shane McMahon had just given her and Jacinda, filing them away. Jacinda was already gone, saying that she needed to find Cory.

"Taylor, can I talk to you for a second?"

Taylor looked up, surprised. She thought Shane had left the room.

"Sure," she stood up.

"I just wanted you to know that I've heard a lot of very good things about you," Shane said. "And it speaks volumes that Mark would ask you to work for him. If you can do that, I'm convinced you can do anything."

Taylor laughed, "I'm pretty sure I can handle the job."

"Maybe sometime down the line you can take on some broader responsibilities around here," Shane said.

Taylor was surprised and didn't know exactly what to say. Shane was looking at her, waiting for a response so she smiled, "That would be wonderful, thank you."

"Don't thank me yet," Shane smiled. "Just keep up the good work."

"I will," she smiled, gathering up her phone and her bag. "I'll see you later Mr. McMahon."

"Shane," he corrected her.

She smiled, offering a small wave before walking out of the conference room. Once she was in the hall, she leaned against the wall, closing her eyes. She was trying so hard to act normal in there that it made her head hurt. She should be happy. She should be excited. Shane McMahon had just complimented her and practically offered her a better job sometime soon but no, she was a nervous wreck because she was in this stupid city. She wished she hadn't agreed to come here. Rooming with Cory made things easier and, of course, things were always better with Chris around but she still couldn't shake the feeling of dread that flooded her senses every time she was alone. From the second she got off of the plane she'd felt like someone was watching her, waiting for her to slip up, to do something stupid. Even standing there in the hallway she felt eyes on her. The anxiety built up and she could hear her heart beating in her ears. She closed her eyes, counting to ten, trying to tell herself that she was being paranoid.

There's no one there..there's no one there..there's no one there…

She opened her eyes again and looked around, her breathing slowly returning to normal when she saw that the only other person in the hall was a janitor.

She shook her head, "You're going crazy Vogle."

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Mark paced back and forth, trying to get into character. Usually it was so easy. He didn't have to isolate himself the way he used to. He didn't have to sit in dark rooms or anything like that anymore. Being Undertaker was about as easy as being Mark. But today things were different. Mainly because he couldn't stay focused. Pacing around in the hallway obviously wasn't working. He needed to come up with a new plan. He decided to go find Glenn, maybe that could help. At least it could if he didn't have Jacinda up under him every minute. He didn't see how she ever got any work done for Cory because every time he needed to talk to Glenn, there she was, just..standing there. He turned to walk down the hall and nearly knocked someone over. He reached out to keep the young woman from falling and when her hair moved out of her face he recognized her.

Jacinda

He struggled to keep from rolling his eyes. Once he was sure she was steady he mumbled an apology as he turned to walk away.

"Mark."

Damn it

He faced her, "Yeah?"

"Can we talk for a minute?" she asked, putting her PDA and some papers into the bag on her shoulder.

He really wasn't in the mood but if Glenn's feelings were real he was going to have to get used to being around this woman a lot and get over whatever it was that he didn't like about her.

"Sure," he said. "What do you need?"

She smiled nervously, "Listen..I know that you have some..concerns about my relationship with Glenn."

Mark frowned, "And how would you know that?"

She shrugged, "I can just tell…I just want you to know that, yes, things are moving a bit fast between us but..I really like Glenn..And it's pretty obvious that he feels the same way and I just hope that you can be happy for your friend."

Mark didn't know if it was her choice of words or her tone or what but he didn't like her approach to this little talk. She had this superiority complex that really rubbed him the wrong way.

"I'm always happy for my friend," Mark said. "So I guess you don't have anything to worry about."

"Good," she smiled. "Then we'll see you later."

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Cory walked backstage, wrapping a towel around her neck. She'd worked out with Portia in the ring for a while but once Trish got to the arena they decided to run through their match and work out a few kinks since they had time.

"I'll see you later," Trish smiled, waving before she walked away. Cory opened her water bottle, downing half of it.

"Don't choke."

She laughed, turning around when she heard Glenn's voice.

"Before you ask," she put up a hand. "I don't know where Jacinda is right now."

Glenn laughed, "I wasn't going to ask, but I'm glad you're on your toes."

"Always," she smiled.

"I was actually looking for you," he said.

"Okay," she said, wiping her forehead with her towel. "What's up?"

"I wanted to remind you that Mark's birthday is on the 24th," Glenn said.

Cory nodded, she'd been thinking about the same thing.

"And with what's going on with Dawn, we really need to make it as good as possible," Glenn said.

She nodded, "You're right. I haven't really come up with anything yet. Have you?"

Glenn shook his head, "I've been..distracted."

"Please, no details of your sex life with my assistant," Cory put up a hand."

"I'll keep them to myself this time," Glenn laughed.

Cory tried to think of ideas for Mark's birthday but she came up blank.

"Do you know where we're gonna be on his birthday?" she asked.

"Texas," he answered.

She smiled, "That's perfect..Tell you what, let's have breakfast in the morning and start planning."

"Sounds good," he nodded. "I'm gotta go ask Dave a couple questions about our match, I'll see you later."

"Bye," she waved as he walked away. She started making her way toward the women's locker room, wiping her shoulders with the towel before draping it over her shoulders again. She smiled, her mind going back to the things she and Trish had worked on. It had been way too long since she got to have a match in front of a capacity crowd. Her smile fell when she turned the corner and saw John Cena.

God damn it

She turned around, walking in the other direction. Maybe he didn't see her.

"Cory!"

Or maybe he did..

He caught up with her and she turned to face him, pasting on a big smile. If he was moving on from her with Portia, there was no way she was going to let him see that it was bothering her.

"I was just looking for you," he said.

"Really?" she smiled. "Why?"

"I wanted to see how you're doing," he said.

How am I doing? Why don't you go find out how Portia's doing, asshole?

"I'm just wonderful," she smiled.

"Yeah…I can tell," he gave her a suspicious look.

Before he could ask her any questions she looked over his shoulder, her smile growing wider when she spotted Randy. She caught his eye and he smiled, walking over to them and putting his arm around her shoulders, "Hey there."

"Randy," John nodded, looking somewhat disappointed.

"What's up?" Randy smiled.

"Nothing," Cory answered, looking up at him.

"Randy I kinda needed to talk to Cory for a minute," John said. "Would you excuse us?"

Randy looked down at Cory who gave John an apologetic smile, "You know..I'd love to talk but I need to go figure out what I'm wearing tonight…Randy, why don't you come with me?"

Randy shrugged, "Why not?"

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