"You sure you're ready for this?"

Chris cupped Stephanie's face in his hands, framing her between his palms. "I'm sure, Steph, I really don't mind. It'll help you get one over on your brother, and that's the important thing here. You remember that you have to come in, right?"

"Yes, I remember," Stephanie said, "I'll hang around until I see Trish go in, I'll wait five minutes, then I'll barge in and freak out."

"Okay, good, don't get distracted though," Chris told her, pretending to be threatening by narrowing his eyes at her. "Because if you get distracted and you don't come in, I'm in a world of trouble because Trish will think I'm really into her, and I'm not about to have another woman hanging off of me."

"Oh, like you don't like me hanging off of you," she teased him back and he leaned forward to press a kiss to his lips. "Was that for luck since I'll have to act like I'm pissed at you?"

"No, that was to preserve my dignity after what's about to happen," he told her with a crooked smile. "I had to have something to tide me over before I throw myself into the black widow's web."

"My poor guy," she patted his cheek. "It'll be okay, when this is all over, my brother and Trish will look like a fool. And we'll be back in control, and hopefully my family will realize I'm not a child and they'll actually start treating me like an adult, and then we can all be one big, happy family."

"You think we can all be one big, happy family?" he asked her incredulously. He tried to conjure up images of barbeques in the backyard with the McMahon family, with everyone laughing and joking around, and somehow, someway, the picture just didn't seem to be happening. He wasn't entirely knowledgeable about the McMahons, but he didn't see this happening.

"There was a time, it seems like so long ago now, that we were a normal family," she said wistfully. "You'd be surprised by how much my parents were there for me growing up. I know it seems like they weren't, but they really were. My mom and I used to cook all the time, she taught me everything I know."

"That's actually really sweet. I would love to really get to know your family," he told her, "and I want you to be happy. I mean, at the end of the day, I don't really know too much about your family beyond what I've seen on TV and the few times I've really been around them."

"They're much better than they're appearing right now," she sighed, "well, maybe not Shane, but my parents are. I just think my dad always saw me as his little girl, I think that by giving me off to someone like Andrew, someone who was so intent on just taking care of me, it was a reassurance that I'd be taken care of, but then I didn't do what he wanted, and I think he was just hurt by it all."

"I can understand that, I mean, it's not like we got together under the best circumstances. Your family knew, hell they know, next to nothing about me, about us. I can see where their hesitation would kick in," he told her. He knew that they were not a couple because they had met, dated, and fell in love, they'd gotten married, then dated, then fell in love. He just wanted Stephanie to get everything she'd ever hoped for. He wanted to be the man to do that for her as well.

"It will come in time," she nodded, speaking to herself mostly, but her words warmed Chris because they assured him of a future with her. "They'll learn to love you like I do. You're wonderful, Chris, they'll see this, maybe even Shane will see this…someday…in the far future."

"We can dream big," he kidded with her, seeing the sadness permeating her eyes. He didn't want her to feel sad that her family was so disjointed. But yet, here they were, about to make it look like there was trouble in their marriage, all to get her brother off her back. He was the one insisting on taking things too far, and Stephanie felt she had no choice but to show him how it wasn't going to work.

"My parents will never believe how strong we actually are," Stephanie said, but then realized how that sounded. "I mean, I just want them to see how strong they are. I want them to see that we're for real, we're not just this couple who doesn't love each other."

"They'll see, everyone else will see too, if they don't already, I mean, they might not, what with the whole fighting thing we're doing right now, but they will see," Chris told her. "So you better go if this is ever going to work. You have to make it look like you're actually working."

"Good luck," Stephanie told him. "Make sure her lips don't get anywhere near yours because I'm not going to let that girl live if she kisses you."

"Vicious, I love it," Chris gave her one last kiss for good measure and Stephanie flitted out of the room.

She walked purposefully down the hallway, exuding all the confidence she lacked in the past. She couldn't attribute all her confidence to Chris, but he had a knack for bringing it out of her. There was something so magnanimous about him, and it fueled her own confidence. She was good at her job and she knew it. She was proving it every time she made a decision regarding the business. She didn't necessarily want to be feared, but she wanted to be respected, and Chris was bringing that demand out of her.

She actually passed Trish on the way there and she held her chin high, throwing the blonde a little look. Trish just gave her a smug one back, and the blonde thought she was actually getting one over on the brunette, but it was the other way around. Stephanie had her right where she wanted her. It was just too bad that Trish didn't know what kind of trap she was falling into, but she would know soon enough. Stephanie could picture matches upon matches where she humiliated Trish, and she liked the imagery.

Trish scoffed to herself as Stephanie walked past. She walked around here like she was the shit, but Trish knew better. Trish threw her hair over her shoulder and sauntered down the hallway. She wasn't going to see Chris just yet, even though her limbs were aching to run over to his locker room and pounce on him. She had to play this cool. Sure, he was gorgeous and she would not hesitate to jump into the sack with him, but first she had to execute Shane's stupid plan.

Chris sat back against the couch, his eyes closed as he just took in his surroundings with his other senses. He could hear people walking and talking past the door, but none of them came in. It was relatively quiet, but he appreciated the sounds outside. He'd never figured he'd be here when he entered the company. He almost never believed he would be the WWF champion, let alone married to Stephanie, and sometimes he really needed to take a moment to be thankful for everything he had.

Additionally, he had to psych himself up for what was about to go on. He had to pretend he was actually attracted to Trish, which would be a feat in and of itself. She was a pretty girl, he couldn't deny that, but she was vapid, and that was such a turn-off, not that he was looking for a women because he loved his wife.

Stephanie, unbeknownst to Trish, was watching the other woman to see when she was going to go to Chris. It took her about twenty minutes, but finally, she started walking down the hallway towards where she knew Chris was waiting. Trish eventually reached the door and knocked. Stephanie smirked. She was falling right into the trap.

"Come in!" Chris said when he heard the knock.

"Hey, Chris, are you alone?" Trish asked though she knew he was.

"Yeah, hey," he said, "you look beautiful." She could not have been more obvious if she came in here naked. She was wearing an extremely form-fitting tank top that pushed her breasts up near her chin and boy shorts that hugged everything, leaving little to the imagination. If he liked streetwalkers, he would have been attracted to her.

"Oh, thanks, I don't, but thank you," Trish said, smoothing her shirt down over her abs. She tried to appear humble, but she knew she looked damn good. "I just wanted to come see if those wrestling lessons were still an offer. I hope they are because I'm just dying to get in the ring."

"All you had to do was ask," he said flirtatiously, standing up and walking over to her. "I bet you're going to be great in the ring."

"With you as a teacher, I don't see how I couldn't be," Trish bit her lip and gave him a coy smile. "So what do you think you could teach me first, some kind of hold maybe? I know that's kind of your thing…"

"Sure, we can do that," he told her. "Here, why don't you stand in front of me?"

"Okay, you got it," Trish said, standing in front of him.

"Now turn around," Chris instructed her. She did as she was told, throwing him a look over her shoulder, her hair brushing against her face as she looked at him expectantly. Chris stepped up right behind her and held her around the waist, resting his hands lightly on her hips. "Okay, I'm going to hold you, and I want you to try to get out of it as fast as you can. I just want to see what you can do."

"I hope I won't disappoint," Trish told him, her voice lowering. Chris rolled his eyes as he wrapped his right arm around her waist and he grabbed her left arm with his left hand, twisting it behind her back.

"Okay, you can try to get free now," Chris told her.

Trish pushed her entire body back against Chris, pressing her ass against his crotch as she half-heartedly tried to get herself free. Chris just looked a the ceiling as she kept wriggling herself against him, even letting out breathy groans as she tried to get free. Chris held her a little tighter and pulled her body back against his. Trish seemed to respond to this, pushing back against him.

"I can't get out, Chris, you're too strong," Trish told him, glancing up at him with a pouty look on her face that was as fake as her breasts.

"Well, here, let me show you how to get out of something like this," Chris told her, knowing Stephanie was going to be coming in any minute. He bent Trish over a little bit. "Okay, what you need to do is—"

The door slammed open, nearly coming off its hinges. "What the hell is going on here!" Stephanie yelled, a camera crew right behind her. "What do you think you're doing with my husband!"

"What, he was just—" Trish said, standing up, but really making no move to leave.

"I was just helping her," Chris told Stephanie, letting of Trish.

"Helping her with what!" Stephanie screeched, grabbing a wayward vase and throwing it against the wall. "Get the hell out of here! How dare you, how dare the two of you do something like this, get out of her, Trish Stratus!"

"I'm gone," Trish scurried out of the room as Stephanie glared daggers at Chris.

"How dare you!" Stephanie said. She turned to the cameras and shoved them out of the room. "Get out of here, I don't want to see anyone right now, out, out!"

"No, I'm not going anywhere!" Chris said. "I wasn't doing anything!"

"Oh, not doing anything, you just had Trish bent over in front of your for kicks and giggles? Is this what you do when I'm not around, huh? What is it, Chris, you just couldn't keep your hands to yourself!"

"Don't accuse me of things you know nothing about!" he yelled at her as she slammed the door in the camera's faces. "You don't get to do that!"

"You don't get to have your arms wrapped around another woman!"

"I'll do what I want!"

"Fine!"

"Fine!" Chris said as he walked closer to Stephanie and kissed her soundly on the lips. "How did I do?" She grinned at him, giving him another kiss.

"You were perfect."