"Chris, calm down." Stephanie pleaded. He looked like he was going to explode, and she hated when he got to the point he was at. It was like telling a raging bull not to charge. In other words, not even close to being possible. He was set on kicking ass, and that was all there was to it.

"He hurt my friend, he insulted both you AND Lita—and you tell me to calm down? I'm sorry Steph, but that's just not going to happen." His eyes were narrowed at nothing, and every second she was worrying more and more.

"Chris, it's all right, neither Lita or I didn't find him calling us whores a big deal. Who cares about his opinion? And Matt is fine. He didn't even need any stitches. Just let it slide!" she replied quickly, sharply. He had been mad the entire night after that party, and through the day. She was actually afraid of him, and she was never afraid of him. Ever.

"You don't understand." He retorted. "It's not about that. It's about his disrespect. I'm not letting anymore do that to you—"

"I'm not disrespected! I don't give a flying fuck! Chris, he's GOING to hurt you!" she yelled, trying to get it to sink into his head. It didn't work.

"I'm GOING to fight him, and THAT'S final!" he huffed stubbornly. "I would LOVE it if you were just a little more supportive—"

"I'm NOT being supportive because this is stupid! You're putting yourself in harm's way for no reason, Chris!" she glared at him. "And what is this I hear about you putting your TITLE up for grabs too?!"

"Just makes the win more sweeter." He grinned evilly.

"Are you MENTAL!? Chris, I KNOW that look. You're out for blood. You HAVE to be careful, you don't know Booker T." she knew it was inevitable that he was going to leave, but she knew she had to try.

"You're not my mother, Stephanie, so stop ACTING that way!" he was getting annoyed at her. She didn't care. I have to get him to stop this—he's going to get hurt.

"When you start acting like a fucking adult instead of a 5 year old, I will!" she spat out. He glared at her, and it was a real glare. She was shocked by the iciness in it. She took a step back, trying to calm down, but failing to do so.

"Fine. You're either with me or against me. I'm out of here." His voice was flat, and he pushes past her, walking out, slamming the door behind him. She stared at the door, well, more like glared at it. How dare he do something like what he was doing! Now her stubborn side was coming out. Fine, if he wants to lose his title, go ahead. He obviously doesn't need MY help.

She sat, brooding in the locker room. She kept the TV off for a while, and then she finally gave in and turned it on. She had to have psychic abilities, because it was just when she turned it on that Chris began to walk out. She was angry. She was angry he could even think she wasn't supportive. She did support him, but only when it wasn't incredibly idiotic.

"Please don't get hurt, Chris." She suddenly felt herself crying. Damn him, why did he have to hurt her like this? She sighed, wiping her face. No, she wouldn't let him get to her. The match would be over quickly; she knew it. She sat back, watching it, trying not to think about what happened earlier that much. And then she saw it.

It was probably 2 minutes into the match. Chris had indeed kept his word, and he was kicking ass. But that's when Booker started to play unfair. She winced as the chair bounced off his head when the ref wasn't looking. Chris crumpled to the mat. She let out a sigh of relief when he kicked out. But she knew then that he needed her, no matter what he said. She smiled though, if Booker was going to cheat—

She ran out of the room, hastily running to the ring. When she got to the ramp, he was sprawled out again. She charged, basically grabbing Booker's foot and pulling with all her might. The count was broken just seconds before Chris could have lost his beloved title. Booker glared at Stephanie, and she glared right back.

"You wanna mess with me, girl? Fine. I'll even give you an open shot." He smirked. She suddenly took out a bottle and sprayed. Booker instantly held his face and fell to his knees. "Son of a bitch! OW!"

Daddy did teach me well, even if he IS a dickhead. She put the mace in her back pocket and went into the ring when the ref went to check on Booker T. She leaned at his side, shaking him.

"Get up, that stuff is gonna wear off!" he looked up, dazedly.

"Stephanie? I thought you hated me." He whispered. She groaned, shaking her head.

"You might be an idiot, but you're my idiot. Go get him." She pulled out then, and watched as Chris stood up shakily, then went after the downed Booker T. I will stay mad at him longer then 5 minutes one day.

She felt uneasy, though. Something wasn't right. She glanced around; where was Shane? She hadn't seen him the entire time, and he ALWAYS cheated. It was like a given thing. And where did this sudden interest in her come from anyway? It was all very very puzzling. She shook off the worry, and watched as Chris continued working on Booker T. And then the feeling came back again.

Chris was so close to winning. Surely someone should be coming out by NOW. It was too quiet, and the feeling she had was intensifying. Was this a set up? Was it all a set up, like she was worried about? It had to be. Before she could point it out to Chris, she suddenly felt arms grab her from behind. She attempted to kick out of it, to squirm out of the grip. When she couldn't do that, she tried to cry out.

It was all blurred. She felt a hand clamp over her mouth and she found herself unable to breathe in real air. In its place was a toxic smell, one that made her oddly sleepy. She kept fighting, trying to get the hand off, trying to get a breath of real air. Her movements were becoming sluggish; the lack of oxygen was making her eyelids heavy. She fought to stay awake, but the battle was ill fated. She finally let the blackness surrounding her take over, and the last conscious thought was how she wished she listened to her feelings more often.

~~

She opened her eyes groggily, to find herself staring down at her lap. She tried to wipe the sleep out of her eyes, but found that she couldn't move her arms. Where am I? What—all I remember was getting jumped from behind—ugh, my head hurts. She tried to get up, and then made the horrible realization. Her head snapped up and she saw what had just clicked in her head. Barren black walls. Horrible lighting. This was NOT her room. She was not lying down.

She was tied up.

She tried to pull her hands free, and winced at the rope began to burn into her skin. Oh shit oh shit oh shit—what the fuck am I going to do? I'm held captive!! "You won't get out."

She didn't notice him before, but they quickly focused on none other then Rob Van Dam, who was watching her with interest as she tried to get free. Her eyes instantly narrowed on him, and she probably would have ripped him apart if she could move. He snickered at the look on her face.

"Of all people, I can't believe you're helping this Rob!" she told him, still glaring. He shook his head.

"Either me or you, sweetie." He smirked. "And don't think for one second I don't feel bad, because I do. It's just that, unlike you, I don't have some knight in shining armor to protect me. If I was you, I would have been dead months ago."

"Help me out of these things." She pleaded.

"I can't." he sighed. "Stephanie, for my sake, just listen to them. You can't fight them alone. In time, you'll get used to it again—"

"I won't get used to it!" she spat. "I have friends! I have a boyfriend! I refuse to be brainwashed!"

"If you keep that attitude, they're going to hurt you." He moved closer to her. "Badly. Especially.."

"Especially who?" she asked suddenly, looking at him. He moved even closer, almost like he was afraid someone might hear him.

"Your husband." He finally admitted. Her eyes widened in fear. That dream— "He saw the kiss. Rushed over and told us if we wanted his help, to get you. He'll be coming any minute. For god's sake, Stephanie, please just tell him you were only joking about the entire thing. Maybe he'll believe you—"

"I love Chris. I'll never love that bastard." She replied without hesitation. "I will not lie."

"Hey, it's your death warrant. I'm just warning you—Hunter is MAD." He jumped when the door suddenly slammed open. He quickly moved to the side as Hunter walked in. He glared at RVD and then at her.

A chill ran up her spine. She tried to keep her heart from beating too fast, but lost that all too quickly. She watched as he walked up to her, brandishing some sort of weapon. He's going to kill me. She took a breath and managed to hold a glare with him.

"Let me go you bastard!" she demanded. He chuckled darkly.

"Hello to you too, Stephanie." He snorted. "That's a nice way to greet your husband."

"You're not my husband, you're a monster." She spat. "Now get me out of these ropes right now."

"Oh, I beg to differ, Steph." He smirked. "We have papers to prove our marriage. And yet—you openly show that you've been blatantly cheating on me. Tsk tsk, such bad form, Steph. And with Chris Jericho? Couldn't you find someone else?"

"He's ten times the man you'll ever be." She sneered. She let out a cry of pain when he suddenly struck her hard against the cheek. She shivered and tried to ignore the now horribly stinging pain in her face.

"I am not going to let you make a mockery of me, you little slut." He growled. "Now you're either going to listen to me or I'm going to make you pay for the embarrassment you caused me."

"I want a divorce." She responded, glaring right back.

"Well you ain't going to get that." He smirked. "And you're going to like that. And if you think your little 'friend' will help you, you're dead wrong."

"I'll never pretend. You can forget that." She retorted.

"Oh really?" he suddenly noticed the necklace hanging around her neck. "Aw, and what's this?" He attempted to take it off. She bit his hand, hard.

That was the last thing she remembered doing. She suddenly felt something blunt smash into her, and she was abruptly pulled into the bleakness of the dark.

~END~

Testing…testing..this thing on? ^_^ Oh, hiya! All right, so there's the end of Better Days. Let's review before we end this completely—Stephanie, kidnapped. She's locked away somewhere with her psycho husband. What will be befall of our heroine? And, even more, how the hell will Chris react to this obvious problem? And—most important of ALL—where the hell is my damn bagel?! Erm—right—anyhow, all these questions (well, besides the bagel problem! ^_^) will be answered and more in the last of the "Love Doesn't Ask Why" series (Lookit, I made a pretty series title now!!), which is gonna be named "Because You Loved Me". ^_^ Go look fer it when it comes around! Muaha!