By: Elektra
THURSDAY AFTERNOON
"I can't believe I'm stuck training with the Hardys, and Lita… and JERICHO!" Stephanie said into the phone.
"Well, let's face it, Steph, you need the training. You're not a wrestler!" Triple H replied on the other end of the line.
"Great. Now you sound like Jericho! Listen, I may not be specially trained like everyone else, but I live and breathe this business! I can take care of myself! Ugh. I HATE all of them! Especially Jericho!"
"It's for your dad. For your family! Just have patience. I'm sure you'll come through it with flying colours, though I can't say I'm too happy about you being at ringside with Austin's current state of mind. What if he stuns you?"
"He won't. I won't let him!"
"Easy to say. Not so easy to stick to when you're actually out there!" Hunter replied.
"Lita's taken the stunner before. Maybe I can ask her how to avoid it…" Stephanie thought.
"I hope she has some advice for you! I really don't want to see my wife turn into a pancake!"
Stephanie smiled, "Wow… you really do care, don't you, Hunter?"
There was a slight pause, then, "Yeah. Yeah, I care a lot…"
Stephanie furrowed her brow. Did he sound hesitant? No. Of course not! Why would he be hesitant to admit he cared about her? He was her husband… despite the circumstances of their marriage.
"Anyway, I have to hang up before my phone bill goes through the roof. I'll talk to you again later. G'bye honey…" Stephanie said.
"Yeah, g'bye Steph…" Triple H said, then she heard the click of the phone.
Stephanie cradled the handset. Hunter had been sounding more and more distant lately. It was as if he had other things on his mind. She knew he was working hard rehabbing his injury… but he could have at least sounded HAPPY to hear from her when she called home.
Oh well, Stephanie thought, Maybe he's just had a bad day…
She hoped that's all it was.
***
FRIDAY AFTERNOON – The Hardy backyard
"Ok, what do you know, Steph? Move-wise I mean?" Lita asked.
"I know arm bars, punches, kicks… umm…" Stephanie racked her brains, trying to think what else she had learned in her limited training.
"Uh, maybe we'll start from the beginning," Lita said, and motioned for Stephanie to follow her into the makeshift ring that had been sitting in the Hardys backyard since they were young enough to train.
While Lita attempted to teach Stephanie, Matt and Jeff spoke to Jericho, "You know you're going to have to trust each other, right? None of this 'I expect her to turn on me in the middle of the match' stuff," Matt said.
"Can I really trust Stephanie McMahon though?" Jericho asked, "I mean, we're talking about a woman who turned against her own father not too long ago before begging him to take her back!"
"You have to trust her. You have no choice… or else you'll both get your asses kicked," Jeff replied.
"How do I know SHE'S not the one who'll be doing the ass kicking?" Jericho muttered, "Edge trusted Christian, and they're BROTHERS!"
"Are you purposely making this difficult?" Matt asked, "Yeah, Christian went loony tunes on Edge, but who says Steph will do that to you? Give her a chance. If she DOES double cross you, you can give us the 'I told you so' speech, ok?"
"Besides," Jeff added, "I think she's really serious about bringing down Heyman and Shane. After the scare Rhyno gave her, she seemed pretty determined,"
"I'm surprised she wasn't running to the APA, demanding them to protect her 24/7," Jericho said.
"Maybe she couldn't afford their beer money?" Jeff smiled.
Jericho smiled in return, then turned to the ring, watching Stephanie. She was catching on quickly. He was actually impressed!
"Hey, Steph looks pretty good in Wrestling tights," Jeff commented, and received a smack on the back of his head from Trish, who handed everyone but Jeff an iced-tea, "What? I'm just being honest!"
"You don't have to be THAT honest! Especially when I'm standing right here!" Trish pouted.
"At least she isn't looking trampy for once," Jericho replied as he took in Stephanie's one-piece outfit, then he turned back to the Hardys, who were looking at him with smiles.
"You think she's attractive, don't you?" Jeff teased.
"What?" Jericho asked, "You've GOT to be kidding me!"
Jeff raised his eyebrows, "Really? Take a look at her, and tell me differently!"
"You're out of your mind, Jeff…" Jericho replied.
"Go on, Chris… take a look! Or are you worried that I'm right?" Jeff smirked, "To borrow a phrase from Benoit, 'prove me wrong'!"
"I've proved Benoit wrong on more then one occasion!" Jericho replied, "And I'll prove YOU wrong to…" he turned back to the ring and studied Stephanie carefully. Her hair was beaded and braided, she had very little, or NO make up on, and her wrestling tights were rather form fitting.
Ok, so maybe Stephanie looked… CUTE… like that. At least it was better then what she usually wore.
"I think he agrees with you, Jeff…" Matt whispered.
Jericho spun towards them quickly, "I do NOT!" he snapped.
"Woah! A little defensive, aren't we, Chris?" Matt replied, then winked, "That's ok. We won't tell!"
"You guys are crazy… that's all!" Jericho replied,
and waved away their snickering and comments, then turned back to the ring
and continued to watch the training… trying so very hard not to stare at
the billion-dollar princess.
