CHAPTER SIXTEEN: OLD AND NEW FRIENDS MEET



Two days left until Survivor Series 2001. People were nervous, edgy, and worried about the outcome of this PPV event. Eve was, too, but she took a break from it to greet Dee and Derek when they flew into town.

Dee had told Eve to wait at her hotel for her and Derek and they'd rent a car - they didn't want Eve getting mobbed at the airport by fans.

Waiting in her room with Jeff, Matt, and Lita, Eve paced nervously while the other three watched her from where each was sitting. After watching her for a few minutes, they decided to intervene. Jeff and Lita got up and each grabbed on of her shoulders. "Come on," Lita said. "You're making us dizzy." Together they led her over to the bed and sat her down.

"Yeah, what are you so worried about?" Jeff asked.

"Are you scared we're gonna embarrass you?"

Eve's jaw dropped and she looked in shock at Matt to find him smiling. The wretch had been teasing her!

Eve took a deep breath before she spoke. "I haven't seen Dee since a few months before I got my contract with the WWF. She told me she had a big surprise for me. Dee's surprises usually involve getting me into trouble." *Plus, she's late.*

Dee and Derek arrived nearly an hour later. When the knock finally came, Eve jumped up and ran to the door, flinging it wide. They yelled, they cried, they hugged - all with Matt, Jeff, and Lita looking on.

Eve pulled the pair into the room and shut the door. "God, you two look great! It's so good to see you!"

"Well, look at you, miss big bad Hardcore Champion. I can't believe you're still dyeing your hair!"

"You dye your hair?" Jeff asked with interest.

Eve introduced Dee and Derek to Jeff, Matt, and Lita. That done, Jeff asked Dee, "So what's Eve's natural hair colour?"

"It's-" Dee's words became muffled as Eve clapped a hand over her mouth.

"None of your business," Eve finished. When she took her hand away from Dee's mouth, she asked, "So what's your big surprise that you couldn't tell me about over the phone?"

Dee opened her trench coat wide and announced, "I'm pregnant!"

Eve was ecstatic. "How far along?" She eyed the slight bulge of Dee's stomach.

"Almost five months. I waited to tell you until now because I wanted to do it in person. Derek and I want you to be the godmother."

Eve accepted with enthusiasm.



Jeff saw little of Eve the next two days, who was busy catching up with her old friends. The six of them - him, Eve, Matt, Lita, Dee and Derek - went out Saturday, despite Dee's protests about mobbing fans. People did approach the four wrestlers for autographs and pictures, but they weren't as bad as Dee had thought they'd be.

All too fast for Eve, the weekend was coming to a close. It had been so long since she'd seen Dee and Derek and they'd soon be gone again.

Sunday morning dawned warm and sunny. Eve went to get Dee and Derek and go down to the restaurant for breakfast and found Jeff, Matt, and Lita already there and sitting in a U-shaped booth. She slid in next to Jeff and he briefly pulled her close to his side, dropping a kiss on her cheek.

Dee watched the scene with interest as she slid in beside Matt, her husband sitting next to her after that. She'd been noticing this sort of thing between Eve and Jeff whenever the two had been together this weekend - constant touching and affectionate looks between her best friend and this rainbow-haired wrestler.

"So, Eve," Derek said, breaking to moment, "you never mentioned who your match was against tonight."

Eve looked away from Jeff to answer. "I don't know yet. Vince will make the announcement tonight right before my match."

"Any thoughts on who it'll be?" Dee asked.

"Someone from the Alliance, I think. All the other matches are WWF/Alliance. One of the toughest men that isn't tied up in the final battle, for sure, and likely not anyone else that's up tonight, either."

"Tazz doesn't have a match tonight," Lita said, "and he's pretty good."

"I don't know," Matt replied. "With the crap Austin's put him through recently, he might be thinking of switching back to our side."

"But for the moment at least, he is still part of the Alliance. We can't leave him out," Jeff said as he hailed a passing waiter.

Jeff got menus for Eve, Dee, and Derek and, after these three had ordered, the group discussion had once again turned to the list of possible opponents Eve might be facing tonight.

"Well, Eve, if you end up having to face Tazz, tell him I said his haircut looks like a woman's bikini wax," Dee put in. Jeff choked on his drink, Lita sprayed a mouthful of hers out, and everyone turned to look at Dee.

Dee looked embarrassed from all the stares she was getting. "Well, it does," she mumbled under her breath.


"Good luck tonight," Dee said to Eve, pulling her close for a hug. "You guys, too." Dee hugged Matt, Jeff, and Lita. Derek hugged Eve and shook the others' hands.

Dee stepped back to admire the picture the four wrestlers made together and couldn't help the tears that began to fill her eyes.

"Dee, you okay?" Eve asked.

Derek moved to his wife's side and put an arm around her shoulders. He looked to the others and mouthed the word, 'hormones.'

"I'm sorry, you guys," Dee said between tears and sobs, "It just that you all look so good together and I'm getting fatter an-and I j-just wanna thank you guys for l-looking after Eve..."

Dee's next couple of words made no sense whatsoever and she just gave up and buried her face in her husband's shoulder. It was a bit disconcerting to face this Dee when the other one had been pretty much normal all weekend.

"Don't worry," Derek said. "She's pregnant and very hormonal. She can change her mood in two seconds flat." As if on cue, Dee lifted her head and punched Derek in the shoulder. He just laughed and said, "You see?"

"We gotta be heading in now," Matt said soon.

"I'll see you after the show," Eve told Dee and Derek.