Disclaimer: I do not own the wrestlers or the WWF, except for Lenae, Melanie and Monica.
If you would like to use my stories, please ask first, thanks. :)
Chapter 3: Heartache
"No, no, don't go! You can't run away! Please don't leave me!"
"Jeff, Jeff, wake up man! No one's leaving. You're just dreaming."
Jeff's eyes fluttered open, sweat popping out on his forehead.
"I didn't know you cared so much for me little brother," Matt said, grinning devilishly. Annoyed, Jeff swung his legs over the edge of the bed, pushing past Matt.
"Where's Nora?" Jeff asked, putting on his shoes.
"Calm down bro, she's downstairs getting breakfast." Jeff stopped what he was doing and took a few, deep, calming breaths.
"Good, she didn't leave."
"You must have had some dream," Matt commented worriedly.
"Oh, I did. I dreamt it was Nora's and my wedding day, but she ran away and left me at the altar, wearing her Nike running shoes."
"Jeff, you've been letting Nora force you into watching 'Runaway Bride' too many times," Matt said with a shake of his head.
"No, that's not it Matt. I don't want to lose her. I'm afraid of losing her, but I can't, I need her."
"Well tell her that, not me," Matt said with a smile.
"You know what, you're absolutely right! Thanks Matt!" Jeff said, clapping his brother on the back as he raced out the door.
Matt stuck his head out the doorway, "Jeff, you may want to change your clothes."
Jeff looked down at his American flag pajamas, "Oh, uh yeah, I don't want her to see me in my jammies." Matt shook his head and smiled, as his little brother raced back into the room.
"I'll see ya later okay?"
"Don't you want to hear how it turns out?" Jeff questioned, disappointed.
Matt shook his head, "I'm sure you guys will work it out just fine. Right now I have some business to take care of."
He had been working on the plans late into the night, downstairs in the hotel lobby. Finally, in the wee hours of early morning, he tiptoed into their hotel room, so as not to wake his brother. Now, the moment of truth was here. Excitedly, Matt took the plans down to the fax machine on the first floor. *Oh boy, I sure hope she likes it!* "Alright Bruce, you'd better be there!" Matt muttered to himself.
Early afternoon:
Amy and Matt drove to the nearest horse ranch and rented out two horses. Amy leaned down to pat her horse, Cherry, a Strawberry Roan.
"I'm glad we don't have a trail guide, it's more fun when you get to ride by yourself." Amy glanced over at Matt, who merely nodded. "You've been awfully quiet today, is something wrong?"
"No, I've just been thinking. When do you think we should get married?" Matt blurted out. Amy cheeks pinked, "Well, I figured, when we got back to the states we could start making plans. Maybe in about two to four months from now."
"Sounds about right," Matt said to himself thoughtfully.
"Why, haven't you thought about setting a date for the wedding?"
This time it was Matt's turn to blush, "Uh, no, I just knew I wanted to marry you, that's all."
Amy's smile lit up her face, "Me too," she said softly.
"So, you want to have a big wedding then?" Matt surmised.
"Well, what about you, what would you like?"
Matt shrugged, "You can make the arrangements. I trust your judgment."
"Whoa, wait a second here. Since when did it become a marriage of one? So, I guess that means only one plastic figure will be on top the cake, me!" She kicked Cherry hard in the ribs, taking off at a fast clip.
"Amy! whoa, wait a minute!" Matt kicked his own deep reddish brown quarter horse, Melon, in the sides. He caught up with Amy's horse in no time.
"Sweetheart, I don't get it."
"Don't " 'sweetheart' " me!" Amy said huffily. She turned away from him, refusing to let him see her face. *Aw man, she's crying. I do not understand women. Why does she attempt to hide the fact that she's crying? For goodness sakes, she realizes I'm not deaf, so what does it matter if I see her cry?* Confused, Matt cleared his throat uncertainly.
"What did I do wrong? I only thought you would like the challenge of doing it on your own. I figured it would be right up your alley. I meant what I said, I think you would do a great job at planning our wedding."
"Matt, listen to what you just said, " 'Our wedding.' " Do I have to spell it out for you?"
*Yes,* he thought, exasperated. He stared at her back blankly for a minute. *Ohh, now I get it!*
"Our wedding, we plan it together," he said with a big smile on his face.
Amy turned around, "That was the idea," she pouted, still feeling hurt.
"I'm sorry Amy-girl," Matt said affectionately, giving her a kiss on the nose. "I'll make it up to ya," Matt said, an impish gleam in his eyes.
Matt noticed a wicked gleam in Amy's eyes as well, "Uh oh, you have an idea. I've seen that look plenty of times before. You're about ready to burst. What's traveling around in your head at the speed of light?" Matt asked with a grin.
"I'll race ya," she challenged. The winner has to wear a thong to the next wrestling match."
"Hey, I thought that's what the loser gets!" Matt exclaimed, a frown marring his handsome face.
"No, the loser has to wrestle in that pair of thongs."
Matt's mouth dropped open. Setting his jaw, Matt thought to himself determinedly, *I'd better win this race!*
Back at the hotel:
Jeff couldn't find Nora anywhere. *My nightmare is coming true! What if she did run off, or what if Spike chloroformed Nora and kidnapped her!* Jeff's thoughts whirled to a dizzying stop as he heard voices coming from across the hall, followed by a resounding slap that reverberated through the empty hallway.
"How dare you Spike, you know I'm engaged! I was hoping you would understand."
"Well, I was hoping maybe we could start over, you know, rekindle the flame."
*How dare he move in on my girlfriend!* Jeff couldn't help himself, he moved closer to the door and peeked over the ledge just enough, till he could see Spike and Nora.
"Spike," Nora said gently. She took Spike's hand and looked up into his face, "There was never any flame to rekindle," Nora said softly.
"What! But I thought we had something special?" Spike looked pleadingly at her with a mixture of confusion and pain etched on his face.
"We did have something special, friendship. I'm not the person for you Spike, but I'm sure there is"..
"Save your speech, I don't want to hear it!" Spike yelled. Wrenching his hand from hers, he stormed out of the room. He was so livid and hurt, that he didn't even notice Jeff hovering near the doorway. Jeff started to tiptoe away from the door, *The last thing I want Nora to discover, is that I was listening in,* Jeff thought uneasily to himself.
Unexpectedly, a voice called out, "And just where do you think you're going mister?" *Aww geez, busted!* Sheepishly, Jeff turned around to see Nora frowning at him, her hands on her hips. "Were you listening the whole time?"
"Most of it," Jeff admitted, "but I hadn't meant to," Jeff added quickly. "I came looking for you, to tell you that I love you and can't live without you."
"Really, you mean it?" Nora smiled brightly, tears brimming in her eyes.
"Always." He hugged her tightly to him. Nora laid her head on his chest, wrapping her arms around his waist. "At first, I was angry, how dare Spike move in on my girl! Then I realized how lucky I was to have you."
Nora pulled back and looked up into his eyes, "Well, it just so happens that I'm a very lucky young woman to have a sweet, great guy like you," Nora replied, smiling.
"Go on," Jeff said, a smile playing on his lips.
Nora burst out laughing, "You're too much Jeff Hardy!"
"Funny, Matt says the same thing," Jeff dead-panned.
Nora extricated herself from Jeff's embrace, a troubled look on her face, "I think I should go talk to Spike."
Jeff shook his head, "Now is not the time, gorgeous, let him cool down and deal with his hurt and rejection."
She looked at him quizzically, "You sound like the voice of experience?" Nora asked curiously. Looking slightly uncomfortable, Jeff responded, "Well, I've been dumped a couple of times, I know these things," he said, sounding just a tad defensive.
"So, have you thought about a date for the wedding yet?" Jeff asked, changing the subject.
"How about now, we can just go elope," Nora suggested.
Eyes wide, Jeff stared at her in shock, "You're kidding right?"
Her poker face broke down in a fit of giggles, "Of course silly." Nora linked her arm through Jeff's. "I want to marry you in front of hundreds of people, all dressed in white."
"The people or you?" Jeff said, a smirk painting his face. Nora just gave him a *duh,* look.
"So much to do and so little time to do it," Nora said with sigh, laying her head on Jeff's shoulder.
"Why don't we just get married at the same time Matt and Amy do and make it a double wedding," Jeff suggested.
Nora looked up at him, a frown crossing her delicate face.
"Okay, I take that as a no," Jeff said with a laugh. "That means you have to marry me in front of thousands of people, not just hundreds," he joked. Jeff intertwined his fingers through Nora's, and brought her hand to his lips, eyeing the engagement band nestled against her skin. "Wherever, however, whenever, I don't care if we get married in a field of flowers, all I want to do is marry you." Nora eagerly memorized the youthful sincerity etched in his eyes and face." She leaned forward ever so slightly, till her forehead lightly touched his, and whispered softly a heartfelt, "Thank you."
Several days later:
Trish sighed, *Our honeymoon/vacation is over,* as she leaned her head against the windowpane, watching as the plane ascended into the air.
"Hi," Lenae said happily, wriggling in between Andrew and Trish.
"Hi yourself," Andrew said with a grin, pulling Lenae into his lap. "Doesn't Andrew hold you like this sometimes?" she asked innocently. Trish couldn't help but smile as she could just imagine Andrew turning a bright shade of red.
"Sometimes, but I just don't feel like it today," Trish said lightly.
"What's wrong?" Lenae inquired wonderingly, as she scrambled off Andrew's lap.
"I'm just feeling kind of bummed out."
"Bummed out?"
Andrew looked over at Trish, raising an eyebrow, "She means she's just feeling a little tired, that's all."
"Oh," and with that, Lenae snuggled up against Andrew's shoulder and fell fast asleep.
Halfway through the flight Lenae awoke with a start. She turned her head to see rain streaming down the windowpane, then she noticed that Trish's seat was empty. "Where's Trish?"
"She'll be back in a few minutes, she had to use the restroom." Thunder boomed, shaking the plane. A feeling of dread washed over Lenae as she looked out the window. Followed by the oh-so-familiar tremors that shook her small frame, as lightening lit up the sky.
Feeling her trembling against him, Andrew looked down at her, "Afraid of thunderstorms?" he asked casually.
She nodded distractedly, "I hate them." Her voice was barely above a whisper but Andrew could hear the vehemence in her voice.
"It seems like forever, but it was only a few years ago, when I was five. Mum, Dad and I had a small house on a hill. It was storming something terrible. The rain wouldn't let up. Eventually, the land below us started flooding, so we went in search of higher ground. I vaguely remember Dad giving me a piggyback ride almost the whole way," Lenae said, a ghost of a smile touching her lips. With a faraway look in her eyes, Lenae continued, "With the water steadily rising, it became more and more difficult to climb. Finally, Dad had to put me down," Lenae paused, a frown on her face. We found a cave, and huddled in a corner together." Not realizing it, tears started to stream down her face, "I must have been asleep, but I woke up to screaming, unaware, at first, that it was my own. We would have all been okay, if it weren't for the dam." Lenae clenched her fists in anger. "The river down below had overflowed to bursting, and the dam broke. I remember the water rushing into the cave, stealing my parents away from me. I tried to hold on, but Mum and Dad kept telling me that it was okay, that everything would be okay. They wanted me to be strong," Lenae sniffled. "Mum tried to pry my little hands off of hers." Lenae took a deep breath, "And then they were gone." Andrew just looked at her, the pain evident in his face, as well as his heart.. She stared off into space, her eyes unseeing. "If I would have been older and stronger, maybe I would not have let go of Mum's hand, and my parents might still be alive today. Sometimes, a part of me wishes I had drowned with them." Momentarily stunned, Andrew had no idea how to respond. Suddenly she wrapped her arms around Andrew's waist, crying, "Oh Dad, It's my fault they died! I killed them!"
"Shh, shh, no it's not your fault. You tried to hold on, but you were only five. Deep down you know what your mother was trying to do Lenae," Andrew said softly.
"She was trying to save me," Lenae replied, pulling away from Andrew.
"That's right."
"Hey, do you realize what you just called me?" Andrew asked, the faintest of smiles gracing his lips.
"No, what did I..?" Lenae wiped at her eyes and smiled a teensy smile, "Dad."
She turned for one brief moment, and her heart nearly stopped beating in her chest, "The engine," Lenae whispered hoarsely.
She turned to Andrew, her terror-stricken face as white as a ghost, "It's on fire!"
If you would like to use my stories, please ask first, thanks. :)
Chapter 3: Heartache
"No, no, don't go! You can't run away! Please don't leave me!"
"Jeff, Jeff, wake up man! No one's leaving. You're just dreaming."
Jeff's eyes fluttered open, sweat popping out on his forehead.
"I didn't know you cared so much for me little brother," Matt said, grinning devilishly. Annoyed, Jeff swung his legs over the edge of the bed, pushing past Matt.
"Where's Nora?" Jeff asked, putting on his shoes.
"Calm down bro, she's downstairs getting breakfast." Jeff stopped what he was doing and took a few, deep, calming breaths.
"Good, she didn't leave."
"You must have had some dream," Matt commented worriedly.
"Oh, I did. I dreamt it was Nora's and my wedding day, but she ran away and left me at the altar, wearing her Nike running shoes."
"Jeff, you've been letting Nora force you into watching 'Runaway Bride' too many times," Matt said with a shake of his head.
"No, that's not it Matt. I don't want to lose her. I'm afraid of losing her, but I can't, I need her."
"Well tell her that, not me," Matt said with a smile.
"You know what, you're absolutely right! Thanks Matt!" Jeff said, clapping his brother on the back as he raced out the door.
Matt stuck his head out the doorway, "Jeff, you may want to change your clothes."
Jeff looked down at his American flag pajamas, "Oh, uh yeah, I don't want her to see me in my jammies." Matt shook his head and smiled, as his little brother raced back into the room.
"I'll see ya later okay?"
"Don't you want to hear how it turns out?" Jeff questioned, disappointed.
Matt shook his head, "I'm sure you guys will work it out just fine. Right now I have some business to take care of."
He had been working on the plans late into the night, downstairs in the hotel lobby. Finally, in the wee hours of early morning, he tiptoed into their hotel room, so as not to wake his brother. Now, the moment of truth was here. Excitedly, Matt took the plans down to the fax machine on the first floor. *Oh boy, I sure hope she likes it!* "Alright Bruce, you'd better be there!" Matt muttered to himself.
Early afternoon:
Amy and Matt drove to the nearest horse ranch and rented out two horses. Amy leaned down to pat her horse, Cherry, a Strawberry Roan.
"I'm glad we don't have a trail guide, it's more fun when you get to ride by yourself." Amy glanced over at Matt, who merely nodded. "You've been awfully quiet today, is something wrong?"
"No, I've just been thinking. When do you think we should get married?" Matt blurted out. Amy cheeks pinked, "Well, I figured, when we got back to the states we could start making plans. Maybe in about two to four months from now."
"Sounds about right," Matt said to himself thoughtfully.
"Why, haven't you thought about setting a date for the wedding?"
This time it was Matt's turn to blush, "Uh, no, I just knew I wanted to marry you, that's all."
Amy's smile lit up her face, "Me too," she said softly.
"So, you want to have a big wedding then?" Matt surmised.
"Well, what about you, what would you like?"
Matt shrugged, "You can make the arrangements. I trust your judgment."
"Whoa, wait a second here. Since when did it become a marriage of one? So, I guess that means only one plastic figure will be on top the cake, me!" She kicked Cherry hard in the ribs, taking off at a fast clip.
"Amy! whoa, wait a minute!" Matt kicked his own deep reddish brown quarter horse, Melon, in the sides. He caught up with Amy's horse in no time.
"Sweetheart, I don't get it."
"Don't " 'sweetheart' " me!" Amy said huffily. She turned away from him, refusing to let him see her face. *Aw man, she's crying. I do not understand women. Why does she attempt to hide the fact that she's crying? For goodness sakes, she realizes I'm not deaf, so what does it matter if I see her cry?* Confused, Matt cleared his throat uncertainly.
"What did I do wrong? I only thought you would like the challenge of doing it on your own. I figured it would be right up your alley. I meant what I said, I think you would do a great job at planning our wedding."
"Matt, listen to what you just said, " 'Our wedding.' " Do I have to spell it out for you?"
*Yes,* he thought, exasperated. He stared at her back blankly for a minute. *Ohh, now I get it!*
"Our wedding, we plan it together," he said with a big smile on his face.
Amy turned around, "That was the idea," she pouted, still feeling hurt.
"I'm sorry Amy-girl," Matt said affectionately, giving her a kiss on the nose. "I'll make it up to ya," Matt said, an impish gleam in his eyes.
Matt noticed a wicked gleam in Amy's eyes as well, "Uh oh, you have an idea. I've seen that look plenty of times before. You're about ready to burst. What's traveling around in your head at the speed of light?" Matt asked with a grin.
"I'll race ya," she challenged. The winner has to wear a thong to the next wrestling match."
"Hey, I thought that's what the loser gets!" Matt exclaimed, a frown marring his handsome face.
"No, the loser has to wrestle in that pair of thongs."
Matt's mouth dropped open. Setting his jaw, Matt thought to himself determinedly, *I'd better win this race!*
Back at the hotel:
Jeff couldn't find Nora anywhere. *My nightmare is coming true! What if she did run off, or what if Spike chloroformed Nora and kidnapped her!* Jeff's thoughts whirled to a dizzying stop as he heard voices coming from across the hall, followed by a resounding slap that reverberated through the empty hallway.
"How dare you Spike, you know I'm engaged! I was hoping you would understand."
"Well, I was hoping maybe we could start over, you know, rekindle the flame."
*How dare he move in on my girlfriend!* Jeff couldn't help himself, he moved closer to the door and peeked over the ledge just enough, till he could see Spike and Nora.
"Spike," Nora said gently. She took Spike's hand and looked up into his face, "There was never any flame to rekindle," Nora said softly.
"What! But I thought we had something special?" Spike looked pleadingly at her with a mixture of confusion and pain etched on his face.
"We did have something special, friendship. I'm not the person for you Spike, but I'm sure there is"..
"Save your speech, I don't want to hear it!" Spike yelled. Wrenching his hand from hers, he stormed out of the room. He was so livid and hurt, that he didn't even notice Jeff hovering near the doorway. Jeff started to tiptoe away from the door, *The last thing I want Nora to discover, is that I was listening in,* Jeff thought uneasily to himself.
Unexpectedly, a voice called out, "And just where do you think you're going mister?" *Aww geez, busted!* Sheepishly, Jeff turned around to see Nora frowning at him, her hands on her hips. "Were you listening the whole time?"
"Most of it," Jeff admitted, "but I hadn't meant to," Jeff added quickly. "I came looking for you, to tell you that I love you and can't live without you."
"Really, you mean it?" Nora smiled brightly, tears brimming in her eyes.
"Always." He hugged her tightly to him. Nora laid her head on his chest, wrapping her arms around his waist. "At first, I was angry, how dare Spike move in on my girl! Then I realized how lucky I was to have you."
Nora pulled back and looked up into his eyes, "Well, it just so happens that I'm a very lucky young woman to have a sweet, great guy like you," Nora replied, smiling.
"Go on," Jeff said, a smile playing on his lips.
Nora burst out laughing, "You're too much Jeff Hardy!"
"Funny, Matt says the same thing," Jeff dead-panned.
Nora extricated herself from Jeff's embrace, a troubled look on her face, "I think I should go talk to Spike."
Jeff shook his head, "Now is not the time, gorgeous, let him cool down and deal with his hurt and rejection."
She looked at him quizzically, "You sound like the voice of experience?" Nora asked curiously. Looking slightly uncomfortable, Jeff responded, "Well, I've been dumped a couple of times, I know these things," he said, sounding just a tad defensive.
"So, have you thought about a date for the wedding yet?" Jeff asked, changing the subject.
"How about now, we can just go elope," Nora suggested.
Eyes wide, Jeff stared at her in shock, "You're kidding right?"
Her poker face broke down in a fit of giggles, "Of course silly." Nora linked her arm through Jeff's. "I want to marry you in front of hundreds of people, all dressed in white."
"The people or you?" Jeff said, a smirk painting his face. Nora just gave him a *duh,* look.
"So much to do and so little time to do it," Nora said with sigh, laying her head on Jeff's shoulder.
"Why don't we just get married at the same time Matt and Amy do and make it a double wedding," Jeff suggested.
Nora looked up at him, a frown crossing her delicate face.
"Okay, I take that as a no," Jeff said with a laugh. "That means you have to marry me in front of thousands of people, not just hundreds," he joked. Jeff intertwined his fingers through Nora's, and brought her hand to his lips, eyeing the engagement band nestled against her skin. "Wherever, however, whenever, I don't care if we get married in a field of flowers, all I want to do is marry you." Nora eagerly memorized the youthful sincerity etched in his eyes and face." She leaned forward ever so slightly, till her forehead lightly touched his, and whispered softly a heartfelt, "Thank you."
Several days later:
Trish sighed, *Our honeymoon/vacation is over,* as she leaned her head against the windowpane, watching as the plane ascended into the air.
"Hi," Lenae said happily, wriggling in between Andrew and Trish.
"Hi yourself," Andrew said with a grin, pulling Lenae into his lap. "Doesn't Andrew hold you like this sometimes?" she asked innocently. Trish couldn't help but smile as she could just imagine Andrew turning a bright shade of red.
"Sometimes, but I just don't feel like it today," Trish said lightly.
"What's wrong?" Lenae inquired wonderingly, as she scrambled off Andrew's lap.
"I'm just feeling kind of bummed out."
"Bummed out?"
Andrew looked over at Trish, raising an eyebrow, "She means she's just feeling a little tired, that's all."
"Oh," and with that, Lenae snuggled up against Andrew's shoulder and fell fast asleep.
Halfway through the flight Lenae awoke with a start. She turned her head to see rain streaming down the windowpane, then she noticed that Trish's seat was empty. "Where's Trish?"
"She'll be back in a few minutes, she had to use the restroom." Thunder boomed, shaking the plane. A feeling of dread washed over Lenae as she looked out the window. Followed by the oh-so-familiar tremors that shook her small frame, as lightening lit up the sky.
Feeling her trembling against him, Andrew looked down at her, "Afraid of thunderstorms?" he asked casually.
She nodded distractedly, "I hate them." Her voice was barely above a whisper but Andrew could hear the vehemence in her voice.
"It seems like forever, but it was only a few years ago, when I was five. Mum, Dad and I had a small house on a hill. It was storming something terrible. The rain wouldn't let up. Eventually, the land below us started flooding, so we went in search of higher ground. I vaguely remember Dad giving me a piggyback ride almost the whole way," Lenae said, a ghost of a smile touching her lips. With a faraway look in her eyes, Lenae continued, "With the water steadily rising, it became more and more difficult to climb. Finally, Dad had to put me down," Lenae paused, a frown on her face. We found a cave, and huddled in a corner together." Not realizing it, tears started to stream down her face, "I must have been asleep, but I woke up to screaming, unaware, at first, that it was my own. We would have all been okay, if it weren't for the dam." Lenae clenched her fists in anger. "The river down below had overflowed to bursting, and the dam broke. I remember the water rushing into the cave, stealing my parents away from me. I tried to hold on, but Mum and Dad kept telling me that it was okay, that everything would be okay. They wanted me to be strong," Lenae sniffled. "Mum tried to pry my little hands off of hers." Lenae took a deep breath, "And then they were gone." Andrew just looked at her, the pain evident in his face, as well as his heart.. She stared off into space, her eyes unseeing. "If I would have been older and stronger, maybe I would not have let go of Mum's hand, and my parents might still be alive today. Sometimes, a part of me wishes I had drowned with them." Momentarily stunned, Andrew had no idea how to respond. Suddenly she wrapped her arms around Andrew's waist, crying, "Oh Dad, It's my fault they died! I killed them!"
"Shh, shh, no it's not your fault. You tried to hold on, but you were only five. Deep down you know what your mother was trying to do Lenae," Andrew said softly.
"She was trying to save me," Lenae replied, pulling away from Andrew.
"That's right."
"Hey, do you realize what you just called me?" Andrew asked, the faintest of smiles gracing his lips.
"No, what did I..?" Lenae wiped at her eyes and smiled a teensy smile, "Dad."
She turned for one brief moment, and her heart nearly stopped beating in her chest, "The engine," Lenae whispered hoarsely.
She turned to Andrew, her terror-stricken face as white as a ghost, "It's on fire!"