Title~ Texas Grace (7/?)

Author~ Cristal

Email~ Talis13@yahoo.com

Rating~ PG13

Disclaimer~ All characters belong to the WWE. ^^

Distribution~ hardy2extreme.com, otherwise, please ask.

My Group~ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Cristal-FanFic Updated often! And it houses all my fics. ;) You should join. =D

Notes~ Roster split IS in effect.

Summary~ Lita finds and unexpected savior…

            Lita sighed deeply as she played with her brunch. She propped her head on her fist as she pushed the piece of pancake around the still full plate. The fork hit the china plate with a metallic clink as she rubbed a hand over tired gray eyes with another sigh…things were officially so far out of her hands, they should be deemed in another time zone. Not good… Bradshaw was really messed up last night when she visited him…he may not have admitted it to her, but she talked to the doctor. He'd probably be out a few days at least…and all because of her.

            She pulled her long red hair behind herself, getting it out of the way as she thought…she wasn't sure what to do really. She hated to see him get hurt defending her…wanted to take care of him since it was really her fault. Her hands covered her eyes with another annoyed sigh that was shot through with worry.

            "You know that didn't sound too happy…if you really don't like it that much, she shouldn't have bought it you know…"

            She looked up with a weak smile as she stood. "Hey. When-"

            "About an hour ago." He smiled slightly as he pointed across the table.

            She nodded, sitting as well before playing with the fork again. "So…what happened?"

            "Well…" he shrugged before pulling a slip of paper from his jeans pocket. "I'm not supposed to be in the ring for about three days or so. I'm supposed to take it easy. Which, nicely translated, means get the hell out of here for three days."

            She laughed slightly as she looked down at the tabletop once more. "Yeah, I guess so…"

            He grabbed her hand, making her look up at him. "Hey. I'm told it's for my own good."

            "I know Bradshaw but-"

            "And this isn't your fault."

            "But it is and-"

            "No it's not Li, trust me." He sighed as he looked over at her. "I did want to know if you wanted to come with me though."

            She looked up sharply. "Go where with you?"

            "I'm going back home for a few days is all. I'd like the company and I wouldn't be able to relax with you here by yourself." He stated.

            "Oh." She looked up, meeting honest brown eyes. "I wouldn't want to intrude or anything though…"

            He smiled warmly. "You're not intruding if I'm inviting you."

            "But I don't want you to feel obligated to baby-sit me-"

            "Trust me, about the last thing I do is baby-sit you." He grinned. "You are perfectly able of taking care of yourself. I know it and so does everyone else." He paused before meeting her eyes once more. "I'm asking for my peace of mind yes, but also because…well, I genuinely want you to come with me…"

            She didn't want to look up, because that would lead to him seeing how red she was getting. He was so sweet…no wonder Jacqueline was so protective of him…she didn't want to hurt him by saying no either. After regaining control of her rosy blush she looked up biting her bottom lip as he smiled at her, making her go pink yet again. She broke eye contact with a slight smile. "Um, if I can get it off, I'd love to."

            He nodded. "Great. Just give me a call and let me know, all right? I plan on leaving tomorrow morning." He got up to go before turning back to her. "And, if you change your mind, don't be afraid to tell me, all right?"

            "I won't change my mind."

            He nodded with another smile. "Well, just in case. I'll see you later Li."

            "See you later John." She stated before pausing. She scratched her head in confusion as she noticed using his first rather than last name. She hadn't even been thinking when that popped out…oh well…less formal anyway. Weird…

            The next day, Lita had managed to finagle time off after talking with Linda McMahon. Linda found a favorite in the big Texan and was happy to let Lita keep him company while he recovered. After their lengthy plane ride, they finally managed to touch down at the Abilene airport and get their luggage. She looked up and over at him. "You have a car here?"

            "Nah. I never know when I'm gonna get home so I just generally have someone pick me up. Or grab a taxi or something."

            "Oh." She paused as she continued to lug her suitcase. "Which are we doing?"

            He smiled slightly. "We are goin' to grab a taxi because I couldn't get a hold of anyone."

            "Oh. I'm sorry."

            "Not your fault." He shrugged as they made it outside the airport and flagged a taxi. The cabbie got out, helping put their bags in the trunk before ushering them inside. Bradshaw gave the address and they were off once more.

            Lita peered out the window, small pout touching her lips as she thought. What could she do to keep him from getting in trouble…staying away seemed like the best option to achieve that. But she didn't want to hurt his feelings either: he was too sweet to do that to…Hmm… She looked over with a start as she felt his large hand engulf hers. She cocked her head in question as he looked at her. "You act like someone that's about to get into a lot of trouble."

            "I'm offended! I do NOT!!" she laughed.

            He just chuckled with a shake of his head. "Yes you do. Just don't get yourself killed doing whatever it is you plan on doing, got me?"

            "Yes sir." She pouted playfully before looking over with another smile. He was still looking out the window as the scenery passed, that ghost of a smile touching his lips. She tilted her head as she watched him, her fingers trailing over through his dark hair once more. He glanced over, surprised as she smiled, still running her long fingers through his hair. "We're going to Sweetwater, right?"

            "Um." He had to make himself respond as his eyes started shuttering closed at her delicate touch. "Yeah."

            Her dusky little smile was more charming than anything as she nodded. "Good. I want to see where you're from…"

            He managed half a smile at her before she stopped playing with his long hair and leaned against his shoulder, her one hand still grasping his. "So when am I gonna see where you're from? Florida, right?"

            "Technically. But I live in North Carolina now." She smiled up at him. "Next time we're both off: how's that sound?"

            "Sounds good. We'll probably both need a break by the time I teach Heyman how to heel."

            Despite the seriousness of the situation, she couldn't help but laugh at that.

            A short while later, the taxi pulled into a long driveway and down towards the house. He got out, grabbing the luggage as his passengers extracted themselves from the small car. Bradshaw paid the man his fare as he and Lita grabbed their respective bags and headed towards the house as the cab drove away. She looked around in the arid heat at her surroundings for the next couple of days. The yard was modestly green from the automatic sprinkler system set up. Hardy trees grew up everywhere around the yard, with one large tree in the center of the vast yard.

            The house itself wasn't huge, but a two-story place. Good sized, but not excessively big. It had pale colors to reflect the Texas heat and thick windows, curtained at the moment. She stepped up the stairs behind him as she looked around. He entered a security code and unlocked the door, showing her through first. She stepped inside, feeling cooler air as she did so. She turned back facing Bradshaw as he looked almost nervous. "Well…this is it. Make yourself at home. Oh, and I'll show you one of the spare rooms too."

            She nodded with a bright smile. "I love it! It's beautiful!"

            He grabbed his bag and started through the dark living room. A heavy leather sofa and armchair was situated in that room, along with a tall thin lamp in the corner and a pristine coffee table in front of the sofa. Across from the sofa was a large-screen television in an entertainment center set up with the TV, DVD player, stereo and lots of DVD's and CD's. And there was a small bookshelf along one wall. One large window was in the room, curtains drawn.

            They walked into a fair-sized hallway, passing closets and such. He was pointing out rooms as he went. "That's just a closet. I think Jackie called it a 'towel-closet' although I don't see the point of having it out in a hallway, you know? And that's the doorway to the kitchen and there's a door to the back porch there too. There's a closet that hides junk like the vacuum and anything else people aren't supposed to see. There's a bathroom with shower at the very end of the hallway there and one of the guestrooms." He took a breath as they headed upstairs.

            "Up here is mostly just storage space and bedrooms, you know? Anyway, that doorway is just to the attic space: I just have stuff stored in there. My room's down at the end there." He tilted his head. "There's a guest room up here and then another one downstairs. You can take a look at both and see which-"

            "This one's fine." She smiled as she tugged open the door, looking inside. It was impeccably clean from little use. A large window was on the far side of the room. She stepped over, pulling open the curtain, letting sunshine stream into the room with a smile. She looked around, noting the bureau, closet, king size bed and the nightstand. A delicate antique lamp sat on the nightstand, immediately catching her attention. Her fingers reached out, brushing the old glass as she looked at it.

            "That belonged to my grandmother. My mom gave it to me to keep…"

            "It's beautiful…" her fingers traced the delicate glass lampshade before she looked up at him with a smile. "I'll be fine here."

            He nodded before stepping out. "There's also a full bathroom down one doorway on the right." She nodded and he shut the door breathing a sigh of relief.

            Why did he ask her to come again…? Dear lord his control may be better than it used to be, but he got the very distinct impression she'd still manage to tax the hell out of it a lot better than any other woman he ever knew. He ran a hand back through his hair as he opened his room door, placing the suitcase on the bed to get unpacked.

            Lita sat in the room after putting all of her clothes in the spacious closet. She looked at the books on the small shelf of the nightstand, running a finger along the spines. Quite a small collection of books. One on Aristotle Philosophy…two magazines on cars…a science-fiction novel…and a Bible. Interesting: she certainly couldn't knock him for a wide variety of literature. She heard a rush of water suddenly and hopped up. Lita looked out the doorway before stepping out, padding quietly down the hallway towards the bathroom.

            Sounded like the shower was running. And she couldn't blame him: it was sticky and warm already outside. Her fingers rested on the bathroom door before she bit her lip, heading towards his bedroom. She stopped at the open door, looking back before stepping into the room. He obviously had the master bedroom, as it was considerably larger than the one she was in. She looked around, wanting to see what made up part of this man's personality… there was another dresser and large closet. And a darker nightstand that didn't have a lamp, but instead just a plain alarm clock on it next to the king-size bed. There was a simple dark burgundy comforter over the bed.

            In the far corner was a large desk and the opposite corner had a huge bookshelf, piled with books. She stepped quietly over to the shelf looking at all of the books…there were so many…and of all different subjects. And several that were in a different language, although she wasn't sure which, and all of them worn from being read multiple times. Her attention turned from the dimly lit room to the large curtain between the desk and books shelf. She pulled it back slightly, being hit in the face with the glaring sun overhead. It wasn't actually a window, but rather a door.

            A glass balcony door actually…she pushed the curtain back slightly and looked out at the huge terrace outside the door. There were just a couple of chairs out there with a small glass table. The view looked out in the wide expanse of wild open field behind his house.

            Bradshaw stopped at his room door, seeing Lita standing enraptured with the view outside. Why was she doing this to me…? What did I do to deserve this kind of torture? God seriously had it out for him, he was positive. He shook his head at his thoughts as he hastily made his way to dresser, yanking out clothes: unfortunately, he managed to catch her attention in the process.

            Lita whirled, flushing bright as the sun at being caught invading his privacy. He didn't seem annoyed in the least however. She had a hand to her mouth, apology on her lips before it died off suddenly. He gave a half-hearted wave as he grabbed his clothes and made sure that towel was wrapped very securely around his waist. "Uh…hey."

            She was silent until she blushed brighter, looking down at the carpet. "I am so sorry I didn't mean to pry- okay, yes I did, but I just wanted to see what was here and I looked outside and it was really pretty and I didn't even think about it and I'm sorry Bradshaw, please don't hate me."

            He bit his lip after that rambunctious bit of rambling that ended in a squeak. "You're fine."

            "And- what?"

            He couldn't help but smile slightly despite his state of undress. "You're fine. I had the door open and you're welcome in here anytime you want." He turned with that smile, heading back towards the bathroom to get dressed.

He shut the door to the bathroom quietly before smacking his forehead with his fist. "Why not hit on her a little better next time idiot. Jesus…better yet, you could have just tossed her on the bed right then and there and got all the technicalities out of the way right off. Idiot, idiot, idiot…"

Both were sitting quietly at the table later, eating dinner. Lita took charge and made a lovely meal for them earlier, needing to clear her head. She was eating hungrily as she thought. While Bradshaw and a towel made for a really nice surprise, it wasn't good to get her thinking about him in no clothes right now…and there she went again…at least she managed dinner without burning down the house. She still thought God must be out to get her. That was always a good thing. She shook her head, shoveling dinner down her throat.

"You wanna watch a movie tonight Li?"

"Huh?" she wanted to smack herself. "Wait, uh, sure. Movie is good. Which one?"

He shrugged. "I have a bunch of DVD's or we can head to the theatre…"

"Nah, a DVD is cool." She smiled as she more politely ate dinner. "Do you have snack food or-"

"Actually, not much. I'm not really home enough to stock the kitchen all the time. But I can run out and grab something-"

"I'll come!"

He nodded, unable to reply before the phone rang. He reached over to the counter, grabbing it. "Hello?"

"Hey sugar it's me." Sang in a husky voice over the line.

"Hey Jackie." He smiled. "What's up?"

"Wanted to call and see how you two are doing is all."

"Fine actually." He shook his head, signaling towards Lita before he stepped outside, shutting the door. "Jackie, I'm an idiot."

"What? What the hell are you talkin' about Bradshaw? Did something happen…"

"I wish, but not what you're thinking." He shook his head, hand running through his dark hair once more at his own traitorous thoughts.

"Well…what's wrong? Did she do something? Or-"

He cut off her threats with a sigh. "Nah, it was right after we got here and I went to take a shower. I kinda didn't figure she'd be wandering around in my room and-"

"You walk in there naked or something?"

"NO! No Jackie, I didn't…I had a towel on."

"Oh, yeah, that's not near the same thing."

He could hear the laughter in her voice as he frowned. "You're supposed to be my friend. Anyway, I basically hit on. Really bad, okay. I could tell she took it that way because her face just sorta dropped and it was just really stupid."

"I see. But honey…" she had to chose carefully. "Is that what you wanted her to think?"

He looked up, confusion etched across his face. "No! At least…well…no!"

She giggled slightly. "If it was, then don't be sorry about it. Lita's a big girl, she can take care of herself. And if SHE is still talking to you, even after that, then I know she's at least thinking about it. And I don't mean thinkin' in a bad way either…"

He ran a hand through his hair again. "I guess."

"Just be honest with her. I know enough to know she appreciates that a lot more than anything else from a guy. And I know YOU can handle that."

He gave a dry laugh. "Yeah, guess so."

"Well, I just called to check on you all. Give me a call if you need anything."

"Like a brain?"

She laughed. "You already have that!"

"Not that you'd know it at this point." He rolled his eyes, glancing in the door at Lita who was cleaning up her dishes. "But thanks for calling Jackie."

"Later."

He hung up the phone with a sigh before stepping back into the kitchen, needing to think about something else for at least a little bit.

End Chapter 7

Author's Rambles~ I didn't get to the main part in this part of the fic…but it's coming…next chapter…;)