CHAPTER THREE: BREAKING UP CAN BE A GOOD THING





A/N: this chapter makes more use of past storylines. Bits and pieces are taken from here and there and put together. Timelines are also altered in most places.





Two mornings later Trish was standing on the balcony just off Rocky's bedroom, wearing one of his black silk pajama tops as she watched the sun come up. She couldn't believe how far her relationship with Rocky had come in less than a week. It was like they'd been together for years. Well, in a way they had been - as co-workers. But they'd never really had much to do with each other until earlier this week when Rocky had found her crying in her dressing room and had bothered to comfort her.

Thoughts of Vince intruded, and Trish turned her energies to what she was going to do with him. Well, she already knew the answer to that. The question really was, how was she going to go about it?

Trish turned around when she heard something rattle and saw Rocky standing there wearing the bottom half of the pajama set and carrying a silver tray filled with delicious food, two cups of coffee, and a single yellow rose sitting in a small crystal vase. He set it down on the small round table and went over to embrace Trish. Her arms easily slipped around his middle as his wound around her shoulders.

"Good morning," Trish whispered before their lips met in a brief kiss. She was quickly becoming used to the intimacy they shared. Not just during their love-making, but after as well, and other times, too. They cuddled a lot and touched each other all the time, often for no other reason than that they came within arms' distance of each other.

"Very good morning," Rocky said, slipping a hand beneath Trish's golden mane of hair and massaging the back of her neck. "Hungry?"

"Uh huh," Trish replied and playfully trailed a hand down Rocky's mostly bare hip. He grabbed her hand before it could reach its intended destination.

"Food first," Rocky said firmly. "It's too easy to die of hunger this way." He pulled a chair out for Trish to sit in and then sat down in the seat directly across from her.

"So what were you thinking about when I came out here?" Rocky asked as he reached for a half-piece of toast and began to spread apple jelly on it.

"Truthfully?"

Rocky looked up at Trish's reluctant tone. He regarded her expression for a moment before nodding.

"Vince."

Rocky's eyebrows drew together in a frown. Trish thought he had good reason to be upset. Both of them - as if by some unspoken rule - had avoided any and all mention of that man since Monday night. But surely Rocky misunderstood just why she was thinking about Vince, so she had better enlighten him quickly.

"I was thinking about the best way to get rid of him." She watched Rocky's eyebrows shoot apart in surprise.

"Rocky, you didn't think I'd go back to him, did you?" She reached across the table for his free hand - the other still holding the piece of toast - and spoke again before he had a chance to respond. "I could never go back to that lech after knowing a decent man like you." She got up and, without letting go of Rocky's hand, came around the table to sit on his lap. "I figured that out Tuesday morning." She placed her hands on each side of his head and kissed him, inserting her tongue into his mouth when he opened it.

"Thank you," Trish whispered against Rocky's lips as the kiss ended.

"For what?"

"For showing me how it should be between a man and a woman, for giving me my self-respect back."

"You did that yourself, Trish. I showed you the path, but you're the one who chose to walk it. You are much stronger than you give yourself credit for." His hands moved down, one coming to rest on her hip while the other dove underneath the hem of the shirt. He nearly groaned out loud when he discovered that the shirt was the only thing Trish wore. He played with the silky short curls and Trish spread her legs, hoping for an even more intimate touch. Rocky obliged, becoming amazed at how quickly the beautiful woman on his lap always responded to him.

Trish's breathing quickened and she turned her face to Rocky's neck, panting as his easy caresses increased her arousal. She slipped one hand under the elastic waistband of his pajama pants and began to fondle him.

*So much for breakfast,* they both thought.

Rocky got up, holding Trish in his arms, and headed quickly into the bedroom. If he'd stayed out on the balcony much longer he would've taken her right then and there, condom or no. He wasn't quite sure how he'd managed to stop himself from fully making love to her on Monday night. Every time they came together, his need for her was so great that he felt like he'd burn up on the spot.

Rocky undid the first few buttons of the shirt Trish wore. After that he grew impatient, gripped the fabric, and pulled hard. Trish gasped at the forceful action as buttons scattered everywhere.

The shirt fell to the ground behind Trish and Rocky reached for her bared breasts. She, however, had other ideas and slowly sank to her knees. She reached for the waistband of Rocky's pajama bottoms and slid them down over his hips. As his cock sprang free, jutting proudly from its nest of black curls, Trish leaned in and licked the tip, earning a throaty groan from her standing lover.

Rocky wound his hands in Trish's soft hair and slowly began to thrust his hips, reveling in the feeling of Trish's soft, wet mouth surrounding him. When she began to massage his balls and the base of his cock, he pulled out, not wanting to spill his seed too soon. He helped Trish to her feet and positioned her kneeling on the bed. He quickly slipped on a condom and got onto the bed behind her. Almost immediately he began to fondle her, trapping her back against him as his hands ranged over her front.

Trish moved her hands behind her to Rocky's waist but was too distracted by the magic Rocky was creating with his strong, capable hands to put hers to much use. He bent her at the waist and entered her with a smooth thrust, then pulled her back up against him and, with his hands on her hips, began to set the pace for their wild ride.

As Trish eagerly bounced in Rocky's lap, she reached for his hands and moved them to her breasts. He played with her nipples, pinching and rolling the tips between his fingers.

Trish's hands slid down to where they were both joined, one hand cupping his testicles while the other eagerly thumbed her clit.

Rocky was thrown off stride by Trish's move. He abandoned her breasts to pull her hand away from him and pushed her over until her nipples were scraping against the smooth fabric of the bed spread.

Trish came first, muffling her screams into a pillow. Rocky pulled out of her unexpectedly, leaving her keening at the loss, but not for long.

Trish quickly found herself maneuvered around until she was sitting back up in Rocky's lap, this time facing him with her legs wrapped around his waist. He kissed her deeply as he entered her, his tongue and cock both sliding into her sweet flesh at the same time.

"Put your arms around me tightly," Rocky ordered shortly. When she complied, he placed one hand at the small of her back and leaned forward, putting his other hand on the bed to prevent the both of them from falling over. He started thrusting slowly, hoping to hold off cumming long enough to allow Trish another orgasm.

Trish watched strain appear on Rocky's face and tried to smooth it away by placing small kisses all over his face.

Rocky opened his eyes and looked at Trish. Taking his strength from her beauty, he summoned the will-power to hold back until he felt her release start. When her moist sheath began to contract around his turgid pole, he lowered her to the bed and began pounding in earnest. He was a man stretched beyond his limits, his back arched and hips thrusting a mile a minute. A yell began building in the back of his throat, coming out in groans and grunts that quickly escalated in volume.

For a moment, just a brief one, Rocky wondered if he would ever be released from this terrible pressure. He remained poised on the peak for what seemed like an eternity when he finally erupted, calling out Trish's name. He thought he could hear Trish calling out to him in the same moment, but couldn't be sure as the blood rushed screaming through his head. He thrust a few more times, shuddering as he felt Trish's muscles milking every last drop from him, then collapsed on top of her.

Trish stroked Rocky's back lazily as they regained their senses. Rocky soon realized he was probably too heavy for Trish to bear and used his forearms to lever himself up a bit. He looked into her face and was shocked to find already-shed tears.

"Trish!" he exclaimed, alarmed, and cupped her cheek in one of his hands. "I hurt you? Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

Trish smiled, something that surprised Rocky, thinking that she might still be in pain.

"You didn't hurt me, you wonderful man." Trish turned her head and kissed the palm of Rocky's hand. "Trust me, these are good tears."

Rocky closed his eyes and pressed his forehead to Trish's, unsure of what else to do. He'd felt so guilty when he'd thought he'd harmed her somehow with his barely controlled lust, then had realized a great relief when she'd told him in her own way that he hadn't. He was coming to care for her more than he would've ever thought possible. He didn't know what the future held for the two of them, but he was beginning to hope they would be together for a long time to come.



Later, much, much later, when Rocky and Trish went down to the beach to sunbathe and swim, he brought up the subject of Vince and Trish's plans to break away from the odious man.

"I have an idea how you can go about it," he said, taking her hand as they laid stretched out side-by-side in the sand.

Trish looked over to him, interested in hearing his suggestion.

"I have to swear you to secrecy first," he began reluctantly. "Shane's not going to be too happy about me telling you what I'm about to tell you as it is."

"Shane? Shane McMahon?"

Rocky nodded.

"I promise, Rocky. Whatever you say stays between us."

Rocky took a deep breath before beginning. "Shane's been bribing Linda's doctors to take her off the medication and lie to Vince about it. As far as he knows, she's still in a drug-induced semi-coma. For the past few weeks she's been resting and healing, allowing the drugs to fade completely from her system."

Trish couldn't help thinking that Vince was surely in for a big surprise. No wonder Shane didn't want this getting around. "Why did he tell you this? You two haven't exactly been the best of friends."

Rocky had the grace to look guilty. "Well, that's not exactly the truth. You see-"

"You're actually good friends and have only been pretending otherwise to avoid repercussions from Vince?" Trish cut in, guessing accurately.

"Uh huh. Also, I might be able to learn certain things easier if Vince didn't suspect me of spying for his son."

She let Rocky's words roll around in her head for a minute, picking apart each sentence for hidden meanings. She came up with a question, which she interrupted her musings to ask Rocky. "Has Shane ever talked about me and Vince?"

Rocky hesitated, which gave the answer away right there, then nodded. He didn't say anything, though.

"Well?" Trish prodded.

"I'm not repeating that stuff, Trish. It wasn't very nice and I'm ashamed to admit that I used to agree with it." He looked worried at his admission, having been torn between truth and protecting her feelings. "But that was before I got the chance to know you."

Trish pulled her hand away from Rocky's and sat up. Whatever Shane had said about her must've been back for Rocky not to tell her, and Rocky had admitted agreeing with it... She wasn't exactly sure how she felt about that, except that it was nothing even remotely associated with a good feeling.

"Trish?"

She didn't respond then, not sure if what she wanted to say would be what came out of her mouth.

Rocky touched Trish's shoulder, relieved when she didn't pull away from his hand. Encouraged, he moved closer and hugged her from behind, his bare forearms crossing over each other above Trish's breasts. Still, she didn't try to pull away. He rested his chin on the top of her head. "I'm sorry," he murmured, then breathed in the scent of her hair. "I didn't want to hurt you. I never wanted that."

"Its okay, Rocky."

"No, it isn't. I judged you without even trying to get to know the real you. It wasn't until just this week that I realized how big a mistake that really was. I can't apologize enough for my bad judgement."

"Rocky, it really is okay. I just didn't like being reminded about how I used to be, which was just last week. The change in me, well its still so new, its hard to believe that I did it. I keep wondering if I'll wake up to that living nightmare."

"You won't. Even if you did, you'd remember this and still break away from Vince," Rocky said with conviction.

"But I haven't completely broken away from Vince yet," Trish reminded him. "Its not final until Vince knows I've left him."

"And now we're back to where we started with this conversation."

"So what's your plan?"

Rocky sat on the towel next to Trish. "I don't have one, exactly. Not yet, anyway. I'll have to talk to Shane first. Right now, though, the plan is basically to publicly show what Vince has been doing so that when Linda gets her divorce, she'll end up with at least a controlling interest of Vince's half of the WWF."

"Rocky, what about the Alliance? What were Shane and Stephanie doing trying to put Vince out of business if they wanted their mom to get her 25% of the company back plus some of Vince's besides? It doesn't make sense. I mean, together those two own half of the company!"

"Well, here's where things start to get complicated. I hope I can explain this well enough. Okay, first, Stephanie wasn't working with Shane against their father, she was working for him. She could care less about Linda, or about Linda getting what rightfully belongs to her. Shane used her greed against her to get her to go along with his scheme."

"How awful! I mean, she's not very nice, but she didn't deserve to lose her fortune because of that."

Rocky was surprised that Trish would care that much about Stepanie's welfare. After all, Stephanie had been much less than nice to Trish since learning of the affair between the blond and her father. Well, he never claimed to be an expert on the minds of women.

"Don't worry, Stephanie will be fine. She's got a good head for business, she'll land on her feet. Shane has extra money stashed away if she absolutely needs it. Her marriage to Hunter is ending, but she has Jericho to fall back on."

Trish's eyes widened. She'd had no idea about those two.

"That whole 'hate/hate, love to insult you' relationship is just a smokescreen. Those two have been plotting and scheming things right from the start. She was never serious about Test or Hunter, except for how they could unknowingly help her in getting her what she wanted."

That was certainly...surprising to know.

"Where was I? Oh, yeah. Shane and Stephanie sold their stock in the WWF to a consortium. That's all I know about that. They needed the money from the sale to purchase WCW and ECW. They couldn't sign over or sell their shares to Linda, because Vince would've gotten those shares as he did Linda's, having power of attorney over Linda's life and assets. Shane and Stephanie couldn't touch their trust funds, which won't be available to either of them for a few more years yet. As you know, Vince was trying to buy WCW, so Shane couldn't wait for that to happen."

"I still don't understand why Shane would take such a huge loss. Millions of dollars worth!"

"He took a gamble. The biggest one he's ever taken, possibly the biggest one he will ever take. He went into this planning on losing that money. He planned everything, right down to the final match at Survivor Series 2001. Heck, he even planned on it being at Survivor. Ironic, I guess you could say."

"So Kurt Angle..?"

"Was a double agent on Shane's side the whole time." He wouldn't go in to why. That was Shane and Kurt's private life, their right to tell anyone about how they lived it, if they ever chose to do so. As long as they were happy together, he really didn't care - until he caught one of them checking him out, that is. "Shane figured that the rivalry between the companies would increase ratings and, therefore, profit. So, if his gamble paid off and Linda got part or all of Vince's half of the company in the divorce, she'd be able to pay Shane back in maybe 10 to 15 years."

"I'm guessing this is about where I come in," Trish said after a moment. The plan was brilliant. Incredibly risky, but brilliant. "If Vince is seen as the bad guy in this divorce - which he is - then Linda will be more likely to get what she wants in the divorce." She thought about it, considering if she really wanted to be involved in a messy, likely very public, divorce, just to get a revenge on Vince that she wasn't sure he had really earned - at least from her, anyway. She'd been a willing, if unenthusiastic, participant in their affair. But then she thought of Vince's family. Surely the affair had hurt them. Didn't she owe them something for that?

"Count me in."



Shane wasn't happy about Trish becoming involved, having no reason or inclination to trust her as Rocky did. He spent most of the time glaring at her or ignoring her, not bothering to speak directly to her if he could possibly avoid it.

Linda was the one that eventually convinced him to give Trish a chance. She had more cause to hate Trish than he did, but she also trusted in Rocky's judgement. She'd never know him to think with the head between his legs instead of the one on his shoulders. So, considering the end result, she'd swallowed her distaste and decided to tolerate Trish and accept the help she wanted to give.

They began to formulate a plan.

Shane had a street fight match against Vince in a few days. After the match - or during it, depending on whether or not Shane got into trouble - Trish would wheel Linda down to ringside. Linda would be pretending to still be under the influence of medication, which was why the wheelchair would be used. Linda would get up out of the chair and somehow arrange to kick Vince in his precious 'grapefruits'. Several scenarios were arranged around that one event in the plan. Most of them were Linda's ideas.

Once Vince was out of the ring, Trish would enter it with a microphone and tell the crowd basically what had been taking place this past year behind the scenes of wrestling. Not just with her and Vince, but also what he'd been doing to Linda and why Shane had really begun the Alliance. Stephanie wouldn't be too pleased when she found out what her brother had done. Rocky would be waiting just backstage, close enough to get to them quickly if Vince became dangerous.



"...In case you're too thick to get it, Vince, I'm leaving you. I am so sick and tired of you and your selfish ways. For your information, every single orgasm I had with you was FAKED!" *Uh oh, where is this coming from? Well, I hope they don't mind me improvising the script a little.* "Last week while you were busy in your own little universe, when you couldn't bother to pull your head out of your ass long enough to notice when my birthday was, I found myself a real man. One that cared enough to look past my reputation and helped me to change my ways. Well, not completely. Now, try to listen and understand what I'm saying, don't just stare at my Stratusfyingly beautiful chest. The time I've spent with this man, well, lets just say for the sake of the younger viewers that everything was completely real between us."

She didn't get a chance to announce Rocky's name or even to ask him to come down to ringside. Vince was so enraged by Trish's words - what man wouldn't be to have the 'center of his universe' attacked on national television in front of millions of viewers - that he came back into the ring and headed straight for her, the look on his face similar to that of a bull that was very, very pissed off.

Trish ran in the opposite direction, hitting the mat and sliding out under the bottom rope. She ran around the ring and up the ramp, quite aware that Vince was hot on her heels the whole time. Where the hell was Rocky?

By the time Trish had reached the partition, she saw Rocky appear. He had been waiting for her to lead Vince to him! That way Vince would be surprised and would have less of a chance of getting away.

Trish didn't see exactly what happened, but she could guess when she turned back after running past Rocky and finding Vince laying flat on his back at Rocky's feet.

The crowd began cheering loudly at the sight. Then Rocky pulled Trish to him for a kiss, letting the whole world know that he was the man Trish had just been talking about, and the people began cheering twice as loud.





A/N: Hope you enjoyed chapter 3 as much as I enjoyed writing it. If that thing about Kurt and Shane seemed to come from out of nowhere, you should know that's how it felt for me. I started out planning on introducing Kurt as a double agent, then for no reason at all that thing between him and Shane started appearing from the purple ink of my pen (don't have my own computer, so I write things before I go to the library to type them). I figured, Eh (I'm Canadian, HA HA HA), why not? It kept the story flowing, and I wrote 13 pages in one day, which is why this next chapter is up much sooner than planned.