Chapter XI: Perfect Set-Up.

Cont. of Raw Monday: 08-10-2001.

He turned away from the entrance and walked into the hallway. He smirked at the thought of telling Shane and Stephanie about this little development. It would make things a lot easier for the Alliance. He walked to the WCW / ECW lockerroom and opened the door.

Shane, Stephanie and Stone Cold were talking about their plans and schemes when he came in and they turned to him as he walked to them.

"Where have you been? We've been waiting for you," Stephanie screeched and he couldn't help but wince.

"Time is money, Paul, and we can't afford to lose any if we're gonna beat Vince," Shane added.

Paul Heyman smirked his hideous smirk and said, "Not to worry, I've put the lost time to good use."

"And how is that?"

The question came from Stone Cold Steve Austin, the current WWF Champion and member of the Alliance. Getting one over on the WWF by recruiting Austin was something Heyman was still proud of.

"I found out a little something about miss Calloway," he answered the champion. "And that something is gonna make it a lot easier to issue our challenge and get it accepted."

Stone Cold smiled at this thought but Shane and Stephanie remained sceptical.

In the mean time, Valerie and Jeff were leaving the cafeteria and were about to part ways when Jeff kissed Valerie on the lips very briefly. It was a slight brush of the lips but it was enough to set her on fire. She savored the feeling and looked into Jeff's eyes.

"I'll be seeing you," Jeff said, almost whispering.

"You bet," Valerie said, her voice just as soft.

Jeff walked off and Valerie stood there for a little longer thinking back to the short moment her lips had met with Jeff's.

"Oh, wow," she said out loud without realizing it.

"What's so wow?" a familiar voice said from behind her.

She jumped at the sound and turned around to find herself staring at a very broad chest. She looked up and looked into Kane's eyes. Kane looked down the hall and saw the back of a retreating Jeff Hardy. Not wanting to answer his question, Valerie instead launched herself into her uncle's arms. Kane smiled as he hugged Valerie back. When he broke the hug, however, he apparently wasn't ready to drop the subject.

"Wanna answer my question there, munchkin?"

"Hey, I'm no munchkin," Valerie said indignantly. "I'm six foot tall."

"You're a munchkin to me," Kane said before he folded his massive arms over his chest. "Now how about answering my question."

"What question?" Valerie said, making an attempt to smile innocently.

Kane laughed and ruffled Valerie's hair.

"Don't worry, little lady, you got nothing to fear from me where Jeff Hardy's concerned. It's your father you need to worry about. So what was so wow?"

"Nothing," Valerie insisted, but this time it wasn't because she didn't want to tell. She was a little embarassed that she'd spoken aloud, even though it had only been a brief brush of the lips.

Kane looked down at Valerie and saw her dreamy smile. "Sure." He didn't sound convinced.

Valerie gave her uncle an innocent look and said, "Honest."

Kane tilted his head and Valerie blushed. She looked at her feet. "Jeff kissed me," she finally confessed.

"Yeah?" Kane asked, a smile appearing on his broad face.

"It was only a slight peck," Valerie said, blushing some more in remembrance. "But still."

"You really like him don't you?" her uncle asked.

"Yeah," Valerie gushed.

"I'm sure Jeff Hardy's a good man," Kane said decisively.

Before Valerie could agree, an even more familiar voice came from behind Valerie.

"Kane, what did I tell you about filling my daughter's head with bull?"

Valerie turned around and looked at her father as he came walking to them. "Don't give her ideas when it comes to Jeff Hardy," the big Texan added.

"Dad…" Valerie began, exasperated at her father's words.

But her father cut her off. "I said I would think about it and I meant it. Now, I don't wanna hear another word about him."

Valerie nodded, it was all she could ask for. Kane didn't say anything.

Evening came and it was time for Raw. Taker and Kane had a tag team title match against the WCW tag team champs, the Dudley Boyz, and it was announced that the Hardy Boyz would be receiving a title shot against whichever team would be champions the following Smackdown. The Hardy's were ecstatic about it, they had been waiting for a title shot for along time.

Valerie watched the match in the cafeteria along with most of the wrestlers, including the Hardy brothers. That is, she was pretending to watch it. Shhe kept glancing at Jeff, who was apparently doing the same to her. They both smiled when they caught eachother and they turned back to the tv screen. The match was long and hard-fought. All four men were exhausted after almost 30 minutes of wrestling and the match ended when the Dudleys put Taker through a table.

Valerie jumped up in the cafeteria when she saw it happen and cried, "Holy Shit."

She ran out of the cafeteria as fast as she could,she was so worried about her father she didn't bother to think of what might happen if the Dudley's were still there. She was about to burst through the curtain when she felt a strong pair of arms stop her.