PART ONE

AT AN ARENA

"Move over shorty, I'm hungry!" Jay said, shoving Britney away from the table in the catering room of the arena.  She was standing at the table, laughing at something Amy said when Jay approached them.  She turned around and glared at him.

"Watch it Reso, or we'll have to kick your ass," she said glancing at Amy, who nodded.

"Oh, well… I, uh… it won't happen again. I promise!" he stuttered out, putting on a scared face.  Jay really could act like a little diva if he wanted to.  The three burst out laughing until they reached the table everyone was sitting at.  Britney sat down between Adam and Drew, and Amy across from her with Matt and Jeff.

"Hey," Adam said to Britney, "Did you have fun in the ring?"

Britney smiled, "I always do!" she said whole-heartedly.  That was one thing she DID share with the McMahon family was her passion for the wrestling business.  After they sat and ate for a while, Stephanie strolled in and joined them.

"Hey guys," she said coming over to the table.  Stephanie and Paul Levesque had recently broken up, and, with a little help from Adam and Britney, Steph felt more comfortable around everyone and warmed up to the whole group.

"Hey Steph," Drew said, standing up so she could sit down next to her cousin.  "What's this I hear about your dad signing a new guy?" he asked curiously.

"What are you talking about?" She replied, unaware.  "I was walking down the hallway and I heard your dad and some other guys talking about some new talent. A big guy, his name was Les, Les something."

"Lesnar?" Britney piped up, eyes widening.  "Was his name Brock Lesnar?"

"Yeah, that was it!" Drew said.  Her eyes got a little wider as she looked down.

"Oh no," Stephanie said, looking at Britney as she put an arm on her shoulder.

"What's wrong?" Adam asked concerned.  "Do you know him or something?"

Not looking up, the blonde McMahon answered, "No… well, I… I gotta go," she said, jumping up and leaving.  Stephanie made a motion to stop her, but gave up.

"What's wrong?" Adam asked a second time, this time to the brunette McMahon.  She simply shook her head before resting it in her hands.  Adam wanted to go check on Britney, but he saw Amy get up in pursuit of her, so instead, he slid over and put his arm around Stephanie's shoulder.

"Steph?" Jay asked.  "Who is this guy?"

She looked up at both blonde Canadians before answering, "You don't wanna know."

IN THE WOMEN'S LOCKER ROOM

Britney quickly walked through the hallways looking for the locker room.  When she reached the door, she blinked back the tears threatening to spill over and pushed the door open.  Inside, she saw Nora Greenwald, Jacqueline, Lisa Moretti, and Terri having a conversation.

"Hey Brit," they all said together.

"Uh… hey guys," she replied nervously.  Jackie watched as she walked to the back of the room, grabbing a magazine and sitting in the corner, obviously not really reading it.

"You okay girl?" she asked.  They weren't best friends or anything, but as a female Jackie could tell something was bothering the younger woman.

"Fine," she said half-heartedly.  Suddenly, Amy burst in the room.

"What was that all about?"  she asked worriedly.

"Nothing Ames, don't worry," Britney assured her.

"Bullshit," Amy said stubbornly.  Something was wrong here, and she was going to find out just what it was.

"No it's not!" Britney said defensively.  She stood up, prepared to walk out of the room, but Amy put up a hand to stop her.

"Who the hell is this Brock guy and why does he have you so upset?"  Britney pushed her forcefully out of the way, nearly knocking her over.

"Don't worry about it, okay? Jesus Amy, you need to learn when to get off my fucking back about stuff!"  With that said, she turned, tears welling up in her eyes and ran out the door, leaving Amy shocked and the others wondering.

IN THE BATHROOM

Britney walked to the bathroom and went in, sitting up on the row of sinks, tears finally spilling over.  Oh god, she thought. How could Vince do this?  I don't even wanna think about me and Brock… THAT'S what the pictures were about.  Oh god.  She thought for a while, doing her best to fight sobs, until the door opened and Stacy and Torrie walked in.  She pushed past the two and out the door, into Stephanie.  Seeing her cousin, the one person who knew any of what happened between her and Brock, made her eyes water again.

"I'm so sorry Brit.  I… if I'd known, I could have…"

"It's okay Steph, it's not your fault," Britney replied as Stephanie wrapped her arms around her.  "What am I going to do Steph?" Britney sobbed.

"I'm going to talk to Dad about this.  I don't know what the hell he's thinking, but I have a few things to say."  Stephanie left, only after being sure Britney was okay.  She knew she would, Brit was tough.  She had to be, after all that asshole Brock had put her through.

IN VINCE'S OFFICE

"So, if you guys understand where I'm going with this, you can step out," Mr. McMahon said to the guys in his office, Adam and Kurt Angle.  Suddenly, Stephanie burst into the office, speaking immediately.

"Dad, I… hey guys… I need a word with you—now," she said sternly.

"Can it wait? What is so important?" he asked annoyed.

"YOU hiring Brock Lesnar is what's so important!" she said, raising her voice a little this time.  Adam's head shot up at the mention of his name.  Maybe now he could figure what the hell was going on, but he had no suck luck, as Vince asked the two men to leave.

Outside the door, Kurt began to walk away, but Adam stayed by the door.  "Yo buddy, you coming?" he asked.

"Yeah just go, I'll be right there," Adam replied.

As he leaned on the door, Kurt walked away laughing, "Eavesdropper."  Adam pressed his ear up against the door.

"Dad, what in hell possessed you to hire Brock?" Steph questioned angrily.

"The fact that he's 6'4, 295 pounds, NCAA Champion, and would be a good addition to the company!" he argued.

"But what about Britney?  He hurt her!" she yelled, aggravated.

Vince looked down at his daughter.  "Listen to me Stephanie Marie, I will not refuse to sign someone just because he dated my niece over five years ago!"  She glared at him, sometimes her father disgusted her.

"Dad, you know NOTHING about what he did to her!" she screamed.

"Look Steph, I don't need to justify myself to you!  Brock is signed to a deal and is debuting very shortly, and there is nothing you can do about it.  So quit whining and if you're though, please get the hell out."

Stephanie left, but not before turning and saying, "I love you Dad, but you are the biggest asshole on the planet!"

Adam, who was standing outside still, felt his blood begin to boil.  He didn't know who this Brock guy was, but he knew he hurt Brit, and that was enough to make Adam hate him.  He was so deep in thought that he didn't hear Vince ask his daughter to leave.  Stephanie flung the door open, knocking Adam off balance and sending him stumbling.

"Oh, sorry Adam!  What were you doing?" she asked him.

"I… I was listening to your conversation.  I don't mean to eavesdrop, but I'm concerned.  I'm sorry, I shouldn't have…"

"It's okay," the brunette cut him off.  He couldn't help but notice she was a little teary eyed.  Damn, was all he could think.

"Steph? What did he do to Britney?"  She swallowed hard and thought before she spoke.

"He… I don't know exactly.  I guess it was too hard for her to tell the whole thing.  She said I only knew half.  He must have… god, Adam. I don't know.  But she still isn't over it, so it's gotta be really horrible," she said morosely.

Adam ran his fingers though his hair, "Then why would Vince hire him if he knew…"

She interrupted him again, "He doesn't know.  No one does.  She's never told anyone, except she told me and Shane a little… and it's eating away at her."

"And now this guy is coming back?" he asked rhetorically.  "Adam, I'm scared he's gonna hi-… do whatever it was again," she said warily.  Adam suddenly felt the need to protect Britney from the crazy guy.

"Well, I won't let that happen," he said defiantly, letting go of Steph and turning to leave.

"Adam, you don't know Brock," she called out to him.  "He's too strong."

"I don't care!" he yelled before walking away.  "I don't know who this guy is," he thought out loud, "But I'll be damned if I let him hurt her again."

THE WOMEN'S LOCKER ROOM

Adam walked to the women's locker room, stopping and knocking on the door.  After a moment, Torrie answered.

"Hey Adam, what's up?" she asked sweetly.

"Hey Torrie.  I was wondering if you saw Brit anywhere around here?" he asked the diva.

"Yeah actually, you just missed her.  Her and Amy got into a fight, and she just kind of took off.  Said she had to leave."  He frowned.

"Ok, thanks."  "Adam is she okay?" she called to him as he was walking away.  He turned and glanced at her for a moment.

"I'm not sure."  With that, he went out one of the back doors of the arena.  He knew no fans would be out there, as the show was only about halfway over.  As he got out into the dark parking lot, he called out to her. "Brit? Brit, are you out here?"

"Adam, I'm right behind you," her voice called from the darkness.  He turned to see her, noticing how the moon lit up her pretty face, and her eyes.  She had obviously been crying.  He had never seen her cry before, ever.  Seeing her so upset made his heart cringe.  She was his best friend, and he didn't like how just the mention of Lesnar's name made her so upset.

"How come you're leaving so early?" he settled on asking first.  He didn't know how to approach the subject.

"I'm tired," she replied instantly, and as if she knew where this was going, immediately added to it.  "Yes I'm fine, I'm not upset about Brock or Amy, and no I don't want to talk about any of it!"

She turned away and without another word, got into her rental car.  She pulled away, but not before Adam noticed the tears well up in her eyes, once again clenching at his heart.  He NEVER saw her cry before, and it made him wonder exactly who this guy was and what he did even more.  It also made him want to beat this "Brock Lesnar" within an inch of his life.