PART ONE

APRIL 2002

Rob Szaktowski pulled his rental car into the lot of the arena, bringing the car to a stop and turning it off.  He sighed tiredly, reaching up to rub his eyes.  The drive the this particular city had taken three and a half hours, and Rob was absolutely exhausted.  He turned in his seat, unhooking his seat belt as he glanced over at the young woman next to him.

"Well… we're here," he commented, getting her attention.

Turning to face him, Kristen, the young woman, replied, "Yup… we're here." 

Rob frowned at how unenthusiastic she sounded and looked.  He had thought she was excited about coming on the road with him.  Kristen, Rob's younger sister, had agreed to join him on the road, at least until the end of the summer, so they could spend some time together.  It had been years since they'd spent a decent amount of time together.  First, rob was always off traveling the independent circuits.  As soon as there was a lull in his wrestling career, Kristen started college at Michigan State.  By the time she had her first month long break, Rob had been hired by ECW.  Before they knew it, Kristen had a degree and Rob was working in WWE.  Rob snatched her up right after she finished school, before she had a chance to establish a career.  After years of time apart, he felt that they were in desperate need of some quality time together.  When he'd approached Kristen with the idea of her joining him on the road, she had seemed excited, ecstatic eve.  Now, however, there was a very uneasy look in her brown eyes.

"Hey, what's wrong?" he asked, concern filling his green eyes.  Shrugging her shoulders, Kristen shook her head.

"Nothing really.  I… I guess I'm just a little nervous," she admitted, looking down at the radio buttons.  Rob raised an eyebrow, a look of confusion taking the place of the concerned one.

"Of what?" he asked curiously.  Kristen shrugged again, sighing softly.

"I don't know Rob.  I guess I'm afraid of getting in the way.  I don't want all of your friends to see me as a tagalong," she replied, looking back up at him.

"Kris, they won't see you as a tagalong… you *aren't* a tagalong.  The guys will love you, trust me," he assured her.  Kristen turned her head and glanced out the window.

"If you say so," she responded unsurely.

"I do say so," Rob insisted.  "In fact, I *may*even have to fight some of them off with a stick, because they might love you *too* much."  He nudged her playfully on the arm.  Kristen cracked a smile, smacking her brother on the arm.

"Shut up Rob," she said laughing, sticking her tongue out at him.  Rob laughed at her, shaking his head as he opened the car door.  Kristen opened her door as well, stepping out and watching her brother head to the trunk of the car.  He popped it open and pulled out the gym bag containing his ring gear, tossing it over his shoulder.  He came around to her side of the car, smiling at her as she eyed him with a grin.

"Ready kid?" he asked, sticking his arm out to her.  Kristen looked over at the arena where the evening's show would be held.  She inhaled deeply, breathing in the fresh spring air.  This trip wasn't going to be so bad after all.  Laughing as she linked arms with him, Kristen nodded.

"Let's go."

LATER THAT NIGHT

Kristen sat in the catering room, talking with Tommy Dreamer, waiting for Rob to return from his tag match with Kane, Glen Jacobs.  She was glad to have found Tommy, as he was one of the few Superstars that she actually knew personally.  She had met him a few years ago, while he and Rob were working in ECW.  They were sitting in the back of the room, talking on a leather couch.  Kristen was explaining to Tommy why she was on the road with Rob, when someone came up behind her and placed a hand over her mouth.  She jumped, but relaxed when she saw Tommy look up and grin.  She pried the hand off her face, turning and grinning when she saw her brother standing behind her.  He had already showered and was dressed in his street clothes, the ones he had brought with him.

"Hi Rob," she said, turning back to Tommy.  Rob grabbed her arm, turning her back to face him and pulling her up off the couch.

"Didn't you watch my match?" he asked, feigning shock.  Laughing Kristen shook her head.

"Sorry… but it's not like I haven't seen a million of your matches already," she pointed out.  Rob looked at her like she had just stabbed him in the back.

"Dude, you cut me deep.  That's not cool, not cool at all," he said jokingly.

"Oh, shut up," Kristen shot back, shoving him playfully as she rolled her eyes.

"See what I have to put up with?" he asked Tommy incredulously.  Tommy laughed, nodded.  Turning back to his sister, Rob spoke.  "Come on Kris, let's get out of here.  If you want to get anything to eat before midnight, we'd better get out of here now."  Kristen nodded, grabbing the jacket she had brought with her off the couch.

"Alright, let's go.  See you later Tommy," she said, smiling at him.

"Bye," Tommy replied, waving.  The two Szaktowski children exited the catering room, heading out of the arena.

"I just have to stop and grab my bag, and then we can go," Rob said, stopping in front of the locker room he had shared with some of the guys.

"Okay," Kristen replied, resting up against the wall as he went inside.

While she was waiting the door opened, and another man walked out.  Kristen looked up and immediately recognized him.  Tall, long blonde hair, deep green eyes… it was Edge.  Kristen almost gasped as she eyed him in wonder… he was gorgeous.

"Hi," he said tentatively, eyeing her curiously.  Suddenly realizing that he could think that she was a crazy fan who'd snuck her way backstage, Kristen jumped to explain her identity.

"Hi, I'm Rob…"

"You're Rob's sister," he finished for her, smiling with relief.  "I thought that was who you were… Rob mentioned you earlier, I just wasn't sure if it was you."

"Well, it's me," she said, laughing nervously.  She wondered what it was about him that was making her so nervous.

"I'm Adam… Adam Copeland," he said, extending his hand to her.  As she shook his hand, he continued.  "So, is there a name I can call you, or do you just go by 'Rob's Sister'?" he asked, laughing softly.  Laughing again, Kristen loosened up a bit.

"Oh, yeah… sorry about that.  I'm Kristen," she answered, feeling her cheeks coloring slightly.

"Nice to meet you Kristen," he said politely.  "I have to get going, I have a match in a few minutes, but I'm sure I'll be seeing you around.  I'll talk to you soon."  With that, the Canadian patted her on the shoulder, heading past her.

"Bye," she called after him, a small smile creeping to her face.  His voice was so deep… it was different then he sounded on TV, and it was definitely amazing.  Once he was gone, the door to the locker room opened again, and Rob reemerged, holding onto his bag.

"Hey," he said, nodding to her.  "Let's go."

The two filed out of the building, leaving for the night.  Neither one of them saw the man that was eyeing them speculatively from the shadows.

Hey guys! This story comes from a challenge someone sent to my site, but I figured I'd put it on here anyway.  Let me know what you think!