Author's Note:   Again, I do not own any of the characters you see here.  I want to thank Nina for a few plot ideas for this story.  Thanks girl, you rock!

As soon as Chris entered the arena, he was informed that he would be doing the Highlight Reel with Chris Benoit as his guest.  Once he was changed into his outfit for the evening, he made his way down to the ring as the Reel was being set up, waiting for the show to start. 

He was glad to have Benoit on his show.  The two of them had always been good friends, even keeping their friendship together while they were on different shows.  

Jericho went on to inform Benoit of who exactly he was dealing with by going after HHH.  As his show progressed, he was a bit surprised to have Flair come down to the ring.  He stood there with his eyebrow arched, knowing that this might not turn out very well.

Jericho simply stood back and listened as Flair and Benoit had their words.  Jericho smirked slightly to himself.  It appears Ric had some sort of head-bobbing deal going on and he was seconds away from bursting out into laughter. 

His smirk quickly disappeared as Eric Bischoff's music hit and made his way down to the ring.   Words couldn't describe how much he hated that man, and he most definitely didn't want Bischoff on his show. 

As Bischoff stated his name, he frowned, figuring he'd be up to no good.  He nodded his head, learning that instead of having to earn a shot at the tag team titles, him and Christian would fight for the titles tonight.  Better than nothing, I suppose, he thought to himself, making his way back up the ramp once his show was over.

~

Chris stood in front of one of the monitors backstage, watching Benoit's match.  He scowled as he saw HHH making his way down to the ring, knowing that he was most likely going to interfere.  He prepared himself to run out there if necessary, but much to his surprise, HHH didn't try anything stupid.  Probably trying to intimidate Benoit, he mentally decided.


He made his way down to his locker room, deciding to take it easy until it was time for his match.

~

Making her way out of the strength training room, Trish bumped into Christian, scowling slightly.  He went on to compare her to Yoko Ono.  She couldn't help but roll her eyes at the comparison.  During their conversation, she wondered to herself what had went wrong with Christian lately.  He seemed so different.  It was almost as if he was intentionally trying to keep her and Chris apart.  As she thought about it, it started to become more clear in her mind.  Christian was angry that she was supposedly taking Chris away from him, which is why he was so bitter towards her lately.

With a sigh and a shake of her head, Trish made her way towards the gorilla, waiting for her cue to go out to the ring.  

Trish scowled as Eric's face appeared.  He was going to change her match?  Alright, no big deal.  I'll probably end up fighting Jazz or Victoria.

Trish stood prepared in the ring, waiting for her opponent. 

Her eyes widened in disbelief as.. Kane was her opponent.  Surely Eric wouldn't do that to her.

Yes, yes he would.  Because he was that kind of a man.

~

Chris shot up from his couch in his locker room, running through the halls backstage as fast as his legs would carry him.  There was no way he'd let this match take place.  With each step he took towards the ring, he felt his hatred towards Eric grow. 

He could hear the bell ring, hoping he wasn't too late.  He slid into the ring, attacking Kane from behind.

He turned to Trish to make sure she was ok, then motioned for her to leave.  "Go, go go!"

Of course Chris couldn't get away unharmed.  He writhed around in pain on the ground, holding his knee.  He slowly stood up and with the help of a couple trainers, he made his way back to the trainers room.

He was glad to know his injury wasn't too bad.  It would just be sore for the rest of the night. 

Chris immediately perked up as Trish came into the room.   She scared.. she cared enough to come check on him, to show real concern for him. 

He ran his fingers through her hair, his eyes softening.  "Trish, there's something I have to tell you.  It's really important."

Just as he was about to continue, Christian made his way into the room.  Chris' nostrils flared and he stood up, ignoring the pain it caused his knee.  He was sick of Christian yelling at him, and he wasn't going to tolerate him yelling at Trish either. 

Once Christian had left the room, Chris sat back down, taking Trish's hand into his.  She sat down next to him and placed a pack of ice on his knee.

"Are you sure you're going to be alright?"   Her voice had softened considerably. 

"Yeah, I'll be fine.  But Trish.." he was cut off as the trainer re-entered the room.  He knew they needed to examine his knee, which meant he wouldn't be able to talk to her. 

Trish nodded and stood from her spot.  "We'll talk later, Chris."  She let her gaze linger on his for a few moments then reluctantly made her way back to her locker room. 

~

Chris hobbled out to the ring, trying not to put too much strain on his injured knee.  He had to hold himself back from completely destroying Christian right in the middle of the ring.  He knew he wouldn't be able to concentrate.  There were too many distractions on his mind at the moment.  He was having to tag with someone who was slowly starting to become one of the many people he despised.  He needed to talk to Trish.  She needed to know how he really felt, even if she didn't feel the same way, he needed her to know.  Not to mention the distraction of his knee.  With each move he made, a new jolt of pain shot up his leg. 

In all honestly, he didn't really want to win the tag team titles tonight.  He did want to win them, but not if he was going to have to be champions with Christian.  Maybe I should team up with Benoit again.

~

Chris' shoulders slumped, leaving Trish's locker room.  She wasn't there, which meant she had probably already left with Stacy and Jackie. 

He desperately needed somebody to talk to.  Somebody that wouldn't judge him and would listen to him;  actually care about what he was saying.  He couldn't talk to Benoit about things like Trish, he probably wouldn't understand.  Chris knew exactly who he needed to talk to.

Victoria.

~

Since Victoria didn't have anything to do for the show, she just hung around in her locker room, observing what was happening on the show. 

She was already changed into her street clothes, so as soon as the show was over, she was ready to go. 

Before she could leave her locker room however, she heard a knock on the door.  She went to the door and opened it, immediately coming face to face with the sad eyes of Chris.  Immediately feeling concern for her newly found friend, she led him over to the couch, taking a seat next to him. 

"Chris, what's wrong?" 

He sighed, running his hands through his blonde hair.  "It's just.. this thing with Christian and Trish."

Victoria tilted her head to the side slightly, raising an eyebrow curiously.  "Christian?"

"Yeah, he's changed.  He's not the same guy I used to know.  It's like he's trying his best to keep me and Trish apart, and I can't figure out why.  He used to be happy for me.  He knows how I feel about her and he even told me to go for her.  But lately, he's been acting different.  Whenever he sees me around Trish, or finds out that I've done something to help her, he goes out of his way to yell at me."  

"Chris, I.. I really don't want to say this, but.. it seems like Christian isn't the friend you thought he was.  If Christian truly was your friend, he would be happy for you.  And he would support your relationship with Trish, whether you're friends with her or whether you're more."

He nodded, burying his face in his hands, giving a slight shake of his head.  "And Trish.. I don't know how much longer I can do this with her.  I'm trying so hard to accept the fact that she only wants to be friends.  But, I just can't help but think that maybe.. just maybe.. there's still some part of her that wants to be more.  I just.. I don't know what to do anymore."

Victoria observed him as he talked, hearing the sadness and pain in his voice as he talked about Trish.  She could tell Trish really meant a lot to him.  Her and Chris had become pretty good friends since their talk last week.  They understood each other.. which was hard to find. 

She remained quiet for a few moments, then looked straight into his eyes, a bit of determination found in them. 

"I'm going to help you get Trish back."

Alright guys, hope you all enjoyed this chapter.  Review and let me know if you'd like me to continue.