So, I'm having one of the worst days of my life. Yet I'm writing another chapter. Maybe if only because it's been in my head all weekend and has been begging to be written. So, who has time to worry about a break-up when there's fan fiction to write? Actually, this is helping me get my mind off of it, quite therapeutic. Anyway, chapter time.
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Lita tossed and turned in her big, cold, empty bed as Stacey snored loudly in the other one. She glanced over at the clock. Though it felt like she'd been trying to get to sleep for hours, only a mere 15 minutes had passed, putting the time around 12:30. "Another long night," she thought, sighing, as she once again tried to flip over on her side and get comfortable.
A knock at the door, so soft she wasn't sure she'd heard it, interrupted her misery. "What the-?" She answered it. Rob stood there in his gym shorts and tank top. "Hey," he greeted simply.
"Hey yourself," she yawned. "What is it?"
He shifted his weight from one foot to the other. "I couldn't sleep."
"What am I, your mother or something? You want me to read you a bedtime story?"
He was taken aback at her snappiness. "I guess someone else isn't getting much rest either."
"No Rob, I'm sorry. I just can't get to sleep. So...you wanna come in?"
"Yeah, I'd prefer that to standing out here in the hall of the hotel in my pajamas."
"Aww, but you look so cute in them. You should want to show them off," Lita found the energy to tease.
"Yeah, well it's totally freezing out here."
"Fair enough. Come on then, but be quiet; I don't want to wake drunk girl."
"I don't blame you. Honestly, Stacey's not my favorite person when she's sober," Rob admitted.
Lita closed and locked the door behind him. "Mine neither, but I figured it make D-von and Bubba happy. Though I find it refreshing to hear of a guy that's not smitten by her looks, or at least a guy who's intelligent enough to fake not being smitten by her looks."
"No, I'm telling the truth," Rob said, climbing into Lita's bed and curling up under the covers. "I like my girls with some muscle on them, and I'm not crazy for blondes either. Redheads are the hottest by far."
"Flattering," Lita stated flatly, "...but what are you doing in my bed?"
"Getting warm," he answered casually and patted the spot next to him.
Lita sighed, but curled up next to him anyway. "Fine, but you better be gone before anyone wakes up in the morning and realizes what's going on."
"Okay." He pulled her close, wrapping his arms around her, warming her. "Why are you so embarrassed about us, anyway?"
"It's not like that, and you know it," she reprimanded him. "I just...I don't want anyone to try to hurt you to get to me. It's safer this way."
"My knight in shining armor," he teased and kissed her forehead.
"Yeah, well, I mean it."
"I know. And that's what's so adorable about it."
"Don't call me adorable. Puppies are adorable."
"Fine then. You are not adorable. You are big, strong, amazon warrior woman."
"Damn straight." She yawned and stretched, ruining her tough girl image she'd just worked so hard to establish. "Funny," she murmured. "I'm finally sleepy." She laid her head on his chest, closed her eyes, and drifted off into sleep.
"Me too." Rob laid his head on top of hers, closed his eyes and went as well.
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Over the next couple of weeks, ECW truly took in Stacey as one of their own. Lita taught her a few wrestling moves, but mostly valet-oriented things, and how to throw a decent punch. The younger girl learned surprisingly quickly. What she lacked in natural skill she made up for in hard practice and sheer determination. Lita would often see her in the weight room with one of the guys, beating the crap out of a punching bag. Of course, sometimes she'd miss with a ill-aimed hook and catch whoever was holding the bag for her in the eye, but she really couldn't hit all that hard, and it happened rarely enough that everyone pretty much took it in stride.
Though she was quiet and reserved, they all grew to like her. Kane had his suspicions, but Kane was suspicious of everybody, so that came as no real surprise. Rob was courteous to her but ignored her out of an almost comical loyalty to his red-haired diva. Justin got in the habit, whenever Rob never had more than a few words to say to Stacey, of making a sound like a whip cracking, which of course Lance laughed along with him on. Rob would take it in stride, smiling lazily and sometimes coming back with a Dawn Marie-related wisecrack.
So, everyone cared for Stacey. That's why it was of some great concern when she turned up missing right before RAW a couple of weeks later.
Lita rushed up to Rob. "Rob, you know where Stacey is?"
He stared at her distrustfully. "Wait, is that a trick question? Am I supposed to know where Stacey is?"
"Someone should," she explained, exasperated. "No one's seen her."
"Don't worry; I'm sure she's fine. She probably just went to go do her make-up and got lost on the way back or something."
Lita laughed and it came out as a snort.
"Wow, that's so sexy."
"Shut up. I'm just gonna go ahead and get things ready for tonight and we'll send the Dudleyz to look for her."
"Good plan, boss."
"Dork."
"Freak."
"Stoner."
"Biker chick wannabe."
"High school dropout wannabe."
"Former Women's Champion."
"Watch it."
Lita set off to notify the other guys about what was going on and that the program would, for the moment, proceed as normal.
However, such was not the case when, when Lance and Justin's match should have opened the show, instead RAW came on the air with Evolution standing, microphone present, center ring. Stacey stood with them.
"I'm sure you're all wondering what I'm doing here," she addressed the crowd. "But it's really quite simple. I'm making the smartest business decision of my life. Lita, did you really think I was going to settle for playing second-string to you for a bunch of washed-up losers? Well, that's not going to happen. I've found a much better offer with Triple H, Ric Flair, and Randy Orton."
The crowd rowdily booed its dissent. Stacey continued undaunted. "I know you don't think I have anything to offer to Evolution, after all, I'm neither the beast nor the skank that you are, but I have something far more valuable to them than anything you could possibly offer. And that's information. For instance, it isn't common knowledge that both Bubba Ray Dudley and Raven have chronically bad backs. Or that Justin's neck isn't in good shape, or that Tommy still doesn't have full mobility in his left shoulder. But that's not the most interesting nor the most significant thing I learned in my little stint with ECW. No." Her eyes glinted mercilessly. "I learned your greatest weakness, Lita. And it's not your surgically repaired neck, either. In fact, your greatest weakness isn't even on your body. Your greatness weakness...is Rob...Van...Dam..."
Evolution laughed ruthlessly along with Stacey as she continued to mock her former teammate.
"I just...I don't want anyone to try to hurt you to get to me," Stacey mocked in a falsetto whiny voice. "Well guess what, Miss Dumas! We have a mystery guest here with us tonight; Randy, would you give us the honor?"
Randy slid out of the ring and, dropping to his knees, lifted up the ring apron. Straining mightily, he dragged out a bound and gagged RVD.
Lita watched helplessly from the monitor backstage. "I should have never left him alone when I went to get everyone else," she berated herself. "I should have never trusted that slut Keibler. God, this is all my fault."
Orton threw Evolution's captive unceremoniously into the ring and dug for something else under the ring as Flair dragged Rob up to a standing position. Orton reappeared with something in his hand.
"No!" Lita screamed and broke away from the lockerroom, rushing for the ramp.
She was halfway down the ramp when the sledgehammer connected with Rob's knee. Triple H dropped the weapon to the canvas as Flair also let RVD fall. Not the least bit concerned about her enemies, Lita slid into the ring and knelt beside him, leaning down to cry over him. "It's okay," she whispered over and over in his ear as he moaned lowly with pain. "It's okay; it's gonna be okay."
Triple H loomed over her. "I could beat you within an inch of your life right at this very moment," he threatened. "But it wouldn't be worth it. I can't hurt you any more than I just did."
Evolution, now back up to four with their new recruit Stacey Keibler, exited the ring. Lita paid them no mind as she laid there sobbing beside Rob.
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What? So I'm not in a mood for happy endings. In my current frame of mind I could have killed off every last likeable character and had Triple H and Stacey live happily ever after. Fortunately, some semblance of sanity took control. Oh, and one quick note: Stacey DOES drink beer. She got stunned for being grossed out the first time Austin offered her a cold one, but a few weeks later when he repeated the gesture, she drunk her brains out. Just a note.
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Lita tossed and turned in her big, cold, empty bed as Stacey snored loudly in the other one. She glanced over at the clock. Though it felt like she'd been trying to get to sleep for hours, only a mere 15 minutes had passed, putting the time around 12:30. "Another long night," she thought, sighing, as she once again tried to flip over on her side and get comfortable.
A knock at the door, so soft she wasn't sure she'd heard it, interrupted her misery. "What the-?" She answered it. Rob stood there in his gym shorts and tank top. "Hey," he greeted simply.
"Hey yourself," she yawned. "What is it?"
He shifted his weight from one foot to the other. "I couldn't sleep."
"What am I, your mother or something? You want me to read you a bedtime story?"
He was taken aback at her snappiness. "I guess someone else isn't getting much rest either."
"No Rob, I'm sorry. I just can't get to sleep. So...you wanna come in?"
"Yeah, I'd prefer that to standing out here in the hall of the hotel in my pajamas."
"Aww, but you look so cute in them. You should want to show them off," Lita found the energy to tease.
"Yeah, well it's totally freezing out here."
"Fair enough. Come on then, but be quiet; I don't want to wake drunk girl."
"I don't blame you. Honestly, Stacey's not my favorite person when she's sober," Rob admitted.
Lita closed and locked the door behind him. "Mine neither, but I figured it make D-von and Bubba happy. Though I find it refreshing to hear of a guy that's not smitten by her looks, or at least a guy who's intelligent enough to fake not being smitten by her looks."
"No, I'm telling the truth," Rob said, climbing into Lita's bed and curling up under the covers. "I like my girls with some muscle on them, and I'm not crazy for blondes either. Redheads are the hottest by far."
"Flattering," Lita stated flatly, "...but what are you doing in my bed?"
"Getting warm," he answered casually and patted the spot next to him.
Lita sighed, but curled up next to him anyway. "Fine, but you better be gone before anyone wakes up in the morning and realizes what's going on."
"Okay." He pulled her close, wrapping his arms around her, warming her. "Why are you so embarrassed about us, anyway?"
"It's not like that, and you know it," she reprimanded him. "I just...I don't want anyone to try to hurt you to get to me. It's safer this way."
"My knight in shining armor," he teased and kissed her forehead.
"Yeah, well, I mean it."
"I know. And that's what's so adorable about it."
"Don't call me adorable. Puppies are adorable."
"Fine then. You are not adorable. You are big, strong, amazon warrior woman."
"Damn straight." She yawned and stretched, ruining her tough girl image she'd just worked so hard to establish. "Funny," she murmured. "I'm finally sleepy." She laid her head on his chest, closed her eyes, and drifted off into sleep.
"Me too." Rob laid his head on top of hers, closed his eyes and went as well.
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Over the next couple of weeks, ECW truly took in Stacey as one of their own. Lita taught her a few wrestling moves, but mostly valet-oriented things, and how to throw a decent punch. The younger girl learned surprisingly quickly. What she lacked in natural skill she made up for in hard practice and sheer determination. Lita would often see her in the weight room with one of the guys, beating the crap out of a punching bag. Of course, sometimes she'd miss with a ill-aimed hook and catch whoever was holding the bag for her in the eye, but she really couldn't hit all that hard, and it happened rarely enough that everyone pretty much took it in stride.
Though she was quiet and reserved, they all grew to like her. Kane had his suspicions, but Kane was suspicious of everybody, so that came as no real surprise. Rob was courteous to her but ignored her out of an almost comical loyalty to his red-haired diva. Justin got in the habit, whenever Rob never had more than a few words to say to Stacey, of making a sound like a whip cracking, which of course Lance laughed along with him on. Rob would take it in stride, smiling lazily and sometimes coming back with a Dawn Marie-related wisecrack.
So, everyone cared for Stacey. That's why it was of some great concern when she turned up missing right before RAW a couple of weeks later.
Lita rushed up to Rob. "Rob, you know where Stacey is?"
He stared at her distrustfully. "Wait, is that a trick question? Am I supposed to know where Stacey is?"
"Someone should," she explained, exasperated. "No one's seen her."
"Don't worry; I'm sure she's fine. She probably just went to go do her make-up and got lost on the way back or something."
Lita laughed and it came out as a snort.
"Wow, that's so sexy."
"Shut up. I'm just gonna go ahead and get things ready for tonight and we'll send the Dudleyz to look for her."
"Good plan, boss."
"Dork."
"Freak."
"Stoner."
"Biker chick wannabe."
"High school dropout wannabe."
"Former Women's Champion."
"Watch it."
Lita set off to notify the other guys about what was going on and that the program would, for the moment, proceed as normal.
However, such was not the case when, when Lance and Justin's match should have opened the show, instead RAW came on the air with Evolution standing, microphone present, center ring. Stacey stood with them.
"I'm sure you're all wondering what I'm doing here," she addressed the crowd. "But it's really quite simple. I'm making the smartest business decision of my life. Lita, did you really think I was going to settle for playing second-string to you for a bunch of washed-up losers? Well, that's not going to happen. I've found a much better offer with Triple H, Ric Flair, and Randy Orton."
The crowd rowdily booed its dissent. Stacey continued undaunted. "I know you don't think I have anything to offer to Evolution, after all, I'm neither the beast nor the skank that you are, but I have something far more valuable to them than anything you could possibly offer. And that's information. For instance, it isn't common knowledge that both Bubba Ray Dudley and Raven have chronically bad backs. Or that Justin's neck isn't in good shape, or that Tommy still doesn't have full mobility in his left shoulder. But that's not the most interesting nor the most significant thing I learned in my little stint with ECW. No." Her eyes glinted mercilessly. "I learned your greatest weakness, Lita. And it's not your surgically repaired neck, either. In fact, your greatest weakness isn't even on your body. Your greatness weakness...is Rob...Van...Dam..."
Evolution laughed ruthlessly along with Stacey as she continued to mock her former teammate.
"I just...I don't want anyone to try to hurt you to get to me," Stacey mocked in a falsetto whiny voice. "Well guess what, Miss Dumas! We have a mystery guest here with us tonight; Randy, would you give us the honor?"
Randy slid out of the ring and, dropping to his knees, lifted up the ring apron. Straining mightily, he dragged out a bound and gagged RVD.
Lita watched helplessly from the monitor backstage. "I should have never left him alone when I went to get everyone else," she berated herself. "I should have never trusted that slut Keibler. God, this is all my fault."
Orton threw Evolution's captive unceremoniously into the ring and dug for something else under the ring as Flair dragged Rob up to a standing position. Orton reappeared with something in his hand.
"No!" Lita screamed and broke away from the lockerroom, rushing for the ramp.
She was halfway down the ramp when the sledgehammer connected with Rob's knee. Triple H dropped the weapon to the canvas as Flair also let RVD fall. Not the least bit concerned about her enemies, Lita slid into the ring and knelt beside him, leaning down to cry over him. "It's okay," she whispered over and over in his ear as he moaned lowly with pain. "It's okay; it's gonna be okay."
Triple H loomed over her. "I could beat you within an inch of your life right at this very moment," he threatened. "But it wouldn't be worth it. I can't hurt you any more than I just did."
Evolution, now back up to four with their new recruit Stacey Keibler, exited the ring. Lita paid them no mind as she laid there sobbing beside Rob.
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What? So I'm not in a mood for happy endings. In my current frame of mind I could have killed off every last likeable character and had Triple H and Stacey live happily ever after. Fortunately, some semblance of sanity took control. Oh, and one quick note: Stacey DOES drink beer. She got stunned for being grossed out the first time Austin offered her a cold one, but a few weeks later when he repeated the gesture, she drunk her brains out. Just a note.