"Hey... hey, John!"

John Cena paused in his tracks, slowly turning around. He was met by Christian and Chris Jericho, both of whom stood behind him, still struggling a bit to catch their respective breaths. He gave the two Canadians a nod, extending his hand in their direction. Chris was the first to reach out and shake his hand, followed by an exhausted Christian, who grimaced in pain as he did so, clutching his ribs.

"We're both extremely grateful you did what you did," Chris started, eyeing him steadily, "but John, what the hell are you doing here?"

John took a deep breath, and was about to answer the blonde man's question, until another voice entered the conversation.

"Guys!" Stacy Keibler called from a short distance.

She rushed over to the three men, Trish Stratus not far behind her. John stepped back to watch as his sister wrapped her arms around Jericho's neck, pressing her lips lightly to his. Trish approached the group more slowly. She first stepped up to Christian, doing her best to avoid any and all eye contact with John. She placed her hand gently onto his forearm, concern filling her deep brown eyes.

"Are you alright?" she asked worriedly.

Despite the agonizing pain he was in - a direct result of the chairshots he took to the kidneys - Christian forced a smile for Trish's behalf.

"Nothing I can't handle," he assured her, his tone brave.

Trish nodded, removing her hand from his arm and resting it on her hip. Her gave traveled to Chris, who still seemed to be convincing Stacy that he was okay. Finally, her eyes reluctantly settled on John, whom she discovered to be staring at her. After a brief, silent staredown, Trish took a deep, shaky breath, tentatively stepping up to him.

"Thank you," she said softly, her voice almost in a whisper. "You're our savior once again."

John laughed softly at her comment, shaking his head lightly.

"Nah... just doing the right thing," he insisted, studying the rest of the group.

By that time, Stacy had finished talking to Chris and Christian, and she ahd turned to face her brother and her best friend.

"John..." she began, walking over to him, "...Mr. Bischoff is going to kill you."

John could clearly see the worry in Stacy's eyes and he shook his head, tossing his hands to the air in protest.

"Not when I'm the newest member of his roster he isn't," he replied.

He was met with a collective gasp, not to mention a few jaws dropping. Up until that point, they had all assumed that John had simply invaded the Raw show to, as he himself had put it, do the right thing. None of them had even considered the possibility that he could have been traded to the brand.

"What?" Christian asked, his eyes widening in disbelief. "How?"

"I talked to Stephanie McMahon about it," he explained, his gaze traveling over each one of them. "Luckily, she understood my position. I don't think she was particularly excited about my wantin' to leave Smackdown, but I think she was real excited about acquiring the person I suggested she go after."

Trish raised her eyebrow at his response, sending him a questioning gaze.

"Who would that be?"

Before John could answer her, he was once again cut off by another person joining the group.

"Me."

The five men and women heard the sound of a throat clearing, and they all turned. Trish saw the man standing behind them, and she gasped...

"Rob...?"

"I'm so sorry about this."

Rob Van Dam glanced up from the suitcase he was packing to see Trish standing in the doorway to his hotel room. He looked at her questioningly, wondering what exactly she was sorry for.

"For what?" he asked curiously, placing the last item into the black bag below him.

"For this," she replied, gesturing to the suitcase he was packing. "For you having to leave. I just... I had nothing to do with it, and if I had I wouldn't have..."

"I did," he interrupted, his gaze turning serious. It was now Trish's turn to eye him questioningly.

"What do you mean you did?"

Rob exhaled heavily, glancing up at her. He reached down and zipped his suitcase shut and then stood, walking over to her.

"Trish, I knew I was going to be traded. In fact, I volunteered to go," he replied.

His words, though casually spoken, hit Trish like a bombshell. She couldn't believe what he was saying. He volunteered to be traded?

"Rob, why? You loved it here on Raw, and all of your friends are here. Why on earth would you want to leave?" she asked, the shock refusing to wear away.

"Don't worry about me, Trish. Yeah, I've made a lot of good friends here, but I've got tons on Smackdown as well. Besides, the only person I really regret leaving behind is you, and I'm leaving for you," he explained. He thought he had made it all clear, but Trish still had that look on her face - that mixture of emotions, good and bad. So, he decided to elaborate even more. "Look, about a week ago, when that match between Christian and Jericho and those two goons was made, I decided to give John a call. We talked for nearly an entire hour, and both of us decided that he needs to be here. Obviously, the only way that would be possible would be if a trade was made. I figured that Bischoff would be more than willing to part with me, so John got Stephanie in on the plan, and it worked. I'm making my first appearance at tomorrow night's taping."

Trish looked up at Rob, staring at him in complete silence. She had no idea what to say. He had made his actions and intentions perfectly clear, and yet she was now more confused than ever.

"But Rob, I don't understand. John doesn't want to be with me, and Stacy's got Chris and Christian to protect her. Why does he need to be here on Raw?" she asked, vivid memories of John rejecting her in the hospital parking lot flashing through her mind.

"If he didn't want to be with you, he wouldn't be here," Rob said wisely. "Now, come here and give me a hug before I leave."

Trish gave in and smiled, wrapping her arms around his waist as he hugged her tightly. He pushed back a bit, still locked in her tight embrace, and he smiled. Then, he pulled away, heading back to where his suitcase was resting. He picked it up and tossed it over his shoulder, walking back over to where Trish was standing. A single tear slid down her face as Rob leaned down and kissed her cheek.

"I'm leaving for a reason, Trish, so don't stick around and wait... go after that man of yours."

A/N: So sorry it took so long to update this! I was stuck for awhile on what I wanted to happen. Hope you guys like it, and sorry again for the wait!