A/N: 1. I'm so sorry this chapter took so long! I got completely stuck on what to do, and I rewrote the second part about a million times before I decided it was okay. Thanks for your patience, I appreciate it so much. Hopefully the lengthiness will make up for the extended wait!
2. Also, lyrics from this part are from the song 'I Just Want You,' off the Originals CD. Come on, I know you all knew that was the 'poem'! =P

PART 22
"Eric, we need to have a chat with you."

The Raw General Manager glanced up to see who was at the door. He was met by the large figures of Test and Scott Steiner, and neither man looked very happy. Bischoff groaned, pulling the reading glasses he was wearing from his face and tossing them to the desk. How foolish of him to think that once RVD was out of the picture, his problems would be as well. These two goons hadn't been off his back for the longest time.

"What can I do for you, boys?" he asked, though his tone showed that in reality, he couldn't care less.

"We've been asking to talk to you about this since last Monday. We want a match..." Test spoke, stepping into the makeshift office.

"You and everyone else on the roster," Bischoff muttered under his breath, rolling his eyes to emphasize his annoyance. When he noticed the fists of Scott Steiner clenching together tightly, he jumped. "What do you want? A rematch with Christian and Jericho?"

"No," Test replied, "we want the punk that cost us our match with those two. We want John Cena."

Eric nodded, wondering why he hadn't thought of it before. He had no problem feeding Cena to one of the two men standing before him. Shortly after Cena had made his debut on Raw by attacking Test and Steiner, he had gotten word that John and Rob switching rosters was all a paln orchestrated by the two men themselves and his arch nemesis, Stephanie McMahon. Though he was unbelievably relieved to have RVD out of his hair, he did not appreciate being tricked into making a trade.

"Okay, which of you wants to take on John Cena tomorrow night?" he asked, switching his gaze back and forth between the two individuals.

"We both want him, Eric," Steiner said, stepping up beside his tag team partner. "That little bastard thinks he take both of us out at the same time? Lets see him try it while our backs aren't turned!"

Eric thought about it for a moment, eyeing them skeptically. He didn't see a handicapped match risking the safety of the hottest superstar in the company at the moment going over well with the Board of Directors.

"I can't just give you a handicapped match, Scott, not without very good reason. The executives will never allow it to..."

"He fucked up our match, that's plenty good reason!" Test screamed, leaning forward and slamming his fists onto Eric's desk. "C'mon, you know if Evolution were to come in here requesting the same exact match, you'd give it to them in a heartbeat."

Eric remained silent, folding his hands together. At this point, he was willing to do whatever was necessary to get Test and Scott Steiner out of his office and off of his ass, so he caved, nodding tentatively.

"Okay, fine... both of you can have Cena in the ring tomorrow, during Raw."

--------------------------------------------

John laughed nervously as he studied the blonde woman's expression across from him. Trish hadn't spoken much that night, and he feared she wasn't having a very good time. His eyes scanned the others at the table - all of them were in on his plan... except Trish, of course. He was surprised she had even agreed to show up with them, but he supposed Stacy had a lot to do with that. His sister had done a lot of coercing to ensure that Trish would be there for the evening. She knew how much it would mean to John, so she put up with the few eyerolls she received from Trish for it.

John almost laughed at the rather eclectic group of individuals at their table. Other than Trish and himself, Chris and Stacy had come, and Lilian Garcia also joined them, tagging along as Christian's 'date' for the evening. Actually, the more he thought about it, he supposed that he was the only one who didn't fit in with the group. His drifting attention was drawn back to the table as Chris cleared his throat with a cough.

"I can't sit any longer," he said restlessly, before turning to gaze adoringly at Stacy. "Ms. Keibler, would you care to dance?"

"I'd just love to," she replied with a smile, graciously extending her hand to him. Not more than a moment after the couple sauntered off, Christian turned to Lilian.

"Well, fine Lilian, I'll dance with you. Don't look so desperate," he said jokingly, chuckling lightheartedly. The ring announcer rolled her eyes at him, giggling as he pulled her away from the table and onto the dance floor.

John took a deep breath... so far, everything had gone as planned. He placed his hands under the table, brushing his palms off on his jeans. He looked over at Trish, who offered him a small, awkward smile.

"What do ya say we get out there with them?" he suggested, praying that he didn't sound too hopeful.

Trish looked hesitant for a moment, but eventually she nodded.

"Sure, why not?" she replied with a casual shrug.

She rose from the table, tossing a glance over her shoulder at him before leading him to the dance floor. Once her back was turned, John breathed a huge sigh of relief, and then followed after her. Once they were out on the floor, John wrapped his arms around Trish's slender waist, pulling her close to him.

As Trish threw her arms around his neck and the two began swaying to the music, John swallowed hard, hoping she wouldn't notice that his heart was beating so fast it was damn close to thumping right out of his chest. They danced in silence, and as the song neared its end, Trish began to survey the room. She could see Chris and Stacy off in a corner, the two enveloped in each other's arms, but there was no sign of Christian or Lilian.

When John tilted his head to see what the blonde diva was looking at, he too became aware of the pair's absence... and his stomach dropped.

"Excuse me?" a feminine voice called over the speakers.

John's anxiousness grew rapidly as he recognized Lilian's voice, and he and Trish turned to see her standing on the stage. Trish cocked a brow at the sight, while John thanked his lucky stars that there were no other WWE Superstars in attendance. At least if his plan failed miserably, his humiliation wouldn't get back to the boys.

"Hey, ladies and gentleman," Lilian spoke again as the people hushed down. "Sorry to interrupt, but I'd like your attention for just a moment. A friend of mine is here tonight with a girl he likes a whole lot. And this friend of mine wants this girl to know just how he feels. Only problem is, he's a little too nervous to tell him herself... so, I've decided I'd lend him my voice to do so."

With that, the band - a band he was paying very well for their help - began to play, and Lilian prepared to do her part. Trish eyed John curiously as they continued to dance... Lilian had to be referring to them.

Make up your mind
Don't you want me like I,
I wanna feel that
Touch that haunts me every night
It felt so right

Her eyes widened as she recognized the lyrics... they were her own! She looked up at John in shock as Lilian sang. His expression was tentative, as though he was waiting for her to react before he acted.

"Oh my God..." she said, and at the moment, he didn't know what she was thinking. "Those words... how did you get them?"

She didn't know how to feel. Should she be angry with him for invading her privacy, for taking her poem? Or should she be mortified at the fact that those lyrics being exposed to everyone in the room described exactly how she felt for him? Her head starting to spin.

I just want you
You know I, I just want you
Do you want me?

"I'm sorry I took them, Trish," John said sincerely, "but for the longest time, I've been tryin' to find the right thing to say to you. When I found that poem, I just... those were the words. What you wrote is what I've wanted to say the whole time."

Her cheeks flushed a bit, a bashful smile playing on her lips.

"Really?" she asked, barely even able to hear Lilian anymore. Her own mind was working far too fast.

"Yes, really," John replied with a soft smile. "I want to forget everything that's already happened between us. I don't want the drama, I don't want the fighting... I just want you."

Now, Trish knew exactly how to feel, and it most certainly was not anger, or embarrassment. She was thrilled. Thrilled that John would take her words and make them into something so beautiful. Thrilled that he cared. Thrilled that they would have a second chance.

"I want you too, John."

Got a feeling that it's time
To make the change
Got a feeling that things
Can't stay the same
I feel my heart
Losing control

John smiled at her response, the sickening feeling he'd had in the pit of his stomach for nearly the entire evening finally settling down. He pulled her even closer as he looked up and Lilian - whom he'd never be able to repay for all she'd done - smiled sweetly at them. He gave a small grin back and then he slowly, cautiously lowered his head to Trish, pressing his lips to hers in a soft, gentle kiss.

And for the first time, both their hearts were in it.