Disclaimer: I own no person, place or thing mentioned. Title inspired by the song of the same name by Pat Benatar.
Spoilers: Nothing that isn't mentioned in the calender at
Brief Chapter Summary: Downtime for plot elements.
Notes: First, my thanks to everyone who has reviewed thus far. RKOandLEGS- the Randy/Stacy goodness is coming soon..don't worry, in the chapter after this I pwomise.
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10:00 a.m. Wednesday, May 4th. Tucson, Arizona.
Lita stiffled another yawn as she waited for Kurt to finalize whatever plans he had with the photographer. So far, they had been here an hour and not one flash had gone off. The red head was getting bored, but more importantly, she was getting agitated. It was one thing to be dragged off for a day and actually have something to do on her schedule, but it was another thing to be dragged off and do nothing. Just as she was opening her mouth to make her inquiry, Kurt turned to her.
"Now.." Kurt, set the clipboard down. "We'll just be getting a few shots done of you..then of you and myself." He cleared his throat when the diva raised a brow. "For the next issue of SmackDown magazine."
Her lips pursed just slightly, before she nodded in agreement. "So, does that mean we can get this show on the road?"
Kurt made a sweeping motion with his hand. "Knock 'em dead. I'll just be over there" He motioned to another part of the studio, his cell phone manifesting from his pocket as he made his way over.
Lita in turn, made her way over to the photographer, ready to do her duty as the G.M. had requested.
Meanwhile, since Lita was occupied, Kurt kept his eyes trained on the diva, but his attention trained on the conversation he was currently engaged in.
"Yeah, we're here..calling as you asked." He sat back in the chair, confident his end of the conversation wouldn't reach the red-head's ears.
"No it's not a big deal at all, I just wonder-" He was cut off rather shortly, and the cell phone was held away from his ear as the caller yelled. "Alright, forget I asked."
He cleared his throat again, contemplating his respone. "Well..I suppose that could be arranged. If that's what you really want."
As the assistant approached, Kurt waved a dismissive hand, nodding abruptly at his caller. "Right, well..I'm sure we'll discuss this later then? I have to go..duty calls."
Kurt shut the cell phone shut with a flick of his wrist, pocketing the cell phone as he made his way back towards the diva and the photographer.
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Meanwhile, back at the hotel; a few of RAW's finest have gathered for a late breakfast. Currently huddled in the back of the resturant, Evolution's own Dave Batista, Randy Orton, Stacy Keibler and John Cena.
"So" Randy traded his menu in favor of Stacy's right hand as he addressed the others present. "Torrie and Chris?"
"Are not going" Stacy half shrugged, leaning back in the booth. "I guess they just want to spend as much time together as possible."
Randy nodded, "Make up for lost time"
Three heads nodded in agreement as a comfortable silence fell over the group. The main purpose of their breakfast meeting was to discuss the upcoming trip to New Orleans. Or at least what they hoped would still be a trip to New Orleans. They were still waiting for a definite yes or no from Dawn, and as they had already confirmed; Chris and Torrie would not be attending. The silence was momentairly broken as they placed their orders, only to be resumed once more.
On one side of the booth, Randy and Stacy were off in their own little world, aware of their surroundings and yet blisfully un-aware. On the opposite side of them, Dave sat with his legs stretched out; feet hanging over the edge of the bench. A distant look graced the face of the usually quiet wrestler, his brows furrowing once in awhile, the only clue that he was with them. At the head of the table, straddling a chair, John Cena was having a staring contest with the tacky piece of artwork hung on the wall. While he did his best to mask whatever thoughts were running through his troubled mine, his eyes were giving him away. However, despite their seemingly similiar states of confusion, no words passed between the two.
Eventually, the one to break the silence would not be the returning waitress, but Randy.
"John" Randy waved a hand in front of the man's face. Another attempt in vain to gain his attention. "John"
"...Huh?" Blue eyes met blue as John finally acknowledged his friend. "S'up?"
"Nothing, you just seem distant" Randy shrugged it off, not wanting to appear overly concerned. "What's on your mind."
"It's nothin' dawg, don't sweat it." John shook his head to back up his point, before he drifted off into space again.
Stacy cleared her throat slightly debating her question..not wanting to provoke any anger, "Where's Dawn?"
He shrugged in response. "She said she had plans."
"Mmmhmm" Stacy's lips pressed into a thin line. That response was too vague, but she didn't want to press the issue. It was still morning after all.
"When will Li be done?" The blonde turned her attention to the other wall of silence, only to be met by a pair of distant hazel eyes.
"Afternoon she said." Dave shrugged, he wasn't too sure himself. "She'll call when she's done."
"All afternoon for a photo shoot?" Stacy blinked slightly, but shook it off. "Well..then where's that waitress?"
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In another area of the hotel, Hunter is holding a breakfast meeting of his own. His companion? None other than Dawn Marie.
"So let me get this straight." Hunter sat down at the desk, folding his hands together on his knee. "You don't want to go to RAW? But I thought, with John over there you'd-"
"I never said I didn't want to go to RAW" Dawn pursed her lips. "I said I wanted to be on the same show as John again."
"Right..and what makes you think I could do anything?" Hunter raised a brow, assesing the diva before him. "And if I could do anything, why should I?"
She raised a brow right back. "I have my suspicions, that you wield more power in the company than you have us all to believe." She paused, to gather her thoughts. "Whether it's official, that really doesn't make a difference. But if you truly have no power..why were you on SmackDown when you're exclusive to the RAW roster?"
Hunter smirked, avoiding her question. "Who said I was exclusive to RAW? It's not in my contract, which means I'm free to visit friends. I happen to have three on the SmackDown roster."
"I wouldn't go that far..Lita hardly seems to be a friend to you." The brunette sat back, crossing her legs primly at the ankles, this wasn't going well at all. "But can you help me or not?"
Hunter rubbed his chin in thought. "Make me an offer, and make it a good one. Then I'll think about it." He eyed the diva, "You have three days"
She nodded in response, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "Thanks so much for your time Hunter. Now if you could..just one more thing."
He lifted a brow in response, waiting for her to continue
Dawn stood, crossing the length of the hotel room, to pause by the door. "Where can I find Lita? I know she's off with Kurt, but where."
"I'll be meeting with her shortly, if you'd like to accompany me" He stood, slipping his shades over his head. "You are more than welcome to."
She pressed her lips into a thin line, but said nothing; merely nodding in response.
He offered his arm after flinging the door open. "Shall we?"
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Back at the breakfast table, the small group of Evolution members wraps things up. Silence had reigned, until one issue was brought up.
"Hotel reservations" Randy looked between the other males. "Who made them?"
Dave snapped out of his stupor long enough to participate in this portion of the conversation. "I thought you did"
"Don't look at me dawg"
Randy muttered under his breath "Damnit..Stace? Do you have the-"
Stacy pulled a piece of paper from her purse. "Hotel phone line, our confirmation number, the hotel rooms" She paused, setting the paper down while she removed a few more items from her purse. "Confirmation numbers for two sight seeing tours of the city and numbers for a few resturants."
Randy blinked, "When did you get that done?"
Stacy smiled brightly, before wiping the corners of her mouth with her napkin."Torrie did actually, even though she's not going..she still wanted to help"
A hand reached across the table, "May I?" Dave held out his open palm to the blonde, retracting it when said paper was placed in his hand.
"So we have a block of three hotel rooms" He murmered loud enough for everyone to hear. "French Quarter.." He trailed off as he looked over the rest of the slip. "And how much is all of this going to cost? "
As the group huddled in, they all failed to notice two people leaving the hotel. One Dawn Marie and Hunter, passed by the entry way to the resturant on their way out.
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Back at the studio, Lita and Kurt were just wrapping up for the photo shoot. They leaned back to back, presumbly for a small article in the next issue of SmackDown! magazine. Just as they finished, Kurt tried to play nice.
"So, what are your plans?" He held up his hand in defense. "Just trying to be friendly..I know that Eric isn't the best to deal with."
The red head raised a brow in suspicion, but answered anyway. "Dave, Randy, Stacy, John, Dawn and I have plans. RAW has a house show in New Orleans, Friday. We figured we'd just go early, sight see and what not."
Kurt nodded, he had already heard that bit. "Sounds like fun."
"Yeah.it'll be nice to just spend some time as a real person.." Lita smiled half heartedly. "Not that I don't like my job, just that"
"It would be nice to have something regular?" Kurt suggested, reading the red head's emotions so clearly written across her face. "I agree."
She nodded absently. "And what about you? What does a GM do between shows and stuff?"
Kurt smiled with pride. "Family of course"
"Family" the word rolled off the red head's tounge easily, and yet sounded so foriegn in that moment. "Well, I guess I should get out of here..I'm supposed to meet-"
"Lita..Kurt" Hunter appeared at the doorway, Dawn behind him. "I hope I'm not early?"
"Hunter..Dawn" Lita acknowledged the two, supressing her surprise at Hunter's companion. "We just finished actually, so you're right on time."
"Excellent" Hunter slipped his shades off, holding them in his hand as a gesturing device. "Shall we then? The limo's right out front."
"Lita, Dawn" Kurt interrupted before they could make their exit. "Enjoy New Orleans, and I'll be seeing you." He nodded his farewells to them all before he brushed past, heading for his rental car.
"Have you eaten?" Hunter turned his attention back to the red head. "We can get lunch first..then go back to the hotel."
Lita's stomach answered for her, but before she officially responded. "Not to be rude, but.."
"I need to speak with you" Dawn's tone was quiet, but her eyes relayed a message Lita couldn't ignore. "When you have the time."
Lita nodded to her friend, before turning her attention back to Hunter. "You wouldn't mind..if Dawn and I talked after lunch, would you?"
Hunter shook his head, opening the door for the two. "If I did, I wouldn't have brought Dawn with me."
"If you would just excuse me for one moment" Lita held up her cell phone in explanation, "I owe someone a phone call"
"I should call John" Dawn removed her cell phone from her purse, casting an apologetic look to Hunter, only to be met with the site of the World Champ, already on his cell phone.
After the three had made their respective calls, they were finally out of the studio and into the limo. Off to lunch for the three of them, then a moment of time at the hotel before they met back up with the others.
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Later that night, random club in Tucson
Lita sat back at the booth, huddled between Jeff and Dawn. Her head resting casually on the man's shoulder as she observed the others on the dance floor. Back at the bar, John and Dave were ordering another round of drinks. But, before they returned, Lita shifted her gaze between her friends. As much as she didn't want to admit it, her conversation with Dawn was troubling her. While Dawn had assured the red head she still had feelings for John, she was un-sure of newly surfacing feelings. They had decided, that the trip to New Orleans, without a certain someone's prescence would do them all some good. Lita also suggested that, perhaps without that someone around, she and John could get their relationship back on track. Dawn had argued the relationship never lost track, but truth be told..something had changed between them after Hawaii. As Lita's hand drifted upward to toy with her necklace, she had to admit. Something had changed. But what?
Her mind also drifted back to the words exchanged between herself and Kurt. Family. Before Lita was so sure of herself and her place. Family was the small circle of wrestlers on RAW, family was her blood relatives and close friends. But now, she began to realize that she wanted a real family. A daughter, or a son..and someone to come to home to. She shook herself out of her thoughts as Dave and John approached, drinks in hand.
"So..Torrie and Chris aren't coming?" The red head looked to her boyfriend for confirmation. "Everyone else still is, right?"
"Unless they" He inclined his head towards the pair on the dance floor "Or they" referring to the other couple at the table "Change their minds, it'll be the six of us." He handed her drink over, before standing behind the booth.
Lita nodded, tilting her face upwards to lock eyes with him. "Thanks"
He nodded briskly, bringing his face down to kiss the tip of her nose. "You going to sit there all night?"
She grinned, pinching his cheek. "I've been waiting for you." She nudged Jeff gently so she could remove her person from the booth. "You comin'?" She looked between the remaining three, pausing a moment to lock eyes with Dawn.
"We'll be over in a minute" Dawn sipped her drink, grasping her boyfriend's hand. "Go on..enjoy yourselves"
"I'd just be a third wheel" Jeff shrugged absently. "Go have fun Li-Li"
She frowned slightly at Jeff's choice of words but said nothing. "Fine, but me and you are dancin' later." She shook her finger mockingly at him, before she set her drink down; allowing Dave to lead her out.
Jeff shook his head, before he took a sip of his own drink. "Too late to say it now, but I hope he knows what he got himself into." His eyes followed the pair, now swaying and grinding in time to the music. "She's a handful"
Dawn snorted "Understatement of the century..but" She followed Jeff's gaze. "They're good for each other."
Jeff nodded his agreement, addressing John and Dawn but kept his eyes trained on Dave and Lita. "I thought the same about her an' Matt." He sighed softly, "I just don't want to see her hurt."
"None of us do" Dawn frowned, studying the man across from her a moment before her gaze returned to the pair in question. "But if Li felt that way..I don't think she'd let him get close to her."
Jeff nodded slightly, still observing the pair. "True." He sipped his drink, before staring down into the concoction. "Anyway, how are things with the two of you?"
"Good, thanks" Dawn quirked a smile, setting her un-touched refill on the table. "Come on..let's go have some fun." She pressed a chaste kiss to John's cheek, leading him to the dance floor.
Jeff watched them leave, noting the slightly distant look..not only in Dawn's eyes but also in John's. He frowned slightly at that, but just sat back in the booth, bringing his drink eye level. "Well, looks like it's just you and me huh?"
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Authorly Notes:
Let me say one thing before I go on with this piece. One of the primary relationships will be broken within the next three chapters. I won't say which, but one of them will be broken. Another will be tested. Will it be a happily ever after piece? I'm leaning towards no..at least not for the moment. Anyway, review me please..take it easy if you must flame me, and I appreciate constructive critiscm more than you know.