DISCLAIMER: I do not own Chris Jericho, Stephanie McMahon, or other wrestlers that appear in the following story. They are the property of the actors and actresses that portray them, as well as the WWE. Vince, I'm an unemployed college graduate who still managed to scrape together $100 to go to Bad Blood next month; now that's loyalty!

Façade

CHAPTER TEN

My shoulders were just beginning to ache, and my back was protesting the awkward position I was forced to sit in. However, I refused to move an inch. Glancing momentarily from the road to the sleeping blond head in my lap, I couldn't help but grin. At least his back will hurt worse than mine when he finally wakes up, I thought with redemptive glee.

A blue sign on the side of the highway alerted me to a chain of fast-food restaurants a mile ahead, and I made the decision to stop for lunch and a quick stretch, before forcing Jericho to drive. He had certainly lived up to his reputation of not being a morning person; when my alarm went off at 6:30, he proceeded to bury his head under his pillow and mumble incoherently. I took the opportunity to rush into the bathroom, take a quick shower, and get myself cute; my hurrying was wasted, however, as he was still in the same position in the bed when I emerged. Somehow, I managed to drag him out of the bed and out the door, telling him to get his things and to meet me downstairs as I indulged in the free continental breakfast. He finally emerged from the elevators at 7:15, dazedly carrying his luggage. I grabbed him and threw him into the rental car, where he had fallen asleep again almost immediately. Not that I had minded; it gave me the opportunity to reflect on our shared evening, both the ups and the downs. I doubted we would ever fall asleep so peacefully together again; when we were considered, there were always clouds on the horizon.

Both my back and my bladder rejoiced as I turned the car onto the off-ramp and headed towards the strip of restaurants. Reaching over to turn off the radio, I began caressing Jericho's hair with my right hand. "Hey, you…" I mumbled, tucking a strand behind his exposed ear. "It's time to get up."

"Mmmm," he mumbled, burrowing his head further into my lap. His right hand, which had been curled up under his chin as he slept, stroked my right thigh as he moved slightly.

The heat began to rise in my cheeks, and I chided myself for being aroused by the innocent sleeping movements. "Chris, honey, you need to wake up. I have to pee really really bad," I said with a giggle, turning into the McDonald's parking lot.

"Don't wanna," he grumbled.

I full out laughed at his childish voice, causing him to jump. "Sorry honey, but I need to stretch, pee, and eat. And it's your turn to drive," I reminded him as I pulled into a spot and turned off the ignition.

With another loud groan, Jericho braced himself on my leg and pushed himself upright. He rolled his neck, wincing at the popping of his spine. "What time is it?" he asked, rubbing at his eyes in his familiar 'little boy waking up' fashion.

"12:37," I replied, removing my seatbelt. My bladder was sounding the third alarm, especially with the reduced pressure of his head on my abdomen. "I'll meet you inside, once you wake up a bit." Grabbing the keys and my purse, I hurried inside towards the restrooms.

A few minutes later, I walked out of the bathroom, feeling a million times better. Spying my companion standing in line, I walked over to him and looped my arm in his. "Look who finally joined the world of the living," I teased, poking at his sunglasses.

Swiping my hand away from his face, he pulled me closer, curving his arm around my middle. "I can't believe you let me sleep that long," he whined. "I don't think my back will ever recover."

"You're the one that chose that position." Looking at his face, I noticed something amiss. "What in the world?" I mumbled out loud, tracing the skin from his cheek to his chin.

"What?" His hand soon joined mine, his brow furrowing as he felt the problem.

Suddenly I recognized the texture of the lines. "These marks are from my jeans! That's what you get for falling asleep in my lap," I remarked, perhaps a little too loudly, for the young boy and his mother in front of us turned around to stare. Reconsidering my words, I shrugged and smiled sweetly at the two, who promptly returned their gaze to the registers.

I have never seen a man blush as deeply as Jericho did. "Great," he muttered, rubbing at the skin in a sorry attempt to make the pattern fade.

Leaning up, I placed a kiss on the grooved skin, stroking the stubble he'd grown overnight. "It doesn't look bad at all. Much better than that facial hair you insist on growing... you are going to shave this off, right?"

Mock-groaning, he kissed my temple back. "Yes Princess." As we stepped towards the register, he nudged me away and patted my behind. "Here, you go get us a booth in the corner; I'll take care of this."

"Yes, because ordering food is man's work," I commented wryly, taking my leave towards the back corner of the seating area. I knew he was doing this in order to avoid a 'who will pay' argument'; just another facet of the somewhat chivalrous Chris Jericho. Taking a seat, I opened my purse and fished out my cell phone. It immediately listed that I had 11 voicemails, and I groaned, pressing the send button and starting the madness of messages. As it turned out, 10 were from Kurt – I had forgotten to call him back last night, and he was having a hernia over the phone wondering what had happened between Jericho and I at the restaurant. The other one was from Dawn Marie, telling me that Kurt had called her repeatedly, and she was afraid he would have a conniption if I didn't call him back. Groaning at my faux pas, I dialed Kurt's number and waited for the roasting.

The phone barely rung before Kurt answered. "Stephanie Marie McMahon!" he shouted into the phone. "Where in holy heck have you been?!"

"Hi Kurt," I managed as cheerfully as possible. "Sorry I forgot to call you back."

"Sorry? SORRY!? I thought Jericho had abducted you and taken you back to his hotel room."

I couldn't help but snicker; if Kurt knew about him staying the night, he'd rip Jericho's scalp off, put it on his own head, and do a war dance. "Actually, Kurt, we worked things out. He apologized for calling me a pig, and he's actually driving to Raleigh with me."

There was dead silence on the other line. "This is a joke, right?" Kurt asked, his voice trembling with anger.

"Um, nope. Right now we're at McDonald's having lunch." Looking up from the table, I saw Jericho coming towards me, juggling two trays, and I offered him a smile. "Actually, I have to let you go Kurt, he's back with my food and I am starving."

"Steph, don't you dare hang up on me!" he sputtered. "And don't you DARE eat that garbage!? Do you know what is in the meat? HUH?!"

"Love you too Kurt, bub bye!" Hitting the end button, I put my phone back in my purse as Jericho slid into the seat across from me. "So, Jackass, what'd you get me?" I asked, eyeing the sheer volume of food on the trays before us.

"Well Princess, I knew you'd try to eat healthy to impress me or something, so I got you a salad and a yogurt parfait."

I laughed; it was sad how easily he could read me sometimes. "You are correct, Mr. Jericho, but I hope you do realize that I am going to steal the majority of your fries," I commented, stealing a few as an example and shoving them in my mouth.

He offered me a grin. "Why do you think I super-sized?" he retorted.

Grabbing some more fries, I rolled my eyes at him. "Probably to feed that super-sized ego of yours," I mumbled around my food.

As I was picking the radishes out of my salad, my cell phone rang in my purse. Sighing loudly, I continued at my task at hand, despite Jericho's curious look. "It's Kurt," I explained as I drenched my salad in low-fat Italian dressing. "I hung up on him before and he's probably mad."

"Really…" Before I could react, Jericho had reached into my purse, picked up the ringing phone, and answered it. "Stephanie's phone, the king of her world speaking, can I help you?"

Holding back a snort, I gave him a disapproving look and strained to hear Kurt's end of the conversation. "Kirk? Kirk Angel, is that you?" Jericho exclaimed, leaning back in his chair a bit. "It's been ages… what's that? Of course I know your name, Kirk," Jericho stated, mock-indignant. His eyes met mine, his face contorting with restrained laughter. "Stephanie? Oh she's here, but she can't exactly talk right now… why? Because she's under the table, servicing her King…. oh yeah baby right there…"

Shrieking, I kicked him as hard as I could, connecting with his shin and causing him to yelp. We exchanged glares; I, somewhat mortified at what he said to my best friend, stabbed at my salad in retaliation. Bending down to rub at his leg, he growled at me, then suddenly winced as Kurt shouts became loud enough for me to hear them. "Kirk? I have to go, the Princess is getting frisky. Later." Hanging up the phone, he tossed it into my purse and reached for his double cheeseburger.

"I hope you know that you just signed your death wish," I commented dryly, digging around in my parfait in search of strawberries. "Kurt already lusts for your blood from the whole Miss Piggy comment."

"So that's what you talking to in the bathroom." Jericho nodded slowly, finishing off his cheeseburger and reaching for a Big Mac. "I tried to get in but you locked the door."

I frowned at him. "You followed me to the bathroom? Thank GOD I locked the door." Pushing away the watery parfait, I returned to eating the non-brown lettuce leafs in my salad (which were far and few between). "So how did you end up talking to my brother in the lobby?"

"He had the maitre-d hunt me down. You know, I nearly got kicked out of the restaurant for hanging out by the ladies' room." He scowled at me when I giggled, then took a sip of his vanilla milkshake. "I always seem to get into trouble when you're around, Princess."

I batted my eyelashes at him. "But I'm worth it." A grunt from him signaled the end of the conversation, and we ate the rest of our meals in silence.

After finishing our food and using the bathroom again, I found myself in the passenger seat of the car. The silence that had settled over us, albeit comfortable, was starting to get on my nerves, and I racked my brain for something to talk about. Luckily, my cell phone rang, giving me a reprieve. "Hello?"

"What is going on with you and Jericho?" Dawn Marie demanded loudly. "Kurt just called me and told me you made up with him last night, and he's driving with you to Raleigh right now!"

I sighed, pressing the phone closer to my ear to try and muffle her voice from Jericho (who most likely could hear every word, anyways). "Sorry Dawnie, but I can't really talk about him when he's sitting right here," I apologized.

She groaned. "But I'm DYING to know the details Steph! Did you two make out?"

"Yes," I responded, unable to keep from smiling.

"What?! You two made out and you didn't call me afterwards to tell me!" I glanced sideways at Jericho, who thankfully still wore a neutral expression. "This doesn't make sense… unless… omigod he stayed over!?" she shrieked.

I winced at the volume. "Technically. But nothing happened," I stressed.

"Nothing happened," she scoffed. "Were you both naked?"

"NO!" I shouted a bit too loudly, causing Jericho to look over at me. I shrugged at him, making the crazy gesture with my finger. "Dawn, you're crazy."

"We'll see how crazy I am. Were you guys in bed?"

"Yes."

"Were you topless?"

"No."

"Was HE topless?"

"No." I was getting annoyed.

"Well geez, it sounds like you guys just fell asleep."

"Bingo." Jericho's face held a hint of a smile, satisfying my suspicion that he could, indeed, hear every word. "Dawn, can I call you back after I check in tonight?"

"Do you promise?"

My annoyance grew. "I promise Dawn. Goodbye."

"Bye Steph. Oh, and have fuuuu-uuuun with your boyfriend," she teased in a sing-song voice.

Tossing my phone back in my purse, I looked at my driver and smiled apologetically. "Sorry about that."

"No big deal." He looked at me sideways with a smirk. "I almost feel like we disappointed her."

Despite my best efforts, I flushed a bit. "You shouldn't be listening in to my private conversations!" I scolded, smacking his shoulder lightly.

"Interesting. And how is it that I can't listen in to a 'private conversation' that is entirely about me?" With no retort in mind, I crossed my arms defensively and turned my attention to the scenery. "That's what I thought," he said, his right hand coming to rest on my leg. "Hey, now don't go and give me the silent treatment because I was right once again."

I snorted with laughter. "Just because you think you're right doesn't mean squat, Jackass." I twined my hand with his in my lap and rested my head against the window with a yawn.

"I owe you a nap Princess, why don't you sleep for awhile?" Jericho's thumb stroked mine in a soothing gesture, and I found myself tempted by his idea.

"Maybe I will," I agreed, my eyes already closing and my mind drifting away.

Three hours later, I fell out of dreamland at the sound of someone singing. Cracking open my eyes, I was about to yell at Jericho to turn down the radio when I realized that it was his singing along that had woken me up. I smiled, watching his fingers tap against the steering wheel in time with the beat. Then I recognized the song and couldn't resist a little teasing. "Mmmm, good afternoon," I greeted, my voice low and scratchy from just waking up.

Jericho stopped abruptly, his hand immediately going to turn the radio off. "I… err…" he stammered, his cheeks a bit pink. "How was your nap?"

"Not bad… I did have this strange dream about Mongoose McQueen singing Richard Marx, though," I teased. "Then I woke up and saw…"

"You saw nothing," Jericho interrupted. "Actually, your timing was great; I was just about to stop for gas and I figured that you'd want to use the bathroom."

"Well… I don't know… will you be right here waiting for me when I'm done?" I cracked up with laughter as he scowled at the song lyric I referenced.

"Hilarious," he bit out as he turned the car off the road towards a gas station.

Wiping at my eyes, I tried to compose myself. "I couldn't resist," I said through giggles.

He frowned, saying nothing to me as he pulled up beside a gas pump. Amused by his sulking, I decided to let him stew about it, wandering inside the adjoining store to search out a restroom.

When I walked out of the store, I spotted him still standing beside the car, two giant fountain drinks in hand. As I got closer, he held one out to me, which I took with a grin. "You know, this will only make me have to go again," I commented, taking a big slurp of soda.

"Then that's when we'll stop for dinner. We're only about 5 hours away from Raleigh as it is." He stretched his arms a bit, groaning as his shoulders popped yet again. "My neck is killing me."

I sighed, not liking where this was going. "I guess this means I am driving the rest of the way," I stated. At his hopeful look, I shook my head and wearily settled back into the driver's seat. "I should have realized you were buttering me up with caffeine."

"Just give me until dinner to work this kink out of my neck, and then I'll drive," Jericho whined as he buckled his seat belt.

"Have you even taken anything for the pain yet?" I asked, directing the car back towards the highway. He shook his head, and I tossed my purse into his lap. "There should be some painkillers near the bottom."

He dug around my purse before retrieving the orange prescription bottle. "Vicadin," he read aloud, raising an eyebrow in my direction. "Why do you have these?" he asked as he unscrewed the lid and popped two into his mouth.

I shrugged. "That's what the doctor gave me for the pain when my arm was so badly swollen." Inwardly I cringed; he was going to start asking questions, and there was no way I would be able to avoid answering them now.

Jericho rarely disappointed me these days. "Stephy, you've been avoiding talking about this for days now, but it's time you gave me the benefit of the doubt and started telling me what happened."

"What happened with what?" I asked innocently. He glared at me, and I winced, turning my attention back to the road. "And why should I trust you now?" I retorted, my back against the figurative wall. "Because we went on one date, that didn't turn out all that well I might add, and then you slept over last night?"

He sighed. "No, because I am asking you to." His hand was back on my leg, but this time I did not find the gesture soothing. "You told Kurt…"

"Do NOT compare yourself to Kurt," I interrupted, anger flooding through my system. "Kurt has been my best friend for ages. I trust him with my life, and yet I didn't tell him until just last week. It's something I had to deal with by myself, and I want to keep it that way."

"But that's not healthy, keeping it bottled inside!" Jericho argued.

"Who are you, my therapist? You don't understand…"

"I KNOW I don't understand. That's why I am asking you to make me understand, so that we can put this past us."

I nearly slammed on the brakes, wanting his face to smash into the dashboard. "Put it past us? Cancer isn't like a bad date Chris, you can't just laugh about it and forget it ever happened." I clenched my jaw, forcing myself to breathe. Breathing kept me from losing control of myself.

"Ok, ok, calm down. Bad choice of words," Jericho consoled, the hand on my leg coming up to stroke my right arm. "This whole issue of your cancer is like a giant elephant in the room. It's there, I can't talk or even acknowledge it or you freak out and the elephant stampedes." I rolled my eyes at his analogy, despite the fact that he had a valid point. "You're still hurting Steph… I just, I don't know… I want to make it hurt less. I thought I could do that if you told me what happened, but I guess it hurts you more when I keep asking about it."

With those words, my anger was effectively deflated, replaced by understanding. Jericho had almost echoed Dr. McKeon's words about this inner pain that I supposedly held; could I really be that stubborn as to not see something about myself that even Chris Jericho could pick up on? "Jericho…"

"Chris," he corrected. "You sound like my old gym teacher when you use my last name."

I offered him a half-smile at his attempt of humor. "Chris," I restated, "Telling Kurt was a big step for me. Telling you… was somewhat accidental." I glanced sideways, catching Jericho's pained expression. "But I think I need a little time to get used to you knowing. Maybe then it'll be easier to talk about the specifics." Moving my arm, I took his hand in mine. "Could you give me some space until then?"

"On one condition."

"Which is…?" I asked worriedly.

"You'll stop running away from me when I make a mistake." His laugh was hollow, almost sad. "My mouth has a nasty habit of ruining my time with you."

"Actually, I rather like your mouth when you're kissing me," I said with a grin. "But, I will try my best to stick around, as long as you keep any and all references to barnyard animals to yourself."

"Agreed." He tugged our entwined hands towards him, placing a kiss on my knuckles. "And I know this will sound sappy, but I don't mind waiting as long as I get to spend the time with you."

I pretended to gag. "You've gone soft, Jericho. Maybe I should find another 80s ballad for you to sing."

"I can guarantee you Princess, around you I never go soft," he leered. My laughter mixed with his, and I felt almost content.

There was little conversation after that, minus an argument about where to eat dinner and what radio station to listen to. However, the lack of conversation did not make the remaining hours drag by; we simply took pleasure in each other's presence. I took the opportunity to observe him during dinner and as he drove afterwards, noting little anomalies that pervaded his everyday behavior, like how he licked his lips when he saw something he wanted, or how he constantly craved a physical connection between us, whether it was hand holding or an amusing game of footsie during dinner.

"We're here," his voice announced, causing me to lose my train of thought. Looking around, I spied the hotel a few feet away and eagerly jumped out of the passenger seat and into the cool night air. "Thank God we're finally here," I said as I walked towards the trunk.

Jericho nodded. "I may never drive again, after that trip," he admitted, opening the trunk and getting out our stuff.

"Now you see why I hate driving so much." Righting my suitcase on its wheels, I followed Jericho into the hotel lobby. There was silence again between us as we checked in, got our room keys, and walked to the elevator. As wonderful as the day had been, I found myself wanting to take off this stupid wig, take a nice hot shower, and relax. "So I guess this is it," I said out loud, trying to gauge a reaction from him. Perhaps HE didn't want this day to end, and perhaps I could be persuaded otherwise.

"I guess it is. I was wondering..." he trailed off, distracted by the elevator doors opening.

Walking inside the elevator, I hit the button for the ninth floor. "You were wondering," I prompted.

Jericho hit the button for his floor, and then turned towards me once the doors shut. "Have lunch with me tomorrow." It was more of a statement than a question, but I didn't mind.

I groaned; Thursdays was always my busiest day. Mentally going over my schedule, I decided that I could reschedule an interview for next week, freeing up an hour for a nice lunch date. "How about 1 o'clock?"

"Sounds good. I'll come pick you up at your room."

The elevator dinged, opening its doors to my floor and startling both of us. Suddenly I was not prepared to say goodnight to him so quickly; however, I forced myself to give him a quick hug and a smile. "Goodnight Chris," I said as I lugged my suitcase out of the elevator.

"Goodnight Stephy," he replied, a funny look on his face. He opened his mouth to speak, but the elevator doors closing cut off anything he would say. When they shut, I found that I already missed his presence, and laughed at myself for being silly.

My tired body reminded me of my earlier plans of a shower as I hurried to my hotel room. Lucky for my aching back and bottom, my room was only a few feet away, and I eagerly opened the door and went inside. Leaving my suitcase by the door, I dropped my room key and purse on the bureau and immediately stretched out on the queen-sized bed.

Just as I was gathering the motivation to go and unpack my shower kit, there was a knock at the door. My heart leapt in my throat, as I knew that it had to be Chris. Running a hand through my hair, I went to open the door, a smile on my face before it was fully open. "Hi," I greeted.

"Can I come in?" he asked quietly.

A bit thrown off by his tone, I stepped aside, allowing him inside before shutting the door and turning towards him. "Is something wrong?" I questioned.

He shook his head, to my relief. "I was in my hotel room, and something occurred to me." Stepping closer to me, he wound his arms around my waist, pulling me flush against him as I braced my hands on his chest.

"And wh…what would that be?" I stammered, unable to think when in such close proximity.

"Today was our second date. Granted, it was 13 hours long, and we both took naps during it, but we did eat two meals together," he explained.

Thinking it over, I had to agree that the entire day was rather date-like. There were times that it was awkward and we didn't know what to say, and there were times that we interrupted each other in passionate conversation. "Well then, Chris, I had a lovely time. Thanks for coming with me," I purred, looking up at him through my eyelashes.

"The date isn't over yet, Stephy. I didn't get my goodnight kiss." We were now inches apart, his breath coming out as warm puffs of air on my lips.

I was melting; the only thing keeping me from hitting the floor was his arms around my middle. And judging from the smirk on his face, he knew how much power he had over me in this position. Still, I resisted from ravishing his lips, choosing instead to place a small kiss on his cheek. "Goodnight Chris," I murmured as I pulled back, unable to suppress a smile.

Chris snorted, desire glinting in his blue eyes. "You call that a kiss?!" he exclaimed, licking his lips. Within seconds he had swooped down and forcing his lips on mine. There was nothing chaste about this goodnight kiss; he plundered my mouth as I desperately tried not to lose consciousness. Just when my knees were calling it quits, he grunted and broke away for air. As I tried to steady my shaky legs and take in oxygen simultaneously, he smiled down at me in triumph. "Now that's a kiss."

"I can't argue with that," I panted, his face becoming less hazy and more in focus as my body slowly remembered how to function.

He stole another small kiss, then removed his arms from around my waist. Thankfully, my legs didn't buckle beneath me as I feared would happen earlier. "I'll see you tomorrow, Stephy," he reminded, walking towards the door.

I nodded. "See you then." With a grin, he was out the door, and I swear I could hear him whistling out in the hallway. I touched my tingly lips and retreated back to my bed, still a bit dazed as to what happened.

Suddenly, I remembered the phone calls I promised to make, and reached over to grab the hotel phone. Dialing Dawn Marie's number, I impatiently waited for her to pick up her cell.

Finally, five rings later, she did. "Hello?"

"Dawnie," I said, still a bit breathless. "Are you at the hotel yet?"

"Yeah, I'm here. Are you alright?" Her voice was laced with concern. "You sound out of breath."

"Don't worry about me; just get your butt over to my room. Number 904. Oh, and call Kurt and tell him to come over too," I added as an afterthought. I still had to apologize to him about the McDonald's incident.

"I'll be right over." She paused. "Are you SURE that you're ok?"

Usually her motherly nagging would irritate me. But not after that kiss. A marching band could be performing in my hotel room and I wouldn't be irritated. "Actually, Dawn, I am. I just went on the best date of my life."

END CHAPTER TEN

Author's Notes: Ugh. This had to have been the HARDEST chapter to write so far, although I couldn't tell you why. I'm still not 100% satisfied with it, but if I read over it one more time I may go crazy :). As usual, I want to thank each and every one of you for coming back and reading, I hope I didn't disappoint y'all with this (the next chapter will be amazing, I promise! :D ). Reviews would make my day :) Take care!