Thanks to PhoenixSatori and Coors1977 for the reviews on the chapter before last...I really do appreciate the feedback from everybody. It's a lot of fun writing these stories and it's nice to know that others are enjoying them also.

Anyway, enough of that, on with this chapter... :o)

It was after eleven and Shane, Jeff and Rhiannon were in her small hotel room, chatting about the day's events, eating junk food and trying to unwind. Jeff had been proudly boasting to Shane about what Brian had planned for Rhiannon and how everyone was saying that she could be "the Next Big Thing" in women's wrestling. Unaccustomed to such praise, Rhiannon was visibly embarrassed about the whole thing and kept hitting Jeff between the eyes with various pieces of food whenever she felt he was getting carried away...Until he started telling Shane about the Sadist character. At that point she had glowered at him and stalked into the small kitchenette, muttering something under her breath that the guys couldn't quite catch.

"The Sadist?" Shane stared up at Rhiannon, bemused, as she returned with three cans of soda. "What did you do? Chain people up and torture them into submission?" He asked with a grin and Rhian gave him a flat, unfriendly stare and seemed about to retort when Jeff jumped in again.

"Don't laugh Shane. They had to drop the character after a month 'cause everyone was too scared to work with her. Apparently there was something creepy about the way she looked at them when she was in character. But personally, I think Rhiannon herself is scarier than any "Sadist" when she's in one of her moods!" Jeff informed Shane, unable to keep the amusement out of his voice and Rhiannon grimaced, throwing the piece of candy she had been about to eat at him. "Will you quit that!" Jeff pouted as he rubbed his forehead where the candy had hit. "I'm just telling it as I see it."

"Well, I'm sure Shane will be able to judge it for himself when I finally reprise the character. I was hoping to put the whole Sadist thing behind me, but apparently that won't be happening now." Rhian admitted wryly and leaned back into the couch, taking another handful of sweets. "So, what's the plan Hurricane? Got anything in mind about our storyline?" She turned her attention to Shane, hoping that he had some ideas. It was late and she wanted to get some sleep.

"I don't know, I think the writers have really pretty much covered most of it, but I really think that we should get in the ring soon and maybe spar a bit, just so that we get to learn each other's styles and things flow smoothly when we work together." Shane replied hopefully and was relieved when Rhiannon nodded her head enthusiastically.

"Oh, absolutely. I guess that's a given, we'll just have to work out times and such." She paused for a minute, looking slightly thoughtful. "But I have to admit, I'm a bit confused. The writers seem to be so caught up in the Sadist character that they've neglected to tell me how this "Gypsy" is supposed to work. I don't even know if they've really thought about it. I think I'll have to work most of that character out on my own."

"Why worry? You've never had a problem with character development before. It seems to be one of your strongest points." Jeff piped up with a shrug, making Rhiannon smile.

"That's not what I'm concerned about. If Shane and I are going to be working so closely together, we're going to have to figure out how our characters are going to interact with each other. Since Gypsy comes first, doesn't it make sense for me to have that character figured out before we start working on ideas?"

"Oh. I see your point." Jeff frowned, looking pensively at the soda sitting in front of him, his face twisted in concentration.

"Maybe she could be completely opposite to the Sadist." Rhiannon mused to Shane, knowing that in his current state, Jeff wouldn't be listening to a word she said. "That way, it'll be more of a shock when she changes."

All of a sudden a loud ringtone sounded in the room, making all three almost jump out of their skin. Recognising the ring, Jeff sprang up from his seat on the floor and spent a few moments fumbling around his baggy jeans pocket for his phone. A smile spread over his face as he recognised the caller and he looked up at his friends.

"It's Kylie. I'm gonna take this to my room. Night!"

For a few minutes after Jeff had gone, Shane and Rhiannon sat silently. Rhiannon was considering what to do with this character, but Shane was quiet for another reason. This was the first time he'd ever been alone with Rhiannon and as much as he'd tried to deny it to himself, and Jeff, Rhiannon had been driving him to distraction. And watching her now, he felt a strange fluttering in his stomach, as he did every time she was near. The way her emerald eyes were staring into space, as though she was searching for something that no one else could see made Shane wish that he could read her mind. A small smile played on her lips and she absently tucked a strand of strawberry blonde hair behind her ear and he kept catching the sweet, subtle scent of the perfume she wore; it was intoxicating. He just wished that he had a reason to move closer...

At that moment there was an insistent knocking at the door, which stunned them both out of their respective reveries. Rhiannon glanced at Shane apologetically and rose to answer it. His heart sank suddenly as he saw the man on the other side of the door towering above Rhiannon.

"What are you doing here?" Rhiannon smiled happily as she looked up at the face of her new flame, Kevin Fertig. He was supposed to be in Kentucky until late next week, so Rhian was shocked to see him.

"I wanted to surprise you." He replied gruffly, his eyes moving slowly, almost accusingly, from Rhiannon to Shane, who was looking decidedly nervous.

"Oh lord," Rhiannon rolled her eyes and took Kevin's hand, dragging him into the room and closing the door. "Shane and I are going to be working together and this is the only time we could organise to talk about our storyline." She explained with an easy smile. "You two have met, right?" Shane nodded carefully, forcing a smile onto his face as he held a hand out to greet the hostile man in front of him.

"Kevin, good to see you again." Kevin's eyes narrowed slightly, as if he were measuring up whether Shane was being sincere, before he finally took the hand being offered and nodded curtly.

"You too." He replied, not sounding all that enthusiastic. It wasn't that Kevin didn't trust Rhiannon; he just didn't like the fact that she had another man in her hotel room at a quarter to midnight.

After a few moments of nervous silence, Rhiannon decided to put them all out of their misery.

"Look, Shane, Kevin and I have a lot to catch up on. What do you say we wing it for now? I still need to put some more thought into my character anyway." She looked at Shane pleadingly, hoping that he wouldn't mind too much. Rhiannon felt bad just leaving him in the lurch like that, but Kevin was obviously not impressed and she desperately wanted to smooth things over before she collapsed with exhaustion.

"Alright, Rhian...just let me know when you've figured out what you're doing. And don't forget that we need to work out a time to get together in the ring so we can practice." He smiled wearily, making his way towards the door, feeling a bit dejected. "Have a good night guys."

Rhiannon quickly glanced at Kevin, silently begging him to be patient just a little longer, and followed Shane to the door.

"I am sorry Shane, but he gets jealous, you know?" She whispered so that even he could hardly hear her, then raised her voice back to its normal level as she continued. "We will work this out, I promise. But I need you to promise me one thing."

"And what would that be?" He asked, concerned by the panicked look on Rhiannon's face.

"Well, um, it must be kind of obvious that Kevin and I are...uh...seeing each other." She said hesitantly, seeming a bit embarrassed and Shane's eyes widened; he'd forgotten that he wasn't supposed to know about that. Thank god he hadn't put his foot in it. Jeff would really have been in trouble then!

'Uh, well..."

"It's just we're trying to keep the whole thing low key, you know?" She told him nervously, her eyes lowered to the ground, and Shane had the momentary impulse to reach out and lift up Rhian's face up so that he could look into her deep, emerald eyes. Luckily he curbed the impulse before it really took hold, since Kevin was watching them like a hawk.

"I won't tell anyone Rhian. I swear." He told her sincerely and she finally looked up at him with a relieved smile.

"Thank you."

Shane left without further incident and as Rhiannon shut the door behind him, she turned to Kevin, her eyes narrowed.

"Are we going to argue about this?" She asked ominously and Kevin raised an eyebrow.

"About what?" He asked mildly, taking a seat on the end of Rhiannon's double bed.

"Shane and I are working together. And he's my friend. I don't appreciate you coming into my living space and making my friends feel uncomfortable." Kevin's eyes flashed suddenly as he stood up again.

"Well I'm sorry, but how do you think I feel coming to surprise my girlfriend in her hotel room - in the middle of the night - and finding some other guy in here, Rhiannon?" He snapped and a shocked growl escaped Rhiannon's throat.

"What have I ever done to make you distrust me, Kevin? What?" She looked so hurt that any angry words or thoughts Kevin had died on his tongue.

"It's not you I don't trust." Kevin told her, his expression softening and seeing Rhiannon raise an eyebrow, a sheepish grin formed on his lips. "I just know what some of these guys are like." She felt a twinge of annoyance at his inference and placed her hands on her hips.

"Shane is nothing like that, he's my friend. And as for those other guys, I can take care of myself." Rhiannon informed Kevin huffily and he had to fight to keep a straight face; they'd had this argument many time and he knew she was right, but it didn't stop him worrying anyway.

"Oh Rhian, you should know by now that it's not you I'm worried about. If you start maiming half the locker room and people find out we're together I'm the one who's going to cop it." Rhiannon couldn't help the smile that formed on her lips as Kevin sat back down on the bed. "I'm sorry Rhiannon, I was stupid." He shrugged with an apologetic smile and Rhiannon dropped her hands to her sides as she slowly made her way over to the bed.

"Yes, you were." She agreed slowly, her expression still somewhat amused as he reached out and pulled her close to him.

"Can you forgive me?" Kevin asked huskily as Rhiannon climbed onto the bed with him, straddling his lap. She reached up softly traced a finger down the side of his face and down his neck until she reached the collar of his shirt.

"That all depends." She replied, slightly pouting as a smile tugged on the corners of his lips.

"On what?" A mischievous glint suddenly appeared in Rhiannon's eyes and she wrapped her legs tightly around his waist and examining his new white-blonde hair as if she had only just noticed it.

"Well, I'll only forgive you if you promise me you'll un-bleach your eyebrows as soon as possible. They're really starting to freak me out."

Well, there's Kevin for you. Hope you're not too disappointed. lol

As always, please review, and hopefully I will be able to update soon.

Take care! :o)