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Chapter Sixteen
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After resting in her father's dressing room for a few moments, Tess unzipped her gym bag and took her gear and clothing out. She walked into the showers and slipped on her elbow and knee pads, a tight, white cropped tank top, loose pants, and her wrestling boots. She grabbed a bottle of water and walked out of the dressing room, towards the room set up with a practice ring and work-out equipment. She spotted her father, along with a few other wrestlers she knew very well. Then her gaze wandered to the ring....where Dawn Marie was leaning against the ropes. Walking over, she reached up and tapped the woman on the leg. Dawn Marie's gaze shifted off of Rob, who was on the other side of the room, to Tess.
"What?" She snapped.
"Want a practice match?" Tess asked, grinning. Dawn Marie stood up and turned around, facing her, with her arms crossed over her chest.
"Are you prepared to get your ass beat, little girl?" She asked with a smirk. Tess just grinned and got into the ring. The two women faced each other before they locked up in the middle of the ring. Tess planted her feet firmly and shoved Dawn Marie, who fell back into the ropes. Dawn Marie quickly bounced back and grabbed Tess around the legs, knocking her to the mat. Tess knew that this wasn't going to be anything like a wrestling match, and she really didn't care. She kicked at Dawn Marie, causing her to let go ofher legs. Tess crawled over to her and grabbed a hand full of her hair, jerking her head up.
"So, who's getting their ass beat?" Tess hissed before driving her face into the mat. Dawn Marie began flailing around and managed to smack Tess. Tess let go of her hair and Dawn Marie lunged at her. The two began rolling around, trying to hurt the other in any way possible.
"I'm going to kill you, you stupid bitch!" Dawn Marie yelled. Tess screamed in frustration as the two continued to fight. All of a sudden, Tess felt arms around her midsection. She was jerked off of Dawn Marie, and she could see Dawn Marie being jerked backwards, too.
"Let me go! Let me go!" Tess screamed, trying to wiggle out of her captor's grip. She turned around and saw that it was Chris. He got her out of the ring and picked her up, carrying her out of training room and into his dressing room.
"Tess, what's gotten into you?" He asked, sitting her down. Tess glared at him, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Her stupid boyfriend told the press I have cancer." She snapped, pouting like a small child. Chris shook his head and sat down beside her, taking one of her hands in his.
"I know it's tough...." Chris started. "But sometimes things leak in the WWE. You have to take thebad with the good." He told her. She sat back, contemplating his words for a moment, before nodding.
"Yeah, I guess you're right. I still wanted to kick her ass, though." Tess pouted.
"I know sweetheart, I know." Chris said.
"Are you sure I can't?" She asked with a sly grin.
"Nope. It surely couldn't be good for you." Chris said. Completely unexpected to him, Tess turned to him with a glare.
"Thanks for that Chris, now I know you think I'm a piece of glass." She spat. Chris's eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
"What are you talking about?" He asked, the confusion evident in his voice. "I was just looking out for you. I don't want you to get hurt." He said.
"This is all because I have cancer, isn't it?" She asked.
"No! I care about you, Tess! I know that you haven't trained in a while, and Dawn Marie has been training non-stop lately." He told her with sincerity. She looked at him, an eyebrow raised, before nodding and sitting back.
"I guess you're right." She said sullenly.
"Don't worry, you'll get your shot at her eventually." Chris grinned. Tess returned the grin before standing up and stretching.
"It's been way too long since the last time I worked out." She said.
"Well, if you want to go back in the ring for an honest work out, not an ass kicking, then I'll go in there with you." Chris said.
"Alright. The doctors told me it'd be a good idea to go ahead with my daily routine anyways, they say it'll help fight the cancer cells if I stay active and healthy." She told him.
"How has the chemo been going?" Chris asked in a softer tone. Tess looked at him, offering him a small smile.
"It's been going good. I've been reacting well to it." She said. "I have another treatment tomorrow at three."
"I'll come with you." Chris said. Tess smiled.
"I'd appreciate it." She said. He nodded with a smile.
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The next day, Chris, Tess, and Mark all sat in a secluded room of the local hospital. Tess already had on a hospital gown, and was laying in the bed, by the time a nurse came into the room.
"Now, you've gone through treatments before, correct?" The woman asked. She had an extremely nasaly voice. Tess nodded.
"Yes, ma'am." She replied.
"Alright. I'll just hook you up with the IV and it'll be just like the treatments you had before." The nurse said, before sticking the needle in the back of Tess's hand. She winced slightly as the medicine began pumping into her bloodstream, but after a minute, she relaxed and closed her eyes. She felt Chris take her other hand in his, rubbing the back of it soothingly. Relaxing more, she felt herself begin to drift off.
"Tess," She heard what she thought to be a few moments later. "Wake up." She blinked her light green eyes open. Chris was leaning over her, smiling slightly.
"You fell asleep, hun." He said. "Your treatment is done." She sat up, and almost instantly, a wave of nausea swept over her. She quickly moved from the bed to the bathroom that was connected to the room and threw herself in front of the toilet. She began coughing, and after a moment, felt two hands pull her hair back away from her face. After a few minutes, she felt the nasuea pass.
"Here, I'll get you a-" Chris started.
"What?" Tess asked, turning around to face him. Her eyes widened and her mouth dropped open as she looked down at his hands. In them were two handfulls of Tess's dark brown hair. She reached a hand up and ran it through her hair. When she pulled it back, long strings of her hair were wrapped around her fingers.
"Oh, Tess..." Chris said, sitting the hair down on the floor beside them. Tess took a deep breath and shook her head.
"It's alright." She said. "I knew that it would probably come to this. Besides, it's just hair, right? It'll grow back once I go into remission." She smiled positively. Chris returned the smile.
"Absoultely." He told her. Tess nodded and stood up, splashing some cold water from the sink on her face before walking back into the room where here dad was sitting. She changed back into her jeans and t-shirt, laying the gown on the bed.
"Ready to go?" Mark asked.
"Yup. Oh, my hair, it's started to come out." She told him nonchalantely.
"Oh..." Mark said, not really knowng how to respond to it.
"I have an idea of what I want to do with it, though." Tess said as a smile creeped across her face. Mark quirked an eyebrow, as did Chris.
"C'mon," She said, motioning for them to follow her. "I'll tell you two in the car."
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