TITLE: Truths and Lies.
AUTHOR: Cathie McMath.
EMAIL: penrithpanther_03@yahoo.com.au
RATING: PG-13..
CONTENT: Slight swearing, and the usual WWE violence.
SUMMARY: An unfortunate accident causes the lives of a few WWE superstars to turn upside down. Jeff, Lita, Jericho, and more.
DISCLAIMER: I do not own anyone or anything related to the WWE. Vince McMahon has that honour, and I am extremely jealous.
DISTRIBUTION: Just email me first and let me know if you want it.
FEEDBACK: I'd really like to know what you guys think of this chapter.. so review away!
~-~-~-~-~-~-~
Hospitals.
Yuck.
He really disliked them. Actually, it was more like he hated them. Despised them. Loathed them. Could not stand them. In his mind, all that hospitals were, was big, ugly buildings that smelt like disinfectant and were full of sick and injured people. And even the people in hospitals that weren't sick or injured, were troubled in some way. Angry, worried, sad, confused, scared...
He knew how they all felt.
The blonde man shifted his position in the uncomfortable armchair that was placed in the corner of the hospital room. Arching his back away from the cushioning of the chair, he rubbed it carefully. He winced softly. Sitting in that chair all night hadn't done his back much good at all.
After tending to his stiff back, he sank back into the armchair, sighing slightly as he did so. He ran a hand through his long, blonde hair as he gazed over at the two figures across the other side of the hospital room.
He took in the image of the young woman who lay on the plain hospital bed, sleeping peacefully. She was lying on her back, her bright red hair fanned out onto the white pillow underneath her head. Her breaths were steady and calm; the constant movement of the rise and fall of her chest was actually quite comforting to him. The comfort he felt watching her quickly disappeared as his eyes focused on the IV drip that lead into her skin, feeding her antibiotics.
His gaze then travelled to the man that lay beside her. He slept on the edge of the bed, his body tightly pressed against her side. His head leant against her ribcage, and his left arm rested gently on her stomach, grasping her tighter every few minutes. He could tell by the way that the sleeping man twitched and whimpered, that he was having nightmares. And who could blame him? After seeing something like that happen to someone you care about deeply... anyone would have nightmares.
Chris Jericho rubbed at his eyes wearily as he stood from the old armchair. Stretching his arms out above his head, he yawned softly. Jeff and Lita were still resting peacefully, and he didn't want to disturb them. They had both been through alot in the past few hours. Lita had suffered a serious head injury, and Jeff had suffered watching it happen.
Jericho walked out of the hospital room, and tiredly made his way down the hall towards the cafeteria. He was in desperate need of a strong cup of coffee. He didn't care if it was good or not - just as long as it was strong. He entered the food court, and made his way over to the instant coffee machine. He picked up a paper cup and filled it with steaming hot coffee. He then proceeded to grab a few packets of sugar as he paid the lady at the counter, and sat down at a nearby table. Pushing his chair towards the table, he picked up his coffee and took a small sip. Chris completed all his actions without much thought, not allowing his mind to wander too much. He'd had enough of thinking about everything that happened, and simply wanted to enjoy his coffee....
"Excuse me."
Chris held back an exhausted sigh as he turned to face the tiny voice that had interrupted his quiet time. His brow furrowed slightly as he was greeted by a small girl standing beside him. She couldn't have been any older than six, he concluded. She looked up at him with bright green eyes, her dark brown hair tied up into cute little pig tails on the side of her head.
"Yes?"
"Um, are you Chris Jericho?"
Ah. Jericho nodded to himself, it finally clicking that she was a fan that had recognised him. "Yes sweetheart, I am."
A beaming grin formed on the tiny girl's face as she looked up at him, and she reached down to grab her pink skirt, twirling it nervously. "I watch you on the television all the time." She said excitedly, her wide grin showing that she had a gap in her whites from a lost tooth. It simply added to her cuteness, Jericho decided.
"That's great. Thanks for watching." He replied, equalling her smile. "I hope you like everything I do on the television."
She shrugged her shoulders, her nervous twirling now ceased. "Sometimes."
"Sometimes?"
"I don't like it when you put Stacy in that move where you bend the other person's body."
Chris couldn't help but smirk. "Oh, she deserved it."
"My Daddy says that it's not nice to hurt girls. But my Mummy says that you're only playing, and you don't really mean it."
For the first time, Jericho realised that the little girl was standing there, talking to him, without an adult with her. He looked up, and scanned the room for her parents. Sitting at another table across the room, he found a woman and a man watching them both intently, smiles on their faces. The woman noticed that he was looking at them, and she gave him a small nod. Chris turned his attention back to the little girl.
"Well, your Mum is very clever." He paused. "What's your name?"
"Sam."
"Sam, do you want to sit down?" Jericho gestured to the free chair that sat opposite him. Sam nodded enthusiastically and rushed at the chair, hopping onto it.
"My brother needs to stay here for a little while." Sam said nonchalantly, tugging on her pig tails. "Mum says he's very sick. That's why he's losing all his hair."
Chris felt his heart drop. This little girl's brother probably had cancer. My God. The poor thing. He involuntarily shot a glance at her parents that sat across the room. Those poor people...
His thoughts were interrupted by Sam's bubbly voice. "We come here everyday to see him, and we're here for lots and lots of time. But I've never seen you here before."
Clearing his throat, Chris replied. "Yeah, I'm here looking after a friend of mine. She came in last night."
"Is she sick?"
"No, just hurt."
"What happened to her?" Sam asked, her wide eyes focused on Jericho.
Jericho sighed, finally realising that he couldn't avoid thinking about what had happened. No matter where he went, or what he tried to do, he couldn't escape the fact that Lita was seriously hurt. "She fell and hit her head. Very hard."
"Oh." Sam paused. "Is she okay?"
Chris hesitated, his eyes cast down to the floor. "I, uh, I hope so. We're not too sure yet." His shining blue eyes fell back onto the little girl, and he gave her a weak smile. "She's sleeping at the moment."
Sam nodded, her dark pig tails bouncing with the movement. "My brother sleeps alot too."
Jericho stayed silent, not knowing what else he could say to the young girl. Breaking the silence, Sam's parents approached the table, introducing themselves to the WWE superstar. After a few minutes of conversation, and signing autographs, Jericho excused himself and made his way back towards Lita's hospital room.
As he opened the door to the room, making sure he entered quietly, Chris thought about Sam and her family. He only met them for a few minutes, but he felt that they were extremely brave and amazing people. Sam's parents had confirmed that her brother, Todd, did have cancer. He had Leukaemia, and he was nine years old.
Jericho closed the door softly, and turned around. He was startled by the sight of the redheaded diva sitting up in her bed, staring at the young Hardy brother laying on her bed. He smiled warmly, loving the bubbly feeling that rose in his stomach as he saw her awake, and healthy. Granted, she looked a little dazed, but that was to be expected, right?
"Lita." He said heartily, stepping towards the bed with a wide grin on his face and his eyes twinkling. "It's so good to see you awake. How are you feeling honey?"
Lita threw her gaze to the blonde haired man, a confused look gracing her pretty face. "I -- " She looked back down at the still sleeping Jeff, who was still clutching onto her. "What is he doing?"
Jericho waved his hand, dismissing her question airily. "Oh, he was just worried about you. He said he wanted to be as close to you as possible." He laughed softly. "He didn't crush you too much, did he?"
"No.." She replied weakly. Her eyes were filled with a bewildered look as she flicked her gaze from Jericho, to Jeff, and then back to Jericho again. "Who is he?"
Chris froze. "Who is he?" He felt his heart drop, and his knees grow weak. Dr Hart mentioned some memory loss, didn't he? But when he said 'memory loss', Jericho assumed it would be about the accident, or something like that. How could she possibly forget who Jeff was? "Lita, that's Jeff."
The blank look that entered her eyes caused Jericho's heart to pound fiercely. "Jeff Hardy. Your best friend? The guy you've teamed with for the past three years?" His voice rose heavily, each word stressed as the panic rose inside of him. "Don't you remember?"
A frown sitting on her face, she shook her head slowly. "No..."
Chris felt his organs roll around inside of him. How could this be happening? The trauma must've been pretty bad if Lita couldn't even remember Jeff! My God! How would Jeff feel once he woke up, knowing that Lita - his best friend - can't remember him? Jericho ran through all the horrible consequences of this discovery, when Lita's small, afraid voice broke in.
".. and I don't know who you are, either."
AUTHOR: Cathie McMath.
EMAIL: penrithpanther_03@yahoo.com.au
RATING: PG-13..
CONTENT: Slight swearing, and the usual WWE violence.
SUMMARY: An unfortunate accident causes the lives of a few WWE superstars to turn upside down. Jeff, Lita, Jericho, and more.
DISCLAIMER: I do not own anyone or anything related to the WWE. Vince McMahon has that honour, and I am extremely jealous.
DISTRIBUTION: Just email me first and let me know if you want it.
FEEDBACK: I'd really like to know what you guys think of this chapter.. so review away!
~-~-~-~-~-~-~
Hospitals.
Yuck.
He really disliked them. Actually, it was more like he hated them. Despised them. Loathed them. Could not stand them. In his mind, all that hospitals were, was big, ugly buildings that smelt like disinfectant and were full of sick and injured people. And even the people in hospitals that weren't sick or injured, were troubled in some way. Angry, worried, sad, confused, scared...
He knew how they all felt.
The blonde man shifted his position in the uncomfortable armchair that was placed in the corner of the hospital room. Arching his back away from the cushioning of the chair, he rubbed it carefully. He winced softly. Sitting in that chair all night hadn't done his back much good at all.
After tending to his stiff back, he sank back into the armchair, sighing slightly as he did so. He ran a hand through his long, blonde hair as he gazed over at the two figures across the other side of the hospital room.
He took in the image of the young woman who lay on the plain hospital bed, sleeping peacefully. She was lying on her back, her bright red hair fanned out onto the white pillow underneath her head. Her breaths were steady and calm; the constant movement of the rise and fall of her chest was actually quite comforting to him. The comfort he felt watching her quickly disappeared as his eyes focused on the IV drip that lead into her skin, feeding her antibiotics.
His gaze then travelled to the man that lay beside her. He slept on the edge of the bed, his body tightly pressed against her side. His head leant against her ribcage, and his left arm rested gently on her stomach, grasping her tighter every few minutes. He could tell by the way that the sleeping man twitched and whimpered, that he was having nightmares. And who could blame him? After seeing something like that happen to someone you care about deeply... anyone would have nightmares.
Chris Jericho rubbed at his eyes wearily as he stood from the old armchair. Stretching his arms out above his head, he yawned softly. Jeff and Lita were still resting peacefully, and he didn't want to disturb them. They had both been through alot in the past few hours. Lita had suffered a serious head injury, and Jeff had suffered watching it happen.
Jericho walked out of the hospital room, and tiredly made his way down the hall towards the cafeteria. He was in desperate need of a strong cup of coffee. He didn't care if it was good or not - just as long as it was strong. He entered the food court, and made his way over to the instant coffee machine. He picked up a paper cup and filled it with steaming hot coffee. He then proceeded to grab a few packets of sugar as he paid the lady at the counter, and sat down at a nearby table. Pushing his chair towards the table, he picked up his coffee and took a small sip. Chris completed all his actions without much thought, not allowing his mind to wander too much. He'd had enough of thinking about everything that happened, and simply wanted to enjoy his coffee....
"Excuse me."
Chris held back an exhausted sigh as he turned to face the tiny voice that had interrupted his quiet time. His brow furrowed slightly as he was greeted by a small girl standing beside him. She couldn't have been any older than six, he concluded. She looked up at him with bright green eyes, her dark brown hair tied up into cute little pig tails on the side of her head.
"Yes?"
"Um, are you Chris Jericho?"
Ah. Jericho nodded to himself, it finally clicking that she was a fan that had recognised him. "Yes sweetheart, I am."
A beaming grin formed on the tiny girl's face as she looked up at him, and she reached down to grab her pink skirt, twirling it nervously. "I watch you on the television all the time." She said excitedly, her wide grin showing that she had a gap in her whites from a lost tooth. It simply added to her cuteness, Jericho decided.
"That's great. Thanks for watching." He replied, equalling her smile. "I hope you like everything I do on the television."
She shrugged her shoulders, her nervous twirling now ceased. "Sometimes."
"Sometimes?"
"I don't like it when you put Stacy in that move where you bend the other person's body."
Chris couldn't help but smirk. "Oh, she deserved it."
"My Daddy says that it's not nice to hurt girls. But my Mummy says that you're only playing, and you don't really mean it."
For the first time, Jericho realised that the little girl was standing there, talking to him, without an adult with her. He looked up, and scanned the room for her parents. Sitting at another table across the room, he found a woman and a man watching them both intently, smiles on their faces. The woman noticed that he was looking at them, and she gave him a small nod. Chris turned his attention back to the little girl.
"Well, your Mum is very clever." He paused. "What's your name?"
"Sam."
"Sam, do you want to sit down?" Jericho gestured to the free chair that sat opposite him. Sam nodded enthusiastically and rushed at the chair, hopping onto it.
"My brother needs to stay here for a little while." Sam said nonchalantly, tugging on her pig tails. "Mum says he's very sick. That's why he's losing all his hair."
Chris felt his heart drop. This little girl's brother probably had cancer. My God. The poor thing. He involuntarily shot a glance at her parents that sat across the room. Those poor people...
His thoughts were interrupted by Sam's bubbly voice. "We come here everyday to see him, and we're here for lots and lots of time. But I've never seen you here before."
Clearing his throat, Chris replied. "Yeah, I'm here looking after a friend of mine. She came in last night."
"Is she sick?"
"No, just hurt."
"What happened to her?" Sam asked, her wide eyes focused on Jericho.
Jericho sighed, finally realising that he couldn't avoid thinking about what had happened. No matter where he went, or what he tried to do, he couldn't escape the fact that Lita was seriously hurt. "She fell and hit her head. Very hard."
"Oh." Sam paused. "Is she okay?"
Chris hesitated, his eyes cast down to the floor. "I, uh, I hope so. We're not too sure yet." His shining blue eyes fell back onto the little girl, and he gave her a weak smile. "She's sleeping at the moment."
Sam nodded, her dark pig tails bouncing with the movement. "My brother sleeps alot too."
Jericho stayed silent, not knowing what else he could say to the young girl. Breaking the silence, Sam's parents approached the table, introducing themselves to the WWE superstar. After a few minutes of conversation, and signing autographs, Jericho excused himself and made his way back towards Lita's hospital room.
As he opened the door to the room, making sure he entered quietly, Chris thought about Sam and her family. He only met them for a few minutes, but he felt that they were extremely brave and amazing people. Sam's parents had confirmed that her brother, Todd, did have cancer. He had Leukaemia, and he was nine years old.
Jericho closed the door softly, and turned around. He was startled by the sight of the redheaded diva sitting up in her bed, staring at the young Hardy brother laying on her bed. He smiled warmly, loving the bubbly feeling that rose in his stomach as he saw her awake, and healthy. Granted, she looked a little dazed, but that was to be expected, right?
"Lita." He said heartily, stepping towards the bed with a wide grin on his face and his eyes twinkling. "It's so good to see you awake. How are you feeling honey?"
Lita threw her gaze to the blonde haired man, a confused look gracing her pretty face. "I -- " She looked back down at the still sleeping Jeff, who was still clutching onto her. "What is he doing?"
Jericho waved his hand, dismissing her question airily. "Oh, he was just worried about you. He said he wanted to be as close to you as possible." He laughed softly. "He didn't crush you too much, did he?"
"No.." She replied weakly. Her eyes were filled with a bewildered look as she flicked her gaze from Jericho, to Jeff, and then back to Jericho again. "Who is he?"
Chris froze. "Who is he?" He felt his heart drop, and his knees grow weak. Dr Hart mentioned some memory loss, didn't he? But when he said 'memory loss', Jericho assumed it would be about the accident, or something like that. How could she possibly forget who Jeff was? "Lita, that's Jeff."
The blank look that entered her eyes caused Jericho's heart to pound fiercely. "Jeff Hardy. Your best friend? The guy you've teamed with for the past three years?" His voice rose heavily, each word stressed as the panic rose inside of him. "Don't you remember?"
A frown sitting on her face, she shook her head slowly. "No..."
Chris felt his organs roll around inside of him. How could this be happening? The trauma must've been pretty bad if Lita couldn't even remember Jeff! My God! How would Jeff feel once he woke up, knowing that Lita - his best friend - can't remember him? Jericho ran through all the horrible consequences of this discovery, when Lita's small, afraid voice broke in.
".. and I don't know who you are, either."