Chapter 4

"I wonder if she'll call me. I actually liked her," Riley said as he entered Chris's locker room. Stephanie was a very likable person...

"Who?" Chris asked. He was still sitting on the couch, but he was in his ring attire. He had a match coming up soon.

"Oh, just this woman I was talking to," Riley said, deciding he couldn't possibly tell his brother who he was talking about. He'd freak out!

"Does this woman have a name?" Chris asked.

"Yes, but I'll just be keeping it to myself," Riley replied. He looked at his watch. "Now don't you have a match?"

"Yep," Chris answered. "Oh yeah, did you get my lawyer to look over that contract Vince gave you?"

"He's coming by tomorrow. We're going to meet up and then I'm going to sign it," Riley answered. "It's going to be interesting having to come up in your shadow here."

"In my shadow?" Chris scoffed. "Right."

"You still have loyal Jerichoholics here, you know?" Riley asked. "Your fan base hasn't completely diminished."

"Or so you say. Still, I love it here, and I'm sure you will, too," Chris said. He looked at the clock over on the wall. "Hey, I have to be out there in a while, so I'm gonna get out of here."

"Going to the ring already?" Riley asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Nope, I have to make a stop somewhere first," Chris said mysteriously. "I'll see you after my match."

"Ok."

Chris left the locker room and made a beeline for Stephanie's office. He had to apologize. Riley had been right. If Stephanie is hurt and crying right now, it's all my fault, he thought. All my fault. And he knew that with his conscience, he wouldn't be able to put his all into his match against Edge until he made things right with Stephanie.

He knocked timidly on her office door, tracing the name "Stephanie McMahon" on the nameplate on the door. It was in gold letters, and it lacked the name "Levesque" on the end, making Chris feel better than he had in years.

"Come in," Stephanie called from inside.

Chris walked into the room and was met with a dazzling smile from Stephanie. "Back so soon?" she asked.

"Huh? What are you talking about, Steph?" he asked, scratching his head.

"Oh, um..." She realized her mistake, noticing that he had no goatee or tattoo. "I meant, you're back so soon to see me after telling me to talk to the door?"

"Yeah, about that... I'm sorry," he said quietly. "You've got to realize how completely shocked I was when I opened the door and found you standing there."

"I totally understand, Chris," she said, standing up. "I hadn't talked to you in two whole years so I don't know why I expected to be welcomed back into your life with a warm hug."

"You can have the hug if you forgive me for acting like an assclown," he said with a half-smile.

"I forgive you, Chris," she said, and she was in his arms in a second.

She hugged him as tight as she could, having been deprived of his hugs for much too long. Everything just felt so familiar. She felt the same sense of security in his arms that she'd always felt with him. Like nothing bad could ever happen to her. She closed her eyes and smiled as she remembered times in the past when he had held her against him just like this for what seemed like forever, times when she could feel his heart beating fast because he was so excited to be so close to her...

He hugged her tight and closed his eyes as memories of times in the past when he had held her this way flooded his thoughts. She still felt so good in his arms... It was like, once again, she was his to comfort, his to protect from the dangers of the world. A feeling of familiarity washed over him, and he grinned, sniffing her hair. Yep, it still smelled the same...

"Friends?" she asked, pulling back and looking at his lips.

Friends? he thought wildly. She just wants to be friends?

She pursed her lips, hands on his arms. "Friends?" she repeated.

"Yeah, friends," he agreed, trying to smile.

"Cool." She leaned up... He looked at her, cut her with his piercing blue eyes. She kissed him softly on the cheek, letting her lips linger, then looked at her watch. "You have a match, correct?"

"Right. The match." He looked at her. The place on his cheek where she had kissed him was burning from her touch. She could still ignite the fires within him with a simple touch...

"Good luck," she said to him, sitting back down at her desk.

"Thanks," he said. He leaned down and pressed his lips to her forehead, returning the kiss. "I'm gonna go kick some butt for my Jerichoholics... Well, for the few I have left." He headed for the door.

"If it makes you feel any better, I'm still a Jerichoholic," she called after him.

They shared a knowing look, and then he was gone.

She smiled after he left, feeling ten times better. Then she looked down at the sticky note with Riley's number on it. "I'll never call it," she said aloud, but she put it in her purse anyway. Then she flipped on the TV to watch Chris's match...