The Ferris Wheel

"Do you have any idea what your dad was thinking when he set this up?" Chris asked, hands shoved in the pockets of his leather jacket.

"Yes, the usual," Steph said in a low voice. "Torture." She was sad. Their conversations always started off about her dad and how crazy he was with his wacky schemes. She agreed, but for once could they start off another way?

Chris remained silent as they walked side by side. It was a cold night, and Vince McMahon had ordered them to go to the huge county fair. He was glad to be able to spend some quality time with Steph and he wondered if she felt the same way...

Ever since their whole deal with promoting the new "Bedrock" line at Twizted Dezignz... Ever since that night when they had both said those three words to each other... Things just hadn't been the same. They had both just pretended that they hadn't said those three words to each other, both intent on forgetting. Saying those words had just made things horribly complicated, so they had both chosen to deny it all and forget. But, in the back of their minds, neither one could really forget about it...

"Oh, Chris, let's go on the carousel!" Steph said, excited. Her sadness was quickly forgotten when she spotted the carousel a few feet away.

"With the ponies?" Chris asked incredulously.

"Yes, come on," she said. She placed her hand in his and led him over to the carousel, despite his heavy protesting, and pretty soon they were riding around on matching fake ponies on the carousel. The ponies were going up and down periodically. "The look on your face is priceless," she said with a small laugh.

"Laugh it up, sweetie," he said with a grin. "Laugh it up."

"You don't have to tell me twice," she said, then laughed even more.

"You won't be laughing so much when we're in the bumper cars next," he said. Her laughter slowly died as he went on. "I'm going to bang you hard every chance that I get." She raised her eyebrow at him. "And I mean that any way you wanna take it."

They finished the carousel ride in a sedated silence. When they got off the carousel, Chris led the way to the bumper cars. He got in one bumper car and Stephanie got in another one nearby.

"Think you can keep up with me, Princess?" he asked her before they got started.

"Maybe I should be asking you that question," she said, then took off going as fast as her little car could go. She bumped into him so hard that they both bounced backwards.

"You'll pay dearly for that, Little Miss Stephanie," he promised, an evil grin showing up on his even features. "You will pay." And then he took off at full speed, chasing her around the place in his bumper car.

"You'll never catch me, blondie!" she yelled, wittily maneuvering her car around the space that was before her. "I'm too fast for you!"

"You think so?" he asked.

"I know so," she replied.

"You know, you're probably right," he admitted.

She stopped where she was. "What? You're admitting that you're wrong about something?"

"Never!" he exclaimed, then slammed into her car as hard as he could. "Got you!"

"Loser!" she snarled, and took off after him as fast as she could go. "You wait until I get my hands on you!"

"What are you going to do?" he taunted. "Cop a feel?"

"Probably," she admitted, causing him to stop moving this time.

"Seriously?" he asked, looking at her. "Because I was just kidding."

"So was I!" she said, ramming into his car and causing it to start moving again. She smiled triumphantly at the look of surprise on his face.

"I'm gonna get you, Stephanie," he said. A determined look washed over his face as he started chasing after her yet again...

"Tired, Chrissy-baby?" Stephanie asked a short while later. They were done playing around with the bumper cars. He was leaning against the wall, breathing fast.

"When did you get the ability to wear me out?" he asked breathlessly.

"What can I say? I'm just that damn good!" she exclaimed, sounding so much like her husband.

This did not go by without catching his attention. He looked up at her sharply. "Quoting your husband these days, I see," he said in a low voice.

"Did I?" she asked. She thought back to what she had said a minute before. "Oh," she said. "Sorry."

"No, it's cool," he said with a sigh. "So where to next?"

"Your choice," she replied.

"But I chose the bumper cars, so it's your turn," he pointed out.

"I want to go on the Ferris Wheel, but can we please save that for last?" she asked.

"Sure. Since you don't want to pick, I have an idea of what we should do next," he said.

"What?" she asked curiously.

"Come on," he said mysteriously, taking her hand and leading her over to the first booth he saw. He pointed at a wall full of teddy bears. "Which one do you want me to win for you, Princess? That one?" He pointed at the biggest one of all.

"How about that one?" she asked, pointing over to a cute little brown bear with startling blue eyes.

"Sure," he said. He had to play a weird little game where he had to shoot down some ducks that were moving on the wall. Not surprisingly, he shot down all the ducks. He had great aim.

"Which one do you want?" the man behind the booth asked Stephanie.

"That one," she said, pointing at the bear she had pointed out to Chris a short time before. The man handed her the teddy bear and she hugged it. "Thanks, Chris," she said, and hugged him, too.

"Um, you're welcome," he replied, hugging her back. "But out of curiosity, why'd you choose that particular one?"

"It has your eyes," she replied, pulling back. "Come on, let's go get something to eat."

They went and had something quick to eat, and the next thing they knew, they were in line to get into the Haunted House.

"Think this is gonna be scary?" Stephanie asked, clutching the bear Chris had won for her, which she had affectionately named Keith (his middle name).

"No way," Chris scoffed. "Everything's fake."

"That man's looking at us weird," she said, nodding her head toward the entrance.

Chris looked over at the man. He was wearing all black. He had on shades and a hat, and though he looked vaguely familiar, Chris couldn't figure out just who he resembled. "He probably just recognizes us from TV or something."

"I don't know," she said, sounding a little worried. "Isn't it weird that he's wearing shades and it's not even sunny out?"

He put an arm around her. "Just chill out. You worry too much!"

Pretty soon, they were sitting side by side in a seat made for two. The seat began to move forward as the tour of the house began. Stephanie clutched Keith tightly to her. Chris put his arm around her to comfort her and held her hand with his free hand.

"What are you so scared of?" he whispered into her ear.

"Everything," she admitted. "And I don't know why."

"There's nothing to be scared of... Well, except maybe that," he said, pointing over at something near her.

She glanced over in the direction he had pointed and screamed. "Tell me that isn't real!"

"It's fake," he assured her. He leaned over to touch the huge, hairy spider that had dropped down on her shoulder. "See?"

"Right," she said, feeling stupid. "Of course it's fake. There's no way a spider could be that big." But the feeling of the spider on her shoulder, no matter how fake it was, still creeped her out, and she found herself leaning closer to him.

"Oh, check that out," he said in an amazed voice. "A headless wrestler display. Now what are the odds of seeing one of those at a normal county fair?"

"Pretty high if it's one my dad sends us to," she said, looking over at the display. "Hey, whose body is that?"

He looked over at where she was pointing. "Looks like my body. Can't you tell?"

"I already knew that was your body. I was talking about the one sitting on your lap," she said, rolling her eyes. "Pinch me if that's not my body."

He grinned. "Yeah, that's your body... On top of mine..."

"What the hell is this?" she asked when the bodies started moving and their ride stopped.

"I don't know," he said, watching the bodies with interest. "But those replicas of our bodies have the right idea."

She looked over at him and saw the devilish glint in his eye. "What do you have in mind, Chris?"

"Oh, I'm sure you already know," he answered with a smirk. "This ride isn't going anywhere, we're alone, two mannequins over there are doing the nasty... What do you think I have in mind?"

She licked her lips and smiled. "I think I know..."

He pressed his lips against hers and no more words were spoken...

Quite a while later, their seats started to move again, taking them on a very fast tour of the rest of the place. They ended up where they had started soon afterwards. They stepped back out into the night and both smiled and welcomed the cool air since they were both so very hot.

"I think we have time for just one more ride," Chris said, looking her over to make sure all her clothes were in place.

"One more ride? So that last ride I took on you back there wasn't enough?" Stephanie asked, looking him over as well. She clutched Keith in her arms and smiled up at Chris.

"You know I'll never get enough of you," he said. "But seriously, I think we have time for only one more ride. Didn't you say you wanted to go on the Ferris Wheel?"

"Absolutely. Let's do it," she said, grabbing his hand and starting to lead him over to the Ferris Wheel.

"I think we did just do it," he said. He looked at her. "I wonder why our seats just happened to stop in that particular room?"

"I wonder why no one else was in there with us?" she countered.

"I'm willing to bet that your dad played a distinct role in this. He's always doing stuff to torture us," he said, but he didn't sound angry about it.

"It's nearly deserted," she said quietly, looking around the place when they reached the Ferris Wheel. There were only a few other people milling about. In all truth, it had gotten even colder than it had been when they'd first arrived. The temperature had dropped a couple degrees, but those few degrees had made a definite difference.

"Well that's awesome. No long lines to wait in," he said. "Come on."

They stepped up to the man who was taking tickets and operating the ride. He took their tickets and showed them where to sit at. They sat down in their seats and got properly buckled in. When they were buckled in, the man who was taking tickets went over to the other people and let some other people get on as well.

"Wow. Lot's of couples are here to go on a romantic little ride. Look at them," Chris said, looking at all the couples around them.

"Yeah," Stephanie said wistfully. "It's really too bad..."

"Huh? What's too bad?" he asked, looking at her.

"It's too bad that... Hey, look, isn't that the guy from who we saw at the Haunted House?" she asked, getting distracted.

He looked in the direction she was looking in. There he was, that same guy that looked so familiar, wearing the dark shades. the hat, and the dark clothes. He was talking to the guy who had taken their tickets and it seemed like he was pointing at him. "Yep, that's him."

"You think he's following us?"

"I'm sure it's just a coincidence."

"If you say so."

"I do."

The Ferris Wheel started slowly, and Stephanie smiled. Chris smiled, too, but neither one could say exactly why they were smiling... They just were.

They reached the top after about a minute and she sighed. "This is so romantic," she said dreamily. "Or... It would be romantic if we were...in love...or whatever."

"Yeah, then it would be really romantic," he agreed as they kept going around. He discreetly put his arm around her shoulders and was surprised when she leaned against him. It was a good feeling, though.

"The stars are beautiful tonight," she said. "And the moon is so clear... The only thing I would change would be the fact that it's practically freezing out here."

"I'm so hot, I could keep you warm," he cracked as they reached the bottom again. He waited for her reply but didn't get one. "Something wrong?"

"It's that man again. Look at him," she said, pointing. "I think he's looking at us."

He looked over at where she was pointing. "Ok, what the hell is this? This is getting kind of creepy."

"Oh, and this from the one who said it was just a coincidence," she said sarcastically, looking at him.

"That was before I saw that sign he's holding," he said in a tight voice as they started going back up. "Look."

"Have fun at the top," she read slowly. She looked at Chris. "What do you think he means?"

"Don't know, but he's waving at us," he said, looking confused. "This is just really weird."

"Know what's even more weird?" she asked. He raised his eyebrow. "The fact that we're now at the very top of the Ferris Wheel and we're no longer moving."

"Have fun at the top... That's what he meant!" he said, slapping himself. "How could I have been so oblivious to the fact that this was what he meant!"

"I didn't exactly get it either," she pointed out.

"No one would've expected you to, Ice Princess."

"And what's that supposed to mean? Are you calling me stupid?"

"No, no," he said, realizing his mistake. "What I meant was I'm the King of the World. People expect me to realize things before other people do. I'm not the common person, you know."

"You're calling me common now, too?"

"Steph, that's not what I meant. You know I-"

"Shut up, Chris. I've had enough of you for one night."

He knew better than to keep talking when she was in one of her little moods, so he just closed his mouth and looked the other way. Looks like I've screwed up again. Way to go, he thought. And now we're stuck. Unbelievable... Who was that man?

An hour later...

"I'm so c-c-cold," Stephanie said, shivering. "And it just keeps getting colder."

"Guess you really are the Ice Princess now," Chris cracked. He smiled to himself, even though his lips were freezing. She's finally speaking to me again, he thought happily.

"Now is n-n-not the t-t-time for jokes," she said. "We've been up here f-f-for, like, an hour. We're g-g-gonna freeze to d-d-death..."

"N-n-nonsense," he said, trying to reassure her even though he wasn't so sure himself. "We're not going to freeze to d-d-death."

"How do you know?" she asked, looking out into the darkness.

"I just have a feeling," he said, looking out into the darkness as well. He looked up and his gaze stopped on one star shining brightly in the sky. "Speaking of feelings, Steph, there's something I need to get off my chest, just in case..."

"Just in case what?" she asked in a shrill voice.

"Just in case we don't make it off this Ferris Wheel," he said quietly.

"Don't talk like that," she said quickly, trying to reassure him. It was funny how the tables had turned in such a short amount of time. "We'll make it off of here."

"But just in case... You need to know how I really feel about you," he said. He looked down into her eyes.

"You hate me," she said, staring into his eyes. "That's been obvious for a very long time."

"Far from it," he said. "That night back during that whole Bedrock thing...when we said..." He didn't know where to start. "Steph... I... You just don't know how long I've been feeling this way about you."

"How do you feel?" she asked. She was trying not to feel too excited but she couldn't help it. Was he going to admit that he...loved her?

"God, I don't know how you don't know, but I really..." His voice trailed off as he suddenly kissed her, pressing his cold lips against hers. He pulled back, taking ragged breaths as he touched her face. "I'm so in lo-"

Suddenly the Ferris Wheel started moving extremely fast, and before they knew it, they were at the bottom again. They sat there staring at each other.

"Go on, Chris. What were you going to say to me?" Stephanie prodded, touching his lips with one finger.

"We're at the bottom! We're not gonna die!" he exclaimed happily. He started working with the belts that held them strapped in the seat. "Let's get the hell out of here!"

"Don't you have...something to say to me?" she asked softly.

"Um... It can wait," he said quickly, helping her out of the seat. "Let's just go before something else weird happens to us."

"Ok." She grabbed Keith (the teddy bear) and hugged it tightly against her as they quickly made their exit.

Neither of them noticed the man who had been following them the whole time watching them leave. The man pulled his cell phone out and dialed a number.

"This better be good."

"It didn't work."

"What the hell do you mean it didn't work? They didn't confess their true feelings up there?"

"I think we brought them down too soon."

"Too fast? They were up there for more than an hour! How could you screw this up?"

"I'm sorry, boss. I have a plan, though."

"Care to expand on that?"

"Yeah... Let them figure it out by themselves."

"That's the worst piece of bullshit I've ever, eeeeever heard in my entire life. I know my daughter, and I know Chris. They're too stubborn to admit it by themselves."

"You never know."

"Fine. But if I don't see any significant changes in their relationship in the next week or so, I'm going on with my next plan."

"Sorry it didn't work out this time, boss."

"It's ok, Bischoff..."

"Really?"

"Really... But next time it better work."

A/N: Sorry it's so long... I've been working on this off and on for a while. It's not as funny as other ones have been, but oh well...