A/N: Ok, flames don't bother me, obviously, because I tell people to be brutal, but I have to say this. Fed Up, I'm fed up with you, plain and simple. Now, if you were criticizing my writing, that would be fine, I could care less... but it's more than that now. Once you uttered the words, "played out," in reference to Jericho and Stephanie, then it became my business to step in and say something. I was going to bitch you out, but you're not even worthy of that. So I'll just say a few things. Stephanie and Chris are not "played out," nor will they ever be "played out" if I have anything to say about it. I also think it's foolish of you to apparently seek out and read my fics simply to comment on how "played out" my favorite couple EVER is. So sweetheart, if you don't like them, don't read them and don't press your opinions on me of all people, because, in case you couldn't tell, I'm a HUGE Jericho/Steph fan.

And next time you want to tell me something, you e-mail me, or you IM me, don't hide behind an anonymous review, you want to come after something I love, you come after me full force, and then, THEN you will see how dead serious I am right now.

Thanks for the review though. :)

Stephanie McMahon was used to getting exactly what she wanted, and to think that there was something she couldn't get troubled her to no end. Dave Batista was what she wanted and she'd be damned if she didn't get him. Her not getting something was like the sun not rising in the morning; it just didn't happen. The only problem was that Dave didn't know her as anything but her boss.

Maybe, maybe if he had come into the company earlier, when she wasn't management, maybe then he wouldn't look at her as just the person who signed his paycheck, or wrote a part for him to play. He would've seen her as one of the wrestlers, well, one of the on-screen personalities. Before she was management, before she was head of creative, before everything.

But no, that's not how it worked out, and now Dave didn't even look at her the way she wanted. She was Stephanie McMahon damn it, and if she wanted Dave, then she would get him. She was capable of many things and being as vindictive and calculating as she needed to be was on top of that list.

She just needed Dave to notice her, to see that she wasn't above him in any way whatsoever. But how could she accomplish that without coming outright and saying that she was just a normal person? She could show him maybe, show him that she could be with him, that just because she had a position within the company, an important position that she didn't mind dating a wrestler.

She smiled to herself as she thought of the perfect way to get what she wanted.

Chris sat in his hotel room and sulked. He should've figured out that Stephanie was way, WAY out of his league, but he had to take a chance. He had watched her for so long, had worked with her so intensely it would've been crazy for him not to find some sort of attraction in her. Then those kisses they shared during the shows, sure they had been written in, but he hadn't been prepared for how sweet her lips had tasted.

He got up and lay on his hotel bed, staring up at the ceiling, but not finding anything interesting there. Nothing was interesting. Not right now anyways. He was wallowing and he knew it. That was the only way he was going to get over this thing he had for Stephanie. In the long run, it was probably better she had turned him down. He couldn't imagine how it would feel if he had had her and then she had dumped him.

He was a tough guy, who had been felled by one woman. Wasn't that how it always went down in history? You had this incredibly masculine guy, willing to do anything, on top of their game at all times, and they were completely flummoxed by one woman, who had the power to control them with the flick of a wrist. This was a case of that, but he had never gotten the chance to be wrapped around Stephanie's finger.

He was almost ashamed to feel this way, when he should've known all along that he could never get someone like Stephanie. With the kind of power that she held and the power behind her last name, she wouldn't want him, cocky, brash wrestler that he was. He should settle or something, settle for someone who was more his league. Maybe Trish was available.

A knock came on his door and he contemplated just tuning it out and going back to his wallowing, which was much more fun anyways. Ok, so it wasn't fun, but he didn't want to see anyone right now. The knocking persisted and he was getting annoyed by it so he got up to answer the door. He physically took a step back as he saw Stephanie standing there.

She wasn't wearing the same clothes as earlier though, she looked so much hotter. She was wearing a light gray pantsuit, but with no shirt under the suit jacket. He couldn't see a bra in sight, but didn't even want to go there. Her hair was meticulously done as usual and her eyes were smoky and staring up at his. He stood there for a moment in complete rapture.

"Steph, what are you doing here?"

"I came to see you silly."

He looked around, "Why?"

"Can I come in?" she asked sweetly.

He stepped out of the way to let her in, and she stepped inside, brushing her arm against his chest. Chris shuddered slightly at the contact as she went to stand in the middle of the room. He closed the door, more out of instinct than actually being conscious of closing the door. He was just captivated by her, like he always was, but she was now standing in the middle of his hotel room.

"Were you sleeping?" she asked, looking at his boxers, as that was the only article of clothing that he was currently wearing.

"Um, no, I was just...watching television, um, once again, what are you doing here?"

"Well, you see Chris, I was thinking about what you told me today, and well, I was really flattered and all..."

"Steph, can we please forget that I said anything, I'm already really embarrassed by what I said, and I'd really rather forget the incident altogether."

"Oh, if that's how you feel," she said softly, going to walk back to the door, "I was going to say that I had been thinking about it and it didn't sound so bad after all."

Chris stepped in front of her quickly, blocking her exit from the room. Stephanie had been banking on that reaction from him. She knew what she was doing was wrong, but sometimes in life, the end had to justify the means, and if this was the only way she could get Dave to notice her and want to be with her, then she was going to have to take the chance.

"You did?" he asked incredulously, not believing her for a moment, because it was just...too great to be the truth.

"Yeah, I mean, I think I was awful rude to you today and you had done nothing wrong, in fact, you did everything right."

"I did?"

"Yeah, I was just too pre-occupied to realize it," she said demurely, looking down momentarily, "I've been so lonely."

"I have too," he said, "Traveling is hard."

"Yes, it is, and not to mention all the work I have to do. It gets so hard sometimes to not have somebody by your side, trying to help you and understand you," she said, running her finger down his arm.

"You don't have to be alone you know."

"I don't?" she asked coyly.

"Well, you're here aren't you?"

"I didn't even know if you'd be awake, I was working all night long, and I'm so fucking tired," she said, yawning for added effect, "My dad just piles on the work for me, I guess I deserve it for being the head of Creative, but sometimes, it's just too much."

"I'm sorry you have so much work," he whispered, taking a step closer to her.

"Why should you be sorry?"

"Because you shouldn't be working your fingers to the bone," he told her, holding her hands in his and rubbing her fingers lightly, "Especially when they're as beautiful as these."

"That was pretty corny Chris," she said, but she was kidding of course. She did like Chris, to a certain extent. He was a nice guy, and everyone liked him. You couldn't help but like him, he had such a magnetic personality.

"Sorry," he laughed, "You have ugly horrible hands."

"That's better," she told him and stared into his eyes, "But luckily I have such good friends around me."

"Yeah, that's always nice," he said, dropping her hands again, realizing that she hadn't come here for the reason that he had wanted her to come here for. Damn him for getting his hopes up again. Just when he thought he was out, she'd pull him back in.

"We're friends aren't we?"

"Yeah, we're friends," he told her.

"Good, I didn't want that little incident earlier to interfere in our friendship," she told him.

He stared at her and thought that if he couldn't have her like he wanted, then being her friend would be the next best thing. Sometimes in life, no matter how hard you wish and hope and pray, you don't get what you want. It was a fact that unfortunately he was going to have to deal with at the present moment.

"It didn't," he reassured her, "We're just as good friends now as we were yesterday."

"Good," she nodded, then stopped to look at him, "You know Chris...no, never mind, I'm just being foolish now."

"Steph, it's ok, whatever you want to say, I don't care," he said, being the nice, supportive friend, a role he seemed destined to forever play in Stephanie's life.

She took a step closer to him, closing the thin gap they had been holding onto for the duration of this conversation. Chris's breath caught in his throat as he inhaled the sweet scent of her perfume. She was standing way too close for comfort now and he went to take a step back when she grabbed his wrist, not too hard, but enough for him to stop his movement.

"Friends do stuff sometimes," she told him, gazing up at him, daring him to say something.

"Th--they do?" he gulped.

"Uh huh," she nodded, "And sometimes, friends become...more than friends."

He stared at her, literally frozen in place. He didn't know what she meant by that, didn't even know where to grasp that statement. Instead of him grasping that statement, Stephanie grasped his upper arm and leaned up the short distance to his lips, kissing him softly. Chris felt like he was in heaven and he might as well die right now, because nothing was going to top this moment. He almost wished for death to come because he might as well go out on top.

She pulled away with an, "Mmm," and grinned against his lips. Chris stood still, but Stephanie took the initiative and wrapped his arms around her waist. With this prompting, Chris pulled her closer and then kissed her again, this time with more passion and a lot more tongue than before. Stephanie let herself fall into his embrace, and they both pulled away breathless as Stephanie brought her thumb up to rub away the lipstick that had smudged onto his lips.

"That was nice," she said with a small smile.

"It really was," Chris said quietly, still digesting what had just occurred. His world was suddenly turned upside down. Did this mean that Stephanie wanted him? He could only hope it did. "What was that about?"

"Well, I couldn't bear to see you the way you were earlier and it hurt me to see you so hurt, and Chris, I don't want you to hurt because of me."

"Steph, I would've been fine," he said, then mentally slapping himself for saying that, like he didn't want her to kiss him or something. "What I meant was--"

"So you didn't want me kissing you?" she asked, pouting a little, "Well, if that's what you want..."

"No! That's not what I want at all."

"Good," she smiled, "Because that's not what I wanted either, not at all."

"What did you want?" he said, starting to get into this whole flirtation thing they had going right now. Might as well enjoy the ride while he was on it.

"Well, I want a lot of things really," she said, her voice seductive.

"Like?"

"You, but that's only one thing I want," she told him. So she was lying, she'd probably go to hell, but she was desperate now. Desperate enough to use this man as a pawn in her scheme. She almost felt bad as she looked into his hungry eyes, but that soon dissipated as she thought about what SHE wanted.

"Well, I think I can help you with that first one."

"Can you?"

"If you want me to that is."

She licked her lips a little, though they didn't need wetting since his tongue had been running over them not a couple minutes before. She leaned in again to capture his lips in hers and made the kiss deep and full of need. In some ways, she did need him. She hadn't been with a guy since...well, since she had dated Hunter. They had even gotten engaged, but that turned out to be a bust, seeing as how he was cheating behind her back. No harm though, because by that time she had spent a lot of time with Dave since him and Hunter were in Evolution together, and she had completely fallen for Dave. He was so strong and everything.

And she had broken it off with Hunter a while ago and hadn't been with a guy since. And before Hunter there had only been a couple of guys. She was hardly the slut that people made her out to be, or the idiot they thought she was. But that didn't matter now, because she was going to give Chris something he wanted, and she was going to get something she wanted in return, even if Chris didn't know that's what he was doing.

He gripped her by the hair, his hands tangling in her dark locks, pulling her unbelievably close. She concentrated solely on him for the moment and she held onto him tightly. She wanted to control the pace of this, to effectively hold out until he couldn't bear it any longer. It was hard, because Chris was a pretty good kisser and his fingers were gently massaging her scalp in the most delightful way. Then her breasts were pushed up against his muscular chest and that, in and of itself, was distracting, for the both of them.

Stephanie pulled away from him, gasping for air and stared into his eyes, "Wow, that was...wow."

Chris took a deep breath, "Yeah, maybe you should go before this gets too...um...heated."

"More than it already is?" she asked incredulously.

"Yeah, because I'm two seconds away from doing something that you might not take too kindly to."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, and I don't want to disrupt whatever it is we have going here," he told her honestly.

She took another deep breath and grabbed his left arm with her right hand and brought it up slowly. She raised an eyebrow and then slipped his hand into her suit jacket. She brought his hand onto her breast and threw her head back, smiling lasciviously. Chris blinked slowly, his jaw dropping a little as he traced the top of her strapless, lace bra with his thumb.

"I caught you looking to see if I had a bra on," she told him, "There's your answer."

He gulped, then breathed out one word, "Steph..."

"Come on Chris, do what you want to me?"

"You don't know what you're saying."

Instead of answering, she unbuttoned the buttons on her jacket and let it fall to the floor in a heap. She stood there in just her bra and slacks and smiled at Chris, taking his hand off of her breast, much to his disappointment, but keeping it in hers as she pulled him into the bedroom.

Chris could do nothing buy follow.