Notes: This chapter takes place during the Summerslam (I'm pretty sure it was Summerslam, anyway) with WWF vs. ECW/WCW winner take all event. I can't remember how many weeks there were between No Mercy and Summerslam, but I took there to be a couple of months.
Sorry for the delay, haven't been able to get online. Hope you enjoy!
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Chapter Ten: Ladders and Lingerie (or T&A and TLC), Part Bxxxxx
"That was fantastic!" Stephanie squealed, pulling Torrie into a tight hug the minute she got through the curtain. They had only known each other for a short while, but they had become fast friends. The fact that Stephanie had begun talking to her parent's again had helped the woman open up a bit. Torrie always refrained from commenting on how much she thought Chris' presence in her life was helping.
"I need to get a copy of that tape," Lita said, linking arms with them as she came through the curtain. "Then I can watch that little slut screaming for her mommy on repeat every time I feel a little depressed; an instant cheer-me-up."
Torrie giggled as they attempted to get down the stairs with their arms linked. "I couldn't have done it without your help. Thank you so much."
"Think nothing of it."
"I still can't believe your father was able to get me out of my contract," she said and Stephanie shrugged.
"He's very resourceful."
"That he is." Torrie frowned as they walked through the halls, heading back for the dressing room. "I'm actually surprised the Alliance didn't come down there."
"Oh, honey, the match didn't last long enough," Lita said sweetly.
"That and we locked them in," Steph said, grinning madly.
"What?" they asked in unison.
"Chris, Matt, Jeff, and Rocky decided to lock them in their dressing rooms. I think the Alliance might be a little mad now."
"They have Austin on their side, I think 'mad' is pretty much a given," Lita said, rolling her eyes.
"Steph, where the hell were you?" They all rolled their eyes as Chris approached them. "I thought you were going to stay in the locker room."
"I was, but then Torrie beat the hell out of Stacy Keibler. I wanted to congratulate her." When Chris glared she sighed. "I don't need a guard dog, Chris, I want friends."
"Fine, just, next time, don't wander about. We don't know for sure that Heyman was in the locker room and I don't want him near you."
"That makes all of us," Jeff said as the Hardys' approached them.
Matt grinned. "That said, we left The Rock alone outside the Alliance locker rooms with a sledgehammer. He said something about playing 'gopher'."
"Well, I hope he warned the security guys that the tapes will be in demand after tonight," Lita said, bouncing on the balls of her feet.
"I'll make sure to pass on the message," Chris said. "I think you guys are up," he said to the Hardys' indicating the stage hand who was trying to get their attention. "Kick Alliance ass."
"That's the plan," Matt replied. Jeff kissed Torrie goodbye and, together, Team Xtreme headed for the curtain.
"Wait a minute," Lita said, stopping and looking at Jeff with a grin. "Torrie's WWF now."
"That's right," Matt added, "Torrie's WWF now."
Jeff frowned. "You sure?"
"I think we can share you for a night," Lita said, smiling at her friend.
"What do you say, Tor?" Jeff asked, walking back to his girlfriend. "Walk us out tonight?"
"Really?"
"Well, you'd have to be careful; it's TLC and I don't want you getting hurt, but…yeah. I'd love to have you out there."
"But…I'm not part of Team Xtreme."
"Just one night and then you can go back to making me jealous with Tajiri."
"I don't make you jealous, Jeff."
He shrugged. "Not on purpose."
"Guys," Matt called. "You wanna hurry this up?"
"Yeah, I think Jenna's about to have a fit," Lita said, smiling at the frantic stage hand.
"Well?" Jeff asked and she smiled. "That mean yes?"
"Yeah," Torrie said, standing on her tip toes and kissing him quickly. "That means yeah."
"In that case," Lita said, "Put that on." She nodded at Chris and Torrie turned around to find the Canadian holding something out to her.
"You guys had this planned?" Jeff asked, but Matt and Lita merely smiled innocently.
"Come on," Torrie said, pulling the t-shirt over her head. "Let's go watch you try to kill yourself."
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"My God, Jeff Hardy is insane!" Stephanie yelled at the monitor and Chris laughed.
"Steph, you already knew that." He sat up straighter and nudged her shoulder. "In fact, you've already seen it before."
"But he's really crazy. That was a twenty foot ladder."
"Well, at least he didn't fall the whole twenty feet at once," Chris said.
"I don't think landing on two tables counts as a good way to break your fall," Steph pointed out and he nodded.
"You're right. But he did take out D-Von on the way."
"Nothing you're saying is making him sound any less crazy, Chris. I don't know how Torrie puts up with it. Lilian's right, she and Lita are insane. I swear, if you ever do anything like that I will personally maim you. Don't look at me like that, I can get Lita to train me, too, you know. In fact, she's already offered. Why are you looking at me like that?"
Chris shook his head, still smiling. "No reason."
"Well…stop it."
His grin widened. "Maybe I don't want to."
"Well…stop!"
His grin faded a little, but he didn't stop looking at her. "How are you?"
"I'm okay."
"How are you, really?"
She sighed and settled back into the chair, trying not to get too distracted by what was happening on the monitor. "I'm not sure. Everything just happened so fast. One minute I was…with them and then the next… I just don't know how I'm supposed to feel. I put up with so much for so long and then it just stopped. I kept expecting you to turn around and tell me you were in on it and that this was just a new way of torturing me."
"Never gonna happen, Princess."
She smiled. "I know. Hunter said he'd chop you into lots of little pieces if you even thought about it."
"Nice to know I inspire trust."
"You do," she said seriously. "I might have known you hated me, but I always trusted in your ability to do the right thing. That's why I came to you in the first place."
"Tried to, you mean," he said, his voice taking on that self-deprecating tone she hated. "I failed that trust the night you threw me that chair; I used it on Rocky and ignored you asking for my help. What made you trust me after that?"
"I didn't have anyone else and, besides, everyone could see that you hated yourself for what you'd done." He nodded and she glanced down, realising that, at some point, their fingers had interlaced. She didn't even remember taking his hand. "Everyone's still curious, you know."
"I don't care."
"They can't figure out what you guys are doing with a slut like me."
"You're not a slut, Stephanie."
"They all think I have an angle, or a plan, or something."
"You went online," he said, sighing.
She shrugged. "Lilian left her laptop on the other day when she was in the shower. She thought I was still asleep. I didn't read much, just enough to know what people thought."
"Not everyone thinks it, Steph." He cupped her cheek then slid his fingers under her chin, forcing her to look at him. "Not the people who count."
"I'm glad you helped me, Chris. I can't thank you enough."
"You're strong, Stephanie, you'd have got out eventually. I'm just glad I could help."
"So am I, Chris. I'm just sorry to drag you into this."
"The WWF was already in this, Princess, I'm just glad we got you out in time." He smiled at her. "And I'd do it again in a heartbeat."
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"If you ever think of scaring me like that again, Jeff Hardy, I will hurt you more than you're hurting now," Torrie said frantically. She pulled him into a hug, mindful of the fact that he was likely in a lot of pain, and tried to stop herself from bursting into tears.
"Hey, it's okay. I'm fine and the fans love you being out there for us," he said, indicating the roaring crowd around them. She could barely hear herself think over the noise of the crowd and the Hardys' theme blaring from the speakers. It was almost as noisy as the reception the four of them had got at the top of the ramp, dressed in matching purple 'Team Xtreme' t-shirts.
"Well, they'd better not get used to it," she said, pulling away. "I don't think I could go through that again." She glanced at the broken tables and the twenty foot ladder lying on the ground by the ramp.
He winced. "That wasn' exactly my crowning moment."
"Jeff, you went through eight tables in this match! And I lost count of the number of times you fell off a ladder! Somehow, it's easier to watch this in the back; I can put my hands over my eyes and ask Tajiri if you're dead yet."
Jeff chuckled, but it was short lived as he tried to get to his feet. Hissing in pain, he allowed Torrie to help him up.
"The fans are still wondering why I turned to the WWF, you know."
"Sweetie, anyone with half a brain would understand the logic in that decision. But what's say we give them another reason?"
Torrie grinned. "I thought you'd never ask."
She was barely even aware of the crowd screaming. All she could focus on was the feeling of being in his arms, kissing the man she loved.
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End of Chapter Ten
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I know, I know, so much mush I'm making myself nauseous. Well, two more chapters and that's it all over! I can't believe I've blitzed chapters seven through ten in one night and that they're all this long. Seems like a little thing, I realise, but my muses have been on strike; this is the most I've got out of them in a while! I intend to make the most of it.
Hope you enjoyed, feel free to hit the review button and let me know what you think!