Notes: I'd just like to point out that I can't remember the matches that took place during this event; however, I had notes written down. So, whether this was my own listing or what actually was scheduled, is a total mystery to me. I did start this fic a long time ago!
Once again, thanks for the reviews! g
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Chapter Eleven: Winner Take Allxxxxx
"But Jeff's definitely okay?" she asked, still pacing back and forth up and down the room.
"He's fine," Lita assured her and Stephanie let out a breath. "He says to tell you that you should be careful of the splinters at ringside, though," she added, wincing as she remembered how they came to be there in the first place.
"He's totally crazy," Steph said for the twelfth time that evening. "I mean, I knew that, I've spent a lot of time the last few weeks asking him why he does the things he does and I still don't get it. He's just insane."
"Well, I'll be sure to tell him that," Lita said, grinning from ear to ear and Stephanie rolled her eyes.
"Like you're much better," the brunette said, crossing her arms. "If Torrie and I hadn't talked you out of it, you'd have broken something jumping out of that tree."
"Lilian had faith in me," Lita said, sticking her tongue out at her friend.
"Lilian had a bet with Chris on whether you'd break an arm or a leg."
"She did not!" Lita cried, turning to Chris for confirmation, but the look on his face made her want to throw something at him. "I cannot believe her!"
"But you can believe it about me?" Chris asked affronted. Lita just raised her eyebrows and he shrugged. "Fair enough. We knew you wouldn't do it, though. Matt was about to have a coronary."
"Well, Jeff believed in me."
"Jeff was up there with you," Steph pointed out. "The fact that he did jump simply proves my original point; he's insane."
Lita laughed. "I'm gonna head back to make sure they've both been patched up okay, I was just sent to wish Chris good luck and tell you to be careful. So, good luck jackass," she said with a wink. "Steph, watch yourself out there. I know you have everything covered, but Matt and Jeff are more than willing to drag their broken butts out there to help if need be. And Rocky said that team WWF has your back."
"That's good to know," Chris said, running a hand through his hair. "Austin's crazy and, with RVD as the ref, anything could happen out there."
"You'll be fine," Lita said, smiling. She walked over to the chair he was sitting on and kissed his forehead, before giving Stephanie and hug and rushing out the door.
Stephanie turned to look at him and he stood up, closing the gap between them and taking hold of her arms. "I'm not sure you should come out with me," he said, frowning and she scowled up at him.
"Don't even think about it, Christopher Jericho. I am coming out into that ring with you whether you want it, or not. Just like I'm coming down to the ring with you when you and Rocky finally get your rematch, it's non-negotiable. Understand?" She emphasised her point by poking his chest at every other word. He winced and looked down at her finger where it was still poking him and she just smiled. "Understand?" she asked again.
He grinned smiled and nodded. "I guess this makes you my manager then."
"I guess it does."
"Well then, manager, I guess we should get to the curtain. It's almost show time." He stepped back and gallantly offered his arm.
She laughed, placing her hand at the crook of her elbow and followed him to the door, picking up his title on the way. "You been taking lessons from The Rock?" she asked, handing him his belt.
"I am the original, I don't need lessons."
"Really? You always struck me more as the kind of guy who pulled a girl's pigtails rather than being nice."
He smirked and reached up to tug her hair. "That better?"
He winked at her and she felt a blush rising in her cheeks. She'd only really known him properly for a few months and it still surprised her, the reaction she had to his playfulness. She hadn't ever had that kind of friendship before…she wasn't sure she didn't want more either. Actually, she was sure; she just didn't know what to do about it.
Everything had happened so fast since No Mercy. It hadn't taken her long to make friends, but she wondered if she'd ever really let them in completely. She could honestly say that she was friends with Matt, Lita, Torrie, Chris, and Lilian, but it was Jeff Hardy that she found herself opening up to the most. The younger Hardy brother was so easy to talk to that she often found herself telling him things she had never intended to speak about. He probably knew more about her life than anyone, except Hunter.
She was worried that she was moving too fast, that it was supposed to be more difficult than it seemed. She had been living with the constant fear of her Paul Heyman and of Shane and the other members of the Alliance, that it hadn't seemed right to her that she was finding her release from them so easy. Jeff told her not to question it, because it was likely to catch up with her at some point and Hunter told her not to worry about anything but moving on with her life.
She wished she could listen to them more easily, but it was hard to let go. She glanced at the man walking beside her, the man who had, to all intents and purposes, saved her when no one else had bothered to care. She liked having him in her life, perhaps a little too much. She knew Hunter hated that she had Chris in her life, because her friend wanted nothing more than to protect her; that was why he had married her, after all.
She knew that, really, Hunter was more upset with himself for not being able to stop it before things had got so bad. But she'd had to protect him. After all, he'd done the same for her. And as for Chris Jericho…well, she was willing to wait and see what happened there. In that aspect of her new life, she was more than happy to adopt Jeff's philosophy. She was going to take things one step at a time and not worry about the future, it could take care of itself.
Chris seemed to sense that her thoughts were wandering and he pulled her closer into his side in order to avoid a collision. She looked up at him gratefully, before averting her gaze. They walked the halls towards the curtain, passing various WWF superstars along the way, but Stephanie kept her head down. She knew that a lot of them still didn't trust her and she couldn't bear to see it in their eyes.
"Hey," Chris said softly and she looked up. He frowned and tucked her hair behind her ears. "You okay?" he asked.
"I'm fine. But I'll be better when this is all over and the WWF wins it all."
"Well, this is the last stop," he said and she could see he was nervous. "Any last words?"
She rolled her eyes. "So dramatic." Grinning, and not sure she could ever answer as to why she did it, she stretched up into her tip toes and kissed him gently. "You're going to win," she said, revelling in the surprise on his face. "Now, come on," she continued, not giving him a chance to respond. "Let's get out there."
She only hoped that she was right and that everything was fine. She had managed to avoid Paul Heyman and her brother in recent weeks, but she didn't think she would be so lucky tonight.
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Stephanie screamed, jumping back as RVD landed on the ground directly in front of her. Somehow she wasn't surprised that things had descended into chaos, but she was surprised that she was still in one piece.
She scrambled away from the prone man, running towards the announcer's table, barely managing to get out of the way before her brother was launched over the top rope. She felt someone grab her arm and turned to fight, letting out a breath of relief when her eyes met Lilian's. The small ring announcer tightened her grip as they continued to move around the ring.
"What the hell is going on?" Lilian asked and Steph shook her head.
"I have no idea. But I think Shane and Paul must have planned this. Chris was going to get that pin, I know he was."
Lilian nodded. "We have got to get out of here."
"No, I-"
Her eyes widened when she realised who was in her path. Paul Heyman grinned creepily at her and she pulled Lilian behind her. She wasn't exactly going to be able to put up much of a fight, but she wouldn't let her friend get hurt in her place.
"Well, well, Princess, looks like Daddy's Little Girl is all alone." He took a step towards her and she backed away, stopping when she felt Lilian squeeze her arm. She turned around, biting her lip to stop herself from screaming when she realised that Rhyno was blocking her path.
They were trapped.
She knew that, had it been any other match, it would have officially been over the moment that RVD had been knocked out of the ring and she would be safely through the back with her friends. However, the fact that it had been Steve Austin who had inadvertently hit him, she knew that the Alliance wouldn't call a disqualification on their own side.
That was when things had turned ugly. Security footage on the big screen showed that Paul Heyman hadn't been in the rooms when WWF had locked them earlier and he had helped the rest of the Alliance to get out of their locker rooms – The Rock was worryingly nowhere to be found. They had retaliated by locking in the WWF superstars, which meant that they knew Chris, Stephanie, and Lilian were on their own.
"I'm not afraid of you," Stephanie said, trying to keep her voice even and Paul laughed. She heard Lilian cursing at Rhyno in Spanish as he continued to approach the petite blonde.
Keeping her grip on her friend, Stephanie took a step to the side, leaning against the barrier and she could tell that the grin that was slowly creeping onto her face was unnerving Heyman. She didn't say anything, but glanced briefly into the ring to see that, despite the interruptions, the match was back underway. Chris hadn't been able to get away from Austin, though she knew he was trying to get to her. Not that it really mattered; everything would be over soon enough.
She tightened her grip on Lilian when Rhyno grabbed hold of her, but she couldn't to anything before Heyman grabbed her attention again.
"Come on, Princess, didn't your daddy ever tell you it wasn't nice to ignore people?"
"I don't think he'd care that I'm ignoring you."
"I care," Heyman said, continuing to close the small gap between them, stopping only when he was so close that she couldn't move. She grimaced and tried not to gag. "In fact, I think you owe me an apology, bitch."
"Oh, I owe you, all right."
Heyman seemed unaware at the change in atmosphere around him, but Rhyno had let go of Lilian. Everything happened quickly, which Stephanie supposed she should be used to by now.
Chris managed to pull a sneaky pin on Austin, grateful that Earl Hebner had rushed out to take over from RVD, before slipping out of the ring to take on Rhyno, not even taking the time to celebrate the fact that he was now the Undisputed Champion. At the opposite side of the ring, Shane was disposed of, her brother taking a nasty beating thanks to the Rock and his sledgehammer.
But Stephanie's attention remained on the fight going on directly in front of her. She grinned as she looked down at Heyman's twitching, disgusting form before glancing at the man who was still standing over him. She met his gaze, before he looked down at the man he had all but destroyed.
"I told you that if you ever laid another finger on her I'd beat the living hell out of you," he said, crouching down to speak into Heyman's ear. "This is only the beginning." Standing up, he crossed the gap and pulled Stephanie into his arms. "It's good to see you again, sweetie."
Stephanie grinned. "I've missed you, Hunter."
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End of Part Eleven
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I can't remember if Triple H had already made his return by this point, but the first few chapters were written at the time and they state that he was definitely out with injury at No Mercy and, hey, I think it's safe to say that it doesn't matter, since this is AU after No Mercy.