Disclaimer: Anything related to TNA or anyone else clearly doesn't belong to the writers of this story. This is written purely for entertainment purposes. If TNA is willing, though, the writers of this story would very much love to own any of the TNA-owned people mentioned within this story. We also don't own Sterling James Keenan but would very much like to. That is all.
A/N: Hi! waves Phoenix, I'm not a nut! I'm misunderstood! You're still the goose. Anyway, in this chapter things heat up a bit again and Kady gets herself into a world of trouble yet again, but this time it could prove to be very dangerous. Also, someone comes to Lily's rescue. So It's all getting good now, folks! Lizzie
"What was all that about?" she asked, curious after catching the last few bits of that conversation.
"Oh nothing. Just giving Andy a bite of reality," Kady told her. Lily wasn't sure she wanted to know anymore and trusted that the joke would remain between them.
"Oooookay," she said slowly. "I won't ask anymore. Anyway, Jarrett wanted me to inform you that your match is next and... where the heck is Storm?"
"Probably passed out in the back," Chris shrugged. "I swear, if he is, I'll make him fight the damn match alone. Andy can take his rage out on him."
"Partner loyalty. Nice one, Chris," she said and checked her clipboard with the notes that had been given to her earlier that date and made sure that she was giving him all the right information. She had settled into her job nicely and was actually enjoying the whole process and the excitement that went on backstage. Lily still had a lot of pain from her accident, though it was being managed with pain killers now, so some of her duties she struggled to get through (like going around and finding the required people to speak with or hand out scripts, etc.), but overall she was okay.
"I do what I can," he casually replied. "We're the best tag team there is anyway. It won't be much of a challenge."
"Yeah," Kady chimed in. "And it's not like Andy, Chase, and all those fans out there aren't after your head or anything."
"Kady, go do your homework. Chris, wait here and I'll go find James," Lily instructed them both.
"But mo—"
"Before you say 'but mom', there is no way I'm letting you down at ringside, Kady," she continued, remembering back a conversation she and her daughter had earlier that day. Kady wanted to be at ringside to see The Naturals and AMW beat the shit out of each other and see who would be the last one standing. Of course, both Lily and Chris said no way to her request. "Go!"
Kady sulked and reluctantly started towards the office area where she had left her backpack in Lily's office.
"Hey!" Chris called out to her and she stopped and turned around. "There's a good chance I could really get a beating out there, so can I ask for a little support?"
She paused and nodded, taking the hint and returning to him. The two hugged, and as they did Kady couldn't help but breathe in her father's scent and it still sent shivers down her spine, because she wasn't yet used to it. Everything was surreal to her and she couldn't believe she finally had him in her life. Hopefully her mother would see how much they wanted to be together and would relax the restrictions on their visits.
"Good luck. Do me a favour and don't die out there. Kick their asses."
Chris chuckled and kissed her forehead. "I'll be okay. I'll try."
Lily, meanwhile, wanted to resist the sweetness of watching them and each time she saw them together, it was becoming more and more like a father/daughter image, though that was far from what they were really like. There was still so far for them to go, but the progression of their relationship so far was phenomenal. And as much as she hated to admit it to herself, Chris was doing a very good job in putting the effort into being a responsible father... he reminded her of how he was when they were together, when Kady was a baby – and although things could never be like they were, it was good to reminise on better times.
"Awww I swear I've never seen a better kodak moment!" came a southern drawl from behind Lily. All three saw James walk over to them, carrying a beer bottle as usual and he stopped next to Lily, though looked at his partner. "Ready to kick some Natural ass?"
"Somehow I think I'm the one that's gonna get the beating," Chris confessed and both Lily and Kady noticed a worried look pass over his face. "This is one match I ain't looking forward to."
"Since when did you get scared of The Naturals?" James pointed out. "Everyone knows we're better than them."
"It's more than that, man," his partner replied. "Look, forget it. Let's just do this."
"Jarrett also said that there's gonna be an interference..." Lily said.
Both men turned to her.
"And you decided to tell us this now?" Chris replied, increduously.
"Well I couldn't bring it up until now," Lily explained. "Jarrett didn't give me anymore information than that."
It was then that the familiar notes of music started, indicating that it was match time and AMW were the first out...
Minutes later, both teams of America's Most Wanted and The Naturals stood in the ring, facing each other in a fierce staredown – Andy was practically drilling holes into Chris with his restrained anger. The crowd was hot, screaming and cheering for The Naturals while booing and jeering Chris and James, but all four of them blocked it out and focused on their opponents. There was no doubt this was going to be an intense battle not only for the titles, but for revenge on the part of The Naturals. Don West and Mike Tenay at the announcers desk were already hyping this match as amounting to one of the most hate-filled, much anticipated matches of the year so far.
James pushed Chris towards the ropes, signifying that he wanted to go first. Chase tried the same thing with Andy but he'd have none of it and motioned that he wanted Chris in the ring with him. Chris smirked, stepping into his role as a heel easily. The crowd already hated him for what he'd done to Andy the last time the two teams had met. James took control quickly, not wanting to stand around anymore. He reached out and shoved Andy. Chase got out of the ring as Andy moved in to shove James back.
Unfortunately, James' height and weight advantage meant that Andy's shove didn't do much, other than make James laugh. The laughter served to make Andy more angry and he ran to the ropes, bouncing off and hitting James with a cross body. James caught him effortlessly and readjusted before throwing Andy over his head. Chris cheered his partner on, only to be on the receiving end of loud booing from the crowd. He shuddered, knowing they probably wanted his blood just as much as Andy did.
After a little more backwards and forwards action between Andy and James, Andy finally gave in and tagged out to Chase. James looked towards Chris who nodded and stretched his hand out. Before James could reach him, Chase tripped him with a drop toehold and rolled him over quickly in a pin attempt. James managed to get his shoulder up (which provoked a few cheers, strangely) as the ref called for the two count. Chase got to his feet and made his way towards a turn buckle, planning on hitting James with an aerial move. James, however, crawled over to Chris and tagged out.
Chris came into the ring and bounced off the ropes nearest the turnbuckle Chase was perched on. The vibrations made Chase lose his footing and he slipped, his legs on either side of the turnbuckle in a painful predicament. Chris grabbed Chase's head under his arm and delivered a suplex, dropping Chase to the mat. He rolled him up in a pin attempt but Andy came in and broke it up. Chase rolled from the ring as Chris and Andy stood, face to face in the ring. The crowd began chanting 'hurt him, Andy' and Andy nodded, fully intending to give the fans what they wanted.
Chris backed up slightly, looking for James to tag out to. Andy caught Chris by the wrist and pulled him in, hitting him with a clothesline that dazed him a little. Andy followed up with kicks to the backs of Chris' knees before running to the ropes and back, delivering a running chop block. Chris stumbled to his knees, only to have Andy dropkick him in the back. Once Chris was on the mat, Andy perched over his prone body and began beating him with tightly clenched fists. The crowd roared their approval as Chris tried to fend off the smaller man.
As much as he knew he deserved this, Chris wasn't about to take it lying down. He got his legs up and used them to shove Andy away from him, giving him a small amount of time to regain his senses. As he got to his feet, blood slowly trickled down his face.
He turned, again looking for James to make a tag... only James wasn't there! Chase had gone around the ring and pulled him off the apron and the two were now brawling on the outside, much like they had during the last match. This time, Chris damned his partner for liking to fight.
Andy looked down at the blood on his fist before smirking. There wasn't nearly enough there yet. He spun Chris back to face him and delivered a few more right hands to the face, Chris getting in minimal left handed shots. Andy ran for the ropes and hit Chris with a flying clothesline, once again taking him down to the mat. Having Chris prone made it a lot easier for the smaller man to continue the beating.
Meanwhile, while all this action was going on in the ring and the excitement backstage as to the match picked up heat, Kady was wandering around completely bored out of her mind, with her books under one arm. Lily was off doing her thing, so there was no way she could force her into doing her homework, or even keep track of her in any way. Not being able to concentrate on her work, Kady walked the hallway with no particular destination in mind and left this world behind and entered into her own world, thinking about everything and anything that she could. Five minutes later, she arrived at the locker room of AMW and looked over her shoulders. No one was around, so she pushed the door open and walked in. For obvious reasons, there was no one there and the only noise came from the monitor in the corner which gave her the opportunity to watch the match.
Kady sat on a nearby seat and dumped her books on the table next to her, and sighed wistfully. Bored, bored, bored. Nothing to do. Homework? With all this excitement going on around her? Not likely. She figured that she was in no real hurry to do the work her class was assigned the day before, and so focused all her attention on the monitor that sat not too far away. From what she could see, Andy was laying into Chris pretty good and Kady smirked – not maliciously, but more of being entertained. Despite her preconceived notion that wrestling was pretty much fake, all four of them were selling it well, as indicated when the camera angle shifted to the action taking place outside, where Chase had taken the advantage over James. The camera then went back to Andy and Chris, where Chris was still getting beaten on and it was seconds later in which Kady's heart almost exploded in her chest. Chris's face was now covered completely in blood and the red liquid was dripping onto his chest and onto the ring canvass.
It was a normal instinct for a child, when seeing a parent in distress, to get scared or feel the need to do something, but this was even too much for Kady and she couldn't believe Andy was trying to do to her father what had happened to him... so she looked around for anything that could possibly help Chris.
On top of James' bag, she saw it... the handcuffs. Kady could feel the beads of sweat rolling down her face and she looked back and forth between the cuffs and the monitor. She couldn't do something... could she? It was obvious that no one was going to help Chris, and James was getting beaten down by Chase.
"Screw it..." she whispered and picked up the handcuffs, and then jogged to the door and pulled it open. Now she knew how it must've felt for Chris when he saw her bleeding all over Jenna's floor... and it hurt more than she imagined it would. She definitely did not like blood – at least, not pouring out of her father.
Kady knew how to work people, how to manipulate, and best of all, how to make herself invisible to everyone and everything around her. That's the number one skill any goth should master – being reclusive. As she walked hastily towards the backstage area, Kady would occasionally slow down or duck out the way, or hide behind walls whenever she encountered people. There was so much commotion going on in running the show that those who did see her barely gave her a second glance, which only worked to her benefit. Minutes later she appeared back in the main backstage control place and looked around. There's no way she could get out there without being scene, especially through the stage entrance. There had to be some other way... Kady gazed around and spotted an entrance to somewhere not far away. She looked around and over her shoulders to get the all clear and then walked over it.
She pushed the curtain out of the way and stepped into what appeared to be a storage place, as boxes and electrical equipment littered the area. On the other side there was another door. Kady crossed the room and cautiously opened the door and peered out, and straight away was almost knocked to her feet but the loudness of the crowd – that door led straight out to the side of the stage, in the main arena. Kady stood in awe of the it all. The atmosphere screamed excitement and she could only imagine the action that was going on in the ring.
At the same time, Kady didn't notice someone who had been sitting in the corner, watching her with keen interest. This goth-child seemed lost; distracted... but still, with purpose. It intrigued him. He sat up and mentally debated whether or not to go up to her, since she was dangerously close to the wires and stuff, as well as the fact that she wasn't supposed to be there. But at the same time, he didn't much care for rules and was instead fascinated by this girl, and wanted to know what she was doing. Before he could move though, Kady disappeared out through the door and it closed behind her.
Standing in the pit at the side of the stage, Kady grew more tense and nervous with each step. If and when Lily found out about this, she'd go absolutely insane and probably ground her for a month or two and lock her up in the basement. There was no one there, in that pit area, except a couple of tech guys who were working with a few cables and thus were too distracted to notice her.
"Get a grip, Kady," she told herself to build up some confidence. Chris needed help and she believed she was the only one who could do it. Maybe because it was also going to be done in front of such a large crowed, and be broadcast nationally that was also nerve wracking. With one last deep breath, Kady willed herself to step forward and stuck to the shadows until she reached the edge of the stage where the wrestlers made their entrance for their matches. She reached up and gripped the side of it and whimpered only slightly at the pressure it put on her wound, though there was no turning back now and so she pushed herself up until she got her knees up onto the stage. Her nerves were shaking her so badly that she didn't know if there was any strength left to stand, but looking in the direction of the ring, Andy had just thrown Chris into the ring rope, and then took him down to the mat again. By now, some of the fans sitting closest to the stage began to notice and point at her. As they did, more and more peoples' attention was starting to be gained in her direction.
"Oh fuck," Kady stared around for a brief second and then knew... it was too late to stop now. Tears stung her eyes and the realization of how much trouble she was in, as well as getting Lily and Chris in, hit her. "Maybe I should've thought about this more..."
The majority of the crowd that had yet to notice her standing on the stage let out a collective gasp at the in-ring action when Chris managed to lay a low blow to Andy while the ref was distracted by the current ring-side fighting between Chase and James. This gave Kady the perfect opportunity she needed and she started into a soft jog which, in seconds, turned into a run down to the ringside. And, as expected, the crowd went into an uproar at this strange kid who came, seemingly, out of nowhere!
She went around the side of the ring, and finally some officials started catching on, while Mike Tenay and Don West were going nuts at the announcer's table, wanting to know who she was while at the same time trying to keep everything under control and on track. Everything started to fade out around her – the noise; the commotion. Kady didn't want to look to see how injured Chris was, and so focused on James who was now beating Chase down to the floor, taking the advantage. His back was to her so he didn't notice. She stopped behind him and hesitated for a second, and then reached out and tapped him on the shoulder. James turned around and almost passed out.
"KADENCE?"
"Hey," she meekly said. "I, um..."
James let go of Chase, who then fell to the floor, and turned to face her completely. Fans were still loud, but it was obvious they were confused. With what happened last time between Andy and Chris, and this new development... James' expression darkened and Kady shrunk back at bit, but then caught herself and stood her ground.
"What the hell are you doing here!" he demanded, angrily, grabbing her arm (her good one) and started to pull her back to the stage area, and she struggled against his grip. "Do you have any idea how much trouble you got yourself in, kid?"
"James, wait!" Kady pleaded, and then managed to jerk her arm free of him and stepped back. James stormed over to her and leaned down to whisper to her, so the camera couldn't pick up what he was saying.
"It's way to dangerous for you to be down here, and you could get us all fired! What were you thinking?"
Kady held up the handcuffs, dangling them from her index finger and stared at him. "Dad needs help!"
James' jaw dropped when he heard what she just said, and she too didn't notice what word just passed through her lips. Dad?
"He knows what he's doing, so does Andy!"
"Please! I just..." Kady started hyperventilating and panicking when she looked up to see that, while Chris had still not noticed she was here, she could see the blood now pouring from a gaping wound in his forehead. "I can't... make it stop, James. I can't deal with seeing him bleed like that, just... please!"
James was stuck in a very sticky situation – he could either do this for Kady, and help her when she looked like she really needed it, given the delicacy of the relationship between her or Chris, or he could send her backstage and continue on. Either way, now they were all gonna be in deep shit with management. Might as well go out with a bang, right? All the crowd was stunned, and Chase was pulling himself up by the guardrail
"You do know what you're asking, right?"
"I know. I'm sorry, okay? But I... I mean, look at him!" she pointed to the ring, and James followed her direction to see Andy having regained the control he momentarily lost. Chris was getting beaten down pretty good. "I don't know why... I just had to do something, I don't want him going to the hospital. Please, James?"
Officials were running to their side now, and Kady suddenly felt a pressure on her bad arm and she screamed in pain. James shoved the official who grabbed her arm away and told the others to back off, that she was with him, and pulled her into a protective embrace, totally out of character of him as a heel. Kady readily accepted the embrace, feeling that he was her only safety out there right now. One of the men screamed at him to let them take her backstage, but James remained firm and kept Kady with him.
"She's with us," he insisted and suggested that they go back and check it themselves. Obviously, what they would find was that this was not in the plans for the match that night, but still they backed off. It would buy them time. Once they had gone back, James turned his attention completely back to Kady, and her eyes held it all. Fear. Anger. Desperation.
"Are you okay?" he asked, softly. She nodded. "Okay. Now you stick by me and don't go anywhere, get it? Wherever I go, you go. Don't leave my side."
"Fine," Kady agreed, and was fully aware that she was not in a good position to challenge him. James had to make sure they could work this in with the show. "James?"
"What?"
"I am sorry..."
"Whatever. Now stick by me. I mean it!"
James then took her hand and pulled her in the direction where he and Chase had been fighting seconds earlier. Chase was now on his feet, but still holding onto the rail for support, but froze completely when he saw James coming back, with Kady at his side!
"What the fuck? What's she doing here?"
"Never mind," James growled and again floored him with another shot to the head, and Chase was back down and at Cowboy's mercy. "Kady, the cuffs!"
She obliged and as he held Chase down, she grabbed his wrist and held it up, slapping one of the cuffs on him and then attaching the other to the guard rail so he wouldn't be able to interfere with what happened in the ring. James turned around and grabbed her shoulders, shaking her a little so she would know he was serious.
"Stay close, but don't get in the ring, get it?"
"Okay."
"I mean it, Kady. You've already gotten us into a hell of a lot of trouble."
"I said okay! Dude, I get it!"
James directed her to sit on one of the ringside steps, which she did, and then got up onto the ring apron, and called out to Andy. He stopped beating on Chris, who was still coherent and not nearly as badly injured as Andy had been a month or so earlier, but he was still in a mess. Andy charged at him to knock him off the ropes, but instead James shouldered him in the stomach, through the ropes and then jumped into the ring. The two went at it, and Kady watched from the sidelines… Chris had enough strength to roll out of the middle of the ring, to let his partner take care of Andy. Kady, not being one to be bound by rules and agreements, took the opportunity and crawled onto the ring apron, and slid underneath the bottom rope and proceeded to scoot over to Chris. He had been knocked around pretty damn good, and barely could his vision focus to get a clear image of the person who now leaned over him
"Chris?"
"Shit… Kady?" he reached up and grabbed her arms at the elbows. Kady sat on her knees and leaned across him. She wasn't sickened by the sight of blood, she could totally withstand it. It was so hard to recognize him through it though, and suddenly everything around her didn't matter. He was hurt. She reached out and touched his forehead; the tips of her fingers momentarily becoming immersed in the blood.
"You're hurt…"
"I'll live. What are you doing here!" Chris was still too dazed and sat up, holding onto the middle rope to do so.
"I…" she stammered. "I got worried… the blood…"
"Baby, I'm a wrestler! I bleed!" he harshly said, still holding her with one arm. "It happens!"
"You said you'd be okay, but you're not!" Kady said, tearfully. It wasn't that she hated what her father did for a living, but after everything that happened, it still hurt when things like this could potentially send him to the hospital and complicate things again. She and her mother already had to have lengthy hospital stays, and she didn't want to see her father going to one either. This was going to take some time to get used to.
"Get your ass backstage, now. Your mother is gonna be pissed!"
"Fuck yes I am!" Lily yelled, catching both her daughter and ex by surprise. She had arrived at ringside with several officials, on orders from Jeff Jarrett. "Kadence Myers! I can't fucking trust you for more than fifteen minutes, and you—Chris, what the hell is this?"
Kady held onto Chris. This was not the time or the place for either of them to feel her wrath – not on national television.
"I had no idea, Lil!" Chris defended himself, weakly, and rolled out of the ring. Kady had no chance to move, because as quick as lightning he had slipped his arms around her waist and pulled her out of the ring, between the middle and bottom ropes. He set her down but didn't take his arms away. "Don't go after me for this. I thought you'd be watching her!"
"She's fourteen, she doesn't need watching. I thought she'd be able to handle simple instructions!" Lily said, her eyes glowering in Kady's direction, and then back at Chris. She reached out and pulled Kady away from him and told her to go backstage, and the girl slunk away, leaving her parents as she was escorted up the ramp by two officials, on either side of her. Now Lily was able to give him her full attention. "You okay?"
"I'm fine." He replied, a little curious as to why she'd ask. Lily appeared genuinely worried about him.
"Good. Listen. Jarrett's seen everything; he's beyond pissed. He wants to see all four of you and me in Dixie Carter's office after the show. We'll be lucky if we still have our jobs."
"Shit," he muttered, and then remembered he was still in a match. All the camera were either pointed in their direction or what was happening in the ring. James had taken control of Andy and they were keeping things going as best they could. "We'll figure something out, Lil. Just, um… don't be too harsh on her."
"What!"
"Just trust me, okay? After everything we've been through, I think you could give me a little of that!"
Before Lily got a chance to the respond the entire crowd suddenly broke free of their almost dead silence for what was happening, and slowly a deafening round of screams and cheers arose. Lily looked around at them, in confusion, and Chris frowned and noticed that a lot of the audience members were cheering in the direction of the stage, so he looked over her shoulder and had no time to react. Lily, confused at his expression, was about to ask what was going on when two strong arms wrapped around her waist and she was lifted off the ground and pulled aside.
At that same time, Chris was knocked to the ground as his own tag team partner was thrown over the ropes by Andy. James' head bounced off the guardrail as he landed and he groaned and rolled off Chris, feeling the impact surging through his body. He was all but knocked senseless. Lily looked at them and then down at the arms that were still around her… the soft muscles pressed against her, as if protecting her. The arms were tattooed, and oddly painted… blue, green… she then lifted her head to see the person. Darkened hair, with streaks of multi colors framed a serious face that was masked with not just paint, but concern.
"Who are you?"
"Are you okay?"
"I asked you a question first…"
"Answer mine."
"I'm fine…"
"Good," he replied, seriously. "I'm Jeff Hardy."
Chris looked up, through the blood in his eyes, from the ground and growled sightly. What the hell did Jeff Hardy think he was doing? How dare he put his hands on Lily! Chris slowly got to his feet and moved over to where the pair were standing. He gently took Lily's hand in his own and pulled her away from Jeff.
"What the fuck are you doing? Get the hell away from her!" He yelled at Jeff menacingly. Jeff held up his hands and backed off, showing he wasn't there to fight. He took one last look at Lily before turning and walking away. Lily turned on Chris, pulling her hand out of his.
"He just saved me from being impaled by James! God, you really are a jackass sometimes!" She told him.
Andy took advantage of Chris' distracted state and got out of the ring next to James. He lifted the nearly comatose cowboy to his feet and rolled him into the ring before climbing back in himself. He covered him, hooking one leg, and counted along as the ref called for the 1-2-3. The bell was rung and the announcer's voice rang out.
"The winners, and still NWA Tag Team Champions, Andy Douglas and Chase Stevens – The Naturals!"
Chris spun quickly to face the ring and held his hands to his head. He couldn't believe that it was over... that he and James had lost their shot at the titles all because of Kady and Lily's interference. Andy grabbed the title belts from the ref and rolled from the ring, handing one to Chase who was still cuffed to the guardrail.
"Hey, Wildcat... got the keys to these things?" Chase called out. Chris glared at him,
"No." He stated before helping James out of the ring and supporting him on their way up the ramp and through the tunnel.
While all this was taking place, Jeff Hardy had made his way through to the backstage area. He was a little shocked by Chris' reaction to him helping the chick out but figured it was because she was his girlfriend... fiancé... wife – whatever. He was pretty sure that the girl he'd seen earlier was connected to the two of them somehow but couldn't be bothered trying to work it out. That was, until he saw her again. She was standing off to one side of the tunnel he'd just walked through, security keeping a close eye on her. She looked to be in a state of extreme nervousness and concern.
"Hey, you okay?" Jeff asked as he walked over to her.
"I... I guess so. I saw you help my mother. Thanks." Kady offered with a weak smile.
"Don't mention it. Didn't take a genius to see that something bad was going to happen." Jeff replied. Kady nodded.
"Why were you out there anyway?" She wondered. Jeff smiled.
"I saw you sneak through the supply room. I tend to hide out in there when I need some space. Figured you were up to something so I followed you out and kept and eye on things. You sure gave security a run for their money on the way up the ramp." He chuckled, remembering her pulling herself out of one of the security people's grip.
"I don't like being touched by idiots." Kady shrugged. Jeff laughed. He was about to ask the girl what her name was and how she was connected with everything when Chris Harris' voice broke into their conversation.
"Kady, baby, you okay?"
Kady and Jeff turned to see Chris supporting James who was holding a hand to his head. Kady nodded.
"I'm a lot better than the two of you look." She pointed out. Jeff grabbed a towel from a crew member and handed it to Chris who accepted it gratefully.
"Thanks, Jeff. Sorry about snapping at you out there... I just didn't realize what you were doing." He told Jeff apologetically as he used the towel to wipe the blood from his eyes.
"No harm done... at least, not to me." Jeff figured. Chris nodded and looked at his tag team partner seriously.
"Guess I should get this guy checked out. Kady, stay put until your mom gets back here. You're in a world of trouble already." He warned. Kady winced, knowing he was right, before nodding.
"You need to get that cut looked at, too. It's pretty nasty." She told him. Chris nodded and began walking away.
"Oh, one more thing. Have you got the keys for the cuffs?" He wondered, turning back to look at her over his shoulder.
"Yeah, in my pocket. Why?" Kady queried.
"Pretend you lost them, alright?" He winked. Kady laughed as Chris and James walked away. Jeff thought that now he'd get a chance to piece things together with the girl he now knew to be Kady.
"I haven't introduced myself yet. I'm Jeff Hardy." He told her.
"Kady Myers." She replied, figuring it was only fair. Jeff was about to say something else when he was once again interrupted. This time, by the woman he'd helped at ringside.
"Kadence, do you have the keys for the handcuffs?" Lily asked, glaring at her child darkly.
Kady patted her pockets a few times before looking up again. Jeff caught her eye and shook his head, relaying the thought that it probably wasn't a good idea to piss this woman off anymore than she already was. Kady took the hint and shoved her hand into her pocket, retrieving the keys and handing them to her mother. Lily turned away and headed back through the tunnel without another word and Jeff watched Kady shudder slightly.
"She's pretty angry." He noted. Kady half laughed.
"No kidding. I'm in so much trouble." She knew.
"Listening to Chris just then wouldn't have helped things." Jeff pointed out.
"I know." She nodded.
A little while later Andy, Chase, James, Chris and Lily filed into Dixie's office. Jerry Jarrett, Jeff Jarrett and Dixie Carter were all present. Lily had hesitantly asked Jeff Hardy if he'd keep an eye on Kady until they were done and he'd agreed without a second thought. This didn't keep Lily from worrying that the girl would get herself into trouble but she hoped that Jeff was responsible enough to reign the teenager in. It was only going to be for a little while, after all.
Dixie motioned for the group to sit down. Lily carefully positioned herself between the tag teams, hoping that it would stop them from arguing between themselves. The last thing anyone needed right now was for a brawl to break out. Jerry Jarrett was sitting on a corner of Dixie's desk, which she was positioned behind. Jeff Jarrett was leaning against the wall, off to one side. The five people who had come before them knew, by the looks on their faces, that they were not happy. Dixie took a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves, before addressing them.
"I absolutely cannot believe what happened out there. Once again, an AMW vs The Naturals match almost ruins the entire show. It's like watching a rerun of a bad movie, it really is!" She fumed before taking another breath. Chris took the moment of silence to speak up.
"None of us meant for it to happen." He assured her. Dixie glared at him and Chris sunk into his seat slightly.
"Be that as it may, it did happen. Things got out of control... for a second time! That's what's so unbelievable. We thought that, after what happened last time, the four of you would be able to conduct yourselves in a more professional manner this time. Clearly, we were wrong. Not only did you put each other at risk out there but you also put a child at risk! James, what would've happened if Chase had snapped and accidentally hit Kadence?" Dixie challenged, turning her glare on James.
"Uh... I don't know. I guess I didn't really stop to think about it. I figured she'd be safe as long as I was watching her." James admitted.
"Idiot." Jeff Jarrett muttered. James made a move that looked like he was going to get out of his chair in order to get into Jeff's face but Chris reached out a hand and shoved him back into his seat.
"This brings me to another point. What the hell was Kadence thinking, going out there in the first place? Surely she'd be smart enough to know that what was happening out there was staged? Why the hell would she interfere?" Dixie wondered. Lily opened her mouth to say something to defend her daughter, but James beat her to it.
"She was worried about Chris. Andy was going a little overboard with him in the ring and she was scared he'd end up in hospital." He informed his boss seriously, sparing a moment to swap his glare between Jeff and Andy.
"Hey, Chris knew I was going to be repaying the favor! He should've told Kady not to worry about it. I wouldn't have gone as far as to put him in the hospital." Andy defended.
"Well you weren't exactly going easy on me with those punches. You totally strayed from the outline we'd set down." Chris pointed out.
"Not like you've never done that before." Chase muttered, defending his tag partner.
"Shut the hell up, Stevens!" James yelled, jumping to Chris' defense as well. Lily sat in the middle and put her head in her hands. It was like a mini world war was breaking out. Finally, they were all silenced.
"Shut up, all of you!" Jerry ordered. The wrestlers lowered their heads, having good enough sense to know not to argue with him.
"Now, it seems to me that none of you are responsible enough to continue working for this company. You've all screwed up tonight, in one way or another, and put our show in jeopardy. You've made us all look bad and, I, for one, don't like to look bad! All of you may not care about it but we do. We have to." Jerry told them seriously. Silence descended on the room for a moment before Lily said something.
"I can't speak for the guys but... I totally understand where you're coming from. I can appreciate the fact that Kady going out there and interfering was not only stupid, on her part, but extremely dangerous. I should know by now not to take my eyes off her for a second. I apologize for that and am completely willing to offer my resignation right now." She stated calmly, though she felt like bursting into tears right then and there.
"That won't be needed, Lily." Jeff spoke up, pushing himself off the wall and moving to stand at the opposite end of the desk to his father.
"We just need your word that Kady won't do anything like this again." He continued.
"I... I wish I could promise that but... I can't make a promise I can't keep. Kady needs to make it." Lily stammered, knowing she couldn't control Kadence if she put her mind to doing something.
"I'm sure she's learned her lesson. You can't be too hard on her, she's just a kid." Chris reasoned, worried that Kady being forced to promise anything to these people might make her revert back to being the angry person she'd been when he'd first met her.
"Oh, come on, Chris! You seriously think she's learned her lesson? She keeps making the same stupid mistakes over and over again and if we ignore that and don't crack down on her for it, she's just going to keep going down that path. I'm sick of it!" Lily blurted, her anger at what Kady had done returning. Chris was shocked by her outburst but before he could say anything in reply, Jerry spoke up again.
"As it stands, all of you are suspended until further notice. We won't stand for anything like this happening again. Unfortunately, that means that you two will be losing the titles. Zybysko will strip you of them next week." Jerry explained.
"Hey, now... wait a second! I didn't do anything wrong. I don't see why I should be punished." Chase defended himself.
"He's right. Look, suspend me for as long as you want, I'm fine with that, but... everyone else is innocent in this – other than Kady. And I guess James, for letting her stay out there. I don't see why Chase or Andy should be punished for my kid's mistake." Chris pointed out.
"Chase is probably the most innocent one of all of you. He had no control over what happened out there. Andy, the reason for your suspension is that you went too far in the ring, putting Chris in danger. I thought we'd covered this after what he did to you." Jerry mused.
"We did. I..." Andy tried to defend himself.
"I told him to pay me back. It was only fair. He didn't go too far, at all. I stand by the fact that they shouldn't be suspended or lose the titles. I'll walk out of here now and never come back if that's what it would take for Andy and Chase to keep them." Chris vowed.
"Nonsense, Chris. You walking out won't help matters at all." Dixie told him before sighing, her anger now wearing down.
"Look, management will discuss punishments for each of you, based on how much trouble you've caused. Chase, I believe a 3 week suspension will be enough for you. The rest of you, you're suspended until we decide what else to do with you. Now get the hell out of my office before I snap and fire you all." Dixie threatened. The group in front of her got to their feet and filed out of the room quietly, probably all pondering what they'd been told.
"Well, this is fantastic." Chase muttered, following behind Andy.
"Sorry, man. Didn't mean for you to get into trouble." Andy apologized.
"You're probably the only one here I don't blame." Chase told him in a loud whisper. Not quiet enough to go undetected and he was soon clutching the back of his head after James hit him.
"If you've got something to say, Stevens, say it." James dared him.
"Fine. The stunt that kid pulled out there tonight was beyond stupid! She never should've been able to get anywhere near the stage, let alone the ring. The fact that she did, and that she cuffed me to the fucking guardrail pisses me off! But, I can't blame her for it. She's a kid, someone else should be responsible for her. Someone should've been watching her!" Chase fumed, venting his frustrations. Chris took this chance to imitate his partner's earlier action and hit Chase upside the head.
"Stop throwing blame around. We know we fucked up, okay?" He assured the younger man.
"We'll deal with Kady, I promise you that." Lily vowed as she spotted her daughter and Jeff Hardy standing just down the hall. As Andy, Chase and James walked past them, Kady heard comments that chilled her completely.
"Troublemaker." Chase muttered.
"Thanks a lot, kid. You almost got us fired." James told her.
"Your folks are pretty angry." Andy warned. That was the comment that hit her the most.
"Mom, I'm so.." Kady started, only to be cut off by a glare from her mother.
"Don't you dare say another word. Jeff, thank you for watching her. Kady, my office, NOW!" Lily ordered, managing a weak smile in Jeff's direction before she and Chris led the way towards her office. Kady looked up at Jeff, fear written all over her face.
"Shit. This is bad... really, really bad." She told him. Jeff nodded, knowing there was no way he could disagree.
"Time to face the music. The longer you stall, the worse it'll be." He told her. Kady looked around the hallway for a moment.
"Think you could look the other way for a second? If I can get to an exit, I'll be okay." She joked, though he could tell she was half serious.
Jeff shook his head and pointed in the direction Lily and Chris had gone. Kady nodded and followed after her parents, her head hung in shame. When she reached the office, Chris was holding the door open for her. She stepped inside and he followed, almost slamming the door as he closed it behind himself. Lily was pacing the room, a hand rubbing at her left temple. Kady stood watching her for a moment before once again trying to speak up.
A/N: Ahh! Cliffhanger! I really am evil, aren't I? Considering I separated the story into chapters… direct all your frustration at me, Phoenix is the innocent one for once. But never fear! Another chapter is near!
