For His Own Good Chapter 5: Part 04, a wrestling fanfic

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Part Four

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"Did not."

"Did too!"

"Did not."

"You so did."

"I. Did. Not."

"Yeah, you did."

"I d-"

"Oh, for the love of all that is Holy, will you two shut the hell up?" Lita cried, her hands clenching as if she'd very much like either of their heads between them.

"Isn't that my line?" Chris asked, changing lanes as they neared their exit.

"I don't care who says it," Lita said, still sounding high strung. "But if either of them continues talking, I will hurt them." She glared into the rear view mirror at the two all-too-innocent faces staring back at her. "Understood."

"Yes, Mom," Edge said with a smirk.

"You're only agreeing because you know I'm right," Jeff muttered.

"Don't make me turn this car around," Chris said in a commanding tone, but it was obvious that he was trying not to laugh.

"Yes, Dad."

Edge and Jeff glanced at each other, a devious look passing between them.

"Are we there yet?"

"That's it!" Lita growled and they instantly shut up. "The next person to speak is getting themselves signed up for a Hell in the Cell with the Undertaker. Do I make myself clear?"

There was blissful silence from the back seat. Then her phone rang.

"What?" she barked, answering it and not checking to see, nor particularly caring who was on the other end. She figured it was most likely Stacy checking to see if they were almost at her house and her mood would be accepted; Stacy knew that she was still trapped in a very small moving vehicle with Jeff and Edge.

"Eh…Lita?"

Her demeanour changed instantly. The effect was so visible that the three men exchanged worried glances.

"What do you want?" she said softly. Her words gave away the identity of the caller, but she shook her head when the others tried to take the phone from her. How long had it been? Six months? More? There had been a time when she had known down to the hour.

Ignoring Edge's growled words ("I'll kill him"), she tried to keep calm. She jumped when she felt a hand slip into hers, the one not holding the phone, and smiled briefly at Chris, who was doing bad job of keeping his eyes on the road.

"What do you want, Matt?" she repeated, feeling slightly stronger for the contact.

"I miss you."

"You don't have the right," she answered. "You willingly gave up that right." She knew there were tears in her eyes, but she wouldn't let them fall. She wouldn't let him cause her any more pain.

"I know…but I miss you and I miss Jeff."

"Then you should have thought about that before you-"

"I know. I just…I want you back, Lita, both of you."

"I can't speak for Jeff-"

"Yes, you can."

She turned at the soft words, the tight line of Jeff's jaw telling her he meant what he said. Sighing, she turned back around, catching Chris' eyes. She didn't want to speak for Jeff. Matt was his brother and, one day, those bridges would mend. She didn't want to be the one to cause that pain to last longer then it would otherwise. Instead she changed tact, rather surprised that Matt had remained silent until she was ready.

"It's too soon, Matt."

"When will it be okay?"

"I don't know if it ever will. You can't get me back, because I'm not something you just lost Matt, I'm a person…a person you tried to break."

"I know."

To say that Matt's career and personal life had entered a quick downward spiral since joining Smackdown was an understatement and she had to wonder if that was the only reason he was repenting now. However, she wasn't about to become like him. She wouldn't throw away years of friendship if it could be saved. At some point, maybe. Just not now.

"Give it time, Matt."

"How much time?"

"I don't know," she said honestly. "Maybe never. Just…just let things settle. Don't call us, Matt. Let us get on with our lives."

"And if I want to be a part of your lives?"

"Then give us the space we need." Not giving him the chance to respond, she hung up and took in a shuddering breath. Chris' hand tightened in hers and she gave it a short squeeze. The silence in the car was uncomfortable and she glanced at Jeff in the mirror, not surprised to see the far away look in his eyes. She sighed, wishing there was something she could say to lighten the mood.

As if answering her prayers, her phone rang and this time, she was pleased to see, the caller was indeed Stacy.

"Hey, Stace."

"Hey, are you guys nearly here?"

Checking the road signs, Lita nodded, despite knowing that the blonde couldn't see her. "Yeah, about another thirty minutes, I think."

"Thank God," Stacey said with a sigh of relief. "Ashley's driving me insane."

Lita chuckled as she heard the young brunette protesting in the background. "Well, we're nearly there and then Ash and Jeff can spend all the time they want torturing Edge."

"What did I ever do to you?" came a protest from behind her.

She smiled when she saw Jeff had perked up a little at the news and handed her cell phone into the back for Edge and Jeff to fight over, they both got on well with Stacy and her cousin and Lita was hoping that meant the week's break would be relaxing. Taking a few minutes to listen to the conversation going on around her, or at least the third that she could hear, it took Lita a moment to realise that Chris had yet to let go of her hand. It was probably a bad thing, given that he was driving, but she smiled nonetheless.

"Hey."

She looked up at the sound of his voice and smiled. "Hey yourself."

"You okay," he asked, glancing at her momentarily before turning his attention back to the road. It amazed her that one brief glance always managed to send a shiver all the way to the tips of her toes.

"I am, actually." She smiled, realising that it was true. "I really think I am."

"Good."

She watched up unabashedly, smiling when he began to fidget under her stare. She opened her mouth to thank him, to tell him that she was glad that he was back in her life, that she wanted to keep him here…maybe even to tell him that she was pretty sure she was in love with him. But she didn't. She closed her mouth and opted to squeeze his hand.

He glanced at her and she grinned at him.

She didn't need to say a word.

He already knew.

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The End

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I realise that this likely wasn't the epic you were expecting, but I think I prefer it this way. Hope you all enjoyed and thanks very much to those of you who sent feedback and voted on the pairing for this one.

If you want more say in what I update and in pairings for certain fics etc, you can do so at my Yahoo Group, KyiziFic.

Thanks for reading, feel free to review .

coughthat's a hintcough