Disclaimer: I absolutely positively own none of the characters used in this story. They belong to Vince McMahon, the WWE, or themselves. No profit is made from this story; it is strictly fictional and strictly for fun!
A/N: I do not have any excuse for not posting other than the muses got stuck for a little while. However, I'm proud to say that those days are over and the muses are working rather nicely right now. Thanks for all those who have waited patiently (and impatiently) for updates. Remember all reviews, good or bad, are welcomed!
Dave walked back and forth in his motel room like a caged animal ready to pounce on the first thing that moved. He took his hand and rubbed his neck in frustration. He was so tense and there was nothing he could do about it.
Pacing back and forth, he couldn't help but wonder what was going to happen in the next few days. There was one thing that he knew wouldn't happen; nothing would happen to Stephanie McMahon. He didn't care what Hunter wanted him to do; he was having no part of kidnapping the youngest McMahon.
While it very well may mean the end of his career, he really didn't give a damn at that point. This was about taking somebody's freedom away from them. It went against everything Dave believed in and he just simple could not do it. He had portrayed a lie with Evolution and it was coming back to haunt him.
The memories of all the wild parties flashed thru his mind like a bad television movie. At first, it was the life that men only dream of. He had been with some beautiful women and had enjoyed their company for short periods of time. After a while, the beautiful women all looked the same as they were only there for bragging rights.
Slowly but surely, he had begun to pull away from it all. He would plead needing to work out or blame it on taking a bad bump; it hadn't taken much, explanation wise, for Hunter and Ric to leave him alone after that. That kind of lifestyle, while exciting at first, seemed to be an empty way to live life.
The shrilling ring of the telephone stopped him in his tracks. His heart went to pounding in his chest like he had just gotten off of a treadmill at the gym. He had only one thought on his mind, "Please don't be Hunter." He needed time and space from him for now. He slowly walked over to the phone and picked it up. With a deep breath, he spoke. "Hello?"
"Dave man, I'm glad I found you," Randy said the relief in his voice evident. Everything seemed to be working in their favor but Dave didn't know that. He smiled as he let his friend hear exactly what he needed to hear. "I found Stephanie and Chris. They know everything."
"Do they believe you?" Dave asked with a look of relief on his face. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He knew things would only get tougher from here on out, but at least now, he wasn't alone. The weight of the world seemed to melt off of his shoulders and for the first time in a long time, he actually smiled a real smile.
"Yeah, they do," Randy said with a small smile looking over his shoulder. Chris, Jay, and Benoit were standing there nodding their heads in agreement. Randy felt better and better by the second. Everything was going to work out; he could feel it in his bones. "We need to know what exactly they have planned so far."
Dave took a deep breath and looked out the window. He noticed a dove flying in the sky and took it as a sign from above. It was time to spread his wings and fly. Fly as far away from Hunter and his influence as he could get. "So far, they haven't said anything specific. I do know that it is going to take place during Raw. Which part of Raw, they haven't decided on yet."
"Okay, we can use that," Randy said thoughtfully. Randy looked over at Chris with a calm but sad look on his face. It wasn't much to go on but at least it was something. It would have made things much easier if they had had an exact time. At least, they knew of a five-hour time frame. Everybody had to arrive early for the live shows and if it were actually during the show, it would be within a 2-½ hour time frame. While it really didn't seem like much, it was better than not knowing anything at all.
"Let me talk to him," Chris said quietly holding out his hand. He owed this man for the risk he was taking. It was time to let him know that he had a few good men on his side. He took the phone from Randy, with a wink. "Dave, it's Chris."
"Hey Chris," Dave said quietly wondering what was going on. He had heard the exchange between Chris and Randy. He found it surprising that Chris wanted to talk to him. They didn't know each other very well. "What can I do for you?"
"First off, thank you for giving us the heads up," Chris said quietly. He looked over at Stephanie on the couch and a rage seemed to take over his body. He quickly took a deep breath and shook his head of its dangerous thoughts. "Stephanie means the world to me and I will do whatever it takes to protect her."
"I'm sorry that it's happening. I almost feel responsible. There must have been a way to see this coming," Dave said with sadness in his voice. He knew that Chris and Stephanie really cared about each other. He had seen them together, not only on the night of the Highlight Reel, but afterwards as well. To say that those two cared about each other was an understatement.
"No, I don't think that there was. Hunter would have bided his time until the time was right and struck quickly. You just happen to be the one that he has chosen to take the fall," Chris said honestly. After working with Hunter for as long as he had, he knew what kind of darkness lurked just beneath the surface. He had seen it a time or two and never wanted to see it again.
"As soon as I find out for sure the time, I will call Randy. I give you my word on that," Dave said quietly into the phone. He needed Chris to know that he was there for the long haul. He didn't care what he had to do but he was going to fix this mess before it got any messier than it already was.
"Thanks man, I appreciate that. I'll give the phone back to Randy. Be careful and good luck," Chris said before handing the phone back to Randy who, with a nod to the rest of them, walked into another part of the house.
Chris walked over to Benoit and Jay with a small smile on his face. Dave seemed to be on the up and up. He also couldn't help but feel in his gut that Dave was one of the good guys. "I think we've found a new friend."
"Are you sure we can trust him?" Benoit asked with a hesitant look on his face. He didn't know Dave very well and didn't know what to think of him. Other than nodding their heads at each other in the hallways, that was basically the only communication they had ever had.
"I'm going to trust my gut on this one," Chris said while placing his hand on Benoit's shoulder. He gave it a tight squeeze and then released it. "My gut tells me that he wants to stop this just as much as we do, if not more so."
"Why do you say that?" Jay asked. He didn't know Dave very well either. He was still reeling with the knowledge that Vince was behind kidnapping his own daughter. Then suddenly it hit Jay; Vince did do that one time in the story lines. "Hey guys, I just thought of something."
"What?" Chris asked intrigued by the look in Jay's eyes. "What is it?"
"Okay, call me crazy but do you remember when Vince did the story line with Stephanie? You know, the one where he had her kidnapped, only you didn't know it was him at the time, but found out later on," Jay said speaking quickly as if on the edge of something brilliant.
"Yeah, it was a few years ago when she first got out of college," Chris said rubbing his chin thoughtfully. He could feel his heart beating in excitement. He knew where his friend was going with it and smiled. "You think Vince will do this the same way he did it in the story line."
"Well sure," Jay said with a smile. He winked at him. "He has already done it this way successfully. Maybe Vince is just foolish enough to think that it would actually work in the real world."
"Damn it Jay, sometimes your brain scares the hell out of me," Benoit said shaking his head in amazement. "Just when I think that I've got you figured out, you pull one out of your ass to show that you not really as stupid as you pretend to be."
"Ssshh, don't tell anybody," Jay said holding his finger up to his lips. "Besides, life is way more fun that way," he said with a smirk.
"Stephanie, are you okay?" Trish asked.
The girls were in the living room kind of cuddled up together. Stephanie was in the middle while Trish had her arm around her. Lilian had her head on Stephanie's shoulder and was holding her hand.
The tears were quietly falling down Stephanie's cheeks. The realization of what her father was planning to do to her was too much for her. He was her father, for crying out loud. He was supposed to protect her. She never thought that she would really ever need protection from her own father. He was supposed to love and protect her.
"No, not really but what does it really matter?" Stephanie said with her voice choked up. The tears kept falling silently down her face as she talked. "I mean, I can't be the only girl in the world that has a maniac for a father."
"Probably not sweetie, but hey, at least you have friends that love you," Trish said with a small smile. She reached up and wiped Stephanie's tears from her face. "Besides, we still have an ace in the hole. Actually two aces."
"What? What are you talking about?" Stephanie said with a mystified look on her face. She turned to look at Trish with questioning eyes. Her eyes widened and a small smile started emerging on her face. "I know exactly what you are thinking."
"Yes sweetie, you sure do," Trish said with a smile laced with a smirk. She pulled her arm out from around Stephanie's shoulders. She jumped up off of the couch and started pacing while talking everything out in her mind.
"You know, those two helping us out, oh man, we could really do some damage," Trish said with an evil smirk. She put her hands on her hips and stopped in front of Stephanie. "Would like a little revenge on your dad for the whole 'mental institution' angle with your mom? I know that I would."
"I would love to," Stephanie said with an evil smirk of her own. She quickly wiped the tears from her face and jumped up with a smile on her face. She then took Trish in her arms, hugging her, while Lilian smiled from the couch. "Not only is it time to finish playing the game, it's time to beat the game."
Vince McMahon took a sip out of his drink before setting it back on his desk. He then looked at the picture of his family on his desk and grimaced. He just couldn't understand why his children treated him the way that they did.
They absolutely did not have a shred of respect for him or the business that he had sacrificed so much to build. He couldn't understand it at all. He had given them everything that they could have possibly wanted. He had taken them on trips to see the world. Most children would have been grateful for that, but not his children.
Shane turned out to be a mama's boy in the worst kind of way. With his face grimaced, he thought of his son, the man that he thought would run the company some day. "There's no chance in hell," he muttered to himself as he picked his drink back up. Taking a long swig, he sat there holding his glass and staring at the floor.
Shane was not a problem right now, Stephanie was. In his mind, it was time to teach his youngest child a very valuable lesson. She had to learn to obey her father, in all things. It wasn't right for a child to disrespect her father's authority, in the most blatant way possible, on his show, Raw.
"Damn it," Vince said slamming the glass down on the desk. Whiskey spilled up towards the side, spilling a few drops on the desk. With a glassy-eyed look, his face suddenly started smiling. "She can't get away from me. She's done wrong and Stephanie must pay for what she has done."
Shane backed away from his father's study with a worried look on his face. He had seen his father like this before and it was something that he had hoped to never see again. His dad had the look of a man on a mission of destruction. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He opened his eyes, which were burning bright with steely determination.
He slowly turned and started walking towards the front door. He had stopped by to show his father the new layout planned for the website. He had gotten to the door just as Vince slammed his drink down on the desk. Hearing what his father had to say made him feel chills up and down his spine.
He walked out the door and quickly to his car. He had to talk to Stephanie. He had to. He didn't have a choice. There were times when Shane had doubts about his father's sanity. This was one of those times.
He got into the Lexus and cranked up the car. As he pulled out of the driveway, he muttered, "What kind of man wants revenge like that on his daughter?"
He quickly pulled out onto the road wondering and thinking about what to do. He knew he had to talk to Stephanie, the sooner the better. However, he had no clue as to where she was. She was bad about not keeping her cell phone on when she was out with friends.
"Okay Shane, think," Shane muttered while putting his hand up to tap on his lips. "Who could she be hanging out with?"
Chris flashed thru his head but he grimaced. He didn't have his cell phone number. Jay and Trish flashed thru his mind and he grimaced again, he didn't have their cell phones either. Suddenly he grabbed his cell phone, looking at the numbers programmed into his directory. He smiled as he saw that he had Lilian Garcia's number. "She's good friends with Trish. I bet she could give me her cell number," Shane said as he pushed send on his phone.
Stephanie sat there feeling better, now that Chris was sitting beside of her. Trish and Lilian had quietly walked out of the room when Chris walked in and sat down beside of Stephanie. He had his arm around her and held her as tightly to himself as he could without making her uncomfortable. She sighed and laid her head down on his shoulder. "I could stay like this forever," Stephanie said with her eyes closed.
Chris smiled softly before kissing her softly on the forehead. He loved how any time he touched her, or kissed her, that she always leaned towards him. She made him feel things that he had never felt before with anybody. He had never really thought to analyze his feelings too much. He just knew that he would never let anything happen to her; he would die first. "Me too."
Stephanie pulled her head back and looked into his blue eyes. "You know, I bet you weren't banking on this much excitement by hiring me as your manager."
Chris laughed a little before mock punching her on the cheek. "Well, you know, I knew it would be one hell of a ride." He then rubbed his finger on the tip of her nose. "I wouldn't have missed it for the world."
"Why did we let so much time pass between us?" Stephanie asked with a questioning look on her face. It had been on her mind and decided that she needed to know just exactly how long he had had a crush on her. "Tell me something Jericho, how long have you been crushing on me?"
Chris smiled with an amused look on his face. "I daresay, the first time I called you a filthy, dirty, disgusting, brutal,bottom feeding, trash bag ho."
"Wow, that long, huh?" Stephanie asked with an amused look on her face. She pursed her lips for a minute before a sly smile appeared. She looked at him like she could ravish him and Chris could only imagine the things that the woman in front of him, with that intense look in her eyes, could and hopefully, would do to him one day. Then she spoke softly as if telling him a secret. "You know, it always kind of made me hot when you called me all those dirty little names."
Chris eyes immediately flared up and noticed how her eyes lit up even more when he looked at her that way. "You know, I always knew that it did. You could tell by the way you looked at me with those hopeful eyes, desperatelybeggingme to kiss you."
Stephanie felt a heat run thru her body that shocked her for just a moment before she decided to just revel in it. She leaned up and kissed him on the lips softly before pulling back. "You know what, I think that maybe it's time."
Chris felt as though a monster had been unleashed from its cage. His nostrils flared while his eyes burned so bright that they looked white. There was no mistaking what she meant. "Are you sure that you are ready for this? I can't promise control."
Stephanie laid her hand on his cheek. "I don't want control."
Chris grabbed her hand and kissed it softly while groaning. He quickly stood up and pulled her into his arms and held her while rubbing her hair. She closed her eyes while wishing they could stay like this forever. As much as Chris wanted her, he knew that he couldn't. "Now is not the time, sweet cheeks."
"I know," Stephanie muttered against his shoulder. She pulled back and smiled. "It was fun though, wasn't it?"
"Well, give me a few minutes to control my 'manly' self and I'll let you know," Chris said chuckling at the look on her face. She looked horrified. "It's okay Stephanie. I am a big boy, I can control it."
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean for it to go that far," Stephanie said with a slight blush on her face. She wasn't blushing because she was sorry. She was blushing so she could keep her head down and checked out her boyfriend's package. She suddenly wished that they were alone.
"Stephanie, I swear, you should get an Academy Award for your acting skills," Chris said shaking his head. He had known her for a long time and knew how she operated. She could work it, play it, and act it, in ways that left most people speechless.
"Now Chris, I don't know what you are talking about," Stephanie said with a mystified look on her face. She knew he was on to her but she wanted to know if he was just guessing. She had a pretty decent chance of that being the case.
"Oh yes, you do," Chris said with a smirk. He reached up with his hand and caressed her neck. "You knew very well what you were doing just a minute ago," he said moving around behind her to kiss her neck where his hand at been. He smiled as he felt her shiver. "Just like I know exactly what I'm doing to you."
"What?" Stephanie said breathless and her eyes closed. When he touched her with his hand, she had already felt a little warm. When she felt his warm breath on her neck, and then his soft kiss in her most sensitive part of her neck, well she couldn't do anything but feel like jello at the current moment.
Chris got back in front of her and kissed her softly on the lips, just barely touching them. He pulled back and brushed her hair behind her ears. "When I make love to you Princess, it's going to be the most amazing, most awesomely, wonderful thing you have ever felt."
Stephanie opened her eyes and gasped at the look on Chris's face. She could see the hunger he had for her. She couldn't stop herself from throwing herself in his arms.
Chris quickly wrapped his armsaround her and held her tight. They needed to get control and now. Things had started out teasingly but now, the want and the need came screaming from the both of them, demanding some sort of satisfaction.
Stephanie closed her eyes and tried to concentrate on her breathing. Now wasn't the time for this. When this happened, she wanted to be alone with the man she loved. She quickly opened her eyes and smiled. Up until that moment, she didn't realize that she had loved Chris but it was staring her in the face, daring her to deny it. She loved him. It was as simple as that.
"We need to chill out Princess," Chris muttered against her hair. He quickly pulled himself away from her but grabbed her hands. He opened his mouth to speak when Lilian walked into the room.
"Oops, sorry guys, am I interrupting?" Lilian asked with a slight blush on her face. Both of their faces were flushed and they were breathing a little on the heavy side. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what they had been doing.
"No, not at all," Stephanie said grateful for the interruption. "What's up?"
Lilian held out her cell phone with a smile. "Shane is on my cell, he's been looking for you. He needs to talk to you."
With a mystified look on her face, Stephanie took the phone. Lilian turned to walk out and Chris grabbed her by the arm. "Could you tell everybody to come in here for a minute? Something is telling me that this might be important."
"Sure Chris," Lilian said with a sad smile. She quickly turned and walked out of the room.
"Hello?"
"Stephanie, thank God I found you. Listen, dad has wigged out big time," Shane said with a relived look on his face. At least, he found her quickly.
"Yeah, I know," Stephanie muttered in a bored tone. "He's planning on kidnapping me at the next Raw. I think 'wigged out' is a tame term for it Shane."
"Kidnapping you? What are you talking about?" Shane asked.
Stephanie took a deep breath. She could hear the car radio and knew he was riding in his car. "Find a place to pull over. Once you do that, I'll tell you everything that we know."