Forgive My Hesitation

Rating: M for language, violence

Disclaimer: I don't own a thing you recognize.. That should cover it properly.

Spoilers: From RAW, January 2nd.. A few on back and up to RAW, January 16th… just not like you might expect.

Eventual Pairings: Lita/John Cena, Stacy/Chris Masters, Lillian/Batista, Victoria/Tyson Tomko, Trish/Jeff, Candice/Not telling

Summary: When Lita takes a stand, she finds help from friends and from people that she never would have expected.

Notes: alrighty, I've established who Lita's brother is…a few things will be uncovered in this chapter.. Contract stuff will be covered next chapter. Two more faces will be showing up in this chapter…and that's it. I will admit, that I'm second guessing myself a tad on something, but… I think I'm sticking with my original idea. And, not that it matters too much now, the whole Melina/Dave thing from Smackdown, never happened. That all said, please return your trays to their upright and locked positions and enjoy the flight…err…chapter.

-x-x-x-

Randy, Victoria, Chris and Shawn stayed in the hospital room long enough to talk to both Ric and Lita; somewhat assuring themselves that they would be alright. They found out that Ric was going to be discharged later that morning, while Lita was possibly stuck another day for observation purposes. And just as he had stated at the hotel, Randy promised to deliver Edge's head on the sharpest object he could find…that comment earning a tiny smile from the redheaded Diva. Despite her current state, Lita seemed to be in a good mood. Of course, they weren't sure if that was just for show, or if she was really in a good mood.. Chris, Victoria and Randy convinced it was the former. Just given what had happened, Lita shouldn't be in a good mood.. Or maybe she was, since she had managed to accomplish her goal last night. They all knew how much she despised Edge and how close she was to Ric…or at least Victoria and Randy did, and perhaps, that was one reason they could understand why Lita would be somewhat happy. And for the good that she had done, she had paid the price for it. On that same hand, they also knew that there would be hell to pay where it concerned one blonde Canadian. Since the knowledge about the family ties were limited, Victoria doubted that Edge had the slightest clue as to who Lita's brother was. Not that it really made that much of a difference anyway, just that… Edge had picked the wrong family to fuck with. She already knew what Dave was capable of…he had taken out Goldberg, taken on Kane, both in OVW and in the WWE…gone toe to toe with the Big Show. The dark haired Diva also knew, that where it concerned his baby sister, Dave would stop at nothing to get his revenge.

Victoria sent her friend a smile, "Li? Are you going to be alright for an hour or two?"

Lita managed a weak nod, "Dave had said something about getting food."

Ric sent a look over from his hospital bed, "I'll keep an eye on her.. I'm not being released until later anyway so.."

Shawn raised an eyebrow at the Nature Boy, "none of your shenanigans, ya hear? I don't want to come back here to see you strutting around this room."

Victoria shook her head, gently squeezing Lita's hand. "We'll be back as soon we can, okay? Trish said she'll stop by later and I'm sure Ty will want to see you, too."

Dave stuck his head inside the hospital room, "Orton… stop hovering over my sister." An eyebrow raised, the World Heavyweight champion setting one foot inside, "baby girl? We'll be back in less than two hours, I promise."

Lita almost rolled her eyes, "not like I can move.."

Randy did roll his eyes, "I wasn't hovering… I was just sitting down." Blue eyes turned back to the redhead, "we'll be back in a bit, alright Red? I'll see if I can sneak in a candy bar or something."

Lita watched as Victoria, Chris, Randy and Shawn left; hazel eyes shifting over to Ric. "How're you?"

"I'm alright thanks to you," Ric shook his head at the Diva, "little girl.. Why'd you do that?"

"Because I had to," her eyes closed a moment, "Ric.. I couldn't just stand there and do nothing…"

The Nature Boy raised an eyebrow, "Li… when I asked you to stay out of my matches with H… you stayed out."

"This was different, Ric.." Lita sighed, "I can't let him destroy someone else.."

Ric frowned, swinging his legs over the side of his bed. "Baby girl, he's destroyin' you.." His expression changed when she looked away, "Li.. I've watched you change since you've been at his side.."

"From being a rebellious punk to being a slut?"

"No," Ric paused, not wanting to insult her in any way but…she needed to hear this from someone. "I've watched you fade away over the past few months…you've become this mindless shell of what used to be .. You used to be this beautiful, vibrant, daredevil, carefree woman. You are still beautiful, but…you've just changed so much.. You never would've taken crap from anyone.. You just follow him blindly, listen to whatever he has to say without a word in protest.. That is not the Lita I know.."

Lita shifted carefully so she was facing him, "sometimes it's necessary Ric.. sometimes it's just easier."

"Necessary?" The Intercontinental Champion shook his head, "are you listenin' to yourself darlin? It's like he's got you brainwashed."

"The wicked must be punished.."

"That's a crock of horseshit," Ric ran a hand through his hair, "if he's the one who thinks he's immune from punishment, he has another thing coming. He's done more wrong than you, by treating you the way he has."

A tear leaked from the corner of her right eye, "I don't know what else to do.."

"That's not true.. You stuck up for me last night." His expression softened slightly, "it's time for you to stick up for yourself…look out for yourself."

A soft knock at the door prevented Lita from replying, the two glancing over cautiously.

"I jus' wanna make sure I'm not interruptin' anything.."

The redhead offered the man a smile, "that wouldn't stop you anyway, would it?"

"Well, no… I cain't say it would but.. I thought I'd do the right thing, ya know?"

Ric gestured for the Cameron native to come in. "How've you been kid?"

"Eh.." Jeff Hardy settled on one of the chairs between the two beds. "I've been doin' ya know? Got myself into some more hot water over at TNA but.."

Lita sent him a pointed look, "I thought you were gonna stay out of trouble.."

Jeff raised an eyebrow, "you are in no position to lecture me, little lady.. Not after the stunt you pulled last night. Now, I'll admit.. It was nice to see some fire in ya, but did ya hafta go on an' do something that stupid?"

"Jeff.." Lita turned her face away, "not now…please.."

Since he didn't want to push her, Jeff replied hesitantly, his attention shifting back to Ric.

-x-x-x-

While they were only intending to be away for an hour or two at most; Dave, Lillian, Randy, Chris and Victoria found themselves being held up. First, Trish had stopped them in the lobby to ask about Lita… Victoria letting her know that she was awake and that she could come with them when they went back. Candice also asked about the redhead's condition, the dark haired Diva also wanting to visit. And while those two instances had been easy enough to deal with, the next two provided for some complications. Granted, the first was Stephanie, letting them know that she had put in some calls to get a copy of that contract from corporate headquarters, and once she had it in her hands… she'd look over it for any loopholes. That brought some relief to Victoria and Dave…though really, the two wondered why Lita couldn't just be separated from Edge due to his actions last night. The second instance, however, involved Chris' room-mate; Dave, Chris and Randy soon learning that they really needed to check for sure signs of sleeping people before they decided to talk. But, they didn't know how much he had overheard, or if he had really understood what they had been talking about. Certainly, they had been talking about Lita, but they had never mentioned her name. On the other hand, there were only two RAW superstars injured last night and they had used a feminine pronoun. Still, Chris stopped into his hotel room long enough to grab his wallet, the young wrestler just preparing to head back into the hallway when he heard a cough from one of the beds.

"Now.. This really ain't my business," John Cena bridged his hands behind his head. "But, I'm kinda curious as to why Randy Orton and Dave Batista would be in this hotel…when they ain't even on RAW… I'd also like to know why Victoria was in here."

Chris shook his head, "it's really not my place to say anything…and I'm in a rush."

"No problem then.. It ain't like I don't talk to Randy or Dave.." John shrugged, "we all came up 'round the same time from OVW.. Trained together."

Chris frowned, "Cena.. I really don't know how much you've heard, what you do and what you don't know, but.. I'm in a rush and--"

"Chris.." Randy knocked on the door, "what's the hold up man? We've got starving people."

"Idiot," Dave could also be heard from the hallway, "he left the door open.. Why don't you go in there and get him?"

"Because, that would just be rude.."

Victoria rolled her eyes, "I see you still haven't made that trip to see the Wizard about a brain.." She pushed past Randy, shouldering the door open. "Chris.. Come on…we need to go, so we can head back to the hospital. We promised Li that we wouldn't…" the dark haired Diva trailed off, pursing her lips slightly. "Morning.."

"Y'all are goin' out to breakfast an' ya can't even invite me?" He raised an eyebrow as Randy and Dave stepped in. "I wasn' even expectin' to see you two until the Rumble."

"Change of plans," Dave offered shortly. "But, like Chris and Victoria have said, we need to go."

John nodded, "to visit Lita, right? How is she doin'? I thought I had heard something 'bout a concussion, stitches an' whiplash symptoms. An' I guess that's to be expected, considerin' the beatin' that she took out there, but I can't figure out why she would do something like that.. I always figured she'd just do whateva Edge said."

"She's awake," Victoria replied simply. "And Ric is doing fine, he should be able to wrestle Sunday at Revolution."

"Well that's good to hear.. An' nice to know that she's good for something… kept Ric from getting hurt any worse."

Dave's eye twitched, "you don't know her, Cena…don't judge her."

"Bro, what's it to ya? Everyone knows she's a walkin' S.T.D."

Victoria gritted her teeth, placing a hand on Dave's arm. "Dave…come on…let's go meet Trish and Lil."

John sent a questioning look over to Randy, "was it something I said?"

The Legend Killer shook his head, "just forget it, John." He flicked a glance over to the door, "and I'd advise that you avoid Dave for awhile."

The WWE Champion blinked, a look sent over to Chris.. "What's goin' on?"

Chris shook his head, stuffing his wallet in the back pocket of his jeans. "I'll see you around, man."

"Damn that little--"

"Dave…" Victoria shot him a look as they waited for Chris. "He doesn't know.. There's no reason to start plotting his death."

The Animal rolled his shoulders, "I get that Vicki, I just hate hearing people saying shit about my sister."

"And you think I like it any better?" Victoria swept her hair from her face, "I know you hate it, but that doesn't mean you go around beating the shit out of everyone who says something about Li… save it for Edge."

Dave smiled darkly, "I've been saving it since that little shit decided to 'help' her with Kane." He cracked his knuckles, "that bastard is going to pay."

Chris shut the door behind him as he entered the hallway, "are we ready?"

Victoria nodded, "more than ready…let's get out of here so we can meet up with Trish and Lil."

Back in the hotel room, John looked more than a little confused. "Sister.. She's his sister?" He winced suddenly, "shit.. Dave's gonna kick my ass for that."

Dave, Victoria, Chris and Randy had just made it inside the elevator, when a tattooed arm slid between the doors.

Tyson Tomko stepped inside the elevator, a nod offered in greeting. "How's Li?"

Victoria smiled tiredly, "she's got a third degree concussion, stitches to close up the gash on her forehead and whiplash like symptoms from the chair shots… but, if you asked her… she's supposedly doing okay."

"Damn.." Tyson sent a look over to Dave. "Me and Gene saw Edge hightailing it out of the arena last night.. He's probably sitting at home by now."

Dave smirked, "he can run.. But he can't hide forever. "

Tyson nodded, "you just save some for me.. He's had it coming to him for too long now."

"Don't worry man, I won't kill him the first time." Dave shook out his arms, "I won't kill him the second time either.. I want him to suffer as much as Li has been suffering."

"Well, he's got a few people on the RAW roster after his ass," Victoria shrugged slightly, "between the three of us here, Trish.. Candice, possibly Shawn, definitely Ric, Rob when he gets back to the roster… Kane hasn't been too happy about how Li's been treated either."

Randy nodded, "Benoit is pissed… Rey's pissed, Melina was throwing a hissy fit about it.. I even overheard 'Taker saying something about Edge getting what was his."

"Then at the Rumble--"

Dave snorted, "who said anything about waiting until the Rumble? Vicki, that's later this month.. I want my payback now."

The third generation wrestler raised an eyebrow, "dude.. The last time you had that look… you almost took my head off."

The D.C. native raised an eyebrow in turn, "that's because you had just said to Lita…and I quote…'those pants look really good on you, but they'd look better on my bedroom floor'. or have you forgotten about that?"

"And I learned my lesson--"

"After I kicked your ass," Dave shook his head, "and even after that.. She still agreed to go on one date with you."

Randy shuddered slightly, "don't get me wrong.. I had a great time, but I kept seeing your ugly mug every time I turned around."

Dave smiled, "that was the point, numb nuts… you got your date with her, I got to chaperone."

"Chaperone?" Randy rolled his eyes, "Dave.. You ruined my date.. She wouldn't talk to me for weeks after that."

"So?" Dave shrugged it off as they exited the elevator, "you recovered, didn't you? Or are you trying to tell me that I didn't see Joy walking out of your hotel room later the next month?"

At that, Randy could only shrug; Trish, Lillian and Candice making their approach as soon as they spotted them. Candice let them know that Stephanie was having the contract faxed to the hotel.. And that she would go over it with them as soon as she got it. The group, in turn, went inside the hotel restaurant to grab something to eat, Maria stopping by the table to ask about Lita. And while they did wonder why Maria would care… Victoria let her know that Lita was going to be alright. She didn't know when she would be alright, but she left that part out.. Going out on a limb and inviting Maria to come with them to the hospital. And after she had gotten the room number from Dave, the blonde interviewer left them to their meal. Thankfully, they had no further interruptions, eating quickly so they could head back over to the hospital to see the redhead. And just as they were leaving the hotel, John watched from the lobby.. .debating if he should follow or not… if only to apologize to Dave for what he had said.