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, Lilian/Batista, Victoria/Tyson Tomko, Trish/Jeff, Candice/Not telling, Maria/Not Telling

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

Notes: Just keep in mind that this edition of Smackdown (airdate: January 13th, Batista was slated to drop his title, while Randy was substituting for Booker T.. Batista is not injured, and. .Booker T. has been able to wrestle.)

-x-x-x-

While he wanted to be at the hospital with his sister, Dave Batista currently found himself in one of the many locker rooms, sharing the space with Chris, Randy, Rey and Bobby Lashley. And while they certainly didn't mind the young wrestler's presence, especially given how much of an asset he could be in the short wars between RAW and Smackdown. And speaking of that war, with the rosters potentially joining after the Rumble, they'd only have two weeks…give or take anyway…to really take it to the RAW superstars.. Or one in particular anyway, that one person being the current WWE Champion. In Dave's mind, two weeks just wasn't enough.. His sister had been at the mercy of Edge for the past six months.. And two weeks of retribution just wasn't good enough in his book. But, if the rosters didn't join after the Rumble, then they'd likely join after 'Mania which wasn't until April. And while the chances were good that Lita would be at Cena's side thanks to that contract, the Animal wasn't quite sure he wanted that to happen either. Not that he didn't trust the former champion to keep his sister safe, just that.. He wanted to see the redhead on her own again. Unfortunately, if Lita was on her own, that would leave her more open to attack.. Even with the protection of Chris Masters and Triple H in the back, there was no guarantee…and even if she was with Cena, there was still no fool proof plan that Lita would be safe. Frowning heavily, Dave sat forwards on the folding chair, elbows propped on his thighs. All he wanted, was to see his sister as she used to be…before Edge came along and ripped apart her self esteem, before all of the internet bullshit with Hardy.. He wanted to see her happy…truly happy and not just some shell pretending to be happy. In the long and short of it all, Dave Batista just wanted his sister back.

Lashley rolled his shoulders, cracking his knuckles before he opened the door. "I'm gonna check in with the Long, see when those jerks from RAW are arriving."

Randy nodded absently, his own thoughts not entirely focused on Smackdown that night…still, the Legend Killer waited until the door shut, blue eyes shifting to Dave. "What are you thinking?"

Dave gave a half shrug, "that I don't want the rosters to join after the Rumble.. It only gives us two weeks to go after that slimy little bastard."

Chris raised an eyebrow, "but then we'd have to wait longer for the rosters to join.. Possibly until 'Mania.."

The Animal nodded, "which would mean having H, Masters and Cena looking after her until that point. And making sure that Cena stays off of Team RAW during the inter-brand war. I don't want her at ringside for any of that."

"I don't either," Rey quipped quietly, "she doesn't need to be around that.. Sure, we might be looking out for her, Masters, Kane…maybe even Show but.. That doesn't mean she will stay safe."

Chris smiled grimly, "and we all know that Edge wouldn't hesitate to put her in harms way." An eyebrow raised then, "but I thought Stephanie said that the rosters would join after the Rumble.."

"She did but," Dave sat back, bridging his hands behind his head. "When you really think about it, having the war going for only two weeks? It doesn't make a whole lot of sense. And with Bitchoff back in charge, it would make him think he actually stood a chance in winning this time around."

Benoit nodded, "which would get him to agree to it easily.. Or if you could have someone on RAW suggest it, really make him think like it's his idea to hold off the brand merger until after 'Mania.." Cracking his knuckles, the Crippler gave another smile. "I certainly wouldn't mind kicking Edge's ass for an extra two months."

Randy nodded his agreement, "I can't say I'd mind it too much either but.. What about Li?"

Dave rolled his eyes at the younger man, "Orton.. Where you or where you not paying attention? We have Hunter on our side, we have Masters looking out for her and after Cena kicks the shit out of Edge at the Rumble? The contract transfers over to him."

"I know that D.. and I'm still not thrilled about the fact that you have Helmsley helping." Randy frowned a touch, but said nothing further about the blonde man. "I just don't think it would be best for her to be at someone else's side for an extended period of time.. John or otherwise."

Dave raised an eyebrow, an amused smirk on his lips. "If I didn't know better, I'd say your jealous of Cena." His smirk broadened when Randy snorted indifferently, "you are jealous.. Randy, what is it going to take for you to understand that this is happening for her safety, huh? She won't be at Edge's side and that's the priority. You can't jump over to RAW, Chris.. Well I could ask Masters, but.. Cena is the one who will be fighting that bastard at the Rumble."

Randy rolled his eyes, "I am not jealous of Cena.. I just don't think it would be best for her. Sure, I get the fact that you want her safe and I trust John more than I trust Helmsley, but.. She should be on her own."

The Animal shook his head, "and yet you fail to see the problems that would cause. If she's alone, she'll be that much more open to an attack. Don't be stupid, Randy.. Having Cena around is what's best for her." Shrugging slightly, he added: "and for whatever reasons, Li seems to trust him."

Chris made a face at that, "I'm finding that pretty hard to believe myself.. She has quite a temper, despite what she's been through recently.. And John…well, he has a big mouth, bound to piss off anyone at any given time."

"Yeah well, he stayed at the hospital last night…sat next to her the whole night. He was still there when we left." Dave shrugged it off, "but I don't think he'd try to hurt her…at least not with Masters and H around.. And even then? I've already issued my warnings."

Rey pushed off from the wall, "I wonder what's taking Bobby so long.. Or if Edge chickened out.."

Dave laughed without humor, "I wouldn't put it past that bastard to chicken out.. Nor would I really blame him if he didn't show up. Stupid shit probably wants this war to start on RAW's territory."

"Which might happen with Bischoff back.." Benoit pointed out then, "it's apparent that Edge is on Bischoff's good side.. And as much as I hate to say it, things just get more…complicated."

"Maybe," Dave replied casually, "but that doesn't mean I won't take every opportunity I can to kick his ass. Whether it's here on Smackdown or over on RAW.. All I want to do is beat the shit out of him."

Randy was just opening his mouth to reply to that, only to shut it quickly when the locker room door opened.. Bobby Lashley stepping back inside to inform them of his quick meeting with Theodore Long.

"He'll make this announcement when Smackdown goes on air but.. Eric Bischoff has taken control of the war." The young wrestler paused to seat himself on the bench, "the first 'battle' will take place on RAW."

Dave snorted softly, "I can't say I'm too surprised.. But, I do have a question for you.. What would you say to this war going until 'Mania? I'd like to have you on Team Smackdown again, but if you don't want to--"

"You can count me in for this run, man. I might be new to all of this, but the way I see it? If they want to get their asses handed to them again, I'm all for it."

Batista nodded his approval, "I'll bring up the idea with Stephanie.. I'm sure she'll go for it…any chance to one up Bischoff is always good in her book."

-x-x-x-

Having said that, Batista excused himself from the locker room to in fact, speak with Stephanie McMahon and the Smackdown G.M.. fairly confident that both parties would agree to the idea of extending the war until 'Mania came around. Then, it was just a matter of convincing Bischoff that it would be in the best interest of RAW.. And as long as they could make Bischoff think that it was his idea…and that the RAW superstars would have an actual chance at winning…then they were looking at another two months of delivering ass kickings to the current WWE Champion. And perhaps it was just a little vindictive of the Animal, but, this was his about his baby sister. It wasn't about which brand was better or who the better champion was.. This was about seeking revenge for his sister, pure and simple. Not that everyone needed to know that.. Hence the front of the inter-brand war. Edge was going to find out, first hand, that no one…but no one, messed with Lita and got away with it. And having that thought in mind, Dave felt it necessary to call the hospital.. Check in on his sister and make sure the asshole hadn't shown up. Of course, a move like that would've taken balls…and really, the Animal wasn't quite sure that the current Champion had any.. Nor did he really want to find out, but.. That was beside the point. Shaking his head to rid himself of any imagery, Dave dug into his pocket…pulling out a slip of paper that had the number for the hospital and the room that Lita was in.. It wasn't like it was too late at night so they should let him speak to her or if she was asleep, then he could at least get some kind of update from Chris. It took him a moment before he actually reached one of the nurses on duty.. The Animal quickly explaining that he was trying to reach the patient in room 301. Chris Masters jumped slightly at the sound of a phone ringing, the young man knowing it couldn't be his cell phone…but before he could answer, another body beat him to it.

"Hello?"

Dave blinked, "who is this and why are you in Lita's hospital room?"

John rolled his eyes at the wall, "chill out D, it's John.. As for why I'm here, well… she asked me to stay with her 'til she fell asleep."

"Uh huh, so where's Chris and H?"

The former champion rubbed his forearm, "Chris is sittin' in the chair near me looking' at me like I've grown three heads an' H is down in the cafeteria getting more coffee."

Dave nodded slowly, "alright.. And you say she asked you to stay there?"

"Only 'til she fell asleep, which she just did 'bout five minutes ago.. I was jus' getting ready to head out of here.. After Helmsley got back anyway." John paused, debating on if he should tell Dave or if someone else should.. "she saw what happened to her.."

Dave raised an eyebrow at the wall, "how did you all manage to find a tape?"

John smirked slightly, "well.. When Helmsley and Masters went out for food, they ran into a fan…this fan just so happened to be sittin' in the front row last night and long story short, they bought his cell phone from him… or they mighta threatened him too, can't really say 'cos I wasn't there."

Dave shook his head, seating himself on one of the nearby traveling crates. "How is she doing?"

Blue eyes shifted over to the sleeping form, "she's been pretty quiet.. Hasn't said a lot 'bout much, talked a little bit 'bout the match after she saw what happened…I dunno bro, she jus'.. it seems to me that she's scared. Which is understandable, given what happened an' all that."

"Yeah…things have been messed up for awhile." Dave frowned heavily, a hand running over his short hair. "I'd say I want to talk to her, but if she's sleeping.." the Animal paused, checking the hallway quickly to make sure there was no one else around, "we asked for an extension on the inter-brand war.. Going until 'Mania instead of the Rumble."

John blinked, the thumb on his free hand absently running over the back of Lita's. "Why are you doin' that?"

"So we can kick Edge's ass longer," Dave replied simply, "but it would mean the contract would have to be in place longer.. Because, I'm guessing he'll go after her for as long as he thinks he can."

Cena snorted, "yeah well.. That fucker can think what he wants.. He ain't gonna lay a hand on her."

Before he could stop himself.. "why do you care?"

The former champion shrugged, "no man has a right to be treatin' a woman the way he did. An' sure, I ain't seen all of it but.. From what I have seen? He deserves to have his ass beat…aside from that, I want my damn title back, but…it's like I said, no man has a right to be doin' what he did. This isn't 'bout the title, but I'll let him think that."

Dave hesitated a long moment before he replied: "well, thanks for that.. Whatever your reasons for wanting to help, thanks." His attention shifted to the figure approaching, "I need to go.. Smackdown is taping soon.. Just let her know that I called."

"Will do, bro.." John waited until he heard the dial tone, the receiver placed carefully on the cradle. "That was D," he informed the still curious Masters. "Jus' callin' to check up on her."

Chris gave a slight nod, "I gathered that much.."

"He also mentioned something 'bout extending the inter-brand war until 'Mania." John smirked a touch, "gives him more chances to kick the shit outta Edge."

The younger man laughed shortly, "if that's the case… it almost makes me want to jump over to Smackdown. I can't say I'm looking forward to the fact of actually fighting along side that bastard instead of against him."

John shrugged a touch, "well.. Ya could always say you thought he was someone else. I dunno who on Smackdown really looks like that bastard, but…if ya needed an excuse, there ya go."

"I guess," Chris bridged his hands behind his head, feet resting in another chair. "When are you heading out? I figured you would've wanted to go home or something.."

Cena nodded slowly, blue eyes focused on the Diva laying in the hospital bed. "Before you two got back.. She started cryin'.. I can't say as to why 'cos I didn' ask an' she didn' tell me, but.. She was cryin'… an' she just gave me this look.. Like she needed help or something."

Chris frowned, not really sure what that had to do with anything but..

"After she stopped cryin', she asked me to stay with her until she fell back asleep." John shifted his gaze momentarily, "an' right before you two got back…she kept goin' on an' on 'bout how she wanted it all to end.. How she wanted to be free, no matter what the price." Shrugging again, he turned his attention back to the Diva, "now.. I really don' know what to make of all that, but.. It seems to me that she needs a lotta help."

Chris nodded slowly, knowing full well that John didn't know everything about the situation. "There's a lot that she hasn't told me, that she hasn't told Dave but.. From what I have seen, from what you might have seen.. She's hurt."

John gave a short nod, "anyone can see that.. Ya'd hafta be blind not to.. An' from what I knew of her before, from what I remember seein' of her before. This ain't who she was. She used to be so carefree."

Chris pressed his lips into a thin line, knowing that Dave might be liable to hurt him if he said anything.. "There's a lot that you don't know. Hell, I'm pretty sure there's a lot that I don't know, but.. You should know more of what's been going on and--"

Cena arched an eyebrow, "I'd kinda like to know how you got involved in all this.. Didn't really know you was friends with D.."

"It happened at Taboo Tuesday," Chris crossed his arms over his chest, "I was walking around backstage, pretty much minding my own business you know? Before I knew what was happening, Dave had me cornered…asking me all sorts of questions about Edge." He shrugged then, ready to just leave it at that. "Basically, he just wanted someone on RAW to keep an eye on her…make sure she was okay."

"This shit's been goin' on too long.." Cena stated simply, the former Champion shaking his head after a moment. "I didn't really notice.. Never paid much attention before.."

After a moment, Chris nodded. "I can't say I did either but.. Something in Dave's eyes, it just.. I don't know, I wanted to help her after that…aside from the fact that he kinda threatened to kick my ass." His gaze met Cena's, "just give her some time…she might tell you what's been going on or D will fill you in. Either way, it's not my story to tell."

John simply nodded at that, blue eyes shifting to the door as Triple H walked back inside. "I guess I'll get goin' now.. I don't really got a reason to be here.."

Chris nodded, "I'll see you at the house shows then.." he paused, the former champion nearly out the door before he spoke again: "And John? Thanks."

John merely shrugged, touching a hand to his forehead as he walked out, the man still uncertain as to why he had stayed there for that long when really…he wasn't involved. It wasn't his issue, really wasn't his concern. Sure, Dave was his friend and he had agreed to help out a little where the contract was concerned but.. Maybe there really was more to it. Now that he had seen just a little bit of it, seen the Diva in this state.. So broken and fragile, a far cry from what she used to be.. It bothered him to some extent. Not as much as Dave, Hunter or Randy, but it still bothered him. Knowing how she used to be and seeing what she had become. And before, maybe he had been content with ignorance, turning a blind eye to whatever hell Lita had been going through but now.. Well now he had been let in, if only a little bit and knowing what little he did know.. Seeing what he had seen…he couldn't just walk away and be done with it. He was going to help her as much as she allowed him to help her.. Regardless of the contract or a small promise to a friend, John decided that he couldn't walk away now. After being there last night, from talking to her brother and seeing her at Revolution…his previous thoughts of the Diva had been all but shattered. Everything he had thought he knew to be true, well know he knew it just wasn't what it seemed. And while he had some suspicions, he never wanted to think beyond that… satisfied with his opinions and his base thoughts. But now, the truth was slowly being revealed… and as he finally went back to the hotel, John Cena could only wonder as to how much he didn't know.. How many secrets were left.