Authors Note : I was keeping this chapter for tomorrow, but I thought I'd better post it now or you guys would end up outside my house with pitchforks and stuff. The truth comes out in ths chapter, and everything that has happened is explained. I hope you guys like it.

Kimberley - You made me laugh so much with your last review. Yes, us guys always say that when we get caught. I loved the 'practicing for Trish' idea, I thought it was amazing - I might try that. I hope you like this update ;)

Jhanelle - C'mon now girl, have I ever let you down yet? Have a little faith :p

Tayla - Long time no see! Thanks for the review, and I hope you like what I've come up with.

Mandamirra10 - Hey there! Thank you so much for the review, it really means a lot! I hope you stick with the story

I don't own anything. Please read and review!

Trish's hand hammered desperately on the button to call the lift. She begged the doors to open, to carry her away as far from this current situation as humanly possible. Through the blur of tears, Trish could see it had four more floors to go until to reached her. Resting her head against the cool stained oak door, Trish took a moment, as the tears overcame her, pouring down the curves of her face as her chest heaved under the strain of her hurt. Sinking to her knees, Trish held her hand to her heart, thinking it really was going to stop beating under the heartbreak. She couldn't break down. She wouldn't. Not here…and not like this…

Hearing hurried footsteps behind her, Trish turned her head. Tearing down the corridor towards her was Randy, his face etched in effort as he ran towards her. Forcing herself to get back to her feet, Trish needed to escape. Instinct took after, and she flung herself to the side, wrenching at the door of the stairwell leading down. Randy was too fast for her, catching her around the waist before she could actually get to the stairs. Trish kicked and screamed, and thrashed at Randy like a woman possessed. With every ounce of strength that she had, Trish fought him , desperate to get out of his grip. She wouldn't be kept here. She wouldn't be held by the person who had hurt and humiliated her more than anyone else in her life.

"Trish please." Randy grimaced, struggling to keep a firm grip on the flailing Canadian

Backing himself up against the wall on the tiny landing, Randy held Trish firmly, wrapping is arm entirely around her hips, even as she kicked and slapped at him with everything she had within her, twisting and thrashing like a caged, wild animal.

"Look at me Trish." Randy begged, forcing her to turn around. Refusing to do as he asked, Trish landed a hard slap across his face. Biting down onto his teeth, Randy felt his anger rising as Trish continued to fight back.

"Trish…look at me dammit!"

It was an order this time, and Trish had no choice but to face her tormentor. Just one glimpse into those beautiful blue eyes, filled with such sorrow, broke what remained of Trish's heart. The defiant struggle she had so valiantly put on, slowly calmed itself as Trish descended into uncontrollable sobs. Her voice was anguished as her tear streaked face buried downwards so that she didn't have to look at Randy anymore. Relaxing his grip, Randy carefully wrapped his arms around her upper body as he sank down to the floor, holding Trish between his spread legs. Unable to help herself, Trish turned into the embrace he offered, resting her head against his bare chest, the pain coming out of her tiny form in anguished waves.

Randy couldn't't bare to see Trish this hurt. To see the her beautiful face creased with pain, her tiny body trembling in his arms. More than anything in the world, he wanted to take the pain away from her, to protect her and soothe her, to make her feel whole again. Softly rubbing her back, Randy calmed Trish with gently whispers, planting kisses on the top of her head, breathing in the scent of her hair. The feeling of Randy's heart beating next to her gave Trish the strength to get her own breathing under control. Descending into silence, Trish lay against Randy's chest, feeling her breath come in short sharp gasps as she left his body heat warm her.

Randy held in Trish in silence, fearing anything he said would cause more tears to fall from her beautiful eyes. Whispering gently into her hair, promising her it would be alright, Randy carefully scooped her into his strong arms, and carried her back towards his hotel room. Trish felt totally drained, more than any other time in her life. Even if she wanted to, Trish just didn't have the strength or inclination to fight out of Randy's grasp. Allowing herself to be carried back into his hotel room, Trish noted with some relief that Lana was not still there waiting for them.

Carefully resting Trish's petit form onto the bed, Randy grabbed the box of tissues near by, carefully taking one out. Sitting next to her, he caressed the soft material across her face, over the sweet mounds of her cheeks, taking away the streaks of tears that glistened there. Trish sat, almost catatonic, not bothering to give any kind of reaction to Randy. Moving himself opposite her, Orton sat crossed legged in front of Trish, taking her vacant gaze in his own deep blue eyes.

"I'm sorry." He whispered, taking Trish's hands into his own. After what seemed an eternity of silence, life sparked back into Trish's eyes as she seemed to see Randy for the first time.

"For what? Lying? Cheating? The list goes on." Her voice was devoid of any real emotion, as if the words weren't really real to her.

"Trish no. I've never cheated on you. Not once. You have to believe me…Please Trisha, I need you to believe me." His voice was sad and desperate, pleading with his girlfriend.

"In case you forgot. I saw you. I saw you kissing her…." Trish grimaced, her heart juddering at the memory of Randy's lips on Lana's.

"No, that's what you thought you saw. She was kissing me." Randy stated, tracing patterns with his thumb across the back of her hands. Trish's eyebrows furrowed together trying to understand.

"What's the difference?" She questioned.

"I wasn't kissing her back." Randy clarified, "you literally walked in the second she pressed up against me." Noting the vacant look in Trish eyes, he realised if he didn't explain everything, he would loose her forever.

"I'm going to be complete honest with you now baby, stuff I should have told you a long time ago. I'm going to tell you stuff about myself…and you're not gonna like what you hear. Just promise me you will let me finish before you make any decisions. If you want to leave after what I've said I...I won't stop you." Randy's eyes searched Trish's for agreement, desperately hoping that she would stay with him.

"Alright." Trish agreed. Wrapping her arms around herself to listen, she prepared herself for what was going to come next.

"I've known Lana for a really long time. She grew up with me back home in Missouri. Her mom, Charlotte, was like my mom's best friend in the world. They'd been together since grade school and she was like a part of the family. Well…Charlotte passed away when Lana was 11. She was devastated, it hit her really hard. Her Dad was a mess, and he had to take some time away to sort himself out, he couldn't care for Lana in the state he was in. So Lana stayed with us for a while. I was 16 and really getting a taste for the business by that point." Rand smiled as he re-called the memories of his youth.

"She would come to shows with me, and we'd sit and talk about how we were gonna be the biggest superstars ever in the world. Well, her Dad eventually came back and they moved out of town. I was really lonely without her, my best friend was gone. She and I were really close. Well, I went to the Marine Corps and I didn't see her again for a few years after that. We kept in contact for a while, but we eventually lost it." Licking his lips, Randy's expression changed, as if what he was about to say next was difficult.

Shifting to cross her legs beneath her, Trish made no sound, and only waited for Randy to continue.

"A few years after, I came home for a while, not long after I joined Evolution, for the holidays. She was back in town for Christmas as well…and…I guess I don't need to tell you that we ended up sleeping together. It was right about the time that I was being the arrogant ass everyone knows. I took advantage of her crush on me…just because I could…I treated her really badly Trish. She told me she loved me, that I had been her only friend for a long time after she lost her mom…that she'd been saving herself for me…and I just blew her off. It was her first time making love and I was so cruel to her. I broke her heart, but she still kept coming back for more. She knew I was cheating on her, all the time, but she said she didn't care…that she loved me and that was all that mattered."

Trish tried to hide the disgust she was feeling, and it was very difficult. This was who Randy had been before she had fallen in love with him. A cold, heartless womaniser who used women for his own satisfaction and didn't care about anyone other than himself. In a sick way, Trish honestly couldn't say she was surprised at how Randy had treated Lana. If she was being honest, Trish even felt a pang of sadness for Lana. If she had been in Lana's shoes, would Trish have had the strength to say no to the Legend Killer?

"One night, she came out to see me in a city we were staying at. She walked right in on me and Stacy. She was devastated, begging and pleading with me to stop cheating on her, that I was breaking her heart. And I didn't care. I said the most awful shit to her…and she ran away. I never saw her after that…not until a few months ago…"

"The Europe trip?" Trish offered.

"Yeah. She still dreamed of being a wrestler…and had joined this little Indie fed in Germany. It was small, but it had some good quality competition. She heard I was in town, and she came to see me at the hotel I was staying at. Nothing at all happened between us…but she was so good to me Trish, after everything I did to her, she was the same sweet forgiving Lana she had always been. I've always felt so guilty for what I did, its one of the worst things I'd ever done. And I guess I just wanted to make it right. I took her under my wing, and I begged with Vince to give her a job in the company, because she's an awesome wrestler, you should see the stuff she can do. Vince told me that he was planning on phasing out the Women's Division permanently so it would be a waste of time."

Trish eyebrows show up in amazement.

"I worked on Vince, I told him what an asset you girls were to the company, that your fans were growing day by day, that he just needed to give you the right marketing and a big enough push. He said that if I would stay on the tour for the next six months, he would agree to keep the division intact. If I didn't…well let's just say I wouldn't see the World Title again so long as he lived."

Trish's eyes seemed to express the confusion in her mind. This was so much to take in all at once, especially with the deal that Randy had made.

"Why did you work so hard to keep my division going if it meant risking so much? You're not exactly the biggest supporter of female wrestling are you? You really wanted Lana to have a job that badly?" Trish softly ventured. Randy had told her many times he would just as happily see the girls perform gimmick matches as wrestle.

"Not her Trish. It was all for you. Wrestling…its your life," Randy replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, "that division is the most important thing to you. I couldn't just let Vince take everything you'd worked so hard for away, no matter what my view point is. You're on the verge of becoming bigger than any other diva ever Trish. If I can play some small part in making sure of that…making sure you become a legend, then I would have given up anything…" Randy trailed off, sadness in his eyes.

"But…?" Trish continued.

"I missed you too much. It was torture, being apart from you. Not being able to see you and hold you. Just to be able to smell your hair and watch you sleep, to feel myself inside you. I missed your laugh and the way you scrunch your nose up when you're mad. The way you can giggle at my stupid jokes and my world just collapses because you're happy. I realised that being with you is more important than my career. If I lose a shot at the World Title, but I get to be with you…well its more than a fair trade to me. You're my life Trish. I'm nothing without your love."

Trish felt her heart flutter uncontrollably. For him to do all that on her behalf, it was the most heartfelt and amazing gesture anyone had ever done for Trish. For the first time in her life, she was lost for words, unable to comprehend the depth of Randy's love for her. Suddenly, she didn't feel very worthy at all.

"Why didn't you tell me this before? Why all the secrecy?" Trish slowly squeezed Randy's hand in return, the warm feeling beginning in the pit of her stomach.

"I didn't want to worry you Trish," Randy assured, "I know you and I know how you work. If you had found out what I'd done, you would have taken matters into your own hands and marched straight into Vince to tear him a new asshole. I just figured it was better this way, and that I could deal with Vince and his minions when I got back. Although that hasn't worked too well so far."

Feeling touched at his concern, Trish reached out her hand, softly cupping Randy's jaw in her palm.

"You're stupid you know that?" she smiled, "Randy, I love that you want to protect me, I really do. But you need to accept that I'm going to get hurt sometimes. You need to trust me enough to deal with things in my own way okay? I made it this far without your intervention and I haven't done so badly have I?"

"I know you don't need me to protect you Trish. But I want to. You're my girlfriend. It drives me insane to think of anyone else putting their hands on you. I just don't want to see you get hurt." randy admitted.

"Then stop lying to me Randy. If you love me, then please just tell me the truth okay? I'd rather you be honest with me and piss me off, than hide things from me and break my heart." Trish felt tears pooling again in her eyes, but tried to hold them back.

"I'm sorry Trish. I made a decision and it was the wrong one. But you have to know everything I did was for you, I just wanted to keep you safe…and I never meant to hurt you. That's the last thing that I ever wanted." Randy dipped his head, feeling his eyes stinging with tears.

"But there's some stuff I don't get. Like, why was Lana kissing you?" Trish forced the words out through gritted teeth, each one stabbing at her heart like icy blades.

"When I was in Europe, after that whole business with Vince…I think I just lost my way a little. I had doubts if I was doing the right thing by being with you. Hanging with Lana made me remember what my life used to be like, how easy it was caring about myself, not having to worry about other people and their feelings. I honestly wondered if I was ruining my own future by saving yours."

Trish's face remained impassive as Randy continued.

"Lana was just there for me during a period of self doubt. She listened to my fears, my concerns, my insecurities. But when I talked to her, I realised that the only reason she was back in my life was because of you. You've made me want to better myself in so many ways. To be the man you see in me. If you hadn't of saved me from myself, I probably wouldn't have met Lana again, I wouldn't be as happy as I am now, and I definitely wouldn't have had the chance to make things right with her. But I think spending all that time with her stirred old feelings up for her. Because I've been looking out for her since she came to the WWE, I think she kinda fell for me again."

Trish nodded slowly. If there was one thing she and Lana agreed on, it was how devastatingly easy it was to find yourself falling for the blue eyed Legend Killer.

"I explained that while she's very special to me, she's not you. You're the girl I'm in love with. I don't even want to imagine my life with you not in it, it just wouldn't be worth living. She got upset, and when I tried to calm her down she just kissed me outta nowhere. Then you walked in and it all got seriously fucked up." Randy couldn't help but chuckle slightly at the absurdity of the everything, "that's the truth Trish. Nothing happened between me and her. I've only ever been yours."

Trish accepted everything he had to say, her heart churning over to bursting point. But there was still one question hanging over her head. She felt like she had to get and answer to banish the last niggling doubts.

"What's with the room? Why did you make it so pretty?" Her eyes looked to Randy's, watching his blue eyes shift to an embarrassed twinkle.

"This was all for you. After dinner, after I told you all that stuff…I was gonna bring you up here…and…I was gonna give you this." Randy smiled softly as he pulled out a small black box from the pocket of his dress pants. With a trembling hand, he passed it over to Trish, who eyed it like it was a bomb about to explode.

"What's that?" Trish stammered, emotion trembling in her voice.

"Open it." Randy replied quickly, hearing the nerves in his own voice.

With a shaking hand, Trish gripped the lid of the box, carefully snapping it open. Her breath caught in her throat as her eyes widened to bursting point. Nestled in a pillow of lilac silk was the most breathtaking engagement ring Trish had ever seen.

In the centre of beautifully delicate white gold band, rested the most exquisitely coloured sapphire. Its shade was uniquely described as 'sunset', a sumptuous blend of smoky pinks and the tiniest hue of orange. The main stone was perfectly flanked by two sets of brilliant diamonds, glittering before Trish's eyes. Feeling herself choking up, Trish managed to tear her eyes away from the ring.

"I know this really isn't the best time for this, but I gotta do this now. If I don't…I don't know if I'll have the courage to do it again." Randy admitted, taking Trish's hand in his own.

"I love you Trish. I love more than I realised I ever could love someone. You're my world, my heart, everything that is good and beautiful to me. You're my best friend, my lover, and my soul mate. I've opened up to you in ways I didn't know I could, and I'm so grateful that I found you. You make me want to be a better person, to make you proud of who I am an what I achieve. I'm still learning Trish. I get things wrong, and I make mistakes. But its because of you that I want to better myself. I want to make my way in this world, but I'm only interested in doing that with you by my side. I want to make you happy. You given me your heart, your trust, your soul, your body, and now I want to share everything that I am with you."

Raising his hand, Randy gently caressed Trish's hair, before cupping her face in his palm. "I want to spend the rest of my life with you Trisha. I wanna grow old with you and get our own house and have lots of beautiful babies together. I really want to have a family and I want it to be with you…I want to be yours." Randy inhaled deeply as Trish felt tears threatening to spill down her cheeks, watching as he got down onto one knee before her.

"Trish Stratus…will you make me the happiest guy on earth and say you'll be my wife?" Randy felt his cheeks flushing with colour. This was the biggest moment in his life so far, and his legs felt like they were going to fall away from beneath him at any second. Trish couldn't contain the slight whimper that escaped her lips, her chest heaving as her heart pounded to an insane crescendo in her chest.

"Trish…will you marry me?" The second he said it, Trish felt her heart burst with love. This was something she had dreamed about since she was a child. The man she totally and complete in love with was asking her to marry him and now…she honestly didn't know what to say. Words were beyond her.

"Yes." Her reply came from somewhere that she didn't know, but it didn't matter much as Randy flung himself at her, pulling her lips into relieved frenzy of kisses. His heart pounding wildly in his chest, Randy held Trish close to him, raining kisses over her head and face. Gently pulling back, he removed the ring from its box, and eased it over Trish's outstretched finger. Trish was captivated by the ring on her finger as Randy stroked her hair.

"It's so beautiful Randy…."Trish whispered in awe.

"I'm glad you like it. I had it custom made in Germany," Randy admitted, kissing her head, "you remember that night you were unconscious and I had to go back to the hotel?"

Trish nodded her head at the memory. "Its because this was being delivered. The stone is so rare that they had to take eight weeks to get it finished. Well you have no idea how difficult it is to bring gems into this country. They practically called in the National Guard for security when they took it to the hotel. Lana was there and called me, saying that it was causing a huge fucking commotion, and I had to come pick it up, they wouldn't leave it with anyone else."

Trish blushed slightly at how she had gone about finding out Randy had left her. Now it all seemed to make perfect sense. How could he have told her he had left to pick up her engagement ring? Feeling terribly guilty, Trish snuggled into Randy's embrace.

"I broke every speed law imaginable to get back here and hide it. But you missy, woke up and came after me. I had just slipped it under the bed when you walked in. You have the worst sense of timing of anyone I know baby." Randy chuckled, kissing Trish on the nose. Angling her head up, Trish melted her lips against Randy's, tasting his lips between hers.

"You can't exactly blame me for reacting how I did. Every time I saw you, you were acting suspicious and evasive, not to mention Lana was there all the time. What was I supposed to think?" Trish wondered, stroking her hand across Randy's bicep.

"You're right, I'm sorry." Randy admitted, kissing Trish's neck.

"It doesn't matter now," Trish sighed, "it's been the weirdest night. I was convinced earlier you were going to break up with me. Now you've asked me to be your wife."

"Wow." Randy agreed.

Trish kissed at Randy's bicep as she spoke. "Right now I just wanna…"

"Sleep?" Randy offered. The wicked grin on Trish's face alerted him to the fact that sleep was the last thing on her mind.

Smiling back, he reached for Trish's shirt, sliding his hand beneath it, but she stopped him, pushing him back down onto the bed. Straddling Randy's waist, Trish bent her head forward into a kiss, softly sucking on Randy's bottom lips, tracing her tongue across the crease of his mouth

"Trish…?" Randy whispered lazily.

"Hush baby…you've done enough tonight. Just relax, okay? I love you so much." Randy smiled softly as he felt Trish's lips move down his neck to his chest and lower again. Relaxing into the tender attention that Trish was providing, Randy felt his love and lust for the woman combine into something even more beautiful. As his mind gave in to the indescribable pleasure that Trish was providing, Randy held onto one final thought.

He was engaged to Trish Stratus. And it felt fucking amazing.