For ratings, disclaimers, etc., see chapter one.

Chapter IX: Wishing for an Understanding

Cherry Leigh had only one part to play on Survivor Series—remember her attacker. The writers were not thrilled about pushing the storyline as far ahead as they had but the carwreck had forced them to. So, now, without regards to the other wrestlers involved, the plans had changed again and Cherry Leigh began her feud with Trish and put her relationship on the rocks with Lita. The blonde in question and Lita were "killing" each otherfor the belt when Cherry Leigh slid into the ring to exact her revenge, costing Lita the match in a DQ. She laid out Trish and walked away with a glare that meant more than words while she wiped away fake blood from her mouth from where Trish had retaliated at first.

The next night, Cherry Leigh would reveal her reasons for attacking Trish and Lita would confront her over the loss of the match and possibly the belt that she had suffered. Hunter would play hypocrite and accuse her of playing him with her memory loss. But for now, after the pay-per-view, the character of Cherry Leigh was taking a backseat in Cheryl's life as she and Dave found an out-of-the-way bar for a few drinks.

The two had stayed over with many other wrestlers to sign autographs and a few comments were made to lead them to believe that many of the fans knew the hotel where they were staying. Not that that would have bothered them so much but, now that they were more or less a couple, time alone was valuable because of their schedule.

Dave was watching the choker, a heart pendant this timewhich moved against her throat as she swallowed, when she waved a hand in front of his face. His eyes snapped up to hers. "Huh?"

She leaned in and whispered, "You have fans," and slightly nodded to her right. He turned to see two women giggling and holding a pen and what looked to be their bar tabs. Batista turned on that smoldering smile and made nice with the ladies for a few minutes. Cheryl watched him ooze charm and shivered when he turned that smile on her. "You wanna get outta here? Nidia's sharing a conjugal visit with her fiancé, so our room's empty," she whispered in his ear, sending tingles down that side of his body. Not wanting to face the intimacy, she had been avoiding being alone with him. After her conversation with Nidia from the day before, she had changed her mind, especially in that one moment. If something happened, then it happened and, ifit didn't, well, it just didn't.

Dave nodded to her, downed the rest of his drink, and took her by the hand to lead her out. He was quiet on the drive back and she carefully studied his face. It seemed that the lines had deepened in his cheeks and forehead. He had recently cut his hair short again, which had highly pissed her off, and it made the creases seem to stand out more. She said nothing in the car and waited until they were in her room. He shrugged out of his jacket and took hers, laying them over one of the chairs. When he turned around, she slid her hands up over his shoulders and traced her fingers across his face.

"You look so tired. Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I've had so much on my plate lately but it's getting better," Dave replied and kissed her on the forehead. "I'm not chasing after you anymore," he added facetiously.

"I guess not," she murmured and pulled him down for long kiss. When they pulled away, she noticed the hazy look in his eyes and the stirring inside her stomach that it caused was a sensation she hadn't felt for over two years. They had shared plenty of kisses but now there was so much electricity in the air that her whole body was alight with fire.

Dave felt it too as he slipped the ponytail holder from her hair and ran his fingers through the short tresses and then pulled her to him. He teased her jaw line and neck with kisses and then sucked the hollow at the base of her throat. She moaned at the simple action and slid her hands up from his shoulders into his dark hair. He left hot kisses down her chest as he unbuttoned her shirt, lavishing attention on her skin with his mouth. She finally tore her fingers from his hair and began untucking his shirt. He slipped a hand inside hers and then underneath her bra.

When he felt her stiffen, he pulled back to look into her eyes. "What?" he murmured, cupping her face with his warm hands, a thumb caressing her ear. He leaned forward to kiss her but she slightly withdrew from Dave, glancing down and back up at him again. He could tell that she was searching for a way to tell him. "It's him, isn't it?"

She sighed and nodded. His hands dropped to his side and then he turned away. She rushed into the bathroom to button her shirt back up and put a cool washcloth to her burning cheeks. They were growing redder by the second and the cold water was doing nothing to help. Taking deep, shuddering breaths and cursing her luck at losing her husband, she tried to rid her mind of him and find the gumption to step back out into the room.

"I…I'm sorry," she whispered to his back as he stared out the balcony door. "I…you have to understand. I haven't been with a guy since…"

"I know…I mean, I understand," he replied, turning around. He took her by the hands, led her to the foot of the bed, and pulled her down to sit beside him. "I shouldn't have pushed you so quickly."

"Oh, Dave, you didn't. I wanted—I want to be with you so badly but it's just that…"

"I know, I said. It doesn't mean I have to like it," he replied with a half-smile. He piled the pillows up at the head board and propped up. "Come here, pum'kin," he said, motioning towards her and laying her head down in his lap. "You know you can talk to me about anything?" She nodded as his fingers combed through her hair. "Just so you know…"

"You're too good for me…you're too good for anyone…" she replied, reaching up to cup his cheek.

Dave wanted to laugh as that comment. It was taking all of his willpower not to throw her down and take her at that moment. He wasn't mad at her but very frustrated. That's not to mention how much backstage politics he had been involved in lately and that her name had been included.

The mood of the entire backstage staff seemed to be a bit gloomy, even for a house show. Cheryl nodded and waved at those she had met, still making an effort to connect and dispel the idea that she was stuck-up. She entered the lockerroom to find a somber Lita quietly talking to a red-faced Trish. "Did McMahon sell the company and I didn't get the memo?" she asked and dropped her bag on the floor.

"Yeah, you apparently didn't get the memo because he sold his soul," Trish sarcastically replied, angrily rising and stalking off to the bathroom.

"What…"

"Nidia and Gail were released this past week," Lita explained. "We didn't find out until we got here."

Cheryl glanced around. "Victoria?"

"No, I called her a few minutes ago," the other woman replied, running her hands through her hair and propping her head in her palms. "She's just running late."

"Nidia and…and Gail the only ones?"

Lita shook her head and listed out the other eight wrestlers released. "Nidia's not answering her phone. I don't think she wants to talk to anybody right now. Can't blame her," she explained.

"I can't believe this," Cheryl murmured and sank down to one of the benches.

"Believe it, sister, because rumor has that two more wrestlers are being released."

"It c-could be any of us…" the newer diva trailed off and Lita nodded in reply.

Trish stormed back into the room and bit out, "Oh, what have you got to worry about? Dave's nose is so far up Triple H's ass, there's no way they'll fire you."

Lita, always cool and level-headed, narrowed her eyes and smartly replied, "As if Babe of the Year would be fired."

"Like they'd fire the mother of Kane's baby!" she hotly retorted.

"I know you didn't say that!" an angry Lita shouted. Words were about to fly when the lockerroom door opened and in flounced Maria, the fourth runner-up in the diva contest, the classy one that flipped the crowd off for voting her out.

"Afternoon, ladies," she chirped.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Trish ground out.

"I start on Monday as an interviewer. I was told to find Lita and Stacy to show me the ropes during the house show."

"Wasn't that what you were supposed to be doing when you were a contestant?" Trish snapped.

"They never let us hang out with you guys," Maria replied with cow eyes, all a ploy to make them feel bad for her. She jerked around when the door opened again to find Victoria staring her down from behind.

"What's she doing here?" the dark-haired beauty irritably asked.

"I'm the new interview—" She trailed off as four pairs of eyes glared at her. "Well, I hope Michelle and Amy find the SmackDown! lockerroom nicer!"

"What did you say?" Victoria moved in front of the girl as she tried to leave.

The brunette tossed her hair back and straightened as high as she could. "Michelle is RVD's new trainer and Amy's JBL's new image consultant…oh, wait, and Joy, too. She's Carlito's massage therapist."

"Oh, hell, no!" Cheryl announced, finding the ability to speak and move again after learning of Nidia's release. She pushed past everyone in the dressing room and stormed out the door.

"Cheryl, where are you go—"

She didn't hear the rest of Lita's question as she stalked down the hall. Dave noticed her and headed over but she held up a hand. "I'm on a mission. Don't stop me or I'll lose my nerve," she said and continued on.

"Is this about Nidia?" he shouted after her.

She whirled around on him. "You knew about Nidia?"

"Not until I got here today," he said apologetically.

"Where' s Hunter?"

"Cheryl, don't—"

"Where's Hunter?" she shouted.

"I'm right here," he said, emerging from a lockerroom with Evolution's name on the door.

"How could you let this happen?" Cheryl demanded.

"What?"

"Nidia, Gail, Test, Jazz—" she said, ticking their names off on her fingers.

"Wait, I don't have as much power as everybody thinks I do."

"Puh-lease, spare me."

"Listen," he angrily replied, pulling her inside the lockerroom as Batista followed, "I couldn't stop them from firing wrestlers."

"How could you—"

"Your name came up," Helmsley nonchalantly said. Her jaw dropped and her stomach began to squirm. He glanced at Batista who had followed them in and then looked back at her. "I argued for you…obviously for Dave's sake."

"But-but you said you had no power…" she trailed off, angry tears beginning to form.

"Hunter," Batista warned.

Triple H sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Sit down," he said. When she didn't move, he growled the command again. She dropped like a stone into the nearest chair.

"Vince was going to fire ten mid-carders no matter what. He had already picked out most of them and then asked my opinion about the rest. When I refused to give him one, he threatened me." He stopped at the look from her. "I know, I know, I'm his son-in-law, what's he gonna do to me?" he sarcastically said and then continued. "My life would be hell. I agreed to help choose if he told me who he was considering." He sighed, loosened his tie further as if to relieve pressure, and then continued. "Do you know how hard it is to pick who to fire just because Creative can't come up with a storyline for them and the fact that we're not meeting budget? He places the draw for RAW on my shoulders and there's only so much I can do."

Cheryl watched the turmoil on his face and sort of felt sorry for him. Yet, she knew he had more power than he was willing to admit but the rest she believed to be truth. However, she remembered the reason for her tirade. "That's great and all but, if we're so under budget, then why the hell hire six of the diva contestants? Why spend that much money on them when you could have kept good wrestlers?"

"I honestly didn't know about the plan to hire them at the time. I'd get rid of all women in wrestling if I could—all women that aren't wrestling," he corrected, seeing her glare. There was no way he was going to tell her that the six women hired weren't the last of the diva contestants to be brought on board.

"Do something about them! Get rid of them and hire some of those wrestlers back," she suggested, her voice rising in pitch.

"Cheryl, you know I can't."

She did but she had to say it and something else. "Why can't you listen to the fans and see what they want instead of firing popular wrestlers and hiring women that no one really cares about?"

"Cheryl," he sternly said her name. "I agree with Dave, you have potential. That's why I dismissed your name when it came up. Don't criticize the wrong people or you could be the next one cut. Don't put yourself on thin ice."

Heat flooded throughout her face and she was at a loss to continue arguing and quickly stood with a glare to stalk out. As the door closed, she heard Dave say, "I said to keep my name out of it."

Cheryl was on a roll for standing up for herself and her coworkers, so she crossed her arms and waited for Batista to come out. "Keep your name out of it, huh?" she quietly asked when he appeared. "You knew about the firings?"

"Yeah, I knew," he said, staring at the floor.

"Why couldn't you tell me?"

"You know when I said I had a lot on my plate last week?" When she nodded, he continued. "If you want to stay in the good graces of those in power, you have to play backstage politics. I knew they were going to release a lot of people. I know Hunter fairly well but I wanted to make sure my job was secure. When I found out who they were gunning for, I was worried you would go too."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence."

"It's not about skill. It's about who they can afford to let go and we all know that the majority of the wrestling world doesn't care about women's wrestling. I thought you'd be safe but I played the politics for you. What you did in there will get you fired in a heartbeat. You could have wiped out everything I did for you."

"I don't need you to stand up for me. I can obviously do it myself," she replied, gesturing toward the lockerroom and wondering if Hunter had heard any of their conversation.

"Cheryl, I—"

"The least you could have done," she interrupted, holding up a hand to stop him, "was tell me what was going on since it involved me." She walked off, leaving Batista speechless and wondering why he hadn't trusted her with what he was doing.

Completely spent from her rage, Cheryl slouched back to the lockerroom to be met by a divided room, full of tension. Stacy, Carmella, Christy, and Maria attempted to converse with each other while they primped but the deadly glances and the deathly silence from Lita, Victoria, and Trish were starting to be a damper on the party.

"What happened?" Trish expectantly asked.

Cheryl shook her head. "I basically got threatened for standing up," she whispered and sank into a chair. She related the incident to the other three where the primp club couldn't hear.

Lita patted her on the knee. "I could have told you that. Let it go and think of it as a learning moment." Cheryl rolled her eyes but nodded her head. "Dave's got a point. Don't be mad at him."

"I know, I know, I've been thinking about that…When someone gets hold of Nidia, let me know."

"Yeah," Lita replied, "we should probably call Gail and Jazz too."

Glancing over at the bubbly blonde, a thought struck Cheryl. "How can she act like that if they released Test?"

"I think Nidia said they broke up a couple of weeks ago. She dumped him or something. I don't remember," Victoria answered.

"Sucks to be Test," Trish muttered. "But then again, he is rid of her." She spit out the last word venomously.

Cheryl murmured her agreement and leaned back into her folding chair. When she began to think about what she had just done, her legs started to go numb and her stomach to roil. She was never confrontational but, here she was, gunning after anybody who pissed her off. The shy woman had stood up to Stacy, done what almost every WWE employee wanted regarding Triple H, and then questioned the intentions of the guy she was dating. The place was doing something to her that she didn't know what to do with.

No one had been able to get through to any of the released divas by the end of the show and by the time Cheryl hunted Batista down to apologize. She tentatively knocked on his hotel door and Randy Orton answered it. "Hi, is, uh, is Dave in?" she hesitantly asked.

"Yeah," he answered and then called back into the room, "Cheryl's here to see you." He gestured for her to come in and then picked up his wallet, sliding it into his back pocket. "I'll catch you guys later," he said and slipped out while the two awkwardly glanced at each other.

When the door shut, Cheryl immediately apologized. "I shouldn't have jumped onto you like that. I guess I was too upset about almost being released that I didn't realize you cared enough to, you know…"

"It's okay because I have to apologize to you too." She raised her eyebrows in question and he continued. "I should have trusted you enough to tell you what was going on. Trust is too important to break."

"Then I think we're even."

"Well, I won't lie—you made me mad but what's the point in being angry when we can make-up," he said with grin but added the last suggestively.

"I like that," she replied, closing the distance between them and wrapping her arms around his neck.

Dave held her tight, his mouth descending on hers and making her weak in the knees. Cheryl thoroughly regretted that she had to leave. "I have to go. With everything that's happened, we're calling an emergency girls' meeting to deal with them hiring the diva contestants."

He groaned in disappointment but stole another long kiss and squeezed her butt when she pulled away. She laughed against his neck, kissed his ear, and stepped out of his embrace. "You know, maybe we should get together this week," she paused in thought, "You could change your flight and we can fly into Hilton Head together and then fly to the house show together on Friday. What d'you think?"

"I think it would be great," he replied, leaning in toward her again.

She gave him a light kiss. "If I don't leave now, we'll be here all night."

"And there's a problem with that?" he seductively asked. She only laughed and let herself out.

TBC…

Author's Notes: To any Nidia fans, don't panic—she's not gone for good, hee, hee, hee.

If anybody's looking for something to read, I posted my one-shot Triple H piece—Beyond the Nights—right before the servers went down. I'm not sure if very many people got the e-mail alert because of that. Well, anyhow, moving on from the shameless plug…