Disclaimer: I do not own any WWE Superstar in this story. The personas/gimmicks belong to the WWE. The actual persons belong to their respective selves. Any brand/logo/trademarked name found in this story does not belong to me.

Chapter Seven: He's Only Human

Randy woke up the next morning feeling the sunlight hit his face. The curtains were drawn open and there was sunlight streaming into the pale yellow room. He looked around the bed he was laying on and found out that he was alone. Could it have been just a dream that Riz snuck up with him in the middle of the night or was it reality? Did she really come begging for him to hold her in his arms last night?

Deciding to no longer debate with himself since he was getting a migraine, he stood up from the bed and went straight to the bathroom. He checked his watch which was laid on the white-tiled counters and saw that it was 7 AM. Damn it! What am I doing up this early in the morning? He asked himself upon seeing the time. His eyes grew as big as dinner plates as he saw the little hands pointing to the numbers on his Rolex watch.

He looked at his reflection in the mirror and saw that his hair wasn't really mussed up but it was rather all over the place. Deciding that he needed a shower, especially from last night's festivities, he shed his clothes and stepped into a cold shower this time, different from the warm one he took last night after being soaked in the rain. He took the small bottle of emergency shampoo he always took with him and rinsed his hair from the sweat that was there. For some odd reason, he kept on thinking about last night; on whether it was reality or he was simply dreaming. Maybe I was dreaming… Wait! I'm dreaming about Riz? He thought cautiously.

He stepped out of the shower soon after and dried himself with a towel. He took some of his clothes; a pair of Lee black denim jeans and one of his signature black Randy Orton shirts; and clothed himself. He slipped on his black shoes and headed out of the room where he smelled breakfast brewing. He looked to the side of the room where Riz slept last night and saw that the door was open. So, she was up.

He walked down the stairs and turned to the direction of the kitchen where he saw Riz sitting on one of the barstools of the island counter in front of the TV. She was dressed in a pair of loose black pajama bottoms and a white baby-tee. So, her outfit was miles different from the one she wore last night in his 'dream'. Her feet were bare as her legs dangled from the edge of the barstool. She spun her head and greeted him with a small smile. "I see you're finally up…" she said.

"Yeah… I was actually amazed at how I managed to wake up this early… Usually I'd sleep in when no one would be waking me up…" he admitted as he walked over to the island counter and looked at the spread. There was this thick brown gooey oatmeal-like stuff in a bowl, a carton of milk, a jar of sugar and a mug of milk chocolate. "What's for breakfast?" he asked.

"I thought I'd take the initiative to make you some breakfast… That brown stuff over there is chocolate rice… Particularly champorado for us here in the Philippines… Come… I'll make you a batch…" she said as she stood up and grabbed a bowl from one of the drawers nearby. He sat down on the nearest stool and looked at the TV in front of him. She was watching a replay of Wrestlemania 21 and the RAW that followed it the next night.

He watched her spoon some of the chocolate rice into a smaller bowl then add milk and sugar to it. She mixed it well for a couple of minutes then placed the bowl in front of him. He looked at in skeptically before asking, "Are you sure this is edible? I'm kinda new to this so I'm not really so sure…"

"Just try it, Orton… It won't bite you…" she said with a smile as she ate from her own bowl and followed it up by drinking some milk chocolate drink. He looked at it before taking the spoon and lifting a spoonful of the brown stuff. He put it in his mouth and he instantly tasted the sweetness and bitterness at the same time. The rice was soft and chewy while the chocolate was simply divine. Altogether, it was an amazing dish. He continued to eat it until he finished up the bowl.

Riz looked at him and smiled. Not in the evil kind of way, mind you. She didn't put laxative or any other drug in his food. She was that nice to him. She went back to finishing her own meal and watching the TV. The part where she was dancing for Randy came up on the screen and she felt nothing but butterflies in her stomach. Here she was, sitting just a couple of inches from the man who had just degraded her, and she even welcomed him into her own home.

Her train of thought was suddenly broken by Randy saying, "You dance well…"

She looked at him like he had grown three heads and quirked that trademark right eyebrow of hers. He looked at her and smiled. "I'm serious… For someone I thought that wasn't really that good, you've proved me wrong… You dance well… I mean that really seriously… Most people find it hard to dance to my theme music without going crazy… And you, for some odd reason, managed to pull it off without a hitch…" he said. It was awkward being this close to her.

"Thanks…" she said bluntly. She meant the gratitude but everything he had just said was still rather painful. So, before he had the chance to look up to her for her dancing ability, she was nothing to him. So, she had to do a freakin' lap-dance for him so that he could notice how well she could sway her hips and shake her rear. Wow, that was so flattering.

Breakfast went by with silence as they drank up their cold milk chocolate. After eating, Riz cleaned up the table as Randy watched his match with John over and over again. She rinsed out the plates and dried them before placing them back in their proper place in the cabinets. She walked up the stairs and walked into her old room, the room which Randy slept in. The sheets and pillows were still a mess and his clothes were scattered everywhere.

She took it upon herself to fix his clothes and place it neatly beside his duffel bag. She also started fixing up the bed. She folded the blankets first before placing the pillows in a neat stack on the bed. She straightened out the bed sheets and stood up straight. She was satisfied with her cleaning. She was standing by the bed with her back facing the wall so she didn't know Randy had been standing there looking at her. She walked over to a picture frame hanging on the wall opposite the door and ran her hand through the crisp golden swirl frame. It was the only golden frame there. The rest were designed with silver glitter; black and hot pink paint.

Randy walked over to her and stood beside her. "I was supposed to ask you this morning… This picture, it just sends this vibe to me… Could you tell me who he is?" he asked. The picture inside the frame was one of Riz and a guy. The guy had jet black hair and green eyes. He looked pretty muscular and he had slight dimples like that of John Cena's. He was seated on a swing with Riz on his lap. They were both laughing about something, but nobody could tell what. In Riz's hand was a white rose. At the bottom of the picture was:

El día esto se levantó las vueltas que el rojo es el día usted sabrá que puedo estar parado en mis dos pies sin usted... Porque ése es el día algún otro en las necesidades del mundo su amor... He conseguido demasiado de él...

"He's my best friend, Randy… He's my best friend…" she said as she pulled her hand away from the frame like as if it had just electrocuted her. She turned to face him and said, "We better get ready to leave soon… They must be looking for us back at the hotel… I'm going to go get ready and we'll leave at 8:30, 'kay?"

Soon enough, they left for the Crowne Plaza hotel with Riz leading the way. When they did get there, people swarmed them with questions, especially John who was noticing quite a similarity in the departure and arrival of his two friends. Well, one was his ex-best friend and the other was his best friend. "Riz, where the hell have you been? And you, too, Randy!" he shouted.

"I drove away from the hotel and found myself driving underneath the heavy rain… So, instead of coming back here and probably drowning, I decided to go to my house and stay there for the night… I could have died under that storm last night… Thank the Lord it still stopped, y'know…" she said her excuse.

"I was driving around and then the rain came down… So, I saw this nearest hotel and booked a room for the night… Didn't want my gorgeous face to be discovered under a pile of trash…" Randy answered cockily. A lie. But yes, both did feel that they had to cover up what they had done. After all, for everyone there, it would be so unnatural.

"Yeah, it's not like people would differentiate the trash from your face…" Riz muttered under her breath.

"Yeah, and you know, Riz, I'm still wondering why you couldn't have just died out there in that storm…" Randy shot back.

"Oh, you know, Orton… I'm just formulating this thing in my head… Did you book a room at a local gay hotel? I heard that Randy Orton has special accommodations there…" she said with an attitude. John rolled his eyes at the two. Back to square one. To think he was even hoping that they got along after last night.

"Very funny, Cruz… At least when I'm home, I have a family to go home to… Where's yours? You see… You live all alone in your little house…" Randy said.

"At least I make my family proud by being straight and not being gay like you…" she said with a cross of her arms.

"Who ever said you were straight?" Randy asked with a quirked eyebrow.

"You two can catfight all day and nothing would ever happen to you two!" John said, obviously pissed off at the two like always. "Now, Riz, stop catfighting with Orton 'cause we seriously need to talk… And you, Orton… Go back up to god-knows-where and do god-knows-what or whatever… Just, please, could you two separate ways for a couple of hours? I'm tired of you two at it all day!" he said.

Randy just quirked a cocky eyebrow before smirking and walking away. He walked over to the elevators and headed up to his room to call probably rest. John turned to Riz and shook his head. "Rizzie… I was so worried 'bout you last night… You could've at least called or texted to tell me where you were so I wouldn't have paced my ass of in the room…" he said in that big brother voice. So, this was what he wanted to talk about.

"I wasn't feeling well last night, John… Didn't have enough energy from the party and driving, I guess…" she replied with a slight shrug of the shoulders. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and smiled down at her. "I'm just lookin' out for ya… Y'know, I was beginning to think that you spent the night with Orton but I think that would be impossible judgin' from the way you just catfighted earlier…" he said. She laughed and hit him playfully on the chest.

"By the way, where's your family? It seems like they just disappeared after 'mania… Never got the chance to meet 'em…" he said. In the two years that they had been friends, he had never met her family whilst she had met his. The WWE often went to Boston and so Riz got to have dinner with the Cenas. They liked here and treated her like one of their own. John was so excited to finally meet Riz's family. But unfortunately, with her mood swings, dealing with her was kind of rough in the past few days.

"You'll have the chance to meet them, John… They're just pretty busy right now…" she explained, her eyes rather downcast. The rest of their stay in Manila, John never got to meet the Cruz's. They were always out of action or somewhere else. Honestly, he felt like there was some family problem. He thought that maybe her family wasn't as close as she portrayed them to be.

Survivor Series 2005 – November 4, 2005(Manila, Philippines)

Survivor Series. Joint pay-per-view between WWE brands RAW, SmackDown and ECW. The Araneta Coliseum was once again packed with the WWE crew fixing up the ring for that night. Backstage, as usual, superstars were rehearsing their lines and practicing their promos. Some of them were training backstage and doing a little stretching before the PPV began so that they would be ready and energized.

The pay-per-view started off with the Filipino fans screaming at the top of their lungs. They were so happy that the WWE was back in the Philippines with another PPV yet again. The show started with a Tables, Ladders and Chairs (TLC) match between Edge and RVD. Following it was a streetfight between the Undertaker and Kane. Next up was the Tag Team Championship match between Brian Kendrick and Paul London vs. The Hardy Boyz, Matt and Jeff Hardy.

Then came one of the hottest matches of the night. Riz vs. Trish Stratus for the Women's Championship. The fans were back on their feet as, 'Who's that girl? Lalalalalalalalalalala…' blasted throughout the arena and out stepped Riz. "The following match is scheduled for one-fall and it is for the WWE Women's Championship… Introducing first, the challenger… She is the ABC of the WWE… Manila's own… RIZ!" Lilian said.

She was wearing a pair of Jam khaki cargos and a baby-blue short-sleeved hoodie along of course with her ever so useful white Skechers rubber shoes. She smiled up to the familiar crowd and walked down the ring doing the hip-hop step, creep-walk. Once she got to the ring, she did her trademark ring entrance: shifting from foot to foot and climbing up the second turnbuckle with a wink and pluck of the hoodie.

(Giggle) '…I don't care what y'all say… Whoa! It's time to rock and roll!'

"Introducing the WWE Women's Champion… From Toronto, Canada… Trish Stratus!" Lilian said. Trish stepped out and showed off her Women's Championship belt. Some of the crowd booed and some cheered her on. It was just like Wrestlemania night. The crowd was almost the same and their reactions were like that, too. Plus, the match was fairly the same, as well. It was not scripted due to the boost in ratings during Wrestlemania. The McMahons thought that Riz and Trish were fine on their own outside in that ring.

Riz shed her hoodie to reveal her usual outfit, a white razorback sports bra. She gave up her dog tags to the referee like before and did the sign of the cross. Trish surrendered the title belt to the referee, too, and went over to her corner. The bell rang three times signaling the beginning of this match.

The match started off and they were grappling each other in the ring. Trish got the upper hand and slammed Riz down face first into the canvas. Riz stood up and held her aching forehead. She stood her ground once again as Trish prepared to catch her with a couple more blows. Trish was able to corner the younger diva in a corner and hit her with some backhand chops to the chest, following it up by licking her hand a couple of times and slapping it onto the younger diva's chest again.

Riz managed to gain her composure and hit Trish with a slap to the face. Then, Riz took Trish and Irish-whipped her across the ring to hit the opposite turnbuckle, following it up with a clothesline. But unfortunately, Trish was able to duck and spear Riz across the abdomen to gain the upper hand again. With Trish straddling her waist and throwing combinations of lefts and rights, Riz was left blocking her face with her arms.

But quick thinking did her well as she was able to hook her legs onto Trish's shoulders and reverse their position for the pin. One… Two… Trish kicked out. Now, the champion was back with a vengeance as she performed a perfect standing drop kick to Riz's abdomen. Riz backed up against the turnbuckles and caught herself. She launched herself and lunged to clothesline Trish, but the veteran was once again able to evade it with the MaTrish.

Trish did a handstand from the MaTrish and caught Riz's head in between her ankles as she performed a hurricanrana to the young diva. Riz landed on her lower back therefore sending pangs of pain shooting up and down her spine. Trish took the chance and did another dropkick to Riz's back; thus, sending the younger diva writhing in pain.

Trish covered Riz for the pin but she kicked out at two. Riz stood up while Trish was menacingly arguing with the referee about his counting. Trish was distracted. Good. Riz hit the AB on Trish even though her back was hurting like hell. Trish was down. Riz took the pin but the veteran kicked out at two and a half. Riz got up and stalked the Women's Champion; thus, earning cheers from the fans in the Araneta Coliseum.

Trish was up and half-conscious of what was happening. Riz took the veteran and immediately loaded her onto her shoulders into a fireman's carry. With a simple wink and an instant smirk, she swung Trish to her front and slammed her down onto the canvas. The perfect Cancellation. Riz ignored the pain in her lower back and covered Trish for the pin. One… Two… Three!

"The winner of this match and your NEW 6-TIME WWE WOMEN'S CHAMPION… RIZ!" Lilian announced as 'Who's that girl?' blasted through the arena. Trish was helped out by the medics as Riz was handed the WWE Women's Championship. She fell down onto her knees and held the belt to her chest as if hugging it. The referee raised his right arm up as a sign of victory.

Riz climbed onto the second turnbuckle and raised the belt up high. The pointed to the sky and did the sign of the cross once more. The pointed to all the fans and showed of her belt some more. She was happy. No. She was ecstatic. She jumped down from the turnbuckle as the referee handed her back the dog tags. She pointed to the cameras filming her as she said, "John! Thank you!"

She slipped out of the ring still basking in her victory and triumph and ran over to where her family was at ringside. She climbed over the barricade and saw that not only was her family there, but her best friend, Nikka, too. They shared a group hug before Riz turned to her father and hugged him tightly. There were tears streaming down her face as she whispered into his ear while covering her mouth with the title, "Gracias, papa… Muchas gracias… I couldn't have made it this far without you… No deseo imaginar vina sin usted… Te quiero, papa… Te quiero…"

She hugged Celine and Rico at the same time. She moved over to her best friend and hugged her tight. "I'm so glad you're here, Niknik… I don't want to ever imagine winning this belt without you by my side…" she said as more tears dared to fall down her rosy cheeks. They pulled away as Riz wiped away the tears and smiled. She said bye to them and ran to the crowd. She slapped some hands and celebrated with her hometown fans. She even took one six-year old little girl, carried her and let her hold the title.

She exited through the audience and out into the parking lot. She took the other way around to get backstage. When she entered the double doors, everybody clapped for her loudly. Some techs shook her hand and some congratulated her. The divas all screamed and jumped along with her. But she spun her head, saw John and immediately ran up to him. She jumped onto him and wrapped her legs around his waist as he spun her around while they both laughed.

"You did it, Rizzie wizzie! You're the Women's champ now!" he said as he still held her in mid-air. "Now, look! You and I both have the gold! We're back to being number one, Riz!" he screamed as she laughed at his silly antics. Another match had started outside and it had been going on for about ten minutes now, but they were somewhat to busy to notice. They just kept on celebrating with Riz.

Suddenly, a rush of EMTs passed them by with a stretched and lots of bandages. The medics ran out to the ring as everyone suddenly shifted their attention to the screen that was showing what was happening outside. All the divas brought their hands to their mouths in shock as Riz just stood there trying to take in what was being aired. The superstar was a bloody mess out there, and his match wasn't even done.

The stretcher with the said superstar passed by Riz as she carefully looked at him. Everything went in slow motion as his body was being carried out of the arena. There was a bone sticking out here, blood there, a cut here, a misplaced bone there. He was a mess. And his eyes! They were half-lidded. They looked so pitiful. Riz looked on as the body of Randy Orton was being carried out.

For the next twenty-four hours, everyone was at loss at what had just happened. Randy was immediately ambulanced to The Medical City and was being treated. Nobody even remembered much about the rest of the Survivor Series. They just sat there and wondered about what could've happened to the Legend Killer. The afternoon after Randy's accident, the whole WWE roster was called to a meeting in one of the ballrooms by Vince McMahon himself. There were no other personnel inside. Just the WWE superstars.

"This may come as a shock to some of you… Randy Orton, our proclaimed Legend Killer, had an accident last night, as most of you know… We immediately sent him to the hospital and he was checked up on by several doctors… They have come to a conclusion that Randy has a severe concussion, his left shoulder is once again damaged, only now it is worse because it was totally dislocated, and he has a fractured right calf that split right through the skin…" Vince said. All the superstars gasped.

"Randy was not cleared to do any walking, flying, wrestling… Anything at all! So, he would have to remain here in Manila until further notice…" Vince said. Everyone in the room was murmuring and some were getting teary-eyed though they hated him. But Riz? She had no reaction. "One superstar will have to come here every month to check up on him and make sure he's alright… He will be confined to the hospital and will be out of reach from the fans… I-" Vince was able to say no more when Riz stood up.

"Excuse me, sir… But may I say something?" she said, her face still rather emotionless. "Don't worry, I won't make any side comments and violent reactions…" she said. Vince nodded. Riz placed her title belt back on the steel chair she sat on. "I'm volunteering to take Orton in for the time being… Time being, meaning while he is out of action from the WWE…" she said. Everyone lifted a questioning eyebrow.

Steph McMahon took a microphone and said, "Wait, Riz… You two hate each other… Why would you offer to take him in?"

"'Cause, my dear Steph, though Orton and I don't agree most of the time, I can't help but to think of what he's going through… Sure, he's my worst enemy, but enemy or not, Orton is still a human being… And he gets hurt… He has feelings… Whatever you do, he still has a heart no matter how frozen it is…" Riz said as some superstars chuckled. "… As a person, I, personally, wouldn't want to be stuck in a hospital room for so many months… Granted, someone else can take him in, but who else has a house, a home here in Manila? I'm just laying out what I think, Steph… And honestly, though I hate Orton's guts, I just want to help…"

"I can see where you're coming from, Riz…" Vince said. "…And I'm willing to give you that chance to take Randy in but we've got one little… No, wait… Big problem… You're the Women's Champion as of last night… So, you can't leave the WWE for a long time such as this…" he said as everyone's attention was quickly focused on Riz.

She looked down at her title for a second and sighing before looking back up to meet Steph's waiting eyes. "I'll surrender my title." Riz said sharply as everyone gasped. She was willing to go this far? "…And don't think that I'm doing this for the sole reason of Orton, aiiite? I also have to surrender my title 'cause Vince, I took a check-up earlier this morning with my doc, and apparently, I need to go to therapy again…" Everyone raised a questioning eyebrow.

"If in case no one knew, I've had scoliosis since I was a little girl and I take therapy for it… Last night took its toll on my back so I need to go and take therapy again to snap it back into shape… So, Steph, don't make any fake reasons… I want the fans to know the truth… That I'm leaving 'cause I need to take therapy… And just don't tell 'em that I'm gonna be takin' care of Orton…"

Steph understood every single word and nodded her head to the young girl. With that said and done, the superstars were dismissed and they all went their separate ways. As usual, there was a RAW house show after the PPV. Before the house show started, John talked to Riz. "You really are an angel to everyone…" he said. He seemed calmer and paler than usual.

She smiled and said, "Well, I try…" before they both burst out into hysterical laughter, with his rather softer.

At the very last part of RAW, Riz came out to the ring with Steph before the WWE fans of Manila. "Heya, guys and gals… Yes, I know… I won last night… Aren't y'all happy for lil' ol' moi?" the crowd cheered. "Well… I've gotta tell ya, I'm as happy as hell, too… I mean, six times! Six times! That's more than what one hand of mine can count! 'mazing, isn't it?"

"…And seriously, I couldn't have done it without you guys behind me… You supported me and I'm really really grateful for that… Last night, I've proven na angat nga ang Pinoy!" she said as she raised her title belt and the crowd cheered. "But, I have some news for all of you here and 'round the world…"

Riz turned to Steph and handed her the title. The fans gasped and all started to murmur. "Steph, I'm surrendering my title, my reign, my precious…" she exaggerated as the fans laughed a little. "…It's not 'cause I don't want it… Just 'cause I have to go out of business for some time… I'll be out of the WWE for a couple of months or so… For the prime reason of: I went to the doctor this morning… And tests have confirmed that I, Riz, have to go out of business and get therapy since my innate scoliosis has struck back with a vengeance…" she said once again as some of the fans laughed at her acting while others cried.

"So, this isn't goodbye, people! What's with the tears? I promise you all that I will be back… And when I'm back, I promise you, I will regain the WWE Women's Championship… For the meantime, Steph, take care of that for me… I don't want it gettin' hurt…" she acted again as the crowd smiled. "If ever it cries, call me at this number… And if it goes lookin' for mommy, tell it that mommy will be right back! 'Cause that's my baby, Steph…" Riz said with acting like a crying mother with an accent. "…That's my baby…"

"Enough with the dilly-daddle, people… So, you guys be good… And yes, as I have said… I shall return… Just quoting Douglas McArthur…" Riz said, leaving the crowd with one final laugh before her theme music played and she left the ring with her head held high. At least she knew she was giving up the title for a good reason. A very good reason, at that.

That same night, after RAW, Randy was transported via ambulance to Riz's house in Valle Verde. He was conscious at that time and he didn't know where he was being brought. But when he was carried out and into a house, he noticed the same house and he smiled. He was taken up the stairs via stretcher and they took him to a room. A different room from the one he slept in before. But, he was too dizzy to notice.

Next thing he knew, Riz was in the room with him as the medics left. She fixed the pillow beneath his head them covered him with a nice warm blanket. She smiled at him before saying, "I'll explain everything when you finally get back to your right senses… Right now, you need rest… Close your eyes and go to sleep…"

He nodded and closed his eyes. Soon, he felt Riz's lips connecting with his forehead and her hand running through his hair gently. She tucked him in some more and she stayed there until he fell asleep. He didn't know why she was there. He didn't know what she was doing or why she was doing it. All he knew was that she was taking care of him; and for him, that was enough of an answer for now. The lights went off in the room as tranquility surrounded the place.

…And Randy dreamt that same dream he did when he last slept in that house.

Hi! I am updating, but I am moving so fast here, I don't even think I'm human anymore. Lol. About the Spanish up there, I'm not quite sure of the grammar. So if anyone wants to help me, well, you're free to do so. Lmao. Now, I've got to go.

Thanks to those who reviewed! Y'all know the drill, R&R!

-veracruzortongal