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 Eight: It's Who She Is

John went to check up on Riz and Randy the day after the RAW house show. He had asked Riz for her home address so that he could go and visit her just to see how things were for the first night. As soon as he got to the house, he was welcomed heartily. "Hi, John! Come on in! Randy isn't up yet but breakfast is ready…" she said.

His movements were slow and weak. His face was pale and colorless. His eyes were rather red and dull. He looked tired and sleepy. His posture was non-existent and he couldn't seem to keep his eyes open. "Are you okay, John? You don't look so good to me…" she said as he sat down on the couch in the living room. He nodded. "Just a sore throat…" he said in a raspy voice. "It'll wear away soon…"

But Riz's instincts on sicknesses weren't one to be fooled now. There was something wrong with John. She knew that. She walked closer and sat down beside him. She brought her hands up to his neck and felt his temperature. She suddenly took her hands back upon feeling the sudden wave of heat. "John! You're freakin' flaming hot!" she exclaimed.

He couldn't get a word out before she started persistently dragging him up the stairs. "Come on, John, you need to go up and sleep… You need to rest and let that fever go down!" she said to him despite his protests as she guided his frail figure up the stairs. She brought him to the same room that Randy was in the first time he slept there; her old room. She placed him gently on the bed and covered him up with the sheets. She walked over to the airconditioner and turned it on low just so he wouldn't melt in the heat.

She ran to her old bathroom and grabbed a thermometer. She shoved the device into his ear and clicked the button. When the beeping sound echoed through the room, she looked at the numbers and was shocked to death at what she saw. 39.1oC. She immediately tucked him in the sheets and kissed him on the forehead. "John…" she started. "You've got a high fever… I'm going to need you to rest, 'kay? I'm going to go get some stuff for you… I'll be right back…"

He nodded wearily as he closed his eyes and scrunched up his face at the pain hitting his head. She ran out the door and to through the door farthest from the stairs. To the right was the door to where Randy was. To the left were curtains leading to Riz's current bathroom and dressing room. She went into her dressing room and checked some of the cabinets. She got some biogesic, a couple of face towels and another blanket. She ran back to her old room and placed the things on the bedside table.

After that, she ran down the stairs and to the fridge to grab two bottles of mineral water. She ran back up and walked into the now proclaimed, John's room. She grabbed the biogesic and opened a bottle of water. She walked over to John and shook him gently. "John… I've got some medicine for you here… It'll take the headache away…" she said.

He willingly sat up a little as Riz popped the orange tablet into his mouth while supporting his head with her hand and then bringing the bottle of water to his mouth. He drank a few gulps before lying back down. She placed the water aside and covered up John again. She got the other blanket and covered him with it, too. She got a face towel and wet it with hot water before wringing out the excess. She placed it gently on John's head to help his fever.

She caressed his hair and knelt down there beside him. He opened his eyes and said in a raspy voice, "You do know you don't have to do this, Riz… Orton needs your TLC… Not me…" She shook her head. "Plus, I've got to fly to Miami tomorrow for the house show… I can't stay here…" he continued. She shook her head some more and smiled.

"Look, John… You're sick… I'm going to call Steph and tell him that you're not fit to go to the house show…" she smiled. "As for Orton, who says I can't take care of the both of you? What matters now is that you're sick and you need to get better… It's just probably the temperature change that's affecting your body… I want to take care of you, John… I can't just let you go out into the world and probably faint out there…"

He smiled weakly and nodded, indicating that he understood where she was coming from. She smiled back and said, "Now, go get some sleep… I'm going to go check on Orton, 'kay? You just stay here and rest…" she kissed him again on the forehead. John closed his eyes and let his weariness get over him. He fell into a deep slumber and rested, just like she had said.

Riz left the room and headed back to 'Randy's room'. She opened the door and saw that he was up. "Hey, Legend Killer… I see you're finally up… And don't worry… I let you sleep in since you need your rest…" she said jokingly, pertaining to what he had said the last time he was there. He smiled weakly and asked, "Uhm… Riz… Is breakfast ready? I'm just… kinda hungry…"

She smiled at his question and walked closer to him. She propped up his pillow and helped him sit up. She gave him the remote for the 42" plasma flat screen TV and said, "Here… You can go watch some TV… What do you want for breakfast? I made some downstairs but I'm not so sure if that's what you want…" with a knowing smile.

Randy said in the cutest voice, "Chocolate goo?"

She laughed a little at his actions and nodded. "That's exactly what I made… And for your information, Orton, it's not chocolate goo… Well, maybe from your point of view it is, but its chocolate rice…" she said. He shook his head lightly and said, "I want to call it chocolate goo since that was my first impression from it… Plus, it sounds cuter…" She merely laughed and nodded her head.

Riz took care of both John and Randy from that day. She spoon-fed them both and towel-bathed them both. She cooked and cleaned for them. She did their laundry and fixed things up for them. She tucked them into bed every night and greeted them in the morning with a bright smile. John was only there for five days though, since he got better and left for the next house show. That left Riz and Randy alone, and as much as Riz wanted to deny that Randy's childish innocence was amusing, she couldn't. He turned into a child being so weak. So, maybe they fought every now and then but then again, he was still a very good little boy for her.

December 1st 2005. Randy had been out of the WWE for about a month now. Trish and John were coming over to Riz's house for a little early Christmas party since it was the only vacation they could get. After all, they were only there for three days before they flew back to the next house show. Riz was, as usual, still at Randy's beck and call. But to our amusement, Randy didn't abuse his given power over her. He just sat there and concentrated on healing up.

John and Trish had just arrived at 1:30 PM on the said date. They were welcomed into the house and were given a tour. They marveled at the house and even congratulated Riz for a job well done on it. They went up and greeted Randy who was awake and watching Hollywood Homicide on DVD. For the whole afternoon they stayed in Randy's room since he couldn't stand up yet. They watched lots of DVDs and laughed their butts off.

John had brought a video camera with him and he was filming around a lot of things. He felt like being playful with the camera. Brings out the inner child, he says. But Riz and Trish say that it's because it's his first time to ever be able to maneuver one of those gadgets. Yes. They were teasing him as always. Randy watched them from his place on the bed. They were on the floor and teasing each other. Maybe if he were just nicer to Riz, he could be laughing with them like that.

Just a couple of minutes before five, Riz dismissed herself because she said she was going to start preparing dinner. She left the room and headed down the stairs. Just when she got to the foot of the stairs, she heard the doorbell ring. She went to open the door and saw that her family was there. There was her mom, dad, Rico, Lin and her husband, Drake, with their one-year old son, Dave. She thanked god that she was wearing a pair of jean capris and a yellow baby-tee with white flip-flops. Plus, her hair was neatly tied at the back of her head. If there was anything her father was annoyed with, it was when she looked messy.

She let them in and informed them that Randy was staying there with her since he was on leave due to his accident. They sat in the living room as little Dave ran to his auntie. Riz took the infant in his arms and rested him on her hip. "Hey, guys… I'm just going to go up and tell Randy that you're here… Aiiite?" she said before walking up the stairs with the infant still attached to her.

Dave had grown pretty attached to Riz even though she was on the road all the time. Maybe it was because she loved to spoil him with toys and other stuff a one-year old could possibly want. Dave took after his mother having jet black hair and black eyes. He looked pretty much all too adorable wearing his blue jean shorts and a Chain Gang shirt Riz had given him on his first birthday, along with some other cool stuff.

She walked into Randy's room and all three raised a questioning eyebrow at her and particularly at the infant. Trish stood up and cooed at the little boy. "In case y'all are wondering, this is my nephew, Dave… He turned one last April 24th…" she explained to them. John walked over to the three and said hi to the little guy. "Hey, lil' fella… I see you're a soldier of mine!" John said as he poked Dave's tummy through the shirt. Dave got John's finger and played with it.

"What's he doing here, Rizza? Is your family here?" Trish asked, her eyes never leaving the little boy. "Yep! They're here… Mum, dad, Rico, Lin, Drake and of course this lil' squirt here… Now, I just came up here to tell you guys that they might have dinner here since we haven't seen each other since Survivor Series… And, John, my lil' bro doesn't know you're here…" Riz said with a raise of the eyebrow to John.

John instantly got the message and smirked at her. Riz, with Dave, Trish and John, told Randy they'll be right back. They left the room and walked down the stairs to where Riz's family was. Riz came down first with Dave and said, "Uhm… I kind of forget to tell you guys something…"

John came walking down the stairs with Trish behind him. Rico's eyes shot open as he screamed, "Oh my god! Riz! You're so mean! Why didn't you tell me he was here? I hate you, you big meanie!" Riz just shrugged her shoulders playfully. "Well, I couldn't get you the autograph so I brought him here instead… Nah, I'm just kidding… He, Trish, Randy and I were having an early Christmas party before the holidays come rolling in…" she explained. Rico went over to give his sister a noogie as they played on.

After the ruckus had calmed down and things were alright already, Riz handed lil' Dave back to Lin before going to finish making dinner for all of them. Looks like she'd need to make twice the original amount. John and Rico were having a little talk about wrestling and Rico probably getting into the business one day. Lin and Trish were sharing a nice conversation. Everyone was having fun talking. Riz, on the other hand, was alone in the kitchen. Randy was also alone upstairs watching Rush Hour.

Randy sat there as he reminisced on what happened that day he got the accident a month ago. It wasn't really the most desirable thing to happen to anyone.

Randy paced around the ring as he began to stalk Triple H for the RKO to get the World Heavyweight Championship. But while he was stalking the other superstar, he didn't notice that one of his boot laces, which he had always kept securely tied, had fallen loose and was now just hanging there. He accidentally stepped on it and went falling onto the canvas, hitting his left shoulder hard and dislocating it. He had turned on his side and didn't realize he was at the edge of the ring already. He fell off the edge holding his shoulder as he hit his head on the steel steps and he hit his calf bad on the floor. It was only then when he realized he was beginning to pool in his own blood.

He sighed and remembered seeing Riz standing backstage stunned while he was being carried out on the stretcher with an oxygen mask on his mouth and nose. He remembered seeing her shocked face and thinking of what she would do. But he had fainted before he had even completed his thoughts. He remembered seeing her face when he was transferred and instantly feeling comfortable with where he was. He remembered waking up the first day and eating her delicious cooking. He remembered everything that had happened in the past month and all he could do was wonder why. Why did she do all of those?

His head was hurting and his stomach was beginning to rumble. Where had everybody gone? He's been alone for about a good two hours now. Just as he was about to scream for someone, the door opened and in stepped Riz with a tray in her hands. She walked in and shut the door behind her with her foot. She placed the tray on the bedside table and took the plate. "I guess you must be hungry…" she said. "I'm sorry… I was cooking downstairs and apparently, Trish and John are having too much fun…"

She fed him little by little. She had made some Garlic Cream Chicken Fussili, a chocolate cake and lots of Raspberry Iced Tea for everyone to enjoy. Everyone downstairs was done eating and was resuming their conversations after thanking Riz on a wonderful meal. After everyone had eaten, Riz immediately prepared Randy's food as she neglected her own hunger. She went up and so it comes up to now.

"This tastes great…" he commented on her cooking. Of course, to any girl, that would be a nice thing to hear. "Thanks, Orton… Come one… Finish up your chocolate cake…" she said as she fed him the last spoonful of chocolate cake before giving him some iced tea. She was cleaning up the plates when her parents came into the room. "Hija, may I speak with you?" her father said.

She nodded and left the room with her dad, leaving Randy and her mom inside the room. Emma, Riz's mom, walked over to the dishes Riz was cleaning and resumed her daughter's task. Randy couldn't help but ask, "Ms. Cruz… I'm… I know you probably don't have a good impression on me because of what I do to your daughter but… I just wanted to ask… If… Or why… Why is Riz being this nice to me when I've done nothing but annoy and pester her?"

Emma stopped cleaning and sat down on Randy's bedside. "You know, Randy…" she started. "Riz is a girl who knows what she has to do… That's how Philippe and I raised her sister, brother and her to be… She knows right from wrong… One thing that's been innate in her since the day she was born is that she loves to help people so much… No matter who he or she is, she'll help whatever happens…"

"One time, I remember, when she was five-years old, she used to buy her sister gummy bears from the candy store in our old village… Lin was sick with fever back then… Of course, Riz wanted to help her big sister so she always bought her two or three gummies to cheer her up…"

"If you want to know a fact, Randy, she cares about people… That's what makes her Riz… That's what makes her who she is… As long as she knows she can help, she will… That's why she helped you…" Emma said. Randy just sat there and listened intently, judging himself on whether he should scream she isn't like that or he should just accept it for what it is. Either way he was at a loss for words. He didn't know what was wrong with him but some way, somehow, he felt guilty.

Outside, Riz and her father were having a little chit-chat. "Hija… This man inside… I don't feel safe that he's staying here with you… After all he's done to you, lirio… He doesn't deserve to be treated with such royalty from you…" Philippe said. Riz shook her head in amusement. "Lirio… I just want what's best for you… And him being here isn't para el mejor…" he continued.

"Papa…" Riz started in that accent she had when she spoke Spanish. "After all these years, you don't know me? Papa, I want to help him… Not 'cause he's the worst guy in the world and I like him but 'cause he deserves a chance… He's like us, Papa… He needs care when he's hurt and a home to stay in when he's out… I like helping people, Papa… I didn't judge him by how he acted… He's a great guy once you get to know him…"

"But we all saw what he made you do during one of your house shows, lirio!" he stated. Lirio was his favorite nickname for Riz. It was Spanish for lily. "He does not deserve to be here, inside your room, eating your cooking, and spending time with you! Lirio, your mother and I talked about this… She said it's just what you want to do, but I say there's just something wrong… I'm not comfortable with him being here with you, hija…"

"Papa, give him a chance…" she said calmly. She had dealt with her father being this insecure before. He was always an overprotective father no matter what the situation was. "I promise you, there is nothing he could do in this state to harm me… He's just like you and me, Papa… He needs someone to take care of him… His family's so far away in Missouri and they can't leave 'cause of his younger siblings… Give him one chance, Papa… Just one… Please, Papa…" she pouted irresistibly.

Philippe sighed and looked at his youngest daughter with a slight smile. Riz squealed in happiness and hugged her father who hugged her back. "Muchas gracias, Papa!" she said, still enveloped in her father's arms. "Just take care of yourself, hija… I wouldn't want anything to happen to you…" he said as he held her at arms length. "My, my, lirio… I've been so worried about your patient that I didn't manage to notice how beautiful you've grown over the years…" he said.

"You're not the same little muchacha that used to run around and pull on my pant leg…" he said as he ran a hand through her hair. "You've really grown into a fine young mujer, hija… I'm very proud of you… Especially when you won your first wrestling title! My, my, I never thought you'd be like such…"

"Gracias, Papa… I couldn't have done it all without you and mama by my side…" she said. Now, she wasn't one to be all mushy but she really loved her father. She was daddy's little girl in the family. She was her father's favorite since she was the hyperactive girl. Lin was more of the reserved quiet one. And Rico, well, let's just say he isn't a girl. Let's settle with that.

Later on that night, Riz's family left her house to go back to their homes; Philippe, Emma and Rico to their house; Lin and Drake to theirs. They had decided to leave little Dave back with Riz since they couldn't tear him off her. Comes with being his favorite aunt, they supposed. Trish and John were also staying there for the night. Their flight left the next morning so that they could go to Michigan for the next RAW house show.

Trish was set to sleep in the guestroom on the ground floor and she fell asleep in an instant due to all the fun they had earlier that day. John was going to sleep in Riz's old bedroom. He had settled into his room for the night when someone opened the door. He looked around and saw Riz standing there dressed in a pair of loose black denim capris and a loose white Chain Gang t-shirt. She was just wearing a pair of slippers and her hair was down. "Hey, what brings you here?" he asked as he was taking off his cap. He was shirtless with just his jean shorts and rubber shoes on.

"I wanted to know if maybe I could talk to you… Plus, I kinda wanted to show you something… Everyone's asleep and yeah, I just wanted to talk to you for a bit since we've been away from each other for about a month now…" she said as she walked over to him. "Sure thing… What'cha gonna show me?" he asked.

She took his hand and led him out of the room. The walked down one flight of stairs and ended at the landing. She took him up another flight of stairs where there was a room. But it was dark so he couldn't see what was inside. They went up another flight of stairs without seeing what was inside the room and they ended up in front of a door. She opened the door and John immediately felt the cool wind lash his body full-force. They stepped out into what seemed like a roof deck. It wasn't small, it wasn't big. It was just roughly about the size of a wrestling ring. The floor was tiled with light blue and the railing was white.

The air was cool and there was a certain ambiance to the place. They walked over to the edge and leant on the railings. You could see the well-lit buildings of Manila under a clear night's sky. There was a full moon that night and it was amazingly beautiful going with the many stars that dotted the night sky. "Wow… This is beautiful…" was all John could say upon laying his eyes at the sight.

"I go up here all the time when I want to be alone… Nobody bothers me up here… And my family knows that when I'm up here, I want to be alone with myself… So, yeah… It's calm and cool here… Perfect place to be when you're trying to relax and get your head back in shape for the days to come…" she said, a slight twinge of happiness echoing in her voice.

"Would there be a particular reason why you brought me up here? Is there anything you wanted to talk about?" he asked, feeling a little awkward at her sudden actions.

"I just…" she sighed. "I just wanted to get away from everything, John… There's just so much going on in life right now that I don't know where to start or when to stop…" she said with light tears pooling in her eyes.

"What's wrong? There's still that little something about you opening up to me, y'know…" he said a little as-a-matter-of-factly.

"I don't feel okay opening up just like this, John… No offense to you, but I guess I'm just not ready to share everything… It's not that I don't trust you…" she said as the tears began falling from her eyes one by one. "You're my best friend in the WWE and for the past two or so years… I appreciate that… But, there are things I really need to keep to myself…"

"I guess it just takes time… It takes lots of time… And me relating all these unknown stories to the world, it just scratches the scars all over again and lets them bleed like before…" she began to say. Philosophical little woman, ain't she? "It just… It… I don't know, John… I don't want Orton to see me like this… It just makes it all easier for him to target me…"

He took her figure into his arms and hugged her tightly. He kissed the crown of her head and then held her at arms length. "Look at me, Riz…" she looked into his eyes. "Riz, you are not weak… It doesn't matter if Randy sees you like this… He won't do anything… And, wizzie, you don't have to open up… I'm not forcing you to… I never will… Those scars can remain sealed, just like the way they were… And I understand that there are things you need to keep to yourself… It's just that…"

"…I care about you, Rizzie… You're my lil' sis! I just want what's best for ya…" he said.

She nodded as she buried her face on his chest. He wrapped both arms around her and hugged her tightly, not wanting to let her go and let the pains in the world get to her. He wanted to protect her and keep her in his arms. He wanted everything else to disappear and leave her alone for once. But their little trance was suddenly broken when Riz heard a cry. "Dave's up… I left him beside Orton so I'd best get him now…" she said as they both ran down the stairs.

Riz dropped John off in his room for the night as they bid their good nights. She walked into Randy's room and found Dave sitting up and now quiet, obviously he was looking for her. Randy was also sitting up and trying to calm the little boy down. He was cooing at the little boy and making him smile. Riz smiled at the sight of this as she walked over to the two. Dave immediately jumped into her arms as he said, "Rith…" He couldn't fully pronounce 'Riz' yet.

She cradled the little boy in her arms and rocked him back to sleep as she looked at Randy and flashed him a grateful smile. He smiled back and then lay down again. "Hey, Riz… Why don't you and Dave sleep here tonight? It gets kinda lonely being alone here…" he asked, hiding the begging sound in his voice.

She thought about it for a while and debated with herself while she was rocking Dave back to sleep. If we stay with John, the bed's not big enough for the three of us… If we stay with Trish, the bed's also not big enough… Lin's room isn't up and about… Plus, it might trigger Dave's dust allergies… Rico's room? It's inside Lin's room and trust me, I am not going inside that boy's dump… Well, this looks like the only place I have left… Well, this is a first… Usually I'd sleep in my old room but oh well… she thought before nodding at him. The smile that grazed his face was incomparable.

After Dave had gotten to sleep, she laid him down on the bed beside Randy and covered him with his little blue blanket. She walked over to the other side of the bed and covered Randy up with his own blanket. He gave him a kiss on the head like always and walked back to the other side of the bed where she climbed onto it. She half-hugged Dave to make sure he was safe and looked up. She saw Randy staring at her and she said, "Well, you'd best get your rest, Orton… You've still got a lot of healing to do…" before closing her eyes to go to sleep.

"Have I ever told you how beautiful you are?" he said out of the blue. That kind of caught Riz off-guard. She opened her eyes and quirked her eyebrow and said, "Nope… Not really… Are you okay, Orton? Have you been taking drugs behind my back? Did aliens abduct you and turn you into this other person? Who are you and what did you do to the perverted asshole I met two years ago?"

"He hasn't gone anywhere, babe… He's right here…" he said.

"Okay, Orton, number one, don't call me babe… Number two, yep, you are still that perverted asshole… Number three, go to sleep…" she said as she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.

Randy leant closer to her ear without putting any effort on his leg or shoulder and whispered, "You're beautiful, Riz… You are…"

…And that was the last thing she heard.

Was she dreaming?

Hey, people! Yeah, it's me again. Back with an update for all of you. I don't think it's the longest, neither is it the most entertaining, but it's somewhat... kinda different, right? Well, I'll leave you all with this. Thanks to those who reviewed!

REVIEW please.

-veracruzortongal