Hello everyone! Hope you liked the last chapter, if not, this one's better because…. This is one of the biggest chapters! Dave turns! Yay! I'm so glad that Shane is back on Raw! My poor beau is out recovering from surgery…GET BETTER DAVE! Please review!

Laura

FEB 21, 2005- The Bryce Jordan Center, PA

Nikki paces around the hotel room, biting her lip. She glances at her watch and sighs.

"Dave! Come on! We were supposed to be there 10 minutes ago!" Nikki calls out.

Dave walks out of the bedroom and smiles at her.

"Calm down Hon, we still have time," Dave says, kissing her softly, "how do I look?"

"Like a future champion," Nikki replies with a smile, "ready?"

"As much as I'll ever be."

AT THE ARENA

Courtney, Nikki, Maria and Trish are all sitting around a table in catering, but Nikki is spacing out. Trish waves a hand in front of her face, causing her to snap out of her trance.

"Something wrong?" Trish asks, all the girls looking at her with concern.

"Not really, I'm just anxious for tonight," Nikki replies, "Dave didn't tell me what he's going to do and I'm worried about it."

"Aw, don't worry about it," Maria states happily, "whatever he choice he picks it's a good thing."

"Yeah, but it's also a bad thing too," Trish replies, "I'm not trying to scare you Nikki but Paul might come after you if Dave stays."

"I know Trish, that's what I'm worried about," Nikki says softly, " I'm just getting sick of everyone saying Paul's coming after me. He might not."

Courtney gives her a look and Nikki sighs.

"Come on hon, you know Paul better than all of us," Courtney speaks up, "if Dave stays, Paul's going to go after the thing that matters the most to Dave in the world, you."

Nikki bites her lip and nods.

"I've gotta go," Nikki states, standing up and running out of the room.

The girls watch her go and Courtney sighs.

"Girls, we have to keep an eye on her," Courtney says, looking at the other two women, "we can't let her get hurt."

They nod in agreement and start to talk about ways to keep Nikki safe.

Nikki walks into the Evolution locker room to find it empty. She looks around and shrugs before heading into the bathroom. As she goes to exit the bathroom, she hears Paul and Ric come into the room, talking about tonight.

"I just called Dave, he should be here soon," Ric tells Paul who rolls his eyes.

"Can you believe this? This is supposed to be the biggest night in the history of Evolution. Tonight, we are going to run this business. After all we've done for him, he has the guts to be late?" Paul states, his anger rising.

"You created Batista," Flair pipes up.

"Do you know how hard it was to get that Smackdown footage on Raw? Or how hard it was to get a white limousine with those stupid horns on it to make Dave think that JBL was going to run him over!" Paul states, shaking his head.

"What?" Ric asks, shocked.

"Relax," Paul says, "sometimes Dave isn't smart enough to do the right thing. I'm ensuring that he makes the right decision tonight and goes to Smackdown."

"Now I know that you're a genius!" Ric exclaims, " that is the greatest thing I have heard in my life. You are the cerebral assassin."

"It was a great plan, but it's all for nothing if that idiot decides to stay on Raw. Batista needs to do the right thing for him and Evolution and that is to go to Smackdown," Paul replies, "just make sure he goes to Smackdown."

Ric nods and chuckles. Nikki gasps softly causing Paul to whirl around, spotting her. He stalks over to the door and throws it open, grabbing her by the throat.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" Paul smirks, "a no good stripper."

Nikki struggles against Paul's grip, trying to push him away.

"You say one word to Dave about this and I'll break your neck," Paul states softly, smiling, "wouldn't want to do that…..yet."

Paul throws Nikki against the wall, walking back out into the main room. Dave walks in, a smile on his face, and Paul plasters on a fake one.

"Hey buddy!" Paul exclaims cheerfully, "ready for tonight?"

"You bet," Dave replies, eyeing Nikki, "you alright?"

Paul glares at Nikki causing her to nod, smiling weakly.

"Ready Dave?" Ric asks, smiling at Paul.

"Of course," Dave smiles, grabbing Nikki's hand, "lets go."

The ring is set up for the contract signing and both Bischoff and Long are standing behind the table.

"Introducing the winner of the 2005 Royal Rumble, Batista!" Eric exclaims as Evolution's music hits.

Dave and Nikki walk out together with Paul and Ric following close behind. Dave holds open the ropes for Nikki and then gets in with Paul and Ric following suit. Dave looks at both the contracts before heading to Long's side of the table.

"You have a decision to make Batista, and by signing the Raw contract, you will remain on Raw, the flagship program, the number one brand. The brand that made you a star! Raw is the brand that will give your career stability, because unlike OTHER general managers, my job is not in jeopardy. But more importantly, it means that you will face Triple H one on one for the World Heavyweight Championship at Wrestlemania. It's the dream of every superstar to face Triple H," Eric states as Paul glares at him, "A man who even the Nature Boy says to be the man, you've got to beat Triple H. This is your opportunity. It's simple, sign the Raw contract and reach your dreams."

Dave nods and Teddy Long grabs a mic and Dave turns his attention to him.

"Now wait a minute, there actually is a choice!" Teddy exclaims, "you could sign with Smackdown and you can't tell me that you didn't feel that electricity at No Way Out, and we all saw what you can do with JBL. We saw the magic when you stared John Cena in the eyes. You and John Cena are the hottest commodities in the WWE. If you two were on the same show, you guys could start your own rivalry. The biggest rivalry since Stone Cold and The Rock. Not only are JBL and Cena waiting for you, but also it's Eddie Guerrero, Rey Mysterio, Kurt Angle, and one day it could if could be Batista one on one with…. The Undertaker! But Playa, for that to happen you have to sign with Smackdown.. You can beat JBL and Cena in a triple threat at Wrestlemania. I assure you that your career will blow up on Smackdown."

Dave nods and grabs both contracts, looking down at both. Paul grabs the mic from Bischoff and turns to Dave.

"This shouldn't be very difficult Dave, because there is only one person you need to listen to. It isn't what's best for Raw, or what's best for Smackdown. It's about one thing, what's best for you. I don't want you to worry about Flair and me because what's best for you is best for Evolution. Picture at Wrestlemania, I'm still the champion and you would be next to me as the new WWE Champion. Think about it, we'd rule the world and no one could stop us. Do you know how big this is? Think of the 4 Horsemen and when Flair was the NWA champion, what if Arn was the WWE champion. DX in their prime, what if HBK was WWE champion and I was the WCW champ. We could've written history, but it never happened. You have an opportunity to make history and we owe it to ourselves to do it. Don't worry about Bradshaw or Cena because deep inside his heart, you could beat both men. We have an opportunity to do the greatest thing in this industry. To walk the aisle with Flair, side by side, owning the business. It doesn't seem difficult to me and I have a feeling I know what you want to do."

Dave thinks about what Paul has just said, and glances at Nikki who's biting her lip and staring at him. He smiles at her before picking up a mic.

"Hunter, I knew what I was going to do for a long time," Dave states, smiling.

He looks at both contracts again before throwing the Raw contract to the mat. Nikki yells out at him, but Paul shoves her back, and gives Dave a thumbs up. Dave returns the thumbs up as Nikki covers her face with her hands. As she looks up, she sees Dave give Paul a thumbs down. Paul curses and rushes at Dave who takes him down with a clothesline. Ric shoves Nikki into a corner before going after Dave. Dave takes Flair down as well before ripping his shirt. He picks up Paul and powerbombs him through the table.

Dave turns and picks up the Raw contract and signed it before picking up the mic again.

"Hunter, I'm staying right here on Raw," Dave states, looking up at the crowd before turning his attention back to Paul, "and I'm going to take your title!"

Dave tosses the mic down, grabbing the title. He smiles at Nikki as he jumps up on the turnbuckle, holding the title up high. Nikki smiles at him and starts clapping. Dave jumps down and grabs Nikki by the back of the neck and pulling her in for a deep kiss.

"I'm not letting Paul push me around anymore," Dave says, "I'm my own man from now on!"

"I knew you'd do the right thing," Nikki replies, sliding out of the ring, with Dave following.

They walk up the ramp, hand in hand and head to the back. As soon as they come through the curtains, there is a bunch of the superstars, waiting to congratulate him. Randy pushes through the crowd and gives Dave a hug.

"You did the right thing," Randy says, smiling, "Paul better watch out."

Dave nods and him and Nikki push through the crowd. They head back to their locker room and Nikki squeals.

"Oh baby! I'm so proud of you!" Nikki exclaims, hugging him tightly, "why didn't you tell me?"

"And ruin the surprise?" Dave questions with a smile, "you'd blab to everyone!"

"I would not!" Nikki defends herself, smiling, "I nearly had a heart attack when you threw down the Raw contract."

"All part of the plan," Dave answers, "I gotta go talk to Randy about something, wait here."

Nikki nods and watches Dave leave. She turns to her bag and starts rummaging through her clothes to find something more comfy to change into. She hears the door open and smiles.

"That was a quick talk," Nikki states, standing up, "ready to…"

She trails off as she turns around to see Paul, not Dave standing there. Nikki's eyes go wide and goes to dash out of the room, but Paul grabs her by the hair, dragging her back to him. Nikki opens her mouth to scream but Paul slaps her hard, bringing tears to her eyes.

"Shut the fuck up, you stupid bitch!" Paul hisses, "what did you do to Dave to get him to change his mind?"

"Nothing!" Nikki exclaims, tears coming to her eyes.

"You lying bitch!" Paul throws her down to the ground, kicking her in the ribs.

Nikki lets out a painful scream and Paul covers her mouth, kneeling down next to her. Nikki grips her side and tears stream down her face.

"You tell Dave that he made a huge mistake by staying here," Paul demands, snaking a hand around her neck, "because now, I'm coming after you."

Nikki's sobs are muffled by Paul's hand. He stands up giving her another swift kick to the ribs before walking out of the room. Nikki starts to cough up blood as she looks up towards the door.

"Someone…..help," She tries to yell, but it comes out a hoarse whisper.

She lets out a sob before curling up into a ball.

Dave walks back to the locker room, pushing open the door. He stops suddenly when he sees Nikki crumpled up in the fetal position on the floor.

"NIKKI!" Dave yells, rushing to her side.

She lifts her head as he kneels down next to her. He notices the blood coming out of her mouth, and the dark, nasty bruise forming on the left side of her face.

"Oh baby, what happened?" Dave questions before yelling, "HELP! I NEED HELP!"

The door bursts open as Trish and Maria come running into the room.

"Go get the EMT's!" Dave states, "baby, you have to tell me what happened."

"Paul…..kicked……ribs…hit me……said he's…..coming after…..me," Nikki gasps, wincing.

Dave stares at her, shocked.

"Oh my god."