Today was the day she'd been agonizing over for the past eighteen hours, not catching a single moment of sleep, prompting her fiancé to seek out the company trainer.

But sick wasn't really the term that could describe the conflicted Jessica McMahon at the moment.

Physically sick? No.

Emotionally sick? Maybe.

In a little over an hour, she'd be meeting up with her brother-in-law, the unusually enigmatic Paul Levesque. And that prospect wasn't thrilling her at the moment, despite what she had originally thought.

Right now, what Jessica McMahon desperately needed was a distraction. In fact, she'd probably kill for one.

And when her phone began to vibrate off of the nightstand in her and John's hotel room, she silently wondered who was now the only name on her hit list.

After glancing at the screen, only to find an unfamiliar number, she placed the cell phone against her ear, "Hello?"

"Jessica?" a young, male voice responded.

"This is she," the youngest McMahon replied warily, tensing up slightly. "Who is this?"

"Oh, right…" the voice mumbled. "It's Cody… Cody Runnels."

Jessica breathed a sigh of relief, "Jesus Christ, Runnels. You scared me for a minute. I thought you were a crazy, psycho-stalker and that's just about the last thing I need today…"

Cody chuckled on the other end of the line, "It's that bad, huh? Sorry to scare you."

"Really," she assured him, flopping down on the neatly-made bed in the relatively empty room. "It's fine. How did you get my number, anyway?"

"My father called your father," he explained briefly.

"How very… grade school of you."

"Thanks," Cody laughed. "It wasn't my idea though. He just handed it to me the other day… 'in case you have any questions, son,'" he added in his best Dusty voice, which Jessica found incredibly humorous.

"That was actually REALLY good, Runnels," she marveled, shaking her head at the young man's comment.

He scoffed, "You try hearing that man's voice every day of your life and THEN let's see how your impression is of him…"

Jessica winced, "Let's not."

"I bet your do a great impression of your own mother."

"We sound somewhat alike."

"And an even better one of your sister."

The younger sister fought the urge to explode in hysterics, "I wouldn't wish hearing her voice on anyone. Pregnancy mellowed her, if anything… and we're all about screwed now that she's popped out Aurora."

The rumble of Cody's laugh graced her ears, "How very candid of you, Jessica."

There was a momentary pause on her end.

"Did you just call me Candice?"

"I…no," he stuttered in reply. "I said you were candid."

"Oh," she shrugged. "It must be the reception in the hotel. Apparently, it's terrible."

"I believe we've confirmed that," the younger wrestler replied jokingly.

"Well, since I'm sure you didn't call to make fun of me…" Jessica cleared her throat and stood up from the bed, walking over to the curtains to look out the window. "What's up, Runnels?"

"Ah, yes…" he trailed off, noticeably trying to fumble for words. "Well, see… there's this thing coming up in OVW. My dad has been trying to set it up. He wants to have three male wrestlers, three Divas."

"And let me guess…" Jessica cut him off with a sigh. "You want me to be one of the Divas?"

"Let me explain it first, before you make up your mind, okay?" he plead with her and she could just picture him making puppy eyes at no one in particular.

Suddenly, the image was just too much to say no to, even though he wasn't even there, "Alright. What does this entail?"

Cody breathed a sigh of relief, "Okay. So… three eras of wrestlers. Two from the old school… Dad got Moolah and Kowalski to come down. Two from the more recent past, but who are still retired… we've got Nora so far. Apparently, there are a few strings Dad's pulling for the guy, but we'll have to wait and see. And well, good old Pops left this part to me."

A knowing smile crossed her face, "Dusty."

"Huh?"

"Just like your dad, Runnels. As long as I've known him…"

"So you'll do it…?"

Jessica breathed deeply and exhaled the stored breath, "Yeah. I'll do it… and you know what? I'm gonna bring someone along with me."

"Really?" Cody asked excitedly and she suddenly remembered him as a little boy, equally as anxious. "Who?"

She smirked to herself, "Randy Orton."

"You're gonna bring Randy?"

"Yep," Jessica nodded with a grin, despite the fact he couldn't see it. "I mean, he's gonna kill me for this, but I'll call it an executive decision. He's in St. Louis for the next few days… so he's not around to make the decision. It'll be… boss's orders, okay?"

"Jess?"

"Runnels?"

"I'm just going to let you know right now that I fully intend to be in the WWE… so I have a feeling this is going to be the first of many times I say this to you in my life."

"Say what, kid?" her head tilted to the side.

"I love you."

She burst out into amused laughter, "Thanks, Runnels. Don't break all of the girls' hearts this early. At least wait until you get here."

"Will do," he agreed with a laugh of his own.

It was then that Jessica glanced at the clock.

1:50pm.

"Shit," she mumbled. "Runnels, I have to go. I'll call you for the information later. Take care."

And with that she hung up the phone… and began the march that might as well have been to funeral music.

The elevator ride to her sister's floor was painstakingly slow. In fact, Jessica McMahon could have sworn that this ride had taken longer than the one she and Paul had taken the previous evening, which had included a slight stop on the route.

The halls were eerily quiet, the silence ringing in her eardrums. This wasn't the way she wanted it to be.

Then again, what did she really expect?

Did she expect Randy Orton and Adam Copeland to be tossing a football around in the corridor? Divas running up and down the hall to each other's rooms like sorority sisters?

Maybe not, but it would have been more comforting a sight than this deserted feeling.

Obviously, Paul had chosen this time to talk because no one would be around and his wife would be out with their daughter. And if the explanation he was about to give her for his awkward-at-best behavior was as big as she thought it was, he had every reason to want Jessica as far away from every other human being in the hotel as possible.

With every ounce of courage she had in her body, Jessica reached up and knocked on the door. Moments later, it opened.

"Come in," Paul instructed her from the other side, turning around and walking back into the room.

Following his out-of-character behavior, he didn't even greet her at the doorway. Instead, he left her to follow.

The blonde trailed him into the room, gently clicking the door closed behind her.

"Sit," he ordered her again, causing the head-strong twenty-eight year old to intentionally crack her neck.

After biting her tongue for a few minutes, she lashed out, "Don't talk down to me like I'm some sort of child. We wouldn't be here if you could be a normal human being to me."

He snorted, slicking his hair back into a ponytail and tying it with an elastic band, "If I was a normal human being, Jessica, I wouldn't have been protecting you this long."

"Protecting me?" his sister-in-law arched an eyebrow at him, crossing her toned arms over the chest of her black Nirvana tee-shirt. "How does acting like a complete and total asshole after you're included in one of the most special and important days of my entire life qualify as protecting me?"

The wrestler opened his mouth to speak and then hesitated.

Jessica smirked, "That wasn't much of an answer."

"Okay, Jessica," Paul rolled his head around on his hulking shoulders. "You want an answer?"

"Yeah, I do," she replied firmly, losing her patience.

He laughed incredulously, "You have no idea what you're getting into here, McMahon. There is a reason I've been acting like this… it's because I've been hiding something from you. And I'm telling you right now, whatever I'm hiding… you don't want to know. It'll change everything, Jessica. Everything you know will be tainted by it."

She chewed on her cheek, "I. Don't. Care."

Paul shook his head in sheer amazement, combined with a hint of frustration, "You are exactly like you're sister sometimes."

"Jesus Christ, Paul!" Jessica exploded into a fit of rage, running her hands over her face. "Stopping dancing around the truth like a fucking ballerina and tell me already!"

"There's someone else!" he yelled back at her, finally releasing the secret from his brain.

"What do you mean 'there's someone else?'"

Paul composed himself for a moment, then spoke again, "There's someone else that's in love with you… besides John."

For the first time in as long as she could remember, Jessica McMahon was absolutely speechless.

The muscular man looked her over concernedly, "Jess?"

Her hazel eyes remained glued to the floor, "Does he know?"

Paul was confused, "Know what?"

Jessica's gaze returned to her sister's husband, "Know that you are telling me."

He opened his mouth to speak, but was halted by a knock at the door.

Inclined to answer, he moved for the door, but Jessica stopped him and answered the door herself.

Pulling at the brass knob, she found Shawn on the other side of the door.

"Oh crap," Shawn stated quietly, but soon realized it was loud enough for her to hear. "I mean… HEY, JESS!"

The younger wrestler rolled her eyes, "Now is not the time, Shawn."

"Yeah, I can see that…" he trailed off, rubbing the back of his head. "Tell Paul I…"

"Sure," she cut him off and shut the door, turning back to look at Paul. "You were saying…?"

But once again, just as he was ready to answer, the hotel phone rang.

And knowing that the charging Jessica would most likely pick it up, then hang it right back down, he grabbed it first, "Hello?"

"Hi, Sweetie," the female voice cooed over the phone. "How are you doing?"

"Hey, Steph," Paul shut his eyes lightly. "I'm good. Just grabbed myself some lunch. How's Aurora?"

"Good. Good… I found this great place to have dinner tonight. Should I make a reservation?" she inquired.

"Um…" Paul trailed off, his eyes flickering towards Jessica, motioning across the room to hurry up the conversation. "That might be a good idea. I have to hop in the shower now, but I'll see you in a little while, okay?"

"Okay. Bye, Paul!"

"Bye, Steph," he answered, never taking his eyes off of his sister-in-law as he hung up the phone.

Her gaze hardened, "Does he know?"

Paul sighed and nodded, "He's on his way."

Jessica closed her eyes and leaned back against the wall, "How long have you known?"

"A couple of months…" he replied honestly. "I wanted to tell you, Jess. I really did. But I didn't want anything to come between you and John… just because I couldn't keep my mouth shut."

"It's a little late for that," she mused, tilting her head to the side. "But I needed to know."

"You did," he agreed with a sigh of his own, sitting down on the large bed.

"So…" she chewed on her lower lip. "When is he going to be here?"

"I'm not sure," Paul replied rather honestly. "All I said was that I couldn't hide this from you anymore… and that he should get here as soon as possible to do all of the explaining that I can't."

Jessica nodded silently and ran a hand over her mouth.

Of all the things she had expected to hear from Paul, this certainly wasn't one of them.

Right now, she was perfectly content with the idea of being the future Mrs. John Cena. In fact, wedding planning with Preston had given her more joy than she could have ever imagined it would.

And now, someone might want to take that away from her…

Or rather, take her away from John.

"Paul," the caramel blonde quietly addressed her good friend as she sat down beside him. "Who is it?"

"I…" he began to speak, once again getting interrupted by a knock on the door.

With a huff, Jessica shot up from the bed and rocketed towards the door, pulling open the door "Seriously, Shawn! I told you, now isn't the..."

But as her hazel eyes fell upon the man on the other side of the doorway, her words caught in her throat.

He smiled down at her, "Hey, Jess."

"Oh my God," her hand clapped to her mouth, but soon fell away as she continued to stare up at him. "It's you."

A/N: So now you know it's NOT Paul. BUT Paul was hiding the fact that he knew what was going on from Jessica.

Now, normally, at this point, I'd be talking about the poll at the moment. Since we knocked off a huge chunk of votes with Triple H being knocked out of the running, I think it's only fair that I include a poll in my profile. Please go and vote in that poll… and I will post the official results of the poll (after EVERYONE votes before the next chapter) at the beginning of chapter 7.

Now, I SWEAR TO YOU… on my love for the New York Mets and John Cena, which is an immense love the likes of which you could never imagine, just ask my friend… Chapter 7 is the big reveal.

It could be Randy, who is definitely not in town.

Or Jericho, who has left wrestling.

Or the Rock, who has been absent for a while.

Or Adam, who isn't in town for Raw yet AND will soon be moving to Smackdown.

Or Jeff Hardy, who has yet to make his return and is poised to do so at this point in time.

Or Batista, who has recently left his wife and is on another show.

So many choices!

I expect MUCHO reviews for this chapter. You guys did a great job on the last one!

We hit ONE-HUNDRED!

What a jump… 14 to 21! Let's jump even more. The more review, the faster I write…

Especially now that I am officially a high school graduate!

Oh… and speaking of new and exciting things… if any of you are New York Mets fans out there… please check out my new, uber-cool website The-Wright-Stuff(dot)com! It's sick! I've worked majorly hard on it. All about David Wright with game/news updates.

SO, after that shameless plug…

Shout-outs:

Purplefeather21 – Please don't die of suspense. I'd feel INCREDIBLY guilty. Now that Paul's reason was revealed, what do you think? And yeah, as much of a jackass as Randy can be, as he has his moments just like everyone else does, I picture him as egotistical, but with a good heart deep down. And as for the man on the other side of the door… well, you'll just have to wait and see.

Sideways anger – Were you shocked? I hope so. Now the real shocker is on the other side of the door…

Chain Gang Princess – I know it took forever, but finals and graduation… you know. I hope you liked it thought.

Westfan – So, I'm totally talking to you as I update, but it's all good. And I'm sure, as long as his schedule permits, he'd love to, as well. Just pick a day and I'll look on my calendar. Even if he has a game, he says he'd be up for hanging out after if you guys come for the game. We'll get you on the field, no worries. I'll call the front office. And as for the story, you were clearly right that it wasn't Paul. The question is now who do you think it is?

Cena-holic8 – I love when I confuse you guys! It means I'm doing my job. Next chapter begins the process of unconfusing, so you have something to majorly look forward to.

Sailormama – Now I will be updating a lot more frequently because of the mere fact that I have so much more time on my hands now that I'm out of school. If you look back to last year, for the beginning of SAR II and even the tail end of SAR I, I was really speedy with those updates. And by the way… I hope you didn't scream too loud. ;-)

Enigmatic Lotus Leaf – One more chapter and it will be officially revealed. She does have a lot on her plate, but it won't crash… for now.

Da-Real-Mrz-Cena102100 – Nope, it's not Paul. But clearly, it is someone that he knows. And if you recall, during the time in SAR II when Smackdown was in town, she went to visit during her recovery time and hung out with Dave for a while. Plus, John and Dave talk often.

Lady Luv – We'll see if your guess of Randy is right next chapter. I think you're asking yourself once again how I could end right there. And the answer is… because I can. Hehe.

Goddessofthenight – Well, thanks for the review, JULIA. And yeah, she'll be okay… eventually.

Queen Chaos-Hardy – Haha. I won't kill you… yet, lol. Thank you, girl. Love you too!

Brittany (aka Giftiebee) – Hey, girl! I was wondering what the hell happened to you. I hope you do get the notice this time!

StarSixtyNine – Jessica's kind of depressed they left too. And I think Paul's head is officially out of his ass, thank you. And another cliffhanger… I'm sure you love me for that

2 Live is 2 Die – You shall know soon enough, lol. It's not Paul, but you're right that it's someone Paul knows very well. Unfortunately, all of your choices in the poll are people he knows very well and for a long time. Sorry for that. And yeah, I envy the love McCena has, as well… even though I created it.

Xtobelovedx – Did this meet your expectations?

CandaceMcMahon – It's okee dokes. I forget mine on occasion too. I hope that you're okay and things aren't nearly as difficult. You know, I was contemplating another autobio insert here, but decided against it.

StartingLine722 – I promise, next time, I will hurry a lot more. Yay for school ending!

Sambolina – Thank you for the compliment. I'm glad you enjoy this series.

Dj-ssdd – Thank you! Unfortunately, you have to change your vote. And the poll is the perfect opportunity… wink wink.

PreciousKat – Awww. Thank you! I am honored by your compliment! No apologies necessary, girl. I'm just glad you found your voice!

So that's it for now, folks. Check out Jessica's blog, as usual, vote in the poll, and read and review!

Rock on, homies!

Danielle