Rock 'n Me

Tom was fuming. He'd never been as angry as he was at that exact moment. What had started out to be a breakthrough night in his short tenure as ECW General Manager (Evan's penis being seen on national television aside) had, in a span of minutes, fallen to pieces. As had Jeff, who was currently sobbing loudly in Tom's office.

He paced backstage, just outside the trainers' office. EMT's had been summoned the second the lights had come on which was miraculously seconds after the unknown assailant had disappeared. Some wise-ass had actually had the nerve to suggest that this was an isolated incident. Tom had to be physically restrained by several members of his roster when he heard that.

Finally, the door opened.

"Gimme some info, doc." Tom shouted

"There's not much to report."

"Look, I got his brother in my freakin' office, cryin' a river!" Tom yelled "Now you better give me some good news before I ventilate your face!"

"Let me tell you what I know and you can decide what to tell his brother. Minor scalp lac, some soft tissue damage, but no loss of consciousness..."

"So he remembers what happened?" Tom asked. This could be the first big break in discovering who was behind these assaults.

"If you're counting on him to identify his attackers, then you're outta luck. He's already given a statement to the police. They're taking him in overnight, but compared to what could have been... he got off lucky."

Tom let go of the medic's coat and sprinted down the hallway. His employees gave him a wide berth. At times like this, no one wanted to cross the boss. At his office door, he took a moment to collect himself.

"Jeffers?" He opened the door. Jeff was exactly as Tom had left him. Curled up in a chair, crying shamelessly.

"Tommy..." Jeff's voice hitched. "How is he?"

Tom sat beside Jeff and took him in his arms. "It's not as bad as the others." He whispered. "He's being taken overnight, but the doctor told me that Matt never lost consciousness and he remembers most of what happened."

Jeff sniffled, burying his face in Tom's shoulder area.

"Jeffro, I swear to you that if I ever get my hands on the culprit or culprits, they'll wish for a quick death." Tom promised. "On the Legend's grave, someone will pay!"

"Yeah?" Jeff asked "You mean it?"

"Yes, little bro, I do. No offense to your friends, but once they started screwing with our blood, they signed their death warrants." Tom stroked Jeff's cheek. "And I'm pretty sure I know who it is."

"Who?" Jeff asked

"It's gotta be Evan." Tom answered "I didn't see who it was, but I was close enough to tell that it was a man in the ring earlier."

"Tommy?" Admiration in his eyes, Jeff looked up. "What about Jack?"

"What about him?" Tommy answered, surprised that Jeff would mention his ex.

"If this is revenge, maybe it's him." Jeff responded

"Why would you..." Mid-sentence, it occurred to Tom that to the best of his knowledge, no one had told Jeff about the fate of Jack. Tom certainly hadn't.

"Why would I what?" Jeff asked

"Jeff, I can give you one reason why I don't think your ex-boyfriend has anything to do with it, but I'm not sure you'd want to hear it." Tom smiled falsely, hoping that Jeff would just take his word and not press him for details.

"Why not? I'm a big boy... I can handle it." Jeff responded

"You sure... you're not the best at taking shocking news." Tom looked at Jeff lovingly.

"Tommy, pweeease?" Jeff whined

Tom breathed out loudly. "Well, you know how bad he looked after the beatdown I gave him in your hospital room."

"He was hurting me and you protected me." Jeff justified Tom's actions.

"Well, I hurt him a helluva lot more than he hurt you." Tom drowned in Jeff's eyes. "He died a short time later."

Jeff's eyes bugged out. "Y-y-y-you killed him?" He stuttered

"As you just said, I was protecting you." Tom brushed Jeff's bangs out of his eyes. "And I'd do it again if I had to, but that's why Jack is not the person we're looking for."

It took a minute for the information to process in Jeff's cerebrum. "But if you killed him, why aren't you...?"

"I guess it was believed that it was justifiable." Tom shrugged "I really gotta stop letting my temper get the best of me, dontcha think?"

"Tommy, if you're afraid that you're gonna physically hurt me..."

"Jeffers, I've killed two people because I let my temper get the best of me... sometimes I worry about doing just that." Tom continued to hold Jeff.

"I don't. " Jeff snuggled into Tom's arms a little tighter. "'Coz I know that you love me and that you'd never hurt me."

"That's nice of you to say, but if that Spade gets any closer, I don't know what Imma gonna do to him."

Jeff climbed off of Tom's lap when his office door received several raps upon it.

"No privacy." Tom answered

The police had shown up, finally. From appearances, they finally had something to report.

"Mr. Hardy. Mr. Hardy." Tom and Jeff were addressed separately.

"Please tell me you know who did this?" Tom asked

"If we knew for sure, we would not be here, sir. We are gonna tell you a few things. Maybe they'll make sense to you."

A folder was dropped on Tom's desk.

"Now, whoever this Spade is, he or she also seems to be collection souvenirs from his or her victims..."

"He. At least whomever attacked Matt was of the male persuasion." Tom interjected

"That's what we're assuming for the other attacks as well, but since the descriptions are vague at best, we're not excluding anyone right now. Now does the name Jack Tyler mean anything to you?"

Tom and Jeff stared at each other, worried expressions forming. "If you'd done your homework, then you'd know the answer to that question without having to ask." Tom replied, wondering if his life would ever straighten out enough that he didn't have to deal with either police or medical personnel on a daily basis.

"Then you are aware that Mr. Tyler's body went missing several weeks ago."

"What?" Tom clarified, thankful that he'd told Jeff the whole truth about what had happened.

"I take that as a negative. It seems that it was either misplaced or..."

"The son of a bitch wasn't dead to begin with." Tom answered

"That's what we're sorta leaning on. We've questioned the coroner's office staff, but they haven't been able to shed any light on the disappearance."

"Now I got a question... why the hell weren't we told about this?" Tom demanded "If we'd known that there's a vengeful ex-boyfriend on the loose, some of us might have had a better chance at keeping themselves out of danger!"

"We only became aware of this minutes ago. We dusted the weapon used in the last attack and were able to get several clear sets of fingerprints..."

"That was fast." Tom interjected.

"Your boss wants this case solved with extreme haste."

"So do I. Having to always be looking over my shoulder is not fun."

"It makes me glad my contract expires at the end of the month." Jeff said

"Anything else you wanted to tell me?" To whom this comment was directed was in dispute.

"No." Both the officer and Jeff responded together.

"If we hear anything further, we'll let you know."

The detective left Tom's office. An embarrassingly long silence followed.

"What the hell do you mean?" Tom finally asked

"What?"

"Just when were you planning to tell me that your contract is almost up." Tom shouted

"I thought you knew..."

"Just like you thought that Jack knew about our prior relationships!" Shaking his head in disbelief, Tom sat down behind his desk and pounded his fists against his temples.

"Tommy, are you mad at me?" Jeff whispered

"Mad, no. A little disappointed, maybe."

Tom's eyes told the entire story. The stress of the past few days was finally beginning to overtake him. Hoping that this piece of information wasn't going to push him off the edge, Jeff spoke again.

"Y'know, I was kinda hopin' that if I didn't re-sign, maybe we start talking about us... you know, the house thing..."

"Jeffers, I brought you over here so we could spend some time together. If I had known that you were thinking about leaving the company, I would not have taken this job."

"Tommy, I'm not saying that I'm not going to resign, it's just that I want to start thinking about my future..."

"Future? What happened to live for today?" Tom couldn't believe what he was hearing. And from Jeff, of all people!

"Tommy, I'm 31..."

"So, I'm five years older than that." Tom retorted

"Then you should understand what I'm going through." Jeff sat down, facing across Tommy's desk.

"This doesn't have anything to do with just happened to Matt, does it?"

"Maybe." Jeff mumbled

"Oh, fuck." Tom stared at the ceiling.

"Tommy, if you want me to stay, I will..."

"Jeffro, we may be together but this isn't the type of relationship where I make all the decisions... I don't want you to do something you don't wanna do just because you think it'll make me happy." Tom replied

"You mean it?"

"The only thing I would ask is that you give me two weeks notice one way or the other. We'll have to come up with something, especially since Team Charisma is now holding the Unified tag titles."

"I would never leave you hanging like that." Jeff promised

"For better or worse, I believe you." Tom answered "You still serious about the house thing?"

"Yeah... I'm even more serious about the together thing." Jeff answered "We swapped rings, but we've never said anything about when and if we're gonna make it official."

"How about as soon as the person or persons responsible for hurting our friends is apprehended, we'll sit down and have a serious discussion about this." Tom smiled warmly. Jeff's heart turned to butter.

"You mean it?" Jeff's eyes watered.

"The only thing we'd have to discuss is do I become Tom Hardy legit or will you become Jeff Baker?"

Banging on the door caused both men to jump, followed by the sounds of commotion.

"Just a second." Tom yanked open the door and ran out into the hallway. He grabbed the first person who passed.

"What the hell is going on now?" He asked

"Someone tried to attack Jay in the parking lot."

"What do you mean tried?" Tom asked

"I dunno. That's all I heard."

"Jeffers, come on. We may have caught our man." Tom exited his office, Jeff close behind, and followed the horde of people heading for the parking lot. All the while praying that the Spade had been captured and the nightmare had ended.

A huge crowd was already gathered when Tom and Jeff arrived. Jay stood to one side, talking to a pair of uniformed police, looking a little disheveled. Two other uniformed cops had another man off to the other side and were talking to him.

"What's goin' on?" Tom demanded "Jay?"

"Tommy? Hallelujah... do you want to explain to these idiots that I'm not the person they're looking for." Jay pleaded

"Officers, what happened?" Tom asked

"We caught these two scuffling in the back area. When he attempted to pull them apart, this one started causing trouble." He was clearly indicating Jay.

"Probably just defending himself." Tom answered

"That's what he says. But we found these in his car."

"I told you those aren't mine!" Jay shouted

"Officers, I don't know what you've found, but I can swear to you that there is no way that Jay had anything to do with the attacks... at least not the latest one. I saw him in the ring when the lights went out."

"That doesn't excuse him. We have enough evidence to hold him for questioning."

"What about the other man?"

"He claims he's just a bystander."

"And you're gonna believe him... what evidence do you have anyway?"

"We found souvenirs from the previous victims in his car along with a deck of cards with several cards missing."

"Sure... probably right in the open for you to find? Honestly, Jay may not be a rocket scientist, but I doubt that he is stupid enough to leave the evidence against him out in the open." Tom replied

"Maybe he wasn't planning to get caught." The one thing Tom hated about dealing with the police was their know-everything attitudes.

"Tommy, do something!" Jay pleaded "Please!"

"What do I have to do to convince you that it wasn't Jay? Do you want me to go downtown with you and swear out a statement? I can provide three other witnesses who can swear that they saw an unknown figure enter the ring when the lights went out and that Jay was already inside the ring when it occurred." Tom confronted one of the officers.

"Until this is cleared up, we are going to take him to the station."

"Jay, just go along with this. I'll grab Chris and the referee and we'll be down there as soon as possible." Tom sensed the uneasiness that was coming off of Jay in waves.

"You promise?"

"I promise, Jay. Let's go Jeffers." Tom grabbed Jeff's arm and pulled him away while Jay was being taken for questioning.

"Tommy, why are we letting them do this!" Jeff looked like he was gonna start crying again any second.

"It's their job, Jeff. You know that."

"But why? Jay wouldn't hurt Matty! They're together!"

"You figured it out, huh?" Tom strolled the hallway, trying not to let his own nervousness show.

"Tommy, relationships are hard to hide in this business. Why do you think I'm so out there with mine?"

"But it's not our place to talk about other people relationships or I would've spilled every detail to the detectives. If Jay feels it necessary, I'm sure he'll spill his guts. Now where's Jericho?"

"You wanted to see me?" Chris popped out from somewhere.

"Yeah. You're coming with us."

"Guys, I don't think a threesome is a good idea right now." Chris smiled

"I think it's a great idea, but Jay needs our help." Jeff answered, making Chris blush. "And we probably won't be able to see Jay for an hour or so..."

"Jeff, what the..."

"Come on Chrissy. Tommy's real good at using his mouth." Jeff pulled Chris away. Tom shrugged, following behind.

"This is a joke, right?" Chris asked, being pushed inside.

"Of course it isn't." Jeff answered. "Now strip, Y2-gay." He giggled.

"Serious, Hardy, what's goin' on?" Chris asked. He was still confused as to if this was a rib or if he was going to become a notch in a Hardy Boy's bedpost.

"Well, Chris, as far as I can see, my fiance wants the two of us to engage in activities of a sexual nature. Why, I don't know; considering what happened last time he tried bringing someone else in." Tom narrowed his eyes, looking fiercely at Jeff. "If you get my drift, Nero."

Jeff gulped.

"I'm more interested in what you saw in the ring. If we're gonna convince the cops that Jay isn't their man, then we're gonna need to come up with a real good story." Tom responded, watching Jeff inspect Chris like a drug-sniffing dog. "Down, Jeffers!"

Emitting something that sounded like a whine, Jeff heeled.

"What do you want me to tell ya? I saw someone get into the ring. At first I thought it was you, but he was a lot smaller... no offense." Chris responded

"None taken. Oh, you meant build-wise." Tom feigned being annoyed.

Jeff giggled. Chris blinked twice until he finally got the joke.

"Pretty much what I saw, but it ain't me you gotta convince." Tom answered

"Well, let's go." Chris' sense of urgency was either propelled by his desire to see justice done or the desire not to become a player in one of Jeff's little sex trysts. "Your car or mine?"

"Both." Tom answered "We're probably not coming back here."

Chris nodded. "Do you have any idea where we are going?"

"The police station." Jeff answered "Duh!"

"Again." Tom thought

"But which one?"

Tom and Jeff stared at each other. "Good point." Tom stated

"Uhmmmm..." Jeff added

"You two are hopeless." Chris groaned "Let's go. I'm sure we can figure it out."

Like a pair of obedient children, Tom and Jeff followed Chris.

Driving through town, Chris led the way and Jeff followed a couple car lengths behind. Tom did not feel like driving, talking, or anything else. Just when he thought his day could not get any worse, he had to deal with the police yet again.

His annoyance was noticeable by Jeff, who after several minutes of tailing Chris without comment, finally spoke up.

"Tommy, are you mad at me again?"

"No, Skittles, I am pissed off at myself." Tom responded, staring at his reflection in the side mirror. "I cannot do a fucking thing right."

"You're brilliant, Tommy. Don't let shit get to you."

"Don't let shit get to me." Tom repeated "Easy for you to say. You're aren't running a brand where your top tier is wiped out, your number two guy is being charged with a series of assaults and the one person I banked my future on didn't bother telling me that his contract expires at the end of month. How the hell can I not let shit get to me?"

"Relax, Future." Jeff cooed. "Please? I don't like this new you."

"I wish I could. I wish I could." Tom continued to stare at himself in the mirror, hating the man who looked back. Gone was any trace of the happy-go-lucky Tom Hardy.

"Imma gonna make ya feel better okay? When we get back to the hotel, Imma gonna cook ya dinner, run you a hot bath, and massage away all your stress." Jeff promised

The thoughts of dinner, a soak, and a massage did sound good.

"We'll talk later, okay." Tom sighed "I just wanna get this pile shoveled and fast."

It took several tries, but eventually Jericho's keen sense of direction brought them to the correct police station. It was arduous, but eventually Jay was released.

"I swear, no more police. Ever!" Tom wrung his hands as he walked back to the car. "I have spent more time in cop shops than most career felons."

"You two wanna grab food?" Jay asked

"Thanks Jay, but Tommy and I need some time off. We have some stuff to discuss." Before Tom could complain since he was hungry, and Jeff's promise of dinner seemed a little far away, he was herded to the car.

"I guess we'll have to take a rain check." Tom felt absolutely pussy-whipped. "See you at Superstars."

Jeff drove them back to the hotel where he started pampering Tom.

"You know, if this gets on Youtube, I'm screwed!" Tom enjoyed the attention, unusual as it was. Normally he was the one lavishing affection on Jeff.

"Shut up and tell me if that's too hot for you."

Tom ran his hands under the tap. It was hot, but not too hot. Just what he needed to relieve the stress that seemed to accumulate in his head, neck, and shoulders. Jeff added some scented oils and stood back.

"What are you waiting for?" He asked

"You to leave?" Tom replied

"Did I say anything about leaving?" Jeff pulled his shirt off and looked at Tom, arms on hips.

"Oh." Tom shrugged, completely disrobing in seconds and climbing in; Jeff joined soon after.

"Pass me the loofah." Jeff ordered

"What the fuck is a loofah?" Tom asked

"That scrubby thing over there." Jeff pointed

"Well excuse me! I'm a former Intercontinental champion, not a bath item expert." Tom said mock-angrily.

"That's why I'm here." Jeff kissed the top of his head. He gently scrubbed Tom's back, neck, and shoulders, hoping that he would be able to relieve some of the tension. Underneath Jeff's nimble fingers, Tom sunk deeper into the scented water.

Jeff grabbed the shampoo and proceeded to massage Tom's head.

"Mmm..." Tom moaned quietly.

"Just relax. Let me rub all the trouble away." Jeff whispered.

Tom closed his eyes, willing Jeff's hands to remove all the anguish of the past two days. Once he lathered, rinsed, and repeated, Jeff's worked his soapy fingers through Tom's chest and arm muscles.

Resting his head on Jeff's chest, Tom lost himself in the atmosphere.

"Now I want you to rest here for a few minutes while I get dinner ready." Jeff eased out from behind Tom and quickly towelled dry. "Do not come out until I tell you to, okay."

"Mmmm." Tom moaned, still feeling the effects of Jeff's fingers.

"I won't be long." Jeff surveyed the suite. While he'd been hard at work with Tom, the hotel staff had come in and turned the room into a Turkish cooling room, complete with two chaises, mood lighting, incense and sandalwood candles. As a finishing touch, already wearing white robes and lounging casually on the two chairs, sat Bunny and Lizard.

At the head of the chair where Lizard rested comfortably waited the hotel masseur and two of his assistants.

"Whenever you're ready Tommy." Jeff sang out.

Tom stepped out of the shower. His mouth opened at the sight of the Turkish delight, but no sound came forth.

"Do you like it?" Jeff asked

"This is incredible. It's all so perfect. How did you know?" Tom finally put his feelings into words.

"I'll tell you later. It's time for the rest of your massage." Jeff pointed at the table set up between the two loungers. "By the time they are done with you, dinner will be ready and then for the rest of the night, you belong to me."

Tom stretched out and the educated fingers soon made him forget about everything. The Spade, ECW, Matty, Shane, and everybody else was soon pushed into the back of his mind. Nothing could spoil the mood.

Well, almost nothing...

TBC

So, the Spade failed this time! (or did he?)

In the next chapter, the return of an old friend (or is that fiend?)