Chapter 16:

"Oh God!" Haley cringed as her boyfriend launched one of her best friends across the canvas from one of the corner turnbuckles. The Animal followed his rival with a couple of right hands.

"Well Haley, I have to ask you, do you think Jericho is at a slight disadvantage here because he wrestled last night and Batista did not?" JR asked his guest announcer, trying to get her attention on the technical point of view rather than the personal one.

"Definitely JR." She nodded vigorously. "Chris Jericho and Shawn Michaels went at it last night, whereas Batista had the night off. Batista is the fresher man and most expect him to win tonight, but Jericho has proven himself time and time again to be full of surprises. He's one scrappy fighter."

"That's right. Jericho is the record holding eight time Intercontinental Champion for a reason." King agreed.

"Oh!" Haley flinched as Batista reverse Jericho's offense into a back body drop with some serious air. "Yet right now, he's not looking so good."

"Hey wait a minute, Jericho might be hurt, look!" King gestured to Jericho who was clutching at his right leg as though he were in pain.

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me." Haley rolled her eyes, knowing her best friend well enough that a fall like he just took wouldn't hurt him that much.

"He could be faking, King." JR informed his partner. "Remember, this whole ordeal is the backlash of Shawn Michaels faking a knee injury."

"This whole thing has been blown way out of control if you ask me." Haley's eyes hardened, as he slipped out of the ring, "limping" up the ramp.

She was pleased to see that her boyfriend was buying the hurt act Jericho was selling and that the Animal tossed the Ayatollah of Rock 'n' Rolla back into the ring. The two continued to brawl in the ring, with Batista maintaining the upper hand for the most part. That is, until Jericho reversed one of the Animal's charges by yanking the top rope down and letting Batista's own momentum flip him outside the ring.

"Oh…" Haley felt torn as she watched her boyfriend's leg crumple on the landing and to see him cradle his left knee for a moment. She was unsure whether he was faking or if he had jarred it when he flipped over the top rope to the floor below. He had been gunning at Jericho pretty fast.

"And now it looks as though Batista may be hurt." JR craned his head to get a better look at the SmackDown superstar.

"Who's to say he's not faking it as well." King countered.

The replay flashed across the screens in front of them and Haley watched closely. "I think he might have jarred it a little there, look, it's the first thing to hit the floor." She huffed out an annoyed breath. "I'm not sure, I wish they'd stop playing games!"

"Well, hurt or not, Batista is making his way back into the ring." JR pointed out. "And if his knee isn't really hurting him, it will later on because Jericho, the scrappy fighter that he is, has made that knee his target."

Haley watched her boyfriend's expression as Jericho continued to strike at the injured area. Y2J was like a shark and he saw blood, now he attacked ruthlessly. "Oh God, I hate this!"

To Batista's the credit, he didn't give up. He got in a couple shots of his own. The real turn around came when Jericho tried to drag him to the edge of the ring, right in front of them, in an attempt to probably to some damage with the ring post, but the Animal managed to plant one foot in his sternum and kick the smaller man back.

"Look out here!" JR warned as Jericho bounced off the announce table.

Frustrated, Jericho bolted back into the ring to continue his assault, only to meet a boot to the face from the Animal. Yet, the Canadian still struck out at Batista's knee.

"Jericho is so pugnacious!" JR exclaimed. "He's still going after that knee.

Jericho went to use the ropes for momentum is next move, but Batista reversed it into a big time double A spinebuster!

"It's over now." Haley remarked with a smile. "The Animal's fired up." As she spoke Batista began to set Jericho up for his inevitable Batista Bomb.

"The spine was driven to the pine!" JR agreed.

"No!" Haley squealed when Jericho landed a punch to Batista's injured knee before pulling the big man's legs out from underneath him and flipping him over into the Walls of Jericho.

To increase the pressure on Batista's back and injured knee, Jericho dropped one leg and held up the left one. Although Batista was screaming in agony, he kept shaking his head refusing to submit every time the referee asked him.

As a Batista chant rose up through the crowd, Jericho angrily pulled harder on the Animal's leg. His frustration beginning to show the longer Batista held on.

Meanwhile, Haley carefully removed her headset and rose to her feet. She had no doubt now that Batista's knee was bothering him and unlike Jericho he hadn't been playing games. Her boyfriend had come back into the ring despite his pain and withstood Jericho's abuse and obnoxious attitude.

She ignored JR and King as they asked her where she was going, she even ignored the crowd who cheered once she made her way to the side of the ring where Batista was facing the ropes, but too far away to reach them.

"Come on, Baby!" She called to him encouragingly, beginning to pound on the mat in a rhythm the fan imitated with clapping. "It's just a couple of feet, you can do this. Come on, Dave!"

"What?!" Jericho's eyes widened in surprise when he recognized his valet's voice encouraging his opponent. His brief shock however caused him to loosen his grip, giving Batista more room.

Jericho managed to drag the big man back a little bit after he had made some progress, but Haley nor the fans didn't stop encouraging him. "You've got this Dave. Get to me, I know you can do it. Come on, Big Guy."

Slowly but surely, Batista began to crawl to the ropes again. He was still yelling in pain, but he was moving.

"That's it. I love you Dave, you can do this!" Haley stopped pounding on the mat and held her hands out in front of the rope. "Just get to me, Dave."

With a surge of strength, Batista pulled himself and Jericho over, his large hand closing over Haley's and the bottom rope. The referee forced Jericho to break the hold, and with a grateful, loving smile to his girlfriend, the former World Heavyweight Champion began to pull himself back up to his feet.

Furious at Batista for getting to the ropes, and Haley for helping him, Jericho knocking him back down with a chop block to that injured knee. He glared at Haley before going for the lionsault right in front of her, but he met empty canvas as Batista moved out of the way.

The two men continued to trade punches and shots to one another, with Haley silently watching outside the ring. Finally Batista managed to knock Jericho down with a clothesline. The Batista chants grew louder as both men began to struggle back to their feet.

"Oh My God!" Haley shrieked. Jericho had gone for his codebreaker, but Batista had caught his knees against his chest and now held Jericho up off the ground. Jericho began to punch at him wildly once Batista maneuvered his legs over his shoulders, but it was too late and the Animal dropped him in a devastating Batista Bomb.

"One…two…three!"

I walk for miles inside this pit of danger

A place where no one follows me

I walk alone

Batista staggered to his feet in time to catch Haley in his arms. He shushed her with a shake of his head when she went to inquire about his knee. "Let's just say I don't really walk alone anymore." He murmured, kissing her forehead and raising both of their hands in victory.

They turned to see Shawn Michaels at the top of the stage. The two men exchanged a nod, knowing that at One Night Stand, they would bring everything to the table.