Memphis sat in a private corner of the Catering room frowning as she picked at her salad. She didn't even bother to look up when the lone figure loomed over her table.

"Don't say I never gave you anything," he said as he slammed something down in front of her.

Memphis grinned. She picked up the item and peeled back the wrapper exposing a delicious looking and smelling piping hot Tomato and Mozzarella Panini.

"My favorite," she grinned. "How did you know?"

Phil gave a smirk as he plopped down beside her. The two had recently begun spending more and more time together on the road.

"Call it male intuition. Besides, that salad looks pretty weak. Does it taste as bad as it looks?"

She stared at the discolored lettuce.

"Worse. I'm actually surprised. Usually Food Service does a lot better than this but good looking out," she said as she took a large bite.

"So how is it going?" he asked. "What's been up with you?"

Memphis shrugged.

"Nothing much. Same old, same old. You?"

"Just hanging out, you know, living the life of a super sexy rich and famous WWE Superstar…that and fixing my furnace."

"Fixing your furnace?" she giggled out loud.

"What?"

"Nothing. Wow, forgive me for laughing, it's just that I never envisioned you as the fix it type."

"I'm a man of many talents and surprises," he said as he removed his hood and rubbed the head that had only recently begun to sprout hair after shaving off his long locks due to the storyline.

"It's growing back," she noticed.

"It is kind of weird," Phil admitted.

"I like it. It suits you."

He smiled up at her and for the first time Memphis saw that it was a real and genuine smile, not one of his usual smart ass smirks.

"Thanks."

"You know, you don't look like a Phil."

"Really?" he leaned back and folded his arms. "What do I look like? What should my name be?"

"I don't know…"

"And I hope you're not coming with jokes cause Memphis? I mean, really," he winked to let her know he was just teasing her.

She laughed out loud.

"Blame my parents. That's the city where they met so I guess they were having a sentimental moment reminiscing in the delivery room or whatever. But anyway, back to you…"

"Back to me."

Memphis studied him. He was a good looking guy but not in the traditional sense. He was really nice but had a weird sense of humor that was sometimes dark and unorthodox and was often mistaken for him actually being serious when he wasn't. He was one of the only people backstage who was nice to her and Memphis greatly appeciated the gesture. It was nice to have a friend and the few times they had hung around together, it had been casual and they had enjoyed each other's company.

"What does CM Punk stand for?"

Phil sighed.

"You know, I get this question all the time, don't you read Wikipedia?"

"Actually, I don't," she smiled.

He gave a dramatic eye roll.

"The CM originally stood for chick magnet."

Memphis' eyes danced.

"Chick magnet, huh? That's hot."

"But now it doesn't."

"Okay," she clapped her hands. "How about this? From now on can I just call you Punk? I kind of like it. It suits you, not in a bad way but you know."

"Hey," he shrugged. "Whatever you want. I figure you could call me a lot worse."

She gave him a warm smile that was interrupted when the door burst open. It was WWE, one of the RAW ring announcers.

"Memphis, I've been looking all over for you," he said.

She looked genuinely surprised.

"Me?"

"Yeah," he answered, slightly out of breath. "Mike Chioda was supposed to referee Phil's match tonight with Teddy DiBiase but now he's sick. It's food poison or something so don't eat the lettuce around here."

Phil and Memphis shared a laugh.

"Now you tell us," she quipped.

Justin ignored her.

"Anyway, we're short staffed tonight as far as officials…really short staffed. We only have two other guys tonight, the others are traveling with Smackdown. Bottom line, we need another ref and Vince wants you."

"Me?" Memphis stood up abruptly, nearly knocking over the entire table as she did.

"Yeah. It's the third match on the card, do you think you can handle it?"

Memphis swallowed hard. She could hardly believe it. Her dream all of a sudden was coming true. After so much time waiting and wondering now, she had to wait and wonder no more. The opportunity of a lifetime had just been dumped in her lap.

"I can handle it," she replied with confidence.

Justin nodded.

"Then you better get dressed. You're gonna need to meet with the guys and the Production Coordinator to go over spots and everything."

Shortly thereafter Justin left, leaving Phil and Memphis alone. He stared at her until she could no longer contain her joy. She leapt into his arms, squealing and screaming.

"Okay, okay," Phil said, as he struggled to regain his balance. "Just so you know, I do have a real life hip injury so unexpected excited leaps from 125 pound women is not really the best idea."

"120 pounds, thank you very much," she corrected him. "Oh my God, did you hear what he just said? Did you hear it?"

"I did. I had full use of my ears before you started screaming in them."

She rolled her eyes.

"You don't get it. We are in New Orleans about to go live on television in front of millions of people all over the world in a few hours for Monday Night RAW and I am going to referee. I get to offciate an actual televised match!"

"Good for you," Phil tried to sound unimpressed. "And better yet, it's one of my last matches. Lucky you."

"Come on, walk with me," she directed. "I have to go change."

"Yes ma'am."

"What do you mean last match?"

"I hurt my hip a while ago and it's not getting any better."

"How bad is it? I thought you were about to start a feud with Bryan Danielson."

"That was the plan but with Taker out and Mania only six months away, they want to make sure I'm rested, ready and one hundred percent. I'm gonna be out at least three months."

"Oh," she frowned, a little upset.

"Disappointed?"

"No. I mean…"

"Well, I actually thought you might miss me," he pretended to be hurt.

"I might," Memphis teased. "Who else is gonna bring me gourmet paninis and save me from 72 hours of puking my guts out due to recalled lettuce that already looked like it had seen better days?"

"Relax. I'll only be off the air for a couple weeks. After that, they're gonna have me as the new guest commentator for RAW."

"Really?" she asked with surprise.

"Yep. So I really need to brush up on my charm and quick wit. How am I doing so far?"

"You suck but…"

"We get word that we're going to be on TV tonight and all of a sudden we're a comedian. I see how it is."

"I'm just joking around," she explained. "But seriously though. You're like my only friend around here if I can even call you that. You bring me food, you actually say hi and you don't stare at me all weird and place bets on when I'm gonna quit or get canned so far as that goes around here, it practically qualifies you for BFF material. That explains the attachment. It's nice to see a friendly face around here, even if it is just one. So yeah, it would be kind of sad to see you go. I'm glad you're sticking around."

They arrived at the door to one of the Women's locker rooms. He uncharacteristically shoved his pants in his pockets for a minute as his voice took a quiet tone.

"I'm glad I'm sticking around, too."

Memphis loudly cleared her throat.

"Well this is me…"

"Yeah."

"I'm gonna change and I'll guess I'll meet you at the Gorilla."

He nodded and she went to go get ready. The locker room was huge and Memphis was more than thankful that she had it to herself even if it was only for a few moments. She grabbed her bag and quickly changed into her attire. Her black and white striped shirt was small to fit her tiny frame and the black slacks were more fitted and suited for the feminine shape. She wore simple black shoes and pulled her hair into a neat bun. Memphis carefully applied concealer, eyeshadow, mascara, liner and a sublte coat of lipstick. As much as she hated to admit it, she was nervous. It was her big moment, make or break time. So much was on the line. She knew if she screwed it up, there might not be another shot. In fact, Vince might send her back to New York altogether. So everything had to be just right, from her officiating skills to the way she looked. The last thing she wanted to do was put too much emphasis on her look and jazz it up too much but at the same time, she would be on TV and wanted to look presentable. Besides, that ignorant comment Randy Orton had made on the plane ride had managed to strike a nerve. He had insinuated that she did not like men, a misconception she was sure would probably come up anyway due to the fact that she was the only woman in her field doing a "man's job". It wasn't supposed to matter what people thought but as much as she hated to admit, sometimes it did.

After checking her reflection a million times, Memphis put away her belongings and made her way to the Gorilla. The show would be starting soon and she could already hear the excited fans standing outside waiting to be let in. Pacing nervously near the Titantron, she was soon joined by the two competitors, Phil and of course Teddy DiBiase. Memphis hadn't had many dealings with DiBiase since coming on with the company. Like the others, he basically ignored her. She admired his wrestling skills but the perception she got was of a pouty, whiny, spoiled third generation Superstar who felt entitled and was used to getting what he wanted when he wanted it. When the Production Coordinator joined them, she took a deep breath. It was time.

The rules and plan were simple enough. The match was to last between six and seven minutes, to absolutely under no circumstances go over eight. Teddy was win the contest when an "enraged" CM Punk, eager to continue making a statement on RAW, got himself disqualifed after going too far and viciously attacking the self proclaimed Million Dollar Champion. The men had already chosen their spots and went over them with Memphis in order. She had refereed dozens of matches in her career and she knew what she was doing but this one was different. It was the most important one she would have yet and it had to go smooth.

"Everybody clear on what we're doing?" the Production Coordinator asked one last time.

"We got it," Phil answered.

"Clear," Memphis agreed.

Teddy rolled his eyes.

"It isn't brain surgery."

Memphis chewed at her lip.

"I just want to say that I am really honored to be here and get to do this tonight. It's a match on RAW and it's what I've been waiting for and I'm super excited so I just want to thank both of you, Teddy and Punk, ahead of time. Let's go have a good time and kick some ass."

Teddy looked at her like she was crazy.

"Are you for real right now?" he scoffed before turning to walk away. "So fucking lame."

Phil gave a look of disdain. Teddy had never been on his list of favorite people anyway.

"She was just trying to be nice," he spoke up.

"What are you trying to say?" Teddy stopped and asked.

"Exactly what I just said. You heard me. Memphis was being nice and if you don't want to talk to her, that's fine but don't be a dick about it, dude. That's so unneccesary."

"What are you now, her guardian angel? Is it your job to protect her?"

"Just showing a little common courtesy, which we all should be doing in fact. If you don't like it, tough. If you're not man enough to be decent, that one is on you but as long as I am around, you will treat her with respect. You got that?"

It was a side of Phil she hadn't seen before. Teddy looked pissed but he retreated without further word or incident.

"You didn't have to do that," Memphis said when he was gone.

"I know but somebody has to stand up and do the right thing around here. I mean, you didn't do anything wrong to anyone. They're just freaking out because you're a female referee and that is absolutely ludicrous. They have no other reason to dislike you and it's so junvenile and stupid that it makes me want to pop pills, get crazy wasted drunk and have meaningless promiscuous sex with ring rats."

She couldn't help but laugh.

"Thank you, I think. I…I appreciate it."

"Anytime. Look, I don't want you to worry about anything except the match coming up. You're not dumb…let's call a spade a spade. Everybody is waiting for you to f this one up. This is your chance. You have to prove them all wrong and remind Vince why he hired you in the first place."

Memphis nodded.

"You're right. Thanks."

He gave her a sympathetic pat on the shoulder.

"I'll see you around. Let me know if you need anything."

He walked away, leaving her all alone. She had a little over an hour to prepare. The butterflies were present but she was ready. Memphis has memorized every spot perfectly. When the PA gave her an earpice and tested it, she took a deep breath. It was time to kick ass and take names. The broadcast started after Superstars was taped. The first few RAW matches and traditional promos took place, then during the commerical break, Memphis took her cue and strolled confidently down the ramp. The fans looked on. Some of the more knowledgable ones were well aware of the anomaly of the newly hired female ring official, some of them seemed very shocked. Ignoring it all and focusing on the job at hand, she hopped up onto the ring apron and entered between the two bottom ropes. Nodding at Justin, her heart raced as the show went live again. The lights came on and Teddy's music hit. He was accompanied by his valet Maryse Ouellette. Together they sauntered to the ring and entered just as CM Punk's theme began. Memphis watched on with interest. Phil and CM Punk were like two different people to her. It was weird seeing him in heel character all suited up for battle.

"Let's go," Memphis gave the cue for the timekeeper to ring the bell.

The match began. The two danced around before locking up. They traded "blows" back and forth, punches and kicks that were meant to look real. It was the choreographed moves that made naysayers call the sport of professional wrestling "fake" and Memphis had a job to do as well. She had to make it look real and did her best admonishing both opponents when they were going too far. The wireless earpiece allowed communication in the back with the Production team who fed her instructions and transmitted messages back and forth about the progress of the match. Everything was going smoothly and soon she was informed that they had less than two minutes to wrap it up. Memphis gave both Teddy and Phil the sign and they got in position. Teddy moved before he was supposed to and then out of the script pushed Phil several times, smirking when he did. Several times Memphis motioned for him to stop but he didn't. Finally to both men's surprise, she physically inserted herself between them and was unphased when Teddy gave her a shove. The crowd gasped, thinking it was part of the act and erupted when she stunned him with a full fledged push of her own. Even Phil had to suppress his grin as a fuming and shocked Teddy finally put himself back in proper position.

"Get your ass over here, rich boy!" CM Punk taunted as he started to begin his ruthless assault.

They'd been in location but Teddy all of a sudden moved yet again.

"What are you doing?" Memphis tersely whispered. "You're off script."

Teddy ignored her. He began pulling his own impromptu spots much to the surprise of Memphis and Phil. The backstage officials were going crazy in the mic demanding that Memphis gain some sort of control.

"What the fuck?" Phil mumbled under his breath.

Memphis inched closer, trying her best ventriloquist impression.

"Sell to him. I guarantee he is gonna try to hit Dream Street. Let him. I'll count slow, you kick out on two and a half. He'll be stunned and pissed. Take him down, then roll out of the ring and go crazy. Basically destroy the set. I'll get him over on a countout."

There was no time to argue or object or develop an alternate plan. Phil did exactly what he was told. Memphis had called it down to a tee. The two men did not like each other in real life and Teddy had not been happy about losing to his rival. Eager to get over on the new official and make himself look good, Teddy had switched everything around and when the opportunity came, he went for Dream Street. He had expected both Phil and Memphis to be disoriented and frazzled enough to lay down for the count and slap the mat 1-2-3 respectively, but the duo had other plans. As devised, CM Punk kicked out last minute on the ref's slow count. He took DiBiase down with a modified spear and rolled outside the ring, going crazy. He went after the camera guy, destroyed the Spanish announce table and broke chairs, screaming obscenities at the ringside fans.

"Screw all of you!" he yelled defiantly, hating the show had a PG rating and he couldn't bust out the word he really wanted to.

"Punk, I'm starting my count!" Memphis warned. "I mean it! You've got exactly ten seconds to get back in this ring!"

He ignored her and she counted him out as he stormed off. She raised Teddy's hand in awarded victory. Leaving the ring, a funny thing happened. The fans stood to their feet. They clapped and cheered and screamed her name. They leaned over the barricade to touch her. It was shocking, unheard of. When she caught her breath, she grinned and welcomed the attention of the pop, slapping hands as she made her way to the back. At the top of the ramp, she stopped and waved to thunderous applause.

"What was that?" the three of them were met by none other than Vince McMahon.

No one said a word at first.

"Look…" Phil began.

Vince cut him off.

"That match went nothing like we talked about. What the hell was that? Teddy, are you a wrestler now or are you the head of Creative? Do you think you have the authority to just change matches and do whatever the hell you want to do when you want to do it?" Vince bellowed.

"I…" Teddy tried.

"Shut up!" Vince yelled at him before turning to Memphis. "And you!"

"Listen, we fell off script and all I was trying to do was end the match as smoothly as possible with Teddy winning without having a pinfall or submission. I know I didn't have permission and I'm sorry for that but I had to think fast and…"

"And you came up with that all on your own?" the boss folded his ams.

"Yes," Memphis answered.

"You know what I think? Teddy, I think you're a spoiled brat and you've got one more time, kid, one more to go on national television and screw around with my good name. One more time and you'll be planning spots in the unemployment line."

"Yes sir."

"And you, Phil…oh just get the hell out of my way!"

Phil shrugged and moved.

"And you!"

Memphis sucked in a breath, preparing to be fired on the spot.

"Sir…"

"You…my God," his face broke out into a huge grin as he walked up and gave her a huge hug. "You,my dear, were absolutely brilliant!"

"I…I was?" Memphis made a face.

"Of course you were, don't be so modest! This sniveling jackass over there nearly ruined things and you were smart when it counted. You did the best you could and your best just so happened to save not only the match tonight but quite possibly the whole storyline! You were magnificent out there, young lady. Impressive, very impressive!"

Memphis stood frozen as Vince walked away. She couldn't believe any of it. The entire night had been surreal. It had started out a night like any other night but ended like no other. She had ended up officiating her first match on RAW, coming through when it counted and being affectionately praised by her boss. As she grinned over at Phil and he grinned back, she couldn't think of a better feeling. But noticing the other refs and many of the talent who had ignored her were watching, Memphis suddenly found that feeling. She had arrived. She had proved herself. Now they could all go to hell. They didn't like her and they didn't have to but she had earned her respect. On a make it or break it night, Memphis Kramer had taken the ball and ran away with it. She was in the WWE to stay.