Randy sighed as he lay on the bed of his luxury tour bus, socked clad feet against one of the windows as he aimlessly bounced a tennis ball against the seat opposite him. The city was Cedar Rapids, Iowa and that in itself was a huge drag. There was absolutely nothing to get into in Cedar Rapids, not that Randy needed something to get into. He had been laying low for the past few weeks and that was the best bet for all involved. Still he was bored and restless and he had a lot on his mind. That made for a dangerous combination and that was usually just the sort of thing that got Randy Orton into trouble.

It had been a week since his confrontation with Phil Brooks and the subsequent injury he had inadvertently caused Memphis Kramer during the pay per view. He felt awful about hurting her, just one more thing added to the guilt that already consumed him. Not knowing her condition only fueled his insanity. For days he had been trying unsuccessfully to get an update on her. Phil of course was a dead end. The two men had almost come to blows over it. And when Randy has casually asked the WWE brass what was going on, he had been admonished for what others feigned as faux concern. He had been told to stay away from her as if somehow they all thought he had hurt her on purpose. For Randy it was just too much.

He had already bailed on meeting John at the gym earlier that afternoon. Sure enough Cena had sent him a text message filled with whining and bitching and it had almost brought a smile to the Champ's face. But there was still an hour or so before everyone had to be at the arena. Randy knew a lot of the guys and girls were already inside but he didn't feel like seeing them just yet and he definietly didn't feel like running into a bunch of fans. So he had kept to himself with his dark and plentiful thoughts all alone on the tour bus that had become his solace and sanctuary. He took a look down at the Rolex that adorned his wrist and kept bouncing the ball. A few minutes later he heard a knock at the door.

"Go away!" he grumbled.

A few seconds later, the knocking persisted. Randy rolled his eyes. Cena was his best friend and all but there were times when he seriously wanted to pummel the guy.

"John, I'm not messing around, dude! Come on. I'll see you inside in a minute, now get the hell off my door!"

Another knock.

"Jesus Christ, dude," Randy mumbled to himself as he got up. "I am gonna kick your ass."

He marched to the front of the bus and swung the doors open.

"Look…" he began in an angry tirade but stopped short after the first word.

To his surprise, it was not John Cena standing on the other side. To his bigger surprise, he saw that it was Memphis.

"Hey," she said softly.

He stared at her blankly. The swelling and brusing on her face had gone down considerably but the cut from the actual contact of his boot was still quite visible.

"Memphis," he cleared the shock out of his throat. "What, what are you doing here?"

She shrugged.

"Looking for you actually. I, um, I didn't see you around the arena so I figured you'd be out here and uh…I guess I figured right."

"Yeah. I was just about to head in…"

"I'm glad I caught you."

He raised an eyebrow.

"You are?"

"Can we talk…in private?"

He looked around before nodding and letting her on the bus. She followed him to the back as he cleared a path of emtpy pizza boxes and bottles of beer.

"Sorry. It gets messy sometimes. I've been meaning to clean this shit up…"

"It's okay," she took a seat, looking around. "Wow. This is pretty cool. Your very own bus. Nice."

"Yeah," he answered uncomfortably. "It's pretty sweet."

Memphis nodded.

"I, I guess I better get to the point. We both know that I didn't come out here to admire your tour bus."

"Then why did you?" he asked.

She hugged her arms to her body and winced.

"Damn…"

"You okay?"

"Sorry. My ribs are still a little sore…"

He knew what that was like.

"You got them taped?"

"Yeah. It helps a lot but it still sucks."

"I know. I've been there, done that but um…I just wanted to say sorry. That night at Survivor Series…I'm sorry it happened. Shit goes down like that all the time in the ring and people, innocent people get hurt. Matches go off track. It's the nature of the beast but given our history and my track record…I know it might look a little suspicious. I just wanted you to know it was an accident. I swear. That wasn't another stupid prank and it wasn't on purpose. My foot slipped. I didn't mean to fall on you like that."

"I know," she said softly.

Randy looked genuinely surprised.

"You do?"

"Yeah and that's why I wanted to talk to you. I think it's time. Before last week I was still so pissed off at you for every bad thing you did to me that I couldn't let any of it go. And I guess a part of me was afraid. I didn't know what you were capable of, what you were going to do next. I was totally weirded out by just the thought of being alone with you."

"You're here now. What changed that?" he asked.

"You," Memphis answered honestly. "I was in a lot of pain at the hospital so they doped me up pretty good. The Morphine had me drifting in and out. Sometimes I could barely open my eyes but the whole time…I, I could hear."

Randy looked away.

"You mean you heard me when I came to see you?"

He had meant every word of it but suddenly he felt very embarassed.

"Yeah. Yeah, I did. Listen, you were a jerk. You were more than a jerk. You did some horrible things, things that seemed unforgivable at the time. But everybody deserves a second chance, I guess. People make mistakes. You seemed really genuine and concerned when you came to see me. It has been really hard for me to believe that you were really sorry or that you weren't up to something even more sinister. But you've backed off and you've apologized and since it looks like we're going to be working together for a while, I think we should put the past behind us."

"You mean that?" he looked right at her.

"Yeah. I didn't think I'd ever be here saying these things to you but then again I never thought you'd care enough to come to a hospital and check on me. People disappoint you but sometimes they surprise you too. I just don't want there to be drama or tension between us anymore."

"Me either."

"Good," she half smiled. "This doesn't mean we'll be instant BFFs or getting together for coffee anytime soon but uh…it's a start."

Randy sighed.

"All that stuff…usually that's not my way and all but I said it and I do mean it. I just wanted you to know that."

"Thanks and I also wanted to apologize for the way Punk treated you."

"It's cool."

"No, it's not. He shouldn't have gone off on you like that. I know it came from a good place and I know it's only because he cares about me and I love him to death for it but it wasn't right. But he was my first real friend in the WWE. We've been through a lot and he has seen me through a lot. Punk is a great guy and he gets very protective sometimes."

"Does he know you're here right now?"

She shook her head.

"Not at the moment, no, but I did tell him that I wanted to talk to you and hopefully come to some sort of truce."

"He must be thrilled about that one," Randy smirked.

Memphis chuckled.

"Less than but it's alright. He respects me and he respects my choices even if he doesn't understand or agree with them. I know there is still tension between you guys but just like I told him, I hope you both can be professional about it. No one is asking you to be buddies but the least you can do is restrain yourselves."

"Yeah. No problem."

"Thanks…"

"So," Randy began after a few awkward minutes of silence. "You in action tonight?"

"Out one more week, which sucks. Vince says I should take it easy. You know how that goes. Anyway, I'll be back on RAW next Monday. I can't wait. Once you get out there and do it, it's almost addicting. It's like I'm a match hog now and I want to be out there the whole two hours."

"When I was a little kid and I'd watch my dad go out there and perform, he used to say to me there was nothing like it in the world, no other feeling like walking down that ramp, climbing in that ring, being under all those lights and feeling the energy from the crowd."

"He's right."

Their eyes met and then they quickly looked away.

"Anyway…"

Memphis stood.

"Thanks for talking to me."

"Yeah, um, thanks for coming by."

She shot him a nervous smile and extended her hand.

"So we're cool?"

"We're cool," he shook it.

"Good."

He walked her to the front of the bus and opened the doors where they both saw John Cena raising his hand to knock on it. He didn't bother to try to hide his surprise at seeing Memphis and Randy together and civil.

"Wow," he faked coughed. "Didn't mean to interrupt."

"You weren't," Memphis assured him. "I was just leaving. See you guys later."

They watched her disappear from sight.

"What the mother fudgin' hell was that all about?"

Randy chuckled under his breath.

"Don't even ask, man. Let me grab my bags. I'll be right out."

John ignored him and followed him back on the bus.

"Memphis Kramer was on your bus. No yelling, nothing is destroyed, she's not upset and I don't see Phil two inches off your ass. What gives?"

"Nothing. She stopped by to talk."

"And?"

"And we did. She knows Miami was an accident and she knows I'm sorry about all the other stuff. We called a truce, nothing more, nothing less. Don't make it any bigger than it is."

"Okay," John made a face.

"What?" Randy turned to him.

John put his hands up defensively.

"Nothing."

"Yeah right. You've got a crazy ass look on your face, you're dying to say something, you're already nosy as hell and you fake coughed when Memphis was here."

"That was not a fake cough, man."

"Cena…"

"Nothing. Okay, all I'm saying is be careful."

"Yes Mom," Randy responded sarcastically.

"I'm serious. You and Memphis have history, your ass is skating on thin ice with Vince and the company as it is, she has a boyfriend who so happens to be a co-worker who absolutely hates yours guts, and not to mention she's hot and hooking up with hot chicks is your specialty. Just watch out, Ran. For real. Seeing the way she looked at you, the way you were looking at her and the way she walked off this bus…looks like nothing but trouble, if you ask me. Trouble."

"Well, no one asked you. Now come on. Time for work."

Randy gathered his belongings and followed his friend through the parking lot into the arena. John could be such a girl sometimes. Randy wasn't worried. He felt okay about what had just happened. In fact, he felt good. And the last thing on his mind was Phil Brooks. It was what it was and it didn't feel like trouble to Randy Orton. Not at all.