It was shortly after 3 p.m. and the last of the RAW Superstars had begun to file into the arena. Backstage was busy with its usual hustle and bustle. There was to be no staff meeting that afternoon and the briefing for the live broadcast had been e-mailed and printed for the talent to look over. The crew had finished setting up the ring and they along with the wrestlers and behind the scenes honchos were mulling about the empty arena. Memphis sat in a seat in the lower level that overlooked the floor and ringside, reading the local paper. A few of the other guys and gals had joined her in the area, most texting away on their cell phones or chatting with each other. The man sitting next to her was Mike Mizanin, better known to the WWE Universe as the Miz. He had been the first to reach out to her and end the Cold War. He had been in her shoes and that had formed a unique kinship between the two. Mike and Phil got along and Mike had traveled with Phil and Memphis a few times. Also Mike was in the process of making things on again with his on/off girlfriend, Maryse, who happened to now be a good friend of Memphis.

"You look exhausted," Memphis smiled and looked up.

"Big media day," he shrugged. "I had four radio interviews."

"Good deal. Sounds like somebody is getting a big push."

A grin crept to Mike's lips.

"I've been meeting with Creative and it's not set in stone yet, but…"

"But what? Come on, spill. You look so excited. What's going on?"

"After the next pay per view coming up, they are supposed to start my feud with Randy Orton. The pay per view that follows, well they said something about me maybe going over."

"For the belt?" Memphis' eyes grew as wide as her voice grew loud.

"Yeah. Shhhh," he laughed.

"Oh sweetie, that is so exciting! Kick ass! You deserve it."

"Thanks."

"Wait, does Randy know yet?"

"Yeah."

"What did he say? How did he take it?"

"Good. He knows he can't hold the title forever and besides, he has been a lot less of a dick lately. I don't know what changed him but he's not in a bad mood 24/7 anymore and for the most part, he has stopped torturing the locker room. I was walking down the hall the other day and bumped into the son of a bitch and he smiled at me. Randy Orton actually smiled at me, if you can believe it."

"Scary," Memphis laughed.

"Tell me about it. Told me it was okay and to have a nice evening. It's like he caught a disease all of a sudden and the main symptom is being pleasant."

Memphis giggled.

"People change, Mike."

"I guess. Maybe it has to do with that calming influence you seem to have over him."

"What?" her smile faded.

"I was just joking but ever since you two called a truce and became friends or whatever, he has been pretty cool."

"Oh," she shrugged uncomfortably. "It's just a coincidence."

"Anyway, I was thinking maybe you could use some of that sweet persuasion on my girl."

"Mike, that's not my place. I am not getting in the middle of this thing with you and Maryse. You guys are both my friends."

"I know, I know. All I'm asking is for you to put in a good word for me and possibly mention my name in conversation without forgetting to say how cute and adorable I am," he grinned.

She ruffled his hair.

"You really care for her, don't you?"

"She's beautiful. We've tried to make it work a few times and for whatever reason it didn't. A lot of times it had to do with my immaturity. But in the end, my heart keeps coming back to her. She is amazing and if I'm lucky enough to get another chance, I won't screw it up this time."

Memphis bit her lip, touched at his sincerity.

"Okay, okay. Normally I don't do this and I know I should stay out of it but I saw her backstage earlier and she was really bummed because her rental resevation got messed up. So if you were to go up to her and be nice and ask her how her day is going and…"

"I could totally kick A Ri out the car tonight and convince Maryse to ride with me. Nice conversation, maybe a romantic dinner…"

"Doesn't hurt to try."

"Memphis, you are the best! I am gonna call her right now."

He jumped up and left, leaving Memphis back to her paper. She knew she should stay out of other people's love lives but Mike was a good guy. Leaning back in the chair, she became engrossed in one of the articles when she felt a body plop in the chair beside her.

"What did she say?" Memphis didn't bother looking up. "Is it gonna be Mickey D's with A Ri or surf and turf with my girl tonight?"

"Depends on who your girl is although I'm sure it would be beat eating with that annoying fool anytime."

Memphis grinned.

"Hello Randy Orton."

He returned her grin.

"What's up? Haven't seen you in a while."

She shrugged.

"I've been pretty busy but I've been around. What's going on with you?"

"Not much," he stretched his tattooed and tanned arms. "So I take it Mike is trying to give it another go with Frenchie, huh?"

"They're sweet together."

"Aren't you the little matchmaker?"

"Don't hate. I'm happy so I want my friends to be happy. What's wrong with that?"

Randy laughed out loud.

"Forgive me. Phil and happy in the same connotation gives me the creeps quite frankly."

She playfully smacked him with her newspaper.

"Don't be mean. I swear, you two are like oil and water."

"We just don't mix, you got that right. I just don't see what you see in him."

"It's not for you to see. Punk is a great guy. I really care about him. He's smart and funny and sweet. And I think he's sexy."

Randy let out a belly laugh.

"Memphis, stop. For real. I think you just collapsed my lung."

She couldn't hide her smile as she shook her head.

"What can I say, I like beards."

"That dude is a total greaseball. I just don't see how he gets to date Playmates and FHM models."

"What?" Memphis turned to him. "Wait, how did you know about that, the FHM thing?"

He shrugged.

"Who doesn't? You know how fast word travels around here. I guess congrats are in order."

"Thanks," she mumbled.

"When is the day of the big shoot?"

"In three days."

"You ready?"

"I guess. I've been working out like a fiend and I'm nervous as hell."

"You don't sound very excited."

"I am."

Randy chuckled.

"That's not very convincing."

She sighed.

"I am, I really am. It is an amazing opportunity and I am flattered, it's just that a lot went into the decision."

"Sounds like you're having second thoughts."

"No. I mean…I don't know."

"Say it."

"It's nothing."

"Doesn't sound like nothing."

"It's not a big deal besides I don't want to lay all my problems on you."

"Why not? You let me lay all mine about Sam on you."

Memphis looked him in the eye. His face was both sincere and thoughtful.

"I, um, I want to do it. I do. Nothing like this has ever happened to me. In fact, things like this don't happen to me but I am nervous and a little self conscious, I guess. The images in that magazine…it's a lot to live up to. I want to be good enough even though I'm sure that sounds stupid," she gave a nervous laugh.

"It's not stupid at all," Randy spoke in a serious tone. "It's a normal reaction."

"Really?"

"Yeah. All eyes are gonna be on you. It's a big deal, a lot of attention. You don't want to mess up, who would? Some of the other girls are used to modeling and stuff and you've never done it before. Who wouldn't be a little rattled?"

She was surprised at how open he was and how comfortable that made her.

"But what if…"

"What if what?"

Memphis took a deep breath.

"Okay. What if I do this and it looks great and I get a lot of attention and the WWE gets a lot of attention but it's for the wrong reasons. You know how hard I've worked, Randy. To this day, I still don't get the respect I think I have earned by now from my fellow referees. That sucks. Finally people are taking me seriously and recognizing that I'm talented. I feel like I can stick around and maybe, hopefully do big things in this company. What if something like this turns me into a novelty and people start to see me as a joke? What if I'm just another pair of tits and ass to them?"

"What if, Memphis? What if you get hit by a truck tonight? What if I get injured and my career ends tomorrow? What if this is the greatest thing that could happen to your career? You never know. That's just life. You have to take the good with the bad and in this industry, you for sure have to take a lot of risks. It's a gamble and it can be scary because it could really pay off or it could backfire. But you're talented and you're beautiful and you've made it this far. People do respect you and if that respect is real, they aren't going to lose it just because of a photo shoot. Memphis, we work in a business where there will always be talk and at times you're going to catch some heat whether you deserve it or not. You just have to roll with it, take the good with the bad. You're tough, everyone knows that. It's time for you to hold your head high and live your life on your terms. If this FHM thing is something you want to do, throw caution to the wind and just go for it. Fuck what other people have to say. You know you're not a joke, you know how talented you are. You have to do what makes you happy."

"Wow," she mouthed.

"What?"

She shook her head.

"Thank you. I, uh…I kind of had mixed feelings but now, now I guess I don't. I know what I want. I've spent a lot of time trying to talk myself out of this but deep down, its what I really want, Randy. I feel like I can do this."

"Then go for it. Of course you can do it."

"Thanks."

"I didn't do anything."

"Yes, you did. I feel better. I even feel more confident. I'm still scared and I'll probably be a clumsy wreck during the session and I'll be too chicken shit to look at the final pictorial but yeah…I can do this. I am going to do this."

"It's not brave if you're not scared. Ever hear that one?"

"Yeah."

"My old man used to tell me that all the time when I was a kid growing up. I'll tell you what."

"What?"

Randy cleared his throat.

"I'll let you in on a little secret."

"What's that?"

"Let's make a deal. You make your decision and go through with it and deal with the consequences, good or bad, and um…I'll do the same thing."

"What do you mean?" Memphis asked. "Did something happen with Sam?"

"No, it's not Sam. It's Hannah actually. Hannah Wilson, you remember her?"

"The pregnant girl?"

"Yeah. She had the baby, a little girl."

"Wow. Is it…"

"I don't know yet. The DNA test is in three days. Pretty ironic, huh?"

"I'll say. Are you scared?"

"Shitless.

"It'll be okay. I know my fear and trepidation in no way compares to yours but whatever happens, it's going to be okay. You'll deal with it and go on. And you're already stepping up, that says a lot."

"I guess."

"It's not brave if you're not scared," she winked.

Randy smirked at her, clearing his throat before attempting to lighten the mood.

"How about this? You're scared to look at the final pictures in the magazine and I'm scared to look at the results of the paternity test. How about we look together? Sound like a plan?"

"You've got yourself a deal, Orton. Besides, after what you said, I'm sure you'll only be too happy to look at the pics."

"What?"

"You said I was beautiful. Don't try to deny it and you can't take it back. I heard you and I thought it was very sweet. Thank you."

"Whatever. Don't get all full of yourself. I was just being nice, caught up in my Oprah moment," he joked.

"Yeah right."

"So if I shell out five or ten bucks or whatever the hell FHM goes for these days, are you gonna autograph it for me?"

"Maybe," she raised her eyebrows."And don't pretend like you don't know how much a copy of FHM costs. I'm sure you've bought plenty in your day."

"FHM is a tease and a waste of money. I like the real deal. I'm more of a Hustler type of guy."

"Iiiieeewww."

"I'm just kidding," he laughed.

Memphis laughed out loud as she and Randy got comfortable in the stands. Who would have thought that the two would ever be on such friendly terms? At the height of their real life feud, neither Memphis nor Randy would have guessed as much. And neither would Phil Brooks. In fact, the thought still perplexed him as he stared up at section 103, Row A.