Chapter 5

Stacy Kiebler would be the first to admit that she was a bit of a flirt though she preferred to think of it as being friendly. The leggy blond was making her way to the ring to referee a match between Torrie Wilson and Dawn Marie. As usual, one of the cameracrew followed her as she strutted down the corridor.

On a whim, she did a pirouette and tripped over her bootlace. Unable to regain her balance, her arms windmilled as she began to fall. She was surprised when she felt two strong arms catch her. She looked up to find an older, distinguished man steadying her.

"Are you alright?" he asked in a kind voice.

"Yeah, I think so," she blushed. "I'm not usually so clumsy."

"Here, allow me," he said and, placing her foot against his thigh, tied her bootlace.

"Thank you, Mr...uh,"

"Giles. Rupert Giles."

"Stacy. Stacy Kiebler," she said. Putting her foot on the floor, he shook her hand.

"Yo Stacy! C'mon," one of the production assistants shouted. "Nowinski and Hardy are beating the crap outta each other. Their match'll be over soon then you're up."

"I have to go," she told the man regretfully. "Maybe I'll see you later?"

"Perhaps," he said.

"Stacy!" the assistant shouted.

"Coming!" she shouted back then said coyly. "Bye."

"Good-bye," he smiled then turned and walked toward the locker rooms.

Stacy slowly walked backwards so she could watch his retreating form. With an accent like that, he probably knows William Regal, she thought making a mental note to find out later.

ooOoo

Jeff speared Chris twice in the corner with his shoulder then flipped the rookie to the mat. The crowd cheered as he climbed to the top turnbuckle, threw his blue-blond head back, spread his arms wide then leapt executing a perfect Swanton bomb.

Jeff pinned Chris for the three count, and the ref declared him the winner. He slid out of the ring, jogged up the ramp and headed backstage. He ran into Torrie and wished her luck with her match.

As he made his way back to the locker room he was sharing with Edge and the Dudleys, he caught something odd in the corner of his eye. He turned for a better look, but whatever it was already past. As strange as it seemed, he thought he saw a seven-foot tall guy with horns. Maybe there was someone new on the roster, he thought as he continued to walk, or maybe the Rock's Brahma bull thing is getting out of control.

When he got to the locker room, he found Trish there with her brother watching Torrie's match on the monitor.

"Congrats on the win," she said, "and thanks for the help."

"Any excuse to beat on Nowinski," Jeff shrugged. "I told Bubba I'd keep an eye on him."

"I'd like to thank you as well," Giles said. "I confess I was about to go in to help regardless of security."

"Chris is lucky you got to him before Rupert did," Trish said. "You don't want to see my big brother angry."

"Isn't that what all younger siblings say?" Jeff observed. "Nice spinning neckbreaker."

The others turned to the monitor to watch Torrie pin Dawn Marie for the win.

"Yeah," Trish said proudly. "I've been helping her with that."

"So the Dudleys and the Guerreros are up next?" Jeff asked. When Trish nodded, he continued, "I hope they're okay to go out later. With Matt visiting Lita and you two doing the family thing, it wouldn't be as much fun if it's just Edge and me."

"But it would be more dangerous," Trish commented. "They'll be fine. It's not like it's a TLC match."

"TLC match?" Giles asked.

"It's usually a tag-team match where the championship belts are suspended above the ring," she explained. "To win, you have to get to the belts, and the wrestlers are allowed to beat each other using ladders..."

"and tables," Jeff added.

"and chairs," Trish finished.

"Oh my," Giles said visibly paling.

"Yeah," Jeff agreed. "They can be pretty brutal."

"You would know," Trish said. "You're an expert when it comes to TLCs."

"Why thank you," Jeff said with a little bow. There was loud banging in the vent above. "What was that?"

"Don't know. It comes and goes. Stephanie's going to have the building's maintenance crew check it out," Trish said, "and the first shower head is broken."

"We should give you some privacy," Giles said ready to leave when Jeff just smiled and shook his head.

"'S okay. I promise not to flash anyone," the young wrestler assured them as he grabbed a towel and a change of clothes and headed for the showers.

Giles and Trish turned their attention back to the monitor. The Dudleys' match was well underway.

"What is the audience saying?" Giles asked.

"Get the tables," Trish replied.

"But I thought you said it wasn't a TLC match."

"It's not, but many of the Dudleys' matches end up with someone going through a table. Seems like they've put most people around here through a table. Even me."

"Excuse me?" Giles asked enunciating each syllable.

"Well, that was before we were dating," Trish smiled sheepishly.