Disclaimer, etc., in part 1.

Part Fifty-Nine

"You've got to be kidding me," Eve hissed out, the disbelief evident in her voice as she sat quietly in the storage closet where she, CM Punk, Melina, and Kelly had gathered. The initial meeting of the trio of divas had at first been excited... After all, it was the first time in quite awhile that all three of them had been at a show at the same time. First, Kelly's injury from an attack by Maria had kept her out, and then there had been Eve's injury... Also from an attack by Maria. Now, all three women were healthy, and they'd all been thrilled to see each other, and then... Well, then CM Punk had shown up and dropped the bombshell.

The new World Heavyweight champion shook his head. "I'm not kidding you. Not about this."

"When did you find this out?" the woman wanted to know, her brows drawing down as she considered the possibilities. Punk had, after all, been at her place from Sunday night up until they'd both had to leave for SmackDown, and he hadn't said a word-

"When I got here tonight. Teddy Long called me into his office and told me about it. The challenge, the stipulation, all of it. Apparently, Jeff demanded to invoke his rematch clause when he got here tonight. I'm not sure whose idea it was to add the stipulation," he said, and Eve shook her head.

"This isn't... This is crazy. I get a steel cage match. As much as I hate that you're being put in one less than a week after you were in a damned TLC match, I get it. It makes it more exciting, right? But this... Adding a 'loser leaves WWE' stipulation to it all? What the hell?" she managed, still shaking her head. "It just... I don't get it."

Punk shrugged, spreading his arms in something of a helpless gesture. "I don't, either. But I don't really have a choice in this. Jeff can demand his rematch, and Teddy Long is making the stipulations. And if he's not the one making them, he's at least agreeing to them," the man said, and Melina frowned.

"Do you think... Do you think this is Jeff's stipulation, or Teddy's?" the diva wanted to know, and Punk shrugged again.

"I don't know. I can imagine that Jeff would want me out of the WWE after the past few months. He sees me as holding him down, stealing his title or whatever. I cashed in on him, managed to hold on to the title through the Bash... He managed to take it back at Night of Champions, then lost it again at SummerSlam in what he thinks of as his match... Which is kind of stupid, since I can only think of a couple of ladder or TLC matches that he's really ever won right off the top of my head, but whatever. Truth is, the guy is a former WWE champion and a former 2-time World Heavyweight champion, and in those three reigns, aside from when his brother did a fast-count a couple weeks ago, he's never had a successful title defense," the Chicago native stated. "Maybe he's desperate and thinks he has something to prove, I don't know. And face it... I've ended two of those title reigns, and I did it over the span of a summer. Plus I've beat him up repeatedly. I guess he's feeling vindictive."

"Vindictive enough that he'd make a challenge that would put his own career at risk as well as yours?" Kelly asked, the blonde practically wringing her hands as she spoke, and Punk shrugged.

"I don't know. Maybe he's that confident. Maybe he has something up his sleeve. Or maybe he thought he did," Punk said. "The fact that the match is in a steel cage makes it harder for him to cheat. He can't hide anything under the ring, because he can't reach it. It's not a hell in a cell match, just a cage. Maybe he thinks he can climb the cage faster than I can, I don't know. Or maybe he thinks that without a readily available weapon, I can't beat him."

"Then he's never watched you wrestle. You're perfectly capable of winning a match fair and square," Eve declared, the woman crossing her arms over her chest as she stood there. "And it's not like you cheated to win the title at SummerSlam. There's no such thing as cheating in a tables, ladders, and chairs match."

"You're angry," Punk said quietly, and the diva heaved out a sigh.

"Not at you-"

"You're angry on my behalf," he corrected himself, coming to stand in front of her, reaching out to take her face in his hands, the man completely unconcerned by the fact that they weren't alone. It's not like Kelly and Melina didn't know they were together or anything.

Leaning forward, he let his forehead rest against hers. "I appreciate that you're mad for me. It's... Nice to have someone care enough to get mad. But I can do this, Eve."

"I know you can. Believe me, I know you can do this," she said, pulling back just enough so that she could look him in the eye. Reaching up, she pushed some of his dark hair back from his face. "I know you can do this," she repeated. "I just don't think you should have to."

"But if I don't, I forfeit the match... And if I forfeit the match, I forfeit the title. Teddy Long might even fire me anyway for ruining his fun, I don't know. But I do know that whoever made this stipulation, Jeff Hardy agreed to it, and that means that when I beat him - and I know I can - then he's gone from the WWE. And I have to admit that would be one hell of a reward for winning. Better than retaining the title," Punk said, the man sliding his thumb over Eve's lip, concentrating on the spot that had, at one point not too long before, been split open by a backhanded slap from Jeff Hardy. And that was far from the only injury that had been caused by that man's actions.

"You still shouldn't have to put your career on the line in a damned title defense. It's ridiculous," Eve said, and Punk nodded.

"It is... But I can't change it. All I can do is go out there and defend this title to the best of my ability... And even if Jeff is pissed and running on anger and a need for redemption... He's more injured than I am. His idiocy in doing that Swanton Bomb off the ladder did more damage to him than it did to me. It's what cost him the match. Hell, he can never stop himself from the attempt at something flashy, and it cost him then."

"But you can't count on that. You can't count on it costing him tonight. Not with so much on the line."

"I know I can't. And believe me, I won't count on it. But if he does do something stupid, you can be damn sure that I'm going to do everything in my power to take advantage of it if he does. He knows what's on the line as well as I do, but sometimes he can't resist it. Hell, during one of the money in the bank ladder matches, he pretty much took himself out of the running by doing a Swanton Bomb on Edge through a ladder... And he did it because his brother told him to. Years ago, he went for the flashy move in a tag team title match and ended up losing because of it, and that was in the steel cage match against the Dudleys. If he's presented with a risk, he may take it, and if he does, I'll do my damnedest to take advantage of it. Of course, if he has a chance to do one of those high-risk moves, it means I'm likely in some trouble, so I'm hoping it doesn't come to that," Punk said. His eyes on Eve's, he lifted a hand, tucking some long hair behind her ear. "I'm not going to let that bastard force me out of the WWE. I'm going to win tonight."

"What if he has help? Someone like Matt? Do you know who the referee is for the match? Teddy Long isn't going to spring some special guest referee to screw you over like Matt did in your rematch on SmackDown after Night of Champions, is he?" Eve wanted to know, and Punk shook his head, sliding his hands down to Eve's hips.

"Doesn't seem to be in the plan. Charles Robinson is the referee, and I don't think he's dirty. He'll call it down the middle... I mean, hell... All he has to do is stand there and count the three or signal when someone makes it out of the ring," Punk said. "Not exactly a hard job, aside from maybe staying out of the way."

"Which isn't always easy," Melina muttered, then shook her head. "I'm not sure I would put it past Jeff Hardy to try and have some sort of an ace up his sleeve or whatever. To put his job on the line... There's something going on."

"I know there's a chance of it. But I do know Matt Hardy isn't going to be the referee, so there's that at least. If he tries to get in the cage or pass Jeff a weapon, at least I'll have a warning there. It's a steel cage, not hell in a cell. He can't hide under the ring and insert himself into the match that way. The cage attaches to the ring itself. He'd have to find a way inside," the man said, taking a step back, though his eyes were on Eve's. "I know you're not supposed to be at ringside for this one since you've got a match of your own tonight-"

"I'm not worried about my match. Melina and I can beat Layla and Michelle, and Kelly will be out there to keep an eye out for Maria," Eve said. "He told me I can face Maria at the next pay-per-view, so I wouldn't be surprised if she went out there to attack, but we'll be prepared for it."

Punk nodded. "I'm sure you will. I'm guessing that by the end of this whole thing, Maria's going to be sorry she messed with any of you."

"Too bad she was misguided enough to start messing with us in the first place," Kelly put in, the blonde woman rubbing at her ribs despite the fact that they were now fully healed. Healed or not, though, she probably remembered the pain of them all too well.

"She's blinded by whatever sparkle she thinks Hardy has," Punk muttered, then turned his attention back to Eve. "I know the three of you can handle anything Maria attempts to throw at you tonight... Anything Layla and Michelle throw at you, too. But if Jeff Hardy comes to you, tries to make you walk out with him-"

"I won't. If he wants me out there, then I'm pretty sure it would be for a reason, and I'm not going to play into his little game, whatever it is. Besides that, even if he hasn't quite figured out that I'm with you, I'm pretty sure he knows I hate him enough that he doesn't want me out there when his job is on the line. He's getting to know more and more that I don't need him to stay in the WWE, not like he thought I did. I'm getting a career of my own."

"And he probably hates it," Punk muttered.

"Hate it or not, if he wants the fans to keep loving him, then he can't come after me... Not personally. And he saw how the fans reacted when Maria did his dirty work. They hate her now. Besides that, if things go our way, we won't have worry about him any longer. He'll be gone from the company, and gone from our lives," Eve said, smiling slightly as she spoke, and Punk leaned in, pressing a kiss to her lips before pulling back, framing her face with his hands.

"I like the sound of that."