Disclaimer, etc., in part 1.

Part Sixty

Eve and Melina won their match. Melina had managed to get the pin on Layla, the match short and sweet, and in the end, Maria Kanellis hadn't made an appearance... Perhaps she'd figured out that attempting to go after all three of them at once would be a bad idea, especially since the other divas that had been out there - Layla El and Michelle McCool - weren't exactly fans of Maria's, either. They may not go after her if she went out there, but they probably wouldn't help her, either. But that was kind of beside the point since Maria had stayed in the back where she belonged during the divas' match. She was still somewhere backstage, though. Eve knew that because when they'd run into Dolph Ziggler, he'd told her that he'd seen Maria when he'd gotten there that night. But where she was right now? Eve had no idea. And at the moment, she didn't particularly care.

"I can't believe you said that to Josh Matthews," Kelly said with a shake of her head, and Eve shrugged her shoulders, pushing her hair back from her face as she made her way over to an equipment crate to sit down. The trio of divas were in the catering area, deciding to watch the main event from there instead of from the divas' locker room. All three of them were dressed in street clothes now, Melina and Eve having cleaned up after their match, and they'd taken their bags to the rental car before coming back to settle in and watch the match.

"It's not like I was dishonest. He asked how I felt about Jeff dedicating his title win from Night of Champions to me, and I told him that it would have meant more if he'd actually checked on me after the match or contacted me when I was off with my injury. I see nothing wrong with saying that," the diva replied. She knew that Josh had been taken aback by her words - it had been easy to see the surprise on his face - but she really didn't care. After tonight, no matter who was holding the World Heavyweight title, she was done with Jeff Hardy for good. And if he found a way to win this match, to take back the title and force Punk out of the company - the idea of that happening turned her stomach - then she would find a way to make him miserable for it. Distract him during matches, interfere on behalf of his opponents, tell the whole damned world what an asshole he was... She no longer cared if people didn't believe her; she just wanted to be rid of him. She wanted to stop pretending; she wanted people to know how much she couldn't stand him. Being honest with Josh Matthews about the lack of contact between her and Jeff since her injury was just the start of it.

"I think you're going to break your water bottle," Melina said quietly from her spot perched next to Eve on the equipment crate, and the younger woman forced herself to relax, frowning as she looked down at the plastic, which now bore several dents in it. Of course, it wasn't like it was difficult to dent a water bottle or anything... But if she didn't pay attention, then she'd end up wearing the water instead of drinking it.

"Sorry. I guess I'm just feeling a little tense," Eve managed, and Melina nodded slightly at that.

"I know. It's one hell of a night. Your first night back, and it might be..."

"He's not going to lose," the younger diva replied, her tone a bit more certain than she actually felt at the moment. But confidence was key. She had to believe that CM Punk was going to win this match... That he was going to retain the title and force Jeff Hardy out of the WWE. And yeah. The idea of that? The thought that Jeff could very well be gone from the company by the end of the night? She couldn't say the thought of it didn't appeal to her... A lot. A bit of a dream come true, really, to have him gone. To have his presence in the company no longer hanging over her head... The threat that he might do something. Not to mention the knowledge that it would be safer for everyone involved if he was gone. Dangerous matches were made even more dangerous by people that were high. And on top of that? She had to admit that whatever hissy fit Maria was likely to throw if Jeff lost tonight would be a sight to behold.

Kelly cleared her throat, the blonde's expression tentative as she looked over at the older woman. "Have you considered what you would do if...?" She trailed off, not actually voicing the question, but Eve was fully aware of what the other woman wanted to ask.

"He's not going to lose," she said again, then time a little more forcefully. "I'm not going to allow myself to sit here working myself up with a bunch of 'what if's'... It won't help anything if I do that, and it will just make me more nervous."

Kelly winced at that. "Sorry, I just... We know he can win. He won on Sunday, and that was in a match that's considered Jeff's specialty," the diva said, keeping her voice low enough that no one beyond the three of them could actually hear what she was saying.

"I don't know why it's considered his specialty. He doesn't actually end up winning very many of them in the end," Eve replied. "And he's lost steel cage matches, too. And with so much on the line... They're both going to come out there hard, doing everything they can to win. We just have to believe that the right guy is going to come out on top in the end," she stated, the diva sitting up a little straighter then, the show coming back from break... The steel cage now lowered and attached to the ring, the referee already standing in the middle of it, waiting for the competitors.

"And here we go," Melina muttered, reaching out to take hold of Eve's hand, a gesture of support that the younger diva accepted gratefully. She was a lot more nervous about this than she was allowing herself to show.

Eve gripped Melina's hand tightly as she heard the sound of Jeff Hardy's music begin to play... She wasn't sure how long it would be before she could hear that music, the sounds that announced his presence, and not want to throw something. She had to admit that she kind of took a little pleasure in the fact that he was being announced first... A little twist of the knife to remind him that he was the challenger now and not the champion. Eve took a deep breath as she watched him step out, playing to the crowd, though he looked very determined. Hopefully he wasn't high, because she didn't like the idea of the man she loved being out there with someone that was impaired by drugs. This match was serious enough, a big enough deal, that he was likely sober. He probably figured that he would party hard later tonight, after he won the match.

She hoped like hell that he would never get the chance to have that celebration.

Still clutching Melina's hand, Eve waited for Jeff to finish making his way down the aisle, for him to get to the ring and step inside that cage... But movement behind him caught her eye, and Eve straightened up a little, a tiny smile touching her lips as she watched CM Punk run down the aisle, catching up to Jeff before the man even knew he was there and knocking him down from behind. Punk actually still wore the belt around his waist as he went on the attack, the sight of it causing Eve's smile to widen a bit before she quickly schooled her expression to neutral. Despite the fact that the interview she'd given earlier made it clear that things weren't exactly sunshine and roses between her and Jeff Hardy, Eve knew that if people saw her publicly cheering for Punk, there would definitely be some questions, and she wasn't going to answer them right now, not when the match was going on. Not when this match was so damned important.

"Not a bad strategy," Melina said in a low voice from beside her, the older woman giving a slight nod as Punk kicked at Jeff's body, then yanked him up, throwing him face-first against the steel of the cage. As Jeff fell to the floor after the impact, Punk pulled off his championship belt, dropping it on the floor before peeling off his shirt... Revealing the tape that was wrapped around his upper arm and shoulder. Melina hissed at the sight of it; neither she nor Kelly had seen the tape earlier because he'd kept his shirt on. "How badly is he hurt?"

"He says he's had a lot worse before. That he's sore and bruised, but he's okay. I made him take it easy this week," Eve said, the diva keeping her voice low, not wanting anyone to hear what they were saying... Not that anyone really seemed to be paying attention to them. They were all watching the match. Or, rather, what was happening *before* the match, since the bell hadn't rung and it hadn't officially been started yet.

Biting her lip, Eve watched as Punk grabbed Jeff by the legs, sling-shotting the man face-first into the side of the cage before dragging the older man around the side of the ring. For a moment, she thought he was going to throw Jeff into the ring, but instead he hip-tossed him onto the floor, then yanked Jeff up for a suplex... She winced at the sight of the impact... Not because it hurt Jeff, but because she knew it had to hurt Punk, too. Whether he'd had worse or not - and she'd heard enough about his days in the indies to know that he had - she knew that his arm and shoulder and ribs still had to hurt from the TLC match he'd taken part in just five days before. In fact, Punk was holding his shoulder a bit as he got to his feet, but the pain didn't seem to stop the man, the Chicago native pulling Jeff to his feet again and finally dragging him into the ring... The referee on the floor closing the cage door behind him as Punk climbed in as well, the bell finally ringing to start the match.

"Well, he did say he could handle this," Melina said quietly. "I guess we shouldn't be surprised that he obviously had a plan."

"I just hope the plan works," Eve whispered, no longer holding onto the hand that Melina had offered her, instead clasping her hands in her lap as she sat there... A glance down told her that she was clutching so tightly at her own hands that her knuckles were pretty much white, so she supposed it was a good thing she wasn't holding Melina's hand any longer... She'd probably leave a mark if she was.

"C'mon, Punk," Kelly whispered, the diva making a face when Punk's first attempt to scale the cage and get out didn't work... Jeff managed to get to his feet and pull Punk down before he could get to the top. Thankfully, when he was pulled down, Punk landed on his feet and didn't take a hard hit. That was going to be a key to winning this match, really... Avoiding the high impact stuff that would cause more damage to their already bruised and beaten bodies. And right now? It looked like Punk was coming out on the better side of that. Even though Jeff had managed to keep him from escaping the ring, CM Punk was clearly the one that was better off, Jeff still unsteady on his feet, enough so that Punk was easily able to get him with a couple of punches, then send him to the mat with a snap-mare takedown, following that up with a kick to the spine that would have made Eve wince in sympathy if it had happened to just about anyone else. As Jeff slumped over from that, Punk hurried to the side of the cage again, once more attempting to climb, though his progress wasn't very quick.

"His shoulder's bothering him," Melina said quietly, and Eve nodded.

"Let's hope that Jeff's nagging injuries are bothering him even worse," she returned, the woman silently urging Punk to make it to the top, to end this quickly and easily...

But that just wasn't in the cards tonight.

Jeff managed to yanked Punk down just as the man tried to heave himself up onto the top of the cage... Luckily, though, Punk was once again able to manage to land on his feet, the world heavyweight champion enduring a few blows from Jeff before he was able to take control of the match again.

"Hardy's just playing defense right now. Trying to keep him in the cage. Punk's the only one really playing the offense," Melina muttered, and Eve gave a slight nod, her eyes still on the screen, the woman watching as Punk tried to climb the cage once again and Jeff manage to stop him again... Though Jeff definitely got the worst of it this time, Punk knocking the older man off the side of the cage with an elbow to the face, sending Hardy down to the mat before hopping down himself, intent on continuing the damage... Punk starting to head for the cage door after taking Jeff down again, the referee starting to open it for him... Jeff grabbed hold of Punk's leg in an effort to prevent him from escaping the cage, Punk's head and shoulders already out of the cage at that point.

And that was when it happened.

Someone rushed into view, slamming the cage down shut on Punk's head... Maria Kanellis standing there, yelling for Jeff to escape the cage... And Eve didn't even really register what she was doing next. She barely remembered leaving the backstage area, running through the curtain and down the aisle toward the ring... But she did remember crashing into Maria, knocking the older woman to the floor with something that probably resembled a football tackle, Maria's head hitting the floor hard enough to stun her. Without stopping to think, Eve rolled over onto her back, looking Jeff Hardy right in the eye as she lay there, the woman drawing her leg back, then kicking the door as hard as she could, knocking it straight back into Jeff's face.

That done, the woman ignoring the reaction of the crowd, Eve pulled herself to her feet, then grabbed a handful of Maria's hair, dragging the other woman up, then throwing her hard into the ringsteps before going over to her and getting in her face. She smirked at the look of shock on the other woman's face.

"What? You thought I wouldn't come out here? That I would just let Jeff get away with his continued bullshit? If you thought that, you must be as high as he usually is," Eve told the other woman.

"Let me go!"

"Why? So you can interfere again?" Eve demanded, stumbling back a step when Maria shoved at her, but quickly responding with a slap to the face in retaliation. "Let me guess. When he suggested that you interfere, he told you that I wouldn't dare to stop you. That he had me well in hand or whatever. Well, guess what? He was wrong."

"You bitch. You betrayed him."

"He betrayed me first," Eve shot back, yanking Maria away from the steps, dragging her around and sending her in the announce table. The other woman, apparently realizing that Eve wasn't going to mess around out there, tried to get away, actually crawling on her hands and knees, but Eve wasn't done with her yet. She wasn't going to leave Maria alone as long as the other woman was still at ringside. No way in hell was she going to give her another chance to interfere.

Not letting Maria get too far away from her, Eve followed her around the ring, figuring that if Maria decided to leave the ring area without trying anything, she'd let her go... But if she tried anything? All bets were off. At first, it seemed that all the older diva wanted to do was get the hell out of dodge, but then, as she crawled her way alongside the ring, she suddenly lunged underneath it... Moving quickly, Eve grabbed hold of both feet and dragged her back out, lunging forward to grab the kendo stick from Maria's hands before the older woman could swing it at her. Tugging hard, she managed to rip it from the other diva's grip, then swung it as hard as she could, hitting Maria squarely in the back with it. Maria screamed at the contact, but Eve shook her head, not about to feel any sympathy for the other woman. After all, Maria had been the one to come out there and interfere in the match first... She deserved what she got. Especially after she'd used a damned tire iron to go after both Kelly and Eve in the past couple of months. A kendo stick was nothing.

"Either you get out of here now, or I keep going," Eve declared, glaring down at the other woman, and Maria apparently took her words to heart, because she scrambled to her feet and took off at a run, Eve following after her for a moment before she froze, standing at the aisle, her eyes on the big screen that was showing what was happening in the ring.

"No," the diva whispered, watching as Jeff dangled on the outside of the cage, so close to getting out... But then somehow, Punk was pulling him back up and... actually *superplexing* Jeff back inside the ring. The move took both men down, both of them clearly in pain, but then, slowly, Punk was getting back to his feet and heading for the cage, starting to climb...Jeff attempting to follow him, trying to catch him as Punk had caught Jeff... But Punk was prepared for it, the man elbowing Jeff hard in the face and managing to knock him back into the ring, the world heavyweight champion them dropping from the side of the cage to the outside...

Her heart pounding in her chest and Punk's music now pounding in her ears, Eve dropped the kendo stick and ran back toward the other side of the ring, falling to her knees as she came to where he lay. Somehow smiling and cringing in pain at the same time, he looked up at her.

"You weren't supposed to come out here."

"Maria came out here first. And she deserved what she got."

"That she did. I won."

"That you did."

"He's gone from the WWE," Punk managed, and Eve smiled at him.

"I know," she replied, leaning down toward him, and Punk pushed himself up on one elbow, his other hand coming up to tangle in her hair as he pulled her down for a kiss right there in front of everyone.

Eve couldn't even bring herself to care that they had an audience.