Richard sat at his desk and wondered where the weekend went. He hated Mondays, especially with Rachel gone. She atleast made the job fun. Since the other day, Meri had not returned any of his phone calls. She was even late for work, which was unlike her. Lily wasn't even in the office, she was invited by Jim Ross to help him with his little column he does.
Rich sighed as he heard the door open and shut. He stepped out of his little office, to see Meri plop into her chair.
------- Meri sat at her desk with sunglasses on. The only thing she remembered of the weekend is that she had woken up that morning with an awful hangover. She scattered her folders about her desk, as she stretched her arms in front of her. She'd rather be sleeping, she thought.
----------
Richard watches her a few seconds more, and then makes his way over to her desk. He had called her a dozen times that weekend, if not more. As he got closer, he noticed she had hickeys on her neck. He sure hadn't given them to her, he thought.
"What is that?" He says, and points to her neck.
"Why should you care?" She asks, as she gets up to get coffee. "Oh I need caffeine."
"Why the sunglasses?" Rich asks, as he follows her to the coffee machine.
"So many questions. You know, if you don't like my work, you don't like me. My work is a part of me." She says, as she almost drops her cup.
"What? What are you talking about." Rich asks, as he pours the coffee for her.
"Look, relationships on the job, they just don't work. So I am breaking it off with you. Breaking it off right here and now!" Meri says, as she walks back to her desk.
Rich stares at her and almost starts to laugh. When had they started going out, he wondered.
"Yeah, I feel the same way. Breaking up would be the smartest thing." He says, as he starts to walk back to his office. He was going to break out in giggles any second.
"I am not even sorry it didn't work out." Meri says, as she works on one of her reports.
"You never answered my question. Who gave you the hickeys?" Rich asks her.
"I can't remember." She says and then thinks for a moment. "The whole weekend is a blur."
He entered his office with a song in his mind. While he did like Meri, she was nothing more than a fling to him. He could never really get caught up in a real relationship, he wasn't cut out for it. As he shut the door, he put a hand over his mouth to muffle his laughter.
-------
Lily walked into Jim Ross' tidy office hours before, expecting to met an arrogant man. Instead, she met one of the nicest people in the whole world. He knew she was new to the field, and was willing to work with her on everything. He would be there for her every step of the way. With his help, people would know she was someone besides Sean Whitman's sister. She would finally be out of his shadow.
She stood outside with some fans at the MSG arena and waited for some of the wrestlers to arrive. She took pictures of fans, later to be used in a book she would someday publish, she thought.
A few wrestlers rode by and waved at them. Some of them recognized her, some of them didn't. A car pulls up and the Hardys, Amy and Chris ride by.
"LILY!!" Amy yells at her from the car.
Lily waves, and then hops the barricade and runs over to the car. All the while, the fans are yelling at her to take them with her.
"Hey guys." She says as she finally makes it to their car.
"Hi." Matt says, as he gets out of the car. He smiles at her, and Amy pinches his arm.
"How is Rachel anything new??" Lily asks Matt.
"Better I guess. She's still in a coma. Hopefully she will come out soon." Matt says, as Amy pinches him again.
A few screams are heard, as they pass the fans. Jeff looks over at them and waves. "I think I will go meet a few fans." Jeff says, as he sees one of the girls is about to pass out.
Chris walks on into the building, wondering if he will find Kurt and Michelle together.
"You guys should go over there too." Lily says, hoping she can get some good pictures of Matt.
Lily felt an arm go around her, and she grew weak in the knees. Matt had thrown an arm around her and Amy to walk over to Jeff and the screaming fans.
----------------
Beth sat out on the back porch of the Hardys and watched the sun set on the breezy Monday day. Michelle was in the kitchen, cooking dinner. Beth had gotten a call from David earlier. She wondered how he had found the number. Hopefully Trendi hadn't given it to him. She didn't take the call. To her, the name David was mud.
Mr. Hardy stepped out onto the back porch, and took a seat across from Beth. "You ready for that game of Poker?" he ask, as he shuffled the cards.
"Mr. Hardy..." She says, but he interrupts her.
"Dad." He says to her. "Call me dad, everyone does."
"OK, Dad." She says with a chuckle. "I am starving, is Michelle done yet?"
"Almost, I think. She about burned the rice. I thought she knew how to cook."He says with a wink.
"She can cook, I think she is just nervous." Beth says, as she takes the cards he dealed to her.
"Nervous??" He asks.
"She thinks it is her fault that Rachel is in a coma."Beth replies.
"I don't feel that way. Michelle didn't know how much of a wild card that woman was. If I felt that way, I wouldn't have let her stay at my house." He said, as he put down two of his cards. "My girl was just in the wrong place at the wrong time."
"I wish everyone felt that way. Jeff isn't too happy with Michelle even being around. I got an ear full earlier. I don't know what to do. Both of them are my friends, I hate being stuck in the middle." Beth says, as she puts down three cards.
Michelle hurries out the door. "SHERRIE IS DEAD!!" She says as she rushes over to the table with a tray of food. " I just got a call from Nick, and he said that they found her hung in her cell!!" Michelle didn't know whether to be happy or sad with this news.
------------------
Chris watched as some of the other wrestlers boarded a plane to go to the next show to be held in Atlanta. He had decided to take a less crowded flight that was to leave later that night. He sat in one of the airport seats and wished he could fall asleep. The flight was not for another three hours, he thought.
That thought stayed with him for a few minutes, until he decided to take a ride. He would find an all night dinner. Hopefully not Waffle House, he wanted to try something new. He took a ride around the quiet town, and noticed not many places were open in the small town. Why had they chosen to fly out of nowhere land, he thought.
He decided to stop at a convenience store since not much else was open. He pulled his hair back into a low ponytail, as he looked through the soda section. He stood there until he felt a tap on his shoulder.
"Are you Jericho?" a young man asks.
"You caught me." He replies with a smile. His wish to be invisible for the evening had not come true.
"Boy you look tired. You need a place to stay for the night. All the motels are booked. Some kind of cow convention." The man said with a chuckle.
"Sounds good, thanks. I have a flight in an hour." Chris says and sighs.
"We were at the show tonight. You kicked major ass." The man says, as he picks up a case of Coke. "Say, can I get a picture of us together. No one will believe we met if we don't."
"Sure." He says quietly. He would never turn anyone down, no matter how tired he was.
They take the picture, and the man gives him his address just incase he decided to crash there for the night. Chris put his head against the window of the taxi and started to doze. His dreams consisted of Jess and Michelle, sometimes the two molding into one.
The taxi arrived at the airport just in time for him to board. He walked slowly in, not really wanting to board the plane. Final call, and he stood just outside of the long hallway to the plane. He sighs and walks back to the front of the small airport and stands at the door. The small airplane taxis down the runway, and Chris walks back out to the taxi that had let him off a few minutes before.
"Do you know where this address is?" Chris asks the taxi driver. Tonight, Chris was going to have the best sleep he has had in weeks. Hopefully, it would be dreamless, he thought.
-----------
Jay and Matt had told Chris they would pick him up at the airport. They stood counting the people that exited the plane, and as the last person exited they knew they had a problem.
"Maybe he took a different flight?" Jay said, as they walked to the baggage claim.
"This was it. This was the number he gave me. I wonder if he was bumped." Matt said, as they searched the lobby. "Did he pass us??"
"Sir, was there a Chris Irvine on the plane?" Jay asked, as he found a person that worked there.
The man looked on his list, and confirmed that Chris was on the plane.
Matt and Jay made on more trip around the airport, hoping they could spot Chris.
"Maybe he didn't see us, and he left."Matt said to Jay. " I'm calling his cell." He calls, only to find that it was turned off.
"Maybe he already left, didn't see us and left." Jay says to Matt. " Come on, there's no use waiting around for him. If he is here, he can find a taxi. This just isn't like him. I hope he doesn't come walking in late."
-----------
It was time for Smackdown and Jeff stood backstage listening to the crowd as he waited to enter the ring. The butterflies in his stomach increased as his and Matt's music started. He had that odd feeling again, he thought. The same feeling the night Rachel was shot.
He stood on one of the turnbuckles and scanned the audience. For a moment, he thought he saw Rachel.
"What's wrong with you?"Matt asked, as he noticed his brother looked a little paler than usual.
"Nothing."Jeff replied. He shook his head to rid himself of her image, as The Dudley's music started to play.
The bell rang, and Jeff and D-Von stared each other down in the middle of the ring. The Dudley's were supposed to win, but he was going to give them a run for their money. Jeff knocked D-Von to the ground, and made his way to the top of the turnbuckle to do a Swanton. Bubba ran down to knock him off, and succeeded. Jeff fell backwards, but landed on his feet. He heard a loud pop, and fell to the ground. A white heat flew up his leg, as he realized his ankle had been broken.
He crawls back into the ring, and tags in Matt, and then rolls out onto the mat. He pulls himself against the barricade and pulls himself to a standing position to watch the rest of the match.
"You OK man?" The man behind him asks.
"Ankle broken." Is all Jeff can say.
"Aw man, that sucks." The man says, as Jeff hops back to his corner, and pulls himself into the ring.
The bell rings as Matt is pinned by D-Von. Jeff crawls over to Matt to see if he is OK.
"Are you OK?" Matt asks Jeff, before Jeff can even ask him the same question.
"Ankle broken." Jeff says wincing from the pain.
They help each other up, as a stretcher reaches the ring. Matt and Jeff look at each other, and both of them hop on it. As they reach the back Vince McMahon stands waiting for them with a stern expression on his face.
------
No one had heard from Chris since the airport. Now everyone was worried. It wasn't like him to be late, or not even show up. Vince was more worried than upset. Chris was usually the one to show up early. All the people Vince had questioned said that he was fine when they left him in New York. Maybe he should call Miss Michaels, he thought. Maybe since they were going out, he had gotten in touch with her.
"I don't mean to disturb you, but have you talked to Chris in the past few hours? He seems to have vanished without a trace." Vince asked, as she answered the phone.
"No sir. I haven't talked to him in a while." Michelle said in shock. Something must be wrong if Mr. McMahon called her. "What do you mean vanished?" She asks.
"He was last seen in New York. Jay and Matt went to pick him up this morning, and he wasn't on the plane." Vince replied. "If you hear from him, let me know. We are worried, this isn't like him." Vince said, and then hung up.
--
Michelle didn't even have a chance to tell him that she probably would never hear from him. She dialed Chris' cell and got the answer she knew she would get. His phone was turned off, just like the other times lately when she had tried to call. She paged his pager, hoping he would respond to that. What if he saw it was her number and decided not to call, she thought. Two men in her life vanishing was not going to happen, she thought. It just wasn't going to happen.
---
Chris woke to hear his pager vibrating across the nightstand next to the bed. Turning it off, he got up to find Tom and his wife Cindy eating breakfast in the kitchen.
"Look who's awake!" Tom says, as he fills his plate with sausage and eggs.
"It sure does smell good." Chris says, as he stares at the food on the stove.
"So, when do you have to get back?" Cindy asks, as she hands Chris a plate. "Help yourself."
"I don't even know if I will have a job when I get back." Chris says laughing. "I guess now I am MIA. I'm in no hurry to leave." He says, as he puts bacon, eggs and sausage on his plate.
"Well, we can always put you to work." Cindy says laughing. "You can break in this stubborn horse we have."
"Sounds like fun." Chris says, and forks a mouthful of eggs into his mouth. Anything to get his mind off of life, he thought.
-------- Michelle made her way to Rachel's hospital room. She prayed every day that she wouldn't have to see that place again. All the wires, and machines, and Rachel attached to those. She had to see if Adam or anyone else had heard from Chris within the last few hours. She enters the room to see Adam, Jess and Kurt. Seeing Jess made her blood run hot, and her usual calmness disappear.
"You know where Chris is don't you!!" Michelle yells at Jess.
Jess looks up from her crossword puzzle. "What are you screaming for, I'm right here." Jess says, and closes her book.
"Tell me where he is damn it!!" Michelle says through gritted teeth.
"Mich, he wasn't at the show last night. He's really missing." Kurt says, as he stands to let her sit.
"Maybe he is running from you, you seem to be at his every turn. Like a ghost." Jess says, as she gives Michelle a stare in return.
"Do you two have to argue here?" Adam asks quietly.
"Running from me?? Ha, don't make me laugh. He's more than likely running from you.. OH MY COUSIN DIED.. OH MY CAR BROKE DOWN.. You couldn't stay away from him....." Michelle says, as Adam cuts her off.
"Right now, I would run from the both of you!! Adam says angrily. "You aren't women, you're little girls."
Michelle puts a hand over her mouth to keep from saying anymore. She kicks the wall with her foot, and walks out. She hadn't meant to go in and cause a scene.She didn't even get a chance to tell Adam about Sherrie.
As she entered the elevator, she realized Kurt had followed her. He was becoming her rescuer these days.
-------------- I am in misery, Rachel thought. I don't want to hear any more fighting. If I were out of this coma, I would. Hmmm, what would I do? I would eat a bowl of fruit. Adam? Where are you? Is this a dream, she wondered.
------------- "Adam look!" Jess said, and pointed to the monitor that monitors the brainwaves.. All the numbers to look at had changed, and for the better.