Msg from Merc: OK, so I know I said I wouldn’t be back for a while, but Nita kept hassling me. Despite what anyone else claims, I find flu-induced hallucinations quite enjoyable. On to the fic.

"So if Jesse is TJ's godfather, does that make Billy his godmother?"

"Shut up Edge!"

"You can't make me!"

"Wanna bet?" Billy slowly advanced on Edge who did a girlie scream and hid behind his younger brother.

"Don't hide behind me!" Christian moved out of the way. Edge stepped forwards then speared Billy to the floor.

"That hurt!"

"Good! It was meant to!" Edge shouted back. I rolled my eyes. "Will you two sit down and shut up?"

"Yes mother." They replied in unison doing as they were told. "Chris your turn."

"Let's see…" he looked around the circle, before settling his gaze on me. "Nita, truth or dare?"

"Truth." I replied instantly. I had no major secrets from my boys and last time I'd chosen dare; I ended up with a tattoo of Kane's mask on my rear end.

"Honestly, Nita – when are you and I gonna have a dirty weekend in Bermuda?" Chris turned his killer smile on me as Matt snickered. I smiled back. "When hell freezes over."

"But how do we know Hell hasn't frozen over?" Jesse asked grinning. Billy picked up his cue. "Yeah. I mean, nobody has ever come back form Hell to tell us that it's fire and brimstone. It could easily be snowdrifts and ice."

"So maybe we should be saying 'when Hell melts, instead of 'when Hell freezes over. ' Jess finished. Everyone stared at them in disbelief for a few seconds. Hunter spoke first. "You guys are deeply nuts, you know that?"

"Yeah." Billy grinned. "And that’s why everyone loves us."

"Bullshit!" Sean fake-sneezed. We all laughed again. I looked around the circle. "Jeff, truth or dare?"

"Dare." He replied immediately. I smirked. "Call a strip joint and ask for a male stripper. Send him to Austin’s room."

"No problem. Pass me the phone." Jeff grinned smugly. We listened as he called various places around town. "Uh, hi I’m just ringing to make a few enquiries about what kind of strippers you have? Both sexes? Good, good. Oh yes that would be perfect. Discretion guaranteed? It’s just that I’m person who’s in the public eye and if this got out – thank you. Oh, one more thing – tell whoever you send to continue no matter how much my fiancee and I protest. Yeah it’s all part of – well I’m sure you’ve heard it all before." He laughed, then quickly told whoever was on the other end of the phone which Steve & Debra were staying at and what room they were in and hung up.

By this stage the rest of us were in hysterics. Test had turned an interesting shade of purple, Val & Edge had tears streaming down their faces, Christian was giggling quietly to himself, DX had buried their faces in cushions and pillows, and I was curled up on the floor trying not to laugh. Matt was just quietly bogging into the nachos – he’d heard it all before.

"You’ve got a death wish, you know that?" Billy informed him wiping tears from his eyes. Jeff glanced around the circle, most of who had given in and were laughing hysterically. "Test, truth or dare?"

"Truth."

"Fuckin bunch of pussies." Muttered Jeff. "All I have is dares."

"Ask ‘im about what he said on Saturday night while we were out night clubbing!" exclaimed Scottie enthusiastically. Val’s face lit up. "Yea!"

"Which bit?" Sean asked with a grin. "He didn’t make much sense that night. There was the space thing, the part about fairies at the bottom of the garden, how he was convinced that Christian was trying to get down his pants… oh!" Sudden comprehension came over his face. "That bit!"

Test squirmed under the scrutiny, "Guys, I really don’t think this is the best time."

"Oh, so you do remember what you said!" Edge asked in delight. Test sighed, glancing at me warily. "Yeah, I remember and I meant every word."

"You meant it?" Matt grinned from ear to ear. Test nodded slowly, a smile slowly spreading across his face. Jeff whooped as he high fived Chris. "That’s fantastic man, it really is."

I looked around the room. Billy and Jess had vanished, Sean had brought out the Game Boy and Hunter was smiling, as though remembering something. Val, Edge, Chris and Matt wore huge grins, Christian was smiling as though he’d seen it 1000 times before and Jeff was putting ‘Mascara for Hair’ through his locks.

"Will someone tell me what’s going on?" I shouted. Everyone stopped and looked at me.

"Uh, well…" Test began, then trailed off. "It’s nothing."

"I wouldn’t call it nothing." Hunter replied slowly. "That’s fairly big commitment Test."

"Well did you ever do it?" Test challenged. Hunter laughed. "Nope."

"Then who the hell are you to judge?"

"With Chyna I skipped the ‘P’ and went straight to the ‘E’ and with Steph – well, obviously neither of those took place."

Obviously I’d been forgotten. I wondered who’d be my best bet. Jeff. When something involves his hair, all else is forgotten. I moved round the circle, watching Test and Hunter argue. I elbowed Jeff. "What’s going on?"

"Test wants to give his girlfriend a promise ring." Jeff replied absently. I frowned in confusion. "What’s a promise ring?"

"It’s a ring that basically means that Lexi promises to marry Test one day when their both ready. It’s sort of an unofficial engagement."

"Oh." I replied, stunned. Wow. Big step. I grinned. "Hey Test, can I be maid of honour?"

"You told her!" Test accused Jeff angrily. Jeff shrugged. "Yeah, so?"

"It doesn’t look like she’s gonna kill you." observed Christian. Test backed away. "That’s the kinda calm where she’s actually really, really pissed off and I have to sleep with one eye open."

"Paranoid much?" I asked, amused by Test’s over reaction to my under reaction.

"Just cause you’re paranoid it doesn’t mean they’re not out to get you." Matt stated. Hunter quickly joined in. "It’s not paranoia if they’re really out to get you."

I started wondering what mind expanding substances had been taken and why I hadn’t gotten any as Chris jumped up and down on the couch singing "Paranoia, paranoia everybody’s coming to get me, so say ya never met me la la la la la – what’s the next line?"

A banging on the door interrupted the chaos. Jeff’s eyes grew wide. "Oh fuck, betcha that’s Austin." And with that he dived over one of the bed and rolled under it. I lifted a corner of the bedspread and nearly collapsed in hysterics to see him curled up in the foetal position.

"I’ll get it!" shouted Chris bouncing off the couch and across the room. He opened the door. "Tori?"

Everyone froze. Jeff crawled out from under the bed to see what was going on. Tori rushed to Sean and clung to him, tears streaming down her face. "What’s wrong Tor?"

"I got a parcel and I thought it was a surprise from you and it wasn’t and then I thought it was just a bad joke and then I read the note that came with it and it was disgusting!" Tori wailed. She took a deep breath, shuddering. "I’m so scared!"

"What was it baby?" Sean looked worried as he rocked Tori in his arms. "It was horrible."

"Show me." he urged. "You don’t have to see it, but I’d like to. Nita, I think you’d better come along too."

In their room, there was a box on the bed. Sean pointed at it as I picked up a piece of paper on the floor. "I assume that’s it?"

Tori nodded shaking. "That’s the box and that’s the note."

Inside the box was a dead squirrel, it had been cut open and although I was no vet it looked like something was missing. I read the note out loud.

"Just as this squirrel has been killed, cut open and it’s heart removed, we shall hunt you down, kill you cut you open and remove your heart. The difference is, the squirrels hear contained life sustaining blood, while yours beats poison, poison that contaminates you and all those close to you.

We are coming for you, Tori."

"This is a police matter!" insisted Sean. I nodded. "I really don’t see how security can do anything. And of Tori is in danger, as the note suggests –"

"Juanita do you have any idea how many threatening letters we get a week?" Vince asked, rubbing his forehead. "Many more than you would ever imagine. For every five fan letters we get one hate or threatening letter. They generally contain things like "If you don’t give the Rock the World Title I will…." or "Next time someone goes through a table I will…." Mainly stupid things from fans without a life."

"What about the squirrel?" I refused to give in. Sean backed me up. "This is more than an idle threat or a bad joke Vince and you know it."

With that, he stormed out. I stood, putting both my hands flat on Vince’s desk and leaned forwards. "Vince, speaking as Tori’s friend and psychologist, please do something. Tori suffers from paranoia. She’s managed to keep it under control with medication and help from Sean, but something like this could send her over the edge."

"I’ll step up security." Vince promised, pouring a glass of water. "That’s all I can do until we can prove that there’s a serious threat."

~~~~~~~~~~

"Jim, oh hey Jim!" I hurried to catch up to the burly head of security. He turned around and smiled. "Hey there kiddo what’s up?"

"I was just wondering if you had any leads on the Tori thing."

"I don’t see how that concerns you. That’s a security matter, not a psychological matter."

"If a security matter is likely to become a psychological matter then it is more than my business. And in Tori’s case is may easily have a negative impact on her mental stability."

"Is that so?" Jim sneered down at me. I fought an overwhelming urge to hit him. "Yes it fucking is!"

"Well until I have clearance from the head honchos to discuss this particular matter with you, then you’ll know." He turned around and stalked off. Frustrated, I made several faces and rude gestures at his back and left to pick up my son from whoever was in possession of him at the moment.

I collected him from the women’s locker room, where Lita and Jacky were playing peek-a-boo with him. "Is he gonna watch Raw with you Nita?"

"Not if I can get him to sleep." I replied. I hoped I could, TJ often picked the worst moments to decide he needed feeding or that his backside was dirty. Last time he managed to stay awake during a live show, he’d started wailing while Trish went through a table. I’m not sure what annoyed me more – the fact that I’d missed something I’d been hoping to see for months, or the fact that this was something that she would need someone to talk to about it, which was my job and I couldn’t help. Much to my annoyance, I still had no clue on how to stop the Dudley’s from putting people through tables.

Tonight, TJ seemed quite content to sit quietly with his mother while she worked. Wrestlers wandered in and out, to chat or watch a match with me. Debra was great company for this. Since Steve’s return she’d hated watching matches on her own, she was scared that he’d injure himself. I knew how she felt.

I looked over the sheet of matches. I’d demanded that I get a rough outline of what was planned, so that if something happened that was simply part of the show, then I wouldn’t worry too much and to start worrying when something happened that wasn’t meant to.

It was halfway through a triple threat match between Val, Test and Albert for Trish’s managerial services, when Linda came in. "How’s the match going?"

"Albert is only making a half hearted attempt, Val’s not even trying and Test looks like he’d like nothing more than to curl up in the corner and sleep." I replied with a snicker. "Doesn’t look like anyone’s too interested in having Trish as their manager."

"I was afraid this would happen." Sighed Linda. I couldn’t keep the smirk off my face. I *hated* Trish, I cannot stress that enough. I got along fairly well with most of the women, but Trish was a piece of work. She’d caused almost as much trouble as Sable had and that was quite a lot of trouble. My own reasons for hating her were personal. She’d tried more than once to break up Test and Lexi for one and then had told various people that people like Kane shouldn’t have children. When I challenged her on it, she gave me a black eye. I wanted to press assault charges, but Vince insisted that the matter be dealt with internally.

"Where’s The Kat?" Linda asked suddenly. I thought for a minute. "Probably in the women’s dressing room throwing darts."

"Deb can you tell her to get into something skimpy and one of those wig and that her feud with Trish has been pushed forwards?" Linda sighed. I couldn’t help laughing. Debra grinned and headed off. Linda shook her head and leaned forwards to look at TJ. "Can I hold him?"

"Sure. Maybe you’ll be able to get him to sleep before Kane comes out. Whenever he sees his father on TV he gets agitated and it’s almost impossible to settle him for the night." I laughed, as Linda settled TJ in her arms. She smiled down at him. "I remember when Shane was this little. He was such an adorable kid. Vince doted on him then. But then Stephanie came along and things haven’t been the same since."

"I’ll bet." I replied wryly. Debra bolted back into the room. "Did I miss it?"

"Not yet." I glanced back at the monitor. "Oh here we go."

The Kat ran down the ramp and pushed Trish off the apron. The two girls cat fought for a few minutes, before the guys – very hesitantly – came around and separated them. The three of them remained out of the ring until it was called a count out. ~Nice one fellas. Not only have you managed to rid yourselves of Trish, but you did it in a way that’s acceptable for the fans.~ I thought. Debra couldn’t stop grinning. Did I mention that most of us hate Trish? I did? Oh well, just thought it bears mentioning again.

"What’s the next match?" Debra asked. I checked the list. "We’ve got Steve’s promo for Survivor Series then Kurt and Steph against Lita and Jeff."

"Nita can I ask you something?" Linda asked putting TJ into his baby capsule. I nodded. "Sure."

"How’s Stephanie? She and I barely talk any more, I just wanna know if Angle’s making her happy." Linda looked down at the floor. I smiled. "I’ve never seen her so happy. Kurt is teaching her how to have fun, I think he’s actually bringing some of her innocence back in a way. He cherishes her – he’d never hurt her, because if he did, he’d be hurting himself just as badly."

"Good. If he does hurt her I’ll kill him." Linda replied abruptly and left. Debra and I looked at each other, then back at the monitor.

After Smackdown Kane, TJ and I went out for a late supper, joined by Taker and Paul Bearer. I was amazed at how much Mark adored TJ. He refused to put him down, even to point of holding his nephew in one arm while he ate. Paul also adored his grandson but to a lesser extent. I still didn’t feel entirely comfortable with either of them, but they were Kane’s family, and for him I was willing to make the effort.

It was late when we got back to the hotel. I had just unlocked the door, when a scream rang out. I shoved the baby capsule at Kane. "Take this, be back soon."

I bolted down the hall without thinking about where I was going. I recognised the scream as Tori’s and that was enough for me. Vaguely I remembered that she and Sean were on the floor above us and about three across. When I reached their room, a small crowd had gathered, drawn by Tori’s screams. I barged through and pushed my way into the room. What I saw there made me stop dead.

Everything belonging to Tori – clothes, books, her knee high boots, photos, even hotel stuff like sheets and towels had been slashed to ribbons, while Sean’s things had been left untouched.

It was a while before every got sorted out. Nobody had seen anything and hotel security tapes showed nothing, which bothered Jim. He was going to go over them carefully during the night. The hotel management offered to pay for everything of Tori’s that was destroyed, no charges plus a free suite for the next time they stayed at one of the hotels in this particular franchise.

Kane was waiting for me when I finally got back to our room. I don’t know if TJ had woken him or if Kane had still be awake when TJ woke, but they were both awake when I got in. Kane was lying on his back on the floor, TJ lying on his stomach on his father’s chest. It was such a beautiful scene, so I asked Kane not to move until I had taken a photo.

"What was that for?" asked Kane, passing me our son, who had been scared by the flash. I smiled. "I just wanted a picture of my two men."

"Fair enough." Kane sat up suddenly, much like the way he does in the ring. I felt a chill go through me as he fixed his gaze on TJ and I.

"Sometimes, I watch you with the others, especially those who have become known as ‘Nita’s Boys.’ " Kane began slowly. ‘Nita’s Boys’ that was Edge, Christian, Chris, Test, Val, the Hardyz and to a lesser extent, Too Cool, the Outlaws and Hunter.

"I watch you with them and I watch them around you. You’ve got them all whipped. They adore you. After the accident, when you were – well I’ve never seen such a scared group of grown men. Jericho barely spoke outside the ring for a fortnight and Edge barely slept or ate for a while."

Kane paused thoughtfully. I knew how hard this was for him so I didn’t push. I wondered how long this had been pent up.

"They love you Nita, all of them in one way or another. You’re their sister, mother, best friend. They would die for you if need be. Jesse almost has. Those boys treat you with more respect that they treat any other woman – and that includes sisters, girlfriends and mothers! There are things they’ve done that I know for a fact that they would never have done if you hadn’t suggested it."

"I know you adore them as much as they adore you. They’re called ‘Nita’s Boys’ for a reason. Do you remember when Matt broke his ankle? I was with you at the time and I saw the look on your face. You knew as he went down that’s what had happened and you were almost as upset about it as he was. "

I stood up and started pacing nervously, trying to get TJ back to sleep. Kane ran a hand through his dishevelled hair. "This isn’t an insecurity thing. I trust you completely and you’ve told me often enough that nothing could keep you here if you didn’t want to be here. But I want you to remember this. You’re a mother now. Your first responsibility is to Tristan Jordan. You can’t just hand him over to a baby sitter all the time so you can party with the boys. You had your youth, you chose to settle down and have a child, you have to act like it. I’m not saying don’t have fun, but I don’t think you should spend as much time ‘kicking back’ as you do."

"For gods sake Nita *think* before you do things. Especially now that Tori could be in serious danger. What would have happened if there had been someone in the room? I’m not exactly in a position where I can bring up a son on my own. I want you to remember that from now on, especially as far as Tori is concerned. I can tell you now, if someone’s out to get her and it seems to me like someone is, then they will cut down *all* obstacles to get to her. That will include you if it’s unavoidable."

I stared at Kane, unable to speak. What the hell had brought that on? Kane stood up, and took his now sleeping son from me. "I’m going to bed. I’ll see you in the morning."

He walked into the bedroom, leaving me standing in the living room alone.

I continued to stand there for a while, digesting what Kane had said. I tried to make myself feel better by telling myself that I didn’t go night clubbing or drinking any more, but a little voice reminded me that I hadn’t exactly become a homebody either.

I had to get out of there.

~~~~~~~~

"There’s nothing suspicious on these tapes – and that’s what makes me suspicious. There’s nothing from 5:30pm, when Tori and X-Pac left their room until 1am when they came back." Jim explained, pouring himself a coffee. I frowned at the screen. "So that means someone’s tampered with the tapes?"

"What else can it mean?" he asked. I had to admit, I didn’t know. We sat there in silence, trying to come up with answers.

"Can their room be accessed any other way?"

"Well there’s the connecting door, windows, air vent… what, you think that did an Ethan Hunt and dropped in through the ceiling?"

"They had to get in there somehow didn’t they? There’s nothing on the tapes that show the hall. So how did they get into the room?"

"Who was in the room next to them?" Jim asked suddenly. I thought for a couple of seconds. "Probably Hunter or the Outlaws, why?"

"Just thinking. The last door in the shot is Tori and X-Pac’s. So if they used the connecting doors, then it’s possible they went into the room to the left of theirs, through the connecting door and back out." Jim suggested. "There’s also the possibility of the fire escape. I’ll get the other tapes off the hotel in the morning and look them over when we get to our next stop."

"Good idea." I looked at my watch. 5:30am. "I better get back."

"Yeah, that kid of yours is probably due for a change. Or can Kane do that?"

"Kane can do it." I replied grabbing my jacket and heading off.

~~~~~~~~

The next morning, Vince called everyone together in the restaurant for breakfast. He stood at the head of the room, Shane at his left, Jim on his right.

"I assume everyone has some idea of why we’re here." Vince began. "Last night an act of vandalism was committed against one of your coworkers. Today and tomorrow, everyone will be questioned on what they know about this matter as well as some other related matters. I’d prefer to deal with this internally, however I will not hesitate in calling in necessary authorities. Nita can see you before you leave please? All right everyone get moving. We have a busy schedule today."

The noise in the restaurant grew as everyone began talking. I could hear the word getting around and from my vantage-point up the back on Kane’s lap, I could see heads turning in Tori’s direction. ~Poor thing. Object of everyone’s attention but for the wrong reasons.~ I patted Kane’s leg. "I better go chat to the boss."

"Better make sure Tori’s ok too." Kane suggested. Impulsively, I hugged him tight. He smiled under the mask. "Not that I mind, but what was that for?"

"For being you and loving me no matter what." I replied, getting up and making my way to where Tori, Sean and Hunter were having breakfast in a booth. I slid in next to Hunter. "Good morning."

"No such thing." Hunter replied from behind a pair of dark glasses. We all laughed. Hunter likes mornings as much as I do - not at all. Sean elbowed Tori. "Good to see you smile babe."

"How are you holding up?" I asked, helping myself to Hunter’s French toast. Tori nodded. "I’m ok, I guess. Mainly shocked and scared. Why would anyone want to hurt me? How the fuck did I manage to piss someone off so badly that they want me dead?"

As much as I wanted to answer, I couldn’t. I didn’t just know. I shrugged helplessly, noticing that Hunter had fallen asleep behind a newspaper. Great. I smirked and helped myself to his breakfast.

"Tori," I spoke around a mouthful of bacon. "Believe me, we want to get this worked out just as much as you do, if not more. I’ve been giving my all on this one. If it’s a workmate, we’ll catch them, if it’s a fan, we’ll get them. I promise you that."

Tori looked at me with tear filled eyes. "Thanks Nita. You have no idea how much that means to me."

I reached across the table and took her hand. "We’ll get em Tor, and we’ll get them before they get you."

Beside me Hunter began to stir. Sean looked at the now empty plate then up at me. "You’d better get moving. We can probably convince Hunter he ate it himself. We’ve done it before."

Laughing, I went to see Vince.

"Where were you between the hours of 5:30 PM Wednesday night and 1am Thursday morning?"

"Is there anyone who can confirm that for us?"

"Do you have any serious problems with any of the other wrestlers?"

"What about?"

I groaned and rolled over, putting the pillow over my head. I'd heard those questions so many times over the past few days that I was hearing them in my sleep. ~Well it's finally happened ~I thought as I checked on TJ. ~Nita's hearing voices. Uh -oh. Third person reference. I'm gonna kill the Rock.~

I curled up on the couch in the sitting room so I wouldn't disturb Kane and look over my notes on the interviews. Vince had asked me to sit in on them and make notes on body language and such.

"Albert, Where were you between the hours of 5:30 PM Wednesday night and 1am Thursday morning?"

"Tazz and I went to a 24 hour video game arcade and played House of the Dead."

"Where were you between the hours of 5:30 PM Wednesday night and 1am Thursday

morning Tazz?"

"Albert and I were in my room watching late night movies."

Aside from a few inconsistencies that I didn't really worry about - especially in the Tazz/Albert case - everyone seemed clean. It was incredibly annoying.

It seemed that the stalker was a good actor or not a WWF employee. I'd always - with a few notable exceptions - been in control of my life and what went on around me. Even when I was pregnant with Danita, I'd had a vague idea of what to do. For the first time ever I was completely out of control - and I didn't like one bit.

Frustrated, I threw the notes in the air and watched them flutter down to the floor. Angrily I paced around the room. Kane's words had really gotten to me. He hadn't meant them maliciously, I knew that but it still cut. Guess the truth always does hurt. Maybe that was the point - to get me to settle down to being a mummy. It wasn't that I didn't want to, I was just had a wild streak that was hard to tame. When I was 17, I used to go night clubbing in tight black pants and a halter-top, with a silver spider web motif on them. I had a whip tucked into my knee-high boots and introduced myself people as 'Astrea'. All it took was one wrong look and I'd be fighting. You don't want to know what the whip was for. When I went out like that I became a completely different person.

I'd settled down a lot since then, but 'Astrea' still lurked close to the surface. Since I'd been with the WWF, she'd been rather quiet, but it worried me that she was still there. I began pacing. Maybe just one night out as 'Astrea' was all I needed. Or not. Maybe I'd enjoy it too much.

I looked at my watch. 3:46.54 am. TJ would be waking up in 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 - "WAAAHHH!"

Laughing I changed his bum and kissed him on the forehead. He looked at me curiously. He was a great kid, only waking up once or twice a night and quickly going back to sleep. He had his father's intense gaze, I'd watch him looking around and I could hear the wheels turning. I remembered an afternoon when I'd come in to find Kane holding TJ so they were face to face. TJ's hands were gently tracing the scars on his father's face. His hand had slowly dropped, and he'd looked at Kane for a minute without doing anything. Suddenly TJ announced "Da" and held his arms to Kane for a cuddle. Kane later told me that it was a moment he would never forget.

TJ was also very content. He was happy to be left with anyone, the only person he wouldn't go to was The Rock, which amused everyone no end. He particularly loved Jesse & Billy and would start to cry when they left. Kurt and Stephanie were also two of his favourites along with 'my boys.' I felt blessed to have such a gorgeous son.

I'd been pacing around the room, holding TJ. Now I noticed he'd fallen asleep. I put him back into his bed and continued to pace. I survived on very little sleep - between TJ, Kane's occasional nightmares and phone calls from others at all hours of the night, it had become the norm for me to get anything from 8 to 0 hours of sleep a night, with 3-4 hours being the average.

I cleaned up my notes, shoving them into a folder and switched on the TV. Kane and I always got a room with cable, so that if I was up in the middle of the night, there would always be something decent to watch on TV. Unfortunately, watching TV all the time was getting old, so I was in the middle of talks with Jesse, Edge and Jeff over what was better - A N64, a Playstation or a Sega Dreamcast.

I was wishing I had something else to do, when the phone rang. It was Hunter. "Nita, can I talk to you?"

"You're doing it now aren't you?"

"Did I wake you?" Hunter sounded worried. I laughed. "Come on Hunter, It's me. As if I'm gonna be asleep at 4am."

"The weird thing is, you're not being sarcastic. Can you meet me at the 24 coffee shop just down the road."

"Sure can. What's up?" I could detect something in Hunter's voice. He laughed. "I have to admit, I wasn't completely honest with you during the interviews earlier. And when I think about it, I realise I've withheld some important information. Stuff that may make a difference with the Tori thing."

I sat next to a window and smoked a cigarette as I waited for Hunter to show. I'd left Kane a note and brought TJ with me. He'd woken up again as I was getting dressed and had muttered "Ma" while glaring at me accusingly. He was a smart kid and when Kane and I had left him with his uncle, The Undertaker had said that TJ had an old soul and had been here before.

"Mornin" Hunter slid into the seat opposite me. He looked tired, and I wondered if he'd gotten any sleep at all. "Hey Hunter. What's up?"

"OK, I wanna get straight to the point, no interruptions. I also wanna hold TJ. Is that ok?"

"On both counts, yes." I passed TJ to him as a tired looking waitress took his order. Hunter looked at TJ, who was playing with some matchbox cars then back at me. "I have a big confession to make. Not only did I lie to you and Vince the other day, but there are things I didn't tell you about Chyna."

I opened my mouth to say something, but Hunter held up his hand. "This has nothing to do with the whole, well, thing. This is relating to Tori. When DX first broke up, we remained together. I wanted to reform DX. She didn't seem keen. The guys basically said that if she was gonna be there, they wouldn't be. I'd been looking to get away from her for a while, but she'd convinced me that I wouldn't get anywhere, yadda yadda yadda, you know the story."

I did. I sipped on my coffee and watched as TJ turned around and for no apparent reason, headbutted Hunter in the nose.

"Thanks kiddo." Hunter looked at TJ who gurgled with laughter, then went back to his toys. "Anyways, life in DX, without Chyna cruised along nicely. We were a pack of first class assholes, the whole Steph thing, blah blah blah. The point is, Chyna was fairly pissed that I'd chosen the guys over her. According to her, DX was nothing without her, without her we were just a pack of boys playing at being men, the usual bullshit. The big change came when Sean and Tori got together."

Every hair on my body stood on end. I knew what he was gonna say next, almost word for word. Hunter smiled at me. "You're right. She threatened Tori. I believe 'there is only one DX woman and that is me. You'll never do half of what I did for them and one day I will reclaim my rightful place in DX.' We went to Vince about it and he warned her to back off."

"She did. Then you discovered what she was really like and sent her to prison. But now she's back. Tori is still 'the green goddess' and Chyna's bound to be pissed at a lot of people and for obvious reasons you and Tori are at the top of her shit list. If she wanted to get to you she'd do it through TJ, but as for Tori..."

"She'd play mind games first, playing on Tori's insecurities and paranoia." I finished, lighting another cigarette. "Do you have anything else, any proof or just this?"

"No there's more." Hunter looked at the table. "The other day, when you and Vince asked me what I'd done all night, I didn't tell the complete truth. I was in my room watching movies, but I fell asleep halfway through Highlander. When I woke up, Chyna was in my room."

I dropped my coffee cup. It hit the table loudly and splashed hot coffee across the table and my top. "Shit!"

TJ started crying at the noise. The waitress came hurrying over. "Is everything ok?"

"I dropped my cup." I explained somewhat stupidly. The long-suffering waitress sighed and guided us to another table. Hunter bounced TJ on his hip. "It's ok kiddo, Mum's ok. See?"

"I'm alright TJ." I kissed him on the nose, which changed the tears into the laughter almost immediately. I grinned at him and held by arms out to take him, but he scrunched his nose up at me. Hunter laughed. "That's how you look when you agree to do something you don't really wanna."

"Hunter, tell me what Chyna was doing in your room."

"When I woke up, I could sense that I wasn't alone. I got up and searched around the living room. Nothing. I checked the bathroom. Nothing. So I went into the bedroom. She was sitting on the bed, knees up to her chin, looking through a box that I take everywhere with me. It has newspaper clippings, screen stills, letters, photos, stuff like that. Chyna was crying."

"I sat on the bed and asked her what she was doing. She said that she was just on a trip down memory lane and asked if I ever missed the old days. I laughed and said that for me memory lane was a rough ride. We talked for a while about our relationship."

"I think she's changed, but I'm biased. I know I'm the last person who should be sticking up for her. In many ways, I think she's changed, but on the other hand I think she's still the same calculating bitch she was originally." He looked at TJ who was yawning. "Maybe we should head back."

We settled our bill and began walking back to the hotel. It was nearly dawn. Hunter lugged a snoozing TJ along on his hip, while I carried the bag of toys that went everywhere he went. It was a nice night, clear and not too cold. We walked for a bit in silence and were nearly at the hotel before Hunter spoke again. "I guess I'd better tell you the part that has me worried."

"That was half the reason you called me out tonight wasn't it?" I asked gently. Hunter laughed guiltily. "True."

He placed TJ in his pram and kissed him on the forehead. "Night Bad Timing."

"Hunter." I warned him. Hunter grinned. "Oh come on. You know that because of the circumstances surrounding it, TJ’s birth is gonna become a legend around the place. I mean, it's had a mention in wrestling mags, online, everywhere. Nobody knows if it's true or not."

"Let's keep it that way." I warned again. He grinned. "Yes boss. Anyways, the whole point for calling you in the middle of the night was this - when Chyna left, she left through my hotel room door right? Well I remember locking it when I realised I was there alone. When Chyna left, she unlocked the door first. I doubt that she'd lock the door after coming in. Following me?"

"Yeah. So how'd she get in?"

"I can't say for certain, but I believe it was Sean and Tori's room."

"Nita!"

"Shane?"

"There's a phone message for you." He held out a piece of paper. It read 'Call Tammi, urgent." there was a number for me to call. I frowned. "Who the hell is Tammi?"

"You tell me and we'll both know." Shane sighed. I shrugged. It couldn't be too important. I didn't know a Tammi. "Shane, where's Chyna?"

"She's in make up. What's wrong?"

I smiled. "Nothing serious. You ready for tonight?"

"Not really. I'm not too sure that the reformation of the Brood is gonna go down too well. I mean it's been a while since Gangrel's been in the spot light. Plus Luna's come along to encourage Grel, she may cause a bit of trouble." Shane worried. "I just wish Dad was here."

"You'll be fine Shane. I'll keep Luna with me, we get along fairly well." I promised. He patted me on the shoulder. "Thanks Nita."

"Hey, I've Brood fan since they first formed. I just don't want anything to stop the reforming." I teased. Shane laughed and hurried off. I sighed. ~Life used to be so simple. What happened?~

~~~~

Anahiem. The Pond. 10 more minutes until the next PPV. Luna and I were in my 'office' watching the promos for the show. I laughed as TJ pointed at the monitor. "Da!"

"Does he always do that?" Luna asked in amazement. I grinned proudly. "Every time. Who's that one baby?"

"Jess!"

"Who's with him?" I asked, determined for him to say it. He screwed his face up in concentration. "Billy!"

"Good boy!" I picked him up and threw him into the air and caught him. He giggled. Luna laughed. "Can I try?"

"Sure. He knows nearly everyone." I replied. Luna pointed at the screen. "Who's that?"

"Pac n Tor." TJ said solemnly. Luna grinned. "God you've got a smart little boy there."

I smiled proudly. "I know."

"My boys didn't start talking for another few months. Of course now, none of them will shut up." She smiled. I grinned at her. I didn't know why she'd been sacked; she was a great person, fun to be with and with a wicked sense of humour.

We watched the monitor while TJ crawled around the room. The first few matches were boring - Joey Abs vs Just Joe, Dudleys vs Bull Buchanan and Bossman, Val vs Scottie for the Euro title. As much as I like the guys, the only good thing about the matches was when Scottie hit the Worm on Val.

Next match was X-Pac vs Jeff Hardy, with Tori on commentary. I watched her carefully. She seemed ok, despite the fact that she'd had all her clothes moved around and received a letter that detailed her movements over the past week.

About half way through the match, Trish headed down to ringside with a box under her arm. I checked my sheet - this wasn't meant to be happening. I cursed and watched the screen intently as the camera zoomed in on Tori receiving the box from Trish. "Aw, Trish, your bringing me presents? It's not my birthday."

"I just found this box on my stuff with a note saying to bring out to you." Trish whispered in an undertone. I bot my lip ~Don't open it Tor!~

My mental warning was ignored as Shane came bolting into the room. "What the hell is going on?"

"I don't know - Tori's opening the box!" I reported back sharply. The three of us watched the monitor as Tori lifted the lid of the box.

She looked horrified for a second, the regained her composure and laughed. "Well. This is certainly a surprise."

"Shane get her out of there." I muttered. Tori was hanging on by thread. "She's not gonna last much longer before breaking down."

Shane swore and picked up his phone. This one was part of closed network pf phones used by security. Shane punched in a number. "Get Tori out of there. Now! I don't care how you do it, just do it!"

"Nicely done Shane." said Luna quietly. I hid a smirk. Poor Shane was packing death. It was the first time Vince had left him in charge of a PPV and the poor kid was determined not to mess up. Luna looked at Shane's panicked expression and my worried one. "I'd best get going, this is something that's none of my business."

Neither Shane or I argued as Luna gathered up her sketchpad and left. Minute’s later Tori burst into the room, followed by X-Pac.

"What was in the box Tor?"

She lifted the lid to reveal a dozen dead roses. The accompanying note read "Within the month you will be decaying like the roses."

"Nita?"

"Yes Kane?"

"What the hell are you going?"

"I'm hanging upside down from this bar and making faces at everyone." I explained. Kane sat on the floor so we were face to face. "I can see that sweetheart, but why?"

"It helps me think?"

"Are you asking or telling me?" Kane replied gently. I sighed and on a whim, somersaulted of the bar, landing first on my feet, then crashing on my ass. Everyone in the gym clapped and cheered.

"Go Nita!" shouted Lita. I bowed, then grabbed Kane's arm and dragged him out of there. I'm no genius, but I can usually tell when I've made a fool of myself. Usually. Something occurs to me. "Where's TJ?"

"With Uncle Mark." He replies. I look at him. "But -"

"No matter how I feel about him personally, he's is still my brother and therefore, TJ's uncle. I know Mark adores him and I know him well enough to know that he would never hurt my son as a way of getting to me. He loves TJ and cares about TJ's mother too much." Kane explained. It felt weird hearing that Mark cared about me. I'd warmed up to him some, but didn't fully trust him. Kane lead me down the hall and into a quiet room. "Now fess up honey. What's wrong?"

"I just... I don't know. I got a weird message, asking me to call Tammi. I don't know a Tammi. Plus I have to talk to Trish about what happened and I really really really don't wanna." I whined. Kane hugged me. "Just tell her that it's business, not personal, get the information you need, then beat the living shit out of her."

"That sounds like a plan." I grinned. He ran his fingers through my hair and hugged me. "You'll be ok baby. You don't know how to fail."

++++++

"Trish, why did you bring out that box? Couldn't it have waited?" I asked curiously. Trish shrugged. "There was a note on the box saying that if anyone found it, to take it out to Tori while she was doing commentary on Sean's match."

"Was the note written or typed?" I asked, hoping she'd say written. Then I could get some handwriting analysis done.

"It was typed. Printed out on the computer." She replied vaguely. I bit my lip and clenched my fist under the table. ~I am not going to hit her. I am not going to hit her~ I mentally repeated. ~YET!~

"So you saw the note, assumed it was from Tori and brought it out? Didn't it occur to you to check with someone first?"

"No. It didn't." She replied shortly. I sighed and bit my lip. Trish continued "It was printed on Tori's personal notepaper. You know the one that has the flowery border and her name signed across the bottom on each page? That's why I didn't check, because I thought that she'd printed it out. Why else would it be printed on her paper?"

Damnit, she had a point. "I suppose you've heard what's been happening to Tori?"

Her eyes went wide and she covered her mouth with a hand. "Oh my god. I never thought of that. I'd only heard rumours. The slashing thing, someone put a mouse into her bag the other night. Someone's really out to get her aren't they?" She sounded concerned. I didn't bother denying it. "Yes."

"Fuckin Jesus!" She swore. "Any idea who it is?"

"Some." I replied guardedly, standing up and showing her to the door. I didn't want to tell Trish that she was one of the suspects. She nodded. "Can I say this? I know I'm not well liked around the place and that's my own fault. However, I like Tori and this is disgusting. I hope you catch whoever is doing this."

"So do I Trish, so do I." She started heading out. "Oh Trish, one more thing?"

"What's -" She didn't get to finished as she turned into my on coming fist. I hit her squarely in the nose, then in the mouth before shoving her against the wall and grabbing her collar. "Just this. You ever fucking badmouth Kane, my son or me again; you'll end up in the hospital. You got that? All I need is an excuse Trish, so don't fucking push it you two bit whore."

I slammed her against the wall again, before throwing her onto the floor. She looked up at me in shock, blood dripping from either her nose or a cut on her lip. Hopefully both. I stared coldly at her, hands on my hips. "I mean it Trish. Don't fuck with me."

I nudged her with my foot in disgust before turning away and stalking out.

Later that day I was loading TJ's stuff into the car, when Vince came up to me. "Juanita, can I talk to you for a minute?"

I closed the boot and sat on it. "What's up?"

"I uh, I heard there was a slight incident involving you and Trish Stratus this morning?" Vince was clearly uncomfortable. I shrugged. "Yeah. I interviewed her about the flowers and then warned her not to badmouth Kane, TJ or I again. What of it?"

"She claims you assaulted her. I have to admit, out of the women here, the only other person who would actually punch an opponent is Lita and she was dying Jeff's hair at the time." Vince replied sternly. I looked at him. "Vince, if you have a point get to it quickly. I don't want to be rude, but time is money and unlike pretty much everyone else, I'm not flying across the country. If Kane and I are going to get to the stadium in time for the next show, then we have to leave soon."

"Trish wants to press charges."

"I'll press charges against her for what she did to me, plus sue her for libel. I have witnesses, she doesn't." I replied, my stomach churning. That conniving bitch! She wouldn't would she? Vince smiled. "I thought that's what you'd say. For what it's worth, I've warned her, fined her and told her she won't be able to appear on TV until she heals up."

"That's what's going to kill her more than anything else. Depriving the world of her celluloid tits." A voice behind us sneered. I looked around in surprise, then grinned. "Good afternoon baby."

"Heya Nita. Am I interrupting? Do you want me to-?" He signalled that he would leave if I wanted. I glanced at Vince. "Are we finished?"

"Just stay away from her in future ok?" Vince replied and left, trying not to laugh. I grinned at Kane. "Ready to go?"

"Almost. I just need to find our son." He answered guiltily. I stared at him in disbelief. "You lost my son?"

"Hey, he's my kid too!" Kane protested. I rolled my eyes. "Who had him last?"

"Edge asked if I wanted him look after TJ while I was packing." Kane said thoughtfully. I sighed. "Well we'd better track down the Enigma then hadn't we?"

It took us over an hour, but we finally got our son back. Edge had given him to Jeff, who had given him to Lita, who'd given him to Jackie. Jackie had passed TJ on to Sean and Tori, who then gave him to the Outlaws. We tracked down Jericho, then Test who'd finally begun talking to Stephanie again, and eventually found TJ playing peek a boo with Edge and Christian, who'd gotten him off Kurt. I'd begun to believe that my son was the most popular person in the dressing room.

We stopped in Raleigh for the night. Matt and Jeff had invited us to stay with them, but I knew how long it had been since they'd been home and refused the accommodation, but accepted the for dinner at a local restaurant. I may be Burger King addict, but I know a good thing when it was offered to me.

That night, I went to a nightclub with Jeff, Matt and Lita while Kane stayed at home with TJ. I was a bit wary about going out, especially after the problems it had caused between Kane and I before, but he told me that I'd earned it after decking Trish.

I was sitting at the bar, watching Jeff and Lita on the dancefloor. "They look good together."

"Tell me about it." smiled Matt wistfully. "I often think that they're a better couple than Lita and I. They're definitely more suited to each other."

"But being with someone similar to you often takes a lot of the fun out of the relationship." I pointed out. Matt grinned. "Very true supershrink. How do you and Kane do it?"

"Patience. We're both moody as hell and rarely in the same mood at the same time. But I love him. And that makes it all worthwhile. Kane's a good man. I know not many people know it or see that side of him, but it's true. I love him for who he is especially after all he's been through. It's so hard to explain, but after being with him so long, I honestly can't imagine life without him at my side. And even if we break up one day, I know Kane will still be a major part of my life, even if it is just as the father of my son."

We sat in silence for a minute. Matt sighed. "That's wonderful. Kane has changed a lot since you guys got together and even more since TJ was born. He's the same old Kane, but at the same time he's an entirely new person."

"You and Lita will get through it. You guys have been together for ages now haven't you? I mean, in this line of work relationship come and go like the planes everyone catches almost everyday. You'll make it, I know it."

"Thanks Nita." Matt replied as Lita came over, flushed and laughing. "He's worn me out. Nita, your turn."

Laughing, I joined Jeff on the dancefloor. He was a fairly good dancer, even managing to make me look good. It had been while since I'd been night clubbing, but I loved to dance and it was easy enough to pick up Jeff's lead. I lasted a little longer than Lita before telling Jeff I had to sit down. "My feet are killing me."

"Aww come on." He pleaded, giving me a puppy dog look. "I'm not staying out here on my own. I want someone to protect me from them."

He gestured at a couple of young women dancing in the corner. They'd been staring at him all night and one of them, a woman with long dark hair was now glaring at me. I hugged him and whispered. "Go sit with Matt and Lita. I'll be back in a minute."

I watched him sit with his brother and then ducked into the bathroom to fix my make up. I'm not a vain person I just like to look good, especially in public when I'm with one of the wrestlers. It's because almost everywhere they go, people stare at them and whoever's with them and it makes me feel self concious, because they have to keep up a good image at all times. If I'm looking scraggy, then I feel like I'm letting the federation down. Stupid huh?

I stepped back from the mirror and double checked. Tacky silver eyeshadow and eyeliner and gold lipstick. I grinned, remember Kane's reaction when I'd bought them. To my surprise the woman who'd been staring at Jeff and I before was now in the bathroom, checking her hair.

"Juanita Maxwell?"

I turned around in surprise. "Do I know you?"

"Probably not, but that's not my fault is it now?" She looked at me in annoyance. "I should've known you'd choose now to come back to town. It's not gonna make any difference."

"I'm sorry, but I think you have me confused with someone else." I turned to walk away. The woman laughed. "Juanita Elisabeth Maxwell. Youngest Daughter of Janet and Sam Maxwell. Employed by the World Wrestling Federation for almost 3 years now as the resident psychiatrist. Romatically involved with a co worker, Kane for two and a half years now, one child together Tristan Jordan, known as TJ for short. Any questions?"

"Yeah." I stepped forwards angrily. "Who the hell are you and how do you know all this?"

"Wanna hear more?" She smirked. "Close friends include Triple H, Edge, Christian, the New Age Outlaws, the Hardyz and Chris Jericho. An intense dislike for one Trish Stratus. You don't really like X-Pac or Tori because of how they screwed over your boyfriend and have not a small amount of fear regarding Chyna, which isn't surprising considering you sent her to prison after all. Oh yes and your niece Alexis is currently unofficially engaged to Test."

"Who are you?" I repeated. The woman looked at me. "You really don't know do you? Juanita, I'm Tammi. I'm your half sister."

Tammi? Why did that name sound familiar? That’s right, it was the woman who’d been leaving messages for me at Titan’s offices.

"If you know anything about me at all, then you should know that it's Nita." I replied. "How can you be my half sister?"

"Your biological father and Janet got divorced when she was pregnant with you. Less than a year later she married Sam." Tammi explained. I shook my head. "Impossible."

"Oh no it's all true. I've been trying to get in contact with you because Daniel - our father - is dying." Trinity informed me. I shook my head. "Samuel Maxwell is my father. If what you are saying is true, then carry this message to Daniel. If he thinks that out of nowhere, after 26 years, that I will drop everything to be at the side of a dying father I never knew existed, then he can think again."

I turned and walked out, shaking angrily. Tammi followed me. "Just like that? You're going to dismiss him from your life?"

"Yes. I can't feel remorse for a man I never knew. Sam is the only father I've ever known and out of respect to him, the man who brought me up and never treated me as anything other than his daughter, I'm not going to meet Daniel." Something occurred to me. "How did you know all these details about my life? How did you know who I was?"

"Zion, Orion and Diana still kept in contact with him on a regular basis. They sent photos and news. He never stopped caring about you Nita." Trinity pleaded. I sighed. "I'm sorry. I can't. A relationship is a two way thing. He never made any attempt to contact me, no letters no phone calls nothing. I'm sorry Trinity, but that's the way it is."

I stormed out of the bathrooms and out of the club. What the hell was going on? Kane looked up as I came in. "Hey you're home early."

"Long story, tell you in a minute." I replied shortly and hunted for my mother's phone number. She'd visited me shortly after I'd had TJ and had kept in touch through sporadic phone calls. I dialled the number with shaking hands. "Mom? It's Nita. I need to ask you something. Yes I'm well aware that it's four am where you are I just don't care at the moment. Tell me something - is Samuel Maxwell my biological father?"

"What brought this on?" Mom's voice was shaking. I sighed, a shaky sound. "Just answer the question Mom. I need to know."

"Nita.." Mom's voice was quiet. "Sam is not your biological father."

I slammed the phone down and started crying. The phone rang, Kane answered it. "Hello? I'm sorry Mrs Maxwell, she's not in the mood to talk right now. I'll pass that on. Goodnight."

Without questions, Kane wrapped me in his strong arms and rocked me. When I calmed down I explained what I'd learnt and how I felt about it. Everything had been a lie. Sam's name was on my birth certificate.. how come none of my brothers or sisters told me? Had it been kept from me deliberately? Mind spinning, I fell asleep.

When I woke the next morning, I felt calmer. I left a message for Mom saying I didn't want any explanations, Sam was the only father I'd ever known and as far as I was concerned that made him 'Dad'.

+++++

I changed TJ and placed him in his pusher. I couldn't believe how much he'd grown up and how quickly. Looking around the room, I smiled watching Matt and Lita slow dance together. They would make it through ok, I knew it. Kane sat next to me, putting his arm around my waist. "What are you thinking about love?"

"I’m thinking about how well I can read you. About the fact that even though the mask covers most of your face, I can still tell what kind of facial expression you have." I told him. Kane smiled. "We’ve been through this before, but that’s one of the reasons your so perfect for me. Nobody will ever understand me like you do."

I put my head on his shoulder. "I love you Kane."

"I love you too Nita." He stood up ignoring my grunt of protest at having my pillow taken away. "I’ve been wanting to do this for a while, but I was never brave enough. But after what happened the other night, I decided not to put it off any longer." He knelt in front of me, taking one of my hands and reaching into his pocket with the other. What he brought made me gasp in surprise and amazement. "Baby, will you marry me?"

"I, um, holy shit!" I stared at Kane in surprise. I'd never expected this. I'd always thought that if we were gonna make things official, I'd have to ask him. "Kane, I -"

"Oh for Christs sake Nita, say yes!" shouted Jesse. I glared at him. Everyone in the hall was watching us. I blinked back tears. What else could I say? What else did I want to say? Nothing. I held out my left hand. "Of course I'll marry you Kane. Nothing in this world would make me happier."

He slid the ring onto my finger and hugged me tight. Every started cheering and whistling. I clung to Kane, overwhelmed by my emotions. I'd never realised how much I needed him in my life. I'd been in love before of course, but never like this. I just thought that I'd become dependant on him, but I believed now that Kane was my soul mate.

"What brought this on exactly?" I asked quietly. Kane rubbed my back. "I remember how distressed you were when you found out the truth about your father. That night you were talking in your sleep and I caught bits and pieces of it. You were saying that no matter what happened between us, you would never bullshit TJ about his father. I figured well... why not?"

I pulled Kane close. Just standing like that, my arms around his waist, head resting on his chest, listening to his pulse made me feel so secure and safe. I knew that there was nothing I wanted more.

"So you're finally making an honest woman out of her hey Kane?" Billy teased as he and Jesse came up to offer congratulations. Kane laughed. "Never thought you'd see the day did you?"

"I knew you'd try, but I didn't think Nita would accept." replied Jesse, hugging me. "What was it when you first started here? 'Marriage is just a certificate and a changing of last names.' That's what you told me then."

"I've grown up a lot since then." I replied, hugging them both. Billy smirked. "No comment from the peanut gallery."

"Don't boy." Kane growled. "Just don't."

The four of us laughed, then the Outlaws hugged me again. "Hurt her, I'll kill you."

"Jess!" I exclaimed. This was no time to be getting protective. If they wanted to do it they should've done when I was pregnant with TJ. Oh wait, they did. They just didn't threaten Kane. I frowned at them. "Will you two cut it out?"

"Just looking out for ya Nita." Jesse admonished me. I rolled my eyes. "Yes Jesse."

I laughed quietly as they wandered off. Kane smiled. "Their hearts are in the right place."

"I guess so." I smiled back. Vince and Linda came over. "Congratulations."

"Thank you." I replied. Linda hugged me. "You deserve every possible happiness."

"Nita can I talk to you for a second?" Vince cleared his throat. I glared at him. "This had better not be about work."

"Uh, well, actually.."

"Godamnit Vince! We're at a party! I just got engaged! I do NOT wanna talk business right now!" I growled quietly. I held up my left hand. "See this ring? As far as I'm concerned, it means I get tonight and tomorrow off."

"Jeez, Nita settle down. I was just going to say that everything's been blown to hell. Call me when you and Kane finishing celebrating and we'll discuss it ok?" He grinned at me and wandered off. I gave an annoyed grunt as Linda started laughing. "I'm sorry Nita, but he's been doing it to me for years. It doesn't get any less annoying."

"That doesn't mean he has to do it to me!" I complained as Kane started laughing. The laughed died down as Chyna headed in our direction. My grip on Kane's hand tightened to the point where he winced and murmured "Settle down baby. She's not gonna do anything here."

"I just came over to say congratulations. You deserve everything that's coming to you." Chyna said sweetly. I bit back a sharp retort. I would not start a fight here tonight. Instead I smiled back. "Thank you. I couldn't agree more. I believe what goes around comes around."

She looked at me coldly before laughing. "Nita, I'm sorry, I just wanted to see how you'd react. Look, I know you don't like me much and I can't say I blame you. However, jail changes a person. I know what I did was wrong and I'm seeing someone about it. As I've said before, I like you. As much as you may hate to hear it, you and I have some things in common. You may not believe it, but I have some good aspects to my personality. Anyway, I just wanted to congratulate you and say - that if you're willing of course - to put the past behind us and move on. No more barbed comments, no more leaving a room when the other enters, none of that shit. Not friends, but a truce. Think it over. And again - congratulations."

I looked at Kane in shock. "What just happened?"

He laughed. "You tell me and we'll both know."

"Hey guys. Congrats."

"Hey Jeff. And thanks."

"There's a bunch of us - me, Matt, Edge, Christian, Jesse and Billy - having a movie & popcorn night. You and Kane wanna come?" Jeff asked cheerfully. I looked at Kane. He nodded. "If we can get someone to look after TJ -"

"Lita already said she'd do it for you." Jeff replied with a grin. I laughed. "Sounds like a plan to me. Can't wait."

+++++++++

It wasn't until the next morning, as I was buying munchies for the movie night, that I remembered what Vince had said. With a sigh I picked up my phone and called Vince. "So what's the go?"

"I had a forensics team in over the past week. For things like fingerprints, stuff like that." Vince explained. A shudder ran through me. Had it really come down to this? "What did they come up with?"

My blood ran cold as Vince outlined what the team had concluded. "That's impossible."

"What's wrong baby?" Kane asked, grabbing a giant box of popcorn. I looked at him. "Vince got a specialist team to check over Tori and Seans's stuff. It wasn't Chyna, Trish or any of the others. It looks like an outside job and professionals."

"OK who's next?" Jeff asked, attempting to throw popcorn into Christian's mouth. Edge picked a name out of the bowl. "Kane, pick a movie."

Kane reached over and pulled a name out of the hat. He looked at it and started laughing. "Who the hell put this one in?"

"It wasn't me!" Six voices insisted. Edge sighed. "What is it?"

"Highlander: End Game." I snickered. Edge rolled his eyes. "Wonderful, just wonderful."

"Oh get over yourself Edge." Matt rolled his eyes. "Like you didn't hire it out."

"Would all those in favour of not watching Highlander 4, biting their thumbs at Edge and throwing things at him say aye?" asked Jesse impishly. Everyone shouted 'Aye' and Edge was bombarded with flying projectiles, mainly food.

Laughing, Kane picked another piece of paper. "S.F.W."

"NITA!" shouted Jeff. I looked at him and replied defensively. "What? I just got told not get 'Blade' 'Blood & Wine' or 'The Power of One.' S.F.W. is a good movie and the fact that Stephen Dorff is it had nothing to do with it!'

"So how'd you find it?" asked Jesse. I grinned. "Oh I found it while Lexi and I were arranging a Stephen Dorff movie night."

7 pillows were thrown at me. "What?"

We - Edge, Christian, The Hardyz, Billy, Jesse Kane and myself - were having what the guys called a movie& popcorn night.' Each person hired a movie, then wrote the movies name on a piece of paper and their own name on another piece. We then took it in turns to pull a name out of the bowl, that person then pulled a movie out of the hat. We continued till everyone fell asleep or we ran out of movies. Edge, Christian, the Hardyz and Kane had been part of one before, but none would say when or where. So far we'd worked our way through Mulan, ( Jesse's choice) Dirty Dancing (Matt - he's a romantic) and Willow (Billy has a thing for Val Kilmer).

After S.F.W. we watched 'Pitch Black' (Edge's other choice) then the Rocky Horror Picture Show, where each of us took a role and said or sang their lines. (In case anyone cares: Jeff - Frank, Jesse - Narrator, Kane - Riff Raff, Me - magenta, Edge - Janet, Matt - Brad, Christian - Dr Scott & Eddie, Billy - Columbia). After that insanity, we watched "The House on Haunted Hill" (Kane) before settling in to watch the last movie 'Never Talk to Strangers' (Christian).

By this stage, Billy had fallen asleep on Jesse's lap, Jeff was sprawled across the floor and Christian was dozing in an armchair, waking up every so often to announce "I'm not sleeping."

I was curled up in Kane's lap fighting sleep. I'd dozed through 'Pitch Black' and bits of 'House on Haunted Hill' I wanted to stay awake for the last movie, Antonio Banderas is a honey.

We watched the movie quietly. Everyone was winding down plus the boys had a PPV in about 14 hours.

"Has anyone seen this before?" Matt asked with a yawn. We all shook our heads. "Damn. I was hoping someone could tell me who it was."

Kane laughed. The movie was about a chick who was being stalked. I felt increasingly restless and uneasy, since we still had no idea who was stalking Tori.

"Matt wake up." I shook him gently, a about ten minutes later . "We're about to find out whodunnit."

Kane, Edge, Matt, Jesse and myself watched the screen in disbelief as the stalker was revealed. When the movie finished a few minutes later, I sat open mouthed, my exhausted mind working over time.

"Baby, are you ok?" Kane asked in concern. His words didn't register as the information processed. I leapt up and began pacing. "She was alone for several hours before the squirrel arrived. There's nobody who recalls seeing a delivery guy. Before the slashing Tori went back to her room - to get a necklace she said. All the notes were typed... and on her notepaper! I don't fucking believe it!"

Jesse and Edge looked at each other in concern. "Nita are you ok?"

"I'm fucking fine! Better than I've felt since all this bullshit started! Don't you get it? It all fits in - Sable threatened Tori when they were kids, the hate letters from the fans, Trish's threats.. oh christ the paranoia!" I stared from one blank face to another. I sigh and threw one of TJ's bottles - which are always in my bag - against the wall. It bounced back and hit Jeff on the head, who promptly sat up announced "It's not a fake ID officer, I swear!"

"Yes it was. Every fucking time." muttered Matt. We looked at Jeff for a second and then ignored him again. Kane stood up and gently stroked my hair with his large hands. "Darling, I think you've better calm down."

"No! Don't you get it? It's perfect - well not in a good way, but it's the only possible explanation!" I insisted vehemently. Kane pulled me close, rubbing my back. "What is Nita?"

"Tori is stalking herself!"

Nita and I visited Tori today. She's only getting worse. Last week she was edgy around us, but at least she recognised us. Today, as soon as she saw us, she panicked. She knew us from somewhere, but because she couldn't remember where, she refused to come near us. Her doctor, Dr. Anderson, told us that her deterioration was most likely offset by rumours of Sable returning to the WWF.

Nita sat down with me after our first visit and explained a few things to me. I knew that Tori and Sable didn't always get along, but I didn't realise how bad things were between them. Sable had tormented Tori when they were kids, and had made life hell for her when Tori joined the WWF. When Sable was fired, she vowed that Tori would pay - apparently she blamed her little sister for it.

I miss Tori. I miss her mischievous smile, her wild sense of fun. Dr Anderson said that there was a small chance she'll recover, but She'll never been the same woman again.

I thought I knew Tori. I thought we had a strong relationship. I was wrong. There so so much she didn't tell me and it hurts to know that Tori didn't trust me enough to confide in me.

I watch Nita and Kane together. They are what a strong relationships all about. They'll be the ones who make it through hell and high water. *They* are what it's all about. They'll get through everything that comes their way. I envy them.

I can understand why Nita's so well liked around the place. I thought Hunter was exaggerating about how wonderful she is at her job Without Nita's help, I wouldn't have made it through. After all she's done for me, I'd lay my life on the line for her or TJ without hesitation.

After all, I'm just a wrestler. Nita's been working miracles.