That Human Touch

When all the answers they don't amount to much

I limp back up the ramp, helped by Jackie, Trish and Lita and to the cheers of the fans, muttering and cursing Terri, Torrie, Ivory and Stacie under my breath. I can tell Jackie's trying not to laugh at my quiet little rant. I'll have to stick my elbow in her ribs once we get out of the way of the cameras. Just cause she's with Bradshaw and not only can she get away with swearing and cussing as much as she likes, it's expected that she does, but I'm good little Molly Holly who does as she's told and never -

On my right, Trish tenses up which is nothing to worry about, but when Jackie murmurs something in a sharp tone, my curiousity is piqued. I glance up and feel myself coming apart at the seams - figuratively speaking of course as my leg gives out from under me. "Raven."

Almost before I've hit the ground, he's got me cradled in his arms. The tenderness and strength in his arms as he carries me over to the bench reminds me of how we used to be. He sets me down gently, kneeling in front of me, his dark eyes boring intently into me. "What happened?"

"Suspected sprained ankle." Jackie tells him quickly, ignoring the look of death I shoot in her direction. Trish and Lita have bailed. Thanks girls. He gently grasps my ankle and pulls the leg of my pants up, then unlaces my boot. He has trouble getting it off and lightly put his hand on my knee. The sudden contact startles me and I flinch almost imperceptibly. Raven moves back so his weight is on his heels. "So I still have the same effect on you, huh?"

"Don't flatter yourself Raven." I snap, in an extremely rare display of anger. "I think I've hurt my knee."

"Who did this to you?" He asks in a voice so low I can barely hear him. I can't answer him. One, I didn't see what happened, just some blonde hair and two, Raven's got that look in his eyes that means the rest of the world has faded away for him. I'm the only thing he's aware of. That's why I'm so grateful when Jackie snaps "That little slut of yours."

"My whore?" He looks confused for a second, then hides a smile. "Oh... her."

"I've got her at Smackdown. No DQ match, everyone banned from ringside." Jackie continues. A pang of jealousy twists my stomach at the look on his face. His jaw is set as he nods. "I'll let her know."

"Let who know what?" A new voice joins in. Spike! He looks concerned. "Is everything all right?"

"Possible sprained ankle, sore knee." Jackie replies brusquely as I smile at him. Raven looks at Jackie in surprise and she flashes him a quick grin. I guess he didn't know that she doesn't like Spike any more than he does. "Come on Spike, let's go and get some medics."

She drags Spike out of the room and as soon as their gone, Raven starts laughing. I glare at him. "Wanna share the joke?"

"Just… this." He chuckles. "This whole situation."

"Well I'm glad you find my being injured by your slut humorous." I snarl, almost ready to cry. He shakes his head. "Terri's not my 'slut' Miss Molly."

"Like Tori wasn't your girlfriend? And don't call me that!"

"Casual sex does not equal a relationship sweetheart. Now if you'd called Tor my slut, then you'd be accurate. If you called Terri my friend or even just my valet, then you'd be accurate. But Tori was not my girlfriend and Terri is not my whore." Raven answers softly. 'And what am I?' I ask silently. Out loud, I ask "Why are you here?"

"When I saw you were hurt... I don't know. I just acted on instinct. I worry about you Moll." He reaches up and brushes a lock of hair off my face. I bit my lip and close my eyes. It's going to hurt me to say it a lot more than it's going to hurt him to hear it. "I'm not yours to worry about any more Raven."

I'm glad my eyes are still shut, because if I look at him now it'll kill me. I can feel the shift in his emotions and suddenly I'm scared. I'm sure Raven won't hurt me, but I'm not brave to find out for sure. Raven pulls away from me and I can sense he's trying to gain control of his temper. As I open my eyes, I can see someone signalling Raven. "RAVEN! You're up!"

"Coming!" He calls. Raven looks back at me, and I shrink back against the wall. "Just because we're not together any more, doesn't mean that your not mine and that I stopped caring. You left me remember?"

"NOW RAVEN!" shouts the irritated stagehand. Jackie comes rushing up. "Molly, Spike and the medics are on their way along with a concerned Chris Jericho. Raven, you are the last person who wants to cross him right now. Besides, they're about to start playing your music."

"Catch ya later Miss Molly." He smiles at me sadly, then heads through the curtain. Jackie grins at me "Well that was a nice surprise."

I hope she realises that if it wasn't for my ankle, I'd be beating the crap out of her right now.

~~~

I limp into my hotel room with a sigh, turning around to lock the door behind me and switching on the light. Turning back around, I see him sitting in my armchair. I bite back a scream and settle for throwing the walking stick that Lita insisted I use at him instead. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Now, now Miss Molly, that's no way to treat someone who's here to check up on you." Raven mocks, picking up the stick and standing up. His eyes glitter. "How are you?"

"As well as can be expected, considering I've got a severely sore and sprained ankle and my ex boyfriend managed to somehow get into my hotel room." I reply sharply. He steps towards me slowly. "How's your knee?"

"Fine."

"So that little shudder that ran from your scalp to your toes today wasn't one of pain." Too late I remember. I sigh and move forwards, forgetting about my ankle and putting my full weight on it. With a muffled cry of pain, I collapse to the ground. Once again he's there, holding me in his arms.

"Have you got ice?"

"Fridge." I gasp. He carefully lays me on the couch and makes up an ice pack. I reach for it, but Raven pulls my sock off and presses it against my ankle, chuckling at the look on my face as the cold icepack touches my bare skin. "You really don't have to do this."

"Well I am the reason you're laid up on the couch." He says sheepishly. I raise myself up on my elbows. "Start explaining or I'll start screaming."

"I spoke to Terri. She hit you across the knees from behind with a 2x4. Wanted to inflict a little pain on you for the pain you've inflicted on me." Raven avoids looking at me as he says this. "I explained a few things to her, told her about Jackie's challenge. She's not happy, but she'll live. Terri's going through some rough stuff at the moment, she's not thinking clearly."

"You're defending her?" I grind out angrily. He looks at me thoughtfully. "How would you feel if Spike ditched you for a cleaning appliance?"

I have no answer to that and he knows it. "There's nothing between us. She just needs a shoulder to lean on at the moment. Same for Steph."

"WHAT?" I shriek. He looks guilty. "Just thought I'd tell you before the rumours start flying. Stephanie is more in need of a friend than anyone I've ever met. We've spent most nights the last week just hanging out. She's been put through hell by someone close to her and it's getting to her."

"Oh." I don't know if I can trust him or not. I can't think of any reason for him to lie to me. But he could be lying by omission - after all, it's what happened with Tori. "What are you doing here Raven?"

"I just came to check on you. Make sure you were ok." I raise an eyebrow at him. He makes a noise of irritation. "I'm serious. Listen to me ok? Tonight, I was meant to go out there and kick Jericho's ass on behalf of my new friend Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley. That pretty boy destroyed me. You know why?"

"There is only one person in this world who can unsettle me without even trying. Just one look at her and my entire world falls apart. Sometimes I think that I'll die without her at my side, sometimes I can barely breathe for wanting her with me again." He looks into my eyes the whole time, voice remaining calm and steady. "I wake up in the middle of the night and roll over to hold her. My first reaction when I wake up each morning is panic because she's not there. I crave her, some nights, when I'm in that wonderful place between awake and asleep, I can almost feel her arms around me and hear her talking to me. I'm incomplete without her, when I'm with her I make her miserable and I love her so much it scares me."

"I know haven't been an easy person to be around, especially towards the end of it. I honestly don't know what happened, the only thing I can think of is that I drove you away and into his arms. It happens. I thought I was coping fairly well with it all. But then I saw you were hurt and it all hit me at once. I love you. I hate seeing you with that little runt. I want you back Moll, I'll do whatever it takes."

I bit my lip hard to stop myself from crying. I've been waiting to hear this, but when he joined the Alliance, I gave up hope. Now, I just... I don't know. He sits silently, while I struggle with my emotions. I love him; there's no question about that. There never has been. Eventually he stands up and moves away. I panic, thinking he's leaving. "Don't -"

"It's ok honey." He says softly. "I'm just putting the ice pack on the sink. I'm not going anywhere if you don't want me to."

If I don't want him to. It's all up to me now. I love him, there's never been any question about that. I just don't know if I can hurt Spike, he's always been there for me. "What... what about the Alliance?"

"You think that we'd be the only people involved in a cross-promotion relationship?" He grins at me. "Interrogate Lita about her current boyfriend. You might be surprised."

"You are incorrigible." I shake my head, trying not to smile. He sits on the couch where my upper body was previously laying. I lay down, resting my head on his legs, smiling as he strokes my forehead. "Yeah, but you love me for it."

"In spite of it." I correct him. "I love you in spite of it."

"Do you mean that?" He asks, looking at me intently. I nod. "I do. I love you."

"Leave Spike." There's a pleading note in his voice that I've never heard before. I couldn't resist it, even if I wanted to, which I don't. He keeps talking. "This won't be easy. But it'll be worth it. I promise you that Molly."

"I know baby. Just let me deal with Spike in my own way. That's all I'm going to ask." This is going to be tough. I want to explain it all to Spike, let him know what the story is. I don't want to hurt him, but I need Raven. It's that simple. We remain as we are, my head on his lap and him stroking my forehead for a while. We talk a bit, but mainly just enjoy the knowledge that the other is there. After a while, the electronic strains of 'Oops, I did it again..' break into the silence. I start laughing as I realise it's the ring tone on Raven's phone. He looks abashed, muttering "Bloody Terri" as he answers it. "Yeah? Yeah… oh yeah… yeah… oh… shit… ok… thanks, bye."

"What's wrong?" I ask, feeling a little frightened at the look on his face. He stands up and pulls on his leather jacket. "That was Terri. Someone saw me come here. Word's gotten around; Jericho's headed this way. I've got to go."

"Go through the next room. It's Lita's. She's out and we generally keep the doors unlocked in case of an emergency. You can go through there." I think out loud. He kisses me quickly as someone starts knocking on the door. "I love you. And I'm going out the front door. Just play along."

"I love you too! Don't be stupid!" I exclaim as he throws open the door to my room. Chris Jericho is standing there and he doesn't look happy. "What the hell are you doing here Raven?"

"Just came by the make sure Molly's ankle was ok." Raven answers smoothly. "I was in the back just after it happened and was a little worried. I'm sure you can relate to that Chris. Caring more than you want to about someone you really shouldn't?"

Jericho gapes at him in surprise. I bite my lip. Raven smiles at him coldly. "I know a lot more than you think. And I think it's quite hypocritical of you to attack me for doing what I'm willing to bet you've just come from doing. In fact, I have a feeling that's how you knew I was here. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go and comfort a close friend who I’m sure is currently feeling quite distressed. Goodbye."

I hide a smile as Raven pushes past a stunned Jericho and leaves. Chris looks at me and I shrug. "You started it. He finished it."

"Are you two back together?" He asks, crossing his arms and leaning against the doorframe. I hesitate. Technically, we're not, but... "I don't know. Nothing's black or white any more Chris. I'm sure you know that as well as I do."

"Yeah, it's a shitty position to be in." He runs a hand through his hair. "Can you give him a message for me? Can you tell him I know the truth about him and Steph, I'm sorry for being such an asshole and if he hurts her, I'll kill him?"

"Yeah I think I can let him know that." I reply, smiling. Chris nods. "Thanks."

He turns to leave. "Hey Molly?"

"Yeah?"

"That kill for hurting thing?"

"Yeah?"

"Same goes for you too kiddo."

He grins at me and heads off. I lay back down on the couch and laugh out loud. It's nice to have someone looking out for me.