Part 12:

From that moment on, Brian and I became as inseparable as Carm and Drew, but in a very different way. Whereas Carmen tried to charm her way into her fiancé's life, Brian and I became the best of friends. In a way, I'd have to say that he became the friend Shane no longer was. Don't get me wrong, Shane tried but he just had so little time, I couldn't expect him to give up that time for me.
And Brian and I had a lot in common. Our love of music was one. The minute he found out that I sang, the man went completely bonkers. We would spend hours talking about our favorite musicians. Once, Brian came up to me during rehearsal with an evil grin. I tried not to smile at him but I couldn't do it. In the ring, Shane frowned but shrugged it off.
"What's up little man?" I asked.
"There's a band I know in town. They do R&B and soul. And their singer's out with colds."
"What are you saying?"
"We drop by the bar at around five, do a sound check, come back here, do the show and duck out as soon as possible."
"And what do I do with my daughter?" I asked, pointing to Carmen who was hanging out with the rest of the DX crew.
"I'm sure Andrew or Jason wouldn't mind looking after her for one night. After all, you stay with her every night. You deserve a night off."
Just then, Shane called me out to take my position so I could run through my lines. Brian and I didn't hook up until the end of the rehearsal almost an hour and a half later. In the meantime, his idea had run its course and I was all for it.
"Jason," I asked my ex, as he sat with the rest of the posse, "can I ask you for a favor?"
"Depends," he grinned at me.
"Do you think that you could look after Carm tonight? After the show, I mean?"
"Why?"
"I just thought I might do something adult tonight."
"What?" I felt like a kid asking permission to go out on a school night.
"Come on Jason... I mean, ever since we've been on the road, I've had to look after her full time. I thought part of the agreement was that you'd look after her too."
"I know, I know. I'll do it. I was just wondering what you were going to do, that's all."
"Well, sweet stuff, that's for me to know..."
"And me to find out?" he asked hopefully.
"I didn't say that," I giggled, walking away.
At four thirty, when I went to get Brian at the DX locker room, Stephanie was in there too. While the guys and Joanie were playing video games, she sat on a couch, not doing much of anything. I barely spared her a glance and cleared my throat.
"Oh Brian darling," I said, "it's time."
"All right, guys, gotta go. I'll catch up with you at the hotel."
"Where are the two of you off to?" asked Paul.
Brian and I didn't answer. We just took off. When we were in his car, on the way to the bar, I had to take several deep breaths to stop my heart from pounding right out of my chest.
"I'm so excited," I whispered to him, "I haven't sang since... well before Carm's birth. She's the only one I still sing to. And Steve and Shane too, sometimes."
"I remember hearing you at the New Year's Eve party with the Mean Street Posse. You guys have a good sound."
"Thanks. I mean, for a college band, I guess we did a fairly good job."
"Yeah."

The sound check went off without a hitch. Brian and I sang together as if we'd been meant to do so. It was freaky but it felt so good. I was so surprised by him. As far as I knew, he was a rapper, and a good one at that, and I never thought he could sing like that. I mean, underneath the braids, there was a crooner, a good one, and a charming one too. He would wink at me from his side of the stage, making all the butterflies go away.

Later, at the show, I showed up with the new dress I'd bought for our second gig. It was light blue, strapless and it looked a bit like a 1940s torch singer's dress. I went on as usual, kicked a little DX ass and then, I went backstage and asked the WWF hairdresser to curl my hair, à la Rita Hayworth. While she worked on my hair, Stephanie came in.
"What are you doing?" she asked.
"I'm getting my hair done," I answered.
"Why? You already went on. What do you need your hair done for?"
I didn't answer. I wasn't in a mood to. I was having too good a day to let her ruin it. She stayed there for a minute, expecting an answer from me (IDIOT!), and then she stalked off, all angry. I shrugged. I was too nervous about tonight to let her ruin it for me.
I found Carm in the Mean Street Posse dressing room. She was sitting on the floor between Pete and Rodney, doing a puzzle.
"All right honey," I said, "I have to get going."
"Okay," she said, coming to me for a hug.
"You'll be good for Daddy?"
"Do I have to be?"
"Mmmm," I teased her for a moment, "not really."
"Good."
For the second time of the day, I went to get Brian from the DX locker room. When I got there this time, Stephanie wasn't quite as idle as she'd been earlier. She was involved in an argument with Joanie and I could tell she was losing.
"I didn't touch his butt on purpose!"
"Yeah right! Listen, you might be Vince's little girl but get this straight... you keep your paws off my man!"
"Or what?"
Joanie didn't say anything. All she had to do was stare down Stephanie and believe you me, the bitch was scared. She backtracked to the doorway and bumped right into me.
"What the fuck are you doing here?"
"First off, watch your language! And number two: none of your damn business!"
Stephanie rushed out into the hall. Just then, Brian came out of the bathroom, looking better than I'd ever seen him in a nice pair of dark blue slacks and a white shirt.
"All right guys," he said to his friends. "See you in the morning."
"Are you two going out on a date or something?" called out Monty after us.
"Maybe," teased Brian as we walked away.
Brian ushered me to his car and we were off. By the time we got to the club, it was still pretty much empty. After all, it was only nine thirty. We went backstage and while I changed in the backroom, Brian met up with the guys from the band, I did my make-up, going heavy on the eye make-up and the dark red lipstick. Then, I pulled hair away from one side of my face with a tortoiseshell comb and let the perfectly styled curled hair fall down on my shoulders. With the dress on and the matching light blue shoes, I looked fantastic. And when the guys saw me and started whistling in appreciation, I just knew I looked fantastic.
At eleven o'clock, we went on. While Brian and I waited for our cue from backstage, he rubbed the small of my back.
"You know what, you look drop-dead gorgeous tonight."
"Thanks," I whispered back, my eyes on the band as they settled in.
"Breathe," he instructed, "relax and breathe."
Next thing I knew, we were out there. Brian introduced us and made a couple of jokes about my having stage fright. In my mind, I came up with a great comeback but my mouth was frozen. Then, the music started and we both started swaying to the music together. The first part of the show was some sort of review of Nat 'King' Cole. We started off with The Very Thought of You. It was great. It was so different from singing with the guys. It wasn't better but good. We finished the first set with the classic Unforgettable and scurried backstage.
"Wow!" said the bandleader as we settled into the backstage area, "you guys are good. As a matter of fact, what would the two of you say to a full time gig?"
"Don't tempt me," I giggled.
"Hey, you guys are really packing it in," said the club manager, coming into the small dressing room.
"Really?"
"We've got a full house out there. Okay, half of them are only drinking water but they're drinking lots of it."
"What are you talking about?"
"Your friends," he explained, looking at Brian and I.
"What friends?"
"From the WWF. They're all out there."
I looked at Brian, feeling somewhere between disappointed and pleased. How? I mouthed silently to him. He shrugged his ignorance at me and I tried to shake it off. Whereas Brian had sung through most of the first set, crooning the hits of Nat Cole, I would have to take on the weight of the second set. I was going to go through the hits of the top women of R&B and soul, mainly Aretha Franklin and Tina Turner. As a last minute thing, I'd stuffed a pair of tight black leather pants into my bag along with a shiny green tank top. I changed into them quickly and then I asked the band for a favor.
When we came back out, I'd unbraided Brian's hair andhe'd taken off his suit jacket, also undoing the top buttons of his shirt. When we started moving together to the stirring beats of Tina's version of Proud Mary, the crowd went wild. We kept them on their feet with our variations of various Aretha and Tina hits like Spanish Harlem. While Brian sang about R-E-S-P-E-C-T, I went backstage to prepare and came back out for kick-ass rendition of Tina's River Deep, Mountain High. I gave it my all and when I got backstage, I fell into Brian's arms with a sigh of relief. I quickly kissed his mouth and as his arms tightened around me, there was a snicker behind us.
"So this is what you two were up to," said the whiny voice of Ms. McMahon.

Part 13:

Brian didn't even make a half-hearted attempt at listening to Stephanie's babble. He pressed his fingers to her face, effectively pushing her out of the room while he kept his free arm around my waist. I followed his lead, keeping my back to Steph. Once the door slammed shut on the youngest McMahon, and the rest of the world, I looked at Brian.
He was suddenly so serious, his hair curling around his face. His eyes shone brightly into mine and before I could even take a breath, his lips came down on mine. Wow! I'd never expected his lips tobe so soft. And not only that but his mouth tasted sweet, just like Juicy Fruits. I loved Juicy Fruits. And then, underneath that, there was the taste of him. Oh lord, he tasted so good, so sweet. Well, not sweet-sweet, but sweet like he was sweet, you know. He tasted good, manly. Our tongues danced together until we were both out of breath.
I sagged back against the door and ran my tongue over my swollen lips. I could still taste him on me and instantly made up my mind not to refresh my lipstick. That way, I'd be able to taste him all night long.
"That was nice," he whispered into the crook of my neck.
"I agree." I so did agree.
"So?"
"I don't know... let's go slow?"
"How slow?"
"Well, I enjoyed the kissing part... a lot. And the singing... I loved the singing too."
"So we'll work on those."
"And... well, let's leave it at that for now, okay?"
"Sounds good to me too."
After another kiss that left my knees shaking, Brian and I went to collect our stuff and joined the wrestlers Stephanie had dragged along with her. We were welcomed by thunderous applause and I squeezed Brian's hand that much more.
"You guys were great," said Shane, hugging me.
"Thanks."
"Why didn't you tell us about tonight?" he asked me, drawing me away from the group.
"I don't know. First of all, it was somewhat unexpected and I was kind of afraid we'd bomb or something."
"Well, you didn't. So tell me, you and Brian..."
"I don't know," I blushed. "It might be nothing."
"But..."
"... It could be something," I completed for him.
"Right. And besides, Brian's a nice guy."
"I know."
After we got through all the compliments and the comments, Brian and I went to the almost deserted dance floor and started swaying to the mellow sounds of Duke Ellington. I heard the whispers from our friends but I was past caring.
It felt so good to be in someone's arms again. I allowed myself to sag against his body and he let me. It felt heavenly. For the first time in ages, I finally stopped feeling as if the world weighted on my shoulders. I moved into his embrace and tightened the hold of my arms around him.
"What gives?" he asked softly.
"I'd forgotten how good this felt," I explained to him.
"What?"
"Being in someone's arms again."
"How long has it been? Since you've been held, I mean."
"A bit before Carmen was born I think."
I flashed back to the last time I'd been held. I was still pregnant with Carmen. I'd had a violent mood swing while Steve and I had been watching videos on VH-1. He hated VH-1 but for my sake, he put up with it. Suddenly, I forget why, I got up, started ranting and raving and ended up throwing a crystal vase against the wall. When I realized what I'd done, I stopped and looked at the broken shards on the floor, at the dent in the wall. And then I started to cry, again. Steve didn't say anything, he just held me in his arms, big belly and all, and we started moving around the living room, in time to whatever was playing on TV... something by George Michael, I think. It had felt so good. I sighed and settled my head against Brian's chest.
"Where we you just now?" asked Brian, lifting my chin up to his.
"Texas," I said softly.
"What?"
"Too complicated," I chuckled.
He laughed and held me closer to him, his hands cupping my butt. He gave it a couple of squeezes and I gasped. "Liked that, didn't you?" he asked, his mouth close to my ear.
"I got to say, it was kind of nice."
"Good... I intend on giving you plenty of nice feelings."

That night, when Brian dropped me off at my room, I realized that I didn't want him to go. I wanted him to spend the night.
"Do you want to come in?" I asked. "For coffee or a nightcap?" he asked carefully.
"No," I said slowly. "For more."
By the grin that split his handsome face, I could tell he wanted this as much as I did. And in case he wasn't quite sure I wanted this, I reached down between his legs and gave his crotch a squeeze.
"What about Carmen?" he croaked as I licked his jaw while I fumbled for my key in my jacket pocket.
"She's with her dad."
"So we have all night?"
"We have all night."
The moment we got the door closed, the two of us turned into animals, I swear to God we did. My tank top and my underwear certainly didn't survive the encounter. We bit into each other, we nipped at each other, we kissed, we fucked and we made love. When he finally came deep inside of me, I couldn't help but let out a long, high pitched scream. I hadn't been... you know... oh this is so embarrassing... I can't believe I'm saying this, but anyways, I hadn't been with a man, in that way, since... well, the night before I walked out on Jason, almost six years ago now. Somehow, I'd forgotten how good sex could be.
"Well," chuckled Brian as he rolled off me, "I don't think there's anyone in this hotel that doesn't know what we were up too."
"Was I that loud?" I asked, blushing.
"You were wonderful," he answered, gathering me into his arms.
"Was I really?"
"Oh hell yeah."
It was strange, hearing him say that. It made me think of Steve, out of nowhere. Steve. I wondered what he would think of me and Brian together.
I was tired and I ended up falling asleep in Brian's arms. He woke me up with wonderful kisses all over my body. I responded eagerly to his lovemaking. God, was that man ever talented! Just when he'd promised me a heavenly massage in the shower, there was some knocking at the door. I slid on a robe and rushed to answer. Jason was there, a crying Carmen in his arms. The moment my daughter saw me, she reached out to me.
"What's wrong?" I asked both her and her father.
"She woke up from a nightmare," Jason explained to me, stroking his daughter's hair as she kept on crying. "And I couldn't calm her down."
"Okay. Carmen, Carmen," I called to her, "are you okay?"
Carmen didn't answer, she just buried her face into my neck. I walked to the couch while I talked softly to her. I felt her fall asleep in my arms and I laid her down on the couch, covering her with a blanket. When I turned around, I realized that Jason had followed me into the hotel room. I hadn't expected that. I wanted him to get out before... well, you know why I wanted him to get out.
"Is she okay?"
"She'll be fine. Nightmares make her nervous, that's all."
"I see."
Jason was fidgeting, hopping from one foot to the other, as if he was trying to say something.
"Yes?" I asked, raising an inquisitive eyebrow.
"Well, I was just wondering..."
"What?"
"What did you do last night?"
"It's not really any of your business," I teased him, "but since your girlfriend got into my business and told everyone about it, I figure you might as well know too."
"So?"
"Brian and I sang with a band last night."
"Really? How did it go?"
"It went fairly well. Actually, there's something else you should know..."
And right on time, as if he was waiting for me to get to that sentence, Brian turned on the shower. Jason looked at me strangely. I could tell he felt a bit betrayed, a bit jealous and definitely shocked. I didn't know what to say. I was an adult, I didn't have to explain myself. But we did have a child together.
"You brought someone back to your room?"
"Jason, it's not what you..."
"You left your daughter with me so you could hook up with some guy?"
"Jason, it's not like you and I are still together..."
"Danny, we have a child together."
"Say Danny, are you going to wash my back?" Brian asked coming out of the shower.
Oh yeah, timing is everything.
"Him? You left your daughter for him?" asked Jason, pointing at Brian, who at least had a towel wrapped around his waist.
"First off, she's our daughter Jason, not just mine. I might have custody but she's your daughter too. Second of all, who died and made you my father? I can be with whoever I want and you've got nothing to say about it."
"I'll just get dressed and go," said Brian, heading for the bathroom.
"No," I said, turning to him with a smile, "I'd like for you to stay and for Jason to leave."
"I'm taking our daughter with me then," he said moving toward the couch.
"I don't think so," I said, stepping in his way. "Jason, I think you'd better leave right now. We need to talk but not right now."
A scowl shadowing his features, Jason stalked out of the room. Carmen had remained oblivious to all the shouting and had just slept through it all. Brian came to my side and gently squeezed my arm.
"How are you doing?" he asked as I turned around to him.
"I'm going to be okay. As soon as I explain a few things to Jason."
"All right. I'll catch you for breakfast then," he said, picking his pants up off the floor.
"Uh, where are you going?" I asked him, snatching the pants out of his hands and pushing him toward the bathroom.
"Back to my room," he explained, his eyes going wide as he watched me lock the bathroom door behind us.
"Why?"
"I don't remember."
"Do you remember this?" I asked, kissing him.
"Yeah..."
"Good."
Brian and I finally managed to make it into the tub and I was trying to adjust the water flow, with his erection pressing into my backside when there was a knock at the locked door.
"Mommy!"
"Yes Carmen," I answered, wincing as I bumped the back of my head into Brian's mouth.
"Phone call, it's uncle Shane."
"Damn it!" I hopped out of the tub and opened the door, shielding my body with the thick wood panel.
"Give me the phone sweetheart."
"Mommy," Carmen asked as she handed the phone, "whose pants are on the living room floor?"
"Mine," I lied, "now, go back to sleep. Yes Shane?"
"Yes Danny," said Shane on the other end of the line, "whose pants are on the living room floor?"
"Never mind Shane," I snapped.
"Could they belong to Mr. Oh you didn't know?"
"Shane, I'm guessing there's a purpose to this call?"
"Yes. Get your beautiful ass to my suite A.S.A.P."
"Why?"
"I've got a surprise for you."
"Shane, I'm kind of busy here."
"You'll get back to that later."
"I was referring to Carmen, dumb ass."
"I wasn't. You've got ten minutes. And shower. I don't want you coming in here smelling like you've just had sex."

Eight minutes later, I was pulling on a pair of black track pants and a matching tee shirt when Brian came out of the shower.
"Are you sure you don't mind?" I asked him. "If she wakes up..."
"Listen, your daughter likes me... she thinks I'm funny. If anything goes wrong, I'll bring her to Shane's room."
"Thanks." I quickly kissed him on the mouth and took off, my running shoes in my hands.
If I'd been dealing with Shane, my college buddy and best friend, I wouldn't have been in such a hurry. But I was dealing with Shane, the boss and Vince McMahon's son, and I didn't want to get on his bad side. I got to his room with forty seconds to spare and I used that time to pull on my shoes. Just then, the door opened and Shane smiled down at me.
"I love punctuality in a woman," he teased me.
"So what's the big emergency?" I asked, coming into his suite.
Right away, I noticed two people seating on a couch. I was a bit thrown off, and curious. Who else would wake up so early for the Boy Wonder?
"Danny, I'd like to introduce you to two of the WWF's superstars."
The people on the couch turned around to face me and my jaw kind of dropped. It was Lexi and Shawn Michaels. Lexi was a kick ass kind of woman who'd been romantically tied to the Rock for a while but then, she'd kind of dropped off the face of the earth. I knew that she was still on the WWF roster but where she was, no one knew. Until now, that is. Now, I knew, Shane knew and Shawn Michaels knew. God, that man was a wet dream on legs. Cocky as ever and with reason; he had a body that could start wars.
"Lexi Sraven and Michael Hickenbottom," I said, shaking their hands, "it's an honor to meet you both."
"Thanks," said Lexi, smiling at me, "it's nice to meet you too."
"It's nice meeting you too," said the Heartbreak Kid, winking at me, "but please, call me Mike."
"No problem."
Shane grinned at me and pushed me to the couch facing the one where Lexi and Mike were sitting.
"Now that we've all been introduced," he chuckled, "let's get down to business. Danny, can you keep a secret? From everyone? Including your new boy-toy?"
"Yes," I glared at him. "Why?"
"No one knows I brought these two back. Dad put me in charge of coming up with a storyline that would effectively end the McMahon-Helmsley era. And with these two, I can see that happening."
"Interesting. Tell me more."
"First off, Mike's back injury is no longer a concern. He was in Germany for the past couple of months. He went through some kind of complicated surgery and his back is as good as new."
"I've been working with him," grinned Lexi, "I can guarantee that he's as good as new."
"And then some," added Mike, running his hand up and down her muscular thigh.
These two were together, I thought with a private smile. What a couple! Much better than HHH and Stephanie could ever be.
"Keep your mind on business Sexy Boy!" scolded Lexi with a smile.
"Right," agreed Shane. "Now, as The Enforcer, every once in a while, you're going to need someone to have your back. That's where Lexi and Mike come in. But no one will ever know who they are. They come in from the crowd, kick DX ass and disappear. Dressed in black from head to toe, including face masks."
"Good," I said, rubbing my hands together, "this is going to be very good."

It was the final match of tonight's edition of RAW: the Rock vs. HHH. The Enforcer was keeping DX and Stephanie at bay, making sure the title bout remained as fair as possible. But suddenly, out of nowhere, Mosh and Thrasher came out of the crowd and managed to give The Rock, who was close to winning, a chair shot on the head. The moment Tara turned to the ring, DX ran down the ramp and while the Headbangers and HHH had a field day in the ring with the People's Champion, for the very first time since her arrival, Tara started losing to DX.
She was doing her very best to put up a good fight, landing a solid kick in the X-Pac family jewels and a solid elbow to the Badd Ass face. Finally, Tara came face to face with Jesse James. It was an interesting confrontation: The Enforcer vs. The Road Dogg. They were almost the same height, had the same, somewhat arrogant and cocky, attitude. But that was where the difference ended. Where he fought for the bad, she was clearly a warrior of good.
Tara walked up to Jesse, running her hands up and down her hips and when she got right in his face, she perfectly mimicked his rapid series of punches, even doing the little dance before the final punch that brought him to his knees. The Enforcer was about to climb back into the ring to help out the Rock but she was dragged out by the Mean Street Posse. Things were going from bad to worse.
Until two figures dressed in black from head to toe appeared out of nowhere and started making mincemeat out of the posse. Kicks and punches flew from the figures who apparently knew exactly what they were doing. Finally, the area surrounding the ring was empty of McMahon-Helmsley supporters able to put up a fight, except for the screeching Stephanie, but she wasn't worth much anyways.
Tara gave her two unknown allies a quick look and slid into the ring to help out the Rock. She tapped Mosh on the shoulder and when he turned around, she punched him out. In the meantime, she saw her two friends pounce on HHH and Thrasher until the ring was empty, except for a slowly recovering Rock. The Enforcer snapped her fingers for a mike.
"And the winner, by DQ, The People's champion, The Rock."
The crowd went wild, as HHH, accompanied by his wife and cohorts, slowly made his way up the ramp. He turned around and shouted at Tara.
"This isn't over yet! It's not over!"
Just as Tara turned around to thank her allies, she realized they had disappeared into the crowd. She helped the Rock to his feet and watch him leave the ring, angry for needing help.
"To those who helped me," she said into the mike, "thank you, whoever you are."

Part 15:

During the next couple of weeks, before the No Way Out PPV, whenever Tara looked like she was in danger of getting her ass kicked by DX, her two unknown allies would appear, reinforcing the work of The Enforcer. Until the last RAW before No Way Out.
HHH strutted out to the ring, sans wife, and snapped his fingers for a mike. While the chants of asshole filled the arena, J.R. and Lawler commented on the two figures in black.
"We have no idea who they are King, all we know for sure is that they have made their stand, and they're certainly not going to help out the man in the ring, The Game, Hunter Hearst Helmsley."
"Well, I can tell you this J.R., they're making a big mistake. Who's going to stand against HHH? I mean, how stupid can you be?"
"Well, The Enforcer does stand for law and order in the WWF. How wrong can it be to go with that?"
Finally, the chants died down and HHH was able to speak.
"Tara, Enforcer, come out here, I've got to talk to you. And don't waste any of my time either. I've got a company to run. Time is money!"
On the Titantron, there was an image of Tara in her dressing room, pulling on her wrestling boots. She looked at her monitor and shrugged.
"Kind of busy right now Hunter," she said, "give me five minutes okay?"
"No! Now!"
"Right. I'm going to run down the halls and trip all over myself? I don't think so."
"Get your ass here now or you're f..."
"Fired? I think you forgot that you can't fire me," said Tara, finally pulling her black pants over her boots.
"Damn it, I haven't got all night. Get your ass here now!"
"Be right there," she finally said, "don't get your panties in a bunch!"
While Hunter paced around in the ring, the lights went off and Tara's music came on. When the lights came back on, Tara was sitting on one of the top turnbuckles, behind him.
"Where the hell are you?" thundered Hunter.
"Right behind you baby!"
Hunter spun around, his eyes aflame.
"All right, I've had enough of you and of your interference."
"I feel for you darling, I really do. But there's not a damn thing I want to do about it!"
"Oh, you will do something about it," said Hunter, coming face to face with Tara, trying to intimidate her with his brawn and his height. "Or you might not walk out of this ring in one piece."
"Try me," she taunted, "just try me, you overgrown bully!"
"Oh, I'll try you all right. And this time, it's not your friends waiting in the wings, it's my friends."
And out of the crowd, the way Edge, Christian and Tara's allies usually made their entrance, appeared the rest of DX, including Stephanie and Tori. Tara was definitely outgunned but she didn't seem to care.
"Oh Lord," she said, looking at Stephanie, "it's the little wife. Hi Steph!"
"Don't play with me Tara," screeched Stephanie, "I'm not in the mood for your crap!"
"Oh, no crap today Steph. I was actually offering to help you out."
"What are you talking about?"
"First off the outfit: I mean Steph, a leopard skin miniskirt with a long sleeved yellow sweater? Come on. And how come you're not wearing a bra?"
The crowd went wild, as did Stephanie, trying to lunge at Tara, tripping over her clunky K-Mart heels. Tara deftly stepped out of the way while HHH tried to hold on to his wife. Displaying her magnificent athletic ability, The Enforcer flipped herself over the top rope and lightly landed on the ground, running to the ramp, giggling at the dumbfounded DX.
"Enough, I've had enough," screamed HHH, "tonight, it all ends tonight!"
"What ends tonight?"
"You, your reign as The Enforcer. Tonight, you find three partners for a match against me and the rest of DX. If you lose, you're no longer The Enforcer."
"Interesting. Guys, in the back, anybody want to take on DX with me?"

NO CHANCE, THAT'S WHAT YOU GOT! NO CHANCE IN HELL!

Shane McMahon walked out, getting an incredibly vocal response from the crowd.
"I'll take on DX with you Tara. Anything to show my brother-in-law and my sister how much I love them."
"Thanks Shane. I just need two more partners."

CAN YOU SMELL WHAT THE ROCK IS COOKING?

And out came the Rock, still wearing tan trousers and a black Brahma Bull shirt, his glasses covering his eyes.
"Tara, Enforcer, whatever you want to be called, a few weeks ago, you helped out the Rock when DX tried to kick my ass. So tonight, the Rock's going to pay back his debt to you. And I'll be happy to kick some DX ass."

TEST, TEST, TEST, THIS IS A TEST!

Still somewhat sore at the Stephanie-Hunter union, Test came out, wearing a frown.
"I never thanked DX for ruining my nose," he said, "so Tara, you have me as a fourth."
"Well Hunter, challenge met and accepted. Can't wait to kick some DX ass."

After DX left the ring, Tara stayed behind to make sure everything went along properly. She'd just stopped Hardcore and Crash Holly from interfering in the match featuring The Acolytes and The Dudleys when an image appeared on the Titantron.
It showed Test in his dressing room, sitting there playing a video game. Suddenly, the Headbangers, who'd just lost a match to the Hardy Boyz, burst into his dressing room and started beating him, hitting him in the face mostly. By the time Tara got there, the EMTs were already rolling the young giant away! Tara was seen punching the wall in anger while Shane stood by, evidently trying to calm her down.
Then, there was a shot of the DX dressing room where the DX members were seen laughing their heads off at Test's predicament. After making sure that security on Rock and Shane was doubled, Tara made her way back to the ring, her features somber.
"Things are certainly not looking good for Tara's match against DX. One of her teammates, Test, was just savagely beaten by the Headbangers, probably on orders from HHH and Stephanie."
"Now J.R., you can't go around making accusations like that. After all, who knows what makes those crazy Headbangers tick? Hunter and Stephanie probably have nothing to do with it."
"And you're probably not a brown-nosing jackass," muttered J.R.

During Christian's match against D'Lo Brown, there was some commotion and a WWF employee ran down the ramp to Tara. He whispered something in her ear and she quickly followed him. As the match ended in a victory for the Godfather's apprentice, cameras went out to the parking lot, where a car was seen, the front wrapped around a street light. The airbag filled the front of the car and EMTs carefully eased a gravely injured Shane McMahon from behind his seat.
This time, when Tara's anger exploded, she slammed her fist through the back window.

After the commercial break, Kevin Kelly got ready for an interview with Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley. Before the wife of HHH got a chance to speak, Tara appeared, her eyes shining brightly.
"You enjoying this? Are you having fun here? Your brother could have died in that accident, you dumb whore! Is that what you wanted? Is this what you were after?"
"Hey, I didn't plan to hurt Shane. He was careless and got himself into that accident."
"God, you are such a bitch!" said Tara before storming off.

Finally came time for the main event. DX came out, sluts in tow. HHH did his usual little strut around the ring and then the Road Dogg came out and did his whole little spiel. But for once, for the first time in a very long time, he got very little crowd response. The DX heel turn was complete.
Tara's music started, and out she came, wearing a green tunic that was a perfect match for her eyes. Her blond hair hung down her back, most of it tucked behind her ears. Her hands had been bandaged after planting her fist through that window. She patiently waited for The Rock to make his appearance and when he did, she sent him a smile that conveyed a confidence she was far from feeling. The two of them were just starting to make their way down the ramp when out of nowhere, a big hand went around the Rock's neck.
The people's champion was summarily plucked off his feet and thrown off the ramp down to the unforgiving concrete floor ten feet below. Tara didn't waste any time and she made quick work of the Big Show, punishing him for his interference with a series of kicks to the head that made him stagger to his feet and then fall to the ground face first.
"So this was your plan Hunter?" asked Tara. "Let me choose my partners and then take them out one by one?"
"Well, I like evening the odds."
"Of course you do. After all, DX needs all the help it can get defeating one tiny little woman."
Tara turned her back on DX and started walking up the ramp.
"Not so fast," said Stephanie. "You clearly didn't read the fine print. If you walk away from this match, you walk away from everything."
"You can't fire me!"
"Yeah, but if you walk out of here without winning this match, that's as good as quitting."
Tara stood on the ramp, her hands flexing in anger. Her green eyes blazed with the same anger that had blazed in her eyes the first time she'd come to the ring of WWF business. But tonight might be her last night.
"Fine, I'll stay and fight. And even if I have to face you alone, I'll kick DX's ass all over the place and then Steph, then, I'm coming after you!"

Part 16:

Tara stood on the ramp, alone, gearing herself for her upcoming match when she heard a voice from the top of the ramp.
"Well, you're in luck Tara, because we'll take on DX with you."
The Enforcer turned around and saw her unknown allies, clad in black from head to toe.
"Thanks. But before I take you up on that offer, I'd like to see your faces."
The two people at the top of the ramp exchanged what seemed to have been a grin and the first one took off the hood masking his features. The familiar sounds of Sexy Boy filled the crowded arena, bringing the thousands in the attendance to their feet, not to mention the millions at home. It was the return of the Heartbreak Kid.
Then, his partner took off her hood too and it was one hell of an added bonus. Lexi stood beside Shawn. Whereas most fans knew that Shawn had taken time off to his divorce to the woman known as The Whore, no one knew what had happened to Lexi. She had been a fan favorite, when she'd tagged with Rock, going up against Chyna and HHH, or the Outlaws. But then, when her and Rock came very close to getting the Tag belts, Lexi had dropped off the face of the earth. No one knew why she had left, but every day, her loyal fans sent mail, electronic and snail, to the WWF, asking for her return. And now, they got their wish.
"King, it's the Heartbreak Kid and Lexi's with him," hollered J.R. into his mike. "Both of them have been gone for months."
"Yeah, and it looks like they're both ready to fight."
The attention went back to the ring when DX was waiting, shocked by the appearance of their old partner in crime.
"Shawn," asked Hunter, "you thinking of going up against DX?"
"Nope. I'm going up against an asshole, his slutty wife and the idiots who follow them!"
Crowd response to Shawn's answer shook the building all the way up to the rafters.
"You guys are still short a partner," said Steph, taking over for her obviously shocked husband, "and Tara, I think you've just about run out of friends here."
"Ya'd think so, ya dumb bitch!"
The voice, and the vocabulary, was one that no one could mistake. It was a voice most fans hadn't heard since Halftime Heat during the Superbowl.
"Stone Cold, Stone Cold, Stone Cold," yelled J.R., "it's the return of the Rattlesnake."
As if to confirm J.R.'s words, the Stone Cold music started, complete with the sound of breaking glass. Stone Cold Steve Austin appeared, wearing a pair of cutoff blue jeans and his black leather vest. Tara walked up to him, her confidence suddenly restored.
"Is this what I think this is?" she asked him.
"Oh hell yeah! I've been sitting at home watching that dumb son of a bitch run his mouth, prance around and order the stupidest matches ever and I'm damn tired of it!"
"Have you now," grinned Tara.
"Now, if y'all wanna see Stone Cold and friends kick some DX ass, give me a hell yeah!"
"HELL YEAH!" shouted back the crowd.
"Well DX, looked like I've got my four."
"You've got two cripples and a woman," scoffed HHH, "you think you have a chance?"
"Listen Goldilocks," said Lexi, finally grabbing a mike, "Tara can kick some serious DX ass all by herself. This is just fun for us. So now, you ready to shut the fuck up and fight?"
"Bring it on!"
The four challengers rushed the ring, Tara going after X-Pac, Lexi after Road Dogg, Shawn after Badd Ass and Stone Cold after HHH.
"This isn't a wrestling match," said J.R. as Stephanie and Tori cowered beside the ring, "it's an all-out brawl!"
From the outside of the ring, Steph and Tori tried to interfere by giving X-Pac a steel chair but Tara made the intercept. After slamming the chair in the smallest DX member's gut, she jumped out of the ring, kicked Tori in the stomach and backhanded Stephanie so hard that HHH's wife fell to the ground, holding a hand to her burning cheek.
"I guess that's what Tara meant when she told Stephanie she was going to take care of her," said J.R. somberly.
"I hope this turns into a catfight," said Lawler, "because you know what that means J.R."
"Let me guess, something to do with puppies?"
"Yeah, but in Lexi and Tori's case, it looks more like Bulldogs or Dobermans."
Finally, the referee managed to get order in the ring while Lexi and Badd Ass went at it. Although Lexi was shorter, she was probably as strong as Billy and as good a wrestler. She held her own for quite a while, succeeding in ripping off his green mesh shorts, leaving him to wrestle in his black g-string. But finally DX got the advantage when Billy bodyslammed her into the DX corner, making the tag to X-Pac. The littlest degenerate kicked Lexi's middle numerous times and set her up for his Broncobuster.
As X-Pac backed up to get a running start, Shawn Michaels reached out, grabbed the wet mop of black hair and pulled on it hard, making the Broncobuster expert fall flat on his back. While the ref babbled on and on about inappropriate behavior in the ring, the rest of DX secured Lexi in the corner, making sure she wouldn't be able to get out of position for X-Pac's move.
When X-Pac finally regained his senses and started hopping from one foot to the next and doing crotch chops in preparation, Lexi started coming to just in time to see the little man in green and black head for her. She didn't have the time to raise her leg to counter the Broncobuster, but she did manage something much more heinous, and so much more hateful. She bit. Don't worry, she didn't go for anything essential. She bit his inner thigh. But no one knew that except for biter and bitee.
"Well, I guess Tori's going to be quite lonely for the next couple of weeks," commented King gleefully. "Maybe I can offer my services."
"I doubt that even Tori goes that low."
In shock, HHH, Badd Ass and Road Dogg let go of the young woman. Most of the males watching the match winced in horror while Tara cheered on. Even Steve and Shawn moved around uncomfortably. Pushing X-Pac off her, showing off a satisfied smile, Lexi walked to her corner where she tagged in Tara. They threw a weakened X-Pac into the ropes and while he ran back into their directions, both of them looked at their fingernails and shook their heads in approval.
"NAILS," they cried together. And they raked the poor man's chest with their sharpened talons, making him stumble to his knees from the unexpected pain.
The rest of the match pretty much went that way for DX. They were completely dominated by Tara and her allies. And every time Stephanie and Tori tried to intervene in DX's favor, Tara and Lexi made them regret it.
Shawn Michaels had just super-kicked his former buddy, HHH, and was about to cover him but then he looked at Tara in his corner. Leaving an insensate HHH in the middle of the ring, Shawn went over to Tara and tagged her.
"You deserve to show him who's boss."
Tara got into the ring and walked around HHH, who couldn't even manage to stand up straight. She pulled him to his feet and walked around him, as if she was trying to figure out what to do. Then she got a strange smile on her face. So first, she punched him, à la Road Dogg. Then, she did a Fam-Asser. Not one to forget the little X-Pac, she then did a beautiful x-factor. While the rest of DX protested and threatened to go into the ring to rescue their leader, Lexi, Shawn and Steve made short work of their objections.
Finally, Tara put HHH's head between her legs (author's note: LUCKY GIRL!), hooked her hands around his elbows and executed his own finishing move: the Pedigree. And then she covered him. While the referee counted all the way to three, everyone in the arena screamed and hollered, in approval or disappointment, no one knew. No one cared.
Summarily kicking Hunter out of the ring, Tara motioned for Lexi to throw Stephanie and Tori into the ring.
"Well, I always follow up on my promises," said Tara. "Now Tori, I made a promise to someone that you would pay for your appalling lack of loyalty. Care to make a guess as to what I promised to who?"
Just then, Kane's music started.
"Hellfire and brimstone!" screamed J.R. "It's Kane! It's Kane! He's coming for Tori."
As the Big Red Machine came down the ramp for Tori, X-Pac's girlfriend cowered behind an equally frightened Stephanie, begging Tara to stop Kane. Finally Kane stood in front of Tara. He raised his arms and as he brought them down, fire shot out of the ring posts.
"She's all yours," said Tara, pulling Tori out from behind Steph and throwing her to Kane. "Do whatever you want with her."
Kane's massive hand curled around Tori's throat and for a moment, it looked like he was about to chokeslam her. But instead, he tossed her onto his shoulder and left the ring, a wriggling and screaming Tori in his arms.
"Now, about you Stephanie dearest," said Tara, turning on the youngest McMahon. "Whatever shall I do with you?"
"Nothing?"
"Tempting. Quite tempting," said Tara, stroking her chin, "but I'll be honest here. I've been so focused on my duties as Enforcer that I've barely been able to think of what I should do with you. Shall I hurt you physically, mentally, professionally? The question boggles me."
"Then don't do anything," offered Stephanie, "you have a chance of being the better person here."
"Mmmmm, that's interesting. But I think... NOT! I want revenge. I have plenty of ideas, most of them good, some excellent actually, but some much choice, so little time."
Stephanie took a breath as Tara turned her back on her. HHH's wife knew an opportunity when she saw one and balled her fists together and was about to hit The Enforcer in the back when Lexi pulled her back by her long, frizzy hair.
"Well, well, well, Steph, looks like you just made things worse for you," said Tara. "Okay, I've got it. I'm not going to tell you what I'm going to do with you, but I'll torture you with the thoughts of my revenge. Yep, that sounds good."
Satisfied, Tara left the ring. DX lay all around the ring, nursing their wounds while Steph wailed in the ring, frustrated once more by Tara.

Part 17:

By the time we all finally all got backstage after showing off for the fans, Brian wrapped me in a monster hug that left me catching my breath. I laughed happily as I kissed his cheek. I felt so proud of my performance and I was so happy that he was proud of me too.
"You were great out there," he whispered in my ear.
"Thanks. I'm sorry we had to kick your ass that badly though."
"It's okay,"
Brian kissed me deeply, pressing his body against mine.
"Ahem," said Shane, "do you mind?"
While we all talked about tonight's performance, Steph joined us. I was too happy to be mad at her so I smiled at her. Her grin was sarcastic to say the least.
"You were pretty good out there," I said.
"Good of you to notice," she sneered.
"No problem." Why did I waste my time trying to be nice to that spoiled bitch?
"Hey Danny," said Paul, "who taught you my finishing move?"
"Joanie did. Did I do okay?"
"Almost as good as me."
Brian and I hung out for a while and then we went to our dressing room where Carm was playing a game of Snakes and Ladders with Drew. My little girl was winning but I couldn't tell if it was because of Drew's poor skills or because he was a sweetheart.
"Mommy," said Carmen, leaving the game to run to me. "How did you do tonight?"
"Weren't you watching?"
"No. I was playing with Andrew. I beat him at checkers, Chinese checkers and Memory. He said he was good at Snakes and Ladders but he's losing at that too."
"Andrew man," laughed Brian, "you want me to give you a few tips?"
"Shut up Brian."
"So, did you win Mommy?"
"Yeah. Me and Uncle Steve and two friends kicked the shit out of Brian and his friends."
"You said shit," giggled Carmen, sitting down on the couch beside me while I unlaced my boots.
"I did say shit. Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!"
Carmen rolled on top of me and I started tickling her until she begged for mercy. Andrew and Brian just stood off to the side, talking about tonight's matches. Andrew was out of commission for a little while with a bad back injury. I was worried about him and I'd instructed Carmen to stop climbing him as if he was a mountain.
"Honey, why don't you try and let Andrew win a game while Brian and I get cleaned up?"
"Are we going out to eat?" she asked.
"Absolutely."
"Can we go to Subway?"
"Subway?" I asked her. That was an odd choice. Subway was not Carmen's favorite place since they actually served veggies there. "Why?"
"Andrew's friends, the Hardys will be there," she explained.
"Fine."
Brian and I went into the bathroom and quickly stripped out of our ring clothes to shower. I stepped into my shower and started to wash my hair when I felt two hands on my breasts. I smiled through the suds running down my face and leaned into his body.
"Andrew and Carmen are next door," I whispered as his hands moved down my stomach.
"So?"
"Brian!"
"Danny, when we came in here, tell me you didn't want this? Our bodies pressed together like this, the sweat from the match mixing with the water, the soap, and the shampoo. Tell me you don't want this."
I turned around his arms and pressed my lips to his. His hands moved down to my wet derrière and squeezed. I was sold.
"Did you lock the door?"
"Yes."

When Brian and I came back into the room, Andrew and Jeff Hardy were sitting in front of the TV, playing a video game while Carm sat on Matt's lap, talking to him, her chubby little hands moving around quickly. I was shocked. Carmen never gave up spending time with Andrew for anyone, but there she was, in Matt's lap.
"Hey," I said with a smile to Andrew, "what's going on here?"
"Well, since we're going to Subway, I told these two to wait for us."
"Adam and Jason are going to join us," said Jeff, barely taking his eyes off the screen, "is that cool?"
"Are you telling me I'm going to play den mother to all of you boys and my daughter?"
"We'll be good, I promise," said Matt, grinning at me.
"Matt, I'm talking to you," said Carmen, turning Matt's wayward face back to her.
Behind me, Brian burst out laughing while Andrew just shrugged.
Fifteen minutes later, Brian was driving a car with me next to him and Carmen in the backseat with the Hardy Boyz. Every once in a while, my boyfriend would look in the backseat and start laughing, all by himself. Even I had to admit that it was funny. My five-year-old daughter was trying to make her twenty-something fiancé jealous. By the time, we got to Subway, Andrew's face was red and there were large grins on Adam and Jason's faces. I could only imagine the ribbing he'd gotten.
While the new couple stood at the end of the line, Matt ordering a 12 footer, and Carmen the very same thing in a Kaiser bun, Andrew and I stood at the very end.
"What happened?" I asked him.
"When Matt and Jeff came in, they made fun of me and Carmen, about her being the little wife who bosses me around."
"Oh no."
"So me, being the world's single, tallest idiot, said that there was no way I would ever let anyone trap me with a ball and chain, no matter how cute."
Right then and there I punched Andrew in the arm. How could he have said that with my daughter in the room?
"I don't like you very much right now, young man," I said sternly.
"I know. I win the stupid award of the millenium."
"So how come she hooked up with Matt?"
"He said that if Carm was the ball and chain, he wanted to be trapped right away."
"Good for her."
While Andrew and I waited our turn, I watched Matt sit down at a table with Carm right in front of him. My little girl, as usual, tried going for her macadamia nut cookies right away but Matt stopped her and unwrapped her sandwich.
"Do you think she'll ever forgive me?" asked Andrew.
"Sure. Just give her a bit of time."
"What about one of those tattoo necklaces like Monty wears all the time?"
"She loves those."
"I'll be right back."
While I ordered my usual 6-inch meatball sandwich on whole wheat, all dressed, no onions, I saw Andrew dash across the street to McDonalds where we'd seen Monty and the rest of DX disappear into. When he came back, he was holding something behind his back. He then went straight to Carmen.
"Honey," he said to her, "I know I was an idiot when I said that I would never be trapped by anyone, no matter how cute."
I saw Carmen's eyes go big and I could tell she was ecstatic over Andrew's words. She didn't say anything, she just looked up at him.
"Forgive me?" As he said the words, Andrew showed her an intricate tattoo necklace.
Carmen looked at the necklace, then glanced at me. I grinned at her and shrugged. My daughter's success with men still amazed me.
"Okay," she said softly, raising her arms for Andrew to tie the necklace around her neck.
Next to Brian and I, Adam, Jason and Jeff started laughing so hard they almost fell off their seats. I shook my head and started telling them to sit up and to behave like gentlemen. Hey, it was the life of a den mother.

The very next morning, while the rest of the roster was on their way to Los Angeles, I saw Lexi and Mike off. They were going in a different direction to shoot a very special video. Everyone who knew anything about the video was sworn to secrecy.
"So, tell me Lexi," I asked, while Shane and Mike were off talking, "how did you and Mike hook up?"
"He came looking for me. He knew I was still employed by the WWF, and that I wasn't on active duty. He needed a friend to accompany him while he was in Germany. I needed a change of pace so I figured, what the hell."
"And the two of you?"
"You're curious, aren't you?"
"Well, I can't really talk about you and Mike to anybody else so I figure I might as well go to the source."
"Well, Mike and I are definitely more than just good friends. But I've got some issues to deal with first."
"Rock?"
"How did you..."
"It's a talent."
"We were talking about marriage when I left."
"What happened?"
"I caught him doing the one thing I never thought he'd do. He cheated on me with a friend."

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