Disclaimer: Still don't own him, please don't sue me.
Distribution: Flights.
Rating: G
Summary: Sequel to Together Again. Things evolve...

"Okay," Kat whispered over her cell phone. "I'm there so I have to let you go."
"Okay. I'll call you tonight after the show."
"If you want to..."
"Of course I do. If I can't have you here with me, I want to talk to you as often as I can."
"All right, catch you later."
"OK, I love you."
"Steve..."
"Hey. I love you and you can't change that."
Kat turned off the phone and ran up the stairs to the studio where she and her crew practiced three times a week. After a grueling three hour session, Norman finally paused the music and raised his hands in the air.
"I have news," he said with a grin. "We have an out of town gig."
And out of town gig was nothing much to Kat, who'd toured with the WWF for a full year. She watched her fellow dancers get excited and waited for the rest of the announcement.
"Where is it going to be?"
"When are we going to go?"
"We have to be in Toronto on January 31st and February 1st. Our actual gig is on February 1st. We're the opening act for the XFL launch."
"The what?" Kat asked.
"The XFL. Some football thing. Anyhow..."
As Norman went on, Kat tried to remember where she'd heard about the XFL before.

"Hello?"
"Hey, it's Steve."
"I know. I recognized the accent."
"I don't have an accent. You got an accent. But it's a cute accent so it's all right."
"What's my accent like?" Kat asked, curling her feet under her, curiosity gnawing at her.
"Cute."
"Come on, details."
"It's so proper. You talk kinda like a book."
"That's not my fault. That's how I learned. English isn't my mother tongue, you know."
"I know, I know. French is. And your accent's got a bit of French in it too. And that's cool. I like it."
"Hmm..."
"Now, tell me more about your tongue."
"Steve!"
Steve's laughter made Kat shiver. She knew he did it on purpose, to shock her, to arouse her, and to melt her defenses. And though her mind would deny the success of Steve's relentless pursuit of her, her heart and body knew how well he was succeeding. Her body yearned for his touch and in her heart of hearts, she knew she loved him.
"What?" he asked innocently. "I ain't doing nothing. Just thinking about your tongue. And how lovely it is. And all the wonderful things it did to me. I swear, you were the best kisser..."
"Steve Williams Austin, I'm going to hang up the phone..."
"No you won't honey. We both know that. I like getting your dander up, you like me getting up your dander."
"You're exhausting," she sighed.
"Only when you fight me. Once you stop..."
"Steve..."
"Come on Kat... Give in. Would it be so bad?"
It took a while for her to share a truth she was all too aware of.
"No."
"So? Why are you in Montreal when I'm in Bumfuck, USA?"
"Because I need to make peace with myself. And succeed... On my own."
"I'll wait Kat. No matter how long it takes you, I'll wait."
"And you expect me to believe that? You're a cheater Steve."
"So are you honey. But I trust you."

When Kat finally got the to the Playdium in Toronto, she realized where she'd first heard of the XFL. In the WWF. The XFL was Vince's new baby, his football league. And when she saw her ex-fiancé was going to make an appearance that day, she made up her mind.
"You can't do this to me, tabarnac!" Norman swore at her. "The day of the show? No way!"
"I am doing this to you! I am not performing!"
"You are? Without you, there's a big hole in the back!"
"Christine can fill in."
"Tabarnac Katia! You are going out there if I pull you out there by your weave."
At that, the woman bristled and looked up at the crew chief. Norman was 5'5", wiry, evidently gay and always bustling with energy. And he had an iron will which was a perfect foil for Kat's own stubborn streak.
"Christie de marde!" he swore. "Kill me! Somebody kill me, kill me now. All I want to do it dance professionally and now that I finally get a shot at something remotely big, the big black bitch..."
Norman's guilt-inducing monologue was interrupted by a knock at the dressing room door. A dancer rushed to open the door and in came the master of ceremony with the entire McMahon clan. Kat groaned and knew it was too late.
Norman went into full PR mode, introducing every dancer, saving Kat for last, giver her a chance to relent. And relent she did.
"Miss Wild," Vince greeted her, loudly pecking her cheeks.
"Mister McMahon."
"Vince please."
"Only if you start calling me Kat again."
"So you left the WWF to be a dancer?"
"And to be a columnist. I have a weekly column with is published in 15 fringe newspapers across Canada."
"And for that, you left us."
"Vince, stop embarrassing the girl," said Linda, shaking the young woman's hand, "how are you dear?"
"I'm all right. Doing what I love."
"That's always good."
Kat's eyes then went to Shane and Stephanie. They stood together and Kat couldn't help but smile at them. They'd become so close during her tenure on the WWF writing staff. She knew her sudden departure must have shocked and hurt them both.
"You're looking well," Shane said.
"Thanks. You too."
"Thanks. So what's new?"
"Nothing much. I write, I dance. I survive."
"The guys said they saw you in Montreal," Stephanie said.
"Yeah."
"Uh, can we talk to you in private?" Shane asked, eyeing an inquisitive Norman.
"Yeah."
The trio walked out of the dressing room and Kat took in the younger McMahons' worried glances at once.
"I know Andrew's here," she said, "I saw the poster."
"He got us to hire you and your crew," Shane said.
"Why?"
"He's still very angry at you. He wanted to make you uncomfortable."
"He needs closure," Stephanie explained.
"Damn, damn, double damn! I knew it! The moment I saw him on that poster, I knew it. I tried getting out of it, you know."
"Kat," said Shane. "When I found out you'd cheated on Andrew, I hated you. I couldn't believe it, I was disappointed and angry. And you lost any respect I had for you."
"You'll never know how sad that makes me Shane."
"On the other hand, you were honorable. You walked out of his life and you left Andrew with as much dignity as possible. Instead of rubbing it in his face, you left. I admire that."
Kat reached out and squeezed Shane's fingers gratefully.
"What Shane said goes for me too," Stephanie said with a smile.
"I miss you guys," Kat sighed. "You were the only friends I'd really made on my own. Everyone else were just friends of Andrew's who were nice to me."
"No reason why we can't stay friends," Shane grinned. "And stay in touch."
"I'd like that. I really would."
"Katia!" Norman shouted, "five minutes!"
"Okay. I have to go guys. I'll catch up with you guys later and we'll exchange phone numbers."
"All right!"

Kat was running through her last stretches when she saw him, standing on the other side of the stage, staring at her. She stared right back at him, her gaze unwavering.
Yes, she'd hurt him.
Yes, she'd cheated on him.
But she'd confessed.
And she'd left, as he asked.
And when he'd called her a whore, she'd let him.
She had done her time. She'd suffered enough.
Hadn't she?
"All right kids," Norman said, clapping and drawing his crew around him, "it's time! This is big! I was speaking with Mr. McMahon and he said that if things go well tonight, this could become a long term engagement for us. So when you kick, kick high, when you move, be precise and if you fall, smile on the way down."
And out they went.

Steve watched her dance from the backstage area and although he wasn't into the whole dancing crap, he had to admit, she was damn good. He knew why she loved it so much. Because she was so damn good at it. And she played to the crowd, her bright eyes connecting with the audience, drawing them into the show, into her world. And they were loving her for it. Not as much as he did, but they loved her enough.

Finally, exhausted as they were, Kat and her fellow dancers went to stand in front of the stage, smiling through their exhaustion as the WWF superstars made their way to the stage area. Kat kept looking straight ahead, her eyes barely brushing over Andrew as he passed her by. After five minutes, the dancers exited and fought their way to the showers.

Scrubbed clean, Kat snuck back into the main room to watch the rest of the presentation. She took a deep breath and realized she'd missed the WWF. It had been six months since she'd left and though she was proud of everything she'd accomplished since then, there was something about that kind of atmosphere that she'd missed, the camaraderie, the laughter.

"I thought I'd recognized you," said an all too familiar voice at her ear as a pair of strong arms went around her waist.
"Steve! I didn't know you were going to be here," Kat said, wriggling out of his embrace.
"Well, I heard you were going to be here so I remembered how nice you said Toronto was so I dropped by for a visit."
"Steve, the truth. Why are you here?"
"I missed you honey. I wanted to see you. Getting to touch you was a bonus."
Kat flushed and started to walk out of the room. Steve followed her.
"Come on honey. Give in. This man's getting tired of waiting already."
"Giving in-- that's all you ever wanted for me to do, isn't it? To give in to you? When I was with Andrew, you wanted me to give in to you then too, right?"
"Kat..."
"This is confusing as hell Steve. The first time I gave in to you, I lost and I lost big. I lost Andrew. What will I lose this time?"
"You'll get me."
"And maybe lose myself in the trade?"
"Hell no darling. I want you, I want all of you. The writer you, the dancer you, the part of you that keeps threatening to hang up the phone on me, the part of you that doesn't like to hear me share my feelings even though chicks always want guys to do that. I love you, all of you."
"Give me more time, please?"
"Yeah. I'll give you all the time you need to come back to me," Steve said cockily.
Kat smiled and laid a soft kiss on his lips. As she walked away, she saw Stephanie coming toward them, knowledge in her eyes.
"Oh shit, I am not ready for this," Kat whispered, already backing away.
"Oh no," Steve said, curling his fingers into her arm. "This time, you stay put. Hey Stephanie."
"Was it him?" Stephanie asked, looking at Kat and nodding toward the Rattlesnake, "was he the one you cheated with?"
"Yes," Steve said.
"I didn't ask you. Kat?"
"Yeah, it was him."
"Oh Kat..."
"Steph-- I wish I could apologize for it, but at least I found out I had deeper feelings for Steve before I married Andrew."
"Kat..."
"I know, it was wrong. But I think I paid for it."
"Is he at least making you happy?"
"She's not giving me a chance to make her happy," Steve said sullenly. "She's still bearing her cross."
"Her cross?"
"Her guilt over cheating on Andrew. I keep on telling her she's done her time."
"Steve, I'll thank you not to share my private life like that."
"Kat, is that true?"
"Stephanie, please..."
"I certainly hope it's not true. You've done your time. You need to live your life now."
"Steph..."
"It's true. If Steve can make you happy, though I doubt it, go for it."
"Why? I mean, I'm not sure I deserve it..."
"You don't deserve it? Kat, please. You made a mistake. What are you going to do, refuse to be happy for the rest of your life because of this?"
"Steph, I hurt him so bad..."
"Get off this Kat. And if you have to, date the Rattlesnake. At the worst, you'll see you can do better."
"You know Steph," said Steve, "I should be hurt by that."
"But you're not. I know. See you guys later."
Steve looked down at Kat and saw the nervous look in her eyes.
"So, we got blessing from a McMahon. What else do you need?"
"I don't know Steve. I have to think about it some more. I'm just not sure."

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