Jess stood there, surrounded by all of her friends, scared to death of what Vince might do. Problem was, for Vince, that Jess was a consummate planner. She planned for everything. So when she felt Shane standing next to her, about to pounce, and Steve standing next to Linda, almost foaming at the mouth, she stepped forward.
"Vince," she said in a warm tone, walking toward the WWF president, her arms open wide, "I'm so glad you could make it." Jess walked to Vince and hugged him tight. Patty, who was the only person in on Jess's plan, took her cue and motioned the table of journalists and photographers that this was their only photo op of the night. They immediately crowded around Jess and Vince, taking pictures of the allegedly feuding commissioner and president of the WWF as the young woman welcomed her boss to her wedding reception.
"I thought you had food poisoning," said Jess loudly, "we didn't think you'd make it."
"Well, uh, uh," stuttered Vince.
"I am so glad you could make it," lied Jess, "the only thing I want is at least one dance with you."
Without giving Vince a chance to protest, Jess dragged him out to the dance floor and nodded to the DJ, who started playing a Tony Bennett song. Vince knew he'd been had and that there was no way to get out of it without looking like an ass, which is what he exactly felt like at the moment.
"I got you good, didn't I Vince?" asked Jess in his ear.
"I got to give credit where it is due. You got me."
"I must admit, you get props too... I didn't think you'd have the guts to show your geriatric ass here."
"My geria-- why you little b--"
"Smile Vince, photo op," whispered Jess as she made a sidestep, giving the RAW magazine photographer a beautiful shot. Vince stood there, a smile pasted on as Jess posed and laughed happily.
Once the photographers were satisfied, Patty ushered them back to their seats and the dance floor flooded again. Jess had to bite back a smile as she realised how the wrestlers suddenly surrounded them, keeping an eye on Vince.
"You can call your dogs off," said Vince, eyeing HHH.
"Why? I think it's cute that they think they have to protect me."
"Cute?"
"Yeah, cute."
"Whatever. Well, I didn't make the splash I was hoping for so I'll just leave now."
"No you won't. You're going to stay here, pretend you enjoy yourself for another hour or so. Then you'll be allowed to leave."
"Allowed?"
"Yeah Vince," said Paul, standing suddenly very close to the dancing couple, "allowed."
Chyna and Lexi, under Patty's orders, then led Vince to the head table, being very careful to keep him away from his wife. Jess thanked Paul for his intervention when Steve came up to ask her to dance.
"It would be my pleasure," said Jess, easing into the Rattlesnake's arms.
"Thank you," said Steve after a minute of silence.
"For?"
"Keeping that dumb S.O.B. away from Linda."
"No problem. I didn't know for sure he was going to show, but I wanted to be ready in case he did."
"Well, you did good."
"Thanks."
"At first, I didn't know what to think about you," said Steve, "you seemed a bit too... well, not..."
"Not right for this business?"
"Yeah, that's it."
"And now you changed your mind?"
"Big time. You got balls the size of Texas honey, and that's not a small thing."
"I can only imagine," she said, squealing the last word as Steve deftly spun her across the room. "Wow! Where did you learn how to do that?"
"On 'Nash Bridges' honey. They teach me all kinds of fun things."
Jess laughed and laughed as she was led around the dance floor by the most unlikely dancer of them all. Stone Cold Steve Austin.
The reception died down at around two o'clock in the morning, until the only people left in the ballroom were Andrew, Jess, Stephanie, Jason, Patty, Adam, Lexi and Duane. They sat around one of the lower tables, toying with cups of coffee and leftover pieces of cake.
"This was great," sighed Lexi, nestling into her guy's arms.
"Thank you," said Jess with a smile.
"Shouldn't the two of you be upstairs, consummating the marriage?" asked Adam with a grin.
"They already did," said Stephanie, hunched over her piece of cake.
"You dog," smiled Adam.
"She started it," protested Andrew, drawing his wife into his arms.
"So why didn't you stop her?" asked Lexi.
"I'm married, but I ain't crazy."
Jess leaned over to Andrew and whispered something into his ear.
"All right, I'm calling it a night," said Andrew, getting up so quickly his chair fell to the ground.
Amid all of their friends' laughter, Jess and Andrew made their way out of the ballroom and up to the honeymoon suite.
Jess stood in front of the bathroom mirror, fingering the lace that ran over the top of her 'corset'. She smiled at her reflection and shook her head, wondering why she'd let Patty rope her into buying this... this thing. She looked like a prostitute from an old western movie with John Wayne. Her hair was still up, minus the tiara and veil. A white lace 'basque' with the laces in front encased her from breasts to hips, complete with a sewn-in garter belt. White lace panties and white stockings completed the outfit.
Jess spun around, craning her neck, trying to see the full effect but finally gave up, slid her feet into a pair of dainty white mules and covered herself with a transparent white lace gown. When her fingers curled around the door handle, Jess took a deep breath and stepped through the door.
Andrew stood at the window, wearing a pair of blue silk boxers and nothing else. He looked wonderful. He slowly turned around to face his wife, a look of pure longing on his face.
"I look ridiculous, don't I?" asked Jess.
"No, you don't. You look stunning."
"Thank you."
They came to stand in front of each other at the foot of the large bed. Jess looked into her husband's eyes and for the very first time since she'd met him, she felt uncomfortable, uneasy. Before the wedding, she would have jumped his bones. But now, she was at a loss as to what to do. Andrew took the lead and sat on the bed, drawing her into his large thighs.
"Did you ever see 'Face/Off'?"
"The movie with John Travolta?"
"Yeah."
"Yeah, I saw it. What does that have to do with anything?"
"Remember the beginning of the movie? When Nicholas Cage is in the plane with that stewardess?"
"Flight attendant," she corrected.
"Whatever. Remember when he asks her to suck on his tongue?"
Jess nodded, her breath catching in her throat. Andrew said nothing else, and stuck his tongue out. His wife's lips surrounded his tongue slowly, sensuously. For a moment, the only thing he felt on his tongue were her lips. Then her tongue came into play and he started to suck on it as well. Jess straddled his hips, without interrupting the kiss, her fingers digging into his shoulders.
Andrew cupped her firm buttocks, sliding her crotch along his, rubbing the lace of her panties against the silk of his boxers, the friction arousing them both more and more until he sank into the bed, dragging her along with him. Jess rubbed the lace cups of the basque against his bare chest, feeling his nipples harden against her equally hard ones.
"Just a question," he murmured as he nuzzled, "were you wearing this under your wedding gown?"
"Of course."
With a growl Andrew flipped her on her back and kissed her hard, his tongue giving her a preview of what he would do to the rest of her body, jerking in and out of her mouth. His fingers busily undid the laces at the front of the basque, freeing her breasts, fastening his mouth over her dark chocolate-colored nipples. Jess's body arched and she screamed, her hips banging into his rhythmically.
"Now," she cried hoarsely.
"Not quite."
Jess wouldn't have been able to form a complete thought, even if she'd tried and had an orgasm the second his fingers ran over her lace-covered crotch. She was barely over it, when he tore the panties off her hips and blew over the over-sensitive flesh.
"What are you doing to me," she asked, her heels banging against the bed.
Andrew chuckled and used his tongue on her moist core of Jess, making her gasp and pant until she thought she was going to explode. He came into her at once, his boxers lost in the heat of the moment. Jess wrapped her legs around his hips, her heels digging into the dimples at the base of his back.
This was paradise, they both thought as they came together for the very first time in their life.
Jess and Andrew came back from their honeymoon floating on air. The honeymoon itself had solely been Andrew's department. He'd flown them from Montreal to a small Hawaiian resort. The kind of resort where they rented you a small cabin on a long, sandy beach where you were guaranteed all the freedom in the world. It was perfect. A housekeeper came in every day, cleaned up and prepared them typical Hawaiian meals, or whatever they had an urge for. It was magical. As Andrew ran through it in his mind, he couldn't help but smile.
He remembered one night in particular. After feeding each other pieces of melon and mango, the newlyweds had fallen asleep on the inch-deep rug in the living room. He'd rolled over in the middle of the night to find that Jess had left his side. He started to walk to the bedroom when he happened to look outside and he saw her.
Jess stood in front of the water, wearing a diaphanous caftan that hid nothing and showed everything. She was standing in the line of the moonbeam that cut through the dark, dark blue water, her body outlined by the light from the full moon. Then, as if she'd seen him watching her, Jess stepped out of the caftan, letting it float to the ground. The young woman then ran into the water, diving into it.
Andrew hadn't waited for anymore of an invitation. Within seconds, he was diving into the water, joining his wife. For over fifteen minutes, they frolicked in the water, gently slapping each other, taking bites out of each other. Then a wave pushed Jess into her husband's arms, making her very aware of his arousal. With a mutinous smile, she sank beneath the water and started to lap at him with a mischievous tongue.
Every time she came up for air, he wanted to tell her that he couldn't
stand that sweet torture anymore but he couldn't bring himself to say those words.
The morning had found them lying on the beach, sand finding the deepest crevices of their bodies and making itself a home. But Andrew remembered that night as being the best one in his life.
"What are you grinning about?" asked Jess, pulling their car to a stop before rolling into the WWF headquartersv parking lot.
"I was thinking about our honeymoon."
"I see... You'd better be smiling."
Jess pulled their car into their reserved parking spot and slowly got out of the car. She checked her watch and nodded to Andrew.
"I have a meeting with Linda in fifteen minutes and I want to get ready."
"Sure. I'll just pick up the info on my storyline and get to the gym."
"I'll call you as soon as I'm done with my meeting."
"That works for me."
When Jess got to her office, she greeted her assistant and went in. The first thing she did, as she booted up her computer was put up the very first wedding picture they'd gotten from the photographer. It was of her and Andrew standing in front of the church, holding hands. The young woman put it next to her computer and gently fingered it as the PC booted up. She sighed the second she checked her interoffice email. There were over five hundred messages waiting for her.
One message grabbed her attention right away however. It was from Shawn Michaels. She clicked it open and had to read through it three times to make sure she understood it correctly. She replied and closed her email application. Her meeting with Linda was in five minutes and she had to prepare her files. Jess was on her way out of the office when she ran into Shane. She stumbled backward and he caught her.
"You always seem to be doing that for me," she whispered.
"I guess that you lose your step whenever you're close to me," he responded in kind, his mouth dangerously close to her ear.
"Shane," she admonished him, straightening herself up, "be a good boy and tell me what I can do for you."
"You can tell me you'll leave your husband for..."
"I'm on my way to a meeting Shane. What do you want?"
"You."
"Call Linda's office and tell her I'll be a few more minutes", barked Jess to her assistant, "Shane, my office, right now."
Jess slammed the door closed and pushed Shane into a chair. She went around the desk and sat in front of him, her face hard and cold.
"At first, it was cute. Then, I started to feel bad for you. But you know what? I don't care anymore. I'm married Shane. To a man I love and you need to know and understand something here. I will never, ever, leave him for you. So those comments, they're out of line and I don't ever want to hear them again. Is that clear?"
"It was just innocent flirtation."
"And I'm the grinch who stole Christmas. I don't want you making passes at me, I don't want you making any kind of inappropriate comments where Andrew and I are concerned. Is that clear enough for you?"
"Clear," he said sulkily.
"Shane, damn it," said Jess, her face softening. "I like you. As a friend. You need to accept that."
"Or what? Andrew'll kill me?"
"Andrew respects and trusts me. And he knows that unless I want something to happen between you and me, nothing will happen between you and me. And he also happens to know that I don't want anything to happen between you and me except friendship. Both of us hope you'll understand and accept that."
"I will."
"Thank you. Now, you made me late for a meeting with your mother. I've got to run."
Jess ran out of the office, leaving Shane there. The young man got up and went to her computer, looking at the picture of Jess and Andrew at their wedding. The thought of breaking up that marriage haunted him. It wasn't something he wanted to do, but he couldn't help wanting Jess that much. And he hadn't accepted that she wasn't meant for him. Yet.
At twelve, Jess gave Andrew a call in the gym. Her meeting with Linda had gone well but she had to meet someone out of the office. She'd be back at around one thirty, two o'clock. Jess sped to the restaurant on the outskirts of town and left her car with the valet. The maître d' was quick to direct her to the private room where Shawn Michaels was waiting
for her. When Jess finally stepped in, she had to hold back a sigh of contentment.
Sitting around a table were Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, Marcus Bagwell and Shawn Michaels. And all of these hunks were waiting for her.
"Gentlemen," she said slowly as they all rushed to their feet, "please sit. This might be a formal restaurant, but I'm not a formal person. I am, however curious about this."
"Jess, I thought about approaching Shane with this but I figured you to be our best bet. You're open-minded, you're fair and you're intelligent."
"Thank you Shawn. Now, I can guess what this is all about, but I got to ask anyways. What is this about?"
"We want out of the WCW and in to the WWF," said Kevin Nash.
"And what shall I do about this?"
"Take us back."
"I can see taking you and Scott back but Junior here," said Jess, nodding in Marcus's direction, "he never was in the WWF as far as I know."
"I wasn't. But I can't be in the WCW anymore. I can do good things but I keep getting pushed to the background in favor of old foggies like Flair and Hogan."
"Watch your mouth, boy," said Jess, "Flair can still get you in a figure-four leglock from hell and if it wasn't for Hogan, this business would still be a suburban arena kind of deal."
"I know and I give them props, but they're getting pushes all the time when guys like me are used as mid-carders."
"If I take you in to the WWF, don't expect to be anything but a mid-carder as a start-off."
Kevin and Scott exchanged a look with Shawn who just shrugged casually.
"Don't look at me guys," he said, "she's the Commish."
"What about us?" asked Scott, "we can't be mid-carders."
"And you wouldn't be. You're too famous for me to push into the background. But if I take you now, you'll wrestle for a few years, no more, no less. I have no intention of giving old guys pushes if they can't wrestle. I'll use them as managers, commentators, that kind of stuff, but once you can't wrestle, don't expect me to put you in the limelight instead of showcasing the younger crowd."
"That's cold," said Kevin with a crooked grin.
"I don't fuck around."
"Good."
"Now, gentlemen, Shawn and I have some things to discuss, if you don't mind."
Considering themselves dismissed, Kevin, Scott and Marcus left Jess and Shawn alone.
"You couldn't have shocked me more if you'd asked me to sleep with you," said Jess.
"Sleep with me," he joked.
"Diesel, Razor Ramon and... we'll find something for Boy Bagwell."
"If we can sell this to Vince."
"Screw Vince. We're going to Shane and Linda with this Shawn. Vince'll only get in the way."
"He's the owner."
"He's an ass."
"True, but..."
"Shawn, do you think Vince will hire these boys back?"
"No."
"Do you think Shane and Linda might?"
Shawn sighed and shrugged. He'd gone up against Vince before and it was anything but a pleasant experience. But these guys were his friends, his best friends. He couldn't let them down. And if going up against Vince was the only way to do that, he'd do it.
"All right," he said, shaking Jess's hand. "You got a deal."
"Just let me handle everything," said Jess with a smile. "I have a plan."
By the time Vince agreed to meet with Shawn and Jess, Steph and Jason had come back from their honeymoon and the youngest McMahon had agreed to going up against her father. From the look on Vince's face when he saw Shawn, Jess, Shane and Stephanie come into his office, he wasn't too happy about seeing his children with Jess and Shawn.
"Shane, Stephanie, this doesn't concern you. Leave. Now."
"Actually Dad," said Stephanie, "it does."
"Michaels, Warren, if you want to meet with me, meet with me, but don't drag my kids into this."
"Dad," said Shane, "this is important. Too important for Steph and me to miss this meeting."
"Fine. What is this about?"
"Three WCW superstars want out. And in to the WWF."
"Who are we talking about here?"
"Nash, Hall and Bagwell."
"Oh hell no," yelled Vince.
"Calm down Vince," said Jess, "and look at this clearly... Nash and Hall are big superstars... it would be quite a coup for us to get them from Turnerland."
"No. There is no way in everlasting hell that I'm letting these bastards back into MY federation."
"Why?" asked Shawn.
"Because they betrayed me once. I'm not going to risk them doing it again."
"They won't," said Stephanie very calmly. "We worked out a contract they're willing to sign and one of the conditions is that if they leave the WWF again, they can't go back to WCW or go to ECW. Ever."
"Right," said Vince, "and I believe in the Tooth Fairy and the Easter Bunny."
"Vince, be smart about this," said Shane, "in the past year, Nitro's fifteen minutes ratings have been jumping closer and closer to ours whenever Nash and Hall have been on the air. To get them on our side would be incredible. Just think about the merchandising rights."
"I don't want them back."
"They are coming back Vince," said Jess. "And there's not a thing you can do about it. By the way, we're bringing in Marcus Bagwell too."
When Vince was outvoted in the board meeting, his face was red and his throat was sore from admonishing his wife and children for betraying him. He ranted and raved for over twenty minutes after they came to a decision. He tried to undermine every aspect of hiring back these men. He threatened the writers, telling them that if they wrote a storyline for the new boys, they would be fired. Same thing for the bookers.
And one day, Andrew stormed into Jess's office, his face red.
"Fake Diesel," he thundered.
"What?"
"That pack of steroids in a suit wants me to color my hair and reprise Glenn's role as Fake Diesel."
"What the... What are you talking about?"
"Vincent K. McMahon said that he wants me to go up against Kevin Nash as the clash of the Diesels."
"That's fucking stupid."
"Tell me about it. But he told me that either I follow this story or I'm out a storyline."
"Damn that little weasel! Shawn," barked Jess as she picked up her phone, "get your Sexy Boy ass in my office right now!"
Andrew fell back on the couch, pushing his hair out of his face. Jess plopped down next to him, running a hand over his shoulders.
"It'll be okay. I swear. We'll stop him."
"What's going on?" asked Shawn as he came in through the door.
Jess quickly ran over the main idea and waited for Shawn's reaction. Which was unexpected to say the least. He laughed.
"What the fuck is your problem, Hickenbottom?" asked Andrew.
"You're too short to be Fake Diesel," laughed Shawn. "It's ridiculous."
"Too short? That's the best you can do? Andrew's too short to be Fake Diesel? That's not what matters. The whole Fake Diesel thing was stupid the first time around and it's bound to be just as dumb the second time around."
"I agree with you Jess. Don't get me wrong. Problem is, what can we do about it?"
"Well, he's not going to dye his hair... that's the first thing."
"I think Andrew here would make a fine brunette," said Shawn, sitting next to Andrew with an effeminate pause and running a hand over his muscular shoulder.
"Hands off," growled Andrew, glaring at Shawn as Jess held back a chuckle or two.
"All right, all right," said Shawn, "I was just kidding... listen, I'll go and see the writers. We'll work something out. They love their Sexy Boy. We'll work on your storyline and work out a tentative one for the boys' arrival. Any idea of what we can do with this Bagwell character?"
"I'm thinking something along the lines of a new Sexy Boy."
"No!"
"Shawn, it's time to pass the mantle on to someone new. And I think Buff is the stuff, that's all."
"Don't make me ill."
"God, you're so vain," sighed Jess. "Why can't you admit that he's one hell of a hunk."
"But he's no Sexy Boy."
"Take it from a woman's point of view... he is."
"Fine, we'll see what we can do. Now, what do we do about Vince?"
"I think it's time to see Linda."
Shawn nodded and started to leave the room. Then, he turned to Andrew and winked at him flirtatiously. Jess's husband responded by throwing a pillow at him.
"How are you feeling?" asked Andrew, looking at his wife. "Are you all right?"
"I'm fine. Andrew, I'm only three months pregnant. I'm not going to fall apart just because of Vince."
"But we don't... we have to be careful. You can't be stressed. Hell, I shouldn't have come to you with this whole Fake Diesel crap."
"Andrew honey... we're going to have a baby. I have to be careful, yes. But I didn't turn into a porcelain doll or anything. I thought we'd agreed on this. I'm going to keep on working all the way until... well, until the seventh or eighth month at the very least."
"I don't have to like it."
"But you do have to let me do my job. Anyway, I have to go see Linda. We have to talk about this whole Fake Diesel thing and I have to tell her about my pregnancy."
"All right. Be careful."
"I always am."
When Jess got to Linda's office, she was on the phone. But she nonetheless waved her in. Jess pushed the door closed and went to sit down in front of Linda's massive oak desk.
"... all right, look into the Levesque account, see what we can do for him and get me a report on that by tomorrow morning. Good. Thanks."
"I hope I'm not interrupting," said Jess with a smile.
"Not at all. Now, what can I do for you?"
"Two things, first of all..."
"... you're pregnant," said Linda with a smile.
"How did you know?"
"I've had two children. I can tell these things. I'm so happy for you."
"Thank you. Andrew and I are so excited and he's so worried about me."
"Tell me about it. When I was pregnant with Shane, I had to argue with Vince so he'd let me go to work."
"What is it with these guys?"
"I don't know. The second we might be carrying their heir, they get all protective on us. Quite annoying if you want my opinion."
"I know, and I'm only three months pregnant. Can you imagine what it'll be like when I hit the third trimester?"
"Pregnant women refer to that time as hell on earth."
As the two women kept on talking about pregnancies and what-not, Vince stepped away from the slightly open door with a vicious smile curling his thin lips. So the bitch was pregnant. Oh yes, this would be the perfect way to get rid of her once and for all. And it might be the end of her bothersome husband as well.
A month and a half later, Jess sat in the dressing room she shared with Andrew and watched the Rock doing his thing with the mike in front of his millions... and millions of fans on RAW. Even though she knew the man, knew how annoying he could be, thanks to Lexi, she still got a charge from watching him. He oozed sex appeal, among other things... she would have to talk to him about the Jehri curl thing he had going.
"It's time," said Shawn Michaels, popping his head in through the door. "You ready?"
"I'm only coming out if I have to."
"I know. Mommy."
"Funny Shawn," said Andrew, coming out from the bathroom, his wet hair in a ponytail. "Really funny."
"Anyhow, keep your eyes on that screen cause this is history."
"Just go."
Five minutes later, all the members of DX past and present were reunited in the ring, including Lexi, Chyna and HHH. Shawn Michaels was strutting around the ring, and finally welcomed the new members of the bigger, better and badder DX. And in walked Kevin, Scott and Marcus, wearing the characteristic fluorescent orange and green of DX.
The crowd went crazy with the screaming and the yelling. Even backstage, Jess could feel the arena shaking from the fans' reaction. She laughed into Andrew's arms until Vince's theme came on and he appeared from behind the black curtains.
"No, no, no," he said, looking at DX. "I'm not allowing this to happen a second time."
"You can't do anything about it Vince," said Shawn with a cocky smile. "The boys are back and the crowd loves them."
On cue, the thousands in the arena picked up the cheers again, louder than before, if that was possible.
"I don't give a crap about what those idiots think," said Vince, spitting into the mike. "It's my company and what I say goes. And what I'm saying is that all of you are fired."
Jess reacted on instinct and was out of the door before Andrew could stop her. She was dressed for the show and just ran out onto the ramp.
Vince, upon hearing her music, had walked down to the halfway point of the ramp and stood there waiting for her.
"You can't do that Vince," said Jess into her mike. "I hired them. So you can't fire them."
"Well, in that case, I'm firing you. And I'm firing them right after."
Jess started to stalk down the ramp but then the crowd went quiet as someone came up behind Jess. It was the Undertaker. Jess's blood ran cold as she realised she'd been dragged into a trap. Before she could rush Vince and make her way to the safe bosom of DX, he grabbed her by the throat and choke-slammed her against the cold metallic ramp.
The pain shot through every part of her body, her arms cradling her stomach.
"My baby," she whispered, her eyes filling with tears.
"Oh my God," said Mark, understanding dawning upon him.
He barely had time to say anything else because Test's big foot hit him square in the chest. Not waiting around for anyone or anything, Andrew picked up his wife and rushed her to a waiting ambulance.
Andrew sat in the cramped space of the ambulance, holding on to Jess's shoulders. She paid him no mind, her hands covering her stomach as she cried and cried and cried some more, whispering to her baby to be okay.
They made it to the hospital in no time and Andrew followed the gurney to the emergency room. This felt all too familiar to him. He remembered running down the halls of another hospital, trailing behind Jess, scared to death about her health. Only difference was that this time, when the nurses and doctor asked him about his relationship to the victim, he didn't have to lie. He was her husband, he knew everything about her medical history and he could help.
Lexi and the rest of Jess's friends found him in the chapel, praying for his wife and his unborn child. They all stood in the back, respecting his privacy. All except for Stephanie who reached out with a hand and touched his shoulder.
"Andrew?"
"Steph."
Andrew whispered her name before hugging her as tightly as he could. He let go of her quickly, as he sat back down, his elbows resting on his knees. Stephanie knelt in front of him, pushing out of his face hair that was so much like her own husband's. She looked into his worried eyes and felt his pain.
"How is she?"
"I don't know. They're examining her right now. Steph, this can't happen... not now... I can't lose her and we can't lose that child."
"And you won't. Don't worry about that."
"You don't know Steph. I know you're just trying to make me feel better but you don't know for sure..."
Steph hugged him again, her chest filling with the pain of maybe losing her best friend.
Suddenly, a bossy little nurse broke through the impressive barrier of wrestlers and called out to Andrew.
"Mr. Martin?"
"Yes," answered Andrew, looking over his shoulder.
"Your wife has regained consciousness."
Andrew sped past his friends and the nurse, going to the small room where they were looking after Jess. He went in right away and thought his heart was going to stop when he saw her lying there. It was déjà-vu, but in the worst way possible. Jess, in another hospital, wearing another hospital gown, looking as pale as death.
"We'll both be fine," she croaked through cracked lips.
"Mr. Martin I presume," said the doctor, standing by Jess's bed.
"Yes. I'm her husband."
"Good. Well, we examined your wife and although she suffered from a mild concussion, both her and the baby are fine. I do, however, recommend a less stressful lifestyle and maybe a week or so of bedrest."
"I'll see to it that she gets both."
"Good. Now, we're going to try to move her up to a private room as soon as possible. In the meantime, she can have some guests. Just make sure, it's no more than two at a time. Okay?"
"Fine."
When the doctor left them alone, Andrew pressed his lips to his wife's dry ones, running a light hand over her stomach.
"Are you sure you're all right?" asked Andrew, looking into her eyes.
"I'm fine."
"Good. Now, Mark dies."
"No," said Jess in a deadly serious tone. "No one touches him."
"What? After what he did? Come on."
"No one touches him. Bring all of the guys in here. I want them to hear this."
"The doctor said..."
"Screw the doctor. Bring everyone in now."
"No, damn it Jess. You're stressed enough as is. I'm not going to increase it."
"Every time you say no to me, you increase my stress level. You get everyone in here or I go get them myself."
As all of Jess's WWF friends piled into the room, she sat up a bit, moving tubes and monitors out of her way. They were all fidgeting, trying not to look at her pale face and the bruise from Mark's massive hand on her neck.
"I'm not going to keep any of you here for very long," said Jess. "But I do have a few instructions. Effective immediately, we build a silent wall around Vince. No one speaks to him, no one responds to his emails. Everything goes right over his head, through Linda, Shane and Stephanie. Is that okay with you guys?"
Shane and Stephanie looked at their mother who happily nodded her approval of Jess's plan.
"While I'm out on sick leave for the next three weeks," said Jess, smiling at her husband, "Shawn Michaels will resume his role as Commissioner. For three weeks only. I, however, will be keeping my eye on you. Sexy Boy."
"Cool."
"Third and not least. I don't want anyone, not one person, striking out at Mark."
"He almost killed you," said Kevin Nash.
"I would have handled the choke-slam."
"But you were pregnant."
"Mark didn't know that."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes. Dead sure. Had he known I was pregnant, he would have taken me hostage or something but he would not have touched me. Not that way."
"So we're not to strike out at Mark?" asked Sean Waltman, suddenly looking very uncomfortable.
"No. Sean, what's wrong?"
"Glenn's off doing just that."
"Find them and bring their asses here. Tell Mark I want to see him and thank Glenn. That big red retard," she whispered with a smile.
"All right, all right," said a male nurse so tall Steve Austin had to look up at him, "everyone but her husband gets out."
"Maybe I should leave too," said Andrew, "you need your rest."
"I need you more," said Jess with a smile. "Stay with me."
Andrew pulled a chair up to the desk and folded his big body into it, one hand squeezing his wife's hand, the other one, rubbing her stomach in circles.
It was almost two hours later that Glenn and Mark knocked on the door.
Both of them looked like hell. Their faces were bruised and their knuckles were a bloody mess. Evidently, they'd stopped by the ER for some quick fix-ups.
"You wanted to see Mark," said Glenn, "here he is."
"Thanks Glenn. For standing up for me and everything. It means a lot to me."
"No problem. As far as I'm concerned, anyone who hits a pregnant woman is begging for a beating," he uttered, giving Mark a cold hard stare.
Jess saw the words on the tip of Mark's tongue. She saw him burning to justify himself but saw him stop himself too. She looked at him closely and smiled at her husband.
"Please leave us alone," said Jess.
"Oh hell no. There is no way in hell..."
"You'll be right outside the door Andrew. If anything happens, which I doubt, I'll scream and you'll have my authorization to kick his dead ass. Okay?"
"No, damn it, not okay."
"Andrew..."
"Fine... I don't know why I bother putting up a fight, she always wins, anyways."
When Andrew and Glenn left, Mark stood at the foot of the bed, fidgeting, running his fingers over his bruised knuckles.
"Vince knew I was pregnant," she said slowly. "I don't know how, but he knew."
"I know he knew. He sent me out there to do his dirty work."
"And that he did. But I know something else too."
"What do you think you know?"
"You didn't know I was pregnant."
"What makes you say that?"
"Oh, stop trying to be such a badass Mark... when I mentioned the baby, I saw it in your eyes... I know you didn't know."
"So fine, I didn't know. But that man... he sent me out there to hurt you and your baby. That's more than wrong... it's disgusting, it's reprehensible... it's evil."
"And who better than the Lord of Darkness to make him pay?"
Mark smiled at Jess, suddenly realising how wonderfully smart this young woman was. So, he took Andrew's place next to her bed and listened carefully as she told him of her plan.
When the front door bell rang, Jess got up from the couch where she'd been lounging in the first floor den. The housekeeper Patty and her had hired had already left for the day and Patty was still at work so Jess swung her feet to the floor and went to open it. When she saw Vince standing there, she smiled.
"Well, well, well, Vinnie, I'd given you a month... glad to see that it only took you two weeks."
"I want to apologize for what the Undertaker did to you. But you and I both know that he's completely unstable.
"Oh, Mark is completely unstable. This from a man who recently spent a few months in a nut house. Oh yeah, I'll take your word for who's unstable."
"Can I come in," said Vince, coming forward to enter the house.
"No, you can't. You're like a vampire Vince and you can't come into my house unless I invite you in. Okay?"
"Fine. Let's take off the kid gloves then. What the fuck are you doing to me? How do you expect me to run my company if no one will talk to me or communicate with me?"
"I don't."
"You'll lead the WWF straight into chapter eleven."
"No. That's what you were doing, you ass. I'm safeguarding it for your wife and kids."
"They're loyal to me. They won't help you destroy me."
"You think?"
"You bitch! If you'd kept your nose out of the WWF, everything would have been just fine. But instead, you're... you're making it impossible for me to run my company."
"Good Vince. That's exactly what I want. That choke-slam wouldn't have done much damage to me, but it could have killed my baby. And for that, you're going to have to pay."
"So sue me."
"Oh no Vince, suing you would be too damn easy. Same as pressing charges against you. Oh no, I've got plans for you, and you'll pay. But it has nothing to do with legalities. Not the ones you're thinking about anyways."
Jess stepped out of the doorway and slammed the door in Vince's face.
She was shaken up by the conversation with Vince but she'd been expecting it. It had been two weeks since her accident and she'd been home for a week. She thought Vince would last for at least a month with the new wall of silence she'd built around him, what with his friends and allies still spoon-feeding him some info. But it seemed that they'd deserted him a lot faster than she'd thought. She knew that both Shane and Linda had moved out of the family mansion, Linda with Steph and Jason until Steve and her found a new place, and Shane had moved in with Joey Abs from the Mean Street Posse until he found himself a place.
With a stop by the kitchen to pick up a platter of veggies, Jess went back to the den and back to the PASSIONS, the only soap, besides RAW, HEAT and SMACKDOWN, she could stand to watch, merely because it made her laugh at other soaps. She fell asleep on the couch and woke up only when a massive weight sank the couch pillows next to her feet.
Jess was sitting up in a second and with a lazy smile, recognized her husband. She grinned at him, quickly wiping away the drool from the corner of her mouth.
"Hi love," she whispered to him.
"I hear Vince was in the area," said Andrew, his face serious.
"True."
"So... what happened?"
"He came looking for explanations."
"Did he find any?"
"Nope. I played him and sent him on his way."
"I'm going to hire security for you and the house."
"Don't be ridiculous Andrew. I don't need security. And I can handle Vince."
"I'm only doing this because you're pregnant. I know that without the baby, Vince would be chopped liver. But I don't want you or our child to be hurt."
"I know that sweetheart. And we won't be. Vince might be borderline insane but he won't try hurting me and the baby again. He knows that this time, even I won't be able to hold the boys back."
"Why are you always so forceful, Jess?" asked Andrew, sinking into the thick pillows of the couch, "sometimes I feel like I'm just a nice decoration in your life."
"I love you Andrew. And you mean so much more to me than that."
"Really? Why is it that you make the decisions and I have to abide by them?"
"..."
"After Mark attacked you, you insisted on meeting the guys and I let you. Then you insisted in meeting Mark alone and I let you. Why must you always have the upper hand?"
"I took three weeks off."
"Wow!"
"Where is this coming from?"
"I don't know. I just feel like you're living your life and that you're just dragging me behind you."
"Oh Andrew, no," said Jess, coming to her knees next to him. "I didn't know I made you feel that way. I thought you were on board with me."
"It's like you got on board and forgot to ask me to join you."
"I thought that getting married..."
"I thought so too. Before. Now, I feel like I'm still watching you from the sidelines."
"All right then... I'll agree to the bodyguards."
"No, damn it... don't just agree to them because I feel left out of your life."
"Then why should I?"
"Because your life might be in danger."
"But it's not."
Andrew ran his fingers through his hair and pulled at it a bit. "Maybe we rushed into this whole marriage thing."
"Don't say that. I love you with all my heart."
"Then acknowledge me as a part of your life."
Jess closed her eyes and say away from her husband, hugging her arms around her.
"I know I've been doing it," she said slowly. "I don't... I know why I do it too."
"Why?"
"Because... Andrew, I lost so much of my life, so many experiences. If I don't do everything now, I might lose out on some things. And I don't want to risk that."
"Jess, take your time. Your life is full. Don't rush in blindly into things you cannot control."
"What if I never remember Andrew? What if I miss out on certain things that could make my life whole?"
"Your life will be whole no matter what you do, or don't do. Because you are surrounded by people who love and care about you."
Jess started to cry softly, wrapping her arms around herself. Andrew soon came next to her, wrapping his arms around her. He pulled her into his arms, holding her tightly. Andrew kept her there until she stopped crying. That's when Jess looked up at him, gratefully.
"Side by side," she said.
"We do everything, side by side," he confirmed.
"Can you do something for me," she asked after a moment.
"Sure."
"Get me pickles and chocolate sauce from the kitchen."
"Pickles and chocolate sauce," he repeated, making a disgusted face.
"Yup."
"Cravings?"
"Oh, I'm not going to mix the two... that would be gross. I thought we might have sex or something."
"What did you want to do with the pickles?"
"Okay, let's get this straight... I want to eat some pickles, and I want chocolate sauce for some sex games."
Andrew laughed from deep inside his throat but he nonetheless set Jess back on the couch and went to the kitchen to get pickles and chocolate sauce.
An hour later, Jess was lying on the plush black carpet, slowly chewing on a large pickle, a green one from a jar, while Andrew licked on chocolate sauce he'd dribbled on his wife's back.
"I like this," she murmured contentedly.
"Do you now," he said.
"Mmmm, this is great... but I still want you," she said, looking over her shoulder.
"Again? Are you sure the baby'll..."
"The baby's fine... it's his mother you have to worry about... if you don't satisfy her soon, she might have to give Marcus B. a call."
"Bagwell," said Andrew in between strokes of his tongue on her back. "Has he been propositioning you?"
"Not yet, but I'm sure I can get him to."
"Quiet. I'll make you forget his name."
Andrew flipped her over and started licking at the moist core hidden between her legs. Jess's half-finished pickle fell to the rug, forgotten as another kind of pickle came into her. Jess reached up to her husband's shoulders and pumped up and down his shaft, running her fingers through his hair, pulling at it the same way his fingers dug into her buttocks. Their tongues danced wildly in and out of each other's mouth, often reaching cheeks and noses.
When Jess finally laid on top of Andrew, in front of a television set that spouted out news in French, she looked down at him with a smile, as she calmly chewed on the forgotten half of her pickle.
"If you keep this up, I'll have to forget all about Marcus."
"About who?"
"Right. About who," she said, dipping her tongue into the hollow of his throat.
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