They say that girl ya know she act
too tough tough tough
Well it's till' I turn off the light, turn off the light
They say that girl you know she act
so rough rough rough
Well it's till' I turn off the light, turn off the light
And I say follow me follow me follow me
down down down down
till' you see all my dreams
Not everything in this magical world is quite what it seems
Part One
"Whoa, Bradshaw, potential trouble, five o'clock." Farooq put his cards face down on the table. "Someone's underestimated our girl."
Bradshaw looked over to the pool table, where Jackie had been making money for the best part of the night. He wasn't sure what was going on, but things looked heated. They watched her arguing with her opponent. He was big and solid with a greasy pony tail, but Jackie had got the pool cue and well, she was Jackie. Toughest bitch around and unofficial member of APA. They exchanged a look. Farooq grinned. "Twenty bucks on Jackie."
"No way man!" Bradshaw shook his head. "We both know she'll kick his ass."
"Fine then, twenty bucks on Jackie throwing the first punch."
He thought about it, looking at the argument. Hmmm... "First punch?"
"Uh-huh." Farooq wasn't listening, he was too busy worrying about Jackie. Bradshaw smirked. "Make that fifty and it's a deal."
The rest of the bar was watching as well, but neither of the Acolytes noticed, their attention on 'their girl' who was obviously struggling to control her temper. Jackie wanted nothing more than to smack the asshole in front of her down, but she was sick of the warnings from Vince to tone down the bar fighting. Not that she cared what Vince thought, but he took up valuable time that could be better spent doing other things.
With a regretful sigh, she turned away. The biker sneered. "Always the same. You bitches complain about equal rights, but when it comes down to the nitty gritty, you're nothing but a chicken shit pussy. Go home and git back in the kitchen you little dyke."
Bradshaw started to stand, but Farooq stopped him. "She'll never forgive you."
The bar fell silent as Jackie turned back to the biker. "What did you call me?"
"I called you a dyke. That a problem?" He smirked over her shoulder to his friends in the back, who were watching with wide grins. Farooq turned quickly and sized them up, calculating the odds. Jackie raised an eyebrow. "I'm not concerned about that. What else was it you called me?"
"Ohhh..." The biker grinned coldly. "A chicken shit pussy. You act so tough, but when it comes down to it you've got nuthin."
"Oh really?" Jackie's voice was equally as cold. "Then you won't mind giving me a free shot will you?"
He looked her up and down. The girl had muscles� she probably was a lot stronger than she looked. Looking at his friends again, he saw they'd stopped grinning and realized that every patron in the bar was watching. Something was up. He looked back at Jackie, who was swinging the pool cue towards his head like a baseball bat.
"That's our girl! You owe me fifty!" Bradshaw whooped, as Greasy Ponytail's friends rushed forwards to aid their fallen friend, who was getting the shit kicked through him. Farooq ran over and punched a guy with a tattoo on the back of his skull who was trying to grab Jackie. Bradshaw joined in the fray, although after several minutes, it was unclear who was fighting who as everyone was hitting which ever person was closest. Farooq caught Bradshaw's eye and nodded. It was time to go.
Running outside, Bradshaw grinned. Trust Jackie. No other woman would've had the guts to even enter the bar, let alone take on a guy like Greasy Ponytail. They were at their truck, when Bradshaw froze. "Oh shit!"
"Get in the truck man, are you insane?" shouted Farooq. Bradshaw turned and looked around slowly. "Where the hell is Jackie?"
"I'm right here." Jackie's voice came from some trees. She strolled out casually, grinning from ear to ear and leaned against the truck. "I really needed that."
"What you need is a bullet bitch." An angry voice came from behind her. With a melodramatic roll of the eyes, she turned around. "And I suppose you're just the man to give it to me?"
"Damned straight." He came out of the trees and Farooq recognized him as the man with the tattoo on the back of his skull. In his right hand was a gun, which was pointing at Jackie. Bradshaw cursed and moved towards her protectively as Farooq sighed. "Why don't you leave the good lady out of this?"
"That ain't no lady." Skull Tattoo laughed. "Now hand her over to me and you two can walk away."
"You're not getting her." snapped Bradshaw, lunging towards Skull Tattoo. Farooq wasn't sure how it happened, but somehow, Bradshaw ended up on his ass on the ground, while Skull Tattoo clutched a struggling Jackie in one arm, holding the gun to her temple with the other. Oh boy, this is some seriously messed up shit. Bradshaw got to his feet, his body tense and ready for action.
"So your gonna kill me huh?" Jackie's voice had a taunting note. Bradshaw groaned inwardly. 'Bad move kiddo.' Skull Tattoo laughed again. "You bet your sweet ass I am."
He released his left arm from around her to pat her on the ass and that's when Jackie made her move. Spinning around with lightening quick reflexes, she kicked him in the balls hard, then pushed him. He fell to the ground, the gun dropping from his hand. He scrabbled around in the dirt for it, but by this stage Jackie had already made her break and was already climbing into the truck, the stunned APA close behind her.
"Damnit Jackie are you alright?" Bradshaw asked as the car screeched out of the parking lot. Jackie nodded, looking calm. "Yeah...some asshole slammed me against the cue rack. My back's gonna be sore tomorrow."
Farooq glanced over his shoulder. "We're a little more concerned about you're frame of mind after having a loaded gun held to your head."
"Oh that." She made a dismissive gesture. "He didn't have the balls to shoot me. I really don't think the gun was loaded anyway."
"That's not the point Jacqueline!" Bradshaw replied sharply. Jackie glared at him. "Then what is the point? And don't call me that!"
"You could have been seriously hurt! Or worse, killed!" Farooq answered. "And why not?"
"Because it's a lady-like, soft name and I'm neither." She crossed her arms and slumped into her seat. Farooq rolled his eyes. "Right. I forgot you pride yourself on being an unfeeling bitch."
"Better than falling apart over a minor issue."
"Fuckin hell Jackie, the man had a gun at your head!" shouted Bradshaw. How can she be so calm about this? "Any other woman would have at least shown some emotion by now!"
"Any other woman would be dead by now because she would've lost her cool by having a gun held to her head." Jackie retorted. Farooq glanced back again. "Any other woman wouldn't have gotten herself into this mess by picking a fight with a biker."
"What do you want me to do? Wander around in tube tops, mini skirts and come fuck me boots?" Off the look on Bradshaw's face. "Don't even consider it. Besides - being girly just isn't me."
"We don't want you to become more girly." stated Farooq patiently as he pulled the pick up truck into the hotel's parking lot. "We just want you to be more careful."
"I'll turn into Molly then." Jackie referred to the fact that despite a long-term relationship with the complex Raven, Molly Holly still went out of her way to avoid offending anyone. Bradshaw sighed. "We don't want you to turn into Molly either. It's just -"
"I can't win with you two can I?" Jackie climbed out of the truck and stormed off, without giving them a chance to reply.
Part Two
"We just thought we'd let you know in case she starts acting strangely or something." Farooq finished up. Vince stroked his chin. "You say she was acting as though nothing serious had happened?"
"Yes sir." Bradshaw was more than a little worried about Jackie's attitude. Anyone would have at least shown a little fear, or some shock afterwards, but not her. She was acting as though it had just been another bar room brawl and that scared him almost as much as seeing her life threatened.
"Maybe I should give her some time off or arrange a few sessions with Juanita?" suggested Vince. Juanita Maxwell, known simply as Nita to everyone, was the psychologist who traveled on the road with the WWF. She was fairly well liked by most of the roster and earned her keep by willing being on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Bradshaw shook his head. "She'll never go for that. Personally however, I wouldn't mind a few sessions with Nita. Maybe Farooq as well."
"I'm fine." Farooq insisted. "I'm just worried bout Jackie."
"I'll keep an eye on her." Vince remarked. "I'll also arrange those sessions with Nita for you Bradshaw."
"Thanks Vince." Farooq got to his feet, recognizing the meeting was over. Bradshaw paused at the door. "Can you not act like you know? Or if that's impossible, can you not let her know that we told you?"
"Of course." Vince agreed with a nod. "I might push her feud up with Jazz to take her mind off it a little."
"She'll enjoy that. Thank you." Bradshaw didn't want the matter to become part of the Federation's rumour mill. Farooq closed the office door and looked at him. "We'd better go check on our girl."
But when they knocked on Jackie's door, there was no answer. Usually they had connecting rooms, but due to a mix up by the hotel, Jackie's room connected to Raven and Molly's and APA's was connected to Spike and Tazz's. Farooq tried Raven and Molly's room, but all they got was an annoyed 'Piss off' from Raven. Bradshaw sighed. "Where to now?"
"Well where does she usually go at this time of the day?" They looked at each other helplessly, realizing how little they knew about Jackie's day to day life. "The gym?"
But she wasn't there either. After searching the hotel from top to bottom and asking everyone from Triple H to Sharmelle, there was still no sign of Jackie. Farooq sighed. "I'm worried bout her."
"I've been worried about her for the past twelve hours." Bradshaw replied, wondering what Jackie was up to.
~~~
"He's a wonderful guy, he really is. But he's one of the moodiest people I've ever met and I just couldn't handle it. So I left. Made sure it was over before it even begun." Tori explained. Molly grinned. "You just need to know how to handle him."
"If it involves dog collars, chains or handcuffs I don't want to know!" declared Nidia. Jackie was doing what she usually did when she wanted to avoid the Acolytes - indulging in some very rare girl time with her three friends. Despite the 'sort of' history between Tori and Molly, they got along rather well. Jackie and Tori had taken Nidia under their wing after Tough Enough. Shopping was the only 'girly' activity she really indulged in and even then, she justified it to herself by saying that men had to shop too.
"Oh, Leather & Lace!" Tori's eyes lit up. She smirked at Molly, then nudged Nidia. "Listen up new girl, I, personally am going to hand pick you a whole new wardrobe. And as for you little Molly, well I'm gonna find you an outfit that will make Raven roll over, shake hands and play dead just by looking at it."
"What's wrong with my wardrobe?" Nidia looked down at herself. "I'm not dressed any differently from any of the other women."
"That's the problem." Jackie informed her gently. "We want you to stick out, be different. I mean - between the four of us, I think we own enough jeans, leather pants, halter tops, tank tops and tube tops to open our own store. Not to mention every other woman in the Federation owns a wardrobe full of them as well."
"Well, what do you suggest then?" Nidia asked defensively, hands on her hips. Tori shrugged. "When I see it, I'll let you know."
"Help!" mouthed Nidia as Tori dragged her across the store. Molly laughed as Jackie shouted "Neck to toe black and balaclavas make great impressions, right Tor?"
"Eat me!" Tori shouted back cheerfully, punctuating the remark with a flip of the bird.
Molly had been watching Jackie carefully. "Is everything okay?"
"Why wouldn't it be?" Jackie replied, with a shrug, trying to remain calm. She hadn't lost her cool while the idiot had held a gun to her head, why would she start panicking over a few innocent questions from Molly?
"Rough night out?" Molly suggested. Jackie laughed, thinking 'If you only knew' then said "The usual. Beat the guys at poker, then was Queen of the pool table for the rest of the night. Some asshole decided it wasn't good for his image to lose to a woman and goaded me into hitting him over the head with a pool cue."
"Then what happened?" the blonde woman asked wide eyed. Jackie grinned at her. "The usual. His friends rushed to his defense, my boys rushed to my defense. Just another night out for Jackie and the APA."
"Molly!" shrieked Nidia from across the store. "Get over here and explain to Tori why I will never wear this in public!"
Molly hurried over as Jackie looked through some skirts. She didn't even own a single skirt, just an elegant red evening gown for the rare occasions she attended a formal event. The rest of the time it was jeans, leather pants, halter tops and tank tops.
"Heard you were out fighting again." Tori's voice broke into Jackie's thoughts. "Wanna hear my theory on the matter?"
"Uh oh." muttered Jackie. Tori was a female modern equivalent of Freud - everything related back to sex. Not that Tori was repressed in any way - far from it - but she felt that the role of sex in peoples behavior was severely underestimated.
"The girls who are the least aggressive - I don't mean tough, I mean aggressive, are always looking smug. Trish, Terri, Torrie Wilson, Kiebler, Debra, Molly, Lita and until very recently Stephanie. What do all these girls have in common?"
"They're all blonde bimbos cept for Molly who's not a bimbo, Stephanie who's not blonde and Lita who's neither?"
"No. They're all getting some on a regular basis. Torrie's with Tajiri, I'm fairly certain Stacy is doing Bubba, Debra is Mrs. Rattlesnake, Molly's got Bird Boy. Now the rumours are that Lita's bonking the Game, while his wife is busy with the Ayatollah." Tori reeled off the current list of 'Who's doing Who.' Jackie frowned. "You forgot Terri and Trish."
"Who aren't they doing?" Tori chuckled. Jackie rolled her eyes. "Good point. So, back to your theory?"
"You need to get laid. And soon. And well." Tori replied bluntly. "Other wise you'll get into a bar room brawl with the wrong asshole and end up dead."
"So you think that me getting into fights is just an outlet for sexual frustration?" Jackie wasn't sure she heard correctly. Her best friend nodded. "Just think about it okay?"
Jackie was saved from answering by another shriek from Nidia. "Molly! You're scaring me!"
"Oh this I gotta see!" Tori grabbed Jackie's arm and dragged her over to find out what was going on. As she got dragged across the shop, Jackie thought, 'No Tor, I don't just need to get laid. I need a man who I can be weak in front of who will still consider me the toughest woman alive.'
Part Three
"It was horrible. I mean, it's Jackie. I consider her to be one of my best friends and there ain't nothin� I wouldn't do for that girl. I don't care what she says - that gun was loaded and he would have shot her." Bradshaw sank into the couch.
Nita made a note on her pad of paper. "It must have been rather scary. Vince said that you told him that Jackie has been acting as though nothing serious has happened. How does that make you feel?"
"It scares me. It as though she believes she's invincible and she ain't." He replied, crossing his arms. Nita smiled sympathetically. "It's a text book denial technique. She'll probably start behaving erratically and more wildly than usual. By more wildly, I mean that instead of not backing down from a fight, she may start one, simply for the sake of fighting. Also, don't be surprised if she speaks or acts harshly towards you and Farooq, especially you're acting concerned about her."
"Do we ignore it or snap back?"
"Act the way you normally would if you thought she was being unnecessarily sharp with you. If she thinks you'll let her get away with stuff she normally wouldn't, then she'll push the boundaries." Nita thought for a second. "Don't treat her any differently than usual or she may pull away even more. She may act worse in an attempt to convince you she's okay - which she isn't."
"So we shouldn't talk her out of Van Dam's party tonight?"
"Well you can try." Nita's eyes twinkled. "But only if you want her to give you a black eye. Just keep treating her as you normally do, I cannot stress enough how important that is. But be there for when she needs you and be strong for her when she can't be strong."
"She doesn't need us!" objected Bradshaw. Nita shook her head and spoke emphatically. "She will need you. Now, more than ever."
"If you say so." He got to his feet. "Will you and Kane be coming to the party tonight?"
"I'm not sure. TJ has a slight cold," Nita spoke of her and Kane's two and a half-year-old son. "But on the other hand a friend of mine has come to visit for several days and Kane did say that if we wanted to go Rob's party then I was free to go."
"Hope to see you there then." Bradshaw grinned. "We'll save you a seat at the poker table."
Nita laughed. "Just be there for Jackie okay?"
"Will do." He promised, closing the door behind him. As he headed off to find Farooq, Bradshaw couldn't help thinking. 'You're wrong Nita. You may be the qualified shrink, but I'm one of Jackie's best friends and if I know anything about her, I know that she'd rather die than admit that she needs someone.'
~~~~
"I win." Nidia scooped the money up. "Again."
"Goddamn woman," Farooq said with a touch of admiration. "Who taught you to play poker?"
"I did." Answered Jackie proudly. Farooq nodded. "I mighta known. Now why don't you two buzz off? Go dance or something."
"Yeah Nidia. Why don't you go ask Jeff to dance?" teased Bradshaw, knowing of the young woman's crush on Jeff Hardy. Nidia went deep red. "I couldn't."
"Sure you could." Jackie encouraged her. "It's just two work mates dancing together. No big deal."
"Yeah Jackie and Bradshaw will get up and dance with ya." Grinned Farooq ignoring the double looks of death his friends were shooting him. Nidia's face lit up. "Would you?"
"I'll even go one better." The matchmaking skills that Jackie had picked up from Molly came out. "The three of us will hit the dance floor, after a few minutes I'll go ask Jeff to dance. Then, if you're feeling up to it, you can cut in, or if you're not, then Bradshaw can, leaving-"
"Bradshaw to dance with Jeff?" Suggested Farooq, trying to not to laugh. The other three ignored him, the women involved in their planning, Bradshaw hiding a smile at the way Jackie's face softened in the face of Nidia's delight. Jackie looked at her protegee. "Trust me, it'll work."
The trio made their way to the dance floor, while Farooq went looking for someone to play poker with. Jackie couldn't stop laughing as she watched Nidia trying to teach Bradshaw to dance and for the first time since it had happened, the encounter with the man with the skull tattoo were in the back of her mind.
"For a man who moves so fluidly in the ring, he certainly is uncoordinated on the dance floor." A voice laughed in her ear. Jackie turned around with a grin. "Jeff, you just read my mind."
"Mind if I cut in?" Jeff asked. An evil thought crossed Jackie's mind, but instead of speaking it, she just nodded. He tapped Nidia on the shoulder and raised an eyebrow in invitation. With a shy smile, she nodded and they found a space on the crowded dance floor.
"Wow." Murmured Bradshaw, watching them dance. "The girl can really move."
Tori bounced over, handing them a beer each. "Where's Nid-" She caught sight of her and shouted "Work it baby, work it!"
"Having fun?" asked Jackie. Tori nodded. "Oh yeah. Now I have proposition for you Bradshaw. Page has a rather large bet with the Dead Man that Jackie can't keep you on the dance floor for another 10 minutes and the Dead Man told me to tell you that if you help him win, he'll give you a cut."
"How large?" Bradshaw asked, interest piqued. Tori grinned. "Large enough."
She disappeared into the crowd, knowing that there was no way Bradshaw would refuse to help a friend win a bet.
"C'mon." Jackie punched him lightly on the arm. "You've made a bigger fool of yourself for less worthy causes."
The song changed to Bon Jovi's 'I'll be there for you.' She groaned, knowing what Tori was up to. "This is so humiliating."
"You've made a bigger fool of yourself for less worthy causes." He repeated back to her. "Besides, I can dance to something like this."
Feeling a little awkward, Jackie put her hands on Bradshaw�s upper arms as he lightly put her hands on her waist. After a couple of seconds he laughed nervously. "Everyone's staring at us."
"That's because when I get on the dance floor I cut loose, and you only step on a dance floor to hit someone on it." Jackie laughed. He grinned down at her. "Should we give them something to stare at?"
He pulled Jackie closer and put his arms around her. Returning the grin, she wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her head on his shoulder. Together they moved to the music.
"I'll be there for you,
These five words I swear to you,
When you breathe I wanna be the air for you
I'll be there for you"
Jackie let her mind wander. She thought about the events of two nights ago, without the little flutter of panic that usually accompanied the memory. She hated being afraid, considered it a sign of weakness, which was why she'd refused to talk about it with Bradshaw and Farooq. Jackie was well aware of the fact that she could have been killed, but she didn't want to admit that she'd been as scared as a human being could possibly be. It was only now, feeling safe and secure in Bradshaw's arms that she was willing to admit to herself just how scared she had been. She sighed contentedly.
"What's up?" Bradshaw asked gently, pulling away slightly and looking down at her in concern. He realized that he'd never seen her look so calm or serene before. A combination of pride and primal instinct rose up in him. Pride that Jackie felt comfortable and safe enough to drop the 'tough girl� act with him and the primal instinct to protect her from anything that threatened her.
"Nothing." Jackie replied . "Nothing's wro -"
She broke off suddenly with a gasp and stared off to the side, then broke out of Bradshaw's hold and pushed her way through the crowd, moving quickly towards the door. He followed her quickly, relieved to see that Farooq had already noticed what was happening and was waiting for her at the door, along with Nita and an unfamiliar woman. Jackie tried to push her way past them, but Farooq grabbed her in a bear hug.
"Let go of me!" She snarled, struggling to get free. Farooq shook his head. "No way. What's wrong?"
"Farooq, drop it." Nita spoke sharply. She looked at Jackie. "If he lets you go, will you stay here?"
"Fine." Jackie muttered. Bradshaw spoke up. "Can we move outside?"
The five of them moved to the hallway out side Rob Van Dam's room. Nita sighed. "First of all, I better introduce you to my friend. APA and Jackie meet Katie, Katie meet APA and Jackie. Now what's going on?"
"Jackie and Bradshaw were dancing - to a slow song none the less - when Jackie decided to bolt." Farooq summed up what had happened. Jackie glared at him. "I have my reasons."
"Bradshaw's not that bad on the dance floor is he?" Katie tried to defuse the situation and received four angry glares for her efforts. Nita sighed again. "What are they?"
"I don't have to justify myself to you." snapped Jackie. Farooq glared at her. "We're just worried about you Jackie. Is that okay?"
"Not when you go running around telling other people my private business!" She crossed her arms and glared from one to the other. "So which one of you dobbed me in to the shrink? You know what, it doesn't matter. I trusted both of you not go blabbing this about, but obviously you have been. Seems I was right, you can't trust anyone around here. God I thought you two were my friends."
Jackie stormed off, leaving a stunned and bewildered APA behind her.
Part Four
"Jackie, will you open the fucking door?" shouted Bradshaw, ignoring the looks from those passing through the corridor. "C'mon, lemme in, I wanna talk to you."
"I have nothing to say to you!" Jackie shouted back, angrily throwing clothes into her bags. He hit his head against the door. "Fine then, let me in and listen while I talk!"
"I don't want to hear anything you have to say!"
"Stop being such a bitch!" Bradshaw considered breaking the door in, but doubted that it would help his case with Jackie. Something slammed shut in her room. "Please Jackie, let me in."
"Hey, Bradshaw can ya keep it down?" Raven stuck his head out of the next door down, looking as though he'd just gotten out of bed. "Some of us are trying to sleep."
"Raven!" Bradshaw felt like he'd been thrown a life ring. "Is the door between your rooms unlocked?"
"Probably, why?" He yawned. Bradshaw repressed a sigh. "Jackie won't let me in and I really need to talk to her. Can I go in through your room?"
"Yeah I guess so." Raven blinked sleepily and held open the door.
"Hi Molly, bye Molly." Bradshaw hurried through their room, quietly opening and closing the door behind him. He stood against the wall and watched Jackie wedge a chair under the door handle. She turned around to finish packing and froze as she saw him. "How the fuck?"
"I have my ways." He shrugged. Jackie kicked the wall between hers and Raven and Molly's room. "RAVEN! You better pray I'm not reffing your next match asshole! Now get out of my room Bradshaw!"
"Not until you listen to what I have to say." He shoved 3 pairs of shoes out of the way and sat on the bed. She snatched the shoes up and glared at him. "Whatever you have to say I don't want to hear it!"
"Too bad! Now shut up for five minutes. " Bradshaw finally lost his temper. "Just because you don't seem to gave been affected by the fact that your life was in danger doesn't mean that nobody else has. I went to Nita because I needed her help in dealing with what had happened, because I care about you a hell of a lot, although Christ only knows why at the moment."
Jackie looked at him in disbelief. "You had trouble dealing?"
"Yeah I did. It's not every day you see one of your best friends with a gun at her head and believe me, it's not a fun experience. I was terrified." He admitted softly. "I really was. I'm proud of you for keeping your cool, because god knows, Farooq and I were too stunned to do anything. And we're also worried about you now."
"If he's so concerned then where is Farooq now?" She asked. Jackie was having trouble processing what she'd been hearing. Bradshaw ran a hand through his hair. "He thinks it would be better to just let you deal in your own way and be there for you when you need us."
"So why are you here?"
"Because I wasn't sure that you knew how worried we are or how much we care about you." Bradshaw replied simply. "I'm sure you don't realise that we consider you to be one of our best friends. The three of us - we're a team. We look out for you in the ring and out of it. If you need us we're here for you."
"I don't need either of you!" Jackie snapped. Bradshaw looked hurt for a brief second, then shrugged resignedly. "Not right now. But if you decide you ever do, then Farooq and I are here. Got it?"
Without giving her a chance to reply, he stood up and threw the chair away from the door and stalked out, slamming the door behind him. Jackie sank onto her bed, buried her head in her hands and for the first time since the fight, let herself cry.
Part Five
It wasn't until she checked out of her hotel room that Jackie realized two things. First of all, she always traveled with the Acolytes. Secondly, after the argument with Bradshaw this morning, it was doubtful they'd be waiting for her which meant she'd have to find some way of getting to the next city and quickly.
"Hiya Jackie!" Molly greeted her cheerfully as she and Raven approached the desk. Raven looked guilty. "I'm sorry for letting Bradshaw in this morning. I got the impression it was kinda important."
"That's okay Raven." Jackie shrugged. "There was some stuff that needed to be said that he knew I wouldn't like and I guess it was better than hearing them in the truck where there's no escape. Um, how are you guys getting -"
"We're travelling with Torrie Wilson and Tajiri." Raven shot an exasperated look at his girlfriend who just smiled. Jackie raised an eyebrow. "How did you get roped into that?"
"To be perfectly honest, I'm not sure." He said out loud, then muttered "Can you make sure you supervise next time Tori takes Molly shopping? That outfit nearly got me into trouble more than once."
"Roll over, shake hands and play dead, huh?" murmured Jackie as she broke up laughing, remembering the outfit that Tori had convinced Molly to buy. Molly and Raven settled their account, then turned back to Jackie. "So who are you riding with?"
Quickly, she sobered as she realized that she still needed to find someone to travel with. She sighed. "No idea actually. Know of anyone who hasn't left and needs a travel buddy?"
"Well Nidia's travelling with Lita and the Hardyz." Molly replied after a minute. Raven snapped his fingers as an idea came to him. "What about Tori? She's got that awesome car that she takes everywhere and usually travels alone."
"Have you ever traveled with Tori?" Jackie snorted.
Tori's driving was legendary around the roster. The rumor was that she was the last to leave the hotel one day and was the first person to check in at the next stop. It wasn't that she was a dangerous driver, but she drove as though she had nothing to lose and it was nothing short of a miracle that Tori had never been involved in any kind of accident. Jackie had taken a short trip with Tori one day shortly after she'd dumped X-Pac and had sworn never to repeat the experience.
Raven laughed. "Several times. Admittedly I was asleep for a large part of the trip, but you do get used to it."
"God, I hope so." Jackie sighed, unclipping her cell phone from her belt. Molly watched in concern. "Are you okay?"
"Why do people keep asking me that?"
"Jackie, you ran out on a party, then you and Bradshaw had a screaming match at an hour of the morning where I was still asleep." Molly pointed out. "Normally, you three don't leave parties, you get kicked out. And there's a couple of rumours going around about a bar fight that got out of hand. We're just worried about you."
"Nobody needs to worry about me." insisted Jackie. Raven sighed. "We know you can look after yourself, but that doesn't mean we don't worry. Now call Tori and make sure you can travel with her and if you can't, then we'll see what we can do."
"You guys are way too good to me." Jackie dialed Tori's number. "Hey Tor... god, word gets around fast... please? I'll owe you one... I'm not promising that! Fine... okay, 10 minutes... thanks." She hung up and looked at Molly and Raven. "Tori's gonna meet me in my room. Thanks guys."
"No problem." They replied in unison. She smiled at them. "I'll see you later."
~~~
"Where the hell is she?" Farooq looked at his watch. "She knows we're leaving at midday!"
"She's not coming." Bradshaw said firmly. "We may as well go."
"What have you done?" Farooq looked at him suspiciously. Bradshaw looked sheepishly. "I went to talk to her this morning."
"I'm surprised she let you in." remarked Farooq. Bradshaw looked even more sheepish. "Technically, she didn't."
He recounted the events of the morning. His best friend groaned. "You couldn't have done it more tactfully?"
"I couldn't help it." Bradshaw protested. "Besides it needed to be said."
"Yeah but in a gentle understanding way, so she doesn't think that we think she's being irrational." Pointed out Farooq. "Maybe you should have let me do it. You are kinda hypersensitive where Jackie's concerned."
"What d'you mean?" asked Bradshaw with a slight frown. Farooq shrugged. "However Jackie is making everyone feel, you seem to feel it more."
"Really?"
"Oh yeah." Farooq nodded seriously. "Debra mentioned it last night while you two were dancing. Should've seen the look on your faces man. I wish I had a camera... I don't think I've ever seen either of you look so content while conscious."
"Can you drop please?" Bradshaw asked. "Look, obviously she's not coming. She's probably with Tori or Molly or something. So let's hit the road."
"I'll just call her and make sure." Farooq replied, pulling out his cell phone. "Hey Jackie, it's me - oh okay. Yeah no problem. See you there."
Bradshaw looked at Farooq expectantly as he hung up. "She's riding with Tori, said she'll see me there, told me to tell you to kiss her ass. I'll plead your case and talk to her. I know you care about her man, but it is possible to care too much. Let's go."
Part Six
Jackie looked down at her glass with a sigh. Empty. 'How'd that happen?' she wondered, signaling the bartender.
"I think you've had enough kiddo." A voice broke into her alcohol clouded thoughts. Unsteadily, she turned to look at the person sitting next to her. "Shit Farooq, when did you get here?"
"About three shots ago." He replied as the barman put another shot of whiskey in front of Jackie. She reached for it, but Farooq beat her to it, downing the shot and chasing it with a mouthful of beer. "Hmm... now what's wrong? First you skip out on Bradshaw and me this morning, then you avoid us when we're trying to find out if your okay after being put in the Walls of Jericho. Now I find you getting drunk and no sign of a drinking buddy. Wanna talk about it?"
"Not really." Jackie grabbed Farooq's beer and chugged it. "Didn't mean to bail on you guys today, but Bradshaw and I kinda had an argument this morning."
"From what Bradshaw told me, he yelled at you while you stared at him at him in shock and answered back when he gave you the chance to get a word in." Farooq replied, gently taking the beer away from her. She snatched it back. "And I suppose you're about to do the same? Fuck it Farooq, I'm really not in the mood."
"I'm not gonna yell at ya." He replied gently. "I just want to let you know we're worried about you, especially Bradshaw. And that no matter what, we're here for you."
"Thanks, but I'll survive." Jackie stood up, still clutching the beer and weaved across the floor. Farooq watched her go and decided there was no sense in trying to push the matter. With a sigh, he settled the bill and left.
~~~~
Jackie squinted at the panel of numbers and tried to figure out which floor she wanted. Her room was on floor 5, but she wanted to apologize to Farooq for being such a bitch earlier and he and Bradshaw were on the 3rd floor. It was a tough decision. After staring at the panel for a good five minutes, Jackie hit the button for the fourth floor. 'I'll decide what to do when I get there.'
The lift arrived at the 4th floor and Jackie stumbled out of it, nearly crashing into Jeff and Lita. Lita grabbed at her to stop her from falling. "Whoa! Jackie, I think you better sit down for a bit."
"I'm fine!" Jackie insisted, leaning heavily on Lita. She exchanged a look with Jeff, who tried not to laugh. "She's toasted."
"No shit Skittles." Lita guided Jackie over to the couch and sat her down. "Should we get the Acolytes?"
"No!" Jackie snapped. " I don't want to see them!"
"Too bad." Jeff tried not to grin. "Because here comes Bradshaw."
Jackie groaned as she realized the Bradshaw was indeed headed towards the three of them. "Go 'way!"
"Forget it sweetheart." He knelt in front of the couch. "Are you okay?"
"I mean it, leave me alone!"
"No. Jackie, listen to me. Are you okay?" Bradshaw looked over his shoulder at Lita and Jeff. "You guys can head off if you want. I'll look after her."
"Thanks man." They headed off. Jackie glared at Bradshaw. "You can fuck off too. I don't need anyone to look after me."
"Maybe not. But a lot of shit's gone down in the past few days and I'm worried about you."
"Y'know, I'm hearing that from you a lot lately." She replied, yawning widely. Bradshaw sighed. "I'm going to escort you back to your room. Just to make sure you get there in one piece."
"I'm not moving!" Jackie replied firmly, slouching down on the couch and crossing her arms. He stood up. "Jackie, I'm bigger, stronger and a hell of a lot more sober than you are. I will carry you over my shoulder if I have to."
"I can't win with you can I?" She repeated her lament of three days ago. Bradshaw rolled his eyes. "It's not about winning."
Without further comment, he scooped Jackie up in his arms and carried her over to the lift. She kicked and struggled. "Damnit, will you put me down?"
"No, I will not."
The left doors opened and Kane, Nita and Katie walked out. Nita raised an eyebrow. "Well, well, well. What do we have here?"
"Jackie's shitfaced." Bradshaw announced bluntly and a little needlessly. "And since she's having a little trouble walking, I figured I'd make sure she gets back to her room without getting herself into yet more trouble."
The comment was made innocently enough, but Jackie took offense and very loudly too. "I can fucking take care of myself! I think I proved that very effectively last time fuck you very much. And I still say the gun wasn't loaded."
"Gun?" Kane looked from Jackie to Nita and back again. "What's this about a gun?"
"Long story." muttered Brashaw, glaring down at Jackie. "I'd better go."
He hurried into the lift and pressed the button for the fifth floor. Jackie settled in against him, realizing that he wouldn't put her down until they got back to her hotel room. It wasn't bad at all, being curled up in Bradshaw's arms. He was being rather gentle and tender, taking care not to bump her arms or legs and trying to make the trip as smooth for her as possible.
They remained silent until they reached Jackie's hotel room. Once inside, Bradshaw set her down gently on the bed. "How are you feeling?"
"Not good actually." She admitted, placing a hand over her eyes.
"I'll get you a glass of water." Bradshaw stood up and headed for the sink. "It'll ease the hangover a little tomorrow."
He came back with a glass of water. "Can you sit up?"
"I think so." Jackie tried to sit up, but kept falling back onto the bed. Trying not to smile, Bradshaw sat the bed next to her on the double bed and positioned himself so that the next time Jackie tried to sit up, instead of falling back onto her back, she fell against Bradshaw. He put a hand on the back of her neck and raised the glass to her mouth. "Here you go kiddo."
She took a long drink from the glass, then leaned into Bradshaw, mumbling "Needed that."
"Feel better?" He asked, putting the now empty glass on the bedside table. Jackie nodded against his chest. "A little."
"Good." With some trepidation, Bradshaw placed his arm around her waist. Instead of the abuse he was expecting, Jackie sighed and snuggled up to him. He took advantage of her drunken state to ask something. "Hey Jackie? Why did you run out of RVD's party?"
"Hmmm?" She murmured. "Oh that... I thought I saw that guy with the skull tattoo."
"The one that had the gun?" Bradshaw asked slowly, mind ticking over. Jackie nodded. "Yeah him. It freaked me out a little. I know that you and Farooq will try do whatever you can to protect me, but I like being able to take care of myself."
"Jackie, we will do whatever is in our power to protect you." He replied. "Look, we know your one of the toughest bitches around. We know you can look after yourself. We know that you don't need someone to look out for you, or back you up if you're in trouble. But we'll do it anyways. And ya know why? Cause we know that we don't have to."
"So if you had to look after me then you wouldn't?" She frowned. Bradshaw laughed. "In a nutshell. Kiddo, we like you exactly the way you are, but we want you to know that you don't have to be tough all the time. You can break down every now and then and we won't think any less of you."
"Is that a promise?"
He smiled a little sadly. "Don't you trust me?"
"You're one of very few people I do trust."
Suddenly Bradshaw was struck by how vulnerable Jackie looked. He lightly dropped a kiss on her forehead, then explained sheepishly. "I just thought you might need a little TLC."
"Honey, you have no idea just what I need right now." She purred seductively, suddenly sounding sober and turning her face towards his. Only hesitating a split second to wonder what was going on, Bradshaw leant down and lightly brushed his lips against hers.
Jackie deepened the kiss instantly, but after only a few seconds, Bradshaw gently pulled away and licked his lips regretfully. He was able to taste the beer and whiskey that Jackie had spent the past few hours consuming and the reality of what he was doing sunk in. Jackie looked up at him. "What's wrong?"
"You're drunk." Bradshaw replied, tucking a loose braid behind her ear. "And I'm not doing this while you're drunk. I'm not gonna take advantage of you like that. Now get a good nights sleep bub."
He carefully disentangled himself from Jackie and left as the glass of water shattered against the wall.
Part Seven
"Tori! Where the hell are you?" shouted Jackie as she stormed into the hotel's gym, ignoring the looks she was getting off the others. Tori usually headed for the gym first thing in the morning, claiming it helped her wake up. Personally Jackie found that a strong cup of coffee and half an hour staring at the Cartoon Network did the same job.
"Over here." Tori waved from the cardio area where she was jogging on a treadmill. Jackie pointed at the door. "Cafe. Now."
Looking a little bewildered, Tori got off the treadmill and gathered her bag, then followed Jackie out of the gym, hurrying to catch up to her friend. "What happened? Did you take my advice?"
Jackie waited until they were alone before answering. "You know how drunk I was last night right?"
"Jackie, you rang me so I could give the cabbie the address to the hotel." Tori hid a grin. "Yeah, I have a fairly good idea of how drunk you were."
"Well, I'd run into Farooq earlier in the night and was kinda bitchy to him. I wanted to go apologize to him and ran into Lita and Jeff. They made me sit down, then Bradshaw came along." explained Jackie slowly. Tori's eyes lit up in delight. "Did you fuck him?"
"No Tor I didn't." She looked away. "But we kissed."
"Details!" The blonde demanded. Jackie recounted as much of the events of the night before that she could remember. Tori smiled. "He said that? That's so sweet! Trust me, there aren't a lot of guys around who won't take advantage of a gal while she's drunk. He's got it for ya and he's got it bad."
"Bradshaw?" Jackie snorted. "Please. I'm the gal they look out for because I don't need em to look out for me."
"Jackie!" Tori tapped her on the forehead. "Let me take over Nita's job for a second and make a whole heap of assumptions based on what I know about Bradshaw."
"That reminds me." Jackie cut in. "How the hell do you manage to remain friends with the women who are now with your exes?"
"Remember - I left Kane. Admittedly it was for X-Pac but it seemed like the right thing at the time." Tori shrugged. "Besides, he was in love with her long before I bailed. And Raven's not an ex cause technically we weren't together. Besides, how can you not like Molly?"
"I often ask myself that same question." replied Jackie with a grin. "Back to the psychoanalysis."
"Okay.." Tori thought for a minute. "He loves the fact that you can take care of yourself and that you don't need him to look after you all the time. It's like... okay, say you get a job at a grocery store. You work the graveyard shift each night and you get a 10 minute break. Now the only place to get something to eat is at the fast food place next door. At first it's great, eating hamburgers and crap but eventually, you get sick of it because there's no variety. You must eat fast food or go hungry. Get what I'm saying?"
"Yeah, but how does this relate to Bradshaw?"
"Let's say you couldn't wrestle for shit. You still hang out with the guys, you can still go drink for drink with them, you can still kick their asses at poker. One night in the ring, you're getting beaten up by... for the sake of discussion, Lita. The Hardyz run out, so in return APA run out. They've helped you once, no big deal. It happens a couple more times, no big deal. They help out a friend and get to kick a little ass. But eventually, they get sick of abandoning their poker games to save your ass. They feel obligated to do it, instead of doing it because they're worried about you getting hurt."
Jackie thought about it. Tori's words made sense and explained what Bradshaw had been telling her the night before. It was one of the things she'd always enjoyed about her friendship with Bradshaw and Farooq - that they wouldn't interfere if things got a little out of hand, but when it degenerated into complete chaos, they'd be out there watching her back.
"Nice work." A voice broke into Jackie's thoughts. She and Tori looked down the end of the hall, where they saw Nita and her friend Katie, heading towards them. Tori groaned. "How long have you been there?"
"Long enough." Nita smirked. Katie looked at Jackie in amazement. "You actually had to call someone to tell the cabbie where you wanted to go?"
"Apparently." Muttered Jackie, glaring at Tori, who started laughing. Nita grinned at Tori. "If I'm not careful then you'll end up with my job. I don't think I could have explained it in a way that anyone would have understood what I was on about."
"Yeah, she kinda forgets that not all of us are qualified shrinks." Katie teased her friend. "I have to keep a dictionary by the phone so I can understand what she's talking about."
Nita ignored Katie. "Tori's right about one thing though. Bradshaw is totally into you."
"Is that your professional or personal opinion?" Jackie asked a little sharply. Nita grinned. "Professional. Personally, I think you could do a hell of a lot worse."
Jackie looked at the three women skeptically. "Yeah, except you're forgetting something. It's Bradshaw. He ain't the relationship type."
Nita and Tori exchanged a look. "Ya know Jackie, denial isn't just a big river in Egypt."
"Oh fuck you." Jackie finally lost her temper. "Christ Tor, I only came to you for a minor bit of advice and it turns into a therapy session. If I wanted to see a shrink, I woulda gone to her. Speaking of which - who asked you to join in the conversation anyway Maxwell?"
"Jackie, settle down." Tori put her hand on Jackie's arm. "It's just that-"
"You're worried about me." She rolled her eyes. "Everyone is."
"Actually hon, we think you need a man." Tori replied. She thought about her words for a second. "That didn't come out right."
"Don't worry about it." Jackie shrugged, suddenly tired of the bickering. "I'm outta here okay? I'll see yas later."
She walked down the hall without looking back as Farooq came round the corner from the other end of the hall. The three women looked at him without saying anything and he sighed guiltily. "Since Nita and Katie joined the conversation?"
Tori elbowed him in the side. "So?"
"Jackie's a wild cat." He shrugged. "We all know that. But if anyone's gonna tame her, it's gonna be Bradshaw. She's just gotta realize he's not gonna cage her in completely."
Part Eight
"Have another beer." Farooq instructed, checking the time. "No matter what Jackie thinks of you right now, she does love this job and she's not gonna do anything to risk her job. Now deal the cards."
Bradshaw dealt the next hand half-heartedly. Jackie had managed to successfully avoid him since that night, despite his attempts to see her. Molly and Raven had been no help, nor had Tori or Nidia. The only things he'd discovered was that Stephanie was indeed having an affair with Chris Jericho, something that Triple H was unconcerned about, since he was busy having an affair with Lita. Oh yeah - Debra had a pinball addiction and Test craved thick shakes with raw eggs and chopped nuts in the middle of the night.
"Quick, deal me in, Raw starts in 5." Jackie slid into the seat next to Farooq, shooting Bradshaw an evil look. He ignored it and slid a beer across the table. Jackie snorted. "Yeah, you'd love to see me drunk again wouldn't ya?"
"You were the one who made the moves on me!" Bradshaw hissed back. "You were too drunk to have any idea what the hell you were doing! If I'd wanted you, I could've had you without any trouble."
"So I'm meant to be grateful for your gentlemanly behavior?" She snapped sarcastically. "If you were any kind of 'gentleman' then you wouldn't have kissed me and you have stayed through the night to make sure I didn't choke on my own vomit."
"Thank you for the graphic image bub." Farooq looked at Jackie. "And I'm sure that after -" His head snapped round to look at Bradshaw. "You kissed her?"
"Technically. But she came on to me!" Bradshaw defended himself. Jackie snorted. "I was drunk!"
"Yeah and that's why I left."
"That's why I came onto you." She retorted. "Why else would I have wanted you?"
A look of pain flashed across Bradshaw's face and he pushed his chair back violently. "I'm getting outta here."
"But we're meant to stay here!" protested Farooq. Bradshaw ignored him and stalked off angrily. Farooq turned to Jackie about to say something, but stopped when he saw that she'd buried her head in her hands and was staring blankly at the table. Without a word, he moved his chair around the table and put his arm around her shoulders. "It's okay bub. We always hurt the ones we care about most."
~~~
Bradshaw stalked around the back restlessly. God, but Jackie knew which buttons to hit to piss him off! Had she always been able to get under his skin so easily or was it just a recent thing? He had no idea, but decided a visit to Nita's office would help him figure it out, along with why he hadn't told Farooq what had happened. His friend and tag partner had known something was up and had questioned him on the matter, but Bradshaw had remained silent. What was he supposed to say? "Yeah, I returned the videos okay. Oh and by the way, I kissed Jackie while she was wasted." Yeah, sure.
"Hey watch it!" A voice snapped as Bradshaw hurried around a corner, nearly knocking someone over. Automatically, he apologized. "I'm sor- Oh. It's you."
Jazz glared up at him. "Yeah it's me. Is that any way to speak to the lady who happens to be your Women's Champion?"
"All I see is a women with a title, no champion and certainly no lady." Bradshaw returned the glare. Suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, Jackie appeared at his side. "What the hell do you want?"
"Just talking to him. Jealous?" Jazz smirked. Jackie smirked back. "Of your scrawny little ass? What's the matter? Billy and Chuck too much man for ya? Cause if you can't handle them, then there's no way you could handle either of my boys."
Bradshaw was surprised at the use of the word 'my' although he wasn't sure why. He and Farooq had always referred to Jackie as their girl as was the tradition around the locker room. Lita was the Hardyz girl, and Matt and Jeff were 'Lita's boyz.' It was just the way things were.
"What's the matter bitch?" taunted Jackie. "Afraid to take me on yourself? One on one or you and your boys can come and find me and my boys at bar later and take us on there."
"Whatever." Jazz held her hand up in Jackie's face and turned away as Bradshaw realized a challenge had been thrown down. As Jazz stomped off, he touched Jackie lightly on the arm. "C'mon. Let's go talk to Flair. See if we can get you a title match."
Unknown to Jackie, Bradshaw and Jazz, the entire exchange had been caught on camera and Farooq was waiting for them in Ric Flair's office. Before any of them could say anything Flair spoke up. "If you can wait till Raw, you get a six person intergender tag match. If Jackie makes a pin, she gets the Women's belt. If any of you boys get the pin, you become number one contenders for the belts."
"What if they win?" asked Farooq. The Nature Boy grinned. "Then they get congratulated for winning. But tonight, you have a match against The Dudleyz. Better go and suit up guys."
Part Eight:
"Alright girl, the bitches are nearly done for. We'll make sure nobody interferes and you get that three count. The belt is yours." Bradshaw muttered hurriedly as he tagged in Jackie. Farooq was busy beating up Chuck on the outside and Jazz was laid out near the announce table. That left Billy laying prone in the ring.
The stipulations had changed so that if APA and Jackie won, no matter who got the pin, APA got a shot at the belts. Upon hearing this, Farooq had stated "I don't care what we have to do, but Jackie is gonna make that pin. I don't care if you keel over out there - I will roll your corpse onto one of them for the pin."
Jackie stepped into the ring to a loud cheer from the crowd. She kicked Billy a couple of times, then hooked his leg and made the cover.
1... 2... 3!
"YOU DID IT!" whooped Bradshaw, ducking into the ring and grabbing Jackie in a bear hug, which lifted her off the ground. Farooq punched Chuck one last time and joined them in the ring as Lillian announced. "The winners, the new number one contenders to the Tag Team Titles, the APA and your new Women's Champion, Jackie!"
The APA's theme music hit, causing the boys to exchange confused looks and then look at Jackie, who shrugged, then grinned. "It was a team effort... besides, I am your girl after all."
She flicked her eyes towards Bradshaw, but he was motioning the ref to get the Women's belt. Farooq saw it however, and patted Jackie on the shoulder. They'd had a long talk the previous night and while she hadn't actually come right out and said that she cared about as Bradshaw as more than a friend, Farooq knew her well enough to listen to what she wasn't saying. And as for Bradshaw... well, he hadn't said anything on the matter, but his feelings were fairly obvious to everyone. Everyone except Jackie that is.
Tim White handed Jackie the belt and the three of them made their way to the back. Bradshaw lightly touched Jackie's shoulder. "Let's go out and celebrate. Shower, change, meet you at the truck in half an hour?"
"It's a date." She grinned at him and headed for the Women's Locker room. Farooq elbowed his friend. "Don't look like you've been rejected when you haven't even made your move."
"There's no point in making any kinda move." Bradshaw replied, sounding wistful. "Jackie doesn't want a man in her life. She ain't the relationship type. So there's no point in even trying. The best I can hope for is her friendship."
~~~
"So when are you accepting your first challenge Jackie?" teased Lita. Tori smirked. "You just want the gold by Wrestlemania to compliment the gold Trips is gonna win off Jericho."
"Shut up Tori!" warned Lita, glaring at the blonde, who shrugged. "Well, if you don't want shit given, then don't make it so damned obvious!"
"Yeah, Tor has this awesome black balaclava that she can lend you so that nobody knows it's you sneaking in and out of the soon-to-be-divorced one's room." Raven teased, pulling Molly onto his lap as she placed the next round of drinks on the table. Tori rolled her eyes. "The issue here is not me! The issue here is Lita and the Game!"
"Actually the issue is when Jackie's gonna defend her title." Lita shot another glare at Tori. Bradshaw laughed. "She only just got the damned thing!"
"Yeah, but the belt doesn't come up that often." pointed out Nidia. Jeff started laughing. "And what makes you think you're gonna get a shot at it?"
"Did I say I was gonna get a shot at it?" She replied quickly, pulling lightly on his pony tail. He slung an arm around her neck. "Point taken. Now come on, we've been here for half an hour and haven't gone near the dance floor yet."
"Yeah Nid." smirked Tori. "Go shake your thang for the boy."
They both stuck their middle fingers up at her and headed for the dancefloor. Raven nudged Molly. "Wanna dance?"
"Oh he's got such a way with words!" Swooned Tori sarcastically. Molly ignored her as she dragged her man on to the dancefloor. Farooq rolled his eyes. "Tor do you wanna try being less of a bitch?"
"Not really." She grinned mischievously. "It's just my way, they know that. And I mean, c'mon, Raven, who usually sounds like he swallowed a dictionary can only muster up 'Wanna dance?' It's astoundingly pathetic... and equally adorable."
"Tor, piss off. You and Lita go bug Kiebler or something." Jackie grinned at her best friend. Tori started to stand, but Lita ignored her and continued looking over Jackie's shoulder. Bradshaw frowned. "Lita? What's up?"
"Don't stare, but there's a guy over there with a tattoo on the back of his skull. I wonder how much that hurt?" The last bit was said in a tone that suggested Lita was seriously considering getting one of her own. "He's with a biker who's ponytail is in serious need of washing. They keep looking in this direction and smirking. Friends of yours?"
Bradshaw and Farooq exchanged a look. Jackie felt the hair on the back of her neck rise. Tori bit her bottom lip. "What's up?"
"Ask me no questions and I'll tell you no lies." Farooq said quickly. He had a sneaking suspicion that he knew who the men were and he didn't want the two women to be part of whatever went down. "Go join one of the big men, Show, Nash or preferably Taker and Kane. Tell them I'm asking them to keep an eye on thing. Don't interfere, it'll only make things worse. Got it?"
"Got it." Tori and Lita repeated in unison, looking worried. Tori got in a parting shot as they turned away. "I hope to Christ you three know what you�re doing."
"It's them isn't it?" Jackie asked irritably. "It's the guy with the skull tattoo and the greasy pony tail isn't it?"
"Jackie." Bradshaw put his arm around her protectively and leaned in close so their foreheads were touching. "You said that I was one of very few people you trust. Do you still trust me?"
"Yeah."
"Do you trust me when I tell you that if these goons want do to anything to you then they'll have to get through us first? That Farooq and I will do anything we can to protect you?" His voice was gentle, but firm. Jackie nodded slowly as a sarcastic voice broke in. "Well, well, well. What do we have here?"
Farooq shot Bradshaw a look, willing him to remain calm. "Just about to play a round of poker. Should I deal you in?"
"What are the stakes?" asked the biker with the greasy pony tail. Bradshaw shrugged. "What've you got?"
"Bout $200 each." The APA exchanged looks and Skull Tattoo added, "To begin with."
"Welcome to the game." Bradshaw was having trouble keeping his calm. Farooq kicked him under the table as Jackie stood up. "I'll grab more beer."
"Get us some too will ya?" demanded Greasy Ponytail, without looking up from his wallet. The sudden silence around the table. He looked up to see Farooq and Bradshaw glaring at him. "Jackie is not the beer wench. She's getting more beer for herself. If you want beer then get up and get it yourself."
"That goes for anything else you want." added Farooq icily. Skull Tattoo and Greasy exchanged a look. "So if we want anything, then all we have to do is get up and get it?"
"That's right." replied Bradshaw. The words had barely left his mouth before Skull Tattoo hit him with a hard right hook. Farooq jumped to his feet, but with lightning quick reflexes Greasy Ponytail moved behind him and held a knife to his throat. "You said if we wanted anything all we had to do was get up and get it. Well, we want the bitch with braids."
On the other side of the room, Tori noticed what was going on and ignoring Farooq's instructions, grabbed Taker by the arm. "The APA are in trouble, you go help and I'll get Jackie out of here."
She headed for the bar without waiting for a reply. The Undertaker and Kane exchanged a look and started walking slowly and deliberately over to the Acolytes table.
"Jackie!" Tori grabbed her best friend by the arm. "C'mon, we gotta get you outta here!"
"Tor?" Jackie looked at her friend in confusion, then looked over to the table she'd been at minutes before. "God, no!"
She wrenched her arm free and ran over to her friends, dropping to her knees beside the semi-conscious Bradshaw. She put his head on her lap and stroked his forehead gently. He smiled up at her groggily and took her hand in his. Jackie smiled back shakily and kissed him on the cheek.
By now, nearly the entire place had their attention on what was happening. Kane had restrained Skull Tattoo and was now holding his arms behind his back, while Taker was watching Greasy Ponytail carefully. "Let him go. You don't want to make this any worse on yourselves."
"Worse?" repeated Skull Tattoo, looking around. Taker nodded. "See, ya've assaulted two people in a bar full of their friends and workmates and from what I can gather, you were planning to abduct a third person. Did I miss anything?"
"I'm not entirely certain, but I do believe that holding a loaded gun at someone's head is also a chargeable offence." Kane added, suddenly making a few connections. Undertaker nodded. "I'm certain that someone has called the police by now."
'And if they haven't yet, then they'd better.' He thought. Raven held up his cell and nodded. Greasy Ponytail blustered. "But she hit me first."
"Oh very mature." muttered Farooq. Kane shrugged. "Then charge her with aggravated assault."
Jackie looked up at Kane and wondered how much he knew. It was possible that Nita had filled him in, although it was more likely that she hadn't. Nita was nothing less than 100% professional and to tell her fianc�e some of the things she'd learned in the office was something that Jackie just couldn't imagine her doing.
The Brothers of Destruction stared down Greasy Ponytail. Slowly, he released his hold on Farooq and dropped the knife. Undertaker swooped down to pick it up, just as the police burst into the room.
Epilogue
"How are you feeling?" fretted Jackie. Bradshaw rolled his eyes. "I'm fine Jackie! I appreciate the fussing, I really do, but you don't have to do anything."
She sat gingerly on the edge of the bed, then let out a surprised shriek as Bradshaw pulled her back against him. Jackie settled against him with a smile as he wrapped his arms around her. "Now I'm feeling damned good."
Jackie laughed quietly. "You guys were very brave. I'll never be able to thank you enough."
"You don't have to thank us doll." Bradshaw replied, kissing the top of her head. "We've been telling you for the past ten days that we'll look after you and be there if you need us."
"I know." That was all she needed to say. They'd discussed everything the night before. Bradshaw had recieved a concussion and a minor head injury from the 'fight' and was under strict orders to get plenty of rest. Jackie had barely left his side since then, even sleeping on the couch in his bedroom until Bradshaw convinced her that she could quite easily sleep on the other side of the king sized bed without disturbing him.
Jackie shifted so she and Bradshaw were face to face, then pushed him onto his back and rested her head on his chest. Smiling, Bradshaw stroked her temple with his fingertips. "With everything that's happened, you realise that we're gonna be the hot topic of gossip when we get back?"
She nodded. "I know. But there's enough people there who know the full and true story of what happened. Kane for one."
"I meant you and me." His voice was soft. "They're gonna be talking about us. Whether we are or we aren't. How the hell does Kane know?"
"I told him." Tori barged into the room with a smug look. "I wanted to be sure that there was someone who knew what was going on in case something happened - for my own peace of mind."
"But Kane? And did you get in here anyway?" Bradshaw couldn't understand the friendships Tori maintained with her ex-boyfriends. She nodded and leaned against the desk. "We're friends. I knew he'd look out for you guys and that Taker would help him unconditionally. So Nita didn't break her professional code of silence or whatever it's called. And I was with Jackie when she used the spare key to get in the other day."
"Remind me to move the key." Bradshaw told Jackie. Tori rolled her eyes. "Are you two looking for some quality time or do you feel up to guests?"
"Oh god, who's here?" Jackie could see her time alone with Bradshaw vanishing quickly. Tori grinned. "Farooq, Raven, Molly, Lita and Nidia. The nearest and dearest."
"Oh tell em to piss off." muttered Bradshaw grumpily as Jackie sighed. "So where's the circus?"
"In the den." Tori replied, heading back out of the room. Jackie slid off the bed. "C'mon you big lug. We'll never hear the end of it otherwise."
"How ya doin man?" Farooq punched Bradshaw in the arm, in the age old greeting of close friends as his two best friends entered the room. Bradshaw punched him back and grinned. "I'm great. Laying around all day with a gorgeous and sexy wench to keep me entertained - ow! Damn that hurt babe."
"It was meant to." Jackie replied with a grin. Raven rolled his eyes. "If I hear the words 'Want me to kiss it better?' I'm gonna be sick."
"Shut up." Molly elbowed him. "I think it's sweet."
"Well it's about time, that's all I have to say." Nidia grabbed a handful of popcorn. Jackie raised an eyebrow at her. "So how's Jeff kiddo?"
The young woman blushed and decided to shut up. Lita laughed. "You really need to get over this shy thing, cause otherwise your gonna end up like these two and it will drive me insane!"
"There's a short trip!" cracked Tori. "Better make a move on the Skittles soon or you'll be known as the gal who drove The Game's woman insane."
"Oh shut up Tori!" snapped Lita. Jackie laughed, resting her head against Bradshaw's and watched her friends. Tori was still teasing Lita, Nidia was watching them with an amused smile, still looking embarassed at the jibes about Jeff Hardy. Raven was throwing jellybeans at Molly, who was trying to catch them in her mouth. Farooq caught her eye and grinned and she knew that he was genuinely happy for them.
Nothing had changed. For some reason she'd thought that they might act differently around her now that she and Bradshaw were together. To her friends it seemed no big deal, which was a major surprise, especially given Tori's penchant for merciless teasing. For her, this new relationship with Bradshaw was something that she'd adjusted to easily, but what Jackie couldn't grasp was the realisation that Bradshaw would look after her more than willingly, that she didn't have to be so tough anymore.