OK people, this is the deal. #1) – I don't own anybody. I wish I did. But I don't. :) #2) I will update as often as I can. But it's hard to gather the motivation without the reviews. ;) I think you know what to do.

This chapter is kind of lame too -sorry. But it was my introduction to the present and basically where everybody is now...for good measure I am uploading Chapter 2 tonight also so you can really get into the story. :) I wanted to fit the 2 chapters into one, but it was just too long that way!

Chapter 1: Spirit of the Champ

Teddie was enjoying her first night on Monday Night Raw. She had photographed WWE events, before, but always as a member of the audience. Being able to be at ringside with the other photographers made her stomach tighten with excitement and happiness.

She dropped the Olympus and lifted the Pentax. It was her oldest camera and the one she relied upon the most. She knew how to manipulate it to a fault, but it had the slowest fps of the three. The Nikon was by far the best of the four and but it was also the most delicate and Teddie worried about bumping it against the steel ring post she'd chosen as her corner.

"Why aren't you in there?" The photographer beside Teddie flashed her a friendly smile.

"Excuse me?"

"I saw the way you bowled into that poor cameraman right before we went on air."

Teddie shook her head. She was seriously never going to live that one down. "Naw...I can't wrestle," She replied evenly.

"No?"

"I injured my knee a couple years ago," Teddie explained. "I slipped and fell and tore my meniscus. Only I wasn't treated properly the first time and I had to have surgery again a couple months ago. I still have to wear a knee brace and I had to stop photographing horse shows because I can't be on my feet for any longer than three hours." She finished and looked over at him. "Anything else you'd like to know?"

"Yes – are you single?" He joked.

"I have a three month old daughter, does that answer your question?"

Surprised flitted across his face. "I guess so."

"Good." Teddie leaned against the ring post and closed her eyes. She was already starting to get a headache from the stress of the day. Before she'd even arrived at the WWE, she'd gotten up at 5 in the morning to catch her flight to Indianapolis, checked into her hotel room and met with the hotel babysitter. Teddie wasn't enthusiastic about leaving her young daughter with a stranger, but she didn't have any friends yet in the business who would be willing to watch her.

Teddie was a little worried about Gracia now, but the babysitter was a sweet young college student who was very friendly and listened intently to all of Teddie's instructions.

The lights dimmed and the music began blaring as Y2J made his appearance. Teddie moved to the opposite corner of the ring where she could see his the flat screen that had been set up onstage, but where she still could focus on the curtain beyond. Jeff Hardy was supposed to giving commentary on Jericho's highlight reel and she didn't want to miss capturing a single moment.

She backed away from the ring post as Jericho climbed it and stretched out his arms. She wanted to drop to one knee and shot directly up into his face, but it was nearly impossible with the knee brace. Frustrated, Teddy bent her legs as far as she could and twisted to look up into his face. She focused, the flash fired. She glanced down at the 1 second review on her LCD screen and was satisfied with the results. But just in case, she dropped the Pentax and seized the Nikon, quickly snapping off two more shots before Jericho jumped down. He glanced at Teddie for a split second before making his way back to the center of the ring.

"Welcome to the return of the illustrious highlight reel!" Jericho bellowed.

A billow of fireworks erupted from the four corners of the ring, making Teddie stumble backwards in surprise, nearly causing her to lose her camera. She could hear Jerry the King laughing at her and she glanced over, grinning sheepishly.

"Now this is the talk show that spawned all the imitators: The Cutting Edge, Carlito's Cabana, Are You Smarter Than a Snitsky, Cooking with Goldberg – all of those ones and we're back baby!"

The crowd cheered faintly, as if they weren't quite sure where this was going.

"And tonight I want to talk about the Money In The Bank Ladder Match at Wrestlemania," Jericho continued, "the highly anticipated spectacle – annual spectacle – that guarantees the victor a WWE championship match whenever he chooses to cash it in for up to one year afterwards." Jericho held up one finger to punctuate his statement. "And my guest tonight is the man who qualified first for this year's Money In The Bank Match, the man who many feel is the number one odds on favorite to win the whole kit and caboodle! Ladies and Gentlemen, Jericholics and everyone in between – the Intercontinental Champion Jeff Hardy!"

Teddie swung her camera toward the entrance gateway. The screen flashed blue and purple as the rock music started up and Jeff Hardy burst into sight. Teddie held the shutter button down on her D200, leaning hard against the ring post to get the perfect picture of the wrestler who had become her hero.

He entered with a bang, sparking energy like a bolt of lightning. He was dressed in black pants, sneakers and a tight black shirt with an icicle pattern off the shoulder. His hair was gathered in a ponytail and ended in bright red tonight. Teddie could see it flashing back at her as Hardy greeted the fans before he climbed the stairs and entered the ring.

Jericho and Hardy shook hands. The fans began to chant, "Hardy, Hardy, Hardy!" Teddie smiled, but did not look away from her camera.

Jericho lifted his microphone, "Welcome Jeff and it sounds like the people of Indianapolis love you tonight!"

The fans let out a scream. Jeff shook his head and pumped his fist, smiling broadly.

Jericho continued. "But what I didn't mention is that I also qualified for the Money In The Bank, last week, by beating you."

Jeff nodded nonchalantly, as if to say, "What of it?"

"So let's go the jaw-droppingly, highly obscenely expensive jeritron, six thousand – in high definition – and see what transpired. Monkeys!" Jericho waved toward the highlight reel, where they replayed a brief segment from last week's match, wherein Jericho somehow managed to pull out the stops and defeat a weary Jeff Hardy. In Teddie's opinion, Jericho had gotten off easy because Jeff had obviously been tired before the match even started, and she had no doubt that if the Intercontinental Champ was up to par, he would have no trouble defeating the blond loudmouth or anyone else at Wrestlemania.

When they had finished the segment, Jeff raised his microphone.

"Well, I tell you what Chris..." He was cut off by Jericho as the latter placed his hand over Jeff's microphone.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa – I know where you're going with this. Wrestlemania, ladder match, Jeff Hardy, it's your time to shine! And I understand where you're coming from but I want you to understand where I'm coming from. Jeff, you can climb a twenty-foot ladder and do a swanton, crash through half a dozen tables, dip yourself in molten lava, shoot laser beams out of your eyes – it doesn't make one iota of a difference. Because there's nothing you or anyone else can do to stop Y-2-J from winning at Wrestlemania."

Jeff nodded, looked around as the fans expressed their mixed sentiments. Somewhere in the back, the chant started up again and grew louder, "Hardy, Hardy, Hardy..."

Chris spread his arms and shrugged.

Jeff spoke, "You know, Chris, a lot's changed since you were last here. A few years ago, I'd a probably wished you luck, nodded my head and walked away. But I'm not that dude anymore. I'm not satisfied," he shrugged his shoulders and shook his head, "you know, with just being me now. I'm going to do whatever it takes to beat you, and everybody else, come Money In The Bank, climb that ladder, get the briefcase, win the match, and become champion."

There were a chorus of cheers in response.

Jericho nodded. "Alright, fair enough. I mean, if you became champion, that'd be quite a feather in your cap, Jeff, but I want to remind you that I was the WWE Champion. I was the very first undisputed WWE champion...and I understand how high the stakes are in the Money In The Bank match. That's why from this point forward, I wanted to tell you, you're no longer my friend, you're no longer my peer, you're just a target. And from now until Wrestlemania," he shrugged, "...anything goes."

Jericho walked up to Hardy and the two men stood nose to nose.

Jeff lifted his microphone. "Chris – I couldn't agree with you more."

He set aside his microphone and held out his hand. But as Jericho accepted the assumed handshake, Jeff retaliated by kicking Jericho in the stomach and seizing his neck, dropping Chris in a twist of fate upon the canvas.

Behind her, Teddie could hear JR exclaiming, "Chris Jericho just met his fate! - A twist of fate! And Jeff Hardy leaves the highlight reel with a not-so-lovely parting gift for the host!"

Jerry the King responded, "Well, you heard Jeff Hardy say, he's no longer comfortable just being himself. From this point on, he wants to be WWE champion. And he's going to take absolutely whatever it takes to get to that point."

Teddie smiled. She knew Jeff Hardy's spirit. And she couldn't agree more.