As Close As I'll Get
by Lauren

Rating: PG (language)

Disclaimer: I own Lauren/Crystal. I assume Chris Jericho owns himself (or maybe his wife does ^_^). Aaron Tippin (& writers) own the song "That's As Close As I'll Get To Loving You". WWF owns everything else except the plotline *g*

Distribution: My own site-if anyone lese wants it, just please let me know so I'll know where to find it :^)

Spoilers: None, but I'm using the current timeline (as of 9/10/2001)

* * * * * * * * *

She woke up around 5:30am with a huge headache. She sat up and massaged her temples. It wasn't helping. She closed her eyes again and reopened them to find the room was now spinning. That was when she noticed the nauseaus feeling in her stomach. Ignoring the spinning, she ran into the bathroom, slamming the door after her.

It didn't wake him. He didn't even roll over. She came back out after a few minutes, her face flushed, and a hand over her stomach. She climbed back onto her bed and leaned back against the headboard. She glanced over at him.

"Chris?" she asked. Nothing. "Chris?" she said, louder this time. Still nothing. She groaned, then threw a pillow at him. "Ass clown, wake up!"

His eyes opened slightly. "Too early..." he muttered.

"Chris?" she hissed.

"Wha-at?" he asked, sounding quite annoyed. He turned his head to look at her and quirked an eyebrow. "You okay?"

She groaned. "Do I look like I'm okay?" she asked with a perfect mix of whining and sarcasm. She leaned forward and rested her head in her hands.

He sighed, then got up, sat next to her, and put an arm around her. "You know, if you hadn't..."

She groaned.

"Okay, I'll save that for later. The headache's back, I take it," he said.

Lauren raised her head to glare at him.

"I get it, I get it," he said, backing off slightly. He rested his palm on her forehead. "Geez, you're burning up."

"Well, duh," she commented, then leaned her head on his shoulder.

Chris closed his eyes. "You're not gonna puke on me, are you?" He opened his eyes and looked down at her.

"Just shut up and let me use you as a pillow for a little while," she said.

"I won't argue that," he said.

~ ~ ~

The phone rang.

He opened his eyes. 'Damn, wake up call,' he thought, then reached blindly for the receiver, picked it up, and set it back down. He looked down and found that now she had her head on his chest. He sighed, hating to wake her, but then got an idea. He reached over for the phone again, grabbed the whole thing, and dialed a number.

"This better be good."

"Morning to you, too, Vance," Chris said, making sure he sounded extra cheerful.

"What do you want, Jericho?" Vince asked, annoyed.

"You're so formal," he said. "Seriously, I need to ask for a favor of sorts."

"Go on."

"Okay, would it be possible for me and Lauren to catch up with everyone else for Monday?"

"Why?"

Chris shook his head. "Lauren's sick and I really don't think that traveling would be a good idea."

Vince sighed. "Fine. You know where we'll be. Transportation's up to you. See you both Monday." *click*

"Friendly guy," he commented, replacing the receiver. "Transportation's up to you," he mocked, "there goes a week's pay."

Lauren groaned.

Chris rested a hand on her shoulder. "Welcome back to the living, little one. Feel any better?"

"Thanks. No... didja get the number of that truck?" she said.

He grinned. "Yeah, and I'll get *him* on Monday."

She moved her head to look at him. "Monday?"

"I called Vince. You know, he can be half-way decent when he's not an ass clown," he said, "You wouldn't wannatravel feeling like you do, would you?"

"No, not really," she said.

"Good. Now, why don't you go back to sleep for a little while," he suggested.

"Sounds good. Thanks, Chris," Lauren said, quietly. A few minutes later she was asleep again.

He smiled. 'Rumors? Oh, definitely...' he thought, then reached over for the tape player and headphones on the nightstand. Starting it, he realized it was one of Lauren's tapes. 'Country...' he shrugged. 'Better than nothing.'

     "...But I can sing this song to everyone
     And pretend it's not about you
     That's as close as I'll get to loving you
     Even though there's nothing else I'd rather do
     I can dream, I can hope, I can scheme, but still I know
     That's as close as I'll get to... lovin' you...

~ ~ ~

She opened her eyes slowly, careful not to get dizzy again. She raised her arm and squinted at her watch, trying to clear her vision. It was 12:37pm. 'There went about a third of the day,' she thought. 'Atleast the queasy feeling is gone.' She moved her head to look up at him and found that he was watching her.

He smiled. "I was wondering how long it'd take for you to notice I was awake."

"I was wondering how long I'd be asleep," Lauren commented.

"Feeling better now?" Chris asked.

"Yeah, I am, but I still like the sound of taking it easy," she replied.

"Exactly what I was thinking," he said.

"Glad we agree. Now, I think I'm going to try sitting up because... I've really gotta pee!" She sat up slowly.

"Potty mouth," he said, grinning.

She returned the grin. "Ass clown."

Chris sighed. "I never should've let you use that." He sat up.

"Well, too late," Lauren said.

"Anyway," he said, then leaned over her shoulder. "I hope you don't mind, but I used your tape player."

She quirked an eyebrow. "You did? I had a country tape in there."

He smirked. "I know. It started half-way through a song."

Her eyes lit up when she remember that she'd left off on "That's As Close As I'll Get To Loving You".

He saw the surprised look on her face. "Hey, it was better than nothing." He paused. "Besides, I liked the lyrics." He looked right into her eyes.

At that moment, she could've just melted. "Me, too."

~End~