Shane walked through the curtain feeling very exhausted to see Billy Kidman standing there with a smile on his face. They had just finished their match in the WWF for the "SmackDown" tapings. The match turned out to be much better than they thought. Even though they barely got a fan reaction, they knew that they had gained some respect from the fans and some of the wrestlers backstage and that was the most important thing at this point in time.

"Great match, Shane." Billy said coming back, wiping the sweat from his brow as he congratulated his friend.

"Right back at you." Shane replied as they hugged each other on job well done.

"You were really giving it your all out there. You brought out the best in me, man. I really appreciate it." Billy said while they walked back to the locker room.

"Well, what did you expect? Our debut match in the WWF? People who don't know us will be seeing us for the first time when this show airs. Plus, I wanted to leave a good first impression and please all my fans that missed me while WCW was off the air, you know."

"Yeah, I see where you're coming from. I'm not complaining though. I need matches like what we just had more often."

"I'll catch you later, Billy. You have company coming your way." Shane said before Billy looked up to see his girlfriend, Torrie Wilson, walking towards him with a smile on her face.

"Alright. I'll talk to you later, Shane." They shook hands and parted ways.

Shane ran his fingers through his hair as he stepped into the locker room to an ovation from the wrestlers. He looked at all of them with amazement in his eyes. He didn't expect this kind of treatment since he barely got any of it when he worked for WCW. It felt so good to Shane to finally get some recognition on his wrestling but it meant even more to him when he saw the Undertaker and Triple H clapping along with everyone else as well. He smiled and thanked everybody for watching. He sighed as he saw Matt & Jeff emerging from the other WWF Superstars who were changing into their wrestling gear, out of their wrestling gear, hanging out or watching the show on the television that was in the room.

"That was an awesome match, Shane. You're getting off to a great start." Matt patted him on the back while they all sat down.

"Thanks, Matt. What did you think, Jeff?"

"Everything Matt said to you is exactly what I thought. I don't know if I like you being called Gregory though." Jeff smiled.

"I know right, I might have to get that changed." Shane laughed.

"Well, you get dressed, Shane. We're gonna take you out on a job well done when the show's over." Matt said.

"Cool, sounds good to me."

*************

Shane walked down the crowded hallways of the backstage area. He was still getting comments on his match with Billy. He felt like he was on top of the world. He still hadn't seen Amy or Nora since the match so he was going to talk to them. He really wanted to see Nora again since he was in hurry the last time they talked. Therefore, he just wanted to have a conversation with her to see how things were. He was still blown away by her beauty but he knew she had changed a little since her WCW days so he wanted to know what was underneath her beauty. He knocked on the women's locker room door and put his hands in his pockets. It took awhile for somebody to answer. Jacqueline opened the door slightly and stuck her head out to see who Shane standing there before opening it all the way.

"Gregory Helms? Is that your name?" She asked.

"Well, it's my wrestling name here but you can call me Shane."

"Oh, okay. I was watching your match, Shane. You did a real good job. I liked how you went out there and did your thing." Jacqueline said as she shook his hand.

"Thank you, Jackie. I've heard comments ever since I came back here. I appreciate it a lot. Would Amy or Nora happen to be in there?" He asked raising his eyebrows and gazing over her shoulder.

"I don't know where Amy is. I think she's talking to the publicist to see if she has any autograph signings this week but Nora's in here. You wanna see her?"

"Yeah, could you get her, if you don't mind."

"No, it's alright, just come on in, none of us are getting dressed." Jacqueline said as Shane came into the room.

The locker room was dimly lit. There was gym bags scattered throughout the floor. Some of the girls were busy in the mirror checking themselves to even notice Shane was in there. He saw Trish sitting next to a boom box with Sade playing reading a newspaper, looking up occasionally at the show that was at on the TV in the room. She smiled and waved at Shane. He waved back and finally spotted Nora, who was sitting next to Ivory, with her eyes glued to the screen. She was studying each and every aspect of the match that was on at the time. He noticed there was a chair beside her and he knew it was Amy's since he saw a blue thong in the chair. He knew she would be watching too. He tapped Nora on the shoulder and she quickly turned around.

"Shane! Oh, my gosh! Your match was absolutely phenomenal!" She got up and gave him a hug.

"Thanks, Nora."

"I thought your name was Gregory." Ivory interrupted, giving him a confused look.

"It is, but I prefer being called Shane, that's my middle name."

"Oh, okay, well, it's nice to meet you. You can call me Lisa." Ivory shook his hand and gestured for him to sit down with the ladies.

"I didn't expect your match to be that good, Shane, to be honest. The WCW was really holding you down and back. It’s so good to see you performing the way you should have been all along. I was so happy for you when the match was over." Nora said.

"I know, it felt great. It really did. I love this place already."

"I know what you mean. I kind of felt the same way when I debuted too.""I've been wanting to talk to you for so long, it wasn't the same when you left. I was so sad."

"Awww. You're sweet, I missed you too. But when an opportunity like joining the WWF came, you know I had to take advantage of it. You would have done the same thing."

"Of course I would have but I wouldn't have had my time in WCW in other way. That experience is gonna help me out a lot here, you know."

"Yeah, everyone saw that experience when you wrestled Billy. I might have to get a tape of that match and study it when I get home." Nora smiled.

"Stop it, you're making me blush. You've had some pretty good matches yourself, girlfriend."

"You really think so?"

"Yeah, the ones you've had with Amy have been great. Amy says she loves working with you. I liked the little feud you had with Trish too." Shane smiled back at Trish who looked up from reading her paper and blew him a kiss.

"Oh, yeah, Trish is great to work with. I think the one I had with her back in November has been my best so far. Amy is great to work with as well. This place is just filled with amazing wrestlers. Male and female."

"Well, I kind of contributed to Amy being the wrestler she is today so you have me to thank for that." Shane smiled, trying not to sound to conceited.

"Oh, excuse me, I didn't know that. Thank you, Shane."

"You're welcome." Nora & Shane both laughed.

"So will you be joining us all at the house shows this weekend as well?"

"Yeah, I'll be there. I don't know if I'll be wrestling but I'll definitely be there."

"Awesome. The house shows turn out to be pretty good though but they consist of more wrestling rather than so much of the backstage segments and working on the microphone."

"Yeah. But I was wondering if you were doing anything later tonight. Matt and Jeff are taking me out for having such a good match. I'm positive Amy will be there too. Would you like to join us?"

"Sure! I'd be more than happy to join you guys! I haven't been out in awhile. I'd like that."

"Okay, I don't know where they're taking me though."

"Cool. I love surprises but you're gonna have to get out now because I have to get pretty for you since you're taking me somewhere." Nora smiled and escorted Shane out of the room holding onto his arm.

"Aw, man, you mean I can't watch you undress?" Shane asked.

"Get out, you pervert! I'll see you later!" They both laughed as Shane walked out of the room feeling very happy.

“He’s a nice guy.” Trish said walking up next to her putting her arm around Nora.

“Yeah, he is, he really is.” She said smiling, watching his back as he walked away.

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