"I feel bad for Nikki." Liv twined her hair around her fingers as she waited in a secret room, waiting for her cue. The other three women in the number-one contender match knew she was coming, but Hunter wanted Liv's return to be a secret from everyone else.
"Don't." Becky patted her knee as she stood. The room was close to Gorilla Position so Liv wouldn't have to go past many people on her way to the ring, and Becky had stopped in on her way back from her match. "You didn't hurt her. You're not the reason she needs surgery. She wasn't going to win the match anyway, and this will spark a whole new storyline for her. We've all been there," she added reassuringly. "You'll both make the best of it."
"Thanks, Becks, thanks for everything. You were one of the few people to keep in touch after I left. It... it meant a lot," Liv said, feeling tears prickle her eyes. She was already a bundle of nerves and now she was getting emotional. She couldn't imagine what she was going to do once her music hit—she was being allowed to keep the same music, at least for now, to get a rise out of the crowd—and she went back out on stage.
"You deserve this, Liv. Don't forget that." Becky gave her a hug and stepped back. "Don't forget to enjoy the moment. Hopefully this is your last comeback."
Liv managed a smile. "Fingers crossed."
Becky kissed the top of Liv's head and ruffled her hair gently, careful not to mess it up too much. "Luck of the Irish!" Then she left, quickly closing the door behind her.
Liv wasn't wearing a watch and there was no clock in the room, but it felt like only minutes had passed before there was a knock on the door and TJ, the producer for the match, stepped in. "Hey, Liv. You're almost up. Come listen for your cue."
"Thanks, TJ." Liv hopped to her feet and shook out her arms before following the producer off to the wings. She could hear the roar of the crowd quickly turn to boos, which probably meant Carmella, the current champ, had gotten her hands on a microphone.
"Oh, so sad! Little Icky Nikki can't make it to the match?" Carmella trilled. "Works for me. Now I only have to watch the three of you losers fight for the honour of losing to... me!"
And there it is, Liv thought, stepping up to the curtain. Then came her recorded laugh, her signature Watch me slogan, and her music, but she could barely hear any of it over the crowd. As soon as she stepped out onto the stage, she was hit by a wave of light and sound, and when she spun around, she almost tripped on her own feet. She managed a little wave at Carmella, though, and skipped down to the ring, high-fiving fans along the barricades and sliding under the bottom rope. Then she hopped to her feet and took the microphone from Carmella's hand. "Or you could just watch me."
As Liv tossed the mic to the floor, she caught Sonya's eye and grinned. "Welcome back," Sonya whispered as the referee called all the women forward to explain the terms of the match. Sulking, Carmella scrambled out of the ring and went to sit at the commentary desk.
"Thanks. And congratulations," she replied. Barring unforeseen circumstances, Sonya was the one slated to win the next title shot, but the match was going to set up a feud between Liv and Bayley.
Liv! Liv! Liv! The chants from the crowd weren't always the loudest or the longest, but the fact that they were still cheering her name after so many months away warmed Liv's heart, and she smiled at a little girl wearing one of her old shirts. The match went back and forth and since it wasn't a one on one bout, Liv wasn't truly tested, but she still felt good about being in front of an audience again.
She and Bayley tumbled out of the ring and Liv played her part, keeping Bayley from getting back in while Sonya made Natalya tap out. "What are you doing, you stupid idiot?" Bayley screamed, struggling to get back in the ring. Under the guise of pushing Liv away, she ruffled her hair.
I'm home, Liv thought as she tugged on Bayley's waist once more and spilled them both to the floor. I'm back. As she fell to the floor mats, she let out a delirious little giggle. It was true to her character, thankfully, because she had to let the little burst of euphoria out. She didn't win the match and she probably wasn't going to be in the title hunt for months, but she was back and wrestling and even though she was already bruised, she had never felt so alive.
While Natalya slid out of the ring, dejected in defeat, Bayley launched herself at Liv and they kept scuffling. Sonya went over to the commentary table to confront Carmella, so Bayley and Liv let themselves be herded to the back by producers and security. They had barely cleared security before Bayley swept her up in a hug. "Welcome back, you beautiful idiot!" She shook Liv from side to side before setting her down. "Why'd you leave in the first place?"
"Long story," Liv replied, hugging Bayley back. "But I'm here now and I'm gonna make you regret it."
Bayley grinned at the challenge. "We'll see. I'll hide all the candy in Catering. No more blue tongue for you, missy!" Laughing, she wagged a finger at Liv. "You're going to be seeing a lot of me."
"Not as much as she is of me." Rhea came up behind Bayley and mimed biting her ear. "Careful how you talk to my girlfriend."
Bayley stuck out her tongue. "Go be annoyingly cute somewhere else, would you?"
"Gladly." Rhea picked Liv up and carried her down a short hallway before setting her back on her feet and kissing her. "You're supposed to do a quick interview with Kayla," she explained. "I'll be on my best behaviour, I promise. I won't even flash you."
Liv laughed. "Only because there's a camera crew there?"
Rhea shrugged. "Collateral damage." She wrapped an arm around Liv's shoulders as they walked to the interview zone, but she stopped just out of camera range. "You'll be awesome," she whispered, giving Liv one last kiss.
"Just watch me." Sometimes it was a command. This time it was more of a request, a plea. Please stay here. I'm still not used to this yet.
"Always." Rhea leaned back against the wall and did her best to stay out of the way.
The on-air lights sequence started and then Kayla Braxton lifted her microphone to her mouth. "Congratulations to Sonya Deville for winning a title shot against Carmella, but those aren't the only congratulations that are in order tonight! Please welcome back Liv Morgan!" Kayla smiled broadly as Liv stepped onto the interview platform. "Hi, Liv. Welcome back! You've been gone for a few months now. How does it feel to be back in action—and to make such a splash on your first night back?"
This isn't so different than stripping, Liv realized as she faced the camera. Performing, exposing herself—though in a very different way—playing a character. She didn't have to be Marley anymore, but she had to be a different Liv—inside and outside the ring. "Hi, Kayla. It's good to see you again," she began, slightly out of breath. "Yeah, I have been gone for a while—and look what's happened since. Carmella's hiding behind everything she can find: a mask, a chair, her boyfriend. I don't doubt that Sonya's going to put a stop to that, but Sonya?" Liv faced the camera dead on. "I'm not hiding behind anything, not anymore. I am here and I am ready, and I am coming for that title. I don't care if the champ is Carmella or Sonya. I certainly don't care if it's Bayley. I didn't come back to play around. I came back to win. Watch me." Then she winked at Kayla and stepped back off the platform.
"We certainly will be watching, Liv. Thank you for your time," Kayla said. "Michael, back to you." She held her smile in place until the on-air lights dimmed. Then she set the microphone down and went over to hug Liv. "Hey! So glad you're back!"
"Thank you! Probably the worst-kept surprise ever," Liv added with a laugh, "but I'm so glad to be back. It's amazing."
"You were great out there," Kayla told her. "You didn't miss a beat."
"Thanks. We'll have to catch up later," Liv added. "I miss your horror movie suggestions!"
"Girl, you know I have tons. I'll make you a list." Then Kayla gestured at Rhea. "We can have a girls' horror night."
Rhea laughed. "You know you had to throw the horror in there if you wanted me to be on board with it."
"Oh, c'mon! It'll be fun. Black mani-pedis and bloody cocktails. You'll love it!" Kayla grinned as she headed to her next assignment. "I'll get working on that list, Liv!"
Several people stopped Liv on her way back to the women's locker room—wrestlers who hadn't known she was about to return, producers, techs—but she stopped in her tracks when she saw Hunter. Luckily he was smiling. "Welcome back, Morgan." He gave her a quick hug. "Great job out there. We were finally able to keep a return secret for once. I can't believe it."
"Me neither." Liv shook her head in wonder. "It felt great out there. I'm so happy to be back."
"We're happy you are. Why don't you and Rhea take off and celebrate?" Hunter said. "You've earned it. We'll see you at RAW."
"Don't have to tell me twice," Rhea grinned, hooking her arm around Liv's and practically running to the locker room. "Hurry up before he changes his mind."
Hurrying was impossible when the rest of the women's locker room wanted to congratulate Liv and catch up, but she did her best to balance politeness with speed. "I have to go," she said at last with a small pout, "but I want to catch up with everyone! We'll have to do drinks or something soon."
Rhea took her bag and Liv's, carrying both easily as they walked to the parking lot. "Already setting up another party?"
"The girls' horror night was Kayla's idea," Liv pointed out, "and I missed everyone. Well, almost everyone." Liv knew it wasn't always going to be sunshine and rainbows. It wouldn't take long for irritations to pop up and frustrations to sink in. But true second chances were rare, and she wasn't going to squander this one. "But don't worry: no strip club parties. Not for them, anyway. Just you."
Rhea grinned. "Make sure you tell Priest that."