A/N:

This is a long-forgotten story of mine that I randomly wanted to re-write.
And then a couple of Youtube videos later, I decided to re-construct the whole thing completely.
Down goes me to the memory lane of the Attitude Era.

Would there still be a fandom for the one and only SoB Stone Cold Steve Austin? If so, gimme a hell yeah!

Anyway, enjoy!

Making Waves

Intro:

Lou Smith (OC) - an enigmatic and fearless force in the WWF, commands attention with her bold, unpredictable nature and unapologetically straightforward demeanor. Renowned for her reckless, erratic tendencies and unrelenting dominance in the ring, Smith has become one of the most feared and respected female wrestlers of her era, redefining what it means to be a powerhouse in professional wrestling.

WWF - 2001

From city to city and ring to ring, the show goes on. Nearly four years into her journey, she still marvels at how far she's come. Hailing from a small town in Lyon, France, she transformed a childhood passion for sports into a thriving career, embodying the American dream and achieving far more than she could have ever imagined.

Raised in a family of athletes, Smith was surrounded by sports from a young age. Her father was a celebrated soccer player, her grandfather had been a track star, and her aunt coached the French national gymnastics team. With this rich lineage, the pressure to follow in their footsteps was immense, and she embraced it wholeheartedly. Gymnastics became her calling. Starting at the age of six, she dedicated herself to the sport, competing fiercely and striving to be the best. When she moved to America, her passion only grew. She entered numerous competitions, collected medals, and accomplished more than she ever thought possible.

However, there was another path waiting for her. Wrestling, initially just a casual interest shared with her family, evolved into something more. She never paid much attention to wrestling growing up, though she knew of the rivalries and drama. Then, one day, she was introduced to an independent wrestling show, and it opened her eyes to a new world of possibilities. She could see herself in the ring, channeling her athleticism and competitive spirit in a new way.

Today, she brings her small-town spirit into every match and performance, representing both her family's legacy and her own dreams. Through her passion and determination, she has found her place in the ring, making a name for herself and inspiring others along the way—

"Hm, not bad." She read, giving a wry smirk. "Could've left out the family legacy bit. Not like anyone's watching to learn about my dad's soccer trophies."

Her criticism was interrupted with a knock on the door. The woman, Lou Smith, who was reading a latest edition of Pro-Wrestling Illustrated; a column about a short biography about her own, finally got up after knocking a third time. Grabbing a nearby coat, she glanced at the small peephole to see who could have possibly disturbed her rest.

Oh, of course, a job on its way.

"Hi, there." She stared down at the young man, dressed in casual polo and jeans. The WWF cap and an envelope with the same logo gave away the impression of a job. "Can I help?"

"Hi, Miss Smith. I'm just dropping by to give you this month's milestones." He offered the papers. "The names Jarret by the way."

"Alright cool." She said, glancing at the envelope. She opened it and took out the first paper. "New storyline?"

"Yep. With Miss Laurer out of commission, we're keeping the Women's Championship rolling. You'll find yourself to be a number one contender, again. You'll like it." He added, with a slight hint of a smile.

"A title shot, huh?" Her lips twitched, reading the table. "Sweet. Alright, let me have a look. Anything else?"

Jarret shook his head and Lou closed the door behind her. Ah, so she was assigned to a new storyline, as she read. Apparently since Chyna's injury on Royal Rumble a few days before, Ivory's Women Championship storyline needed someone to fill in. The Women's division was apparently a bit busy. Jaqueline actually took time off because of family issues. Lita along with the Hardy Boys was starting a feud with the Hollys. Trish Stratus was already in a storyline against Stephanie and H, as she already maintained a relationship with Vince—Lou sneered at the idea of making out with The Boss in front of the crowd.

Accordingly, since Lou Smith and Chyna were already on good terms prior to the Rumble, having partnered previously in tag team's storyline, her name written on the script was considered possible.

She had two of those so far, both times resulting in her as Champion—a short amount of time, but still a Champion. Her biggest one yet would be about a few months ago, during the height of McMahon-Hemsley era. At the time Lou Smith held the title for a while, that was until Stephanie won against her and took over the belt in a sneaky McMahon way. This resulted in a feud between her and Steph and at the same time also teaming up with The Rock against Triple H and Kurt Angle too. The feud was fantastic and the matches were perfect. And the most important part; the fans loved it.

Though what would have been followed by a third Championship match had come to a brief end when Lou dislocated her shoulder and was unable to continue. The feud and the big match was later given to Lita.

There was a common myth behind the ring where if a wrestler was given a chance for Championship, the top-levels had taken interest in them. Third time's a charm. And she longed for it even more. Best to put her game face on then.

…

Lou Smith would not make any appearance until the next Monday Night RAW. Though she did have an appointment for a wardrobe fitting - a new storyline sometimes opted for the wrestlers to make a new presence and clothing.

The style she would go for would be a classic vest, leather pants and boots. Sometimes she wore additional long sleeves or a pair of arm compression with the intention to hide her forearm tattoo because at the moment Lita was already well-known to be a tattooed woman in the roster. Conveniently, she often asked for a couple of accessories, be it gloves or knee sleeves, or sometimes just a patch of design to compliment her attire.

Once the creative crew agreed with her appearance, in-ring and backstage outfit too, Lou Smith went back to the hotel and now found herself lounging by the pool in the middle of the evening. Having no other schedule, she often ended the day by either working out, exploring the hotel or staying at the room and ordering room service. With the clear sky above, she chose the middle one, and by her table was a platter of cheese and glass of wine and on her hands flapped opened a book—The Sum of All Fears.

Call her old-fashioned or nerd, it didn't matter much - Smith couldn't stay away from a novel far too long. She even brought some of her collections with her travels; now aimed to finish the sixth Clancy book within the next couple of weeks. It was a childhood bearing, where she would spend many hours hiding in the bedroom only for her parents to find her snoozing with a book sprawled over.

Call her too French, but cheese and wine were the perfect snack for a casual evening.

Flipping through the pages, and pausing only to take a sip of the wine, she glanced around at the garden. It was looking like she was not the only one who fancied a night by the pool. Taking off her reading glasses, she observed the familiar face.

Recalling her past experiences, she didn't remember ever collaborating work with Texan Rattlesnake, Stone Cold. She knew of the man, of course. Who didn't? But other than a quick flash and a nod of recognition, they had never worked together, less even to start a conversation. Austin didn't appear to be a chatty bloke, nor was he the type to take a random swim. She watched as he took off his shirt, leaving with just a short. He was looking around and he chose the far corner of the pool where the stairs were. Austin walked in, a sign of shivering lingered but soon gone when he plunged into the water to acclimatize the temperature. Soon, he took a swing.

She watched longer, before slipping her glasses back and buried her face in front of the book again.

After a couple of laps, Steve decided to take rest on the shallow end and leaned against the wall, body relaxed against the wave of water.

He would like to admit it felt nice, the swimming. The water's buoyancy allowed him to exercise without putting extra strain on the body, helping with tight muscles and joint stress; especially his knees. It was not a secret anymore that he had terrible knees, after one too many bumps and moves and finally he busted them. The surgery helped though not a hundred percent recovery. The braces did help in the ring, granting him to survive more matches Though sometimes he still felt tense in certain parts.

Water therapy was something his doctor introduced, given how stubborn he was dealing with the recovery. At least it was a better alternative than to have stopped his career at all. The damned knees.

And the damned neck.

Purposely he craned his neck, giving a good stretch.

As the moon started to rise high, he decided to have a few last laps before ending the night. A mix of breaststrokes and freestyles, also added a butterfly. Although butterfly was something technically he lacked. The arm swing he managed but he always missed the cue to kick, resulting in a splash rather than a push.

"Fuck." He heard the muffled cuss and stopped to swim to the side. Wiping any water out of his eyes, he glanced to the occupied the lounger, with the occupant staring back at him.

The woman looked familiar, but he couldn't recall the name. Instead of trying to find her name, he searched for her problem. She was, to say the least, wet and was trying to dry herself off. And with her, a book. Ah, I see.

"Was that you? Did I do that?" He gestured to the damp book and her damp self.

"Uh huh."

"Well, sorry. Didn't realize I made a big splash."

The woman looked terribly upset, he could tell. But she didn't say anything to address it. Instead, she said, "It's fine." she said without looking at him. "It surprised me, but the book's fine."

Only when she took off the glasses did a memory come back.

"If you say so." He rested his arm on the edge of the pool to rest himself up. "What are you doing here anyway, Smith?"

She stared down, raising an eyebrow. "Doesn't my book give a hint already?"

He snickered. Yeah, he remembered she could be snappy with her remark. "That's not what I meant. I thought you'd have a show today on Smackdown."

"Oh. No, I don't have a schedule for anything until RAW, actually."

He made a noise of acknowledgement. "Alright—guess I'll leave you to it."

"Sure—oh, and Steve," she paused, smirking. "Watch out with your damn legs, dude. You might empty the pool if you keep doing that."

He smirked. "Gotcha."