A/N: As usual I own absolutely nothing. I'm still aware of HBK's real name and still prefer Shawn Michaels, sry! None of this actually happened and if it did... well, damn, makes a good story anyway and I hope it becomes a television movie! Anyways, WWE owns it all except River.

CHAPTER ONE

Being on the road away from your family was really hard. Especially when you traveled for the majority of the year, spending maybe a weekend a month at home. Luckily for Shawn Michaels; he had a beautiful wife who was more than happy to stay at home and take care of their house and daughter. After ten years of marriage, Shawn couldn't bear being apart any longer.

Their daughter was ten years old and spending her summer with his parents. Which meant this was the perfect time to bring his wife on the road. This was the first time she had ever joined him, she'd never stayed with him at all, not even for a night. Shawn was changing all that.

He didn't view it as appropriate to bring wives and girlfriends on the road and carry them at the expense of the company. So… to balance things out, he had gotten her a job. She had been a massage therapist in San Antonio, it had been almost too easy getting her in with the Fed; on the medical staff. If she was working, she was traveling which meant she was traveling with him.

Smiling, Shawn brought her hand up to his mouth, brushing his lips across her knuckles.

River returned the smile, nervously.

"Everything is going to be fine." He reassured her, for the umpteenth time that night. Returning his eyes to the road, Shawn entwined their fingers together, watching the off-ramp looming closer and closer. "I love you."

"I love you too, honey." She said; her voice a soft, rolling drawl. River stared out the window, watching as he took the exit. It took another fifteen minutes for him to navigate traffic to the hotel they would be staying at for the night. Thank goodness he had decided to stop there first, she needed to change her clothes. Hers were sticking to her from being in a car all day.

She let him guide her inside, watching as he checked in. It was all too obvious Shawn had performed this routine a million times before, he could probably do it in his sleep. Once they were in their room; she dropped her duffel bag on the bed and rifled through it, pulling out a pair of blue jeans and a white tank.

Shawn watched with an amused smile as she set her clothes down on the bed. "Something wrong, sweetheart?"

"I'm nervous." She admitted, seeing his eyes crinkle at the corners and couldn't stop herself from smiling. "It's not funny, Shawn."

Chuckling, he wrapped his arms around her waist; bending down to kiss the side of her neck. "Everything is going to be fine. It'll be just like your job back home only we'll be together all the time instead of part." His strong hands gently cupped her face, staring down into vibrant blue eyes. "I'm glad you're here, Riv." He whispered. "I'm going to get a shower then we'll go. Care to join me?"

"Do you even need ask?" River replied with a smile, pushing her strawberry blond hair over her shoulders and followed, watching with narrowed eyes as he shed his clothes. For as long as she had known her husband, he had never failed to excite her, a decade had done nothing to lessen that.

Shaking his head no, Shawn pulled River against him; feeling her body into melting into his. Not tearing his eyes from hers, he slowly pulled her tee shirt over her head, letting it fall to the floor. Staring up at her, he slowly got down on his knees, hands skimming down her ribs to the front of her jeans.

River watched with baited breath as he unsnapped her jeans, trembling when he slid them down her long, tan legs. Never once had she ever doubted that he would grow tired of her. Every time he looked at her, she could see the appreciation in his eyes. The way his gaze caressed her made her almost blush. It was an ego booster to know after so long her husband still desired her.

Once they were both fully nude and Shawn was finished with his visual worship; he lifted her up, drawing her legs around his waist. Holding her with one arm, he fumbled with his free hand to turn on the shower; adjusting the sprays before stepping inside the bath tub. They had a little time before work…

Even though he was small for his profession, River couldn't find a single flaw with his body. To her, he was perfect, even when he would come home battered and bruised. She always heard love was blind and apparently that was true. She could always look past the bruises and see her handsome Shawn underneath. "Mmm…" She moaned, running her hands across his shoulders as he began trailing kisses along her throat.

Being on the road with him was definitely going to be great.

***

The biggest grin was on Shawn's face an hour later as he guided his wife into the arena. His arm was around her waist, feeling her leaning into him as they walked; loving the fact that he could do this every night now. He knew she was nervous, hell so was he. Just not for the same reasons. Navigating his way through the crowded hallways, he finally halted in front of a door with a plaque bearing General Manager on it. "Here we go."

River forced herself to breathe.

Knocking once, Shawn opened the door, pulling her in after him. "Hey Stephie, sorry we're late."

River momentarily though he was talking to the empty chair behind the cluttered table. Then her attention was drawn to a woman rising off of a couch pushed against a far wall.

"You must be River."

River just nodded, returning the warm smile she was offered with a brilliant one of her own.

"I'm Stephanie McMahon-Levesque, just call me Steph." Stephanie was now shaking hands with River. "It's nice to finally match the name with a face."

"Pleasure to meet you Steph." River replied softly, reaching up to finger a cross pendant on a gold chain, a third year wedding anniversary present from Shawn. It was also one of the few pieces of jewelry she wore, besides her wedding ring. "Shawn's mentioned you frequently as well."

"All good I hope." Stephanie chuckled, gesturing for Shawn to leave them be. "We can handle it from here, Shawn. You have a promo to go shoot."

"Bossy." Shawn teased, reluctantly letting go of his wife's hand.

Once he was out of the room, Stephanie gestured to the couch. "Hope you don't mind, I just hate those metal folding chairs." She said, watching as River sat down before seating herself. "Now…" She picked a sheaf of stapled papers off the top of a precariously stacked pile. "Just read over this and sign on the dotted line."

She read it slowly, aware Shawn had probably already seen it and as he hadn't voiced any concerns; she signed and handed the papers back with a nervous smile. "From Shawn's description the job was as a massage therapist?" She asked curiously, well aware that could also extend into physical therapy and a few other branches which she had been trained for and done for several years.

"Yes, as well as being consider a WWE official." When River's eyes widened, Stephanie smiled reassuringly and held her hand up. "Don't panic. Let me explain first. We often do segments where the wrestlers take a nasty fall, whether it be through a table; off a ladder, things like that. You know, like what your husband used to do before he finally saw the light." They both laughed softly. "Anyway, basically you'd be rushing to ringside with the other officials and Alex who is the WWE's on call trainer. Who incidentally, is also your boss. Other then me, I mean."

"Alright." She wasn't keen on the rushing down to the ring bit but… it was the job. As long as it wasn't for Shawn -even if it was 'fake'- she'd probably panic a little. She always did when he got 'hurt and then she'd get annoyed with his teasing about her being a 'mother hen'. "So do I report to Alex then?"

"Yes. But please, feel free to come to me if there's anything you need. I'm not hard to find." Stephanie said with a wink, pushing a loose curl of brown hair over her shoulder. "Now I want to talk to you about sexual harassment. Occasionally it is a problem but for the most part, people know their place." She didn't really like this part of the hiring process but was legally obligated to touch on the subject. "If anybody makes you uncomfortable at all, you bring it directly to my attention."

"Of course." Being in her line of work, sexual harassment was pretty much expected. Something about a massage got men acting like morons. In turn she had learned which nerves to pinch to hurt them, a minor form of self defense. "If I have any concerns I can't take to Alex, I'll address them to you." River promised, glancing over Steph's head at the clock.

"Excellent." Stephanie followed River's gaze, nodding and got to her feet. "If you don't have any further questions, I'll take you to where you'll be working."

River was silent as she followed Stephanie through the building, wondering if she would get lost if she tried finding her way back. Probably.

"Here we are. If there's anything else you need…"

"Oh no, this is perfect." She assured quickly, not expecting anything but practicality. Maybe a radio for background noise but other then that, this would do the job. Considering it had to be quick to set up and tear down, yes, this was going t work. "Thank you, Stephanie." She added, walking over to the folding table to examine some lotions and oils.

"Not a problem. If you do think of anything, let me know." She flashed another smile before walking away, bumping right into her husband. "What's wrong?"

"Is she here?" He asked quietly, sighing when Steph nodded. "Where's Shawn?"

"He's cutting a promo. Why? Is everything okay?"

Paul smiled down at her. "Yeah, I just wanted to congratulate River. I'll see you later." He kissed her lips quickly, walking right on by River's door without even glancing in.

Stephanie watched him walk away, one brown eyebrow slowly raising.

"There you are." Paul was breathing heavily from having jogged, watching Shawn walk away from the cameras. He took his friend by the arm, pulling him away from the camera crew. "What were you thinking?" He demanded, eyes boring into Shawn's. "Bringing her on the road?"

"What would have me do? It's been years, man." Shawn wasn't in the mood for this.

"You know what this means right?"

For a moment, Shawn's eyes flashed with fire. "Just let me handle it."

***

River had set out to find Alex, only for him to find her, instantly taking a liking to him.

"You're the only female on my staff at the moment." He said bluntly, looking her up and down in a non-sexual way, just appraising her. "So if any of the boys decide to get rowdy, don't hesitate to put them in their place or ask for help."

Now she really liked him. They soon fell to discussing the virtues of witch hazel, Alex having asked her to stay with him for the night to get a handle on things. She got the impression he was going to make sure she didn't have any problems with any of his 'boys' before turning her loose but didn't comment.

"Shawn, now how am I supposed to teach this gal the ropes if you're distracting her?" Alex teased, watching as Shawn tried to sneak up on her.

She whipped around, grinning. "Busted."

"Thanks, Al." Shawn muttered good-naturedly; leaning down to kiss his wife. "I had to come admire my beautiful wife." He said a little louder, his arms snaking around her waist for a moment. "Actually, I really wanted to talk to you, Alex. It's important, got a second?"

Alex and River both cottoned on to the fact that Shawn didn't want River privy to this conversation. River promptly excused herself to use the restroom, she respected Shawn enough to accept that she wasn't always in on everything he said or did.

"Look, if it's about the boys, Stephanie already talked to her about it and so did I. They won't bother her." Alex said, arching an eyebrow when Shawn shook his head. "Okay, then what?"

Shawn quietly closed the door, pulling Alex across the room. "You need to keep her away from Callaway. I don't care how you do it but she is NOT to treat him for any reason. I can make it worth your while, Alex." He said softly, pressing some folded bills into the other man's hand before walking out of the room, calling over his shoulder: "I don't care how you do it, but make sure he stays away from her."

Alex stared down at the money that had been forced into his hand with a frown, stepping out of the room to holler at Shawn only to find the man already gone. Groaning, he rubbed his forehead, wondering just how in the hell he was supposed to do that? He'd been so keen to take River on simply because they needed someone with her level of expertise in the pain relief area. Mark just so happened to fall right into the category, a lot. "Damn it…"

River cautiously walked back into the room. "Everything alright?"

"Sure."

***

"Did you do it?" Paul muttered, falling into step with Shawn.

"Yeah, I did. Callaway best just stay away from her. Did Steph talk to him yet?"

"Shawn, I didn't exactly…"

Shawn stopped dead in his tracks. "You didn't what?"

"I didn't tell her."

"WHAT?"