WWE Raw, 8/3/15…

Dakota walked around, trying to get her mind off of everything… she hadn't known Rowdy Roddy Piper for long but his death still pulled the rug out from under her.

She stopped when she saw 25 year old Amanda Cena, who's hazel eyes were reddened as the brunette was talking to 34 year old Finn Balor… Dakota felt terrible for the longtime diva and walked over, pulling her into a hug.

"It's okay, Mandy." Dakota whispered.

"We just lost Dusty… never thought we'd lose him, let alone Roddy. For as long as I can remember, they were both there." Amanda responded quietly.

"Think of the good times you had with them." Dakota whispered.

Amanda nodded as they let go, brushing her tears away.

"I was all set to tell him that I got cleared off the anticonvulsants… so I called him that day. And Kitty picked up instead, she said it was in his sleep so he wasn't in pain when it happened. He taught me a lot, so did Dusty… they treated me like family. Roddy even taught me how to drive when I got my license…" Amanda said, Dakota rubbing her right shoulder as Finn rubbed his right hand up and down Amanda's back. "How many times does it have to happen… for us to realise that there's something triggering this? They weren't nowhere near ready to leave, not without a fight." She said in a voice that sounded so broken, Finn wrapping his arms around her as Dakota noticed that Amanda's ring outfit tonight was plaid to resemble Roddy's kilt.

"They're never really gone, Mandy… there'll always be some kind of sign that they're here." Finn whispered, lightly running his fingers through Amanda's hair.

Dakota agreed with that… and knew that Amanda would go through with the show tonight.

Amanda reapplied her makeup after putting some Clear Eyes drops in her eyes and was out there for Wade Barrett vs Zack Ryder with Dakota as well as Finn on commentary, having competed in her own match against Sasha which ended in a double countout… but halfway through the current match, Zack tossed Wade right into Amanda and she collided face first into the barricade.

Finn and Dakota stood up and ran to Amanda, both crouching down and Finn cradling Amanda's face in his hands, checking her over for head injuries. Wade and Zack broke character and headed over to them as the referee called for the ringside doctor.

"You sorry son of a bitch!" Dakota yelled, lunging for Zack.

"It was an accident, I'm sorry!" Zack responded, trying to calm Dakota down as Finn and Wade helped Amanda up… and Wade saw that Amanda had a loose tooth.

"Hold still, little lady." Wade said, reaching into Amanda's mouth and pulling the tooth out, which made Dakota cringe when she saw it.

"I'm gonna stomp your ass so hard your grandchildren will have bruises!" Dakota yelled at Zack.

"Kota, it was an accident! I've known Zack since I was 16, he'd never use physical violence against a woman, it was just a mistimed accident." Amanda responded, Dakota reluctantly letting go of Zack's hair and walking over. She pulled Amanda's mouth back as Dr. Amann reached ringside, looking closer.

"It's on the left side of her mouth. She had her wisdom teeth pulled a few years back and the surgeon accidentally sliced the inside of her cheek." Dr. Amann explained, putting gauze to the wound.

In the back, Wade stayed with them and profusely apologized.

"Wade, it was an accident, don't beat yourself up over it." Amanda said as Wade crouched down to her eye level, his 6'7" frame towering easily over her 5'1" frame.

"Mandy, I should've been cautious with you there. These things do happen but it doesn't make it right." Wade replied, thumbs lightly rubbing back and forth on the shoulders they rested on.

Dakota headed out into the hallway to clear her mind and saw Seth walk over, stopping him.

"Not now." Dakota responded. "I'm not in the mood to hear your crap."

"Well I want to see Mandy." Seth said.

"She just got knocked off the damn ring apron and hit her face against the barricade! On top of losing Roddy, she's in no damn state of mind to be around too many people!" Dakota hissed.

"Easy, calm down, lady." Seth said.

"Don't you dare tell me to calm down, boy." Dakota sneered.

"Or what?!" Seth demanded.

Amanda opened the door to investigate the noise, saw Seth and narrowed her eyes at him before slamming the door as he walked over.

"Boom! Door slammed in your face!" Dakota said.

"Kota, just let me talk to her-" Seth responded.

"Just go away!" Amanda replied.

"She doesn't want to talk to you." Dakota said.

Seth stormed off and Dakota walked back into the trainer's room.

"Damn I was hoping to let some frustration out on him." Dakota muttered.

"That bloody idiot doesn't take a hint." Wade replied.

The lack of eating, excessive caffeine and injury to her mouth made Amanda turn paler and throw up, Finn holding her hair back as Dianne walked in. Dakota clamped her hand over her own mouth trying to not throw up as well.

Amanda stopped after a few minutes, Dianne rinsing the bucket out as Finn opened a bottle of water and handed it to her. Amanda sipped it slowly, Dakota knowing that everything from the past few days had caught up with her.

Dakota quickly left the room and leaned against the wall. A few seconds later, Dianne found her.

"You think she'll be okay?" Dakota asked.

"Mandy… has a lot of past trauma that she's tried to hide. Dusty's death was doubly upsetting because it was close to being 8 years to the days of losing Sherri and Chris, Nancy and little Daniel. With Roddy, that makes the pain worse." Dianne responded.

"We've all gotta help each other through it… hold each other up even when we insist we're okay." Dakota said.

"We've all lost someone… we're all in the same boat, it's a joint effort that we don't fall overboard." Dianne replied.

"Basically we're all one big family here. Some of us might hate each other but when times are hell, we stick together." Dakota said.

In the trainer's room, Finn brushed Amanda's hair back as she had one of her legs tucked close to her and Wade went to check on Dakota and Dianne.

"It feels so empty here… he would be asking why we're all crying. How are we gonna go on without him?" Amanda whispered.

"By staying strong… and remembering the good times. What's one of your favorite memories of him? It could be anything you remember as a fan or as a wrestler." Finn responded.

"Wrestlemania 12… Roddy's match against Goldust, a Hollywood Street Fight. Reminds me of the fight scene in They Live. He made this business more realistic instead of scripted… and I'll always love him for it." Amanda replied as Finn wrapped his arms around her shoulders. "Four days… why is it hitting hardest now?" She whispered.

"Because now you're starting to recognise things that never used to happen without him, that now are." Finn answered quietly.

"I wanted to tell him… I wonder if somehow he knew that I don't have to…" Amanda said… she trailed off, recognising the faint outline of Roddy in the corner of the trainer's office. 'I'm cleared now.' She mouthed, Roddy smiling slightly.

'That's great news, kiddo.' Roddy mouthed before looking at Finn and mouthing 'Keep an eye on her, kid.'

And just like that, he was gone… but not for good.