A/N: Yes, I'm reposting this after a slight re-write. I'll even reload the follow-up, Keys to the Heart, after I finish the re-write of that. It is a longer fic so it will take more time and I don't expect to go gungho on it until I'm done wrapping up some of my Dean fics.

I want to tell you a story of how I met a girl by walking through a series of doors. Oh they weren't ordinary doors, and she wasn't just any girl but one of a kind. It was a long wait to reach that first door – almost an entire lifetime to just meet her. Now that I think about it I should go back to the beginning and say that I've known OF her my entire life.

You see, we both come from wrestling families. I was born into mine, and she was taken in by hers. No, she didn't lose her real family and get adopted but met and was accepted as a member of the Von Erich family. I saw a picture of them all together once. My dad showed it to me when I was still a kid.

This young Texan looked nothing like her fair-haired, fair-skinned Texan brothers. She had long black hair, caramel skin and some Latino fire in her dark eyes. At first glance, she looked like she should be a member of my family. I recognized beauty even then. I thought she was pretty, not to mention cool as sin. She hung out with the Von Erichs. Of course a kid my age would think she's cool.

She was a constant presence at almost every WCCW match that one of her "brothers" was involved in, and even back then when matches weren't written beforehand, it was rumored that she wrestled around their yard with them on their Denton, Texas ranch. I couldn't picture it in my head for the longest time. I couldn't see a 5'6" slip of a girl wrestling around with those big Texas men. I didn't think it was possible until I really saw her for the first time in early to mid 2012. I told you it was a lifetime.

I was at a NXT taping, but it wasn't just any taping. Our WWE champ showed up, and I wish I could say she was on his arm where someone like her should be or at least walking beside him as an equal, but no, she was tagging along behind him as he wandered the backstage area looking for one of his protégés. The thought that "a Von Erich should never be expected to walk behind a WWE champ; I don't care who that champ is," ran unbidden through my mind.

This woman looked at him like he was the center of her universe, the reason she lived and breathed; but unfortunately, she wasn't regarded by him in the same manner. It was a great injustice (no pun intended) that he was so blind that he could not see what was in front of him.

She was just as well-known on the NXT roster as he was, perhaps more so due to the amount of time that she had been a fixture in the business and finally the company. Everyone knew of her, but no one knew her unless you were called up to the big stage. The stories were there though.

Her history with her "adopted" brothers, the Von Erichs, her time away after their tragic losses, her return with Shawn Michaels, the instant friendships developed when the Hardys and Edge and Christian came up and her best friend at the time, the Texas Rattlesnake. All of that and more were known about her.

I didn't know at the time that there was a lot more that wasn't known about her, but I'm an observer. I had random sightings of her prior to my being called up to the WWE and I saw some things about her but it was the things one couldn't see that interested me most. I would learn everything that I needed to about the girl I saw in the photograph and the woman she grew into.

So I watched this woman who knew our legends, who cared enough about new talent to welcome them to the main rosters and went out of her way to make them comfortable – I watched her watch him like he was her God, and he was just content to talk to Colby (Seth Rollins) while she stood forgotten or unnoticed at his side.

My first thought was that she was too good for him. She was always a beauty and grew up even more so. She came from wrestling royalty. She was known to be a gentle soul with a mean streak that gave everyone a chance, loved her friends fiercely and defended them like a lioness but most definitely was too good for the man beside her.

I watched her see something special about him through her camera lens while he did a tag match with Colby and wished I could see what it was because it wasn't apparent to anyone but her. I know men that would give up a limb to have a woman look at them with just an ounce of the intensity that she laid upon him - just a fraction - and found myself wanting to be in that club too.

I can't say that I know he treated her differently (better) in the privacy of their home. I had no idea. For all I knew, he possibly worshipped her in their house, away from prying eyes, but I had a nagging doubt as I saw her starring in the role of a trophy girlfriend. I knew the rule about ensuring her safety in public (the last surviving Von Erich made Shawn swear that his sister would always be safe) but there was no excuse for his dismissal backstage. My opinion of the man plummeted almost instantly.

My next thought was that he was going to fuck up a good thing and lose her. Not long afterwards, rumors trickled down from the main roster to ours that he did in fact fuck up in stellar fashion, broke her heart and lost her.

The next time I saw her is when we actually met. It was prior to our Shield debut at Survivor Series. I knew she had left for a while (please refer back to asshole boyfriend) but returned to the show to resume her job of photographing a select few of the upper tier superstars. Rumors were floating around about her with a certain Cena but all I pictured was another unworthy man vying for the attentions of a woman out of his league.

So there I stood wondering where they stood when all of a sudden my boss, Paul, was clearing his throat to get my attention. When I focused my eyes and snapped out of my wonderings, there was THE woman standing there looking up at me with the blackest eyes I've ever seen and the brightest, most sincere smile I've ever been graced with. It was breathtaking. I should know, my mouth dropped open, and nothing came out. I must have looked like a fucking idiot.

I'll admit I took the time to let my eyes drift over the scenery. She had hair like mine, the same skin tone, a body that wouldn't quit but also had her hand out, waiting for a return handshake after an introduction that I didn't hear (because I was spaced out thinking of her) and predatory eyes that shot right through me when she caught me checking her out.

Paul was trying to cover his laugh while the next thought of 'ouch' crossed my mind. Her expression changed in a split second. That look said it all. It was a combination of irritation and disappointment that screamed "you're going to treat me like a 'thing' too." She'd put up with testosterone-laden jocks for more than half her life and dealt with their bullshit even after she was long tired of it. I did my best to cover up my embarrassment over my trip down Neanderthal Way (it crosses Lecherous Beast Blvd in case you're curious), nodded my head at her in greeting and shook her hand. My next thought was she's a strong woman in a male-dominated company.

The strength in her handshake and the unwavering stare from studying black eyes were her next tells. They said she was different than she had been when she would openly welcome the newcomers to the big stage. Her trust had to be earned now, and I guess you could consider that one of the doors. Her faith had been shaken somewhere along the line, and she observed people now before allowing them into her inner circle. I began to feel sorry for myself and all the ones that came before and after me that had to prove themselves now instead of receiving the greeting she used to give everyone.

I've always been a quiet watcher. We have that in common. We study people. I studied her from the moment I first saw her as a kid, and for the moment, I was under her microscope. She stared into my eyes and took a good look into me. I swear I felt that stare travel straight through to my soul and grip it tight before she let me go. I felt a spark ignite within me when I was deemed worthy of another smile. She let my slip up go, and while I was relieved, I still couldn't stop myself from checking her out again when she walked away.

The woman was hot! I couldn't help it. I'm a man. Insert the Law & Order gavel sound here.

So there I was in my locker room, getting dressed for my big debut, and all I could think about was this beautiful woman that looked like a smaller female version of me. Without any warning whatsoever, I heard my voice growl the word 'mine' inside my head. It took me by surprise, especially since we just met and then the rumors of her being with SuperCena, but it wasn't something I could easily shake.

As luck would have it, our debut wasn't a match but a mugging of her possible boyfriend, SuperCena so that her ex-boyfriend, Punk, could retain his title. I had the distinct honor of having the most exclusive wrestler-contracted only photographer take my debut pics all due to her working for the two men in the ring. She didn't work for the company. She worked for a select few men on the roster. If you were lucky enough to be up against one of them, you were blessed with the privilege of her looking at you through her camera lens.

A few more thoughts ran through my mind at the end of the show. For instance, I couldn't believe she still contracted with Punk after everything he did to her and believe me, there were some wild stories that whispered through the ranks. Another was she sure did talk a lot to the guys in the ring during the show. She had fun with it, trying to make them laugh, but when shit got real, she'd toss in a threat or two like "if that really hurt him, I will bust your fucking ass up." Hahaha! She's adorable. You have to love that kind of fire.

Oh then there was 'she sure looks good dressed all in black…just like me…mine.' What? It did it again, just ran right through there on its own. I'm totally innocent. It was the reptilian portion of my brain, the part that still harbors our primal instincts, and damn, I could see her bring out the animal in me. Where was I? Right!

As it turned out, the rumors about her and Cena were just that – rumors. The two of them were close friends that spent a lot of time together and that's it. My animal sighed in contentment when he learned that; one less male to compete against to earn her favor.

So months went by of us "attacking" the men she works for (more like charity works for since I learned she doesn't need the money), and the dark beauty was still taking my groups' shots for the website. I swear every single time I walked down the arena stairs I tried to spot her before I jumped the barrier and got down to business.

I was having the time of my life! We were over like mad with the heel lovers in the crowd, taking out some of the biggest stars on the roster, and I was getting photographed by my beauty, but then something tragic happened to end it all for me. She disappeared. She was nowhere to be seen for weeks upon weeks.

Despite the fact that we'd been on the main roster for a while, we still weren't in with the upper echelon stars that were a part of her inner circle. It was next to impossible to find out where my beauty went. No one would tell us shit. It wasn't hard to guess that she wasn't with SuperCena anymore; they had a falling out, but he was nothing compared to the damage Punk left in his wake so I knew she wouldn't have stayed away that long because of him.

He didn't matter. All I knew was she was gone, and I kept feeling like I lost something even though it was never mine. Yeah, that fact did not stop my inner animal from screaming out 'mine' every damn time she went through my head, and it was often. She was in my head on the job, at home, during the day, at night…in bed. So this is what a hot flash feels like.

I found myself getting depressed, quieter than usual and downright cranky when I came down the arena stairs and didn't see my beauty peeking over the ring apron. One day out of the blue, Jon (Dean Ambrose) got frustrated with my attitude, my depression, my moping, and apparently my sighing a lot when thinking about her really pushed his buttons.

He turned to me and asked what the fuck my problem was. I told him I missed Lex…and I guess I sighed again because he pulled a face and asked why I didn't just grow a set and go get her if I wanted her enough to mope around like a big baby. And like the big baby that I was currently devolving into, I said I didn't know where she was. If I was standing outside of myself, I would have clearly been able to see the pout on my face.

"She's in Kauai on the Hawaii 5-O set."

I have no idea how many times I blinked my eyes over that. Later on, Colby told me that my mouth dropped open and I just blinked my eyes like a defective robot stuck in an infinite loop malfunction before I got pissed and stood up, looming over Jon.

"What?" he asked. I could've punched him through the wall right then…

"What do you mean what? You knew I've had a thing for that woman since uh, day one! You knew I was upset that she was gone, you knew where she is and didn't think it was prudent to tell me?" It all came out in one long thunderous yell before I grabbed him by his shirt and pinned him to a locker. "WHY?"

Jon being Jon just smirked and patted my cheek. "Had to make sure where your head was at, man. You don't mess with that one unless you're damn committed to the cause WHICH you clearly are!" he finished in a rush when my nostrils flared as my temper reached its boiling point. "If you want the woman, go get her, big man, but don't fuck this up." He tapped my wrists until I released him, winked and left for his downtime.