Burning it Down

Birmingham, AL

February 2016

It still hit him like a ton of bricks when one of the Doctors or a PT would pat his knee softly and kindly but firmly tell him that WrestleMania was an impractical goal this year. That it was too soon to even think about an in-ring return, that all his hard work that he put into this one event would be happening without him! The anger rolled off in waves, then the disappointment set in, followed by the heart break.

Glancing down at the paper that he held he let his thumb caress the name typed out on the referral. Doctor Nike had mentioned that a live-in PT could be helpful, not helpful enough for Mania but possibly cut 3 to 4 weeks off the rehab. The nice medical assistant had even "looked" up some decent rated PT's in Davenport, the Doc and he had went over them together and chosen a young but "gifted" PT.

Nodding his head as he checked out of the doctor's office, he threw his bag into the rental and got in, hands instantly clutched the steering wheel and he lowered his head. Grinding his teeth together when of all things the Shield's theme music blasted from deep in his pocket. Sighing as he let the call go to voice mail, but he knew that his "big" brother would call him on it once he build up the courage to call the man back.

Groaning as he dug his wallet, keys, and said phone out of his pockets stashing them in cup holder nearest to the gear shift. His phone chirped indicating that he indeed have a voice mail. Hand reaching down to self-adjust his brace once more he slipped the key into the ignition and blindly made his way back to the hotel. He gathered his bag and the single sole crutch he needed from time to time and made his way in.

Check in was quick, a few fans outed him, but he didn't mind- but it tore at his heart when they looked at him with hopeful eyes and asked if he going to be back soon. He found himself swallowing hard and smiling weakly telling them that they would have to wait and see. A few of the younger fans meant to ask more in-depth questions but the woman behind the front desk had arrowed them to something more fun and exciting than him. Tossing her a weak smile in thanks he made his way up to his room…

Not admitting that by the time he got in and settled he had been leaning on that sole single crutch to help him… or comfort him… he wouldn't let his mind dwell on which it was.

An hour later, a hot bath with some essential oils (Jen's gift since she never seemed to be around lately), and a call for some take-out he settled down to listen to Roman's voice mail- knowing already what he would hear but still loved the big man for it. His brothers were his rocks, but he felt like this was a journey he had to do on his own. But the knowledge that they called every other day to check in (twice on doctor appointment days) warmed his heart.

The time as the Shield had indeed created a bond between them so tight, he automatically grouped them as blood brothers instead of "shield brothers!" His own flesh and blood brother wasn't as close to him as Roman and Dean was. Not that he would trade Tyler for anything, but Tyler didn't understand Seth's love or passion for wrestling, nor did Seth understand how his big brother could stay cooped up in a classroom all day. He admired Tyler for being a teacher and helping the next generation of bubbly minds, it was just that type of work wasn't for him.

There is no thrill… no excitement in it for him!

Popping his neck as he finished his take out, he hummed slightly as he reached for his phone and almost dropped it when it rang. Chuckling as AC/DC roared threw the phones speaker he wondered how three people could be so sync with one another that this type of crap happened? A small smile crossed his lips as he answered, "Deano, now how did…" His brothers laugh made he duck his head and bite back a full out giggle.

There was feminine laugh on the other for a second then his brother was talking a mile a minute, "listening here you little snot nose Diva… I was in the middle of something good when SOMEONE wouldn't stop calling me and demanding to know if I heard from you. So, tell me WHY are you ducking calls from big brother?"

Seth snorted at the nickname, Dean only handed out nicknames when he was pumped up or in the mood to brawl and by the girlish laughter at the other end Dean Ambrose wasn't in the mood for a fight tonight. Shaking his head Seth couldn't help but want to be where ever the middle shield brother was tonight. The promise of cold beer and a warm willing body sounded nice…

That's until you remember Jen asshole…

The inner thought of his missing girlfriend had him stumbling for a quick second, Seth was done with the cheating that came along with their type of work. He had done his fair share and had been on the receiving end of it. Been there! Done that! No thank you! The ring rats though… some knew the score but most often Seth nor his brothers bothered with them.

Roman didn't need to look for a willing body, with his looks and personality had woman flocking to him. He had his pick of any woman there was, not that he had needed to pick when the Shield first banded together. No Roman Reigns had been happily committed to his baby mamma until he had came home one night, tired and sore from countless nights on the road to find the love of his life home and entraining another man in their bed.

Stupid but brave man, Seth had thought at the time. He like Roman. had happily been in a relationship with a girl name Stephanie at the time, then a weapon of mass destruction by the name of April something or another had walked into his life and sweet Stephanie had became a distant fond memory.

Suddenly Dean's voice snapped him back into the present and had him laughing all over again. "Earth to space Diva!" Smiling he held out a hand, as if his annoyed brother could actually see him, and tried to pacify the raw bundle of nerves that was his middle brother. "I got it Deano, no more ducking the Big Dog, understood loud and clear!" It was a moment and a shush sound from the other end before Dean spoke again, his voice soft but laced with concern, "Fuck that shit Seth, don't shut us out little brother!" In an instant Seth felt his walls crumble.

Swallowing hard Seth shifted and looked down when he more or less felt his hand rubbing his knee. Un-grinding his teeth he bit out more harshly than he intended, "I am fucked for Mania, Doc says maybe mid-summer if I pick up the pace!" The growl that followed had Seth's own insides curling in displeasure, "If you pick up the pace? The fuck man! Does he think scoping and laying up?" It took a moment for Seth to follow Dean's words, his Cincinnati street talk had all but disappeared in recent years. It only showed back up at times like this, for the people that mattered to Dean Ambrose.

Smirking Seth knew that if that had set the other man off what he was about to say would make him go ballistic. Dean Ambrose didn't like anyone touching things or people that mattered to him. "Doc actually recommended a personal/ live in trainer to help with the rest of the rehab!"

1…

2…

3…

A snarl that was vicious and low gutted had Seth jerking the phone away from his ear, after a few second, he placed the phone back to his ear and cringed at the string of cuss words that other man was letting loose. And you thought you took the suggestion bad! Nodding at his own thought Seth started to strongly but firmly call out to his brother and hope that his voice would draw Dean's attention back to the conversation?

Suddenly there was a rough and ragged demand, "your not considering this, are you?" the voice was so raw Seth knew without question that his answer would cause the other man to go on a bender.

Sighing in hopeless he answered truthy, "Sadly yes I am! The PT is new with fresh idea's and comes highly recommended!"

There was a small pop followed by a bang and Seth knew his brother was none to happy with his answer. Dean Ambrose was for the most part a quiet man, almost broadline shy if you liked except for when he was amped or ready to fight it was like a totally different man than the natural relaxed dude that had became his brother. "Seth… for the love of god talk to Roman before you do this! Man, this is big and your talking about someone constantly up in your business 24/7!" He knew from knowing Dean as well as he did that was only part of the issue Dean was having with the idea. The mere thought of having someone constantly there, watching you, possibly judging you would drive him totally insane. Seth on the other hand didn't mind so much. Sure, he liked his privacy but then again, he didn't mind the hustle and bubble of having people up and around him.

Smiling as he listened to Dean rattle on some more, he weakly promised to call Roman and get his thoughts on this new plan of attack. In the end he softly reminded Dean that this was his decision to make and with that Dean had snapped back at him, "sounds like you already made up your freaking mind on it!" Cocking his head to the side Seth simply humped his shoulders and bided his brother a good night.

Putting his phone down he wondered if he should bother with Roman tonight or wait until he felt more on par of pleading his case to other man? Snorting in amusement he wondered briefly if his brothers remembered exactly just which of them had the busted-up knee and had to go through hell that was called rehab! Glancing at the referral once more he gave a fleeing thought to the woman who for all intend and purposes would become his shadow for the next few months.

Dallas Monroe

He gave a woof kind of laugh and wondered about who would name their daughter Dallas? What kind of woman was she? What had made her want to become a PT in the first place?

Slipping under the cover Seth let his mind drift to what it would have been like to main event the biggest paper pre view in the industry in the front of the largest crowd that there would ever be? The sound of the fans, the electricity in the air had him smiling as he snuggled deeper into the covers and dreamed his hearts desires.

Thoughts of calling Roman never crossed his mind as in his dream scape his music hit, and he put on the best damn show in the history of the WWE.

Dallas Monroe had graduated in the top five percent of Ohio State Sport Medicine Department and at the tender age of twenty-four had already had the privileged of working with a seasoned NFL player. The cred from that opportunity had already afforded her was immense and paying dividends for her career. Her move to Chicago had only helped her to move forward.

The chilly air in the February morning burned her lungs as she waited in line at a street vendor for a latte. Humming as the vendor's classic 80's rock radio station blared out some Gun -n- Roses, Welcome to the Jungle a small wave of homesickness hit her. Cincinnati seemed so far away all of a sudden and the need to find the quickest ride home overwhelmed her, that was until her phone rang. Smiling she brushed a piece of loose red curly hair back behind her ear and fished her phone out of her pocket. Giving the vendor her order quickly she answered her phone in what she hoped was a cheerful enough voice? "Hello Dallas Monroe, speaking!" There was a soft sigh then a softer voice that came over the line, "Miss Monroe my name is Seth Rollins Doctor Nike should have gotten in touch with you about …." Here his voice finally died off and she knew that uncertainly and possibly pain had cut off his words.

Smiling in thanks to the vendor she started her walk down the sidewalk as she picked up where he left off, "Mr. Rollins I am pleased to hear from you. Doctor Nike did indeed gotten in touch with me a few days ago and I have been assessing your case, just let me say I am honored that you would choose me to complete your rehab cycle." Bringing her latte up to her lips she took a small sip and continued, there was no need to pressure the man anymore than what he was doing to himself. "I would very much like to sit down with you to see if we can come up with a plan of attack for the rest of your rehab and to make sure I am the best possible fit for your schedule!"

There was a paused and his soft voice hustled back, "I am in Chicago for the next few days and staying at the Fairfield Inn and Suites downtown, I am open for lunch or dinner anytime you are?" Smiling she hummed in pleasure and blinked when the voice on the other end laughed, shaking her head she wondered what he found so funny? "Tomorrow lunch around 1 would suit me just fine Mr. Rollins!" Her reply by her own ears sounded funny and musical and it had her blushing.

Smiling a minute later as she disconnected the call, she made her way into the rehab clinic she used part time, it was more or less an office space shared by other personal trainers and fired up her computer. The file Doctor Nike had sent over was filled with the medical knowledge of who and what Seth Rollins was, but she need to find out about the type person he was behind the medical history, and most importantly she needed to find out who the was man behind the injury was.

No personal information, no that wasn't what she was about! She was a personal trained medical trainer to help get him back into proper working condition. The knowledge she was after was what type of sport he was involved in and how high was his performance level? What was his workouts like? Was his diet best suited for his rehab cycle or did she need to tweak it? She wondered briefly if Seth Rollins understood all the necessary life changes, she might be asking him to commit to? The demands she could be asking for would be a deal breaker, not that any athlete to date had turned her down but many had questioned her tactics and methods in the beginning.

Seth Rollins would be no different!

She knew the score, knew athletes like him, men and woman that wanted the rehab but not the necessary work to get where they wanted to go. Carter "Loto" Parkerson had been her first client and he had taught her the rules she held as gospel to this very day. Cart's rules and applications where what brought her to this level in her fledgling career and she hoped she only continued to improve that skill set as she grew and aged.

Making her way through the internet information on Seth Rollins was taxing, in most areas he was a poster boy, well off-screen poster boy, for his employer. Trying to gather as much information on what he did was harder than she suspected. There was hardly a wealth of info on solely him, on the other hand there was boat load about a group he had been a part of until some time ago in this summer past.

She was nearing the end of her search when the articles about a scandal on twitter tempted her to probe farther into his personal information. The odd sensation to know more about her possible client itched at the back of her mind, and it went against what Cart had taught her.

Never make it personal Babygirl

The Samoan had in grained a many thing in her, but this was rule number one! Never make a client personal, never get involved personally with a client, never come between spouses nor take sides in argument between spouses or other family members. She had became close to Cart and his wife Tiffany and had been schooled by both in what was acceptable for her interferences and in what subjects.

Really the couple had sort of adopted her, her and her younger sister. Kennedy Monroe was actually living with the couple down in Pensacola FL, the bubbly girl that was her sister loved the big man like a father.

Dallas would be forever grateful that Cart and Tiffany took up shared custody of Kennedy five years ago while she was still in school herself. Smiling as she remembered the first time, she heard her sister call Cart Tama! Cart and Tiffany cried. The pure relief she had felt in that moment had her crying right along with everyone else.

Kennedy was now a well-adjusted nineteen-year-old who was studying social services in a local community college. Cart had offered to pay for Kennedy's schooling so she could go anywhere she wanted but her sister had decided to go the community route while work her way thru her classes herself.

Smiling as she thought of her bubbly baby sister Dallas fished out her phone again and hit the speed dial number. Humming as she leaned back and waited her sister to pick up, she wondered briefly if there was in anything in life she was missing out on?

The phone stopped ringing and her sister sobbed into her ear.

Rubbing red blood shot eyes Seth glanced around the dinning hall of the hotel once again, his knee wanted to buckle and ache from the stiffer brace and it had him on edge. The soft sound of his phone ringing pulled him from his thoughts, and he sighed as he answered. "Your not changing my mind Big Dog so you and Dean can back…"

It was snark reply, which told him something was very wrong cause Roman was never snarky, "Seth I fucked up man!" Cocking his head to the side he wondered for a moment just how bad this was cause the indictors weren't good, first Ro was being snarky and more importantly he was cussing. Blinking he tried to honed in on what his big brother was saying but a woman so freaking beautiful caught his attention he just simply tuned the bigger man out.

The woman was roughly 5'3 in height, skin colored like sun kissed honey and eyes to match. But what fascinated him was her hair, if he was to guess it stopped mid shoulder in length- longer when it was wet, he guessed cause dry her hair laid in impossible curls. Tight curls after tight curls, almost like permed curls- then there was the color. In all his years Seth had never seen such dark red hair!

It's like the color of rubies

Suddenly she looked at him and in an instantly Roman's voice boomed though his phone at him, "are you even listening to me man?" Shaking his head in silent answer he weakly mumbled out, "Ro try this again on me later man… I have to go!" He had to go cause burning deep down in his soul Seth Rollins knew that the beautiful red head that had started her way to him was going to burn him to the ground and if he was lucky, she might stick around long enough to help him rebuild himself all over again.

An AU-ish OC wrestling fic. Timelines and characters are up for game in my evilness. Burning it Down is the first of what I hope to be a three-part series, one each for my shield boys. First up is Seth and Dallas's story, secondly will be Roman's cause evidently, he "fucked up" in some possible way? So yeah,

Burning it Down- Seth and Dallas's story

Respecting Our Mistakes- Roman

Back in My Younger Days- Dean