I honestly don't where this one came from, hehe. I think it mainly stemmed from this week's episode of SmackDown. I was watching it and, I don't know, I just got inspired.

I'm not sure when this one will be updated (I'm still, mainly, concentrating on Rise of the Crow, The Man in Me, Wrestling Between the Pages and Dark Warrior).

.

.

.

"Good match, Sheamus." one of the crew members, Bobby if he remembered correctly, called to the Celtic Warrior as he made his way through the backstage area.

Sheamus looked over at the younger man and nodded, "Thanks, fella."

He had to admit, things had gone pretty well. A hint of a smile tugged at his lips as he continued on. Hell, there was even a spring in his step and he couldn't deny his foot was still tingling from where it had planted itself right in Bertie's ugly, arrogant face.

Sheamus rounded a corner and drew to a stop, spotting Rey Mysterio standing up ahead, drinking from a bottle of the water.

The smaller man noticed him and lowered the bottle, nodding in his direction, "Congratulations, Sheamus. Good match."

"Thanks, Rey." Sheamus approached him, shaking the hand the other man offered to him, "Ya know, you would think it would get old, beatin' on old Bertie. But it just hasn' happened yet."

Rey grinned. He, too, had had his own problems with the arrogant Mexican aristocrat. So any chance he got to see Del Rio knocked down a peg or two were worth it.

Sheamus turned slightly, his gaze traveling a few feet up the hallway. His eyes began to grow thoughtful, his grin softening into a smile.

Up ahead, getting ready for an interview, was SmackDown's newest backstage reporter, Kimberlynn Gentry. Though she had only been there three months, the girl was getting a lot of backstage buzz. She was quite the little go-getter, always after one scoop or another. And pretty fearless, what with some of the hard hitting questions she would ask.

He had to admit it took guts for her to look a man dead in the eye and ask him why he was doing this and doing that or not doing this or that.

Yeah he respected the lass for sure. Though he couldn't help but wish she would ease up a little. Some of the fellas around there didn't take too well to nosy interviewers. Even cute ones.

And, in his esteemed option, the girl was definitely cute. In fact, he would classify her more as a knockout.

He watched as she flipped that long, dark brown, wavy hair of hers over her shoulder and talk to her cameraman. He said something and she laughed, that cute little upturned nose of her crinkling up.

Yeah she was a pretty girl, all right. Of that he couldn't deny.

"So you think they've picked Del Rio up off the canvas by now?"

Sheamus blinked and turned his attention back to Rey, a smirk dancing on his lips, "Eh, if Ah were them Ah'd leave his arse right where he lays. It'd serve him right."

Rey chuckled. His laughter soon died on his lips though as he looked over Sheamus shoulder. His mouth suddenly turned down in a frown, worry flaring up in his eyes.

"What's the matter, fella?" the Celtic Warrior followed the other man's gaze, taking note of just who the girl's next interview was with.

His blue eyes began to narrow, his jaw tensing, as he locked onto the massive mountain of a man towering over the small reporter.

This wasn't going to be good. . .

.

.

.

.

.

Kimber looked up at the Big Show and swallowed inwardly.

She had to admit she wasn't exactly feeling confident about this newest interview. In fact, she was downright nervous.

"Are you ready to go?" Big Show snapped, "I haven't got all night."

Kimber glanced over at Joel, her cameraman, with an arched eyebrow. He offered a nod at her silent question and she raised her microphone, jumping right in. The sooner she got this over with, the better.

"At this time I'd like to introduce SmackDown's newest World Heavyweight Champion, the Big Show." Kimber craned her neck back to stare up at the gigantic man before her, "Big Show, the WWE Universe is still buzzing over your surprising win against Sheamus at last month's Hell in a Cell."

"'Surprising'?" Show repeated, annoyed by the reporter's choice of words, "What's so surprising about it? It's like I've been saying for months now. That pasty ginger didn't stand a chance against me."

"Be that as it may," Kimber went on, "There are many who wonder why you seem to be evading the former champion. Why haven't you agreed to a rematch?"

"Why should I?" Big Show demanded, "I've already proven I'm the better man. I beat him. End of story. Why don't you go ask him why he can't move on already?"

"But isn't it his right as a former champion to get a rematch?" Kimber went on, unrelenting, "I would think that you would happily give it to him, given that you've already beaten him once before."

Show glared down at her. His nostrils began to flare and his face slowly turned a deep shade of red. At the sight of it Kimber visible swallowed and took a step back. Dread began to well up deep inside her stomach. Perhaps she had finally gone to far. . .

"So what are you saying, Kimber?" Show accused her, "Are you saying that I'm afraid of him? Huh? You think I'm a coward? Is that what you're getting at?"

Kimber took another step back, her eyes widening with alarm, "N-No. No, that's not what I'm implying at all. I just thought-"

"I don't care what you thought!" Big Show took a step towards her, his face filled with rage.

"Oi!"

Suddenly Sheamus approached, purposely putting himself between Big Show and Kimber. He looked up at the larger man with a glare, silently daring him to try something.

"What's the matter wit' you, fella?" the Irishman practically growled, "Pickin' on a woman half yer size and a quarter of yer weight? You want to pick on somebody, come pick on me."

Kimber looked between the two with apprehension. While she was sure Sheamus could hold his own, she still didn't want to see him possibly get hurt. Especially since he was only doing it to defend her honor.

"Guys, let's just calm down now, okay?" she replied hopefully, "Let's take a step back. Take a breather."

"Ah'll be takin' a breather all right." Sheamus muttered as he continued to look the Big Show dead in the eyes, "Ah'll be takin' a breather after Ah kick his arse."

Big Show began to grin, "You think it's going to be that easy, fella? Are you forgetting what happened last month? You gave me everything you had and you still came up short. Didn't you? What makes you think it's not going to be the same way again?"

"Let's step into the ring and find out." Sheamus began to smirk, "Come on, Show. If yer so sure you have this thing in the bag why don' you put yer title where yer mouth is?"

The Big Show looked the other wrestler up and down as he contemplated his options. He eventually flashed a triumphant smile at the Celtic Warrior and backed away.

Sheamus slowly turned back to the interviewer. He placed his large hand on her shoulder and looked her over. His fearsome features instantly smoothed away, being replaced with an expression of concern.

"You all right there, Kember?" he asked her gently as he studied her.

Kimber couldn't help but smile. One, because the situation had been defused and she was relieved. Two, because she had to admit she liked the way he said her name.

"I'm fine." she assured him, "Thank you, Sheamus."

He licked his lips and flashed that cheeky grin of his, "Don' worry about it. Any chance Ah can get to throw hands with him, Ah'll take it."

"Well, regardless, I'm glad it didn't come to that." Kimber stated with a sigh of relief.

"Ah well there's always next time." Sheamus slowly, almost reluctantly, removed his hand and walked away.

He had gone a few feet down the hall, about ready to turn the corner, when suddenly Alberto Del Rio and Ricardo Rodriguez flew out of the shadows. Alberto was on Sheamus in an instant, hitting the other man with vicious punches to his face and gut.

Sheamus grunted at the hits, falling back a few steps. But he quickly regained his bearings and met the other man head on, answering him with blows of his own.

Kimber's hands flew to her mouth, her eyes widening as she watching the two men rain blows down on each other.

Sheamus began to get the upper hand, adding a few well placed knees to his arsenal of hits. It wasn't long before Alberto was kneeling on the ground, covering his head to ward off the strikes.

Sheamus backed away, breathing heavily. Though he could have gone a few more rounds with the arrogant aristocrat he figured the guy had had enough.

As he started to turn away his eyes traveled back up the hallway. It was then that he noticed Kimber was still standing there, watching him with a mixture of hesitation and fear.

The hesitation he could understand. But the fear? He didn't like seeing it. Not in her eyes. And not directed at him.

Surely she wasn't afraid of him, was she? Why would she have a reason to be?

The thought made him uneasy. Rubbing his jaw he turned and began to walk away.

Unfortunately his mind was so focused on the reporter that he didn't see Ricardo sneak up on him, fire extinguisher in hand.

Kimber did, though, and she quickly called out, "Sheamus, look out!"

But it was too late. Sheamus didn't stand a chance as Ricardo nailed him in the back with the unforgiving metal, causing him to sink to one knee. The ring announcer quickly hurried over to his boss and helped him up, the pair taking off down the hallway.

A few of the crew, as well as Kimber, rushed over to the fallen man and checked on him.

"Hey, are you all right, Sheamus?" Bobby asked, looking the other man over.

Sheamus blinked a few times, getting his bearings. The fog he was feeling soon began to clear and instantly give way to anger. Breathing heavily, he rose to his feet and looked around, trying to spot Alberto and Ricardo.

"Where are they?" he all but snarled.

Kimber flinched at his tightly leashed rage and took a few steps back. Even though his anger wasn't directed at her, she still didn't like being in the vicinity of it.

"They took off out of the arena." another crew member told him.

The irate Irishman stormed off in the direction the pair had fled, leaving behind the nervous crew.

Kimber glanced over at Joel and called out hesitantly, "Did you get that?"

Joel lowered the camera and nodded, "Oh yeah."

"Great." Kimber replied drying as she leaned back against the wall and sighed.

.

.

.

.

.

She made her way through the arena later that night. As she did so she scanned the area, trying to find her ride.

"Hey, Kimber!" Josh Mathews called as he jogged towards her, his carryon slung over his shoulder.

"There you are." she greeted her best friend with a warm smile, "I was worried you might have left without me."

"Nah, I wouldn't leave you." Josh smirked as he approached her, "Who would chip in for gas money if I did?"

"Love you, too, Joshy." the SmackDown reporter teased as she playfully slapped the SmackDown commentator on the arm.

They fell into step beside one another and made their way towards the parking lot.

"So tonight was kind of interesting." Josh joked to his friend.

"Ugh, don't remind me." Kimber sighed, "I'd like to forget about almost being another casualty of the Big Show's, thankyouverymuch."

"I'm just glad you're okay." he told her, offering one of his rare moments of sincerity.

"That's all thanks to Sheamus." Kimber explained, "If he hadn't come to my aid when he did. . ."

Her voice trailed off as the wheels in her mind started to turn.

She just wished she knew why he had done it.

"What?" Josh questioned at her silence.

"Nothing." Kimber shook her head, coming out of her thoughts.

They slipped out a side door and began to make their way across the lot and towards Josh's rental car.

"It's kind of funny, though." the SmackDown reporter went on, thoughtful, "I'm surprised Sheamus helped me out."

"Why?" Josh glanced over at her, "He's a pretty good guy. It's no surprise he would come to your aid. Especially from the Big Show.

"Besides," he added with a grin and wink, "It doesn't hurt that you're cute."

"Pig." Kimber stuck her tongue out at him and gave him a shove.

Laughing, the pair reached the car and threw their bags into the backseat. As they climbed in and got settled Josh turned to her, pensive.

"What?" Kimber asked with a good-natured smile.

"Why's nothing ever happened between us?" he asked quietly.

"You mean after we had that really awkward kiss that ended with both of us laughing hysterically?" Kimber reminded him with a giggle, "Gee, Josh, I don't know."

"Oh yeah." Josh began to laugh at the memory.

He sent her a devilish look, "Besides, you drool."

"Ugh, I so do not!" Kimber gasped with feint hurt.

She slumped back into her seat and crossed her arms over her chest, pouting.

Josh couldn't help but grin at her antics. He soon started up the car and they were heading off down the street and back to their hotel.

"Besides." Kimber added, the young woman growing serious, "I don't have time for romance. And definitely not with a co-worker. Not if I want to be WWE's first female commentator."

"As much as I'd love to share the announce table with you, Kim," Josh glanced over at her hesitantly, "You have to be prepared for that to never happen. I mean-"

"Yeah, yeah, I know." Kimber sighed, her eyes going to the ceiling, "Old Boys Club and all that. I get it."

She turned to him, set and determined, "But that doesn't mean it can't happen. Someday. So until that day comes I'll just keep working hard-"

"All work and no play." Josh couldn't help but quip.

"Yeah, yeah." Kimber grinned.

But deep in her heart she was serious. She would make her dreams come true. No matter how long it took. No matter how hard she had to work. She would be the WWE's first female commentator.

Someday. . .

.

.

.

.

.

Sheamus settled back against the massive bed in his hotel room. As he propped his back up against the headboard he let out a groan. What he wouldn't give to be in his own bed in his own home.

A scowl married his features. Had married his features since he left the arena that evening. That coward, Del Rio, and his equally cowardly ring announcer, Rodriguez, had high tailed it out of the arena as soon as they could.

No matter, the Irishman thought as a cold smile began to creep over his lips, he's be seeing old Bertie again soon enough. And then he'd pay him and Ricky back for their cheap shots.

He reached over and picked up the remote, turning on the television. His cranky mood lightened somewhat when he found a rugby game to get engrossed in.

"Come on, lads! Get some defense out there!" he yelled, cheering on his team.

A knock at the door interrupted his concentration on the game. He looked over at it with a glare, contemplating yelling for whoever it was to go away.

"Come on, Sheamus!" Kofi Kingston's voice called from the other side, "Open the door!"

Sighing, the Irishman turned off the television and clambered out of the bed. He grumbled as he reached the door and yanked it open, revealing Kofi, Christian and Ted DiBiase. The trio were looking at him with wide grins, either oblivious to his desire to spend the evening alone or just not caring. He suspected the latter.

"And what can Ah do for you gentlemen?" Sheamus questioned as he casually leaned against the doorframe.

Christian looked over his shoulder, peering into his room with a smirk, "You don't have a girl in there, do you?"

"And if Ah did, it wouldn' be any of your business." Sheamus told him, but did so with a smile.

"Come out with us." Ted tried to cajole him, "We're going to go down to the hotel bar and see what kind of trouble we can get into."

"Thanks for the offer, lads." Sheamus started to say, "But Ah don' feel much like partying."

The trio groaned, earning a chuckle from the large Irishman.

"First rounds on me." Kofi tried to entice him out of the room.

"Ale!" Christian prompted with a grin.

Sheamus pondered that for a few moments. After the night he had had a strong drink would definitely do him some good.

"All right." he relented, grabbing his wallet and cardkey from the bedside table, "You fellas talked me into it. Let's go."

The four made their way through the hotel and down to the bar. As they entered Sheamus noticed that a few of the other wrestlers, as well as some crew, were already there. It looked like the begins of a roaring good time. Made even better, or worse depending on Sheamus thirst for revenge, by the fact that Del Rio and Rodriguez were no where to be seen.

Kofi led the way up to the bar and ordered four beers. While they waited for their order to be filled the four men checked out the room.

While Sheamus scanned the dimly lit bar his blue eyes eventually landed on Kimber. To say he was surprised to see her was an understatement. He didn't know why, but he just figured bars weren't really her thing.

His surprise was tinted with sparks of annoyance as he noticed she wasn't alone. She was seated with Josh Mathews, the pair talking and laughing animatedly.

"Oi," Sheamus bumped Christian's elbow and nodded towards the pair, "What's the story on our new backstage interviewer there?'

"Kimber?" Christian shrugged, "I don't know. I don't really think she has one."

He began to grin, "Why? Thinking of making her your next conquest."

Sheamus gave him a look, letting him know he didn't appreciate the other man's insinuation. He had a bit of a reputation, he supposed, but most of the time it was just talk. The truth was, he didn't get around nearly as much as the other lads thought.

"I heard she and Mathews were dating." Ted volunteered.

"Me, too." Christian replied.

"See, now I heard they were only friends." Kofi added, "Who knows?"

"Who can keep up around here anyway." Ted joked.

The beers came and Kofi began to pass them around. Sheamus took his with a nod of thanks, but his eyes remained on the SmackDown reporter.

"Thinking of asking her out?" Kofi questioned, also looking at Kimber.

"She's not your usual type, is she?" Ted grinned, "No blonde hair. No big boobs-"

But with one look from the Irishman he promptly shut up and took a pull off of his beer.

Sheamus had to admit she definitely wasn't like the other girls he was used to going out with. Nice enough, they were. But the truth was, they could have been classified more as bimbos than anything. And the fact that they seemed more interested in his money than hisself didn't help.

No, Kimber was one of those who could never have been called a bimbo. She was too smart. Granted, maybe not that night with the Big Show, but normally yeah.

He just hoped those brains of hers didn't get her into any more trouble.

.

.

.

.

.

Kimber took a sip of her white wine. At first she had been apprehensive about coming down there, but really she was glad Josh had dragged her along. She was having a great time. And she needed to unwind after such a tumultuous night.

"Thank you." she said, placing a hand on her best friend's arm, "I really needed this."

"Well I'm just glad you're enjoying yourself." Josh told her with an easy smile.

Layla approached their table at that moment. The former Divas' Champion appeared a little hesitant. She leaned down and whispered something in Kimber's ear before straightening and looking at her expectedly.

"Oh sure." Kimber told her with a smile, reaching for her purse.

She stood up and turned to Josh, explaining, "I'll be right back."

"No problem." Josh nodded.

"Thanks." Layla murmured as the two women walked off.

"Don't worry about." Kimber assured it, "It's happened to me before, too."

Josh took a drink of his beer as he searched out the room. He froze, the bottle slowly leaving his lips as he spotted a gorgeous girl at the end of the bar looking right at him.

He glanced over his shoulders just to make sure, causing the girl to giggle and nod. Smiling brightly, the SmackDown commentator jumped out of his seat and made his way over to her.

He leaned against the bar and grinned, "Hi. I'm Josh."

"Hi, Josh." the girl murmured, tucking a strand of her ash blonde hair behind her ear, "I'm Candice."

"Hi, Candice." Josh leaned in and teased, "I couldn't help but notice you noticing me over there."

Candice giggled, "Yeah, I did. You, um, you're pretty cute."

"You're pretty cute yourself." Josh chuckled.

"So are you with the show, too?" Candice questioned.

"I am." Josh nodded.

"I thought so!" Candice's smile grew easier, "I thought you looked familiar. You're Josh Mathews, right?"

"That I am." Josh extended his hand, "Nice to meet you."

"You, too." Candice shook his hand then motioned to the bar stool beside her, "Care to join me?"

Josh needed no further prompting and swiftly joined her at the bar. His quickness earned another giggle from her.

"So I take it you're a wrestling fan?" Josh asked, leaning in close to her.

"Of course." Candice murmured, also moving in closer.

"So which do you like better?" the commentator asked, "Raw or SmackDown?"

"SmackDown." Candice instantly answered, "In fact, you're my favorite commentator."

Josh's eyes lit up, "Is that right?"

"Mmm-hmm." Candice trailed her fingers up his arm, "In fact, I think you're the sexiest guy on the show."

Josh's cheeks turned bright red, as did his ears. He couldn't believe his luck!

"So. . ." he cleared his throat, trying to play things cool, "How about you and me getting out of here and going someplace a little more quiet?"

Candice started to answer when she noticed something over Josh's shoulder. She let out a gasp and quickly pulled away from the commentator in fear.

Josh was confusion. It was at that moment that he sensed something behind him. He turned around and paled considerable when he discovered a very angry Sheamus standing behind him,

"She-Sheamus," he stammered nervously, "Hey."

"Ya have a beautiful girl and the moment her back is turned you start flirtin' with another woman." the Irishman snarled, "What kind of a man does that?"

"You have a girlfriend?" Candice gasped, insulted.

"No!" Josh quickly looked from Candice to Sheamus and back again, "I-I don't!"

He turned to Sheamus and shook his head so fast that it looked like it would fly off at any moment, "Sheamus, I don't have a girlfriend."

"Oh yeah?" the Celtic Warrior crossed his massive arms over his equally massive chest, "And what would Kember say to that, fella?"

"Kimber?" Josh blinked, confused.

"Ugh!" Candice jumped to her feet and tossed her drink in his face, "You jerk!"

Josh sputtered and wiped at his eyes while the blonde stormed off out of the bar. As she did so she passed by Kimber, who was making her way back in. Kimber looked after her in surprise before turning around. Her eyes widened as she spotted a very wet and frightened Josh cowering before an enraged Sheamus.

"Some men would give their eye teeth for a girl like that." the Celtic Warrior was saying, "Beautiful. Smart. Classy. And you turn around and cheat on her. At least be a man about it and break up with her first instead of being a coward and going behind her back!"

"Kimber and I aren't dating!" Josh tried to reason with him, "She's not my girlfriend! She's just a friend!"

"And here I thought I was more than that."

The two men turned to see Kimber standing there. She looked between them, a hint of a smile tugging at her lips.

She looked up at Sheamus and replied gently, "Before you kill him-and thank you for defending my honor, by the way-you should know that Josh is just a friend. Actually, he's my best friend."

She turned and added with mock anger, "Though I don't think he sees it that way. Really, Josh, I'm hurt. I thought I meant more to you. I thought we had something together."

Her words finally hit home and Sheamus closed his eyes, cursing to himself. Now it was his turn to turn red as embarrassment set in.

He scrubbed a hand over his face and looked sheepishly over at the commentator.

"Josh, Ah'm sorry, fella." he clapped the smaller man on the back, causing him to flinch and jump slightly, "If ya want, Ah can go see if Ah can find that girl and explain."

"No." Josh sighed, wiping his face with a napkin, "She's long gone by now anyway. I'm . . .I'm just going to go up to my room and dry off. Goodnight, Kimber."

"Night, Josh." Kimber patted her friend on the back as he passed, the young woman trying hard not to laugh.

When he was gone she turned her attention back to the wrestler. She couldn't remember ever seeing him look so humiliated before. In fact, she couldn't remember ever seeing him look humiliated period.

"Ah owe you an apology, as well." Sheamus told her, "Ah saw him over here with that girl and Ah. . .Ah jumped to conclusions. Ah'm sorry about that, Kember. Ah'll let you get back to yer evening."

He started to walk off when Kimber reached out and stopped him. Her touch sent a spark of electricity up his arm, causing Sheamus to stop in his tracks.

He worried that when he looked at her he'd see only anger. To his surprise, though, he found her watching him with nothing but kindness shining in her green eyes.

"Thank you for sticking up for me." she replied, offering him a sunny smile, "Again. I really did appreciate it."

"Besides," she added jokingly, "It's nice to know that chivalry isn't completely dead."

"Well," Sheamus let out a sigh, glad to see that she wasn't going to hold it against him, "Ah think a round of drinks is needed to make up for me embarrassing myself tonight. What do you say?"

"That's really very kind of you-" Kimber started to protest but he interrupted her.

"It has nothing to do with kindness, lass." Sheamus grinned, "Ah just figured Ah owed you one, is all."

There was a part of her that wanted to say yes. A big part. For research sake, of course. A chance to sit down and talk in depth with him. Maybe get to know the inner workings of the WWE from another side.

Besides, she thought as her eyes quickly darted over his body, she could think of worse ways to spend the evening.

She blinked, coming out of her thoughts. She felt her own cheeks begin to turn red and she just prayed he didn't notice them.

What are you doing? she asked herself, Stop it! You're here for the job, remember?! Not dating! Besides, if you've seen one handsome, charming Irishman you've seen them all. So snap out of it and quit acting like some fangirl!

"Again, thank you." she replied, her tone a little overly polite, "That's a very nice offer but I think I'm going to turn in. We do have to be on the road early tomorrow, after all. Goodnight, Sheamus."

And with that she turned and quickly walked out of the bar.

Sheamus watched after her, brows knit. He couldn't figure her out. She ran hot one minute and cold the next.

Could she be miffed over what had happened between Josh and himself? No, no that couldn't be it. She had actually looked like she thought the whole thing was rather funny.

So what was it? What had caused her to pull away from him?

He blinked, realization hitting him like a chair shot to the back. Of course! She was still a little leery of him because of what happened back at the show.

He could still see the fear in her eyes. Fear that had been directed right at him. It made his stomach churn just thinking about it.

The Celtic Warrior let out a sigh, shaking his head with dismay. He had to prove to her that she had nothing to fear from him. He had to show her he was more than some common hooligan.

He tried to tell himself that it was simply because he didn't want her to get the wrong impression about him but that was far from true. The truth was he liked the lass. A lot. More than he could remember liking a woman in a very long time.

He just hoped she could let her guard down long enough to see him as the man he really was.