When it came to the Fliehrs; there was no closer family; Ashley had gotten closer to her family after the death of her little brother, but the only one in her family that seemed to rip herself away and that; was her twin sister; Hailee. The youngest of the Fliehr twins was emotionally divided and had taken Reids death very hard; but it had been years ago and Hailee was still standoffish with the family that she once held so dear. It was time that Ashley got through to Hailee in the only way she could; which was forcing her to talk, by bribing her with various treats and smothering her with hugs. Hailee hated being touched at least in a lovey dovey way unless she invited it. Ashley knew this; but also had a sidekick along for the ride to her sisters house. Rebecca Quin had been with Ashley Fliehr for quite sometime, but they hadnt become public with their relationship yet and she was the only one with the most upbeat personality to possibly break Hailee into submission.
Once getting to Hailees house; Ashley and Rebecca exchanged a look. "Ready to meet my twin?" Ashley asked. "Born Ready" Rebecca responsded. They both got out and walked over to the door and knocked. Rebecca looked around admiring the neighborhood. Hailee answered and she was pale; obviously in some kind of distress or pain. Hailee kept a certain secret from her family, Hailee was born with a heart defect known as Atrial Septal Defect, it was a heart condition that left her with a hole in her heart, she found out when she had tried out for the WWE, but had yet to get it fixed in fear that she would lose her life like Reid had; but just in a different way. Hailee kept it from her family to save everyone the heartache of potentially losing her. Ashley looked at Hailee. "Long time no see, Sis" She pointed out. "Yeah, its been a long time since you know; you're to busy being Charlotte Flair; the Queen of the Ring and the WWE" Hailee stated softly as she moved to allow her two guests to come in.
"Hailee this is Rebecca, she is my best friend and my girlfriend; she is also in the WWE as Becky Lynch" Ashley pointed out as Rebecca held out her hand for a handshake which Hailee happily took and shook. "Nice to meet you, Im Hailee; Ashleys twin" She stated as she gently took her hand away and closed the door. "What do I owe this pleasure?" Hailee asked looking between them. "We want you to be at Summerslam; David and Dad are going to be there and we want the family back together" Ashley stated hoping that alone would perk up her twins spirits. "Ash...I cant" She breathed out and looked at her twin. "Why?" Ashley asked. "I have to take it easy, I cant do much driving as it is; I don't think I could literally stand a car ride or plane ride to where Summerslam is being held" She pointed out. "Whats wrong, What arent you telling me?" Ashley was growing concerned her eyes welling up with tears because she automatically feared the worst. Becky placed a hand on her lovers back to calm her.
"I have been hiding something from you and the whole family, As much as I would love to be there to see you and Becky go head to head for Carmellas championship; I-I dont think I would survive the trip" Hailee cracked her jaw and she moved to go sit down on her couch; Becky and Ashley following; Ashley moved to sit next to her twin and looked at Hailee. "What arent you telling me?" Ashley asked again growing more worried. "I have a heart condition, its why I was denied enterance into the WWE; Its serious, Ash. I have the option to get it fixed, but not only is it a open heart surgery, but its survival rate is not the best" Hailee finally admitted as she looked away not wanting to see the reaction on Ashleys face. "You hid that from us?! You hid that from me?" Ashley stood immediately and Becky jumped up to make sure Ashley remained calm.
"You are so selfish, Hailee; You think nothing about anyone but yourself, How long have you known!" Ashley stated sharply in a questioning tone. "Three Years and it has been getting worse" Hailee replied trying to remain calm because she already had her fair share of problems with her shift at work the night before. "No one but you knows now" Hailee added. Ashley was seething. "Really! This is serious, this isn't something you can just keep from everyone" Ashley was screaming at this moment. Hailee got up and looked at her sister. "You dont think I know this, but half of our family is still struggling with Reids passing, I dont want to add to everyones struggle with my possible demise. If that makes me selfish then so be it, Ashley! I was protecting everyone...especially you" Hailee yelled back but she whimpered as she felt the pains in her chest getting worse.
"Protecting us, It's going to kill dad if he loses you! How is that fair!?" Ashley was still screaming and Becky was trying to calm her down, but it wasnt doing much. Hailee looked at her twin with sad eyes and hid the fact she was feeling like crap. "Just leave!" Hailee stated pushing past her sister to go somewhere where she could calm down. "Stop pushing me away, Hailee!" Ashley stated her voice settling. "I have to...its the only thing I know, keeping everyone at arms length so I dont feel bad about not wanting the surgery" Hailee stated softly. "You're not getting it?" Ashley asked. "I-I want to die on my terms, not theres" Hailee replied. "No...I can't lose you too" Ashley started sobbing. Hailee turned on her heels and walked over to her sister and engulfed her in a hug. "I will be at Summerslam; okay, even if it is the last thing I do; I want to see you wrestle, I want to see you happy" She finally decided, she would make the trip even if it killed her.
Hailee held Ashley as she cried in her arms, her sisters whole body was shaking at how badly she was crying and it didn't help that Hailee wasnt much of a comforting presance. She kissed her sisters head and breathed. "I will be there; I promise" Hailee assured.
When Summerslam was set to happen, Hailee was seated with David and her father in the front row. Hailee watched as match after match was going on and then it was time for the Smackdown Womans Championship Match. Hailee already wasnt feeling well and she watched as the match went on and when Ashley won the title and Becky subsequently turned heel, Hailee breathed out a bit and looked at her dad. She walked towards the exit; she needed air, she didnt feel so good. David followed to make sure Hailee was alright. He found her leaning against the wall, she was rubbing her chest and he knew she wasnt okay. "Hailee?" He questioned. "Im okay, David...just get back inside" Hailee was lying. David stuck by his sister for the remainder of the show up until Ric texted him to let him know where he was. David let his dad know that Hailee wasnt looking so good and she had been rubbing her chest and Ric told that to Ashley.
Ashley instantly began to worry and then David called Ric in a panic. "Take the car, get her there as quickly as you can; Ashley and I will meet you there" Ric stated as he started to tear up a bit. Ashley was already panicking about what could be going on with her twin and then she saw the tears in her fathers eyes and it didnt help. "What is it, Dad what's wrong; is Hailee okay?" Ashley asked. "Your sister just collapsed, just get dressed, Ashley!" Ric was upset and he was trying to be strong.
The whole family was at the hospital within the hour, Ric saw David in the waiting room and Ashley came in behind her father and Ashley seen the reddened eyes of her brother and her heart sank. "Is she..." Ashley asked her voice shaking. "No-Shes alive, they had to do the surgery-it was life or death and they got her clear headed enough for her to agree to it, she is in surgery now" David stated softly. "Why didnt she have it sooner?" David asked. "Because the survival odds are not great; we could still lose her" Ashley sank into a chair next to her brother. It was hours before doctors came out to let them know how Hailee was, but when the doctor did he took them all into a room and explained the situation
Hailees heart had stopped three times during the operation to fix the hole in her heart. Her body was weaker then they expected, and the moment that the doctor made that known to the Fliehr family; Ashley felt to blame, she could have killed her sister by forcing her to be there for Summerslam. "When can we see her?" Ric asked choking back tears. "We can take you to her, but she is sedated to keep her calm and in a resting state" The doctor replied and then led the family to Hailees room in ICU. The moment the Fliehr clan entered the room, Ashley let out a muffled cry. Ric immediately went to Hailees side and took her hand into his own, David took the initiative to push a chair closer to his father so he could sit down. Ashley went over to the other side of her sister and took her sisters free hand.
Hailee was bound with bandages; she didnt have a gown on, but she was covered. "Hailee, why didn't you tell us sooner; we could have helped you" Ric watched her features hoping she would just come to, but he also kept a eye on the monitors. Ashley remained silent feeling to blame for this, she didnt even answer Rebeccas calls, granted she needed to know why she had ran off without saying a word after the ending of Summerslam. Quickly, Ashley sent Rebecca a text explaining what happened and where she was. She then put her phone away and breathed a bit and absently rubbed her thumb over the back of her twin sisters hand.
Ashley felt Hailees hand tighten around her own and her eyes began to look as if she may be waking up. The moment Ashley saw her sisters green hues open. Without a moments hesitation, she buried her face gently into Hailees neck and put her free arm around her and sobbed. Hailee moved her head slightly just to simply try and comfort her twin sister, she knew she was crying and she didnt want Ashley to be sad. Ric was just glad that Hailee was awake, she glanced over at her father then looked at her brother as Ashley still clung to her. It was about ten minutes before Ashley stood upright and sniffled and held her sisters hand close to her. "Its all my fault" Ashley stated. Hailee shot her gaze in Ashleys direction. "You had no way of knowing, sis" Hailee breathed.
As time passed and Hailee was released from the hospital; Ric had taken initiative to recommend that Hailee move closer to him so he could keep an eye on her and her health. Hailee didn't like the idea so much of moving, but Ric offered a room in his home to her until she found a suitable place for herself. Hailee now being healthier to a stance that she could make car rides of varying lengths made every attempt to be at her sisters matches no matter if they were live or house shows. During that time, Hailee met a few of the male talent within the WWE; she hit it off with Allen Neal Jones; also known as AJ Styles.