A/N: Hey guys! This is going to be my last requested one shot for a while, as I'm gonna be busy working on What I Like About You from now on. I'll probably take them again once I've finished with that, though.

Anyway, here it is. I hope you all like it!

Save Me

John sat in silence, his half empty beer glass twirling around in his hand, his mind elsewhere. He barely even remembered that he was sat in a swarming bar with a bunch of his wrestling pals, or that they were joking around about him. Even if he had, he probably wouldn't have cared less. He didn't care about anything anymore. Not after what had happened to him as of late.

"John, wake up, man," His shoulder got nudged lightly, and he looked up from his glass to find Ted DiBiase staring down at him, his brow furrowed, "You okay, Cena? You're totally out of it."

"What did you expect? You didn't think he was gonna change just cause we managed to get him out, did you?" Cody spoke up, rolling his eyes.

"I can hear you, you know," John practically growled, glaring at all three of his so called friends.

"Wow, you can? That's funny, cause for the past few months you haven't listened to anything any of us have said," Cody added again, his temper rising. He had been sympathetic towards his friend at first, but now he just thought it was stupid. Who in their right minds would mope around for that long over a girl?

"Chill, Cody. Leave the poor guy alone," Randy added, and despite the fact that John could clearly hear sarcasm in his tone, he was still grateful that he was shutting the younger guys up. He hated Cody and Ted for their youth, for their naive ways. Perhaps he was only a few years older than them, but when it came to his world, those few years seemed like a lifetime. He thought back to how easy it had been when he had been the same age as them. He was barely starting off in the business, just enjoying himself with his friends, and not to mention any girl that he wanted...

Hell, he'd have given anything to be back there again now. Or anything to be Ted or Cody, for that matter.

"Whatever," Ted shook his head, sighing as he patted his close friend on the shoulder, "We're gonna go get some more drinks. You guys want any?"

"No thanks, we're good," Randy shook his head, answering for the pair of them.

With a nod, the two youngsters disappeared into the crowd, leaving the two older men in silence. John kept his gaze locked on his glass as Randy budged over to the seat beside him, his eyes on his friend the entire time. It wasn't until John got tired of the younger man staring at him that he spoke up.

"Something you want, Orton?" He asked, finally looking up, before he finished off the rest of the beer in the glass he had been so fascinated in.

"Actually yeah, there is," He nodded, leaning back in his seat casually; "I want you to snap out of it, Cena. I know that these past few months have been tough on you, but you can't act like this forever."

"I just got divorced, Randy. I'm sorry if I don't feel like dancing around in happiness right now."

"I know that," The dark haired man shook his head, "I didn't say that you had to be absolutely fine about it all, but you have to start somewhere," He shrugged, his eyes running over the crowd, "Just start by talking to a girl, or something. Get your mind off the bitch," He smirked slightly.

John glared, wondering why his friend had to bring up his ex-wife, especially when he was so keen on him getting over her. There was no way he was going to be able to get on with his life if she was going to be brought up in their conversations all the time. Just the thought of her made his blood boil, and his heart clench. He'd given her everything... he'd loved her with all of his heart... and she had cheated on him.

"No way, Ortz," He shook his own head, "I don't want anything to do with women. Ever again."

"Right, so you're just gonna turn gay?" Randy asked, grinning.

"What's so fucking funny?" John spat, obviously not in the mood for his friend's playfulness, "You really have no idea, do you? Of course you don't... you're happily married, you have the perfect wife and kid. You haven't had to go through a messy divorce or find out that the love of your life has cheated on you."

"You finished?"

John felt like punching his friend in the face as he looked at him with a raised eyebrow... but despite his annoyance, he knew that Randy was right. He didn't want to feel this way, he wanted to be able to do as his friends told him, to forget about her and move on with his life. But it wasn't as easy as they thought it was.

"I'm gonna get another drink," He sighed, standing up from his seat. He didn't exactly want to drown his sorrows like he had so many times before, but it beat having to stay here and talk about his problems, "You want anything?"

"No, I'm good," Randy shook his head, his gaze speculative as he stared up at his friend.

With another small sigh, John nodded, before slowly making his way through the buzzing crowd and towards the bar. When he arrived, he spotted Ted and Cody almost instantly, but instead of joining them, disappeared to the opposite side, which was thankfully a little quieter. The last thing he needed right now were his other boys telling him to man up and forget about it...

"Come on, girl, you know you want some..."

"No, please, just..."

"Please, just shut up."

Despite his mood, John couldn't help but frown at the sound of two gruff voices, along with that of a woman. Wanting to find out a little more, he lifted his gaze from the bar to see that only a few feet away, two huge, bearded men had a young brunette backed against the bar. One of them had a hold of her wrist, and despite the smile on the men's faces, he knew this wasn't what the woman wanted. If the look of terror on her face wasn't bad enough, then the small screeches that she was making definitely were.

He hated that he had to be this type of guy. If he were Cody or Ted, then he probably would have shrugged it off and walked away. But he wasn't, he was John Cena, and he couldn't just stand around and let something like that happen to an innocent young woman.

"Excuse me?" He spoke up as he inched his way across to them, pushing himself in beside the brunette, "Is there a problem here?"

"Not that it's any of your business," The younger of the two, with blonde hair and matching scruff, spoke up with a sneer, "But no. We were just having some fun with this little lady here."

"Right," John pursed his lips as he looked between the two men and the young woman, "I have a feeling she doesn't want to play along, though," He folded his arms across his chest, inching even closer to her.

"Look man, I don't know who the fuck you are, but this has nothing to do with you," The other, much larger man spoke up. His teeth were clenched as he finally let go of the young woman's wrist, only to move closer to John and tower over him.

John shook his head back and forth, a sigh escaping his lips. Why did he always find himself in situations like this?

"Alright, let's ask someone who it does have something to do with," He shrugged, turning sideways to look at the girl, "Do you want me to leave you alone with these guys?"

The brunette's eyes grew as wide as saucers, and without speaking, she shook her head quickly.

"Didn't think so," John smiled without humour, "I think you have your answer there, guys. Now how about you excuse the two of us and we forget any of this ever happened?" He asked as politely as possible, before he took a hold of the woman's arm gently and began to lead her away.

"You okay?"He asked quietly, his head bowed close to hers.

"I'm..." But he didn't get to hear the rest of her sentence.

Before John knew what was happened, a sharp pain ran through the back of his skull, and seconds later his face smashed against the hard floor. His vision turned black for what seemed like forever, but when he finally came to, and shook his head to try and rid himself of the pain, he realised that it hadn't even been half a minute since he was hit.

With the young woman's help, John managed to pull himself back up to a sitting position, his back pressed against the bar for support. As he slowly began to focus on his surroundings, he realised that he wasn't the only one involved in this whole situation now. So it seemed, while he had been out of it, his friends had realised what was going on and come to his aid. Cody and Ted, along with the two large men, were being held back by a bunch of security guards, Randy stood in the middle with his arms held out wide.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry, this is all my fault," The brunette's voice interrupted his thoughts, and he turned away from the commotion to see that she was knelt beside him, her hands fluttering between them as if she didn't know what to do.

"Don't be stupid," John shook his head, wincing as his head slid across the wood of the bar. He'd had plenty of injuries in his life because of his job, so he knew that by morning, this one wasn't going to be pleasant. If he didn't know better, he'd have thought the guy's fist was made out of iron...

Or he just had a knuckle duster; he cringed, as he noticed the shiny gold object that was placed on the fingers of the largest man. It really was gonna be a bitch in the morning.

"What the hell were you thinking? Going up to a bunch of guys twice your size just to help someone like me?" She shook her head, her hand finally lifting to pull John's head away from the bar. Although it was still throbbing like crazy, he could feel the pain lessen now that he was no longer leaning against anything.

"Someone like you?" He asked, his face scrunched in confusion. Why was she any different from anyone else that was in trouble?

"You don't know me," She shrugged, both sets of eyes now watching the two big guys being dragged from the club as she continued to speak, "I was a stranger to you, yet you still came to help me out... not many people would do that."

"Well, what can I say?" He sighed, smiling ever so slightly as he struggled to his feet, her small hands gripping his arm as she tried to help, "I'm not like most people."

"You can say that again," A familiar voice spoke up, and John had to refrain from rolling his eyes as Randy walked over to the pair of them, a smirk on his features. Cody and Ted had both finally calmed down and were being left alone by the bouncers... unfortunately. Now Randy had nobody to bug, and his attention was on them, "You okay, Cena?"

"I'm fine," He nodded, although the wince as he lifted his arm to gingerly inspect the back of his head told them otherwise.

"You know, I think you need to get this checked out," The brunette added quietly, her eyes still full with worry as she looked up at the back of his head, "You could have a concussion or something."

"Nah, I'll be fine. I'll just get an ice pack when we get back to the hotel."

"Where the hell are you gonna find an ice pack at the hotel, John?" Randy spoke up, smiling crookedly.

John glared at his friend, knowing that there was definitely something behind his actions. He wished he could slap that stupid smirk off his face right now, but the last thing he needed was to get into another fight. He didn't want to end up flat on his ass again... or face.

"Well, you could always come back to mine? I only live ten minutes away, and I can get you some ice, and whatever else you need."

"You know? I think that sounds like a great idea," It took barely seconds for Randy to speak up, a beaming smile on his face, "You should take up that offer of ice, and whatever else you need, man."

John gritted his teeth and turned away from his friend, knowing that if he didn't, it wouldn't be long before he jumped him and started to beat the hell out of him. He'd just been punched in the head with knuckledusters, and all Randy cared about was if he would get some from the girl he'd helped out? What an asshole.

"I dunno, I don't wanna impose, or anything... I mean, you've had a tough day, I'm sure you don't want a strange guy in your home..."

"No, believe me, it's the least I can do," She shook her head, smiling up at him.

"I'll see you later then," Randy nodded, not even giving the older man time to reply before he walked off to his other two friends, leaving John by himself with the woman.

He silently cursed, realising that he wasn't going to get out of it as easily as he had first thought. All he had wanted to begin with was for the brunette to be safe, and now somehow, he had been invited back to her place. So much for not having anything to do with women ever again.

"So, umm, is that a yes?" She spoke up timidly.

"Err, yeah, I guess so," John shrugged, forcing a smile on his face as he looked down at her. For the first time since he had helped her, he got a chance to really take her in. His eyes grew slightly wider when he noticed just how beautiful she was. She was pretty young, her early twenties at the most, her eyes were a gorgeous shade of hazel, and she had the cutest little expression on her face. Before John knew it, the forced smile he was sending her had quickly turned into a genuine one. Okay, so maybe taking up her offer wouldn't be so bad after all, "I'm John, by the way," He held out his hand.

"So I guessed," She chuckled lightly, referring to the fact that Randy had been emphasising his name in nearly every single one of his damn sentences, "I'm Jodie," She took a hold of his hand and shook it gently.

"Well, it's nice to meet you," He nodded, his dimples showing as he grinned. He couldn't quite believe it, but he was actually smiling. A real, genuine smile...

"Likewise," She tilted her head, grinning back. She still had a hold of his hand from before, so without letting go she began to back away, pulling the wrestler along with her, "Shall we?"

"Hmm," John nodded, his heart suddenly starting to beat a little faster than before, "Lead the way."

"Wow," John's eyes grew wide as Jodie opened up her front door and walked into the apartment, quickly followed by the young man, "You're place is really nice."

"Why, were you expecting something else?" She asked, smiling at him as she pushed the door to a close behind them.

"No, I mean, not really..." He shrugged, taking in his surroundings, "I guess I didn't expect it to be so... big. Do you mind me asking where you work?"

"Sure," She dropped her bag down on the coffee table, "I write for a newspaper."

"Right," John grinned, "Bags and shoes?"

"No, actually," She rolled her eyes, "I write about anything and everything... although I specialise in things like human rights, pollution, that kind of stuff."

"You're just full of surprises, aren't you?" He smirked. He still couldn't believe how quickly his attitude had changed. Less than an hour ago, he'd been completely hung up on his ex-wife... and now, it was like he was a whole different person. Somehow, Jodie had helped him take that next step. The step that meant he was ready to move on.

"What can I say?" She shrugged, smiling once more as she pointed to the sofa, "Make yourself at home, I'll just go get that ice pack you needed."

"Oh, right, thanks," He nodded, doing as he was told and taking a seat on the plush, dark brown leather sofa. He smiled at her once more, before Jodie disappeared into the next room along.

The young man sat in silence, looking around the room, as he listened to her clatter around in what he thought must have been the kitchen. He couldn't help but wonder how he'd gotten to this point. How was it possible, that on the exact night that he had finally been dragged out to a club, someone like Jodie would have been there, along with those guys? Was it just a coincidence? Whatever it was, he was happy either way...

Happy. He couldn't believe that he was feeling that way. He hadn't felt cheerful in months, and now, because of a girl he'd met only an hour ago, he couldn't stop smiling.

"John? Do you want a drink or anything?" She poked her head around the door, interrupting his thoughts.

"Sure, err, a beer would be good, if you have any."

With a small nod and a smile, Jodie disappeared back into the kitchen for another five minutes, before she finally came back into the living room, two bottles in one hand, and an ice pack in the other.

"Right," She grinned, passing over his drink first, before placing her own down on the table, "How does it feel?"

"Hmm?" John asked. He'd been too busy watching as she pulled off her jacket to reveal her simple, but revealing, tank top underneath, to realise what she'd been saying.

"You're head," Jodie chuckled, "How does it feel?"

"Oh, that," He laughed back, slightly embarrassed, "It's okay. I've had worse, I guess..." His sentence trailed off as his gaze fell on her wrists, and his eyes narrowed, "Jodie?" He sat forward, holding his free hand out towards her.

She pulled a face as she sat down beside him, and let him take a hold of her arm gently. She looked down, wondering what he was talking about, and her eyes grew wide as she noticed the huge red mark that covered her wrist. With everything that had happened since earlier, she hadn't had chance to think about what happened, or the mark which they had left. Just the thought of their hands on her made her shudder in terror...

"I should have punched in their fucking faces," John growled, and Jodie's eyes grew wide at the violence in his tone. She barely even knew this guy, yet he was willing to do something like that for her?

"Does it hurt?" He asked; his voice had changed in a matter of seconds from angry to sympathetic. She could feel her face blushing as she looked up to see his gorgeous blue eyes staring back at her. A shiver ran up her spine from the touch of his fingertips gently running over her wrist.

"No," She swallowed lightly. Okay, so maybe it burned a little, but she wasn't going to say anything. Not when John had gotten punched in the head to save her skin, "Not as much as that," She grinned, nodding towards his head.

The young man smiled back ever so slightly as he sat back against the sofa, and watched Jodie pick up the ice pack from the table, before she slid a little closer to him and gently laid it against the back of his head. A gasp broke out of the young man's throat at the coldness, and also from the pain that shot down the back of his scalp.

"I'm sorry," Jodie added, although John could tell by the curve of her lips that she was amused.

"Hmm," John glared back playfully, before the pair of them broke into an easy conversation about their lives.

Neither John nor Jodie could believe that they had found someone as perfect as the other. Jodie was completely shocked when she found out that John was a professional wrestler, although it did explain the part of her that thought he had looked familiar. She found it fascinating as he told her about his job, and all the places he travelled. She would have loved to have done something like that.

Not only did she find that he was easy to talk to... but of course, he was practically her saviour. The only problem was, she knew that the time was getting late, and soon enough he was going to have to get going. John could have very well been the perfect guy, but she knew she was never going to find that out.

"Oh," John's eyes grew wide as he looked down at his watch, seeing that it was now well past midnight. He couldn't believe that he and the brunette had been talking for hours about their jobs, their lives, and pretty much everything else they could think off. It had all been so easy for him, getting to know her, that he hadn't realised how long they'd been going for, "I didn't know it was getting so late. I better get going, I mean, I don't want to keep you..." His gaze slid to hers, and although he didn't want to feel so desperate, his eyes practically pleaded with hers.

"Wait," Her hand fell to his arm as he began to move from the sofa, "You, umm... you don't have to go, if you don't want to," She shook her head, smiling sheepishly, "I don't mind if you'd like to stay and chat some more, or you can even stay the night if you want. There's a spare room, and I guess I'd kinda like to check up on you in the morning, make sure that injury of yours hasn't turned into a concussion or something," She tried to joke her way around it, but deep down they both knew that she just wanted him to stay because of how well they were getting along.

John shook his head, a smile growing across his own face. So, maybe he'd only met Jodie a few hours ago, but truthfully, that didn't matter to him. She was the first, genuine person he'd met in a long time, and he was grateful that such a wonderful girl had managed to find him. After all, if it wasn't for her, he'd still be down in the dumps about his ex-wife.

"Well, I guess having a nurse for the night couldn't hurt," He smirked towards her as he slid back onto the sofa.

"Hmm, I wouldn't get your hopes up," Julia chuckled, even though she lifted the ice pack back towards his neck as they began once again to fill each other in on their lives.