Disclaimer Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose, and other sports entertainers are the property of the WWE and/or the actors / sports entertainers / superstars that portray them. This story is intended as tribute only and is not intended to infringe on any copyrights.

Original characters are the property of me, and the children of my own imagination. Any resemblance to any real persons, living or dead is purely coincidental.

United We Stand

Prologue

To say Seth was not fond of The Waffle House would be an understatement. The small restaurants, open 24 hours a day, might be a staple of the south, but he looked at them as an invitation for a heart attack, that is if the botulism didn't get you first. Seth much preferred restaurants off the beaten path that served delicious food and had an excellent selection of beers and wines. At the Waffle House, he was lucky if the diet Coke wasn't flat.

Yet, when it was 2:00 am, on a Tuesday night and you were headed down the interstate to the next House show, sometimes you had to compromise.

"Guys?" he called out to his traveling companions, Jamie and Joey, the gentlemen who played his security guards. "I've got to get something to eat, so, like it or not, I'm stopping at the next Waffle House I see."

"Well," Jamie said, philosophically, "we are in Georgia, it shouldn't take that long to find one."

To say Dean was fond of the Waffle House would an understatement. Sure, the food wasn't great and the variety offered minimal, but they were open all the time, they had eggs, and you could get your hash browns just about any way you would ever want hash browns. He liked his, covered, smothered, chunked, and capped. But what he liked most about it, is that they were usually quiet, especially on a Tuesday night. There was likely to be no more staff than a couple of waitresses and a cook, and one of them was likely to be sleeping in their car. For customers, there was likely to be one booth with a couple grabbing a bite to eat while at the counter was usually a guy who was three sheets to the wind, drinking coffee and mumbling to himself. Otherwise? Probably empty.

Dean liked that. Even if anyone recognized him, it was usually cool. It was like everyone in there couldn't believe their eyes that these famous wrestlers would really go to Waffle House, their eyes must be playing tricks. Of course, there were a few times when they were mobbed, but most of the time, Dean could eat his eggs and hash browns and drink the horrible coffee and be left alone.

"Roman," he said, looking over at the tall dark haired man who was looking out the window of the rental vehicle, "I'm stopping at the next Waffle House I see."

Roman laughed, softly. "Smothered, covered, chunked, capped and diced?"

"Oh yeah, onions!" Dean exclaimed, "I forgot about onions."

Kayfabe was dead, except that it wasn't. That was the best way Roman knew to put it, if anyone new to the business asked him about it. Gone were the days when if your character spoke no English, you would risk arrest rather than to break that character, as had happened to his father. But there were still rules to be followed and when you were on the road, you were still considered to be on the WWE's time, so you'd better mind your P's and Q's.

So, when he and Dean walked into the Waffle House and saw Seth sitting with Jamie and Joey, he hesitated and looked at Dean. Technically, there was nothing wrong with going and sitting with Seth, but again, that weird Kayfabe assumption. It wasn't wrong, but it wasn't right. They could probably get away with it, but if someone decided to take a few pictures of all of them, stuffing their faces with hash browns that would show up on Instagram the next day, the Powers That Be, AKA Trips, Stephanie, and Vince, would not be pleased. So, Dean and Roman slid into a booth on the other side of the restaurant. Seth, playing the part, rolled his eyes when they walked by as if to say "Oh god, I can't even go to the Waffle House without those idiots coming around."

The place was dead except for a guy at the counter drinking coffee, looking as if he'd been rode hard and hung up wet who was staring morosely into his coffee cup, not seeing anyone around them, and a couple sitting in the far corner, looking pretty enthralled with each other. The two waitresses one who looked to be in her twenties, the other in her sixties, looked up and over at them, and Roman thought he saw a flicker of recognition in the older woman's eyes, but she said nothing, probably telling herself she was having a flash back to the days when she did acid at Woodstock. The younger one looked him up and down as if he were a peanut butter sandwich in a famine, but she obviously wasn't a wrestling fan. Roman had been around long enough that he knew the difference between starstruck lust and regular lust.

There was no sign of a cook, so the older woman was working the grill. "Cook is probably sleeping in his car," Dean remarked after their order was taken. Roman made sure the young waitress saw his wedding ring and if that wasn't enough, found an excuse to mention both Jessica and Leah. To give her credit, she had stopped her flirting almost instantly.

While they were eating, the couple sitting in the corner started arguing, softly at first, but the guy, a tall, husky guy who probably outweighed the tiny, thin woman by 150 lbs, started raising his voice. "Why do you talk to him?" he demanded, "I told you not to talk to him anymore!"

The woman's response could not be heard by anyone but her boyfriend, but it didn't make him happy. "I don't want to hear excuses," he hissed, his voice carrying across the tiny restaurant. "I want you to stop talking to him!"

Dean was frowning. His back was to the couple, but just hearing was upsetting enough for him. "Shit, I wish he'd shut the hell up!" He muttered.

"Be cool, bro," was Roman's suggestion, "This isn't our fight."

"Let me guess," the guy said, sounding even more upset, if that were possible, "You're fucking him, aren't you? Aren't you?"

That was too much for Dean, he turned in the booth to look at the guy. "Do you mind?" he called out.

As Roman could have predicted, Dean's remark did not instantly calm the stranger down. "Mind your own business!" the stranger snapped.

"I'd like to," Dean responded, "but you're being so damned loud, it's impossible!"

"Oh, geesh," Roman muttered, "Dean, chill, okay?"

Roman wasn't the only one concerned about the situation, the girl was gathering her purse. "Bruce," she said, "C'mon, let's go."

Bruce looked for a moment like he was going to argue, then thought better of it. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a wad of bills. He separated a few from the handful and threw them on the table, obviously deciding not to follow the rules of the Waffle House and pay at the register, and shoved the rest back into his pocket. Neither of the waitresses felt they should try to enforce the rules and there was a collective sigh of relief heard around the place as Bruce and the girl left, the girl looking down at the ground, Bruce strutting in what he likely thought a cocky swagger, but actually looked more like he had a pant load.

As they walked out the door, the atmosphere in the restaurant lifted, and Roman almost thought the lights in the place even got brighter. He and Dean returned to their food, glad that was over.

Except that it wasn't over.

Roman was sitting with his back to the parking lot, but Dean could still see out the large windows. "Shit," he said, and rose to his feet.

"Shit, what?" Roman asked.

"Trouble," Dean said, and rushed for the door. As Roman watched him, he also saw Seth rushing for the door.

"Call 911!" Seth shouted behind him.

There was no way Roman was going to let his friends and brothers face whatever was out there alone. He rose to his feet and ran outside. "Stay in here!" he told the waitresses.

Roman expected to see Bruce messing with his girlfriend, that seemed to be the most likely reason for trouble. But instead what he saw was Bruce and his girlfriend at the edge of the parking lot, staring into the distance, and what he smelled was the acrid smell of burning wood. And now that he smelled it, he realized that there was an awful lot of smoke in this parking lot. He peered to see through it and saw down the road and across the street, a house burning. And he could barely make out Seth and Dean, running towards it.

"Holy shit, if anyone is in that house, they're going to be a goner," Bruce remarked.

That's exactly what Roman was thinking. It was a small house, and it was late at night. And he'd bet dollars to donuts, there was a family in that house. "Tell them inside to report there's a fire!" he shouted to Bruce and his girlfriend and went chasing after Seth and Dean.

He caught up to them in the driveway to the house, where there was a small car parked. "Guys, what are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking that there is a swing set in the side yard," Dean yelled. "We've got to get inside!"

"What are you crazy?" Seth screamed. They were close enough now that heat was pouring off the place. Only one half of the house seemed to be burning, but it was burning brightly and spreading rapidly and he looked like he was bathed in a foggy orange glow.

"I told Bruce to call the fire department," Roman said, and coughed as the smoke hit him.

"Good," Seth said, "Bruce was about to smack the girl, that's why I ran out, but then we saw the fire!"

"Guys," Dean said. "We have to do something, we have to see if there's anyone inside."

"Go in there?" Seth shouted, "Are you fucking nuts?"

"No!" Dean had to roar, as the sound of the fire was getting louder. "But there's a swing set in the side yard! There could be kids in that house!"

"Aw shit," Roman said, realizing he was right.

"What if that was yours and Kayla's house?" Dean yelled at Seth. "And three guys saw it and just stood in the driveway watching it burn? How would you feel then, Seth? Knowing three guys stood around watching, waiting for the fire department while your wife and daughter burned in there?"

"How do you think they're going to feel when they tell Kayla and Payton I died rescuing another family?" Seth retorted, but the three of them were already running up to the house.

It was obvious the front door wasn't a possibility, so they ran around to the back. Roman kept hoping to hear sirens in the distance, but so far, no luck in that department. But, there was a sliding glass door around the back of the house that lead onto a small deck, which was better than nothing and at this point, you settled for what you could get when it came to luck. I'll bet these folks don't have smoke alarms or if they do, the batteries are dead, Roman thought, realizing he could hear nothing but the fire.

There was a heavy wooden lounge chair on the deck. Dean didn't hesitate, he picked it up, raised it over his head and hurled it at the sliding glass door, which shattered. The moment he did, a blast of orange heat shot out.

"We can't go in there!" Seth insisted.

"Yes we can," Dean insisted right back. "Or, stay out here if you guys are chicken shit, I'll do it!" Without waiting for a response, he ran up the deck.

"Dean!" Both Roman and Seth yelled and without thinking about it any further, they followed him.

Roman had seen movies before where brave people ran into a house, ran through the fire and rescued people, and it always looked pretty simple, run fast and avoid the flames. The reality wasn't so simple. The house was blazing hot, so hot that it instantly made you feel exhausted and the smoke was so thick you could barely see two inches in front of you. We're not firemen! Roman though. We're not dressed right or trained right, we're gonna die because of this. We're going to leave three kids fatherless, just to save one family. Dean is crazy!

Dean, however, didn't seem to be bothered by such thoughts, he was heading away from the blaze, towards the other side of the house, almost as if he knew the lay out of the house by instinct. It wasn't until this was all over, that Roman would realize this was a small ranch house, and most ranch houses had pretty much the same lay out. When Dean wasn't on the road, he lived in a small ranch house with his wife and son, of course he knew the layout.

The three men charged into the hall, grateful as the smoke wasn't as thick down here. There were four doors, three shut one semi open. Dean looked into the open door. "It's the bathroom, guys!" he shouted. "I'll take the door at the end of the hall, you guys take the other two!"

Roman took the door closest to him and opened the door, rushing inside. The room was dark, but thankfully not very smokey and hot. As his eyes adjusted, he saw a figure laying on a small, single bed in the corner. He ran over and without thinking, threw the covers back and grabbed onto a young boy.

The child woke up instantly and screamed. Which, later Roman would realize was a pretty healthy reaction. "Fire!" Roman yelled, "We have to get out of here!"

Roman didn't know if the kid heard him or not with the screaming, but if he did, the kid either didn't register the words, or didn't believe him, because he started beating on Roman with skinny arms and small fists. Nothing Roman couldn't handle, but it did make trying to carry the kid hard. "Let me go!" the kid screamed, now bringing his legs into action and kicking wildly. Roman had grabbed the kid around the waist, figuring he'd just carry him out, but as the kid flailed, he got one good shot right between Roman's legs and he found himself gasping and pitching forward, still holding the kid, back onto the bed.

"Mommy!" The boy screamed as Roman struggled to breathe.

"Fire!" Roman said, gasping for breath and starting to smell smoke. "Fire, kid," he croaked, "Your house is on fire!"

The kid scrambled out from under him and smelled the smoke himself. "Mommy!" He screamed. "Lizzie!" He started running for the door.

Even though Roman felt like his testicles were in the middle of the worst of this blaze, he forced himself to get off the bed and run after the kid. "My friends are getting the rest of the family," he shouted as he grabbed the kid around the waist, praying like hell he wouldn't kick him in the balls again, because that just might kill him. "We have to go!"

The kid started to struggle, but it was weaker this time. Roman shifted the kid's position so he was laying in his arms like a baby. Roman didn't know if that was a good idea or not, but it allowed him to curl his arms around the kid's legs and it kept those legs far away from the family jewels. He ran out of the room with the boy.

The blaze had started to spread up the hall, which meant Roman had to make a quick choice, did he go back into the room with the kid, put him down, open a window and toss the kid out? Or did he make a break for it, risking the flame. The kid was still struggling, and that made the choice easier, if he put the kid down, he was likely to run to try to get to his mom and sister. Taking a big, smoke filled breath, Roman clutched the kid as tight as he could and ran.

The smoke was so thick that Roman might have run right into the blaze, but fortunately, the smoke wasn't quite as thick around the sliding door they'd used to enter. He took a sharp right, heading towards the door, noticing that whack to the privates had caused his feet and legs to feel as if they were burning too. Roman had played sports all his life and now he was a wrestler. He had taken more shots to the nuts than he cared to remember, but this was the first time this had happened. At this point though, he couldn't pause to ponder this situation, as he ran to the door, someone outside rushed in and grabbed him, pulling him outside. Startled, Roman dropped the kid who fell to the deck with a thud. Seth ran from the yard, grabbed the kid and headed away from the fire. Roman was going to do the same when Dean grabbed him and threw him off the deck, onto the grassy ground. Before he could react, Dean threw himself on Roman's legs and started rolling himself and Roman's body.

"Fire!" Dean shouted, his voice horse from the smoke. "Your fucking legs were on fire!"

Well, that explains the burning sensation, Roman thought, and then all thought ceased as his lungs realized that he was breathing humid, tepid, but smoke free air and they started working much better now, coughing and choking. When Dean backed off, he rolled slowly into a sitting position, and looking out over the back yard, he saw a woman in a night gown, clutching two children to her, Seth close by.

And the sound of sirens could finally be heard, getting closer and closer.

They didn't make it to the next house show or even Raw and SmackDown the next two weeks, but they did make the news. An overly eager young photographer with a scanner heard about the fire and had followed the fire trucks. He took several pictures, most which would stay on his memory stick for a long time, never to go any further than a quick glance before they were erased. But one would make him famous and bring the three wrestlers into the mainstream, to the point where people who scoffed at the very idea of wrestling would recognize any one of them, instantly.

It was a picture of the three of them with the family they had saved, the six of them huddled close together. The mother and her son and daughter looked tired and lost, but they were fairly clean, all things considered. Roman, Dean and Seth however, had their arms around each other, holding each other up. Their faces were streaked with soot, their eyes red and tears flowing freely down their sooty faces. They looked like three men who had been through hell, but had emerged on the other side, and were now and forever changed by the experience, that they were close before and now they were even closer. The three never had a problem convincing people that they were brothers in and out of the ring, this picture made it look as if they had managed to find a relationship that transcended brotherhood.

None of them ever had the heart to tell people later that the tears streaming down their faces in the picture was the results of the smoke still hanging thickly in the air and nothing to do with the emotions they were feeling at the time. As Dean said to them once when they were discussing it, "All I cared about at that point was breathing. My lungs were not being very cooperative."

The very next afternoon, Stephanie walked into the small meeting room, pleased to see the three men she had requested to be there were. Stan, the head writer and man in charge of creative she knew had likely arrived first, but Hunter and her father could have played games with her, showing up late. Stephanie didn't like to admit it, but she got a thrill when she walked in last on a meeting she had called. It was always a rush to her to walk into the room and have every head turn to watch her, be it three heads or thirty.

On this occasion, she walked into the room holding several newspapers in her hands. She walked over to the conference table and slowly deliberately, put the papers on the table. "You've seen these?" It was said as a question, but truly, it was a statement. If they hadn't seen these papers they had watched the news, or checked their favorite news feeds on their cellphones. They all showed the same picture. The picture, the three former Shield members, minutes after they had saved the life of a family. And the headline above the picture was huge.

WWE SUPERSTARS ARE HEROES!

"Yes, we've seen them," Vince said, nodding. "They're the reason why three of our biggest stars are going to be absent for awhile too."

"Yeah, but odds are good people won't complain," Hunter remarked. "These three are real life heroes now."

"Exactly," Stephanie said, "They are real life heroes, and we need to move on this, quickly."

"Move on what?" Stan asked, a slight grin playing across his lips as he realized that this could lead to some pretty exciting stuff for him and his department.

"We need to get Shield back together," Stephanie said, looking triumphant. "But we need to do it, right."

End of Prologue

Author's Notes: Yeah, new story here. And nope, I'm warning you, this is not the story I intended to write about Roman, Seth, and Dean getting time off and going away with their families. But it will lead into this. I came up with this idea of how to get them time off together, and I realized that it was too long and (hopefully) too good of an idea to just try to fluff it off in one chapter. So, this story will be a multi chapter story telling how Dean, Seth and Roman manage to get time off at the same time.

It will be different from my usual stuff, because I'll be focusing a lot on the ring action. I hope though, that people like it anyway and I hope you're kind enough to review it, I would really appreciate it. I'm not here to start a pity party, but I've had a lot go down with me lately, and yeah, I'm wondering if I've managed to be blamed for burning bridges I never crossed. I'm not sure if I even belong on this site anymore. So, if you've read this far, you read the chapter, I'd love to hear what you thought of it.

Thank you.