Disclaimer:

I don't own any of the WWE characters, the wrestlers, associates, or whatever. I only own Nikki, the Valentines, and my ideas!

A/N:

yes, this was formerly the 1st chapter of Overboard, but I thought it would stand better as a one-shot.

It's set around 2010.

"I'm sorry, Miss Valentine. His wife specifically told us not to let you in, or inform you of, well, anything."

Nicole stared at the man vacantly for a while, with a half mind to slap him right then and there, beat him up, just hurt him, so he can feel half of the emotions that were stirring inside of her right now. But looking into his apologetic eyes told her that he really was not enjoying this. Nikki nodded, swallowing with difficulty, trying to ignore the lump forming in her throat, and walked away, out of the hospital.

Did it not matter that it was her own brother in there, between life and death? What about her beautiful niece, or her adorable nephew? They were all in that accident. They could all be dying, as she walked. And she could do nothing about it. Nikki made her way numbly back to her car, not really aware of anything, when she walked right into something hard. She took a step back, looking up to see the face of the only other man who could hurt her as much as her brother could, if not worse: Phillip Brooks, or, as he preferred to call himself, CM Punk.

She swallowed again, before saying, "Sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going." He was nursing what appeared to be a bloody nose, but otherwise, he looked fine. Nikki knew better than to believe that; Phil was always putting on a brave face. He did it in a regular basis, and he could even fool her at times. Not this time, however. She could tell he was hurting, and not just physically. Unfortunately, right now, she was barely aware of anything, so she said nothing, and made to walk on, when his hand grasped her upper arm.

Punk's eyes were narrowed in suspicion, as he asked, "What's with you? Did you just find out that you're pregnant? You should have seen it coming, really, with that lifestyle you're so fond of." He sneered at her, attempting to hide the concern he was actually feeling right now. Phil hated this, but for some reason, whenever he saw Nikki Valentine hurt in any way, he just . . . there was just something wrong about it, and he did not like it. But she didn't need to know that, of course. In fact, he shuddered to think of what she could do if she knew the control she could potentially have over him. Nikki made him weak; CM Punk didn't do weak, simple as that.

Nikki seemed to hesitate for a minute, before she spoke in a rattled voice, "Jake's in there . . . he and the twins, they were in an accident," she looked up to him, tears forming in her eyes, and he could see that she was trying to fight it, to stop it, but it wasn't working too well. She gulped, adding, "Hannah won't let the doctors tell me anything. He . . . he . . . they could be dead . . . and I . . ." Her words faded away, as the tear finally escaped, rolling down her cheek.

Punk really, really really did not like this, but against his better judgement, he let go of her arm, and opened his arms slightly, hesitantly, for her. Nikki looked at him, in a mix of surprise and uncertainty, but he said nothing. He wasn't very good with voicing things like that, letting his deepest, strongest emotions out, expressing himself that way. It made him vulnerable; he hated vulnerable, and Nikki knew that. He knew that if she wasn't so broken down, she would snort and walk away, but as it were, Nikki had already hit rock bottom, it seemed. She gave in, falling into his arms, and letting the tears fall freely. He held her close to his chest, as if trying to absorb her pain, the hurt. It sort of stung, knowing the only reason she let him hold her now was because she had no one else. But he didn't care; he would do anything for her, if he spotted so much as one tear.

They stood that way, in front of the parking lot, for a while, before he pulled her away slightly, saying gruffly, "Let's go, my car's right around the corner. Steve can drive." He was referring to his closest friend, who was observing the scene a short distance away. Phil gestured for him to come, before leading Nikki behind him. She followed wordlessly, not quite sure of anything really. She would just rather let him take care of everything.

Once they reached the car, Phil opened the door, and Nikki got in quietly. He entered after her, shutting the door behind them. He glanced at her, as Steve drove, and said quietly, "Nik." She looked at him, fear and hurt written all over her face, and immediately went to his side, letting him hold her, as she cried some more. This was just too much; she didn't care that the last time she let CM Punk take care of her, she ended up regretting it very much. She needed him, and she hadn't even known it until she saw him.

Phil softly moved his hand up and down Nikki's back, trying to comfort her, as she cried. He wondered how he could have ever let things get to this point. He was CM Punk, the Straight Edge Superstar, the master of the GTS, and here he was, almost falling apart at the sight of the blonde's tears. If anyone had told him this was where he would be, a few years back, when he first met Nicole Valentine, a bubbly amatuer, a wannabe wrestler, he would have turned right around, and refused to look back. But the fact was, he had looked back. He looked back, and from that very moment, he and Nicole Valentine wove a tangled web, a mess that only the two of them could make sense of it. Maybe just tonight, they could forget the hardships, and remember what mattered. He loved her, and he knew she loved him.

A/N:

So, yah, if you wanna know how this started, go read my other story, Overboard :) I hope you guys liked it!