AUTHOR'S NOTE: This fic is a companion fic to Shining Wizard and contains spoilers for that fic. The other two companion fics I promised will be called Shining Hearts (about Taylor and Tenille) and Shining Souls (about Rosa and Drew) and will be coming very soon. It doesn't matter what order you read these three fics in, because they all go in different directions, but please make sure to read the original fic first! Enjoy Dean and Nattie's sides of the story! Please read and review, and as always, thanks for your support!

CHAPTER ONE

DEAN

There's a knock on my door. I'm hung-over and exhausted and not really in the mood for company as I get up. I would ignore it, but that's Colby's knock. It's as hyper as he is and I'd know it anywhere. I groan and because I know Colby won't just go away, I struggle into some clothes, pulling my discarded jeans and t-shirt up off the floor. I notice last night's visitor left some clothing behind. She'd come with a few changes of clothes because a ring rat comes prepared I guess. That makes me sound like an asshole, but I'm not. Okay, I am, but not about this. It's just that some girls really are into wrestling just because they wanna fuck the guys. I know plenty of girls who aren't, too, but this one was. I try not to mess with them too often, but I was drunk and lonely last night. Her type gets a little stalkerish at times, but that's life. Ring Rats, man. The struggle is real.

I open the door as I'm pulling down my shirt. I am about to snap at him when I notice his bloody, trembling, tiny companion. AJ Lee is standing outside of my hotel room and I know as soon as I look at her that she's been raped.

Fuck, I think. "What the hell?" I ask Colby.

"She was attacked," Colby says. His eyes are desperate. He's terrified. I know Colby cares about her and right now, he's in Colby Fix-It Mode. If he can't fix a problem, it hurts him. Looking at him, I know if he can't fix this one, it will break him.

"Dude, I can see that," I snap. "I got two eyes. What happened?" I let them into my room because the last thing this girl needs is for everyone to see her like this.

"She won't tell me," Colby says, fear in his voice.

She's shaking so bad my heart hurts for her. "AJ?" I ask her. I get closer to her and she jerks away. I kneel down in front of her because I know she's scared to death and I don't want to make that worse. I grew up on the street. I've seen those eyes too many times. My own eyes are haunted with horror stories I'll never tell. I reach toward her slowly and say, "April, it's okay. I won't hurt you, and I won't let anyone else hurt you either." She starts sobbing harder. I take her hand in mine and she lets me. I know what she needs to hear. "You're safe," I promise her. I stand up, not letting her hand go, and I pull her body against mine. She sobs until she soaks my shirt and I let her. I don't give a fuck about the shirt.

"I-I need to shower," she says suddenly.

"You shouldn't, April," Colby says. "If you report this-"

I know she's not going to do that no matter how hard we try to convince her to. She says as much and snaps at Colby. "Okay," I say quickly before Colby makes it worse. She doesn't need us arguing with her. She needs to feel like she's in control again. I shoot him a Look that very clearly says to let it go and he does. "The shower's this way." I lead her toward my bathroom. I grab a set of the clothes the ring rat left behind. April's smaller than her, but they're clean and they'll do.

She asks us to talk to her while she showers so she isn't alone, which we agree to as she closes the door. Colby is at a loss for conversation, so I start discussing our match for the night. I both love and hate fighting Colby in the ring. It's like I'm beating up an annoyingly adorable puppy who just wants my love, but at the same time, we know each other so well, our matches are perfect. He is my brother, no matter what the script says, and I'm proud to share a ring with him. I won't tell him that most of the time because there's no need to inflate his ego, but it's the truth.

I doubt our discussion is helping April, so I try to think of what might make her feel better. "She's a geek like you, right?" I whisper to Colby. He nods. "So, April, you got a favorite superhero?" I ask her.

"Yeah," April says, finally talking.

"Black Widow," Colby whispers to me. "I guarantee it."

"Who is it?" I ask.

"Black Widow," she says with a nervous laugh. Colby grins at me, but his eyes are still sad. Sadness doesn't belong in those eyes. Colby's a really pure soul. He's not tainted by all the crap in this world. It's a beautiful thing, and it's part of why I try so hard to protect him.

"Which one is she?" I ask. Comic books and superheroes are Colby's thing. I didn't grow up in that world.

"She's the assassin who can do pretty much anything. She's a total badass."

"And she does everything in a skin-tight suit," Colby adds. Black Widow just got slightly more interesting.

When April finally comes out, she's in the clothes I gave her and she looks remarkably fine. Physically, anyway. "You gonna be okay?" I ask her gently.

"Yeah," she says. "RAW is tonight and I'm totally ready."

Colby looks horrified. "Are you sure?" He asks. "I mean, they'd understand if you took the night off if you just explained that-"

Oh God. He still doesn't get it. He can't. You know how I said I didn't grow up in his comic book world? Well, he didn't grow up in this one. I did.

"Dude, seriously, shut up," I tell him. "She doesn't want to tell anyone, and that's her choice. Let her make it herself." I turn to April. "Come on. Let's get to the arena."

April looks at me gratefully as we leave. Colby stops protesting. I feel bad for snapping at him, but he wasn't taking subtle hints. What else was I really supposed to do?

April's match is on early in the night. Colby and I watch from backstage. He is a nervous wreck. "She'll be okay, man," I tell him. "She needs time."

"If I ever find out who did this to her, I'll kill him," Colby tells me.

"I'll help you hide the body," I promise.I pause. "Do you think it was Punk? Maybe that's why she won't talk."

"No... Phil's a dick, but I don't think he would hurt her like this. I dropped her at home earlier, but I picked her up somewhere else."

"So you two were hanging out before?"

"Yeah. She did Crossfit with me." He's smiling.

I roll my eyes. Fucking Colby and his Goddamn Crossfit obsession. "What's up with you two?"

"We're friends."

"You like her. You lit up when you told me that."

"She's married."

"So?"

"Dean, she was just attacked."

"And she called you, not her husband. It could be mutual..."

"There's nothing going on. We're just good friends, okay?"

"Tell me the truth. Before this happened to her, how did being with her make you feel?"

"Dean, I-" He freezes. I can hear music. It's Kane's. "She's still out there... This wasn't scripted."

"Fucking hell," I say. We can see April's fear on camera. She starts hyperventilating.

"I have to go to her!" Colby says.

I grab his arm. "Dude, you can't. Kane and Seth Rollins are on the same team, remember?"

"We can't leave her!"

"I'll go. Just stay here. She'll be fine." I race toward the stage, barely giving the sound guys time to play my music. The pop from the crowd is great as I hurry to her side. I've got my crazy eyes on as I attack Glenn, who is looking at me in shock and confusion. Luckily, Glenn's a professional, so he recovers quickly, fights back slightly, then flees.

I look at April. I want to pick her up and carry her backstage, but I can't do that. The rumors would be insane and I'd probably get fired. Instead, I try to give her a reassuring look while still appearing casual to the crowd, but I know the concern shows through slightly. I nod to acknowledge her and run off, knowing I'm about to get in trouble and not giving a single fuck.

"What the hell was that?" Triple H screams at me. I don't like to be screamed at, especially by assholes like him.

"The script sucked," I say with a shrug. "So I fixed it. You're welcome."

He looks at me absolutely infuriated. I've seen that look before from a lot of people. I tend to bring it out in people who think they have authority over me. Oops.

"Ambrose, I could have you fired for this kind of crap!"

"Okay, cool man. I'll just go back to CZW and attack people with forks." Man, I miss my fork. Stupid WWE rules won't let me play with her anymore.

He glares at me. "Don't do anything hasty, now. I'm just saying I could have you fired."

"Are you going to?"

"No." He shakes his head. "You know damn well I won't."

"Yeah, I know, dude."

"You're going to have to pay a fine for this."

"Whatever." I could care less. The script did suck, and I did it for April. I have no regrets.

When I finally get away from Asshat City, I find Colby talking to April, who's pretty worked up about how she's gonna pay the fine and she swears she needs to thank me, which she totally doesn't need to do.

"Tell me yourself, and don't you dare apologize," I interrupt them.

"You got in trouble for me," April says. I feel bad. She's freaking out enough.

"No big," I insist. "I get in trouble for lots of reasons. If they wanted someone who never goes nuts and never goes against their crappy writing, they shouldn't have hired Jon Moxley. Besides, I'm clearly labeled." I point at my chest, which reads "unstable." April starts laughing. My work is done.

"Thanks," she tells me. "For saving me and for making me laugh."

"If I knew they changed the script, I would have warned you," Colby tells her.

"I know," she says. "I trust you."

"Glenn said they wanted your reaction to be authentic, so they didn't tell you," I say. "I don't know what reaction they wanted, but it was definitely authentic."

"I meant it about paying the fine."

"Nope." It's as simple as that really.

"What do you mean, 'nope?' You got fined for having my back. I should pay it, not you."

"Money means shit to me, April. I never had it, so as long as I can pay for a roof over my head, it's a step up. Besides, it was my idea. You didn't ask me to do it."

"Thanks."

"Quit thanking me. It was no big deal."

"It was a big deal, to me, anyway." She kisses my cheek, which almost makes me feel warm and fuzzy for a second. That's so not me.

April insists on going home by herself and taking a cab. She hugs me and I let her because she needs it. When she leaves, I have to talk Colby down and convince him she'll be alright. It's been one hell of a fucking day.

NATTIE

I've been looking for my husband everywhere. He's hiding from me, probably joking around with the boys. Typical.

"Nattie, oh my God, you will not believe these new boots I found!" Nikki Bella greets me. If there's one thing I've learned about Nicole, it's that no preamble is necessary when it comes to exciting fashion finds.

The red boots are actually pretty cute, but I don't really care at the moment. "That's great, Nicole," I tell her with forced enthusiasm. "John's gonna love them." Because of Total Divas, Nicole and I were sort of forced to be friends. I don't mind her most of the time, but she does get on my nerves with how superficial she can be.

"I know, right?" She's smiling from ear to ear. Her enthusiasm should be contagious, but it's not. She looks at me. "What's wrong?" She asks knowingly.

"It's TJ," I say with a sigh. "I can't find him anywhere."

"He was with Justin earlier… I love having him here. He's so freaking sexy to look at…"

"Nicole!"

"What? John isn't the jealous type. I'm just looking."

"If you're going to lust for someone, you should know his real name is PJ, not Justin."

"PJ, Justin, Bunny Boy… Either way, he's hot. I love the dangerous ones."

"You're terrible." I laugh. Then I see TJ, and my laughter stops. He's talking with PJ and Saraya and I can see him flirting shameless with her.

Saraya, thankfully, is ignoring TJ. She's laughing with PJ. "Hey, Nattie!" She calls to me. She ignores Nicole.

"Hey," I say to my fellow Total Divas cast member. I try not to take my annoyance out on her. It's TJ doing something wrong after all. I wedge myself closer to him and remind him who he's married to with a quick kiss.

"Sup?" TJ asks me. Then he goes right back to talking to Saraya and PJ. Seriously? This man…

I sigh internally. This man is my childhood sweetheart, literally the only man I've ever loved. I'm probably overreacting, but the way TJ is bouncing off the walls, it's like something's changed in him. He gets like this sometimes, and I'm always paranoid he's having an affair or something. Then again, a small part of me wonders if I'd be better off. Still, I have no idea where I'd be without him.

"We're gonna go get something to eat," TJ tells me. "You wanna come?"

"Um… Sure," I say awkwardly. I'm not really in a partying mood tonight. "Nicole, do you and John want to come?"

"John's got plans tonight, but I'd love to," Nicole tells me. She flashes a flirtatious look at PJ. He grins back with all his charm. Sometimes I wonder if PJ realizes half the girls here have a thing for him or if he's really just oblivious. He's a sweet guy either way.

We walk toward our destination. TJ stops short and knocks into me and I nearly fall over, but a random hand steadies me. "You okay?" He asks. I look up and see Dean Ambrose.

I don't know Dean that well. He keeps to himself sometimes. He's a very private guy. Tonight, I look into his eyes for the first time, and I'm briefly distracted. I recover quickly, not sure what's wrong with me. "Yeah," I say. "Thanks."

He nods and walks away from us. TJ looks annoyed. "I hate that guy," he says. He could be using the time to apologize for bumping into me, but he wouldn't be TJ if he did that. The old TJ might have done that, but this new one is arrogant and never apologizes for anything.

I look at him, the man I love, and I don't know what I'm going to do anymore.