A/N: Cut scene from Lody's 'A Ring of Their Own' chapter 14. Written in honor of Lody's birthday.
Disclaimer: I don't own the wrestlers or the original story I'm basing this off of. The wrestlers belong to themselves and Lody is the brilliant originator of the fic.
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WOMBAT
Natalya could have spit fire she was so furious.
Angelina and Velvet, the tag-team duo known as the Beautiful People, had gone too far. They'd pulled a Tonya Harding and disabled Natalya's tag-team partner, Taylor Wilde, just before the championship match, much like Tonya had done to her figure skating competitor Nancy Kerrigan back in '94.
Of course, Natalya couldn't prove that the 'Beautiful People' had done it but the timing was far too convenient for it to be anything but a planned hit. And the only people who stood to gain from taking Taylor out of the competition were the Beautiful People. Add to that how Angelina and Velvet had gloated and snickered and Natalya had all the proof she needed to tear them limb from limb.
After the initial panic had passed and she'd seen Taylor properly cared for, Natalya had been ready to beat the Beautiful People bloody in revenge but Jim Cornette had stopped her before she'd had the chance. Security had to restrain her as she tried to lunge for the taunting Beautiful People. She'd nearly broken their holds several times before Cornette had forced her away. To add insult to injury she hadn't been allowed to compete without Taylor. Frustrated and still so angry she'd left the arena and decided to visit Taylor at the hospital.
***'***
The short drive had served to calm her nerves a little and she wasn't quite as homicidal as she'd been back at the arena. She was still mad, but her concern for Taylor eroded away the worst of her fury.
When she walked into the emergency room and up to the information desk the only thought running through her mind was "she'd better be okay".
The nurse at the desk directed her to a private room where the unpleasant chaos of the ER was nothing more than muffled sounds. An arena security guard stood by the door barring all but hospital personnel, and now Natalya, from the room.
Natalya walked into the room silently and surveyed its contents. Taylor lay with eyes closed on a tiny bed in the middle of this starkly white room. A small table bearing a water pitcher stood to the left of the bed while the right side bore an uncomfortable looking chair for visitors. Natalya sat in that chair and found that it was indeed as uncomfortable as it looked. She paid it no mind as her gaze focused solely on her partner. Taylor's bruises were vivid hues of purple and black made harsh by the revealing fluorescent lights. She looked smaller than she normally was with her legs covered by a sheet and propped up on too large pillows.
Natalya's heart seized with an emotion she wasn't yet ready to identify as she looked at her unconscious friend and she reached out to take her hand before she'd realized it. Subconsciously seeking the contact necessary to reassure herself that Taylor was really there, still whole and touchable. Natalya let out the breath she hadn't known she was holding when she saw Taylor's eyelids flutter and open.
"Hey kid," she said huskily to the waking blonde, relieved at these signs of life.
Taylor's eyes focused on her, blinking wide a few times. "Wombat," Taylor said fondly, a sleepy smile gracing split lips "you're here."
Natalya squeezed Taylor's hand gently and fought the sudden wave of tears threatening to spill at hearing the nickname, "Yeah, I'm here. How are you feeling?"
Taylor's brows knit, "Hurt? But we haven't had our match yet-" Taylor cut herself off as she suddenly sat up, panic flooding her eyes and hand crushing Natalya's own, "The match! We have to get to the match!"
Natalya stood and used her free hand to push Taylor back into the pillows. She shook her head when Taylor gave her a confused look. "No match for us today."
"What? Why not? It's the tag-team championship, we have to compete!"
Natalya pursed her lips, "What's the last thing you remember?"
Taylor continued to give Natalya a confused look, but answered, "Getting ready in the locker rooms. Why?"
"You don't remember anything else?" Natalya pressed.
"I don't think so…" Taylor trailed off for a moment, obviously collecting her thoughts, "I was putting on my boots. I heard a rustling, but when I turned to look there was nothing there. So I finished lacing my boots and stood up. I heard a noise and then everything goes black. Nat, what happened?"
Natalya filled with impotent rage as she recounted finding Taylor and confronting the Beautiful People only to be rebuffed and denied the opportunity to thrash them.
"I was attacked?" Taylor asked, fear leaking its way into her voice, "but why?"
Natalya reached out to thread her fingers through Taylor's hair in a soothing motion, "I don't know exactly. But probably it was more of Angelina and Velvet's cheating their way to the top. We were their only competition. We couldn't compete without both team members." Natalya felt another rush of anger blaze through her for how timid this had made Taylor and she practically growled out her next words, "They attacked you when you were alone and vulnerable. I won't let it happen again. They'll pay for this."
"But you can't be sure who did it," Taylor pointed out reasonably.
"I know who did it, Taylor," Natalya said rigidly, "The 'Beautiful People' did this."
Taylor shook her head, "You don't know that."
"Well, who else could it be?" Natalya barked out and instantly regretted her outburst as Taylor shied away. She stroked her thumb over Taylor's knuckled soothingly, "Sorry, Tay. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you. I'm just so…" but Natalya couldn't find the words to express herself, anger making her inarticulate.
"It's alright," Taylor replied, "I know you didn't mean it. No harm done. But you sure are a grumpy wombat today."
Natalya couldn't help but smile at the teasing lilt in Taylor's voice. "I can't help it, Tay. They hurt you," she said softly, the hand stroking through the prone woman's hair moving to cup her jaw and run a thumb over her cheek, "They hurt you and I wasn't there to stop it. I want to hurt them back."
"Why?" Taylor asked.
Natalya was momentarily stunned by the question. Her heart gave a painful clench, the same it had done when she'd first caught sight of Taylor laying battered and bleeding on the locker room floor her skin already becoming a mottled landscape of bruises, leaving her momentarily breathless with fear and panic. Why would she want to hurt them back? Why wouldn't she? They'd hurt Taylor, they'd messed with her team…her family. It was unacceptable. Rather than admit to the feelings she wasn't sure she could name she put on her stoic game face and said, "They hurt you, Taylor. They hurt our team. You're part of the Hart Dynasty now. An insult like this can't go unanswered."
Taylor's expression went blank and she pulled her hand away as she quietly said, "Oh," almost as though she were disappointed by the answer.
Before a confused Natalya had a chance to ask what was wrong a doctor stepped into the room and began checking Taylor over. "Miss Wilde, I'm Doctor Carter, it's good to see you awake." He carefully examined Taylor, shining a penlight in her eyes and testing her reflexes while asking her questions about her name, birthday, the date, the year, and what she last remembered. When he seemed satisfied he stepped back and said, "You're a lucky woman, Miss Wilde. You took a serious blow to the back of your head, but it seems you suffered no lasting head trauma beyond an impressive goose egg. No concussion, no skull fractures…your worst injury is the cut on your head which we closed with four stitches. I'd like to keep you overnight for observation. Barring any unexpected complications you should be free to leave tomorrow morning."
Taylor was still quiet so Natalya said to the doctor, "That's great news, doctor. Thank you." She turned her attention to her silent partner, she squeezed the smaller woman's hand to get her attention, "I'm going to call Cornette to tell him the good news. I'll be right back."
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She stepped out of the room and immediately flipped open her cell phone, pressed the number four speed dial, and greeted the effusive man on the other end. She updated him on Taylor's condition and he told her a whopper of a story. She returned to Taylor's room full of mirth.
"You're never going to believe this," Natalya said as she walked into the room and caught Taylor's eye while noting the absence of the good doctor.
"What?" Taylor was still subdued, but at least she was verbally responding.
"The Beautiful People were champions for all of forty five seconds before their title was taken," Natalya revealed quickly, a huge grin pulling at her lips.
Taylor sat up, "What? What happened?"
Natalya chuckled a little, "Cornette decided that since we couldn't compete that he might as well give a new team a chance. The Riot Grrlz. You'll never believe who they are."
Her partner leaned forward, "Who?"
"Roxxi and Jillian!"
"What?" Taylor's surprised squeak only made Natalya grin wider.
"Yeah. Cornette gave Angelina and Velvet the belts, but then said that since they were so good they shouldn't mind defending their title right then and there. Then Roxxi and Jillian hopped into the ring. Roxxi clotheslined both of them and tossed Angelina out of the ring like a rag doll. Jillian dove out of the ring right on top of Angelina and knocked her out!"
"What?"
"I know! Cornette could barely stop laughing long enough to tell me about it!"
"Wow."
"Yeah. Roxxi pinned Velvet and now Roxxi and Jillian are the tag-team champions."
"That's," Taylor couldn't seem to find the words, she slumped back into her pillows, "That's crazy."
Natalya didn't fail to notice the slightly disappointed note in Taylor's voice and didn't hesitate to pursue it, "Hey, what's wrong?"
Taylor turned watery eyes and quivering lips up to her more experienced partner, "That could have been us out there. Should have been us. If I hadn't gotten myself beat up."
"Hey," Natalya said stepping up to Taylor's side and grabbing her hand again to squeeze it gently, "It's not your fault. I told you, it's all on Angelina and Velvet. And they won't get away with it."
"Right," Taylor said a little bitterly, "Can't let them tarnish the Hart name."
Natalya studied her partner for a long moment, taking in the slumped shoulders, downcast eyes, and hurt words. "No, I can't." When it looked as though Taylor would stop listening Natalya decided to throw caution to the wind and attempt to put into words what she'd been feeling growing within her since she and Taylor had become a team, "But…that's not the only reason," she admitted quietly, her hand reflexively running a thumb over Taylor's knuckles. She saw Taylor's curious eyes looking her over and continued, "I care about you, Taylor. You're…You mean a lot to me and seeing you hurt, it scared me. You were hurt and I wasn't there to help you until it was too late. I…I don't ever want to see you hurt like that again, and I want to do whatever I can to keep you safe. If I have to personally destroy the Beautiful People to keep you from having to make another hospital trip, I will. I won't let you get hurt like that again. I can't. It would break me."
"Why?" the single word fell like a stone into the silence and seemed to settle squarely in the pit of Natalya's stomach.
"Why what?"
Taylor's eyes shone with something Natalya couldn't name, some fire she'd never seen before, as she asked, "Why would it break you?"
"I told you, you're part of the Hart Dynasty now-"
Taylor shook her head and squeezed Natalya's hand, tugging her forward as she interrupted, "No. That's not it. Why, Natalya?"
Natalya was speechless. The intensity of Taylor's eyes, the feel of Taylor's hand slipping from her own to rest on her forearm raising goose bumps, and the sound of her name falling from battered lips conspired to short circuit her brain for a moment. In that moment all her filters disappeared and she blurted out a truth she hadn't known with such clarity until the words spilled forth, "I love you."
She knew as soon as she said it that it was either going to be the biggest mistake of her life or the beginning of the best thing that could ever happen to her.
The wonder in Taylor's eyes, the soft blush, and the fragile smile transforming her face into the very picture of radiance convinced Natalya that this would be no mistake.
She stepped forward until she was hovering just over Taylor's upturned face and her hands cupped that bruised face. Their eyes locked and held a dozen searching silent conversations; uncertainty, reassurance, fear, confidence, curiosity, understanding, confusion, encouragement, worry, love.
No more words were needed when Natalya bent and brought their lips together in a tender tentative kiss, a chaste press of lips that nonetheless sent a jolt racing through their bodies.
One kiss led to another, and another, and another until they were both breathless and flushed. Natalya somehow found the strength to pull away, smiling, and say "You should rest."
Taylor nodded and allowed Natalya to guide her down to the pillows.
Natalya pressed one last kiss to Taylor's lips and another to her forehead before turning and making her way to the door. Her hand was on the knob when Taylor's voice slid smoothly into the silence, "I love you, too, wombat."
Natalya chuckled and shook her head. She looked back to see Taylor blowing her a kiss which she returned before winking and leaving to spend the rest of her night in a haze of bliss.
THE END
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A/N: I've been told that Natalya is unusually fond of the word wombat, so it made sense to give her that as a moniker. Also, please review.