DISCLAIMER: Baron ain't mine. Neither are any of the other wrestlers in this chapter. Original characters are the products of my own imagination and any resemblance to anyone, real or fictional, living or dead is purely coincidental.

Ties That Blind
Chapter One
Present time
Three Months Earlier...

On the best of days, Baron Corbin could be a little moody, and this was not one of his best days. They were in Worcester Massachusetts, setting up for a house show, and he was getting really close to fed up. It wasn't that he was lazy, he didn't mind bringing the stuff in, but the setting up was not his thing. Even worse, he didn't get why they even had to set up. They were the talent, and in his opinion, they were too good for this stuff. Sure, when NXT was new, it was different, paying your dues and all such. Everyone knew that musicians started out being their own roadies, but NXT was no longer the garage band, doing Slipknot covers at the corner bar, they were selling out arenas. Secondary arenas, perhaps, but they did their own stuff now, they were recognized. NXT were no longer just the kids at Thanksgiving, waiting to be invited to the adult's table, they were a force of their own. Surely, they had progressed beyond having to be their own road crew, hadn't they?

When he finally got the last of the heavy stuff off the trucks and into the arena, then the calling started. Everyone else had become experts on one thing or another and were starting doing what they did best. Since Baron hadn't bothered to specialize, everyone seemed to think he was available to help them and only them. And he didn't mind helping, but when six people wanted you right that second, it could drive you crazy. And he'd barely put down the last load when it started.

"Baron, I could use your help with this!" Bayley called out first.

"Baron, over here, buddy!" Enzo's call was right behind Bayley's.

Enzo was close, but Bayley had asked first, as he paused to figure out which he should go to, other people started calling out to him, Rhyno, Sammy, Carmella, on and on, until it felt to him like the whole room was shouting for him, demanding his attention. He stood there for a moment, his brain and body frozen, then for some reason, his brain clicked that his phone wasn't on him, it was still on the bus, in his jacket pocket. "I'll be back, I need to get my phone," he said, and before anyone could object, he turned sharply on his heel and hurried out the door.

Outside, it was a cool June day, sunny and bright, and Baron leaned against the wall to the arena, taking several deep breaths. It wasn't that he wasn't a team player, he'd played football before this. He knew how to be a team player. But he also knew he wasn't capable of doing ten things, helping out seven people at once. And he also knew that every one of them would think that they were a priority over anyone else, whatever they were doing was the most important thing. It was a no win situation. Fuck it, he thought, remembering that just a little ways down the road was a small convenient store. He'd go down there and pick up some drinks and things, enough for everyone. Maybe even a couple of those silly My Little Pony cookies he was seeing popping up at certain stores, Bayley would get a kick out of one of those. He'd bring a bunch of stuff back, the setting up would be mostly done, or at least done to the point where he could help out and not feel like he was under the gun about it. Yeah, it was a good plan. It was hot and stuffy in the arena, for him to bring drinks would cover up for being less help.

It was warm enough that he didn't need his jacket and he figured leaving the phone behind was a good idea too. At this point, Baron felt very much like the Lone Wolf character he portrayed and being unable to be reached was just fine with him. Straightening up, he headed away from the arena, towards the convenient store.

Alexis "Lexi" Coley was running late and she wasn't happy about it. There was a huge sale going on at her favorite shoe boutique and she knew if she didn't get there soon, she'd be starting the summer season with last years strappy sandals and that just wouldn't do at all. She'd been planning this since she got the notification on her iphone about the sale and even though she'd woken up so early that morning, before nine o'clock even, everything had been conspiring against her.

"Note to self," she muttered as she climbed into her car, "do not try to get Daddy's credit cards when Mommy is around." Her daddy had been just about to hand her his Amex, reaching for his wallet automatically, but her mother had stopped him, instead deciding to lecture Lexi yet again, about how she needed to grow up, take responsibility, that since Lexi had graduated from High School that she needed to either go to college or get a job. Lexi's mouth twisted into a sneer as she thought about it, Mommy was such a buzzkill. Ever since she'd hit the menopause, and Lexi had graduated, she'd been a complete monster, expecting Lexi to forsake her youth and take some "responsibility" for herself. It was such… bullshit. Lexi was young and beautiful and this was supposed to be the prime of her life, right? Was she really supposed to waste it working in some stuffy building? Having to get up early in the morning, so she couldn't even go clubbing at night? There was plenty of time for being grown up and responsible when she got really old, say thirty. In the meantime, she just wanted to have fun and she saw nothing wrong with that. And even after Mommy finally shut up and went to get ready for work, it had taken even longer to convince Daddy to hand over the Amex. But, on a good note, she had thrown in that if Daddy would just get her her own card, they would be able to avoid this in the future and Daddy didn't dismiss the idea. It would serve Mommy right if Daddy did get Lexi her own card. And it would finally give Lexi the independence she craved. She wanted to be independent, she just didn't want to pay for it.

She felt better when she got into her car. She loved her car, it was easily the cutest car in the world. It was a Smart car, which meant she couldn't be one of those crass self-centered people her mother said she was. Smart cars were just that, smart. People who cared bought Smart Cars and she cared. Exactly what she cared about, she wasn't sure, but she had the feeling it had something to do with the environment. But her Smart car wasn't just any old Smart car, it was special. After Daddy bought it for her, which hadn't taken much pleading on her part at all, she had gotten him to pay to have it customized and now it was perfect! The interior had thick, hot pink carpeting and white leather seats and a pink dashboard. The steering wheel was white leather and she kept hand sanitizer and always cleaned off her hands before touching it, wanting to keep it that oh-so-white color.

The outside had been painted too, pink and white and on the doors and back were the friendly face of her favorite cartoon character of all time, Hello Kitty. And they weren't wraps or decals, they had been painted on, so they'd last forever. And best of all, on the roof, there were, these sculptures, designed to make her car look like it had Hello Kitty ears! There was even a red bow on the ear of the driver's side, just like Hello Kitty! Other people had Hello Kitty Smart cars, she had seen them on the internet, there was even one girl in the city who owned one, but none were as nice or as special as hers. Lexi knew, with smug satisfaction, that she owned the best and the cutest Hello Kitty Smart car in the world. Why, even if there were other planets out there, or parallel universes, where Hello Kitty and Smart cars were around, her car would be far superior to any of those either, even ones that might be owned by an alternate version of her!

As she was starting up the car, murmuring sweet things to it, telling it that it was the best Hello Kitty Smart car in the word, nay, the universe, her phone buzzed telling her she had a text. She started out of the driveway and held up her phone, reading the text and looking at the road at the same time. Sure, everyone said you shouldn't text and drive, but what did they know? Those people were probably old people, like her parents, with poor reflexes. She could text and drive perfectly, she was young and had reflexes like a cat… or, better, she had Hello Kitty reflexes.

The text was from her current bestie, Tiffany, and she was asking where she was. She and Tiffany had agreed to meet at the store, and obviously, Tiff had gotten there earlier. Well, that wasn't too surprising, Tiff had a job, which meant she didn't have to argue with her parents to get her daddy's credit card, she had her own money. Frowning at the injustice of life, Lexi drove down the road, and started texting her friend:

Sorry! Mom's a beeyotch! B there soon!" She held the phone with one hand as she pushed her foot on the gas pedal, trying to make up for lost time. She wished Tiff was in the car so she could just talk to her, instead of text. Yesterday when she was texting and driving, she got another ticket, that was still safely locked in the glove compartment. It would be so much easier if there was a way to just talk to Tiff in real time.

Her phone dinged again and she looked. "Hurry! Place is a zoo!"

Sighing, she leaned over the steering wheel so she could hold her phone in one hand and text with the other. "Going fast as I can!" she typed back.

"Do you want me to hide some sandals for you?"

She debated that for a moment. It would be a good idea, if Tiff understood shoes. But Tiff was a great friend, often willing to pay for drinks if they went out clubbing together, which was why Lexi liked her so much, but she was horrible at shoes, never buying heels that were higher than a couple of inches and always wanting a back strap on her sandals, which, to Lexi, defeated the whole purpose of sandals in the first place. Still, maybe if she explained it carefully, she'd be able to save her something she'd wear. "OK. Hide one of every type." she typed, alternating between looking at the road and looking at the screen of her phone. She really needed to get one of those apps that would allow her to talk instead of typing messages. In situations like this, when she needed to get someplace in a hurry and needed to text, it would come in so handy. Her older sister Alison had one, and was telling her all the time how much easier it made things. And Alison would know, because Alison was just one of those cool people who was always up on the latest thing. Lexi frowned, thinking of Tiff and the sandals and added, "Look for really hi heels!" then, realizing that even that wouldn't work, she started trying to call up the website for the store, so she could flick through the shoes she liked and send pictures so Tiffany would really get this, because this was so important.

And time was ticking down mercilessly. Paying more attention to her texting and web searching, Lexi pushed her foot hard on the gas pedal and zoomed down the street.

Even though the street seemed deserted, Baron still looked both ways before he stepped into the crosswalk. The store wasn't too far, and his mind was on an ice cold Red Bull, thinking an energy boost was just what he needed to get through today. He'd be wrestling tonight at the show, something he was looking forward to, but that wasn't for hours and he needed a pick-me-up to get him to that point.

He heard the whine of an engine, at first far enough off that he wasn't worried, but then realizing it was getting way too close, way too fast. He looked up, frozen to the spot as something… very pink and white was bearing down on him, like the worlds cutest predator. His brain froze, freezing his body too, unable to move, part of him expecting the massive cuddle on wheels to come to a sudden stop.

The cuddliest car in the universe didn't even slow down, just ran into him, throwing Baron onto the hood, then crashing off the windshield, carrying him several feet before the vehicle finally stopped and he went crashing onto his back onto the street. Pain shot through him, through his arm, his legs, his knees, his back, until he pretty much concluded that every part of him was one massive ball of pain. He tried to shut his eyes, as if by closing them, he'd close off the pain, but it didn't help. Gasping, he felt tears coming to his eyes, not tears of sorrow, but pain turning to liquid behind his eyes and spilling out.

He was vaguely aware of hearing a door open and shut, heard the clicking of heels on the road and a young female voice going, "Oh, shit! Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit, are you all right, baby? Are you okay?"

He looked up, expecting to see someone above him, but saw nothing. With great effort he turned his head and saw someone, a woman, his impression of her all pink and blonde. She was kneeling by the car, looking at it and talking to it as if it were alive. "Are you okay, Hello Kitty? Did that bad man hurt you?" She was stroking the hood tenderly, caressing it gently.

I must be hallucinating, he thought. I was in a crosswalk, she's got to know she fucked up big time. "Am-Ambulance!' he gasped, a spasm of pain overtaking him, making him feel as if his lungs were on fire.

The girl stood up from the car and walked over to him, long tanned legs wearing impossibly high heels. "Well, god, didn't you cause a mess!" she said, shaking her head. "You hurt Hello Kitty Smart Car! Why can't you watch where you're going? God, you're a menace to drivers everywhere! Who just goes crossing the road without looking?"

He stared at her in disbelief, feeling something warm and wet starting to cover his pants. At first he thought he'd pissed himself, but then he realized it was originating from his knees and was obviously not urine. "Blood," he whispered.

The girl looked him over, then made a face as she saw the crimson staining his pants. "Oh my god, is that blood? Doesn't blood eat at paint or something? God, you better not have hurt the paint on my car! I mean, you've done enough damage, you careless asshole!"

He managed to move his head enough, even though it hurt, to see the pink monster that had hit him and noticed with some satisfaction that the windshield was cracked and there was a dent in the hood. He would have preferred it had been nothing but a smoking heap of pink and white slag, but he'd settle for this.

He looked at the woman who was tapping away on her phone. "You'd better have insurance," she threatened him.

"Blue cross," he gasped. "Card-in-wallet."

She looked at him as if he was the stupidest being on the face of the planet and rolled her eyes. "I'm not talking medical, I couldn't care less if you have medical. I mean like auto insurance. Because you are going to have to fix my car!"

Even though his thoughts were clouded in a heavy blanket of pain, part of Baron still knew this woman was full of something warm, brown, and squishy, and longed to tell her so, but he also realized that she was the only person around. He didn't have his phone on him, and even if he did, he doubted he could reach it. His body just did not want to function. So, as much as he longed to tell this pink and blonde devil's cupcake where she could take her attitude and stick it, he fought off the urge. "Please," he whispered, hoping his voice sounded humble enough. "Need… ambulance."

"So? Call one!" she said, her own fingers flying across the face of her own phone.

"No...phone," he mumbled. "Please? Hurt bad."

"Who the hell goes out in public without a phone?" She paused and looked at him, her eyes traveling over his body. "Yeah, I guess you are kinda messed up. Well, I have to call the cops anyway to report this. Unless you're like a billionaire and can pay for my car out of your own pocket. Which I doubt, looking at those jeans. Are those really Wranglers? Icky."

"Please?" he asked again. "Call… need help."

"Yeah, hang on… I just have to tell Tiff I'm going to run a little late." Her fingers kept flying over the front of her phone as she typed out a message to this "Tiff" and then hit send. When she was finally satisfied, she looked at him, "Can I just send a text to 911?"

Even though it hurt, hurt worse than any pain he'd ever known in his life, Baron managed to make his voice a little louder than the harsh whisper it had been. "Call! I'm dying, here!"

"All right, all right!" the girl said, shaking he head and rolling her eyes. "God, you are way overreacting. You're still able to talk, you can't be hurt that badly! Not nearly as bad as poor Hello Kitty Smartcar." She pushed some buttons on her phone and brought it up to her ear. "Hello? 911? I've had an accident and I need help. Yeah, it's on Sunset Avenue. I need the police here right away with a proper tow truck. I want one where my car will not be towed in the front so it's rolling on those back wheels, I want all four wheels up safely on something. And make sure the driver is very experienced, I don't want someone new to this to be towing my baby. And I need it as soon as possible."

The fog in his brain was growing thicker and his thoughts heavier as he listened to her talking to the 911 operat or, her voice a steady stream not letting the person on the other end get a word in edgewise. Unable to form coherent words, he just opened his mouth and let out a long, low screaming moan.

She stared at him, startled, then said into the phone, "Oh yeah, and you might want to bring an ambulance too. This guy walked right into my car and I think he's hurt. There's a lot of blood."

He was almost to the point of unconsciousness when she finally hung up and looked at him. "They're sending an ambulance and a cop. Don't pass out if you can help it, they'll need a statement from you." She stared at him, long and hard for a bit. Then her expression softened. "My name is Lexi," she said, smiling and twirling a lock of blonde hair in her fingers. "And I'll bet you're kinda cute when you're not all bloody and gross. Maybe you'd like to go out, sometime? Like, when you're better and all?"

That was the point where he mercifully passed out.

Author's Notes: Special thanks goes to Aeon for her hand holding, comfort and encouragement. And yes, Lexi is Alison's sister (if you want her to be) To readers that have no clue what that means? Go check out The Tau Hypothesis on her page. It's a great story and you'll get a brief glimpse at Alison Coley.

Thank you to everyone who read this. More thanks to everyone who favored/followed this. Even more thanks to anyone who took/takes the time to review. I've been out of the loop so long, I wasn't sure if I still *had* it or not. Thank you for the encouragement and I hope you like this latest chapter.

Until next time
Peace Out
Willow