Hello, good readers! And welcome back to Catch Your Breath. I hope you all enjoyed the first chapter. I have a lot planned for this story so I can't wait for you all to read it and indulge in some Shieldy goodness with me!

Incase anyone was curious, I see Madeleine as Natalie Dormer when I write. Obviously you can see her however you want, but the intention is for her to look like blonde Natalie Dormer.

This chapter is named after 'Save Me' by Remy Zero

Madeleine Ziggler's Point of View

"MADDIE!"

Nikki Bella practically launched herself at me as we arrived at the arena the next night for Monday Night Raw. She threw her arms around me, embracing me in a tight hug, her twin sister laughing behind her.

"Let her go, Nikki. I bet the poor girl can't breathe."

She loosened her grip but still kept me in a hug. "Shush, Brie. It's been far too long and I've missed my little blonde bombshell!"

Dolph simply rolled his eyes behind us, shaking his head. Nikki was always very overboard, and I struggled to get my breath back as she loosened her grip.

"I've missed you too, Nikki," I laughed once she finally let me go.

I'd been friends with the Bella Twins for years, ever since Nikki and Dolph dated a while back. She was like a sister to me and in turn Brie became a great friend to me too. Even after her breakup with my brother, we still remained close and kept in contact. I loved The Bellas, they were like the sisters I'd never had. It had been months since I'd last seen them, so I couldn't wait to catch up and have a good girly gossip.

We walked into the arena, the three of us arm in arm, my brother walking ahead with his case. Knowing I'd have to report to Stephanie quite early on, he kissed my cheek and continued to his locker room, leaving me with the girls.

"So how have you been?" Nikki asked. "How's school?"

"School is good," I smiled. "About to enter my final year so I'm excited to finish everything up."

"I bet you can't wait," Brie said as we headed to their locker room.

"You're damn right I can't!" I laughed. "It's been so tough, I just want to finish and get into the real world, working in television."

"Well you're in the right place to help with that," Nikki said, opening the locker room door. We all entered. "How Dolph got you experience in this place, I'll never know."

"Hey, they employed Summer Rae, they'll employ anyone," Brie said, all of us bursting into laughter.

"I don't know either," I said as the twins prepared their ring outfits, laying everything out. "But I couldn't turn it down. I don't care what job Stephanie gives me, at least I got to say I worked in WWE."

"True enough," said Nikki. "You did good, girl."

I nodded, looking down at my watch. "I'll have to catch up with you ladies later, I'm due to meet Steph in 10 minutes."

"Well a few of us are going for drinks after Raw tonight, why don't you join us and we can talk then?" asked Brie.

I placed my hair behind my ear nervously. "Maybe…"

I wasn't sure. I'd always been quite nervous in big crowds, especially ones where I knew nobody. There were a lot of wrestlers for WWE and I only knew three of them. So big clubs full of strange people did not sound appealing to me. I was far more comfortable curled up in a blanket with a hot chocolate and a good book.

"Come on," pleaded Nikki. "I've missed you, we seriously need to catch up and have a dance."

"I'll think about it, okay?"

"Alright," she sighed, knowing that was the best I was going to offer them right now. I'd see how the evening went first, and then go from there. I knew I'd have The Bellas and my brother there, but I still wasn't certain about going out just yet.

I hugged them farewell, wishing them luck on their matches tonight, and headed out in search of the boss.

I found Steph's office quite easily, knocking gently on the door. When I entered, I was greeted by the woman I'd seen on TV so many times before. She was tall, well presented and so beautiful. I wasn't embarrassed to admit I was slightly star struck. She invited me inside.

"So your brother says you're very eager to take on some work," she enquired as we sat at her desk.

"Yes," I said nervously as I took a seat, playing with my fingers in my lap. "It'll help greatly towards my final exam and my degree."

"Well we are always happy to help in such situations, and Dolph has done so much for the company over the years, it was hard to turn him down. He says you're very enthusiastic."

"Oh, yes," I nodded, trying to seem as eager as I could under the nerves.

"Well for tonight I'm going to give you probably not the most exciting job," she explained. "Until we know how you work and where exactly to put you, we'd like you to be a runner for the talent tonight. Simple things like fetching them water, coffee, towels. It's not glamorous, but it's only for tonight. We'll see how you go, how the wrestlers react around you, and then give you a better and more exciting position after I've talked it over with my husband."

I nodded, knowing this made sense. "That's fine. Thank you, Mrs McMahon."

She stood and shook my hand with a smile. "Glad to have you onboard. Now go out there and show me what you can do."

xXx

My job was… interesting to say the least that night.

Fandango had been the first person I'd served, the guy simply wanting a bottle of water. However I did not want the endless flirting that followed. I rolled my eyes in disgust at the man, as he offered to show me his dance moves, knowing I wanted to be nowhere near him.

Bad News Barrett had been next, asking for a towel to polish his King Of The Ring crown, and he had been nothing but pleasant, his British manners really shining through. Naomi too had been lovely enough as well, complementing my skater-dress when I'd delivered her some water.

We were about half way through the show when I spotted Nikki and her boyfriend John Cena walking down the corridor, his face sweaty from his match. Nikki greeted me excitedly when I approached them.

"Did you see him? Did you see how awesome John's match was?" she smiled. That's one thing I admired about Nikki – the complete and utter love and adoration she had for her man

"Afraid not," I said. "I've been a busy bee tonight."

"Steph got you working hard?" she asked.

"Yes," I nodded. "But I don't mind, I want to make a good impression."

"Good girl," said Cena. I knew he was a man who always liked a person with a good work ethic. "Would it be too much to ask for a coffee and a bottle of water?" he asked. "That match took it out of me."

"Of course," I grinned.

"Fantastic. Black, two sugars," he smiled.

"We'll be in my locker room," Nikki finished.

I hurried off to the canteen, picking up his order.

I had to say, as tough as all the running round was, I was enjoying myself. The wrestlers had all been so nice and welcoming that I was certainly coming round more to the idea of going out with everyone after the show. I could see why my brother liked working for these people and why he called so many of them his best friends. A night out with these people sounded like just what I needed.

I placed John's drinks on a tray and carried them carefully through the corridors, many super-stars greeting me along the way.

A small group sat towards the end of the corridor, laughing amongst themselves. I recognised a few of them from TV, the group including The Miz, Sheamus and Stardust. I saw them look at me and snigger, but I thought nothing of it, my mind focused on bringing John his drinks.

That was until Sheamus stood and nudged into me with his elbow as I passed them, laughing at me.

I gasped as the tray tipped, the cup flying and covering me in warm coffee, the water falling to the floor. The corridor went silent apart from their laughs, my body frozen to the spot, my mouth open in shock. I slowly stared down at my dress that was now covered in a huge coffee stain, my chest heaving as I caught my breath, my feet stuck to the floor.

Oh god… oh god…

"Welcome to WWE, darling'," Sheamus laughed as I felt tears build in my eyes, his friends laughing too.

I didn't know what to do. A part of me wanted to punch him in the face and ask him what the fuck that was about. A part of me wanted to fetch my brother and let him deal with the idiots. But the larger part of me wanted to burst into tears and cry my heart out. I knew these men were bullies, but I never honestly thought they'd do it to a woman who was on her first day on the job. I was just grateful the coffee wasn't too hot.

Now I was just stood there, shaking, my clothes wet and my tears threatening to spill down my cheeks.

I closed my eyes, fighting the tears back. Only what I saw when I opened them, I did not expect.

The three of them were looking at me, their eyebrows furrowed. I recognised them immediately as the men from the elevator the previous day, my brother's words ringing in my head…

The Shield.

They were dressed all in black, each wearing boots, cargo pants and special ops vests. They seemed far more intimidating in their ring gear and I could see immediately why my brother had warned me away. Together they looked daunting, menacing, tough.

I looked at them and they looked at me and I knew they recognised me too. They looked around, seeing the stain on my dress, the tray on the floor, the tears in my eyes. The laughter of the heels around me got louder, the three of them in turn looking towards where they sat. The tall dark skinned one approached me, my body seizing up in fear.

"Did they do this?" he simply asked.

I nodded quickly, too scared and upset to talk.

The three of them suddenly surrounded me, facing Sheamus and acting, ironically, like a shield to protect me.

Within seconds the dark skinned one and the one with blonde and brown hair had Sheamus against the wall by his throat, their jaws tense, their muscles flexed. The short haired one chased his friends away, The Miz and Stardust too cowardly to stick around.

"You think it's funny to attack a woman like that?" seethed the blonde and brown haired man. "You think it's amusing to bully her?"

Sheamus shook his head, his face red. You could tell he was scared. "No, she's a newbie… I…"

The dark skinned man threw him against the wall with force, the noise causing me to jump. "Where's all your courage gone now, big man? You want to pick on someone, pick on us. Never upset a woman like that."

I swallowed as I watched, gasping as the short haired man drew near me, looking me up and down. He could see the fear in my eyes, approaching me cautiously. He slowly unzipped the black sleeveless hoody he was wearing over his vest and took it off, wrapping it round me. I slipped my arms through and allowed him to zip it up for me.

"Can't have you walk around with a stained dress, can we, little lady?" he said, offering me a smirk before turning to his friends, a terrified Sheamus standing there quivering.

"Shit! Lily!" I heard Brie cry down the corridor and she came running towards me, wrapping an arm around me. "Are you alright?"

I didn't answer, I was far too busy watching The Shield do their thing, the short haired man finally standing nose to nose with the Irishman. His jaw was tense, his body twitchy as if he were on edge. I could have sworn I heard him growl, but it could have been the sound of the Raw show continuing in the background. He spoke menacingly, threateningly, darkly.

"You leave her be, or we show you what the Hounds Of Justice can really do. You're just a chew toy to us, buddy. A piece of meat for us to play with. And you know what hounds do to pieces of meat? We rip them up, shred them, tear them apart. Go near her one more time and I'll take great pleasure in testing that theory."

Sheamus didn't think twice as the dark skinned man put him down, he simply ran, not looking back.

The Shield turned to look at me, Brie tightening her hold on me protectively, pulling me close against her.

"You okay now, sweetheart?" asked the blonde and brown haired man.

I nodded, leaning into my friend's safe arms.

"She'll be fine," Brie answered for me. "I've got her. Thank you, Dean, Roman, Seth." She nodded at each in turn as she said their name. it let me know who each member was.

All three nodded their approval, Dean's eyes lingering on me before they turned and walked away, ready for their match.

I let out a deep breath, visibly relaxing as Brie turned me to face her, giving me a look over to check I was okay. "What the hell happened?" I simply unzipped the sleeveless hoody, alerting her to the stain on my dress.

"Sheamus," I said.

"What a dick," she mumbled. "I'll take you back to our locker room, Nikki or I will have something you can change into."

She ushered me away through the arena and we entered their locker room, John and Nikki staring at us in confusion as we opened the door.

"Maddie, you okay? Whats going on?" Nikki queried.

"They decided to pick on the newbie," Brie informed her, sorting through her suitcase, searching for a dress for me. "I swear to god, the mentality of some of the talent here. It's ridiculous."

"Oh, Maddie," said Nikki sadly, rubbing my arm soothingly.

I simply sat down, reliving everything in my head, my mind focused on my three saviours.

I didn't get it.

How could these men be as volatile and dangerous as my brother was making out? This was the second time in two days they had come to my rescue. An enemy would not do that, a bad person would not stand up to someone in a stranger's defence and almost make the person die of fright. I had to admit, their methods were a little unorthodox and threatening, but at the end of the day I was in trouble and they helped.

Terrible people don't do that. Terrible people either leave you to suffer or aid the suffering. They do not enter like knights in shining armour and save the helpless damsel in distress.

I wasn't sure if they had upset my brother in the past, but they were certainly helping me in the present.

I slid my hands into the hoody pockets, relishing its warmth, noticing the manly scent that surrounded it. I breathed it in.

They were so mysterious, their black ring gear and they way they could turn up out of nowhere making them seem puzzling and mystifying, like shadows lurking, ready to pounce. Each man alone was terrifying enough, but together as a team they were intimidating beyond belief. They commanded the room and the situation the moment they entered it. Sheamus never had a chance.

"Here!" came Brie's voice, breaking me from my thoughts. "How's this?"

She handed me a black sleeveless dress and I gazed at it. It was lovely, tight fitting and sleek. It wasn't my usual taste but considering I had very little else to wear, I knew I'd have to settle for it. "It's perfect, thanks, Brie."

"Well it's better than anything Nikki has. You wear her dresses and your boobs will be hanging out."

"Hey!" shouted Nikki. "My dresses are sophisticated and chic."

"And leave very little to the imagination," added Brie.

At that moment, Dolph burst through the door in a panic, his wide eyes searching for me. As soon as he spotted me he threw his arms around me in a warm embrace. "What the fuck happened? Cesaro told me there had been an incident."

"I'm fine," I said, trying to pull away from my brother to relax him. "It's all been sorted. Just a little incident with Sheamus. No need to worry."

"I'm your brother, of course I worry." He noticed the stain on my dress, his anger showing. "Did he do this?" I nodded, as his jaw tensed. "I'll fucking kill him!"

"Dolph, no. It's-"

But I was cut off as he noticed the hoody wrapped around my body. "Where did you get that?"

"Dean Ambrose," said Brie. "The Shield intervened."

"The Shield?" he frowned. "What the fuck were they doing getting involved?"

"Don't get so mad, Dolph, they stopped him," I said. "They helped me." I couldn't help the tiny smile that appeared on my lips.

He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I told you to stay away from them, they're dangerous men, Madeleine."

"They didn't seem dangerous to me," I said sternly. I had to defend my protectors. "Quite the opposite. They were quite helpful actually. Sheamus won't be coming near me anymore."

"Maddie…" he said angrily, gritting his teeth. "Stay away from them!"

I knew he wasn't happy but he could not be mad at them or me. They had fucking saved me from a bunch of bullies and I for one was insanely thankful to them. And I knew they wouldn't be a danger to me like my brother was making out. These men were good men, I knew it.

"Hey, why don't we let this drop?" intervened John, sensing the tension in the room. "Madeleine is safe and the show is over. We have a fun night out to look forward to so why don't we shower, get ready and go enjoy ourselves?"

Dolph nodded at this, the older man's words calming him. He dropped the argument. "Fine."

I nodded in agreement, not wanting to get into a fight with my big brother. We let it lie, both going our separate ways to change for the night.

I'd never seen my brother so annoyed before. He was so protective, and I loved that. But he was going to extremes. The Shield had not hurt me, and I know they never would. The way they berated Sheamus for teasing a woman showed me I would never be on the receiving end of their threats.

But the way Brie had held me protectively during the incident also got my mind thinking. Had she too sensed a danger about them? They obviously knew these men better than I did, so they knew more of what went on in WWE. Yet on the two occasions I had met these men, I had seen nothing but good from them.

Dean… Roman… Seth…

They had not showed me any danger. In fact all they had done was make me more intrigued than ever…

A huge thank you to WWEaholicTwlightaholic and raaeebrucee for reviewing the first chapter. I love hearing feedback from my readers, so don't forget to leave me a few words. Favourite and follow!

Don't forget to check out Irresistible, my other WWE story too.