After a while, Dean pulled up at the airport. Chrissy had fallen asleep on the drive over and he hated to wake her since she looked peaceful for the first time since the night before. He parked the car and turned in his seat to face her. "Wake up darlin'. We're here." the blonde said in a low voice as he placed his hand on her shoulder. She mumbled something under her breath before opening her hazel eyes and looking at the man in the driver's seat. There was something about the concerned expression on his face that made her heart race and her stomach to flutter. "Where are we?" the brunette asked in a sleepy voice. "The airport. I'm gonna take you someplace he won't think to look for you." he replied. "Where?" she asked. "Vegas." Dean answered. Chrissy sat up and turned to him before saying "Are you sure about that? I don't want to impose.." "I insist. Besides I have a few days off and I won't be able to relax without knowing you're safe. Please, just trust me." Dean pleaded. "I trust you. I don't know why, but I do." she told him and placed her hand on his arm. He calmed down and got out of the car. The blonde walked around to the passenger side and opened the door for her. They got their luggage together and went inside to catch a flight out.
#*#
Dean and Chrissy arrived at his apartment later that night and the two were exhausted. He brought in his suitcase and her duffel bag before collapsing on the couch. "How's your shoulder?" she asked hesitantly. Chrissy felt like a horrible person. The only reason she even stayed with him in the first place was because of his injury and now he was having to deal with her messed up life. 'Why is he even putting up with me? Why isn't he just washing his hands of me? I wouldn't blame him if he did..' she thought. Dean noticed that she was pulling away from him, so he asked "What's wrong?" "Nothing. Seriously, how's the shoulder doing?" the brunette said in response to try and deflect his question. "It's fine. Now answer my question." he responded. "Why are you doing all of this for me? We've only known each other for a day and you're risking yourself to protect me. I don't get it." Chrissy blurted out. The blonde stood up and walked over to her. Dean brushed a strand of her brown hair back behind her ear and told her "You want to know why? It's because I'm developing feelings for you. I don't know what it is about you, but I've never felt this way before. Now, I'm not asking you to jump into anything with me or anything, but just know that I'm not going anywhere."
Chrissy looked up at him in shock as her heart started pounding inside her chest. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Why me?" the brunette asked. "I don't know." he answered honestly as he guided her over to the couch so they could sit down. "I feel the same way. I don't understand why, but I do. I don't trust easily but for some reason I feel like I've never been safer. It's a scary, yet nice feeling at the same time." she told him. "There's no rush. I'm here whenever you're ready." he assured her. "I will be eventually. I promise." the brunette said. Dean put his good arm around her and she rested her head on his shoulder. It wasn't very long before the exhaustion caught up with them and they fell fast asleep.
#*#
Chrissy woke up the next morning and untangled herself from Dean's arms. She went into the other room to call Dolph so he didn't worry. He answered after a few rings and immediately asked what was going on. "Jason was at my house last night." she explained. "Son of a motherfucking bitch!" he exclaimed loudly. "Tell me about it." Chrissy said. "Where are you? Tell me you didn't stay there." Dolph asked as he started to panic. "I'm fine. Jon kicked him out and then got me out of there." she assured him. "Where are you?" he asked again. "You're not gonna like it but I'm in Vegas. With Jon." Chrissy replied. Dolph closed his eyes and mentally counted to ten so he didn't lose his temper. He really didn't want to scare or upset her. "It's okay Nick. He's really been great to me. I promise." she told him. "He better be or I'm breaking every bone in his body. I guess you being there is good thing after all because that asshole won't know you're there. Just, be careful." Dolph finally said. "I will. Love you Nicky." Chrissy told him. "Love you too Chrissy." he said before they hung up.
"I guess Ziggler doesn't want you here." Dean said from the doorway. "He's worried. I told him about last night." she explained. "I don't blame him. It's not like I have the greatest reputation." he said quietly. "I don't care about your past and I damn sure don't judge people based on that kind of thing. I base my opinion on how you treat me and you've treated me like gold. Besides, Nick said he would rather me be here than at his place." Chrissy said as she put her arms around the blonde. He looked so vulnerable and she felt an overwhelming urge to comfort him. Dean wrapped his strong arms around her and asked "He said that?" "Yeah. He said at least Jason won't know where I'm at and that I'm safe." the brunette assured him. He fidgited a little bit and changed the subject by asking "Do you want to go lay down for a while?" "Sure." she responded. They went back to his bedroom where she helped him change into something more comfortable. Chrissy got into some pajamas and laid down beside him before going back to sleep.
#*#
Chrissy and Dean spent the next few days relaxing at his apartment and getting to know each other better. She told him about her parents passing away when she was 19 and he told her about his past. Her heart broke for him, but she realized that his horrible life only made him a better man and she made sure to tell him that. Dean was relieved that she didn't look at him with pity when he talked about his life. He wasn't sure he could handle that. Instead, she gave him a hug and told him that he never had to bring it up again. The blonde was so grateful for that, that she understood just how hard it was for him to speak about it. In fact, he was grateful for her period. Dean was falling for her more and more with each passing day and he knew she felt the same. Chrissy just wasn't ready yet and he respected that. He would wait forever for her.
#*#
Monday finally came around and they had to finally separate at the arena. Dean did insist on walking her to the trainers room however. The two came to a stop just short of the door and he said "I'll come by later and we'll get something to eat. Okay?" "That sounds good. See you later." Chrissy said with a smile before going inside.
Dean looked at the door that closed behind her for a minute with a goofy smile before finally walking away. He was almost at the locker room when he heard a voice demand "Hey Ambrose! We need to talk." 'Great. Just what I need..' he thought before turning around to face the man who called out to him.
#*#
That's where I leave you for now. Who called out to Dean? You'll find out in the next chapter. Thank you so much for all the reviews for this story so far. Plus, welcome to my new readers. Hope you're enjoying it so far.
Special thank you to my busted hip buddy, my bestie AeonBlue for walking me through this story and giving me the idea for this chapter! Go and check out her stories Analeptic and Malum if you get the chance. They're fantastic reads.