Turnabout is Fair Play

Once again, Carly received a phone call directing her to report to the arena on Monday night. The official reason was something to do with "closure" for all parties involved. Carly wondered how much groveling Ms. McMahon would make her do. All she wanted was for this whole mess to be forgotten so she could get back to work.

This time, Carly was sent out to the ring during a commercial break to wait for Ms. McMahon. Of course. That was a standard power play, stacking the deck firmly against the one who had to wait. Carly absently twirled the microphone in her hands, trying to ignore the crowd. They were probably chanting for C.M. Punk or something.

She'd kept her head down and kept out of sight until this point. She really hadn't wanted to run into the Shield. They weren't going to agree with or understand what she planned on doing, and Carly didn't want to have to explain it to them.

Ms. McMahon's entrance music began, bringing Carly's attention back to the present. Ms. McMahon walked down the ramp, completely unfazed by the negative reaction she inspired. Carly watched her curiously. Somehow, Ms. McMahon didn't seem as tall as usual. She was less regal, less imposing, even though she was smiling and strutting the way she always did. Something was different, but Carly couldn't make out what it was. Ms. McMahon stepped effortlessly into the ring and raised the microphone to her lips.

"May I just say, Carly, how good it is to see you back on your feet. Last week was very rough for you, I'm sure."

Ms. McMahon tilted her head sympathetically and paused as if she expected an answer. Carly said nothing. She had nothing to say. Besides, talking required breathing, and breathing hurt her ribs. The crowd, on the other hand, was more than willing to voice opinions on Carly's behalf.

"But I think you've learned your lesson now, haven't you, Carly?" Ms. McMahon continued, "And I'm willing to let bygones be bygones. As long as you're willing to apologize to me and to all these people for all the trouble you've caused, I'll be more than happy to forgive and-"

"Sierra – Hotel – India – Echo – Lima – Delta. Shield."

Ms. McMahon clenched her jaw in anger, glaring at the three young men walking down through the audience. Carly's heart sank. The last thing she needed right now was the Shield. She knew what they were going to think of her after this, and it made her wish the floor would open up and swallow her.

"What do you three think you're doing?" Ms. McMahon asked flatly.

"Sorry to interrupt you, Steph," said Dean, "But we just wanted to talk to the princess."

Carly's eyes stayed fixed on the Shield, though she felt Ms. McMahon's eyes on her. She shook her head slightly. Either Dean was too far away still to see it, or he didn't care.

"Y'see, I wasn't gonna believe it until I hear it with my own ears," he continued, "So I want you to answer me straight, Carly. Are you really gonna go crawling back to the Authority after everything they did to you?"

"Don't listen to him, Carly," said Ms. McMahon, "This whole mess started because of them, remember? The Shield is really to blame for what happened to you."

"I don't think that'd hold up in court," said Dean.

He hopped over the barricade, followed by Seth and Roman. Carly could feel the piercing intensity of those blue, brown, and grey eyes looking up at her from ringside.

"From where we stand, Stephanie," Dean continued, "It was on your orders that Carly got put in a hospital. Your orders got her a concussion and a broken wrist and cracked ribs. You had a girl tortured, a girl who couldn't even fight back, and we all know that it won't stop there. Carly, she made an example of you, and no matter what you do, it's never gonna be enough for her. She had you beaten down once and she'll do it again, you just-"

Dean's microphone suddenly cut out. He cursed loudly, and threw it away in frustration. Seth leapt onto the apron, leaning over the ropes.

"Don't do this, Carly," he pleaded.

Dean and Roman followed him, standing with their arms over the ropes like they were ready to reach out to her. For some reason, instead of wishing they would go away, Carly found herself wanting to run over to them.

"Look at me, Carly," Ms. McMahon ordered.

Turning away from Seth and Dean and Roman at that moment was one of the hardest things Carly had ever done.

"You know you can't trust those three," Ms. McMahon said gently, "Like they always say: the Shield does what's best for the Shield. They only care about themselves, and they couldn't care less about who gets hurt because of them. But you and me, we're family."

Her smile had returned, but it looked hollow somehow. There was something disconnected in her voice. Carly couldn't believe she hadn't noticed it before. Whatever was missing from Stephanie, it was there with the Shield. It was in Dean's arms around her shoulders, in Seth's earnest concern, in Roman's offer of friendship and protection to someone who had been the enemy. And whatever it was, Carly could not find it in herself to betray it.

"No," said Carly.

"What?"

The smile drained from Stephanie's face, and was replaced by a glower. Carly stared fiercely back at her. Carly's hands no longer shook. She stood up straight, and her voice was steady and strong.

"What I did was not a mistake, and I didn't do it for myself. I did it to help someone else. Everything I did was no more than those three would do for each other, and that's something you would never consider in a million years. Mr. McMahon may be my father, but I am not a McMahon. I never have been, and I never will be. My name is Carly Caden, and I stand with the Shield!"

Stephanie's face contorted with rage, and the microphone dropped from her hand. She drew back her hand and struck Carly across the face. As Carly's body recoiled from the force of the blow, her injured ribs twisted. The pain sent Carly to her knees, gasping. Stephanie grabbed Carly by the front of her shirt, hauling her upright. Carly pulled futilely at Stephanie's hands.

"You listen to me, you little sap," Stephanie snarled in a low voice, "I may not be able to fire you or the three musketeers over there, but rest assured that I am going to personally make your lives hell."

"Turnabout's fair play," Carly fired back, grinning up at her.

Carly abruptly reached up, locking her arms around the back of Stephanie's head, and drove her forehead into Stephanie's: once, twice, three times. She let go, and Stephanie crumpled to the floor, clutching her head. Carly pressed a hand to her own forehead, turning back to the Shield.

It appeared that they had stopped dead in their tracks when she headbutted Stephanie (Roman was in the ring next to her, and Seth and Dean were halfway through the ropes) but Carly had never seen three more gleefully astonished faces in her life.

"Nice one, kid," Dean crowed, "Get out of there now!"

The Shield's music started play as they helped Carly through the ropes and down the stairs, but she could barely hear it over the wild cheering from the crowd. When they made it to the top of the ramp, they paused. Dean, Seth, and Roman held their fists out together.

Suddenly, Carly felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned to see Seth grinning at her.

"Are you hearing this?" he shouted over the audience, "They're calling your name."

Carly's brows furrowed in confusion. She hadn't been listening, but now that her head had cleared –

xXx

"Ladies and gentlemen, in a stunning turn of events, the rebel princess Carly Caden has turned her back on the Authority and declared her allegiance to the Hounds of Justice!"

"Carly and the Shield are standing tall tonight, and the crowd is loving it. Just listen to them:"

("PRINCESS CARLY *clap clap clapclapclap*")

xXx

Apparently Dean's nickname for her had caught on.

Carly and the Shield hurried backstage. As soon as they were out of sight of the audience, Carly stopped and allowed herself to slouch a little, groaning.

"Hey, are you alright?" Dean asked.

"I'll be fine," said Carly, wincing.

Her jostled ribs hurt more than she'd been willing to let on in front of Stephanie and the entire WWE universe. Roman put his arm around her shoulders.

"Come on," he said, "Let's get out of sight so you can sit down for a minute."

Using their expert deserted-hallway-finding skills, the Shield pulled Carly into a nearby side-hallway, just out of was sure to be chaos backstage. Seth gingerly sat Carly down on an equipment case.

"Take it easy," he said, "What hurts?"

"Cracked ribs do not appreciated being twisted like that," Carly said ruefully, "Let me tell you, Stephanie has a mean backhand. She must've been wearing a ring or something. It still stings where she hit me."

Roman leaned down and gently raised her chin.

"Yeah," he said, examining her face, "Looks like she busted you open a little."

"What, really?" Carly asked.

Roman swatted her hand away as she reached towards her cheek.

"Don't touch it," he scolded, "You're just as bad as Dean."

"We should get that patched up," said Dean, "Can you walk, kid?'

"Yeah, I'm alright now," said Carly.

Roman helped her to her feet. A young man with bleach-blonde hair appeared in front of them. Seth and Dean stepped forward defensively, but Dolph Ziggler held up his hands in mock surrender.

"Whoa, guys. I'm unarmed," he said, "Can I – can I just, for a second?"

When Seth and Dean backed off, Dolph stepped forward and took Carly's hand, grinning earnestly.

"Can I just say that you are fantastic and I love you? Bless you," Dolph said, kissing her hand, "Alright, that's all. Carry on."

"I think I like him," said Carly as they walked away.

"I think your head's still scrambled from that concussion," Dean muttered.

xXx

Stephanie McMahon, currently suffering from a massive headache and a bruised ego, threw the medic out of her office. She paced, fuming, holding the ice-pack to her forehead. She whirled around (and instantly regretted the sudden movement) at the sound timid knock on the door.

"What?" she snapped.

A petrified intern stepped into the room. He held a piece of paper in his shaking hands.

"There's a message from you, ma'am," he said, "From Mr. McMahon."

"Well, don't just stand there like an idiot," said Stephanie, "Read it to me."

"But, ma'am, I don't think-"

"I said read it," Stephanie growled, glaring daggers at him.

Blanching, the intern cleared his throat and attempted to read in the most inoffensive monotone voice possible:

"Dear Stephanie, It looks like you're enjoying my present. She turned out to be a real firecracker after all, didn't she? As long as she continues to keep things interesting around here, I think she'll have a great career in this company, because that's what's best for business. Love, your father."

With a shriek of rage, Stephanie whipped the ice-pack at the intern's head.

xXx

The Shield stood in the trainer's room as the medic cleaned and bandaged the cut on Carly's face. Carly had wanted to send them away, because the less time they spent around her, the safer it would be for them, but they were right when they pointed out that it would be a useless gesture.

"We all just openly defied the Authority in the sight of God and the entire WWE universe," said Dean, "There's no going back from that, kid."

"I guess you're right," said Carly, her smile faltering for the first time since she'd turned Stephanie down.

"Check her ribs, too," Roman directed the medic, "Just to be safe."

Carly couldn't quite bit back a yelp as the medic pressed against a particularly sore spot.

"Sorry," she said sheepishly, "I'll bet you three think I'm being a baby about all this."

"Actually, you've taken everything like a soldier so far," Roman smiled, "We're impressed."

The medic interrupted then, informing them that there had been no further damage to Carly's ribs, and she was clear to go when she felt up to it.

"Are we sure she shouldn't have her head looked at?" asked Dean after the medic walked away.

"I'll be fine," said Carly, "I have a remarkably thick skull."

"So, Carly," said Seth, "What made you change your mind?"

"I don't know what you mean," Carly lied unconvincingly.

"Come on," said Seth, "We all know that you were planning on going back to being Steph's doormat. What changed your mind?"

"Two things. First: at the risk of sounding sappy? You three," said Carly, sighing resignedly, "The amount of trust you place in each other, and how you always have each other's backs, and the way you help each other up and carry whoever isn't able to stand. When I saw you all tonight, I realized that I'd do anything for people like that. And that's incredibly pathetic, I know."

"Oh, c'mere you," said Seth, pulling her gently into a hug, "We knew you had a heart in there somewhere."

"I'd say I hate to say I told you so," Roman smirked at Seth, "But I'd be lying."

Roman hugged Carly as well. Dean, on the other hand, sat behind Carly on the table and wrapped his arms around her, leaning his head against her shoulder.

"I'm not letting go this time," he said, "You can't make me, Seth."

"No objections here," Seth laughed, "What was the second reason, Carly?"

"I figured something out," said Carly, "Stephanie may be vindictive and arrogant, but she isn't stupid. And above all else, she's greedy. She was never going to fire Seth, not when you three bring in so much money for the company. She was bluffing and I fell for it. I really am as much of an idiot as they say."

Carly hung her head dejectedly.

"You may be that, princess," said Dean, settling his head more securely against her, "But you're our idiot."

"Our crazy, brave little idiot," Roman grinned.

"And I wanted to thank you three for everything," said Carly, managing to smile, "Since this may be the last time I see you."

"What are you talking about?" said Roman, his brows furrowing.

"Well, Stephanie can't fire me," said Carly, "But she won't want me anywhere near you, so she'll probably bury me in a desk job somewhere so I can't cause trouble."

"Maybe you have another option," said Seth after a moment.

"What's that?" asked Carly.

"We can handle Triple H and anything else the Authority dishes out in the ring," said Seth thoughtfully, "But it might be helpful if we had someone, say a manager, who knows how the Authority thinks and how they handle business."

Carly stared at him in disbelief. This was more than she'd hoped for. They were giving her a chance to stay, a chance to help them and anyone else the Authority had it in for.

"Do you mean it?" she asked breathlessly.

"Fair warning – it could be dangerous," said Seth, tilting his head, "The Authority is going to be gunning for you after the stunt you pulled tonight."

"It'll be dangerous for you, too, won't it?" said Carly.

"Nothing we can't handle," Roman smiled, "Especially with a little help from you. What do you say, Carly?"

"Yes. Absolutely, yes! Thank you," Carly exclaimed.

"That's our girl," said Dean, "Down with the Authority. Long live Princess Carly."

Carly looked at the three of them and smiled.

"And long live the Hounds of Justice," she said.