After almost 6 hours Lana was finally finished with all three Shield members and she was absolutely horrified about the state they had been in. There were bruises all over their bodies, the muscles were tense and stiff and she was almost a hundred percent sure Dean had a cracked rip. She could only shake her head at Vince's and their own irresponsible behaviour. This business was all about perfect physical conditions and healthy talent and yet she had to see something like that. It was so hard to make it in this industry and no matter how harsh or weird those guys seemed, this was their dream and she had expected more sense of responsibility from each one of them.
She remembered clearly the moment Seth, her first patient for the day, had taken off his shirt and laid down on the makeshift massage couch.
Earlier that day
"I'm professional and I've learnt my job because I want to help people. On top of that, since I seem to be a part of your team now, you're kind of my responsibility. So, again. Who's first?"
„Well, if you don't mind, guys, I'd like to go first. I still need to buy a birthday gift for my mom as soon as we arrive in town." Seth said, much to the amusement of the other three.
"Alright then, let's get started. We wouldn't want to upset your mum because her baby boy had more important things to do than to go gift shopping, now would we?" Lana said, making Dean snicker. She looked over at him and he winked at her playfully, making her grin.
"Yeah, baby boy. What would your poor mum think?" Dean taunted.
"Shut up. I bet neither of you is any better as soon as mum's birthday is just around the corner." Seth tried to defend himself, while Dean's face turned sour. That was clearly the wrong thing to say and he simply flopped down on the couch and went back to watching TV.
"You go ahead. I'll try to get a bit more sleep." Roman said and smiled politely at Lana.
"Come on, ninja. Let's go." Lana said while walking past Seth, ruffling his two-toned hair.
"Yes, Ma'am!" He mockingly saluted her and followed her, earning a heart-warming laugh.
They went to the back of the RV where a big lounging area was located that had now been resituated to work as a temporary work place for Lana.
"So, Seth. Where does it hurt?" Lana asked while getting together everything she would need.
"Everywhere." Seth said, a very unmanly whine escaping him.
"Let me rephrase that. Where does it hurt most at the moment?" She asked frowning.
"My back and my left knee. I landed wrong when I did a flip over the ropes a few days ago. I think I twisted it. My back's just sore all the time, but it gets worse the longer it isn't treated."
"So, we're gonna start with your leg, then move up to your back and afterwards we're switching to a relaxing massage."
"You have no idea how good that sounds." Seth replied. He already had a feeling that "winning" her over would be a really good thing for all three of them. Their bodies were so ill-treated they would take every help they could get with this.
When Lana started with the exercises for his knee, Seth drew in a sharp breath and released it with a hiss.
"Damn, that hurts."
"That doesn't surprise me. Your muscles are really tense and there might even be some fluid that pools around the joint. I can't be absolutely sure because I don't have the technical resources I would need for the diagnosis in here, but the swelling without an actual bruise would suggest it. I won't do too much active exercise with it today as not to put further strain on it. I will instead stick to passive treatment for now. I will only do a manual lymphatic drainage to try and get rid of that swelling. Now lay down there, relax your leg and tell me if I hurt you."
Seth nodded mutely and laid down. He was definitely worried now. Fluids around the joint. That didn't sound good. He swallowed and closed his eyes, ready for the pain he was sure would come as soon as she touched him. Surprisingly, there was no pain when he first felt her small hands on his knee and calve. There was a light pressure that increased with time. It was unpleasant at times, but never painful. When Lana was finished with his leg, she had instructed Seth to try and move his leg.
He smiled widely at her.
"That feels so much better than before. The pressure has really lessened a lot. That's awesome. Thank you so much."
And that was exactly what made Lana love her job so much. The look of pure bliss and contentment on the face of a patient after being treated by her. She smiled back at him, patting him softly on the shoulder.
"Alright. Now to your back. Please take your shirt off and lay on your stomach, arms by your side."
She had turned around to write something into the file she had prepared. She would write down every treatment that had taken pace, the effect it had on the patient and how the therapy should continue.
When she turned back around to work on Seth's back she was sure that all the colour was immediately gone from her face.
When Seth turned his head to look at her he noticed how pale she looked. Her mouth was slightly opened and her eyes were wide in horror.
"Are you alright?" he asked her.
"Am I alright? Are you really asking me that? I should be the one asking you that question! I mean look at your back. What the hell is that? It must be hell to even move your arms, not to mention stretch your back." She said, almost going into hysterics. She had never seen anything like that. Seth's back was different shades of any colour you could think of. Yellow, green, purple, blue and even black. She went over to him and slowly touched one of the darker bruises, making Seth cringe.
"Sorry." She mumbled, shaking her head.
"You didn't do anything wrong. It's just been a while since I've last been to the trainers."
"How long exactly is 'a while' for you?"
"Almost 2 months…" He mumbled his response and laid his head back down.
"I don't know what to say… I'm shocked, really. Was that all Vince's doing?"
Lana was furious. She was about ready to kill the chairman. How could one be so cruel towards a human being? She couldn't understand it.
Seth nodded his head. "He said, since Dean and I are from the Indies, we should be used to worse."
'Alright Lana, calm down. It's not his fault.' She thought. But somebody was gonna pay for that later. For the boy's sake she tried to shake her anger off and concentrated on his treatment. She first put a hot stupe onto his back, hoping to relax his muscles a bit with the scarce equipment she had. That seriously had to change.
Afterwards she tried to work his back a little with a light massage, but wasn't really satisfied with that. Seth had reassured her that he already felt better, but she wasn't happy. She couldn't properly work his back as long as those bruises were still there.
When she had finished Seth's treatment for the day she sent him off with the request to not buy his mom a gift that weighed a hundred pounds or more. He just smiled to that and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek in thanks.
Dean came in shortly after and just when Lana thought she'd seen it all, she got even more to seethe about. Dean himself was a sight to behold. Undressed to his shorts, he could've been mistaken as a soldier. He had so many scars. And just as much bruises as Seth, if not more. He was so reckless and it showed on his body.
He was easier to tread than Seth though. He didn't show any pain at all which silenced her guilty conscience whenever she thought she'd been too hard on him.
Surprisingly he talked to her. A lot. She hadn't expected that, but to her it almost seemed as if he was deprived of social interaction. He didn't seem overly extroverted, but always talking to the same two guys for months must've been extremely monotonous. She got the impression that he was a little goof, always joking and making her laugh. Little did she know that he enjoyed hearing her laugh so freely. It lifted his own spirits.
He too, thanked her and left, feeling and even looking a bit refreshed.
Lana could honestly say that Roman had been her most difficult patient. Not because he had any serious injuries, just because he was being difficult. He made it hard for Lana to concentrate. He only had minor problems with his shoulders and just like the other two, tense muscles.
Roman walked in shortly after Dean had left.
"Hi kitten. Where do you want me?" He asked, standing so close behind her that she could feel the heat radiating off of him.
"Where does it hurt most?" She asked without turning around.
"The right shoulder. I think you should have a look at my whole body though." He smirked.
'Urgh. Why does he have to be like that?' Lana thought. She was only doing this whole thing, because right now it was her only option. She was contractually bound to them for now. 'I shouldn't be affected by that in any way. I'm a professional. I'm here to do my job, not to flirt with gorgeous Samoans… If he thinks he can unsettle me, he'd better think again. Two can play that game…'
"Alright, big man." She started while turning around coming directly face to chest with him. "Shirt off and up on the comfy looking couch." She smirked when he looked surprised.
Throughout his whole treatment they were bickering. He would 'accidentally' touch her and she would 'accidentally' twist his shoulder just a little too far. Making him hiss or whine.
When they were finished she wrote everything in her file and thought about the further treatment, while he put his clothes back on.
He looked over her shoulder, curious about what she was doing.
"You can be quite enjoyable when I'm almost naked. That was fun, wasn't it?" He asked her with laughter in his voice.
"You think so? Maybe I was too soft on you. I'll go harder next time." She promised, smirking right back at him. "Apart from that I think it was rather short. Maybe you should put some work in your stamina. With your shoulder I mean. You should train your arm and hand more while you're alone." She said, hardly containing herself not to laugh.
He leaned in and said right next to her ear: "Remember what I told you I'd do with bad girls? Watch out or I'll have to punish you. Maybe put that sharp tongue to better use." He husked out before leaving her blushing, breathing heavily.
That sure as hell had been an interesting first day "at work". She was blushing again just thinking about the handsome Samoan and the way his muscles had flexed and his tattoo moved while she worked on his shoulder. His skin was so soft and flawless. It was clear that he hadn't had to walk the rocky path his brothers had to walk to get to the top.
Lana shook her head harshly, hoping to get rid of those thoughts. She had more important things to take care of now.
She called Randy to hear about his condition and to update him on hers. He couldn't believe that they were actually treating her well. What did he expect? That they treated her like an animal? Hardly. Admittedly she hadn't expected them to be like this to her. Civilly. Friendly even. But that was currently the only positive thing about this situation.
When she ended the call, she knew she had a much bigger challenge ahead. Without thinking about it too much she dialled a number she knew all too well from the many calls he'd given her.
After a few rings the call was finally answered. 'No backing out now.'
"Vince McMahon."
'Here goes nothing,'
"Hi Vince, this is Lana. I think we need to talk."
