Your Highness


The members of the Shield stood together backstage the next night on Raw. The mood being one of excited cheer as each of them was still riding the high of their respective title wins.

"Hey, guys." Said Seth, breaking up their laughter and conversation. "We've done a lot to get to where we are at. I think everyone in the WWE now knows that the Shield is here to stay." The tag team champion said proudly, holding up his brass-colored belt to solidify his statement.

"That's right, man. You know what we should do? We need to celebrate." Said the new United States Champion, Dean Ambrose. "We're in Sin City, baby. Vegas. Let's go out and enjoy ourselves, eh? Maybe get some drinks?"

"Dude. You know I don't drink." Seth said plainly. He must have this conversation with him once a week, at the least. Either Dean's memory was terrible or he just didn't give a damn. Seth had a suspected it was the latter.

Quinn shrugged her shoulders and looked towards Dean. "Yeah, I don't drink either."

Dean snorted at them both. "Oh that's right. I forgot you two are health nuts. Seriously, is one beer gonna mess up your Crossfit regimen that much?"

Seth and Quinn, both being into Crossfit, narrowed their eyes at him.

"Yeah, it will. I apologize for not treating my body like a trash compactor like you do, Dean." Seth spat sarcasm at his partner. Dean appeared to be getting ready to fire back with some words of his own but Roman stepped in before the situation got any more heated, as it usually did.

"Alright guys, take it easy." He said calmly, putting a hand on Dean's shoulder. Dean retracted his original unsaid statement, consisting of mostly four-letter words and instead said "Okay. Suit yourself. But I heard about this awesome costume party happening right up the street from here at midnight, and I'll be damned if I miss that. I already got my costume picked out. I've been told I'd make a helluva' Joker. Seth, If you wanna come, the invitation is still open."

"Costume party? Halloween was a month ago." Quinn spoke up, a puzzled look on her face.

"Sweetheart, this is Vegas. Costumes are in 375 days a year 'round here." Dean said, grinning down at her.

Quinn pondered the idea for a moment before saying, "Huh. Hey, what the hell. Tomorrow's a rest day for me anyway. A costume party sounds kinda fun. You in, Roman?" She asked the large Samoan.

"Costume parties aren't really my thing..." He said bluntly, hooking his thumbs in his belt loops.

"Aw, c'mon. We can get you a lei, maybe a grass skirt? You'll look great." Dean teased him.

"That's really funny." Roman said, obviously showing no amusement with Dean's attempt at a joke.

"As riveting a conversation this is..." Seth spoke up suddenly, breaking his silence. "If you don't mind, Roman and I have a match coming up. C'mon." He said, motioning for Roman to join him, which the other man did. Seth stopped suddenly however and turned back to Dean.

"Can I make a suggestion?"

Dean nodded but remained silent, something he didn't do often. Quinn looked on wordlessly as well.

"You're gonna be Joker right?" He asked, his question aimed at Dean.

"Yeah, so?"

Seth smirked then directed his attention to Quinn before continuing.

"Then you should be his Harleyquinn." This time he spoke to Quinn, who was obviously a bit entertained at the idea.

"I think you guys are perfect for it. Definitely would be a 'Best Costume' nominee." And with that, he turned on his heel and left, following Roman. Quinn folded her arms over her the Diva's championship that lay draped over her shoulder, a sly grin on her face. Dean looked at her questioningly.

"I kinda like the idea..." Said Quinn, taking amusement from the look on Dean's face.

"Oh no. No, no, no. You ain't stealing my thunder, lady. Get your own ideas."

Quinn rolled her eyes at him.

"We can fight about this later, but we have a match soon. I'm gonna go get ready." She began to go but stopped next to him. She ran a single finger along the line of his jaw. She smiled devilishly at him before saying, in her best Harleyquinn impression, "I'll see ya' later, puddin'." She trotted away happily after giving him a wink, leaving Dean uncharacteristically silent and feeling an array of mixed emotions.


Roman and Seth won their rematch with Luke Harper and Erick Rowan, but it didn't come easily. At one point in the match, Roman sustained a nasty cut above his eye that required stitches and Seth was slammed into an exposed turnbuckle, resulting in a heavily bruised back. Needless to say, the Tag Team champions were getting ready to spend the rest of the night with the doctors backstage.

Quinn and Dean's performance last week had received such good feedback that they were paired again in a mixed-tag match against the opponents they faced last time, Lilith White and her boyfriend Dimitri. Since their first match, Lilith had been itching to get back in the ring with Quinn. The nerve of that girl, attacking her boyfriend and kissing him like that. It didn't help that Dimitri seemed to enjoy the whole ordeal. Tensions were tight between the usually happy couple as of late. And this was an obvious weakness that Quinn and Dean planned to capitalize on. They may have got along like oil and water in their personal lives, but in the ring, the two of them just clicked.

The match started quickly, Lilith doing little to hide her anger and attacking Quinn right away with a flurry of punches and sharp elbows. They went toe-to-toe for a while. Dimitri had his hand out for the tag but Lilith ignored it. She wanted this opportunity. She had to show this girl that her man was off limits. Quinn couldn't help but find this funny. Sure, Dimitri was a fine piece of tail but the whole stunt was really just done to get Dean flustered, which it most certainly did. He didn't talk to her that night when the four of them got dinner, nor on the ride back to the hotel they were staying at. His severe bout of 'cold shoulder' finally ceased the next morning when he asked her, completely out of the blue, if she wanted to go to Waffle House. She swore this man had a split-personality.

Suddenly, the match was interrupted when Erick Rowan came down to the ring. He stood at the end of the ramp, his mask hiding any hint of expression as he looked on. She may not have been able to see his eyes but Quinn could feel them on her. And it gave her the creeps. What was it with this dude? He remained at ringside, totally unmoving. Quinn, who currently had the upper hand in the bout, looked on at Rowan. Dean did as well, ready to pounce on the big man the second he got near his partner. The pause was enough distraction for Lilith to grab Quinn from behind and suplex her. Quinn fought for breath against the pain in her back and head. Lilith wasted no time in putting her in a sleeper hold, her strong legs also wrapped around Quinn's waist and squeezing roughly. Out of the corner of her eye, Quinn saw Rowan rushing at Dean, grabbing his leg and pulling him down onto the ground where he proceeded to attack him with angry stomps. Her partner was in trouble, she had to get to him and help somehow. The bell had rang when Rowan attacked Dean, resulting in a disqualification, but Lilith kept a strong vise-like grip on Quinn. She struggled for air and grabbed at Lilith, trying to get a hold of the other woman's long locks of hair. But the effort was in vain, she just couldn't reach. The edges of her vision were going dark as the blood supply to her brain was being cut off. She could faintly hear the referee yelling at her opponent to break the hold. A request she was obviously ignoring.

She also saw Erick Rowan throw Dean against the steel stairs. Her vision was going blurry but the pain on his face was evident. She couldn't watch this anymore. Fighting against unconsciousness, Quinn reached up again, desperately snatching at Lilith's hair and face. Finally, she caught a handful and pulled harshly. Quinn was by no means a weakling but Lilith was a beast of a woman. The only way to break from this hold was to fight dirty. With her other hand, Quinn dug at Lilith's eyes. The other woman quickly loosened her grip and brought her hands up instinctively to protect her face. Quinn seized the opportunity and elbowed her opponent in the side. She fell back and Quinn jumped on her and started clawing. All her in-ring finesse was thrown out the window. This was a street fight now. Eventually her attack ceased and Quinn pushed away, getting clumsily to her feet, still lightheaded from the sleeper hold. Dimitri quickly dragged his lover away and up the ramp, leaving Quinn alone to deal with Rowan, who she suddenly felt behind her. She turned quickly to see the man towering over her. His mask was gone and she found herself looking him right in his eyes. Her legs felt even more weak than before. She spared a quick glance to ringside and saw no sign of Dean. He must've been knocked out on the ground.

Rowan proceeded closer to her, driving her into a corner of the ring and left with nowhere to go. He had his hands on either side of her, gripping the ropes and caging her completely. He was close enough to almost touch her. The small hairs on the back of her neck stood in fear. And she hated it. She didn't want him knowing she was afraid but there was no way that she could hide it. She closed her eyes and waited for whatever he planned to do. After a few moments she felt his presence fade. She reluctantly opened her eyes again and was taken aback by what she saw. The huge man kneeled before her, much as a knight would do to his king. Or queen, as it were. Even his head was bowed.

What the hell?

She stared at the man before her for a while, unable to process what she was seeing. What in the world was he doing bowing to her? What did he want? Before she had any chance of getting answers, Dean suddenly appeared. He rushed at Rowan, attacking him with several punches before sending him flying out of the ring. Rowan stumbled to his feet and quickly began backing up the ramp. His eyes remained locked on Quinn as he made his ascent. Dean stood on the ropes and yelled obscenities at him while Quinn stood in the corner, unmoving. Eventually, Dean joined her.

"Are you okay?" He asked, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and pulling her close.

"Y-yeah. I'm fine. He didn't hurt me."

"Wish I could say the same. Thanks to him I got a knot on my head the size of a baseball."

Quinn looked up at his face and sure enough saw quite the impressive lump. Although, it's size was more that of a golf ball, but she wasn't in the mood to argue with him. She was downright confused at the moment. This was all just too weird to comprehend.


To be continued...