ANEESA

The second Roman hit the floor, I immediately went into panic mode. I flung the locker room open, nearly hitting Seth and Dean in the face, causing them to back away fairly quickly.

"Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry about that, guys. But, I'm so glad you're here, to be honest." I said, grabbing their arms and pulling them into the locker room.

I made sure no one was watching before slamming the door shut behind us and I let go of their arms.

"Aneesa, what's going on? You seem a little flustered…OH SHIT! Roman, buddy, you alright?" Dean started to ask, but stopped when he noticed Roman lying on the ground and ran to his side.

"Um…" I was at a loss for words.

"Aneesa, what happened to Roman?" Seth asked me as he and Jon tried to wake him up.

I knew that I couldn't tell them the truth, so I fibbed. Not exactly fibbed; just left out some vital information.

"We were just talking and the next thing I knew, he passed out!" I quickly replied.

"We need to get Doc Sampson in here to make sure that he didn't get concussed. Seth, you mind staying here with Aneesa while I go get him?" Dean asked.

Seth nodded as Dean stood up and left the locker room. For the next minute or so, Seth slapped Roman's face, trying to get him to open his eyes. I, on the other hand, was pacing back and forth, wringing my hands and trying to keep calm. Suddenly, I heard footsteps in the hallway and looked up to see Dean re-entering the room, along with Doc Sampson and one of his assistants.

"Now, what seems to be the problem here?" Doc Sampson said as he knelt down next to Roman, all the while looking at me.

"Like I told Dean and Seth, we were having a conversation and all of a sudden, Roman passed out!" I explained.

There was a loud groan and everyone looked to see Roman opening his eyes and trying to sit up, which raised cause for concern.

"Whoa whoa whoa there, Roman. We can't have you sit up just yet. We need to examine you first!" Doc Sampson cried out, his hands preventing Roman from moving any further.

"Ugh…I feel like I just got KOed by Big Show!" Roman groaned, holding his head in one hand.

"Oh, thank God! I'm so sorry, baby. This is all my fault!" I cried, kneeling down next to Doc Sampson.

"'Neesa, could we talk about it later, when I'm feeling better?" Roman asked me, taking my hand into his and giving it a reassuring squeeze.

"Of course. I'm just gonna go take a walk. Seth, let me know how he's doing, okay?" I said, giving Roman's hand a kiss before standing up and walking out of the locker room.

Seth nodded before taking my place next to Roman. I made my way to the women's locker room, which was empty except for AJ and Aksana, who were talking to Naomi and Cameron. When they saw me enter, AJ ran up to me and gave me a gigantic hug, which I half-heartedly returned. She and the other girls could tell that something was up from the look in my eyes.

"Aneesa? You okay, girl?" Naomi asked me.

I shook my head, trying to fight back the tears that were threatening to form.

"What happened? Did your talk with Roman not go the way you wanted?" Cameron asked.

At the mention of his name, I burst into tears and sank to the floor, causing the girls to rush over to me and comfort me.

"It was going okay until he started getting mad and we took our conversation elsewhere to avoid being stared at. And things just went downhill from there! And…and…"

I couldn't finish my sentence due to my uncontrollable sobbing. Aksana stood up and grabbed a tissue box from the bathroom before setting it down next to me. For the next few minutes, I just sat there and bawled my eyes out. As the tears tumbled down my face, a thought entered my head: you need to tell people the truth. They need to know. You know this and yet you're too afraid of what people might think. You have lived your whole life not caring what people thought of you. It's time to let the world know exactly who you are.

The girls were stunned when I pushed the tissue box away.

"Aneesa, are you okay now?" AJ asked me with concern.

"I'm fine, AJ. Never been better, actually. I need to tell you girls something. Actually, I need to tell everyone something. But I need to know right now if I will still have your friendship and trust regardless of what I have to say."

I couldn't help but notice the look of fear that was etched on the girls' faces. I had been lying to my friends long enough. It was now or never.

Finally, Aksana nodded, followed by AJ. Both Cameron and Naomi were a little tentative, but they too nodded their heads. Just then, there was a knock on the door. We looked up to see Seth standing in the doorway.

"Um, I hate to break up ladies aid, but could I borrow Aneesa for a second?" he asked.

I nodded before standing up and making my way over to him.

"So, how is he?" I asked him in a hushed voice.

"He's fine. There's no concussion, but as a precaution, Doc Sampson has told him not to compete tonight. He sent him back to the hotel for the night." He reassured me.

I breathed a sigh of relief. He was okay…he was going to be alright.

"Which brings me to the next item…he needs to be supervised for the next 24 hours, so creative is changing the 6 Diva tag match tonight. Instead, it will be the Funkadactyls vs Aksana and AJ with Tamina at ringside. Dean and I would supervise him, but punishment needs to be doled out, regardless of whether all three members of 'The Shield' are in the building or if there are only two." He explained, handing me a key card.

"What's this?" I asked, taking it from him.

"The key card for you and Roman's room. Instead of bunking with Roman, I'm rooming with Dean so you can take care of him." He said with a genuine smile.

I gave him a hug before turning to the girls.

"Guess I'm not needed tonight after all." I told them.

"But, what about our match tonight?" AJ asked, confused.

"Well, Seth just informed me that it will be you and Aksana taking on the Funkadactyls. Tamina will just be at ringside instead of tagging with you. Doc Sampson needs me to stay with Roman in case his head gets worse." I explained.

"What happened to his head?" Naomi asked, utter confusion etched in her voice and on her face.

"He just bumped it really hard on something. They just want to make sure that it's not going to turn into a concussion or something." I lied.

"Okay, then. See you later, girl!" Cameron bid me farewell.

The other girls said their goodbyes as I grabbed my things before heading out.

"Here's the address for the hotel and Roman's bags. If it weren't for the fact that he's not able to lift anything heavy, he would've taken them with." Seth said, handing me a slip of paper.

"Thanks, Seth, for everything. Good luck in your match tonight! Win it for Roman, okay?" I said before heading down the hallway with both sets of luggage in hand.

"We will! Take care of our big brute, Aneesa. We need him!" he shouted at my back.

SETH

As soon as Aneesa was out of sight, the girls came up to the doorway and stood next to me.

"There's something fishy going on." AJ said.

"You said it, girl. But, no matter what happens, just remember that we promised Aneesa that we would have her back." Cameron said.

"I just wanna know what she has to tell us!" Aksana said.

"Well, let's not stand here dwelling about it…we've got a show to do!" I exclaimed.

I bid the girls goodbye before heading back to The Shield's locker room. When I got back, Dean was already lacing his boots. I quickly got dressed in my tactical gear, socks and boots before pulling my gloves on.

"You ready to serve some justice?" he asked me, pumping me up.

"I'm ready!" I shouted back.

"Who are they gonna believe in?!"

"The Shield!"

"Hell yeah! Let's get out there and win this one for Roman!" he said, slapping me on the back.