The laughter sounded throughout the trainer's room was a nice change from the usual grunts and groans of pain. It was nice to hear someone's happiness re-sound the cold arena and Nora was definitely happy these days. Two weeks has passed since Dean and Nora's kiss and while they hadn't kissed again during those two weeks, they were spending a lot more time with each other in and outside of arenas and shows. It wasn't anything official; it was just two people getting to know one another. Dean hadn't asked her out on a date or anything of the sorts, after what happened last time he was still a bit wary and he knew that the slow road was the one to take with Nora. He didn't want to scare her off when they were getting along so well, and he didn't particularly like being rejected, not by anyone but especially not by Nora.

Most of the time he usually came to her, it was very rare to see Nora approach him, especially in the arenas or at shows. She left him to do his own thing and when he was ready, he would go to the trainer's room and find her either patching someone up or watching the show. He liked that no matter what she was doing or who was in the room with her, her face would light up into a beaming smile whenever he walked through the door. Her smile was so contagious that he couldn't help but smile back at her, even showing off his famous dimples. It was like that smile was only reserved for him and his eyes only. He hated when some of the other Superstars were in the room when he came around because he knew they could all see the underlining attraction and chemistry between the two of them and he hated seeing those stupid knowing smirks and eye gleams. He hated people being involved in his business.

This was why he found himself sitting in the trainer's room with Nora, Doctor Sampson, Sheamus and Bad News Barrett. The big brute was here for the third time in a week, every time Dean was in the trainer's room so was Sheamus. The big Irish man might as well have taken up residency with the two medics, he was like a permanent fixture in the trainer's room, and if he wasn't in catering he was in the trainer's room. It was a good thing Dean liked the two bigger men or else he would be visiting less and just wait for Nora at the end of the show. He found that the two international stars were some of the small friends Nora had made here, while he thought she only had a small group of friends, it turns out she was quite popular with the internationals. While Lisa and Nora were close, the two brawlers came at a close second in Nora's friend list, but the number one spot always belonged to Punk.

Dean resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the mention of the older man. What a pain in the ass Dean thought as he watched Nora bandage up Sheamus's knuckles and listened to the English man beside her crack dry jokes that made Nora smile and giggle. He smiled when he noticed Nora's beautiful smile widen and his thoughts of Punk vanished briefly. He glanced over at Doctor Sampson who was sitting peacefully in the corner of the room with a blissful smile on his withered old face, as he looked on at the small group in front of him, laughing away. There had been a couple of run in's with Punk over the past two weeks, once or twice when Dean had stopped by Punk was in the trainer's room already. He never backed down from the older man's heated glare or his snide comments; he just played ill and feigned an injury so that he could still talk to Nora.

Despite the thick tension whenever he and Punk were in the same room, Nora still managed to break the ice and smile his way. It never took long after that for Punk to leave the room, not without throwing his two cents at Dean before leaving. Whenever he did do that Nora just smiled weakly at the both of them, she knew the two men would never get along. No matter how close she was getting to Dean, they would never see eye to eye.

On to Nora's other, much nicer, friends Lisa and Lily. While he wasn't particularly fond of Lily, seeing as he was on her list of bed partner's he tended to stay away from her, if not for his sake then for Nora's. He didn't want Nora to find out that he had slept with one of her friends, no matter how much the girl got around, he didn't want to see the disgust that would line her eyes should she find out that he slept with her friend. It wasn't like they were together or anything, but they had made so much progress from him standing around watching her almost six months ago to them being friends now. Six months ago he didn't think he'd ever be sitting in the same room as her, laughing along beside her, but here he was all his dreams come true. The girl he had been infatuated about for months was now slowly becoming infatuated with him, he hoped.

He liked Lisa though, she was a…. interesting character. Quite the opposite of her sister in most ways besides their shared looks, Lisa was nice to speak to and was so down to earth she was falling through the mud. What he liked was that she was a normal human being, she's wasn't stuck up or ignorant to anyone, in most ways she was a lot like Nora in personality the only exception being that she wasn't shy or quite like Nora, guess she shared something else with her twin after all. What he liked most of all about her was the fact she hated Punk too. He knew there was a reason why they got along so well. Lisa was a right spite fire when it came to Punk; she was all insults and slander, not a single good word to say about the guy at all. It seemed Nora was the only person in her small group of friends that actually liked Punk. Not that it mattered to Punk, he had more than enough friends around the roster, and Nora was just a small blimp on Punk's friend list.

He smiled and nodded at all the right times to the four people in the room with him to make it seem like he was actually paying attention to their conversation when in actuality he was lost in his own thoughts of the past two weeks and Nora. Of course, he was thinking about Nora. He was constantly thinking about Nora. No matter what he was doing or who he was with she invaded his thoughts all the time, like an inflammation he just couldn't shake off. She truly did inflame his body, thoughts and emotions. And tonight he was going to ask her out.

He was a jumble of nerves and fretfulness. He was hoping more than anything that she didn't reject him again, but it looked like his chances were pretty strong lately, considering that she was not only spending more time with him but they had also taking to leaving the Arena's together if it wasn't too cold or the hotel wasn't as far away. It was kind of their thing now. He had no idea what she told Punk at the end of shows but he didn't seem all that bothered about not having Nora as a passenger anymore.

He was so lost in thought and nerves he didn't notice the three men leave the room. It was only him and Nora left now. It wasn't until Nora waved her hand in front of his face that he broke out of his thought induce trance. "Heeeellooooo, you in there?" Nora chuckled at the startled look in his blue eyes.

"Huh? Did you say something?" Dean was clueless about what had just happened.

"Never mind. Penny for your thoughts?" Nora curiously as Dean's bewildered look slowly faded away. Her pervious question forgetting as she looked towards Dean's blue eyes.

"Uh no. They're not that interesting." Dean could feel his cheeks start to warm at the thought of his thoughts.

"Are you sure? You seemed pretty invested in them."

"I'm sure." Dean smiled to reassure Nora as she shot him a funny look, not fully accepting his answer.

"Actually, I'm not sure." Dean spoke suddenly, making Nora turn on her spot by the top of the black table. When he didn't elaborate anymore, she shot him another funny look as she went back to putting away some supplies. "I was thinking about a date. Tonight. You and me."

Nora's hands stilled from her organising task as she slowly turned to face Dean. "A date?"

"A date." Dean confirmed. His palms were starting to sweat and he was trying his best to refrain from rubbing his shoulder out of nervousness.

"Tonight?"

"Tonight." Dean confirmed again, he was growing restless now.

"You and me?"

"Yes, Nora. You and I." What was with all the questions? Hadn't he spelt it out for her already?

"Alone?" Nora questioned again. She wanted to be sure she heard him correctly. A date? Her on a date with Dean Ambrose? She could feel her insides bubbling up with desire and excitement.

"Well, if you prefer I can invite half the roster along." Dean joked as he could see a smile light up her face; he was taking this as a good sign.

"No."

"No?" Dean's heart lurched alongside his stomach. She did not just reject him twice, did she? What a fool he felt. He should have waited, waited that bit longer and he wouldn't be facing humiliation for a second time. This was just great now he was back at square one with Nora, he'd neve-

"I meant no as in I don't want you to invite the entire roster along with you." Dean's rambling thoughts of rejection shut off as he tried to make sense of what Nora was saying to him. Was that a yes or…?

"So….? That's a….."

"It's a yes." Nora smiled as she saw Dean's eyes light up. She was pretty sure her own were shining alongside his. "I'd love to go out with you, as long as you promise me a walk around the boardwalk." They were in the beautiful city of San Francisco and she loved walking along the boardwalk, especially at night time. It was one of her favourite places to visit.

"Anything you want darlin'." Dean smiled as he stood up and moved closer to the door. "I need to go, I have a promo with the guys, but I'll be back to pick you up after the show, k?"

"Okay." Nora laughed at the beaming smile on his face and his rushed words as he practically danced out of the room.

Nora bit her lip as she tried to repress a childish squeal from escaping her lips. She was going on a date with Dean Ambrose! She could barely contain her excitement as she did a little jiggle around the trainer's room. She was incredibly happy, almost to the point of screaming out her joys. After almost two months of skating around each other and avoiding each other glances, they had finally made some big progress, although it had been in two short weeks, the progress they made was huge and they were taking a giant step.

Shit after this date things would change drastically between them. They'd no longer be able to say they were friends if things went right but if things went wrong they still wouldn't be able to call themselves friends and they'd probably never talk to each other again. They'd go their separate ways and she'd go back to her much quieter and predictable life. She didn't want that. Dean spiced things up for her, made her say and do things she wouldn't normally say to anyone outside of her friend circle but somehow he managed to worm his way into her head and he was slowly making his way to her heart. It didn't help that he get along with most of her friends too and they aren't even dating… yet.

The only except being Punk, but then again she wasn't really on good speaking terms with Punk as of late. He knew something was brewing between Dean and her and he had started to pull away from her, with her doing the same to him. They hadn't spent any time together in the last two weeks, not even their usual Friday nights, the first Friday she had skipped in favour of drinks with Lisa and then she had later met up with Dean to get ice-cream. The second Friday he skipped and gave her no excuse as to why he couldn't make it, he just called her and said he wasn't going to be able to make it, which was fine with her because Dean had texted her a couple of minutes after asking if she would like to go for a walk in the local park that was nearby the hotel they were staying at. It hadn't occurred to her that she was basically abandoning her friend for a man she hardly knew, but Punk had been acting strange lately, not just with her but with other Superstars and even Aj.

Aj had come to her during the week asking if she knew what was up with Punk, but not even Nora could help her out because Nora hadn't talked to him in two weeks. She felt bad for the smaller woman. She knew how much of a pain Punk could be when things didn't go his way, he was a very moody and complex character and she wished Aj all the best in trying to understand the older man. It was no easy fret. Nora was actually quite annoyed by Punk's temper tantrum, what did he want her to do? Remain alone and friendless just so he could be happy that he was the only person important in her life? The more she thought about the older man's antics the angry she got. How dare him! She was a grownup who could decide her own friends and who she wanted to go out with. Screw him if he got mad over her decisions, it was her life not his. She never got mad at him when he made stupid decisions or when he dropped her to be with Aj or any of his other friends. Nora huffed as she thought about her supposed best friend, some friend she thought angrily. She wasn't going to let him ruin her happy mood; she would deal with Punk and his moodiness tomorrow after her date with Dean.

Just the thought of the lunatic fringe brought a smile to her face; he wasn't such a lunatic around her. Sure, he was a little crazy but she found it charming and funny, he never failed to make her smile. He was so good at making her laugh and smile; she found her cheeks in pain from the constant smiling and laughing when he was around. Even when he wasn't around she still smiled when she thought about him, he brought out such a good side of her, a side she never knew she had. A happier, more content side that she really liked.

She wondered where Dean was going to take her, they never went out to dinner or anything of the sorts, except that one time they went to get ice-cream but that hardly counted as a meal and even though they had been on countless walks over the past couple of weeks, they weren't dates. Not like tonight, this actually was a date. An official date. As the thought came to her the happiness she felt moments ago drifted away and was replaced by intense nervousness. This would be her first date in almost a year, her first date since she had started working for the WWE and she was beginning to freak out. She had never in a million years thought she would be going on a date with a wrestler, let alone one as good looking and handsome as Dean. What if she said something wrong? What if she did something so wasn't supposed to? Everyone knew about the reputations wrestlers had about being quick to temper and their activities with drugs, what if she said something that triggered Dean's anger?

As she closed her medical bag and left it at the side of the room for Doctor Sampson to take with him she thought about how crazy her thoughts were. Dean had never gotten angry with her out of the past two weeks they had spent together, so why would he now? She was just overreacting and it wasn't like Dean followed every wrestler in the business and she was sure that he wasn't on drugs, the WWE made sure of that. She had no idea why she was overreacting, maybe it was because the closer she got to the end of the show the more her nerves came to light and she was beginning to fret about every little thing. She should be used to Dean at this stage but she was use to their light-hearted conversations and their casual friendship, but this was a date. This was a changing point in their relationship, they would no longer be friends after this, they would be dating. And that thought provoked a sense of excitement and dread. Dread because she knew what others would think of them and excitement because she was going out with Dean, the man of her dreams so to speak.

"Well, hey there, darlin'." Speak of the devil, Dean rounded the corner a smirk on his face.

"Hi." Nora said with a shy smile as she glanced over at Dean's casual outfit. She was glad he had gotten all dressed up for this date, because she was still in her work clothes without the trainers shirt. Plain t-shirt, jeans and her boots and very little make-up. She didn't exactly look the part of going out but neither did Dean.

"You look nice." Dean tried to compliment her as they began walking out of the arena.

"I look the same as I did an hour ago." Nora chuckled at the slight tint to Dean's normally tan cheeks.

"Well I'm just trying to play the whole date thing up." At Nora's raised eyebrow and the amused look on her face, they both chuckled and almost instantly the tension disappeared.

"You know this doesn't have to be any different than our usual walks." Dean spoke up after a few beats of silence.

"So we're just going for a walk? Gosh, Dean if I didn't know any better I'd say you were trying to impress me." Nora replied sarcastically, chuckling as Dean rolled his eyes in good nature.

"Course not. We can grab something to eat if you like."

"I could eat." Nora smiled as Dean lead them down an unknown street. While she loved San Francisco she never had much time to explore her favourite city before she was leaving again.

There was a street lined with small boutiques and a few restaurants, the street was mingling with people, families on their way home, friends catching up, couples on dates. She wondered which if they were on their first date as well, or if this was a regular occurrence a weekly thing for those couples, like it kind of was for her and Dean.

Dean took her into a small quite restaurant that was dimly lit with small tea lights on every table. She smiled as they were lead to a table with a really friendly waitress that wasn't shooting them funny looks like she thought. It was a nice easy going, dinner with light chit chat between her and Dean. There wasn't much left for them to find out about each other, besides the big stuff that was still too soon to talk about. Nora wasn't ready to tell him about her sick mother or why her back and neck gave her trouble sometimes, he just wasn't ready to hear that kind of stuff about her and she was nowhere near ready to re-live that story. She also didn't whole-heartily trust dean. It wasn't because he had ever given her reason to make her doubt him or his intentions, it was her own insecurities and doubts that made her not trust easily. It was hard for her to open up to many people but she found it particularly difficult to open up to men, especially men that showed an interest. She didn't want to give too much too soon.

She was sure dean had his own secrets that he'd like to keep to himself. She knew that he didn't have the easiest childhood, so he was bound to have some dark secrets in his closet that he'd like to keep quiet and she wasn't going to push him, just like he wasn't pushing her. They had a smooth thing going now, a delicate thing that could shatter at the mention of something too dark or heavy. When the time was right and when she was sure she was 100% confident in her feelings and in Dean she would reveal all, but until she would enjoy the beginning of their friendship/relationship. And it was easy to enjoy

After they had finished dinner, Dean like he had promised lead her on a walk down the boardwalk, their hands joined and their fingers intertwined. She wasn't sure when this happened but she was sure it was sometime around the time they had left the restaurant. They had been walking around a group of college students, of course they were all men and they were all loud and rowdy. She had averted her gaze; more happy to watch a family of four than the rowdy college boys, but Dean had been looking at them and he had seen the looks they were shooting their way. Feeling protective Dean laced their hands together and smirked at the cold looks he got in return. Nora had no idea of her beauty.

They strolled quietly down the boardwalk; they were at that stage where they no longer had to fill the silence. It was comfortable for them to be quiet with each other, they didn't have to fill the silence anymore and they knew mostly all there is to know about one another. They only thing left to do was establish their relationship status; and what better way to do it than seal it with a kiss.

Dean stopped suddenly which in turn made Nora come to a stop when she noticed a tugging on her hand. She turned slowly to face him, only to be brought back into his chest. Nora's heart began to race as she craned her head back to look up into Dean's blue eyes. She forgot what it was like to be so close to him, to smell his nature smell, to feel his chest rise and fall with each breath he took, to feel the dull beat of his heart as it pumped to keep him alive and well. She closed her eyes as she took in all the over-whelming feelings that came along with Dean and being so close to him again. He was a man of very few words tonight, but he didn't need to say anything for her to know what was happening and the message behind it. His lips brushed against hers in a soft invitation at first, after she had accept she felt his lips press firmly against her own, begging for entrance. Slowly she opened her mouth and their tongues met softly at first but then they began a battle for dominance. She could feel one of his hands grip her waist as their kiss deepen the other hand was cupping her cheek as his thumb brushed against cheek softly, every now and again. Her hands were twisted in his soft curls as their kiss deepened and Dean pulled her even closer to his hard chest. Where she was once leaning against the wooden rail, she was now pressed up against Dean's chest, locked in his tight embrace.

When they pulled away Dean rested his forehead against Nora's as they caught their breath. They were obvious to the world behind them as they gazed into their now, lust filled eyes. The kiss was one like neither of them had shared before, not like their first one or the other one they shared. This one was full of promises and keepsakes. This kiss was a promise of the future, a future they hoped to share together and kiss full of longings and desires on both sides. The kiss held an underlining meaning to it as to what the future held for them, it was a step in the right direction, a step into the relationship and dating direction.

"Does this mean we're dating now?" Dean asked quietly as his thumb brushed soft circles on Nora's round cheeks.

"I guess so." Nora whispered as she leaned up to capture his lips in another searing kiss, that sealed their friendship and moved them up to relationship status.

Well hello again! Guess who got into college? :) I'm sorry about the delay but it was a crazy few weeks as I waited to see if I was going to college or not, well now I can officially say I am a college student on her way to study Law, how scary is that thought? Well I can tell you the outline of the next chapter which might or might not have some drama involved, but there will be a bit of a time jump. I don't usually do too much of time jumps in this story but this one kind of needs to happen to speed things up a bit and of course there will be more Nora and Dean, it is their story after all lol.

Anyways thanks a million to everyone who reviewed, favourite or followed in means soooo much. A million and one thank you's to wwemicky, 1 Crazy Brunette Goddess, caz21, CarolReigns, JM242014, tophersmommy06. I wasn't expecting tubby D to have such a good reaction but I'm glad it made all you guys chuckle, I hope lol.

Thanks for reading,

Read&Review, please and thank you:)

Nesiee.