"Oh, so you're going to hit a girl now, huh? Your going to sink to an even lower level then you were, and beat the shit out of a girl"?
"That's a round about way of saying it, yes".
"Wow, you're a real class act".
"Alright, I'll bite. What's that supposed to mean"?
"That you're a first rate coward".
"I'd watch it if I were you".
"Why? Your going to beat me to a bloody pulp anyway so why the hell should I care? I'll tell you one thing, I won't make it easy".
"Is that so"?
"I will bite, I will kick, scream, scratch, anything and everything. I will fight for my life, and trust me whatever happens that huge nose of yours will be broken and bleeding".
"Fine. I would have been disappointed if you didn't fight".
Ashley glanced at the monitor and let out a sigh of relief. Dave was running back to the locker room. I have to unlock the door. Triple H had noticed this to, and as Ashley lunged for the door Trip lunged for her. She grabbed the knob, and unlocked it just as Trip grabbed her hair and threw her into the lockers. He wrapped his fingers around her throat and squeezed. Ashley dug her nails across his face as black dots danced in her eyes. He banged her head against the floor all the while squeezing tighter and tighter. Ashley flailed her arms, hitting him, and kicking him with all her might. Just when she thought her eyes would pop out of their sockets Triple H flew off of her, and air flooded into her lungs. She couldn't see much because her eyes were watering so badly, but she could hear Dave yelling and Triple H's body being thrown around the locker room. Suddenly Ashley felt herself being lifted off the ground, and being carried out into the hallway.
"Ashley! Ashley answer me. Are you okay? Ashley"!
"My throat hurts".
Her voice was really raspy, and it hurt to talk. Her eyes finally cleared, and she looked up relieved to see Dave. He was yelling at people to get out of the way. He held her tightly to him as if she would be taken away at any second. He turned and pushed open a door.
"She's hurt, she needs a medic".
Dave set Ashley down on an examination table. He had taken her to the trainer. Ashley was still a little out of it, but she felt Dave's hand squeeze her shoulder.
"Where did all the blood come from"?
The medic looked at Dave, but he shrugged. Ashley looked down at her hands to see that they were covered in blood. She must have done damage to Trip.
"Triple H… its Triple H's".
Ashley painfully cleared her throat.
"He was chocking me and I was trying to get away".
The trainer seemed to understand. He was now flashing a light in her eyes.
"Have you hit your head at all"?
"Yeah, he banged it against the floor. Does that count"?
Dave smiled and shook his head.
"Always sarcastic".
The trainer continued his questions.
"Can you tell me your name"?
"Ashley".
"Do you know what the day is"?
"Could it be Monday? We're on Raw so that's only a wild guess".
"Well, I don't think you have a concussion, but you'll definitely be sore for a few days".
"Great, I haven't stopped being sore from the last one yet".
"Also, I think you should have someone stay with you tonight. You need to be woken up every 3 hours to be sure you don't have a concussion".
Dave nodded while listening to the trainer's instructions.
"That's fine, so she's okay"?
"If someone can be that sarcastic after almost being strangled to death I'd say she's fine. She'll have a sore throat, but she'll live".
"Great. Well, if that's all I think we should go. Trip'll be here soon to hopefully be stitched up".
Dave had thrown on his sweats again, and put his arm around Ashley to support her. As they rounded the corner they ran into Lita and Kane.
"Ashley! Oh my God, are you all right"?
"Yeah, I'll be fine. Don't you have a match with Trish"?
"Yeah, I'm on my way now".
"Kane watch her like a hawk. Lita focus tonight, don't let this interfere…"
"Your damn right I'm going to let this interfere. Trish had something to do with it. I know it. I am going to kill her".
"Leave some for me".
Kane laughed and put a hand on his wife's shoulder.
"Don't worry, I'll pull her off before she does any real damage".
"Okay, thanks. We're gonna head out so I'll call you later".
"Okay, love ya girl".
"You to".
Lita gave Ashley one last hug before heading off. After Dave and Ashley got in the car she turned to him.
"We have to go to the hospital".
"He said you'd be fine… oh".
"I have to make sure Randy's alright. You understand right"?
"Yeah, if it wasn't for what happened to you I would have thought of that".
On the drive over they were both very quiet. Ashley could tell Dave was upset, but he wasn't giving any signs of wanting to talk. Finally Ashley couldn't take it anymore.
"Dave"?
"Hmm".
"It wasn't your fault".
"Dave just stared ahead and didn't take his eyes off the road. He wasn't talking, and there was no way to make him. So Ashley did the only thing she could think of. She leaned over and put her head on his shoulder. They stayed like that until they pulled into the hospital parking lot. They were quiet on the elevator ride to Randy's floor.
"Excuse me"?
Ashley addressed the nurse at the front desk.
"May I help you"?
"Yes, we're here to see Randy Orton. He was brought here tonight".
The nurse checked the list.
"Are you related"?
"I'm his sister".
The nurse gave her a look, but didn't argue.
"Room 214".
"Thank you".
When they reached the door Ashley knocked.
"Come in".
Ashley opened the door to find a fully dressed Randy tying his shoe. He looked up and jumped to his feet. There was a bandage across his forehead, and he looked shocked to see them.
"Randy hey, how are you"?
"Fine. A few stitches, but nothing major".
"Oh, so are you checking out"?
"Yeah, Stacy's on her way. She… told me what happened".
Randy looked thoroughly miserable.
"I'm so sorry".
"Don't worry about it. It wasn't your fault; there wasn't anything anyone could have done. I'll live".
She had added that last part on for both Randy's and Dave's sakes, but Dave gave no sign of hearing it.
"Dave, I am sorry".
"Like she said man, its not your fault. There was no way of knowing they were that sick".
Randy nodded, but didn't look convinced. They were all quiet for the moment, but then Stacy walked in.
"Hey… Oh Ashley. Are you okay? Randy are you feeling all right? Dave, I'm so sorry about Triple H".
Ashley smiled; she couldn't help it. Only Stacy Keibler could be so compassionate at one time.
"Hey, I'll be fine. Come here".
She gave Stacy a hug.
"Hey Stac, I'll feel better when I get one of those hugs".
Stacy giggled and gave Randy a hug, and then turned to Dave. He just nodded his thanks. He wasn't talking much, and didn't look like he was in the mood to exchange pleasantries.
"Well, I guess we'll go then. Um, Randy, I hope you feel better".
"Thanks".
"Well, bye guys".
"Bye".
Once again Dave just nodded, and brooded all the way back to their car. The drive was quiet again, and to keep herself from going insane Ashley turned on the radio. They finally reached their hotel. Ashley plopped her bags down on the floor, and turned to Dave. He was avoiding eye contact and was walking around aimlessly. Ashley had had enough, and as he walked by her she threw her arms around his waist and pulled him into a hug. She buried her face in his chest and took a deep breath. He stood there for a moment and then wrapped his arms around her and held her tight.
"I wasn't your fault".
He just squeezed tighter.
"It wasn't your fault".
"Yes it was".
"No it wasn't".
Dave pulled back and made to turn away, but Ashley pulled him back.
"Look at me".
Dave reluctantly met her gaze.
"It wasn't your fault".
Dave looked away again.
"Dave".
He refused to look back at her.
"B bear"?
He looked down at the floor, and then looked up at her. He sank to his knees and pulled her into another hug.
"I never should have left you".
"You had to".
"I should have found Kane, or taken you down to the ring with me, or something".
"There wasn't time. If you had taken me to the ring Triple H would've still come after me".
"I left you alone".
"I wasn't alone. You were still there".
Dave looked up to meet Ashley's eyes.
"The entire time I thought 'alright, jut distract him until Dave gets back, he'll see and he'll come back'".
"But…"
"I saw you running to the back, and I was able to unlock the door".
"He still…"
"I knew I'd be fine. I knew you wouldn't let him seriously hurt me. Wow, he gave me a bump on the head and a sore throat. I left claw marks across his face, and I'm pretty sure he's missing a chunk of hair. Plus, whatever you did to him, and I'm sure that was plenty".
Dave gave a hint of a smile, but then got dead serious.
"I wanted to kill him. I wanted… to tear him apart".
"Well, you sounded pretty mad".
"I wasn't angry, I was scared to death. I thought… I didn't know what he did to you. You weren't moving when I pulled him off of you".
"I was trying to breath".
"Yeah, but I thought…"
"Its okay".
"Its not okay"!
Ashley blinked, his voice sounded raw with emotion, and there was something in his eyes.
"Sorry, but I've never felt so out of control before. When I'm around you I feel calm, but then when I think about what he did… I want to kill him. I don't care about what happens afterwards".
"Yes you do".
"No, the only thing I care about is not seeing you again. Ashley, I care about you so much it actually hurts. When I wake up the only thing I want to do is see you laugh. I don't care anymore. I don't care about being tough of macho, I just want to be with you".
Ashley was in slight shock, but as she looked into his eyes she finally understood what was there. Her chest felt like it would burst, and without a second thought she pulled him into a passionate kiss. Dave seemed a little taken back, but quickly recovered and kissed him back just as passionately. She opened her mouth and their tongues met. Ashley could feel tingles running through her body, and she only half realized Dave had stood up. Keeping one hand caressing her back he buried the other deep in her hair. She lowered her hands and pulled his shirt up so she could feel his abs, and their mouths parted as he pulled off his shirt in one quick motion. Then he began to kiss along her neck as he slowly lifted her shirt over her head. As he bit her ear lobe she dragged her nails lightly down his back. She could hear him moan in her ear as he picked her up in his arms and carried her over to the bed.
/AN/ Woo… wow… is it hot in here or is it just me. Lol. Well, I know there are a few people who will be very happy that those two kids finally hooked up. I'll update as soon as I can. Please R&R.