Here we go then, a bit more Roman and Seth in this one (but obviously mostly Lauren and Dean!)

Samr09, I'm glad you're prepared to be patient! But we will get there, I promise and when it happens I swear it's going to be worth it!

Skovko, I may or not may not babble like she does in real life when I'm nervous too. Gotta say though, it usually works out for me (although I have said some pretty random things!) Glad you liked the funny bits as well, can't be too serious all of the time!

One Of The Guys

The next morning I was up bright and early and waiting outside the motel with my case. Under any other circumstances I would have been proud – washed, dressed and ready to go long before my accustomed hour – but my triumph was lessened considerably by the fact that I hadn't actually slept.

I mean, how could I after everything that had happened? In the course of one day I had been chased by a security guard, met my father, met my wicked stepmother, agreed to a paternity test and nearly been kissed by an incredibly hot guy who had told me he cared about me. Well, okay, he said he wanted to keep me safe. Which was basically the same thing, right? Either way my head had been spinning and sleep had been virtually impossible after that.

In short, I had never been more tired in my life.

Then there was the fact I missed my mom. God she'd have loved to hear all of this. I could practically hear her gushing about Dean and how tall and strong and handsome he was. But that was just it, I couldn't hear her and I wouldn't be able to ever again. It sucked and I had spent a good hour just crying, making my pillow all soggy and wet. The grey light of dawn creeping in through the drapes had been almost a blessing since it meant I could get up. Keeping busy was the only way through it and it was that determined mind-set that had meant I was waiting as The Shield boys pulled up at seven thirty on the dot.

"Wow," Seth whistled, as he clambered out and picked my bag up, "Someone's keen to go."

He'd left the passenger side door open and I could see Dean leaning through from the driver's seat.

"Morning," I offered brightly, unable able to see his expression thanks to a pair of snappy looking shades. He was wearing a black shirt with a black cap turned backwards and although on someone else it might have looked ridiculous, on him it looked perfect and pretty sexy too. My tongue ran over my bottom lip instinctively and I thought I saw him hitch a little smile.

"Right back at ya Princess."

I giggled like a schoolgirl and then blushed heavily.

For god sakes Lauren, don't make it so obvious.

Clearing my throat I turned back to Seth, who was shunting my suitcase into the back.

"Thanks. Seth right? I'm Lauren. I mean, I know we spoke on the phone before and sort of met in person last night but it was all kind of shouty so we're weren't introduced properly."

He took my outstretched hand with a smile, although he couldn't help but also look bewildered as well,

"Uh, yeah, hi. It's nice to properly meet you too."

As I spun towards one of the back doors, Dean's voice called me from the front. When I glanced in, he was tapping his palm against the spare seat on the passenger's side,

"Not so fast Lauren – you're up here with me."

"Um, is that supposed to be a treat or a punishment?"

He flashed his teeth at me, effortlessly cool,

"What do you think?"

"Little bit of both?"

"Cute answer. Now would you hurry up and get your ass in here?"

Getting my ass anywhere near the seat however was a whole lot easier said than done. The car was one of those over-sized rentals which practically needed steps to get up and down. Well, maybe not if you were a six foot plus wrestler but I wasn't, I was only a little bitty girl and in the end I had to approach it like a climbing wall and scrabble around for feet and hand holds.

"Hold on," I panted, jamming my sneaker into a tiny little nook in the door, "I think I'm getting there."

A chuckle from the backseat made me suddenly remember Roman and I almost cursed at how ungraceful I looked. Was there any chance of me not making an idiot of myself or being embarrassed in front of Dean's friends? Apparently the answer to that one was no, although fortunately as I clambered up, Dean reached his arm out and let me latch onto it, using his muscles to haul me in. The way his arms bulged against the sleeves of his t-shirt made me momentarily sizzle.

Stupidly hot.

"You alright there Thumbelina?"

"I'm perfectly normally sized thank you. It's you three that are the mutated giants in this scenario."

"Sure, insult the guys who have gone out of their way to drive you to the venue. That's real smart,"

"Oh stop with that," I snorted wryly, pleased with how quickly we fell back into our groove, "You're only doing it because the boss' wife made you. You'd have me hitching on the side of the road."

Dean's brows rose up a little at that one and his voice lost a fraction of its gently teasing tone,

"I didn't last time."

I blushed – okay, so maybe that was true – and slamming the door shut behind me with effort, I got myself comfy and tried to grab the belt. However once again because I was small and the car they had picked had been designed for godzilla, I couldn't reach it short of dislocating my arm. Dean watched me struggle, grinning mildly, before a tattooed arm poked it helpfully through the gap.

"Here you go baby girl."

"Thank you Roman, good morning."

He smiled back at me warmly,

"Morning. You sleep okay?"

Behind us the trunk snapped shut with a bang and Seth clambered in on the bigger man's left side. It was probably not the time to tell them about the crying and the major crush I had on their friend and so instead I merely shrugged my shoulders and tried to downplay it,

"It was – okay."

"What?" Dean raised a brow at me appraisingly, "Couple in the next room bangin' too loud?"

I screwed my face up,

"Ew, no. I just – ," I shrugged, "I just had a lot on my mind."

Sensing that maybe our nearly kiss had been part of it, Dean cleared his throat and focused on bringing the car around. He bumped over the speed humps and fed us onto the interstate, looking almost awkward.

His friends didn't catch on,

"Takes a bit of time to get used to sleeping away from your own bed," Seth offered, "But you'll get there. Especially after tonight. Did Dean tell you that the shows tend to wind up running late?"

"No, but then he hasn't really told me anything – except how dangerous this whole thing is."

"He's right," Roman answered, "But you just do you and you'll be alright."

It was the first time that someone had suggested I could handle things and his deeply-toned confidence made my own grow. That was until Dean spoke up again, sounding terse,

"Great idea Roman, only it's goin' to be hard for her to keep her head down when the whole place finds out she's Hunter's fuckin' daughter."

"Which is why we're here," Seth offered flatly and I blinked a little,

"You're here to protect me? Wait, is that why Stephanie sent you along?"

There was a momentary pause and even though I was facing forwards, I could see Dean's eyes flicker towards the mirror in silent consultation with the rest of his team. Whatever debate they were having however, certainly didn't seem to last very long.

"We're not here to protect you Lauren, we're here to keep tabs on you and figure you out."

"Figure me out?" I echoed, "What's there to figure? I'm plain and I'm dull – nothing more to say."

Dean's sunglasses flashed,

"Hey, I've spent twenty-four hours with you remember? Trust me when I tell you that you're not plain or dull. In fact if you were you'd be a lot less trouble. Besides, I've already figured you out. It's Stephanie that hasn't."

"Oh really?" I looked at him, "You've figured me out, huh?"

I could see a glint in his eyes behind the lenses and sensing a flicker of flirtation between us – and clearly deciding that he and Roman did not want to be stuck in the middle of all the awkward – Seth leant in across the seats and coughed, drawing us back to our earlier conversation.

"We're supposed to report back to her,"

"Report back what?"

"Everything about you," Roman rumbled, "Phone calls, lies, guys hidden in your bathroom – ,"

I glanced across at Dean who merely smiled and I got the distinct impression that Roman was teasing me.

Wow.

Dean really did tell his boys everything. I liked that though – how completely he trusted them – and it made me yearn for his trust too.

"So, what are you going to tell her?"

Dean snorted,

"Besides you bein' a pain in my ass?"

"Please, I'm an angel. Besides, if you keep talking like that your friends are going to get the wrong impression about me."

"We've already got it," Seth replied smirking, "Dean's told us everything."

"Everything?" I replied, genuinely curious. Had he told them about our almost kiss? Had he told them about his need to protect me? Seth shifted further forward in his seat,

"There's more?"

In reply Dean shot me a side-eyed glare and I realised my mistake, which I hurried to correct. As usual my response was calm, measured and utterly sophisticated,

"Huh? What – no – um – not that I know of – I mean, not that I know what he's told you exactly but whatever it is I – I'm sure there's nothing more."

There, problem solved. Dean sighed heavily and Seth sat back in his seat with a grin,

"Oh, there's more."

"Right?" Roman chuckled back at him smugly and as my cheeks began to burn with total embarrassment, I did what I always do when faced by a silence I felt duty-bound to fill.

It was good old fashioned chitchat time.

"Uh, so, fellas, tell me a little more about yourselves. You know, where you grew up, families, interests. I mean, how did you get into the whole wrestling thing?"

Roman glanced across at Dean,

"You're right, she does like talking."

"Hey! What do you want me to do? It's not like we can just sit in silence the whole way there."

"Works for me," Dean shrugged,

"It would. You're grumpy."

"Works for me too," Seth chipped in grinning and I sighed at them crossly, faking offence with folded arms. Smiles bounced back and forth between the teammates and eventually I couldn't help but join in, knowing that the three of them were getting kicks out of teasing me but also knowing that it felt oddly comfortable as well. Sparky conversation was very much in my ballpark and if they wanted to I could do it all day long.

"Look, it's easy, I'll start. My name is Lauren, I come from Wisconsin – ," I stressed, throwing a pointed glare at Dean, "Small town, nice place, kinda apple pie I guess. Um, what else? Oh, my mom was a music teacher and my dad is the day-to-day boss of a billion dollar sports entertainment business – paternity results pending of course. Seth?"

The sound of Dean's chuckle made my skin prickle and I looked over just in time to catch a hint of a smirk. If I was making him laugh then I was obviously doing something right and I was further encouraged when Roman joined in. Both he and Seth looked a little bewildered but they were also smiling so I considered that a result. As Seth blinked uncertainly, Roman nudged him,

"Well, go on, you heard the lady."

"Thank you Roman."

Seth sighed,

"Alright, alright."

As it turned out my getting-to-know-you scheme actually worked out pretty damn well and over the course of the next fifty minutes, I found out all sorts of facts about my travelling partners. For example, Seth was from Iowa – small town, like me – and had a loving fiancée waiting back home. He had wanted to be a wrestler since he could remember and after an abortive attempt at college had simply put his head down and followed his dream. It didn't take a genius to work out that he was driven but he was also sweet and a tiny bit shy which warmed me to him instantly. Roman's story was a little bit different. Evidently he had been born into a wrestling dynasty but had trodden his own path by choosing pro-football before finally being dragged into the ring. He also had a wife and daughter, who were obviously his absolute world and hearing him talk about them so proudly made me wonder if I would maybe have that with Hunter one day. As a knot formed abruptly, I cleared my throat,

"Okay, so now I know about these two that must mean – yep – Dean, come on, your turn."

Although I was grinning I couldn't help but notice as a strange sort of tension settled over the car. Seth and Roman both shifted awkwardly and I blinked. Had I said something wrong? An earlier conversation came back to me suddenly and in particular Dean's response after I'd said my mother died.

So? Big deal. Mine wasn't around much. Think that makes us even so far.

Clearly Dean's life was not open for discussion and I sat back self-consciously and dropped my gaze into my hands. Despite that though, I could feel his eyes on me and finally he coughed a little,

"Cincinnati."

"Huh?"

"That's where I'm from, Cincinnati Ohio," he kept his gaze on the road as he spoke, staring ahead like the topic was easy when everything about him screamed otherwise. Honestly, I felt honoured that he was even half-telling me and so I sat and I listened, not saying a word, "Wanted to be a wrestler since I was a kid, so when I was sixteen I dropped out of school and got a job at a wrestling place – bugged 'em until they agreed to teach me. Been doin' it ever since. Was in the indies for a long time, then got called up to the Big Leagues by your old man. Rest is history."

"The indies?" I blinked, "What, like the West Indies?"

Unintentionally my faux-pas broke the mood and suddenly the guys were again all smiles. Dean even let loose an actual chuckle and shook his head at me – dare I say – fondly?

"The Independent Circuit," he replied, grinning wider as my blush grew hotter until it burnt like the sun. Luckily Dean chose to spare my embarrassment by generously carrying on, "Small promotions, semi-professional deals, ring-in-a-barn, that kind of thing. Nothing like the McMahon-Helmsley Empire. But they're good to get you where you need to go."

"Not so tropical though," Roman snorted, "You don't need a bathing suit or lotion or a towel."

"Hey, go easy on me okay? I'm new at this. It's like – learning another language or something."

"Still easier than learning West Indies dialects," Seth smirked, "So, you know, there's always that."

I pouted at him childishly,

"That's it, I'm done talking with you two. From now on I'm only talking to my friend Dean – ,"

"Wait," Dean blinked, pushing his shades up as the sun ducked away behind a cloud, "Why am I the one being punished? I'm driving you to the show aren't I? Isn't that enough?"

I ignored him,

"So Dean, do you still live in Cincinnati?"

I wasn't particularly looking for a reply to it – simply aiming to rub in my point – but to my surprise Dean actually answered me, even though it wasn't the expected response,

"Vegas."

"Wait, as in the actual Vegas?"

"Uh huh."

"Oh, so do you live there with someone?"

It tumbled out before I could stop it and the instant expression on my face said it all. Suddenly the silence between us was deafening and his eyes slid smoothly across to meet mine. Without his shades I could see every sparkle and the delicious amusement was so unrelenting that I decided to try and take back what I'd said.

"Not that I need to know or anything – it's just a question. I mean, Roman told me about his wife and Seth mentioned his fiancée so – you know, if you don't want to answer then I – I totally understand. I mean I don't care if you do – um – answer the question that is. I totally don't care if you live with someone – unless you don't in which case – um – I still don't. I mean it's none of my business – ,"

"I don't," he replied and I was so relieved he'd interrupted my word-vomit that I almost wept a little.

Oh thank god.

His answer was even better.

He didn't live with anyone.

"Besides, if I did how happy do you think she would have been about me sharin' a room with you?"

"Probably not too crazy about it," I admitted, before adding quickly, "Not that anything happened."

Dean looked across at me, still smiling slightly and – although It hardly seemed possible – I blushed a little more.

"So what about you," Seth asked suddenly, "Some small town guy you left back home?"

Dean's eyes flickered up into the rear view mirror warningly and Seth simply grinned at him.

"No," I shrugged, "I mean – I had someone but that was over a year ago, so – ,"

I tailed off randomly, trying to downplay it but I only succeeded in setting alarm bells off instead. It seemed I was pretty good at doing that, not that it was a skill I was exactly keen to hone.

"What happened baby girl?" Roman asked softly and everyone seemed to hold their breath,

"It just – kind of – didn't really work out I guess. I mean, we'd been together since high school and when we were younger we'd made all these plans. I was saving up to go to college somewhere, he was going to come with me, get a job and we were going to buy a house – ," I took a deep breath, "Anyway, then my mom got sick and I – I didn't want to leave her, how could I? But I guess he didn't like that so much because he – well – we basically broke up and he left town anyway."

"Come on?" Seth barked, "Seriously?"

"Uh huh."

Dean frowned fiercely,

"Guy sounds like a dick."

"Maybe," I shrugged, "But – I mean – on the plus side, I got to spent a whole year with my mom, just doing stuff together, you know? And I know it might seem a little bit weird but I'm pretty sure it was the happiest time we ever had, just because we knew what was coming and – ,"

I broke off suddenly with a wobbly sob and Dean glanced across at me, his blue eyes concerned,

"Lauren – ,"

"Sorry, I'm – I'm alright."

Roman's hand snuck in through the headrest and dropped down on my shoulder, big and warm,

"Easy baby girl."

"Hey," Seth offered gently, probably feeling bad about having brought the whole thing up, "Want us to hunt him down and cut his balls off?"

"Probably not. Thanks though, that's – sweet?"

The thought of Andy standing naked while Seth circled his genitals with a pair of clippers briefly brought up a ghost of a smile and gradually the tension ebbed away. What it left in its place however was silence and although it was comfortable enough, I felt my old urge beginning to creep back and my brain started scanning for potential talking points. Then, without warning Dean reached over and switched on the radio, filling the pause. I glanced across at him – somehow he just got me – and he looked back and smiled gently.

"You alright?"

"Uh huh."

It was a pretty relative term all things considered. How could I honestly be alright? With every passing second I was getting closer to a world that I didn't understand and I wasn't sure I liked. Was it even worth it? To stay close to Hunter?

As the strains of Jessica filtered over the radio, Dean leant across and turned it up. He really did have the best taste in music and I smiled although Seth wasn't quite so impressed,

"Dean, can you keep it down? I'm trying to phone my girl here – ,"

Dean put his hand up to his ear and I smiled,

"What? Sorry, can't hear you babe."

"God damn it Dean. Don't call me babe – ,"

I sat back as the banter swept in around me, feeling more comfortable than I had done for days. My eyelids flickered shut and I allowed them to sleepily, figuring I would momentarily rest my eyes. I didn't realise that I was actually succumbing until it was too late to fight the oncoming tide. I drifted off to the strains of the Allman Brothers and Dean tapping the rhythm on the wheel by my side.

Just a little nap.

I told myself mentally.

A quick ten minutes and then I'll be fine.

When I woke up again it was two hours later and Dean was pulling up beside a cute little diner set back from the road with wild flowers outside. I wasn't entirely sure what had happened – surely I had only just closed my eyes – but as I stirred and let out a whimper of confusion, Dean glanced across at me,

"Welcome back. Sleep well?"

I blushed,

"Who me? Um, I – I wasn't sleeping."

"Nah, sure you weren't baby girl," Roman chuckled, "You know, I snore when I'm wide awake too."

"What? I don't snore!" I hissed in horror, "Please tell me that I didn't actually snore."

As Seth and Roman slid from the car grinning – letting in a blast of unrelenting Texan air – I turned to Dean, who was still sitting beside me and gazed at him imploringly.

"Relax Princess, you didn't snore,"

"Oh thank god."

"But you did call my name a couple times back there – sort of licked your lips as well."

"I – what?"

The answer I got was the slamming of the car door and I struggled desperately to get out of my belt. I was aware that Dean was ninety-nine percent joking but there was still a one percent chance that he was telling the truth and given how I felt about him it would have been typical if my stupid subconscious had given me up. As I thumped at the belt-release I scoured my memories, trying to recall any lingering dreams. If I had conjured up a sex dream with Dean, then I couldn't remember it, which I would have done, right?

Suddenly the passenger door was flung open,

"You are kidding aren't you? About the saying-your-name-thing?"

Dean simply smirked at me – prolonging the agony – then gestured towards the diner instead,

"Not comin' in?"

"I can't – I'm stuck."

I thumped on the belt release again and looked up at him, silently demonstrating the problem I had. Dean rolled his eyes as if debating simply leaving me but then suddenly he was in over me – as in right over me – standing on the lip of the car. He was leaning in to get his hands on the buckle which meant draping his biceps over my thighs. His head was hanging close and the smell of his aftershave was so all-encompassing that it felt was like I was wearing a splash of it as well. Honestly, I wished I was wearing him. I mean, who even needed a sexy dream when the real thing was hovering directly above me?

"You really are trouble, you know that right?"

I nodded, not trusting myself to speak at that moment and bit on my lip to stop from letting out a squeak. I was actually sorry when he managed to release me, which explains why instead of simply saying thank you – like a normal person – I decided to embarrass myself instead,

"You're good with your hands."

He quirked a brow up at me,

"If you think that was good – ,"

I covered my face and he chuckled a little dirtily and started to duck back out of the car. He paused at the exact same moment that I dropped my hands away and we found ourselves pressed basically face to face. The atmosphere turned from teasing to smouldering and I shuddered a breath in over my lips. His eyes flickered up towards mine and he swallowed, clearly thinking the exact same thing. Our kiss last night had been interrupted but the desire to do it hadn't been quenched. We were in pretty much in the perfect position, so we could just lean in and –

"Hey, you two coming in or what?"

Seth's interruption made both of us jump and Dean slammed his head against the arch of the door,

"Fuck."

The moment was well and truly over although our encounters – I'd guess you'd call them – were starting to add up. The pair of us were certainly getting closer. But closer to what?

I honestly wasn't sure.

You like? As ever, let me know. In the next chapter we meet some more of the wrestling fraternity and...let's just say it doesn't go well!