Perseverance

by Bob the Taco Thief

The 4 Horsewomen in the world of MMA: The story nobody asked for.

11. Chapter 14

Bayley

"Well, well, look who it is. Feeling better?" AJ styles asked as he looked up from his desk.

Bayley, feeling more than a little sheepish, nodded as she closed the door and move toward one of the chairs. When Styles nodded her down into it she perched on the very edge of the seat, as though she thought she might spring up at any moment. Which, was a distinct possibility.

As a result of Charlotte's intervention and her subsequent meeting with Alexa Bliss, Bayley was feeling...not 'better' but perhaps 'motivated'. She was also more than a little embarrassed with herself over just how steep her spiral had become and how quickly. The idea that she'd been seriously thinking about...but no, she wouldn't let herself do it now. She needed to grow up.

"Thanks for seeing me," was all she managed to murmur when Styles didn't break the silence.

"Well, it seems like we're doomed to repeat the same meeting over and over. I wanted you to come and explain why I shouldn't drop you as a writer," Styles said flatly.

"I…" Bayley started and then trailed off. She had no good answer, dropping her was the right move for him. Bayley was only a stringer and she'd just shown that she wasn't even an entirely reliable one. "I don't have a good answer for you Mr. Styles, I just want to say I'm sorry-" Bayley started to say resignedly until she gave a small squeak as she jumped in her seat.

Styles had hammered both fists down on his desk as she snapped: "NO! Don't do that!"

"Do what?" Bayley asked, startled.

"Don't come in here all 'woe is me, just get it over with' on me. TALK to me Martinez, help me understand what the hell was or is going on!" Styles barked.

Bayley was totally taken aback by this reaction but she managed to say: "I don't...I don't think I can."

Styles stood quickly and moved around his desk so he could pace as he spoke: "You drop off the face of the Earth and completely blow off he article I gave you on Jimmy Uso. Then you stop returning calls. Suddenly Charlotte Flair of all people shows up asking where you are. God damn it Martinez this is clearly bigger than MMA writing."

Something in this tirade finally provoked some fire in Bayley as she asked: "Why do you care?"

"Fuck if I know!..." Styles shot right back, cowing Bayley instantly "...If I didn't give a shit I'd have already fired you and forgotten your name before you made the door."

"So why don't you?"

"Because…" Styles answered, now speaking in much quieter and gentler tone "...I don't WANT to. You're damned good at this stuff Martinez, you know that and don't pretend you don't. But there are a lot of good writers in the world. But you're one of the only ones I know in this field that manages to be good and yet NOT burn everyone they run into. You get the facts, you report the stories, and yet no one I've spoken has a bad thing to say about you. Do you even understand how rare that is in ANY kind of journalism?"

Bayley had no answer for this, mostly because it wasn't something she'd thought she'd be hearing. But it seemed Styles didn't want a direct answer.

"So PLEASE tell me what's going on, because I don't want to have to fire my most talented writer and a good person to boot," Styles finished as he turned on his feet to glare at Bayley.

"I...I really can't tell you most of it…It involves some stuff that isn't mine alone to share..." Bayley offered hesitantly.

"Then tell me what you can." Styles said this as he regained his original seat and looked directly into Bayley's eyes.

So Bayley did.

When she'd finished speaking, Styles was silent for awhile as he regarded her with a searching stare. In the end it seemed he decided he didn't have anything to say to the story at all. Instead he said: "Look, Martinez, when I offered to send you the presser I was doing you a favor. You know that. I've got other writers, writers actually on the payroll, who would have killed for that opportunity. It was my credibility on the line as much as yours."

"I'm sorry-" Bayley started to say, but she was cut off.

"DO NOT start with that shit again. Just listen!" Styles told her coolly. When Bayley just nodded he went on saying: "So I'm telling you this right now, because I respect you. Pull another vanishing act and I'll have you out on your ass so fast you won't know what hit you."

Bayley nodded. There wasn't really anything to say. She was honestly surprised that she wasn't being fired. But that surprise was as nothing to the shock that followed it.

"Now…" Styles said as he looked down at some paper on his desk "...Go home, get packed. If you want to keep your name on ESPN MMA then you'll be in Boston by the end of the week. Your friend Flair is formally announcing the Toni Storm signing and you've got the most local experience there." He paused here to hand Bayley a sheet before adding: "And for that shit over the last week or so ESPN is NOT paying for the trip."

Bayley sighed but nodded. She didn't HAVE to go of course, but it would mean the end of her relationship with ESPN. And she knew that, in the long run, it would be a bad play to throw that away. She could take a cheap flight, and maybe even find a cheap place to stay…

But it seemed Styles wasn't done speaking. "And when you get back, if I like what you give us, I may send you to the next leg of the Banks-Lynch press tour here in LA."

Bayley was surprised enough to look this gift horse in the mouth and ask: "Really?"

"You're still my best, I'll keep the other writers fed. Besides, you saw how Miami and Chicago went, I need someone who can play this right there," Styles explained.

"AND…" Bayley suggested "...You know I have had a direct relationship with one of the fighters." She said this mildly, though she wasn't sure if she had that relationship any longer.

"And that," Styles acknowledged.

"Well, I'm going to get home and start packing the," Bayley said as she stood. She shook Styles' hand but he didn't release hers right away.

"VERY thin ice, Martinez. Don't give me a reason," he warned before he let go of her hand and sat back down.

Charlotte

"You know I can't condone you striking Ms. Lynch. I can sympathize with your feelings but reacting with violence will just make matters worse."

Charlotte leaned her head further into her hand. "I know. I know. She didn't even look upset though! I had just seen Bayley struggling and then here I see Becky acting like she hadn't said such horrible things and I just couldn't take it."

Molly listened and jotted a few quick notes down. "But eventually you did find out she apparently didn't recall leaving the message. Correct?"

"Yes, but-"

"So one could accurately say that you reacted before having all the facts. Yes?"

"Yes, but-"

"And you've admitted some of the regretful things you've said to Ms. Lynch in the past."

"I did, but-"

"Does it bother you that she never tried to hit you or get some form of retaliation after those events?"

Charlotte was momentarily stunned into silence. "I uhh… I don't know."

Molly watched the blonde as she sat deep in thought. Her eyes wandering over to check the clock. "We only have a couple minutes left Charlotte. If you'd like we can revisit this next session."

"Thanks Molly. I'm just not sure how I feel. A part of me wishes she had."

"You know we've been talking about Becky a lot recently…"

"Well yeah. She's kind of my responsibility now. I can't let her down but I feel like she's just slipping away and I'm not helping."

"Why is she your responsibility? Don't you have a large staff to help? As the owner of the gym shouldn't you be more focused on the business side of things and less on her?"

Charlotte felt defensive and sat up straighter. "She's my fighter. I should be there for her."

"Yet you punched her for hurting a mutual friend of yours."

Charlotte felt like she'd just been punched. "I-... I know it was wrong of me to do that."

"But you did it anyway. Why did it bother you so much?"

"I don't know. It just did. Becky has a way of getting under my skin even when she's not trying."

Molly was quiet for a moment. Her face scrunched up in concentration as she debated asking the next question. "Have you ever given thought to why she is able to, as you say, get under your skin?"

"Because she just does. As soon as she comes in a room I notice her, and she always goes out of her way to mess with me."

"Charlotte… How did you feel when Ms. Martinez told you about her and Becky's falling out and explained the circumstances?"

"What do you want me to say? I was annoyed, mortified, sad-"

"Jealous?" Molly added.

Charlotte nearly brushed off the comment before something made her stop and think.

"Are you still somewhat jealous of Becky pursuing your friend over you? Or am I reading this incorrectly?"

The blonde didn't have an answer. Not one she cared to admit yet.

Charlotte/Becky

"Don't worry Toni. You'll fit in just fine."

"Thanks for this Ms. Flair." Toni Storm spoke in her New Zealand accent. Readjusting the gym bag over her shoulder as she held the door open. "I'm just freakin' about a bit. First day jitters an' all."

Charlotte stepped through and smiled at the fighter's politeness. It felt refreshingly odd after so much time around Becky. "I've told you to call me Charlotte. Bobby and Ruby are excited to work with you. They'll show you the ropes. You ready to jump right in?"

"I'd be stupid to say no." Toni answered with a bright smile as they walked further into the main gym. "Thanks again Charlotte." She said before giving the taller blonde a friendly fist bump to her shoulder, "You've been awesome."

Charlotte blushed at the unexpected compliment and smiled back at the New Zealander. "Just doing my job. I'd have been stupid to not have tried bringing you in."

Toni was just about to respond when a boisterous Irish accent boomed out from the ring. "Who's the newbie?"

Becky knew damn well exactly who the young blonde was. She knew Toni Storm by reputation and had seen some of her fights from the local circuits in Australia and New Zealand. Some had even said that she was a future title contender. A talented young fighter that needed time to round out her game but had great potential if she could combine her impressive striking skills with a more rounded ground game.

Charlotte's good mood took a quick dive at Becky's pettiness. She had told the redhead a week ago that Storm would be in today. "Becky, be nice." A gentle warning that the Irish woman appeared to heed. Her hands held high like she was proclaiming her innocence. "Toni meet Becky. Becky meet Toni."

The two exchanged a quick and business like hello but Becky continued to stare in their direction. Only when Bobby introduced himself to Toni and the new fighter walked away from Charlotte's side did Becky turn around and go back to shadowboxing in the ring.

After a quick visit to the locker room and a change of clothes Toni stepped out into the gym ready to get into the actual training.

Bobby had been working back in the ring with Becky on defending against takedowns. Even though Sasha wasn't well known for taking the fight to the ground Lashley's philosophy was to be ready for anything. The unexpected move has a much higher chance of success so Bobby made sure to keep Becky on her toes.

When the hulking man saw Toni come out he called a stop to his work with Becky and walked towards her.

"Alright. Now that you're ready we can get started."

"I'm ready for anything you got." Toni stated confidently. Paying no mind Becky quietly snorting at her words. "Let's have some fun."

The next hour was anything but fun.

At this point in Becky's training Bobby was focusing on improving her cardio. She hadn't been in bad shape before but the trainer seemed intent on making her lungs burst like an overinflated balloon almost everyday.

"Need to be ready for anything. If you can make it through these then you can trust yourself to not gas out in the fight no matter how fast paced it is. Do you want to get tired before Sasha? It doesn't matter who the better fighter is if one of them is dead tired and the other isn't." He had said to her the first time she complained about the cardio heavy training.

Every sprint. Every workout. Every single moment of training was a competition for Becky.

She didn't want to get shown up by the younger fighter even if she'd told Charlotte she was totally fine with bringing her on.

Toni had figured out what Becky was doing fast and to her credit she took it as a challenge. Competing to be a millisecond faster; get one more rep out in the timeframe and keep up with the former champion.

Bobby called for a break walked off to take a call. Leaving the two women virtually alone. The only other people in the gym were off doing their own thing.

"You're good."

The younger blonde almost blushed at the unexpected compliment. Toni had looked up to Becky when she just started in fighting. An example of the heights that were possible to reach and a goal to try and exceed someday. "Thanks. Not so bad yourself."

No more words were exchanged. Both women separating to go cool off a bit and rehydrate until Bobby returned.

The rest of the day went relatively smoothly. All things considered Bobby had expected Becky to make more of a huff about the newcomer. She had been surly for the last week or so. He had even cut one training session short because the redhead just didn't seem all there.

If anything it seemed like Storm being there was actually helping motivate the woman.

"Hey Bobby. Can we talk?"

The man in question was a bit taken aback by Becky's request. As of lately she had been wasting no time in leaving the gym as soon as their training sessions were over. So to see her still here when he had called their session fifteen minutes ago was a bit shocking. "Course. What's on your mind?"

"What are we doing here?"

"Gotta be more specific than that."

Becky looked irritated by his insistence on clarification. "Why's she here? Is Ruby leavin' or somethin'?"

"Nah. Ruby ain't leaving. Charlotte brought Toni in to help."

"How is she helpin'? She's not half bad but I'm not here to drag someone up to my level. All she's gonna do is slow me down. I'm gettin' ready for Sasha Banks, not some idiot off the street. Are you even taking this seriously?" Becky accused.

Bobby bristled at the implication but kept his cool. On the outside you'd hardly notice he was bothered at all. "I'm going to pretend you didn't say that… Unless you are dead set on sprinting till you puke tomorrow."

Becky huffed and crossed her arms. "Fine... " The redhead's bravado left her and she looked down at the ground for a moment. She knew she was being an ass but it was getting harder to turn off 'The Man'. Even when she wasn't in public. It was easier to pretend she was untouchably confident that to face her problems. "Still don't know why she's here."

"She's here for the same reasons you are. To learn and help make you better."

Becky raised an eyebrow, unconvinced. "How does she make me better when I'm going to be holding her hand the whole time?"

"One, you are underestimating her. Toni's a lot better than you're admitting. And two, you needed another sparring partner besides Ruby."

"I like sparring with Ruby."

"Good for you. But Toni isn't Ruby. She brings something else to the table."

Becky looked unimpressed. "And what's that? An accent?"

"Think about it without your ego for a couple seconds. What is Ruby great at? How does she fight?"

"She prefers to keep things close. Great grappler. Strong grip and isn't afraid to take things to the ground." Becky rattled off like facts on the back of a trading card.

Lashley nodded. "And how does Sasha fight?"

"Like a bitch."

Lashley gave her a stern look and repeated. "How does Sasha fight? What are her strengths? Where is she comfortable?"

Becky was quiet after his rebuke and decided to just give a straightforward answer. "She's one of the best strikers out there. Prefers to stay on the outside and pick people apart till they are compromised enough to move in for the kill."

"There's your answer."

Becky thought about it for a moment before the pieces fell into place. "You brought Toni in because she fights like Sasha and can mimic her to an extent."

"It's not the only reason but we thought it would help."

"We?" The redhead questioned.

"Charlotte and I. We were talking about bringing in more fighters and she was the one who mentioned Storm because of her and Sasha's similar fighting style."

Becky was contemplative. Quietly taking in the new information that seemed to clash with thoughts on her own self worth. Charlotte was thinking about her and knowing that simple fact formed a tiny crack in her walls. "I'll see you tomorrow." The redhead.

"We were going to go out for a team dinner to celebrate Toni's first day if you want to tag along. I'm sure everyone would love to see you." Bobby stated.

"Not hungry. Have a good time." Becky said before walking out and driving back to her apartment. She couldn't stay around them any longer. She didn't want to ruin the blonde's first day and taint it.

Charlotte

"I'm sorry. Did I hear you right? You want me to postpone and reschedule the rest of the tour?"

Charlotte stood her ground. "I just can't in good conscience not say something. Ms. Lynch is in no condition to be on the road right now."

Shane McMahon looked at her like she was certifiably insane. "You can't honestly be serious?"

"I am. You've seen her out there."

"Yes… I have. I fail to see the problem here."

She had known coming in the conversation wasn't going to be easy. Nor was she all that hopeful that Shane would listen to her. But she would have felt dirty never bringing up her concerns. "You don't see the problem with shoving an alcoholic who just relapsed on stage and making her dance for you? Just give me a week or two."

"Do you know what that week or two would cost me?" The McMahon questioned her incredulously.

"I'm sure it would cost a lot-"

"Damn right it would cost a lot. Your girl signed the contract. She knew what this was."

"She did. But I'm not going to just stand here and watch this trainwreck."

"This trainwreck is ratings Charlotte. Can't you see? Just sit back and watch the money roll in." Shane grinned and leaned back in his chair. Plopping his limited edition Nike's on the table without a care in the world.

Charlotte inhaled deeply through her nose. Closing her eyes and counting to three while wringing the leather strap of her bag in her hand. "You're happy with that?"

Shane was now looking at her like she wasn't even speaking the same language anymore. "Of course."

"Well I'm not."

The McMahon regarded her with the annoyance of an adult dealing with a child who just didn't 'get it'. The affable public persona he had crafted for himself fell away and the ruthless businessman beneath was left behind. "Here's the deal. Either you learn to deal with it or I ban you from the rest of the tour. I suggest if you care so much about your fighter that you take option one."

Charlotte bit her tongue and just nodded. Gathering her things and stepping towards the door.

Just as her hand hit the handle Shane spoke up again, "You know, I expected you of all people to know how the game is played up here in the big time. Your father certainly did."

Her fist tightened around the door handle. She kept her back to the McMahon lest he see how much the tiny comment had angered her. "See you in LA."

Sasha

"What is it?" Sasha asked as she accepted the bottle.

"What does it look like? It's rum," Teddy said with a hint of impatience.

Sasha gave him a dirty look as she answered saying: "No shit, why do I have it? What does it have to do with me?"

"That's your new sponsor. They want to make you the face of 'Boss Rum'," Teddy explained happily. Sasha was impressed despite herself.

"I thought I was corporate kryptonite at the moment," Sasha said as she turned the bottle over in her hand.

"You are, don't get it twisted…" Teddy said archly "...But you lucked out with this one."

"Touche…" Sasha muttered.

"But it's a good figure and all you gotta do is shout them out on your social media accounts and give them some love in an interview," Teddy explained. Before Sasha could answer, the door to the room they were in opened and Meng stuck his head in.

"Times up Teddy, Banks is mine now," the trainer grunted.

"Right you are sir, right you are…" Teddy said as she stood "...Be brilliant."

"I always am-" Sasha quipped but then was hit in the chest with a gym bag.

"Change, I'll meet you over at the Madjai center," Meng said. Since the latest presser would be in LA, Sasha was lucky in that she got train in her usual facility, always easier than improvising things on the road.

"Why don't I just change there?" Sasha asked him.

"Because you're running," Meng said with a small chuckle as he closed the door. Sasha blinked once before pulling out her phone and checking just how far it was from Teddy's office to the Madjai.

Eleven miles.

Sasha sighed.

Running eleven miles was an accomplishment at any time, but even more so when you did under the California sun AND at a pace that wouldn't have Meng up your ass when you got to your destination. So it was a sweat drenched Sasha Banks that finally arrived at the Madjai center. When she finally did she found Meng waiting for her in the parking lot. Her trainer was ostentatiously enjoying water from a cooler.

"Took you long enough," he said by way of greeting.

All Sasha could do was put both hands on her hips and take a few deep breaths.

"You look like you just hiked through a rainstorm, you oughta think about shaving that mane off. You'd stay a lot cooler."

"I'll fire you if you even suggest that again," Sasha muttered in a disgruntled voice.

"Oh no...not that, how would I ever survive NOT having to deal with MMA's biggest diva on a regular basis?" Meng asked sarcastically.

"Oh fuck off you ancient bastard," Sasha said as she dropped down onto the bench next to him. This was more of less how they always interacted with each other. Harsh though their words were, Sasha liked Meng and sensed that he was coming to like her. But neither of them would ever admit this.

"Go meet Sane down at the pool," was all Meng said in response as he stood and grabbed the cooler before Sasha could take a water to refresh her empty bottle.

"Yeah, well I wasn't thirsty anyway!" Sasha shouted after him.

Twenty minutes later she was standing beside Kairi Sane at the edge of one of the Madjai Center's many pools. This was one of the center's most popular training areas as it was specialized for underwater work. Several oxygen masks hung down from the ceiling and would allow athletes to stay underwater almost indefinitely. Sasha had spent many an hour here shadow boxing in the pool, building her muscles against the improved resistance.

"Sane! Into the pool first, five minutes! Listen for the buzzer," Meng shouted as he arrived. Kairi clearly understood this English and she promptly hopped into the water. Sasha watched her sink down to the bottom of the pool as Meng arrived. "What do you know about Lashley's career?" he asked without any sort of preamble.

The question caught Sasha off guard but she was used to Meng's conversational style. She took a moment to think before she admitted: "Almost nothing, he was Teddy's head trainer before I got to Thuggin and Bugging."

"Of course you never bothered to learn anything about him," Meng muttered as he rolled his eyes. Sasha put both hands down on her temper as it began to flare. Her trainer didn't chat idly, there was obviously a point to this.

"I didn't, I was just happy to have him training me," Sasha admitted, truthfully. Even when she'd first arrived Lashley had an astounding reputation. She'd been beyond surprised when he'd begun to transfer the majority of his efforts to her and away from some of the more established male fighters.

"Happy enough to fire him during a tantrum?" Meng asked as he produced an apple and began to eat it. It made him look like a total asshole.

"Something you want to say you desiccated old fuck?" Sasha growled.

Meng barked a laugh at this as he offered Sasha the unbitten part of the apple. Part of her was a bit grossed out but then her stomach reminded her that she hadn't eaten since early in the morning. Taking a big bite she handed it back. "Bobby could have been an amazing fighter, he was training to be one for a long time."

Sasha nodded, though she found this hard to reconcile with her own mental image of her former trainer. Something about Bobby's quiet serenity seemed to just suggest the role of mentor or coach. It was less easy for her to imagine him doing anything as aggressive as actually fighting someone else.

"So what happened?" she finally asked.

"He happened," Meng said as he checked his stopwatch. Sasha shot a look at the clock on the wall and estimated Sane had about three minutes left under the water.

"What do you mean?"

"Bobby decided that fighting wasn't his path. He loved the strategy and the training but he didn't have any real desire to get into the cage. So he decided he was going to train. He's a natural at it, better than I ever was even after only a few years," Meng said.

"So why are you telling me this?"

"Because I want you to remember what Bobby is like as a trainer. The work ethic, the passion, and the understanding. How he molded you into what you are and what you might be without him. Really think about that."

Sasha thought for a time but Meng didn't give any further guidance. And soon enough a loud buzzer sounded follow by the sound of Kairi Sane surfacing. The Japanese fighter removed the oxygen mask and handed it the Sasha before moving to stand beside Meng.

"Five minutes Banks, get going," the trainer barked. Sasha checked that the weights around her ankles were secure before diving into the pool. She felt herself begin to sink instantly, which caused reflexive sudden spike in fear every time. But as her feet settled on the bottom of the pool she began to relax. She'd done this before.

As Sasha began working through an exhaustive ladder of punches, palm strikes, elbows, forearms, and more she began to think. The movements themselves were so seared into her mind that she didn't need to focus much to do them perfectly. The removal of all other stimuli and distractions while underwater aided into the process.

She thought about Bobby Lashley.

The man who had been her mentor for so long. The man who, as Meng had put it, had molded her into the fighter she was. The man whom she'd once thought of as a friend. The very same man whom she'd tossed aside on an angry him. Yet another victim of 'the Boss'.

She thought about him and all he'd done for her, and all he'd taught her. If Sasha was the Bantamweight Champion of the world it was only thanks to him. What positive work and training habits she now had were the ones he'd inculcated in her. She was reflecting on this when she heard the sound of the buzzer going off from above the water. Swimming upward she clambored out of the pool and handed the mask off to Kairi.

As the Japanese woman vanished into the water Meng asked: "Any conclusions?"

"I'm not sure what conclusion you want me to reach," Sasha admitted as she wrung out her hair.

"Well then, we'll wait," Meng said. And, sure enough, he didn't say another word to her until Sane resurfaced besides telling her to get back into the pool. Throughout the wait, and her time in the pool Sasha was thinking. She was running back through every memory she had with Bobby. From the time a nervous and scared Sasha Banks had first been intimidated by the man's huge frame to their hug after she'd won her title.

Every fight, every training session, she was thinking about them all.

Of course this was a huge section of her past that she had to troll back through, so it was spread out over two underwater sessions. But in her third she was reflecting on how anxious she'd always been before fighting under Bobby. Before each fight she'd been so nervous and certain she'd lose. It was to combat this that she'd first created the Boss. But more than that it had always been Bobby's training in the final days before the fight that had always kept her grounded and confident.

Under his training, she'd felt she'd always had the edge. So she'd felt she could always climb a bit higher with each fight. Even if the other woman was a better fighter than Sasha when she accepted the fight, Sasha knew that SHE would be the better fighter when the time came. Thanks to her trainer.

Then the light bulb went off.

Though she hadn't heard the buzzer she shot to the surface. Almost as soon as her head broke through Meng barked: "Can you not hear now Banks?"

But Sasha was too eager to share her epiphany to care. She pulled herself out of the pool and said: "I haven't been challenging myself."

Meng narrowed his eyes and just said: "Go on."

"Since Bobby left, I haven't been challenging myself. With him I felt secure to try and get better with each fight because I knew he'd get me there. Without him I've only fought people who I know I can beat or in situations that don't count," Sasha said, some of her enthusiasm dampening as she heard these depressing facts out loud.

Meng stared at her for a very long time, not speaking. Kairi, who obviously hadn't been privy to any of their previous conversation was just looking confused. Meng kept them waiting for almost a full minute before he nodded and said: "Go get dressed, both of you. Sane, I need to talk to your interpreter, that bastard owes me $50 from last night."

"Apologies, Mr. Meng...but...Mr. Funkaki is...is…" Sane was obviously struggling to find a word but Meng stepped in.

"The bastard is hungover, honestly after last night I'm surprised we aren't both dead," the trainer muttered. Sasha was left to wonder what the hell had gone on.

"Go get changed, film work for the rest of the day," Meng finally said as he sauntered away leaving a confused Kairi and a bemused Sasha behind.

Bayley

"So how is everything going?" Bayley asked the image of Alexa Bliss on her laptop.

"Sub-optimally I must admit. I've tried implementing all the things you suggested. The results have not been encouraging," Bliss admitted.

Bayley frowned, she could guess at the problem but how was she to express it to the hyper rational Alexa? "Maybe the problem is that you are trying to 'implement' them. They aren't a battle plan, just things to be mindful of. You can't solve your current problem like you would a concrete one."

Alexa's nostrils seemed to flare as she paused. But a moment later she spoke in a way that Bayley never heard before. "I'm...not good at this," she admitted, sounding dejected. Despite her resolution to be more conscious about looking out for herself, Bayley couldn't change her underlying nature. When she saw someone in pain, her instinct was to try and comfort.

"Maybe not yet, but you'll get there. Just...do the little things. Smile, say hi, ask how they are. Eventually those things will build up. But don't look at is as a way to 'make' people like you. Just look at it as trying to be kind to people around you," Bayley encouraged.

"I will...endeavor to do so. Thank you Ms. Martinez," Alexa said. Then, realizing her mistake she said: "Thank you...Bayley." The first name sounded like it had to be dragged out of Alexa, but it was a step.

"Don't mention it Alexa, just call me if you need any more help," Bayley said with a smile. A smile that was a close approximation to her old one, but her heart still wasn't quite healed enough to produce her former incandescent grin.

"I will, but I do need to go. I'm preparing Ms. Lynch- err...Becky for another interview," Alexa announced, slipping back into her businesslike voice before she once again caught herself. "Ah...have a good day," she told Bayley before ending their call.

Bayley sat back in her desk chair for a moment before saying: "It's like dealing with a martian."

She only allowed herself a few moments to smile at this before she returned to her work. Bayley had decided that one of the ways for her to start feeling more normal was to try and do something she knew she was good at. Reporting. So she decided to finally follow up with her source in St. Louis who had reached out to her shortly after she'd returned to California.

What she'd turned up about Bob Orton and his company was, to say the least, interesting.

Her digging and cajoling had turned up the fact that Orton's company had netted almost three million dollars in revenue last year. Yet, only 2.8 had been reported to the board. So almost two hundred thousand in profit had been shuffled off the books under the auspices of a single line item called: 'other expenses'. Bayley trusted her instincts and they were telling her that something was up.

But her sources weren't placed to tell her where the money had actually gone. So Bayley had not only bought a trip to Boston but had also bought a ticket from there to St. Louis where she would spend a few days before turning to LA on time to meet with Styles about the next Banks-Lynch presser. Though she couldn't have articulate this consciously, it did feel good to be busy again.

And she'd had more than enough to do. In the world of blog based journalism, speed and consistency were life. During her recent funk, Bayley had allowed all her platforms to lapse. More than that, she had always won praise for how much she interacted with her readers and followers. At first, she'd despaired of finding a way to communicate that she was back without having to go into too much detail as to why she'd vanished at all.

But it turned out that kindness can really be its own reward. At least when your kindness led you to assist Alexa Bliss. There wasn't really a better person to go to if you needed a statement that conveyed what you wanted it to and nothing more. Alexa's single paragraph and certainly done the trick, shifting the mood of Bayley's public from confusion and mild annoyance to sympathetic solicitude. But the actual work of talking to her readers was still down to her.

Which was how she preferred things.

She'd put out one of two small updates, mostly conduiting other reporters work, but had also uploaded a commentary video. All of these were doing OK as far as traffic and at least had Bayley feeling somewhat confident ahead of her trip. Which reminded her of something she needed to do.

Picking up her phone Bayley called Charlotte.

Charlotte picked up the moment she saw the name flash on her screen. "Hey Bay. You doing alright?"

"Much better lately, thanks to you chica," Bayley said, doing her best to match Charlotte's enthusiasm. She toyed with the idea of hinting to Charlotte about what she would be doing in St. Louis but decided against it. She didn't really have much to share yet.

"At least you're feeling better." Charlotte said. "Now I'm just stuck dealing with 'The Man' all day."

Bayley wasn't quite ready to joke about, or even talk about, Becky yet. But she forced a laugh and then asked: "So, I hate to bother you with how busy you are but I wondered if I could ask a favor?"

"Anything. What do you need?"

"I'm going to be in town for your Toni Storm announcement and...well...finances are tight. I was wondering if anyone was using Becky's old room at the gym and if not...could I shack up there for a day or two?" Bayley asked, already wondering if she was asking too much.

Charlotte's answer came swift and assured. "Of course. Toni actually moved into the old room at the gym, but I can make some room at my place easily. Should I stock up on those crappy chips you like before you get here?"

Bayley found herself grinning slightly even as she asked: "Are you sure? I don't want impose." She waited a moment before adding: "...And sabor de soledad are delicious thank you very much."

"I'd be offended if you didn't ask. The hotels around here are shit houses anyway." Charlotte answered confidently. "And I guess I'll get you some of those things if you insist. Come hungry though. I'm going to get those enchiladas done right this time."

Any number of witty retorts suggested themselves to Bayley, but in the end she just said: "Thanks Char, for everything. Especially for being pushy enough to not let me push you away."

"... I think you've called me stubborn on more than one occasion."

" Como una mula. I'll see you in a day or so OK? I'll bring the beer."

Becky

The redhead rushed back inside her apartment and slammed the door shut behind herself. Taking care to engage the deadbolt and the chain so that she couldn't be disturbed.

She didn't want anyone to know what she was doing. Didn't want to admit it out loud if she could avoid it.

Becky had just finished an intense sparring session with Toni and needed to unwind. The blonde played Sasha well, and while she wasn't as great as the champion Toni was a good substitute to practice with.

Now that today's training was over Becky was ready to let go. At least for an hour or so she could forget her life and not think.

The redhead walked around her apartment and made sure all the blinds were pulled down and closed.

With a steady pace Becky walked towards the corner of her room. Stepping over an empty box and the veritable mountain of bubble wrap that had came with it and plopping herself down in the comfortable chair she had also purchased.

She rolled the chair towards the desk and reached out. Hoping that this would serve as a good distraction from the normal exhaustion that would take her over when alone lately.

An hour later Becky was frazzled beyond belief. "How did you do that? That's cheating. I can't even get back on the stupid platform."

The sound of laughter made its way through Becky's headphones. "It's not cheating. You're just bad at the game."

"Am not! This games just stupid. How would Kirby beat up Samus anyways? She's a badass bounty hunter and Kirby's just fat and pink."

"Well Kirby doesn't have a complete noob controlling them."

"How dare you!" Becky said in an overly theatrical pantomime of high offense. "I'm sorry we can't all have so much free time to play video games Lizzie. Speaking of free time, did you finish your homework and chores before video games?"

"Ugh, yes. Who are you, my mom?"

"I'm just tryin' to make sure you aren't slackin' off without me annoyin' you at practice anymore."

"You know Bayley never gets on my case like this when we play together." Lizzie said.

Becky felt her stomach drop at the mention of her, maybe former, friend. She still hadn't gotten a reply from the brunette other than simply knowing she'd seen her apology. "I'm sorry for wanting to check up on my favorite student. I guess I can let up on it though."

"Same time next week?"

Becky smiled sadly, "I'm a little busy but I'll try to make time."

"Becky?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry my mom won't let me come to your class anymore."

Becky wasn't able to stop a few tears from sneaking out at the heartfelt words. "So am I."

Charlotte/Bayley

Charlotte stared down at the fresh flowers she had laid on the gravestone almost five minutes ago. The wind picking up and making the petals flutter against the base of the stone.

She knew there was dark circles under her eyes but hadn't bothered to try covering them up. Reid wouldn't care.

She was tired. The travel alone was enough of a drain on her energy but when you added in the 'new/old Becky Lynch' it became soul draining. Every day a frustrating slog. Her attitude only getting more unbearable and ever present with each press conference.

The ground was slightly damp so Charlotte remained standing even though she should be taking the break she was offered while Becky trained back at the gym. She needed the sleep but more than anything she needed to find the strength to keep trying.

Charlotte heard footsteps making their way in her direction but simply ignored them.

Until she couldn't. The footsteps coming to a stop right next to her.

"How did you… Wait. I already know. Because you're a reporter right?" Charlotte joked in a soft voice. She unconsciously leaned slightly towards the other woman.

"Actually, I just asked Ruby," Bayley said as she stood beside Charlotte. Out of reflex she wrapped an arm around the taller woman and looked down at the headstone in front of her. "I used to wonder where you'd vanish to occasionally when I was here, man were my guesses wrong," she added.

Charlotte allowed herself the comfort Bayley offered. "I shudder to think what you thought I was doing… You would've liked him."

"From everything I've heard, I think I would have…." Bayley said with a sad smile before looking down at the headstone and adding: "...In order to embarrass your sister to the max, Reid, I'll tell you that she's an amazing woman, an even better friend and...a so-so kisser."

A laugh burst from Charlotte and she clasped a hand over her eyes. "Really Bayley? I don't think he'd want to know that… And anyway, it takes two to kiss."

Rather than answering directly, Bayley moved her hand from behind her back and offered Charlotte a luridly colorful bouquet of several different kinds of flowers which she handed to her friend. " Los mexicanos no lo hacemos sutil," she added.

"They're beautiful… Thank you." Charlotte turned to wrap Bayley in a quick hug before kneeling down to place the new flowers next to the ones she had brought. "I'm glad you're here."

Bayley returned Charlotte's hug and waited for her to stand before asking: "So, what were you two talking about?"

Charlotte hesitated to answer. But answered truthfully, "Becky."

Bayley didn't stiffen at this mention of the fighter, but only through a tremendous act of will. After only a moment she asked: "Good or bad?"

"You don't need to listen to this. If you'd rather not I'd understand. We can talk about something else." The offer made out of kindness. It was Bayley's decision to make and Charlotte didn't want to influence her.

"No, no, I'm the guest here. I'm just honored you're letting me stay," Bayley said as she stood somewhat behind Charlotte, wrapped her up, and rested her chin on Charlotte's shoulder.

Charlotte took a few moments to gather her thoughts. "I've honestly thought about giving up. She doesn't seem to care anymore. You've probably seen the press conferences. We just got back from the last one and the entire flight home Becky wouldn't just stop. She's pissed at everything I do to try and help her and when no one's around she just mopes around and doesn't tell me anything. I'm this close to just losing it on her." Charlotte wanted to rant more but ran out of steam. "Again." She added.

Bayley waited, unsure of how Charlotte's process worked with her brother. But when she was sure that Charlotte was waiting on her she said: "I might not be the best person to ask but, I never gave up on her because I think there is someone remarkable under all the pain."

It was something of a revelatory moment for Bayley as well as she realized she believed this. She didn't know if she and Becky would ever even speak again, never mind rekindle their friendship. But she found that she did believe what she'd just said. Then she wondered what it said of her that she still could.

Charlotte allowed Bayley's observation to sit in her head. "Even after? I'm trying my best to see it because I know there was something there but she isn't exactly helping."

Bayley sighed. The more she tried to change things, the more she seemed to end up back where she started. A day or two ago, she would have resented this mightily. But now, she was wondering if there was a reason for it.

"No one has more reason to give up on Becky than me. But then again, there was a time when I could have said that about you," she pointed out, hugging Charlotte a big tighter.

'It'd be a lot easier if we didn't care about them. Wouldn't it?" Charlotte felt like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. Just admitting she cared about Becky was difficult. In fact, Bayley was the first person she'd ever verbalized the sentiment to. It wasn't a grand romantic declaration but Charlotte was done ignoring it. God help her, she felt something for Becky Lynch. It wouldn't hurt this much if she didn't.

"If we could do that we wouldn't be here. And if that was the case I wouldn't have met Reid, so I'm glad we do…" Bayley said before transitioning to one arm around Charlotte's shoulder again "...I can wait if you're not done but I believe there was some mention of you burning something for me?"

Charlotte groaned. "That was one time… Thanks for listening. If you don't know it I really, really, really appreciate everything you did. I know it wasn't fair to put so much on you back then but I can't change the past. Let me take care of you tonight. We can just have a nice night and not think about anything serious… And hopefully eat some good homemade food."

"With your cooking? Changing the past might be easier," Bayley quipped as she put an arm through Charlotte's. She didn't need to tell Charlotte that she never needed to be thanked, her friend knew that. Just like she knew that Bayley could never thank her enough for pulling her out when she'd been drowning in despair. Both women knew these things, both didn't need to say them, and both loved the other for it.

An hour and a half later Bayley was standing next to a chagrined Charlotte looking down at would could only be described as a blackened mass of carbon in a pan as she fanned smoke away from her face. "I know you didn't grow up in a Mexican household or anything, so I can forgive some knowledge gaps, but….that is not how enchiladas are supposed to look."

"Thanks for your expertise." Charlotte teased. Frowning and place the pan in the sink and quickly running some water over the mess and leaving it for later. "So… Pizza?"

"For the sake of your apartment that might be best," Bayley answered jokingly.

"I really don't know what went wrong this time. I thought I set the timer." Charlotte shook her head in disappointment while pulling out her phone to send in their order. "What do you want on it?"

"What is 'Boston Pizza'?" Bayley asked as she looked at the menu Charlotte had tossed at her.

"Mostly a sloppy mess of grease and dough to soak up all the beer they sell during baseball season." Charlotte explained. "It's not half bad."

Bayley giggled and said: "Well, far be it from me to turn my nose up at such a high example of local culture."

"We'll see how you feel when it gets here." Moving over towards the fridge and pulling out two bottles of beer. Slapping the cap off of one with the side of her countertop and sliding it over towards the reporter with a wry smile.

"It's been too long since we did this, are you sure I can't convince you to relocate out to California?" Bayley asked as she took a quick drink. She'd been joking so Charlotte's next answer actually surprised her.

"If it wasn't so much work I might think about it. The cold and snow gets a little annoying after a while." Charlotte pulled out a bottle opener for her own. "Maybe one day I'll open a second gym out there and I can use it as an escape. Leave Ruby or someone else in charge for the winter."

"Are things going that well?" Bayley asked, interested by this hint. She assumed that the gym had to be prospering as a result of Becky's success, but Charlotte rarely spoke of such things to her or, she assumed, anyone.

"They're going very well." Charlotte admitted. Taking a pull from her beer and tapping her fingernails against the glass. "I've spent so long trying to get the gym off the ground again and protect what my dad started. It's weird having to adjust my mindset and think about building. Ever since Becky got here the numbers have steadily been going up. With all the hype around this next fight it's just kept going. I'm not sure if I'm even happy with the increase in attention."

"Oh yeah?" Bayley asked. She was determined to be a good listener for Charlotte tonight, she felt she owed her friend that much and much more.

"I keep wondering if it makes me a bad person to be happy. I'm benefitting from Becky while she is falling apart. Shane wouldn't listen to me. I know that Becky shouldn't be trying to do this tour but I can't stop it." Charlotte set down the beer harder than she meant to.

Bayley nodded sympathetically. "Well it will be no news to you but Shane McMahon is an amoral piece of crap. But I'll also point out that the better you are doing, the more able to help Becky you become."

Charlotte took a moment before nodding along. "Did you read the short statement on the 'training incident' and her black eye?"

"I did...didn't seem like Alexa's usual level of work," Bayley offered cautiously, sensing they were coming close to something significant.

"That's because it wasn't. Or at least not her best. She was covering my back even though I distinctly remember telling her to put out whatever she wanted." Charlotte offered. Knowing the idea of a cover up would be like dangling a steak in front of a starving dog to a reporter. "Funny enough Alexa has actually been oddly nice lately. Kind of freaks me out."

"Covering you?" Bayley asked, not really hearing the final words at first. When they registered she looked sheepish and asked: "Maybe...being a bit more personable?"

"That's one way to put it. She actually asked me how I was doing one day." Charlotte shook her head and took another drink. "Had to make sure it was really her."

Bayley smiled inwardly, oddly pleased by this evidence of her work. But it was up to Alexa if she wanted to share what they'd been doing. So instead she repeated her earlier question: "Covering your back?"

"It wasn't a training incident. Not really." Charlotte saw that Bayley was giving her a stare and wouldn't back down till she had an answer. "I might have been the one to give her the black eye. It's why she wore those stupid goggle type things through the first couple press conferences."

"Why would- oh…" Bayley said, her analytical mind supplying the answer to her question before she could finish it. There was really only one thing she knew of that could prompt Charlotte to attack Becky.

"She just looked so… fine. And I had just gotten back from California." Charlotte knew she shouldn't have actually hit the redhead no matter how much she felt it was deserved. "I almost hit her again when she said she didn't remember any of it."

"She didn't?" Bayley asked, sounding bleak now as she looked down at the bottle she held in both hands. She wasn't quite sure how she felt about this fact.

"That's what she said. I didn't believe her at first but she's not that good an actor." Charlotte answered. Her eyes narrowing as she picked up the shift in tone. "You alright? I was serious when I said we don't have to talk about her."

"No it's OK...I guess I'd rather hear it from you. But it kind of explains this," Bayley said as she held out her phone to Charlotte. Very conscious of how the act echoed when she'd played Becky's voicemail for her friend.

Charlotte held the phone and was worried that she would see more of the same. Instead she read a contrite apology from Becky that seemed genuine. It didn't shock her when she saw the date and did the math. She carefully handed the phone back. "I notice she didn't mention that fact… What are you going to do?"

"I don't know...does it make me weak that I believe her? But even though I do I'm not ready to see her. I'll cover your presser and then probably just hideout until my flight," Bayley said sadly. This didn't feel right at all. She was in Boston, by all rights she and Becky should have been going out for some terrible coffee, not awkwardly avoiding each other.

"You're not weak wanting to believe the best in her. If it makes you feel better I think she was being honest. But I'd still tell you to not see her. She's… Not in a good place." Charlotte was quick to try and minimize, "I just don't think she's ready to face what she's done. I'll be honest that message reads like an entirely different person from the one I've been dealing with."

She could see that Bayley would internalize this so Charlotte interjected before it could happen.

"Don't blame yourself or think you owe her. When it's just me and her she keeps telling me it's just an act. If you want a juicy story to run, Shane confronted Becky and Sasha after the London presser and told them to play things up for the cameras. Asshole told them that nobody cared unless they were talking shit. And the worse part is, if you look at the numbers, he's right." Charlotte lamented with an exhausted chuckle.

Bayley's insides were churning as she processed all the information she'd just been given. It hurt her more than Charlotte probably knew that she might be a constant source of pain to Becky. And this irritated her because she was trying to be more assertive about her own needs. Then there was the revelation about Shane McMahon and the light it shed on the subsequent press conferences the two fighters had given.

What if the Sasha she'd seen in London, the 'painfully boring' Sasha, was who the fighter was now? Was she really committed to 'being better'? Was Bayley herself foolish to allow herself the spark of hope that had just flared into existence in her heart?

She didn't know.

What she did know was that she truly loved and appreciated Charlotte's attempt to distract her with the idea of a story. She was truly glad she hadn't ever written the blonde off despite the many opportunities to do so. Trying to focus on this she said: "Headline: Shane McMahon...POS. Not exactly the news of the century is it?" She hoped Charlotte would detect the hint of gratitude she put behind the words without making Bayley say what she feeling directly.

Charlotte gave the other woman a smile and laughed. "No. I suppose it isn't. Anyways, how about you? Have you been getting out like I told you too? Keep in mind, if you say no, I will force you to eat this entire pizza by yourself."

Bayley laughed, saying "First, what makes you think I couldn't or wouldn't just eat the whole pizza anway. Second, yes I have MOTHER. Went to another baseball game which went way better than the last one. And I've been….helping someone with a problem. Also I even tried sunchips."

Charlotte was grinning widely. Feeling proud that she had managed to help Bayley get out of her funk. Maybe that meant she still had a chance to help Becky. "I'll let you get away with calling me that. I'll even let you get away with being so vague about whatever problem you're helping with. But don't think I'm going to let you off the hook forever."

"I don't remember you being this nosy," Bayley teased as she helped Charlotte grab plates and napkins for their food.

Charlotte started to crack up and winked over at Bayley. "I learned from one of the best. Nice girl, but she had a tendency to not back down when she senses something going on with a friend."

Bayley groaned as she took another sip of beer before saying: "Whoever she was, damn her."

Sasha

Sasha found that recently she had been doing a great deal of brooding.

Thought her training had never felt more natural, the rest of her life was feeling...false. As though she were constantly on display and constantly expected to put on a show. But not the show most people would have assumed. No, this was a self imposed performance. Or at least that was how she was now seeing it.

Was Sasha really even supposed to 'be better'?

No insight came to her as she ran down the streets of LA. She wouldn't normally have done this to avoid a potential scene, but she'd been restless that morning. It was one of her off days with Meng and she'd hoped to spend some time relaxing at home. But she hadn't been able to get settled, so she was hoping to tire herself out.

She'd been at it for almost an hour, nothing so far.

No matter what she did it seemed the world either didn't care that she was trying, or was actively working to push her backward. Sasha could acknowledge that she'd made some progress toward escaping 'the Boss', and maybe some positive changes in her life. But progress toward what?

Toward a life of loneliness? One where she had nothing to comfort her but being secure in the knowledge that she was 'being better'? What the hell kind of a deal was that.

In an effort to rehab her image, which was still suffering from Zelina's interview, Teddy had scheduled some softball appearances for Sasha around LA. She media had been full of pictures of Sasha visiting sick kids, signing autographs, and even playing double dutch with some kids on a playground. It had all been very wholesome, and very good for her PR score. And it had all been false.

Teddy had carefully staged each occasion, making sure that only people who were positively disposed to her would be around. She even suspected him of screening which sick kids she saw. The meetings had a 'stepford wives' quality to them that Sasha had resented mightily, even as she'd smiled through them.

She'd yearned for more authentic human reaction. To see if her efforts were actually amounting to anything real. If the newer and better Sasha would be able to be less lonely than the boss.

That had been a disaster.

On a whim, Sasha had gotten in her car with a box of t-shirts and PR photos and driven to a random park in LA. Parking her Lamborghini, which had automatically drawn a crowd, she'd stepped out and had been greeted by a sea of raised cell phones. Setting up on a bench she'd signed shirts and pictures, posed for photos, and tried her best to greet as many people as possible.

This had seemed to work for awhile, though she had to admit she was being false here as well. She was really just imitating how she imagined Bayley would interact with these people. But the act had been convincing.

Then the cameras had arrived.

Sasha had tired to just ignore them as she continued to greet people, but that had quickly become impossible. Then she'd tried to, respectfully, ask the media to let others through. That had gone about as well as anyone could have guessed. It had become more and more difficult to even speak to fans as the media had bombarded her questions.

" Sasha! Is this a publicity stunt to distract from the Vega interview?"

"Sasha! How do you respond to the reports that, with Bobby Lashley in her corner, Lynch is unbeatable?"

"Sasha! Zelina made a comment to Howard Stern about your sex life, said you weren't 'boss in bed'. Do you have a comment?"

This last one was enough to gode Sasha into reacting. She knew she shouldn't, and she knew it was a no win situation. But she couldn't help it, the beast rose within.

"Would you ask any other woman that question?" she snapped at the man holding his phone up.

He was ready with his response. "If she was a public figure whose former fiance had just talked about it on a national radio show then yeah! The people have the right to know!' he said smugly.

"Oh 'the people' have a right to know huh? Yeah you're a big goddamn hero, wrapping yourself in the 1st amendment like that. You know there are real fucking journalists in the world that actually need that protection but sure, you're JUST as important!" she snapped at the man, who was now at the center of a ring of cameras with Sasha herself.

"I don't think it's your right to decide what counts as 'real' journalism and what doesn't Sasha," the man said with a shit eating grin that made Sasha want to punch him. Yet he was saved by the intervention of a third part.

Then things got even worse for Sasha.

Something slimy hit Sasha in the side of the face. She automatically jumped backward, spinning to look for the source of the missile. But then two more objects hit her causing her to flinch backward. This brought her eyes downward and she saw what was hitting her, wet rags.

Before she could process this the chanting started. "Clean the filth, clean the filth, clean the filth!" a chorus of voices shouted over and over. Looking up Sasha saw a whole group of people in white shirts and black slacks flooding the sidewalk, pushing between the media. Their angry faces forming a ring around Sasha.

"If this filth monger won't clean herself then we will clean up her act for her!" a female voice sounded from somewhere back in the crowd, amplified by a bullhorn. In response a whole hail of wet rags pelted Sasha as she backed up against a low wall.

"What the fuck?" she demanded as she tried to cover her face.

The chanting continued but the woman's voice could be heard over it: "Sasha Banks is an immoral stain on the fabric of our society and we at Right to Censor will not stand idly by and let her poison our children!"

Sasha tried several times to shout something back but she couldn't make herself heard over the chanting. She was trying to find a way through the crowd to her car when she suddenly let out a squealing gasp. Someone had upended a bucket of soapy water over her head. Unfortunately she was wearing a white athletic top that wasn't ideal when soaking wet. With her arms firmly wrapped around herself she spun looking for whoever had just drenched her.

Locating the man Sasha's eyes narrowed. The Boss leapt to her feet in the back of Sasha's mind. One hand left her chest to curl into a fist. She could pound the puny little shit in a whimpering pile of puke. It would feel so good, and he deserved it. She felt her leg muscles tensing, preparing to spring. But then she caught a glimpse through a gap in the crowd. She saw a woman hurrying her child away from the scene.

Then she remembered why she'd come here, and who she'd really been trying to impress. So with a physical shudder, she dragged her eyes away from the man who had dumped the water on her. Almost as though she was having to force her legs to work against their will, she made her way over to her car. It looked for a moment like the protestors wouldn't let her through but they did part, allowing her to get in.

Though they'd let her in the car, they didn't seem to have any intention of letting her leave. So Sasha had been forced to sit in her car, being photographed and recorded the whole time, while police finally cleared the demonstration. It had been humiliating and Sasha had been livid.

In the present, Sasha continued her run while wondering why she was doing all of this. Why was she trying so hard to change herself, she'd won a MMA championship as herself. How wasn't that good enough? Why was SHE having to do all the adjusting to accommodate the world? To accommodate…her.

Sasha had a moment then when she finally admitted something she hadn't been allowing herself to even think. Everything she'd been doing, all the changes she'd been making, had been for 'her'. All in an effort to try and somehow 'earn' back 'her' love. But she was growing very tired of the work for no return.

She knew Bayley had seen her email. The reporter checked her messages obsessively. But no response had come back to Sasha. At first, Sasha had told herself that she couldn't expect a response. But now, after the few days she'd had, she was starting to think maybe she was entitled to one.

At some point Sasha did finally make it back to her home. She lived right on the coast, her home on a cliff overlooking the Pacific. But as she got closer she sagged as she saw the cordon of protestors blocking her gate. Without even getting close enough to hear she knew they'd be chanting 'clean the filth' which they'd been doing more or less nonstop from dawn to dusk for several days.

Closing her eyes Sasha slumped down onto the sidewalk and took out her phone. She had to call Teddy to send her a car which the protestors, after a long display, finally let into her driveway. Slouching inside Sasha dropped listlessly onto the bench in her entryway.

She had packing to do tonight. Though the next press conference was being held in LA, it had been decided that she would spend the night before at the hotel where it was being held. That would be tomorrow and she needed to get some things together. So she did eventually haul herself up off the bench and toward her room.

She was thinking as she went. Not just about her interactions with the protestors, but with the media, and even with some fans. The whole world seemed to want to assume that she was a bad person, no matter what she did. It was so unfair that she had to sniff to hold back a tear. All of this for someone who wouldn't even talk to her.

Without realizing it Sasha had walked into her closet and looking to the side she saw a pair of her old 'boss' sunglasses sitting out on a shelf. She stared at them for a long time.

Maybe she was just done.

Bayley

Bayley had never been to St. Louis before, and what little she'd seen of it made her think she might enjoy coming back someday to visit. But she'd have no opportunity to sight see this trip. She was feeling as alive as she ever did. She was on the trail of a lead, and a lead that promised something big.

How Becky and Sasha felt in the cage, was how Bayley felt in situations like this.

She'd always had a gift for getting people to talk to her, for getting people to trust her. Indeed, this was the reason why Alexa Bliss had come to her for lessons on the subject. But this was only half of what Bayley a good reporter and writer. Maybe even more important was the fact that Bayley was almost constitutionally incapable of leaving well enough alone.

In her personal relationships this often showed itself with her refusal to give up on people, often to her detriment. But in her professional life, it made her a bloodhound for a story. She simply couldn't let important questions remain unanswered until she'd given her all in trying to answer them. And it was the trait that had her in St. Louis.

She'd initially begun looking into Bob Orton and his company simply an extension of her research into Charlotte and her gym. She'd early on uncovered the fact that Charlotte's father had negotiated to sell almost 40% of the gym to Orton. And while she'd found this interesting, it had been interesting in how it informed Charlotte's actions. Now it was different.

Now it might be a story in it's own right.

In some ways, Bayley knew, she was out of her depth. She was approaching territory that might be closer to 'hard news' than sports journalism. But though she often doubted herself in every aspect of her life, when it came this sort of thing Bayley was absolutely confident. She wasn't going to back down on this or any other big scoop.

Of course, it was all well and good to be confident in one's self. It was another to take that and turn into productivity. And that was the phase Bayley was stuck in now. She sensed in her very bones that there was a story to be had here. But how to dig it up? Not helping this process was the knowledge that she had two days to do it.

Her original source had been a woman named Dana Brooke who worked for Orton as an accountant. Bayley had met Brooke by simply placing calls to Orton's office and asking questions. The office staff had been well trained as to what do with such inquiries and had stonewalled. Bayley had been prepared to write the angle off, it wasn't that critical to her story at the time, when she'd gotten a call.

Brooke had reached out to her with the tantalizing hint that she felt she might 'need a reporter to call' in the future. Bayley had done some gentle prying but Brooke hadn't been willing to budge at that time. As she'd also provided Bayley with the info she'd wanted, Bayley had let the matter rest at that. But she'd kept half an ear cocked.

She'd heard nothing until her return to the West Coast and even then she hadn't been in a position to follow up. Life had intervened since then but now she was here. She'd reached out to Brooke who had been surprisingly eager to meet with her given their long period of non-contact. So now Bayley was in a rideshare on her way to a bar to meet the woman.

As far as she'd been able to tell from her internet research, Dana Brooke was an everywoman. She had the usual social media accounts, a few old references here and there scattered across the internet, and seemed to be an accomplished weight lifter. None of this told Bayley much about Brooke's character, but it was something.

As was her habit, Bayley arrived well before her appointed meeting time. The bar proved to be a non-descript sports themed tavern. Bayley enjoyed this sort of place but the little she'd been able to glean about Dana Brooke made her surprised at the choice. The other woman seemed more like a cocktail lounge sort.

Ordering herself a diet pepsi and some mozzarella sticks Bayley took out her phone as she waited. She'd filed her story for ESPN covering the Storm announcement the day before, and Styles had come back with what was, for him, effusive praise. She'd also put some updates out on her site and platforms to good response. All this meant that she didn't much in the way or work mail to deal with.

But as she looked at her nearly empty inbox she saw the one message still there. The one she'd left there, because she wasn't sure how to deal with it. Or even if she wanted to.

Bayley had listened to Sasha's video message enough times that she had it more or less memorized. A large part of her kept urging her to delete it, why keep an automatic anxiety trigger around. Another part of her wanted to send back a message as vicious as anything Sasha had ever sent her. To show the fighter how it felt when someone responded to your heart with venom.

But she did neither of these things. She had no idea what she would do, so she just closed her email once more and killed time. But inevitably her thoughts drifted back to her situation with Sasha, and then with Becky. She was idly daydreaming about how different her life could have been when someone slid into the booth across from her.

"Ms...Ms. Martinez? I"m Dana Brooke. I recognized you from your picture," the blonde woman introduced herself. She looked at nervously before adding: "The side pony really makes it easy to spot you."

"One of its many benefits," Bayley said with a smile.

It didn't take someone as perceptive as Bayley to see that Brooke was a nervous wreck. Some of this wasn't unexpected, many people got nervous talking to reporters. But even allowing for that, it was obvious the blonde woman was sitting on something big. And as eager as she was to find out what it was, Bayley knew that job #1 for her was to settle the other woman.

"Want some?" Bayley said, speaking absolutely casually as she slide the basket of mozzarella sticks toward Brooke.

"Oh…umm...I...thank you," Brooke said, still sounding as though she were afraid she might explode at any moment. She took one of the sticks and took a bite mechanically, as though she were eager to prove to Bayley she'd done so.

"Something to drink? I'm buying," Bayley asked, still speaking in a tone you might use to soothe a spooked animal.

"I umm...is it a good idea for us to be drinking? I mean...given…" Brooke trailed off here.

"Given what? We're just two acquaintances having a drink?" Bayley asked casually, eating another stick. She knew she had to calm this woman down or she'd bolt soon. "Besides…" she added lightly "...It would seem more odd for you to arrive here, not get anything to eat or drink, and leave quickly."

She said this mostly as a joke. She did not believe that Brooke would have been followed to this meeting. But it seemed like Brooke thought it was a possibility so Bayley hoped that by saying this she might allay a fear and lighten the mood. Yet Brooke seemed to take it more as purely practice advice.

Shooting a look around the room she said: "Should I order something? Wait, should I not pay with a credit card?" Bayley had to work hard not to roll her eyes, Brooke had watched way too many spy movies. But she took the chance to reassure her again by producing some bills and tossing them onto the table.

"As I said, it's on me," she told the nervous woman with a smile. Brooke's posture relaxed fractionally and Bayley finally felt she'd made some progress.

She waited for Brooke to place her drink order and then engaged the other woman in some small talk. Nothing of substance was said but that was fine, she was simply trying to acclimate the woman to the idea that talking to a reporter needn't be terrifying. Handling people was a big part of her her job, and she'd gotten good with prickly personalities since she worked in the world of MMA. Brooke wasn't prickly, but she was sensitive in her own way.

After about twenty minutes of talk Bayley reached into her bag and produced her recorder. Raising an eyebrow she said: "We don't have to do this on the record if you prefer Ms. Brooke."

The other woman eyed the recorder like it was a landmine and said: "I think I would...prefer to be off the record."

"That's fine," Bayley said as she put the device away. She was slightly disappointed but she knew that pushing on this subject would be worse that useless. When she'd looked up again, she cleared her throat and said: "Well...Dana, can I call you Dana? Thank you. Well, Dana, you reached out to me a while back. I'm guessing you having something you'd like to share?"

Brooke played with the olive in her martini for a few moments before she said: "I do...but there's more. Someone else you should talk to."

Bayley nodded and said: "Please share."

So Dana Brooke told her story. Bayley listened and put on her professional/caring mask as she did. What she was hearing was truly monumental but she had a job to do before she could sit down and try to process it. Brooke talked for almost a full hour, enough time that both women finished their drinks and ordered another. When she'd done, Bayley was having to work to keep her eyebrows from lifting right off her face.

Bayley had just been handed a potential dynamite story, of that she had no doubt. But there was still an enormous amount of work to to be done. And, despite what she'd thought earlier, she was a little daunted by the prospect.

But one question reminded above all, now that she had this present information. What should she do with it

Sasha/Charlotte

In her earlier days, Sasha remembered that Bobby would put her in 'lockdown' in hotels.

This was meant very literally, he would station someone outside her door 24/7 and they would not let her leave. He'd said this was for her own good, and she'd resented it mightily. Nowadays, she wondered if Bobby had simply seen more of the truth about Sasha than she herself did.

Still, her days of lockdown were in the past. Meng's policy was summarized in a simple statement: "Fuck up your own chances if you like, I get paid either way."

This succinct statement aside, Sasha was enjoying the freedom. Or rather, she was taking advantage of it. Dressed in a dark hoodie, with the hood up, and wearing sunglasses despite the late hour and being inside, Sasha had slunk down to the hotel bar. The bartender was clearly used to this sort of thing, the hotel hosted many famous guests, hadn't asked any questions.

So, with her drink in hand Sasha had retreated to the far corner of the deserted bar to brood. She was so focused on this that she didn't notice that a wisp of her tell tale magenta hair had escaped her hood.

Once upon a time Charlotte had actually looked forward to travelling around the country for her dad's fights. She had found riding a plane a thrill. Nowadays, she would rather just curl up at home with a guilty pleasure romance novel and a fresh squeezed orange juice. She could confidently say the magic of travel had worn out for her long ago.

She sat down on one of the hotel bars stools. One of the legs was slightly shorter than the others and for some reason it was all Charlotte could think about. Her drink sat nearly untouched on the bartop and her eyes stared ahead without focusing on anything.

For the first time in a long time Charlotte was able to simply not think of anything and clear her mind. It was rather nice.

Charlotte's gaze focused on the drink in front of her. The amber liquid inside the glass staring back at her.

She pushed the glass away and threw a twenty dollar bill down next to the unfinished liquor.

The alcohol didn't seem as enticing as it once did. She had drank with Bayley but that was out of celebration and positive emotions. If she had drank now, she would be using it the same way Becky had been. She wasn't as far down the rabbit hole but the thought was enough to sober her up.

As she walked from the bar Charlotte took stock of the few people still in here this late at night. Two of the patrons had clearly just got in from a flight and had came down for a quick drink to discuss whatever boring business conference they might be here for. Come to think of it they could be here for the press conference.

Charlotte quickly ducked her head and avoided them just on the off chance they were. Her eyes turned away and fell on a massive banner for the new 'Boss Rum' that had been announced earlier that day. But while the banner had caught her attention initially the person underneath it had her change her course and steer towards the farthest and most isolated corner of the bar.

"Were you trying to hide? Or is this some grassroots marketing campaign?"

Sasha was lost in a reverie when the voice broke across her. Even before she looked up she frowned, she knew the voice and yet it was unfamiliar. Then her gaze lifted and she felt her stomach go cool.

"I don't recall inviting you over...and what are you talking about?" she asked, trying to sound hostile but then finding she didn't have the energy for it.

"I don't recall needing an invite to walk on public property." Charlotte teased with a light chuckle at Sasha rolling her eyes. "Are you telling me you sat beneath that on purpose? Because with the whole disguise thing you got going on, it seems very counter productive."

"What are you-" Sasha started to ask but then followed Flair's gaze. She found herself looking up at an enormous image of her face from the 'Boss Rum' photos she'd taken. "Well….fuck…" she muttered as she sat back in her chair. She knocked the rest of her drink back before she looked up at Flair and said: "Sit or go, the standing thing is weird."

Charlotte was going to say something but dealing with Becky had helped her tolerance. Biting her tongue she sat down and just said. "Thanks."

Sasha waved to the bartender for another before she looked covertly across the table. The last time she'd seen Charlotte Flair up close had been at her father's funeral. Before that it had been her stunt at the blonde's press conference. Neither of these encounters actually provided much of a conversational impetus.

"What are you having?" Sasha asked, deciding to take refuge in pleasantries.

"Just a water. Thanks." Charlotte felt a bit awkward answering. She didn't want to seem rude by refusing to drink with the woman but didn't want to indulge in alcohol when Becky couldn't.

Sasha regarded Flair quietly for a moment before shrugging and saying: "Between you and Lynch, it seems Boston's drinking habits have changed a lot since when I grew up."

'If it was a warm fall day at Gillette Stadium I'd have a few. Little late for me though." Charlotte took in the other woman and caught a few tiny glimpses of exhaustion that slipped through. "Don't you have some places to be tomorrow?" She asked while trying to keep it from seeming like an accusation or judgement.

"Don't you?" Sasha asked automatically. But she caught herself, Flair seemed to be making an effort after all. Sighing she counted to three before saying: "I'm trying to relax."

Charlotte nodded. She had expected the biting comeback but was pleasantly surprised by Sasha still sticking to her attempt at being better. "Try to get some sleep if you can. This whole tour has everyone a bit exhausted."

Sasha raised her eyebrows at Charlotte as she removed her sunglasses. Her eyes narrowed fractionally as she tried to work out the other woman's angle. "Wouldn't it be in your best interest for me to be as exhausted as possible?" she finally asked.

Shrugging along to the well made point, Charlotte leaned back in her chair and smiled softly at the other woman. "You aren't the only one trying to be a better person Sasha." She wanted to reach out and try to offer some solace to the fighter but knew that would be too much. Maybe she was crazy but Charlotte thought she could see what had made Bayley care about the deceptively brash woman so deeply.

Sasha was having to perform the mental equivalent of shifting without a clutch. For so long a large part of her had defined itself by her opposition to Becky Lynch, and by extension the woman sitting in front of her as well. It was...surreal to be having this almost pleasant conversation with Charlotte Flair of all people. But maybe not unpleasant.

"I was...AM...sorry about your pops," Sasha said, awkwardly. It had a been long time since she'd had a conversation like this. With a social equal, not someone who was approaching her as celebrity but as another person.

The reminder of his passing wasn't needed. She thought about him everyday in all the little things. Charlotte swallowed around the lump in her throat and gratefully sipped from her water. Giving herself a few seconds before replying, "Thank you. It still feels weird. Him being gone." Charlotte looked across the table and took a deep breath. "I uhh. I'm not sure exactly how to say this but I wanted to thank you for giving Becky the address. That was… kind of you."

Sasha swirled her drink absently. Part of her wanted to declare it had been a mistake, that she regretted it. And maybe on some level she did. But not enough to make it wholly true. Taking another sip she said: "It...wasn't right for someone as good as her to go out like she was going to. Besides, your dad really did most of the work." She took refuge in another sip before falling silent.

Charlotte just nodded and dropped it. She could sense Sasha was uncomfortable accepting any praise. A thought crossed her mind, forcing her to try and hide an ironic smile behind her hand but she wasn't able to stop herself from laughing for a second. Quickly gathering herself back up and hoping the other woman wouldn't question it.

Sasha frowned at this very unexpected reaction. She didn't have to comment right away as the waiter arrived with her drink. She took a long pull before looking up at Charlotte and asking: "Care to share what's so funny?"

"Sorry. I just couldn't help it." Charlotte started off to try and soften the blow. "You and Becky are so alike it's honestly a bit creepy."

Another waspish response leapt to Sasha's lips but she just barely held it in. "You'd better explain that one I think," she said tartly.

Charlotte grinned and shook her head. She had known the comparison would ruffle Sasha's composure. Becky would have reacted with similar vigor. "For one, neither one of you will take credit when you actually do something nice. There always has to be some qualifier."

For a moment Sasha felt a strange tug at the corner of her lip, though she squashed it quickly. "Someone I...knew...used to tell me something similar," she said slowly. She took another drink and then regarded Charlotte with a more appraising eye for a time. Eventually she said: " You...aren't much like I remember you."

They had only really known each other for such a short time, many years ago, that Sasha wasn't sure if Charlotte would even remember. But Sasha had formed a lasting impression of the tall blonde girl who had haunted Ric Flair's gym while the legend had been trying to sign Sasha. Something about Charlotte then had made Sasha feel like the other girl had been studying her, analyzing her. Truth be told a minor reason she'd chosen to go out west was because of her discomfort at this.

Charlotte was thrown back in time by the comment. Recalling how jealous she used to feel of the young woman her father had been gunning for. She remembered him saying similar things about Sasha that he has said when Becky came around. "It's been a long time. I grew up. Learned some things." Taking another sip of her water before adding, "I could say the same about you… Can I ask you a question?"

Sasha stared at her almost empty glass as she considered ordering another, she could the feel alcohol at work already. Maybe that was what made her say: "Sure."

"I just want to know from you- from Sasha, that you're serious about this trying to be a better person thing?" Charlotte subtly shifted into interrogation mode. It was one thing to hear her say it on stage or in an interview but Charlotte wanted to look her in the eyes and make sure.

Sasha shot a look at Charlotte as her eyes narrowed again. She was still trying as hard as she could to figure out what Flair's angle might be, what advantage she might be trying to gain. But she couldn't for the life of her. She was forced to consider the possibility that Flair might actually be curious. So with a sigh she said: "I don't know why I'm telling you this but I don't know. I want to, I wish I did, but...it's...it's...its really hard. I guess I'm learning what I should already know, it's hard to change yourself. Even you if want to for someone- for...all the right reasons."

Charlotte held her stare for a few seconds. Taking in everything that Sasha gave her. Finally she nodded and relaxed. "Thank you for that." There was hope yet. "Helped put my mind at ease."

Sasha was puzzled by the response but decided to let it go. In any case she found she had something she wanted to say now. Steeling herself she said: "I'm...really sorry about the press conference. I was...it's not an excuse...but I was in a really...fucked up state of mind." This was as close as she could get to saying she'd been a spoiled little bitch who had pitched a fit over Bayley's presence in Boston.

"What's done is done." Charlotte waved it away. "Besides, I think I'm beginning to understand." She shifted in her seat before asking an uncomfortable question. "Would you say Zelina was a part of that?" Charlotte sipped at her water and added, "Sorry. I've been talking with my psychiatrist a lot lately. She's rubbing off on me."

Sasha felt they might be approaching the limit of what she was willing to discuss with Flair. But then she decided that there wasn't really anything about her relationship with Zelina that wasn't public record anymore thanks to that little shit. So she she just said: "Everything Carmella Dale was to Becky? Zelina was to me, but with a media agenda."

"Sounds like a blast to be around. You do realize you just admitted you and Becky have something in common? I didn't think I'd ever see the day." Charlotte let Sasha off the hook. She'd said she had come here to relax. That was enough information gathering for now.

"Well...I'm glad you're pleased…" Sasha muttered, feeling disgruntled and several other emotions that she couldn't define "...Did you come over here to ask me about my personal life and motivations?"

"No. That was just a byproduct… I came over here for a friend." Charlotte finished her water and stood up out of her seat. "You really should try to get some sleep."

Sasha didn't look up from her drink as she asked: "So we're friends now?" She wasn't even sure she knew how she wanted Flair to answer this question.

A tiny smile graced Charlotte's lips. "I didn't say you were the friend. Maybe someday… It's been surprisingly nice talking to you Sasha. Hope you can relax soon."

More than anything else in the world Sasha wanted to blurt out a question now, asking Charlotte if she knew how Bayley was. She knew the two were friends, or she'd inferred it anyway. But she was still Sasha Banks, too proud for her own good. Instead she lifted her glass and said: "Maybe, I'm still beating your girl in Vegas though."

"I'm sure you'll try your best." Charlotte raised an eyebrow in silent challenge. "I'd wish you good luck but I'm sure you wouldn't take it."

Pushing her drink away Sasha stood, perhaps too quickly because she swayed but caught herself. She moved carefully to stand in front of Charlotte, looking up at her. They locked eyes for a long time before she said: "I forgot how tall you are." With that, she turned and left.

Charlotte struggled to not smile. She couldn't resist calling out after the woman, "You know Becky gets annoyed by how tall I am too."

Sasha/Becky/Bayley/Charlotte

The alarm on Becky's phone went off for the third time. She continued to delay heeding the warning and stayed wrapped up in a warm, safe cocoon of blankets. Even though the press conference was quickly approaching she didn't want to get out of bed. That would require effort. Effort that she didn't want to put in.

When an annoyingly constant knocking started on her door Becky only placed one of the pillows over her head and tried to block out the noise. It was probably just Charlotte anyway. Sharing a hotel room with the blonde was its own hell. She was always around and trying to get her to do something when Becky wanted to do nothing. All she wanted was to escape for some solitude but apparently that wasn't in the cards.

"It's after noon and you're still in bed?" Becky was surprised at Alexa's voice but didn't let it show. "You do know you have a press conference? Or is this some form of lay in protest?"

"Fuck off Bliss. Not in the mood."

"Are you ever?" Alexa bit back before stopping herself and taking a deep breath. "Sorry that was abrasive of me. Are you feeling alright Rebecca? Perhaps I could get you a water."

Becky pulled the pillow off her face so she could stare at the tiny blonde. "What are you playin' at?"

"What do you mean?"

Becky gestured with her hand up and down. "All this. Sayin' sorry, asking about me, offerin' to get me somethin'. Did your programmer make a mistake in the coding?"

Alexa tried to not let the redhead's words get to her, but she unknowingly hit a sore spot. "If I'd known you were still being an ass I wouldn't have volunteered to come get you."

Slowly Becky got out of bed. Straightening the rumpled clothes she hadn't bothered to take off after the flight and ignoring Alexa for the time being.

"Just so you know the whole 'I don't care what I look like' thing… Not really working out for you."

Becky continued to ignore Alexa and ran a hand through her hair in a losing war to try and straighten it out a bit. She ended up giving up and walked to the elevator in silence. The steady click of Alexa's heels the only sign she was following.

Alexa tried to engage Becky several times during the ride down but the redhead was having none of it. Pulling a pair of dark aviator sunglasses out of her jacket and donning them. The blonde might as well have not been there.

A shrill ding announced their arrival in the lobby and right before the doors opened Alexa watched in awe as the fighter suddenly seemed to be standing a little taller. Grinning a little wider than she had seen before. If she hadn't known any better Alexa would assume that this woman was on top of the world.

"Alright. It's showtime." Becky said before exiting the metal box and leaving behind everything but 'The Man'.

Sasha was staring into the mirror in her suite, struggling with a decision. She was due down at the press conference in less than thirty minutes and yet here she was. One fist clenched so hard that it shook with anger. Looking over at her phone she had to work hard to force herself not fling it against the wall.

Sasha had awoken that morning to the news that Zelina had been on yet another show. As usual she'd been discussing their relationship, this time going even further in depth on their sexual history. This would have been enough to annoy Sasha in any case, but it was the addition that Zelina had made that had her livid.

The little bitch had asserted that Sasha had been having an 'emotional affair' with another woman and that she was prepared to release the details. The skank had even managed to 'choke up' while discussing it. Of course, no such thing had happened, Sasha had been so emotionally numb she hadn't even been invested in her main relationship, much less another clandestine one.

But it was the fact that whole world seemed to be taking Zelina at her word. A quick glance on twitter confirmed this. No one gave a shit that Sasha had been trying so hard, no one cared. They all wanted to believe she was a monster. She'd let herself be deluded by her interaction with Flair the night before, that she actually was making progress. She'd been a fool.

Adding to this sense of outrage was the fact that she had yet to hear back from Bayley, not even a single sign. If ONE person should have cared about how hard she was trying, it should have been the reporter. Hadn't she once told Sasha that in stuff like this effort lay in merit?

Apparently not.

Add to this that she was hungover, she'd continued her drinking after getting back to her room, and Sasha was just done with the whole thing. She was staring into the mirror full of anger and frustration at a world she thought wasn't treating her fairly. A world that seemed to hate her even as it demanded she entertain it. Sasha was staring into a mirror, but the Boss was looking back.

With a low growl Sasha looked around her room. Her eyes fell on several items, and an idea formed. An idea that was far from something that a 'better' person would do. But god it would feel good. She didn't even hesitate, she grabbed them, checked her hair, and stormed out of her suite.

"Ready to go?" Meng asked her, not reacting to her visibly upset state.

"Fuck yes I am," Sasha snarled as she stomped toward the elevator.

She steadfastly ignored all efforts to speak to her in the elevator and on the way to the backstage area. Even brushing off cheery greetings from Kairi Sane and Teddy. She was losing herself in the almost narcotic experience of using her temper as a shield. She was feeling alive now, the sense of invincibility that came with being the Boss was as good as any drug she'd ever done.

When they reached the backstage area Sasha ignored the directions the hotel staffer was giving and settled herself in a nearby chair, her phone out. She was blitzing her instagram with photos and was even contemplating a live video when Lynch arrived.

Becky made it to the backstage area with plenty of time to spare. A fact she had not resisted rubbing into Alexa's face.

She spotted Sasha nearby and her strut somehow got even cockier than it already was. Making sure she had the other fighter's attention before blowing her a kiss and winking cheekily.

Sasha made a dismissive waving gesture with her fingers before beckoning one of Teddy's people over. She whispered some instructions to him before sending him scurrying. Sitting further back in her chair Sasha smirked in a way she hadn't done for weeks. It was good to be the queen bitch.

Becky laughed and turned her back on the other woman. A burning desire to step out on that stage setting in. The feel of it was indescribable. It was addicting and Becky needed another fix.

"Hey ya'll, this the motha fucking BOSS 'bout to go and show the world who runs this bitch!" Sasha said into her phone. Ending the short recording she posted it and then turned to watch as Shane McMahon appeared with his entourage.

Shane was beaming as well he might. One look at the two fighters told him that he'd gotten everything he'd been hoping for and more. Clapping his hand together he turned to Becky and said: "The world wants to see the Man! Go show'em!"

Becky raised an eyebrow at Shane's exuberance. She chuckled lowly at a joke only she knew and walked past the McMahon without bothering to acknowledge him. "Hold onto these for me." She said before taking off her sunglasses and throwing them towards Sasha. Making sure to give the champ a fake smile when the glasses clattered to the ground. Sasha having not even made an attempt to catch them. "Such a doll." Making sure that the other woman saw her pull out Sasha's trademark glasses and slipping them on before moving out of the curtain and soaking in the cheers.

She walked towards her seat but bypassed it entirely and sat down in the seat Sasha was assigned to. Becky took off the glasses and snapped them in half before tossing them into the crowd and eyeing the shiny title belt that sat on display in front of her.

As she waited for Sasha to come out the Irish woman just grabbed the belt and held it high. The raucous crowd had came for a show. Becky was happy to oblige.

Sasha narrowed her eyes at Becky's first words, and they almost disappeared when she saw the second set of glasses the other fighter had. But she kept her cool and affected not to care. She had something bigger planned. She heard the roar from the stage and ignored that as well. She was focused as she picked up the box she'd brought with her.

"Playa, you got a-" Teddy started to say but Sasha cut him off with a hand. She didn't even speak, just waited for the speakers in the hall to begin booming out the opening bass of "Satisfaction" by Eve, her walk out song, before standing.

When she emerged through the curtain it was to a wall of noise and light. So many flashes were going off that it almost made her sunglasses necessary. As soon as she cleared the curtain Sasha strutted to the edge of the stage and paused. She let it stretch for five whole seconds before she held up hands, showing off her trademark rings. She held this pose to before she brought her hands out to her side and waved away the haters, making sure to transition one hand into a middle finger aimed at Lynch.

The cameras popped for this one, as she'd known they would. But she wasn't done, moving with perfectly insolent deliberation, Sasha slowly swayed her hips and hit her boss pose. Something she hadn't done for a long time. But the media loved it. Sasha knew they all expected her to sit down now but she wasn't ready to stop playing.

Instead of finding her seat, now occupied by Lynch in any case, Sasha strode down the steps leading down from the stage and out into the crowd. She walked as though she were an empress among subjects, but she made sure to give everyone ample time to photograph and film her every step. Stopping by where Zach Ryder was sitting with his phone up, Sasha snatched it out of his hands and turned it onto her face.

"Take a look at this face! You see me? You hear me? This is mother fucking greatness! Never before or again, this is the Boss and ain't nobody got SHIT on me," she said before tossing the phone aside carelessly. Prancing back down to stand in front of the stage, Sasha once again raised her hands to show off her hardware. The paying attendees were going wild now as she hit her boss pose once more.

Sasha milked the reaction for it was worth before remounting the stage and retrieving her box from where she'd left it. Only then did she stride across to the open seat, giving no sign that she knew or cared that Becky was in the one assigned to her. But she stopped and gave an exaggerated frown as she looked down at the simple chair. She beckoned to the curtain and the man she'd sent away appeared with another of Teddy's crew. They were carrying one of the overstuffed arm chairs from the lobby and as they approached Sasha contemptuously kicked the first chair aside.

Turning to the crowd she shouted: "If it's good enough for that bitch, it doesn't deserve me!" She emphasized this by jabbing a finger at Becky. When this was done she settled herself back into the chair with all the air of a queen on her throne.

Becky leered over at the stunt with amusement. She grabbed the mic from its stand and leaned back in her chair. "You know I really try to listen to you, but I damn near fall asleep everytime. Get some new material. You're going to need it after I snap that arm of yours like a twig and show you last fight was a fluke."

Sasha simply sat quietly in response to this. She did this for so long that Shane had to prompt her saying: "Sasha?"

"Oh? Was someone speaking? All I saw was shitty copy of me out here…" Sasha sneered before turning to face Becky and adding: "...But it's OK sweetie, really I understand. You came out here trying to be me because who would WANT to be you? You've gotten so comfortable back there picking up after me, I understand." She said this with a smile so sweet that it might kill a diabetic.

It took Becky a second to snap back. Her left eye twitched but that was the only outward sign of how hard Sasha's words had struck. "I was you for thirty seconds and I wanted to hurl. Must be hard getting anyone to stick around. I can really empathize with your gal."

"For thirty seconds you were the best in the world? The champ? A pop culture icon? Yeah I can see why you wouldn't be able to handle that Becky. Don't worry, it was cute watching you try. Now a grown up is here," Sasha shot back instantly.

"A grown up you say!" Becky made a show of looking around the room. "Where? All I see is a girl playing dress up and trying to act like badass. I'm just here to bring you back down to earth. I'm doing you a favor, really."

Sasha gave a girlish titter at this as she spoke in a musing tone: "I'm a little girl playing dress up huh?"

"Having trouble hearing?" Becky shot back.

"So…." Sasha said as she placed a finger tip on her chin "...You got embarrassed by a little girl playing dress up, lost your title to her, and have spent the last year of your life trying desperately to catch her? Yeah that sounds about right."

"I'm not here to simply catch you lass. I'm here to break yer face and get paid to do it. If we could I'd love to just have the fight now." Becky said knowing it would get the crowd to cheer. It was almost too easy. "But I'm sure you don't want that. Wouldn't want the world to see you get smacked upside the head for free. They gotta pay for that."

"LADIES! Please. I think we all understand your animosity but this was meant to be a press conference. These hard working journalists came out here to ask some questions so why don't we let them." Shane broke in with a wide smile on his face the whole time.

It was on the tip of Sasha's tongue to call Shane out on his hypocritical bullshit right there, but she knew he could still make her life difficult. So she just settled in to her chair, very ostentatiously putting her feet up on the table in front of her.

"First question?" Shane called, he peered at the forest of raised hands and pointed to a man in the first row.

"Sasha, Becky, to say the tone of your press conferences has changed since London would be an understatement, any comment on what caused this change?" he asked.

Becky smiled wide. "I got bored. String bean over there is a fun one to piss off though. Keepin' me busy she is."

Sasha checked her nails before saying: "Isn't this what you want? Are you not entertained? I did everything I could to try and play by the rules but ya'll basically told me to fuck off for doing that. So you know what? My turn to tell YOU all to go fuck off. I'm the Boss and you're nobody, get used to it."

Bayley hadn't been quite sure how to feel as she'd entered the hall. She'd covered over a hundred press conferences and yet she was a nervous wreck. She knew why of course, this was the first time she'd been anywhere near Becky since her voicemail. And the first time with Sasha since the funeral. Both the women who would be on the stage had devastated her at different times in her life.

Facing both, even if they probably wouldn't know she was there, was daunting.

Ordinarily, Bayley joined the scrum of reporters trying to get closer to the stage though she preferred to stand along the side of rooms rather than sit. This allowed her to leave quickly if she needed to. And today she was very grateful for this habit. Watching Becky's antics Bayley knew it would have been hard for her to stay even if she'd been on the best possible terms with the other woman. But if she'd found Becky painful, that was nothing on Sasha.

Bayley felt like she could cry. But it would have been in anger at herself. She'd allowed herself the absurd hope that the Sasha she'd seen on TV, the one who seemed to be trying, was real. That maybe, this new Sasha could be someone she could reach out to. That there was some minute chance that they could...but it didn't matter now. The woman she'd loved was gone, lost to the Boss forever.

Bayley kept her face a stony mask as she watched the first few questions. Only small part of her brain was analyzing what she was seeing as a reporter. Most of her being was longing to be somewhere else, anywhere else. Yet, like watching a wreck, she found herself unwillingly transfixed. So much so that she didn't even jump when she felt a hand on her arm.

Charlotte watched the farce on stage and felt a sense of deja vu. The previous two press conferences had been a steady escalation in the verbal attacks. It was beyond frustrating standing there and not being able to do anything. The show was well underway and it looked like Sasha had decided to fight Becky's fire with some of her own.

There had been hints that Becky's incessant trolling had been getting to Sasha. Glimpses of the Boss had became more frequent but this was the first time she had came out swinging. Charlotte had tried to talk with Becky about toning it down but had been met with a cold shoulder and petulance for the next day.

Charlotte had been hopeful after their late night talk last night. She hadn't expected anything of it at first but she had begun to see Sasha as a person. It wasn't heartbreaking or devastating but it wasn't pleasant watching Sasha come out and say what she had. But she saw someone who it would hurt quite a bit more.

The blonde made her way slowly down the aisle from the exit door she had been standing next to and laid a gentle hand on the Bayley's arm to get her attention. Offering a bit of comfort during what she knew must be an uncomfortable moment to say the least. She spoke so that only Bayley could hear her, "You good?"

Bayley didn't look back or even move. When she spoke it was in an oddly mechanical voice, as though she were delivering a line she didn't care about. "It doesn't matter does it?" she said as bitter resignation filled her heart. "No matter what I do, this always happens," she added to herself.

Charlotte wished they weren't in public right now. She also wished that what was happening on stage was something imagined but neither were in the cards for her. Instead she slid next to Bayley and just stood next to her. Silently trying to offer what strength she could even though she was also finding it difficult to stay here and watch. "...This really sucks."

"Why are we surprised?" Bayley asked, a note of bleakness finding its way into her robots voice.

"Because we know they're both better than this." Charlotte offered and snuck her arm around Bayley's shoulders to give her a small squeeze while everyone was focused on the stage.

Back on the stage, Sasha and Becky were both shouting over each other. The question had been if they had any comment about the growing perception that they were poor role models. It had been a flashpoint for both women.

"I never fucking said I was damn role model! I'm the best in the world at what I do and that-" Sasha said as she leaned forward and slapped the table.

"I didn't get in this to be a role model. It's fighting. Whatever moron allows their child to look up to a fighter deserves what they get." Becky hated agreeing with Sasha but the question bugged her deeply. She wasn't a role model. She and maybe even Sasha were a bedtime story told to children so that they'd avoid making the same mistakes.

"You know what? Fuck this, you're joke dude...yeah you!..." Sasha said as she glared at the reporter "...I ain't saying another damn word as long you're here. Go on...get out!"

The helpless reporter looked around the room for support, and there was a low muttering from the assembled media. But all eyes naturally turned to Shane, who was notionally moderating the event. It was obvious he had to work hard to keep a grin from his face as he simple held up both palms as though to say 'out of my hands'. Finding no assistance in the room, the shame faced reporter cast one more look at his colleagues.

"No! Don't look at them, the Boss just said get the fuck out of her press conference!" Sasha snapped. Without any recourse the humiliated man edged along his row and left the room.

Becky watched on in amusement. "What a bitch. I kind of wanted him to stay just to see if Sasha could actually stay quiet. How sad."

"This ho thinks she's funny doesn't she?..." Sasha asked the room, knowing how much ignoring Becky had gotten under her skin at the last presser "...Well she got jokes but I got quotes. Who's got a real damn question?"

A well dressed man near the middle of the pack of reporters stood up. Flanked by two dressed similarly people. A man who was carrying a camera on his shoulder and a woman holding a clipboard. They fit in well amongst the crowd. "I have a question for both of you. What gives you the right to sit on that dias and spout such filth? Both of you have a special place in hell for your list of sins."

The man and woman flanking him dropped their respective props and began to shout over the low murmur of the crowd. "FILTH! RAPIST! CORRUPTERS!" Pulling out what appeared to be water balloons and hurling them towards the stage. Both women on stage and Shane immediately jumping up when the first balloon hit. Landing in between Becky and Shane and showering the curtain behind them with a brown liquid paint.

Becky dodged another and yelled into her mic. "ARE YOU FUCKIN' KIDDIN' ME?! Someone get those fuckin' eejits out of here before I come out there and do it for ya."

Sasha had been a hair faster than Becky simply because she'd had things thrown at her more recently. Backpedalling from the table she looked around for something to throw back. Finding only plastic water pitcher on the table she darted back, scooped it up, and sent it soaring toward the shouting group. She followed this by stalking over to the stage stairs.

"You wanna do this you shit heads? Fine! We can do this!" she shouted, showing every sign of storming into the crowd until several pairs of strong hands grabbed her from behind.

"What the hell are you doing?" she heard Meng's voice snarl in her ear. But she was barely listening as she struggled to break their grasp. Unfortunately this made them a large stationary target and they were struck by a balloon a moment later. Sasha didn't catch all of it but she got enough.

"Security! Get them out of here!" Shane was shouting as Meng, Titus, and several others finally managed to pull Sasha back onto the stage.

Becky had avoided the balloons and turned to look over at Sasha. Laughing loudly when she got splattered with some of the paint. The moment of distraction was enough for her to miss the balloon sailing directly at her and exploded against her hip.

She took a second to look down at the brown paint that covered her side before her anger got the better of her and she jumped off the stage while everyone was still focused on Sasha. "Yer all dead!" She shouted and started to move up the aisle but was quickly wrapped up in a bear hug by Bobby. One of the only people capable of actually halting her in such a rage without the risk of her being able to turn on them.

"You aren't doing this Becky. You're getting back on stage this instant. Let security handle it."

Becky flailed in his grip even though she knew there would be no escaping without actually hurting the much larger man. A few other people gathered around in case Lashley couldn't keep his hold on her but he waved them off. She was barely tolerating him touching her right now. It would be a bad idea for some random security she didn't know to try and wrangle her.

Slowly but surely he was able to get her back on stage. The crowd that had already been salivating at the two women going back and forth now was wondering what would happen next. The entire atmosphere seemed to have shifted from the past press conferences and the tension had only increased.

Bayley had obviously heard the phrase 'acting like an animal'. But she'd never seen it more perfectly exemplified than what she was watching. Both Sasha and Becky did indeed look like chained beasts, complete with the teams of handlers trying to keep them from leaping on bystanders. Her eyes were on Becky in particular, marvelling that a man mountain like Bobby Lashley could be struggling so much to restrain her.

She swallowed very hard, every second she watched of this felt like it killed a small part of her soul. She was seriously wondering if it was even worth it keep her stringer job at ESPN for this. Had it not been for Charlotte behind her she might have just left. But somehow, knowing that the blonde was enduring it, made Bayley think she had too as well. She owed Charlotte.

"I don't even..I don't know what to say…" she said. Her voice was no longer flat and toneless, instead it more like one a person might use after seeing a horrific tragedy at a distance. Which, in a way, she had.

Charlotte wanted to respond but any words felt like empty platitudes. For a few seconds all she could do was watch the insanity below and every second sucked more than the last. She contemplated just leaving but she couldn't force herself to. "How the hell were they allowed in here?" She said aloud more to herself than anything.

Bayley, who's mind had been wandering down it's own dark path, asked: "How did I let this happen?" She asked it in the same shell shocked voice she'd used before.

"What?" Charlotte swiftly responded turning to look at Bayley and seeing the anguish written on her face. "Bayley… You didn't let this happen. Don't go down that road." Charlotte looked back towards the stage and frowned deeply. "It won't help anything. It'll just make it harder… You and I both know that."

Bayley didn't respond, instead she just watched. Over the next few minutes the two fighters fielded more questions with responses that ranged from very rude to openly hostile. Yet it seemed the worst of their aggression was being saved for each other. Not a question went by that both women didn't take a chance to land a blow or two on her opponent. And with each one Bayley found it harder and harder to stay.

Part of her was surprised by this. She hadn't really had meaningful contact with Sasha for a very long time. Yet here she was feeling just as though someone she cared deeply for was doing themselves irreparable harm. And that she couldn't do anything to stop it. Worse, a woman she'd once thought of as one of her best friends was there committing figurative seppuku right alongside Sasha.

After a particular nasty exchange full of barely concealed shots at each other's sexual history, an exchange where she could almost feel Charlotte tensing behind her. Bayley asked her friend quietly: "Did we fail them?"

Charlotte wished she could say no, but knew it would be a lie. At least on her end. She couldn't speak entirely for Bayley in regards to Sasha. "I don't know. No matter how much we've done it all comes down to them. They have to want to be more than this… Then they have to actually think it's possible. I'm not sure they have the second one."

What Charlotte said was eminently logical. She was persuasive and Bayley didn't doubt her conviction for one second. And she might as well have been conversing with the wall next to them for all the change it wrought in Bayley. She knew she'd never forgive herself, convinced that she could have done something along the way to help prevent this.

"Since this is your fifth press conference together in a little more than a week have either of your opinions on the other changed?"

The question was quickly fielded by Becky. "Ya know, at first I thought she was just a bit thick. But after spending so much time in the lovely ladies presence I realized I was wrong. She's actually completely thick in the head. Sometimes I'm not sure if anythin's happenin' in that skull o' hers."

Sasha gave an affected giggle as she pulled her mic toward her. "When we began this press tour I thought Rebecca might just be poor little girl who was struggling. Overrated, washed up, and past her time but struggling. Now I know she's all those things, a drunk, thirsty ass ho, and boring as hell." She started to push the mic away before pulling it back and speaking in a mocking version of Becky's accent: "Oi yahhh she's 'thick' too."

"Wow! Such tough words from such a sweet looking girl. That's a lot for you to choke on after I beat you. I'll be sure to send some well wishes your way."

"Wait didn't you already do that once?..." Sasha asked as she put on a thoughtful expression "...Ohhhh that's right, I made you tap like a bitch. So all I'm hearing is noise from you firecrotch." As she said this Sasha turned to look directly at Becky for almost the first time during the presser.

"If you want I could stop talking and come tear that shitty weave right off your head." Becky shrugged and slowly stood up. Speaking into her mic, "Or are you still the coward who only took fights you knew you'd win like Paige, or takes the easy way out like with Natalya?"

Sasha was glad she still had her glasses on now because Lynch had placed her knife exactly where it would hurt most. But she'd prepared for this response the night before s she was ready with: "Real clever, but it wasn't like the division had anything left for me? Weren't you crawled up inside a bottle for most of that time?"

Charlotte watched on with disgust as the insults turned more and more personal. They hadn't been shy in the previous pressers but it seemed as if both had mutually decided to throw away whatever filters they had been holding onto. She couldn't be sure but each time Sasha mentioned Becky's alcohol issues she felt like she was flinching. But the flinching wasn't from the words themselves, it was from the unnerving calmness that Becky took them with.

"There's no way this ends well." Charlotte spoke with certainty. She yearned to go down there and shut down the conference before the bubbling volcanoes on stage decided to erupt. "I hate this."

Bayley couldn't do more but nod. The two fighters had obviously discarded any pretense that they were here to talk about their fight. This was nothing more than two kids slinging insults on the playground. And Bayley hated having to watch it. So she didn't, instead she chose to look past the fighters to the other people on the stage.

Anger boiled inside her as she watched Shane McMahon. His expression of concern wouldn't have fooled the dimmer sort of child, and she knew the man was probably already deciding how many of stupid sneakers he'd buy with the proceeds from the fight. Bayley wasn't someone whose character inclined toward enmity, as many would attest. But she found she hated the man right now. Hated how he was loving every second of this, and how shamelessly he was profiting from the destruction in front of him.

Forcing her eyes away from McMahon, Bayley studied the others on stage, standing in the wings. Initially, no one else had been on stage but it had obviously been decided by both camps that they needed people in position to try and restrain their fighters should it become necessary again.

Bobby Lashley was standing with his massive arms folded and an unreadable expression a few feet behind Becky. He was obviously tense and ready to spring again. Beside him, almost cast in shadow by his bulk, were Liv and Ruby. Both women were looking extremely concerned/uncomfortable by what they were seeing and hearing.

Behind Sasha stood her trainer, Meng Fifita. He wasn't doing as good job as Lashley at hiding his obvious disgust and contempt for what was happening. Bayley had seen him having heated discussions with Titus O'Neil, a Thuggin and Buggin aide, while gesticulating toward Shane. Bayley wondered if he had been trying to call a halt to the presser.

"I feel...so sorry...for Liv and Ruby," Bayley said, as she looked away from the stage.

Charlotte nodded before replying. "This whole situation is unfair. It's taking a toll on all of us, but Liv and Ruby don't deserve to be caught up in this. I wish I knew what to say… what to do. But I'm running out of ideas."

"This is…" Bayley started to say but had to pause to try and summon any anger she could "...Pathetic...disgusting." She stoked the fires as much as she could within her, hoping that if she could convince Charlotte she was shielded by anger, then she might believe it too.

"It is…" Charlotte agreed. She allowed Bayley her anger. The blonde knew that underneath she was deeply hurt by what they were watching. She was too. "Makes me wish I didn't care and could just be entertained like all these people. Would be a lot easier."

Bayley couldn't help but agree. But this brought a fresh wave of disgust to her, looking at the paying attendees, the fans who had come for exactly this. Bayley was revolted by the idea, people urging two women to self destruct for their entertainment. The same people who would forget about them the second something new and shiny came along.

But, as always, anger just wasn't the fuel of Bayley's spirit. She deflated quickly, though the disgust lingered. Without looking back she asked: "Charlotte?"

Charlotte looked away from the stage and towards the ceiling. Closing her eyes to try and calm herself. "Yeah?"

"I hate this…" Bayley said quietly.

Charlotte silently reached down with her hand and grabbed onto Bayley's. Giving a gentle squeeze and answered without looking. "I know… Me too."

Bayley carried on as though she'd never stopped speaking: "...And I'm worried that if I stay here...I'm going to start hating them too."

There was no real answer that Charlotte could come up with. So instead she only offered, "I understand. If you need to leave…" Charlotte didn't say anymore. Bayley knew what she meant.

The reporters in the room had begun to split into two unofficial camps, those that were enjoying what they were seeing, and those that were uncomfortable. It was one from the latter camp that stood next. Later on, Bayley would wonder if he'd actually hoped this question might defuse some of the tension in the room. If he had, he'd been desperately mistaken.

"This question is for Becky first and then Sasha, is there anything about your opponent that you respect?"

Becky scoffed at the question. "You talk about respect like it matters. We're going to get into a cage and beat each other up. Where does respect enter the equation? I have nothing but contempt for Sasha. If I had to answer your question I would say I respect her choice in women. Zelina might be crazy but she's easy on the eyes. Beyond that, I've got nothing. She's got my belt and I want it. Don't need respect to punch her in the face." Throwing the mic back down onto the table and rolling her eyes at the reporter.

Sasha chuckled softly to herself for a few moments at this speech, knowing it would piss off Lynch. But then she schooled her face into an expression of hurt as she slowly drew the box she'd brought toward her. She sensed that now was the time for her big move. Standing slowly she lifted her glasses and raised a hand to point at Becky.

"I'm sorry Becky said that because….I respect this woman…" she said, and as she'd expected she was greeted with a forest of raised phones and a loud murmuring.

Becky made a show of holding back laughter before it burst out of her. "That's a good one. I mean really, I think you've found your true calling as a comedian. Least now you have a career path after the fight."

"No no…" Sasha said, in a voice full of mock sincerity "...I really do." As she said this she slowly opened the box but didn't take out it's contents as she stepped toward Becky. "I am absolutely impressed with you on a few things."

She stopped within arms reach of Becky before sitting on the table next to her. Looking down into the other woman's glaring eyes. Sasha was feeling an old thrill now, the thrill of being a tiger that had at last cornered it's prey. But it was all the better for the fact that the prey didn't even know it.

"I am impressed…" she said "...by your ability to poison a whole team, CCS, and leave them crashing. I'm impressed that you've fucked your way through half the women anywhere near this sport and yet haven't ONCE found someone who can tolerate you for more than a night. I'm impressed, that you hauled your drunk ass out of bed without managing to fall off the wagon two times on the way down here. And I am SO impressed by how you've found a new place to be a cancer. Whose life are you going to ruin in Boston….BECKY? So here's to you 'the Man'."

Sasha said this last as she drew a bottle of her new 'Boss Rum' out of the box. She tore the plastic off the top and uncorked it with her teeth. She took a long drink from it before letting her voice go arctic as she said: "Why don't we celebrate with a drink!" She said this as she slowly extended her arm and proceeded to start dumping the contents of the bottle on Becky's head.

It took a second for Becky to process what Sasha just did. Sputtering as the liquor dripped down her face and some of it inadvertently got in her mouth and nose. Burning like the fire that the other woman might as well have poured gasoline on.

She took her time standing up as Sasha continued to adjust her arm and pour the rest of the contents over her. Shaking the bottle to get the last few drops out. When it was finally done Becky casually wiped the liquid from her eyes. Making sure to smile at Sasha for a brief moment before springing into action and tackling her off the table. Even hitting the stage hard didn't stop them from swinging at each other and hitting whatever they could.

The flutter of camera's going off filled the room. Most members of the audience were so shocked by the turn of events that they didn't know how to react.

"YOU'RE FECKIN DEAD!" Becky screamed while they continued to roll. Each trying to gain an advantage but finding everything they attempted quickly countered. A virtual stalemate where neither woman considered losing an option.

Sasha had been hoping to provoke exactly this reaction and even as Becky hit her, she was grinning. Finally, something she knew how to do. A problem she could address with the best parts of herself, her fists and feet. Though she made no real progress in the actual fight, she and Becky were simply too evenly matched, for the first time in forever….Sasha felt at home. Though she knew it couldn't last.

Even as she finally succeeded in getting hold of a handful of Becky's hair, she could already feel hands grabbing her legs. Nonetheless a stiff left to the temple opened up small opening in the Irish woman's nearly impenetrable guard. Sasha was fully intending to hammer the weakness into pulp when a jerk by the strong hands on her forced her vision to the right, out over the crowd.

Bayley had endured all she could. The professional consequences be damned, she couldn't do this any longer. It hurt too much to see people she had to admit that she cared about destroying each other and themselves. Turning quickly she ignored Charlotte's hand on her arm and started walking quickly toward the back of the hall, her head straight down.

Charlotte felt the other woman pull away and watched her walk towards the exit. She was torn between running down to the stage herself and following Bayley. When she saw Bobby once again move to grab Becky her choice was made. She wasn't ready to deal with this right now. Not professionally, and certainly not personally. As much as she had been trying to be the strong one and show Bayley the support she earned Charlotte felt like shit too.

With one final look at the chaos unfolding below the tall blonde turned on her heel and left after the brunette. It was too hard to just stand and watch this unfold.

Bayley was determined to not look at or speak to anyone. She brushed right past several media member she knew, some of whom greeted her. All she wanted to do was get out of this room, get to her car, and just go home. But something stopped her in the doorway, just long enough to turn back once more to look at the melee on the stage.

Sasha caught a fleeting glimpse of a woman leaving the room, she was about to look away when she saw it. Silhouetted against the light coming into the room from the lobby, she saw the side pony. She only knew one adult who wore one. Though the glare made it impossible for her to see details she saw the figure (which she assumed was Bayley) turn back to look at the stage. And despite the impossibility of it, Sasha suddenly knew to a conviction that Bayley was wearing an expression of absolute sadness.

It was like someone had let the air out of a balloon. Suddenly all the fight left her and she sagged where she was. She got tagged several times for doing so but she hardly noticed, nor did she notice when she was hauled bodily backward and away from Becky. All she could focus on was the now empty doorway.

Becky had just been about to take advantage of Sasha's sudden lapse in concentration when she felt a familiar pair of massive arms grab hold of her and haul her backwards.

"Let go of me!" She cried out as she stared over at Sasha with hate in her eyes. She unconsciously followed the other woman's gaze and for just a split second she thought she saw a familiar ponytail near the exit before it vanished from view.

That alone was enough to give her pause but the sight of blonde hair moving towards the exit captured her attention.

She knew it was Charlotte. Even in a crowd Becky would be able to pick out that blonde skyscraper.

Becky waited for Charlotte to do what she always did. Look back at her in disappointment and she would in turn shrug away the criticism. Instead Charlotte never did that. She walked out of the auditorium without looking back.

Becky had gotten complacent. She expected Charlotte to always come back no matter what… But she had expected that with Bayley too…

It was almost like a switch had shut off and Becky's body suddenly felt like it was made of lead. She hardly noticed as Bobby and Ruby pulled her away.

She wished she could blame Sasha for feeling this way but it wasn't her fault. Not hers alone at least. This was the hole Becky had dug for herself. Sasha looked to be too busy digging her own.

For half a moment Sasha's eyes found Becky's and somehow she knew then that the Irish fighter had no more fire left in her than Sasha herself did. But then a body got between them and Sasha sunk into a gloomy reflection. She only barely heard Shane McMahon shouting something, as though from a great distance. The many voices speaking to her, or at her, were just so much static.

Then only thing left to her now was the most powerful sense of shame she'd ever felt in her life. It was so intense that she could feel herself crying, something she NEVER did in public. It took until she backstage for her team to realize she wasn't fighting anymore. But as soon as they let her go, she turned and actually ran for the elevators, ignoring every effort to call her back.

For the first time in over a week 'The Man' took a back seat and Becky was back in control on stage. It was like waking up from a horrible nightmare but knowing that she had actually lived it.

Bobby had set her down after running her backstage and Becky had automatically begun to walk alongside him. Liv and Ruby trailing behind with concern written all over their faces.

If Bobby hadn't been steering her with hand on shoulder Becky wasn't sure where she would have ended up. She had no idea where she was going.

They brought her to one of the private rooms backstage and no one knew what to say. Becky didn't either. So she just sat down on the couch and drew her knees up against her chest. Staring blankly at one of the walls and ignoring any attempt to get her to talk.

One of them made the mistake of asking her if she 'was alright'. She wasn't even sure exactly who said it but the words set her off. Or maybe it had been inevitable once Becky had time to process.

She had stood up and grabbed the closest thing next to her that had some weight. Which just so happened to be a remote for the flat screen on the wall. Chucking the plastic remote towards the mirror and shattering it.

Ruby got up and pushed Liv towards the door. The floor was covered in glass and she glared at Becky. "What the hell Becky?"

Becky didn't bother answering. Shattering the mirror had felt good. Making something as broken as she felt helped chase away the reality for a few moments.

Bobby saw her picking up one of the chairs and was just able to intercept it before she swung it into the television. "Don't do this Becky. I know you're upset-"

Before he could say another word Becky violently ripped the chair from his grasp and swung it against the wall. Creating a large hole in the drywall and ripping the legs of the chair off.

"Can you guys leave us alone for a minute?"

Liv turned around and stared at the blonde who had appeared in the doorway. A skeptical look on her face as she replied, "Why would we do that Alexa? Doesn't she kind of…" Liv was hesitant to say it. Biting her lip before looking over her shoulder Becky and whispering so she wouldn't hear, "...hate you?"

Ruby and Bobby silently agreed with the sentiment and patiently waited for her answer.

"We have… A complicated friendship." Alexa said to the disbelieving stares of the others in the room. "Seriously. None of you are helping matters. Just give me a minute."

"Alright." Bobby spoke up. Ruby and Liv turning to give him a disbelieving look. Bobby didn't notice the glares, far too busy looking deep into Alexa's eyes.

Becky frowned on the other side of the room. Breaking the chair had made her feel in control but it quickly was getting out of her hands again.

Her trainer ushered two of the women out of the room and left Becky alone with Alexa.

"What the fuck do you want?" The redhead was trying her hardest to speak confidently but she knew it was embarrassingly easy to see through. Try as she might she couldn't summon any of the walls that helped allow her to fall back into her old self. Hating herself for being unable to stop shaking in front of the tiny blonde.

Alexa took a deep breath. Taking everything she had learned about this woman and her lessons with Bayley into consideration. "And I thought I was a bitch." Ok… Maybe that wasn't exactly what Bayley had taught her, but she needed a different approach with Becky right now.

Becky rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "Glad to know I could outdo you. Makes me feel all warm inside."

"Listen, I know I'm not the person you really want to be talking too-"

"Whatever would give you that idea?" Becky sarcastically asked.

Alexa continued as if the redhead hadn't interrupted her. "But I have to tell you that if you keep this bullshit attitude up everyone's going to leave you."

The words hit Becky like a cannon. Taking the air right out of lungs and rendering her speechless. It was almost like Alexa knew what she was feeling beneath all the bluster. "What's it to ya? Maybe I want to be alone. Cut off all the fat draggin' me down."

"Do you?" Alexa bluntly asked. "Do you really want to be alone? Just say the word. I'm sure Ruby, Bobby, Liv, and Charlotte would love to know they're wasting their time. Just say the word Becky and you can go do whatever the hell you want to do."

Alexa watched as the words hit Becky like a sledgehammer. Her mouth opening and closing several times, unable to actually say the words.

"I'm waiting." The tiny blonde added while tapping her foot impatiently. "For someone who talked such a big game you sure are quiet all of a sudden."

Becky huffed, trying desperately to hold onto whatever ground she still had. "Just go away. You're annoying me."

Alexa raised a challenging eyebrow. "Avoiding the topic. Real classic."

"Just go away… Please." Becky pleaded. The fire that had momentarily sparked in her had burned out quickly.

Alexa understood that she was getting close. "I know if you had a choice, I'd be at the end of your list of people you want to see right now. But I think deep down you don't really believe a word of what you're saying."

Becky gave her an angry look but that was all she could conjure right now.

"It's ok if you want some alone time but don't push everyone away like a jackass when you could just politely ask them." Alexa said. "Believe it or not, some of us actually like you. We aren't here just for the money anymore. I can't speak for the others but I'd be gone if that's all I was here for." It almost physically pained the blonde to admit, however indirectly, that she actually like Becky but she trudged on anyways, "We're trying to be here for you. All you need to do is be honest and let us."

The fighter was silent for a minute and Alexa didn't know what else to say. She started towards the door when Becky's quiet voice reached her ears. "Would you uhh… Could you make sure no one's in my room?"

Alexa turned back around and looked at the woman who normally seemed larger than life. She decided to take pity on her and nodded. "Alright. She'll come to talk eventually. You know that right?"

Becky simply nodded but couldn't meet Alexa's eyes. It was disconcerting how well the blonde knew her but she supposed that was in the job description. "I know…"

Without anymore words Alexa slinked out of the room already typing out a message on her phone. Leaving Becky alone amongst the shattered pieces of wood that littered the small back room.

Sasha was gripping the rails of the hotel elevator as though she felt she might slip through the floor otherwise. The ride up to the suite which, infuriatingly, was on the top floor, left her feeling like a caged animal. She had to escape her mind and feelings, and now, or she'd be crushed. And she probably still would.

When the door finally opened, Sasha blew out of the elevator and roughly shoved a man out of her way as she went. Ignoring his indignant shouts she stumbled as though blind drunk toward her room, why did it have to be at the far end of the hallway. Tears were already starting to blur her eyes as she went and she drunkenly collided with a room service cart as she went.

Even when she got there she found no immediate relief. Her hands were shaking so badly that she couldn't get her room card to work. Yet she felt as much urgency as she might if a wild cat had been charging down the hallway toward her.

"COME ON YOU FUCKING THING!" Sasha roared, not caring that she was in a hotel hallway. She pounded her fist against the door with shattering force, though of course this accomplished nothing. When she finally did manage to open her door, she kicked it with all the force of a SWAT team. Slamming it behind her she stalked into the middle of her suite, hands on her head. She was legitimately concerned she might have heart attack, it was beating that fast.

Spinning in a circle she looked desperately around for anything that might help. Her eyes falling on another bottle of 'Boss Rum' on a side table she hurried over and physically tore the box apart in her eagerness to get at it. It was very difficult for her to get the plastic off with her hands shaking as badly as they were but she eventually did. Ripping the cork out she threw it aside and proceeded to drain almost a fourth of the bottle.

When she was finally forced to come up for air her throat was on fire but she didn't care, the pain distracted her. Closing her eyes and hanging her head she sobbed but tried to cover it with more rum, this only caused her to choke, spraying amber liquid in front of her. She tried again and this time managed to down a sizeable fraction of the remaining liquor. This brought on another coughing fit which bent her over almost double. As she did she turned around to face the room and found her own face staring back at her.

For a moment she was transfixed. The woman in the mirror was wearing her face, but just like when she'd gotten home from Boston...Sasha didn't know her. But unlike that time, rage boiled up inside her. Squeezing her eyes shut she let out a banshee scream of pure fury and pain.

"I HATE YOU!" Sasha screamed at her own reflection.

She closed her eyes again and let out another howl before trying to take another drink but finding her hand was shaking so badly that she spilled most of the rum down her shirt. She didn't care. She tried again and managed to get several more ounces of liquor into her stomach.

"I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU!" Sasha roared at her reflection, at herself.

She didn't know how long she stayed in this position. Maybe it was a minute, maybe it last hours. All she knew was that several unpleasant things happened.

Drawing her arm back she flung her half empty bottle at the mirror. The rum bottle shattered on impact but left only a small pit in the mirror. Furious at it, herself, and everything, Sasha strode toward it and snatched up small statuette from a coffee table.

"GO AWAY! FUCK YOU!" she bellowed as she slammed the heavy chunk of stone into the mirror. This did the trick, a shower of glass cascaded down in front of her, several small chunks flying back to cut her forearms. She barely noticed as her violet motion had caused her sunglasses to fall down over her eyes. Her Boss sunglasses…

Another scream tore from her vocal cords as she ripped them out of her hair and flung them down at the ground. They were made mostly of gold so they didn't break but Sasha fell to her knees after them and brought her statuette crashing down on top of them. A spray of precious stones skittered across the floor as she hammered the shattered remains of the glasses again and again.

Next came her rings, each was destroyed with equal fury. She hated the boss, she hated herself, and she just wanted to not feel. But eventually this explosion of rage took its toll, her arm grew tired and her voice vanished. Leaving her only with tears and racking sobs. Falling down amidst the debris and glass she lay on her side, her tears pooling next to her face. Her eyes fell on the remains of the frames for her glasses.

"I hate you...I hate you...I hate me…" she whispered over and over to them. She would never remember how long she stayed like that. Maybe it had been a minute, or maybe she lay there for hours. All she knew was that two more unpleasant things occured. The first, was that she cried as she had never cried before. Enormous racking sobs that hurt her chest, but that she couldn't stop.

Or maybe she just didn't want to. Maybe...she just didn't deserve to.

The second thing, far more unpleasant, came later. Sasha weighed about 120 lbs of almost pure muscle. The problem was that this wasn't nearly enough mass to absorb almost an entire bottle of rum consumed in under two minutes. Her body simply could not handle that amount of alcohol and it rejected it forcibly. Sasha wretched and continued to do so until there was nothing left in her stomach.

This left Sasha laying on her side next to her own vomit, and still sobbing. It got to where she was so far down in her own despair and hopelessness that she wasn't really aware of where she was.

She'd finally done it, something told her that this was it. She was gone.

Bayley was gone, and Sasha had finally pushed her away. And she'd done it simply because she wasn't strong enough to be better. Because simply being a good person was too much for the champ.

Another indeterminate amount of time passed, with Sasha immersed in a despair more profound than anything a poet could conjure. She might have stayed there forever if she hadn't suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm putting an end to this," a familiar voice said from above her.

Charlotte left the auditorium without looking back. Not looking back was actually tremendously hard. Becky obviously needed something she wasn't able to give right now.

She looked ahead of herself and tried to catch sight of the familiar side ponytail of her friend but found nothing. Bayley had a head start on her and surely wasn't intent on sticking around much longer.

The blonde used her long legs to move quickly down the hallway where it split into two directions and quickly looked both ways. When she spotted Bayley not too far ahead she almost thought luck was on her side… But then she remembered.

"Hey Bayley. Wait up." Charlotte called after her as she strode nearer in pursuit.

Bayley didn't stop, she knew Charlotte would be after her to try and help but she didn't want it right now. All she wanted to do was leave and never come back to this place. A place where she'd had all her illusions stripped from her. She knew that she was panicking in a small way, that she needed to just take a deep breath, but she didn't. So she just kept walking.

Charlotte frowned and sped up her pace. "I know you heard me." She kept following, slowly gaining ground until she was just a few feet behind Bayley. She stopped trying to gain ground at this point and just walked in step with the other woman for a while. "It's alright. I can wait."

Bayley breathed out through her nose and spun on Charlotte, suddenly all the day's helplessness lashed out at her. "WHAT Charlotte?! What?! What are we supposed to talk about now? What can I say to you or you say to me that will make ANY of what we just saw not hurt like it does now? Because if you've got something that you think will work then PLEASE, let me hear it!" Bayley almost never spoke like this but she'd found that her sadness was turning with surprising speed into frustration.

She had expected something like this as a reaction but it still rattled her nonetheless. "I uhh… I don't know." In a rare case Charlotte could admit she had no idea what she was doing. She didn't know what to say. Staring the reality of the situation was grim but she couldn't let it get her down too. Bayley had always been the one not afraid to hope in the darkest of times and now it was Charlotte's turn to try and take on the mantle. Ill fitting as it felt. "But I'm not ready to give up on them. You were the one who told me that there was something worth fighting for. When you're ready to talk you know where to find me."

Bayley sagged, as ever unable to sustain any sort of anger based emotion for very long. Charlotte's words had gone right under her guard. Bayley had been rocked by some undeniable body blows in recent weeks, even tried to be a harder and more cynical woman. But if what she'd just seen proved anything, you can't act a role forever. Closing her eyes she stepped forward and hugged Charlotte as she said: "You're right...but I don't have any idea what we're supposed to do Char...is it even our job to do anything?"

Charlotte desperately wished she knew the answer. She was mulling it over in her head but spoke with as much confidence as she could. "It's not a job. More of a volunteer position. We can be there for them and show them we're still there, but ultimately they need to make the next step." She hugged Bayley a little closer and added, "Too bad we picked some stubborn jackasses."

Bayley choked a laugh as she backed away. She didn't really feel 'better', that would take a very long time. But it was amazing how much less out of control she felt out of the hall, and with Charlotte. She didn't know if she'd ever speak with either fighter again, but she did realize now that if she allowed herself to sink back into despair she'd be handing them far too much power over her life. And frankly, neither of the bitches deserved it.

"I'd invite you over, but I know you're going to have to go upstairs at some point, hotel bar for awhile?" she asked.

Charlotte smiled sadly and nodded. "Nothing with alcohol. I think I saw they have mozzarella stick though. Some greasy goodness doesn't sound horrible right now."

"Can't be worse for us than what just happened," Bayley said as she began to walk. In an odd way, she was beyond being sad now. This was more than her epiphany about control. She was realizing that she'd spent entirely too much time recently weeping. Letting herself be blown hither and thither on the winds of circumstance. As horrendous and gut wrenching as the press conference had been, it had been a wake up call.

Charlotte walked alongside the reporter and said, "Your not wrong. I think we both deserve a bit of indulgence after that."

As they walked, Bayley was thinking. She was grateful to Charlotte for taking time away from things that were much more pressing than her, whatever Charlotte might say. But on the other hand, given what Charlotte had waiting for her...Bayley might have dawdled too. She did not envy her friend the task that lay ahead of her later that night.

Charlotte/Becky

Charlotte paused outside the hotel room door. Even knowing what was behind the door did little to quell the riot of emotions inside. After the press conference earlier today she hadn't known how best to move forward. Surely there would be repercussions from the athletic commission and maybe even a small fine from Shane to make it look like he wasn't overjoyed after the brawl.

She slipped the plastic keycard into the lock. The tiny green light indicating it was now unlocked and marking the moment that Charlotte couldn't turn back.

"Becky?" The name echoing out in the dark room. The only light coming from the glass doors that led to the balcony and the outside elements. Rain coming down in torrential buckets and filling the silence with a constant percussion of droplets.

Charlotte's eyes narrowed. Flicking on one the lights and chasing away some of the darkness with her entrance. Still no sign of the redhead. But she had confirmed with several people that Becky had came up here sometime after her and Sasha left the stage. No one had seen her leave so she must be here. Unless she had a parachute there wasn't another way off the 50th floor suite Shane had upgraded them too. A show of his 'appreciation' for Becky after Charlotte and his altercation.

She might have believed that it wasn't a petty show of his power, if not for the bottle of Irish whiskey that had been sitting center place on the counter upon first entering the suite. The subsequent 'apology' he had sent putting the blame entirely on an "Unfortunate mistake from some intern" dripped with insincerity and a blatant middle finger to the concerns Charlotte had voiced.

It took some time to actually look through the entire hotel suite and still she saw no sight of the fighter. The space was undoubtedly impressive and sprawling but at a time like this the square footage was more of a hindrance than anything to her search.

As she walked through the kitchen she froze and turned to look at the half fridge underneath the bar area scared of what she'd find. But instead she was just increasingly puzzled. The lock she had fixed around the handle hadn't been tampered with. Just to be sure Charlotte quickly put in the combination 01-30-87 and saw that none of the alcohol inside was missing.

At this point she was running out of ideas. The only place she hadn't checked was outside on the balcony but the pounding rain made it seem so unlikely that anyone would willingly endure it.

The city looked otherworldly from so high up. Rain drops crashing into the glass and making the skyline blur into a blinking kaleidoscope.

Howling wind snuck inside the moment Charlotte cracked open the door. A few stinging droplets of cold rain hitting her skin. "Becky?"

She was just about to give up when a familiar raspy voice spoke up. "What do you want?"

Charlotte had finally found the redhead. Although her hair was so soaked that it looked closer to a dark brown at the moment. She was sitting on the floor with her back against the wall, still in the same clothes she had been wearing for the press conference. "What are you doing out here? Get inside before you make yourself sick."

"Fuck off. Just go back to whatever you were doing. I'm perfectly fine on my own." The words might have had more of their intended impact had she not been shivering throughout.

"Clearly. This just screams 'I'm doing great'." Charlotte threw back. She wouldn't just stand here and let Becky throw everything she had worked for out the window even if she was disappointed with how things had gone.

"Ugh. Why are you still here? Go gossip with Bayley about how shitty a person I am. Done pretending I'm not."

Charlotte frowned and opened the door just a bit further. Using the door as a makeshift shield from the rain. It didn't stop her from getting wet but it helped slow down the rate at which she would become drenched. "Shut the hell up Becky! I'm done with your little pity party or whatever the hell this is. Get inside or I will drag you kicking and screaming."

"No you won't." Becky taunted with supposed certainty.

Charlotte didn't bother answering with words.

"WHAT THE HELL! Oi! Put me down you giant!"

The taller blond responded by holding onto the wriggling woman she had thrown over her shoulder tighter. Uncaring of how quickly her dress picked up the excess water that Becky's clothing could no longer soak in. "I told you I would do it. You didn't listen." Quickly freeing one of her hands to shut the balcony door behind them and stop the rain from making it inside.

It was impossible not to notice how concerningly discernable each of Becky's ribs was. Charlotte couldn't stop herself from running the palm of her hand along her fighter's back. The rain soaked sleeveless shirt doing nothing to hide what her leather jacket normally hid. Each bump of her spine felt like it was attempting to slowly poke its way out through the skin. She seemed far more fragile than someone with such a physical occupation should.

Maybe if she had known the extent that Becky was punishing herself she might have tried harder to get through to her. But she didn't want to put the blame solely on her shoulders. The redhead hadn't exactly been forthcoming, in fact she had been rather deceptive in hiding it and acting like she didn't care.

A wild kick to her thigh stopped Charlotte's lamentation and had her stumbling forward. "Have it your way." She said before letting go of her hold and allowing Becky's own struggles to bring her crashing to the floor.

Becky groaned at the pain from where her shoulder had hit the ground but scrambled to push herself back to her feet. Unwilling to show vulnerability in front of Charlotte or anyone right now. Almost slipping several times on the rain soaked flooring. "Why? I don't want you here. Don't you get that already? Or do ya need me to beat it into you?"

"Would punching me really help you feel better?" Charlotte asked. Her eyes closely following the irate Irish woman.

"Maybe."

Charlotte sighed and opened her arms wide. "Then go ahead."

"Oh, go fuck yourself. Do you ever get tired of being so high and mighty?"

"You ever get tired of beating yourself up?" Charlotte fired back. Easily dodging the sloppy telegraphed punch that came her direction. "Being such an ass must be exhausting."

"STOP IT!" Becky yelled and managed to land a punch to Charlotte's midsection that took some of the wind from her sails.

She just managed to move out the way of another and shoved Becky backwards to get some space. "Stop what? Telling the truth? You got drunk and were a complete jackass to one of your best friends. Do you even care?"

"Don't question if I cared. Do you think I wanted this?"

"Well then why don't you do something about it instead of wasting away crying woe is me. I know you're better than that. Where is the girl who showed up to my father's gym and made me eat my words? Cause all I'm seeing right now is everything I used to think you were."

"Shut the hell up! You don't know anything." Becky said before lashing out with a punch that Charlotte barely managed to avoid. "Fight back you stupid bitch! Fucking coward."

Charlotte tried to stay calm but Becky was testing her right now and she couldn't afford to lose. "No. I'm done fighting you Becky."

"Really?" The redhead scoffed. Her eyes wide and crazed as she stalked forward. "You probably should rethink that." Throwing a quick combination that Charlotte couldn't fully get away from. Even in her current state the blonde wasn't exactly up to winning a fair fight against a trained martial artist.

When one of Becky's punches landed solidly Charlotte couldn't help herself from reflexively throwing one of her own in retaliation. It should have been easy for the redhead to dodge or block but she didn't. Allowing Charlotte's fist to connect with her chin solidly and snap her head back.

"Is that all you got Charlie? I know you can hit harder than that." A disturbing grin and manic look filling the redhead's face. Her tongue flitting out to lick at the corner corner of her lips where a small drop of blood had been drawn.

This wasn't how Charlotte wanted this to go. She wasn't sure what she expected but there was no way this path would end well. "We aren't doing this anymore." Letting her hands fall to her side and leave herself completely open to an attack. Even when Becky's blows had landed she could feel that they weren't full force. She was under no illusion that Becky couldn't easily take her down if she wasn't holding back.

Becky held her fist back and gritted her teeth. "Come on. This was just getting fun."

"You can hit me if you think it will honestly make you feel better." Charlotte held still as she watched the muscles in Becky's arm contract painfully tight.

"Don't be an idiot." The warning coming out with a hint of trepidation underneath. "One solid punch and I'll break yer jaw."

"So then do it." Charlotte calmly said. "Prove to me that I was wrong to start believing in you. Prove that Bayley was wrong to be your friend. If you're such a badass who doesn't care, then do it. Break my jaw Becky… I'm waiting."

Becky brought her fist up. Squeezing so tightly that her arm seemed to be vibrating under its own strain. "You were wrong. She was too."

"I'm hearing you say that but here I stand."

"Fuck off Flair. I'm... not good. You were right about me all along. I can't change what I am. The only time people cared was when I was the champ."

"So, Bayley never cared about you? You didn't have the title back then. Don't have it now." Charlotte needled and took a step towards the Irish woman. "But I'm still here. Why do you think I'm doing this? Do you think I don't give a shit what happens to you? Because if I did you can bet I wouldn't be in here right now."

Becky shook her head as her body flooded with the need to escape. The rain that dripped down from her hair made it hard to decipher where the liquid on her cheeks originated from. "You shouldn't be here."

Charlotte took one more step forward. Her hands still down at her sides. Completely vulnerable to any attack. "Why?"

"Because. I'm not good." The redhead seemed to shrink in front of her eyes and Charlotte was painfully reminded of the woman that had first shown up in Boston. All that progress seemed to have been erased. Months of hard work undone in a couple weeks.

"If you're so bad; so evil. Then I ask again. Why am I still standing right now?"

Becky growled and lunged at Charlotte. Crashing into the stalwart blonde who didn't give an inch and pounding the side of her fist against her chest. Barely noticing the arms that wrapped around her as she continued to throw her fist in a endless loop. "Fuck you Charlie." The redhead's voice barely understandable. "Fuck you. Why won't you just hit me? I'm bad. Hit me damnit!"

Charlotte tightened her arms around her fighter as the fight slowly left her. "Why do you want me to?"

"Because I made Bayley… I hurt her. I... Please, can't you just leave." The words muffled as Becky's legs gave out and her head slid down to press against Charlotte's midsection. A combination of being emotionally overwhelmed and her legs shaking from the cold. Rain soaked jeans doing nothing to fight the chill that had taken over her body long ago. "I'm not worth it. I'll just fuck up again. "

The redhead's deceptively tiny fist slowed down. Any strength it had at one point was absent now as her body shook like a leaf. Barely holding on as wind buffeted her and threatened to unplant the last tethers that desperately held on. "Don't."

She felt Becky leaning against her and knew she was the only reason the other woman was still on her feet. Slowly dropping down till she was sitting on the floor and pulling a tired and strangely compliant Becky into her lap. One hand idly stroking the wet strands of hair away from her forehead and allowing the other woman to fall apart like she clearly needed. "Why do you care?" Where Becky's earlier questions had a petulant aggressive tone this was more earnest in its curiosity.

"Because I can't see you go through this alone." Charlotte felt how cold Becky was from her rain bath earlier and pulled the other woman closer still. Sharing her own warmth the best she could.

Becky was silent and Charlotte was considerate enough to not made a big deal when she felt the fist that had been hitting her open and curl into fabric of her dress. "I've been such an asshole."

"You have. But you can change that."

The first time Becky had committed and actually tried to better herself had been difficult. This time was harder. The knowledge that she had failed once made the prospect even more daunting. But continuing down this road would only mean more of the same. "I'm so tired Charlie. I'm tired of feeling like this everyday."

Charlotte's smile was bittersweet. "It'll be alright. You've done it once before on your own. This time you'll have me in your corner. Ruby and Liv still like you and want to help. You're not alone in this. It's still going to suck but we'll be there to help you every step of the way. Even if you try to push us away. That's what you do for family."

Becky was silent and for a few minutes the only sound that could be heard was the rain pelting the glass and a few sobs that the redhead couldn't stiffle.

It still felt surreal for Charlotte. She wanted so badly to believe this was the moment Becky needed. Some catharsis from whatever internal battle she had been fighting.

She knew this wasn't the end of the line for her fighter. There would undoubtedly be more struggles in the future. Forgiveness on certain fronts wouldn't magically be granted nor was she convinced Becky had forgiven herself.

But no matter how much Becky pushed her away Charlotte wouldn't let her go through it alone.

"I'm not sure I can do this."

Charlotte barely heard the words but they squeezed her heart like a vice nonetheless. Her arms kept their solid hold. Keeping Becky grounded in the moment and not letting her drift away now that she was her. There was only one other time Becky had allowed her this close and it felt nice to see a bit of the woman who had tried to comfort her after she had overreacted to the redhead and her father watching a movie.

Becky couldn't see it but she felt how much Charlotte cared when the taller blonde tucked her head in under her chin. Strong arms continuing to pull her closer when she'd been pushing them away for so long. She didn't know how to express herself. If Charlotte stopped holding on she was convinced that the fresh glue that was holding her together would lose its hold.

"It'll be hard. But you can. You're Becky fuckin' Lynch. Right? You can do anything you want." Charlotte finally answered. Throwing the old confidence Becky had right back at her. "Isn't that what you've told me before?"

No answer came for some time. Both women just sitting in the little bubble they had created. Time didn't matter to Becky. Someone thought she was worth it. She still wasn't one hundred percent sure herself, but if Charlotte thought she was then it was worth a shot. "Thanks. I'm sorry about ruining your dress."

Charlotte had been lulled into the comfortable silence and perked up when Becky spoke. "It's alright. You can pay for the dry cleaning." Charlotte responded teasingly.

A sound she hadn't expected filled Charlotte with hope. Laughter. It was just a small quick burst but it meant so much more right now. "I can manage that… Charlie?"

"Mmmhmm?"

"Not that I'm complaining, but could you let me go? I'd really like to change out of these clothes."

Charlotte smirked. "Of course. Knew it was only a matter of time before you couldn't resist."

Becky's head snapped up. Her mouth open in shock with a hint of a smile at the corner of her lips. "Did you just make a sex joke? I thought that was my thing?"

It wasn't a grand declaration of sobriety but for Charlotte it was enough right now. A glimpse of the Becky she had grown to care for shining through the darkness. A glimpse of the woman she couldn't look away from or deny any longer.