Hello!

Welcome back to Catch Your Breath.

So the last chapter ended a little crazy for our favourite couple who aren't actually a couple. There's going to be a bit of progression for them now. Remember this is a slow burn. Everything will come up good in the end.

This chapter is named after 'Second Chance' by Shinedown

Madeleine Ziggler's Point Of View

Dean and I ignored each other until Smackdown, neither of us making any contact with the other. We had a hell of a lot to think about, and any interaction would not help.

I needed to be alone with my head to figure this one out.

He'd actually kissed me! His lips had touched mine and he'd full on made out with me at Raw. It had literally been the last thing I had expected to come from our conversation. I expected a few words, an argument, the whole thing ending in either a handshake or me walking away.

What I had not expected was Dean Ambrose launching himself at me and kissing the hell out of me.

I couldn't deny it, the kiss had honestly been the best I'd ever experienced in my life. It was hot, hungry, sensual. The man knew how to give a woman a good time, and it made my body feel things I knew it shouldn't have. It had turned me on, made me feel hot under the collar, and a part of me worried where it could have led to had Seth Rollins not interrupted us.

But I was thankful he had.

Yes the kiss was insanely good, but it wasn't helpful and didn't solve our problems. Dean and I were still at each other's throats, we were still rather pissed off with each other, we still didn't know where we stood. This kiss had only made things worse because shit between us now was as awkward as it had ever been and it made us avoid each other more.

What we needed was a real conversation, one where we could sit down and get everything off our chests and come to a solid conclusion of where our friendship stood. And we clearly needed mediators too. Doing this solo, just him and I, had clearly not worked. It had just made us shout, scream, and kiss one another out the blue.

Just like a match in the ring, we needed a ref to make sure nothing got out of hand.

Dolph was out of the question! He'd got pissed over the fact I'd even interacted with The Shield. He'd go nuts if he knew I was trying to sustain a friendship with one of its members. I dreaded to think what he'd say if he knew one of them had kissed me!

I considered Brie and Nikki, but they already had a preconceived opinion of Dean, so they would be insanely biased. Plus if I knew Nikki, she'd get involved, her hot headed attitude coming out and the roles would soon be reversed, me refereeing between her and Dean!

My final option was Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns. Yes, they could potentially be biased towards Dean, but they had always been sound and fair whenever I'd met them. They'd even saved me on a few occasions. Plus they were all about fighting for justice. Once they knew how Dean had treated me, maybe I'd get them on side.

Yes. The Shield would pretty much be the best option here.

I was sat in my brother's locker room as he wrapped tape around his hands for his match tonight against King Barrett. We were both changed into our ring gear, me wearing my usual skinny jeans, white converse, and sleeveless Dolph Ziggler shirt. I was in a world of my own as he stood, ready to go.

"Come on, Maddie," he said, waving a hand in front of my face.

"Oh, yeah, sure, coming," I smiled, returning to reality. We left the locker room, making our way to the gorilla.

"You sure you're okay?" he asked as we walked. "You've been out of it all day."

"I'm fine," I said, plastering a convincing smile onto my face. "Just thinking about my school work. Not got long left now before I'm all done."

He rubbed my hair in a brotherly way. "It's gone quick. I'm so proud of you, kid."

"Thanks, Dolph," I replied, happy that my lie had been persuasive enough.

We reached the gorilla, the tech guys making sure we were ready. Once we were, Dolph's music hit and we made our way out.

xXx

The grins on our lips were huge when we finally made it backstage, Dolph winning his match with flying colours. We high-fived each other, a couple of staff members and Superstars offering him their congratulations after how great the fight had been. The crowd had loved it and I was so proud of my brother in that moment.

"Congratulations, Dolph," said Lana as she passed us, her Russian accent thick. "You looked great out there."

"Thanks, darlin," he said with a wink, watching her as she turned the corner. I looked at him, an eyebrow raised. "What? She's hot!" he said. I simply shook my head. He'd always had an eye for the ladies.

Dolph was sweaty and tired, but a staff member quickly informed us we were due to do an interview with Renee Young for his reaction to the win.

I growled internally at the mere mention of her name, images of Dean's hand all over her flashing through my mind. I knew none of this was her fault, she just happened to be the woman he'd chosen to use to show off in front of me. But it still didn't stop the jealousy and bad feelings towards her.

But I was a professional, I would start nothing at work. I would bite my tongue and attend the interview. Dolph would do all the talking anyway. So all I had to do was stand there, grin and bear it, and wait for it to be over. We made our way to her.

"Ladies and gentleman," she began, mic in hand. "Please welcome my guests at this time, Dolph and Madeleine Ziggler."

We heard the crowd cheer as we appeared in shot, my brother smiling as I rested my elbow on his shoulder in a relaxed stance.

"Hello, Renee," he smiled.

"Dolph, after your victory against Randy Orton at BattleGround and your win against King Barret, how do you plan to build on this winning streak?"

"Well, Renee, these victories haven't come easy. The constant harassment my sister got from Randy Orton was a problem. But it also spurred me on, giving me more confidence to beat him…"

I hardly remembered what Dolph said, all I could do was look at Renee and remember him whispering in her ear, remember him making her blush, remember him squeezing her ass. I hated her and I had no reason to. She'd done no wrong, it had all been him. But I couldn't help it. She was beautiful, stunning, gorgeous, and I could see why he'd chosen her. Did he like her? Did he want her? Did she mean something to him? Even now after the fighting and arguing, I still wanted to be on his good side.

I looked to Renee, noticing her looking behind us, her eyes widening, and I didn't know why. I soon got my answer when Dolph and I turned around, my brother being hit directly in the face by a Broguekick from Sheamus. Dolph flew backwards, hitting me in the process, causing us both to fall to the ground.

Renee ran away as Sheamus continued to punch and beat down on my brother his rage apparent. It took me a few moments to realise what was happening. I looked up, seeing the angry Irishman attacking Dolph.

"This is what you get for grassing me up. This is what you get for getting me into trouble," he shouted into Dolph's face as he grabbed him by the hair. "You and your stupid sister getting me suspended. Well, fella, I don't take too kindly to that."

And then it suddenly occurred to me what he was talking about. After his bullying antics and spilling the coffee over me on my first day here, Stephanie had said she'd dealt with Sheamus. She'd obviously suspended him for a few weeks, and now he wanted his revenge.

He threw my brother to the ground, turning his stare to me. "And you!" he yelled. "If it wasn't for you I wouldn't even have this problem." He approached me, towering over me as I lay on the ground.

What the fuck was it with heels attacking me constantly? First Randy and now Sheamus. It was starting to get annoying, especially as I had done nothing wrong. Danger was literally around every single corner.

"Back off, Sheamus," said Seth Rollins as The Shield suddenly appeared in front of us. I hadn't even seen them arrive, but they were standing in front of me, all glaring menacingly at Sheamus.

It was the first time I'd seen Dean since the kiss, and my heart pounded nervously. After everything we'd been through, I was surprised to see him here protecting me yet again. But he was. Once again he was putting his life and reputation on the line to make sure I was safe. It made me wonder if he wanted to fix this relationship of ours like I did. Why else would he be out here? If he was so adamant on protecting me, maybe he knew there was something between us to fight for.

Roman helped me to my feet and I rushed to my unconscious brother. Dean stood nose to nose with Sheamus, his eyes dark, his body twitching, the true lunatic emerging.

"Do you remember what I said last time you attacked Madeleine?" he asked the Irishman. Sheamus simply stared at him uncomfortably, knowing he was clearly outnumbered. "I said I'd show you what the hounds can really do to a useless piece of meat like you. That we could rip you up and tare you to shreds. I said I couldn't wait to test out that theory."

"And guess what, Sheamus?" Seth asked. "The hounds are hungry…"

All of a sudden Roman launched a superman punch into Sheamus's face, knocking him completely outcold with one hit. I heard the crowd cheer from the arena, the camera panning over to The Shield as they held their fists together over Sheamus's body.

I didn't have time to see the rest, medics appearing to quickly grab Dolph and take him to get checked over. I went with them, my brother's well being far more important to me right now. Once he was checked over and given the all clear, I let out a breath, knowing I needed to go thank The Shield for their interference.

Yet again they'd helped me. But they'd helped Dolph too and they deserved all my praises.

Figuring they were in their locker room, I rushed through the corridors until I reached it, knocking nervously on the door. This conversation was happening now whether they liked it or not. When there was no answer, I knocked a little harder, the door soon being opened by Roman.

"Maddie?" he asked in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"Can I come in?" I asked. He nodded, holding the door open wider for me to step inside. Dean and Seth were on a sofa when I entered, Dean quickly standing upon seeing me. He looked as surprised as Roman had been. I blushed a little as I looked at his lips, remembering where they had last been.

"Maddie…" he simply said.

"Listen, we really need to talk."

He rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, I think we do."

We all took seats and I was grateful for the presence of Rollins and Reigns. This conversation could actually work out now they were here.

"Firstly, I have to say thank you for helping Dolph and I like that. I honestly didn't know what Sheamus would do. You protected us and stood up for us, and I'm eternally grateful for that."

"Anytime, baby girl," said Roman. "We can't stand seeing injustice like that."

"And it made me think…" I looked to Dean. "If you can continue helping me like that after all the shit we've put each other through, then surely we don't hate each other as much as we're making out. I think our friendship is worth fighting for, right?"

Dean stared at me for a while, deliberating my words.

"Well I'd certainly welcome your friendship," smiled Seth, Roman agreeing. "You're a cool kid."

"Thanks guys," I smiled, looking back to Dean. "I know things got weird between us, and I know what happened last night made things awkward. But I'm willing to work at this if you are. I'm tired of the anger, the shouting, the constant avoiding one another. Let's give this a second chance."

He was silent, but slowly he came round to the idea. "I can agree to that. As always, you're right."

"If you guys wanna keep saving me, we may as well make something out of it," I laughed lightly.

"So we're starting a fresh," Dean said. "The arguments are left in the past."

"Yes," I nodded. "I'm wiping the slate clean. Friends?" I asked, offering him my hand.

He smirked. "Friends," he replied, taking my hand and shaking it.

A giant thank you to Blue Moon Solstice, Crazychiksxxxx, raaeebrucee, Cherish. angel, DeanAmbroseGirl1, pinayprincesa and my guest reviewer for their kind words on the last chapter. You guys are awesome and I love you all!

And if you love The Shield, go check out my other story, Irresisitible