an. I have really been looking forward to writing this chapter with this scene between Roman and Ebony. Hopefully it works out the way I have envisioned it in my mind!
disclaimer. still a crazy cat lady who just wants to get some of these ideas off of my head.

How to Fix a Heart
The Truth

Ebony stepped off the elevator just in time to see Lydia storm back into Seth's room and Dean walking out of the solarium, looking rather dejected his hands tucked into his pockets. She adjusted her bag on her shoulder as she approached him. He stopped when she stepped into his path, not bothering to look up at her.

"What's going on?" Ebony asked. She was certain Lydia's mood had to do with Detective Ambrose and it took all of her will power not to simply tell him off right there in front of the nursing station. After everything he had done he deserved it.

He shrugged his shoulders, still not looking up. He bounced from foot to foot nervously. "Pissed Lydia off." He said simply.

"How?" Ebony was struggling to keep her patience. This man had ruined another man's life and could have just as easily ruined Lydia's as well.

Dean looked up at her. He tried to wear a neutral expression but, his eyes gave him away, "I tried to talk to her about Detective Farrelly."

"What about him?" It wasn't what she had been expecting to hear.

He rubbed the back of his neck, "It's nothing. I was just worried about her. Can you do me a favor?"

Ebony debated. Every instinct inside of her told her she should tell him to fuck off. He hadn't bothered to worry about what would happen to Lydia because of him. Still, her mouth betrayed her. "What?"

"Can you keep an eye on her please. I am worried - I don't want to see him hurt her." Dean sighed as he stepped around her and made his way to the elevator. She watched him, too confused to follow him, as he stepped inside.

Once he vanished, she shook her head, bringing herself back to reality and walked into Seth's room. She smiled when she saw him, sitting up and talking to – a much better looking- Lydia.

"Hey Seth." She walked over to the side of the bed. She took his hand and squeezed it gently. "I'm glad you are awake."

Seth smiled at her. "Thanks Eb, and thanks for being here for Lydia."

"I wasn't the only one." Ebony said. "Roman and Dean were quite supportive too." She looked across the room at Roman who was still sitting, quietly, in his chair observing the scene.

"Where is Ambrose anyway?" Seth implored, looking toward the doorway.

"He had an emergency at work." Ebony felt bad lying but she did not want to upset Seth or Lydia. "I am sure he will be back as soon as he can. How are you feeling?"

"Sore, but pretty good considering." He shrugged his shoulders slightly. "Glad to be awake. I am sorry I worried you all."

"It's not your fault. It's the fault of whoever did this to you and the police are working very hard to find him."

"If anyone is going to find him it will be Ambrose. He won't stop until he does." Seth said firmly. Ebony glanced at Lydia who was frowning but, said nothing.

"I know he has been working very hard when he is not up here with Lydia and Roman." Ebony glanced at Roman who was still sitting in the chair farthest from the bed. His raven hair was disheveled like he had run his fingers through it several times. He looked pensive but, smiled at her. She hated the wave of heat that washed over her as she smiled back. "I should probably get going. I need to get home and let Smokey out. I will come back in the morning though." Ebony patted Seth's hand gently. He looked tired and Ebony knew it would best for her to leave so he could rest.

"Thanks for coming Ebony. I know how busy you are."

"There is no way I wouldn't have found time for you Seth. You and Lydia are like family." Seth smiled at him as she walked over and gave Lydia a hug. "I am just happy you are awake and okay."

"He will be out of here in no time." Lydia hugged her friend goodbye. "I'll text you in a little bit."

"Okay, I'll see you in the morning." She told her friend before she turned and left, making sure to avoid Roman's gaze as she darted past him.

-x-x-x-

Caroline checked her hair and makeup in the rear view mirror before slinging her tote bag over her shoulder and grabbing the arrangement of flowers off of the passenger seat. Her palms were sweaty and her heart was racing as she walked across the parking lot and through the sliding glass doors of the hospital. She was so happy Seth was awake. She had been worried that the might not make it, given how bad his injuries were.

She walked down the hall, black wedges clicking on the white tile floor. She pressed the up button on the elevator and waited for the silver doors to slide open. She stepped onto the elevator and hit the button for the required floor. She had spent the rest of her workday being nervous about her visit.

She couldn't help but worry. What if he had heard her confess her feelings? What if he didn't reciprocate them and he told her?

Or what if he did have feelings for her and he told her.

Caroline sucked in a breath and let it out as the elevator doors slid open. She stepped out and walked down the hall to Seth's room. She peeked inside to find Lydia and Seth there alone. Lydia waved her in.

"Hi." She smiled brightly as she approached the bed. "I got you these." She held up the arrangement of flowers and Seth smiled. She sat them, and her tote, on the bedside table.

"Great, I can add it to my collection. I think I am going to be able to plant a garden when I get out of here."

Lydia laughed, leaning back in her chair and crossing one leg over the other. She looked much better than Caroline remembered. "Please, you couldn't keep a garden alive if you had an entire nest of gnomes to tend to it for you."

"Gnomes, sis, really? You are such a nerd." He chuckled. He stopped abruptly groaning as he held his stomach. "I have to remember laughing hurts."

"I'm sorry." Caroline offered, holding onto the railing on his bed. She frowned, hating the thought of him in pain.

"Hey, unless you have been robbing convenient stores and shooting police officers by night. I don't think it is your fault." He smirked, resting his hand on the back of hers.

"Still, I feel bad."

"Thanks but I'm okay. How are things at the station?"

"Typical. Although, there is a new detective hanging around."

"Really, I didn't know they were hiring a new detective."

"They didn't. He is internal affairs. His name is Stephen Farrelly he has stopped in my office a few times to have me search stuff for him."

"Farrelly, wasn't that the redheaded guy who was here earlier?" Seth looked at Lydia who nodded. "He is coming to you to look stuff up."

"I didn't know what he was doing at first. I thought it was just a regular case."

Seth nodded, "Don't worry about it. I am sure it will turn out to be nothing."

Caroline nodded feeling better about helping the IA officer. If Seth wasn't mad at her, she was fine. She didn't want to lose his friendship. "Yea, I am sure you are right."

"Caroline when you were here did you read to me?" Seth asked suddenly.

Caroline felt the blush creep up her neck as she nodded, "Yea. Sorry. I don't know why I did that. I didn't think you would remember honestly." She felt her cheeks grow hot. If he remembered her reading to him what else did he remember?

"Well I remember bits and piece. Do you think I can borrow it sometime? I'd like to read it."

"Oh sure." Caroline smiled." I actually have it in my bag." She opened her tote and pulled out the book. "It will give you something to do besides watch TV." She sat it on the tray beside his bed. "I think you will really like it."

"Thanks are you sure you don't mind me borrowing it?"

"Not at all, I have so many books at home I need to read."

"Awesome. You are the best Care."

She blushed again, smiling gratefully. "I don't know about that."

"I do"

Lydia smiled knowingly and grabbed her purse off the back of the chair. "I'll be right back I am just going to run downstairs and get a drink. Do you guys want anything."

Caroline shook her head. She didn't want to be alone with Seth at the moment but what could she say to keep Lydia from leaving? She watched as the brunette walked out the door a sweet smile on her face.

"Caroline?"

She turned her attention back to Seth who was watching her attentively. "Yea?"

"I know you know. I can't tell just by the way you are acting.. . ."

Caroline sighed, "You remember?"

"I do. I'm not sure how I do but I remember a lot of what people said to me when I was out."

Caroline nodded, pulling her hands away from the railing and tucking them behind her back to hide that they were shaking. She turned her gaze toward the floor, afraid of what he might say next.

"Don't be nervous. It's okay. . . I like you too."

Her head popped up, eyes wide and mouth agape, "What?"

He started to laugh but stopped himself, "I said; I like you too. You are kind and compassionate and intelligent. Who wouldn't be attracted to that?"

Caroline smiled, "Thanks Seth. You are amazing too. I just figured you could do a lot better than me."

Seth shook his head, grabbing her hand and squeezing it gently, "No, You are perfect Caroline Blake."

-x-x-x-

Dean woke up with a headache. He groaned and covered his sensitive eyes, shielding them from the early morning sun. He rolled out of bed, kicking the stray beer bottles on the floor as he got to his feet. What a night. He couldn't remember much of anything after he arrived home. He just remembered setting up the line across the kitchen counter and grabbing his first beer out of the refrigerator.

Unfortunately he could still remember everything that happened at the hospital. He sighed, walking to the bathroom and looking in the mirror. His eyes were dark and bloodshot and his hair was a mess. He patted it down with his hands before grabbing his toothbrush. He brushed his teeth then stripped down and got into the shower. The warm water was soothing against his stiff muscles.

He wrapped a towel around his waist and used anther to dry his hair as he walked back into the bedroom. He got dressed in dark jeans and black t-shirt.

After inspecting himself in the mirror and not bothering to brush his unruly hair, he walked to his bed and opened the bedside table. He pulled out the plastic bag of white powder and held it in his hands. He could feel the edge forming. He knew he needed it.

He sighed as he carried it to the bathroom. He once again stood in front of the mirror, holding the bag firmly in his grasp as he leaned against the sink. "What have you done to yourself?" He asked the man looking back at him. Was this what he had wanted to become?

He thought of Seth, lying in the hospital, lucky to be alive and it was all because of him.

He thought about Roman, trying to start over after getting out of prison; getting out of prison after he covered up for him.

He thought about Detective Farrelly and how if he found any evidence his career, the job he had wanted since he was 7 years old, could be ruined.

Then he thought about Lydia. He thought about the softness of her skin and the warmth of her body. He thought about the way she traced his scars, the feel of her fingers on his back. He thought about the sound of her voice, telling him it wasn't his fault, even though it was.

Then he thought about the look in her eyes when she had found him that morning, the despair in her eyes when he told her the truth about Seth. He could still hear the rage in her voice as the words echoed over and over in his mind: you disgust me.

He deserved it. He deserved everything she had said to him. He deserved worse.

His arms were shaking. He inhaled deeply, closing his eyes and swallowed, attempting to stop the lump forming in his throat. He hadn't felt the sting of tears in years. He couldn't remember the last time he had cried.

He clutched the baggy tightly in his grip as he looked in the mirror.

"You're pathetic." He looked at his reflection with contempt.

Then he turned and dropped the baggy into the toilet and flushed it away.

-x-x-x-

Ebony typed quickly, her fingers flying over the keyboard as she finished a file for the district attorney. The office was silent except for the steady clicking of the keys and the drizzle of rain outside the window. A knock at the door drew her attention from the file, "Come in." She called, saving the document and shutting her laptop.

She looked up to find Roman Reigns shutting the door behind him. His dark hair was damp, as was his light green Viva a Verde polo. He smiled anxiously as he sat down in one of the chairs opposite her. "Good morning. You wanted to see me."

"Yes. Thanks for coming in. There is something we need to discuss."

Roman sucked in a deep breath and let it out. "Okay. Did I do something wrong?"

Ebony frowned, "No. No, nothing like that. I actually have a question for you."

Roman visibly relaxed. He wet his lips and nodded.

"I want to know what happened the night you were arrested."

She swallowed slowly as his eyes locked onto hers. "You are my parole officer – I am sure you have a police report." Roman leaned back in his chair.

"Of course but, I wanted to hear your side of the story."

"There is not much to tell. Ambrose and I were coming home for a game, we got pulled over, I had drugs on me… that's all."

Ebony watched as he shifted in his chair. He was good, yes, but, not good enough to fool her. She knew she was right.

"Why don't I believe you Mr. Reigns."

"I think you should call me Roman." He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees as he stared at her intently.

"Why don't I believe you, Roman?"

He shrugged. "I don't know ma'am because that's how it happened."

She frowned at the word ma'am. "Ebony." She corrected.

"I don't know, Ebony, because that is how it happened." He smirked and her heartbeat fluttered. Why did he have to be so handsome?"

She laced her fingers together, bringing her hands to rest in front of her on her desk. "I'm going to be very blunt with you Roman."

"Please do. I hate false pretenses."

"Do you?" Ebony found herself smiling too. Nothing she had said implied any deception on her part. She was certain it had been a Freudian slip. He knew what she was getting at and she was correct. He had been deceptive himself.

"That is quite ironic seeing you are quite good at deceiving others, am I right?"

"Excuse me?" He looked surprised.

"You are not telling the truth about what happened that night. You did not tell the truth then either, did you Roman?" She watched keenly as he fidgeted once more, his cocky demeanor fading.

"I'm sorry, I don't know what you are talking about." He tried to sound confident and failed.

"I think you know exactly what I am talking about. Why did you do it?" She asked, her tone softening. It was the question that had really been bothering her. Why would he choose to go to prison for something he didn't do?

Slowly he stood up and walked the length of the room.

"How did you figure it out?" He asked.

"Honestly I am kind of surprised no one else figured it out sooner. You don't really give off the addict vibe and well, with Lydia catching Ambrose doing cocaine. . . "

Roman nodded slowly, "I am sure you looked at my file and put two and two together."

She watched as he paced the length of her office, head down, shoulders back. He clenched and uncleched his fists as he moved, frowning.

"But why did you do it? I want to know."

He sighed. Slowly he walked around her desk. She stared in surprise as he stood beside her; leaning against the edge of the desk, crossing his muscular arms over his chest. "Easy, I was trying to protect him." He said, his gaze focused on the window behind her desk.

"Protect him?"

"Amborse. . . .well he had it rough. Really rough. It's not my place to talk about it but, I guess it wasn't much of a surprise when he started using pot in high school. I guess I kind of understood it. Then he started using the harder stuff. I knew he shouldn't but, I felt bad. It was kind of an escape for him I guess. All he ever wanted to do was be a cop. He wanted to protect people, people who couldn't protect themselves. So when we were coming home that night and we got pulled over, I made a decision. I knew he had bought a bag of cocaine off of a dealer in the city. I didn't like it but, it wasn't my place to stop him. When Dean knew he had been caught drinking and driving – the cocaine could have been the end of his dream to be a cop. . . I didn't want to see him lose the chance at the thing he wanted most. So I covered for him."

"But what about you? I mean I know Dean was your friend but, why throw away your own future for someone else's bad choice?" Ebony stood up too. She stood beside him and leaned against the desk too, hands clutching the lip of the desk on either side of her hip.

"I wasn't thinking about that. I was just thinking about Dean. He isn't just a friend to me Ebony. He is my little brother. I always did what I could to protect him. It didn't seem like that moment should be any different." He sighed despondently, "The only thing I asked was he get his act together, that he quit."

Ebony watched a droplet of rain as it snaked now the glass. "And when you got out you realized he didn't keep his promise."

Roman nodded solemnly. "Yea, I went to prison for him and he didn't even try to quit." He laughed bitterly. "I am actually really amazed Seth and Lydia never figured out that he was using."

"Some people are good liars." Ebony stood and moved in front of him, blocking his view of the window. "It was a stupid thing you did Roman."

"I would do it again." Roman said, without hesitation. "I love Ambrose like family. I would do anything for family."

Ebony smiled weakly. "You are a good man Roman Reigns."

Roman stood up straight, uncrossing his arms., "Stupid but good?" He smirked and she laughed.

"Yes, exactly."

She gasped as his hand flew to her hip, spinning her around to lean against the desk once more. His lips crashed against hers his other hand cupping her cheek as he kissed her.

She stared at him, wide and panting when he finally pulled away, releasing her from his grip. "I –" She found herself at a loss for words. She wanted to chastise him. What had just happened was completely unacceptable. He was her client. It was unprofessional.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have. . ." He whispered.

It felt like a ton of lead was sitting in the pit of her stomach. She didn't want him to be sorry. She wanted him to kiss her again.

"It's just you're so -" he trailed off.

"I'm so what?" Ebony probed, wondering if she would like the answer she received.

"Everything. . . ." He paused, taking a step back. "You're beautiful, you're smart, you're kind, you're understanding. . . There are not very many people like you. You are special."

Ebony's heart began to race. Roman had feelings for her?

"I need to go. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have." He darted out of the room, leaving a speechless Ebony still leaning against her desk.