Hello everyone! Oh god, sorry it's taking me forever, but school and work caught up with me! Ahhh!! But don't worry, I cut back my hours, finally got a hold of my life, and I'm gonna keep trying to post as often as I can, so bare with me! Please review!!
Laura--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Dave and Nikki walk into the Staples Center with Dave carrying the world heavyweight title over his shoulder and Nikki wearing her engagement ring. Nikki smiles up at Dave as they pass by random superstars and crew members who congratulate both of them.
"So how does it feel to be champ?" Nikki asks as Dave holds open the locker room door for her.
"How does it feel to be the future Mrs. Bautista?" Dave replies, smirking, "it's wonderful baby, now all of my dreams have come true."
Nikki kisses him softly and sets her bag down, turning to him. He motions for her to follow him and they head down to the match board for tonight's events.
"Who are you facing tonight?" Nikki questions as Dave shakes his head, "what? Is it bad?"
"It's me," a voice states behind them causing the two to whirl around.
Behind them stands Randy and Courtney, glaring at the Nikki and Dave. Dave crosses his arms across his chest and smirks.
"Look Nik, it's the LOSER," Dave mocks, "man, did you get your ass kicked last night!"
Nikki laughs softly but Courtney glares at her.
"It was a fluke!" She screams, stepping up into Nikki's face, "just like Dave winning the title!"
"Oh please C, save it," Nikki rolls her eyes, stepping away, "you're just mad because you picked the wrong guy…again."
Courtney lets out a growl and storms away with Randy following. Nikki sighs and leans into Dave who wraps an arm around her waist.
"Why don't you head back to the locker room and I'll be there in a minute, ok?" Dave suggests, handing her his title, "take this with you."
Nikki nods and walks back down to the locker room and opens the door to see Paul and Ric sitting on the couch. Nikki stops, frozen in her place, eyes wide. Paul looks up and smirks, nodding to Ric. Both men stand up and walk closer to Nikki. Nikki goes to back out of the room, but Ric is blocking the door.
"What do you want?" Nikki asks, hugging the title close to her chest.
"That belt," Paul replies, holding a hand out, "give it to me…now!"
Nikki shakes her head, dashing across the room to get away from Paul.
"Come on Nikki, you can't run from me," Paul says, "there's no where for you to go."
Nikki makes a mad dash to the bathroom and as she tries to slam the door, Paul shoves it open, causing her to fly against the wall. Paul grabs her by the shirt and tosses her out into the room, but Nikki doesn't let go of the belt. Paul lunges for it, but Nikki pulls it away, and instead, he grabs her shirt, ripping it wide open. Nikki lets out a gasp and struggles to get to her feet but he pulls her back down, standing over her. Ric leans down to grab the belt but Nikki kicks him hard and then kicks Paul, be he manages to kick the belt away from her. She crawls over to the belt, but Paul stands up, stepping on her hand and picking up the belt.
"What did I tell you," Paul states, " you couldn't run…wait…what's this?"
Paul notices the ring on Nikki's hand that he's stepping on and he smiles, leaning down and sliding it off.
"Give that back you son of a bitch!" Nikki yells out, clawing at his leg with her free hand.
Paul's smirk disappears and it's replaced with a scowl. He steps on her hand harder causing her to yell out in pain. He lets up and acts like he's going to walk away, but quickly brings his booted foot down on her hand, hearing the crunching of her fingers. Nikki screams in pain as Paul drops the title, tucking the ring into his shirt pocket and walking out of the room, with Ric following. Nikki lets out a sob, cradling her hand to her body. The door opens and she flinches, grabbing the belt and curling up into a ball, thinking that it's Paul.
"Nikki?" Dave asks softly, kneeling down next to her, "baby? What happened?"
Nikki uncurls herself and grasps Dave's shirt with her good hand.
"Oh god," Nikki sobs, "my hand!"
Dave looks down at her left hand and he curses when he sees it. It's turning a bright blue/purple color and its very swollen. He notices that the ring is missing and he turns to Nikki.
"Paul took the ring?" Dave demands, standing up, "we need to get you to a doctor!"
"No!" Nikki exclaims, "I need to be out there for your match!"
"Baby, let me take you to Rob, please," Dave begs, "just to make sure nothing's broken."
Nikki nods and Dave helps her stand up, helping her change her shirt as well. They walk down to the trainers offices and Dave holds open the door and Nikki walks in, cradling her left hand to her body. Rob looks up from his paperwork and pushes away from his desk.
"What can I do for you?" Rob asks, eyeing Nikki's swollen hand.
"Paul did this," Dave explains, "I just need to know if it's broken."
Rob nods and motions for Nikki to sit down. Dave sits down on the table behind her, and she leans into him, closing her eyes. Rob examines her hand and starts to move the fingers slowly. He gets to the middle two and Nikki lets out a yelp in pain, trying to pull the hand away. Rob shakes his head and finishes his evaluation. He slips off his gloves and leans back in his chair.
"Her middle and ring finger are broken," Rob states, "the others seem to be fine. You need to go to a doctor Nik."
Nikki lets out a whimper and shakes her head.
"I have to stay for Dave's match!" Nikki exclaims, "can't you do anything?"
"I can splint them and wrap the whole hand, I'm worried about the carpals in your hands too, so after the show, you need to go to the hospital, ok?" Rob says, grabbing the right equipment.
Rob wraps her hand and sends them on their way. Nikki looks down at he bandaged hand and sighs.
"Why would he take my ring, but not your belt?" Nikki asks softly, "you think he'd want the belt more."
"Just because he has the belt, doesn't make him champion," Dave states, "he knows that so he wanted something that really meant something to the both of us."
They turn the corner and see Paul standing in front of their locker room, tossing the ring up in the air and catching it. Nikki grasps Dave's arm with her right hand, pulling him back. He lets out a growl and rips away from Nikki's grasp, storming up to Paul. Paul smirks and the two men get nose to nose, with Dave getting the advantage.
"I should kill you now," Dave threatens, "now, you have two choices, give the ring back or I'll take it back from you."
"Which ring?" Paul asks innocently, holding it up, "oh, you mean this ring? You can't get it back until I get back what's rightfully mine…the belt."
"Over my dead body," Dave hisses, "the ring or I'll break your hand."
"Like I did to Nikki over there?" Paul asks, nodding towards her, "pity, she could probably do wonders with those hands."
Dave growls and lunges at Paul, knocking him down to the ground. Dave goes to hit Paul but Nikki grabs his arm with her good hand, stopping him.
"Don't Dave!" Nikki exclaims, pulling him off of Paul, "you could get suspended, it's not worth it. The ring doesn't mean that much to me if you get suspended."
Dave stands up and Paul jumps up, glaring at Dave.
"You'll pay for that," Paul warns, throwing the ring at Dave and stalking off.
Nikki sighs and leans against Dave who wraps an arm around her waist. He holds up the ring and Nikki smiles softly, looking down at her bandaged hand.
"I don't think it'll fit," Nikki states, "we better go get ready for tonight."
Dave slips the ring into his pocket and they walk into their locker room. Dave changes and watches with amusement as Nikki tries to change her shirt. Dave walks over to her, unbuttoning it and slipping it off her shoulders, folding it and putting it in her bag, and helping her put on the pink one she had sitting out. Dave looks up at the clock and sighs.
"We have about an hour before we go out," Dave points out, "want to walk around?"
Nikki nods and they walk out hand in hand, with Nikki's bad hand up to her chest. They walk past the lounge area and chat with a few people for a while before heading down to the gorilla area. Dave finds Nikki a chair and sits her down, crouching down next to her.
"You ok baby?" Dave asks softly, rubbing her cheek softly, "I don't know if you should go out there tonight."
"I'm fine darling, really," Nikki replies, leaning against him, "I'll stay out of the way, I have to cheer you on."
They don't notice Courtney peeking around the corner. She sighs and leans back against the wall. She turns and walks away, her head down. Dave kisses her softly, slipping a hand behind her neck, pulling her into him more.
"I think I have the animal tamed," Nikki jokes as she pulls away, "never thought I'd see that day."
Dave chuckles and leans back against the wall. They stare at each other and Dave feels his heart swell with love as a lazy smile forms on her lips.
"You have no idea how much I love you," Dave states softly, brushing his thumb across her lips, "I don't know what I'd do without you."
"You don't have to worry about that," Nikki reassures him, "I'll always be with you, no matter what."
Dave smiles and hugs her gently. He stands up and glances at the clock on the wall.
"I'm going to run and get a water, stay here," Dave instructs, jogging off.
Nikki looks down at her hand and sighs, shaking her head. A shadow falls over her and she looks up to see Randy standing in front of her.
"Hi Randy," Nikki says carefully, "can I do something for you?"
"You can tell Dave that tonight, I'll be taking his title from him," Randy smirks, "and that I'm going to beat him within an inch of his life."
Nikki snorts and Randy glares at her. He knocks her chair over causing her to fall to the ground, landing on her bad hand. She lets out a yelp as he stands over her.
"You think that's funny?!" Randy roars, "I will beat him so bad you wont even recognize him!"
"You wish!" Sam retorts, "you aren't even in the same league as Dave!"
Randy growls and steps closer to her. Dave turns the corner to see Randy standing over Nikki. He drops his water bottle and rushes forward, throwing Randy away from Nikki.
"Get away from her," Dave warns, "she has nothing to do with this!"
Randy scoffs, backing away slowly from the two. Dave kneels down next to Nikki, inspecting her hand. Nikki looks up, her eyes going wide.
"Dave! Watch out!" Nikki screams, causing Dave to grab her and jump to the side as a steel chair comes crashing down in the spot they were just at.
Dave looks up and growls, lunging for Randy. Dave goes to strike him, but a bunch of referees pull them apart.
"Save it for the ring Dave," Nikki states, "we're up."
Dave shoots Randy one last glare and walks away with Nikki following closely behind. His music hits and they walk out together, Nikki trailing behind Dave. He gets into the ring and holds open the ropes for her before posing on the turnbuckles. Randy's music hits and him and Courtney walk out, glaring at the two.
"This is gonna be one hell of a match," Nikki murmurs to Dave before sliding out of the ring.
DURING THE MATCH
Dave throws Randy, shoulder first into the turnbuckle, a loud popping sound can be heard around the arena. Nikki cringes as Randy screams in pain, clutching his shoulder. Dave takes advantage of this and gives Randy a Batista Bomb, pinning him for the win. Nikki slides into the ring, hugging Dave tightly. Courtney helps Randy out of the ring as Paul's music hits, and he comes out, standing on the top of the ramp, clapping. Dave wraps an arm around Nikki protectively as the two men stare each other down. Paul watches as the two get out of the ring and head up the ramp. They pass Paul and Dave stops, sizing up his former mentor.
"Dave, come on," Nikki states, pulling on his arm, "don't start anything."
Dave nods and walks away, sending one last look back at Paul. Nikki cradles her hand to her body as Dave holds open the door.
"I'm going to go shower, wait here?" Dave asks, stripping out of his trunks and tossing them onto the couch.
Nikki smiles as she watches his bare ass disappear into the showers. She shakes her head and picks up the discarded trunks, folding them and putting them into his suitcase. She sits down on the couch, looking down at her hand, knowing that as soon as he was dressed, that he would drag her into the emergency room. She smiles at the thought of Dave, but it's interrupted by the door opening. She looks up to see Courtney standing there, arms crossed across her chest. Nikki stands up, cradling the bandaged hand to her chest.
"Can I help you?" Nikki asks cautiously.
"I'm just here to say goodbye," Courtney replies, "Randy needs surgery on his shoulder and I'm going to be with him, so I won't be seeing you for a while."
"Oh," Nikki states, looking down, "well, bye."
Courtney grabs Nikki in a hug, surprising the taller woman. Courtney kisses her cheek, handing her a slip of paper and walks out of the room as Dave walks back into the main room.
"What was that about?" Dave asks, pulling on his pants.
Nikki smiles and turns to Dave.
"Nothing hon," Nikki answers, "lets get out of here."
Dave shrugs and pulls on his shirt, then his coat. He grabs both their bags, wrapping his free arm around her waist and heading out of the room. They out to the parking garage and Dave tosses their bags in the trunk and holding open Nikki's door. He leans in and kisses her before shutting the door. Nikki looks down at the paper and opens it, noticing Courtney's familiar handwriting.
Nikki,
I know these last couple weeks I haven't been the best friend that I always was, and I'm sorry. I won't be back for a while and I will see you when Randy gets back. I just wanted you to know that I'll always be there for you, and I'm so sorry for the way I treated you. You and Dave make the best couple and I guess I was jealous that you found the one person that was meant for you. I saw you two in the hallway before his and Randy's match, and I knew that I was wrong to be mean to you, you never deserved it.
Keep in touch,
C.C
Nikki wipes away a stray tear, folding the note and putting it in her pocket. Dave gets in the drivers side and looks over at her.
"You ok baby?" Dave asks, concern in his eyes, grasping her hand in his large one.
"I've never been better," Nikki answers truthfully, "everything's better now."
---------------!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So sorry for the long wait, but my computer is a piece of shit. I finally got it working again, so I'm going to be typing as fast as I can to get these chapters up. It wouldn't turn on, so I thought I had to rewrite all the chapters I had typed, which were 3 for this one, 2 for STW, and 2 for BID. I had a hard time trying to do that, but I got it working, so look for a bunch of new chapters!! Please review!!
Laura