Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to the WWE or its superstars. The only thing I own is my original character. This is a complete work of fiction.
Fanning the Flames
Chapter 25
Dean
"Way to not use your turn signal, you dumb bitch!" Raven growled, seething at the wheel. I tried to stifle a laugh. I had to admit that she used some very colorful and entertaining language when she drove and it was hilarious. Roman seemed to agree with me but it made Seth a bit nervous.
"I feel like this is part of the reason we never let you drive…." Seth observed innocently.
"Oh, relax! It's just a little road rage! You are all alive and uninjured!" She said waving off his concerns. She seemed to be really relishing her time behind the wheel. We never let her drive. She does a lot of work for us as well as media stuff and it's usually easier for her to rest and get organized if she isn't driving. Today we made an exception since we were headed to her home town of Nashville. She knew this area better than any of us.
"You drive like a crazy person!" he remarked.
"She's no worse than you driving in L.A. a few months ago!" Roman scolded.
"See! Thank you, Rome!" Raven said with a laugh. "So, guys it looks like we have to make one last stop before we make it to Nashville. Getting a little low on gas!"
"Damn it! Again?" Seth groaned.
"Yeah, we are driving an SUV full of muscular gentlemen, it takes a lot of gas to make this baby run! I thought you'd be happy since you always have to piss!" she said teasing Seth. He chuckled and shook his head.
"I do not!" She pulled off of the interstate and turned into the parking lot of the first gas station we came across.
"Alright guys, I'll fill 'er up!"
She happily jumped out of the car to being fueling up the rental.
"Man, she is really excited to be coming home," Roman said with an amused chuckle.
"From the sounds of it, she hasn't been here to see her Dad in quite some time."
"Well that's this business for you. Not much time for family visits," I added.
"Not that you'd ever visit yours if you had the time," Seth snapped.
"Fuck you man!"
"Guys, knock it off, no fighting!…We really need to be on our best behavior today. Meeting Raven's Dad is very important to her and we should really try not to fuck this up. His opinion seems to carry a lot of weight with her. So let's do our best to win him over. Besides, we care about Raven and we should care about the things that are important to her," Roman lectured, making eye contact with me.
"Seriously? Why are you looking at me when you say this?" I asked a little offended.
"No offense, man. It's just….you are a little rough around the edges."
"Right. Just because Dean doesn't go home to see Mommy, he must be fucking awful with fucking parents!"
"That's not what I said!"
"But its what you meant," I accused. Roman fell silent.
"Okay, guys. All fueled up! Let's hit the road. We've got about an hour to go!" Raven chirped excitedly, as she hopped back into the drivers seat, breaking up the awkward conversation.
"Nashville here we come!" Seth cheered.
"Hey Dean?" She asked.
"Yeah?"
"Will you grab my sunglasses out of my purse?"
"Yeah, sure." I reached down and felt my hand wrap around a plastic object. I pulled it out and looked at it. It was a lighter. It was a bit odd since she wasn't a smoker. Although, come to think of it, she often smell like fire and burned items now and again. I didn't ask any questions as I quickly put the lighter back and fetched the glasses.
Raw
Raven
I waited anxiously at one of the arena entrances for my Dad to arrive. Within minutes, he appeared, getting through security with his backstage pass. My face lit up with a smile as he neared.
"Daddy!"
"Raven! My Little Bird!" he said wrapping his arms around me in a big hug. "It's so good to see you! I've missed you so much!"
"I've missed you too!"
"I only wish you'd wear more clothes," he joked, motioning to my Shield ring gear. This was the smallest outfit I'd ever worn in the ring. Short shorts, a bra top, and a Shield vest left a lot of exposed skin.
"Dad!" I whined.
"What? I'm your Father! I don't like the idea of men drooling all over the sight of you all half naked!"
"They aren't drooling all over me!"
"Bullshit! I have one beautiful daughter, I know men love the hell out of you!"
"Eww."
"Well anyhow, it's about time I got to see you at work again! I missed last time you were in town for that Smackdown."
"Oh it's no big deal, Dad. It's the same as usual…except for our locker room location. It's pretty secluded, but that's how we like it. People don't bother us this way," I said with a shrug.
"I have to say, I'm looking forward to meeting these gentleman you are working so closely with. They aren't like the men you've worked with in the past."
"You're right. They are nothing like Daniel! I know how much you love him!"
"He's a great guy! A good quality, hardworking, man. I wouldn't have minded if you'd hooked up with him instead of that Orton fellow."
"Dad, Daniel has a Fiancee. We are just friends. You'll have to get used to it!" I said with a laugh.
"Oh, I know, Raven. I just want you to be happy…with whoever you choose."
"I know, Dad…let's go back to the locker room so you can meet my new, very hard working hooligans." He chuckled.
"They do seem like quiet a trio..."
"Oh, you have no idea!"
We made our way through the busy, crowded corridors and finally found ourselves at the locker room.
"Alright boys! I want you to all meet my Dad! Dad, this is Seth, Dean, and Roman, the Shield."
"Nice to meet you Mr. Stone," Seth said shaking his hand.
"Please, call me Sam! Mr. Stone makes me feel old!" he said as he shook Dean and Roman's hands.
"Well, Sam, make yourself at home. Raven is like family to us and that makes your our family too," Roman said warmly. I was relieved that they had behaved this far.
"So, what do we have on the agenda tonight?" I asked Seth, who was holding the card for the night.
"Well, looks like we have that three-on-two handicap match against the Rhodes brothers…and you have a match as well." My head immediately snapped in Dean's direction.
"Dean! Did you do this?" I asked a little nervously. I still got pretty anxious about performing and I had no notice. A small smile crossed his mouth.
"You know I went to Ol' Brad Maddox to try and get you a match but this was already on the card. I think you earned this one all on your own!" he said happily.
"Really? How?"
"Well it's you and Kaitlyn versus AJ and Tamina…I think you mauling AJ last week kind of put this in motion."
"Fair enough. Holy shit! Now I'm nervous!" I said panicked.
"Don't worry, Stone, I've got you on this," he assured me.
"I'm just glad I get to see you actually wrestle tonight, Little Bird!" my Dad chirped excitedly. "I've never gotten to see it live!"
"You've never gotten to see her wrestle? I thought you've come to tons of shows?" Roman asked a little dumbfounded.
"Yeah, I know it's hard to believe. Raven has always been so focused on her teams, so usually I just get to see her ringside to manage matches. I'm so happy to get to be here to see her perform!" he said with happiness brimming though his words.
"I'm happy you'll get to see it too. Hopefully I don't go out there and choke again!" I said with a frown. "Come on Dad, the show is about to start, we should get you to your seat! It's front row!"
Dean
At Raven's request, I accompanied her down to the ring for her match. This completely shocked Seth and Roman. She seemed to spend lots of time with both of them in her spare time. I think they were a bit jealous of her request of me. But Raven was incredibly nervous. She hasn't had a single match during her time with the Shield that she was alone. I was always there ringside to talk her through it. Tonight was no exception. Having a match involving the champ was a big deal. There was a lot of pressure on her to perform well. Many eyes watching her. A solid performance could garner her a title shot in the future. She knew it and I knew it. That was on a regular night. Tonight was not a regular night, not with her Dad sitting in the front row. I knew she was feeling the heat. She was panicking, it was written all over her face.
I stood in the ring with her and Kaitlyn as they waited for their opponents.
"You okay?" She nodded...pretty unconvincingly. "You sure?"
"Yeah...I think so."
"Its a tag match. If you really need out, tag out. I'm sure Kaitlyn will be fine with it."
"Okay. Any words of advice?"
" Hair pulling, spanking, and tearing clothes off are all acceptable strategies!" She shot me a death glare.
"Perv!"
It was time for me to exit the ring.I put my hand on her shoulder and leaned in close.
"You've got this! Do you hear me? You've got this. You have the skill now show them what Raven Stone is made of! Nearly everybody wants you to fail out here, prove them wrong." I began to walk away from my nervous counterpart. She needed to relax a little. "Oh, and no pressure to keep those tits in that top!" I said to make her laugh. Luckily for me, it worked.
"Thanks, Titty Master!" She mouthed, trying not to get it on camera.
The bell rang.
The match was pretty standard for the first five minutes. Tamina was doing the heavy lifting as expected, while Kaitlyn and Raven were tagging in and out successfully. So far, Raven had done amazing, not freezing up at all.
Currently, Kaitlyn stood in the ring, near the ropes. The Samoan ran at her, knocking her out of the ring. She quickly got back to her feet and climbed back up onto the apron. Tamina was ready for her though, she drop kicked Kaitlyn and she flew back with a horrible thud. She'd tried to land on her feet but landed completely wrong.
"Shit! My ankle!" She called out. "I need a doctor!"
Our ringside doctor made his way over to her. The referee approached Raven. She was going to have to finish out the match solo. Stone immediately snapped her head in my direction with sheer horror on her face. Naturally her opponents both were glaring at her with giant Cheshire smiles across their lips. Raven jumped off the apron and began to walk out.
"Come on Dean!" she snapped as approached.
"Oh no you don't!" I said stepping in her path.
"I'm leaving!"
"Nope!" I stepped towards her, picked her up and carried her up the steel steps. I set her down "You are going to get your ass in that ring and you are going to whip both their asses do you hear me?"
"I don't want to. I can't!"
"You can and you will. If you go down, you go down, But you will go down swinging! Your Dad is here tonight. Do it for him. Let him see you have your arm raised in victory!" I said through gritted teeth. She nodded and got into the ring. Like a woman on a mission she charged Tamina.
Within three minutes, she had Tamina in a Texas cloverleaf. She was fantastic with submissions, she many in her arsenal. All that training with Daniel Bryan has paid off. She leaned back, worsening the hold for her victim. She wore an evil smile as heard her groaning and struggling to escape. That's when I heard the tap. The bell rang. Raven's face lit up as she dropped the hold. The referee held up her arm in victory.
Once the arm was released, she leapt out of the ring and ran over to her Dad. She gave him a big hug. He looked so proud. I waited for her near the barricade. Still high on her win she ran over to me. Unexpectedly, she wrapped her arms around me in a big hug. She gave me a squeeze and I put my arms around her as well. As soon as it happened, it was over. I was a bit stunned as I followed her back over the barricade and up the stairs.
I just want to thank you for taking the time to check out this story. It's been getting a lot of views and it means so much to me that you guys seem to be liking it so far. I have been having so much fun writing it. I hope you all will keep on reading to see what Raven gets herself into and see more of the Shield's shenanigans! Feel free to leave me some more reviews and feedback!