Disclaimer, etc., in part 1.

Part Twenty-Five

As he pulled into the parking lot of the hotel - he and Eve were, in fact, staying in the same one - he looked over at the diva that was in the passenger seat, his gaze sliding over her face... The man frowning as he noted how tired and drawn she looked. Truth was, with the bad shoulder and the busted ribs, Eve probably shouldn't have been forced to travel from show to show, and the attack by AJ after the show definitely hadn't helped matters.

"You okay?" he finally asked, and Eve looked over at him, the woman using her good arm - an arm that now had a scraped-up elbow thanks to what AJ had done earlier - to push her hair back from her face.

"I've been better. But hey, a few days ago, I ended up at the hospital because of what happened during the show, so I guess this is an improvement from then," the diva said, watching as Punk's expression changed at the reference to a few days before. Shaking her head, Eve sighed. "You say that you didn't mean for this to happen... For AJ to come after me. And I believe you. And you weren't the one that wouldn't let the medics come out to help me at RAW, either."

Punk shook his head at that. "I still can't believe Laurinaitis thought he could get away with that."

"He would have blamed Teddy Long, and even if people believed Teddy when he said it wasn't him... He couldn't have proven it. Besides that, people know that Teddy doesn't like me any more than I like him. It would have seemed a believable lie," the diva said matter-of-factly, reaching for her seatbelt as she spoke. She was having to do everything with just the one arm, so by the time she'd managed to get out of the vehicle, Punk had already gotten out as well, the man grabbing his things as well as hers... Though Eve was still carrying her own purse. She arched a brow at him. "I can carry my own things, you know."

"I'm sure you can... But just humor me on this, okay?" he said, and since she wasn't in the mood to argue, she let him keep possession of her bag... Tilting her head to the side when she saw the look on his face.

"What is it?"

"You're injured. Why would you even need to bring anything besides your purse with you tonight?" he asked, and Eve shook her head slightly as she shut the door to the rental car.

"Please, Punk. 'Naive' is, like, the last word I'd use to describe you. I knew that Laurinaitis wanted to humiliate me tonight. Punish me for turning him down and taking up with you instead. I couldn't be sure that humiliation wouldn't include something disgusting being dumped on me. So... A change of clothes, and everything I might need to clean up," she told him, starting to head toward the door that led to the lobby of the hotel... Turning to look at him when it seemed he wasn't following. "You coming?"

"Yeah, I'm coming," Punk said, quickly setting the alarm on the car, then heading her way, the two of them walking through the sliding glass doors together. He glanced over at her. "What floor are you on?"

"Second floor. Room 211," she told him, and he nodded.

"I'm actually just down the hall, then... 217," he told her. "I'll walk you to your room," Punk said, and Eve nodded, the two of them heading for the elevator despite the fact that they only had to go up one floor. The elevator was empty aside from the two of them, the pair making the quick trip in silence, then heading off toward the woman's room... As they walked, Eve dug into her purse for her key card, wincing a little as she did so... Punk's frown deepened at the sight, though he didn't say anything about it, instead watching in silence as Eve pulled out the key and slid it into the slot, the diva opening the door as soon as the little light flashed green.

"Just drop my bag wherever," she said as they entered her room, Punk following her inside and putting the bag down on the small dresser in her room. As he turned to look at her, the wrestler found Eve watching him with a frown on her face.

"What is it?"

"Let me look at your hand."

"Eve, it's fine-"

"Please. She bit you, and we don't know where her mouth has been. And besides that, being bit by anyone or anything is bad and can lead to an infection if it's not taken care of."

"She didn't break the skin," the man protested, though he followed Eve into the bathroom anyway, watching as the diva dug into a bag on the counter... A makeup bag, likely, though she apparently kept some first aid stuff in there anyway.

"Just humor me," the diva replied, arching a brow at him as she held out her hand, and Punk sighed before holding out his old hand, letting the woman take hold of it. Stepping closer, she frowned, running her thumb lightly over the skin of his hand. "It's bruising. And even if it didn't bleed... She may have broken the skin a little," Eve said, the woman letting go of him in order to reach over and turn the water on, gesturing for him wash his hand. As he did that, Eve stepped back, tugging at the sling she wore, and Punk frowned.

"Eve, you shouldn't-"

"I'll be fine. I'm allowed to take it off for a few hours a day. Also when I sleep," she said, dropping the sling on the counter, then reaching for some first aid things. Her movements with her bad arm were slow, deliberate, and Punk frowned as he watched her, then shook his head slightly, finishing washing his hands, then turning off the water and drying his hands on a nearby towel.

"I really think my hand is fine," he told her, and Eve just shot him a look, then stepped forward again, once more taking hold of his hand. Because he was all too aware of Eve's injuries, he didn't try to pull away... Or at least, he told himself that it was because of her injuries that he didn't pull away and not because he kind of liked her touch... Even if she was only touching his hand.

"You should really keep an eye on this. Even if it did barely break the skin," the woman said as she smoothed some type of ointment over the abraded skin.

"What about your elbow?"

"She didn't bite my elbow."

"Still, let me look at it," Punk told her, and Eve sighed, shifting so that he could do just that... The diva standing quietly while he went through the same process she'd just gone through on his hand. Well, almost the same. Since sticking her elbow under the sink would have been awkward, he used a washcloth to clean it off before adding the ointment. As he worked, Eve twisted around as best she could to watch him, and it wasn't until Punk looked up at he realized how close they were. Blinking, he took a step back.

Eve cleared her throat. "Thanks for..." She shook her head as she trailed off, the diva reaching out to take the ointment from him... Frowning as she looked at his hand. "You're definitely getting a bruise."

"I can handle it," he said, stepping closer to her as he felt her fingers skim over the skin of his hand, careful not to touch where the ointment she'd applied was. "Eve..."

Her gaze flicked to his. "Yes?"

He blinked, took a step back. "I should... Go."

"You probably should," she concurred, nodding, stepping around him to go to the door, the woman opening it to let him out... Punk pausing just inside the doorway.

"I'm sorry about... Everything," he said, and she nodded.

"I know. Now go. I'm sure you have better things to do tonight than hang out with me," she said, then blinked in surprise when Punk suddenly leaned forward, pressing a kiss to her cheek. He smiled slightly as he looked at her.

"I really don't... See you later, Eve."

And then he was gone.