"Well, Ms. Cossa," the ultrasound technician boldly began as she moved the wand around a bit more. "I see absolutely nothing wrong. Everything sounds good. Your baby is near average size for this stage of the pregnancy."

That got Jon's undivided attention. "She's barely showing though."

The blond-haired tech nodded with confidence. "It's the way the baby is situated," she explain. "Some people have more room in their bodies, so the baby pushes its way around inside instead of out."

Rita looked at Jon's confused face. Dragging her look back over to the technician, she had a thankful expression on her face.

"Don't worry," the tech stated, smiling at Jon. "Your baby measures just fine. And they seem to be quite happy in mommy."

"They?" Jon asked, his brows shooting up. "Twins?"

Rita placed her hand on Jon's forearm. "She means that generally... Since you don't want to know the gender."

"Yes," the blond smiled out. "Just a general term, Mr. Good." She flashed Rita an amused smile before setting down the ultrasound wand. "We are done here. You can get cleaned up, and the nurse will see you to schedule your next appointment."

"Okay," Rita said as Jon began helping her. "Thank you very much."

"Not a problem. I'll leave you two to it."

Jon paid the woman no attention as she left the room. "You sure it's not twins?" he asked, his voice cracking in question.

"Positive, honey." She wiped her skin clean once more before pulling her shirt down. Jon helped her into the gray striped hoodie of his that she wore before the couple made their way out to the reception desk.

Once Rita set up the next appointment, they were on their way out to their car.

"You think we have everything we need now?" Jon asked as he opened the car door for her.

Bracing her stomach, she slid into his pickup. She thought as he walked over to the driver's side before answering as he got into the truck.

"We should be fine. Why? Was there something else you wanted to get?"

"No," he shook his head. "Just trying to think of everything."

She looked over at him as he shifted the gear. His movements seemed rigid, completely opposite of his usual coolness when he drove. She continued to glance at him as they drove home.

"What's wrong, Jon?"

"Hmm?" he hummed out, shaking his head in response. "Nothing."

"Well, something's wrong. You seem kind of, I don't know... Stiff."

"Stiff?" he asked, brow raised, as he flipped the blinker to take their turnoff. "I'll show you stiff if you really want me to."

Her hand shoved at his arm as she laughed. "Don't be vulgar, Jon. I'm being serious. You seem tired or something."

He tilted his head to the side as he continued driving down the road. "I am," he told her with a shrug. "But that won't stop me from loving on you."

The smile held on her face as she looked at him. "You love me," she simply said. To her own surprise, she let out a hefty laugh. "You really love me. Fucking Jon Moxley loves me." She rubbed the side of his scruffy face with her fingers. "Isn't that the dream of females creaming their panties all over the world for you?"

"Only in my dreams," he laughed out, his smile so wide that his cheeks reddened.

"""""

"What the fuck is this?" Jon breathed out as he watched the monitor backstage. Listening to Cole commentate was irritating him even further. "A fucking romance? Really?"

He waited for Rita, Rollins, and Reigns to come back through the black curtain. Stu Bennett came out first, tired out from the match that just went down. Jon gave him a weak smile as he passed on by, then turned his attention to the curtain. Standing wide-legged, hand on his chin, he managed to calm his nerves by the time she and his two friends came through.

"I can't believe they're going to go through with this," Rollins said with a shake of his head.

"Go through with what?" Jon asked them.

Rita stepped to him, taking his muscular arm in her hand. "I'm pissed they didn't tell you," she said, and Jon could see the disgust etched in her face. "Mark could have had at least pulled you aside earlier to mention it to you."

Reigns looked up at Rita, his lips pursed. "We'll be in the locker room."

Jon watched as Reigns' hand touched Rita's arm, sliding down almost as if he were caressing her. Then the two were gone.

"What? Is he supposed to kiss you now?"

Rita looked down, her dark lashes concealing the anxiety she felt. "Let me tell you what they told me." She took his hand, guiding him along to an empty room.

"What the hell is going on?" he asked as she shut the door behind them.

"Creative wants Joe and I to be in a storyline. It would be them turning me against you, and I would go off with him. And they did bring up us kissing – "

"Fuck no, Rita. Are you fucking kidding me?"

"Jon, please," she hushed as she placed her hand in his arm. "I don't want to not do this and have you guys pulled under the radar. So just please... Just let us go through with this. Let's just do what they ask – "

"I'm just supposed to be okay with one of my best friends kissing you and shit?"

"It's a script, Jon. You know it's not real."

"Right, because it wasn't real with us either? Remember, hmm? When I kissed you when you were still fucking around with Orton, I meant it. And I'd do it again in a heartbeat if it meant I'd have you in the end."

Rita had to laugh at Jon's idea. "I am not going to fall for Joe. You were different, and you know it."

"Why wouldn't you? He's more appealing than I am. He's got a... heritage or whatever to his name. Wouldn't that be someone who you'd want to be with over me?"

"Do you even hear yourself with some of the ridiculous shit you say?" Her eyes narrowed as she looked at him. "Seriously, Jon. Listen to yourself. They want to do a love angle with us, and we're going to do it. Who knows... It might end up doing some good career wise."

"Is this why they've had him dragging you away with him the past couple of shows? I didn't even know they were going to do that at SmackDown! last Tuesday. They didn't even tell me anything."

She could only shrug. "Maybe they wanted a genuine reaction?"

"What? Like I don't have enough to watch out for when you're out there? They gotta pull this bullshit on us now?" His fist landed on a stack of cardboard boxes, causing them to topple over onto the floor.

"Jon, stop it," she chided as she held back his arm. "You are acting like a child over this. It is just a storyline."

He tilted his head towards her, a smirk twisted on his lips. "You don't get it, do you? We were just a 'storyline' once a upon a time."

"Don't pull your Moxley promo shit on me," she snapped. "Joe and I will never be anything more than friends. I can't even believe that you would think I would do that to you. I know how close you guys are, and I'd never break up a friendship like that." She pulled away from him, holding her hands up in front of her. "You know what, fuck it. You want to act like this, go ahead. It won't change anything. You know how they are."

Leaning against the wall on his shoulder with his arms crossed over his muscled chest, he watched her walk towards the door, waiting for her hand to settle on the door knob before speaking.

"You walk out of that door, Rita, and I'll have to believe that you would."

Her green eyes snapped back to him. "That I would what?" Walking back up to where he stood, she didn't even seem to blink as her glare burned holes into him. "Well go ahead. Say it. That I would what?"

Pushing himself off the wall, he leaned in closer to her. "That not only would you be with someone I hate, but you would lay down with someone I called my best friend."

Jon was half expected Rita to slap him. That seemed to be the first reaction she had towards him. Yet, she was calm, even as her emerald green eyes darkened with anger. She held up a finger to him, Jon glancing down at her well-manicured hands.

"I'm done with you."

And then the sound of her sneakers walking away on the cement floor surrounded his senses. The firm tone of her voice made her words sound so permanent. But he had brought this onto himself. His words were harsh, and he couldn't help but feel like the same thing that happened between them could possibly happen to her and someone else. His head hung as he thought deeply. Making her angry was the last thing he ever wanted.

"Fuck," he said to no one, then made his way out of the room.

"""""

Rita laid down on one of the beds in the hotel room. "I can't fucking believe he'd say that to me," she fumed. "Like I'm some sort of fucking whore."

Trinity, who took the other bed and was sorting through her clothing, shook her head. "He knows better than that. I think he's just upset that he wasn't forewarned about this."

"Which I don't blame him," Rita agreed as she rubbed a hand over her swollen belly. "But we all know how they are. A million things could be changed at the very last second. Nothing's ever really written in stone for us."

"Just let him have some time for the whole thing to sink in. He'll realize that this wasn't something you asked for. It was just something they saw fit to do."

Rita tried to let Trinity's words calm her, but it wasn't working. Her feathers were ruffled, and she would love nothing more than to punch Jon in his smart mouth. "He was doing so good. We went to my doctor's appointment with no problem. He was a little funky, but he was tired. I didn't think anything of it really."

"Do you think all this baby stuff is stressing him out?" Trinity asked as she began folding her clothes.

"I'm sure it is," she replied. "But he's not the only one. I'm going through this, too."

Before Trinity could offer any more thoughts, there was a knock at the hotel room door. Trinity waved a hand at Rita as she quickly went to the door. Rita picked up his scent before the door was fully open, and she sat up in the bed, bracing her stomach as she scooted to the edge.

"I just want to see her," Jon said to an apprehensive Trinity.

"What do you want, Jon?" Rita asked as she attempted to stand.

"Let's go to dinner," he plainly said.

"I asked Trin to stay in for me. I'm not going anywhere." She watched as he tried to push past Trinity.

"Can you let me in? I'm not gonna do anything to her."

Trinity turned to look at Rita for an answer. Rita slouched, sighing heavily as she stood from the bed. "Thanks, Trin," she quietly said as she placed a hand on Jon's chest, pushing him back away from the door. His cool blue eyes concentrated on her as she let the door shut softly behind her. "What do you want?"

His eyes lingered on her lips before dropping down with shame. "I'm sorry," he said quietly. "I shouldn't have said that to you. You're my woman, the mother of my child, and I love you."

She quickly looked down, away from the intensity of his eyes. She refused to simply give into him, even if she accepted his apology. Her hand found its way on his chest again to push him back as she turned toward the door.

"Hey," Jon said, grabbing for her hand. "I love you, Rita."

"I know," she whispered with a nod, then turned to gently knock on the door. Trinity opened it, letting Rita back inside the room as Jon was left to stand in the hallway.

"""""

Jon kept his eye on Rita as she sat down beside him at the table in catering. He wasn't confused by her as much as he felt rejected by her. Deep down, he knew she had every right to push him away last night. He received what he deserved, and that was for her to turn the coldest shoulder to him she possibly could. Denying him. And he hated it. But now, she sat next to him, several plates of food placed between herself and Rollins.

"Oh, what is this?" she asked, holding up a forkful of what looked like chicken. "It's a little too slimy for me." She dropped the fork back down to the plate, Rollins grasping it from her hand and bringing the bit of food to his nose.

"Smells like curry or something," he thoughtfully said before taking the food into his mouth. "Coconut milk curry."

Rita laughed at his wide smile. "You can have that," she laughed out. "I am not a fan of curry or coconut." She pushed that plate towards him and pulled another closer to her. "Beef?"

Jon looked down at the plate to see what looked like shredded barbecue beef. She had a side of rice to which she ate along side it.

"That actually looks good," Rollins commented, but then turned his attention to another plate. "I have no idea what this is, but I'm gonna try it."

Jon's fingers drummed on the table as he watched these interactions between Rita and Rollins. He loved the fact that she got along with his two best buddies. Hell, she got along with everyone. But the closeness he saw is what bothered him. They were laughing with each other, genuinely laughing. Their hands were touching as they poked at and passed food around. And Jon knew above all else, Rita disliked when people touched her.

Yet, here she was, letting Rollins continuously touch her. By the time Reigns entered the catering and grabbed himself a plate, he too, was joining in on the fun. Jon hated the fact that his first thought as Reigns sat down next to Rollins was to watch him. He shouldn't have to watch his friend... but he would. Rita's sharp laugh cracked him out of his thoughts.

"What is it, Colb?" she asked, giggling at his expression.

His face was screwed up as he chewed cautiously. "It's soft and crunchy? And it tastes like pork." Taking a paper napkin, he spit out the tiny bit of whatever it was before taking a sip of water. "Well, now it tastes like salted ass."

Rita let out another sharp laugh as Reigns shook his head. "I don't wanna know how you know what that tastes like," the Samoan said.

By the time they were done, their laughs had died down and they were making their way to the room where they would be told what they would do. Jon mentally prepared himself for what could possibly happen tonight. Certainly it would happen within the next few days. Rita would kiss Reigns in front of thousands of fans live, and thousands more watching from their living rooms. Beside him, she must have sensed his tense mood because she grabbed onto and held his hand as they walked through the arena.

"Hey, guys, Rita," Paul said, offering each man a handshake and Rita a hug. "How are you guys?"

"Good, man," Reigns casually said. "Just dropping by to find out what we're doing."

"Yeah, right," he commented airily as he sifted through some papers. He motioned to a couch when he looked up from the folder. "Guys, have a seat. Rita, Steph is the door across from here. She'll have a word with you in there."

"Okay," she said softly, dropping Jon's hand. Accepting a light kiss on the mouth, she sought out Stephanie.

"Rita," Stephanie's voice called out from the doorway. "Please, come in." She motioned her hand lightly towards a leather couch. "As you know, Creative's idea would be for you and Joe to start a romance line. However, I know more than they do just how delicate your situation is with Jon, and I'd just like to check things over with you."

Nodding her head at Stephanie's words, she thought of her words. "Well," she said slowly. "I know Jon isn't comfortable with it, but he understands it's just business."

"Absolutely," Stephanie agreed. "I'm really glad he's not taking this personal. We really didn't know where this would lead to, so for it to end up in something big... That would be great."

Rita gave her boss a small smile. Deep down, she knew Jon hated the entire thing. Work was work though, and she could only hope that Jon would come to understand that that's all this storyline would be. A work. A job. Another week gone by in earning a paycheck. The WWE Creative team had their wrestlers do some pretty crazy things. Surely this wasn't the craziest idea they'd ever passed through. Jon would be fine at the end of the day knowing that she left the venues with him every night.

By the time Rita snapped out of her thoughts, Stephanie was talking about the storyline and where they wanted to take the weeks ahead. She was sitting down next to Rita, a folder placed over her lap, and she was shuffling through papers.

"Then what we planned to do was a line with the reformed Shield, the original three, and bring back Evolution. That way, we could give Jon some time off when you leave," she explained, looking up at her friend with a smile. "How's that sound?"

Rita nodded. "Sounds good."

"Great," she said as she tapped the papers together neatly and slid them back into the folder. "Not everything is set in stone, but we've got a basic outline." She took Rita's hand in hers and stood, giving Rita's hand a squeeze. "Keep me updated with how you are, okay? I don't want to be out of the loop with you just because you won't be here."

"No," she said with a nervous laugh. "I'll definitely call you."

"Good." She gently rubbed Rita's arm, beginning another conversation as Jon stepped into the room. "Hey, why don't we do a mommy fitness thing?"

Rita's eyebrows arched up. "That would be cool. We could get Trish on it with us."

Stephanie's eyes brightened up at the thought, and she pointed a finger in Rita's direction. "I like your thinking, Rita." Turning to Jon, she smiled just as bright as her eyes and held Rita's hand out for Jon. "She's all yours, Mr. Good."

Jon took Rita's hand into his, holding onto it tightly as their boss walked across the hallway, heels clicking as she went.

"A mommy fitness DVD?" Jon asked, amusement playing on his lips.

"What?" she asked, tilting her head down in a timid gesture. "I think it would be a good idea. To show women that just because they have a baby, it doesn't mean they can't be in great shape if they try."

"Yeah, no, that's great. Don't be shy about it. You have a great body, and you'll have a great one after the baby.

She scoffed at his words. "You just like that my boobs are bigger."

"Maybe," he said, his hand quickly grazing over her breast. "Oh, someone's cold, aren't they?"

She shoved at him, letting out a laugh that was music to his ears. "You are so damn silly."

"Silly for you, baby." He laughed at the confused expression on her face.

"That doesn't even make sense," she laughed out as they met Reigns and Rollins in the hallway. Rollins held his arm out for her, placing it over her shoulders as she stepped away from Jon. She began laughing as Rollins said something funny, but Jon wasn't paying any attention to them as they walked ahead. Instead, his attention was held by the Samoan walking beside him.

"I won't hurt her," Reigns said.

Jon felt his jaw clench at the idea. "That's not what I'm worried about."

"I care about her," he continued.

With a nod of his head, he pressed his tongue to his teeth. "That's what I'm worried about."

"What?" Reigns asked him with a sarcastic laugh. "That she'll somehow fall for me? Believe me, Jon, that would never happen. I think of you as a brother."

He knew Jon's eyes were concentrated on the woman ten feet ahead of them, her wavy raven hair bouncing in laughter as she hung on Rollins' arm. She turned her head to the side, and he was able to see the brilliant smile that they all knew Jon was in love with.

"It's just work, Jon," the gray-eyed Samoan tried again.

"I'll have to remember that when you have your hands and mouth all over my girl."