"How has Clem been handling it?" Dean asked Alexa Bliss. They were sitting at a table in the catering area backstage before Raw, waiting for their respective partners to return from a meeting with Hunter Helmsley and Vince McMahon. Several days had passed since the appalling fire at Madison Tower in Pittsburgh, which had been witnessed first hand by Ronda and Clementine.
"Better than I expected, but still not all that well," Alexa said sorrowfully, looking down at the cup of coffee in her hand. "She's been having sleepless nights. That's totally understandable though. Some of the things they saw would live with anyone for life. She hasn't even talked about much of it with me; says she doesn't want to."
"Yeah, Ronda's been the same," Dean said with a grimace. "You get caught between wanting to help, yet not wanting to push them to talk about something they don't want to talk about."
Alexa felt relieved to have someone to talk to who understood what she herself had gone through since that fateful night. While she and Dean hadn't been the ones witnessing the harrowing events, they had been required to see their loved ones go through the awful after effects. There was at least one silver lining: they worked for a company who were very good at looking after their employees. "I'm grateful to Hunter for sorting out some counselling for them so quickly," she said.
Dean nodded. "Yes, I took his call when he tried to contact Ronda about it. Thankfully she agreed to go to the counselling without me needing to talk her into it. She's a smart girl, that one. Puts me to shame, I can tell you that."
"I hear you," Alexa said with a single laugh. "Clem astounds me sometimes with the things she knows. She knows stuff about pretty much anything. Some people might call her a nerd, but I just find it incredible. Like you just said, she puts me to shame. I love her so much, Dean. If anything had happened to her…" She wasn't able to finish the thought. Choked up, she looked away for a moment.
"Try not to get upset," Dean said compassionately. He had been in the same place several times over the past few days. "The important thing isn't what could have happened, it's that they're okay. At least, they will be okay once they've had the counselling. That's what I keep telling myself, anyway."
Taking a deep breath seemed to help Alexa compose herself. "Sorry, Dean. I know you're right. I just keep finding myself imagining the worst, even though I know I shouldn't." She quickly changed the subject. "So, how do you think WWE are going to handle it?"
That was the reason for the meeting that Ronda and Clem were currently in. While they had been helping the firefighters at Madison Tower, one of the news teams on the ground had managed to get a zoomed in shot of them. Soon one of the many breaking news items around the incident had been about Ronda Rousey and Clementine Everett being on the scene, helping out. Wrestling Twitter had blown up with positivity towards the two girls for their efforts under such difficult circumstances. But of course, when it came to kayfabe, that wasn't a good thing. Ronda was supposed to be the major heel woman on Raw. That status was now in jeopardy if the fans were going to cheer her because of what she had been doing out of character.
"Tricky one," Dean acknowledged. "If they wanted to, they could turn Ronda face. But I don't think they do. Oh, here they are now," he said, gesturing with his head towards the entrance to catering.
Ronda and Clementine had just walked into the room and were heading over to the table. Dean and Alexa stood up to greet them. Pecks on the cheek were exchanged between both couples, before Alexa offered to fetch coffee for the new arrivals.
"How did it go?" Dean asked as the remaining three sat down. Ronda was next to her man, with Clem opposite her.
"Alright," Ronda said with a nod. "Hunter's such a good guy, Vince too. They were both so concerned about us, wanting to do anything they can to make sure we're okay."
"We told them we're both going to the counselling and thanked them for arranging it," Clem added.
"Then we came to what to do as far as creative is concerned," Ronda said, looking at Dean. "As we expected, they think that there will be a willingness among the audience to cheer for me after we were seen on the news helping out the other day. It's okay for Clem because she already gets cheered every week when she walks out before the show. But for me, they see it as an issue. Hunter explained that they've put a lot into my The Arm Collector character. They changed my theme music and got rid of the Rowdy part of my name only last week, and they've put Zel with me to get me over as a heel, which has worked. They don't want to throw all of that hard work away now, so the plan is to keep me as a heel at least until Survivor Series. As you know, I'll be gone for a couple of months after that."
Dean nodded, thinking for a second that it was going to suck when his girlfriend was away for filming a movie that she had signed up for prior to agreeing her contract with WWE. "Logical. It's what I would have said in their position. So what's the plan for tonight's show?"
"Hunter said this week will be the main one to get through. If we can avoid getting me cheered tonight, he thinks we'll be okay to resume normal service next week."
"Makes sense," Dean said. "What are they doing tonight, then? Keeping you off-screen?"
"In a way," Ronda said. "They're going to have Clem and I do an out of character sit down interview with Charly, where we'll briefly talk about what happened last week and make mention of that charity fund that had been set up to raise money for the victims and people made homeless. That's where you come in, Clem."
"And here's Lexi," Clem said with a smile as her girlfriend returned with two cups of coffee, which she put down on the table. "Perfect timing, honey."
"Perfect timing?" Alexa queried with a smile as she re-took her seat.
"We were just telling Dean that in order to stop the fans cheering Ronda, the two of us are doing an out of character sit down interview with Charly. Renee will be replacing me on commentary for one night only. In the interview, we'll be talking about the fire and the fund that's been set up for the victims. We want to promote it and encourage the fans to donate some money."
"Lovely idea," Alexa said. But she had picked up something in Clementine's words. "The way you said promote it, what do you have in mind?"
Clementine gave a smile that had some nervousness in it. "After talking things over with Ronda earlier this afternoon, I pitched an idea to Hunter for a new Ronda and Clementine show. This time, I'll be asking fans to sponsor me to face my fear and follow in Ronda's footsteps. I'm going to do the same thing she did for Shark Week. I'll be learning to dive, and I'll eventually be getting in the water with a shark, and it'll all be filmed for a show on the Network."
"Oh, Clem!" Alexa exclaimed, her eyes wide in something between excitement and fear. "Are you sure about this? That's such a dangerous thing to do. I'll be so worried about you. My God."
"I am sure," Clem said, taking her girl's hand in a reassuring gesture. "No one has done more than you to try and get me to have more confidence in myself. That's the only reason I was able to pitch this to Hunter. I want to do it, honey, and I want to encourage the fans to donate money to see me do it. They wanted more Ronda and Clem shows, surely they won't mind making a small donation to a good cause to make one happen?"
"You'd think not," Alexa admitted thoughtfully. "I can't pretend I won't be worried about you, but of course I'll support you every step of the way. You'll kill it, and it will make an amazing show."
"Thank you, sweetheart," Clem said, leaning in for a little kiss on the lips.
Ronda looked at Dean with an 'aww' expression on her face. She found it impossible not to adore Blissentine as a couple. She knew that Clem hadn't gotten to the best bit yet, as far as Alexa was concerned.
"That's not all, though," Clem told her girl. "Hunter also said that if you wanted to be on the show, you can come along too. I'd really like that – to have you there on the boat to support me in person."
"Then I'm there," Alexa promised without hesitation.
"Yay!" Clem said excitedly before delivering another kiss.
"When is all of this going to happen?" Alexa asked next.
"Hunter said he'll have people start setting it all up ASAP. The shark diving will probably happen somewhere in the southern hemisphere, and it's summer down there now. This is the best time to do it. Of course, the first step is to hook me up with somewhere to learn to dive, but Ronda says they can do that in any kind of swimming pool. All you need is the equipment, and a qualified instructor. Hunter did say he hopes we can do it next month, before Ronda leaves for her filming. Otherwise it would likely have to wait for early next year, and that would be harder sell as far as donations are concerned."
"It's really not that hard at all," Ronda reported. "You already aced the fire training, Clem, and learning to dive is easier than that, trust me."
Clementine smiled. "Well, you've done it, so I have no reason not to believe you."
"Maybe I'll come along again too," Dean said. "I remember when you filmed your show, Ronda. I came out and joined you."
Ronda laughed loudly. "When you say joined me, you lay on the beach in the sun all day drinking beer."
Dean laughed too. "True. But I was doing it in the place where you were."
"That's true," Ronda giggled. "Let's do that, then. "The four of us can travel together. Dean can catch some sun and ruin his liver, Lexi and I can relax on the boat, and Clem can get eaten by a shark."
"Sounds like a plan with no drawbacks," Clementine beamed.
A/N: Many thanks to those who left a review last time. A guest reviewer came closest to predicting what Hunter and Vince decided to do to prevent the fans getting behind Ronda.
Who is looking forward to the next Ronda and Clementine show? Hopefully it ends in a much less disasterous way than the previous one!
Next time, we're getting back to the wrestling. We'll have the Raw Women's Championship triple threat match at the Super Show-Down in Melbourne, Australia. A reminder that the match is between Ronda, Elena D'Agostino and Ruby Riott. So, for the first time in a while, it's time for you guys to predict a winner. Leave your prediction in a review, and anyone who calls correctly will get a shout out.
