Sorry for the long wait, this chapter was supposed to be up last week but I've been ill all week :(

Layla sat up in bed with a jolt, her breathing heavy, beads of sweat covering her face as she looked around the room so sure he was there. No, Layla realised after a minute it was just a nightmare, the first nightmare she'd had in weeks. Since the trial, she had found herself having the nightmares less often, which she was thankful for. With Wrestlemania only a couple of weeks away, she found herself busier at work, giving her less time to think about things. She had been serious when she had told Jon that she wanted to finally start living her life and things finally seemed to be falling into place. Even if she was still having the odd nightmare.

Laying back down, still shaky, the image of Carter's face still fresh in her mind. She told herself it was just a nightmare and he was hundreds of miles away locked up, he couldn't get to her. She wished Jon was there though, she wanted nothing more than to be curled up next to him right now. But he had been doing house shows in the opposite cities to her all weekend, along with AJ and Summer too. It had been nice spending more time with Nick over the weekend though, when they had the chance to just relax. With her relationship with Jon and his with Summer and now that Layla was starting to really live her life, she wasn't constantly by his side; too afraid to speak to anyone or go anywhere alone like when she first joined him on the road.

Unable to get back to sleep, wanting to hear Jon's voice, she decided to try and call him. She knew, with Raw the following day in Kansas city, the Shield, who had been doing the house show in Wichita falls that night, would be driving through the night to Kansas as they had a tv appearance in the morning to promote Raw. So she figured he'd probably still be up. She'd be driving from Springfield, Missouri to Kansas with Nick in the morning.

Three rings later and Jon answered, "Hey beautiful, can't sleep?" Jon asked, sat in the back of the SUV, Joe driving and Colby asleep in the passenger seat. He knew Layla didn't always sleep well.

"I had a nightmare…I just wanted to hear your voice."

At that moment, Jon wished he was with Layla, holding her close to him. Making her feel safe. "We can talk for as long as you want to, Princess. At least until you get sick of my voice," Jon joked.

"I don't think its possible to get sick of your voice. I love it so much. I've missed you this weekend."

"I've missed you too, so much. I hate doing shows in different cities to you. I can't wait to see your face again."

Layla smiled, even though she knew Jon couldn't see her through the phone. "I can't wait to see your face either. I can't wait to spend our days off in Florida either. Are you sure your friend's ok with us staying with him though?" Layla asked. Jon would be making an appearance down at the performance centre on Wednesday, helping out a little with the training down there-Hunter loved having main roster guys go down there every so often to train with them-before an autograph session there in the evening. His friend from the Indies, Drake Younger-now a referee in NXT-had invited Jon and Layla to stay with him and his wife, wanting to catch up with his friend a little.

"Yeah, of course Drake is cool with it. He's a chill guy and his wife is pretty awesome, you'll like her. I think he's looking forward to meeting you," Jon smiled. He was excited to be seeing his old friend again.

"Now I'm nervous. What if he doesn't like me?" Layla started to worry about one of Jon's closest friends not liking her.

"He's going to love you, it's impossible not to."

Jon spent the next hour talking to Layla before she fell back to sleep and he ended the call. Talking about anything and everything, taking her mind completely off the nightmare.


Waking up a couple of hours later, Layla started to get ready to leave. Despite the nightmare and talking on the phone to Jon, she still woke up early and was unable to get back to sleep. Something that happened often. Giving her a grand total of about four hours sleep in total that night. It was times like this that she really missed Punk being around and going to the gym when neither of them could sleep.

When Nick woke up relatively early too, having set his alarm for the wrong time, the two set off for Kansas earlier than they planned. When they got there and to the hotel they were staying in, Layla text Jon to tell him she was already there and what room she had got them, letting him know there was a room key waiting for him at reception.

Layla hadn't long gotten out of the shower and changed into one of Jon's tops that she had stolen from him when he walked into their hotel room. Walking over she instantly wrapped her arms around his waist burying her face in his chest, a few tears filling her eyes. She knew it was stupid how emotional she was to see him, but she had missed him and the nightmare had thrown her.

Jon wrapped one arm around her back pulling her closer to him, his other hand on the back of her head. "Hey Princes." He placed a gentle kiss on the top of her head before walking further into the room, over to the bed. "I missed you too."

"The nightmare was horrible, it felt like he was actually there. Which I know is stupid, he's locked up, he can't hurt me anymore. I hate when we're in different cities. " She mumbled into his chest.

Jon sat on the edge of the bed pulling her onto his lap. "Talk to me Princess. What happened? Was it like the usual nightmares?"

"It was like I was there again…I tried running, I did…I tired fighting but he was stronger than me, pinning me down…I could barely breathe. I thought he was going to kill me. I thought I was getting past the nightmares. Before last night, I hadn't had one for a while." Her voice cracked a little, breaking Jon's heart. He'd do anything to make the nightmares completely go away, to make Layla feel safe all the time.

Jon held her against him, stroking her hair and placing soft kisses on her head. "Sssh, I got you beautiful, you're safe. I'm not going to let anyone hurt you."

Twenty minutes later and a lot calmer, Layla looked up at Jon whose lap she was still sat on. "I'm sorry; I shouldn't have called you last night. You probably didn't get any sleep because of me-"

Jon placed a finger on her lips silencing her, "Don't apologise, you have nothing to apologise for."

Jon stood up, Layla standing too, pulling the covers back and climbing into the bed, patting the space beside him as Layla climbed in too. He lay on his back, Layla resting her head in the crook of his neck as he wrapped his arms around her. Layla felt safe in his arms, starting to feel a little tired.

"We've got like five hours til we need to be at the arena, lets both catch up on some sleep."

Waking up two hours later, Layla saw Jon was already awake as he lay on his side watching her; a smile forming on his face when he saw she was now awake.

"Afternoon beautiful," he gently caressed her face.

Remembering everything that had happened with her nightmare and how emotional she had been when Jon got there Layla felt a little embarrassed and stupid, moving away from his touch, she moved further down the bed pulling the covers over her head completely, she didn't want to face Jon right now. She still, on bad days like last night and today had been, felt like a mess around him. Plus, she's just woken up, she probably looked like a mess too.

Jon mimicked her actions, moving under the cover too, smiling at her. "Nice and cosy under here," he smiled at her.

Layla looked down at the mattress, unable to look at him. Did he really have to be so adorable? "Are you not going to talk today?"

Still she said nothing, still not looking at him. "Please look at me Princess. What's wrong?"

"Me," was all she could say, so quietly Jon was half convinced he had just imagined her saying that.

"You? How can that be? You're perfect and beautiful."

A few tears rolled down her cheek at his words. Did he honestly think that about her? How could he? She was a mess half the time, it seemed that way to her at least. She knew her recovery was always going to be slow, but she had been doing well for the past few weeks. This bad night/morning, really hit her. She just wanted to hide from the whole world for the rest of the day. She shook her head at his words. "I'm not those things. You should probably just go to the gym or something." She said, starting to turn away from him.

Jon put a gentle hand on her shoulder to keep her there, not too much pressure as he didn't want to scare her, propping himself up on one arm. "Hey, you're beautiful to me. Even if you don't believe in yourself I do, Layla. You've been doing really good lately, don't let one bad night set you back. How about we spend the rest of the afternoon just relaxing before we have to leave for Raw."

Layla nodded as a few more tears fell down her face. Even if she didn't believe she was beautiful, she could tell by the way Jon spoke that he really meant everything he said and that meant more to her than words could describe.

"No more tears," he told her as he gently kissed them away before placing a soft kiss on Layla's lips.

As he pulled away Layla wrapped her arms around his neck, holding him close to her. "Spending the afternoon relaxing with you sounds perfect," she whispered into his ear.


Walking into the arena later that afternoon, Jon's arm was around Layla's shoulders holding her close to him. Reaching the room Layla would be working in that night Jon cupped Layla's face as his lips found hers.

Pulling apart Layla smiled up at Jon, "Thank you for today."

"Anything for you Princess," Jon caressed her cheek.

Layla pushed up on her toes, wrapping her arms around Jon's neck as she leaned up to kiss him. Jon wrapped his arms around her waist pulling her closer to him, deepening the kiss.


With Raw and Smackdown out the way, Layla and Jon sat in the airport waiting for their flight to Orlando from St Louis. Layla was in a better place again and looking forward to spending a couple of days there with Jon. Despite being nervous, she was also looking forward to meeting one of his closest friends from CZW.

Layla had her head on Jon's shoulder, it was pretty early so the airport wasn't too busy, thankfully. "What time have you got to be at the performance centre?"

"12, then the signing is 5-7. I thought we could all go out to dinner after that if you're up for that?"

"Sounds good. I'm looking forward to watching you in the ring with the guys too, I love watching you in the ring. You definitely shouldn't wear a shirt when you're training with the guys," Layla smirked.

Jon looked down at her, "Oh really?" he smirked. "You like me topless, do you?"

Layla blushed a little. "You know I love your chest, I love everything about you. I'm just showing a little appreciation," she replied, lifting her head up to kiss him.

"Appreciate away," Jon said against her lips, placing his hand on the back of her head and deepening the kiss.


"Jon, man, great to see you! You're looking good," Drake smiled, meeting Jon and Layla outside the performance centre. They had gone straight there from the airport after getting their rental, leaving their suitcases in the trunk for now. "So, this is the famous Layla I've heard so much about." Drake said, turning to Layla.

Layla stood there, leaning into Jon, who had an arm around her shoulders, smiling at Drake. "Hi. I hope its all good things you've heard."

Drake smiled warmly at Layla, Jon had told him all about her; what she had been through with Carter. "It's great to finally meet you, and only the best stuff. It's clear my buddy here is in love with you, he talks about you so much."

"The feeling's mutual. I couldn't imagine life without Jon, even if I did make him work for it." Layla joked, already feeling comfortable around Drake.

Drake laughed. "They do say anything worth having doesn't come easy." Drake looked at Jon. "You've got a keeper here, don't let her go, man."

"I don't plan on it," Jon replied, smiling as he kissed Layla's temple.

"We better get inside, they'll be wondering where you are." Drake said, leading them inside the building. "I was thinking maybe we could all go out for dinner after your signing?"

"Sounds good, man." Jon said, having had the same idea about them all going out to dinner that night.

Layla sat watching amazed, she was blown away by just how talented most of the people down in NXT were. She would readily admit that some were better than those on the main roster. She also loved watching Jon in the ring with them, teaching them some new stuff. She also loved how he wasn't wearing a shirt, just some black basketball shorts. At times, she got a little distracted just staring at him.

"He's a good teacher, they'll learn a lot from him." Drake said, knocking Layla out of her lustful staring.

"Yeah, he's amazing," Layla smiled watching Jon. "I could watch him in the ring all day."

"You ever thought about getting into the ring yourself? With your brothers being in the business?"

"No, not really. I mean I love wrestling and I loved going and supporting my brothers at their matches, even now I love watching Nick on the monitor backstage. But actually wrestling, no that's not for me."

"I get it, when I first met my wife I always used to try and convince her to let me teach her some moves. She supports what I do but she refused to ever step in the ring. She never watched wrestling or anything like that until she met me."

"Must have been a big shock for her. I've watched some of Jon's old matches from CZW and some other promotions so I've seen some of your work. You guys really weren't afraid to go at it."

Drake chuckled, "Yeah she told me I was fucking crazy the first time I showed her one of my matches."

"That doesn't surprise me. I remember watching a couple of Jon's CZW matches, I actually had to look away at certain points."

"It worked out in the end though, after I eventually convinced her to come to one of the shows. I was in a match against Nick Gage, never a fan of the guy, but we put on some good matches. Anyway, she ended up getting really into it, cheering for me and everything. After, she jumped into my arms, told me she was proud of me and that I looked hot in the ring. I knew I was in love with her in that moment." Layla smiled listening to Drake talk about his wife, it was obvious how much he doted on her. "Just like I can see how in love with Jon you are, the way you look at him, the way you smile watching him in the ring. And it's definitely reciprocated. I've never seen him so happy with someone. He was never really one for relationships."

Layla had a massive grin on her face. "Thank you. That means a lot coming from you, apart from Joe and Colby I know you're one of his closest friends."

From the ring, Jon smiled as he watched his girlfriend and one of his closest friends getting on so well. He was happy that Layla was comfortable around Drake. He was looking forward to going out to dinner with Layla, Drake and his wife later.


Layla smiled climbing into bed next to Jon, she'd had such a nice relaxing day with him. As nervous as she had originally been to meet Drake, she ended up getting on really well with him and his wife, Rebecca. Dinner with the two had been really good and she couldn't get over how adorable their two children were.

"I had a really good today. Thank you," Layla smiled before kissing Jon.

Jon pulled Layla over so she was lying on top of him, her legs in between his. "I'm glad you and Drake got on so well," he replied, kissing her forehead.

"I'm glad you took my advice and left the shirt off in the ring."

"I like to keep my lady happy," Jon grinned taking her bottom lip between his.

"She's exceptionally happy."

"Good," Jon replied. Rolling them over so he was hovering over her, placing kisses along her jaw. "I could kiss you all night, so beautiful." Jon kissed down her throat, over her collar bone before making his way down her stomach, glad she was only wearing a bra and panties to bed.

Jon and Layla still hadn't taken the next step in their relationship but that didn't mean they couldn't explore each other's bodies a little. Layla was comfortable sharing baths and showers with Jon and just sleeping in her underwear, like tonight, with him. She entirely trusted him, she knew he was okay waiting until she was ready. She knew he would never force himself on her like Carter, there was no pressure.

Like now though, she liked it when he would explore her body with his lips, kissing down her stomach and her arms and legs-but always keeping a distance from the most intimate part of her body, not wanting her to feel pressured into anything. She loved the feel of his lips against her body and she loved returning the favour. She knew soon she would be ready to have sex with Jon and when that day came she knew it would be amazing.

Rolling them over again, Jon ran his hands up and down Layla's thighs as she straddled him, kissing down his chest. His fingers gently gliding over the newly healed tattoo on her thigh where her scars from Carter once visibly adorned her skin. After telling Jon about wanting a tattoo to cover them, she spoke to Punk asking his advice and where he'd had his tattoos done. Her next day off, a short drive to Chicago with Jon saw her getting a beautiful dark red tiger lily tattoo on the top of her thigh. She also ended up getting a small heart on the edge of her wrist; the small fun tattoo she told Jon she wanted.


Let me know what you thought :)

Layla's thigh tattoo can be found on my profile picture if you want to see it

Next chapter:

An old friend makes an appearance

Layla goes out drinking with the Shield