~Enjoy!~

As Brie walked the hallways of the arena with her luggage trailing behind her, she couldn't shake off the thoughts of Roman and Paige in her mind. It was becoming difficult to believe that Roman really be just friends with Paige.

She released a deep breath as she finally exited the arena and entered the cool air that filled the parking lot. She scanned the area until her eyes finally laid on the person she was meeting with. She tried to erase the thoughts of Roman and Paige from her head and began walking towards her destination.

"Hey, it's the new champion!" Daniel Bryan said with a grand smile on his face as Brie approached him.

"That's right." Brie smiled back as she stood in front of him. "So what do you have planned tonight?" She asked as Bryan opened the trunk and placed her luggage in.

"I take it Roman decided not to join us?" Daniel asked as he closed the trunk.

Brie looked down as she crossed her arms over her chest. "Apparently he's tired." She said with a slight shrug then looked back up to Daniel.

He watched her for a moment, as if he was reading all of her thoughts. She looked away and blew out a breath. Daniel smiled, "Alright, let's get out of here." He said with the realization that she didn't want to talk about what was going on in her head. He led the way to the passenger seat and opened the door for her. "Your chariot awaits, ma'am." He tried to say with a straight face.

Brie rolled her eyes with a grin on her face as she entered the car.

When Daniel began driving, he glanced at Brie a couple of times and could see her gazing out of the window and lost in thoughts. "I have a feeling you'll love what I have planned." Daniel said in an attempt to break her away from her thoughts.

Brie turned away from the window and smiled at him. "You actually still haven't told me where we're going."

Daniel grinned. "Now that would ruin the element of surprise, wouldn't it?"

With a smile, Brie slowly nodded. "Yes, I guess it would. But, I just hope you're ready to experience Brie Mode-" She stopped speaking when Daniel began to laugh. "What?"

"Brie Mode, huh?"

"Yeah?... I mean I thought we were celebrating my championship." Brie responded feeling a little puzzled.

Before Daniel responded the car slowly came to a stop and he put it in park. He turned off the ignition then faced Brie. "We are celebrating your win. Come on." He said before opening his door and stepping out.

She looked at Daniel with a puzzled look on her face after exiting the car. "Daniel, we're in the middle of nowhere."

"Not exactly." He said as he approached her around the car. "Come on." He smiled as he placed his hand on her back to guide the way through a path in the woods.

Brie released a deep breath as they walked in the dark, surrounded by trees. "I hear water. Where are we going?" She asked with an amused tone.

Daniel moved himself behind her and placed both hands on her shoulders. "Alright, stop right here."

"We're still surrounded by trees…" Brie pointed out.

Daniel chuckled. "I know Brie, thanks. I just wanted to prepare you. In a few steps, we will have reached our destination. Are you ready?"

Brie nodded as she laughed. "I'm ready."

Daniel began walking again with his hands still on her shoulders as he guided her. They took their last step and were out of the trees and their faces were hit with the sky's natural light.

"Whoa." Brie said in amazement. Daniel released her shoulders and stood by her side again so he could see her face as the moon shined down on it. "Daniel this is beautiful. How'd you find it?"

The smile on Brie's face was infectious. "I found it this morning, I went for a run and ended up here. I figured it would look even better in the moonlight."

Brie smiled then began walking away from him on the cold grass so she could get a better look at the water. She looked around at the river that was surrounded by plants and varied sized rocks. She smiled as she looked at the waterfall that was lit up by the moon.

Meanwhile, back at the arena, Dean was walking through the parking lot to his car to finally get back to his room. He chuckled to himself thinking about how he purposefully left Roman and Paige alone. He knew very well that she still had deep feelings for Roman and as much as Roman wanted to fix things with Brie, he was still in love with Paige. He wasn't trying to play cupid- okay maybe he was just a little bit. He laughed again as he approached his car. He looked up and could see his car in the distance but it wasn't the car he was looking at.

Dean stopped walking for a moment and furrowed his eyebrows at the sight of someone seated on the trunk of his car. He squinted his eyes and without much effort realized who it was. He quickly began walking towards his car again.

Emma looked up when she heard him coming and hopped down. She took a deep breath as he got closer and then stopped in front of her.

"Hey, what are you doing out here by yourself?" Dean asked with concern.

Emma sucked in another deep breath before speaking. She looked up into his eyes as she tried to find her words. "Dean… I'm sorry." She began as Dean slightly furrowed his eyebrows. "I'm sorry for not telling you why I didn't want to sleep with you, for lying and telling you that I just wanted to be friends, for punishing you for something you didn't do-"

"Wait, punishing me for what?" Dean questioned.

"Um…" Emma blew out a breath as she played with her fingers. She knew this would be difficult, it's why she put it off for so long. "I guess knowing your past with women just scared me a bit. Especially because the last person I was in a relationship with used me for sex and then threw me aside like I was nothing. And I know now that I was punishing you for what he did and using your past as an excuse. I'm sorry." She apologized and didn't even realize that a tear rolled down her cheek.

Dean's face immediately softened when he saw the tear. He raised his hand up to her face and used his thumb to wipe it away. He brought his hand back down and placed them in his pockets. "Look Em, I know I don't have the best track record with women, but I was a kid back then. But you know, I've grown up and I've fallen in love with the most beautiful woman in the world." He admitted.

Emma looked into his eyes and cracked a slight smile.

Dean shook his head. "And that son of bitch who hurt you, if I had the opportunity I wouldn't even think twice before shoving my foot-"

"Dean, no." Emma stopped him as she placed her hands on his arms. She smiled up at him. "I've moved on and nothing that happened in the past matters anymore. I want us to start over. I miss my best friend." Emma giggled when she could see Dean cringe at the word friend. "My best friend who I am madly in love with." She corrected herself.

Dean jokingly let out a loud breath of relief and wiped his forehead. He smiled as he became serious again. "You do know though, that I'd never do anything to hurt you, right? Just the thought of it pisses me off."

"I do now." Emma nodded before moving in closer to Dean as she wrapped her arms around his waist and leaned her head against his chest.

Dean smiled as he rested his chin on her head and held her close to him. He thought for a moment and was blown away by the affect Emma had on him. He had never cared and cherished a woman the way he did Emma. It was overwhelming but it felt so right. He took a deep breath as he removed his chin from her head and kissed it.

"Your hair smells like fruit." He mumbled.

Emma pulled away and beamed up at him. "Thank you... for sniffing my hair." She laughed but it came to a stop when Dean used his fingers to pull her chin up so he could give her a long awaited kiss.

When they pulled away they both smiled at each other like children on Christmas morning. "Alright, how about you hop into my car, I drive off and pick up some beers on the way, and we head back to my place? I've got some movies and that buttery popcorn you love with your name on it."

Emma grinned and wanted so badly to take his offer. "Paige is waiting for me inside."

"Call Casper and let her know that we're back in action, baby!" Dean responded excitedly causing Emma to laugh. "I'm sure she'll be more than happy to know that she won't have to deal with me checking in on you anymore."

Emma smiled as she raised an eyebrow. "You were checking on me?"

Dean nodded. "I know it sounds a little creepy but I just wanted to know that you were okay."

Emma placed her arms around his neck and smiled. "Thank you." She said as she pulled him into another kiss. "Let's go get those beers." She smiled after pulling away.

Brie was in such awe by nature's beauty that she didn't even realize Daniel had been standing by her side again.

"Would you like to join me up there?" She turned to face Daniel as he pointed to the top of a rather large rock. She nodded and followed him then he assisted her as they climbed onto the rock. They sat and their view was even more breathtaking than before.

Brie observed the area with a smile on her face. "So this is how you celebrate?"

Daniel leaned back on his palms as his legs hung off of the rock and over the river. "Sometimes it's just nice to sit back, soak it all in, and appreciate moments like the one you had tonight." He told her as he looked off into the water. "And I thought instead of getting drunk beyond capacity, this would be a good way for you to clear your head of whatever's bothering you. You know, just focus on the fact that you are the champion and you should be happy."

Brie watched him in silence for a while as she thought about his words. She smiled and looked down as she placed her hands between her thighs to keep warm. Daniel looked over at her and watched her shiver as the moon shined down onto her perfect skin.

He sat up and began taking off his jacket. He moved closer to her so he could place it over her shoulders. She turned and looked at him when she realized what he was doing and began pushing the jacket away.

"Daniel no, it's cold out here, you need-" She said before he place his hand on hers to stop her from taking off the jacket.

"Don't worry about me, I'm fine." He assured her as he released her hand then fixed the jacket back onto her.

Brie looked up into the moonlight and shook her head with a smile. "Maybe I want to worry about you."

"And why's that?" Daniel questioned.

She shrugged as she wrapped the jacket tighter around her. "When we hang out, you always ask if I'm hungry or thirsty. You worry about me being cold-" She tugged at the jacket to emphasize her point. "You worry about how I'm doing with my relationship with Roman. So it's my turn to worry."

Daniel chuckled. "Well, I'm not hungry. A little thirsty but I'll survive. I admit, it's a little cold tonight, but it is nearing spring and we're not up north so I can handle it. And finally, I'm not in a relationship."

Brie thought for a moment about what he said. "You know, we've worked together for a while, and I don't think I remember you ever being in a relationship. Do you just like to run solo or something?"

Daniel shrugged. "I don't know. Not exactly." Daniel laughed.

"So… what's your story then?" Brie turned her entire body around to sit facing him, now eager to hear his response.

Daniel looked down and chuckled. "Brie, I'm not sharing that 'story' right now."

Brie widened her eyes. "So that means there is a story then. Come on Daniel, talk to me. You know my story with Roman."

"I think everyone aside from the fans who bought that storyline idea knows your story with Roman." Daniel laughed.

Brie glared at him for a moment. "Okay, maybe. But I have opened up to you about it before. So… now you open up to me. Please?"

Daniel looked into her eyes that were gleaming from the moonlight. As much as he would rather keep quiet, he couldn't resist her. He sighed as he turned his body to face her. Brie smiled at him eagerly.

"My story is… really not that important."

"Daniel!" Brie glared at him.

He shook his head and looked down. "Alright, alright. There was a woman that I worked with a while back. She's… she's gorgeous, absolutely stunning and has an amazing heart. She was way out of my league and being the nerd that I was, I just knew that I didn't stand a chance."

"Aw, Daniel." Brie gave him a sympathetic look. "I'm sure she wasn't 'out of your league', you're an amazing guy. Did you ever try asking her out?"

Daniel gave her a slight smile. "Well… we weren't working together anymore so it was easier for me to eventually move on. But every time I saw her around, I just had this awful feeling in my guts."

"Butterflies." Brie corrected him.

"Yes, that. But I just focused on the ring and that helped. It also helped that she went away for a while and I thought I was completely over it. I didn't even have thoughts about her anymore. But she returned about a year later and I figured maybe that was life giving me a second shot. But when I finally worked up the courage, she was newly taken."

"Wow, this sounds like a movie cliché. You know, the high school nerd who never had the chance to tell the popular girl how he feels about her. Not that I'm calling you a nerd or anything." She put her hands up in defense. She put her hands down when Daniel grew a smile. "So then what? You just let her go?"

Daniel looked down and sighed. "She fell in love with that guy and they seemed to be a perfect fit for a while until he chea… uh they're relationship started to change and I can see that she's unhappy. She deserves better. She deserves to be happy and 100% confident in herself and her relationship. But she's not. She and I… she doesn't know how I feel, but we're friends at least. And it really sucks looking in her eyes and knowing that she's not as happy as she should be." He explained as he looked into her eyes again.

Brie raised her eyebrows and gave him a knowing look. "You need to tell her."

Daniel smiled and shook his head. "No, I can't do that. She-"

Brie leaned forward and placed her hand on his comfortingly. Daniel looked down at their hands and gritted his teeth at that awful feeling in his stomach. "Daniel… you are clearly in love with this girl. And it sounds like you've been in love with her for years. You have yet another chance to tell her the truth, especially since she's in that awful relationship." Brie advised.

Daniel swallowed hard before slowly pulling his hand away from Brie's. He shook his head. "You wanted my story, that's it. That's the end of it. She and I are friends, and that's more than I could've asked for."

"Daniel, come on. That can't be the end of your story. And plus, every unhappy girl, needs her knight in shining armor to save her from whatever's making her so unhappy. Whether that knight is another person, even herself, or whatever else. But I think this woman needs you to be her knight in shining armor." Brie advised with soft and sincere eyes.

Daniel slightly tilted his head to the side and was trapped in her eyes. "Every unhappy girl needs a knight in shining armor?" He asked. Brie nodded with a smile. "So you're waiting for yours?"

Brie's smile faded and she was thrown off by his words. "Um, I…" She closed her mouth when she realized words weren't coming out to her defense. She shook her head. "Nevermind, Daniel this isn't about me. It's about you. This woman could be your soulmate. I want you to promise me, you'll tell her how you really feel." She begged with intense eyes. Brie couldn't help being such a romantic.

Once again Daniel couldn't resist her. He took a deep breath before responding. "Alright, I'll do it."

Brie excitedly threw her arms up into the air as if she was cheering. She paused and eyed him. "Wait, you didn't promise."

Daniel chuckled at how adorable the woman in front of him was. "I promise."

Brie smiled widely feeling extremely happy at the possibility that her friend's story could have a happy ending.

Nikki stopped pacing back and forth in her room only long enough to pick up her phone to check the time. She was waiting for Seth to show up at her door and after their last encounter, she was anxious about whatever he had to tell her.

When she finally heard a knock, she walked towards the door to open it.

"Hey, I was afraid you stood me up." She said as she let him in.

Seth walked in and removed his jacket. "Sorry, it took me a while to leave the arena. But I'm here now." He said as moved closer to her and wrapped an arm around her silk covered waist. He leaned in for a kiss that made Nikki nearly melt right into his hands.

She reluctantly pulled away, "Wait, what were you gonna tell me?"

"Just forget about it." Seth said as he met his lips with hers again. He placed a finger on the string of her silk robe and began untying it as he began leaving a trail of kisses down her neck.

Nikki took a deep breath, wanting to let him continue but she knew he was trying to distract her from what was bothering him. She placed her hands on his and removed them from her body as she took a step back. She looked at him intently. "What is going with you?"

Seth sighed as he rubbed his forehead. "You know, I think I should just go. It's been a long night-" He said as he began making his way to the door.

Before he got too far Nikki grabbed his wrist to stop him. "Yes, it has been a long night. I've been in here worried sick about whatever was bothering you earlier and now you just want me to forget about it?" She said with frustration as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Yes, forget about it. It's really not that difficult-"

"Rollins, you and I both know that I don't just forget about things like this. So just tell me what's on your mind. I can take it." Seth looked away from her and shook his head. Nikki sighed as she uncrossed her arms.

"Seth, I know something's bothering you. You made it pretty clear earlier that it's serious. I just want you to trust me enough to talk to me about it. I'm your girlfriend and I want to help you." She told him as she placed a comforting hand on his arm.

Seth looked into her brown eyes and immediately let down his protective walls. He nodded, "Alright, come on." He said as took her hand and led her to the bed. They both climbed on and sat with their backs against the headboard. Nikki watched as Seth rubbed his face with his hands and she could see how stressed he was.

She placed a hand on his shoulder and rubbed it. "Hey, it's okay-" She tried to comfort him.

Seth shook his head. "No… no it's not. I messed up, Nikki. And it's too late to fix it."

"Seth, what is it?" She asked as she intertwined her fingers with his.

Seth took a deep breath and looked into her eyes. "Tomorrow night I'm gonna destroy The Shield. And Dean and Roman, they don't even see it coming." He shook his head at the thought of it.

"Oh…" Nikki said quietly unsure what to think. "But I don't get it, how would they not know if it's part of the storyline?"

Seth gave her a slight smile. "Hunter and Steph came to me and didn't really give me a choice. They told me they've been wanting the three of us to go our separate ways for some time now but they know how much Dean and Roman are against it. I am too, but after what happened with Roman, I kinda let my guard down and they found the perfect opportunity to finally dismantle The Shield. And they're using me to do it."

Nikki blew out a breath as she tried to put the pieces together in her head. "And Roman and Dean have no idea? How can it even happen if they're not in on it?"

"We're closing the show tomorrow. Creative gave them their lines and they're gonna go out there thinking we're challenging The Authority again and telling the world that The Shield is stronger than ever. What they don't have in their script is the part where I take a chair and… you know, blindside them." He explained before looking down with guilt.

Nikki watched him and could see how hard this was for him. "What happens if you don't do it? Just go by the script Dean and Roman have?"

Seth chuckled. "And risk my job? Hunter's gonna be out there, it has to happen."

"So tell them, give Roman and Dean a heads up-"

Seth shook his head. "Nikki I've thought about all of this, over and over again. If I tell them, Dean's temper will get the best of him and I'll have to answer to Hunter and Stephanie for saying anything."

Nikki looked at him and felt defeated. "Well, I'm sure they'll be upset at first, but they'll get over it. You're just doing your job and I mean, you guys have been friends for years, even before 'The Shield' happened. Right?"

Seth nodded. "On the road, those guys are my family. Even though Roman and I had our issues, he's still a brother to me. I just hope after tomorrow, they can still consider me a brother to them." Seth said then blew out a deep breath.

Nikki took his arm and lifted it out of the way so she could snuggle into him and rest her head against him. "They are your family and I have a gut feeling that's not going to change." She said as she hugged him tightly. "And if that does change, you still have me and I'll be your road family."

Seth slightly smiled as he used a hand to rub her back. Nikki was the only person he opened up to about The Shield and the fact that she stuck by his side and didn't try to make him feel worse about it just gave him yet another explanation for why he was so head over heels for her.

"You are my family." He said before giving her a soft kiss on her head.

Without realizing it, time had escaped Brie and Daniel and it had gotten really late. The last thing Daniel wanted to do was keep Brie out late enough to worry Roman.

As Daniel's car stopped in front of Brie's hotel, they were still talking and laughing. When their conversation and laughter came to an end, Brie looked at Daniel and smiled.

"Thank you for tonight. No Brie Mode, but I honestly think I liked it better that way." She told him.

Daniel chuckled, "I think I'll call tonight… Bryan Mode."

"Bryan Mode?" Brie laughed. "I like it." Daniel gazed at her without saying anything. "What?" She asked.

He looked away and smiled, "Nothing. I was just- never mind it's nothing."

"You were just what?"

Daniel chewed on his bottom lip as he stared at his steering wheel.

"Come on, spit it out." Brie encouraged with a smile.

He turned to look at her and shrugged. "I was just admiring how beautiful you are. That's all."

Brie gave him a small smile before breaking her eyes away from his. "Thank you." She said quietly as she pushed her hair behind her ear.

Daniel nodded once then looked through the windshield again. "Earlier I told you my pathetic story and you made me promise to tell the woman how I've felt about her."

"It's not pathetic." Brie assured him as she looked at him again.

"The day that you yelled in my face at catering, when I asked you for the burger-"

"I apologized for that." Brie reminded him.

"I know." Daniel laughed before continuing. "That was me finally taking an opportunity. You and Roman had ended things, and I knew you were hurting after what he did, so I worked up the courage to finally make a move. Not even to try to sweep you off your feet, just to help you smile and feel better. To be a friend, and then take it from there."

Brie looked away from him and stared out into the night.

Daniel watched her and for the first time, couldn't read her. "And then you two got back together and I just figured I had missed my chance again and had the worst luck."

Brie shut her eyes and remained silent. Daniel sighed, "You made me promise to tell the woman how I feel, so this is me keeping that promise. The woman in my story is you." He watched her and waited for her to say something. "Brie?"

Brie swallowed hard before placing her hand on the door handle. "Thanks for the ride, Daniel." She said as she opened the door.

He sighed as he popped the trunk open and began opening his door. "Wait, let me get your stuff out of the trunk-"

"I got it, thanks." She said before shutting her door. She walked to the back of the car and removed her luggage. She shut the trunk and grabbed hold of her stuff but before she moved, Daniel stood in front of her, blocking her way.

He looked at her and released a deep breath. "I didn't mean to upset you. I don't have any intentions of ruining your relationship, and I hope we can continue to be friends. If you're really as happy with Roman as you claim you are, then what I told you tonight shouldn't matter or change anything."

Brie slightly shook her head. "Goodnight." She said without looking at him. She stepped around him and continued to her building.

Daniel sighed as he turned to watch her leave. Maybe he would've been better off just breaking his promise and keeping his mouth shut.

When Brie entered the hotel room, she dropped her stuff and began removing her jacket then realized she was still wearing Daniel's. She shook her head as she pulled it off and let out a grunt of frustration as everything clogged her head. Brie dropped the jacket onto her bags before taking off hers then walked further into the room.

Roman had fallen asleep with the light and TV on. She shut off the TV then observed him as he slept and realized he had fallen asleep with his cell phone in hand.

Daniel's words replayed in her head as her eyes remained focused on Roman and suddenly thoughts of him and Paige infected her mind. She bit her lip as she quietly walked over to him. She began slowly pulling the phone out of his hand while trying not to wake him. When she finally had it, she turned away from the bed and opened his messages. She couldn't believe she was actually snooping through Roman's phone. She felt so angry at Daniel for even saying anything about his feelings and how 'unhappy' he thought she was.

She opened the messages and realized Dean was the last person he texted. He and Paige hadn't texted each other in a while and their last conversations were work related. She felt relieved as she closed out of the messages. She opened his call log and clenched her teeth together when she saw that Paige had been his last call. It was late and he called her and spoke to her for about half an hour. She turned and placed the phone down.

It's like she was looking for some kind of proof that she had nothing to be 'unhappy' about, and she failed. Tears filled her eyes as she looked at Roman. She just couldn't shake the feeling that Roman would never be able to let Paige go. Maybe Nikki and Daniel were right.