Hey, guys. Sorry for the lack of updates. I'll try to keep up on it a bit more. It's just been kind of a crazy little bit.

Vince was calling the three weeks he sent Serena home for a "cooling off" period. Serena and Alicia, for opposing reasons, were calling it "bullshit." After a conference call with Vince, Hunter and Stephanie, they decided Serena would benefit from time to settle down, relax and get her head on straight. Vince had pointed out that Serena hadn't really taken time off after her night in the woods, and he knew eventually something was going to give.

Knowing better than to argue with the McMahon family's decision, Serena had slammed down the phone and seethed; her hands shook with unspent anger. Meanwhile, Alicia was still on the road, doing her Be-A-Star charity appearances and preaching to schoolchildren about the importance of standing up to bullies. The entire situation pissed Serena off beyond words. Dean, Seth, Roman and AJ weren't happy about the situation, either, but they knew there was nothing they could do about it.

It was after one o'clock in the morning. Dean and Serena were lying on her bed in the darkness. She was staring up at the ceiling, her eyes adjusted enough in the darkness to see the texture in the ceiling. Dean was worried about her; it had been a day and a half since Vince had sent her home and she hadn't said much since the conference call. She was enraged, he could see it in her eyes, but she was doing her damnedest not to take it out on the people around her.

"She's right, you know," Serena told him, her tone listless. "You should run while you still can."

"I'm not going anywhere," he chuckled. He was on his side, his head rested on his hand. His other hand was resting over her stomach, where her fingers were interlocked. "You know that."

"She's right. I'm a bad omen. I'm just bad luck to everyone around me."

"Get out of here; Alicia's opinion doesn't mean dick," he snorted.

"It obviously matters to the McMahons."

"Serena…"

"I'm sorry," she sighed. "I'm really sorry for everything lately. I know I've just been drowning in my little sea of self-pity. I'm just…I'm still struggling, you know? And then all this with Damien and Seth and now Alicia…I'm just… I'm having a hard time pulling myself out of it." She looked over at the nightstand on her side of the bed. In the dark, he could sense her face crinkling. "Why hasn't Cody texted yet?"

"Damien's probably not awake yet. You could be waiting until tomorrow afternoon," Dean told her. She exhaled. "Besides, even if he woke up, visiting hours are long over – you'd be waiting until morning anyway." He moved his hand from her stomach to her face, stroking her cheek. "Just try and relax. He's going to be fine."

"You're right," she admitted. "You're absolutely right."

"I know I am." She smiled. He pressed his lips against her forehead.

"We're going to have to warn everyone to be extra careful until the police figure out what's going on," Serena told him. "Between Seth and Damien, I don't think I could handle anything else happening."

"Roman, Dolph, AJ, Big E and I have had a talk about it, and we're warning everyone," Dean assured her. "You're going to need to talk to Wade, though. He's not going to hear a word I say to him."

"I can do that," she told him. "I'll talk to him this week."

"You know it means you have to be careful, too."

"I know. It feels like my entire life is spent being careful," she vented.

"Are you going to be okay?"

"I'll be fine," she assured him. "I'll have Seth and Damien to spend time with while you're on the road."

"I'm sure Seth will enjoy the company. Roman's sister is driving him crazy."

"Oh, he loves it," Serena laughed.

"Yeah, well I don't think Roman knows that, so Seth had better be careful," Dean laughed.

"You think so?"

"I don't think so, I know so," Dean laughed.

"Should we warn him?"

"What's the fun in that?"

"You're awful."

"Yeah, but you love it," he reminded her. He brought his lips down to hers, capturing them in a soft kiss. She brought a hand up to his face. He pulled back. "I love you. Please be careful."

She blinked. Dean wasn't the type to throw around the "L" word. The last time Serena recalled him saying it was when he was drunk at Disneyland. She ruffled her hand through his hair. Hearing him say it sober gave her a jolt. "I love you, too. You know that," she told him. "And you be careful. You've been through enough."

The phone buzzed on the nightstand. Serena rolled over and picked up the phone. It was Cody. "He's awake," Serena told Dean, texting a response to Cody. How is he?

Loopy as hell, but he's all right, the text read. He doesn't remember much.

"Thank God," Serena exhaled.

"What?" he asked. "I can't see your phone, you know."

"He doesn't remember much of what happened," Serena told him. She wished she could forget the images. She knew Cody was traumatized, but he was holding himself together very well. Damien asked if you're okay. Serena smiled. She sent a quick text back to him. I'm fine. I'm worried about him!

Dean came up behind her and hugged her, looking down at the phone screen.

"I don't think I'm going to sleep tonight," Serena confessed. "I'm just so relieved."

"Well, I'm going to have to soon. Roman and I have a long drive ahead of us tomorrow," he told her.

"When are you thinking about leaving?"

"We'll probably leave at about six," Dean answered. "Since we have to be at the arena by noon."

"Okay."

"Are you going…"

"I'll be fine. I'll probably spend most of tomorrow at the hospital with Damien and Cody. If they release Damien, we'll probably go get him settled and I'll probably go see Seth. I can keep myself occupied till you get back on Wednesday." Serena was dreading the idea of texting Wade, but she knew it was something that needed to be done. She still cared about him. Serena didn't know what she would do if somebody else got hurt.