Roman slept peacefully, looking so relaxed and happy. The content smile on his face making MiraBeth's heart flip-flop. This is where I belong. We are getting back on even footing. Why can't that be enough? She laid her head on his warm chest and closed her eyes again. The young man's face filled her mind as tears slid from her eyes. MiraBeth threw her arm across Roman's chest and her leg over his waist, curling as tightly as she could into his body as her tears pooled on his chest. She could feel the latex gloves on her hands. The faint pulse beating against her index and forefinger as she cradled his head in her hand. She felt his firm, young jawbone against her thumb. She remembered promising it would be okay, assuring him that he wasn't alone. She could see eyes that were once a sparkling bright blue turn cloudy and search for her. He couldn't find her; he'd lost the ability to focus. Tears borne out of fear filled the young man's eyes. MiraBeth could feel her other hand stroking the man-child's forehead as she told him that he had fought hard and that 'it was okay'. She gave him permission not to fight anymore as he took his last breath. She felt his last heartbeat under her fingers. She stood there but didn't feel anything else. Then she closed his unseeing eyes. There wasn't time to grieve this loss of life. Another scared young man sat in the backseat, hurt and terrified that he was going to die next. MiraBeth's tears were free-falling so fast that Roman's chest couldn't contain them. They were pooling and running down his sides, soaking the sheets beneath him. Discomfort with the wet bed had Roman starting to squirm. As he became aware of the damp sheets, he realized that MiraBeth was wrapped around him like a python and stuck in memories that were ripping her apart. Wordlessly he wrapped his arms around her. There was nothing to say. He held her as she cried.

A quiet knock at the door broke the solitude. Neither person was sleeping but neither one has spoken either. A second knock caused MiraBeth to raise her head. "We can ignore it." Roman said softly. She shook her head and sat up. Roman swung his legs off the other side of the bed and headed for the door, opening it as the person was about to knock for the third time. "Randy?" MiraBeth heard a questioning tone in Roman's voice.

"The guys fell asleep. I thought maybe… It was silly. She has you." The other man spoke softly.

Roman grabbed Randy's arm as he turned from the door. "You might be what she needs." he admitted as he opened the door wider. Randy walked in hesitantly. "She's not angry and she's not in denial." Roman said. Randy looked at the woman sitting on the bed, still twisted in the sheets. Her hair was askew and her skin was much paler than it had appeared just a few hours ago but what tore at his heart was her eyes. He didn't think he'd ever seen eyes so bloodshot and ringed in red. Her cheeks were so blotchy… It was obvious that she had been crying and hard. "She won't stop and she won't speak."

"I doubt she can." Randy murmured. He sat in front of her and unclenched her hands from the sheets. "These stages don't seem to be coming in order for us, are they?" he said. She looked at him with big eyes as she harrumphed. Roman sat behind her, pressing his chest to her back to give her his unspoken support. "You gave me an outlet for my anger. Don't think I'm going to let you isolate yourself or sink into depression. Roman's got back-up in this, sweetheart. Neither one of us is going to give up on you. You might as well give in to us now and make it easier." He squeezed her hands.

Roman wrapped his arms around her waist and whispered into her ear, "He's right."

MiraBeth dropped her head as the tears fell again. Randy lifted her chin. "Talk through the tears. You have been so d*mn strong. Talk through this." She blinked at him. "Fine. I'll be selfish. MiraBeth, you are the strong one, so freakin' put together. I fell apart and tore up a locker room. Show me that I'm not a freak. Talk me through this. Help me understand that I'm not alone in this process. Because, despite what you've said, it's feeling kinda lonely right now. So for my selfish needs alone I need to hear what you are feeling."

MiraBeth shook her head and snorted. "You are such a liar." Her snort sent a fresh wave of snot rolling down her face. Randy grabbed the corner of the sheet and wiped her face. She whispered, "When I close my eyes I see his face. I can feel his pulse under my fingers. It's like he's asking why it happened to him and I can't answer him." Roman gave her a squeeze around her middle and leaned his head against her back, just at the base of her neck. Randy clutched her hands. "I didn't have the answer. There's nothing I could say, except it was okay to let go. It was okay not to fight. It was okay to die. How do I go on knowing I told that kid that it was okay to DIE?"

Roman shook with emotion, knowing how torn up she was by this memory. What was there to say? What would make this pain go away?

"You did not let him die. You did not kill him. Mira, I was there. I was beside you. Remember that?" She gave Randy a brief nod. "That young man was scared and feeling alone. You gave him comfort. You gave him peace of mind, knowing that someone cared. He died knowing that you were with him and he wasn't alone. That was a gift. You have to remember that you gave him a gift in his time of need." He squeezed her hands with almost bone-crushing force. "Remember the other one, the one in the back? Remember what he said? They just want their moms to know that they loved them. Their thoughts were of their moms. They fought as long as they could. And that they didn't do anything stupid, like young men are known to do, that caused this accident. They want their moms to know that this was definitely a case of wrong-case wrong time. Death was not a result of their doing. You can give the family of this boy that peace of mind. "

"You were there because you could deliver that message, Baby Girl." Roman whispered. Roman's phone rang. He ignored it. As soon as the ringing stopped it began again. Roman continued to hug MiraBeth. The ringing stopped and immediately began again. With a huff, Roman snatched up his phone. "What?"

John Cena spoke in a panicked whisper. "We fell asleep. Randy's gone. His phone is here. We can't find him."

"He's here. Everything is fine." Roman hung up and dropped the phone so he could return to holding MiraBeth.

"They'll be here soon." Randy predicted. He leaned forward to kiss MiraBeth's forehead. "Hold on to Roman, sweetie. Try to get some sleep. You did good tonight. Remember that." He stood up and headed for the door. "I'll see the two of you at breakfast in the morning."

Roman met Randy's eyes. "That way you'll both eat." Randy gave Roman a salute and opened the door as soon as Cena started knocking.

The couple could hear Randy saying, "Let's give them some privacy now. I'm good and she needs him."

"I never thought that I would feel friendly towards Randy Orton, but over the last few hours he's proven to be an okay guy." Roman admitted.

"He was right there." MiraBeth whispered. She turned and looked up at Roman. "I know you hate that he and I share a bond like this. But, Roman," She wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned against him. "I am glad that it wasn't you. I am glad that when you hold me, you don't have that memory."

Roman wrapped his arms around her and laid back slowly. "You will always be safe here. I will keep you safe." he promised. This time Roman made sure MiraBeth's breathing was deep and even before he allowed himself to drift off. My tough angel needs me. I will be with her every step of the way, even if that means sharing time with Orton.