Disclaimer, etc., in part 1.

Part Thirty-Six

"You think Ryder has something up his sleeve?" Seth asked as Eve and Dean got to their feet, the two of them preparing to head out for Dean's match... Though they were technically going to two different places, since Dean would head down to the ring through the crowd and Eve would go down the ramp instead.

"I don't think he has enough friends backstage to manage to have something up his sleeve," Eve replied, then looked over at the man. "I think the biggest concern should be that Ziggler and friends would see me and Dean out there alone and think it's a good opportunity to try and get the upper hand for Friday on SmackDown."

Ambrose frowned. "Good point. I hadn't considered that, but it's probably a possibility," the man said. "They're pissed that Seth beat Dolph, and that Eve pinned AJ in that tag match. They may try something."

"Then we'll stay close. They said that Seth and I can't go out there for the match. Didn't say we couldn't be close enough to the curtain to run out there and help if we're needed," Roman put in. "And if Dolph and AJ and Big E try something... That means the match is pretty much over, doesn't it? If the match is over, then all bets are off, and we can do whatever the hell we want to or need to."

Ambrose shot a look at Eve, meeting her eyes for a moment... Perhaps trying to read her thoughts on what Roman was saying. After a moment, he turned, looking at his fellow Shield member. "Okay. That sounds like a plan. Because I've got to admit that I really don't trust certain people not to try something once they see that we're separated," the man said, then looked over at Eve. "You ready to go?"

She nodded, the diva taking off her jacket, leaving her in the jeans and boots she was wearing with a sleeveless shirt... All three men frowning when they caught sight of the bruise that was still there on her arm. Arching a brow, Ambrose made his way over to her, the man reaching out to lightly run his fingers over the mark.

"You want a chance to get a few shots in after I finish kicking his ass? Get a little payback?" he wanted to know, and Eve bit her lip, then shrugged.

"These boots would slip right off the ropes, so it's not like I could do a moonsault on him," she said, looking down at them as she spoke, and Dean snorted.

"Hell, the bastard would probably enjoy a moonsault from you, so I wasn't going to suggest that anyway," he told her, then shrugged. "You can always smack him around. Kick him while he's down if you want. Way I see it, the piece of shit deserves it."

"I won't argue with you there," Eve replied. "Of course, in order for me to get some shots in on him after the match, you would have to leave something left of him, and I'm not so sure that's going to happen."

"I sure as hell can't guarantee there will be anything left. When I'm done with him, he'll probably be crying for his mother. But if you want to get some shots in, I'll try to hold back... Just a little," he said, and Eve was quiet for a moment, trying to decide whether she was petty enough to want to kick Zack Ryder while he was quite literally down... She decided that, given the things he'd said about her and the bruise he'd managed to leave on her left arm, she probably was.

"Try to at least leave him conscious," the divas' champion finally said, and Dean smirked.

"I think I can handle that," he said, then stepped back, looking at the others.

"You guys watch yourselves backstage. If Ziggler and Big E decide to try something, they may be just as likely to pull it backstage as they are out there in the arena. Roman's the one in the match on Friday, and I'm pretty sure that they didn't like that. They wanted it to be either me or to have another shot at Seth... Not that they would fare better that way, either, but, you know... Not too many people want to climb into the ring with Roman for some reason," the man said. "Not sure why. But the point is... They might try something backstage instead."

"We'll watch our backs... And yours," Seth said, and Dean nodded, then headed for the door to the makeshift locker room that the group had for the night. At the door, Ambrose stopped, looking back at Eve for a moment.

"I'll see you out there," he said, not waiting for Eve to respond before he headed off down the hall, preparing to weave his way up to the concourse so he could make his way through the crowd, and Eve frowned as she looked over at Seth and Roman.

"You think someone will try to jump him before he gets down to the crowd?" she asked, and both men seemed to consider it, then shook their heads.

"Not likely. Most people don't know we were banned from ringside for the match, so they won't expect him to be alone. They see him, then they'll probably still think that we're nearby," Roman told her, then nodded toward the hallway. "We should probably get going, too."

Eve nodded in agreement, the woman leaving her divas' championship belt behind as the three of them headed out into the hall. She knew she could take her belt to ringside with her if she wanted to - she'd done exactly that when she'd been at ringside for Seth's match on SmackDown - but during that match, she'd also discovered that attempting to cheer for someone while simultaneously trying to keep a title belt on her shoulder hadn't been all that easy... Which was why she'd ended up leaving her belt at the timekeeper's table under the care of Lilian Garcia.

"You know that Dean won't let Zack get his hands on you, right?" Seth questioned as they made their way down the hall, and Eve gave him a look.

"If Zack Ryder tries to put his hands on me, I'm likely to kick him in the balls, then choke him out," she responded, and Seth arched a brow.

"I would probably pay good money to see that," the wrestler replied with a slight smile, and Roman nodded in agreement.

"Damn straight," he added. "But try not to do that until Dean has the match already won, okay? I don't think he wants to be disqualified," the man said, and Eve smiled slightly at that.

"He said he wouldn't be able to show his face for weeks," the woman told them, then glanced at the two men. "Don't worry; I won't cost him the match. And I won't do anything stupid."

"Never said you would," Roman said, the trio slowing down as they made it to the curtain area... Just in time, too. Zack Ryder's music was playing, the man just slipping through the curtains to head out to the ring. A glance at the monitor told Eve that, despite getting Seth and Roman banned from ringside, Ryder still looked more than a little nervous about his upcoming match.

Good.

"I don't know how you and Dean will leave the ring area, but we'll be here anyway. Okay?" Seth said, and Eve nodded.

"Works for me," she replied, waiting for the sounds of the Shield's music to play... Waiting until the monitors caught sight of Dean making his way through the crowd, the diva taking a deep breath before she stepped through the curtains and began to make her way down the ramp to meet him.

Author's note: I am currently in the process of removing most (and eventually possibly all) of my not-yet-completed fics from this site. Completed stories will remain. If any stories you were following were/are taken down, there is a link on my profile page to my fic journal at livejournal. There is also a link to the list of my Eve-centric stories. That list includes links to each story. That should make it easier to find any stories you're looking for. All the WWE stories I've posted here are on that list. (Just a note - Livejournal shows the most recent post first, so once you click the link to bring up the story parts, you would have to scroll down to find the first part.)