Okay, so this is one of my favourite chapters and I don't really know why. It's super short but I just loved writing it, but then I always enjoy writing little moments between these two in the middle of all the crazy. So (I don't know) here you go!

Skovko, *Gasps* Oh no, not my cookies! Okay, okay, I'll keep on writing, just, leave me a couple of chocolate chip ones at least!

Psion53, She could very well be suffering some sort of a mental break with her mood swings or it could just be all those McMahon genes!

AngelsDestiny22, I'm glad you're liking the build up, because after this one, it all goes wild again!

Labinnacslove, You know, getting married would probably have been a simpler option for them. Unfortunately however I didn't think of that, so they're just going to have to do things the hard way!

Debwood-1999, Bray is the bad guy...say it with me now! Yeah, I think you might be a little disappointed on his behalf, but I hope there's enough of a twist to still make it interesting when it comes.

Mandy, I can be nice to Lauren as well, she gets a nice little breather in this chapter. Well, sort of.

LiLCountry24, Then your wish is my command because here it is. Last stop before all the crazy!

Waking Up In Vegas

"Lauren? Lauren – ,"

I woke with a start, still panting and shaking with hot tears running down my face. Around me the world lay in absolute darkness, devoid of any signs of light. There were arms pressed round me and fearing they were Bray's again I fought them fiercely and tried to cry out.

"No – no, please – please let go of me. I want to go home. I just want Dean – ,"

"Lauren, whoa – ,"

The lights flicked on suddenly and I blinked into the brightness in a confused and breathless haze. I was lying in a bed but I wasn't handcuffed to it and the room I was in looked strangely familiar but it definitely wasn't some sleazy motel. I frowned as a soft hot breeze blew through the window and stirred up a comforting, familiar smell. Whoever had their hands on my arms shuffled closer and pulled me back against them, groggy but alarmed,

"Lauren, it's me. It's okay, you were dreamin'."

"D-Dean?" I whispered,

"I've got you. You're safe."

As coherence came flooding back in like a tidal wave, I turned myself frantically so I could fold into his chest. Almost at once the tears started falling, although I guess technically they'd never really stopped. His arms wrapped around me, pulling me closer and then he sunk back down against the bed, taking me with him so we were propped against the pillows, with me crying so hard I was worried I'd never stop.

"I thought – ," I choked out, coughing and spluttering, "I thought he had – he had – ,"

"Easy baby. Nothin's gonna get you. Bray's not here. It's alright, he's gone."

But still the waterworks refused to stop. In fact, if anything they seemed to get worse,

"I hate him so much I can't – don't let me take me. Please don't let him take me away."

"Sssh," Dean murmured, kissing my head repeatedly, "Not gonna happen. Ever, okay?"

It took a good while for the tears to stop falling but gradually the hysterics started fading away. My breath was still coming out in uneven shudders and my cheeks were slick and my eyes felt raw, but with Dean's arms around me and his lips pressed against me, I clawed my way back to near normal again. Well, as normal as was possible when faced with the prospect of being gifted to a madman who had already held me captive once.

Since the ultimatum on Tuesday night's Smackdown, my head had been all over the place and even being with Dean in Vegas and hiking and cooking hadn't helped calm me down. It didn't help that he had been making lots of phone calls and constantly talking to Roman and Seth. Clearly they were planning something but he wouldn't talk about it and so I remained completely in the dark. We were two days away from the Winner-Takes-All match and I had never been more scared in my life.

The nightmares were new though.

That was just great.

"Wanna talk about it?" Dean offered eventually, when I was down to just the occasional shaky breath, "I mean, that's what you're, like, supposed to do, right? Get it out in the open, or that kinda shit?"

I snuffled in amusement – it wasn't quite a laugh – and snuggled in closer.

"I don't know. Didn't you once tell me you didn't do group therapy?"

"It's different when I get to be the shrink."

"Is this some weird sexual fantasy you've never talked about?"

I tipped my head up to meet his groggy gaze and he leant in and kissed me firmly on the lips. It was a passionate touch and I felt myself sink into it, barely registering as he rolled me onto my back, shifting himself until he was resting on his forearms and staring down at me,

"Stop changin' the subject."

Oh he was crafty. I was utterly trapped.

"That's not fair," I pouted, "You tricked me. You are a horrible, horrible shrink."

He pecked me again,

"I get good results though. Now come on Princess, I wanna hear about that dream."

"I hope you're not charging by the hour?"

"Lauren – ,"

I let out a sigh,

"Okay, fine."

My arms had been looped around his neck but I let them drop to run absently across his chest. My shoulder still ached a little when I moved it, but thanks to ice and painkillers it was mostly okay. After storming out of Stephanie's office, Dean had dragged me to the physio room and after some more probing and some wincing on my part, I had been diagnosed with a slightly sprained rotator cuff. The fact that Bray had given me a nameable injury had essentially sent Dean straight through the roof, but I guess, on reflection, Seth had been right and Bray could have done a whole hell of a lot worse. He would probably do a hell of a lot worse if he won the match on Sunday.

I swallowed a lump down fiercely.

No.

Almost as if he was thinking the same thing, Dean's fingers dropped down to the faint bruises on my neck. Apart from a hint of lingering tenderness and some horrible patches of mottled yellow-green, the after effects of the choking were fading and it was only the memory that still kept me up.

"What he did?" Dean asked, "Or what he might do?"

"Huh?"

"The nightmare," he answered, "Which one was it."

Curse his perceptiveness.

"Um, kinda both?"

I looked away from him, suddenly feeling stupid. I mean, I'd had a nightmare. It was like I was a kid. Redness bloomed in my cheeks and I sucked my lip in, clamping it down beneath my teeth. Dean reached over and pulled it back out again, rubbing his thumb along it with a loving caress. His blue eyes were tired but completely non-judgemental and in a second I had never felt so safe,

"You don't need to feel embarrassed Lauren. It's no fuckin' wonder that your head's all jacked up. Honestly, I'm surprised this shit doesn't happen more. But maybe that's because you're a pretty tough girl."

I shook my head and shuddered a breath in,

"No I'm not, I'll never be tough."

"Fuck that. You're the toughest person I know. Come on, are you kiddin' me? After everythin' that's happened? Alright, so you'll never be punch-a-guy-in-the-face tough, but I'm okay with that because that's why you need me."

I placed my hand against his cheek and stroked it with my thumb,

"That's not why I need you."

"Okay, I agree, my tongue is pretty good – ,"

"No," I giggled, "Okay yes but apart from that you make me feel safe and special and like I'm worth something. You make me feel like I belong. I couldn't live without you now."

Dean dropped his forehead to rest against mine and stared at me deeply,

"Trust me, you won't have to."

"Uh huh," I sighed and sensing my uneasiness, he moved and settled down on his side.

"What? You don't think I can win against Wyatt?"

"It's not that it's just – things happen, you know?

"What things?"

I blinked. Was Dean angry at me? Did he think I didn't believe he could get the job done? Shaking my head and feeling the tears start to prickle, I tried to make him see my point,

"What if Wyatt has some sort of back-up or cheats or gets you disqualified from the match? It isn't that I don't believe you can do it but Bray is just – who knows what he could do? All I can think about is him being near me and I can feel him and see him and it – it makes my skin crawl. I can't go with him Dean, I can't – they can't make me – ,"

As my careful explanation started to break down and another droplet leaked from my eye, Dean shuffled in again, pulling me closer and kissed the tear away as it slid down my face,

"You're not goin' anywhere and no one's gonna make you."

"But – but how can you be sure? I know you've been on the phone to the others but you never tell me what's going on. I don't know what's happening and I can't cope with it. I'm just – I'm just so tired of being scared."

Dean sighed heavily and his breath tickled my eyelids as he placed a kiss on the side of my head. Taking my wrist, he rolled me over to face him until we were essentially nose-to-nose in bed.

"Lauren, I promise you he's not gonna take you. I plan on winnin' but if I don't then Roman and Seth are gonna get you outta there. Even if it means havin' to smuggle you out. Seth's folks have got some little log cabin in the hills somewhere. They're gonna take you there. The reason I didn't tell you is because I didn't want to worry you. I didn't want you thinkin' I was doubtin' myself."

"Are you?"

He rested his thumb on my shoulder and gently started massaging the joint,

"No."

I took a deep breath and nodded,

"Okay then."

"Okay?" he repeated, raising a brow, "That's all you're gonna say?"

"What else is there? You think you can win and I – I trust you to do it. You keep me safe Dean. You've never let me down."

As my words sank in he pulled me in closer and crashed his lips against me in a passionate kiss. If it had been physically possible to melt in through his membrane and become a living part of him then I would willingly have gone but as it was we simply parted panting and Dean gazed at me,

"I fuckin' love you. You know that, right?"

"Probably just as well I love you back then. Might have been awkward otherwise."

We kissed again and it suddenly made me realize how much I missed out on being with Andy for all those unadventurous years. If you had asked me a few months ago who I was, I would have said I was simple, safe and – well – normal. Now however, I felt none of those descriptions and although I had always thought that would be a bad thing, I felt virtually liberated instead. With Dean I wasn't afraid to talk dirty, to be silly and giggly or even spontaneous in bed. He made me feel like a fully rounded person and what was more, he loved every version of who I was. It didn't matter if I was happy or stupid or paranoid, he was there for me, unconditionally, without a word being said. As he turned off the light and settled down beside me, I began to trace absent little patterns on his arm,

"I really wish you could have met my mom. She would have loved you."

Dean instantly pulled me closer in,

"Sure I woulda felt the same way Princess. She sounds pretty great."

I nodded,

"She was. You know, I sometimes wonder if she can see all of this – if she's following what's happening. Does that sound weird?"

"No. Who's to say she isn't? Although I hope she's not been watchin' everythin' we did."

I giggled again and snuggled further into him, stopping when my skull bumped up against his chest. There was still a faint trace of cologne from the morning and I breathed it in deeply and let it mingle with his scent. A cool Vegas breeze drifted in through the window and in that moment I felt warm and totally safe.

Bray was not going to get me on Sunday.

Dean would never let that happen.

The thought filled me with a sudden burst of confidence and I drew a short breath in,

"It was what he might do."

Dean hummed back at me and I could tell he was sleepy but it suddenly felt important to get the sentence out. He was right. It was better to talk about things and I knew I wouldn't get any peace until I had.

"My nightmare. You were right. It was about what Bray might do to me if he beat – I mean, if you didn't win."

Dean's relaxed breathing sharpened a little and I could tell that he was suddenly instantly wide awake,

"Tell me."

"Bray had me – had me in this room and it was dark and I couldn't – I couldn't see the walls. There were noises like people – ," I swallowed, "People screaming but I didn't know where they were coming from and I couldn't get out because I was tied to the bed and Bray had his hand over my mouth but I was screaming. I was screaming for you to come and get me out and all the time Bray just kept laughing and telling me you weren't coming. He – he told me you were dead and all I could think about was how much I wanted you and how everybody leaves me and – ,"

I broke off again as a sob bubbled up and was so busy fighting those feelings back down that I barely even noticed Dean pull me close until his voice cut through the darkness and vibrated through my head,

"Sssh, I'm not leavin' you. I'm okay, I'm right here and I promise you – I promise you with everythin' I've got – that I'm not gonna let him hurt you again. He's not gonna lay another hand on you ever and I'm gonna make damn sure of that."

"I know."

I nodded softly against him and clutched onto him tightly, not prepared to let him go. Bending in again, he kissed my crown gently and rubbed my arm,

"Now sssh, get some sleep."

We drifted off still clasping each other and Dean's proximity kept the nightmares at bay. I was still completely terrified. How could I not be? But there was something like belief starting to creep in as well.

There were still a few things I wanted to do before Sunday, in case – well, that was it – just in case. But I trusted Dean and his confidence boosted me.

Bray was never going to touch me again.

Next chapter, the big match. Place your bets folks, what's going to go down?