The following morning, Claire met Lucy for a coffee in the café across the road from the hotel. She didn't seem as dark or suspicious as she had the previous night. Wonder what that was all about? Claire thought to herself. After saying hello, with a hug, even, Claire didn't get the chance to speak. Lucy talked non-stop about how busy she had been over the past two weeks. "Zane asked me to help with these analytical report things. You know, like stats and engagement figures and stuff. It was really hard to get my head around." Claire smiled to herself. She had never told Lucy the extent to which she'd been assisting Zane on the reports, and she was glad to know that Lucy didn't have the aptitude for the paperwork. It gave her an advantage, and if she was going to be fighting for her job tomorrow, that was good ammunition. "He's been in a weird mood," Lucy continued, referring to Zane. "He's been running around franticly doing his own work, then covering storylines and things. He's been having a few meetings with the higher powers about stuff. Probably the staffing changes. He even had to do a house show last week." Yes, I heard about that, Claire thought. She wanted to ask about Carl, but didn't know how to bring it up. It was mainly her being nosy; wanting to know if his attitude had changed, if he'd said anything about the 'process' with Allison Pionte, and if he'd said anything about her. Lucy would usually spill the beans on everything, so it was notable that she'd not mentioned him.

"I'm still not thrilled about it," she heard Lucy say, and she focused back on the conversation. "About what?" Claire asked, sipping at her coffee. "You and Jon. He was such an asshole to me last week." A sly smile crossed Claire's face. "He was an asshole to everyone last week," she replied. She wouldn't tell Lucy about what they'd been through the past week or so, but it was still true that Jon hadn't been overly pleasant towards anyone. "What have I done to him anyway, to get him so upset? I was just honest with him from the start." Claire knew she should keep her mouth shut, but had to answer that somehow. "He was just annoyed that you didn't believe him, or me, that he was really making an effort. You didn't drop it. And I don't know, maybe he felt you crossed a line." I bet you did cross a line, quite often, but neither of you wanted to tell me about it. "I guess I'm going to lose my roomie, then," Lucy sulked. Claire frowned. She'd not even thought about that. She was so focused on getting her job back that she certainly wasn't thinking about hotel room arrangements. "You're making the assumption I'm going to get my job back," Claire said, the unease in her voice palpable. Lucy looked at her seriously. "What? You mean you don't think you will?" She looked genuinely concerned. "It's not that," Claire said. She hesitated; she'd not even shared this with Jon. "It's more that they might choose not to fire me, but reallocate me. You heard Zane say there are positions available at HQ. They know I live there. They might feel that it all makes sense that way." She shook her heard. This was all part of the overanalysing she'd been able to do while at home by herself with nothing to distract her thoughts. "No way," Lucy said, shaking her head. "I think Zane's realised that he needs you on the road, if his behaviour this week has been anything to go by." Has he? Or maybe he's realised he just needs another person, not necessarily me.

As the girls crossed the road back to the hotel, Claire couldn't help herself. "So what's Carl been up to these last couple of weeks then?" Lucy shot her a look. "I told you, I couldn't care less about that asshole anymore. Not after being such a jackass to you." Claire scoffed. "Yes. He's the one you should be calling a jackass. Not Jon." Lucy rolled her eyes, but Claire continued. "What type of work has he been doing?" Lucy waved her hand casually. "Same shit, really. He's done TV and the opposite house shows to Ambrose. They knew better than to put them together." Damn right. Jon would've knocked him out. "He's been acting like a bit of a hero, actually. Saying all this weird stuff about how things are going to change, in our team and on the roster. That we'll have more respect from the roster than ever before, and it'll be because of him." Claire had to contain her reaction. She knew that Carl was referring to the charges he wanted to press against Jon. As if that is going to earn him respect. He'll just look like a crying idiot. Before they entered the hotel, Lucy pulled on Claire's wrist. "Hey," she began, "do you know why Eden hasn't been talking to me much lately? I don't know what I've done." Claire hoped the flush she felt in her cheeks wasn't showing. "I've not been around, Luce, remember? I don't know what's been going on. We've only briefly caught up yesterday and she didn't mention anything." Liar. Although it was true that they'd not discussed Lucy before last night. "Oh, right," Lucy sighed. "It's just that we had so much fun when we were all together. I don't know why that had to stop just because you weren't around." Lucy's eyes widened. "Sorry Claire, I didn't mean it like that, you know what I meant…" She looked panicked, but Claire laughed it off. "I know what you mean. I don't know. Maybe she's not been well, or maybe she and Cody just wanted to chill out. I know at least one night they spent with Jon, and knowing you're not his biggest fan, they probably figured you wouldn't want to go." She saw Lucy take that in, and a realisation come across her face. "I guess the roster sticks with the roster, huh? Except for you. They've taken you in." Claire gave her a quick hug. "Don't be ridiculous. I'm not in with all of them. I'm sure everything will work out fine." That last line hung on her tongue for a moment. I wish I was sure, she thought, no longer referring to Lucy's crazy desire to be accepted by the roster.

Shortly after, Eden and Cody again rode with Jon and Claire through to Cincinnati for RAW. Jon was overly excited to be heading to his home town. He spoke non-stop on the car ride; exaggerating stories of his misspent youth. He had the girls captivated. Cody, however, was rolling his eyes. "I've heard these all before, and I swear it changes every time," he said mockingly. Claire didn't care. She was enjoying seeing Jon talk about his past with such freedom. It was nice to know that, even if some of it was borderline illegal, he did have some fun growing up. "After the show," he said, reaching across and putting his hand on Claire's knee, "I'll take you around and show you all these places." She smiled widely at him. Even before all the drama, she couldn't have imagined him being so open about his childhood. The last week had been tough on them both, but perhaps it was for the better. "Sounds great," she replied. "I need to know where this near-arrest at the school yard happened." They laughed, and Jon spiralled into another tale of an April Fools prank gone wrong.

/

Jon was packing his backpack before heading out to film a couple of quick things for the show tonight. They were making the most of being in his home town; it would get him an extra big pop from the local crowd. He was due to be out filming for around two hours, during which time Claire was going to be hanging out with Eden in their room. He'd managed to sneak her into his hotel room again, hoping that this time tomorrow, they'd be finding out that the sneaking was no longer necessary. Imagine that; none of it. Not hiding catching cabs together, sharing rooms, not having to hide smiles and stares backstage. There would be nothing to hide, from anyone. Except maybe those fans. He couldn't get over how many photos of Claire were online. If there was something he did want to keep their relationship secret from, it was the wrath of the internet. He knew how nasty people could be, to females in particular. Eden, who was a beautiful woman, endured it daily. He knew all the Divas were subject to some sort of criticism, mainly from other women. And the guys with partners who weren't involved in the show said their girls got stalked and harassed online by people who hunted them down. He shook his head. Don't these people have anything better to do? And Claire wonders why I hate social media. He swore to be on the lookout now. He didn't want to give them any more fuel for their fire.

Jon returned to his room a few hours later to find Claire kicked back on the bed watching hockey. "Hey you, how was the home town tour?" she asked, sitting up. "It was fun," he answered. "Other than Lucy's presence. She hardly said anything to me. I don't know why she even needed to be there. But we got some great clips. It'll be good to see how they go down." He kicked off his shoes, shrugged off his jacket and dove on to the bed, making Claire bounce gently. He ran his hand gently against her hair. "Did you and Eden solve the troubles of the world?" he asked, placing a soft kiss on her cheek. "Of course. We've narrowed down her Mania outfits to seven." They both laughed. He was glad she wasn't as obsessive about clothes as some of the other girls. She looks great in whatever she wears. Maybe except that Penguins hoodie. "I've been thinking," Claire began. Uh oh. Thinking is bad, Jon thought to himself. "I'm going to stay here tonight." Jon looked at her, confused. Claire elaborated. "I still think it's best I keep a low profile. Even though Lucy has probably let everyone know I'm here. I think I should just keep out of it, until I'm expected. Which isn't until tomorrow." Jon chewed on his lip. She was right. As much as he wished she would be backstage, and he could hold her hand and kiss her in front of everyone to prove he did not give a damn about what they thought, she wanted nothing to jeopardise tomorrow's outcome. "Okay, fair enough," he sighed, settling in beside her to watch the game. "Make sure you watch carefully, I'll send a little message to you," he said, squeezing her hand.

/

Jon had received the 15 minute call from the crew, and he was in the final stages of prepping himself for his match. He taped his wrists and pulled out a black marker pen from his bag. Just then, there was a knock on the door. Lucy entered without waiting for him to answer. "We don't need much, given what we did earlier," she said. "Maybe just a crazed 'going to battle to the death' look." Jon nodded. He couldn't wait to have Claire back on the staff. If they let her have her job back, and were accepting of their relationship, surely they would let her cover his storylines? Why would they allocate anyone else to me? I'd cooperate much better with her. He chuckled silently to himself, thinking that might be the exact reason why they wouldn't allocate Claire to his storylines. They might think we'd cooperate too much… He couldn't imagine Claire agreeing to any on-site antics anyway. She wanted to be professional from the start, and that would be even more significant to her once she got back on the team. He didn't want to say if she got back on the team. He didn't even want to contemplate the alternative. Lucy's voice cut into his train of thought. "Come on then," she said, looking at her watch. "You're due in gorilla in like five minutes." Jon sighed. "Alright then. Keep your panties on." He moved to the corner of his locker room and channelled the lunatic. Lucy took some pictures, then reviewed them. "Looks good," she said, turning in the opposite direction. Jon sat back next to his bag, reaching for the marker again. He assumed she would see herself out. "Hey, Jon?" he heard her ask. His name sounded so unusual coming from her. He looked up with a grunt. "I'll make you a deal. I'll stop being such a bitch if you stop being such an asshole. Deal?" They stared at each other for a moment, before she turned and left without an answer. Jon smirked to himself. He was never going to be Lucy's biggest fan, but he accepted the concept of a truce, for Claire's sake. I guess neither of us is big enough for a real apology. Perhaps he and Lucy were more alike than he cared to acknowledge. He bit the lid off the marker, and carefully drew two letters on each of his wrists: CH.

/

Claire was sitting at the hotel room table with papers all around her when Jon arrived back from the show. The smile she gave him made him forget all about the aches and bruises he'd acquired tonight. "Pretty smooth move, Mr Good," she said, as she moved towards him, wrapping her arms around his waist. She pushed herself onto her toes to kiss him softly. "Thought I'd send you a little message to let you know I was thinking of you," he said, returning her kiss. And everyone else in the locker room. "You've probably just added another picture to that hashtag though," she laughed, and he cursed. Shit. I didn't even think about that. Now they'll probably try to find out her name. "Don't worry about it," Claire said, sensing his anger. "I was only kidding." He shook his head. "I'm not though," he replied. "I don't want them to know too much about you. I don't want you to have to deal with that shit." She placed her hands on his face and forced him to look at her. "If anyone knows about how mental those people are, it's me. Remember, it's my job to have to read through their shit all the time. 90% of it is hate; for the talent, for the talent's partner, or for each other. It's all keyboard bravado. They don't know me, so it doesn't bother me what they think. I only care about what you think." He felt his grimace fade into a smile. "Well, I happen to think you're pretty darn great," he said, picking her up off the ground and kissing her. "Now come on, let me show you the Nasty Nati!"

As they headed through the hotel parking lot, they heard a laugh. "Well, if it isn't Romeo and Juliet," the voice said. Jon's mouth curled into a snarl as he recognised the voice. He heard Claire sigh beside him as her eyes focused on Carl. "Just keep walking," she whispered. "He's not worth wasting our time on." Jon agreed, but god what he wouldn't give to have five minutes alone with him. "Oh, is that how it's going to be, Claire? All cold and icy?" Carl asked, a sarcastic tone to his voice. Jon felt his hand twitch in frustration. Claire stopped and turned to face him. What happened to keep walking? "What - do you think I'm going to buy you a drink?" she asked, a fire to her voice which was new to Jon. He stepped in beside her to let Carl know he needed to watch his step. "I've never known someone with such a warped sense of entitlement that they want to ruin someone else's career. How on earth do you think I'm going to treat you now?" Jon's eyes passed from Claire to Carl, and back again. He couldn't look at him for long without wanting to hit him. "I was just doing you a favour," Carl answered. "Let's face it. This," he said, using a finger to point between her and Jon, "this is a laughing stock. Nobody is taking it seriously." Jon's lips pressed into a firm line and he felt his breathing intensify. Control what you can control, he thought, repeating Hunter's words to himself. Claire will be able to handle this much better than you.

He heard her scoff. "You're just jealous," she said to Carl. "Jealous of the fact that I came in and actually did the job you're meant to do. And that Zane saw that, acknowledged and appreciated it. Lord forbid someone was actually more capable than you. I was never gunning for you, Carl, despite whatever whacked scenario you have in your head. I was just doing my job. Which was the same as yours, except you were too cushy; sitting back thinking the world owed you something for nothing." Give it to him, girl, Jon thought, a sly smile crossing his face. He wondered if she'd rehearsed what she'd wanted to say to Carl on those lonely days in Stamford. She was sure getting her chance now. Carl took a moment to reply. "There's nothing for me to be jealous about," he said arrogantly. "Last time I checked, I was in full employment and running a rotation on my own, and you were… Well. You were suspended and getting yourself tested for STIs." He rolled his head in Jon's direction, and Jon took a step towards him, before Claire's arm held him back. His shoulders were heaving, and he didn't take his eyes off Carl when she stepped in front of him. "I've got this, okay?" she said, her voice level, but with a hint of aggression he'd never heard. He stepped back, but maintained eye contact with Carl. He saw Claire move closer to Carl. "You know nothing about him, so you'd be best to keep your mouth shut," she said with anger. He could see her shoulders moving in time with her deep breaths and wondered what Angry Claire was capable of. "I think you should walk away," she added. Carl laughed. "Actually, I think you should walk away. Technically you're still suspended and therefore not part of the staff, meaning you're probably trespassing right now. I should call security." Where does this asshole get off? If he doesn't leave right now I will make him. "I don't know why you're doing this," Claire spat out, this time sounding more hurt than angry. "Nothing I ever did was as calculated as what you did to me. Really, you should be thanking me. How easily the tables could've been turned, if I'd been as low as you. All I had to do was reveal to Zane the real reason why your rotation hardly posted on the weekends." There was a momentary pause, before she continued. "Who really brought the team into disrepute, huh? You think Zane would approve of bathroom stall quick f—ks on company time?" Hearing Claire cuss like that made Jon look at her. He had never seen her like this. All of her pent up emotions from the past fortnight seemed to be unleashing themselves. "But I never would've. Because a) it's none of my business and b) I'm loyal. I'm a team player. But you wouldn't understand what that means, Carl. Your head is so far up your ass that you can only see one person. You might think you're winning this, but I can guarantee you, it's not over. Not by a long shot."

Carl sniggered. "Is that another threat against me?" he asked, looking Jon straight in the eye. "Do I need to call the cops on you too, Claire?" Jon felt his insides burn with fury. Come on Claire, let me flatten the bastard. "I think you should stop talking, because all you're doing is giving me more evidence for my case against you, and your bottom-feeding junkie boyfriend…." His sentence was abruptly stopped by the impact of Claire's hand slapping his face. The noise echoed around the parking lot. Jon didn't even try to hide his smile. He stepped forward and placed his arm around her, and before they turned to walk away, he looked over his shoulder at Carl, who had stumbled back, holding his face. Stay away from us, he tried to convey on his face. "Good shot honey," he said over his shoulder, as they headed towards the rental car. I've never been more proud of someone in my life.