Disclaimer: I don't own anybody or anything related to the WWE. I only own my OC.


I groggily woke up the next morning. I immediately groaned, feeling a distinct throbbing in my head. In hindsight, perhaps I'd over done the alcohol last night. But that was just like me, going overboard.

"Morning sunshine!" I heard Randy's deep voice tease.

"Morning," I mumbled.

"A little hung over this morning?"

"Absolutely."

"I thought so," he said chuckling. "There's aspirin on the nightstand."

"Thank you." I reached over and grabbed the bottle. I opened it and dumped two pills into my hand. I tossed them into my mouth and swallowed them.

"So are you sure you are going to be okay?" he asked a little worried.

"What do you mean? I've had hangover before," I said with a chuckle.

"No no the hangover, I meant with the Punk stuff. I know you were pretty upset about it last night. Are you sure you are okay, because if not you could always come to St. Louis with me," he offered. I smiled at the gesture.

"Thank you for the generous offer but I'll be fine. I'll just go back home to Tampa for a few days. Relax and recharge. Nicolette Sparks will be raring to go, like new again at Raw next week."

"Okay, if you're sure. I just know how you can get a little crazy when stuff isn't going to well. Usually Wade is watching over you so I don't worry. Right now, things between you guys are weird so you've kind of been on your own. I just want you to know I'm here if you need me, for anything."

"Randy, you are such a good guy. I'm lucky to have a friend like you. But don't worry, I'm sure I'll be completely fine. If I need you I'll give you a call."

"Sounds like a plan. Have fun in Tampa."

"I will."


Only I didn't go home to Tampa. As a creature of habit, my first instinct was to run to my oasis, my home away from him, the ranch in San Antonio. It was the perfect place to reflect on my life with little to no interruptions. It would be nice to figure out the Punk stuff and digest the disaster that occurred at Wade's door last night. I wouldn't be bothered by friends because nobody knew where it was. An added bonus being that when I was isolated on the ranch, I didn't get into the shenanigans I seemed to keep getting myself into.

When I stepped out of the car and into the warm Texas air, I immediately felt relief. I walked up the driveway and entered the house.

"Is that who I think it is?" I heard Jessie squeal with excitement.

"I sure hope so!" I said opening my arms to give her a big hug. "How's the ranch been? Everything running smoothly?"

"Surprisingly yes. The horses are healthy, the house is fine, the barn is fine. No problems."

"Glad to know one thing is going smoothly!" I joked.

"I'm sure more is going well, Ms. Intercontinental champion!" she said assured.

"Okay, a few things are going just fine," I relented.

"So what brings you out here, Nic? Your trips out here have grown far and few in-between…"

"Just a little stressed. I don't really want to talk about it right now," I said dismissively.

"Oh. Okay. What's on the agenda for the day?"

"I think I'm going to saddle up Jagger and go for a ride."

"That'll be good. He misses you and It'll do you some good too."


Three days later…

Bang! Bang! Bang! My rifle fired at the targets on my property.

"Nicolette Sparks! How long are you going to be doing this?" Jessie scolded as she marched across the lawn. I lowered my gun and took a sip off scotch from my glass. I knew I was quite a mess the last few days but she'd been patient.

"I'm done when I'm done, Jess," I said simply.

"You've been out here shooting for over an hour. Why don't you come up near the house and sit by the pool and I'll grab you some lunch?" She suggested.

"I'm not really hungry. I'm content doing this," I insisted although slurring a little bit.

"Honey, all you've had today is toast and scotch. You need to eat something to soak up all that booze, dear."

"How about we compromise? I'll stop shooting and I'll keep drinking the scotch by the pool."

"Fine." I knew she was right but I just couldn't do it exactly her way. I had to argue for some reason.

I grabbed my things and walked with Jessie up to the house. I handed her my gun and she went to put it in my gun cabinet. I went to my room and put on a bikini before plopping down in a lawn chair poolside. Jessie reemerged a little while later with some food- a sandwich, some chips, and a glass of lemonade. She didn't say anything as she placed it gently on the side table next to me. She quickly went back inside. I waited five minutes or so before I began to eat the food. I knew she was likely watching from the window and probably had a self satisfied grin on her face. I was stubborn but she always knew how to handle me. I immediately began to feel a little less fuzzy headed as the food began to absorb some of the booze. I closed my eyes absorbing the rays. The Texas sun felt delightful as it hit my skin. I immediately felt relaxed. I don't know if it was the excessive lack of sleep, the scotch, or the sun but I fell asleep.


I woke upon hearing the sound of an aluminum can opening. I soberly opened my eyes immediately a little confused. I had remove my sunglasses in order to make sure my eyes weren't deceiving me. I had a visitor.

"Hey darlin', want a beer?" he said with a smile. I laughed.

"Hell yeah!" He tossed me one and I opened it. "What brings you here, lovely ex-husband of mine?"

"Just wanted to see your beautiful face…."

"And?"

"Well seeing that body is nice too," he joked motioning to my bikini clad body.

"And?"

"Alright, alright, you caught me. I came to check in on you."

"I'm fine, Steve. Thank you for your concern."

"Bullshit. I saw that display of yours on Raw. You were an absolute animal the way you tore into DiBiase. That rage only breaks out of you when you are beyond pissed. I know something is going on with you," he said seriously.

"I'm sorry for creating such a disturbance on your show. I just lost my cool for a moment. More importantly, I have it under control. No worries, Steve."

"Is it that Punk kid? I will not hesitate to open a can of whoop ass on him," he said testily.

"It's complicated really."

"Well spill it. sweetheart."

"Fine. He wants to continue dating me but get this, he asked me for a pause."

"What the hell is a damn pause?"

"A break. He wants me to decide whether or not I want to continue the relationship. Punk is convinced that I'm not 'all in'," I spat a little angrily.

"Maybe that man is smarter than I thought," Steve mused with a small chuckle.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I demanded. I was a little taken back by his response. It wasn't what I would have expected from him.

"It means that Punk is right. You aren't fully, completely in the relationship. You honestly think you are, I believe that fully. You just don't realize that there is a small portion of you that isn't in it, that holds out."

"Hold out for what?" Steve shot me a look. "For what?"

"Like you don't know…." he said shaking his head.

"Is this about Wade?"

"Bingo!"

"Its always about Wade with you. You blame him for too much," I said defending my best friend.

"With all due respect, as the man who was married to a woman who wasn't all in, I'm an expert." This time it was me who shot him a look. "It's true. At first I thought it would go away but it didn't. Over time it eats at you. It's hard to be with somebody who always puts you second. In your heart Wade was always number one."

"I didn't put you second!"

"At first you did. Then you make decisions putting me first but then I always felt like you resented me for it, especially after you guys stopped talking after that fight. You blamed me for the rift in your friendship. I blamed him for the rift in our marriage. There was a lot of resentment. Punk is smart to put it all out there now. It'll save you both time and hurt in the long run."

"I guess you might be right. So I should let Punk loose?" I asked him sadly.

"Probably, unless you find a way to rectify the Wade problem."

"How can I rectify that? He's not a problem."

"Can I be honest with you?"

"I don't see why not?" I said with a nervous giggle. I had no idea what this honesty would reveal.

"When we decided to divorce, I was devastated. I didn't know what I was going to do next. But you, I thought I knew exactly what you were going to do next…."

"Which was?"

"I honestly thought that within a year of our divorce being finalized, I'd receive your engagement announcement. I was preparing to get this card declaring what I already knew, that you and Wade belonged together," he said gently.

"What? That is ridiculous! I had no intention of doing that after our divorce. It took me a long time to date after that. You are a tough act to follow," I said giving his hand a squeeze. A smile crossed his lips.

"Don't you forget it!" he joked. "But seriously, why hasn't anything occurred between the two of you? As much as it pains me to admit it, you guys seem perfect for each other…"

"Well we hadn't ever gone there to even know if there was anything beyond friendship there…" I said wistfully.

"Hadn't? So that means you have now?" Steve asked seriously.

"After Raw on Monday I went drinking with Randy and everybody's favorite Irishman…" I began slowly. "They said that you never know if you have that sizzle with somebody unless you've kissed them. After we came back to the hotel, I wasn't tired so I went for a walk. Somehow, I ended up knocking on Wade's door. He answered and then out of nowhere, I laid a kiss right on him! I'm kind of mortified."

"Well what did he do when you kissed him?"

"What do you mean what did he do?" I spat a little irritated. He obviously wasn't getting the seriousness of this problem.

"Nicolette, did he look repulsed or did he kiss you back?" I was silent a moment. I replayed the encounter in my head.

"I…I guess he kissed me back. Oh…my…god…he kissed me back," I said and then it dawned on me. He didn't mind me drunkenly throwing myself at him.

"There you go! He seems in. I guess it just comes down to you. Do you wanna make a go of it?"

"It was just a kiss. It doesn't mean he's in love with me or anything. Besides, he is dating Layla right now. So nothing is going to happen," I said decisively.

"That's not the Nicolette I know," he said shaking his head.

"What do you mean? I'm being a mature adult."

"No, you are bitching out. I'm not saying this as your ex-husband, but as your friend. The Nicolette I know, knows what she wants and goes for it, balls to the wall. She doesn't sit her dwindling her thumbs wondering if she should do something. Things have already become odd between you. What do you really have to lose?" Steve challenged. I gritted my teeth. He was right and he knew it.

"I'll keep that in mind I guess," I said cryptically. He smiled knowing I wouldn't admit how right he was.

"That's all I ask. I just want you to be happy just like I am."

"I appreciate that Steve. You are such a sweetheart."

"Don't go spreading that around, I have an image to protect," he said with a wink.

We said our goodbyes and he headed on home. He'd given me a lot to think about. I just had to decide what I was willing to do. I had so much to consider: me, Punk, and Wade. I didn't want anybody to get hurt but in the end didn't we all deserve happiness? I had a lot on my shoulders at this moment. Time to put on my big girl panties and deal with it…


I just want to thank you all for being so patient and such great readers. You guys are awesome! We are in the home stretch for this story, only two more chapters left! So keep reading and see what happens to Nicolette and don't forget to comment to let me know what you think!