Fifty-Two

Shelton helped Celina into their hotel room at the end of the night. She was still a little bit loopy from all the sedation that accompanied her nose injury. She could barely walk a straight line. Shelton held her still and helped her into her pajamas as she slurred on about how Michelle was going to pay when she got back to SmackDown. Shelton put the nightgown on over her head and slid it down before leading her to the bed. He had her sit on the side as she babbled incoherently while he moved the pillows so that she was elevated. As it was, it was going to be difficult for her to sleep since she breathed through her nose. He gently guided her back to the pillow and tucked her in. She was out like a light in an instant. He smiled, leaning down to place an affectionate kiss on her forehead before he went to get ready for bed. It was going to be a fun flight with her tomorrow with her nose in such rough condition.

The phone rang and Shelton exhaled; he was pretty sure he knew who that was. He rushed over and picked it up. "Benjamin."

"What the fuck happened?"

"Hello to you, too, Mark," Shelton replied. Mark sucked in a breath. Shelton wasn't sure if it was because of his remark or a jolt of pain that may have rocked through his surgically repaired hip.

"Hello, Shelton. What the fuck happened? Is she all right? Let me talk to her."

"She's fine, Mark. She's passed out. She's sedated into oblivion." He shook his head. "I think the fucking bitch did it on purpose."

"I think so, too," Mark replied. "Do you know what the game plan is?"

"I'm not sure. Vince is holding a meeting with Dr. Rios and we'll have word tomorrow if they're going to keep her on TV or not."

"I saw Glen help her out of the ring."

"It was fucking pandemonium backstage when her nose got crunched," Shelton replied, "I had a hell of a time getting to her when she got backstage. I'm amazed Glen got out there as soon as he did." He shook his head. "She's so out of it though."

"You'll let her know I called, right?"

"You know it, Mark. Are you home?"

"Not for another couple days...thank God for cell phones."

"How are you feeling?"

"Like shit, but the doc says once that passes, I'll feel great. It'll be a little while though." He paused. "You coming out this week too?"

"I was thinking about it. Are you sure that you're cool with that?"

"Why the fuck not?" Mark asked. "Anyway, Celina could use some more time with me. You know her birthday's next week right?"

Shelton blinked. "I didn't know that."

"What? She didn't tell you?"

"Evidently not."

"Well, Shelton, you and I got a party to plan." Shelton smirked and sat down on the couch, and began to make plans while Celina slept peacefully on the bed. When he finished talking to Mark, he hung up. He was exhausted. He looked over at Celina on the bed, her face covered in a protective mask, her hair fanned out over the elevated pillows. She looked like his injured angel. He smirked at the thought and went into the bathroom to take a shower and change into his pajamas.

He didn't think it was possible to find somebody like Celina. Since they had gotten together, they hadn't fought, everything seemed to just flow between them. And she was a hell of a cook; he had to admit that he ate a whole lot better than he did with Alexa. Making dinner at home was always their special time together, where they just had fun and got creative. The fact that he got to travel with her all the time made things great between them, too. There was never the suspicions of him cheating, or her cheating, and the fact they were going to move her to ECW to be with Glen only meant that they were going to have more time together at the tapings, and still have the same schedule.

He got into his pajamas and brushed his teeth. He understood that it wasn't easy for Mark and Celina. No matter how close they were, there was always somebody there telling them there was something more there. Shelton would be the first to admit he had his pangs of jealousy from time to time with Mark and Celina; he only dreamed of her being that close with him. And she and Mark would be perfect together if it ever happened because they had such a deep understanding of one another. But he knew that Celina was an honest woman, and when she looked at him with those blue eyes and said that the window of opportunity had passed for the two of them, he believed it.

He felt for Mark. She was a perfect woman, beautiful, understanding, charsimatic, stubborn, strong, and the best friend he'd ever have. But being her best friend opened him up to whispers and speculation. Michelle had absolutely lost her fucking mind the first time she had seen Celina hug Mark. And it had opened a can of worms that had almost ripped the two apart. Shelton knew better; any issue he had with anything he went to Celina first and they talked it out, and it usually had nothing to do with Mark. He knew that the last thing he could ever do was make Celina choose between him and Mark, because in the end, he just wouldn't win it. Plain and simple. And he wouldn't expect anything else from Celina. Mark was part of the package; to love Celina, you have to get past Mark...and so far he seemed to be doing a good job.

He checked his reflection in the mirror. He was bagged, and it was obvious. The constant flying and time zone changes didn't bother him too much, but there were definitely days where it caught up with him. And with the chaos of Celina getting her first major in-ring injury and the traveling from coast to coast, today was definitely one of those days when it all caught up to him.

Shutting out the light, he went back into the bedroom area and crawled into bed with Celina. Just sleeping beside her was the best part of being with her. He just felt so comfortable around her. It had taken a while for her to stop using the spare room at his place, but the first night she had slept in his bed beside him, he had held her tightly, as though he were afraid she was going to disappear. Every night he curled up close to her and held her tightly, watching her sleep until his eyes finally shut for the night. And tonight was no different.