It's just a month Mickie. You can endure the torture of seeing them together for a months worth of live events… right? I took a deep breath and glanced across the gym once more, where Randy and Laura were both working out. Ugh could I be more pathetic? Fine, I had to witness the man I love with another woman but did I have to publicly show how much it affected me? I released a sigh and gave up on the set of squats I had appointed myself to do and bent down to scoop up my water bottle. Looking back over to the "happy couple" I couldn't help the longing that had crept in.

"As much as I would like to laugh, I just feel pity."

Looking up I found Phil had approached me without my realizing it and now was glancing back and forth between Randy and me.

"I have really started to dread PPV's lately because it means I have to see you," I teased, giving him a brief hug.

"How have you been?" he asked quietly, gesturing subtly in the direction of Randy and Laura.

I offered him a small smile, "I've been okay. It's hard, but I'm trying."

"That's what's important. You'll get through this Mickie. You're strong and independent and you have friends that love you."

I nodded my head, "I know," I said confidently, "and that's my main focus besides getting back my divas title of course."

"It's only a matter of time but Melina certainly isn't going to give it up easily," he grinned.

"I'm always up for a challenge," I said, grinning up at him.

"Hey listen, I gotta head to the arena soon. Hopefully I see you later but if not good luck against Michelle tonight."

"Thanks Punk, good luck to you too," I winked playfully and watched him leave before turning my attention back to my current entertainment across the gym.

I was surprised when I found Randy was also staring in my direction and my eyes locked with his. I couldn't bring myself to look away until I felt a second pair of eyes on me and shifting my focus slightly I found Laura looking at me as well, obviously wondering why Randy hadn't been listening to her.

"Oops," I muttered, offering the smallest of smiles before turning towards the door to make my exit only to end up colliding with the metal weight machine I had completely disregarded until that exact moment.

The impact knocked me off my feet and the moment I hit the floor I became fully aware of the pounding in my head. I was feeling dizzy as I clutched my head, wincing in pain as my eyes started to water. That certainly was not one of my finer moments.

"Mickie! Mickie are you okay?" the voice sounded distant, and opening my eyes I took in the blurry figure of Randy Orton.

Now I wish I were dead because he had obviously just seen that.

"Mickie…?"

After a few seconds my vision started to become clearer and he came into focus, the worried expression noticeable on his face.

"Mickie are you–"

"Yeah," I cut him off, "I'm fine. More than anything I'm embarrassed," I muttered, attempting to get to my feet.

Randy took my hand and placed his other one on my arm and pulled me to my feet, making sure I was steady before he released me. I didn't even know what to say so I turned my attention on the figure next to me.

"Graceful," Laura spoke sarcastically before releasing a sigh, "Are you alright?"

"I–" I looked back at Randy again, still unsure of how I was going to recover from this nightmare, "I'm fine… excuse me."

Turning I rushed away from the both of them and didn't stop until I was safely in the elevator. Great, just another experience to add to my list of pathetic moments that seemed to be growing steadily longer as of late. It made me wonder why life was so intent on torturing me.

"Hey James… whoa what happened to your head?" Ted asked, rushing over to me when he took in my appearance as I stepped into our room.

"What?" I gasped, rushing past him towards the mirror above the TV. "Oh my god!" I shrieked, staring at the red lump in the middle of my forehead.

"What happened?" he asked again, turning me around to face him.

I gently placed my hand over my forehead and narrowed my eyes, "Stop staring at it!" I hissed.

Ted grinned, "It's hard to miss from where I'm standing."

"I hate you," I scowled.

He chuckled, "So are you going to tell me what happened?"

"No! But what I am going to do is figure out how to cover this up!"

I stalked over to the bathroom and opened my makeup case to test and see if I was going to be able to cover this up when I applied my makeup later. I applied some concealer to the area, various layers in fact, but it still didn't hide it completely. Sighing I looked up in the mirror to see Ted had joined me in the bathroom, a curious look on his face.

"What?" I growled.

Sighing once more I rolled my eyes, "I collided with an exercise machine," I muttered, purposely avoiding eye contact.

"Why the hell would you do that?" he crossed his arms.

Rolling my eyes yet again, "I didn't do it on purpose!"

"So what happened?" he asked, confused.

"I saw Randy," I grumbled.

"So you decide to run into an exercise machine? Smooth move."

"I forgot it was there and I got distracted," I explained.

"By looking at Randy?" he asked causing me to narrow my eyes at him, "What? I'm just trying to make sense of this," he spoke, following me out of the bathroom.

"Well please by all means analyze my pathetic flaws, I don't mind," I spoke sarcastically.

"It is my favourite pastime," he grinned down at me.

I punched him on the shoulder playfully and offered him a small smile before turning to face the door when I heard it open.

"Hey guys Randy wants to– whoa! Ted what did you do to her?" Cody exclaimed, staring directly at the bump on my forehead before turning back to Ted.

Turning to face Ted I noticed he was giving Cody hand gestures telling him to shut up, but he was too late.

"Oh great!" I complained before rushing into the bathroom and closing the door behind me.

After staring at myself in the mirror – unsuccessful at making the bump go away by merely staring at it – I decided to take a shower to calm my nerves. Damn, I needed to get control over myself! The last thing I needed was to be making a fool of myself in front of Randy and making myself more vulnerable. I had enough problems as it was I didn't need pity – from myself or others – on top of it.

"Mickie are you okay?" I looked up from straightening my hair to see that both Ted and Cody were staring at me, a look of worry on both of their faces.

"Um… yeah," I smiled while finishing up the last section of my hair and styling my bangs to my liking.

"No Mickie I mean are you okay?" Ted asked.

I turned the switch on the flat iron to off before turning to face the men of Legacy with my arms folded across my chest, "Uh I believe I answered your question the first time you asked," I said, purposely being evasive.

"Mickie…" Cody sighed, indicating this conversation was about to get serious, "What are you doing?"

"Okay if we're going to play this game maybe you should be a little more precise," I said, irritated at their lack of clarification.

They exchanged glances, which only deepened my aggravation until Ted took a step forward, "You're not fooling anybody. Why are you even attempting this whole friends with Randy thing? Why are you purposely hurting yourself? You don't owe him anything Mickie."

"Ted I–"

"I'll tell you why," Cody interrupted me, taking a few steps forward, not removing his scrutinizing eyes from my face, "She thinks she's doing us a favour."

"What do you mean?" Ted asked.

Cody ignored him and positioned himself directly in front of me, "Mickie we appreciate you thinking about us and I won't lie and say these past couple months haven't been hard, but this isn't about us. This is about you…" he reached out and grabbed my hands in his, "…doing what's best for yourself."

I released a soft sigh and turned away from him, folding my arms across my chest once more. After a few seconds I abandoned that stance and raked a hand through my newly straightened hair.

"Mickie we just want–"

"This isn't just about you guys, mostly yes," I whirled back to face the both of them, "but it's also about me. I have spent," I released another sigh because of the emotion that had seeped into my tone, "the last several years wallowing in self pity. I thought I had gotten over what happened but if I've learned anything over the last several months it's that I'm never going to heal… at least not fully. I've been a shadow of who I truly am for three years and I'm so exhausted with the effort. I'm tired of hiding from my life and dealing with this in the wrong way. I need to take control of my future and handle all of this in the mature, adult way."

"Mickie we're just saying that it's unnecessary to hurt yourself purposely."

"Ted, it's my job. I can't exactly cut him out of my life! But what I can do is handle this entire situation with as much dignity as I can."

I inhaled deeply, allowing the air to seep out of me as I searched both of their concerned faces, "It's gonna hurt… like hell. Every time I see him it's a reminder of what I'm missing in my life. But I don't have a choice. Randy and I discussed our problems and no they aren't solved, but it's a step forward in the right direction. And that is so much more than we had three months ago."

I took a step forward and grasped Ted's hand in mine and motioned for Cody to give me his hand so I could take it in my other.

"I can do this you guys," I surveyed Cody's face and then Ted's before allowing a small smile on my face, "I can because I have something else this time as well."

"What?" Ted asked.

The smile on my face grew as I released his hand and reached up to place it on the side of his face gently, "I have the both of you."

I looked up at Cody who was smiling down at me and gave his hand a gentle squeeze.

"You guys have been by my side no questions asked this entire time. I can do anything with you two in my life. And no matter what I will always be here for you."

"We don't doubt that Mickie. The same goes for us for you," Ted assured me, pulling me in for a brief embrace.

"But Mickie you have to promise us you'll do what's right for you. Stop putting everyone else before yourself and take the time to think if this is truly what you want. That's all I have left to say… just think about it okay?" Cody said before offering me a hug as well.

I pulled away from him, "For the first time in what feels like an eternity, I feel as if I'm going to be okay. There's no getting over him, but I have the opportunity to progress to a healthy state in my life. And it may seem impossible to be friends with him, and right now it is, but it can't always be that way. I need to have hope… because if I don't then I don't have anything," I said the last part more as a way to convince myself it was the truth.

"Anything you need we're here and we'll get through it together," Ted assured me.

"I know," I smiled up at them once more before turning and heading over towards my suitcase. "Hey Cody you mentioned something about Randy when you walked in."

"Oh yeah, he wanted to stop off and get something to eat before the arena… together."

"Is uh… Laura gonna be there?"

"Where's this mature Mickie James we've been hearing so much about," Ted teased.

"Hey, baby steps!" I said sternly.

"No just the four of us," Cody informed me.

"I can do that," I said with a smile while deciding on an outfit – a pair of skinny jeans and a cute sapphire blue top.

"Hey guys?" I turned to face them just before entering the washroom.

"Yeah?"

"I don't want either of you to ever feel as if you need to choose between us because that's exactly what we're trying to avoid. He's your friend and I'm your friend and it's going to stay that way."

"We're not concerned about us," Cody responded, "Just do what's best for you."

"You know," I leaned against the doorframe, "before I actually knew either of you, I never would have pictured you two to be as sweet, loyal and as supportive as the both of you are."

Cody grinned, "That's precisely why you don't judge a book by its cover."

"Wait why not? With one glance in the mirror I can tell how awesome I am," Ted reasoned.

Cody rolled his eyes, "Clearly you have a problem with your eyesight."

Chuckling to myself I entered the bathroom and closed the door behind me. I meant every word of what I had said; the hard part was sticking to it. I wasn't stupid. Things weren't going to magically work themselves out at the snap of a finger. It was going to be hard work, and enduring a lot of emotional pain, but no one ever said life was going to be easy.

CFY

No life certainly wasn't making things easier for me. Of course I didn't expect things to be easier, like I've said a million times, but I didn't expect to feel this way. I felt self-conscious sitting in a normal restaurant, with my normal friends, in a normal way. Sure, Randy was at the table but come on I was going to need to get over this at some point… right?

The only reason I was complaining was because these feelings were starting to get worse as opposed to… better. I was capable of looking Randy in the eye for a total of two seconds before I felt like crawling in a hole and dying. What was worse was that I had a feeling both Ted and Cody were quite aware of this fact, okay Cody was as Ted seemed to be oblivious to anything but himself at the moment.

"So what did you guys get me for Christmas?" Ted asked.

"You don't deserve anything so I didn't get you anything," Cody responded.

"Seriously have you not been getting laid recently? Because a girlfriend is supposed to pander to your every need… sexual or otherwise. You see Maryse has never let me down, so you just let us know if Eve isn't getting the job done and we'll find you someone more approp–"

"Ted?" Cody interrupted.

"Yeah man?"

"Shut up!" the brunette exclaimed, smacking him across the back of his head.

I smiled and heard Randy chuckle next to me. Turning I met his eyes briefly and then looked away even quicker, setting my sights on Ted. I thought sitting next to him would decrease the eye contact but no, apparently that's not how it works.

"God I can't believe I might be forced to become tag team champions with him tonight. Maybe I'll make us lose on purpose," Cody complained.

"You didn't just say that," Randy said disapprovingly.

"Yes I did so you can get the idea of just how much I hate Ted."

"But it's not worth–"

"Excuse me?" I was interrupted by a soft voice and turning to my left I took in the form of a petite blonde girl, no more than seventeen years old. "You guys are the Legacy… right?" she asked shyly.

I smiled up at her, "Yes we are. I'm going out on a limb here to say you're a fan and not someone who wants to dump their beverage on us."

"Someone did that?" her eyes widened.

"Yes a few months ago… Ted was pretty upset that his hair got ruined," I teased, reminiscing on that moment and how I had to restrain Randy from taking action against the hateful fan.

"Wow what a jerk!" she exclaimed, "I'm a huge fan! Originally of Randy… and then Ted and Cody but when they added you to Legacy I was so ecstatic. I mean of course it would've made more sense to incorporate someone like Nattie Neidhart who is a third generation diva… I don't know if you knew that… but I love you even more! So I was like so…." I think it was at that moment that she realized she was rambling, "…excited," she finished quietly and laughed nervously.

I looked at Ted who was regarding her in a judgemental way, as if she was crazy or something, Cody who seemed more interested in finishing the food on his plate and Randy who seemed to be amused by the entire situation.

I turned back to face her, "Are you coming to the show tonight?"

"Oh my god yes! I got tickets for my birthday and I was actually here picking up food for me and my friends so we can eat before we go and then I saw you! I think its fate," she gushed and then turned serious, "I'm so sorry for interrupting you but I would regret this forever if I didn't come say hi."

"What do you say guys, can you be bothered to say hello?" I asked, sending Ted a stern glare which he didn't see because he was still staring at her judgementally.

I nudged Randy because no one said anything. He cleared his throat, "Hey what's up?" he extended his hand across me for her to shake.

She took it excitedly and apparently didn't want to let go, "Sorry… I ramble and act weird when I'm nervous. I promise I'm not like this normally."

"No judgement here," I laughed. "And you know Ted DiBiase and Cody Rhodes."

"Hey, what's your name?" Cody asked, offering his hand for her to shake as well.

"Nicole," she shook his hand eagerly, "And you are Ted," she extended her hand once more but he was still staring at her.

"Ted… Ted!" I said through gritted teeth, kicking his leg under the table.

"Ow you bit… oh right. I'm Ted," he shook her hand reluctantly as well.

"So… you two are dating right?" she turned and looked back and forth between me and Randy.

Really! It's been three fricken years!

"Um…" I looked back at Randy, feeling my cheeks turn hot before turning back to face Nicole, "No. We used to… but not anymore."

"Ohh… my gosh. I am so sorry. I've just seen pictures… recent ones of you guys and it just seemed like you were… This is… awkward."

"You have no idea," I muttered, taking a swig of my water.

"I'm just gonna go now…" she said, turning to walk away.

"Don't be silly, you don't have to go," I said, receiving questioning looks from both Ted and Cody. I shrugged my shoulders.

"Really?" she asked. "I mean I don't expect to hang out with you," she chuckled nervously, "I was actually wondering if… I could get a picture with all of you."

I smiled at her once more, "You're in luck, Ted here can't deny a picture if he's invited to be in it," I teased.

"Yeah so let's force him to take it," Cody spoke up.

"No!" Ted argued, "My face was made to be on camera."

"The camera makes you look fat," Cody said casually.

"I'm insulted! Make Mickie take it. That bump on her head has taken on a life of its own… trust me she doesn't want any record that it existed."

"Ted!" I exclaimed, forced to reminisce on the nightmare that had taken place only a couple of hours earlier.

"What? It's bulbous… sort of hard to miss," he shrugged his shoulders.

"We can ask someone else to take it," Nicole said excitedly, "I would love a picture with all of you."

"Perfect!" I said, climbing up off my chair and gesturing the waitress over so I could ask her politely if she would be willing to take the picture. We all lined up, Nicole in the middle, Randy and me on one side and Ted and Cody on the other. Excitedly she threw her arms around all of us in turn before turning back to face me and Randy.

"I think it's really cool you guys managed to stay friends after breaking up. God knows I feel like killing my ex-boyfriend sometimes!" she said shyly before turning and hurrying away towards the till.

"It's because we work together!" I shouted after her despite knowing she couldn't have heard me.

"Wow," Cody spoke.

"Definitely one of the more interesting fans I've experienced in awhile," I admitted, smiling at how happy it made her just to get a picture with us.

"That sort of stuff never happened before," Cody said.

"Fans have never come up to you?" I questioned.

"No of course they have. Girls seem to never want to leave us alone… but we would never stand up and get a picture with them at least not while we were eating. I mean Randy hates it when they do that… thinks it's rude or something."

"Well it is rude in a way," Randy defended himself. "I mean I don't go up to other people when they're trying to eat."

"You're a public figure Randy… it's sort of something you signed up for when you decided to become a sports entertainer," I told him.

"I didn't sign up for people harassing me all the time."

"It comes with the job," I responded.

"She was… odd," Ted said, apparently oblivious to anything that had just been said.

"She was not odd, she was excited," I explained, sending him a glare.

"She invaded my personal space," he argued.

"Since when do you care about your personal space? Last I checked that was Randy's 'thing' and he doesn't seem to be whining about it," I said, resisting the urge to roll my eyes.

"Since I have a girlfriend and I'm off the market," he said smugly.

"You all have girlfriends and I don't see Cody and Randy complaining like little bitches!"

"God are you on your period? You are extra bitchy today!" he complained, sending me a judgemental glare.

"And you're extra irritating today so can you blame me?" I scowled, annoyed at his attitude.

"Nope I don't blame you," Cody started, finishing off the last of his meal, "Sometimes I like to pretend Ted doesn't exist."

"You know you say that now but all three of you know you wouldn't last a day without me," he responded bitterly.

"Oh I think you'd be genuinely surprised at what we could accomplish if you weren't in our way," Cody replied confidently.

"I would love to stay here and chat," Randy started, "but I have bigger and better things to do tonight," he finished, irritated by the current conversation.

"Okay let's get going. I vote we leave Ted here," Cody suggested.

"I second that," I agreed, sending Ted another death glare.

"Randy old pal, you wouldn't leave me would you?" Ted asked, looking up into the eyes of the Viper.

"No but only because I would have to hear you bitch about it down the road," he muttered, pushing his chair back and climbing to his feet. He pulled his wallet out of his back pocket and placing a fifty dollar bill down on the table, he took another sip of his drink before heading towards the door.

I climbed to my feet after him, "You got told Ted," I said childishly before turning and following the Viper out the door.

CFY

After a gruelling match with Michelle McCool where I didn't win the women's title because of Layla's interference, I was back out at ringside to support Ted and Cody during their tag title match against Jeri-Show. The last time they had won their titles it was against these two so I was hoping they would be successful again. But at the moment, Big Show was firmly in control of the match.

"Come on Ted!" I shouted, pounding my hand on the canvas.

I paced back and forth on the Legacy side of the ring, nervous about the direction the match was heading. It was weird that tonight, two out of three of Legacy's matches were heel vs. heel ones. It was me vs. Michelle earlier, who was one of the top heels in the women's division and Ted and Cody vs. Jeri-Show who were on another heel run in their careers.

It didn't happen often, but when it did it was usually ego vs. ego, at least in the case of myself and Michelle. These sort of feuds didn't last for long, maybe a couple of weeks at the most unless creative saw something special in it. But mostly heel vs. heel feuds were a no because it forces the fans to choose who they like more and to ultimately cheer for them. And if you're being cheered for, you're hardly considered a heel.

Yes! Ted tagged in Cody while Big Show tagged in Jericho. Both men battled for the upper hand while their partners recuperated on the outside. It was only five minutes later, after Ted and Cody were able to double team the Big Show and then execute 'Dream Street' so that Ted could secure the win.

I screamed with happiness and slid into the ring to throw my arms around Ted's neck. The ref handed them their titles and we raised our hands in celebration! Legacy was back on the road to the top!

"Congratulations DiBiase!" I exclaimed, hugging him briefly once more as we walked along the corridors in the back.

"Can you believe this? Four time tag team champions!" Cody exclaimed, a grin plastered on his face.

"I had no doubts that you could do it!" I stated, giving him a tight squeeze.

"Don't worry Micks, I have faith you'll bring the title home soon," he said with confidence.

"Until that time, let's celebrate the gold we do have!" Ted suggested, giving another shout of triumph.

Apart from my loss to Michelle, the night went in favour of Legacy because Randy had also won his match against Kofi. Both men were such gifted athletes, and managed to work well in the ring together both bringing different styles to the table. The match was a treat for anybody to watch, but because Randy had won it was that much sweeter.

"So what do you say to going out?" Ted asked, wrapping an arm around my waist as he led me in the direction of the exit.

"Why? Do we have plans?" I asked, reaching out to shove the door open. I had to wrap my arms around my body, because it was a bit colder than I would have liked.

Cody answered my question, "Well Maryse decided to set up a celebration for the evening at a club she's apparently heard great things about."

"Wow she seems to hear great things about a place in every city we perform in," I responded.

"What can I say, she's a social butterfly," Ted said proudly, fishing the car keys out of his pocket at the same time and throwing them in the air so Cody could catch them.

"I do recall a certain comment from Cody about not going out drinking after a PPV because we have Raw the next night," I reminded them as I pulled open the back door – not feeling up to fighting for shotgun – and climbed inside just as Cody brought the car to life.

"Well I don't expect either of you to be drinking, so that won't be a problem. Besides, we won the tag team titles… I think a celebration is in order!"

I had to smile at his enthusiasm, "Fine! But I'm only going for an hour or so."

"Fair enough," Ted grinned back at me before turning to face the front of the car once more as Cody set course back to the hotel.

A half an hour later, I was receiving angry texts from Ted and Cody, who were both downstairs in the lobby, because I was taking too long to meet them. After sending an angry one back, telling them they can't rush perfection, I stumbled to the door and pulled the door closed behind me aggressively, not wanting to give them a chance to leave me behind.

I had only made it a few steps down the hall towards the elevator when I spotted a familiar figure stepping off the elevator to head in my direction.

"Hey," I said softly, stopping and waiting for him to approach me.

"Hey back," Randy grinned down at me. "Where are you off to looking all fancy?"

"I'm being dragged out to a club with the 'gang'," I did the air quotes. "But I will be making a quick exit after making an appearance."

"Since when do you like to make a quit exit from a bar?" he teased.

I smiled up at him, "I'm the new and improved Mickie James… sort of. I'm still trying to polish the rough edges." There was a silence as neither of us knew what to say, "So what are you up to then?"

"Oh not much, just hanging out… celebrating my win with peace and quiet."

"I'm jealous. I lose my match and I'm still forced to celebrate. How fair is that!"

He chuckled, "Legacy did win back the tag titles, I do believe that's reason enough to go out and celebrate."

"Funny you should say that considering you're locking yourself up in your room tonight," I teased, punching him playfully on the shoulder.

"Well you know me… anti-social and all…"

"Yeah if only I believed that. Anyway, you should stop by. I can't claim it's going to be fun, but it has to be better than sitting around doing nothing."

"Actually…" he trailed off. "I… well Laura is waiting for me so…"

"Oh right!" I said, a little too high pitched for my liking. God why didn't I think this through? Where's Ted when you need him for a distraction? "Well why don't you invite her to come… it'll be… fun…" It was me who trailed off this time and the moment the words came out of my mouth I instantly regretted them.

"You're kidding right?"

"Of course not! We're friends right? I mean… me and you of course because me and Laura… well I just don't see that working. But you're my friend and she's your girlfriend and I think everyone needs to get used to that… you know introduce her to everyone," I rambled, not finding the ability to shut up.

"Everyone? She knows the only people I actually care about… you, Ted and Cody," he said hesitantly.

"Yes well if she's going to be dating a WWE superstar she needs to get to know everyone!" Oh god Mickie would you just shut up for your own sake?

"You think so?"

"…Absolutely!"

Well there's no going back now otherwise I would just look like a fake, and that was something I was trying to avoid. I was sure Randy could really see how I was feeling, but I was going to keep this act up even if it killed me.

"Well I'll think about it…" he responded.

"Great, do you know the place everyone is talking about?"

"Yeah Ted and Cody told me earlier. Well I'll see if Laura wants to come and if not then I'll text you, but if she does we'll be down in ten. I'm actually really glad you–"

"Well perfect!" I exclaimed, forcing a smile onto my features, "Hopefully we see you downstairs then."

Before he could say anything more I rushed past him towards the elevator and didn't release the breath I was holding in until the doors came to a close. I had to take a few minutes to compose myself before I could step off the elevator and face the group of superstars, no doubt waiting for me, that consisted of Ted, Cody, Eve, Maryse, Kelly, Melina, John, Jomo and a handful of other superstars from both rosters.

"God Mickie do you think the world revolves around– what's wrong?" Ted asked quietly, making sure no one heard.

"Nothing," I smiled and greeted a few other superstars before turning back to receive 'the look' from Ted. "I ran into Randy and sort of accidentally invited him and Laura to come out with us…" I said under my breath, still forcing the smile.

"Why would you do that?" he asked judgementally.

I rolled my eyes, "I didn't do it on purpose!" I hissed, "It just sort of… came out."

"First you run into an exercise machine and then you invite him and his girlfriend, who you hate may I remind you, to come out with us. Randy Orton is going to be the death of you."

"Tell me about it," I grumbled.

"Or maybe your brain just got rattled from the collision this morning," he teased.

I laughed sarcastically and offered an eye roll but didn't dignify his response with an answer.

"Well is he coming?"

I pulled my phone out of my clutch to see I had no new text messages, "I'm going to guess so seeing as how he didn't text me like he said he would if he decided against coming. But maybe he forgot…" I said hopefully.

"Yeah I wouldn't get your hopes up," Ted said quietly.

"Why not?"

He cleared his throat and gestured subtly in the direction behind me, "Hey you two!" he exclaimed, walking past me towards what I assumed was the 'happy couple'.

Turning around I took in the forms of both Randy and Laura, the latter seeming a little hesitant but smiled when Ted greeted her. I knew Ted wasn't faking, but I also knew he wasn't a huge fan of Laura given everything that happened. But we all agreed we were going to be on our best behaviour, for Randy's sake mostly, but also because none of us actually knew Laura and it would be rude of us to prejudge her.

I waved slightly at them, exchanging a quick glance with Randy and I had a feeling he was trying to read my expression so I turned away quickly to talk to Maryse who was closest to me.

"Mickie, I am so sorry. I heard about the whole Mike thing," she said softly after I greeted her, "I never expected him to act that way, I guess he took the break up really hard."

I offered her a small smile, "It's not your fault," I assured her. "It's actually my fault, but it's also in the past. It's all just a bad memory."

"Still I feel partly responsible anyway."

"Well don't. I'm moving on from everything that's happened recently. I'm just happy things are good between you and Ted," I smiled, pulling her into a brief embrace.

"Ready to go?" Ted interrupted, receiving shouts of approval from everyone in the lobby as they all turned and filed out towards the various cabs waiting to take us to our destination. He wrapped an arm around my waist, "Are you ready?"

I chanced a glance towards Randy who had his arm slung over Laura's shoulder, "I need a drink," I muttered before following after the rest of my friends.

An hour later I was positioned on a stool at the bar, drinking tonic and lime, while not being able to take my eyes off Randy and Laura on the dance floor. He looked so… happy. It made me wonder if he ever looked that way when it was me and him on the dance floor in the past.

"It doesn't even compare to how he looks when he's with you."

I looked up as Ted took a seat on the stool next to mine. "How did you–"

"Mickie James, I may have known you for less than a year but I can read you like a damn book, especially when it comes to that man on the dance floor."

"Which man?" I teased.

He smiled and reached out to give me a comforting one armed hug, "You'll be okay James… I can guarantee it."

"I'm glad you have the confidence I seem to be lacking these days. But I know you're right DiBiase… I just wish that time would come sooner."

"That's life kid. The hard times are what make it worthwhile."

"Who knew you could be so insightful?" I teased, nudging him gently. "Where's Maryse?"

He shrugged his shoulders, "Bathroom I think…" he said uncertainly.

"Well go find her I'll be–"

I was interrupted by a man obstructing my view of the dance floor. Looking up I found a brunette in his late twenties dressed handsomely, smiling down at me.

"Hi?" I asked, unable to contain the smile growing on my lips at the cute one on his face.

"I have about a million pickup lines at my disposal but none of them seem to be appropriate for this situation."

"Smooth dude," Ted muttered, looking over I caught him rolling his eyes before he gestured that he was going to take his exit.

"Your boyfriend?"

"If he was do you really think he would have left me alone with you smiling at me the way you are?" I responded.

"Good point."

"So that pickup line you were referring to…?" I leaned back on the counter, finding myself insanely amused and beyond that attracted to the guy in front of me.

"Complete crap actually… I was hoping a simple suggestion that we should dance would suffice," he grinned down at me, the dimples on his cheeks growing more profound at the gesture.

I was about to decline when a quick glance to my left showed me Laura and Randy heading in this direction and I knew that I couldn't keep my life on pause forever. He had made his decision, now it was my time to stop hiding.

"Sure," I smiled up at him, "I'm Mickie."

"Brandon," he responded, holding his hand out for me to take.

Placing my empty glass down on the bar behind me, and ignoring the blue eyes I knew with confidence were positioned on me, I allowed him to lead me towards the dance floor. I enjoyed myself as much as I was capable of and danced with him to more than one song. He was a funny guy and on top of that he was charming and did I mention attractive?

But I couldn't help but feel guilty at the fact that deep down I knew I had only agreed to this because a part of me wanted to make Randy jealous. I hadn't actually looked to see if it had worked, because I was far too scared at what I might find if I looked in his direction. I looked up into the eyes of the man I had shamelessly used in order to make a man, who didn't even want me, jealous.

"Does this have anything to do with that guy who was staring daggers at us when I lead you towards the dance floor?" Brandon asked, surprising me at his insight. Could everyone read me that well?

"What guy?" I asked.

"The incredibly scary dude who looked like he was ready to take my head off at any second…"

I released a sigh that obviously couldn't be heard over the sound of the deafening music, "I'm sorry…"

I turned away from him and pushed my way through the throng of people until I cleared the dance floor and headed in the direction of the women's washroom. I didn't get very far until a hand snaked around my arm and whirled me around. I half-expected to see Randy, but I knew how foolish it was to even think he would confront me over something like this. Instead I took in the form of Brandon who still had a grip on my arm.

"Are you okay?" he asked, a look of concern crossing his face.

"Yeah," I tried to smile, but I'm sure it came out as a grimace. I knew I shouldn't have come out tonight. "I'm fine," I assured him.

"You don't look fine. Why don't you let me buy you a drink… and then we can find that friend of yours you were sitting with earlier. Come on, it's the least I can–"

He was cut off however when he was shoved to the ground almost taking me with him.

"What the– Randy!" I shouted, "What the hell are you doing?"

I had to step in front of him because his eyes were flashing dangerously with anger, and his face was contorted in rage.

"He had his hands on you!" he shouted at me, still looking at the guy behind me.

"We were dancing!" I shrieked.

"No just now!" he responded, clearly referring to when Brandon had turned me around to face him but didn't let go instantly.

"Oh my–" I couldn't even finish the sentence before I turned away from him, so I could help the fallen man to his feet.

I turned back to face Randy, my own anger boiling to the surface, "He was checking if I was okay!"

"It certainly didn't look like it!" Randy spat, not removing his gaze from the shocked man standing beside me.

"Yeah well you have a history of interpreting things the wrong way! Oh god Brandon I am so embarrassed. I'm terribly sorry!" I said, turning to face him.

"Don't worry about it… look I'm gonna go…" he muttered.

"That's probably a good… idea. Once again I'm so sorry…" I responded, and he merely nodded his head before taking his exit.

"Who the hell do you think you are?" I hissed, ignoring the few people who had stopped to watch us. Randy finally looked down at me.

"Mickie I'm sorry. I thought–"

"You thought what exactly!"

"I thought he was bothering you…"

"So you come rushing to my rescue! That is not your job… it hasn't been your job for almost four years! I don't need you to save me! You have a girlfriend, or have you forgotten?" I shouted.

"No of course I haven't … it was just a reflex that's all…" he responded.

I turned away, combing a hand through my hair and trying my best to ignore the emotion building inside of me, "What do you want from me Randy?" I pleaded, "Because you certainly aren't giving me the chance to move on. Am I supposed to wait around forever? Am I supposed to remain alone because you can't stand seeing me with someone else when I have to witness you with her?"

"No Mickie that's not what I–"

He stopped talking because Laura had approached from behind, a look of hesitance and uncertainty evident on her face. I looked up at Randy for a few more moments before turning and hurrying away from the both of them. I didn't have to walk far before I ran into Ted and Cody, looks of concern on both of their faces.

"Hey we saw what happened… are you okay?"

"I'm fine… I'm just getting tired of Randy's angry outbursts. I'm going to head back to the hotel alright?"

"We'll come with you–" Cody suggested.

"No!" I almost shouted. "I mean… I just want to be alone for awhile. I'll be okay I promise."

"Are you sure?" Ted asked hesitantly.

"I'm sure. I'll see you later," I responded, before continuing past them in the direction of the exit.

CFR

Sitting on my bed a half an hour later, I had my laptop out on my lap as I searched the internet for the supposed pictures of me and Randy. Ever since the fan from earlier had mentioned that the pictures she seen on the internet of us recently are what fuelled her assumption that Randy and I were dating, I couldn't get it off my mind. Sure enough when I searched up 'Randy Orton and Mickie James' on the image search engine, various pictures of us over the past few months came up. A lot were taken by fans or people on the streets, but some were from some events that a superstar or diva from the roster had uploaded onto the net.

What must people think? I mean there were a couple of Randy and I holding hands… and sure we could pass this off as sticking to our storyline but what about Laura, or mine and Randy's family… what were they going to think once they came across these pictures? We had been so careless… of course at the time I hadn't known Randy was single, but that doesn't change the reality of the situation. The pictures highlighted some of the happiest moments in my life, but they were just a reminder of everything I had lost.

Ted had come back to the room an hour later, and I had learned from him that Randy had left only shortly after I had. It was two in the morning, which was an inappropriate time to be visiting someone, but I needed to get this over with before I chickened out. I had spent the last hour going over in my head what had happened tonight, and everything that had happened the last several months. I found I only came to one conclusion this time… and it was going to hurt like hell.

I took a deep breath before reaching out and giving three short raps on the door in front of me. A few seconds later the door was pulled open and Randy came into view.

"Mickie…" he breathed, a look of surprise crossing his face. "Look about earlier, I'm sorry I don't know what I–"

"I–" I looked past him to see Laura exiting the bathroom and look at me questioningly, "Can I… talk to you… in private?" I asked. "Just for a moment."

"Yeah sure," he turned to look at Laura, "I'll just be a minute," he assured her before stepping out into the hall and closing the door behind him.

"Mickie I know I had no right to do what I did earlier and trust me when I say I'm so sorry. It's just so hard to let go of that undying need to protect you all the time," he said before I could get a word in.

"You can't keep doing this to me Randy – jerking me around and giving me false hope. I've had enough as it is and I don't need you pulling things like you did tonight." I looked down at my feet for a few moments before forcing myself to look into his eyes, "Look I thought I could do this. But… I can't. I'm sorry."

He released a sigh, "I had a feeling you were going to say that," he muttered. "Okay…" he rubbed the back of his head, seemingly searching for the right thing to say, "I mean we can't force this right?"

"No we can't because no matter how hard we try or how much we want this to, it's never going to work." I paused briefly before continuing, "I am sorry Randy. I wanted this to work. And I know it's only been a week... but it's only making everything worse. I can only endure so many moments of self-doubt before it becomes too much. For Ted and Cody's sake we can still hang out once in awhile, but beyond that we can't have anything other than a professional relationship. I mean… it shouldn't be hard considering you've all got girlfriends… right?" I asked, searching for any hint of reassurance on his face.

"Uh… yeah. Look I'm really sorry for putting you in this position," he spoke, the sincerity evident but not the reassurance I was hoping for.

I reached out and placed my hand on the side of his face. He closed his eyes at my touch.

"It's not your fault," I spoke softly, "I wanted all of this too and to be honest I wouldn't take any of it back. The pain will always be worth it with you."

We continued gazing into each others eyes for what felt like an eternity before I took a step forward and leaned up so I could place a soft kiss on his other cheek. I lingered for a few moments, my lips inches from his ear, "Goodbye," I whispered and avoiding his mesmerizing eyes I knew would be too painful to look into I turned away slowly and took the long trek back down the hall towards my room.

I wanted to look back, I knew he was still watching after me – I could feel his gaze, but I couldn't bring myself to do so. If I looked back then all of this would be real and all I wanted to do right now was crawl in my bed and sleep my sorrows away… even if it was for the time being.

Okay so there's chapter 53! I apologize sincerely from the bottom of my heart for taking so long to update recently! I've been busy with work, and trying to figure the rest of the story out. It's not much longer now so I hope you all are ready for it! I just want you all to be satisfied so bear with me.

Thanks so much for each and every review :) Please continue doing so and letting me know what you think.

I know this chapter wasn't all that great… but I'm trying! Thanks for sticking with me.

Ooh next chapter features the WWE Christmas party (a little far fetched, but hey that's fanfiction right ;) ) .

I'm pretty sure you guys will be surprised with the next chapter so stay tuned!