A/N: Thanks y'all for sticking with Claire and I until now. This one's a long one – buckle up xx

"Ready?"

Hell no, Claire thought to herself. She and Jon had just pulled up to the venue in Cleveland, where the meeting was going to be held at midday. The drive from Cincinnati had gone too quickly. Claire had been lost in her own thoughts, while Jon seemed to distract himself with music. With the backdrop of him singing along to 80s power ballads, she tried to recount the events of the last two weeks, and the last 24 hours. This time last week she had been a believer in the power of positivity, to borrow a phrase from The New Day; she was certain everything would work out fine. But now, her stomach flipping faster with every mile, she couldn't find that mind set. She was tired, upset, confused and angry. That's a bad combo. "I guess," she finally replied to Jon, trying to channel some confidence. His face told her he didn't believe her. "Hang on a second," he said, reaching into the back seat for his backpack. He mumbled to himself as he pulled out a few items, then turned back towards her with something in his hands. "This is for you," he said, handing her a soft velvet bag, Claire looked down at the bag, then back up at him, pulling the drawstrings open gently. She glanced down and caught a glimpse of something shiny. Oh my god. She let her fingers wrap around it and pulled it out of the bag. It was a thin, white gold bangle covered in diamonds. She rotated it in her fingers, taking in its beauty and seeing the sun catch on different angles. Holy shit, this is beautiful. "I picked it up yesterday. I kinda hoped it would take your mind off things," she heard Jon say. She looked up at him and he had a sheepish look on his face. "I don't really know what I'm doing in the jewellery department, but the lady told me it was simple, yet bright and elegant. And that made me think of you." Claire had to bite her lip to try and quell the tears in her eyes. "Jonny…" she said quietly, completely blown away. "It's stunning, I love it." She slipped it on her wrist and looked back at him. "Thank you so much, you didn't have to do that." He smiled sweetly at her. "You know I'm no good with words," he started, running a hand through his hair. "So this is my way of saying no matter what happens in that room today, I'm still all in." Claire felt her chest swell. And he thinks he doesn't have a way with words. "I love you," she managed to get out before leaning across to kiss him. He wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly for a few moments. "I love you too. Now let's kick some ass."

Given their early arrival, they were able to park close to the arena door. It was eerily quiet; usually when they arrived at a venue, there were trucks and security everywhere, with some early fans begging for attention. They made their way through the designated door and followed the signs to the room they had been advised. As they rounded the last corner, Claire was surprised to see Hunter, with Stephanie by his side. She was on the phone, but smiled at Claire through her conversation. Hunter gave Jon a firm nod in greeting, then turned to Claire. "It's been a while, Claire. How are you doing?" he asked her. "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous," she said, feeling her hands clam up. "That's to be expected," Hunter said. Is that meant to be calming? Because it didn't work. "I've got my fingers crossed for you," he added, and she smiled a thank you. "We better get going. We have a few things to iron out before the meeting. See you in there," he said, and started to walk away. Stephanie was just wrapping up her call, and pulled on her husband's arm to make him wait. As she hung up, she looked at Claire, her face not giving anything away. "It's good to see you, Claire," she said, before turning and walking with Hunter up the hall. "What was that about?" Jon asked in a whisper, as they were not yet out of ear shot. Claire didn't answer him, but smiled to herself. That's got me feeling a little better about things.

Liam Francis was waiting for them outside the room they had been asked to find. "Miss Harris, Mr Good," he greeted them. "I hope you're both well." Oh yes, we're just jolly, Claire thought, wondering why he'd even bother with the niceties. He opened the door and led them into the small room, which was furnished with a sofa, a small table and two chairs, with a view to the main road. "This is where we'd like you to base yourselves today. As you know, the meeting is scheduled for 12pm, so you're slightly early, but if you wait here, we'll come and get you when you're required, Miss Harris." Jon's face screwed up. "What about me?" he asked Liam flatly. "I understand you've come as moral support, Mr Good, which is excellent and definitely encouraged," Liam began. "However, we will not require your presence in the meeting this afternoon, so you're more than welcome to stay here until we have adjourned." No, Claire thought. I need him there. Jon scoffed. "Oh I'm welcome to stay here am I?" There was sarcasm and a borderline disrespectful tone to his voice. Claire placed a hand gently on his arm in an attempt to calm him. The last thing they needed was him losing his cool. Again. "Okay, so Jon stays here," she said. "But who is going to be present?" Liam cleared his throat. "Myself and Allison, Mr Henry, Mr Griffin and Mr Levesque," he reeled off. No Stephanie? And what about Lucy? "Stephanie won't be there?" she asked, revealing more panic in her voice than she intended. "No," Liam replied. "There's no reason for her to be, is there?" Not for anyone else's benefit, just mine. Claire shook her head. "I will be back in an hour or so to let you know we're ready," Liam said, before leaving the room. Claire slumped into the sofa and let her head fall back against the wall. 10.50, her watch told her. "I can't believe I have to stay here," Jon grumbled, leaning back against the table. "So don't," she replied. "It will drive you nuts sitting in here not knowing how long things are going to take. Go out, get a coffee, go for a run, call Roman or Cody and see where they're at. You'll need the distraction." She watched him shake his head adamantly. "No way. I'm going to be right here when you come out, so we can celebrate together." She smiled at his optimism, unsure if it was real or put on for her benefit. She didn't bother rebutting. She knew if roles were reversed she wouldn't be going anywhere either.

After what felt like forever, there was a knock at the door, and Liam reappeared. "Miss Harris, it's time," he said, and Claire couldn't help but feel a sense of foreboding in his tone. She nodded at him, and turned to Jon, who moved past her to push the door closed again. He put his hands on her shoulders and looked deep into her eyes. "You got this. Remember who the villains are," he said, before wrapping his arms around her. Claire let her head fall against his chest, and felt him kiss the side of her head. "Yeah," she said softly, pulling back to look at him. "I'll see you soon," she said, forcing a smile and hoping it was believable. He kissed her quickly, before opening the door for her. Claire took a quick look back at him over her shoulder before walking in silence next to Liam. She wobbled her head and rolled her shoulders quickly, trying to get herself in the zone. Professional. Formal. Confident. She repeated these words to herself until she felt a buzz in her pocket. She opened up a picture from Eden; she and Cody were in a car, waving and giving the thumbs up.
We're thinking of you. See you tonight xx
It helped to settle Claire's nerves a bit, reminding her of who was in her corner. When she looked up from her phone, she could see Zane waiting outside a door. She'd not seen him in a fortnight, when he loaded her into a cab. He smiled when he saw her. "Hey Claire. How you doing?" Why does everyone keep asking me that? She looked at him, forcing out a half smile, and sighed heavily. "Same here," he returned, and Liam led them both into the meeting room. There was a series of tables aligned to form a U shape, facing a large screen. Hunter was already seated, closest to the screen, and Liam directed Zane to sit opposite him. Claire was asked to sit next to Zane, and she wondered if this was a good thing or bad. She assumed, by the placement of glasses of water, that Carl would be sitting on the other side of Zane, and Liam and Allison to their right. There was an awkward silence while they waited for Allison and Carl, and Claire tried desperately to avoid eye contact with anyone. Professional. Formal. Confident, she chanted internally. But her trance was broken when Allison led Carl into the room. The sight of him made her heart pump harder with adrenalin. Even though she had to believe he was going to, use it against her – if he hadn't already - she still didn't regret slapping him last night. He could use another, judging by the smug look on his face.

Allison set up a dictaphone beside her, and Liam produced a notebook and pen. After a formal greeting thanking everyone for their time, Allison cut to the chase. "I am aware there are some heightened sensitivities around this case, which has accelerated within the past 24 hours, with new information coming to hand. I have on good authority that you are all permitted to remain in this room until all aspects of the case have been discussed and a solution realised." Claire looked across at Hunter, who gave a firm nod. So even if we're here until the show starts? She hoped not. She'd be dying by then, and who knows what state Jon would be in. Or the furniture in that room. Allison began by recounting the events of the comms team meeting two weeks ago, and that, in accordance with his power as her direct manager, Zane stood Claire down while the matter was investigated. "I must say, Mr Henry," Allison said, "I do believe your actions were a bit heavy handed." It took everything Claire had to not turn and look at Zane's reaction. "As far as the company is concerned, there was no misconduct in Miss Harris' behaviour or relationship with Mr Good, and the resulting two week stand down she has had to endure does seem an overly forceful punishment for something which did not break any contractual policies." I couldn't have said it better myself, Claire thought. But why has it taken so long to come to that conclusion, then? Zane nodded beside her. "I understand where you're coming from Allison, I appreciate that," he responded. Professional, formal, confident, Claire couldn't help but notice. "As I explained in our meetings, that initial reaction on the first day was actually mostly for Claire's benefit. I would not have expected her to be able to work after having her relationship revealed in that manner. The length of her stand down was then purely down to the length of your process." Claire smirked. She appreciated Zane's comments; she'd not thought of that herself. He'd said some pretty harsh things in the meeting, but had warmed up as he walked her out. But his last comment was entirely true; he never said how long she was on garden leave for. From the moment he closed the door on that cab, the process had been in Allison's hands. Nice move, Zee.

Allison took a sip of her water, which Claire translated as a stalling mechanism. "All the same, Mr Henry," she retorted, "you'll be best to undertake some management refresher courses as to how to handle conflicts. We needn't put anyone through this again." Not known for holding his tongue and admitting defeat, Claire was surprised Zane didn't respond. He just nodded and made a note on his iPad. So, he's been told off, and I've inadvertently been told I did nothing wrong. What now? Allison continued. "Until last night, we thought we had all the facts for this case, and thus were going to make suggestions based on that. Mr Griffin, your actions in the team meeting were disrespectful and deliberate, with the intention of seeing Miss Harris suffer. However, because the relationship between Miss Harris and Mr Good is factual, there is no reason to look into any avenues for slander or such. On the advice and direction of Mr Henry, approved by Mr Levesque, we have enrolled you into a workplace ethics course in Stamford, and your new role allocation of NXT Digital Content Coordinator will be revised with those parties at another time. Especially given the new information we have surrounding your workplace relationship with Miss Hockley." This didn't seem like news to anyone in the room, so Claire assumed that all parties must have been informed this morning. She was now thankful Lucy had accosted her in the parking lot; discovering it in this environment would have been awful. Carl spoke up. "Yes, yes. Lucy and I had some fun, but as you've just announced to everyone, that doesn't break contractual policy." God he's an asshole. Zane followed, quickly. "Not unless it is on work time and affects your ability to do your job. And the stats all show that when you and Lucy worked house shows together, the output was significantly lower than expectations." "That doesn't prove anything," Carl said directly to Allison. "Why would we bother having sex on the clock when we'd have the whole night to spend together anyway?" Claire closed her eyes and tried to get the image out of her brain. Can't this be done in a separate meeting? I don't need to hear this. Allison continued. "Still, Mr Griffin. Considering your willingness to out Miss Harris' relationship, the fact that you did not bring your own to our attention until your hand was forced is very telling."

Allison continued reading from what seemed to be a checklist. "And then there are your accusations of physical harm from Mr Good, of course. And from what you told me this morning, I believe you're wanting to add another claim against Miss Harris as well?" Claire noted Hunter's eyes lock onto her face, and Zane's head turn to her. Oh so Lucy's news travels but mine doesn't? She could just imagine that Carl wanted to have that bomb dropped in the meeting to make things as uncomfortable as possible for her. She didn't wait for Carl to answer. "Yes, Allison," she said, trying to channel confidence. "I will own up to that upfront. I slapped him last night in the hotel parking lot." Out of the corner of her eye, she swore she saw the corners of Zane's mouth curl up in a smirk. "He aggressively confronted and insulted both myself and Jon, and after the chaos and emotion of the past two weeks, I found myself overstepping. He baited me perfectly and I fell for it. I know it was inappropriate." But that doesn't mean I didn't love it. Allison looked at her sternly. "You're correct, Miss Harris. It was inappropriate, considering you were stood down from your employment at that time, rightly or wrongly. You should have considered your options more carefully." She didn't know if rebutting would make things better or worse. "Ms Pionte," she began. "It's been a while since you and I have spoken to each other. I don't know if you have achieved your goal of getting all sides of the story, but I promise you that Carl knew exactly what he was doing. His behaviour towards me has been childish and combative for a long time, and last night, he was aiming to provoke both of us. I'm sure, if in my shoes, people in this room would've done the same thing, or worse." She watched as Hunter's eyes narrowed and his lips pressed into a firm line. "In other words, Allison, Carl's been a prick; you know it, I know it, Carl knows it, Claire sure as hell knows it. But regardless, her physical reaction must be assessed with full seriousness, is that correct?" Allison nodded. "Exactly. And that is a matter I would ask you to dwell upon, Mr Levesque. We can come back to what you believe is an appropriate form of reprehension shortly."

Claire wiped her brow and took a large sip of her water. Is it hot in here, or just me? She saw Carl lean back in his chair and throw her a look. She maintained her gaze towards Allison, not wanting to enter into any form of exchange with him. He was no doubt pleased that she would be facing censure over hitting him, and she wasn't surprised at that. She knew almost immediately it could be on the cards. She just hoped that someone else in the room had enough sense to call it square, after everything Carl had put her through. "There is one more thing we would like to bring to your attention," Allison said, motioning towards Liam, who pushed a few buttons on her iPad to bring up a webpage on the big screen at the front of the room. Claire gulped when she recognised the Tumblr interface. So someone does know about this, then. She wondered who had been the one to pass it on to Allison, although the odds were short on that bet. "This is a social media site, but Mr Henry, I'm sure you know more about this than I do. Can you give us a short rundown?" Zane looked surprised to be asked to contribute to this part of the conversation. "Tumblr is a very popular sharing platform which allows users to post and share various forms of media; imagery, text, video, gifs. It is popular with artists who run it instead of, or in conjunction with, their own trading websites. We don't have it as one of our WWE platforms, as we have other channels to deliver that content. I am aware, however, that fans repurpose our content and share avidly on the site." Claire was certain Allison was probably the only one in the room that didn't have even a basic understanding of what Tumblr was; even Hunter nodded his head in familiarity

"Thank you, Mr Henry. It has been brought to our attention that hashtags work similarly on Tumblr as they do on the other media sites – Twitter and the like. And as such, many of the talent have their own searchable content on the site. Including Dean Ambrose." Claire breathed in deeply. She knew where this was headed. She threaded her fingers together so tight she felt a stab of pain, in order to give her something else to focus on. Allison typed, slowly, into the search bar '#Deanette' and hit enter, explaining herself whilst doing so. "Apparently, a sub-search of the Dean Ambrose hashtag over the past few weeks has been this – Deanette, a hybrid of the word brunette and Dean Ambrose." Claire couldn't help but cringe; Allison's elementary explanations reminded her of when she had set her father up on Facebook. As the new page appeared on the screen, Claire didn't need to look; she knew what would be showing. Instead she looked at Hunter's face, awaiting his reaction. Zane chuckled slightly next to her, whispering "You're famous now!" Carl must've heard him, and responded. "Exactly! My point is that if the WWE Universe were already cracking on to Claire and Ambrose's relationship, then why should I be punished as if I'd shouted out a state secret? It clearly wasn't as well-kept a secret as they would have you believe." Claire closed her eyes tightly. He will seriously stop at nothing. "That shouldn't come into the equation," Zane replied. "It wasn't only what you revealed, it was how you chose to do so, and your intentions in doing so." Hunter interrupted them. "So these pictures, Claire, of you and Jon, how far back do they go?" She looked up on the screen. She recognised the images she had seen a few nights ago. "A few weeks, some of them," she replied. "Allison, I think if you navigate to the top left corner, you're able to order them by most recent posts, rather than most popular. That will help with a timeline." A look of confusion crossed Allison's face, and Liam leaned across to follow Claire's instructions.

The new page loaded on the big screen, and Claire was again reluctant to look at it. She was trying to think how to play this one. Yes, it was awkward and less than ideal, but she didn't see this as a strike against her name, or a major player in impacting Carl's potential punishment. When she finally flicked her eyes to the screen, a new image greeted her. It was of her and Jon walking towards a venue. In the very clothes she was wearing this minute. She squinted and saw a glimpse of the bangle on her wrist. Holy shit, that was taken today! These girls don't waste time, do they? She looked at the name of the profile – AmbroseChick513. Must be a big fan, or a big stalker…. Liam slowly scrolled down the page, revealing two more recent posts which Claire hadn't seen yet. No way, she thought to herself, and leaned closer towards the screen to make sure the pictures were what she thought they were. "Wait, Liam, can you please click on that username?" Everyone looked at Claire; it seemed like a strange request when things had taken a bad turn for her. "Please, just click on it for me," she repeated. The mouse on the big screen moved to the username, and brought up the profile of AmbroseChick513. "Can you scroll, please?" Claire requested. Both Allison and Liam gave her a strange look, but did so. There was the photo of her and Jon walking into the building this morning. Next were the images which had caught her eye, from the hotel parking lot the previous night; others from a month ago when they were walking into a venue with Roman. There were even some of the two of them getting into the back of the cab that night of the awful nightclub event in Atlanta. All posted as original images by AmbroseChick513 - not shared content. Claire felt her stomach churn and her mouth go dry. She shook her head in disbelief. "I can't believe you," she spat out bitterly, turning towards Carl with narrow eyes. "You did this. You started this." Carl's eyes shifted side to side anxiously, before he looked around the room. "I don't know what you're talking about," he said, not having lost any of his brash confidence. "Don't act innocent now. Tell me how this person, this AmbroseGirl was in Atlanta, in Birmingham, and in Knoxville? How did she get these photos, so up close and so clear?" She could see Carl's eyes looking around those in the room, to see if they were buying her story. "And then all of a sudden, she's here, today, with a photo of Jon and I walking into the building this morning, when there were zero fans outside that early. And she happens to have images of us last night, in the parking lot. A picture of us walking towards her, then one of us walking away from her, but funnily enough, she missed the entire confrontation we had with you. Don't you think 'Dean's brunette' slapping somebody would've been a major social media coup?" She heard a couple of gasps around the room. The penny has dropped, she thought to herself. "Carl, what the f—k?" Zane shouted. "Did you really do this?" Claire felt a slight sense of relief as everyone in the room turned from her to Carl.

Carl wheeled his chair back slightly from the table. "Come on Zee, she's desperate. Don't listen to her," he said, his voice cracking slightly. Zane wasn't buying it. "Answer the question." A long silence filled the room, and Claire felt her head spin. How could he do this? After everything else? What did I do to deserve this? "Show me your phone, Carl." Hunter's voice cut in to her thoughts. There was silence for a moment, before he continued. "Come on. If you've got nothing to hide then there's no reason not to. I promise not to look at the naked pictures of Lucy." Claire winced; not only at the thought, but also that Lucy had been brought into this at all. I need to know who did that. Hunter had an almost comical aura to him now. "Come on, bring it up here. Let's see if you have the tumblr app." She watched as Carl licked his lips nervously. "I'd, ah, I'd rather not." He squirmed, and Claire let out a sigh. It was true. She hadn't pieced it together until she'd seen the images from last night, but now it was all making sense, despite her not believing anyone could stoop to such a level. Now, Carl's defiance was faltering and his refusal to show his phone was as good as a confession to her. "Miss Harris, Mister Henry, would you give us a minute please?" Allison asked calmly, not taking her eyes off Carl. "No, they can stay," Hunter said, pushing up out of his chair and walking around the table. Carl fixed his vision on the table in front of him. Claire could see sweat forming on his forehead. Hunter stood beside him and leaned down to his ear. "Get your phone out of your pocket, now." Claire watched without emotion as Carl slowly put his hand in his pocket and place his phone on the table. Hunter pushed it forward out of Carl's reach. "You have two choices. You can show me the contents of your phone, or you can get the hell out of this room, and this company."

Claire didn't realise she was holding her breath. Carl took a few big breaths, clearly contemplating his choice. He didn't make eye contact with Hunter as he stood up, reached for his phone and took a few steps away from the table. Oh my god. He's leaving. Claire let that reality sink into her mind. Did I just get someone fired? Zane's voice interrupted her thoughts. "Put the phone down, asshole. It's company property." Carl's eyes drifted from Zane, to his phone, then to Claire. Despite wanting to break out into a massive grin, she held herself together, and just focused on not breaking his stare. He placed the phone back on the table, taking a step back. When Hunter spoke, he broke Claire's stare. "I will personally escort you from the building." As the two of them left the room, she sighed deeply. She wanted to maintain her professional demeanour on the outside, but that wouldn't stop her from celebrating in her mind.

Good riddance, asshole.