Perseverance

by Bob the Taco Thief

The 4 Horsewomen in the world of MMA: The story nobody asked for.

9. Chapter 12

"I have to admit-" Becky started around a mouthful of noodles, "I've no idea why you came back for this." Finally swallowing her food with a satisfied slurp. "I ain't upset though."

Bayley half snorted as she fed a noodle into her own mouth. She was very inexpert with chopsticks but felt she was too old to admit this now, so she just white knuckled it when it came up. When she finally managed to eat the morsel she gave Becky a smile and said: "Me either...but...when you know you made a mistake…" She couldn't finish the thought so she looked down.

Becky couldn't help the smile from stretching her face to it's limit. "I'm just glad you're secure enough to admit it." Using her own chopsticks to pick out a piece of sauce covered chicken goodness and toss it up into the air. Perfectly catching the falling delicacy with her mouth in triumph. Wiggling her eyebrows at the other woman and grinning like an idiot.

Bayley sighed as she began the painstaking process of trying to fish another noodle out of the box she was holding. "No one likes a show off Lynch," she muttered, but good naturedly. Then she looked around and added: "So...was it hard to get reservations here?"

After a quick surveyance of the empty gym Becky laughed and stretched her legs out across the mat closer to the brunette. "Really hard. Had to wait until it closed and everything." Their place in the middle of the ring felt like a sort of spotlight. Nothing else in the room mattered right now. "Nice change of pace from when I'm normally here. You wouldn't believe it, but working out is really tiring… And there's not as much eye candy. Ruby just about took me head off when I put the moves on Liv back when I first got here."

Bayley rolled her eyes but moved her own foot closer to Beckys as she looked down at her food for a moment. When she brought it back up she had a mouthful of noodles half hanging out and her eyes crossed. She held the face for a moment before the giggles began and that threatened to choke her until she dropped most of the noodles back into the box.

"Do I intrigue you now darling?" she asked in a ridiculous accent as she flipped her hair.

Becky nearly choked on her food from laughing. "Well you've gone and done it. Now I have a new fetish." She shook her head and frowned. Pretending to look upset. "Whatever will I do?"

Bayley shrugged as she went back to her painstaking 'one noodle per dip' pace and said: "I don't know, toss it on the pile right on top of latinas?" She punctuated this remark with a wink.

"That one's your fault by the way. And maybe it's not all latinas, just one chica in particular." Becky bounced back.

Bayley smiled shyly at this one, suddenly at a loss for words. Looking down again she set her food aside and asked: "Even after...you know…"

The words almost had Becky crashing back down to earth. "Well… seems like you figured things out. Can't hold the past against you. You never held mine against me."

Bayley smiled at her food before scooting closer to Becky, until she was sitting beside her. Resting her head on the fighter's shoulder she said: "Never"

Becky just let herself enjoy the moment. Basking in a feeling she had given up on. "This is perfect. You're perfect… Feels like a dream." She admitted and let her own head rest against Bayley's. Both women's food forgotten at their feet.

Bayley laced her fingers in Beckys and gave a squeeze. "If it is, then it's the best kind," she whispered as she turned her head. Freeing her hand she turned Becky's face to hers, staring deeply into her eyes.

An uncommon assault of nerves hit Becky right then. She had never had a problem kissing someone but right now she had to avoid Bayley's gaze for a few moments.

Becky gathered herself enough to look back up and violently pulled away from the other woman. Creating a small distance between before she froze.

"What the fuck?" Becky loudly exclaimed.

"What would you do without me Becky? Starve?" Sasha Banks asked with an expression that mixed derision and scorn on her face.

Becky's head whirled around to search the empty gym for any sign of her disappearing companion. Gritting her teeth at the familiar words. "Fuck you. BAYLEY!" She called out into the darkness around the ring. "Where in the hell…"

"As if she could EVER love you!" Sasha mocked. When Becky turned around to confront her, the other woman hit her boss pose before lowering her sunglasses.

"What the hell would YOU know!" Becky yelled back. All rational thought gone at this point.

But now Sasha was gone, even as her voice whispered in Becky's ear: "You're bad for her...you don't deserve her."

Becky spun around with her fists held high only to be met with nothing but air. Her breathing slowly began to pick up with her heartbeat. "What?"

Sasha was gone and she found herself facing Finn Balor. "You'll push her away, just like you pushed me away!" he snapped.

Her fists fell lifelessly to her sides. "Finn? I-" She swallowed the lump in her throat. "I know better this time."

"I thought we were friends Lynch, we were supposed to be there for each other!" Balor accused before he melted away to be replaced by Dave Finlay.

"You were like a daughter to me Becks, now look at you?" the old trainer said with a sad shake of his head.

Becky was almost pulling out her hair at this point. Hands shaking as she stared at her former family. "I've been trying." Becky weakly gave. Her head tilting downwards from the scolding that part of her felt was deserved.

Hands slid down Becky's shoulders from behind, sliding toward her chest as Carmella purred in her ear: "Forget them all baby, you know you'll come back to me soon."

The way she said it felt so inevitable that Becky couldn't think of a response. Shuddering from the attention as her eyes drifted shut. With a burst of strength that came from somewhere unknown Becky took a step forward and broke the contact. Whirling around to yell at Carmella and seeing no sign of her former flame. "Where the 'ell."

Bayley was standing there now, though not looking at Becky. She seemed to be having an animated conversation with someone else, looking away from the fighter. As Becky watched, her own voice said: "You'd just ruin her."

Becky wanted to reach out but couldn't. Helplessly watching Bayley as she stood there unmoving. "But…" She started a rebuttal but couldn't come up with one that didn't feel lacking.

When she finally got the courage to extend her hand towards Bayley it was like trying to catch smoke. Every inch she extended further never seeming to get her any closer.

"Let her go." Becky heard the words in her own voice and spun around to try and find where they were coming from.

She half expected it at this point but she found nothing. Even Bayley's figure had faded away and left her standing all alone in the ring.

"What are you doing?"

Becky looked out to ringside and saw Charlotte Flair in all her glory. Staring up at her with arms crossed over her chest and a disapproving glare. "What?"

"Keep your hands up." Charlotte calmly spoke.

"Wh-" Becky started only for the lights to suddenly turn on and be confronted with a fist about to slam into her face.

Becky's eyes shot open as her body reflexively moved to try and dodge the phantom punch. The bed beneath her shaking slightly from the jolting movement.

Her breathing slowly returned to normal as Becky went through the process of realizing that it had all been a dream.

Automatically her arm reached over the the small bedside table she had set up and grabbed her phone. Her first instinct to allay her anxiety was an obvious no go, and even as she thought about calling Charlotte of all people Becky was already finding excuses not to call; It's too late, They wouldn't want to be bothered, You can handle it.

She quickly accepted the fact that sleep would continue to elude her and Becky went into her files and opened a video on her phone.

Propping up the screen so that she could lay down and watch the now permanently embedded images play out.

She had an excuse for rewatching this fight. After all, what better film to study on your opponent that the last fight you had with them.

After about forty minutes Becky sighed and sat up. Turning off the video and tossing her phone over her shoulder without a care for where it lands.

Within five minutes her laptop was displaying the old fight with Sasha as Becky sat on the floor with rapt attention. Convinced that she would find something that she had been missing in the footage. Anything to explain the greatest failure in her career.

Even when the sun started to creep across Becky's floor she had gotten no closer.

Deep down she knew there was nothing to find.

Bayley

"Come on in," a voice called through the door as Bayley knocked. Taking a deep breath, and checking her hair and outfit once more, Bayley opened the door and stepped into the familiar office.

California sun streamed in through the large windows along one wall as Bayley surveyed the room. It wasn't what you might expect for the office of a sports editor. The room was very neat, clean, and furnished in a sleek way that almost encouraged the eye to roam around the space. Aside from the desk and computer the only other furniture were two chairs in front of the desk, and an honest to god jukebox in the corner. The only indication that it was inhabited by a member of the sports media were the framed posters and photos of various athletes and events, most containing the man behind the desk.

AJ Styles stood from his chair and offered Bayley his hand as she approached, which she shook. Styles was one of 's editors, he'd cut his teeth in baseball and college football but had recently taken charge of the network's online MMA coverage. There had been some in the MMA world, Bayley among them, who had been skeptical about this choice. But Styles had really worked to learn about his new sport and had done well to expand its mainstream coverage.

"Ms. Martinez, thanks for coming in," Styles said in his gentle Georgia drawl, which he'd never lost despite his years in national media.

"No problem, nice to actually be in the office for once," Bayley offered with a smile as she sat across from AJ. For his part, he smiled at the joke but didn't respond as he settled himself. He seemed to be studying Bayley, and she forced herself to meet his gaze evenly.

"So you're one of our smarter writers, you know why you're here," he finally said as he picked a baseball up off his desk and began throwing it from hand to hand.

"I...can guess," Bayley allowed. Styles raised an eyebrow at this.

"Is it true?" was all he asked. Bayley sighed inwardly. She'd been doing but trying to repair the damage that Carmella Dale had done to her reputation over the last few days. Well, Carmella had been the weapon but Mandy Rose had wielded it.

"No," was all Bayley said in reply. She made sure to add some steel to her voice as well. She was getting tired of answering this question. Styles seemed to sense this because he nodded slowly.

"I didn't think it was…" he admitted "...but I know you're an honest person so I wanted to ask you."

"I appreciate that."

"BUT…" Styles said as the baseball stopped in one hand "...that doesn't change my problem. You know this as well as I do Martinez, perception is reality in this business." Bayley stewed for a moment at this answer. She wanted to argue but she happened to agree with Styles on this point.

"So that's what this is? My trip to the guillotine?" she asked.

"No...well not necessarily," Styles answered.

"What does that mean?"

"It means you're smart enough to know what the easy move for me is here. I should just cut bait and let you go. You're not even officially employed, just a stringer, so I can do that easy," Styles answered but with a particular inflection at the end of the statement.

"And yet, here I am when that could have been done via an email," Bayley pointed out.

"And here you are," Styles nodded. He stared down at the baseball for a while before he added: "This isn't your execution Bayley, this is me asking you to give me a reason to NOT hold one."

Bayley had guessed this might be the case when she'd gotten the summons from Styles. She'd been writing in a freelance capacity for ESPN MMA for a few weeks now and doing OK for herself out of it. It was a good way to keep MMAyley growing while boosting her own profile. During that time she'd learned that Styles was demanding and a perfectionist, but he was also scrupulously fair to his writers. Even stringers like Bayley. Which couldn't be said about all editors.

Styles' dilemma centered around the recent interview on the Rose Report. Carmella had not only smeared Becky during that interview but had also allowed Mandy Rose to call Bayley's reputation into question from the biggest platform in MMA. The suggestion that Bayley had gotten where she was by sleeping with Becky had been more than personally wounding but had also called into question ALL of the work she'd done in Boston and since.

On a personal level, those who knew Bayley well wouldn't be worried. But when it came to to professional questions the issue got muddier. Outlets had to think about their own reputations now before accepting her by-line or stories originating from her site. The question would always be there now: could she be trusted to report on Becky Lynch. And, by extension, anyone else? She'd already lost two formerly productive relationships for , both being run by people less equitable than Styles.

But fair though he might be, Styles still had a brand to protect. In many ways, because ESPN was so big and corporate, he had to be even more protective than others. Being aware of this, Bayley knew that the deck was stacked against her. But she did at least have a chance. She took a few moments to gather her thoughts before answering.

"First, there is the small matter of the fact that allegations are 100% untrue. I have never been romantically involved with Becky Lynch. It's like I've been telling people, we are friends and I happily admit that. I don't see how anyone could have gotten to know her like I have and NOT end up liking her. But you've read my stuff that I filed from Boston, did it seem like I was giving her a break?" Bayley asked Styles.

"Nope," Styles acknowledged.

"But I know that's not going to mean much here," Bayley added, after studying his face.

"Sadly, no it doesn't."

"So I'll add that Rose's 'reporting' is suspect here. She has no source for this claim other than Carmella Dale, a woman who has admitted to going through a bad breakup with Becky. No one else corroborates her version of events and, in fact, both other people present deny it. There is also the fact that Mandy has a history of hit pieces against me," Bayley said.

"What do you mean?" AJ asked, perplexed. So Bayley explained the whole Enzo Amore situation to him, including Rose's actual role in it.

"But you have no proof of this," he asked.

"No, which is why I haven't ever pursued it...because I actually hold myself to a professional standard," Bayley answered.

"Touche."

"I'll also point out that since I've been writing for you my stories have all been generating great traffic. The one with the fewest hits before this had over five thousand clicks, that's a lot of eyeballs on ESPN content. I can also flatter myself that my social media mentions and other appearances mentioning the site have been good for you," Bayley pointed out.

"True, but I need a PR strategy that lets us come out of this clean, the fact that we've benefitted from you hurts us if people decide that Carmella was right," AJ pointed out.

"True…" Bayley said with a raised finger "...BUT there is a big win here for you to if you want it."

Styles grinned as she leaned back in his chair and tossed the baseball at Bayley saying: "Sell me."

Bayley caught the ball and said: "Now that Mandy has run her hit piece, there will be a short window where everyone is making up their minds. If, during that time, ESPN MMA were to get an exclusive sit down with me to share my story...that would get you a lot of pub."

"It could also be seen as us favoring one of our own," Styles pointed out. But Bayley had an answer ready for this objection.

"True, but that's why you should have it done on TV or radio. That way it's someone outside your department who can be positioned as asking the hard questions," Bayley offered. Styles thought about this for awhile before he asked the logical question.

"I assume you have a show or interviewer in mind?" he asked knowingly.

"Two options…" Bayley offered "...First, it would mean the world to deportes if they got this." She suggested this but wasn't surprised when Styles shot it down.

"I get it, but we both know that my bosses will want it somewhere else," he admitted. Bayley had expected this answer but had thought it worth a shot to suggest the spanish language network anyway.

"What was the second option?"

"Porter's show, I've been on it before and we got along," Bayley suggested. Styles thought about this quietly for awhile, as he stared out the window.

"I notice you didn't suggest the Rose report," he finally said.

"Would you want to go to the sight of your national character assassination?"

"Maybe not...but it would be the biggest ratings," Styles pointed out. This was true but Bayley simply wasn't going to be doing Mandy Rose any favors.

Setting her face, preparing for the worst, she said: "If you're going to tell me that it has to be the Rose Report then I'll save you the trouble of firing me and I'll quit myself and go on some other show to tell my story."

"Alright, alright, no call for that…" Styles said as he held up his hands "...I'll pitch this idea and support it. I think my bosses will for go for it," He said. But when he saw Bayley's smile he held up a hand and cautioned: "BUT, this is your shot Martinez. If this doesn't go the right way I have to let you go with all good will in the world."

"I understand," Bayley said as she tossed the baseball back across the desk and left.

Becky/Charlotte

"Do I have to?"

Charlotte threw the car into park while rolling her eyes at the passenger. "Yes."

The redhead continued to silently stew in her seat. "It was one night. Is this really-"

"YES!" Charlotte sternly exclaimed. Closing her eyes at the familiar denial. "You don't get to say 'it was just one night'."

"Fine… If it will make you feel better." Becky snapped out before bolting out of the car and slamming the door closed.

Charlotte used the privacy to take a few breaths and calm herself down. It was no use getting mad at Becky when she was like this. Getting irritated would only give the antagonistic redhead a target for her misplaced ire and make things worse.

At times like this she really wished that Bayley could somehow give direct advice into her ear. Charlotte had tried to in some way replicate the easy raport that Bayley had with Becky before everything turned sideways. But at times like this she felt like the roadmap she was trying to follow was missing pieces, or something vital had been erased.

She left the car and found that Becky was waiting just outside the door of the building. Hands dug deep in her jacket pockets as she stared at the building like it was an opponent in the ring.

Neither exchanged any words. Charlotte walking right past and holding the door open for her fighter. A gesture that was clearly unexpected even if Becky quickly hid her surprise behind a mask of indifference and walking by.

Charlotte followed the fighter inside and walked down the hall. Becky following a few steps behind.

When she reached the now familiar door Charlotte pulled it open and once again held it open.

This time Becky managed to mumble, "Thanks." Moving inside and raising an eyebrow at the receptionist who was openly gawking at her. "Take a picture." Looking on in disbelief as the redhead actually started reaching for her phone. "I wasn't being serious lass."

Even Charlotte was shaking her head, "Really Christy? I told you she was coming and you said you'd be fine."

"I'm sorry. I haven't met many celebrities." Christy doing her best to sink deeper into her chair and hide. "Molly should be out in a minute."

"Thanks Christy." Charlotte said and put one of her hands in the middle of Becky's back to guide her into the waiting room and away from the other woman. The blonde hadn't liked the way Christy was looking at her fighter. Like she was an animal in a zoo or a shiny object in a shop window.

Becky allowed it for only so long before quickly turning and leaving Charlotte's hand awkwardly hovering in the air for just a second. "So… you know her?"

Charlotte glared down the at shorter woman and stood tall. "Yep."

The redhead's eyes shifted into slits. "Mind me asking how?"

Charlotte was quiet for a moment. "Because I've been coming here on my own."

The implication made Becky stop her act of indifference. It was a rare case indeed when she couldn't find the right words, but after how standoffish the two had been, Charlotte opening up and being so vulnerable in front of her felt odd. The only other time it had happened was after she had caught her and Ric watching a movie in her office. Both times Becky found herself wanting to reach out while simultaneously wanting to run.

Before she had a chance to choose a door opened behind Becky and a new voice spoke up. "Hey there Charlotte. I can only assume you must be the infamous Becky Lynch." The friendly woman said with a bright smile, "Forgive me for not being sure. I'm not a big fan of the whole UFC fighting."

"It's mixed martial arts." Becky bit out. "UFC is an organization. That's like calling it 'MLB' instead of baseball."

Charlotte gave Molly an apologetic look but the still smiling woman waved her off. "Honest mistake. I'll keep that it mind though. Thanks for clarifying that for me."

Becky honestly didn't know how to respond. She got used to people returning her insulting tone with more negativity. Molly taking it in stride was frustrating. It took Becky a moment to realize who she was reminded of. Her mood souring immediately.

Charlotte began to back off. "Well I'll just leave you two. I'm gonna be busy for a while so Ruby or Liv should be here in an hour or so."

"Cool." Was all Becky said while nodding her head and bouncing almost imperceptibly light on her feet.

It was tempting to just leave but Charlotte motioned with her head at Molly and the woman seemed to understand. "I will just be in my office. Come on in when you're ready Ms. Lynch." Walking off and leaving the door slightly ajar.

Becky shuffled her feet a little but was in no rush to follow. One of her hands idly picking at a loose thread in the new pair of jeans she had bought yesterday.

Gently as she could, Charlotte reached over and grabbed the hand. Moving it away from the thread and holding it softly in her own. "No one expects you to be fine in a day. Just take it slow."

The other woman nodded and looked down at their hands.

Charlotte gave her a half smile. Indulging in the contact for longer than she should and gently pulling away. "I'll see you back at the gym later."

When the blonde had left her eyesight Becky let out the breath she had been holding. Trying not to let the stolen warmth in her hand distract her.

She had already lost Bayley because she misread things. That couldn't happen again.

Sasha

"I'm old! I don't have time for this!" Meng screamed from across the field.

" Kuso yarō," Kairi Sane gasped from beside Sasha. The pair had been running around the track outside the Madjai for almost half an hour now. This was in addition to the intensive training Sasha had been at since a little after three in the morning. It was now nine thirty.

Sane, the newest signing to, Thuggin and Buggin, was there to help Sasha train while soaking up any wisdom that Meng graced them with. That was the theory, but so far the old bastard only seemed interested in trying to work them to death. But Sasha was game, if he was testing her then she'd shove it right back in his face. Eventually.

Sasha had been working with the old trainer for a week now, and she had to admit she somewhat forgotten what proper training was like. Her time with Simon Dean had simply proven the old adage about why you shouldn't train on your own, lest you ingrain your bad habits. And she had been training alone during that time, even when Dean had been present. Now she was being reminded how different the proper way was.

They'd begun the morning an extremely intensive cardio warmup of interval training along the interior track at the Madjai center. Sasha was in terrific shape by the standards of almost anyone in the world. Unfortunately for her, one of the people who didn't think so was now one of her trainer.

"You've gotten lucky and thus spoiled so far in your career Banks!" Meng called to her as she'd rounded the track for the twentieth time. "You've always been able to put people away quickly, but that won't always be true and you can damn sure bet that Lynch will be in the best shape of her life for this fight. If you want to win you need to be able to go the distance!" hed' added when she'd passed him again. Sasha wanted to point out that she already could go the distance but she needed her breath.

Next had come work with the bags. As striking was, by far, the strongest part of Sasha's game she generally enjoyed these sessions. Despite this, she had been expecting the harshest criticism of all from Meng on this point. She thought he'd come in and immediately try to knock her down a peg on her strengths in order to assert his control. Yet despite his prick like demeanor in general, he'd surprised her here.

"Good," was all he said. Some of Sasha's surprise must have shown on her face however because he asked: "Did you think I was going to criticize you just to criticize you?"

"Well, yeah. You've been nothing but an ass so far," Sasha said matter of factly. Meng barked a laugh at this.

"Maybe, but this isn't-" he started to say but Sasha cut him off.

"-The movies, yeah I get it," she muttered.

"It's not…" Meng shot back "...You're as good as Lashley always said. But that doesn't mean there aren't other areas we can shine up."

Sane had arrived around then, and after introductions that took awhile due to the presence of Sane's translator, Meng had them spar. This was the first time that Sasha had really trained with Sane, despite the fact that woman had been on the team for over a month. Early on this had been a result of her visa status. But once that had cleared it up it had been more an issue of the fact that the team didn't really have a trainer. Sasha had made some fleeting moves towards training with her but really, Sane had been left on the beach.

This fact was enough to make Sasha feel very guilty, as she should have since it was her fault. Had Sasha been less of an idiot, the Japanese star could have been learning from Bobby Lashley. And this feeling of regret had been yet another test of her resolution to be better. In the past, she would have gone 'boss' about the issue and probably made a comment about not having time to be a babysitter. But now, she was going to be different.

So even as they began to spar, Sasha tried to help.

Sane was a very talented fighter, and Sasha was aware just how lucky Thuggin and Buggin had been to get her in the camp. But, and she felt comfortable saying this, Sasha was much better. This meant she had advice to offer the younger fighter, and she did her best to do so while still concentrating on Meng's instructions to her. Here again the old man surprised her, he'd expected him to bark at her for splitting her attention. But he seemed to approve of her teaching.

This didn't mean he went any easier on either of the fighters however. They spent half an hour just dancing in the ring before Meng really began to test Sasha. He had Sasha plant one foot in place and then allowed Sane to move around her, forcing Sasha to defend herself without her mobility. This proved as difficult as one might imagine and it turned into more of an issue of Sasha's ability to judge which attacks needed to be blocked and which absorbed. The session got even more esoteric after that.

Weight training had come after that, and now here they were on the outdoor track. Before this, Sasha and Kairi simply hadn't had much time to speak since they'd been so busy. Now wasn't much better because they were once again in need of every bit of oxygen they could come by. But their respite came in the form of Teddy Long.

"Hey playas!" he called as she walked toward them from the direction of the building. His usual white suit seemed to gleam in the sun.

"We're working here," Meng called back, obviously miffed.

"Hey, easy there playa. I see that, but I gotta talk business with the ladies and it's business that pays for the training you know," Teddy said with a grin as he wiped at the sweat on his gleaming scalp. Both Sasha and Kairi had come to a halt and waited, trying to catch their breath as Teddy joined them followed a moment later by Meng.

"Can we make this quick," Meng grumbled. Teddy ignored him and spoke to Sasha.

"Shane just got in touch, he wants to do a big formal contract signing for you and Lynch. He's thinking right here in LA, you got any problem with that playa?" he asked.

"No, that's OK," Sasha said with a shrug. Shane did love his set piece events.

"This is going to be the toughest press tour you've ever done Sasha, so prepare for it. We're going to start the build for the signing soon. I was thinking we'd get you onto the Rose Report and-"

"No," Sasha said flatly. When Teddy just looked inquiringly at her she added: "I'm not doing her show.

"She's the biggest name in MMA media-" Teddy pointed out but Sasha just shook her head.

"She's a bitch and I'm not doing her show….ever," Sasha said with finality. She'd heard about the reports relating to Carmella Dale's appearance on the show and she'd been furious. First and foremost on Bayley's behalf. She and the reporter might not ever speak again but Sasha knew her well enough to know that she would never sleep with someone for a story. Sasha had been the first one to learn how seriously the journalist took her professional ethics.

But on a more personal level, Sasha had recognized something that could very well happen to her. Carmella had absolutely been to Becky, what Zelina had once been to her. It would be at all surprising if she ended up in the same situation as Lynch at some point. And it was this reminder of their similarities, something Sasha loathed, that had really angered her.

Teddy clearly sensed something else was going on here but chose not to argue. Shrugging her said: "Alright, we'll book with Porter then."

"AND I want Kairi on the show as well," Sasha insisted. Teddy frowned at this. He obviously was all in favor of anything that gave more publicity to his newest fighter, but he unused to Sasha thinking of others.

Sane, who had been doing her best to follow this, seemed to perk up at her name. From what little Sasha had been able to glean, Sasha guessed that while she understood enough English she was far from fluent and less than comfortable speaking the language. FOrtunately, her translator stepped in here with a string of rapid Japanese. When he'd finished speaking, Kairi smiled and said: "Thank you" to Sasha.

Sasha smiled tightly and nodded back. It was at that moment that something vague in the back of her head solidified to a certainty. She decided that part of her being better would be her looking out for Kairi Sane. It had been so long since Sasha had looked for anyone but her, that she felt she needed the practice. But it was more than that as well. On some level Sasha felt that if she could help Kairi, be a better human to her, then she might be able to help herself.

Bayley

"Well, that was a bust," Bayley said as the car stopped.

"It wasn't all that bad, I really think I'm learning about the game at least," Emma said from beside her, obviously trying to be reassuring. Bayley appreciated this but wasn't really in the mood.

"What's the difference between a strike and a ball?" Bayley asked her in a half tired, half bemused voice. Emma frowned, clearly trying her best to remember this fact which Bayley had explained to her several times before.

"OK, I don't remember that…" Emma conceded grudgingly "...But I DID have a good time...at first."

Bayley and Emma had just gotten back from a Dodgers game, or most of one. Bayley had been spending more time with her friend recently partially because she felt guilty about neglecting Emma but mostly because with Emma there was no drama. Things could just be fun and uncomplicated and Bayley really needed more of that in her life right now.

It was a perfect day for baseball too, bright and sunny but not too hot. Bayley had been looking forward to a day at the park with her friend and maybe drinking one too many beers since Emma had driven. But, things hadn't worked out that way.

It had started about halfway through the third inning. Emma and Bayley had been sitting in the lower deck, it was a midday game so the tickets had been cheap, only about five rows up. They'd been chatting happily, Bayley trying to explain the finer points of the game. Then a gruff voice had cut in from behind them.

"Hey!" a large man two rows behind them barked before giving Bayley an appraising look that made her decidedly uncomfortable. Then the man, who seemed a bit drunk, nodded slowly. "Yeah, I know you! You're that reporter girl! Menendez."

Assuming this was a prelude to some drunken cat calling, Bayley sighed and said: "Close enough" before turning back to the game. She had a standing policy where she simply refused to engage with people like this,

"Yeah, the one who's fucking Becky Lynch," the man laughed as he elbowed his companion and pointed down toward Bayley.

"Very nice," Emma shot back acidly, glaring at the man.

"Tell me! Is she as red below as she is above," the man hooted.

"I'm going to get security," Emma declared, Bayley just nodded tersely and tried to focus on the game. Emma left and came back a few minutes later with an usher but this didn't stop the problem. When the man and his friend were confronted by the usher he began shouting.

"What? I paid for my damn ticket, little miss dyky down there can't handle a little fun?" he demanded. Now the eyes of the whole section were turning towards him. These same eyes then turned toward Bayley as he began gesticulating down toward her in his anger. "I just asked her a question! You gonna kick a guy out for asking a fucking question?"

Standing abruptly, Bayley grabbed her bag and jacket and hurried up the stairs toward the exit. As she went the man and several other people spoke to her.

" Oye chica, quieres ver lo que te has estado perdiendo de un hombre de verdad…"

"I will pray for you,"

"Slut!"

Bayley was embarrassed, but more than that she was furious. Not only was she being called out for something that wasn't true, but so what if it had been? But Bayley knew that now, more than ever, she had to be on her best behavior if she wanted to keep her ESPN gig. If she tried to get into a shouting match with the whole section there was a one thousand percent chance that it would end up on the internet. And even though she thought Styles liked her personally, that would be all the reason he needed to can her.

So, face still burning, Bayley had led the way back to Emma's car. Now here they were, though she had calmed down by now.

"I'm sorry about how things turned out Bay," Emma said, sounding genuinely apologetic.

"Not your fault at all Em," Bayley responded as she leaned over and gave her friend a big hug. "Any chance I get to spend time with you is good," she added as she squeezed Emma's shoulder.

"What about that time in Tijuana?"

"OK, not THAT time," Bayley laughed as she got out of the car.

"Want to get brunch this weekend?" Emma asked from inside the car.

"Sure, text me," Bayley smiled before turning to walk toward the entrance to her building. Charlotte had once said that Bayley made others around her feel better, but Emma did that for Bayley. She was still kind of pissed, but now she wasn't dwelling on it constantly at least.

As Bayley walked, her phone began to buzz. Her conscience was obviously still a bit raw because she suddenly felt guilty. As though she somehow thought it would be AJ calling to rebuke her for the incident at the ballpark. But when she looked she saw an unfamiliar number. She was tempted to ignore it but then decided it might be a producer from Porter's show.

"Hello, this is Bayley," she said as she answered.

"Ms. Martinez? This is Alexa Bliss, I'm calling on the request of Charlotte Flair," a brusque and businesslike voice answered. Bayley frowned even as she stomach tightened a bit. She guessed she might always associate Alexa Bliss with that horrible afternoon when Charlotte had first sent Bayley away from Boston.

"Uh...hi Alexa? Why would Charlotte want you to call me?"

"She's heard about your impending appearance with Montel Porter on his TV show, evidently she believes you'd benefit from media coaching," Alexa explained, sounding wholly clinical about her pronouncement. Bayley thought about resenting this for a moment. After all, she'd been doing media hits for awhile and had always felt she did fine. But then she remembered that Alexa was probably the best person in the country at what she did if not the world. 'Good' or not, Bayley knew Alexa was better at this.

Though there was still the elephant in the room.

More to give herself time to think that anything, Bayley asked: "Why would Charlotte want you to coach me? I thought your job was to look after Becky."

"Technically, my job is to do what Ms. Flair asks me to do. If she wants to pay me to coach you then I will," Alexa stated in a flat tone that seemed to indicate she thought the matter closed.

Bayley bit her lip as she thought for a moment and then said: "So...this could be a little awkward though huh?"

"Why?" Alexa asked. From most people this question would have come off as rude but somehow from Alexa it seemed like a legitimate request for information.

"Umm...because the last time we spoke you fired me? Bayley suggested.

"I didn't fire you Miss Martinez, I just informed you that your arrangement with Ms. Flair had ended."

"That's basically what I said," Bayley pointed out. There was a pause where Bayley guessed that Alexa was trying to find a hole in this answer. Evidently, she didn't.

"Perhaps we could get back to the matter at hand?" Alexa finally asked. Bayley almost chuckled at this minor display of pettiness.

"Alright alright, well...go on then coach. What do you have for me?" Bayley said, putting some humor into her voice.

"Are you able to take notes where you are?" Alexia asked. Bayley was taken aback by the question.

"Well, I just got to my apartment so I need to get inside first but then-"

"Very good, please do so and inform me when you're ready again," Alexa said briskly, as though the matter was entirely closed. Bayley thought about resenting the way Alexa was barking orders but again bit her tongue. And that was how she found herself sitting at her table not long afterward with her laptop open and her phone, on speaker, beside her.

"What is your planned strategy for the upcoming interview Ms. Martinez?" Alexa asked.

"Uh…" Bayley said, truthfully she never really worked on a 'strategy' for these things. She knew what points she wanted to make and researched what was necessary to make them. But it wasn't part of some plan. "I guess I just want to go on and make sure I tell the truth and keep my content factual." There was a very long pause a this, long enough that Bayley felt compelled to ask: "Umm Alexa?"

"I was simply waiting to hear the rest of your strategy."

"That was it."

"Ah... I see…"

"Is...that OK?" Bayley asked, oddly nervous about the answer.

"It is not," Alexa said brusquely.

Bayley frowned as she asked: "What's wrong with me going out and telling the truth? That content alone should be enough to put any of this ridiculous speculation to bed!"

"Content...does not concern me,"

Bayley blinked at this. Eventually, she found her voice and said: "So….I think you're smart enough to realize why that attitude might seem surprising to me."

There was a tiny sigh on the other end of the line before Alexa said: "What counts in any kind of public speaking Ms. Martinez? Delivery, delivery, delivery! WHAT you have to say is much less relevant than how you go about saying it. THAT is what I am most concerned with," Alexa explained.

And so she did in great, and sometimes excruciating detail. Bayley had thought Alexa might have been exaggerating about the need to take notes, she hadn't been. By the time they were winding down, forty minutes later, Bayley's brain hurt.

"I'm afraid that's all I have the time for today Ms. Martinez, but before I go I wonder if I might make a request of you?" Alexa said.

"Uh-huh," Bayley murmured as she massaged her temples. She was so distracted by her incipient headache that she almost missed Alexa's request.

"I will be in California soon on an errand for Ms. Flair and I was hoping to get on your calendar for a brief meeting."

"What?" Bayley asked, wrong footed by the request.

"I said-"

"No I heard you-" Bayley started to say.

"Then why did you ask?" Alexa cut in pedantically.

"It was more of a 'why' than a 'what' question," Bayley said, still surprised by the request. Not only had she and Alexa not parted on the smoothest terms the last time they'd been in proximity, but Alexa had never struck Bayley as someone who did much socializing.

"I would...prefer to discuss that in person," Alexa said. For the first time ever, as far as Bayley knew, the other woman sounded cagey.

"Ummm, sure...I guess. Would you like to maybe get lunch or something?" Bayley finally asked. Even as she did she wasn't quite sure SHE wanted to have lunch with Alexa Bliss.

"That would be acceptable, I will email you with some possible times," Alexa answered, once again back in her usual crisp tones.

"OK, well I'll-" Bayley said just as her phone buzzed. Looking down she saw she had an email from Alexa Bliss. "Oh wow, umm I'll look these over and get back to you," she said.

"Very well, and one last thing Ms. Martinez," Alexa said.

"Yes?"

"Please try to minimize your use of such words as 'umm' and 'uh' on TV. You've used both quite often during this conversation," and with the that the line went dead.

Bayley was once again left to blink in befuddlement for several moments. Looking down at the phone she finally said: " Un placer hablar contigo."

Charlotte/Bayley

The walk down to the parking garage felt shorter than she remembered. Although, that may just be the fact that Charlotte was so lost in thought that her feet worked autonomously to bring her there.

Ric's last words still fresh in her mind.

Charlotte entered the safety of her car and sat. Not bothering to turn on the engine and simply sitting there for almost ten minutes while she contemplated what the hell she was going to do.

Pulling out her phone she glanced down quickly brought up the now familiar number.

Charlotte knew she had an ingrained habit of reacting poorly when stressed and made an effort to plan ahead for it. Sorting her thoughts and reminding herself that -especially now- she needed to stay in control and be an adult.

With that in mind she hit the call button and put the phone on speaker. Waiting through each ring until finally the other side was picked up.

"Hey Bayley… How've you been?" The question seemed generic but Charlotte wasn't sure how best to ask your friend if they are still feeling horrible about rejecting your… whatever the hell Becky was to her.

Bayley was trying to negotiate the external steps that led up to her apartment. It was a standing conviction for her that it would be better to lose fingers than to ever make two trips bringing groceries in from her car. Of course, this could lead to awkward situations like when you'd somehow managed to drape seven or eight bags off your body and then your phone rang. Dipping her chin in an effort to trigger her headset she heard Charlotte's voice.

"Hey Char...hang on I…" Bayley started to say before she heard the small tearing sound that could only signal impending disaster. "No, no, no, no, no…" she muttered as she did her best to hurry up the stairs.

Charlotte listened as what sounded like a serious situation was occuring on Bayley's end. A bit of concern overriding her own emotions. "Is everything all right over there? I can call back."

"No it's…" then came the tearing sound. Bayley lunged for the top of the stairs and got several of her bags safely onto the landing...but not all. Of course, one of the bags that broke was the one with the eggs. There followed a long, creative, and perfectly fluent string of cursing in two languages.

"Ok… I only understood about half of that but I think I can guess the rest." Charlotte's eyebrows currently resided in her hairline after hearing Bayley's profane tirade. "What could possibly get YOU to swear like that?"

Bayley sat heavily on the top step and stared sadly down at the mess on the lower landing. Despite her intense annoyance she actually cracked a smile as she said: "Would you believe it was LITERALLY spilled milk?"

Charlotte appreciated being able to laugh like this. "Wait. Wait. You can't be serious. Dropping some food is what gets you to that level?"

"It was a full gallon...and some nice brown eggs…" Bayley said, a little defensively but more sheepish than anything.

"Alright. Don't worry. I won't tell anyone you actually know such bad words. That would go against your image." She teased in a hopefully casual voice. Happy to avoid the reason behind her call for the time being.

" Lo aprecio…" Bayley said wryly before she sighed and "...But I assume you didn't call me to discuss my grocery problems."

Back to the real world it seemed. "Fascinating as your problems seem, I didn't. Even from beyond the grave my Dad can still throw some surprises at me." Charlotte tried to joke lamely. Not quite feeling up to it even though she wanted to feel something other than the melancholy that followed her since entering the law office.

Bayley's own mood sombered quickly at this. She didn't KNOW that something bad had happened but whenever Charlotte spoke about her dad it usually wasn't great for Bayley's friend. "Well...if you get on a plane now...we could be having beers in five hours?" Bayley said, trying to convey both her willingness to listen and some cheer.

"As good as that sounds I've got a bit too much on my plate right now. My Dad gave me control of his stakes in the gym and I've already got Orton calling me. Not to mention trying to keep together everything while the circus came to town." Charlotte let herself vent a bit of her present frustrations and found that it helped a little bit. "I swear this fight is going to be the death of me."

Bayley did some quick calculations in her head and asked: "So….between your share and your father's that would leave you with...very nearly a controlling stake right? And if your father's partners and their heirs fall in line you actually do have one?"

The accuracy of the statement blindsided Charlotte. "Uhh… Yeah. That's actually a pretty damn good summation of things." She ran over the other conversations she had with the reporter. "I don't ever remember discussing those numbers in detail with you."

"You never discussed them with me at all," Bayley said significantly, waiting for Charlotte to fill in the phrase that she felt like she'd used a dozen times with the blonde.

Charlotte rolled her eyes at the blase response. "Don't say it. I know. I know. You're a reporter and you don't suck at your job. Keep forgetting that."

" Toda la razón," Bayley said. She was quiet for awhile before she asked: "But that seems like GOOD news, and it doesn't sound like I'm talking to happy go lucky Charlotte. Everything alright?"

"I don't really know. If I'm honest, I'm mostly confused. Apparently my Dad and Sasha have been… sort of working together." Charlotte admitted. "I'm not really sure what to think about it. He made it seem like she was a good person just trying to help. But then I think about her acting like a bitch and I can't help wanting to smack her around a bit… And I'm still convinced she only went after Kairi because I wanted to bring her in."

The phone remained silent after Charlotte's speech. The blonde squirming just a bit in her car seat while she waited on her friend to give her some type of response.

Eventually the waiting got to be too much and Charlotte couldn't help wondering what had stolen the words from the mouth of a journalist. "You still there?"

The situation was an incredibly uncomfortable one for Bayley. Could Charlotte really JUST be learning these things?

"Umm...can I ask how you learned about these facts?" Bayley asked delicately.

The question was a little odd but Charlotte answered it honestly. "Ric's will. He had a lot to say." Charlotte wished he had as much to say years earlier but recognized that path led to nowhere.

"Oh...well this is kind of awkward huh?" Bayley asked, honestly wishing she go back to focusing solely on spilled groceries.

"Why? I feel like I'm missing something here." Genuine confusion maring the blonde's voice.

"I just...I'm surprised that your dad didn't tell you before this…" Bayley said, hoping Charlotte wouldn't make her say explicitly, the thing that was twisting a blade of guilt in her gut.

Charlotte was beginning to feel like everyone but her was in on the joke. "Wait. Are you saying you knew?"

Bayley was twisting the hem of her shirt now as she spoke in a voice as guilty a child who'd just been caught in mischief. "Well...yeah, your dad told me. He thought it might help my story...so I just assumed you knew?" Bayley said.

"He told you… Huh. That's interesting." Charlotte stated like it was a random moderately amusing fact you'd find beneath a Snapple cap.

Bayley could feel the volcano that Charlotte was trying very hard to put a lid on. Tentatively she asked: "Are you mad at me?"

"At you? No." She answered quickly. Trying not be cynical but it felt impossible. Evidently Ric felt comfortable sharing that information with a reporter over his own daughter. Mind that; a daughter that had to work closely with his pity project.

"Are you mad at him?" Bayley asked quietly.

"Feels a little pointless." Charlotte said. "Not really sure how I'm supposed to feel at this point."

"Your dad always seemed...complicated to me," Bayley said, the word felt inadequate to describing Ric Flair but it did seem to be the best fit she could find. Recalling some of their few conversations, Bayley had always felt charmed but had also sense that there were unplumbed depths beneath the glittering surface.

"That's one way of saying it. I just wish he didn't seem so complicated to me." Charlotte confessed. "No offense, but I'm his daughter. Shouldn't I have known? Shouldn't I have been a priority?" She had to stop herself before falling down this line of thought. Having been down it before Charlotte knew it only led to bitterness and regret.

"Yes…" Bayley said simply. "Look, Charlotte, I can't tell you why your dad did things the way he did. But I will say that every time he spoke to me he made sure to tell me how much he loved you and how proud he was," she added.

Charlotte tried not to be bitter but she knew it came through. "I'm glad he told you those things. I guess I was just always busy when he felt like saying it."

"You going to be OK? I've got time to chat if you want a distraction," Bayley offered.

"I will be. How bout a rain check on those beers. I probably should drive back to the gym and see how she's doing." Charlotte offered without thinking. Already planning the rest of her day in her own mind. "Hopefully Liv remembered to pick her up after."

Knowing that 'she' could only mean one person, Bayley asked: "How is she?"

Charlotte wasn't sure how to answer that. She wanted to give both women the respect they deserved but considered how much to share. "As well as you could expect." Charlotte paused for a moment. "Still blaming herself but at least she's been going along with everything so far."

Bayley sighed, her instinct was to call Becky and smother her with love but she knew that, right now, what the Irish woman needed was time. Realizing she'd been quiet for too long she told Charlotte: "Thanks for taking care of her Charlotte."

"Sorta my job." Downplaying her role and trying not to think about it. If she was being honest there was no need for her to be so directly involved with Becky. She easily could send Liv, Ruby, or one of Alexa's girls but kept finding time to deal with the redhead herself. "She's not the easiest to take care of. Even when she is 'letting' me."

"I can imagine…" Bayley said, still feeling terribly guilty. More to change the subject than any real interest she forced some cheer into her voice and asked: "Do you mind talking to reporter Bayley?"

"That would actually be a welcome distraction." Charlotte honestly declared. Feeling just a bit of the tension evaporate with the change.

Bayley pulled up her recording app on her phone and started it before saying: "We're recording now FYI. Can you give me official in camp confirmation on the rumors about Banks-Lynch part II?"

Facts were easy to deal with. "We've been given a contract for the fight. It has yet to be signed on both sides but that's just ironing out the details. We're moving forward under the assumption that those small details will be dealt with. Both women want the fight. They won't let a piece of paper stop them."

"Any indications on venue? Purse? Or any other details?" Bayley asked.

"Most of it's still up in the air, but I can tell you that I don't recall seeing so many zeroes on an offer for an MMA fight. Another small matter is that the company wants a multi city nationwide press tour months before the fight. So, even if this is signed the actual fight won't be for a while." Charlotte informed. Not giving her personal opinion on why this fight was taking place so far down the road. It was a fairly obvious work around Sasha's suspension but she knew the reporter in Bayley would easily put two and two together.

"So here's your big chance for some owner speak Char: What's the Flair camp message on how Becky is looking, feeling, etc," Bayley asked, feeling slightly guilty because she knew full well that Becky wouldn't be 'feeling' well at all.

Charlotte swallowed the lump in her throat but kept her voice strong and confident. "The last fight with Nikki was tough, but Becky is ready for a fight. Be that a week from now or in a few months. She knew that Sasha was the end of this road when we started this journey. It might have came a bit earlier than we anticipated but you don't get to pick the best time for an opportunity like this to fall into your lap. You either step up to the test or…" Charlotte trailed off for a moment. "You fall down and have to get back up."

Bayley smiled to herself as she hit the stop button on her recorder. "That was some quality coach speak Char," she said. "You think the press tour will bring you out west?" she asked.

"New York and Los Angeles are the two places that consistently have came up in talks. I'd be surprised if we didn't come out your way at least once. Shane seems pretty dead set on hyping this fight up for the PPV buys."

"Well, hopefully I'll get credentialed and will see you there," Bayley said, not mentioning that she was in danger of getting let go at ESPN, something that would make it hard for her to get credentialed for such a big fight.

Charlotte smiled at the prospect of actually getting together with her friend under better circumstances than last time. "Hey, even if you somehow don't, I'm pretty damn sure I could get you in. We've got quite a bit of leverage once that contract is official."

"I'll keep that in mind," Bayley said with a smile, though she made sure not to commit. She was very uncomfortable with nepotism.

Charlotte took the hint. "I'm sure we… I'll see you. I really do need to get going though. I'm pretty sure this parking garage starts charging way more after the first hour."

"OK, call me soon Char OK?" Bayley said earnestly.

"Of course. I'm thinking facetime and drinks later this week, but I will call you when I know for sure. Adios!" Charlotte called back before ending the call. Starting up the car and moving away from the law office. Feeling better the further she got.

" Adios mi amiga," Bayley said as she hung up. She stared down at her phone for a long time, considering Charlotte's problem. Then something occurred to her. Flipping through her phone Bayley found what she was looking for. When she had she composed a short message to Charlotte.

" When you get the chance you should listen to this audio, I think you'll find it interesting."

Hitting send, she sighed and went to clean up her mess.

Charlotte

The grass was a little damp but Charlotte didn't mind. Kneeling down and taking a seat.

One of her hands reached out to trace the engraved letters with reverence.

"Hey Reid. I know it's been a while but I've been a bit busy."

Charlotte looked around the cemetery. The only other living people here were an elderly couple, who, even if their hearing was perfect were far enough away that them being able to hear her would be impossible.

"I uhh… I thought you might want to hear this too."

She pulled out her phone and queued up the audio Bayley had sent her.

"I know you're probably sick of hearing it, but Bayley is too awesome for this world." Sniffling just a bit as she dabbed at the corner of her eye. "You would have gotten along with her… I mean everyone does."

Charlotte pressed the play button and Bayley's digital voice came out of the speaker.

"What would you say was the greatest achievement during your life?"

"The fact that despite everything I did my daughter grew into such a strong, intelligent person."

Ric's voice came out and just like the first time she listened to it Charlotte couldn't help but get emotional.

"She's dealt with so much, and LORD knows I wasn't there for her. Reid was though… He was right by her side through most of it. When he... passed, I-I didn't even know what to do. I wasn't really living. But then I saw Charlotte. I saw her still standing when she had every opportunity to crumble. Who could blame her if she did? I can't say enough how proud of her I am. People can remember me however they want once I'm gone. But I can say with full confidence that Lottie is far stronger than I ever was."

The audio file ended and Charlotte placed her phone back in her pocket. Wiping at the fresh tears that had snuck out with the back of her hand. "Is it bad if I still feel angry with him for not being around? I feel like I'm just wasting my energy over something he couldn't change, but I've held onto it for so long I don't know how to brush it away."

Charlotte stared at the gravestone and was met with a comforting silence. A light wind catching her hair and gently blowing a few strands back over her shoulders with ease.

She sat for a minute simply appreciating the calming silence. A tiny smile breaking through her mask. "I'll try though… It's been a while since I was last here." Charlotte stated her smile fading. "I'm scared. Becky relapsed and I… I'm just scared. It's why I didn't want to give her a chance in the first place. I know that's mean but I panicked… I didn't want to get close to her because I knew it would hurt to watch her struggle. Lot of good that did for me though. I've been an asshole and I still feel like shit when I see her so down."

Charlotte took a few deep breaths. Trying to dampen the anxiety she felt creeping back up.

"I can't lose someone else. I thought it would be easier if I didn't care, but she has a way of getting under your skin whether you like it or not."

It was another fifteen minutes before Charlotte stood up, preparing to leave.

"Good talk. I'll be back." Letting her hand linger on the sun warmed stone for a few extra seconds.

Becky/Bayley

Never before had a tiny piece of metal and plastic scared Becky.

She got into a cage dressed in little more than a bathing suit and fought another human being regularly. This shouldn't even make her break a sweat.

Yet, here she was. Alone in her apartment and sitting in silence while her phone innocently sat on a tiny folding table. Terrified of picking up the device and following through.

It had already been sitting there for over twenty minutes while Becky found any excuse to procrastinate just a bit longer. She had wanted to make the call yesterday but had ultimately failed. And with another counseling session coming up in just a couple days the redhead was running out of time to make an attempt.

To help, Becky had found an old squishy stress ball but so far it hadn't aided her nerves all that much. The muscles of her arm pulsing in a rhythmic fashion as she squeezed and released.

Becky hated the feeling of being intimidated by the prospect of calling someone who she truly cared for. It reminded her of Finn in a lot of ways and she didn't know if she could deal with another person wanting nothing to do with her. If she never called she would never have to confirm that fear. Of course, she would also never get the chance to see if that fear was valid in the first place.

She finally reached out and picked up the phone. Staring down at Bayley's number and hovering over the call button.

A thousand questions running through her head. Each one making it all the more tempting to just put the device back down and not take the risk.

Her finger pressed down and she raised the phone to her ear. Eyes closed and head already bowing down into her free hand. Caught between relief and blind terror when it started ringing.

There wasn't any turning back now. Even if she did end the call Bayley would still know she called and would undoubtedly return it even if things weren't alright between them.

Bayley was sitting in front of a large makeup mirror with a eyeliner brush poised by her face. She'd mostly forgotten about it by now as she struggled with a decision. Should she? Shouldn't she? She'd been trying to force herself to commit one way or another for several minutes now and just couldn't.

Sighing heavily she set the brush down and turned away from the mirror. Now was not the time to be grappling with this.

One or two successful wingtips in her mirror at home did not mean it was a good idea for her to try applying one before going on TV.

She was about to stand when her phone began to buzz with an incoming call. Bayley was tempted to just turn it off but then she looked up at a clock and saw that she had a few minutes before she was due to go on set. Retrieving the phone from her bag she took a seat in the green room chair and looked at the screen.

She froze as she saw the name on the screen.

'Becky Lynch'

Bayley hadn't spoken to Becky since she'd left Boston. She'd hadn't even received a response to her text messages, which was why she'd backed off on them. A small part of her was simply resigned to the fact that she might never speak to Becky again. But now…

The debate within Bayley was brutal but short. She answered the phone.

"Hello?"

It was one thing to say you were ready to confront something like this but Becky was finding it another thing entirely now that her words had became action. "Uhh hey… Not gonna lie, a part a me was hoping you weren't going ta pick up." Already up and pacing, unable to stay still any longer. "Not a part I'm proud of."

"If we're being honest, part of me wasn't going to," Bayley admitted with the ghost of a laugh at the end. It was an odd feeling, being stuck between two levels of intimacy. On one hand, she'd seen Becky at her worst and loved the other woman like a sister. But on the other it almost felt like they were first meeting. Bayley wanted to reach out but simultaneously felt as though she couldn't.

"I wouldn't blame ya." Becky began to pick at the new jeans she wore with her free hand. "T'ings are a lil' weird right now." Mentally berating herself already for not saying what she actually had planned and want wanted.

"Yeah...just a bit…" Bayley admitted, hating every second of how uncomfortable this felt. Also suddenly very aware of the sobriety chip nestled against her breastbone. "So...how are you? How have you been?" Bayley asked, floundering.

"Good… I'm good." She didn't want to talk about herself but knew Bayley would be worried. "I'm thinkin' again… So that's good." Becky closed her eyes tightly and bumped her head lightly against the wall. "Are umm… Do-" Two more thumps and two more tiny dents in her drywall. "Fuck. I'm not good at this shit."

"I'm not doing much better…" Bayley had to admit this. Sighing audibly she said: " I don't suppose you want to ever hear me say how sorry I am about that night again right?"

Becky shook her head even though Bayley couldn't see. Still leaning her weight against the wall before resuming her pacing. "You see! You ARE good at this shit. You're fucking Bayley for fuck's sake. This shouldn't be so hard. But I had to screw up a good thing. I'm the one who called to say sorry and you STILL beat me to the punch." Becky wasn't sure if she was crying or laughing at this point. "Seriously… You're an asshole."

Bayley couldn't help it, try as she might. The giggle slipped out of her lips. "Becky, you have no idea how much that means to me, and how much I've missed you."

The small semblance of normalcy was nice but still felt a little off. Becky was a little hesitant about responding in kind. She didn't want Bayley to think she was only hanging around and calling waiting for a chance. "I… I've got a lot I need to say."

"I-" Bayley started to say but then the door to the green room opened and a producer appeared. "Damn it!" she said, frustrated beyond belief that this was happening now.

Becky was going over everything she wanted to say. She couldn't handle not having the brunette in her life and was willing to accept if it was just friendship. She had already ran off enough friends.

She had to take a few deep breaths to steady herself and was a bit taken aback by Bayley's exclamation. "Bay?"

"I am SO sorry Becks, I'm about to go on Porter's show, can we PLEASE continue this later? Maybe tonight?" Bayley asked, feeling dejected.

'Oh…" Becky felt deflated after building herself up. "I'm gonna be busy tonight. McMahon wants me in New York for the card tomorrow night and radio row in the morning. After all that?"

"Sure, yeah that's perfect," Bayley said as she let out a huge internal sigh of relief. Everything would be fine after tomorrow. "Wish me luck OK? I'm going on to try and put this Carmella crap to bed," she said as she stood and smoothed her clothes.

"That'd be nice. You've no idea the amount of assholes online who ate up every word and now think I'm some creepy perv." Becky passed it off as a joke even though it was actually true. Yet another reason to avoid social media.

"You're a charming perv…" Bayley assured her before saying "...I gotta go Becks, talk to you real soon."

"Good luck." Becky threw out. Feeling a little bit better since Bayley had loosened up. "Bye for now."

"Thanks Becky," Bayley said before tossing her phone down next to her purse and hurrying out of the green room.

Becky

The entire time she had been in New York so far had been a test of Becky's rapidly thinning patience. That wasn't even mentioning the fact that all she had to look forward to after finishing her obligations was an early morning flight to London for the first of many press conferences.

In the two plus hours of continuous press questions on radio row this morning Becky had quickly lost count of how many times she was asked about Bayley's response to Mandy and Carmella's interview. She didn't know how many times she had to explain that she hadn't seen it yet before they would stop asking.

Even so, the questions continued to roll in with each new person that rotated through and her answer didn't change. Beyond getting increasingly more curt and dismissive with each interview.

"I swear Alexa if one more person asks me a dumb question I will rip out their tongue."

The tiny blonde didn't even look up from her phone. Her short legs somehow keeping up with Becky's angry longer stride. "Have fun with that."

Becky looked over and raised an eyebrow. "You're cool with that?"

"If you hadn't threatened bodily harm on more than twenty people so far I might take the most recent one more seriously."

A pout spread onto the Irish fighter's face as she miraculously found herself fighting to hold back a tiny smile. "Spoilsport. It's not as much fun when you don't give me a reaction."

Alexa finished whatever she was doing on her phone and finally looked over at the woman she'd been conversing with. "That's the point."

Becky was going to respond when she caught a familiar sight in the corner of her eye. "Alright Lex Luthor. I'm going to have to cut this wonderful conversation short."

"Oh no. What will I do?" Alexa sarcastically deadpanned.

"Got someone I need to talk to."

"Remember, you have to be in hair and makeup in fifteen. Then after that you-"

"Yeah, yeah. I know. I'll be there." Becky dismissively waved her hand at the blond and started walking down the hallway she had noticed an old familiar face walking down.

The redhead wandered off down the halls of the famous Madison Square Garden Arena. It felt odd being here and not having a fight. It had always been a dream to have a match in such a famous arena but the stars had never aligned for her. Tonight she was just a spectator. There to make an appearance on the broadcast and do a bit of promotion for the next bit of promotion.

It was a bit like a never ending circle really. She was going to go talk about the press conference and then that press conference would lead into the next. Which would promote the next press conference and cycle on for weeks. Weeks that Becky knew would be mentally and physically taxing. And then they had to actually go back to their camps to train for the biggest fight of both women's respective careers.

After a minute or so Becky finally caught up. "Finlay!"

The older Irish man stopped in his tracks and turned around at the familiar voice. Doing his best to try and keep his normally stoic face from showing anything.

Becky crossed the distance between them but stopped just outside of arms reach. Feeling a bit like a child going to the principal's office. Oddly out of her depth with a man she used to be close enough to call family.

"Hey."

Her former trainer just stared at Becky for a while before responding. His face not giving away a hint of what he was feeling. "Rebecca…"

Becky shoved her hands deep in her pockets. "Umm how are things going?"

Dave's face twitched. "Is that really how we're starting this?"

The redhead stayed silent for a few moments. Mulling over her response. "What do you want me to say?"

"I don't know. You're the one that came to me."

Becky frowned and started to feel her nerves fray ever so slightly. "I just thought-"

"What? That we'd beg you to comeback just because you won a couple fights? Talent was never your problem. I could see from day one that you had the potential to be one of the greatest."

The word potential had always irked Becky. When she started fighting the word had always been used to describe her. By itself the word is neutral, but to Becky it had both driven and haunted her.

"If we just wanted the best 'fighter' we'd never have let you go. Lord knows I tried to get you to realize where you were heading. I hoped it was just a phase. After you're fight with Banks I wanted you to recover as much as anyone. Finn did too. I thought we could motivate you to actually put your all into rehabbing that knee but you didn't want to hear it. To wrapped up in that Carmella girl… So I tried something else."

Becky had never heard Finlay talk so much about something that wasn't fighting, but his last words puzzled her. "What're you saying?"

"She didn't tell you?"

"Who?"

"Martinez. I wanted to help drag you out of that depression. So, I leaked the information about how serious your knee injury was. Thought it would light a fire under you."

"You…" Becky didn't know which way was up right now. "You were the leak?" The foundation she hadn't ever had to question suddenly falling apart. "I trusted you… I trusted her."

"I though-"

"YOU THOUGHT WRONG! What gave you the right? Huh? You thought selling me out would help?" Becky shook her head violently as her entire body vibrated with barely contained rage. "You know what. I don't want to hear anymore. To think I was going to apologize to you. Fuck you! You should be apologizing to me."

"Beck-"

"NO! I'm done listening to you. Who needs enemies with friends like you two." Becky spat out and turned on her heel to walk away as quickly as she could. She couldn't afford to let herself fall apart in front of him.

When she finally stopped Becky wasn't even sure exactly where she was. The redhead hadn't been paying any attention as she moved away from her former trainer.

She leaned against the cold wall and felt the chill in her heart slowly spread. No matter what she tried to do Becky couldn't fight the wave of emotions hitting her.

"It's ok. You can get through this. It's only temporary." Becky told herself to no avail. The storm inside her only growing.

She didn't have any time to process any of it. Looking down at her phone Becky saw that she had to start getting ready for the rest of her obligations today.

With a heavy heart she began to wander the halls until she figured out where she was and made her way to hair and makeup. Hand freezing on the doorknob as she tried to center herself and push the distress to the back of her mind.

Just when she was about to open the door Becky heard a roar of laughter from behind her as a group of unaware BFA employees walked past.

"Did you see the interview?"

"The Martinez one? That was so crazy. A whole interview just to say she wasn't fucking Lynch."

"I almost felt bad for that Irish bitch at one point. She was trying so hard to convince everyone that there was nothing between them."

"Who can blame her? Would you want to have your name attached to that ticking time bomb?"

"I can think of something I'd like attached to her." The sound of laughter making Becky's blood boil. "But only for a night. That pussy can't be worth the side of crazy it comes with. Bet she's a freak in bed though. I'd fuck the gay right out of her. She could even bring that Bayley chick along for the ride. Maybe I could even get them to kiss and make up around my dick."

"Glad that girl realized it wasn't worth it before Lynch dragged her through the mud."

"She already did."

"Before she got dragged through the mud more then. She seems way to nice for an asshole like that."

"Well she made it crystal clear Lynch wasn't an option. Her even saying they were friends felt forced. I'm guessing they fucked and that reporter realized what a horrible mistake she made. Full spin mode."

Becky couldn't listen anymore but luckily their voices faded as they walked away.

She had actually been looking forward to supporting Bayley and watching the interview but now she wasn't sure.

It seemed like everyone believed Bayley was the victim in all this. Becky didn't blame them at all. Between the fighter with a questionable past and the always upbeat reporter it seemed obvious who was the bad influence.

But to hear that Bayley had leaned into that and confirmed that she would never look at Becky in a romantic sense ripped at the wound which had barely begun to heal.

The rest of the day passed in a blur. She didn't even remember going on television and plastering a fake smile on her face.

When her obligations were finally done and she could rip the mic off her shirt Becky walked away from ringside where she had been giving the interview and looked around the sold out arena. She hadn't really paid attention to any of the fights and honestly couldn't say who had even fought.

The one thing that caught her eye was one of the new ring card girls. A model thin blonde that was giving her a hesitantly shy smile and a tiny wave.

Becky thought she recalled her name being Kelly Kelly, but that couldn't be right. Regardless though she looked like a potentially willing distraction. The other two scantily clad girls next to her weren't too bad either. A brunette with an ass to die for and a darker skinned beauty with cascading curls that framed her face. Both whispering to the blonde and glancing at Becky. Obviously in the middle of a conversation when the redhead was the subject.

Becky tossed her hair over her shoulder and flashed a confident grin that had Kelly blushing right away.

Making up her mind, Becky walked around cageside towards the group.

Maybe she could salvage this shitty night after all.

Bayley

Bayley was sitting with her knees tucked up to her chest leaning back against the wall at the head of her bed. She was absolutely stunned, though this was quickly draining away. It was being slowly replaced with a dawning sense of absolute horror and desolation. This had to be what it felt like to be suddenly stabbed. It couldn't be real, she must still be dreaming.

Reaching out toward her phone where it lay on the bed, Bayley pressed 'play' on the voicemail with a quivering finger.

"I should 'ave known you were a fuckin' liar. You almos' had me fooled ta. Pretendin' like ya give a shite 'bout me when y'ur jus' waitin' ta stab me in the back. Jus' like everyone else. And I actually fuckin' thought you were special. I did everythin' right and you didn't even care. Were you ever gonna tell me about Dave or would you jus' hide b'hind that reporter bullshit?…" Becky voice became much softer as she held the phone away from her mouth and spoke to whoever was in the room with her. "I didn't tell you three to stop… Shut the fuck up and do what I tell you." The phone moved back, and she started addressing Bayley again. "I did everyt'ing' you wanted and it's still not enough. NEVER fucking was apparently. You didn't think it was important to tell me one of the only people I trusted was selling me out? Huh? FUCK YOU BAYLEY! You needed a whole damn interview to say I'm not worth it. Think yer above me? How fuckin' cute. Hope ya enjoy all the extra attention for yer stupid lil' articles. You're welcome by the way. Fucking stupid bitch. You should have been GRATEFUL I even looked in your direction! No one gave a damn about you before me. You should have been getting down on your knees thankin' me every damn day. I'm Becky FUCKING Lynch! I could have any bitch I wanted. Isn't that right… Uhh... Who cares what your names are... Go choke on a dick you stupid feckin whore. I'd trust Carmella over you right now. At least when she fucks me, she's upfront 'bout it. AND I GOT to actually fuck that stupid slut! But you couldn't even give me that and spread those legs. At least then I would have gotten something out of this 'relationship'," She spat out the word like it was acid. "I knew I never should 'ave trusted a reporter… I'll make sure to 'think about it' 'fore getting' involved with another cunt like you. Buenos noches, pinche puta!"

Hearing the voicemail for the second time was even worse than the first time. Like an embedded blade being violently twisted in her flesh. To hear those words in voice of a woman who had become one of her best friends…

Receiving Sasha's 'wedding invitation' and when she'd first had to break Becky's heart had been horrific experiences for Bayley. She'd thought, and maybe hoped, that they would be the worst of her adult life. If she had hoped that, it had been in vain. This was much worse. This was almost as bad as the darkest parts of her teenage years.

Bayley could feel tears leaking out of the corner of her eyes as she looked down at her phone. Part of her wanted to be angry. She'd seen both Becky and Sasha use this trait to effectively avoid feeling other emotions. And she really tired.

How dare Becky Lynch, no, Rebecca fucking Quinn., do this to her? Bayley had bent over backwards trying to help that hot mess, and had even endured body blow after body blow to her reputation. She'd done all of that willingling, happy to make those sacrifices for the woman she thought she knew. How dare Becky do this to her?

But righteous indignation wasn't a natural part of Bayley's character. Try though she might to conjure storm clouds of rage to hide her heart, they were quickly dissipated by her sadness. No, try though she might Bayley simply couldn't fill this hole in her heart with anger. She wished she could.

Her phone buzzing almost made her jump out of her bed. Looking down at it as though it were an old friend who had suddenly betrayed her, she checked the screen. She had an incoming call from Charlotte Flair.

Bayley sniffed as she looked down at the device. Light was streaming in through her bedroom window as she thought. The right thing to do would be to answer and tell Charlotte, her friend, what had happened. She would undoubtedly sob like a child but then she could talk about it, maybe see if Charlotte could make sense of this sudden javelin to Bayley's heart. Her friend was only a single button push away. She could do it.

She reached out with a steady hand.

She hit 'ignore'.

Letting herself slump sideways onto her bed, she turned away from the window and pulled her comforter over her head as the sobbing began.

Becky

"Rise and shine!"

Becky groaned at the loud voice. Her head ringing like she was inside a bell tower. She was a little confused when she tried to move but found herself pinned down. One of her eyes creeping open only to shut it tightly from the bright sunshine that poured in through the window.

"Get the fuck up. All of you." Alexa's unmistakable and angry voice filling the room.

Slowly the women that had been pinning Becky to the mattress stirred.

"Get your clothes and get out."

Becky continued to lie in bed as she the three women slowly dressed. Any complaints quickly cut off by the obviously irate diminutive blonde.

"Bye Becky." Kelly and the other two called out in unison as they were literally being pushed out the door.

"Bye… Uhh… You three."

Alexa slammed the door behind them and turned towards Becky with fury written across her face. "What the hell was that?"

The familiar feeling of a hangover made Becky want to hide in shame but she wouldn't admit that. "I think it's called sex. Is it classified as a foursome or an orgy at that point?"

"I don't give a shit. Do you have any idea what I had to do to find your ass?"

"I-"

"NO! You don't get to say shit. I've got Charlotte breathing down my neck because you decided to run off on your own last night and not answer your fucking phone." Alexa took a moment to gather a few deep breaths. "I really want to say more but we need to get to the airport. Flight to London leaves in an hour. Get dressed."

Becky heard the words but didn't understand. "What?"

"Get moving already. We don't have time to waste."

"Umm… Alexa?"

"What?" Impatiently tapping her foot after throwing a discarded shirt at Becky's head.

"What happened last night?" The Irish woman asked.

The confusion on her face must have melted just a bit of Alexa's icy fury. "You fucked up. No time to wallow in self pity though. That plane won't wait for us."

Becky nodded and pulled herself out of the bed. Uncaring of her own nudity as she slowly pulled on the wrinkled clothes from last night that had been scattered across the room.

She was far too preoccupied with trying to remember what she had done last night. The last thing she remembered was Kelly and her friends (… Layla and… Brooke?) dragging her into a club. Everything after that was a blank.

Becky groaned when she remembered that she was supposed to call Bayley so they could continue their conversation.

As much as she wanted to repair that relationship she didn't have the time right now. Hopefully the brunette would forgive her for having to reschedule.

She recalled Finlay's words from yesterday and she felt an irrational wave of anger towards the reporter but shook it away.

It hurt that Bayley had held that information from her, but with a few seconds of rational thought Becky realized how useless her anger was.

Not only did Bayley need to keep her sources confidential for obvious reasons, but this happened well before they had gotten to know each other.

It still hurt, but in the light of day Becky knew Bayley didn't deserve her ire.

She'd have to apologize for having the thoughts in the first place, but knew that Bayley would readily forgive her. A small smile jumping onto her face through the hangover at the thought.

Becky was devastated that she let herself have another relapse but knew she could get through it with the help around her.

Sasha

Sasha was beyond tired as she lay on the bed in her hotel room.

In a different time she would have been laying on the bed in her hotel suite, but she'd elected against it this time. Sasha wasn't sure she knew exactly what it would ultimately mean to 'be better' but she guessed that continuing to live her old lifestyle would make it difficult. So here she was.

One thing she did have going for her in her quest to change was that part of her old lifestyle was being denied to her. Previously, whenever she'd been in London, she'd spent all of her nights partying almost until sunrise the next day. This time around she was simply too tired.

Meng was relentless. Sasha would never describe Bobby Lashley as someone who went easy on his fighters, almost the exact opposite. But Meng took Bobby's obsessive work ethic and seemingly doubled it. Bobby had always given Sasha a lighter workout if they'd gone overseas and landed early in the day. Meng had arranged for her to go almost directly from the airport to a private gym where she'd had a grueling sparring session with two of the best tireur in the world.

Simon Dean, he was not.

Sasha was in London to kick off the multi-week media tour that would culminate in her rematch with Becky Lynch. The fight itself was a long way off but Shane wanted this to be the biggest spectacle in the history of the sport. So there would be media stops in London, Boston, New York, Miami, Chicago, Houston, Vegas, and LA. And Teddy had mentioned that they were still talking about adding to the list.

For what felt like the first time since in years, Sasha was intimidated. She knew full well how little it would take for her to backslide into the Boss, she wouldn't lie to herself on this. And also knew how much pressure and scrutiny she would be under in the coming months. She was intimidated because she wasn't at all confident she'd be able to weather the storm.

Especially not alone.

Another thing she had to admit to herself, if to no one else, was that her quest for self improvement was at least a little fraudulent. She felt this way because she had the idea that a real effort to be better would be disinterested with no other goal. Sasha knew that on some level she was trying to 'fix' herself for someone else.

For her.

But she also knew how unlikely it was that this dream would ever be realized. She just hoped she could repair some of the damage she'd done to herself and others along the way. Or that's what she told herself. Told herself in the moments when she wasn't trying to delude herself with false hope.

Sasha's preoccupation wasn't helped by the fact that she had just watched a lengthy interview where Bayley was the subject. She'd mostly been watching the ESPN stream as a way to have noise on, but then she'd seen the note flash by on top of the screen: 'On the MVP show: Bayley Martinez'.

Sasha had thought it must have been someone else with the same name, but she'd been unable to keep herself from clicking the link. Her stomach had then done a backflip as she'd seen Bayley's face on the screen. A Bayley looking and dressed more somberly than Sasha remembered her, but Bayley nonetheless. Sasha's heart had ached as she'd looked at those features, so familiar and yet somehow alien now.

She'd watched the entire interview, it wasn't live obviously but she'd checked and it was only a day old. Sasha had more or less unplugged from the MMA news cycle recently but even so she'd been aware of what Mandy Rose and that bitch Carmella had done. And she'd taken great joy in telling Teddy that she wouldn't allow any media access to Rose or anyone else from her show. But as she'd watched Bayley's interview, she'd been reminded just how far removed from that extraordinary woman she was.

One exchange, in particular, had highlighted this for her. Porter had asked Bayley: "Given your side of the story you must be a little angry by what ended up happening with Carmella Dale's appearance and subsequent comments right?"

"No, Montel, no. When I first heard, yes, I was annoyed. But now? No, absolutely not. There are a lot of reasons why I try not to drag grudges around with me. But the biggest one is simply that I won't let others dictate to me how I will feel. I don't know Ms. Dale or what her motivations were for saying what she did. But I won't let her, or her words, change me."

Sasha had sat back at this response. The answer, so characteristic of everything she'd loved and still loved about Bayley, felt like a rebuke to her. Especially in light of her immediate and extremely petty reaction to the same stimulus. She'd almost been on the point of calling Teddy then and there to end the media embargo, but then she'd caught Bayley's closing words.

"I love this sport, I love the fighters, I love the fans, I love all of it. I started a website on nothing and powered with hard work for a very long time to get here. Becky Lynch is one of my best friends, and I do love her. Not in the way Ms. Dale tried to suggest, but I do. As I tried to show in my writing from Boston, I don't think anyone or anything is completely irredeemable-"

Sasha didn't catch the rest of her words. Her mind latched onto the last sentence. And all its possible implications. Swallowing a sudden lump in her throat, Sasha sat down at her computer and closed the video. She stared blankly at her screen, the cursor blinking in the email she'd just opened. Wondering why she suddenly felt a powerful sense of deja vu.

She stared.

Then, almost of their own volition, her fingers began to move. Slowly at first, but picking up speed and purpose as time went by. She ended up writing almost a full page before she deleted it all. It had been so...false. Like she was quoting from a movie or a book. She'd simply never been very good at expressing herself in writing. Sighing, she turned on her computer's webcam and the moved to sit on the edge of her bed.

She rested her elbows on her knees for a long time as she looked down at the floor. A legion of thoughts and feelings at war inside her. Her heart was even beating faster now. It got to the point where she knew that if she didn't look up soon, she never would.

"Hi, Bay…" she said as she looked into the camera.

Sasha/Becky

Even a day later Becky was still feeling the after effects of her night of debauchery. Her head still pounded but that may have more to do with having to fly to London with a massive hangover. The planes engines never giving her a moment to rest on the way over.

When her name was called to come on stage Becky grimaced and tried to plaster on a convincing smile. The bright lights shining down make her want to turn away before the whole thing started. She persisted through the discomfort and walked across the stage while waving to the generally Pro-Lynch crowd. It might not be Ireland but London was close enough.

After a quick handshake from Shane she sat down at her assigned side of the stage and set her phone and bottle of water down on the table that sat in front of her.

She took a few deep breaths once the attention began to fade off of her momentarily. The crowd already anticipating Sasha coming on stage as the McMahon went over her accolades. Stirring the people into a frenzy when he mentioned the last fight. Boos waiting to be unleashed on the champion when she showed herself.

Becky oddly enjoyed the moment. These media obligations always felt like she was some animal in a zoo that reporters came to gawk at. On display for criticism from people who would hate the same microscope if it turned on them.

Becky couldn't help but think about Bayley. Her… friend hadn't wanted any of the attention that came with celebrity but had always handled it far better than Becky. She didn't go blowing up and shouting on national television every time some asshole went off on her.

Shane finally ended his long winded introduction and the spotlight was all on Sasha as she entered to the hostile crowd jeering her from the word go.

Sasha had been waiting as patiently as she could just off stage. She'd done this sort of thing enough times that it really shouldn't have been causing her nerves, but it was. Maybe it was the fact that 'she' hadn't done many at all, the Boss had always handled the media. And the media, in turn, had always eaten up her act. Now, Sasha about to try something new and that was always daunting on a public stage.

She listened to Shane firing up the crowd in advance of her appearance. While she wished he hadn't, she also understood the motive. Shane was nothing if not predictable and he would sell his last family member if he thought it would boost his company and thus his net worth. And she had to admit that the very strong sentiment against her was not unearned. No doubt British MMA fans would not have forgotten her treatment of Paige.

"Here we go," she said quietly to herself as she heard Shane building to his crescendo.

"...The Women's Bantamweight Champion of the world, Sasha Banks," Shane shouted, and the chorus of booing began. This wasn't coming from the assembled media, or at least not to any great degree, but from the paying audience.

The Boss would have sashayed out onto the stage, flicked away her haters, and maybe hit her pose a few times. She would have been confident, in charge, and seemingly immune to the hostility of the room. Sasha wasn't.

Instead she walked out onto the stage with what she hoped was a humble smile on her face. She walked over to Shane, who wasn't quite concealing his surprise and disappointment at this tactic, and shook his hand. Then she steeled herself for the first potential disaster of the day. Squaring her shoulders, she walked over to the tables, past her assigned spot, and moved to stand next to Becky.

She saw the Irish fighter tense, no doubt wondering if Sasha would attack her. Instead, Sasha stopped when she reached Becky and slowly extended her hand.

Becky was more than a little surprised when Sasha offered her hand rather than a fist. Their last meeting hadn't exactly improved the issue that would always be between them.

For just a second she thought about ignoring the offer outright. Maybe even play up to the crowd and flick Sasha off or give her the grade-school tactic 'pretend to shake hand and run hand through hair'. Either choice would have been petty though and a voice in her head that sounded like a strange combination of Charlotte, Alexa and Bayley told her that would be unwise.

There was still a tiny part of her that was wary of this all being some convoluted prank on Sasha's part but she already felt bad after Alexa got in trouble for losing her in New York. When you added that guilt on top of how ashamed she was over drinking to the point of blacking out Becky decided she would try to be humble and keep herself out of trouble.

She stood up out of her chair and turned to stare down Sasha for a couple seconds. Searching the other woman's eyes for any deceit and finding none.

With only a bit of hesitation Becky reach out with her own hand and wrapped it around Sasha's. Neither woman taking their eyes off the other while they remained in contact.

So many flashes went off at this moment that it almost felt like a physical wave of light hitting Sasha from the side. But she ignored it as she held Lynch's hand, squeezing enough to be respectful but not to indicate she was trying to establish dominance. She held the contact for a few seconds before she released Lynch's hand and made her way back to her spot. When she sat, she made sure to sit upright, not to slouch as she always had before.

"Well alright then! How about that from our fighters?" Shane called from where he was standing. He then took his own seat and said: "Ladies and Gentlemen, ask away!"

Dozens of voices all clambored at once. But Sasha, as champion, knew it was up to her to begin things. Searching the room she pointed at random to a woman sitting in the second row.

"You, please," she asked, doing her best to smile.

"Sasha, the last time you were here in London you made quite the negative impression. Do you have anything to say about your fight with Paige?" Sasha took a deep breath before answering. This had been bound to come up and she'd worked on her answer.

"Last time I was here, I made a mistake. I was going through some...personal turmoil and I let that affect my work. So do I have something to say? I could come up with a lot of things to say but they won't mean anything. So I'll just tell you that I regret it, and that I wish Paige nothing but the best. I'd also be willing to extend an invite to her to come to California some time to train with Thuggin and Buggin," Sasha said, trying hard to put some real contrition in her voice.

The room was buzzing at the already out of character displays they'd seen from both fighters.

The talk prior to this press tour was that this feud would get very personal. Both women were known loose cannons and hadn't been shy about speaking their minds. No matter how mean their comments could be.

Even Becky was taken aback by the Sasha she'd seen so far. The Irish woman was so fascinated that she nearly missed the next question from the same reporter that came her way.

"This is for Becky. Obviously your first fight with Ms. Banks ended poorly for you. How is this one going to be different from the last?"

A rather large part of Becky wanted to berate the reporter for daring to ask that but she tried to dampen that urge. Opening up her water bottle to take a sip and using the time to calm down. "I guess you'll have to tune in to find out." She gave a cheeky wink to the audience but continued. "I think me and Sasha have both changed quite a bit since then. If we fought a hundred times I'm sure I'd win some and she'd win some. It's just about who is better for that thirty minute stretch when we step in the cage. Nothing else matters in the end."

All eyes naturally turned to Sasha when Becky finished speaking. Clearing her throat she said: "One night, one fight. We can try to predict and prognosticate as much as we all like. But like Becky said, it's just that one time that will matter. I don't think it would be right for me to try and guarantee you anything, not anymore. The only thing I KNOW is that Becky will go out there and give me hell, and I think she knows I'll do the same."

Becky just nodded and remained silent. Content to let the point sit. She really didn't want to talk about the last fight, but knew it would come up at some point.

Another reporter spoke up over the rest. Standing up so he was easily visible. "You both have had notably turbulent lives away from the cage. Is there anything you'd like to say on that?" The question an obvious bait thrown at the two women for them to fight over.

The loud pop that came as Becky stretched her neck helped alleviate some of the stress she felt from the question. She leaned forward and spoke into her mic since Sasha hadn't said anything yet either.

"I can't speak for Sasha, sometimes life just kicks you for no reason, but sometimes we bring it on ourselves. I'm sure she knows the difference and I wish her nothing but the best. It's easy to forget who you really are in this business. You get in your own head and it can become your own worst enemy. All I want is the best Sasha Banks possible when we fight." Becky stated. Purposefully avoiding her own faults while she spoke.

Sasha took her time before answering this one. Looking down and making sure that her expression suited what she was about to say. "I understand why you asked that question. And I respect it, you have a job to do. But I'm sorry guys, if you're here to see a blow up...I'm just going to come through for you. I am...trying to be better in my life, and that's hard. But change has to start somewhere, and I know Becky will support me on that. She has her own struggles, and I wouldn't want them, falling off the wagon has to be tough but...I agree with her. I want a happy Becky Lynch because she's going to be my best opponent."

Becky had been nodding along absentmindedly but froze at the last two sentences. She could feel the eyes of the crowd turn towards her and the redhead wished she could vanish off the face of the earth right then and there. She knew what inevitably would come next.

"Umm… Follow up… I just need some clarification Ms. Banks. Did you say that Ms. Lynch fell off the wagon?"

Part of Becky wanted to get up and strangle the purple out of Sasha's hair but the cat was already out of the bag. She was just waiting for the next foot to drop.

Even as the question was being asked, Sasha knew she'd made a mistake. God damn it, why was it so hard to try and do the right thing? Kicking herself inwardly she said: "I don't think I should comment any further on that because it's Becky's business. Next question please?"

Of course they wouldn't let that go so easily. "Ms. Lynch do you have any comment?"

Becky bit her tongue. "No comment." She succinctly stated. She didn't want to lie but it wasn't something she wanted to revisit in such a public forum.

Another reporter immediately stepped up. "In some of your recent interviews with Bayley Martinez you spoke about being sober and your substance abuse problems. What changed?"

Sasha had been stewing in impudent frustration with herself at her faux paux and now saw a chance to redeem herself. Leaning forward she said: "Look, I have to say that this seems really off topic. We're here to discuss the fight, and I think that's more than enough to talk about. Can please focus on that and not what happened in Boston?"

The unfortunate thing about MMA journalism was that there was no really hiding from it. Becky could see the wheels turning in the reporters heads and knew when they put two and two together.

The short man who finally garnered the courage to ask the question looked a little intimidated by the moment. Sweat visible on his brow. "No offense Ms. Banks but why do you know this? Also the last time you were in Boston was for Ric Flair's funeral. Did these events coincide with one another?"

Becky dropped her head into her hand. This was not how she wanted this to go. She hadn't actively been trying to keep her relapse away from the media but it being brought up like this was more than a little humiliating.

Unbidden, the boss whispered in Sasha's ear. She could just storm out of the press conference, or just attack the reporter verbally. She'd done both before when she'd been verbally pioned in the past. For a moment, she was tempted to do it again. But then she remembered that she was the cause of this problem, and she thought about how Bayley would handle it. Sasha probably do what her former friend would have done, but she didn't have to act childish either.

Sagging in her seat she looked over at Becky, caught the other woman's eye and mouthed: "I'm sorry."

Becky wanted to be mad. She wanted to somehow go back in time but she knew there was no hiding from this now. She let out the breath she had been holding and solemnly nodded at Sasha. Trying to convey it was alright even though a voice was telling her to never let this go.

She pushed herself up straight and tried to hold her head high. The apple of her throat wavering as she summoned up the strength to just start speaking. "Yes… I had a relapse… I-I had a bad night. I'm not proud of it. But it happened. Now if we could please have some actual questions about the fight I'd love to hear 'em. If you want to invade my privacy I'm sure you can just tune into 'The Rose Report' and Mandy will tell you all the juicy details. It'll all be bullshit, but never let the truth get in the way of a good story."

There was a long, and uncomfortable pause before another reporter spoke up. After that the presser quickly became a fairly generic and shallow discussion of the fight to come. Neither Sasha nor Becky actually communicated much to assembled media, relying mostly on platitudes and truisms. And so it was with a palpable sense of anti-climax that the gathering eventually broke up.

Sasha knew that her initial foray into 'being better' had not gone particularly well. She could congratulate herself on keeping her temper, but not much more. Yet when she finally trudged backstage she was confronted by someone who wasn't even prepared to allow her that small victory.

"Just what the fuck was that out there?" an angry voice demanded. Turning around, Sasha saw a red faced Shane McMahon storming toward her. She also realized that Becky had been right on her heels and was now standing immediately beside her.

Forcing down another reflexive flare of anger, Sasha asked: "What do you mean?"

"You know god damn well what I mean!" Shane ranged as he finally reached the two women. His fingers were hooked like talons and his eyes almost bulging from his skull. He almost looked like he would attack them, but Sasha knew he wouldn't. The man was hot head, not a moron.

Having to force herself to look up asa she took a deep breath she said, patiently: "No...why don't you tell me?" She then spared a half second to shoot a glance to her side to see that Becky was also staring directly at Shane, though she hadn't spoken yet.

"That was so boring I nearly fell asleep! I brought you two idiots all the way to London so you could put on a show! A show that would drive interest in YOUR fight! After that we'll be lucky if anyone gives a flying fuck that's happening at all!"

Sasha's temper was straining more and more against the chains she was using to contain it. She knew that if she stayed in Shane's presence much longer she might lose the battle with it. So it was some real gratitude that she heard Becky speak up for the first time.

"Yer bein' a lil' dramatic there Shane. Taking lessons from your sister?"

Shane refocused on Becky and pointed a finger into her chest. "If I had known this was going to be the result I never would have brought you two out here. I thought you knew the game. I could care less if you wanna 'be a better person' or whatever." Looking over towards Sasha with annoyance. "Do either of you know how much we have invested in this fight? How many people's jobs rely on you selling this fight?"

Neither Becky or Sasha felt like dignifying this with a response although they both felt the weight of his words.

"The only thing we got out of this is that you-" he pointed at Sasha, "-are trying to not be such a bitch. And, you-" he pointed at Becky, "-are still a drunk. Notice that neither of those things make me want to pay to see you two fight."

Becky gritted her teeth and tightly clenched her fists. Initially, she wasn't going to just stand here and take this, but something held her back from snapping at her employer and physically assaulting him. "Noted."

A lot of retorts suggested themselves to Sasha. The one on the tip of her tongue was a barb in which she reminded Shane that he didn't give one single solitary fuck about the 'people depending on them'. But she looked down, clenched her firsts, and took a steadying breath.

"So what do you want us to do Shane? Call each other names? Cat fight? Makeout?" she asked quietly, a tone that anyone who knew her knew meant danger was near.

"Any or all of that and more! I don't need to explain this to you of all people Sasha, you've lived your whole time as champ as an attention whore!" Shane snapped. Apparently his anger then reached a point where he was beyond words for several seconds. When he finally did regain the power of speech all he said was: "No one gives a fuck about Sasha Banks or Rebecca Quinn, and they never have. People want to see the Boss vs the Man, and they damn sure better get it next time!"

The last strands of restraint were fraying inside Sasha when large shadows fell over her and Becky from behind. Before she could speak, a big hand fell on her shoulder and Meng's voice said: "We're going." For half a moment, Sasha thought about resisting the pressure on her shoulder, god she wanted to punch McMahon's fat face into oblivion.

Becky was a second away from not caring about the repercussions when she felt a large strong hand wrap around her elbow. "It's time to go." The redhead wanted to ignore Bobby's words but looked to her side and saw that Sasha clearly was going through the same internal struggle. Punch Shane and potentially lose everything, or take the loss and not complicate things.

"Fine." Becky spat out through clenched teeth. Allowing Lashley to begin steering her away from the scene.

"Nice seeing you again kid," Sasha head Meng say, she assumed to Bobby, but she was too angry to look. Or even to feel awkward in the presence of her former trainer. Instead she shook her shoulder free from Meng, spun on her heel, and marched toward the exit. As she went she was forced to wonder how much longer she could actually continue trying to be better if this was the cost.

Becky eventually threw off the guiding hand on her elbow and stormed out of the arena to her waiting car. Hopping in the backseat and pressing herself back against the leather seat. Eyes tightly squeezed shut as she mumbled quietly to herself. "It's ok. You can get through this. It's only temporary. It's ok. You can get through this. It's only temporary. It's ok. You can get through this. It's only temporary."

She continued to quietly repeat the words even when Bobby silently maneuvered his body inside the vehicle. Thankfully he didn't make any mention of her actions. Quickly talking to the driver and informing him where to go.

As the vehicle lurched into motion Bobby let her have her moment of privacy. Only giving her a solid pat on the knee to let her know he was there if she needed anything.

Becky appreciated the silence. As much as she wanted to talk to someone she didn't want to explain to Charlotte why she felt so bad right now.

That night out with Kelly and those two had certainly not helped her current mentality and she wasn't looking forward to seeing the blonde when she went back stateside.

Maybe Bayley would be better. The thought scared her a bit, but if Becky wanted the woman in her life as a friend she had to start opening up again.

She quickly called the other woman without even checking what the time difference would be. Bayley would probably have watched the press conference anyways so there was a good chance, no matter the time, she would be up.

The phone rang for a few seconds before she was sent to Bayley's voicemail. Even just hearing the cheery voice give a pre-recorded message was enough to make Becky wish she hadn't made such a big mistake.

She let it roll but ended the call before leaving a message. She'd just text Bayley to schedule something. They had already missed their planned call because of Becky running so late after her night in New York. Bayley had been nice enough to not even mention it or nag her about it.

Not having Bayley in her life had been a wakeup call and Becky was determined to not make a mistake like that again. She just wanted her friend back. Of all people, Becky never would have expected Alexa to help her see that.

'We should talk soon. I miss you.'

Becky smiled at the words on her phone before adding a string of hugging smiley faces behind it and pressing send.