Chapter Ten: Training

John hated the thought of taking Sara to the airport, but he knew it had to be done. She had already skipped two days of work and school to fly with him to Laughlin, and now she had to go back. "John, you'll be in California again in what, three weeks?" Sara said, trying to console him, but John only continued to pout, staring intently at the road ahead of them.

"Three long ass freakin' weeks," he whined after a minute. Sara smiled at him.

"It'll be fine," she replied, reaching over and taking his hand. He brought their hands to his lips and placed a kiss on hers.

"I just don't want to miss you," he said, frowning.

"Aww!" she cried.

"What?" he asked, cracking a smile and turning to look at her.

"You're too damn cute," she explained.

"I'm not cute," he protested indignantly, "I'm manly and sexy."

"And cute," she added. John rolled his eyes.

xxxxx

"Call me as soon as your plane lands," John said, walking with Sara up to the security check.

"I will," she assured him.

"And when you get home," he added.

"Okay, I will."

"And at least once a day, everyday for the next three weeks," he said.

"Don't worry, I'll be calling you so much, you're gonna start hearing my voice in your sleep," she replied, and wrapped her arms around his neck. He pulled her close and closed his eyes, breathing in the smell of her hair, trying to commit the scent to memory.

"I love you."

She pulled away from him slightly. "What?"

He opened his eyes, and looked down at her. "I said I love you. I think I have ever since we first met. I've wanted to say it out loud, to you for a while now actually." Sara kept quiet for a minute, and John studied her face to figure out if her silence was a good thing or not. "Sara?'

"I love you, too." She replied quietly. A smile spread across John's face and wrapped her in his arms, lifting her up and spinning her around in a hug. He set her down and kissed her.

"I'll see you in three weeks."

xxxxx

Kali had barely set her things down in her hotel room in Oklahoma City, when Trish Stratus was calling reminding her they were supposed to train that day. She quickly changed into her workout clothes and ran down to the hotel gym where she was to meet Trish.

Upon walking into the gym, her breath caught in her throat when she saw not only Trish but also Dave waiting on her. Trish was smiling up at the Big Man, and Kali couldn't help but feel a wave of jealousy. "Hey guys," she said, interrupting their exchange with a smile.

"Oh, hey. We didn't see you come in," Trish replied.

"I saw her," Dave said, locking eyes with her and returning her smile.

Trish looked back and forth between them with suspicious eyes. "Yeah," she said after a moment, "why don't we get started?"

They began their work out with a quick, two mile run. Kali felt determined to keep pace with Dave, and she did though by the mile and a half point, her lungs and her legs were screaming. "You alright?" Dave asked, seeing how flushed her cheeks were becoming. She nodded in reply, not able to speak at that moment. When they got back to the hotel, they ran into Hunter and Ric in the lobby.

"Are you training right now?" Ric asked.

"Yeah," Trish answered, "We just finished our run."

"We're going to work on mat-skills. Why don't you guys come in and watch?" Dave suggested,.

"Sounds good. Think Kali'll mind?" Hunter asked, smiling over at breathless Kali who was talking to her uncle. Dave shrugged. "I didn't think so either." Hunter said with a smirk.

xxxxx

When their training was over, Ric made the suggestion that after the show that night they all meet up and go for dinner. Trish politely declined, saying she already had plans. She gave Kali a hug and promise to give her a call, and the others a small wave before heading back to her hotel room. "What about you, Kali?" Ric asked, "You don't already have plans do you?"

Dave looked down at his hands, knowing he didn't want to hear her say she had plans with Randy. "No, no plans. Dinner would be great actually," she answered, and Dave grinned to himself.

"Alright, then it's settled. I'll make a reservation somewhere that's obnoxiously expensive, and you all just show up looking your best," Ric proclaimed.

A/N: Oh What's up! More than 30 reviews! I've never had some many reviews! This rocks. Thanks so much for reading you guys, it means soooooooo much to me! This chapter, though, is by far my least favorite. Let me know what you think. Again, thanks for the reviews.

Tanfalath