For disclaimers, warnings, etc., please see chapter one.

Chapter VI: Signs of Choice

"I found out Lesnar just arrived," Rob said, shutting the door behind him.

"Like we really could expect him not to show for Unforgiven. Yippee!" she sarcastically replied and twirled her finger in the air.

"Tell me about it. I'm still hurting from two weeks ago. I need someone easy for awhile but I guess McMahon thinks otherwise." RVD flexed his arm muscles and plopped down in the nearest chair. "I really want to beat him. I just haven't been able to yet." He dropped his head to ponder the match. Samia could see the hamster frantically running in his mind to keep up with him. "It doesn't matter now because I'm gonna walk out the winner," Rob said with resolve and quickly stood. "Let's get ready."

Samia just nodded. She could tell he had his mind made up tonight that he would win through skill alone. As they had gotten more comfortable with each other, Rob had asked her to help him stretch and this time was no different as they worked harder and longer. He never seemed to have as much peace of mind as he did at that moment.

"Whatever you are doing to tickle me, quit," Rob ordered with a small laugh. She knew he was ready for the match when he relaxed enough to let himself be tickled. She hadn't realized that he had such a sensitive spot on the back of his thigh as she was applying pressure to help stretch his hamstring.

"What? You mean this?" she asked with a teasing grin and intentionally started running her fingernails up and down the back of his leg. Before she knew it, he had her above his head and was using her as a barbell. "Put me down!" she choked between laughs.

He carefully set her down but then jerked back up. "Hear that? Bradshaw just won! We're next! Hurry!"

She glanced down at her watch and realized they had lost track of time. "Oh, sorry!"

"Well, come on," he replied, grabbing her arm and dragging her towards the door.

Even though Rob had disappeared from behind the black curtain, Samia smoothed her hair back into its twist and readjusted her suit before following him out onto the stage. She barely made it out behind him as the smoke cleared from the pyro. At the sight of his game face, she quickly wiped the smile from her face. She glanced around the arena while she shouted RVD's name and pointed at him. On her initial sweep, a sign caught her attention—"Samia! RVD or HBK? No choice-HBK!" She inwardly groaned and began looking for other signs. Another one read "SAM-get you some of Shawn!" That's really great! she sarcastically thought to herself, hoping Rob wouldn't see them.

Samia quickly dropped off the ring apron when she heard Lesnar's music. If Rob thought she needed to be worried about Guerrero, she knew this monster was no comparison. She took Rob's belt as he handed it down through the ropes and set it aside before taking up her position at ringside.

Lesnar had quite a command of the beginning of the match. There was little RVD could do to match the larger man's strength but his agility was what kept bringing the match back over to his side. As to Brock's manager, Samia wasn't at all comfortable with the way Paul Heyman kept staring at her. She couldn't concentrate on the match like she wanted for having to keep an eye on him.

With Lesnar in control of the match again, his manager casually strolled over to RVD's corner. Samia headed around the ring in the opposite direction matching his steps. He seemed to be taunting her by taking a step and waiting to see if she would keep going. He'd take a few quick steps and she would move on just as fast. They circled the ring twice like that before Heyman stopped to remain in his corner when Van Dam took control of the match again.

Rob had gotten in a kick to the chin to stun Lesnar and he was going to the top rope for the Van Terminator. She was quickly on the apron cheering him on. When RVD only got a two count, she dropped back down to find Heyman gone. She began looking for him and turned to see him standing behind her. "Looking for me, Sammy?" he cackled. Samia quickly began back-peddling but her heel caught in a cord and her butt connected with the floor. Heyman pulled her up by her elbow. As she was trying to regain her balance, she slipped her red heel off in hopes of hitting him upside the head with it. He saw her and quickly had her wrist in his other hand. He squeezed hard, crushing her hand until she cried out and dropped the shoe. "I don't think so," Heyman sneered.

"I don't think so either," she bit back and jabbed the back of her other high heel into his toes. He yelped but then quickly spun her around with her arms crossed in front of her chest, pulling tight on her shoulders. She dropped to the ground in pain and he dug his knee in the middle of her back, still pulling on her arms. She tried not to scream out for help because she knew how much this match met to Rob. Heyman forced her head up by grabbing her neck to make her watch RVD lose the match. He still twisted one of her arms up behind her and the other one dropped limply. She tried to move the one but it was like spaghetti. Biting her lip, she tried to endure as much of it as possible without drawing Van Dam's attention.

However, Rob saw the whole incident and decided her being severely injured was not worth this match. He would take out Lesnar later. He dropped the other wrestler with a leg sweep only to see Kevin Nash bounding out of the back. Nash dropped an elbow into Heyman's back causing him to let go of Samia and crush her under his weight. Before the manager could react, Nash was dragging him back up the ramp by his collar. Lesnar paused to decide if he should try to finish RVD or go after Heyman, who was wildly thrashing around while dangling by his collar. The pause was all Van Dam needed to execute the Five-Star Frog Splash off the top rope to put him down for the three count.

Samia dragged herself off the floor, gasping for air from the weight that was finally off of her, and climbed into the ring with RVD's belt. She could barely lift it but it didn't matter because Rob sandwiched it between the two of them in a hug. "I did it!" he shouted at her above the crowd. He took the belt from her hands and quickly headed up to his corner to hold it above his head.

After doing the same in the other three corners, he slung the belt over his shoulder and helped Samia down the metal steps. The fans cheered them all the way up the ramp but he was now more concerned with her. "You okay?" he asked and she only nodded. He pressed his lips together in a thin line, not believing her answer. "I don't believe you," he replied and said nothing until they were on the other side of the black curtain where he stopped her and put both of his hands on Samia's shoulders. "Are you okay?"

Not really, she wanted to reply but she nodded again anyway, locks of hair falling around her face from where it was coming loose from the pin. Without warning, he pulled the pin the rest of the way out to let her hair fall down past her shoulders. He ran his fingers through it and then pulled her head up to meet his in a kiss. She snaked her arms around his neck and returned his kiss. He stepped back from her and caressed her cheek, all the while smiling. "Did that make it better?" She opened her mouth to say something, anything, but nothing came except a brilliant pink blush. That was a good enough answer for him at the moment and he took her hand to help her down the stairs. At the bottom of the steps, a hand tapping on his shoulder stopped them.

Rob turned around to see himself and Samia kissing in a replay on a monitor. He fumed at the fact that nothing around there was sacred or private and that they wasted no time in airing the clip. Preferring not to let it rain on his parade, he shrugged at her and then tugged a stunned Samia behind him all the way back to the dressing room.

She didn't know what to say so she just didn't. Rob had plenty to say on the other hand. He jabbered non-stop about the match while he showered and dressed. She quietly listened while she massaged her back where Heyman had dug his knee in. She kept trying to stretch her shoulders but it didn't seem to do any good. If this is what wrestling feels like, there is no way on God's green earth… she thought as she had trouble picking up a glass of water. She plopped over on the leather couch and buried her head between the throw pillow and the couch cushions.

"Why didn't you yell for help when Heyman had you in that lock?" Rob asked, coming out from the other room brushing his wet hair.

"Hhhhmmmpppffff."

"I'm worried about you," Rob stated as he dropped down beside her on the couch.

She pulled her head out from between the cushions and replied, "I'm fine and to answer your question, I knew how much the match meant to you. With Heyman preoccupied, all you had to worry about was Lesnar. Consider it a favor."

He brushed the hair out of her face. "Take your jacket off and let me see if I can tell anything."

"I'm fine!"

"Just do it," he ordered. From the tone of his voice, she didn't argue and wrestled out the red jacket. He gently rubbed the muscles in her arms and then rubbed her shoulders down, massaging out some of the pain. "Your back is warm," he muttered and then, without asking, he pulled her white blouse up to check. "That's gonna be a pretty bruise." She sucked in her breath as he felt around the area. Rob smoothed her blouse down and said, "You'll be fine. Just really sore for a while with a few bruises."

"That's what I've been tellin' you!" she replied in exasperation as she rolled over, her stomach was nestling against his hip. He tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear.

"You really should leave you hair down. You have beautiful red streaks in it. You can't see them if you have it pulled up." There was a moment of silence between them. Tingles began to run throughout her arms and legs as her body anticipated another kiss. Finally, Rob broke the tension and said, "Anyhow…you ready to go?" She tried to hide her disappointment and nodded. He rose and began gathering his things. "I'll bring the car around. Don't worry about it," he offered and disappeared with their bags.

Rob was kind of glad to be out of the room. He talked non-stop about the match because he didn't know what to say about what had happened on the other side of the curtain between the two of them. He should have known better than to kiss her anywhere near a camera and the gorilla position was a prime place for prying eyes. One of the cardinal sins in the business was falling for one's valet even though many did. It made for too many feuds and too much trouble. But it just happened—not that he didn't like it, but he didn't know what to say. Cool, confident, calm RVD at a loss for words, he thought, laughing at himself, that's a first.

He truly was at a loss for words. He had never believed for once that he would become attracted to the woman that he had "hired" eight weeks ago. She was out of his league as far as he was concerned. She was too sophisticated, too classy for a down-to-earth guy. To him, she was far too intelligent. She would have quickly been labeled a nerd in the high school he attended. With the exception of the past two years, she had spent her entire life in school. For that reason, he considered the woman he had met that week to be too naïve, having a lack of experience in the real world. It was probably what made her so edgy and stressed.

That was why it came as such a surprise to him that he was falling for her. Samia had gotten under his skin and he couldn't explain it. Something had clicked the morning she had given him the body massage and then asked her out on an unofficial date to the baseball game to test the waters. It was as if it was all business, like she was accompanying him to the game as she did to the ring. From day one, she had gone above and beyond what he had asked of her. She was at his beck and call. That's not to mention that she had stood up to Shawn Michaels and Kevin Nash. He had seen more "experienced" women crumble at the sight of them. But, from what he had gathered, that's the way she was with everything she did. Now he wondered if that blush meant something else.

Since the "date," all these thoughts had been running through his head and he just wanted to kiss her. If he gave in to that urge, he just knew that he would find out what she thought and he could put this to rest. Now that he had kissed her, those thoughts were even worse. Either she thought the same about him or she didn't and he couldn't determine which. It would be wrong to expect anything out of her and it would be just as wrong to treat her any different if she didn't return his feelings. He would try to wait until she brought it up and then see what would happen.

Back in the dressing room, Samia tried to push the kiss from her mind. She didn't know if it was adrenaline that made the embrace so electrifying or something completely different but she didn't think she would ever turn something like that down. With a sigh, the blonde gathered herself together, tucked in her shirt, and pulled her jacket on. Stepping outside the door, she came face to face with Kevin Nash, or more like face to chest.

"Did Heyman hurt you?" he asked, blocking her way around him.

Out of gratitude, she wouldn't run this time. "No, I'm just gonna be sore and bruised…Thank you."

"You're welcome," Nash replied with a nod and started to walk away.

"Why?" she asked, reaching out to put a hand on his arm to stop him. He shrugged his shoulders in reply. "I know that the nWo has some sort of problem with Rob, but you did us both a favor. Why?"

"I guess because we like you," he answered, shrugging his shoulders again.

"Just me?" she asked, looking up at him in the eyes, and he nodded. There was a moment of silence.

"You know, with us, somebody would always be able to make sure scum didn't get their hands on you. There's enough of us where nobody could get to you," Kevin stated.

She didn't consider the offer for one second and returned to her cool professionalism. "That's a comfortin' thought, Mr. Nash, but it seems Rob could use me a little more than y'all can. He's my boss and my loyalty lies with him, even through the pain of idiots like Heyman. Thank you for the offer and thank you for helpin' us both out tonight." Samia turned to go before he could say anything else.

Rob met her at the parking lot door. "I was getting worried about you."

"Sorry, I just needed a minute," she replied but then quietly climbed into the car beside him. They silently left the arena to return to the hotel, both lost in their own thoughts.

The next Monday, Samia was grateful to have to return to the car to retrieve the cell phone she had left in it. She and Rob were barely speaking after last night's kiss and neither knew what to say to the other. His chatter after the match had permanently died down after she thought they were going to kiss again on the couch. It might have been better had he still aimlessly babbled. So, she kept to herself in hopes of not offending him more. She felt she had done something wrong when he had little to say to her. Little did she know she was about to withdraw into herself more that evening.

Reentering the building, she was still praying that she wouldn't get hurt tonight, since Heyman was enough to last her a life time. She just wanted to live to see another Monday. However, the sight before her after turning the corner before Rob's dressing room garnered another addition to the prayer. She had wanted to make it through another Monday but did not need to see this!

"Hell, no, you are not wearing that to the ring!" Nash shouted back into the nWo dressing room.

Samia heard Shawn's reply. "Why not? I like it." Then he appeared. Her knees went wobbly and she had to prop herself up against a wall while her mind was screaming at her to run away.

"I don't care," Nash replied. "Have some class."

Shawn then caught sight of Samia. "What do you think, Angel? I think electric blue may be my color." She didn't respond as he twirled around to show off. "What? You don't like the banana hammock?" And that was exactly all he had on. Every muscle that could be visible was and there was no hint of a tan line. She didn't even bother to breathe as he flaunted his sculpted body in front of her.

"Go, now," Nash ordered him back into the room. "I don't care what you and Hunter did in D-X. That—" Nash pointed at the scrap of cloth, "—is not gonna happen while I'm here."

"Oh, alright," Shawn replied, defeated. He smiled at her sheepishly and shrugged before going back in.

"I'm going on," Nash shouted back, "Get your ass in gear, get something on, and catch up."

Samia didn't wait around and wandered on down the hall, wide-eyed. Somebody tell me again why I refuse to have anything to do with them, she thought as she shook herself out of the daze and entered the dressing room.

"Thanks for going back out to get the phone for me," Rob said, taking it from her.

"No, thank you."

"Excuse me?" Rob asked, looking at her puzzled.

She couldn't believe she had just said that. "Nothin'…" she muttered and then added, "the nWo's out there now and then we're next."

"Yeah, I guess it is close to time. Thanks, chica."

Back in the nWo's dressing room, Nash and Michaels were having a laugh at Samia's expense. Their plan had gone perfectly.

TBC…