Chapter Six

On A Rainy Night In London...

Cassie surveyed her outfit in the mirror for the fiftieth time and exhaled. She was dressed in a peacock blue halter top with a glittering gold trim around the top and bottom. A black pleated mini-skirt ended mid-thigh. She had tied back her hair in a long ponytail and a gold headband. Long, drooping hoops hung from her lobes. She had done her makeup with a touch of powder blue along the lids, a hint of beige on her cheekbones and a splash of purplish-pink gloss on her lips. Her nails were blue and her shoes were black leather, flat and knee-high with the zipper on the inside of her leg.

She knew why she was being so fussy with her appearance. This was the first night she was seeing Dave Batista since he won the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 21, and she wanted to look just as good on this night as she did then. She wanted to wow him. If John were there, she knew he would be laughing at her and her elementary-school nervousness about Dave. He always seemed to laugh at her when it came to Dave these days. She was sure he had a good idea of what was developing between the two of them and she was thankful he was staying quiet about it. Which surprised her, since John didn't stay quiet about much.

She put on a black leather jacket and checked her appearance in the mirror one more time. "Oh my God, Cassie, could you stop it?" she scolded herself. "You're just going to see Raw." And him, her mind informed her. With a deep breath, she gathered her purse and walked out of her hotel room, shutting off all the lights behind her.

Standing in the middle of the ring, World Heavyweight Champion Dave Batista was currently relishing the moment as he stood with Jim Ross. He was antagonizing Triple H and getting under his skin in the worst kind of way. Backstage, Cassie watched with Divas Candice Michelle and Christy Hemme. Both of them had come into the WWE through the Diva Search. Christy had won; Candice was a runner up. They giggled every time Dave raised Jim's hand. Each time Jim's hand reached the sky, the fans roared and Hunter seethed, the rage building within him. The Divas loved it. They turned to Cassie.

"Did you hear what happened to the limo driver last week?" Candice asked. She was an exotic beauty from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She was dressed in a tiny silver corset and even tinier black shorts. Her thick, dark brown hair was down around her face in waves.

"No," Cassie answered honesty, cocking an inquisitive eyebrow. "What happened?"

"Batista threw him out of the moving limo and left him on the road. He was in such a hurry to help J.R. that he didn't even stop!"

"I don't know if he'd do that. I'd like to think he has more of a conscience for others than that," Cassie told Candice.

"Something happened to that limo driver," Candice told her. Cassie stopped and thought about it; of course, Candice was right. Cassie kept her eyes on Jim Ross. His face was stitched up and bruised from his encounter with Triple H the week before. She felt sick for him; she couldn't believe that match had been signed off on.

"What brings you to SmackDown, Cassie?" Christy asked. She was a tiny spitfire with cascading fire-red hair and piercing blue eyes.

"I just thought I'd come and see what Raw has to offer," she replied, her tone noncommittal. "I hate to cut this conversation short, but I have to run and see a friend. I'll catch you guys later, okay?" They nodded and she took off down the hallway.

He found her standing outside at the bus stop in the pouring rain. The water beaded off her jacket and her face, smearing her makeup. Dave smiled. It had been his hope to catch up with her during the course of the night, but he had been so busy doing everything from online interviews to photo shoots to backstage segments and matches. He had been disappointed that he didn't get to spend the kind of time he wanted to with Cassie, but this looked like a good opportunity. He placed his bags in the car and walked towards her.

"Cassie? You know they invented cars so you don't have to stand out in the rain, right?" he teased. She turned and smiled. It was a disarming smile, like a hard punch to the gut. He felt his heart soften.

"I know. My car is over there. I've just always wanted to ride a double-Decker bus, so I figured, why not?" she said.

"Would you mind if I joined you?" he asked. For a moment, he was afraid that she was going to tell him that it was something she wanted to do on her own.

"Sure. I would love the company at this time of night." He took his place beside her. They were silent for a few minutes. "What happened to the limo driver last week?" she asked. He looked at her, surprised.

"I threw his ass out on the highway doing eighty-five," he told her nonchalantly. She stared at him, eyes wide. He looked at her horrified face and chuckled. "Oh, Cassie. Don't think I haven't heard what the other Divas have been saying the past week. I made him stop at the Carnegie Deli for a sandwich and when he went inside, I took the limo...Man, the look on your face, though..." She had to laugh.

"Well, Candice was saying..."

"Oh, Candice. I don't know if it's her mouth or her knees that need to be nailed shut together more," he told her. "She likes to create stories back here. You got any Divas like that over on the blue brand?"

"Oh yeah. Dawn Marie," she replied. He nodded.

"I guess you can't escape it anywhere," he mused. She nodded. "So what are your plans for tonight?"

"This," she said, motioning to the approaching bus. "What's your game plan for Backlash?"

"Kill Triple H."

"That sounds like a good plan. He's asking for it." The bus stopped in front of them. They got on. Cassie went to pay the fare, but Dave was quicker. She thanked him sheepishly and the two of them retreated to the top of the bus. They went to the back. It was a relatively empty bus, save for an elderly couple. The woman had short curly grey hair and wore a knitted purple sweater and jeans, while her companion wore a tweed beret and a matching jacket. Downstairs, a teenager sat with his headphones in. Cassie looked out the window and admired the rainy brick streets of London. "How do you think Trish's date with Viscera went?" she asked. He laughed.

"Probably disastrous. It's almost sad how desperate she is to destroy Lita."

"With Lita using Kane against her so much, I'd be desperate, too. I just don't know if I'd want to climb into bed with Viscera," Cassie answered. They both shuddered; Viscera was almost five hundred pounds with a bleached blonde Mohawk and cosmetic blue contacts in his eyes.

"Have you ever met Trish?" Dave asked.

"Once. I came up for a dark match with Candice last year and she gave me a few pointers. She was super nice. At least, she was to me."

"That's normally how she is. With all the years of success she's had, she's still as humble as ever. But there's something about her and Lita..." Cassie continued to stare out the window. Finding some confidence, Dave draped an arm around the back of her seat. She felt a little uncomfortable. Cassie turned her attention to him. "The Draft Lottery is coming up soon."

"Yeah. I know a lot of the guys at SmackDown are on edge about it," she replied.

"This is your first Draft Lottery, isn't it?" he asked. She nodded. "I wouldn't worry too much about your placement. I notice the Divas don't get shifted too much. They probably won't move with the way the Lottery is being done this year."

"How is it being done this year?"

"The General Managers pick week by week."

"Oh. Well that does make me feel kind of safer," she answered. He pulled on the cord for the next stop. Her eyes widened. "What are you doing?"

"Making a coffee stop. Come on." She thought he had the kind of smile that could light up a room. They got up and he helped her back down to the bottom tier of the bus. They got off and stepped back out into the rain. She looked at Dave's suit, which was quickly becoming soaked. By the time they walked a block and a half back to the cafe, her clothing stuck to her like a second skin. Dave thought she looked like a drowned rat, but he still found her absolutely breathtaking. It struck him like a thunderbolt, his attraction to her. It came without warning and without a sound, and now he was hooked.

The two of them sat down at a back table. She looked at her wet clothing and giggled. "Oh, I'm going to be paying for this tomorrow."

"As long as you can still kick ass tomorrow, that's all that's important," he told her. She laughed as she cradled her mug of coffee in front of her. "They sure have you working a lot with John Cena," he observed.

"It's because he's feuding with JBL, and Bradshaw has Amy. I guess I'm supposed to be the equalizer or something."

"So what is the status on Amy Weber's departure? I heard some of the guys talking about it earlier."

"Confirmed. She's going to be gone before Judgment Day. You Raw boys really need to learn how to treat a lady," she said with a snort. "Especially Randy. Tell him to lighten up on the Diva Search rejects. They're obviously not built for what he's doing." Dave laughed.

"Well, you know how the saying goes: 'If you can't take the heat...'"

"...'Then stay the hell out of the kitchen'," Cassie laughed. She took a sip of coffee. Dave watched her in silence for a few moments. He studied every feature of her face; the curve in her eyebrows, the shape of her lips and the perfect cheekbones.

"You look beautiful tonight," he told her. She giggled, a faint pink blush staining her cheeks.

"Thanks. It's a WWE Diva thing, I guess. Gotta uphold that 'glam factor'. We all can't throw on baby oil and look like you." He laughed.

"I bet it would make your job easier."

"Way easier." They fell silent and sipped their coffee.

"How are you enjoying your time on SmackDown?"

"Oh, great. Angle and Undertaker have been super helpful. Same with John, Torrie, Jackie and Fit. I don't know what I would do without them. They've all been so great and have been so supportive. John especially. For the champion to waste his time giving me a hand...it's a real honor."

"Have you ever thought about life on the Raw side, Cassie?"

"I've thought about life on SmackDown. I've come to love it there," she replied with a shake of her head. "Teddy has been the best General Manager a girl could ever ask for, and everybody backstage is just so sweet...anyway, I am psyched to know that the Undertaker likes me. I've been such a huge fan of his, ever since I was a little girl."

"Tell me you didn't get all star-struck when you met him," Dave teased.

"Oh, worse," Cassie confessed. "I...I actually fainted." Dave roared with laughter.

"You didn't."

"I did. Thanks for laughing. Makes me feel better about the whole thing," she murmured into her coffee. She laughed to herself over the memory. Undertaker had been scared out of his mind when she hit the ground. John and Kurt had ribbed her about it for months. They carried her to John's locker room and let her rest there until she came to a few minutes later. "I thought Taker was going to have a heart attack when I went down. The last thing I remember hearing was that deep Texan drawl grumbling, 'Are you gonna be okay, little girl?'"

"Obviously not if you hit the floor," he laughed. They paid for their coffee and decided to walk back to the arena. It was a good six or seven block walk, but they didn't care. They were deep in conversation, not even caring about the rain anymore.

"So Cassie..is that short for Cassandra?" he asked. She shook her head.

"Nope. Just Cass. My mom thought that Cassandra was too fancy."

"You decide on using the name Cassie?" he asked. She nodded.

"It sounds a little more feminine." She was freezing. He was, too, but he didn't even care because he was spending time with her on the streets of London, just the two of them. Even if she had no voice, sniffles and sneezes in the morning, Cassie didn't care. She had already vowed to herself that she would treasure this memory the second Dave asked to join her.

"Why did you want to do this with your life?"

"I love this. I've always loved pro wrestling. I probably always will. I actually did some amateur in high school, believe it or not. I was the only girl on my team, but I could chew them up and spit them out like no other." There was a pause. He was surprised by that touch of information. "What about you"

"I love it, too." He could see the arena up ahead. He hated the sight of it. To him, the sight of the arena meant that his night with Cassie was over. He had learned so much about her during this time together. Cassie Wallace from Colombia, South Carolina. Her birthday was April fifteenth, making her an Aries. Her favorite wrestlers growing up were Jake "the Snake" Roberts - she loved Damian, the snake, The Undertaker, and Koko B. Ware - because, like Damian, she loved Frankie, Koko's beloved Macaw.

Cassie was disappointed that she didn't know all that much about Dave. He evaded a lot of her questions, she found. Instead of answering, he would ask her questions, and by the time she had answered his, she had forgotten her questions. It was odd. Even though he was being elusive, she didn't feel like he was. Things just felt so natural with him. It was strange to her. It felt like she had known him forever.

"I can't believe we're almost at the arena already," she told him sadly. "Thank you so very, very much for joining me tonight. It was really nice having some company." Especially your company, she thought to herself, but she kept the words from escaping her mouth by biting down on her cheek.

"It was nice seeing you here," he told her. "I hope you have a good time at the SmackDown show tomorrow."

"Hopefully you'll make your way back home to SmackDown," she told him with a smile. He stared at her.

"Home?"

"If my memory serves me correctly, Deacon Bautista..." He groaned.

"You had to bring that up..."

"If my memory serves me right, you started on SmackDown." He made a sound that was a borderline snort. If there was one thing in his career he really wanted to forget, it was the whole Deacon Bautista thing he was doing when he started working for WWE. He had to walk around in a suit with a donation box hanging around his neck while Reverend D-Von Dudley sermonized.

"You're terrible."

She laughed as they made their way to the parking lot. They stopped in front of her rental car, a shining red Honda Civic. "Keep in touch, okay?"

He nodded. "Yeah, definitely. I'll see you." They slapped hands and went their separate ways. They turned back to look at each other and flashed comforting smiles before they got into their cars.