Chapter Ten

Leading Into Survivor Series

Dave jumped from foot to foot while Cassie watched, her arms crossed over her chest and concern etched all over her face. It had been a couple months since Dave had come to SmackDown, and neither of them had made a move on the other yet. The tension between the two of them was beginning to build, and they both could sense it. But they were too nervous and afraid to make a move, scared of being rejected by the other.

"Are you going to be okay?" she asked. Dave nodded. This year's Survivor Series main event was going to be Team Raw vs. Team SmackDown. Tonight, Eric Bischoff had sent over Edge and Lita to have a street fight with Dave. Lita was Trish's biggest rival, a redheaded Luchadore Diva and Edge's devious manager. Cassie was worried about Lita getting involved in the match.

"I'll be just fine, Cassie. Are you still coming out to the ring with me tonight?" he asked her. She stared down at her outfit - a pair of frayed bell-bottom jeans with a wide black belt slung over her hips and an altered Animal T-shirt. She nodded.

"You know I am, Dave. Who else is going to keep Lita at bay?" He smirked.

"Great. Then let's not waste their time, shall we?" He extended an arm to her and she linked her arm through. "Let's get out there.

Standing at ringside, watching the match unfold in the ring, Cassie could feel a strong sense of uneasiness wash over her. It wasn't just Lita, who stood across from her on the other side of the ring, talking trash. Cassie knew that Eric Bischoff wasn't stupid enough to send the two of them alone. Her eyes tore away from the ring to scan the crowd, looking for any sign of more guys from Raw.

Her suspicions were confirmed when her eyes fell on the tag team champions, Big Show and Kane, walking through the audience towards the ring. Cassie turned her attention towards the ring and started banging on the canvas with her hands. "Dave, it's a setup! Kane and Big Show are coming to the ring!"

Dave turned in time to see Lita grab Cassie, who struggled. Lita began dragging her away. Dave slid out of the ring, only to be blindsided by Big Show and Kane. Edge got out of the ring, grabbed Cassie's legs, and the two of them proceeded to carry Cassie away from the ringside area.

Dave came to in a foul mood and with a splitting headache. He was surrounded by JBL, Rey Mysterio and Bobby Lashley. Randy Orton was standing over him as well, the oh-so-familiar smug smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. Dave bolted upright. "Cassie..."

"Chill, big guy," Randy said with a shrug, "That was a hell of a beating you took. You need your rest."

Dave opted to ignore Randy. "We have to go to Raw. We have to go to Raw and kill those sons of bitches!"

"Can do, big guy, but you need to rest up first. You just got on the wrong end of two giants," JBL told him. Dave looked at him.

"But Cassie..."

"Cassie is fine. Stop worrying," Bobby informed him. Dave's gaze swung to Lashley.

"How do you know that? While you guys were doing God knows whatever, Edge and Lita made out with her..."

"I know she's fine because they didn't get out of the arena with her," Bobby informed him. "JBL and I intercepted Edge and Lita and they dropped Cassie like a bad habit and took off." Dave looked at JBL, who nodded in confirmation.

"She's shaken up something awful, but I stuck her with Jillian. When you're feeling better, go see her and let her know that you're okay. She's worried to death about you."

"She's okay?" Dave reiterated.

"She's fine," Rey confirmed. "Sorry we didn't get to you sooner, but we were all tending to her."

"No, no, that's great. Thank God she's all right," Dave assured Rey. Bobby and JBL helped Dave sit up. He slowly made his way out of the trainer's room.

Cassie sat beside Jillian in the Divas locker room, trying to regain her bearings. After Lita had put the chokehold on her and Edge joined in, they attempted to carry her out to a waiting limousine to take her over to Raw. Things had seemed hopeless as she struggled. Once Edge got his hands on her legs, there was not a whole lot of struggling she could do.

She had almost burst into tears when she saw Bobby and JBL standing at the limousine, along with Rey. Like the true cowards they were, once they saw the guys, they dropped her. She had dislocated her elbow when she landed on the pavement. It had since been popped back into place, but now there was only pain. The trainer had told her that she shouldn't miss any ring time, but she wasn't sure. Her mind wasn't on her elbow, or Jillian Hall, or even on Survivor Series. It was on Dave, who had been left unconscious at ringside as she had been dragged away. She had no idea if he was okay.

"Don't you worry, sweetie," Jillian told her, giving Cassie a reassuring pat on the back. "As soon as Rey took you to the trainer's room, he went and joined the others to help Dave. I'm sure he's all right."

She looked at Jillian. "Do you have any idea what it feels like to have two people try and abduct you while you're watching your friend get jumped by two giants?" she asked. She wanted so bad to say "boyfriend", but she wasn't sure if it was going to happen at this point. The last thing she wanted was to make a slip like that to a gossip like Jillian Hall, who would then tell Torrie, who would tell Ashley, who would tell Candice. The Divas locker room was worse than a tabloid sometimes.

"I can't say I have." There was a knock on the door. "I'll get that. You just keep icing that elbow."

She opened the door a smidge. It was Dave. "Hey," she greeted, her voice a hushed whisper.

"Is she in there with you?" Dave asked. Jillian nodded. "Is she okay?"

"Yeah. Her elbow is dislocated. It happened when they dropped her. She's really worried about you. I need to go talk to Bradshaw, so just go on in." He nodded and she moved past him. Dave walked into the room.

"Don't we look pessimistic."

"Dave! Oh, thank God!" she gasped, rushing to him. She launched herself into his arms, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck. "Thank God you're okay. I was so scared. How bad did they hurt you?"

"I'm fine, Cassie. The guys and I decided that we're all heading over to Raw next week to straighten that crew out."

"I'm coming with you," she said instantly. He shook his head.

"I don't think that's a good idea, Cassie."

"I want Lita's head on a silver platter," she told him darkly, her tone firm.

"If you come with us, you are not leaving Bradshaw's limousine," he told her. She scoffed. He put his hands on her shoulders. "Cassie, I am dead serious here. This is going to get really violent, to put it mildly. Big Show, Kane, Michaels, Carlito, Masters...they're all out for blood. Just because we're SmackDown. Cassie, I will be damned if anything happens to you."

"What about you? Don't you give a damn about what happens to you?" she fired back.

"What about me? I'll be fine, Cassie. The guys are going to be behind me."

"Right, because Bradshaw and Randy Orton are such trustworthy characters," she snapped. He had to admit that she had a point, but she was making her point out of a place of frustration. He was frustrated, too, and there was no way he was going to let her win this.

"We have a brand to fight for. It's SmackDown pride, Cassie. I will put my life on Bradshaw and Randy Orton right now because I know that they'll do the same for me. You have to promise me that you will stay in the limousine should you decide to come along." She didn't respond. "Cass?"

"Fine." With that, she shot a look of ice at him and stormed out of the locker room, the sound of the door closing being the only sound Batista could hear before he was encased in that brutal silence.