Chapter Thirteen

Survivor Series

"I can't believe him."

"It's Randy Orton, what do you expect?"

"I know, I know. But seriously? He's going to stand there and run his mouth about being the leader of the team?" Dave snorted. "Christ, now is not the time to start acting like a prick. What we need is a little team unity here!"

"Who would have ever thought that JBL would be the easiest one to work with here," Cassie cracked. Dave snickered.

"No kidding." Dave ran a hand over his head. "That Lashley is a cool guy, you know."

"Yeah, I've talked to him a few times," Cassie confessed. "He's a big guy. I see a lot of potential in him. Did you know he did some amateur stuff in the army?"

"No. That's awesome. I'm glad we've got him on our side. Masters, Show and Kane as it is draws harsh weight. I don't think there has ever been a team so big."

"Team Lesnar two years ago. Brock was the smallest guy on the team. Remember?"

"Nope. What I do remember was being the difference maker in the Team Bischoff match, though."

"That you were," she replied. His interference had pushed Stone Cold Steve Austin out of WWE. Dave had powerbombed Shawn so Randy Orton could eliminate him and get Austin fired.

"Are you going to be okay?" he asked.

"You're asking me this? You're the one bandaged to the nines," she pointed out. They shared an awkward laugh. "I'll be fine. I'm going to watch Trish beat the hell out of Melina, and then I'm going to watch John retain and then I'm going to watch the blue brand beat the tar out of the red brand." There was so much more she wanted to say, but she didn't want to drag Dave into any heavy discussions prior to the big match. She thought it was a horrible idea that he was still wearing his bandages; she thought he may as well have painted a giant bulls-eye on his torso. With taking the bandages off, it would at least give the impression he had healed up. Keeping them on made him stick out like a sore thumb on the team. Cassie thought it was going to be a miracle that he wasn't taken out first. If the World Heavyweight Champion was taken out of the equation early, then she hated to think what it would do to team morale.

No matter what way she cut it, this match wasn't going to be pretty.

"I won't keep you," he told her. She flashed him a halfhearted smile.

"Good luck, Dave. I'll see you after the match," she said. "Tell the others I said good luck."

"Sure thing," he promised. She shot him one last fleeting look of concern before letting herself out of the room.

Midway through the match, there was a knock on the door of the Divas locker room. Bobby had been the first eliminated, followed by the surprise elimination of the World Heavyweight Champion. Cassie had a fairly good idea who was on the other side of the door. He had taken some time to clean up and shower. "Come on in, Dave," she called out. The door swung open and he walked in, dressed in basketball shorts and an Animal T-shirt.

"I tried," he said helplessly, sitting down beside her.

"It was the bandage," she pointed out, keeping her gaze on the television. "You walked out to the ring with a giant bull's eye."

"I figured Rey would have been eliminated first. Not because he's bad," Dave rushed when she shot him a look. "Because the team is so strong. Chris Masters, Big Show, Kane..."

"It's not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog, remember?" Rey had built his entire career on being the underdog.

"True enough," he answered. They fell silent and watched the teams dwindle. Eventually, it came down to Shawn Michaels taking on three men. He kept his gaze on the television. "What are your plans for tonight?" he asked.

"Not too much. I'll probably go back to the hotel and hang out a little with Jillian before falling asleep. It's a three hour drive to the next town tomorrow."

"That sounds like a plan."

"Why?" she asked.

"Well, I was thinking, if you were up for it...would you want to go out and have a night on the town with me?"

She smiled. "I don't know. Dave, you should probably go back to your hotel and get some rest, too. It's been a really brutal month for you. What with all this SmackDown vs. Raw stuff and all the attacks."

"You're probably right about that." They sat back on the couch and watched Randy Orton win the match for Team SmackDown, only to be surprised by the return of the Undertaker. They laughed at Randy's misfortune; as he had been on the Undertaker's bad side since WrestleMania. She looked up at Dave and smiled to herself. They may not be together, but she was happy to have little moments like this.

Little did Cassie know that within the next two weeks, things were going to get worse for Batista.