Titles: Sometimes it's Easier (4?)
Rating: PG-13, or K+
Content: Angsting
Disclaimer: Don't own, don't sue.
Summary: Sequel to Unrequited. Can Randy help Lita get her life back?
A/N: This has completely changed direction to what I was planning, so it's not going to be updated as regularly as I'd like. It will be updated though, as much as I can manage.

Randy kept a low profile for the next couple of days. He didn't particularly feel like getting into a confrontation with Matt, and he didn't feel like listening to the inevitable gossip that was going round about him. Dave kept him updated and was conducting somewhat of a damage limitation exercise, firmly squashing the worst excesses of people's imaginations. Randy was extremely grateful that his friend was so influential in the locker room, as some of the stories people had created were hideous. Randy was also grateful that Masters had been so discreet. No one seemed to know about that particular incident, and if they did, they kept it to themselves.

Dave found his young friend's behaviour most amusing. He had never realised that Randy could feel so deeply about a person. The young man had always been fickle, difficult to pin down, enjoying his freedom and enjoying the privileges his job and looks gave him. Slowly though, he'd changed, grown up, become responsible. Randy had run away from his responsibilities before. Now, it didn't look like he was going to. He seemed more committed to Lita than he'd been to anything else, including his job. And that was a big commitment, because Randy loved wrestling.

Randy loved Lita though, it was clear to anyone who knew him. The smile that came to his face when his cell phone rang, the daydreaming, the focus on his work. Randy felt like he had been given purpose, like he had someone who would be proud of him if he did well. It meant a lot to have Lita call him and tell him that he'd looked good, or had a good match. He felt like with each success something was being built for the future.

Things weren't so great for Lita. In some ways things were improving: she was slowly building up her self confidence, slowly starting to relax and accept the compliments that Randy gave her, slowly accepting how things had happened and how things needed to change. Each day spent with Randy was a good one, either at his home or hers, each parting gave a hope and something to look forward to. In some ways, her life was getting better.

In other ways, things were getting far, far worse. On screen, her association with Edge was going from bad to worse. The bosses were expecting her to do things that before she would have accepted, but now turned her stomach. It wasn't that she minded losing a few clothes or faking a few sex acts; hell, she'd been a stripper once. It was what it represented, to her colleagues, and to the fans. To most people, it just confirmed what she already was. It confirmed their view, tainted as it was by rumours spread by those she thought she could trust. And it broke her a little, to do that. Especially with the man who had already been so influential in her fall.

She'd discussed it with Randy before Raw, wanting him to tell her not to do it, willing to quit if only he would say he didn't want her to. He wouldn't tell her that though, he just told her that he loved her and he understood why she was reluctant. He knew she loved her job too much to quit, and knew she'd resent him eventually if he told her what she wanted to hear.

She flew straight out to him after Raw, that Monday night, and spent most of the night sobbing in his arms. She couldn't look at people, she refused to let herself see the hate and disgust in their eyes. She would only look at Randy, because she knew she'd see love there.

Randy felt lost. He didn't know what to do, or say, apart from holding her and whispering words of love in her ear. He knew this would be hard for the strongest person to bear, never mind someone so fragile and damaged. He hated the writers for coming up with these ideas, he hated Edge for going along with them. He wanted to hurt someone, he wanted someone to suffer the same way Lita was right now.

He wanted things to be different. He didn't know what to do, what to say, how to make this better, how to make it right. One side of him knew that it wasn't his job to make things right, but his heart wanted him to, each time he looked at her and saw her despair. All he could do was hold her and prove to her that at least one part of her life was secure and safe.

She hardly slept that night, going over in her head what had happened, what she'd done. Each time she looked at Randy as he slept she felt revulsion at herself, anger at herself, and anger at him. Eventually her emotions got the better of him and she shook him awake.

"What…Li, what's wrong?" Randy was still half asleep, but alert enough to know that something wasn't right.

"Why didn't you tell me not to do it? Why did you let me do it Randy?"

"What?" Randy rubbed his eyes and sat up, leaning over to get a glass of water from the bedside table when the look on Lita's face told him that this was going to be a long night. "Li, do we need to talk about this now babe? I'm tired, you're exhausted…"

"I can't sleep. I keep thinking about it," she snapped, "all you had to say was no, and I'd have quit."

Randy shook his head, this wasn't the time for an argument but it seemed that Lita was looking for one, "Li, I'm not here to tell you what to do…"

"If you loved me you'd have told me not to do it, you know I didn't want to."

It hurt to have his love thrown back in his face like that, "so what, you wanted to use me as an excuse? I'm sorry Li. I do love you, you know I do, but you can't use me like that."

"So you'd rather me go through that than damage your male pride?"

"No! Jesus, Li, why are you twisting things? You're an independent woman, you can make your own decisions." Randy's temper wasn't quick to flair, but when it did, it was slow to burn out, and it was close to ignition right now.

"I don't want to make my own decisions. I'm fed up of being strong and independent and everything I'm not."

"I'm not here to protect you. God knows I want to, but I can't. Li…" this was frustrating for Randy more than anything, as he knew what Lita wanted, and in one way, he wanted to do what she asked of him, but he couldn't, for a couple of reasons. One, it just wasn't him. He was capable of love and support, but to be that protective, to be that overpowering was too much. Two, it was too much pressure. He was willing to love Lita, and to support her, but he wasn't capable of running her life, making her decisions. He didn't want to do that.

"You mean you won't."

"No, I mean I can't." He got out of bed and walked over to the window, not wanting to face her and not wanting to lose his temper. "Li, I don't want us to fight. I'm gonna go for a walk before I say something I regret." He pulled on some sweatpants and a t-shirt and walked over to put on his trainers. Sitting down on the bed next to her he looked at the redhead and sighed, "I love you babe. I'll be back in an hour or so."

She nodded, suddenly contrite. As the door slammed shut she realised what she'd done and buried her face in the pillow. The scent of his shampoo just reminded her of what she'd just driven away.

Randy walked for a long time, a couple of hours or so. It cleared his head, but didn't help his mind any. He couldn't see a way out of what Lita wanted him to do. He couldn't make her decisions for her, and he couldn't run her life. Hell, he had enough trouble running his own at times. He'd known she was fragile, impulsive, fiery, needy: he'd known all that and it hadn't stopped him from getting into this. It wasn't that he regretted being with her, but he did wonder if he was in too deep.

When he finally got back to the hotel Lita was sleeping. It looked fitful, but at least she was getting some rest. He undressed and slipped into bed beside her, wrapping his arms around her and hoping the gesture wouldn't be rejected. It wasn't. She snuggled up close to him, having missed his warmth and strength. The contradictions in her behaviour confused Randy but he accepted it for now and drifted back to sleep.

"I'm sorry. About last night, I mean," Lita sat cross-legged on the bed, watching Randy as he packed up his clothes, ready to travel to another hotel in another city, "I didn't mean what I said… I was just taking out my frustrations on you."

"I know," Randy stopped packing momentarily, and sat at her side, "I know, but it's not easy for me to deal with you know. I see you so upset and I so much want to protect you from everything. I can't though."

"I know. I shouldn't ask you to."

"I don't know Li. Maybe it's what I should be doing. Maybe I should be doing all that. I don't know how to, I don't think I can."

It surprised Lita to hear that, because Randy never admitted weakness. He had always had a supreme confidence in his own abilities, and because of his military experience, hated admitting that something was beyond him. He didn't talk about it all that much, but she knew that it had scarred him in many more ways than he ever let on.

"I worry I'm not going to be all you need me to be," the admission was stark, and she would remember the look on his face as he said those words for a long time to come.

"I love you," she whispered, determination sparking within her. This was the wake up call she'd been waiting for, the realisation that her behaviour wasn't just breaking her, it was hurting Randy too. "I will change Randy. I promise I will."

He hoped this promise would happen. He hoped it wouldn't get to the stage where he couldn't take any more.