She wasn't ready for this. She knew it was going to happen, but that didn't mean that she was prepared for it. Nothing would ever prepare her for watching Seth and Dean get beaten down in their match. It was a handicap match, six men against her two, and she was in pain just watching this. Where was Roman? He was supposed to be fighting with them, wasn't he?
"Paul, wasn't this a six on three?"
"It was supposed to be, yes. A certain Samoan badass is absent." The advocate informed, watching as CJ continued to pace the room while gently bouncing Olivia in an effort to console her. The infant had been unfortunate enough to look at the television in time to see her father get knocked out by The Big Show. But, luckily for their team, the force of the blow sent Dean back into their corner where Seth was able to tag in and save the match. "Go help them."
"What?"
"I'll take little Olivia, you go help Dean and Seth."
"I'm not a guy, there's no way my partnering up with them would be sanctioned." The blonde argued, watching as Paul stood and gently pried Olivia away from her mother. The infant loved her Uncle Paulie, and CJ looked him in the eye to make sure that this was what he wanted.
"They put you in the ring with a six-time world champion and nine-time Intercontinental champion. A man who had at least a hundred and twenty pounds on you, and you kicked his ass up the goddamn street at Extreme Rules. You could easily hand Jamie Noble and Joey Mercury their dicks if the opportunity arose for you and you know damn well that Vince will not stop you. Hunter cannot stop you and Stephanie doesn't want to deal with you right now after your display of pure power." He informed, his words fueling her with the confidence she needed to go out there and save her men from total decimation. "She will be fine with me, go help them."
CJ didn't falter, kissing Olivia's forehead before rushing out. She left her belt behind because she didn't feel the need to cart it down to the ring with her. She stopped by Roman's locker room and opened the door, not surprised to see that he had been attacked before the match. She didn't have time to call for a medic, she just grabbed the bottle of water that was on the table by the door and splashed it on him before tossing the empty bottle at him. He started to stir and CJ bolted down the hall to get through the curtain. There was no need for her music to play, but hearing the crowd go wild once they saw her made her kinda happy.
Dean had just gotten back onto the apron when CJ had run out and, as against her being anywhere close to this monstrosity of a match as he was, he didn't fight her joining him on the apron because he knew that she was a blessing for them.
"Paul sent you out?" He asked and she nodded, turning to face him and gently stroking his cheek to get a look at the small cut under his eye.
"Yeah. He's got Olive and I'm sure I'll be of some use to you guys."
"You're the Canadian badass, you'll be a ton of help babe." Dean assured, noting the way referee Mike Chioda didn't force CJ off the apron. She was officially part of this match, and now Dean had to work on protecting her from The Authority. He didn't thing she'd make matches with men a regular thing, and he seriously hoped that it wouldn't be a thing that occurred regularly. She may have been better than the rest of the women, but he didn't want her risking serious injury by being in matches with men all the time.
"C'mon, Seth, tag out!" CJ requested, just before the two toned man walked right into Kane's hand for a chokeslam. Seth managed to evade, though, kicking away from Kane's grasp before landing an enzugiri and crawling towards the corner. CJ tagged in, but she wasn't at all certain how well she'd wrestle in jeans and a tshirt. Dean could do it, but she wasn't sure that she could handle it. She was in skinny jeans, not exactly the best attire for wrestling, but she was going to give it her all because now she was the Gold Standard and she was currently main eventing SmackDown for the first time ever. She'd take it and blow this shit out of the water.
"Miss Jericho, this is not a safe environment for a young lady like you and as Director of Operations I highly suggest that you-" That sentence was never finished because CJ jumped up into the CodeBreaker and laid out the Director of Operations before diving into a cover. The corporate demon kicked out at one, using enough force to send CJ flying off of him.
"C'mon, babe!" Dean cheered, trying to put some life back into CJ because she had blanched upon seeing Kane standing up and towering over her. She'd never had Kane glaring down at her like this before, and he really wasn't certain that she'd be able to stand up to Kane like she did everybody else. Kane may have been The Authority's lap dog, but she had told Dean in confidence that Kane used to give her nightmares when she was younger and he didn't want his girlfriend letting that shit get to her head and pysch her out during this match. "CJ, lets go!"
It seemed as if he snapped her out of her small trance, just in time for her to realize that Kane was going for a chokeslam and dodge roll out of the way. Kane didn't want to be bothered with the woman that was a bug in comparison to him, and forcefully tagged in Jamie Noble to square off against the Canadian. Jamie wasn't playing any games with her, charging for the Canadian woman. CJ side stepped and watched as he bounced off the ropes, jumping into a perfectly timed drop kick. Unfortunately, her jeans didn't really agree with that maneuver and she mentally cussed when her belt dug into her skin.
Alright, lesson learned. No drop kicks in skinny jeans. She thought to herself, scrambling over to Noble and covering him. A kick out at one had her putting the man in a headlock, knowing that she probably wasn't doing shit to affect him and that was confirmed when he easily rose to his feet and ran her directly into the turnbuckles to get separation. She was winded now, in pain, and she started to crawl her way to her corner. Fuck, I need to never wear this belt to the ring ever again.
"C'mon, CJ!" Seth called over the crowd, that was also cheering "Let's go CJ" as she tried to make her way to the corner. Jamie grabbed at her ankle and pulled her back, also yanking her in the air a bit and giving her the opportunity to get her other foot on the ground so that she could gain enough momentum to flip Noble onto his back. "Yes, that's it!"
"Just a little further, babe!" Dean coached, not exactly helping her but she knew that he was trying. Had she been in the ring with a diva, she wouldn't have been in such bad shape. She didn't like that she was only in the match for like a minute and was already hurt. But she had to remember that she was a member of "team get their asses kicked" right now. It wasn't going to hurt her to be the weak link of their team tonight, because she was still in the main event of SmackDown.
Unfortunately for CJ, Noble got to Mercury before she could get to Dean and she was dragged further away from her corner. This had Dean irate as he paced the apron but CJ knew she'd be okay. She just had to wait for her opening. Mercury liked to get on the top rope, so she went limp to give him that chance. But as soon as he was up top and midway through his jump, she pulled a Code Breaker so far out of nowhere that Randy Orton would be proud.
"Gold standard your pretty ass over here!" Dean called, and CJ staggered to her feet while holding her stomach, well aware of the giant Irishman charging towards her. A well aimed superkick had him staggering enough for CJ to tag in her furious boyfriend, who was pumped so full of anger and adrenaline that he wasn't feeling the injuries that he currently had.
"You did good." Seth praised, smiling at her when she let out a breath.
"I'm not saving your asses again." She teased, undoing her belt and tossing it aside before it caused her any more pain. "My jeans tore a bit."
"No way." Seth laughed, looking down when she spread her legs a bit for him to see. Sure enough her jeans were torn, and they were torn at her crotch. "Pink panties?"
"Screw you." She laughed, standing up straight and watching as Dean had Mercury in a sleeper and was yelling at the shorter man at the same time. "Is it noticeable?"
"Can't even tell, babygirl." Roman assured, climbing onto the apron beside her. Again, Chioda noticed but didn't say anything about Roman's presence. The crowd and the other team were very vocal, but it was still six on four and three of the four were already hurt in some way. CJ didn't want to risk the world seeing that she wore lacy pink panties on nights where she wasn't supposed to be wrestling, therefore she was trying not to be tagged in again. In all honesty, she was trying to never have a match with the guys like this again, because she needed some female competition. Kane was way too terrifying for her to be wrestling on a regular basis.
From there the match was pretty evenly fought, and by evenly fought CJ would say that it was spent by Dean getting his ass kicked by The Authority. The Authority was evenly dividing their time and taking turns beating down the Intercontinental Champion. CJ could really only watch, biting her lip nervously while the guys cheered Dean on. She wanted to cheer him on, but she was more worried about him than she actually wanted to win the match so biting her lip would have to do.
"Doing alright?" Seth asked and she couldn't help but shake her head.
"I'll be better once Dean is out of there."
"Roman stay here and be ready." Seth requested before pulling CJ off the apron with him. He led her beneath the ring and grinned over at her as they maneuvered the various objects together.
"What are we doing, Seth?" She asked quietly,looking to him to see that he was forming some kind of plan in that head of his. "The Architect" made such adorable thinking faces sometimes, she couldn't resist the smile that crept onto her face.
"You be ready." He instructed, pulling the pin on a fire extinguisher before handing it to her. "I'm certain that somebody will look under here once I've caused my ruckus and they see you're not on the apron."
"Alright." CJ mumbled, letting him steal a kiss before watching as he crawled out from under the ring. She heard a lot of commotion above her and she tensed when the apron started rustling. She heard some cheers and knew that Roman had been tagged in, which had her smiling because that meant that Dean was out of the ring and somewhat safe for now. More rustling of the apron had her aiming the hose and ready to shoot at the first thing she saw, which was Jamie Noble.
"Damnit!" The West Virginia native shouted and CJ began scooting backwards until she was pulled from beneath the apron by her ankles. She let out a small squeal of surprise, but relaxed when she saw that it was Dean who pulled her out.
"Nicely done."
"Seth's idea." She gave credit where it was due, making sure to sit in a way that nobody would see her torn jeans. "My pants tore."
"I'll buy you some new ones." Dean assured as he made his way to his feet before holding his hands out to help her up. They were on their feet just in time to see Roman spear the Big Show, but there wasn't time for celebration. An angry Sheamus went to brouge kick the Samoan, but Roman ducked and rolled out of the ring to grab Seth and run.
"I never want to do that again." CJ stated once they had made it to the trainers and Dean looked over at her in confusion.
"You didn't like tagging with us, babe?"
"Not in fucking skinny jeans." She laughed, watching as Dr. Amann started cleaning the cut under Dean's eye that had started small but was now much more serious. "Is he gonna need stitches, Doc?"
"Unfortunately, yes."
"Go get changed and get Olive, babe." Dean requested, taking CJ's hand in his and giving a gentle squeeze. He could see the conflict in her eyes an smiled to assure her, squeezing her hand again. "I'll be okay. I've got the guys here with me, but Olive probably needs you more than anything right now."
"Alright." She whispered, smiling when he squeezed her hand one last time before letting her go. She fist bumped Seth and Roman on her way out and hurried down the hall to her locker room. There, she was greeted by the sight of Paul walking around the room while singing some lullaby with Olivia laying on his shoulder and she was pleasantly surprised by the image. "She wasn't too much trouble, was she?"
"Not at all." The advocate assured, smiling at his client as he continued to walk around with the infant. "As long as you keep her eyes off the monitor, she's easy to please."
"That's good to hear." CJ spoke with a smile, digging through her bag for another pair of pants. "I'm never going out there in skinny jeans again."
"Jeggings, maybe?" Paul suggested, looking to his client with a thoughtful expression. "You and that boyfriend of yours are on track to become a powerful brand so you might as well start dressing somewhat alike."
"I'll have to talk to him about that." CJ mumbled, going into Dean's bag and pulling out a pair of his sweatpants and heading into the bathroom. The advocate could hear her complaining about her choice of attire and the height of her boyfriend, which made him chuckle a bit to himself until she was back in the main room, clad in Dean's sweatpants with her jeans balled up in her hand. "The damn things tore at the crotch."
"Was it worth it?"
"Totally." She laughed, tossing the ripped denim into a nearby trashcan before zipping up her bag. Paul laid the sleeping infant down in her carrier and CJ made sure that Dean's bag was packed up so that way they wouldn't have to stay in the arena much longer. "Dean is getting stitched up right now and Seth was getting checked out when I left them with the trainers."
"And now we're back." Dean cut in, holding the door open for a limping Seth and CJ's eyes widened in surprise. Seth wasn't limping before, so what had happened?
"What happened to Seth?"
"The adrenaline wore off and my ankle hurts like a bitch." The younger man spoke up, making eye contact with the Canadian to silently assure her that he'd be okay. She nodded, choosing to not say anything further on the issue because she knew that they would just blow off her concerns in an effort to ensure that she didn't worry about anything. She liked that they were considerate, but they'd never be able to stop her from worrying and she wished that they would come to terms with that fact.
"Let's get out of here, then." Dean suggested, grabbing his bag and CJ's while she got Olivia's carrier. "Can you get your bag, Seth, or do you want me to?"
"I got it, man. Thanks though."
After saying goodbye to Seth, CJ was a bit out of her element. This was usually the part where Dean showered and she and Seth cuddled while holding Olivia and trying to get her to sleep so that Dean could just lay down and not have to worry about it. But right now was different. She was holding Olivia while staring at Dean, wondering what they were supposed to do now. Things were weird without Seth, but she didn't regret telling him to go. She couldn't keep him from his family.
"What's on your mind, babe?" Dean asked, looking up from his phone to make eye contact with her. "Feelin' alright?"
"Yeah, I'm fine." She quickly assured, watching as he moved from the couch across from her to sit beside her. She felt herself get pulled onto his lap and smiled, leaning into his chest and adoring the loving embrace she was locked in with their daughter. "I was just thinking about something Paul said."
"What'd he say?"
"He said that we were on the path to becoming a brand, the two of us, and he suggested that I change up my ring gear to be similar to yours but I figured we should talk it over first."
"I'm not going to lie, babe, you wrestling in jeans is so hot." He started, kissing her temple. "But I don't think that my wallet can handle buying you a new pair of jeans every week."
"He said that we could buy jeggings instead."
"What the fuck are jeggings?" He asked, his voice barely above a whisper so that the baby didn't pick up on his swear word.
"They're basically leggings but they made with a denim like material." CJ explained, smiling up at her boyfriend and pecking his lips. "They look like jeans but they're easier to move in."
"If its what you want, sweetheart, I'm all for it."
"But us becoming a brand will affect your career, Dean. Anything I do would have an effect on you and-"
"Everything you do has an effect on me anyways, honeybee." He reasoned, pushing her hair back with a smile. "Did I tell you about the time I was at a house show before I was on paternity leave and the crowd chanted 'You love CJ'?"
"That happened?"
"I can't go anywhere or do anything without hearing your name and its honestly the best thing ever." Dean spoke, grinning when she tilted her head in confusion. "I always figured that a relationship with a Diva was going to drag my career down with drama and a whole shit storm of things that I don't really need in my life. But you've done nothing but elevate my career, so I don't really care if we become a brand. It might be one of the best things we've ever done together."
The only response he got from her was a small nod, and he knew that she was trying to figure out where they should go from here. There was an endless amount of possibilities for them, but she wanted to know the best route for them to and he appreciated that. But right now he would appreciate a hot shower(preferably with her) before they went to bed for the night.
"Let's get the little one in bed and get you into the shower, alright?" He suggested, smiling when she nodded her agreement before getting out of his embrace and standing up. She wasn't surprised to feel his arms around her waist as they made their way into the bedroom, his lips gently peppering kisses from her shoulder up to her ear and then back down again. She knew exactly what he was trying to do and she wasn't going to tell him that it was working like a charm.
Like always, after they laid Olivia down the couple stood over her crib and watched her sleep for a minute. CJ was always so amazed by how the infant slept. So much like Dean in the way that she just shut out the world and slept like a rock until she was ready to be up, while Dean was just awed by the fact that he help make that little human. He helped make her and that same little human loved him.
"She's just..." CJ trailed off, not knowing what word to use to describe her daughter. Nothing seemed to do the infant justice.
"She's perfect." Dean whispered, his hands moving from CJ's hips to caress her stomach. "You gave me this perfect little girl and I will never be able to thank you enough for such a gift."
CJ didn't know what to say, so she turned around in his embrace and cuddled into him. There was a quiet moment between them until Dean couldn't wait anymore to get her in the shower. He was so happy to be with her, but he wanted her naked and that wasn't going to happen while they were having a tender moment in front of their daughter.
"I stink, babe, lets go shower."
"Do you stink or are you just hard?"
"I'm whatever if it will get you naked and in the shower with me."
Thanks to 2008, Imagineer1392, Sarcastic Nightmare, ItReignsJustice-619, Daripants, meredith757. Guest, and ChelleLew for reviewing the last chapter!