CJ couldn't find Paul anywhere. She'd looked in the locker room, catering, the bathrooms, and even checked Vince's office as a precautionary measure. The advocate was nowhere to be found and that made her very nervous. Brock was present, in the locker room waiting for Paul to arrive, but Paul wasn't anywhere. She knew that he planned on being there, because he had sent her a text with his plans for the show, but she just didn't know where he could possibly be.
"Woah, CJ, where's the fire babes?" Natalya asked, stopping her friend and making the younger Canadian actually stand still for a moment.
"I can't find Paul anywhere."
"Heyman? Isn't here typically here before anybody?"
"Yes, which is why I'm concerned." CJ reasoned, pulling away and continuing down the hall while avoiding the "Samoan Dynasty" that consisted of Roman, The Usos, and Naomi. She knew that Dean and Roman were still in touch and close, but she wasn't sure how that would hold up with the current animosity between her and Naomi (and Jimmy Uso because she kicked the Uso in the head a while back) and Roman's issues with Brock. They were part of two different families, yet somehow still brothers? She'd have to talk to Dean about it later.
"You might want to check the loading area, CJ." Naomi sneered, and CJ wanted to comment but she was too thrown off by the proud look on Roman's face to do anything but run to the loading docks, sending a text to Dean, Brock, and Seth on her way so at least one of them would meet her there to help cover more ground. The unfortunate part was that she wouldn't need help covering ground, because their advocate was in the center of the loading bay while an ambulance was pulling into the building.
"Paul!"
"I'm suing those Samoans, CJ!"
"That's all well and good, but what are we going to do tonight?" She asked, kneeling beside her advocate and helping him into a sitting position, grimacing at how beaten up he was. The Samoans were going to pay either physically or with money, most likely both, because Brock would not be pleased when he saw what they had done to Paul.
"You are going to do my job. You don't have a match tonight, therefore you're accompanying Dean and Seth to their matches and then you will close the show with all three of our men and you are going to let those damn Samoans know just who they've decided to fuck with." Heyman listed, and CJ nodded with wide eyes as the EMTs worked on getting the advocate onto a stretcher. She felt a towering presence behind her and didn't falter, knowing that it was just Brock and knowing that she didn't want to turn around and see the look on his face because she was certain that he looked absolutely terrifying if the speed that the EMTs were working was any indicator. "You can do it, CJ! Be the bitch I know you can be!"
"Let's go, kiddo." Brock stated, gently gripping her shoulder and pulling her back into the building. "What happened?"
"The Samoans happened." She answered simply, looking up at the Beast. "I'll handle it."
"By being a bitch?"
"It's what Paul wants." She shrugged, making eye contact with Natalya briefly. She didn't think that the look said much, but her countrywoman was quick to follow behind her and Brock as they headed towards the locker room. She was okay with this, but only because she'd need somebody to watch Olivia at the end of the show. Or they could interrupt the dynasty during the start of the show. "At the start."
"Come again?"
"Nattie, I need you to watch Olive at the start of the show. The four of us have to interrupt some Samoans."
"Gladly." Natalya stated, not having anything else to do that night even though she was slightly confused as to what the hell was going on.
"So you're cutting the promo? That's what Paul wants?" Brock asked, opening the door for the two women and locking it behind him once it was confirmed that everybody was in the room.
"What's going on, babe?" Dean asked, handing Oliva over to her mother while CJ sat down.
"The Samoans attacked Paul, that's what happened. He told me to advocate for you guys tonight and cut a promo at the end of the show letting them know that we're coming for them, but I'd much rather interrupt them while they're already in the ring at the start."
"Which is why Nattie's here to watch Olive while all four of us are out here?"
"That's the first time you've called me Nattie, Dean. I feel like part of the family." Natalya spoke with a smile, taking Olivia from CJ so CJ could change out of her business casual attire and into potential wrestling wear.
"He calls you Nattie all the time." CJ commented as she changed her shirt, turning her back to the room for a bit of privacy. "But anyways, Dean and Seth have matches tonight that I have to be out there for."
"Tag?"
"Singles." She corrected Seth, turning around now that her shirt was on even though it didn't really make a difference because it was a cropped top. "If it was a tag our lives would be too simple."
"Our lives don't get simple until you beat Stephanie at SummerSlam." Seth spoke with a sigh and, while CJ liked that he was optimistic about The Authority being good sports about losing, Dean's quiet scoff had her frowning.
He's still mad about the appearance schedule. She thought to herself, sitting down beside her boyfriend on the other couch in the room and gently patting his knee. They had ten minutes before the show started, meaning that they had eleven minutes to get to gorilla so that they were there as the Samoan Dynasty made their way down the ramp.
"You and Steph need to lay down some terms on this match." Dean murmured in her ear, taking his hand off of her thigh and holding it in his.
"What do you mean? It's a match for the women's title."
"Like terms for after the match. You know that regardless of whether you win or lose she's going to make your life hell, which is why you have to set terms for what happens after the match."
"Contract signing is two weeks after Money in the Bank, so three weeks from now." She informed, resting her head on his shoulder. "I'll talk to Paul and Adam, get their opinions, and I need you to think of your own terms and we'll work it all out in time."
"Who's cutting the promo?"
"Paul said me, but you're more than welcome to throw in your two cents." She smiled, knowing that he loved being able to rip into other people. "But what is Roman's deal with us? Like, I don't understand why they're targeting us when we're all against the same enemy?"
"Yeah, I wish I knew. I doubt The Authority got to them, but I dunno why they want us." Dean spoke quietly, squeezing her hand s he thought about it. "But it's okay. We'll be okay."
"I don't want your friendship with him to suffer, babe."
"As long as he doesn't target you then everything is fine." He assured, kissing her head before titling her head up so he could kiss her lips. "I want you being careful out there, CJ. We've got people coming at us from all sides now and, as much as it kills me to admit this, I'm not always going to be able to protect you."
"I know, Dean. I'll be careful."
She was actually disgusted as she watched the Samoan Dynasty in the ring, boasting about how amazing they were just because they were family. She had actually gagged at the "blood is thicker than water" line that Jimmy (or Jey?) Uso had used, which was obviously a jab at the Heyman Family. Dean had snorted at their originality, since some of his old lines had been used and they had done a lot of quoting Paul Heyman in the minute that they had actually had mics in their hands. She was done listening, grabbing a mic from the technician's station before leading her men out onto the stage.
"I think we've all heard enough of you four." She started, smirking from where she stood on the stage flanked by Dean and Brock. Seth was standing on the other side of Dean, his eyes watching the four in the ring carefully. "I've got to commend you four on your ability to listen and rip off lines from geniuses like Dean Ambrose and Paul Heyman."
"Speaking of, where is Paul?" Jimmy asked, grin on his face as CJ smirked back.
"Currently in the process of filing a legal suit against you four for viciously attacking him without provocation. Your Hall of Fame daddies aren't going to be too happy that their obvious lack of parenting abilities have been put on display for the whole world to see. I've got to say that I'm not impressed, but then again you four have never been able to impress me. Truly disappointing, especially coming from you Roman. I lost any sort of faith in Naomi when she started leeching on her husband's success and started whining about how she deserves more. But you, Roman, I believed in you."
"You believed in me?" Roman asked, tilting his head as CJ nodded. "You, a woman who barely believes in herself, put some shred of belief in me? I'm touched, but you should probably use that to keep some of your insecurities at bay so you can hang onto that pretty little title for just a bit longer."
Oh no he didn't. CJ thought, ready to go off but her mic was taken away by her boyfriend and he was making his way down the ramp. She and the others followed, ready to hold Dean back if necessary. They were there to call the Samoans out, not get in a fight with them just yet.
"Roman, my brother, that's crossing a line. You can beat the hell out of Heyman, you can talk bad about this group as a whole, but talking about my girl isn't going to fly with me." The blonde spoke, fury more than just evident and the whole arena was quiet as they waited for what was to happen next. Was Dean going to speak up more? Was he going to charge into the ring? Or would Roman talk about CJ more to rile up the Lunatic Fringe? Was a brawl about to break out between the two families? "But there's something I've gotta ask you guys. Why are we fighting when we have a common enemy in The Authority?"
Ambrose trying to reason instead of fight? This is new but I'll take it. CJ mused, standing beside her boyfriend and looking between him and Roman.
"We should be banding together to beat their asses and get them out of power so that this company flows on a smoother river than the one it is right now." The blonde continued, and CJ took the microphone back before climbing up onto the ring apron. She wasn't going to get into the ring, because that would be dangerous, but being on the apron seemed safe enough. If she got knocked down Brock would catch her.
"Look, guys, you're already facing legal action from Paul. The last thing you want is to be on our bad side. Being in our good graces would benefit you in the future and you know that. Deep down in your heart, Roman, you know that we are not your enemy."
"Only you are, babygirl. You have what Naomi wants and Seth has what I want."
"This may be what she wants but it isn't what she deserves. She's in the Diva's Title tournament and she's doing a really good job of contending with that competition. You've gotta hold the little belt before you can even have a shot at the big one. Not that she has a chance at the big one because she's yet to beat me in any sort of singles match. I held the consolation prize twice before getting this. I earned the Women's Title and, since I'm the one who made it relevant again, I'm not letting just anybody get a chance at it." CJ explained, keeping a tight grip on her belt as she did so. "You want the WWE World Heavyweight Championship and I'll admit that I played a part in you losing that triple threat match-"
"A huge part. Seth wouldn't have won if you didn't drag him into the pin."
"We'll never know for sure because I wouldn't have needed to intervene if The Authority hadn't interfered in the match." CJ quipped, not accustomed to being so close to Roman. They were face-to-face, the only thing separating them were the ropes and she could feel him breathing on her face. Roman as her enemy was a very intimidating man. But this was the same man who her infant daughter punched in the eye when she was only a couple weeks old so she wasn't too intimidated. "Anyways, you lost. But everybody wants that belt, not just you. Eventually Seth and Brock will have a rematch for the title, and you can work your way back up to being number one contender so you can have your match."
"I want Seth at Money in the Bank."
"You haven't earned Seth at Money in the Bank. You haven't earned anything and, if I were you, I'd stop making demands when you and your little family are in hot water." She was going to say more, but Brock hopping onto the apron beside her had her freezing while he whispered something in her ear. This stunned her, and Paul was likely to blow a gasket when he heard this, but if it got Roman to shut up then she was all for it. "Beat Brock at Money in the Bank and you can have Seth at SummerSlam - when Brock was originally going to cash in his rematch clause."
"Sure you should be making these decisions without your daddy Paul Heyman around?"
"First of all, don't call him that because that's weird as hell." CJ started glaring up at Roman as she squared her shoulders. "Secondly, he's just an advocate."
"I want a contract saying that this will be happening."
"Next week, you'll have it."
"How about an eight-man tag, my family against yours, for a little friendly competition?" The Samoan suggested, getting a scoff out of CJ before a chuckle left her. "Something funny?"
"We're prize fighters, Roman. You don't get to just throw us into matches 'for good fun'. Dean is already scheduled for a match tonight and so is Seth, making them fight twice in one night would be unfair."
"But you and Brock aren't scheduled so you two versus me and Naomi."
"Did you not listen to anything I just said? We-"
"We'll do it." Brock cut her off, and her blue eyes went wide at the idea of wrestling on a night that she wasn't scheduled to. He hated doing things that he wasn't scheduled to do so why the hell would he do this? "See you in the main event."
Well, the hiatus is (hopefully over). When my muses shut down they do a damn good job of staying down.
Thank you to and for reviewing the last chapter five months ago! Sorry for the long wait with no update in between saying that I'd be going on hiatus.