Chapter 28

xXx

The bed dipped, causing Karlee to jump, smashing her head on the headboard as she did so. She looked down to see Dean sitting on the edge of the bed, digging through her bag. She pulled the duvet up around the vest she was wearing before talking to him.

"What are you doing in here?" She grumbled, a quick glance to her clock showed her it was only six thirty. A ridiculous time to be up and rummaging through her bags.

"I'm doing some washing. Is that okay?" He snapped back, a grumpy look across his face. Karlee reached forward and snatched the bag from him

"Don't take that tone with me Mr, especially after waking me up." She kicked his ass off the bed and threw her bag down the other side, desperately wanting to get back to sleep, something that was treasured since recently, sleep wasn't something that came easy to her. She heard him moving around but just assumed that he was doing something else. She slammed her head back into the pillow and tucked her knees under her chest as she hugged the blankets close.

A scream ripped through the air as the side of the mattress she wasn't sleeping on was thrown up in the air, causing her to flip over and fall off the bed, the soft memory foam crashing down on top of her.

"I was trying to be nice. Next time just fucking accept that." Dean yelled, growling as he threw her bag back down on the floor. Karlee scrambled to get up and turned to face him, her teeth and fists clenched in fury.

"Fuck you Dean. I was sleeping and you came in here and deliberately woke me up. What else did you expect?" She stood on the frame of the bed. Pulling the heavy mattress back on with her. He challenged her with his eyes. He could continue this argument or walk away and carry on with his day, ignoring all the drama. But he was Dean Ambrose. And She was Karlee Eckland. This was only going to end one way.

"Aw, did the poor baby not get enough sleep. Well guess what princess, I'm the one that had my arm in a sling and I had to sleep in the spare bed." Karlee threw her pillow at him, standing on the bed in her short shorts and cropped baggy vest. He too was only wearing his shorts, going shirtless while he ran around the house.

"Really, you want to start that shit?" He mumbled, throwing it back and knocking her clean off the bed. She jumped up straight away and thought about throwing something heavier.

"What the fuck have I done now? We agreed I could have this bed!" She yelled, flipping her hair over her shoulder and jumpng back onto the bed. Karlee folded her arms to show she wasn't going to be beaten.

"I popped my shoulder and you haven't even bothered to see if it was any better. You completely ignored me all of yesterday." Karlee couldn't believe what she was hearing. Was he honestly moaning at her for not talking to him. She saw red, jumping off the bed and punching the shoulder.

"Aw, poor baby, are you still alive?" Dean grimaced. His shoulder was better but it still hurt. His plan was to get into their training ring with Karlee today and pay her back for teasing him for weeks. But now she stood in front of him, her hair tangled in her tiny little shorts and no bra and it was winding Dean up. He glared at her and at that second she realized what she was doing.

"You are a complete bitch. I'm going out." Karlee flipped him off, resisting the urge to kick him as he left the room. She was knackered but her body was screaming at her to go and do something to waken her up. A run would do just that. She reached into her drawers and pulled out a black sports bra and black cropped Nike leggings. She tried to pull a brush through her hair but gave up when it got stuck. Instead she threw it up on top of her head, not caring who saw her. She dodged Dean, who looked like he was going for a shower and skipped to the kitchen. She filled a bottle with ice cold water and once she heard the running of the hot water from the bathroom, she left, sprinting through the back garden and up into the trail that lead up the hill on the back of their house.

Dean watched as Karlee took off up with rough terrain. She did that when she was wound up, especially since she wasn't getting any. Anything that made her work, sweat and ache was considered relief. He debated following her up, just to make sure she was okay but decided against it, knowing she would be okay. A horrible flashback appeared in his mind from the time Karlee was in the gym just after she had received the letter from Anthony. She had run so fast for so long that she had almost knocked herself out. Dean felt his fists curl at the thought before he took off up the hallway and disappeared into the bedroom they used to share.

xXx

Tears streamed down her face at a million miles an hour as Karlee sat behind the tree that overlooks the town she lives in. She doesn't know why this spot makes her so emotional, but any time she came, she would sit and think about her life and everything that was happening in and around it.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck!" She hissed at herself, cradling her head in her hands. She missed Dean and having him there to comfort her in her hour of need. She missed having Kaitlyn as her 'sister from another mister'. She missed Christian being there at every show, making sure she was okay. But most of all, she missed her relationship with the man she loved. She stopped crying, brushing the tears away and resting her head against the tree. She needed to make drastic changes but she didn't now where to start. Karlee knew her life was in a mess. She just wanted to get back to how things were before the accident. She took a deep breath and stood up. She needed that moment to herself. She needed to get in touch with herself before she marched back down that hill and put her big girl panties back on. Karlee knew that she was a strong woman but every strong woman needs someone to fall back on at times. She wanted the simple things in life, to have a brilliant career, a passionate relationship and amazing friends. She had her friends but the other two were in tatters. After a few more moments to herself, she pushed herself up the small dip she had been sitting in and dusted herself down before taking a deep breath and telling herself to pull it together. Karlee turned round in one fluid motion and froze.

She tried to gather her wits about her but she couldn't tear her eyes away from the steely blues that gazed at her. Dean was standing watching her and her feet refuse to move from their spot where they were fixed on thee sandy ground. Had he seen her crying? He had a sad look on his face and it was clearly tinted with guilt. She felt her stomach knot. She hated that look

"You finally got that out of your system?" He asked, a low deep groan following. Karlee managed a shaky nod.

"You've been hella tense all week. I was starting to wonder if you were feeling okay. I'm guessing this was what you were needing." Karlee nodded. She suddenly felt terribly exposed. They were in the middle of nowhere with only Dean. She felt as though she had let her guard down. She wanted to kick herself for letting him see her cry.

"Don't worry, I don't wanna 'talk'." He muttered He had obviously sensed her displacement and put her at ease. Her shoulders relaxed a fraction and she shifted her weight to her left side, slumping slightly, not knowing what to do.

"I'm sorry. I am, Dean." He shook his head. They both stood in silence for a second before they both started to speak at the same time.

"You first." She prompted.

"You ready to go back down, I'll race you-" Karlee took off in front of him, leaving him gawking at her speed. Dean had never been much of a runner but when it came to chasing Karlee, he could become Usain Bolt within 2.3 seconds. Watching Karlee's mop of red hair disappear around the corner of the sandy trail had him planning and plotting.

Karlee ran, grinning, thinking she was the smartest cookie in the box. She stopped suddenly as Dean thumped down in front of her. She screamed and ran around him, not allowing herself to slow down, wondering where the hell he had come from. She heard his feet thumping on the track behind her and it encouraged her to speed up, the deep burning feeling in her legs making her grin wider. She reached the bottom quick enough and opted for the huge shed at the back of the house. And it only housed only one thing.

Karlee used all the power in her arms to pull the heavy doors open. Dean was suddenly behind her, his hands on her waist to move her slowly to the side. He slipped through the bottom rope and stood in the middle, his arms up. Karlee shut the door, her eyes never leaving him. He lay down in the middle of the ring, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. Karlee grinned and walked to the ring.

"This is where we belong Karlee. This is what our whole lives revolve around. How scary is that?" There was no response. He sat up and looked towards the door. He was more than sure she had come in in front of him. He gazed around him, scrambling to his feet. The flood lights had almost switched on by themselves, obviously when his eyes were squeezed shut, the heat radiating from the and warming his cooling skin.

"Karlee?" He was starting to get confused, then all of a sudden, the little lightbulb went off in his head. A light thud behind him and the two small feet just behind his own enlightened the whereabouts of Karlee. His grin grew wider as he turned around and came face to face with the pintsized Diva.

"So, lock up and roll out, yeah?"

xXx

The air was thick with sweat and the sound of heavy breathing. Karlee lay splattered in the middle of the ring whist Dean slumped against the corner of the ropes wiping his hair away from his face. Karlee panted her way through the sore throat she had from shouting at him to catch her every time she wanted to jump from the top rope.

"You need to work on your drop-kicks asshole." Karlee groaned as she rolled over to lay on her front, nursing the already forming bruise on her collarbone from where Dean clipped her with his boot. He stood up and pulled down his shorts.

"Yeah well next time someone locks you up, tap out instead." He pointed to the teeth marks on his left thigh whilst Karlee turned red and grinned. He had almost wrapped her legs around her leg in what he called a new and improved lock. She had no option but to try everything to save them from snapping.

"You okay now though, I did nearly send you flying." They both stood up to give Dean a better look at her collarbone. It was looking less red and had started to bruise which mean it would disappear a lot quicker. They both stood there for a few moments, Karlee slightly moving her vest strap to the side and Dean locking eyes with her collarbone. They were both hot and it would be extremely easy to get caught up in the moment. Dean lent in but the small palm that pushed him back shocked him.

"Dean..." She sighed but he held both hands up showing he meant nothing by it. She had had a rough few days and so had he with having a bad shoulder and all. She pushed off her hand and jumped down from their ring, yanking the heavy doors open and leaning against one.

"Fancy some lunch?"

xXx

"WHOOAAHHH, We're half way there! Whoooaaahhh, Living on a prayer!" Karlee and Alice used the back of the headrests as drums as they sang their little hearts out in the back, not caring what the two men in the front thought.

"Take my hand, We'll make it I swear!" They held each others hands an threw their heads back in a dramatic fashion, Roman discretely recording their performance. Dean had warned them about their singing earlier, four songs ago but it only made them louder.

"WHOOAHHHHH, LIIVING ON A PRAYEEEER!" Roman joined in causing Dean to grit his teeth and growl. He had calculated they were only five minutes away from. Alice and Karlee thrashed around in the back, imitating air guitars whilst Roman held his stomach, sore from laughing. The song finished and Karlee and Alice took to taking selfies since Dean turned the radio off and refused to put it back on.

"Aw, come on man, the girls were having fun." Dean glared at him and flipped him off. They pulled up into the arena a few minutes later, just after Alice had finished bitching about party-pooper Dean on twitter. Karlee pulled her glasses on and took a quick look in the mirror before emerging out of the car. She followed Roman and dean around to the trunk and hauled out their suitcases. Roman piled all Alice's bags on top of his and held her hand as hey walked slowly into the building. Karlee grabbed her handbag and shut the trunk as Dean did the same with her bags.

"You okay?" He asked, going to grab her hand. She held on tightly where as normally she wouldn't. They walked towards the opening of the arena they were preforming at. Her heels clicked on the concrete as she held his hand in hers, her eyes fixed firmly ahead as fans crowded around the door. After stopping, almost reluctantly to sign some autographs, they were about to walk in when she heard a man shout.

"We all know ya'll aint together anymore. You aint fooling anyone." Dean snarled and glared at the man and ushered Karlee inside, his hand on the small of her back as she fought back tears. Once they were finally inside and away from the glass doors, Karlee took off in the direction of the locker rooms at full speed. Dean sighed and went to run after her but a hand on his chest stopped him.

"Let Alice go." Roman muttered and Alice nodded, going after the redhead. She weaved in and out of production carts and staff members, knowing Karlee wouldn't be in an easy to find spot. She went all the way to the back, going for the exit and sure enough, Karlee was slumped against the wall, her head in her hands, softly sobbing. Alice said nothing as she sat beside her resting her head on her shoulders.

"Want to tell me what made you go off like that or do you want me to guess." Karlee sniffed and looked up at her friend. Her make-up had ran down her face and she looked drained.

"Some asshole said he knew me and Dean weren't together anymore and we weren't fooling anyone." Alice stood up and offered her hand to her friend. Karlee accepted it and pulled herself up. Alice wiped her tears away and took the smeared makeup off her face with her sleeve, a gesture that made Karlee smile.

"So, he was probably just doing it to wind you up. Take no notice." Karlee sniffed against and bashed her head against the wall.

"Its just, that comment... it made everything seem so real. Me and Dean, we actually aren't together anymore. We're just fuck buddies in some twisted friendship that we are both too scared to talk about. I just don't know what to do anymore Al. I think I'm past the point of helping." Alice held her arms out and Karlee bent slightly to hug her smaller friend.

"Right. You listen to me. You are not past the point of helping. You have been through so much Karlee and from what I've seen in the short amount of time I've known you, this is just another hiccup that you can overcome. I know it feels as though all these little things are weighing you down but think of the positives. You may have a target on your back but you have millions of fans who adore you. Remember how you felt watching your favorite Diva when you were little? Well you are giving that feeling to some other twelve year old little girl just by standing on that stage. You are showing young girls everywhere that it is okay to be different and not follow the crowd. And you've shown me that you should ever back down from your battles. You may have a complicated relationship but you have a man that would walk over broken glass just to look at your eyes. He would do anything for you. He has stuck by you through everything and he's still here isn't he?" Karlee gawked at the brunette. She was right but her mini speech had hit a nerve. A good one. Alice could see she was struggling to form a sentence so opted to carry n talking.

"Here's the plan. We are kicking Roman out tonight an he can go bromance with Dean. Me and you are taking over his locker room and you can sleep in my hotel room tonight. Sound good?" Karlee nodded and hugged her friend again.

"I'm so grateful you came into my life you yappy little shit. I don't know what I would do without you." Alice shrugged and blushed. They both put their arms around each others waist and with another deep breath to calm her down, they were off.

xXx

Dean taped his knuckles tighter than usual. Aything to make him feel something. Or nothing at all. Roman glanced at him nervously. He was either going to screw up in the ring tonight or go ballistic. There would be no inbetween. He hadn't had a chance to see Karlee and see if she was okay and Roman knew that was what was picking at him. He watched as Dean switched on the monitor and sat on the sofa, trying to concentrate on what the commentators were saying.

"And would you look at this match that is planned for tonight. That is some battle for a Friday night Cole!" Lawler cried. Dean and Roman both shifted nervously in their seat as they watched six womens faces come up on the TV screen.

"Alice, AJ and Karlee against Team Sofia, Megan and Layla. That is going to be one hell of a match."

Alice and Karlee stood in their locker room, awaiting their call to go out. Karlee clicked her fingers repeatedly, nervous that she would have to face Dean and his army of questions. Alice looked cute in her blank pants and red shirt. Karlee had co-ordinated her outfit to look similar, only wearing black shorts and a tartan red crop top. A knock on the door made Karee jump as Alice went to open it. Karlee prayed it wasn't Dean. There was still a whole match and another segment to go before their match and it was too long for them to stand in a small space together.

Thankfully it was AJ who came knocking and no sooner than had she entered the room, all three of them were floored with laughter.

"We clearly have similar brainwaves. All three women had curled hair, red shirts and black pants. The only difference being that AJ wore chucks, Alice wore proper wrestling boots and Karlee wore her combat boots with the tartan fold.

"Do we have a game plan for this match or are we just working on getting equal time?"

"I don't give a shit as long as I et my hands on Layla." Alice grunted. AJ and Karlee nodded.

"I'll happily lay the other two out. Take your pick AJ, make your target." Karlee held her hands out, waiting for he petite brunette to choose.

"Megan please. She did throw coffee at me. And I never got to kick her ass for that." Karlee gladly accepted. It meant she had to go for Sofia. And that she would happily do. The three women sat chatting about AJ and Punk's wedding, which had been talk of the locker-room when they were distracted by an awful screech on the monitor. Karlee recognised that screech anywhere and groaned as she saw Sofia fill her screen, pacing back and fourth Megan and Layla.

"Ugh! We can't do this, not with them all together. Plus they will have Deaan and Roman. How are we going to even mae this fair?" Layla grinned and leant forward and whispered in her ear. Alice madee sick noises as she watched Sofia's frown turn to a grin. Whatever they had planed wasn't good.

"You get my drift?" Sofia nodded and motioned for her to tell Megan the plan. They finsiihed talking and went to work. They started by pulling their shirts down, exposing their bras and once they were finished pouting in font of the mirror, they left their locker room, the cameras following.

"See if they go anywhere near my man with those out, I'll slap a bitch into next year!" Karlee had to hol Alice down as they headed toward the door marked 'Ambrose'. Karlee felt her blood boil. What were they really going to get out of this? The three girls giggled their way up to thee door and Alice was about to run out of the door when they swerved, instead going to the referee who was staning beside Paul Heyman.

"Hello boys... We have a proposition for you..."

xXx

Nothing more had been heard about Sofia's little plan when it came time for them to leave to the stage. Roman and Dean were waiting for them in position and Alice gawked at seeing Roman and his slight change of attire.

"I had no say in this. Believe me." Karlee grinned at the white and black striped shirt he was currently wearing. Dean stood on his right side, directly beisde Karlee.

"Are you ringside or helping too?2 She squeaked out."

"Announce." He muttered back to her. He looked directly at her and she winced under his gaze. She pepared herself for the million questions but they never came. Instead he searched her eyes for any kind of answer, giving up when she fluttered her eyelashes and looked down at the ground.

The sound of the old Shield song broke them all out of their trance. Alice geared herself up and walked out with Roman whilst AJ followed.

"Ready?" Dean asked her nad she put her hand in his. Her silent reply. He took that as a yes and flipped the curtain behind them, stepping out onto the stage to stand with the others. Roman was handed a microphone and chose to talk as he got down to the ring.

"I would like to start of by saying I had no say in this and you can thank Sofia and her goons for making me ref. Secondly, as much as I don't want to, this will be a fairly judged match."He threw the mic down and helped Alice into the ring. Dean gave Karlee a peck on the cheek and walked to announce. The girls braced themselves for a shit storm but were almost shocked when the other three girls came out with dainty smiles on their faces and almost skipped to the ring.

A quick rock, paper scissors decided who was first in and it just happened to be Megan and AJ. Perfect. They both locked up and it was weird seeing Megan wrestle with someone else again. Shame she didn't improve as everything she tried, AJ countered, eventually getting a 2 count. AJ rolled out and tagged Karlee in as the crowd erupted into jeers and chants. She blocked htem out, focusing on Megan who was sliding her way towards her corner. She grabbed her foot, turning her around and sending multiple blows to her covered head. Roman pulled her off rather reluctantly, letting her get the tag to Layla. She came at Karlee like a train, spearing her into the corner and knocing the wind clean out of her. She blew a kiss to Roman, causing Alice to shot some obscenities. Karlee rolled onto her stomach and used the ropes to pull herself up. She had made it too the second when she saw Batista coming to the ring. This was their tactic? Distract Roman and get a win. Karlee pulled herself up, catching Layla with a kick to the stomach. She grabbed her head and struck her with a forceful DDT, making sure her head bounced. Batista slammed his hands down on the ring apron as Karlee grabbed her by the hair and pulled her over to Sofia and made her tag in. Sofia got in rather reluctantly and Karlee grinned.

"No so smart now, huh?" She held her hands up for a lock up but Sofia kicked her hand away, diving for her stomach and getting her with a bear hug directly where she wanted her. Karlee was lifted up and German suplexed right into the corner of the ring, her head catching off the turnbuckle and sending her vision all blurry. She could vaguely make out Alice screaming at Layla, with her back to the ropes. Roman has his back turned to his girlfriend as Batista slithered in between them, blocking her from Roman's view. Roman stopped and turned around, warning him to get out of the way. Batista held his hands up and pushed Roman with force, grinning as he did so. Something was wrong. Karlee groaned as she watched the two men push back and fourth at each other. Roman stood back up after taking the hit and slammed his own hands into Batista. Batista just grinned and did it again, sending Roman further back. But his worst mistake was leaving him on his feet.

Karlee saw his fists clench and the vein in the side of his head pop. He was going to spear him right out of the ring. Karlee tried to shout for him to stop. Her voice didn't want t work. AJ was down beating the shit out of Megan and wasn't even paying attention. There was no way Roman could see Alice behind the mammoth that was Batista. If Roman hit him, he would do more damage to his girlfriend.

A grunt from Reigns showed it was too late as he ran forward and slammed into Batista, both their bodies flying out between the two top ropes. Then everything seemed to go in slow motion. AJ screamed as Alice flew through the air with them, her body not having enough time to register and instead splatting onto the thing layers of supposed thin mat that covered the bare concrete. Roman landed with a thud, shaking his head and wondering why the move felt wrong. Dean ran from his position on Announce and went straight to Roman, helping him up but tryng to get to the now definitely injjured diva. Karlee shook her head and crawled her way over to the opposite side of the ring, tears beginning to brim her eyes. Batista's groaning body moved slightly, half of him covering Alice's small frame. Roman stood up and went to look for Alice immediately to check if she was still okay. He followed Dean's moements, His eyes widening when he saw her lying on the cold ground. He scrambled over and dropped hard to his knees and held her head.

"SOMEONE GET A MEDIC OUT HERE! NOW!" He screamed. AJ ran to her side. Karlee's body seemed to not want to move but when she saw the medic's come tearing down the runway, she knew she had to go with her friend. They scooped her up onto a stretcher. Batista finally coming around and realizing what had happened. Even the crowd were silent. Alice was tiny compared to the former champ and she had fallen from a height. Hard. The medics din't even wait to strap her in properly, instead taking off with Roman by their side, wailing into a radio about an ambulance. Karlee felt two arms wrap around her, one nder her arms and one under her legs, her body instantly molding against Dean's.

"She's out. They are taking her to the hospital. And you are coming too." Karlee only responded with a grunt as she internally fought with the idea that a match that short could cause such damage. She felt Dean running and lots of voices behind them but she simply sighed as she worried about her friend, her eyes slowly closing. Dean started screaming at her, clamping her tighter and tighter as visions of them both together flooded her mind, just a second before the sound stopped and everything went black.

xXx

Hi lovlies! I hope you enjoyed this longer chapter. Expect the rest of the story to consist of these mammoth chapters!

Few things, just to get them out of the way:

1. Official update day for this story is Friday. If it not up on friday, hound my ass until it is.

2. Alice and Roman now have their own story, which is the last in this series. **Sob** It's called 'Something I need' an has 2 chapters, with another coming every Sunday!

3. Reviews = Encouragement. This story was gaining almost 10 reviews per chapter. I need them back... I miss you guys.

4. All extra info is on my Tumblr. Go check it out.

I love you guys and I hope you enjoy how the rest of this story goes, leave me your feedback and I will get back to you! Bye! Xo