"Whiskey sour," Carter's voice came out gruffly as she sat down on a stool at the hotel bar. She handed over her room key to pay. The woman behind the bar nodded and began to make the drink. As she did so, Carter glanced around the bar. The night was winding down and there weren't many people around, mainly WWE superstars. It was a given that they'd be there as most of the hotel's capacity was taken up by the superstars and crew. And Carter had found that they were easy enough to spot anyway.

The barmaid put the drink in front of her and Carter lifted the glass, gulping down the contents, wincing at the sharpness of the lemon. She put the glass down and asked for another, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. The barmaid chuckled and went to prepare another drink for Carter.

"I like a woman who knows how to handle her drink," a voice came from her left. Carter looked over and saw what appeared to be a businessman nursing a beer. Carter nodded and turned back to the bar as the barmaid put her second drink in front of her. "Can I buy you a drink?" he asked, lazily running his hand through his shaggy blonde hair.

"I have one, thanks", Carter replied with a small smile. She tipped her glass in the direction of the stranger and smiled. She turned back to face the bar, her eyes following the rows of bottles that lined the wall behind it. She heard the glide of the stool next to her as he moved it, his cheap cologne filling her nose as he sat down.

"Are you sure I can't buy you another?" he asked again, causing Carter to turn and look at him.

"I'm good," she insisted, taking another sip of her second whiskey.

"It's just-"

"Listen! Does this usually work for you?" Carter asked, annoyed. "Do you usually get somewhere by using cheap chat up lines on strangers in a bar late at night? You don't know me or anything about me. I could literally be anyone with a million different agendas. And I've already told you twice that I don't want another drink, so maybe just listen in future," she snapped, finishing off her drink with a bitter smile.

"Geez, I only asked if you wanted a drink," he mumbled, turning back to his beer as Carter slid off her stool and walked around him. "Bitch!" he cursed at her.

Carter paid him no mind as she was so used to dealing with disrespectful behaviour and had heard far worse even from Caspar. She continued out of the bar, heading upstairs to her room.

The television was playing when Carter entered the room. When they'd arrived at the hotel earlier, she'd been slightly put off at sharing such a close space with her dad. However, the room was huge, and she had a space of her own inside it.

Stepping inside, she saw that the screen was flashing with some sort of in-ring footage but there was no sound. Her dad was lying prone across the sofa, reading glasses balanced low on his nose. His eyes were closed, soft snores coming from him. She turned off the television, creeping by him as quietly as she could.

Things had been awkward between them to say the least, more so since the plane journey that brought them here. Thankfully, he hadn't tried to bring up what had happened, and seemed to be letting Carter deal with it in her own time. She wanted to be able to be open and tell him what things had been like for her after he'd gone. But there was this massive lump that formed in her throat every time she tried to break down her barriers. She knew that she was probably being unfair to him, but she had spent so many years resenting him, resenting how he'd left her behind and how there was no room for her in his blissful new life. That resent had poisoned her and ate away at her and Carter didn't know how to overcome it.

She looked down at him, a peaceful expression on his face as he slept. Reaching for a hoodie that he'd thrown over the back of the sofa, Carter lay it over the top of him before going to her room.

When Carter woke up, she could hear her dad's voice. He was clearly speaking to someone on the phone as she couldn't hear the response from the other person. She yawned and reached for her phone, checking the time. It was past 10am, later than Carter would normally have slept. She sighed and got out of bed, stretching her muscles which ached from sleeping in the one position. Her head felt foggy and her mouth was dry. She realised she was probably still slightly buzzed from the couple of whiskeys she had drank the night before. She brushed her teeth, managed to scrape her shoulder length hair into a stumpy ponytail and then dressed in some leggings and a t-shirt.

She stepped into the main room of the hotel suite and her suspicions were confirmed; her dad was on the phone.

He looked up at her and she simply nodded, heading for the door. She shoved her feet into some running shoes and opened the door, jumping back slightly when she was met with someone at the other side, their hand poised to knock. Carter swallowed hard, her eyes drinking in the man on the other side. He was tall, more so than her and his skin glowed with a dark, natural tan. Her mouth watered as she took in the sleeve tattoos that ran the length of his firm, muscled arms, disappearing under the short sleeves of the tight black crew neck t-shirt he wore. She met his eyes; brown on blue. His hair was cut close to his scalp and he had a small faint scar at the front of his head.

He titled his head at her, a look of confusion mixed with curiosity forming on his face.

"Ummm….you have a guest!" Carter yelled back into the room, looking over her shoulder as her dad appeared.

"Randy!" her dad greeted, and she watched him beckon the other man into the room, the phone still at his ear. Randy seemed more confused than ever.

"Well, go on then," Carter nodded. "You've been summoned," she rolled her eyes with a small smile. Randy gingerly made his way past her, just managing to squeeze his body through the door without touching Carter. "I'm going for a run," she shouted out, not waiting for an acknowledgement from either man.

Carter felt so much better when she returned to the hotel after her run. Her body was thrumming with adrenaline and she felt more awake. She just needed to shower and change and then no doubt, her dad would want her to accompany him to the arena. It wasn't like she hadn't been to arenas before. There was a time when Carter had planned to emulate her dad's career – when she was younger, she wanted nothing more than to be the next WWE superstar. That pipe dream was eroded by her abandonment. From that moment on, she vowed she would never want to be a part of his life ever again. And now, here she was, along for the ride once more.

She opened the door to the hotel room, letting her hair down to fall around her shoulders. Voices filled the air. She heard her dad and who she assumed to be the guy she had let in earlier; Randy. However, there was one more. The deep southern-ish drawl he spoke with filled the air and Carter tried to remember where she had heard the voice before. She slipped her shoes off at the door and made her way to the sitting area, rounding the sofa that her dad had been sleeping on the night before. When she met his eyes, Carter instantly remembered who he was.

"Hello, Shawn," she smirked as his eyes widened and he stood up. He stared at her, almost in disbelief, watching by her dad and an even more confused Randy. He moved towards her; his steps slower than they used to be. His hair was still long, and he had secured it with a band at the nape of his neck. He opened his arms, ready to take her into his embrace, a watery eyed smile on his face. "Don't, I'm sweaty from my run," Carter winced.

"Do I look like I care about that? Come 'ere," he said, wrapping his arms around her. Carter chuckled, circling her arms around Shawn's neck as he rocked them back and forth slightly before he pulled back, his hands framing her face. "Look at you baby, you're so grown up," he laughed as a tear rolled down his cheek.

"Why are you crying?" Carter asked, looking at Shawn before briefly catching her dad's eyes. He looked happy and sad all at the same time. Carter gulped, aware that she was causing his pain by being far more affectionate with Shawn that she had been with him.

"I'm not crying," he said in denial. "You're seeing things, darlin'," he laughed, reaching up to wipe his eyes. "I just can't believe how grown up you look," he shook his head in disbelief.

"It's normal when you haven't seen someone for a while," she laughed, shaking her head and nudging his shoulder with her palm. "You're being silly. But it's good to see you too," she added as he made his way back over to her dad and Randy. Carter turned away but swivelled back around when she heard her dad clear his throat. She met his eyes, noticing him nodding towards Randy. She felt her blood boiling, her cheeks flaming with embarrassment. "Oh, of course, this must be very confusing for you," she drawled. "Where are my manners. I'm Carter," she stuck her hand out towards Randy. He smirked at her, making eye contact as he took her smaller hand in his bigger, rougher one. She noticed his knuckles were grazed, the skin split open slightly. "I'm Paul's other daughter."