This one is a little bit shorter than the other but I really enjoyed writing this one!

Thank you for the likes, follows and reviews! Keep em' coming!

Chapter 4: Just Lending A Hand

Jennings put her car in park in the parking lot of the Quad Cities Gym and took a deep breath as she glanced at herself in the rearview mirror.

It was day number one; workout number one. She was nervous.

She didn't really have an idea as to why she was nervous, it wasn't like this was an entirely new situation to her, she had been in the gym and in rings for ten years, but she could definitely feel a stirring of butterflies in the pit of her stomach.

It was more anxiety and excitement than nervousness, she told herself. This was going to be fun and good and she had her two guys to back her up.

She exhaled and stepped out of her car, pausing in the open door to pull her loose hair in to a messy bun on top of her head, and grabbed her gym back from the back seat before setting out across the gravel to the entrance she had gone through with Seth a week before.

She had parked next to him and had no doubt he had been there for half of the day.

The building was warmer, brighter, louder and much busier than their previous solo trip there. She realized as the glass door shut behind her that she and Seth hadn't really nailed out any details other than "see you at 5:00". Did she just walk in? Did she need to check in with anyone? Black and Brave didn't occupy the entire place.

She cast a glance at the young man sitting at the counter to her left and he met her gaze. "Need some help?" he asked.

"Honestly, I don't know…" she fished her phone from the side pouch of her bag and stepped to the side, out of the way of the doorway, and started to send Seth a text.

"Are you just dropping in or do you want to get a tour, get a membership?" the young man asked her.

"She's with us, she's good."

Jennings looked over at the interruption to the smiling face, backwards hat and glasses of Nick Morril, better known as Marek Brave, the missing puzzle piece to her friendship with Seth.

She was greeting him with a grin and hug before he could even speak again.

"It's so good to see you," she said, stepping back and giving him a once over. "You look good. Retirement is treating you well."

"My kids are killing me though," he laughed, "I am good though, I'm great actually. You look like you're doing great, too. Never thought I'd see the day that you were here to coach with us and train with us again."

"Coach?" she questioned.

"I was told you were going to be helping us out," Marek shrugged, "that look says he didn't run that part of the equation by you."

"Not at all but I'm not surprised by that," she chuckled lightly.

"Come on, I'll give you some proper introduction. Wonder boy is finishing a run."

Jennings gave Marek a raised eyebrow, questioning look. "Since when does he run?"

"It was part of the WOD."

Seth returned to the gym just a few minutes after Marek and Jenn had reunited. He slowly made his way through the open garage door, catching his breath, hands on his hips, surveying the room. He had seen her car on his way in, he knew she had gotten there.

His eyes settled on Marek, one of their students, Justin, and the back of Jennings. She had curls slipping out of her loose bun already, hands buried in the pockets of the joggers she was wearing and he could just make out the profile of her face; eyes set, lips tights, intently listening to whatever story Marek was telling or whatever he was explaining.

Something he said triggered her and she laughed; boldly, loudly, and purely. Her voice carried across the open space of the gym and she lightly touched Marek's arm as she continued to laugh. There was something almost soothing, comforting, about hearing her laugh. It had been a long time and it gave him a brief feeling of being ten years younger, meeting up in a grungy, dirty basement to lift makeshift weights and try their hardest to become something.

He started across the gym at a light job and slowed to a walk as he approached them.

"It seems I missed the punch line," he stated.

Jennings turned her head to take him in and smiled, "hi."

He nodded his hello.

"It wasn't a punch line, really," Nick countered.

Seth raised his eyes, silently questioning him.

"He was just telling Justin and reminding me that we used to fight all the time because you were mean to me when we first met."

"I wasn't mean to you," Seth countered.

Jennings scoffed, "literally the second or third sentence you ever spoke to me was making fun of me for being a cheerleader."

"I wasn't making fun of you, I was teasing you and I was young and dumb and I didn't know any better than to pick on girls…"

"He made me cry," Jennings turned her gaze back to Justin, "so don't listen to his version of things. It's wrong. He was really mean."

Justin cracked a smile and looked from Seth to Jennings, "I feel like I have to believe his story because he employs me but just know that deep down I believe you. He's mean to me, too."

"Ok, alright, we can break this up now," Seth half frowned and half rolled his eyes. "Bringing Jenn in was not code for 'give Colby a hard time', we have work to do."

Marek, Jennings and Justin all cracked smiles and there was a light ripple of chuckles as Seth started to part from the group and head to his gym bag.

"Now we hurt his feelings," Marek stated.

"Ego; we hurt his ego. He has no feelings," Jennings countered.

"I can hear you!" he called.

There was a small hint of laughter in his voice, lightness, and Jenn shared smiles with her two companions before breaking away to join him after shouldering her own bag.

"You're very sensitive," she stated, approaching him as he shuffled around his bag, "and still unorganized apparently."

He produced his knee sleeves and glanced up at her, a not amused expression on his face, before standing up to his full height. She met his gaze, a smile playing on her lips, countering his sour face with an amused expression. There was a definite twinkle in her eyes.

"Are you ready to work?" he asked.

She rolled her eyes, dropping her folded arms to her sides and then resting them on her hips and narrowed her eyes at him.

"Stop this."

He continued to look at her for a moment, serious, his eyes not leaving hers. A smile slowly started to form after a moment.

"Did I really make you cry?"

"Yes, you did. I cried on the way home that night and called you the biggest asshole I had ever met. I may have exaggerated a bit."

"You've never told me that."

"I didn't want you to know that you had made me cry," She shrugged, "that's kind of embarrassing and it was really silly, too. Mind you I wasn't sobbing or anything, just frustration tears. I was really sensitive back then. I didn't have a lot of self esteem and you were so full of yourself and I couldn't stand it. You guys and Macy were the only people I knew though so what could I do?"

"None of us had any self esteem," he countered, "it was all an act."

"I know that now."

"If it helps at all you were by far the coolest cheerleader I ever met."

"I was probably the only one you had every really 'met' if we're being honest," she smiled in return, "and it's not like it still matters. I'm not still mad about you for it."

"Are you sure?" he teased her.

"Yes, I am positive. There are far bigger things I can be mad at you over."

"Fair enough…you ready?" he nodded his head towards the front of the gym where she had entered earlier.

She nodded and motioned for him to lead the way across the gym. His steps were long and purposeful and like she had done for so long, she had to walk slightly faster than she normally would to keep up with him. She never could figure out what it was about him, their heights weren't that far off, but he was always a stride ahead.

The quick trip across the space gave her a chance to let her mind wander slightly.

The first time Jennings met Seth and Marek she had been eighteen, the summer before her senior year of high school. She was a fresh transplant to the Midwest; moving to live with her dad in Chicago after her parent's divorce. It may not have been the most stable move but she had been dying to get out of Smyrna, in typical teenage fashion, and she was also a diehard daddy's girl.

Her grandmother lived in Davenport and that's where she found herself for the summer months; lifeguarding, settling in, enjoying her eighteenth year.

"Jennings?" Seth's voice broke into her beginning of a stroll down memory lane and she blinked quickly before meeting his eyes with hers. "You okay?"

"Yeah."

"Where did you go?"

She shook her head at his question, "just got lost in my thoughts; tired from the drive I think, nervous. Were you talking to me?"

"Yeah," he chuckled lightly and flopped down in the seat of the desk in the gym office. "All I said was you paid me back for making fun of you. What do you mean nervous?"

"You have an office?" Jennings questioned at the same time he asked his question. They studied each other for a moment before she spoke. "Just not sure what to expect…coach, trainee, yada yada…" she responded with a blasé shrug. "I still stand by my statement that your hair was stupid."

"It's mostly Nick's office but I use it," Seth added his own answer, a smile painted on his face.

There was another moment of shared silence and he reached towards the computer to grab a notebook. It was small, black, looked like a journal. He handed it over to her without a word.

"What's this?" She asked, flipping open the cover to a blank page and leaning against the desk, mostly sitting on it, to rest her weight.

"That is your first four weeks of workouts, courtesy of the diabolical Josh Gallegos."

"I'm not sure you that diabolical means what you think it means," she muttered, starting to quickly skim through the pages. She glanced up at him briefly, "you wrote this all out for me?"

His scribble was unmistakable.

"I figured it was easier than giving you screen shots of the texts he sent me."

"That was very above and beyond of you."

"You've always journaled your workouts, you used to at least. Just figured a head start on it might be...nice or convenient I guess. It's really not a big deal. Right now this first couple of weeks is mostly strength focused and conditioning; track your weights, track your times, up them both, you know how it all goes. You aren't new to this."

She was still flipping through the pages as she spoke. "Sixty burpee box jump overs for time, woof. Maybe he is diabolical. What about getting in the ring?"

"I'm not worried about that part."

Jennings closed the journal and looked at him. She inhaled deeply, waiting for him to continue talking. She could sense that there was more.

"You're a great wrestler, Jenn, and it's not something you just forget. You don't need that much work. When it's closer to you actually having matches we can clean up some stuff, work out new moves, get your ring awareness back but it's not something I'm worried about. Trust me on this."

She smiled softly and nodded, "well do I need to sign a contract or something? You guys are paying for me the help coaching, right? I don't work for free."

He rolled his eyes and pushed the chair back, standing up. "Come on, I'm going to do this first work out with you. We can talk about payment; you can choose tacos, pizza or cupcakes…but that's about all I'm promising you."

"With the salary you make; tacos, pizza or cupcakes is the best you can do?"

"How do you know what my salary is?"

"Everybody knows what everybody's salary is."

"I don't know yours."

"Subtract about 2.4 million from yours," she stated.

He stopped walking. She followed suit and turn to look at him. "What?"

"Are you serious?"

"Yeah it's roughly around that. I made them give me a little more when they moved me to ring announcing and I'll get a bonus when I start back in the ring."

"That's without merch, too."

"Why do you think I work every house show and did Total Divas when I still qualified as one? And agree to do those ridiculous fitness and bathing suit photo shoots? I don't enjoy never having a life outside of work; only about 98% of the time."

"Well...maybe we will have to pay you."

"I was joking, and I don't need your pity paycheck. I'm fine. This is plenty," she held up the journal and wiggled it in the air. "I'm serious about that."

He studied her, not speaking.

"I'm serious," she reiterated. "If it's going to bother you now I'll take the cupcakes and pizza."

She dropped her last deadlift; the plates on each end of the barbell bouncing and making thud sounds against the cushioned mats covering the gym floor. Her hands were sore; strained and burning slightly. It had been awhile since she had built up the familiar calluses that came with crossfit and lifting but she could already feel the rawness on her hands. She had, admittedly, let a large slice of her fitness fall to wayside once she stopped performing the ring. At least when it came to her stamina. She was sorely regretting it in that moment.

There were only three steps to the wooden box to finish out the WOD. 9 box jump overs. Her shoes thudded softly on the top as she landed. She had tried to take note during the workout if she was feeling any soreness, especially with such a heavy target on her lower body. So far, so good.

She was six in when she paused, bending over with her hands resting on her knees, trying to take a quick second to catch her breath. She glanced up and to her right, catching a glimpse of Seth sitting on his box, watching her.

Of course he was done. How long has he been done? She wondered. She hated that he was always a step ahead of her. It wasn't a competition but she still hated it.

"How many you have left?" he asked his voice louder than normal to reach over the sounds of the gym and the music.

"Three."

"Let's go, knock em' out."

She shot a small glare in his direction and then sucked in a deep breath to do exactly what he said; knock em' out.

Marek gave her a warm smile and enveloped her in a strong, one armed hug as she approached him once she and Seth had wrapped up their workout. It was a playful smile. She returned it, making a face as he squeezed her shoulders and then stepped back from him to slip on the long sleeved, thin, pullover shirt she was holding in her hands.

"How did that go?" he asked.

"Well I didn't die so there's that."

"It looked like a lot of fun from my comfortable spot right here in this empty ring. Your form was excellent."

"How do you get away with having your own little observation deck and not slaving away with the rest of us?"

"I'm the boss. I also have a broken back. Both of those things are great bargaining tools."

"Perks," she grinned.

Seth approached them and Marek nodded as he joined the pair. "Time to assemble the troops?"

"Yeah let's give Jenn a proper introduction." He cast his gaze on Jenn and handed her the extra shaker bottle he was holding.

"Post workout?" she questioned, taking the shaker and giving the contents a quick sniff to detect the flavor before taking a sip. Pink lemonade; it wasn't the worst flavor she had ever tasted.

"Mmm, you never did come prepared. 'Colbs can I use your belt? Colbs do you have any recovery? Colbs can I borrow your wrist wraps?' It's good to see I was right when I said that nothing had really changed." He shrugged lightly, playfully, chuckling at the eye roll she responded with.

"You make it sound like I'm helpless," she mumbled taking another sip of the drink. "I was just always comfortable; I knew I could depend on you so I didn't have to worry about it."

"Uh huh," he smiled, teasing.

"That also wasn't what I meant when we had that conversation."

"Whichever way it was meant, I was still right," he shrugged again. He gave a head nod towards the ring, "after you."

"You aren't always right about everything."

She let her statement hang in the air, stepping away from him and moving to climb in to the ring. She pulled herself up by the ropes and then dipped underneath, stepping on to the familiar bouncy canvas to stand next to Marek.

"He's already irritating me," she stated under her breath.

"Welcome to my world," Marek countered.

They shared smiles and Jennings could feel the quick warmth of the moment overcome her. Despite any trepidation she had about starting on this venture with Seth, she had never doubted how nice it would be to have Marek back in her life. It wasn't like they had ever stopped being friends, she had even dropped in on a few of his matches before he had followed suit and hung up his boots for good, but to spend with him again felt good. He was the voice of reason, the brother that had been missing in her California world.

"I don't like to do the whole speeches or whatever thing here but I figured I should at least give you guys some kind of introduction to the strange face over here," Seth stated, interrupting the small banter between Jennings and Marek and quieting the handful of students.

"The face of WWE doesn't do speeches?" Marek teased.

"Shut up," Seth shook his head. "I know you all probably know Jennings; she's known as Jewell in WWE for whoever wants to keep kayfabe alive around here. She's our new coach and she has been friends with Nick and me for a really long time. We learned how to wrestle together, we trained together, came up through the ranks together, blah blah and if you need any other kind of resume you can look her up on YouTube or the Network. Listen to her, though; treat her like you would the two of us. Respect her. She's an excellent wrestler and she's excellent all around."

"So are you coming out of retirement?" the brunette girl of the two girls spoke up and asked.

"No, at least not outside of this, not right now," Jenn answered. "I'm just lending a hand."

"You want to say anything?" Seth asked her.

"No, I think you covered it."

He nodded and turned his look on the students again. "Alright that's that. Run the ropes, get warmed up."