Prior to Smackdown, Sonya and Charlotte had been called to Vince McMahon's office. When they arrived, they found Road Dogg and Elena D'Agostino also in the room, standing there talking to the chairman. Recently promoted to senior producer, Road Dogg was now the immediate superior of Elena, who had been promoted to head up the writing team for the blue brand.

After their segment at the TLC pay-per-view, Sonya had recounted the meeting she had attended where D'Agostino had outlined the transformation in the Sonya Deville character and how that would lead to her becoming the champion, along with the added dimension of a girlfriend coming into the picture. No one was in any doubt, though, that the lesbian romance angle was McMahon's brain child. Elena was writing what she had been instructed to write as far as that was concerned.

Greetings were exchanged all round, then McMahon got right down to business, as was his usual manner.

"Right then. First order of business, Charlotte, you'll be heading down to Birmingham tomorrow. We have your travel taken care of. You're on an early flight tomorrow morning, with your elbow surgery booked in for the afternoon."

"Great, thank you," Charlotte smiled.

"It's a minor procedure, so I'm told," Vince continued. "You'll spend the night in the hospital before hopefully being released the next day. You'll have your arm in a sling for a couple of weeks, then you'll be clear to resume light training in preparation for a return to action in the Royal Rumble."

Charlotte nodded. "Sounds good to me."

"You'll continue to appear on Smackdown," Road Dogg informed her. "Obviously your arm will be in a sling, so in your promo tonight you'll be blaming Becky for injuring you during the match at TLC."

"I'm going to let you stay home and rest up next week, though," Vince informed her. "What we're going to do is send Sonya and a film crew to your house on Monday, and you're going to film a video segment there for us to use on the show next Tuesday night."

Although she didn't show it, Sonya felt a mix of emotions at that news. Envy was one of those emotions. An entire week off sounded like heaven. She couldn't remember she had been fortunate enough to have a break that long, and she wondered if she would have been afforded the same luxury if it was her elbow that was injured. Additionally, stupidly in her opinion, she felt somewhat nervous about going to Charlotte's home. That was the crush doing its thing, she thought, embarrassed by the fact. Working this angle and remaining professional was not going to be an easy thing to pull off, she realised.

Vince had nodded to Elena, prompting her to say whatever she was there to say.

"You'll be relaxing together on a couch, looking all loved up. Fawning over each other, I think is the right term?"

"Yes," Vince said with a smile and a gleam in his eye. He really was into the girl on girl angle, Sonya thought with an inward sigh. Still, she reasoned, women had been given a lot worse stuff to do by WWE back in what in some respects were the bad old days.

The next ten minutes were spent with Sonya and Charlotte receiving instructions regarding the imminent show, and also being given some more information on what the promo to be filmed at Charlotte's house would consist of. To finish, McMahon informed them that future instruction would likely come from TJ Wilson, who had been assigned to their angle as their agent. With that, they were dismissed from the office.

"I get the impression Vince is liking this lesbian angle," Sonya said after the door was safely closed behind them and they were walking off along the hallway.

"Yes, I thought the same," Charlotte said. "Do you find that insulting?"

Sonya shrugged. "I don't find it particularly surprising. Honestly, I think it's a big positive for WWE to have a lesbian couple on a show for the first time, so even if it might not be the best way to portray it, I'm going to take what we've got. I want to thank you for being so good about it, Char. It can't have been easy as a straight girl to have been told to play someone who is gay?"

"In a way, I consider it an honour," Charlotte said with a smile. "I'm a big supporter of gay rights, as are many in the locker room. As you said, having a lesbian relationship depicted on the show is a good step forward."

"And you didn't mind kissing me?" Sonya asked with a smile full of humour. Inside, she was very interested in the answer Charlotte was about to give.

"No. I've had worst first kisses, trust me," Charlotte giggled.

"Wait until we're out there tonight then, I'll blow your mind," Sonya said, feeling her heart rate quickening as she tried to make it sound like a joke.

"Not if I blow yours first, Deville."

Jesus, Sonya thought, glancing at the truly beautiful Queen walking beside her. The comment had made her literally feel weak at the knees.

Smackdown Live – December 18th 2018

After the commentary team had finished welcoming the viewers to the show, Charlotte's music was the first to play. There were some boos from the fans, presumably due to the way the popular Becky Lynch had been shafted out of her women's title at TLC.

"We're kicking off with The Queen," Corey Graves said in delight as Flair walked onto the stage, wearing a black leather jacket, blue pants and brown knee high boots. Whoever had done her makeup had done a great job of making her look regal, sexy, with a touch of evil mixed in.

Tom Phillips said, "At TLC, Charlotte Flair failed to win the Smackdown Women's Championship, but we learned that she has won something possibly even more important: the heart of Sonya Deville."

"Charlotte didn't fail to win the title," Byron Saxton countered, "What she did was hand it on a silver platter to her… girlfriend? I have to assume that's the right word to use."

"After the kiss we saw Charlotte and Sonya share after the match, yes, I think you're right," Graves with a hint of sarcasm.

Charlotte entered the ring. As she walked across it to fetch a microphone, there was a satisfied smile on her face, despite the noticeable booing that was still going on from some of the fans. The reason for her attitude soon became apparent when her music faded. She intended to start with an introduction. "Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the woman who unleashed the Deville inside at TLC and made Becky Lynch tap out; the new Smackdown Women's Champion, Sonya Deville!"

A mixture of cheers and boos greeted Sonya's theme. The happiness from some of the audience that someone new and unquestionably talented had won the title was enough to at least secure her a mixed reaction.

With her newly-won championship around her waist, Sonya walked briskly onto the stage. She was wearing blue ring attire, in the same shade as the face of the title belt. At Charlotte's suggestion, she had her hair down and straightened. The old 'Put your hair up and square up' Sonya was in the past now. This was the Sonya with a devil inside of her.

Posing at the top of the entrance ramp, Sonya went through a quick shadow boxing routine, then roared like a wild beast as she posed with both arms outstretched. In the past few weeks, the fans had gotten used to seeing that as her entrance routine. With the gold around her waist, it looked even more impressive.

"There she is. Sonya Deville, the new Smackdown Women's Champion," Phillips reported. "Yes, Deville has been tearing it up lately, and yes, Becky Lynch tapped out to her Kimura, but frankly? Becky was facing two on one odds by that point. Charlotte Flair beat her down, with no intention to win the match for herself."

"It was one of the most bizarre things I've ever seen," Saxton said.

Sonya climbed into the ring, approached Charlotte, and the two women stepped into each other's arms. The kiss they shared this time was not the kind designed to be emphatic, to throw it in fan's faces. It was brief, yet it was tender and loving. To Sonya's horror, a tiny moan of pleasure escaped her at the end of the kiss. She hoped like hell that Charlotte hadn't heard it. If she had, she showed no outward sign of it as she handed over the microphone.

Turning to business, Sonya whipped her championship belt from around her waist and held it up high while facing the hard camera. "I'm the champion now!" she yelled into the microphone, receiving a noticeable cheer of approval in response.

Charlotte was shown smiling and applauding her girlfriend.

"I made Becky Lynch tap out, right in the middle of the ring," Sonya proclaimed. "I shocked the world by beating 'The Man' and becoming Smackdown Women's Champion, then Charlotte and I shocked the world again when we revealed that yes, we are in a relationship. I'll allow Charlotte to elaborate further, because she's got a lot she wants to get off her chest."

As the microphone was handed over to Charlotte, she received another chorus of boos. "Peasants," she commented to Sonya, 'accidentally' speaking close enough to the mic for the fans to hear her. Without waiting for a reaction from the crowd, she launched into what she had to say. "Let's go back to Summerslam, shall we? You remember Summerslam, right? Where I beat Becky Lynch fair and square for the Smackdown Women's Championship, and had the good grace to offer my hand to her in recognition of an excellent contest. And what did I get from my supposed best friend? I got punched in the face and beaten down, that's what I got."

The crowd cheered that part of the memory, then broke out into a "Becky!" chant.

"Yes, Becky," Charlotte snarled. "Becky is the one who betrayed my friendship, and to make matters worse, what did all of you people do? You turned your backs on me as well, and for some reason sided with Becky!" she exclaimed incredulously.

Sonya was shown shaking her head, appalled by the very thought of it.

"So, through absolutely no fault of my own, my best friend and my fans all stabbed me in the back on the same night. Needless to say, I was devastated. Thankfully, there was one person who stood by me in my hour of need. Sonya was there for me when I needed support the most, and from there, a beautiful relationship has blossomed between us."

Pausing for a moment, Charlotte looked lovingly at her girlfriend, who returned the look in kind.

"We did our best to keep our relationship a secret, and we were successful," Charlotte went on. "We wanted to wait until the moment was right to show the world what we feel for each other. On the spur of the moment, I decided the right moment was this past Sunday at TLC. You see, during the triple threat match, Becky Lynch injured my elbow. I realised I was hurt and that I might need surgery, which is indeed the case. Tomorrow, I'll be getting surgery, and I could be out of action for several months."

To the ire of Deville and Flair, the fans began to chant "Yes!" in response to Charlotte's news. They had no way of knowing that she had purposefully exaggerated the amount of time she would be on the injured list for.

"Knowing that I was hurt," Charlotte said loudly, getting annoyed with the chant, "I decided if I wasn't going to be champion, Sonya damn sure was."

Becky Lynch's music hit, bringing the fans to their feet in a tremendous ovation.

"Oh, here comes Becky Lynch!" Phillips shouted. "The Man is sprinting to the ring!"

Becky was already half way down the ramp by the time he finished saying it. She slid into the ring and started hammering away on both Deville and Flair with right hands.

Charlotte was knocked down by a powerful punch. It gave Becky a moment to focus her attention on Sonya, who received a stiff clothesline.

Deville quickly got up, but she was reeling from the attack. Becky grabbed her by the back of the head and hurled her over the top rope in front of the entrance ramp.

Moments later, Charlotte met the same fate, being sent flying clean over the top rope, landing right on Sonya, who had just stood up. Both women went down, ending up in a heap at the bottom of the ramp.

The fans were going wild for Becky, loving how quickly she had cleared the ring of her two adversaries. She rubbed her hands together emphatically, in a dismissive manner, implying that she had just thrown out the trash. With that, she made her way over to the corner of the ring and shouted at the timekeeper, "Give The Man a microphone, now!"

By the time the microphone was handed to Becky, Sonya and Charlotte were back on their feet and helping each other to retreat up the ramp.

During the mayhem, Sonya's title belt had been left lying on the mat in the ring. Becky picked it up as she spoke heatedly to Deville. "Sonya, you might think you're the champion. The truth of the matter is it took both of you teaming up to put The Man down at TLC. And I've got news for you, Deville, you're not really the champ until you've successfully defended it. I wanted to activate my rematch clause right here tonight and take back exactly what's mine, the Smackdown Women's Championship. But Paige still seems to have a bit of a soft spot for you, Sonya, because she said I will get my rematch at the Royal Rumble instead. So all I've got to say to you is, enjoy your Christmas with my title, because 2019 is going to be the year of The Man!"

The segment began to come to an end with Becky raising the belt in the air as her music playing, with the fans going wild for her again. The last shot was of the stage, where Sonya and Charlotte had arms around each other and were glaring down towards the ring.

A/N: Thank you to everyone who left a review on the previous chapter.

Next time, as we learned, Sonya will be heading to Charlotte's house to film a video segment. How do you think their day together is going to work out?