Chapter 17: Here We Are!

It was about a two hour flight to Smackdown's next city. Lauren couldn't keep thoughts of their numerous close encounters out of her head. She looked to the sleeping Animal next to her and smiled. "He looks so cute when he's sleeping." Lauren couldn't help but stare for a few minutes. All the thoughts swimming in her head finally led to the one that scared her the most. Batista actually moving to Smackdown. She figured she was being selfish about the entire thing. Sure she wouldn't be able to see him, be near him, or ever feel what it'd be like to actually..."Damn it!" she cursed inside her mind and turned away from his sleeping form to look out the plane window. "If he goes to Smackdown it could actually improve his career. That's what's important, his happiness" she told herself as her eyes drooped closed and finally fell asleep. She woke up to someone's voice calling to her.

"Lauren...Lauren" they said. Lauren looked up to see Batista smiling at her. She noticed that her head was resting on his shoulder. Lauren immediately jumped out of her trance and sat up straight in her seat. "We're here. It's time to go," he smiled and stood up. Lauren simply nodded and followed him towards baggage claim. "HHH called me while you were sleeping and told me he had a limo waiting for us outside," Batista told her. "And I'll tell you, he wasn't happy about how you snuck into the limo. He doesn't like the idea of you coming with me."

"Uh-huh, yeah sure. Sounds great," Lauren mumbled carelessly with her eyes closed. She felt herself get yanked into him. "What?" she asked irritably.

"You were about to walk right into that wall," he smirked pointing behind him. Lauren blushed as she turned to see he was telling the truth. "Come on, you can sleep on the way to the hotel." Batista linked his arm with hers as she laid her tired head onto it and walked with him outside. A limo was waiting for them like he said, and drove them to the hotel they'd be staying in for the next few days. The drive there, Lauren didn't even think about the sleeping arrangements for the next few days. It didn't occur to her until they actually reached the hotel. Batista asked that they take the bags up to his room while he talked to the front desk. Batista set Lauren down onto one of their very comfy couches, until he walked back over to her. Lauren was laying down, looking like a little child. He kneeled in front of her and looked right into her tired eyes. "Everything else is booked, except for a two-bed room. Now if you ask me, I'd prefer that to having to sleep on the couch," he smirked. Lauren simply glared at him cutely as she started to sit up. "Is it okay with you?" he asked her standing up.

"Yeah. Sure, whatever. Bed...now" she mumbled to herself and started to fall over on the couch again. Batista caught her however and helped her to her feet. "I hate you," she told him. He simply took her by the hand and dragged her over to the elevator. Once the doors were closed, Batista brought Lauren to his chest and let her lean against him.

"Why do you hate me?" he asked.

"Because I want to sleep and you won't let me. That makes you very mean and...'hate-able'" she moaned against him. She could hear Batista chuckling to himself, and felt it in his chest as it rose up and down. "Hey, why am I so tired?" she thought to herself. Lauren decided to try and ignore it and simply tried to relax. Once the doors opened Batista led her out into the desolate hallway. Lauren seemed like she could collapse at any minute. So he looked left and right, finding nobody there, and actually lifted Lauren into his arms. "Hey..." she droned until she just gave up and laid her head against his chest once again. "As much as I'd hate to admit it, this is pretty nice" she told herself. Or so she thought.

"Yeah, it is." Batista replied with a smirk. Lauren simply gave him a very weak hit on his chest as he continued to carry her to their room. Batista somehow managed to get the key in and let them both into the room while still holding Lauren. Once inside, he simply walked her over to one of the beds and laid her down in it. Lauren was already completely asleep. Batista stood there and admired her as her hair flowed about the pillow, and her face untainted by the ways of the world. He removed her shoes, covered her up with the blankets, and kissed her on the forehead. However he pulled back, noticing that her forehead was warmer than usual. "Probably from the flight or something." he figured and went to bed himself.

Snitsky. Snitsky was following her, and she couldn't get away. Lauren kept yelling for Batista to help her but he never came. A ring appeared out of nowhere as Lauren tried to run to it, hoping she'd be safe from Snitsky. However, as soon as she slid through the ropes, he was instantly behind her as he grabbed her and brought her to him roughly. The last thing she saw was Snitsky laughing maniacally in her face, practically squeezing the life out of her. "Batista where are you?" she thought to herself as all went black.

Lauren jumped up in her bed, panting and sweating. Her head was pounding like crazy, and her vision seemed a little blurred. She was still able to read the clock next to her bed, 4:30 a.m. Lauren groaned as she stood up and started to make her way to the bathroom. No more than ten steps there, a severe dizzy spell came over her. She had to grab onto the wall to keep her from falling. "What's wrong with me?" she thought to herself. She eventually made it to the bathroom and turned on the blinding light. Lauren looked in the mirror to see the sweat coming off her brow, and her pale face. She turned on the faucet and splashed some water on her face to try and cool off. It did little good, since her dizzy spell got worse and she actually collapsed to her knees. "Ow," she cried quietly like a little girl.

"Lauren?" she heard Batista call out. Lauren looked to the bathroom door to see him approaching it. He was shirtless again, with only pajama pants covering him.

"Hmm. Maybe staring at him for a little while will keep my mind off the fever," she thought dryly to herself.

"Oh my god, Lauren!" Batista cried out when he saw her current situation. He immediately joined her on the floor and held her arms to have her look him in the eyes. "What's wrong?" he asked her worriedly.

"Batista, I don't feel very good," she said pitifully with her voice barely above a whisper. Batista felt her head once again and pulled away, surprised by her high fever.

"You're burning up!" he exclaimed. He instantly lifted her up into his arms and carried her back to her bed. Once he covered her up, he looked for anything to calm her fever. He finally found some Nyquil, hoping it would bring down her fever, and a cool washcloth for her head. He filled a spoon of Nyquil and sat on the bed beside her. "Okay sweetie, I need you to drink this, okay?" he said. Batista helped her sit up and had her lean against him. He put the spoon in her mouth and heard her swallow the green liquid. He laid her back down and put the cloth on her head. Batista noticed her looking up at him with a tiny smile on her lips. "What?" he asked.

"You called me, 'sweetie'." she told him. Batista simply smiled back and cupped her cheek in his hand.

"Yeah I did. Now get some sleep okay?" Lauren simply nodded up at him. Batista bent down and kissed her on the forehead gently. "Goodnight." Lauren turned her head away and fell asleep instantly. Batista never left her side the entire night.

A/N: I could never hate Batista, even if he kept me from falling alseep, lol. Hope you liked this chapter, and I'm already working on the next one. It'll probably be pretty short though. Well, R&R please :)