A/N

Again, I don't own anything you recognize. I only claim Imara. Thank you jada951 and to Amyvedamarie for reviewing...it means a lot! PLEASE review and let me know. The story is done and I will try and post the next chapter each week so stay tuned!

She woke up to the banging on the adjacent door. As she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes she heard Shane jump out of bed and throw open the door with a sense of urgency.
"The world better be coming to an end with a knock like th-" he was cut off by the giant standing in front of him.
"Shane, we gotta get her out of her and to the arena before one of McMahon's kiss asses spots her. Grab your stuff let's go." The king of kings rumbled. He wore a scowl on his face and spoke quickly.
"Yeah okay, give us three minutes." Shane compromised.
Hunter gave Imara a long stare with his stern eyes. If looks could kill…he retreated back to his room to wait for the slow asses next door.
Imara hopped out of bed and gathered her things. She used the sink in the room to brush her teeth while Shane dressed himself.
"Look, Hunter's right, if this is going to work no one else can know you are here right now, you can shower later in a locker room or something." He tried to explain in a poor attempt to comfort her.
Shane was never very good at things like that, but she appreciated the effort.
"Shane its okay, you don't have to explain it to me." She tried to soothe his anxious mind, to no avail.
"& you know H, he's not all bad. I know he seems a little rough around the edges but once you get through his thick skin he is really a nice guy." Again with the big brother tactics.
"Shane, it's fine, really." She mumbled through a toothpaste filled mouth. She really didn't care if he was or not. She was just so relieved to have had some time off from being a punching bag and fighting dummy that it didn't matter if others liked her. She spit out the mint foam and rinsed with water. She turned to see her brother still struggling with his shirt buttons. His anxiety was endearing. She approached his fumbling hands and finished the last few buttons for him, like a good sister. He smiled embarrassed.
"Thanks buddy," his eyes smiled at her. "Let's go next door and see about getting you out of here."
They walked next door and found both men talking quietly to each other, their bags packed and next to the door. "You guys ready finally?" Shawn asked impatiently. Without waiting for their responses he continued. "Okay, so, everyone is still pretty much asleep. A few early risers are at breakfast but we can still get out of here. Hunter moved the car closer to the door this time and we just assumed we would sneak back down the back stairs."
"Sure, okay. Let's get out of here then." Shane agreed. Hunter left the room first checking for stragglers roaming about the halls. As the hall was clear he continued to walk, leading the others down the hall. Shawn and Shane had Imara tucked between them, with both of their hands around her back and shoulders. They made it to the car just fine and within the safety of the tinted windows everyone could breathe a little easier. Imara remained quiet and patient, expecting it all to fail at any moment and prepared for the whole thing. Shawn and Shane began to discuss the plan once they reached the arena. Imara felt eyes on her again and through the corner of her eyes she spotted her watchman. He thought he was being clever using the rear-view mirror, but she spotted him. He looked up and back at her every chance he could the entire drive to the arena. There was no other excuse for his actions, the few cars that were on the road were distant memories at the speed he drove. At the arena sneaking her inside was much easier than at the hotel as no one was paying attention to the superstars just yet, it was still too early. They got into the DX locker room and quickly locked the door behind them.
"Ok, I can not stay here; too obvious that something is up. You guys know what to do right?" Shane asked.
"Yep it will be just fine." Shawn smiled in agreement.
"Okay. Imara come here for a second." He motioned his sister to a corner in the room to talk privately. "Look, they are nice guys; they'll look after you until after the event. We will figure the rest out later. One day at a time I guess. I'm sure they will let you use their shower if you-"
"Shane, I'll be fine. You go do what you need to do. I'll just wait here." She was happy to be alone with her midnight visitor; she wanted to know what exactly he was thinking.
"Okay," he sighed, "alright guys, I am out of here. Thank you a lot for this, I owe you big!" Shane offered as he let himself out of the room. Shawn locked the door behind him.
"Hey Imara, you can use the shower if you want. Hunter and I have to get to workouts, we'll shower later." Shawn tossed her a bright green towel, with the DX logo all over it.
"Oh, thanks." She caught the towel, startled.
"Lock the door when we leave. We have a key. Don't open the door for anyone." Hunter ordered.
"Yeah of course."
The two men left her to her own devices. She locked the door behind them as they requested. A hot shower sounded delicious.
The bathroom was awkward and wide open. Not a lot of privacy, but enough. She turned on the hot water and allowed the room to steam up as she stepped out of her clothes. She slid into the shower and pulled the curtain around her closed. She allowed the hot water to pour over her bruised body. She avoided concentrating on the sting the water brought to her open wounds. She lifted her head up into the stream and closed her eyes. It felt so good. She could stand here for ever. Just then, her peacefulness was interrupted as she heard the locker room door open and swing shut. She jolted, shocking open her eyes, rubbing the water out of them. She turned towards the sound as if she could see through the white curtain. She thought she heard someone stomping around for a while and then leaving once again. She returned to the water and quickly finished cleaning up. Wrapping the green cloth around her, she stepped out. She peaked around to make sure she was alone, grabbed her clothes and found a back corner and began to change. Everything but her shirt was on when the door swung open again. Her hands were tangled in the sleeves and tied themselves up even further after the startling intruder.
"Oh, Imara, I'm sorry." Hunter entered the room.
She couldn't say anything, she was slightly frozen.
He couldn't help but look at her. Then he saw the extent of her upper wounds. God, he wouldn't even treat a punching bag that way.
"Imara are you okay?" He asked, truly concerned for her well being. She looked awful. He took a few giant steps toward her.
"Yeah," she shook her self out of her fear, "I'm fine honest. It looks worse than it actually is." She threw her shirt over her self and fought with the fabric the whole way. "That was a quick work out." She offered, trying to break the conversation.
"Oh, yeah. I just wasn't in the mood for a workout. Shawn is hitting it hard though." He grabbed a bottle of water and sank into the leather sofa.
This was it, an open invitation to question his actions. "Hunter, how did you sleep last night?" She didn't have the courage to come right out and ask why he had traveled to her room last night.
Busted. He knew that she had spotted him in her room last night. "Fine."
"Hunter, I know this one word, I'm tougher than pig skin thing is just an act." She outted him.
"Okay okay. I was curious. I couldn't sleep and I wanted to see what he did to you."
"I assumed. Mind if I sit there, next to you?"
"Oh, no, go right ahead." He moved over to give her more room. "Imara, how old are you?"

"I'm 19."

"Excuse my forwardness but what are doing still living with him?"

"Hunter, have you met my father? He might hate me most nights but that doesn't mean he wants me to leave. What my father doesn't want doesn't happen. He wants me at home, whether for a punching bag, scapegoat, or because somewhere down there in that cold heart he actually cares about me, I don't know. If he wants me there, leaving is useless. Trust me. The last time I tried to run, well." She stopped suddenly.
"What, what happened the last time?"
"Nothing, never mind. Nothing happened, he just got really mad."

"Imara, you can trust me. I know you don't really know me but you can't just keep that all. You can talk to me."

"Hunter, please. Let it go. In a few hours, maybe a day, I'll be back at home and it won't matter what we say here." She stared strait ahead.
He could hardly stand this anymore. He wanted her to trust him. He wanted to help her. Screw Shane's plan, he wanted to take care of this himself. This beautiful girl needed someone to protect her. No one else had. "Imara, come here." He quickly embraced her with his tree trunk arms.
She didn't fight. It was nice to be embraced like that. To feel protected in those strong arms. She didn't hug back, but she was enjoying every second. Before breaking the embrace he kissed the top of her blond hair. "You aren't going back there."
"Oh yeah? Well you'll have to forgive me for not believing you. It's been too long to think its going to end now." She yawned. Her body was trying to take advantage of the situation and resting up for future battles with her father. She laid her head back onto the couch and closed her eyes. She felt his eyes look her over.
"Imara, if it's the last thing I do, you will not have to go back there unless you choose."
She sat up, knowing deep down that he wouldn't let her rest. "Hunter, why do you care so much? You hardly know me? Why are you so sure I'm worth saving?"
"Imara-"

"Hey, didn't Shane tell my father that he would have me back here first thing...isn't he going to wonder where I am?" She cut him off. The conversation started turning in an uncomfortable direction.

"Yeah I have an idea though."