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"So Hunter's gonna be really pissed that you slept in this morning, huh?" Britain and Dave sat at the table finishing their lunch. She hadn't been able to get Hunter's threat off her mind. As much as she didn't want to give into it, it was still there.

Dave shrugged. He didn't really care.

"What's his deal anyway? He's kind of a dick." Britain decided she should test the waters before diving right in. She knew that Dave and Hunter were close and she didn't want to come right out and insult his friend.

"I don't know what his deal is. He's not usually like this. Sure, he can be a hard ass at times, but…I don't know. He's getting on my nerves." He didn't want to spend his last day with her talking about Hunter. Dave leaned back in his chair and smiled. "I stand corrected; you are one hell of a cook. I would've never guessed that you were domestic."

"Why? Because I have mirrors on my ceiling?" She couldn't help but to smile. She knew she could cook. Hell, her mom was the best cook in the world, second only to her grandfather. "I can cook anything. Soul food, Italian, Mexican, German…I love to cook. I'm just usually not home long enough to do it."

"I won't think you could cook because you're so young…"

"Age is just a state of mind and you're only as old as you feel." She knew that their age difference bothered him. "Do you have a problem with my age?"

"No…it's just…you're 25. You're only a few years older than my oldest child." When he put it that way, he was suddenly disgusted. If he put it in a timeline, when she was born, he had already started stealing his dad's Playboy magazines and masturbating to them. It was pretty disgusting to think that she was an infant at that time in his life.

Britain folded her hands and looked him in the eye. "If my age bothers you, then you need to tell me now." She wasn't about to extend herself anymore to him, only to have him dump her because he couldn't deal with being older than her.

"It doesn't really. If anything, you make me feel younger." Dave shook his head. "You don't act 25."

Oh, if only he knew. "Dave, I may be 25 in years, but I've lived a lot. I've done some pretty stupid things in my life that made me grow up really fast." She could tell by his face that he was interested in what exactly she had done. She wasn't about to tell him. "I'm not one of those Jerry Springer types that whine about having a horrible childhood. That's bullshit. I had a wonderful childhood with two parents that adored me. I had everything: my parents gave me everything, they were always there for me, and they encouraged me to do whatever I wanted. The only reason that we moved to California is because I wanted to model. My dad decided to sell our house and uproot my little brother, so that I could start a career at fourteen. With that kind of support, there's no way in hell I should have ever done half of the shit I have. But everything I've done I take full responsibility for. My mistakes were nobody's fault, but mine."

Dave watched her talk and noticed the sadness in her eyes. She had apparently experienced a little too much too soon. "So why are you so afraid now?"

Britain shook her head. "It's that obvious, huh?" She thought about how she could tell him, without telling him. "I've always been headstrong and danced to the beat of my own drum. And my family has always been there no matter what, but modeling is no business for a teenager. I was traveling around the world when I should've been at my prom. I was wearing make up and lingerie when I should've been on the student council. You see a lot of shit in this business and being attractive makes it that much worse. Guys start coming up to you and telling you that you're beautiful and you believe them. But when you get behind closed doors, they treat you like shit. All my life, I've been looking for someone that loves me as much as my Daddy does; I think that's impossible. I have this affinity for attracting total assholes." She thought about which asshole she could tell him about. "I once dated this guy for a minute and I swear he never talked to me. We looked really good together, so we went out all the time, but as soon as we'd get back to his house, we'd fuck and then he wouldn't say anything. Literally, he had nothing to say to me." That was the way her relationships went. There was always something wrong.

Dave was confused. "Why would you want to be with someone like that?"

"Because I'm afraid to be alone." She had never admitted before. "My parents have been married for forever and they're so happy. I don't think they could survive apart. That's I want, I want to know that when my looks fade, somebody's still gonna love me." Britain pushed her plate away and looked down at the table. "I hear everyday that I'm beautiful, but they're just looks…one day, they'll go away. There will always be someone more beautiful, younger, and sexier; I know that and I'm okay with that. But just once, I want someone to tell me that I'm smart or I'm funny, hell, I'd settle for someone telling me I'm a good person. I'm so much more than what I look like, only nobody sees that. I've done a lot of stupid shit that I know would break my father's heart, but no matter how many mistakes I make… I'm still the same Britain in here." She pointed to her heart.

"Where's this coming from?" The role of father had prepared Dave to be a junior psychologist. His daughters did the same thing when they had a problem. They talked about everything in a roundabout fashion. He knew there was more to what she was saying.

"I just hate being judged. I don't judge…so what gives other people to right to do it?" This conversation was more than about what she had done, it wasn't about what Hunter said or the way the Rey acted. What right did they have to pass judgment on her?

Dave couldn't really relate because he didn't care what people thought about him. Dave was the judgmental one. He was the one that decided if he liked you or not, he could give a shit if you liked him. "Fuck 'em. Why do you care what people think?"

"Because when you don't care you get a reputation. And once you get a reputation, it's hard to live it down. No matter what you do, it follows you. No matter how much you change, people always see you the same." It was easier for Britain to just leave Jericho and Eddie, then to stick around and fight it out. But more than embarrassment, there was pain. So much shit had happened and if she were smart, she would've bailed after the first incident. But she stayed and things got worse, then the worst night of her life happened. Though it was something that she didn't think about, she would never forget.

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Backstage at the Supershow was a lot like it was in Georgia. Everyone was running around; big muscular men were oiled up and glistening and making Britain salivate. She would never get use to this; it was like being in Disneyland.

Britain walked the halls in search of Jericho. She needed to talk to him about this whole Hunter situation. If nothing else, Jericho was always the voice of reason. He had this way of seeing things from an optimistic perspective. She needed him to tell her what she should do. Instead of Chris, she found John mulling over the food cart.

"Hey." She smiled at him, still looking around for Chris. "Have you seen Jericho?"

John shook his head and leaned up against the table. "I think he's going on in a few." He looked at her face, something wasn't right. "What's up?"

"Can I talk to you?" She didn't really know John that well, but he was very honest about everything else. She could think of worse people to talk to.

John led her over to the chairs and sat down. He had no idea what this was about, but he didn't have anything else to do.

"You know Dave pretty well right? What kind of person is he really?" She could tell John didn't understand what she meant. "I know he's really nice and sweet, but what's the real Dave like?"

"Well, pretty much what you see is what you get. He's got some shit with him; we all do. He's really set in his ways. If he has idea about somethin', he ain't changin' his mind. And he's real big on the truth, he don't like bein' lied to."

Great, just what I need. "Let's say that I might've done something before that I'm not proud of, how would he react?"

"Depends on what it is." John looked at Britain and tried to figure it out. "You ever been locked up?"

She laughed. "No."

"Alright, ever kidnapped anybody or pulled out a piece in club or somethin'?" Only John would think about holding a club hostage right now.

"No."

"Then I think he'd be cool."

Britain wasn't so sure. "You know how if you do something and you're a guy, you become a hero; but if you're a girl, you become a slut? How do you think he'd deal with that?"

That was a good question. John had never had to deal with that before. Dave always dated the same type of women. They were always safe and the family type. Except for his second wife, she was a business woman and didn't have time to fuck up. "I don't know. But Dave ain't no saint. Don't let that smile fool you, he's been known to be just as raunchy as the rest of us. He's got this moral code that he tries to live up to because of his kids. But sometimes, he throws that shit right out the window."

"What would you do?"

"Me? If he don't know about it, fuck him. I wouldn't say shit…but that's just me. I ain't one for a bunch of drama, so sometimes it's just better to keep your mouth shut." John stood up. "But whatever it is, make sure it don't come back to you. Hunt's decided he don't like you. He thinks you're the reason that Dave's being Dave. If you got something that you wanna keep secret, believe me, Hunt'll be the one to tell him." John looked at the door and nodded. "Look, I gotta go. If you wanna talk some more, I'll be around."

Britain watched him walk away and felt her hope slipping from her. Hunter knew something, but she didn't know how much. She needed Jericho…now. As she made her way through the hall, she distinctly heard Rey's voice. She peered around the corner and saw Rey talking to Eddie. She could hear him talking about her. How dare he? All of a sudden her temper got the best of her.

She didn't knock; she just walked in the room. "You told him didn't you? You told Hunter."

"Britain, I didn't say anything." This was the first real thing Rey had said to her in five years. Had Britain heard the beginning of the conversation, she would've known that he was asking Eddie for advice on how to apologize. He had just been hurt and angry, but he didn't want that to come between them any longer. All she heard was her name and him say that he couldn't get it out of his mind.

"You listen to me you self-righteous little bastard. I'm sorry you got hurt, but it wasn't my fault and you know it." She could feel her eyes water. This argument was five years in the making. "I made a mistake Rey, but that shouldn't have changed our friendship. I didn't even do anything to you. You shouldn't have been there, I'm sorry you saw that; but I'm not going to apologize for who I am or what I did."

"Britain…" Eddie tried to stop her. She needed to listen. He knew how she could get.

"No Eddie. I need to say this." She fixed her gaze on Rey. "What is it Rey? Are you still mad that you didn't get to fuck me too? I swear I didn't know you had feelings for me, but that doesn't give you the right to hold it against me. I haven't been this happy in a long time; I really like Dave. How dare you try to fuck that up? I bet you didn't even tell Hunter the whole story did you? You just told him that I'm a whore, right? Well fuck you."

Britain walked out of the locker-room and didn't look back. She totally misread that entire scene. She was scared, she was hurt and she lashed out at the one person she could blame. She couldn't stop the angry tears from rolling down her face. She had to leave. As soon as Dave found out it would over anyway, so did it matter?

"What's wrong?" Why did he have to coming around the corner when she was trying to leave? Dave's face was full of concern for her.

"Nothing. I'm going home." She stiffened when he ran his thumb over her tears. "Don't…I don't belong here." Britain looked up at Hunter and rolled her eyes. "Are you fucking happy now?" She ran out of the arena before Dave had a chance to stop her.

He couldn't leave. He had a job to do. He looked at Hunter and narrowed his gaze. Hunter put his hands and shrugged. Britain was gone and that's all he cared about. He really hadn't planned on saying anything anyway, but his plan worked. He got rid of her without getting his hands dirty.

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Dave made it Britain's condo right after the show. He tried the handle on the door and was surprised it was unlocked. He walked around looking for her and found her in her in the bathtub trying to soak away whatever was bothering her. He watched her dunk herself under when he walked into the room.

From under the bubbles, she prayed she would just get sucked away down the drain and never have to explain it to him. But when she resurfaced, he was still there, kneeling next to the tub. "Hey." Dave reached over and wiped the bubbles from off of her face. "What happened?"

Britain shook her head. "Nothing. I just remembered why I haven't been around the whole wrestling circuit for so long."

"You wanna talk about it?"

Again she shook her head. "No."

Dave shrugged as he stood. He removed his clothing without being invited. "Move up." He instructed and stepped into the tub behind her. "You could boil a lobster in this water." Hot baths were always good, but damn.

Britain laughed. She hadn't even been paying attention to it. She leaned back against the wall of his chest and closed her eyes when she felt his arms around her. "Why are you here Dave?"

"Because you're here."

"Your friend doesn't like me. He wants me gone." This was so far beyond Rey and Hunter at this point. It was now a woman running from her past, looking for any excuse to leave.

Dave kissed her hair then leaned his head against the back of the tub. "I don't really give a fuck what Hunter wants. He's pissed with me about some other shit and he's blaming you for it. He'll get over it."

Hunter didn't tell him? She didn't know if she should. Chris would've said to tell him. But John said don't. Maybe she should just leave well enough alone. "I don't want you to get in trouble because of me."

Dave's laughter came from somewhere deep in his chest. "First of all, I'm not in trouble. Hunt thinks because his wife is Vince's daughter that he has magical powers. But Vince hates Hunter. So it doesn't matter what Hunter says. Secondly, I'm a grown up. No one tells me who I can and can't see."

"Are you sure you want to do this?" She never had a man put her first. She really didn't know how to deal with that? "I don't want to make your time at work uncomfortable."

"If I didn't want to see you, would I ask you to come home with me?" He looked around her to see her face. "I want you to come home with me and meet my kids."

Whoa…she wasn't expecting that one. "I don't think that's a good idea." If he truly had a moral code because of his children, she was last person that should be around them.

"You don't want to meet them?" This wasn't how it was supposed to be. He really cared about her and he wanted to share with her the three most important people in his life with her. He wanted to girls to meet her and to see if they liked her, so he'd know if they stood a chance at having anything. "Look at me."

Britain turned around in the tub so that she was facing him. She put her legs over his and scooted up. "I would love to meet your kids. But I think that you should only introduce your significant other to your children when they're really significant. It's not fair to kids to do that." What she really wanted to say was she didn't want to meet them for fear that she would love them and when he found out and left, not only would she grieve him, but his children too.

Dave touched her face and moved the wet hair behind her ear. "You are significant to me. My girls are excited to meet you. My daughter Madison worships you. When I told her I knew you, she ran upstairs and got a magazine with you in it. She told me everything about you." He smiled thinking about how excited Maddy was.

"You talked to them about me?"

Dave nodded. "You're important to me. I want you to meet them."

Everything in her brain said no, but her heart won that argument. Reluctantly Britain nodded. "What if they hate me?"

"They're gonna love you." He replied. I think I'm starting to.

Britain laid her head on his chest. This was getting harder and harder. The more she tried to pull away, the closer to him she wanted to get. Why did he have to be so wonderful? What she needed was a reason to run. She only hoped that his kids could be that reason.