Author's Notes: We'd like to thank Laffy.x.Taffy, Fozzy-Floozy, Jewelgirl04 andTakersgurl35 for your awesome reviews for chapter twelve. We greatly appreciate you support and comments.

Chapter Thirteen: Prophecy Come True?

"Maryse was lying," informed Kate. "Darren wasn't fired for dating a diva; he was fired for having sex on the job!"

Marissa's jaw fell to the ground in shock. "Oh my goodness, I think I've just made the biggest mistake of my life."

"What are you two arguing over?" Brad suddenly asked from the front seat.

"Nothing," squeaked Marissa, afraid that he had heard her confession regarding John Cena.

"Just female issues," Kate added and the blush immediately rose up the redhead's neck and into her cheeks. She stared her friend down with a 'why did you have to say that?' look. Kate nodded her head in Brad's direction after he had promptly turned back around to prove her point. "We'll have this fight in the hotel room."

Marissa's mind was swirling in a thousand different directions. Her job was never at stake and Maryse had played on that. So what did she do? She broke up with the man she had been pining after for a year. What was she supposed to do now? Her eyes cut to Kate when the woman began talking again.

"So, Brad, you going out tonight?"

"Yeah. You're not coming with us?" the sound assistant disappointedly replied.

Josh then cut in with a wide grin. "Why are you bothered? You'd rather Kate not be there so youcan dance with Jeff Hardy."

"No," the brunette playfully gasped. "You're sweet on Jeff?"

Brad blushed brighter than Marissa and turned away. Josh answered for him. "I think he's in deep."

"And is this promising?" Kate asked whichever of the two men would answer.

"I don't know," her assistant meekly replied.

"Start dishing," she ordered. "I want to hear—"

"Oh, look," Brad interrupted and opened his car door with a smirk. "We're at the hotel." He already had it slammed shut before Kate could protest.

"I didn't know that about Jeff," Kate resignedly stated to no one in particular.

Josh nodded with a knowing smile. "He won't shut up about the wrestler."

"Has he always liked him?" the soundgirl asked.

"As far as I know."

"Hmm," she mused.

"Don't," the pyrotechnic professional ordered. "I know that noise and don't you dare interfere."

"Whatever," Kate replied and slid out of the car at the same time as Marissa.

Jeff and Brad were a nice distraction but Kate was ready to get down to business. Marissa had once again overanalyzed a situation and screwed up the best thing going for her since her daughter. In the elevator, the brunette opened her mouth but her best friend cut her off. "Jeff and Brad, they would make the cutest couple."

"Don't avoid the topic. Me and you are gonna fix this thing with Cena," Kate adamantly stated, turning to stare at Marissa. "You are gonna march your ass into our room and change into something you can go out in. I'm going to find John and youare going to talk to him about everything."

"I don't know," the redhead waffled as the elevator doors opened up for their floor.

"Well, I do," her friend replied, whipping out their keycard, unlocking the door, and going straight for her suitcase.

Marissa stood inside the room as if she didn't know what she should do. She could only hear her words echoing over and over in her own ears:"I think I've just made the biggest mistake of my life." How was she supposed to take back what she had said to him? She could just tell him the truth, even though it would implicate Maryse. But that would serve the woman right, which wouldn't be all that bad. Stop thinking about the blonde bimbo and start thinking about what you're going to say, she ordered herself.

"Here," Kate said, tossing one of her tanktops with silver studs on it at Marissa. "And put on your tightest pair of jeans."

"What?"

"Dress sexy to remind him that you do indeed like him," the brunette explained, turning back to her suitcase to fish out something black in case she got blood on it--Maryse's blood. Kate decided on a pair of black cargo capris, and while Marissa was changing, she spied the woman's black t-shirt and wriggled into it. The redhead was several sizes smaller than she and the shirt set off her best assets. She just might run into Dave and she wanted to catch his eye. She dabbed on some more lip gloss and immediately descended on her friend the second she walked out of the bathroom. "Pucker," she ordered and smoothed the pink gloss over the other woman's lips.

"I don't know about this," Marissa began.

"You want him back?"

"Yes," she sighed with longing.

"Then, shut up," the brunette replied and began spritzing her with perfume, "and let's go."

The video tech paused but then followed Kate to the door as she was dialing her phone. "What if—"

She was cut off because whoever her friend was calling had answered. "Brad? Where are you...where are y'all going…That's two blocks away, isn't it...Is everyone gonna be there...Yeah, we'll see you there in a while." She clapped her phone shut and turned to the redhead after pressing the button for the elevator. "Found'em," she stated.

"What exactly am I going to say?"

Kate thought for a moment and then replied, "Just tell him that you heard a rumor about staff relationships and panicked. You said what you did because you wanted to let him down easy."

"Say nothing about Maryse?" the redhead nervously inquired.

"Leave that woman up to me," the other woman viciously replied.

"Kate, no, you can't do that."

"Don't lecture me now."

"Listen to me," Marissa said, grabbing her best friend's arm. "She is not worth it. You'll lose your job or end up in jail." Kate only turned away and stared at the digital screen counting down the floor levels.

Acknowledging she was her own woman and had to accept the consequences of her actions, Marissa began to worry about what she would say to John. She couldn't control Kate but she could turn around tonight's misfortune.

Kate forked out the cover charge at the door without even arguing. She already had a feeling he had discounted the charge from the way he was looking at her breasts. "We'll split up. If I find John before you do, I'll give you a call," the brunette stated, waving her phone in front of her and dropping it into her pocket.

Marissa nodded and turned toward the crowd, her eyes anxiously scanning the establishment. The look on her face said she was going to bolt. Noticing Batista standing out above everyone else, Kate immediately knew that that's where Cena had to be. Glancing behind her to see Marissa still sporting a terrified look, she stepped back to grab the woman's arm. "On second thought, I see Dave. He'll know where John is."

The redhead was like dead weight as they threaded through the crowd. Kate began waving at Dave to get his attention but Marissa suddenly halted. The brunette almost lost her balance as she pitched forward, not expecting to stop. She turned around to find out why the video tech had bowed up but then followed her friend's round eyes.

John Cena had his large hands firmly planted on Maryse Ouellet's upper arms. He was staring at her intently while he spoke to her. Neither woman could see the blonde's face but that didn't matter to Marissa. She jerked her arm out of Kate's grasp before the brunette could tighten her hand. In a second, Kate lost her in the crowd as if she had vanished.

Blindly, Marissa pushed her way through the throng of people. It seemed that for every person she managed to get around, more appeared. Through the mist of her tears, she made it out the door and bolted through it, ignoring the front man's question asking if she was alright. She hurried down the sidewalk but her ankle twisted in her haste. She whipped off the wedge sandals and began running barefoot. Kate was probably hot on her trail and she didn't want to talk to her. She had to get back to her room and then lock the door before the brunette caught up. She didn't want to talk to or see anybody, including her best friend.

She had been right all along. Every word she had said to Cena was prophetically coming true. Marissa the disappointment, Marissa the tart, Marissa the unwed mother, but Marissa the prophet? It wasn't exactly like the prophets of the Old Testament had it made. Didn't one of them marry a prostitute? The redhead shook herself and decided to take the stairs rather than wait on the elevator. By the time she was on the fifth floor, she was exhausted. Maybe her mind would tire itself out and she would quit replaying the scene in the club over and over.

No such luck. What did it matter to her? She had broken up with him. He had every right to go out with another woman that night. She had hoped that he might be just upset enough to not do so, especially with Maryse. She shouldn't have been upset because she had seen it coming and she had ended the relationship before that heartache happened. But that didn't ease the anger and pain. She had actually thought that if she explained her mistake that John would forgive her and they would be back together. She should never have gotten her hopes up. She should have stuck by what she was already thinking and adamantly told Kate 'no.' This was going to happen anyway, so she should thank herself for breaking it off early. That's what she kept telling herself as she dissolved into tears.

First, she paced, wearing a path in the carpet. It was already over and she made her peace with that tonight. How could she let Kate get her hopes up? It was over before she walked into that club. Even though she had tried to rectify the mistake and Kate had encouraged her, that was fact. No more crying and no more mourning a lost relationship.

But this wouldn't have happened if she hadn't believed what Maryse had said. How could she be so stupid as to do that? It wasn't like she couldn't have asked Kate, who would probably know better than anybody since it was her boss who had been fired for the supposed indiscretion with the diva. She needed to tell Kate anyhow—why couldn't she have said something sooner before she broke up with John?

A shower was in order after all that pacing. But that didn't work either. If she could get over her lost relationship with John, she was still agonizing over her stupidity in believing what Maryse had said and not telling Kate. Hindsight was always twenty-twenty.

Marissa took up pacing again. It all came down to the fact that she had saved herself a lot of heartache in the long run. It was inevitable that John would find someone better than she and, by then, if it was possible, she would only be more in love with him. If it hurt now, she couldn't imagine the pain if he broke it off with her after dating for some time.

The video tech felt doubly guilty that because of her break-up with Cena, the wrestler would no longer be coming to Maddie's Halloween party. She'd held off telling her daughter, just in case something came up and Cena couldn't make it, and how she was thankful she'd done so, so that Maddie wouldn't be disappointed. At least Batista was still coming though. Maddie took pride in telling her classmates that her mother was friends with Dave Batista. Although most of them had already met Dave, Marissa knew he would come, especially if Kate asked him.

Kate!the redhead suddenly remembered. She had most definitely run away from her best friend, not willing to hear her platitudes. It had been hours now since she locked her out. Hopefully, she was with Dave. A vein of jealousy rose up in her but she couldn't begrudge Kate that relationship. She dialed the brunette's number but immediately cut it off on the first ring. If she waswith Dave, then she just might be withhim, in other words, in a situation that she shouldn't interrupt. Instead, she sent a text message to let her know that she could come back to their room at any time.

Kate was a fixer. She couldn't stand to see a problem before her and not solve it. Standing in that club were all of her problems—except for Marissa. She needed to send some encouragement towards Jeff Hardy on Brad Morrison's part. She needed to find out what the hell John Cena was doing with Maryse Ouellet and Maryse needed her ass kicked. Then there was Dave Batista. They had a conversation they needed to finish. She was not a cheater and she wasn't going to let him even think twice that that was the case with Austin. If he wasn't interested in her, he needed to say so.

Seeing five of the six problem people in the same room, she didn't know where to start. Maryse solved the problem for her when she turned around from John and serendipity had her facing Kate Alistair. The blonde narrowed her eyes at the sound engineer and Kate lost all thought of the repercussions. Nobody treated her best friend the way that she had.

In an instant, Kate closed the distance between the two. Maryse had no idea that the brunette had grown up literally fighting for everything she got. Before she settled in with her last foster family, she was in more fights than she could count. Fast forward to all the seedy clubs and lounges Chrome Bumper had played in and she knew exactly what it felt like to be tossed out by security because a woman heavily came on to Austin or started a fight with her because the nameless woman challenged her for the singer.

"You are a bitch, you know that," Kate began.

"Youwouldknow something about that, wouldn't you?" the blonde replied. "Don't get mad at me because that dumb slut was too stupid to know I was lying to her."

"Don't ever call her that," the brunette replied, inching closer. She wanted Maryse to hit her first. Everything she did thereafter would be self-defense. "As childish as it sounds, it takes one to know one."

Maryse tried to step around her but Kate moved in front of her. "Get out of my way," she ordered.

"Or what? Does John know that you lied to Marissa so you could have him all to yourself?"

"Get—out—of—my—way," the blonde ground out through her teeth.

"Or what?" Kate shouted, her eyes flashing fire.

"Or—or," Maryse angrily stuttered, looking for a retort. She reared back and slapped Kate.

The brunette saw it coming and let her because that was her permission to punch the diva's ticket. The slap barely stung as the blonde hardly knew what she was doing. Kate shook her head as the smirk spread across her face. She didn't notice the crowd stepping back to circle around them to watch.

John and Dave saw the patrons crowding around two women and both turned away, hardly interested in a catfight. Then the two women fell through the crowd, the blonde landing with loud 'umph.' Recognizing them, Batista shot out of the booth he had just situated himself in. Kate got in three good punches before the wrestler grabbed her around the waist and hauled her up.

Kate didn't know who had her but she sent her elbow forcefully backward. She heard a grunt and thrashed her legs. The sight of Maryse being helped up by Cena grew smaller as she was dragged backward. Figuring it was security by the large arms and the broad chest against her back, she stopped fighting and allowed herself to be hauled out the door. Finally, she was set down on her feet and turned around. That was odd. Usually she found herself dropped on her ass with a warning before she could even stand up.

"That was interesting," she heard the deep voice say and her eyes traveled up the wide neck to come to rest on Dave Batista's face.

Immediately Kate blushed. "Uh, well, yeah..." she began and then looked down at her left hand that was beginning to ache. "Damn," she muttered.

"Thanks for the entertainment," Dave stated and reached for her hand. Two of the knuckles were split and they were all swelling. "But did you really have to attack a defenseless woman for coming on to Cena?" he asked, steering her in the direction of the hotel.

"She should never have started anything with me or Marissa." Dave waited to hear the explanation. "It's something between the three of us. I'm sure Marissa will tell you all about it," Kate dryly added but then asked, "Where are we going?"

"I'm taking you back to the hotel to get you away from Maryse and to get some ice on your knuckles. She scratched your cheek too."

"I'll be fine. It's not the first time."

"Oh, really?" he asked but she 'hmphed' in response. Dave really hated that he was having second thoughts about dating her because he really found her extremely attractive at the moment, the revealing shirt aside. That was something else he was trying to not pay attention to when she tugged it back in place. He caught a brief glimpse of color and wondered what the tattoo on her lower back was. This was stupid, he chided himself, he wasn't interested in someone as shallow as he assumed she was. Yet, he couldn't just let her back into the club to get into any more trouble and her knuckles really could use some ice, he justified. The scratches on her cheek didn't look all that great either.

"It's not a problem. I can take care of it."

"I'll walk you back," he offered and she couldn't resist.

Kate thought about how she wanted to continue their conversation from earlier before she was called back to the sound desk. Instead, she kept her mouth shut and ground her teeth against the ache of her stinging knuckles. At her door, Dave waited while she slipped in her keycard. The light on the lock flashed green and she pushed against the door but it caught on the deadlock. Marissa had locked her out—how could she do that? Kate started to call her and demand she be let in but then she realized that the redhead had shut her out for a reason. Turning to Dave, Kate put on a sad smile. "On second thought, Marissa is probably already asleep. She didn't sleep much this week because of Maddie having the chicken pox and all. I'll just stop in and see Josh."

"He was at the club."

"Oh," Kate quietly said. "Brad then."

"He was there too. Why don't you come back to my room? I'm sure I have band-aids," Dave offered, jerking his thumb over his shoulder. "I always keep a first aid kit with me when I travel."

"Yeah, I guess." Kate followed him back to the elevator and they took the car two floors down. She stayed silent as they entered his room.

"Why don't you have a seat?" the wrestler stated and she settled on the edge of the bed where he pointed. She studied her knuckles, rolling them between her fingers, while Dave went to retrieve ice. He was only gone a minute and she was still wondering how she was going to broach the subject from earlier.

The wrestler wet a washcloth and began gently wiping away the blood. "So you and Austin have a history?"

"A not too pleasant one," she replied, trying to control the butterflies rolling in her stomach.

"Marissa sort of gave us the rundown," Dave stated.

"I really only had dinner with him to straighten out an issue between the two of us," she added.

"This is going to sting," Batista warned as he tore open the disposable cloth soaked in alcohol. "He stole one of your songs?"

"No, I made a mistake and he took it the wrong way and there's not a whole lot I can do," she answered but then hissed, "Goddammit!"

"Sorry," Dave replied, dabbing at the alcohol with another towel to dry her fingers.

"It's okay," she replied, watching his calloused fingers work. He inspected her knuckles again and then spread ointment over two clean band-aids and wrapped them around the splits. She wanted to talk but she couldn't stop thinking about the way he had looked at her, confronting her about the 'date' with Austin. What was she supposed to say next? Her thoughts had been over and over that if he didn't like her the way she was or trust her, then she didn't need him. But she didn't want that to be the problem. She was no longer blasé about Dave and wanted him to believe her and trust her...to want her.

"Hold still," he said, swiping another alcohol-soaked pad one of the scratches on her cheek. She sucked in her breath and pulled back.

"How bad are they?" she asked, putting her fingertips to her cheek.

"Don't," he ordered, pushing her hand away. "Just three small ones, about an inch a piece and just enough to bleed a little. I'm almost done," he softly added, running his other hand into her hair and cupping her cheek to steady her. She sucked in her bottom lip as the two other scratches stung and Dave's eyes dropped to her mouth. When she blew out the breath, he dropped the cloth and then pulled her to him, capturing her lips with his.

When Dave released her, Kate couldn't think or breathe. She could only think about the absence of his lips on hers and the lasting tingles of the impression he left. "Dave..." she began and he interrupted her.

"I'm sorry," he said and began picking up the contents of the first aid kit. When he had placed it back inside his suitcase, she was sitting cross-legged on his bed.

"I need to apologize to you instead," she began and he sat down beside her, his curiosity more than piqued. This didn't sound good at all. He nodded at her to continue. "Trust is a major issue with me. I honestly had dinner with Austin to settle past history. I'm sure it didn't look that way to you. I had way too much to drink."

"Kate, I believe you--"

"That's not what I'm apologizing for. There's more." She took a deep breath. "I only went out with you because John begged me. Then, when he and Marissa came along, I thought that this was a good way to get the two of them together." Dave deflated right in front her and she regretted the truth but it was something she felt she had to tell him. "I say this because I don't feel you can trust me about Austin or about anything if I'm not honest about this. But I want to see you. I really want to get to know you. I want you to know that I grew up in foster homes, that I despise karaoke, that I can't sing worth crap, my favorite color is yellow, that I like you more than I've liked someone in too long."

Dave's dark eyes had stayed focused on her but now they dropped. He noticed the three quarter notes tattooed on the inside of her ankle, their flags flowing out like castle pennants, and reached out to graze them with his fingers.

Shivers coursed through Kate's body and she didn't know how to take his silence or the touch of his calloused fingers on the sensitive skin of her ankle. She had put herself out there to him more than she had for any man other than Austin. If a guy hadn't called her back before, it was like water off a duck's back. This time, it mattered. But when he began to chuckle, she wanted to draw her ankle up under her away from his hot touch.

"Kate," he began, shaking his head and his hand dropping to lie heavy on her ankle. "I don't know how to say this without saying it. John asked you to go out with me without even asking me. I told him, 'no,' I wasn't interested but I did anyhow to get Marissa and John together. But the thing was, I got interested. I didn't realize how much until Austin showed up." He paused, watching her eyes turn up at the corners. "We're a right pair, aren't we? I don't know what girl I could ever tell that I didn't want to go out with her just to prove that I was interested in her."

"Same here for you," she replied with a laugh. "So, now what?"

"I don't know," he responded, his lips parted in thought. "We could raid the mini-bar and you can tell me exactly why you hate karaoke. Can you really not sing when you play the piano like that?"

She couldn't help but laugh, rising from the bed and swinging the small refrigerator open. Since Marissa had locked her out, she decided to be selfish and do what she wanted.

Their conversation went deeper than the one between them at the coffeehouse when they were worried about the mixed up text messages. Kate held nothing back with the exception of her personal life with Austin. Dave stopped being Batista the former Heavyweight Champion and showed her the man that was underneath.

When Kate yawned for the third time in a row, Dave suggested she stay the night. "Hands off," he promised.

"Maybe I would like a little hands on," she replied with a playful smile.

Dave shook his head with a laugh, trying to remind himself that a gentleman would not take advantage of this situation. He flipped off the lamp and settled down beside her, his body curled beside hers. He draped a hand over her waist, his fingers settling on the exposed skin between her capris and shirt, and she snuggled backward into him, relishing the feel of his solid chest against her back and even the soles of her feet resting on top of his.

"'Night," Kate whispered and Dave responded in kind.

The wrestler had a hard time falling asleep, thinking about the woman that was in his bed. Girls had fallen all over him while he was in Evolution and he had succumbed to their wiles but prior to that and when he met Alicia, he wasn't that loose. Were men who slept around called 'loose' or 'lucky'? He wasn't going to treat Kate that way despite the fact that he would love to strip her down and show her exactly what her body was doing to him right now.

He had just fallen into a light slumber when Kate's phone rang and jerked him awake. When it didn't ring for a second time, he wondered if he had dreamed it. Then the phone signaled a text message. A call at this time of the night couldn't be good and he slipped his hand into her pocket to pull the phone out. Flipping it open, it showed a missed call and text message from Marissa. Worried that it had something to do with Maddie, he opened the message to read it. No reason to wake Kate up for that and he closed the message without deleting it. That's when he noticed the one from Austin just that morning. His brain and Kate's trust told him not to open it but he did. The dinner between the sound tech and singer began to sound like a date. Had she lied to him? If not, did Austin misconstrue the dinner?

Dave needed to talk to Marissa. She and Kate were thick as thieves. If the brunette was being honest, Dave wasn't going to let that pussy of a singer think he could move in on his territory or smooth-talk his way back into Kate's life. Given what he knew of their relationship, he liked the woman too much to let that bastard manipulate her. He couldn't believe how their relationship had changed all within the span of thirty-six hours.