(2 months later)

It was now the middle of fall, Lucy was still on the road with Dean but she didn't feel like he wanted her there anymore. Hell, since she'd gotten out of the hospital with the exception of occasionally making sure she was okay, he didn't really pay that much attention to her. The only real and substantial change in their relationship was that they shared a room. Lucy still had nightmares about what happened; now it was a lot less frequent. But there was almost nothing she could do to make Dean even look at her like he did before. She had spoken to Brie and Nikki, and really anyone else who would listen to her about what was going on between the two. None of them could explain what was going on, hell Seth and Roman knew something was wrong but they couldn't even get him to spill the details on what was bothering him. Well, she was finally done waiting for him to get over it, she was finally going to confront him about it, and he was going to tell her whether he liked it or not.

As she stood outside the locker room of her husband Lucy braced herself for what she knew was a coming fight. Opening the door she saw Dean sitting on the chair in his room reading the night's script, alone. Good, then what she had actually said to Seth and Roman had actually had an impact. Walking up behind his she wrapped her arms loosely around his neck and kissed it before asking, "Whatcha reading?" She was surprised at how quickly he could move. Within a moment of her kissing him he was on his feet and forcing Lucy to let go of his neck. "Nothing, just stuff for tonight. I have a match tonight. Then I'm going to go out and attack Seth. The Shield is over, remember?" She remembered how that entire feud started, hell that wasn't something she'd ever forget. She was almost in tears when she saw how they broke up The Shield, while she knew it was for the best, she also knew that there wasn't going to be someone in his corner, at least on TV who would help him if he was hurt, and that he was going to be doing a lot more crazy stunts in order to hurt the man who, at least on TV betrayed him.

That was the only response, besides the occasional grunt, that she got out of him no matter what conversation she tried to draw him into. As she watched him get warmed up, she tried to think of a new way to get her husband's attention. All she wanted to do was find out what happened. She was so close to giving up, after all how long could one person stand rejection day in and day out before they were forced to face the inevitable fact that there was almost no way to repair her relationship.

Dean felt Lucy's eyes on him as he got ready for tonight. He was so damn confused by her actions, at night she whispered Jake's name while she slept, her breathing heavy, writhing in bed. He knew what she was dreaming about, fuck it didn't take a rocket scientist to figure it out, but during the day she spent as much time with him as possible. Hell, she just walked up to him and kissed his neck for no reason. He was starting to hate having her around him, but hell, he promised her father. The man even sent him money for his trouble. He knew he had an obligation as her husband to protect her, but it was going to drive him insane. He knew that he had to do something to change the current course of events or he was going to go insane. He needed to divert her attention from him before they did something he was sure he would ultimately regret.

Over the next few days, Dean met with Seth and Roman to discuss his plan. It was simple really; he wanted to find a guy Lucy could go out with but would be easily intimidated by Dean, Seth and Roman so he could keep a handle on the situation. He really hoped that seeing her with another guy would make him realize that she was off limits, but at the same time a guy who would help her get over Jake. They were sitting at a table in the cafeteria going over the list of guys again, "Dolph?" Dean shot them a look before saying again, "No, she's probably not willing to go out with him after what he did." Roman tried this time, "Fandango?". Dean chuckled, "He's too greasy." "Heath Slater?" "Too cocky" "Randy Orton?" "Too busy" This had been going on for days, Seth and Roman were amused by the way that Dean found an issue with every guy in the back. They however had one left that not even he could object to, "What about Drew?" Dean sat back and tried to think of something wrong with him while Roman and Seth continued listing off his virtues to him, "He's tall, has dark hair, he's just recently out of a break up so they have that in common, he's a really nice guy so he won't try anything with her. He's got everything on your list." Dean sat back and considered what Drew, unable to think of anything, nodded his head in agreement. "Yeah, I think he'd be great with her. I mean he is a nice guy. It should be okay." Even as Dean said this he knew that it wasn't going to be okay, that he was going to hate every minute of seeing Drew with her, but he felt like he had to do it in order to be able to move on.

Lucy sat with Brie and Natalya the next Monday night hoping to get some new advice on what to do about Dean. "Nattie, I just don't know what to do. He's basically stopped paying attention to me in any way. Like, we went to his house this last week and he didn't do anything, he sat there any played video games the entire time. I just, I don't know what to do. I'm at my wits end and I'm starting to think it's time to move on." Lucy looked at her friends and then at the table. Brie shook her head, "Lucy, this might be an unpopular opinion, but I think you're right. I think you need to move on. There are more than some really nice guys back here, and I'm sure they would love an opportunity to get to know you better." Nattie nodded her head in agreement, "Yeah I mean I really don't know what else you can do besides maybe make him see what he's missing." Lucy nodded her head, she didn't want to do it, but it really did seem like the only way to get over Dean was to start seeing someone else.

As the girls walked back to the Divas locker room Lucy heard someone call her name. Turning she saw that it was Drew McIntyre. "Hey Lucy, I feel like I've been really rude I haven't formally introduced myself. I'm Drew." Lucy smiled politely at him, this was one of the guys Brie and Nattie had been telling her about. "Um, Lucy, we're going to head back to the locker room, we'll meet you there." Lucy tried to protest but the girls just walked away leaving her with Drew. Turning back to Drew he said, "I was wondering if after Raw tonight you'd want to go grab a bite to eat, what hotel are you staying at?" When she listed off the name Drew nodded enthusiastically, "Great! I'm at the same one; we can drop our stuff off and then head out." Slowly warming to the idea, Lucy nodded, "Actually, why don't we just go straight to dinner, I'm sure you'll be hungry and to be honest I'm wanting a burger right now, so there's no need for anything fancy." Drew smiled and then walked her back to the Diva's locker room. He seemed like a nice enough guy, he just wasn't her husband, and he wasn't the one she wanted, still she was determined to give this a genuine try.

Once she made it to the locker room, Lucy was immediately bombarded by questions from not only Brie and Nattie, but everyone they had told. "Yes, we're going out tonight, he's driving me back to the hotel. No I haven't told Dean but I figure I'll let him know when I see him. If I see him." She felt the need to amend that last statement because he was determined to avoid her at all possible costs. Smiling at all the girls in the locker room she quietly laughed, "Who the hell would have thought that I'd go on a date with a guy I really don't know, before I went out with my husband?"

After the show Lucy waited by the production trucks for Drew. She had already texted Dean letting him know that she didn't need a ride back to the hotel. He didn't respond other than to say "K". Pushing thoughts of him aside, Lucy focused on what she had been told about Drew by the other girls. He had just gotten out of a relationship, he was born and raised in Scotland, and he was a really cool guy. She noticed that he was walking towards her with a grin on his face. "Hey, how was your night?" Lucy grinned and noticed the black eye, "Better than yours I would think." Drew, knowing what she was referencing, smiled and grabbed her hand escorting her to the car so they could go to dinner.

After they ate dinner at a greasy burger joint that Lucy ended up loving, it became increasingly clear to the people at the table that while they were good together, they would never be more than friends. In fact, it was Drew who noted it first, "Lucy, please don't take this the wrong way. It's just that you seem like a really nice girl…" it was then that she started laughing, "Drew it sounds like you're going to break up with me." He smiled sheepishly her words, "I just got out of relationship, and I'm not ready to be dating anyone, so if you're okay with it, I'd like it if we could just be friends." Lucy smiled and put her hand on top of his, "Drew, I'd love to be friends with you. And honestly, I'm not ready to date yet either; I'm still really hung up on someone else."

Once they had gotten back to the hotel parking lot and were walking inside however, Drew couldn't hold back his curiosity anymore, "How do you know Ambrose?" "That's a really random question. Why?" Drew arched his eyebrows, "You're definitely dodging this question, and it's not really that random, he, Reigns and Rollins encouraged me to ask you out. Said, we'd be good together." Lucy was stunned. Under her breath she started to swear, "that bastard! I can't believe he'd do that!" Once they got into the hotel lobby Lucy forced him to sit down and tell her exactly what happened. Drew, on the other hand, wanted to know why Lucy was upset. She finally explained, "He's my husband Drew. I'm married to Dean. I'm in love with him and he's telling me that he wants me to go out with another man." After saying good night, Drew went to the bar and Lucy went to her room. She was unsure of what to do about her present predicament, but she wasn't going to give up on her marriage now, especially when she wanted it more than anything.

It took her about a week to figure out how to handle the situation with Dean. Actually, it wasn't even her who solved the problem for her, Dean did it for her. They were sitting in his locker room when Lucy got a text on her phone that made her laugh really loudly. This caused Dean, Roman and Seth, who were working on the script and the matches for the night to look at her like she'd lost her mind. "What's so funny?" Lucy waved it off as being nothing and this went on for a few more minutes until Seth was overcome by curiosity and wouldn't return back to work until she answered the question. Lucy was still laughing as she told them, "Drew was telling me how he ripped his pants working out, I've got to see this!" As she got up to leave the room, Dean stopped her with a hand on her shoulder, "Lucy how did you and Drew meet?" Rolling her eyes she threw him a look of total disdain when she said, "Don't play dumb Dean, it's not a good look on you. He told me everything. How Seth and Roman approached him with your blessing, to get him to go out with me. You guys said it was to help him get over his break up, but let's be real you wanted to get rid of me. You're not going to get rid of me that easily Ambrose. I intend to be your wife for a long time. Now if you'll excuse me..." Skirting around the back of him she made it out the door when he yelled after her, "What about Jake?" Spinning around Lucy's eyes widened in shock, "What about him? I haven't seen him in about 2 months. Not since I went to the hospital." Comprehension dawned on her face, "That's what this whole thing is about isn't it? That's why you've been such a bastard. You think I still want to be with a guy who hit me? Who split my head open? You must really think I'm stupid! How could you think I'd still want to be with him?" Dean rolled his eyes, "Come on Lucy! I'm not stupid either. I heard you when you were in the hospital. His name was the very first thing you said when you woke up. Hell you still dream about him! What the fuck am I supposed to think when you're moaning his name while I'm lying one bed over?" Their voices were loud enough that they had drawn a small crowd, that didn't stop her from responding, "You moron! I still dream about him hitting me. I am trying to get away from him. Trying to get his attention to make him stop! Dean I'm tired of being the only one in this marriage. I want to be with you, I don't know how to make you believe that. You know what?" Lucy grabbed the front of his shirt and kissed him, putting everything she felt for him into that kiss. When she stopped she whispered, "Think about that the next time you think I want anyone else." Finally noticing the people standing in the hallway she ducked her head walking away. The way Lucy figured it the ball was firmly in his court now. It was up to him to decide if he wanted to fight for what they had.