Disclaimer Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose, and other sports entertainers are the property of the WWE and/or the actors / sports entertainers / superstars that portray them. This story is intended as tribute only and is not intended to infringe on any copyrights.

Original characters are the property of me, and the children of my own imagination. Any resemblance to any real persons, living or dead is purely coincidental.

United We Stand
July 4, 2016

There was a tradition among the wives and the children of Dean, Roman and Seth, a tradition formed over the past couple years. And that was that all six of them watched Raw and SmackDown together, whenever possible.

Of course it was impossible to watch it together in the same space, but thanks to modern technology, the internet in particular, they could all watch together from the comfort of their own, personal living rooms. Lap tops would be opened and they would hook up in a group video chat. While it wasn't exactly the same as being in the same space, it was pretty close.

When school was happening, or a special occasion, they would often record the shows and watch them the next night instead, Raw in particular, starting it before 8:00 so by the time it was finished, it wasn't too much past the kid's bedtimes. Normally, because it was the forth of July, they would have recorded this show and watched it later, but all three families had gotten phone calls from their husbands, asking them please to watch the show live. Besides, they all wanted to see Roman, Seth, and Dean make their first appearance on RAW since the fire. They had been with them right after it happened, they had flown out to be with them while they had recovered and while they went on a mini publicity tour. The fire had turned the three men from fairly well known celebrities into extremely well known celebrities, and even though they hadn't been ready to get in the ring for awhile, it seemed like every talk show and sports show wanted the three men. The wives and children had traveled with them until Saturday, when they had flown to their homes.

"What do you think is up?" Cinnamon asked, as she settled in. Both hers and Neil's laptops were on the coffee table, open, so they could see themselves and the other four people. Everyone was wearing a small, microphone and headset that only covered one ear, so they could chat freely, while still hearing the show.

"Mom, I'm trying to watch the pre-show," Neil protested, his eyes glued to the TV screen. "They might give us a hint about what's gonna happen on the show tonight!"

"I have no clue," Jessica said, looking over at Leah, who was also watching the RAW pre-show on the network sitting on the sofa next to her. "I just know Roman better not wrestle, or I'll fly to him and wring his neck." The doctor who had treated Roman's burns after the fire, told him he would not be able to wrestle until at least the 11th.

"I'm sure the Powers that Be aren't going to make Roman wrestle," Kayla said. She was sitting on her sofa as well, but Payton was laying on her stomach on the floor, lap top open in front of her, alternating her gaze from the computer screen to the TV. "Our three men are the hottest commodity the WWE has right now, they aren't going to risk Roman's health for anything."

That was true too. The family they had saved, Monica Miller and her children, Elizabeth and Gregory Jr. were very popular in their community. Monica was one of those women who was always volunteering in the community. She coached kid's athletic teams, ran bake sales or car washes. Gregory Sr. had been the same way, a very community minded young man. Gregory and Monica were childhood sweethearts who got married two days after they both graduated from High School. Gregory had been born two months later. They had been a young couple but they made it work. Gregory had joined the marines and done well in the military, until he'd been shipped over to Afghanistan two years ago, right after Elizabeth had been born. Then, last year he had been killed trying to get the rest of his unit out of a building that had been firebombed. Of course Roman, Dean, and Seth had not known this when they rescued the family, but that didn't matter. Not only had the three of them rescued a young family from a horrible death, but they rescued the family of a US Marine who died in service of their country.

"You're right," Jessica conceded. "I'm just being the overly worried wife."

The opening of Raw was a heartfelt tribute to the 4th of July, the birthday of the United States. They paid homage to the men and women who had laid down their lives over the years so we could all celebrate the 4th of July. Greg Miller Sr.'s contributions were mentioned, which lead into the regular show opening, where the Millers were brought into the ring as guests, and presented with a check for almost two hundred thousand dollars, funds raised for the rebuilding of their house. WWE had set up a fundraiser account on the web and had agreed to match donations dollar per dollar.

Stephanie and Hunter presented the check, but Roman, Dean and Seth were there, When Monica got the check, she burst into tears and promised that whatever wasn't needed to rebuilt their home would be donated to her favorite charity, the Wounded Warrior project. Hugs were exchanged and there was hardly a dry eye in the house.

"I am so proud of all of them," Cinnamon whispered, mostly to herself, although everyone heard her, as Dean hugged Monica and her two kids.

It was obvious that this was not part of the storyline, and when it was over and the Miller family were escorted to their ring side seats, the show broke for commercial. When they returned, it was obvious reality was over and the real show had begun.

There were two matches, a tag team match between the Usos and the Ascension, where the Usos won, then there was another match between the Bella twins and Naomi and Tamina and the Bella twins won.

After the second match, when they came back from commercial break there was a promo. It showed the backstage "office" set used in so many promos and Kevin Owens was there with Triple H and Stephanie. Kevin was considered to be the new "favorite" of the Authority. While he didn't have the US Champion anymore, it was rumored that he would be up for the IC title in the next PPV. But, at the start of the promo he wasn't looking happy. Rhyno was standing next to him, nodding. Kevin had Rhyno "brought up" from NXT, to act as Kevin's body guard, because he had been doing such a good job at annoying everyone backstage and had complained bitterly to Stephanie and Hunter that he felt he was in danger without having someone to protect him.

"I don't trust him," Kevin said as the promotion was opening.

"Why do you say that?" Stephanie asked. She was smiling at Kevin, the way a parent might smile at a favorite child, rather like she used to smile at Seth.

"Yes, Kevin, what are you concerned about?" Triple H asked. "What Seth did brought a lot of good publicity to the WWE. And the Authority too."

"Yeah, but doesn't it bother you that he was with them?" Kevin asked.

"Yeah," Rhyno agreed, "he was with them!" This got Rhyno a look from all three Authority member.

"Rhyno, shut up," Kevin said, rolling his eyes.

"Yes, boss," the large man said, but he grinned, showing no hard feelings at all. Rhyno was really hard to offend, which was probably why he worked so well with Owens.

"Well, I admit we did wonder about that," Stephanie said, "That's why we asked him to come and talk to us."

In an amazing coincidence that can only happen on TV, there was a knock and then Seth walked up to the group, "You wanted to talk to me?" he asked.

"Ah, Seth," Stephanie said, smiling at him. Not as warmly as she smiled at Kevin, but it was still a smile. "Thank you for coming."

"Of course," Seth said, grinning, but looking from Stephanie to Hunter to Kevin as if he wasn't quite sure why he'd been summoned. "What's up?"

"Oh, we were just wondering where your loyalties lie," Kevin said, scowling at him.

"What?" Seth look at Kevin, frowning, then to Stephanie and Hunter. "What is he talking about?"

"Well," Stephanie said, still smiling one of her patented, 'you can't quite tell if I'm pleased or covering up that I'm peeved,' smiles. "Kevin had some concerns and Hunter and I agree that we should-" She paused, tipping her head to one side and looking steadily at Seth, "-discuss them and get your side of the story."

Seth swallowed and you could see his Adam's apple bob on his throat. "Sure," he said, with a low chuckle. "I-I'm an open book, what do you want to know?"

"Where your loyalties lie!" Rhyno said, parroting what Kevin had said only seconds before. Everyone looked at him, and Kevin shook his head in a mixture of annoyance and pity.

"Rhyno!" Kevin warned.

"Sorry, boss!" Rhyno chirped.

"Well, since he brought it up," Hunter said, "We are wondering where your loyalties lie."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Seth asked, looking nervously from one person to the next.

"It means we're wondering why you were traveling with your old Shield buddies," Kevin said, giving Seth a contemptuous look.

"What?" Seth frowned. "I wasn't traveling with them!"

"Really?" Kevin laughed. "You expect us to buy that?"

"Kevin!" Hunter's voice held a warning in it, but he turned his attention to Seth. "You have to admit, it looks a little suspicious that you, Roman and Dean were together when you saved that family."

"Don't get us wrong, Seth," Stephanie interjected. "We could not be prouder of what you did, but you have to admit, it looks a little...odd that you were with Roman and Dean."

Seth chuckled, but there was a nervous edge to it as he shook his head. "Guys, you have it all wrong! I wasn't traveling with Dean and Roman, I was alone! We just happened to go the same diner. I stopped there first, and was eating when they showed up. We weren't together. When I saw the house was on fire, I ran to help, and they came with me. That was a good thing, because I couldn't have saved all three of them by myself," he paused and shook his head. "Do you guys really think I'd travel with Roman and Dean? That they'd want to travel with me? Need I remind you of what I did to them-" he motioned to Triple H, "what we did to them? The chair shots heard around the world! There's no way I'd travel with them, there's no way they'd travel with me!"

"Really?" Kevin snorted and so did Rhyno as if on cue. Then Kevin leaned over and picked up a newspaper from a table and slowly brought it up. It was one of the papers that ran the now famous picture of Seth, Roman, and Dean, holding each other up after the fire, the tears rolling down their faces. "You guys look pretty chummy in this."

"Yeah!" Rhyno agreed, "Pretty chummy!"

Seth swallowed again, but also laughed. "It was an emotional time! We'd just saved that family's lives! We were heroes!" He looked at Stephanie and Hunter. "I was just thrilled I was there, that I was able to take charge of saving those guys. Because I knew it would reflect well on me, on us, on the Authority."

Kevin snorted, followed a couple seconds later by Rhyno. Seth looked at both of them, his eyes narrowed. Kevin took a step towards Seth getting into his face. Seth glared at him, refusing to back down.

"Boys!" Stephanie came over and put her hand on each man's shoulder, gently forcing them to step back from each other. "We're the Authority family, we shouldn't be fighting with each other."

"I don't want to fight!" Seth protested. "He's the one who's accusing me of not knowing where my loyalties lie!"

"You're the one hanging with-" Kevin began.

"-Stop it!" Stephanie interrupted. "Both of you!" She pushed them apart a little less gently and looked at Kevin. "Seth says he wasn't traveling with them, and I believe him! He's been a loyal member of the Authority longer than you, Kevin."

"Yeah, but-" Kevin started.

"But nothing!" Now it was Hunter's turn to interrupt. "Kevin, why don't you go get prepared for your match against Randy Orton tonight?"

It was technically a suggestion, but in truth it was really a statement and Owen knew it. He glared again at Seth, then mumbled an agreement, turned, and stormed out of the room. For a moment, Rhyno looked around, confused. Then, the door opened and Kevin called in, "Rhyno!" Rhyno grinned, clearly glad to know what he was supposed to be doing and trotted out the door to join Kevin.

When they were gone, Seth looked at Stephanie and Hunter. "Do you believe him?" he asked, shaking his head. "How dare he question my loyalty!"

"He had a good point," Stephanie said. "That picture did look a little strange."

"Yeah, but you guys understand, right? You know that it's just a case of all of us happened to be at the same place at the same time, that's all." Seth looked from Stephanie to Hunter, as if he was trying to keep calm, but there were nerves showing through. He ran his fingers through his hair, messing it up.

"That does happen," Stephanie said. "And at this point, we believe you."

"At this point?" Seth repeated.

"Well, if there's no evidence to be found that would indicate you had been traveling with Roman and Dean, then it shouldn't be a problem," Hunter said smoothly.

"So, thanks for stopping by and clearing that up," Stephanie said in a voice that clearly told Seth he was dismissed. When Seth left the room, both Hunter and Stephanie looked at the door, then the camera faded and they cut back to the announcers.

"I don't think they completely trust Seth," Micheal Cole remarked.

"You can't blame them!" JBL said. "Seth was consorting with the enemy!"

"Roman and Dean aren't exactly the enemy," Cole reminded him. "They're his fellow WWE employees."

"Yeah, right." JBL snorted. "Those two hooligans have been a thorn in the side of the Authority since Seth destroyed The Shield. They might all work for the same place, but they are the enemy, Cole."

"Well, they were friends once," Byron Saxton said his voice soft compared to the other two.

"Yeah? So were Romulus and Remus," JBL said in a contemptuous tone. "And we all know how well that worked out."

Just then, Dean's music was heard and Dean came out. As he walked towards the ramp, he paused to high five Greg Miller, grinning at the kid and his mother and sister.

"Speaking of brothers, Dean's in our next match," Cole remarked, as Dean climbed into the ring and moved his head, appearing to be cracking his neck. A minute or so later, Cesaro joined him.

As the two men stood in the ring, before the ring announcer could tell them that this was one fall or submission, Roman's music started up, which made everyone in the audience look around.

Roman wove his way through the crowd, amid great cheering. He nodded to Dean, but he went to the announcer's table and sat down next to Byron, picking up a headset.

"Well, it looks like Roman is going to be joining us," Micheal Cole said.

"Yes, I am," Roman said as he slipped on the headset. "Since I apparently the Authority doesn't think I rate a match tonight, I figured I might as well come and watch my brother take out Cesaro."

"Well, you know you're always welcome," Cole said.

"Speak for yourself," JBL muttered.

As the match began and Dean and Cesaro circled each other, Cole asked Roman what he thought about Kevin Owens and the Authority questioning Seth's loyalty.

"I think that's Seth's problem," Roman said evenly.

"But, was there any truth to the accusations?" Byron asked. "Were the three of you traveling together?"

"No, we were not traveling together," Roman said. "Dean and I appreciated Seth's help with the fire."

"Seth's help?" JBL sniffed. "I though Seth was the one who lead the rescue?"

"That's what Seth says," Roman said, looking into the ring where Dean had Cesaro in the ropes. "Dean's taking charge tonight!"

"He's got Cesaro on the defense right from the start," Cole remarked.

"Of course," Roman said, "That's Dean's way. Get them fast, take control."

"Excuse me," JBL said. "But I did ask you a question, Roman."

"Oh, forgive him if he was more interested in the match than chatting with you about Seth!" Cole remarked with a snort.

In the ring, Cesaro had managed to climb to the top rope, but Dean was right after him, climbing up to the second rope and grabbing Cesaro by the waistband of his trunks. Dean flipped the man over his shoulder and the two of them crashed to the floor.

The discussion about Seth stopped and the announcers started worrying more about the match. Roman cheered on Dean who ended up winning the match.

When the match was over, there was a quick backstage scene where Kevin and Rhyno were talking. The theme music was playing over it, and it was a short scene, but it looked as if Kevin was ordering Rhyno to do something. Rhyno, of course, was agreeing.

Seth had a match with Ryback. Before the match, they showed Seth backstage looking for J&J to accompany him to the ring, only to be told by Kane that Stephanie and Hunter had sent them on an errand. When Seth questioned this, asked why he now had to go to the ring alone, Kane's eyes rolled in a look of disgust.

"If you need help taking on Ryback, then you don't deserve to be in the Authority," Kane said.

"I-I can handle Ryback just fine," Seth protested.

"Then go do it," Kane said, in a tone that implied this was not a suggestion.

Seth went to the ring alone that night and was beaten by Ryback in a clean win.

After he lost the fight, Seth charged backstage angrily. When he got to his dressing room door, he twisted the door knob and flung open the door. There was a strange noise, not the noise of the door hitting a wall, but as if it was hitting something a little softer. There was another thudding noise that sounded like someone threw a bag of wet cement to the floor.

"Holy-" Seth began. The camera panned out and Rhyno was on the floor, a red welt on his forehead, his eyes closed. It was obvious what happened, Rhyno had been leaving Seth's dressing room just as Seth flung open the door. Seth had flung it open with such force that it slammed into the man's head and knocked him out cold.

Seth knelt down beside the man and nudge him, gently at first, then a little more enthusiastically. "Rhyno, Rhyno, buddy, wake up!"

When Rhyno didn't move, Seth got up and walked outside the dressing room. A young intern was walking by. "Hey!" Seth yelled to the intern, "Get a medic here now! We have an emergency!"

The intern looked over Seth's shoulder into his dressing room and saw Rhyno passed out on the floor. "Right away, Mr. Rollins!" he said, his voice a nervous croak. "I'll right back!"

Of course this was followed by a commercial break. When they returned to Raw, Seth was standing in the hall with Kevin, Hunter and Stephanie as the medics were loading Rhyno on a gurney.

"Now what am I going to do?" Kevin said, sounding like a petulant, spoiled, child. "I have to face Randy Orton and I don't have my back up!"

"Is J&J back, yet?" Seth asked, "If they are, you can take them."

"They aren't back yet, but they should be any minute," Stephanie said, looking at her cell phone for the time. "You have to get ready. Go down to the ring and I'll send J&J to join you the moment they get back."

"What was Rhyno doing in my dressing room?" Seth asked.

"Probably just got lost," Hunter said, shaking his head. "He probably thought it was the mens room or something."

Kevin and Randy had been in a rivalry lately. Randy thought Kevin was a stupid punk who needed to be brought down a peg or two, Kevin though Randy was a washed up has been who should retire. A need to really kick Kevin's ass from one end of the arena to the other had been building up in Randy, but it had always been at least two against one, and Rhyno was really good at protecting Kevin.

So, when Kevin walked down to the ring that night, all alone, Randy began to grin.

The beating Randy put on Kevin that night was brutal. Kevin tried to escape, but Randy managed to thwart him at every turn. The bell to start the match barely rang and Randy grabbed Kevin and gave him an RKO. While Kevin lay on the floor of the ring, dazed, Randy hopped out, pulled a folding chair from the timekeeper area, climbed back into the ring and began beating Kevin with it. The referee motioned to the timekeeper to ring the bell, indicating the match was over, due to disqualification, but that didn't stop Randy. He beat on Kevin until the chair was just a twisted lump of metal.

The show ended with Randy standing over Kevin, gloating at his victory.

End of Chapter Two

Author's Notes: Yep, this story will be mostly ring action, because that's what the story is about. It's also way out of my comfort zone, but that's why I want to do it. Comfort zones are just that, comforting. Going out of them stretches my writing abilities. So, I really hope I can pull this one off and that my readers continue to enjoy it! Thank you to everyone who R/R F/F the first chapter, I was so grateful to all of you. And I'm sorry if this chapter isn't the greatest... I'm feeling my way around with this and to be honest? I think the next chapters will be better as I get used to writing ring action.

Special Thanks To:

Emilee J: A lot of folks are busy in the summer, don't worry about it, I understand. And, my stuff isn't going anywhere, so if it takes you awhile to get to it, I won't sweat it. Reviews on older stories/chapters are like getting Christmas presents in July!

And yes, I figure Dan is a great writer, but the problem is that he's frustrated that he's been forced to write the same old same old, because that's what Vince wants. He's seeing this as a chance to break out of the mold they've forced him into and to show the McMahones and the WWE Universe that they are wrong, Creative doesn't suck.

Zipper: But if you get an account, I can send my oh-so-charming responses to your magnificently glorious reviews right to you box! Or, do you just want everyone to see what I say to you? Is that it?

And yes, action scenes freak me out. So, I'm hoping you'll continue to feel this was a good idea by the time we really get rolling on this story.

Don't think I didn't catch your fire reference, either.

You nailed Waffle House. When I was down here looking at houses, I used to go to Waffle House a lot because no one minded that I'd sit with my laptop and look at RE listings.

Parvati: The next story will be about the three of them with their families. This story is about how they get The Shield back together in the WWE. I figure they were going to wait a couple of years, but with rescuing the Millers, they want to take advantage of the publicity that brought the guys and the WWE and they need to have them reunited to really make that work.

I understand your frustration about the story lines. I get irritated that it seems like the only former Shield member allowed to do anything good is Seth. Roman and Dean are always being shoved into dumb things, like bringing Bray over. Sorry, but Bray bores the tears out of me. He never changes, it's the same stuff every single time. And when you're in a conflict with Bray, you never get to have a match that he doesn't stick his nose into. It's boring. And no, bringing Harper back does not make it exciting.

Sorry about the math problems. Again, I stink at Math, I'm not of any help with that.

To all folks who R/R F/F etc: Thank you. God I always just do this, I end this with going, "Thank you!" I keep thinking some day I'll come up with the right way to express how I feel, I'm supposedly a writer, it should be easy, right? Nope, it never is. But it does mean a whole lot to me when people take the time to comment on my stories. Or, at least to favor and follow them. It tells me I'm doing this right, that I've done something that people enjoy. And that's the point of this. I do write for me, but I post because I want people to enjoy my stuff and I want to know they did. So, thank you to all of you. Your encouragement means the world to me.

Until Next Time
Peace Out
Willow.