Time for some good old fashioned comforting, not to mention answers about what went down.

Sodapop25, Aww, thank you, so glad you found this series and that you're enjoying reading about all the ups and down in this wild relationship ride! There are others tales in this series too if you haven't already found them yet and at least a couple more to come (I love writing these two!)

xXBalorBabeXx, Hunter is really struggling between being the boss and being her father in this story. In the next story that theme gets expanded a whole lot more to put it mildly (with that one coming very soon after this one and maybe being my absolute favourite out of the bunch!)

Raze Olympus, Haha, you and your crazy observations, I love them! Yeah, the title wouldn't have been my first choice, but hey *shrugs* that's what the WWE creative team in their infinite wisdom decided to call the storyline, so who was I to switch that up! As for Dean? He's feeling all blue...

Mandy, The heel Seth and face Dean dynamic was so raw and angry. It wasn't one of those feuds that comes out of nowhere, there was real meat to it. Plus heel Seth could be hilarious with his facial expressions and the things he would shout during matches. He's a natural at being evil!

Skovko, Yep, not even Caramel Chew Chew ice cream will help our poor boy (my favourite flavour, what can I say?) Luckily it's time for Lauren to step in and try to make everything a whole lot better. Sad Dean is not my favourite thing to write (believe it or not) but he has his moments too!

Labinnacslove, Hey, you're back! Missed your reviews! Hope you're loving our crazy couple just as much as you have done before. Hunter is playing the overbearing daddy here. The next story in their journey though has him in it a lot more and things get real and very dangerous (teaser!)

Minnie1015, I figured it was about time that Lauren gave Dean some comfort after everything he's done for her, hope you like it! This story is only going to be short, to cover this timeframe but I'm going to launch straight into the next one after, which is a HUGE deal in their story. A HUGE deal!

Back to it then...

Fix You

The car ride back was uncomfortably silent although Hunter's eager driver did his best to cheer us up. Evidently he had grown up in the area and was keen to give us the full tour guide shtick. It meant that as we drove, he pointed out landmarks or offered little stories, although they didn't really help.

"That's where I met my wife when I was seventeen – ,"

"Oh, well that's sweet."

"Divorced her last year. She tried to take me for every cent I own."

It was a blessing when we finally reached the hotel, although not even the prospect of being alone again and away from the arena could pep up Dean's mood.

I had sort of been expecting him to sit down and tell me – to stop my mind racing through what could have gone wrong – but instead he headed into the bathroom to shower and change out of his sweaty ring clothes. It occurred to me only after he'd flipped the jets on that he was still in his wrestling gear. That was a bad sign. It meant that he hadn't wasted time in the locker room which only heightened the fear of a crack in the Shield.

Thank you Michael Cole for keep repeating that one – although if nothing it proved that repetition really worked.

With nothing else to do, I made a few phone calls and replied to the texts that were cluttering up my phone. One was from Kelly and Brent who'd been watching and were desperate to know that I was both safe and sound, another was from Stephanie begging forgiveness for not having reacted when Wyatt had dragged me round the desk and one was from our sweet middle-aged house sitter, who had sent me a picture of our slumbering dog. He was tucked up in his comfortable basket in the kitchen and the image made me smile and desperately miss home.

Home.

It was strange how quickly Las Vegas had become that, especially for me, the quintessential small town girl. The thought of me even visiting the desert would have seemed unlikely, but now I was living there. We had a house – okay, his house technically but that didn't matter because it was totally our home – we had a life and a routine and Boomer.

We were a family.

I adored that.

It was why I felt the tremor in Dean's world so violently – the two of us were joined now, for better or for worse – so it was also what drove me to pick my phone back up and type out a message that I desperately hoped would work.

Are you guys alright? Dean won't say what happened. Please don't be mad. He was trying to keep me safe.

Seth didn't reply although I knew he'd seen it and that made me panic about things even more. Had I somehow managed to make things worse?

Oh god.

I bet I had.

I was a stupid, stupid, totally moronic person who Dean would never forgive in a million years and –

There was a ping and I launched across the bed towards my cell phone, snatching it up as the screen shone bright. Luckily Roman had messaged me back again and I could almost hear his soothing tone.

Don't worry Baby Girl.

How had he known that I would be worrying? It wasn't like I did it all the time, right?

Everything is gonna be fine.

I drew in a deep breath and blew it out quickly. If Roman was confident that they could get past it – whatever it was since I still didn't know – then that meant I could afford to relax just a little and so as Dean emerged from the shower, damp and gorgeous, I looked up and smiled at him winningly,

"Hey you."

Unfortunately however I'd forgotten he was miserable and so instead of grin back he merely offered up a grunt.

"Bathroom's free," he murmured almost absently, rubbing at his dripping hair with a towel. My heart broke into a million pieces seeing him so down and just plain lost so without another word I crossed the room towards him and pulled his face my way,

"First, we need to talk."

He tried to brush my hands away gently but I hung on stubbornly until he sighed,

"Princess – ,"

"No, I won't let you shut me out, okay? You're sad and I hate that. So just – please, let me help."

In response to my incessant but unflinching coaxing, Dean rolled his eyes and let me pull him towards the bed. I settled myself down cross-legged in front of him and held his hand tightly in between both of mine. He looked at it in a tiny little flash of amusement and quirked a brow at me,

"What? Think I'm gonna run?"

"Maybe."

He shook his head,

"Not from you – ever,"

Then he leant forward and started to kiss me, a long, deep, yearning, hungry kiss. His lips were warm and wet and amazing and the contact was so powerful that it made me tingle and momentarily forget where I was. His hands slid up to grip my shoulders and he bumped his chest towards me until I fell back. He came down with me, trapping me under him and then moved his lips to nip at my neck. I let out an instinctive and blissful sounding mumble and curled up my toes. It was heavenly.

Wait –

Suddenly remembering we were supposed to be talking, I clamped my hand firmly over his lips. It stopped him as he was dipping his head towards my jawline and to show my displeasure I frowned up into his eyes,

"Hold it mister. Hmmm nice try, but sadly for you I'm too smart for that. No more stalling, alright? I need you to talk to me. What happened after you left me with Kane?"

He let out a sigh and reluctantly clambered off me, clearly annoyed that I'd seen through his ruse. Reaching over, I quickly grabbed his hand back and then turned it over to rub my fingers across his palm. It was something my mom had done when I was little and crying fit to burst and it had always calmed me down. I had no idea if it would work on a full-grown wrestler, but Dean let me do it so if nothing else it wasn't bad.

"What the fuck do you wanna hear Lauren? How they put Seth through the announce table anyway? Or maybe you wanna hear about the three of 'em beatin' Roman down?"

I gaped at him,

"What? Oh my god. Were they alright?"

"Nope, they're pissed."

"At you?" I asked carefully and he snorted like it was obvious and then turned his head away and dropped it down against his chest. Instantly I snuggled in a little closer, squeezing his hand and stroking my fingers across his nape. As I hit on a sore spot his face screwed up in agony and he shuddered a little and let out a grunt,

"Fuck – ,"

I responded by swiftly shuffling behind him and clumsily rocking up onto my knees. I bumped into his lower back and drew another grumble but ignored it as I began to work deep circles with my thumbs. His entire upper back and shoulders were rigid with tension but as I began to knead, they gradually loosened up. Dean's stiff posture slumped just a little and he leant back against me and let his head drop back. Sensing my moment, I pushed him for more details, trying to sound nonchalant although it clearly didn't work,

"So – um – what did Seth and Roman say to you?"

He groaned just a little,

"Lauren – ,"

"You said you'd tell me."

As my thumbs hit a knot buried deep in his neckline, his whole body twitched and he let out a hiss. Working it out however clearly triggered something, because instead of clamming up he finally gave me more,

"They're pissed that I left them there outnumbered."

"But you didn't – you went after Bray."

"Who got right up and went back to his team."

I paused in realization,

"Oh."

"Fuck it," Dean sighed, "Whatever, they're right. I did leave them out there – ,"

"I'm sorry,"

"What for?"

I shrugged a little, still working on his shoulders but biting my lip guiltily,

"You left them because of me."

"No I didn't Lauren," Dean replied flatly, "I mean alright – sure – that's why I went off but you didn't make me throw Wyatt across the barricade, or fight him through the crowd or brawl backstage. That's on me, alright? I shouldn't have done that. It's just – I don't know – whenever I see him I can't fuckin' help it, I get so mad. I think back to all that shit that happened last year and I remember him grabbing you and touching you and hurting you and I can't – I just can't – ,"

He broke off with a growl.

Stopping the massage, I flung my arms around him and dropped my lips against his shoulder,

"Hey, it's okay – it's okay, I know."

"That's why the guys are pissed with me Lauren, because I reacted and put that crap before them."

For a minute we sat on the bed in total silence, with me still hugging him tightly from behind. It was strange to have Dean in any other mood than confident and I only hoped I was as much help as he usually was to me.

"I love you," I whispered, not wanting to break the silence but hoping that the words would help. He reached up and cupped my face,

"Yeah? Well thank fuck somebody does."

"Don't forget Boomer."

"Princess, that dog loves fuckin' everyone. He greeted the damn veterinarian like they'd served together in 'Nam."

"Still counts," I responded firmly, dropping my lips down onto his bare shoulder and lightly nipping at the shower-sweetened skin, "Seth and Roman love you too."

Dean groaned,

"Lauren – ,"

"What? They do. I mean, okay so maybe they're not particularly happy with you right now but that doesn't change things. You're their brother."

"Maybe I was."

"No," I shook my head resolutely, "No, I don't buy that Dean – you still are. I mean, come on, I've seen the three of you together. You just kind of click. You make each other work. This is a tiny little bump in the road, alright? Just go and apologize and everything will be fine."

Dean snorted wryly,

"Yeah, that's the problem. I don't do apologies Princess, never have."

"What? That's ridiculous. Not even if it would help things? Not even to smooth things over with your very best friends? Okay, what if someone was holding me hostage – no, even better – holding me over train tracks and the only way you could possibly save me was to apologize for something?"

Dean snorted,

"Then you'd better get ready to say goodbye baby because that train ain't stoppin' for nothin'."

"Dean – ,"

"What?"

"I don't believe you. You'd let me get run over?"

He gazed back at me with his lips quirking mildly, clearly amused by the fact that I was hurt. Sitting away from him I folded my arms childishly and stuck my bottom lip out in a full-on girly pout. The sight made him smile and he reached out between us and pushed my lip back a little with his thumb.

"Princess, it's just a fuckin' made up scenario, are you seriously tellin' me you're steamed about it?"

"Yes."

"Fine," he sighed heavily, grabbing my wrist up and physically dragging me in across the bed. I pretended to protest it but it wasn't too violent and in less than a second I was curled up against his chest, with my legs tucked up until I was surrounded by him ball-like and he dropped his head down and gave me a kiss, "If anybody ever ties you to the train tracks, or locks you in a tower or fuckin' anythin' like that, I promise that I will not only come get you but I'll apologize to whichever sorry son of a bitch they want. Then I'll break their legs. There, are you happy now?"

I nodded,

"Uh huh, but you still need to make up with Roman and Seth."

"Yeah, yeah," Dean sighed before tilting my head back by flattened his broad palm over my hair. Once I was looking up at him he kissed me again fiercely and then inhaled while our lips were tightly locked. It literally took the breath right out of me and was oddly arousing. Instantly I swung round, clambering to my knees so that I was towering over him and cupping his face to rub his stubble beneath my thumbs.

God he was adorable and –

Damn it.

So sneaky.

"Hmm, you're trying to distract me again aren't you?"

"Got a problem with that Princess?"

"I mean, I probably should. I don't want our relationship to become one of those empty ones which ends up being all about sex."

I was grinning as I said it and Dean smirked back at me, raising his eyebrow in a way that meant uh oh. Before I could even warn him against moving, he swept his arm in under my kneecaps and scooped me up against his chest. Evidently the height difference wasn't quite to his liking and I squealed as he swung me round and dropped me down onto the bed. In less than a second he was hovering above me and treating me to another deep, lip-tingling kiss.

"End up? I thought it already was."

"Hey – ," I responded, swatting him mildly but my smile offset the outrage I was trying to affect.

"What? You really wanna do all that normal couple bullshit? Talk about how our day went and stuff? Alright. Hey honey, how was work today? You know, when you sat on commentary in front of millions of people and described your boyfriend beating three guys up."

I rolled my eyes as he smirked down smugly and refused to look at him,

"Alright, I get the point. But for your information I didn't describe anything, I just sort of reacted and bickered with Michael Cole. Honestly? I don't think it's really my calling. I'd be pretty surprised if they wanted me to do more."

"Good," Dean snorted, pushing himself off me and rolling to prop himself up on one side. His hand stayed lingering over my stomach, burning warmth right into me and making me feel loved, "Because unless you're in our corner where I can keep a fuckin' eye on you, I don't want you out there ever again."

His reaction wasn't completely surprising.

In fact it was the literal opposite of that.

My short tenure on commentary had been a disaster and although that was Bray Wyatt's fault, I could tell he blamed himself. Whenever I got myself into any kind of predicament, Dean had a way of shouldering the guilt. His need to protect me was cute but heavy and in order to lift the mood, I suddenly grinned,

"So much for JBL looking after me with his life, huh? I've never seen a person take off headphones that slow. It was almost like they were glued to his ears. Guess you were right about him after all."

Instead of drawing a chuckle however – which was what I'd been counting on – Dean merely glared,

"That son of a bitch better keep his fuckin' head down, because if I see him, I swear to god that's it. He sat and watched Wyatt drag you outta there and he did nothin' to stop it. That's not okay. Fuck. When I think about it – hearin' you yellin' and lookin' up from the floor to see Wyatt with his hands on you, draggin' you towards the table – ,"

"Hey, I'm okay," I whispered into the half-light and he reached out and slid me closer with a grunt,

"I promised you I wouldn't let him touch you again Lauren and tonight he fuckin' did."

"Wait, are you – ," I smiled at him lightly, quirking my brows a little, "Are you apologizing right now? Because a minute ago you were saying you didn't do that but this kind of sounds like – ,"

Groaning roughly Dean bent across and kissed me, partly through what I assumed was a need to reassure himself but probably mostly to shut me up. Thankfully it seemed to work on both counts and when he finally drew back, it was accompanied by a sigh. Not a weary or wounded one either, but something more settled and contented.

That was good.

"I'm glad you're okay," he murmured into my neckline and I curled my hands through his hair.

"I'm fine."

The entire night had been pretty crazy but lying there with Dean made it all seem worthwhile. It was amazing how much better he could instantly make things and in the security of his arms I could totally relax. It was so unfair how the outside world saw him – that he was branded a lunatic and a million things between. Anyone that saw Dean so loving and tender would never have believed how he was in the ring and part of me wished that I could pick it up and show them and prove to the naysayers that he really was the perfect man.

The thought launched a hot surge of fierceness straight through me and I snorted in anger,

"You know what? Michael Cole's a dick."

"Okay, where the fuck did that come from Princess?" Dean blinked back after missing a beat, "Did he say somethin' when you were doin' commentary? Do I gotta add him to the list of asses to kick?"

Realizing that telling him why I was angry meant also telling him what Cole had said, I panicked a little and quickly tried to backtrack, which – as usual – went off with barely a hitch,

"What? Uh, no. I mean, not unless you want to, which you probably don't because – um – it's no big deal. That is, he didn't – you know – insult me or anything like that so it's really not important. Forget I mentioned it, okay?"

For several seconds, Dean merely stared at me, trying to decipher what had gone on. I lay gazing up at him, trying to look innocent but also safe in the knowledge that he would never work it out. I had gabbled so much it could have been anything, so unless he was a mind-reader –

"Let me make a wild guess here. He talked shit about me, am I right?"

What the –

How in the name of all things good and holy had he managed to work that out?

"What? I – no – ,"

"Princess," Dean sighed, "You're a terrible liar. But I appreciate you tryin' to protect me all the same. You don't have to though. This shit happens. He runs his damn mouth off every fuckin' night. So give it to me straight, alright? I'm sure I can handle it. What did that punk ass little runt say this time?"

"He, um – ," I paused, "He called you a lunatic and sort of said you deserved to be pinned."

Dean raised a brow,

"That's all he threw at me?"

"Isn't that enough?"

He shrugged,

"I've had worse – a lot worse – trust me. My mom has said shit to my face worse than that."

"But that's just it," I sat up suddenly, his hand falling away from me as my anger built up. Dean watched it happen in measures of curiosity, having seen me upset before but never quite so mad, "I'm done with people saying mean things about you and calling you a hothead and – ,"

"Who calls me a hothead?"

I stopped.

Oh crap.

"Um," I blinked unconvincingly back at him, adding a shrug like I thought it would help, "People?"

"What? You mean specific people?"

"No?"

It didn't help that I actually winced.

If ever I had wondered how I would have fared as a secret agent – a female James Bond type of kick-ass super spy – then it was simple yes or no questions with my boyfriend that made me realize I wouldn't have lasted a day.

"Princess," Dean frowned, "Your lyin's gettin' worse here. Who calls me a hot-head? Commentary or somebody else?"

I squirmed beneath his gaze and tried not to look at him, shaking my head,

"Dean, it isn't – I mean – ,"

"Okay," he nodded, like I'd actually answered and damn his perceptiveness, "Somebody else. I'm gonna take a crazy stab here and say Randy just from the way the guy was leerin' at me. It took all of my strength not to put him through the drywall. It has to be him, right – no? How 'bout Kane?"

As my heart started pounding, I bit my lip down tightly and choked back a bubble of emotion,

"Dean please – ,"

The fact that I was getting actually borderline teary seemed to give him the last hint and he blinked,

"Your old man."

It was almost like the climax of some suspense-ridden movie, where the lead detective had finally worked out who the killer was. The look on Dean's face certainly mirrored the same emotions – a mixture of annoyance, genuine hurt and surprise.

"Let me guess, he thinks that me being a hothead is gonna wind up somehow gettin' you hurt?"

"How do you keeping doing that? Are you secretly psychic? It kind of feels like you are."

I was going for humour but it fell pretty flat again, as he promptly ignored me and fixed me a look,

"What about you Princess? Do you believe him?"

"What?" I gaped in response, "Of course not."

He snorted back at me as if to say okay, sure.

Suddenly – from out of nowhere – the black mood had wandered in again and laid itself across my boyfriend like a shroud. Dean's expression was sullen and troubled and it upset me that the comments had made him suddenly doubt himself. Moving quickly, I pushed him back over until he was out lying flat on his back, then I straddled him before he could bark at me and pinned his arms on either side of his head. It was a light touch – very light, I could never have made him stay there – but it surprised him enough that he didn't try to shift. Peering down into his blue eyes I kissed him and then whispered my assurance over his lips,

"I never have and never will think any of those things about you. How could I after all the amazing things you've done? You are – without a doubt – the most important thing about me. You're supportive, you're generous, you're loving and you're sweet."

He blinked back at me, his features slowly softening and then smirked slightly,

"Only with you."

"What about Seth and Roman?" I reminded him gently, but he shook his head emphatically,

"Princess, only you."

Then – as expected – he suddenly flipped me and brought me crashing down with a squeal into his arms. I giggled in delight as he nuzzled against my neckline and then squirmed like a demon as he blew against my skin. I was still trying to breathe right when he started to kiss me, peppering light smooches up and down my cheeks like he was going for the record or trying to beat a timer or – possibly – had spent several long months at sea.

"I need you Princess," he whispered against my earlobe and I shuddered as his fingertips gently grazed my skin. He was starting to slowly unhook my shirt buttons and I let him lazily until the material slid off.

Ducking his head, he rubbed his nose across my bra-cups and the cold tip made them achingly stiff. By the time he eased them loose, my hands were on his body, running the still-damp skin beneath my palms.

"Dean – ," I gasped, but I wasn't complaining. I was far too happy to want him to stop, my fingernails digging into his shoulders and my toes curling in on themselves, "Oh god – ,"

At the same time that Dean was working my nipples, he leant in and kissed me and I laughed around his lips – thrilled and giddy and just so happy that I could no longer keep the elation to myself.

"Somethin' funny Princess?" he growled against my jawline, but he was grinning too and it made me relax, "Think maybe you could do a better job up here?"

I nodded and he sat back and quickly pulled me up, straddling him in a forwards bear hug so my chin was against his forehead and giving me the advantage as I tipped his head up. It was a move I accomplished by tugging his hair gently and he moaned against my tongue as I began to grind my hips. He responded by dropping his face into my chest again and sucking and swirling at each peak in turn. By the time he was ready I was almost insensible and fell back willingly to let him ease in.

Maybe from the emotions, or the match-up or the all the drama, the contact was passionate but also tender as well and although I finished first, when Dean fell down on top of me he kissed me again and then fiercely wrapped me up,

"I meant what I said earlier," he murmured, sounding wearied and clearly being tugged by a strong urge to sleep. Turning towards him I let him cuddle into me, feeling hugely protective of my emotionally battered man, "Don't fuckin' leave me Lauren – couldn't take it."

I kissed him gently,

"I'm not going anywhere."

So, how did we like the role reversal here with Lauren being the one to take charge of the comforting?

Next chapter, our big new villain going forward is going to emerge in all his evil glory! Though some of you might have already guessed. Or maybe I should say one of our new villains. The next story in this arc is going to have a whole bunch!