A/N: This was supposed to be the last chapter, but things don't always go the way I plan them and it got extended to at least one more chapter. I hope you enjoy ;)

One And Only

The first time he kissed Maryse, she guffawed. It hadn't been in a burlesque kind of way and knowing how she was, he has now sure that she did it on an impulse and probably out of awkwardness; but going back in memory lane, Ted remembered that back to that night he has been a bit puzzled by her reaction.

After all it wasn't flattering to any man if a woman guffawed after sharing a first kiss so unable to help it, he asked her what was so funny.

Once she was in more control of herself she just flipped at her hair and told him that there wasn't anything funny. After that the elevator stopped at her floor and after flashing him a big smile full of promises, she walked out… leaving him back there while his own lips started to curve into a smile.

Still to that day, Ted wasn't sure what made him give into the impulse of kissing her. They were just in the elevator talking and he thought that she looked stunning.

Not that in other occasions she looked less than stunning, but that night was different.

Her hair was perfectly cascading dawn her back in soft platinum waves, her features were highlighted with a touch of make-up, her dress was embracing all her curves like a second skin and the ridiculous high heels that she was wearing accentuated her toned legs perfectly.

She looked like any man's dream come true. But it wasn't all in her appearances though; it was all in the small details.

It has been her eyes what really got him, there was a special glint on those expressive hazel orbs that caught him off-guard and entranced him… and her lips, he remembered as if it was yesterday, they just seemed too inviting.

So, before he could think on it twice, he leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers. It has been something brief, just two sets of lips pressing together while adding the slightest pressure… at least until she pulled away to well, guffaw at his efforts.

It has been wrong and once he closed the door to his own room, the big goofy grin in his face died as he thought about his wife and he promised himself that something like that couldn't happen again.

With that in mind, the following day he apologized to Maryse; he blamed it all on the two of them being tired and it was left at that… for about a week, because that was the amount of time it took him to kiss her again.

That second kiss has been so much more than the first. The two of them were scheduled to work both Raw and Smackdown so as they has done many times before, they ended up traveling together.

He behaved during that whole day, but when the show was over he promised to drop her at the airport and that's when he kissed her again.

For that one he didn't have an excuse either, he just found himself kissing her while they were still in the car and because she responded him in kind, he deepened the kiss and made the best out of it.

After that the kisses started to become more regular and all talk about their significant others faded away completely. When they meet it was time for the two of them and no one else.

That was how their affair began and even though it shamed him to admit so, that was how he started to fall head over hills for someone other than his wife.

But it was just that she was perfect, he loved everything about her and as time started to pass by he realized that she was the one he wanted to be with.

She knew he felt like that, and he knew that he was the one she wanted as well. But they were too messed up and like his mother always told him, nothing that starts the wrong way can end the right way.

That was probably why he accepted breaking things up; he had a commitment with his wife and deep inside he knew that he had to respond to her. Besides, for the last weeks of their relationship, Maryse seemed distracted and even distant so he assumed she was having the same thoughts; his suspicious were confirmed when one fateful night she told him they shouldn't see each other anymore.

He agreed because it was the right thing to do but with time he realized that breaking things up has been the worse decision he ever made, because as much as he tried to fix things back home it didn't work out because his wife plain and simply wasn't Maryse.

Now there was a chance that Maryse was going to be no more and the thought of that was slowly killing him inside.

Just to think that something happened to her was making him go crazy and he has been in the verge of giving way to the pangs of despairs. It was just so easy to let his imagination run wild with different scenarios…

After he received the news of her disappearances, something in his gut told him that the worse happened. He hated that thought and he has done everything in his power to find her.

He went to the police station but he wasn't allowed to talk with Mike; thing that ended up being a good thing because he was sure that if he saw the man's face, he was going to kill him with his own hands and that wouldn't do any good to the situation.

So walking out of there he went to see Brie and the ugly bruise that ran from her jaw and up to her cheek was a silent statement of Maryse's fate. He hated that visit and when he couldn't get anything useful out of the young woman, he left and turned to the man that found Mike, JoMo.

That has been a little over one hour ago and the talk he had with him has been a bit more useful. According to the man, as soon as he heard what happened he started calling Mike and it wasn't after more than twenty calls that he answered.

Mike wasn't saying anything about Maryse but he told him where he was, and when John found him he was sure that he did something awful.

He knew because of Mike's blank attitude and most importantly, a few traces of blood he had in his clothes. He called the police and the rest was history.

Now, the news about what happened spread like fire around his co-workers and according to Cody, everyone was afraid that Mike pulled a Benoit and that he just went crazy.

That was the speculation and talk was that Vince was calling already that this was going to be a hard blow to the WWE.

Ted didn't care about the bad press this could bring to them, the only thing that he wanted was to find Maryse, alive.

That was how he ended up there, walking through the woods with a heavy veil of rain falling punishingly over him.

If the police would be more efficient in their job, they would be doing this themselves, but because they were not driven with desperation and because they didn't find every minute to be crucial, they were putting all their efforts in interrogating Mike instead.

Blinking the icy-cold water of the rain out of his eyes, Ted clenched his jaw as hard as he could and continued looking. If they wouldn't go out there to find her, he decided that he was going to do it himself.

And because John said he found Mike a few miles away from the woods and his car was found parked very near, Ted was sure that if Maryse was somewhere, it was in those woods.

It was only a matter of finding her.

Cody and John were helping him in his search and they were somewhere around looking as well. They had been at it for a while and he was starting to get desperate.

What if he buried her? What if he killed her and threw her somewhere around as if she was nothing more than garbage?

By God that if he did any of those he was going to burst into that police station and kill him. And if anyone got in his way he was going to kill them too.

Deep inside he knew those were dark thoughts and that he should erase them from his mind. But he couldn't, he just couldn't…

"Ted!"

Tilting his head to the sound of John's voice, Ted swallowed hard and froze. For some reason he couldn't quite understand, his stomach turned into a knot and his breathing ceased for a few seconds.

"Ted, she's here…"

And that was all he needed to hear to react and start running toward his voice. He ran blindly, his mind repeating a litany over and over again…

'Please God, let her be alive. Please, God…'

To him it felt like he ran forever, the rain wasn't letting him see the path ahead of him with clarity and it wasn't until he was a few steps away from them that he saw them.

"I found her…" John said and feeling his heart shrinking, Ted halted and saw that he was kneeling and holding Maryse in his arms.

She wasn't responding; her eyes were closed, there were a few bruises on her neck and arms and her dress was riding high to her hips. She seemed to pale, there was blood and mud clinging to her skin and hair and she was barefoot.

It was almost as if she was…

"No…" Running the rest of the way, Ted basically pushed John away and got down to his knees to take her in his arms.

John let him do it and he even said something about calling someone… probably the police or an ambulance.

"Maryse…" He whispered, bringing her closer so he could press his fingers to her throat.

He didn't know much about those things, but he immediately started to start feeling around for a pulse that he never found.

"Come on, don't do this to me…" He said, his hands moving to her face and feeling that she was too cold. It was probably because of the rain but that didn't give hope to his heart.

In the background he could listen to John and now Cody talking to him and one of them even went as far as touching his shoulder. He didn't know who it was but she elbowed him away and went back into searching for a pulse.

"Please God…" He mumbled, brushing her hair out of her face with one hand and then pulling her dress down.

"Ted…"

"Shhh." Shaking his head before listening to whatever they were going to tell him, Ted pulled Maryse closer to him and placed a hand over her chest.

Holding his breath, he left the hand there while his eyes drank on the image of her face. She looked as if she was sleeping… so peacefully.

"Come on Ryse," He said, barely realizing that he choked on the words.

And then, so very faintly, he felt her heart beating. It was almost imperceptible and at first he thought he imagined it, but then he felt it again and gathering in his arms, he got to his feet.

"Is she…?" Cody began to ask and Ted shook his head and started walking as fast as he could.

He didn't know the way but he had to move as fast as he could. "She's alive… I have to take her into an hospital."