Chapter 20

Lexi jerked in response the moment Roman hit the table. She froze, her eyes trained on the monitor, watching. As far as she knew this wasn't part of the script. Unless they'd changed it within the last three hours and hadn't told her.

The cameraman zoomed in on Roman. His head lolled to the side, his eyes were closed and he didn't move. Lexi's heart sped up as the slow slide of panic began to take hold. Seth rolled from the ring, moved in to check on Roman. He shook the big man, yelled into his face, then reached down and slid a hand behind Roman's head.

He pulled back, looked perplexingly at his glove, then as if some sort of realization struck, Seth stripped off his gloves and repeated the process. This time when he pulled his hand away, it was red and Lexi braced herself against the table as a gasp tore through her.

Seth's arms immediately went up to form an X and he yelled over his shoulder to the timekeeper to stop the match. Before the man had time to ring the bell Lexi bolted toward the stage entrance.

"Lexi," she could hear Amber call after her the same time she burst through the curtain. The moment she hit the stage a roar ripped through the crowd. She ignored them, her attention only focused on what was happening on the far side of the ring.

As she rounded the steps, Seth spotted her, his panicked eyes widening. He shouted to Dean who turned, then stepped into her path. His arms snaked around her midsection, holding her. "Lexi, wait."

"Roman," his name tumbled from her lips on a choke even as she tried to pull away from Dean.

"Oh My God, King, it's Lexi Hart," Michael Cole's voice reached her ears.

"It's is Lexi and Michael I do believe she's pregnant," King replied.

She glanced at them now as a quick realization set in that she'd just revealed herself to the WWE Universe. Her gaze immediately cut from the announcers to where Seth knelt over Roman. She watched as Doctor Amman and his team slid to a stop in front of her, dropped to their knees and began assessing him.

Her breathing hitched and his name came out on a whisper. What if he was seriously hurt?

"Lexi," Dean's gravelly voice barely penetrated the panic swirling through her head. "Lexi, look at me."

She turned her head now and stared blankly into Dean's face. "He's gonna be okay. You need to believe that. You need to stay calm," he encouraged. She started to turn, to look back down at Roman, but Dean lifted a hand to her head, holding her in place. "Honey, I need to know you're not going to lose it. I know you're scared, but you have to stay calm and rational for the baby."

Despite the fear raging through her, somewhere within herself she felt a shift, then surprisingly a growing strength. Dean was right, she needed to stay strong. Slowly she nodded, afraid that if she tried to speak that newfound strength would escape.

"Yeah," Dean replied, his eyes assessing her. "You good?"

She sucked in a ragged breath and nodded a second time.

"That's a girl," Dean praised, then shifted her against him so her head rested against his shoulder, his arm wrapped protectively around her side. "He's gonna be okay," Dean all but whispered against her hair. "You believe that. He's gonna be fine."

She felt the press of his lips against her temple, gave him a small nod of acknowledgement, then turned her attention to where Seth was helping Doctor Amman and his team roll Roman onto a backboard. One of the trainers held a now bloody towel to the back of Roman's head. She shuddered at the sight then began to gnaw on her bottom lip. She'd been in the business long enough to know that blood alone wasn't necessarily an indication that the injury was too serious, but blood combined with unconsciousness upped those odds considerably.

Despite her best efforts to remain calm, a tear broke free and trickled down her cheek. She wouldn't become hysterical. Nothing productive would come from her being hysterical, but damn it, this wasn't supposed to happen. If she'd sought him out and apologized earlier, he would have been focused on the match. In a way it was her fault he was hurt. The words she'd slung at him earlier had obviously wounded him, distracted him, and now…

Another ragged breath tore from her and she felt Dean's arm tighten around her. "Easy, honey," he murmured.

Doctor Amman glanced around at his team. "We ready?" Everyone nodded, then on the count of three, they lifted Roman up and onto the stretcher. She reached for him now, her hand grazing over his. It was a small gesture only meant to let him know she was there and she was sorry.

Her hand slipped off his as they began to wheel the strether away. Seth moved in next to her, curled a finger beneath her chin, forcing her to focus on him. "You good?" he asked and she noted how his eyes held that same concerned appearance Dean's did.

For the first time she realized just how lucky she was to have these men in her life. They were her family and no matter what happened with Roman, they would be there for her. That thought provided a tiny measure of comfort and she lifted a shaky hand to wrap it around his wrist. "Yeah," she finally managed to murmur. "But I'll be a lot better once we know Roman's going to be okay."

He gave her answer a small smile, then turned and began to walk out of the ring area. Still leaning on Dean, she followed.

With the RAW cameras hovering, she, Amber, Zoe and the boys waited outside the trainers room. Except for the low rumble of the crowd and the occasional roar indicating something interesting had happened in the ring, silence hung heavy in the air. Hunter leaned against the far wall, his face a mask of concern as he too waited.

She could feel Dean and Seth's eyes watching her, gauging her stress level, her ability to keep it together. Surprisingly, she seemed to be carrying an odd calm inside her as she waited. The fact that she wasn't a hysterical mess almost bothered her. What kind of fiance was she not to be an emotional wreck after the man she loved was injured?

She leaned her head back against the wall and closed her eyes. She was a fiance who had finally managed to find the faith she needed to believe in miracles, to believe that she didn't need to keep people at arm's length in order to protect herself from getting hurt. Because, she realized, those she did let close would never intentionally hurt her.

Right now she was going to be strong for her man, because she knew its what he would want her to do. No matter what was happening on the other side of that door. No matter how injured he might be or what obstacles their future might hold, she would remain calm and strong. Not for him, but for their baby. Nothing, not even Roman mattered more than their child.

The door squeaked opened, causing Lexi to push off the wall she'd been leaning on. Doctor Amman emerged. "He's awake and coherent," he said as his gaze landed on Lexi. "I stitched up the wound on the back of his head, but I'm sending him on to the hospital for evaluation and overnight observation."

The sudden flood of relief that swamped her nearly brought Lexi to her knees. She sighed heavily and managed a small smile. "Can I see him first?"

Doctor Amman nodded and held open the door. "I expected you would want to. Go on in."