FINALLY its here! most of what I have to say is at the bottom AN, so lets just read on, shall we?

I own nothing, and we all know none of this is true...i think. Whom these guys share a bed with is none of my bees-guts.

Enjoy my loves!

Drew walked through the empty arena of Monday Night Raw. It would be quite a few hours till the show actually started, but many superstars practiced their match in the empty ring before the show.

Last night, he had found out more about John than he thought John would admit. He honestly thought the older brunette would close in on him, and not let him in at all. He thought that John would keep everything bottled up.

But that didn't happen. John confessed a lot. Maybe not every detail, and maybe not the entire story. But he confessed enough, and Drew wouldn't ask anymore more of him. He knew how much it took for John to admit what was being done to him, how he was being treated. And he also knew it would be a very long time before John understood just how much he was worth.

For now, at least Drew knew what was going through John's head. He understood that John had been used and abused, and trained and chained his entire life. That was something that wouldn't break anytime soon.

But at least for know, John understood that he had a friend in all this.

Last night, Drew had watched John sleep. The smaller brunette had been fitful all night. Twisting and turning in his sleep, and when he started scratching at his skin, Drew knew exactly what was John was dreaming about. Drew had stroked his hair, rubbed his back, did anything he could think of to calm the smaller man down. And everything seemed to work.

And when he had to return John to back to Mike the next morning, he kept up the façade, and paid the 500 bucks. He didn't want to let John go back to that asshole, but he promised Jon he would not say a word about what happened between them last night, and he would be damned if he broke a promise to John.

He wandered into the side entrance, usually where Del Rio's cars came through. He was at Raw tonight for one person, and one person only. He stopped short when he saw two figures, practicing in the ring. He moved out of view and casually leaned against the wall and watched John and Mike practice their match. He frowned at the unnecessary roughness Mike used with the smaller brunette in the ring.

"Again!" The blond shouted.

John panted and leaned against the second rope, on his knees.

"But Mike… that was the fifth time. Can we please take a break?" John gasped, trying to catch his breath.

Mike growled and grabbed John by the hair, throwing him against the turnbuckle.

"You'll do as I say or else!" He snarled.

John whimpered quietly and nodded, getting back to his feet.

"What's going on?" Came a quiet voice behind Drew.

The Scotsman turned to see Cody, Ted and Randy with Cena in tow.

Drew sighed. "John and Mike."

The other four superstars looked on to the scene before them. Cena frowned as Mike slammed John against the turnbuckle with a lot more force than needed for the move.

"Why the hell is he so rough with him? Mike does know no matter what, he's not gonna lose the goddamn match, right?" Cena thought out loud.

Randy frowned. "He's a jackass, that's why."

Randy and Cena were also good friends of John. And Randy's hatred for Mizanin was no secret around the locker room. And Cena? Well, he did his best to ignore the asshole.

Drew clenched his jaw as he watched the Mike throw John across the ring. He growled quietly. He wanted to make Mike pay, but he made a promise to John. He wouldn't hurt John by breaking his trust, even if it meant he was getting hurt. But rest assured, he wouldn't, and couldn't sit back and watch John get hurt for long.

Cody clenched his jaw and moved forward, but Drew stopped him.

"Don't go over there. Trust me…" The Scotsman warned.

Cody huffed, but let it go. He knew that Drew would take care of it later.

John rolled out of the ring his heart racing as he tried to catch his breath.

"Mike… I need… to take… a break, please…" John said in between pants.

Mike pursed his lips and groaned, irritated. "Whatever. Twenty minutes." He snapped and exited the ring, storming off from the empty arena to the backstage.

When Mike disappeared, Cody nudged Drew forward.

'Go.' The younger man mouthed.

No need to tell him twice, Drew made his way to the smaller brunette, where John sat on the edge of the vacant ring, leaning back on the second rope.

"Hey." the Scotsman called out. John looked up and smiled sadly.

"Hi." He greeted shyly and ran a hand through his sweat-laced hair.

Drew stepped closer and hopped up, sitting on the edge of the ring next to John.

"He was a bit rough with you there." He said softly, his jaw discreetly clenched.

John hesitated before speaking. "It's a championship match… h-he just wanted it to be perfect."

Drew kept his anger in control not only for his sake, but for John's as well.

"That is no reason to be unnecessarily rough with you." The Scotsman almost growled.

John shook his head. "No-no, it was my fault. I can't seem to do anything right…"

Drew frowned. "That's a lie." He said firmly.

John shook his head again and focused on his lap as he spoke. "Please, whether its in my career or in my personal life, I only seem to…fail."

Drew's frown deepened. "Do you honestly believe that?

John bit his lip. "Did, um... did Cody, Randy, Cena and Ted see what happened?" He asked, changing the subject.

Drew sighed and let the subject go. "Yeah, they saw."

"Can you… can you not say anything to them…please?" John asked quietly.

"John, they saw what happened to you! How Mike was so violent with you in this ring. What am I supposed to tell them?" Drew asked.

John shrugged and bit his lip. "I… I'm not sure. But you promised… you promised…" John said, looking up at the Scotsman, his eyes silently begging.

At that look, Drew couldn't deny this man a thing. "I did promise, and I will not break that promise. But John… you can't keep this up."

John sighed tiredly and simply stared at the floor.

"I guess," John whispered. "It's just easier to take it, than fight it."

And with that, John left the arena.

Later that night, John made his way through the arena for Monday Night Raw. To say he was nervous would be the understatement of the year. He was petrified at the thought of going up against Mike in the ring to tonight.

He entered the locker room and to get ready along with the other superstars. He really never liked getting undressed in front of the other superstars. Maybe it was paranoia, maybe it was self-consciousness, or maybe both. Privacy was one of the things that Mike and his father had deprived him of.

John sighed and started to get changed. When he finished, he saw Randy leaning against a wall, looking a him curiously.

"John, I saw what happened in the ring earlier." The Viper started.

John groaned. "Of course you did. Listen, he just wants the match to be perfect. It was no big deal, really." The shorter man insisted.

Randy raised a brow. "Really now? You sure acted like it was a big deal when you begged him for a break. I'm you're friend John, talk to me."

John smiled softly. "Ran, everything's okay. There's nothing to talk about. Now, go find Cena, I heard he's looking for you." He said, changing the topic, something he was getting used to.

Randy sighed, and let it go. "Alright man. Whatever you say. Good luck tonight."

John watched Randy leave the locker room. He hated when Mike did these types of things when people were around, because then it raised questions. And John was running out of excuses. And all the lying was getting very exhausting.

John walked out of the locker room and walked into catering, which was pretty deserted. He plopped down in a chair and rubbed his temples. He honestly didn't want to wrestle tonight. But there wasn't a choice there.

His thoughts wandered to Drew. The man who seemed to believe John was worth a lot more than he thought he was. He didn't see what Drew saw, never have, and probably never would.

He thought of his night with the Scotsman. He had so much patience with John, never pushed him, didn't take advantage of him when they had to share a bed. Drew had acted like… a friend. A friend he could trust. Trust was a new concept he wasn't used to, and honestly, it scared him.

His thoughts were interrupted when someone clamped their hands on John's shoulders. He jumped and turned to see Mike smirking down at him.

"Hello baby." The blond sneered.

John shuddered at his boyfriend's voice. He kept silent, just like he should.

"Tonight, during our match, there's something want you to do. I wanna end our match… differently." He started.

John frowned. If they changed the match sequence, they could get in serious trouble, or get seriously injured. He looked up at Mike in confusion as the blond walked around to stand in front of him.

"I'm changing the end of the match. This is how you're going to end it. Basically, you're going to do starship pain on the outside of the turnbuckle into a table. I'll roll out of the way, you go through the table, and I'll give you the Skull Crushing Finale. Understood?" Mike finished.

John bit his lip and summoned enough courage to talk back. "B-But… I d-didn't practice that. I could get in major trouble, or I could injure myself. Why didn't you tell me when we were training? I-I… I don't know… if I can… do that. "John stuttered nervously.

Mike leaned clenched his jaw and leaned down, moving his face real close to John's. He smirked. "You'll do just fine. You are going to do that ending, are we clear?" He growled.

John nodded his head quickly. "Y-Yes sir."

Mike smiled. "Good boy."

He stood upright, and glanced around to make sure no one was watching. When he saw nobody around, he lifted his hand and backhanded John across the mouth.

"But don't you ever talk back to me again!" He barked.

John cradled his jaw and nodded shakily. "I-I'm sorry s-sir."

Mike smirked. "As you should be. See you out there tonight, baby."

John felt his heart race inside his chest. He didn't know if he could do what Mike was asking him to do. So he had two choices:

Do what Mike told him to do, on live international television, and risk injury and/or his career.

Or, he could disobey Mike, keep his career, but receive a beating that could probably end his career anyway.

He decided to go with the first choice. He would rather have Vince chew his ass, and be on the sidelines without pay for a few months, than let Mike torture him all night long for disobeying.

John felt the nerves tear at him from the insides. He had never been so nervous. What if he botched the move? What if he injured himself? This was a huge risk. Maybe he could just skip the match all together. Come up with some excuse, anything! He just didn't want to go out there tonight.

He sank back in his chair, his heart racing faster, his nerves and fear getting the better of him. John took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. Now was not the time to have a panic attack.

Get yourself together dammit! He thought to himself.

He tried and tried to calm himself but the panic seemed to take over. Tears threatened to spill over and he prayed that no one was watching. Those thoughts were banished when someone brushed a strand of hair out of his face.

"Ssh…" Cooed a familiar, accented whisper.

John's heart responded to soft voice and calmed itself down, as well as the rest of the panic that had raced through his body. The hand continued to stroke John's hair until he was somewhat under control.

John wiped his eyes and looked up into the blue eyes of Drew.

"H-Hey. What are you doing here?" John asked quietly, trying to collect himself.

"Wanted to make sure you were okay before your match… and it seems to me you're not. Care to tell me what happened?" Drew questioned softly, pulling up a chair and sitting next to John.

The smaller brunette sighed before speaking. "Well, I… um… Mike, he uh, he asked me to add something to our match near the end… and I said I didn't know i-if I could do that. And he um… he got pissed."

That was when Drew could see the big red hand print on the side of John's face. His temper boiled in the pit of his stomach. But for the sake of John he kept his fury under control; now was not the time to scare John with his anger.

"Go maslach, maith do jerk rud ar bith as. Leomh Conas sé lámh a leagan ar rud éigin mar sin álainn, a pollasal." the Scot muttered quietly to himself.

John wanted to ask Drew to translate, but he had a feeling he didn't really want to know.

"What did 'e ask ye to do?" Drew asked evenly, but the thickening of his accent was a sign that he was angry,

"H-He asked me to do Starship Pain on the outside of the turnbuckle, into a table. I told him I didn't practice that and I could get hurt or in trouble but I… I don't have much of a choice." John said, staring at his lap.

Drew didn't know what to say, he didn't know how to answer. Partly from anger and partly from just not knowing what to do. He guessed John would get in trouble with Mike if he didn't do the move, and he would get in trouble if with Vince if he did the move.

"I don't want to go out there. I'll lie, come up with an excuse, just… I can't do this match." John whimpered.

Drew sighed. "John…"

"I'm serious, Drew. I can't do it. Please don't make me go out there…" John whispered, the damn tears once again spilling over. He tried to stop them, but it was a vain effort.

Drew wrapped his arms around the small brunette as he tried to think of something to make this match easier for John. But he couldn't think of anything.

"Please don't make me go out there… tell them I was attacked, tell them I'm sick just please… d-don't make me g-go out there…" John repeated. Drew gave the high flyer a gentle squeeze.

"You know if I had that kind of power, you wouldn't even be in this match. But I can't… I can't do that. I'm so sorry." Drew whispered, feeling guilt form in his chest as he saw the sorrow spread through John's expression.

"Listen, you'll get through this match. Forget about trying to please the crowd, just… try not to get hurt. I'll be here when you get back." Drew said sincerely.

John smiled softly up at the Scotsman. "Thanks for uh… calming me down. Sor-"

"Don't apologize." Drew cut him off.

John blushed and simply agreed. "'Kay."

A backstage worker came rushing into the catering area, and turned to the two men. "Hennigan, you're up next." The worker said before leaving the two men alone.

John sighed and stood up from his chair. He gave one last nervous look at the Scotsman before going to fetch his ring coat and go out face his abusive lover in the ring.

"John?" Drew called out.

The smaller brunette turned around.

"Be safe." Drew knew the chances of John making it out of that match unharmed were beyond and pretty much non-existent, but he decided to just humor himself and John.

A deeper blush crept over John's face and he nodded, going along with it.

"'Kay…"

Pain spread through John's body like flames tip-toing on gasoline.

The loud chants of the crowd filled his ears, telling him to get up. But they didn't know. This was real pain. This was no longer for entertainment, no longer about pleasing the crowd.

On John's part, this turned into a match for survival.

On Mike's part, it was a match to hurt John.

John put up his façade for the crowd, and did his best to do his please and entertain them. But the hits and the punches had turned real. The audience in the arena and around the world thought it was all fake, like always.

But John's screams of pain were a brutal reality, and no one knew it… except Drew.

Drew watched backstage on the monitor.

He winced as he watched John fall on the hard floor. He knew… he knew those falls were real. He knew the punches were real. And he knew John's yelps of pain were real. On some moves, he looked away from John's pain. And on some moves, a small smile would grace Drew's face as the high-flyer fought back.

He chewed on his nails anxiously as the match continued.

"C'mon, love…" Drew whispered to himself.

John groaned and sat up from the floor, holding his ribs. He looked at the table, perfectly positioned next to the turnbuckle.

The grand finale.

The crowd's screams got louder, chanting him on. If only they knew what happened behind the scenes… John lifted himself to his feet, a motion that took more effort than it should. He looked from the table and back to Mike.

Just get it over with! John mentally screamed at himself.

He ignored the pain in his hip and his rubs and lifted Mike onto the table. He climbed onto the edge of the ring and positioned himself for the grand finale. He didn't know if he'd hit the move right or not. He didn't know if he'd get injured or not. He wished to death Mike told him about this earlier. He was acting on his best guess on were to hit the move.

He closed his eyes, and sucked in a deep breath. He jumped up, lifted his legs, and hit the move. Mike rolled out of the way just in time for John to crash right through the table. John's eyes clenched shut as immense pain shot through his hips and his skull.

His vision doubled, and the whole arena started to spin. He groaned as Mike lifted him up. He half-heartedly struggled, which was more of an instinct as he was completely out of it. His head pounded in his skull, and he knew the pain was about to get a lot more intense.

Mike positioned John for the 'Skull Crushing Finale'. He swiped his foot back and crushed John's skull against the hard floor. John felt tears cloud his vision, but the camera never caught them, and they never fell. He wasn't crying, for the move had knocked the tears right out of him.

He laid there, his eyes clenched shut as his head pounded harder and harder. The ref counted to 3, and John was relieved that the goddamn match was finally over.

Drew looked away when he saw and heard John's skull bang against the floor twice. He cringed at the sound it made. He knew John was hurt, and could possibly have a concussion. God, how he wanted ring that fucker Mizanin's neck. There were many illegal things he wanted to do to Mike. But the bastard wasn't worth going jail… but he would go to jail in a heartbeat if it meant keeping John safe.

He knew his feelings for John were balancing on an extremely thin line between good friend and… more than a friend. But a lover was not what John needed right now. Drew growled under his breath as he watched the referees help John to the back.

When they were backstage, Drew kept his distance when they brought him into the trainers' office. He watched Mike speak to Alex quietly, laughing and giggling, probably about what Mike had done to John. Drew clenched his fists.

He wanted nothing more than to go over there and wipe that smirk off Mizanin's face. He waited for Mike and Alex to walk away so they wouldn't see the Scotsman go into the trainers' office. Drew walked into the office and saw John lying on the table, just finishing getting his ribs and hips taped. The smaller brunette held an ice pack to his head and wore a painful expression while doing so.

When the trainer was done, Drew stepped toward John. The Scotsman stood over the other brunette, and gently stroked John's dark, silky locks. John opened his eyes and looked up into blue irises.

"H-Hey." John whispered, his head still pounding in his skull.

Dew smiled softly. "Hey. So, what happened out there?" He asked, speaking quietly since he knew John must have a beyond painful headache.

John sighed. "I injured my right hip and left knee, and cracked 3 ribs. They said I don't have a concussion but they said to stay awake for a while just to be sure."

Drew nodded and clenched his jaw. "Did, uh, did Vince call you yet?"

John closed his eyes. "Not yet, but he will."

Drew continued to stroke John's hair. "This can't go on." He whispered.

The LA native opened his eyes. "You promised." He stated.

"I did. I promised I would keep quit. But he almost gave you a concussion, John. That's going way too far, and I can't watch you get hurt anymore. I know you're not healthy because of Mike. I know you're probably 20 pounds underweight because of him and the stress he puts on you. And I know… that you've been scarred in every way, shape and form because of that asshole." Drew growled quietly.

John looked away, feeling the tears threatening to spill over. "Y-You have no idea what's like… to live every day of you're life in fear, and than have those fears come true. I can't leave him, because if I do… he'll just come back. I've tried to leave before, and you know what he did? He tied me to the bed and had two strangers pay him to do whatever they wanted with me all night long." His tears raced down his cheeks as he spoke.

"So you see?" John continued. "You have no idea. It's easier to just take it, than to fight it and get hurt ten times worse than what I can really take."

Drew sighed and shook his head. "You keep saying that I don't understand. But you have no idea… no idea at all…"

Ok, so I got a couple... well I consider them rude, reviews. I appreciate you guys pushing me to update, but when I get spammed with like 5 anonymous reviews, telling me that i should leave an AN if i'm not gonna update, or telling me that they're getting frustrated because I haven't updated, i get get a little pissed off. Obviously, that person has no idea that this isn't the only story I'm working on, plus I'm a beta to 2 other authors. So guys, please cut me some slack? I would never give up on this story, and just because I may not update for a while, doesn't mean I've given up. So lets all relax (though this story isn't relaxing at all!), i really don't wanna have to disable anonymous reviewing.

Ok, now that I got that outta my system, I can move on. I did use some Scottish language, well i couldn't find Scottish so I used Irish gealic, in this chapter. the translation for:

"Go maslach, maith do jerk rud ar bith as. Leomh Conas sé lámh a leagan ar rud éigin mar sin álainn, a pollasal."

translates to:

"That disgusting, good for nothing asshole. How dare he touch something so beautiful."

And, as always, review!