Superman
The Shield was ready. The recent victory over Evolution was fresh in their minds and, having proven themselves superior as a unit, they were eager to prove themselves individually superior. The only question was, who would be up first?
Carly stood by as the boys limbered up, wondering what each one was thinking about. This was just another facet of the Shield's unique dynamic. They typically fought together. What they accomplished, they did as a team and for the team. But they were still three incredibly strong personalities, not to mention greatly talented individuals. With anyone else, it wouldn't have worked. Somebody would have gotten jealous and sabotaged the others. That's what happened to Evolution, after all. Not so with the Shield. They managed to balance it somehow. Carly still wasn't sure how they did it.
"Alright," Seth said, "We're gonna start off tonight by giving Evolution a taste of their own medicine."
"Meaning we're gonna grab a few microphones and let Dean rub their noses in it," said Roman, chuckling a little.
"Exactly," said Seth, "Unless the man himself objects."
"You won't hear any objections from me," said Dean, "I welcome any opportunity to make my voice heard in this company – don't give me that look, Carly – especially if the end result is I get first crack at the suits."
"I think I'll do a little reconnaissance, see if I can give you any advance warning of what they're planning," said Carly.
"Sounds good," Seth nodded.
"Be careful, though," said Roman.
"Aren't I always?" said Carly.
"No, actually. You never are," Roman said with a wry smile, "That's why I worry."
Suddenly reminded of lyrics, Carly started to sing, "I'm alright, don't nobody worry 'bout me. Why you gotta give me a fight? Can't you just let it be." She broke off and grimaced, "Whatever's the matter with Dean, it must be contagious. That was weird. I'm out."
"Next time I ask you to come to karaoke night with us, I'm not taking no for an answer!" Dean called after her.
"That's what you think," Carly called back, sticking her tongue out at him, "I'll come find you guys after you're finished out there."
The Shield's high-spirits must have been catching. Carly grinned to herself as she set off for Triple H's office. The Authority didn't exactly take people into their confidence about their plans, so the best way to find anything out was good old-fashioned eavesdropping.
Carly approached the hallway cautiously. She knew that Evolution had already arrived, and she was fairly certain they had gone straight into the office. There was no one around. She listened a moment longer for any sound of approaching footsteps. Hearing none, she went silently to the closed office door.
Sure enough, she could hear all three of them in there. Carly leaned carefully against the doorframe to listen. They were too far from the door for her to catch much more than one word in three, but it didn't sound like they were saying anything of importance yet. Still, it had surprised Carly how effective a strategy listening at keyholes was. She'd gotten some of her best information this way. She wished they would say something now, though. She couldn't afford to linger out there too –
Footsteps in the hall behind her. Carly spun around, hoping beyond all hope that it was someone she was on good terms with. No such luck.
Brad Maddox stopped in his tracks when he saw her. He titled his head quizzically, like the dumb, pretty little puppy he was. He opened his mouth to speak. Carly shook her head and frantically motioned for him to keep quiet.
"Carly, what are you doing here?" he asked, far more loudly than was necessary.
Carly glared exasperatedly at him. Brad wasn't a bad guy, but he was first and foremost a cowardly suck-up. There was no time and no place to run. The office door burst open.
"What's going on out here?" said Triple H.
"I got turned around looking for a vending machine," said Carly, inventing a lie at random.
"She was standing outside your office door," Brad contradicted, "It looked like she was eavesdropping."
"Is that so?" Triple H said, eying Carly calculatingly.
Carly sighed. This was not her day.
"You really are a weasel, aren't you, Brad?" she said.
"Now, you shouldn't call him names. Brad Maddox is a very intelligent, capable young man, and one of our most loyal employees," said Triple H. Out of the corner of her eye, Carly could see Brad preening a little from the false compliments. "You, on the other hand, enjoy borrowing trouble. Why don't you step into my office, Carly."
"If it's all the same to you, I'd rather not," Carly said lightly.
"I'm sorry, did that sound like a request?" Triple H lowered his voice menacingly, "Office. Now."
From bad to worse. With a parting glare at Brad, Carly stepped through the door. Orton and Batista stood inside. They'd been intently watching the entire exchange. Carly stood up a little straighter, rearranging her expression into one of nonchalance.
"Excuse me, sir," said Brad as Triple H started to close the door, "I wanted to ask-"
"Later, Brad. Later," Triple H said with a mollifying smile, "I have to handle this situation first."
"Right, of course," Brad held up his hands apologetically, "I'll come back later."
"You do that," Triple H nodded, and shut the door.
Triple H turned back to face Carly, exchanging glances with Orton and Batista. They were all silent. Carly tried to stand her ground, to not look nervous. But the truth was that these three men were very intimidating to face alone, and she was surrounded by them. She watched Triple H with what she hoped was an expression of blank indifference, assuming her nervously racing heartbeat didn't belie it.
"Now," said Triple H, stepping closer so he towered over her, "Would you care to explain exactly what you were doing outside my door?"
He didn't look angry. He didn't even look annoyed, like he usually did whenever he saw Carly. He was actually smiling, and Carly realized that was because he knew he had her cornered.
"I was concerned there might have been a fire or something," she said evenly, "It seemed like there was a lot of hot air in this room."
"Cute. Alright, if you don't want to talk, let me make an educated guess" Triple H circled Carly slowly as he spoke, "The Shield is up to something, as usual, and they want to know what we're up to, so their little "architect" can make his plans. So they sent you to spy on us. How am I doing so far?"
Unable to think of any smart remarks, Carly held his gaze levelly. Triple H's humorless smile widened.
"Of course they did," he said, "Amateur tactics from a bunch of amateurs."
"And what would you call the men who get beaten by a bunch of amateurs?" said Carly with a faint smirk, "Oh, that's right: has-beens."
"Once again, you fail to realize the precarious position you're in, Carly," said Triple H, "But then again, so does the Shield."
"That's nice," Carly said disinterestedly, "If you're through, sir, may I go now?"
"No," said Triple H, shaking his head slowly, "No, I don't think so. The Shield has been using you as the ace up their sleeves. I think it's about time they learned that I hold all the cards. Tonight, you're going to stay right here where we can keep an eye on you."
"Why don't you have a seat and make yourself comfortable?" said Randy Orton. He grinned that unsettling grin of his and motioned to a chair.
"No, thank you. I'd rather stand," said Carly, raising her chin haughtily.
"The man offered you a seat," said Triple H, "Don't be rude, Carly. After all, you are our guest."
He laid a hand on Carly's shoulder and gestured to the chair. They did say that discretion was the better part of valor, and if she was going to pick her battles, "to sit or not to sit" didn't rank very high. Carly shrugged off Triple H's hand and sat down, trying to affect the same relaxed-yet-dignified posture she had the night of Evolution's return.
"Dave," said Triple H, "Would you mind seeing if Brad's still hanging around in the hallway? If he is, tell him to send over a camera. I get the feeling the Shield is going to make a statement, and it'd be impolite not to respond."
Batista complied, leaving Carly with Triple H and Randy Orton. They seemed content to ignore her, for the most part, but they were careful to keep their conversation from touching on the situation with the Shield.
Carly was annoyed with Brad Maddox for being so useless, angry with herself for being careless enough to get caught, and worried about what Triple H was planning. She was certain he had a plan, even though he said nothing to Orton or Batista about it. Strangely enough, they didn't even ask. This wasn't a team. This was a dictatorship.
About half an hour later, the camera crew was all set up in Triple H's office. Still not a word about what Evolution was going to do. Perhaps that was because Triple H didn't want Carly spilling it to the Shield while he addressed them.
"Get up," Triple H ordered.
Carly chose to stand on her own, thinking that would be more dignified than refusing and having Randy Orton twist her arm again. Triple H positioned himself and Batista in front of the camera, having Orton and Carly just out of view. On the monitor, Carly could see the Shield entering the ring. She was torn between apprehension and frustration. Here she was, completely unable to help, and the Shield was probably in danger because she had messed up. Once the crowd's cheering had died down some, Dean began to speak.
"After ten years," he said, "Evolution is back. After ten years, they show up thinking they still run this place. Well, a lot can change in ten years. We run this yard now. The Shield runs this yard, and we aren't giving it up without a fight. As for Evolution, well, they aren't the men they were ten years ago. We proved that last week when we showed them that, without their little army of toy soldiers backing them up, they can't even touch us."
Triple H signaled to the camera man.
"Is that what you think?" he said.
Carly watched the Shield turn to look up at the TitanTron.
"I've got to hand it to you boys," Triple H said affably, "You are persistent. You keep on thinking that you're the big heroes around here, that you're gonna take on the world and win. Good for you. But I have to say, as heroes? You're doing a pretty lackluster job. Oh, I'm sorry, maybe you didn't notice. Your princess is in another castle."
He gestured to Randy Orton, who pushed Carly forward so she was standing beside Triple H, each of them holding one of her shoulders in a vice-like grip. The Shield was startled, glancing at each other in consternation.
"Sending Carly over here to spy on us?" said Triple H, "Not very heroic. I thought you three had some code of honor or something. Carly, don't you have anything to say for yourself?"
Carly was only able to shake her head miserably and say, "I'm sorry, guys."
"Now, you listen to me-" Seth began heatedly.
"Look, don't go getting all upset," Triple H interrupted, "I'm going to give you the chance to fight for the return of your little princess. Tonight, a member of the Shield will take on a member of Evolution in a one-on-one match, and afterwards I'll let you retrieve Miss Carly here. And, since I'm in a generous mood, I'm going to let you decide amongst yourselves which one of you will face which one of us."
Roman grabbed the microphone from Seth and stepped forward before the other two could say a word.
"Nothing you said changes the fact that you're still a bunch of second-rate supervillains who think your money and your big talk'll protect you," said Roman, "But if it's a hero you want, Batista's gonna find out that they don't call it a Superman punch for nothing, when he faces me tonight. And Carly? Don't worry, girl. You know I'll come for you. Believe that!"
Roman tossed the mic over his shoulder, glaring up at the screen with a fierce intensity in his eyes while Dean and Seth patted him on the back encouragingly. Triple H cast an inquiring glance in Batista's direction.
"Very touching," Batista said evenly, "I look forward to it, Roman."
The Shield's theme began to play, and the camera was turned off. Randy turned to smile and nod approvingly at Batista. Carly was still a little wary. This sounded far too cut-and-dried for Triple H. She sat back down while Evolution continued talking about nothing of relevance and tried to figure out where the catch was.
"Well, we'd better get down to the locker room," said Triple H, as the main event timeslot drew near, "But first, we have to put Carly someplace for safekeeping."
With Orton's hands firmly gripping onto her shoulders once again, Carly was brought out into the hallway. Triple H stopped in front of a nondescript door. Pulling out a ring of keys, he unlocked the door and opened it to reveal a janitor's closet.
"You can't be serious," Carly said flatly.
"I can't have you causing trouble," said Triple H, "Somebody will come let you out after the match."
Randy Orton gave Carly a little shove into the room. She turned around to glare at Batista through narrowed eyes.
"He's going to tear you to pieces," she said.
"Oh, I highly doubt that," Triple H smirked, "What, you think I don't have a contingency plan?"
"You don't think I can handle Roman Reigns?" Batista asked, with a disgruntled look in Triple H's direction.
"Of course I know you can," Triple H said soothingly, "But the Shield will be banned from ringside, and in case something goes wrong, there's always the… what did Dean Ambrose call them? Toy soldiers? You see, Carly, I still call the shots around here. And I say that one way or another, Roman Reigns isn't coming through this match in one piece."
With that, Triple H slammed the door. Carly instantly pressed her ear against it and waited until the sound of their footsteps had faded. When she was certain they had gone, she stepped back.
This was bad. This was extraordinarily bad. Roman was in trouble, and it was her fault. No, focus. Think. Where did she stand? She tried the doorknob, even though she knew it was locked, and was proved correct. The door opened inward, so trying to bust it open wouldn't work.
Carly pounded her fists against the door. Maybe somebody would hear her, and hopefully it'd be someone who'd be on her side. She had to get out. She had to warn the Shield. If she wasn't such an albatross, none of them would be in this mess.
So this was the price of standing up to the Authority, was it? You put yourself in danger. You got your friends hurt. But you kept on fighting, consequences be damned. That's what the Shield did, so that's what she'd do, too.
Carly's arms started to ache. How long had she been pounding on that door? Ten minutes? Fifteen? The match would be starting soon. If Roman got the upper hand (and Carly had every confidence that he would) he was in for a terrible surprise. She had to get out. She had to do something.
"Hello?" Carly called, still doggedly banging on the door, "Is anybody out there? Please, somebody help me!"
"Hello?"
Carly gasped. Somebody had answered her. There was somebody outside.
"Who's there?" she called.
"It's Natalya," the voice answered, "Who's in there?"
Oh, thank God!
"Natalya, it's Carly," she shouted, "Roman's in trouble. You have to get me out of here!"
"Alright," Natalya called back, "Just hold on. I don't know if… Wait, I've got it!"
Of all the people that could have passed by, she was beyond relieved that it had been Natalya. She wasn't a pawn of the Authority. Carly heard the sound of Natalya fumbling with the doorknob, then a strange metallic clicking or scraping sound, and then the door swung open. There stood Natalya, holding up a bobby pin triumphantly. Carly rushed into the hallway and took her by the shoulders.
"Thank you," she said fervently, "Really, thank you. Do you know if the match started yet?"
"It will in a few minutes," said Natalya, "But what-"
"Kendo sticks," Carly interrupted, "Do you know where they store them?"
Natalya blinked, a little taken aback.
"Yeah, sure," she said, "Follow me."
They walked quickly, which Carly was glad of. She had a plan. It wasn't a very good plan, but it was the best she could do. She didn't know where Dean and Seth would be, and there was no time to find them.
"So, you wanna tell me what's going on? Since I'm already aiding and abetting here," said Natalya.
"Triple H is going to sabotage the match," Carly explained, "He said (and I quote) 'one way or another, Roman Reigns isn't getting through this match in one piece.' If it looks like Batista's losing, he'll send out the goon squad to beat Roman up."
"Ok, I'm following so far," said Natalya, "But where do the kendo sticks come in?"
"If worse comes to worse and Triple H calls in the reinforcements, I'll be waiting for them," said Carly, "I'm gonna stand at the bottom of the ramp, so they'll all be bottlenecked up, and hold them off as long as I can. That's the idea, at least. Don't know if it'll work."
"Here they are," said Natalya.
She flipped open a storage crate. Carly grabbed a kendo stick and turned back to her. She had to hurry. The match might've started already.
"Thank you again," she said, "You'd better get out of here. I don't think anybody saw you with me, so you should be safe. I won't tell anybody that you let me out."
"No way," Natalya shook her head, "I'm coming with you."
"You can't do that," Carly protested, "If the Authority sees you helping me, it'll only put a huge target on your back."
"What can they do to me?" Natalya said fiercely, "The women's division here is an afterthought. We don't even have a legitimate tag-team championship title. All we get is one division title for all of us to fight over, when they actually bother to schedule matches for us, that is. Hell, the only way some of us can get ahead is to let ourselves be used as arm-candy because we have no other options. That stupid butterfly belt, and the fact that we have to call ourselves divas, honestly. It's a joke. We have a roster full of talented women who are just sitting around and wasting their potential, and I'm sick of it. You're gonna strike back at the Authority? It'd be my pleasure to help you out."
There was an almost queenly defiance about Natalya as she spoke. Carly stared at her in unmasked admiration. Everything Stephanie pretended to be, Natalya was in earnest. Carly had been so busy working with the Shield against the Authority, she hadn't really considered what things were like for the women wrestlers. But Natalya was right.
"I'd be glad to have you," Carly smiled, "Here, you should take one of these, too."
She handed Natalya one of the kendo sticks. Natalya took it doubtfully.
"These things aren't exactly my style," she said.
"We're going to be outnumbered," Carly reasoned, "And besides, they're actually pretty fun."
"If you say so," said Natalya.
"Come on, we have to hurry," said Carly, and she and Natalya took off running for the ring.
xXx
"Both of the other members of Evolution, Triple H and Randy Orton, are sitting ringside as this match gets underway. Triple H has said that they're just here to watch."
"And what's wrong with that?"
"Well, the Shield has been banned from ringside. If Evolution can sit in to watch their teammate, why can't the Shield?"
"The Shield is unpredictable and dangerous, and I think it's a wise decision on the Authority's part to keep them out of the way."
"Of course you do. Oh! Big right hand from Batista. It's an interesting match-up we have here, Roman Reigns choosing to challenge Batista."
"Strength against strength. Roman Reigns wants to prove that he's the big dog? He's gonna go against the Animal, Batista."
"Hold on, who's that? Is that Carly Caden and Natalya? What are they doing?"
xXx
Carly saw Triple H jump to his feet as he saw her and Natalya running down the ramp. She waved cheerily at him as they stopped at the bottom. He was angrily shouting something at them, but she couldn't quite make out what. Carly smirked. Let him yell. She'd just thrown a wrench into his plans once again.
"Can he do anything to get rid of us?" Natalya asked.
"Short of physically dragging us out? No," said Carly, "He never bothered to ban me from ringside when he banned Dean and Seth."
Natalya nodded, and Carly turned her attention to the ring. Batista kept casting uneasy glances in their direction. Roman did not. He must have seen them run in but, in true Roman Reigns fashion, he was staying focused on the task at hand, and Carly was glad of it. She hadn't really stopped to consider that her presence might be a distraction to him. She'd only been thinking about how to stop Triple H's thugs from touching him.
The fight itself was pretty evenly matched. Roman, being the younger man, was a little quicker on his feet. The moves he could not power out of, he evaded entirely. But Batista had years of experience under his belt. Carly tapped her fingers anxiously against the kendo stick. She didn't want Roman to get beaten by the likes of Batista. On the other hand, if Roman started doing too well, there was a chance he'd get roughed up by about a dozen guys again. She wished she knew where Dean and Seth were. They wouldn't interfere on Roman's behalf unless the match was ruled a D.Q.
Carly gasped as Batista sidestepped a charging Roman, letting him run himself shoulder-first into the steel post, hard. She could hear him groaning in pain over the concerned reaction of the crowd. Roman pushed himself back into the ring, holding his left arm close to his body.
Running his own shoulder into Roman's, Batista knocked him to the ground. Batista then got behind Roman and hit him with a shoulder claw. Roman gritted his teeth to keep from crying out. Batista seized a handful of Roman's hair and threw him facedown, putting him in an armbar. Roman was only barely able to reach the rope and force a break. As the ref warned Batista off, Roman got to his feet, but the damage was done. Batista continued to capitalize, doing everything he could think of to further wrench that injured shoulder.
This was bad. Carly watched with growing concern. In her mind, Roman had always seemed indestructible, somehow. She knew he wasn't really. But seeing him hurt, perhaps badly, scared her. Carly glanced over at Triple H and Randy Orton, who were watching the proceedings with smug satisfaction. Creeps.
Suddenly, Roman hit Batista with a one-armed Samoan drop. As Batista tried to get to his feet, Roman ran to the corner and got onto the second rope. The instant Batista turned to face him, Roman leapt down and hit him with a clothesline. Carly couldn't believe it. He was actually gaining momentum, and he was doing it one-handed. Roman Reigns was superhuman after all. He held his fist in the air, signaling for a Superman punch. The audience nearly exploded. And then, Triple H stood up.
He gestured towards the stage. This was it. Carly and Natalya looked at each other in alarm and turned around just in time to see the goon squad rounding the curtain. Carly readied the kendo stick.
"Here we go," she said.
xXx
"It looks like trouble for Roman Reigns. Triple H just signaled for back-up, and here they come. But Carly and Natalya are ready for them!"
"I don't know how they knew, but they must've known."
"Those two women appear to be holding back, it must be about a dozen men! Triple H is livid. It looks like he and Randy Orton are going to take matters into their own hands. Now all three members of Evolution are going after Roman Reigns, focusing their attacks on that injured shoulder."
xXx
Carly heard the bell ring and knew without turning to look that it was on account of Triple H and Randy Orton getting involved. She concentrated on the task at hand and hoped that Dean and Seth weren't far off. She swung away at anyone who got close to the end of the ramp. They yelped, fell back, tried to come at her again. They seemed torn between their obligation to follow orders, their desire to attack Roman Reigns, and the instinct to avoid getting whacked in the face with a kendo stick.
"You're right," Natalya called, "These things are fun. But I'm a Hart, you know. I prefer to talk with my fists."
With that, she tossed aside the busted kendo stick and started fending the men off by hand. Carly watched out of the corner of her eye, awestruck. Natalya was a fantastic fighter. She'd never known. She couldn't really remember the last time she'd seen Natalya in a match.
Suddenly, a roar of excitement swept through the crowd and once again, Carly knew without looking what it meant.
xXx
"Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins! They just flew out of nowhere, coming to the aid of Roman Reigns!"
xXx
The goon squad backed off. They looked at each other hesitantly, shaking their heads, and turned and walked away. Thank God for human cowardice!
Carly looked back to the ring to see Dean on the floor brawling with Triple H, driving him around towards the ramp. Seth sprang onto the ropes and leapt forward, his knee colliding with Randy Orton's head. Batista and Roman got to their feet. Once again, Roman was quicker. Batista turned just in time to receive a Superman punch. Carly found herself cheering along with the crowd, and saw that Natalya was doing the same.
Now Triple H was pulling Orton from the ring as Dean jumped into it. He and Seth nodded at each other and executed a perfect tandem suicide dive, all four men landing sprawled out at Carly and Natalya's feet. Dean and Seth rebounded almost instantly, running back to Roman.
Back in the ring, Roman threw back his head and roared. He signaled to Dean and Seth to pick Batista up. They hesitated, Seth saying something that sounded like a question and indicating Roman's shoulder. Roman shook his head, emphatically ordering them to get Batista to his feet. Dean and Seth complied, and together the three of them sent Batista crashing into the mat with a triple-powerbomb.
Carly and Natalya high-fived, and Carly pulled her into an enthusiastic hug. Without Natalya's help, this all could've been just a repeat of Evolution's first beat-down of the Shield. Triple H and Orton had pulled Batista from the ring and were now staggering back up the ramp with the help of some of the officials. Triple H glared at Carly and Natalya, but said nothing. Carly just smiled. She turned to Natalya.
"Thank you," she said gratefully, "You deserve so much better. And if I ran the zoo, I promise you that you'd get it."
"I'll be sure to remember that," Natalya laughed.
She shook Carly's hand and headed up the ramp as the Shield approached. Dean supported a rather badly beaten but still smiling Roman Reigns.
"Come on, uce. We gotta get you looked at," Dean was saying.
"Nice work in there. Great work, Roman," Seth said, "And Carly, using the ramp as a bottleneck? Good thinking. I imagine you've got quite a story for us."
He grinned and threw an arm around Carly's shoulders, pulling her along with them.
xXx
It was late in the evening when Carly, Seth, and Dean finally got Roman and his sprained shoulder back to the hotel room. In spite of Roman's protests, they hadn't allowed him to do anything for himself. Not carrying his bags, not opening doors, and especially not driving. Any insistence of being fine on his part was met with an "I know you are, but… just let me do that, alright?" They were all just thankful the damage hadn't been worse.
Roman watched patiently as Dean rearranged the pillows on one of the hotel beds.
"You don't have to do that, you know," was his feeble protestation.
"Yeah, I do," said Dean, "You're hurt. I gotta be responsible and take care of you, so you can get back to one-hundred percent as fast as possible. And that means you gotta rest up."
Roman sighed, but didn't put up any resistance when Dean carefully guided him over and sat him down on the bed.
"You and Seth get like this every time, and it's never necessary," said Roman.
"Less arguing, more resting," said Dean, "Doctor's orders."
Dean planted one hand on Roman's chest and gently pushed him back so he was laying propped up on the pillows.
"Yeah, well, your bedside manner needs work," said Roman.
"Shut up, Roman," Dean said, not unkindly.
Roman smiled wryly, settling himself onto the pillows, and let Dean pull the covers over him. Carly watched them in amusement. It was funny to see big, stoic Roman Reigns submit to being fussed over by odd, erratic Dean Ambrose. More than that, though, the role-reversal between these two was entertaining, bordering on endearing. Typically, it was Roman being den-mother to Dean and Seth.
Speak of the devil, Seth let himself back into the room, carrying a bottle of Coca-Cola and a full ice-bucket. He passed the latter off to Carly.
"If you don't mind taking care of the patient, Carly?" said Seth.
"I'm on it," she said.
She tied off the plastic bag full of ice and wrapped it in a hand towel while Seth walked over to Roman.
"Not you too, Seth," Roman groaned.
"Aw, come on. You can't be annoyed with me," Seth cajoled, "I brought you a Coke."
He twisted off the cap and passed it to Roman. Coke was Roman's favorite, and Carly could tell that he didn't really mind all the attention. She sat down on the bed beside him and settled the makeshift ice-pack onto his injured shoulder.
"Thanks, Carly," said Roman.
"Hey, what?" said Dean, wrinkling his nose in mock indignation, "You back-sass at us but you're nice to her?"
"Eh, I like her better than you," Roman said teasingly.
"Some brother you are," Seth sniffed, feigning offense, as he sat down next to Dean on the other bed.
"Y'know, Roman," said Dean, changing the subject, "In the match-"
And he and Seth launched into a critique of Roman's performance that night, complimenting him on certain moves and giving him pointers about others. Carly was almost surprised that Roman was listening intently to everything they said. But, on second thought, maybe it wasn't that surprising. Roman had been the rookie when the Shield started out. Dean and Seth, having more experience, must have been teaching him the ropes in their early days. And maybe that's why they were so concerned about him. To them, Roman would always be their rookie little brother that they wanted to protect. It was actually really sweet, now that Carly thought about it.
As she looked down at the injured Roman, regret began to claw at Carly. She leaned down and kissed him on the cheek.
"What was that for?" he asked, smiling confusedly at her.
"Thank you for coming to my rescue," said Carly.
"Look at you. You didn't need my help," he said modestly, "I should be thanking you for rescuing me."
"But you wouldn't have gotten hurt if I hadn't been dumb enough to let that weasel sneak up on me," said Carly, "I'm sorry, Roman. Really, I am."
"Hey, it's not your fault," said Roman, laying his hand on top of Carly's, "And you're my little sister, right? If you need me, I'm there, just like I am for my brothers here."
"Believe that?" said Carly.
"Now you're catching on," Roman grinned.
"Hey Seth, how sure are we that he isn't actually Superman?" Dean asked.
"Who can say?" Seth shrugged.
(Note: Thank you to all you lovely people who gave feedback!)