Same Old Song
"Not wasting any time, are they?" Carly said flatly.
They'd just gotten word on the lineup for tonight's Smackdown. Somehow, the Shield was always only informed at the last possible moment. The matches would be Dean Ambrose vs. Cesaro, Roman Reigns vs. Mark Henry, and Seth Rollins vs. Batista. One of these things was not like the others.
"How come they put me and Roman against, I dunno, arbitraries," said Dean, "But Seth is up against Batista?"
"I wouldn't exactly call Mark Henry arbitrary," Roman raised an eyebrow.
"You know what I mean," said Dean, "They've got nothing to do with Evolution. Batista, on the other hand."
Dean and Roman looked expectantly at Seth, who simply shrugged and threw up his hands.
"I don't know what to tell you," he said, "Triple H is playing games. Surprise, surprise. They day I get ahead of him is the day we shut down the Authority for good. Today, on the other hand, is just gonna suck for us."
"One thing to be optimistic about," said Carly, "They're not Evolution, so they probably won't cheat."
"Well, thank God for small mercies," Dean retorted sarcastically.
Dean and Cesaro had what the commentators would refer to as a very physical match. In layman's terms, that meant that both of them beat the living hell out of each other, and Dean only lost by a hair. He stumbled backstage, sore and dizzy from being spun around by his ankles. Seth and Roman helped him along to where the Shield had set up camp backstage. Carly, inspired by Natalya's skill in lock-picking, had taught herself the trade, and thereby secured them a dressing room complete with couches instead of their usual dark hallways. She figured it was the least she could do to help keep them comfortable between matches, since the boys were still trying to bounce back from the thrashing they'd taken on Monday.
Dean groaned pathetically and threw himself down on the couch beside Carly. He swung his feet up onto the cushion and slumped sideways, ending up sprawled across her lap. Carly threw up her hands and looked down at him in exasperation, even though she knew he couldn't see it. He was a panting, sweaty, heat-radiating mess.
"Wake up me when the room stops spinning, okay?" he said.
"Do I look like a pillow to you?" she asked.
Dean just mumbled something Carly couldn't quite make out and nestled himself more comfortably against her. More comfortably for him, at least. What a baby.
"Seth, Roman, little help?" she said, looking imploringly at them.
"Sorry, Carly," Seth grinned, "Better you than me."
"I have a match coming up," said Roman, "Don't worry about him. If he's feeling well enough to be melodramatic, he'll be fine soon."
"Oh, alright," said Carly, giving an exaggerated sigh.
As usual, she didn't actually mind Dean's total disregard for personal space that much. She'd long since grown accustomed to it. But he was really warm right now, and kinda heavy. Still, he had just been in a pretty rough match, so Carly supposed she'd tolerate the situation. For now. She rubbed his back soothingly.
"You're worse than a cat, Dean," she said.
In true Dean Ambrose fashion, he stretched slightly and began making purring noises. Seth and Roman shot each other a long-suffering glance and shook their heads, while Carly bit her lip to keep from laughing.
"Why do I put up with you?" she said under her breath.
"'Cause you like me," came Dean's muffled reply.
"No, that can't be it," Carly said thoughtfully, shaking her head.
The honest truth of the matter was Carly was glad that everybody was still in pretty good spirits for the moment. She knew that she worried about things more than the Shield did, except perhaps for Seth. But everybody seemed to be trying to make the best of a rough night.
Seth and Roman grew a little more serious as Roman's match drew closer, discussing strategies to use against the behemoth that was Mark Henry. Roman and Seth were the ones Carly was most worried about tonight. Dean and Cesaro had been pretty evenly matched, and though it'd been a hard fight, Dean hadn't lost badly. Mark Henry, on the other hand, would be a challenge for the strength of Roman Reigns even on a good day. And today Roman was far from being at the top of his game. He'd taken the worst of it on Monday. Carly's blood still boiled at the thought of it. Whatever plan Seth had in the works, she hoped he'd get it finalized so they could put it into motion, and soon.
With a few final pointers from Seth and a wish of luck from Carly, Roman was off. Carly took a deep breath. There wasn't anything she could do about this match. It was fair, more or less. She shouldn't worry about it. She shouldn't worry about Roman. Oh, what was the use. She was extremely worried about Roman.
Dean lifted his head and looked over at Seth.
"Hey, do you think Mark Henry remembers all the times we ganged up on him?" he asked.
"All the times you what?" said Carly.
"We weren't always the good guys, Carly," Seth said ruefully.
"Oh. Right," said Carly. She hadn't know them then, so it was easy for her to forget, "Well, neither was I."
"True," said Seth, smiling faintly, "But you never handed out three-on-one beatdowns. Yeah, Dean, I'm pretty sure he remembers."
Dean swore quietly and let his head drop back onto Carly's lap. Oh boy. This wasn't going to be pretty.
Carly and the rest of the Shield watched the monitor in somewhat anxious silence. Roman was fighting valiantly, but he was clearly struggling. He clutched his ribs and leaned against the ropes, nearly doubling over in pain. Mark Henry noticed this and capitalized on it. Carly despised the practice of targeting an opponent's injury. On top of that, Mark Henry's trash-talking was getting to her. She wanted to find some excuse to hit him across the mouth.
He had Roman wrapped around the ring post and was putting as much pressure as possible on his ribs. Dean, who had finally sat up when the match started, was wringing his hands in agitation. Even Seth looked tense. Roman was coughing now, hardly able to stand, hardly able to keep the agony from registering on his face.
Carly felt sick. Seeing the unstoppable Roman Reigns hurt was maddeningly distressing. She'd had no opinion on Mark Henry before. Now she hated the infernal creature with all her soul for hurting Roman. This wasn't a match. This was torture.
Roman summoned up the remains of his strength and clotheslined Mark Henry, but the effort nearly did him in and Henry was quick to retaliate. A current of horror snapped through the watchers as Henry climbed up on the ropes, intent on crushing Roman like a bug. But somehow, in Roman's infinite resilience, he lifted Mark Henry onto his shoulders and sent him crashing to the mat with a Samoan drop.
Carly, Seth, and Dean leaned forward in their seats, hardly daring to breathe. Roman, his eyes alight with some sort of battle-fury, dragged himself upright. He threw back his head and roared. With the last of his strength, he speared Mark Henry and put him down once and for all.
Seth shouted and punched the air. All the anxious tension slid out of Dean, and he slumped forward, resting his head in his hands. Carly started to laugh, more out of relief and sheer nerves than out of happiness, before pressing her hand to her mouth. Thank goodness that was over quickly.
"Should we go to the trainers' room?" asked Carly.
"Yeah," said Dean, getting to his feet, "Better make sure he's alright. Seth, aren't you coming?"
He and Carly were nearly out the door before realizing that Seth hadn't moved.
"I need some time to focus," Seth said apologetically, "I have a feeling this is gonna be a rough one for me, too."
"I gotcha," Dean nodded, seeming to understand, "Good luck out there, huh? Don't let him shoot you out of the sky."
"Right," Seth grinned.
"You sure you'll be okay, Seth?" asked Carly.
Seth waved his hand dismissively.
"Sure I'm sure. Just have all the kings horses and all the kings men on standby in case he breaks me into pieces. Wow, okay, apparently that was the wrong thing to say," he backpedaled when he saw the distressed look on Carly's face, "Gallows humor, Carly. Relax. Go take care of Roman. I'll be fine."
He flashed her a reassuring smile, and she hurried to catch up with Dean.
"Don't worry about Seth," said Dean, putting an arm around her shoulders, "Even if things go south for him, you know how tough he is."
"I know," Carly admitted.
She still didn't look forward to seeing another one of her boys thoroughly dismantled tonight. Roman lay on a table in the trainers' room. His eyes were closed and his face was pale. He looked exhausted. The medics had taken his vest off and were examining his ribs and chest. Roman winced every time they touched him. The assault by Evolution had left him with bruised ribs. Carly just hoped beyond all hope that tonight hadn't left him with broken ones. Dean shifted his weight nervously. He hated seeing Roman hurt even more than Carly did.
"Is he gonna be alright?" Dean called when he couldn't keep quiet anymore.
"It doesn't look like there've been any breaks, thankfully," one of the medics replied, "He'll be hurting for a while, but he'll be fine."
Roman's eyes opened slowly and he looked over at Dean and Carly with a faint smile.
"Nobody's gonna take me down without some serious Kryptonite," he said.
"And anybody with Kryptonite's gotta get through me first," Dean grinned, "Easy, take it easy. I got you."
Dean helped Roman to sit up, and then carefully helped him put the vest back on. Roman's face grew paler with the exertion, but he breathed through it. One of the medics passed Carly an ice-pack.
"Alright," the medic said, "You three know the drill about taking care of injured ribs."
"Right," said Carly, "Ice, ibuprofen, and rest."
"Like the last one is gonna happen," Dean said under his breath.
"I'll pretend I didn't hear that," the medic said drily.
Dean gingerly helped Roman to his feet and pulled Roman's arm around his shoulders. Carly did the same on Roman's other side. As they made their way back to the dressing room, Carly noticed that Roman was consciously avoiding putting any weight on her shoulders.
"You know, Roman," she said mildly, "You can lean on me, too. That's why I'm here."
Roman complied wordlessly. Carly assumed he didn't have the breath to spare for talking. He was much heavier than Carly had anticipated, and even though she struggled a little to support him, she was glad that he'd let her help. A regard for others' welfare in spite of any personal pain was Roman Reigns through and through, but it made Carly worry about him something fierce.
Seth was already gone by the time they returned. Dean settled Roman on one of the couches with orders to lay still so he could ice his injured ribs. Roman, still rather quiet even for him, obeyed and closed his eyes again. Dean turned the volume down on the monitor and sat down next to Carly on the other couch.
"Weird," said Dean, shaking his head, "Evolution's chosen champion for the night is Batista."
"Well, he was the one who got pinned on Sunday," said Carly, "Maybe it's a question of honor, or something."
"Princess, where Evolution is concerned," said Dean, "Honor's got nothing to do with it."
Dean was probably right. If Batista was trying to prove something, he would've gone up against Roman instead. But to have a match against Seth? No, that was just Evolution trying to make an example of the Shield once again.
The match started off evenly enough. If Carly had been an objective viewer, she would have found it interesting to watch the contrasting styles, with Batista's strength and Seth's agility. But she was far from objective. Carly and Dean tried to silence their reactions to avoid disturbing Roman. This was easier said than done.
Batista swatted Seth down like he was a dragonfly, and Seth was just able to rally enough to kick Batista out of the ring and give him a chance to recover. Batista, curse his veteran's savvy, dragged himself out of the way before Seth could set up a suicide dive. But that was probably for the best. Seth was smart enough to know not to take unnecessary risks while he was injured.
Only no, apparently he wasn't. Dean had to bite his fist to keep from shouting as Seth, trying to slide across the ring to kick Batista before he could climb back in, got caught under the ring skirt and got thoroughly pummeled. This was bad. Without room to maneuver, Seth was in trouble.
Batista threw Seth back onto the apron, only to kick and elbow him in the head. Seth was clutching at the side of his neck, a motion Dean was unconsciously imitating. Carly just hoped he hadn't injured it. But Batista, curse his lack of scruples, hit Seth with a neckbreaker and tossed him out of the ring.
Carly and Dean both flinched as Batista hurled Seth against the steel steps. Seth slumped to the ground, his eyes closed, seeming unable to even drag himself to his knees. Batista threw him back in the ring, going after his neck once again before throwing Seth facefirst into the turnbuckle and then going after his injured arm. At that moment, Carly would've very much liked to give Batista a few injuries of his own, and, judging by the look on Dean's face, he felt the same.
The match went on, and Batista continued to throw Seth around like a ragdoll. The pained expression on Seth's face made Carly's heart ache. Dean's shaking hands were clenched into fists, his knuckles turning white.
Miracle of miracles, Seth dodged a charge by Batista, letting him run himself headfirst into the steel post. Seth rallied, clotheslining, punching, and stomping on Batista as he was trapped in the corner. At the ref's five-count, Seth stepped back and let out a hoarse roar.
"Come on, Seth," Dean urged through gritted teeth, "Yes!"
Dean punched the air as Seth hit Batista with some incredible, acrobatic move that Carly didn't even know the name of. From there, it was all Seth for a few glorious moments. He was on the offensive, slipping away from everything Batista tried to hit him with and always landing on his feet. Batista caught Seth with a spinebuster and set him up for a Batista bomb? Seth fought out and leapt over Batista's shoulders, landing like a cat and sending Batista tumbling outside the ring with an enzuigiri.
Good. Batista was down and out. That would give Seth time to recover, and to hopefully let Batista get counting out. Unfortunately, Seth was infinitely less pragmatic than Carly gave him credit for. That idiot, what was he thinking? Seth was climbing up onto the turnbuckle to execute God knows what crazy stunt.
Carly pressed her hands over her mouth. Seth leapt from the top rope. Batista dodged, and Seth went crashing headfirst into the announcers' table. A muffled shriek escaped Carly's lips. Dean cursed loudly. Seth was done for.
Batista dragged himself back into the ring at the count of 8, and Seth, facedown on the ground where he had landed, was counted out. Dean raked his fingers through his hair and sighed forcefully, and Carly slumped back in her seat. What a disaster. Seth probably had new injuries, thanks to that lout, Batista. But it was over now. The medics would take care of Seth, and –
No, it wasn't over. Why was it never over when it came to Seth? That vulture, that absolute monster had knocked the medics aside and thrown Seth back in the ring. Sickened with rage, Dean and Carly watched as the already beaten Seth was thoroughly demolished with a Batista bomb.
"I'm gonna kill him," Dean muttered, "I'm gonna tear him to shreds with my bare hands."
"Promise you'll let me help," said Carly.
"I guess it was bad?" Roman asked.
He sat up, wincing, but he looked a little better than he did earlier. Some of the color had come back to his face, at least.
"Could've been worse," Dean said, which was feeble reassurance, "Still, be glad you didn't have to watch it."
Seth's superhuman luck was apparently still on his side, as he escaped the evening with nothing worse than a pulled muscle in his neck and a massive headache. With Carly acting as porter and Dean helping Roman along, they were able to get him and Seth out to the car and back to the hotel. After Seth and Roman got changed, Dean and Carly settled both wounded boys into bed, with only minimal protestations from Seth.
"I could've gotten that myself," said Seth, "You don't have to baby me, Carly. I'm not hurt that bad."
"Then stop acting like a child and take the medicine," said Carly.
"You'd never make it as a nurse," Seth retorted.
But he reluctantly accepted the cup of water and Motrin from her, downing both pills and water in one gulp and slamming the cup emphatically onto the nightstand. Carly made a face at him. If Seth was feeling well enough to sass at her, he was probably going to be fine. Roman was far more cooperative, murmuring a thank-you before swallowing the pills.
Seth wrinkled his nose and sighed in exasperation when Carly approached him with an ice-pack, but he lay back and let her settle it against his neck without complaining. Carly went around to the other side of the bed and placed another ice-pack where Roman indicated on his ribs. Poor Roman. Carly smoothed a stray lock of hair away from his face.
"Are you in a lot of pain?" she asked gently.
"Nothing I can't handle. I've had worse," he said with a tired smile.
"You ask him but not me?" Seth muttered, seeming to sulk a little.
Carly gave a short, incredulous laugh. Goodness, Seth could be moody sometimes. She marched back to his side of the bed and folded her arms, leveling a mild glare down at him.
"Well, maybe if you weren't being so difficult," she said.
"Who's being difficult?" said Seth, "You're the one who's making a fuss."
"Because I had to watch you two get murdered. Again," Carly said heatedly, "And who was it that lectured me about letting you guys help? Oh, that's right. It was you, Seth. So the least you could do is let me help, if only for my own peace of mind."
Seth opened his mouth as if to argue, then closed it, furrowed his brows, and folded his arms across his chest.
"I actually can't argue with that," he admitted.
"Darn right you can't," said Carly, a little more gently, "Now if you could put the stubbornness on hold for just fifteen minutes so I can make sure that ice stays on long enough, then I'll get out of your hair and leave you in peace."
"Yes, ma'am," Seth grumbled, then his expression softened, "Sorry, Carly. Don't go, alright? I'll behave."
Roman shot Carly a glance and grinned, amused at her handling of the situation. It seemed that losing patience while worried was trait she shared with Dean. Carly was just glad he hadn't been there to witness that. Still of all three members of the Shield, Carly never would've guessed that Seth would be the most obstinate and difficult to deal with when he needed looking after. Maybe it had something to do with being as self-sufficient and emotionally in control as he was.
"Alright," said Dean as he let himself back in, "The arrangements are all made. I've extended our stay at this fine establishment until Sunday."
"Wait, we're staying here?" asked Seth.
"Well, you two sure as hell aren't going anyplace else," said Dean, "I don't want you getting damaged worse in transit."
Seth muttered something under his breath. The only word Carly could make out was "overreacting."
"Maybe I am," said Dean, "But better safe than stupid. You don't have to stay, though, Carly. If you have places to be, I mean."
"No, I can stay," said Carly, "You'll have your hands full with these two."
"Yes, please stay," said Seth, "You're a better nurse than he is."
Seth grinned provokingly at Dean. What a shyster! It was like he was trying to make trouble. That in itself was an odd swing from how reserved and pensive he'd been.
"Ungrateful little punk," Dean muttered. But Carly could tell he wasn't taking Seth seriously.
"Enough," Roman interrupted, "Go to sleep, Seth. No more instigating until I'm well enough to knock your heads together when you get annoying."
xXx
Dean was right. An extra day's rest, an absurd amount of takeout, and enough ice to sink the Titanic was just Seth and Roman needed. And come Monday night, they were ready to make a statement.
Carly was backstage on string-pulling duty. The crew members had the solidarity of mistreated underlings, so their help was easily secured more often than not. Following Seth's orders, Carly had arranged for a camera crew to be on hand when Evolution arrived, at which point the live feed from said camera would be displayed on the TitanTron, letting the Shield know that it was go time.
The boys were in top form tonight: Dean with his frenetic charisma, Seth with his sly but charming arrogance, and Roman's air of superhumanly powerful confidence. Dean and Seth's support of Roman as he vowed to teach Evolution to believe in him was particularly heartwarming. Carly found herself getting caught up in their speech, even though she'd heard them talk of almost nothing else all weekend. The challenge was set forth for a rematch at Payback. Evolution's assault hadn't deterred the Shield. It had only served to light a fire in them, and Evolution had best be prepared to face the blaze of it.
With almost perfect timing, their limousine arrived. Carly nodded to the techs, and watched in satisfaction as the Shield dashed off for the parking garage. She couldn't help but laugh at Seth's frankly adorable war-cry as he came flying out of nowhere to attack Triple H. Caught completely unawares, Evolution was quickly disposed of, though other employees dragged the Shield away before things could get really good. Ah, well. Phase one was a smashing success.
xXx
Carly sat perched on a table across the hall from one of the backstage monitors, watching Evolution make their way to the ring. Wrapped up in anticipating what was going to happen next, Carly didn't notice Emma until she sat down on the table next to her.
"Hey," she said brightly.
"Hey, Emma," said Carly, smiling back at her. The slightly scatterbrained and cheerful Emma was a friend of hers.
"Whatcha watching?" asked Emma.
"A bunch of grouchy has-beens who are about to say mean things," said Carly.
"Oh," said Emma, wrinkling her nose, "Why are you watching that?"
"Because it's gonna get fun," said Carly. She grinned at the questioning look on Emma's face, "Just watch."
Randy Orton started off by whining, of course. But Triple H, now there was an orator for you. The way he talked was beyond belief. He vowed that Evolution would take them apart, one by one. Evolution would start by humbling Dean Ambrose, then they would pull the wings off that hummingbird Seth Rollins (seriously, though, hummingbird?), and would finally take their time making an example of Roman Reigns. Carly shook her head. This was incredible. It was textbook supervillain monologuing.
"Wait for it," she said, as Emma was starting to look a little doubtful that anything fun could come of this.
Triple H was just about to deliver Evolution's catchphrase, but before he could, something threw him to the ground. Emma gasped. Seth had taken him out at the knees and proceeded to punch the daylights out of him while Dean and Roman took care of Orton and Batista. Carly and Emma both burst out laughing as it happened. Carly was the only one who knew that the Shield had disguised themselves as crew members and slipped beneath the ring under the cover of a commercial break's dim lighting. Seth's timing could not have been more perfect.
One by one, Evolution was dumped from the ring. As the Shield's music played, a furious Triple H got hold of a microphone, but it was snatched from his hands by an equally livid Batista. This could get interesting.
"I've had enough! I've had enough of you, I've had enough of you, and I've had enough of you!" Batista shouted, pointing at each member of the Shield in turn, "Reigns, you're the big dog. I've had enough. You and me, tonight!"
Batista threw down the mic as surprise turned to wild anticipation on the faces of the Shield. Roman roared his assent. As Evolution made their retreat, Roman turned to grin at Dean and Seth.
"You're right, that was fun," said Emma, "See you, Carly!"
"See you," Carly called after her.
Things had definitely gotten interesting, alright.
xXx
"Roman, you lucky dog," said Dean, hitting him on the shoulder.
Roman laughed and continued taping up his wrists. This looked to be a pretty straightforward grudge match. Nobody was banned from ringside, so -
"This is going to break down into a brawl, isn't it?" said Carly.
"Oh, I'm counting on it, princess," said Dean, rubbing his hands together eagerly.
Carly shook her head and smiled. They were always spoiling for a fight, Dean in particular. But she supposed they wouldn't be in this line of work otherwise.
"Don't worry, Carly," said Roman, "You know I could take Batista out with one hand tied behind my back."
He grinned at her, and she laughed. Roman had very nearly done exactly that.
"And besides," said Seth, "We can handle Evolution when we're evenly matched like this."
"I know you can," said Carly, "And I won't waste my breath telling you three to be careful, because I know that'll never happen."
"Well, that's the pot calling the kettle black if I ever heard it," said Dean.
"Hilarious," Carly said drily, "Batista again, though. What's his deal?"
"Maybe he's had enough," Dean offered.
Seth shot him an exasperated look, and Dean grimaced.
"Geez, tough crowd," said Dean.
After the Shield set off to make their entrance, Carly set about finding a more or less safe location from which to watch the match. At least, that was the plan.
Carly noticed a familiar group of superstars gathered suspiciously near the wings. This alone wouldn't have aroused that much suspicious, if not for the presence of Stephanie McMahon among them. Oh boy. They were going to pull this underhanded nonsense again? Carly slipped away before anyone saw her.
She'd dealt with this situation before, so at least she knew what to do this time. There were the props crates, and there was the box the kendo sticks were stored in. Carly's fingers just closed around the hilt of a kendo stick when she felt someone grab a handful of her hair.
Carly spun around to strike, but Paige blocked her arm. The kendo stick went flying out of Carly's grasp and clattered down the hallway. Before Carly could react, Paige's knee caught her in the stomach. Carly doubled over. Paige seized her by the hair and threw her to the ground. Dazed, Carly had no time to recover before Paige knelt directly on her solar plexus, driving all the air out of her lungs. Carly heard a metallic clicking sound as something cold closed around her wrist.
Paige stood up, and Carly took a long, gasping breath. Paige dragged her by the hair, pulling her to the wall. As Paige knelt behind her and Carly felt the other end of the handcuffs close around her other wrist, she finally realized what was happening. Carly lunged forward and felt the handcuffs catch on the pipe behind her. This was bad. This was extremely bad. Paige stood over her, smiling.
"You are so predictable," said Paige, "Always running off and trying to be a hero. It's a little pathetic, actually."
Thankfully, Carly had been handcuffed to a vertical pipe, which meant she could still stand. She got to her feet and glared defiantly at Paige.
"Better a predictable goody two-shoes than a sell-out," said Carly.
Paige maintained her affable, businesslike composure as she punched Carly in the mouth. Carly recoiled from the force of the blow. Forget Alicia Fox. Paige had the better right cross. Paige turned to walk away.
"Were you always a terrible person and I just never noticed, or is this a new thing?" said Carly.
She knew it was a bad idea, taunting someone while you can't fight back. She didn't care. Paige deserved it. And Carly wasn't surprised at all when Paige marched back and punched her in the mouth so hard that it drove her to her knees.
Paige turned to leave again. As she stood, Carly started laughing. She didn't know why. It wasn't funny, and it hurt like hell. This only earned her a third punch that put the metallic taste of blood on her lips.
"God, I hate you," Carly blurted out, pulling against the handcuffs to lean forward.
This was apparently the last straw for Paige. She hit Carly with a vicious side-kick to the ribs, which slammed Carly's head and spine back against the pipe. Carly slumped to the ground, her head ringing.
"You stay down," Paige ordered.
Carly wasn't about to let her get the last word, and aggravating the enemy was Carly's specialty.
"Never smile at a crocodile," she sang quietly, "No, you can't get friendly with a crocodile."
Paige whirled around, enraged, and stormed back to her.
"What?" Carly said with a deliberately provoking grin, "You never said I couldn't sing."
Without a word, Paige slammed Carly's head into the pipe and stalked off.
"Don't be taken in by his welcome grin," Carly sang loudly after her, "He's imagining how well you'd fit his skin. Never smile at a crocodile. Never tip your hat and stay to talk awhile. Never run, walk away. Say goodnight, not good day. Clear the aisle and never smile and Mr. Crocodile."
Carly was nearly shouting by the end, well aware that she sounded like a crazy person. It didn't matter as long as Paige had to listen. But now that Carly was left alone, her adrenaline-fueled defiance began to fade into worry. Once again, the Shield could be in trouble and she'd been taken out of circulation. For just how long were they going to be caught in this vicious cycle with Evolution?
Carly sighed, tugging at the handcuffs once more. No use. Worse still, a particularly annoying trickle of blood had started from the corner of her mouth, and there was absolutely nothing she could do about it. Also her spine hurt. And her head. At least the audio from the broadcast was being played over the backstage intercom so she would know what was going on.
And from the sounds of it, Roman was doing alright. Good. Carly knew he would be. He was outside the ring, which could be dangerous. But if Roman was smashing Batista's head into the steel steps, it was safe to assume he was in control of the match.
They must've gotten back in the ring, because the next thing Carly heard was Batista had sidestepped Roman and let him run himself headfirst into the turnbuckle. That was not good. Hearing that Roman had to kick out from a cover was less good. As always, being forced to witness Roman in trouble was unbelievably distressing. "Bootista" chants were a little reassuring, though.
Why couldn't the commentators actually comment on the match? That was supposed to be their job, after all. Honestly! Who almost clotheslined whose head off? What, "uh-oh"? Which troops were rallying? What in the actual hell was going on? Wait. That was Roman's voice yelling, which indicated he was running to clothesline a cornered Batista. Then -
"Look out, guys! Ambrose! And Rollins! And now Reigns!" Michael Cole was shouting.
Here they go. Dean had wanted a brawl, and if Evolution was going after Roman, that's all the excuse he needed. Seth was apparently going at it with Triple H, which meant Dean was probably going after Orton. Jerry Lawler said something about Roman going for a Superman punch, but then he shouted, and the bell rang seconds later. Well, if nothing else, at least that meant Roman had won. Technically.
Apparently Orton and Batista had been taken out, and Triple H had been thrown back into the ring. Thank goodness. Not only were the boys alright, but they had the upper hand. Unfortunately, there was still the cavalry to worry about.
And there they were now, being directed by Stephanie. Carly kicked a nearby crate. Just when the Shield had been starting to recover. The words "Roman Reigns is being destroyed" made Carly's heart sink, as did the news that Dean and Seth were out of commission outside the ring. It seemed like Triple H was staying true to his promise about making an example of Roman.
Triple H and a chair, and then there was a – spear? What? Roman must've broken loose and hit Triple H with a spear! The wonderful news only multiplied as Mr. Cole shouted that Dean and Seth had returned with "equalizers," and Carly heard the sound of steel chairs driving back the assailants. She would've punched the air in celebration if her hands were free.
The audience was screaming for the triumphant Hounds of Justice. From what Carly could gather, the boys were handing out finishing moves like they were going out of style. Roman roared and, as was tradition, Ryback received a triple-powerbomb.
Carly gave a relieved sigh as the Shield's music started to play. They had put an end to Evolution's perfect plan. They put an end to it… without her help. That was a strange way to think about this, wasn't it? Sure, Carly knew the Shield didn't need her help. It wasn't a big deal. That didn't stop it from needling the back of her mind, though. Maybe part of it had something to do with the fact that she'd been handcuffed to a wall and used as Paige's punching bag. Speaking of which, aside from Paige, nobody knew where she was, did they? Carly sighed again and hoped the Shield would find her soon.
She had no way of telling the time, but Carly figured it took about twenty minutes of trying to find the least uncomfortable of having a metal pipe dig into her back before the three of them wandered past. They froze a moment in confusion, but hurried over the moment they realized that, surprise surprise, Carly was bleeding from the mouth again.
"What happened to you?" Seth exclaimed.
"Paige happened," said Carly, "I could use a hand."
She rattled the handcuffs against the pipe. Dean raised his eyebrows incredulously, and then crouched down next to her and started tinkering with the handcuffs. Meanwhile, Roman had knelt down and lifted Carly's chin to get a better look at Paige's handiwork.
"Paige again, huh?" said Roman, "She busted you a good one."
"Nice work out there, by the way," said Carly, "Yeah, well, I was asking for it. She probably wouldn't have hit me as many times if I hadn't started talking smack. Don't give me that look, Roman."
Roman was wearing the mildly exasperated expression that was usually reserved for Dean after he got himself into trouble. It made Carly feel a little embarrassed about how she'd acted. But in that situation, any of them would have done the same thing. Dean, at least, would've – oh wait. That didn't help her case at all, did it.
"There," said Dean.
One of the cuffs slipped off Carly's wrist. She held her hands out in front of her, glancing in confusion from the open handcuff to the self-satisfied grin on Dean's face.
"But you don't have a key," said Carly, "How did you know how to-? Nevermind. I don't think I want to know. Other side, too, please."
Laughing, Dean complied.
"You're alright, though, Carly?" asked Seth.
"I'll have headache for the next day and a half, but I'm fine other than that," said Carly, "What about you guys?"
"Not a scratch on us," Roman said proudly.
"And we took out, how many guys was it?" said Dean, "I didn't stop to count."
That was good to hear. They couldn't really afford to get re-injured at this point.
"So, rematch at Payback is a go?" asked Carly.
"Mhmm," Seth nodded, "Once we get through a couple weeks of posturing and power plays, just like last time."
"Same old song," said Dean, "Only I'm not sure I like this remix. There's too much Batista. And there you go, princess. Free at last."
"Thanks, Dean," said Carly.
"Come on," said Seth, helping Carly to her feet, "Let's get you cleaned up, and then we can get out of here."
"You know we're going to have to do something about Paige sooner or later," said Roman.
"You just worry about Evolution," said Carly, "I can handle Paige."
She wasn't at all sure if that was true. Still, they had enough to worry about, and she was currently no help. Finding a way to remedy the Paige situation would at least give Carly something to do. She was grateful for that, in a twisted sort of way.
xXx
Carly wandered past catering, scanning the faces of the people milling around and eating their supper. Ah, there he was. Just the bleach-blond man she was looking for. Dolph Ziggler was currently engaged in chatting up a gaggle of Rosebuds. No surprises there. With promises that he'd catch up with them later, Dolph excused himself from the conversation when he saw Carly heading his way.
"Carly, what's up?" he called, grinning at her.
"The usual chaos and madness," said Carly, "So, you and Batista tonight, huh?"
For whatever reason, Dolph had decided to make fun of Batista on Twitter. Batista did not take kindly to this, and challenged him to a match on Smackdown. Dolph rubbed the back of his neck unconcernedly.
"Yeah," he said, "It's about time somebody taught that Neanderthal a thing or two."
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Carly said a little hesitantly, "I mean, I have every faith in your abilities, but Batista's got a lot of pent-up aggression these days, and he's probably gonna take it out on you."
"Look, I know you and the Shield have got your whole crusade-against-the-man thing going on," said Dolph, "And I support that one-hundred percent. But somebody's gotta call Batista out on all his bull, and it might as well be me. I quite literally have nothing to lose."
Unfortunately, he wasn't really exaggerating. Dolph Ziggler was a man who could not catch a break. But he was also a man who would not give up and fade into the background. He'd taken to using his omega-wolf status as a way to make his voice heard, calling out those who needed to be called out with no regard for repercussions. Carly held great respect and admiration for him because of that.
"Nothing except consciousness," said Carly, "What in particular do you have against him, anyway?"
"It's like this," Dolph explained, "Randy Orton is a pissy crybaby with entitlement issues, right? But you can't argue with the fact that he's here and fighting nearly every week. Batista just up and walks away to be a movie star, and then he waltzes back in here and gets handed a title shot when there is a locker room full of guys who are a hundred times more deserving. And that shouldn't happen. He's just like the Miz, only bigger. And angrier. And with a slightly less annoying voice."
Carly laughed. For all Dolph's cavalier posturing, he always stayed true to his convictions. Too bad convictions weren't enough to protect him in the ring.
"Well, promise you'll be careful, alright?" said Carly.
"Promise," said Dolph. Then he smiled and inclined his face towards her, "Kiss from the princess for good luck?"
"Flirt," Carly reproached, before kissing him on the cheek.
"Guilty as charged," Dolph said with a wink, "See you around, kid."
Dolph sauntered off, and Carly went back to look for the Shield. She found them near the locker rooms. Well, she found Dean and Roman. Seth was nowhere to be seen.
It was becoming apparent to Carly that the stress of the situation was wearing on Seth. He never acted any differently. He didn't even seem that worried. But he went off on his own to think much more often than he usually did. He would wander off in one direction and turn up some time later in the most random places. Neither Dean nor Roman seemed terribly concerned by this, and they knew Seth far better than Carly did, so it was probably nothing. Still, Carly was a little concerned about him.
There wasn't much to worry about tonight besides that, though. The Shield wasn't scheduled for any matches. They were only there for the sake of making a statement about the events of Monday. Thankfully, it was one night they wouldn't have to worry about Evolution pulling any tricks. Batista had his match with Dolph, Triple H was busy being the boss, and Randy Orton wasn't even there. Carly knew they boys were ready for a fight, but she was glad they would have another day to recover their strength before Payback.
Unfortunately, the match between Dolph and Batista went pretty much the way Carly had predicted. Batista unhurriedly took his aggression out on his opponent. Poor Dolph got tossed around and thrown into the steel steps. Even though Dolph managed to get a few good moves in, Batista's temper got the better of him, and he got himself disqualified for a low blow. That only made Batista angrier. A parting Batista-bomb left Dolph Ziggler laid out flat on his back. Well, it could've been worse.
Carly knew she should've learned never to think things like that. She always managed to jinx the situation. Instead of walking away, Batista got back in the ring and threw Dolph through the ropes. He proceeded to pitch Dolph into the barricade, and then Batista-bomb him spine-first on top of it. Batista probably would've done more damage if a trio of referees hadn't ordered him off.
Poor Dolph. Batista shut him up but good. He'd known what he was getting himself into, though. And if Carly knew Dolph Ziggler, he wouldn't let that stop him for long. He was every bit as resilient as the Shield was.
Speaking of the Shield, they were up next. They passed the microphone between them, speaking in much the same vein as they had on Monday, only with more to be proud of after that triumph. Carly wasn't really listening that closely until Dean said something that caught her attention.
"Now, I suppose we should be grateful to have the night off," he was saying, "But me, I'm not the kinda guy who likes to come out here and talk without doing anything to back it up. If I was, I'd be in Evolution."
What? They hadn't discussed this backstage. Unless it was something the boys had come up with on the way to the ring? But no. The confident grin had faded from Roman's face, and a look of confusion had flashed across Seth's eyes before he regained his composure. That was all Carly needed to see to know that for some reason, Dean was going off-script.
"No," Dean continued, "As long as I'm out here, we might as well have something to show for it, right? Now, I'd go with tradition and challenge Batista, but he's already made his obligatory cameo appearance for the night. And Randy Orton's lazy ass couldn't be bothered to come in at all. So that just leaves the man himself, Triple H."
Oh, no. Please say Dean wasn't about to do what she thought he was about to do.
"So, how about it, Hunter?" Dean raised his voice to a shout, "You gonna stay shut up in that office pushing pencils, or are you gonna come down here and make things interesting?"
Dean threw the mic away as the crowd roared in anticipation. Carly ran her hands through her hair, grasping handfuls of it as she stared at the monitor in horrified silence. What in the actual hell was Dean thinking? Was he trying to get himself killed? Roman stepped towards Dean, as if he was going to grab him by the shoulders and shake some sense into him, but he was stopped by Seth. Seth was hurriedly saying something to Roman, probably telling him to play it cool and pretend that this was their plan. Roman did calm down, but he did not look happy about the situation. A few seconds later, Triple H's face appeared on the TitanTron.
"I always did admire that confidence, Dean," he said with a thin smile, "It's a shame it's so misguided. As COO of this company, I do in fact have more important things to do than come down there and deal with you."
The crowd voiced their disapproval, and Roman seemed to breathe a little easier. But Carly knew not to think they were out of danger yet.
"However," Triple H continued, "If it's a fight you want, then that's what I'll give you. You better send your brothers backstage, because they're banned from ringside, and your two-on-one handicap match against Titus O'Neil and Ryback starts right now."
That half-crazed fire was lighting up Dean's eyes. Apparently he wasn't that picky about who he got to fight, as long as he got to fight somebody. He was the only one who was happy with this arrangement. Well, except for maybe O'Neil and Ryback. Carly pressed a hand to her mouth. Well, Dean was screwed. Those two ogres were going to crush him into a fine powder, and he didn't seem to care. At that moment, Seth and Roman stormed around the corner.
"Guys, what just happened?" asked Carly.
"What happened," Roman growled, "Is that damn fool went off the rails on us again. Why didn't you let me stop him?"
Roman getting this angry at a friend was a rare occurrence. But on the occasions that Dean's unpredictability came at odds with Roman's stability, sparks were sure to fly.
"Because we're all gonna look like idiots if Evolution finds out that we weren't together on this. I don't know what… I just – I don't know, okay?" said Seth. Seth being panicked enough to stammer was disconcerting, "He's got a lot of explaining to do when he gets back here."
"If he gets through this match alive," Carly said faintly.
"Then I'm gonna kill him myself," Roman finished.
To call the match a joke would be an insult to jokes. Dean actually managed to hold his own very well for about the first three minutes. Then that stupid hothead had to run into the opponent's corner to punch Ryback for no reason, and everything went straight to hell. The beatdown that followed was painful to watch. Dean was passed between his two larger opponents, tossed and slammed around like a ragdoll. Carly surmised that this was Triple H's true intention in setting up this match.
At least those two meatheads were only trying to embarrass Dean, rather than injure him. He was able to walk up the ramp under his own power, thankfully. When he emerged from the trainers' room after being cleared by the medics, Roman wordlessly grabbed hold of his vest and dragged him off, Seth and Carly following close behind.
"Alright, already. Get your hands off me, Roman!" said Dean, finally struggling free, "What the hell is your problem?"
"That's funny, I was just gonna ask you the same thing," Roman said with a terse, unamused smile.
"Come on, you guys," Seth interjected, "Don't do this now."
Something in Seth's eyes struck Carly as more urgent than his usual attempts at playing peacemaker. Unfortunately, this was completely lost on the other two.
"We make a plan and we stick with it, Dean," Roman continued, ignoring Seth, "We don't start ad-libbing, and we sure as hell don't go rogue and start throwing out challenges."
"Well, I'm sorry," Dean fired back sarcastically, "But since I'm clearly not enough of a threat for Evolution to challenge me, I gotta take matters into my own hands."
"Oh, so you're pulling that on us again," said Roman, glaring at him with an expression that bordered on disgust, "You're actually jealous about this, aren't you?"
"Please, guys," Seth begged, "Don't fight about this."
Carly hadn't heard this argument before, but from the look on Seth's face, she guessed it was a bad one.
"What?" Dean spat acidly, "We've got the Architect and a goddamn thoroughbred. Hey, I guess a mutt like me just can't compete with that, am I right?"
"Don't you go taking your inferiority complex out on me," growled Roman, "Just because you somehow got it into your head that we're in some sort of competition. Me and Seth never thought that, and you know it."
"Well, the rest of the damn company thinks it, so why shouldn't you?" Dean yelled.
"You're the only one who's enough of a goddamn moron to think that," Roman fired back.
"Knock it off!" Seth shouted.
Seth pushed himself between them, shoving them apart. Dean and Roman glared at each other wordlessly.
"I don't have to stand here and take this," Dean muttered.
He stormed off, shoulder-checking Roman as he passed.
"That's right," Roman called after him, "Go off and sulk like a child. That's all you're good at, isn't it?"
Dean flipped Roman off without looking back. Roman shook his head and stormed off in the opposite direction without another word.
Well. That had been… dramatic. Carly was still trying to get her bearings on what had just happened. It had somehow gotten under Dean's skin that Seth and Roman had gotten solo challenges by Evolution, but he hadn't. And this was because, for some reason, Dean had the idea that everyone – Seth, Roman, and Evolution included – thought that he wasn't good enough to be taken seriously?
But that was ridiculous. Dean was one of the best in the company, everybody knew that. Everybody except Dean, apparently. Even with everything he'd accomplished and all that bravado, his confidence was still a house of cards.
Carly wondered if this wasn't all a part of Triple H's plan. If he knew about Dean's insecurity, and Carly was willing to bet he did, then he'd be sure to find a way to exploit it against Dean and the Shield in general. Carly felt sorry for Dean. He always wore his heart on his sleeve, and that was almost inviting people to take shots at it.
She felt sorry for Roman, too, for having to take the brunt of Dean's frustration. But she felt sorriest for Seth. He was stressed enough having to deal with the Evolution situation, and now his own team exploded in his face as he was helpless to hold things together.
"Idiots," said Seth, rubbing his eyes, "I don't have time for this. Why did you have to do that now? Why did you have to do that now?"
His voice crescendoed to a shout, and he kicked a nearby rack of folding chairs, toppling it over. Carly clapped her hands over her ears as about fifty chairs clattered deafeningly to the floor. Seth jammed his hands into his pockets, staring moodily down at the mess he'd made. Poor guy. If only there was something she could do to help take his mind off things for a while.
"Do you like Italian?" she asked abruptly.
"Do I… what?" Seth blinked at her in confusion.
"I saw an Italian restaurant between the arena and the hotel," she said, "Why don't we go get something to eat while we wait for those two to cool off? I'll buy."
Seth stared at her for a second. Then a tired smile spread across his face.
"Thanks, Carly," he said quietly, "I'd like that."
Seth admitted that he usually ended up driving around on his own to kill time waiting for Dean and Roman to calm down, and that's why he'd been caught off-guard when she suggested dinner. He thanked Carly again and told her that he preferred this solution. Good food served to put both of them in much better spirits An hour later when they went back to the boys' hotel room, Dean and Roman were already there. They turned and looked sheepishly over at Seth and Carly. It appeared that they'd found time to "settle their differences", as there was a cut on Dean's cheek and a bruise beginning to form around Roman's eye.
"You two good now?" Seth asked flatly.
"Yeah, we're good," Roman said with a guilty smile, "And we're sorry, Seth."
"We picked up a six-pack of your favorite," Dean added, "Y'know, to make up for it."
"Just… Just don't do that again, alright?" said Seth, "We already got enough worry about without being at each others' throats."
"We promise, bro," Roman nodded, "Now get over here and share your beer with us."
Seth sighed and rolled his eyes, but Carly could see how relieved he was to have peace among the hounds again. He plunked himself down on the bed, handed bottles to Dean and Roman, and then leaned comfortably back against a stack of pillows. He looked far happier than Carly had seen him in a long time, as if he all he wanted was to spend as much time with his brothers as possible.
"You two look like a pair of junkyard dogs," Carly reprimanded mildly, "Roman, there's a full bucket of ice here. Why isn't any of it on that eye? No, don't get up. I'll do it."
"Thanks, Carly" said Roman as he accepted the ice-pack she'd made up, "And we're sorry you had to see that, too."
"So am I," Carly said wryly, "Somebody once told me to be patient…"
Roman picked up on the reminder of when he and Seth had urged Carly to be patient with Dean, especially when he acted like a fool.
"That came back to bite me, didn't it," Roman said, with a rueful laugh.
"Uh-huh," said Carly.
Carly sat down on the bed next to Dean. Taking a page out of his book, she'd started carrying a first-aid kit in her purse, just in case. She fished out a band-aid and an antiseptic wipe.
"Now hold still and let me take care of that," she ordered.
"Yes, ma'am," said Dean.
He bit back an amused grin that Carly guessed was in reaction to her turning the tables and bossing him around for a change. But he sat patiently and let her clean and bandage the cut, not even batting an eye at the sting of the antiseptic. Oddly miffed, Carly wondered if she could call someone a show-off for having a higher pain tolerance than she did. Oh, well. In the end, she was just glad he hadn't been hurt tonight.
"Oh, we got you some chocolate as an apology," said Dean, "Girls like that, right?"
From the frank, slightly worried expression on Dean's face, Carly couldn't tell if he was being serious or not. Roman shook his head amusedly and shrugged at her. Carly accepted the peace offering with gratitude and the assurance that she did, in fact, like chocolate. But in all honesty, she probably would've said that even if she didn't. And she was sure Seth would've done the same if they'd gotten him the wrong beer, which (for all she knew) they might've. Things like that were too insignificant to worry about right now. These people, the Shield – that was the most important thing to Carly, and to Seth.