A/N: Thanks for continuing to read the story and give feedback, hope you enjoy the chapter, and reviews would be lovely. :)

"Okay, so tell me how you want me to interfere."

AJ was pumped and ready for tonight. It was the Royal Rumble, and while she didn't have a match (and Kaitlyn didn't either, which just proved she was weak as champion), she was so amped up for the rumble itself. Dolph was entering as number one, and that meant he had to go through 29 other men to win, but she believed in him. She'd seen him up close now for over a month, and his talent was clear as day. He just needed to survive and be smart, but he also had her and E to help.

Dolph looked at her, and she seemed so eager that he almost didn't want to tell her, but he had to do it now because it could be worse later if he sprung it on her without much notice, "AJ, I really appreciate that you want to help me, but I think this time, I need to do it alone."

Even though she heard it and he was not saying anything against her or them, it still hurt like it did. They'd been a team for a month now, building a friendship she could be part of, and suddenly she was transported back to John telling her that she should stay back here while he went out there. In her mind, Dolph was rejecting her just like John did, and she wondered how she'd screwed up again.

"Oh," she said, visibly deflating. She felt betrayed, and she knew what came next. He would start going out to matches alone, and suddenly, they wouldn't be friends again, and it was only now when the sting was fresh that she came to see how integrated into her life he'd become.

"This is just for tonight," he was quick to assure her. She didn't look convinced so he continued talking. "AJ, I'm serious, it's just for tonight."

"Okay," she said blankly, the words coming out with no meaning behind them. It was not okay to her, and she felt like she too needed to withdraw to save her from further hurt.

"Under normal circumstances, I would love your help, but if we're going to look credible once we get the titles, I need to do this. If I can win, if I can go out there and win the title shot and have the briefcase, do you know what that would mean?"

"You'd have the title maybe?"

"I'd have both titles. If I get that WrestleMania shot, I intend to take full advantage. Think of it, babe," he said, and she didn't tell him that he'd just called her babe, which was his onscreen pet name for her, "we're at WrestleMania, I win the WWE title then I either cash in on the World title earlier or later or whenever, and you win the diva's championship, and we walk out of the show with all those titles, can you even imagine?"

The way he was talking started to calm her down. She was still part of his plan, and with the enthusiasm he was displaying over this master plan, she could tell he was being sincere in wanting her by his side. She let herself think of the future, and the thought of them at the end of WrestleMania, holding their titles as it rained confetti on the crowd of thousands upon thousands was certainly an appealing one. In fact, it was exactly what she wanted.

"You want to do it with what little integrity you have left," she concluded, finally getting what he meant about tonight. "You won the briefcase while—"

"Yeah," he interrupted while she was talking because neither one needed to think about Vickie right now.

"But this time you want to leave no doubt as to your talent," she finished. He nodded, and her opinion of him grew ten-fold. Yes, she could interfere and help him, and it would make her feel good to know she helped him, but it wouldn't make him feel good, and they were a team, and if one team member wasn't happy, she needed to respect that.

"Thanks for understanding."

"I'm sorry I was a little cold before," she decided to confess, "it just reminded me of when John told me I needed to stay in the back. It made me start to think that maybe this was the beginning of the end too, and well, you know how I can get."

"Hey, I get it, and I don't want you to feel that way. I'm not sending you away. I still want you out there with me, I just don't want your interference."

"No, no, this is your moment, I'll come for your entrance, E and I both will, but we'll leave you to it. I don't want to be out there while you're trying to win because I know you, and I know you would be watching out for me to make sure I was okay."

"You're slight, and there will be bodies flying everywhere," he told her.

"Yeah, yeah, that's just a polite way of saying short. If you win, I mean, when you win, I'm coming out there, though, okay, like, that's when wild horses couldn't stop me from getting to you."

"You better get out there," he told her. "Look, this thing between us is working, and we're friends, and we care about each other. I don't know about you or about the guys you've been around before, but I don't pull that shit."

"Thank you," she said softly. He leaned over and kissed her forehead, and she was warmed by the gesture, "what was that for?"

"Because I wanted to," was all he said. Sometimes, and just sometimes, she wondered if Dolph could ever like her as more than a friend then her mind would wander and she'd wonder if Dolph could ever love her as more than a friend.

It was dangerous territory, she knew, and she knew that her sister would kill her for having these thoughts, but when you made out with someone like she did Dolph, and when he looked at her in certain ways, it was hard not to think of the what-ifs. She wasn't even sure she wanted a relationship right now, but it was nice to romanticize what one might be like with Dolph. He was, without a doubt, the most wonderful man she'd ever known, and that was such a surprise to her. She just wanted to know if something more could ever be a good thing.

That didn't mean she had feelings for him, it just meant that she was curious as to what would happen if she did. She and Dolph were in a good groove now, and she wasn't about to ruin that, she needed him. "So, hey," he called over his shoulder and she hadn't even noticed he was rooting around his bag for his tights. "If you want to stay at my house again tonight, that's cool."

"Are you sure? I mean, you're home now…"

"Babe," and there it was again, and she didn't want to call him out on it, but did he realize what he was saying? "It's not a huge deal, plenty of room, I don't have anyone else there, and you opened your home to me, stay."

She didn't need much convincing. Spending time at his house was fun, "Sure, okay."

"Good, glad to have the company, now I'm going to go change," he said, holding up his tights and heading into the bathroom to change. Through the door, she heard him say, "Hey, do you have any idea who number 2 might be?"

"I don't know, but I'm sure they're a piece of shit," she joked, and she could hear him chuckling through the door.

"Good one, AJ!" he was appreciative of her sense of humor. "I don't really care. I just care about me. I can take anyone, although I do hope it's not like Big Show or something, that would make it a little bit more difficult."

"In that case, do you want my help?" she joked.

"Maybe E's help, I know he can probably pick him up." She could hear Dolph laughing. "Whoever it is, is in for the fight of his life, I'll tell you that much. I don't think I've ever had this much fire under me, you know what I mean. I feel like I finally have a direction. I don't really think I had one when I was Vickie. I think most of that was doing her bidding and her ogling over me. I mean, I had some success, but I feel like I'm really focusing on my career now."

"She did ogle you."

"I thought it would get me farther in the company, so much for that idea, huh?" he asked redundantly. "Who knew I needed a bull-headed tiny woman to really get my ass in gear."

"I have a positive impact on so many lives."

"You'll certainly have an impact on Kaitlyn when you get your match," he joked. "You should have had a match tonight, you know, like just send out an open challenge, see who shows up."

"I wish," AJ scoffed, "but I highly doubt they would let me do that. It'd be cool if it were Kaitlyn who accepted, but because she's running scared, I think she'd just leave to avoid me."

"Knowing her, I agree," Dolph said, sitting down to put on his boots.

They sat in silence for a short while, each of them thinking of tonight and what might come out of it. They'd been crowing for weeks now about being a power couple, and tonight felt like the first time they really had to prove themselves right. If Dolph lost or looked foolish during the match, it would weaken them in the eyes of their enemies and the fans. They had to put up or shut up so to speak. That was another reason Dolph wanted to be out there by himself. If he could prove to everyone that he could win alone, how much of a threat would that make him? In his eyes, he would be the man around here if he held the briefcase and won the Rumble match.

They didn't speak much before his match either. She wanted to give him the opportunity to get into the mindset needed for the match. The Rumble wasn't easy. It was a mess to put it lightly. Guys went after whoever they could, and one second you could be doing really well, and the next second, you'd find yourself flying through the air. It was tricky, and almost like walking a tightrope. You had to know who to go after (smaller guys without agility) and who not to go after alone (giants, just…giants). It was precarious, and the odds were always against you, especially when you were number one.

He was just cracking his neck when she came over to him, bouncing on the balls of her feet, "When I started this, it was for my benefit. I wanted revenge, I wanted to get back at John Cena. Now I want everything for both of us. I want you to win tonight. I want you to get both titles because you're my friend, and I want the best for you."

"Thanks," he said genuinely. "We're in this together."

"Yup," she nodded, "so you go out there, and you prove them all wrong who think you can't do this. Prove Vickie wrong."

"I will."

They walked out there as a united front. There was something so exhilarating being in front of a Pay-Per-View crowd. Even though there weren't that many more people, the buzz was different. She looked around, wondering how many of them were counting out Dolph, how many of them thought she had no shot against the bulky Kaitlyn. She wondered how many of them would look like idiots when they both became champions. She tamped down the butterflies in her stomach when she thought about the moment where they could both hold their titles high.

They stopped in the middle of the entryway since there was no ramp, and Dolph did his signature Ziggle Wiggle as she looked on appreciatively. She didn't have to stretch that far to do this, however, because Dolph was an attractive man, and she couldn't help but appreciate it sometimes. That didn't mean she was going to fall in bed with him or anything, just that she was able to see. She walked over to him and turned his cheek towards her. His eyebrows danced before he leaned down to kiss her.

She don't know what came over her in that moment. Kissing him tonight, it just felt different, like there was more to everything. There was certainly more at stake than ever before, but their kiss took on a whole new life of its own. She found herself being bent backwards by him, and impulsively, she wrapped her leg around his waist or thereabouts. She clung to him, almost grinding up into him. She was overcome with some kind of indecipherable feeling, and when they finally pulled away, they were both out of breath. They forgot everything for a second as they studied each other's eyes. She extricated herself from his arms and gave him a timid look.

"Good luck."