Thanks to xJ0j0x for your continued support.

After the show they would be straight back on the road, and Wade was grateful that it was a short drive to the next arena – he'd hardly seen Lisa all day, Justin had been in a weird mood and had disappeared for an hour, refusing to tell Wade where he was, and the Englishman himself was annoyed at another loss and a storyline that was going nowhere.

Lisa was driving, and was in a good mood, having won her match with Natalya that evening and having had a really good reaction from the crowd. Wade sat in the passenger seat, Justin behind him, and they kept the conversation light and simple, although there was clearly an undercurrent of disquiet. Lisa had cranked up the radio and was now facing teasing about her taste in music, but for once she didn't care. She just sang louder and laughed. Justin and Wade couldn't help but be taken in by her infectiously good mood and by the end of the trip the sense of worry had, at least for the moment, dissipated.

Not wanting to spoil the moment, Wade pushed his thoughts to one side and revelled in the carefree happiness of his girlfriend. She insisted that they hit the bar, and Wade quickly agreed. Justin cried off, citing an early morning training session with Tyson, but Lisa knew there was something else bugging him. Before he left, she pulled him into a hug.

"If you want to talk..." She left the offer open.

He forced a smile and nodded. "Love ya Lise."

She walked over to the bar with a spring in her step. Yes, she was worried about Justin, but she felt more free than she had done in months. She'd made a decision after her discussion with Natalya, and although it was a risk, and it scared the hell out of her, she knew it was her best chance of moving on. She wasn't entirely sure how Wade would react, but in a way it didn't matter. She was doing it for herself. All she needed was for Wade to trust her.

He'd grabbed them a booth and a couple of beers were already lined up on the table. With a grin, she perched herself on his lap and took a long swig of the enticingly cold drink. He grinned and adjusted his position slightly so that she was comfortable in his arms, and took his beer in his left hand, his right arm wrapped protectively around her waist.

"Comfortable doll?"

"Absolutely," she replied, wriggling slightly; more than aware of the effect the movement would have on him.

"You kill me you know," he groaned.

"I try," Lisa laughed. "I missed this. Even though we're together now, I never want to stop doing this. You and me, putting the world to rights, drinking, laughing, me crying sometimes. I want it to always be like this."

"You never used to sit on my lap and tease me before," Wade pointed out. "Not that I'm complaining, of course."

"Well lets say there's an added element that just makes things better."

"Most definitely does." Wade squeezed her ass, his large hands covering her jeans-clad skin.

"So we can start by you telling me why you were so pissed off after your match tonight. You know there's a push on the cards for you in a month or so."

"There's always a push 'on the cards'," he snarled dismissively. "I guess I feel like it's never going to come, and not just that, how does it make me look if I'm losing matches so consistently?"

"You always wrestle so well, and get a reaction though. It's not like they're really booking you weakly, you get plenty of offence. The push will come, just bide your time."

"I know, it's just annoying, you know? I'm better than this."

She smiled and kissed his cheek, "I know you are. And your time will come, I'm sure of it."

"Thanks for believing in me. Anyway, never mind that. You, miss, were incredible tonight. You and Nattie really hit it off in the ring." He couldn't hide the pride in his voice.

"She's become a good friend these last few weeks. Yeah, I know," she laughed at the surprise on his face. "Me, being friends with another diva. Never thought it would happen, huh? It has though. She's pretty cool, now I've taken the chance to properly talk to her and get to know her."

"I'm glad." Wade really was, he knew there were things that she needed to talk about that he just couldn't help with; knew in many respects his perspective on things was skewed.

"I talked to her about Drew," Lisa announced suddenly, and she felt Wade's hands tighten on her hips. "She kinda suggested I talk to him."

"Do you want to?" His voice was low and she could hear the worry behind it.

She downed the rest of her drink and signalled to the bartender for two more. "Do you think I should?"

He was silent for a minute. "I would worry. The thought of him doing to you what he did before, I don't think I could hold back from killing him if he so much as touched you again."

"A part of me is scared of what he'd do," she admitted. "But another part of me knows I'm never going to get past this if I don't at least confront our relationship. I can't carry on the way things are. It's ridiculous. In a way I'm not scared of him, and in a way I don't care what people think of me, but I don't want him going round saying stuff about me, and I don't want him to do anything to me, and I don't want..."

"You worry that I'm going to do something stupid, don't you?" Wade asked softly. "I know you worry about what he might do, I know you're struggling to work your relationship out, but you think if he hurts you I'll do something I regret and end up fired."

She sighed. "I know you Wade. I know how protective you are of those you care about, and finally I'm starting to realise I'm one of those people. So yes, I know full well that if he hurt me you wouldn't hold back, and it scares the crap out of me. Not that you'd do that, but that you'd get yourself fired or arrested and I wouldn't have you with me."

"I can't change my nature."

"And I wouldn't ask you to." She laid a hand on his cheek tenderly. "But this is why I need to speak to him, to deal with this and move on. I can't have you living on edge in case he does hurts me again. Once he stops having that power over me, I'm sure I'll be ok."

"How you're feeling is partly my fault, isn't it?" Wade gently lifted her off his lap so that she sat at his side, and grabbed his beer, staring into the depths of the liquid.

"No." Lisa took his hand and squeezed it. "Wade, you... without you I'd probably be back with him because I felt like I had no other choice. Without you I would still be thinking the relationship I had with Drew was normal. Without you, he'd probably still be taking what he wanted, when he wanted it, and I wouldn't have the strength to say no."

He found the words hard to accept. He hated that his protective nature had caused her pain. He tiredly rubbed his eyes. "You would tell me, right? I never want you to be scared, or frightened, to tell me anything. I promised you that no means no and I meant that."

"Hey," she kissed him gently. "I know. Let's get out of here." She dug in her pocket and threw some notes on the table, knowing there would be more than enough to cover their drinks. She knew he must be lost in some kind of worry when he didn't even argue about her picking up the tab.

When they got to their room Lisa took control, pushing Wade to sit down on the bed before kneeling in front of him.

"Tables turned. Talk to me."

He looked at her ruefully. "Maybe I can't be what you need. I have a dark history love, I solve problems with my fists. That made things worse for you, I think. How many other things am I going to make worse for you?"

"You made him leave me alone, Wade you got me out of that situation for good, whether you realised it or not. I would still be in that situation now had you not done that for me."

"So what happens next time someone hurts you? I go chasing after them? I dish out another beating? You do nothing but worry that I'll get into trouble and we end up in this situation again?"

"I love that you're protective of me, I really do. I... I think you need to realise that I'm strong. I know I haven't felt strong, and I've really relied on you and Justin, but I will get back to how I used to be. I will always need you. You are my best friend first and foremost, and the man I love, and I will always need you to protect my heart and keep it safe. But," she paused, "I need to fight for myself again."

"Lise, I know. I know you're strong. Maybe I'm not." Wade stood up and walked over to the window, staring into the nothingness of the night sky.

"You are." She followed him, resting her head on his back, slim arms around his waist. "If I can deal with this thing with Drew, I think we'll be ok. I'm sure we will."

The Englishman nodded. "I hope you're right." His words were gruff and for a moment choked with emotion as he realised what Lisa had inadvertently confessed to him. "Lisa, I love you." He turned around and smiled softly, brushing her cheeks with his fingers as she looked up at him expectantly.

"Then I know we will be ok."