"I am so sorry. I was really excited to spend some time with you over the next couple of days, but I'm not going to be able to get myself out of this media tour."

Punk was pleading with her over the phone. The plans they'd made to spend their off days together had been ripped apart when their betters at WWE corporate had arranged some surprise media days for him. It would have been their first chance in weeks to be together for more than 24 hours. Now it looked as if they wouldn't get any time together. Aidan was trying to be understanding. She knew it was beyond his control, but it didn't ease the disappointment and the pain of missing him.

"I know this is not your fault, and I'm not blaming it on you. I just miss you."

"I miss you too. I know this sucks, and I swear I'm going to make it up to you."

She heard far off voices murmuring in the background.

"I've gotta go. They're boarding the plane now."

"Okay," she said sadly. "I hope everything goes well."

"It will. I'm going to dedicate each interview to you."

She rolled her eyes, a smile creeping onto her lips.

"I feel honored."

"I love you, Aidan."

"I love you too."

After she'd hung up the phone, she sighed and rested her head against the table in front of her. Since she'd spoken with him last week when they'd first made their plans, the anticipation for her days off had been building with each day that passed. She'd received the let down just as she was getting ready to leave the arena and begin her "weekend". With Punk gone for the next few days, it would mean going home to an empty apartment. Being alone wouldn't normally bother her except for the fact that she was beginning to forget what her fiancé looked like.

By now, most of her friends and colleagues had left the building. This was evident by the quiet that had settled over the backstage area. The small sitting room she was occupying was silent save for the humming of the vending machines nearby. It only made her feel all the more lonely. The feeling didn't have time to truly sink in, for very suddenly a chair slid across the floor, rupturing the silence. Aidan looked up to find Dean sitting down across from her. He observed her silently, a faint smirk on his lips.

"What are you still doing here?" she asked, slightly annoyed.

"You don't sound like you're happy to see me," he said.

"What do you want, Dean?"

"I came to check on you, Sunshine. You look unhappy. How could I ever walk away with that on my conscience?"

She eyed him dubiously, saying nothing.

"So what's wrong? I'll bet it has something to do with that charming fiancé of yours. Let me guess…he stood you up."

Her eyes narrowed sharply.

"You were listening to my conversation, weren't you?"

"Do I look like the kind of guy that would do something like that?"

"Yes," she said flatly. "And no, he didn't stand me up. The WWE bigwigs have decided, in their infinite wisdom, to send him on a last minute media tour having no regards for his, or my, life outside of work."

Dean clicked his tongue in mock sympathy.

"That's too bad. I guess you're going to be pretty lonely while he's gone. It must be hard being engaged to someone like him." He sat there a moment nodding his head in reverie then very suddenly stood up. "Well, good luck with all of that."

Aidan stared after him in confusion as he walked away.

"Wait, where are you going?"

He turned around staring at her wide eyed and pointed a finger to his own chest. As if she could be talking to anyone else.

"Me? I've got to get back home to Tampa. We FCW grunts don't get the pleasure of days off."

"You were going to say something like that and just walk away?"

He crept a little closer.

"Well, I just thought you'd resigned to going home by yourself. I mean, you could come with me."

"Go with you. To Tampa? You must be out of your mind."

He shrugged. There was anger in his voice when he spoke.

"I'm not going to beg you, sweetheart. If anything, I was just trying to do you a favor."

"How so?" she asked warily.

"You could come with me and forget about playing second fiddle to your fiancé's career, or you can sit at home and sulk about it."

His vicious words seared like a slap in her face.

"How dare you! You don't know a thing about being in a relationship. You don't understand that sometimes sacrifices have to be made because you love somebody, that it's not about what you want or even about what you need, it's about something that's bigger than yourself!"

He closed in on her in an instant, grabbing her arms and pinning her to his body. His eyes were alight with fury.

"Don't assume you know anything about me. My life hasn't been ripped out of a storybook, and I'm not some kind of fucking knight in shining armor, but don't think I know nothing about love. I know all too well about sacrifice, and I know that when you sacrifice you're just opening yourself up to have your heart ripped out of your chest and smashed into the ground!"

He let her go and turned his back on her. She watched him as he stood there in silence, his shoulders tense, rising and falling with each harsh breath that escaped his body. Even though she wanted to be angry with him, what he'd said filled her with wonder about what he'd been through to make him feel that way. She closed the distance and placed a hand on his shoulder. She felt his body tense further then relax ever so slightly. When his breathing had softened, she began slowly.

"I'm sorry, and you're right. I shouldn't assume I know anything about what you've been through. I wouldn't want anybody to treat me that way."

He remained unmoved, his back turned to her. She grasped at his well-muscled bicep.

"Dean, please look at me."

On her command, he turned slowly to face her. His eyes held a mixture of emotions, mostly anger with a seeming hint of sadness.

"I can't know anything about you if you don't tell me."

He scoffed.

"Why should I tell you anything? You've proven over and over that you don't really care about anything I say. Just when I start to trust you, you stab me in the back, just like everybody else."

She was surprisingly hurt by his words.

"I do care," she said defiantly.

"Prove it."

She stared evenly into his eyes. The anger was subsiding, and she saw something else. Her heart began to beat wildly in her chest as he drew closer to her. His lips grazed hers, and she shuddered with anticipation. Without thinking, she pulled him in, kissing him with an intensity that surprised them both. His tongue slipped into her mouth, playing at hers, gently at first and then with increased fervor. She felt his hands on her, stopping only when they reached her breasts. She inhaled sharply, pulling herself away from the pleasure her body was still yearning for.

"Dean…"

He was still breathing heavily. He bit at his lips, his eyes carnal.

"You'd better leave before I do something we'll both regret," he said in a low voice.

Aidan nodded and wasted no time in leaving. She picked up her bag and made a beeline for the nearest cab that would take her to the airport and away from what had just happened.