Safer on the Ground

-January 1, 2014; Richmond, Virginia-

"You disappeared early last night."

"We lost you when you went to dance with Austin, didn't see you again for the rest of the night."

Tessa was startled by Nikki and Brie's sudden appearance. She had been so engrossed in the newspaper that she had momentarily forgotten that she was in a public space. They both took a seat at the table – Brie looking around for a waiter so they could order their breakfast.

"I only stayed long enough for the countdown," Tessa told them, folding up the newspaper and pushing it to the corner of the table. "Not much fun when you're alone."

"Alone?" Nikki asked incredulously. "Girl, we all saw you and Woods. You were dry humping each other."

Tessa's jaw dropped and she felt her cheeks heat up. She protested, "We were not."

"You kind of were," Brie said much to Tessa's embarrassment. She promptly hid her face in her hands. "And it was wildly entertaining. But I'm confused why you think you were alone."

"Colby kind of ensured that."

Nikki was just about to ask what she was talking about when a waiter came over and asked if they needed any help – the twins ordered breakfast while Tessa ordered another coffee because she knew she was going to need it.

"Explain," Nikki demanded, watching intently as Tessa shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

"He just got really weird and made Austin disappear. I don't even know how to explain it. I can't believe you didn't see it. It wasn't exactly subtle." Brie and Nikki shared a look, trying to recall if they had seen the outburst. They shook their heads in unison. "Told me that wasn't how I danced. That I'm not that girl."

"You looked very much like that girl," Nikki said without hesitation. "You worked that dress and that ass. You were born to dance like that."

Tessa shook her head slowly, looking down to her hands as they rested on the table. Nikki continued to gush over her dress from the night before and the conversation slowly morphed back into Colby's reaction to Tessa's dancing. The newbie said nothing, just watched as the twins hypothesised about his behaviour, all theories were suggested – including that Colby still had feelings for her.

"Clearly he does," Nikki stressed. "No one reacts like that just because."

"He has a girlfriend," Brie interjected quickly. "He really loves Leighla, have you seen those two?"

Tessa closed her eyes at the mention of Colby's girlfriend; she knew nothing of the woman. Leighla hadn't been around all those years ago but there was no way for Tessa to stop inserting her into the memory and imaging how much more catastrophic it would have been.

"Of course I have, but when was the last time he saw Tessa?" Tessa looked up at Nikki instantly and her mouth gaped at how blatantly they were about to discuss her life right in front of her. "And it was kind of sudden, right? A lot of unresolved feelings."

"Can you talk about this another time, maybe?" Tessa muttered weakly just as the waiter came back with her coffee.

"Sorry," Brie apologised, reaching a hand out to squeeze Tessa's. "We get a little caught up sometimes."

"But you're going to have to talk about it sooner or later," Nikki smiled sadly at her. "Might as well get it out of the way?"

Tessa shook her head and stared into her cappuccino, "Not today."

Brie and Nikki started a new topic, noticing just how negatively Tessa was affected by the talk of Colby. Both twins consistently looked to her, waiting to see if she was going to join their conversation about the previous night's party. She didn't take the bait, though. Tessa was barely listening to them, only picking up a few words in every sentence. Her attention was being held by a couple eating breakfast together. They were sitting at a window seat – just as Tessa and Rami always did – laughing and generally just enjoying each other's company. She couldn't tear her eyes away.

"You know them?" Brie asked, looking behind her to see the couple Tessa had been staring at.

"No," She shook her head. "The just reminds me of..." Tessa hesitated briefly, "Me. She looks like I did when I was 21. She dresses like I did – skirts, tights and boots were my go to winter outfit. And that scene... It's exactly what Rami and I used to do."

The twins were taken aback by the mention of Rami Sebei, Tessa's first 'official' boyfriend. Brie looked at Tessa sadly while Nikki was blown away that she had even mentioned him – she was going to seize the opportunity to ask questions.

"You sure you two were that cute? I didn't think that level of adorable was possible."

"Maybe... Roderick always told us we made him sick – but he said that about everyone."

"How long were you together for?"

"A year and a half. I was 20 when we got together. Jimmy wasn't happy," Tessa laughed to herself, remembering her brother's reaction when he found out.

"Why do you call him Jimmy? I mean he's your brother, right? Jimmy's just a ring name." Nikki glared at Brie as though she was growing three heads – she did not like that her chance at information had been taken from her.

"He's been wrestling as Jimmy Jacobs since he was 15, I was 13. He kind of just became Jimmy," Tessa said with a slight shrug, a small smile on her face. "That and when I started going to shows, asking for 'Chris' never really worked; Sabin, Hero, Daniels... Anyone who had 'Chris' has a ring name, that's who I was given directions, too. Jimmy just became easy. He is Jimmy."

They didn't stay at the cafe much longer because Brie and Nikki had to be on the road so they could get to the next house show.

The moment they stepped back into the hotel, Tessa had to make a quick getaway. The camera crew for Total Divas were filming a 'confrontation' between Summer Rae and Eva Marie and the last thing Tessa wanted was to be caught on camera. She'd been told that there was no guarantee that she wouldn't at least be in the background of some scenes but that did not mean she wasn't allowed to try her hardest to avoid it.

-Flint, Michigan-

After nearly three and a half hours on a plane, a stopover in Cleveland and a twenty minute taxi ride Tessa was finally home.

Michigan was always going to be home. The city she was living in didn't matter to her, she just knew that Michigan was where she felt the best.

She moved from Grand Rapids to Ardmore, Pennsylvania after she graduated from high school and got accepted into Bryn Mawr College. Tessa said since she was thirteen that she wanted to go to a women's liberal arts college so when the time came to apply for colleges, she applied to 6 of the best in the Midwestern and north eastern states. She lived in Ardmore until just after she graduated from college, and then she moved back to Grand Rapids before she moved to Japan a month and a half after her 22nd birthday. Now she was living in Flint and she was more than happy with her decision.

The first thing that needed to be done was to go next door and let her neighbours know that she was home. She'd promised the Marsh's 17 year old daughter fifty dollars if she got her mail and fed her fish while she was away.

But before she even did that, Tessa walked into her house, setting her suitcase by the door, and checked to make sure her fish were still alive – she was quite fond of them and did not want to pay someone for killing them. She noticed her mail on the table beside the large fish tank and flicked through it, hating that in only three days she'd received a handful of bills.

"Hey fishies," she smiled to her 6 Angelfish. "Good to see Hailey didn't kill you."

Venturing over to the Marsh's, Tessa took in her snow covered street. It was clearly a tight knit cul-de-sac, something that had been solidified the day she'd moved in. People were at her door with cookies and puddings to welcome her to the neighbourhood, all of them being quick to tell her that if she ever needed anything all she had to do was ask.

While she waited for someone to come to the door, Tessa finally realised how cold it was. The three layers she was wearing did little to keep her warm even though the top layer was her woollen coat. There was no missing the light snow, but she had become so accustomed to snow that barely even registered.

"My word, it's freezing! Come inside, come inside!" Tessa had barely any time to react to the opening door; Mrs Marsh was pulling her inside hurriedly and closing the door. The wafting smell of brownies was the first thing Tessa noticed, eliciting a small smile.

"Mrs Marsh, I just came to give Hailey her money," she stated as she was ushered further into the house.

"Don't be silly, have a coffee. Hailey and Ben are baking." Just as Tessa opened her mouth to protest, Mrs Marsh continued, "Surely one coffee won't hurt."

"One coffee won't hurt," Tessa agreed.

The closer they got to the kitchen the stronger the smell got. Memories of her own teenage years raced back to her, warming her heart. They walked into the room and two 17 year olds lifted their heads, the mixture covering both of their faces.

Hailey burst out laughing and was soon followed by Ben, neither able to say anything. Their joy was contagious and Tessa's smile was instant. Her teenage years hadn't been full of baking and laughing – she had been far too focused on getting a perfect SAT score and GPA to have any fun – but she had always found happiness contagious.

Hailey finally regained her composure and started to speak while she licked her fingers clean, "When do you have to leave again?"

"Monday just for the night, Monday after that I leave for two nights and the week after that, I leave Friday and I'm gone for two weeks." Tessa's answer came slowly as she tried to work out her schedule.

Tessa told Hailey the dates she was going to be gone and they organised how much money she would earn for the two weeks Tessa was away. It was at that moment that Tessa realised just how much little time she was going to spend at her new home.

As she walked through the snow back to her house – Mrs Marsh had convinced her to stay for two cups of coffee and spent the entire hour and a half asking Tessa as many questions as she could about being a professional wrestler – Tessa thought back to how quickly she was going to become part of WWE's hectic travel schedule.

The independent scene, in her eyes, hadn't been half as exhausting as what she was expecting from her new job. Most of her time on the indies she had been a valet for Age of the Fall, and she only really took matches that were on the same card as her brother which made it difficult when many promotions didn't have women's divisions.

The tales she had heard from former WWE superstars were endless and filled with sleepless nights and minor breakdowns. Backstage politics, bitch fights and general bad mouthing were rife – she had already experienced it herself from CM Punk and his girlfriend, AJ Lee.

Tessa, again, found herself wishing she had kept her job in Japan purely because of the lack of travel and general backstage arguments. That was, of course, until she reminded herself that WWE was her dream job – it was where everyone wanted to make it. She'd made it too far to back out.

a/n As always thanks to my reviewers: deanambooty, Livin on the EDGE, UntilNeverDawns, Imagineer1392, nmoxracha, Straight Edge Queen, alibob687 and ajroleplays. Also, thanks to everyone who has alerted this story! I hope everyone continues to enjoy it!