So Down Caught in the Middle

- Main Event, March 5-

Tamina and Foxsana (Alicia Fox and Aksana) defeated Tia and The Funkadactyls (Naomi and Cameron) on the Main Event portion of the Smackdown tapings. The match ended rather abruptly when Cameron was hit with a superkick from Tamina. The Divas Champion definitely looked out of place beside the dancing duo but she stood out in the match even if she was only in it for maybe a minute. The match, overall, was what has come to be expected from the Divas division and most people in attendance used it as their bathroom break.

-March 10, 2014; Memphis, Tennessee-

The past week hadn't left her mind. Rami being called up was the last thing she wanted to happen, purely for her own sanity. It was bad enough that she'd fallen back into a 'relationship' with Colby but to have Rami around made her nervous. There was always the worry that he would figure out what Tessa and Colby had been up to or that he would ask her all the questions she had spent years avoiding. They would be working together as soon as he got called up, just talking for the weeks before WrestleMania. She'd been told that a relationship with Sami Zayn meant a feud with Summer Rae and Fandango, so she would have to save Sami from Summer Rae's interference during a match.

Colby was a different story all together. He wasn't ignoring her like she hoped he would. Breaking off whatever they had going was her way of telling him that they didn't need to spend any time together, that she was keeping the promise she'd made at the training centre. Even cutting off Jon and Joe hadn't helped her. At every live event he'd tried to talk to her, ask her about her day. It was driving her mad.

The Divas were, once again, sitting in catering, a table for the Total Divas minus Nattie and plus Tessa with the other Divas sitting separately. There was clearly a separation within the locker room that probably began as a means of staying out of the cameras' eyes but it had progressed into something much more.

When everyone had finished eating most of the women had disappeared in search of any means of entertainment but Nikki and Tessa remained behind.

"How did you find commentary?"

Tessa groaned, "I hate it."

"You're good at talking, though," Nikki complimented her friend who smiled in thanks. Tessa absentmindedly played with her necklace – a Tiffany's key Rami brought her for her 21st birthday.

"Not so much at interviews and commentary is essentially that," Tessa explained and then cleared her throat. "If I can just talk I'm fine but being prompted like that confuses me."

They rose from their seats, expecting to go in search of a television set but Tessa stopped not far from their table.

"You okay over there?" Nikki asked, furrowing her brow at Tessa's odd behaviour.

"Yeah," Tessa nodded, scratching the back of her neck again. "I just got really itchy all of a sudden."

"Weird."

Tessa had leaned down to scratch at her leg when she realised what was happening. The itch was only getting worse and when she reached up to scratch her neck again, she felt lumps on her skin. She'd attributed her hoarse voice to the screaming she had done at ringside after abandoning commentary.

She was wrong.

"Nikki," Tessa's panicked voiced was barely audible, but at the sudden sound of heavy breathing, Nikki turned around and watched as Tessa slowly sat down onto a nearby seat.

"Tessa?" Nikki was by her friend's side instantly, looking over her body frantically. "What's happening?"

There was no way Tessa could have answered. Her breathing was heavy and high-pitched and her skin was slowly gaining a blue tinge. The scared look she was giving Nikki only caused the latter to stress out even more, thus causing Tessa do to the same.

She'd only experienced the sensation twice in her life, both happening in her early 20s.

Tessa began to feel lightheaded.

"You need to call 911." The order came loudly and surely just before Tessa lost consciousness, falling from the seat onto the ground lifelessly.

Opening her eyes slowly, squinting due to the bright light, Tessa felt like she'd been dragged across the bottom of the ocean.

"Miss Scobille, we're on the way to the hospital, no need to worry."

She let her eyes close and revelled in the fact that she could breathe again. The lack of sirens indicated that there was no desperate need to get her to a hospital, so Tessa was able to relax to a certain extent – but being strapped to a gurney was preventing total relaxation.

"She's awake now." Tessa was startled by the voice – the same that had ordered the emergency call. "Is there anything else you needed to know?"

"No, I think that's everything."

"That's everything," he paused briefly. "I'll call you later with an update."

Tessa was unable to work out who had been on the other end of the phone and she was too exhausted to think up any possibilities.

"Claudio?" she asked quietly, wishing that she was able to see him. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm the reason you're alive right now," he told her honestly, his Swiss accent filling the ambulance. "Good thing I know how to work an EpiPen."

She took a deep breath and in a hushed voiced said, "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

Nothing else was said between them, the only conversations that took place were between Tessa and the paramedic when he was asking for her details.

Claudio Castagnoli had been present the other two times she suffered anaphylaxis and she there was no way for her to explain how grateful she was that he had been around.

The first hospital visit happened when she was not quite 21 years old. Until that point she had never had an allergic reaction to anything so to have her face swell up and her ability to breathe taken from her was utterly terrifying – not only for her but for everyone who had witnessed it. Tessa and Rami had been on a double date with Claudio and his then-girlfriend. The doctors kept her in the hospital for 16 hours before they released her with an EpiPen and told her that she was allergic to fish.

The second time she had anaphylaxis was less than a year later. Tessa had been diligent in making sure she did not consume any fish but one night she relaxed a little too much and accidentally ate something that resulted in another severe reaction. Rami had learnt how to administer an EpiPen for moments such as those and he was able to use it quickly enough that she did not lose consciousness – she had only stayed in the hospital for four hours that night.

Baptist Memorial Hospital-Memphis' emergency room was where Tessa ended up, Claudio right beside her. The questions continued, most of them the same as from the ambulance, and answers supplied. Tessa took comfort in the English being spoken around her because the last time she had been in a hospital the Japanese language had almost driven her crazy.

"You don't have to stay, C." Tessa looked at Claudio, watching as he put his phone down to speak to her.

"I'm in charge of updates," he responded as though it was obvious. "Someone should stay with you; you need to get back to your hotel."

His phone began to ring before Tessa could give him an alternative – someone who could take over for him.

"Rami," Claudio answered, standing up. Tessa sat up instantly, leaning forward in a pathetic attempt to take his phone.

"What are you doing?!" She all but shouted at him, moving to kneel on the bed and scoot closer to him. "Rami?"

Claudio paid her absolutely no attention; her outbursts weren't even registering as he spoke to his friend. Tessa stayed kneeling, glaring at Claudio in an attempt to get him to hang up.

"No, she's perfectly fine. They'll probably let her go in an hour or two."

"He doesn't need to know that," Tessa whined childishly. "Hang up the phone."

Finally becoming fed up, Claudio moved around the corner and out of her line of sight, leaving Tessa kneeling on the hospital bed with her face in her hands.

"Is everything okay?" Tessa looked up at the sound of the nurse's voice.

"Yeah," she nodded, "Perfect." She wasn't quite sure how to explain that her former friend was on the phone with her ex-boyfriend so she just moved back to a sitting position.

"Okay," the nurse said sceptically. "I just need to do your obs." The nurse wasn't surprised to see that Tessa's blood pressure had increased slightly after catching her kneeling on the bed looking slightly distressed.

"Why would you call Rami?" Tessa asked as soon as Claudio pushed back through the curtain.

"There was certain information that I didn't know," he told her calmly. "I had two people I could call and Jimmy wasn't picking up his phone." Tessa leaned forward, her jaw hanging.

She shrieked, "You called my brother?!"

Claudio, unfazed by the loudness of her voice, sat back down in the seat. He didn't say anything to her, choosing not to reward her shrieking.

The nurse came rushing back to them, worried about her patient. When she saw that Tessa was glaring at Claudio and perfectly fine, she left with a slight huff before she turned around to leave again.

"I can't believe you called my brother."

"Firstly, I needed to tell the doctors things while you were unconscious and I don't know all that much about you and, second, he deserves to know. When he calls back you can speak to him."

"No I can't."

"You're being childish."

"Tell him that I'll call him back and that I'm sleeping or something. You'll be void of all responsibility." She paused. "You could have called Alex Shelley."

"Alex Shelley? Why would I call Alex Shelley?"

"I've spent a lot of time with him since he started full time in New Japan."

"You and Shelley?" Claudio asked, obviously wondering if they had been in a relationship.

"No, not me and Shelley," she bit back defensively. As a teenager she had had quite the crush on him – he and her brother had been quite good friends resulting in Alex Shelley making numerous appearances at her house. It had become a running joke by the time she started her training. "His tag team partner, yes."

"Kushida," Claudio stated. Tessa was unable to gage his reaction to the situation properly. He seemed indifferent. Claudio was never indifferent about anything.

"Yujiro," she said back. Claudio let it go but he let out a slight laugh and Tessa knew he was thinking of the infamous Alex Shelley story.

She had many texts from Colby when she finally checked her phone. They were half way back to the hotel and it was near 2 in the morning but Colby had been texting her every 10 minutes since she was taken from the arena in ambulance.

"Jimmy?" Claudio asked, noticing her conflicted expression.

She nodded, "Yeah." It was easier than telling him it was Colby. Claudio would know straight away that she and Colby had rekindled their affair.

"When are you going to speak to him again?"

"When I feel like it," she responded sharply. Tessa was rarely ever rude but the topic of her family was something that always brought it out in her.

Claudio made a few offhanded comments as they drove back to the hotel but for the most part the drive was silent. Tessa stared at her phone, ready for the messages that Colby was sending her. She only responded once, when they were in the hotel's parking lot.

Back at the hotel. Perfectly ok.

His lack of response confused her. She had responded immediately after one of his messages so it was highly unlikely that he didn't see it.

Claudio, despite her protests, walked her to her room. She told him repeatedly that she wasn't going to pass out on the way from the elevator to her door but he followed her just to be sure. Tessa thanked him tersely as she shut the door behind her. She was grateful that he had been there for her – especially because he didn't exactly like her – but she didn't need to be babysat.

For the next ten minutes she just sat on the end of the bed in silence. She could hear the people next door arguing loudly so she tried to make out any words or their voices. Her efforts were squandered when someone knocked on her door. She looked towards the alarm clock and sighed when she saw it was just past 2. Slowly and heavily, she walked to the door. She was exhausted.

"What are you doing here?" She asked lowly as soon as she opened it. She scrambled to grab at his arm and pull him into her room. The door slammed behind them.

"I wanted to make sure you were okay."

"I sent you a text, I'm fine and you can't be here." Before she could say anything else, Colby walked towards her. In response she took multiple steps backwards before she found herself leaning against the wall. "Colby..."

"I broke up with Leighla," he told her with a small smile. He lifted a hand to brush some loose hair behind her ear. "We can do this. We can do us." The statement coupled with the way he was looking at her – soft eyes, soft smile – made her heart flutter. "This is a really nice colour on you," he said, playing with the hem of her mint green dress. She closed her eyes instinctively as he leaned towards her. Her small hands moved up to his chest and she slowly pushed him away.

"We can't do us, Colby."

He sighed, "Why not? We're both single." He stepped away from Tessa, knowing not to overstep his boundaries. She opened her eyes and saw that he was almost begging her. "Come on, Tessy..."

"You know why we can't." Her facial expression morphed from surprised to upset, his fell completely. "He's going to know. Everyone is going to know. You just broke up with her." Tessa exhaled. "You broke up with her."

What he said was finally clicking in her brain. Her fists clenched by her side and she started to breathe heavily. Colby stepped back towards her, cupping her face in his hands. Thinking that she was about to go into anaphylaxis again.

"What is it?"

"No, no," she said quickly, pulling his hands away. "You need to get back with Leighla. Why would you break up with her?"

"I love you, Tessa. I want to be with you."

"Oh my god, no. Colby, you can't do this!" She exclaimed, her voice rising suddenly. "You need to leave and forget that this ever happened. It should never have gotten this far."

He furrowed his brow at her. She hurried to the door and pulled it open before turning to him and dragging him towards it, telling him he had to get out.

Tessa had just ruined his life, as far as she was concerned. He'd done for her what she had never done for him. He ended his relationship to be with her and she didn't know how to handle it.

When the door was shut, Tessa stared at it. Breathing heavily, her mind racing and tugging at her necklace in a panic, she wondered how she was going to get on with work with what had just transpired. She'd been with the company not even three months and the drama was already too much for her to handle.

a/n thank you to Imagineer1392, deanambooty, UntilNeverDawns, Straight Edge Queen, CarolReigns, nmoxracha, Livin on the EDGE and ajroleplays for leaving reviews!