Nothing Ever Mattered To Me More Than This

-April 6, 2014; New Orleans, Louisiana-

In 2007 Tessa Scobille went to her first WrestleMania. As one of the 80,000 plus people at Ford Field, she had been sitting in not-so-great seats to see The Undertaker go 15-0, Vince McMahon get his head shaved and John Cena make Shawn Michaels submit to retain the WWE Championship. 7 years later she was set to defend the Divas Championship at WrestleMania XXX.

"You're not going to vomit are you?"

Nikki's question came when she noticed that Tessa's knee had started to bounce.

From the moment they had been told that they would be going on second-to-last both girls had understood that the match time was likely to be cut but to know that they were going to be on so late in the card had made them all the more excited. It also made Tessa more nervous.

"I don't think so but I'll let you know if that changes," Tessa said, laughing under her breath. "7 minutes?"

"7 minutes," Nikki repeated, not too pleased that their time had been cut. It was because the opening segment went longer than it was supposed to but the last thing either of the Divas was going to do was hunt down Hulk Hogan, Stone Cold and The Rock to tell them off.

After they ran through their match for the last time, they parted ways. Both had different methods for getting into the right headspace and they conflicted with each other. Tessa's preferred method was finding as quiet a space as possible and stretching whereas Nikki's usually involved a conversation and stretch with her sister.

Tessa had missed most of the Pay Per View purely because she didn't want to know what she had to follow – if she knew anything of the crowd's expectations during such a big show it would only lead to failure. The only match she had watched was Daniel Bryan vs. Triple H because, despite how hard she knew it would be to follow; watching Daniel Bryan win at WrestleMania was well worth it.

She knew that the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal was won by Cesaro and that, on the pre-show, Fandango had defeated Big E by total fluke for the Intercontinental Championship. Other than that, she had managed to avoid even results.

However, when she walked to the curtain and realised that they were following the end of The Undertaker's streak, she knew that it wasn't going to be easy.

-Live on PPV; WrestleMania XXX-

The Divas' gazes both followed the title as the referee hoisted it above his head. Tia was breathing in and out deeply as she did so, trying to keep herself composed; Nikki's bouncing up and down did little to quell her nerves.

The bell rang, Tia and Nikki locked up immediately. The power struggle lasted a few seconds before Nikki came out on top and shoved Tia back towards the ropes. Nikki leapt at her with a clothesline. When Tia returned to her feet, she was hit by another.

On Nikki's third attempt, Tia managed to duck out of the way causing Nikki to land face first on the mat. Tia grabbed Nikki's leg and dropped it down, targeting her knee.

Nikki set up the Nikki Rack Attack and everyone was convinced that the end of the match had come with Tia lying lifeless across her shoulders. The knee that Tia had been targeting was unable to hold the extra weight. She fell sidewards, allowing Tia to roll off without taking any damage.

Tia, when she stumbled to her feet, noticed that Nikki was cradling – she knew that she had to finish the match then and there – and she reached for Nikki's legs, pulling her to the centre of the ring, and quickly applied the cloverleaf. Nikki started to shout and tried to twist herself over but Tia held her ground, leaning backwards as far as she could.

In a matter of seconds Nikki had tapped out.

Tia had never looked so happy – not even when she won the Divas Championship for the first time. This was her WrestleMania moment and she got it after not even 6 months with the company.

She was handed her championship and she hoisted it onto her shoulder before dropping into a curtsey in the centre of the ring.

-Off Air-

Tessa and Nikki were met by Brie and Summer at the curtain but as they complimented their match Tessa found her attention being held by 6 other people; Daniel Bryan, Randy Orton, Batista, Triple H, Stephanie McMahon and Vince McMahon.

After a moment or two, Brie moved over to stand with her soon-t0-be husband and Summer and Nikki both left in search of a television where they could watch the match. Tessa didn't move, though. She just watched as they prepared the Main Event for the biggest show of the year.

All excitement about winning her first Mania match had completely disappeared as she watched them talk. She was remembering conversations she'd had with Bryan years ago about his goals and his dreams – this had been the top of the list.

Brie nudged him in the side and discretely pointed over at Tessa. He looked up at her over Stephanie's shoulder and smiled at Tessa before sending her a thumbs up. Tessa returned the gesture and knew that that was going to be all the encouragement she was going to be able to give.

She didn't go far – the smaller television near Gorilla was where she decided to watch the match. She wanted to be as close to the action as she possibly could.

Tessa couldn't remember that last time she'd actually taken a breath – all she knew was that they had been few and far between. People had come to sit beside her but at that point she couldn't have told you who they were.

The tears had been kept at bay until Randy Orton was hit with a Batista Bomb and then Daniel Bryan came out of nowhere with the running high knee and applied the LeBell Lock – or the 'Yes-Lock' as it had been redubbed. Everyone knew that it had to be the end – Orton had been knocked out of the picture and Batista was worn out. All three of them were worn out.

The cheers backstage were contagious – not one person in the area wasn't on their feet with their hands in the cheer, shouting about the result. Tessa was amongst them, jumping up and down, being hoisted into the air by whoever came close to her, all the while crying tears of joy and pride.

A hand on her back guided her to the stairs and she looked back to see Claudio winking at her happily. She, Claudio, Colby, Rami and Jon were all standing there waiting for the new Champion to walk through the curtain. Other people were hanging back apparently seeing it as a moment for Bryan's oldest friends to celebrate his accomplishment. A crying Brie appeared beside Tessa, the latter sticking her tongue out at Jon as he laughed at the two of them.

When Bryan Danielson finally walked backstage after his in ring celebration, Brie ran forward, jumping at him and kissing him repeatedly, and the others clapped as loudly as they could. He was the clearest sign they had of changing times within the company – Daniel Bryan was the key to unlocking the future, to allowing the rise of the Independent Wrestler.

Tessa hadn't stopped crying, the tears only got heavier as Bryan pulled her into a tight hug that quickly came to involve everyone else.

"I am so proud of you," she whispered into his ear. "This is just the beginning, Bry."

The group disbanded when Vince McMahon walked towards them.

Tessa knew that she had to have a shower and change out of her ring gear so she headed back towards the Divas locker room. When she was walking she sensed that someone was following her so she looked over her shoulder. She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw that it was Rami.

"I just wanted to tell you that your match was really good," he said slowly, stopping a few feet away from her. "And to ask if you were going to be okay."

"Thank you," she said, closing her eyes briefly and smiling. She could feel that her cheeks had started to heat up. "Because of the crying? Or did I look like I took some nasty bumps during the match?"

Rami laughed at how oblivious she was, "The crying, T."

"Yeah," Tessa nodded. "Excessive crying, you know that."

With a nod and a smile, Rami left her to continue to the locker room. Tessa realised that she didn't feel awkward or sick during the conversation, in fact she felt happy. She was sure that it was because her happiness over her and Bryan's WrestleMania victories had not yet subsided.

Tessa was wandering around backstage in search of someone to talk to when she saw something that impeded on her happiness. It shouldn't have but the confusion that set in became the overbearing emotion running through her body.

A quick glance around made her frown, she doubted in sight would have been able to answer the questions that she had. That left her one option. Tessa flattened down the tulle of her skirt, raised her chin, pushed her shoulders back and made her way over to Colby and the woman that he was standing with.

"Hey!" She greeted Colby enthusiastically, taking note of the way his posture stiffened. "I just wanted to say congratulations on your victory."

"Uh, yeah," Colby said, hesitating a little. "It's not that deserving of congratulations, believe me."

Tessa shrugged, raising her eyebrows. Colby took the hint and put his hand on the woman's lower back.

"Tessa, this is Leighla. Leighla, this is Tessa."

Tessa extended her hand out of habit but Colby knew her well enough to know that the introduction had shaken her. Her eyes had widened and she looked lost.

"Oh," Tessa said after a moment of silence, coming to a realisation. "Did you two get back together?"

Leighla nodded and with a laugh she explained that he had come running back to her less than two weeks after breaking up with her. Tessa didn't have it in her to ask why she had given him a second chance. She couldn't work out if Leighla knew who she was – surely Colby told her about his life. If he had neglected to reveal that part of his life someone had to have slipped up at some point.

"I know," Leighla continued speaking when Tessa failed to say anything in response, "You must think I'm crazy for taking him back."

Tessa quickly shook her head, "No, I really don't. Believe me; I know that love outweighs everything else."

Colby sent her a warning look, though she paid it no attention. She was only looking at Leighla and beginning to realise just what she had done. Who knows what would have happened if Leighla found out what she had done.

"It was really great to meet you, Leighla, but I have to go find a ride back to the hotel before I'm stranded here."

Tessa had to control the seriously dumbfounded look that was threatening to cross her face when Leighla suggested that they hang out some time – Jimmy had apparently said enough about Tessa that she knew they would get along great. She didn't – she couldn't respond.

It wasn't until she was near the car park that she saw that Claudio hadn't yet left. She had driven to the arena with him and Drew McIntyre so it only made sense that she left with them, too.

"You look worse than you did before your match," he told her, using the back of his hand to check her forehead.

"I just met Leighla," she revealed and Claudio grimaced. He didn't have to know that the couple had split up because of Tessa to realise that that meeting could have ended badly. "I don't think she knows about '08. If she does then she is the most forgiving person I have ever met. Also, you suck for not telling me that she was going to be here."

"I didn't think you needed that stress today," he tried to reason with her but Tessa was still in a state of shock.

She wanted to talk about what she had done in recent months but she knew it wasn't a conversation she could have with Claudio. The only person she could think of was Jon. However, Darcy was walking around at the Hall of Fame and during the Pay Per View so that idea was quickly forgotten.

No one knew. She had kept the secret so well that four people knew what had happened – two of those were her and Colby. If she had her way that's how it would stay.

a/n Lots of love to nmoxracha, UntilNeverDawns, deanambooty, CarolReigns, Imagineer1392, ajroleplays and Straight Edge Queen for leaving reviews! :D