So my edits didn't take nearly as long as I expected. Plus I had an idea for another Amber/Seth story that I've been working on. This one is coming together a lot slower than my Lexi/Roman story Believe in Miracles, which just poured from me like a broken faucet. So anyway, this one will go a lot slower than the previous story. It's also a lot darker in theme, but hopefully you'll still enjoy it. Now on to Amber and Seth...

Chapter 1

"We knew it was coming, King," Michael Cole's voice carried through the television screen.

"That's right, Michael. The cracks have been forming for months. It was just a matter of time before The Shield imploded."

While the commentators spoke, inside the ring Dean and Roman stood toe to toe, yelling at each other. In his quest to take out Daniel Bryan, Dean accidentally struck Seth, who now lay disoriented outside the ring and Roman had come unglued.

Daniel Bryan and his partners the Usos huddled in their corner of the ring, watching with curiosity and confusion as The Shield members barked at each other. Even the crowd was unusually quiet as they watched with morbid curiosity while tempers built. Everyone could feel it coming, knew it was just a matter of moments before detonation.

The men played their parts well, as their tones escalated and a shoving match began. Then she was on the screen, running toward the ring. Amber rushed past where Seth was just coming around and slid beneath the ropes. Gracefully, she popped to her feet and smoothly slid between the two men.

She could still remember every word that was said.

With her back to Dean, Amber placed her hands on Roman's chest and shoved with all her might. "Back off," she yelled and watched shock lite in the big man's eyes.

"This doesn't concern you," Roman shouted. "You need to move before you accidentally get hurt."

Seth rolled into the ring, pushed to his unsteady feet, and stepped up next to Roman. "Honey, Roman's right, you need to move."

Doing her best to stay in character, Amber shook her head "I'm not going anywhere until you guys stop fighting." She glanced over her shoulder at Dean. "Have you forgotten we're a team? Have you all forgotten what we stand for?"

Roman shook his head. "If anyone has forgotten we're a team its Dean."

"You're just jealous," Dean spat from behind Amber. "I've been carrying both your asses for months. You both wish you were half as good as me."

Roman and Seth exchanged a quick look, then everything became a blur as Seth wrapped his arms around Amber, yanked her out of the way while Roman began pounding on Dean. Following the script, she screamed and yelled and, caught in the heat of the moment, slapped Seth, who apparently stunned by her reaction, released her.

Amber scrambled back to where Dean lay curled in a ball, protecting his head as Roman kicked at him. Risking getting kicked, Amber jumped between the men. "Stop!" she yelled. "Just stop. Go away."

Roman pulled back and exchanged confused glances with Seth, but neither man moved.

"Just get the hell out of here." She waved them off, despite the fact that inside her heart was breaking.

Roman raked a hand through his hair then shook his head as Seth mumbled something in his ear. Amber turned and dropped to her knees to check on Dean.

"Amber." She felt Seth's hand on her shoulder and despite wanting to turn to him, shook it off instead. A moment later Seth and Roman slid from the ring, hopped the barriers and disappeared into the crowd, leaving Dean laying in the ring with Amber.

"I think," JBL nearly whispered into his microphone, "We just witnessed the end of The Shield."

Amber's stomach twisted and turned as she watched a commercial for coffee pop onto the screen. Taping that episode of Smackdown had been the single hardest thing she'd had to do in her career to date. For weeks leading up to The Shield's demise she'd fought with a nervous stomach and her conscious. With Lexi still on maternity leave, Amber had no one to really turn to for support. Oh sure she had Seth, but he'd viewed the situation differently and all but dismissed her concerns.

On several occasions, Amber had tried to talk things over with Zoe, but Dean's girlfriend was part of management and simply didn't understand Amber's feelings. Lexi would have understood. Amber actually found herself musing on more than one occasion how this must have been exactly how Lexi felt when management tried the breakup angle with her several months ago..

Except when they'd tried this angle with Lexi, she'd been five months pregnant and the stress had nearly cost her and Roman their baby. Thankfully, out of concern for the baby's health, management had cut the angle and the team went on to survive for another seven months.

As a unit they'd made two full years together. Now it was over and that knowledge left Amber less than certain about her future. While she and Dean had remained heels, by walking away, Roman and Seth's face turn was complete. Of course thanks to his real life romance with Lexi, Roman was already over with the fans. That love affair was only solidified when Lexi recently tweeted pictures of Roman asleep in a recliner, cradling their baby girl on his chest.

Wanting to capitalize on that momentum, management begun to make big plans for the big Samoan and, from the rumors Amber was now hearing, apparently Seth too.

With the last name Hart, Lexi was already a star and the darling of the WWE. When she returned in two weeks, she would do so no longer as a member of The Shield, but as a returning member of The Hart Dynasty.

Then there was Dean. He'd always been a heel and played the role to perfection, So it had only made sense for him to remain that way. With his talent both in the ring and on the microphone, and given enough time and push, she could picture him becoming another Randy Orton.

Which only left Amber. Where did this demise of The Shield leave her? She pushed up from the small couch in her hotel room, crossed to the mini fridge and pulled out a bottle of soda.

When she'd joined the WWE a year and a half earlier she'd been lucky enough to be mentored by Lexi, but now...she was on her own. She wasn't a legacy like Lexi or Tamina or Natalya. She wasn't special like the Bella Twins. She was just another blonde Diva, in the long line of blonde Divas. At least Summer Rae could dance. The only thing Amber had going for her was being a member of The Shield. With it's destruction so went the one thing that made her stand out.

She returned to her small couch inside her hotel room just as the show resumed. It was of the match between Kofi vs Miz, but she wasn't really paying any attention now. Her mind churned, replying the events from Tuesday, yet again. Seth would be back soon, she considered as she twisted off the cap. He and the boys had performed at a house show and were then going out for a celebratory beer. Since she wasn't on the card, she'd opted to stay at the hotel and watch Smackdown.

When she and Dean eventually returned to the locker room on Tuesday, she'd found Roman and Seth waiting. She must have looked as bad as she felt, because Seth immediately pulled her into a hug, holding her tight against his chest. "It's okay," he'd whispered even as Roman and Dean hooked hands and chest bumped. "I know that wasn't easy for you, but you did great." Despite the warmth of Seth's embrace and the soothing words he showered over her, she'd felt hollow inside, empty, as if a part of her had died in that ring right along side their team.