As soon as Roman and MiraBeth walked through the door, the questions began. "What took so long? Is she okay?" Randy was waiting just inside the arena door beside Dean and Seth.

"We've told him she's fine." Dean was clearly not liking the invasion of someone else in what he perceived as Their Group. The Shield had taken care of each other. Now that The Shield was no more, Seth, Dean, and Roman had to be cautious as to where and how they associated but they still had each other's backs. They still talked and bunked together. Now that MiraBeth was Roman's girl, she was one of Them. No one was going to step in and try to assume the role of her protector. Not while Dean was around. No way. No how. She was Roman's woman and sister of Dean and Seth. End of story.

"She's fine." Roman told Randy as he kept his arm anchored around her waist.

MiraBeth threaded her fingers through Roman's before answering Randy. "I'll be fine. Like they said, this isn't my first go-round with something like this." She laid her head on Roman's shoulder. "Having Roman there before was crucial. Keeping the lines of communication open will be critical this time, too."

"And she's got us to lean on." Seth said. "This time MiraBeth has her boyfriend and her brothers."

"And we aren't leaving her alone." Dean agreed, crossing his arms across his chest.

MiraBeth tried to pull her hand free from Roman's but he tightened his grip to prevent her from escaping. "Randy, what they are saying is that I have a support system. It's necessary. You were right there, too. You saw hideous sights and watched a young man die. You need to have a strong support system, people to lean on and talk to. This isn't something that you can 'man-up' to get through." Randy nodded. MiraBeth extended her other hand and he grasped it quickly. "You were right beside me. We are co-workers now, so if you need to talk through something you can find me easily." Roman gripped her hip hard as Dean started to growl.

Dolph and Cesaro approached the small group. "Hey, guys. MiraBeth. Everyone okay?" Randy was looking a little jumpy as Cesaro put a hand on his shoulder.

"Yeah." Randy said as he started to back away.

"He was right beside me when that kid died." MiraBeth told them. "He needs support, too." Dolph acknowledged her statement with a brief nod.

"Roman and MiraBeth need some time." Seth said, knowing the couple hadn't had a chance to get straight before the accident. "MiraBeth says Randy needs support and we have a show to get ready for. I think the five of us should head to catering and let Roman and Mira have the locker room for a few minutes."

Squeezing Roman's waist, MiraBeth disagreed. "I need to be on-duty. As Head of Security, it is my responsibility to see to it that what went on out there doesn't affect anything in here. That chaos could really throw things for a loop."

Roman tried to refute her argument. "No one expects you to try and work tonight. You've been through enough. Take tonight and start tomorrow with the meeting."

MiraBeth looked up at him. "Is anyone else sitting out? Are they cancelling the show?" She yanked her hand from his and pulled away from the shelter of his arm. "I'm not a cream puff, Roman. I can do my job. You told me I was strong. Apparently you didn't mean it." She continued to back away from him.

"D*mmit, you know that's not what I meant!" Roman swore as he reached for her again.

MiraBeth was passed the small group of men as Roman threw his hands in the air and started after her. Seth shook his head and cut Roman off, catching and cutting-off MiraBeth. "You know that's not what he meant." he said quietly.

"That's how it came across. Again." she said softly. "Let's bubble wrap the fragile little lady and protect her from life. Lord only knows when she's gonna break." She didn't break stride as she continued down the hall. "I have work to do. Coddling Roman Reign's ego doesn't fit into my schedule. He has to understand that we both have jobs, responsibilities that we have to fulfill." Once she said what she had to say she lengthened her stride and headed for her office as Seth turned to face Roman. Randy brushed past him and caught up to MiraBeth.

"Hey." Randy said as he shut the door gently.

"I didn't think you'd need to talk so quickly." she said.

"I don't. You do." He sat in a chair across from her desk. "What the h*ll just happened?" MiraBeth sat down in her chair and laid her head on her desk. "Talk to me. You went from the toughest scene I have ever witnessed to walking away from a man who obviously…"

"Thinks I can't do my job." she finished for him. "He wants me to take the night off. I'm not some sissy cream puff who needs coddling. I can do my f-ing job." Tears started to well in MiraBeth's eyes and spill down her cheeks.

Randy held up his hands. "Whoa. That is a giant leap. Let's stop and take a breather for just a minute." He took a big breath in, held it, and then exhaled loudly. "I have to say on Roman's behalf, if you were my girlfriend, I would have you wrapped in my arms and refuse to let you go. There's no way in h*ll you'd be working tonight. I'd have you locked away somewhere surrounded by really fluffy pillows."

"You're not helping." she growled.

"I'm telling you how it is. As a man, when we love someone we want to protect them. It's ingrained in our manhood. H*ll, just meeting you is enough for me to want to… That accident was… Yeah." He folded his hands in his lap and started twisting his fingers together.

MiraBeth smacked her hands on the desk. "See, this I can talk about." She moved around the desk to sit near Randy. "You heard I had a mass casualty accident before. Roman stood by my side as I coped with that, by the way. It takes time. Know the grieving process. The first stage is denial that you experienced it and trying to isolate yourself from others. Then comes anger that it happened. The third stage is bargaining. You want to try and get control back some way so you try and make a deal with god or whatever deity you believe in. The fourth step is depression. That is finally followed by acceptance. By knowing the stages you can see them coming and sort-of prepare for them. I know that I am in denial over what just happened. That's fine as I am getting ready to work tonight but when I get to the hotel tonight I need to work through that and make sure I avoid the isolation stage."

"I have to disagree. You may be in denial over the accident but you are also isolating yourself from Roman. You are deep in that first stage. And I am clueless, so I am right with you." Randy said with a self-deprecating head shake. "How do I work through the anger? Because I am angry at the jack*ss that killed innocent people. I can't go into the ring and wrestle Seth without being in full control of my emotions."

"You are talking so you are in more control than you think."

"When are you going to talk to Roman?" Randy asked. "He needs to know you two are okay especially before he goes into the ring tonight."

"And you turn the conversation back to that." she sighed. "There's more to it than one night and we didn't get it all ironed out before. Then he repeated what irks me most, that he doesn't seem to think that I am strong enough to handle this. He orchestrated me leaving the police force and coming here so we could travel together. It sounds so sweet but…"

Randy grabbed her hand. "Take it at face value. Talk to the man. Hear me when I say if I was in his position, I would do everything he is and more." Randy stood up and headed for the door. "From what I understand, he put a lot on the line to 'orchestrate' everything you think he did for you. What are you willing to do for him? That's something you need to consider as you are dealing with the denial and isolation stage." He opened the door and saw Roman leaning against the doorjam. With a brief nod he stepped around the other man.

Roman grabbed Randy's arm as the door shut. "Not so fast, Randy."