Chapter 27

When Taker and Rajani arrived in the next area, John was waiting for her in Stephanie's office. Kane was nowhere to be found and Stephanie had suspended him indefinitely along with a hefty fine. She wore just a simple pair of red dress pants with black and red matching top that was long sleeved and had a turtleneck to hide her throat. It was still very tender, but Rajani refused to show them off, feeling sick whenever she saw them in the mirror.

"Hi." She greeted, wondering where Stephanie and Alex were.

"Hi." John said back, staring at her intently.

He hadn't seen her since the hospital and she looked much better. However, he knew under that turtleneck Rajani still sported bruises. Anything was better than the mental image he still seen of her lying on his dressing room floor unconscious as well as the vivid imagery of her lying in that hospital bed.

"Stephanie and Alex are dealing with a situation involving the stage crew." John said when he seen her looking around and walked over to stand directly in front of her, reaching out to pull her against him. "I've been trying to get a hold of you, Raja. I know you were in good hands, but..." He trailed off, pulling back to stare down into her eyes. "I was worried about you."

"I couldn't really talk and I was doped up on painkillers most of the time." It wasn't exactly the complete truth, but John didn't need to know that she wanted to be near Taker after her attack. "I thought you were mad at me." She walked past him to set her things down, slowly turning around to face him again, her hair down and no makeup. Rajani just didn't care about her appearance right now. "I'm sorry I worried you. John, I was going to tell you about...Dwayne, but I was waiting for the right time. I had to make sure that...that you wouldn't use me against him. He comes first, he's my brother and I hate that you two are facing off at Mania and hate each other in real life. That's why I kept turning you down because I didn't want THIS coming out. I didn't want people thinking that I got this job because of him. I've worked my ass off to get here. I had to go through interviews and everything just like everyone else. Nothing was handed to me. And as for staying with Taker, all I can really say is he's protecting me and he knows Kane better than anyone, even you, so I trust him completely."

"He's protecting you? Raja, where was he the other night then?" John said, shaking his head and held up a hand when she opened her mouth to defend Taker. "That was wrong of me, I should have been there, it was my dressing room. And I don't think you got your job because of who your brother is. I already know you're good at it."

John didn't like her brother. He'd be lying if he denied that the idea of using his relationship with Rajani to just further piss off the sell-out hadn't crossed his mind because it had. Not that he was telling HER that.

"I don't care about Dwayne either." Outright lie, mostly. "I still want to be with you Rajani, but I can't change what's happened between me and your brother or what is going to happen."

"Why was Kane in your dressing room?" Rajani suddenly asked, ignoring everything else he said for the moment. "I went in there to talk to you and he was there waiting. I don't know what the hell is going on. I don't know if he was waiting for you or if he knew I was going to see you or..." Rajani had tried piecing everything together in her head, but it was in shambles. Nothing made sense when it came to Kane these days. "I thought he stopped your feud. And he knows that I've been out with you and I'm traveling with Taker. So you need to be careful and watch your back because he could be anywhere." That thought was NOT comforting at all.

"Rajani," John said gently, reaching out for her again, blue eyes kind. "Do you really think Kane meant it when he said he was putting an end to our feud? It's Kane, the man is a psychopath and you know that better than anyone else." John bent down to kiss her forehead, knowing she was confused, scared, and probably wondering why the hell she still worked here. "He was probably waiting to ambush me or something, how would he know you were coming to see me? The only people who knew were us, and we were texting." He pointed out reasonably.

"Because he pointblank asked me who I was fucking and then I slapped him." She bit her bottom lip when John's blue eyes shot open, tucking a strand of black hair behind her hair. "I know stupid right? But the things he said to me...I lost my temper and paid for it..." Rajani chalked it up to that, rubbing her throat through the material of the shirt very lightly. "Look I need to know right now if you have a problem with me traveling with Taker because, if you do, we're going to have to figure something else out or end this. I want to be with you, I'm falling for you, but I'm not compromising my health and safety either."

"Your health and safety are priorities with me, Rajani, I don't want anything happening to you." John said, catching her hand when she didn't immediately stop rubbing at her throat, wondering if she was even aware she was doing and gently squeezed. "Why don't you start travelling with me?" He suggested, his blue eyes lighting up at the thought. "We can do the suite thing with 2 rooms, I can protect you." It was a bit of an insult/injury to his pride that she seemed to think he couldn't.

"I can't." She pulled her hand away from him, shaking her head, the thought of being away from Taker terrifying her. "I'm sorry John, but he knows Kane better than you. I'm safer with him. Kane has taken you out how many times? You honestly think me staying with you is the best option? If Kane wants me, there's no way for you to stop him. I know you're strong and everything, but he nearly had you at the last pay-per-view. Taker knows how he thinks, how he ticks and I feel completely safe with him. I don't feel completely safe with you."

"How can you feel that way, Raja?" John demanded, the hurt finally shining through, knowing he hadn't exactly done a whole lot to make himself seem trustworthy to her. But damn it, the way things were going, it didn't even look like he was going to get the chance to prove that she could trust him; that he would protect and care for her. "He knows Kane better than me? Supposedly, he knew Kane better than anyone, so where was that when Kane was attacking you? When Kane was going completely off the deep-end? How do you know by being around Taker that you're not making it worse? They were best friends."

"Well being with you sure as hell isn't making it better!" She snapped, taking offense to what he said and could already feel tears filling her eyes. "Kane was in YOUR dressing room, John. Do you keep forgetting that valid point? He was waiting there for a reason, how the hell was Taker supposed to know he'd be there? You didn't even know he was in there! I don't care if they were best friends, Taker has become my best friend and I trust him." With John, something was holding Rajani back and she wasn't sure what it was except the fact that her feelings for both men were split in half. "And yes he knows Kane way better than you! They are best friends, or were as you said, so who would know that monster better than him? No one."

"Yeah in my dressing room, probably looking for me to retaliate for taking him out at the Elimination Chamber." John said flatly, stepping away from her, having heard every word she said loud and clear. "He's not just your best friend, is he?" He demanded, trying not to lash out at her, but...it was hard.

John had gotten his chance with her, but it was like she was bound and determined to always hold him at arm's length, to keep him away. Now her reasons weren't what they had originally been. They weren't related to her brother anymore.

"You love him, don't you?"

"What?" Rajani's jaw dropped when John said that, wondering if he'd lost his mind. "You're seriously asking me a stupid question like that? Are you deaf or just have selective hearing? Didn't you hear me say I'm falling for you, John? Did you not hear that? Of course I don't love him, not that way!"

Rajani couldn't believe he actually asked her that, blinking as a few tears slid down her face. There was a reason she held him at arm's length. She didn't trust him as much as she trusted Taker. It was because of her brother, Rajani came to the conclusion a week ago when she figured out that she was falling slowly for John.

"You're an asshole. I can't believe you and I really don't have time for this. I have work to do, so exit the way you entered."

"No, you're not doing that this time, Rajani. Whenever you get pissed or think someone -namely me- is in the wrong, you try to end a conversation. It's not happening." John said firmly, refusing to let her do this yet again to him. "You will make the time for this, stop running from your problems, from ME. I heard you when you said you were falling for me, but a person is very capable of loving more than one person at one time and in different ways. You've said you don't feel completely safe with me, but you do with him. He's your best friend, he can protect you. Either you've honestly friend-zoned him or you have stronger feelings for him and I want to know the truth because I've been crazy about you from day one."

"What do you want me to say, John?" Rajani whispered, locking dark eyes on crystal blue, frowning. "You want me to say I love him? Fine. Yes, part of me does love him. You say people can love more than one person? Well I love 2 men at the same damn time and I don't know what to do about it." There, she'd told him the truth and spilled what she tried denying for the past several weeks. "I love him because of what he's done for me. He stepped up and was willing to protect me without expecting anything in return. A woman would be crazy not to love a man like that. But I also love you. I've had a major crush on you from day one; I just ignored it because of my brother. You hate each other, so I couldn't trust his opponent. But I decided to give you a chance and so far it's been wonderful. I've loved our times together, we have a strong connection. But I also have a connection with Taker that I can't explain or describe and I'm not gonna try."

Okay, he had that coming, John admitted it. He had asked her for the truth and she had given it to him. She had given him more then he could handle. He had been expecting her to deny it, not...this. He took a deep breath, closing his eyes for a moment.

"Does he know how you feel?" John asked a moment later when he felt he could speak without something breaking, or the wrong thing slipping out. When she shook her head, he managed a tight smile, one that did not suit him at all. "Maybe you should, Rajani. That might help you figure out which one of us you want, because you can't have both. It's not fair to him, or me."

"You honestly think he would feel the same about me?" Rajani started laughing and it didn't sound humorous at all, almost heartbreaking instead. "I'm not telling him how I feel. He thinks of me as a...sister or something...I don't know. I don't want to know. All I know is that I'm trying to squash whatever I feel for him and trying to put my all into what we have currently, John. There is no choosing about it. He's not interested in me, he's only helping me because his ex-best friend for some odd reason is coming after me." Rajani never sugarcoated any of her feelings, always speaking her mind and right now was no exception. "So if you can't handle this, if you can't be patient enough for me to fall in love with you completely, if you don't want to continue this then I understand. You do deserve better, not gonna deny that, but I can't help how I feel. And I don't want you both, I'm not that type of woman. I've already chosen who I want, it's up to you if you still want me, knowing how I currently feel."

"You have to give me the chance, give yourself the chance to fall for me, and just me, Rajani. And right now, by clinging to him, you're not doing that. You're not going to get over him, or past what you feel for him by being with him all the time." God, that laugh was going to haunt his dreams tonight, she sounded heartbroken over the fact that Taker didn't love her back and that just shot another tiny dagger into his heart. "I want you, I always have, but I can't be the only one willing to commit to this 100%. You have to be able to do that too."

"Then I don't know what else to say. Because until this situation with Kane is handled for good, I'm not going to stop traveling with Taker and 'clinging' to him as you so eloquently put it." Rajani refused to tear herself away from Taker and figured using that as an excuse was better than flat out telling John she enjoyed being with Taker all the time. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean for this to happen. I guess we should stop whatever this is between us before we both end up hurt, or until this situation is handled and I stop traveling with Taker. I don't know if you're willing to wait, then maybe we can try again once things settle down. It's really up to you though."

"I've waited this long for you, Rajani." He said simply, knowing he was a fool because, unless Kane was dead, this situation would never resolve itself.

Rajani could use that as an excuse to stay with Taker, but he wasn't an idiot. John knew it was just one excuse, a logical and true reason, but not the ultimate reason. Did he really want to wait around for a woman that didn't know if she even wanted him at all?

"I'll wait for you." John always did, answering his own question. Before she could say anything, John was in front of her again drawing her back into his arms and bent down to kiss her, feathering his lips against hers in a tender caress. "I'll always wait for you." He whispered against her lips.

"I know you will." Rajani reached up, cupping his face tenderly in her hand, his blue eyes shining with honesty and love. "I do love you, John."

Just not the way he wanted her to and there was no changing that. Rajani already knew it. With her brother on the road and everything, things were about to become a lot more complicated, especially with Kane now lurking in the shadows. Until Kane was handled, Rajani couldn't leave Taker's side because he was the only one who could ultimately protect her. She just hoped John meant what he said and he understood why she was putting whatever it was that had built between them on hold.

"You have to go and I have to go find Stephanie." Rajani whispered, pressing her forehead to his briefly before pulling back, walking past him out the door down the hallway.

John watched her walk out, the tender understanding look fading from his eyes only to be replaced with something else entirely. Once she was fully gone and out of earshot, he sighed and leaned back against Stephanie's office door, knowing there were some serious obstacles in their way. In Rajani's way of loving him the way he wanted her, no, the way he NEEDED her too. He just had to decide on which obstacle needed taken care of first.

"Choices, choices..." John murmured, stuffing his hands in the pockets of his denim shorts before exiting.