Disclaimer: All publicly recognisable characters are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and the plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Chapter 32

This had to be a dream.

Scarlett was shaking as she made her way back up to the room Roman had booked for her. Shutting the door behind her, Scarlett lifted Vitani into her arms and hugged her.

"We're going to be okay, Vitani. We're going to be okay," Scarlett whispered. Tears began to pour down her cheeks and Scarlett wondered whether she was dreaming. Stephanie's words had put an end to the war in her mind and she'd accepted the contract which entailed four years working as a head chef on the road with the WWE with a pay of $3,500 per month. Stephanie had told her the amount was subject to change if they were impressed with her, meaning she could be earning more than she'd originally signed for if her leadership and skills were outstanding.

"I can't believe this is happening, Vitani."

She really couldn't. Her life was changing. But it was changing way too fast. There was a sliver of fear that it would ripped away from her but the joy was overpowering it and she pushed it aside. For once, she felt the desire to be happy. For five years she'd locked away and pushed anything that was too good to be true, but right now? Right now all she wanted to do was spread her arms wide and let the winds of joys slide over her freely.

Scarlett wanted to run free in the joy. To bask in the laughter and happiness that she was feeling. She wanted this, by God she wanted this. Whatever 'this' was, she wanted it. It made her feel happy.

And it wouldn't have been possible without Roman and Seth. The thought humbled her and she smiled. She set Vitani down and kissed her nose one last time before leaving her room and going next door to Roman's. The door opened before she could even knock and Seth and Roman appeared in the door, looking as if they were heading out. They stopped when they spotted her.

"Hey! How'd the meeting with Stephanie go?" Roman asked. Scarlett smiled brightly, but remembering that she had a scarf around her face, she stepped forward and wrapped an arm around each of their necks.

"I don't know how to thank you," Scarlett said, squeezing them. They responded with turning their heads and kissing her temple.

"You don't need to thank us for anything," Seth said when she pulled back.

"I never would've gotten the offer if it wasn't for you two," Scarlett told them. Seth and Roman looked at each other and Scarlett's smile faltered as she noticed the uncertainty in their eyes.

"What? What's wrong?" She asked.

"Babygirl, you really don't need to thank us," Roman said. Her brows furrowing in confusion she looked between the two trying to figure out what they were trying to say.

"But you two told them about my cooking," she said hesitantly.

"Yeah, we did say you made the best food. But that was after," Seth said nodding.

"After what?" She asked.

"After Dean told Steph and Hunter that there is no one else more capable of handling the catering on the road other than you."

~oOo~

Dean's head was pounding when he woke and he groaned as he rolled over in his bed. Even in his drunken sleep, he'd dreamt of Scarlett. He'd dreamt of her being there with him and leading him back to his room. His eyes cracked open and he shut them again. Fucking curtains not blocking the harsh light streaming into the room from outside. Speaking of, how had he gotten to his room? The most logical answer was Seth considering he was the only one that had the key to his room.

Dean slowly sat up, groaning again when his head screamed in fury at him. His eyes remained shut and he grabbed his head. Swearing at himself for getting drunk, Dean fisted his hands and pressed them against his forehead.

"Here, take this."

His eyes snapped open, an action that doubled his headache, but the moment his gaze fell on her standing next to his bed, her hands holding out a glass of water and a bottle of Aspirin; Dean felt a whirlwind of emotions. Anger, confusion, worry, panic, the emotions hit him in one blow and all Dean could do was stare at her dumbly.

"Dean," she said, shaking the Aspirin bottle to get his attention. Swiping both the glass and medicine from her hands, Dean popped a pill into his mouth and knocked it back with water before placing them on the side table and immediately reaching for Scarlett.

"You're here," he croaked, his hands grasping hers to make sure she wouldn't just disappear. She responded by sitting down on the edge of his bed and nodding.

"I'm here."

"Why'd you leave?" He asked accusingly. Regret flashed through her eyes and she looked away from him.

"Scar, why did you leave?" He asked again.

"I got scared," she replied simply. When he waited for her to explain further, she let out a sigh.

"You make me feel things, Dean," she said.

"What type of things?" He asked, was that his heart that was beating so loud?

"Things," she said. Frustrated, Dean reached forward and tugged her scarf, allowing it to fall free from her face so he could see her. She glanced at him but turned her gaze away, towards the side table. Dean reached forward and took a hold of her chin, turning her head so she was looking right at him.

"What things, Scarlett?" He asked, his fingers stroking her cheek softly; feeling the scarred skin underneath his fingertips. She trembled and opened her mouth before closing it shut again.

"Happy," she responded after a while. Out of all the things he expected, that wasn't it. Amusement coursed through him and the pain dulled in his head as he continued to stroke her cheek. Was she leaning into his touch?

"Scared. Nervous. Panicked," she continued. Dean withdrew his hand from her and looked at her.

"Scar, I thought these "things" entailed positive emotions," he said frowning. She looked at him, the corner of her mouth twitching.

"They are positive. You make me feel, Dean," she said at last. "You make me feel things I didn't think I would ever feel after what happened with me."

A hush fell over them. Scarlett played with the sheets that were covering him while his gaze remained fixated on her. She was still closed off from him he noted. The room was bathed in an orange glow as the sun set outside, the sheers not doing such a good job of blocking out the light. The light caressed her and made her glow in front of him and Dean took her in silently.

"You make me feel things too," he said quietly. Her gaze snapped up to him and he saw shock etched onto her face. Her lips parted and Dean pushed away the urge to lean forward and capture them again. No. He needed to have this talk with her right now. Right now, Dean Ambrose would take a plunge into the unknown and bare himself to her.

"I want you by my side, Scar. I want to hold you whenever I want, I want to kiss you whenever I want," he said. A sharp intake of breath came from her when he said the words "kiss you" but Dean ploughed on.

"I am not a good guy, Scar. Hell, I don't even deserve you but God help me I'll do anything to make you mine. I have my demons but I want to push them away so I can call you mine."

Dean himself didn't know where he'd gathered the courage and was spilling himself out to her. All he knew was that after the way she ran from him, the fear he'd felt when he hadn't found her, the relief that flooded him when Roman had assured him she was okay; after all that, there was no way in hell he'd let her leave him again. No. Fucking. Way. She needed to know.

"I won't sweep you off your feet and whisk you off into the sunset, I won't bring you flowers because I don't do that shit. But I will be yours as you would be mine," he continued. Her mouth was shaped in an "O" and she was staring at him wide eyed.

"God fucking help me but I need you to kn-."

He was silenced by her lips and Dean felt his eyes widen at the sudden contact. But the feeling of her lips ripped the surprise away from him and lust slammed into him. His arms slid around her waist and he pulled her towards him. He broke the kiss long enough to grab her thigh and pull it around himself so she was straddling him before tugging her lips back to him.

Their previous kisses had been slow and sensual, this was anything but. Hard and bruising, it was kiss of frustration and gratitude. Tongues entwined and his hands dugs into her waist. She balanced herself against his shoulders, her grip tight but not painful. Dean tugged her bottom lip into his mouth and sucked greedily. But she pulled away slowly, her hands wrapping around his neck as she leaned back and looked down at him.

"I'm not the perfect bombshell beauty that you're accustomed to," Scarlett said. She shushed him when he opened his mouth to protest by placing a finger against his lips.

"I'm scarred and I have a past that haunts me to this day. But being with you makes me want to live again. You've done things for me nobody ever has or ever will," she continued.

"You say you have your demons, I have mine too, Dean. The only difference is that you had the strength to move on and I'm too cowardly and ashamed to leave it behind. I don't know why I want you with me but all I know is that if I don't, I will never be able to move on," her voice lowered and tears gathered in the corner of her eyes but she didn't let them fall. Her finger was tracing his lips and she was staring right into his eyes.

"You're my strength and my weakness. I ran because I'm a coward and it's what I do when I get scared. But I'm tired of running," she concluded. She bent her head down and kissed him once more.

"I'm scared, Dean," she whispered against his lips. Dean knew exactly what she meant and he pulled his head back to look into her eyes.

"Me too," he replied. They continued gazing at each other before leaning forward simultaneously and fusing their lips together.

~oOo~

She'd wanted to thank him for being the catalyst behind Stephanie offering her a job. But Scarlett had gotten more than that. He'd finally opened up to her and she'd done the same to him. He deserved her honesty for he'd given her his. Scarlett didn't know where this, whatever this was, would lead but all she knew was that it felt right. His touch, his embrace, it all felt perfectly natural.

Cocooned in his arms as they lay in his bed together after sharing several kisses, Scarlett reveled in the warmth that he exuded. No words were needed to be said for all the words had already been said.

"What's your favorite color?" She asked after a while. He had been lazily drawing patterns on the back of her hand that was resting against his chest.

"Green," he replied.

"Mine's blue," like your eyes. She kept that last part to herself with a secretive smile that he couldn't see.

"Favorite food?" She asked.

"Pizza."

"Favorite dessert?"

"Ice Cream," he replied.

"Hmm. Favorite book?"

"Angels and Demons by Dan Brown. What's with the questions?" He asked looking down at her. She tilted her head to look at him and chuckled when he stole a kiss from her lips.

"I want to know you better," she replied, resting her chin on her hand so she could look at him. He reached up and brushed her hair out of her face, then pulled her cheeks.

"What was that for?" She asked when he grinned cheekily.

"Roman sent me a picture of you sleeping when I asked him where you guys were earlier today. Seth thought you looked cute and so did I," he answered, reaching forward and pulling her cheek once more. Scarlett laughed and swatted his hand away.

"Enough of that," she said before laughter peeled from her lips when he rolled them over so he was leaning over her.

"Why is it I always find myself in this situation with you?" She asked looking between them and then up at him. His grin was roguish and those blue eyes she adored were sparkling with mischief.

"Stop talking," was all he said before he silenced her with his lips once more.

~oOo~

"I thought you said she would be in her room?" Seth said as they looked around Scarlett's room. Vitani had jumped up into Seth's arms when they'd walked into Scarlett's room with the spare key that Roman had snagged when he'd booked her a room.

"Well good thing is she didn't run away again," Roman replied as he took in her belongings sitting in the corner and more importantly, Vitani nestle in Seth's arms. "That cat likes you."

"She's a special little one, aren't you? Yes you are!" Seth cooed at the cat who meowed in return and bopped Seth's nose. Roman stared at Seth with a funny expression on his face. Seth Rollins was a dog person, even the fans knew that. So to see him so attached to a cat made Roman want to laugh. But he stifled it and backed out of the room.

"She might've gone down with the girls. AJ had bounded out the café when I told her Scarlett was here," Roman said.

"Should we go check on Dean?" Seth asked following Roman out the door with Vitani still in his arms. They headed down the hall and Seth fished out the key to Dean's room.

"Wake up, De-Holy shit!" Seth couldn't hold back the surprise when Dean rolled off of Scarlett, the latter's lips swollen and a flush on her face. Her eyes were wide in surprise while Dean sent them a lazy grin.

"Nice to see you too," Dean replied, his arm snaking around Scarlett's waist. She swatted his hand away and sat up.

"I can explain," she started.

"No need, babygirl," Roman responded chuckling. He'd done a better job of masking his surprise than Seth and the three men watched as Scarlett got onto her feet and pushed her hair back.

"Um…I…we…," she stammered.

"Yes?" Seth asked, wiggling his eyebrows in a way that almost made Scarlett want to smack him.

"I think what Scarlett's trying to say is if you could stop squeezing her cat," Dean offered. Seth sent him a glare and Scarlett hurried forward, her face flaming, to take Vitani from Seth's arms where she was happily playing with the headband Seth had given her.

"So it's all good?" Roman asked.

"Better than good," Dean answered, his eyes watching Scarlett closely as she petted Vitani and refused to look at them.

~oOo~

That evening, Scarlett strolled down the hallway with her hand encompassed in Dean's larger one. After having come to terms with Roman and Seth barging into her and Dean kissing, the next hour or so consisted of her getting teased by the other two men which only culminated when Dean had whirled her around and planted a kiss on her. To her horror, it had satisfied the two enough to make them stop teasing her.

"You better get used to me kissing you in front of people," Dean had whispered into her ear. While the thought warmed her, the idea of him removing her scarf to kiss her had been too horrifying to think further about.

Seth was on the other side of her while Roman trailed behind them. They had been discussing Scarlett's contract and Dean's face had split with the most sinister smirk she'd ever seen on him when she'd looked at him pointedly.

"I told you I wanted you by my side," he said to her. The elevator took them down to the lobby and Scarlett let go of Dean's hand as the doors opened. She saw him send her a confused look but chose to ignore it, shuffling forward.

"Thought you would walk with Dean," Seth said when he noticed her move closer to him, her hand free from Dean's grasp.

"I am," she replied. Seth gave her a funny look and glanced back at Dean but said nothing. The latter had a sour look on his face but he schooled his features as they approached AJ and Randy.

"You three don't have to hide her away, you know," AJ chirped skipping over to Scarlett and hugging her tightly.

"There won't be any need for hiding starting Monday," Seth said, grinning at Scarlett sideways.

"What do you mean?" AJ asked, pulling back with a puzzled expression on her face.

"There's a new lady in charge for catering on the road," Roman said, his grin matched Seth's and AJ let out a loud squeal of joy hugging Scarlett once more.

"You're going to be on the road with us! Ran, did you hear that? Scarlett's going to be on the road with us!" AJ cried happily, turning to Randy and launching herself into his arms. The other man's eyes snapped down to the woman in his arms and Scarlett smiled under her scarf as she saw the adoration fill the big man's eyes.

"Oh God no."

A collective groan was heard from around the group as they turned to find Summer Rae standing with her hands on her hips as she stared at Scarlett with a disgusted look on her face. Her mane of blonde hair was cascading down her back and her tight fitting clothes only accentuated the body she worked so hard on maintaining.

"I will not, not, be eating food made by a mangled bitch," Summer said. Instantly, Scarlett found herself facing three backs as Dean, Seth, and Roman created almost a barrier between Summer and herself with their bodies.

"Say that again, I dare you," Dean hissed. Scarlett didn't need to see their faces to know the looks they would be sporting right now. Dean's face was probably pulled into a menacing scowl with his teeth gnashing together, Roman's eyes would be fiery and cold as ice as they glared at Summer, while Seth's face would be void of any emotion with his posture being ready to pounce on Summer if necessary.

"Oh please, as if you're even worthy to have food made by her," AJ said haughtily as she sauntered over to stand in front of Summer. Scarlett peaked out from behind the wall of men and she bit her bottom lip. Damn it, why couldn't she have the courage to stand up for herself?

Because Summer didn't say anything else but the truth. And when she'd thought she'd gotten rid of that annoying voice in her head, it only returned.

The description is quite fitting. Scarlett only gulped and wrapped her arms around herself.

"Don't even try and get into my face, AJ. Shouldn't you be worried more about your husband than frolicking with his colleague?"

Scarlett didn't need to see to know that Summer had said the wrong words because two seconds later, Summer's screams filled the lobby and Randy had to lurch forward and grab onto AJ to pull her back from her never ending blows to Summer.

"What is going on here?" The angry voice of Hunter was what caused the two women to stop throwing blows at each other.

"She started it!" Summer snapped, pointing an accusing finger to Scarlett. Hunter glanced at Scarlett then shook his head at Summer.

"Summer, if I find you assaulting another employee of this company that has no training in combat then you will be out of here before you can even say 'wrestling'," Hunter said firmly.

"I nev-."

"I've had enough complaints about you and you're treading on very thin ice," he said cutting across her. The blonde fell silent but sent a loathing glare towards Scarlett that told her it wasn't the last they'd seen of Summer Rae.

"And you three. Calm down before you hurt someone," Hunter said turning his attention to the three men that were standing before her like guard dogs. Scarlett reached forward and placed a hand on both Seth and Roman's shoulders.

"Hey, it's okay," she said, feeling the tension ease off of them slowly. Once they'd calmed down, she turned her attention to Dean. Scarlett sidled up to him and wrapped his hand in hers surreptitiously behind Roman's back so it was hidden from view.

"Relax," she whispered to him softly. He turned his gaze to her and she saw the heat that was sparkling in his eyes. Knowing what he wanted, Scarlett let out a gasp and immediately pulled away from him. Her heart began to race and she hoped Dean's anger had calmed down before he did something he regretted later.

"And no more fighting in the hotels. You're lucky nobody called the cops. AJ, have you called Punk?" Hunter asked. The smaller woman was released from Randy's grasp and she huffed.

"He said he's fine and will be here tomorrow morning," AJ replied. Scarlett noticed Randy stiffen and the hurt flash in his eyes, but it was gone before she could say anything and the lazy and bored expression returned to his face. He looked at her and Scarlett gave him a small nod, one he returned after a couple of seconds. A silent agreement passing between the two.

"Good. Tell him to come see me first thing in the morning," Hunter said. Sending one final warning look towards the trio, Hunter walked off. The small crowd that had gathered around them due to the little fight between AJ and Summer dispersed when AJ snapped at them.

"I thought you'd be playing nice with them, doll," Roman said to AJ as she settled on glaring at the floor.

"I'll play nice when they do. Now, excuse me. I have to go and talk to my ass of a husband," AJ scowled. Dean turned to face her and crossed his arms.

"AJ, come on. The man's been injured and he's been doing his best to make sure you're not having to go through any trouble when you're at home with him," Dean told her. AJ rolled her eyes and threw her hands up in the air.

"I don't even feel like I'm married, Dean. Where's the fun in that?" She asked before she stormed off. Scarlett placed a hand on Dean's shoulder.

"Give her some time. Her husband and her need to have a talk but don't think you need to play mediator here," Scarlett told him gently. Dean's only response was to take her hand in his and pull it up to his lips, brushing a kiss across her knuckles.

"Took you long enough," Randy muttered watching the exchange with interest. Scarlett felt her face heat up under her scarf but had to dig her nails into Dean's palm when he narrowed his eyes at the wrestling veteran.

"Don't even think about it, Orton. You have a habit of wanting women that belong to someone else," Dean growled. Scarlett gasped as a surprised look flashed across Randy and anger clouded his eyes.

"You don't know anything," Randy hissed before he whirled around and stormed off.

"Dean!" Scarlett said, her voice was reprimanding and he looked at her to find her looking at him in disappointment.

"What?" He asked, scrunching his forehead in confusion.

"We've had this talk before," Scarlett said to him, nodding towards where Randy had disappeared off to.

"Come on, Scar. Don't you see the way he acts with her though? She's married for crying out loud!"

"And having problems during which time she's turning to Randy and he's giving her the support he can give as a friend," she said firmly, her arms crossing in front of her chest.

"Why are you supporting him?" Dean asked shaking his head.

"I'm not supporting anyone. I'm trying to tell you to stop acting like a jerk. What you said to Randy wasn't nice, Dean. And even you know that. Questioning a man's intentions when he has none isn't a sign of friendship," Scarlett said, a frown settling on her lips underneath her scarf. She knew he didn't need to see her face to see the disappointment and she felt a pinch of satisfaction when he had the audacity to look slightly miffed.

"So is this the first official fight you two have had as a couple? It's been what? Just under six hours since we found you two making out," Seth said looking down at his wristwatch. Dean glared at him but when he looked back at Scarlett, he saw shock in her eyes and Dean understood where her mind was heading to. He tugged her into his arms and kissed the top of her head.

"Don't even go there. I am not mad at you. You have every right to knock some sense into me, Scar. Anytime, anywhere," he whispered into her ear. Scarlett glanced around them and then wrapped her arms around his waist, giving him a small squeeze.

"Thank you," she whispered softly. Scarlett pulled herself away from Dean and turned her attention to Roman and Seth, who were watching the two of them with unreadable expressions.

"What?"

"Nothing," was the simultaneous reply she got.

I would've posted this up so long ago but that Reviews glitch that FFN was going through really delayed everything. I don't like posting anything new without reading and replying to the Reviews. And FFN wasn't even showing me any of the reviews left on the previous chapter up until this morning. But on the bright side, you guys get a new chapter and I really hope you enjoy reading this just as much as I enjoyed writing it.

As always, let me know your thoughts in your Reviews.

Cheers!

- K.

To Emilee: Thank you for reading and welcome aboard! Phil is based off of a guy that my friend almost got into a relationship with so I'm taking my anger out on him by shoving him into my story. Don't mind me. Lol. That will be difficult because first she doesn't have a lot of money to keep the B&B running as she has no staff and secondly it's in the middle of nowhere so in terms of profit, it's just not worth it. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed this chapter! xo

To Marina: Can I just say I am beyond excited to hear your thoughts on this chapter? Scarlett's slowly going through a change and yes, Phil pressuring her won't make her say yes in any shape or form. If anything, he ended up ruining any chances by forcing her to give them a chance. No girl likes to feel pressured into a relationship. Specially when that girl is Scarlett. Thanks for reading and let me know what you think! xoxo