Author Note: 75 reviews! I'm so thrilled to see the number continue to grow and it wouldn't be what it is without you awesome readers. Thanks goes to and vargas93 for becoming followers of this story. Thanks also goes to Leasha Orton, THE Kid Hardy, LindaPipeBomb and DeeMarie426 for the reviews. All of you readers amaze me and I love to see your continued support of this story. I hope you all enjoy this newest chapter.

"I'm dying to catch my breath

Oh why don't I ever learn?

I've lost all my trust,

though I've surely tried to turn it around

Can you still see the heart of me?

All my agony fades away

when you hold me in your embrace."

'All I Need' by: Within Temptation

Chapter 20: Things Are Looking Up?

2 Weeks Later

Rydia stepped over the threshold of the arena. It seemed like such a long time since the last time she was inside one. The knowledge of her debut was making her nervous. The fact that she also had to do an onscreen romance with her friend made her uncomfortable. Roman had been against it from the start; but despite the attempts to have it changed, it remained the same. Stephanie assured her it would be a short lived romance, which gave little comfort.

Seth and her still haven't spoken one on one since Mia's birthday when she spoke her mind about how much she was hurt by his actions. She figured it was about time they did speak. They had to come to terms of the assignment given to them by the creative department. "Rydia!" Roman called from behind.

"Hey..." She replied hesitantly.

She had noticed a change in his behavior for over two weeks. He seemed lost in thought more than he should be and occasionally he would zone out and not hear a work spoken to him. Roman assured her that there was nothing wrong; but she could see right through the lie. "Are you nervous about tonight?" He asked leaning down to kiss her forehead.

"Yeah, I didn't expect my debut to be this soon."

"You're talented and that's why."

She was flattered by the compliment; but it still didn't ease her nervous butterflies in her stomach. The only thing she could hope for was that didn't mess anything up. Her eyes shifted to look at the floor instead of at him. He reached out and lifted her head back up with his fingertips. "Look at me." He whispered.

"Don't worry about the other part. Seth does his job well and as much as I don't like it, he'd never do anything to ruin our relationship." He explained.

"I'm not worried about that. I'm worried about you."

"Me? Why?"

Rydia reached out to place her hand onto of his. She wanted him to be open with her just as she was with him; but he wouldn't tell her what's been going on. She wondered if he didn't trust her or believe that she could handle whatever it was. "What's been going on with you?" She asked softly praying that he'd finally cave in and give her the answer she's been wanting.

"I told you before there is nothing wrong. I've just been thinking a lot about our situation with Nick and about this onscreen romance with Seth. Nothing to worry yourself over."

She wanted to believe that was all there was to it; but there was a nagging feeling deep within her heart to screamed that there was more. He leaned in closer and captured her lips with his own. The feeling of them on hers seared a passion and fueled the fire in the pit of her stomach. Rydia relaxed against the concrete wall behind her and allowed Roman to take the simple kiss and turn it into more.

His free hand slid down her side and caressed her hip. Her hands tangled themselves in his long hair, using it to pull him closer to her heated body. The longer they kissed that way, the more she wanted him and loose herself in the moment. She wanted to forget about everything horrible around her.

"Guys get a room, please." Mia's voice interrupted.

Rydia and Roman broke away in a split second of the interruption. Mia stood with her arms crossed over her chest and a small smile upon her lips. She looked tired and completely beat down. There were bags under eyes from lack of sleep; but there was evidence of her trying to cover it up with make-up.

"Sorry Mia..." Rydia apologized feeling like she was walking on eggshells around her mood swings as of late.

"It's fine, don't worry about it. I'm just not myself today."

Mia walked off and entered the woman's locker-room. Rydia looked at Roman with a confused look upon her face. He returned the same look. He didn't know anything about her sudden change either. "I really should talk to Seth before the show. Do you mind?" She asked.

"Nah, go on. I'll catch up with you later."

She smiled and stood on her tiptoes to place a kiss on his lips. He watched her walk away before turning in the opposite direction towards the parking garage to grab his bags. The second he walking to the spacious part of the building, Dean was standing next to his rental car. He angry expression was minor compared to what Roman thought was really going through his mind after reading the words written on the side of the car. "Your girlfriend is a pill addict!"

"What the fuck is is?" Dean yelled throwing his hands up in the air.

"My guess is Nick has been here." Roman answered placing a hand on the angered man's shoulder.

"I don't care. She is not a pill addict."

Roman didn't want to tell him that there could be chance that Mia was a pill addict. All he could think about what her mood changes over the last couple of weeks and the fact that she wasn't crying at all during her father's funeral. He didn't want to tell Dean that he was in denial and needed to accept the fact that maybe she was.

Rydia stood outside the door to the locker-room Seth, Dean and Roman shared. She took a deep breath and knocked on the door. Within moments, Seth opened the door dressed in his ring gear. The second he saw her, his mind raced with thoughts of what to say to her. This was his opportunity to apologize for hurting almost three months ago.

"Can we talk?" Rydia asked.

"Sure, come in." He replied.

She crossed her hands together in front of her as she sat down on the metal chair placed at the far corner of the room. Seth closed the door to bring privacy to the conversation. Looking at her in that moment made him realize just how beautiful she really was and how difficult this role was going to be on him.

"Why did you walk away from us?" She asked abruptly.

"I needed some time to think. Nick's appearance and the fact that neither you nor Mia really needed me was heavy on my heart."

Lifting her head up from the sight of her hands, she met his watchful gaze and saw the hope in his eyes. He wanted her to forgive him. It was like he was desperate for her forgiveness. She didn't understand why he thought that they didn't need him. There was no reason to think that at all. "That's not true. We do need you...I need you."

"Ry...I'm sorry that I wasn't around; but you have to understand that it was overwhelming. Skye returning to the picture didn't help either. It brought back memories from the past I wanted to forget."

"I'm sorry too..."

"You have nothing to be sorry about."

Rydia let out a sigh, knowing that wasn't entirely true. She didn't know how to explain to him exactly what happened in a way that wouldn't upset him; but there was just no way around it. As much as she wanted her friend back in her life, he deserved to know what happened last year. "Seth, the reason Skye walked away from you last year was because of me." She admitted.

"What do you mean?"

"At the time, I was still heavily involved with 'Endless Dreams'; but I was invited to an independent gig that I wanted Skye to be a part of as well. The thing was that we had to travel to Ireland. I was selfish and didn't want to go alone."

Seth smiled and reached out to her by cupping her cheek in his palm. Her eyes searched his for a reason behind his soft gesture. She expected him to be furious for the reason behind Skye walking away from him. "It was her choice to go, Ry. You might have been her reason; but the choice was still hers."

He leaned in a little closer and placed his warm lips against her cheek. Knowing the reason behind Skye walking away was much more comforting. Seth also knew that his bond with Rydia was mended and their friendship restored; but it didn't dim the urge to find out exactly how he felt about her. He guessed that he'd find that out soon enough when they participated in an onscreen romance.

"Are you okay with what they put us in?" Rydia asked quietly.

"It's going to be weird; but it'll be fine. We can handle it."

"You're right, we can."

She wrapped her arms around his torso. The embrace was short lived and she began to walk away towards the door. As she reached for the handle, her body froze. "By the way, I think you should talk to Skye on a personal level. The only person she talked about in Ireland was you." She confessed and proceeded out the door letting the words sink into Seth's mind.

Monday Night Raw

As the show proceeded, Daniel Bryan was still trying to get Triple H to fight him at Wrestlemania only to have the authority have him lying in the center of the ring unconscious from a violent beat-down. The Shield made their way to ring to confront the actions of Kane and The New Age Outlaws. The trio made short work of the Authority's lackeys.

AJ Lee's music interrupted their celebration, indicating that it was their turn to leave the ring. Tamina hung closer just as every other match she had. Roman and Dean started back towards the barricade; but AJ's voice stopped them abruptly.

"Wait! Hold on! Hold on! I know what history you have with the little Mia Chandler and her sister Rydia. It's shame your manager isn't around so I can prove once again that I am the best diva in the world." She gloated.

Seth smiled and signaled for a microphone of his own. Tamina crossed her arms over her chest awaiting for the architect of The Shield to speak his mind. The crowd were chanting 'Hounds of Justice' only to made the diva in the ring agitated.

"It's funny you should say that, because I believe there is a woman back there who is dying to prove you wrong." He replied.

In a matter of seconds a sound of static started up, diving in a straight hard rock song called 'Breakout' by The Letter Black. The titantron's video was of none other than Rydia herself. The crowd grew ecstatic about the in-ring debut of the woman that's been the manager of The Shield for quiet some time.

Seth's smile grew the second he saw the brunette dressed in a black tank top and silver vinyl shorts. Dog tags hung around her neck and her hair was left curled at the ends to add more pop to her outfit. Her ring boots were of the combat style, trying to stay close to her friends' ring attire. AJ's cocky smile faded and was replaced by an irritated look of disgust.

Rydia got into the ring, feeling the nervous butterflies fluttering inside her stomach. She suppressed them down enough to make the first stand against the Diva's Champion. AJ was one woman she didn't mind working with. AJ lifted the microphone back to her lips. "Oh so you decided to show yourself. You are the last on my list to prove myself to the world that I'm the best."

A smile curved at Rydia's glossed lips and she leaned in so her voice would be heard over the mic. "You're going to have a hard time doing that, because I'm not going to quit until I beat you." She stated and shoved AJ down so her butt landed on the mat.

Tamina stepped up and blocked AJ from further attack. Rydia never moved from her spot in the ring. Laughter was filled through arena to nails on a chalkboard standards.

"Oh that's rich. If you want to get to me, you got to go through her to get there."

"Fine!" Rydia yelled.

"I'll tell you what sunshine; if you beat Tamina tonight, I'll give you a title shot on the grandest stage of them all...Wrestlemania."

The Shield liked what the Diva's champion proposed. Roman's personal feelings were started to show more than they should. A loving smile tugged at his lips seeing her life take a turn for the better since loosing her father three weeks prior. Dean gave a concealed elbow to the side to snap him out of his thoughts and pay attention to what he was doing.

A referee slid into the ring to official the match about to take place between the two women. Taking off her dog tags and handing them to the referee, her fear of messing up returned. She knew Tamina had far more experience than her and she hoped that she could pick up on a few things as they battled. AJ stepped down from the apron and sat down next to JBL at commentary. The three members of The Shield remained where they were just simply watching their friend and manager in her very first match on live TV.

Tamina locked up with Rydia in the center of the ring; but neither could gain the advantage in that position, so Tamina took a shot to kick her in the knee. It brought her down for a moment. Just long enough to gain the upper hand early on. A swift elbow was caught on the side of the jaw of Rydia's face before falling to the mat once more.

Seth became concerned, playing the part the company wanted. He shouted to her and gave her helpful advice. AJ sneered at him from a few feet away in what seemed like a jealous behavior on her part.

She got back to her feet and just as Tamina took hold of her hair, Rydia grabbed her head to deliver a neck breaker. The technique stunned the bigger woman for a moment. Rydia took the opening to gain some much needed offense. Taking hold of Tamina's long reddish brown hair, she slammed her face into her knee and gave her a clothesline. "That a girl!" Seth cheered from the apron.

Realizing that there was a connection between Rydia and Seth, AJ took it upon herself to try distracting the newest Diva. She stormed up Seth and swiftly turned him around to face her. Her hand connected with the side of his face in a loud slap. Rydia saw the unprovoked attack and was instantly distracted.

Tamina took the opportunity to roll Rydia up and steal a win; but at the last moment Rydia kicked out. Angered, Rydia kicked her adversary in the stomach. Her arm snaked around her neck and swiftly rolled around using a rolling cutter maneuver she called 'Sweet Dreams'. Scrambling, she covered Tamina and gained the victory in her first match on Raw. AJ screamed out in frustration realizing that she now had to face Rydia at Wrestlemania.

Seth slid into the ring and raised her arm up. She turned into his embrace and welcomed his kiss. His lips were soft and eager. The feeling was different to her. There were no emotions to follow through. The second his lips touched hers a rush of adrenaline surged throughout his entire body; but quickly died down. It was the feeling of being kissed for the first time in a long time and he had his answer to how he really felt about Rydia.

After the Show

Mia couldn't stop feeling uneasy about everything around her. Her hands were shaky and her body felt the urge to cure the withdrawal. Shaking her head, she continued to walk towards the parking garage. The sight of the words on Dean's rental made her freeze mid-step.

"No..." She whispered.

"He knows." Skye's voice replied.

"Which means Dean knows now."

"That is if he believes the words. I wouldn't stress yourself over it."

Skye watched Mia's eyes fill up with tears as she walked towards her own vehicle. She knew that she wanted to stick around and see Dean; but staying away was the best thing when she was going through a crash withdrawal period. "I'm sorry, Mia; but this is truly the best thing for you. I hope you understand that." She thought to herself as she got into the passenger seat.