Monday 9th September

''You can expect justice to be served, like it always is when The Shield shows up to town. We'll be dishing out punishment to all offenders. And, you know, a lot of ladies think that we are angry, violent, gruff men but the truth is we have a sweet and sensitive side.''

''Aww, do you?''

''We do, but you won't be seeing any of that tonight... at least, not until after the show.''

Alexa's eyes lifted over the top of her laptop, cocking an eyebrow at her boyfriend as the interview carried on playing on the screen. ''Were you seriously flirting with her?''

''What's with you guys always beating up on Daniel?''

''I mean, it's a good opportunity to beat up on a little, bearded midget.''

''It's okay, Lex, they were way more interested in Joe.'' Colby told her with a snort, glancing over at the man in question. ''What was it they tweeted? Still thinking about Roman Reigns and his rocking hard core body?''

''And his beautiful eyes.'' Jon drawled, a teasing glint in his eye.

''Oh, sorry, and his beautiful eyes... can't forget those.''

''Fuck you guys.'' Joe huffed, flipping the bird towards them.

A happy smile lit up her face as the three men started bickering and she returned her attention to the screen in front of her, only half paying attention to what she was watching.

Despite Jon's insistence that they 'talk' last night, she had somehow managed to distract him enough that he forgot about it. She knew he wouldn't let her avoid the issue forever but she was content to put it off as long as possible, not really knowing how to explain to him exactly how she was feeling.

Noticing that the clip had ended, she closed up the laptop and glanced over towards the trio on the other side of the room, laughing when she found they had somehow managed to get in some sort of tussle.

''Seriously, it's like I have to look after a bunch of two-year olds.'' She groused, rolling off the bed and grabbing a towel and change of clothes from her bag. ''I'm going to take a quick shower, then we can head to the arena?''

''Want me to join you?'' Jon offered, wiggling his eyebrows.

Colby snorted loudly. ''I don't think she'll be getting very clean if you're there, dude.''

''Besides, she said quick.'' Joe added. ''They'll be in there forever.''

''I think you're severely over estimating his stamina.''

''Hey!'' Jon cried, throwing the Iowan a haughty look. ''I can go all night. Right, babe?''

She just shook her head in exasperation and made her way into the bathroom, closing the door firmly behind her.

As soon as the lock clicked, Colby turned to Jon and spoke quietly. ''Hey, so, did you talk to her last night? How did things go with her mom?''

''Uh, we didn't really talk about it last night...''

''Why not?'' Joe questioned, furrowing his brow. ''You told us you were going to drill her, make her talk to you about what happened.''

Colby rolled his eyes at the tell-tale smirk on his friends face. ''Oh, I think he did drill her, just not in the way he said he was going to.''

''Oh, for fucks sake.'' Joe muttered, running a hand over his face. ''Can you not keep it in your pants long enough to have a grown-up conversation with your girlfriend?''

''Nope.'' Jon flashed him a shit-eating grin. ''Look, I'll talk to her soon... I don't really want to piss her off this week, we're heading down to Vegas on Wednesday to sign all the paperwork for the house and I don't want to risk her changing her mind.''

''They accepted the offer?''

''Yeah.'' He grinned. ''Pretty awesome, huh?''

''I'm really happy for you, bro.''

Colby nodded, giving him a slap on the back. ''Me too, dude.''

''When are you looking at moving down there?''

''As soon as we can. Lex has already started packing up her shit and I haven't really got much, so hopefully it won't take us too long.''

''Well, let us know when and we'll come help you.''

''Thanks, man.''

''... so, either next week or the week after, we'll have The Shield turn on Sierra completely.''

''Sounds great. Uh, do you mind if I ask what I'll be doing after this whole angle's done?''

Stephanie and Paul shared a look, the former smirking as she turned back to the younger woman. ''How would you feel about potentially having a match against me at Wrestlemania?''

Alexa's jaw dropped and her eyes darted between the pair in front of her. ''Seriously?''

''Seriously.''

''As you know, we keep a close eye on social media and least week after the show 'SierraVsSteph' was trending Worldwide.'' Paul informed her. ''Obviously, it all depends on how the next couple of months go, but we think this'll be a huge draw.''

''That's... that's awesome.'' She finally gushed. ''I mean, it's been such a long time since you last had a match... I'm really honoured that you want to have it with me.''

''I couldn't think of anyone better.'' Stephanie told her with a smile. ''Aside from April, you're probably the only woman that can stand against me on the mic and we all know the fans adore you... it's going to be great.''

''I can't wait.''

RAW

''Man, every time I come out here you guys remind me why this is home.''

The Toronto crowd gave another huge cheer for Edge as he glanced around the sea of faces again.

''And it has been far too long since I've been able to say this, but welcome to the Cutting Edge! You know, to be perfectly honest, the reason I'm here tonight is because I was requested by the new COO of the WWE-'' He was cut off by boos. ''-Triple H, to come out here tonight because it would be good for business. He thought it would be good if I came out here and had a reunion... and not a reunion with my best friend, Christian. No. No, you guys wouldn't want to see Edge and Christian. No, he thought it would be a good idea for me to come out and have a reunion with a different partner. My partner in Rated RKO, and the WWE Champion, Randy Orton.''

He paused as more boos flooded the arena.

''But, see, here's where it gets good. I've known Randy a long time, and the guy's got nothing interesting to say. It's like watching paint dry, I'm not going to do it. You see, I don't have a problem with Randy cashing in the Money in the Bank, hell, I wrote the blueprint on the Money in the Bank. My problem with Randy is the fact that he's a hand-picked puppet now. He's just Triple H's lackey. He needs The Shield to fight his battles for him, so here's what I've decided... Randy Orton is not going to be the guest on the Cutting Edge tonight...''

YES! YES! YES! YES! YES!

Edge smirked as the 'Yes' chant filled the arena. ''I'm going to have a different guest that's best for business, say 'YES' if you agree with me. That guest is Daniel Bryan!''

Flight of the Valkyries hit and the fans went wild, cheering raucously as the number one contender for the WWE Championship made his way down to the ring. The two men shook hands as footage from last week of the Big Show knocking out Daniel Bryan re-played on the titantron.

A huge 'DANIEL BRYAN' chant started up, the man in question grinning inside the ring as he soaked it all in.

''Daniel, you've been through a lot recently, so I appreciate you coming out here.''

''Yeah, I have been through a lot, but it helps when you have so many people out here chanting your name.'' He gestured to the crowd, laughing as another 'YES' chant sounded. ''But, yeah, last week Triple H said if I didn't give up my title opportunity, I was going to get hurt. And, I have been. Like last week, when Randy Orton attacked me from behind and hit me with his championship belt. But, here's the thing they don't understand; there is satisfaction in the struggle. Because I know, no matter how many times Randy Orton attacks me from behind, no matter how many times The Shield triple-powerbombs me, no matter how many knock out punches I eat from giants... and no matter how many times Triple H tries to hold me down... I. Will. Beat. Randy. Orton. I will regain the title! And I will be the WWE Champion! YES!''

''You see, that's why I like you!'' Edge told him, pointing into the crowd. ''That's why they love you. Because you look at an obstacle as an inspiration. You don't- you wrestled in armouries, you wrestled in barns, just like me. I see a little bit of me in you. We love this! We didn't choose something else first and then come here. This is what we wanted to do since we were kids. So, I see you Daniel Bryan, and I'm like, this guy; the people have chosen him. He's their guy. So you need to do this. I don't know if you can beat Randy Orton, I really don't. But you deserve a fair shot in doing it. So, here's the thing Daniel, do you think you can beat Randy Orton?''

Daniel smirked, rubbing at his beard as he pondered the question before speaking firmly. ''YES!''

''Do you think you can shove it in the man's face and become the WWE Champion?''

''YES!''

''Can you show that you're the face of the WWE?''

Before he could reply, Randy Orton's theme boomed through the speakers, the audience jeering as the man made his way out onto the stage, closely followed by Sierra who was diligently carrying his WWE Championship.

''What a shame it is Edge, that when you decide to come back from time to time, the only place that gives a crap about you is a place like Canada. And what a shame Edge, that your body failed you at such a young age.''

The two men in the ring looked as unimpressed as the Canadian crowd, who started booing even louder. A 'Randy Sucks' chant soon rising up through the boos, much to the man's disdain.

''You know what's a shame, Randy? It's a shame that you're supposed to be the face of the WWE, but you act like an entirely different body part. It's a shame that the Orton's always have the same physical problems. Your daddy, Cowboy Bob Orton, he ran around with that cast for years, and I may have problems with my spine, but at least I have one.''

Sierra's loud snort of laughter was cut off by a sharp glare from Randy, the woman ducking her head to hide her smirk as Edge continued.

''Randy, you have become Triple H's puppet. I mean, here's a guy, I mean, he has a great mind for the business, don't get me wrong, but when it comes to picking talent he just flat out sucks. This is a guy who doesn't think Daniel Bryan can-''

'BEHOLD THE KING. THE KING OF KINGS'

The COO stepped out onto the stage, coming to a halt beside Sierra as his music faded.

''I thought I'd give you the opportunity, since you seem to have something to say, to say it to my face.''

''I'll say it to your face.'' Edge confirmed. ''Because, here's the beautiful part about this, I don't have to bite my tongue like everyone else in the locker room. I'm not an employee here. So I'll tell you what I think about you, I think you don't know a damn about picking talent. You didn't think that I could make it. You didn't think Chris Jericho could make it. You were running around backstage talking about this Vanilla Ice wannabe called John Cena, said he couldn't make it. And now, you say that Daniel Bryan can't make it. I know that your nose is huge, but sometimes you have to look past it.''

Sierra glanced at the man beside her to gouge his reaction, biting her lip to hide a smile as she shifted the heavy title belt in her arms.

Triple H shook his head, a small smirk toying at his lips as he raised the microphone. ''First of all, let me say, it's great to see you tonight. It's great to see you, because it's what's best for business. I was able to secure quite a large sum to have you come here tonight to promote the season premeire of your show, Haven. Which, by the way, airs on Sci-Fi at ten o'clock Eastern, right after Smackdown. And now that the promotional consideration is out of the way, please, allow me to retort... It seems that you question my ability to judge talent and while I may have gotten a few wrong over the years, I'll admit, I'm right quite a bit too. I'll give you that I didn't think Jericho would amount to much, and he proved me wrong. And I certainly was wrong about John Cena. Daniel Bryan, well, time will tell whether I'm right or not. But there was one guy, I WAS right about. Oh, yeah, there was definitely one guy where I was right when I said he would be a failure. That's you, Edge. Now, we can come out here and we can pretend all we want that because we're in Canada that you're a big star, and a legend in this business. But the reality of it is, the little experiment called the Rated R Superstar, was an abject failure. I hate to be the one to break it to you, but you never drew a dime, buddy. Now, the thing is, when I say those things, all the person really has to do is prove me wrong. Which is what Jericho did. It's what Cena did. And now I'm going to give Daniel Bryan the opportunity to prove me wrong. I'm going to give him that opportunity right here tonight, when he gets into that ring and goes one-on-one with the US Champion, Dean Ambrose. And now, since Dean Ambrose is going to have The Shield in his corner, I'm going to give Daniel Bryan someone in his corner... No, no, no, don't get excited, everyone knows Edge's ability to fight like a man has long passed.. I'm going to give Daniel Bryan the World's largest athlete, the Big Show.''

The crowd voiced their disapproval as Randy leaned over to whisper something into his boss' ear.

''Good idea... You'll also have Sierra in your corner, cheering you on. It'll be kind of like Beauty and the Beast... you got a problem with that?'' He asked, turning towards the woman in question.

Sierra shook her head no, avoiding his eyes and keeping her gaze locked on the ring.

''Good.'' He nodded smugly. ''Here's the thing guys, it would be so much easier if everyone would just learn to get along with me, just like Sierra here. I'm not really a bad guy. Contrary to popular belief, I'm not a dictator.''

The man trailed off, a raucous chant of 'ASSHOLE' telling him exactly what the WWE Universe thought of him.

''Hunter, I didn't have to marry into my success, I earned this Hall of Fame ring... and, to steal a line from Sierra; you're not a dictator, you're just a dick.''

''It's easy to cross a line, when you've got a withered up stack of dimes for a neck, with multiple surgeries and you know nobody can come down there and touch you. But you know, the thing is, if I can't hurt you, well, I don't know. Maybe I can hurt the ones you love...''

Seconds later, The Shield appeared on the stage, dragging a half-conscious Christian with them, before dumping him on the ramp. Heavy boos rained down on the three men as they headed backstage, closely followed by Triple H. Sierra watched, her face full of concern, as Edge ran to check on his childhood friend, calling for some help, only moving when Randy snatched his belt from her arms and gave her a shove towards the back of the stage.

After the break, Edge angrily stormed into The Authority's dressing room, giving Triple H a piece of his mind over what had just happened; the COO just smirking and threatening to have The Shield remove him by force if he didn't leave by choice.

''You can't blame Edge for acting the way he did.'' Michael Cole empathized. ''His best friend was beaten up by The Shield-''

''He had nothing to do with it!'' King agreed.

''You can't blame Edge? You can't blame Triple H!'' JBL cried. ''Edge was meant to have Randy Orton as his guest but he goes rogue, he should get thrown out!''

Up on the titantron, an irate Edge was shown stomping through the backstage area, presumably heading for the exit.

''Well, he's leaving.'' Michael pointed out. ''Just like he was...''

The man trailed off as the crowd let out a huge roar, a mix of cheers and boos as Edge turned the corner and walked straight into Sierra; the woman's eyes widening and a guilty expression crossing her face. Her mouth opened but before she could speak, the Canadian cut her off.

''What the hell has happened to you, Si? How could you just stand out there, knowing what they were doing to Christian, he's your friend!''

''I-''

''You know, when I watched last week I thought, yes! Finally, she's re-discovered her backbone and then I saw them sick Reign's on you and I got so mad, but I was also relieved, because I knew there was no way you'd let that go. But here you are. Still with them.''

''What happened last week... it won't happen again.''

Edge scoffed loudly. ''What, until the next time you dare to have an opinion that they disagree with?''

Sierra blinked, her jaw setting hard at his words, not wanting to admit that he was probably right. ''It won't.''

''Why are you still with them?''

''They're my friends.''

''If they were your friends, they would have listened to you when you warned them not to get involved with The Authority. And if Reigns was your friend then he sure as hell wouldn't have hurt you like he did.''

''He didn't have a choice!'' She hissed, jabbing a finger into his chest. ''You've speared me tons of times, we're still friends.''

''Are we? Because right now, you're not the woman I though I knew.''

She let out a heavy sigh. ''That's not fair.''

''No, what's not fair is what's been going on here since Summerslam, and you know it.''

''I... I don't know what to do anymore...'' Sierra admitted, her head bowing in resignation.

''Hey, look at me.'' He reached forward, his hands coming up to rest on her shoulders. ''You remember when we first met? You hadn't been with the company long and you'd already somehow managed to get on the bad side of Evolution.''

''Not the best idea I'd ever had.'' She mumbled, drawing a chuckle from the blonde.

''Even after you found out firsthand what a vindictive, sadistic piece of work Hunter was, you still wanted to do everything you could to take Evolution down. Nobody could talk you out of it. I asked you why, do you remember what you told me?''

''I think I might have said something about having nothing better to do.''

Edge chuckled again, shaking his head. ''No you said-''

''It doesn't matter what I said.'' She interjected. ''Things were different back then... Hunter's my boss now...''

''So? Si, you literally went up against Vince, when you first brought The Shield up to the main roster... now you're scared of The Authority?''

Her face contorted into a scowl and she shrugged his hands off her. ''I'm NOT scared.''

''Pfft, seems to me like Randy's not the only spineless one around here... Look, I'm not saying you have to wage war on them or anything, I'm just-''

''You're just what?''

Edge's eyes lifted, finding the other three members of The Shield appearing behind Sierra; Dean slinging an arm over her shoulder with a smirk as the Canadian took a step back.

''I'm just leaving.'' He replied, sparing the trio a glare before turning and walking away. He was halfway down the corridor before he paused and turned to meet Sierra's eyes once more. ''Remember, Desmond Tutu once said that if you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor...''

That slap you gave Randy at the end of the show looked BRUTAL.

I know, I couldn't help myself. I've been waiting a long time to do that.

Alexa let out a small chuckle as she replied to the text message from April, the events of the end of the show still fresh in her mind. After the main event, Randy had made his way down to the ring to attack Bryan; the man had gotten up in her face when she refused to fetch him a steel chair from ringside. This had earned him a hard slap from the woman before she stormed backstage.

Haha, well, good job!

Speaking of good jobs, you were awesome on commentary. Especially loved you putting Lawler in his place :D

Not as much as I loved doing it, I bet!

Turning towards the bathroom door, her ears picked up the sound of the still-running shower and she rolled her eyes; Jon always took forever in there, it drove her crazy. After swapping a few more texts with April over their mutual loating of Jerry 'The King' Lawler, she climbed into bed, wrapping herself up in the duvet while she waited for he boyfriend to finish.

Jon finally emerged from the bathroom ten minutes later, laughing when his eyes fell on the woman in the bed; she had cocooned herself so tightly in the duvet all he could see was a dark tuft of hair at the top.

''Lex, you awake?''

''Hmm.''

He wandered over as she groggily tried to manouvere herself into a sitting position, the man gently pushing her back down as he perched on the side of the bed.

''Go back to sleep.''

''But you wanted to talk.'' She said softly, her eyelids drooping as she spoke.

''It'll wait.'' Perching on the edge of the bed, he softly stroked her hair, making her smile and lean into his touch with contentment.

''Love you.'' She murmured.

He leaned down and gave her a soft kiss on her temple. ''Love you too, sweetheart.''

A/N - Sorry for the long wait for an update. I'm finding it increasingly difficult to find any motivation to write this story. You know what helps with that though... REVIEWS :)