A/N: Thanks for reviewing! Onto the story!

Chapter Seventeen: Interview

Harley watched, breathing heavily as Lana was shoved over the top rope by Nikki Bella. It was fifteen minutes into the match and there was only one more contestant to enter the match in a matter of seconds. Currently, Harley was in the ring with Becky Lynch, Nikki Bella and Liv Morgan. The four women looked at each other quietly for a few fleeting seconds before they were soon two pairs locked up in a fight. Harley took on Liv Morgan, wanting to show the NXT star just what she would face on the main roster. Liv took a sneak attack, yanking at Harley's hair and forcing her to bend backwards to ease the pressure on her scalp. Liv smirked triumphantly, looking around at the crowd in an almost cocky manner. Harley suddenly forced Liv into a corner and stamped on her foot hard. Liv let her hold on Harley's hair go, allowing Harley the ability to elbow her in the face and shove Liv up to the top of the turnbuckle.

"What is Harley thinking?" cried Michael, "This is a dangerous game to be playing!"

Harley stepped up on the ropes, keeping one hand on Liv as she did so. She pulled Liv up to a standing position and gripped Liv by the hair before shoving Liv backwards onto a couple of referees outside the ring. The referees attempted to catch Liv but instead broke her fall with Liv's feet hitting the ground outside the ring. Harley turned on her perch and jumped, hitting Nikki Bella with the frog splash as the music of the final entrant sounded.

The music of Mickie James blasted around the arena bringing the WWE Universe to it's feet. The highly-anticipated return of the superstar had been discussed for a few weeks in the lead up to the Royal Rumble.

Mickie James slid into the ring and looked directly at Harley. Harley shifted her stance to one of defensive but Mickie turned away from her and yanked Nikki Bella up by her hair and slammed her into the ropes before hitting her with a spinning heel kick and sending the woman over the ropes and out of the ring. Becky and Harley shared a glance each before they both ran at Mickie James and laid into her with a flurry of hits. They grabbed a hand of Mickie's each and yanked her forward and backwards to slam her back into the turn buckle. Mickie fought back, hitting Harley with an elbow to the face and shoving Becky back. Harley stumbled back clutching her face as Mickie turned her attention to Becky. Her and Becky locked up into a battle, both trying to force the other towards the ropes. Mickie pinned Becky against the rope but Becky kneed Mickie in the stomach. Mickie doubled over and stumbled backwards with her tripping over a kneeling Harley. Becky ran forward and pulled Mickie towards the turn buckle. She pushed Mickie up onto it and climbed up herself to set up for the Becplex. Harley stood up and turned to see the precarious position of Mickie and Becky.

"Harley has her chance right here!" boasted Corey Graves.

Harley stepped backwards to the opposite side as Becky stepped up and set Mickie into position. Harley ran forward at top speed and jumped bringing her legs up to hit Becky in the right sport to force her balance forward toppling both herself and Mickie James out of the ring.

"AND YOUR WINNER AND NUMBER ONE CONTENDER FOR EITHER THE RAW OR SMACKDOWNS WOMEN'S CHAMPIONSHIP – HARLEY!"

Harley stood up right looking stunned up. She hadn't known the move had pulled off until the moment her music hit. The crowd were yelling, chanting her name as Harley's hand was held up by a referee.

"Now the question is, which belt will Harley be coming after?" stated Michael Cole, "Harley will be answering this question tomorrow night on Monday Night Raw."

Jon spotted Quinn arrived back stage, her face still one of complete surprise. Beside Jon, Saraya appeared, a towel around her neck.

"She didn't know she was to win the match. We all knew our elimination number and time but Quinn was kept in the dark to make her reaction more realistic. She'd organised that move with Bec and Mickie but as far as Quinn was concerned Bec would manage to avoid the fall. Bec and Mickie felt that would be the best way to eliminate them both and give Quinn the win."

Jon grinned at Saraya, "So they felt Quinn deserved her chance at the title?"

Saraya nodded with a smile, "Who knows, she may return to Smackdown with you."

Jon smiled at that thought as Quinn was ushered away for a post-match interview.

Showered and dressed in a pair of black tight pants, a purple long sleeved top and leather jacket, Quinn bopped her head to her music as she waited for Jon to be ready to leave the stadium.

"We don't want no problem, we don't like them, keep it movin'," sang Quinn softly, her body swaying slightly to the music as she scrolled through her emails.

A tap on her shoulder startled Quinn, as she jumped and looked up to see a cheekily grinning Jon.

"Well hello Mr Intercontinental Champion," greeted Quinn, pulling her headphones out.

"And hello Miss Wrestlemania," winked Jon, "So, I hear you didn't know you were to win that."

"I'm still trying to wrap my head around that one."

They pulled their gear out of the stadium with Jon wrapping an arm around Quinn's waist and pressing a kiss to her head.

"You deserve it, babe."

They packed their gear into the car with Quinn passing the car keys to Jon and hopping in the passengers seat. She turned the radio on, syncing her phone to it, grinning at Jon's eye roll. He was more into older music whereas Quinn had a mixed taste.

"Nothing wrong with some P!nk or The Veronica's, Jon. We can't all live in the seventies."

"Ha, ha," replied Jon as he drove out of the car park, "I ah… I need to tell you something."

Quinn shifted in her seat to face Jon better, frowning slightly at his apprehensive tone, "Okay."

"I organised an interview… for us both… it's a way to lay everything out straight to the fans about our relationship and make them back off against you… it's with Chris on his podcast."

Quinn nodded slowly, thinking over what Jon said.

Jon glanced over at Quinn to see her facial expression so he could gauge her reaction.

"When?"

"Tomorrow morning. We'll meet him at the hotel restaurant for brunch."

"Okay."

"Y-you're not mad?"

"No, no. I think it's a good idea. I know you didn't like what you saw today."

"I hated it."

Quinn reached over and squeezed Jon's hand, "I love you."

Hand in hand, Jon and Quinn walked over to the table Chris was sitting at, mid-morning the next day.

"Hey man," greeted Jon, shaking hands with Chris, "Thanks for this."

"Hey – no problem. I know how brutal fans can be if they only know half a truth," replied Chris, "Hey Quinn. Congrats on the win last night."

"Thank you," replied Quinn with a smile as she sat opposite Chris with Jon beside her.

"Okay, should we order before I start this?"

Jon and Quinn agreed and a waiter came over to take their orders before Chris set up his phone to start recording the interview.

"So, Dean Ambrose and Harley, thanks for joining me today – especially the day after the Royal Rumble," started Chris, sounding completely natural and like it didn't at all seem odd to conduct an interview into a phone.

"Thanks for having us," replied Jon breezily.

"Yeah, thanks," added Quinn, feeling Jon place a hand on her thigh to reassure her.

"So, as everyone knows, you both have recently started dating. Dean, you and Renee broke up just before that, correct?"

"Yeah we did."

"What triggered that separation? I mean as far as everyone knew, you both were very happy together?"

Quinn shifted uncomfortably in her seat but Jon remained calm and collected.

"What everyone sees on television is a small fraction of an entire situation, you know?" said Jon, "They see maybe five minutes of a day or week or whatever and assume they know everything about whoever they are watching. Renee and I we kind of just came together and went with the flow and expectations of a relationship. At the time I thought this was it, this is where I'm meant to be and who I am meant to be with… but like I said, I was going through the motions."

"So that leads me to believe that the arrival of Harley played a role in the split. Correct?"

"This is what we want to get straight with everyone," said Jon, "There is more to this then whatever the fans at home are thinking."

"What's that?"

"Harley and I originally met back in our FCW days. We were friends for a long time."

"A whole bunch of us were friends together," added Quinn, "You, me, Paige, Roman, Seth, Naomi, Summer Rae… so many of us."

"Yeah and we would all train together and hang out at the beach or the bar nearly every day."

"So many pool games," chuckled Quinn, with Jon grinning at her, "Dean will try to tell you he was the King but really, I owned that game."

Chris chuckled, "So there is a history of friendship."

"And more," added Quinn, feeling more at ease, "We flirted with each other a lot… there was just so much chemistry between us and it just continued to grow between us. It was Valentine's Day in 2012 when this doofus finally got his act together – I mean one of us had to – and made his move."

"Yeah and after that day we were always together," said Jon with a fond smile.

"So you both sound like it was a happy time. Lots of love between you both – a strong relationship," observed Chris.

"It was. It was a dream," said Quinn, looking down at her hands with a soft smile, "Dean would surprise me with picnics or nights away at this cabin just outside of Tampa. It was the perfect relationship for us."

"So what changed?" asked Chris, "What obviously drove you both apart from each other?"

"I will answer that," said Quinn, looking at Chris, "But I just want everyone to ignore my WWE persona of Harley for this and know that this is me Quinn Gallagher speaking."

"Okay, that's fine," nodded Chris as Jon entwined his fingers with Quinn, "I am guessing this is something big that forced you both apart."

"It was," nodded Quinn, looking at the table cloth and not at Chris as she answered, "I remember the date clearly. August sixth, 2012. We had organised to meet up at the bar after training. Dean – Jon – was at the bar with Colby, Joe and Leighla when I arrived. They were playing pool – I even remember pinching Jon's arse when I arrived. It was a good night. We were all having fun. Leighla and I were paying out the guys because they were losing against us at a game. It was about… nearly midnight when I needed to go to the bathroom. I told Jon I would be right back." Quinn took a deep breath and bit her lower lip, "When I went into the bathroom a guy followed me in… I was raped."

"Wow… I am so sorry to hear that," said Chris in a soft voice, his face full of shock.

Quinn just nodded, "I left the bathroom after in a daze. I saw Jon and the others and they were having such a great time. I didn't want to ruin that… I brought a bottle of vodka, got in my car and drank a heap of it and drove. I wasn't thinking right and my stupid actions saw me crash. I broke my hip and injured my upper spine."

Chris was silent for a few moments, not knowing what to say.

"I didn't want to bring Jon or my friends down with my situation or my actions. So I chose to push them all away and cut contact instantly. They only knew I had drank and drove, resulting in a serious car crash. I left WWE and it took four years roughly to heal both physically and mentally," said Quinn, "So that is how our happy relationship fell apart."

"Can I just say," said Chris, "That you overcame something horrible and now as I see you right now, you look happy and healthy. That shows you have so much strength to not let a horrible, horrific incident own you."

"Thank you."

Chris smiled, "No, thank you for speaking about it. So… so last year you came back to the WWE, right?"

"Yes. I contacted anyone I could but my sister had seen how desperate I was to have a second chance contacted Jon without me knowing."

"Her sister told me what she was trying to do," said Jon, "All I was originally told was Quinn had gone through a rough time. I contacted Vince McMahon and it went from there."

"What was it like when you saw each other for the first time?" asked Chris, a true curious expression on his face.

"I saw Quinn walking with Shane McMahon… it was at Hershey. Man, my body reacted instantly. My stomach got all… I dunno, jittery like and I felt like I lost my breath. I literally had to force myself to look away. When I heard you talk… man…" Jon looked at Quinn and saw she was smiling at him almost shyly."

"No anger at all?" asked Chris.

"After initially seeing Quinn without talking to her, yeah… yeah I was angry. But I didn't know what had happened all those years ago at that point either."

"What about you Quinn? When did you first see Jon again?"

"It was the same day as Jon, only I was leaving the arena at Hershey. I'd dropped my keys and was trying to find them. I guess Jon spotted them and being who he is, handed them to me. I was surprised to see him. When I had gotten into my car I had to take a moment to pull myself together. I mean there was the man I had loved and pushed away. I never imagined being able to see him again, let alone be so close but unable to think or say anything to him. I had wanted to hug him, beg him to hear me out but in that moment, I knew it wasn't possible nor the right thing to do. I had known he was with Renee and respected that."

"Right… so you both were on Smackdown. I'm sure you were bound to have run ins… especially, from what you both said, having the same ring of friends in the company. How did things play out before the romantic feelings came into play?" asked Chris.

"I was nervous to be anywhere near Jon. If I heard him or saw him… I must have looked like a deer caught in the headlights!" laughed Quinn.

Jon chuckled, "Yeah, you did. I guess looking back I felt a bit weird and conflicted. Like I wanted to approach Quinn and talk to her but at the same time I was in that mindset of 'she hurt you. Stay away.' You know?"

"So, obviously, you both moved back the initial awkwardness. What were your first conversations like?" asked Chris, cutting up his poached eggs and toast.

Jon and Quinn looked at each other.

"Intense," both answered in unison.

"Intense?"

"I'd found out what had happened to Quinn. I was angry, Quinn was… you were horrified I'd found out."

"Yeah," nodded Quinn, "I think a bit of admittance of feelings lingering at the time occurred but everything was a mess for me still with returning to WWE and coming across the attacker – who is in no way associated with WWE directly."

"So… where did things go from there?"

"Well for a few weeks we argued a lot. Every time we saw each other it always broke out into arguments. Then we finally had a talk where we discussed what happened and to try and get closure on unresolved endings."

"Which was pointless, well for me," admitted Jon, "At that point my feelings for Quinn were waking up and making things difficult. My relationship with Renee was suffering. We both were on the road a lot and not getting time together and when we were together… it just didn't feel right, you know?"

"What next?" asked Chris, "When did you both really admit your feelings to each other? Or Quinn, when did you become aware of how you felt about Jon?"

"Gee… the night I explained my injuries from the car crash. Jon tried to blame himself for what happened and I saw raw pain in his eyes and I hated it. I think at that moment I realised I still had strong feelings for him. It sucked though because I knew he was with Renee and far as I was aware they were really happy and in love."

"I remember you both worked a match together… it was against… AJ Styles and-"

"Natalya," nodded Quinn, "That was awkward as hell. I mean performing it's easy to just be Harley… backstage where we had to wait together. Acting like nothing weird was going on or that you felt anything whatsoever for that person besides you… it's not easy, you know? I respect Renee so much and yet, there I was having feelings for her man. I felt like a terrible person."

"But you're only human," pointed out Chris, "The saying is you can't help who you love."

"I know that, you know that but when you are in that moment you feel like Satan's sister or something."

"At that point in time, Jon – where were things between you and Renee?"

"Rocky. Very, very rocky. Things were nearly done between us. Each of us were waiting for the other to pull the plug."

"How long ago was this?"

"November."

"How long after that did you and Renee break up?"

"Three days before Survivor Series. It was done and dusted."

"And you two?"

"I would say things became official between us three days after Survivor Series. We have been taking it easy. Nothing too major but at the same time," said Quinn, "It feels like we are picking up from where we left off. Jon brings the me I miss and want to be out. I'm a better person with him and I just love him. He is my happiness."

"Yeah… I love Quinn. She's my soul mate, you know? I never truly believed in them until Quinn walked back into my life. She just gets me. I don't have to explain everything – she gets it without me speaking."

"Quinn, you have been copping a lot of hate from the fans. How are you handling that?"

"Ignoring it. You know, they don't know everything – well they know most of it now. I respect that Renee has her own fans and that they protect her. I will admit I do find it hard at times. Especially when they scream profanities at me or send me hate mail. I hate that Jon has to witness it – he doesn't deserve to deal with it."

"Which is why we chose to speak to you, Chris, and come to your podcast. You're a friend and being in this industry you know what the fans can be like. Quinn and I did nothing wrong except love each other. I just want the haters to drop it. It is what it is. This is my relationship with Quinn. I love her, I have chosen to be with her. Respect our privacy."

"I get it," nodded Chris, "Jon, Quinn – Dean Ambrose and Harley – thank you for speaking with me today and sharing your story. Again, Quinn, I have to say you are an amazing woman and I can see why Jon loves you. Just watching you two interact shows the love you both have for each other. Thank you."

Chris ended the recording and Quinn let out a sigh.

"Hopefully that helps," said Chris, "Before I post this – the ah… the assault – is it a legal proceeding?"

"If you can hold off posting it for a couple of days I will speak to my lawyer and let you know?" asked Quinn.

"Yeah, that's fine. I'll email it to you. How's that?"

Quinn smiled and nodded, "Brilliant."

Quinn smiled up at Jon as he slipped his arms around her. Both were preparing to leave San Antonio in separate cars for their separate locations.

"I'll call you tonight," promised Quinn, "And I will see you Tuesday in Corpus Christi."

"I may just drive to Laredo tonight."

Quinn frowned, "You'll do no such thing. You will rest. You need it. We both do. Besides, Saraya and I are already bunking together. She wants to binge watch Van Helsing after the show."

Jon chuckled, "I bet one massage you will be asleep before the first twenty minutes."

Quinn smirked, "I'm not agreeing to a bet I know I will lose."

Jon leaned forward and kissed Quinn softly, "Your ride looks ready to leave. I love you."

"Love you too. See you tomorrow handsome."

A/N: A simple chapter but also a way to give you all more insight to their thoughts and feelings. Review please!