Disclaimer - I do not own WWE or any of it's characters. I only own my character Siren and her family.
Thank you to Eureaka for choosing to favorite and follow this story and myself.
Also thank you to calwitch for the amazing review of chapter 3.
So just to help you guys out while you read this, every thing that's in bold is "in ring action, promos, text messages or social media posts", bold and italicized are "flashbacks", and italicized is "phone calls".
Reviews are appreciated, let me know what you like or don't and if you see anything spelled wrong :)
Also please let me know if you'd like to see a prequel to Wake Up.
Thank you!
The song for this chapter is "Always Be My Baby" by Mariah Carey
Thursday morning she got her and Kailynn ready, walking into the arena Kailynn tugged on her hand as she saw Nikki and Bri standing down the hall. Tasha nodded, kissing her daughter's forehead before the little girl ran down the hall to the twins. Waving at the three Tasha headed down another adjacent hallway to the locker room. "So much for a summer with mom." She chuckled as she entered the room, finding Jon and Joe already inside getting ready.
The tension was palpable in the room, Tasha diligently got dressed for the night, forgoing her full Shield attire. She kept the leather pants and boots, but instead of her full upper corset she opted for a black deep V-neck tank top that stopped just below her belly button and a black leather under-bust corset, leaving the skin of her lower abdomen and hips showing.
Shaking off the tension in the room she followed Jon to the gorilla area where they waited for Dean's music to cue. When it did they both slipped into character and headed out onto the stage.
The crowd roared as Lillian introduced them and they made their way into the ring each taking a mic from the crew members.
"All I heard for the last two years, Seth Rollins is the smart one. Seth is The Architect of The Shield. Look at the big brain on Seth. And Seth is smart. Seth is smart enough to know that he couldn't beat me down by himself on Monday night, so he had his buddies, Randy Orton and Kane, two more Authority goons, help him out. And sure, they put me in the hospital. Despite the help from my girl here. Thank you for that by the way."
Dean said motioning to Siren, who smiled as he pulled her in and kissed the top of her head.
"But if you thought for one second that your little three on one attack was gonna keep me from being here tonight, and more importantly, keep me from destroying you Sunday at Battleground, then genius, you aren't as smart as you think you are. So, I'll ask you this one more time. Is that all you got? Is that all The Authority's got? That's not a rhetorical question. I plan to find out. So, let's not wait till Sunday. Get out here, and let's do this right now."
Siren hears a chuckling coming from the big screen, she doesn't have to turn to know it's Seth, his annoying cackle is one of a kind. She turns to the screen along with Dean.
"Ambrose, Ambrose, Ambrose. God, you just don't get it, do ya? You're so talented, but you just can't seem to figure it out. Without me, you are nothing. Without me, you are just some babbling, out-of-control lunatic, destined for an insane asylum. And Siren, you are just another pretty face for the crowd to stare at."
Siren scoffs looking over at Dean who shakes his head in disagreement. She then raises her mic and smiles. "Awe, Seth you think I'm pretty?" She says sarcastically before rolling her eyes as the crowd laughs at her antics.
Seth grits his teeth as he continues talking. "And I'll give you both this, you got guts. But clearly, after Monday, you've got more guts than brains. I mean, think about it. The first time ever, Shield vs. Shield, Dean Ambrose vs. Seth Rollins."
"Hold it." Siren says shaking her head. "Get it right, two-face. Shield vs. ex-Shield."
Seth sighs, it is apparent that Siren is getting on his nerves. "That is a huge box office draw, and there is nothing—nothing in this world I would love more than to come down to that ring and curb-stomp your face into the mat again. But, unfortunately, I can't do that. Tweaked my knee on Monday, and I'm not medically cleared, so sorry, man, it's just—it's not gonna happen tonight. I apologize. Can't do it."
"Well, it looks to me like you're scared." Dean says. "And you should be scared, I'd be scared, too. But, Seth, it's time to face your fears. Make daddy proud, come out here and take your beating like a man."
"Oh, real clever, real clever. You go back to the daddy line. You think you're so tough, Ambrose. All these tough words for such a tough guy. Like you always got something to prove. You know what, I'll give you a chance tonight to prove how tough you are cause I—I just talked to Triple H, and he wanted me to let you know that tonight you've got a match. Not against me, against him."
The camera pans over to Seth's right to show Kane standing there, he raises his arms up. Siren knowing what is about to happen grabs Dean by the back of his jacket and jerks him back away from the turnbuckles as they explode into fire.
Walking into the back Siren tells Dean she needs to go clear her head, she takes off down the hall opposite him. Running her fingers through her hair she sighs, how the hell did she go from trying to fix the four's friendship, to wanting to murder Colby in his sleep. Not paying attention where she is walking she shrieks as she is lifted up into the air by someone and placed on their shoulder. "What the f—" She looks down to see a pair of muscular legs in a pair of tight gray jeans. She then chuckles when she realizes who it is, bracing her elbow on the person's back she places her chin in her hand. "Hi Chris. Nice to see you too."
Chris Jericho laughs as he continues walking down the hall hollering to different superstars as he passes by. "Free shots. Any takers?"
Siren smirks, "Anybody takes him up on that offer, I will find you and I will introduce you intimately to a kendo stick."
Chris again laughs as he then sets Siren back on the floor, smiling brightly at her as she gives him a hug.
"You got balls for days, Irvine, you know that?" Siren says as she pulls back smiling at her friend.
"So I've been told." Chris laughs. "But apparently nobody else around here does since they wouldn't take up my offer."
"That's because they know me, and they're not suicidal."
"Good point, you are kinda scary when you're mad." Chris chuckles crossing his arms. "Is that why Rollins is looking at you out of the corner of his eye right now?"
Siren turns her head to the left, seeing Seth indeed gazing at her out of his peripheral in catering. "Pretty much. He's waiting to see what retaliation against him will be for allowing Orton to smash my face into the ring apron."
"Ouch." Chris said wincing. "I've been on the receiving end of your retaliation. I wish him luck."
Siren laughs, "Yeah, he's gonna need it."
Chris bids Siren goodbye, he's got to go get ready for his match against Luke Harper. Siren grabs a water from the fridge, glancing over she sees Seth looking at her, she smirks giving him a wink before she walks out of catering.
After checking on Chris who was ambushed by the Wyatt family, but the Uso's came down to back him up, she headed to the curtain to meet up with Dean.
"You ready, lunatic?" She asked him with a smirk.
"Hell yes."
"You know, I think we ought to make that your new gimmick. What do you think about Dean Ambrose, the Lunatic Fringe?"
"I like it." Dean nods.
"We could incorporate it into the new design I pitched creative for the Ambrose Asylum."
"You pitched creative something for me?" Dean questioned.
"Yeah." Siren bit her lip, not sure if he was mad or not. "Are you okay with that?"
Dean nodded with a smile, "Yeah, you are my manager, right?"
"Cool. Let's do this." She grinned as they headed out to the ring.
They replayed the footage of Dean being attacked, only serving to make Dean angrier.
Dean immediately went on the attack of Kane, not giving his injured body any care. The two battled fiercely in and out of the ring, delivering punches, kicks and clotheslines to one another. Nearing the end of the match both men were on the ground outside of the ring. Siren was lying down on the other side by the announcers table having been hit by a missed suicide dive by Dean. He was aiming for Kane, who grabbed her and shoved her into Dean's flight path. She waved him off as he knelt to check on her, yelling at him to go finished the match.
Siren laid there trying to catch her breath, she heard the roar of the crowd and could only assume that Seth had come down to the ring. Lying on her side she grinned as she saw something sticking out from under the ring apron.
The referee had started his ten count and was nearing 8, when none other than Seth Rollins ran down the ramp and nailed Dean in the back with his briefcase.
He then ripped off his jacket and began stomping on Dean repeatedly. Together Seth and Kane picked up the steel ring steps and carried them into the ring. But as Seth approached Dean he was picked up and knocked off of his feet by the lunatic who started wailing rights and lefts at his former friend. However Kane got ahold of Dean and picked him up, delivering a choke-slam onto the mat.
Kane then picked Dean up and positioned him on top of the steps, Seth approached determined to deliver another curb-stomp to Ambrose. He bounced off of the ring ropes, jumping into the air he slammed Dean's head into the steel steps, the sound reverberating throughout the arena.
Both men stood in the ring gloating, but they had made one fatal mistake, they had turned their backs on Siren. They realized their grave mistake as something hard made contact with their backs. Blinding pain filled them both as they fell to the mat, writhing in pain. But the torment didn't stop there, the hard object cracked against both of them again and again, until they had no choice but to roll out of the ring and retreat up the ramp.
Once Kane and Seth had found their bearings they looked down to the ring where Siren stood tall on the turnbuckle, a kendo stick raised triumphantly in her right hand as the crowd went wild.
Having put their differences to the side and chalking it up to mistakes, Jon, Joe, Renee, Tasha and Kailynn ride in the rig down to Tampa, Florida where Battleground was being held. Just like every other time the group was in town, they stayed at Joe's house. Galina was more than excited when they all showed up out front. She had cooked them an amazing meal, they could smell it from the front porch and it made their mouth's water as they entered the house.
Of course as soon as they were finished with dinner, the little ones, Jojo and Kailynn disappeared into the bedroom. The adults could hear them laughing downstairs and it made them smile.
The group got settled into their guest rooms, changing into comfier clothes before meeting up on the back deck. Sitting around the small fire pit, they drank and laughed, sharing stories and jokes. After putting the girls to bed, Galina and Joe said their goodnights and went to bed as well.
"It's far too early to go to bed, I don't know about you guys, but I'm dying to have some fun." Renee said looking at Jon and Tasha.
"I'm down." Jon said, looking over at Tasha. "What do ya say darlin'?"
"Why not." She said smiling before she and Renee disappeared upstairs to get ready.
Jon whistled as the two came back downstairs, "Man, am I one lucky man tonight, two beautiful women."
Tasha shook her head at him, while Renee gave him a kiss. "Alright, love birds, let's go."
The trio walked into the bar, they had chosen a small one with hopes that they wouldn't have to worry about being seen by too many fans. Tasha realized it was a good choice as they saw half of their co-workers in there as they arrived. "Apparently, the entire roster had the same idea that we did." Tasha said laughing as she waved at Nikki and Brie who were at the bar with their men, John and Daniel.
After an hour of drinking and chatting Tasha sat down at a table with Jon and Renee. She was laughing so hard that her stomach started to hurt, the cause was a very drunken Big E, Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods singing a Britney Spears song on the stage. When they finished they were met with cheers from their fellow superstars.
"Tash, you gotta get up there." Renee said smiling.
"No, I don't."
"Yeah, you do. Come on, you have a great voice." The blonde argued.
"Come on, darlin', she's right. Get up there. Don't make me make a scene." Jon threatened giving her a knowing grin.
Tasha sighed, knowing full well that Jon would make a huge scene if she didn't. Looking around the bar her eyes stopped on someone sitting in a booth at the back of the bar alone. "Fine. I'll do it."
"Okay everyone, give it up for Siren." The DJ announced, the superstars cheering, they always made Tasha sing when they were out somewhere.
Colby's head snapped up from his beer bottle, he saw her walking up onto the stage. She looked beautiful dressed in a pair of black skinny jeans, a red scoop neck tank top and black ankle boots. Her long hair was down in waves and her makeup was a dark smoky eye with red lipstick.
"Um, hey guys, I really hate you all for this, I just want you to know that." Everyone laughed, she said the same thing every time they got her up on stage. "This song has a personal meaning to me lately. So, here goes."
I know I'm probably better off on my own
Than loving a man who
Didn't know what he had when he had it
And I see the permanent damage you did to me
Never again, I just
Wish I could forget when it was magic
I wish it wasn't 4 AM, standing in the mirror
Saying to myself, you know you had to do it
I know, the bravest thing I ever did was
Run
Sometimes, in the middle of the night, I can feel you again
But I just miss you, and I just wish you were a better man
And I know why we had to say goodbye like the back of my hand
And I just miss you, and I just wish you were a better man
A better man
I know I'm probably better off all alone
Than needing a man who could
Change his mind at any given minute
And it's always on your terms
I'm hanging on every careless word
Hoping it might turn sweet again
Like it was in the beginning
But your jealousy, I can hear it now
You're talking down to me like I'd always be around
You push my love away like it's some kind of loaded gun
Boy, you never thought I'd run
Sometimes, in the middle of the night, I can feel you again
And I just miss you, and I just wish you were a better man
And I know why we had to say goodbye like the back of my hand
And I just miss you, and I just wish you were a better man
A better man
A better man
I hold onto this pride because these days it's all I have
And I gave to you my best and we both know you can't say that
You can't say that
I wish you were a better man
I wonder what we would've become
If you were a better man
We might still be in love
If you were a better man
You would've been the one
If you were a better man
Yeah, yeah
Sometimes, in the middle of the night, I can feel you again
And I just miss you, and I just wish you were a better man
And I know why we had to say goodbye like the back of my hand
And I just miss you, and I just wish you were a better man
We might still be in love if you were a better man
Better man
Colby's heart ached more after that song than it ever had before, if he wasn't sitting in a dark booth his co-workers would have seen the tears that had escaped his eyes and tracked down his cheeks. She had held his gaze for the entire song, singing the words directly to him, and he had felt the passion behind them. He knew he had to do something soon, he knew that he could be a better man, he just had to make Tasha see it.
When the trio got back to Joe's house, Jon and Renee headed up to bed, Tasha however stayed out on the deck drinking a glass of wine. Earlier she had posted a photo of the fire pit to her Instagram, with the caption, 'A relaxing night with family, only one person missing #hopefulreunion'.
Anybody who knew her would know she was talking about Colby, even the man himself. And after her song at the bar earlier, which she had sung directly to him, she wasn't surprised when her phone rang, and it was the man himself. Swiping the call to answer, she brought the phone to her ear. "Hey stranger."
Colby's voice floated back over the line to her. "Hey."
"How are you doing?"
"Okay. Still sporting some nice bruises from your ambush." He chuckled.
Tasha smiled, "I'm sorry. I probably hit you a little harder than I should've."
"Don't apologize. I had it coming."
"Colby, we've been over this. You don't have a choice."
"We all have a choice, Tash. You told me that. Just so happens, I made the wrong one." They both were silent for a moment before Colby sighed. "I got what you telling me earlier with your song, and I know I can be a better man. But, I don't know how to fix this, Tash, and I'm starting to think that maybe we can't."
Tasha bit her lip with a sigh, "I was thinking the same thing. But I'm not ready to give up."
"You aren't?" He asked curiously.
"No, I'm not. I have seen too much loss in this company. I have lost friendships, a marriage and several great guys that I loved. I have let them take so much from me, but I refuse to let them take my heart."
"Your heart?"
"It was something that Vickie said to me before she left. She said not to let this company take away the most important thing, my heart. She was meaning you."
"Me?" To say that Colby was shocked was an understatement.
"Yes you, you dork." Tasha laughed. "Colby, you can't be that dense. You know that you and I were closer than normal. Have you forgotten Paris?"
"No, I could never forget Paris." He said quickly, before he chuckled. "You know that picture I took of us is my background."
Now it was Tasha's turn to be shocked, "Really?"
"Yep. Has been since that day."
Tasha could feel her eyes welling up with tears, no matter how hard she tried to fight it, she was in love with Colby. "I don't want to do this anymore, Colby. I can't keep arguing with my heart."
"What do you want?"
"You. And me. I want us together, but I have no idea how to make it work. And I don't want it to start and then end, I couldn't handle losing you again."
Colby let out a deep breath, he was so relieved to hear those words come out of her mouth. He now knew that she felt the same way as he did. "I don't know what to do either, sweetheart, but I know I want the same thing."
"So what do we do?" Tasha asked, she honestly had no idea where to start.
"I guess with Joe and Jon. I don't want to betray them again."
"Me neither. I'll talk to them first, see what happens and we'll go from there."
"Okay."
"Colby, you know this a 100% thing, right? I want all of you, to myself. It's all, or nothing."
He knew she was referring to his past exploits with his ex-girlfriends, but he knew without a shadow of a doubt, that he would never need to look at another woman, so long as he had her. He smiled, "I've always been all yours, baby."