Respect

Jimmy Uso was pumped it was obvious. He had been running around backstage all night delighted to be back in the fold , if only for a short time. It was the last smackdown before the Hell in a Cell pay per View and tonight Roman Reigns would deliver an impassioned message to his family, if Jey lost they would fall in line and if not they were out of the family . Cassie felt like she had been living in Joe's head while they worked on this promo, they talked at length about how he loved family and what losing them would be like and between them they had found another gear to the Roman character. When Joe went out there now, Roman Reign's was a different beast and the fans were lapping it up. He carried an air of confidence that hadn't existed before and she was beyond proud of him. While she waited for them to finish up the promos at the end of the night, she rubbed her shoulder again. She had tripped over one of Aubreys toys and landed awkwardly earlier that week and her shoulder was really sore. When the guys came back through the curtain she smiled at them all " Great job , you all did amazing". Everyone was in high spirits , especially Jimmy. The show was over now and Vince had called Joe and Paul to talk , she gestured to them both that she was leaving , but Joe held up a hand asking indicating for her to wait for him. She watched as Joe said something and Vince and Paul glanced in her direction before her uncle gave a nod and Joe came over. He had his hair down like he wore to the ring and was wearing a Roman Reigns t-shirt. " OK lets go to the medic" he said it as if she had no other option. " I don't need a medic , I am fine". " Cass, I been watching you all night, you're in pain. Its either the medic here or the emergency room. Take your pick I got all night". She was fuming with him " Firstly , you don't order me around, got that? And secondly, I need to get home to my daughter". She stalked off, but he was hot on her heels. "Cassandra" he said in a voice that made her stop walking. She had never heard him use that tone before. He sounded serious. "I am not about to let you attempt to drive a car with a shoulder like that. You could kill yourself or someone else. I am pissed with you for driving here in the first place.". He walked towards her and she could tell he was going to employ any tactics necessary, he looked around for a second before he lifted her chin so he could look in her eyes " Please babygirl , for me? Get checked". In her imagination this was where she would have jumped into his arms , but in the real world she pulled her chin back and said " Fine, let's go".

The medic strapped her up , it was a sprain she would need to wear the arm brace for a few weeks. Joe looked so smug , happy that he had been proven right. He sat in the chair while they taped her , at one point when it was really painful he discreetly squeezed her knee and winked at her. Luckily she was right handed but it meant she would have trouble doing a lot of day to day things while she healed. She got some pills from the medic for the pain and he said he would check her out every week or so to see how she was doing. The arena was almost deserted when they left "I'll drive you home, we can figure out something with your car tomorrow". She nodded, drained finally from all the pain , the pills also seemed to be setting in. He helped her into the car, before going around the other side. He slid in beside her "Hey , you're still Roman Reigns" , she indicated his hair and clothing which were the same since he left the ring. " You know I had a dream about Roman Reigns right?". Joe raised both of his eyebrows " Man the medic said those pills were strong , he was correct.". She shushed him "Yeah I dreamt that I had sex with Roman Reigns". Joe almost choked. "You dreamt that you and I had sex? ". Cassie was really feeling the effects of the drugs now "No not with you Joe, but the character of Roman with his bare chest and those pants and the hair". She seemed lost in thought. Joe was indignant " It's the same thing". " pssh, no its not" was her response. He glared at her in her drug induced state and she giggled at him. " It was very good by the way , the sex". She yawned then and he saw her close her eyes and within seconds she was sleeping.

Joe decided to wake Travis first to explain the situation, he knocked on the door lightly, he could hear the TV on inside. Travis opened the door with a beer in hand he looked surprised to see Joe. " Hey man, what are you doing here ?". Joe disliked Travis , more intensely by the day but he wasn't about to cause trouble for Cassie. " I dropped Cassie home , she had to get her shoulder taped at the show , they gave her some pretty strong meds to help with the pain, she is asleep in the truck". Travis sipped his beer " I didn't even realise she hurt it, ok thanks man". Joe tried to hide his irritation , how could he not have noticed she was in pain, he had seen it in her eyes straight away , and she had been like that for a number of days. "OK so do you want to carry her in, or what should I do? Joe asked. Again Travis just sipped his beer looking uninterested. " You're a big boy , why don't you get her" he slapped Joe on the arm in what was meant as a playful gesture. " OK I will get her , can you just open the doors and that so I know where to bring her. Probably best that she sleeps off the meds". Travis went back into the house , Joe strode to his truck muttering a lot of expletives under his breath. He softened when he saw Cassie she was out cold. He removed the seat belt from her and slid one arm under her legs and the other around her back. He took her weight very easily and her head lolled onto his chest. Travis had the decency to at least pull the covers back on the bed and allow Joe place her gently down. Both men watched as she snuggled down into the pillows. They left the room and Joe made straight for the door , he didn't even bother to day goodbye to Travis. The guy was a dick

It was 4am when Cassie woke , her mouth felt really dry and pain shot up her arm. She didn't remember much from when they had left the trainers room, but she guessed Joe had brought her home as that was where she was. She made her way out to the kitchen where she saw some pills the doctor had given her. Not as strong as the 2 she had taken earlier she noticed. She put one in her mouth and drank a glass of water to wash it down. While she waited for the effects of the pill to take hold she sat on the couch, she could hear a buzzing sound and she looked around the room for her phone. Who was calling her at this hour? She followed the sound to the corner where she saw the phone illuminating from the pocket of Travis's coat. She turned the screen around and that was when she saw it .

Joe had a bad feeling. He couldn't shake it , he had called Cassie twice this morning and she hadn't answered. OK she could have been sleeping or anything but something in his gut was needling him. He would go to the house , say he was checking on her , even if Travis was there it wouldn't look strange , especially after he had brought her home last night. But when he got there , Travis car was gone and there was no answer on the front door. He took a walk around the house and couldn't see anything out of order. He called her phone again and when he heard it ring inside , he feared the worst. He walked around the side of the house and without a moments hesitation he elbowed a pane of glass on the back door, smashing it and allowing him to unlatch the door from the outside. The house was quiet , his heart pounded in his chest. He went to the bedroom and saw there was no one there , Aubreys room was empty too. He felt like a bit of a fool now , for smashing the door. Maybe they went out somewhere and she forgot her phone. That was when he noticed her purse on the floor. She wouldn't have left that. He picked up his cell and dialled her number , the phone vibrated from the bedroom. He found it , password was on but he could see her missed calls . There were 4 from him, and one from Paul. Of course , Paul. He took off out of the house and into his car.

Paul was making some lunch when he heard a knock on his screen door. He looked out the window. Joe's car. The older man walked to the door and pushed it open. " Paul , have you heard from Cassie , I took her home last night after she hurt her shoulder. Travis was there but I went over to the house just now and her purse and phone are there , I think something might be wrong". Joe was in a blind panic, it was clear to see. " Joe , calm down take a breath". That was when he heard the Sweetest sound " Joe, what are you doing here?". Standing behind her uncle looking bewildered was Cassie.

He had made an absolute tool of himself, that was what was running through his mind. Paul looked at him sternly "I have a bolognaise sauce cooking that I need to get back to". He left them alone. Cassie kept her eyes on Joe "You're sweating, come in". He refused "Not at all, you guys are having family time, I didn't mean to interrupt. I um thought something had happened to you and well looks like I was wrong". She followed him onto the porch and closed the door. "Wait". He stopped and turned to face her " You weren't wrong , Uncle Paul and Aunt Marla just got two new tenants". Her eyes filled with tears and he was on her in an instant, arms closing around her, the relief that she was OK flooding through him. "I found Travis's phone this morning and let's just say that he was cheating again, so I left there and then at 5am after I confronted him. He said the house and that was all his trying to get me to stay there but it's done it has been for a while I just finally had the courage to leave". Joe pulled back and looked at her " Good for you" was all he said. "I left everything there and ran , my phone, purse. I got Aubrey up out of bed. A neighbour of mine saw us and brought us here. I don't think I ever saw Travis that mad. He said I would be back , that I couldn't live without him. He was cussing and screaming at me , Aubrey was petrified, it was everything that I was trying to protect her from". Joe observed her " That took a lot of courage , but it's the right thing for you and for Aubrey". They smiled at each other , Joe noticed Paul looking at him out the window again. " OK I better go" he was two steps down when he turned around " Oh yeah , I may have broken a window in the house trying to make sure you were OK. It was kind of heroic really" he reasoned. "Arrogant as always. That's coming out of your pay check by the way" she called after him. He turned back to her again " Oh when I did that by the way I was just dressed in my normal clothes. No Roman Reigns gear or anything like that" he had a smirk on his face that she didn't like. " And what's that supposed to mean?". His face was on a wide smile now " I know how much of a fan of his you are thats all. Sweet dreams" he said before he jumped into his car. Oh no she had told him about the dream clearly. He would be even more insufferable now.