Panic
" What happened, is he OK?" , the panic in her voice immediately sobered Joe up and he knew now he had to take care of the situation but mostly importantly he had to take care of her. " He had a car accident , nothing too serious but they have him sedated while they run some tests". Cassies face paled " Was he with anyone , Aubrey?". " No she was with Marla , at home . She is safe". She walked away from him towards the hotel " I need to get to him , get a flight. Is the airport open?" . Joe jogged after her , he was a clam person by nature " Cassie , stop and breathe for a second babygirl. Listen to me OK." She turned to look at him and her eyes filled with tears , she was frightened he could tell. He pulled her into his chest for a hug and wrapped his arms around her tightly. She fell into his embrace, wrapping her arms around his waist " OK, here's what we will do. I'm going to call the airport and get the plane ready. We will fly home tonight the two of us , and go see Paul OK?". All she could do was nod in response. He let her go and hailed a taxi for the hotel.
Cassie threw all of her clothes into the suitcase in a panic. Even all the nice things that Joe had purchased for her , she would worry about it later on. She pulled on some black leggings and a long white tshirt with some Jordans. She needed to be comfy for the trip , she grabbed her black leather jacket and suitcase. She opened the room door to see Joe " Hey , ok I got it all booked , we can get out for 2am , managed to get a slot". She nodded at him. " Cars outside". She was on autopilot he could see that . Once they were settled on the private plane he took a look at her. She had her head out the window lost in thought. This was one of those times where he wasn't sure to ask or just be quiet. " Babygirl you doing alright over there ?" she had sat in the chair across the aisle from him facing in the same direction so he couldn't see her face. " Uh huh" was all she said. He decided to let her be , pushing her to talk might make her snap. Her fingers were twirling at high speed and he could tell her anxiety was high . As they took off they hit a pocket of air causing the plane to drop a tad , Cassie turned to him in terror. He reached over and took her hand " Hold my hand , look at me, it's just a dip . We are fine ok ?". " I think I am having a panic attack" she said to him. " A what?". She started pulling at the neck of her t-shirt . " I can't breathe". Oh shit, they were in take off mode , if he got out of his seat now , he would get in trouble. " She is having a panic attack, can I help her?" he shouted to the air hostess. " I will have to ask the pilot" she said picking up a phone. His eyes went back to Cassie. " OK baby she is checking if I can help, ok look at me right here and breathe with me. In and out ok?". He interlocked his fingers with hers , " Just look at me ok , nothing else". All Cassie could do was nod. She copied him breathing in and out , he took long slow breaths. " OK, you can go" the air hostess called and Joe was out of his seat in a second . He kneeled in front of her " OK that's it , keep breathing with me. Good." He took her face in his hands and kissed her forehead " Thats it, keep going. You are doing great". The air hostess came up next to him with some water " Here take a sip" he opened the bottle and she took a little sip. " OK good job , keep going". The plane levelled off and the fasten seat belt sign clicked off finally. " OK we have levelled off see , no more dips". He could see her face colour was returning to normal as was her breathing. She threw a grateful smile at the air hostess who backed off to give them some space. After a moment she finally spoke " Sorry , I haven't had one of those for a long time. It was uncle Paul and the plane, I got overwhelmed". Joe closed his eyes and breathed out " Its cool, are you OK now?". She unbuckled her belt , " Yeah I think so , I need the restroom though". He stood and let her pass him by " Call me right away if anything doesn't feel right". She went to walk past him and stopped before looking up at him. She went onto her tiptoes and kissed his lips lightly " Thank you".
She looked a lot better when she came out "Thanks Joe, I got those all the time when I was a teenager but it's being so long since I had one, I wasn't prepared for it. Paul is like a dad to me , the closest thing I had to one. That's why what he says means so much to me . His thoughts about you and I are his way of looking out for us both. If anything happened to him". " Cass, it's OK he is fine I promise the tests will come back clear , Paul is one of the toughest people I know. He will be good. Look it will be early morning by the time we land and we have had quite a night. Why don't you try and sleep?". She snorted In response " On one of these things ? Yeah that won't happen". She took her seat and Joe went to speak to the air hostess. He came back about five mins later " Follow me" he said . They went to the back of the plane where she was amazed to see a bed had been made. " Wow I see why people pay extra for these things now. But Joe , I was serious I can't sleep on these things". He was pulling a curtain across to give her privacy " " Just try , ok for me" she watched as he removed his shoes and took off his hooded top " What are you doing?". He smirked at her , that sexy smirk she knew all too well. " I'm lying down in this bed with you , to make sure you don't have another panic attack. He slid into the far side of the bed and lay back on the pillow. He pulled the blanket back and patted the sheets next to him " Come on in, it's cosy". Cassie rolled her eyes but kicked off her Jordans and socks before removing her jacket and t shirt , revealing a white sports bra and her leggings. " No funny business , I got enough problems" she scolded. She climbed in next to him and Joe kept his hands to his sides . She pulled the blanket up and took a second to stare at the white ceiling above them. She lay there next to him feeling safe "What a night huh?" she said to the ceiling. " Which part , the dancing, the kissing , the panic attack, the accident?" He responded. " Talk about highs and lows" she managed with a smile. Joe propped his head up on his elbow and looked at her " Which was your favourite part?" he whispered. She finally met his beautiful brown eyes with her own " The kisses , all of them. You?". " Girl, how can you even ask me that. This beautiful body all up on mine , grinding on me . " as he spoke his fingers found the gap between her sports bra and leggings and he stroked the bare skin tenderly , sending a shock to Cassie's parts that made her get a little wet. He lay back on the pillow and put both of his hands under his head , closing his eyes with a smirk " Yeah definitely my favourite part, I'm going to be thinking about that one a lot". He was teasing her, and she had to hide a smile. Two can play that game she thought , as she ran a hand up his thigh, causing his eyes to fly open. " Save it for your wank bank baby" she said into his ear before turning away from him " Sweet dreams" she called over her shoulder.
" This is the captain speaking , we will be landing in thirty minutes " , Cassies eyes flickered open in surprise. She remembered she was on the plane, she must have dozed off. And ended up being spooned by Joe she observed, as his warm and extremely muscly arm lay around her protectively. " Did anyone ever tell you that you snore" she heard him say into her hair. Having him this close was luxurious " I do not snore". His arm tightened around her " I'm playing, you had a good sleep. It must have been because I was here to protect you". Joe loved to tease her " Well lying in bed with a handsome man , does make it easier to sleep. Especially one with this many muscles" she murmured stroking his arm affectionately. " Handsome and muscular, if I had known you like that I would have just gone to bed shirtless. Do you know how much I slave at the gym for these abs". She giggled and she felt him smile into her hair. " I hate to break up a good time , but we should get ready, plane lands soon and we need to get to Paul". Without thinking she picked up the arm that had been holding her in place and kissed his wrist before wriggling out. She stood in her sports bra and leggings and turned just in time to catch Joe looking at her with one eye open. The way he lay on the pillow with his hair all messed up, the wife beater showing off the muscles of his upper arms and tattoo and then the lazy smile and come fuck me expression made her want to jump right back in next to him. Their eyes met – and for a moment she was convinced he knew what she was thinking . She grabbed her t-shirt and saw he was still looking , even after she had taken the time to put her shoes on . Before she pulled the curtain back she looked again as he continued to watch her. " What are you looking at then ?" she said with a smirk. " You , what were you just thinking about?". She glanced back at him in the bed " About how fuckable you are " before she pulled back the curtain and walked out.
The air was cool when they stepped off the plane. Joe had organised a car to collect them and go straight to the hospital. The mood seemed to shift once they got on the ground. Cassie was sombre now , her thoughts with her uncle . It was early morning by the time they reached the hospital , they found Marla in the waiting room , she looked exhausted. She jumped up when she saw them wrapping her arms around Cassie tightly " IS he OK?" . Marla looked devastated " He is still sedated , they said I should have an update soon." They sat back down , Cassie taking Marlas hand in hers. " I'll get us some coffee" Joe said trying to be as useful as he could. He found a machine that didn't look too disgusting and carried the drinks back. He handed one to Marla and as he handed Cassie hers , their fingers touched and her eyes flew open in surprise at the feel of him. Their eyes met briefly before Joe looked away and sat across from them. Right now the focus had to be on Paul. " Thanks Joe , for bringing her home and leaving your trip.". " It's no trouble Marla really, my pleasure". They sipped away and made small talk for a bit , waiting for news. As the clock struck 9am a team of two doctors entered the room and they all stood. Joe positioned himself behind the two women and very discreetly and out of sight, placed a hand on Cassies hip. She stiffened for a second at his touch but relaxed immediately. " OK Mrs Heyman , we ran some tests and are happy to report that we see nothing of concern. With his head banged up a little we had to rule out concussion or brain trauma. I am happy to say he will be fine though he has a fracture to his calf and is a little bruised . We are bringing him out of sedation now and you should be able to see him soon. Though we can only take 2 visitors at a time. If you wait here a nurse will come by and get you soon". When the doctor left the two ladies embraced each other and then Joe who was relieved. When the nurse came along Joe ushered them out insisting they go and see Paul , Cassie asked him to wait for her. So of course he did just that .
Sitting in the waiting room and alone with his thoughts Joe couldn't help but let his mind wander to the events of the night before and on the plane. He was fuckable she had said. And the thing was so was she , she was so fuckable that even right now sitting in a waiting room , the thought of being in bed with her was enough to make him hard. There was that Cassie the one with the thigh skimming blue dress dancing all up on him , giving him head in a dark cabana and fucking him on his kitchen island. And then there was the other one, the Cassie who worked with him daily on his character for WWE, who pretended to be a shark in the pool playing with Aubrey and his kids . The one who was such a good friend to him that he was certain he never wanted to lose her . Paul was completely right, business and relationships did not mix, and if he and Cassie fucked up what they had because of this attraction to each other that would be the worst outcome. But she drove him crazy, in all the right ways. A cough Interrupted his thoughts " Joe , you were a million miles away" Marla said with a smile. " Hey , sorry am a little tired . Is everything OK?". " Yes , I thought you might want to go and see Paul for a bit and then take Cassie home , she is exhausted and Aubrey will be worried when she wakes." Joe did what he was told and went to the hospital room . " Any excuse to ruin my trip to Vegas huh?" he called in the door to Paul who was sitting up in the bed , pretty bruised up. " Joe , my man , I told my beautiful niece here she should have stayed, but you know what she is like". Cassie was sitting next to Paul's bed in chair " Oh yes I know exactly , I just did what I was told and booked the plane". He was teasing Cass and she rolled her eyes at him. " How you feeling Paul?". Joe patted him arm and he got a smile. " I Wont be holding the belt up for you for a few weeks but I am sure between you both you can find a cool way to write me off tv". " I was thinking vasectomy, it would give the fans plenty of opportunities to make up some new chants". Cassie said with a smirk . " Don't you even dare , Joe keep her in line please?". " I don't know 20,000 people chanting Pauls got no balls sounds cool to me". They all laughed. " OK get out of here you two , Cassie get some sleep please and give Aubrey a big kiss". As they got to the door Paul stopped them " Oh no I was supposed to help you move Cass tomorrow.". Joe held up a hand " Don't worry Paul I got it. I will help her , get some rest". They took a cab back to the house Paul and Marla had a neighbour watch Aubrey for the night , Joe walked Cassie to the door while the car waited for him. "Get some sleep , I'll be over tomorrow to help with the move". He hesitated for a minute and so did she, a lot had happened in the last 48 hours . " Joe , thank you. I .. you.. ". She trailed off , she didn't know what to say to him. " It's confusing as fuck right?" he said with a smile . " Yeah" . He winked at her " I better go , see you tomorrow" .