Hello, my loves! As always, a huge amount of love to my girls wwechristina, Tm12Brady & GoldenGirl1920 for their love and support! If you haven't checked their own stories out here, please do! They are all great storytellers!

I have added some very personals aspects into the Cherry character. I experienced everything she did in real life: the abusive ex, the need to escape the situation, and the one you're getting to read about. It's been a very painful thing to deal with but writing this has helped my coping process.

So, Drew has been taking by Taryn and the Angels must get him back! But the bond between Drew and Cherry goes way deeper than they would suspect. Let's find out now...enjoy!

You're Not Alone

Drew

Drew felt as if he was floating. He was madly in love. He found her. The woman he swore didn't exist. She did exist. Her name was Cherry. In the year that they had shared, he never felt more alive. Their fight had been so painful, it brought memories of… "No! Not thinking about that bitch!" But he finally said the words she longed to here, and he always wanted to say but was terrified to put his heart back out on his sleeve. And now, he was going to marry her…today! She will be his wife and the mother of his children. He hoped they had gotten a head start on that last part already. Christ, their lovemaking last night had been powerful and overwhelming!

But there were still so many emotions lurking underneath. The sadness from losing his mother. From getting fired from the one and only job he loved. The anger and feeling lost from what he thought was love and marriage. His return was his redemption. The numerous titles and championships said it all. But having no one to share it with left scars on his heart and occasionally a fresh wound that wouldn't heal. Cherry healed him. She saved him.

Now as he still floated in a dreamlike state, his mind now clouding over with the scourge of her. Sheamus said it best: "She-who-shall-not-be-named". As quickly as a woman can help a man build his kingdom, she can cause it to crumble in sand. Taryn Terrell did just that. She wanted the fame and fortune. She wanted to be number one. She tried to destroy Drew's life, career and reputation to accomplish her goal.

And now, after over ten years of watching from the shadows, she only smiled an evil smile as she walked into the room. He still laid there unconscious, a look of bliss on his face. She sneered, her black nails running down his chest, "Awww, Drewy baby! YUCK! All this hair! Not cool! Whatever!" She opened his right eyelid, his pupils still small and the vivid blue of his eyes dim.

She puckered her lips, "Drewy, baby, you'll awaken soon. Then, we'll be together FOREVER!" She held up his long dark hair, "Everything about you is wrong. All WRONG!" Taryn leaned over his sleepy face, starting to kiss his bearded cheek when she stopped, "I can't stand a man with a beard! EW! That will be the first thing to go when I claim you again! Then all this icky chest hair! Gross!", as she pushed his face away.

Going Back To HQ

Cherry sat in silence in the back seat of Sheamus's green SUV as they drove back to HQ. She opened her clutch up, holding the white bandana in her hands. She was still silent as she brought it to her lips, closing her eyes and smelling both her perfume and Drew's cologne on it. A tear streaked down her cheek. This couldn't really be happening! Everything was finally perfect. They were in love and together. They were getting married as soon as possible. Now…he's gone.

Sheamus saw her from the rear-view mirror. He had known their secret for some time. When he and Drew were working out a few months ago, Drew told him how much he was head over heels at being with Cherry, "Mate, she's the one. I have no doubt in my mind. I wanna be with her forever." This made Sheamus happy. He had seen the depths of despair his best friend had been in because of that other nasty witch. Cherry made Drew happy. That's all he ever wanted for Drew…and himself. He slid his hand over to Christine, gently squeezing it as they drove back to HQ. He knew her secret…what Taryn Terrell had put her through as well. It wasn't pretty.

After they parked, Cherry told them both, watching them go in, "I'll be in. Just gimme a moment." She wrung her hands and paced, sadness and anger starting to take a hold of her. She screamed into the empty parking lot, "Damn it, damn it!" But just as fast, she regained her composure. She had a job to do. Her new mission was clear: Rescue her beloved fiancé from his crazy whore ex and get him down the aisle as soon as possible.

Cherry went inside, and it was no surprise Christine was waiting for her. Christine looked concerned for her friend, "Hey. You know you don't need to hide it anymore." Cherry was not in the mood and needed to stay focused, "Not hiding anything, Chris." Christine grabbed her hand as she walked by, "Ok then. Just listen. Sheamy told me everything. Told me what Drew said to him. How in love he is with you. He told me how he gave Drew your personal file."

Cherry fumed, "Yeah. About that. Yesterday Drew called me by my real name. I mean my...uh...the person I was. I was mad. We had a huge fight. I nearly left him for good." Christine sighed, "I understand. When I first got with Sheamy, it was hard telling him who I was. I was embarrassed. I couldn't trust anyone. My insides were so damaged." Cherry groaned, "Yeah but…" Christine cut her off, "No buts! If you and Drew are together, good. In fact, it's great! I'm happy for you. And him, that dork."

Cherry sighed, wiping her eyes with her left hand, "Hey. He's my dork." It was then Christine saw the ring on her hand. She took it in hers and said, "Sis, what is that? It's so beautiful!" Cherry looked at the angel ring and wanted to cry all over again, "Drew gave it to me. It belonged to his mom. He. Uh...it's his...I mean, I guess we-" She was cut off by Kevin over the intercoms, calling the both of them, "Ladies, we need ta strategize how ta get Drew back. I need ya both up here!"

As they sat waiting for Kevin to return from his office, Cherry sat with her fellow Angels and Sheamus. She looked worried and distraught. Every now and then, she would slip her hands in her purse to touch the white bandana. She could still feel it around her wrists as Drew made love to her that night. She closed her eyes and she could still feel his beard on her most intimate parts. She could feel his entire girth and length inside her. The sensation of his gentle touch and kisses. She looked at her now engagement ring on her left hand and fought back tears again.

Christine saw her sister struggling with her emotions and looked at Sheamus, nodding over to her. Lady Christina asked, "So, what did you find at Drew's place?" Christine, with her eyes still trained on Cherry, "Um, it wasn't your typical "Dork getting himself into a mess" situation. There were knockout drops in his coffee. The purple stain on the floor showed that. And you could see where he had been dragged out of the house. No doubt this was a deliberate attack." Lady said, "Jesus! This is terrible! Please let him be OK!"

With every word Christine said, Cherry shifted in her seat trying not to cry. She was looking near despondent when Sheamus went over to her and whispered, "We're gonna find him, lass. We always do. He'll be back with ya before ya know it. And I'm sorry I gave him your personal file. But he's so in love with ya…I don't know. He wanted ta know ya better and I felt bad fer him." She nodded, still trying to maintain her composure. "It's OK, Sheamus. I should've told him myself. I was so caught up in hearing him say he loves me. I guess that makes me a big hypocrite. Right?"

He shook his hand and put his hand on her shoulder, "Nah. Yer human. Ya both are." She swallowed hard as she said, "He finally told me that he loves me, Sheamus." He smiled, "Well, that's brilliant! It's about time! That time we were working out, he told me he was head over heels fer ya. Lass, a made him believe in love again, lass. Ya healed his heart." She looked down, "He healed mine too."

He spotted the Angel ring on her left hand and his eyes widened with his smile, "Cherry, is that…? It looks like Ma Angela's angel ring! Are ya two engaged?" Cherry started to cry and stood up suddenly, "I need some air. Please come get me when Kevin finally decides to grace us with his presence again." As she left the room, Lady Christina asked, "OK what's going on? She's so emotional." Christine sighed, "Sheamy, we need to tell her since it's going to affect the rescue mission. Girl, it's pretty much what we thought…but it's way deeper than we even imagined…"

As Christine & Sheamus filled Christina in, Cherry sat in the stairwell sobbing, trying in vain to get herself together. They didn't know how the deep the connection was that she and Drew had formed. Although Cherry had been evasive about her past, she did let him in to share something very personal and tragic. It would form a bond of love that helped them both heal from their deep, painful wounds.

Ten Months Earlier - Houston, TX

The night they made love in Houston, the first time she joined him on the road, the first time she told him "I love you". They sat up in bed nude, her back to his chest and head back on his shoulder. His big, strong arms were around her waist. They were talking about lots of different things. Mostly joking around or saying sweet, dirty nothings to each other.

Drew decided to change the topic, "Tell me something about you before you became an Angel." She joked, "Um, sorry but that's classified information." He insisted, "I'm serious. I want to know more about ya." She was terrified to tell him about the man she had left, the one who took a young and innocent Leslie and groomed her for his own while trying to kill her spirit with his constant verbal, mental and physical abuse.

But she thought and decided to tell him her the hardest thing she ever went through that didn't involve that…man. She said, "Well…I can tell you one thing and, believe it or not, it sorta involves you." His interest was piqued, "OK this I gotta hear."

She took a deep breath, "I read in your file…about your mom, Angela. How close you were with her, how strong she was with the obstacles she faced with her neurological condition, how it affected you when she passed away from the female form of cancer." Drew put his forehead to the back of her head and shut his eyes, "Yes."

She said, "Well, I was also very close with my mom. She was my hero. She was a single mom. We didn't have a whole lot of money but she always found a way to keep us fed. She was also very strong. She survived a physically abusive marriage with my dad. We were very close. She was my best friend and biggest supporter. That's why it hit me so hard when we found out she had ovarian cancer." Drew whispered, "Oh no."

Nodding her head, "She fought like the devil. She had surgery and underwent chemo and that was just as brutal on her body as the fucking cancer. She went into remission that December. But it had already come back by January. I lost her than June. In fact, she died…on your birthday, June the sixth. Holding her even tighter to him, "Oh my love! I'm so sorry!"

She tried in vain to stop her sobs, "When your file said you felt lost and out of control when your mom passed, I can relate. I hated the whole world and wanted it to just end. But I wasn't allowed to mourn for her or show any grief. I had to be strong and keep up appearances or he…" She stopped herself, "Well, let's just say that I was never able to truly heal that wound."

Drew couldn't believe his ears. They had such similar stories. He felt their bond grow stronger from just this one exchange. She was truly meant for him. He had no doubt of that. He kissed her on the back of the neck, "Thank you. When you go through something like that, you feel like you're all alone and no one understands. Now I know, I'm not. I have you." She turned around sat up on her knees and kissed him whispering, "You do have me, Baby. You're not alone."

She straddled his lap kissing his neck and running her hands up and down his chest. He caressed her backside and pulled her closer. She felt him hard and ready between her thighs. She adjusted herself upwards and slid all the way down, taking his entire large length inside of her. She moved her legs wider, digging her feet into the mattress and they started moving in a perfect, beautiful rhythm with each other. She arched her back as he feasted on each breast.

Their lovemaking turned wild as their pace picked up, causing them both to moan and scream each other's name as came together, her soft, damp lips clamping around his hardness, and his seed released deep within her. They were face to face and heart to heart as they kissed with passion, love and devotion. They both now knew they were not alone. They would always and forever have each other.

Back At HQ

As that memory marinated in her mind, she tried to get her emotions in check to no avail. Soon, she was joined in the hall by Christine and Lady Christina. She could see by the look on her face that they both knew the truth. She spoke in a broken voice, "We were finally going to tell you all today. I'm sorry I kept it from you both. I thought I was doing the right thing by everyone."

They sat down on each side of her. Christina said as she put her arm around her, "You don't have to say a thing. You love him and he loves you. It's a beautiful thing. Never feel like you have to hide anything from us." Christine did the same, "He's a big doofus. And you make each other happy. There's nothing else to say but we're gonna get him back here with you where he belongs."

Cherry heard what they were saying, but even before Kevin showed them the lock of Drew's hair, she knew who did this. She had been watching them for months. Every time she and Drew made love or would talk about their future, that bitch was there. And Cherry would be damned if she let that two-bit tramp ass slut hurt her man, even if she had to go on her own for this mission.