After the show, Jay and Erin had gone to their hotel's restaurant for a late dinner. WWE were often able to pay hotels a premium to keep restaurants open late so that their wrestlers and staff could eat after shows. Such was the case on this particular night, although not many wrestlers were in there. The result was quite an intimate dining experience that Jay liked. While they waited for their food to arrive, he decided to attempt his fishing expedition.

"Putting the tag belts on Clem and Raquel isn't the direction I expected you to go in."

"I'm glad to hear that," Erin said with a little grin on her face. She sipped some of her white wine. "If you didn't expect it, we can be sure most of the audience didn't. Predictable writing is one of my pet peeves."

"Right. But what was your thinking behind it? We've now got two titles on Clem. It's obvious you've got something in mind, with Raquel and Clem going against Sylvie's group."

Jay half expected Erin to grumble about talking shop at dinner, but she didn't. Maybe it was because they both genuinely liked talking wrestling with other. Or, more likely, it was because she was excited to talk about the particular subject at hand. There was a gleam in her eyes that suggested as much.

"I do have a three on three faction warfare kind of thing in mind."

"Alright. So far we've got five people. Who's the sixth? Kim Burgess? Seeing her turn face would be interesting."

"That's not my first option," Erin said coyly, and now Jay knew for sure that she was 'cooking' something. When she got that tone in her voice and that air about her, he couldn't help but get turned on. She was likely well aware of that too.

Jay drank some of his beer, maintaining eye contact with his beautiful and cunning fiancée. "You're going to make me ask you? Okay, what's option one?"

"I'm working on bringing back Maya Mizrachi."

Of all the things Jay might have expected to hear, that wasn't one of them. Maya was an Israeli wrestler who was a former three time champion in WWE. Very talented in the ring and popular with the fans, she had however been a borderline lunatic off-screen during her first run with the company. There had been numerous issues, most notably the one that had led to Hank releasing her from her contract. Maya and Hailey Upton had gotten into a real fight backstage, during which several punches had been thrown, Hailey had gotten her ass kicked, and Maya had allegedly tried to bite her on the face too. Maya's on-screen nickname of The Wildcat was an appropriate one.

"Why would you do that?" he asked. "We both know what happened last time. She was hard work, and then there was the Upton thing. You want to put those two in a locker room with each other again? Sounds like a bad idea to me. The ladies are a good, close group right now.'

"Figured you'd say that," Erin said, sipping her wine again. "You've listed the negatives, and rightly so. However, think of the positives. It's a fact that the fans opposed Maya being released. They liked her. They enjoyed her matches, thanks to her 'Wildcat' style. They would love to see her come back. It's been five years or whatever, and she's never wrestled anywhere else since. There's money and ratings in having her come back and join a faction with Raquel and Clem."

"With Hailey being one of the people on the opposing team? Jesus, honey. I know you like to think out of the box, and that's one of the reasons why things are going well since you took over in my opinion. But this might be a step too far. Have you talked to Hailey about it?"

Erin shook her head. "No, not yet. I will though before I sign anything with Maya. It would be wrong not to. In fact, if Hailey says no, I'm going to walk away from the deal. My hope is that she won't say no, and I have some confidence in that being the case."

"Why's that?" Jay asked, now intrigued.

"I've had a few conversations with Maya, including a video call. She looked very well, and happy. Since she left WWE, she's gotten married, settled down and had a kid. She told me she hasn't touched alcohol in three years, and she's in better shape physically now than before she stopped wrestling. You know something I strongly believe, Jay? Forgiveness is a very powerful thing."

Jay immediately thought of the way Erin had threaded her way carefully through the Clementine situation, mending a relationship with WWE that had seemed totally broken. She was excellent at that kind of thing, and she relished doing it.

"Yeah," he said, nodding. "I can see why this would appeal to you. You're picturing getting Hailey and Maya in a room and have them shake hands or something?"

"I'd like that, yes. There's a broken relationship with WWE there too, which can be fixed. It would be a nice story, and as I said there's money in it. Think of the potential matches: Mizrachi – Upton. Mizrachi – Brett. Mizrachi – Kidd. Further down the line we could have her against Raquel or Clem too."

"You're really set on this, aren't you?"

"Set on it, no. I would very much like to get it done though. And I'd like you to help me."

"Me? How?" he asked, immediately feeling wary and doubtful of his ability to live up to what Erin might expect of him. That was one of the worst feelings, and it wasn't new to him. Somehow, he most often didn't disappoint her, but he didn't know how.

"Oh, Jay," Erin said lovingly, obviously having seen a look on his face that betrayed what he was thinking. She reached out and took his right hand in both of hers. "Please stop doubting yourself. If only I could make you see yourself from my point of view. How strong you are. How talented you are. You're such an amazing person and you're the only person who can't see it. I love you so much."

Jay felt overwhelmed by how well she had conveyed her love to him, and could tell that tears were about to well up in his eyes. He had to leave the table. "I'll be right back," he said hurriedly, getting up and heading for the restrooms.

Feeling like a useless idiot, he entered the men's room and didn't know what to do next. He didn't need to piss. All he had wanted to do was get away from Erin before he got overloaded. Mercifully, he was the only one in the restroom. All of the cubicle doors were empty.

Jay went over to a wash basin and ran some cold water, splashing it onto his face in the hope that it might make him feel better. It didn't. He looked in the mirror, disliking what he saw looking back at him: a weak, broken man who ought to be an embarrassment to the wonderful woman sitting out there in the restaurant. But she wasn't embarrassed by him. She didn't see him that way at all.

Continuing to stare at the reflection, Jay realised after a minute or so that he'd had enough. He had just reached a decision that was way too long in coming. With that in mind, he took a deep breath and walked back out into the restaurant.

Erin saw him returning, an anxious look on her face. Worried about him, of course. She wasn't the only one. The approach to the table was going in slow motion for Jay, knowing what he was going to say when he got there. If he could even make himself say it when the moment came.

"Are you okay, honey?" Erin asked when he reached the table.

"No," he blurted out, surprising her. "No, I'm not. I've had enough of living like this. I want to go see a therapist and get some help. And I want us to get married. Like, soon, I mean."

Erin stood up, surprised, her eyes filling with tears, and gave him the tightest embrace he had ever experienced. "Let's do both of those things. As soon as we can."

A/N: A new character enters the story. I'm going to face claim Gal Gadot for Maya Mizrachi. Do you think Erin is doing the right thing by trying to bring her back, to mend fences and make some money? Or might she be inviting trouble into her company?

Jay finally reached breaking point with his mental health struggles and decided to speak to a professional about it. Do you think it will help him?

And who is ready for Linstead wedding planning to go into high gear?