Chapter 1


"SABIN, I WILL KILL YOU!"

Cindy and Shelly both groaned seeing Sabin tearing ass their way. Frankie Kazarian was hot on his heels, his hair soaking wet and a towel wrapped around his waist.

Shelly had to squint to make sure she was seeing correctly. Yes, there were definitely streaks of hot pink sliding down his bare chest. It spread in small stains on the towel.

Sabin made it to the women, panting and ducked behind them.

"What did you do," Cindy demanded, trying hard not to laugh.

"Oh…nothing…much," Sabin replied with a shrug.

"You dyed Frankie’s hair," Shelly demanded, turning toward her boyfriend. "His hair? Chris, really?"

"I don’t understand what the big deal is," Sabin exclaimed. "It’ll grow out…eventually."

By this time Kazarian had made it to where the ladies stood with Sabin. Up close it was even more comical. His dark locks were streaked with hot pink and now his chest and back were stained as well as his towel.

"I’m going to kill you," he growled reaching for Sabin.

Shelly grumbled a string of expletives under her breath. Sometimes being Chris Sabin’s girlfriend could be a huge headache. She wanted to choke him herself for pulling this rib before a show. She stepped between the two, pushing Kazarian back gently.

"Frankie, maybe you should think about…I don’t know…putting on some pants before you go chasing Chris around," she said pointing to the towel that he was holding up.

"I dunno, Shell," Cindy smirked. "I kinda like the towel look."

"Don’t let Alex hear you say that," Shelly snickered. "I suppose it is a nice view. He does have very nice legs, doesn’t he?"

"Hey," Sabin exclaimed jumping up. He had to duck back down behind the women to avoid being swiped at.

Frankie blushed a deep crimson, suddenly aware that the towel didn’t seem nearly big enough.

"Cut that out! This is about that little shit," he growled, pointing to Sabin.

"It’s just hair," Sabin exclaimed, feeling braver now that he had human shields. "You wear a damn mask in the ring anyway!"

"That’s not the point," Frankie yelled. "Look what you did to my hair! My beautiful hair!"

"Frankie," Shelly said getting his attention. "Go clean up and put on some pants. Tomorrow we’ll go to a pharmacy and find some dye to bring it back to your natural color."

Kazarian sighed, but nodded. He was starting to feel a draft and didn’t want to give the women wandering around anymore of a show than he already had.

"Yeah, Frankie," Sabin teased. "Go put on some pants. No one wants to see your pasty white ass."

Shelly grabbed him by the ear, making Sabin yipe in pain. "YOU, Chris, are in big trouble."

"But…it was just a rib! I swear! I didn’t mean anything by it, baby," he yelped, pulling away from her. He stuck out his bottom lip at her.

"You know how sensitive he is about his hair," Shelly grumbled.

"Which is why I did it," Sabin smirked. Shelly groaned and shook her head and his smile fell. "You’re not really mad at me…are you, baby?" He stuck out his bottom lip again and made puppy dog eyes at her.

She groaned, throwing her hands up in exasperation. "Put away the face," she sighed. "I’m not mad." She smiled. "It was kinda funny." She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him close for a kiss. "Now, can I trust you to not cause any trouble while I have my match with Cindy?"

"I’m an angel," he replied innocently. "Can’t you see my halo?" He circled his head with his hand.

Shelly chuckled. "No, but I definitely see your horns and tail."

"Go wow the crowd," Sabin laughed. "I’ll meet you at the tunnel when you’re done."

"That’s your cue, Cinder," Shelly called as they heard music blasting.

Cindy headed out to the ring to await her opponent. This would be Shelly’s first match back since her knee injury. She had been aligned with Sabin finally a few weeks prior to this match.

She had been getting into trouble disrupting interviews that the Guns were doing in backstage segments and had cost them a match. That had been the last straw for Cindy and she challenged Shelly to a match on this week’s Impact.

She waited at the steps to the tunnel listening for her music to start. Sabin rubbed her shoulders and could feel the tension in them. He knew she was a little nervous about her first match back. Though she would never say it out loud Sabin knew that Shelly was worried about how her surgically repaired knee would hold up.

"Relax, baby, you’ll be great," he said wrapping his arms around her and kissing her neck.

The opening drumbeat of Burn Halo’s Dirty Little Girl began to blast and Shelly pulled away from Sabin.

"That’s my cue," she said smiling at him nervously.

"You’ll be awesome, honey," Sabin called as she headed up the steps and out the tunnel.

"Did I miss anything," Alex called joining Sabin at a monitor.

"Nope," Sabin smiled. "Shell just got out there."

"Oh good," Alex smiled. He’d been off doing his interview segment with Lauren.

As the match started a small group formed around the monitor. Sabin cringed when Shelly landed awkwardly outside the ring, flexing her knee several times.

"She’s all right," Alex pointed out.

She had gotten back in the ring and she and Cindy had tied up again. Alex smiled when Cindy attempted a move he’d just taught her. Sabin chuckled and nudged his friend when Shelly pulled off the reversal perfectly. Alex scowled at him.

"You didn’t tell me you taught her that," he pouted.

Sabin clapped him on the back, still chuckling and replied, "I knew you’d be teaching Cindy that one. Had to keep my girl prepared."

"You chuckleheads wanna shut the fuck up," Jay Lethal growled. "I’m trying to watch the match."

"And we’re stopping you how," Alex retorted.

"Jay’s trying to take pointers from the chicks," Consequences Creed chuckled, slinging his arm around his partner’s shoulders. "He’s always looking for new moves."

Lethal grunted and shoved Creed away. "Fuck you, man! These women are talented. I’m enjoying the action."

"You’re just wishing one of them will rip off the other’s top aren’t you, Jay," Greg laughed from his place in the crowd. He grunted when Taylor slapped his shoulder.

"Exact…HEY! Cut that out, Greg! I respect these women for the athletes that they are," Lethal defended.

"And the hot pieces of ass they are too," Greg called back once again getting a slap from his girlfriend.

"Dude! Those are our girlfriends out there," Alex exclaimed making everyone laugh.

~}i{~

Matt Morgan’s eyes were transfixed on the monitor. He watched every move that Shelly made. It had been a few months since they’d broken up, but he still desired what he couldn’t have. He smiled when the referee counted the three and raised Shelly’s hand.

In the ring Shelly offered Cindy a hand to help her up. The other woman glared up at her and smacked her hand away, getting to her feet. She flipped Shelly off as she headed up the ramp and to the back.

Morgan sneered at the woman retreating up the ramp. She may need to pay for doing that. He’d bide his time and see what else she did before he chose to act.

~}i{~

"Babe," Alex called when Cindy came through the tunnel. He scooped her up and crushed her lips with his. "You were wonderful!"

"I learned from the King of Brats," she teased, pinching his cheek.

"I wish you and Shell would stop calling me that," he pouted.

"But you’re so cute when you’re being a brat," she teased.

"You two are making me sick," Greg muttered.

"Stop it," Taylor snickered.

"And get out of the way," Shelly teased coming through the tunnel.

Cindy and Alex moved aside so that she could pass. Sabin was waiting at the foot of the tunnel steps with a smile on his face. She returned his smile, happy that her return had gone so well. He held out his hand for her and she accepted it, allowing him to pull her away from the crowd.

Taylor and Cindy smiled wide as the two stole away. After pining over her for so long Sabin finally got the girl he wanted. They were extremely happy for both of their friends.

"They are just so cute, aren’t they," Taylor asked.

"Oh yeah," Greg replied rolling his eyes. "So cute I wanna puke."

Taylor sighed and grabbed his hand tugging him toward the tunnel. "Come on, Romeo, our match with Daffney and Raven is next."

Chapter 2

Sabin had pulled Shelly down the hall away from their friends. When he felt they were far enough away from prying ears he turned to her, a smile on his face.

"What’s with you," she asked with a chuckle.

"Have I told you how much I love you," he asked.

She thought a moment, a small smile curling her lips. "Not in the past hour, no," she teased. He mock scowled and she giggled, wrapping her arms around his neck. "I love you too, Chris."

He smiled, wrapping his arms around her and holding her tight. "You know what?"

"What?" She pulled back so that she could look him in the eyes.

"Maybe we should just hitch a flight to Vegas and get married," he replied with a crooked smile.

She laughed and shook her head, burying her face in his chest. "You’re so cute when you’re being impulsive."

"Only when I’m impulsive," he asked. She could hear the pout in his voice.

"You’re adorable all the time," she smiled. "Now, let me go shower and change." She pulled away and attempted to walk away, but he held her hand. She giggled as he slowly eased his grip, her hand slipping from his slowly. "I’ll come find you when I’m done."

"Is that a no on my proposal," he called as she walked away. Her only response was a soft chuckle.

Sabin watched her walk away, a crooked grin on his face. Alex and Cindy soon joined him. Alex took one look at him and groaned.

"My girlfriend is so dreamy," Alex sighed, snickering.

"Honey, don’t be an ass," Cindy said slapping his arm.

"Dude, I never said anything when you were all googly eyed over Cinder," Sabin retorted.

"I think it’s sweet," Cindy said pinching Sabin’s cheek.

He swatted her away and scowled. "I’m not a kid, Cinder. Cut that shit!"

Cindy giggled. "He’s so cute when he’s mad!"

"Bay-abe," Alex whined. "I thought you found me cute." He pouted at her.

"I do," Cindy said trying to hug him. He brushed her off, crossing his arms across his chest and turning his back on her.

"That’s mature," Sabin snickered. "What’s wrong, Alex? Can’t stand that the chicks find me irresistibly adorable?"

Alex glared at him over his shoulder and stuck out his tongue at his friend.

"Alex," Cindy said wrapping her arms around his waist and kissing his shoulder. "Baby, you know I love you, right?"

"I know," he said still pouting.

"I’m leaving before I barf," Sabin replied. He walked off shaking his head.

"He’s gone now, brat," Cindy chuckled, resting her head on Alex’s shoulder. "You can stop the act."

"Stop calling me that," he groaned.

Cindy smiled and began to trail kisses along his neck. She could feel a shudder travel down his spine moments before he spun around, wrapping his arms around her.

"Alex," she squealed, pounding lightly on his chest while giggling. "I’m all sweaty. Let me go shower."

"What for," he asked. "You’re just gonna get all sweaty again."

She smacked his shoulder as he released her. "Perv."

"You love the perv in me," he called as she headed toward the locker room.

~}i{~

Shelly had just gotten out of the shower and wrapped a towel around herself as she headed toward her locker to grab her clothes. She was just about to drop her towel when she felt eyes on her from the shadows.

"Chris, if that’s you then you’re in trouble," she chuckled. When the person didn’t step forward she peered into the dark corner and gasped seeing the huge silhouette.

Matt Morgan stepped out of the shadows finally, a smile curling his lips. "Did I scare you?"

"No," Shelly lied. "You shouldn’t be in here, Matt."

"Why? Is it…forbidden?" He chuckled.

"Didn’t I dump your sorry ass months ago," she asked, forcing herself not to show the fear that was building inside.

Morgan’s smile fell and was replaced by a sneer. The distance between them was crossed in two strides. Shelly backed away from him, but found her back hitting the metal lockers.

He grasped her shoulders roughly making her wince in pain. "You think you’re funny, you little cock tease," he growled. As he spoke he shook her, making her back hit the lockers.

"Get off me," she said through gritted teeth. Her back was throbbing already from the assault. She was terrified of what else he might do to her.

The doorknob began to rattle and it was then that Shelly realized that Morgan had locked it. Someone began to knock on the door.

"Shell? Let me in," Cindy called through the door. "Are you in there with Chris?" Cindy chuckled. "You two need to take a breath now and then."

"Cindy will get help if I don’t answer the door," Shelly said to Morgan, praying that he would back off.

He looked from the door to her and frowned. He didn’t like his plans being foiled. Not when he was about to get what he wanted.

Releasing her Morgan strode to the door and unlocked it, heading out into the hall. Shelly slid down the locker, pulling her knees to her chest and resting her head on them.

"Shell? What happened," Cindy demanded.

"Nothing," Shelly replied, willing her heart to stop pounding. She feared it would burst through her chest at any moment. Cindy helped her up and she began to pull out her clothes and dress.

"Are you sure that…"

"I said nothing happened, Cinder," Shelly replied. When she was finally dressed she grabbed her bag. "I’ll see you later."

Cindy watched her friend leave frowning. She knew she had just interrupted something. She thanked her lucky stars that Morgan hadn’t done something unthinkable to Shelly. Making a mental note to speak to Alex about it later she headed into the shower.

~}i{~

Shelly wandered down the hall. She knew that the Guns had an interview segment with Lauren, but the way she felt right now the last place she wanted to be was anywhere near her boyfriend. She didn’t want to be a distraction.

While she was pondering where to go she didn’t see or hear Frankie sneaking up on her. He was decked out in his Suicide suit.

"I am Suicide," he announced in her ear, making her jump a mile. She spun around, gasping for breath and holding her hand over her heart.

"Damn it, Frankie," she growled, smacking him upside the head.

"OW! What the hell," he exclaimed, ripping off his mask. "What was that for?"

"Scaring the shit out of me." She leaned against the wall to catch her breath.

"Seriously? That Suicide bit never scared you like this before," Frankie replied. "What’s going on?"

Shelly straightened up and shook her head. Before she could say anything she spotted Morgan down the hall behind Frankie. "Nothing. I have to go."

"All right. See you later," he called and glanced over his shoulder, spotting Morgan. "Keep walking Captain Caveman," he called to the larger man. Morgan just chuckled and shook his head continuing on his way.

"What are you doing here," Traci called to Frankie. "You have a match in like two minutes."

"I’m goin’. I was just goofing off with Shell, but she’s not in the mood tonight," Frankie frowned. "Remind me to have a talk with her soon. I think something’s going on with her."

Traci rolled her eyes. "You’d forget your head if it wasn’t attached. Now, go! Your music is about to start and you can’t leave Daniels high and dry."

Chapter 3

Shelly wandered around, her arms wrapped tightly around herself. The incident with Morgan earlier had her on edge and every sharp sound made her jump. All she knew was that she needed to put as much space between herself and Morgan.

Eventually she made her way out to the parking lot and hopped up on the hood of her car. She had thrown her bag in the trunk and since she was done for the night she decided to wait for Sabin.

~}i{~

When the Guns were done with their interview they found Cindy waiting for them. Alex smiled and grabbed her around the waist, giving her a loud, sloppy kiss.

"Thanks," Cindy sighed, wiping her mouth. He chuckled and nuzzled her neck.

"Gross, dude," Sabin grimaced. He looked around. "You seen Shell, Cinder?"

"Not in a while. Um, listen she had an…altercation with Morgan. He was in the locker room with her and he had locked the door."

Sabin’s eyes grew dark at the mention of Morgan’s name. "What did he do to her?"

"She said nothing," Cindy replied. "But she was upset. I haven’t seen her since she left the locker room."

"Go find her, man," Alex said. "I’ll grab your bag for you."

"Thanks," Sabin called and took off down the hall.

He checked the Knockouts locker room and was told by Taylor that she wasn’t there. He tried Frankie’s locker room, but again was told she wasn’t there. Not having any other idea where to go he headed out to the parking lot.

With a great deal of relief he found Shelly sitting on the car. He ran to her and pulled her off the hood, wrapping his arms around her.

"Cindy told me about Morgan. I was so worried."

"I’m fine," Shelly replied pulling away. "Are you done for the night?"

"Yeah. Babe, what did he do to you?"

"Nothing. I’m just tired. I want to get back to the room and relax."

"I’m just waiting for Alex to bring out my bag," Sabin replied, eyeing her closely. He could tell that something was bothering her. Perhaps when they were alone in their room she’d open up.

Alex brought Sabin’s bag. "Here you go, buddy. I’ll talk to you in the morning. Cinder says she needs to speak to me."

Sabin watched his friend rush off to catch up with his girlfriend before turning to Shelly. "You ready?"

She nodded and got in the passenger side. Sabin slid behind the wheel. Shelly leaned her head against the glass and closed her eyes. Frowning he started the car and pulled out of the parking lot.

Sabin cast sidelong glances at his girlfriend as he drove, wanting more than ever to talk to her. He feared that if he pressed things she’d clam up even more. He would wait it out and give her space. She’d talk to him when she was ready.

~}i{~

"So, what did you want to talk about, babe," Alex asked as he lounged back in the passenger seat.

"It’s about the Morgan and Shelly situation."

"Babe, I’m sure that Chris can handle it," Alex replied.

"Alex, Shell is my friend. She says she’s fine, but you didn’t see her after Morgan left the locker room. She was terrified."

"You don’t think that he…"

"No. He didn’t have enough time for that," Cindy said. "But that doesn’t mean he won’t try something again."

"So, what do you want me to do? Follow her around like a bodyguard? She’s got her own boyfriend for that."

"Just have her back, Alex. Please. For me," Cindy begged. "I can’t explain it, but I have a bad feeling."

Alex reached out and took her hand, lacing his fingers with hers. "If it means that much to you then I’ll do it."

She smiled, squeezing his hand. "Thank you."

~}i{~

Shelly was the first one out of the car when Sabin parked in the hotel lot. Sabin was close behind, stopping only long enough to grab their bags.

"Hey, you wanna wait for your boyfriend or are you trying to ditch me?"

Shelly stopped and waited for him to catch up. "I’m sorry. My mind is just not all here at the moment. I just really want to get to the room."

"I can see that," he smirked, hoping to lighten the mood. "In a rush to lavish some well deserved attention on the love of your life?"

"But I think Traci might object to that," she teased.

Sabin grunted and scowled at her. "Not funny."

She giggled. "I’m only kidding. You know that I don’t think of Frankie like that anymore. You’re the only man in my life and that’s the way it’s going to stay for as long as you’ll have me."

Sabin smiled wide. "Is the rest of my life too long?"

Shelly chuckled and shook her head no. "Sounds just about right to me. Can we get to the room now?"

He nodded, shifting the bags to one shoulder and placing a hand on the small of her back to guide her toward their door.

"Key?"

Sabin was about to reach into the front pocket of his jeans with his free hand. Shelly stopped him and reached in herself, making him groan as her hand slid in and out slowly. She smiled sweetly up at him as she unlocked the door. He swatted her behind as she headed inside eliciting a little squeak and a giggle.

He dropped the bags and kicked the door shut, going to where she was kicking off her shoes by the bed. When she turned around he practically tackled her to the bed, kissing her long and hard.

"You’re a little tease, aren’t you," he asked as he kissed a trail down her neck.

Morgan’s words came crashing back to her. Cock tease. That’s what he had called her.

"What did you say," she asked pushing him away.

Sabin smiled. "I said you’re a little tease, aren’t you?"

She pushed him away, scrambling out from under him. "Why would you say something like that?" She knelt at the foot of the bed looking appalled.

"Baby, it was a joke. What’s wrong?"

She shook her head, turning away from him and slipping her legs off the end of the bed.

Sabin crawled over to her, kneeling behind her. "You have to know that what you just did with the key drove me crazy," he said. "It took all my willpower not to throw you down on the floor out in the hall."

She didn’t reply. He needed to find out what was bothering her and he knew it had to do with what Morgan had done to her that night.

"Shell, please tell me what Morgan did tonight."

She sniffled, and finally turned to face him. "He didn’t get the chance to do anything," she said, a tear slipping down her cheek.

"But he was going to," Sabin said, finishing her thought. She nodded.

"It didn’t help that I was mouthing off. I just didn’t want him to think I’m afraid of him," she hiccuped.

"Did he hurt you?"

"He grabbed me and shook me, but he didn’t do anything other than scare the shit out of me," she replied, wiping the tears away.

"Did he say anything to you?"

"He called me a cock tease," she muttered, sniffling.

"No wonder you reacted the way you did when I called you a tease. Oh, babe. I’m sorry." He wrapped his arms around her, kissing her temple.

"I just want to forget about him for tonight. I just want to sleep."

Sabin nodded. "You want to change first?"

She shook her head no. He slid off the bed, pulling her with him and turned down the bedding. She climbed in and he covered her up before going around to his own side and sliding in behind her.

She rolled and rested her head on his chest, allowing him to hold her. She closed her eyes hoping to fall asleep quickly. She couldn’t help feeling that things with Morgan were going to get worse and she didn't know how to stop it.

Sabin felt the same way as he lay there holding onto Shelly. He knew he’d have to enlist their friends in trying to keep his girlfriend safe. As his eyes drifted shut he resolved to talk to everyone in the morning.

Chapter 4

Shelly found her dreams plagued by visions of Morgan. Everywhere she went he seemed to find her, smiling at her with evil intentions in his eyes. The last image she saw was of him stalking toward her and grabbing her by the shoulders.

She jarred awake with a gasp, her heart racing. The early morning light was filtering through the curtains as she sat up resting her head against the headboard. She had not woken Sabin so she quietly climbed out of bed and dressed.

She was just coming out of the bathroom from brushing her teeth and fixing her hair and make up when Sabin rolled onto his back yawning loudly. Shelly chuckled.

"Morning, sleepyhead," she laughed.

"What time is it," he asked through a yawn, sitting up and rubbing sleep from his eyes.

"A little after eight. I was going to swing by Frankie’s room. I promised him that I’d fix the damage that you did."

"I’d call it an improvement," he laughed, climbing out of bed. "What else you planning on doing?"

"I think Frankie’ll take up most of my morning. I’m sure he’s going to be very particular about the dye we get."

"Sounds like fun." He headed into the bathroom. "Hope you girls have a good time."

"I wouldn’t have to spend my morning elbow deep in hair dye if it wasn’t for you and your twisted sense of humor," she retorted.

"You’ve never complained about it before," he replied flushing the toilet and washing his hands.

He came out of the bathroom and watched her as she checked her make up. She seemed to have forgotten about the events of the night before. At the very least she was hiding it very well.

"Babe? You all right," he asked.

She looked at him and nodded. "Fine."

"Because if you’re not it’s understandable."

"I refuse to let that man make me live in fear," she replied. "I have friends who care about me and I can rely on them." She went to him and kissed him softly on the lips. "And I have a loving boyfriend who will do whatever it takes to keep me safe."

"You know it could be a loving husband," he replied, wriggling his eyebrows. "Nice intimate ceremony on the beach at sunset. Huh?"

"Would you give that a rest? We just got together, Chris," she chuckled. "What’s the rush?"

"Maybe I don’t want to risk some other guy swooping you up from under me," he replied.

"Not gonna happen, babe," she replied. "I’ll see you later."

"Have fun with Francesca…I mean Frankie," he called as she headed to the door.

"You’re lucky you’re cute," she replied without looking back at him.

When she was gone Sabin grabbed his phone and called up Alex and Greg and a few trusted others to invite them over to strategize.

~}i{~

When Shelly made it Frankie and Traci’s room she could hear laughing from inside. She knocked on the door and waited. When it opened she looked up and had to bite her bottom lip to keep from laughing in Frankie’s face.

Now that his hair was dry the pink streaks were even more prominent. It wasn’t helping matters that it had been pulled into a high ponytail. Wrapped around the ponytail was a bright yellow bow.

Frankie groaned. "Go ahead and laugh. Traci’s been doing it all morning."

"You look like you have cotton candy for hair," Traci exclaimed from behind him.

"Shut up! I DO NOT!"

"You kinda do, Frankie," Shelly giggled. "So…is this the look we’re going with to go buy hair dye?"

"No. This is Traci’s idea of a joke," Frankie grumbled, yanking his hair out of the ponytail and tossing the ribbon to the floor as he headed into the bathroom.

"I appreciate you doing this with him, Shell," Traci said when Shelly entered the room and sat down on the foot of the bed. "I’d do it myself, but I have a photo shoot today and well…"

"He’d never let you," Shelly nodded with a smile. She knew all too well how picky her friend was about his hair.

"All right, let’s go," Frankie sighed coming out of the bathroom pulling a knit cap over his head. He tucked the ponytail at the nape of his neck into the back of the hat.

"Frankie? It’s like eighty out there," Shelly said. "You sure you want to head out like that?"

"Let’s just go," he sighed. Traci snickered as they headed out. "Would you cut it out!" She blew him a kiss as they left.

~}i{~

"Why exactly are we here so damn early," Greg grumbled as he lounged on the bed in Sabin and Shelly’s room. "I could be enjoying the comforts of an empty bed and sleeping in right about now."

"Coffee! I have coffee and donuts for everyone," Alex announced entering the room with AJ and Daniels behind him. Jay Lethal and Consequences Creed were also there.

Everyone accepted the cups of steaming liquid and donuts as they waited for Sabin to tell them why they were there.

"So, why the hell are we here," Greg demanded as he sipped his coffee.

"You’re here today because I have a problem that I need help with," Sabin replied.

"Dude, you need therapy for that problem," Greg replied shoving the rest of his jelly donut in his mouth. A few others snickered.

"This is serious," Sabin said glaring at him.

"Guys, this is about Matt Morgan," Alex chimed in. "Cindy told me about what happened to Shell last night in the locker room."

"What’d he do," Lethal asked.

"Well, it’s more about what he was going to do," Sabin said and filled them all in on what happened. "He roughed her up a bit and I had no idea it was going on. He locked the damn door to the locker room." Sabin’s hands balled into fists and he punched the bed beside him.

"So, you want us to keep a look out for Shell," AJ asked.

"Yes."

"Shouldn’t Frankie be here," Daniels asked. "I mean he’s her self proclaimed big brother and all."

"I already gave him a heads up," Sabin replied. "Shell’s out with him fixing a little problem that came up last night." Sabin and Alex smirked at one another and then grew serious again. "He plans on taking her to breakfast and talking things out. I figured maybe he could get things out of her that I couldn’t."

"Don’t worry, Chris, we got your back and Shell’s too," Creed said downing the rest of his coffee.

"Thanks guys," Sabin sighed. He hated that he had to do this, but he didn’t know what else to do. He hated feeling helpless.

~}i{~

"Isn’t there a section for men’s hair dye," Frankie whimpered seeing the row upon row of women’s products before him.

"Do you want to half ass this and screw up your hair more," Shelly demanded as she scanned the brunette section.

"No, but…I mean come on!"

"Would you just trust me on this. I know what I’m doing," she replied pulling a box off the shelf and examining the back. "Come here a minute." He got close and she reached up, pulling out some strands of his hair.

"What are you doing," he demanded swatting her hand away.

"I need to check your hair color with the one on the box. Do you want me to get an exact match or not?"

"Fine," he sighed and bent down so she could check.

"Yeah, this is the right one."

"So, I was thinking after we’re done here we go grab some breakfast," Frankie suggested, checking out the prices on the bottles of Pantene.

"I thought you’d want to get this over with as soon as possible." Shelly quirked a brow at him.

"I do, but since Traci and I got married and you got together with Chris you and I haven’t really hung out like we used to. What do you say?"

Shelly smirked. "On one condition," she said. Hesitantly he nodded. "You have to take off the hat." He groaned loudly. "That’s the condition. Take it or leave it."

"You’re just as evil as your damn boyfriend," he grumbled. Shelly chuckled as she headed to the register with the box of dye. "I got this," he said taking out his wallet.

"I’ll pay for the dye," she replied waving him off. "You can pay for breakfast."

"Works for me," he shrugged stuffing his wallet back into his pocket as the clerk rung up the order and bagged it.

Shelly accepted the bag and followed Frankie out of the pharmacy toward the parking lot. She smirked and yanked the hat off his head, taking off for the car.

"You little rat," he yelled charging after her.

"You agreed to the condition," she laughed when he caught her around the middle and wrestled the hat away from her.

"I did no such thing!"

"When you agreed to pay for breakfast you agreed. It was an unspoken agreement."

She snatched the hat from him and tossed it in the path of a car driving by. The car rolled over it with two of its tires.

Frankie watched this and groaned, knowing he would never pick it up and put it back on now. "You’re pure evil," he grumbled opening up the car and sliding behind the wheel.

"But you love me anyway," Shelly giggled sliding into the passenger seat.

Chapter 5

Shelly and Frankie went to a little outdoor café to eat. He had promised Sabin that he would talk to Shelly and see if she’d talk to him about what happened with Morgan. They placed their drink orders and sat in silence as they both looked over the menu.

"Chris told me about what happened last night with Morgan," Frankie finally said setting aside his menu. Shelly’s eyes flicked up from her menu a moment before dropping back down to it. "No wonder you were so jumpy when I snuck up on you. Why didn’t you tell me last night?"

"Because it was no big deal, Frankie," she lied. "Just let it go."

"Let it go? Let it go? Shell," he replied, his eyes wide in disbelief. "He could have raped you and no one would have known until we…"

"I know that, Frankie," she interrupted him, tossing her menu aside. "I am very much aware of what he could have done. He didn’t do anything to me though. So just let it go!"

"You might not be that lucky next time."

"Again, I know that. I wish you and Chris would just let this go! I’m not some china doll. I’m not going to break just because a big bad man is after me. Morgan wants me then he’s gonna get the fight of his damn life!"

Frankie smiled and leaned across the table to place a hand over a balled fist. "We only worry because we love you," he said soothingly.

"You guys seem to forget that I’m not some damsel in distress," she replied. "I may not be able to do much damage to the big oaf, but that doesn’t mean I’ll just give in and give up. I can fight."

"I know," Frankie replied holding up his hands in surrender. "Just know that you have back up when you need it."

"I appreciate that," she said smiling. "Now, where’s our waiter? I’m starving."

~}i{~

Across from the café Morgan sat in his car watching Shelly and Frankie. He had no doubt in his mind that she was unburdening herself to him. He chuckled and shook his head. Even with Sabin as her boyfriend she still went to the Kazarian kid. That had to hurt just a little.

He sucked down some of the swill that a local market called coffee as he watched her chatting with her friend. A much lighter tone had replaced the seriousness. Morgan watched as Shelly threw back her head and laughed at something that Frankie had said.

When he’d had enough of the "sibling" bonding he started up his car and drove off knowing that soon he’d have her for his own.

~}i{~

"Are you sure you know what you’re doing," Frankie asked as Shelly donned the plastic gloves from inside the box and mixed the dye in the little plastic bottle provided. She had set him up in the bathroom sitting on a chair in front of the sink.

"Dingus," she said smacking him upside the head. "I have dyed my own hair before."

"I thought you were a natural brunette," he said furrowing his brow and examining her for any signs of her roots growing in.

"I am," she sighed. "I’ve also been a blonde and a redhead and somewhere in between the two various times. Then there was the time back when we were in the WWE that I lost that bet with Jeff Hardy and it was…"

"Purple, green and yellow," Frankie chuckled, shaking his head at the memory. "You looked like a clown!" She raised a gloved hand to smack him again, but he held his hands up. "I’ll behave!"

"Relax, Frankie. It’s a piece of cake. All I have to do is glop this goo onto your hair and…"

"Why can’t you just do the parts that are pink," Frankie exclaimed.

"Fine. You wanna look like an Easter egg? We can just dye the pink parts, but don’t blame me if you have streaks." She crossed her arms across her chest and leaned against the sink.

He looked at her to be sure she was being serious. When he saw no signs that she was joking he hung his head and sighed. "Fine. I’m trusting you with my hair."

"I suppose I should be honored," Shelly retorted. "I get to touch the royal hair."

She picked up the bottle of dye and shook it one last time before sectioning his hair and squeezing some out. She noticed that he had his eyes closed tightly and he was biting his bottom lip as she worked. Rolling her eyes she finished as quickly as she could.

"Done. Now you have to let that set for a little while," she said pulling off the gloves and tossing them in the trash bin.

"How long?"

"About twenty minutes or so or until your head starts to tingle," she replied with a shrug as she began to clean up the mess, tossing things in the trash.

"Tingle? Wait. This is going to tingle?"

"It might," she replied. "Depends on how sensitive your scalp is."

"Oh God! What have you done to me," he whimpered heading into the bedroom.

"Hey, if I didn’t do this you’d be walking around with cotton candy hair," she yelled coming out of the bathroom wiping her hands on a towel.

"My hair," he sighed, sinking down to the bed. "Why did he have to attack my hair? I can take a good rib, but…he ruined my beautiful hair."

"Frankie, you need help, dude." He glared at her. "Seriously, it’s just hair. There wasn’t any real damage. The dye will grow out eventually and no one will ever know you had hot pink stripes on your noggin."

"You know the only reason I didn’t strangle Sabin is because it would hurt you," he said finally smiling. "How are things going between you guys?"

"Good." Shelly chuckled shaking her head as she took a seat on the bed next to him. "He keeps suggesting we get married. Can you believe that?"

"Yes, actually," Frankie laughed. "Chris has been in love with you forever. I can’t blame him for wanting to claim you for his own."

"Claim me for his own," she asked, arching a brow. "I’m not a piece of luggage, Frankie."

"I know. What I meant was that he…he…"

"I get what you meant," she chuckled seeing him struggling to word what he meant to say. "It’s just too soon, ya know?"

"Well, speaking from experience, sometimes you just know when you’ve found 'the one'." She nodded, chewing on her bottom lips. "You don’t always know right away," he laughed. "You just realized your feelings for Chris. Give it time, Shell."

"Yeah." She checked her watch. "All right. Time to rinse."

She took him back into the bathroom and helped him wash the dye out of his hair. Once it was out she grabbed Traci’s hair dryer and a comb and began to blow dry his hair. When she was done she smiled proudly.

"Perfect!"

"I’ll be the judge of that," he said brushing the hair out of face and examining himself in the mirror. He smiled wide as he gazed at his hair that was now all one shade of brown. He crushed her to his chest, kissing her forehead. "You did it! It’s perfect!"

"Frankie," she groaned. "Air is an issue."

He quickly released her. "Sorry."

"Seriously, you need some kind of therapy for your hair issues, dude," she smiled.

"That’s what Traci keeps saying, but I don’t understand why," he said admiring his hair in the mirror again and then winking at her with a chuckle.

She shook her head, rolling her eyes at him. "Now that disaster has been avoided I should see what my boyfriend has been up to. No doubt he’s off torturing some other poor fool."

"Thanks hon! See ya at the show tonight," he called as she left.

Chapter 6

When Shelly returned to the room it was early afternoon. Sabin was napping on the bed. She had no idea of the secret meeting he’d had with his friends or their plan to try to keep her safe.

With a smirk she crawled into bed next to him. He didn’t stir at all as she smiled down at him wickedly. She carefully straddled his hips, brushing some hair from his face before bending down to kiss his lips softly.

"Wakey, wakey," she whispered in his ear as she nibbled on his earlobe.

He smiled, wrapping his arms around her and rolling so that he was on top of her. She let out a little squeal and giggled.

"I missed you. How’s Frankie’s hair now?"

"Back to normal," she replied. "You owe me eight bucks, by the way."

"He made you pay for the dye, the cheap bastard?"

"No, I offered in exchange for him treating to breakfast. Need I remind you that we wouldn’t have had to go buy the dye if it wasn’t for that demented little brain of yours?"

"You told me you love my demented brain," Sabin pouted and then smiled, his eyes gleaming with wicked intent moments before he began to relentlessly tickle her.

"Stop," she gasped, laughing so hard she was crying. "I can’t breathe!"

"Uh oh! You need mouth to mouth," Sabin exclaimed, crushing her lips with his. "Better," he asked when the kiss was broken. Both were left breathless.

"I think I need some more mouth to mouth from my sexy savior," she smirked.

"Savior, huh? I was kinda going for love slave, but I’ll take savior," he chuckled.

"I think I hear your screws rattling again," Shelly chuckled, knocking on his head.

There was a knock at the door then. "Shell? You in there," Taylor called through the door.

"Crap. I forgot that I made plans to go to gym with Taylor," Shelly sighed.

"Can’t you blow her off? I was just getting into a groove here."

Shelly giggled, pushing him away. "You thought you were getting lucky?" He nodded with a lopsided grin. "Sorry, sweetheart, but tickling doesn’t count as foreplay." She slipped out of bed and went to answer the door. "Hey, Tay. Give me a couple of minutes."

She grabbed some clothes from her suitcase and shoved them into a gym bag. Taylor leaned against the doorframe and glanced at Sabin, who was pouting.

"What’s with you?"

"Don’t mind grumpy, Tay. He’s a little frustrated at the moment if you catch my drift," Shelly smirked.

"I’m not grumpy! I’m…"

"Horny," Taylor offered and then frowned. "I don’t remember him being one of the seven dwarves."

Shelly laughed at the joke her friend had made and looked at her boyfriend who was now glaring at Taylor. She slung her bag over her shoulder and went to Sabin, giving him a quick kiss.

"I promise that later on I’ll make it worth the wait," she whispered to him.

"You really promise?" She nodded. "Can’t wait until later then."

Taylor watched as if by magic Sabin’s glare had turned to a bright smile.

"What did you say to him," she asked as they headed toward the car.

"I said I’d make it worth the wait," Shelly replied with a shrug. "You should know by now when all else fails to cheer a man up promise sex." The two women laughed as they got in the car.

~}i{~

"Pack Leader, I have the target in my sights. Over," came Creed’s voice crackling over the walkie that was sitting on the bedside table in Sabin and Shelly’s room.

Sabin snatched it up and pressed the button to speak. "Cut it with the pack leader shit, Austin. Just keep an eye on Shell."

"I’m sorry, I didn’t get that. Over."

Sabin sighed, rolling his eyes. "Quit being a douche and keep an eye on my girlfriend. Over."

"I read you loud and…OW! Damn it, Jay! What the hell was that for?"

"We got her, Chris. Don’t worry. She’s in good hands."

"Thanks, Jay." Sabin tossed the walkie onto the bedside table and slumped to the bed. He trusted Jay, but in all honestly Creed’s goofiness left some doubt in Sabin’s mind. As long as Shelly was safe he wasn’t going to argue.

~}i{~

"Great work out today, girl," Shelly said giving Taylor a hug as they left the gym. "I see your man’s on time for a change."

"I finally trained him," Taylor giggled. "See ya at the show tonight."

Shelly watched Taylor jog off to meet Greg in the waiting car. They both waved as they drove off. She hiked her bag higher on her shoulder and headed to her car.

She was halfway across the parking lot when she felt like she was being followed. She spun around scanning the parking lot. When she found nothing she shrugged and continued on her way.

Down a few rows Creed crouched behind some cars watching Shelly heading toward her car. He poked his head up and held the walkie to his mouth to speak.

"That was close, Jay."

"Austin, Chris said to not be conspicuously following her around. You do know what conspicuous means, right," Lethal sighed as he watched from his spot a couple of buildings down from the gym.

"Of course I do, Jay! What kind of moron do you take me for?"

"Oh the run of the mill one," Jay muttered.

"Say again?"

"Nothing. Just keep an eye on her," Lethal barked. "And stop using the walkie if you don’t want to be found out!"

Shelly made it to her car, tossing her gym bag into the backseat. She again had the feeling she was being followed. Spinning around she caught a glimpse of someone dodging behind a car in the lot and she heard a yelp.

"What the…"

She knew it wasn’t Morgan. The person was neither the right height nor the right complexion. Closing the car door she moved closer to see if she could see who it was. It was then that she could hear talking and the static of a walkie talkie.

"I’m hurt, Jay," Creed groaned. "Damn! Skinned my elbow."

"Would you like me to kiss it and make it better," Lethal deadpanned.

"You think she saw me?"

Lethal saw Shelly moving closer to inspect what was going on and chuckled. "You’ve been made, buddy. Hang on I’m comin’ in." He took his time jogging over to his friends.

"Austin? What the hell are you doing," Shelly demanded seeing Creed on the ground between cars.

"Oh hey, Shell," Creed said smiling. "I…um…Jay and I…" He got to his feet and glanced around to find his partner.

"Chris asked us to keep an eye on you," Lethal said. "Dipshit took that to mean Cloak and Dagger shit."

"Hey, I’m wounded here," Creed interjected.

Shelly pinched the bridge of her nose with a loud sigh. "Jay, why would you go along with Chucklehead’s plan?"

"Injured man here," Creed exclaimed holding up his skinned elbow. "You’re making fun of me and I’m hurt!"

Shelly checked it out and smacked his arm just above the scrape. "You’ll live." Creed yelped, hopping up and down.

Lethal smirked. "I wanted to see him get caught."

"That’s evil, Jay. Really evil."

"I was amused," he replied with a shrug.

Shelly saw the walkie clipped to Lethal’s belt. "I suppose Chris has one too." Lethal nodded. "Wants to keep tabs on me, huh?" Again Lethal nodded.

"Pack Leader," Creed said into his walkie. "She’s.." Shelly snatched the device from him.

"She what, Austin," Sabin’s voice crackled.

"She’s very pissed," Shelly replied.

"Oh, hey, babe," Sabin nervously chuckled. "So, you ran into Jay and Austin playing commando, huh?"

"Nice try, Chris," Shelly said. "Who else is in on this?"

"Um…Just…Alex and Greg and…um…AJ and Daniels."

"I see. I would have thought you’d pull out the big guns. What about Joe," Shelly chuckled. "I mean those guys are plenty good for back up, but we’re gonna need some power when push comes to shove."

"So, you’re not really pissed," Sabin asked. "Do I still get what you promised earlier?"

"We’ll see," Shelly replied. "For now I’m on my way back to the hotel." She handed the walkie back to Creed. "You’re relieved, boys. Next time just come hang out. You don’t need to sneak around like dorks." She shook her head chuckling to herself as she headed back to the car.

"She took this better than I thought she would," Creed said clipping his walkie to his belt.

"She’s relieved, Austin," Lethal pointed out. "Morgan’s got her more scared than she’s willing to admit. I hope he knows he’ll piss off a lot of people if he tries that little stunt again."

Neither man had spotted Morgan coming out of the gym. He had been there when Shelly and Taylor had arrived and had enjoyed watching the two in their kick boxing class. After their workout he had to head to locker rooms to relieve some tension.

He had just decided to head back to the hotel when he spotted Shelly talking with Creed and Lethal. He listened to the conversation, staying just out of sight.

So, Sabin’s enlisted his friends to protect his girlfriend, huh? Morgan snorted as he headed to his car. Like that’ll stop me from getting what I want. Happily he whistled to himself as he thought of the things he’d like to do to Shelly once she was finally his again.

Chapter 7

“What’s with Mr. Grumpyass,” Alex asked as Sabin and Shelly met up with him and Cindy to ride to the arena for that night’s Impact taping.

Shelly chuckled casting a sidelong glance at her boyfriend who was pouting, his arms crossed over his chest. He glared at her.

“You promised,” was all he said as he slid into the backseat of the car. Shelly slid in behind him, trying to cheer him up and failing miserably.

“I said later, Chris. I didn’t specify when. You’re seriously going to pout about this?”

“You promised!”

“And I aim to keep that promise, but not if you’re going to be a big brat about it.”

“What’s that mean,” Alex asked, screwing up his face.

“Alex, dear, it’s a private matter between Shell and Chris,” Cindy replied.

“Oooooh,” Alex finally said catching on to what was going on. “So, you haven’t gotten any, huh, Chris?” He snickered while Cindy and Shelly both slapped their foreheads, sighing loudly.

“Fuck you, Alex,” Sabin grumbled.

Alex smiled cheekily. “Sorry, dude, I don’t swing that way. Guess you’re still not gettin’ lucky.” He laughed loudly at his own joke.

“Alex,” Cindy said sweetly.

“Hmm?”

“Shut up or you won’t be getting lucky,” she replied.

This brought a small smile to Sabin’s lips. Shelly saw this and smirked.

“I see that smile peeking out,” she said pinching his cheeks. “Come on out, smile! Come out and greet the world!”

Sabin swatted her hands away and scowled at her. “I’m not smiling.”

Shelly scooted closer to him, bringing her lips to his ear. “If you stop being a little brat,” she whispered, her hand rubbing its way up Sabin’s thigh. “I’ll make it worth the wait.” She nibbled his earlobe lightly.

Sabin tried desperately not to react to her touch. “Another promise you’re going to break,” he huffed, pulling away from her.

“Not if you’re good,” she said, her hand sliding up his chest and running through his hair. The involuntary shiver alerted her that she had him eating out of the palm of her hand.

“You mean it,” he asked, leaning into her, slipping an arm around her waist. She smiled and nodded. “I wasn’t really being a brat, was I?”

“Just a little,” she smiled.

“For the love of GOD! Would you two get a damn room,” Alex grumbled. “You’re making me sick with the lovey dovey shit!”

Sabin kicked the back of the driver’s seat causing Alex to jerk forward and hit his head on the steering wheel. The car lurched for a moment and then went along steadily. Alex rubbed his sore head with one hand while he steered with the other. He glared at Sabin in the rear view mirror.

“Now I’m gonna have a bump and a bruise,” he scowled, feeling the bump already rising on his forehead.

“Serves you right, ya brat,” Cindy snickered. Alex made a face at her and she smacked him upside the head. The rest of the ride was spent in silence with Alex pouting as he drove.

~}i{~

That night the Guns would be teaming up with Lethal Consequences to take on Beer Money and Team 3D. The teams were to be interviewed by SoCal Val.

While Val and Jay were bickering a fight broke out between Cindy and Shelly. The women came to blows only to be separated by their respective boyfriends. The segment ended with the two women screeching at each other and trying to break free of the grip holding them back.

“Great segment, guys,” Lethal and Creed called waving as they all parted ways.

“Babe, I think you made me deaf in one ear,” Alex teased Cindy.

“She can even that out if you’d like,” Shelly teased.

“I’m good,” Alex snickered.

“Come on, buddy, we gotta get ready for our match,” Sabin said. He turned to Shelly. “I’ll see you later.” He wriggled his eyebrows at her, making her chuckle and shake her head at him.

“Hornball,” she called. He blew her a kiss as he headed off with Alex.

“There’s Traci. We have that segment to do with her,” Cindy said spotting the buxom Knockout down the hall.

“Go on ahead of me,” Shelly said. “I need to stop at the locker room. I felt the lace on my boot snap during our little fight.”

Cindy hesitated, biting her lip. She didn’t want to leave her friend alone and vulnerable to another attack by Morgan.

“Cinder, I’ll be fine,” Shelly reassured her. “Go on.”

“All right, but if you take too long I’m sending a search party.”

“I’d expect nothing less,” Shelly smiled.

The ladies parted ways and Shelly headed back toward the women’s locker room. She could feel the laces on her boot loosening with each step. She just needed to make a quick change out of the boots and head back to finish her final segment of the night.

She was just a couple of doors away from the women’s locker room when a hand grabbed her wrist and dragged her into a dimly lit room. She heard the door slam behind her and heard the lock click. When her eyes finally adjusted she was staring up at Morgan. Fear gripped her as the giant of a man stared down at her.

“Did you miss me,” he asked with a chuckle. Her throat felt tight and her heart pounded in her chest as her breath came in short rasps. “Relax,” he said reaching out to caress her cheek. She pulled away from his touch.

He grasped her face with one hand and brought his lips down to hers, crushing them. She pounded on his chest as his free hand snaked around her waist, pressing her body closer to his. Releasing her face he backed her up against the nearest wall, his hands sliding down her back to cup her bottom.

Tears burned Shelly’s eyes as he continued his assault on her. Her mind raced for a way to break the hold he had on her. He was bigger and stronger. Everything about his touch and kiss felt wrong.

He finally broke the kiss and began to trail kissing down her jaw and neck. It was then that she pushed him away as hard as she could. Surprisingly he stumbled back a bit, staring down at her surprised.

“Didn’t you like that, baby,” he asked with a smile. “You used to.”

Shelly glared up at him a moment before she hauled off and slapped him hard across the face. “Don’t you EVER touch me again!”

She sidled her way along the wall until she found the doorknob and unlocked it. The look blazing in Morgan’s frightened her and she didn’t want to turn her back on him. She ripped open the door and made a quick retreat.

“Such a shame,” he said rubbing his aching jaw. “You’ll regret that, Shell. I promise you that.”

~}i{~

Quickly changing out of the boots with the broken laces Shelly slipped on a pair of heels to give her the same height that the boots had. Taking a look in the mirror she could see that her hair was messed and her lips were swollen, her lip gloss smeared. She quickly touched up her make up and hair and rushed to do her segment with Traci and Cindy.

“It’s about time,” Traci chuckled, but then stopped when she saw how frazzled her friend looked. “You all right?”

“I’m good,” Shelly lied. “Just had a hard time finding my shoes. Let’s get this over with.”

In the segment Shelly and Cindy’s bickering spilled into Traci’s office. In order to quiet the women Traci, as the woman in charge of the Knockouts, declared that the women would have a match at that weekend’s Slammiversary. The winner would be a contender for the Knockouts title and would take on the winner of the Angelina Love/Tara match on the next Impact.

“So, are you really all right,” Cindy asked as they exited Traci’s office.

“I ran into Morgan,” Shelly sighed. Cindy opened her mouth, but Shelly waved her off. “He just rattled my nerves. I’m not hurt.”

Cindy gave her friend the once over and nodded. “I think you should tell Chris, Shell.”

“I will after his match. I think they’re still in the ring.”

Just as she said that they heard a commotion by the tunnel. They exchanged glances and took off down the hall to find out what the deal was. Both women gasped when they saw both Guns down. Rudy Charles and Jeremy Borash were kneeling over them.

“Get the EMTs,” Borash called standing up. When he moved aside Shelly could see Sabin’s face covered in blood. He was out cold.

“Chris,” she gasped rushing to her boyfriend’s side. Cindy was close behind to check on Alex. “What happened?”

“I don’t know,” Rudy replied. “I was coming through the tunnel when I spotted them both.”

Alex started to come around then groaning and holding his head. Cindy helped him to sit up. “Chris! Buddy!”

“Alex, what happened,” Cindy asked, restraining him as he watched his best friend being tended to by the EMTs.

“We just finished off our match,” Alex grimaced as he got to his feet. “I was through the tunnel first and then…I was blindsided by someone.” He felt his ribs and groaned feeling a dull ache. “It felt like a freight train hit me.”

Shelly watched as Sabin was checked over. They put a collar on him and loaded him onto a stretcher. Silent tears slipped down her cheeks as she watched, helpless to do anything to help. Alex and Cindy joined her relaying what he had just told his girlfriend.

“It wasn’t a freight train, Alex,” Shelly said sniffling. “It was Morgan. I know it was. This was a message to me.” With that she followed the stretcher to the awaiting ambulance and climbed in.

“We’ll let the others know and be right behind you,” Cindy called before the doors closed.

Chapter 8

Morgan watched from the shadows as Sabin was loaded into the ambulance. He could see the look on Shelly’s face and felt a sick satisfaction at his handiwork. She understood his message loud and clear and now the ball was in her court.

~}i{~

When Cindy and Alex arrived at the hospital they found Shelly staring out the window in the ER waiting room. Alex cleared his throat and she turned to face them.

"How’s Chris doing," Alex asked.

Worry was written all over her face. "He’s getting his head scanned right now. The doctor said they’d know more once the tests were back."

"Was he awake," Cindy asked as she helped Alex to a seat.

Shelly shook her head no. "Morgan did this," she said softly. "I can just feel it in my bones." She slumped to a nearby chair. "You should get yourself checked out while you’re here, Alex."

"I’m fine," Alex replied, waving the thought off. "I’ve felt worse. I’m more worried about Chris."

Shelly nodded, chewing on her thumb nail. Cindy wrapped an arm around her friend and gave her a little squeeze.

"He’ll be all right, Shell. You’ll see."

"Yeah, Chris is tough," Alex added, trying to reassure her.

"Is there a Shelly here," a nurse asked.

"I’m Shelly." She stood in anticipation.

The nurse nodded. "Follow me. Your boyfriend is asking for you."

"We’ll let the others know what’s going on when they get here," Cindy said as Shelly followed the nurse.

She was led down the hall to a curtained off area. "The doctor is just stitching up the gash on his scalp," the nurse said as she pulled aside the curtain. "He’s going to be just fine."

"Thank you," Shelly said. Relief flooded in as she poked her head into to exam area.

Sabin spotted her and gave her a weak smile, holding out his hand to her. She went to his side, taking his hand. Neither one spoke as the doctor finished off the stitches.

"That should do," the doctor said examining his handiwork. "I’ll go get your paperwork started and you’ll be good to go in a little while."

"Thanks, doc," Sabin said as the doctor left. He turned his attention to his girlfriend. "Hey, I’m fine. Really I am. I have a few more screws loose now though."

Shelly laughed, tears slipping down her cheeks. "I was terrified, Chris," she whispered, not meeting his gaze.

He stood and pulled her into his arms. "I’ll be fine. I have a hard head."

"Do you remember anything?"

"You mean other than the steps going down from the tunnel coming at my head at top speed," he asked with a chuckle.

"Stop making jokes! I’m serious," Shelly fumed, pulling away from him. "You could have died tonight and…" Her words faltered and she sighed shaking her head.

"You’re right. I’m sorry, baby." He pulled her back to him and she buried her face in his neck. The worry was dissipating slowly, but she still felt like crying. "I promise you I’m all right."

~}i{~

About a half an hour later Sabin and Shelly appeared in the waiting room. He was leaning on Shelly for support, his arm around her waist. The sight of Styles, Daniels, Frankie, Traci, Creed, Lethal, Taylor, Greg, Alex and Cindy greeted them. All present turned concerned gazes toward the two.

"I’m fine," Sabin told his friends. "You guys didn’t have to all come here."

"It’s only ‘cause we love ya, Chris," Creed said with a wide goofy smile.

"Yeesh," Sabin groaned, making everyone laugh.

"Yeah, he’s fine," Alex chuckled. "Come on, buddy. We’ll get ya back to the hotel."

The drive back to the hotel was quiet. Sabin rested his head on Shelly’s shoulder, feeling his eyelids getting very heavy. The painkillers the doctor had given him at the hospital were taking effect fast.

Shelly looked at the row of angry stitches in his hair and sighed. She couldn’t help feeling like it was her fault that he was in this condition now. Closing her eyes she rested her head gently on his and felt him let out a content sigh.

"Are they both asleep," Cindy asked glancing into the backseat when Alex parked the car.

"I think so," Alex replied with a sigh.

"Want me to see if Frankie or AJ are back yet to help get them inside?"

"I’m awake," Shelly said. She gently nudged Sabin. "Honey, we’re at the hotel."

He opened his bleary eyes and groaned. "Kay," he yawned as she helped him out of the car. Alex pulled one arm around his shoulders while Shelly did the same on the other side. Together they walked Sabin to the room.

"Thanks, Alex," Shelly said. "I can get him to the bed. Go rest up."

"Give a call if you guys need anything," he said before following Cindy to their own room.

Sabin was a little more alert now and able to walk most of the way to the bed on his own. Shelly helped him change and covered him up when he crawled into bed.

"Chris, did you see who did this to you," Shelly asked as she rubbed his shoulders.

"Just a blur. I don’t want you staying up all night worrying about me," he warned sleepily. "I’m fine. Just a little sleepy."

"I won’t," she reassured him. "Go to sleep, babe. You need it."

He obeyed, closing his eyes. She could hear the sound of soft snoring within moments. She sat there listening to him for a while knowing it would be impossible for her to sleep that night.

With a sigh she slid out of bed and exited the room. She headed down the hall not really paying attention to anything or anyone she passed. Once at the end of the hall she knocked on a door and waited for the room’s occupant to open up.

The door opened and Shelly looked up at a face she wished she could forget. Matt Morgan smiled down at her. He stepped aside and motioned for her to come in. When she hesitated he frowned.

"I’m not gonna bite ya…unless you’re into that sorta thing."

"You’re disgusting," she growled, shoving him out of the way as she entered the room. She was very much aware of what a huge mistake she was making, but pushed it aside. "Chris had to get thirty stitches."

"That’s a shame." Morgan closed the door and leaned against it, his arms crossed across his massive chest.

"I know you attacked him and Alex," Shelly said, her hands on her hips.

"Maybe I did…maybe I didn’t."

"What do you want from me," she demanded.

He smiled and crossed the distance between them in two long strides. "Isn’t it obvious," he asked, grabbing her by the shoulders. She gasped at the sudden contact, her heart pounding in her chest. "All I’ve ever wanted was you." He trailed a finger down her cheek.

Shelly batted his hand away and wrenched herself out of his grasp. "All you wanted was another notch in your bedpost," she declared glaring up at him.

"Maybe I did," he smirked. "But I bet it would be one hell of a notch."

"Pig!"

His smile fell and his eyes became stormy with anger. "Oink, oink, baby," he growled, grabbing her by the wrist and pulling her tightly against his body. "You can’t tell me you’re not curious about just how physically stacked I am."

She struggled against him, feeling sick to her stomach. She silently prayed that he didn’t do what she knew he was dying to do. "Let go of me, Matt. Please." She hated sounding so helpless, knowing that her pleading was turning him on more.

"Since you asked so nicely," he chuckled. He released her, knowing he’d made his point.

She headed toward the door, wanting to put as much distance between them as possible. He slapped his hand against the back of the door, slamming it shut.

"I’ll let you leave this time, but the next time you come to me in the middle of the night you better be prepared to stay for a while sweetheart," he said.

"There won’t be a next time."

"Oh I think there will be," he replied. "Or…let’s just say that unfortunate accidents will happen to everyone you love."

"You won’t get away with it," she hissed.

Morgan shrugged. "Who you gonna tell? I’m guessing dear little Chris can’t remember much of what happened before he woke up with stitches." He removed his hand from the door and opened it. "Choice is yours, Shell."

She left the room without looking back and headed down the hall toward the stairwell. She needed air, but only made it down one flight before she collapsed against the wall, a choked sob racking her body. She slid down the wall, pulling her knees to her chest.

Morgan watched from his doorway as she made a quick escape. Neither he nor Shelly had seen Alex Shelley heading back down to his room with a bucket of ice. He glanced from where Shelly had disappeared and then at where Morgan was just closing his door.

"Oh boy," he sighed. "This can’t be good." He debated going after Shelly, but decided against it not really sure what to say or do. He made a mental note to speak to Chris about it the next day.

Chapter 9

When Shelly finished off her cry she wiped her face and stood, climbing the flight back to her floor slowly. She quietly entered the room and checked on Sabin. He was still soundly sleeping. She could just make out the line of stitches in his sandy hair by the pale moonlight that filtered into to the room. A pang of guilt hit her at the sight and she had to turn away.

She went into the bathroom and ran the cold water in the sink, splashing it on her face. She knew that Sabin would be out cold all night thanks to the medication and she was in no hurry to climb into bed. With a sigh she drew a hot bath and stripped, sinking into the steaming water.

By the look in Morgan’s eyes she knew that he was dead serious about his threat. She didn’t know what to do. If she told Sabin that she had gone to Morgan’s room he’d be pissed. He’d be even more pissed when he learned about the threat that Morgan had made.

She placed a washcloth over her eyes and leaned her head back on the rim of the tub as she lounged. She knew one thing for certain; she wasn’t going to bend to Morgan’s will. She wasn’t a piece of property to be traded. Her heart belonged to Sabin and he was the only man she wanted to be with.

When the water cooled she got out of the tub, drying off and changing into a nightgown. She suddenly felt exhausted and crawled into bed next to Sabin. He felt her in his sleep and rolled onto his side, draping an arm around her waist. She snuggled closer to him and closed her eyes, drifting off to sleep.

The next morning Sabin woke before Shelly. Though his head ached he otherwise felt fine. He propped himself up on an elbow and stared down into Shelly’s sleeping face. The normally peaceful lines of her face were creased with worry. He couldn’t help wondering how late she had been up the night before. He brushed his lips delicately across hers just as his phone began to ring.

He swung his legs over the side of the bed and grabbed it, going out into the hall to answer it. "I’m fine, Alex."

"I’m glad to hear it," Alex replied. "Listen, I need to speak to you…alone. Can you get away from the little lady?"

"She’s still sleeping," Sabin replied. "What’s going on?"

"Meet me in the lobby in ten minutes," Alex replied before hanging up.

"What the hell," Sabin muttered as he headed back into the room to wash up and dress. He had just come out of the bathroom when Shelly stirred. "Morning beautiful."

She sat up, rubbing her eyes. "Morning. Where are you going?"

"Alex needs to talk to me," he replied, perching on the edge of the bed. "I’ll be back soon."

"You really should be taking it easy today," she yawned.

"I’ll only be gone for a short time and then you and I can take it easy together," he smiled. "As I recall you still owe me…"

"Only you could nearly die and still want to get laid," she chuckled.

He gave her a quick kiss. "I’ll try to ditch Alex as soon as possible," he said. "You don’t move from that spot."

~}i{~

When Sabin met Alex in the lobby the look on his friend’s face worried him. "Alex? What’s up?"

Alex pulled Sabin aside. "Listen, last night after we got you back to your room I…uh…I saw Shell out in the hall. I guess you were sleeping."

"So? Maybe she needed some air."

"Chris, she…um…she was leaving Morgan’s room and she was pretty upset."

"She was what?" He raked a hand through his hair and groaned as his fingers grazed the stitches. "What the hell was she doing in his room?"

"I don’t know. I wasn’t there. I just caught a glimpse of her as she ran out of the room." Sabin didn’t seem to be paying attention. "Chris, she probably wanted to confront him about the attack last night."

"And risked getting raped or worse," Sabin grumbled. "What the hell was she thinking?!"

"Only Shell can answer that," Alex replied with a shrug. "Look, I just wanted to give you a heads up about what I saw. I’m not trying to stir up shit with you guys."

Sabin sighed loudly. "Thanks man. I appreciate you looking out for us."

"Anytime, man," Alex glanced at his watch. "I have to go meet up with Cindy. She wants some help coming up with something for her match Sunday."

"Yeah," Sabin said absently as his friend walked away. His mind was on the news he had just gotten as he headed back up to his room.

Shelly was still lying in bed. She had been dozing, but when she heard the door open she propped herself up on her elbows. "So, what’d Alex want?"

Sabin closed the door, dreading the conversation he was about to have. He sat down on the bed with a heavy sigh.

"What’s wrong," she asked sitting up.

"Shell, why’d you go to Morgan’s room last night," he finally asked.

"Alex saw me," she asked realizing why Alex had wanted to speak to Sabin that morning.

"How else would I have known? Babe, what were you thinking?"

"I don’t know," Shelly shrugged. "I was pissed, Chris. I…I wasn’t thinking straight."

"Obviously."

"Like you’ve never done anything out of anger," she retorted.

"Shell, that’s not the point," he fumed. "He could have hurt you. Did you ever think of that?"

"No," she yelled, climbing out of bed. "What I was thinking about was my boyfriend lying in bed with thirty stitches in his head because some animal can’t control his damn ‘roid rage! Forgive me for being a concerned girlfriend!"

"Don’t you dare try to turn this into a guilt trip," Sabin roared. "I don’t care how upset you were or how concerned about me you are it doesn’t warrant going to that man’s room alone!" He took in a ragged breath to try to calm himself down. "Alex said you were upset when you left the room. What did he do to you?"

"Nothing," she replied. He glared at her. "Would you like inspect me for marks? He never laid a hand on me."

"Why were you upset?"

"Because Matt Morgan has that effect on me," she replied crossing her arms.

"Shell, I’m serious. What did he do?"

"He threatened you and everyone I love," she finally exclaimed. "Happy now? He didn’t try to hide the fact that he was the one who did this to you, Chris! He said he’d keep doing it unless…" She snapped her mouth shut, not wanting to complete the statement.

"Unless what?" She shook her head and turned her back on him. Sabin went to her and made her face him, holding her at arm’s length. "Unless what, Shell?" Tears flooded her eyes and she had to look away from him. "Tell me," he exclaimed, shaking her a bit.

"Unless…I…sleep…with…him," she choked out, the tears slipping down her cheeks.

Sabin groaned, and turned away from her rubbing the back of his neck. "We wouldn’t be in this situation if you hadn’t started dating that damn ape in the first place."

Shelly wiped the tears away with the back of her hand. "So this is my fault? Is that what you’re saying?"

"I didn’t say that," he replied turning to face her. The look in her eyes told him that he wouldn’t be able to talk his way out of this fight. "Shell, I’m just saying…"

"That this is my fault," she finished for him. "I get it, Chris. It’s my problem. I’ll fix it on my own!" She grabbed her bag and headed into the bathroom, slamming the door behind her.

"I never said that," he said weakly.

There was a knock at the door then. Sabin sighed as he cast a glance at the bathroom door a moment before going to see who was there. When he opened the door Frankie was leaning against the doorjamb.

"I heard yelling," he said. "What’s going on? You guys fighting?"

Sabin went out into the hall, leaving the door open a crack. "Alex saw Shell leaving Morgan’s room last night." Frankie’s eyebrows shot up in shock. "He said she was upset."

"So you yelled at her?"

"No! It started out calm, but…things just escalated." He sighed, leaning against the doorframe. "She locked herself in the bathroom."

"Want me to see if I can coax her out," Frankie offered.

Sabin shrugged. "I guess it couldn’t hurt."

"Go hang out with Alex or one of the guys for a while. Let me see if I can talk to her," Frankie said patting the younger man on the shoulder. "I’ll give you a call and let you know how she’s doing when I’m done."

Sabin nodded and headed off down the hall to find someone to occupy his time with. He hoped that Frankie could talk some sense into her or at least calm her down. The whole situation had them both on edge and he feared it was going to get worse before it got better…if it ever got better.

Chapter 10

Frankie made his way over to the bathroom door and knocked. "Shell? Honey, come on out. Chris went to a friend’s room for a while."

"Go away," Shelly sniffled.

"You know I won’t," he replied. "Come on, Shell. Talk to me."

"I know Chris asked you to talk to me," she replied. "You can tell him to go fuck himself!"

"Shell, this is ridiculous! I don’t want to talk to the bathroom door. Come out and talk to me face to face."

The lock clicked on the door and it opened. Shelly stood there, a wad of toilet paper in her hand. Her eyes were puffy and red rimmed, tear streaks covered her cheeks.

Frankie held open his arms for her. "Come here." She shook her head no, her bottom lip quivering. Frankie sighed and pulled her into his arms. "Was this your first fight with Chris?"

"Yeah," she sniffled.

"Well, that’s a milestone," he said chuckling lightly.

"Not funny."

"I know. I’m sorry. I was just trying to lighten the mood," he replied. "So, Chris says that you went to Morgan’s room last night."

Shelly groaned and pulled away from him. "I don’t need a lecture, Frankie." She plopped down on the bed, playing with the wad of tissue in her hand.

"I’m not trying to lecture you," he replied sitting down next to her. "But you have to admit it was a dumb move."

"I get it! I wasn’t thinking straight," she exclaimed. Fresh tears flooded her eyes. "He hurt Chris, Frankie. He almost killed my boyfriend and I couldn’t just do nothing!"

"I understand that, but you have to understand the way Chris feels," he explained. "He was out cold and you were gone. What if something happened to you? He would have never known where you were or what had happened. Don’t you think that scared him? It scares me just thinking about it."

"He blames me for this," she sniffled, a tear slipping down her cheek.

"He told you that?"

"He said we wouldn’t be in this situation if I hadn’t dated Morgan," she replied. "How am I supposed to take that?"

"He was just upset," Frankie consoled. "We all say things we don’t mean when we’re upset." She just shrugged. "He’s cooling off right now. When he gets back you guys will talk things out and make up. You’ll see."

"Maybe," Shelly sighed. "I need to blow off some steam."

"Want company at the gym?"

"I was actually thinking of going for a run," she replied.

Frankie smiled. "Even better. I’ll go change and meet you in the lobby."

"I was planning on going alone," she replied as she followed him to the door. "You know? Clear my head."

"What fun is that," he replied. "Come on." He nudged her lightly. "You should always use a buddy system when you have a psychopathic caveman after you."

Shelly chuckled. "All right. I’ll meet you in the lobby in twenty minutes."

"It’s a date," Frankie smiled and pulled her into a hug before leaving.

~}i{~

"So, why exactly are you in our room," Lethal asked Sabin as he flopped down onto the bed next to Creed, who was playing with his PSP.

"Shell and I had a fight," Sabin replied, folding his arms and burying his face in them.

"And you came here…why," Lethal pressed.

Sabin raised his head and glared at the younger man. "If you want me to leave just say so, Jay!"

"No. I just…I mean…you usually go to Alex with shit like that."

"Alex took Cindy to help her polish off some of her moves for Sunday," Sabin replied, resting his chin on his arms. "Frankie’s talking to Shell right now. I just needed someplace to go and cool off and you guys were the first ones I could think of."

"Thanks, buddy," Creed said slinging his arm around Sabin’s shoulders and giving him a squeeze.

"Get the hell off me," Sabin groaned, shoving him away.

"Hey, are those your stitches," Creed asked, poking the angry pink line in Sabin’s scalp.

"OW! What the fuck," Sabin growled, slapping Creed’s hand away. "What’s wrong with you?"

"Austin, really," Lethal admonished. "Who the hell pokes someone in the stitches?"

"Sorry. I was just curious," Creed replied going back to his PSP.

"So, what did you and Shell fight about," Lethal asked changing the subject.

Sabin sighed loudly, rolling onto his back and staring up at the ceiling a moment before he began to talk. "She went to Morgan’s room last night. She says she wasn’t thinking straight."

"You don’t believe her," Creed asked setting his game aside.

"No, it’s not that," Sabin sighed. "Things just went from bad to worse."

"Don’t worry about it, man," Lethal reassured him. "Once she cools off everything will be fine."

~}i{~

Shelly had met Frankie in the lobby as planned. He had changed into a pair of dark green shorts and sleeveless white shirt as well as his running shoes. She was sporting a pair of black shorts with a neon pink stripe up the side of the legs and a pale pink tank with a black sports bra underneath with her running shoes.

"Ready to get your cardio going," Frankie asked.

"You bet," Shelly smiled.

They headed outside and began stretching. Once they were loosened up Frankie glanced one way and then the other.

"Which way do you want to…"

"Tag you’re it," Shelly exclaimed taking off to the right of the hotel giggling.

"You little brat," he yelled, taking off after her.

"Oh come on, Frankie," Shelly teased jogging backwards. "You gotta be faster than that to catch me!"

"Are you sure you want me to catch you," he chuckled. "Because when I do you’re in a world of trouble."

"I’m so scared," she called back, turning back toward the direction she was running in.

Frankie shook his head as he watched her go. With a small smile he cut a corner and took a shortcut that he knew would put him ahead of her. He spotted her coming his way and waited, grabbing her as she passed by him.

"That’s cheating," she laughed.

"There’s no rules to running," he replied.

"Come on," she said pulling herself free. "There’s a park. I’ve barely broken a sweat."

They headed into the park and took the path laid out for joggers. It wrapped around the perimeter of the park and was lined with trees. They made one lap of the park and were about halfway through a second lap when Shelly lost sight of Frankie.

"Frankie?" She glanced around, but only saw other joggers and the many trees lining the park. "If you’re hiding you can come out now!"

As she continued on she spotted something by the base of a tree. Her stomach clenched as she recognized Frankie’s sneaker poking out from behind a tree. With a gasp she raced over to her fallen friend.

He lay on the ground at the base of the tree. A small gash marred his forehead.

"Frankie," she said kneeling down next to him and patting his cheek gently. "Frankie, wake up."

She could hear the sound of deep throated chuckling from behind her and knew instantly that Morgan was responsible for this. She stood and turned to face him, glaring up at him.

"Such a shame," Morgan said, shaking his head. "He took a little tumble and smacked his head on the tree."

"Yeah, he can be clumsy like that," Shelly replied. "Especially when some big oaf shoves him headfirst into a tree."

Morgan’s smile fell and he grabbed her, pinning her up against the other side of the tree. She inhaled sharply as the bark dug into her bare shoulders. Shelly whimpered as his fingers gripped her arms tightly.

"You keep playing hard to get sweetheart and you may find yourself without very many friends after a while," he growled. "I really don’t want to see those pretty hazel eyes full of tears."

Frankie groaned from his place on the ground. Morgan glanced down at him before turning his gaze back to Shelly. He released her and walked away silently.

"Frankie," Shelly said kneeling down to check on him.

"What happened," he asked, groggily.

"You tripped and hit your head," she lied, scanning the path to see where Morgan had gone. He had disappeared into the crowd of joggers and pedestrians. "Come on. Let’s get you back to the hotel."

~}i{~

Sabin was just leaving Lethal and Creed’s room when he spotted Shelly helping Frankie off the elevator. He could see the gash on the older man’s forehead and grew concerned. He met them halfway.

"What happened?"

"He fell," Shelly replied, but something in her eyes told him that they’d speak about it at a later time. "Help me get him to his room."

"I’m all right," Frankie groaned. His head was killing him, but he could walk on his own. "Thanks for helping me, Shell. Sorry I spoiled your workout by being such a clumsy ass."

"You can’t help that you have two left feet," Shelly replied, forcing a small smile.

Sabin stood with her watching as he made his way down to his room. He had to brace himself on the wall a couple of times, but otherwise made it without incident. The sound of a shuddering breath made Sabin turn toward his girlfriend. She had tears in her eyes, but she was holding them back.

"Shell," he said softly, reaching out to her. She pulled away and turned from him. "Don’t pull away, babe." He pulled her into his arms, she fought him weakly for a moment before she allowed him to hold her.

The sobbing came on like a tidal wave. "It’s my fault," she sniffled loudly. "He won’t stop! I can’t make him stop!"

"We’ll figure something out, Shell," Sabin cooed. "Come on. Let’s get back to our room and you can tell me all about what happened."

Chapter 11

Sabin ushered Shelly back to their room. She was still crying, though the sobs that racked her body in the hall had lessened. She was now only hiccuping and sniffling.

"What happened," he asked once they were inside their room. He made her sit down on the bed and grabbed some tissue from the nightstand.

"Frankie and I…went for a run," she sniffled out. "We went to that park not too far away." Sabin nodded that he knew what she was talking about. "I lost sight of Frankie." She stopped, choking back a sob. "I saw something by the bottom of a tree and when I went to see what it was…"

"It was Frankie," Sabin frowned. "Why’d you lie to him?"

"If I told him that Morgan had attacked him…he’d be more worried about me than himself." She shredded the tissues in her hands, staring at them. "He’s not going to stop, Chris. He’s…he’s…" She broke down again.

Sabin pulled her into his arms. "We’ll figure out something, Shell. I promise you that." He held her at arm’s length and made her look up into his eyes. "Do you believe me?"

She nodded, sniffling. She was trying to be strong, but the attacks on the people she loved were taking their toll on her. He pulled her back to his chest and held her, stroking her back and whispering comforting words to her.

When the tears had finally stopped she pulled away from him and stood. "I need a hot bath," she said softly.

"Whatever you need," he replied.

She held out her hand to him and he looked up at her questioningly. "I need someone to wash my back," she said with a small smile. "And as I recall I promised something that I never got to follow through on."

He smiled wide and took her hand standing and allowing her to lead the way into the bathroom.

"I really wanted a shower, but then you wouldn’t be able to join me," she explained as she started the hot water in the tub. He looked at her puzzled as she dumped some bath salts into the water. "Your stitches, silly. You can’t get them wet."

"Right," Sabin nodded. "How could I forget the dull throb in my scalp?"

Guilt flashed across Shelly’s eyes before she turned away from him to check on the water.

"I wasn’t blaming you, babe," he said wrapping his arms around her and kissing her shoulder softly. It was then that he saw the bruising on her upper arms. He made her turn to face him and saw that they were in the shape of large fingers. "Morgan did this?"

"It doesn’t hurt," Shelly said. "Please can we just forget about him for tonight?" The pleading tone of her voice and in her eyes broke his heart. "I just want to be with you tonight. No thoughts of anyone but you and I."

Sabin forced a smile. "I think we can do that." He pulled her close for a kiss.

As they continued to kiss they undressed each other, dropping their clothes in a pile on the floor. Sabin stepped into the tub, easing himself down into the steaming water. He held out his hands for Shelly and she stepped in, snuggling down into the water with him.

She sat with her back against his chest as he grabbed a wash cloth and lazily trailed it along her skin. She let out a content sigh, lacing her fingers with his free hand. She could feel the tension leaving her body with every passing minute.

"I wish we could stay like this forever," she whispered.

He kissed her temple. "I think we’d get all pruney skinned," he chuckled. "But the idea of being naked with you forever sounds good to me."

"You can’t just let the romance sink in can you," Shelly chuckled.

"Can’t help it," Sabin whispered. "I love my beautiful girlfriend. I won’t hide the fact that I love to be naked with you."

She turned to face him, the water sloshing over the rim of the tub a little making them giggle. "Good, because I have some very naughty plans in store for you."

"What the hell are we doing in this tub then," he smiled.

She trailed a hand down his chest as she leaned forward to kiss him lightly. "Had to get you in the mood first," she whispered before pulling away and standing. She exited the tub, wrapping a fluffy towel around herself. "You coming?" With that she headed into the bedroom.

There was the sound of sloshing water before she heard the drain being unplugged and the sound of the water swirling. Sabin appeared in the doorway of the bathroom dripping wet. He hadn’t bothered with a towel. Seeing that she hadn’t gotten very far he grabbed her towel, yanking her back to him with a low growl before he crushed her lips with his.

~}i{~

The rest of the week passed quickly. Sabin and Shelly upheld their indy commitments. He showed no ill effects from his attack at all and was able to participate in matches as planned. They then headed to Detroit for the Slammiversary PPV.

"Feels good to be home," Alex said smiling as he cooked up breakfast for himself, Cindy, Sabin and Shelly.

It was Sunday morning and the four had an appearance to make on a local radio show that afternoon before they all headed to the arena.

"That it does," Sabin smiled as he sipped his coffee. "Wish we were here longer than just a couple of days."

"We’ll make the most of our time here," Shelly said, tucked under his arm.

"You bet we will," Sabin chuckled as they shared conspiratorial grins.

"Well, it’s good to see that fight didn’t take too much of a toll on your relationship," Cindy snickered.

"Cinder, wild horses couldn’t pull me away from this woman," Sabin said kissing Shelly’s temple.

"Dude, shut up and eat your eggs before you make me puke," Alex said shoving a plate in front of Sabin and Shelly.

A slice of toast sailed across the kitchen and slapped Alex in the back of the head, sticking to his hair. He reached back and pulled it off, tossing it into the wastebasket.

"Really, Chris? Throwing food? That’s so immature," Alex replied before grabbing a handful of eggs from Sabin’s plate and smashing them into his friend’s face. "Damn that was hot!"

"No shit, Sherlock," Shelly chuckled. "You just cooked them."

"Come on," Cindy sighed, grabbing Alex by the ear. "Let’s get you cleaned up."

"I can walk on my own!"

Shelly chuckled shaking her head as she turned her gaze to her boyfriend. He literally had egg on his face. She couldn’t help giggling.

"Honey, you want some eggs," he asked with an evil smirk.

"I think you have enough for the two of us," she giggled and shrieked when he stood and tried to grab her. He finally managed to corner her by the stove and pulled her close for an eggy kiss.

"Now you have me all messy," she mock pouted. She brushed the eggs off his cheek with a small smile.

"We have time to go back to my place and change," he replied. "Maybe do a little more." He wriggled his eyebrows at her.

"For the love of GOD! Can you not desecrate my kitchen," Alex exclaimed coming back with Cindy in tow.

"Why is that only for you and Cinder," Shelly teased.

"Yes," Alex replied. "Now, if you two don’t have any objections let’s clean up, grab some take out or something and head over to the radio station to get this promotional shit over with."

"Works for me, bro. Shell and I just have to stop by my place to change," Sabin replied.

Chapter 12

Morgan had just gotten out of the gym that Sunday morning. As he sat in his car letting air conditioner cool the interior he switched on the radio and was pleasantly surprised to hear who the DJ’s guests would be that morning.

"We’re here this morning with Detroit’s own Motor City Machineguns Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin," the he said. "And we also have the lovely Knockouts from TNA’s women’s division Shelly and Cindy, welcome."

With the greetings out of the way the DJ asked Sabin and Shelley to talk about their X Division King of the Mountain match at the PPV that night.

Morgan only half listened. He wasn’t interested in what they had to say at all. Besides he could crush anyone in the X Division like a bug. What did he care what their strategy for their King of the Mountain match was?

"I understand that this past week a new match was added to the card. It’s my understanding that whoever wins this match will get a Knockouts title shot on the next Impact," the DJ said turning his attention toward the ladies. "Fellas, how does it feel knowing your ladies just can’t seem to get along?"

"We get along just fine," Cindy answered before either Sabin or Shelley could respond. "It’s not my fault everyone treats her like she’s the golden girl."

"Maybe if you didn’t botch so many damn moves in the ring you could be the golden girl," Shelly replied.

The responses were purely scripted. Neither woman had any real animosity toward each other. That, of course, was lost on Matt Morgan. He was seething the moment Cindy started to badmouth Shelly.

"We’ll see who the better woman is tonight," Cindy growled.

"You’re right, we will see," Shelly chuckled. "It’ll be me."

"That’s it," Cindy yelled. The sound of the headphones being tossed and scuffling filled the airwaves as the DJ quickly threw to a commercial.

Morgan snapped off the radio. "The bitch has to pay," he grumbled. "She’s not going to stand in Shelly’s way." He threw his car in gear and headed back to the hotel to relax a bit before the show that night.

~}i{~

At the arena Shelly was loosening up for her match. The X Division King of the Mountain would be kicking off the show, but her match with Cindy would be second.

"Nervous," Sabin asked joining her. Alex and Cindy soon joined the two as well.

"A little," she replied swiping the bottle of water Sabin was playing with. "I’d have to be worried if I didn’t have butterflies. You guys nervous?"

"Nah," Alex replied. "This match is cake walk."

"Bullshit," Cindy snickered.

"Scared shitless," Sabin smiled. "But we’ll make it look good."

"You always do," Shelly smiled.

They could hear Lethal’s music blasting signaling the match was about to start.

"Gotta go, babe." Sabin gave Shelly a little kiss and grabbed Alex as he headed off for the match.

"I’m gonna go find a monitor to watch the boys. You coming," Cindy asked.

"I just need to warm up a bit more," Shelly replied. "Save me a spot." Cindy nodded and headed off. She went back to stretching. When she was happy with the way she felt she decided to find where Cindy had gone.

That was when Morgan stepped out in front of her. She groaned seeing him. The weekend had been going so well until this point in time.

"Matt, I really don’t have time," she said attempting to brush past him.

"I’ll just take a minute of your precious time, princess," he replied.

"I haven’t changed my mind," she said glaring up at him. "You’re not going to bully me into your bed, Matt."

Morgan smiled, shaking his head. "That’s where our opinions differ greatly, but that’s not what I need from you…for now."

"I really don’t have time for this."

"I’ll make it quick. I have a bit of a problem with Sting."

"More like Sting has a problem with you," Shelly replied, crossing her arms.

"I need you to talk to him for me," Morgan pressed on. "Use your skills to get him to let him join the Mafia."

"Skills?"

"You know," Morgan replied and mimicked throwing an imaginary bosom in someone’s face.

"You want me to seduce Sting into letting you join the Main Event Mafia," Shelly asked incredulously. Morgan nodded. "Why the HELL would I do that? Matt, you’ve done nothing but make my life miserable over the past month."

Morgan’s face darkened. He grabbed her by the arm and dragged her into an empty locker room, pinning her up against the now closed door. "You do this for me and I’ll return the favor."

"Get off me," Shelly growled, trying to pull herself free. He held her pressed firmly up against the door. "What are you talking about?"

"We both know you should be number one contender for the Knockouts title," Morgan smiled.

Shelly’s eyes grew wide with realization when it dawned on her exactly what the big man meant. "You leave Cindy alone," she gasped, scrambling for the doorknob.

She gripped it tightly, slipping out from beneath Morgan. As he leaned in she opened the door hitting him hard in the face. He roared, holding his face as she ran away from the locker room. She was breathless when she finally found Cindy watching the X Division King of the Mountain match.

"Cindy," she panted. The raven haired beauty turned from the screen, her small smile falling when she saw the state her friend was in.

"What’s going on," Cindy asked.

"Morgan," Shelly panted, doubling over to catch her breath. "Be careful tonight. Keep an eye out for Morgan."

"Honey, you’re not making any sense."

"He wanted me to seduce Sting into letting him into the Mafia. He said he’d return the favor," Shelly explained when she had caught her breath. "He’s going to try something with you. You have to be careful."

"That damn fool," Cindy sighed, shaking her head. "You don’t need this right before our match. Besides you’re the one going over. It’s common knowledge."

"Apparently to everyone except Morgan," Shelly replied with a sigh. "I hate this."

"Focus, girl," Cindy said, grasping Shelly’s shoulders. "We’re gonna go out there and have an awesome match. For right now let’s watch our men in action." She slid her arm around Shelly’s shoulders and led her over to the monitor.

Shelly stared at the monitor, but couldn’t focus on the match before her. She was mildly aware of all of the men involved putting a hurting on each other. At the back of her mind she couldn’t help worrying about her friend. The time would come all too soon when they’d have to separate for their ring entrances. She couldn’t keep an eye on Cindy then.

"Did you see," Cindy exclaimed. "Frankie won! He’s still X Division champ!"

Shelly forced a smile. She hadn’t seen much of the match, though she had been staring at the screen. "Don’t let Alex hear you say that," she chuckled.

"Cindy and Shelly! You’re up next," someone called out to them.

Shelly’s stomach lurched at the thought. They’d gone over the match and how they wanted it to finish. Cindy had been putting in extra time at the gym with Alex, Shelly and Sabin to get the moves just right. What worried Shelly was whether Cindy would actually make it to the match.

As the ladies headed toward the tunnel to prepare for their entrances the Guns, Lethal Consequences and Suicide were on their way back. Sabin, as banged up as he was, took one look at Shelly and knew something was up.

"Babe, what’s going on," he asked.

Shelly made sure Alex couldn’t hear as Cindy and a trainer were tending him to. "Morgan threatened to do something to Cindy."

"Son of a…" He groaned, his back killing him from the tumbles he had taken outside the ring. "Concentrate on your match. Let us worry about Morgan. All right?" She cast a glance at Cindy and sighed. "She’ll be fine. You two will have the next best match of the night. I promise you that."

"Why not THE match of the night," Shelly asked, hands on her hips.

"Honey, you can’t top perfection and we were pretty damn perfect out there," Sabin replied with a wink.

"Has anyone ever told you how cute you are when you’re being cocky," Shelly giggled. She kissed him quickly as her music began to play. She made her way to the tunnel and out to the ring.

Chapter 13

Cindy’s music blasted and much to Shelly’s relief her friend appeared on the stage unharmed. She glared at Shelly as she made her way down to the ring, signaling that she would be the one to win the shot at the title.

The match started fast and furious, both women doing her best to get the upper hand. Cindy’s fatal mistake was when she had enziguried Shelly and instead of going for the easy pin she pandered to the crowd as she slipped through the ropes and climbed the turnbuckles. As Cindy attempted a moonsault Shelly rolled and Cindy hit nothing but canvas.

Shelly got to her feet quickly as Cindy lay on her stomach coughing. She locked the downed woman’s legs in a deathlock and bridged backward capturing her head. Cindy screamed in pain moments before frantically tapping out. Shelly released the devastating hold and allowed the ref to raise her hand in victory.

Shelly made her way up the ramp and through the tunnel, waiting there for Cindy. She was putting on a show selling her injuries from the submission. She finally emerged a few moments later leaning on Rudy Charles.

"Great match, ladies," Rudy called as he trotted off to find out his next match to ref.

"You all right, Cinder," Shelly asked.

"Never better," Cindy smiled walking normally now.

Shelly looked around and didn’t see Alex or Sabin anywhere. "The guys must still be showering," she sighed as the two of them headed toward the locker room. A crowd at the end of the hall caught her attention. They both spotted Taylor and Greg as they stared on in shock.

"Tay, what’s going on," Cindy asked as the two ladies joined the group.

"Frankie’s been hurt bad," Greg replied, worry swimming in his eyes.

"But he was fine after the match," Shelly said trying to push her way to the front of the crowd.

"Shell, don’t," Greg said pulling her back. "It wasn’t the match."

"What do you mean?" A sick feeling was steadily growing in the pit of her stomach.

"No one saw anything," Taylor explained to them. "But we think it was Morgan."

Shelly whimpered, her eyes filling with tears.

"I found Frankie lying in a pool of blood," Greg said.

At those words Shelly had to lean against the wall for support. "This is all my fault," she sobbed, burying her face in her hands. "I was so worried about Cindy that I didn’t…It’s all my fault."

"This isn’t your fault," Taylor said, pulling Shelly into a hug.

Sabin made his way through the crowd looking for his girlfriend. He found Taylor, Greg and Cindy all trying to console her. He looked to Cindy. She looked around for her boyfriend, but came up empty.

"Alex is with Frankie and Traci," he said to her.

"How is he," she asked.

"He’s still out cold. He’s gonna need some stitches to the back of his head," Sabin replied, motioning to Taylor that he’d take over consoling Shelly. She passed her off, patting Shelly on the back and letting her know that both she and Greg would be there for her if she needed to talk. "He’ll probably have to sit out a couple of weeks with a concussion. They’re loading him up to go to the hospital now."

Shelly held onto Sabin for dear life. "It’s my fault," she sobbed.

"Baby, it’s not," Sabin soothed. "You didn’t do this."

She pulled away from him, looking up into his eyes with wide, watery hazel orbs. "He’ll stop if I…"

Sabin quieted her with a finger. "Don’t you dare finish that thought," he said, his eyes blazing though his voice was calm. "Go shower and change and we’ll head to the hospital. I’ll go see if I can find anything else out." He left her to go check on their friend.

The show had continued on, the arena audience and the viewers at home oblivious to the fact that anything amiss was going on behind the scenes. Shelly watched as people milled about before turning and heading in the opposite direction of the women’s locker room. She just needed to clear her head.

She stepped out into the warm night air, feeling numb inside. Morgan wouldn’t stop. Not until he got what he wanted. She knew and what was worse was that Sabin knew it too.

"You could end all this right now," came Morgan’s deep voice from behind her.

"I’m in love with Chris Sabin," she replied, not turning to look at him. "I don’t want to be with you, Matt."

Morgan reached out and pulled her to him, running a finger down her tear stained cheek. "Are you sure you’re really in love," he asked with a small smile.

"Let me go, Matt," she said weakly, feebly trying to pull away from him.

"I told you I didn’t want to see those beautiful eyes full of tears," he said, bending down and placing soft kisses on her cheeks before finding her lips.

A moment of weakness allowed her to melt into the kiss. Under different circumstance she might have been able to feel something for this man. He had ruined any chance of that months ago.

Finding her head Shelly pushed him away, breaking free from him. "I love Chris," she murmured, not meeting his gaze. "I have to go to the hospital and see how Frankie’s doing." With that she headed inside.

"For now," Morgan smiled. "For now you love him, but when I get done with you…" He snickered to himself.

Neither one of them saw Alex Shelley watching the scene dumbfounded. He had just stood by with Traci as Frankie was loaded into the ambulance. As he turned to head back inside he caught sight of Shelly in Morgan’s arms. His mouth dropped open when he saw the kiss. Shelly wasn’t fighting Morgan at all.

Before he could see more he headed inside to find Sabin. He needed to know what he had just witnessed. If his girlfriend was two timing him Sabin deserved to know.

"Is Frankie headed to the hospital finally," Sabin asked when Alex ran into him in the hallway.

Alex nodded, pondering whether he should tell what he had seen or not. Sabin decided for him.

"What’s going on, Alex? Frankie should be fine as long as he listens to the doctor," he said.

"Chris…I have some bad news, man." Sabin quirked a brow. "I saw something that could potentially wreck something you’ve worked so hard to…"

"Alex, just spit it out, man," Sabin demanded.

Alex sighed, raking a hand through his dark hair. "When I turned away from the ambulance and was about to come back inside…I saw…Shell…with…Morgan."

"What did he do to her," Sabin demanded, his hands balling into fists at his side.

"See…that’s the thing…he…looked like he was…consoling her," Alex said.

"What?"

Alex was getting worried. He knew that Sabin had a volatile temper and honestly didn’t want to cause trouble for him or Shelly. He just didn’t want his friend to get hurt.

"He kissed her," Alex said carefully, gauging Sabin’s response. "And she didn’t put up a fight."

"SON OF A BITCH," Sabin exploded, punching a hole in the wall behind him. "I’LL FUCKING KILL HIM!"

"Dude, calm down. Go talk to Shell. Maybe…I was seeing things. Maybe I didn’t see what I saw," Alex suggested.

Sabin’s breath was coming in ragged bursts. Ever since the whole ordeal with Morgan started he’d been feeling nothing but pissed off. This just pushed him past his limit.

"You’re right, Alex," he said deathly calm. "I will go talk to Shell."

Alex watched as his friend stalked off. The tense lines of his body told him that this was going to be a ‘talk’ of epic proportions. "Chris, maybe you should cool down first!"

Sabin ignored Alex as he headed to the women’s locker room. He didn’t even bother to knock, barging right in. Angelina Love, Velvet Sky and Madison Rayne shrieked, grabbng towels to wrap over their bra and panty clad bodies.

"Out," Sabin hissed at them.

"Who do YOU think you are," Velvet screeched at him.

"I SAID OUT," Sabin growled, turning a death glare on all three women.

Without further argument they grabbed their outfits and high tailed it out of there, slamming the door behind them.

Sabin checked to make sure the room was empty before heading into the shower area. He spotted Shelly in the last stall. She was just wrapping a towel around herself when she spotted him.

"What are you doing in here," she asked. The steam from the hot shower made his facial expression unclear. She gasped when he roughly grasped her wrist, dragging her into the locker area.

"We need to talk, sweetheart," he growled.

"Chris, you’re hurting me," she winced, wrenching her wrist free. In all the time they’d been together he’d never been rough with her. The change in demeanor frightened her. "What’s going on?"

She could see that he was struggling to keep his temper in check. Aside from the fight they’d had the week before she’d never seen his anger directed at her. His body shook with rage.

"So, you’ve already made up your mind," he asked, his voice struggling to remain even.

"What are you…"

"Don’t you DARE lie to me," he growled. "Alex saw you. He saw you kissing Morgan."

"Chris, no. I…he kissed me," was all she could reply. "It..it didn’t…"

"What? It didn’t mean anything," Sabin demanded. "Is that what bullshit you were going to tell me?"

"Chris, I promise you it didn’t," she said reaching out to touch him. "I love you. Not Matt. You."

"And before that it was Frankie," Sabin huffed. "I was always second best. I thought I was all right with it, but you know what? I’m not."

"Chris, please…" She once again tried to reach out and touch him, but he batted her hand away and stood.

"I can’t help wondering if things were different and it was me being carted off to the hospital would you cry half as much as you did for Frankie," he spat at her. "Get to the hospital yourself and while you’re at it find yourself someplace else to stay. I’ll leave your shit in the hall for you." With that he stormed out of the locker room, slamming the door behind him.

Chapter 14

Shelly sat stunned, unable to believe what had just happened. Silent tears slipped down her cheeks as Angelina Love, Velvet Sky and Madison Rayne filed back in. The three woman took one look at Shelly sitting there and suddenly understood what had happened.

"Go talk to her, Maddie," Velvet urged softly, pushing Madison ahead of them.

"I don’t know what to say," Madison hissed. "We’re not exactly best buddies."

"Vel, you go talk to her," Angelina whispered.

"Why the hell would I," Velvet growled.

Angelina sighed loudly, glaring at her friends. "Shell? You all right, hon?"

Shelly wiped her face, grabbing her clothes as she dried herself off. "Fine," she lied. She began to dress quickly.

"Because the way that Sabin stormed in here. I mean the NERVE of him," Angelina said slipping into her prissy in ring persona. "He’s just seriously icky!"

"Totally," Velvet agreed.

"Yeah," Madison chimed in.

"Thanks for trying, girls," Shelly said as she closed her locker and headed out of the room. Her sadness had turned to anger.

Shelly knew that she had a matter of minutes to get to the spot she needed to get to. She grabbed a TNA shirt and a cap and headed out to the ring to lie in wait for her target.

Morgan’s music blasted through the arena as Shelly crouched by the ring, picking up a camera. He didn’t see her at all as he made his way to the ring and entered. Her disguise as a photographer was working perfectly. Not even Tenay and West had recognized her.

It wasn’t long before Sting made his entrance and the match was underway. Shelly couldn’t help silently rooting for Sting. She saw that Morgan was getting the upper hand and groaned internally. If Morgan became part of the Mafia then he’d have too much power and she couldn’t have that.

Shelly waited until Morgan had dragged Sting over to the corner closest to her before jumping up on the ring apron, camera in hand. Morgan saw her, but not who it was yet, and turned his attention to her. That was when Shelly snapped the picture, the flash going off right in Morgan’s eyes.

The mountain of a man screamed as he was blinded. Sting used this opportunity to climb to the second turnbuckle and deliver a Scorpion Deathdrop before locking in the Scorpion Deathlock. Morgan tapped quickly.

Shelly stood ringside applauding Sting’s victory. Fans, West and Tenay were left baffled by the turn of events. Those in the know expected Sting to win, but nothing like this had been planned as far as they knew.

Sting glared at her as he passed by. He was not happy that she had interfered in his match. He didn’t care about the reasons, to him it was disrespectful. Shelly knew she’d have to apologize to Sting at a later time. For now she was happy to cause Morgan grief.

Morgan’s eyes cleared a bit and he could now see the offending photographer. He stalked over to her, knocking the cap off her head. His eyes grew wide seeing Shelly standing before him.

"You little bitch," he growled.

She kicked him in the shin and took off up the ramp. She really hadn't expected him to recover so quickly. Ignoring the pain Morgan took off after her, catching the back of her shirt as she headed down the tunnel. She screamed, scrambling to get away from him. The material began to tear and she pulled with all her might to make it rip more.

"You ain’t going nowhere, bitch," Morgan yelled, reeling her in by the tearing shirt. They were down the tunnel by the steps by this time.

"Let her go, Morgan," Lethal yelled running up the steps. Creed, Greg and Alex were close behind. They all pulled her away from him, shuffling her behind them.

"Don’t you have a Mammoth to hunt," Greg asked, narrowing his eyes at the large man.

Morgan tossed aside the tattered piece of shirt in his hands and glared at the four men before him. He snorted. "Hide behind your friends all you want, sweetheart. They won’t be with you all the time." With that he stalked off, shoving Creed and Lethal out of his way.

"Are you all right," Greg asked.

"I’m fine," Shelly replied pulling off the remains of the shirt Morgan had torn to shreds.

"Good then would you mind explaining to us why the HELL you would do something so fucking stupid," Greg demanded.

Taylor and Cindy were at Shelly’s sides now, checking on their friend. Neither woman knew what to think of the situation. Their friend had finally snapped.

"Payback is a bitch," Shelly shrugged.

"And what part of the payback was getting caught and nearly smashed to pieces," Alex asked.

Shelly turned her gaze to him, narrowing her eyes. "I don’t know, Alex. Didn’t seem like that mattered," she replied.

"Didn’t matter? Your safety always matters, Shell," Alex retorted. "If Chris was here…"

"He isn’t," Shelly cut him off.

Cindy, Alex, Greg and Taylor looked surprised. They had all become accustomed to Sabin and Shelly being joined at the hip. Something was up.

"As a matter of fact I believe it was you who told him about me kissing Matt."

"I told him what I saw," Alex replied.

"Then you must not have been paying attention because I pushed him away."

"Not from what I saw. Looked like you were enjoying it," Alex replied, getting annoyed with her tone. "If you’re two timing my friend then he has a right to know."

"Alex, that’s enough," Cindy finally said stepping between her boyfriend and her friend. "Shell, what happened?"

"After Alex had his little talk with Chris he came to the women’s locker room and…" Her lip quivered and tears filled her eyes. "Let’s just say I need a place to stay for tonight."

"Shit," Alex groaned. This wasn’t what he wanted. "Shell, I’m sorry. I thought I was doing something to help you guys not hurt. Come stay with Cinder and I."

Shelly glared at him. "What part of telling Chris was helpful, Alex?" She scoffed, a tear slipping down her cheek.

"Shell, just come stay with us for tonight," Cindy offered.

"Let me talk to Chris," Alex suggested. "Tomorrow everything will be better."

Shelly shook her head no. "I wouldn’t stay with you if your place was the last shelter on Earth," she spat. "Sorry, Cinder." With that she stormed off.

"Shell, please don’t be like that," Cindy called. She groaned and turned back to her boyfriend and friends. "This is a mess."

"I didn’t mean for it to be," Alex sighed.

"Just let her cool down," Taylor said patting him on the back.

"Come on, babe," Greg said taking Taylor’s hand. "We have an extra bed in our room. She can stay with us." Taylor gave him a small smile and nodded allowing him to pull her away.

Down the hall Sting saw Shelly stalking toward him. His make up had been wiped off, but he was still in his gear. He stepped in front of the young Knockout causing her to stop short.

"What the hell was that out there," he demanded.

Shelly was in a foul mood and all respect she had for the legend before her flew out the window. "You won. What’s the problem?"

"The problem is that’s not how I win matches," Sting fumed. "The integrity of that match was ruined because of you."

"Get over yourself," Shelly yelled. "Be thankful you beat Morgan because honestly, gramps, he was kicking your ass! If I didn’t act you’d be welcoming a new member to the Mafia. I helped you!" She shoved him out of the way and stalked off.

Greg and Taylor had seen the outburst and stood dumbfounded. Sting watched her stalk off a moment before turning his attention to the couple before him.

"Mr. Borden, I am so sorry about that," Greg stammered.

"I know it’s not an excuse," Taylor explained. "But she’s had a rough few weeks."

"She’s really sorry about everything," Greg managed, still stammering out an apology.

Sting held up his hands to stop them from talking. "She’ll apologize when she’s ready," he sighed. "I know she’s not that disrespectful. I’ve never had a problem with that young lady. Tell her I’m waiting when she’s ready." With that he headed off to change.

Taylor and Greg exchanged worried glances. "She’s off the damn deep end right now," Greg said.

"Come on. Let’s catch up with her before she does something else insane," Taylor said taking Greg’s hand.

Chapter 15

"Shell," Taylor called finally catching up to her.

Shelly had wandered out to the parking lot. She was leaning against someone’s car. Her shoulders shook with silent sobs. Greg hung back as Taylor went to go speak to her.

"Honey, come stay with Greg and I. We have an extra bed," Taylor said softly.

"It’s over, Tay," she sniffled. "I finally found someone who treated me like…and it’s over because of…" She got too choked up to speak.

"You don’t know that," Taylor consoled. "Maybe he just needs to cool down. Tomorrow you can talk and everything will be fine."

"I don’t think so," Shelly sighed.

"Come on. Let’s get you back to the room. You need a good night’s rest at the very least," Taylor said slipping an arm around her friend’s shoulders.

"The hospital," Shelly gasped. "I have to go see how Frankie’s doing."

"Greg and I will drive you," Taylor reassured her.

She took Shelly back inside to gather up her things and then led her out to the rental she and Greg had. They all got in and drove off, headed for the hospital. No one spoke as the tension inside the car killed any small talk at all.

"We’ll wait for you," Taylor said when they pulled up outside the hospital.

"No, I’ll take a cab to the hotel," Shelly replied. "I may be here a while and I still have to grab my things from Chris’ place."

"All right," Taylor said pulling out a keycard from her purse and handing it to Shelly out the window. "The room number’s on the card."

"If it’s late I’ll try to come in quietly," Shelly said waving as they drove off.

With a sigh she headed inside the hospital and found that Frankie was still in the emergency room. She was shown back to the curtained off area. Pushing aside the curtain Shelly saw Traci sitting next to Frankie’s bed, holding his hand. The raven haired Knockout saw her out of the corner of her eye and stood.

"Glad you could make it," Traci said softly. She looked tired and worried as she hugged Shelly.

"How is he," Shelly asked.

"He woke up about twenty minutes ago, but he’s in and out mostly. He’s waiting for them to take him for some tests."

"Trace, I’m so sorry. I never thought that…I didn’t think Frankie would get hurt," Shelly said, getting choked up seeing her friend in this condition.

"This isn’t your fault, honey," Traci replied. "No one saw who or what did this."

"It was Matt Morgan," Shelly sniffled. "And it’s because of me."

"Shell, you couldn’t have known…"

"It was Morgan," came Frankie’s weak voice. Both women turned their attention to him. He held out his hand for Shelly. She took it and he gave it a squeeze. "But it’s not your fault. He’s a monster. You didn’t do that. That’s on him."

"If I hadn’t…"

He silenced her with a clumsy finger over her lips. "Listen to your big brother for a change, huh? He’s the one doing these things, not you." He groaned as his head began to throb. "Now, I don’t want you sitting here all night. You’re in your boyfriend’s hometown. Go back to his place and spend some time with him."

Shelly’s eyes filled with tears and she looked away, shaking her head.

"What is it," Traci asked.

Shelly sniffled, tears slipping down her cheeks. "Chris and I had a big blow up tonight. I think…I think he broke up with me."

"Oh no," Traci gasped.

"Just a stumbling block," Frankie said. His voice was weakening. They could tell he was going slip back into unconsciousness. "Everything will work out. You’ll see."

"I should probably go," Shelly sniffled, wiping her cheeks.

"The doctor said he’s being admitted overnight for observation," Traci said giving her friend another hug. "I’ll let you know what the test results say."

Shelly bent down and placed a kiss on Frankie’s cheek. She gave Traci a weak smile before heading outside to call a cab. She took a seat on the bench outside to wait. She was thoroughly exhausted. Everything that happened had just wiped her out. She wanted nothing more than to crawl under the covers and sleep for a long, long time.

A half hour later she arrived at Sabin’s building. She took the elevator up to his floor and found her bags in the hall when she stepped off. With a sigh she walked over to collect them. That was when she saw that the door had been left slightly ajar. She checked her things. All her bags were there. Did this mean Sabin wanted to talk?

She pushed the door open a bit. "Chris?" Venturing inside she found it dark. "Chris, are you here?"

The lights came on, startling her momentarily. "Welcome home, doll," Morgan said. He was sprawled out in an overstuffed easy chair in the living room. At his feet was a heap.

"Chris," Shelly gasped, dropping her things in her arms and going to his side. "Chris, please be okay."

She rolled him onto his back, his head lolled to the side. A bloody gash marred his forehead, it was crusted over with congealed blood. Glancing around she could see that books and pictures had been knocked off the bookshelves. The TV screen had been smashed, dried blood streaked the cracked surface.

"What did you do," she yelled at Morgan.

"What needed to be done to teach you a lesson," Morgan shrugged, standing to his full height. "Now," he bent down, pushing her aside and picking Sabin up, practically palming the smaller man’s head to do so. "You have a choice to make."

"Stop it," Shelly pleaded, the tears falls freely.

He throttled Sabin’s neck, holding him off the floor that way. "It’s loverboy or me," Morgan said. Sabin’s head lolled from side to side as Morgan’s other hand wrapped around his throat.

"You can’t do this! Matt, you just can’t!"

"I can and I am," Morgan replied. "Make your choice or I crush this little pissant’s windpipe." He applied some pressure and Sabin began to cough, clawing unconsciously at the hands around his throat.

"Don’t! Please, Matt, don’t hurt him," Shelly sobbed, she was down on her knees before him.

"I haven’t heard you make a choice," Morgan said, a sick smile playing at his lips as his hands tightened a little more around Sabin’s neck. "His life is in your hands, Shell."

"I’ll do whatever you want me to do, Matt, just please don’t hurt Chris," Shelly sobbed, knowing the concession was exactly what he wanted. If it meant that he’d stop hurting Sabin she’d make the sacrifice.

Morgan smiled wide and dropped Sabin. The smaller man landed with a sick thud and a groan. Shelly crawled over to him to check on him. There was a series of angry bruises forming along his neck, but he was still breathing. He groaned and opened his eyes a crack.

"Shell," he croaked.

"I’m so sorry, Chris" she sobbed, brushing some of his hair out of his face.

"Time to go, sweetheart," Morgan called from the doorway.

Shelly ignored him. "I did this for you," she said to Sabin, kissing his lips softly. "I did this so he wouldn’t kill you. Please remember that."

"I said let’s go," Morgan growled, grabbing her by the hair and dragging her to her feet. "Forget about him. You’re mine now."

"Shell," Sabin called weakly. He reached out his hand to her, but it quickly dropped as the room began to swim and blackness swallowed him.

Morgan scooped up Shelly’s bags in the hall with one arm. With his free hand he dragged her behind him. She watched through tear filled eyes as Sabin’s prone form faded into the distance. Morgan dragged her onto the elevator. She leaned against the wall, her head resting on the cool metal, as tears slipped down her cheeks.

When they were on the ground floor Morgan dragged her to his rental. He tossed her into the passenger seat as he threw her bags into the trunk. He slid behind the wheel and cast a glance at her staring blankly out the window.

"It’ll be all right, baby," he said touching her cheek tenderly. She pulled away from his touch. With a grunt he started the car and pulled away from the curb.

"Matt," she sniffled wiping her eyes.

"Oh, so you are going to talk to me," he replied.

"If I do this for you," she said trying to keep her voice even. It was thick with the unshed tears she was fighting to keep in. "If I do this for you, you have to promise to do something for me."

Morgan smiled. "For you, baby doll, anything."

"I want you to promise to leave my friends alone from now on," she said, weakly. Sorrow and fatigue were overwhelming her and it was taking all of her energy to even utter a syllable. "If you hurt anyone else the deal is off."

"Understood," Morgan replied, glancing at her. "You look exhausted. We’ll be at the hotel soon, but if you want to close your eyes for a bit you can."

The complete change in demeanor was throwing her for a loop. He had been so vicious back at Chris’ apartment, but now he was almost…loving. Unsure if she could trust him she closed her eyes, intent on just resting and not sleeping.

When he pulled up in the hotel lot Morgan noted that Shelly was sound asleep. He parked and carefully pulled her out of the car, cradling her. He carried her to his room and set her in bed before going to get the bags. She slumbered on, never realizing that this would be her only chance to get away from him.

Chapter 16

"Greg," Taylor said softly, shaking her boyfriend’s shoulder.

"Hmmm," he groaned. "What…what is it, Taylor?"

"Shelly isn’t here," Taylor said.

Greg yawned and rolled onto his back, switching on the bedside lamp. "Babe, maybe she stayed at the hospital with Frankie."

"No, I spoke to Traci a little while ago. Shell left hours ago."

"Then…maybe…she said she had to stop at Sabin’s place to get her things, right?" Taylor nodded. "Maybe they started talking and made up."

"Maybe," Taylor said thoughtfully. "I’ll just give him a call and see." She grabbed her phone from the nightstand and got out of bed, sitting down on the vacant spare bed.

"Babe," Greg whined. "Do you really think that Shell and Chris want to be bothered while they’re making up?"

Taylor hung up frowning. "No answer."

"Because they’re busy gettin’ it on," Greg grumbled.

"Maybe Shell will pick up her cell," Taylor said hitting speed dial. She let it ring a few times before hanging, her frown deepening. "It rang for a while, but no answer."

"Like I said, they’re busy," Greg said.

"Maybe Alex will know something." She quickly dialed.

Greg groaned, pulling a pillow over his head.

"Alex, it’s Taylor. Yes, I know what time it is, but Shelly never showed up here and she’s not at the hospital with Frankie. Did Chris say anything about maybe talking to Shell or making up?" She listened as Alex spoke. "I tried both of them, but there’s no answer." She listened again while Alex spoke. "Let me know if you hear anything."

She hung up the phone. "Something’s wrong."

"Taylor, baby, I love you with all my heart, but you’re getting all worked up about nothing," Greg sighed, pulling the pillow off his head and sitting up.

"I have a bad feeling, Greg. Something’s wrong. We need to go to Chris’ place and check on them."

"It’s the middle of the night," Greg whined. Taylor fixed him with a look tossing his jeans at him. "And we’re going to check on our friends."

"I’ll meet you at the car," Taylor said pulling on her own jeans and slipping a shirt over her head. She grabbed her phone and dialed as she headed out of the room. "Alex, it’s Taylor again. Greg and I are heading over to Chris’ place."

~}i{~

When Greg and Taylor pulled up outside Sabin’s place Alex and Cindy parked behind them. All four got out the car and met in front of the building, looking up at Sabin’s windows. They were dimly lit.

"Something doesn’t feel right," Taylor said.

"Let’s go," Alex said leading the way into the building. "I have Chris’ spare keys."

They all piled into the elevator and rode up in tense silence. When the doors dinged open everyone got an eerie feeling. Alex led the way down the hall to Sabin’s apartment. He found the door open and when he looked inside he saw Sabin unconscious on the floor.

"Shit! Chris!" He rushed inside to check on his friend. "He’s still breathing. Cindy, call 911."

Cindy nodded, pulling out her phone and quickly calling for help.

"Chris, come on, buddy. Talk to me," Alex said smacking Sabin’s cheek.

"I told you something was wrong," Taylor said glaring at Greg as she brushed past him to kneel by Sabin.

"So I was wrong. Sue me," Greg sighed. He knew he’d never hear the end of it from her now.

Sabin groaned, finally coming around. He opened his eyes, wincing at the light. "My head," he groaned, trying to sit up.

Alex and Taylor pushed him back down. "Take it easy, Chris," Taylor said. "What happened?"

Sabin tried to think, but his head was throbbing. "I…put Shell’s bags out in the hall and…the next thing I know I’m flying across the damn living room."

"Morgan," Cindy frowned.

"Yeah. Son of a bitch blindsided me."

"He busted your TV," Greg said sitting down on the couch.

"I think that’s the least of his worries, Greg," Taylor said, glaring at her boyfriend.

"Chris, did you see Shell at all," Cindy asked.

Taylor and Alex finally allowed Sabin to sit up, helping him and propping from pillows from the couch behind him.

"Why?"

"She’s missing," Alex replied. "Dude, no one’s seen her for hours."

Sabin racked his brain to remember. A flash of memory struck him. Morgan had him by the throat. He could hear Shelly crying, but couldn’t make out what was being said. Then everything went blank.

"She was here," Sabin finally said. "She left with Morgan."

Taylor and Cindy exchanged worried glances. They both knew that Shelly finally gave in to save Sabin’s life. She would never leave willingly with Morgan.

The EMTs finally arrived and helped Sabin off the floor to the couch. They checked him out, treating the gash on his head, and urged him to go to the hospital. Sabin flat out refused. Unable to convince the young man to go with them the EMTs left.

"You really should go get looked at, Chris," Cindy said as the others cleaned up a bit.

"I’m fine," Sabin lied. "Guys, I just want to go to bed. I appreciate you coming to check on me."

"What about Shell," Taylor asked.

"What about her?" All four of them stared at him as if he’d just spoken Greek. "She made her choice. Now, will you all get out of here so I can get some sleep."

The four headed out of the apartment without argument. None of them knew what to say to make Sabin change his mind.

Sabin turned off the light in the living room and headed into his bathroom, grabbing a bottle of aspirin from medicine cabinet and downing a couple, before going into his bedroom.

He crawled into bed and buried his face in the pillow next to his. It still smelled like Shelly and he inhaled deeply. The night was still a big blur after being attacked. He knew one thing for certain…he’d lost the woman he loved.

~}i{~

"I can’t believe he just…I mean…I thought he loved Shell," Taylor sputtered as they all rode the elevator back down.

"He does," Alex sighed, resting his head on the back wall.

"I know one thing," Cindy said. "Shell left with Morgan to save Chris from being hurt worse."

"Absolutely," Taylor agreed.

"That’s great," Greg yawned. "Now can we go back to our room and get some sleep?"

"We have to get her away from him," Taylor exclaimed.

"We will, baby, in the morning," Greg said slipping his arm around her waist and leading her to their car.

"I hate to say this, but I think Greg is right," Alex said to Cindy.

"There’s nothing we can do tonight," Cindy sighed as she followed Alex to the car.

~}i{~

Morgan was lying in bed reading a magazine as Shelly slept. He was thinking about putting it down and getting some sleep himself when her phone began to ring. He slid out of bed and grabbed it from her bag, silencing it quickly. He checked to see if it had woken her and sighed in relief to see her slumbering peacefully.

He crawled back into bed and shut off the bedside lamp, snuggling up behind Shelly. A content smile curled his lips as he closed his eyes. His arm was wrapped possessively around her waist as he drifted off.

Chapter 17

The next morning Shelly awoke to find arms around her. She smiled, snuggling into the warm body behind her before the events of the night before came screaming back to her. Looking down she saw the arm and hand wrapped around her was much too big to be Sabin’s.

Her mind turned to Sabin and the condition he’d been in when Morgan dragged her away. She hoped and prayed that he was all right. She’d never forgive herself if he…no she wouldn’t allow herself to think that way. She began to push at Morgan’s massive arm, groaning when his grip tightened.

"Matt," she groaned, still pushing at the arm around her. "Matt, wake up."

"Wha…what’s wrong, baby," he groaned, rousing finally. He opened his eyes and pulled her closer to him, kissing her neck.

"Matt, I need to use the bathroom," she groaned, trying to pull away.

"Way to kill the mood," Morgan sighed. "Fine. Go." He released her.

Shelly scrambled out of bed and headed over to grab one of her bags. Morgan rolled onto his back and propped himself up on a couple of pillows.

"What are you doing?"

"I thought I’d wash up and get dressed," she replied. "We have to be back in Orlando tonight for the Impact tapings. The flight leaves soon."

"Good idea," Morgan said smiling. "How about we shower together?" He wriggled his eyebrows at her. She had to bite the inside of cheek to resist the urge to retch. "You know, conserve water?"

She forced a smile, knowing that if she refused to do what he wanted her friends would suffer. "Matt," she said giggling. "You silly! I showered last night after my match."

He frowned. "Do I need to start cracking more skulls," he growled, sitting up.

"No, Matt, I’m just still a little upset over what happened last night," Shelly said quickly. "You can’t expect me to just jump into bed with you after…" The look on his face became darker and she struggled to complete a thought. "Could I just have a couple of days? Please, Matt."

He grumbled under his breath. "Fine, but I don’t like it." He slid to the end of the bed, reaching out and pulled her into his lap. "You just don’t know what you do to me, baby." He leaned in to kiss her, but she pulled free.

"Okay, I’ll just go change and then you can have the bathroom all to yourself," she said making a hasty escape. She locked the door and breathed a sigh of relief. "What the hell have I gotten myself into," she muttered.

It was then that she heard the tone for voicemail from her phone. She dug it out and quickly checked the message, seeing that she had a missed call from Taylor.

"Oh God! She must be out of her mind worried," Shelly groaned. Without even bothering to listen to the message she dialed Taylor’s number. "Tay?"

"Shell, are you all right?"

"That’s a really loaded question," Shelly replied. "How’s Chris?" She bit her lip to keep from crying.

"He’s going to be all right," Taylor replied. "Morgan really did a number on him though. He’s really banged up."

Tears slipped down Shelly’s cheeks. Taylor could hear her friend choking back the sobs.

"Shell, where are you?"

Morgan banged on the door. "Who you talkin’ to in there?"

"Is that Morgan," Taylor asked.

"I have to go, Tay. I’ll call you soon." Shelly hung up and wiped the tears away quickly, opening the door.

"Who the hell you talkin’ to," Morgan demanded.

"Taylor left me a message last night," Shelly replied. "I was supposed to stay with her and Greg. When I didn’t show up she got worried."

"Uh huh," Morgan said eyeing her suspiciously. "She tell you how your EX-boyfriend is doing?"

"He’s going to be all right," Shelly replied, ignoring the ex comment. "Now if you’ll excuse me I need to…" She attempted to close the door, but he stopped her.

"We have a flight to catch," he said, snatching the phone from her hands. "This isn’t a phone booth. Get your ass ready." He released the door once he had the phone.

Shelly glared up at him before slamming the door in his face. "Bastard," she grunted grabbing her clothes and quickly changing. She brushed her teeth and fixed her hair, opting not to wear any make up. When she was done she grabbed her bag and exited the bathroom.

"May I have my phone back," she asked as sweetly as she could muster.

"I’ll let you have it for a kiss," he replied smirking.

Shelly groaned inwardly, but knew she’d never get her phone back if she didn’t. "One kiss?" He nodded. "Fine." She stepped up to him, placing her hands on his chest. "You gonna help me out here Jolly Green?"

He laughed. "Cute," he muttered before bending down to her. "Give me some sugar."

Shelly groaned. "Are you going to be this cheesy all the time?"

Morgan snickered, wrapping his arms around her and lowered his face to hers, capturing her lips. She attempted to pull away, but one of his hands slid up her back, his finger tangling in her dark tresses and anchoring her there. His tongue forced its way into her mouth, deepening the kiss.

She pushed against his chest, struggling in his arms. Air was becoming an issue and she could feel that he’d want more than just the kiss if it went on much longer. She finally managed to break the kiss, prying herself out of his arms.

"My phone," she panted wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.

Morgan smiled, handing it over to her. "Don’t tell me you didn’t enjoy that," he said heading into the bathroom. He smacked her ass as he passed by.

"PIG," she grunted through gritted teeth. He either didn’t hear her or didn’t care. When the bathroom door closed Shelly hit the speed dial.

"Hullo," Sabin’s sleepy voice greeted her ears.

"Chris, oh thank God. I was so scared," Shelly said losing what little control she had of her emotions. "I’m so sorry that he did this to you."

"Why are you calling me," Sabin demanded, sounding much more alert now.

"Chris, please let me explain," she sobbed. "He was going to kill you. I couldn’t let that happen."

"I don’t care," Sabin replied. "I hope you and that Neanderthal are very happy together. Don’t fucking call me again."

"Chris, please don’t hang up. I still love you."

"No you don’t. You never did. Have a nice fucking life, sweetheart." With that Sabin hung up.

The phone slipped from her hand as Shelly sank to her knees. Wrapping her arms around herself she rocked back and forth sobbing. Her heart was shattered by Sabin’s words.

Morgan had heard her part of the conversation and couldn’t help smiling. The punk had given her up. He wasn’t even willing to fight for her and he claimed to love her. He snorted. All it would take was a little time and she’d be his for the taking. He couldn’t wait to savor that day.

Morgan exited the bathroom, finding Shelly still on the floor. With a sigh he tossed his bag onto the bed and pulled her to her feet. She swatted at his hands, pounding on him when he didn’t let her be.

"DON’T TOUCH ME," she roared pounding on his chest when he wrapped her up in his arms. "YOU RUINED MY LIFE! I HATE YOU!" She dissolved into sobs, burying her face in his chest.

"I know you do, baby," he said holding her. "But it won’t always be that way. I promise you that. Come on. We got a flight to catch."

~}i{~

Taylor stared at her phone frowning. Greg saw this and sighed, pulling the phone from his girlfriend’s hand. He knew she was worried about their friend. Truth be told he was too, but he wasn’t used to showing emotion the way Taylor was.

"What did Shell say," he gently asked.

"She couldn’t say much," Taylor sighed tiredly. She’d been up most of the night worrying. "She’s definitely with Morgan. Greg, we have to get her away from him."

"Babe, she made her choice," Greg replied. "If she asks for our help then you know I’ll be on board, but until then let’s just stay out of it."

Taylor glared at him. "And let that goon rape her? You can stay out of it, but I won’t!" With that she stormed out of the hotel room.

Greg groaned, slapping a hand to his forehead. "Me and my big damn mouth," he muttered. The flight back to Orlando was going to be murder he just knew it.

Chapter 18

The car ride to the airport had been silent. Morgan had tried to engage Shelly in conversation, but she had steadily stared out the passenger window. So be it. He’d give her time, but then he was staking a claim on what was now his.

At the airport he returned his rental, holding tightly onto Shelly’s hand. He didn’t really have to. She didn’t have the will or desire to run. Her heart was broken and she didn’t have the energy to fight.

"Give me your ticket," Morgan demanded as they headed inside the airport.

"What?"

"Your ticket," Morgan demanded. "I assume you have a seat next to Sabin. Do you really want to sit next to him for an entire flight?"

Shelly reached into her bag and pulled out the ticket handing it over to him with no argument.

"Can I trust you to sit here and not run," he asked. She nodded mutely, taking a seat in the hard plastic chair. "Good girl." Morgan headed over to the counter to see what he could do about changing her seat.

"SHELL," a chorus of female voice called.

She whipped her head in the direction they came from. She saw Cindy, Taylor and Traci weaving through the crowd toward her. Greg, Frankie and Alex were trailing behind them carrying the luggage.

Shelly stood, glancing at where Morgan was still talking to the woman behind the counter. She allowed her friends to envelop her in a group hug. All three began asking questions at once.

"Girls, give her some air," Frankie said, pulling all three off of Shelly. Taylor had filled him in on what happened the night before. "How you doing, kid," he asked.

Shelly was unable to meet his gaze, her bottom lip quivering. "I’ll live," she said softly.

"Isn’t this a lovely reunion," Morgan said smiling wide at the group, though his eyes shot deadly daggers at the group. He slipped an arm possessively around Shelly’s waist.

"Is this what you want, Shell," Frankie asked, glaring at Morgan.

"Of course it is," Morgan answered for her.

"I wasn’t asking you, Morgan," Frankie growled. "Do you mind if I speak to my friend in private?"

"As a matter of fact I DO mind," Morgan replied.

"Matt, it’s all right," Shelly said placing a hand on his shoulder. "Just let me speak to Frankie and then we can board the plane."

Morgan looked down at her and nodded. "Fine, but only the mask wearin’ pansy," he replied. "You have five minutes."

Frankie’s hands balled into fists, but Shelly touched his arm and motioned for him to come with her. He glared at Morgan a moment before turning his attention to his friend as they walked a few feet away.

"You’re serious about this asshole," Frankie demanded. She could see the confusion and hurt in his eyes and it broke her heart even more.

"I have to do this, Frankie," she replied softly, looking down at her feet.

"No you don’t! Shell, he’s a brute. You saw what he did to me….what he did to Chris." The mention of Sabin’s name brought tears to her eyes. "You can’t do this."

"I have to or you’re all in danger," she exclaimed turning watery eyes up to him. "He’ll keep hurting you all if I don’t do this. I couldn’t bear it if one more of my friends got hurt…or worse."

"There’s another way, Shell, there has to be," Frankie replied.

"When you figure it out let me know," Shelly said. "I have to go." Morgan was watching her closely, glancing at his watch every now and then. She didn’t look back at Frankie as she headed back to Morgan’s side.

"Ready to go, darling," Morgan asked, turning everyone’s stomach.

"Shit," Alex hissed glancing past Shelly and Morgan. Sabin had just entered the terminal. Everyone turned their gaze toward what he was staring at and groaned as well.

"Come on, Matt," Shelly said grabbing her bags and yanking on Morgan’s arm. "Let’s go board."

"Don’t you want to say hello to Sabin," Morgan snickered.

"Please, Matt. Don’t do this. Not here," Shelly pleaded.

Morgan’s smile fell. "All right. Come on."

The group watched as Morgan escorted Shelly away. Sabin had just reached them, catching the back of the two as they passed through the boarding gate. He visibly grimaced and turned away from the sight.

"She’s not happy, Chris," Alex said catching this action. They’d been friends for too long for him not to.

"I don’t care," Sabin replied. "She made her choice. I have to deal with it."

"She didn’t make it willingly, Chris," Frankie informed him. "This is all Morgan’s doing."

"Whatever. I’ll see you guys on the plane."

The group watched as he passed through the boarding gate. No one knew what to say to make him understand the situation.

~}i{~

The flight had gone uneventfully. Shelly kept her distance from Sabin. He hated her now and there was nothing she could do to change his mind. She had tried to sleep much of the flight, though it was hard with Morgan trying to get her to join the Mile High Club. She had finally just started to ignore him, feigning deep sleep. He eventually gave up and started flirting with the flight attendants.

Much to Shelly’s dismay Morgan decided that he would stay at her place while he was in town for the shows. According to him, there was no sense in him spending money on a hotel room when he could just ‘shack up with his lady’. The words turned her stomach.

Later that night they arrived at the Impact Zone that night’s set of tapings. Upon entering the building Shelly found Cornette waiting for her.

"Shell, Jeff and I need to speak to you," he said, glancing at Morgan a moment before returning his gaze to her.

"Great, let’s go," Morgan said.

"No, Matt, alone," Cornette replied. "We need to speak to Shelly alone." Morgan nodded and waved her off, going to his locker room to unwind and find out what he’d be doing for that night’s show.

Shelly followed Cornette to Jarrett’s office, holding the door for her as they entered. Once inside she saw that Sting sat in a chair in front of the desk. Jarrett was on the phone behind the desk.

"No, Mick…Mick, I have a meeting now. All right, bye," Jarrett said as Cornette took a seat on the couch. "Have a seat," Jarrett said to Shelly. His face was unreadable.

"Am I in trouble," she asked sitting down.

Jarrett scoffed, unable to believe she’d actually asked that question. "Are you in…You’re damn right you’re in trouble," Jarrett fumed. "What the hell were you thinkin’ last night injecting yourself in the Sting/Morgan match?"

"I know I shouldn’t have. I let my personal feelings override my professionalism," Shelly explained. "I’m sorry, Jeff. I really am."

Jarrett sighed, scrubbing a hand down his face. "I accept your apology, but I’m not really the one you need to apologize to. I believe Steve would like an apology too."

"Actually, Jeff, I’d prefer last night’s match back to do over again, but I’ll take an apology," Sting replied.

Shelly turned her gaze to Sting, not exactly making eye contact. "I am truly sorry for ruining your match…and for the things I said afterwards," she said softly. "I never meant any of it."

Sting nodded in acceptance of the apology.

"Now, there’s the matter of your title shot," Jarrett said. Shelly brought wide eyes up to meet his gaze. "You didn’t think you could jump script and not get punished for it, did you?"

Shelly hung her head. "No."

"Jeff, if I may interject her," Sting said leaning forward. "She’s already earned the shot. Can’t you just tweak things a bit?"

"How do you propose I do that, Steve?"

"Well, I assume this is a big deal because the original plan was for Shelly to win the title tonight." Jarrett nodded. "Well, instead of taking the title shot away from her how about just have Angelina cheat to win prompting a rematch. Perhaps some sort of gimmick match at the Victory Road PPV."

Jarrett mulled that over. "I like it, Jeff," Cornette finally spoke up.

"I do too," Jarrett finally said turning his attention to Shelly. "That’s a real good idea. We could have some good action going on between you and The Beautiful People."

"But what about my feud with Cindy?"

"Consider it officially shelved," Jarrett replied. Shelly groaned, feeling horrible. Her actions had now affected her friend’s career as well. "She’ll be teaming up with the Guns for the time being in six person tags until we can figure out something for her to do."

"That isn’t fair to her," Shelly protested.

"Life’s not fair, darlin’," Jarrett replied. "Now, get out of here before I change my mind about your title shot."

Chapter 19

Shelly stood and exited Jarrett’s office. Sting wasn’t too far behind her. She didn’t see or hear him as he came up behind her until he spoke.

"Could I have a word with you in private," he asked. Shelly nodded, following him into an empty locker room. "Something tells me there’s more to the story than you losing your head last night." He closed the door. "What’s going on?"

Seeing that Sting was genuinely concerned about her and not there to point fingers or place blame. Her shoulders slumped and tears slipped down her cheeks. She hung her head, not even knowing where to begin.

"You can talk to me, honey," Sting said tucking a finger under her chin and turning her face up to meet his gaze. "I promise you I won’t judge you in any way. If you have a problem maybe I can help with it."

"I don’t think anyone can help me," she sniffled.

"Why don’t you start at the beginning," Sting said motioning for her to sit down.

Shelly did so and began to tell Sting all about how she and Sabin had gotten together. He listened, nodding here and there as she explained the situation. "And that’s when Morgan started…stalking me. He’s been attacking the people I love and last night…he…he hurt Frankie. I lost my head. All I wanted was to cause him grief. I never took into account that it would affect anyone else."

"You’ve been forgiven for last night already," Sting soothed, a hand on her shoulder. "What’s going on now?"

Shelly took in a shuddering breath. "He tried to kill Chris last night," she sobbed. "I agreed to do whatever he wanted if he’d leave Chris and my friends alone." She broke down once she had unburdened herself to him. She buried her face in her hands, shoulders shaking with silent sobs. "I love him too much to see him hurt anymore."

Sting’s heart went out to the young woman before him. She’d suffered so greatly at the hands of one man. It wasn’t right and it made him dislike Morgan even more than he already did. He pulled her into his arms and held her as she cried.

"I think I can help you," Sting finally said.

"How?"

Sting smiled. "Have you met the rest of the Main Event Mafia yet," he asked pulling her to her feet and escorting her out of the locker room.

~}i{~

"This sucks," Cindy pouted coming from her meeting with the creative team.

"Babe, you don’t like teaming up with me and Chris," Alex asked, pouting at her.

"I do," Cindy replied, casting a glance at Sabin. "I just…I wanted to be a heel and…I’ll miss working with Shell."

"She’ll be busy being a walking glory hole," Sabin said as he unpacked his things.

"Chris, that’s just cruel," Cindy gasped.

"And I give a rat’s ass why?"

"Don’t even try it, buddy," Alex said stepping between his best friend and his girlfriend. "You still love her no matter what she may have done."

"May have done? Alex, you heard Morgan," Sabin growled, hooking a thumb over his shoulder toward the door. "He’s telling anyone who will listen what he’s been doing with my…with Shell."

"And he’s never lied about that before," Cindy grumbled.

"I believe him this time," Sabin replied. "Why would he have to lie? He’s got her now." He grabbed his things and went into the bathroom to change.

Cindy sighed, taking a seat on the bench in front of Alex and leaning her back into his chest. He wrapped his arms around her, kissing her temple.

"He’s just so angry," Cindy said. "He can’t see what I see…What Taylor and Traci and I see."

"Honestly, babe, it’s hard for me to see what you girls see too," Alex replied. "If she loved Chris wouldn’t she fight for him instead of giving in to Morgan?"

"That’s just it, Alex," Cindy said pulling away and turning to face him. "She did this because she loves Chris. You saw how bad he was when we got to his place last night. Morgan could have killed him. Shelly sacrificed her own happiness to save Chris’ life."

"It’s all very romantic, Cinder, but all I see is my best friend is a miserable wreck and she’s off screwing around with a man she claimed to hate."

Cindy growled, grasping Alex’s face between her forefinger and thumb, making his lips pucker. "She’s is NOT screwing around with Morgan!" She shoved his face away, making him nearly tumble backward off the bench before she got up and stormed out of the locker room.

~}i{~

"There you are," Angle called when Sting entered the Main Even Mafia locker room. He pulled Shelly in beside him, closing the door behind them. Angle scowled at him. "Steve? What the hell?"

"Yeah, why’d you bring the skank in here, man," Booker demanded.

Steiner just smiled, placing a hand on Booker’s shoulder. "Relax, Book, Big Poppa Pump’s always looking for a new freak notch to add to his belt."

Shelly made a face and hid behind Sting, knowing he wouldn’t let anything happen to her.

"Guys, just hear me out, please," Sting said holding up his hands. Angle sighed, but motioned for Sting to proceed. He sat down and motioned for Shelly to sit as well.

He explained what Morgan had been doing to Shelly and her friends. She kept quiet while Sting spoke. When he was done silence fell over the room.

"Sweetheart, I’m really sorry for all the shit Morgan’s been putting you through," Angle said, leaning forward and patting her knee. "But, Steve, what the hell does this have to do with the Mafia?"

"Morgan is trying desperately to be a part of the Mafia, Kurt," Sting sighed.

"Yeah? And?"

"And we can use this situation to our advantage," Sting replied. "Do any of you want Morgan in the Mafia?" Everyone shook their heads no. "Then I suggest we put the kid through the paces…and…"

"Set him up to fail," Nash said smiling. "Steve, you devilish bastard! I love how your mind works."

"So, what do we do with the skirt," Steiner asked pointing to Shelly.

Sting smiled wide at Steiner. "I’m glad you asked, Scotty."

~}i{~

Shelly exited the Mafia locker room feeling a million times better about her situation. After Sting’s talk Nash had pulled her aside and told her not to hesitate to come to any of the Mafia if Morgan starts to give her problems. The fact that she had the backing of the group just bolstered her spirit.

Before she left Sting urged her not to let on to Morgan she knew anything of the Mafia’s plans. He also encouraged her to put her acting skills to work. The more Morgan felt she was actually warming up to him the more impact the plan would have when it finally unfolded.

As she looked for Morgan she caught sight of Sabin grabbing a bottle of water from the catering table. He met her gaze and for a fleeting moment she could see that he still cared. It was gone all too soon and replaced by a scowl.

"The fuck are you looking at," he growled.

Shelly knew he was looking for a fight and didn’t play into his hands. She shook her head and walked along the corridor quickly. Tears stung her eyes, but she forced them back. She kept telling herself that when this was all over she’d find a way to make things up to Sabin. She only hoped and prayed that their relationship was salvageable.

When she turned the corner she heard Morgan chuckling. Stopping she listened to see who he was talking to.

"I’m tellin’ ya, boys, I’m thinking of calling her pin cushion ‘cause I’m always stickin’ in her," Morgan chortled. The sound of James Storm and Robert Roode giggling followed.

Shelly took a deep breath, her hands balling into fists at her sides. She steadied her nerves and shook off the comment. She intended to do Sting proud by putting in the performance of a damn lifetime.

"Matt? Honey," she called, smiling as she walked up to Morgan. "Are you boring these fine gentlemen with tall tales again?" She slipped an arm around his waist, snuggling into his side.

Morgan looked at her confused for a moment. He hadn’t expected her to warm up to him so fast, but he’d take it. He wrapped his arm around her, holding her tightly.

"Not tall tales, baby," he replied bending down to whisper in her ear. "Not for long anyway." She giggled at him. "I was worried when you didn’t come right back after meeting with Jeff."

"Sting asked to speak to me," she replied. "He wanted an apology for interfering in his match."

"And I don’t get one," Morgan asked. "You cost me that match."

"Maybe if you’re lucky, later you will," she replied with a smile. Roode and Storm whooped at the words. Shelly fought the urge to roll her eyes and bit her tongue. "I have to get ready for my match. I’ll see you later?"

"You bet your sweet ass you will," Morgan said, pulling her back to him. "Want a kiss for luck?"

Shelly frowned. "I won’t be winning the title tonight. My punishment for last night."

Morgan threaded his fingers in her chestnut locks. "I still want a kiss." He lowered his lips to hers and much to his surprise she didn’t resist. He was shocked when she kissed him back. If he’d been a suspicious man he’d wonder why, but for that moment he didn’t care what had brought on the change of heart. He’d take her any way he could get her.

"I better get my apology later," he whispered when the kiss was broken.

"We’ll see," Shelly replied and winked at Roode and Storm as she walked away. She fought the full body shudder knowing that Morgan and the others were still watching.

At the end of the hall she caught sight of Sabin, the pain on his face was unmistakable as he turned and walked away. He’d seen her kissing Morgan. Biting her lip she headed toward the women’s locker room to discuss the details of her match with Angelina putting all thoughts of him out of her mind for the time being.

Chapter 20

"How do you want this to play out," Angelina asked as she and Shelly got ready for their match.

Shelly had been thinking about this since leaving Morgan to get ready. "I want you to hit me with the belt." Angelina nodded. "The ref will be distracted by Madison and Velvet dealing with Tara. I‘ll give Tara a heads up. You can let the others know."

"Cool," Angelina said as she pulled on her fingerless skeleton hands gloves.

"Angie, I want this to look as real as possible. Really give it to me out there," Shelly said.

Angelina smirked. "Brutal."

"I’m not opposed to bleeding," Shelly added.

"Kay," Angelina replied, quirking a brow. "Do I need to worry about you, hon? I mean, since when do you like to bleed? You been hanging out with that crazy Daffney chick?"

Shelly chuckled mirthlessly. "I’ve recently taken up being a masochist."

"Whatever you say, sweetie," Angelina replied with a confused shrug. "I’ll see you out there."

As Angelina left Cindy, Taylor and Traci came in. The three women stood in front of her as she pulled on her boots. She fixed her black and red shorts, not meeting her friends gazes. She had been instructed to wear the outfit that she’d worn on the PPV to film some segments. She adjusted her knee and elbow pads before making sure the black and red bra top covered where it needed to.

"Don’t you have anything to say to us," Traci asked, crossing her arms across her chest.

"Look, I have to go out there and job instead of winning a title I should have held months ago. If you three have something to say then just come out and say it."

"I think it’s pretty shitty that you screwed up our storyline for this," Cindy said.

"I’m sorry," Shelly replied, annoyed with them. They had every right to be angry with her, but at the moment she wanted to focus on her match. "I’ll probably have to say that a million more times when all is said and done. I’m just a little tense right now, girls. I have to film a segment tonight with Chris. Thankfully after tonight our on screen relationship is over." She sighed sadly. "Sometimes life really does imitate art."

Neither woman knew how to respond. They had all forgotten about the cover story for Shelly leaving the Guns stable. The scene would be difficult for her no doubt, but they knew it’d be extra brutal on Sabin. They let her finish getting ready and watched her leave all wearing frowns.

~}i{~

Shelly met up with Sabin where they were. The angle would leave Sabin out of action for several weeks due to injuries. Jarrett was unwilling to risk Sabin getting injured further by wrestling without getting medically cleared first. This storyline had been Sting’s idea as well. It was all part of his master plan.

"Let’s get this shit over with," Sabin grumbled. "The sooner I get rid of you the happier I’ll be."

"You think it’s been a picnic for me, Chris," she replied, once again acting. She needed to be cruel for the charade with Morgan to seem real. She only hoped Sabin would forgive her in the end.

"You couldn’t wait to get rid of me and go back to that douche bag, could you? Did you ever mean it when you said you loved me? Just answer that honestly please."

"Yes," she replied softly.

"But you don’t mean it anymore?"

"We really should get this over with," Shelly said changing the subject. "I have a match later."

Sabin shook his head. "I guess that answers my question. Let’s do this."

~}i{~

The scene went off without a hitch. Morgan blindsided Sabin as he was celebrating with Shelly over her title shot, leaving him a bloody mess on the floor. When he was done he dragged a screaming Shelly away. The attack would set up the piece de resistance of Sting’s plan. Sabin’s return weeks later would have a huge impact.

Once the scene had been filmed Morgan captured Shelly in his arms. He turned his gaze to Sabin with an evil smirk.

"Hey, kid," he called getting Sabin’s attention. Shelly’s stomach knotted. "Look what you’ll be missing." With that he kissed Shelly long and hard, grabbing her leg and wrapping it around his waist.

He broke the kiss, burying his face in Shelly’s neck and nibbling there. As he did this he cast a glance at Sabin and couldn’t help the evil smile that curled his lips. The younger man looked completely devastated.

Shelly buried her face in Morgan’s chest. "Please stop this, Matt," she begged. "You have me now. You don’t need to rub it in."

Morgan waited until Sabin walked away before he pulled away from Shelly, glaring down at her. "You better remember those words," he growled. "You’re MINE now. I even catch you looking at that Sabin kid sideways and your ass is grass. Got it?"

Everything inside her was screaming to just run, but she knew that she couldn’t. If she ran her friends would be sitting ducks. She forced a smile and ran her hand up his chest and up his neck, cupping his face.

"Why would I want him when I have an Adonis before me," she replied. The words sickened her, but she kept repeating to stick to the plan to herself. It was the only thing keeping her sane.

Morgan smiled. "Adonis, huh? I like that."

~}i{~

While Shelly was taking on Angelina Love, Sting sought out Sabin. He found the younger man sitting in the Guns locker room. The door had been open and he peeked inside, knocking on the doorframe.

"Mind if I come in," Sting asked.

"It’s a free country," Sabin shrugged.

Sting entered, closing the door behind him. "Look, kid, I had a little talk with your girlfriend."

"Ex-girlfriend," Sabin corrected. "We’re not together anymore."

"It’s my understand that it’s not by choice," Sting replied taking a seat on the bench next to him. Sabin didn’t even look up at him. "Chris, Morgan has forced this on her. Can’t you see that?"

"What I see is a lying piece of trash," Sabin fumed. "God! I look at her now and it just turns my stomach. Just the thought of that man touching her…being with her….I…I can’t deal with it."

"Chris, calm down," Sting said placing a hand on the younger man’s shoulder. "I know it’s hard for you to see her with him, but please know that she still loves you."

"Still implies that she ever did to begin with," Sabin replied, knocking Sting’s hand away. "If this is all you came to talk to me about then you can just leave now."

Sting sighed, turning his eyes skyward. "Fine. I had hoped you would be open to what I have to say, but I can see that’s not going to happen. When you’re ready to hear what I need to tell you come find me." He stood and headed out of the locker room.

~}i{~

Shelly’s match had been going great. Madison and Velvet had interfered several times while Angelina had distracted the ref. Tara finally came running down to the ring, engaging both blondes on the outside in battle. The ref jumped out of the ring to break them up and eject all three.

As he did this Angelina slipped out of the ring and grabbed the belt. Sliding back in she waited for Shelly to get back to her feet. Once she did Angelina nailed her hard with the belt.

White hot pain shot through Shelly’s forehead before she felt the warm trickle of blood slipping down her face. She smiled internally as she was rolled up for a pin. Her plan had worked. From the throbbing in her head she could tell she’d be in no condition to follow through with the ‘apology’ Morgan was expecting. If she was lucky she’d need stitches and some kind of pain medication to knock her out.

~}i{~

Once she was helped to the medic station Angelina Love appeared in the doorway. She was smiling as she scooted up on the table beside Shelly, slipping an arm around her shoulders.

"I have a feeling that this feud is going to be one hell of a battle," she said. "And I am thoroughly looking forward to it. Did you hear the crowd out there?"

"Angie, voice…lower the volume," Shelly cringed.

"Sorry," Angelina whispered. "I really got ya there. Wow."

"I’ll live," Shelly replied as the medic began to clean up the wound.

"Well, I’ll let you get patched up," Angelina said slipping off the table.

Chapter 21

While Shelly was being patched up Sting had entered the ring with the Mafia in tow. She watched the monitor playing the show in the medic station. This segment would set things rolling in the right direction…she hoped. If all went well it would be a matter of time before she was finally free of Morgan. She just hoped that the Mafia would live up to their end of the agreement.

~}i{~

"Kurt, you went behind my back and invited Joe into the fold," Sting said addressing the fact that Samoa Joe was now indeed part of the Main Event Mafia. "But that’s not important right now because while you were wooing Joe over to our side I was doing some scouting of my own."

The rest of the Mafia looked at him confused for a moment. Sting pointed to the big screen where clips of his match with Matt Morgan played.

"I gotta say, it’s not often someone takes me to the limits the way Matt Morgan did," Sting said when the clips finished. "So, Kurt, if it’s all right with you I’d like to invite Matt out here right now." Angle nodded, waving his consent.

Morgan’s music blasted and the big man came down to the ring, a wide smile on his face. He was thanking Sting for the compliments on the match, cocky that this was the invite into the Mafia that he wanted.

"Matt, you really impressed me at Slammiversary," Sting said.

"Thank you," Morgan said beaming with pride. "You won’t regret this. I promise you."

"Well, hang on there," Sting said holding up a hand. "I haven’t invited you in just yet." Morgan’s smile fell. The rest of the Mafia snickered. "You see, Joe had to go through a series of initiations before he became a full fledged member of the Mafia."

"I’ve proved myself."

"You’ve proven yourself to be a worth adversary, yes. Mafia material…I’m not sure just yet." Morgan grumbled under his breath, raking a hand through his hair. "So, what I’m proposing is a series of matches against all of us."

Morgan’s face was red with anger. He was tired of jumping through hoops for them. "Fine! I’ll take on all of you. No problem!"

"Tonight you’ll be taking on Booker T and Scott Steiner," Sting explained. "And you’ll have a tag partner…of our choosing." Morgan was livid. "I suggest you get ready. It’s up soon."

~}i{~

"How you holdin’ up," Sting asked Shelly when he saw her exiting the medic station. She had a bandage over her wound and the start a bruise forming on the side of her face. Sting turned her face to look at the damage and winced at the mere sight of it.

"I’ll live," she replied, pulling away. "So, any ideas on the mystery partner?"

Sting smiled as they walked down the hall. "He’s right there."

Shelly turned her gaze down the hall and spotted the man Sting was talking about. Abyss stood talking to Lauren, Daffney and Stevie Richards. A smile spread across her face. Given the rocky past Abyss and Morgan had this could only spell disaster for the match. She loved how Sting’s mind worked.

"Chris," Sting called getting the large man’s attention. "A word please?"

~}i{~

"My God," Frankie said seeing Shelly’s face as she watched the start of Morgan’s match with Steiner and Booker.

"I’m fine," Shelly said. "Nothing I can’t handle."

"Are you suicidal now," Frankie demanded.

"No, I believe that’s your gimmick," Shelly replied, turning away from him to watch the match.

Frankie whipped her around to face him. "I’m serious. It’s like I don’t even know you anymore. First Morgan and now this. What the hell?"

"I know what I’m doing," Shelly replied.

"Can you let the rest of us know?"

"I can’t risk it," Shelly replied. Frankie groaned, throwing his arms up in exasperation. "Look, it’s really complicated, Frankie. I wish I could tell you, but I can’t."

"And here I thought we were practically family," he grunted. "Guess I was wrong. When you’re ready to explain things come find me. Until then…just keep your distance. I can’t stand seeing you this way." He walked off, leaving Shelly at a loss for words.

"Just keep to the plan," she muttered under breath. "Keep to the plan and everything will work out."

~}i{~

When Morgan’s partner was revealed as none other than Abyss Morgan threw a hissy fit in the ring. Abyss took his place on the ring apron as Morgan started off the match. He didn’t trust the masked monster, but he didn’t have a choice in the matter so he’d deal.

As the match progressed Morgan and Abyss performed like a well oiled machine, showing the easy chemistry they had when the used to tag. Morgan was taking a brutal beating at the hands of Steiner and as he attempted to tag Abyss in he realized his partner suddenly wasn’t there.

Looking around he caught sight of Abyss battling Doctor Stevie up the ramp. He hadn’t seen the ‘doctor’ sneak down to ringside. With no partner to tag Morgan was forced to finish the match as a handicap.

Booker and Steiner quickly capitalized on this. As Booker distracted the ref Steiner grabbed his lead pipe, smacking Morgan across the back. He tossed it outside when the ref was no longer occupied and slapped on the Steiner Recliner. Morgan quickly tapped, writhing in pain on the mat as Booker and Steiner celebrated.

Steiner got a bit carried away stomping on Morgan after the match ended. It took both the ref and Booker to pry him off as he slapped the Recliner back on, using the lead pipe as leverage under the bigger man’s chin.

~}i{~

"What the hell is wrong you," Booker exclaimed as he and Steiner made their way to the back.

"What? We were supposed to win, right?"

"What kind of a moron are you," Joe growled.

"That’s not the point, Scott," Kurt fumed.

"I thought we were supposed to be wearing the kid down," Steiner grumbled.

"We are, Scotty," Sting said placing a hand on his friend’s shoulder. "But we’ll be lucky if you left enough of him for the rest of us to have fun with."

Steiner thought about that a minute and then smiled. "Oh! I get it! My bad, guys."

Sting pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head. "Kev, you’re up next week. You all right with taking one for the team?"

"Fine by me," Nash rumbled. "I think it’s about time for me to have an unfortunate ‘accident’ with one of my knees." He, Booker, Joe, Sting and Angle began to chuckle.

"I don’t get it," Steiner said. All five men looked at him a moment before bursting out laughing harder. They all walked away leaving Steiner baffled.

~}i{~

Shelly had managed to avoid the rest of her friends, fearing that they’d all take Frankie’s stance. She hadn’t needed stitches, but she had gotten some nice pain killers to dull the throbbing in her head. She had popped a couple while she waited for Morgan to shower and change.

Once they got back to her place she headed straight for the bathroom, stripping down to just a tank and her panties. Then she popped a couple of more pills. If things worked out right she wouldn’t have to do much before they took full effect and she was out cold.

Morgan was under the covers when she entered the bedroom. She could see from the pile on the floor that he had stripped down to his boxers. He was flipping through the channels while he waited for her. When he saw her he turned off the TV and tossed aside the remote.

She could feel the effects of the pain killers taking hold and made her way over to the bed, slipping under the covers next to Morgan. She rolled onto her side, her head swimming.

"Ready for your apology," she asked in a breathy whisper as she ran a finger down his bare chest.

"Absolutely," Morgan smiled, leaning forward and pushing her down to the pillows. He groaned at the pain in his lower back from the pipe and the added beating, but shook it off.

His hands slid under her tank, sliding it up slowly. He pressed soft kisses along her stomach as he continued upward until the shirt was discarded on the floor. He stared down at her half naked form a moment before his hands continued working their way up to her breasts.

Shelly felt her eyes begin to blur as sweet slumber began to take over. She groaned and Morgan smiled thinking it was because of what he was doing. She didn’t fight sleep, giving in and sliding her eyes closed. She soon drifted off to dreamless slumber.

"Come on, baby," Morgan grunted as he nibbled, kissed and licked her. He hadn’t felt her respond to his touch at all and he couldn’t understand why. Stopping his assault he glanced up and saw that she was sound asleep.

Silently he debated continuing or stopping. He knew she’d probably be pissed if he continued on while she was out cold. He groaned as his sex drive fought with his conscience.

"Fuck," Morgan groaned, rolling onto his back next to her. The head injury must have been worse than she’d let on. With a sigh he switched off the bedside lamp and settled in to sleep. Perhaps in the morning she’d be willing to pleasure him. At least then she’d be alert and able to participate better.

Chapter 22

The next morning Shelly woke before Morgan. The sound of the snoring beside her informed her that he was still asleep. Looking down she groaned realizing that she was topless. What was worse was that Morgan’s hand was resting on one of her bare breasts.

Still have my underwear on she thought. I guess he does have standards.

She knocked the hand away disgustedly and sat up, scanning the room for her discarded shirt. She spotted it slung over the foot board of the bed. She lunged for it, slipping it quickly over her head. The sudden movement roused Morgan.

"Morning," he yawned, pulling himself up to lean against the headboard. "You sleep well?"

Shelly was unable to reply. The sudden movement had caused her to be overcome with dizziness. She groaned, holding her head.

He leaned forward, yanking her back toward his chest, nuzzling her neck. "You fell asleep before we could have some fun," he whispered.

Nausea swept over her. She grimaced and attempted to pull away from him.

"Where do you think you’re going," he snickered, holding her tightly.

"Matt," she groaned, making an effort not to vomit on him. The room was spinning and she didn’t know if she’d even be able to make it to the bathroom if he released her. "I…don’t…feel…well."

"You’ve put this off for too long, baby," Morgan said turning her to face him. Her hand was over her mouth and he pulled it away. "What’s with you?"

"Gonna…puke," she managed to spit out before dry heaving.

"Shit! Not on me," Morgan exclaimed.

"Can’t," she gulped as another dry heave rippled through her. "Need…help."

Morgan grabbed her up and half walked, half carried her into the bathroom. He got her to the toilet just seconds before she got sick. He cringed at the sound and the sight.

"Oh God," Shelly groaned before retching once again.

"You have anything in this place for an upset stomach," he asked going to her medicine cabinet above the sink and opening it. A box of tampons fell out and hit him in the foot. "Son of a bitch."

"I’ll…be all right," she panted, resting her head on the cool porcelain of the toilet. "I don’t think I’ll be taking those pain pills anymore."

"Yeah, they knocked you out pretty damn fast last night," Morgan sighed picking up the box and stuffing it back into the medicine cabinet.

"I’m sorry, Matt," she groaned, resting her back against the cabinet under the sink. She rested her head back, looking up at him.

Inside she was smiling. She hadn’t been forced to do something that she really didn’t want to do. Not yet at least. She knew there would come a point in time when she wouldn’t be able to hold him off anymore and she feared that time.

He squatted down in front of her, caressing her damp cheek. "You couldn’t help it, baby doll. I think you have a concussion. Maybe we should have taken you to the hospital last night."

"Feels like I have a hang over," she groaned. "The medic said I might have a concussion last night. He said it wasn’t a serious one if I did."

He took her hand and pulled her up to her feet. She swayed a moment before he steadied her.

"Back to bed with you," he said, scooping her up into his arms. He brought her into the bedroom and set her down in bed. "You rest until the show tonight."

"But what will you do," Shelly asked, praying that he would be out of the apartment all day.

"I have to hit the gym and there are a couple of promotional obligations I have," he replied. "Can I get you anything before I leave?"

"No. I think I want to sleep some more," she sighed.

"All right. You stay in bed as long as you need to," he said grabbing the wastebasket from the bathroom and pulling the small bag full of trash from it. "I’m putting this here in case you have to puke again. I’ll have my cell with me all day. Give me a call if you need anything."

With that he set about getting ready. He checked on her before leaving. Seeing her sleeping he brushed some hair from her forehead and kissed her softly. With that he left.

Hearing the front door close Shelly breathed a sigh of relief. It had been a lucky break that she had gotten so sick. Tentatively she sat up, testing the waters. Carefully she swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood.

When the room didn’t begin to spin and her stomach didn’t protest she headed into the bathroom and started the shower. She spotted the bottle of pills on the sink and grabbed them, opening the bottle and dumping the contents into the toilet.

She knew, now that she was feeling much more like herself, that it had been the pills she’d taken that made her sick. Thanking her lucky stars that the results hadn’t been much more catastrophic she stripped and stepped under the hot shower spray.

Feeling refreshed from the shower Shelly did a little tidying up and headed down to the laundry room. As she was loading clothes into the washer her cell phone rang.

She groaned seeing that it was Morgan calling. "Hello?"

"I just called the apartment and didn’t get an answer," he said. "I got worried."

"I was feeling better so I took a shower and now I’m doing laundry," she replied. "Sorry if I worried you, Matt." She mimed jamming a finger down her throat to the empty room.

"So, you’re feeling better?"

"Mmmhmmm," she replied adding the soap and turning the machine on.

"Well, that’s good news," he replied. "Because one of my obligations got canceled this afternoon. I’ll be back earlier than planned. Maybe we could pick up where we left off last night."

"Is that all you think about, Matt? Did you really just want me for sex and nothing else," she demanded, feigning tears. "I have a mind you know. I have a heart. I’m a person, Matt."

"All right," Morgan growled. "Cut the damn water works. I’ll be back in a couple of hours." The line went dead and she smiled as she closed the phone and slipped it into her back pocket.

"So, Chris is right." The voice in the empty room startled Shelly and she spun around to face Alex.

"You startled me."

"There was no one in the apartment," he replied. "Thought you might be down here. I can’t believe Chris was right."

"Right about what, Alex?"

"You are screwing around with Morgan." He spat the words as if they were deadly venom. "Was it worth hurting my friend? Huh? Was it worth screwing over Cindy to get your damn title shot?"

"No, Alex, I…"

"Save it," Alex growled. "I thought I knew you. I thought you were good for Chris, but I was wrong. All you’ve ever done is hurt him and now you’re dragging us into it too. Stay the fuck away from us. We don’t need you and your bullshit."

"Alex, no you don’t understand," Shelly called, but he had already left the building.

Shelly’s hands trembled as she pulled out her phone and quickly dialed Sting’s number. "Steve, I didn’t know who else to call," she sobbed. "Tell me this is all worth it. Tell me this is worth losing everyone I care about."

"Shell, honey, what happened?" She explained how Frankie and now Alex had turned their backs on her. "You’ll be at the tapings tonight? Right?"

"Yes," she sniffled.

"Good. Then I’ll talk to you then. Don’t worry. I’ll find a way to make things right with everyone."

"Thank you." She hung up and went back to her laundry, trying to occupy herself until Morgan got back.

Chapter 23

Later that afternoon when Morgan came back he found Shelly sitting on the couch with the TV on, though she wasn’t really watching it. He set a bag of take out on the kitchen table and took a seat next to her.

"You all right?" When she didn’t respond he snapped his fingers in front of her face. "Shell?" She snapped out of her daze and turned her attention to him. "I thought you said you were feeling better."

"I am," she replied. "I was just…thinking."

"About what?"

She shook her head. "It’s not important," she said.

"I bought dinner," Morgan said pointing into the kitchen. "Hope you’re in the mood for Italian."

"I’m not really hungry."

Morgan sighed. "I’m trying really hard, Shell." He turned a cold gaze to her. "I think I’ve been pretty damn patient with you. What the hell is your problem?"

"My problem?" She stood off the couch so that she could tower over him for once. "My problem is that because of you I’ve lost the man that I love. I’ve lost my friends and for all I know my damn sanity for even thinking about being with you!"

Morgan stood, his nostrils flaring as he glared down at her. Without a word he hauled off and slapped her hard across the face. She went sprawling to the hard wood floor. She held a hand to her throbbing cheek as she looked up at him stunned.

"I see your game now," Morgan said, trying hard to reign in his temper before he hurt her worse. "You never intended to follow through on your words last night, did you?"

Shelly sat in silence, her bottom lip had been split by the slap and she dabbed at the blood with the back of her hand.

"I thought it was a concussion that was making you puke this morning, but the more I got to thinking the more I put two and two together. You must have taken some pain pills when you first got them. Then I noticed the bottle was sitting on the sink where you left them last night."

"I was in pain," Shelly replied.

Morgan chuckled. "Yeah. In pain. You took an overdose of pain pills to avoid sleeping with me? That’s real good for a guy’s ego." He stalked over to her, pulling her up roughly to her feet. "What was that flirty shit at the arena?" He held onto her arm tightly.

"Matt, you’re hurting me," she whimpered at his vice-like grip.

"Answer me!" His grip tightened and she yelped. "Do you think it’s fun to get me all riled up and then shut down on me? Huh?"

"No," she cried. "I just…"

"You just what?"

"I can’t sleep with you," she sobbed.

"WHY NOT," he roared in her face. He growled when she didn’t answer him and threw her onto the couch, going into the kitchen before he hurt her worse.

Shelly curled into a ball on the couch, holding her now throbbing arm. She could hear Morgan slamming around in the kitchen cabinets. Forcing the tears to stop she sat up got herself under control before getting up and going into the kitchen.

She ignored him, walking past where he sat at the table piling food on two plates. She went to the freezer and pulled out an ice cube tray, grabbing a dishtowel and filling it. She leaned against the sink and held the towel to her lip. She could feel it already beginning to swell.

Morgan stood and she jumped feeling his hand on her shoulder. She tried to pull away.

"Let me see," he said softly. He’d calmed down in the short time apart. He pulled away the ice pack and tilted her head up to get a better look at the damage. "I don’t like doing this to you, Shell. You have no idea how much you’re frustrating me." He handed her back the ice pack and sat down at the table.

"Sit," he said. When she didn’t move he frowned, kicking the chair out a little. "Please." She took a seat and he set a plate of pasta down in front of her.

"I said I’m not hungry," she said softly. He glared at her, his temper flaring again. She held up a hand. "I’m sorry. Thank you for the food." She set the ice pack aside and picked up a fork, taking a bite.

"You never answered my question," he said as he dug into his plate. She looked at him as if he’d finally lost it. Just moments ago he’d been about ready to kill her. Now he was acting as if that hadn’t happened. "Why can’t you sleep with me? It’s obvious that Sabin kid didn’t love you as much as he said. He just gave up on you."

"You’ll be mad," she replied, setting the fork down.

"I wanna know."

"I still have feelings for Chris," she explained. "What you’re asking me to do…I still love Chris. I...I can't be with another man just yet."

"And you can't love me," he demanded. She knew he was testing her.

"Not yet," she replied. "It's still too soon, Matt. I just need time." He nodded seemingly accepting the answer.

The rest of the meal was silent. Shelly picked at her food until Morgan finally grabbed it, finishing off what she left. When the meal was over he grabbed the garbage, discarding it.

As she cleared the table, setting the plates in the sink, Morgan wrapped his arms around her waist, resting his chin on her shoulder. "I get what you’re saying about our sexual relationship," he said. "But you better start having some damn feelings for me already or I can’t be held responsible for what I do to you." With that he smacked her bottom and headed off to pack his bag for the show that night.

~}i{~

When Shelly arrived at the arena that night she was greeted by Sting. He’d been worried about her since the phone call and wanted to see what was going on. He took in the split lip and caught sight of the handprint peeking out from under her shirt sleeve on her upper arm.

"I was worried about ya since your call," he said smiling at her as he fell into step beside her. "What happened?"

She explained what Alex had said and the talk she had with Frankie the night before. "I’m losing everyone," she whimpered.

"I’ll talk to your friends," Sting promised. "I’ll make them understand. Oh and…uh…Morgan will pay for what he did to you in tonight’s match." He motioned toward her split lip as he spoke the words. "Be strong, honey. This will all be over soon."

"I hope you’re right," she said parting ways with him and heading toward the women’s locker room.

Though she didn’t have a match that night she was still required to be there. The storyline was that she had sustained a concussion in the match against Angelina and would have to sit out a week. Tara would be taking on Angelina in her place. The plan was to have a triple threat match for the title at the July Victory Road PPV.

As she rounded the corner she came face to face with Sabin, nearly bumping into him. Their eyes met momentarily before his flitted to her lip.

"Sorry," she mumbled and attempted to walk away.

Sabin reached out, grabbing her by the wrist and stopped her, turning her back toward him. All hateful posturing was dropped as he examined the wound. His eyes met hers again.

"Morgan did this?"

"You know the answer to that," she replied softly.

"Then leave him," Sabin begged. "I know I’ve been a dick, but Shell…he’s hitting you now? What else is he do…nevermind I don’t want to know."

"I have to go, Chris," she said pulling her wrist free.

He grabbed her arm where the bruising was and she winced. Sabin peeled the shirt sleeve up and saw the handprint, cursing.

"You have to leave him," Sabin said point blank.

"I can’t," Shelly moaned. "You know that I can’t."

"You say that he’ll hurt me and the others if you do, but what about you," Sabin demanded. "What good is saving us he kills you."

Before Shelly could reply someone cleared their throat. Both turned their gaze and saw Morgan standing there. He was shooting death glares at Sabin.

"Is there a problem here," he demanded.

"Yeah, there is," Sabin replied. "It takes a big man to hit a woman."

"No," Shelly replied, stepping between Morgan and Sabin. "Everything’s fine. Chris was just…begging me to take him back." She hated herself for saying those words, but she had to keep up the act. Morgan knew how she really felt, but that didn't stop the smile that curled his lips.

"Dream on, kid," Morgan said slipping his arm around Shelly’s waist. "Tell him you don’t want him back, baby."

"I wouldn’t take you back if you were the last man on Earth," she sneered. Pain registered in Sabin’s eyes and she had to turn away. "Come on, Matt. You have a match to prepare for."

As Morgan led her away she glanced back over her shoulder. Sabin’s back was to her, but she could tell her words had hurt him deeply. She had no idea how, but she was going to make things up to him.

Chapter 24

Sting had witnessed the whole scene between Sabin and Shelly. The younger man looked up at him after Shelly had walked away, confusion and hurt swirled in his eyes.

"She’s acting, son," Sting finally said.

"Did you know he’s abusing her," Sabin asked.

"Not until today," Sting replied honestly. "I think today was the first time he’s hit her."

Sabin raked a hand through his hair. "This just sucks."

"I agree," Sting nodded. "You ready to talk yet?" Sabin nodded, following Sting into an open locker room.

~}i{~

"You did real good handling that kid back there," Morgan said to Shelly. "Couldn’t have been easy for you what with your feelings and all." He snickered and shook his head, catching sight of Nash down the hall waiting for him. "Time to go talk to grandpa."

"Matt, you should have more respect," Shelly murmured. Her mind was still on Sabin, though she heard what Morgan was saying.

He roughly grabbed her face, making her look him in the eye. "Don’t tell me what to do," he growled. "You want me to split your other lip?" She shook her head no. "Now, run along. Daddy’s got business to handle."

He shoved her away and she stumbled a bit before righting herself. Nash saw this, but said nothing. He’d wait and take his aggressions out on Morgan in the ring.

~}i{~

"Kev," Sting said entering the Mafia locker room later that night. Nash tossed down the magazine he was flipping through and went to Sting. "I need you to do me a little favor tonight in your match."

"What’d you have in mind, Stinger," Nash asked.

"Morgan’s been smacking Shelly around a bit," Sting replied. Nash’s eyes darkened remembering the scene he’d witnessed earlier. "I know the plan is for you to take the fall for the kid, but…um…after the bell…how about you give him a little extra initiation?"

"I gotcha," Nash nodded, smiling wickedly.

~}i{~

Sabin was pacing the locker room when Alex, Greg and Frankie entered. They’d heard things crashing around and had gone to investigate. The place looked like a hurricane had blown through.

"Chris, what’s up, man," Frankie asked.

"He’s hitting her now," Sabin fumed. "The fucker is hitting her!"

All three of them knew who he meant and didn’t bother to ask. Alex suddenly felt a pang of guilt for the way he’d treated Shelly earlier. Frankie too was regretting his words the night before.

"I thought you didn’t care," Greg commented.

"I lied," Sabin yelled, kicking over a chair. He calmed a bit and threw himself down on the bench. It was the only thing besides the lockers he hadn’t knocked over. "I talked to Sting. He told me about his plans. He’s trying to help Shell, but in the meantime she’s…"

"Chris, she made that choice," Frankie said taking a seat next to him.

"Sting asked me to talk you guys about that," Sabin said. "I don’t fuly understand it or support it considering she’s with that crazy bastard, but I respect Sting enough to trust his judgement."

~}i{~

Shelly was heading to the catering area when she came upon Taylor, Traci and Cindy. The women stopped chattering when they saw her. Not sure if she should greet them she walked past them and grabbed a bottle of water.

"You gonna sit down or what," Cindy asked.

Shelly turned to face them and all three women gasped. They hadn’t seen her since the taping the night before and none of them remembered her lip being damaged during her match.

"Alex told me to stay away," Shelly replied softly.

"And since when do you listen to the brat," Taylor chuckled.

"Come on, Shell," Traci said pulling out a chair and patting the seat. "We got room for one more."

Relief washed over her and Shelly eagerly took a seat at the table with her friends. "I thought you’d all hate me," Shelly said, taking a sip of water. "The guys seem to."

"They’ll get over it," Taylor smiled. "If your girls don’t have your back then what do you have?"

"Exactly," Cindy agreed. "I reamed Alex out for pulling that shit on you when he stopped by today."

"So, do we get to know what caused this," Traci asked, pointing at Shelly’s lip.

"Let’s just say that Morgan doesn’t know how to deal with his sexual frustrations well."

"We knew you weren’t sleeping with him," Cindy smiled, glad to be right.

"I don’t know how much longer I can hold him off," Shelly sighed. "I thought…he’s trying really hard to control his temper."

"Yeah, your face really looks like he’s controlling himself," Traci muttered.

"He could have done worse," Shelly replied picking at the label on her water bottle. "I’m so tempted to kick him out, but…I’m afraid of what he’ll do."

Cindy scoffed, shaking her head. "The pig needs to get his willy whacked off."

All the woman looked at her a moment and then burst out laughing.

Shelly smiled wide for the first time in what felt like ages. "Thanks, Cinder. I needed that laugh."

"Anytime," Cindy smiled. "Now, do you think you can use your stroke to get me in on this title picture?"

Shelly chuckled. "I don’t know how much stroke I have," she replied. "But I think I can pose a scenario to Sting and see if he can talk Jarrett into it."

She heard Morgan’s music blasting and smirked. "You girls wanna see something?" They all nodded. She motioned for them to follow her to a monitor.

"Shell, how hard did Angie hit you? We don’t want to see Morgan wrestle," Taylor asked.

"Just watch. Trust me, it’ll be worth it."

"You know something you’re not telling us," Cindy said. Shelly just nodded with a smile.

While the women watched Morgan exchange blows with Kevin Nash. The older man finally managed to get Morgan down, but as he ran to the ropes he went down hard, writhing in pain and grabbing his left knee.

"Oh no," Taylor gasped.

They all watched as Morgan took advantage of the injury, hooking Nash’s leg and pinning him. The big man jumped to his feet jumping around the ring like he’d just won a championship.

"Shell, this is terrible," Traci groaned.

"Just wait," Shelly smiled, knowing exactly what was coming.

As Morgan continued to celebrate in the ring, leaning over the ropes and jaw jacking with the fans in the front row, Nash got to his feet glaring at the younger man. His knee was perfectly fine as he rushed the ropes, tossing Morgan out head over heels.

Morgan hit the apron back first and then landed head first into the guard rail. He screamed in pain, a blotch of bright red blood staining his blonde hair. Nash hopped out of the ring and began to pound on Morgan, not holding back. Once Morgan was sufficiently incapacitated Nash headed up the ramp toward the tunnel.

Taylor, Cindy and Traci all smiled at Shelly.

"All right, you, spill," Traci said dragging Shelly over to the table they had vacated earlier.

"You have to swear not to let this leave this table," Shelly said. The three women nodded, giving their solemn oaths.

~}i{~

When Morgan stumbled to the back Alex and Greg were there waiting by the tunnel. They both had wide grins on their faces. After the talk they’d had with Sabin they realized they were going to enjoy Morgan’s matches much more now. They began to applaud as Morgan hobbled down the steps from the tunnel.

Shelly had made her way to the tunnel knowing Morgan would want her there. She couldn’t help chuckling at the goofy smiles on the men’s faces and when they started applauding she lost it. She missed their sense of humor.

Morgan turned his glare from the two X Division stars before him to Shelly, growling under his breath. He stalked over to her and grabbed her by the arm, dragging her to his locker room.

"You think that shit’s funny," Morgan demanded, slamming the door.

"No, it’s just Greg and Alex being goofballs," Shelly stammered. "I wasn’t laughing at you." Morgan grabbed her and made her sit down on the bench. "Matt, don’t."

"Shut up," he growled pulling out the drawstring on his tights and untying them. Shelly looked away as he began to slide them down his hips.

"No," she whimpered when he grabbed her face and turned her back toward him.

"Oh you’ll do what I say or you’ll suffer the consequences."

Before he could get the tights down much further the door burst in and Nash stood in the doorway. Greg and Alex had run to get him to help.

"Drop your cock and pull up your damn pants, Morgan," Nash growled. He stalked into the locker room, shoving the younger man away and pulling Shelly up to her feet. He ushered her out of the room toward Greg and Alex before turning his attention back to Morgan.

"If I hear about you laying a hand on that woman again you’ll answer to me," Nash said his eyes icy. "You touch her again and your hopes of joining the Mafia will go up in smoke. Understood?"

"Fine," Morgan growled, pissed with Nash for interrupting him. "I need to get my head checked out." He brushed past Nash and stormed away.

"You all right," Alex asked Shelly.

She nodded. "Thanks, guys."

"Listen, Shell, about earlier…"

"Forget it, Alex. Water under the bridge," Shelly cut him off.

"Wow. The man practically calls you a whore and you forgive him," Greg asked with a smirk. "We have GOT to get you away from Morgan." Shelly chuckled, shaking her head.

"Sweetheart, if he lays a hand on you again just let me know," Nash said to Shelly. "Me and my boys’ll handle him."

"Thanks, Kev." She watched him walk away before turning back to Greg and Alex. "I should go," Shelly said. "I promised Cindy I’d see if I can get her involved in the title match at Victory Road."

"Really," Alex asked.

"It’s the least I can do after screwing things up for her," Shelly replied.

"We’ll see ya around," Greg said. They watched Shelly walk off before they looked at each other. "So, we’re in agreement on tormenting Morgan?"

"Oh most definitely, my friend," Alex snickered, slinging his arm around Greg’s shoulders as they plotted their next move.

Chapter 25

Shelly had proposed her ideas on the Knockouts title picture to Sting that night. He listened to what she had to say, smiling. Something had changed in her over the course of that night. She had entered the building looking defeated. Now he could see the fires had been ignited in her once again. It gave him faith that what he and the Mafia were doing to help her was working.

"I think it’s a great idea, but I’m not the one you have to convince," he said when she had finished talking. "You should really take this to Jeff."

"But…I…I couldn’t," Shelly stammered.

"Of course you can," Sting smiled. "I’ll be right there with you. Don’t worry." He took her arm and led her out of the room, toward Jeff Jarrett’s office.

"Come in," they heard Jarrett call when Sting knocked. The TNA founder looked up and smiled when he saw the two enter. "What can I do for you two?"

"Shelly has some really good ideas for the Knockouts title picture, Jeff," Sting replied.

Jarrett looked at Shelly. "Oh?" She looked to Sting, who motioned for her to go ahead. Timidly she nodded. "Let’s hear it." He set down the pen he’d been using and sat back in his chair to hear her idea, motioning for her to take a seat.

She did so as she told him the idea. Sting motioned that he would be stepping out. Jarrett gave him a slight nod, listening to Shelly’s idea with a small smile. He knew that something had been up with the young woman before him and it was good to see the fire back in her eyes.

~}I{~

That night Shelly got a reprieve from Morgan. He had been too sore from the beating he took to even attempt anything with her. He crashed on the couch, switching on the TV when they got back to Shelly’s place and hadn’t moved. He eventually fell asleep there and Shelly had left him, not caring if he woke up achey.

She had gone into her room, closing and locking the door once she’d changed for bed. She now sat with her knees pulled up to her chest. She’d found a ‘Made in Detroit’ shirt that Sabin had left behind and it still smelled like him. Inhaling deeply she let the tears fall, staining the dark gray material.

It had only been a couple of weeks since that fateful night, but to her it felt like years. She missed everything about Sabin, but most of all she missed falling asleep with his arms wrapped tightly around her. She felt safe in his arms. Now she feared she’d never get that feeling back.

With a sigh she slid under the covers, pulling them up to her chin, before turning off the bedside lamp. The next couple of days would be filled with house shows along the Midwest. She normally loved these trips, but being forced to room with Morgan was making it look more like a prison sentence than fun.

~}I{~

Upon arriving at the arena a few days later she was surprised to be practically knocked down by someone hugging her. Turning around she saw Cindy smiling wide at her.

"THANK YOU," her friend exclaimed hugging her tightly again.

"Okay…what’d I do," she giggled, figuring Jarrett had informed her that she’d soon be part of the title picture.

"Looks like I’ll be tagging up with Angelina love to take on you and Tara for a couple of shows this trip," Cindy smiled. "When we get back to Orlando I’ll be worked into your storyline. THANK YOU!" She once again hugged Shelly tightly.

"You’re welcome, Cinder," Shelly chuckled.

"So, where’s your prison guard," Cindy asked as the women headed toward the locker rooms.

Shelly snickered. "Alex didn’t tell you?" Cindy furrowed her brow and shook her head no. "Greg got bored on the flight and decided to…make some art." Cindy quirked a brow. "On Matt’s face…with a permanent Sharpie marker."

Cindy began to giggle. "What’d he draw?"

Shelly tried to control her giggles as she pulled out her phone and showed Cindy the picture of Morgan sleeping with the markings all over his face. Cindy couldn’t stop laughing seeing the large penis drawn on Morgan’s forehead.

The women stopped giggling when they spotted Morgan stalking their way. His forehead and cheeks were bright red from scrubbing the ink off. Cindy made a quick retreat to the locker room so she could enjoy a good laugh.

Shelly had to bite her lip to keep from laughing in Morgan’s face. "You better tell your buddy that I’ll break every last bone in his body next time he pulls this shit," Morgan growled at her.

"I didn’t tell him to do it," Shelly shrugged, finally getting her giggles under control. "And the violence against my friends goes against our deal, Matt."

"You didn’t stop him either!"

He took a couple of breaths to keep from doing something that Nash would punish him for. He wasn’t afraid of the older man, but he was coming to realize that the Mafia had taken a liking to Shelly and anything he did to her could ruin his chances of becoming a member.

"And you haven’t exactly held up your end of the deal," he growled.

"I don’t want to argue, Matt," Shelly frowned. "We’ve been getting along so much better these days. Don’t let what Greg did upset you."

Since Nash had threatened him Morgan had all but given up on sleeping with Shelly. She had the feeling he was making other arrangements to satisfy his needs. That was fine with her as long as he left her alone. She knew he’d eventually try again, but hopefully she’d be out of this arrangement before then.

He’d given her more freedom as well, which she loved. She was able to go out with her friends again and that meant more to her now than anything else. The guys had accepted her back into their little circle with no problem. They really didn’t have a choice considering their women weren’t giving up on their friendship with Shelly.

"You’re right," he said. He reached out and caressed her cheek, running his thumb along her mostly healed lip. "I know I haven’t been perfect. I’m trying to be better."

Down the hall Steiner and Booker beckoned to him. He waved to them, motioning he’d be there in a minute. With a sigh he turned back to Shelly. The initiations were continuing at the house shows and it was wearing on his nerves.

"Kiss for luck?"

Shelly stood on her toes and placed a soft kiss on his lips. It was the most contact they’d had in days and she could tolerate a kiss here and there. To her surprise he didn’t try to manhandle her in any way. He accepted the peck.

"I’ll see you later," he said heading off to talk to Steiner and Booker about their match that night.

Shelly watched him go, wondering if the worst was over. With a sigh she headed to the women’s locker room, running into Greg and Taylor.

"Hey Picasso," she giggled.

Greg smiled. "Oh you liked my handiwork, huh?"

"Can’t say that Morgan appreciated it, but I thought it was a masterpiece. Very lifelike," Shelly giggled. "See you guys later."

~}I{~

Later that night Morgan had gone out with Beer Money. He came back to the room reeking of cheap beer and even cheaper perfume. Shelly ignored him when he stripped and collapsed into bed. He had woken her stumbling around the dark room, but once he was snoring away she went back to sleep with little effort.

The next morning Shelly was awakened by something poking her in the back of the leg. "Matt? Matt, what the hell are you doing?"

"What," he groaned, yawning right in her ear.

"What the hell is poking me," she demanded sitting up looking appalled.

"It’s the morning," Morgan replied rolling onto his back.

Shelly glared at him disgusted as the covers tented around his lap. He caught sight of her staring at it and smiled wide.

"You know you could help me with my little problem if you’d like," he said reaching out and running a finger up and down her arm.

Shelly was sickened at first, but then a smile spread slowly. "I wouldn’t call it little, Matt." He smiled proudly. "Close your eyes."

"You mean it," he asked unable to believe his ears. She nodded, smiling. "Oh man! It’s like Christmas and my birthday all rolled into one!" He rested back on the pillows, his arms tucked under his head. A wide smiled curled his lips as he closed his eyes.

Shelly moved carefully, rolling the covers down slowly. He groaned, not wanting to prolong the pleasure any more than necessary.

"Come on, baby. I’m dyin’ here."

"Patience, Matthew," she said, making her voice as husky as she could. The sound of her saying his full first name sent a shiver down his spine and added to the excitement.

Shelly exposed her target, biting her lip to keep from laughing at her plan. Carefully she grabbed her pillow, holding it ready.

"Ready for me," she asked, her face as close as she dared to him so that her breath tickled his skin. Morgan nodded eagerly.

With a wicked smile Shelly straightened, bringing the pillow down hard on his hardened member. He let out a shriek of pain and fell from the bed, groaning. Shelly dissolved into giggles, nearly falling off herself.

After a couple of minutes she saw Morgan’s large hand grip the side of the bed moments before he pulled himself up, glaring at her.

"Shit," she groaned, getting to her feet and running. She narrowly escaped getting grabbed by him as she headed out into the hall. She could hear him cursing as he stumbled around to grab his pants. That bought her some time.

She went to the first door she could see and began to frantically bang on it. "Come on! Open up! Please be in here," she cried, still banging away.

The door opened and she barreled into the room, not caring who she was disturbing. She slammed the door shut and leaned against it panting. It was then that she realized whose room she had entered.

A stunned Sabin stared at her a moment before he scowled. "What the hell are you doing?"

"Chris, I’m sorry. I need to hide," Shelly said before they heard Morgan roaring for her in the hall. "He’s going to kill me!"

Sabin groaned. The fright in her eyes softened him. He had wanted to throw her out, but he couldn’t knowing that Morgan would hurt her. He was still very mixed up about his feelings and her being in his room didn’t help matters.

"Calm down," he said reaching out to her. She instinctively threw herself into his arms. He wrapped his arms around her savoring the feel of her warmth, the scent of her hair, the softness of her body. Closing his eyes he just held her for a moment, calming her trembling.

After a while he pulled away, looking into her eyes. As hurt as he was he still loved her, probably always would. He was about to lower his lips to hers when Morgan began to pound on the door. She jumped back from him as if shocked her eyes wide.

"Hide in the bathroom," he sighed.

Shelly nodded and rushed into the bathroom. She mouthed a thank you before closing the door. When she was hidden Sabin opened the door.

"Where is she," Morgan demanded. "Where is that little bitch?"

"What the hell do you want Magilla Gorilla," Sabin demanded. "Monkey want a bah-nah-nah?"

Morgan grabbed Sabin by the shirt collar, lifting him off the ground. "Where’s Shell?"

"How the hell should I know? In case you haven’t noticed we broke up weeks ago," Sabin groaned. "Get your hands off me, you damn dirty ape!"

Morgan glanced around the room, snorting when he didn’t find his quarry. "Where the hell did that bitch go?" He dropped Sabin and stalked off.

"You forgot your banana," Sabin called before slamming the door. "Asshole!"

Shelly came out of the bathroom. "I’m sorry, Chris. I really didn’t mean to bother you."

He reached out to her and she took his hand. He brought her to the door, opening it and walking her out into the hall.

"Thank…" She didn’t get to finish as he slammed the door in her face. "…you." With a sigh she started to go down the hall to see if she could hide out with Cindy or Taylor or even Traci for a little while.

"SHELL!"

She squeaked at how close Morgan’s voice sounded. She spun around to bang on another door and found herself being grabbed by the shirt collar and dragged into a room. When she was released she turned to find Kurt Angle and Kevin Nash standing before her.

"What’d you do to piss off the big oaf now," Angle asked, though he had an amused smirk on his face.

Shelly explained what had transpired before the manhunt and by the end of the story Nash and Angle were laughing so hard they had tears in their eyes.

"Remind me to stay on your good side," Nash laughed.

"DAMN IT! COME OUT HERE NOW, YOU BITCH!" Morgan was right outside the door.

"I’ll handle this," Angle said going to the door and opening it. "Matt, you’re gonna wake the dead."

Morgan spotted Shelly standing inside the room with Nash and growled, attempting to shove Angle out of the way. Angle stood his ground, shoving Morgan back into the hall.

"Can I help you with something?"

"That little bitch," Morgan growled, pointing at Shelly.

"Kurt, let me talk to the boy," Nash said. He went out into the hall, slipping an arm around Morgan’s shoulders, his hand resting on the younger man’s shoulder. "Matt, you weren’t by any chance planning on hurting that lovely young lady, were you?" As he said the word hurting he grabbed Morgan’s shoulder in a death grip.

Morgan’s face registered pain, his knees practically buckling. Nash held him up. "No, no…I was just gonna…talk to her."

"That’s good," Nash replied releasing the hold. "Because you know what I’ll do if you hurt her ever again, right?"

Morgan’s mouth hung open as he winced in pain again. "Sure…Kev…I wouldn’t dream of it."

"Good," Nash smiled. "Now, what you’re gonna do is pack your shit and go down to the front desk and leave this beautiful young woman alone. Am I understood?"

Morgan groaned as the death grip was back. He could feel his muscles giving and bone shifting under it. "Yes…sir…"

"Good," Nash sighed. He removed his hand and slapped Morgan’s now sore shoulder as he headed back into Angle’s room, slamming the door on him.

"Give him a few minutes to clear out and then you can go back to peace and quiet," Nash said smiling at Shelly.

"I really appreciate this guys," Shelly said to both men.

"Don’t mention it," Angle replied. "Morgan has everything he’s getting coming to him and honestly…it’s fun for us." Nash chuckled and nodded. "You hungry? There’s plenty for one more."

Shelly smiled taking a seat at the small table in the corner of the room where Angle was sitting as he finished off his breakfast. Nash took a seat and served her.

Chapter 26

After enjoying a nice breakfast with Nash and Angle Shelly headed back to her room. Morgan had taken his things and moved to another room as Nash had told him to. She quickly changed and headed down to the hotel gym. The events of the morning had gotten her in the mood to blow off some steam and she decided a good workout was the best way to deal with that. After working up a good sweat she headed back up to her room and showered.

She had been relaxing on the bed, wrapped up in her robe, when there was a knock at the door. She debated ignoring it, wanting the peace. In the end she got up and answered it. She found Morgan standing there.

"Can I come in," he asked.

Shelly crossed her arms and leaned against the doorframe. "That depends. Do I need a bodyguard?"

"I just want to talk." She didn’t move. "It’s important."

"You do realize that you have given me absolutely no reason to trust you, Matt," she said. She knew she was pressing her luck, but at the moment she didn’t care.

She could see him making a concerted effort to keep his temper in check. He let out a shaky breath. "Shell, please. We need to talk and I don’t appreciate you antagonizing me."

Against her better judgment she stepped aside and allowed him to step inside. "You have five minutes."

"Things between us have gotten pretty bad," he said taking a seat on the edge of the bed.

"Yeah, probably when you started attacking my friends and forced me into this twisted relationship."

"I can’t help how attracted I am to you," he replied, taking note that she was in nothing more than a bathrobe. She caught him eyeing her up and down and cinched the belt tightly. "I don’t want you to hate me."

"Too late. You can leave now." She held open the door for him.

He stood and headed toward the open door. Before leaving he reached out a hand, cupping her cheek. She attempted to pull away, but his other arm snaked around her waist.

"Don’t," he murmured before lowering his lips to hers. The hand cupping her cheek slipped behind her head, fingers threading into her chestnut locks.

Shelly groaned, hands smacking his chest. His kiss was softer this time, less needy and more sensual. She soon stopped pounding on him, her head reeling. She could feel his tongue ease her mouth open and caress with hers. The hand around her waist slipped between them, unknotting the bathrobe and letting it fall open. Feeling his warm hand on her bare flesh brought Shelly back to her senses.

She broke the kiss, trying to pull away from him. "No, Matt, I can’t." She gulped and tried to clear her head.

He nuzzled her neck and chuckled deeply. "But you almost did," he whispered in her ear. "If you’d just give me a chance you’d see I’m not that bad." He kissed her cheek. "I’ll meet you at the car in a couple of hours."

He left the room with a wide smile on his face. Shelly leaned out of the room, her robe still open. When she heard voices in the hall she hurriedly closed it, cinching the belt tightly. When she looked up Sabin was standing there with Alex. He cast a glanced at Morgan’s retreating form and then back to her.

"Chris…"

Sabin shook his head. "Not my business," he replied. "I’ll see you later, Alex."

Shelly turned her gaze on Alex. "It’s not what it looks like."

"I believe you. It’s just…well…you have to understand what it looks like to Chris."

Shelly grimaced and shook her head. "There’s nothing I can say or do to make him understand. He thinks that I’m…" She heaved a sigh. "I’ve lost him."

"No, Shell, you haven’t," Alex replied. "Look, hon, he still loves you and that’s why shit like this is hitting him so hard."

"I don’t know what to do," she moaned.

"Just give him time. Things will get better," Alex promised.

~}i{~

The car ride to the arena was tense. Shelly sat in the passenger seat, staring out the window. Her whole world was being turned upside down and the longer it stayed that way the less likely she was to keep her sanity.

Morgan took her hand, lacing his fingers with hers. "You all right?"

"Hmmm? Just thinking," she murmured.

"Is that what I smell burning," he asked, chuckling. She looked at him a moment before chuckling herself. "Ah, you do still know how to smile."

"Once in a while you can be a nice guy," she said softly. "It’s those other times when I don’t like being around you." She suddenly felt bad for the stunt she had pulled that morning. "Matt, I’m sorry about this morning."

"I deserved it," he shrugged. "I had a long talk with Nash today after I switched rooms. I think I learned a thing or two from him."

"Really? Like what?"

"Like what a pig I’ve been," he sighed. "I just…you get me all…worked up and I don’t know how to deal with my feelings. This may come as a shock, but I have anger issues."

"You? No," Shelly replied in a mock gasp. Morgan laughed.

"I can see why Sabin’s so in love with you," he said. The mention of her ex’s name made her frown. "I shouldn’t have mentioned him."

"It’s just hard to hear his name without…" She shook her head not knowing how to continue. "It’s just hard to deal with the loss of someone you love."

Morgan pursed his lips at her words. "I really wish you would give me a chance."

~}i{~

"Matt," Greg called once Morgan entered the arena, his arm around Shelly’s shoulders. She scanned the hall and spotted Cindy and Taylor, excusing herself.

"What do you want," Morgan scowled.

"Buddy, what’s with the ‘tude?"

"It may have something to do with the fact that I have a few less layers of skin on my face," Morgan growled at him. "What do you want?"

"I just came to apologize," Greg replied, smirking as Alex snuck up behind the big man, getting on all fours.

"Really?"

"Yeah, I’m really sorry," Greg replied, trying his best not to laugh.

"Well, I mean…I didn’t expect an apology from you, Greg."

"I’m so sorry that I have to do this," Greg snickered, shoving Morgan backwards as hard as he could.

"What," Morgan exclaimed before toppling backwards over Alex.

"Run," Alex yelled. Together he and Greg took off.

"You little pieces of shit!" Morgan clambered back to his feet lumbering after them.

"Look out, ladies," Greg screamed as they barreled by.

"Damn it," Shelly sighed seeing Morgan coming their way. She stepped in front of him. "Matt, don’t."

"Did you see what those little shits did," he growled.

"Yes. Let them go. Be the bigger man," Shelly begged. "Come on. Let’s check you out and make sure nothing’s hurt."

Morgan glared in the direction that Alex and Greg had gone and grunted. He allowed Shelly to lead him the other way.

"What just happened," Taylor asked. Cindy just shrugged.

~}i{~

Greg and Alex worked very hard to annoy Morgan that night. Their crowning moment came when Morgan exited the shower, a towel wrapped around his waist.

"Hey, what’s that," Greg asked pointing off to the left. Morgan whipped his head in the direction. No sooner had he done that than he felt a cold draft. Looking down he saw that Alex had swiped the towel.

"Call UPS! We got a small package delivery," Alex exclaimed. Several people in the locker room began to snicker.

"The water was cold," Morgan yelled trying to snatch the towel back. Alex twisted it up and began to snap it at Morgan. "Cut the shit or I’ll kill the both of you!"

"Uh uh," Greg said shaking a finger at him. "Then Shell will hate you forever."

Morgan groaned, knowing they were right. He stopped fighting with the two and grabbed another towel, heading to his locker to get dressed. He was still pissed when he met Shelly at the car.

"What’s wrong," Shelly asked.

"Your fucking friends have a death wish," he growled throwing his bag into the trunk. He opened up the car and threw himself into the driver’s seat.

Shelly was about to follow when she heard giggling from behind her. The giggle was followed by a familiar laugh. Spinning around she spotted Madison Rayne walking with Sabin. His arm was slung around her shoulders as he whispered in her ear. She threw her head back giggling again.

"Chris?"

"Oh hey! You know my ex, right," Sabin asked Rayne, who nodded. "I see your ride is waiting. We have to get going."

Shelly watched as they walked off all cozy. In her heart she hoped that he was just acting to be vindictive. Part of her was tempted to believe what she had seen. She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up to see Morgan standing there.

"I’m sorry," he said softly.

She shook her head. "He’s a free man now." With that she went around to the passenger side of the car and slid in. Morgan got in and started up the car, glancing at her. She had leaned her head against the glass and closed her eyes.

~}i{~

"I’ll see you in the morning," Morgan said walking Shelly to her room.

"Matt," she said softly, touching his arm. "Do you want to come in?"

"Are you sure," he asked.

"I don’t want to be alone," she said, taking his hand and leading him inside.

Sabin had come out of his room with Madison just in time to see Shelly pull Morgan into her room. His heart broke a little more at the sight. He hadn’t really believed that she was sleeping with the overstuffed asshole until that afternoon when he saw Morgan leaving. Now he knew.

"I guess your plan backfired, sweetie," Rayne said frowning. "Maybe you should find someone new."

Sabin glared at her. "I don’t want someone new," he barked. Madison jumped at his tone. "You served your damn purpose now get lost." He slammed the door in her face.

Chapter 27

Inside Shelly’s room Morgan watched as she kicked off her shoes and sat on the bed. She patted the bed beside her. "You can sit."

Morgan did so, though he felt awkward. "Shell, I think I should go."

She sat up on her knees, taking his face in her hands. "You want to leave even if I’m willing to give you what you’ve been wanting since all this started."

He removed her hands and stood, shaking his head. "I’m not fallin’ for that again."

She stood and went to him, running her hands down his chest to rest on his belt buckle. "It’s not a trick, Matt. I’m serious this time."

Morgan groaned, wanting her more than ever. It took all of his will power to remove her hands from his belt. "No," he said.

"What?"

"I said no."

"Are you actually turning down sex," she asked unable to believe her ears. "I don’t understand. You’ve been lusting after me for so long."

"And I still am," he sighed, scrubbing a hand down his face. "I can not believe I’m actually doing this," he muttered. "I’m not stupid, Shell. I know the only reason you’re doing this is because you think that Chris is fucking Madison."

Shelly winced at his words, the mere thought of that sickening her. She turned away from him, tears filling her eyes.

"I’m sorry. That came out much harsher than I intended."

"So what if he is," she sniffled, turning back to him. "He’s free and clear to do as he pleases. I guess you were right, Matt." Her bottom lip quivered and fresh tears slipped down her cheeks. "He doesn’t…love me like he said he did." She hugged her arms around herself as she cried.

Morgan felt terrible for planting that idea in her head. "Why you listening to me," he finally said reaching out and pulling her into his arms. "What the hell do I know about love?" He walked her over to the bed and made her sit down. "The only woman I ever loved dumped me and now I’m nothing more than a prison guard. You had something real with him and I was jealous." He held at arm’s length. "If he’s willing to give up on someone as wonderful as you then you don’t need him."

"You’re right, Matt," she sniffled.

"Why don’t you get some sleep," he suggested. "We have to catch a flight back to Orlando in the morning."

"Will you stay," she asked.

"If you want me to."

He pulled back the covers and helped her into bed before crawling in next to her. As he held her while she settled in he smiled. His plan was working. Who would have thought that having a talk with a codger like Nash would have such wonderful benefits? All he had to do was bide his time and Shelly would be eating out of the palm of his hand.

~}i{~

Back in Orlando Morgan was keeping up the charade though his patience was wearing thin. Shelly had limited contact with her friends once she got home. Sabin was the furthest thing from her mind as Morgan took her out to dinner and movies. He was really putting in an effort to show her he wasn’t the tyrant she believed him to be.

When they got to the Impact Zone for the next set of tapings she headed to speak to Sting. She was having second thoughts about the plan.

"Steve?" Sting turned away from his conversation with Steiner and smiled at her. "Can I talk to you?"

"Of course," he replied letting Steiner know he’d talk to him later. "What’s going on?"

"I think…the plan needs to be altered," she replied. Sting frowned. "It’s just that…Matt’s been better. He’s not the man I thought he was and it took…it’s not important why I feel the way I do. I just don’t hate him as much as I thought I did."

"Mmmmhmmmm," Sting said, in deep thought. "Well, then I think you should hear something." He placed a finger over his mouth informing her to be quiet and led her down the hall. Morgan was laughing with Beer Money and Team 3D. Shelly looked up at Sting confused. He motioned for her to listen.

"I didn’t even have to lift a damn finger," Morgan chuckled. "That Sabin kid fucked things up himself. One look at him with that Madison chick and Shell was like putty in my hands. It won’t be long until the bitch is screamin’ my name again." All five of the men began to laugh.

Sting could see Shelly tense at the words and placed a hand on her shoulder. He motioned for her to follow him and she did so, seething. She’d been duped and what was worse she had allowed herself to be duped.

"Still want to alter the plan?"

Shelly looked up at him, her eyes hard. "No. We stick to the plan." With that she stalked off.

~}i{~

"You all right," Cindy asked as she and Shelly got ready for their match.

Cindy would be tagging up with Angelina and Shelly would be tagging up with Tara. Madison and Velvet had been taken out the week before by Tara so there would be no interference.

"Fine, just had my eyes opened recently." Cindy quirked a brow. "Let’s just say that Matt Morgan does NOT know who he’s been dealing with. The bitch is back and she wants his head on a damn platter." She stood and headed out of the locker room.

"Oooo…kay," Cindy said as she finished getting ready.

Once out in the hall Shelly ran into Samoa Joe. He stopped her.

"Look, I don’t give a flying fuck what you’re doing with this Morgan character," he said. "I just want to inform you that you’ll be visiting him in the hospital once I’m done with him."

Shelly smiled sweetly up at him. "Joe, break him."

Joe did a double take. "You’re all right with me doing this?"

"Absolutely."

"That’s cold," Joe chuckled. "I’m gonna do it, but damn you’re cold." He walked off chuckling.

Shelly smiled, satisfied that she’d caused Morgan enough grief for the night. Chuckling to herself as she thought of how the plan would unfold over the course of the next couple of weeks she headed off for her match.

The crowd was roaring as the Knockouts match played out. Tara and Shelly were working like a well oiled machine. They were poetry in motion, as if both women had been tagging forever. Angelina and Cindy on the other hand were bickering constantly. It was the bickering that led Cindy to getting rolled up and pinned by Shelly

After the match Cindy and Angelina got into a shouting and shoving match leading to Cindy nearly taking the champ’s head off with a clothesline. Tara smiled, grabbing her pet tarantula Poison. As she slid the beast out of it’s box and laid it on Angelina’s chest Shelly slid out of the ring, not wanting to deal with the eight legged fiend.

As she backed up the ramp looking completely disgusted she collided with someone. Turning around she looked up at Matt Morgan, smiling down at her. He applauded her victory, but before she could turn and run away he had scooped her up, tossing her over his shoulder. He carried her away screaming and banging on his back.

In the weeks leading to this point they had filmed vignettes of Morgan stalking Shelly after taking out Sabin the night of Slammiversary. In every one she narrowly escaped.

Once in the back Shelly smacked his ass. "Put me down, ya big lug."

He laughed and set her down on her feet. "I can not wait for you to win that belt," he said smiling. "I think you’ll look very sexy with that gold."

Shelly smiled up at him. "If you’re a good boy maybe you’ll get to see me in nothing but the belt."

"I like the sound of that," he said smiling from ear to ear. "Oh, there’s Joe. Gotta go, babe." He gave her a quick kiss and jogged off.

Shelly turned around and came face to face with Sabin. "Misplace your whore," she asked.

"No, she’s right in front of me, though I can’t really call you mine now can I?"

"Fuck you, Chris!" She tried to storm away, but he caught her wrist.

"I’m afraid I might catch something," he retorted. "Or has the ape had all his shots?"

"Let go of me!" She yanked free, glaring at him. "You’re not even worth my time!" She turned and walked away.

"I never was," Sabin called. "Right? You were just pitying me!"

Shelly ignored him, going to the Mafia locker room to cool down. Something about being around Angle and Nash always cheered her up and she needed that more than ever tonight.

"You’re just in time," Nash smiled. "The bell just rang and Joe’s in rare form."

"Where’s Steve," she asked taking a seat next to Sharmell and Booker on the couch.

"He has a special announcement regarding this match," Angle replied. "I think you’ll like it."

No sooner had he said the words than Sting appeared on the ramp. He interrupted the match announcing that it would now be a First Blood match. Joe smiled wickedly, nodding his approval. Morgan, who had yet to get up from Joe’s pounding, simply groaned.

"This should be interesting," Shelly snickered.

They all watched, wincing at the brutality that was Samoa Joe. When the angry Samoan felt Morgan was weakened sufficiently he grabbed his large blade, jamming the hook into Morgan’s forehead. The larger man began to scream as bright red ribbons of blood ran down his forehead. The ref rang the bell declaring Joe the winner.

The bell rang more as Joe pounded on the wound he’d just inflicted, opening it up more. Morgan lay limply in the ring donning the proverbial crimson mask. The cameraman focused on Morgan’s face for the final scene of that week’s Impact.

~}i{~

As Morgan was being stitched up Shelly appeared in the doorway of the medic station. "Does it hurt much?"

"Like a motherfucker," he groaned.

Good she thought. "Poor baby. Want me to give you a massage when we get home?"

"That’d be nice," Morgan sighed. "But I think I might be too banged up to even think about you touching me.

"I understand," she said making a mental note to thank Joe.

Chapter 28

Shelly had gotten Morgan back to her place seeing as he was in no condition to drive. Now it was her turn to put on a charade. Knowing now that he hadn’t changed she decided to take advantage.

As Morgan slumped to the couch she excused herself to the bedroom and quickly searched her drawers for something sexy. She smiled finding the white negligee stuffed in the back of her drawer. She quickly stripped and put it on.

Once she was happy with her appearance she headed out into the living room. She leaned over the back of the couch, massaging Morgan’s shoulders.

"Thanks, babe," he groaned. His head throbbed something terrible. "Could you get me some aspirin?"

"Of course," she said. She headed into the bathroom and grabbed the bottle and a glass of water from the tap. She took it in to him, coming around the couch to hand it to him.

He groaned seeing what she was wearing, accepting the pills and water from her. He quickly downed them, setting the bottle and water aside. "What’s this?"

"I just thought you deserved some TLC," she replied with a shrug. "Don’t you like?" She posed for him with a small smile.

"I like very much, but I think that…" He groaned as she climbed into his lap, straddling him.

"You think that what, Matt," she whispered in his ear, nibbling the lobe.

"That I’m in too much pain," he groaned, sliding her off his lap. "And I’m too tired to even think about…I wouldn’t be any good. I want our first time to be memorable for both of us."

"I understand," she said smiling sweetly. She leaned over and kissed him softly. "You coming to bed?"

"Can’t move," Morgan yawned.

"Night, Matt." Shelly had to fight to keep the giggles from erupting as she headed to the bedroom. He was already snoring by the time she closed her door.

~}i{~

The next night Morgan was to face Kurt Angle. He was one giant ache as he entered the Impact Zone. He could hardly walk, his body feeling like it had been to hell and back.

Frankie and Traci, who were both smiling like the cat that ate the canary, greeted Shelly.

"What’s with you two," she asked.

"Oh nothing much," Frankie replied, slinging his arm around Shelly’s shoulders. "I’m just wondering how you feel about becoming an aunt."

Shelly looked from Frankie to Traci and back to Frankie. "You mean?" Frankie nodded. "Traci, really?" Traci too nodded. "How far along are you?" Shelly hugged them both.

"Ten weeks," Traci replied.

"Congratulations, guys. I’m so happy for you," Shelly gushed. "We have so much shopping to do."

Frankie groaned at the words and turned his attention to Morgan, who had been silent during the whole exchange. "Women and shopping, huh?" His elation over his impending fatherhood superceding his hate for the larger man.

"Yeah," Morgan chuckled. "Congrats, Frankie." He excused himself to go get ready for his match.

"You doing all right," Frankie asked Shelly once Morgan was gone. "We heard about the whole Madison/Chris fiasco."

"Honey, he was trying to make you jealous," Traci said.

"Well, it worked. I think things between Chris and I are just too broken to be fixed."

"Never say never," Frankie said patting her on the back.

"I should go. I have a run in to do during Cindy and Tara’s match and then I have to be ringside for Matt’s match against Kurt."

"Busy little bee aren’t you," Frankie chuckled. "I should go too. Suicide has a match against Alex."

~}i{~

Cindy was taking on Tara that night to see which woman would be the final person in the title match at Victory Road that weekend. The match had been nothing less than a clinic in the middle of the ring. Cindy worked exceptionally well with the veteran Tara.

Before a winner could be declared Angelina interfered nailing Tara with the belt. She then turned her attention on Cindy. Before she could attack with the belt she felt it snatched from her hands. Spinning around she found Shelly glaring at her. The challenger for the belt pointed to the faint scar on her forehead where she had taken the belt weeks before.

Without a word she attempted to slam the champ only for Angelina to duck. Shelly nailed Cindy, who went down like a ton of bricks. Spinning around she grabbed Angelina by her platinum blonde locks before she could retreat.

She whipped her off the ropes giving her a back body drop. While Angelina writhed in pain she hooked her legs in a death lock and bridged back, hooking her chin. Angelina wailed in pain, tapping. Satisfied with the pain she’d inflicted Shelly stood raising her hands on victory.

~}i{~

Angle’s match against Morgan was to be the main event that night. Shelly watched as Morgan loosened up, still in pain from his beating from Joe. Angle took his place waiting for his cue to head to the ring. He gave Shelly a little wink as she headed out to the ring with Morgan.

The fans were relentlessly booing Morgan as he literally dragged Shelly behind him. He told her to stay put at ringside and climbed into the ring. She stood there shooting daggers at him. Angle made his entrance to a huge pop from the crowd.

The match was fast paced and hard hitting. Shelly couldn’t help cringing as Angle worked extremely stiff with Morgan. She remembered her spot to attempt to trip up Angle. She missed and wound up tripping Morgan. As he yelled at her Angle grabbed him and Angle Slammed him hard. Morgan fought out of the attempted Ankle Lock managing to stay in the match. The ref was bumped and knocked out as Morgan kicked Angle into him.

The crowd exploded as someone streaked down to the ring. Chris Sabin climbed the turnbuckle and aimed a missile dropkick at Morgan’s leg. He took off before the ref could see him. The big man went down and Angle slapped on his Ankle Lock submission. Morgan was tapping, but the ref was out cold.

Shelly attempted to rouse him. When he didn’t wake up she climbed into the ring only to be restrained by Angle. Morgan got shakily to his feet, pulling Shelly away from Angle. She broke free, slapping the large man hard across the face. The ref came to just then and rang the bell declaring Morgan the winner via DQ.

Angle went nuts and Morgan grabbed Shelly, quickly sliding out of the ring. As they headed up the ramp and away from the rampaging Angle Sting’s music hit. The legend came out onto the ramp, mic in hand.

"Congratulations, Matt," Sting said applauding. "You’ve done well in your initiation matches. Let’s see that would be Mafia two and Morgan two. Seems we need a tie breaker. And I have just the guy for the job….ME. See ya at Victory Road, Matt!" Impact went off the air with Morgan flipping out.

Chapter 29

The day of the Victory road PPV finally rolled around. The house show set that trip was uneventful, other than Greg and Alex bombarding Morgan with pranks. Their favorite was short sheeting the bed. While Morgan had been pissed at them he’d refrained from doing anything to Shelly. He wanted her to believe that he had turned a new leaf.

He felt that he was so close to becoming a member of the Mafia by then. He’d deal with Sting, leave him a broken and beaten old man and join the ranks of TNA’s elite. He could just taste it.

Shelly on the other hand was nervous. Not only did she have the most important match of her TNA career, but she was also to be part of Morgan’s match against Sting. It was going to be announced at the top of the show that the Knockouts title match would be a Fatal Four Way Ladder match. She hoped she wasn’t too banged up to make a real impact in Morgan’s match.

~}i{~

Shelly and Morgan took separate cars to the Impact Zone that night. She knew the outcome of Morgan’s match and didn’t want to be stuck in a car with him on the way home. She instead opted to ride with Traci and Frankie.

Sting and Steiner greeted Shelly when she arrived at the arena. "A word," Sting asked.

Shelly said goodbye to her friends and followed him to a nearby locker room. He opened the door and held it for her as he leaned over to Steiner, whispering something. Steiner nodded and took his place in front of the door like a sentry.

"What the hell is SHE doing here," Sabin demanded of Sting.

"Chris, settle down," Sting ordered, pointing to the bench where he wanted the younger man to sit.

"Fuck that! You said you needed to speak to me! You didn’t say anything about this bitch being present."

"She’s an integral part of the final stage of this plan, Chris," Sting replied as calmly as he could. "Now sit down and listen."

"Steve, it’s fine. Unlike SOME people I know what my role will be. If it’s all right I have a ladder match to prepare for," Shelly said not even looking at Sabin.

Sting nodded. Shelly headed to the door.

"That’s right, sweetheart," Sabin growled as she gripped the door handle. "Walk away. It’s what you do best!" Shelly ignored him, continuing out into the hall.

~}i{~

Outside the locker room where Steiner stood guard Morgan approached. He looked at the younger man and waited for him to speak.

"Sting in there," Morgan asked.

"Yup."

"Good. I need to talk…" He tried to open the door, but Steiner pushed him back with two fingers. "What the fuck is your problem?"

"Sting’s in an important meeting right now."

"I need to talk to him about our match," Morgan growled.

Steiner shrugged. "Rules is rules."

"Go get Sting."

"Boy, don’t tell me what to do," Steiner said slipping his customary shades down his nose to glare at Morgan. "I just follow the damn rules I don’t make them up."

Just then Shelly exited the locker room.

"And she was allowed in there," Morgan demanded.

"Apparently."

"Matt, you’re making a scene. Sting’s busy. You can talk to him later." She had been trying to keep her temper in check since she found out about Morgan’s game, but she wasn’t doing such a good job of it at the moment.

"Fine," Morgan pouted. "What’s wrong?" Shelly sighed and shook her head, walking away. Morgan fell into step beside her. "What did Sting want?"

"To give me a pep talk," she lied. "Big ladder match for the title and all."

"Right. Well, you’ll do great. I know you will."

"Yeah," she sighed. "Look, I need to go get ready." She walked away ignoring him asking for a kiss.

~}i{~

Sting glared at Sabin. He understood that the young man hurt, but he was just acting like a child. In a rare show of anger the older man hauled off and slapped Sabin upside the head.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR?"

"You’re an idiot," Sting fumed. "Do you want her back or do you want to push her even farther away?"

"I thought I wanted here back, but…she’s sleeping with Morgan now."

Sting again slapped him, this time across the face.

"OW!"

"You’re such a stupid little boy!"

Sabin glared up at Sting. "I’M A MAN!"

Sting again slapped him.

"STOP DOING THAT!" Sabin glared at the older man holding his cheek.

"Do you really think a man has a hissy fit the way you just did with Shell," Sting demanded.

"You don’t know what I’ve been through," Sabin fumed.

Sting grabbed him by the shirt collar and slapped him across the face a couple of more times. He tossed him down to the bench when he was done manhandling him.

"Now, do you want her back or not?"

Sabin pouted, holding his sore cheeks. "Not if she’s been screwing Morgan." Sting held up his hand as if to slap him again and Sabin cringed. "All right! Yes, I want her back!"

Sting finally smiled. "Good, we’re making progress."

~}i{~

The time finally came for the ladder match. "Good luck out there, girls," Shelly said to her competitors. She was nervous about the physicality of the match. Ladder matches, while amazing to watch, were almost always brutal and this would be no exception.

"We’ll be watching back here," Alex called.

"You’ll be great," Frankie reassured them.

Tara and then Cindy were introduced. Next up Shelly entered the ring. All three challengers sized each other up as the waited for Angelina Love to finally arrive. Her theme finally hit and the crowd jeered loudly as she headed down to the ring minus Madison and Velvet. The two women had been barred from ringside.

As promised the match was very physical, the ladder coming into play and being used as a weapon for several spots. The crowd was on their feet when Cindy scaled the ladder, leaping off in a Swanton like move and taking out all three women outside the ring.

The area looked like a war zone by the end of the match. Tara had taken out Cindy with her Widow’s Peak. Angelina then nailed Tara with her Botox Injection kick. That left the champ and Shelly. Both women eyed each other a moment before making a beeline for the ladder set up under the belt.

The two women battled their way to the top, exchanging blows. Finally Shelly ducked Angelina’s punch and reached through the rungs, pulling her leg through. Angelina fell backwards with a shriek, hitting her head on the ladder. Shelly reached for the belt, pulling it free. The crowd erupted as she fell from the ladder hugging her title.

~}i{~

When Shelly arrived in the back, nursing a sore ankle and a back that would no doubt be bruised from her neck to her tailbone in the morning, she was greeted by applause. Her fellow competitors were treated to the same. Everyone had thoroughly enjoyed the match and they all knew the women had put on a tough act to follow.

Much to her surprise Shelly saw Sabin amongst the crowd applauding them. She hugged the belt, tears filling her eyes. She’d worked so hard to get to this point and while she was happy to have finally achieved her goal, she was also sad that the man she loved wasn’t a part of her life anymore.

Morgan shoved people out of the way, scooping her up and spinning her around. "You did it, baby! You were amazing!"

"Matt," she groaned, her aching bones screaming under his grip. "Hurting. A LOT."

"Oh! Sorry," he exclaimed, setting her down gently.

"I need to go get checked out," she said excusing herself from him. When she looked around Sabin was gone.

Alex caught this and whispered to her, "Chris loved the match. He was so proud of you when you won."

"Thanks, Alex," Shelly said, forcing a small smile. She followed Cindy, Tara and Angelina to the medic station. One match down. One more to go.

~}i{~

Morgan vs. Sting was the semi main event that night. Morgan was waiting in the ring as Sting’s music hit and the older man sauntered to the ring. He had an amused smile on his face as he looked across the ring at Morgan.

The men locked up in a collar and elbow tie up as the bell rang and Morgan quickly began to dominate. He had Sting on his back and grabbed his feet, mocking the man as he attempted to lock in the Scorpion Deathlock. Sting easily got out of it, getting to his feet and holding up a hand to Morgan. He signaled for a mic.

"I gotta tell ya, Matt," he panted. "You’ve been eating your Wheaties." The crowd snickered. "But I believe there’s something I forgot to mention when the match started. This is a handicap match…and here’s my partner." He pointed toward the ramp.

"HAIL SABIN!"

The crowd erupted, jumping to their feet as Chris Sabin’s old music rang through the arena. Sabin came out onto the ramp decked out in his old alien face trunks and kick pads. He smirked at the crowd reaction and jogged down to the ring.

Morgan was livid. "WHAT THE FUCK IS HE DOING HERE?"

Sting just smirked, shaking hands with Sabin. He motioned for the ref to continue the match.

Sabin tagged in as Morgan and Sting circled each other. Sting shrugged stepping through the ropes.

"You bit off more than you can chew, short shit," Morgan chuckled.

Sabin let the comment roll right off his back as he began to attack, kicking at Morgan’s tree trunk legs. He used his speed and size to avoid being caught as he hit Morgan with a flurry of kicks, punches and elbows. His frustrations from the past month had finally found an outlet.

After a couple of minutes of this Sting grabbed a mic and stopped the match once again. "Something just doesn’t feel quite right just yet," he said stepping through the ropes. "I think this should be a three on one handicap. What do you think, Chris?"

Sabin nodded, smiling.

"I have the perfect person," Sting smiled and pointed to the ramp.

The opening guitar riff of Sevendust’s Driven blasted and the big screen became a swirl of color. Before long the swirl cleared revealing Shelly’s name. Her face smiled back at them as her new theme and entrance video played. The crowd went bonkers as she came out onto the ramp.

Morgan’s eyes nearly fell out of his head seeing her. He’d been totally oblivious to the fact that she’d been working with the Mafia against him. He was seething as she got to the ring and stepped up to the apron.

"You’re fucking dead," he growled in her face.

"You have to get through us first," Sabin yelled.

When Morgan wheeled around he was hit with a devastating step up enziguri from the smaller man. His eyes practically rolled up into his head as he collapsed to the mat. Sting and Sabin double teamed him, hitting him with elbow drops and knee drops. He never had the chance to fully recover.

They finally called Shelly into the ring. She smiled as she climbed the turnbuckles. She was all set to execute a shooting star press when Morgan rolled out of the ring.

As the ref was occupied keeping Sabin and Sting from going after him as he took a breather, Morgan grabbed a steel chair. He slid back into the ring, but forgot about Shelly. As he raised the chair over his head she grabbed it. He tugged on it, but she held it firm.

"Let go!"

"No," she screamed.

He tugged harder, making her lose her footing a bit. Her ankle screamed in protest, but she bit back the pain. When Morgan didn’t show any signs of letting go she did the only thing she could think of. Cocking her foot back she kicked him right in the jewels. Morgan finally released the chair, dropping to his knees.

Sabin was practically doubled over laughing at the scene. He had dragged Rudy Charles out of the ring to discuss a fictional problem with one of his boots. Sting had gone to provide more of a diversion.

Morgan attempted to get back to his feet, his eyes cold as he glared at Shelly. "You fucking cunt," he growled.

Shelly’s eyes narrowed at the word he’d just called her and raised the chair, bringing it down hard over his head. The sound reverberated through the arena as the crowd gasped. The blow reopened the wound Joe had inflicted and blood poured down Morgan’s face as he thudded on the mat.

Shelly threw the chair out of the ring and called to her partners. The ref took one look at Morgan and was instantly confused. He motioned that Sabin was the legal man after shaking off the confusion. Sabin looked to Sting, who motioned for the young man to cover Morgan. He did so and the ref counted the one, two, three.

Sting entered the ring, applauding Sabin and Shelly. As she stepped through the ropes Sabin grabbed her, kissing her long and hard. She was shocked by the action, but didn’t fight it.

Sting had the mic again. "Matt," he said standing over the bloodied and battered man. "I think it’s safe to say…ya failed your final initiation. I’m so sorry, but the Mafia is comprised of winners and you my friend are a loser."

Sting congratulated Sabin and Shelly and exited the ring with them, laughing their way up the ramp.

~}i{~

"That was amazing," Shelly exclaimed as they stepped out of the tunnel.

"I’m really proud of you two," Sting said, slinging his arms around their shoulders. "You put aside your feelings and worked really well together."

"Great match, guys," Angle said approaching the three with the rest of the Mafia. "Kid,great enziguri and you with the nut shot and the chair shot. Ooof! Remind me to stay on your good side." Mick Foley called to Angle then. It was time for their title match finally. Angle walked away applauding the two young stars.

"So," Sting said, his arms still around Sabin and Shelly. "I think you two need to talk." He brought them together and stepped away, heading off to change and shower.

Chapter 30

Sabin and Shelly stared at each other awkwardly as Sting walked away. Neither one knew what to say. So much had happened between them in such a short period of time.

"So," Shelly said, initiating conversation.

"You were great out there tonight," Sabin said. "Not just in this match. You’re gonna be a great champ."

"Thanks."

As they stood there still unsure how to even address what needed to be addressed between them Morgan was helped to the back. Shelly’s heart leaped into her throat knowing that Morgan could possible take out his aggressions on her. She hoped that Sabin still cared enough to prevent that.

Morgan stalked over to them, glaring down at Shelly. He held a towel to his forehead and the white material was slowly being taken over by deep crimson. He looked from Shelly then to Sabin and back to Shelly.

"I’m sorry," he finally said with that he stalked off.

Shelly was surprised that he hadn’t lashed out. "You’re right, Matt," she called. "You are sorry. A sorry excuse for a man. A sorry ass boyfriend. Most of all you’re just a sorry excuse for a human being." Morgan stopped walking at her words. His shoulders tensed, but he didn’t turn back to her. "In case you don’t understand what I’m saying, it’s over. I’m done with you. I don’t ever want to see your face again." Morgan just nodded and walked off.

She was shaking as she finished speaking. She was feeling lightheaded and swayed a bit. Sabin reached out and caught her before she could fall.

"You need to sit down," he said helping her over to a nearby crate.

"I’m all right," she lied.

"Good. Then I’ll just go then," Sabin replied.

"Steve said we should talk."

"Not here," Sabin replied. "I need a shower and you…need to get that ankle looked at." Shelly looked at him stunned. "Yeah, I saw you roll it during the match."

"Will you come to my place to talk later," she asked. "Please, Chris. We really need to."

Sabin nodded. "I’ll be by after the show. Go get yourself checked out, huh? You’re worrying me." With that he walked off.

Shelly got to her feet and headed to the medic station to have her ankle checked out. She couldn’t help smiling at his last words to her. The fact that he was worried proved to her that he still cared.

~}i{~

Shelly hobbled around her apartment. Her ankle was just sprained, though it hurt like hell. The medic had wrapped it and told her to stay off of it as much as possible. She had taken Morgan’s luggage and tossed it in the hall when she got home. He had gotten it without bothering her, for which she was very grateful.

She turned on her stereo and Paramore filled the living room. She was waiting for Sabin to show up and was losing hope that he actually would. With a sigh she sat down on the couch, propping her foot up. Her stomach was filled with butterflies, the nervous energy she felt was making her feel sick.

There was a knock at her door tearing her away from her thoughts. Turning down the music a bit she went to answer it. Sabin stood there looking every bit as awkward as he had at the arena.

She stepped aside to allow him entry. He took a seat on the couch, looking around as if searching for signs of Morgan.

"He picked up his things an hour ago," Shelly said.

"I didn’t say anything," Sabin replied.

"But you were thinking it," she replied with a small smile. "I know how your mind works, Chris."

They grew silent again listening to the music. We Are Broken began to play and Shelly couldn’t help feeling it was ironic that it would shuffle to that song at that moment in time.

I am outside

And I've been waiting for the sun

With my wide eyes

I've seen worlds that don't belong

My mouth is dry with words I cannot verbalize

Tell me why we live like this

Keep me safe inside

Your arms like towers

Tower over me

Yeah

'Cause we are broken

What must we do to restore

Our innocence

And oh, the promise we adored

Give us life again

'Cause we just wanna be whole

"Appropriate song, don’t you think," Shelly asked finally. "It’s called We Are Broken."

Sabin nodded, frowning. "Is this what you wanted me here for? To listen to some stupid song?"

"No, Chris. I wanted to talk about…everything. We’ve been through so much over the past few weeks and…"

Lock the doors

Cause I'd like to capture this voice

It came to me tonight

So everyone will have a choice

And under red lights

I'll show myself it wasn't forged

We're at war

We live like this

"Was it all worth it," Sabin asked. "Leaving me for him? Do you think you accomplished something?"

"I was hoping we could get past this," she sighed. "I don’t want to fight. I’m tired of fighting." She took in a shuddering breath. "I’ve been through hell since that night. You have no idea how much I’ve been hurting. I was stuck, Chris. I didn’t know how to get away from him. All I wanted was to run to you, for you to hold me and tell me everything would be all right again."

Keep me safe inside

Your arms like towers

Tower over me

"How could I? You were always with that…dick," he growled. "You were finally mine and Morgan comes along and steals that!" He stood up and began pacing. "God! The thought of him touching you, being inside you…it just makes me sick!"

'Cause we are broken

What must we do to restore

Our innocence

And oh, the promise we adored

Give us life again

'Cause we just wanna be whole

Shelly stood and stopped him from pacing. "That never happened, Chris," she said. He scoffed and looked away. "I swear to you, I never once slept with Morgan."

"I saw you," Sabin replied. "Don’t think you can lie to me. I saw the two of you together."

Shelly shook her head remembering the day at the hotel. "He tried, but I wouldn’t let him."

"Yeah, that’s why you were naked."

"Chris, please believe me," she said, tears slipping down her cheeks.

Tower over me

Tower over me

And I'll take the truth at any cost

"This isn’t going to work," Sabin said, shaking his head. "I can’t be with you without thinking about him being with you. I…I can’t do it, Shell."

Shelly hung her head and nodded. She understood how he felt, whether his feelings were based in fact or not. There were only two people who knew for certain what went on and Morgan was known to brag about things that had never happened.

'Cause we are broken

What must we do to restore

Our innocence

And oh, the promise we adored

Give us life again

'Cause we just wanna be whole

"Can we at least be friends," she sniffled.

He reached out tilting her head up to meet his gaze and gave her a small smile. "Of course."

She finally broke down, happy to at least have his friendship. Sabin pulled her into his arms, letting her cry. It wasn’t perfect, but she’d take it. Perhaps they’d find their way back to each eventually.