See Me Through

Chapter 1

Blood caked her cheek, neck, arms and legs as she limped to the nearest building she could find, tears streaming down her face, washing away some of it, along with the heavy downpour. She was freezing, wearing a silver nightgown that now looked grey; spaghetti strapped and went to her knees, which were knocking together. Her long black hair clung to her back, shoulders and neck, lips turning blue, feet feeling like ice cubes, which were bare.

Fearful jade green eyes looked back and forth as she kept going, finally not able to take it anymore and found a dumpster to hide behind. No doubt he would be after her and kill her this time from running. How had her life gotten so messed up? The gash in her leg was bleeding more than any of her other injuries as she ripped off part of her nightgown and wrapped it around her thigh, more tears falling, hissing at the pain.

She needed help and nobody was around.

“Cody, you dipshit, give it back!” Randy laughed, chasing after his friend, sneakers pounding pavement as Cody sprinted ahead. “Give me the damn phone back!”

“Sorry, I'm busy on it! Think your mom would mind a picture of my…?”

Ted groaned, watching as Cody stopped long enough to aim the cell at his crotch. “He wouldn't...”

“Yeah, he would, get him.”

Laughing, they both advanced on Cody, backing him towards a dumpster.

Her eyes widened as she slowly backed up, wincing, and covered her mouth with her hand to keep from those three hearing her breathing, more tears falling. She was scared to death right now and leaned back against the dumpster, them on the other side, heart pounding furiously against her chest. Those three had to be Roger's henchmen he was sending after her and she couldn't be caught. She had to move fast and bit back a cry of pain when her thigh began cramping up.

“Okay, maybe I got a little over zealous with the nut shots...” Cody chuckled, backing up slowly, cell in one hand with the other raised. “I promise, your mother won't mind TOO much.”

“Keep running your mouth.” Randy snorted, lips curved with amusement. “See that dumpster behind you, Rhodes? I'm gonna murder you and toss your body in it.”

“With all the rest of the dead bodies.”

Oh dear god! They were murderers! She had to move now and slowly slid from the dumpster. Swallowing hard when it moved forward, she let out a squeak and froze in her tracks. She pressed her back against it and closed her eyes tightly shut, hand still over her mouth. She couldn't move, couldn't breathe, couldn't think and gasped when she stumbled forward, knee ramming into the pavement below, the rain falling even harder now.

“What was that?” Cody demanded, whirling around to stare at the dumpster, passing Randy back his cell. “There aren't real bodies in there, right?”

“Dead people don't move.” Ted pointed out with a roll of his eyes, smacking Cody upside his head.

“Well SOMETHING is back there.” Randy squared his shoulders and led the way, watching as the dumpster moved again, a gentle sway on its wheels. “On the other side.”

‘Shit!’ Her mind screamed as she backed up, moving to the side, pressing against it, not realizing blood was coating the pavement, the rain slowly washing it away. ‘Oh god, please don't find me again!’ She silently prayed, closing her eyes tightly shut and managed to get on the other side of the dumpster that they were previously on, wincing again at her thigh. Her heart felt like it would fall out of her chest at any given moment.

She had two choices; she could run or sit here and wait with bated breath.

Option two is what she did.

The three men had gone silent. They all knew each other well enough to work together without speaking, relying on eye contact and quick; quiet gestures and signals. Randy nodded, creeping around the front of the dumpster, Cody behind him while Teddy started scaling it as quietly and quickly as he could.

“Holy shit dude, it's a woman.” Cody blinked in sheer surprise.

“No kidding moron. Lady, what're you doing out here?”

As soon as she went to bolt, she collapsed and held her thigh as a cry of pain escaped her, cuts on her arms that looked like slices, tears streaming down her face. ‘No please!’ Her mind screamed as she felt a hand grab her arm, screaming out in pain and immediately stumbled back, landing on the pavement. “Oh god...” She felt sick to her stomach, not wanting to go back to him; she couldn't and wouldn't! “P-Please...please...” The loss of blood was getting to her, but still conscious enough, bottom lip split and bruised, the rest of her body nearly covered in them.

It didn't take long to realize this woman was in a bad way and needed medical attention immediately. It did, however, take all three of them a moment to snap out of their shock when they all realized just how bad off she was. “Lady, we're not going to hurt you.” Randy said softly, holding out his hands in a peaceful gesture, flashing Ted a brief look.

Nodding, Ted nimbly dropped from the dumpster, landing beside her. “We're just going to take you out of here, okay?”

“N-No please!!” She started shaking her head repeatedly, crawling back on her hands, and winced since she couldn't put pressure on her thigh. “Please leave me alone!! I-I don't want to go back to him, please!!” It was three against one. If there was one thing she knew, it was this: she was screwed and curled up in a tight ball on the pavement, hoping; praying she woke up and this was all one big nightmare. “P-Please...”

Cody frowned, crouching down next to her, while Randy and Teddy both took steps back. He was the smallest of the group so, hopefully, he was least likely to frighten her. “Hey, ma'am, we're not gonna hurt you.” He assured her, his natural southern accent seeping through, reaching out a slow cautious hand. “Randy, she needs to go to the hospital, she's bleedin'.” He said, trying to keep his voice calm. “Like ASAP.”

“Should we call the cops?”

“No!” She shouted, backing away from all of them, trying to get to her feet and bit back another cry of pain. “N-No hospital...no cops...H-He'll find me that way...I-I can't...” She cried harder, the nightgown piece she ripped off and put around her thigh sliding off as the blood began to flow again in streaks. “Please...please d-don't...” She had to get medical attention, but a hospital was out of the question, along with the cops. They would just take her back to that psycho and that couldn't happen.

“No, don't call the cops. She has to go to a hospital though, look at her.” Randy shook his head; this woman was talking crazy. One too many blows to the head or something, she wasn't going to make it too far without medical attention. When she actually kept trying to get away, he stepped forward and scooped her up in his arms, becoming even more aware of how bad off she was.

Her entire body was trembling from head to toe, the sobs tearing through her, soaked to the bone and didn't have the strength to fight him off. She rested her head on his shoulder, clinging to him, since he was so warm, the adrenaline of what happened suddenly diminishing as she closed her eyes, having no identity on her.

“What the hell happened to her?” Ted wondered quietly, shaking his head as he looked at Cody.

“No idea; whatever it is, she doesn't want to authorities knowin'.”

She suddenly passed out in this stranger's arms, while he walked her to their vehicle, breathing ragged and slow, loss of blood being a big factor as well.

“She doesn't want the cops or authorities knowing because she's in trouble, obviously.”

“So what're we going to do about it?”

“Take her to the fucking hospital, Cody. What ELSE can we do? She needs help and, last I checked, none of us are doctors!” Randy snapped, mildly irritated with his friend at the moment.

The ride to the hospital was made in silence, the woman in back resting in Randy's arms, while Cody drove, Ted staring out the window in thought. Who the hell would've beaten her to the point of near death? That's what the woman looked like, death warmed over. He felt sick just looking at her and closed his eyes, suddenly not hungry for that steak dinner he'd been looking forward too.

Cody was thinking the same thing, Randy already checking and not finding any identification on her or anything. She was a Jane Doe as far as they knew. What the hell had happened to her? Cody sighed as he pulled inside the hospital emergency room parking lot, stopping at the doors to let Randy out.

Randy didn't say a word as he carried her into the hospital. He had no idea who she was or what the hell had happened to her -though he had a few guesses and all of them left a bad taste in his mouth- , but she couldn't go without medical attention, whether she liked it or not. Not like anyone could ID her; she was a ghost and, unless her face was naturally a blue tinted color, she wasn't likely to be recognized straightaway.

~!~

Three days passed before she slowly opened her eyes, body racked with pain as tears flowed down her bruised face, a cut sewn up on her left cheek. Her arms, legs, neck, chest, back and abdomen were covered with black and blue bruises. Her thigh was sewn up along with the other cuts, hair matted to her face.

She had tubes up her nose with an IV in her arm to help keep her hydrated, wearing a hospital gown. Her heart began pounding furiously in her chest, causing the heart monitor to increase rapidly, a hiss of pain escaping her when she went to move. She was in a hospital, the beeping machines around her sounding all too familiar.

‘Oh god, please...’ She thought and closed her eyes tightly shut when the door opened, beginning to tremble.

“Hey, hey! I think she's waking up!” Cody said excitedly, having insisted they stick around just to make sure she would be alright, feeling a bit responsible for the woman since they had been the ones who found her.

“That monitor is going crazy; you really state the obvious a lot. Lady, can you-”

“Let her rest.”

“No...no...no...no...” She felt a hand on her forehead and slowly opened her eyes, seeing three strange men looming over her, swallowing hard through big jade green eyes. Who were they? Did they work for him? More tears spilled down her cheeks and coughed out, wincing since dark blue and black fingerprint bruises coated her throat. “P-Please...” She croaked out softly and closed her eyes again, arms resting at her sides.

“Do you want some water?”

Water sounded heavenly as she slowly nodded her head, throat feeling like a desert.

Randy was closest to a sink and got her a cup of water, carrying it slowly to her. He was careful to not move too fast or anything. She was like a deer, skittish and ready to jump at the slightest of noises.

“Here.” He held it up to her mouth, arching an eyebrow when she stared at him, obviously scared out of her mind. “Take a slow sip.”

The heart monitor was increasing again, while one of the other men brought her bed up to where she could sit up, wincing slightly and did as she was told. Oh that water felt wonderful as her eyes remained on his, slowly taking a few more sips. “Thank you.” She whispered, wondering if this pain would ever go away and looked to the door when it opened again, revealing a man in a white coat.

Her doctor; no doubt about it.

“Jesus Martina...” Doctor Roberts whispered, walking over, breathing a sigh of relief, glad she was awake. “You really scared me this time.”

“N-Not my fault...” She stuttered, wincing when Mike took her hand, swallowing hard. “Is he-”

“No honey, he's not here.” He checked her heart rate and vitals; glad she was no longer in critical condition. “Nobody knows you're here except me.”

“P-Please...”

“Shhh no worries, nobody will know; you're in a private room.”

Martina sighed with relief, and closed her eyes again, while he gave her another shot of pain killer.

Now they were all totally confused and it showed; identical expressions on three expectant faces. Randy, Cody, and Ted all exchanged 'what the hell’ looks, before looking at the doctor, obviously expecting some sort of explanation. After all, they had found...Martina...and brought her in.

“What the hell is going on?”

“There's no time to explain, she has to get out of here.” Mike stated, staring back at Martina with heart breaking eyes, not believing all this woman had been through. “Look, I gave her a shot of pain killers and I'll give you more syringes, but she can't stay here.”

“What?!” Ted's eyes widened as he looked back at Randy and Cody, wondering what the hell this doctor was thinking.

“Look, she's one of my best friends. Her boyfriend is a first class lawyer in this town so he has a lot of money...and he's abusive. She's been in this hospital for the past year at least twenty times.” Mike quickly explained, looking out the window and then the door blinds, taking a deep breath. “She needs to escape from here. You found her, you take her.”

“ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?”

“Please, she has nobody else to rely on. She has to get out of here now. I've already bought her clothes and whatnot to help get her by.”

This doctor WAS out of his mind!

Randy arched an eyebrow, shaking his head. “He's insane, we can't take her. How the FUCK are we going to explain her being on the road with us?” He snorted, wondering what kind of crazy, out of their minds, people they were dealing with. He looked at the woman -Martina- and frowned, taking in her bruised face. The doctor was going to give them syringes, had packed her shit… “Man, we can't...”

“How the hell is she supposed to stay hidden if she's with US?”

Ted was already arranging for her to be added to their travel plans, booking an extra seat on the plane.

Chapter 2

“You are her way out. Look, she has a little money saved up in this bank account.” He shoved the information in Randy's hands, looking back at Martina worriedly, swallowing hard. “You have to get her out of here before he shows up.”

“Who the hell is he?”

“The less you know the better. She'll tell you when she's ready. Tell her Mike told you to take her and she won't put up a fight. Please, you gentlemen are her only hope.” Her chest rose and fell evenly, deep in sleep, face heavily bruised with a split lip, staring back at them. She looked helpless and alone, a single tear falling down her cheek. Not even in her subconscious could Martina have peace.

“We're taking her.”

“Are you INSANE?” Randy hissed, whirling on the doctor. “Man, look, do you even KNOW who the hell we are?” He demanded, somehow NOT surprised when the guy shook his head. “We're wrestlers, we're FAMOUS. How do you expect us to hide her? People know who we are.”

“Well...we COULD give her a makeover...when she's better of course.”

“We're really going to do this?”

“Yep.”

“Just...put a hat on her or something, I'm sure you guys aren't spotted all the time. You DO have your personal moments...” Mike was panicking now, knowing the monster would be here any minute, swallowing hard. “There is NO time!” He was already lifting her up from the bed, knowing she was strong enough after three days of rest. He'd done everything he could to make sure her boyfriend didn't gain access into the hospital, but he was running low on excuses. “Come on Martina...”

“D-Don't...p-please Roger...” She whimpered in her sleep, leaning her head against Mike's shoulder, while he slipped a pair of black pajama pants on her, along with a baggy black hooded sweatshirt, pulling the hood up.

“You'll be safe now, sweetheart, I promise.” He was looking at all three men pleadingly, before setting her back on the bed, putting black tennis shoes on her feet. “Martina, you have to wake up for a minute.”

“N-No more...no more...”

“No more is right, honey.”

Sighing, Randy scooped her into his arms, when the doctor had finished with her shoes, knowing this was going to lead down one interesting and dangerous road. “Let's go.” He said resignedly, feeling flickers of concern for this woman.

Who wouldn't though, he rationalized. She looked like she had been beaten to the point of death and only managed to cling onto life barely. He followed Ted out of the room, Cody bringing her bags and whatnot.

“You can't go out the front. Follow me.” Mike ordered, carrying her bag and handed it over to the man named Ted, knowing he was all for helping Martina. Somebody had to step into this woman's life before it was completely destroyed. “Here…quickly now!” Mike hissed, leading them out a back door; glad it was night time, their rental parked in the perfect position.

Martina snuggled into Randy's chest, feeling warmth engulf her and gently sighed, arms in her lap while being carried.

“Get out of here as fast as you can. Go to the airport; get her out of this town and state.” He requested hastily, running a finger down Martina's cheek. “You're safe now honey.” He walked away without another word.

“We've entered a damn Twilight Zone.”

“We've entered something.” Randy muttered, ducking into the backseat, with Martina still in his arms, Cody and Ted taking the front.

Of course the windows were tinted, even though it was night, and not that big of a deal. He hoped. What the HELL were they getting themselves involved in?

“You know we're gonna kick your ass for this, right Teddy?”

“Yeah, I know.”

“Why are we doing this again?”

“Look at her.” Ted glanced over his shoulder at the sleeping, battered woman in Randy's arms, frowning. “She needs help, you guys we can't just leave her.” He would never be able to get that image of her by the dumpster, soaking wet from the pouring rain, blood running down her arms, legs and face, out of his mind. “She needs us.”

“Why should we get involved in something that's none of our business?”

Ted sighed and looked out the window, shaking his head sadly at his colleague.

“Ted, look at it logically. Whatever kinda guy her boyfriend is, he's apparently really fucking powerful and obviously not afraid to get his hands dirty. You SEEN that doctor, he was FREAKING out.” Randy said, trying not to wake the woman up. “And we happen to be some sort of celebrities; do you see where I'm going with this?”

“Straight to Hell. Vince is gonna kill us you know, bringing her on the road and all.”

“Fuck Vince.” His boss was Randy’s last worry.

“And she needs help that we can give her.” Ted added before turning on the radio, turning it down to where it was playing softly.

Cody wondered what the hell they were going to say to people regarding how she looked, swallowing hard. “Until she's...healed, she should stay in the hotel rooms and out of sight.” He suggested, seeing Randy nod his head in agreement.

They arrived at the airport and Randy carried Martina on the plane, after handing them her ticket and whatnot, telling them she was knocked out from cold medicine. The security guard didn't think anything of it, which was a good thing because normally they were nosey fuckers, and took their seats in first class. Luckily, they were the only ones in this department; then again, it was midnight and they were catching a flight to the next city where Raw was located.

Martina laid in her seat, head resting on Randy's shoulder, still sleeping and not feeling anything.

Cody had made a really good point. If anyone saw her looking like this, guess who would automatically take the blame? Them. Sighing, Randy headed to use the bathroom, ignoring the looks Cody and Ted both shot him. Cody's was one of 'are we really going to do this?' and Ted's was 'don't you dare do something stupid'. Jesus, where was the love? They had all lost their minds. There was no way they were going to be able to do this. When Martina woke up, she was going to flip the hell out. All Randy could hope was the drugs in those syringes would knock her right back out.

~!~

A few hours later, Martina slowly opened her eyes, the pain waking her up first, before anything else, swallowing past the lump in her throat and looked around. She wasn't in a hospital room any longer and slowly noticed her surroundings. She was buckled into a seat, heart pounding in her chest. Oh god! Did he manage to find her again? She looked to her right and felt the tears swell in her eyes at the sight of a stranger, beside her, sleeping. Where the hell and WHO the hell was she with? Martina looked down at her hands, which were bruised and cut to high heaven; she could only imagine what the rest of her body looked like.

“Where am I?” She finally whispered and looked out the window, seeing nothing but sky, knowing she was on a plane.

“You're safe.” Ted said instantly, sitting across from her, face concerned as he studied her. Randy had already told him flat out if she made a scene on the plane, he was sedating her again. “Do you remember us?” He asked gently, gesturing to himself and then his sleeping friends. Hopefully they'd stay asleep and not freak her out any more than she already was. He damn near jumped when Cody let out a snort.

Flashbacks of that night by the dumpster flashed through her mind of three men finding her, the rain pouring down around her. “Sort of.” She whispered, looking around again and pressed a hand to her abdomen when she went to inhale a breath.

No doubt she had busted ribs, again, and that just made tears swell in her green eyes. She wasn't going to scream; there was no reason too because, somehow, Martina knew she was safe. Taking another deep breath, Martina looked up when a waitress walked by. She blinked when the gentleman with short blonde hair asked for some water, much to Martina's relief and was handed a cup a few minutes later, gulping it down.

“Don't swallow it too fast.” Randy said tiredly from his seat, watching her through half-closed eyes, sprawled back, head angled in her direction. “Randy.” He pointed to himself. “Teddy, Cody.” He gestured to them each in turn.

“Next time give a guy some warning.” Ted grunted half-jokingly.

She couldn't help it, though managed to slow down, sighing when it was fully gone and set the cup aside. “Martina.” She said quietly, not flipping out; though she was in a considerable amount of pain. “W-What happened after I passed out?” She asked, after what seemed like an eternity, listening as Randy told her he took her to the hospital, where the doctor, Mike, forced them to take her with them on the road, to get her away from whatever danger she was in. “Ahh Michael.” She nodded knowingly and ran a hand through her waist length black hair.

Randy wanted to ask her several questions, but this wasn't the time, or place, for it. Sighing, he closed his eyes again and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Ted, you need to take notes.”

“What for?” Ted asked, already preparing.

“Martina, we need to know what size you wear...Shoes, pants, bras, shirts; give all that info to Ted.”

“Maybe we should have her dye her hair too?” Cody suggested, finally speaking up, while stroking his chin.

“Nice of you to join the discussion.”

“Dye my hair?” She whispered softly, fingering her black hair, then realized what he meant by that, nodding. “I don't care what color, just pick one.” She couldn't go around with black hair and decided she probably should cut her hair as well. She would do it when she was a little more healed, swallowing hard. Taking the pen and paper from Ted, Martina began writing down her sizes and whatnot, cheeks tingeing red and handed it back to him, before looking out the window again. “Thank you.”

“Hmmm brown or red, but nothing too light; it wouldn't look right.” Cody said, studying her thoughtfully, eyes looking past the bruises and cuts. If they were going to go through with this folly, he might as well get into it.

“Is there anything else, Fabio?”

“Yeah, we should- Fabio?”

Coughing, Ted pocketed the paper, trying not to laugh.

Martina chuckled quietly, wincing as she held her side, nodding when Ted asked her if she was alright. “I'm used to it.” She whispered solemnly, knowing the only thing that could help broken ribs was time and a lot of ice. She wasn't surprised when the younger looking one, Cody, asked for an ice compress and put it against her side a few minutes later, hissing out. ‘I don't even want to look at the rest of me.’ She thought, closing her eyes as another flashback hit her, immediately pushing it firmly aside.

She was used to it? What in the hell? Who got USED to being beaten? Nobody should get USED to it. That was just sick. Randy shook his head disgustedly, the revulsion quite visible on his face, though it wasn't aimed at her, but her now ex-boyfriend. “What's this guy’s name again?”

“Roger Malcolm.” Her voice held such disdain that it actually made Cody and Ted cringe, eyes narrowing to slits as she thought about everything she'd gone through with that prick. “He's a famous lawyer back home, powerful with money, unlimited resources.” Martina had no idea who these three men are, but one thing was for sure, when she was better, she was leaving. She couldn't put their lives in danger, knowing Roger was already looking for her and Michael had fended him off from the hospital as long as he could. She looked down at her hands, which started shaking and closed her eyes tightly shut as the tears burned within them, trying to calm down, blocking out the pain. “What all did Michael say was wrong with me?” She asked quietly.

Inhaling deeply, Ted looked at Randy, who simply nodded, before launching off into that lengthy list, watching her face for any signs of surprise. There was none. That wasn't right. It was like she was used to this and the fact that ANYONE could be...He was going to be sick.

Roger Malcolm. If he was smart, he'd leave her alone, or else his unlimited resources wouldn't be doing him any good. Being a famous lawyer with money didn't do anyone a damn bit of good when they were dead.

All of those injuries and, yet, Martina was still alive. It didn't make any sense, but now she was wondering if these men were her angels in disguise. She needed help, a way out, and received both. Martina had been with Roger for three years, luckily never marrying him. She wouldn't accept his proposal anyway; though all he cared about was himself, so she knew popping the question would never happen.

The first year had been bliss, he'd showered her with gifts and riches, taken her out every night to fancy dinners, treated her like a queen. Then he asked her to move in with him and everything went downhill from there. Martina wasn't the domesticated type and Roger didn't approve of that, even though he had maids to do it. He wanted HER to learn, to bend and break her, and he had ever since she moved in two years ago.

It was the worst mistake of her life.

Randy closed his eyes again, leaning back. No doubt, as soon as she could, Martina would try running off. This in turn would only land her back with Roger. “If you're thinking about running, don't.” He said, not looking at her. “You're safer with us than anywhere else.” Given that they moved from spot to spot constantly, could enlist bodyguards if necessary -not to mention their celebrity status- should’ve kept anyone from messing with them.

Randy had a point.

Chapter 3

Martina's eyes widened slightly when she heard that, looking over at him, wondering how he knew what she was thinking. “Who are you?” She asked, looking from Randy to Ted and Cody, eyebrows furrowed together. “You don't know the power Roger holds...” She began trembling, remembering the last time she tried running. “He has unlimited resources and he'll hire private investigators to find me; men to bring me back to him, no matter what.” Taking a deep breath, Martina tried calming down as a few tears slipped down her bruised face. “You three are being put in danger by trying to help me.”

“She really has no idea who we are, does she?”

“It's kinda nice for a change. I never thought wrestling would get as mainstream as it has.”

“Can we get back to the point at hand? So what if she doesn't know who we are! Chances are Roger doesn't either. That's an advantage. Martina, if you run, you'll wind up back with him; might as well give us a shot.”

Randy had another good point.

No matter how much she hated admitting it; Martina found herself nodding in agreement. “Will you three tell me who you are?” She asked, deciding it couldn't hurt, and watched as the apprehension dawned on them.

“Umm...well...”

“Have you ever heard of professional wrestling?” Ted asked bluntly, ignoring Randy's scowl, light blue eyes on Martina for the time being.

“I used to watch World Championship Wrestling back in the day, is that the same thing?”

“Kinda...” Ted chewed his bottom lip. “When's the last time you watched it?”

“Oh god...at least 1998.” She answered, after thinking about it for a few seconds.

“We're wrestlers.”

“And you're ten years out of the loop. WCW is dead, to put it mildly. Wrestling has exploded in that time. Wrestlers are considered like B list celebrities.” Randy said, arching an eyebrow at Ted. “If Roger even thinks about fucking with us, it'd be press fodder. His money would have a hell of a time buying silence if something was to happen to a woman traveling with us.”

“I'm SO glad your ego is in check tonight.”

‘I'm with celebrities?’ She thought, blinking, not really caring about WCW dying or whatever. It didn't matter to her; she wasn't a wrestling fan anymore. “Thank you for helping me.” She yawned gently, covering her mouth with her hand, and leaned back against the seat. “I'm going to go back to sleep until the plane lands.” Martina murmured, the pain she was in exhausting, and hoped Randy was right. She hoped she would finally be safe and away from Roger's clutches, knowing he wouldn't give her up without a fight. For once in her life, Martina would have to put her life and safety in the hands of three strangers.

Randy moved back to leaning in his seat, trying to sneak in a few more winks of sleep. His mind wasn't letting him though. Just what was it about Martina that made this Roger guy so damn obsessed with her? She looked like she was pretty enough under the bruises and scrapes that disfigured her at the moment, but beauty alone usually wasn't enough to turn someone psychotic. Sighing, he knew they were in for a long, interesting and undoubtedly pain in the ass ride.

The plane landed an hour later as Martina slowly stood up with Ted's help, smiling at him, and let him guide her ahead of them off of the plane. Her hood was up, black shades over her eyes, and moved very slowly due to her injuries. One foot in front of the other would get her to a bed; Martina was sure of it.

That's what Martina needed, more than anything, was rest as she followed closely to them, feeling Ted wrap an arm around her shoulders, leaning against him for support. He was a nice man and she had a feeling he was the reason why she was here to begin with. Once inside the rental, Martina leaned her head against the seat, taking the passenger side while Randy drove, Ted and Cody in the back, heading to wherever.

“I hope it doesn't bother you, Martina, but I'm smoking.” Randy announced, glancing over at her, scowling. “Boys, she should have been in the backseat if we're trying to keep her hidden.” He said sternly; then, so she wouldn't get the wrong opinion, quickly added, “Don't think I don't like you or anything, but from Michael's...words and how hasty he was in getting you out of there, it was like we were being followed already or something.”

“I understand and don't hold anything against you.” She assured him quietly as Randy pulled over, her and Cody swapping places; the man didn't seem to like her very much either, but that was the least of her worries.

“Hey, that's fine with me. A gorgeous woman leaning on me, you don't hear me complaining.” Ted grinned down at her, seeing Martina was leaning her head back against the window, and pulled her to where she could lean on him.

“Oh god, he's going to try hitting on her.” Cody groaned, shaking his head.

“I am not!”

“Are too!”

“Am not!!”

“Are too!!”

“Please don’t argue.” She whispered, head pounding.

“Guys, leave her alone; she's tired and probably in a lot of pain.” Randy ordered gruffly.

Randy knew he was coming across as a prick and, honestly, what did anyone expect? She had been thrust at them out of the blue and all they had done was find her and take her to a hospital. This entire situation was surreal. Of course, none of it was her fault, so he couldn't be mad at her. She needed help, that much was obvious, and he'd do whatever he could to ensure her safety.

Martina sighed with relief when Ted gave her a pain pill; no doubt Michael's stash and popped one with bottled water. “Thanks.” She whispered, handing it back to him and leaned her head on his shoulder, eyes closing.

“No problem, angel, sleep.” Ted whispered, deciding he was calling her that from now on, running his fingers through her hair.

She needed help; Ted didn't feel anything, but friendship toward the poor woman. From the second he laid eyes on her, while sitting on that dumpster, Ted knew she would become a part of their lives in some form or fashion. Now here they were. He looked down, not surprised when he saw her sleeping and nodded at Randy, who was glancing in the rearview mirror.

“This is unreal.”

“No doubt.” Randy grunted in agreement with Cody, cracking the window to let the smoke drift out, before taking a long inhale off of it, letting the nicotine work its way through his system. “So if this Roger guy does come hunting her up...”

“What do we do? Shouldn't we be calling the cops right about now?”

“Two things. First of all, if we were going to do that, we should have done it at the scene where we found her. Second, sounds like moron Roger already bought them off.”

“No doubt about that.” Ted nodded, arm wrapped securely around her waist, sighing heavily. “I know you guys think I'm insane for bringing her with us, but we couldn't just leave her.”

“We know, Teddy, now shut up.” Cody grunted, cracking the window on his side, and stared out of it with a shake of his head. What the hell was going to happen now that they had Martina with them? “Who the hell do we know who can dye her hair?”

“Janet and Tiffany are available. They can do it once she's healed. I'm going to give her some of that salve shit I got for bruises to help them heal faster.” Ted was determined to get her healthy again, frowning at how pencil-thin she looked. “That and she needs to eat.”

“No kidding?” Randy rolled his eyes. “Nothing a little room service and a lot of makeup won't fix, Ted. Put your hero complex aside. Physically, she's going to be fine. It's the emotional state and her ex-boyfriend that has me worried.”

“Why? I mean the emotional, not the psychotic ex, I know why for that, but-” Cody stopped when both his friends groaned. “What?”

“You really are oblivious.” Ted snorted, rolling his eyes.

When they arrived at the hotel, Ted carried Martina up to their suite, while Randy and Cody got the bags, feeling protective over her for some reason. He laid her down gently and took her shoes off, covering her up with the blanket and felt pained at the sight of her bruises. He quickly got into his bag, while Randy and Cody spoke quietly, taking the salve out and walked back into her room, before spreading it on her face, knowing she wouldn't wake up.

He bit his bottom lip and slowly removed her sweatshirt; glad she was wearing a bra underneath, removing her pants next. He used nearly a whole jar of salve and, thanks to the painkillers, she wasn't feeling anything. Ted covered her up, after it soaked in a bit, before walking back out, shaking his head and suddenly bolted to the bathroom to throw up.

Randy had ordered them up some food, along with a bowl of soup, having a microwave they could reheat it in if need be. Knowing Martina had been living off of IV's up until they left the hospital, she had to eat something. He had no idea what she liked, but that couldn't be helped. Food was food.

“She’s sleeping...” He trailed off, watching Ted rush to go hurl, frowning. “What the hell...?”

Ted would never, as long as he lived, get the image of that poor woman's battered and bruised body out of his mind. Ted couldn't even look at food right now and slowly walked out ten minutes later, paler than usual, and walked over to sit on the bed heavily. “That bastard...You don't even...” Ted couldn't even speak and shook his head when his partners demanded to know what was going on. “Go look. Go take one look at her and try thinking about food or keeping what's in your stomach.” Ted shook his head and laid down, stomach gurgling; though he was not hungry, not after tending to her, especially the deep gash in her thigh that was stitched.

“Uh no thanks, I'm good.” Cody shook his head, his own stomach growling hungrily. Whatever it was, he did NOT need to see it. Nope, he was quite alright being left in the dark. He groaned when Randy did, however, go look. “I'm not following!”

“Pussy.” Randy sneered over his shoulder, sighing as he stepped into the room. He gently lifted the blanket and frowned, staring down at her. His stomach wasn't ready to flip flop, but his blood sure as hell was boiling.

There wasn't an inch of Martina's body that wasn't covered in deep, dark bruises; a few lash marks across her stomach and back, though Randy couldn't see them at the moment. Her thigh was stitched, along with a laceration on her right arm and cheek. Michael had done an exceptional job and she would no doubt have scars from the lash marks. Martina looked helpless and nearly lifeless while lying in that bed, rib bones actually showing because that's how Roger wanted her to be.

He didn't feed her for days at a time and if she was caught eating...she got beaten. This man was a colossal monster. The salve that Ted spread on her body would not only make the deep bruises disappear, but also numb her temporarily; so, right now, she wasn't feeling anything.

This was disgusting.

Randy carefully covered her again, wondering what sort of monster could do this to another human being. What the hell...this man had no right in even calling himself a man. He was too damn low. Snarling, he walked out into the main room, holding up a hand to stop Cody from even opening his mouth, knowing full well Cody was about to ask something stupid. He went into his own room and slammed the door shut behind him, temper up at dangerous levels. Randy wanted nothing more than to meet this Roger Malcolm and teach him how to treat a woman.

Chapter 4

Two days later, the bruises were faded as Martina slowly walked out of the room, the sun shining inside, Ted having gone shopping for her. She requested long sleeved shirts and pants, not wanting to show off her body in any way, shape or form. Currently, she wore black jeans with a long sleeved black shirt; nothing special, hair down, fresh out of the shower. She was careful with her stitches, which would be coming out by the end of the week, so that was a plus.

Martina saw nobody in the suite, to her knowledge, and decided to get some water. Randy made her eat soup of all kinds so Martina was slowly regaining strength. She didn't have an eating disorder, due to not listening to Roger, though her body was still too thin. Hell, she was ugly and no man would ever want her again.

The little amount Martina could eat, at a time, worried the hell out of Ted and then made Cody start speculating she was anorexic or something. Currently, Randy was trying to ignore the pair of them going at it over the deal in the main room, leaning out an open window smoking. “Okay morons. She eats like a bird because she was starved by that...man...” He sneered the word. “And when you don't eat, your stomach shrinks. See where I'm going with this?”

“Not really.”

“Yes.”

“Hmm...” Martina couldn't eat a lot right now due to how much pain she was still in. She was very sore with broken ribs, the primary reason she had to move slowly. She had three broken and two cracked, according to Michael, hoping that was it. She was shocked she only had minimal internal bleeding that could heal, as long as she rested and didn't stress out too much. Martina was worried sick about Roger finding her, but kept those thoughts to herself, sighing gently. She got her cup of water and turned around, two hands planting on her shoulders so she wouldn't bump into Randy. “Sorry...”

“Don't be. You should be resting.” Concerned eyes peered down at her, worry in them. She had showered. He frowned somewhat. What if she had fallen? Great, now he was thinking like Ted; well, at least it was only in his own mind…that was a slight comfort. “Do you need a pain killer?” He normally didn't encourage using pain pills a lot, but given her situation, he would have hooked her up to a morphine drip if he could get his hands on it.

“I'm just sore for the most part, Randy.” She murmured quietly, deciding a cold compress wouldn't hurt for her ribs, and slowly walked past him while taking deep, soothing breaths. “Would you mind ordering me some soup?” Martina asked, feeling him behind her as she walked back to her room, sighing gently when he wrapped an arm around her waist. These men were overprotective; it was both assuring and annoying at the same time. “I'm fine, Randy, I just need to eat something.” Martina felt weak because her stomach was empty and sat down on the bed, while he called to place an order. “Thank you.” She murmured, when he hung up, staring up at him, for the first time noticing how beautiful his eyes were. They were a mystic, electric blue, nothing like she'd ever seen before on a man.

Randy almost blushed when he realized she was studying his eyes, looking down. Usually the first thing a woman noticed on him was his wallet, then his body. Eyes usually didn't make it on the top ten list.

“You're welcome.” He replied, voice coming out in a low, husky rumble.

“Damn, that got deep.” Cody whistled, wincing when Ted smacked him upside the back of his head.

“How do your ribs feel?” Ted asked, biting back a smirk at Cody’s scowl.

“They're sore, healing slowly.” Martina replied softly, raking a hand through her hair, after lowering her gaze from Randy. He looked uneasy and Martina knew he didn't want her here. Who blamed him honestly? She sure didn't. Martina was dropped in their laps without a second thought, any warning, and now forced to take care of her until this Roger situation was handled. “How are you all doing?” She asked, smiling when Ted walked over to sit next to her, holding out a cold compress and took it with a sigh of relief.

“Well we're fine, it's you we're all worrying about.” Cody flashed a bright smile, still rubbing the back of his head, before scowling deeper. “That hurt.”

“Cody...you're a big boy now, you can deal with it.” Randy shook his head, studying Martina thoughtfully. “I've arranged a new ID for you.” He said informingly, knowing full well she wasn't going to like this, but...He picked up a manila envelope and set it down in her lap. “From now on, you're Jessica Orton.”

“His…um wife.”

“His what?” Martina wanted to make sure she heard that right, staring at the manila envelope like it would attack her at any moment, and blinked repeatedly. “I uh...” She couldn't even form a sentence and swallowed hard, closing her eyes, and knew this was the only way to escape Roger. Slowly, silently, Martina emptied the contents out of the envelope on the bed, which included a fake marriage license, a simple diamond ring; no doubt she would get her ID, once she changed her hair and face was bruise free, along with the cut on her cheek. “Thank you...for doing this.” Martina whispered, hands shaking, and clenched them tightly as the tears began falling.

This is what it came down too, Martina having to change her identity, the person she was. She had to start over fresh and slowly wiped her tears away, before squaring her shoulders, needing to do this. If she wanted to be rid of Roger, Martina had no choice.

Randy knelt down in front of her, knowing this had to be a lot to take in. She just managed to escape an abusive relationship, was stuck with three men she didn't know, and now in a false marriage with one of them. Martina had to change everything, including who she truly was.

“Look, it's not forever, I promise.” He assured her, offering a crooked smile. “I promise I'll be a good husband.”

Martina cracked a small, teary smile back at him, nodding gently, and sniffled as she wiped the rest of her tears away. “Thank you for everything.” She whispered and felt him kiss her cheek, before taking the ring, sliding it on her left ring finger. It felt good in a very weird way as Martina cleared her throat, looking up when there was a knock on the door, Cody going to answer it. “So when do I change my hair color and everything?”

“We can do it today if you're up for it. That way we can take a picture and have that ID made up for you within a day.” She would need it when they left in two days, but Ted didn't want to push her any more than she already was.

“That's fine, whatever needs to be done; I'll do it without a fuss.” Her eyes turned to Randy, staring into his blue orbs again. “I promise to be a good wife too.” She hoped at least.

Randy ALMOST cracked a joke about how if she wasn't, he'd have to spank her, but caught himself in time. No doubt that wouldn't make him look too good. “Tiffany and Janet already said they'd come here.” He sounded pleased with himself, having spoken with them the other night, and promised he owed them a favor. Having no idea what it would be, Randy could just imagine what the wenches had in mind for their payback.

Martina sighed gently with a nod as Cody walked back inside, with her soup, eyes instantly going to food. She was starving and set the tray down on the bed, the paperwork back in the manila envelope, beginning to slowly eat.

“Do you want more of that salve for your ribs?” It wouldn't help heal them, but the pain would diminish; Ted retrieved more for her, not wanting Martina to live in misery.

“Sure, after I eat and my hair is done.” She knew the women were going to flip out when they saw her bruised face, which was just an ugly yellowish brown now. Both cheeks and chin, the split in her lip already healed.

“Randy, did you ask Larry about taking her stitches out?”

“Don't worry about them, they're dissolvable.” Michael was a saint and Martina already missed him, sighing as she took another bite.

“Larry said he'd look her over just to make sure everything is healing the way it should.” Randy said, ignoring the startled look Martina shot him. “I'm sorry, but you shouldn't have left the hospital so soon, it's just a precaution. And you can trust him. He thinks you are my wife, they all do. I told them we just hopped a flight to Vegas and all that jazz.”

“Just HOW are you going to explain the bruises?”

“She fell down a flight of stairs.”

“How'd that happen?”

“Does it matter?”

“I'm a very clumsy person; I can pull that off without a problem.” Martina told them all, used to lying. She was a pro at it as she sipped more of her soup down, sighing heavily. “I can't wait until my ribs heal so I can have REAL food.” She wanted spaghetti, steak, anything that was SOLID and would fill her up. She wanted her natural curves back, not this toothpick figure. This wasn't her. Maybe she could bring the true Martina out through this woman Jessica Orton. “I just hope nobody thinks you...abused me or anything.” She frowned, not liking that and looked up at all three men, knowing they were thinking the same thing.

“Nah, everyone knows Randy's not like that. Besides, we'll back him up. You tripped, went down a flight of stairs.”

“Two flights.”

“Smartass.” Randy sighed gently. Well, if they did think he beat her, they wouldn't be far off from the mark. She HAD been beaten.

“Good.” Martina cracked a smile at all of them as she finished her soup, before handing the tray over to Cody, knowing they wouldn't let her get up at the moment. “What time will the stylists be here?” She asked, nodding when Randy said a few hours, and decided more rest was in order. “Wake me when they get here.” She whispered softly and yawned before laying down, the cold compress still on her side, the diamond ring glittering on her left hand. She couldn't believe all the changes that came into her life within the span of a few days. With her angels in mind, particularly Randy, Martina drifted off to sleep.

“I think the ring might've been too much.” Cody commented once he was sure she was asleep.

“Are you kidding me? You know how much that thing cost?”

“That's not what I meant. You probably should have gotten something more low key, so she don't feel uncomfortable.”

Randy smacked his forehead.

“Dude, he's a celebrity; if she doesn't have a big rock on her finger, then people will wonder if he's a cheap ass.” Ted stated, causing Randy to look up, grinning back at him. “It's the truth man. If she really was your wife, you would probably buy something even more extravagant than that.”

Cody grumbled, knowing Ted was right. “Good point, man.”

“If we're doing this, it has to be done right. She seems comfortable enough with us and soon she'll trust us fully.” Ted actually sounded excited about this as he walked past them to get bottled water.

“So what color did you pick out for her?”

“I'm leaving that up to Janet. She'll know better than me.”

“Smart man.”

“Anything except blonde.” Randy could just imagine it. He had gotten married out of the blue to a rail thin, blonde…that'd be great, NOT.

“I still say brown or a deep red.”

“We know Fabio.”

“We could also do contacts to cover her eye color.”

“Nah, I like her green eyes. She needs to be herself in some way. Leave her damn eyes alone.” Ted scowled, crossing his arms defiantly in front of his chest. “Her hair; her name; leave her eyes alone.”

Cody went to speak when Randy held his hand up, agreeing with Ted, and sighed heavily with a shrug of his shoulders. “Fine, suit yourselves.”

Chapter 5

Ted went to play his PS3 until Janet and Tiffany arrived, which was two hours later, and wondered if Martina needed more time to rest. He walked in her room, seeing she was up staring out the window, and cleared his throat quietly to get her attention. “Jess, they're here.”

“Oh okay.” She whispered after a minute, remembering her name was Jessica now and walked over to sit on the bed as the girls walked in, closing the men out.

“You can see her when we're finished.” Tiffany trilled and walked over, sighing with a gentle smile. “Hello honey, I'm Tiff and this is Janet.”

“Now that the introductions are over with, let's get busy.”

~!~

Randy smiled slightly, wondering if he really should be out here, knowing how nosy and pushy those two women could be. “Think they'd kill me if I went in there?”

“I think someone should be, she doesn't know them.”

“Not to mention their never-ending mouths.”

~!~

“Hmmm so you fell down a flight of stairs?”

“Two actually, I'm very clumsy.” Martina chuckled softly, while Janet began cutting her hair, feeling some of the weight lift from her head, sighing gently.

Nodding, Martina answered their questions with ease while Tiffany even did her makeup. Her stitches were dissolving on her cheek so, after Janet was done with her hair, Tiffany put foundation with brown eyeliner and natural eye shadow to hide the injuries, clear gloss on her lips. Her hair was a deep auburn red that had golden streaks in it, going just a little past her shoulders.

“What do you think?”

“Wow.”

~!~

“How long does it take?”

“Can't rush perfection.” Cody smirked, busy whipping Ted's distracted ass on the PS3. “I win, again.”

Randy snorted from his place at the table, browsing the local paper and smoking, a can of soda in front of him. “She's getting her hair dyed; come on, it's going to take a while. Be patient.”

The door opened as Martina stepped out, looking like a new woman, though still moving slowly, seeing a beaming Janet and Tiffany going to retrieve the guys. She was nervous and fingered her hair, the beautiful gold accenting the red nicely and went with her jade green eyes. She looked up when Ted came over to her, tears shining in her eyes.

“No, no, no crying!” Tiffany grunted, shaking her head. “You can't cry or your makeup will run, honey.”

“Whoa, you look...”

“Smoking.”

“I was going to say beautiful, but...yeah...” Ted couldn't believe how stunning Martina was. “Jess, you're a knockout.”

“Randy, what do you think of your wife's new look, man?”

After hearing his friend's reactions, Randy braced himself before looking up, blue eyes giving nothing away. Dear god she was a vision. Her black hair had been gorgeous, but it made her look so pale, wraithlike, especially with the length. This new color, the red and gold, gave her cheeks a flush, the makeup masking the bruises and cuts he knew were there.

“Damn...You look stunning.” He said finally, trying to keep his voice from going low and husky like it had the last time.

“Of COURSE she does, Orton.” Tiffany conceded with a roll of her eyes, flipping her blonde hair over her shoulder, smirking. “You really landed yourself a looker.”

“That he did.” Janet was grinning as well, patting Jessica's shoulder gently and nodded when she went to open her mouth, probably to thank them. “Don't mention it honey. Get well soon.” Her and Tiffany walked out, knowing their job was done.

“I feel really different.” Martina commented as soon as they left, running a hand through her colored hair, smiling when Ted stepped forward to gently hug her. “Thank you.” She couldn't say it enough and walked over to Randy, smiling when he bent down to where she could hug him around the neck, not wanting to reach up because of her injured ribs.

“You do look beautiful.” Randy murmured against her ear, gently wrapping one arm around her. Careful not to squeeze, he didn’t want to hurt her. “Did they bother you?”

“They're nosy bitches, but we love them.” Cody said cheerfully.

“Down Fabio, down.”

“Can you please stop calling me that? I'm NOT gay.”

“No, they just asked me what happened and I told them.” They HAD to know Tiffany and Janet were going to ask about what happened to her; the girls weren't that stupid after all. “For the most part, it was silent with Tiffany and Janet bantering back and forth.” She shrugged as Randy slowly released her, loving the feeling of his arms around her body, staring up into his eyes again. He had the most beautiful eyes she'd ever seen on a man. Martina slowly pulled away and walked over to a full length mirror, wincing slightly, and looked at the reflection that stared back at her. ‘Wow...’ She thought, fingering her hair again, the makeup hiding what happened to her as she tilted her head to the side. ‘Hello Jessica, goodbye Martina.’ Her eyes closed briefly as she thought that, before opening them again, a smile replacing the frown.

Randy was studying her thoughtfully, aware she'd been dishing on his eyes again, mildly curious about that. They were just plain, ordinary blue, nothing special. Now her green orbs, those were something to look into. They were like green pools a person could just fall into.

“It's good to see you smile.” He commented casually.

“For the first time in two years, I feel completely safe and I just know things are going to be alright.” She murmured quietly, Ted and Cody having gone back to playing the PS3 and watched through the reflection as Randy came up behind her, placing his hands on her shoulders gently. Maybe she was wrong about Randy; maybe he didn't hate her as much as she thought. The man had offered to make her his wife, fake or not, so he had to like her on some level and wanted to help her. “I'm gonna go lay back down.” She patted his hand gently, before slowly walking back into her room, just wanting to be alone to reflect on her new life and identity.

Shrugging, Randy watched her go and headed over to play whatever game his friends were, dropping down on the couch behind them. “I play winner.” He announced, mind on his new 'wife'. Now that was odd. This meant no more dating, which made him smirk. Of course, he would have to get to know Martina. ‘Jessica.’ He mentally corrected himself, which made him think they had to have a date.

Randy's wife...Jessica Orton...Martina couldn't wrap her mind around it and sighed heavily, while staring out the window, the bedroom dark. She was different, everything was different. Was it wrong to think of Randy as a great choice for a phony husband?

Was it wrong for her to think how incredibly sexy and strong he was? Martina was just getting off a really bad relationship, if it could even be called that, and she knew Roger was currently searching for her. With her blue eyed savior on her mind and the thought of what was to come, Martina laid down and drifted off in a restful, peaceful slumber.

“Please, remember to be polite.” Ted said after Randy presented his idea of taking Martina –Jessica- on a date, so they could get to know each better. At first, he found the idea retarded up until Randy pointed out that, as a married couple, people would expect them to know each other well and be comfortable, affectionate even. “And don't be pushy.”

“Uh, don't you think he needs to run this idea by Jessie first before you start handing him advice?”

“Good point.” Ted said with a nod, looking over at Randy, who was staring at the television screen. “Just remember what she's been through.”

“And don't ask her about that bastard either. Show her we're different.”

Ted nodded, glancing back at the bedroom door that was closed. “Is it wrong to already be attached to her?”

Cody didn't say anything, wondering what Ted meant by that.

“Define attached. Because if it's in a non-platonic way, then WHY didn't you say so BEFORE I did the whole marriage thing?” Randy arched an eyebrow, feeling a little territorial, which was more a point of pride than anything. She was HIS wife; well fake wife, but same difference. “I can handle this, I've been out before.”

“Not with someone like her.”

“She's already like a sister to me.” Ted assured Randy, feeling protective of Martina, not wanting her to get hurt. “She needs to trust us, just take it slow, man. That's all we're saying.”

“You'll be fine.” Cody hoped, with a cracked smile, before going back to playing his game.

“Cody, if you don't stop playing without me, I'll kick your ass.”

Cody snorted, rolling his eyes. “Knock it off and play the damn thing then!”

“How the fuck am I going to take it fast? Not like I'm asking her to hop in bed with me.” Randy snorted. “It's a getting to know her kinda date, moron. Like, her favorite color, her likes; dislikes…that sort of thing.”

“Basically, what every good husband needs to know.” Cody said, not looking up from the game, whipping Teddy's ass, even though he was now paying attention. “Wham, bam, thank you ma'am, I win. Again.”

“Aww fuck!” Ted groaned, not amused in the slightest and sighed heavily as he shook his head, starting a new game. “I wonder if she's a gamer...” He wondered aloud, rolling his eyes when Randy smacked him upside the head, already knowing the answer to that question. “Alright fine, maybe we can make her a gamer then.”

“That would be awesome having a woman to game with.”

Ted grinned, already having plans to ask Martina -Jessica- about it, before proceeding to kick Cody's ass. He trusted Randy and knew the man was doing what he felt was in her best interest.

Ted was a bit too overprotective. It would appear endearing and cute to women; to Randy, it was an annoying habit his friend was going to have to break himself of. At least when it came to him and Cody. Obviously they weren’t going to hurt Martina, they were trying to help her now, weren't they? Randy sat back to watch the two, mind not even on the game.

~!~

A week later, Martina was finally healed and could walk normally, though her ribs were still sore. The bruises were gone, stitches having dissolved, and she was a new woman. Randy had taken her out shopping for a new wardrobe, which remained the same. Long sleeved shirts, jeans and sweatpants. She wore the same thing to bed, except they were pajamas. Martina didn't want to show her body to anyone, knowing it was hideous. At least her face and hair were beautiful, the rest of her not so much.

Martina's eyes slowly fluttered open as the sunlight hit her face, causing her to groan and rolled over on her side, wincing. That wasn't a bright move as she slowly sat up, clearing her throat, and took a sip of water that was on her nightstand. Even though she was 'married' to Randy, he still provided her very own room in the suites, which she was thankful for. Slipping out of bed, Martina went to make some coffee, knowing that's the first thing the men would want when they got up.

Cody was the first one up, sniffing, and crept over to wake up Ted. “Dude...She's making coffee.”

“I LIKE coffee, especially when annoying fucks like you insist on waking me up.” Ted groaned, pulling a pillow over his face.

Cody sighed, wondering if he should tell Martina the only one who drank coffee was usually Ted. He drank it as a last resort and Randy only drank it when he couldn't get his hands on an energy drink or soda. “Hmmm...” Nah, he'd let her do it, though he wasn't sure WHY she did it; she didn't have to wait on them. It made him uncomfortable. “Morning, Jessie.”

Hearing that name was still new to Martina as she poured herself a cup of java, needing to wake up, letting out a loud yawn and nodded. “Morning Cody.” She murmured quietly, jetlagged beyond belief.

She wasn't used to traveling, but slowly her body would get used to it. Randy had assured her it was normal, though Martina would deal with the jetlag as long as she didn't have to look at Roger again. Dreaming of him was bad enough, which is why she hadn't been getting much sleep, and often spent the nights staring out the window silently crying.

“Morning. You look like...you slept badly.” Cody corrected himself, before he could say 'hell', that would have been bad. Of course she looked like hell; she had been beaten damn near to death and had only recently started showing serious signs of improvement. Though, it also looked like jetlag was kicking her ass. “Not sleeping so good?” He asked sympathetically.

“I hardly sleep. I'm afraid he'll find me.” Her voice was distant and soft, not wanting to wake the others and sipped her java as her eyes closed, acting as if it was her lifeline. “I'm fine, Cody.” Martina murmured, cracking a smile at him, before walking past toward her room to enjoy her coffee.

The sun had barely risen over the horizon when her body shut down, though it was only for two hours. Every time her eyes closed, she saw Roger staring back at her with that knife, causing tears to swell in her eyes. Even in her dreams he wouldn't leave her alone. Martina sat down on the bed and drew her knees up, leaning her head back against the headboard, just staring straight ahead.

Cody made a mental note to ask Randy and Ted about maybe getting Martina some sleeping pills, knowing she had to get more sleep than whatever it was she was scraping by on. He wanted to follow and assure her Roger would never find her, but knew that wouldn't assuage her fears. Only time and eventually learning to trust them would do that. There was no way Roger was going to magically track them down; not with the way they constantly moved from place to place and, even if by chance he did, he surely couldn't be stupid enough to think he could get away with anything, not with the three men standing between him and Martina.

Martina was silent for the most part, staying holed up in her room, only to be dragged out when either they left to go to the next place or when the guys wanted to talk to her. They often tried including her in conversations, but Martina just wanted to be left alone for the most part. She didn't want them seeing her bruised face, makeup only covering so much, or the tears in her eyes.

She hated seeing the pity in their own because Martina was stronger than they gave her credit for. She was weak at the moment though physically, mentally and emotionally, especially after nearly being killed by her now ex-boyfriend Roger. No doubt he was trying to track her down, but with her new identity, that was going to be close to impossible.

Chapter 6

“Sleeping pills and therapy?” Randy repeated, wondering if there was a law against this kind of discussion this early in the day. He accepted the coffee Ted handed him, frowned, and passed it back. “Uh...”

“Juice?”

“No, why do you say therapy?”

“You really aren't a morning person, are you? It makes you slow.”

“Sorry, I forgot you're not a coffee drinker.” Ted grunted, having only been with Randy a few months, sighing gently. “I don't think she needs therapy. I think she just needs to learn how to trust us.” Ted knew Martina wouldn't go for the therapy for two reasons. One, she refused to talk about what happened with Roger and, two, she was Jessica Orton now, Randy's wife. Why would Randy's wife need therapy? “Do you forget her identity too, man? Having Randy's wife in therapy will attract attention.”

“Ohhh...” Cody was catching on now, having gotten himself a Red Bull, along with Randy, raking a hand through his hair. “Well...what should we do then?”

“Leave it up to her husband.”

Randy scowled, almost choking on his Red Bull, but managed to swallow without spewing or dribbling any, blue eyes shooting daggers at Ted. “Not funny, you're the one who was all gung-ho about this.” He grunted, setting aside the can and rubbed the back of his head, sighing when Ted shot him a look. “She can't do therapy or people WOULD start to wonder. Maybe one of us should try talking to her?”

“Have fun with that; you and the little woman will have a great conversation.”

“Her name is Martina.”

“Jessica.”

“Behind closed doors she's Martina, moron.” Ted scowled, crossing his arms in front of his chest, staring pointedly at Randy. “You know damn well you wouldn't have left her either even if I wasn't all for it.” Ted sipped more of his coffee, sitting in a chair, wondering what it would take to make Martina trust them.

“Watch you slip up and then people will REALLY start talking.” Cody snorted, shaking his head and finished his Red Bull, before turning the television on. “I'm not going to talk to her.”

“She's Jessica.” Randy said firmly. “If we call her Martina, chances are, we'll do it at the wrong place and that'll be another question asked we won't want to answer. Understood?”

“Loud and clear, boss.”

“Call me that again, moron, and-”

“And what?” Cody wasn't even looking up, turning on the PS3. He scoffed when Randy didn't reply, beginning to play his game. A second later the screen went black. “What the-”

Randy held up the cord.

“So we're really taking her to the arena?” Cody asked, ignoring Randy's 'no shit, moron', busy with his game, this time guarding the cords.

“Considering Janet and Tiffany have probably told everyone Randy's married, that'd look odd if she didn't as least make an appearance with him.”

“If by chance anyone asks, Cody is blonde.”

“HEY!”

~!~

Martina took a shower, crying at the scars that adorned her abdomen, letting the sprays wash away her tears. She was hopeless and damaged goods. Why Randy was helping her was beyond Martina, but she wasn't going to question it. The last time she'd done that had been three days ago and Randy told her never to mention it again. She sighed, finishing her shower and stepped out, wrapping a thick black towel around her body, looking at her left arm with a frown.

Another scar would be there as she ran her fingers over the fresh tissue that was healing. She looked at her thigh, which had been the more serious injury and nodded when she seen it was just a red line, completely closed up. Her cheek was healed, a thin pink line in its midst, though that would fade in time and nothing makeup couldn't cover up. Brushing her teeth and hair, Martina walked back out, deciding she wouldn't do her makeup until right before they left. Tonight she was going to the arena with the guys for the first time.

Slipping into a long sleeved dark blue shirt with blue jeans, Martina put her white socks on before deciding to just leave her hair down, not doing anything with it. What was the point in all honesty, besides the fact that she was pretending to be married to a celebrity? Martina wasn't going to fit in at all, sighing heavily as she finally emerged from her room, seeing the guys playing a game and went to get a glass of water. She couldn't help staring down at the ring on her left ring finger, eyebrows furrowing together and took a few gulps, pouring the rest out.

“Everything alright?” Randy asked, having become aware of her presence the minute she'd come out of her room.

It was impossible not to notice Martina. She moved like she was ready to dodge something, or someone. He scowled at the very thought, not wanting to know how much abuse; how many years of it would take to instill that kind of instinct in a person. He had seen enough to tell him all he needed to know.

“Yes, everything's fine, Randy.” She replied softly, turning around to face him, staring into those blue eyes with a small smile on her face. “What time are we leaving?” Martina wanted to make sure she was ready, more importantly the makeup, not wanting people to think Randy had done this to her when he'd really saved her life. Once at the arena, Martina would be Jessica Orton, his wife, and she would have to be affectionate with him. Martina could handle that because, somehow, she knew Randy would never hurt her. “Did you eat yet?”

“We were-”

“We ate. Randy was about to go down to the hotel's cafe.” Ted said, interrupting.

For once, Cody actually cottoned on grinning. “You should go with him. It'll be good for you two to be seen in public together, you know? Mr. and Mrs. Orton.”

They had a point as Martina stared back at Randy, who was staring at his partners, clearing her throat with a nod. “Let me go finish getting ready and we'll head out then.” She said quietly, walking past them and inside her room, taking a few deep breaths.

Out in public, she could do this. Randy would protect her. Martina quickly applied foundation that Tiffany gave her, which covered up her face, even though the bruises were gone, before adding blue eyeliner and clear gloss. She had eyeliner of every color, which consisted of brown, black, blue and white. Nearly all neutral.

She applied strawberry lip gloss to her lips before putting black mascara on and fluffed her hair out a bit. She put her hair back with a blue cloth head band, bangs the same length as her hair so there was no need to leave them out. Taking a deep breath, Martina walked out a few minutes later with white tennis shoes on, hoping she could pass over as Mrs. Orton without question.

Randy studied her thoughtfully, wearing just a pair of blue jeans, sneakers and a white t-shirt with a band logo on it. Not entirely sure who the band was, it was something Ted had given him as a joke. “You ready?” He asked, frowning when Cody cleared his throat. “What?”

“You're forgetting YOUR wedding ring, Mr. Orton.”

Sighing, Randy went to retrieve his own ring, sliding it on his finger and flexed his hand. That felt odd.

Martina nodded, watching as Randy flexed his hand, and looked down at her own. She hoped she could pull this off, taking another deep breath. She wore her wedding ring constantly to get used to it, though she knew Randy couldn't do that. Hell, why would he want too?

Martina felt her stomach rumble gently and knew she had to eat something, hoping this sick feeling went away soon. When he extended his hand to her, Martina took it without hesitation as Randy guided her out of the hotel room, knowing she was no longer Martina now. She was Jessica Orton as her head rose, squaring her shoulders, plastering a smile on her face.

“Relax.” Randy murmured as they walked down the hallway, knowing most of the roster was staying at this hotel and they'd probably run into a few of his co-workers. Gently wrapping an arm around her shoulders, Randy pulled her into him. He wasn't surprised when she tensed, but didn't let go; she'd have to get used to this if they wanted to make this work. “Just so you know, we'll probably see some people I work with. Most of them are built like me or bigger.” He cautioned softly.

“Alright.” She murmured in reply, slowly relaxing her body and leaned into him, keeping that smile on her face.

He wouldn't hurt or let anything happen to her; Martina had to keep reminding herself of that as they headed for the elevator. Randy pressed the button as they stood there, waiting, not sure what to say to the other. If this was going to work, they had to act like a married couple, and Martina had no idea how to do that.

She was screwed.

“Randy!” Maria screeched when the elevator doors opened, launching herself out and into his arms, grunting when she got held back. “What? Ohhh...this is the wife? I heard about you from Tiffy and Janet! I'm Maria and I'm-”

“Very hyper, I thought Larry told you no more sugar?”

“It was only ONE Danish...”

Martina blinked and extended her hand to Maria, playing the role and found it was easier than she thought, smiling. “Hello, I'm Jessica Orton. It's nice to meet you Maria.” Her voice was a soft caress, sounding like an angel without realizing it, and stepped on the elevator with Randy following. She could tell he was pleased with her performance and sighed in inner relief, not showing it.

“I REALLY have to go, but I'll see you later, k bye!!” Maria bounced off, just as the elevator doors closed, leaving both Randy and Martina alone for a few brief moments.

“She's...interesting.”

“She is a new breed of Chihuahua, hyper; tiny and begging to be kicked, but at the same time; too cute to kick.” Randy said with a shake of his head, glancing down at her. “I know that sounds mean, but you'd have to really know Maria to get it. She's a sweetheart, but gets on your nerves really quick.” He fell silent, staring at the doors, not sure what to say. Undoubtedly, that hadn't been a smart thing to say on his part.

“No, that's fine. I can tell she's unnerving at times.” Martina patted his hand in reassurance, giving him a genuine smile, and feeling a little more at ease.

This couldn't be easy for him and Martina was going to do everything in her power to make it as easy as possible. When the elevator doors opened, they walked off as Randy took her hand, lacing their fingers together. They had to act like a married couple who was in love and Martina was pulling it off perfectly. She still kept her eyes peeled for any sign of danger, though managed to keep it well enough hidden where nobody noticed. To strangers, she looked like a happily married woman.

“Ah shit, Cena.” Randy groaned, wondering if they were going to catch a break, quickly pulling her into the small restaurant and guided her to a table in the corner, hoping John hadn't spotted them. John's mouth was almost worst then Cody's and he was damn near as clueless. Another good guy, just a few cans short a full six pack. “Order whatever you want.”

“Thanks.” Martina quietly replied, taking a menu and looked over the contents, sucking her cheeks in thoughtfully, finally deciding on a Belgian waffle with a side order of eggs and bacon and a glass of orange juice. She was so glad she could eat regular food, after being examined by Larry, the WWE's on-road doctor, and leaned back against the booth after the waitress took their order.

Randy had ordered himself the 'deluxe' breakfast, juice and milk; two glasses of milk because he thought a little calcium wouldn't hurt her. Not to mention, whole milk was fattening and Martina -‘Jessica, damn it!’ He corrected himself mentally- looked like she could do with a bit more padding. He reached across the table to take her hand.

“So, wife, what should I know about you?” He kept his voice low so no one could overhear them.

His touch was so warm and caring, something Martina was not used to feeling, and smiled back at him as she felt his thumb run across the back of her hand. “Well, what do you want to know?” She asked quietly, staring back into his eyes, knowing she could seriously get lost in them. They were mystic blue and captivating, eyes that could never be duplicated unless he had his own offspring. “You can ask me anything Randy, I'm an open book.”

“That's just it, I'm not sure what to ask you.” Randy admitted, smiling sheepishly, blue eyes twinkling as he studied her. “I mean, this isn't like going out on a date, you know?”

Not to mention, what COULD he ask her? What did she do BEFORE she met the asshole? What are her friends like? Did she HAVE any friends besides the people who stitched her up?

“I know...” Martina chewed her bottom lip, wondering if she should just tell him anything, or the truth. “Well, the easier things would be favorite color, food, things like that,” She paused, smiling when the waitress brought them some water, having forgotten it, before turning her attention back to Randy. “My favorite color is blue, my favorite food is spaghetti. Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day; I enjoy long walks on the beach and I'm a night owl.” There, that was some facts he could store away as she sipped some water with her free hand, setting it down slowly. “Now you.”

“You sound like one of those commercials for a dating site.” Randy said, sounding amused as he took a drink of his juice, setting one of his glasses of milk beside her plate, gesturing her to drink it. “Let's see…my favorite color is black, or blue. My favorite food is actually dessert and, as long as it's chocolate, I don't care what it is. Dessert is also my favorite meal of the day, but I don't have it every day because I have to keep my sexy figure.” He smirked when she laughed at him. “And in my free time, I like just hanging out in bed and catching up on TV. Now we BOTH sound like dating sites.”

Martina laughed softly and it felt great, eyes closing momentarily before opening them again, shaking her head almost in disbelief. ‘That felt good.’ She thought, feeling Randy squeeze her hand, and smiled wider back at him. “As far as dessert goes anything with strawberries because they're sort of my addiction.” She shrugged, knowing it was the truth.

Chapter 7

She had strawberry soap, body wash, shampoo and conditioner; lip gloss...the list was endless. She smelled like strawberries. It was her scent that Roger said she possessed naturally.

“I love to read and write, watch movies and play board games too. Monopoly, to be more specific, though I haven't played in ages.”

“We have that for the PS3.” Randy said thoughtfully. “It's kinda hard to tote around board games...But we could play before we go to the arena.” He smiled at her, knowing they had to find common ground to make this work; they had to be at ease and natural with each other. Good thing acting went hand in hand with wrestling these days, sports entertainment and all that. He ate in silence for a few minutes, then frowned. “How old are you?”

“Twenty eight.” Martina answered as she took a bite out of her eggs, knowing she probably didn't look like it, and sighed gently. This breakfast was delicious as she took a few more bites, trying to think of what to ask Randy, chewing her food thoughtfully. “How old are you?” She decided it couldn't hurt to find out his age, pleasantly surprised to learn he was only one year older than her, making her smile. “Well at least we don't have a wide age gape.” She managed to crack a small joke, feeling at ease for the time being, and sipped her orange juice. “Monopoly, either on a board or a gaming system, is fine with me. I'll beat you either way.” Martina winked and giggled when he raised an eyebrow.

“Nah, I'll beat you. I usually own Boardwalk and Park Place.” Randy shot back teasingly. “I'd have you bankrupt so fast-”

“Hey, now that you're married, what's yours is hers.”

“Jessica, this is John Cena. John, meet my wife Jessica.”

“Pleasure to meet you.” Martina replied smoothly, extending her hand, trying not to talk too much since she'd taken a bite out of her toast. “The blues don't make you win the game. It is how many properties and hotels you can manage to get.”

She winked at Randy, wondering how many good looking men were in wrestling these days. Back then, most of them were either too big or scrawny. Nowadays, apparently, the men knew how to build their bodies as she sipped some of her milk, not a big fan of it.

“What are we talking about?” John pulled up a chair, straddling it so he was sitting in it backwards, hands resting on the back. “Monopoly? I LOVE that game. I love games period. So, Jessie, mind if I call you Jessie? How's it being married to Randy?”

“Man, lay off my wife; she's trying to enjoy her breakfast.”

“It's like a dream come true.” Martina answered softly, giggling when he made a gagging noise and took a bite out of her bacon, sighing in contentment. Maybe being Mrs. Orton wouldn't be as hard as she thought. “Monopoly is my favorite. That and Life.” She winked when Randy just shook his head, squeezing his hand this time, the beautiful diamond rock on her finger sparkling under the dim lights.

“Life...I like Life. I also like Sorry, Scrabble, Twister, Mouse Trap, Jenga, Rook and Spades. Hell, I just like games.” John laughed, unaware Randy was now gesturing him to piss off. “We should have a card night. You two, me and Mickie, how's that? You play cards, Jessie?”

“Cena, I will PAY you to leave us in peace.”

Wow, this guy was more hyper than Maria had been, though he made Martina laugh with all of his questions. “Most of those I know and I wouldn't mind that.” She had to play the part, not really wanting to be around other people, but that was inevitable, especially with whom Randy was. “Sounds like fun.” She shared a secret glance with Randy, while John went off at the mouth again, cracking a small smile and finished her breakfast. She hated milk unless it went with something, like cereal or in food. “That was absolutely wonderful.”

Randy noted that she wasn't a big milk drinker, storing that away for future reference and finally stood up, patting his stomach. “Time for a mid-morning nap. Ready, honey?” He smiled at her, smacking John on the back of the head when he went 'yes, dear'.

“Damn homie, it was a joke.”

“Yes definitely. It was nice meeting you John. Take care.” She smiled when Randy paid for the meal and walked out with his arm wrapped around her shoulders, leaning her head against his side. That was actually fun, though she hated lying to people. ‘This is what has to be done.’ She kept reminding herself, glancing up at her 'husband', and wondered what else was going to happen now that she was with him, Cody and Ted. As soon as they were on the elevator, alone, Randy's arm dropped from her shoulders as Martina stood there, staring straight ahead, feeling sleepy from that big meal. “Thank you for breakfast, Randy.”

“Not a problem. I'm just sorry you had to deal with John. He's hyper as hell; cool guy, just doesn't know the meaning of chilling out.”

“John was down there?”

“Yeah, sadly. Why?”

“He's owes me fifty bucks!”

Randy smacked his forehead, shooting Martina a 'see what I deal with' look.

Martina giggled softly and patted Randy's shoulder in comfort, watching as Cody and Ted rushed out of the room, raising a slow eyebrow. She was alone with Randy now, this was interesting.

“We'll be back!” Ted called over his shoulder, both of them needing to find Cena to get their money. Cody wasn't the only one John owed.

Martina walked in, with Randy following, pulling the cloth head band from her hair and shook it a little; still adjusting to the new color and style it was cut in. Though she loved it. Tonight was going to be interesting to say the least as she went to get a glass of water, knowing Randy probably wanted to nap since he'd been hasty to leave the restaurant.

“Hey, where are you going?” Randy asked when she moved towards her bedroom, arching an eyebrow as he rifled around in the case they kept the PS3 games in. He held up Monopoly, flashing a grin. “Come on woman, you said you could beat me; time to back that claim up.” He laughed, sliding the disc in and patted the space next to him, having settled himself on the floor.

Sparkling green eyes gazed back at him when he pulled the game out and Martina immediately went over to join him, sitting on the floor beside him, and smiled when he handed her a controller. “You don't believe me do you?” She raised an eyebrow when he shook his head, a cocky grin on his face, and decided she would show him why she was the self-proclaimed queen of Monopoly. “Oh wow, you can unlock boards the more you play.” Martina pointed out, knees drawn up, while leaning back against the bed, picking the wheel barrel for her playing piece.

“Yeah, I know. We unlocked up to the cheese board and then Cody got into Fallout 3 while I took over Lair.” Randy shrugged. “So Monopoly has been neglected, sadly.” He was nice enough to let her be player one, arching an eyebrow. “Hey, that's my piece.” He laughed playfully, scrolling through them on his turn, finally selecting one.

“Uh-uh, I'm always the wheel barrel. Gotta roll in the dough.” She winked, causing Randy to laugh, and felt a shiver run down her spine. He had a great laugh and beautiful smile. He was a gorgeous man in general; she focused on going first, nodding when she landed on St. Charles Place and bought it. This was so much fun, she hadn't done anything like this in years, giggling when Randy chose the pot of gold for his piece, smirking. “Hmmm...Maybe we should try unlocking the other boards.” She suggested with luminous jade eyes.

“Maybe.” Randy agreed, arching an eyebrow. The game was always so much fun at the beginning, buying up properties, screaming at the computer player who seemed to be having the best luck; damn biased game. Then came the really good stuff, negotiating and trying to build a monopoly. “I really hate that guy.” He commented, frowning at the monopoly man for the hundredth time said 'thrilling'.

“He's not too bad.” Martina conceded as she bought up the third green one, grinning from ear to ear, moving her head back and forth, eyes narrowing when he bought Virginia Avenue, tapping her fingers against the controller. ‘Fuck it.’ She thought and began buying houses for the greens, putting one on each and took her turn. Landing on Community Chest, Martina ended up getting a double Pass Go, which paid for two of her houses. “So what other things should I know about my husband?”

“Hmmm…” Randy's tongue jutted past his lips as he studied the trade that had been offered to him by the much hated computer player, declining it with a snort. “I don't know...I'm from St. Louis, I have a house there, which I'm sure you're going to eventually see.” He glanced at her. “Not that way of course, just on my days off...You know...”

“I understand, not a problem.” She wondered briefly why they were playing the computer, when there was two players to begin with, deciding he probably liked playing this way and took her turn. “I'm originally from Phoenix, Arizona.” She offered, causing his eyebrow to raise, looking up at him with a small smile. “My mom lives there, but I hardly see her. She, uh, she doesn't like seeing me.” That was partially Martina's fault because of her stupidity in dating Roger, who her mother couldn't stand. Now Martina knew why. “I've never been to St. Louis, is it nice?”

Randy liked playing with the extra player simply because he found just two players to be boring, not to mention one sided. He had learned with Cody two player games ended quickly. The third player kind of evened it out.

“I like it, it's not for everyone I suppose. Why doesn't your mother like seeing you?” He asked curiously.

Martina cleared her throat awkwardly and raked a hand through her hair, wondering if she should tell him, deciding it would be best too. “Roger.” She whispered, lowering her head with a heavy sigh. “When I first started dating him...I was blinded by the gifts and his own way of showing me he loved me. He said he did, but it was never fully. I was blind.” She dropped the controller and buried her face in her hands, beginning to softly cry. “I fought her tooth and nail to be with him and she said if I stayed with him then she wanted nothing to do with me. I chose that bastard over my own mother...not realizing the monster he was until a year later...”

Wow, that was harsh. Randy hesitantly wrapped an arm around Martina's shoulder, pulling her into him. “Hey, hey it'll be alright.” He soothed, wondering if her mother would feel differently now that Martina wasn't with Roger. “Do you want to call her?” He offered suddenly.

“No, Roger is probably hounding her for information regarding my whereabouts.” She softly replied, sniffling and wrapped her arms around Randy's neck, burying her face in it. “I can't call anyone I know because, chances are, he's probably already been there and has people everywhere looking for me.” She shivered and trembled a little, feeling Randy pull her on his lap, fingers running through her hair. “I'm sorry.” She whispered out in a choked voice. “I'm sorry about everything...”

Randy REALLY wanted to meet this Roger, just so he could beat the shit out of HIM and let him know what it felt like to be helpless and at someone else's mercy. “Don't apologize, Martina.” He said firmly. “You have NOTHING to apologize for, understand me? It's that son of a bitch who should be saying he's sorry, not you honey.”

Martina slowly nodded and looked up at him, Randy wiping her tears away with the pad of his thumbs, sniffling. “I ruined the game.” She mumbled, wiping her nose with the sleeve of her shirt hastily, sighing with a heavy heart and took the tissue Randy offered her, blowing her nose. “Thanks.” She meant that in more ways than one, throwing the tissue away in the trashcan that was by them and leaned her head against his shoulder, closing her eyes.

“Hey, does this mean I can-”

“We're back and I have my- MONOPOLY!” Cody shrieked, frowning when he realized he was interrupting something. “Shit, sorry, we'll go chill in Ted's room.” He groaned when he got shoved through the door. “Damn it, Teddy, I didn't mean to, how was I supposed to know they were having a moment?”

“You are such a wart.”

“Does this mean you can what?” She asked softly, acting as if Ted and Cody didn't just barge in here, looking back into Randy's blue eyes, before slowly taking the controller again. When he just said forget it, Martina sighed heavily and nodded, while Randy shut the game off, knowing they had to get ready to go to the arena soon. They played for nearly two hours in that time frame, only talking every once in a while, until Randy asked the question that got the waterworks going. “That was fun, thanks Randy.”

“We'll have to do it again sometime.” Randy said, standing up and stretching, raising his arms over his head. “Hey, don't worry about anything tonight, okay? You're safe with us.”

He wanted to say with him, but figured that'd be pushing it at the moment. He was feeling very overprotective now, knowing how Ted felt about her. She needed people who cared about her around, especially after all the bullshit, heartache, abuse and drama her ex put her through.

Martina nodded back at him with a smile, knowing she had to believe him, and felt him squeeze her hand before releasing it. “I'm gonna go lay down for a little while. Let me know when we have to get ready to leave for the arena.”

When Randy said an hour, Martina nodded and walked back into her room, closing the door behind her, laying down. Her eyes closed as she curled up in a tight ball, exhausted from hardly getting any sleep. Hoping her dreams were filled of her phony husband and not Roger, Martina tried drifting off.

“Why was she crying? What'd you do to her?” Ted demanded, when Randy walked into the room, frowning at the expression on Randy's face. “Well?”

“I didn't do anything to her. I just asked a question and she started crying.” He shot back defensively. “Damn, Ted, calm down.”

“So what'd you ask her?”

“Mind your own damn business.”

Chapter 8

Martina wasn't tired, but she also didn't want the guys seeing her cry, feeling more alone than ever. For a brief moment, Martina felt what it was like to be happy, to feel peaceful, and have fun. She hadn't felt those three things in so long and was actually regretting ever bringing up her mother.

She hated Roger with the fire of a thousand suns, wanting him to burn in the eighth circle of hell. Sighing heavily, Martina slid from the bed and walked into the bathroom, washing her face, staring in the mirror, immediately lowering her gaze. She didn't want to look at herself, feeling disgusted and went back to lie down in the darkness, the shades in her room drawn closed to block the sunlight out.

~!~

“Is keeping herself cooped up like that healthy?” Cody asked curiously, having moved back to the PS3, of course. He had been considering going and working out, but...there were raiders to kill and wastelands to explore. He had an addiction to Fallout 3.

“She's probably napping before we have to go. Leave her alone.” Randy scowled, though, when he glanced at the clock, he realized lunch time was approaching. A late lunch to be sure, but they were constantly eating. “Ted, how 'bout you order up some food and I'll go get her up?”

“Okay, go wake the wifey.”

~!~

A soft caress on her cheek caused Martina's eyes to slowly open, staring blurrily back at Randy, quickly adjusting to the dark room. “Hey, is it time to go?” She whispered softly, somehow falling asleep, and sighed when Randy nodded. She slowly sat up, being careful of her ribs and carefully stretched, before sliding out of the bed. “I'll be ready shortly.” She said, knowing the outfit she wore wasn't appropriate. Apparently the wrestling business he worked for had a dress code, so Randy made sure to get her some dress pants when they went shopping.

“She's getting-” Randy turned to walk back into Martina's room. “Hey, we're eating first before we go.” He added, she’d looked so beautiful half asleep he had almost forgotten the reason he'd been in there in the first place. Then he walked back out.

“I always knew you'd eventually lose your mind. It was only just a matter of time.”

Nodding, Martina pulled out the clothes and sighed heavily, the outfit was a pair of black dress pants with a brown shimmery long sleeved shirt that had a V shaped neckline. Thankfully, there were no scars on her neck to hide so she was safe to wear them. Quickly dressing, Martina walked into the bathroom and did her makeup, keeping it natural with foundation, brown eyeliner and tan eye shadow with clear gloss on her lips. She pulled a brown head band on her head that matched the shirt, a few tendrils framing her face, and walked back out to pull her black pumps on. With one more glance in the mirror that was attached to the dresser Martina walked back out, knowing Randy would order her chicken strips for lunch.

“What are you playing?” She asked Cody from behind, raising an eyebrow, and picked the case up. “Fallout 3...interesting...”

“Have you ever played Oblivion? The same people who made that, made this. Awesome, awesome game.” Cody was a gaming nerd and proud of it.

“Fallout is EXACTLY like Oblivion though. Same shit, different graphics.”

“That's what I thought. Only Fallout is more adult orientated. You can actually sleep with the hooker in the beginning...” Ted trailed off when everyone just stared at him. “WHAT?”

Martina started laughing softly and shook her head, mumbling 'typical male' under her breath, before sitting down on the bed. “That's not my cup of tea, I prefer Grandia III.”

She shrugged when the guys just raised an eyebrow at her, chewing her bottom lip. Whenever Roger left her home alone, Martina gamed on her PS2, not really familiar with the newer gaming systems, though Monopoly had been fun playing with Randy. She looked over at him, seeing he was trying to figure out what to wear, and turned her attention back to the game.

“Black slacks, black slacks, where the hell are my jeans?”

“Because we tend your laundry?” Ted snorted, shaking his head. “Man, how are we supposed to know? You're a slob, Randall.”

“Don't call me that Teddy Bear.”

“Kids...”

“Teddy Bear?” Martina started giggling uncontrollably, holding her side, not caring at the moment, with a smile on her face. “That's a cute nickname.”

“I'm not SUPPOSED to be cute in front of hot chicks.” Ted grumbled, groaning when Cody popped him upside the head. “What?”

“Dude, she's a married woman, have some respect.”

“Oh please.” Ted snorted and paid Cody back by slapping him upside the head. “I wasn't talking about her. She's gorgeous, but she's also like a sister to me.”

Cody went back to playing his game, rolling his eyes.

Randy ALMOST pointed out it was a fake marriage and she wasn't technically married, but decided against it. He didn't want to hurt Martina's feelings or get the guys started again. “Just to be fair, Cody is called Mr. Coddles by the Divas.” He added, evening out the playing field.

“SCREW YOU RANDALL!”

“Coddly Cody, the cuddly cutie.”

Martina lost it as she leaned back on the bed, coughing because the laughing hurt her ribs, watching as Cody attacked Ted, putting him in a headlock. She managed to move out of harm’s way, walking over to Randy's bed and slid on top of it, while he searched through his bag. She was trying to stop laughing, but couldn't as they started calling each other names.

“They remind me of two five year olds.” She commented, pulling out the jeans Randy had been looking for, and handed them over with an innocent smile. “Sorry, I just spotted them...”

“Ah my jeans.” Randy took them from her, unfolding them and grinned, looking down at the faded denim. “Luckily, the dress code doesn't apply to me.” He smirked, then raked his blue eyes over her, an eyebrow slowly raising. “You look beautiful, Jessie.” He said softly.

“YOU EVER CALL ME THAT AGAIN AND I WILL KILL YOU!”

“Coddle? Cutie? OUCH, THAT'S MY NOSE!”

“Thanks.” She murmured softly, wondering why the dress code didn't apply to him, honestly not caring.

Randy looked good in jeans, though she would never admit that openly. She watched him pick out a light grey dress shirt, with a black tank top to go underneath, before going in the bathroom to change, tilting her head thoughtfully for a moment. Martina's gaze turned from the door to Ted and Cody, who were still going at it, shaking her head. They were like big kids and she felt a little more at ease, knowing at a moment's notice they would protect her.

“Junior and Coddles, knock it off. You need to-”

“Food is here.”

“I'll get it, you take care of the gaystation.”

“Don’t call it that, man, it can hear you.” Cody said teasingly. “You'll hurt my baby's feelings.”

Randy rolled his eyes; sometimes these two worried the hell out of him. And they said he was crazy sometimes. The four of them ate, making small chatter about what was going on that night, Martina remaining quiet.

“You nervous about tonight, Jess?”

“A little.” Martina admitted, smiling when Randy wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her against him in a slight embrace, letting her know everything was going to be fine. Damn he smelled good. Martina had to get her focus back on something else and took another bite out of her food.

“It'll be a cakewalk. Just stay by us.” Cody stated, knowing she was probably going to freak out the moment she stepped inside the arena.

“It'll be a little crazy, but you'll get used to it after a while.”

That was not reassuring.

“Honestly? The hallways are going to be packed and if you're not claustrophobic now, you probably will be. There will be guys BIGGER than us there, bitchy women who'll give you the evil eye and a shitload of people you'll want to run from, but...We'll be there with you. Nobody is going to mess with you and the majority of the people we work with are nice.”

“Ish.”

Now she was terrified, but tried not to show it as Martina simply nodded, finishing her food silently. She waited for Cody and Ted to get ready before all four headed out of the hotel, Randy holding her hand. She kept her head high and a smile on her face, taking deep, silent breaths to calm down, walking down the back staircase and into the parking garage.

“Take the back you two, I'll drive.” Ted said, snatching the keys from Randy, and booked toward the SUV with Cody following suit.

Martina shook her head while Randy scowled, reaching the car and slid inside the backseat with her 'husband', feeling his arm wrap around her. “I'm alright.” She whispered and stared out the window deep in thought, hoping it would be.

No she wasn't, but she would be, hopefully, in time. Martina would have to see that they -that he- would protect and not let anything happen to her. And that in itself would take time. “What's your favorite kind of music? Song? Band? Singer?” He asked, trying to get her mind off of whatever was wrong.

“I don't really have a particular favorite, I like all kinds of music. Though, if I had to narrow it down, it would be rock and country.” She giggled when all three men groaned, having a feeling they weren't too fond with those choices, shrugging gently. “I like a little bit of everything so I'm sure whatever you listen too, I'll be fine with.” She felt Randy's arm tighten a little around her in comfort, going to stare back out the window again at the fading sun.

He noted she hadn't answered the other questions and inwardly sighed. Getting to know Martina was going to be like having a tooth pulled. Hard as hell, painful, though in the end probably worth it.

“It could be worse...she could like Britney Spears.”

“That is true.”

The truth is she didn't have a favorite band, song or singer. There were too many genres, too many songs to choose from, though her favorite country singer was Martina McBride. Her eyes lit up when Ted turned country on and heard Independence Day sounding through the speakers, placing a hand on Cody's arm when he went to change it.

“Just this one song.” She pleaded, closing her eyes as her head began moving to the beat. She sang softly to herself, closing her eyes, knowing one day she would get her revenge on Roger and he would pay for all the crimes committed against her.

This song probably had a lot of special meaning to her, even though Randy had never heard it before. Or if he had, he'd blocked it out. He wasn't a country music person. But he listened to the words, frowning deeply as he realized what the song was about. It was both sad and uplifting at the same time, though when he heard the end…not so good.

Granted, it wasn't one of the best songs to listen too, but this song lifted Martina's spirits, knowing one day she would find peace and independence. She missed having that feeling more than anything in the world. For the past two years, she had to rely on Roger for everything because he refused to let her work. Though, behind his back, Martina worked and scrounged every penny she could muster to leave him, which was that night.

She finally told him she couldn't take it anymore and ended up being cornered in the kitchen with a butcher knife. A cut on her thigh and arm, along with a backhand, sent Martina running for her life. She could hear his evil voice in her mind, telling her she would never leave him, that she couldn't live without him. Maybe she was broken now, but Martina was slowly piecing back together, and knew she would be fine because she was a survivor at heart.

“We're almost here. Anyone have to puke?” Randy asked jokingly, groaning when Cody promptly turned in his seat to throw a used napkin at him. “Man that is gross.”

“Mind your manners, your wife is present.”

“Coddles…” Randy glanced at her. “Ready, Jessie?” He emphasized her name, knowing they’d have to switch from Martina for the moment.

She nodded, taking another deep breath and slid out of the SUV with Randy following, grabbing her hand, smiling as he brought it up to his lips. Her green eyes sparkled as he lead her away from the rental, heading toward the arena entrance. The building was huge as Martina took in her surroundings, feeling Randy's arm wrap around her shoulders, knowing she would have to remain by his side, and hoped she was enough for people to pass off as his wife. She wasn't that beautiful, though the makeup helped, even she admitted that much. Tiffany was a godsend as Cody and Ted walked in first, her and Randy following.

Randy nodded at people who called out congratulations, knowing his 'sudden' marriage was bound to take a few individuals by storm. He had solemnly sworn time and time again marriage was not in his near future. And yet...He glanced down quickly to make sure he was still wearing his wedding ring, sighing inwardly with relief. One base covered.

“You doing all right, sweetheart?” He asked, bending down so she could hear him.

“Yes, Randy, I'm fine.” Martina assured him softly, feeling his arm wrap around her waist, her own diamond ring sparkling under the fluorescent lights above.

The golden streaks in her hair added to her beauty. She was slowly getting used to wearing the ring, since she never took it off, except when she took a shower. She didn't want to ruin it after all; it was a beautiful ring and she would have to return it once this mess with Roger was finished.

“Congratulations, Orton.”

“Who the hell was dumb enough to marry your ass?”

“She's a knockout, you really nailed a good one, man.”

Martina felt her cheeks turn a deep crimson red.

“Hey, I didn't just marry her for her looks. She's got a mind that matches and surpasses the face.” Randy scowled, wondering where the hell...He sighed, glancing down at her, and grinned. “Jessie, meet the morons. Morons, meet Jessica Orton.”

Martina giggled and shook their hands, feeling Randy caressing her side, stomach suddenly doing a flip flop at the thought of having to kiss Randy. Surely newlywed couples were normally all over each other, right? Martina didn't know; hell, she'd never been married in her life and had a feeling Randy hadn't been either.

“Nice meeting all of you.” She said, once the introductions were over with, and smiled when Randy kissed her hand again. “I'm going to join Ted and Cody, meet you in a few minutes?” Randy nodded and released her hand as Martina joined the others.

“You're a great actress.”

“No doubt, keep your voice down man.”

“They can't hear me.” Ted grunted, winking down at her, and lead her to Legacy's locker room.

Chapter 9

Randy chatted with his co-workers, knowing he couldn't just up and rush off, though it would have been better if Martina stuck around. She was supposed to be his wife, right? This meant not taking off after a quick round of hellos. Maybe. How the hell was he supposed to know? He'd never been married before!

Martina wondered if she should've stayed by Randy's side, chewing her bottom lip, though honestly it was a bit overwhelming. She hoped he wasn't angry with her as she walked inside the room, looking around, seeing there was a couch and walked over to sit down on it. She was going to go out of her mind with boredom, but at least she wasn't getting abused or raped.

Ted was wondering the same thing considering Randy and Martina were supposed to be newlyweds. This was all new to her though, so it was natural for her to shy away from strangers. Granted, they were strangers too, but not as much as their co-workers. Cody wondered briefly if it would be better for Martina to stay at the hotels from now on.

Randy finally pulled himself away from everyone, making excuses, half agreeing to meet up for drinks without setting a time or place to do so. Man that was a pain in the ass. It didn't help he had a million and one questions thrown at him about his 'wife', like where they had met, what kind of wedding, why hadn't he invited any of them. This was going to become nerve-wracking very soon.

Martina took one look at Randy when he walked in and immediately lowered her gaze to her lap, twisting the ring on her finger, sighing heavily. She should've stayed, knowing he was probably bombarded with questions she could've helped answer. Then again, it was nobody's business; though she would never say that.

“Alright, what happened?” Cody demanded, seeing Randy was lighting up a smoke, screwing the rules for the moment, the air vent in the bathroom on. He raised an eyebrow and cringed, knowing Martina should've been there with Randy when those questions were asked. “You two need to sit down and talk about everything you possibly can.”

“Look, this is all new to Jess, she needs time to adjust.” Ted was defending her, as always, not able to begin thinking what she was feeling at the moment. Overwhelmed was an understatement; that much was certain. “Now back off Coddles.”

“Hello! What about Randy? No offense to Jessie, but she's not the only one that was crammed into an awkward situation. I mean, I know it was OUR idea for the marriage and shit, but they gotta do this stuff together. Else wise nobody is going to believe a damn thing and-”

“And you two need to stop it and settle this when we're NOT at work.” Randy shot a pointed look towards the door, wondering if they'd lost their goddamn minds.

“From now on, I'll stay by your side, Randy.” Martina said softly, finally speaking, and raked a hand through her hair. If she was nervous before, she was downright petrified now, knowing both Cody and Ted made valid, solid points. “You're both right.” Her voice remained quiet, crossing one leg over the other, hands remaining folded in her lap. “I'm sorry.” She whispered, feeling terrible and felt Randy's hand lift her chin, eyes meeting. “I'll do better next time, I promise. I just got scared; it won't happen again.” She couldn't blow this cover that he'd worked so hard to give her.

“Hey, we just have to get used to each other, that's all.” Randy said softly, knowing she was just as new to this as he was. But they could do this. At least he had acting skills -somewhat- on his side, right? That was an advantage. “Maybe we should scout other married couples and see what they do.”

“Paul and Stephanie.”

“Paul kisses her ass, no way.”

The last thing Martina wanted to do was have Randy kiss her ass, somehow knowing the man wouldn't do it even if his life depended on it. Cracking a smile, Martina nodded and felt him pull her up from the couch, swallowing hard. “We can do this.” She murmured, staring back into his blue eyes, and suddenly wondered what it would be like to kiss him. Oh man, that thought made her overheat and felt those soft lips brush against her knuckles, flushing. “If you keep doing that, I'm going to burst into flames.”

Ted chuckled; knowing Martina probably hadn't been romanced in a while, and knew Randy was the perfect candidate to play the husband role out of all three of them. “We have a match tonight against Carlito and Primo, non-title.” Cody grunted, trying to get his mind off of the chemistry between Randy and Martina, and onto business for the night. He had a girlfriend in Beth; he had to keep reminding himself of that.

“Really?”

Randy's blue eyes sparkled with mischief, wondering when the last time her worthless, cocksucking ex-boyfriend had romanced her. Made her feel like the beautiful, wonderful woman she was. Now that was a thought...Suddenly, being 'married' to Martina didn't seem like such a bad idea after all.

She didn't miss that mischievous look and swallowed hard, cheeks burning by now, hoping the foundation hid it. Judging by the sudden smirk spreading across his handsome face, that was a no. “I think what you suggested is the best thing, surveying other married couples. Though we should get our story down on where we met and how we ended up married.”

Those were the two questions most people would ask. Martina tried getting her mind on something other than thinking about the affectionate part of this dance. She would have to kiss him, touch him, play the part and Martina felt her stomach twisting nervously.

“We met at a strip club, I was hooking and you bought me.” Randy did have a completely goofy side, though it rarely came through. With Martina, it was different; he just wanted to see her laugh, studying her face thoughtfully for a sign of a smile, anything. “No?”

“Hope she kept the receipt.”

“You can't be serious.” She replied almost incredulously, placing her hands on her hips, shaking her head as she cracked another smile. “That image is just wrong in every aspect. Let's just say we met in a coffee shop or something like that.” Randy was out of his mind to want people to think that, but she couldn't stop laughing, along with Ted and Cody. “You don't actually do that, right?”

“He wishes.”

“He was joking, Jessie.” Cody said, groaning when Randy swayed his hips. “Man, I HATE it when you do that shit.”

“Come on, I'm not allowed to be-”

“Leave being a jackass to the professionals.” Cody passed Martina a dollar. “Just...slide it in his waistband so he'll stop.”

Her green eyes widened as she stared at the dollar Cody was handing her, wondering if he was serious. When she saw the look in his eyes, Martina felt her cheeks flush red again as she took it from him, trying so hard not to laugh. “Umm...”

Ted was cracking up, slapping his knees, holding his stomach, trying to stop, but it wasn't happening. “He's gotta Viper in there, watch it.”

“What?” She was going to kill Ted and lowered her head to hide her flaming cheeks, finally sticking the dollar bill in Randy's waistband, and took a step back to try to calm her racing heart down.

“There we go.” Randy instantly stopped, back to being his normal, serious self though his blue eyes were still twinkling with humor. Very rarely did he show off his jokester side to people, but he figured if anyone could use a laugh, it was Martina. “Sorry, didn't mean to embarrass you.” He apologized, taking note of her flushed cheeks.

“That's okay.” She murmured, shoulders shaking, and suddenly started laughing when Ted walked over to show her a picture he snapped of Randy. “Oh my god...”

Ted dodged out of Randy's grasp, laughing harder, his blue eyes sparkling wickedly. “Now I have blackmail on you.”

Cody was snapping pictures since the dollar bill was hanging out of Randy's shorts in a strategic position.

Randy sighed melodramatically, shaking his head. “Fine, be that way. I'm going to go talk to Stephanie about putting you in a match against Show, what'cha think about that?”

“Hmm...”

“That depends, can I win?”

Randy face palmed himself.

Martina laughed harder at the look on Randy's face, holding her stomach because her ribs were killing her, waving her hand back at them frantically. “No more...” She was having a hard time breathing, a smile lighting her face, though pain was obvious in it as well.

“Oh shit!”

“Damn, are you okay?” Cody asked, remembering her injured ribs, cringing at the dark look that came over Randy's face. “Uh...”

“RUN!”

Both of them zoomed out the door before Randy had a chance to breathe.

“How about we go have Larry take a look?” Randy suggested, after he had calmed himself down. Honestly, he was angrier with himself then his friends. They all should have remembered she was still healing. “Come on, Jessie.” He held out a hand, smiling awkwardly at her. “I don't bite.”

“I don't need to be checked out, Randy.” She conceded gently but firmly, slipping her hand into his, and slowly stood up from the couch. “I'm fine, really. Why don't we go venture about and look at some of the married couples like you suggested?” The more research and experience they had, the easier this would become as she smiled back at him. “I want to make this work, Randy. You went through a lot of trouble for me to get this new identity and I don't want to ruin it. Come on, lead the way, husband.”

He wondered briefly if he got the same perks other husbands did, legally married or not, like sharing a bed. Then he instantly discarded the idea. Martina was only doing this to save her ass; she didn't have a choice and she sure as hell didn't want to jump into bed with him.

‘Bad idea man, bad idea.’ He mentally scolded himself, leading the way out of the room.

They walked down the hallway together, making small chatter, keeping their voices down when it had to do with finding out a fact about the other. The first married couple they came across was Paul and Stephanie Levesque with their two little girls. Martina felt more at ease this time around as she shook their hands, smiling down at the little girls when Stephanie introduced them, feeling a sadness engulf her inwardly.

She couldn't have children. Too many miscarriages thanks to Roger's brutal rape sessions he often loved inflicting on her. Martina kept that smile on her face though, shoving that thought aside for the moment, knowing no man would ever want her again; so there really was no point in worrying about motherhood.

“Well, now that you're married, you can help us create the next generation of entertainers.” Stephanie teased gently, not the big shrew she portrayed on television, voice a tad bit softer.

“Let us enjoy being newlyweds first.” Randy laughed, planting a kiss on the side of Martina's head.

Martina laughed right along with them, hiding the pain within her heart, knowing she would never experience what Stephanie did. For the moment, she could pretend though, leaning against Randy's side and snuggled gently. “We're happy being just us for the time being.” She replied smoothly, winking at Stephanie who fully understood.

“So how did you two meet?” Paul asked with a smile of his own, wrapping an arm around his wife's shoulders.

“A coffee shop.” Martina answered, before Randy could, beaming up at him before glancing back at the married couple. “He accidentally got my order and vice versa. We met, had a few dates, and he asked me to marry him on a whim.”

“Wow, I never pegged you for the marrying kind, man, no offense.”

“Obviously you're not good at judging people, honey.”

“Jeez, kill my feelings, Paul.” Randy pouted, winking at Stephanie, who just rolled eyes at him good naturedly. “I AM the marrying kind, well, I was. Now I'm married.” He was going to start babbling in a minute; they were going to ask every question in the book and, if he knew Stephanie, she was going to invite them out somewhere.

“Why don't you two join us after the show for drinks and a late supper? Then we can get to know Jessica.”

Randy mentally groaned.

“Why don't we talk it over and we'll let you know by the end of the night?” Martina suggested smoothly, smiling when Stephanie nodded, before her and Paul walked off with their little girls, turning to face Randy. She blushed, when he nodded in approval, knowing she had pulled it off and leaned against him as they walked further down the hallway. Martina took in the surroundings, pumps clicking against the flooring below softly with every step. “So who else do you know of that's married?” She asked quietly to where only he could hear her.

“Hmmm...Good question. A lot of the guys are, but they don't bring their wives on the road. Let's go bother Shane and see what he has to say on the subject, he's married. He married his high school sweetheart; they've been together for YEARS. He'll have you SICK by the time he's done gushing about her, trust me.”

Randy wasn't lying or exaggerating as Shane went on and on about his wife, Marissa, wondering how two people could be so sickeningly happy. Randy finally excused them as he had a match to prepare for, guiding Martina out of the door, promising to meet up later. It was a broken promise, obviously, as Martina walked hand in hand down the hallway with Randy. He had yet to do anything that normal newlywed couples did, though he was also respectful and maintaining his distance.

“You were right.” She murmured when they were out of earshot from Shane, shaking her head. “That’s not normal how happy they are.”

“Cody, Ted and I have a theory. It involves drugs; the Kama Sutra and a helium machine.” Randy said, sounding completely serious.

Shane was awesome, as much as a boss could be anyway, but there had to be something going on behind closed doors. Either Marissa had a pussy made of solid gold or Shane was mentally challenged. Being THAT happy was simply not possible.

Martina couldn't stop laughing, especially with how serious Randy looked, and held her side. It felt both good and bad to laugh, due to her injury, but the feeling of happiness coursing through her was enough to make her smile through the pain. “Do I dare ask what this theory involves?” She asked, not sure if she even wanted to know and immediately blushed when Randy just shot her a pointed look, before clearing her throat. “Never mind, change of topic.”

“Let me guess, you told her about the helium theory.” Cody said, seeing they were coming from Shane's direction, which most people avoided unless it was business related. “Ah yes, Ted and I have added onto that. We also decided fur is involved.”

“Don't want to know.”

“You two have fun, I'm hunting down Beth.” Cody nodded to Martina, flashing her a grin as he passed by.

Chapter 10

“Who is Beth?” Martina asked curiously, looking up at Randy, before Ted joined her other side, smiling back at him, while they kept walking.

“Coddles’ girlfriend.” Ted snorted, shaking his head. “It's mildly interesting considering she can break him in half.”

Martina blinked, wondering if that was true as they walked back inside Legacy's locker room, Randy guiding her to the couch, releasing her.

“Beth is actually thicker than Cody is.” Randy explained, seeing the look on her face, and dropped down onto the couch beside her. “She's not fat, just built. She's all woman, don't get me wrong. I mean, I don't look at her or anything, I'm just- I am so digging a hole with my mouth, aren't I?”

Martina giggled softly and felt him bring her legs up to drape across his lap, leaning her head back against the couch, crossing her arms in front of her chest. “She's a beautiful woman in other words?” Martina clarified, looking downright amused at Randy's flustered state, green eyes twinkling.

“She is, inside and out. Though Ted wasn't kidding; if she wanted too, she could bend Cody like a twig and snap his scrawny ass in half. She's got a temper on her.” Randy said, amused by her delight. “You think my rambling is funny? That's mean, darling wife.”

“You look adorable when you ramble and then even cuter when you realize you're doing it.” She replied with a heart stopping smile, Ted having left them alone again, feeling Randy run his hand up and down her lower leg, sighing in contentment. She wondered briefly if Randy had anything planned for the evening; deciding if he did, he would let her know. “I can't help it; I'm an observant person and looking forward to meeting this woman who puts Cody in his place.”

“You'll probably meet her before the night is out; Cody tends to sneak her into the room when he thinks we're asleep.” Randy said with a snort, shaking his head. “She always bunks with a few of the other Divas, but...” He shrugged, wondering when the pair would just start getting their rooms together instead of this carting around crap. “Tonight, do you mind going out with Paul and Stephanie?”

“It's up to you, Randy. I'm not very sociable, but I'm going to have to learn to be, right?” When he nodded, Martina smiled back at him and reached over, running her knuckles down his face gently before pulling back. “So only if you want too.” She had a feeling Randy would want to go out with Paul and Stephanie simply to get her in a new environment; not to mention this could be a real chance to do some research as far as married couples went. “We're going aren't we?” She giggled when he nodded, patting his hand to let him know she really didn't mind.

If this was what marriage was like; just enjoying being around someone, Randy could handle it, especially when Martina loosened up a little bit, smiling more freely. She was beautiful when she didn't smile, but when she flashed those pearly whites, she was stunning. How could ANYONE hurt her? That man –dog- had to be blind; on drugs, something...Who in their right mind could treat Martina that way?

Randy had his match along with Ted and Cody, leaving Martina inside the dressing room alone. She looked up when the door opened, a stunning blonde walking in. “You must be Beth.” She just had a feeling, standing up from the couch, and extended her hand. “I'm Jessica Orton, Randy's wife.”

“Ohhh...” Beth had to take a minute to remember who she was, then it came to her what Cody said. “Nice to meet you, are they still out in the ring?” She'd just gotten back from taking a shower in the Divas locker room, dressed in a red halter top with blue jeans, platinum blonde hair pooling down her back and over her shoulders.

“They should be back any minute.”

“Mind if I wait with you?”

“Not at all.”

Beth made herself comfortable, studying Randy's wife thoughtfully. “So...you and Randy...” Randy had gotten married; now that was a shock and a half. “I'm going to break that boy's leg for not inviting me. Was it a rushed thing or romantic?”

“We met in a coffee shop. He accidentally had my order and vice versa and we immediately hit it off. We dated for a few months without anyone knowing before he popped the question and we flew to Vegas. It was both rushed and romantic all in one.” Martina was a natural at this, flashing a smile, and stared down at the beautiful diamond ring on her finger. “It was the happiest moment of my life and I love him.” She wasn't sure why she said that last part, but figured that's what a wife was supposed to say regarding her husband. Love, honor, trust; the whole shebang. “So how long have you and Cody been together?”

Randy had managed to hide her for a few months? That made very little sense to Beth, especially considering Randy rarely took time away from the road. But...she didn't say anything, just smiled.

“Forever.” She laughed. “Not really, but it feels that way sometimes. Long enough to know that marriage isn't happening for a while. Love him to death, but my Mr. Coddles would pop the question to his gaming stuff before me.”

Martina laughed softly, nodding in understanding. “I don't doubt that for some reason.”

The girls laughed as they started talking about how Cody received his nickname of Mr. Coddles to begin with. Martina was biting back pain from laughing too much, but didn't show it, considering she'd been through a lot worse in the span of two years, until recently. They were still giggling when Legacy walked in, Martina instantly meeting Randy's gaze, not believing how delicious he looked covered in sweat.

Beth nudged her playfully, blue eyes sparkling. “Why don't you go join your hubby in the shower?” She suggested, giggling at the look on Martina's face.

Martina was in FULL panic mode now as she looked back at Randy, keeping that smile on her face, but at the same time...what the hell were they going to do? ‘Oh god please, please think of SOMETHING!’ She thought frantically, feeling Beth push her up from the couch.

“That's a hell of an idea.”

Martina was going to kill Cody.

Of course Cody was going to die and the look in Ted's eyes told him flat out it would be a very painful death. But, in the end, it was probably going to be worth it, providing Martina didn't freak out or something. Or Randy doing something stupid and, now that she was in there, he was regretting putting his two cents in.

“Feel free honey, I smell.” Randy said with an easy grin, knowing full well she was probably having a panic attack. He raised his arm and sniffed, making a face. “Yeah, come on in with me.”

“That's just sick, man. Jessie, you can hide with me.”

“Now, now Teddy, they're newlyweds and I'm sure she'd love to spend some time with her husband. Go on honey, I'll keep these boys tamed.” Beth winked, having not a clue what she was doing, grinning from ear to ear.

“Well, if you insist...” Martina had no choice, but there was no way she was getting in that shower with Randy, glad there was a door. She followed Randy inside the bathroom, after taking his extended hand, blushing when he kissed the back of it, releasing it as soon as they were in the bathroom alone. Beth could be persistent when she wanted to be; not to mention she probably wanted a few minutes alone with Cody. “I'll just...umm...sit here and wait.” Then a thought occurred to her, she was supposed to be SHOWERING with her husband, which meant her hair had to be wet.

Randy had obviously cottoned onto this problem and was frowning. He didn't mind her being in there with him. He had nothing to hide, but what was probably going to be one hell of an impressive erection. He got the shower going; it would give them some cover so they could talk, locking the door as well, hearing Beth giggling some more and vowed to throttle her by her pretty neck.

“Um...”

There was no way she could let Randy see her naked body, tears forming in her eyes, and wrapped her arms around herself. She seen a sink was in there and suddenly got an idea, taking a deep breath. The makeup she would explain along with her bag being in there, nothing more nothing less. Dipping her head forward, Martina proceeded to wet down her hair in the sink, after taking the brown head band out, making sure to make it thorough, needing to be careful so she didn't get her shirt wet. She also didn't notice Randy was watching her every move as she slowly pulled back, grabbing the first towel she could find and wrapped it around her head tightly, before pulling her head back up.

“Problem solved.”

Talk about cheating. Nodding, Randy turned his back to her and removed his boots, bringing one foot up at a time. Then he slid his trunks down, stepping out of them and moved into the shower, closing the glass door behind him.

“Heaven.” He groaned, feeling the hot water beating down on him. His male mind screamed at him, ‘It'd be better with her in here you moron!’

He didn't want to see her; she was sure of it as Martina towel dried her hair while he took his shower, hearing him groan and felt something twinge inside of her. Was that...desire? Martina shook herself mentally and proceeded to finger comb her hair, before pulling the head band back over her head, seeing her makeup hadn't been ruined and kept her back to the shower since it was a see-through glass door. Martina suddenly wondered how far playing Randy's wife would go, swallowing hard.

Randy was wondering the same thing. How far...Oh man, this was a fake marriage. This was nothing except a way to keep Martina safe, nothing more nothing less. She had NO interest in him THAT way and, even if she did, she wasn't mentally ready for a relationship, much less a bedroom encounter. He had to stop being such a 'man' as his mother would have termed it.

“Fuck!” He hissed, almost smacking his own dick. ‘Go DOWN!’ He thought frantically.

Martina didn't even WANT to know what he was doing in there, trying to block it out as she wiped down the sink, before jumping up to sit on it, keeping her head down and staring at the ring thoughtfully. How far would be whatever it took is what Martina boiled it down too. That meant she would have to start kissing Randy in public, showing him affection, feeling more tears sting her eyes. No man wanted her; she was a broken mess, full of pain and baggage. Sighing, Martina managed to blink the tears away and heard the shower shut off, before Randy stepped out, jumping down from the sink carefully.

Randy felt better, marginally. He had won the battle with his body by picturing the most disgusting thing ever in this world and beyond. Of course, there was the slight risk that now he'd never be able to get an erection ever again, but it was necessary. He quickly wrapped a towel around his waist, staring at her intently.

“You alright?” He murmured, trying to keep his voice low so nobody else to hear.

“Yes, I'm fine.” She whispered in return, staring back into his deep blue eyes as he stepped toward her, cracking a hesitant smile back at him. “I'll meet you out there.”

She went to walk out and was stopped by a hand on her arm, staring back at him, and felt Randy pull her back into his arms. Her heart was pounding furiously in her chest, not able to pull away from his gaze and tried not to look nervous or apprehensive, though her body was tensed. For good reason. Her pink tongue snaked out to wet her dry lips, knowing she would need more gloss, hands pressed gently against his bare, wet chest.

“Aw hell, you had too, didn't you?” Randy murmured, more or less speaking aloud to himself, blue eyes darkening with passion he was doing his best to restrain. At least now he knew his dick was still working. He bent down and brushed his lips gently against hers; the kiss was brief, not wanting to scare her, but at the same time, needing just one small, sweet taste of those luscious, pink lips.

She was confused by what he said, but that quickly diminished as soon as Martina felt his lips on hers, trembling slightly, eyes drifting closed. One small, gentle brush quickly turned into something passionate as Randy's arms tightened around her. His tongue swiped across her lips, knowing he could taste the last traces of her strawberry gloss, letting a shaky moan escape her.

His lips felt wonderful against hers, so soft and almost delicate, everything she had hoped they would be and more. When her back connected with the wall, Martina gripped his arms and slid her hands up his shoulders to his neck, wrapping her arms around it, pressing herself against him fully. It'd been so long since she felt so safe and beautiful, Randy's kiss made her feel those plus more. It was almost as if he wanted her, no matter what she may look like, which is what made Martina respond to this in the first place.

The fact that she wasn’t freaking out, kneeing him in the balls or doing anything else besides kissing him back, damn near knocked Randy for a loop. Growling hungrily, his hands moved down to cup her ass, leaning into her. Though, at the same time, he was mindful of her bruised body and ribs.

When Martina couldn't breathe, as much as she detested doing so, she pulled back and broke the kiss, breathing heavily, chest rising and falling rapidly, lips swollen. Her knees were trembling, the amount of desire coursing through her body overwhelming to say the least. She opened and closed her mouth several times, but nothing was coming out; it was almost as if that kiss stopped her voice box from working. Her hands rested gently on his shoulders, before sliding down his arms, finally falling at her sides, the passion haze that kiss put her in slowly lifting from her mind, allowing her to think rationally. She had no idea what to say to Randy and just stood there, frozen solid, with wide jade eyes.

She was looking at him like...well, he couldn't tell actually, his own daze receding, leaving him feeling like a jackass. “Jessie?” He whispered, reaching out to gently run a finger down the side of her face. He would have given anything he possessed to know just what was going through her mind at that moment.

“I-I'm fine...” She stammered out quietly, the feeling slowly coming back in her limbs, sighing gently. He saw her as Jessica Orton, not the woman who, only a week ago, had been on her deathbed; beaten, battered and bruised heavily. She slowly pulled away from him, tears shining in her eyes, wondering what he was thinking as she wrapped her arms around herself. “Why did you-” Martina stopped before even letting the question come out of her mouth. “I'll leave you to get dressed, Randy.”

Randy knew damn well who she was, but had promised himself he wouldn't call her anything except Jessica when they weren't in a hotel room or something. “Martina...” He whispered softly, reaching out for her. “I'm sorry; I didn't stop and think about what I was doing.”

It was all too obvious she was regretting that kiss.

Chapter 11

“I just...I don't know why you did it, that's all.” She whispered, pressing her fingertips to her lips, taking in a shaky breath and closed her eyes as she tried to calm down. ‘I'm not good for anyone, Randy, especially you.’ She thought sadly, knowing she couldn't go out there crying because Beth would automatically know something was up.

Martina felt his hands rest on her shoulders and lowered her head, not able to stop a few tears from sliding down her cheeks, knowing she had to dry and suck it up. She reached over and placed her hand on his, squeezing it gently. “It's a kiss, nothing harmful.” She wiped her tears away, knowing she would have to redo her makeup; though, bruises on her face and cut was gone.

“I did it because I wanted too. And because of your tongue, you did this thing, you licked your lips and I-” He was rambling again.

Martina had the unique power to turn him into a stuttering fool. Randy sighed, letting her step away from him. He had crossed the line; he knew it and would suffer in silence for it. Hoping Ted didn't find out because more than likely the watch dog would probably make the attempt at beating his ass.

Martina slowly turned around to face him, sighing gently and hugged him around the neck, burying her face in it. “Don't worry, you didn't do anything wrong. Maybe it's a good thing that I go out there looking a little...disheveled.” She slowly pulled back, smiling stronger at him, and tapped his nose with her finger. “You're a wonderful kisser, so it's not like I didn't enjoy it. Now get dressed, we have to meet with Stephanie and Paul.” She winked before walking out of the bathroom, fluffing her hair out a little, and walked over to sit on the couch.

“Aw hell.” He groaned again, glancing back at the shower with a longing sigh. For a woman who had just been on death's door, looking haggard, she sure rebounded fairly damn well. Groaning and cursing under his breath, Randy began dressing; taking his time and talking his freshly awakened erection back down AGAIN.

“You look...mussed.”

“Thanks...”

Martina smiled back at Beth, not realizing the glow coming from her face, lips still slightly swollen as she proceeded to pull the gloss out of her purse, applying more. They were going back to the hotel to change really fast, but Martina planned on wearing what she had on. She didn't like showing her body off and suddenly wondered why Randy wanted to kiss her in the first place.

She was ugly and worthless, accepting it a long time ago. Martina heard it for the past two years from Roger so it sank into her brain, refusing to budge. She wasn't anyone's type; she would never feel love, passion, heat again, even though that kiss Randy gave her moments ago held all of those.

“She looks more than mussed.” Cody was trying his best not to sound awed, wondering just what happened in that bathroom, groaning when Ted popped him upside the back of his head again. “What was that for, man?” He whined, looking to his girlfriend for support, groaning when she just shook her head as if to say 'don't involve me'.

“You need to mind your own business and leave the newlyweds alone.”

Martina flushed a deep crimson red, cheeks flaming for the third time that night, and looked up when Randy walked out of the bathroom fully dressed. She was starving, knowing they were going out to eat with Stephanie and Paul, and stood up from the couch when he retrieved his bag. Okay, it was going to look weird if they weren't acting like they didn't just have sex, right? Martina walked over to him and wrapped her arm around his waist, leaning against him with a smile, and walked out of the dressing room with Cody, Beth and Ted following.

“Randy, Beth is staying in the suite tonight, is that okay?”

Ted was going to MAIM his friend.

Martina didn't think anything of it…yet.

Given that Randy's thoughts were still drifting back into neutral territory, his mind all but hopped, skipped and jumped, screaming the realization at him. Martina was going to have to sleep with him tonight. Of course, he just smiled and nodded, knowing full well Ted was going to do the dirty work and maim Cody.

On the ride back to the hotel, it finally hit Martina what Cody said, green eyes widening and stared out the window. ‘Oh my god.’ She thought, raking a hand through her hair, and knew Randy would be staying in her room tonight.

Since moving her stuff in front of Beth wasn't the best idea. They arrived a few minutes later as Martina stepped out of the SUV, holding Randy's hand again and waited for him to get his bag, before taking the back way. They were already on a tight schedule; luckily she wasn't changing her outfit, unless Randy wanted her too.

“I don't know why I'm changing, Paul won't care.” Randy muttered to himself, wondering if there was any way of backing out of this without looking like a complete jackass. Probably not. He glanced down at Martina, arching an eyebrow. “You alright, honey?” He asked softly, wondering if Cody's words had hit home yet.

“Of course.” Her mind was adding NOT in a scream to that, keeping the smile on her face and stepped inside the suite, not sure what to do.

Martina felt Randy guiding her to her room, while Beth and Cody went to play Fallout 3, Ted doing his own thing. The door closed gently as Martina walked inside the bathroom and immediately began redoing her makeup, foundation, a little eyeliner and some gloss, seeing Randy come up behind her, staring at him in the mirror. “I'll be out in a minute.” She murmured, tossing her things back in her bag and felt him turn her around as their eyes locked, wondering what he wanted.

“I'm sorry.” Randy whispered, bending down to press his head to hers. “About everything.” That covered her life being shit, the kiss and now having to suffer him sharing a room with her. “I'm especially sorry about-”

“BETH, YOU CHEAT!”

“Him.”

“It's not your fault. I should be saying sorry to you, Randy. You've put yourself in a predicament to help me, put your happiness on the line. No, I'M sorry for putting you through this and, somehow, someway, I hope to pay you back one day.” Martina blinked the tears away from her eyes, not wanting to redo her makeup, and put a smile on her face. “If you're not in the mood to go to that dinner tonight, I'll understand.” He was probably questioning himself why he'd kissed her like he wanted to make love to her, but Martina was trying to push it out of her mind. “I'm aware we have to share a room tonight and I don't mind. The bed's big enough.” Martina walked out and started cleaning up her things, which wasn't a lot, needing a distraction.

“I'll call Paul and make our excuses.” He said softly, not up to pretending anything at the moment.

He wanted to lie down and go to sleep, which would probably change shortly. He toyed with the idea of sleeping on the floor, but that would just look wrong if someone walked in or something. Which they had no reason to do, but...People never failed to astound him with what they did.

“Are you sure?” Martina asked softly, chewing her bottom lip when he nodded and simply shrugged, before taking the hand band out of her hair, which was still damp. “I'm going to change into something more comfortable then.” She murmured softly, sighing when a knock sounded on the door, and opened it to find Ted.

“Randy's shit. I snuck it past the moron couple.”

“Thanks...” She took it and turned around, handing it over to Randy, before going over to retrieve her sleeping outfit. With pants and a long sleeved shirt, Martina went into the bathroom and closed the door, starting her shower. She stripped out of her clothes and stepped in the sprays, finally letting the tears flow from her eyes.

Randy whipped out his cell phone, nodding to Martina as she headed into the bathroom, hearing the door close behind her, followed by the shower running. When he heard Paul on the other end, he instantly launched into a spiel about Jessica being tired from the show, jetlagged and all that jazz. Knowing Paul would understand, since she was new to this lifestyle, Randy sighed with relief when Paul said not to worry about it.

“Some other night then? Great man thanks.” He hung up with a sigh, groaned. and dropped down on the bed.

Twenty minutes later, Martina walked back out, wearing a deep red long sleeved shirt with matching pants, hair down and brushed, face devoid of makeup. There was no reason for it as she towel dried the rest of her hair before raking a hand through it, seeing Randy had made himself comfortable. It wasn't like he was going to force himself on her.

He wasn't Roger. Taking a deep breath, Martina slid into the bed under the comforter and stared up at the ceiling. The dim lighting from the lamp on the nightstand caused her ring to glisten, along with the gold streaks in her hair.

Randy wasn't asleep. He was reading, lying on top of the blankets in just his pajama bottoms. They were orange with black flames running up the sides, a gift from one of his friends. He'd never worn them before, usually sleeping in nothing or boxers, but due to the currents circumstances, Randy felt it necessary to break them out.

“Feel better?” He asked, folding the page he was on, before shutting the book, looking at her.

“Yeah.” She answered, not knowing what else to say and sneaked a glance at the book he was reading, before turning her attention back to the ceiling. “Just letting you know I don't sleep very well so...I hope that doesn't bother you. I'm very quiet; I just like staying up looking out the window.”

That and every time she shut her eyes, Roger was in her vision, in her dreams, haunting them continuously. Normally she would cry, but Martina wasn't alone now and couldn't do it in front of Randy, not wanting him to feel any worse than he already did. She meant what she said and hoped this situation came to a close sooner rather than later for both their sanities.

“Now that's going to be a problem. I can't sleep if people are up moving around.” Randy said quietly. “I know you said at the window, but…” He shrugged, making a face. “It’s just one of my quirks. Why don't you sleep well?” He asked curiously, having a feeling he already knew, but...he wasn't assuming anything, just in case by chance he was wrong.

“I won't get up then; I'll just stay in bed.” She murmured quietly, not wanting to do anything to make him more uncomfortable and folded her hands on top of her lap, sighing heavily.

Martina wasn't answering his other question and simply turned on her side, back facing him, and stared ahead at the wall. The only way she was sleeping was if her body shut down on her and forced her to rest or she took something. Either way she didn't foresee either happening, especially with this gorgeous man, who was pretending to be her husband, sleeping in bed with her.

Yet again, in the same night no less, Martina had ignored a question he'd directly asked her. Sighing, Randy moved so he was lying behind her, making sure their bodies weren't touching. “Why won't you answer certain questions?” He asked, knowing she was very likely to ignore that one as well.

If she played dumb, he would just call her on it. Though the only question she could remember not answering was the one he asked moments ago, furrowing her eyebrows together. “Every time I close my eyes, I see him, Randy. I see him and I can actually feel him.” Her eyes closed painfully shut, trembling slightly, and took a deep breath to calm down. “He haunts my dreams and, no matter what I do, no matter what I think about, when I go to sleep, he's there hurting me all over again. I wake up feeling the pain. I'm scared to death of falling asleep because I don't want to see him. I want him to go far away.”

There really wasn't anything he could say to that, not a damn thing. He couldn't promise to protect her because he couldn't, not from her dreams. He couldn't tell her everything was going to be alright because who honestly knew? Sighing, Randy gently pulled Martina into his arms, trying to comfort her the best way he knew how, holding her tenderly against him.

“I just want him to go away.” Martina whispered brokenly, turning around and wrapped her arms around his waist, burying her face in his chest as a few tears fell. She didn't want to do this damn it! She didn't want to cry, but it was inevitable to happen. Martina felt his fingers run through her hair, soothing her in a way she hadn't felt in years, and slowly pulled back as she wiped her tears away. “Sorry.” She whispered, sniffling, and knew Randy probably thought even less of her because of how weak she was. “Go to sleep, Randy, I'm fine.” Martina was lying, but at the same time, he had to rest more than her because of how strenuous his job was.

Randy shook his head, pressing a gentle kiss to the side of her head. “No...don't be sorry; you have nothing to be sorry for, Martina.” He murmured, trying not to sound tired even though he was. “Just lie here with me.” He yawned, the obvious exhaustion creeping in. “Even if you don't sleep, let me hold you, okay?”

He was so sweet to her; Martina was truly blessed as she nodded, knowing how exhausted he was. She turned over on her side, feeling his strong, muscular, tattooed sleeved arms wrap around her waist, back pressed against his chest. She could feel his heart beat as he took her hand, entwining their fingers together, and closed her eyes. For a brief moment, Martina felt what it was really liked to be loved, to be cherished, lips still burning from his earlier kiss. Slowly, methodically, she ran her fingers up and down his arm, barely brushing skin, soothing him while she stared at the wall, sighing gently.

“Good night Randy.” She whispered, more to herself than him, and completely relaxed in his arms.

“Good night, Marti.” He whispered back, already half asleep, eyes never opening.

His lips curved into a tired smile, feeling her butterfly touch on his arm. It was lulling him to sleep; she was lulling him to sleep. His arms tightened ever so slightly, enjoying the feel of her pressed against him. There was nothing sexual about it, just pure comfort, knowing she was there safe and sound with him.

That simple movement, and the amount of security she felt in his arms, made Martina fall asleep a little while after him. Martina hadn't slept well in two years and, for the first time in that time span, Martina slept peacefully in a stranger's arms. She knew some things about Randy, but there was so much more about him she wanted to know.

She wasn’t good enough for him, Martina knew that much, but while she was pretending to be his wife, she was going to try getting to know Randy better. Her chest rose and fell evenly, softly breathing, and no nightmares plagued her. Though she did dream; it was of the man who held and helped her, who Martina would forever deem as her angel.

“Aww that's so cute.” Beth whispered, smacking Cody upside his head lightly, pulling the door shut. “You shouldn't spy on them, it's rude.”

“I was just...”

“Peeking.”

Since he couldn't tell her the truth, he just nodded, letting Beth think whatever she wanted, and softly closed the door.

Chapter 12

Her eyes slowly opened the following morning and rubbed her eyes, seeing it was purely dark, due to the shades drawn, keeping the sunlight out. Martina could feel arms wrapped around her and inhaled, sighing as the scent engulfed her. Randy. He had a scent unlike no other and it brought a small smile to her face. He was still sleeping and she didn't want to wake him up, but Martina also had to use the bathroom.

Slowly extracting herself from his arms, Martina quietly went into the bathroom and shut the door silently behind her. She smelled like Randy and closed her eyes, wrapping her arms around herself, feeling her cheeks tinge pink. After using the bathroom, Martina walked out to stare in the mirror, running her fingertips over her cheek where the faint, barely there, scar resided. What was it that Randy saw in her that made him want to kiss her? She would never know, brushing her teeth and hair before walking out, being quiet.

He was awake, though he had yet to open his eyes, a smile on his face. He had been dreaming of her. Rather interesting dream, though it was already slipping through his memory, he struggled to hold onto it. Sighing, he rolled onto his stomach, burying his face in her pillow and inhaled deeply. Strawberries. She smelled like strawberries. Randy wondered if they could make this sleeping arrangement permanent; this was the best sleep he had gotten in quite some time.

Yawning silently, Martina walked over and sat on the bed, still not believing she hadn't dreamt of Roger once and gotten eight hours of sleep. She couldn't remember the last time she'd slept so good and stretched her arms in the air, gasping when she was pulled back on the bed, staring up into those blue eyes of Randy's. “Morning.” She murmured softly and closed her eyes as his nose buried in her neck and hair, not realizing he was inhaling her scent because she was too busy doing the same thing. “Did you sleep well?” Martina asked, not able to help melting against him, chewing her bottom lip, while running her hands up and down his muscular, bare back.

“Mmmhmm.” Randy murmured, planting a kiss against her pulse point. “How'd you sleep?” He yawned, pulling away so he could stare into her jade green eyes, blinking sleep from his own. “Any nightmares?”

“I slept better than I have in two years with no nightmares whatsoever.” Martina answered honestly, heart rate accelerating, while running her hands up and down his arms, the place where he kissed lit on fire. She didn't know if it was because she hadn't slept alone or just Randy's presence. Whatever it was, the nightmares had stopped and were replaced with sweet dreams about them together.

“That's good. Maybe we're each other's sleeping aids.” He laughed, groaning and reluctantly let go of her, rolling out of bed. He smiled at her over his shoulder before walking into the bathroom, closing the door quietly behind him. He smacked himself once, wondering if he was still dreaming because this all felt surreal.

“Get up love birds! We're going out for breakfast!”

No, he was awake. Satan was kinder than Beth.

Sighing resignedly, Martina stood up and walked over to her bag, pulling out a pair of tan suede pants that were soft to the touch, along with a long sleeved shirt that matched. She pulled a tan head band on her head, before pulling her makeup bag out, applying foundation, brown eyeliner with tanned eye shadow, going very natural with her strawberry gloss. She pulled on her black dress boots that were two inches, before zipping up her bag, just as Randy walked out.

“In case you didn't hear, we're going out to breakfast with everyone.”

“We're going out to breakfast with everyone.” Randy echoed, fresh out of the shower, with a towel wrapped around his waist, sighing and looked around for his own bag. “I suppose I should get-” He just realized what she was wearing, eyes starting from her legs and slowly moving up. “You look...nice.” He was about to say hot, but that sounded like something Cody would have said.

“Thanks.” Martina grinned back at him, the circles under her eyes slowly diminishing as she pulled the sleeves down over her wrists; the shirt had a hoop neckline, covering everything, while Randy walked over to retrieve his bag. “Here.” She handed it to him, their fingers brushing together and cracked a smile, before walking out to stare out the window. She wanted to feel the sun on her face, not being this happy in two years, and wondered how long this would last.

Randy idly wondered if she realized she was a very attractive woman; it didn't seem so. She dressed conservatively, which only made him wonder what was under the clothes, even though he had felt her body beside him. Visual gratification was...going to kill him. He disappeared back into the bathroom to dress, coming out in blue jeans and cotton, long sleeved shirt, walking over to stand behind her.

“What're you looking at?” He asked in her ear.

“Just the scenery, it's a beautiful day.” She slowly turned around to face him, seeing what he was wearing, and smiled.

Martina dressed the way she did simply to hide the damage Roger inflicted on her body. She had two lined scars across his abdomen horizontally; thigh scarred from that deep gash, her arm had one too. Without the makeup on, Martina wasn't every man's dream; even though she had a nice soft toned body with curves all in the right places...now that she had been eating a lot better. It was amazing what a week without abuse did to a person.

Randy thought Martina was beautiful period. He saw her right after the attack before she had been taken to the hospital. He watched her those three days she was unconscious, including her body, since Michael had asked the three men to help in place of nurses, not trusting anyone to keep the fact she was there under wraps. Apparently, Roger had connections everywhere.

“You're beautiful.” He murmured softly.

He was only saying it because they had to put on an act, Martina kept reminding herself as she smiled back at him, nodding. “Thank you, Randy.” She went to walk past him, knowing they were going to be late for breakfast and sighed when he stopped her, turning her around to face him again. His eyes were so unreadable at times; it frustrated the hell out of her, made her wonder what was going through his mind. “Come on, husband, I'm hungry and it's not polite to leave your wife famished.”

“Alright.” Randy said softly, shoving what he had been about to say to the back burner and smiled, lacing his fingers through hers. “Let's go feed you, wife.”

“Morning!” Cody greeted enthusiastically when they emerged, dressed; hyper and raring to go. “Your Red Bull is on the table.” He pointed. “Sorry Jessie, you'll have to wait for coffee.” He added apologetically.

“That's fine, Cody, I actually don't need any at the moment.”

Martina watched as Randy went to retrieve his Red Bull, knowing that stuff couldn't be good for the body, and kept her thoughts to herself. Together, the entire group headed downstairs to the hotel restaurant, but it was packed, so they opted to go to the nearest IHOP. This was one of Martina's favorite places to eat as she walked in, hand in hand, with Randy, beaming up at him and smiled when he kissed her hand like a gentleman. They were seated at a booth type table, Cody and Beth sitting together, Ted by himself and her next to Randy, not releasing his hand. She loved the feeling of it in hers and smiled when he let it go, only to wrap an arm around her shoulders, leaning her head against him while looking over the menu.

“Order whatever you want.” He murmured, bending his head down to kiss the side of her head, ignoring the speculative looks they were getting from Beth.

Beth was STILL wondering how in the HELL Randy had managed to date Jessica for a 'few months' when the man barely left the road, even on his time off.

She smiled back at him and nodded, deciding on stuffed strawberry French toast with a side of eggs, hash browns and bacon. She was starving, skipping dinner hadn't been the smartest idea, and rolled her eyes when Randy ordered her a glass of milk along with orange juice. “Not funny.” She murmured, nudging him, and giggled softly when he nuzzled her neck gently. Oh that felt good as his arm wrapped around her waist, his scent overwhelming her, and smacked him playfully in the arm. “Enough.”

“At least this time I ordered skim.”

Randy hadn't forgotten her apparent dislike for milk, knowing skim would be easier to handle then whole. He needed to ask her a lot more questions, especially ones about her diet. Like, was she allergic to anything? Were there specific foods she could not stand?

Deciding not to say anything, Martina just smiled back at him, REFUSING to drink skim milk. That was disgusting, though she knew Randy was trying to help her. They made small chatter, Randy talking over business with Cody and Ted, while Beth asked her more questions regarding her and Randy.

“Well, after the coffee shop, we texted and emailed each other constantly, used webcam, the whole shot. I saw him twice after that, our third date he proposed.” Martina hoped Randy didn't mind the story she was telling, knowing Beth was still curious about them, and flashed him a smile when he rubbed her shoulder. “I couldn't say no to him...”

“You married him after only three dates?” Beth arched an eyebrow, wondering if these two were insane. She liked Jessica well enough, but that was kind of jumping the gun. When Cody poked her arm, she frowned. “I'm just curious.”

“You're being nosy, Bethany.”

Ted couldn't agree more.

This woman was very judgmental and Martina decided to just keep her mouth shut. Randy could answer some of the questions as their food arrived, giving all of them a distraction. If Beth only knew what TRULY happened, the woman would probably run her mouth to every tom, dick and harry she knew.

Martina ate her food in silence, smiling up at Randy, letting him know she was fine and managed to take three gulps of skim milk. It wasn't bad...though that's probably due to the breakfast she was eating. It hid most of the taste while Cody and Beth talked quietly amongst themselves.

It just seemed odd to Beth that nobody had heard about Jessica until now. Randy hadn't mentioned her ever and neither had Cody. That was the weird part. Cody had a hard time keeping his mouth shut about anything, but he had. She let it go, knowing she was probably coming across as a bitch when she wasn't trying to be.

When Beth stopped asking questions, Randy sent a silent prayer of thanks heavenward.

After breakfast, they headed back to the hotel while Beth and Cody went to work out. Ted went shopping, having taken a cab, so Randy and Martina were left alone in the hotel room. “I'm fine Randy.” She assured him quietly before going in her room, closing the door behind her and felt the tears roll down her cheeks as her back pressed against it.

Beth had really hit home because Martina was dumb enough to agree marrying Roger after only three dates. That's where she'd gotten the damn story from in the first place. The coffee shop; everything except the actual marriage. She'd been engaged to Roger, though Randy didn't know that, nobody had to know. That's the prime reason why her mother refused to talk to her in the first place, saying she was throwing her life away. Martina had and now she had no idea what was going to happen or what she was doing.

Randy stared at the door for a moment, wondering why, if she was fine, she had just shut him out. Sighing, he contemplated what to do. Did he go in there and try to talk to her or did he give her the space she probably needed? Hell, he didn't even know her, she could just...Sighing again, he walked over to drop down on the couch. Beth had gotten to her that much he knew, and if Cody didn't put his woman in her place, then Randy would.

Chapter 13

A month went by and there was no sign of Roger anywhere, but that was due to the fact that almost every night they went to a different city for the wrestling events. Tonight they were in Phoenix, Arizona and Martina was on edge, ribs fully healed, wearing a wine colored long sleeved shirt; even in one hundred degree weather, with dark blue jeans that flared at the bottoms, along with black boots. Her hair was half up and half down, a few tendrils framing her face, taking a break on the head bands for a night.

Martina ignored Randy's skeptical look at what she was wearing and simply waved him off dismissively, having kept to herself mostly. She and Randy did share a room, but there was no cuddling, no touching, nothing. They stayed on their respective sides, each in their own thoughts, but somehow, the nightmares had diminished into nothing but wonderful dreams of Randy. Though tonight, Martina wasn't talking to anyone and couldn't stop her stomach from twisting violently, knowing her mother lived just a few minutes away.

“You're going to give yourself a heat stroke.” Randy said softly. Hell, he was in a pair of blue jean shorts and beater, sucking down water like there was no tomorrow. “Martina, please, wear a different shirt.” She was ignoring him! What the HELL? Frowning, he grabbed her arms, forcing her to face him. “Marti, wear a different shirt.”

“No, I'm fine, Randy.” She ripped her arms out of his grasp, knowing she was probably going to fry, but at least her body would be covered. “I don't like showing my body off for a reason, so just leave me alone and worry about yourself.” She sat on the bed and lowered her head, feeling him kneel down in front of her, not looking at him as she wiped a few tears away from her face. “Stop.” She whispered, brushing his hand away when he went to touch her, and stood up to walk toward the window. They would be leaving shortly.

“You hide your body because of the scars.” Randy said evenly, seeing her shoulders tense, not moving towards her. He was trying to help her and she was pushing him away. “I've SEEN them, Martina. I've seen you, while you were in the hospital.” He wasn't apologizing for it, but what the HELL was she trying to hide from him, seriously? They weren't her fault; she was a beautiful woman; all the more so because she had SURVIVED.

“I know you have, Randy, but others HAVEN'T.” She pointed out the obvious, wiping a few more tears away, and felt him turn her around to stare up in his eyes. “I'm sorry.” Martina whispered, pressing her forehead against his chest, running her hands up and down his arms, before pulling back a little. “I can't wear another shirt because...because I don't have any others.” Didn't he realize after being with her for over a month that all she wore was long sleeved shirts and jeans, the same attire for her sleepwear, only swapping jeans with pajama pants? Didn't he notice that she didn't own a single short sleeved shirt? “I'll be fine, I've survived the heat before and I'll do it again. Besides, the arena has air conditioning and so does the car.”

“Wear one of my t-shirts. It'll come to your elbows and be somewhat cooler. The arena is still going to be pretty warm, Marti.” Given how packed it was likely to be, the heat being what it was, there was going to be a lot of semi naked wrestlers tonight. He hoped she didn't freak out when she seen it.

“Alright, fine.” She whispered, knowing she couldn't argue with him and watched him walk over to his bag, pulling out a Legacy shirt, handing it to her. Hesitantly, Martina took it and walked past him in the bathroom, closing the door behind her. Maybe she could cover up the scar on her arm with makeup. No, it wouldn't work. She pulled her long sleeved shirt over her head and tossed it behind her, before pulling the Legacy one over her head, watching in awe as it fell to her mid-thigh and the sleeves went to her elbows. Martina was going to roast in this too and sighed as she pulled her hair from the shirt, before cleaning her mess up, walking back out. “This thing is huge.”

Randy took one look at her and started laughing. She looked like a little girl playing dress up and shook his head. “You're right, it is.” He said, between chuckles, wiping his eyes and sighed. “Maybe we can have Janet find you something?” He suggested softly.

“Yeah, they know what happened so...” She nodded, looking down at the shirt again, frowning good naturedly as Randy walked over to her, biting her bottom lip. She felt him kiss her forehead and wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him briefly, and pulled back. “Come on, we're running late.” She went to walk away from him, only for Randy to stop her, drawing her into his arms and softly kissed her lips, hands resting on his shoulders, a gentle moan escaping her. She slowly pulled back and trembled a little. He always managed to make her weak in the knees, lips slightly swollen. “A-Are you ready to go?”

“No.” Randy breathed huskily, having been unable to stop himself. Sometimes he wanted to coddle Martina like she was a child; other times he wanted to find out how much of a woman she really was. “I mean, yes.” He had a hard time concentrating, frowning. Janet and Tiffany knew? Then it dawned on him. The falling down the stairs accident they made up to cover what really happened. Randy shook his head. “Okay, I'm- Are you alright?”

“Sure yeah, fine. I-I'll meet you out there.” She needed some space from Randy and wiped the rest of her gloss away from his lips, before walking out, leaving him standing there, knowing he needed a few minutes to get his mind straight.

“That's a little big on you isn't it?”

“Randy refused to let me wear what I had on.” Martina replied, Beth nowhere to be found, which was a good thing.

Martina hadn't spoken to Beth ever since that day at the restaurant, though when Beth pursued her again with questions, Randy snapped on her. The woman hadn't been around since, though Randy still wanted to share a room with her simply due to the fact that he drove her nightmares away and wanted to hold her at night to make her feel safe and secure. He told her that and Martina couldn't argue or deny his request, loving the feeling of his arms around her.

“Umm...alright, is he almost ready to go?”

If Martina's swollen lips were any indication, Randy was probably having a hurried jack-off session in the bathroom. Ted didn't say a word, just studied her thoughtfully. If Randy hurt her in any way, shape or form, Ted was going to hurt Randy.

Randy appeared soon after, clearing his throat at the amused expression on Cody's face, and held out a hand. “Want to shake?”

“Man, that's sick.”

“Why?”

“You just- you know.”

“Took a piss.”

Martina shook her head, giggling at their antics, and groaned at how big this shirt was on her. She sighed resignedly when Randy said they would be at the arena in no time then Janet would help her with an outfit. They gathered their things, Martina having gotten a present from Randy -a laptop- to keep herself occupied.

Some nights she did stay at the hotel, but tonight, Randy wanted her with him. He knew where they were and had a feeling Roger had been there looking for her, so Randy wanted her by his side. He could watch her like a hawk along with Cody and Ted. A few minutes later, they were on their way to the arena.

For all his antics, Cody knew tonight was one of those serious, keep eyes peeled kind of nights. Randy had told them Roger might be in the area. Cody half hoped he was, just so they could get a shot at beating the son of a bitch into a bloody pulp.

Ted was having similar thoughts.

So was Randy.

When they arrived at the arena, Martina was on pins and needles, keeping a smile on her face, though it was strained, for obvious reasons. She looked up at Randy, who nodded at her reassuringly, and laced their fingers together as they walked inside the arena. Randy was right; it was stifling even with the AC on! Groaning inwardly, Cody and Ted went to Legacy's locker room, while Randy lead her down the hallway toward Janet and Tiffany's station, seeing they weren't busy surprisingly.

“What on earth are you wearing?”

Janet turned around, raising a slow eyebrow, and crossed her arms in front of her chest. “Randall, she's going to burn up in that, honey.”

“That's kinda why I'm here...” She was blushing profusely, head lowered. “I was wondering if you had anything I could borrow just for the night...”

Janet's eyes suddenly glittered mischievously with a grin, nodding. “I think it's time we give her a dose of the WWE, what do you think Tiff?”

“Definitely.”

“Ladies, please remember that is my wife and not eye candy. At least, not for anyone but me.” Randy said, trying not to smile, knowing damn well how these two harpies could be when they got something in their minds.

“We'll behave.”

“Kind of.”

“Now go away.”

“She'll look like your wife when we're done.” Tiffany promised, exchanging smirks with Janet.

Janet just smiled sweetly.

Janet left the dark blue jeans and replaced the Legacy T-shirt with a tight red top that was spaghetti strapped and had open shoulder sleeves, the scar on her arm covered. There was a black belt that wrapped around the waist for style and the top went with her hair. Janet was beaming as she pushed Jessica over to Tiffany.

Tiffany teased her hair in loose curls, after pulling it out of the ponytail, fluffing it out before redoing her makeup. Foundation with blue eyeliner brought those jade green orbs out nicely, along with a soft red lip gloss that shimmered in the lights. She didn't need blush, her tinged cheeks provided it naturally and Tiffany even did her nails, leaving them clear and manicured.

“Now go knock your husband off his feet.”

Blushing furiously, Martina walked away from them and headed down the hallway, smoothing the top down past her hips; not believing how tight it was, though it clung to her curves.

“Jessica! You look HOT!” Maria said as soon as she spotted the other woman, bouncing right up to her. “Wow...I don't think I've seen you in anything, but long sleeved shirts. Randy is a lucky ducky, isn't he?” She smiled brightly at the other woman, wearing a tube dress herself, fanning her face. “It's so darn hot in here, isn't it? You know, I think the guys should be made to go around in just boxers when it's this hot, just so us girls have something to look at, what do you think?”

“Uh sure.” Martina smiled sweetly back at her, feeling much cooler in this shirt because it was a thin material that helped her breathe and covered all of the scars on her body. She had to admit, the shirt fit her well as Maria made small talk until she arrived outside of Legacy's locker room. “Thanks for showing me the way here, Maria.” She had asked the woman, not having the foggiest idea where the locker room was and promised to catch up with her later as she walked inside, the door closing behind her.

“Whoa...”

Ted's eyes widened and felt his jaw drop at the sight of Martina. “Holy fuck...”

“What?” Randy demanded, having pulled off his tank top, now just bare-chested and cursing the heat. “What's holy fuck?” He turned around, his own jaw dropping, eyes growing large as well. “Holy fuck.” He echoed, blinking.

“Yeah, that.”

“Eyes off my wife, Rhodes.”

“She's not really your wife, Orton.” Ted reminded him in a low voice, causing Martina's cheeks to flame up even more, the red going well with her top.

“Is this better than what I was wearing before?”

“My god much...” Cody couldn't take his eyes off of her; he was a man after all and groaned when Randy slapped him upside the head.

Martina giggled as he slowly came toward her, blue locked on jade, wondering what he truly thought about her. She was still trying to get used to the top and smoothed it down again, the sleeves too short, but at least they were tight and hid the scar on her arm.

Randy was ignoring Ted at the moment, not in the mood to kill his friend for two reasons. One, it was too damn hot. Two, his attention was firmly fastened on his 'wife'.

“You look beautiful.” He whispered, reaching out to gently run a finger down her arm. “This look suits you, Marti.”

“It's supposed to be Jessie!” Cody hissed quietly to where they couldn't hear and looked back at Ted, who wanted to say the same thing.

“If you say so...” Martina whispered in return, head lowered as she fingered a strand of hair that was curled, his hand cupping her chin to tilt her head back, their eyes locking. He was the beautiful one. He was incredible, sweet, loving, caring, dashing, a prince charming, though Martina thought she met one of those before and look how THAT turned out. “The only reason why I agreed to this is because you were right; it is hot in here and I probably would've gotten heat stroke.”

“Well, maybe we'll get lucky and find hot as hell arenas waiting for us all across the country.”

He'd made a mistake; he called her Marti. Damn it, his mind was turning to mush and, while he could blame the heat, it wasn't that. He was falling for Martina, not JESSICA. He had no idea WHY, but he was.

Her heart skipped a beat when he called her by her birth name, but Martina hid it well, feeling him take her hand and guided her over to sit on the couch. She was falling for Randy, but knew she could never have him. Martina wasn't in his league; he deserved to find some beautiful Barbie doll that would fit perfectly with him. She blinked when he pulled her to sit on his lap, feeling the heat radiating off of him, feeling his rippling muscles since her hands were on his shoulders, sitting sideways.

“I don't think that'll happen, but a person can dream.” She joked with a wink and felt him playing with the curls in her hair.

“Well then, I'll see you in my dreams tonight, wearing...”

“Okay, you two aren't alone if you haven't noticed.”

“Actually, I have, why don't you vacate for a while, hmm?”

“You're joking, right?” Ted looked at Cody. “He's joking, isn't he?”

“I don't know...”

Randy winked at Martina.

Chapter 14

Martina was bursting into flames as she touched her cheeks, seeing the incredulous looks both Cody and Ted shot Randy, wondering if the man had lost his mind. She was too busy trying to cool off. Though, it didn't help feeling Randy's arms wrap around her, pressing her more against him.

“Come on Ted, let's go work out.”

“But...”

Cody shoved him out the door, knowing Randy wanted quality time with Martina, wondering if they were taking this too far.

Ted was wondering the same thing.

“I'm sorry, I get carried away.” Randy apologized, wondering where those two were going. To work out? Were they nuts? Sighing, he rested his head against her. “I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable.” Though, her blush was pretty damn cute. “Jessie? You alright, honey?”

“There's no reason to apologize.” Martina smiled back at him, cheeks slowly going back to just a red tinge, closing her eyes, while his grip tightened around her waist, wondering if this was the right time to mention what'd been on her mind. “Randy?” She slowly pulled back to stare in his blue eyes, running a finger down his cheek, chewing her bottom lip thoughtfully and shook her head before lowering it. “Never mind.” She wanted to go see her mother, but at the same time, she was scared to death of doing so. Having a feeling Roger had already been there seeking to find her, Martina knew he probably had people all over the Phoenix area searching.

Randy frowned, reaching out to tilt her chin up with two fingers, blue eyes searching hers intently. “What is it, Jess?” He asked softly, knowing he couldn't make any more slip ups with her name; not here, of all places, in Phoenix. “Do you want to see your mother?” He asked softly, remembering having discussed this with her a month previously.

Tears shined in her eyes as Martina nodded, sniffling and tried not to let any fall, not wanting to ruin Tiffany's makeup job. “I know I can't see her...Roger could be lurking anywhere and I know he has men around searching for me, Randy.” She spoke quietly, feeling him wipe a stray tear from her cheek. “I want to call her though, something. I miss her so much.” Martina wrapped her arms around his neck, burying her face in his neck, needing his comfort at the moment and kept blinking her tears away, only a few falling.

Randy held up his tank top for her to use as a handkerchief. “Here.” He gently wiped away the few tears that escaped her frantic blinking eyes. “Let's go see her. We can disguise you or something. Ever seen ‘Sleeping with the Enemy’?” He asked, seeing her nod. “Well, we'll just skip the mustache, but...We can dress you up. Janet and Tiffany could make you look like Jessica Alba if they wanted too.”

Martina shook her head sadly, seeing the confusion come over Randy's face, staring back into his eyes heartbrokenly. “We can't.” She whispered softly. “I'm sorry, but I'm a lonely child and I KNOW he has someone watching her house. It won't take a genius to put two and two together, Randy.” She slid from his lap, wrapping her arms around herself, wiping the rest of her tears away, luckily not smearing her makeup. “I can't risk it; I can't risk going to see her and him finding out where I am. He will use everything he can to gain me back in his possession and then kill me.” Martina was speaking quietly, knowing nobody else could find out about this, taking a deep breath. “I'm not even going to call her because he could have her phone wired. Someone could be there right now forcing my mother to tell them all the information they possibly can regarding my whereabouts.” She began shaking, covering her mouth with her hand. “Damn it, why won't he leave me alone?”

Randy was wondering that himself. What the hell was so damn special about her that this Roger guy couldn't let her go? Obviously she wasn't that special to the guy, not if he had beat and raped her. So what was it? Sighing, he raked a hand over his short hair, staring down at her intently. He honestly didn't know what to tell her; there was nothing he could say that was going to make the situation any easier or better.

Martina didn't say another word for the remainder of the night; just kept to herself with the laptop, the guys doing their business in the ring and whatnot. Beth stopped by and she waved, but other than that, nothing. Martina was currently staring at the address before her, knowing her mother lived a half an hour away from the arena, swallowing hard and tapped her nails on the laptop contemplatively.

Did she go and risk seeing her mother or play it safe with the guys? With Randy more importantly? Standing up, closing the laptop, Martina walked over and picked up Randy's cell phone, before dialing her mother's number by heart, closing her eyes as it began to ring.

“Hello?” Came Maureen’s voice after the third ring, sounding tired and worn. “Hello?” She repeated, frowning when she heard nothing but a sharp intake of breath. “Martina?” She whispered softly, a spark of hope in her voice.

Tears streamed down her face as Martina nodded, breathing ragged, heart pounding in and out of her chest. “It's me, mom, it's Marti.” She whispered in reply, not trusting her voice at the moment and raked a hand through her loose curly hair, not caring if she messed it up at the moment. “I-I don't have much time and I have a feeling Roger has been there so just answer yes or no to my questions.” She deciding that was best way to go, swallowing hard. “Has he been there and is your phone bugged?”

“Yes. No.” She didn't understand any of this. Roger had been there demanding to know where Martina was, if she had heard from her daughter. Of course she hadn't! The last time she spoke with Martina had been the night she told her daughter that she was throwing her life away. “What's going on, Marti?”

“All you need to know is I left Roger...and I'm not going back to him. He hurt me momma, he hurt me really bad...” She sniffled, knowing Randy would be back soon, and closed her eyes as more tears flowed down her face. Martina just didn't care about the makeup anymore and touched her cheek, the faint scar reminding her of the monster she'd been with for the past two years. “There's so much to tell you...” She whispered, wrapping an arm around her stomach, feeling sick. “Momma, just know that I'm safe alright? Just know that...I'm always thinking about you and I love you and I'm sorry for ever doubting you. I'm sorry for staying with him as long as I did and choosing him over you. I'm sorry for everything, momma.”

“Stay safe, baby girl.” Maureen whispered, knowing pleading with Martina to see her would be pointless as well as stupid. She knew damn well Roger had people following her, as if expecting her to somehow be in contact with her daughter. “I forgive you, Marti.”

“Thank you momma, thank you so much.” She could hear the guys laughing down the hallway and felt her eyes widen. “I-I have to go momma. I love you and I'll try calling you again soon.”

Martina didn't wait for her mother to say it back before snapping the lid shut and tossed the cell in Randy's bag, disappearing in the bathroom with her makeup bag, closing the door behind her. She could hear Randy trying to split up Cody and Ted, who were shouting at each other and shook her head, while redoing her makeup completely. She couldn't let Randy know she contacted her mother on his cell phone, praying he didn't think anything of it when he received his bill, and took a long, deep, shaky breath.

Martina and her mother really weren't that smart if they thought that phone wasn't bugged. Roger didn't have to actually place something on the phone to monitor it. A simple placing of a contact at the local phone company and, voila, the phone was tapped.

“Hey, honey, you okay?” Randy asked as he walked in, smiling at her. “You look pale.”

“Err…Paler.”

Oh god, did he know? Would he find out? She knew it was a huge risk, but couldn't help it. She had to call her mother to make sure Roger hadn't hurt her.

“I'm fine.” She tried to make her voice sound chipper, having washed her face, along with the tears, a fresh mask of makeup on. Though, her jade eyes were very easy to read. They were troubled, full of fear. Maybe Randy should get a new phone...she decided to destroy it when she was left alone again, heart pounding furiously in her chest. “H-How was the match and everything?” Martina needed a distraction and walked past them, already placing the laptop in its special carrying case.

“It was fine...” Randy exchanged confused looks with Cody and Ted, all three men able to easily read her; something was wrong. “What happened?”

“Did someone bother you?”

“Who is it? We'll go kick his ass for you.”

Ted and Randy both nodded their agreement.

“Nothing, nobody bothered me.” Her voice was shaky as she fumbled with the zipper, hands shaking and felt Ted take the laptop case away from her while Randy turned her around, the guilt eating her alive, green eyes filling with unshed tears. “Can we leave? I'm exhausted.” She blinked the tears away, knowing she couldn't tell Randy what she did. It was a stupid mistake and Martina was petrified now, chewing her manicured thumbnail, swallowing hard.

She was hiding something. Randy frowned, staring down at her intently, blue eyes filled with worry and concern, trying to figure out what had her on edge. “Yeah, we can go.” He said finally, sighing heavily, glancing back at Ted and Cody and shaking his head when they both opened their mouths.

The entire ride back to the hotel was made in silence, except for the radio playing softly, each person in their own thoughts. ‘Oh my god, he's going to find me now. Why did I do that?’ She kept berating herself mentally, swallowing hard, tears filling her eyes again. Could Randy protect her? He was a celebrity, but Roger had a lot of money and power. When they arrived at the hotel, Martina stepped out and hurried inside, not waiting for them, taking the stairs two at a time. She arrived at their floor and waited in the staircase for Randy, seeing him coming toward her and walked out of the door with him hand in hand, not able to stop shaking. As soon as they were in the secure recesses of the suite, Martina released Randy's hand and went into her room, closing the door shut. ‘What have I done?’ She thought, scared out of her mind for the first time in over a month.

“Okay, something happened and she needs to tell us.” Cody said flatly, dropping his bag to the floor, along with Randy and Ted, all three staring at the closed door.

“Think someone bothered her while we were out there?”

“Everyone knows better.”

The door ripped open as Martina stood there, looking white as a ghost, swallowing hard. “I-I called her...I called my mom...” Tears poured down her face as she tried getting the hiccoughs to go away, knowing Randy was going to be livid at her. “I-I know it was stupid and dumb, but...damn it, I had to make sure he didn't hurt my mom...I had to make sure...and I'm scared he's gonna find me and hurt you guys...” She dropped to her knees, wrapping her arms around her stomach and rocked back and forth, head lowered. “I'm sorry, Randy, I'm so sorry; I had to hear her voice, I just had to know she was alright...I-I used your cell phone...”

Randy just stared down at her, frowning. He bent down to reach beneath her arms, lifting Martina up to her feet, peering into her eyes. “That's what this is about? You called your mother?” He shook his head. “Why would I be mad? I offered to- to, you're worried he's gonna trace it back to me, aren't you?”

“Is that possible?”

“Very.”

“I know he's probably doing it right now. You have to destroy your phone, Randy.” More tears fell from her eyes as he left her there while he rushed over to his bag, wincing when a second later the phone was shattered into pieces, swallowing hard. It was too late; if Roger had traced it, it would bring him straight to this hotel. “I'm sorry, Randy...I only wanted to-” His finger pressed against her lips before replacing it with his own, cupping his face in her hands, and slowly broke the kiss when she was calmer. “We have to get out of here.”

“We can get a head start on the next town, man.” Ted knew damn well if they didn't leave soon, Roger would find them; Randy's phone was still traceable, though it was also shattered at the moment.

“I'll drive since I didn't wrestle tonight.”

“Slow down, slow down.” Randy was getting a headache. “First off, how long were you on the phone with your mother? He probably knows where I live now,” That really pissed him off. “And secondly, IF he traced the phone, he'd be looking at the arena since that's where the call was made from. We need to slow down and not do something stupid because we're panicking.”

“I don't know, three minutes I think if that.” Martina answered softly, knowing she made a mistake, and put Randy's life in danger. The first chance she got, Martina was leaving, not wanting Roger to hurt him. She loved Randy; she knew it and would protect him at any costs.

“That's enough time to trace it.” Ted sighed, not angry at Martina because the woman was only trying to find out if her mother was safe. “This isn't your fault, Marti.”

“Actually...”

“CODY, this isn't her fault!” Ted snapped, glaring back at his friend. “I know you're not fond of her because of the situation she put us in, but damn it, she needs help and I'm not abandoning her now. I know Randy won't either.”

“I'm sorry...” Martina whispered, feeling Randy guide her over to the couch and sat down with her, burying her face in her hands.

“I never said I wasn't fond of her you jackass. If I didn't care about her, do you think I'd be wasting my time trying to help and protect her?”

“Here we go.” Randy pinched the bridge of his nose

“So take your self-righteous attitude and go fuck yourself.”

Chapter 15

“Please stop fighting!” Martina cried, standing between Cody and Ted, who looked ready to kill each other, tearful eyes pleading with them not to do this. “Teddy, what you said about Cody is wrong. He does care or else he wouldn't be here. So stop antagonizing him.” She then turned to Cody, sighing heavily. “Just ignore him. He means well, he just doesn't know how to put it into words without being the antagonist. Now let's listen to what Randy has to say. He's right, if we leave now, we're only giving Roger what he wants and panicking isn't an option.” Not to mention their lives were on the line, that much Martina was certain.

Ted just stared at her, looking ready to continue on with the fight, before deflating, nodding his head. She was right; he was an antagonist, whether he meant to be or not. Silently, he dropped down onto a metal folding chair, giving Randy his attention.

“Well, boss?”

How the hell did he wind up in these positions?

“If he traced the cell phone, most likely he'll wind up in St. Louis, unless he can track the GPS in my cell.”

“He probably can.”

“How? He had to either bug her mom's phone or put a tap on it. The trace would probably read his mother's phone but pick up any calls.”

This was all her fault that Randy's house was probably going to be destroyed. Martina sank down on the bed with a heaving sigh, raking a hand through her hair. “He knows we're in Phoenix, if he's tapped my mother's phone, which he has.” She wasn't even going to doubt it because that's how Roger worked. “We need to get out of Phoenix as quickly as possible. He'll send people here after me.” She lowered her head in shame, sniffling and wiped more tears away, already having made her mind up. She was running away from these three as soon as she found an opportunity to do so. “I will do whatever you want, Randy, I trust your judgment.”

“Well if that's the case, then he probably has people watching the freeways, all ways out of town are probably being scouted.” Randy said after a moment before grinning. “How long's it been since you two clowns have traveled the old fashioned way?”

“What do you mean?”

“Tour bus.”

“Like, since...whoa, are you serious?”

“A tour bus?” That was brilliant! That would be a sure fire way to get them out of there without being traced or found! Martina wanted to kiss Randy, but refrained for several reasons. She had gotten them into this mess and he'd somehow found a way out for them. “I'll go grab my things.” She walked out of the room and into her own, beginning to gather her belongings. Randy was a saint; he didn't hate her even though she'd made a foolish mistake by using his cell phone, without his consent, to make sure her mother was fine. ‘I have to get away from them before they wind up hurt or worse.’ She thought sadly, hating Roger, and cursing him for putting her through this hell.

“I have to call Jim and let him know we'll be joining the rookies.” Randy said, glancing down at his phone. “Uh...”

“Use mine.” Ted handed over his cell. “We'll get our things, and yours.”

Nodding, he and Cody went to handle that. Cody debated on letting Beth know he would be taking the bus, but decided against it. She might tell someone.

Within a half an hour, Martina walked out of the hotel with the guys, Randy holding her hand, an apprehensive look on her face. Try as she might, she couldn't wipe it away as they headed for the tour bus. Martina stepped on the bus, knowing already this wouldn't be comfortable, but...it was the only way

‘I'm sorry, Randy.’ She thought as they walked down the aisle, finally finding four seats, two on each side and slid inside first, Randy allowing her the window seat. Martina knew she couldn't cry, but damn it, she couldn't help it, praying her mother remained safe and sound.

Randy groaned, knowing already this was going to flat out suck, especially when he spotted Carlito in the back with his brother. “Man...if he-”

“Apples!”

“Oranges!”

“SHUT THE FUCK UP YOU TWITS!”

Martina blinked and wrapped her arms around herself, feeling the guilt eating away at her slowly; knowing if it wasn't for her, the guys wouldn't be on this tour bus being miserable. Martina pressed her forehead against the window, hoping they arrived at the next destination sooner rather than later. At least they would get out of Phoenix unscathed.

“I swear to god...”

“I'm going to-”

“Apples are better, man when are you going to realize that?”

“Oranges have a better texture and taste though?”

Ted put his MP3 player on and blasted it.

Cody didn't have an MP3 player and had to suffer, along with Randy, who was turning redder and redder with each passing sentence. When they started discussing the taste, he stood up. “FUCK YOU BOTH; PEARS ARE BETTER THAN BOTH, SO SHUT THE HELL UP!”

“Man, what's his problem?”

“I don't know, maybe Beth isn't being such a peach anymore.”

Carlito burst out laughing.

Even Randy found that amusing.

What was it about fruits that intrigued these men so much? Martina felt the bus begin to move and kept quiet, not looking at Randy once. She was already plotting her escape from them, though it would be heart breaking, it also had to be done. Randy, Cody and Ted were in danger because of her.

She was going to rectify that.

They were on a bus full of wrestlers, she would easily escape through the crowd and never be seen or heard from again. If she couldn't make her escape now, Martina had a feeling she wouldn't have another chance. With that thought in mind, Martina closed her eyes, willing the tears to stay in.

Randy reached over to take her hand, squeezing gently. “You'll be fine, everything will be alright, I promise.” He bent down to whisper in her ear. “I'll take care of you, Marti. Just have a little faith in me.” He tenderly kissed right behind her ear.

Martina swallowed hard when she heard and felt that, slowly pulling back to stare into his blue eyes, wishing she could believe him. He was just one man, celebrity or not, and would end up hurt unless she vacated. He could go back to his regular everyday life without having to worry about her or himself for that matter, including his friends.

She would miss them terribly, especially Randy, and had to look away as more tears fell from her eyes. She could cry later damn it! Right now she had to be strong and keep the plan in mind, bag by her side. Of course she'd have to leave it behind, but that was the least of Martina's worries at the moment.

‘I have no choice.’ She thought and continued staring out the window.

Randy desperately wished he could read her mind, especially when she turned her head from him, making it so he couldn't read her face or eyes, frowning. He didn't let go of her hand, just closed his eyes and laid back. He wondered what he'd be doing if their paths hadn't been tossed together, knowing it was fate that they had. This was where he was meant to be…with her.

Martina didn't sleep, though the rest of the guys did, not that she blamed them. Randy had a tight, yet gentle hold on her hand, almost as if he was afraid she'd disappear, frowning. How the hell was she supposed to extract it long enough to get off of the bus? Slowly, Martina pulled it out of his grasp, knowing Randy was a deep sleeper, and sighed with relief when he just made a growling type noise in his throat.

Carefully, Martina tiptoed over their legs until she was in the walkway and slid the diamond ring off of her finger, placing it in Randy's jacket pocket, and went toward the front. Seeing the hotel up ahead where they would be dropped off, Martina took a deep breath. Glancing one last time back at Randy, tears fell from her eyes as the bus stopped, the doors opened and Martina was the first one off, before pounding pavement as hard and fast as she could.

“Hey Randy, your wife just took off!” Carlito shouted, from where he was quietly playing Crazy 8's with his brother, grunting when a shoe came flying his way.

Randy shot upright, looking around, the shoe having been thrown by a half asleep Cody. “She WHAT?”

“TOOK OFF!”

“Oh no...”

Ted was already up on his feet, running down the aisle and shoved the doors open, before the driver could even do it, not believing how foolish Martina had been. “DAMN IT!!”

“What the hell did she do that for?” Cody demanded angrily, stepping off beside Ted, next followed by a very pissed off Randy. “Where the hell did she go?”

“I don't know, but she's on foot. She left her bag with us so she has no money and nowhere to go.”

“What are we gonna do, go look for her?”

“Cody, shut up if you can't ask intelligent questions.”

“Well think about it, she could be anywhere by now. Well, not anywhere, but…do you know how many people are in this city? We're never going to find her unless-” He stopped abruptly, thanks to Randy's fist plowing into his mouth, stumbling back with a yelp of pain, cupping his now bleeding mouth.

“Which way did she run?”

“That way.”

Randy took off running.

Martina ran until she was completely out of breath, slowing to a walk, with her arms wrapped around herself. She heard footsteps pounding toward her and immediately ducked in a dark alleyway, glad it was night outside or this wouldn't have worked. His scent, she could practically taste it, and covered her mouth with her hand to prevent anyone from hearing her breathe.

Pressing her back against the building, Martina did not move an inch, and watched with a broken heart as Randy ran right past her. Slowly making her way down the alley, when he didn't stop, Martina tried keeping as silent as possible. She couldn't put him in anymore danger; why couldn't he just let her go and get on with his life? She was no longer his concern.

“MARTINA!” Screw using Jessica, he wasn't looking for Jessica. He was looking for the woman he had been falling in love with. He still had Ted's cell phone on him, answering it when it rang; knowing Cody and Ted had probably gone off looking together. “I lost her, man!” He spun in a circle on the sidewalk, shaking his head, blue eyes wide. “I fucking lost her!”

The faint scent of strawberries lingered in the air as a wind picked up, drifting to Randy.

“Goddamn it!!” Ted was pissed; this time at Martina for being stupid, not thinking clearly. First she called her mother, which he understood; she had to make sure she was safe, but to do this was...he didn't even have a word for it. “What are we gonna do?” He was panicky now, already on his way toward Randy, while jogging with Cody behind him.

Cody was thinking about saying cutting ties and getting on with their lives, but at the same time, he'd grown attached to the fool-hearted woman.

Martina managed to arrive on the other side of the alley and continued on walking, having heard Randy screaming her name, sniffling as her heart shattered over and over again. “Goodbye Randy.” She whispered, wondering what she was going to do now.

She had no money, no transportation; absolutely nothing.

Randy remained where he was until his friends got there, the wind taunting him by throwing her scent at him, growling and groaning alternately. “Why'd she run?” He demanded, staring at Ted as if he would have the answers.

“I don't know, maybe she thinks we're in danger? That we'll be better off without her?”

“HOW? How will I be better off without her? With me I knew she was safe, now I don't have a clue and I'm going to go out of my mind!”

Cody figured Randy had a pretty good start on that already.

“Look, she's around here somewhere. We'll just split up and search high and low. She couldn't have gotten far, she...” Ted raised an eyebrow and held his hand up, walking over to the alleyway, scent of strawberries becoming stronger. He bent down and picked something up, fingering it in his hand. It was a charm of some kind that was in the shape of a damn strawberry that looked like it'd been dropped. “Come on!” He was already making a beeline down the alleyway, eyes narrowed thoughtfully. They were going to find Martina and, when they did, Ted was going to beat her ass for running off like this.

Cody and Randy followed, knowing Randy had strong feelings for Martina, and hoped this turned out alright without any of them getting hurt.

Martina fished in her pocket, frowning when she realized her strawberry charm was missing, more tears falling. Great. That had been the only thing she had to remind her of her mother. It went with a silver bracelet, though Roger had all of her belongings. Martina was truly alone in the world, but somehow, she knew she was doing the right thing by running away from Randy.

Roger had traced that damn cell phone to an arena. After asking the right people and dropping the right amount of cash, he had found out this Randy Orton was a wrestler. He'd immediately sent scouts ahead to the man's house, wondering if by chance that little whore Martina was shacking up with this muscle head. Then he'd gotten some more information, such as where the next show was being held, and proceeded to go to the next city.

She was here, somewhere.

A hand shot out and Martina was suddenly grabbed, managing to let out a small scream and began struggling against the individual. No! She couldn't let this happen again and knew it was one of Roger's henchmen that'd found her.

“Not so fast, little girl, the boss has been looking all over for you.”

Stomping as hard as she could on the man's foot, Martina managed to break free and bolted from behind the dark building, running as fast as she could down the sidewalk, heart pounding furiously in her chest. Oh god, Roger knew where she was. She quickly ducked into another alleyway and hid behind a dumpster, feeling déjà vu overtake her; though this time she wasn't injured yet.

“Did you hear that?” Ted demanded, having heard a scream nearby and looked at both Cody and Randy, who were thinking the same thing. “I'm going to paddle her ass when we find her for doing this shit. We have to hurry.”

“Yeah, do that and watch how fast Randy drops your ass.”

Ted ignored him, hoping and praying Martina was safe.

Chapter 16

She was really getting on his last nerve. Roger did not want to get his hands soiled in the catching of her. The last thing he needed was to be seen dragging her pathetic ass into the back of his car.

“Find her. I've already got a few of the boys hunting down her loser friends.” He scowled. “They'll be taken care of shortly. I want to be out of here in an hour so make this quick.” He hung up, refusing to let his lackey get another word in.

“Damn it!!” The lackey growled, cracking his knuckles dangerously, eyes flashing. “Martina, you know, you would make this a whole lot easier if you'd just...” He grunted, being nailed from behind with something sharp and drug into the nearest alleyway -the alleyway she was currently hiding in- behind the dumpster.

“Mother fucker.” Ted grunted, tossing the crowbar down, Cody and Randy behind him. This Roger had lackeys, but they were nowhere near strong enough to take Legacy down. “We need to find her fast. She was around here.” He stated, peering down the dark alleyway, sighing heavily. “Where could she have gone?”

“I have no idea. She's in even MORE danger now since she thought running would better the situation. If anything, being with us would protect her further.”

Martina was holding a hand over her mouth to keep from making a sound, biting back sobs, being perfectly quiet while she overheard their conversation.

Randy's blue eyes were ice, having found a two by four in the alley, planning on using it soon, preferably on someone's head. “She's around here.” He said in a low monotone. His heart could break later. Obviously, Martina didn't trust them -trust HIM- to protect her and that hurt more than words could say.

“Well, we gotta find her and quick; that guy said something about killing people and we're the people.”

“Come on, Martina, where are you?” Ted was pleading now, having picked the crowbar up he used to knock that guy out, Cody having a switchblade on him. “Where the hell do you suppose we start looking?”

“I don't have the foggiest idea...” Cody sounded exhausted as he sighed, looking toward the dumpster in the alleyway then dismissed it, before they began walking away.

Randy was hesitant to leave the area, turning back to stare at the dumpster. It was like the night they had found her and he took a step forward.

“There they are, get them!”

“The boss wants that Orton guy dead first!”

“Okay, they have guns, we need to run!”

Martina heard that and immediately gasped, eyes widened, swallowing past the lump that formed in her throat. Her heart shattered when she heard gunshots and knew this was all her fault, clutching her chest painfully, mind screaming at her for making that phone call to her mother. ‘YOU FOOL! YOU PROBABLY JUST GOT RANDY KILLED!!’ Martina couldn't stop herself from crying and booked it down the alleyway, tears blinding her vision as she tried to clear it. She turned the corner that lead to the other side and collided with someone, falling back on her ass.

“Oh my god, Martina!” Ted cried out in both panic and relief, hearing the guys behind him, and lifted her over his shoulder. “GO NOW!”

Cody blinked; where the hell had she come from?

“No! You have to let me go! He won't stop! He'll keep coming after you until he has me again!” Martina was struggling against Ted, but he was too strong for her, screaming when bullets flew at them, not hitting anyone luckily. “NO!”

“TAKE HER AND GO!” Randy shouted, falling back with Cody to block the bullets, hopefully. He knew he and Cody could stop a bullet, once. And then- “SON OF A BITCH!” He grabbed his left arm, blood spilling from between his fingers.

“THEY SHOT YOU!”

“NO SHIT, NOW RUN!”

“RANDY!!” Martina cried out, beginning to fight Ted, and groaned when he just squeezed her tighter.

“Martina, stop it right now!” Ted ordered gravely, not believing Randy was just shot, blue eyes wide. What the hell had they truly gotten themselves into?

Cody glared at Martina, who was sobbing uncontrollably, wanting to slap her to knock some sense into that damn thick headed brain of hers. “Come on, we have to get somewhere fast!” Randy was holding off the gunmen and Cody stopped, going to help him. “Shut up!” He ordered, doing a leg sweep, knocking them on their asses as the guns went flying and skidded away. “COME ON!”

Randy nodded, kicking the pistols away from the currently stunned gunmen, before following Ted and Martina, Cody right at his side. Christ that hurt! He didn't let go of his arm, knowing it wasn't anything too bad. It just hurt like hell and was bleeding like crazy.

Ted commandeered a cab, keeping a firm hold on Martina so she didn't try bolting. “God help me, I will knock you out if I have too.”

Cody and Randy got in, Cody taking the front seat. “DRIVE!”

“YOU ARE OUT OF YOUR MINDS!! DO YOU REALIZE WHAT YOU'VE DONE??” Martina was beside herself, seeing Randy was hurt and covered her mouth with her hand, shaking her head in disbelief. “You three are completely insane to want to help me! I put everyone in danger, don't you realize that?!” She was ranting and raving angrily, the cab driver having question marks swirling around his head, and suddenly her world went dark.

Ted had applied a pressure hold to her neck, staring back at Randy, who just nodded grimly before they both stared out the window again. This woman was going to get herself killed as Ted shook his head, trembling along with Randy and Cody. “You alright man?” He asked softly, placing a hand on Cody's shoulder.

“No, no I'm not.”

Randy was trying his best to tear a strip of his shirt off to bind his arm, ignoring everything around him except the pain in his arm. Though he did note that Martina suddenly stopped screaming, guessing that Ted had made good on his promise to shut her up.

“Do you need a hospital?”

“No, just take us to the airport.” Cody ordered, pushing off the hysteria long enough to call Carlito and ask him to have their things sent on ahead. THEN he had his breakdown, crying like a child.

~!~

When Martina woke up sometime later the next day, her stomach was killing her and she was incredibly dizzy. Being knocked out did that to a person; not to mention she hadn't eaten hardly anything in the past twenty four hours. Her eyes slowly opened, feeling a soft texture beneath her, and looked around the room. The events came flowing back to her, causing her eyes to widen, and bolted upright as tears streamed down her cheeks.

‘Randy!’ Her mind screamed, already moving to get out of the bed, still in the same outfit and gasped when she was yanked back down. The sudden movement caused her head to spin even more.

“Don't move.” Randy growled, arm in a makeshift sling. The wound was superficial but it hurt like a bitch. Ted had stitched it up for him as well as made the sling so Randy couldn't move it and tear out the stitches. “What the HELL were you thinking, Martina?”

“I was trying to protect you.” She whispered, hearing the anger in Randy's voice, and knew he was injured. She could see the sling through the darkness and knew if she moved, he would probably end up knocking her out like Ted had. Randy would never hurt her, but also knew what she'd done was very WRONG and stupid. “Helping me nearly got you killed and now…now I don't want to even think about what's going to happen next.” Roger was going to be livid, no doubt about that; though that would also cause him to be brash and make a mistake. “I don't know what else you want me to say.”

“I want you to say you'll never pull a fucking stunt like that ever again and MEAN it.” He snarled, pain making him cranky. It wasn't good since he was already pissed beyond belief that she had actually run away from him. “Running isn't going to make anything better, Martina. Did you think Roger was just going to let us go after he got you? This is a man with a reputation to lose; he'd of came back to tie up any loose ends.”

“I won't pull another stunt like that again.” Martina whispered, knowing she had no choice and felt the tears stream down her face as she rolled over to lie on her side, knowing he was incredibly angry with her. “I'm sorry...I'm sorry that you got hurt and I'm sorry for everything that's happened...” Martina wanted to crawl into a hole and die; that's how low she felt at the moment and slowly stood up from the bed, yanking her arm out of his grasp. “I have to use the bathroom.” Was all she said before slamming the door shut behind her, angry at herself for what she did.

Randy groaned, tempted to drag himself out of the bed, go in there and either kiss her or paddle her ass.

“She awake?” Ted demanded, poking his head in. The slamming of the door had been the alert. “She alright or...”

“She's taking a piss. How's Cody?”

“I think he's going to be alright, once he comes out of his shock.”

Martina stayed in there and let more tears fall, not wanting any of the guys seeing them, knowing she didn't deserve their concern or pity. What she did was reckless and downright stupid. She hated herself for it, knowing Randy probably thought even less of her now. Sniffling, Martina wiped her eyes before walking over to the sink, splashing cold water on her face, most of her makeup gone. Whatever was left was washed away with the water as she patted her face dry, before finally walking out of the bathroom, not sure what to do now.

Ted and Randy both stopped talking, heads turning to stare at her, both men looking agitated. “Now he knows who we all are. Randy's been shot. Cody is probably going to have to be watched for a few days so he doesn't freak out. Enough is enough, Martina; you have to talk to the police, ANYBODY. But this has got to STOP.”

Randy had just said all that to Ted, but he was letting Ted be the mouthpiece since Martina didn't seem to think he could take care of her.

Suddenly, all the emotion, anger…every single feeling inside of Martina exploded as her face contorted with hidden rage, jade eyes lit on fire. “DON'T YOU THINK I'VE TRIED? I'VE SPOKEN AND FILED POLICE REPORTS FOR TWO YEARS AND EVERY TIME ROGER HAS FOUND A WAY ESCAPE BY THE SKIN OF HIS DAMN TEETH! HE HAS MONEY, HE HAS POWER, AND HE WON'T STOP UNTIL HE HAS ME AGAIN! YOU THREE WERE FOOLS TO COME AFTER ME! YOU CAN'T PROTECT ME, NOBODY CAN!! SO STOP TALKING TO ME AS IF I'M A CHILD, TED! I'VE TRIED SEEKING HELP AND IT DOES NO FUCKING GOOD!! NOTHING DOES ANY GOOD!! HE WON'T STOP UNTIL YOU'RE ALL DEAD, SO YOUR BEST BET IS TO CUT TIES WITH ME NOW BEFORE YOU GET HURT WORSE OR END UP DEAD!!”

Now he was on his feet, face red with anger. “WE HAVE ALL THOSE THINGS TOO, MARTINA. MONEY, FAME...YOU WOULDN'T EVEN HAVE TO GO TO THE POLICE; YOU COULD HANDLE THIS ALL THROUGH A FUCKING LAWYER WITH OUR SUPPORT. IT’S OUR WORD AGAINST HIS. YOUR DOCTOR FRIEND, YOUR MOTHER; HE CAN'T FUCKING SHUT ALL OF US UP!”

“But he can.” Martina whispered brokenly, tears shining in her eyes as she stared back at Randy, wrapping her arms around herself, knowing damn well Roger had the power to do virtually anything. “He will hire hit men before the lawyer even files the complaint, he will do whatever it takes, whatever is NECESSARY to clear his name. You should've never gotten involved in this; I blame Michael for forcing me to go with you on the road.” Though the true fault was her checking on her mother, which caused the tears to fall freely down her face, wishing they would understand just what they were up against, celebrities or not.

“Well, we're damn sure going to try anyway.” Randy said through gritted teeth, looking at Ted. “Please tell me we have booze.”

“Yeah, just a shot or two; don't go getting shitfaced.” Ted sighed; they didn't have anything besides Tylenol for the pain and Randy wouldn't have taken any pain killers anyway. The guy had to sit through being sewed up without pain relief, and no doubt that had hurt like a bitch.

Randy walked out of the bedroom.

Randy wanted to be rid of her that much was obvious and Martina didn't blame him. She had caused them nothing but stress and turmoil; she felt awful. There was nothing she could do or say to make it right and that killed her. She was in love with him; Martina already knew it and looked away from Ted's disappointed look as she sank down on the bed, putting her head in her hands.

“Please leave me alone.” She whispered when he came toward her, fighting off the sobs that were threatening to overtake her, and waited until the door closed before letting them out.

“You alright, Coddles?”

“No.” Cody's voice was muffled, buried under a pillow. Yes, he knew he was acting like a little bitch, but they had been SHOT at for Christ sakes!

Randy downed his second shot, leaning in the doorway, and sighed heavily. “Come on, Codester, everything will-”

“NOT BE FINE, SO DON'T LIE TO ME!”

Ted sighed, knowing Cody would feel better after a few shots of Jack Daniels and poured him a shot, thrusting it in his hand. “Down it or I'll force you.” He ordered gravely, watching the man do as he was told, nodding before pouring another one. This was already calming him down, but Ted wasn't about to let any of them get plastered. They had to be on their game more than ever now; Roger was on their tail.

Martina managed to cry herself back to sleep, face tear streaked, heart filled with pain.

“She has to go see a lawyer. Hell, let's tell Linda and Vince what's going on. If this Malcolm guy thinks HE'S bad...”

“Vinnie will kick his ass; you won't be able to wrestle for a few weeks.” Cody said thoughtfully, completely forgetting the fact that wrestling was out of the question since they were now being hunted.

Randy shook his head, trying not to grin.

Chapter 17

“Whoa...WHAT?” Martina demanded, eyes wide, later on that night, staring back at Randy blinking rapidly. “A-Are you out of your MIND? You're going to drag your boss into this now? What makes you think he could take Roger down, Randy?” She bit her bottom lip when he glared back at her, lowering her head, and rubbed her temples with a heavy sigh. “The truth will come out; everyone will know who I really am.” She pointed out, but then again, this could gain her freedom, if this Vince McMahon was as powerful as Randy promised. “I'll do whatever you want, talk to whoever.” She owed him that much, especially since the man had nearly gotten killed because of her.

“Good. Tomorrow we'll call Vince and arrange a meeting with him. Just wait; you've met Stephanie and Shane. Vince is a ruthless bastard and his wife can be the same way if she has to be.” Roger wouldn't know what hit him and THAT made Randy's night. Hell, even Cody had gone to bed with a grin on his face, after they'd all discussed it, and enjoyed a good laugh or two.

Martina just nodded and stood up from the bed, bags having arrived earlier. “I'm going to take a bath.” She whispered, when those hawk eyes landed on her, knowing Randy was afraid she'd run again.

Martina was seeking the help she needed and, soon, Roger Malcolm would be out of her life forever. Martina hoped anyway. Taking her bag, Martina closed the door behind her and started the bath water. Stripping down and sinking into the hot, soothing water, Martina drew her knees up and proceeded to cry all over again, wrapping her arms around them.

Randy sighed, settling himself back onto the bed, and leaned back against the headboard. God help him, he loved her. He had no idea why since she was a foolish woman, who was so afraid of this guy, that she wasn't seeing reason. God help HER if she tried running again because he had no idea what the hell he'd do.

Sighing heavily, Martina pulled herself together and ran the loofa sponge up her arms for a moment, just a moment, not thinking about what happened. She needed to relax, to think rationally because it wasn't just her life on the line anymore; it was Randy's, Cody's and Ted's. Three men who had come into her life unexpectedly and helped her in ways she never thought possible.

They were going to help her survive, to pull her through this no matter what, and Martina felt more blessed than anything. Roger Malcolm would never touch her again, would never control and manipulate her, would never force himself on her or hurt her in any way, shape or form. For a moment, Martina pictured him behind bars with the black and white striped outfit, all of his money and power gone, locked away where he belonged. That image in her mind caused a smile to cross Martina's face as she leaned back and went under water, rinsing the shampoo out of her hair, eyes closed.

She was taking an awfully long time in there. If not for the fact that Randy had inspected the bathroom himself and knew that vent was too small, even for her scrawny ass to climb out of, and the lack of windows and another door, he would have worried she had tried running again. He heard her still moving in the bath, the water cutting on and off, guessing that was her warming up the water and groaned. A shower sounded good, but he'd never managed that one without getting his arm wet; he was going to have to suck it up and take baths.

After an hour of warming the water repeatedly and just relaxing, Martina finally stepped out, looking like a prune. She didn't care though and walked over to stare in the mirror. Why didn't she have more faith in Randy? It wasn't about faith; it was about protecting him.

Sighing, Martina towel dried her hair and body before dressing, pulling on a black long sleeved shirt with matching pajama pants, brushing her hair and teeth. She finally walked out, flipping the light off, and set her bag down by the wall. Walking over, Martina sat on the bed, not knowing what to say to him. She just hoped this situation with Roger was put to rest soon so they could move on with their lives.

“Feel better?” Randy asked quietly, wishing he'd brought the rest of the jack into the bedroom with him.

Then decided he was probably better off without it. He was still a little pissed off and didn't need to drink himself into either going off on her or a stupor. All that mattered was they were safe; she was safe and, soon, this would all be just a mere memory.

“It wasn't that I didn't have faith in you to protect me. It was the fact that your life was in danger because of me.” Her face slowly turned until their eyes met, the anguish and sorrow in her expression not missed. “I'm sorry I ran away from you, Randy, but I honestly thought I was doing the right thing at the time. I don't want to see any of you get hurt because of me.” She slid from the bed and walked around to the other side of it, staring out the window, arms wrapped around herself. “I should've stayed put and let you handle it, but instead, I did a stupid thing, two stupid things, and now you're injured...because of me. I'm-” Martina closed her eyes and pressed her forehead to the cool glass, swallowing hard. “I'm sorry.” She finally whispered, hoping that was enough, shoulders slumping in defeat.

He sighed, point blank refusing to pull himself out of bed to go comfort her. She was sorry; great, that was good to know. “Don't do it again.” He whispered, trying to mask the pain in his own tone; he hadn't missed hers, but at the same time... “Come on, we got a busy day tomorrow and you have to be exhausted.” He patted the space next to him.

Nodding, Martina walked away from the window, after shutting the curtains and slid into bed beside him, knowing he was still angry at her and had every reason to be. “I won't.” She promised in a whisper before turning on her side, back facing him, staring at the wall. She wasn't tired, as much running as she'd done, as much emotional turmoil as she'd been through. Martina was on high alert now; her body wouldn't shut down until they met with Vince to figure out how to stop Roger's destructive path.

Randy frowned, realizing they had a problem. “Hmm...Martina...” He liked holding her at night, even though this had been one hellacious day, and was still somewhat angry with her…no, not really at her anymore. He was just angry with the entire Roger situation, all of it. Her running seemed to have been the ultimate straw on the camel's back. “Can we switch sides? I want to hold you.”

Slowly, Martina turned to face him and smiled softly before nodding, sliding from the bed and walked around to the other side, taking his place. She wasn't used to sleeping on this side, but Martina was always up for change. “You can't hold me like you usually do, not with your arm.” She said softly, knowing he would be lying on his injured arm, and instead shoved him on his back gently before draping an arm over his midsection. Resting her hand on his chest, Martina laid her head on his shoulder, while his good arm snaked around her waist. “Go to sleep, I'm not going anywhere.”

“No shit.” He murmured with a smirk, trying and failing to stifle a yawn, arm tightening around her. “Get some sleep and tomorrow we'll see about getting this...problem sorted out.” It was more than a problem, but he was too tired to think of the best way to word it. Sighing, he leaned over to kiss the side of her head. “On the bright side, we don't have to call you Jessica anymore.”

“I didn't take the ring, Randy.” She murmured quietly, looking up at him, seeing his eyes widen slightly. “It's in your coat pocket.”

She went back to snuggling against him, knowing he paid a lot money for that ring and he could give it to the next woman he ended up rescuing. She shoved that thought aside, refusing to think about saying goodbye. Instead, Martina stared at the wall; the room darkened around them, and draped a leg over his to get more comfortable, hearing his breathing slowly beginning to even out. She wasn't running away, not until this whole ordeal was finished, hoping Vince could help her somehow.

Randy was quiet for several long, drawn out minutes, the tension building so thickly it could be felt like a physical presence. Finally, he pulled his arm out from under her and rolled onto his side, bad arm cradled against his chest now. “What the hell does that matter?” He demanded. “I didn't give a fuck about the ring, Martina. I care about you.”

What the hell was the point in telling him that? That she hadn't wanted to wear it anymore? Being his wife, fake or not, was disgusting?

“I don't know...I just didn't want to take something that doesn't belong to me.”

Martina didn't expect that reaction from him, truly thrown for a loop, tears building in her eyes as she reached out to touch him, only to pull back, knowing he wouldn't want her to do that. She wanted to tell him how she felt, but also feared rejection, no matter if they'd shared a few heated moments. He cared about her; that was fine, but that didn't mean he was in love with her and wanted to be with her. Martina wasn't wearing her heart on her sleeve anymore, especially with the disaster that happened with Roger.

“I bought it for you.” Randy said softly, staring at her intently, blue eyes shining in the dark. “I picked it out for you especially, Martina.” Which was sad considering, at the time, he hadn’t known anything about her, besides the fact that she was in some serious trouble and obviously in need of help. Never the less, he had spent quite some time in selecting a wedding ring for her, trying to decide what she might like best.

Her breath was stolen when he said that, eyebrows furrowing together in confusion, so many emotions flowing through her at the moment. “But...you hardly know me...” She didn't know what else to say and placed a hand on his shoulder, causing him to turn around to face her, tears building in her eyes. “What does that mean?” She whispered, trying like hell and failing miserably to keep the shakiness out of her voice, swallowing past the lump that formed in her throat.

Why was he telling her this? Why had he picked a ring out especially for her that was supposed to represent nothing but a hoax? What the hell was going through his mind? Martina was going to die from sheer anxiety, eyes never leaving his.

“It means that I knew you were going to be uncomfortable enough posing as my wife. I was trying to pick out something that you would like, to show you I was going to do my best to make this as easy as possible on you.” Randy said matter-of-factly, not understanding why THAT was such a big deal. Had he come across as a brute? “I care about you, Martina. Don't you know that?”

“No, no that's not what I meant. I just...” She sighed, reading too much into this, and waved him off dismissively. “I didn't think we'd see each other again after I ran, Randy.” She admitted, staring down at her nails, closing her eyes momentarily and took in a shaky breath. He kept saying he cared about her, but how far did that stretch? “I know you care about me, Randy, and I care about you too.” She actually loved him, but refused point blank to say those words, knowing he didn't -couldn't- feel the same way. She was a mess and had a lot of baggage; not to mention her body wasn't perfect and that's what he deserved, someone close to perfect. “You've made me more comfortable than I ever dreamt possible, Randy. You showed me that there is hope, that maybe there's possibility happiness can come into my life again. You've made me happy for the first time in over two years. Please believe that.”

“You make it sound like...like I'm already out of your life.” Randy said quietly, hearing the sadness in her tone. What he wouldn't give to know what was going through her mind. What was she thinking? “What's happening behind those green eyes of yours, Martina?” He asked softly. “Tell me what you're thinking.”

“I-I just know that after this is over with, we'll part and...” She couldn't stand seeing the sadness in his eyes and lowered her head again, beginning to softly cry. “I just wanted you to know that you've brought me happiness, you've made me feel safe, and you've driven the nightmares away. You've done a lot for me, Randy, and I'll never be able to repay you for it.” She felt his hand lift her chin, the strength in that one hand sending shockwaves throughout her body, more tears spilling down her cheeks, heart thundering powerfully.

“Why would we part, Martina?” Randy demanded softly. “Don't you want to- Oh...” He sighed, knowing damn well she probably wanted to build a life for herself. Lord knew she had lived under a man's thumb for three years, catering to the guy, fearing him. She probably would go somewhere remote and turn into a lesbian, face paling at the thought. What a waste. “What do you want to do when this is over?”

“The first thing I'm doing is going to see my mother, to explain to her all that's happened, and to get back in her good graces. After that, I have no idea. I just want to be happy and peaceful. I want to be able to go for a walk and not worry about someone grabbing or hurting me for doing so.” Martina didn't miss that question he cut off, slowly pulling away from his touch, staring back into those blue eyes. “Do I want to what? You started asking something and then stopped. What's going on behind those blue eyes of yours, Randy?” She demanded, scooting closer to him, sitting on her knees while searching them. “Don't you want your life back?”

“Technically, I never lost it.” Randy said softly. “All I do is travel from place to place, work, and spend my free time in hotel rooms. Exactly what we've been doing all this time, tonight being the exception of course. The only thing that's really changed for me is having someone to share it with.” Granted, under false pretenses, not to mention deadly ones, but that didn’t matter.

“What I mean is, don't you want this burden lifted from your shoulders? You're constantly protecting me and your job is suffering for it.” She gestured to his arm, more tears burning those jade eyes and sighed heavily, before wrapping her arms around herself. “I've turned your life upside down, Randy, and gotten you in a horrible predicament. I'm no good for you, for anyone, and I don't know if I ever will be again.” She slid from the bed, not able to stay sitting any longer, and chewed her thumbnail. “What do you want to happen when this is all said and done? You're speaking in riddles just as much as I am. Why can't we just be honest with each other?” Martina asked that last question more to herself than him, beginning to pace slowly back and forth.

Riddles? How much more plain could he get? Sighing, Randy slowly moved himself to a sitting position and got out of bed. He had never realized before just how much he relied on BOTH arms for balance, appreciating his left arm just a bit more.

“After this all said and done, what makes you think it'd be a burden? You won't need protected anymore; you'd be free to do whatever you want too, be who you are. And I'd like to be there with you.”

Chapter 18

Her pacing stopped as Martina slowly turned her head to stare back at him, wondering briefly he was serious, and the look in his eyes telling her all she needed to know. “I'm damaged goods, Randy.” She started shaking, the anger consuming her as she pulled her shirt off and tossed it to the side. “Look at me, LOOK! I have scars, my body is not perfect, and I’m NOWHERE near good enough for you. You're a famous celebrity, a wrestler, and you have women throwing themselves at you every which way. Why do you want to settle for less than what you deserve?” She was clad in a black bra with her pants on, the scars running across her abdomen, another one down her arm, tears flowing down her cheeks.

Was she for real? For a brief, insane moment, Randy was almost tempted to laugh at her, but squashed that quickly, seeing she was very serious. Trying not to smile, Randy crossed over to her.

“So I deserve better than you; that's what you're saying?” He asked softly, watching her nod. “Someone perfect?” Another nod. “Maybe a model with a beautiful body, gorgeous hair and eyes? A smile to die for?” When she kept on nodding, he shook his head. “Martina, I just described you. You ARE perfect and BEAUTIFUL to me. I've seen your scars.” He reminded gently. “And they just make you all the more perfect, because you're a survivor.”

“I'm far from a model; I honestly wouldn't want to be one either.” Martina cracked a small smile, the joke temporarily easing the tension between them and felt his hand cup her face, placing hers over his. How could she fight him off when he was so adamant about being with her? “The only reason I feel beautiful and perfect right now is because of you. Without you, I don't feel anything good, anything true.” Carefully, so she wouldn't hurt him, Martina wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him close, burying her face in his neck, his arm snaking around her waist to hold her tighter against him. “I want to be with you too; I don't want to say goodbye.”

“Then don't.” He whispered, nuzzling his face into her hair, inhaling. Strawberries. She always smelled of strawberries and the scent had become strangely comforting, familiar already in the short time they had known each other. “Don't say goodbye. Whatever you want to do, when this is all said and done, we'll do together.”

“I don't think I could've walked away even if I had too, Randy.” She whispered softly, slowly pulling back to stare into his blue eyes and leaned forward, brushing her lips against his, this time making the first move. “I didn't know how you felt about me, but I'm glad I do now.” She gingerly touched his arm and pressed a soft kiss to it, his smile taking her breath away. “Now come on, you're exhausted and you need to rest.” He was injured and Martina didn't want him moving around too much, guiding him by his good hand back to the bed, but Randy just pulled her in for another kiss, this time more passionate and soul searing.

Randy kissed her like he was a man dying from lack of oxygen and she was his air, kissing her like she deserved to be kissed. Like she was the most precious thing in this world and, to him, she was. When they both were way past the point of desperately needing air, only then did he break the kiss, panting heavily as he stared down at her.

“Now we can go to bed.”

Martina head was spinning, mind reeling from that kiss and had to hold onto him to keep her balance, having gone weak in the knees. Her lips were swollen, heart pounding furiously in her chest. “I uh...ummm...okay.”

She could not form a solid sentence to save her life, blinking and suddenly brought Randy's face down to hers, kissing him back just as breathlessly, if not more. Every feeling, every emotion, everything she felt for him was poured into that kiss as they slowly backed toward the bed. Knees buckling, her back connected with the soft bed and wrapped her arms around his neck, being careful not to hurt him. Martina loved him and that kiss clearly told him so, unless he didn't catch on.

He had caught on alright, the passion building in him until he felt like he was going to explode if it didn't come out, be expressed somehow. He braced himself over her with his good arm, keeping enough space between their bodies to avoid hurting his injured arm. Growling, Randy sat up and removed the damn sling. He'd just be careful not to pull anything, knowing damn well if he did, he'd feel it BEFORE the stitches came loose.

Martina slowly broke the kiss, both of them breathing heavily and pressed her forehead against his, running her hands up and down his chest. “Not until you're healed.” She whispered, kissing him softer this time and gently pried herself from beneath him. Crawling up the bed, Martina didn’t mind that she was just in her bra and pants at the moment. It would be the first time in years she'd slept without having her upper body covered. She reached over and took the sling that was strewn across the lamp, crooking her finger, smirking when he reluctantly let her put it back on him and kissed him again. “Come on, we need rest.”

No, what he needed was another cold shower, his boxers tented, erection proudly making itself known. Groaning inwardly, Randy laid on the flat of his back, holding out his arm and smiled when Martina instantly took her place at his side. Contentment seared through him when she rested her head on his shoulder, hand on his chest over his heart.

Yawning softly, Martina snuggled further against him, feeling at peace for the first time in days, nuzzling his shoulder to get more comfortable, leg draped over his. Martina knew she'd made the right decision; Randy was the one for her, no matter if she felt she wasn't good enough for him. He made her feel beautiful, wanted, desired, cherished; all of that and much more.

‘I love you.’ She mouthed, when she knew he was asleep, before drifting off herself, sweet dreams plaguing her of them together, Roger nowhere in sight.

~!~

Oh that bitch was slick; yes she was. Her little friends thought they were slick too. Roger snorted, having punished his men thoroughly. Currently, they were all in the hospital, all suffering various degrees of injuries. They had been disarmed and taken down by UNARMED men. Wrestlers for Christ sakes and everyone knew wrestling was a fake 'sport'. The only thing that HAD put a half smile on his face -and even then, it'd only lasted for maybe a fraction of a second- was that he had been told the one he wanted dead, Orton, had been clipped, hopefully to the temple.

This wasn't over, not by a long shot.

~!~

It indeed wasn't.

Martina was a ball of nerves the day Vince and Linda McMahon were set to meet with them, or rather the other way around. If Roger was smart, he would lay low for a while, especially when the press came out and got wind of what was happening. Martina's story would be put out front and center, publicly humiliating Roger Malcolm, and hopefully making the man scarce. The men who had attacked were identified and immediately taken to jail, injuries or not.

She wore a pinstriped midnight blue and silver pant suit with a silver shirt underneath the cardigan. Her hair hung down her back and over her shoulders in loose curls, midnight blue eyeliner bringing out her jade eyes with strawberry gloss and foundation, blue pumps on her feet. Randy was holding her hand tightly, Cody and Ted sleeping while the plane slowly descended into Greenwich, Connecticut, where the WWE headquarters was located.

Randy was in a blue suit with a darker shade of blue undershirt, not too comfortable with being dressed up, but at the same time, this was not an informal meeting. He glanced at Martina, knowing she was probably on pins and needles, offering her a reassuring smile. “How are you holding up?” He asked softly to keep from waking up Ted and Cody, knowing the two were both as anxious as him and Martina were and not in the mood to deal with them, not just yet. Especially since Cody had finally seemed to pull himself together.

“No but I will be. We can do this together.” She smiled up at him, squeezing his hand as their fingers laced, and felt her heart flutter when he brushed his lips against her knuckles. “Everything is going to be fine once we expose him for what he truly is.” They had already been over the plan, though now all they had to do was run it by Vince and Linda, who would be a lot of help as far as the media went and whatnot. Martina trusted Randy's judgment and leaned over; kissing his lips softly and rubbed her nose against his own, sighing in contentment. “How's your arm?”

“Doesn't bother me.” He lied, though truth be told, it felt like it was on fire, but that he credited to Ted thinking he was a doctor.

That morning Ted had examined the stitches and declared they were fine, if not a bit red and swollen. Well no kidding. Then Ted had ever so calmly proceeded to pour whiskey over it to 'sterilize' the stitches 'just in case'. Randy had NEVER wanted to hit someone as much as he had that morning.

“You're lying.” Martina stated, pursing her lips tightly together, and frowned when he just waved her off. “Randy, don't hide it from me. I want to help you.” She whispered, wishing he would go see a REAL doctor for it, having heard Randy scream earlier that day before they took the flight from New Mexico to Connecticut, having left around five in the morning. She sighed when he just kissed her hand and forehead before her lips, effectively shutting her up. “I hate it when you do that.” She mumbled good-naturedly when he pulled back, rubbing her nose against his with a smile. “Have Larry look at it and I'll shut up, deal?”

“Larry won't be here, but I'm sure Linda will notice something is wrong and force me into seeing one of the trainers there.” He said, sounding resigned, and then smiled. “I'm not used to be coddled.” He explained then grinned. “I might grow to like it.” He looked out the window, sighing. “We've landed.” He got the pleasure of kicking a long leg out at Ted, catching him in the knee. “Wake up.”

“WHAT? Ow...” Ted groaned, bending down to rub his kneecap. “What'd ya do that for?”

“Dude, I called your name three times and you didn't answer.”

Martina stifled a laugh, knowing why Randy did that, and bit her bottom lip while Ted growled, Cody chuckling. It was good to see they still had their good natured humor intact. The plane descended and Martina walked off the plane hand in hand with Randy, Cody and Ted, along with security following suit, none of them taking chances. A limo was waiting outside, after they were checked through security and Martina stepped inside followed by the guys, Randy sitting beside her.

So far so good, there was no sign of Roger. It turned out Roger hadn't touched Randy's house or his property, especially with how famous he was. That was unwanted attention Roger didn't need or want. Martina just hoped this drove Roger out of her life forever so she could be happy and peaceful with Randy.

~!~

“Where the fuck are they going?” Roger demanded, not amused anymore.

He had flown coach just to avoid being spotted by those hulking men Martina had taken up with, wondering if she was screwing them for their protection, blood boiling at the thought. She was HIS, damn it, HIS. Not that Randy Orton’s or his little friends Rhodes and DiBiase. He had done his research and scouted all of their homes, not touching them however. He didn't need any attention on his doorstep. His frown deepened, wondering just what in the hell she thought she was doing.

~!~

The limo pulled up about an hour later to WWE headquarters, a tall building with glass windows that looked like a corporate empire. Martina swallowed hard, jade eyes widened to size of saucers, and nudged Randy when he chuckled at her. “This place is...”

“Huge, we know. Come on then, out.” Ted grumped, rubbing his eyes tiredly and stepped out along with Cody, Randy refusing to release Martina's hand.

Taking a deep breath, the four headed inside the building, not noticing the black car that pulled up or the angry, dangerous eyes of Roger's watching their every move.

Roger was FUMING. What the HELL was this place? Then it clicked, so this was the WWE office, some damn office, more like a castle of steel and glass. Now WHY were they here?

“Good afternoon, welcome to WWE headquarters, how may I help you?”

“We have an appointment with Mr. and Mrs. McMahon, I'm-”

“Right on time, come on up.” A kind voice sounded from behind as she walked out of one of the secretary’s offices, an envelope in her hand. Smiling at them, her piercing stare landed on Martina and strode forward, extending her hand. “I'm Linda McMahon.”

Martina swallowed hard and took the woman's hand, shaking it gently but firmly, trying like hell not to show her nerves. “It is nice meeting you Mrs. McMahon, though I wish it were under better circumstances.” She quietly said, the woman's eyes cool, calm and collected, before turning to Legacy, Randy never releasing her hand for a moment.

“Nice seeing you again, Linda.”

Cody could only nod, knowing this wasn't going to be a pleasant meeting.

“Has Vince told you anything about why I called?” Randy asked as they all stepped onto the elevator.

“He mentioned something about a problem, but also said you were vague. Why is that?”

“We were having issues with our phones.” At her quizzical look, he sighed. “I'd rather just explain it all at once; so if you don't mind, could we wait until I can tell both you and Vince?”

“Of course.” Her eyes didn't miss the fact that his arm was in a sling, arching an eyebrow, curiosity more than aroused by this point.

This was all because of her as Martina lowered her head, trying to keep the tears at bay, but they were already stinging her eyes, taking a slow, deep breath. She nodded and closed her eyes when Randy whispered in her ear that everything was going to be fine, wondering why these people would even think about helping a strange woman from an abusive, dangerous relationship. She wasn't with Roger anymore; she'd left him, but now her life was in danger as well as their own. They would do it to help their own kind, not her, but Martina was grateful none the less.

Linda guided the way to Vince's office, striding purposefully down the hallway, nodding and smiling whenever someone greeted her; this was her element. “In here.” She held open a door, letting them pass, refusing to allow them to wait on her.

“Now you can meet Satan.” Cody whispered in Martina's ear, offering her a smile.

“Because Linda is the angel.”

That really wasn't saying much, Randy thought, especially since Linda -who was generally a sweet natured woman- did possess a ruthless streak that rivaled her husband’s.

That wasn't very comforting and Martina decided to let Randy do all the talking, swallowing hard as the man turned around that was sitting behind the desk, feeling Randy squeeze her hand. Oh man, she was in deep shit now; Martina just knew it as they walked over toward the desk. Randy shook hands with Vince before introducing her, jade fearful eyes meeting his.

“Pleasure to meet you, Mr. McMahon.” She murmured quietly, shaking his hand, and took a seat along with Randy, Cody and Ted standing behind them; all on high alert, even though they were in the WWE Corporate Headquarters.

“Now what is this about, Randy?”

Chapter 19

Linda exchanged looks with her husband, settling into a seat alongside him, noting Ted and Cody's odd behavior. “Nothing is going to attack you here.” She said, almost as if making a joke, but the expressions on their faces told her they weren't joking.

Inhaling deeply, Randy launched into the entire story, refusing to let go of Martina's hand, watching as Vince's eyes narrowed while Linda's widened, both of them going paler and paler.

Martina couldn't even speak, the tears coursing down her cheeks being evidence enough that what Randy spoke was the truth. She had the scars, literally, to prove it not to mention the emotion turmoil. She squeezed Randy's hand back, while Linda handed her a tissue, silently thanking her and wiped them away. She couldn't speak, no matter how hard she tried and took the cup of water Linda handed her next, not believing how understanding and kind she was.

This was their last resort; her last ray of hope, though none of them realized it.

When Randy had finally finished, Vince leaned back in his chair, absorbing all of that. His beady eyes moved onto Martina, studying her thoughtfully, before examining Cody and Ted, both men nodding at him and inhaled deeply. “Well...I think we need to schedule a press conference.”

“On what grounds?”

“One of our top Superstars was shot and is unable to perform; that will be the opener.”

“And the press will ask why and the story can be told then.” Linda nodded, thinking along the same lines as her husband.

Ted was rubbing Martina's shoulders, knowing this was going to be extremely hard for her to do, but it was the only way to get Roger Malcolm out of her life.

“Thank you, thank you both very much.” Martina whispered, not moving her eyes from her lap, knowing this was all her fault. “I want to apologize for...what happened to Randy. Because of what's happening to me...” She ignored Randy's squeeze, head rising, wiping her tears away. “You don't know how much this means to-”

“Mr. McMahon, we're on lockdown!” A security guard rushed in, gun drawn, causing all six individuals to tense.

“What's happening?”

“There is a group of men headed this way with weapons in hand, sir. What are your orders?”

“If they come in the building, shoot to kill.”

“Roger…”

“Has balls of steel.”

“Immensely.” Vince was now LIVID. These men were approaching HIS building with GUNS? “Linda, call the police and let them know we have a situation and to bring an ambulance. How large is the group?”

“A dozen.”

With backup on the way, Roger had called in some favors.

This man was INSANE!

Martina was trembling in her chair now and rushed over to the window, tears streaming down her cheeks as she saw Roger sitting on top of the limo, the driver dead on the ground bleeding, horror constricting her face. “Oh my god...” She slowly backed away from the window, stumbling right into Randy, shaking her head frantically as the tears rushed fell faster. “H-H-He killed the driver...”

“WHAT?”

Cody rushed over to the window past Ted, eyes widening, jaw dropping and watched as Roger lit the limo on fire. Insane wasn't the word...this guy was...Cody didn't even have the word for it and hoped Vince had backup. Vince had a small army of his own; this Roger Malcolm had no idea who he was dealing with.

Roger had officially lost it, especially after doing some surfing on his laptop while waiting on whatever the hell it was Martina was doing in that fortress, and discovered who Vince McMahon was exactly. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what was going on and...well, he really didn't have anything left to lose. He KNEW she was watching him from one of those many windows, blowing a kiss up at the building, approaching slowly.

Where the HELL were the police? Martina was sitting on Randy's lap, arms wrapped tightly around her, rocking her back and forth, trying to soothe her the best way he could.

Vince was watching this cold hearted bastard as he approached his building, HIS corporate headquarters, snarling.

This man was out of his mind to actually have this building, which was known all over the globe, attacked. Ted and Cody were surrounding Randy and Martina, ready to fight if they had too; knowing Randy still wasn't healed, while Linda barked out orders, already having their emergency weapons on hand.

Two nine millimeters.

“You weren't lying when you said he wouldn't stop, were you?”

Martina shook her head.

“He has to make it past security and then up here, that's a lot of ground to cover.” Vince said coldly, glancing back at them.

This woman had better be a heiress or something because, from what he could see, there wasn't anything special about her to warrant this kind of obsession. Perhaps cruel to think, but...it was the truth. She was beautiful in a damaged sort of way, but not mind boggling so.

Linda shook her head with a sigh. “The police will be here in three minutes.”

Martina wasn't an heiress or anything of the sort, had absolutely no power. Roger thought of her as a possession and he had lost what belonged to him. He treated her like a doormat and thought he had the right to do so. Sniffling, Martina felt Randy's fingers run through her hair, hearing the gunshots outside, and hoped Roger was stopped before this became completely out of hand.

Cody didn't care what Vince thought, eyes narrowed, knowing it wasn't her fault. Roger Malcolm was insane, to put it mildly, and was about to be brought down by the authorities. In a few minutes, it would all be over, screw the press conference.

“I'm sorry, I'm so sorry...” Martina kept whispering to herself, the sobs tearing through her.

“Hush, it's almost over.” Randy soothed, knowing Roger would be lucky to make it inside without losing a lung, wincing at the gunfire that reached them even though they were so high up, almost mocking them.

Ted let out a sigh of relief when he heard sirens, the sound was faint but it was there, knowing the Calvary was approaching.

“Oh dear Jesus,” Linda was staring out the window. “VINCE!”

Vince peered out the window, watching with wide eyes as another car pulled up, the man who he assumed was Roger backing up to greet it, blonde hair appearing from the door, a gun pressed to her temple. Slowly, he looked back at Cody. Frowning, Cody joined them.

“BETH!”

Martina's eyes widened to the size of saucers, both her and Randy standing up and rushing over to the window, tears streaming down her cheeks. Ted was holding Cody back from rushing out the door; Martina swallowed hard, seeing Roger was staring up at her, knowing what he wanted.

Martina in exchange for Beth.

“Randy...” She felt his arm wrap around her shoulders, glancing back at Vince and Linda, knowing this was all because of her. All of this could be avoided if she went back to Roger and let him take her life once and for all. ‘What am I supposed to do?’ She thought, feeling Randy pull her away from the window.

“BETH! HE HAS BETH!” Cody was going ballistic, fighting against Ted so ferociously that Ted was actually having a very hard time restraining him.

“Sorry, bro.” Ted whispered regretfully, letting go with one hand to apply a pressure point to his friend's neck, watching Cody drop to the floor, knowing it was for the best. He raked a hand through his hair, automatically looking to Randy.

Randy had no idea what to do at this point besides restrain Martina.

“I have to go down there! This is my fault!” Martina struggled against Randy and immediately stopped when Ted came toward her, tear-filled jade eyes pleading with them to let her save Beth.

“Good girl, don't do something stupid.”

“But Beth...” She turned in Randy's arms, burying her face in his chest, knowing he probably hated her for everything that was transpiring around them.

“Oh thank goodness, the police here!” Linda cried with relief, eyes narrowing slightly at Roger, who was whispering something in Beth's ear, making her cry harder.

Roger turned so his back was to the car, hunching down to protect himself and took Beth with him. Now there was no clear head or chest shot. Everything major was protected and Beth served as a human shield, holding her at bay with the gun to her temple, safety off and finger on the trigger.

“Guess what, girlie, today is NOT your lucky day.”

Randy buried his face in Martina's hair.

Beth was TERRIFIED by this point, tears streaming down her face, golden locks tousled from fighting the entire way here, wondering who this lunatic was. “Please...” She whispered pleadingly, crying out when he just pressed the gun harder to her temple. “Please don't!!”

‘I promised I wouldn't run, I promised I wouldn't run.’ Martina kept reminding herself, feeling Randy wrap his arms around her even tighter, not caring about his injury at the moment. “We have to do something before he kills her!!” She cried out, not able to stay silent, sobbing uncontrollably.

“EVERYONE DROP YOUR WEAPONS NOW!!” The police ordered, having their guns trained on the perpetrator, who apparently had kidnapped this woman, eyes narrowed. There were at LEAST twenty police cars there, along with a helicopter, though there was still no clear shot.

“As soon as you get a shot, take it!” Another one stated in the walkie-talkie, the SWAT team showing up moments later.

This was absolutely surreal.

Roger was laughing like a madman, knowing they wouldn't get a clear shot of him, unless Beth somehow managed to get away from him and she wasn't doing that. Not breathing anyway. “Back off or I'll smear her brains all over the pavement!!”

“The press has arrived.” Linda said weakly, the irony not missed at all.

“Too late.”

“Come on, don't do anything stupid! Put the gun down and step away from the girl!”

Martina broke away from Randy and rushed to the window, pressing her hands against it, seeing Roger was peering at her while hunched over, not seeing a shot at all. What the hell were these cops thinking?! Martina couldn't let Beth die on her behalf; looking over at Vince and Linda, Martina turned around to face Randy and Ted who were blocking her only way out. A scream sounded when bullets flew at them from Roger's gun, causing her to drop to the ground, along with everyone else, the windows shattering after a few bullets unloaded.

“JESUS CHRIST!!!”

“NOOO!!!”

Glass was everywhere and Randy was glad Cody was not conscious for this, knowing he would have probably gone off the deep end totally. “Marti!” He called, not daring to get up, spotting Vince shielding his wife, who was now sobbing. He crawled across the glass, using his injured arm, ignoring the crunching underneath him. “Martina!”

Lying face first on the floor, glass spread all over, the outfit Martina wore prevented her from being filleted. She'd covered her face with her hands, though glass still managed to slice her cheeks. She'd jumped and knocked her head on the wooden chair, temporarily knocking her out, a small gash wound on the side of her temple.

“FUCK!” Ted cursed, clearly not amused as he kept on the floor, seeing Randy was crawling toward Martina's prone form, swallowing hard, arms and face cut. “Randy, is she alright man?”

“I think so, just unconscious.” Randy said, pulling himself up into a half crouch, shrugging off his jacket and ripped his shirt off, wearing a white t-shirt beneath the undershirt. He pressed the shirt to her forehead, using his other hand to brush glass off of her body.

EMT's were aching to get inside, knowing full well there were injured parties up above, but the police were holding them off. “Alright, alright lower your weapons! For god's sake put them down!!” The officer waited until they did, before taking a step forward, having put his gun down, hands up in surrender. “My name is Detective Borash. I just want to talk about what it's going to take to have you release this poor woman. What are your demands?”

“The woman up there named Martina. I want her and safe passage outta here and I'll let this tart go.” Roger snarled, having absolutely no intention whatsoever of letting Beth go. She was his ticket out of here.

“Martina?” Detective Borash nodded, knowing there was no way that was going to happen, but they would have to somehow lure the woman out here as bait. “Do you mind if I go up there and talk to her about this?” When Roger nodded, Borash didn't turn his back on this lunatic. “REMAIN CALM!” He ordered his men, who were begging to pull triggers, the woman in the perpetrator's arms sobbing.

“Who the hell is it?!” Vince shouted when a knock sounded at the door, raising an eyebrow at the police officer that walked in. “What the hell are you doing up here?”

He flashed his badge. “I'm looking for a Martina. It appears the only way the hostage will be released is if she takes her place.”

“NO! You can't-”

“Of course it's not going to happen, but we need to use her as bait. There isn't much time, this guy is going to pull the trigger soon if we don't do something fast.”

“Randy...” Martina whispered out weakly, wincing at her head.

“I'm right here.” He soothed, pulling her into his arms, ignoring his now bleeding arm. The stitches ripped as he leaned back against the wall, holding her tightly and shook his head. “Hell no! He'll probably shoot her, then Beth and then himself.”

“We have to do something.”

“We can't hand Martina over to this lunatic, even as bait.”

“What about Beth?”

Vince sighed, looking at Randy, who shook his head.

“Look, I know this is a lot to ask, but if we don't do something now, that woman down there is going to die.” The detective stated, tone firm as he stared hardening back at the man who was holding who he could only assume to be Martina in his arms. “Martina, I'm Detective Borash. Roger is asking for you.” He was ignoring the man who was holding her, staring back into her eyes, seeing how injured she was. “We won't let him hurt you, but we need to use you in order to save that woman's life. Please.”

Tears fell down her face as Martina slowly looked up at Randy, staring into his blue eyes and nodded as she began to stand up, wiping blood from her cheek. “I'll do it.” She held her hand up to Randy when he went to stop her. “This is my fault and I won't have Beth's blood on my hands. I have to do this. I have no choice.” She was incredibly dizzy, blood slowly sliding down her face from her head wound.

“Nothing will happen to you, Martina.”

“She needs a fucking medic.” Randy growled, ignoring the fact that he did too.

He wasn't as bad off as she was. He wasn't suffering a head wound. Were these people blind?

“The ambulance is out there but they can't get through, not with the current... situation.” Linda said weakly from her place under a shaking Vince.

Chapter 20

“Sir, I understand you're distressed, but there is a LIFE on the line right now.” Detective Borash growled grey eyes flashing, crossing his arms in front of his chest. “Your friend's life is on the line, do you understand? Martina isn't dead, you're not dead, nobody is dead; you're all just injured, but she could have her brains blown out of her head at any second! Now you either cooperate or she WILL die along with others!”

“Randy...” Martina cupped his face in her hands, pressing her forehead to his and kissed him softly, knowing both of them were injured. “The sooner we can get Beth away from him, the sooner this ends. If it takes me to do it, then so be it.”

Vince thought this woman was incredibly brave, holding his wife tightly in his arms.

“I have to do this...”

Randy knew she did; he was just being a selfish, greedy bastard and also acknowledged that fact. But he had almost lost her once; he was having a moment of fear, what if he lost her again? What if something DID happen to her? They couldn't really promise her safety and he knew that Martina had a martyr complex. She would sacrifice herself to save someone else. Finally, he just nodded, staring down at her intently.

“I love you.” Her mouth was right by his ear, hugging him tightly around the neck, feeling his arms encircle her just as tightly. “I'll be back.” Martina whispered and pulled back, seeing he was in somewhat shock and took Detective Borash's hand, who guided her slowly out of the room.

“You're very brave. Thank you.” Borash wrapped an arm around her shoulders, knowing Roger had hurt her just by looking at her. He wouldn't let anything happen to her or the other woman.

Martina didn't say a single word, tears sliding down her cheeks, knowing she had to tell Randy how she really felt before taking this chance. This sacrifice. She closed her eyes briefly, taking the elevator down to the front doors, where Roger was waiting with Beth.

Roger was getting impatient with this bullshit and it showed, face screwed up with anger. The insanity had been barely checked over the years; he dug the pistol into Beth's temple, ignoring her cries of fear and pain. “THREE SECONDS, THREE SECONDS UNTIL I BLOW THIS BITCH'S HEAD CLEAN OFF!” He shouted from behind her. It was a controlled insanity after all.

“Roger, don't!!” Martina called from behind, causing him to tense, slowly turning around, keeping hunched over, eyes locking for the first time in over a month. Had all of this really happened in just five weeks? “D-Don't hurt her...” The blood was caked against the side of her face, feeling Detective Borash behind her, hands drawn up in surrender. “Roger, don't hurt her, please...” She started crying, trembling from head to toe, stomach tightening viciously as the tears mixed with the blood.

Roger gave her a cursory once over, eyes narrowing at the obviously expensive suit she wore. So she was living it up with her new wrestling boyfriend? “Get your ass over here, Martina.” He ordered, still not moving from behind Beth. “NOW!”

“Release her first then I will.” Martina stated, voice a little stronger, knowing if he pointed the gun at her, it would be over. The cops would blow him sky high, including the snipers that were lowered on the WWE Headquarters. “Roger, don't do something you'll regret. I'll come to you if you'll just let her go. Let Beth go, please.” Her eyes locked momentarily with Beth's, letting her know silently that she was distracting Roger enough for Beth to make a move. Beth was a female wrestler after all; she just had to get out of this hunching position and the gun away from her temple as Martina took another step forward. “Roger, please don't hurt her. Remember how good it used to be?” She felt sick saying these words, but knew it had to be done, having briefly gone over it with Detective Borash. “Remember how happy we were?”

“How good it used to be, how happy we were and how it can be that way again.” Roger said mockingly, refusing to be distracted, free arm wrapped tightly around Beth's throat, pulling it in so he cut off her air, causing her to gasp. “Martina, sweetheart, did you happen to forget I'm a LAWYER? I use distraction tactics all the time. Cut the shit and get over here, I'm not playing with you anymore. If you are not over here in three seconds, I'm shooting.”

“Either way, you won't get out of here alive. So if you kill her, you're going down. Why are you doing this? Why am I that important to you? I don't want you; I HATE you for what you've done to me!” She couldn't handle it anymore, the anger flaring in her green eyes and took her cardigan off, tossing it to the side. “You've made my life hell since the moment I stepped foot in your house, Roger. I'm not your puppet, I'm not your property and I damn sure won't die surrendering to the likes of you!” She could see the anger building in his eyes and knew he was a second away from pulling that gun from Beth's head, waiting with bated breath. “I hate you! I hate you with every fiber, every ounce of me, and I hope you rot in hell for what you've done, what you've put me through! You're hurting innocent people because I refuse to come back to you! There is a man who wants to be with me, even though I'm damaged, and guess what? I love him. I love him more than I've ever loved you and that will never change, no matter if you pull that trigger or not! So go ahead, shoot me, Roger! Pull the goddamn trigger, you no good son of a bitch! DO IT!!!”

Roger took a long, shaky, deep calming breath, beady eyes showing his dangerous rage at her words. So she was in love with her new boy toy, how...fucking disgusting. “I won't shoot you, Martina. I'm going to shoot her.” He, at this point, had cut off Beth's circulation, slowly strangling her to death. “Her blood is on YOUR hands sweetheart, not mine.”

Martina was running out of time, heart thundering in her chest, and knew she would probably regret doing this, but... “GO TO HELL!!” She roared and felt the rage build up inside of her as she ran at him full speed, tackling him, completely shocking him since he was so busy staring down at Beth, the gun flying.

Beth's body crashed to the ground, Martina's elbow ramming right into Roger's stomach, knocking the breath of him. She felt him grab her throat and closed her eyes, the breath slowly leaving her body. The police open fired at that moment, every bullet piercing his body, grip releasing her as Martina fell to the ground, coughing harshly and holding her throat as the tears flowed down her cheeks, knowing Roger was dead.

At this point, Randy was struggling to get out the doors, having relocated himself to the lobby to watch anxiously, Linda and Vince alongside of him. Ted was still upstairs with the still unconscious Cody. “LET ME OUT!!” He bellowed at the security guard, who was restraining him, needing to see if Martina was alright.

“Beth...” Martina whispered, watching out of blurred vision as she was lifted on a stretcher, a breathing mask over her nose and mouth, eyes slowly opening. She wasn't dead and that's all Martina cared about as the EMT's rushed over to her, while Roger's body, along with his goons, were dragged off, most of them to the morgue. Martina had deep bruises around her throat, from where Roger had throttled her, as they placed a breathing mask on her as well, lifting her up, knowing Randy was probably beside himself. She took it off, wheezing slightly. “Randy...Randy's hurt...”

“We'll take care of him, miss. Just relax and learn how to breathe.” The EMT murmured, placing the breathing mask back over her nose and mouth.

Vince wasn't allowing Randy out of the building now, knowing he would panic himself into getting his ass sedated. “You can go see her AFTER you get looked over.” He said firmly, gesturing an EMT over. “His arm is bleeding.”

“Damn it, it's fine.” Randy growled, not amused, ready to kill someone; his boss was first on the list, since Roger was now dead.

~!~

“You were brave. Stupid but brave.” Detective Borash said, cracking a small smile down at Martina, who was currently lying in a hospital bed. “I need your statement.”

Martina wasn't injured that badly, just a few cuts and lacerations, luckily no head trauma either. She was lucky, though the doctors weren't taking any chances and had her hooked up to machines, keeping her overnight for observation since she had a minor concussion. “I couldn't let him hurt her because of me.” She said softly, causing the detective to nod and issued her statement, telling him everything from the moment the abuse started right till the very bitter end.

~!~

By the time Randy was allowed to even consider exiting the building, he had been checked out, given a statement regarding everything that had happened from the moment he had met Martina up until now. Ted and the now conscious Cody had to do the same, which was a complete waste of time, considering Roger was dead. While Cody both held his still shaking girlfriend and threatening Ted at the same time, he bolted.

Martina was sleeping soundly in the hospital bed, having been administered pain medication, and a small sedative to help her sleep. She had a white bandage against her temple, small butterfly bandages on her cheeks, while white bandages wrapped around her arms. Her chest rose and fell evenly, hands on her stomach, red hair strewn all around her in a hospital gown. She didn't need a breathing mask or tubes do to most of her injuries being superficial.

Randy had sat patiently through his arm being tended too, to glass being plucked from his elbows, through giving a damn statement. That irked him since it wasn't like they could press charges against a dead man, figuring it was all a waste of his time. But he had NO patience anymore. Anyone who so much as got in his way would simply get knocked over. Luckily, Randy made it to her hospital room without any further delays, freezing in the doorway to stare at her.

“Sir, visiting hours are over.” The nurse, who was tending to her dressings and checking over her vitals, staring back at him, swallowing hard at the anger that flared in his blue eyes. “Sir?”

“Randy...” Martina whispered in her sleep, the sedative slowly wearing off, feeling someone take her hand and slowly fluttered her eyes open, already knowing who it was. A gentle smile crossed her lips as her vision slowly came into focus, staring back at him, and squeezed his hand gently as the tears slowly began flowing down her cheeks. “Thank god you're alright.” She whispered, closing her eyes as he kissed her forehead.

Even now, she was still more concerned with everyone but herself. She was the one laying in a hospital bed, looking hopefully worse than what she was, and yet it was HIM she was fretting over. “I'm fine.” He soothed, not knowing to laugh or cry, just bending down to tenderly kiss her again, smoothing his fingers through her hair. “How are you feeling?”

“Free and peaceful.” She murmured with a smile, not caring if it hurt and snuggled against the bedding while he ran his fingers through her hair, sighing gently. “He stays.” She stated when the nurse went to open her mouth, scooting over on the bed and felt him move to join her, curling against his side, resting her head on his chest.

She needed him right now as her eyes drifted shut, the tears beginning to flow, and suddenly she was crying. She was crying out and clinging to him for comfort, love, affection, reassurance; everything. She was crying out of happiness, joy, relief because she would never have to deal with Roger Malcolm's abusive ways or her life being put in danger constantly again.

Randy held her, knowing physical affection was the best thing he could give her at the moment, stroking her hair gently. “It's alright, it's over.” He murmured, the truth of that statement sinking into him.

It was over. Done. They wouldn't have to look over their shoulders anymore. He didn't have to worry if she was going to disappear suddenly out of a misguided notion she was a danger to him...they were simply free.

Martina cried until she could no longer do it, until her crying was no more than silent sobs before drifting to hiccoughs, finally settling down to tears slowly falling from her eyes. She loved the man who was holding her with everything inside of her and hoped he wasn't angry. She could've been killed, that gun had flown out of Roger's grasp, but what if it didn't? She was reckless, but also saved Beth's life. Martina eventually drifted off to sleep, the nurse having vacated; the only sedative she wanted or needed was Randy Orton.

Randy watched her sleep, still stroking her hair, knowing they had probably given her a sedative in her IV drip. The entire nerve wracking drive here, he had mentally berated her; what she had done was a stupid, foolish thing, running directly at a man with a gun, a man who almost killed her before. At the same time, it was incredibly brave. When he seen her, however, he knew he couldn't say anything; he was just too grateful she was alive.

~!~

“Will you marry me?”

“See me through, Randy.”

It’d been six months since she heard those words sound out of his mouth and Martina accepted. Randy couldn’t spend the rest of his life without Martina by his side and popped the question as soon as she awoke from her slumber in the hospital. There was nothing standing in their way, nothing holding them back, and he refused to let her walk away from him.

They were married in a small ceremony in Las Vegas with Cody and Ted being the witnesses, along with Beth. Cody had to explain to his girlfriend about everything that happened with Roger and who Martina really was. By the time he was finished, Beth completely understood, admitting she didn’t believe for a second that Randy would marry someone after only three dates. Cody couldn’t agree more and neither could Ted.

After they were married, Martina went to visit her mother in Phoenix, who squeezed the life out of her and refused to let them leave for two weeks. Randy took an extended leave of absence from the company, needing to heal his injured arm amongst other things. Vince completely understood, deciding to give Ted, Cody and Beth the same luxury, especially after what happened at WWE headquarters, which the press was all over Roger Malcolm’s death.

After a brief investigation, authorities dropped all charges against Martina, putting it down as self-defense and closed the case. Martina was now on the road with Randy, everyone knowing her true name. Never again would she have to worry about being strangled in her sleep, raped or beaten. Never again would she have to live in fear and run for her life. Randy was her soul mate and nothing would ever change that.

That’s what Martina meant when she said for him to see her through. Because he had done it and saved her life, saved her from herself, and made her into the woman she always knew she could be. No matter what happened in life, Martina knew one thing, she was the ultimate survivor.

The End.