014

December 7, 2014 (off camera)

The bathroom in the hotel suite was completely trashed— so was all of her makeup. Party like a rockstar usually meant getting wasted and puking all over the bed, not dissolving into tears and grinding BB Cream and twenty dollar lipstick into the fluffy white robe they'd provided as a courtesy. Honestly, it was their own fault. The damn thing was too long on a normal-sized person. Even the sleeves hung inches past her fingers and it wasn't really until she'd demolished the thing that she realized she'd been wearing the one that Hunter had left on the back of the door.

While she'd been in there pitching a fit, Hunter had tried alternately banging on the door, and shouting through it to no avail. When he saw her post on Twitter, he'd started sending text messages to try and snap her out of her funk but they'd all gone unanswered. He'd done what any sane guy would've done— he left to regroup and form a better strategy. Opting instead for peaceful resistance, he hit the grocery store down the road.

As Hunter made his way back down the hall from the elevator, he opened up the plastic shopping bag in his hand and peered in. Inside there were two pints of Ben and Jerry's ice cream, one Candy Bar Pie and the other was Red Velvet Cake. He'd also grabbed a package of disposable bowls and a box of plastic spoons. He knew his girl was down after her loss to Aimee Easter. What better to cheer someone up than ice cream? One of the flavors was pie and to him, pie made everything better. More than anything, he wanted to see his redhead smile again and he'd do anything to make that happen, even if it meant bribery with sweets. Soon he was at his door and slid his key card into the slot, listening for a second before kicking the door open with his foot as he called out to her. "Heya, Red... I came bearing gifts of ice and cream." Kicking the door shut, he set the bag down in a nearby chair, dismayed to see that the bathroom door was STILL closed. He stared at it for a few seconds, muttering, "oh to hell with this," before the bedroom door swung open.

Kasey emerged, damp hair hanging in twin braids over her shoulders that left the front of her shirt wet. Well, it was actually his shirt, and it was cartoonishly over-sized on her petite frame. Her eyes were fixed on the screen of her phone as she scrolled through something with her thumb, barely acknowledging him. "Yeah," she muttered, "whatever."

He furrowed his brow, feeling a little thrown off at her tone but he shrugged it off. "You've got a cute Anna thing going on there; I like it." He offered her a smile and walked over to give her a hug only to feel her completely stiffen as he touched her.

"That's awesome," she snapped, locking the screen of her phone before tucking it into the pocket of her pajama pants. "You see me as Anna and you're the one who's supposed to love me outside of that squared circle circus. So I'm sure to everyone else, I'm probably on the level of Ola—"

"Supposed to? Hey, hold on a second—"

"No." She took a step back from him, looking up at him accusingly with tears back in her eyes. "You don't get it, Hunter. Anna sucks... she's so stupid that she falls for some random guy 10 seconds after meeting him and totally ignores the good one until it's almost too late. If that's not enough... go ahead and look at the stores. They have tons of Anna junk still on the shelves while the Elsa stuff is long gone. What's that tell you, huh?" She lifted her head, glaring at him.

He mock glared back at her. "Hey, I like Anna; she's fucking adorable, just like you."

"You mean she's stupid... just like me."

He held up a hand, shaking his head, realizing that he couldn't really talk his way out of that one, "no way. I don't think you're stupid, Red. Anything but. You think somebody stupid could remember all those moves out there?"

"Bryan Deas can wrestle," she reminded him and he laughed, drawing another scowl from her. "I'm serious. That wasn't a joke. He's honestly the dumbest person I've ever met, and he actually can wrestle so that's... nope. It doesn't relate. And I am dumb because I was so confident that I had this in the bag... Aimee lied about me. She made up things about my career and how I was handed that shot AFTER losing as if my friendship with the Kincaids means I get special privileges and... I just can't do this right now. I can't."

The way she said 'Kincaid' gave him pause, but he let it slide, figuring now wasn't the time to probe at what was behind that particular door. "I can tell you're worn out, Red," he pulled her close, ignoring her protests as he kissed her forehead. "Eat some ice cream?"

"Why? So I can get fat and everyone can laugh at me even more? Seems like a hell of an idea!" She was almost screaming the words in his face.

"What the fuck, Kase?" He took a step back to give her space.

"You wanted me to tell you what was wrong, didn't you? Or did you change your mind while you were gone?" She moved away from him, stomping across the room to plop down on the couch. "Oh, and thanks for telling me where you were going... that was really, really awesome to come out and find I'd been talking TO MY FUCKING SELF for probably ten minutes!"

"I got an idea to get you ice cream, yanno so it'd be waiting for you when you got outta the shower." He slid his hands into the pockets of his jeans and shrugged his shoulders. "I shoulda told you I was going, but I just wasn't thinking... Sorry, Red."

"Sorry?" She stared at him, completely aghast at how quickly he'd brushed it off. "That's it? That's all you're gonna say?"

He was silent for a moment, "what would you like me to say?"

"I don't know.... I'm not going to think for you, for fuck's sake. You've got a brain in your head—"

"Yeah and right now, I'm thinking you're not really just pissed at me for running out without saying goodbye. So why don't you stop this damn tantrum and talk to me." He didn't sound angry and he wasn't, he just wanted her to talk so that maybe she'd feel better.

"Why do I need to talk? You saw what happened out there! You... you were right there— you watched me fucking choke again like I always do."

He was silent for a moment, exhaling deeply. "Kase... shit happens. You told me yourself that nothing out there is certain and things can change in a second. You're gonna get another chance." They weren't the best choice of words, but he was completely out of his league here.

"Did you even hear what Aimee said? The whole world thinks that I didn't even deserve THIS chance and I blew it! You think they're gonna hand me another one? DREAM ON!"

"Answer me this, do you want another chance?" He raised an eyebrow as he asked her the question.

"What's the point?" She shook her head, her voice breaking over the tears she was trying to hold back. "I'm pathetic... I'll just fuck it up again. Maybe I should just leave FFW and save them all the trouble of trying to find someone for me to face next time that won't make every ass in those seats flee for the snackbar—"

"Kase, stop. Whether or not that bitch admits it, you do deserve another chance and you fucking know it. Laying around and coming down on yourself is a waste of time." He continued to look her in the eye, his heart breaking at those tears she wanted to keep away. "You're better than this, Red. You're the better person—"

"FUCK THAT! I'M SICK OF BEING THE 'BETTER' PERSON AND TURNING THE OTHER CHEEK!"

"Okay, Jesus... then don't—"

"You don't know anything about it!" She hissed vehemently, "you've barely even seen me in action so don't you come in here and tell me all this feel good stuff that's a load of shit! I'm garbage... you deserve to be with someone who isn't fucking pathetic."

He felt a wave of anger rush over him at her talking down about herself. "Just fucking stop. I'm not gonna listen to you talk so shitty about someone I love. So just fucking stop."

"DON'T TELL ME WHAT TO DO!" She shot to her feet, her hands clenching into fists.

"Then I'm not gonna listen to you do it." He turned and walked away as if he was going to leave the hotel room. Instead he grabbed his IPod out of his duffel bag along with a set of earbuds. Going back over to a chair, he sat down and put them in. "Proceed, then." Laying his head back, he closed his eyes, completely drowning everything out under the sounds of Whitesnake.

The sight of him making a big show of ignoring her drove her over the edge. There was no chance of pulling back from that and finding something positive to smile about. Instead of letting it go, she almost pounced on him, one hand grabbing at the cord for the earbuds while the other caught his chest hard enough to almost drive the wind from his lungs. "THAT'S SO UNBELIEVABLY RUDE!" She shrieked, yanking the cord.

It caught him by surprise, but he managed to keep his composure. Once he had his breath back, he looked up at her. He didn't make an attempt to fight back with her; he was prepared to just let her fire off at him. Maybe that's what she needed— he'd been pummeled by his sisters enough growing up to know when to stay still.

She stared back at him, even going as far as lifting her hand as though she was going to slap him silly. Instead he got to watch as her face crumbled and she burst out sobbing.

Without missing a beat, he pushed himself out of the chair and wrapped his arms around her, holding her close. "It's okay." Kissing the top of her head, he gave her a squeeze, wanting nothing more than to comfort her.

"It's not okay," she mumbled, burying her face in his chest, "I never shoulda come back— I can't do this... I can't. I'm gonna call Cody and ask him to just get my release. If I call Carson he'll just try to talk me down."

"Then he's a smart guy." Hunter shook his head, "you can handle this and we both know it. You just don't want to because it's hard." He tightened his hold on her and rested his chin on top of her head. "This business is what you were made for and you can't let that fruitloop dingus tell you otherwise. So what if she lied? The people out there who matter know the truth of what came first. Just because she got her hand raised doesn't make the crap she said magically become reality." He placed his hands on the sides of her face and tilted it up so she had to look at him. "And I'm gonna be here every step of the way with you. Do you understand that, Red? I'm not going anywhere. So you wrap your pretty head around that..." His green eyes bored into hers, "you and me, we're a sure thing just like you and this wrestling business is. I can tell how much it means to you by how bent outta shape you get the second someone says anything sideways about it. How 'bout for once, you close your eyes and just fall... trust that I'm gonna be here to catch you—"

"I just..." she took a shuddering breath, "I wanted it so bad. Ever since the stuff with Kyle happened and then Kitty died and... it was all too much. When I heard that Kyle was only getting close to me because I was a champion... I tried to pretend it didn't hurt. He told me it wasn't true... but it was, Hunter. He didn't seek me out because he liked me. It wasn't a chance meeting or..." her chin quivered, "he... h-he only wanted me because I was winning. That's... the only time anyone ever cares about me is when I win. God, I was even a joke... 'oh hey, so-and-so, you must really suck because you lost to Kasey'. I want them to respect me... for real."

"You can still have that, Kase." He kept his arms around her with no intention of letting her go. "I know you've had a lot to deal with over the years, but you're strong. You're still here and that speaks volumes. Yeah, so what if you had to bail for a while? So what if you had to leave for a little bit to get your head back on after that girl you looked up to died— that's normal. People do that all the time. They take leaves for injury, right?" She nodded. "Yeah, see. Same thing. Maybe you didn't break a bone, but your heart's probably the most endangered part of you since you wear it on your sleeve. So a little time off for that isn't—"

"I'm not s-st-strong," she managed to push the words out, clinging to him. Of all he'd said, that was the first thing she latched onto, "even relatively speaking... and n-not emotionally... I'm just not." Tears covered her face, smearing the remains of the eye makeup that she hadn't bothered to wash off yet. "Everything hurts, Hun... I just... j-just can't do this anymore. I hate what I've become out there."

He looked down at her, so much love shining back at her in those beautiful eyes of his. "Can you do me a favor then, before you make any type of decision?"

"I'll do anything," she whispered, so much heartbreaking honesty in her voice as she lifted a hand to swipe at the tears on her cheeks. "What?"

"Don't make any big decision until after you get some sleep? Things seem shitty now, but I think you just need a few days." He kissed the top of her head. "Can you do that for me?"

"I'll try." She closed her eyes, cuddling up against him before burying her face against his chest. "I'll do the match against Nessa," the words were muffled by his shirt, "and then... who knows." She was quiet for a few seconds, sniffling as she purged those last few tears like a baby. It felt so good to have someone here to hold her when it all came crashing down. The last few times, she'd been alone. Maybe that's what had made the decision to cut and run so easy. "I love you, Pooh Bear."

A smile broke out across his face as he nodded, "I love you too, Red." He pulled back slightly so that he could kiss her forehead and then squeezed her tightly. "Always." Giving her a kiss on the top of her head, he sighed. "How 'bout if we have some of that ice cream before it melts?"

She smiled, nodding. "Yeah, I think that's a good idea." Pulling back, she climbed off his lap, lifting up a hand to rub her itchy eye. "I'm gonna go wash my face... be back in a second, okay?"

He nodded, "take your time." He started pulling the stuff out of the bag, setting it up on the little table while Kasey was gone. He had his back to the bathroom, totally oblivious as he set out two disposable bowls and two plastic spoons before something— rather someone— crashed against his back. Her arms wrapped around him from behind and she squeezed as hard as she could.

"You're the best— I shoulda just told you that from the start and I was never mad at you for leaving because really, if you wanted to leave I wouldn't be angry. I would totally understand. Everyone always does so really, I guess I was expecting that to happen today after all the Thanksgiving stuff and I made myself out to look mental in front of your sister and her husband probably told her that he saw me at Jax's club a bunch of times and thought I was just another one of his groupie ring rat sluts so just..." she had to stop for a breath, "thank you for everything, Hunter. Please don't be mad at me. I just really, really, really suck at losing."

"Red, it's all water under the bridge. You don't have to feel bad about anything." He placed a hand over her arms, leaning back against her. "And by the way, I'm not going anywhere. Unlike all these other jokers, I don't give two shits about wrestling outside of watching you move— no politics involved. I just like you for you... so don't worry, 'kay?"

She nodded even though he couldn't see her and then released that sad attempt at a bear hug. She kept one hand on his back as she moved around to his side, eyeing the cartons of ice cream on the table before grabbing Candy Bar Pie and a spoon. "Yoink," she said with a little giggle before taking it over to the couch. "Forget the bowls. Just eat it from the container and we can share. I don't have cooties or anything."

Looking after her almost forlornly, he grabbed the other spoon before following, "hey now. Don't go bogarting that pie one. You know how I feel about pie..."