Right then, final chapter for this story, next one starting next week, see the bottom of this chapter for details. Also, thank you so much for staying with this couple, I love them to bits so it means a lot, especially since I'm going through a bit of rough time at the moment, so your lovely reviews make me smile!

Sodapop25, Glad you make it all the way to end with me on this one and thank you for your reviews helping to push my numbers up, 'preciate you stopping by every time. Until the next one!

Wolfgirl2013, Hi, glad you're enjoying it, hopefully you'll stick around and tune into their next story which I'm putting up starting from next week. But as for right now, I hope you are ready for our lovely little Shield boys to be all good and brotherly again? I know I am!

HannonsPen, I couldn't possibly write the guys without giving them some sort of attempt at complexity and depth, or at least I hope I couldn't! See you at Lauren and Dean's next story? More character traits revealed in others in that one too *Crosses fingers and toes hopefully*

Mandy, It's good news for me that you'll take Seth however he's written, because I have certainly written him in a whole bunch of ways across my stories! But yeah, like writing antsy and princessy good Seth most though, so that is largely what you're going to get!

xXBalorBabeXx, Oh alright, your wish is my command, you know I couldn't end this one with the boys all angry and pissy at each other, I love their little gang far too much for that. But there's still a bit of air to clear away first though, kinda like group therapy. Read on to find out how it goes!

Skovko, I know right? If I was a Spanish announcer at a PPV I would just push my chair back and be done with the thing, there is no point in getting too attached! Funny you mention Seth's betrayal as a Lauren/Dean story focus, because you'll never guess what I'm currently writing now…

Minnie1015, Aww, well I'm always happy to make people smile, even if I can't see it happening as such! Happy to share these things are long as you'll have me and right up to the point that my poor muse runs out or collapses in a heap. There's life left in her yet though!

Labinnacslove, Randy is just such a brilliant creep isn't he? Randy in heel mode genuinely makes my skin crawl so I couldn't not have him as the bad guy going forward! Yeah, silly Dean not just going to say sorry, but hopefully they'll clear the air a little bit here!

Morrowsong, Aww, thank you! I'm super glad these two have grabbed you. Still more stories for them to come, so hopefully you'll be intrigued enough to stick around for those too. Next one starts next Monday!

Time to put these boys back together!

Mending Fences

At my suggestion – okay, insistence – after the show, we all went out to eat. It was late by the time the taping got finished and so the only thing open was a little diner by the road. It was kind of run-down and not so appealing which was broadly in line with the shifty clientele, but the menu offered a vast array of choices and the food was cheap and warm so I couldn't complain.

Much.

Released from the worry, my appetite was calling me and so I ordered a milkshake, a swiss omelette and a side of fries. The guys – who had been decidedly less greedy – grinned in amusement as my order came out and as the waitress placed the platter in front of me, I realized I had chosen a little too much.

"Oh," I blinked and Dean rolled his eyes at me, before reaching across and helping trim down my fries. Seth and Roman piled in after him and I couldn't deny the familiarity was nice. Actually it was better than nice, it was great and made me realize how important the boys had become in the new little world I had built for myself. It was a fact that Seth seemed to warily clue in to as he caught me grinning at him from over my plate,

"What? Did get I something on my face? I've got food on my face right?"

I giggled at him,

"No."

"So then why are you staring?"

"You know," I shrugged, "Just thinking that I'd kind of missed your ugly face – yours too Roman, only yours isn't ugly, it's chiselled and dashing."

He winked at me,

"Damn straight."

"Hey," Seth frowned, hamming up the younger brother act despite the fact that he was actually marginally older than me. I guess it was something I had picked up from Dean, you know, alongside my general sexual awakening, "First of all, this face is better than his face any day of the week and secondly, it's only been twenty four hours and we've seen you since then – a whole bunch of times."

"I know, but that was different, we just saw each other, we weren't together together."

Dean snorted,

"I fuckin' hope you weren't."

"Not like that – ugh – sometimes you have such a dirty mind."

Reaching out a hand, Dean pulled me in against his side, towing me across the cheap leather-effect plastic by the belt loops of my jeans. Once I was close enough he dropped an arm around my neck and ducked his head to kiss beneath my jaw,

"I thought you were the dirty one in this relationship,"

"Dean – ," I squeaked with a flush of embarrassment as Seth groaned loudly,

"Well I didn't miss this."

"Yes you did," I retorted quickly, throwing a fry at him, "It's not nice to lie."

"Children," Roman intoned in his dad-voice, as women around the world went weak-kneed and also just as Seth was levelling to throw the missile back in my direction. Given his aptitude for sports it probably would have taken my eye out, "Behave."

I nodded and held up three solemn fingers,

"Scouts honour."

"Who's lying now?" Seth sniggered to which I pointedly stuck out my tongue, "Very mature."

Dean quickly pinched it between his fingers and I made a little grunt of surprise and whipped it back again before grinning at his smile. Honestly, the whole thing felt so easy that I think I was possibly drunk on happy vibes. I mean, they hadn't actually discussed what had happened – nor was I sure if they actually would – but at the very least the dynamic was back in place and as a start, I thought that was pretty good. There was nothing, nothing that could bring me back down again, except maybe one thing.

"So, did you tell Dean?"

It was Roman who had asked from beneath a seriously drawn brow line, which implied he meant business. Dean frowned back at him,

"Tell me what?"

Given that I was as in the dark as he was, I stayed quiet and merely offered up a shrug.

"About what happened earlier," Roman pressed, "In the corridor."

Then – suddenly – I was all caught up.

Damn.

He meant Randy.

Dean would hit the roof.

"Oh."

"Oh?" Dean echoed, sensing something serious and not liking being the only one not in the know. I could feel him tensing from where I was tucked in beneath his shoulder and I stifled a groan at the sudden shift in mood. I knew it had been going far too well, I should have guessed it wouldn't last, "Lauren, what happened?"

"Um, nothing?"

"Didn't we get done talkin' about what a bad liar you were already?"

"Did we?"

From across the table Roman heaved a sigh and rolled his eyes, clearly deciding to cut to the chase and put his brother out of his sudden misery. I shot him what I considered to be my very best death glare, alongside lashings of don't you dare but unfortunately none of it seemed to affect him because he upped and said it anyway,

"Randy cornered her backstage earlier."

Noooo.

"What?" Dean barked sharply, predictably reacting with a mixture of both anger and baffled alarm, "What do you mean cornered?"

"As in backing her up against the wall with his hand on either side of her," Seth finished off and I turned my frosty gaze in direction too. God damn them and their incessant need to tell each other everything, maybe it was better when they were feuding after all.

"That son of a bitch," Dean hissed darkly, curling his fists in tight against the table. In response I ducked down against him a little further and bit my bottom lip in a strange form of shame. Once again I had managed to ruin what had otherwise been a perfectly good time. What was it with me and my ability to find trouble? Was it a special frequency I worked on or did I give out some sort of vibe? Luckily, sensing that I was feeling a little guilty, Dean bumped me gently with his shoulder, "Hey, you okay? Did he touch you – hurt you?"

I shook my head,

"No."

"He was saying something though," Seth added casually, snagging up another loose handful of fries. Were we really not done with this conversation yet? I pulled back the basket of potato goodness childishly, figuring he didn't deserve them anymore.

"Saying something what?" Dean pressed firmly, lifting my head with his thumb, "What did he say?"

"Um, just sort of random stuff I guess."

"Like what Lauren?"

"I – uh – ,"

What was I meant to say? It wouldn't have been easy to tell him at the best of times that Randy had been implying he couldn't keep me safe, but so soon on the back of everything that had happened it was virtually disastrous. Roman let out a sigh,

"He was running his mouth off about you dude – talking shit like he always does."

"Shit that has to do with my girlfriend?"

Despite myself I shivered.

Loved when he used that word.

"Said someone needed to look out for her," Seth snorted wryly, reaching across. I was so caught up in the unfolding conversation that I reacted too slowly and he snatched another fry.

Darn.

"Someone like him?"

"That's about the size of it," Roman grumbled in gruff confirmation and although Dean sucked a frustrated breath in, he managed to stay sort of reasonably calm.

"I'm startin' to get a little sick of that asshole everywhere I fuckin' look. I mean, it's bad enough he's always hangin' off Hunter but now he's tryin'a mess with my girl? Someone needs to put their foot up his backside and the way it's lookin', that's gonna be me."

"He isn't – ," I paused, trying to dissipate the anger but not sure how, "He's not messing with me. I mean, he just kind of likes to get under my skin a little. I think he feels like he has to compete. I'm Hunter's daughter and he's Hunter's golden boy. We're kind of like siblings that don't get along. Nothing I can't handle though, really. It's fine Dean, you don't need to worry."

He disagreed,

"Princess, he had you backed against a wall – ,"

"I know, I was – um – well, I was handling it."

"Oh yeah, sure."

"Actually," Roman interjected suddenly, "It looked like she was holding her own. Our little Lauren's got some attitude. She wasn't about to let Orton get the best of her. She was toe to toe with him."

Dean quirked a brow,

"Yeah?"

"Kinda," I shrugged back, suddenly feeling bashful about my new-found and only briefly held balls, "I mean, I'm not always totally hopeless. Besides, girl's got to stand up for her man sometimes too."

"Yes she fuckin' does and don't you forget it."

But despite the vehemence of the short little sentiment, Dean ducked down and gave me a kiss, planting it right between my ear and my cheekbone and tickling my skin with his still vaguely-wet hair. It made me giggle and I batted him off again, making Seth sigh,

"Yep, definitely not missed this."

"Oh shush," I scolded, raising a finger, "Don't make me throw another fry at you."

"Try it, you'd miss."

As my mouth dropped open in lashings of faux-outrage and Seth grinned in at me smirking like a champ, Roman sighed deeply – ignoring our chatter – and looked towards Dean like something needed to be said.

Here it was then.

The elephant in the room.

"So," he started, "You all good now?"

Immediately Seth and I shut up, sitting in silence as the mood grew tense again and waiting for Dean to say something – anything. For his part, Dean's fingers started tapping my shoulder, drumming out a rhythm across my clavicle. I doubted he even knew he was doing it – it was simply a tick as his unease grew. I wondered for a minute if he was angry or resentful and then figured that maybe he was building up his nerve. If he was going to apologize then it was going to take some effort and so reaching across, I grabbed up his other hand, pulling it back down under the table and stroking my thumb across the post-tape marks. It briefly drew him out of his stupor and he glanced across at me like he was waking from a dream. I smiled a little and he returned it – marginally – before turning back to face his teammate,

"Look man, I – ,"

"We're sorry," Seth put in suddenly, totally and utterly beating him to the punch. Dean stopped abruptly and quirked his head a little, watching as his brother shot him a shrug, "We're sorry we didn't believe you, earlier. You're sorry for not being there at the end of the match. That the situation here?"

He glanced around and the three of us stared back at him with Dean being the one to reply,

"Pretty much,"

"Then I say we forget it, alright? Pretend that none of that stuff went down. We've all been acting kinda crazy lately but we need to focus on what's important, alright?"

Roman snorted sort of unhappily and I shot a worried glance his way. Seth was bending over backwards to fix things but their older brother didn't seem as appeased. Clearly the fact they'd been beaten sat badly and it seemed – on that front – he still blamed Dean.

"Some of us been acting more crazy than others – ,"

His mutter was easily loud enough to carry and as the words settled in across the table, the tension instantly ramped back up again. I shut my eyes in disappointment,

Damn.

"It's called havin' a little fuckin' passion Roman," Dean fired back in sarcastic sounding tones, "Might wanna think about tryin' it sometime."

"Not if it leaves my brothers outnumbered."

"Maybe that's your problem."

"Maybe it's yours."

As things looked set to take another down-turn, something in me promptly snapped and I slammed down my milkshake like an impromptu gavel, ignoring the following spray of pink foam,

"Stop it," I near enough bellowed at them, making several other patrons turn their heads in shock, "Just stop. What the hell is wrong with you two? I can't take this anymore, okay? I just can't. This is stupid, everything is stupid – you're stupid. Both of you are."

For the split second after my missive had ended, no one moved and nobody spoke. Then, without warning, Roman started chuckling, the sound deep and low but undoubtedly amused. I felt my cheeks start to heat up on instinct and I balled my fists a little,

"It isn't funny you know."

Sadly however, my warning didn't help things and from behind me I could feel Dean's chest start to jerk too. When I glanced up, he was actually grinning, although it tempered just a little at the look I flashed back. Shaking his head in what look like weary fondness, he tapped my nose gently,

"Fuck it you're cute."

"No I'm not," I glowered, "I'm angry. I don't get why you're laughing at me."

Although in hindsight I supposed it was a good thing they were laughing. Evidently my failed attempt at sounding ferocious was the one thing they could agree on.

"We're sorry Baby Girl, we'll stop, I promise."

I narrowed my eyes at him, not really believing it and his smile grew wider.

Oh yeah, right.

"So," Seth cut in, sensing a sort of truce forming and moving to solidify it, "Are we okay here? Because with all this bickering we've been doing, I think we're missing the bigger picture you know?"

Dean gazed back at him,

"Which is what exactly?"

"Somebody needs to teach the Wyatts a lesson and that gentlemen, is going to be us. Tomorrow night, when those bastards aren't expecting it, I say we head on down to the ring, show them why the god damn Shield is the most dominant force the business has ever seen,"

It was a pretty passionate and rallying monologue that made even me feel oddly pumped. Glancing across, I could see Roman's eyes blazing and from the way Dean's fists balled up against my side tightly, I guessed it had also had a similar effect. Evidently The Shield were back again and god was I ridiculously happy about that.

"Think we can add Orton and Kane to the party?" Dean drawled lazily, "Take 'em all out?"

He was examining his nails like the idea was no biggie but from the tension in his tone, we all knew it was. Roman blinked across the table in suspicion, narrowing his eyes a little,

"Why? What did Kane ever do to you?"

"Guy's got no respect."

Seth snorted,

"Well, we knew that."

"Struttin' round the joint, actin' like he owns it," Dean itched his shoulder, "I've had it up to here."

He didn't move his hand, so we didn't know where here was but based on his vehemence it was somewhere pretty high. Seth rolled his eyes a little and sat back heavily,

"He's the boss Dean,"

"No, Hunter's the boss. Kane is just the washed up old wrestler that Hunter hired to look after his toys. Hunter signs the paychecks, okay? The Big Red Nothin' doesn't do shit."

I blinked a little,

"Big red what?"

"Big Red Machine," Roman filled in for me, "Used to be his gimmick back in the day. He wore this mask which covered his face up because he'd apparently been pretty badly burned as a kid,"

"Oh, that's awful,"

"Didn't happen Princess," Dean shot back, "Just a fuckin' story he used to like to tell. Come on, you've seen his face enough times now. I mean, yeah, it's horrible but does it look scarred to you?"

I paused momentarily and thought about it,

"No."

"Welcome to the business," Dean smirked mockingly, "Where people are allowed to make shit up."

"Well in that case," I teased him, snatching up my milkshake and taking a drag through the straw like a kid, "I'm going to make up something about my life. I could say I'm an astronaut or a deep sea diver – ooh – I know, a government spy."

My boyfriend smiled and threw his eyes skywards but then ducked in close,

"Don't change a damn thing. You're fuckin' perfect the way you are Princess – wouldn't have you any other way."

"How about less prone to finding trouble?"

Dean paused briefly,

"We could talk about that I guess."

With the food all eaten, the waitress cleared our plates away and I sat back against the faux-leather seating feeling happily but uncomfortably stuffed. It was possible that the guys were going to have to roll me out of there and as the post-meal shift in blood sugar caught up with me, I let out a sigh and slumped down to one side, bumping back up against Dean sleepily and feeling him anchor me against him with an arm.

"Hmm, that's nice."

"You alright?"

"Just sleepy."

Thankfully the tension between them had ebbed again and in the semi-cessation of recent hostilities, the three of them began to chat. It was mostly about the Wyatts and what their plans were for them, but it was easy and familiar and I was grateful for that. I barely even registered my cell phone vibrating until Dean nudged me gently,

"Princess?"

"Huh? What?"

"Where's your phone?"

I frowned,

"Back pocket."

Dean's fingers grazed my ass cheeks and I giggled at him groggily which earnt a wry snort. Fortunately, given that we were in public and across from his brothers, Dean left it at that and plucked free my cell with minimal groping before pressing the call button and putting it up against his ear,

"Yeah?"

A tiny, tinny voice echoed back at him and I recognized it almost at once.

"Dean? Oh, I was expecting Lauren. Nothing's wrong, I'm just checking in for the nightly talk."

Scrambling upright and elbowing his stomach which produced a low grunt, I grabbed the phone from Dean's hand, suddenly feeling alert and excited as I took-over the conversation,

"Linda? It's Lauren here, where's my boy? Is he okay? Does he miss us?"

Seth and Roman stared back across the table and I could from their expressions that they were totally lost. They glanced towards Dean, who dropped his head stubbornly and in the oddly embarrassed silence they looked back at me.

"Ooh yes," Linda chirped back happily, unaware of the eyeballing her phone call had caused, "He has been a very good boy. Haven't you hmm? Haven't you Boomer? Is that Mommy? Have I got Mommy on the phone?"

Even by my standards, the call was a crazy one but what can I say? I missed my dog on the road. Linda was a housesitter our neighbour had suggested and better still, she totally loved pets. It was she who had suggested phoning nightly so I could talk to him and although I had initially gone along with the suggestion to avoid hurting the feelings of a geriatric spinster, I had grown to look forward to them.

Yes, I was mad.

In private Dean tolerated it with no small amount of mumbling, but in front of his brothers it was more than he could bear. As a familiar sounding panting hit the phone line however, I forgot about my boyfriend and almost everyone else.

"Boom-Boom," I squeaked excitedly, "Hey baby. Who's a good boy? Have you been a good boy?"

From over the table Seth blinked in astonishment and glanced at his teammate,

"Is she talking to the dog?"

Dean waved his hand, unable to say it and I continued undaunted,

"Mommy misses you baby boy, we'll be home soon. So you be a good boy for Auntie Linda until we get back. Daddy misses you as well,"

I held the phone out and Dean paled visibly and quickly looked around. There was a rough looking truck driver type up by the counter and his two stablemates who were grinning fit to burst,

"Yeah," Seth snorted, "Say hello Daddy,"

Dean slumped down in his seat,

"Jesus Christ – ,"

"Come on," I whined, "He'll be offended."

"No he fuckin' won't."

"Don't say that," I gasped,

"Lauren, I swear to god – ,"

His gaze turned murderous and I rolled my eyes and reluctantly gave up,

"Alright, sheesh. It's okay baby, Daddy's being grumpy right now. But I'm sure he'll give you extra snuggles just as soon as we get home."

He probably would. Dean was nuts about Boomer. Just apparently not in public as I had recently found out. By the time I hung up after speaking to Linda – which was mostly a courtesy, it was mainly about the dog – Dean had unwrapped his arm from around me and was moodily picking at the leftover fries. Seth's hand had still been buried inside them when the waitress had come round, so she'd left them where they were. Based on his frantic chomping he was angry, which wasn't much helped by Roman's wide smile,

"Fuckin' knock it off," Dean growled at him sharply.

"I didn't saying anything."

"You didn't have to man."

Letting out a sigh – which I assumed was to stop from laughing – Roman pulled loose a handful of change, the action triggering Seth and Dean also, although as usual the three of them refused to let me help.

"You can pay me later," Dean grumbled testily, "For dinner and tryin'a make me talk to the dog."

He was still playing it cool when we stepped out of the diner and although the mood was warmer, the weather was not. As a chill wind rattled the fabric of my t-shirt, I shivered and Dean sighed and peeled his jacket off. The smell and heat of the leather was incredible and I shrank into it gladly as he draped it across my back. Clearly he wasn't so irritated at me that he wanted me to freeze to death.

That was kind of nice.

Taking a chance I lifted his arm up and draped it around me before snuggling in. He snorted wryly but didn't struggle out of it and I grinned in triumph.

His bad mood was gone.

"Hey," Roman called as they stopped beside their rental, gesturing to it almost casually with the key, "Traveling with us?"

It was a pretty grand gesture of reconciliation and the final sign I needed that things were still good. Well, maybe not good – there was still a hint of tension – but better than it had been and unlikely to get worse. Dean paused briefly, looking to our own car and then down at me.

I nodded.

Uh huh.

"Sure," he replied, "I'll call the rental company, get 'em to pick ours up from here."

Roman nodded back at him, remarkably business-like and it was strange to see the two men trying not to show they cared,

"Alright, I'll give you a hand to move your stuff over."

As the pair of them trampled side by side across the parking lot, Seth and I watched them go with a smile. Between us we had managed to coral them back together and although it was tentative, things were going well.

"Does this mean I've gotta put up with your sorry ass again?"

"My ass is not sorry," I retorted, "Ask Dean."

Seth's face wrinkled and he looked in disgust at me,

"See this is what I didn't miss."

"Lies all lies."

From somewhere across the dark space there was a sudden thud, as one of the our cases fell out of the car. The boys were struggling with several bags between them and Dean looked up at us,

"You wanna come fuckin' help?"

"Alright, alright, keep your hair on," Seth yelled back at him, "Jeez, I've not missed his ass too."

I let out a whistle,

"Ooh god, I would. It's amazing and sexy and totally squeezable and – ,"

"Okay stop."

As we turned together and headed towards them, I suddenly felt a flood of something like love. For my boyfriend and his teammates and the life I had built myself since everything had collapsed around me six months back. There I was in a dingy little parking lot, surrounded by wrestlers in the middle of the night. In many ways it was almost a recipe for disaster and yet I wouldn't have traded it for the world. It felt like kind of an important revelation and I caught Seth's sleeve,

"Hey?"

He looked at me,

"Yeah?"

A car slid by us on the road beside the diner, its headlights casting a glow against the ground. Seeing it, I suddenly began to grin wryly and quick as a flash I thumped him,

"Yellow car."

"God damn it," he yelled, but I was already away from him, giggling in triumph and pounding towards Dean, "Lauren, come back here – ,"

His footsteps crunched behind me, but I reached my boyfriend and darted round behind his back. Dean rolled his eyes a little but still straightened up protectively and eyed Seth devilishly as his teammate ran in close,

"Whoa, whoa, what're you doin' to my girl here, huh?"

"She fucking hit me with that yellow car shit again – she's a pain in my ass."

"No she's not, she's adorable."

As Seth rolled his eyes and offered a rejoinder that sounded a lot like control your girl, Dean snorted back in genuine amusement and threw me a wink. He looked totally relaxed. More than that, he looked totally happy which was basically the only other thing I could want. It was an utterly fun and carefree moment, that was improved by Roman chuckling as well.

From a night of disaster to a night of contentment.

The worst was behind us.

It would be better now, right?

Yep, kind of ending on a bit of a cliffhanger so we can time jump a little for the next story and get right into the middle of a juicy storyline. Evolution vs. The Shield...tough times ahead for Lauren! Besides which this makes up for that crazy Shield summit nonsense and Seth walking on the Wyatt family match...thanks to Lauren that now doesn't happen simply because it should never have done (take that WWE Creative!)

I'm going to start putting their new story up next Monday and it's going to be called No Place To Go. It's probably my absolute favourite (at the moment) so I hope you're all there to check it out!