Happy Mother's Day everyone. My present (and birthday present as it's also today) is a day to myself to write and do whatever I want. Hopefully that means I'll get another Dean chapter done for Rekindled Affection too. Enjoy.

Chapter 4

"Are you still dancing?" Seth asked as, now dressed in t-shirt and shorts, he eased onto the couch.

Ali watched him and winced when for a split second, he grimmaced. "Are you all right?"

Seth nodded. "Just sore. Some matches are more intense than others. When we start playing with the big boys in the industry the matches get...well..."

"Your story line is with management. It doesn't get much more intense than that," Ali offered.

Roman nodded. "Tell us about it. I'm pretty sure we're going to be sore for the next few weeks."

She really didn't understand the appeal of what they did, or how being sore and injured could make them so happy. Yet they really did appear just that. "For the record, I think you guys are crazy."

Dean grinned. "Sweetheart, you gotta be a little crazy in order to be in this business."

Seth smirked. "This coming from the man Michael Cole has named the Lunatic Fringe of The Shield."

Dean's smile widened. "I take that title very seriously. After all, I have a reputation to uphold."

Everyone chuckled before Seth turned his attention back to Ali. "So you didn't answer my question, boo. Are you still dancing?"

Ali lowered her gaze as she shook her head. It had been dancing that ultimately pulled her away from him and she wasn't even involved in it now. "No. I stopped about five years ago." Tears welled and she fought them back as varying emotions vied within her for control. Sadness, regret, grief, heartache all dueled for dominance as she thought back on her life.

A finger curled beneath her chin forcing her to lift her head. Slowly, she looked up into the most beautiful chocolate gaze. When had he moved next to her? "What happened?" he whispered and her heart nearly broke. How could he be this caring, this considerate when she'd walked out on him?

"I..I blew out my knee," she finally said on a shaky breath. "I had surgery and went through physical therapy, but I just couldn't do the moves anymore." Now the tears did come and she was powerless to stop them.

"Awe hell," Seth muttered and pulled her against him. "I didn't mean to upset you. Please don't cry, boo. I always hated it when you cried."

"I'm sorry," she finally said after gaining some composure. "I don't know why I'm so upset. When it happened I was actually kinda relieved."

"Why would you be relieved to have your career end?" Roman asked. "Didn't you love what you were doing?"

"I-I did love to dance, but..." her sentence trailed off as she thought about her father.

"Her dad pushed her into it," Seth said, and she noted the bitterness in his tone. Yes, he had a right to be bitter and angry. He had a right to hate her for for what she'd done, yet here he was holding her as if the last decade hadn't happened.

"An overly controlling parent?" Dean arched a brow. "That must just as bad as having parents who didn't gave a damn."

Ali stared at him as she considered his words. Keeping up with Colby and his career, she'd read the back story on Dean Ambrose, knew of his dodgy past, but had considered it as probably nothing more than fiction made up to help promote his character. Could it be that Jonathan Good had really lived the life written about Dean Ambrose? If he truly came from an abusive background, then she could understand a bit more of why he acted the way he did.

"You have no idea," Seth's voice cut through her thoughts. "Somehow the bastard got it stuck in his head that if she became a professional dancer she'd make lots of money and he'd be rich." She felt his arm tighten around her and too emotionally drained to fight, she placed a hand on his chest and sank deeper into his embrace as he continued. "He'd have her up at five every morning for exercise and then running through her dance routine before school. The fucker monitored every piece of food she ate, every move she made."

Ali closed her eyes and let the long buried memories surface. Aliana get down here. It's time for you morning run. Ali, you gained three pounds this week. What were you eating that you weren't supposed to? Ali, I told you to leave that damn boy alone. You have homework and lessons to complete you don't have time to be messing with boys.

"She had to sneak out at night in order for us to be together," Seth went on. "On those rare occasions when he'd catch her, he'd beat her."

At his statement, shock ricocheted through her and Ali pushed up to stare at him. How did he know? She'd never told him about the beatings. "How?"

"I saw the bruises and the welts," he replied and she noted how his look turned cold. "You tried to hide them, but I saw and I really wanted to kill the bastard for hurting you."

"I-" She blinked as his words sank in. "I never thought you knew."

"Well I did," he corrected. "That was part of why I wanted you to run away with me. Why I wanted you to just leave him." His lips thinned and she could feel his anger slowly building.

"I was seventeen, Seth. He was still my guardian and for all his faults I still loved him. I couldn't just leave."

"The man beat you, Aliana!" His words burst through the room like a bomb, causing her to jump and pull away. In an instant he pushed to his feet and began to pace. "Watching you go, knowing what he was capable of... That was the hardest fucking thing I ever had to do in my life." From across the room he turned and glared at her. "Every day I was terrified that I'd wake up to find that he'd beaten you to death. You have no idea how relieved I was when I heard he'd dropped dead of a heart attack."

She desperately wanted to be offended and hurt by his statement, but in reality she understood. To this day she still felt guilty for being more relieved than saddened by her father's passing. While she loved him with all her heart, she'd come to realize long ago, that no matter what she did in her life, she'd never be able to make him proud of her or be able to live up to his standards. With him gone, the burden of having to achieve perfection lifted and she'd finally began to enjoy dancing again. Then the accident happened.

She must have looked stricken by his statement as his features once again turned soft and he closed the distance between them. "I'm sorry, boo. That's was wrong of me."

Allowing him to pull her back into a hug, she rested her head against his shoulder. "No. It's how you felt and you're not wrong for feeling that way. Hell, Colby, I didn't even cry when the police officer told me about his death. I didn't cry at the funeral or after. All I could think about was how now I was finally free."

She opened her eyes and spotted Dean still sitting in the chair across from them. The anguished look on his face told her more than words ever could. He'd suffered as a child and while his situation was obviously different than hers, he understood her pain. Shifting slightly, she spotted Roman. His face revealed sympathy and remorse. From what she knew about him, he came from a good home with lots of family and support. Still, that didn't mean he couldn't understand.

"Still," Seth began. "I shouldn't speak ill of the dead."

"Maybe not, but you only speak the truth." She pulled away and looked up at him. "I would never hold that against you."

He gave her a small smile. "I'm sorry I made you cry."

She shook her head. "Don't worry about it." The she took his hand and lead him back to the couch. "I don't want to ruin what little time we have left tonight by crying."

He eased down next to her, took her hands in his. "Then stay the night."

"Colby," she started to protest only to have him cut her off.

"Please, Ali. We're not leaving for Albany until morning and I want to spend as much time with you as I can."

"I'll sleep on the couch and you can have my bed," Roman offered.

She glanced at Roman, then back to Seth. "I-um..."

"Please, Ali." The hint of desperation in his voice, combined with the pleading look in his eyes had her caving.

"I don't have a toothbrush or deodorant or any of that stuff."

"We can get a toothbrush from the front desk and the rest of the stuff in the morning from the drug store," he argued.

Ali stared blankly at him as her heart swelled and screamed for her to say yes. How could she possibly deny him such a simple request? "Okay, I'll stay the night."