Oh hi everyone! I know I've made a few mentions about giving you all a 'prequel' to the Seth and Carter story and here it is- I have finally started something! This story isn't going to be super long (at least I'm not planning on it!) It will probably just be a handful of chapters- kind of like one shots- that will give you a little glimpse into how their friendship/relationship blossomed from his injury and leading up to his comeback and the start of 'Reclaim'. It will include Wrestlemania and some solid history on their past relationships. So I hope you enjoy it! And I hope it doesn't ruin 'Reclaim' for you!

I probably won't update this one as often as Reclaim has been updated - maybe once a week? Just because it's not going to be as long. Just a heads up!

Please let me know what you think!

Just as a normal disclaimer - I do not own anything but my original characters! The WWE owns everything else!

Carter Kelly was sitting on an equipment box backstage of the arena, eyes focused on the blinking cursor in front of her, trying to pound out a blog post. She ran her fingers through the long ponytail hanging over her shoulder and she sighed. She wasn't in the mood to be working right now. She was in the mood for a nap. She reached to her side to grab her cell phone and distracted herself by scrolling through her Facebook.

She glanced up from her phone and her eyes fell on a familiar face rounding the corner at the end of the short hallway.

Seth Rollins was slowly making his way in her direction. He was in sweats and a jacket, a beanie pulled over his hair and his glasses on. She could tell just by the look on his face that he wasn't feeling well.

She set her laptop to the side and swung her legs around, crossing them and smiling at him as he looked up from his own phone and noticed her.

"Hi champ," she stated when he got close.

He scoffed, making a face and shrugged, "I don't think I'm the champ much longer but thanks."

"I'm surprised you're still hobbling around here. When are you going home? Why aren't you on crutches?"

"I'm supposed to be but I figure I can't do anymore damage. I'm leaving in the morning. I'm going straight to Birmingham."

"Dr. James Andrews! Get your Tommy John fixed while you're there."

"I am slightly impressed you know what a Tommy John is."

She pointed at her shirt with an Atlanta Braves logo on it, "I know a thing or two about baseball. How are you holding up?"

"Is this an official interview?" He quipped.

"I mean, I can put you on snapchat if you'd like but I was just curious," she countered. "I apologize for asking questions."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean for that to come off..." He shrugged, seemingly at a loss for what word to use.

"Dickish?"

"Sure, dickish. It doesn't hurt much right now. I don't know…I don't think it's all set in yet."

Carter nodded, biting her lip. "Well…I'm not trying to sound cliche but I feel your pain- literally. I've been there before."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. I actually hurt the same knee. What is yours? MCL, ACL and meniscus?" He nodded. "Mine was MCL, ACL and LCL."

"Fuck. How did you do that?"

"Ah, I did it about five years ago when I was playing softball at UCF. I was the catcher, I got run over on a play at the plate and the girl fell on my knee, twisted it five different directions. I had surgery a week later."

He made a face. "Did you play anymore?"

"I was told I wouldn't, at least not as a catcher, but I did. I missed my whole junior season but I played my last season. I wasn't as quick as I wanted to be jumping up from a squat to throw down to second but I managed."

He gave her a poignant look, nodding.

"You'll be back in the ring, Rollins. If that's what you're worrying about. You work hard, you're hella athletic, and you love all of this. You aren't going to have any problems."

"Thank you."

"It's going to hurt like a motherfucker. I will tell you that. Be ready for that. You'll be back in no time, though."

"I want to be back by Mania but…" He trailed off, shrugging.

"Just take it a day at a time." She gave him a warm smile, "and take advantage of it. Go home and relax, see your family, hang out with your girlfriend, go to the movies or a concert or a football game. Recharge yourself. When I had my surgery, that season I couldn't play was the best thing for me. I remembered why I loved playing the game so much."

"I'm not trying to sound…unappreciative or anything, but why are you telling me this? I think this is the longest conversation we've ever had…"

"That's not entirely my fault and I'm telling you this because you're part of the club, now. And sometimes it's nice to know that somebody else gets it. It's something you have to go through to understand." She motioned at the phone in his hand, "let me see that."

He unlocked the screen and handed it over to her.

"If you ever need to vent or whine about how much you hurt or how frustrating it is to not be able to bend your leg or bitch about the doctors; my number is in here now. My phone is always on me."

"As it should be, social media girl." He glanced down at his phone and then back up at her. "Aren't you dating Ziggler?"

"No, not anymore, and it wouldn't matter anyways. I'm not hitting on you, Seth, I'm offering you a friendly ear. Don't make me regret it."

"I…I didn't think you were…I didn't think that." He gave a quiet, nervous laugh. "I'm sorry."

She shrugged, giving him a haughty look, "It's fine. I know you aren't accustomed to a woman not falling all over you."

"Ouch," he laughed.

"You kind of deserved that."

"Fair enough. Thank you, for this," he wiggled his phone in the air, "I may take you up on your offer."

"I'm not going to hold you to that but the offer is there. Good luck with everything. I know you'll be missed around here."

He nodded again, a small smile forming on his lips, "thank you."

Carter gave him another warm smile and shrugged, reaching for her laptop that she had set to the side. She slid off the equipment box and looked up at him, "you're alright, Rollins. I'll see you around."

A little over a week later, Carter was walking into her house in Tampa, juggling a bag of groceries and her gym bag, along with her keys and cell phone. The bag of groceries and gym bag ended up on the floor by the door, her keys and phone on the counter. She exhaled loudly, blowing a few strands of hair out of her face, and looked around her dark house. As good as it was to come home, she was starting to hate how quiet and empty it felt.

She needed to have Renee and Dean come for a visit the next time they were off the road.

She had returned from the Europe trip the day before and she was settling back into her 'at home' routine before she headed back to RAW.

She glanced at the bag of groceries, she didn't recall having anything that needed to be refrigerated, so those could wait. She needed a shower and a glass or three of wine.

Her text alert sounded as she was crossing her room, undressing as she headed for the shower, and she backtracked to check her messages. She was curious who was trying to get in touch with her at almost 11:00 at night.

She let out an audible chuckle when she saw the name and text on her screen.

This fucking sucks.

It was Seth. She had exchanged texts briefly with him, as well as he could manage, the day of his surgery but she hadn't heard from him since then. She was a little surprised by both of the contacts from him.

I guess I shouldn't ask how you're doing? She responded, setting her phone down and continuing on to the shower. She could hear the text tone a couple of times as she was showering, shaking her head and laughing to herself, he must be bored.

Once she was dry, she grabbed her phone and headed back to her kitchen for the wine and snack she planned on having.

I'm doing ok I'm just restless.

I don't like be stuck in a bed. I don't like not being able to walk. I don't like being on pain meds.

I'm bored.

She tossed a bag of popcorn in her microwave as she read the texts and paused, thinking to herself before she responded.

She watched the numbers ticking down on the microwave and sighed, fuck it.

She opened her phone and hit the info button on her text screen, seeking out the phone symbol and responding to Seth by calling him.

"Carter Kelly..." She heard a very groggy voice answer the phone.

"Hello, Rollins," she smiled.

"I didn't expect a phone call."

"You said you were bored so I thought I could entertain you for a few minutes. You don't have anybody with you?"

"No."

"Seriously?"

"No, just me."

Carter frowned and hit the 'clear' button on her microwave, popping the door open before the buzzer went off. "That blows."

"What are you doing? Are you still on the road?"

"No, I got home yesterday. I just got back from the gym and I'm making popcorn and drinking wine."

"By yourself?"

"Yes, just me."

"Where is home for you?"

"Is this an official interview?"

He chuckled, almost laughed. "I see what you just did...funny..."

"Tennessee is home but I live in Tampa. I'm ten minutes away from John and Nikki."

"I forgot you're buddies with all of them. That's why I never see you around."

"All of them?" She questioned.

"Yeah, the divas...Nikki and Brie and Renee. You don't hang out with the rest of us. You're elite."

"Hold on a second..." She paused, sitting her phone down so she could have both hands fully available to pop the cork out of her wine bottle. "I hang out with other people..." She defended when she picked the phone back up, "you make me sound like I'm a snob."

"I don't think you're a snob. I don't really know you...you're quiet."

"You don't see me around because I do a lot of stuff behind the scenes and when I do see you, it's for a 30 second interview after a match..."

"You aren't a big fan of me are you?"

Carter scoffed, taking a sip of her wine, "I'm on the phone with you at eleven thirty on a Thursday night...what kind of pain meds do they have you on?"

"No, humor me for a minute. This isn't the meds. I've been thinking about it ever since you stopped me in the hallway. We've never really talked before except for interviews. I don't know why you...people just don't try to be friendly with me these days. I'm a bad guy."

"I think this is exactly the meds but I'll humor you, ok?"

"Bring it."

"I don't really know you, Seth. I hear Dean and Renee talk about you and I see what I see when we're around each other. You kind of have an air about you that you don't want to be bothered and then sometimes you don't. I don't dislike you; I have no reason to dislike you, and I'm not going to judge you for anything. I know you had a lot of drama go on and that is what it is- you're a grown ass man. You had a pretty gnarly injury though and you're about to have to start over at the very bottom and it is brutal and you're going to be away from everything that is normal for you and I've been through that before. I felt like you could use a friend...and I have a big heart and I can't help trying to help people. You aren't a bad guy you've just made some really stupid choices the last few months. You're probably trying to convince yourself that you're a bad guy which is also stupid."

"How much do you know?"

"I just know the backstage gossip, honestly."

"Fucking brilliant," he muttered. She could here him laugh slightly.

"If it makes you feel any better I didn't see the pictures and I have no plans to ever see them. It's really shitty that happened to you; nobody deserves that."

He was quiet for a moment.

"Thanks."

"When do you start rehab?" She asked, trying to deter the conversation away from his personal life.

"Another week, at least. It's going to suck isn't it?"

"It's not too bad when you first start. Once they get you weight bearing and moving around though, yeah it's going to suck."

"I miss crossfit. I miss the ring."

"That was the worst part; for me, at least. Pain is easy, you can take a pill or use some ice, it passes. Not being able to do what I loved was awful for awhile. The first time I went by the locker room and field I cried, no joke."

"I don't think I'll cry."

"Stay connected to it. Don't let yourself get in your feels about it."

"I have a wrestling school up in Davenport. Well, it's in Moline, but it's up there. I plan to teach even if I can't actually get in the ring so...well I have that."

"Good."

He cleared his throat slightly, "um...ok, so I lied to you earlier. I did think that you were kind of snobby. I just kind of assumed...yeah, I just...assumed you were a little on the stuck-up side."

"Oh," she replied. "Um...well thank you for your honesty."

"You were honest with me. I'm not sure if it means anything but I think that I was wrong for assuming that about you. So I apologize."

"It happens," she frowned to herself. "Go get you some sleep, though. You'll need it. Let those pills do their magic."

"You trying to get rid of me? I pissed you off didn't I?"

"No. If you want to talk I'll stay and talk."

"I don't want to keep you awake," he replied.

Carter could hear a hint of something in his voice. Sadness, maybe? She couldn't really tell but she could tell he was reaching for some company. She couldn't help but wonder where his girlfriend was.

"One thing you will learn about me is that I am a night owl. I love sleep but I stay up longer than I should. I think it's a product of how we travel. So I'm here and awake..."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, but I have one question to ask you if we're agreeing that I'll stick around and entertain you."

"What's that?"

"Why isn't your girlfriend with you? Shouldn't she be...taking care of you?"

"That was more than one question."

"Technically it's just one big question with two parts to it but you know...fair enough, I guess."

"She's just not here. She had..." He paused and cleared his throat slightly, "she had some other things to do."

"Oh," Carter frowned. "Well I'm sorry."

"It's fine."

She made a face as she stood in her kitchen, shaking her head at herself. She needed to learn how to filter herself sometimes. She trekked into her living room, settling down on the couch and tucking her legs under her.

"You're really just all on your own? That's really shitty, Seth..."

"I'm a grown man, I can deal with being on my own."

"Yeah but you just had surgery and you're in pain and that just...really sucks. Everybody wants to have somebody around when they're not one hundred percent."

"My mom is down here with me, she's just asleep. I'm not totally on my own..."

"Well damn, I was starting to feel sorry for you. I was going to say I'd come to Orlando and say hello. Tampa isn't that far away."

"You can still say hello if you want to. Let me ask you a question now."

"Ok..."

"What happened to Ziggler?"

Carter made a noise; somewhere between a groan and a growl.

"You had to go there?"

"You started this."

"I haven't even had a full glass of wine yet and…can we save that one for another day?"

"Is it that bad?"

"No, it's just fresh. I haven't…I won't say I'm not over it but I'm in that anger stage of things. I would just rather not right now."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be, it was a fair question. Maybe one of these days I'll tell you."

"How did you avoid backstage talk?"

"Nobody knows how to work the backstage area like a backstage reporter, Rollins. I know how to keep shit inconspicuous. I'm sure there's some kind of talk, I just haven't heard it. And I hedged a lot of it off by just telling the girls that I ended everything with him."

"You didn't?"

"No."

"I'll stop asking questions about it now. It's none of my business."

"Yeah I mean I thought you were just going to whine a little bit and I could go about my evening. I didn't think this was going to turn into an episode of Oprah."

"Well thank you for sticking around. I appreciated it. Truthfully I haven't talked to many people since I left…"

"Because you're a bad guy?"

He chuckled, "I told you people don't want to be my friend. It was lonely at the top."

"I'm undecided on if I want to be your friend or not."

"Isn't that why you gave me your number? In case I needed a friend?"

"I didn't think you would actually use it."

"Really? Why not?"

"I don't know I just didn't think you would."

He was quiet for a moment. Carter took the opportunity to take a sip of her drink and glance at the time. How in God's name had this happened?

"So what's your story, Carter Kelly?"

"My story?"

"Yeah, your story. How did you end up in the wrestling world? You're a softball player."

"Was; I was a softball player. How do you know I haven't wrestled?"

He snorted, "I would know."

"Oh, are you the king of the wrestling universe?"

"You're kind of snarky."

She sighed, "yeah, it's a character flaw. I'm sorry."

"I don't mind it. We're two peas in a pod on that one."

"Well, to answer your question, for starters it's Carter Cargile; not sure if you know that or not. Triple-H asked me to come to the performance center for an interview and audition. I was impressive and I worked in NXT for a bit and here I am."

"So you were hand picked? Look at you."

"Yeah, I guess. I think I was just lucky."

"Do you like it?"

"Most of the time. I'm still finding my way. Like…you referred to me as 'social media girl' and I don't want to just be the social media girl. But I know it takes time."

"The best way to get somewhere in this business is to make yourself be seen. Make yourself stand out."

"I will keep that in mind."

"Woof, I got the blow off line…"

"No! I didn't mean it like that. I wasn't trying to be dismissive. I'm pretty sure I should take note of any advice the champion gives me."

"Former champion."

"Yeah but it has an asterisk next to it. It doesn't really count."

"That's very glass half full of you."

"Here's a social media girl line for you- hashtag tweet the positives."

"I'll remember that one."

Carter yawned, trying to hold it back. She was apparently more tired than she had thought.

"I should let you go," Seth said.

"Ok."

There was a slight pause; almost an awkward silence. Carter bit her lip trying to wait to see if he would speak. She started to get anxious and started to speak at the same time he did. They both shared a warm laugh.

"You go," she said.

"I was just going to say thank you for talking to me."

"You're welcome."

"Have a good night, Carter."

"You too, Rollins."

She hung up the phone and looked at the screen for a few seconds as the call screen faded to her phone background. She gave a half smile and shook her head slightly. That was slightly weird but it was also really nice. There was a piece of her that did feel for him.

She started to open her texts to send one to Renee or Becky, she felt the urge to tell someone.

She paused. Maybe she would keep this one to herself for a little bit.

Carter had just finished a run and was slowly ascending the steps in her garage, taking a few deep breaths to steady her heart rate. She had woken later than she really wanted to but rolled herself out of bed and hit the pavement anyways. She had every intention of enjoying a day on the beach before she headed to Las Vegas to meet up with Renee and then back to their usual tour of shows.

She glanced around her kitchen as she pulled her ear buds from her ears and sighed to herself. She should've cleaned up her popcorn and wine from the night before.

Her phone vibrated in her hand and she looked down at it as she tossed her ear buds on the island counter.

You promise I didn't piss you off last night?

She smiled and then scrunched up her nose, making a face.

Why did he care?

She sat her phone down on the counter top, eyeing it, and shook her head as she turned away and headed to her room. She was going to wait a bit before she responded to him.

She changed into her bikini and threw on an oversized t-shirt since she was only going as far as the back "yard" of her house.

She grabbed her phone and a bottle of water and almost as soon as she walked out her back door she got a phone call from Nikki.

"Please go out to dinner with me tonight, Carter. John is gone and I'm bored."

"Hello to you, too, Nicole," Carter smiled, cradling her phone on her shoulder as she shifted the things in her hands.

"Hello, so dinner? Yes? And happy hour?"

"I thought we decided we were quitting happy hours for awhile."

"You and Brie decided that, I did not."

Carter sighed, "yes I will go to dinner with you."

"I love you, thank you."

"You too, just text me where and when ok?"

She small talked with Nikki a few more minutes and hung up. So apparently she was going out for drinks and dinner now.

She settled in on her lounge chair and looked at her phone again.

She pulled up the text from Seth and responded to him: I promise. Nothing to be mad about.

It only took a few minutes for his response to come through.

I'll stop worrying about it now.

How is everything today? She responded to him.

Good. I thought about going to the performance center…

You should. It'll be good for you.

Why? So I can see all the things I can't do right now? Sounds like fun.

Carter rolled her eyes. Stop feeling sorry for yourself. It'll give you something to do and get you out of your room/house/wherever you're staying.

She set her phone to the side and leaned her head back, closing her eyes and soaking up the warm rays of the sun. She wanted to enjoy it while she could. With the traveling she was going to do and heading home for the forthcoming Holidays to see her family, she would be in much colder weather than she wanted.

She could feel herself wanting to doze off and opened her eyes at the sound of her text tone.

You're still undecided on being my friend yeah? Seth had responded.

She chuckled to herself. How could you tell?

You pretty much just told me to suck it up and get over myself. That's not very friendly. You seem to be a no bullshit kind of girl.

I like to stay honest. She paused for a moment, thinking to herself, and sent him a follow up to her response. I'll make a deal with you...if you get out and do something and stop thinking about how much this sucks right now- I'll give this whole 'friends' thing a trial run. You seem like you need one... (no offense!)

He didn't respond right away and she took the break in their conversation to open up her spotify app and browse through her music before making a decision on something. She put in her ear buds and let the music flow, closing her eyes and relaxing again, enjoying the warmth.

She made it through a few songs when her text tone interrupted her music. She opened her eyes and looked at her screen to check if it was his reply.

It was; short and sweet. None taken. Deal.