Can't you see I'm easily bothered by persistence
One step from lashing out at you
You want in to get under my skin
And call yourself a friend
I've got more friends like you
What do I do?

Someone tapped her shoulder twice in quick succession, forcing her to open her eyes and look up. With a scowl she pulled the small headphones off and waited to be addressed, wanting nothing more than to wipe the arrogant smirk that greeted her. It seemed a fitting thing to do, given the opening verse of Pantera's Walk she had just heard.

"Time to go, Princess."

She ignored his offered hand, eliciting an amused snort from her handler as he took a couple of steps back. She stood up from her spot on the floor where she had spent the last twenty minutes folded in the corner blocking out the world with music and dusted herself off before carelessly tossing the MP3 player in her bag. He marched her out of the room and down the hall, then made their way up several flights of stairs until they came into view of two more men. The bigger of the two simply ignored her while the other offered a wolfish grin not unlike the first of the trio. She had agreed to the situation she was currently in, yes, but that didn't mean she had to like it.

God, she just hoped it was all worth it in the long run.

Sierra
Hotel
India
Echo
Lima
Delta

Shield.

The foreboding opening chords that announced the arrival of the WWE's self styled Hounds of Justice sounded through the arena. She hesitated, the reward for it was a firm finger poking her ribs prodding her forward, sandwiched in between Roman Reigns in front of her and Dean Ambrose bringing up the rear. She couldn't see whoever was in the ring that was their current target from behind Roman's broad back, but whoever it was the poor bastard had her sympathies. The Shield didn't do things by halves, and whoever was about to be on the receiving end of their particular brand of 'justice' wouldn't be moving by the end of it.

"Carolyn Walker does not look happy, King." Michael Cole commented as the small group descended towards ringside.

"Can't say I blame her," Jerry replied, "It was a heavy price to pay for getting involved."

"Call a whambulance you two," JBL said, his tone slightly annoyed, "They gave her a chance to walk away; hell, more than one! But she knew what she was doing and still chose martyr herself. Now she gets to live with the consequences."

When they finally reached ringside and Reigns vaulted over the barricade she got her first glimpse. The Miz anxiously tried to keep all three men in his sights, his head looking like it was on a swivel as the COO's three black clad attack dogs circled the ring. Carolyn refrained from cringing; she liked Mike, he didn't deserve to be beaten to a pulp simply because Helmsley was on an maniacal ego trip which the likes hadn't really been seen since Vince was on his last tyrannical spree. What had started out as a feud solely against Daniel Bryan had morphed into a vendetta against anyone who had an opposing opinion against what was supposedly best for business.

Seth was the first to slither under the rope, using himself as a distraction for his stable mates to jump the former WWE champion from behind. The attack was a flurry of violent movement; fists, elbows, knees and boots all found their marks. When Ambrose gave the signal to Reigns the big man let out his trademark roar as he and Rollins dragged Miz up into a vertical state. He caught the reluctant Diva from the corner of his eye, staring at anything but what was about to happen, and grinned viciously.

"Eyes on the ring, Princess."

Green and blue eyes bored into him with none of the desired effect of turning him into a pile of ash becoming reality. In fact the venomous glare only seemed to encourage him, holding the eye contact as Mike got drilled into the canvas with the triple power-bomb. Slowly Carolyn backed up until she hit the barricade, oblivious to the hands of eager fans reaching out and touching her. The abuse of power sickened her, angry that the amnesty from their savagery she had bought was afforded to only one other. But she knew better than to see it as a sure-fire guarantee, long years of experience left her knowing that Hunter's word couldn't be trusted for long. If -no- when it came to that she'd make sure all bets were off, even if it meant sending whatever was left of her career down in a blaze of glory.

Dean, having too much fun tormenting the woman, climbed out of the ring and casually stalked the former Diva's champ down. There was something about seeing her so impotently angry yet seemingly so utterly unintimidated, it was kind of a turn on. Her contempt changed when her retreat was abruptly stopped, having backed straight into Roman. It wasn't fear he saw, it was more a self reprimand for not keeping an eye on the other two. He nodded at Reigns who simply turned and left, leaving her eyeing him off somewhat warily, wondering what he was up to. He offered a half bow while keeping his smirk of amused condescension thoroughly in place. "We're done here, Princess. After you."

"Call me that one more time," She glowered, having had more than enough of the unwanted moniker, "And you won't be able to taste anything for a week."

His laugh was low, almost predatory as he straightened up, "So fiery, I like that. Princess."

Suddenly her arm shot out, attempting to make good on her threat, only to be stopped a hair's breadth from his nose as he caught the incoming fist. She was absolutely furious now, and he loved it. With so many buttons to push Ambrose was going to make sure she stuck around for a while yet. She whirled from him with all the indignant ire she could muster and stalked up the ramp, the source of her torment swaggering only a few steps behind. Not far behind the curtain Triple H waited with Rollins and Reigns, but Carolyn merely offered him a scathing glare as she continued down the hall.

"Let her go, Ambrose," Helmsley said as Dean made a move to haul her back. "We have plans to discuss."

Part of him was loathe to give up the chase, wanting to find what else he could press to get a reaction out of her. He ultimately relented, knowing that he had all the time in the world to find each and every pet peeve, vexation and nerve. Oh the fun that was in his future...

The rental car pulled up in front of the hotel and Carolyn killed the engine, closing her eyes as she rested her forehead against the arm she had over the top of the wheel and sighed. After working for the company for eight years she had racked up a wealth of experiences, both good and bad. But out of getting speared, choke-slammed, power-bombed, put through a table and more, the prospect of putting up with that pretentious ass Ambrose could quite possibly take the cake. It was like he took some sort of pleasure in riling her up to heights she never dreamed of. Jesus, she thought, I really do have biting off more than I can chew down to an art form. Pulling the keys from the ignition and retrieving her bag from the back seat she headed for the hotel lobby, retrieving the key card from reception and headed towards the elevator. Within minutes she was safely on the other side of her hotel room door.

Changing the current playlist to something more mellow than what it had stopped on, she docked her ipod in a small portable player and turned it up just enough to be heard in the cramped bathroom. The random shuffle started up Madness by Muse while she stared into the mirror; even the black mock military get up they had her wear in the name of unit cohesion irritated her, and she couldn't seem to get it off fast enough before stepping under the spray of the shower.

Once she was out and changed Carolyn turned off all but one bedside lamp, leaving the small room in a soft light and gazed out of the window. For some reason she wished it would start raining in a big old thunderstorm, it would be fitting for the miserable mood she was in right now. Her brooding was interrupted by a soft knock; she hoped it wasn't Ambrose, she wasn't sure if she could deal with him any further tonight. "Who is it?"

"It's me," a muted familiar voice replied. Crossing the room and opening the door she found Dolph Ziggler looking almost as defeated as she felt. "Can I come in?" She stood aside in answer, glancing each way down the hall before closing the door behind him. Last thing she needed was for this to get back to Helmsley.

Dolph stood in the middle of the room and began pacing, looking not quite himself without his usual cocky-but-endearing air about him. Without a word the veteran diva sat at on the edge of the bed and patiently waited for him to gather his thoughts. "You shouldn't have agreed to this," He finally said.

"What was I supposed to do, just sit back and watch while they continued running you down like a freight train?"

"If it meant you didn't get dropped into this mess, then yes. I am capable of fighting my own battles, you know." He found himself irritated when she rolled her eyes in response, "What good did it actually do? For either of us? You're stuck trailing around after The Shield while our glorious COO goes about stacking the deck a little differently." His frustration was evident, not just as his current personal situation, but the fact that almost the entire roster was walking on eggshells, lest they become an example of what was 'best for business'. The tension was starting to get at all of them and tempers were beginning to run sort.

With a sigh she stood up, interrupting his attempt of wearing a path in the ugly carpet. When her arms slipped comfortingly around him he returned the gesture in kind, inhaling the subtle scent of jasmine and lavender that clung to her freshly cleaned skin. They had known each other for years, ever since he got his first stint on Raw as a golf caddy for Chavo Guerrero's Kerwin White phase back in 2005. While he was sent back to development several times, she had managed to not only hold onto a spot on the main roster but had attained a popular enough following the likes of Trish Stratus and Lita had enjoyed. As a result of an almost decade long career she knew the ins and outs better than almost anyone, learning to walk that fine line that could make a woman's career in such a male dominated industry tenuous. But by jumping in the ring on Smackdown last week and putting herself between him and the beating the Shield had been intent on delivering he couldn't help but wonder if she had made one reckless decision too many.

With a sigh his head came to rest at the crook of her neck, "How the hell are you so calm about all of this?"

"When one has stared across the ring from the Deadman after royally pissing him off, those three don't seem quite so bad. Being Tombstoned is quite an experience, though not one I'd want to repeat." She smiled as the attempt at humour made him chuckle a little despite himself. Her fingers ran through his hair, short but well manicured nails softly grazing along his scalp and down the back of his neck, causing him to shiver slightly and relax. She hadn't meant to upset him so much, but at the same time couldn't stand by any longer while he was brutalised just for stating a differing opinion than the current management. Slowly she kept repeating the action until he growled a little and his grip around her waist tightened.

He wasn't quite sure how to describe the relationship they had, it seemed to flux and change to whatever they needed it to be at the time. More than friends but less than true lovers, though to his knowledge she hadn't taken anyone into her bed besides him while on the road. She was content with the way things were, avoiding any real romantic commitment and giving him whatever space her required when he found himself in relationships that ultimately failed due to his demanding schedule that left him away from home most of the year. For his part he deeply cared about her, but wasn't sure if it was love or that male need to claim such a strong, independent spirit as hers solely for himself.

"I just... don't want you getting in over your head, 'Lyn," Dolph finally admitted as he looked into her face, always fascinated by distinct green rings in her eyes that separated pupils from dark blue irises."You know Hunter better than anyone, how far he's capable of digging the knife in. I don't want him twisting you into doing something you'd regret."

His features were set in deep concern, all she could offer in return was a small reassuring smile as she brushed a stray bleached blond lock back from his face. "He's going to have to twist pretty damn hard, I'm far from fragile." Before he could argue the point any further she kissed him, soft and soothing, a well used tactic that signified the end of talking which he had become accustomed to and was more than willing to accept. The Shield, Helmsley, and every other burden faded into the background as the world at large contracted until it was no bigger than the room they occupied.

Long after they had their fill of each other Dolph stared blankly at the ceiling through the darkness, fingers lightly stroking the arm that draped over his chest as Carolyn slept beside him, her warmth a comforting presence. He had witnessed just how far Ambrose had been pushing her, intending to push even harder still, and wondered if she really was as strong as she claimed to endure his mind games on such a regular basis. Clashing with the COO was one thing, Hunter was titled the Cerebral Assassin for a reason, but throw that on top of Dean's antagonistic tendencies? He could only trust she knew what she was doing...

I'm aware this whole 'diva joins The Shield for reason X' is a well worn idea by now, but hey, what's one more. Hopefully I can squeeze a different twist on it, but mainly so long as I have fun writing it and you have fun reading it then it will have served its purpose... Plus I've wanted to involve Ziggler in something for a while now, so, yeah.

Onward to plot development!