Disclaimer: I own nothing besides Juliette (and any other OCs that might pop up) and the plot.

This fic was started many moons ago but I'm only just now comfortable with sharing it. Everything is mapped out with only a few exceptions. This first chapter is just the prologue, starting around July 2013. Setting everything up is always the boring part so bear with me. Just so you know, I tend to refer to the NXT wrestlers by their ring names and the main roster by their real names. For the most part. I'm not sure why, it's just a thing. I won't necessarily be following the WWE storylines that are going on. Anyway, on with the story!

The Performance Center was pitch black when Juliette pulled into the parking lot. Usually she could see the reception desk through the glass door, but everything was shrouded in darkness. Juliette pulled her phone from her pocket, checking the text from Corey again to make sure she'd read it right.

Yo, we've got a meeting tomorrow at 11 for your last show. See ya then, dollface ;)

It was already 10:55 but the Performance Center didn't even look like it was open. Juliette had no other texts or calls cancelling the session and she definitely didn't want to feel the brunt of frustrations if she missed it, even if it was supposed to be their day off. With a sigh she exited the car and headed for the door, surprised to find it unlocked.

"Have all the lights blown or something?" she called into the darkness, her hand roving along the wall for a switch. She couldn't find anything. "Guys? Corey? God dammit, where the hell are the light switches?"

Suddenly the bright overhead lights shone into life, almost blinding Juliette. If the lights were sudden, the yell that boomed around the Center was a heart stopper.

"SURPRISE!"

Juliette almost fell backwards at the sight of at least five dozen people beaming at her in front of a banner strung across the wall reading 'congratulations'. She couldn't help but grin just as wide back at them all. The massive group began to move forwards, patting Juliette on the shoulders and back with words of encouragement and well wishes. All these people had become a surrogate family to her in the nearly two years she'd spent in Florida; it was hard to think she'd be leaving them by the time the week was over.

Before she could get too wrapped up in the upsetting thoughts, a strong pair of arms wrapped around her midsection, dragging her into a tight hug.

"Corey… can't… breathe."

"Whoops." Corey Graves set the woman down and grinned. "Surprised you, right?"

"More like nearly killed me. Did you get everyone together for this?"

"Yep! Aren't I a clever boy?"

"Oi! You better not be taking all the credit, Graves!"

The Geordie accent drew Juliette's attention over her shoulder, coming face to face with her once upon a time tag team partner.

"Alright, so maybe Nev did a bit too," Corey shrugged. "But it was my idea. So I'm still cooler."

Juliette smiled fondly on the two of them. "I'm gonna miss you guys."

"You're hitting the big time, kiddo. Jet Madden setting the world on fire!" Corey exclaimed.

Juliette smiled at the nickname, having not heard it in too many years. When she signed her WWE contract in 2011, she'd been concerned that the bosses would want to give her a new name, leaving her to try to get used to answering to something new. Thankfully it had been decided that Juliette worked fine for her ring name in FCW and then NXT. When the news of the promotion to the main roster arrived, it came with the news of a name change. It seemed one of the higher-ups just 'didn't think Juliette sounds quite right'. She'd been prepared for some God awful name – something like a play on her English roots – until a mention in passing of the childhood nickname her sister had given her. Creative decided that Jet Madden suited her just perfectly.

"Anyway, you'll be around. We know you can't resist coming to visit us," Adrian grinned. "Come on, put your proper smile on, everyone wants to give you their goodbyes."

Juliette was dragged around the room, Corey pulling on one hand while Adrian pulled on the other, to greet all the wrestlers and backstage staff who had gathered to see her off. Juliette was surprised at how many people were there. Her promotion hadn't been a massive surprise to anyone except Juliette herself, and while she got plenty of praise from her co-workers, she also heard plenty of murmurs from those who obviously didn't think she was ready for it. Juliette tried not to let the petty remarks get to her. The accusations of favouritism were hilarious to her, considering she'd worked her butt off from the second she'd stepped foot in a ring. She knew there were people in NXT who believed it was only because William Regal thought highly of his fellow Brit and had used his influence with management that she was getting the opportunity so many of them were waiting for. If they wanted to believe that, Juliette would let them.

About two hours, seven million hugs, and a teary plea from Paige for Juliette to not go later, Bill DeMott declared loudly that they all better clear out and enjoy the rest of their day off before he made them start circuit training. With that threat lingering in the air, everyone made their way out into the boiling summer heat of Orlando. Juliette pulled at the collar of her shirt, still unused to quite how hot Florida got, even after two years. She'd grown up in Manchester for nearly a decade before the family moved to London; months on end of temperatures in the nineties were not the norm for someone built for the English weather.

"You're coming out tonight, right?" Paige asked, slinging her arm around Juliette's shoulders. Paige had gotten over her momentary lapse in her usually collected demeanour when Juliette had promised to be back in Orlando before any of them had even noticed she was gone.

"We've got a show in Tampa tomorrow night."

"Exactly, tomorrow. It's your last chance to spend the night with us before you jet off to Stamford. You can't say no!"

Juliette tried to put on a scowl but failed miserably. "Well, looks like I don't have a choice then."

"Great! I'll come to yours at about 7 and we can get a cab together. I'll see you later, I'm gonna let everyone else know."

Paige hurried away before Juliette could reply, leaving her to climb back into her car and hit the AC on immediately. After taking a few moments to smile at the group of people still flooding out of the Performance Center, she headed home with the knowledge that a night out was definitely not going to be in her best interests.

Juliette was definitely right.

Their bar party was tiny compared to Juliette's farewell surprise earlier in the day, including just Juliette, Paige, Corey, Adrian, Sami, and Emma. Unfortunately for Juliette, they were the worst influences when it came to alcohol. They were all especially bad that night, shoving drink after drink in front of Juliette until it took all her concentration and stability just to be able to make it to the bathroom.

It was a good thing they'd all come in cabs seeing as none of them were in a fit state to drive. It was nearly 5am by the time Juliette stumbled back into her apartment, collapsing on her bed and falling asleep without even taking her shoes off. She woke in the morning with a pounding headache and dry mouth, desperately trying to put together the events of the night before. It was already noon, not leaving Juliette much time to get herself cleaned, dressed, and fed before she had to hit the road for the show. She made a mental note to hit Paige for the endless shots she'd shoved down Juliette's throat.

The show went off without a hitch, Juliette being victorious in her final appearance at an NXT house show. The locker room became a giant group hug, everyone getting in one final farewell before they left. Juliette was the last one there, sitting in a towel after her shower long after the rest of them had flooded out. Her impending move was suddenly a daunting thought, regardless of how much confidence Juliette had in herself. She knew she could do it, she just had to buck up and kick ass like she always had.

With a settling breath out, Juliette grabbed her clothes and dressed, heading out as soon as possible to get all the rest she'd need for the start of her next big adventure.

The flight from Florida to Connecticut the next day was far too early for Juliette's taste. She'd gone to bed late, still running on the adrenaline of her match, so had woken up in a grouchy mood. She'd had two options for her flight: have a layover in Charlotte before heading on to New Haven airport and drive 45 minutes to the WWE headquarters, or get a direct flight to Bradley International and have to drive for 90 minutes. She went with the second choice.

With her carry-on thrown over her shoulder and her suitcase tagged and sent off with the rest of them, Juliette crashed down into a chair in the terminal, waiting for the boarding call. She half drifted off, her mind leaning towards sleep, but was shocked into alertness by the noise of the tannoy declaring boarding for a flight to Los Angeles.

Juliette pulled her phone from her pocket, hitting a couple of buttons and waiting while it rang.

"You miss me already?"

"Shut it, Graves. I'm only calling because I'm bored out of my mind."

"What are you doing?"

"Waiting to get on the plane. I've still got ten minutes until boarding. What're you up to?" Juliette asked, slouching down in her chair.

"Not much. About to get up and make some coffee then we're all heading into the Performance Center."

Juliette and Corey continued chatting about inconsequential things for the next few minutes. She laughed when she heard Corey stumbling out of bed to go to the bathroom, taking the phone with him. A trickling sound made her groan.

"Corey! Take me off speaker when you're peeing!"

"Can't hear you!"

"You're gross."

"I know," Corey replied, the trickling noise finally over. "That's why you love me."

Flight 831 to Bradley International Airport, Connecticut now boarding.

"Well, that's me. Sorry, gotta go."

"Let us all know how your meeting goes, okay?"

"I definitely will. See ya."

"Juliette – "

"I've really gotta go, Corey."

"I know. Just one more thing – don't let anyone give you shit. You're as good as all of them. Make sure you remember that."

Juliette smiled to herself. "That was sweet. It doesn't suit you."

Corey snorted. "Go get on the plane, Madden." He hung up, leaving Juliette with a smirk on her face. She shoved her phone into her pocket, grabbed her carry-on bag and headed for her plane.

Being stuck behind a guy who pushed his seat all the way back onto Juliette's already cramped legs for hours on end was not anyone's idea of fun. Juliette's iPhone music was saving what was left of her sanity after a baby somewhere in the back started screaming. When descent finally started it was only the manic chewing of gum that helped Juliette with the pain in her ears. She was rapidly reaching the end of her tether when the plane finally landed, grabbing her carry-on and pushing to the front of the plane as soon as they were allowed off.

Just when she didn't think her morning could be more tiresome, Juliette found herself waiting around in baggage claim. She took a seat in front of the conveyer belt that had been assigned to her flight, glancing over when she saw a carry-on bag get dropped unceremoniously on the floor and a familiar face drop into one of the uncomfortable metal chairs opposite her, a clearly pissed off glare on his face. It seemed his flight had just come in from Austin.

Juliette's eyes widened when he looked directly at her, his eyebrow crooked. "Do you want something?" he shot at her.

"What – sorry," Juliette mumbled, turning her attention away. She'd heard plenty about CM Punk and she knew it was best to not cross the man when he was in a foul mood. She didn't want to walk into the main roster with him already on her back. He didn't say anything in response so Juliette sneaked a quick look at him. He was still staring at her, his brow furrowed a little. For a moment Juliette thought he might have recognised her – she knew he was quite interested in the talent being developed in Florida – but he said nothing. He turned his attention to staring at the conveyer belt.

As soon as bags started coming around on Juliette's belt, she sprang up, diving on hers as soon as it was visible. She headed for the exit, catching a glimpse of some brave soul approaching Punk for an autograph or photograph just as the Philadelphia flight luggage began to come through. She was through the doors before she could see his reaction.

Hiring a car was easy compared to the rest of Juliette's morning. Finding her way to 1241 East Main Street, Stamford. The car didn't come with a GPS to help and Juliette had never driven in Connecticut on her own. Any time she was here during her years on the indy scene, she was sharing a car with friends and never had to navigate, she just had to take instructions.

The 90 minutes the drive should have taken became nearly at least an hour longer. When Juliette finally saw the imposing Titan Tower, she almost cried with relief. She'd made it with fifteen minutes to spare before her appointment with Eric Pankowski. She just about had time to run a brush through her hair and apply some make-up to look presentable before she had to hurry into the building and be directed to the seventeenth floor.

A brightly smiling receptionist greeted Juliette. "Hi, I'm Sandra. Can I help you?"

"Hi. I'm Juliette Madden, I've got a meeting with Mr. Pankowski."

Sandra tapped at the computer for a moment then nodded when she saw the appointment on the schedule. "Take a seat and I'll let you know as soon as he's ready."

"Thank you."

It was a short wait but long enough for Juliette to hear a door open down the corridor. She leaned forward discreetly, curious to see who was down there. Stephanie McMahon was standing in the doorway with CM Punk in front of her.

"Always a pleasure, Stephanie," he remarked sarcastically, looking only slightly less angry than he had in the airport.

Stephanie rolled her eyes. "Goodbye, Brooks."

He winked and offered her a lazy salute before turning on his heel to head down the corridor. With the sharp realisation that he'd be walking right past her, Juliette leaned back in her seat, trying to look casual. Sandra sent her an amused smile, having noticed what she was doing.

Punk caught her eye just as he passed Sandra's desk, lifting his eyebrow in an almost identical way to how he had in baggage claim. He paused in front of her seat, his arms crossed over his chest.

"Are you stalking me?" He almost sounded amused but his face hadn't lost any of its hostility.

Juliette's own eyebrow rose. What the hell was this guy's problem? "Yeah, obviously. I've got nothing better to do with my day than follow you around."

Punk looked surprised at the retort, his mouth tugging up into a half smirk. "Huh," he remarked under his breath. He said nothing else but still didn't move.

"Do you want something?" Juliette shot at him, repeating his words from earlier.

His smirk grew. With a parting wink, the former WWE Champion carried on his way down to the elevator, leaving Juliette to glance at Sandra, silently asking for an explanation to his behaviour. The receptionist just smiled wider at her.

"Mr. Pankowski will see you now, Ms. Madden."

Juliette headed into the office, being greeted by a smiling man and a handshake. She took the seat opposite the Senior Vice President and he immediately launched into a welcome and a rundown of how Juliette's first couple of months with the main roster was going to go down. She wouldn't be making her Raw debut for another few weeks but would be at the shows, giving her plenty of time to get to know the people she'd be working with. Her first appearance in Anaheim, the night after Summerslam, would see her getting involved in a match between Brie Bella and Natalya. Eric waited for Juliette to ask any questions, then smiled again and stood from his chair.

"We'll see you on Monday in Laredo, Ms. Madden. Good to have you on board."

Juliette smiled brightly, feeling a little more at ease. "Great to be here, sir."

Well, there you go. I had to get all the boring stuff out of the way, but we did get our first bit of Juliette-Punk interaction. Sort of. Anyway, drop me review and let me know what you think. Constructive criticism is always welcome.

Next chapter: Juliette heads to Laredo for Monday Night Raw.