Roman was cramped in a little folding chair in the small room with all of the other new hires listening to the human resources person discuss benefit plans and vacation time and the drug policy. None of it really interested him, he had benefits from the military, he never did drugs and he did more than enough travelling to last a life time, so he didn't care how much vacation time he got. He was dying to stand up and stretch his legs and back, he was 6'3" and 265 pounds of solid muscle, men like him were not made for sitting in tiny folding chairs for hours at a time. Just when he thought the HR guy was winding down, the head of the safety department came in, he would have to sit through another hour of industrial and laboratory safety training videos. Goddamn it, if he could survive over a year in a war zone with IEDs and crazy religious zealots with machine guns, he figured he could handle keeping himself alive at a little pharmaceutical plant.

"Thank you all for your attention, I understand these videos are cheesy, I hope you will all keep safe. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at any time. Someone from your departments will be in shortly to take you to your work space." Oh thank the good lord in heaven, Roman was finally able to stand up, he was rolling out his neck when the door popped open and the HR guy was back, with a few others behind him. His eyes focused on her immediately, she was short and curvy, dark black hair tied up into a messy ponytail, intense brown eyes behind a cute pair of glasses, she was wearing dark jeans and a blue collared shirt with the standard safety boots and hideous yellow safety vest. She was chatting politely with the others until they both heard a loud familiar voice, Dean Ambrose, the head of security and Roman's former Marine buddy came strutting into the room. Almost everyone scurried away as soon as they saw him, Dean always had a knack for clearing a room, he was one of those guys that you either loved or hated.

"Hey, half pint, you keeping out of trouble?" He said as he ruffled her hair.

"Who, me? It's not my fault trouble finds me! You got a newbie here too, huh?" He chuckled and leaned against her using her head as an armrest. "Hey! Knock it off or I am going to tell Leslie on you!"

"Ouch! Low blow, no fair, no ratting me out to my wife! She'll kick my ass!"

Roman shook his head, he still had a hard time believing that Big Bad Dean Ambrose was settled down with a woman. Leslie was perfect for him, she didn't take any of his crap but at the same time she didn't smother him, and his old buddy was happy as a clam. He waved him over just as the HR guy pointed the woman to a man sitting at the other end of the table.

"See ya, Vi, enjoy your new nerd!" She rolled her eyes at Dean and walked over to the man, shook his hand and walked out with him.

Dean strolled over to him and fist bumped, "How was your first day of hell, big guy?"

"Better now that I saw her. Who is she?"

"Violet? Oh, she works over in the lab, she's a chemist. That chick is a piece of work! She cracks me up." Roman looked at his buddy and waited, Dean knew what he wanted to hear, he was just being a jerk and holding back. "OK, ok, don't burn a hole in my skull! Yes, she is single. But, take it slow, alright? She, uh, she's had a rough time."

"Hi Antonio! I'm Violet. AJ asked me to come by and bring you back over to the lab." She shook is his hand and tried to ignore the man talking with Dean. He was hard to miss, she zoned in on him as soon as the door opened, he was built like a brick wall, long dark hair tied back in a low ponytail and arms that could probably lift a house. He was discretely stretching his neck and she could see the muscles rippling under his shirt. He had his shirt sleeves pushed up slightly and she was pretty sure she eyed some tribal ink around his wrist. No, Violet, you are done with men, just put him out of your head, he's just another security guard. Although, Dean seems to know him, maybe they served together? Well, if he was buddies with Dean, he was probably an arrogant assclown anyway. She would still try to go visit Leslie after she was done showing Antonio around. Speaking of men, he was easy on the eyes too… Antonio Cesaro was tall and obviously very muscular under his khaki pants and button down shirt, he was bald, although she couldn't tell if it was by choice or not. He also wore glasses, thin silver frames, but still, that just added fuel to the fire - all three chemists and their boss wore glasses, Ambrose started calling them the Nerd Squad and many others picked up on it.

"So, here's the lab. AJ is in a management meeting this afternoon, she'll meet with you in the morning. Yo! Seth, get over here and meet Antonio!" Seth looked up from his notes and strolled over to where they were standing, he was not even close to your typical chemistry nerd. Seth Rollins was tall and muscular and had long brown hair, although for some reason he started bleaching a chunk of it. He always wore skinny jeans and a band tshirt under his lab coat. They had been friends in college and were lucky enough to work together, between the two of them, they pretty much ran the research and development, or R&D, lab at the facility. They were swamped though and they were thrilled that their boss, AJ Lee, finally approved their request for an extra chemist. There wasn't much time left in the day, so Violet and Seth helped Antonio get settled in his corner of the lab. "Tomorrow after you are done meeting with AJ, I'll give you a tour of the whole facility. Then the three of us can sit down and go over all of the work that needs to get done and get you started on some projects that we have been putting on hold. There is a ton of work to do."

"Oh, and, we alternate washing all the glassware at the end of the day," Seth added, "We also take turns running all the analyses required for the permit." Seth handed him a list, "It's pretty typical stuff, boring as hell, but our top priority since we don't want to get shut down by the state."

Antonio nodded in agreement as he took in his two new coworkers, he had a feeling he would fit in very well here, they weren't your typical chemists by any means. They both seemed very easygoing and he was hoping to slide right in. He couldn't wait to get started working on some things.

Violet pulled into her driveway as she heard her phone buzz, it was probably Leslie, she never did make it over to her office to gossip about all the new hires. She dug her phone out of her bag and smiled, yup, it was Leslie!

"Did you see the new guy in security? How's your new nerd?"

"My new guy seems OK. Too soon to tell. Yeah, saw the security guy… seems he is a buddy of Dean's?"

"Yup. Same unit in the Marines."

She nodded as she read the text message, she assumed correctly. She tapped out a reply as she walked up to her front door, she was just about to unlock it when she saw the note hanging there. The handwriting was instantly familiar and it sent chills down her spine. She ripped it off the door, looked around and ran back to her car, dialing Leslie as she locked her car door and cranked the engine. He just wouldn't give up, he would leave her alone just long enough for her to start to relax and then he would pull some stupid shit.

Dean suggested that they grab a drink after work, to celebrate Roman's first day in his first civilian job. Dean was giving him the lowdown on their fellow coworkers when his phone rang, he looked at the display and grinned, "Heya, sweet thang, what's shakin?"

Roman rolled his eyes and finished his beer becoming concerned he saw his friend's expression go sour. "Is she ok? Do you need me to come home?" Dean swore under his breath and clenched his fist, "She report it? Alright Les, I'll be home in few. No, it's fine, beer is almost gone anyway."

"Bro, everything ok? Haven't seen you this pissed in years."

"Yeah, friend of ours is having trouble with an ex. Fucker is tormenting the poor thing."

"Go home. I'll see you at work in the morning. Let me know if I can help at all." They fist bumped and Dean picked up the tab.

Violet was a mess, Leslie had her wrapped in a blanket on their couch with a cup of hot tea. Dean was on his way back home after checking out her place and talking to the cops who responded to the call. The note was definitely from Jake, Violet already memorized it and the words ran through her head over and over again. It wasn't anything new, just more of the same threats that he used to scream at her when they were dating. The fact that it was in writing instead of in person didn't make it any easier to handle, as she read the note she could hear the hate in his voice as he spit out insult after insult and threatened to kill her.

Dean came in and sat next to her on the couch, he was furious at this asshole, but he managed to calm himself down before going inside to see Violet. He hoped he never saw Jake again because he knew that there was no way he would be able to resist smashing his skull in.

"Hey, half pint, your place is safe, he didn't get inside, just taped the note to your door, that's it."

"But how did he find out where I live?" She handed Dean her now cold tea and wiped her nose on her sleeve.

"Easy there, Vi, we do have tissues you know." She glared at him and he ruffled her hair to try to redeem himself, "They don't know, but it's a blatant violation of the restraining order, so as soon as they find him, they will throw his ass in jail."

He grabbed the box of tissues off the coffee table and handed one to her, she blew her nose and sighed, "Right, just like all the other times, he'll spend the night in a cell and then his brother will bail him out and he will start tormenting me again."

Dean sighed, she was right and it killed him. Vi and Leslie were best friends and she was like a kid sister to him, he wished he could protect her better. "Stay here tonight. We will drive to work together in the morning and I will check out your place before I let you go home."

Violet was frustrated and angry and just plain fed up. She got a new place and installed a top of the line security system, all of her mail went to a post office box instead of her condo and she went through the police department and reported every single incident with Jake since the night he put her in the hospital. Seth, Dean and Leslie have been there for her every step of the way, but she was getting tired of relying on them, she wanted to be a grownup and get on with her life. But, here she was crashing at her friends' house again.

"Vi! Come on, you have to at least try to eat something," Leslie shouted from the kitchen. "I made macaroni and cheese, no one can say no mac n' cheese!"

"But I don't wanna get up, the couch is so comfy!" she whined.

Dean chuckled, "Hate to break it to you kiddo, but if she won't let me eat dinner on the couch, no way you will get to either."

"Must you call me kiddo?"

"You keep whining like that and yeah, you'll leave me no choice!" He reached out to help her up from the couch, "Come on, you know how amazing Leslie's mac n' cheese is. We don't want it to get cold."

Roman walked into his tiny apartment and flipped on the light, he tossed his keys on the little table by the door and skimmed through the mail, nothing important. He should probably eat something for dinner, that beer was burning a hole in his empty stomach. He rummaged through the frig and looked through the Tupperware containers that Leslie insisted he take home with him. Ever since he got out of the Marine Corps and settled into his own place Dean and Leslie insisted on checking up on him, yeah he was having a rough time after that last mission, but he could manage to feed himself just fine. He didn't want to hurt Leslie's feelings though, she loved to cook and he really did appreciate the leftovers. He grabbed a container of beef stew and tossed it in the microwave, he would have to find a way to show them how much he appreciated their concern.

He plopped down on the couch with his dinner and flipped on the TV looking for any sports, he settled for a basketball game. This apartment was way too quiet, maybe he should get a dog. Dogs are nice company, then of course he would have to share his beef stew. His mind wandered to his conversations with Dean today, he was pretty pissed when he left the bar, he should shoot him a text message to make sure everything was OK. Then he thought about Violet, god, she was cute, he wondered what Dean meant when he said she had been through a tough time. Was she the same friend that Dean rushed off to help? He grabbed his phone, "Hey man, just checking in. Everything OK?"

Roman hated sitting in this stupid apartment alone, after he finished eating he changed into gym clothes and went to work out. Luckily there was a 24 hour gym close by, it didn't have the best equipment, but it was perfect for nights like these when he just couldn't tolerate sitting in front of the TV. An hour of lifting followed by some cardio should be enough to wear him down so that he could fall asleep, although falling asleep wasn't the problem, it was dreamless sleep that was always just out of reach. He refused to take the sleeping pills that the base doctor prescribed for him, he took the prescription just to avoid an argument but he tossed the slip in the trash as soon as he got home.

The gym was empty as usual, it was after 9 PM, and that suited him just fine. He didn't feel like making small talk or spotting anyone while they lifted a puny amount of weight or taking turns on the machines. He was free to move through the weight machines at his own pace, he was in the zone and the time passed quickly. Once he finished his strength training he chose a treadmill under the air conditioning vent and started running until his legs got numb.

He checked his phone after he got off the treadmill, Dean had replied "Yeah, everything is alright. Thanks. Sorry to bail on you like that." And then an hour later Dean sent another text "No reply to my heartfelt apology? Don't tell me you are at the gym again?"

Roman smirked, "Of course I am at the gym, I don't want to get soft like you."

"Soft?! Who you calling soft? Watch it bro, or I won't let my woman send you anymore leftovers!"

Roman almost laughed out loud, like Dean could ever stop Leslie from feeding her friends, "Yeah right, because she would trust me to feed myself. She thinks I'll starve to death if I am left on my own."

"In all seriousness, I might need your help tomorrow doing some recon."

"Anything for you, bro. This have to do with your friend?"

"Yeah. And if we come across him, you'll have to make sure I don't get arrested for beating his ass."

Roman was worried about his friend, he talked a big game and wouldn't start a fight. But the way he looked when he left the bar, the fight already started and Dean was going to be the one to finish it. "If I let you get arrested, Leslie with totally stop feeding me. I got your back!"

He tossed his crap in the car and and drove home. He stripped and jumped into a scalding hot shower pulling his sweaty hair out of the elastic band. He was shampooing his hair and trying not to worry too much about his buddy. He surprised himself when his thoughts drifted back to Violet. He would have to find a reason to get over to the lab tomorrow.