Pack Mentality: Ring Ready

Chapter 2

"I'm really sorry, guys, but I need some sleep." Seth could hear Becky's jaw creak when she yawned. "I was in Los Angeles yesterday for my monthly evaluation and then in rehab for the whole afternoon and I flew back today...."

"Don't worry about it, Becks. We got in late," Roman pointed out, "so we knew we weren't going to have a lot of time to visit tonight. We'll go out for breakfast in the morning." He wagged a finger at Seth. "That means no keeping her in bed until eleven."

Seth laughed. "Eleven is still morning, technically, so we could still have breakfast—or brunch."

"I'm not passing up gourmet toast," Becky stated firmly, hugging Dean and Roman before going back over to Seth. "Don't rush on my account, okay? I know you guys haven't had a chance to hang out for a while, so stay up as long as you want."

"We'll see." Seth kissed her slowly, ignoring Dean's heckling. "If we're too loud, just let us know." He watched her head up the stairs and laughed. "I'm used to being the only one with enhanced hearing, so I'm still surprised when she hears some tiny sound I took for granted."

"She seems to be doing really well," Roman remarked, stretching his legs out in front of his chair. "I can't even see the scar on her leg, so those doctors did an amazing job."

Seth nodded absently. He wasn't sure if it was his imagination or not, but he was sure he could see the faint outline of the bite wound on Becky's thigh, and the skin there was a bit rougher. "They did. Everyone at the hospital was incredible. Even on Becky's bad days, they always seemed to find a way to cheer her up and get her back on track." There were days when he couldn't make her budge, no matter how positive and encouraging he tried to be, and the hospital staff always cautioned him not to take it personally. It was natural to be frustrated by setbacks or lack of progress, and being around someone who seemingly had no problems at all could be irksome even though they had done nothing wrong. "I'm trying to arrange a nice WrestleMania ticket package for them next year to thank them for everything they've done."

"She looks like she's in great shape," Dean added. "She'll be ring ready in no time."

Ring ready. It jogged Seth's memory and he stood abruptly, glancing towards the stairs. He couldn't hear any sounds from the bathroom, only the deepening rasp of tired breathing. That could be Kevin too, he thought, noting that his little Yorkie wasn't in the room. If Becky ever went to sleep first, Kevin was always quick to hop up on the bed and snuggle up with her. "Come to the games room for a minute," he said. "If you're still here on Thursday night, we can catch the game...."

Dean glanced quickly at Roman. "Is this some sort of secret code...?"

"Come on," Seth hissed. "I know she's probably asleep, but I don't want her to hear." He jerked his head towards the games room. "It won't take long."

"Football games ta—"

Roman shook his head sharply. "That's not what he means, man. Come on." He nudged Dean and followed his Shield brothers, glancing up the staircase for any signs of Becky stirring. "Everything okay?" he whispered.

Seth nodded as he stepped into the games room. He didn't want them to worry, but he also wanted to be quick. "Yeah. It's nothing bad. It's just... I don't know. I wanted it to be a secret, but she probably already knows. I'm surprised I managed to keep it from her for this long."

Dean flopped down on one of the couches and stretched out. "So what's up? Why the secrecy?"

After Roman was inside, Seth shut the door and opened one of the cabinets. Since Becky wasn't interested in sports or video games, she rarely came in here, so it was the perfect spot to hide something from her. "I wanted to give this to her before she starts wrestling again," Seth began, voice trembling, "but I don't want her to think that it's... I don't know. An accomplishment gift or something like that."

When he turned back to face his Shield brothers, he was holding an open ring box. "If that's what accomplishment gifts look like these days," Dean muttered, "don't let Renee know. She'll be trying to find a werewolf to turn her. That's nice, man."

Roman leaned in close enough that Seth could see the halo-like reflection of the ring in his friend's eyes. "Is it for what I think it's for?"

Seth nodded, letting himself look at the ring for a few moments before shutting the box and heading back to its hiding place. "Yeah. I had started the process of getting it made before... well, before. And then I didn't want to ask because I didn't want to add to her stress or influence any of her decisions."

"When you said you were helping her get ring ready," Dean remarked, "that's not what I thought you meant. Have you two talked about it at all?"

"A little," Seth hedged. "It was always in the shadow of me being a werewolf, so we never talked about it seriously. I think Becky figured I would want to marry another werewolf, but..." He trailed off. He could never be happy about what Maggie had done to her, but he'd be lying if he said he wasn't glad Becky had chosen to be a werewolf. Her options had been limited then and time was of the essence, but he was still happy she chose the option that would give her the fullest life possible. "I didn't want it to affect her decision. I wanted to make sure she was choosing whatever option was best for her."

Roman slung an arm around his shoulders. "That's admirable, man. I know it must have been hard." Then he plucked the ring box from Seth's hand and took a closer look. "Nice ring too."

"I hope it'll fit. She doesn't wear a lot of rings, so I had to guess and gauge with other things." Seth sat in one of the armchairs and huffed out a long breath. "I still want to propose. I love her and I want to be with her forever, and that has nothing to do with being a werewolf. But now I'm worried she'll think I feel obligated or something."

Dean lolled his head on the couch's armrest. "Dude, this isn't the 1950s when people got married just because the girl was pregnant. Becky should know you well enough to know you're asking because you want to, not because you feel like you have to."

Handing the ring box back, Roman nodded, leaning against Seth's chair. "Have you talked to your mom about it? Or Marek? Someone who's been around her these last few months?"

"Marek and I have talked off and on, but it's hard," Seth admitted. "If Becky's not at the gym—and you know I have no problem with her being there—then there's a bunch of students and I don't want them overhearing anything, you know? I don't think they'd spoil it for Becky, but all it takes is one mention on social media and then...."

"Understood." Roman cleared his throat before tugging on Seth's hair. "Does Becky's family know she's a werewolf now?"

Seth gulped. That had been one of the harder days of Becky's rehabilitation. Her family had been understandably upset at first, lashing out and spewing things they didn't truly mean, but Becky had still been in a delicate state of mind and it had led to a lot of tears and several nights cuddling on the couch until she had cried herself to sleep. Her family had accepted it now, but they still weren't overjoyed—and Seth knew a large part of that was his fault. "Yeah. That's... a conversation for tomorrow. I don't know how much Becky wants to share."

Dean nodded as he sat up. "Can Blue be the ring-bearer? He'd ace it."

Seth burst out laughing, and he guessed that was Dean's goal. "Let's see if she agrees first, okay?" He forced himself to close the ring box and return it to its hiding place, careful to rearrange the games and controllers in a particular pattern so he would know if they had been disturbed.

Roman nudged him towards the door. "Go to sleep, man. You need the rest. Dean and I know our way around the place well enough. We won't bug you."

He didn't even bother protesting. "Thanks. I appreciate it." He hugged Dean and Roman in turn and headed up the stairs, easing open the door to the main bedroom. As quietly as he could, he slipped his clothes off and left them in a pile on the floor. Tomorrow, he told himself. Now that he was in his room and he could see Becky curled up cozily, fatigue dug in its claws and it was a struggle to keep his eyes open.

Seth tried to get into bed as quietly as possible, but Becky still stirred. "That was quick," she murmured, cuddling up to his chest.

"It was a long day for everyone," Seth said simply, kissing her head. "Lots of time to talk tomorrow."

Lots of time to talk, he told himself, if only I knew what to say.