Flames

Double L, part 1

"Maybe a book-signing tour the week before WrestleMania wasn't such a good idea," Becky croaked as she read the list of tips for dealing with strep throat. Get plenty of rest? Not likely with the aforementioned book tour, WrestleMania promotion, and a huge title match to prepare for—along with taking care of Roux. Drink plenty of water? If she drank any more, she might as well just permanently relocate to the washroom. Use a humidifier? Seth's poor hair was frizzed to twice its regular size because of the humidity on the bus. She was already adding honey to her tea and taking medication and it was barely making a dent.

"You've already proved that you can do it all," Seth said gently, careful not to ruffle her hair too much when he hugged her. "That means you don't have to do it all every damn time."

Becky's chuckle was even rougher than usual and she resisted the urge to bury her face in his chest. It was bad enough that one of them was sick on WrestleMania weekend; they couldn't afford for him to fall ill as well. "Says the guy having two big matches this weekend," she retorted. "At least I'm done in the first hour."

"Not done dealing with me, though," Seth grinned, kissing the top of her head. "That'll probably be more of a challenge than Rhea."

"I heard that!" Rhea piped up from the other side of Gorilla. She made her way over slowly, sidestepping the constant parade of camerapeople, producers, and technicians milling about. "Can I steal her for a minute?"

"Only if you promise not to do that pin on her," Seth replied, giving Becky an extra squeeze before stepping back. "She says she'll only agree to be topped once a week, and after the tag match tonight, I need something to look forward to."

Rhea shook her head, but her grin wasn't Cheshire wide like normal. "Good thing for you that Sunday is the start of a new week, then," she said sweetly. "You'll just have to wait until after midnight for your turn, I guess."

"I know I'm shorter than both of you," Becky interjected, "but I am still right here." She gave Seth a pointed jab to the gut before shaking her head. "C'mon. Before he finds some sort of checklist on his phone."

"He keeps a list?" Rhea laughed as Becky grabbed her by the elbow and started walking away.

"List. Spreadsheet." Then Becky chuckled again, pausing to take a long drink of water. "No, not really. At least not on his phone where I can see it." She waited until they had found a quieter corner to stop. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah." Now that they were alone, or at least as alone as anyone could get backstage so close to the start of WrestleMania, Becky noticed a glassiness to Rhea's eyes. "Yeah. I just... I just wanted to let you know that I had a bit of a panic attack, so...."

"Oh." Becky reached over and squeezed Rhea's hand. "Are you feeling good to go? We can talk to Hunter, see if the matches can be shuffled around a bit...."

Rhea shook her head. "No. I should be good. Priest helped and I had a walk to clear my head, called Buddy, all that." She squeezed Becky's hand back. "I just wanted to make sure you knew in case anything goes wonky out there, you know?"

Becky nodded. "Do you want to have a signal or a word so if you need a break, I'll know?"

"I should be good," Rhea insisted, "but I guess that's not a bad idea." Then she chuckled. "A safe word and I get to top you? I think your husband's going to start worrying, Lynch."

"You mean the same husband who invited Cody onto our bus when his was on fire?" Becky was laughing as she said it, though. They would have done the same for any of their friends, and the only reason she hadn't thought of it first was because she had been trying to nap. "I'm sure he'll be fine."