Who Do You Love - Dean Ambrose

Belonging

Bright and early the next morning we dropped Seth and Roman at the airport and then drove the rest of the way back to Vegas. Dean had thought it was the best of our options, considering that I was a nervous flyer anyway and given that it made us harder to track.

I had woken up to thirty-seven missed calls, four of them from Kelly, thirteen of them from Hunter and most surprisingly one from Steph. I had called Kelly back while Dean was in the shower but as far as I was concerned the other two could rot. If I had woken up to news of Stephanie's arrest or some public retribution then things might have been different, but as it was she still seemed to be walking the earth freely and so that was that.

I was done with them both.

As a show of solidarity none of The Shield were taking part in the House Shows that week. Not that they weren't booked in or anything – there were – but they were planning to simply not show up. It wasn't an idea I had been much in favour of since I hadn't wanted them to jeopardize their careers for me but in the end I had been overruled and honestly, I would have been lying if I said that deep down I wasn't touched.

The drive to Dean's house took almost six hours and by the time we arrived it was getting close to dusk. A dry evening heat hung comfortably in the air and I breathed it in deeply as Dean turned into the drive. Outside his house was everything I had imagined. Big yet non-fancy, welcoming but plain and best of all surrounded by hills and barren, unforgiving but still beautiful land. It also had a garden with room for a dog and I grinned a little to myself at that.

Beyond his house and looming on the horizon were the lights and tall buildings of Las Vegas and the strip and although we were only a short drive away from them, the area he lived in was quiet and unspoilt. It was totally and utterly different from Wisconsin and yet the space and ruggedness of it still felt the same and so as Dean transferred our luggage from the trunk to his house, I wandered off the drive to get a better look.

At the end of the road the terrain rose up gently before turning into a steeper looking slope. Behind it more hills undulated like stepping stones and drawn by the peacefulness I started off up. My aim was to maybe get a better vantage point but once I started trekking, I almost couldn't stop and in the end I was almost half-way up the first slope before I heard feet behind me and felt Dean pull me to a stop,

"Lauren, whoa. What are you doin' up here? Not a good time to go hikin', alright? Snakes hunt at dusk. You need to watch where you're puttin' your feet."

"Oh," I blinked, suddenly feeling stupid, "I'm sorry, I just – I wanted a better look."

"So you like Vegas then?"

I paused,

"I like this bit. Does that still count?"

Dean grinned,

"Yeah, it does and I'll tell you what, if you're a good little house guest, then I'll take you up one of the peaks tomorrow and give you a view to really shout about."

I gazed at him mischievously and it was honestly incredible what nature and fresh air could do to the soul. In an instant I felt almost back to my old self again and I giggled a little and let my freaky side show,

"Take me up the peak? Sounds good. Although – question – is that a genuine offer or a euphemism?"

"Can't it be both?"