Carmella struggled against the hands holding her down as the light was shown into her eyes. Mike hovered over her and she knew that the hands pressing her into the stretcher were, at the least, Sean and Mark’s. “I’m fine!” she yelled, pulling her arms free.

“You’re not fine,” Mike told her. “You hit your damned head. Now, be still.”

“Ugh!” She pushed the medics away and sat up. “See? I’m perfectly fine.” She let her feet fall to the floor and stood up-- instantly collapsing. Mike picked her up and laid her back down.

“Be still,” he told her, but this time his voice was softer, filled with concern. He turned his eyes to the medic. “Concussion?” The man nodded. “How bad?”

“Could be worse. It’s a little past mild, but not to the point where she has to spend hospital time.” The medic looked down to Carmella and shook his head. “But, no ring time for you for at least two weeks.”

“But--”

“Stay out of the ring or you can make it worse.”

She groaned. She’d felt the room spin and go black as she’d collapsed, but even that thought didn’t make her want to lie still. Everything in her wanted to storm off down the hall and take out her aggression on someone. “Goddamn fucking idiot,” she muttered. She sat up slower this time and Mike held onto her back as she moved. Carmella closed her eyes as she felt the bones in her head moving and groaned. “I’m gonna puke.”

Chuck came running, a trash can in his hands. He held it to her and all of the guys turned their heads as she puked. Mike held her hair, but still avoided looking. “That’s nasty,” Reno muttered and Carmella rose a finger toward him. He laughed. “If she can still flip me the rigid digit, she’s gonna be fine.”

Carmella slowly rose her head and rolled her eyes. “I really hate you people. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have an ass to kick.” She tried to move and Mike held her down.

“Uh uh. You’re not going anywhere.”

“But--”

“You can’t even stand. How are you gonna kick somebody’s ass?”

“I can do it.”

“No, you can’t.”

“Mike. I--” She sighed as she heard the familiar footsteps coming toward her. It was rare to be able to identify a footfall, but with him-- She sighed again. “Eric, don’t.”

“I just came to see how these boys’ meal ticket was.” Carmella heard Mike groan and put a hand on him, calming him. “Without you bitching and threatening they’d still be on WorldWide.”

“Eric, please. Don’t. Okay? Just-- don’t. Why don’t you go harass that little bitch that does not realize that she’s not supposed to really slam my head into the concrete.”

“I’ve already talked to Tygress. She--”

“Gave you some bullshit excuse?”

“Yeah.”

“Fine. But, leave me alone.” She put her arms around Mike’s neck and leaned into his chest. “I wanna go home.”

“I have to tape Thunder, babe.”

“I’m supposed to be out there with you.”

“But, you can’t. You need to rest. We’ll go to the hotel after the taping. Okay?”

She sighed. “Fine.” Carmella stretched back out on the stretcher and closed her eyes. “I’ll just lay here, pathetically alone, and wait for you.” Mike pouted, shaking his head.

“You wont’ be alone. Emmaline will stay with you,” Sean told her. “Won’t you, Red?”

Emmaline nodded and moved over to the stretcher. “We’ll just sit here and talk about ways for you to kill her, Mella.”

“Sounds good to me. Now, you may all leave me in my time of need. Go-- do your job. It’s more important.”

“Baby--” Mike touched her head and she brushed him off.

“No. Go. I’m fine. Have fun without me.”

“You’re breaking our hearts,” Stasiak said, holding his hand to his chest as he and the others backed away. “I’m bleeding. Seriously-- internal damage. And--”

“Shut up and go!” she said with a laugh. She waited until they were gone to look at Emmaline. “I really feel like hell.”

“I know.”

“I can’t let them see it, though.”

“I know. They’ll hover and all of that?”

“Exactly. So-- I’ll just whine to you and then when they get back I’ll be alright again. Cause I dont’ need Haire Bear hovering. He’s worse than Mike.” Emmaline laughed at her expression and shook her head. Even after the last six months being around them, she still got the same thought every day. I’ll never understand those Thrillers.

Carmella looked up as Sean came into the room. She started to sit up but changed her mind as a wave of nausea hit. She laid still, closing her eyes. “Where’s Mike,” she muttered. She didn’t have to look at him to know that he was frowning. She groaned.

Emmaline turned to Sean and sighed. From the look on his face, their plans, whatever they may be, were about to be over, too. “Work?” she asked softly. Sean nodded and she sighed again.

“Mella, I’m gonna take you to the hotel. Mike--”

“It’s fine. I’ll stay here until he’s done.”

“He asked me to take you back. He’ll be there as soon as he can.” Sean walked over to her and knelt beside her, reaching out to help her sit up. “Eric caught him in some kind of emergency meeting thing right when we stepped out of the ring.”

“I’m fine here,” she sighed. “I’m sure you and Em have plans.”

“They can wait,” Emmaline told her. “You just go back. Okay?”

“You’re comin’, too, Red,” Sean told her. She nodded and picked up Carmella’s bag as Sean picked her up.

“Put me down, Sean. I can walk.”

“I’m under explicit orders to get you back in one piece. So, you get to be carried. It’s not that bad. Ask Red.” Emmaline felt herself blushing and Carmella started to laugh. She stopped, however, when her head started to throb. With a sigh, she leaned against his chest and muttered, “Let’s just go, then.” Sean looked down at her, then at Emmaline and sighed. Emmaline walked out, holding the door, and Sean took them back to the hotel.

Carmella lay propped up on the bed, a wet rag on her head. The lights were off, the brightness hurting her eyes. “You had plans, Haire Bear,” she said softly. He moved to the bed and stretched out beside her. Carmella’s body shifted as she slid down the bed, coming to rest on his arm. Gently, he moved his arm around her shoulders and let her head rest against his chest.

“They’re all plans that I can do tomorrow or any other night.”

“But--”

“Now, what kind of big brother would I be if I left you here all alone in your condition? Not a very good one.”

“I guess,” she muttered. Her eyes started close and Sean rubbed her hair. “You’ve got a concussion, Mella. You can’t go to sleep.”

“I wanna--”

“But, you can’t.”

She sighed. “That medic guy said you could wake me up every hour. Just-- I need to go--” Her words broke with a yawn. “I need to go to sleep.” He looked up at Emmaline, begging for advice. She rose her hands, unknowingly, and sighed. “Please, Haire Bear.” Sean sighed.

“Every hour.”

“Thank you--” She was barely able to snuggle up to him before her lids completely closed and a light snore escaped her lips. Sean pulled her slightly more into his lap and held her body close to his chest.

Emmaline watched as he rubbed Carmella’s hair back and ran a finger down her cheek. It never ceased to amaze her how soft and gentle he could be at times. The doting big brother taking care of his poor, injured little sister. She almost felt as though it were something private that she shouldn’t be witnessing. She started to get up, leaving the intimate moment, but Sean whispered, “Don’t.”

“Maybe I should go. This seems-- I don’t know. Private?”

“It’s okay. Keep me company?”

She looked at him before sitting back down, nodding. “I’ll time it for you,” she said softly.

“Thanks. If I let her sleep too long and something happened--”

“You won’t. Don’t worry.” She sat back and watched for a while before starting to talk. And all the while, she kept an eye on the clock, timing with accuracy each wake up.

Three hours later, Mike walked into the hotel room. Carmella lay asleep in Sean’s arms. His head was back, his mouth open in sleep. Mike turned to Emmaline, still awake, watching the clock. “She’s got another four or five minutes before she has to be waken up,” she whispered.

Mike nodded. “Thanks.” He moved to the bed and tapped Sean’s shoulder. “Hey. I’m here.” Sean woke up groggily and blinked. “You can go now.”

“Alright,” he said sleepily. “Every--”

“Hour. Yeah, I know.” He sighed, watching as Sean slid Carmella back to the bed and came away from her. “Thanks,” Mike told him.

“No problem. How’d the meeting go?”

“Same as usual. Ended in someone being pissed off. You sure it wasn’t any trouble?”

“Of course, I’m sure.” He walked over to Emmaline and she stood, putting a hand in the crook of his arm. “Let me know if you need me.”

“I will. You go to bed. You were knocked out.”

“Yeah. Takin’ care of a concussed Thriller is tiring as hell.”

“I’ll take that under advisement,” he laughed. Mike laid down on the bed and pulled Carmella onto his lap, as she had been with Sean. He watched Emmaline and Sean go, then slowly began to stir Carmella from her slumber. She groaned, batting his hand away. “Ten more minutes, Haire Bear,” she muttered.

“Don’t ya wanna wake up and see me?”

Her eyes opened slightly. “Mike? When’d you get back?”

“Few minutes ago.”

“That took forever.”

“Yeah, I know,” he whispered. “I’m sorry I wasn’t here, babe.”

“You had to work.”

“And I had to leave you.”

“Haire Bear and Emi were here.”

“It’s still not the same.” He kissed her forehead and brushed back a lock of hair. “You go back to sleep.”

“But, you’re sleepy, too and you have to wake me up.”

“That’s what alarm clocks were invented for,” he said with a grin. Mike set the clock for an hour later, then sat it back down. “Now, we can both get some sleep. How’s that?”

“I like sleeping with you,” she told him, smiling.

“Me, too.” He held her closer. “Now, get to it. You’ve only got an hour.”

“Yes, sir,” she giggled. She leaned up and kissed his neck, then settled against him. Before long, she was asleep again. Mike sat watching her for a few minutes. The argument at the end of the meeting was probably his fault. He hadn’t wanted to be there and made that perfectly clear. He felt guilty about pushing Carmella off on others, even though he knew that Sean cared about her just as much as he did. “I’m here now,” he whispered, sighing. Mike let himself relax against the bed and fell asleep, his arms still wrapped tightly around his love.