Cassie thinks for a moment. "Well, they really have not been seriously together until recently.  I mean sure, they have Sammy, but he was not the product of a relationship, if that makes sense.  Lily just happened to be the right girl at the right time for Colton."  Cassie's facial expression slightly changes, thinking back in time. "She really is the best person for him."

 

Time passes as they ride down the road. Most of the time was spent laughing and making small talk. They pull into the parking lot of a nice steak house. Cassie parks, William gets out of the truck and gets the door for her. He holds his arm out and she places hers in his. As the walk in they are greeted by the hostess. "Name please." William looks at her and smiles. "Barnes party of two." The hostess nods and leads them towards the back of the room to a little table for two. As they are walking back William notices Cassie staring at someone and her hand grows tight around William's arm. "Hey are you okay?"

 

Her eyes connected over to a corner booth, adjacent to the table for which they were heading to.  It was evident that Damon was sitting at the table with someone whose back was turned in their direction.  Cassie loosens her grip on William's hand, she stops turning her back towards Damon and looks up to William.  "Will you excuse me for a second, I need to go powder my nose. I will be right back."  William nods, as he kisses the top of her hand, watching her as she slips off.  He keeps an eye on her as she passes Damon's table, and he notices the man glaring harshly at her as she walked by.  Seconds passed, Damon gets up from the table and makes his way in Cassie's direction.  William begins to get suspicious, as there should be no reason for the guy to be headed that way.  The kitchen and ladies’ room were the only things that could possibly be in the area in which he was headed, and he did not look the part of any cook he had ever seen.

 

He sat still, keeping a sharp eye out.  Standing in the tiny hall across from the kitchen Cassie stood quietly.  She knew Damon would be on his way.  Like clockwork, he came walking up to her.  She stood with her back pressed firmly to the back of the wall, her body was tensed, and she began to feel a knot form in her stomach.  She knew it was now or never that she would confront him, she had only hoped it was the latter of the two.  "Cassie?"  escapes Damon's lips as he stepped up beside her.  Nervous, she inhales softly, almost as though her life was about to end. "Damon.."  She said as he made his way in front of her.  His glare was stern, but somewhat confused to see her.  "What are you doing here in Ft. Worth?  I'm sorry I haven't been around much since your birthday, I..I had some family business come up that needed my attention."  He began to reach out his arm and place it upon Cassie's shoulder.  She slowly began to pull away as his touch was unwelcome.  Damon looked worried as if he suspected something was wrong.  "What's wrong Babe?"  He takes another step closer, nearly pressing his body into hers as she begins to heavily breathe.  "You lied to me!  You..you told me you wanted to get away from your father, you said we would be making a fresh start in Paris."  Damon's face began to cringe, he knew she knew something, but what, was the question.  He begins to play it off.  "What are you talking about, Cassie?  This was over 6 years ago, I don't remember what I said last night, much less back then."  He leans in, about to give her a kiss and she turns her head to the side.  "You almost had my mother killed the night of my birthday!  You sent Xander looking for me, why?"  Damon takes a step back as Cassie's voice was harsh and beginning to draw attention.

 

He turns his head, smiling at the people as they walk by; he turns back to Cassie with an evil glare.  "Look, I don't know what you think you know, but if you don't keep your voice down..." Cassie steps off the back of the wall and stands up to Damon's face.  "What. what will you do Damon?  Will you try and kill me next, just like you had Xander try to do when you sent him to my Ranch?"  Her voice was even louder, as people were starting to draw their attention in that direction, whispering and pulling out their phones, taking videos.  William notices the commotion and begins to stand from his seat.  He takes notice of Officer Stone sitting at the table alone, across the other side of the room.  Damon reaches for Cassie's arm, grabbing it harshly, she begins to struggle to break free, as he turns her back to him, placing his hand over her mouth.  People begin to look cautiously as one woman screams as she sees Cassie struggling to break free.  This draws William's attention from Stone as he sees a man he does not know, forcibly holding Cassie by her chest with one arm wrapped around her face.

 

William bolts from the table towards Cassie. He grabs the arm of the man spinning him around. William pushes him against the wall, freeing Cassie. He looks at the man dead in the eyes. "Mister, I don't know who you are, but if you ever touch her again you will be missing that hand." Damon tries to push William off him, but William pushes him harder against the wall and looks over to Cassie. "Did he hurt you?" Cassie shakes her head and William snaps his attention back to Damon. "You are lucky.  Do not touch this lady again. Next time I will not be so nice." William pulls Damon from the wall and pushes him back into it where there is a loud thud. He lets go of Damon and turns to Cassie. He holds out his hand, escorting her back to the table. He watches as Damon straightens his jacket and goes to sit back down with Officer Stone. The two make it back to their table and begin to sit back down. "Are you sure you are, okay? Who was that jackass?"

 

Cassie sits quietly, everyone in the restaurant was staring in her direction whispering.  The waitress walks up, placing a hand on her shoulder, as her body jumps with her touch.  William looks to her and back over to the table where Damon had sat down.  He is thinking to himself, what guy would have any connection to Officer Stone that would have acted in such a way to Cassie.  The waitress leans down to Cassie. "I am so sorry Miss.  I did not mean to startle you."  William notices the look on Cassie's face.  She seemed upset, more than frightened.  "Can we have 2 glasses of water please?"  He looks to the waitress.  "Of course."  she replies as she steps away.  William reaches across the table and picks up Cassie's hand in his.  "Cass?"  She looks up into his eyes.  It only took one word for her to explain.  "Damon."

 

Red flashes in his eyes and he looks across to the men sitting at the other table. He stands up and starts to walk over to them. Before he leaves, he stops and leans down and kisses the top of Cassie's head and whispers in her ear. "I will be right back." He reaches up and places his hand on her chin and lifts her head until they are eye to eye. He softly speaks. "Cassie, I have always loved you and I will not let anyone, or anything hurt you again." He gives her a tender kiss and walks across the room to Damon and Officer Stone. William pulls up a chair from the table next to them and sits down between the two men, he reaches over and takes a French fry off the plate of Stone. He turns and looks at Damon. "So, you are the famous Damon I keep hearing about." He begins to look him up and down. "You don't look like much to me. Any man that raises a hand to a woman is a real piece of shit." Stone tries to say something, but William cuts him off. "Children should be seen and not heard when the adults are talking." He looks back at Damon again. "My name is William Barnes, I bet since you are having dinner with this piece of walking garbage, that you know who I am. Now, I know who you are. I just want you to know that she is not yours anymore. You lost that chance when you lied to her. You lost it when you sent someone to her parents’ house and put her mother in the hospital and then sending someone to her house to try and attack her. See, that was your biggest mistake. She has people watching out for her. I, watch out for her now. If you want to get to her, you have to go through me. I already put your pet down. Don't think it can't happen again." He turns to Stone. "You think a couple of bikers and a broken arm can stop me? You better think again.

William stands up and puts the chair back over at the table he got it from. He walks back, slapping Stone on the shoulder. "You kids have a good rest of the night." William walks back to his table and sits back down. He picks up the menu and starts to look at it. "So, what looks good to you?"

 

Cassie looks at the menu, folding it and placing it on the table.  She raises her head up as she tries to form somewhat of a smile.  She turns her head in Damon's direction as he glares back over to her with an evil smile.  "William, this was supposed to be a special night, but." She stops, takes a deep breath and sighs, she sits and thinks for a moment, looking at William with a smile as he continues to look over the menu.  She picks the menu back up. "You know what, I think I would like to order a steak."  She begins to smile as she cuts her eyes up from the top of the menu admiring William as he looks at her from across the table.  She folds the menu once again and she stands, scooting her chair closer to him.  She smiles, reaching for one side of his menu and leans her head down on his shoulder.  "And curly fries too."  She lifts her head slowly, turning William's head giving him a kiss.

 

He smiles at her. "Cass, don't worry about him or anything. I will always be here for you. You have nothing to worry about. Let’s eat and then go enjoy the show. It is only a couple miles from here and I think you will like it." Williams calls the server over and places the order for their dinners. The food arrives and the two of them talk and laugh. Every once and a while William looks over to Damon's table; Damon just stares at them. As they finish up, the server brings the check. William gives her his credit card and asks her to put Damon's table meals on it. The server nods and walks away. A few minutes later she returns and hands William his card and the receipt. He signs it and stands up pulling Cassie's seat for her. He helps her up and they start to walk out of the restaurant. Cassie looks at William. "Why did you pay for their meal?" William smiles and kisses Cassie's hand. "My dad always taught me to be the better man." They walk out and get into Cassie's truck and head down the highway.

 

As Cassie continues to drive, she looks over to William as he is looking up something on his phone.  "So, are you going to tell me where I am driving to, or are you just going to sit and tell me where to turn?"  She begins to smile.

William looks up and smiles at her. "Just a couple miles down the road. You will see a National Guard Armory. Pull into the parking lot there."

She begins to look confused but keeps driving.  "William, I don't have any desire to join the Army, you know."  She shakes her head.  "I didn't picture you to be the Weekend Warrior type."   She begins to slowly pull into the drive as there were hundreds of cars in the lot.  "Damn, it must be sign up bonus time."  She laughs.

 

"Settle down Crashie. We are not joining the army. I thought you might want to take a break and have just some mind-numbing fun." He reaches into his pockets and hands her two tickets. "I got these when Colton and I went to town the other day. I thought you might have some fun." Cassie looks at the tickets, they say TWF one night only.

As she looks down at the tickets, her eyes begin to glow.  A smile forms along her lips and the excitement begins to grow.  "Texas Wrestling?? Oh My God, William!!  How did you know?” She begins to jump in excitement the second he opened the door for her.  They slowly get in line to go inside.

 

William looks at her excitement and smiles. "So, you have heard of them huh? I just thought since this is what your family did, you would like it." As they stand in line, he starts to notice people staring, and pointing in her direction. "Hmmm, looks like everyone is looking over this way. I wonder why?"  Cassie looks around, she begins to smile as they reach the front door with an Officer taking tickets.  The guard takes one look at Cassie and his eyes get big.  "Hey..Aren't you..." The Officer's Supervisor steps up, and the young man stops talking.

William stands a bit straighter. "Good evening, sir." He hands the tickets to them. As they walk in a young man in a National Guard uniform walks up to them. "Ma'am, sir, please follow me to the V.I.P. section." William looks at Cassie with a puzzled look on his face.

 

They continue to walk, Cassie's eyes light up with joy.  It had seemed like decades since she and Colton walked these halls.  She came across an old door that leads to the gym locker room.  She stops momentarily and sighs.  They continue until they reach the front row section.  It is roped off from behind the seats as the chairs are front and center to the camera’s view.  The two take their seat as William has a look of surprise on his face.  "This looks like a decent spot right, Cass?"  People in the nearby sections notice Cassie and start chanting her name.  William gets a strange look on his face as he doesn't know what is going on.  The Event Staff begins to take center stage and steps inside the ring.  He looks over at the announcer's table and calls one of the guys over.  They all look over to Cassie and begin to whisper.  William turns to Cassie and smiles as she seems to be enjoying the scene.

 

The ring announcer steps inside, staring over at her as well.  He puts the mic to his mouth.  "Ladies and Gentlemen, Texas Wrestling Federation has a special guest this evening.  Before we start our show for the night, I would like to introduce to you. TWF’s very own Superstar." The crowd begins to chant.  "She is one half of the 2nd generation New Breed, and Half of TWF's Former Undefeated Tag Team Champions, Cassandra Hurst!!”  The crowd screams with excitement.  “But we all remember her as Vanity!"  The crowd begins to cheer and the spotlight shines upon both William and Cassie as he turns to her in shock.

 

"Would you join me in the ring...Vanity?"  William turns to her with a surprised look upon his face.  "Vanity?"  Cassie turns to him and smiles.  "I will explain later."  She hops over the guard rail like nothing, William's face lit up with amazement and Cassie slides inside the ring.  The crowd begins to chant, and you can tell by the look on her face, it was something special.  The announcer steps up to Cassie and offers a hand, she looks to him with a smile and gives him a friendly hug.

 

The announcer is talking to her inside the ring, covering up the microphone, she smiles and nods her head.  A voice from a few rows back can be heard squealing above the crowd.  "Cassie, Ditch the loser and marry me."  Cassie looks around the arena for the man, as he stands up waving his hand.  The camera pans over to him and Cassie looks to the announcer and holds her hand out for the mic.

 

"You, Dude with the Teletubbies shirt."  The crowd laughs.  "Come on up here."  The guy makes his way to the ring and begins to step up on the apron but is stopped by Cassie's black boot at the ropes.  "Whoa, whoa fella, I did not say you could join me, I simply said come here."  She walks closer to the side of the ropes and leans down as he stands outside of the ring. "So, you are wanting me to ditch that man right there?  The camera pans over to William as he looks on to Cassie with a smile.  The guy nods his head yes, and Cassie gives him a sadistic smile.  "Very well, if you can pin me, inside this ring, I will not only ditch that man, but I will also let you take me home."  The guy smiles and nods his head in excitement as William gives Cassie a What the hell look.  She looks at William in return with a girls got to do what a girls got to do look and allows the guy inside the ring.

 

The crowd begins to cheer on the man inside the ring, as Cassie hands the mic back over to the announcer.  She signaled for a ref but there was not a zebra in sight.  Coming out from behind the curtain, walking slowly, is a big buff looking guy, he is strutting down the small ramp and makes his way to ringside.  Cassie looks at him and a huge smile comes over her face.  The man steps inside the ring with an evil smile.  He steps up to Cassie, lowering his head to her.  "Hello there Doll, long time no see."  Cassie returns the same sadistic grin to the man.  "Dozer."   Dozer steps back as he signals for the bell.  

 

The announcer starts the match.  It goes back and forth for several minutes, with the guy nearly pinning Cassie a couple times, however she is still holding strong, she begins to go after the man one final time and hits him with a Hammerlock Inverted DDT and he is out like a light.  Cassie goes for the count, while Dozer stands there laughing.  Cassie is screaming at Dozer to make the count as the crowd begins to count to 10.  The announcers are all discussing what's going on, and William stands shouting for Cassie to get out.  The man inside the ring no doubt was out cold, Cassie stands to her feet and slaps Dozer across the face.  He stood laughing as the guy finally wakes up, scooping Cassie up from behind and rolling her up onto her back in the center of the ring, Dozer quickly gets the 1, 2, 3. and signals for the bell.  Cassie stood immediately after, looking over to William as he gives her a mean stare.

 

The guy in the ring is celebrating his victory as Dozer stands laughing at Cassie.  She looks over to the announcer and grabs the mic.  "So, you think that's funny huh, Johnny Jump up?" Dozer's smile quickly leaves his face.

"Ya, you forgot all about that didn't you, boy?"  Cassie turns to William, whispering, "I'm sorry, Babe."  She walks over to the guy in the ring, and she steps right into his face. "Well, a deal is a deal, I guess. but before we leave, I just have a few things I want to say. " She walks over to the ropes; she stands up on the turnbuckle, raising her arms in the air.  The crowd was cheering as she motioned for the guy to step closer to her.  "Catch Me!"  She turns on top of the turnbuckle and performs a springboard backflip and lands directly on top of the man in the ring while his body hits hard onto the mat. 

 

The Announcer shouts out "The Sundrop. That’s her Finishing Move, he isn't getting up from that."  Cassie springs up and walks over to Dozer who fake claps his hands. She smiles, kicking Dozer in between the legs with her right knee making him bend over in pain.  She begins to grab him up and set him up with his head between her legs, she twists her body, driving her elbow hard into his temple. She leans forward, Kriss crossing her legs around his neck and squeezing as tightly as possible until he is unconscious.  She releases the hold and stands to her feet.  The crowd is cheering her on as she begins to take the mic one more time.  "Ft. Worth..How the hell are ya?"  The crowd continues to cheer.  "As much as I would love to stay inside this ring tonight, I have a date with a very handsome man that I said could take me home."  She begins to walk towards the guy in the ring and starts to slap him across the face several times.  "Well, he doesn’t look like he’s waking up any time soon.  Not going to be much fun for him."  She leans down with the mic to her lips. “You didn’t really think you stood a chance, now did you?” She drops the mic on top of him and exits the ring, hopping back over the guard rail and into the awaiting arms of William, who catches her as she wraps her legs around his waist kissing him passionately as the camera pans over to their direction.

 

He lets her down and holds her hand in the air. The crowd lets out a large roar. The announcer starts the first match. William watches the match, but occasionally, he looks over at Cassie and he sees the twinkle in her eyes and the big smile on her face. He leans over and whispers in her ear. "Are you having fun?" Cassie just nods her head and smiles bigger.  After about three more matches William leans over to Cassie again. "I am going to go get something to drink, do you want anything?" Cassie shakes her head, yet not taking her eyes off the ring. He stands and walks to the concession stand, as he stands in line he looks around and sees a table full of T-shirts. He goes over and looks through them. There is a young girl working at the table. She looks up to see William standing there. "You're the guy that came with Vanity, right?" William looks up and smiles. "I came with Cassie Hurst. I did not know about the whole Vanity thing." The girl laughs. "No one uses their names. Are you looking for a shirt?" William smiles. "Yeah, I am, but I don't know any of these people." She stands up from the table. "Wait here please, I have some in the back that you may like better." She runs off and Williams stands around just looking at the stuff on the table. He finds some action figures of the wrestlers. He finds a box that is marked "Champions through Time." He looks through all the boxes and finds a twin pack. It shows Colton and Cassie holding Tag Team belts. He laughs to himself as he picks up the box.

 

The girl comes back and is carrying a couple shirts. Smiling, she looks at William. "So, a month ago was our fifty-year anniversary and we did a Champions through Time thing. So, I have three shirts here. The first one is a New Breed Tag Team Champion shirt. It is red and black." She unfolds the shirt and there is a picture of Colton and Cassie sitting on custom choppers with the titles across the handlebars. She turns the shirt around and it reads 'The New Breed. Where rules and bones were made to be broken". William laughs. "What are the other ones?" She unfolds them and they are shirts with Colton on one and Cassie on the other, but Vanity is written on it. William looks at everything, then he looks at the girl. "So, I will take all three, plus these action figures. So how much I owe you?" She looks at everything and speaks. "One hundred and fifteen dollars and thirty-eight cents." William pulls out his wallet and hands her his card. She swipes his card and hands it back. She gets a shy look and puts her head down. "Sir, do you think I could meet her?" William smiles. "I think that could happen. After the show you wait out by her truck, and I will introduce her to you." A big smile comes across her face. "Thank you so much. What does her truck look like?" He laughs. "Oh, you will know when you see it. Well, I better get back to my date. Thanks for the help." He smiles at the girl and walks over and grabs to cokes. Before he goes back, he stops and takes off his shirt and puts on the tag team shirt he just bought. He walks back and hands Cassie her drink.

 

Extending her arm out, not looking at him as the main event starts, he places the drink in her hand as he can see she is fixated on the match.  He stands there admiring every bit of excitement she expresses.  She brings the cup to her lips about to take a drink and some spills a bit on her chin.  She quickly tries to wipe it with her hand as she turns to see William standing there with the New Breed Tag shirt of her & Colton.  She smiles and she shakes her head.  "Never thought I would see the day my man would have my brother's face across his chest." She winks at him and goes back to yelling at the men in the ring.

 

He laughs as they watch the rest of the show. While the show finishes, William helps Cassie from her chair. They leave the building where he notices the same girl from before standing next to Cassie's truck. He leans over and whispers in her ear. "This is the girl who sold me the shirts. She asked to meet you. I hope it is ok."

 

The two make it to the truck, she smiles as the girl stands nervously in front of them.  "Oh my God, Vanity, it is so nice to meet you!  I have been a HUGE fan of you and your brothers for a long time!"  Cassie looks at William and smiles as she turns to the young girl.  "Thank you!  I sure hope my brother has never disappointed you inside the ring."  She laughs.  The girl has an old receipt in her hand and an ink pen.  She extends them to Cassie.  "Would you mind signing this for me?  I could not find anything bigger to write on."  Again, Cassie smiled.  She took the piece of paper and scribbled her name on it.  She hands its back to the young lady.  "What is your name?"  The young girl smiled and said "Emmalyn” Cassie walked to the truck, looking around for something to give the young lady.  She opens her console, seeing a white envelope addressed to her, looking confused she opens it to see a Diamond ring with a note attached.  "You belong with a man who can give you the world."  and two tickets to Paris.  She looks up to William and back down to the envelope.  She steps away from the truck and back over to Emmalyn.  "Here you go Emmalyn, I hope you enjoy yourself."  She hands her the two tickets and gives her a hug.   Her eyes flash as she screamed in excitement. "Oh, Thank You. Thank You!!  I was going to ask my girlfriend to go away with me this weekend. We have both been so busy with college and work, I don't get to see her often.  I am thinking about asking her to marry me when we both graduate."  Cassie turns to William and smiles.  She reaches into her pocket and pulls out the diamond ring.  William looks confused but just stands and observes.  "Here, hold on to this and give it to her when you are ready.  My gift for you both!"

 

Cassie steps up to the girl and gives her a hug.  "You will have to let me know what she says."  The girl smiles and begins to jump in excitement.  "Oh, I will. I will!! Thank you so much!!"  The girl begins to say goodbye as she must go back to her stand.  Both Cassie and William wave to her as they stand by the truck.  Cassie hands William the note.  "He's following me."