Fired. You're fired. I'm sorry to do this, but... Best for business... The words haunt him. Cody Rhodes is sure he'll never get away from them, the feeling of failure and disgrace he's haunted by now that he was unable, after all of these years, to still get the job done against his former Legacy leader.
He tosses and turns, wanting nothing more than the last 24 hours to be a nightmare, that he'll wake up and be back in the business he loves, able to support his family, fund his upcoming wedding and honeymoon, and everything else in his future and dreams. It's barely daybreak when he gives up on sleep, finally getting out of bed and preparing for his possibly last flight back home where he'll stay until after the wedding, trying to take the time to think and figure out what he wants to do next with his life.
He's just reached the rental car when his phone rings and he instinctively reaches for it, expecting the daily notice on what he'll be expected to show up for- Main Event, Smackdown, both, neither, or... just to stop short when he sees it's Ted's name flashing on the ID.
He swallows. Of course. For a ridiculous moment, he'd forgotten he'd been fired. "Damn," he sighs, answering the call. "Hello?"
"Hey," his former tag partner says quietly. "Heard what happened. I'm sorry, man."
Cody takes a breath. Talking last night with his fiance, father, brother and everyone else who'd been worried about him had only succeeding at frustrating him further, but for some reason, this call only succeeds at making him sad. That Ted, who had just been forgotten about and left with nothing to do until his contract expired, could and would still take the time to call Cody after he'd been fired so publicly... "Thanks, man," he says lowly. "Surprised to hear from you, thought you'd stil be in the middle of the ocean fishing or something."
"Made it back to land just to call you, see how you're holding up," he says, the smile on his face audible in his voice, Cody able to picture it clearly as he leans against the car and ponders how to answer that himself. "I didn't watch last night, but I heard enough of what happened... How are you doing?"
Cody releases his breath slowly, still unsure how to respond. "Not great," he finally admits, far from knowing how to word exactly how he's feeling, but aware that Ted will understand. "I, uh. You know. About to get married, and all of a sudden I'm unemployed. It's a lot to digest. I haven't even thought about where to go from here yet."
Ted remains quiet for a few long moments before saying, "I know you had a Plan B in case WWE didn't work out, Cody. We both did, and discussed it in length quite a few times."
The former Legacy member releases a soft sigh, grinning almost painfully. "Yeah, I do." He remembers those late night conversations with Ted over what they'd do if injuries or just life kept them from achieving their dreams in the business. Ted currently seemed to be implementing what he'd talked about, but...
"Well?"
"Yeah, I mean... I'll implement it soon, but..." He still hesitates, not sure if he should talk about such things to Ted of all people, after everything he'd gone through recently.
"But what?"
"But I'm not sure I'm ready to give up on WWE," he admits finally. "I mean, I just started to feel like I was getting somewhere in the business, maybe even about to break into a WWE or World title hunt, before HHH cut my legs out from under me."
Ted says nothing for a long time and Cody fears he's offended him to the point that he's hung up, but then... "You know what you need to do then."
"What?" he asks, hoping that Ted has some great advice for him.
"Don't give up on your dream. I know you, Cody, and I know what the WWE and being successful there has always meant to you. So don't give up on it, but also don't work yourself into a corner where you won't give anything else a chance, just because you think a return to the WWE is possible."
Cody hears him out, a mirthless smile on his face. He'd been thinking along the same lines since HHH had said those demoralizing words but, somehow, hearing them from Ted makes it sound possible. "Yeah," he breathes out. "I mean, what would it hurt, right?"
"Yeah, man. You're too talented to just give up. And if you start to doubt yourself, just give me a call. I'll be glad to set you straight."
Cody chuckles. "I bet you would be." Ted laughs too, only stopping when Cody sighs. "I'll keep that in mind... Hey Ted?"
"Yeah?"
"Thanks, man." And even as their conversation slowly turns to lighter topics, Cody knows that Ted is right: his future may not go the way Cody had always expected it to, but it's still bright, full of promise. He'll be fine, no matter where he ends up.