Part 2

John only just caught Cody as the younger man fell to the floor. Sinking to the ground he cradled the now unconscious man, gazing up in horrified shock as Randy struggled to contain an out of control Kristen.

Wrapping his arms around her, Randy ducked a flailing arm and roared, "Kristen! Calm down! Just calm down!"

It didn't work. She kept fighting him. Finally Randy was forced to tighten his grip on her. Spinning her around, he put himself between her and the fallen Cody. He didn't care about the cuts and gazes he was gaining from her, he just knew he had to protect Cody from the angry she-wolf currently raking his forearm with her nails.

Ted watched everything unfold as if it was his own private horror movie. Everything was going wrong. Everything he cared about seemed to be crumbling in front of him. He was torn between checking on Cody or helping Randy to subdue Kristen. In the end he did nothing. He just knelt frozen to the spot, terrified that if he moved it would get even worse

Slowly Kristen started to calm down but not before she aimed a vicious kick at Cody which only just missed his head. Randy snarled deep in his throat. Lifting Kristen off the ground he carried her a few steps away. Huffing with the effort of trying not to actually hurt her, he glanced over his shoulder. Seeing Ted still kneeling where he'd fallen, Randy barked angrily, "DiBiase! Get your fucking backside over here!"

Jumping as if he'd been shot, Ted got to his feet, stumbling over his own feet in his haste to obey the angry command. Grabbing a towel, he quickly wrapped it round himself, then hurried to join Randy at the far end of the room.

As he drew level, Randy all but threw Kristen at him, snarling angrily, "Here! You deal with her!"

Without even waiting for Ted's reaction, Randy turned and sank to his knees. Reaching over he gently cupped Cody's face in one hand. Brushing a thumb over Cody's cheek, he called softly, "Cody? Codes...come on...wake up…"

Nothing. Cody just remained slumped in John's arms, his head lolling against the firm and still naked chest of Randy's erstwhile lover. A fact that didn't escape Randy's notice. Raising his eyes, he glared at John then hissed venomously, "Will you put some fucking clothes on!"

John jumped in surprise. He'd been so caught up in the way Randy was touching Cody, so transfixed by the soft, almost lilting tone to Randy's voice, he had completely forgotten that Randy was still mad as hell at him. Automatically he went to snap back, to give Randy a mouthful but then he caught himself. Sighing as he realized he didn't really have any right to be angry at Randy, he bit back his answer. Nodding slightly he eased himself out from under Cody, handing the slumped form to Randy.

As he got back to his feet, he hesitated, watching closely as Randy carefully and almost tenderly laid Cody on the floor. Randy's hand paused a moment to caress Cody's cheek, the long fingers gently soothing away one of tear streaks that currently stained Cody's face. It was a move that was so tender, so loving that John felt his breath catch in his throat. He knew there was nothing sexual between them; Randy had made that very clear at the start of their own relationship. But watching Randy all but fuss over the unconscious Cody stuck a note with a John. A note that made him almost jealous of Cody. Glancing up he bit his lip because he realised he wasn't the only one who had seen the touch.

Ted was staring at Randy like a man possessed. Despite the fact he was struggling to keep hold of his furious wife, and despite the fact he'd been caught having sex in the changing room with John only minutes ago, Ted's whole focus seemed to be on Cody. And that hurt. That really hurt John

"Don't touch him like that…" breathed Ted, glaring daggers at the back of Randy's head, "Don't you dare touch him like that!"

Kristen twisted round in his arms, staring at him in disbelief. Then with a growl she kicked his shin, hissing, "You bastard!"

Ted grunted in surprised pain as her heel connected with his shin. Bending to rub his leg he snapped, "What did you do that for?"

"Why did I…" spluttered Kristen indignantly, "Why the hell do you think, Theodore? I've just discovered that not only are you having an affair with Cody but that you have also been seeing another man behind both our backs. Then you go and tell Randal to not touch Cody – why the hell do you think I kicked you?"

Before Ted could react she slapped him. Hard. Right across the face. Hard enough that she left a hand print and split his bottom lip.

Ted slowly turned his face back round to look at her. Lifting a hand to his marked cheek, he stared at her. Rubbing his cheek angrily, he murmured, "Don't you ever do that again."

"Or what?" snorted Kristen, "Why shouldn't I slap you, Theodore?" she asked mockingly, dragging his name out to the fullest possible length, "What are you going to do about it? You wouldn't dare raise a hand to me. Beside," she added menacingly, "Just imagine what your Daddy will say when I tell him his precious son is a god damn…"

"Don't you dare bring my father into this!" shouted Ted, his face contorting with rage. He stepped closer to Kristen snarling, "Don't you dare threaten me like that!"

"Why not!" screamed Kristen getting back into his face, "Why shouldn't I tell Ted what a disgusting, depraved…"

"Hey, enough!" exclaimed John.

Walking over he pulled Ted out of the way. Stepping between them he looked at Kristen then said calmly, "Look Kristen I know you're angry right now and god knows you have every right to be. But this is not going to help."

He held a hand up stalling her protests, "Listen to me. Shouting at Ted will just make this whole thing much worse."

He paused and glancing behind him saw Ted gazing at him, the sculptured chest rising and falling with the effort of controlling his anger. He gave the younger man a slight smile then looking back at Kristen he continued, "Look, just go back to the hotel, go back with Ted. Talk this out. Okay?"

She glared at him then spat angrily, "There's no way I'm going anywhere with that fa.."

"Hey!" shouted John, the calmness falling away from him as he reacted to her use of that word, "Don't you dare refer to him or anyone like that!"

Kristen tilted her chin defiantly but before she could reply a soft groan from the behind them made all three of them look round.

Cody was starting to stir and as he did his face crumpled in pain. With his eyes fluttering open he mewed, "Ow…" Then realising that he was currently laying on the ground with a raging headache, he frowned asking gruffly, "What the fuck happened…"

"Kristen slapped you, you smacked your head on the door and you got knocked out," called John helpfully. Grinning apologetically as Cody glared dagger at him, he added with a chuckle, "Sorry." He gave a cute little shrug that made Randy smile despite the situation.

Leaning into Cody's eye line, Randy ordered softly, "Codes, look at me."

Slowly Cody turned his head, wincing as the world spun around him. Randy sighed then asked, "How many fingers am I holding up?"

He held two fingers up to Cody.

Cody frowned then replied groggily, "Two…ow…" he went to sit up and instantly regretted the move. The world started to swim again and as he fell back down he mewed, "I feel sick…"

Randy swore then lifting Cody up, he barked, "Cena! Help me get Cody to the bathroom. There's no way he's throwing up out here."

John leant down and helped to haul the decidedly groggy Cody to his feet. With an arm slung round each of them, Cody let the others manoeuvre him towards the bathroom, leaving Ted alone with Kristen.

Ted flicked a look at her then said wearily, "Please…don't bring my dad into this."

"Why not Theodore?" snorted Kristen snapping, "You screwed me, I shouldn't I screw you?" She stared at him then asked angrily, "How long? How long have you been fucking that little bastard?"

Ted flinched at her description of Cody. He couldn't tell her. There was no way he could tell her the truth. How could he? How could he tell her he'd been sleeping with Cody since Cody's 17th birthday? How could he tell her that the night before their wedding he hadn't been out with the boys as she thought he'd been at Cody's, sharing one last night of freedom? He closed his eyes and before he knew what was happening he heard himself say, "It's not like that. There's nothing between us. Its just sex."

"What?" breathed Kristen, blinking at him in disbelief at what she was hearing.

"Its just sex," Ted replied coldly.

He was screaming internally, telling himself to shut up but his mouth seemed to have disconnected from his brain and was saying things that were so far from the truth it burnt his throat to speak them.

"Look," he heard himself say, "It meant nothing," he was lying, his heart didn't mean a single syllable that crap that was falling out of his mouth but he couldn't shut himself up.

"It was just sex. You know you should really be thanking him. At least I wasn't out screwing in clubs and stuff…" he had no idea where any of this shit was coming from but he couldn't stop himself, "...and you really should say thank you because at least Cody was free. I didn't have to pay for it with him, leaving you more money to waste on shopping."

"Teddy..." gasped Kristen, staring at him as if she'd never seen him before.

"What?" barked Ted, too lost in his own sea of deception to even understand the look on Kristen's face.

"Look, it meant nothing, okay?" he fumed, "Cody means nothing to me! John means nothing. Look it was all just about sex. It's always been about the sex." He hated himself for saying it. It had never been about the sex, the sex with Cody was just an added bonus. John was a different matter but right then all Ted could think about was Cody and the look on his face when he'd found them together..

"But Cody is your best f…" murmured Kristen, her eyes getting wider the louder and angrier Ted got.

"He means nothing!" shouted Ted, completely unable to stop his mouth from speaking words his heart and soul didn't mean for a second, "He was just useful, Kristen, okay?. I was just using him for sex. It meant nothing," insisted Ted. Totally misreading Kristen's expression he finally snapped, screaming at her, "HE. MEANS. NOTHING. TO. ME!"

"Teddy?" called a soft voice.

There was an awful silence. A silence in which Ted wished he could drown. He felt as if the air was being sucked from his lunges. Without wanting to, he turned round then slowly dragged his eyes away from Kristen to look at the trio standing at in the doorway of the bathroom. Ted couldn't look at the other two. He didn't dare look at them. He could only imagine what they thought of him right then. Instead his attention was fixed solely on the smaller man standing between them. Focused on the man Ted knew he loved more than life itself. His eyes were focused on the man who had just heard himself described as being meaningless.

Cody just stared at him, the blue eyes disturbingly blank. Without warning Cody turned to looked at Randy and in a voice devoid of all emption he gave a little huff of bitter laughter and confessed, "Shit - you were right. I should have listened to you all those years ago. Guess I did make the wrong decision that night, huh Randy?"

Ted opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out.

Cody, still unsteady on his feet, ripped himself away from the other two and walked across the room. Stopping a few inches short of Ted, he pulled himself up to his full height, then glaring at the man he loved, he asked broken heartedly, "How could you say that about me?"

"Co..." stammered Ted, his heart screaming for him to tell Cody the truth. To take back the vile words he just spoke. But he didn't. He couldn't. the damage was done and he knew it.

Cody looked at him and for a moment it looked as if he was going to say something else then he gave a ragged whimpered. Stepping backwards he shook his head and spat angrily, "Just go to hell, DiBiase. Go to fucking hell!"

Ignoring the calls from the others, he pushed past Ted, almost knocking him of his feet, and yanked the door open. Then without pausing Cody just walked out of the changing room, leaving the others totally and utterly stunned.

TBC