Disclaimer: See Chapter 3

Note: If you hear about a human pop sickle in the next few days, it's probably me... I live in the midwest and we were just hit with a blizzard/snowstorm today... 8 inches in less than 24 hours with a high of -12 degrees F. This bites...


Picking Up Pieces

Roman sat in the visitor's lounge, lower lip slowly starting to bleed from how hard it was being worried between his teeth. His eyes were focused on a spot far across the floor. One hand was balled into a tight fist, the other wrapping around it just as tight, both resting in front of his wounded lip. Sharp elbows were digging painfully into his knees as he slouched forward, but he didn't notice the dull ache. He could only think of the first words out of Cody's mouth.

Who… who are you?

Roman sighed, closing his eyes, both burning from his idle stare and the threat of impending tears. He'd been rushed from the room after that, Cody's nurse rushing in after noticing that his stats had changed. He looked up, hurried, squeaking footsteps catching his attention. "Dusty!" he gasped, standing straight, arms dropping to his side, tongue running over the little scrape in his lip to clean the fresh dribble of blood.

Dusty wasn't alone, behind him was Cody's mother, a small, petite woman with the same dark brown hair only she wore hers long but at that moment it was tied back into a low ponytail, her eyes red from crying. Behind them was Dustin, Cody's older half brother. He had the same face as his father, square and strong but he didn't have the same wrinkles, despite being Cody's senior by 16 years. He had a small stubble of blond on his head, that Roman was sure would be shaved away soon and a small trail of blond facial hair that started right at the underside middle of his lower lip and trailed down to the end of his rounded chin.

"He's awake?" the woman asked, wrapping her arms around Roman's middle, letting loose a small sob into his chest. "Oh Roman!" She held even tighter to her son's lover, taking comfort in the strong arms that wrapped around her.

"The doctors are looking at him," Roman said softly, pulling back from her so he could see her face, now shining with thankful tears. "His heart rate jumped really high when he woke up. One of them will come talk to us when they get him calmed down and ready to see people."

"See Michelle, it's all okay," Dusty eased, wrapping his arms around his wife and giving Roman a heart warming smile. "It's all going to be okay, I told you we have a strong boy, he'll make a full recovery, I bet you."

Roman tried to smile back, but found it to be nearly impossible. He sighed, looking back down at the floor, sitting back down. He felt his lower lips slip back into his mouth, wincing at the sting of his teeth sinking right back into the groove he'd already made.

"Are you the family of Cody Rhodes?" A tall doctor asked, stepping into the room, his bright blue scrubs almost lighting the already bright room up. He earned several nods, his dark eyes rolling over everyone. "Well, we had to sedate him so he's a little out of it. He was really upset and confused and to keep him from hurting himself we had to bind his hands to the rails. Don't worry, it won't hurt him and after he's fully calmed down we'll take them off. But as of right now, he's alert and doing well. We'll be in tomorrow to run some tests and see what kind of injuries or special attention he may need."

"Special attention?" Dustin asked, crossing his large arms over his chest. "What's that supposed to mean?"

The doctor held up his hands, the irritation and worry evident in the bigger male's voice. "Some patients have troubles with memory, others have issues with speech or even walking. It's all things we can test when we see him in the morning. After he gets some actual sleep he'll be more alert. And we'll run some more tests on him like an MRI to check his brain to see if he's got anything we missed before," he clarified, smiling slightly. "As of right now though, he's a medical miracle. Most patients wake up slowly and are pretty out of it for the first day or so, Cody was already speaking and moving around a bit."

Roman let Cody's family shake the doctors hand before he stepped up and thanked the Hispanic man. "Um, I don't know how relevant this is, but if he has memory loss, how will you know?"

"We have a series of questions we ask to determine his state of mind and judge what he can and can't remember. Some patients have a short term of memory loss, other's can miss chunks of time especially right before the accident. Don't worry too much tonight, we'll find out more in the morning."

Roman nodded, watching as the doctor turned back to Cody's mother and father.

"You can go in and see him, but I would suggest only two at a time and only for a short time. He needs the rest tonight. If you have any questions, just have them page me. I'm Doctor Del Rio."

Roman watched the doctor leave them in the waiting room, both Dusty and Michelle turning to look at him. "I'll see him later, go see your son," he encouraged, forcing out a sure smile. He sighed once they left, sitting back down in his chair and covering his face with his hands.

"Rome, what's going on? Cody's the calmest when he's with you," Dustin asked, sitting down next to the other man. "What happened?"

Roman shook his head. "He doesn't remember me Dust," he breathed, tears blurring his vision. "He didn't know who I was when he woke up and he freaked out. That's why they sedated him and when he realized what was going on he was fighting them too."

"It's probably a temporary thing," Dustin encouraged, resting his hand on Roman's tattooed shoulder. "Look at me bro." One those grey eyes met his dark brown ones he smiled softly. "Cody would never forget you. You're the only person he's felt this way about I know that for a fact. Keep your chin up. Do that for me okay? Cody's gonna need you more than ever when he gets out of here."

Roman nodded, giving a slight smile in return. "Thanks Dust," he murmured, looking back down at the floor, a deep unsettling feeling swirling in the base of his heart. He hoped this was the worst of it, but deep down he could tell that it was only the beginning.


The next day Roman was sitting next to Cody's bed, his hands tightly clasped in his lap as he sat with Michelle and Dusty, ready for the questioning to begin.

"Do you have any idea why you're here in the hospital Mr. Rhodes?" Del Rio asked, looking down at his clip board before looking up into the less than enthused face of his patient.

"Does it look like I have any idea why I'm here?" Cody asked snippily, looking from his father back to Roman, wondering why that face seemed so familiar even though he'd never seen it before.

"Okay, what's the last thing you remember?"

Cody thought hard, shaking his head against the pillows, a sharp pain shooting through his body. "Getting coffee with Drew. We do it every Thursday to catch up during my lunch break," Cody answered, finding it really was the last thing he remembered.

"Do you know what year it is?"

"2010, what kind of question is that?" Cody asked, shaking his head at the man at the foot of his bed. "What kind of doctor are you?"

Del Rio shared a shocked look with the others in the room before looking back down at his clip board. "Mr. Rhodes, um, there's no easy way to say this but it's 2013. I'm a neurologist. You were in a car accident and struck your head on the frame. You're suffering from memory loss. This is probably temporary, but we can't be sure how long it will take you to regain your full memory, if you ever will."

Cody looked at his father, noticing how his face seemed much thinner than the last time he'd seen him. "Dad?" he asked, turning his head. "Is that true? What's going on?"

"You and Roman… do you remember Roman?" Dusty asked, hopeful to see some glimmer of recognition in his son's eyes. The slow shake of Cody's head only solidified just how bad it was. He looked into the closed eyes of the Samoan. "Cody, Roman's your…."

"Roommate," Roman cut in, opening his saddened eyes. "I'm your roommate. We were going down to the coast for a few days for a vacation. We were t-boned and it flipped our car. You've been out for about 10 days. Glad to see that you're doing better buddy."

Cody looked at the other man, confused. "I don't remember you at all," he started gently, feeling a little bad for how bad he'd freaked out the night before at the handsome male. "When did we meet?"

Roman smiled, jaw tightening to fight off the tears that were building up in the backs of his eyes. "We didn't meet until that summer. You helped me at Sandow's bookshop," he explained, voice starting to shake. "So we haven't really met yet."

Cody looked down at his lap, a sudden weight settling in his heart. He thought hard about the words, something unsettling about the entire situation. It didn't feel right, but he didn't have a choice but to accept it. "Where's Drew?" he asked a moment later, missing the hurt look that flashed across Roman's face.

"He'll be up later today, he just got back from Scotland," Michelle eased, smiling softly at her son telling herself to wait to talk to Roman until they were out of the room. "I'll call him in a few and have him come up as soon as he's ready baby."

Cody nodded, closing his eyes. "Sounds good," he breathed, yawning wide.

"I'm gonna head home then. I'll make sure the house is clean for when you get to come home," Roman murmured, trying to keep up his false cheerfulness. "You get better quick okay? You still owe me a trip to the beach."

Cody felt his lips turn up into a smile, somehow the playful banter only making him feel a little more at ease. "Yeah, you'll have to help remember all of it first," he answered, cracking one blue eye open, swearing he saw that bright smile fall as Roman stood and turned towards the door.

Roman paused, wondering if he could get away with actually hugging the other man. He felt every muscle in his body telling him to just do it, but after a moment of mentally fighting with himself he decided against it and took a step towards the door. Once he was outside he let out a tired, heartbreaking sigh. "Yeah, your roommate…." He shook his head, telling himself to wait and keep from crying there in the hallway.

"Roman?" Michelle asked, stepping out of the room, shutting the door behind her. "Here I'll walk down with you." She hooked their arms, leading the bigger man to the elevators. "Why'd you tell him that?"

"If you woke up and couldn't remember even meeting Dusty, how much more stressful would it be for him to tell you that you and him were married?" he asked, looking down into the bright blue eyes. He smiled softly, looking back at the elevator doors they were approaching. "This'll be easier on him, at least until he remembers more."

"This can't be permanent Roman," she whispered, refusing to believe that Cody would never remember those three years. "I've been praying every day and night for him to be okay, now that we know he's alright, I can pray twice as hard for his memory to return. It may take some time, but he'll remember."

"Thanks Michelle, I appreciate it, but right now I have to go home and move some things around so when he can come home, everything's in place," he said, pushing the down button. "I'll call later to check on him."

Michelle sighed, pulling Roman into a motherly hug. "If you need anything Roman, you just call me okay. Promise me you will!" she near pleaded, her heart breaking at the sorrow in the grey eyes.

Roman only nodded, stepping into the elevator as the doors dinged and opened. He watched the doors shut between them and he let out choked breath, the tears already starting to form in his eyes. "Yeah, roommates," he murmured, covering his face with one hand, his eyes closing tight. "Fucking roommates."


Roman waited outside on the front steps of his and Cody's Spanish style home, his cell phone sliding from hand to hand as he waited. His eyes were focused on the road, sure that it wouldn't take long, but he didn't dare start working on his own for fear of being unable to do what he knew needed to be done.

It wasn't long before two cars pulled up, one with Dean and Seth, the other with one of his twin cousins Jon and his wife Trinity. "Hey guys, thanks for coming over so fast," he greeted, all four of them looking at him strangely as he stuffed his phone in his front pocket. "I need some help moving the house around."

"Not that I'm complaining Rome, but you need all four of us?" Trinity asked, looking from Roman to her husband, running a hand through the long, wavy hair before walking up the steps. "You and Cody don't have that much furniture."

"No, um," Roman started, jaw tightening. "Cody woke up last night," he bit out, leading them inside. He stopped at the door, slipping his flip flops off and stepping onto the cool carpet of the living room.

"Shit, why didn't you say that first?" Dean asked, wrapping an arm around Seth's shoulders, leaning into the smaller male as he slipped his sneakers off. "Rome?"

"He doesn't remember anything from the last three years."

"What?" Jon questioned, flabbergasted. "What do you mean he doesn't remember?"

Roman nodded, turning to the others. "He can't remember it. The last thing he remembers is going to get coffee with Drew three summers ago. He doesn't even remember meeting me."

"So, you're moving his shit out?" Dean asked incredulously, earning a harsh look from both Seth and Trinity, Jon's brown eyes still focused on Roman. "What? It was a legit question."

Roman shook his head. "No, I didn't want to stress him out more than he already was so I told him we were just roommates. I need help packing up our pictures and moving Cody's stuff into the guest room after getting it set up. He's doing great other than that. The doc called it a miracle so I just want to make it all up if he comes home before he remembers," he explained, scuffing his toe along the carpet. "I can't do it alone, not with this arm."

Seth took in the still bandaged arm, pulling free from Dean and wrapping his arms around Roman's neck. "I'm sorry Rome, this has to be pretty fucking hard," he whispered, holding tight to the taller male.

"You have no idea," Roman returned, sighing as he pulled back. "So, you think you and Dean can move some furniture, Jon, we'll work on the room and Trin, will you take down mine and Cody's pictures? I won't be able to take them down. I'll dig out some others to put up later."

It took Roman and Jon an hour to rearrange the spare room to make it functional enough for them to set up the bed and move in a spare dresser Roman had stored away in the garage. It was a decent sized room with a view into the backyard and a semi spacious closet.

Seth and Dean were standing next to the large window, both watching as Roman struggled to make the bed with Jon. Both knew better than to try and help. Dean looked over at Seth, taking in the worried brown eyes. "Hey, wanna walk with me for a minute?" he asked gently looking over at Roman and Jon. "If you need us yell, we're gonna take a break."

Roman nodded, wiping the sweat from his brow. "Yeah, if you wanna be useful go down to the station and grab us some drinks. I'll pay you back when you get back," he called, smiling slightly as the two walked out, both agreeing. He shook his head, trying not to be bitter at how close they were. No amount of wishing or silly bitterness would help Cody remember anything.

Dean reached into his pocket, grabbing out his pack of smokes and a lighter. He opened the pack and put one of the white cylinders to his mouth. He flicked his lighter and lit his smoke, dropping the lighter in the half empty pack before shoving it back in his jeans pocket. He inhaled, looking over at Seth before exhaling the smoke. "Promise me something?" he asked suddenly, stopping on the sidewalk.

Seth stopped too, looking over into the averted blue eyes. "Yeah okay," he murmured, cocking his head to the side, wondering what had gotten into his best friend. "You okay?"

Dean shook his head, taking a deep drag of his cigarette and looking up into the chocolate eyes. "No, I'm not fucking okay," he bit out, flicking the ash nervously. "There's some things I want you to know and with everything going on with Rome and Cody, I don't want to waste anymore time sitting on my ass."

Seth was confused. It was normal for Dean to be arrogant, cocky, pushy even, but it wasn't normal for him to be so unsure, actually it was very strange, and unsettling. "Dean, what's wrong? What's going on in your head?" Seth asked hurriedly, his hand grabbing Dean's jaw so that they were looking each other in the eye. "Dean?"

Dean sighed, looking back towards the concrete, his arm coming up to push Seth's hand away. It was lightening quick that he flicked his lit cigarette away and dug both of his hands into the front of Seth's shirt, yanking him so they were chest to chest. He looked deep into the confused and shocked eyes before crashing his lips into Seth's.

Seth stood there, eyes wide. He felt a tingling in his lips take over as his entire body stood stone still. It wasn't until he felt Dean's lips turn up into a strange smile before he pulled back that he even felt his lungs take in a shaky breath.

"Yeah, I figured you felt that way," Dean muttered, letting Seth go and walking away down towards the gas station. "I just wanted to get it out there in case something ever happened."

Seth touched his lips with the tips of his fingers, still feeling the bone crushing pressure of Dean's lips there. "Wait!" he called, jogging to catch up, a freshly lit cigarette already between the pink lips. "You just surprised me." He looked down at the concrete, watching his feet as his hands burrowed into his pockets. "I didn't… I didn't know you felt that way."

"Yeah, well just take it for what it is, I didn't want something to happen before I got the guts to say anything," Dean growled, not daring to look over. He kept walking, missing the soft smile on Seth's lips.


Roman sighed, stepping out of the spare bedroom and looking down the long hall into the open living room and kitchen. He eased his way out into the living room, groaning at how many pictures were missing from the walls. He looked over to where Trinity was sitting on his couch, a photo album in her lap. "What're you doing?" he asked gently, walking over and sitting down next to her, looking over the photos inside.

Trinity looked up, tears in her eyes. "Just looking at some pictures," she answered, looking down at the photos again. "This one was taken at the shop last summer, you and Cody were so happy."

Roman nodded, taking in his and Cody's bright, smiling faces, both in a pair of swim trunks and tang tops, posing right in front of Jon and Josh's large electric blue and cadmium yellow lightening bolt surfboard in the front of their Surf Shop. He closed his eyes, remembering that day perfectly, they'd taken a day to themselves to roam the boardwalk. He sighed, opening his eyes and looking away. He stood, both Jon and Trinity watching him as he walked over to the sliding glass door, grey eyes looking out onto the grass.

Jon eased in next to his wife, gently shutting the photo album and setting it on the coffee table. "We can help you put up some other photos Rome," he started, feeling more than a little sorry for his cousin. He took Trinity's hand in his and gave it a squeeze, hoping she understood its meaning.

Roman nodded, throat constricted with the flood of memories. He turned, two arms wrapping around his neck instantly. He tried to relax into Trinity's embrace, his arms shaking as they wrapped around her slim waist.

"It's okay to cry Rome," she whispered, her own voice shaky with tears. "We're family and we wouldn't think any less of you." He smiled softly, Roman's arms tightening around her as he buried his face into her shoulder, the hot tears leaking into the thick strap of her long red, yellow, and blue sunburst sundress.

Jon watched, heart breaking. He stood, walking towards the front door, ready to cut Seth and Dean off so Roman could have a few moments to himself. He silently opened the door and stepped out, shutting it just as quietly. He shoved his hands into his hip pockets, his loose Hawaiian shirt rustling in the light breeze.

Jon looked up into the clear blue sky, telling himself that the weather was just mocking them and Roman's pain. "C'mon Cody, you gotta remember him," he muttered, a jet liner passing through his line of sight. "He's never loved someone as much as he loves you."

"Everyone else slacking too?" Dean teased, walking up the drive and stopping in front of Jon, a plastic bag full of cool drinks hanging off of his forearm, a slush in his other hand. He looked up into the somber face, his entire demeanor changing.

"Rome just needed some time alone," Jon clarified, moving to sit on the stone steps. "Trin's with him. We're gonna put up some new photo's later on, depending on if Roman can even go through them."

Seth nodded, both hands starting to tighten around his own foam cup of blue slush. "Hey Dean," he whispered, barely audible. "If you aren't busy tomorrow, we should take him out. I don't want him cooped up in the house or stuck at the hospital."

Dean agreed gently, him and Jon sharing a thoughtful look between them. "You got an idea Jon?" he asked, a slow smile spreading across the Samoan's lips. "I figured you did."


(A/N): Well, I FINALLY feel like we're going somewhere. I hate when stories start off slow but I don't want to leave out any important details either. Anyway, I feel horrible for making Roman go through so much pain. I just wanna hug his big self! But at least he's got good friends and family! Well, stay tuned for the next chapter! Thoughts? As always, onwards and upwards! Title is Picking Up Pieces by Blue October.

JacktheSinister_JaketheJust