Chapter Four

AJ kept walking, not looking back at Ric's room. He kept in constant motion until he was in the confines of his own room, leaning against the wall and replaying everything that just happened in his head. He put his hand to his head, thinking about his back and forth with Hunter Helmsley, the conversation he heard him have with Ric, and of course, his own conversation with Ric.

"What the heck is happening to you, Jones?" He muttered. So much had happened in less than twenty four hours; it almost felt like a whole 'nother lifetime. Between every revelation and every confrontation, AJ found himself longing for the usual quiet routine he had. Half of him wanted to call up Chris, ask him if they can spar for a while or something, but he knew Chris would read him right away and just know something was wrong. And he couldn't imagine trying to explain this to Chris, even.

Right then, he didn't want to think about Helmsley, or Shawn Michaels, or Roddy Piper or even Ric Flair. He wanted to get his mind off the situation, come back to it when everything wasn't so fresh. All he could hear was Shawn's voice, cruelly mocking him about Ric Flair's 'routine', Ric's voice, talking to Hunter but every word a direct plea to AJ, and Rod's voice, sympathetic with his situation and Ric's, and he wanted to escape it all until it didn't feel so raw and painful. He knew the pain wouldn't fully go away, but right now, it was way too much.

For some reason, out of all the things flowing through his mind, he could hear Helmsley's voice more clearly than anyone else's. He's not as strong as you inside, kid. You got him beat by a long shot and that's real talk. AJ could almost laugh at that; the thought of him being strong, much less stronger than Shawn Michaels, seemed ludicrous. Never had AJ felt more weak than in the past day, standing in front of men who he never thought he would even share an air space with, much less share a Y chromosome.

Finally, AJ decided he couldn't stay in the room any longer. He grabbed a sweatshirt and threw it on, putting the hood over his head as he made his way through the hall and down a couple of flights to the hotel gym. Unless a friend invited him along to the gym with them, he usually preferred to work out alone. It was a chance to get reacquainted with his body, with himself, and figure out what he needed to do for himself in the future.

And right now he'd definitely rather meet up with his body than his mind and all the thoughts spinning around up there.

Soon, he was more focused on the jogging he had to do to keep up with the treadmill, but he could still hear the voices echoing through his skull. Voices of his family. For so long, it was him, his ma, and his grandma... that was his family. The idea that there were two more people that closely related to him threw him like nothing else. He was thirty one, a man already, and suddenly he had a father. And he had Shawn.

Shawn, who didn't want anything to do with him. That night, when AJ told Shawn that he was no brother of his, he fully meant it... but now, he wasn't so sure. He was curious about the kind of man who would incite someone like Helmsley to start an argument with a man he doesn't know. He wondered if there was anything they had in common, besides the blue eyes and their calling in wrestling- he seemed so different. Could AJ find a little of himself in the Heartbreak Kid, or vice versa?

But curiosity wasn't enough to overcome the obvious cold shoulder he'd gotten. There he was, more confused than either Shawn or Ric, stuck between two men with history on their side, two men who were his family- and Shawn just piled onto the experience. He could remember how angry he was at Shawn's ranting, his relentless hatred that decimated anyone who stood in it's way. Even his best friend. Even a man he didn't know- a man he was told was his brother.

He'd asked if it were a rib, and he wished so hard that it was all just some elaborate hoax. But the real emotion around him, even from Shawn at his coldest, told AJ all he needed to know- he was Ric Flair's son. And thirty-one years after he was born at that. He couldn't help but think, why then and there? Was he waiting to get to know AJ before announcing the whole thing? And if so, why did he have to do it in front of Shawn like that?

This isn't working. AJ sighed, turning off the treadmill. He put his hands on the bars, leaning forward as he took deep breaths, trying to relax from the run. Ric and Shawn and Hunter were still on his mind, weighing down on him. He dismounted the treadmill, grabbing a towel off the rack and wiping the sweat off of the back of his neck.

At this rate, it was going to be a long day.


Shawn did not leave his room at all the next day. He just didn't feel like it, a part of him secretly feeling safer inside than outside the four walls of his suite. He had been up most of the night crying but he finally managed to get some sleep courtesy of Vince. They curled up on the bed, Vince holding him and whispering words of comfort until Shawn dozed off. When he finally woke up the next morning, Vince was sitting on the edge of the bed smiling down at him.

"Morning angel."

Shawn sat up in bed frowning, having forgotten most of the events of the night before. He stifled a yawn, staring at his boss curiously. "Vince? What are you doing in my room?

The older man chuckled softly, reaching out to pat Shawn's shoulder. "You had one hell of a night last night. I stayed to make sure you at least got a little shut eye."

Shawn thought for a minute wondering if everything that happened was really just a bad dream and if Vince was just an illusion. He looked beside him grabbing his cell off the nightstand. The screen was blinking alerting him to several missed calls, most of them from Hunter. "I'm not dreaming am I?" he asked softly.

"No Shawn. It's—its all real son."

"Son…" he scoffed. "What a son I turned out to be." He folded his arms across his chest and shuddered, the cool air from the room finally getting through to him. Vince stood up to fix the air then came back and resumed his seat.

"Shawn, I have some meetings I need to get to so will you be alright if I leave you?"

Shawn rolled his eyes. "I'm not suicidal Vince if that's what you're getting at. I'm way over it."

"Well…maybe not suicidal but…Ric—

"Don't say his name!" he spat. "Don't…and do not call him my father either. I don't want to talk about it so if that's all you're gonna harp on about then go. By all means please leave." He grabbed a pillow from beside him and just brought it to his chest holding it tightly, trying his best to remain stoic. It was a brand new day and yet he could still feel all the pain from last night as if it just happened.

"Shawn? Shawn listen to me. You can't-," he sighed. "You have to get this pain off of your chest eventually. I'm here. I could cancel all my meetings if you want and we can get to the bottom of this today."

"Get to the bottom of what Vince? It's already out in the open. He said all I care to hear. Now it's all about me moving forward and forgetting he ever existed."

Vince shook his head. "Shawn, you know me. I'll do anything in the world for you and most times I bend my own rules for the sake of your happiness, but…I think you should reach out to Ric. He did a bad thing, but you've known Ric long enough to know that he's a good man. Give him a chance to make up for his loss. I'm sure it's killing him right now knowing that you hate his guts."

Shawn shook his head. "No. I don't want to see let alone talk to Ric. I can't. I—I looked up to that man growing up and 20 years later I'm finding out that it was my father, my real blood father all along and he knew I was his son." Shawn laid back down turning away from Vince. "I don't care," he mumbled. "He had too many opportunities to tell me that he was my father... and that I had a brother! Just... forget it. I'm done with him. He couldn't even keep his damn promise not to wrestle anymore so why should I risk him breaking my heart again? I hate him."

The room was quiet for the next several minutes; Vince stroking Shawn's cheek watching him shed tears quietly as he thought about everything that has happened. While Shawn did have a point about Ric's retirement, he couldn't say that he blamed Ric for not telling Shawn when he was younger. Shawn wasn't exactly the most stable person back then and between losing his Kliq buddies and Montreal, finding out that Ric Flair is your daddy wouldn't have made things any easier for an already broken individual.

Vince reached over pulling a strand of silky hair placing it behind Shawn's ear. He stroked his cheek wishing there was a way to help him more, but he couldn't. All he could do was be the ears and comfort he's been throughout the years and hope that his advice would sink in. Shawn was a proud, stubborn man; very much like his father but of course Shawn wouldn't want to hear it. With a sigh, he pulled away. "Shawn, I know right now this is hurting you, but there's no doubt in my mind that Ric's hurting too. I'm almost positive he waited this long because he didn't know how to tell you. You—can you imagine what it would have been like for you in the locker room if people knew that Ric Flair was your father?"

When Shawn didn't answer, Vince moved away, grabbing his coat and cell starting for the door. "Just—just think about it all Shawn. Don't be so quick to dismiss Ric without first trying to understand. Ric, the Styles boy…it might all seem strange right now, but in the end, they're still your family and they will love you no matter what. How could they not? You're Shawn Michaels. Just…just keep that in mind." He looked at his watched and sighed. "I have to get going, but promise me you'll call later? Check in. I'll answer no matter what." Shawn nodded his head. "Alright, well…see you later."

Vince left the room, taking a deep breath as he closed the door. He crossed the hall into the elevator and when the doors finally closed him in, he all but fell back against the wall sighing, thinking of Shawn, thinking of Ric and praying that it all would somehow work out in the end even if right now, it seemed all but possible. Good luck Ric. At least it's not a secret anymore…


Roddy moved slowly up the stairs, part out of thought, and part because unfortunately twenty-something had waved goodbye a few too many months ago. He would have just taken the elevator but his stubborn streak had showed itself today—though it rarely lay dormant—and he had decided he couldn't allow himself to experience the joy of that groovy music played upon the elevators metal doors dinging open. Besides, right now his head seemed to be closing in with so many thoughts, and all he needed to add on top of it was a for real tight space to make it all seem that much worse. He arrived back to the place he'd left that morning, Ric's room. He stood outside the door for a few moments to collect himself, and then pushed the door open, seeing as how it wasn't shut all the way. "Ric?" Roddy called quietly.

He saw the man belonging to the name standing at the rooms single window. The bright daylight spilled into the room and over Ric's features but despite its obvious warmth and radiance, the room felt cold. Not shivery cold, but emotional cold, as if the colors had been zapped from it. The bed sheets were still rumpled and shoved to the end of the bed, from what little sleep he and Ric had gotten the night before. The bedclothes seemed like weary wrinkles and frown-lines. With a sigh, Roddy crossed the room, and laid a hand on Ric's shoulder.

Ric barely felt the touch, as his numb gaze fell over the parking lot below, but didn't really see its painted parking spaces or the cars filling them. His sight was cast back over the years, to things that no longer existed but only in memories, and twisted, aged forms of what they once were. He rolled the glass in his hand, and his misty eyes pulled away from his troubled thoughts and cast down onto the amber liquid swishing in the glass he'd gotten from the mini-bar. He tilted it to his lips and swallowed the familiar, favorite liquor. He both loved it and hated it, it having been a faithful companion over the years, and yet also the instigator of far too many mishaps and insanities. He sat the emptied glass onto the windowsill, and thought about getting more, but what would it help? He'd been drinking this same love affair when a casual fling with a dark-haired girl became an Allen Jones. He decided more was not a good idea, more never was, but despite that he reached for the bottle of Crown. The hand placed gently on his shoulder moved, and took it from him.

"Ric, don't. It ain't gonna help." Roddy said, taking a swig of it himself before capping it up.

Ric sighed, and traced his fingertip along the rim of the glass on the windowsill. "What helps, Pipes?"

"It won't change overnight. I think you're on the right course though." Rod patted Ric's back. "You gotta be patient, you gotta say the hard things that need to be said, and listen to the hard things that need to be heard."

"God Roddy, I don't know what everyone wants me to say. I've said it, I made mistakes, I chose myself over AJ, I didn't tell Shawn what he needed to know, I screwed everything up. I know they have a right to know all the answers Pipes, but I don't have 'em all. There are questions I ask myself and I can't even answer them. I feel so horrible, about all of this, about hurting them both by not being there, and hurting them all over again by being here now. I'm afraid of how many more interrogations there are to come, how many questions I'm gonna have to try and account for—and there are these two cops shining the light in my eyes, and they're my sons, and they're begging me to fess up to my crimes, and I'm guilty."

Roddy's arms circled around Ric's waist, pulling the older man's back close to his chest and holding him. "Ric, we're all guilty of fuckin' up, to put it plainly. You can't keep doin' this to yourself, you have to look to the-"

"I know Rod, I know. Look to the future…I said that earlier when Hunter was down here. It's easy to say, and I know it's true, but it's hard to see that future right now. All I see is a big mountain of my past sins in my way." Ric's hands found Roddy's, clasped at his waist, and he rested his palms against them.

"But from where you're standing, you only see one side of that mountain. What's on the other side?"

There was a mute moment between them, and finally Ric shook his head, and gave an exasperated sigh. "I don't know."

"Then you better get some ropes and a Sherpa and get to climbin', brother. You gotta get over the bad side, before you can see if the sun's shinin' on the opposite face."

"Wow…" Ric turned in Roddy's arms, and looked into those green eyes, so full of everything he loved. "How the hell did you get so wise?"

Roddy shrugged. "Holy cow! I don't know what goes on in my mind, or why, it just…does."

Ric smiled then, he couldn't help it. "Roddy, will you be my Sherpa-guide?"

Roddy grinned back, and pressed his forehead to Ric's. "I'll be whatever I can, Naitch."

"Thank you."


When Hunter left Ric's that morning, he just couldn't go back to see Shawn just yet. He needed some more time to think about things before facing down his best friend who was as predictable as the weather. You never knew about Shawn and just when you thought the smoke was clear, you'd soon learn that you were sadly mistaken. He drove around for a few hours trying to clear baggage out of his head so he could think straight but nothing was working. He gave up mid afternoon sighing as he pulled his car in the parking lot in front of the hotel Shawn was staying in. He got out but decided to stay outside, propped against it for a bit. He looked up towards the sky, staring at the windows of the hotel. Somewhere in that building on one of those top floors was his best friend, and the eldest son of the "Nature Boy" Ric Flair. Last night Shawn was hurting like crazy. The hurt he reflected rivaled that of the hurt he suffered the night of the Screw Job, a place Hunter knew he should put aside since Shawn and Bret were now "friends" but it was hard. Bret really, really hurt Shawn by leaving him and just couldn't understand the position he put Shawn in despite all of the desperate pleas from Shawn the night of. Thirteen years passed. It took thirteen years to clear the air but was it all really clear?

He shook his head. He thought maybe he'd feel a little better and have a better understanding of the situation after talking with the Naitch this morning, but in true Slick Ric fashion, Ric managed to get out of giving any sort of concrete answers which only made Hunter that much angrier. How could he possibly help Shawn understand if Ric was being so dodgy? The way it looked, Ric had little to no excuse about waiting and if he kept this Slick Ric stuff up, neither AJ nor Shawn would ever forgive him. AJ… Maybe it wasn't fair to speak for AJ he thought, especially after their confrontation just now. He only spent a couple of minutes with him but it was just enough time to get an idea of what the real Allen Jones was like and he was nothing like his brother – nothing at all. If Shawn would have been the one Ric was trying to reason with there would have been lots of yelling; dramatics rather, as Shawn had perfected the art of being a drama queen over the years after discovering it was the best defense as well as offense when it came to getting around the World Wrestling Federation in one piece. He was a little guy; not one you would just give a world title to, but he bitched, tantrumed, and moaned his way to the top and the fact that he usually had the best match on the card tipped the hat in his favor eventually winning over the boss. But AJ… AJ was calm the whole time, even with Hunter's constant subtle shots at him. He refused to get worked up and even when he towered over him, AJ proudly stood his ground, straight and tall, refusing to be intimidated. His brother though, may have stood his ground as well, but dramatics would have certainly been present. Alike, and yet nothing alike…

He sighed. Standing out here wasn't going to solve any of the problems and he owed it to Ric as well as himself to make an attempt at patching things up again. He slowly rose to his feet and made his way back to Shawn's room. He knocked quietly, listening with sweaty palms as soft footsteps approached the door pulling it open.

"Hunt?" a soft voice asked.

Hunter winced. "I'm sorry Shawn, but you know me. I couldn't just—I left you alone last night out of respect but I had to come back. I needed to see that you were okay." He looked away for a moment chewing his lip, praying that Shawn wouldn't push him away again.

"Hunt…" Shawn took his hand pulling him inside the room. He leaned against the closed door watching his nervous friend with sad eyes. He could tell Hunter got about as much sleep as he did the night before which meant he too was torn up about everything. "Hunter I'm glad you dropped by."

Hunter stopped pacing looking over at his friend curiously. "You are?" He wasn't expecting that one.

"Yeah." Shawn smiled weakly. "I mean, don't get me wrong Hunt. I am still highly pissed off about the way things went down last night, but I could never really stay mad at you. You're all I got in the world Hunter. I—I need you."

"Oh Shawn…" Hunter pulled his friend close sighing, just happy to be back in his good graces. "You know you really scared me last night. I didn't sleep a wink," he teased in an attempt to lighten the mood.

Shawn nuzzled his face in his friend's chest. "I figured," he mumbled. "I only slept because of Vince and even with him around I had nightmares. Kept seeing Ric's face over and over, staring back at me from the night of his send off. It was…not good Hunt."

"Yeah uh…speaking of Ric, I talked to him this morning – not that you care," he added quickly.

"You're right. I don't which is why we're going to talk about something else; something I've been meaning to tell you for a while now but I didn't because even I had my doubts about it." He pulled away from his friend deciding that there wouldn't exactly be a good time to tell him this so he just blurted it out. "Hunt, I'm retiring this year. Wrestlemania 26 will be my last and then I'm done with it all."

Hunter frowned. "Michaels now is not the time for joking. I mean," he laughed. "I get that humor is sometimes a good way to mask forms of pain but this isn't really something a cruel joke can…" Hunter stopped mid-sentence when he saw the look on his friend's face. He seemed to be fighting back tears, but aside from that, the determined look in his eyes told Hunter that he'd already made up his mind. "You…you're really calling it quits this year?" Shawn nodded. "But why? Why now? If this is because of Ric—

"Ric merely helped make my decision final," he added softly. "I can't do this anymore Hunt. I'm exhausted and truth be told, I wouldn't be able to concentrate on my job anyway without thinking of Ric and AJ so…so maybe it's high time I get away and just relax. I have so many things I need to think about and being on the road all the time won't help. It'll be a temporary distraction but even you know I need to find a way to deal with this." He turned away from Hunter shaking his head. "This hurts ya know? This really, really hurts. I can't even begin to describe the pain I feel in my chest right now. A part of it is due to the fact that I still have love for Ric the wrestler, but Ric the father is a man I'd like to punch out right about now." He sighed. "Please don't try and talk me out of this because I don't want to fight with you anymore. I just—I just want to make it through this next week so I can find a way to get on with my life – without Ric."

Hunter scoffed shaking his head. "Shawn this is almost too much for me to deal with right now. I can't—you can't do this to me! What the hell am I supposed to do without you? I thought we agreed to—

Shawn held up his hand trying to remain as calm as possible. "Hunter, now is not the time to argue with me about a childish agreement we had about our retirements. I can't—do this and you don't necessarily need me around anymore. It would be different if we were together but we're not so save it."

"Shawn you seem to have it in your head that it's okay to make rash decisions without talking to your best friend about it. Well it's not okay Shawn," he growled fighting back his own tears. "It's not okay especially since you know I'd never do this to you…just—just up and leave without discussing it with you first and getting your thoughts and feelings about it!"

"Hunter this is stupid and I refuse to argue with you about it!" he snapped. "You can't tell me how I feel. Only I know since this is my body!" He scoffed, shaking his head. "I thought maybe you of all people would be able to understand this but maybe I was wrong."

"Shawn-"

"Hunter, I am physically, mentally and emotionally exhausted," he cried. "Just—for one more time Hunt pretend that you understand and just…let me be. I don't want to argue with you and I don't want us at odds this last week. I need you in my corner so I can do this and not feel so terrible about it."

A long, eerie silence filled the room only accompanied by the sound of light sobs. Hunter turned away from his friend raking a hand through his hair in his own attempt to process everything as well as hold back his own tears. He waited a minute, turning back to watch his friend who was now leaning against the door with his head down, his figure wearing a too familiar posture that screamed defeat. It was just enough to silence his argument for now. Shawn had that same look of defeat about him – the same one he experienced just an hour or two earlier in Ric Flair's room. Hunter shook his head. As much as he hated this, he just couldn't find it in his heart to argue any more, even if he was hurting just as much as the man before him. "Who else knows about this?" he asked quietly.

Shawn looked up wiping his eyes. "Just you, Vince and Mark. No one else knows and they won't know until I'm pinned next Sunday in front of the entire world."

Hunter choked back a sob. "Fuck…Shawn…what am I gonna—I feel like my heart's been ripped out of my chest. I know we're not together but—God Shawn…" Hunter could barely stand on his own two feet anymore and if it wasn't for the smaller arms holding him tightly from behind he would have fallen over from exhaustion – both physically and emotionally. It was just all too much to process.

"I'm sorry Hunter," Shawn whispered. "I'm sorry…"

Hunter found the strength to turn to him and just hold him, wrapping his arms tightly around him while they both sobbed. Hunter held him as closely and tightly as his weak arms would allow him, kissing the top of his head and just familiarizing himself with his best friend all over again. Just knowing that this could very well be the last time they shared a room together did a number on his heart. He pulled away from his friend, taking him by the hand leading him over to the bed.

"H-Hunt?"

Hunter shook his head. "Shawn I know we're not together anymore but you can't—I need some time to…"

"Hunt, this won't make things any easier-"

"Shawn I just need to hold you," he pleaded. "Just—I need to hold you. Is that alright?" Hunter cupped the side of his face tenderly, tears streaming down his face as he pleaded quietly with his friend. "Just…This is my way of dealing with this. I need you—one last time I need you Shawn. Can you do that for me?"

Shawn's voice was gone so he simply nodded, his body barely registering the feel of Hunter's arms placing him on the bed. It wasn't until he was being pulled into Hunter's chest, his warm breath bouncing off the suddenly sensitive flesh around his neck area and the feel of his familiar warmth against him that he choked out another sob.

"I still love you ya know. Always have Shawn…always will."

Shawn didn't say anything. He just allowed Hunter to hold him, each man enjoying the familiar comfort of the other for one last time.