Title: After Montreal

Rated: M (Mature)

Genre(s): Romance/Drama

Pair(s): Bret/Shawn, Mark/Hunter, etc.

Summary: That match may have cost him more than his reputation in Montreal. The entire roster is thrilled that Shawn is the new champion… but Shawn could care less. Because, out there, in front of millions of fans, he broke a man. He lost his boyfriend. And he's not sure that he could ever win him back. Until he receives news that could alter both of their lives forever…

Disclaimer: I don't own anyone, besides my OCs.

Warning: Slash, Mpreg

Part: 10/? – Sticks, Stones, and Bittersweet Words

OOOO

Bret stormed down the halls of the hospital several hours later, the fury he felt like white-hot fire beneath his skin. The traffic had been terrible, and the ride which should have only taken him two hours had almost taken four. And all of that time, his brother had been alone. Brown eyes lowered to the floor. With all of the shit that had happened recently, he knew that he hadn't been the best brother. But Owen had been his constant, his rock. The least that Bret could do was be the same when Owen needed him.

However, he fell short of the room that the nurse had said to be Owen's by three doors. Instead, he froze near a lonely brown bench in the wait area. There was a man there who was oddly familiar, almost uncomfortably so. His dirty blond hair fell loose over his shoulders, and his clear eyes were fixed on the television as horrific tales of murder were told on the daily news. It was the man that Bret had once called his boyfriend. It was the man that Bret had wanted to call his husband. But it would seem as if fate had another idea in mind.

Their baby-boy, Bryan, was curled into his side. His sandy blond head rested on Shawn's lap, and his brown eyes were slowly drooping. But every time that they would close fully, they would jolt open as if he had been shocked and he would shake off the firm hold that sleep seemed to have over him. Bret had to smile at the little one's resilience. He couldn't help but think that there was a hole in this picture however. And there was, because the area were Annalisa would have lain was vacant.

Hunter sat in one of the more comfortable chairs off to the side. In a few days, he would breach the six month mark. But he had already started to experience severe complications. On two separate occasions, he had experienced false labor. And one day at work, when Vince had made him wrestle – ironically, it had been the same night that he had injured his knee – he had fainted and almost lost the baby. Shawn was his only lifeline… he had been too disheartened by it all to tell Mark. So it was understandable that the two were extremely close.

"What the hell did you do to my brother?" Bret seethed. Of course, he already knew what had happened to his brother, but he needed to hear Shawn say it. "Why the hell would you hurt him? Why?"

Shawn nearly jumped out of his skin. Hunter was quick to defend his best friend. "It was my fault, Bret. I was -,"

Bret's brown eyes widened. "Oh, Shawn, I didn't know that your voice had changed. Because, suddenly, you sound like a whiny little bitch who only knows how to talk through his fists!" Hunter was about to interject, but Bret wouldn't let him. "And the only way to shut him up, it seems, is to stuff something in his mouth!"

Hunter's eyes widened. Tears silently brewed in the hazel depths as the hormones took control. "You're a real bastard, Bret. And you're really lucky that your nose is still broken, or else -,"

Bret cut him off. "Go ahead. Hit me. I dare you." Bret tested him. "Or are you all talk and no action, just like Mark said?"

Bret saw the punch coming, but didn't try to move out of the way. Instead, he listened to the familiar crunch of the bones as Hunter broke his nose for the second time. "Don't ever talk about my relationship with Mark."

"Oh, but why not? He's told me the most interesting stuff about you." Bret said.

"Bret…" Shawn trailed. He had never seen his boyfriend like this, and it kind of scared him.

"Like what?" Hunter's curiosity won over in the end, but even then his voice trembled.

Bret shrugged, rolling his eyes heavenward as if he were trying to remember something important. "Hmm… there was a story about how utterly unsatisfying you are in bed. Or what about that one about your… 'whorish tendencies', shall we say? And then there's a rumor about him and the women, but I'm sure it's just a rumor…"

"What rumor?" Hunter asked, tears streaming down his face in two identical rivers. Had Mark really said all that about him? "Please, tell me…"

"You wouldn't want to hear it…" Bret shook his head.

"No!" Hunter exclaimed, flinching at his own stentorian voice. "I want to know. Please…"

Bret shook his head. "I'm still not sure… oh well, what's the harm? I heard that he's been with every… woman… on… the… roster. Some more than once. And he enjoyed every minute of it."

"No…" Hunter trailed off, looking terribly drained.

"Yes." Bret assured.

Just then, Hunter's stomach turned on him and he ran away. This left Bret and Shawn to their own devices. After that conversation, Bret was left with a feeling of emptiness. Should he not be satisfied? He had just done what some had claimed could never be accomplished… he had reduced Hunter Hearst Helmsley to tears. And didn't the blond deserve it? He had ruined his relationship and he had hurt his brother. Didn't he deserve to feel pain in return? But if that was true, why did Bret feel worse than before?

Shawn just stared at him. He couldn't believe what he had just seen. How could his loving, caring boyfriend be so cold? Hunter had just been trying to help him, like any good friend would. Why couldn't Bret see that? He had half a mind to take the now-sleeping Bryan and follow Hunter to make sure that he was okay. But, deep down, he knew that that was not an option. He needed to face Bret if they were ever going to be able to move past this. So, for the first time, he really looked at the older man.

He looked like he hadn't had a decent night's sleep in a week, which easily accounted for his overall bitchiness. There were large, dark bags underneath his eyes, and the eyes themselves were swollen and red-rimmed. He hadn't shaved and, more importantly, he hadn't showered. His clothes were wrinkled, as if he had just pulled them out of a pile and thrown them on. Shawn didn't doubt that he had. He didn't doubt that Bret would drop everything to come to the aid of his little brother.

"Bret," Shawn tried, but it was useless. Bret was off in his own little world.

"I don't want to hear it, Shawn. You're in this just as deep as Hunter is, if not more. You're hands are covered in the same blood." Bret looked down at the floor. "And I don't want that blood smeared on my hands."

"What are you saying?" Shawn asked, even if he knew the answer.

"We're over. Officially… over." Bret sighed. "When you put my brother in the middle of this, you crossed a line."

Tears brewed in Shawn's eyes, and he found himself untangling his body from Bryan's and moving closer to Bret. But for every step closer he was to Bret, Bret took one step back. "Please, don't do this. Please."

"Why didn't you tell me about the baby, Shawn?" Bret asked, his voice trembling.

"What?" Shawn started. How did Bret find out about the baby?

"Am I not a good enough father, is that it?" Bret felt Shawn rest his face on his chest, tears streaking down his face and soaking Bret's shirt. "Is it even my baby?"

Shawn tensed. "How could you even ask that?" His voice was muffled by the fabric of his shirt.

"I need an answer, Shawn."

Shawn hesitated. He didn't mean to, but his throat closed and he couldn't force any words to come out. And then, Bret's warm hands wrapped around his arms and forced him off of him. "I-I…"

"That's all that I needed to hear." Bret said.

Shawn couldn't move. All he could do was watch as Bret moved around to the front of the bench and knelt down before Bryan, brushing the little boy's blond hair away from his face and kissing his forehead. Tired brown eyes slowly fluttered open, and a small smile flickered across his face before he succumbed to exhaustion once more. Luckily, he hadn't heard a word of the conflict that had gone on mere minutes before. Bret kissed his forehead one more time, before he looked to Shawn. And then he left.

Mark entered the hotel room that he shared with his boyfriend around 3:00 AM, about an hour after Hunter himself had arrived. The blond had been unable to sleep and he now lay back on the bed, underneath the blankets, with both of his hands resting on his baby bump. He felt sick and dizzy, and occasionally the baby would kick particularly hard and it would send him reeling. When he saw Mark, he immediately tried to turn away from him. But even that small movement made him feel sick and weak.

"Hunt…" Mark trailed, shedding his top and climbing into bed beside the smaller man. When the blond didn't turn at the sound of his beloved nickname, Mark frowned. "Hunt… what's the matter?"

Hunter wheezed, "No. I don't want to talk to you. No. Just leave me alone."

"Hunt, what's the matter? Please, tell me. Is there a problem with the baby?" Mark managed to wrap an arm around the smaller man and rest a hand on his distended abdomen.

"No." Hunter hissed as another vicious kick made him see stars. He took a slow breath to try and calm himself, but his heart continued to hammer away in his chest. "The baby is fine."

"Then what's the matter?" Mark asked once more.

"I don't want to talk about it." Hunter denied him. He didn't think that he would be able to look him in the eye.

Slowly, Mark stroked Hunter's soft blond hair. For some reason, he had a feeling that the smaller man needed him now more than ever. "Is this about what happened with Owen? Vince said that the doctors said he'll be released early tomorrow."

"It's not about Owen. And, like I said, I don't want to talk about it." Hunter retorted.

"Fine." Mark said. He knew when it was better to just let the matter drop, and now was that time. "We'll drop this, for now. But tomorrow, I want to talk about this. Okay?"

"Whatever." Hunter said.

Out of the corner of his eye, the blond watched as Mark drew himself up and walked into the en-suite bathroom to make himself ready for bed. He found himself thinking. Thinking about Shawn's relationship with Bret and how he had always tried so hard to be the best friend, the best supporter that he could. Had that all backfired? Did Bret really hate him so much… did Shawn? Hunter squeezed his eyes closed as another wave of pain washed over him. Slowly, he breathed in and out. In and out. In and out.

Finally, his eyes slid closed and he was able to fall into a light doze. When Mark came in a few minutes later, he carefully drew the blankets over his lithe body and kissed his cheek. And then, he rested his hand where their baby rested safely within him. Their little girl. A little Christina, or maybe Clara Bella. They still hadn't decided on a name. But that didn't matter. All that mattered was that she was happy, and healthy, and safe. And all of the rest of the world faded in comparison…

OOOO

A/N: Please Review!