A/N- I thank you all for the reviews, I appreciate every one of them. I'm always looking for constructive criticism, so if you have any, please let me know. I let this story sit for a few days, and didn't work on it at all, then all the ideas starting pouring out, and I decided to start with this one. It's a turn that I wasn't going to make, but felt it was necessary. Read and tell me what you think. Enjoy!

"Maria, I can't." Randy says, letting go of her hand.

"Please, I don't want to be alone right now."

"Jeff said he would come and check on you soon." Randy says. It wasn't that he didn't want to stay with her, but that just wasn't him. He never stayed with a girl, it wasn't Randy Orton.

"Okay." She says in defeat, not pressing the issue. Randy sighs and walks out of the room. He kept pushing the guilt aside, stopping himself multiple times from going back to her. He as getting attached to her, and that's something he promised he would never do again, get emotionally attached to a women. He would just have to distance himself from her for awhile, then everything would be okay.

It was around an hour later Dave returned to the room he shared with Randy, only to find the young man laying on the bed with a far away look on his face. It wasn't very odd, and when he noticed Randy left the club early, he just figured Randy met a girl. It was strange that he was just laying on the bed, no girl in sight.

"What are you doing man?"

"Nothing." Randy answered, not bothering to look at him.

"My point exactly."

"Dave, I've been thinking, and I think I made a mistake with Hunter."

"What do you mean?" Dave asks skeptically.

"Evolution's my way to the belt. I'm not going to get far without Hunter right now." Randy explains.

"Stop underestimating yourself. Give it a few weeks, you will be fine."

"Look at me Dave! Two weeks without Hunter and I have no title, what's that saying?"

"Did you hear those fans cheering for you Randy, chanting your name? When was the last time you heard that?" Dave asks, hoping to make a point before Randy tells him something he doesn't want to hear.

"I'm sorry man, but this isn't right. Evolution made my career, hell it made me, and I can't turn my back on it." His life was out of order currently. With all his conflicting thoughts of Maria, him leaving Evolution, it was getting to him. He needed parts of his hold life back, and he was starting with Evolution.

"Are you listening to yourself? You turned on Hunter, do you really think he is just going to let you back in?"

"No, but he will eventually. I made my mind up Dave." Randy tells him, knowing it was best for him and his career.

"I welcomed you back with open arms last time you did this, I'm not going to this time Randy, I hope your prepared to stick with this decision this time, because there is no going back." Dave says, keeping his anger in check. Something had to happen to trigger Randy's sudden interest in rejoining Evolution.

"I know." Randy says, not meeting his eyes. By this time, Dave was already gathering his stuff.

"I'm glad you know Randy, and I hope you see what a big mistake this is all going to be." Dave says, zipping up his suitcase.

"Dave, just because I'm not going to team with you doesn't mean we can't room together."

"Kennedy's shooting his movie, so Jericho isn't rooming with anyone, I'll be there." Dave says, not offering anything else and leaving. Randy knew this would be tough at first, but Dave would eventually come around, or he at least hoped he would.

The following day, there were no events scheduled, so Randy figured that would be the perfect time to find Hunter and talk to him. He knew Hunter would be staying a few floors up, the rooms were fancier and had better quality, and that was what Evolution was all about. He hoped to avoid people at all cost, but of course, he wasn't that lucky. He saw Maria walking in the hallway, looking sick as ever. She said hi, and instead of replying he turned his head and continued walking. Nothing was going to distract him this time. Nothing. He cautiously knocked on the door to room 718A, trying to hide his nerves when the door opened.

"Did you come for your beating early or something?" Ric jokes, standing in the doorway. Randy sighed in relief, partially glad it wasn't Hunter who answered.

"No, I came to talk to you and Hunter." Randy answered.

"Then come on in Champ." Randy smile gratefully at the name Champ. Ric always called him that, and Randy was sure he ruined it with everything that went down. Ric was like a father to him, always offering advice and tips to the younger man.

"Who was it Ric?" A voice from the bathroom yelled, obviously Hunter.

"Walk out and see you lazy ass." Ric replies. Randy swallows and prepares for whatever it is Hunter is going to do or say to him.

"I wasn't being lazy, I was...what do you want?" Hunter begins, stopping when he sees Randy.

"To apologize, to you and Ric, for what happened."

"What, is this supposed to stop us from kicking your ass Monday?"

"No, Hunter look, I want back in." Randy says, getting right to the point.

"Great, now that we made up, lets hug." Hunter says sarcastically rolling his eyes.

"I made a mistake, Okay, I messed up."

"Finally come to your senses?"

"Yes." Randy answers honestly. Hunter looked at him a little oddly, not expecting him to agree. It was one thing for Randy to apologize, but to admit he made a mistake was something no one was used to, including Randy himself.

"So what is this, is this you and Batista's plan to take the rest of Evolution down?"

"No."

"Good, because if it was, it sucked anyway. As we all know, nothing is going to take us down." Hunter says confidently.

"I know."

"I'm not letting you back in this easily, your going to have to prove yourself. I don't fully trust you yet." Hunter says, still unsure if Randy has a hidden agenda. It wouldn't surprise him if he did, Randy learned from Hunter himself, and he was one of the best.

"I know, and I'll do whatever you want." Randy says, almost groveling at Hunter's feet. Hunter had the perfect test.

"Monday night, I want you to take out Dave. You do that, your back in the spotlight, and we'll forget these past few weeks even happened."

"I'll see you Monday then." Randy says, not waiting for a response before leaving. As soon as he was out the door, Ric spoke up.

"What do you think is going on?"

"Either he has something planned, or he realized he is nothing without us."

"The kid could be a big star on his own." Ric points out.

"Your right, he could be, but he doesn't know that."

"I thought the point on Evolution was to create stars." Ric says, not sure if it is smart for Randy to come back.

"It is, but right now we need him. The whole rosters going to be on Batista's side. Randy's one more that we have on our side."

"Hunter, we are going to need more than just Randy now that Dave's out."

"I'm already working on that."

"What are you going to do is he turns on us?"

"I will do what is right." Hunter says, his eyes glancing to the corner where his trusty sledge hammer was.

"Besides, he isn't up to anything. He was nervous as hell, if he was planning something, he would have been calm and cool about it." Hunter continues.

"And if he is up to something, I know just how to get him back." Hunter says, not giving Ric a chance to talk.

"And that is...?"

"Maria."