"A broken neck?" Matt exclaimed, hoping his expression showed nothing but concern. Secretly, he couldn't believe his luck. This would work into his plans very nicely.

"Yeah," Adam grumped from the gurney he was sitting on. "Fractured, anyway. But that means broken."

"They're sure?"

"Positive. Said I probably injured it a while back and didn't realize it."

"How do you not realize a broken freaking neck?" Terry demanded. He and his lover, Chris, were also in the room. Both of them had suffered the same injury and, in fact, Chris had only just returned after a long recovery period.

"It didn't feel any worse than the other pain I've had!" Adam shot back.

"Calm down," Chris intervened, giving his lover a quelling glance. "You know how it happens."

Terry grunted and looked away. Matt watched the exchange apathetically, as he did most things these days. A broken neck would mean Adam would be out of the picture for a while. And that would give Matt time to execute part two of his plan: seducing Shannon. This part he was looking forward to. At least now he would have someone to aim his sexual frustrations at. Good thing Shawn was sexy enough to be worth all of this trouble. Actually, Shannon would be the one shouldering most of the trouble, so who really cared? Matt fought the urge to smirk as he frowned down at his friend, so sat dejectedly against the wall behind him with an ice pack behind his neck.

"When you leaving for the hospital?" he asked.

"Tonight," Adam muttered.

"Well, no time like right away to start the process," Chris offered solemnly. "And even though you'll be out, you won't be going through it all alone."

"Yeah, we'll be down there as often as possible to keep you on track," Terry threatened.

"And, in his case, eat you out of house and home," Matt added with a wry smile, brining a small one to Adam's lips.

"Thanks, Matt," he replied.

"Any time, buddy," Matt smirked.

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Shane glared a hole through the back of Randy's head as he watched him make Jeff laugh at something he'd said. Shane and Molly say a few tables away in the catering room, fueling up before RAW began. It had been a few weeks since he'd kissed Jeff, but his lips still burned like it had just happened every time he thought about it. It was murder not to be able to comment on the younger man's relationship with that Orton guy, either. But he'd bitten his tongue and kept quiet … sure that any move on his part would only drive the relationship forward. As long as they roomed together, Shane could keep a reasonable eye on Jeff.

"You're not even looking at me," Molly grumbled, though there was a note of amusement in her voice.

"What's that?" he replied, turning to her apologetically. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be," she waved her hand away. "I've known for a while it wasn't working between us."

Well that floored him. He was hoping he wasn't too obvious about things, not wanting to hurt her feelings. Molly was a good friend and he wanted to keep it that way.

"Um … what?"

"Please!" she laughed, waving a hand dismissively in the air. "Kissing you is like kissing a brother. And don't tell me you haven't noticed. You never do more than give me a small kiss goodnight. Face it. We're not Gone With The Wind material, superhero-boy."

Trust Molly to bring a sense of humor into a breakup conversation. And he was sure that this was exactly that. It must have been the reason she'd insisted they meet in catering before the show rather than make plans for afterwards. As terrible as he'd been feeling for leading her on, he only felt relief that now the game had come to an end. His heart wasn't in it and it never felt right. In fact, it wouldn't feel right with anyone but Jeff. Shane discovered that no matter how hard he tried to fight his heart, it wouldn't let him lie to himself. He was in love with Jeff and no one else would do for him … no matter what the consequences were. Too bad he'd gone and shot it all to hell by kissing Jeff then claiming to be straight. There was little chance of convincing him to leave Randy now.

"I'm sorry," he said again, this time with a sad smile of his own. "I really do think the world of you."

"Back at you," she grinned. "But when the chemistry isn't there, it isn't there."

"I guess."

"Besides … you're interested in someone else."

The way she grinned at him salaciously made the hair on the back of Shane's neck stand up on end. Was he that obvious? Did she know more than that?

"Uh … um …"

"Oh, come one, Shane," she rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "I know damn well you're gay, or at least bi. I've been working around enough of them to be able to tell." She gestured around the room for effect. "And I know when a man is having a hard time coming to terms with such a thing, too."

"Y-you do?" he asked, eyes widening in horror. Just how much did she know?

"Uh huh," she nodded nonchalantly, picking at her plate of fruit with a fork. "I'm not sure who he is, but I'm certain of one thing: your mind is always on him. I can tell by that far-off look you get on your face. It's like you teleport somewhere else … with someone else."

"Oh, my God," he covered his face with one of his hands. "Molly, I am so sorry I made you feel like that."

"Like I said, it's no bog deal. Plus, now I have someone I can really talk to."

"What about the other divas?" he asked finally taking his hand away from his face and peering at her curiously.

"Most of them are dating each other," she replied, popping a chunk of cantaloupe into her mouth. "It's hard out here for a straight girl."

"I imagine it is," Shane grinned.

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Jay sat in the dressing room quietly, wrapping his wrists to prepare for the show. He was alone, but then this wasn't unusual these days. Jeff was busy juggling his relationship with Randy and his friendship with Shane, since it was clear the latter hated the former with a vengeance. And things were heating up between Drew and Stacy. Still, he didn't mind the solitude. It helped him to think about what was going on in his life and his career. But he did miss hanging out with Jeff so often.

Still, he did get to see his friend every so often, though Shane was always there, too. And while he didn't mind the dark-haired man, he preferred talking about personal things alone with Jeff … things Shane didn't know and Jay hoped he'd not have to explain. But Shane was nice, too and he did keep creepy people like Scott Steiner from bothering him.

But tonight Shane would be out with Molly, if that pattern held up. And Jeff and Randy likely already had plans. So Jay would spend his evening either alone in his and Drew's room (since Drew would likely be spending another night with Stacy) or at the hotel bar for a nightcap. He hadn't yet decided. He sighed as he checked his wrists again and waited to be called for his match.

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"So maybe you can come back with me to my room tonight?" Randy asked hopefully after Jeff stopped laughing at the story he'd told.

Jeff stifled the sigh that tried to escape. He wasn't sure he wanted this relationship to take that next step yet … if ever. Every night he was plagued by dreams of making love to Shane. Not once since his friend jumped over from Smackdown had Jeff fantasized about sleeping with Randy. And it was difficult to put on a happy face for their dates these days when all he could do was think about Shane. Yet none of this was in anyway Randy's fault, and he'd been nothing but wonderful to Jeff since they'd started dating.

And Shane had insisted that he was straight, though Jeff couldn't fathom what kind of a straight man would be able to kiss a gay man like that. It was as if Shane had branded his soul with that kiss and Jeff now bore his mark … metaphorically speaking. Still, the thought of another man's hands anywhere on his body gave Jeff the sensation of cheating on his soul mate. But Shane claimed he wasn't gay, and Jeff was most assuredly male. So they could never be … right?

Jeff chewed on a fingernail as Randy watched him patiently from the other side of the table. He was so nice and Jeff felt like such a jerk to lead him on. Shane was unavailable and Jeff just wanted to prove to himself that he could be loved. The sick feeling he'd had over feeling cheap and used hadn't completely faded away. He'd never felt like that before. Randy at least made him feel like he was worth more than a one-night stand. They'd been dating for weeks now and still hadn't had sex.

"Okay," he finally nodded, bringing a huge grin to Randy's handsome face.

"Yeah?" he asked to be sure.

"Yeah," Jeff replied with a small laugh.

"Great!"

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NOTE: More angsty stuff here. Thanks for the reviews!!!!!