DISCLAIMER: As much as it breaks my heart to admit it, I do not own anyone or anything connected to Vince McMahon and his awesomeness. I can only claim property rights of OC.

Claire dug her cellphone out of her purse on the third ring. She checked the caller I.D., hoping that Cody had finally decided to call her back. Nobody had been able to reach him since he had stormed out of her room yesterday morning. Everybody she had asked hadn't be able to tell her anything. All she could do was hope Cody decided to show up at the venue. Claire bit back a groan as she looked at her phone. Stephanie. This was the call she had been waiting for and dreading all at the same time. Forcing herself to take a deep breath, she answered the phone.

"I'm sure there must be a good reason why you're the only one who hasn't turned anything in." Stephanie didn't waste time being courteous. That must be a new habit she'd picked up from her husband, Paul. "Imagine my surprise when you not only miss deadline but you start avoiding my calls. What's going on?"

"It's complicated." How many times had she said that in the last 24 hours? Too many it seemed.

"Try me."

Claire took a deep breath, trying to figure out just how much of an explanation she could give without having to confess everything. "Randy's not easy to work with. I'm dealing with Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde here. I never know what kind of a day I'm going to have until it's too late."

At least that much is the truth Claire thought.

"Are you getting much out of Cody and Ted?" Claire could hear Stephanie moving around on the other end of the line.

Damn, how should she answer that? Claire knew she couldn't tell Stephanie what had happened, "I kinda hit a brick wall there, too." Okay, not exactly a lie but not exactly the truth either. Things had been going quite well with Cody until recently. Now she had no fucking clue what was going on.

"Really? That's surprising. I figured you'd at least get enough out of them to make deadline."

Claire sighed; Stephanie wasn't the only one that was disappointed in her lack of progress. The last few days had been overfilled with drama. "Me too, Steph. I think Cody's having a hard time with this." Claire didn't see the point in telling Stephanie what exactly 'this' referred to.

"Can you do this assignment or not?" Now isn't that the million dollar question? Claire had been asking herself that very same thing. Mysteriously, she wasn't any closer to an answer. All she knew for sure was that for some reason, she wanted to stay. As much as she didn't want to admit it, she wanted to see what Randy was really up to. Part of her didn't trust that his intentions were honest.

"Just give me a few more days. "

"Are you sure? If you want to come back, all you have to do is say the word. I'll have you on the next flight." Claire knew her friend was baiting her. Stephanie knew that there was no way in hell Claire would just walk away before getting the job done. It just wasn't in her blood.

"Positive. Just give me a few more days. I can do this." Claire nodded, even though Stephanie was more than a thousand miles away and couldn't see it.

"That's my girl. Just hang in there. We both know you're the only one who can do this."

Claire could only pray that Stephanie was right. Only time would tell. Claire tossed her phone back into her purse and walked into the building. Preparations for the night's show were already under way. It was still too early for most of the roster to be there, but she was hoping to catch Cody when he came in. She wasn't going to have a moment's peace until she saw him and made sure he was alright. Claire passed by catering to grab a bottle of water before going to the part of the building where the roster was supposed to check in. She pulled the clipboard toward her and looked over the list. Cody's name wasn't among the handful that had been marked off. All she could do now was wait. Finding a chair in a nearby corner, Claire settled in. Nearly two hours later Claire was frustrated and pissed off. Showtime started in less than an hour and still no sign of Cody. She had tried calling his cell again, only to be sent directly to voice mail. Where the hell could he be? And why the hell wasn't he answering? Granted, Cody was upset and rightfully so. Things had ended badly between them, but making every one worry was just short of childish. The least he could do was answer the damned phone, even if it was to tell her to go to hell. At least then she would know he wasn't lying dead on the side of the road somewhere. Claire stood from her seat and grabbed her purse and now empty water bottle. She made her way down the hall to Mark Calaway's dressing room. Mark answered the door after the first knock. He took one look at Claire and stepped back, allowing her to enter.

"You don't look happy."

Claire threw her purse down on the bench and shoved her hands in the pockets of her slacks., "Have you heard from Cody?" It was an unwritten rule that if you couldn't make it to the venue, you called Mark to give him the heads-up.

"Should I have heard from Cody?" Mark's arms crossed over his broad chest. He looked at Claire, taking in the strained lines of her face. He had the gut feeling that something bad had gone down again. He figured Orton would be at the bottom of it, not Cody.

"He's not answering his phone. I've been trying to call him since yesterday."

Mark knew there was a shitload she wasn't telling him. He couldn't help but wonder if Orton wasn't partly responsible for whatever had happened, "Does he have a reason not to answer?"

Claire looked away guiltily, unable to meet Mark's steady gaze. That was more than enough of an answer for him.

"What happened?"

"I think Cody jumped to a really bad conclusion and got pissed. Now he's pulling the silent treatment."

That caught Mark by surprise. Cody usually didn't react to situations like that. He was one of the most cautious, think-first-act-second guys in the locker room. Whatever had caused Cody to go silent could not be good. He had a sneaky suspicion that Claire was covering for someone. Mark was willing to put money on the fact that the someone she was covering for was Orton. That didn't sit well with him at all.

"Why don't you try telling me the truth?" Mark sat on the edge of the bench. His fingers laced together as he looked up at Claire. He hated the stress he saw etched on her face. The poor girl had been through hell and back since she'd gotten this shitty assignment. And it didn't look like things had gotten any better. He watched in silence as Claire started to pace. She was quiet for a long minute as she tried to collect her thoughts.

"Something happened after Jake . . . " Claire couldn't find the right words to finish the statement. The bitter words just hung in the air between them.

"What happened?" Mark tried to keep his tone neutral. She needed to know that he wasn't going to pass judgment on her, no matter what she said.

"Randy stayed with me that night." Claire glanced at Mark and instantly wished she hadn't. All of the color drained from his face and his fingers tightened until she heard his knuckles crack. "I swear nothing happened but Cody doesn't believe me. He thinks Randy seduced me. He came to my room, raving like a lunatic. He didn't believe me that nothing happened. He got pissed and stormed out. He hasn't been heard from since then."

Mark forced himself to slowly count to ten. His anger was still boiling at the count of ten so he continued on to twenty, then thirty. He counted to sixty before he felt calm enough to speak.

"Are you sure that's exactly how it happened?"

Claire nodded, hating the trace of fear she felt when she looked at Mark. He looked positively enraged. Mark pulled his cell phone out of his gym bag and punched in a number. He didn't even look at her as he waited for his call to be answered.

"Hey, Cody, it's Mark. Show time's in 30 minutes. You on?" Mark was quiet for a long moment as Cody spoke to him. Mark's gaze never moved from the floor. He nodded a few times before speaking, "That's cool, man. Just hang in there. Yeah, I'll see ya soon."

Mark carefully set his phone on the bench beside him before looking up at her, "What the hell did y'all do to that boy?"

"Do? What did I do? How dare you blame me! What I do on my own time is my business. Not that I've done anything, I might add!" Claire felt the anger bubbling up from deep inside. She was sick and tired of taking the blame for shit she didn't even do.

"Calm down, Claire. I'm not blaming you. I'm just trying to figure out what we need to do from here. Cody's in a lot of pain right now. You gotta try to be understanding. He deserves at least that much."

Mark had a point. Cody hadn't asked to find himself in the middle of a love-triangle. Not that there had ever been one, but Cody apparently had feelings for her. Feelings that Claire hadn't ever dreamed existed. Okay, yeah, she knew Cody liked her but she had no idea he had fallen in love with her. How did somebody fall in love that quickly? Claire just didn't understand.

"Is he okay?" Claire was upset but she was still worried about him.

"He will be. He just needs some time. He said he'll call me when he gets to Florida. Right now, he just needs his space."

Claire took a deep breath and sat on the bench next to Mark. Her thoughts were swirling around her brain a million miles an hour. At least Cody was alive and planning on meeting back up with them in a week or so. Maybe Mark was right, maybe all Cody needed was some space.

"I'm sorry I let this happen." God, Claire hated saying those words. It brought back memories of a few nights ago when she had said the very same thing to Randy. She was starting to have to apologize more frequently these days. She didn't like it one bit. It just seemed like her Midas Touch had turned from gold into lead.

"It'll work out for the best. These things always do." Mark reached over and wrapped an arm around Claire's shoulders.

"How can you be so sure?" Claire had to ask. Of all the men in the world, Mark was the only one that she had ever allowed herself to trust 100 percent.

"Call it instinct." Mark forced a smile and patted Claire on the back. She didn't need to know the truth; that if Randy even thought about hurting her, he could kiss his ass good-bye. Claire looked at him, doubt written all over her face.

"Do you trust me?" Mark knew he was pushing Claire but he needed her to say it.

"You know I do."

"You trust that I'll do right by you?" Mark knew he had a lot on his plate as far as Claire was concerned. He had to figure out what to do with Jake and how to patch things up with Cody. He had to do all that and keep an eye on Orton. Mark had the distinct impression that he was about to become a very busy man. At Claire's nod, he stood and pulled her from the bench and into a hug.

"Just have a little faith. I"ll make this right." Even if I have to knock a few heads together Mark thought.

After what felt like the longest day of his life, Cody finally closed the door to his hotel room. He tossed his keys on the nightstand and sat on the edge of the bed. He wasn't exactly sure how it happened but his life had gone to hell in a hand basket. He knew he had majorly screwed

up and he had absolutely no clue what he could do to fix it. Never had he expected things to get so out of hand. One minute he had been upset, the next he was overcome with emotion. What the hell happened? Cody asked himself for what must have been the thousandth time. He still wasn't any closer to coming up with an answer. Lying back on the bed, Cody sighed heavily, still feeling the weight of the world on his shoulders.

As much as he didn't want to admit it, the only person he could really blame was himself. He had handled the entire situation so badly. Mostly that was due to the fact that Cody had never been in love before, at least not like this. Sure, he'd had his share of high-school crushes; long-distance longings. But never had he been bitten by the love-at-first-sight bug. Claire had waltzed into his sphere and instantly stolen his heart. He had never met a more charming, intriguing woman. At first she had seemed like a perfect match; she seemed to be everything he could ever ask for. He had never expected anyone to sweep Claire off her feet so completely. That was something he hadn't really expected. When it actually happened, it had been devastating. The worst part of it wasn't the fact the he felt betrayed by his best friend. It wasn't even the fact that he had alienated Claire. The absolute worst part was having to face the fact that he was still without some one to love him. His parents' marriage had been a disaster, to say the least. He'd grown up without the security that relationship could provide. Ever since he'd been a teenager, he'd been terrified that he would end up the same way; a broken shadow of himself with a string a bad relationships in his past. More than anything, that had motivated him to bond with Claire so quickly. He'd let his fear back him into a corner he wasn't sure how to get out of. Look at where that fear had gotten him; he was stuck in a little roadside motel, all alone and cursing himself for the fool he apparently was. He had let his fear guide him exactly to where he didn't want to be. Now what was he supposed to do? He knew he was going to have to find a way to make things right. That was the only thing he could do. How could he even begin to put things back together? He had to figure out how to apologize to two people that meant so much to him. Reaching for his phone, Cody took a deep, steadying breath and dialed Claire's number. He held his breath as he counted each ring of the phone. After the fourth ring Cody, braced himself to leave a message. Finally, Claire answered. She sounded slightly out of breath.

"Thank God it's you! Where the hell are you?" Claire couldn't keep the note of relief out of her voice.

"In Tallahassee. I just wanted to let you know that I'm still alive." Cody took a steadying breath, "And that I'm sorry."

"Dammit, Cody. What the hell is wrong with you?" Cody knew Claire was trying to keep her anger under control.

"That's what I've been trying to figure out. I don't know what happened. All I know for sure is that I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you."

Cody didn't miss Claire's soft sigh, "Me, too. For whatever I did or didn't do, I'm sorry."

Cody shook his head, not even realizing Claire couldn't see him, "No, Claire, this is my fault. I let my feelings get the better of me. I shouldn't have reacted the way I did."

Claire wasn't sure how to respond. She had imagined this conversation a million different ways. She had never expected it to go quite like this. She had expected Cody to still be angry, at best; however, remorse was not even on the list of possibilities. "I can't say that I understand. . ."

"I'm scared." Cody's words stopped Claire in her tracks.

"Scared?" Claire's voice told Cody that he had caught her off guard.

"I don't want to be alone any more. I'm sick and tired of being on the road knowing there isn't anybody waiting for me. I really thought you were going to be the one, you know. I just wanted you to be the one for me."

Claire was speechless. She had thought this was just a case of over-zealous puppy love. She had been under the impression that Cody just had an old-fashioned crush on her. Apparently, it had been so much more and she'd never had a clue. Cody was needing so much more than she could give. Claire knew she wasn't ready for anything as serious as what Cody was looking for. At least now she had an explanation for his passive-aggressive behavior.

"You're a great guy, Code. One day, you'll find her. Just have a little faith." Claire wasn't sure how she knew but her gut was telling her things with Cody would not have worked out. They were at two different points in their lives. Cody was looking for somebody to make him feel complete. He was looking for safety and security. Claire wasn't sure that she was looking for anything; but she did know that she wasn't looking for the same long term commitment as Cody. And that was where her problem with Randy came in. She had absolutely no idea what Randy was after. Randy never made a move without having a plan. If only she knew what it was. That had been part of the reason she had told Stephanie she wanted to stay; she wanted to find out what, if anything, Randy was really up to.

"No promises, Claire. I'm just so sorry that I reacted the way I did."

"Just promise me you'll never turn into a stark, raving lunatic again!" Cody couldn't help but smile. Claire's sense of humor always had a way of working magic on him.

"I promise I'll try my best not to."

"Are you going to stop avoiding me?"

Cody winced a little, her words stinging, "I wasn't avoiding you, I was trying to figure out what the hell happened."

"No matter what, Cody, you can always be honest with me. You don't have to turn into the incredible Hulk the next time you want to talk."

Cody laughed a little, feeling even more embarrassed about the way he had behaved, "Agreed."

"Are you going to meet us in Orlando?"

"Depends. How mad is Ted?" Cody realized there was yet another person he had to make peace with.

"He's worried about you." Claire hoped Cody would let the subject drop at that.

"Can you just let him know that I'm sorry and I'll see you when you get to Orlando?" Cody knew he was asking for a huge favor after the way he had behaved.

"I will."

Cody gripped his phone tighter, not wanting to let Claire go. He knew once their call ended, his life was right back at square one. He was still going to be alone. He wasn't sure how much longer he was going to be able to take it. Life on the road was already starting to wear him thin. All he could do at this point was wait; wait and pray for the day to come when he didn't have to be lonely anymore.

*** A/N – Try not to be too mad at me!! I know Cody thought he was supposed to be with Claire but there is something much better in store for him. As always, please review! ***