Thank you so much NESSAANCALIME6913, labinnacslove, bella315, ThatGirl54, Cougar3371, untilweburnout, xSamiliciousx, DeeMarie426, hansonkali, Chermayne, gamesgrl58, writergrrrl, Jessipage and the guest. You guys are awesomesauce! Alright, here we go. You guys ready? You ain't ready!

*********khan*********

Love plows through me like a dozer. I've got more give than a bale of hay and there's always a big mess left over.
-Jenny Owen Youngs, Fuck Was I

Part One: Scarlett

January 31st, 2016- Birmingham, England

The blankets were bundled around Scarlett as she settled back into bed to watch the Royal Rumble. It was two o'clock in the morning and if Anna saw her, she tsked about Scarlett needing to be asleep. She smiled thinking about the older woman. There wasn't much she didn't tsk about nowadays. It was a cold winter and if Anna walked into her room and there weren't at least three blankets on top of her pregnant belly, she had a conniption fit.

Scarlett rubbed her expanding belly and groaned as the baby gave her a solid kick in the ribs. Oh, her boy was growing stronger and stronger by the day and she started to think her doctors were crazy. They had insisted on her staying on permanent bed rest even though she felt she was ok to be on her feet. Her obstetrician had seemed concerned that if he gave her free rein again, she would send her body back into stress mode. She swore that she was fine, but had ultimately caved to the doctors and relented, agreeing to take it super-easy and not do anything to stress herself out. Anna had helped her set up everything she needed within reach of her bed. She had relocated her television to her room and spent a lot of her days watching Netflix. She had binged through House of Cards, Orange is the New Black and any other show she'd always wanted to watch but never had time for. She'd also rewatched some of her old favorites like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Cheers. She would walk around for an hour each day, trying to massage her aching back. At 32 weeks, if it wasn't her back giving her problems, it was her bladder and she was up and down going to the bathroom all the time.

Just four more weeks, baby. Four more weeks.

The doctors wanted to take the baby as soon as it was deemed safe. It had been decided that February 25th would be her due date and she couldn't wait to meet her son. She could feel him moving around all the time and it made her heart soar to know that he would be in her arms soon enough. She absolutely could not wait.

She switched the channel over to the WWE Network. Ever since her bed rest had started, she'd really been keeping up more with the shows. It was great to watch her friends work their craft and she was proud to see that Amanda was doing a really great job making the shows run smoothly. She was so excited to watch this pay-per-view in particular. Brie and Nikki were facing off against Trinity and Nattie, Jon and Joe were facing off in the main event for the championship and Glenn, Bryan and Colby were all in the Rumble. Colby was winning and he, Jon and Joe were going to be in a triple threat at this year's Wrestlemania, which pleased her to no end. She remembered being in the car with them going up and down the road and they always talked about main-eventing the biggest show of the year. It was their dream and this year, they'd all be there. It hadn't been decided who was winning yet but her thought was it would probably be Colby. After months and months of trying, they'd finally been able to turn Jon heel after he'd attacked Joe right before the Survivor Series. Colby was out of the Authority and had quickly become a face again, enjoying the crowd loving him again. It put a smile on her face, knowing how her pup hated being the bad guy.

The show progressed and it was time for the championship match. Joe came out to the ring first and then Jon followed, playing up being the bad guy and clearly enjoying it. She knew that Joe and Colby were each making their way in repairing their relationships with her ex. Colby was a little more successful with Joe being a little more reserved. His Samoan blood and upbringing made it hard for him to come to terms with what Jon had done. He was having a more difficult time finding complete forgiveness in his heart. Colby, on the other hand, had forgiven Jon and while they weren't back at the level that they'd once been, both men were taking baby steps in becoming the brothers they once were. Both knew that once Jon found out about the baby, they'd have to ask their own forgiveness for not telling him, but they hoped he'd understand that they were just doing what they thought was right in protecting Scarlett. She felt bad for asking it of them, of everybody, but if it meant the good health of her son, then it was just what had to be done. Not that it vanquished any of her guilt but it soothed her soul slightly.

The match started and Scarlett's hands went again to her ginormous stomach.

"There's your daddy. Doesn't he look a lot better?"

She would do this while watching Raw or Smackdown or any of the ppvs. She would talk to the baby about Jon, telling him stories about his father. She knew that it didn't mean anything to the human inside her, but it made her feel better, like she was bridging the gap because Jon couldn't be here.

Four more weeks, baby. Four more weeks.

Her son would be born on the 25th and Jon would meet his son on the second of March. Fastlane was that weekend and then Raw and Smackdown would take place. She would call Jon and invite him to come to England on that Wednesday. She was sure that he would come. She knew he wanted to see her and she wanted to see him as well. She found herself missing him, more and more, especially as she was seeing him on television every few days, their son was growing bigger and stronger inside her every day and she was receiving reports on him every other day from one of her friends. He had mercifully stopped drinking entirely, not even having a celebratory beer on his birthday. He was fitter- and dare she say, better-looking- than he had ever been before. His ring and promo work were just as amazing as they had been during the glory days of the Shield. She was so proud of him and slowly, as the days went by, she found herself sometimes forgetting about his betrayal and deception. Sometimes, if she let herself completely forget, she remembered her love for Jon and it swept through her while watching him on-screen. It was only momentary, but it was the most glorious feeling. A feeling of completeness, of what was supposed to be. And the closer it got to their child's birth, the more prevalent it became. She considered what it might be to forgive him entirely. If he wanted them to be together and could prove himself worthy of her love and trust, would it really be so bad to grant him those things again?

Of course, this was her heart talking and as soon as it would, her brain would swoop in with wild protest. How could you, it would scream at her. You said you would never be with him again and what is this treacherous mindset that will only lead to more heartbreak? Are you crazy or just plain stupid?

The match continued and she told her son about the trip to Central Park with his cousins Rory, Claire and Vaughn. How they'd had such a great time even though Claire was scared of the clown and Vaughn wanted to be in Jon's arms the whole time. Jon eventually won after a grueling half-hour of pure, raw aggression from both participants. There was no technical expertise on display. Just grit and determination to succeed and it was magical. She couldn't wait until Wrestlemania when this was on display again with Colby's own special flair thrown in.

The Rumble began and she almost squealed in excitement when Colby entered at #17. As JBL was quick to say, no one had ever won from that position.

Haha, well tonight that changes!

The match was going great. Bryan entered at #23 and the whole arena erupted. Nick entered at #27 and the arena erupted again. It made her smile to see all her friends getting much-deserved crowd adoration. Ryan Reeves- the seemingly always-starving Ryback- entered at #30 and that's when the match got real interesting. Everyone was brawling it out and Colby was standing in the corner, trying to eliminate the Miz. Ryan charged at him and rammed his massive shoulder into his side. Scarlett didn't think anything of it, only that it was a little high to be hitting someone.

Colby went down and she saw him wave the nearest referee over. Concern crept over her in a slow wave. The wrestlers didn't wave refs over unless something was up, especially Colby. He would power through small tweaks like the competitor he was. The camera zoomed out to a wide shot of the ring but her eyes kept focused on him in the corner. It wasn't long before she saw what she feared the most: the referee threw his arms up in a X signal, meaning a wrestler was legitimately injured and needed assistance. Panic swept over her and she had to take deep, slow breaths, reminding herself of the baby. She saw Bryan and Nick look at each other and then mock-battle their way over to Colby, who was still slouched in the corner. Nick knocked Bryan down and she could see them having a conversation in the corner. She saw Bryan ask a question and Colby slowly nodded his head. Fuck me, Scarlett thought, she knew what they were doing. Colby knew he was seriously hurt and didn't want to jeopardize the main event at Wrestlemania by winning. Someone else was going to get the spotlight. The question was: Who?

Bryan asked another question and Colby again nodded his head. Bryan picked him up gingerly and called Nick back over. They punched Colby again and again, five or six times, and then lifted him, again gingerly, over the ropes. Colby stood on the apron, swaying gently, but fighting back. She noticed he was only punching with his left hand, making her think it was his right side bothering him. Nick stepped back, Bryan threw one more punch and then Nick delivered a beautiful superkick that caught Colby square on the chin. He fell backwards and one of the refs just happened to be in the way to catch him. Smiling, Scarlett saw it was Drake, who was mainly an NXT ref. Drake was probably the most athletic of the referees and she knew he was trying to save Colby any further pain. They helped him up and slowly made their way to the back. Scarlett grabbed her phone quickly and texted Joe.

Please let me know what is happening with Col. I'm so worried.

His response came quickly.

I will, baby girl. What are you doing up? You should be asleep.

I napped earlier. There was no way I was missing the Rumble.

Well, go to sleep and take care of my nephew.

Please. You know I'm not going to be able to sleep until I know Col is fine.

She could almost hear the sigh in Joe's next text.

I know. I will let you know as soon as I know anything.

Letting out a heaving breath, Scarlett knew that all she could do was wait. She refocused on the match and saw that it was down to Bryan and Nick and they were slugging it out. Friendship was out the window and she wondered if they had decided between themselves who was winning. They continued to put on an exhibition for about five more minutes before Bryan sent Nick over the ropes and finally claimed his Royal Rumble win. She smiled, not just for her friend, but for the fans who'd been clamoring for him to win this match for years now. It was awesome. She wished Colby didn't have to get injured for it to be happen, but it was still awesome.

Two hours passed and Scarlett was bouncing her legs, willing someone to call her. Anyone. Saraya could've called and she would've answered immediately to get an update on Colby. She didn't know how much longer she could sit in this bed and not do anything. She felt so goddamn helpless. Just when she was about to make a drastic decision, her phone lit up from the person she least expected: Colby. Pushing the green button immediately, she pressed her phone to her ear.

"Are you ok?!"

A female voice softly laughed and answered her.

"Hey Scarlett, it's Leighla. He's ok. When Ryan hit him, he broke three ribs and one of them punctured Colby's lung, but he's ok."

Letting out a huge breath, Scarlett thanked whatever gods existed in the heavens.

"Oh my god, that's so awesome. Can I talk to him or is he unavailable?"

"He's actually talking to Jon right now."

"Jon...my Jon?"

"Um...yeah, that's ok, right?"

"Of course! How are they doing? Colby says they're working on it, but I never know if he's being entirely truthful."

"They're actually really good. Not quite back to great, but Col actually smiles around him now and laughs a lot so I think they're almost there."

Scarlett smiled, her eyes welling up with happy tears.

"Speaking of Jon, Colby has an idea and wanted me to ask you about it."

"Shoot, Leigh."

"Well, the doctor's best guess is that Colby's going to be out for about 2-3 months."

"Oh man, he's going to miss Wrestlemania completely?"

"Yeah, he's a little bummed, but his first thought was that it means that he and I could come to England and be with you when the baby's born. We'd actually come before that, sometime later this week once he's ready to fly."

"You guys want to come here, help take care of me and be with me when the baby's born?"

"Yep."

Her smile only got bigger, "Well, my answer is...HELL YES! Oh my god, it'll be so great having you guys here. I miss everyone so much and I know a great doctor for Colby to go to and we can hang out and talk girly shit. Please, please come!"

Leighla laughed again, "Alright, I'll tell him as soon as he's done talking to Jon. I can't wait to see you! And I'll have him call you tomorrow cause I'm sure you want to hear his voice assure you that he's ok."

"I do. No offense to you or anything."

"None taken at all. Alright, Joe just told me to tell you to go to sleep so I'll let you go."

Scarlett rolled her eyes, picturing the big Samoan mouthing the words, "I will. Tell him not to worry so much."

"Yeah...I'd prefer to not have him speak sternly to me so I'm gonna keep my mouth shut on that. Good night, Scarlett."

"Good night, Leigh!"

Hanging up, she laid back and sighed, feeling good for the first time in a very, very long time. The next four weeks would be a breeze if Colby and Leighla were here. They would laugh and smile together and it meant a lot to her that she would have one of her best friends here to witness her son coming into this world. Maybe things were finally looking up. She didn't want to start having hope, but maybe a little was ok.

*********khan*********

Part Two: Jon

January 31st, 2016- Portland, OR

Jon stalked into the hospital, going straight to the nurse's station.

"Colby Lopez, where is he?"

The nurse stared at the agitated man, but quickly directed him that way. He found the room, noticing Joe and Leighla waiting outside.

"Hey, how's he doing?"

Joe looked up and nodded his way, "Broken ribs. Punctured lung. They're working on him right now, but the doc is optimistic. All we can do is wait."

Joe patted the seat next to him and Jon reluctantly took the chair. Leighla was pacing back and forth and Jon addressed her.

"You should sit too."

Her eyes found his and shook her head, "I'm too nervous. I need to see him for myself."

Joe's hand on his shoulder stopped him from protesting or comforting the frazzled woman.

"Just let her be, man," he whispered, "We just have to wait. There's nothing we can do for him."

Jon hesitated but eventually nodded and sat, bouncing his leg in worry for his friend. He had been thinking a lot lately about his friends and making amends. He and Colby and Joe were almost there but there was something missing and he knew what it was. He hadn't told them why he had abandoned Scarlett. Sure, they knew about the supposed affair but they didn't know why that had happened in the first place. They couldn't understand why he'd done it in the first place. It was baffling to them, he knew, and he understood why they'd turned on him. If he was as close to Leighla and Galina and Colby or Joe had done to them what he'd done to Scarlett, he would've been equally as pissed. He probably would've made them feel like shit too and beat the tar out of them. He didn't hold any grudge and he hoped they would find a way to forgive him once they knew the truth.

After a while, the doctor came out and updated them. They'd gotten the puncture fixed and reset his ribs so they could heal correctly. They were guessing he'd be out of commission, work-wise, for about 2-3 months, which sucked for Colby. It was Wrestlemania season and he loved being part of the festivities, including Axxess and all that entailed. He would be majorly bummed. The doc continued to say that Colby would be moved to another room and once he was there, they could see him. That took another half hour and it was quickly agreed that Leighla would get to see him first. She rushed in and spent about 15 minutes with him. Jon sat outside, again agitated, and Joe sat in silence beside him. He knew that he should be using this time to try and make more headway with the big Samoan but they were both too worried about their friend to make small talk. Leighla came out eventually with a huge smile on her face and said it was cool for them to go in. Joe stopped before going in and called to her.

"Will you call Scar?"

Jon heard and his step faltered right behind Joe. He saw Joe's eyes slide over to him, but he figured he didn't care if her name affected Jon or not. And he understood. Scarlett was probably just as worried about Colby as they were but she was almost 5,000 miles away in England. At least, he assumed she was still there. She could've been in New York, Paris, Australia, anywhere really. He just hoped that wherever she was, she was happy and healthy. Leighla's laugh brought him out of his thoughts.

"Is she still awake?"

"She told me she would be. Wanted an update immediately."

"Girl's going to wear herself out. Yeah, I gotta run something else by her anyway. I'll call her now."

"Thanks Leigh."

They walked into Colby's room and he gave them a small, lazy smile. He had to be on some good painkillers and so he probably wasn't all completely there. It was amusing to say the least.

"Hey guys!"

Joe took the seat beside the bed and Jon stood at the end of the bed.

"How you feeling, man?"

Colby let out a small laugh, "Well, right now, I feel fantastic. As soon as the drugs wear off though..."

"Yeah, you're going to be in for some hurt."

Jon spoke up, "Want me to rip Ryan a new asshole for you?"

"Nah, we all know the danger of going in the ring with him. He made another stupid mistake. It'll be fine."

"Maybe Paul and Stephanie will finally fire him now."

"Probably not. The kids love him with all his Feed Me More shit."

Joe grimaced, "Well he should at least get a punishment, like a fine or something. He ruined the Rumble and their planned main event. There's gonna be some retribution for that. It wouldn't surprise me if Scarlett..."

His eyes slid back over to Jon again, "Sorry man."

"I can hear her name, Joe. Finish your sentence."

Joe let a small smile grace his features, "It wouldn't surprise me if Scarlett hadn't already called Stephanie and bitched about Ryan. You remember how she was when we were going against Evolution? She hated Dave and how rough he was. She was protective then and she's even more protective now that she's not directly on the other side of the curtain."

Jon felt a pang go through him. She should've been with them now. If he hadn't forced her away, she would've been on the other side of that curtain. Hell, she might've ran down to the ring as soon as she saw the ref throw up the X, just to make sure Colby was ok. But she wasn't there, she was in goddamn England or wherever. So far away from everyone. From him. Goddammit, why had he done this? The guilt creeped in again, just like it always did and he started to slowly pace back and forth. Joe and Colby were talking about something in the background but he was stuck in his self-loathing until he heard Colby say her name. His head snapped up at that and he interrupted.

"What about her?"

Joe and Colby paused mid-conversation and stared at him.

"What were you saying about her?"

Colby's eyes softened and he spoke, "If it's ok with Scar, Leigh and I are going to go to England and spend time with her. She's lonely and needs some company."

"How long?"

Joe and Colby exchanged a look, having a silent conversation with their eyes. Jon had the supreme feeling that they knew something he didn't. He'd felt like that for some time now. Whenever Scarlett would be brought up in conversation, she was spoken of in a weird way. Kinda like a coded language between the people he was slowly becoming friends with again.

Colby looked back at him, "A couple weeks, probably."

"That's a long time. Is she ok?"

A long moment passed, "Like I said, she's just in need of some company. She's fine, Jon."

He was lying. Jon knew it and he wouldn't let it go. Not if it meant Scarlett was not fine like he said.

"You're lying to me, Col. What's going on? Please just tell me."

Colby's eyes shifted back and forth. Jon had been reading those eyes for years now and he knew when Colby was desperately searching for an answer because he couldn't tell the truth. Joe knew it too and he took over the conversation.

"She's fine, Jon. Just believe us."

"But I don't and I won't. If something's wrong with her, I need to know. I deserve to know."

Joe swiftly got to his feet and stepped within a few feet of Jon.

"Actually, you don't."

Jon knew this was coming. He and Joe had made progress but they had never talked about Scarlett. He knew that the big man had residual anger in his veins and that this conversation would have to happen eventually, but here was probably not the best place. Colby was in a hospital bed, drugged up, and this would be emotional. There was no way around it.

"Joe...just forget it."

"No, Jon, you don't just get to say you deserve to know how she is and then backtrack. We're all in the same room. Why don't we just get this out now?"

"Colby's in no condition..."

"Actually, I am."

They both looked at the man in question. He was sitting up in bed and his eyes were surprisingly clear and he had a look of determination on his face.

"This conversation needs to happen, Jon. It's time we talked."

Jon looked between the two and hung his head in resignation. He wanted to tell Scarlett the truth first so that meant going through this talk and lying to his brothers even more. He hated it.

"Ask me whatever you want."

Joe took a deep breath, "There's only one question we need the answer to, man. Why?"

Jon didn't have an answer. He started pacing yet again and rubbed his shoulder absentmindedly, searching in his mind for anything to tell them. He couldn't think of any answer that would satisfy them and after a moment, Colby spoke up.

"He's going to lie to us, Joe."

Jon stopped his movement and looked at the two of them.

"What? No, I'm not."

Joe smirked, "Yeah, you are. You can tell when Colby's lying. Well, man, we both know when you are. You're one of the most blunt and forthright people we know, until you start pacing and rubbing that shoulder of yours. That's your tell. Well, we don't need to hear a lie so just forget about it. When you're ready to tell us the truth, we can talk then."

Jon stood still, at a true loss for words.

Colby whispered, "Jon, we just want to understand what happened. You showed us an engagement ring, man! You were so excited about it and so happy. And then three weeks later, bam! You suddenly didn't want to be with her anymore. With no rhyme or reason to it. It doesn't make any fucking sense, dude."

Jon moved to the huge windows, staring out them, willing his eyes not to water.

Colby continued, "And you were already sleeping with Saraya when you showed us the ring so that's even weirder. You seemed so in love with Scarlett. I still can't wrap my head around it."

Joe piped up, "Yeah, I can't make it add up in my mind, Jon. You were so fucking happy. Definitely the happiest I've ever seen you and then...just nothing. Now, she's miserable and you're so unhappy it kinda hurts to be around you sometimes. Just make us understand, man. Make us understand why you slept with another woman and ruined everything between you and Scar."

Jon was still staring out the window and very slowly, his shoulders dropped as did his head. He was so tired. So exhausted by the lying and the worry and the constant self-hatred and the guilt and the deserved admonishments of the people who meant the world to him. He was just so fucking tired.

"I didn't sleep with anybody else."

He whispered it, but they heard.

Joe and Colby exclaimed at the same time, "What?!"

Turning around slowly, he took a deep breath in and exhaled slowly.

"I never slept with anyone else. No one. I didn't sleep with Saraya. I was always faithful to Scar."

There was a very long moment in which none of them said a word and then Colby somehow gathered himself enough to utter one word.

"Explain."

He did. He started at the beginning, telling them how he went to Vince and asked him to marry Scarlett. He went through all the talks he had with Stephanie and the family's ultimatum and his agony as he contemplated telling Scarlett the truth or letting her family rip her world apart by telling her about her true lineage. He went through the day he made the decision and the heartbreaking day that he ended it. He told them why he never fought back against them when they degraded him and knocked him down. He told them why Saraya was at his house in Vegas when they came with Scarlett and why he'd started drinking so much. He told them everything and when he was done, Joe and Colby sat in stunned silence. It took almost ten minutes for either one of them to speak and Jon waited patiently, knowing the questions would come.

Joe started, "So you willingly broke your own heart and Scarlett's because her fucking family told you to?"

"I just didn't want the entire world as she knew it to blow up, man."

Joe snorted, "But you gave up the love of your life. And so what if they told her? You could've been there to take care of her and I don't think it would've been ten times as bad as what it actually was. She was a wreck. Probably the most wrecked person I've ever seen in my entire life."

"I know and I'm sorry. I didn't think it would be as bad as it was."

"You fucked up, man. Hardcore fucked up."

"I know."

Joe stood up from the chair he'd been forced to take while listening to Jon's story.

"I need some air. I need to think. I'll be back later."

With that, he left and it was just Jon and Colby left. Jon looked to his brother, who had tears sliding slowly out of his dark eyes.

"I'm so sorry, Col."

Colby's gaze slowly slid onto him, "I know. You're not the only one who should be apologizing though. I'm sorry too."

Jon's surprise registered on his face, "For what? You didn't do anything."

"No, man, I didn't do enough. I knew there was something else. There had to be, right? You and Scar were so damn perfect and happy and then...I knew there was something else going on but I was so angry at you that I didn't question it. Not like I should have. I'm sorry, Jon. I think if I would've pushed it more, you would've told the truth a lot sooner."

"Highly doubt it. I was pretty set on what I was doing."

"Yeah but if I had pushed hard enough, maybe you'd have broken. And then all this could've been prevented."

Jon noticed the far away look in Colby's face.

"Thinking about Scarlett?"

"Yeah...you're going to tell her, right?"

"Yeah, I was going to wait until the European tour but maybe...if it's ok with you, maybe I should just come over with you and Leigh and tell her now?"

A panicked look overtook Colby that he couldn't hide from Jon. His eyes did their shifty bit again and Jon couldn't help but think something major was up. He knew there was something going on that everyone was hiding from him and Colby probably had full knowledge of it.

"Jon, that's not a good idea. Scar was preparing to see you on the European tour and I don't know if she's ready to see you now."

"I'm sure she'd be ok."

"Probably not. Hey, why don't you just let me go over there and I'll talk to her. See if she's ready, ok?"

Jon didn't like this. Not one bit.

"But...you're not going to tell her anything, right? That should come from me."

"Of course I'm not. You two need to talk and get everything out in the open and work it out yourselves."

"So, there is something about her you're hiding?"

"What?"

"You said we need to get everything out in the open. She's got a secret too."

Colby looked absolutely flabbergasted and stopped talking, instead taking deep breaths in and out.

"I'm not confirming or denying anything. All I'll say is...you two need to talk."

"Well then, let me come with you."

"No, Jon, you can't. Let me go. I will talk to her but not tell her anything you've told me. Please, just let it go for now and let me do this. I'm trying to be fair to you both right now."

Jon cocked an eyebrow at his brother but eventually held up his hands.

"Alright...alright, I'll let it go. But Col, I'm not waiting forever."

"I know, dude...I know. But you also have other things to focus on as well. Today starts Wrestlemania season and you're going to be busy as fuck. Don't rush it, ok? We'll get this handled."

All Jon could do was nod his head and put his faith in the younger man. He had finally told someone the truth and he trusted Colby. He knew he wouldn't intentionally steer him wrong. At least, that's what he hoped.

*********khan*********

Ba-BAM! I hope I made the lot of you happy with the truth coming out to somebody! I know I've made you wait...and wait...and wait some more. But we're finally in the home stretch. I'm guesstimating that there will be about 5 or 6 chapters left to this rollercoaster ride and I hope you guys will stick with me. We're about to get so fast and so furious that your head might spin a little! And I for one can't wait to hear what you guys think. Until next time, XOXO