Title: Solving Problems (19?)
Rating: We'll go for a nice safe R, M in parlance
Content: mentions of domestic violence, drug use, swearing, sex
Disclaimer: Don't own any of the characters mentioned herein, except for Laura, no offence meant.
Summary: Laura hasn't been around the wrestlers of the WWE for a while. When she returns, things have changed, schisms have formed, and all is not well. Can she sort things out?

When Hunter came back to work he brought with him many pictures of his son. Ever the proud father, he would show anyone and everyone the images, and talked constantly to anyone who would listen about how great it was to have a child.

It made Randy feel even worse. The pictures of Hunter holding his child had really got to him; the baby looked so small in Hunter's arms, so defenceless. It only served to make Randy's worry and fear double and treble until he could see and feel nothing else. He wasn't ready to become a father. He wasn't capable of being what Laura and the baby would need him to be.

He had to get away. He loved Laura, and he loved the baby, but he wasn't ready for this. Seeing Hunter as he was now, totally consumed by being a father, confirmed to Randy that he wasn't ready. He was too young, too selfish. The baby would trap him, and no matter how much he loved Laura he would come to resent her.

That night, when his cellphone rang, he didn't answer. He couldn't speak to Laura right now, as he knew that if he did, he'd reveal his feelings and she'd get upset and they'd end up having a conversation that he really didn't want to have. Instead, he went out to a bar and proceeded to get completely drunk.

Stacy was in the bar with a few friends. She saw Randy attempting to drink himself into oblivion, and having previously been a friend of his, went over to see if everything was ok.

"Randy? Don't you think you've had enough to drink?"

He looked up at the blonde and smiled, "probably, but sit down and have another with me."

She shook her head but took a seat anyway, ordering another couple of drinks. She liked Randy, she always had done, but since he'd been with Laura she'd stayed away. Shane Helms had told her a lot of things about Laura and she didn't want to associate with her too much, no matter how much the other divas liked her.

"So what's wrong?"

Randy sighed. In one way it would be good to talk to someone about how he was feeling, but on the other hand, this was Stacy. She was a nice girl, if a little naïve. He'd also slept with her once, about a year and a half ago. She was beautiful, and no matter how much he loved Laura, the temptation was still there. He decided to bite the bullet and tell her how he was feeling.

"I don't think I'm gonna cope with being a dad. I don't want to hurt Laura, but I feel trapped, I feel like I'll ruin the kid's life, and mine, and Laura's. They'll be better off without me. I love Laura, and I love the baby, but I can't do this." Randy knew that what he was saying made little sense, but his feelings made hardly any sense to him either. "Like, when I first found out Laura was pregnant, I was terrified, but I kind of started looking forward to being a dad, and me and Laura being a family. Now, as it's coming closer and closer I've got more and more scared and now I just know I can't do it. I love her, I love them both, but I can't do it. They're better off without me."

Stacy put a hand on Randy's arm and smiled at him sympathetically. "It's not your fault she trapped you, it's not your fault she's expecting all these things of you."

"Don't say that. She didn't trap me and she didn't expect anything of me. This is all in my head. It's my problem. I know you have a problem with her Stace, but don't say stuff like that." Randy was fierce in his defence of his girlfriend, despite his current train of thought.

"Randy, after what she did to Jeff…"

"No!" He stopped her words, slamming his fist on the bar. "Helms is full of shit. I know what happened. Chris was there, he told me. Jeff tried to throw her out of a fucking window… he was on drugs and he hurt her. She didn't drive him to drugs or anything else. He fucked her up, not vice versa. I know Helms is protecting his friend but even Matt accepts that Jeff was in the wrong."

Stacy looked away, embarrassed. She'd never heard the full story before. If she'd have known that Jeff had done that, she'd never have been so cold towards Laura. All she'd ever heard was Helms' story, and the odd bit of gossip that Helms had turned to his own advantage, "I'm sorry, I didn't know."

"Laura kept it as quiet as possible. She didn't want people thinking badly of Jeff. She's a good person and I really love her. I'm just the fuck up here. I never wanted to hurt her. I promised I wouldn't." Randy put his head in his hands. "I wish I could go back and change things."

"You can't though, so what are you going to do?"

"I don't know." Randy stood up. "I'm gonna do something extremely stupid now, but I'm drunk so you can ignore me if you like. But would you come back to the hotel with me?"

She thought about it for a moment, but shook her head. "No. I like you Randy, but I'm not willing to be comfort sex or anything else. You love Laura, find a way of dealing with your fears. You're gonna be a father soon, like it or not, so you need to find a way of accepting that."

That wasn't what Randy wanted to hear, but he accepted it and made his way back to the hotel. He figured that at least he was drunk enough to get a decent night's sleep; a night that would not be plagued by dreams and nightmares of children.

Laura was worried. She'd not heard from Randy for three days now, and it was starting to get to her. He'd been busy before, but always managed to call her. She had been talking to Lita regularly since the redhead had got back together with Matt, and raised her concerns with her. She didn't want to sound like she was checking up on Randy, or that she was trying to control where he was, she just wanted to hear his voice and know that he was ok. Lita offered to go talk to him. She had no pretensions to the same kind of insight that Laura had, but she knew Randy fairly well, and hoped that she could find out what was going on.

She knew something was wrong as soon as she saw the young wrestler. He looked like he hadn't slept in a week. Randy looked exhausted, the dark shadows under his eyes just a small example of the turmoil he was experiencing.

"Randy, love, is everything OK?" Lita pulled the young man to one side after a house show. It had been the first chance she'd had to talk to him.

"I'm fine, just tired." Randy really didn't want to talk to Lita; she was too close to Laura, too much of a reminder of the woman he was hurting.

"So why haven't you answered Laura's calls? Why haven't you called her? She's scared stiff."

Randy cringed; the last thing he wanted to do was hurt her. "I can't talk to her."

"Why? Fucking hell Randy, it's a bit late to be getting cold feet, she's eight months pregnant."

"I know, I know. I love her… I'm just a bit fucked in the head right now… tell her I love her, please Lita." That was about the only thing Randy was sure about right now. "Tell her I'm sorry, I don't want to hurt her, I'm just in a bad place right now."

"OK, but you best call her, at least let her know you're ok. She's breaking her heart thinking she's done something wrong. Please, put her mind at ease, I know how her mind works and she's blaming herself, not you. Sort this out, before it goes too far. You do her wrong Randy, and I swear to god I'll hurt you."

"I know. The last thing I want is to hurt her Lita, I promise you that." It was true, but it still didn't answer any of her questions or fears.

He didn't call her that night, or the next day either. Lita passed on his message, but that just served to confirm Laura's belief that Randy didn't want her or the baby any more. She could see no other option but to go.