Disclaimer: Anything related to TNA or anyone else clearly doesn't belong to the writers of this story. This is written purely for entertainment purposes. If TNA is willing, though, the writers of this story would very much love to own any of the TNA-owned people mentioned within this story. We also don't own Sterling James Keenan but would very much like to. That is all.

A/N: Another day, another chapter, more character-torture… especially for poor Chris. He totally snaps. Good stuff. I'm nursing a bit of a hangover right now, so my delightfully charming wit is not functioning today… sigh… I must crawl off to bed and die now. Enjoy the chapter! Lizzie


In Florida, Chris got out of his car in front of the arena and, looking around. It was way earlier than he had to be there for that night's show, a match that pitted America's Most Wanted against their hated rivals, The Naturals, in a title match. He and James managed to arrange the match with Jarrett, who was more than willing to give them the latitude they required, given Chris' personal situation. Though he would rather be no where else at this point, his attention wouldn't be much focused on wrestling that night, or anything else in particular rather than Kady and Lily. He walked around to the back of the car and opened the trunk, and picked up the bag which carried his wrestling gear and slammed the trunk closed again, more aggressively than was necessary. His mood was dark, and his patience was shorter than usual and the need to let out built up frustrations in this match tonight were high.

Chris walked into the backstage area of the arena to see TNA personnel going about their daily business is preparation for that night's show. Wrestling was what used to occupy his mind most of the time, and now it seemed frivilous. Unimporant. Even trivial. His career had lost a lot of meaning to him in the few days he spent with Kady. That's not to say he lost his passion for it or love of it, but now he simply wasn't as consumed by it. Walking down the hall, he could feel the eyes of people he passed on him. Rumours and news were quick to spread in the backstage areas, so it didn't come as a big surprise to him. James had told him that there was a lot of backstage gossip surrounding him and a certain personal assistant, which meant at least he was prepared for this kind of reception.

"Harris!"

He stopped and turned in the direction the familiar deep southern accent came from. Jeff Jarrett strode over to him, actually looking concerned and all that. For once Chris was seeing him as less of an asshole that he often thought Jarrett was.

"Hey," he greeted with a quick handshake.

"Glad you decided to show," Jarrett spoke with genuine sympathy. "How've you been?"

"Seen better days," Chris sighed. "It'll be a good distraction. Let management know for me how much I appreciate the space you've given me."

Jarrett nodded, his concern not lessening. "Sure, no problem. Keep focused for tonight, you hear? I know you got a lot on your plate right now; I need assurances you're not gonna snap out there."

"I'll do my job," Chris assured. "You don't gotta worry."

"Yeah I do," Jarrett replied. "I need to know that you're mental state is good for this, Chris. If not I'm sure I can arrange something else."

"My ex and our daughter are in hospital because of me. To say that I'm good right now is..." Chris trailed off for a moment. "Look, I'm fine. I can do this. Anyway, it's on the card now – AMW versus The Naturals. The fans are expecting it, so it's too late to back out now."

Jarrett, for obvious reasons, wasn't convinced that after all the stress Chris had been under, that this was the best time for him to get in a ring and let loose on his opponents. Chris Harris could be brutal when he wanted to be, therefore you can imagine what kind of punishment he was capable of inflicting when he wasn't in control of himself. He noted the unconvinced look he was getting from Jarrett.

"Jeff, I got it. I'm under control."

"Sorry, man, I just gotta be sure. You're losing the titles tonight, so take it easy okay?"

"I'm fine."

"Good. Now, if you'll excuse me I got things I need to do," Jarrett then promptly excused himself and hurried off to do whatever it was he needed to do, leaving Chris standing alone in the corridor. It wasn't like Jarrett wasn't justified in his concerns – the last week had taken a huge mental toll on one of TNA's best wrestlers, and in the ring it was particularly dangerous if a wrestler didn't have control over what he was doing. He continued his way to the locker rooms, intent on having to deal with no one except for James if he had to. He rounded a corner and saw the main door that lead to the locker rooms come into view.

Several other wrestlers, including James, noticed him arrive and quietened down, creating an awkward, very uncomfortable silence. Chris didn't look at any of them and kept looking straight ahead – it sickened him that news on his personal life was spreading through the backstage like wildfire, but there was nothing he could do about it and certainly he would do nothing to further fan the flames. The door to the locker rooms opened and out stepped The Naturals. It had been a while since they had got a shot at the gold, and were aware that they got lucky that night because Chris Harris could no longer properly defend the titles. Chris, upon seeing them, groaned and had the urge to go after them right now. He didn't want or need to see them anymore than he had to before the match – they could be so damn annoying at times!

"Hey, man," Chase said, cautiously as they approached. In a second, Chris' eyes had completely darkened and his stride became menacing; his whole demeanor changing from a state of passiveness, to one that was ready to beat anyone who got in his way to a bloody pulp. "You okay?"

"How's Kady?" Andy wanted to know, just when Chris came to pass them. He stopped and slowly turned his head in Andy's direction. Andy and Chase both were somewhat startled at the change in him; to say that it was intimidating even for them, would be an understatement.

"Keep walking." Chris growled warningly and shoved his way past them. Tonight he would unleash his anger and pain all over them when he got his chance. James, who along with the other wrestlers had watched the scene unfold, followed after Chris. They had been tagging together for several years now, and so they knew each other very well. James could sense that something was brewing, something obviously not good. Chris wasn't hiding the guilt he was experiencing all that well, and if he didn't get a grip then sooner or later he would erupt.

"Chris!" James called out, following him into the locker room area, which was basically empty. Chris stopped and turned around.

"What?" he snapped.

"What was all that about?"

"What?" Chris repeated.

"Laying into Chase and Andy like that. Save it for the ring..." James kept his distance, knowing that right now the slightest little thing could set Chris off. "You need to calm down and focus."

"I just don't need those two bastards getting in my face right now, James," Chris heatedly explained. "I wanna go out there and do my job, that's all!"

"You and me both, partner," James didn't back down. "But it wouldn't kill ya to be a little civil. You're on a fine edge right now with management for ditching last week, they don't need to hear that you're roughing up people backstage as well."

"I didn't rough anyone up!" Chris cried in frustration. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"You were about to," James put the beer bottle down to give Chris his full attention. "You and I both know what could happen if you lose it our there tonight. You sure you'll be okay?"

"What the fuck?" Chris yelled. "What is with everyone? First Jarrett, then The Naturals, and now you? I'm perfectly fine!"

James didn't know what to make of this, clearly Chris was not fine. At the same time, there was no way they could back out of doing the match at this late stage; TNA management would have a fit and he was not willing to get suspended over his partner's meltdown. Yes, the past week had been very stressful for Chris, but that was no excuse to bring it to work. All in all, James would've preferred that he stay in Kentucky to be with Lily and Kady, but that could've led to even worse results for Chris' mental stability. The one thing James had noticed when he picked his friend up was that this wasn't the same man who he had been friends and tag partners with for the last few years.

"We're worried," he softly replied, watching Chris furiously pace back and forth. "You got people who care – both here and in Kentucky. You need to figure out where it is you need to be." James was sick of this bullshit. Chris had to go back to Kentucky to fix the mess he was in, and to make some sort of attempt to reach out to Kady again. That would be the only way any of this would work.

"I don't need to be coddled. I need to do my job, and I'd appreciate a little more faith from my tag partner!"

"Hey, I'm behind ya, man..." James insisted. "But you gotta start looking at what's important here. Your daughter needs you. Hell, even Lily needs you. And I know, and you know that there's a good chance that you could go out there tonight and lay it all out on Andy and Chase, which is shit you don't need."

"What are you trying to do, James?" Chris asked, sitting down on the bench. "You want me to sit out because you think I'm gonna snap?"

"No I'm trying to get you to wake up; open your eyes because you're missing it!" his partner replied.

"Excuse me?"

"You have the opportunity to set things right between you and your kid. Okay, so you need a few days to clear your head, that's fine. But right now she's lying in a hospital bed because she thinks you hate her. Now, I don't think I'd be the only one to see how fucking messed up that is." James picked up his beer again, needing to feel the sensation of alcohol to keep him calm. He wasn't an alcoholic, but Chris was really pushing his buttons now.

"Look," Chris breathed deeply, forcing himself to calm down based on knowing that James was only trying to help. "I appreciate what you're trying to do for me. But tonight isn't about Kadence or Lily or anything except going out there and doing what we do best. So I'd appreciate it if you, Jarrett, and every body else just backed the hell off. Get it?"

Rather than risk tempting fate and possibly really setting Chris off, James dropped the subject though his thoughts with heavy with the possible scenarios that could happen that night. Normally he wouldn't be all that concerned about the welfare of Chase and Andy, given that they weren't the best of friends anyway. But because of the change in Chris', there was a real possibility that someone might get seriously hurt if he wasn't controlled. And it wasn't just James Storm who was feeling the pressure. Outside, Andy and Chase were still baffled as to what happened.

"Seriously, with Harris that pissed off it's got me nervous," Chase confessed and leaned against the wall, staring in the direction of the locker rooms. "What is up with him?"

"Whatever it is, he better figure it out before the match. We don't need him taking his anger out on us," Andy replied. "I guess it's about Lily and Kady..."

"He missed the show last week. And a house show. It's gotta be serious."

"Just be prepared he's probably gonna take it out on us tonight..." Andy thoughtfully warned. If only he knew just how true his words would be laster that night. It had been no secret as to the relationship between Chris and the girl in question; practically every body backstage at TNA now knew of the severity of what was going on with him, making it the subject of much backstage gossip.

Later that evening, for Chris the time seemed to pass so quickly that before he knew it, it was now time for the TNA Tag Team Title match. Everyone else was pumped up for this match – the fans, the backstage crew, The Naturals, even James was ready for this. Most likely because everyone knew of the animosity – or even hatred – that existed between these two teams, and when they were all out in the ring, it was fair game. James and Chris stood near the entrance way and waited – The Naturals' music started and Chase and Andy made their way out onto the stage, admist cheering from the audiences. They went over very well as babyfaces to counter the now manipulative heels of AMW. James and Chris moved over to stand just behind the stage to await the cue of their music to join their opponents in the ring.

"You sure you're okay, man?" James asked, seriously.

"I'm good," his partner replied and did some last minute stretching before the beginnings of their music started playing. With no more time to worry about it, James shook his head and led the way onto the stage with Chris following close behind.

James and Chase were to start the match off, which they did by circling the ring and then locking up in a test of strength - or a test of wills. James got the upper hand, shoving Chase into a corner and slapping him a few times. Chase took the slaps well, waiting for James to start taunting the crowd before stepping towards him and hitting him with a forearm to the face.

The action between the two went back and forth for a while before Andy stepped in to break up a pin attempt. James knocked him down and made the tag to Chris. Andy got back to his corner in time for Chase to tag him in as well. As Andy stepped back through the ropes, Chris ran at him full speed, delivering a high knee and knocking Andy out to the floor.

While Andy was on the outside, Chris pulled the ref to him, complaining that his boot wasn't tied tight enough. James used the distraction to his advantage and began beating on Andy. Chase left his side of the ring and ran around the outside, heading in to help his partner. Chase caught James by surprise and began beating on him.

The ref, by now, was beginning to count Andy out. He pulled himself to his feet and rolled back into the ring, only to be picked up by Chris. The referee's attention turned to the men brawling on the outside of the ring as he tried to restore order to the match. Chris smirked, silently thanking his partner for liking to fight. With the ref's back to them, Chris planted Andy with a vicious powerbomb.

While Andy was on the mat, Chris laid into him with fists and boots to the head and abdomen, really letting fly. So far, the audience had really been into the match but they soon started to realize that Chris wasn't his usual self. He seemed more aggressive. Much more aggressive. By the time the ref had realized what was happening and pulled Chris off Andy, the younger man had been busted open above his left eye. James stood on the outside of the ring, looking in at his tag partner and opponent. He bent down to pull Chase to his feet and whispered to him.

"Chris is going too far. Get Andy out of there."

James then abandoned Chase on the outside and made his way to his corner, climbing up onto the ring apron and calling for Chris to make a tag. Chris' attention was pulled away from Andy momentarily as he stared at his partner, not quite understanding what it was that James wanted. He was in a completely different zone, now, and was intent on causing as much pain as possible to someone other than himself. He'd had enough of the emotional pain he'd been in for the past week while dealing with Lily and Kady. While Chris was distracted, Chase rolled into the ring and crawled over to Andy, wanting to make sure his friend was alright. When he got there, he nudged Andy and watched as his eyes rolled back in his head.

"Shit! Andy... come on, look at me." He whispered, loud enough to garner Chris' attention.

Chris grabbed Chase and pulled him to his feet before turning around and throwing him out of the ring right beside James. Chase immediately sprang to his feet, intent on getting right back into the ring. James grabbed him and stopped him from getting in the ring.

"He's snapped, stay out of the way." He ordered. Chase reluctantly relented.

In the ring, Chris helped a dazed Andy to his feet, the blood now completely covering the young man's face like a crimson mask. Once Andy was supporting his own weight, Chris wound up and punched him right between the eyes. The momentum of Chris' fist sent Andy back down to the mat. The ref warned Chris about the use of the fist but his warnings were futile against the larger man's will.

Chris' hands and arms were covered in Andy's blood and he stared down at it, his mind reminding him of a similar scene when he'd looked down at his hands while Kady was in surgery. Her blood had stained his hands then. A low growl emanated from low in his throat as he once again pulled Andy to his feet. As he looked at his opponent's face, it became distorted, turning into the face of someone else... Lily.

Chris dropped Andy to the mat and clutched his hands to his head, trying to rid himself of the memories that were haunting him now. James hesitantly got into the ring and approached his partner. The crowd was eerily silent as James reached out a hand and touched Chris' shoulder.

"God, forgive me. What've I done?" Chris muttered, snapping back to reality slightly as he looked down at Andy.

"Make a tag. We need to end this, now." James told him before returning to his corner where Chase was still standing.

"Go tag yourself in." James ordered quietly. Chase moved around to the other side of the ring and reached down to tag his unconscious partner. Chris stumbled to his corner and tagged James in. James allowed Chase to make a hurried end to the match, not kicking out after Chase delivered a weak finisher for the pin. As the bell rang, Chase abandoned James to check on Andy as the announcer's voice rang out.

"Here are your winners, and new tag team champions, Chase Stevens and Andy Douglas - the Naturals!"

The ref tried handing the title belts to Chase but he dropped them to the mat, more concerned about Andy's wellbeing. Several of the backstage crew made their way out to the ring to check on Andy - EMT's included. Chris stared down at the mess he'd made of the young man and wished he could be standing anywhere but there right now. He'd come back to work too soon and Andy was paying the price. James grabbed Chris by the shoulders and pulled him to a deserted side of the ring.

"Let's go walk it off." He told his friend.

Chris nodded silently and the pair left the ring amid a chorus of boos from the crowd. As they walked up the ramp, Chris turned and looked back. He couldn't see Andy amongst the throng of people in the ring now. Chase had been pushed back and was pressed into the ropes so they'd have more room to work on Andy. The blond man's face was a mask of panicked fear.

"Fuck. I... I didn't mean to go that far. I don't know what happened." Chris stammered, the reality sinking in.

"You took your frustrations out on the wrong person, that's what happened. I told you, you should've stayed in Kentucky and worked things out with Lily and the kid! Now there's another person heading for the hospital... how many more's it going to take, Chris? Huh?" James challenged, getting into his friend's face.

"Back off, man. I didn't mean to hurt anyone." Chris defended.

"Then why the hell did you leave your kid alone in a hospital room? You didn't even have the guts to tell her you were leaving this time. How is she not meant to be hurt by it?" James vented, pushing Chris ahead of him through the tunnel that led to the backstage area.

"Fuck you! Leave me the hell alone!" Chris replied before turning away. He ended up face to face with Jeff Jarrett, his father Jerry Jarrett and Dixie Carter. The co-owners of TNA.

"Chris, we need to talk. Dixie's office. Now." Jeff told him seriously.

"Can I shower first?" Chris asked meekly as he held up his hands for them to see.

"No." Jerry shook his head.

Chris nodded slightly in understanding before following the management trio as they headed for the office. James watched them go, a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. The feeling worsened as Andy was brought through the tunnel on a gurney, Chase at his side.

"How is he?" James asked Chase hesitantly. In all honesty, he wasn't sure he wanted to know.

"Chris worked him over pretty bad." Was all that Chase could say before they were gone. James was left to wonder what the consequences of this match would be, both for Chris and Andy. Only time would tell.

The walk to Dixie's office was painfully silent; Chris not looking at any of them on the way. He was sure he was going to get fired. One of the golden rules in wrestling was to always maintain control. Given that this was a dangerous business, it was important that the wrestlers didn't lose control in the ring so they didn't hurt themselves or others like what Chris had just done with Andy. Stressful week or not, there was no excuse for it and certainly no place for it in the company. Chris Harris had much to answer for.

Jerry held the door to Dixie's office open and gestured for everyone to go in. Once everyone was inside, he shut the door.

"Chris, sit down," Dixie calmly said.

As calm as she sounded, she was actually on the verge of losing it with him. Everything that had happened obviously got back to her and she was not liking it, having always believed that Chris was a responsible guy. To see him in this state now was heartbreaking, but nevertheless, he did break the rules and sent an innocent person to the hospital. Chris sat down, not so much because she told him to but because all his energy had disappeared in the walk from the backstage area to the office. His legs now felt like jelly. Dixie walked over to her desk and sat down, facing across from him, while Jeff stood next to his dad against the wall, to Chris' right.

"Now... you're gonna tell us what the hell happened out there!" Dixie ordered.

"Oh, I already know what happened out there," Jeff snapped, angrily.

"I wanna hear it from Chris," Dixie replied, not taking her eyes off the sweating, blood-covered wrestler sitting in front of her. Chris had the word 'guilt' practically written all over his face in Andy's blood. "There better be a damn good explanation for why you sent Andy Douglas to the hospital sucking air through a tube!"

Chris was holding it all together, having no intention of breaking down in front of his boss, but it was difficult. If he lost his job now, that would be the end of it. He, in his opinion, would have nothing left. And he wasn't counting on, or wanting, sympathy from these people – maybe a little understanding, but not pity.

"I—" he stammered, his voice hoarse and it was painful to talk. "I don't know what happened... it was kinda blank..."

"You'll have to do better than that if you wanna keep working here, boy" Jerry harshly told him.

"I'm trying," Chris whispered, honestly. "I can't give you the answers I don't know... I don't know what happened."

"There's been some talk going around, Chris," Dixie said. "About you and your personal life. You've been the subject of much talk in the locker rooms this week. I've only heard a bit, but enough to know this is serious. If you have any mitigating circumstances for what happened out there tonight, let's hear it."

Chris spared a glance at the two men at his side and then back to Dixie; she was watching his every move like a hawk, ready to pounce on the first thing she didn't like. He was beyond all pretenses now... James had been right all along – he should've been with his daughter and Lily, not here. Whether he lost his job now, it didn't matter anymore. Nothing mattered. Lily and Kady hated him and probably would not want anything more to do with him.

"No excuses," he replied. "I have none. I'm sorry about Andy, I honestly didn't mean to take it that far..."

"Well, you did," Dixie snapped. "I still want an explanation. There are rumors flying around this place, and I don't know which ones even remotely resemble the truth!" she stood up and sighed. "I understand if there are some thing's you want to keep private, Chris, that are too painful for you to talk about. But Andy Douglas is—"

"I know!" he interrupted her, frustrated. "Believe me, Dixie, I know. I feel horrible about it, okay?"

"I don't think you get it, Chris," Jeff Jarrett stepped over to him. "You've done all but destroyed your career out there tonight. Hell, Andy was lucky you didn't kill him!"

"We're here to help you, Chris," Jerry spoke up, in an firm but somewhat comforting manner. "Talk to us. There's obviously something going on with you, something you're not handling by yourself. You gotta let someone in to help you."

"No one can," Chris replied, the fear evident in his words. "This is something I gotta fix on my own."

"You've tried that, man," Jeff told him and leaned against Dixie's desk, folding his arms over his chest. "From everything you've told me, you haven't been doing a good job in holding it all together."

"Holding what all together?" Dixie questioned, frustrated. She had heard all the rumors about Chris and Jeff's new personal assistant and something about a kid, but that was all. She wanted answers and she wasn't about to let Chris out of the room without getting some. He owed them an explanation, as well as one to The Naturals, and to his own tag team partner. He even owed one, in her opinion, to the fans for almost crippling the show because of his anger. "Like Jerry said, Chris… we're here to help. You snapped out there tonight and it isn't doing you or us any good by not talking about it."

"What do you wanna know?" Chris responded weakly, wanting them all to get off his back.

"What's been going on with you? What happened?"

"You mean other than me being the reason my ex girlfriend and our daughter are in the hospital?" he shot back, taking Dixie by surprise.

"What?"

"You have no idea," Chris told her, standing up. "And I'm sorry for what happened. I'll find Andy, I'll talk to him… I'll do whatever you want me to do, and if you still wanna fire more or whatever then I guess I can't stop you." He wiped his eyes with his arm, which was still covered with Andy's blood.

The choked up feeling wasn't going away and the mixed images of Lily, Kady, and what happened with Andy were still clouding any possible rational thinking he could do. The one thing in common with all three was the blood… at his hands. If he had never insisted on going with Lily to find Kady, then there was a good chance that Lily wouldn't have been hit by the car. If he hadn't lashed out at Kady when she was only trying to reach him, she wouldn't have cut herself. And of course, if none of that had happened – in Chris' mind, if he had stayed out of their lives, then he wouldn't have had to take out his pain on Andy.

"When I saw Andy bleeding," he continued. "All I could see was them. Lily and Kady. And I know I fucked up everything, including my career but it doesn't seem worth it!"

Dixie looked to the Jarrett's for some assistance, even confirmation on what she was hearing. Jeff nodded at her, affirming what Chris had said was true. This was a situation no one here had had to face before so, figuring out the appropriate punishment was especially challenging.

"I didn't know you had a daughter," Dixie admitted, breaking the silence that had befallen them.

"For a long time, I didn't," Chris sadly said. "I didn't even recognize her, even after she literally ran into me last week. I only knew her when I saw Lily again. The past week has been hell. Kady ran away and her mother and I did everything we could to find her and bring her round… so you wanna fire me, Dixie? Go right on ahead because I don't fucking care anymore!" his voice cracked with self-inflicted emotional pain. "I've lost the people who mean more than the world to me, so losing my job won't mean much in comparison."

"Chris…" Dixie rubbed the back of her neck to ease out the tensions that rose from the difficulty of her dilemma.

Usually something like what had happened out in the ring would warrant immediate dismissal of the offending person, but this was different. She knew Chris Harris was usually very responsible and would never intentionally hurt an opponent to the point where a career could be ended. How to solve this problem was not easy, since it had never happened before. But the physical and emotional wreck of the man standing before her did not lose impact on her decision making. Whatever recommendations Jerry Jarrett made, in the end it would be her decision.

"Why didn't you come to me sooner? We would never have let you out there tonight if we had known."

Jeff tensed up when she said that, knowing full well that he allowed the match to go ahead that night, with full knowledge of Chris' mental state.

"I don't know," Chris answered again.

"Well, you still need to be punished, Chris. Nothing justifies what you did out there tonight," Dixie told him, standing firm on the subject. The difficulty was trying to find the right balance between punishment and leniency given the stress he was under. "You know something this serious in nature would call for your immediate dismissal from TNA, right?"

He nodded.

"Okay, so here's what we'll do. We'll wait until Andy Douglas is well enough to talk to us about this and, depending on what he says, we'll determine an appropriate punishment. Until then, you're on indefinite suspension. I expect you will sort out your personal life and reflect on all of this during your time off…"

Chris grabbed onto the chair to prevent himself from toppling over due to his obvious weakened state. All the years he thought about his little girl, and imagined what she had been growing up to be like… things couldn't end between them like this. He muttered a quick thank you and another apology, and then excused himself. Jerry was about to raise an objection to him leaving, but Dixie silenced him with just one look. She knew that Chris understood the conditions of him still being employed by TNA.

He closed the door behind him and almost ran straight into James, who had been waiting outside for him. The Tennessee Cowboy was shocked at the ragged, broken down state his longtime friend was in and could find no words of comfort. The two men stared at each other for a few minutes, both in an utter state of disbelief and uncertainty. Chris was not the man James had come to know and had been friends with. They say that becoming a parent is a life-altering thing and this only proved that saying even more true. The only thing different about it was that Chris was never able to act on his parental instincts until now, and it was overwhelming for him to feel the same things he did when Kady was a baby.

"You look like hell," James commented, lightly.

"Yeah, fuck you," Chris muttered with a small smile.

"So... what's the verdict?"

"I'm lucky they didn't string me up by my hair. Guilty. Indefinite suspension until they talk to Andy. My pathetic story is, I think, the only thing that kept them from firing me… they don't wanna live with that guilt."

The tag team partners walked together toward the locker room. They had to get their stuff to head back to the hotel and Chris was dreading facing his fellow wrestlers. Everyone, by now, would've seen or known through word of mouth what went on in the ring. The looks he was getting from various backstage personnel was disturbing, so he kept his eyes fixed firmly on the floor.

"Have you heard anything on Douglas?" he wondered.

"No," James admitted. "Nothing yet. You put him down well, Chris. They're still mopping up the blood."

"Fuck…" hearing that news didn't make Chris feel any better, and if Andy was seriously hurt then he'd have to contend with the fact that his career could very well be over anyway, regardless of if he was fired or not. It wouldn't be long before what happened would hit the Internet, if it hadn't already.

"He'll be fine," James continued to assure, seeing the panicked and depressed state Chris was in. "He's a tough guy."

"That's not the point. You were right. I shouldn't have left them…"

"Then what are you waiting for? Get your ass back on a plane and go back to them."

"I can't!"

James sighed and muttered something under his breath, and grabbed Chris by his arm and shoved his partner against the wall very harshly, causing him to yell out in pain when his back and head slammed against it. Chris was weakened now, so even as he continued to struggled against James, there was no way he was breaking free of the powerful grip his friend had on him. James was going to force him to listen, no matter what.

"You and I have been friends for a long time, so the least you can do is give me some fucking credit and LISTEN! Whatever shit you're going through, I can tell you now it's not half as bad as what Lily and Kady are going through… now they have every reason to believe that you don't want to be in Kady's life. You've proved them right. Everyone who spoke against you, you proved them right. And you proved me wrong. I hate being wrong, Chris. If you don't get on a plane tonight and go back to them, then you've proved yourself right… you are a bad father. Andy Douglas, as much as he is an idiot, didn't deserve to get a beat down for no reason. Your daughter cut herself because she believed that you never wanted her… you've given her a reason to justify what she did to herself, given her a reason to do it all over again. And I can guarantee it, partner, if you don't go back there… and she tries it again? You'll prove what a fucking asshole you really are, and that you don't deserve to be her father."

James was doing everything short of beating sense into Chris now, with this one last attempt to get his friend to see what he was missing. The emptiness he saw in the dark, miserable eyes of Chris was horrible enough, but there was still a little something there. Confusion, maybe. Having done enough ranting to last a while and, since Chris didn't immediately respond, he knew it was still sinking in so James let go of him and stepped back. He wanted to say more, but there wouldn't be much good in it now, so he turned and walked away, hoping Chris would listen and do the right thing.

Two and a half hours had passed, and again Chris was back in what was quickly becoming a familiar and much-hated place. The hospital. From what he had learned, Andy had been admitted suffering a pretty big cut to his forehead which required many stitches, a bloody nose as well as a nasty concussion and a cracked rib. Other than that, he would be fine and would most likely be released in the next couple of days. Finally, after waiting around - something which he hated doing - Chris was allowed to visit. Chase had already been and was leaving the room at the moment Chris arrived.

"Is it safe to assume you got all your frustrations out on him in the ring?" Chase venomously took a shot at him, stopping just outside the door which blocked Chris' entrance to the room. The older man didn't want a confrontation, but he was going to get one.

"I know, Chase," he quietly replied. "I don't know what came over me—"

"I think I can make an accurate guess. You're seriously fucked, you know that?"

"I'm trying to make it right!" Chris insisted. "I need to speak with him."

"You gonna put him through a wall or something?"

"Stevens! Come on, man let me do this… let me do something about this."

While there was a mutual respect between The Naturals and AMW, it's not often that they got along and this latest development was only going to deepen the animosity between them. Chris hadn't showered and was still covered in blood mixed with sweat, and aside from looking physically exhausted, Chase could see how broken he was. He relaxed and stepped aside.

"Whatever. He's more than pissed off so, you should probably watch your step."

"Thanks for the advice."

Chase walked off with the intent of not running into Chris Harris for the rest of the night, and needing a good night's sleep. After the events of the show that night, he wanted nothing more than to get away from it all, though secretly admitted to himself that it would've been interesting to see Andy's reception of Chris.

Chris walked into the dim room and, in the bed, Andy was busy flipping through the television channels, looking bored and extremely agitated. He didn't notice the man who brutalized him walk in. If he had, he probably would've freaked out and tried to return the favor Chris so willingly gave him earlier.

"How you doing?"

Andy's attention had been caught and, within a second of recognizing who was in front of him, his face darkened into a dangerous expression which was easily readable as 'I would kill you if I could move', but he didn't say anything. He was still feeling the effects of Chris' attack and wasn't in the mood to play nice with him.

"Feeling any better?" Chris tried again and moved closer to the bed. Again, he got no response. He sighed and sat down on a chair that was a couple of feet away from the bed, out of 'attack range' by the man in the bed. "Look, I just came by to apologize… I know I went way overboard."

"Overboard?" scoffed Andy, mildly amused at Chris' choice of words. "Funny how you characterize it, Harris. You did everything short of killing me in the ring."

"I know. I'm trying to make this right."

"You're looking for a god damn excuse to relieve yourself of the guilt you're feeling, trying to blame it on whatever you did to fuck up the situation in Kentucky with your daughter," Andy guessed. "I won't make it that easy for you."

"What do you want me to say, man?"

"I don't want you to say a fucking thing. I want you to leave."

Seeing how Andy wasn't going to make it easy for him, Chris decided to drop the pleasantries and get straight to the point. "Okay, fine. But I just wanted you to know… I never meant for it to get that far, okay? James tried to talk me out of doing the match and I refused, thinking it would get my mind off what happened, and…" he looked away. "The exact opposite happened. When I saw you bleeding… it brought everything back up."

"Brought what back up?"

"Lily. Kady. How I fucked up their lives even worse."

Andy knew a little of what had happened from James - some bad shit had gone down and that's why Chris was on the way back to Florida and why the match was set up. Other than that, he didn't know anything about the cutting or the car accident. "What did you do?"

"They're both in the hospital."

Forgetting that he wanted to kill Chris, Andy sat up and indicated that he was paying attention and willing to listen to this explanation. For what it was worth, it would be satisfying a curiosity that many people backstage at TNA were feeling.

"Go on."

"There's too much to say, man…"

"Summarize. I wanna know if there's a good explanation for what happened tonight. I mean, yeah we took the titles but still! You owe me an explanation."

Chris saw no way out, and that if he was ever going to make this right then he would have to do some serious, and fast, talking. It wasn't so much that he was looking for forgiveness from Andy, but it was the first step in straightening out the mess that he had pretty much made on his own. With him being new at the whole fatherhood thing, some may put Chris' recent actions down to a lack of experience and understanding of his kid. Others might say that he simply screwed up and was now paying for his poor judgment. Either way, this was going to be a long and difficult road to travel.

"I don't know what happened," Chris confessed. "We were actually starting to get along okay, ya know?"

"Who?"

"Kady and me. Lily was hit by a car while trying to stop Kady from running away again—"

"Shit, is she okay?"

"Let's just say no more than you are. She'll be okay, the doctors think. But, um… yeah Kady and I kinda fell into getting along after that, I guess more for Lily's sake than anything else. Afterwards, I was stressing out and she tried to talk to me and I pushed her away… she freaked out and thought it was because I never wanted her, and so she cut herself. She says she wasn't trying to kill herself, but… I dunno, man. I saw the look in her eyes. It was like she had totally given up on life. Anyway… that's when I left and came back here, figuring that I'd made things worse." He finished the story which had been repeated so often now that it was as if each time it was another blow to his heart. Andy sat back against the pillows and watched Chris' body language. The guy was in a lot of pain that he wasn't showing.

"Yeah, man you totally screwed up. They would be better off without you," Andy said with ease, the sureness with which he spoke took Chris by surprise.

"Excuse me?" Chris asked, wondering why Andy was saying the complete opposite to what everyone else had been saying.

"Well, if you're going to make halfhearted attempts at being a father – screwing up and then running away – they'd definitely be better off without you. Kady's just a kid... a screwed up kid. She hates the world because she thinks the world – you included – hate her. If you're going to hide out here and not work things out, she's not gonna come to you. She's never had you around before so she's learning, just like you are." Andy reasoned.Chris thought it over and actually kind of understood where Andy was coming from.

"How is it that you know this?" He queried. Andy shrugged as best he could.

"My dad was never around much when I was a kid. He traveled a lot for work so, one day he'd be there and the next he'd be gone. I used to wish he'd make up his mind and stop screwing me and mom around." Andy admitted honestly.

"So it's gotta be all or nothing, huh?" Chris mused, the reality sinking in totally now.

"Yeah. No point being there otherwise. Look, what you did to me tonight proves how emotionally connected you are to them... after just over a week. Kady will be the same. However shitty you feel right now, imagine your kid feeling it. Imagine what she'd do about it because she won't know how to handle it... you didn't know, why would she?" Andy pointed out.

"Fuck. You're right. I've gotta go, got a few things to think about. I know it doesn't count for much but, thanks. And... I really am sorry about what happened out there. When you talk to Dixie, feel free to tell her you want me gone. I deserve it." Chris told him.

"I don't want you fired, man. That wouldn't help anything. Just... get things sorted before you come back again, okay? Otherwise Chase will help me go for revenge. James probably would, too." Andy smirked.

"Yeah, no kidding. He almost put me through a wall earlier. I've fucked everything up... making it right isn't going to be easy." Chris realized.

"The things that are most worth it are always the hardest." Andy philosophized.

"You're so doped up you're actually starting to sound wise." Chris laughed.

"Fuck you, Harris." Andy chuckled, trying not to laugh too hard due to his cracked rib.

"See, smartest thing you've said all night. I'll let you rest now. I'll be expecting payback if we ever get in a ring together again." Chris assured him.

"You'll get it, with interest." Andy vowed with a nod.


A/N: Poor Chris. Or even more so, poor Andy. And that's not all, folks! More to come soon!