Disclaimer: I don't own anyone, other than Lily and Madison.
Rated: M
Warning(s): Slash, Past Mpreg, Storyline Fanfic, etc.

Hunter didn't even bother looking away from the television, which was showing a black-and-white western from the sixties. "Do we now? And what the hell would I have to talk about with the likes of you?" His words were every bit as cutting as he intended them to be, but Daniel didn't let that deter him.

He stepped inside and closed the door behind him. This was a private conversation, and he didn't want a nosy passerby overhearing. "We need to talk about Phil?"

"Phil?" Hunter scoffed, rolling his eyes. "Don't you have better things to do than worry about the stick that's lodged up your lover's ass?"

"First of all, he's my fiance." Daniel said darkly. "And second, I don't appreciate you talking about him like that. Until he officially decides whether or not he's terminating his contract, he's still a member of this company and the way you're treating him qualifies as employee harassment."

Hunter frowned, very quickly losing any and all mirth he might've had. "If you came here to lecture me on how I can and cannot treat my employees, you know where the door is. Don't let it hit you on the way out."

Daniel sighed. This wasn't going well at all. "I didn't come to lecture you. I came to talk."

"About Phil, yes. We've been over that already." Hunter was very quickly losing patience with this whole ordeal.

"I need to understand why it is that you hate Phil as much as you do. I can't think of any good reason to justify it. And I feel like..." Daniel sighed, "After all you've put us through, don't we at least deserve to know that much? To know why?"

Why? Hunter turned to look out the window, admiring the storm outside. The sky was a dark, midnight blue, the clouds an inky black against their velvety backdrop. There were no stars. Rain was pounding violently against the window, so loud that it sounded like static coming from an old television. It was the kind of storm that would have Lily cuddling in bed between her parents, crying that she was scared and looking for protection. Lily...

Because really, wasn't it his own insecurity that was at the root of all of this? He'd always wanted to have children, but had been anything but happy pregnant. Pregnancy became Phil in a way that it never had with Hunter. Both times he was pregnant, he'd felt fat and bloated and uncomfortable. He'd put on too much weight and had difficulty shaking it after the pregnancy was over. There'd been complications with both pregnancies due to age and other physical complications...

And Phil, well, pregnancy just seemed to become him. Where Hunter had just looked fat, it was clear that Phil was pregnant. If anything, the Straight Edge Superstar was underweight, especially considering how far along he was. And aside from one or two miscarriage scares in the early stages of his pregnancy, he'd been remarkably healthy and complication free. To Hunter, it just wasn't fair. After all, how many times had Phil said he couldn't stand kids?

"I always wanted to have kids." Hunter said softly, wistfully. "A wife, two kids - a little boy and a little girl - a dog, a house with a white picket fence... the whole nine yards. Well, I got the wife. And we had three kids. And the house." Hunter sighed, finally turning toward Daniel. "And then came the divorce."

Daniel blinked, surprised that Hunter was admitting to this much. Hunter didn't often like to discuss the time when he was married to Stephanie... in fact, it was so infrequently discussed that some people mistakenly thought that Mark was his first marriage. "Hunter..."

"I knew I was gay when I married Stephanie. She knew it too. She thought that, if we never talked about it, if it was never brought up... maybe it would just go away. But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't change such a core part of myself. We divorced because of Mark."

Daniel nodded, beginning to feel as though he was understanding. "You thought that Mark was it for you. And now everything is going to hell."

Hunter all but ignored his comment. "When Mark and I got together, I was still craving that dream family. I wanted to have his children so badly. But my body just... didn't want to cooperate."

They'd tried for two and a half years to get pregnant, with nothing working. Then, when he'd finally managed to get pregnant, he'd miscarried just shy of two months. When he'd gotten pregnant with Lily, they'd finally stopped trying. It had been so difficult to carry her to term, they hadn't even dreamed of ever having another child. While they never regretted Madison, she hadn't been planned either. And that pregnancy had been almost ten times as difficult.

"I've always been envious of Phil." Hunter continued on nonchalantly. "He was always so very vocal about how much he didn't want to have children. He doesn't like kids, everyone knows it. And then he just falls pregnant and pregnancy is so easy for him. And at the risk of sounding petty... it's just not fair."

"You're jealous of Phil?" Okay, so perhaps that wasn't exactly the route he thought this conversation was going down. But somehow... it made sense.

"Jealous is such an ugly word. It's just... It's hard to look at him and see him be so nonchalant about everything I'd ever wanted. And so I treat him like shit so that maybe he'll understand how I feel." Hunter closed his eyes. "The irony of it all is that I finally have everything I dreamed off... and I totally fucked up."

Daniel sighed. "Things haven't been easy for Phil, either." Daniel jumped to Phil's defense - because, really, wasn't that what he'd come here for in the first place. "I know, because... well, I haven't exactly made things easy for him. I've pushed him too hard for too long and I think that... I think I might've lost him this time."

Hunter stared at him for a moment in silence, before shaking his head. "You won't lose him. That boy... he's got real feelings for you. The way he looks at you... it's the same way that Mark used to look at me."

Daniel seemed to brighten a bit at that. He really needed to hear that. "You will get Mark back. There's no doubt in my mind."

"I hope that you're right." Hunter said softly. And then, narrowing his eyes at the younger man, "Don't think that this little conversation is gonna make me go any easier on you come WrestleMania."

Daniel smirked, the mood suddenly seeming a hundred times lighter. "I wouldn't dream of it."

"You really don't have to do this, Randy. You need time to mourn." Mark said, even as Randy took the sleeping child out of his arms.

Randy had called Mark and had asked if he could come over. He didn't feel confident staying by himself, not after everything that had happened. Normally, he would've gone back and spent some time with Hunter, but he wanted the bigger man to have some time to heal before heading into his WrestleMania match. But over the last few weeks he'd grown incredibly close to the girls, and had asked if he could spend some time with them now.

Mark had seized the opportunity, as he needed time to file the custody papers. He really didn't think it was a good idea to pack up the girls and bring them along with, so he'd consented to having Randy watch them for a little while. Madison slept on in Randy's warm embrace, and Lily shuffled over, wrapping her tiny body around Randy's left leg. She had her security blanket held securely in her tiny fist, and her thumb in her mouth. She was regressing.

"It's fine, really. I want to do it." Randy insisted. "I can't be cooped up in that apartment anymore. I can't be by myself."

Mark placed a hand on his shoulder, the strong presence comforting. "I'm so sorry for your loss. Nobody should have to experience the pain that you're going through."

Madison cooed softly in Randy's arms, before slowly blinking open her big brown eyes. Her tufts of golden brown hair had just begun to lay flat on her head, the soft strands smooth as silk. Randy smoothed a hand over her head. "Thank you."

Mark hesitated for a moment, before going over and grabbing his briefcase. "It should only be two or three hours, at the most. You know where all of Maddie's formula and diapers are, and I've just been using room service for Lily until I can go shopping."

"We can go shopping." Randy offered. "It's the least that I can do, and Lily could probably use a home cooked meal."

Once again, Mark looked uncertain. But then, shrugging, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet, handing over his credit card. "We don't need much. Just as much as can fit in the mini-fridge. But I really appreciate it."

He knew that Randy just wanted to be of help and he was more than happy to find things for him to do to take his mind off of what had happened. Randy had already taken the first step and gotten himself out of his apartment. And he'd always been so good with the kids, this seemed like a natural solution to everyone's problems. He knew that Randy would never be able to fully heal, but staying cooped up in that apartment would undoubtedly begin to kill him slowly.

Lily looked up at the Viper, her blue eyes curious. "Will Dexter come shopping with us?"

If she noticed the way that Randy's entire body tensed beside her, she said nothing. There was a painful innocence in her voice - she didn't know what had happened to Dexter. In fact, the only two people that knew, aside from Randy himself, were Hunter and Mark. He hadn't been able to find it in himself to call John yet. He knew that he needed to, but he wasn't ready to face the heart-breaking indifference that he knew he'd receive. He knew that John didn't love their son and it killed him.

He forced a smile, freeing up a hand to ruffle her loose blonde curls. She beamed up at him, loving the attention she was receiving. "He won't be coming with us. Not this time." The fact that he'd never be coming along again hung silently in the air like the elephant in the room.

"Oh. Okay." And just like that, the matter was dropped. Randy had never been more grateful for anything in his life.

The baby gurgled contently in Randy's arms. "I never thought that I'd see the day when I said that I miss changing diapers, or being puked on, or heating up bottles." He confessed softly. "Thank you for this. I don't think you'll ever know how truly grateful I am."

"You're welcome." Mark leaned down, kissing both girls on the forehead. "I'll be back before you can miss me."

Once Mark was out the door, Randy began collecting all the things he'd need to take the girls out. Lily was sucking on her sippy cup, which looked to be about half-full with apple juice. Randy threw the diaper bag over his shoulder, along with the key to the hotel room, before taking Lily by the hand and leading her out the door and toward the elevator. The little hand in his was so reminiscent of the one he'd held in the hospital room not too long ago... but he pushed the thought aside. For now.

When Phil arrived at the hotel, he begrudgingly allowed the bellhop bring his suitcases upstairs. He still held that, regardless of his pregnancy, he was not so fragile that a little manual labor was going to kill him. But he also understood that he was in a very difficult situation, and after everything they'd been through relationship wise (and with the pregnancy), he wasn't going to take any unnecessary risks. Once he was at his room, he took out his phone and pulled up Kofi's number.

Just wanted to let u know that I arrived safe. Ttyl - Phil

He didn't expect to suddenly feel a hand come to rest upon his shoulder. He almost jumped out of his skin, spinning around so fast that he almost made himself dizzy. Then again, with the weight he'd put on, he was so out of balance lately that doing just about anything fast made him dizzy. But he certainly wasn't expecting to see Daniel Bryan staring back at him... at least, not so soon.

"Phil?" Daniel was looking at him uncertainly. "What are you doing here?"

Phil blinked slowly, drinking in the sight of his fiance. It seemed like an eternity had passed since he'd last seen him. "Um, I..." Under normal circumstances, Daniel would've been amazed that he managed to make Phil speechless. But these were not normal circumstances. "I came to see you, actually."

Daniel smiled softly. That seemed to break the ice a bit. "You came to see me?"

"I would've called, but..." Phil shrugged. "It was kind of a last minute decision. I know that I haven't exactly made things... easy for you lately. So I decided to come and show you my support. Even if I don't agree with what you're doing, it's ultimately your decision to make and I need to stand by you, regardless."

Daniel's eyes widened as he took in everything that Phil had just said. "Phil..." he reached out and took Phil's hand, and was almost surprised when Phil allowed him to do so. "I haven't made things easy for you, either. I should've stood by you when Hunter said those things to you. In fact..."

He explained that he'd been to Hunter's hospital room earlier, and they'd talked about just that. While he knew that it didn't really mean much coming second hand, he told Phil what had happened - how Hunter was jealous (no matter how ugly a word it might be) about how easily Phil had gotten pregnant, how good he and Daniel were together. Phil watched him blankly, not sure what to believe anymore.

"So basically, he's being an asshole because I'm Fertile Myrtle? Yeah, that makes a whole lot of sense." They hadn't even been trying to get pregnant, they simply never used protection because they never had any need for it.

Daniel sighed. "Maybe we should talk about this later. Right now... well, I'm just so happy to be able to see you again. I'd thought that -," he couldn't even finish.

"I know." Because he didn't need to finish that thought for Phil to know what he was planning on saying. "And you don't have to worry about that. At least, not for now."

"Do you want to..." Daniel trailed off, suddenly uncertain once more. "I mean, I don't want to pressure you or anything. I just... I was wondering if maybe you wanted to come back to my hotel room? Not for anything sexual, or anything like that. Just to... catch up."

Phil smiled. His innocent, nervous rambling was kind of adorable. "I'd like that. I'd like that a lot."

Daniel's smile was positively contagious. Taking his fiance by the hand, he led him down the hall in the direction of his own quarters. Unlocking the door, he led Phil inside, motioning for him to take a seat on the bed. Phil made himself comfortable, crushing a pillow to his chest and watching as Daniel fixed them a couple of drinks. Maybe there was a chance that everything would be okay after all.