Title: The Reason

Rated: M (Mature)

Genre(s): Romance/Drama

Pair(s): Big Show/Cody, Randy/Adam, Mark/Phil, Kane/Zack, etc.

Summary: Because of the GM, Cody now has to balance life on the road with life as a new father. The GM took his boyfriend from him, and now, he's all alone…

Disclaimer: I don't own anyone, besides my OCs.

Warning(s): Slash, Mpreg, Violence

Part: 7/? – Failure

OOOO

No Way Out came and went. Jay retained his Intercontinental Championship in a match with Cody, and Paul lost to John Cena after five men that Paul had injured and/or screwed over in the last month turned on him. John Laureinitis was fired… life in the WWE could finally return to normal. Or, at least, that was what many wanted to believe. Until the 1,000th episode of Raw, a new GM would not be determined. Therefore, there were to be several interim GMs until that time. And, so far, Cody suddenly had two weeks off.

It wasn't that he didn't want or need the time off. Truth be told, he would've loved to head home and kick back on the couch with a box of Girl Scout cookies (his sister had been a Girl Scout and he had been hooked on the cookies ever since) and his son in the bouncy chair beside him. But he couldn't do that. He had to rest and heal so that when he did have a match, he didn't become injured and have to take time off. Cody currently sat in the back area, his one-month-old baby in his arms as he watched Paul head down for his match with Brodus Clay.

Cody was silent as he watched Paul brutalize the Funkasuarus. The match should've ended when Paul kicked him in the knee and took him down, but then he had to hit a devastating WMD just to prove some point. The crowd jeered him as he climbed out of the ring, slowly making his way up the ramp. However, he wasn't finished. As the medics and referee assisted Brodus to the back, Paul hit another WMD that sent Brodus and the medic down to the floor. Paul's music hit and he made his way to the back slowly.

"I have Cayden's bottle." Natalya walked over to Cody and sat down in the seat next to him. She wore a black cover-up, which concealed her sailor-style bikini for the Diva's Beach Time Battle Royal.

"Thanks." Cody smiled and took the bottle from her hand, before he tested the temperature on his wrist. When he was sure it wasn't too hot, he pressed the nipple to Cayden's mouth. Immediately, he opened it and started to suck.

"Cody!" Cody's smile fell when he heard Paul's voice. "Cody, if you could just wait a minute…"

"Paul, how many times do I have to tell you that I don't want to talk to you?" Cody hissed.

"Look, I know you're mad at me about what happened with Daylee. I'm sorry about that." Paul did look like he was truly sorry for what he had done. "And I'm sorry about what I said to you before."

Cody raised a dark eyebrow. "It's a little late for 'I'm Sorry', don't you think? If you were really sorry, then you would have never let the words come out of your mouth!"

"What can I do to make this better, Cody? I want us to be a family." Paul insisted.

"Yeah, well, you should have thought about that before you became a total asshole and ruined the only family that still loves you unconditionally. Your daughter doesn't know that you exist unless you buy her stuff, and your ex-wife bleeds you dry in child support." Cody ranted, tears in his eyes.

"So, you're going to be just like my ex-wife? You're going to leave me because I don't have enough money?" Paul blurted out. It hurt to think like that, because he thought that he knew Cody a little bit better.

"I don't care if you're broke or unemployed. I care that you're a sell-out." Cody rose from his seat. "I'm outta here."

Paul was stunned speechless by Cody's declaration. He couldn't believe half of the words that had come out of that boy's mouth. Yes, he knew and understood that the entire world believed that he was a sell-out because he conformed to PEOPLE POWER instead of fighting to end it, but had that character of the angry, frustrated Big Show actually made him a sell-out of a boyfriend as well? He had sunk to his absolute lowest when he hit Daylee. That was totally over the line and he knew it, but what could he do about it now?

For the first time in his life, Paul was truly scared. Not of the future, not of anyone in the WWE, but of himself. When he looked into that mirror, he couldn't stand to see the man that stared back at him. He used to consider himself good friends with John Cena, and yet, he almost ended the career that the man had dreamt of his entire life. He used to consider himself a great boyfriend to Cody, until Cody threw it all in his face and stormed out on him. He used to consider himself a good wrestler, until Vince McMahon tore him down on live television. Nothing was the same.

Natalya walked over to him and hesitantly touched a hand to his shoulder. "Paul?"

He turned to look at her slowly. His blue eyes became impossibly wide when he realized that she didn't have even the smallest hint of fear on her pretty face. "Y-You're not afraid of me?"

"A little bit." Natalya admitted softly. "But, I can also see that you're hurt. If you ever need someone to talk to, someone impartial… I just wanted to let you know that I'm there for you."

"I don't know if…" here, Paul fell silent. Maybe it wasn't such a bad idea to talk to someone about all of this. Someone who wouldn't tell him that he was wrong, just someone to listen. "I think I'll have to take you up on that."

Natalya smiled. "You're place or mine?"

"Mine." Paul said. "I'm fairly certain that Beth would massacre me if I came anywhere near your hotel room."

Natalya nodded. "Okay. I'll see you after the show."

THREE HOURS LATER

The two wrestlers sat on the floor across from each other, a six-pack of beer between them. Hesitantly, Paul swirled his meaty finger around the lid of his can. Now that he was really here, about to spill his heart out, he was afraid. While he constantly said that the reason behind his new iron-clad contract was nobody's business but his own, he knew that the reason behind it was foolish and mainly insecure. However, Natalya didn't seem like the kind of woman to judge. He was about to find out if his hunch was correct.

"I want to tell you the reason why I sold out to John Laureinitis… but, I'm afraid that if I say it out loud, it'll sound stupid and moronic." Paul confessed to Natalya.

Natalya shook her head, her blond hair falling over her shoulders softly. "Try me."

Paul looked down at his hands. "I was married before I met Cody. It was the perfect union. I loved her, she loved me, and we had a beautiful little baby. Life was good, until she started wanting to lose the baby fat."

Natalya nodded, but didn't dare to interject.

"I had to have spent thousands of dollars on different weight loss treatments, gym memberships, and operations to make her feel better about the way that she looked. I would always tell her that she looked beautiful, but she never believed me. However, there came a time when there was no money left." Here, Paul fell silent.

"What do you mean, there was no money left?" Natalya asked softly.

"She bled my bank account and my savings account until there was nothing left. We had to declare bankruptcy." Paul said, a little embarrassed to admit the truth. "And when I didn't have any more money, she divorced me."

Natalya nodded as she tried to comprehend all of this. "So, the way that your wife treated your money gave you some sort of complex – if you didn't have a lot of money, you were no longer good enough."

Paul nodded. "It's stupid, isn't it."

Natalya shook her head. "No, Paul. It's understandable. At least, it's more understandable then that crap you've been spewing to the WWE Universe for the last month."

It all made total sense now. The new, iron-clad contract that Paul was so proud of, with the big fat bonus attached to it, could totally be explained. Impulsively, the need for money to feel like he deserved the love of Cody drove him to begging for his job back from Mr. Laureinitis. While it was a somewhat twisted truth, at least it was the truth. Natalya could see it in his eyes. He was so hurt, so embarrassed by it, that he couldn't have made it up. Suddenly, an idea came to her. She jumped to her feet, excitement clear on her face.

"What?" Paul exclaimed, a tad startled by her sudden movement.

"I know how you can win Cody back!" Natalya shouted, her voice filled with energy and excitement. "Here's the plan…"

OOOO

A/N: Please Review!