Monster chapter! This one was super hard to write for so many reasons. Hope you enjoy it. :D
Chapter Six: ROMAN! ROMAN!
November 2, 2015 4:05 P.M.
"Good, good, I'm glad we're on the same page for once. Now you need to find Reigns and tell him that-" A woman's voice was monologuing before she was interrupted by an eager-to-please man with a Southern accent.
"Oh, he's right over there!"
Roman opened his eyes and peered around him, seeing his duffle bag next to him only vaguely recognizing the generic hallway he was standing in. Where was he? When was he? He shook his head, trying to clear the cobwebs. Denver, he was in Denver...
"Did you seriously just interrupt me? I can't believe you just interrupted me! Were you raised in a barn or something? I can't imagine why you'd..."
Roman couldn't help but make a face when the woman continued to insult the man, repeatedly. She was so rude. Roman glanced behind him to see a pretty, copper-haired woman berating Jamie Noble.
"Just never mind. I don't know why I bother talking to you," she snapped at Noble before sighing dramatically. "Why is it so difficult to have competent help these days? Now get out of here, Noble. I don't feel like dealing with your bumpkin incompetence right now."
Roman frowned. This woman was very familiar. Where did he know her from?
Wait... if she were to speak in a respectful and pleasant manner instead of an angry lit, if she were to wear skinny jeans and a blazer over a wrestling T-shirt instead of a business suit and heels, if she were to smile instead of scoff...It was Marie; the nice lady from the marketing side of WWE who gave Dean snacks if he asked nicely. What the hell happened to her to make her so incredibly unpleasant?
"Reigns!" Marie snarled, venomously.
Roman actually flinched. Was it necessary to shout at him when he was only a couple of feet down the hallway? "Yes?"
"What the heck are you doing here? I thought you were assembling your team for your match tonight! God, why do I bother with you? You're completely useless. When they offered me the job to manage you and make sure you don't sound like the biggest idiot in the world, I should have said 'No!' You know why? Because it's a hopeless task! You are hopeless! I'm stuck running around backstage, trying to find you, only to realize you didn't do anything I asked! You just waste all my time!"
Roman took a calming breath. "Sorry, I got sidetracked. I didn't mean to keep you waiting. I value your time and appreciate all you do."
Marie stared at Roman in disbelief. "What?"
"I'm sorry. I should have been more considerate of your time."
Marie narrowed her eyes suspiciously at Roman. "I don't know what you're on, but I'm not buying it, Reigns."
Roman looked at her in disbelief. What was this lady's deal?
Marie rolled her eyes. "Jeez, close your mouth, you'll catch flies; that stupefied expression only serves to make you look dumber too- if that's even possible. Now, we need to talk about tonight."
Roman gritted his teeth. How on earth could he deal with this lady on a day-to-day basis? "Fine. What about tonight?"
"Now I already approached Ryback, Bryan, and your Uso cousins. Everyone but Bryan agreed to be on your team; I guess the goat man is too busy with his Intercontinental Title defense to give us the time of day. But you know what? Not a big deal. We don't need him out there. I mean, he'd quell some of the heat you garner, but it's fine. It'll be good for you to actually do something good out there and get some cheers for once instead of boos," Marie said, checking off the points on a list she made on her phone.
Roman made a face. "I'm sure it's not all my fault. You are managing me, so I'm sure you're partially responsible for my crowd reception."
Marie shot him a death glare. "If you didn't suck so much, they would cheer for you. It's not my fault you're a hopeless cause!" Marie sighed and seemed to contemplate why she put up with Roman before she continued, "So then I asked that foreign bloke, and I think the language barrier was too much because he would just ramble on and on. I have no freaking clue what he was saying-"
"What foreign guy?"
Marie rolled her eyes. "Cesaro, of course. Reigns, you disappoint me. But I just told him be out there and he agreed. So you have yourself a Team Reigns, congrats. I did all the work as usual."
Roman fought the urge to roll his eyes. "Thanks, I appreciate it. Sorry you had to go through all the hassle."
"Why are you being so polite and respectful, Reigns? You're not a nice guy; you're a prick. So stop thanking me and apologizing. Coming from you, it just sounds so insincere."
Roman frowned. "I'm a prick? What's that supposed to mean? Wait, nevermind, I don't wanna know. One question though, what about Dean and Seth? Why don't I have them on my team?"
Marie's mouth dropped open and she stared at Roman for a moment in complete disbelief. "What is wrong with you, Reigns? Are you that much of an asshole?"
"What are you talking about?"
"Those brothers of yours? They haven't been around here for about a year! You quit on them when they needed you the most." Marie shook her head in disbelief at Roman's callousness. "You quit on them! And they imploded as a result of your negligence!"
"What do you mean 'they imploded'? What does that even mean?" Roman could barely keep himself from shouting, trying to calm his concern for his brothers.
"Ask yourself that, you asshole. It's your fault!" Marie looked like she was about to burst into tears. As someone who had befriended the other two Shield members when she first started at the WWE, she always hated how horribly Reigns treated them. Now Reigns bringing up Dean and Seth as if he cared only made her hate the man even more. "Those two worked for so long to get where they were. You wouldn't be here if it weren't for them! And to repay them like you did! You disgust me." She turned to stomp away.
Roman grabbed her wrist. "Tell me where they are! I want to talk to them!"
"I'm not telling you that! I can't believe you! Seeing you will just make things worse for them! You didn't deserve them, Reigns! You took them for granted!" Marie drew up to her full height and pointed a finger in Roman's face as she shoved Roman back, and he released her wrist. "I've had it with you and your bullshit! You don't get to waltz in here and change your tune, suddenly treating me like a human being! And suddenly caring about Seth and Dean? No, Reigns! No! I quit!" Marie turned and stomped away never looking back at Roman.
Roman put his head in his hands. What the hell happened? He thought he fixed everything...
"You know, if you really wanted to apologize to him, I could give you Mr. Rollins' address." Jamie Noble's Southern twang jolted Roman back to reality.
Roman turned and looked at the former wrestler. "You have it?"
"Course, I do. Seth has a lot of friends here still. Any of the guys from the Indie circuit have a lot of respect for the guy. I know, I do. I just wish he'd agree to help work in developmental," Jamie nearly mumbled the last sentence as an afterthought. "Just don't cause any trouble for the guy. He doesn't need to deal with any of that. He already has too much stuff to deal with on his own without you adding anything."
"What about Dean? Do you know where he is?"
Jamie Noble looked fairly uncomfortable with the question. "I don't keep up with him." The former wrestler finished scribbling down Seth's address and handed it over to Roman.
Roman nodded, gratefully. "Thanks, I appreciate this, Noble." Roman pulled out his phone and was already calling the Denver airport to procure a ticket to Iowa.
Noble called after him as Reigns practically sprinted down the hallway, "And I mean it, Roman. If you hurt that kid, you'll regret it. He doesn't need any more trouble."
Roman waved off Noble's suggestion, continuing to run out of the building while also successfully purchasing a one-way ticket to Davenport, Iowa that took off in just an hour. Perfect.
"Roman! Where do you think you're going? You haven't had your match yet! The locker room is the other way!" One of the producers asked, frantically while running to keep up with the determined Samoan.
"I'm leaving. I have a family emergency," Roman said without breaking his stride.
"What? Wait, what! No, no, no! You can't leave! It's Team Reigns versus Team Owens! How can we do tonight's main event without Reigns?"
Roman shrugged, and he pointed at someone who was walking by. "There you go; that's your guy. Have it be Team Ryder versus Team Owens."
Zack Ryder looked up from his phone in surprise and confusion. "What?"
The producer thought for a moment before grabbing Zack's arm and pulling him away. "You're leading a team in a traditional Survivor Series 5-on-5 match against Team Owens, congratulations."
Roman heard a distant "Woo Woo Woo!" and couldn't help but smile.
During the flight to Davenport, Roman mulled over the Seth situation. What could have driven his brother so far away from the company and the job he lived for? It was no secret Seth's dream job had always been to work in the WWE, so why would the high flyer leave? And what about Dean? True, Dean had a tendency to drive people away from him, so maybe that's why Noble hadn't been able to tell Roman anything about him. Roman's frown only grew deeper just thinking the worst about his two younger brothers. Everything was supposed to be better here, not worse...
The flight and the subsequent drive outside the city went by quickly, and soon enough Roman found himself driving deeper and deeper into the middle of nowhere, Iowa. The sight of frozen cornfields and shivering cows began to depress him a bit. He wondered why Seth would chose to move out here of all places. "Fuckin' Iowa," Roman couldn't help but mutter to himself annoyed by the desolate and barren landscape.
When his phone finally informed him that he had reached his destination, Roman frowned in confusion at the old farmhouse before him. Off to the right, he could see a barn with peeling white paint and a large pasture behind it. There was no way this could be the right place. Had Noble lead him on a wild goose chase? Maybe Noble secretly hated his guts in this reality, so he had decided to mess with him. But Roman had come this far, so he might as well knock on the door.
Roman tentatively got out of the car, groaning when he stretched his limbs. He hated how all the time travel made him feel. Ever since his first jump back into time, he had a faint headache and felt slightly nauseous with his stomach twisting and churning. He made his way to a slightly off-kilter screen door and knocked. Waiting a few minutes, he repeated the process to no result. Roman sighed before his gaze drew back to the barn. What time was it anyway? Seven something? Eight something? Still early in the evening enough for a farmer to still be up and working in the barn, right? Roman really knew nothing about farms, so he was going out on a limb here.
Roman headed over to the shabby structure and casually walked in. About two dozen cows turned their heads towards him in a quizzical fashion. The one closest to him mooed very loudly in what seemed like a greeting. Roman began to wander down the center aisle of the barn looking for another human person. Was he just wasting his time now?
Halfway down the barn, Roman heard a little growl followed by a yipping bark, and a little Yorkie came rushing out from where it had been sleeping by a relaxing cow.
"Shhh, little guy, stop barking at me" Roman chided, trying to get the dog to calm down.
The Yorkie wasn't having it though and continued to yap.
"Kevin?" A familiar voice called and a sharp whistle filled the air.
Kevin jerked to attention and speed off to where Seth's voice originated. Roman followed the dog to a segregated stall. Inside the stall stood a large cow, who was currently getting a belly rub from the Seth Rollins.
"Shh, it's okay, Mary Sue. I know you're probably sore, but that's normal. You're carrying a baby calf, and man, are they heavy. But don't worry, girl; give it a couple days, and you'll be a mom," Seth muttered to the apparently-pregnant cow as he rubbed soothing circles onto her side. He was wearing a pair of faded skinny jeans, a battered pair of work boots, and an old Chicago Bears T-shirt since it was quite a bit warmer in the barn than outside. Seth seemed to just notice Roman was there and stared at Roman in disbelief as though it was the most unfathomable thing for the Samoan to be there .
Roman's mouth dropped open in surprise when he saw Seth. This wasn't the Seth he remembered. This Seth was skinny; like he only had muscles that came naturally from farm work and not from doing his Crossfit training. This Seth wore a pair of glasses that hung precariously on the tip of his nose and looked like they were trying to escape from his face. This Seth looked tired and almost lonely; his eyes were dim, like someone had stolen his reason to continue to get up in the morning and was only here as the result of being on autopilot, not from any personal desire or drive.
"Seth, what the hell happened to your hair?" Roman couldn't help himself from exclaiming. Well, that certainly wasn't the best place to start.
Seth frowned at him and self-consciously ran a hand through his hair - hair which probably only measured a couple of inches long at most. "What about it?"
"It's-it's short. I've never seen you with short hair!"
Seth shrugged like he couldn't be bothered to give a damn about something so trivial. "I cut it this length 'bout a year ago. Long hair isn't practical for the farm."
Roman opened his mouth to begin a tirade of questions to try to figure out why Seth freaking Rollins was working on his own dairy farm in the middle of Bumfuck, Iowa - population of 20 (this included both Seth and his cows). However, before he could ask the former Architect of the Shield any of questions, Seth gave Mary Sue a parting pat on the shoulder and limped over to the wall, where a chestnut brown cane was leaning. Seth grimaced and rubbed his knee before he heavily leaned on the cane and made his way down the center aisle in the barn.
A couple of things dawned on Roman. Seth couldn't walk more than a couple steps without his cane. If he couldn't walk without a cane, he couldn't wrestle, at least not how he was known for. His high-risk, high flying style would not be compatible at all with this physical disability. Wrestling meant so much to the former high flyer, so he probably wanted to disappear off the face of the world once he knew he couldn't compete anymore. That way he wouldn't be bothered with any crazy, wrestling fans or the people that just were obsessed with witnessing others' misfortunes.
Roman knew this injury was connected with him and Dean somehow… But how?
"What the hell are you doing here, Roman? I don't remember inviting you. Shouldn't you be in Denver on RAW tonight?" There was something very bitter and biting with the way Seth practically spat out the last question. It was almost as though Seth couldn't care less about RAW and the WWE.
But yet, he knew what city the company was supposed to be in tonight…
Seth carefully navigated to the end of the barn and stopped three cows down from the barn door where a black and white Holstein was carefully chewing her cud. He leaned his cane against the chain fence that kept the cows from meandering around the entirety of the barn and carefully sunk down until he was sitting on an overturned bucket that was in the empty stall next to the cow, so he could pet her.
Roman trailed closely behind him. "I should've called before I came. Sorry, that was inconsiderate of me," he muttered.
Seth turned and stared up at Roman as though the Samoan had suddenly announced his greatest dream was to rebrand himself as Doink the Clown. "You should have called? With what? My number which you don't have? That's rich. What's gotten into you, Roman?" Seth turned back to the cow. "What's wrong with Roman? Huh, Leonardo? Did the big, bad ass Samoan smack his head in the last year and remember he had a moral compass? Did he suddenly remember I was alive?"
"Are you talking to a cow?" Roman asked, feeling very concerned for Seth's mental stability.
Seth sighed and leaned his head on the cow's neck while refusing to speak towards Roman. "I don't know how to deal with you right now. You went for so long, ignoring my existence because it wasn't convenient for you and now...now you just show up unannounced. Now you want to acknowledge me? For what? Are you suddenly going to spout some Samoan aphorism about how we're blood brothers or some other bullshit? I don't get you, Roman. I thought I knew where I stood, but apparently, I was wrong."
"I don't know what to say, Seth, other than I'm an asshole. I know I can't take anything back but...I'd like to try and fix our relationship," Roman said, nervously. He had no idea what he did in this timeline, but it looked like he didn't do himself any favors in Seth's eyes.
Seth sighed. "Okay, I better not regret this, Roman. I just...I can't deal with any of that shit." The cow seemed to sense Seth was upset and reached a large tongue out to lick a long tail up Seth's cheek to his hair, resulting in the chunk of short hair standing up on end. He smiled and carefully stood, leaning on the fence before he grabbed his cane. "I'm guessing you don't have a place to stay? I'm not counting your rental car since you'd freeze and I'd be stuck shipping your frozen carcass back to those idiots at World Wrestling Entertainment..."
Roman shook his head. "Nah, you don't exactly live close to civilization."
Seth raised an eyebrow in annoyance. He stood up and began to walk towards the barn door. He grabbed the Chicago Bears sweatshirt from where it was hanging on the barn doors and slipped it on. "I know, that's what I like about this. It's quiet with no stupid people around here. Well, up until tonight…"
Roman snorted in amusement. "Are you offering me a place to stay?"
Seth sighed. "I guess. I have a spare room for when Bryan and Brie visit. You can sleep there." He began walking to Roman's rental with the Samoan following.
Roman asked as they walked toward the farmhouse, "Daniel Bryan visits you?" Why did he have the weirdest mental image of the small bearded man and Seth meditating in the middle of a cow pasture with all the cows slowly walking in a circle around them, mooing up a chorus of sounds that guided their deep breathing?
"Course, he does. We're still pretty close. I mean, I've known the dude since RIng of Honor… Once in awhile he'll come here and stay. He loves the cows. I think he wants to own his own farm someday once he's done wrestling."
Roman frowned. Why did Roman feel a weird twinge at the thought of the leader of the Yes! movement spending all this time with his little brother? "I bet Brie hates it here."
Seth snorted. "You'd think so, but you'd be wrong. She's pretty cool actually. She even helped me bottle feed the calves a couple of times."
"Oh..." Roman's stomach churned uncomfortably. He wasn't jealous. He wasn't jealous...
"But they haven't been by for a while. I guess work is keeping them busy," Seth almost muttered the last bit, and he sounded dejected. Not to mention the very present note of bitterness which seemed to permanently dwell in his voice.
"Yeah, Bryan has a title right now, so I bet it's hard to get away."
Seth almost flinched at the mention of the title. "I bet." He waited for Roman to get his duffle bag out of the rental before he led the Samoan to the old farmhouse. Quickly, they entered the old house and he showed Roman the spare room telling him where to find the bathroom.
"Well, I guess this is good night then… I need to get up early for milking in the morning, so I guess I'll see you after that…"
"Thanks Seth, goodnight." Roman said graciously.
Seth wrinkled his nose, and Roman couldn't exactly read the expression. "Night." He began limping toward the door.
"Wait, Seth."
Roman hesitated when Seth paused and looked at him with worn and tired eyes. "Yeah?"
Why was it so hard to find words? "Can you... walk me through what happened the night... where that happened?" Roman gestured to Seth's leg.
Seth frowned at Roman. "Weren't you there? Shouldn't you know?"
Shit, shouldn't he know? Should he lie? Yes, he should lie. It would be better than telling Seth he had been time traveling and alternatively changing things in the time stream, and he inadvertently caused Seth's leg injury... Yeah, he should lie.
Roman sighed. "I was there but I don't know if you remember, I took a pretty big bump that night, and it's really fuzzy… I honestly don't remember anything about that night."
Seth's frown deepened and he furrowed his brow. "Why didn't you say anything?"
Roman shrugged and carefully sat down on the bed, so he was facing Seth. "You had more than enough on your plate, and I didn't want to get sidelined. It was stupid on my part."
Seth ran a hand through his short hair and tugged on it. "That is very stupid. You must've had a pretty serious concussion if you have memory loss."
"It was dumb. I won't downplay it."
Seth sighed, and he made his way to Roman's bed, sitting down on it to stretch out his leg. "You don't remember anything at all?"
Roman shook his head. "I can't even tell you who we were facing that night."
Seth laughed. It was something low and bitter - something dry and empty, like an old leaf disintegrating at any contact because there's nothing to hold it together anymore; it was without a sturdy and trustworthy foundation. "There wasn't a we really. You were there, but you weren't in the match with us. You were in a match earlier that night. It was just Dean and me in a ladder match against the Usos for the Tag Team Championship. It was a friendly match. The Usos and us got along ever since we ditched the Authority and helped them and Bryan out. But things turned ugly…"
Roman frowned in confusion. Was it an ambush by some of the Authority goons? Did Triple H finally get his way and end the Shield once and for all? Maybe it was a Wyatt attack. Those backwoods assholes always had something against them.
Seth sighed. "I guess I should've seen it coming. I knew something was off about Dean starting after Payback. He was more unhinged than ever before. The way he'd look at me...it was unsettling. It was like he was trying to figure out the best way to hide my body after he murdered me. But he didn't act on it. At least, he didn't until that match…"
Roman stared at Seth in disbelief. Why would Dean target Seth if he hadn't betrayed them?
Seth was quiet for a while as he fixedly stared at his leg, trying to find the willpower to continue on with the story. It was still painful to think about. "Like I said before, it was a ladder match. Not a big deal. We've done those before. We were so close to winning, too. I was on the top of the ladder, just about to grab the belts for us. I guess in hindsight, I should've played it safe and stood two or three rungs below, but I was cocky because the Usos were out of it after a big bump. I wasn't afraid of the ladder being tipped over. Dean was standing at the base of the ladder, making sure we weren't attacked if the Usos shook off the bump and charged the ring. I remember he had set up the ladder too far over to the side, so I really had to lean over to grab the titles. And that's what I was doing; I was so close. But then the next thing I knew, I was going sideways, falling out of the air. The ladder went right over the ropes since it was so far over, and I landed on another ladder that Jimmy tossed out the ring earlier."
Roman stared at Seth horrified. How had he missed this? How had he messed up things this badly. But Seth wasn't done talking.
"I guess I was pretty concussed, and my leg was worse. I couldn't move because it hurt so much… But Dean, he wasn't done. I didn't even realize it was him at first that tipped the ladder. I thought it was one of the Usos or maybe I leaned too far over or something; I never thought it was Dean… So when he got out of the ring, I thought he was checking up on me to make sure I was okay, but he wasn't. He started...Well, you get the picture. Then later, the surgery didn't go well on my knee. When they told me I would always have a limp, I retired. I can't wrestle if one of my legs can't even support my full weight…" Seth stared at his knee, still reliving the horror of that night. He seemed to snap out of it. "Night Roman." Seth sighed as he slowly stood up, grabbing his cane.
"Wait, Seth. Didn't I...Didn't I try to help you?" Roman almost sounded like he was pleading with Seth to tell him what he needed to hear.
Seth shook his head. "No, you stayed backstage the entire time...I woke up alone in the hospital. No calls, no nothing. Not a word from you. I just thought…" Seth shook his head as if he was shaking away long forgotten thoughts. "Good night, Roman. I'll see you in the morning."
Roman was quiet until Seth reached the door before he said quietly, "Good night, little brother." He was still reeling from what he was just told.
Seth shook his head and looked back at Roman in surprise before he shut the door.
Roman spent the majority of the night staring at the cracks in the ceiling, unable to fall asleep. How had things gone so horribly wrong? The only explanation that made sense to Roman was Triple H managed to get into Dean's head and plant seeds of doubt about Seth.
Maybe the situation was still salvageable.
Roman awoke to the sound of pans clanking distantly. He yawned and checked the time on his phone to see that it was just after 10 AM. After showering and changing, he made his way to Seth's kitchen.
"I hope you still like pancakes because that's what I feel like eating, and I'm not changing the menu for you." While Seth's words might have been construed as rude, they carried no real bite behind them. They almost seemed playful, which was a good sign to Roman.
"I still like pancakes, especially the ones you make," Roman said, grinning. Seth was famous for his delectable home-made from scratch pancakes. They were the perfect cross of healthy ingredients with the taste of a guilty pleasure.
"Well, get ready for disappointment because I'm just making the ones from the box."
Oh, that was a disappointment. Roman knew it was stupid, but he really wanted Seth's homemade pancakes. It had been so long since he had last had them - a year and a half, approximately. "I'm sure those are good, too," he said diplomatically.
Roman helped Seth set the table while he asked the former high flyer questions about farm life. Finally, when they were both sitting and done eating breakfast, Roman knew he couldn't avoid the subject any longer. "So Seth, what happened to Dean?"
Seth's posture became rigid. "He's staying in a mental hospital for the time being."
"You had him committed?" Roman asked; he was caught between horrified and stunned. Sure, Dean had hurt Seth, but to have him strapped into a straightjacket and stuffed in a padded cell? That was taking it too far. Seth knew very well that was Dean's worst fear. How could he do that to him?
"What? No? What era do you think we live in? You don't commit people anymore," Seth glared at Roman like he was the dumbest person he'd ever met. "No, he's not dealing with people in...positive ways, so he's learning to cope with negative emotions. It's a nice place."
"'It's a nice place?' What you've been there before? You've actually been there to visit him?" Roman asked dubiously. If Seth hated Dean as much as Roman thought he did, there was no chance in hell he would visit Dean in a mental hospital.
Seth was quiet for a moment before he softly said in a voice that was evident he was forcing himself to sound calm, "Roman, I'm the one that researched for the best quality care possible for someone in Dean's condition. I made sure the place was nice: inside and out. I even interviewed the doctors and caregivers to be sure. I made sure the place would be a good fit for him."
Roman was stunned for the second time that morning. "You found the place? Do you actually go visit him…?"
Seth sighed and replied, annoyed, "Yeah, I go at least once a month. It's a longer drive, so I can only go if I get someone to look after the farm for the day."
"Can you give me the address?"
Seth ran a hand through his hair. "Sure, visiting hours run 4-6 Tuesday nights. Go grab your crap because you'll have to leave right away to make the visiting hours since it's a long drive."
Roman nodded and he retrieved his duffle bag from the guest room. He wandered back into the kitchen to see Seth scribbling down the address from his phone onto a piece of scrap paper as together as they walked out to the front porch. He looked up and handed it to Roman. "You'll have to go now if you want to make it in time."
Roman typed the address into his map app on his phone. "So when you visit, you actually see him? You talk to him? You don't just go and pay the bills or something?"
Seth angrily glared at Roman. "Roman, why do you think I hate him? What he did wasn't his fault. I mean, I still resent he felt he needed to do what he did, and it's awful to know I'll never be able to do what I loved ever again. I'm always going to be a broken, fragmented version of what I was before. But you know what? It wasn't Dean's fault! If we want to be honest here, Dean's just as broken as me; the only difference is I can hide what's in my head, and he can't."
Roman stared at Seth. He opened his mouth to retort but was interrupted by the Architect. Seth spat, bitterly, "If you really wanna point fingers, point at yourself, Roman. Please, leave. Go visit, Dean. Pay your penance. Go pretend you care about us for your oh-so-generous one day out of the entire fucking year. Just get the hell out of my house."
Roman heard the screen door slam behind him and he stood, numb on the front porch at a loss as to what had just happened. He sighed and walked to his car to begin his drive to see Dean.
What did Seth mean Dean was just as broken as Seth was? Seth wasn't broken, was he? He wasn't wrestling, but he still had a life… Or did he? He had the cows along with Brie and Bryan. But they apparently only visited once in awhile, and Seth knew that. Had his brother purposely drawn them into his life because he knew they couldn't really be there with such hectic schedules? Then, he would appear to still have friends but would really only have superficial ones? He was obviously bitter over what had happened. But did that make him broken? Physically, maybe but spiritually? Roman sighed. Seth hadn't laughed once during Roman's visit. His eyes were dull, full of retreat, regret.
Maybe they all went a little crazy after that night. Dean went ballistic on Seth, hurting him so permanently and apparently maliciously. Seth cut himself off from everyone, only accepting people who couldn't be there for the long haul into his life. And Roman, himself...well, he was traveling back and forth through time, trying to fix his mistakes and make the time stream a better place. And what was the definition of insanity, he couldn't help but ask himself. Wasn't it doing something over and over and expecting different results yet getting the same?
No, this was different. He would succeed, and they would be brothers then, now and forever.
After he arrived at the address, Roman carefully walked into the mental hospital and he glanced around at the cheery wall colors and friendly-looking staff members. He walked up to the front desk.
"I'm here to visit Dean Ambrose?" Roman asked, hesitantly. He wasn't entirely sure if he was in the right place.
The nurse behind the desk looked up at him and smiled. "Oh, you're not Seth. What a nice surprise that Dean has a new visitor. Sign the visitor form in front of you."
Roman quickly scrawled his name.
"Perfect! Come on, I'll show you to the family room. Just to run through the rules: Don't give him anything. Don't make any physical contact with him. Signal one of the Orderlies if his behavior concerns you."
Roman followed the lady through a long, generic hall into a spacious room with light blue walls and many windows. The nurse's pager beeped and she checked it. "Sorry, I'd go introduce you, but I need to run. He's right over there. Enjoy your visit." She pointed to the corner where a hunched-over figure sat in a chair.
Roman felt nervous as he walked to the corner. Before he reached it, someone stepped in front of him. He looked down and saw a little girl, probably no older than seven or eight years-old. With a quick glance back at Dean, she looked up at Roman with warm brown eyes; they seemed to glow with a gold light. "A word to the wise. You must not gaze. I do not think they told you. He who fights with monsters should be careful lest he becomes the monster, himself. If you gaze too long into an abyss, the abyss will also gaze back into you." She smiled at Roman; she flipped her wavy brown hair over her shoulder and stepped around him, disappearing through the door.
What the hell was that all about? And why did that little girl seem so familiar? Roman was almost positive he had seen her before. Roman took a deep breath and closed the distance to Dean. "Dean? Little brother? Do you care if I sit by you and talk for a bit?"
"Uce? Is that you?" Dean asked without looking up from where he was fidgeting with the bottom of his shirt.
"Yeah, Dean, it's me." Roman smiled, happy that Dean seemed to welcome him.
"Sit down, brother!"
Roman sat down across from Dean. "Hey, man, how are you doing?"
Dean looked up at Roman finally. His eyes weren't the typical, Dean Ambrose eyes with the mischievous glint and the conspiratorial twinkle. No, his eyes were glassy and almost unfocused, like they could barely keep up with all the drugs they had pumping through his body. "Haven't seen you for a long time, my brother. Thought you died."
Roman's eyes widened. "Me died? What? No, I was just caught up with something...Sorry I haven't been around, Dean."
Dean tilted his head and looked right through Roman. "It's weird. You don't come here anymore, not since the last time..."
"What time was that?" Wait, he had visited Dean before?
"Remember when I almost solved your problem for you? You were so proud of me. I did good." Dean grinned up at the wall above Roman's shoulder. "I did real good."
Roman had a really awful feeling about where Dean was going with this. "I don't really-"
"I squashed him. He tried to betray you and me, so I pushed him. He's not flying anymore. You were proud of me. You told me I did good for you cause that's what brothers do for each other."
Horror filled Roman. How could he possibly tell Dean it was okay for him to hurt Seth? "When did I tell you that?"
Dean waved his fingers as he counted. "Two, three visits after I came here? You came right after the scumbag left. You told me you were glad I got rid of someone who wanted to cause the Shield to implode. You heard what Trips said just like I did. Seth sold us out. Never trust a man who'd stab you in the back. He was a little cancer..." Dean laughed to himself.
Roman stared at Dean. There was no way he'd ever think that, right? Dean was out of his mind; he was sick and needed help, but there was no way Roman would share those opinions...Right? Roman reached into his pocket and held the watch carefully; it was beginning to look like he'd need to go back and try again… "Dean, I don't know what I said in the past, but listen to me now. Seth's our brother. No matter what he was considering doing, he's still family. And it's never okay to hurt family, you know that."
Dean's eyes suddenly shifted. One moment they were busy staring past Roman, and the next they were steady and focused on Roman's gaze. "You're taking his side."
"No, Dean, there are no sides." Roman's grip tightened on the pocket watch.
Dean was silent as he stared into Roman's eyes; Roman was startled to see pure rage in Dean's blue eyes. "I guess that's where you're wrong, big brother. There are sides. The lines were drawn a long time ago."
In an instant, Dean sprang across the space between them and grasped Roman's neck in his hands. His grip tightened as he began to strangle him. Roman's eyes widened as his hands flew up and grasped at Dean's, clawing in a pathetic desperation. His mouth gasped and gaped open, frantically searching for oxygen.
This was it. He was going to die at the hands of his own brother. Dean would continue to crush his throat and starve Roman's brain from oxygen. Dean would kill Roman, and that would be the end. All his efforts to reunite his brothers were pointless if he was going to die right then and there.
Roman was too distracted by Dean to notice the watch flinging somewhere off into the distance behind him.
"There are always sides, Roman! It was supposed to be you and me against the world! But you chose him! You always choose him!" Dean snarled as he tightened his grip on Roman's throat. "You always chose him!"
Despite the fact the incident seemed to take hours, only two minutes had passed, only two turns on the minute dial… The orderlies swarmed around them and carefully pulled Dean off Roman. They held down the Lunatic Fringe as one of the doctors prepared a needle as the other doctors pulled Dean off of Roman.
"ROMAN! THIS IS WHAT YOU WANT, ISN'T IT? YOU CHOSE HIM OVER ME!"
Trembling, Roman stood up, carefully, brushing off the questions and concerns from the orderlies. He began rushing to the door when he felt someone grab his arm. The girl with the big brown eyes held up something to Roman: the gold pocket watch. There was something very familiar about the image of her holding the watch. The girl and the watch seemed like they were old friends.
She smirked at the Samoan as he grabbed the watch from her. "Aunty Marty would be disappointed if you lost that." Before Roman could say anything, she ran off back towards Dean, laughing all the while.
Roman had to be insane for thinking it was possible, but he could swear that little girl was Marty. She had her eyes and seemed way too familiar with the watch… And if Marty could fluctuate between being a twenty-year-old and a woman in her sixties, who could say it wasn't possible for her to be younger...
Roman continued out of the room and stopped right outside. He opened the watch, his frown deepening when he noticed the dent on the cover. He quickly spun the dials and closed the cover. As he tried to calm his rapid heartbeat, he listened to the sounds of Dean struggling against the Orderlies screaming , and he closed his eyes.
"ROMAN! ROMAN!"