Here it is... the final chapter. I apologize for how long it took, but I just couldn't figure out how to finish it off with it both making sense and with what followed. (Read final note for clarification on that point.) I hope you like it!

Looking at Jeff sitting across the room, Tom could tell exactly what was going through his husband's mind. It was pretty much the same thoughts that he'd had while listening to John Morrison's rambling tale.

"...protection since." John took a breath. "I hope that makes sense."

Tom rubbed his temples. "Let me get this straight... everything Jeff and I went through was all a set-up? The accident... the trial... Matt, Jeff, and I almost going to jail? All because you were in the wrong place at the wrong time? Fuck me!"

"Imma still confused." Jeff sounded unhappy.

"Don't worry Jeffers, you ain't the only one." Tom grumbled "Just one question... Bourne and Tyler: are they involved in this mess?"

"Up to their necks." Morrison answered "This guy Patrick who ran the club also runs a huge drug-smuggling operation. Those two work in his distribution ring."

"I was wondering why so many people had failed the wellness program since Evan arrived. It's starting to make sense." Tom reached for his beer. "So basically you witnessed something between the Patrick asswipe and our two exes that your shouldn't have. They, being the geniuses that they are (snigger, snigger), decided to get you out of the way, frame us for it, and solve all three of their problems at the same time."

"In a nutshell, yeah." Morrison answered

"And you came back...why?" Jeff asked "Tommers 'n I are together now."

"I figured that I owed both of you an explanation." John answered

"There's one other person that you should be apologizing to." Tom added

"Yeah... I dunno how Matty'll take it. Those asshole cops really laid into him." Jeff folded his legs underneath him.

"Maybe you could not tell him right away?" John asked, looking a little skittish.

"But won't he get suspicious if he sees you around?" Tom asked "Or is this one of those 'Hi, I'm sorry for screwing up your life, let me explain, and I'll disappear again right after.' visits?"

"Actually..." John looked out the window. "It is. If the people who are hiding me knew I was here, I'd be fucked."

Jeff looked at Tom, chewing his lip. "What if the bad mens find out you were here?"

"They won't." Morrison promised

"They better not." Tom growled "I am not going into hiding just because you felt the need to clear your conscience."

"Please, just don't tell anyone I was here. Not Matt, not Vince, nobody. Maybe later, I can make my peace with Matt, but..."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Tom waved dismissively. "I know. You just had to tell us."

"Look. I know this doesn't make up for it, but I had to choice. The Federales gave me a choice. Either fake my death and hope for the best or stay out in the open and know the worst was going to happen."

"I repeat... yeah, yeah, yeah." No good was going to come of having JoMo back in their lives, Tom was sure of that.

"I better go." John stood

"Might be a good idea." Sarcasm dripped from every word that came from Jeff's mouth and neither Tom nor Morrison was surprised. "It's probably not a good idea to be around when you don't know who your friends are."

Tom smirked. Sounds like a threat Jeffro... I didn't know you had it in ya.

Neither man moved while John grabbed his jacket and shoes and exited. They continued to stare at each other long after the sound of his car engine had faded away.

"Imma tell Matty." Jeff announced, making a direct path for the telephone.

"While I don't necessarily agree with most of what just happened, I don't think that's such a good idea right now." Caution was not one of Tom's usual tactics, but it seemed to be the buzzword of the day.

"But..."Jeff sputtered "what if the..."

"Matt has enough problems right now with the Ortons. I really don't think it's a good idea to put this on his shoulders as well." Tom finished his beer. "Besides, I'd love to watch Matt beat the ever-loving shit out of John when he tries to explain himself."

"But..." Jeff repeated

"Who knows? If Morrison is dumb enough to want to come back to work after this shitstorm settles, Matt could turn this into a very lucrative feud... for all of us." Tom settled back in his chair. "Very lucrative indeed."

...

Matt wasn't exactly sure what had happened over the past hour. He'd gone from being responsible for causing a rift in Randy and Bob's relationship to being the guest of honor at a rapidly-growing family barbecue. Just trying to figure out exactly how this had happened was making his head spin, as was the half dozen beers he'd drunk since his arrival.

"Is there anyone else we should be inviting?" Orton senior asked.

Matt looked at Randy, unsure if he should say anything.

"Uh, dad..." Randy asked "what about..."

"Say no more, son." Bob had seen the look that passed between his son and his soon-to-be son-in-law. "It'd be a good idea if Matt does have someone he knows at this thing other than the two of us. What d'ya say, boy?"

"Sir?"

"Do you wanna call Jeff and, um, what's the other guy's name..."

"Tom." Randy answered

"...and see if they wanna join us?" Bob concluded "They're gonna be a part of the family one day, right?"

"Thank-you, sir." Matt nearly leaped to his feet in his urgency to get at his phone.

"What did I tell you about that?" Orton sounded gruff, but the smile on his face gave it away.

"Sorry, Bob." Matt hung his head. Bob... Bob... must remember that...

"That's better. Now y'all do what ya gotta do while my old bones visit the latrine. I'm not like you whippersnappers. I can't hold my liquor like I used ta." Bob shuffled off to the bathroom, leaving Randy and Matt to talk.

"That went a lot better than I expected." Randy said

"Yeah." With shaking fingers, Matt dialed Tom's home phone number.

"The hard part's over. No need to be nervous." Randy put his hands on Matt's to stop the trembling.

"But what if he finds out that my two brothers are married?" Matt whispered "If it's anything like what happened when you first came out... I don't think I could stand that."

"Shhh, love." Randy nuzzled against Matt's neck, nipping at his earlobe. "There's no sense in worrying about that shit now."

"But aren't you a little worried?" Matt arched his neck, giving Randy more freedom to explore that part of his body.

"There's no law that says our families have to like each other. Your brothers like me and hopefully after tomorrow, my family will just adore you, so who cares?" Randy began to stroke Matt's forearm.

A low cough stopped their intimacy.

"I'm still getting used to the idea of you two being together, so could you please not do it in my den?" Bob Orton stared at them. "You have a perfectly usable bedroom for that."

Once the laughter had subsided, Matt finished making his call, with less trembling hands.

...

"Do you believe him?" Tom asked

"Do you?" Jeff answered with his own question.

"Yes... and no." Tom stated "It makes some sense, but on the other hand it's a little too neat and tidy for me."

"That's what I was thinking." Jeff started to chew on his lip ring.

"I mean if Bourne and Tyler were seen by Jomo and they knew it, it's plausible, but I don't wanna give those two that kind of credit."

"Unless this Patrick guy told them to do it." Jeff continued to play with his ring.

"As far as I go, all Morrison has done is given us more questions than answers." Tom stretched "As if we didn't have enough to worry about already."

"Uhm..." Jeff stared at the floor.

"I know that 'uhm'." Tom crossed over and sat. "What's on your mind, snookums?"

"D'ya think we're gonna be in trouble too?"

"Don't sweat it." Tom was silent for a moment, which meant one of two thing was gonna happen. Either he was coming up with a carefully crafted plan or he was going to do something stupid. The result usually depended upon whom you asked.

"Tommers..." Jeff pouted "What are you gonna do?"

"Me? Absolutely nothing. Now Eric, on the other hand..." Tom chuckled and reached for his cell at the same time the land line rang.

"Imma get it." Jeff bounded into the kitchen.

Tom nodded while he placed the call. Eric did not answer, which didn't surprise Tom one bit. He tended to let his voice mail weed out all the unnecessary calls, as well as serving as a record in case someone decided to say something unwise. "Stryker... Tom Hardy. I'm assuming this line is secure..." He briefly summed up what he needed, leaving out that Morrison was the source of his info. That was one thing he'd tell him only in person. He hated JoMo, but wasn't willing to risk jail time if something happened to him.

He finished his message just before Jeff came back into the kitchen. His facial expression was completely unreadable to Tom, which kinda scared him.

"What'd he say?" Jeff asked

"I dunno. Got his voice mail." Tom shrugged "Who was that on the phone? Please tell me you didn't sign up for anything else!"

"Nuh-uh. It was Matty." Jeff answered

"Good news?" Tom asked

Jeff chewed on his lower lip, not answering directly.

"Bad news?"

Jeff continued to gnaw on his lip, still not answering.

"Indifferent news... c'mon Jeff, gimme a clue at least!"

"Imma... Matty said that we're invited to a barbeque at the Orton's tomorrow." Jeff answered

"Oh."

"And I said we'd be there." Jeff answered in his no-arguments-allowed tone of voice.

"Oh." Tom repeated "Why is our presence so expected?"

"Uhmz..." Jeff answered "Is that okay? You don't seem too thrilled."

"I'll be just fine. A couple aspirin and a beer and maybe today will start to make sense." Tom collapsed into a chair, mentally wishing that the current soap opera that was his life would soon end.

I gotta go back to work... maybe there's something in Sales or Marketing available...

...

"Reports out of the Chicago P.D. that a suspect who died in police custody late last night have been confirmed. Jack Tyler, being held on charges of kidnapping, was found dead in his holding cell early this morning. Police will not comment at the present time about a cause of death, nor of the status of the man being held with him; former World Wrestling Entertainment Superstar Matt Korklun also known as Evan Bourne. The office of the Chief of Police have said they will release a statement..."

Randy mentally tuned the rest of the anchorman's voice out, being too busy at the moment with trying to stop his hands from shaking.

"Matt!" He shouted

Matt ran into the den, followed close behind by Cowboy Bob.

"Randy, what's wrong?"

"Yeah, son. I heard ya all across the house."

Matt knelt beside his lover, softly rubbing the back of his hand as he begged him to tell what was wrong.

"Jack's dead." Was all he could say.

"What is he talking about? Son, are you sure he doesn't need some rest? Maybe it's just stress?" Bob asked Matt.

"I think it's more than that." Matt didn't understand what Randy's problem was. At least until the news repeated their top story. He'd been thinking about the canine Jack that died in Jeff's house fire.

Matt's eyes widened as the story unfolded a second time. "Shit... 'scuse my language. Jack Tyler is someone from our past."

"Was he the one responsible for..." Bob pointed to Randy, quaking uncontrollably.

"One of them." Matt answered

"Then I say the sonovabitch got exactly what he deserved." Bob huffed and crossed his arms. "Is my boy gonna be okay? I mean, if we have to we can postpone this little shindig of ours."

"No, no, no. I'll be fine." Randy was still shaking, but it looked like the worst part of things had passed. "Heaven forbid I ruin a chance for you to make your famous barbeque ribs."

"Oh, damn. I gotta call JR and see if he can ship me a case of that BBQ sauce. They can't keep the stuff on the shelf at all around here." Bob slapped his forehead. "You need anything, just holler."

"Thank-you."

"Come on, I think you need a nap." Matt put his arms under Randy's and helped him to his feet.

"I'm fine Matt... really." Randy replied

"No, you need to rest." Matt answered forcefully enough to convince the Apex predator that this time he was the prey. "Trust me."

...

"One down, one to go." Eric smiled. He had a rep for working fast as well as being quick with words. It hadn't taken much to find out where Evan and Jack were being held and it was no "coincidence" that he was at the jail with urgent business when dinner was being served. His method was by no means untraceable, but he would be miles away before any thoughts of an autopsy would even surface. It was on his way out, that he noticed the message from Tom.

"That's interesting." He listened to it. "Very interesting."

...

The Orton family barbecue went as well as could be expected. Randy was still a little shell-shocked, but having Matt by his side definitely helped. Once his relatives' initial discomfort over learning about whom Randy had decided to spend the rest of his life with wore off, most of them didn't give Matt a second glance. Those that did merely shrugged and moved on to the grill.

"I think things are gonna work out." Tom said, his plate piled high.

"I hope so." Jeff replied, chugging from the latest in a long series of beers. "Imma wants Matty and Randy to be as happy as we is."

"Me too, but just don't bandy that little bit of information too loudly. Accepting homosexuality is one thing, but what we got could get us lynched." Tom drank from his own beer. "And you might want to slow down on the booze. I need you at least partially sober for later."

"Oh?" Jeff asked "Whys?"

"Eric got back to me. I think this entire mess is just about finished." Tom clinked bottles.

"Yayz!" Jeff cheered hoarsely.

"Once the party dies down, the four of us will have a nice sit down." Tom looked around for the nearest cooler. "Now where did that beer go?"

...

The last twelve hours were absolute torture for Mark. James, who on his best days could act like a sulky five-year-old denied his teddy, had gone well beyond that in terms of being a general ass.

"Connor, Cooper, get your butts down here right now!" After being glared at for the millionth time, and for what Mark hadn't a clue, he was at the end of his rope.

"I didn't do it, Marky... I love you."

Cooper just rolled his eyes at Mark. "What the fuck do you want, Dead Man?"

"After what I went through to protect this family, I think I deserve a little more respect that that." Mark glared at his biological son. If the look was meant to scare Cooper, it failed.

"You mean what you went through to cover your own ass, don't you?" He hated Mark and Cooper didn't foresee that changing anytime in the future.

"Boy, don't..."

"Don't what? You don't scare me. You've never scared me." Cooper retorted "So unless you got something important to say, which I fuckin' doubt, then I got no time for ya."

"I don't know what's gotten into your Dad, but it's driving my up the Goddamn wall. I never thought I'd say this, but would the two of you mind taking him somewhere."

"And do what exactly?" Cooper couldn't believe his ears. Was Mark suggesting what he thought he was?

"You know what I'm talkin' about, kid." Same old Mark. Can't even bring yourself to say the word. You fuckin' think you're better than all of us...

"Yay!" Even Connor was smart enough to figure out what Mark was suggesting. "C'mon Daddy, Marky wants us to go kill someone."

"Oh he does?" James looked up. "Why would my Marky want that?"

"Because it's the only way to make you happy." Mark answered "This funk you seem to be in isn't helping any of us and it's royally pissing me off. Find a hooker, or a homeless guy, or some dope dealer and do what you do best."

Before James could even fathom what Mark was saying, he found himself standing on the front porch, being pulled toward one of his cars by Connor.

"This better work, Marky." James grumbled "Or else."

...

The barbeque at the Orton house was in it's final stages. Most of the guests had, either by design or by choice, eat, drank, and made themselves merry to the point that they were sprawled out wherever.

Off to one side, Matt, Tom, and Jeff were watching their future inlaws stagger around in different stages of intoxication.

"My kind of family." Elbowing Matt in the ribs, Tom watched uncle Barry collapse onto a lawn chair that looked like it was barely able to support the weight. Jeff giggled.

"I think Randy's the soberest one of them." Orton had been sent to fetch the latest round of drinks. At Tom's insistence, the four of them were going to have a serious discussion about recent events, drunk or not.

"Here he comes." Realizing what he had said sent Matt into giggles, and that got Jeff started again. By the time Randy arrived, all three were laughing hysterically.

"What's so funny?"

Matt opened his mouth to answer, but all that came forth was a fresh burst of laughter.

"Sorry, bro." Tom was the first to recover enough to be coherent. "Matt made a funny."

"All three of you should be cut off." Randy dispensed the drinks. "'Specially if y'all wanna talk."

"Aweh. We's just havin' fun."

"We all know what that leads to." Randy dropped into the lounger and curled up with Matt.

"Where do we stand?" Matt asked, stroking his lover's shoulder.

"Uh Matty, we're sittin'." Jeff replied

"Don't look at me." The looks Tom received from Matt and Randy made him shake his head. "I've given up on him, really I have."

"Haven't we all." Randy added

"Anyway, serious discussion time." Tom quickly dialed Eric's emergency contact number and put it on speaker, meanwhile hoping he would answer.

"Sup, Hardy?" Eric answered and it sounded like he was expecting the call.

"Just wanted to everyone together to touch base." Eric replied "The Orton clan is bombed out of their minds, so we can talk freely."

"At least you can." Eric replied "I still don't trust cell phone companies, especially after the George Bush FISA bullshit."

"Keep it brief then... problems?" Tom said

"Dealt with." Eric replied "You see tonight's news?"

"No." Matt answered "We's been partying."

"Bourne's been put into witness protection as well and is being flown out of the country. No comment on your visitor, which is good because I guess he covered his ass enough. It looks like your problems are over."

That was the one sentence the quartet had been looking forward to hearing for weeks.

"I'll call you for payment?" Eric asked, even though it wasn't actually a question.

"Sneak in to a show sometime and we'll settle. You gotta know how much we appreciate this."

"Anytime, Hardy. If you need me, you know how to reach me, just don't leave this number lying around."

"Agreed. I'll talk in the future."

Just like the events that started this ride, they ended as abruptly when Eric hung up.

"And just like that, is it ovah!" Matt exhaled loudly, the relief coming off him in waves.

"We can all get back to our lives." Randy rubbed his lover's arm. "No worries."

"Yup." Tom agreed

"I is worried." Jeff sighed

"What's wrong Jeffers?" Tom asked.

"You is going away still. I is going to be lonely." Jeff sighed again

"I'm not leaving for a couple days." Tom hugged Jeff close. "Let's enjoy the rest of the night... or at least enjoy watching Matt and Randy kiss."

Both Matt and Randy spat beer onto themselves.

"Okay, maybe not." Tom reached for his own bottle.

...

"I am only going to be gone for a couple of days." Tom brought his luggage into the hall and set it by the door. "Matt's bringing Lucas over while Lizzie's at the vet's being fixed, so you shouldn't be too bored. If you are, call one of the THS crew. I'll be back before you know it."

"Okies." Jeff sighed. He'd been sighing a lot lately, but this was the longest they were going to be apart since getting together. "Love you."

"I love you too." Tom kissed his man on the lips. "Just don't get into too much trouble and whatever you do, don't drink all my beer."

"Imma promise." Jeff answered "See you in a couple days."

Jeff watched from the window as Tom got into the car. He blew Jeff a kiss before backing out of the driveway and down the road. Jeff waved until the car was out of sight, then immediately got on his phone.

"Hiyaz Shanny.. Tommers just left... ya wanna have some fun?"

THE END

For those of you who don't know, "Crossfire", my first collaboration with Redsandman99, follows next in the series.