Dixie was trying to sleep but got woken up early by her phone ringing. She rolled over and picked it up, Jon's name flashing on the screen. "Hello?"

"Hey Dix. Did I wake you up?"

"Yeah but it's okay."

Colby heard her talking on the phone and knew it was Jon but he asked anyway, hoping he would hear him. "Baby, who is that?" Dixie could have murdered him at that moment.

Jon heard Colby's voice in the background and knew she was in bed with him. "It's Jon, shut up."

Before she could say anything else, Colby took the phone from her hands. "We are busy right now, asshole. She can't talk." He hung up and kissed her shoulder. "That should get rid of him, mama. Go back to sleep."

"What the fuck are you doing, Colby?" she asked in disbelief. "Why did you do that? He was calling to check up on you I am sure."

"No, he was calling to check up on you; I am sure."

"Damn it!"

"Why are you upset? What, you didn't want him to know you were sleeping with me? Or you didn't want him to know that we were back together yet? I mean, I guess I understand if you want to tell him in person that it is over…"

"We're not fucking back together," she spat.

"What the fuck do you call last night then? You rush to my bedside at the hospital; you take care of me; we have incredible sex in the shower and you fall asleep in my arms. That sure as hell looks like we are back together."

"I came down there and took care of you because they called and you needed me, and well, the sex was great but it shouldn't have happened."

"The fuck it shouldn't have! Goddammit Dixie, you are mine. You know you love me and you are going to stay with me. Okay, I get it; I fucked up, you fucked up, but can we please stop all this nonsense about you having to choose. You already chose me, your heart and your body did. Don't pretend like it was casual sex between friends. You are not just a fucking booty call! You are my girlfriend, dammit."

"Colby, I am not your girlfriend! And last night…"

"Bullshit! The nurse and the doctor both called you my girlfriend and you never corrected them. I know what you want and what you need, better than you do. Forget him already!"

Dixie was furious with Colby, knowing how upset Jon was right then and that she didn't have the chance to tell him herself. She knew it was a mistake giving in to him, but at the time, it felt so right. "I don't want to forget him! You didn't ask where I was when they called me, did you? You weren't the only one I was with last night."

Colby felt like he had been punched in the gut. "What?"

"Yeah, I left Jon's bed to come see you. That was a fucking mistake."

"It wasn't a mistake! Being with him is the big fucking mistake. You came to me only out of what, obligation? Bull fucking shit. Now you are just lying to yourself! Your heart knows where you belong, and it is with me! Just stop with the façade alright! If you were so happy there with him, you would have told them to call my parents, but instead, you rush out in the middle of the night, for ME."

"Colby, stop it!" She hated that part of what he was saying was true.

"No, I won't! You know I am right, don't you? I see it, and I fucking know Jon sees it too. Do you think he really gives a shit if I am okay? If he cared if I was all right, he would have called me. He called you because he wanted to know what was going on and what we were up to. Open your eyes, Dixie. He knows your heart is still mine, and he just doesn't want to accept it. I mean, you up and leave me for him, all sure that he is what you want, but as soon as you are back home, you realized you should never have left. I know you did. You called me and I heard you crying in the background, you know that. You weren't crying for Jon; you were crying for me. It was me you wanted here with you. Just admit it. I know you have feelings for him, but can you honestly tell me you love him like you do me? Do you really think he can give you the life I can? I know you were bored with our sex life and my lackluster attempts at romance, but that can be fixed. I give you stability, and we can have a real family and life together. You know he can't give you that. Now just stop fighting it. Stop worrying about hurting him. You pity him. That is no reason to throw your life away for him, just because he is like an abused pound puppy you want to take home and take care of. You can't fix him. He is who he is. He will get over it and move on; you would be surprised at how quickly he will be on to his next score."

Dixie didn't want to listen to any more. He was right about some things, but now she was thinking about how Jon must have felt when she walked out on him to hurry to Colby's side. She knew he must have been going crazy wondering what was going on between the two of them. She wasn't planning on lying about sleeping with Colby, but she didn't want him to find out like that. "I don't want to do talk about this anymore."

"Fine but you know everything I have said is the fucking truth. Come back to bed and we won't talk about it anymore. I want to sleep for a while longer before I have to leave."

"I need to call him."

"Forget that mother fucker, Dixie!"

"Colby, I can't do that!" She got her phone out and tried to call Jon, but he wasn't answering. She called four more times, each time getting his voicemail. "Shit. Shit!"

"You want to know why he won't answer?"

"Shut up, Col."

He ignored her comment. "See, he finally gets it. He doesn't want to hear you say you are staying right here with me. He knows his spell on you finally broke and you are where you are supposed to be. Don't worry about him. He is a big boy and he will get over it. Dixie, do you really want to be with someone like him who would betray his brothers like this and have no remorse. None. You feel ashamed of cheating, but he is fucking proud of his conquest. That is what you are to him. A fucking conquest. When are you going to listen and believe me? I know him. Better than you do. Just, come on, come back to bed."

She laid her phone down, giving up on him answering. "Maybe… maybe you are right."

"I know I am. Come here." He saw the defeat in her eyes, and he felt bad that it was hurting her, but he would make her soon forget her sadness. He opened his arm and she fell into bed, burying her face in his shoulder. "He is not worth you doing this to yourself. Not at all. Go back to sleep, mama. Your Colby-bear is right here," he said softly, kissing her head. She closed her eyes and tried not to think about how much she had screwed up. She accepted that everything Colby said was accurate, from her protecting him from Jon, to her doubting her love when she came home, to her leaving Jon in the middle of the night because she was worried about Colby. He was right, it wasn't obligation that pulled her to him or made her give in to his advances. It was love and she couldn't deny what was staring her in the face. But she didn't know where that left her and Jon. She loves him and doesn't want to hurt him; that was true too. Colby was leaving in a few hours, and she would have a few days to herself to think, without the temptation of the two of them there.

Back at the hotel, Jon had snapped. He couldn't stomach the thought of Colby in bed with Dixie. He knew how close they came to making love a couple of days ago, so he was sure that she had given in. There was no way she could resist him now that he was injured and needed her to tend to him. Jon thought about the irony of it all: all the times she had snuck off to be with him, leaving Colby, only to have it reversed now. He knew it was crazy for him to be jealous since she had said she wasn't with either of them, but it still hurt that she couldn't let him go. He threw his phone into the wall with such force that it shattered. He destroyed his hotel room, smashing the lamp and kicking the chairs. He didn't care about the pain in his hand. It didn't compare to the pain in his chest. He couldn't believe how much it stung to feel that he was the one being jilted. His heart felt like it was being ripped out and trampled. He wanted to go over to their house and reveal all of Colby's secrets before dragging him outside and beating him to death, right in front of her.

"It's not going down like that, Lopez. Not at all. You won't fucking win. Not like this. Nope. You won't. You will pay for this. WITH YOUR FUCKING BLOOD!" he screamed, putting his fist through the mirror. "Everyone is going to know all about your little fucking secrets! You will never have her again! MOTHER FUCKER! We'll see if she wants you then!"

Jon yelled and cursed, throwing his things into his luggage, not caring if it was folded, clean, dirty, wet or whatever. He just felt the need to be away from there before he killed Colby, and no one would be able to stop him. He heard a knock at his door and his breath hitched, "Dixie!?" He ran to the door and flung it open, only to see hotel security standing there. "Fuck!"

"Mr. Good, we have had complaints about the noise coming from this…room" he paused, as he looked around. "What is going on?"

"I got some bad news this morning," Jon replied, still breathless from his tantrum.

"You need to get your things and check out. You will have to pay for this."

"I know. I don't care. Just charge my card. I am leaving this fucking place anyway. I will be down in a minute." He slammed the door in the guy's face and finished packing. He grabbed the handle and picked up his duffel bag, leaving his broken phone in pieces on the floor. "Fuck it. No one wants to talk to my ass anyway." He slammed the door as he left, storming downstairs to leave the key. He couldn't believe the whirlwind few days he had; a rollercoaster of emotions. A perfect day with her, then her wanting space, only for her to come back and fuck him, and now to his heart being torn to shreds. He always had his doubts about her truly loving him, but when she showed up at his place in Vegas, she put them to rest. Now he wondered if it was always in his mind and she really did only want him for sex.

A couple of hours later, Colby was out of bed and packing his things up. He called Joe back and let him know he was okay and would make it to the show. Joe breathed a sigh of relief, having not stopped worrying since he got the text from Dixie. Colby didn't really want to leave and take the pressure off her, knowing he had gotten in her head, but he knew he had to. He started to call Dr. Sampson to tell him about the accident and see if he made him stay home, but he figured they would want to assess him for themselves before doing that. He knew they were serious about any concussions and he would be in more trouble for not getting checked out. He kissed Dixie goodbye before leaving and she handed him a travel mug full of coffee and some energy bars. "I will miss you, baby. I love you. Call me later, okay."

"Okay, Col. Have a safe trip. Love you too."

She closed the door and watched him leave, finally able to take an easy breath. She tried to call Jon again, but she never could get him to answer. When she called the hotel, they said he had already checked out. She hoped that once he calmed down some that they could talk. She felt she needed to explain herself, even though she had said she didn't belong to either one of them anymore. She couldn't understand why she felt guilty for sleeping with Colby but didn't really when she had had sex with Jon. She went back upstairs to go back to bed, not ready to face the day yet. She was confused and couldn't make sense of her own feelings. She finally understood the lyrics to that old 80's song. 'It's sad when you know it's your heart you can't trust.' She didn't know what she should do because following her heart is what got her in this mess to begin with.

Colby and Jon had separate flights into Virginia for the weekend shows. Jon was still fuming and wanted nothing more than to beat Colby senseless, but the more he thought about it, he could do more damage with his words than his fists. Even though it would be more gratifying to show him what a real street hood beat-down felt like. Jon made it to the arena first, trying to avoid the stares and whispers from the other talent. 'Go ahead fuckers. I won't be the one you are looking at like that for much longer.'

He went into the locker room to change and waited for the other guys to arrive for them to get their instructions for the night. Joe and Colby arrived about the same time and Joe hugged him. "How are you doing, Col?"

"I'm great, man. A little banged up but good. Things are better with Dixie. I think I have finally convinced her that Jon isn't good for her and she would be better off with me. We had some great sex in the shower last night. I mean, I am trying to be the man she wants me to be. I don't want to lose her. I have to keep him away from her. Obviously, I didn't mean to be in a wreck, but it may prove to be the best thing that could have happened. I hope it made her realize that it is me she loves. Hell, I even acted a little more hurt so she could take care of me."

Joe lightly smiled. "Trying to be smooth. I get it. Well, I am glad you are okay. You scared me. I was so worried when she messaged me and then didn't answer when I called. I called Jon, and that was a hot mess."

"Why?"

"Colby, I am afraid he is going to tell Dixie everything. If he does…"

"He won't. Besides, she would never believe him. Don't worry about it. Let's go inside, man. I need to see the doc."

They went in and one of the trainers told them to wait in the locker room, and the doctor would be in there as soon as he was done with Punk. As soon as Joe and Colby walked in, the only men that were in there with Jon left, leaving them alone. It was no secret that there were issues within The Shield, and no one wanted to get in the middle. Jon was glaring at Colby, his blue eyes boring a hole through him. Colby smirked. "Angry are you? Asshole."

Jon jumped up, "you goddamn right I am. Using your injuries to seduce Dixie was shady. But, I hope you enjoyed it, bro because it will be the last fucking time."

"Oh, I did. I really did, and it won't be the last time. We will do it again when I get home, and again every day I see her, and on our wedding night, and on the night we conceive our first child; all while you will be out banging another ring rat, and another and another and another."

"Cute, man. Real cute. But uh, how do you figure she is going to stay with you?" Jon was acting very cool and very smug, and Colby wanted to punch him in the face.

"Because she loves me, you fucking idiot. As if that wasn't crystal clear already."

"She loves you, huh? Then why did she go out with me?" Jon was baiting him, seeing how far he was going to go with this.

"Look, I know you fucked her so I am going to say the same damn thing to you. I hope you enjoyed it because it will be the last time."

"I don't think it will be. See, I think you are going to leave her alone and move on or I will tell her everything. And not just her. Everyone will know."

"You wouldn't dare!" Joe finally spoke.

"She won't believe you, Jon."

"Oh, I think she will. How do you think she will react when she finds out that you let Joe here pound that little ass of yours, huh?"

"Shut the fuck up, Jon!" Joe yelled.

"Oh my God. Keep your voice down." Colby whispered.

Jon laughed loudly. "Oooh, a touchy subject is it, boys? What, cat got your tongues? You think she will want to fucking be with you when she knows that you got on your back and spread your legs like a whore for Joe? You think she will be able to look at you without seeing you bent over the bed, taking a dick like a pro?"

"You son-of-a-bitch!"

"I will fucking kill you," Joe snarled.

"Easy, Papa Bear. I haven't told her, yet. Obviously. But I swear I will if he don't back off. I will tell her every lewd detail. "

"I was completely wasted! I can't believe this! You are blackmailing me?" Colby asked.

"Um, yeah. You could call it that. Or you could say I am giving you the chance to do the right thing. I can love her and make her happy. Happier than you ever fucking have. I never meant to fall so hard for her, but I will do anything, and I mean anything for her. Even if that means exposing the both of you. She is my life now and no one is going to take her away from me."

"You would do that to us? You would tell her just to keep her from choosing to stay with Colby?"

"Yes. Look, I don't want to, but he needs to back off. I won't lose her to him."

The doctor walked in and sensed the tension between the three of them. "Uh, Lopez, you want to come with me?"

"Yeah, I am coming, Doc. We will talk about this later, man," Colby said as he followed the doctor out.

"You are really something else, man. You swore you would never say anything. But then, how could we know we couldn't really trust you. You had already fucked Colby's woman."

"Yeah, and you had just fucked Dixie's man. How can you sit there and be so fucking self-righteous, huh? You talk shit about me and her, but he wasn't faithful either."

"That's different…"

"Yeah, how?"

"It just is!" Joe was getting angrier, his face becoming redder.

Jon knew he was pushing Joe's buttons. "So, here's another question, Papa Bear. Does Colby know you are in love with him?"

Joe took a swing at Jon but he moved and Joe hit the lockers. "Easy, easy. Just asking. But, it raises the question, if you love him, which it's obvious you do, except to him, why are you pushing him so hard back to Dixie?"

"Jon…" Joe growled.

"See, it's questions like that, that really leave me wondering," Jon whispered, tapping his shoulder. "You try to act like it is just being protective and shit, but I see it. I-see-through-you" Jon sang. "You are afraid of what your goddamn family will think, what the boys will think, what the fans will think, yeah, but you are fucking terrified that Colby won't be your friend anymore and you will be heartbroken when he says he doesn't love you back. Right now, you can be a 'big brother' and deny your damn feelings, but all that would change if the truth came out. You dudes think I am fucking stupid and that I don't see shit. I see more than you fucking think I do."

Joe grabbed Jon by the collar. "Listen to me you smart-mouth fucking prick, you say anything to Colby about what you just said and I will beat your ass. You hurt Colby in ANY way, and I will kill you."

Jon chuckled. "I told you already, I am not afraid of you, Papa Bear. You want to protect your boy, convince him to seek life elsewhere, without Dixie, which you should have done when you caught us. Hell, why didn't you and you could have moved in on Colby while he was vulnerable like you did before?"

Joe shoved him to the floor. "You think that is how I wanted it to happen with him?! You think it didn't break my heart to see the look of revulsion on his face when we woke up? You think it didn't kill me to know that you two were doing him dirty while I was there loving him and couldn't tell him? He doesn't want me; he doesn't love me. Even if I told him about your affair, he still wouldn't have come running to my arms. No, I chose to hide my feelings because she is what is best for him. They belong together, Jon, why can't you see that? I am willing to suffer in silence because I love him, but you won't do that for her. You took her heart away and now you would destroy what is left of her feelings for him. But you say you love her. That isn't love, man. If she chooses to stay with Colby, you should respect her choice since you say you love her. Yeah I am pushing him back to her because she can give him what I can't: a much easier life, children, a family. I can't compete with that even if he actually was bi. I never should have pushed myself on him like that and I have to live with knowing how much Colby regrets it. He won't even talk to me about it. Now, I just want him to be happy. I want him to be happy, Jon. That is what love is. So make fun of me all you want; I don't care. Just don't hurt him."

"Come off the noble bullshit, Joe. All this self-sacrifice shit and playing the martyr doesn't really suit you. We both know you would bang Colby like a screen door in a hurricane if you got the chance so stop pretending you are so high above me and like you love him more than I love her. It is completely different. You are in love with your straight best friend, got him drunk and fucked him. My best friend's girl got drunk and came on to me, yeah I fucked her and maybe I should have pushed her away, but I didn't and I fell in love. You see, this is not the same fucking situation. You say you don't want to see Colby hurt; well I don't want to see Dixie hurt either. I won't let him lord over her anymore with her feeling guilty for doing the same shit he was. Now, you two can marinate on that shit because I am done playing nice. The gloves are off and if you want to play hard ball with me, you had better wear your fucking cup."