A/N After an extended illness and a stay in the hospital, I am finally back! Hope you enjoy!
The ER doctor admitted Colby for observation because he was worried about the possibility of internal bleeding. Colby argued but the doctor said he could only leave if he signed out Against Medical Advice and the WWE doctors told him that he needed to stay. He acquiesced but he wasn't happy about it. He slept some of the night but woke up plotting against Jon, wanting to get even with him for attacking him but also for taking Dixie. He wanted her back but he also Jon to feel the pain of betrayal that he felt. He couldn't believe that she would let Jon go to jail instead of coming home, but he figured it would work to his advantage anyway. He knew that she was angry when she found out that Jon was going to leave him for dead in the Colorado wilderness so she had to still care about him or it wouldn't have mattered to her. He thought that if he had Jon thrown in jail, he wouldn't be around to keep him away from Dixie. He really couldn't see Dixie letting Jon go to prison so he figured that if he showed her he was serious about pressing charges, she would come back to him. He made up his mind that after the doctor discharged him, he was going to the police station to tell them that he remembered who attacked him. Around lunchtime, the hospitalist still hadn't made rounds to release him, and he was getting antsy. He called for his nurse and she told him that the doctor had been tied up in the ER. She assured him that he would be around soon.
Meanwhile back in Las Vegas, Dixie had called the county clerk's office and they told her they had no record of the marriage license being filed yet. She was getting irritated, wanting it to be processed so she could have it annulled already. She was also worried about what was going to happen with Colby and Jon. She knew Colby was upset and he had every intention of making sure Jon went to jail if she didn't go back to him. She wished that Jon would have listened to her and just let everything get sorted out legally instead of going after Colby. Now she didn't know what was going to happen. She agreed to be their alibi but she hated the idea of blatantly lying to the police and perjuring herself.
Jon also was regretting the way he handled things with Colby. He let his emotions get the better of him and dug himself a hole, taking Dixie and Joe with him. He didn't know where his mind was asking Dixie to lie for him. He thought to himself that it felt like that was all they had been doing since they got together was lying to someone about something. He noticed she was very quiet since they had gotten in so he invited her to get out of the house and go for a drive to talk and clear their heads. He invited Joe as well, but he had other plans.
Dixie left Joe the keys to her car so he could go get food or whatever he wanted to do because she didn't know when they would be back. He didn't let on, but he planned on that night going back to the casino and doing some digging. Things weren't adding up in his mind and he wanted to get to the bottom of it. He hoped they didn't come back for a while.
Dixie grabbed some blankets and Jon stopped at the gas station to fill up and they packed an ice chest and snacks. He grabbed a map and they set off for the Lake Mead recreational area. Dixie looked out of the window at the mountains, watching as the scenery changed around them. Jon reached over for her hand and she looked down at his fingers, softly kissing his scraped knuckles. "Babe, look, I hate it when you are mad at me, but knowing you are disappointed in me is fucking so much worse. I know I am a fuck up and I know I shouldn't have schemed to get Colby alone just to beat his ass. I should have just left it alone like you said. Now I have drug you and Joe into it and have asked you to lie for me. I am a fucking idiot. I wish I would have just done what you fucking asked me to do, instead of showing my ass and letting you down."
"Jon, it's done. No sense dwelling on it. Just please, please, don't do anything else. I told you I will protect you and tell the cops whatever I have to, but for all of our sakes, just leave Colby alone from now on."
"I will, Dix. I will let you handle all this legal shit with the marriage and all that, and I will keep my nose out of it. I just hate it that you have seen this side of me. Again. Guess I have proven that you can take a guy out of the hood, but not the hood out of the guy. I don't want to be that person and you fucking deserve better."
"You are better than that, baby. I know that. I am not mad at you, like I said. I am frustrated because I know you are a good person, you just make bad choices when you are angry and upset. You are scared and insecure and you lashed out at Colby, but I have told you, I am not going back to him. I know some of the shit I did filled your head with doubts and I honestly don't know how to fix that. You just have to trust me and believe me when I tell you I love you and I don't want anyone else. I just want us to find happiness. I keep thinking we are finally going to get that, but then some other bullshit happens. Do you think we ever will just get to be happy, Jon? Do we even deserve it after we hurt Colby so badly?"
"We do deserve it, Dixie. Yeah, we hurt Colby, but he ain't no fucking angel. He likes to play the martyr but he ain't fucking innocent either. When all this shit is over, we are gonna be happy, goddammit."
The rest of the car ride was more light-hearted, with them both singing along to the radio. When they arrived at the recreational area, Jon paid at the entrance and they drove around until they found a secluded spot. They walked along the sandbar and found a place to lay out their blanket near the water. "This is really beautiful."
"Yeah, it is. I am glad we came out here. I have never ventured too far away from the city, except right out of town in the mountains. I am glad you wanted to spend the day with me, babe. I think we need to be away from everything for a while and relax. So much shit has happened recently; we both need to clear our minds."
"You're right. So are you hungry?"
"You know I am always hungry!" he told her with a smile. She smiled back and started pulling stuff out of the ice chest. She grabbed the bags and took out some paper plates. "You want me to make you a sandwich?"
"Nah, babe, I can do it." She handed him the bread and they made a sandwich and poured some chips on their plates before Dixie got them both a Coke out. After they ate, she put everything away before she sat grinning at him. He wondered what she was up to. "What?"
"While you were getting the ice, I got you a surprise." She reached in the bag and pulled out a Little Debbie Star Crunch. She dangled it in front of him and his eyes lit up.
He grinned and she handed it to him. "Oh, I love these fucking things! Thanks, Dixie."
"You're welcome."
He ripped open the package and broke her off a piece. "Here, have a bite." She crawled over to him and opened her mouth. He put it on her tongue and she smiled as she chewed it. She was pleased that it made him so happy. It always pleased her that it was the little things that he seemed to appreciate more than anything. It was starting to get later in the afternoon and the sun was disappearing behind the mountains around them. Dixie said she was getting chilly and took the other blanket out.
"Come here, babe." Jon opened his legs for her to sit between and took the blanket from her. He wrapped it around his shoulders and pulled her close to his chest with his arms surrounding her, the blanket covering them both. She pulled her legs up and leaned back against him, turning her head up and puckering her lips for him to kiss her. They sat and watched the sun slowly going down over the water and talked while he nuzzled his face in her neck and hair. She loved being so close to him and relished in how loving and affectionate he had become.
He was at peace there, just holding her and listening to her talk. It was quiet and calm and it relaxed him. He was daydreaming also, thinking about how it would be if they were there with their kids running around and he smiled. He wanted that future for them. When it got dark, they packed everything back in the car and headed back to Vegas.
While they were driving back, Joe took Dixie's car and went to Mandalay Bay. He hoped he would find the waitress from the other night. When he went into the House of Blues, he was met by the maître d'. "Good evening, Sir. How many?"
"Oh, just one. And hey, is Carly working tonight?"
"Yes, she is. May I ask why?"
"I was just hoping to sit in her section. My friends and I had her the other night and she was really great."
"Yes, of course. Right this way." He motioned for Joe to follow him and led him over to a corner table. "She will be right with you."
Joe took his seat. "Thanks, man."
A few minutes later, the waitress made her way to his table. He had his head down looking at the menu when she approached. "Hi, my name is Car…" She stopped mid-sentence when he raised his head to look at her, and she immediately recognized him."…Carly. I will be your waitress tonight."
"I know who the fuck you are."
"Uh, yeah, so what can I get you to drink?"
"I will take a Corona and a straight answer."
Her eyes widened. "Um, one Corona, coming up." She went to walk away and Joe grabbed her arm.
"That wasn't all I asked for. I came here to get some answers and I ain't leaving till I get them." He stood up and towered over her. "Now we can do this the easy way, or the hard way."
"I…I don't know what you are talking about," she said, trying to wrench her arm away from him.
"Oh, I think you do. I will make such a fucking scene if you don't stop playing games with me. I am sure your boss would love to hear about what happened with my friend last night."
"Okay, okay, just let me go, please. You are hurting my arm." The bouncer saw that Joe had a hold of her and came over to them.
"Is there a problem here? Take your hand off the lady."
"Uh, Rick, there is no problem." Carly said as Joe let her go and smiled at the bouncer.
"Nope, no problem. We were just talking, man."
"Huh, okay. Carly, I will be right over there if he tries anything. Just yell. I am watching you." He glared at Joe before walking away.
"Alright, now what I want to know is why you and your friends were coming on to my boy. Did someone put you up to it?"
"Yes. The other man," she nodded.
"What other man?"
"The one with the funny hair."
Joe shook his head and took out his phone. He found a picture of Colby and showed it to her. "Is this him?"
"Yeah, that's him. He offered me and the girls money to flirt with Dean after I got his girl to leave the table."
"Is that it?" She hesitated and sighed. "I asked is that it?"
"No. Look, you gotta understand, I have a son to support. I didn't want to do it but when he offered that kind of cash, I couldn't say no. He promised he wasn't going to hurt her."
"What did he ask you to do?" Joe questioned.
"He gave me a half of an Ambien and asked me to crush it and put it in her drink."
"What!?"
"I am sorry, okay. He said he was going to take her and marry her, but he promised he wasn't going to hurt her. He said he loves her and showed me a ring. Oh God, is she okay? Did he hurt her?"
"Fuck. Fuck! No, he didn't hurt her, at least not physically."
"I am sorry."
"Sorry ain't gonna fix this. Give me your phone."
"What?"
"Give me your cell phone. Now."
She took it out of her pocket and handed it to him. "Here. What are you doing with it?"
"Sending a text to myself so you can't lie to me and give me the wrong number. When I confront this man, I may need to get in touch with you to back up what I am saying."
"I don't want in the middle of this!"
"Too fucking late. You really should have thought about that when you agreed to drug another woman."
"I told you…"
"Yeah, still no excuse. He could have raped her, kidnapped her, killed her, and it was all fine in your mind because he promised he wouldn't hurt her. That is bullshit." He handed her the phone back. "I hope I don't have to call you, but you better fucking answer if I do. I saved my number. My name is Joe."
She rolled her eyes at him. "I am fucking serious. Don't make me have to come back down here. You and all of your friends will not only be out of a job, but you will be in jail." Joe pointed and glared before he walked away, trying to contain his anger. He couldn't believe Colby had sunk low enough to have Dixie drugged. When he made it back out to the car, he took out his phone and called Colby's hotel.
Colby was lying in bed at the hotel because he was broke and was waiting on word of what he needed to do to be able to get back home with no ID and no credit card. His mind kept going back to the night before and how Joe looked at him while he had his arms around him. He tried to shake those thoughts and make himself focus on other things like how he was going to get back to Iowa. He couldn't even call and cancel his cards because he didn't know what all cards he had in his wallet. He just hoped whatever Jon did with his wallet, no one got a hold of his information. He reported that to the police while he was at the station too so he hoped if anything got charged he would have the police report to contest it. He was startled out of his thoughts by the room phone ringing and he hoped it was the airline. He called to see if they could replace his ticket and let him on the flight with no identification. He was surprised to hear Joe on the other end.
"Hey, Col. We need to talk."
"No we don't. Not after the other night. I can't believe you did that to me, Joe. You have turned on me for Jon."
"I haven't turned on you. Shit, Colby. You brought that on yourself and lucky for you I was there or God knows what Jon would have done to you. Fuck. Listen, I really have to talk to you."
Colby sighed. "Fine. What about?"
"About Dixie. I know what you did."
Colby started to panic. "What are you talking about? Leave my wife out of this."
Joe cringed when he heard those words. "Your wife that you had drugged you mean?"
He gasped. "Wh..what do you mean by that?"
"Colby, I talked to Carly. I know you had her drugged and you framed Jon to get Dixie to leave. How the hell you got Dixie down the aisle I don't know, but she told me you paid her and her friends off."
"She is lying. Why would I…"
"Shut up. Just stop. She told me and she described you. I know you did it. I just don't understand why."
"I love her, Joe."
"That is not how you act when you love someone."
"Yeah like you can talk," Colby mumbled.
"What?"
"Nothing. So are you going to tell her?"
"She needs to know the truth. I think you should tell her what you did, but yes, I will if you don't."
"She doesn't have to know anything and I am sure as hell not telling her. Just stay the fuck out of it. Let Jon go to jail and she can come back to me. We can start our lives over as husband and wife." Joe may have found out about the drugging, but he wasn't about to confess that the marriage wasn't real.
"Go to jail? Did you tell the cops?" Joe asked.
"Yeah, I went and pressed charges when I got out of the hospital. Hopefully they will arrest that mother fucker soon and she will leave him. She can finally see what kind of man he is."
"Colby, this is fucking crazy. Why did you do that?! You know what he will do to you when he gets out. And you pressed charges against me too I guess. Fuck."
"No I didn't, first of all and second of all, he won't do a goddamn thing if he doesn't want to add on to the charges. Dixie belongs with me, not him, man. Like I said, just butt the fuck out."
"Col, please…" He didn't understand why Colby didn't include him when he told them about the attack. Part of him tried to keep from thinking that Colby still cared about him.
"No. This conversation is over."
"Colby, I won't let you do this. I will tell her if you don't drop the charges, okay. I am not going to let you break them up or let Jon go to jail. I won't say anything if you just leave them alone. Don't fight her on the divorce and leave them be and I will keep my mouth shut." He hated saying that but he didn't know what else to do. He didn't want to keep it from her, but he also didn't know if she would be able to keep Jon out of trouble by lying.
"Why are you doing this, Joe? You say you love me; you told Jon you love me but if you really did, you would want me to be happy."
"What the hell are you saying? I do want you to be happy but if you really loved Dixie, you would want her to be happy too. I have seen them together and they are truly in love. I hated to admit it, but they do belong together."
"Why are you saying this to me? Do you really enjoy hurting me? What am I saying, of course you do. You force yourself on me and justify it by saying you love me. You hold me and let Jon beat me up, but it's okay because you didn't let him kill me. I don't know what the fuck is wrong with you."
"What is wrong with me? What the fuck is wrong with you?"
"I am just trying to get the woman I love back and away from that street thug. You see what he is capable of and you still think she belongs with him. Fuck that. This conversation is over." With that, Colby slammed the receiver down. He was shaking and his mind was going non-stop. He didn't know what to do and what would happen if Joe told Dixie what he did. He thought the only saving grace he had left was their marriage and praying that Jon would go to jail before she ever figured out that it wasn't legal. He called the front desk and had them look up the number for Mandalay Bay, wanting to have a conversation with Carly.
Joe was pissed that Colby hung up on him, but was even madder the more he thought about everything Colby had done. He knew he had to tell Jon and Dixie what he found out and he wasn't looking forward to it. Part of him was afraid it would make it even worse. He was scared that he was going to end up in jail if Colby turned him in, afraid that the police wouldn't believe Dixie. But what really kept gnawing at him was why Colby didn't report him when he did Jon. He didn't want to get his hopes up that Colby wanted to protect him, but what other reason could there be. He got up and went to the kitchen to grab a beer and had just sat back down on the couch when he heard them coming through the door.
Colby called and asked for Carly. When she picked up the phone, she was scared when she found out it was Colby. "What the fuck were you doing telling Joe about last night?"
"He scared me. And he threatened to tell my boss."
"Do you realize the kind of shit we can get in to because of you opening your fucking mouth? We could both end up in jail if they tell the cops!"
"I am sorry okay. I panicked. He is huge and he grabbed me and then he said he would tell and I can't lose my job, oh shit and I can't go to jail. I have a kid!"
"Then I suggest you keep your fucking mouth shut from now on. You didn't tell anyone else about the Ambien did you?"
"No, no one."
"Good. Just don't say anything else. If Dean or the woman come back, deny everything."
"What about Joe?" she asked.
"Don't fucking worry about him. I will take care of him." He hung up and decided that he was going back to the precinct in the morning. He was going to have a sudden return of memory that Joe was helping Jon. He didn't know why he left him out of it to begin with, just because of him stopping Jon. He cursed himself, not knowing what he was thinking.
When Jon and Dixie came in the apartment, they were smiling and seemed so happy, that he hated to ruin it. Jon saw Joe's face and his smile dropped. He knew something was wrong from the look in his eyes. "Hey."
"Hey, uce. Y'all have a good trip?"
"Yeah, it was awesome. Chilled us out. What's up with you?"
Dixie looked between the guys and wondered what was going on. "Why don't y'all put your stuff up and then we will talk?"
"Um, I think maybe you need to tell me now, Joe" Jon replied.
"Nah, you need to sit down, so go ahead and put your things up first." Dixie nodded and took the food to put in the fridge and Jon took the blankets and put them in the dirty clothes to get washed. They rejoined Joe in the living room and sat down on the couch. Jon put his arm around Dixie and they turned their attention to Joe.
"Okay, bro, so what's up?" Jon asked.
"Fuck, I don't even know where to start."
"The beginning is good. Just tell us," Dixie urged.
"Alright. So first of all, I went down to the casino and found out some info, but you ain't gonna like it." They both looked at him expectantly as he continued. "I found the waitress and she told me she talked to Colby and he…he…"
Joe paused and Jon spoke up. "Just spit it out, man."
"Yeah, um Dixie, he had her drug you…with Ambien, then when you left, it wasn't coincidence that those girls came over to the table. Colby wanted you to see them. That is why he was waiting when you ran out."
"Oh my god!" Dixie gasped.
"I am gonna fucking kill him, that mother fucker!"
"Listen, man, he also went to the cops and pressed charges against you, and I think he is planning to have us both arrested now."
"Goddammit! Why the fuck is he doing it?"
"He wants you away from Dixie. He thinks if you are in jail, she will come running back to him," Joe explained.
"No, he won't live to testify."
"Jon, no. Is that waitress still there? What's her name?" Dixie asked.
"Carly."
"Carly huh? Well, if he wants to play like that, I can to. I can't fucking believe they drugged me. Does explain why I can't remember anything. Where the fuck is he right now?
"He is still in Colorado. Here is the number to the hotel he is staying at." Joe handed her the piece of paper and noticed her hands shaking. "What are you going to do?"
"He wants to blackmail me; well I think it is time to turn the tables on him."
"What do you mean, babe?" Jon wanted to know.
"If he doesn't drop the charges against you, I will have him arrested for drugging me. I am pretty sure that is illegal too."
"Here, let me call Carly." Joe took out his phone to call her with the other two staring at him. When she answered she told him that Colby had called and told her to keep her mouth shut. Dixie was getting angry so she took the phone from Joe. "Look here, chick, you can agree to help me if I have Colby arrested or I can have you arrested too. Your choice. The casino has cameras doesn't it?"
"Okay, okay, whatever you say. I can't go to jail. He just told me to keep quiet about it after that other guy came in. I am really sorry, I just needed the money."
"What-the fuck-ever. You just better hope it doesn't come down to me filing charges." Dixie hung up and handed Joe his phone back. She took out her cell and dialed the number on the piece of paper.
Colby heard the phone ringing and hoped it wasn't Joe, but was afraid not to answer it in case it was about his flight. "Hello?"
"Colby, what the fuck are you thinking?"
"Dixie…hi mama."
"Don't fucking call me that. How dare you drug me to get me to marry you? I don't even know who you are anymore."
"I didn't…babe, I don't know what you are talking about."
"Bull shit! Stop fucking lying to me! I talked to Carly, you know, your accomplice. I know what you did."
"Dix…"
"Shut the fuck up and listen. This is what is gonna happen. You are gonna take your ass down to that police station first thing in the morning and drop those charges against Jon or I swear, you are gonna be the one in jail, not him."
"What are you…"
"Shut UP! I am not done! You are gonna do it or I will be the one at the police station in the morning filing charges on you. You see, you threatening her and telling her not to talk, isn't gonna work. She doesn't want to go to jail to protect you so you are on your own. I have no problems throwing your ass in jail. Where you fucking belong, but I am willing to compromise. If Jon doesn't have to go to jail, then neither do you."
"Fuck! I just want you to come back goddammit. He is violent and dangerous and you can't fucking see it!"
"At least he has never tried to fucking dope me up to trick me. You fucking knew that was the only way I would marry you is if I was out of my damn mind. Get it through your thick head, we are done. DONE! OVER! I am ashamed I was ever even with you. I guess we are seeing your true colors now. God, I never knew you had this fucking shady ass side to you, Colby."
"But I love…"
"You don't love me. You want to control me. You want me back with you so you can have this perfect fantasy that you had in your head. It is not gonna happen. Not ever. I am gonna call the police department in the morning and if you haven't dropped the charges, I am going to the cops myself. Then I am going to call David and go through with the divorce so I can take you to the fucking cleaners."
Colby was pissed off too. Everything was crumbling around him. He lashed out, "The fuck you will. That is just what you think."
"What do you mean by that?"