Dean knew that finding Seth was easier said than done. Today notwithstanding, as a general rule if Seth didn't want to be found, then he couldn't be found. So Dean formulated a plan as he walked to the hotel. Tomorrow he would get up early and camp out in the hotel's gym. Dean reasoned that with Seth being the fitness nut that he was that he was bound to turn up there sooner or later. It's not like he had a lot of other options since he was currently trapped by a blizzard.

Content with his plan, Dean strolled into the hotel and was more than a little surprised to see Seth sitting rather dejectedly on a sofa in the hotel's lobby. Taking it as a sign, Dean plopped down beside him. "Whatcha doin'?" he asked.

" I was so busy storming out earlier that I totally forgot to grab my bag which just so happens to contain the key to my room and my wallet," Seth replied with a self-depreciating grimace. "I'm trying to work up enough willpower to go back. It's just so cold."

'You could just bunk with me tonight," Dean suggested casually. "Get your stuff in the morning."

Seth looked over at his former friend trying to gauge whether or not he was making a serious offer. "Why would you do that for me?" he asked.

"Well, I've been thinking," Dean said, "and I really was a pretty shitty brother to you before, and maybe I'm more to blame for how things turned out than I thought. Maybe we could. . . I don't know. . . start over?"

Seth groaned. "Now I feel like an even bigger asshole. What I said before, it was all bullshit excuses, Dean. You and Roman, you two were the best thing that ever happened to me. I know I complained about you guys treating me like your baby brother, but really I liked it most of the time. You know in my real family, well my biological family, I'm the oldest, so it was kind of cool to see what it would be like to have two older brothers to look after me. And if I was having issues, I should've trusted you enough to talk to you about them instead of, you know, hitting you in the back with a chair. I mean, you're not mind readers after all. It wasn't fair for me to try to make you feel bad. That's what I've been sitting here thinking about. No matter what, you had my back, and I went and stabbed you in yours. I screwed up, Dean. I don't deserve your forgiveness. But I am sorry. I want you to know that."

"Seriously, man. Does Roman, like, live in your head? You two keep saying the same things. It's kinda freaking me out. Anyway, you screwed up; I screwed up. You're sorry; I'm sorry. Let's move on."

"If it helps, I've decided to leave the Authority."

"Great!" Dean replied without hesitation. "I've got your back. Let's go raise some hell!"

"No!" Seth blurted. "No, Dean you can't. Don't you see? When I leave, it's not going to be pretty. There will be serious consequences. And if you help me, it will just bring you into the line of fire. I've hurt you enough."

"Oh, Seth," Dean smiled. "You should know me well enough to know that there's nothing I like better than a good fight."

Seth looked at him, clearly unconvinced. Dean shrugged. "Of course, you should do whatever you feel like you have to do. Why don't you sleep on it?"

Seth nodded in agreement and allowed Dean to lead him to his hotel room.

Meanwhile back at WWE Headquarters. . .

Roman was stunned. He felt like he had been punched in the gut. Could it be true? He had always taken so much pride in being a good big brother to his motley family. Could he have really failed both Seth and Dean? He knew that there had been a lot of distance between himself and Dean since Seth left them, but it just hurt so much to be around Dean now-too many memories. He had thought the feeling was mutual. Roman rubbed his hands over his face, bewildered. He felt like his whole world had just been turned upside down. He hadn't felt like this since. . . well, since that night.

For months now, he had pointedly tried to avoid thinking about Seth's betrayal. It only caused pain. But now he allowed the memories to rush over him-the confusion in the ring as it happened, the devastation on the drive back to the hotel, the anger in the aftermath. Wait. . . something niggled in Roman's mind. Something wasn't right. But what was it?

The rental car! Why did Roman have the keys to the rental car? Seth had always taken care of both the rental car and the hotel ever since. . . Roman couldn't help smiling abashedly at the memory. Once, right after the three of them had gotten together. Roman had made of the rental care reservations while Dean had handled the hotel. Roman had mistakenly rented a luxury SUV that had cost each of them three times what they were used to paying, and Dean had accidentally rented a room with only a king size bed. They were all so broke after paying so much for the rental car that no one wanted to pay for a second room. And then Roman and Dean had complained so heatedly over having to sleep three to a bed that Seth had ultimately taken one for the team and slept on the floor. Seth had deemed both Dean and Roman incompetent morons after this fiasco and subsequently taken care of everything himself. And things had run smoothly from then on. So why was the rental car in his name instead of Seth's that night?

Roman thought for a while and then vaguely remembered. Seth had come up to him that morning, the day of the betrayal, and told him that he was having some kind of problem with his credit card. He had asked him if he could take care of the reservations himself, and then handed him some info listing the names and phone numbers of the rental car place and the hotel that he had intended to use along with notes on what he thought would be the best deal. At the time, Roman had rolled his eyes at Seth and given him a hard time over his micromanaging. But now, Roman wondered: Was it just a coincidence? Roman still didn't know exactly when Seth had made his fateful decision. But wasn't it likely that Seth already knew at that point? And wouldn't that mean, then, that Seth had decided to look after his brothers one last time, even knowing that he was soon heading to the arena to betray them both? Why hadn't Seth just left them stranded in the arena? Wouldn't that have made his point that much clearer?

Roman shook his head gently, trying to clear his thoughts. He clearly needed to talk to Seth. And Dean. Despite Roman's earlier protests to the contrary, being booed by an arena full of people did make Roman more empathetic to Seth's insecurities. He hadn't done anything rash yet, but that's not to say that he hadn't been thinking about it really hard. And that was after just one night. Seth had gone months. It would be nice to have his brothers' support if he was going to face hostile crowds night after night. Well, Dean would be easy enough to find. The two might not be particularly close at the moment, but he couldn't help but notice that Dean had been assigned the room next to his. He would go to Dean, and then together they could talk to Seth. . . if they could find him.

Roman hesitated slightly before knocking on Dean's door. After their last interaction, he wasn't quite sure what kind of reception he would receive. When Dean opened the door with a smile, a quick hug, and a friendly greeting of "Rome, my man!" Roman was surprised. But he was much more surprised to see Seth sitting on the bed behind Dean.

Seth quickly rose to his feet but did not approach Roman. As Roman strode purposefully toward Seth, Seth steeled himself, fearing the worst. Seth was startled, therefore, when instead of receiving the punch he was anticipating, he instead felt Roman's arms wrap around him in a tight hug. Seth's arms automatically returned the gesture. Seth was even more shocked by Roman's words: "I've missed you, Seth."

Seth's response was immediate and heartfelt. "I've missed you, too, Rome. I've missed you so much."

"Hey, don't leave me out!" Dean cried out and leaped on them playfully with arms outstretched causing them all to tumble over onto the bed. Though there was still so much to work out, the three couldn't help but feel a sense of relief and homecoming. After many dark days, the future was finally looking brighter.

The End