The fifth and final part. I wanted each to tie together but still be separate, but it seems they were all culminating to this one. Thanks for sticking around, and I hope you enjoy it.

-Looking In-

Orlando, Florida, April 2010

All things come to an end. Allen Jones knew this for a fact. You came to a city, you left it. You fell asleep in one time zone, you woke up landing in another. Everything that started would inevitably end. And he knew his title reign would end, the fact that it ended was never the problem. AJ was prepared to drop it ever since Destination X. What he wasn't prepared for was who he lost it to and how he lost it.

With Elijah's medical issues, the momentum on him would have to be cut in favor of a healthier candidate. AJ had no idea who was next in line, but he figured he'd drop the belt at Sacrifice, get his rematch, and then just circle around (but never breach) the title picture. Instead, he was told he'd lose it the very day after his match, to a person who would become number one contender the exact same day.

Some people called him a baby. Others nodded sympathetically, understanding his frustration. But in AJ's mind, that didn't excuse his behavior at the end of that taping. As he lay in his bed, staring at the sent email page, he reminded himself to apologize to a bunch of people in the morning. He prided himself on a certain professionalism that he should always uphold, no matter what the circumstance, and that night, he was anything but.

AJ clicked over to the sent page, reading over the email he sent to Chris. AJ longed to be able to talk to Chris about his worries face to face, like they normally would, but the different schedules cut their face time drastically. He was lucky to get a reply sometimes; it was the easiest form of communication between them. He could call, but usually, he got a voice mail, and he hated talking to an answering machine.

All things come to an end, even the things you never imagined ending. Like Chris' run in TNA.

It was a terrible night. AJ could still remember Kaz telling him that Chris wanted to see him, and how sad Kaz looked saying it. He remembered Chris' face when he finally got into the same room as him. What bugged him the most about it was how blank Chris' face was. After about eight years of friendship, and what they had the last four years, AJ learned that Christopher Daniels never showed the world when he was truly upset. Instead, he became unreadable, stoic. It seemed that, to Chris, if he pretended he didn't feel the pain, the pain wasn't truly real. Chris explained his not quite release, how Dixie wanted to pay him on a performance basis instead of giving him a solid contract (which also paid less), and how he turned it down.

Chris wasn't loyal enough to the company to take an insult like that. Less security, less pay? Chris was sure (and AJ couldn't help but agree) that Dixie only did this to him because she thought that the sentimental value TNA offered would be enough to make him mindlessly stay. As much as Chris loved his job, but he had to make a stand; if Dixie wasn't going to treat him like she wanted him, then he wouldn't stay.

AJ understood all of Chris' reasons for leaving, and thought he was right. But still. He wished seeing Chris didn't mean trying to figure out around ROH and TNA schedules. He'd gotten so used to always having Chris nearby, working with him and spending his free time with him, that it felt wrong not having him there anymore.

He clicked the inbox button, knowing that, even if Chris was at his computer, the chances that he wrote a response and sent it already were pretty near impossible. But he still checked.

Nothing.

He knew that would be the case, but he was still disappointed.

He laid the laptop on the bedside table, closing it. He was certain that if he could manage to fall asleep, Chris would send a reply by morning, but he couldn't bring himself to sleep. All he thought about was the general fear from some of the guys he'd worked with for years, how he reacted to the title change, and the day Chris was released.

That's when people really got afraid. If Christopher Daniels could get released, others thought it was just a matter of time. Rumors spread that Alex Shelley called up a few of his friends outside of TNA, asking them about spots he could get at other promotions. Kazarian felt secure as the X division champion, but once that changed, he started asking everyone obsessively how he was doing in the ring. AJ had even been asked a couple of times to push for a feud between himself and another TNA wrestler; in their eyes, the only one who was safe was AJ, and if they were feuding with him, they'd also be safe.

Safe. The word made AJ laugh. He wasn't sure what that meant anymore.

He'd probably checked his email about four times in the next 15 minutes. The first three times, there were no new messages, but the fourth time there was. He'd gotten excited until he saw it was an email from Gamestop about savings. He didn't even notice the door opening, or the Samoan in the doorway.

Joe was almost shocked to see the light on and a person in the room. In all his time rooming with Kazarian, either Kaz would leave his key and bang on the door at one in the morning, or Kaz would tell him that he and Traci had 'plans' and he wouldn't be there at all. He was used to empty rooms, or dark rooms with a sleeping form he'd try not to bother. With all the changes between when he was last regularly touring until his return that day, suddenly, Joe found himself sharing with AJ again. It had been a while, and it was definitely different.

For one thing, AJ had his own bed. And it was just the two of them. Two things Joe couldn't remember ever happening in the course of their friendship.

"You left kinda quick, man." Joe threw his bag in the corner, the sound finally getting AJ's attention. He rolled over, his mind no longer contemplating whether or not he should check the laptop again, facing Joe. Joe stared at him for a moment, trying to figure out what was wrong with his friend, but he came up short. Instead, he just asked.

"What happened?"

"Nothin'. Just tired."

Joe raised an eyebrow, not fully believing the excuse, but taking it anyway. So much was different after his injury. He only just came back, but already everything seemed off. It was as if he went on a trip, came back home, and found his furniture rearranged. Everything was still technically the same, but it didn't feel like home.

"You wanna talk?"

"Nah. Just gonna get some sleep. Thanks anyway."

"Yeah, no problem." Joe watched AJ quietly, still worried, unsure of what to make of his attitude. He seemed preoccupied with something. Finally, he took a shot in the dark, hoping it'd work. "You know Al, you were gonna lose it sometime. And it was a pretty damn good match."

"What...? Oh. Yeah, I know." AJ turned back to the computer, opening it, focusing on the screen. Joe shook his head, thinking whatever. He'd tried.

In the time it took Joe to change into something more comfortable, AJ picked the computer up from the bedside table only to place the computer back down seconds later at least three different times. The third time, Joe sat on the bed, trying to peer over at what he was looking at. "You waitin' for something?" Joe asked, nodding at the computer. He'd seen the Yahoo! Mail screen, deciding that AJ was expecting an email.

"Yeah." He didn't expound, leaving it at the one word.

"Uh huh, cool. So... that all you can say?"

"What?"

"Yeah. Nah. Is that all you can say?"

AJ stared at him, unable to figure out where that question came from. Finally, he said, "Do we have a problem, man?"

"Nah," Joe said, mimicking the way AJ said it before.

"What's wrong with you?" Joe could tell AJ was getting angrier, but he didn't care. It was better than being blatantly ignored by someone he'd traveled everywhere with for eight years. He turned to face AJ completely, feeling something between anger and concern.

"What's wrong with you, AJ? You leave the Impact Zone in a rush- and don't try that tired bullshit again, I'm looking at you right now and you look pretty damn awake- ignoring everyone, and now you're right here looking like you want to say something. So say it. What's wrong?"

"I already told ya, nothing's wrong!"

"Then why are you yelling? Why are you getting defensive?"

"I'm not gettin' defensive; there's nothing to defend. Now let it go, Joe." AJ shot a warning glare at Joe, but Joe just glared back. Not intimidated by his old friend, especially not when he was so obviously lying.

"No."

"Let it go."

"No."

"Joe, nothing's wrong. Let. It. Go."

Joe shook his head. "You're full of shit, Al." He turned away, facing upward, talking towards the ceiling instead of AJ. "I bet you'd tell Chris there's nothing wrong too, right?"

"Shut it."

"That's it, right? I'm not Chris so I can't help you, right?"

"Don't bring Chris into this."

"What, no need to hide it. You trust Chris way more than you trust me. It's not a secret."

"I never said that..."

"I mean, what do you need from me when you have Christopher Daniels, right?"

"Will you stop it?"

"Did you ever trust me at all, Al?"

When did it become about him, Joe wondered. How did he turn an attempt to help AJ into his own issues, his own longstanding insecurities? Maybe he let it fester too long; he stood too long watching quietly, looking in on a relationship he wanted to be apart of, but never took the initiative to try. He just always wondered why, instead of doing something about it.

Maybe it was his fault he could never touch the kind of friendship AJ and Chris had.

AJ stood up, moving over to Joe's bed, sitting next to him. Any anger he had before was gone, replaced with a concern for someone he genuinely cared about. He put an arm around Joe's shoulders, saying "Of course I did... and do. Joe, you're my best friend."

"Then talk to me, Al. Way you look... it's really bugging me, and I want to help you. Come on. Just talk to me."

AJ nodded. "Alright. Alright." He stood quiet for a moment, just gathering his thoughts. About Chris, about the future, about losing friends and watching your work crumble beneath you. And suddenly, he was telling it all to Joe. Everything he put into his email to Chris, leaving out one small detail. Still, he told Joe more than he'd told anyone in the past few months. He was just as scared as Alex, as Kaz, and as every wrestler who came up to him and requested he feud with them.

Five years ago that coming September, AJ was in the most important match of his career, and it was possibly the most important match in TNA history. It was an X division match. It was the main event. He and his two best friends brought that division to the main event. And five years later, here it was, the house they built, dying. Five years ago, there he was, alongside Christopher Daniels, living out the promise two independent wrestlers made in a cheap motel room in 2002. And five years later, they were in separate promotions, leading almost separate lives. Struggling to even see one another anymore.

He was afraid that the life he got accustomed to was over, and he could do nothing about it.

"And it just... sucks, you know?" AJ concluded, "And I wake up every mornin' and think... this is it. This is what you worked so hard for." Sometime during AJ's explanation, Joe put his arm around his back, holding AJ as well, trying to make the admission easier on him. But he also used it to make it easier on himself; he shared so many of those fears, those regrets. For a while, he tried to contemplate what he could possibly say to help him, but eventually, he realized he had nothing.

He wondered if Chris would know what to say.

He decided to say nothing, just letting the embrace do what his words couldn't seem to. AJ didn't try to say anything else either; just putting all his worries out like that helped take some of the weight off his stomach. After a while in the embrace, AJ pulled away, moving over to his bed. "M'going to bed." He turned around, giving Joe an empty smile. "Thanks... for listening."

"Anytime, Al. Night." AJ nodded before crawling into bed, getting under the blanket and turning off the light on his side of the room. Joe watched him, not sure if he actually fell asleep, but still keeping quiet anyway. He didn't want to bug him, not when he obviously had so much on his mind. All he wanted was to do something to make his friend happy again. But he knew he wasn't the friend he needed.

"Sorry." Joe looked over to AJ; he wasn't moving, but he knew it came from him.

"For what?"

"For makin' you feel like that. Why didn't you ever tell me?"

He could probably think of plenty of reasons, most of them going back to his own issues. They seemed so inconsequential now, especially after everything AJ said, but now that he asked, he was thinking about them. "Don't know."

There was a silence, and then AJ said, "I meant it. You're my best friend. You know that, right?"

"Yeah, don't worry about it. I was being stupid."

And just like he didn't buy AJ's excuses earlier, he knew AJ didn't buy his then. "If you ever wanna talk…"

"Yeah, yeah. I know where to find you." He couldn't help the smile. "I thought you were going to sleep?"