It had only been an hour later when the front desk informed Joe that his ride was waiting for him outside in the airport pick-up lane. He thanked the man and headed toward the blue sedan, unable to hide his amusement at the fact that his best friend of close to five years now was still driving the same vehicle did when the two first met.

"And here I thought WWE paid you enough so that you could get a brand shiny new car, ya know, one that doesn't have over 100,000 miles on it and that hasn't driven cross country multiple times," Joe said as he leaned against the open passenger window.

Colby just rolled his eyes. "You don't talk about Lucinda like that! She and I have been through it all and I wouldn't dream of letting her go. My relationship with her has lasted longer than any I've ever had with a woman."

"I mean, it's not hard to top a month," Joe smirked, which caused the other man to laugh himself.

"Well, you're certainly in a better mood than you were when we were on the phone last night," Colby replied as he popped Lucinda's trunk, allowing Joe to place his bags in the car. "What changed between now and then?"

"Honestly?" Joe said, "Just seeing a friendly face. These past 24 hours plus have been taxing to say the least. But seeing your goofy self and your old ass car. I didn't know how much I needed that so thanks. And not just for that, but for listening to me rant the other night and for offering to pick me up when I said I needed some time to sort through some things before going back to see Galina and JoJo."

Colby just nodded. He had known Joe now for almost five years and they had been close friends for just as long. Not to mention, he was really good at reading people and it didn't take long into their phone conversation for him to realize that something was nagging at the Samoan. Like, something bigger than just the way he had been trying to handle the crowds and their opinions of him as of late. Something much bigger.

"Lucinda says 'you're welcome' for the ride," Colby teased as he considered how he might convince Joe to open up to him during the two days they would be staying together at his apartment. "She also says thank you for the gas and pizza and beer you are going to buy on our way back to my place."

"Pizza and beer huh?" Joe smiled. "You don't eat pizza and I honestly can't remember the last time I saw you with a drink in your hand. Oh wait, yes I do, it was at the Slammys. In fact if I recall, you got pretty hammered that night and you and Jon almost got into a fight."

Colby hung his head.

"I really should have known better than to get drunk and pick a fight with the one guy on the roster who doesn't take anybody's crap least of all mine," he said as he remembered the night and incident in question. "I really should apologize to both of you though. My behavior that night, the things I said, you of all people didn't deserve to be on the receiving end."

Joe just shrugged as Colby pulled the car out from the spot and the two began the drive back to his place in Orlando.

"No really," Colby continued, feeling his earlier apology wasn't enough. "I know it didn't seem like it but I was honestly really happy to see you guys. Five months was way too long."

"You didn't exactly seem thrilled to see us," Joe replied. "As I remember it, you were just kind of miserable about the whole thing."

"I was, happy to see you guys that is," Colby said. "But you're right I was miserable and kind of an insufferable ass to everybody. You guys didn't deserve it. You were just there to welcome me back and I should have been grateful. I just didn't want to be back there just to hobble out onto the stage and get a stupid award ya know? I wanted to be back in that ring. But obviously that wasn't going to happen so I had to accept it and move on. Or as Paul said, 'stop being a whiny bitch.'"

"Paul said that?" Joe commented in disbelief. "I would have expected him to be a little more encouraging."

"Well," Colby said as the memory of the conversation was coming back to him, "maybe it was Stephanie, but Paul nodded along. The point being, they were both right."

Just like that, the two fell into a bit of an awkward silence as Joe's mind once again was unable to stop thinking about Raw and about what Paul had said to him after the show went off the air. It was actually really good advice, something Joe wasn't exactly accustomed to. At least, as far as it coming from the boss was concerned.

It wasn't that they were enemies, butting heads at every turn like Paul and Jon, but they weren't close either, not in the way Colby was with the man he had always considered one of his mentors. In fact, they were just kind of neutral toward one another, with their conversations minimal and almost exclusively focused on work. It was very much a strict employer/employee relationship.

But ever since their paths crossed with this championship storyline, the latest in what had previously been nothing more than failed attempts to get Joe over with the crowd, the Samoan found Paul to be a source of wisdom and experience. The man openly and willingly offered his advice and honestly seemed genuine about his concern following the Raw reaction no one, well except for Joe, could have expected.

If Joe hadn't known better he would have thought it was some kind of invasion of the body snatchers sort of deal. This was a different guy. Or maybe, it wasn't. Maybe it was just Joe seeing a different side to him, one that Colby had been exposed to in NXT and always spoke so fondly about.

There really was only one person who could confirm that and fortunately for Joe, he was sitting right next to him.

"Mind if I ask you something?" Joe said, breaking the silence which had perpetrated the car for the past five minutes.

"Sure," Colby replied. "Anything."

Joe nodded his head. "You guys are close right? You and Paul I mean."

Colby bit his lip. He wasn't exactly expecting that. Of all the questions Joe could have asked him, that was probably pretty low on the list. Not that he had a problem answering it however, more that lately he wasn't exactly sure what his relationship was like with Paul. In fact, ever since he went behind the man's back or the way Paul saw it, over his head, to get Vince to agree to his use of the pedigree as a new finisher, things between the two weren't exactly at their best. It also didn't help that with his injury, his rehab and his timetable for return, the two were practically at odds with all of it.

"Define close," Colby responded, deciding now probably wasn't the right time to go into detail with Joe about all of that. After all, this was about Colby getting answers out of him not the other way around.

"You know what I mean," Joe just rolled his eyes. "You always used to talk about the kind of mentor he was to you in NXT. How he guided you and helped you become the superstar you are today. So that means you trust him right? You value his opinion?"

Now that was an entirely different line of questioning and one that Colby felt more equipped to answer.

"I'd kind of be stupid not to," he said after a few seconds. "After all, the guy has been in this business forever and he's quite literally married to it at this point. He knows the ins and outs, the ups and downs. Honestly, he's an asset and if you get on his good side, it's only going to benefit you in the long run. Trust me, I know that all too well. He did make me champion remember?"

"How could I forget?" Joe replied bitterly.

It wasn't that the brass putting the belt on Colby bothered him because it didn't. He was thrilled for his best friend because he knew how hard the man had worked for his spot. Sure it helped that like he said, he was on Paul's good side, but Joe knew that Colby's success was his own.

What bothered him was the fact that it was an 11th hour decision and that Vince opted to pull the rug out from under him just hours before the show began. It had been so quick, he hadn't even had the chance to tell his dad, who had been so proud and so happy thinking it was going to be his son's moment.

What bothered him was that Vince made the decision because he didn't want the show of shows booed off the air. What bothered him was the thought in the back of his mind that maybe just maybe the man would do it again this time around.

"Sorry Colbs, I didn't mean it to come off like that," he apologized, remembering Colby already felt guilty about how everything had gone down that night.

Joe remembered the conversation the two had. Admittedly, he had been unhappy at hearing Vince's decision and Colby wasn't exactly the first person he wanted to talk to about it. But when Joe saw that the younger man wasn't even allowing himself to be excited about his first major title reign, it bothered him. It bothered him that he was the reason Colby wasn't enjoying what should have been the happiest moment of his career.

The only thing he could do was tell Colby it was okay and that it wasn't his fault. That Vince made the decision and that he was truly happy for him. At the very least, he was going to try his best to be. Joe knew Colby still felt like he was stealing that moment away from him, but the two made peace and at the end of the night, he was the first one to give the new champion his props.

"I know you didn't," Colby responded. "But it would have been okay if you did. You have the right to be upset about it but I get the feeling there is more to this."

"What do you mean?" Joe asked, although he already knew exactly what his friend was hinting at.

"You're worried aren't you?" Colby asked carefully as the two pulled into the driveway. He examined the man's demeanor closely. "You're worried that because of last year, what's to stop Vince from pulling the same stunt again? Or maybe even Paul convincing the old man to keep the belt on him."

Joe sighed heavily. "Actually, that last thought hadn't even crossed my mind."

Now it was Colby's turn to sigh as he slammed his head into the steering wheel causing the horn to go off. "Sorry, didn't mean to put that thought in your head. In fact ignore it because it's not going to happen. I mean, it's probably not going to happen. Paul's a nice guy and all but it wouldn't be the first time he decided to put himself over as opposed to one of the talents."

Joe frowned, again causing Colby to realize his mouth had gotten him into trouble.

"Dammit, okay, seriously, don't listen to me," he replied, trying with no success to walk back the comments.

"No," Joe simply replied as he got out of the car. "It's cool. In fact, that's why I'm here. I can always count on you to shoot straight with me, to not hold anything back, to be honest. I think that's what I need right now given there is a lot that I've got to think about. A lot of decisions I'm gonna have to start making real soon."

Colby nodded. "I'll tell ya what. Since it would appear that I got distracted and forgot to make our dinner stop, how about you get comfortable inside and I'll be back in like 20 minutes. That will give you some time to sort through what's going on in that head of yours. Sound good?"

"There's really no need," Joe tried to argue, knowing time alone with his thoughts was the last thing he wanted or needed. "Besides, your hospitality is more than enough. How about I get dinner and you relax. You've already done more than enough for me so let me return the favor."

"Tempting," Colby said. "But no one drives Lucinda but me. Key's under the mat. Like I said, 20 minutes."

Joe just shook his head as Colby pulled out of the driveway. He forgot the weird attachment the man had to his car. It was never an argument he was going to win, not when it came to Lucinda.

-

Fortunately, 20 minutes came a lot quicker than Joe had expected as it seemed in no time Colby was back with the pizza and a six pack of beer in hand.

"There's more in the car should we need it," he explained as he sat his keys down on the table, next to a piece of mail he had just brought in with him, the WWE logo imprinted on the upper left-hand corner.

"What's that?" Joe asked as his attention immediately went to the envelope.

Colby shrugged as he began to open it. "Ah yup," he said, confirming what he had already figured it to be. "It's from Carrano, about my new contract. They want me to go over it and see if the terms are good. Judging from the initial conversation Mark and I had though, I don't see why I wouldn't be signing on for another three years. How bout you? Did you two have that talk yet? I bet they're offering you something crazy good."

Joe took a deep breath. "Actually Colbs, we haven't. I've been ducking his calls."

Colby looked confused. "Ducking his calls? Why? You and I both know those contracts we all inked back when the Shield came up are almost expired. And dude, you're the top babyface. There's no reason you won't be able to get exactly what you want."

The older man looked at his friend, carefully considering his next words and if he was really ready to have the conversation he had been having with himself a lot over the past few weeks. The one where he had to decide if he wanted that new contract or if he wanted to just leave the WWE behind. Right now, his mind was probably 50/50.

"What if I don't know what I want?" Joe questioned.

"I'm sure both sides can agree on something," Colby replied.

"No Colbs, I meant, what if WWE isn't what I want?" he asked again.

"Oh," Colby said as he digested the news. "I knew things were bad and you were going through a rough patch with the fans and the booking and all, but dude I didn't know it was that bad that you were thinking about quitting, about walking away."

Joe shrugged. "Yeah," he replied thickly. "But, it doesn't matter because I can't quit. I shouldn't even be thinking about it. Seriously, what would my dad think? What would Dwayne say if I quit after he invested all that time in trying to help get me over? It's not his fault it didn't work but what would that say about how I received his efforts? And what about Jon and Josh (Jimmy and Jey Uso)? This job, this is my family business. How could I turn my back on that, on them? So for all that talk, I'm never going to be able to away even if I wanted to and honestly, I'm not sure I do. I just don't want to make a decision in the heat of the moment. I think Paul was right about that."

Colby wasn't sure what to say or what if anything there was he could do to try to help Joe through this. He had never seen the man seem so vulnerable, so lost. But there he was talking about quitting. Never in Colby's wildest imagination would he ever had thought he would have heard those words come out of Joe's mouth.

The fans may not have wanted to acknowledge it or believe it, but WWE was everything to Joe. He gave his blood and sweat and tears as much as Colby did himself, as much as Jon, as much as most of the guys in the back. And in a lot of ways, he gave it more than them because Joe had a legacy to live up to and constantly felt like he had something to prove. Colby knew this firsthand. He spent close to two years working with him as closely as two wrestlers could. He knew the dedication, the effort, the passion. He knew everything Joe put into wanting to be the best and desperately wanting to get the acceptance from the fans.

Colby knew they booed him because they didn't see him the way he and Jon did, the way Vince did. That was why he made the decision to elevate Joe to the top of the card. It was because he saw the commitment he had to the business, to making his family proud, to being the next name in a line of success stories to come out of the best dynasty the wrestling world had ever known.

The fact that the fans couldn't see that, the fact that they felt the need to get on him about every little thing infuriated Colby. And as it seemed, had broken Joe. Because him even entertaining not signing on the dotted line spoke volumes.

"At the end of the day, you don't do this for them," Colby responded, finally finding what he hoped would be the right words. "Not for the fans, not for the guys in the back, not for the Wild Samoans. You do this for you. And as much as I would miss the hell out of you if you left, you have to do what you need to do, what makes you happy. Because you don't want to be miserable. You don't want to go through your career acting the way I was that night at the Slammys. So I guess what I'm saying is, I'm not going to try to convince you to stay if that's not what you want. But if it is, I'll continue to be your number one supporter and you can believe that."

"You and Paul have seriously been spending too much time together because honestly, that's part of the same speech he gave me," Joe replied. "I mean not the part about the Slammys or being my number one supporter but about having to do this for myself. I think you're both right. Maybe this break is just what I need, a chance to clear my head, to really mull my options. Maybe I'll finally stop dwelling on all of this shit and just let it go."

"I think that's best," Colby said as he patted his friend on the shoulder. "Wow, all that deep stuff and we didn't even need to open the brews. Guess you needed to talk this out more than you thought."

Joe smiled. "Guess so. And hey, for what it's worth, you're really easy to talk to. Like, didn't even push and it just came out. Jon doesn't even know any of this yet although I guess I should tell him at some point."

"Make your decision first," Colby said as he passed Joe an open beer and took one for himself. "Because you and I both know that he's going to try to talk you into staying no matter what."

"You have a point there," Joe conceded. "You know he's gonna be pissed though when he finds out I told you first."

Colby just smirked. "I'll try not to rub it in too much the next time I see him as long as you promise me something."

"Oh and what's that?" Joe asked.

"Promise me that you will consider everything when you make this decision," Colby began. "Not just last night or last week or last month. Promise me you'll go over your whole career with a fine toothed comb, that you'll consider what you're accomplished and what you still want to accomplish. Leave no stone unturned and have no regrets. Deal?"

There was a reason Joe didn't hide his feelings and what was weighing on him from Colby. It was because of comments like that. Not only did the man not pull punches when it came to his opinion on something but he was a hell of an advice giver as well. And more than that, he was a friend and all he wanted was to put Joe's needs first.

"Deal," he replied. He owed Colby that much but more importantly he owed it to himself.

A/N - Sorry it took me forever to update this but hopefully the brotherly fluff makes up for it ;) I've just been so busy and yeah. But recent inspiration struck and I've had this kind of floating around my head and half written on my computer for about a month or so and I just wanted to finish it. Next chapter is Smackdown, and I hope I get a chance to write it soon! As always, I'd love to get your thoughts!