"Mr. DiBiase…sir? Excuse me. Mr. DiBiase?"

Ted frowned and turned his neck, wincing in immediate pain. It was sore. In fact, he was sore all over. In addition to hurting, he was lost deep in thought. Everything was so surreal that for a brief few moments, he had forgotten where he was.

"Huh?"

"Shift change, darling," a friendly nurse smiled at him. "I have to go take Report but I will be back to check on you soon. Are you okay? Do you need anything?"

Ted swallowed hard. His throat was so dry.

"Um…do you know when they are gonna let me get out of here?" he asked, struggling to find a comfortable position in the bed.

"Looks like you'll be here no more than 24 more hours. The doctor just wants to keep you for observation. I should no more soon after I look at your chart."

"Okay," he cleared his throat. "Um, thanks."

She left the door slightly ajar. 24 hours more to go. Actually, a lot had happened in the last 24 hours. He wished his memory had been foggy enough to forget but in fact, it was just the opposite. Every second of every detail was alive and vivid in his mind. The scenes played over and over again like a movie. He remembered being alone in his small Tampa apartment. Ryland had showed up. He had been nervous but happy to see her. Their last time together had ended badly and he had been hoping to make amends. The only way things would ever be okay was if she came to her senses and held up her end of the bargain. He could only hope that was the reason for her visit but in fact she had only drop by to inform him that they were over and she was leaving Florida…for good.

It was the last thing he wanted to hear but truth be told, it wasn't exactly shocking news. Their happiness was too good to be true and in a way it seemed like she was afraid of it. At times Ryland let her own fears sabotage everything. And at that moment, at the end of her revelation, simply put, he'd had enough. He was not going to beg her and he was determined not to try to reason with her. What was the point anymore? Kris and his mother had gotten to her but if Ryland was not willing to at least meet him half way and stand strong with him, what the hell was he even trying to fight for?

So he turned back to a familiar friend, one that had gotten him in some trouble a time or two…or ten. Drinking. He drank for several reasons. He drank to cope, he drank to forget, he drank to sleep, he drank to have fun, he drank to get drunk. On this occasion, he just needed an escape. He did not want to deal with lectures from his parents about his failures. He didn't want to have to explain to his wife for the hundredth time what they both already knew…their marriage was over. He didn't want to get in that FCW ring another night knowing he belonged on television for RAW or Smackdown. He didn't want to know what was going to happen knowing that it had been incorrectly assumed that he was sleeping with Maryse Ouelette. And he did not want to watch Ryland Crafton walk away from him and how they felt about each and never return. It was all too much.

The beer just was not cutting it and he decided to make an impromptu trip to the local liquor store. He found some alcohol stashed in his truck and he drank it on the way. What happened after that was a matter of perception. It was true that he momentarily lost control of his vehicle. He could have possibly avoided the guard rail. It wasn't a death wish or blatant suicide attempt. Maybe it was a cry for help. Ted himself wasn't sure. The only thing he was sure of, was that he had made his situation worse and not better. After the accident, he had remained conscious and thankfully no one else had been involved or hurt. He had been able to move the truck and get himself some help. Now he was stuck in a hospital battered, bruised, and all alone. But not for long.

"Oh my God!"

The door swung open and in entered Ted Sr. and Melanie. His mother was already in tears before she even got in the room. Immediately she embraced her son, apologizing as he whimpered underneath her touch.

"I'm okay, Mom."

"You don't look okay, baby. You don't sound okay."

"It's just a couple of bruises and scrapes."

"You scared your mother and me half to death."

"I'm sorry, Dad."

"We didn't know what to think," his mother chimed in. "The call came and your father wasn't home. I was shaking so bad when I could not get in touch with him at work. I called Ryland and she was a godsend. She came over and helped me and…"

"Ryland is still here?" Ted asked with surprise.

Melanie frowned.

"Yes. Where else would she be?"

"Nothing. I mean, I thought…never mind."

He felt his heart skip. It was the day she was supposed to be secretly leaving town. She had heard about his accident and stayed. Ryland had stayed for him. She still did love him.

"Oh Teddy," Melanie gingerly ruffled his hair. "What happened, honey?"

He didn't know what to say. Ted did not want to lie but then again, it was so hard to tell the truth. He was ashamed of what he had done and he did not want to disappoint them anymore than he already had.

"It, it was an accident. I hit a rail, no big deal."

"You should have waited for an ambulance."

"I was okay."

Sr. had stood in the background, stern faced, arms crossed. Finally he spoke.

"Where is your truck, son?"

"Back at my apartment."

"Were there any police?"

"No sir."

The father bit his lip in dreaded anticipation of the answer to his next question.

"Were you drinking again?"

Ted looked down.

"I…"

"Boy, don't you dare lie to us."

"Yes," Ted conceded in a voice, barely heard above a whisper. "I had something to drink beforehand."

The older DiBiase had had it.

"I just don't understand you, this intent you have on ruining your career, your whole life."

"Ted," Melanie tried to intervene and stop her husband.

"No, Melanie. Stop babying him. Stop trying to protect him. It obviously has not worked thus far. It hasn't helped him grow up and be a man. It hasn't helped him be responsible and make good choices. It hasn't furthered his career and we are absolutely certain that it did nothing to make him a better husband."

"Ted!"

"Dad, come on," Ted Jr. muttered.

"I want to know. Where were you going to or coming from last night? And why were you drinking and driving?"

"I, I don't know. I was just out, okay? I was just going for a drive and…"

"I am so ashamed of you," he looked his son dead in the eyes.

"Don't say that," Melanie begged. "Please. Both of you."

"No, Mom," the junior Ted's jaw tightened. "Let him say what he feels."

"He doesn't mean it."

"Yes he does."

"No, he doesn't. He is just upset and you are not well and now is not the time and the place to have this discussion. And Ted, I love you, but I will not sit here and let you talk to my, our, son like this. This conversation needs to end before things are said that cannot be taken back."

The older man was not deterred.

"I don't understand what is going on with you. I have bent over backwards to save your career. I have done everything short of throwing myself at Vince's feet."

His son, gave a sarcastic and disheartened chuckle in spite of the situation.

"Well, it's nice to know you believe in my talent so much. That feels good, Dad, real good to know I made it because of our last name."

"Don't you dare sit in that bed and think you deserve pity."

"Do you have any idea, Dad, how hard I worked?"

"You used to. But something happen. I don't know, son, you tell me. It's like you gave up. But you are here in Tampa, in FCW because of you…not because of me. And I can't do anymore to help you. I can't keep saving you. It is time for you to step up, son. Now you were doing real well there for a while. I saw the improvement. Everybody saw it. But something happened."

"I don't know…"

"Yes, you do."

"Dad…"

"You do. If you ever want a chance at a good life, you better straighten up, boy. Time is running out. Now Vince is calling people back to the roster soon."

"When?"

"I said soon. Could be a few days, could be a few weeks. Ted, if your name is not on that list, I am afraid the next list it will be on will be the one for the cuts."

"Dad…"

"You need to quit drowning your problems at the bottom of some bottle and you need to work on saving your career and your marriage. You know you were raised better than to be an adulterer…"

"Dad!"

Tensions were rising just as Melanie had predicted but an interruption came with a small knock at the door. All eyes turned forward and there was Kris.

"I, um, I just came by to check on you to see if you were alright," she said in a quiet voice.

Her eyes met her husband's and it took everything she had to not break down right then and there.

"I'm okay," he tried to nod. "Thanks for coming. You didn't have to do that."

"I know. I wanted to."

There was a heavy silence that loomed.

"We should leave them be, Melanie," the elder Ted suggested. "He needs to spend time with his wife."

The parents left the room and Kris cautiously approached the bed.

"How, how bad is it?"

"Nothing is broken. I think they're just checking me out to make sure there is no internal bleeding or anything. I'm okay."

She nodded.

"I'm glad. You were lucky."

"Yeah," he looked away. "Lucky."

"So you will be getting out soon?"

"I think so. Just waiting for the doctor to tell the nurse. Probably tomorrow they said."

She nervously played with her hands. She was still wearing her wedding ring.

"If you need help…I mean, if you want me to take care of you, I could. I can."

"Kris…"

"I'm a nurse."

"Kris."

"I love you, Ted," she began to cry. "You're still my husband. And all I want to do is help. I just want you to be okay. I want to take care of you. I am glad your injuries aren't worse than they are but when I heard you were involved in an accident in the first place…God, Ted, it scared me to death. I was just hoping, praying you were okay. That's all I could think about, than and getting to you. I, I just want to be close to you."

She dissolved into a fit of tears and sobs and all he could do was hold her. Kris was in his arms and though he truly felt for her in that moment, it was Ryland who was in his thoughts. She was still in town. She had heard about his accident and because of it, she had not left, she had not gone back to Ohio. That had to mean something. But the reality hit like a fist as he felt his wife whimpering and quivering next to him. He took a deep breath that hurt like hell. Would Ryland come back to him? And how in the hell had he managed to make an even bigger mess of his life?