Thanks again to all who subscribed, favourited, read, left comments etc. You guys always brighten my day! Here is the last chapter, a collection of glimpses into the future. It's sickeningly sweet if I do say so myself.

If anyone is curious/interested, in terms of future writing, I may or may not be starting either a Finn Balor story or an Adam Cole story in the future. I still have to figure out specifics. I'm debating on doing one-shots, too. We'll see.

XXXXXXXXXX

In the end, it was what they wanted.

In the end, it took two years. Two years spent at the Lopez house for Christmas and the Shangri-La Hotel in Vancouver for New Year's. Two years spent under the leadership of Mark Timmins at the Political Observer, writing over 300 columns and making TV appearances on news networks, including a viral video of Yara laying the verbal smack down on Nigel Farage. Two years of travelling within the United States and Europe to see Colby wrestle and become champion once again. Two years of hard work, dedication, determination, bliss, fights, makeups, rental cars, flights, hotel rooms, news conferences, speaking engagements, autograph signings, before one morning, still in bed after a week of travelling together, Colby proposed to Yara with a 1.5 carat oval diamond ring, to which, after many tears and kisses, she gave him a resounding yes.


Colby and Yara stood beside each other, holding hands, as Mr. Bergevin, a Justice of the Peace, with his white beard and crisp cream slacks, recited the matrimonial vows for them to repeat on a sunny spring day at Vancouver City Hall. Yara wore a modern high-waist white silk organza skirt and a silver bullion, pearl, and silk thread hand embroidered crop top by Ralph and Russo. Colby wore a custom-fitted single-breasted grey Burberry suit. Behind Colby and Yara, Rami and Danielle stood proudly as witnesses. Only 12 people were invited to the ceremony and reception, the 12 most important people in Colby and Yara's lives: Holly and Bob, Brandon and Ashley, Marek and his wife and two sons, Rami, Claudio, Danielle, and her boyfriend Anthony.

"Do you, Colby, take Yara to be your partner for life? Do you promise to walk by her side forever, and to love, help, and encourage her in all she does? Do you promise to take time to talk with her, to listen to her, and to care for her? Will you share her laughter, and her tears, as her partner, lover, and best friend? Do you take her as your lawfully wedded wife for now and forevermore?"

"I do."

"And do you, Yara, take Colby to be your partner for life? Do you promise to walk by his side forever, and to love, help, and encourage him in all he does? Do you promise to take time to talk with him, to listen to him, and to care for him? Will you share his laughter, and his tears, as his partner, lover, and best friend? Do you take him as your lawfully wedded husband for now and forevermore?"

"I do."

"And now, please seal your promises with these rings, the symbol of your life shared together." Mr. Bergevin brought forward the rings Colby and Yara had picked out, the delicate bands shining in the light.

"Yara, this ring I give as a token and pledge, as a sign of my love and devotion. With this ring, I thee wed," Colby repeated after Mr. Bergevin, slipping the band onto her ring finger.

"Colby, this ring I give as a token and pledge, as a sign of my love and devotion. With this ring, I thee wed," Yara smiled, pushing Colby's band past his knuckles.

Mr. Bergevin smiled at the both of them. "Colby, Yara, by the power vested in me, I now pronounce you married. You may kiss."


In the end, it was Colby and Yara building a house in Bettendorf, just outside of Davenport, with the help of his parents. Months of designing floor plans, choosing hardwood floors, kitchen backsplashes, wainscoting patterns, countertop depths, shingles, and more before it's completion in the late fall.

In the end, after three years of trying to conceive, Yara finally became pregnant. A pregnancy that would test Yara's health so seriously was not a pregnancy Colby had thought about, but it nonetheless became a scary reality. It began with hyperemesis gravidarum, followed by the development of anemia, which led to the pregnancy being classified as high risk.


In the locker room, after he finished showering and changing after his main event match, Colby wasn't too surprised to see his mother's name flash across his phone screen as she called him. She liked to call him after every pay-per-view to see how he was feeling and how he thought the match went.

"Hey mom," he said cheerily into the phone, despite his feeling of exhaustion.

"Colby."

"How'd you like the pay-per-view?" he asked.

"Colby…I'm going to tell you something but I don't want you to freak out, okay?"

Colby stopped any movements he was making. "What's wrong?"

"Yara fainted earlier. I'm in the hospital with her right now."

"WHAT?!"

"She's okay, Colby. We were grocery shopping and all of the sudden she just started to feel nauseous. She hit her head on the floor pretty bad but she's okay. She -"

"I'm on my way out right now."

"Colby, you're in LA -"

"And I'm taking the next flight out to Davenport. Can I talk to her?"

"She's sleeping right now, sweetie. But it'll be a nice surprise for her when you're here."

"Why didn't you call me earlier?"

"Yara wouldn't let me call you. She knew you'd ditch everything – and if you didn't, that your head wouldn't be in the match properly."

Colby was half-angry, half-amused. "I'll see you in a couple of hours, mom. I'm on my way. When Yara wakes up tell her I love her."

The next morning, after a new round of tests had been administered, Colby ran into the hospital and had demanded to see his wife. He knew he had to remain calm for her sake, and show, at least externally, that he wasn't freaking out, but on the inside, he was totally freaking out. He had been the entire time – the taxi ride to the airport from the arena, the plane ride back home, the next taxi ride from the airport to the hospital.

When he finally saw her, she was hooked up the IV monitors, like he had expected. She looked wide-awake and happy to see him. He gave her a kiss before sitting on the side of the bed. The flimsy hospital gown made her virtually shapeless, but Colby could still see her four-month baby bump protruding out. He placed a protective hand over it, and she placed her hand over his.
"They're classifying it as a risky pregnancy," she told him calmly. "As if the hyperemesis gravidarum wasn't enough, I have anemia now."

"Anemia? Seriously?"

Yara nodded her head. "They'll come in here and explain this all to you too. I have to take it easy apparently. Make sure I'm eating well, getting all my vitamins -"

"You always do."

"I know -"

"So then why is this happening? Why do you keep getting sick?" his voice cracked. "Why…why…"

"Hey," Yara sat up, grabbing his face and wiping the tears that began to fall. "There's nothing to be worried about, okay? This happens in a lot of pregnancies."

"But why does it have to happen to you? Why does it have to happen to us?" he asked, knowing the questions were unanswerable. "I don't understand. We did everything by the book. Sure, we had trouble conceiving, but we got there. You got pregnant. And you took your pre-natal vitamins, and you've been to the doctor already more than any other pregnant woman I've ever known, and -"

"Shhhhh," Yara placed a finger on Colby's lips as he rambled. She wiped a few remaining tears from his cheeks. "Are you scared?"

"I'm fucking terrified, Yara."

"It's all going to be okay," she assured him. "Everything is going to be okay."


Bouts of doctor-ordered bed rest could only help so much. Holly had stepped up when Colby was unavailable due to traveling, staying at the house and keeping an eye on Yara. Those bouts of bed rest were later followed by symptoms of preeclampsia in the final weeks, leading Yara to be put in the hospital and deliver at 38 weeks.

Labour and delivery were long and painful. The option for a natural birth went flying out the window when the symptoms of preeclampsia were discovered. After the trouble, their child came into the world screaming and crying her lungs out. Madeleine Noor Lopez was born at 4:53am, weighing 7lbs, 13oz. The second she was placed in Colby's arms, he was in love.


Colby thought about what it would be like to hold his child for the first time. He knew it would feel overwhelming; he knew it would feel incredible. He tried to listen to people when they told him it would change his life forever. But now, in the moment, cradling Madeleine in his arms, rocking her back and forth, he was completely dumb-founded. He was in complete awe of the new life in his arms – the life he helped create. He felt terrified and exhilarated all at once. After such a long time of waiting to get pregnant, and after such a difficult pregnancy, she was finally here.

He looked over to Yara, who was watching him as she sat recuperating in the bed. "She's perfect," he whispered. "Absolutely perfect."

"I know," Yara smiled softly.

Colby looked at the nurse who had been watching him with a smile on her face. "How do I look?" he asked, looking for reassurance.

The nurse smiled at him. "Scared shitless – like a new father," she said. "Would you two like me to call in the grandparents?"

"Yes please. They're probably dying out there," Yara replied.

Holly was crying before she had even entered the room. She came in with her hands on her mouth in a prayer position, Bob's arm draped across her shoulder consolingly. When she caught eyes with her son holding his daughter – her first granddaughter – she lost it. Tears were streaming down her face and she couldn't wipe them away fast enough.

"Oh look at her," Holly cooed as she looked at Madeleine in Colby's arms. "What a precious angel she is. Look how beautiful she is."

"You wanna hold her, grandma?"

Holly shook her head, a new stream of tears flowing now that Colby had referred to her as grandma. "Let me stop being a blubbering, crying mess first. Oh, just look how precious she is Bob. Look."

Colby eyed his step-dad, whose eyes had suddenly glossed over in tears. "Grandpa?"

Bob reached out his arms, and Colby placed Madeleine in his arms carefully, making sure her head was supported at all times. Bob began to rock her back and forth as she fussed slightly at the change of position. "Hi Madeleine," he whispered. "I'm Grandpa. Hello. Welcome to the family, sweetheart. We love you."

Colby smiled, sitting back on the edge of the bed where Yara was. He grabbed her hand and held it in his tenderly. "How are you feeling?"

Yara gave him a tired smile. "Like I could do this ten more times."

Colby cackled loudly at Yara's comment, causing her to laugh too. His parents looked over, amused looks on their faces. "Let's get to know Madeleine first, then we'll start thinking about the other nine," Colby replied.


Yara could have had nine more but the doctor's said no to even one. It was too risky, too dangerous for Yara's health. In his selfishness Colby admitted that he didn't want to see Yara go through any more health problems, that he wouldn't be able to handle seeing her even more sick than she was during the first pregnancy; God forbid something happened to her, or their child, he would never be able to live with himself. With a heavy heart Yara came to terms that she wouldn't be able to have more children with Colby. With Madeleine, however, she grew to realize that their small family was all she ever needed.


Yara watched with a smile on her face as Madeleine sat in the make-up chair, getting her hair pinned back by one of the WWE's hairstylists. Danielle had taken Madeleine on an "adventure" backstage, giving Yara a break to chat and catch up with some of the Superstars. Yara happened upon them as the hairstylist was trying to brush through Madeleine's thick curls.

Four-year-old Madeleine had a giant smile on her face as she felt the bobby pins being placed into her hair. "Mommy, loooook!" she swung her legs excitedly, unable to stay still from excitement. "Does it look nice, mommy?"

"It looks beautiful."

"Can you do this in my hair for school?"

"Of course I can Lennie," Yara said, using the nickname she and Colby had adopted for her.

Madeleine looked over to Danielle with an even wider smile. "Does it look nice, Aunt D?"

"It looks perfect," Danielle smiled. "I think Daddy's gonna love it!"

Madeleine looked back towards her mother. "Are we going to see Daddy before he wrestles?"

"Of course we are," Yara said. "Since we have to be in the crowd soon, we better go find him."

"Well you're lucky you're all done!" the hairstylist patted Madeleine's shoulder. "I hope Daddy likes you hair Madeleine! Have fun tonight!"

Wandering through backstage, Yara and Madeleine found Colby talking with a script supervisor about the interview/promo he had to cut before his match that night. He didn't notice them – too engrossed in the script he was reading – so Yara encouraged Madeleine to run up to him and grab his legs to surprise him. She did just that, and Colby half turned around, knowing exactly who it was. The script supervisor laughed and finished their conversation before walking off. Colby grabbed Madeleine and picked her up, holding her in his arms.

"What are you up to, princess?" Colby asked.

"Daddy! Do you like my hair? Aunt D took me to the nice hairstylist lady and she did it for me!"

"I love it," Colby smiled.

"Mommy said she is going to do it for me when I go back to school in September!"

"Where *is* your mom, Lennie?"

"She's right behind you, silly!"

At that moment, Yara began to poke Colby's back. He spun around to see her, a smile on his face. "How are you doing, momma?"

"Good," she smiled. "I'm all caught up with Claudio and Rami, which is nice."

"Daddy," Madeleine interrupted their conversation. "Are you going to win tonight?"

"Lennie, you know I can't tell you," Colby smirked.

"But Daaaaaddddyyyyyy!"

"But Leeeennnnniiiiieeeee!"

Madeleine pouted. "You know I won't tell anybody ever again. Not like last time."

Colby couldn't help but giggle at what Madeleine was referencing. The reason why he didn't tell her the outcome of any of his matches anymore was because she had blurted it out once to the people she sat beside in the front row. "That's my Daddy – did you know he is going to win tonight? He told me!" It didn't get far – only about the ten people surrounding them really heard her – but that didn't stop them from starting annoying chants, which were caught on camera, and trying to get more information out of a three year old.

"Don't you want to be surprised?" he asked her. "If Daddy wins it will be a nice surprise."

Madeleine shrugged her shoulders. "I guess so."

"Are we still gonna get ice cream tomorrow?" Colby wiggled his eyebrows.

Madeleine's eyes lit up at the mention of ice cream. "YES!" she said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. It was their tradition, after all, and they had to follow tradition.

"Good, cause I'm already thinking about it."

"Is the ice cream gonna make you slower, though?" Madeleine asked innocently.

"You're starting to sound too much like Mommy," Colby smirked, looking over at Yara who was trying to supress her laugh. "Speaking of, you two better get going. I'm wrestling in fifteen minutes." He looked back at Madeleine. "Give Daddy a good luck kiss before you leave," he said, turning his cheek. Madeleine kissed his cheek, smiling and giggling when he gave her a big kiss on her cheek too. "Daddy loves you, Madeleine."

"I love you too Daddy."


In the end, Yara got her happily ever after. It almost made her sick sometimes, to sit down and think about how far her life had come since that fateful day she walked out of her parent's house and escaped to New York; how far her life had come since that night in the Brookfield Ballroom, where she met Colby Lopez and took him out for ice cream and Nino's pizza. If she had been told, at any point in her life, that she would be living in Iowa with her own family, married to a wrestler, she wouldn't have been able to stop laughing. Now, it was all she could imagine for herself; all she could ever want.

Colby, too, got his happily ever after, after all. When he sits down to think about his life, he always laughs to himself, thinking it too sickeningly sweet of an outcome – that's when shivers run up his spine, since he realizes how lucky he is. A string of failed relationships, an embarrassing nude photos scandal, all leading to the one relationship that was actually, truly worth it; one that he wanted more than any other to work. And it did – he had a successful marriage and a daughter to complete him. He couldn't ask for anything more.


It had been almost twenty minutes since Colby began his interview with the writer from Sports Illustrated. It being Wrestlemania weekend, Colby had a slew of interviews, but he always saved his energy for Sports Illustrated because he knew it was an international publication, which meant a lot of people would end up reading whatever the writer published. The interview was going well so far, so Colby was confident a good article would come out of this.

"So, Colby, can you give us your favourite memory?" the interviewer asked.

Colby blanked. "You mean, like, in wrestling, or in general?"

"Let's go with both," the interviewer smiled.

Colby thought about all he had accomplished up to this point. It was hard to pinpoint one thing. "The wrestling one is hard. I'm lucky to be able to choose from so many, to be completely honest. Cashing in Money in the Bank at Wrestlemania is there, I think, just because it made history since it had never been done before."

"And in general?"

Colby didn't even have to think about this one. "Ah, it happened the other day actually. I had the day off and I spent the entire day with my wife and my daughter. We woke up, had a home-cooked breakfast, and had a day of fun in Chicago. At night, we went to see a performance at the Joffrey Ballet in Chicago, and my daughter could not have been more excited. She *loves* the ballet – she's five, and her mind is set on being a ballerina when she grows up. After all of the excitement of the day, she ended up KO-ed in my arms. I have this amazing memory of my daughter sleeping on my chest in pink tights and a tutu and…yeah…it's…" Colby took a moment to collect himself. "If Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind ever came true, that's the one memory I hope they never wipe from my mind. It's my favourite memory of all time, even more so than cashing in, or becoming champion. That's it."