Two Years Later
"Have I ever told you guys how much I hate dresses?" Stephanie grumbled to Trish, Lilian, Torrie, and Lita, tugging at her bridesmaid dress. "When I get married, all of you are going to wear pantsuits," she added, swiping at the material of the dress as an added emphasis.
Lita laughed, shaking her head as she looked once again at the golden band encircling her finger. "Steph, you can do whatever you want for your wedding, but I think we did a good job picking out nice, comfy dresses."
"Yeah, I know," Stephanie said, "I just really hate dressing up."
The girls joined in the laughter, patiently waiting for the guests to finish seating at Lita and Shawn's reception so the wedding party could make their way into the room for the reception to begin. "I can't believe you and Shawn are finally married," Lilian said with a shake of her head. "You look so beautiful, Li!"
Lita smiled at her friend, nodding her agreement. "I can't believe it either," Lita replied. "And thanks. You look awesome too, Lil."
"Thanks," Lilian said with a small blush. She felt awesome, too. It had taken her only a little bit of time to regain the weight she had lost while she was married to John, but she finally gained it back. Now, she felt healthier and more feminine. She glanced down at the silky purple dress, twirling a little so she could admire how the fabric clung to her curves.
"So, who here isn't surprised that it took Lilian less that three minutes into the ceremony to start bawling her eyes out?" Trish asked, a sly smile spreading on her face when Lilian lightly punched her arm.
"Shut up!" Lilian said with a laugh. "Weddings make me cry!"
"Honey, Homeward Bound makes you cry," Steph pointed out, ducking when Lilian threatened to throw her bouquet of flowers at the owner of WWE. Lilian joined in the ensuing laughter, though, knowing it was true that she was a sucker for sappy moments.
"Ladies, we are ready to introduce you now," the DJ said, walking away quickly so he could let the guys know as well. After a few moments, the DJ got on the microphone. "Good evening, ladies and gentleman!" he said, drawing cheers from the crowd of guests. "Welcome to the wedding reception of Mr. and Mrs. Michaels. Before we get to the fun, I'm going to introduce the wedding party." He paused, hitting a button so 'Welcome to the Jungle' by Guns and Roses began playing.
"First up, we have Maid of Honor Stephanie McMahon and Best Man Chris Benoit!" The guests cheered as Stephanie and Chris walked out of separate doors, meeting in the center of the hall to walk to the main table together. Chris and Stephanie grinned, smiling at onlookers as they made the walk up to the table, standing.
"Next, please welcome Bridesmaid Torrie Wilson and Groomsman Billy Kidman!" The crowd cheered again.
"Next, we have Bridesmaid Trish Stratus and Groomsman Ray Dudley!" Lilian stood with Lita, nearly laughing at the beaming look Trish gave an uncomfortable looking Bubba Ray, who looked like he wanted to be anywhere other than the reception hall wearing a tuxedo.
"And the final couple, Bridesmaid Lilian Garcia and Groomsman Rob Van Dam!" Lilian nearly groaned when the DJ said Rob's name, knowing before he even did it that Rob wouldn't be able to resist pointing to himself along with the DJ saying his name, drawing a laugh from the crowd. Lilian met up with Rob, taking his elbow when he offered it, smiling sheepishly at her. The two walked up the aisle, grinning at the onlookers who were cheering them on.
"And finally, for the first time in public, Mr. and Mrs. Shawn Michaels!" The guests stood up, cheering Lita and Shawn on as they made their way up the aisle together, stopping in the middle of the dance floor to share their first dance as a married couple.
Lilian smiled, tears welling in her eyes when Shawn and Lita embraced, the looks in their eyes showing how in love they were in with each other. She felt Rob grip her hand lightly, holding her hand as they watched Lita and Shawn slowly sway to the music for several minutes, speaking softly to each other, obviously sharing a personal moment among 200 of their closest friends and family.
Finally, the song was over, Lilian brushing away tears by this time. "All right, folks!" the DJ said, flicking the music to something more upbeat. "Now let's have some fun!"
Two hours later, feeling the need for some fresh air, Lilian sat outside under a tree, staring up at the stars as she thought. She didn't even flinch when she felt someone walking up the pathway towards her, knowing that it was Rob.
"Hey, you," Rob said softly, settling down next to Lilian, taking her hand in his and kissing it gently. "Pretty night out, huh?"
"It's beautiful," Lilian agreed. "I can see why Lita and Shawn love Texas so much."
Rob nodded in agreement, then sighed, unbuttoning the second button of his shirt. The tie had long ago been abandoned, along with the top button of the shirt.
"What's wrong, baby?" Lilian asked, noticing how agitated and nervous Rob suddenly looked. "You okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," Rob said, wiping a hand over his brow. "It's just…"
"What's wrong, Rob? You know you can talk to me," Lilian said worriedly.
"That's just it, Lil. I can talk to you about everything, and you can talk to me about everything. It's just that… I love you with all my heart, Lilian, you know that, right?" Rob asked, standing up and pulling Lilian up with him.
"Of course, Rob. I love you, too," Lilian replied, somewhat confused.
Rob took a deep breath, chuckling slightly at how nervous he sounded. "Look, Lil, what I'm trying to say is this. These past two years have been simply amazing. I love having you as a girlfriend, and I think we are ready to take our relationship to the next level." With another deep, nervous breath, he reached into his pocket, pulling out a black velvet box. Lilian covered her mouth with her hand, tears shining in her eyes when she finally realized why Rob was so nervous. Rob bent down on one knee, opening the box and holding it up to Lilian.
"Lilian Garcia, I love you so much. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?" Rob asked, taking the ring out of the box and sliding it onto Lilian's left ring finger.
Lilian smiled through her tears, looking down at the simple yet beautiful ring that Rob had proposed to her with. It was a simple gold band with a large diamond surrounded by four smaller rubies. Seeing the nervous look on Rob's face, she smiled down at him, murmuring one word that would change both of their lives, to lead them to yet another new beginning.
"Yes."
Finished.
Wow.
Two years, six months, and eight days after posting the first chapter to New Beginnings, it's finally done. 25,000 plus words, 18 chapters, and many reviews later, and it's over. NB has been my longest fic, both in word count and in chapter count.
This fic is one that meant a lot to me. When I began it, I was a scared sophomore in college, simply using any free time I had to write fanfiction. Now, I am a (semi)mature graduate and looking for a teaching job. In writing this, I wanted to give the readers something that was suspenseful yet interesting. I wanted the characters to be ones that you could emphasize with, support, love or hate. I hope that everyone who read this felt that way, cause I sure hated John and Sable while I was writing it.
I hope that everything made sense. I tried to explain my reasoning and give good details for the readers since this was set kinda in an AU setting. Most of all, however, I hope you enjoyed this story. It meant a lot to me while I was writing it, and it always remained in the back of my mind during long nights when I was trying to finish papers or my student teaching portfolio (If there are any education majors reading this, trust me when I say it's not the smartest idea to wait until the night before your teaching portfolio is due to do the editing! Twenty-four hours of no sleep and two trips to Wal-Mart are not a fun way to spend a Wednesday/Thursday night/morning).
Thank you to everyone who reviewed, especially Kristen, start-a-revolution, turquoisejem, losingmymind2, and Katy. You guys made me want to continue. All of your thoughts and reviews made me happy, even though Katy often threatened to harm me and torture me. LoL Trust me, however, when I say that all of your feedback is very appreciated. It means a lot to me as a writer, as I'm sure many of you understand. So thanks.
Take care of yourselves. And to quote our favorite blonde ring announcer, "Rock on!"