Chapter 25

A year passed since Stuart, Heath, David and Windham were all sentenced to life in prison for the kidnapping, rape, assault and attempted murder of Riley Jade Morris. The evidence was pretty straightforward and, with the help of Linda McMahon's attorney, none of the men had a prayer. They had a chance at getting out on parole once they were around the age of eighty, but their chances were very slim.

Riley did have to testify on the stand against them at seven months pregnant, so all of them knew she was pregnant by one of them. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure that out, but Riley didn't care, already having the family picked out that would adopt the baby. The men didn't have a chance to question her about the pregnancy, especially after Riley poured her heart and a lot of tears out on the stand, the pain of reliving what they did to her almost too much for the judge to handle.

John was also there at the trial and testified, not leaving any details out, including the night he found Riley in her and Stuart's hotel room, raped and beaten severely. Riley couldn't believe John's testimony and felt mortified, though deep down she knew it had to be said. Linda sat beside Riley the whole time holding her hand, assuring her that everything was going to work out. All Riley could do was nod and breathe, silent tears rolling down her cheeks, beginning to sob when the verdict was announced.

When John went to confront Riley, she couldn't look him in the eye, knowing how much pain she caused him already. "I don't want to do it anymore, John." She had cried, asking Linda to give them a moment alone because Riley owed him that much.

"Don't want to do what, Riley?" John couldn't help asking and wanted to reach out to touch her, missing her like crazy ever since she disappeared from the hospital that night. "Talk to me, please."

"I don't want to put you through anymore pain. You don't deserve this." She whispered, wrapping her arms around herself, wearing a simple black dress with a silver sash. "You need to let me do this on my own."

John knew she meant the pregnancy and swallowed hard, wondering what she was planning on doing. "Riley…" He reached out and watched her step back from him, tears pouring down her face. "What are you…?"

"I'm adopting it." She finally looked up at him through broken jade eyes, having made sure no connection between her and the baby happened, keeping busy in order to do it. "I already have a family picked out and they will take him the moment he's born."

"It's a boy…" John looked down at her basketball sized stomach, knowing she still had a ways to go before the baby came, feeling his heart clenched with pain. "What if…?"

"There is no what if about it, John. I do NOT want any of their children, any of their spawns." Her voice was cold and distant, knowing she had to be in order to make him understand. "I can't raise one of theirs after what they did to me and this family will care for him the way I can't. I will end up resenting and hating him because of their crimes. I have no choice, I have to do this and I have to do it alone."

Gritting his teeth, John knew Riley's mind was made up and wished he could do something, anything, to change it. He did what Detective Vanil told him, which was contact Linda, only to be told that she had no idea where Riley was located. She lied to him, but somehow John knew Riley made it perfectly clear that he wasn't to know her location to Linda. John knew he would have his chance to talk to her at the trial and all he could do was stammer like an idiot instead of telling her how he truly felt.

"Goddamn it, I love you Riley!" John shouted, pure frustration at her words overtaking him and clenched his fists at his sides, just wanting to kiss the breath out of her. "I don't care what you do with the baby, I just wanna be with you. Why won't you let me?" He demanded, knowing she at least owed him that much after running away from him without so much as a goodbye.

Riley flinched physically and took another step back, trembling a little from his words. "I-I can't…I'm sorry." That was all she could say before running as fast as her pregnant belly would let her, slipping into the limousine with Linda and driven to the airport.

Two months later, Riley delivered a beautiful healthy baby boy and immediately handed him over to the Wallop family, not even wanting to hold him. He was ten pounds, eight ounces and nineteen inches long with fuzzy black hair and jade eyes that matched the biological mother's. The Wallop family thanked Riley, who simply signed over all rights to them so they could legally adopt the baby boy, refusing to even look at him while Mrs. Wallop held him close.

They decided on the name Gabriel; that was all Riley found out before he left the hospital.

The Wallops were kind enough to ask Riley if she wanted pictures of her son, only for her to decline, asking that they never contact her about him unless it was a dire emergency, meaning life or death. She also requested and made them promise never to tell Gabriel he was adopted, knowing the mother had black hair and the father had green eyes, so the boy would never know the difference. At least Riley hoped. She wanted him to have everything and more, which included a strong stable family and life without any complications.

After the birth, Riley recovered at the McMahon home for a few months before finally heading back to her own, packing up and moving to a secluded area in the mountains of Utah. She did what she vowed and that was get a job while living at the mansion, leaving Linda an envelope full of money before leaving and hoped the gracious woman accepted it without a fight. Riley gave her half the savings and spent the rest moving her things to Utah in a small two bedroom cabin, just wanting to be left completely alone to grief and heal.

All she thought about was John.

It took Riley nearly seven months before finally accepting what happened to her, which started the healing process. Soon, Riley was waking up with a smile on her face and the fire in her eyes slowly began burning brightly again. Her heart was no longer shattered into pieces, but it wasn't fully mended yet either and Riley knew what was missing from her life. She finally came to terms with how she felt for John, always knowing she loved him unconditionally and couldn't live without him.

So Riley called Linda for one last favor, which the woman didn't mind in the slightest, and booked a flight to where the WWE currently was. The whole flight Riley was a bundle of nerves, constantly second guessing herself and wondered if John would even speak to her after their last encounter. She shed a few tears, the fear nearly overtaking her, but Riley had to do this for her own piece of mind.

She had to know if there was anything left between them.

The plane landed and Riley walked through the terminal, deciding on a blue jean skirt that had rips in it for style and went two inches above the knee along with a simple white form fitting shirt that had a V neckline. Her once long beautiful black hair was cropped in a pixie cut, having kept it that way after visiting Paul, and had auburn streaks throughout it. She had a black sash around her waist that went with the shirt and simple black Mary Jane shoes, black eyeliner bringing out her jade eyes with gloss on her lips.

After flagging down a cab, Riley instructed the driver to go to the arena where the WWE was performing, already having a backstage pass, thanks to Linda. Vince had retired from the company and had his daughter, Stephanie, take it over for him because he wanted to spend time with his grandchildren and wife. That and having his life flash before his eyes, thanks to Detective Vanil, had really changed his outlook on things. Vince had done everything he could to apologize to Riley for trying to cover up what happened to her, but all Riley did was brush him off. She refused to forgive him, there were some things that could never be forgiven.

The cab arrived sooner than Riley would've liked, knowing she was starting to get cold feet and had to force herself out of the vehicle. She paid the cab driver and tossed her purse over her shoulder before heading inside, taking deep shaky breaths the whole time. This was it. It was do or die and Riley definitely had been through enough in her life that she wasn't a quitter. Granted, she ran away from John, but honestly had her own good reasons for that, knowing at the time it was for the best.

Riley flashed her pass at the security guard and smiled when he allowed her inside, the pass dangling around her neck securely. Nobody really recognized her and Riley was grateful for that, but as soon as she rounded the corner and spotted Barbara talking to Melina, all bets were off. She stood there while Barbara's jaw first dropped and then a squeal followed along with nearly being tackled to the floor with a bone-crunching hug, grunting at the impact.

"Barbie, can't breathe…" Riley rasped out, sighing when Barbara let her go, only for them to stare at each other with tears in their eyes. "I know I should've called, but…"

"You look amazing, Riley!" Barbara couldn't believe Riley was actually standing in front of her, remembering when the woman once vowed to never step foot in a WWE arena again as long as she lived. "W-What are you DOING here? Paul is going to FREAK when he sees you!" Besides Riley, Barbara was the only other person to call him by his birth name in the company, simply because she felt she had the right being his girlfriend and all.

"I know." Riley also knew he was going to probably bust her ass for not calling first, chuckling at the thought. "I'm here for a reason though, I promise. I didn't really have time to call because I made the decision to come on the tour overnight. I called Linda and she had a backstage pass and plane ticket sent to me through overnight delivery."

"That was nice of her, but you didn't answer my question." Barbara pointed out, folding her arms in front of her chest and Riley knew she wasn't getting away that easily.

"John." She whispered, more tears glistening in her eyes and that caused Barbara's to widen in bewilderment, a few slipping down Riley's cheeks. "I-I love him…and I just want to know if there's anything left between us. I'm healed and whole again, I just need to know, no matter the consequences."

Barbara couldn't stop the smile from crossing her face and hugged Riley again, this time much gentler. "Go get him, he's in his dressing room." She kissed Riley's forehead and walked off, needing to go find Paul before he found Riley first.

Riley sniffled a little and decided she couldn't face John with a tear streaked face, not realizing how much she started crying. She fixed herself up along with the makeup and nodded when she was satisfied, heading out again toward his dressing room. Randy Orton passed her and Riley chewed her bottom lip, not spotting John's name on any of the doors yet, deciding she had to stop to ask someone.

"Excuse me, Mr. Orton?"

Randy stopped and slowly turned around, raising a slow eyebrow down at the petite beauty with a smile. "Most around here call me Randy, honey. What can I do for you?" He asked politely, watching her eyes lower to the floor and raised an eyebrow, feeling something familiar about her. "Come on, what's your name?"

"Riley." She answered, slowly lifting her head when his hand rested on her shoulder, their eyes locking as Randy's filled with both disbelief and realization.

"Riley?" He echoed, blinking a few times, wondering if he had to clean his ears out. "Riley Morris?"

She nodded simply, not saying a word.

Randy smiled, patting her shoulder and tried getting over the initial shock she was actually standing in front of him, looking more beautiful than ever. "I've heard a lot about you, Riley. I'm going to assume you're looking for Cena?" When she could only nod again, Randy chuckled and turned her around gently by the arm, pointing. "Just down that way a little further, the last door on your left. It'll say his name on the door."

"Thank you, Randy." She murmured softly, knowing they hadn't really officially met, but somehow she felt she had to say it to him, putting one foot in front of the other slowly.

Randy watched her walk away and didn't know how John was going to react to Riley's surprise visit, hoping it went well for both of them. He had Anthony back on the road with him, which would make things even more complicated, but Randy had a feeling everything would work out for the best. Whistling, he walked off to go join his fiancée in his dressing room, having pieced his own life and heart back together.

So much had changed in a year's time.

Before Riley knew it, she was standing in front of the door that read JOHN CENA in huge black lettering, her heart beating a furious tattoo against her chest. All she could do was stand there and stare at the name, so many thoughts racing through her mind. What if he pushed her away or moved on to someone else? What if her showing up completely destroyed all the progress he'd made to try to be happy? Riley suddenly began backing away and stopped, pursing her lips together, knowing what she had to do.

John looked up when a knock sounded at his door, glancing over at his son, who was busy coloring at his small plastic table. He smiled, glad Denise had allowed him to take Anthony for a few months because John honestly missed his son more than anything, using him as the perfect distraction to try to forget about Riley. So imagine his surprise when he opened the dressing room door and locked his startled blue eyes on hopeful jade.

"Hello John."

Her sweet voice jolted him out of any thoughts he might have had, not believing she was standing in front of him, more stunning than he remembered. The light was back in her eyes, she looked as though she wasn't haunted by anything or saddened, but there was a little bit of fear in those jade orbs that John detected. He opened and closed his mouth several times, only for nothing except air to exhale, trying to wrap his mind around what was happening.

"Daddy, who is it?" Anthony asked from behind and peeked around his father's leg, those big eyes widening at the sight of someone he thought he'd never see again. "Riey?"

Oh god, he had his son on the road with him! Riley felt terrible and went to say something, only to be clobbered by the small body of Anthony, his arms wrapped around her waist. He'd grown so much in the past year and Riley could only stare down at him, her arms instinctively going around his shoulders, feeling his little body tremble. After all this time, he still remembered her and that touched Riley's heart in so many ways, trying not to let the tears fall that suddenly brimmed her eyes. She looked at John, who simply stood there with his arms folded in front of his chest, but he didn't seem angry by the affection his son showed her.

"Riey, daddy it's Riey!" Anthony crowed excitedly, finally releasing her waist to jump up and down, clapping his hands with the biggest smile on his face. "I missed you Riey, I missed you!"

"I missed you too, Anthony." She honestly meant it and knew she still owed him something huge for saving her life.

John still hadn't said anything and that both confused and unnerved Riley, not liking the silence, wondering if he even wanted her here. Was he waiting for her to say something? All he did was stare back at her with those enchanting blue eyes that Riley couldn't get out of her mind, even after she left the hospital and ran away from him. No matter what, she never forgot him and he apparently never forgot her, but the silence didn't settle well with her either.

"I-I know I should've called, but…I had to see you because…God this is so hard for me to say…" She was musing up her words and Riley mentally cursed, brushing some hair from her eyes while Anthony ran into the dressing room to grab his coloring book. "John, I…" Was it really that hard to tell him how she felt, how she'd been feeling for the past year and a half without him? "I love you." She extended her hands and blinked as huge tears slid down her face, feeling her knees weaken when he just stood there, still not saying a single word or moving an inch. "I love you and…I'm here because I…I want to know if there's any chance for us left. Is there any way we can be together because I can't live without you. I'm all healed up and…God please say something, anything! Tell me to go to hell! Tell me to leave and never come back! Tell me anything, but don't just stand there staring at me with those damn eyes and make me fall even deeper in love with you if you still don't feel the same way!"

The next two words out of John's mouth was something Riley did not expect.

"Marry me."

Her heart nearly stopped or skipped a beat, Riley wasn't sure at this point, when he said that, breathing heavier than usual. "W-What?" She watched him take a step toward her and felt more tears cascade down her face, not believing what was happening and didn't step away from him this time. "John…"

"If you meant everything you just said, then marry me. Marry me tonight, Riley." He waited long enough for her and he wasn't about to pass up this opportunity, having vowed if she ever came back into his life, he would make sure she didn't slip through his fingers again.

"John, I don't…"

Riley felt him take her hand and could only watch as John slipped something out of his pocket, placing a red velvet box in her palm. "I've been carrying this around with me since that night you were found in the arena and taken to the hospital. I was going to ask you as soon as you were better, but you took off before I even had the chance to do it. We're in beautiful Orlando and there's wedding chapels all over the damn place. I don't care where we do it, but I'm not going to bed tonight without you as my wife. We can have a big ceremony later on if you want, but goddamn it, I want you to be my wife tonight, Riley." He opened the box for her and it was a beautiful emerald stone cut in the shape of a heart with two diamonds on each side, all set on a silver band. "I love you with everything inside of me, Riley Jade Morris. I've loved you since I first met you, since I made the decision to do everything I could to save you and protect you. I promise to keep doing that for the rest of our lives until we're old and gray and die in each other's arms. I'm not asking you because I love you Riley and I want to marry you tonight."

Taking the ring, Riley gave John his answer by slipping the ring on her finger and pulled his face down to hers for a passionate kiss, leaving them both breathless. John was done for the night and left with his son and bride-to-be, taking them to Disney World since they were right in Orlando and not far away from the park. It was still open and John ended up marrying Riley right in the happiest place on earth with Anthony, Justin and Barbara as their witnesses.

Later on that night after the festivities, John lay in bed with Riley curled up in his arms, both of them spent from making love for hours on end. Riley sighed in sheer contentment, loving the feeling of John's breath against her neck and couldn't stop staring at her ring, smiling from ear to ear. Her eyes closed as his hand caressed her back up and down, trying to lull her to sleep, but Riley had something to say to her newlywed husband first.

"You know what I realized when I was alone in Utah?" She rolled over on her face and sighed as he caressed her face, their lips touching in a soft tender kiss.

"What's that, buttercup?"

"That I was never alone. You were always with me no matter where I was or what I was doing. That's how I knew to come back to you."

John smiled, nuzzling her neck and decided the sleep could wait. "You were never alone, Riley, and you never will be. I promise." He vowed, pressing his forehead against hers and both of them ended up falling asleep with smiles on their faces and new hope for the future.

The End.