Notes: Well, that's it! It's all over, this is the final chapter. I really hope you all enjoy it :)

xxxxx

Part Twenty Five: Epilogue

xxxxx

It was dark and the room was empty. Well, almost empty. Torrie and Jeff were constants and the other's came when they could, but today they'd all come. It had been fun and exciting for Devlan to have so many visitors, but everyone had left when visiting hours were over. As Shawn's 'wife', however, she was always allowed to stay.

Lita watched the small figure on the bed carefully, ready to help him if he seemed to be in distress or pain. Devlan had been through so much over the last few months and she didn't even know where to begin helping him or Shawn.

Shawn had taken Devlan home a few days after Summerslam, but the boy had still been in a lot of pain and another round of tests had confirmed that he wasn't out of the woods yet. He'd been in hospital for almost two months and Lita hated to see how fragile he'd become during some of that time. She was only glad that it seemed to be all over now. Devlan looked healthier and, therefore, so did Shawn and the last set of tests had come back clear. Devlan was better and Shawn was taking him home.

The only thing was; Lita didn't know where that left her.

Of course, she was overjoyed that things were going well, but she had become a part of their routine, had become a part of their lives and they were in hers. So completely that she didn't even remember what her life had been like without them.

She'd taken a leave of absence, a very hard fought for leave of absence that had only been granted when she had appealed to Stephanie McMahon. It seemed that the youngest McMahon had once cared for Shawn as much as he had for her and, in return for Summerslam and because she 'wanted Shawn to be as happy as he deserved', she had helped get Lita's leave okayed. She spent every day with Devlan and Shawn. She had been there with Shawn when the boy had had his surgery and every day since. She didn't think she could go back to being alone. She didn't want to.

"Hey, petal."

She wiped at her eyes, suddenly realising she'd been crying, and turned to him with a smile. "Hey yourself."

He saw right through her false cheer. "Hey." He pulled her hand, tugging her away from the bed and pulling her towards the window. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," she said, shrugging, but her eyes filled with tears anyway.

"Lita?"

"I-I just…I don't know what happens next." He grinned and she wanted to hit him. She was upset, she was crying, and he was grinning at her. "I'm glad you find it funny, Shawn," she said angrily.

"Woah, hey!" He grabbed her arm when she tried to leave. "Hold on a minute."

"No! I can't believe you find this funny." She glared at him. "I know you've had a lot on your mind, I know that things have been bad, but do I really mean that little to you?"

"Are you crazy?"

"Yes, I'm crazy. That's it, I'm crazy for thinking that you needed me, I'm crazy for thinking that you wanted me, because why would you want me? You haven't kissed me since before Summerslam and you haven't said a word about what happens when I go back to work next week. I'm crazy for thinking that either of you want me in your life. Everyone else is Dev's aunt and uncle, but me? I'm just Lita. Yes, I'm crazy for thinking at all."

"You can't seriously believe-"

"What? I can't seriously believe what? You know what, I'm leaving."

"Lita!"

"Unca Shawnie?"

She grimaced. "It's okay, Dev," she said, trying to keep her voice neutral. "Go back to sleep."

"No, just a minute, Dev," Shawn said, pulling her arm and dragging her back towards the bed. "I think we need to talk to Lita."

"Shawn, let go."

"No." He turned on the light and they all flinched. "Okay, Dev, remember the surprise we talked about?" Devlan nodded, his sleepy face lighting up. "I think Lita needs her surprise now."

She frowned. "What are you-" He held his finger against her mouth and she felt her stomach flutter.

"It's my turn to talk."

He pushed her onto bed, so that she was sitting facing Devlan. The boy was bounding up and down, clearly waiting for whatever Shawn had planned. She was a little worried and the butterflies in her stomach had just had babies. Lots of them.

"Let me go through this one thing at a time," Shawn started. "And don't interrupt." She opened her mouth to protest and he raised his eyebrows. She shut her mouth, but glared. "Good. First of all, let me say that the only thing I agree with is the fact that, if you're coming up with stuff like this, then, yeah, you're crazy for thinking at all. The fact that you think I don't need you is beyond ridiculous. I would never have even made it to Summerslam without you, never mind these last few months. I don't just need someone, Lita, I need you. When you go back to work next week, you better believe that we'll not only be watching and cheering, but we'll be counting the days until we're there with you."

"What? I don't understand."

"When Dev's ready, we'll be there. Steph's working to get me a deal that should give me time to look after Dev for the most part and have a career."

"I'm going to stay sometimes with Gramma and Auntie Jill," Devlan interjected.

"Tom's sister," Shawn clarified. "She was a teacher until she had kids. With triplets, she decided to be a stay-at-home-mom until they're older. Until Dev's strong enough to go back to school she's gonna home school him."

"You're coming back."

"We'll see what works. If it doesn't, I leave. Dev comes first." Lita nodded. "But if you think, for one second, that that means you won't be in my – in our – lives, think again. You're not getting away that easy. As for why Dev doesn't call you 'aunt'…it's 'cause he's wanted you to be something more from the minute he realised you might be in my life. He sees you as something more, Lita." She frowned and he smiled. "Dev never knew his mom."

Lita's eyes widened and she looked at Devlan in shock. He grinned at her and she smiled. "I-I don't know what to say," she said softly and Shawn reached out to take her hand.

"Don't say anything. You'll always just be Lita, but you should know that just being Lita is more than anyone else will ever be to him."

"Except you."

"Well, yeah, but I'm me," the Heartbreak Kid said with a smirk. She rolled her eyes.

"Is it time for the s'prise yet, Unca Shawnie?"

Shawn nodded. "Go ahead."

Devlan squealed and reached into the drawer of the cabinet by his bed. A moment later, he pulled out a small box, tied with a ribbon. Lita's eyes widened slightly as he practically threw it at her.

"Open! Open!"

She fumbled with the bow, her heart racing as she untied it. The box snapped open with an audible 'pop'.

"Oh, my God."

"This means you're always welcome in our lives, Lita," Shawn said, reaching out and picking the key from inside.

"Lita, can you come stay with us?"

She looked from one to the other, smiling at the matching looks of uncertainty and hope on their faces. "I'd love to," she said softly. Devlan clapped his hands and threw himself into her arms.

"Hey there, little buddy," Shawn said, laughing. "Calm down before you hurt yourself."

Devlan nodded and pulled back, still sitting in the circle of Lita's arms. "I can show you my bike," he said decidedly. She didn't point out that she'd been sleeping in their spare room for a while now and had actually seen it already.

"I'd like that."

"I love you, Lita," he said, leaning forward to kiss her cheek.

She smiled, hugging him tightly and closing her eyes, not caring that she was crying again. "Oh, I love you, too, Dev." She held him a moment longer, her eyes finding Shawn's over the boy's shoulder. "Bed time," she said, laughing at the sound of disappointment in Devlan's voice.

"Five more minutes?"

"No." She shook her head and moved him back onto the pillows. "Tomorrow's a big day," she said, tucking him in. "We get to take you home," she finished softly. He grinned at her and she kissed his forehead. "Good night, Dev."

"Night, Lita. Night, Unca Shawnie."

"Good night, little man." Shawn leaned down for a hug, before switching off the light.

He reached for her hand in the darkness and led her over to the spare bed the nurses had wheeled in for them when one of them stayed over, which tended to be every night alternately. It had taken a week or so before Shawn would let her stay instead of him, but she'd won in the end.

"So," he said, kicking off his shoes and climbing onto the bed. "By my count there's still one more thing I didn't address."

Lita was in the process of kicking off her shoes, so she focussed on that and didn't meet his searching gaze. It was dark, but she knew he'd see right through her anyway.

She didn't say anything as she climbed up next to him, trying her best not to actually touch him. Everything had come to a head, but the one thing he hadn't mentioned yet was possibly the one she wanted to know about the most.

"Lita," he said softly and she jumped when she felt his breath on her ear. He rolled her one her back, leaning over her as he rested on one elbow. "I want you to know that that box almost had something else in it." He eyes widened and her breath caught in her throat. "I just don't want to move to fast." She nodded her head, shakily. "Now," he said with a smirk. "I think it's time I cleared one more thing up."

"Wh-"

He kissed her.

He was right.

Thinking was overrated anyway.

xxxxx

The End

xxxxx

OMG…it's done. It's ACTUALLY DONE.

Well, it's taken a while! I think this was actually the first ever Lita/Shawn fic and it's managed to get lost in amongst the others thanks to me not updating in so long. I only hope that it was worth the wait; despite the soppy, cheesy ending!

I still can't believe this fic is 66 pages long! I think it's my longest ever WWE fic.

Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed (and those that do review after I've posted this final chapter), I really love getting responses to my fic and I really appreciate that you take the time to respond. I never expected this to be so popular and I never imagined I'd get over 200 reviews for one of my WWE fics. I'm so glad to be proven wrong.

Thank you so much.

Kyizi.