#4—"Brown-Eyed Girl" by Van Morrison

February 19, 2007

Melina Perez hugged the red-and-gold Championship belt to her chest, tears of happiness stinging her eyes. After all the years on the indy circuit, the struggle to make it to the WWE and then the uphill battle to be taken seriously as a wrestler, she had finally earned the highest accolade a woman in the sports entertainment business could achieve. She was now the Women's Champion.

Behind her, in the ring, Mickie James was holding the back of her neck and looking around in shock, probably still trying to figure out what had just happened. But Melina ignored her. Mickie no longer mattered. In fact, the entire arena of cheering and jeering fans no longer mattered. The only thing that mattered was nestled right here in her arms.

Raw's Dominant Diva reached the top of the ramp and turned around, holding the title belt up with both hands for the entire venue to see. Even from up here, she could tell that at least half of the audience was booing her. That was no surprise; most people thought she was an arrogant bitch. Melina allowed herself a small haughty smile. Sometimes, you had to be an arrogant bitch to get what you really wanted.

As she stood up there, drinking in the noise and the flare of flashbulbs, a wave of longing washed over her, making her smile falter a touch. The Dominant Diva closed her eyes for a moment. She had sacrificed absolutely everything for this moment—including her relationship with the one person she truly cared about. Through it all—the failures, the mood swings—Johnny had stuck by her, and now that she had finally scaled that pinnacle of success, she wanted him out here with her.

Melina turned around, heading for the black curtain and pushing it aside. She had to find Johnny, had to let him know…

So hard to find my way

Now that I'm on my own

Johnny Nitro stood in front of a monitor in the far corner of gorilla, arms crossed over his chest. He couldn't keep the huge grin off his face. After months of working her way back up the wrestling ladder, his girl had finally done it. She had become the Women's Champion.

Other Superstars had often asked him why—out of all the Divas on the roster—he had chosen Melina. There had been times in their relationship when he agreed with them. Melina could be bitchy. She could be temperamental. She could be nasty. But those guys never saw the side of her that he got to see; the facet of her that was sweet and loving, and above all, passionate about this business.

I saw you just the other day

My, how you have grown

Being the Women's Champion—that was something Melina had talked about even back in the day when she had managed him and Joey in MNM. Joey had laughed, told her to stick with the splits and the short skirts. Johnny, on the other hand…he had known even then that it was possible.

No, not possible. Inevitable.

The former Intercontinental Champion heard a flurry of commotion at the other end of the space and turned to see Melina burst through the black curtain. She was out-of-breath, hair out of place, sweat glistening on her face—and she was still absolutely gorgeous. As soon as she stepped into gorilla, a swarm of road agents and other people descended on her, blocking her from his sight, but he still heard her plaintive cry:

"Johnny!"

Cast my memory back there Lord

Sometimes I'm overcome thinkin' 'bout it

Johnny moved forward, elbowing his way through the crowd, not really caring who he pushed aside or whose feet he stepped on. There seemed to be a thousand people blocking his path. Finally, though, he sidestepped around the last person and came face to face with the woman he loved, the woman he was meant to be with.

When she saw him, Melina froze for a second, then with a squeal of excitement, jumped into his arms, wrapping her arms around his neck. The crowd instinctively moved back, but Johnny didn't care. They had ceased to matter anymore. All that mattered was the Diva he now held in his embrace.

"Johnny, I won!" Melina was speaking into his ear, her voice bubbling over with excitement. "Can you believe it? I really won! I'm the Champion!"

The former Intercontinental Champion wrapped his arms around her tightly. "I knew you could, baby," he murmured. "I always knew you could do it."

Making love in the green grass

Behind the stadium

Melina pulled back a little, gazing into his eyes. Her elated expression had become pensive. "Johnny, there's something I have to tell you." She bit her lip, glancing down. "I know what I've put you through—all the drama—and I just wanted to say—" She held out the title belt, as though she was presenting it to him. "This wouldn't have happened if it hadn't been for you." Her lips trembled, as though she was on the verge of tears.

Johnny smiled, reaching out to cup her face in both of his hands. He slowly drew her to him. "You're my girl, Mel," he told her in a voice only the two of them could hear. "You'll always be my girl."

With you my brown-eyed girl

And you my brown-eyed girl