Disclaimer - See Chapter One or Chapter Eight.
Chapter Ten: Time Marches On...
One Year Later
Armistead stood as Mickie walked into their dressing room, giving him a tired smile as she did so. He was surprised to find that she wasn't tearful, given the fact she'd just dropped the Women's Championship to Ashley. He remembered the sense of loss he'd felt when he'd dropped the WWE title to Triple H six months ago.
However, with the sense of loss came a sense of happiness for his friend, for their competition in the ring hadn't been a savage one, merely a friendly fight. Armistead had won many more fans when, after Triple H had been announced as the new champ, the outgoing Champion had grabbed the belt from the referee and handed it to Triple H before shaking his hand. But the real highlight of the night had been when he'd gone backstage and been stopped by a visiting Hulk Hogan, who'd shaken his hand and simply said, "Well done, brother."
Armistead had been so stunned by getting a handshake from and being addressed by the man he considered to be the John Wayne - in other words, THE legend - of wrestling that he'd barely managed to stammer out his thanks in a coherent sentence.
He was brought back to the present by Mickie flopping down on the couch and pulling him down beside her. She rested her head on his left shoulder and wrapped her left arm around his waist after slipping her two rings back on. Armistead smiled, remembering how the fans had cheered when a video aired on the Titantron two months ago, the Green Day song Time Of Your Life playing while showing clips from various times they'd been in the ring together before ending with photos of their wedding.
One of the montages shown in the video had been clips of the night Vince had given each set of the RAW roster (that is, wrestlers and Divas) their own theme to dress to. Naturally, it seemed, the Divas' category was 'male fantasies', and Divas from all three brands made appearances. The Diva's costumes were met with extremely favorable reactions as Vince announced them:
Lillian - supermodel
Melina - gymnast
Jillian - pop star (although, thankfully, Vince didn't allow her time to sing)
Victoria - dominatrix
Candice - Playboy Bunny
Kelly Kelly - cheerleader
Ashley - punk rocker
Torrie - nurse
Michelle - schoolgirl
Maria - girl next door
Mickie - Lara Croft, Tomb Raider
When Mickie had made her appearance, Armistead could scarcely believe his eyes. She'd refused to tell him what she'd chosen for a costume, telling him it'd be well worth the wait, and Armistead was now forced to agree with her. He had one of the backstage crew deliver a message to the Divas' locker room once the girls had returned backstage, and Mickie later told him all the Divas in the room had given her knowing grins when she'd read the message:
Miss Croft:
I have learned that you are someone who appreciates valuable artifacts. I happen to be in posession of one that I know you would be interested in. If you wish to see it for yourself, pleaseappear in outfit at the following address following your appearance on RAW tonight.
Sincerely,
Mr. L. Armistead
The message had gone on to list Armistead's address (seeing as how it was the last show either of them had to do until Friday), along with directions to what room said artifact was in (the bedroom). Although Armistead had never really had a thing for Angelina Jolie or Lara Croft, seeing his beautiful girlfriend in said outfit had caused him to gain a healthy respect for the video game character.
The following week, it was the wrestlers' turn. There had been quite a few looks that cast doubts on Vince's sanity when he'd informed the male cast that their theme was 'high school cliques'. However, Armistead thought about it that night, and the following day called a meeting in the locker room to sort things out. Once his plan was laid out, most of the wrestlers began to warm to the idea. That Monday, Lillian grinned (and often forced down laughter) as she called out the list Armistead gave her:
Carlito - foreign exchange student
Umaga & Batista - wrestling team
Big Show & C. M. Punk - basketball team
Paul London & Brian Kendrick - skaters
Cody Rhodes - valedictorian
Chris Jericho - ladies' man
Cryme Tyme - gangstas
Jeff - goth
DX - class clowns
John & Randy - football team
Armistead - JROTC
Although John and Randy had gotten quite a few cheers from the female fans upon coming out in football uniforms, the barriers that kept the crowds back were severely strained when Armistead made his appearance in the Army JROTC uniform, his old three-diamond Cadet Colonel's insignia and medals from when he'd been a cadet himself all in their proper places. Upon returning backstage, he grinned when he saw a note waiting for him.
Colonel Armistead:
You are hereby ordered to report to the following address no later than 0245 hours tomorrow morning for an urgent meeting. Your appearance in uniform has touched off reactions that need to be completely and thoroughly examined. I won't lie to you; you'll probably lose a good night's sleep over this matter, but I also know said lack of sleep will in no way compromise your lack of judgement.
(Signed)
General M. James
The address written in the message was their hotel room. Upon reading it, Armistead burst out laughing and then sent Mickie a return message:
General:
I shall be able to make our meeting quite a bit earlier than expected. And don't worry, despite only wearing Colonel's insignia, my attention to detail, thoroughness, and precision has a 5-star rating.
(Signed)
Colonel L. Armistead
Needless to say, both of them were exhausted when they arrived at the airport the following morning, to be met with knowing grins from most of their friends and a "Now that's cool." from a 'foreign exchange student' with a passion for apples.
A smile came over Armistead's face as he recalled the night four months ago when he'd asked her to marry him. He hadn't been that nervous since the first time he'd walked down to the ring as a member of the RAW roster. He'd asked her in Wilmington, North Carolina, and much to his chagrin they'd had a house show to do on the night they were supposed to have celebrated eleven months of being together. However, he'd used his appeal with the fans to do something really special for her after their matches were over.
"Why are we down here, Luke?" Mickie asked as they parked in the lot for the U.S.S. North Carolina Museum. "The ship's gonna be closed by now."
"To the public, yes," Armistead replied. "To the two of us, no." Mickie rose a skeptical eyebrow as he helped her out of the car and escorted her to the gangplank where a middle-aged man was waiting. Armistead smiled at the man and extended his hand.
"I take it you're the Curator I spoke with on the phone?"
The man nodded.
"Yes, sir...it's a pleasure to meet you. My son and his friends are really big fans of yours."
Armistead signed autographs for the man's son and the boy's two best friends before inviting Mickie to proceed him up the gangplank onto the ship. As she walked up the gangplank, Armistead turned back to the curator briefly.
"Is everything in place?"
"Yes, sir...I've got one of my staff in the radio room. He'll play the music when you signal from the bridge. I'll be watching and let him know via walkie-talkie. Two hours aboard, as agreed."
Armistead nodded and ran to catch up with his girlfriend, nervously patting the small velvet box in his jacket pocket. For the next ninety minutes, they toured the massive ship, Armistead eagerly filling his digital camera with pictures as they walked.
Finally, they arrived on the bridge, and Armistead turned toward shore and saluted before walking inside the wheelhouse.
"I know this is our anniversary, sweetheart," he began, "and I thought I'd surprise you."
"You sure did, Luke," Mickie replied. "This is the first anniversary that you haven't gone romance-crazy."
"Are you sure about that?" Armistead grinned, and Mickie jumped as the ship's PA system crackled to life.
"Now hear this, now hear this, a Happy eleven-month Anniversary to Mickie and Luke from the U.S.S. North Carolina Museum. Mickie, this is for you."
Mickie turned to Armistead, a grin slowly spreading across her face.
"I can't believe you did this."
Armistead grinned and held out his hand. "May I have this dance?"
Mickie smiled and came into his arms as Kellie Coffey's When You Lie Next To Me began playing.
Baby tonight we could close the door
And lock ourselves inside.
Take time to feel.
I don't wanna miss the chance to be so real.
The days all fly away and I forget the truth.
Everything that matters, yes, in this room.
When you lie next to me,
Breathin' the air I breathe.
We don't have to speak and just breathe
And love's a precious thing.
Don't wanna waste a day or one more minute
Without you in it.
Life is so sweet
When you lie next to me.
My heart is yours,
But every part of me
Still wants to give you more.
More time to love
'Cause you never know when life will leave us.
I wanna take in all the beauty here,
Let the world around us just disappear
When you lie next to me,
Breathin' the air I breathe.
We don't have to speak and just breathe
And love's a precious thing.
Don't wanna waste a day or one more minute
Without you in it.
Life is so sweet
When you lie next to me.
(Lie next to me.)
When you lie next to me,
Breathin' the air I breathe
We don't have to speak and just breathe
And love's a precious thing,
Don't wanna waste a day or one more minute
Without you in it.
Life is so sweet
When you lie next to me.
(When you lie next to me.)
When the song finished, Mickie raised her head off Armistead's shoulder and looked up at him, tears brimming in her eyes. She shook her head and smiled as she wiped her eyes.
"Only you, Luke," she said as she let out a watery giggle, "only you could make the bridge of a battleship a spot for romance."
Armistead laughed. "Speaking of romance, I chose that song for a reason." When Mickie looked at him expectantly, he continued, mentally shoring his resolve as he did so.
"One line in the song in particular really spoke to me: 'Don't wanna waste a day or one more minute without you in it.'. That pretty much sums it up for me. So I'm gonna do what that line says and not waste another minute."
He took the box out of his pocket and went down on one knee, hearing Mickie's gasp as he did so. He opened the box and extended the ring to her, gazing up into her eyes. The Women's Champion's eyes were wide, and her hand was clamped over her mouth in shock.
"Mickie, darlin', will you marry me?"
Only three seconds passed between the end of his question and the exact moment she launched herself into his arms, sobbing 'yes', over and over in between kisses and hanging onto him for dear life, but to Armistead they seemed like three years.
Ten minutes later, they were on their way down the gangplank, Mickie smiling widely and Armistead scarcely believing his great fortune. The curator met them at the bottom, congratulating them and handing them each a U.S.S. North Carolina baseball cap from the ship's gift shop. Armistead was particularly pleased with that, for a goal of his was to collect a hat from every museum ship that offered one.
They made their way back to the hotel, where their celebration lasted into the early hours of the morning. At breakfast the following morning, Mickie slyly put her ring in her pocket while she got her tray, slipping it back on her finger under the table once she'd sat down. The gleam in her eye told Armistead she was up to something.
She told the Divas about where they'd gone after the show, and got 'aww's from every woman at the table, while Armistead got nods of respect from most of the guys. Mickie smiled at Armistead before turning to Maria.
"Maria, can you pass the salt?"
The red-haired Diva nodded and extended the salt shaker. Mickie reached across Lillian with her left hand to get it, and the ring was impossible to miss. The RAW announcer spotted it almost immediately and nearly choked on the bite of omelet she'd just taken. Triple H, sitting beside Lillian, also got a close-up view of the ring, but Hunter, however, seemed oblivious to it at first. He realized what he'd seen only after he'd taken a sip of coffee and had turned to speak to Shawn. In his shock, he spit the coffee out, leaving Shawn blinking in surprise and confusion for a few seconds before telling his best friend,
"I'll get my own coffee, Hunter...you don't have to share yours."
Armistead and the rest of the guys burst out laughing as Mickie extended her hand and the Divas exclaimed over the ring.
Their wedding had been a beautiful, waterfront affair that was attended by countless WWE superstars, both current and former, and their wedding song was the first song they'd ever danced to: Monica's Angel of Mine.
The pictures in the photo montage that got the most laughs was 1) that of the bridal party, showing the Matron of Honor (Maria) and the three bridesmaids (Trish, Candice, and Torrie) standing together, with the Best Man (John) and one of the ushers (Jeff) posing perfectly behind Maria and Candice, respectively, but the other two ushers (wearing bright green bow ties (A.N.: Can you guess who they are?)) were grinning like little kids and giving Trish and Torrie bunny ears. (Trish and Torrie hadn't been pleased at all, thinking the photo had been ruined, but Mickie had seen it and giggled at the typical child-like antics of said individuals), and 2) Armistead laughing at the 'Just Married' spray-painted on the white limo in neon green paint, Mickie rolling her eyes and trying hard not to laugh, the limo driver having a small stroke, and two of the ushers (A.N.: Again, care to venture a guess? :) ) standing nearby hiding cans of spray paint behind their backs and smiling like angels at the camera.
Armistead was jarred from his memories by his wife sighing and snuggling closer into his side.
"You all right, sweetheart? You sad about dropping the belt?"
Mickie shook her head. "No...Ashley deserves this title run. I'm just really tired. I had a good reason for dropping the title; I won't be wrestling a lot for awhile."
"You're not getting burned out, are you?" Armistead asked worriedly, and she smiled, hearing the concern in his voice.
"No, that's not it...it's just that it wouldn't be safe for me to wrestle in my current condition." She smiled widely and placed Armistead's hand on her stomach.
Her husband's shout of glee could be heard halfway through the arena.
THE END