Alrighty folks, this is the last chapter, for sure. A great many thanks go to my faithful readers, though I may not know their names, and my loving reviewers. I would name every single one of you if I wasn't in the middle of studying for finals; just know that I love you. Also thanks to my talented and lovely editor, paddawhump, she is the reason that I don't have embarrassing format/grammar errors, and I owe her big time. Or I would, if me getting you this chapter wasn't her fault, I sent it to her like a month ago. Anyways, enjoy, and stay tuned, because I'm definitely writing another one.

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My heart was racing, tonight was serious. It was a chance to win the women's' MMA welterweight division. I'd read up on my opponent, and trained like crazy, now all I could do was over think everything.

I scanned the crowd, and saw Zero's face out there, absorbed with the fight ahead of me, and then looked back down. I really wanted to see Beast. I didn't know if he remembered me, but I missed him like crazy. With my gloved hand, I pushed my necklace a little, feeling the weight of it around my neck. In just a second, Pat would complain that I shouldn't be wearing jewelry, but they knew I wouldn't take it off unless a ref made me. Knowing me, I'd lose it, and that was the last thing I wanted to do. The buzzer rang for the fight ahead of me, and I stood, bouncing from foot to foot, just a ball of nervous energy. When I went up there, I knew that the energy would cool, and I would be left calm and calculating. Bert shoved my other glove onto my hand, and I held still as he laced it, then I pulled my shirt off. I fought in a sports bra and boxing shorts, that way they couldn't grab me when we got sweaty; I'd slip through their fingers.

The announcer began my intro, "A mixed martial artist holding a professional record of fifteen wins, four losses, standing five feet, seven inches tall, weighing in at one hundred and forty pounds, fighting out of Los Angeles California, Lacey, the burier, Swanson!"

The crowd cheered as I stepped into the ring, shoving my mouth guard as Bert shouted some instructions in my ear. "She hurt her left knee as a kid; try some kicks."

My opponent, Heather Newton, stepped into the ring, bouncing back and forth, hair braided tight against her head. She was my opponent for the night, and as the announcer called out her intro, I analyzed her. Two inches taller than me, which gave her a slight reach advantage, but it meant that I had more muscle mass. She was blonde, pretty, and she looked cocky, like I would be no challenge. Female fighters were different than male: girls judged more on looks rather than record. Heather had an excellent professional record, not undefeated, a couple of losses here and there, never knocked out. She was tough, and I knew I couldn't underestimate her.

"Go get her Bee." I nodded at Pat and stepped up, staring my opponent down. If she wanted that title, she would have to fight like hell for it. We tapped gloves, the buzzer rang, and I drove into her right away. Her opponents were the watch and wait kind, but to me, the best defense was a good offense, and I knocked her off her feet with a double leg takedown right away. She landed well, her fists came up, and she started to throw punches, which I blocked with one arm, while my other slammed her in the gut. Without warning, she bucked, and tried to roll me, but I hung on. When she paused from a particularly hard punch, I swung myself up and over her, then did something Bert liked to call, 'the lemon squeeze'. Not only did it hurt, but it squeezed the breath out of her, and slowly, like an anaconda, I squeezed the air from her lungs. I felt her chest go empty, and she struggled for a few seconds, then the referee blew the whistle. She'd blacked out. I walked over to my corner, and our athletic trainer patched the cut over my eye while Bert slapped me on the back.

"You used my move."

I grinned, pulling my mouth gaurd out, "Yeah, and it worked."

The ref called me over, and Heather and I shook hands. She looked surly, and I grinned, sore losers cracked me up. My hand was raised to thunderous applause, and I exited the ring, pleased with myself.

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"No guys, really, all I want to do is go to bed."

Regretful, my sensei's nodded, and let me close the elevator door. I chuckled at their disappointed expressions. They'd had their hearts set on taking me to a large, celebratory dinner in honor of my victory, but I was exhausted. It'd been a long day, with a two mile run in the morning, and my adrenaline rush for the last three hours. All I wanted was to get out of the crowd, take a shower, and go to bed. The elevator dinged softly, and I walked to my room, digging my hotel key from a pocket in my pants. As soon as the door swung closed behind me, I stripped my clothes and turned the shower on cold. As the icy water streamed over me, I grinned in memory of camp. It'd been four years, and oddly, I could still shower in icy water. I shut the water and pulled a towel from the rack and dried off slowly. Camp Green Lake had been shut down, the Texas state police had been called in when a camper disappeared, and realized how horrible it was there. The boys had been let out, and they came to my fights when they could, my faithful cheerleaders. I'd kept in touch with everyone but Beast. Lord knows where he'd gone. My cell phone buzzed, and I picked it up, snapping out of my daze, "Hey."

Zero's voice sounded through the phone, "Hey good job."

"Thanks Z."

I could hear the sounds of the lobby, "Can I come up?"

"Yeah. Room 853."

The smile in his voice was clear even over the phone, "Be there in five."

We hung up, and I cracked my knuckles; time to get down to business. Quickly, I pulled on a ratty pair of black sweatpants, and a black sports bra, and then dropped to the floor for my nightly regime. Fifty push ups, a hundred sit ups, and two hundred jumping jacks. When my muscles were warm and springy from the exercise, I sank into the splits. My senseis had insisted that I needed to do a little working out before bed each day, so I did.

A knock sounded on the door, and I stood out of my back bend, "Hold on a sec, Z."

Feeling light, I skipped to the door and pulled it open without bothering to look through the peep hole.

"Hey Z!" My voice trailed away. The man at the door was not Zero. He was a tall, well built man with tanned skin, dark eyes, and was handsomely rugged. I froze, and breathed in, his scent filling me. It brought back memories of dirt, sun, and…

"Beast?"

The man's dark eyes scanned me up and down, and he sighed, staring in my eyes now, "The things you do to me."

I was stunned silent, only able to gape, and he smirked, "Miss me, ladybug?"

I shot into his arms screaming, "Beast!!!"

His arms wrapped around me, and he kissed me on the top of the head, "Told you you'd see me again."

Joyful, I tilted my head up to see his face again, "You're back!"

Firmly, he kissed me on the lips, "I owed you that."

--

That memory always brought a grin to my face, and I snapped out of the memory. My boyfriend of two years now sat in front of me, dressed impeccably in a suit, and swirling his glass of red wine. I matched his smirk, and picked my glass up, taking a small sip.

We'd chatted randomly through dinner, and I marveled again over how lucky we were to be together right now. Beast had not been able to move out of New York for a while, but finally he found an apartment in Los Angeles, near where I was going to college. His deep voice interrupted my thoughts, "You okay, Lace?"

I grinned, "Yeah. Just taking a walk down memory lane."

Slowly, he took another sip of wine, the intensity in his eyes sending a thrill through my virgin body, and he spoke, his voice sending chills up my spine, "Butterfly, I've been thinking. I've been thinking about how beautiful you are, and how you manage to kick my ass every time I need it, and I've decided you're the right woman to ask."

He stood, and sank down on one knee in front of me, and my thoughts ground to a halt. Was he going to ask me…?

Gently, he snapped a little black box open to reveal a beautiful, glittering ring on the satin coushin, "Lacey Maria Swanson, I love you. I'd like to marry you, if you'll have me for the rest of my life."

My eyes teared up, and my brain unfroze, "Yes!"

Smirking now, he slid the ring onto my finger, and kissed me firmly, something like a growl of satisfaction deep in his throat.

"Let's get outta here."

I nodded quickly, and he threw some cash on the table, then lifted me off my feet, threw me over his shoulder, and strode purposefully out of the restaurant. Grinning, I shook my head, pleased with the way my fairy tale would begin.

Tale as old as time

Song as old as rhyme

Beauty and the Beast

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we're done, how sad. Let me know what you thought!