A/N: Last chapter was the flash forward, so now, we're picking up where Chapter 17 left off.
"They're blue."
Dave's smile slowly spread into a 1000-watt grin. "Go."
Jessica's eyes lit up for what seemed like the first time in five months and she kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you!"
He watched as she picked up her purse and scurried away from him. "You're welcome!"
She pushed through a few people and wished them a fleeting "Happy New Year" in passing, no longer fighting the exhaustion that had previously consumed her.
As the blonde made her way across the room, she made a sharp turn for the exit door that lead to the parking lot.
Noticing this, Dave's brows furrowed and he called to her, "Where are you going?"
Still sporting a smile, she pivoted and yelled back to him, "There's someone I need to see first."
The drive across town was very difficult, more emotionally than physically as the GPS in the Super Bee prevented that from being the case.
Jessica had always found that the open road had allowed her to do some of her best thinking and it was the reason that she enjoyed the trip from city to city. Even if her companion in the car, be it John, Randy, or someone else, fell asleep, she had plenty of time to herself to think.
But the trip to her new destination wasn't that far away and she had to do a lot of thinking in the meantime.
How do you tell someone who sacrificed his happiness for you that you can't bring yourself to do the same for him?
Dwayne's house was looming in the distance and in what seemed like milliseconds, Jessica's car was parked in his driveway.
Glancing at the clock, she noted that it read close to 1 am.
Her heart sunk and she felt even more guilty than before. Not only was she most likely waking him up or disturbing him in some way, she was doing it to break his heart.
With a sigh, Jessica McMahon exited her car and shut the yellow door behind her, not even bothering to lock it as she threw on the hoodie she had taken out of the back of her vehicle. Who was really going to steal her car here, anyway?
Even if someone did, she figured that after what was about to go down, she would probably deserve it by the time they drove off into the brisk night.
She had to tell him and if she didn't tell him now, it would be never. Dwayne would find out about her choice eventually, just as the tabloids had found out about him.
Her slender finger was resting on the doorbell, poised to place the slightest amount of pressure on the panel.
Sure, Jessica could wait until the morning. She could even send an email if she thought that she couldn't tell him what she wanted to face to face.
Pulling her hand off of the doorbell as though she had just touched a hot stove, Jessica realized she didn't even have to tell him in person at all.
The Diva retreated backwards one step. And then another. And another.
And before she knew it, she was already at the bottom of the stairs.
Her eyes clenched shut and she sighed, shoving her hands into the pockets of her zip-up sweatshirt.
She couldn't do this to him, no matter how afraid she was of his reaction. She owed him this much. If not for baring his heart to her, then for all of the years he watched out for her, for all of the years he was there for her when no one would look in her direction with anything less than utter disdain…
For all of the years he made the whole in her heart that John had left in his wake a little bit smaller.
So Jessica McMahon retraced her steps and reached out a shaky hand, pushing the button that might as well been the doomsday button to end the world.
Because she was about to end his.
The door opened and he stood before her in a pair of acid-washed jeans and a black Affliction tee-shirt.
"Jessica?" he asked and the corners of his lips twitched, signaling what she was about to fear was coming.
He smiled.
Yet, it wasn't just one of those passing smiles. No, it was one of his smiles that would put arena lights to shame, one of the best she had ever seen on his face.
And it was wasted on her.
"Come in," he continued, motioning for her to come inside.
So she did. It wasn't like she could deny him anything now, anyway… not with how guilty she felt.
"I'm sorry to show up here so late," Jessica apologized, sliding past him into the foyer and turning to face him. "I was worried you'd be asleep."
"Nah," Dwayne waved her off with a laugh. "Don't worry about it. It's fine. That's the great thing about not being on the road… you can be up at one in the morning and not feel like you have a ten-pound weight pulling on your eyelids. Perks of an easy schedule, I guess. What's on your mind? I hope you didn't come all the way out here to wish me a Happy New Year. A text would have sufficed."
"I know." Her hands stayed in her pockets. "I just needed to talk to you, that's all."
He shut the door with ease and crinkled his brow at her. "Talk?"
"Yes, talk," Jessica replied with a nod, reaching up with her left hand to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear.
And within a split second, his hand had shot out of nowhere and locked around her wrist, freezing it in mid-air.
In shock, Jessica's hazel eyes darted up to his face, where his eyebrow remained arched as he gazed at the hand.
She followed his line of vision and then laid eyes on exactly what had startled him: her engagement ring.
For the first time in a while, she was at a loss for words. "I… I…"
"Is this what you wanted to talk to me about?" Dwayne questioned with an edge to his voice.
Still unable to speak, the blonde nodded and he dropped her arm, turning away from her.
His voice was monotonous, "So you chose him, then?"
"Dwayne…" Jessica called after him softly. "I chose him a long time ago."
"I did everything but rip my heart out of my chest and hand it to you on a silver platter, you know," he replied, pressing his hands onto the marbled kitchen counter.
Slowly walking behind him, she placed a hand on his shoulder and nodded. "I know… and I'm sorry. I can't say that I wish things turned out differently, but I sincerely wish that I didn't have to cause you this much pain."
"How noble of you," he scoffed and she felt a slight pain in her chest.
No matter how much she knew it was out of anger, it didn't make his words hurt any less.
Jessica winced. "I guess I deserve that."
The half-Samoan sighed and slid his hands forward. "No, no you didn't."
Her eyes fell sadly towards the countertop. "I…"
"You followed your heart," he cut her off at the pass. "It would have been worse if you lied to yourself for my sake. I wouldn't want you to wonder 'what if ' for the rest of your life, no matter what the consequences were for me."
A lone tear scraped down her cheek, one that she hadn't even felt coming. "You've given me so much, I wish I could have given you more…"
Dwayne slowly spun around to face her. "In knowing you, I've learned so much. I've learned how to show compassion for others, even when they fail to show me the same courtesy. Hell, you taught both me and Orton that… and that is one hell of an accomplishment," he mused half-heartedly, managing to crack a weak smile.
Another tear fell and her eyes grew watery. "Still, you deserve better."
"I have a daughter who is the greatest gift I could have ever asked for," he remarked, fondly speaking of Simone. "After all of the mistakes I have made in my life, I was somehow blessed with her. To want more, I suppose, would make me greedy."
Jessica pressed her lips together and shook her head. "To want more makes you human, Dwayne. You've taught me more than you'll ever know. In that ring…"
"I see the McMahon blood running through your veins," the former-wrestler finished for her.
"No," she countered, wiping away at one of the tears slowly descending down her face. "Everything I am in that ring is you. You inspire me, just like you've inspired millions and millions around the world for years. And for that, you deserve every ounce of happiness the world throws your way."
Emotions overcoming the both of them, Jessica and Dwayne slid comfortably into each other's arms.
"Dwayne," Jessica whispered, clutching him tightly. "One day… and I truly believe it will be someday soon… you're going to find someone who loves you just as much as you love her. She's just not going to be me."
He nodded into her caramel tresses. "You've become such a wonderful woman, Jessica… right before my very eyes. I hope that John treasures calling you his wife as much as I would have."
Releasing him from her arms, she pulled back slightly, forcing him to do the same. "Thank you."
For a moment, they just stood there in silence, staring at each other. And then the grandfather clock in the living room rang out.
"It's getting late," Dwayne remarked sadly, taking a step forward. "You should probably get going."
Her head bobbed in agreement and she followed him towards the door. "You're right."
The same strong hand that had revealed her secret a little less than an hour ago opened the door for her. "Goodnight, Jessica."
"Goodnight, Dwayne," she replied softly, standing on her tiptoes to kiss him lightly on the cheek, her hand lingering as she backed out of the door.
As she walked down the stairs, Jessica felt his gaze on her back, but a few footsteps later, she felt the stare lift.
Moments later, she heard a light click and knew that he had shut the front door, confirming her suspicions.
Her slow strides quickened into paces, her paces quickened into a brisk walk. Soon, she was in an all-out sprint.
Before long, she arrived at her car and with an unsteady hand, opened her car door, all but flinging herself inside.
She fumbled with the keys, but finally managed to find the one she was looking for and placed it in the ignition. Hastily, the Super Bee backed out of the driveway.
It had only taken her two minutes to travel three streets away from the Johnson residence and a little more than that to have to pull over.
Tears flowed freely from her watery eyes as Jessica slumped over the steering wheel, clutching it tightly to her chest.
She had meant everything she had said to him, with all of her heart, but deep down, she knew that the other half of her soul rested within the boy who had retrieved her stolen pink mitten on a snowy Friday morning in West Newbury, Massachusetts.
But now, she was done with the regret, done with the sadness, and done with the guilt.
Wiping her eyes, the former-Women's Champion looked over at the clock.
2:30 am.
Too much time had passed as it was, too many precious moments had gone by.
Her hand steady once more, she shifted out of park and began to drive forward.
Back at the hotel, the man who she wanted to spend every last second left of her life with was waiting…
The man who knew her better than anyone else…
The man who was her best friend…
The man who was her soulmate…
The man whose name was John Cena.
A/N 2: Here you go, Chapter 19! Because I love all of you SO much, I've decided to extend SAR III beyond the initial 21 chapters that I planned. I'm not sure how many yet, but I will let you know when we're at the second to last chapter. It won't go beyond 23 or 25 chapters though. That, I CAN tell you.
The outpouring of reviews is mindboggling to me and I'm hoping that in the next two chapters, we can get to review 400. We're ALMOST there.
And by the way, we hit 20 reviews for Chapter 18 and voila! Chapter 19 appeared! Coincidence? I think not.
Shout-outs:
Queen Chaos-Hardy – Yes, you have, Observant One! Good call, Char!
Vjsimpact – Thank you! That makes me smile!
Cena-holic8 – Yes, she did choose him. This chapter was the Dwayne conversation. Next one up is the John conversation… and by the way, it's very creative. Well, you'll see.
Da-Real-Mrz-Cena102100 – Oh, no! Not more crying! Wedding is the last chapter of the story.
AlexiaCalaway – Haha. You're too funny!
ThatGirl54 – I truly owe you for that idea. And yeah, McCena is the dream couple. Perez Hilton will be very pleased.
Aaron W – Oh, I've so been known for being the queen of surprises! I kept trying to tell you guys not to write off John with hints, but I'm glad you liked it! And I can promise you, no kids this story.
FrequentlyDazzled619 – Haha. Yes, she married John. And no, I do not have another surprise. And DEFINITELY no pregnancy. Forget that!
StarSixtyNine – Nope, you won't. I wanted to tell you so badly, but alas, I wanted you to be surprised!
Enigmatic Lotus Leaf – My pleasure! It looks like I might have SAR III done by the end of Spring Break after all.
Animal-Luvr-89 – Yep, she did. Did you really think I'd split them up for good?
WinchesterAngel3389 – No, no. It's John. Don't you worry.
Sideways-anger – Come on! You should know by now that Super Cena ALWAYS prevails. And yeah, Vince is a little dumb for putting Christian on ECW. But we'll see what the draft does.
Nic-002001 – Smiles all around!
iNdy MiLk – Thank you! I'm glad you liked the ending of the chapter, but you should know, it's so not the end of the story. SAR III is marching on. The wedding is the end.
Chain Gang Princess – Yeah, not too much more to go now. But I'm writing at rapid fire speed, so as soon as we hit 20 reviews, it's like BANG! New chapter!
Sambolina – Good! Because you know it's ME who is going to have to pay for all of this damn therapy!
Hotpocketbandit – Thanks! I am the cryptic-one after all!
Kasey – Hello again, Kasey. Yes, you did know it. And yes, Dave got it for you. Next chapter is the reunion. I promise.
So that's it for now, everyone. Jessica's blog update will come after the next chapter. I don't want to spoil it for all of you.
Oh and in Chapter 21, which will feature some major wedding planning, Jessica will sign a contract of a new kind… one that places her somewhere she mentioned she was in the future. And you'll see the reason they got into an argument further down the line.
Rock on, Rebels, and review!
Danielle