When Ary walks into her fathers hospital room, he's off of life support, functioning, and she thinks that it's a God send he's still kicking. She doubts he'll make it a third time, though.
She tells his nurses as such. "Next time he's back on life support, my father wants you to turn it off. He's ready to go, we're ready to let him go."
Colby is proud of her for being so strong, but what he doesn't know is that the strength he has is helping her immensely. She wouldn't be able to do this if it weren't for him.
Together, they fly into Monterey early Wednesday morning. Ary's in contact with a local marriage officiant while they're waiting for their luggage, offering a generous tip in order for the small ceremony to take place in the hospital room.
In the afternoon, she's out shopping for a suitable dress. It's not the usual wedding dress, all white and sparkly, but it's her and it's absolutely gorgeous.
She's on the phone with Nikki most of the afternoon, face-timing her closest friend, asking for opinions on how she should look.
In the end, both of them settle on a dress with a light orange crochet top, a gentle white, floral patterned skirt that falls to the floor. Nikki suggests to match it with a pair of white block mules, some nude lipstick and a gentle application of natural looking makeup.
"I wanna be there, Ar," Nikki sighs down the line. "Photos, okay? Lots of photos, I need them as soon as you finish. And buy one of those gorgeous headbands that has a little veil, so Colby can take it off before he kisses you."
Ary smiles and continues her walk back to her apartment. "You're such a romantic, Nik."
"Have you got the ring yet?"
"No, Col is going to give it to me with the wedding band."
"Sounds like he's the romantic then, Ary Hale. Or should I say Mrs Lopez."
"Shut up, Nicole, otherwise I'll start calling you Nicole Cena."
"Touché."
They end the call shortly afterwards and when Ary falls asleep that night in bed next to Colby, his arm wrapped tight around her waist, she knows that she's making the right decision. She wants to spend the rest of her life with this man.
When she wakes up on Thursday morning, there's a note on the pillow where Colby slept. He wants to meet her at the hospital, writes that he shouldn't see her until they're standing before the officiant, and that Suzanne's going to drop around to help her get ready.
And when Ary sees her sister, their hug lasts for what feels like hours.
She's not really close to her sister, as such, but they're blood. Family. Something that Ary can't and won't ignore.
"Have you talked to Marcus?"
Suzanne nods, holding Ary at arms length and giving her a good once over. It's not like they haven't seen each other for a long time — it's just two months. If that.
"You look so much like mum, Ary," Suzanne says softly. She smiles then, looking around the small apartment. "Alright, no time for dily-dallying, we've got a wedding to get you ready for."
Their mother was Puerto Rican, their father Italian. The mix had Ary's skin naturally tanned, freckles splattered across her nose, eyes darker than Colby's. Suzanne looked more like their father, her pale olive skin a result of his heritage, and her eyes were almost amber brown, much lighter than Ary's. The youngest sibling, her brother Marcus, was the better mixture of both her parents. He had his fathers light brown eyes, his mothers caramel skin, a mop of curls on his head. They definitely looked like a family, but at the same time, they didn't act it.
Ary barely stayed in contact with Marcus; he was busy with his life and she was busy with hers. Occasionally they'd send a couple of messages back and forth and they hadn't seen each other for a couple of years because of his move to Australia — so when the company went down south for a three day tour, she'd spend the night at his in Melbourne.
The wedding itself is very simple; the officiant takes both the rings for Ary and Colby and hands them to her father, and Colby waits patiently in the private hospital room and catches up with Tony.
As Ary walked into the room with a cute little headband veil on, her father sits up straighter and smiles so widely she feels like his face might split in two. Colby has a gentle grin and his eyes are sparkling.
The rings that Colby has arranged are gorgeous. Encased in the silver wedding band are little diamond squares and the engagement ring? It's vintage, Ary knows that for sure. There's a beautiful diamond rock that sits on top of the gold band, a silver floral design curling around it. Simple, elegant, beautiful. Colby tells her that he got it because it's so her.
She holds Tony's hand in hers as she says the traditional wedding vows, stares across at her to-be husband while he reciprocates.
When the officiant tells Colby to remove the headband, he struggles, and the room erupts into a gentle laughter.
And then they kiss. Like sealing the deal, Colby presses his lips gently against hers and wraps a calloused hand around her neck, and Ary realised that she's not kissing her boyfriend anymore, she's kissing her husband.
—
They spend almost all of Friday in Ary's bed.
Her apartment is small yet spacious enough for the two of them. It's an open loft, her queen bed on the top and her kitchen on the ground floor on the opposite side.
Colby eventually deserts her for a quick crossfit bout and she does her own training in the apartment, engaging her muscles in a long Pilates session before cooking up a beautiful beef casserole.
"If this is the life I'm signing up to as a husband, I'm down," Colby announces as he walks through the front door.
Ary turns and sends him a cute little grin and his eyes trail down her body that's barely covered in one of his shirts.
"I'm so down."
—
RAW Live, May 25th
Memorial Day.
RAW started with a video vignette, her face, Colby's face, Jon's face, Nikki's face taking part as well as a handful of other superstars as they spoke that iconic speech.
Together, the locker room stood at the back, Colby's hand in hers and her head resting on his chest. And then… then it was showtime.
—
When Dean Ambrose walks out, Ary Hale is right next to him, her title slung across her shoulder, face split in half with a grin. She sends a little wave to the members of the Authority in the ring.
In her hands, she holds a kendo stick across her back and a microphone.
"Now you may find this hard to believe, but I think there's something wrong with me." He pauses, sways to the rhythm of the crowd chanting his name, and Ary openly laughs in glee. "There might be something wrong with me, I can't sleep well lately and instead of counting sheep, I count punching Seth Rollins in the face. I count the teeth flying out of his mouth one by one; by the time I get to about two hundred punches, I sleep like a baby."
Dean continues and Ary's face fills the tron as she stands next to the lunatic fringe. "I get this feeling, I guess you can call it… happiness. Beating up Seth Rollins makes me happy. So normally, like Ary Hale here," he motions to her with a smug grin, "I'd get my jollies kicking the crap out of Seth Rollins for free. But last week, with a gentle nudge in the right direction thanks to your latest target," again he motioned at the woman next to him, "I realised I wanted it to be for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. And the crazy thing is Seth, it's actually gonna happen. All it took was a steel chair, a few cinder blocks, and a little bit of imagination. I hope the WWE Universe enjoyed that as much as I did, I know Ary certainly did, I know the Authority appreciated it.
"I know the Authority appreciated it because there's a good chance this Sunday their boy, their golden boy, their golden lil' baby boy, the Architect gets replaced by someone you call a lunatic but everyone else is just gonna call the new face of WWE. Now when that happens, I wanna make some changes around here! For starters, J&J Security, you're going barefoot like a couple of… respectable hobbits. And Kane… you can stop wearing that cheap suit; you can just wear a collar like the obedient little dog that you are. And Seth, well… you can drunk dial Selena Gomez, because Sethy boy, you'll always be our little Justin Bieber."
Seth's had enough. "You shut your mouth, Ambrose!" He yells, stepping forward and pointing threateningly. Except the Justin Bieber chants are ear shattering. "You know what? You people, when are you gonna get it, you called me a sell out for so long and you act like I wasn't proud of it, alright? And now you call me Justin Bieber like it's an insult? Why do you call me that, I mean, just— just—"
"I don't think these lovely people actually want to hear what you have to say, Seth, so you can save your breath."
Seth's furious eyes latch onto Ary Hale's smug figure.
"See, Seth, you may be standing up there with that Championship across your shoulder like it's supposed to mean something," Ary laughs, shakes her head. "But, honestly? It's like I own this company, because right now, my Diva's Championship means a hell of a lot more than what you've made that title stand for."
The audiences both cheers and lets out a loud round of 'ooooh', trying to drive it home, and in the centre of the ring, Ary can actually see Seth's chest heaving.
"This doesn't concern you, Ary Hale, so you can shut your mouth too!" Seth yells. Ary shrugs and lets out a triumphant laugh. "As for you, Ambrose, you're just a little cockroach. And the thing about cockroaches, Dean, they're really good at surviving, hell, I've heard that they can survive a nuclear holocaust. But they never thrive. Cockroaches, they never win, Dean. You are destined to be a loser your entire life, all you want is to be the man standing in this ring, all you want is to be me, Dean Ambrose, and you know what? It's a good thing, maybe it's a blessing in disguise you're trying to weasel your way into a match with me at Elimination Chamber because I am sick of chasing you away from WWE and if you've got the guts to come down here and put your name on that line and sign the contract and make it official, I will gladly scrape your teeth off the bottom of my boot for the very last time at Elimination chamber. So come on down, I dare ya!"
Ary purses her lips at the harsh words, looks across at her business partner. He cracks his neck, slowly lifts the microphone to his mouth. "Well, I'd rather be a cockroach than the wrong end of the Authority's human centipede."
The arena is deafening.
"So all I've gotta do is come down, get in that ring, step right into that lions den, and sign that contract?" Dean pauses, taps his finger on the mic. "Well, it might be crazy and it might be stupid but it might be worth a shot. And there's only one way to find out."
He drops the microphone, slips his leather jacket off, and Ary follows suit, practicing her swing as she walks beside him. They head for the side of the barricades closest to the commentary table and when Roman Reigns' music sounds across the stadium, Ary can't help throwing her head back and laughing in glee.
But Stephanie McMahon has other plans. "You know, everywhere I turn, I see The Shield boys are inseparable, it's so cute and so sweet, everybody loves it, it's so nice. What are you doing, Ary, messing around with both of them behind closed doors?"
Ary's tempted to call out suck my dick but she knows it won't go down too well, so instead keeps her mouth shut and grins at the woman like it doesn't irk her at all.
"And Dean, you have til the end of the night to sign that contract to make your championship match official for Elimination Chamber. But until then, I'm gonna make a main event. How about the two of you team up to face the team of Kane and the Architect, the WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins. But the best part of it, ladies and gentlemen, you don't have to wait until the end of the night; this match happens right now."
Ary stays ringside because J&J Security do. She prowls the side of the ring her team is on and stares menacingly at the security detail, arms wrapped around the kendo stick at the back of her neck.
She's taller than them this time; because once again, while she's not wrestling tonight, they have her in some distressed skinny jeans and sky high ankle boots.
They stay in line for most of the match, but when they step out of line, Ary doesn't hesitate. The crowd goes wild as they watch her swing the stick down on both of the security men, but then they go wild in a different kind of way, she knows that there's a large, red monster behind her.
Kane smiles, well… grimaces at her, wraps his hand around her neck, chokeslam about to be hard and heavy, until over her side, Reigns flies in with a deafening Superman Punch.
Letting out a relieved sigh, her dark eyes find Reigns' pale ones and she holds her fist out so he can bump his against it.
Beside them in the ring, Ambrose hits a back slide on Seth and picks up the win one, two, three, and the Authority get the hell out of dodge while they still can, faces absolutely fuming. And on the other hand, Dean, Roman and her? They celebrate in the centre of the ring, Ary holding her championship high in the air and pointing right at the man who could never be as dominant as her.
—
Ary isn't there to back up Dean when he gets attacked by Seth and J&J, but she hears about it and is then questioned by the commentary team when she joins them for the Divas match between Paige and Naomi.
After Paige's dominating win, Ary finds herself backstage in a room with the two leaders of the Authority.
"You seriously think that putting him in jail is going to stop him from signing that contract?!" She yells as she comes into the frame.
"Miss Hale…" Stephanie drawls, looking unimpressed beyond words.
"Even if he gets bailed out by you, Ary, there's no way he'll make it back here in time for the end of the show, which means he won't get that contract signed." Hunter is calm, cool, collected, staring triumphantly at the Diva's Champion.
"You might as well swallow those words you're speaking, Hunter, because you don't know Dean quite that well if you think being halfway across the city is going to slow him down. Do you know how many connections he has?"
Stephanie snorts. "Ary, there's no way he's making it back. Now, if you'll please…" she motions to the door, but when Ary doesn't move, her lips pull back. "If you don't leave this room right now, Ary Hale, I will make your life a living hell, I will strip you of everything you've ever worked for—"
"Stephanie…" Hunter warns, placing a gentle hand on her arm. "I think Ary knows exactly what to expect from us if she doesn't take our advice."
"Oh, don't worry, Triple H," the champion taunts, toxic smile curling across her lips. "You won't strip me of this title because I'm the only relevant champion this company currently has. I mean, you may as well throw Rollins to the bottom of the barrel, because right now, the vacant Intercontinental Championship has more prestige than that thing he has around his waist."
"You're the only female champion because there's only one belt in your division, Hale—"
"And why is that, Hunter? Are we not hard enough to carry two? Are you afraid that if you bring another one in, I'll hold both?"
The two people standing across from her are furious.
"You know what, Hale?" Stephanie seethes, "Forget your one-on-one match with Paige at Elimination Chamber. You'll defend your title against Paige, and Naomi, and Nikkie Bella, and Brie Bella, and the rest of your division in a Divas Battle Royal. That's, what… eleven women you have to fight off? Each of them you've insulted more times than I can care to count!"
Ary shrugs. "Nothing I haven't won at before, Stephanie, but I'll have fun beating everyone for a second time — or a third time, or a fourth time if I pin Nikki Bella. Thanks for the opportunity to showcase my skills, though!"
Her nostrils flare. "I'd leave if I were you before I add another stipulation."
"What?" Ary laughs, shakes her head. "Afraid that I won't be able to handle tables? Or chairs? Or ladders? Or are you afraid that no one will be able to dethrone me if that's introduced?" Ary wriggled her eyebrows and rubbed the title around her waist lovingly, grin shining along with her eyes. "Ambrose will be back and he will sign that contract, and on Sunday at the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view, he will win that WWE World Heavyweight Championship fair and square, and I'll successfully battle eleven other women to retain my championship because you have no one that's even close to being as good as me."
woooooO! got this done in the space of a night, and because of that, I think maaaaybe this might go for a little longer than I expected... to SummerSlam, at least, because that's how far I've mapped out the storyline... oh well, we'll see how we go!
To my reviewers (some of who review both on this one AND my other Dean/OC one because they're awesome), Raquel the writer (thankyou for thinking so!), Bajor10 (if that comes up in the future, i'll be more than willing to showcase it :)!), and T (man I love you! i think if i were to finish this one soon, i'll focus more on their backstory and how they met, I mean I have their whole past/history mapped out, so I guess it's important, right? Colby is the best honestly, love him to bits (especially my version of him :*), hope you enjoyed this one just as much!), thankyou!
drop a comment and I'll more than willingly reply and strike up a conversation! thank you to my silent readers who favourite and follow the story, and im happy about the shorter wait for an update this time! love you all lots xx