Chapter 98:

"Oh wow, Dave!" Candice Michelle Beckman's brown eyes filled with happy tears and gazed at the man known around the world as the Animal with adoration in her eyes. "Really? You're really going to do this?"

"Really." He nodded, a grin stretching across his face from ear to ear. "Tonight, just before the doors open for the fans to fill the arena for Raw. I was going to wait and try to plan something creative and over the top, but I don't want to wait. I want it to be simple and mean something to the both of us. I think Haley would prefer that anyway."

The Candy-coated Diva nodded in agreement. "I think she would too. Dave, it's so romantic. I'm really happy for both of you. After all you two have been through this year you deserve every happiness."

"Thanks Candice." He hugged her gently. "I met with your boyfriend earlier too, he actually gave me his blessing, though I don't think he really wanted to."

"He'll have a hard time letting her go, I don't think he disapproves of you, not after everything that went down." Candice laughed, squeezing him tightly. "What about Hunter, does he approve?"

"He went with me to pick out the ring." He released her and grinned. "I think he's a little sad over letting her go too, but at the same time he's really proud of the both of us. He's by on our side all along. That and he keeps giving me crap about the fact that I actually want to get married again. I swore I wouldn't after Angie and I divorced."

"Well when you and Angie got divorced it was ugly. You and I weren't even really friends yet, but I remember that she made your life a living hell for awhile. How were you so supposed to know that almost two years later, Haley was going to walk into your life and make everything better?" Candice shook her head with amusement shining in her eyes.

"That's pretty much what I said to Hunter." Dave nodded. "I thought Angie was it for me and even though we screwed each other over in the end, I didn't cut her out of my life, thinking maybe after I retire we'd put the pieces back together and work shit out, though I wouldn't marry her again. Then Haley literally runs into me backstage and my whole life changed."

"She used to get so red in the face whenever we teased her about you." Candice giggled at the thought. "Even when she was dating John, we used to give her so much crap about you. You could tell she totally had a crush on you, she just didn't want to admit it, especially when things with John headed downhill. We never teased her about Randy. We were always concerned there."

"Because he's a raging psychopath who sucks compared to me?" Dave joked.

"Pretty much." She playfully nudged him with her elbow. "I'm really happy for you, Dave. I mean I'm happy for Haley because she's my best friend, but you haven't had it easy either and she makes you happy so, I'm happy for you as well. You both deserve each other, in a good way. And I'm just saying it now, so you know, any future kids, I demand to be Godmother!"

Dave let out a sharp bark of a laugh. "You would. And you won't hear any arguments from Haley or myself. Though if we have more than one, I think my sister deserves to be a Godmother too."

"We'll debate that when Haley starts popping out babies." Candice teased. "Good luck tonight Dave, I'm excited to see it. I can't wait to see her reaction. It's going to be perfect."

Meanwhile…

John Cena sat in the stands, watching the roadies set up the wrestling ring and the commentary table for tonight's Raw show. The current World Champion was brooding and doing so while he could because as soon as they were finished, he would helping set up for a completely different kind of event; Dave's Marriage Proposal. He should be brooding about the next PPV, the Royal Rumble and who his next challenger might be. After all, once the Rumble hit they were on the road to Wrestlemania, and not just any Wrestlemania, the 25th Anniversary of Wrestlemania. It was guaranteed to be a big one, if not the biggest in Wrestlemania history. And since his goal was to walk into Wrestlemania as Champion, he should be focusing on keeping his World Heavyweight title.

But instead he was thinking about his ex-girlfriend. Haley Mariano was one of a kind. She was bright, bubbly and uncommonly kind, but when it was warranted, she was fierce, protective and loyal to those she loved and what she believed in. Even the current Women's Champion, Beth Phoenix had stopped giving Haley a hard time after all their battles over the title. She did something no one else would, she made Randy Orton human, if only for a little while. For the few months John could call her his, she had given him the insight he needed to make his future relationships work. He loved her for it, and though it had taken him some time, he had finally fallen out of love with her as well. She would always be his friend, but after tonight she would chose to belong to the Animal, forever.

He couldn't help but wonder if it would have been him tonight, had he not screwed up last year and lost her as his girlfriend. Would he be the one proposing? Would she love him as passionately as she loved Dave? Would she say yes to marrying him? He'd never know. It could have been, but then, maybe she would be with Randy by now instead of Dave if he hadn't screwed up. John wasn't stupid, he knew the Legend Killer had been winning his girlfriend over while he was messing everything up. He shuddered to think of Haley and Randy as a couple now. This Legacy faction wouldn't bode well for anybody and had Haley been a part of it, it could have destroyed her. It might destroy her now, even without being with Randy. He swore to make sure he had her back so Randy couldn't hurt her. After what Randy had done to him in the past, he didn't want to know what he would do to Haley who had rejected him.

"John?" Kelly Kelly appeared behind him, breaking through his thoughts. "It's almost time. Are you ready?"

"Yeah." He shook his head to clear away his melancholy thoughts and stood up. "What do you need me to do exactly?"

"Help Evan, Kofi and Phil rig the ramp with fairy lights." Kelly explained. "Candice and Maria are going to drop flower petals down the middle of the ramp so the lights just have to be on the edges, that way they're easier to take down for the show. Michelle and I are going to decorate the ring itself."

"Okay." John nodded, not really sure how he was supposed to rig up fairy lights on the ramp, but he figured between himself, Bourne, Kingston and Punk they could come up with something.

"Come on, Haley's going to be here in like two hours, we have a lot to do." Kelly laughed, grabbing his wrist and tugging him to his feet. "This has to be perfect!"

"Why? We already know she's going to say yes no matter what Dave does." He joked, following the blonde down to the ring.

"Oh don't be such a cynic." Kelly rolled her eyes. "It's romantic. Dave is being such a love putting all this together for her. We have to help him."

"I didn't say I wouldn't help." He laughed. "Forget I said anything."

Elsewhere…

In the lobby of the Marriot Hotel, once again Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson and Hunter 'Triple H' Helmsley stood facing each other. Meanwhile Haley was packing up her room so she could check out and head to the Mellon Arena for tonight's episode of Monday Night Raw. The two men appeared to be sizing each other up, having not seen or spoken to each other since that night they met in a bar to hash out their disagreement.

"Are you ready for this?" Hunter broke the silence first. "To let her go?"

"Hell no." Dwayne shook his head. "Not in the slightest. But I gave him my blessing because he makes her happy, and if its what she wants, she's going to say yes with or without it."

"Glad I'm not the only one." Hunter sighed. "I'm not ready either, but they love each other. I'm not going to even try to stand in their way. And if we're honest, who loves her more than he does?"

"I thought Randy did." Dwayne shrugged. "But I was wrong. Dave has been completely unselfish when it comes to her. If he's what she wants, then he's what she'll get. Besides, her mother is not going to react well to her marrying a wrestler, the least I can do is be supportive."

"I haven't met her family yet." Hunter frowned. "Are they really that bad?"

"Her brothers and her father are okay." Dwayne shook his head. "It's her mother, she's a real piece of work sometimes. She loves Haley, but she does not approve of her career choice, or boyfriend choice. She'd rather see Haley riding horses or working in some office, dating some business executive than be anywhere near this business. She refuses to support Haley in any way on this path. I worry about her reaction to the engagement."

"Doesn't she want Haley to be happy?" Hunter asked incredulously. "Anyone can see the girl has blossomed since becoming a Diva."

"Erin can't. This is not an Erin approved career, nor is Dave an Erin approved boyfriend, and definitely not Erin approved husband material." Dwayne looked disgusted. "Haley has spoken to her since early this summer actually. They had a huge row that weekend she took off to visit her family. She's still in touch with her father and brothers, but not her mother."

"Jesus, guess we better be extra supportive then." Hunter said, irritation shining in his blue eyes. "I'll go with her when she breaks the news. I'd like to her try and tell Haley about bad life decisions with me over her shoulder."

"She won't say anything with you there." Dwayne told him. "She wants to harangue Haley over the phone, or corners her in private. She made her opinion of my influence on Haley abundantly clear when Haley was a teenager, fortunately Haley and I refused to separate and my charm won her over enough to let her spend more time with me. But after college, Haley took her own path in life. Erin's hated every second of it."

"Haley's becoming a legacy." Hunter smiled at the thought. "Both yours and mine. Mommy Dearest is going to have to get over it."

"Becoming a legacy." Dwayne repeated the phrase. "Heh, I like it. Haley's becoming a legacy; legacy of the Rock and the Game."

"And I've never been more proud of anyone I've trained." Hunter admitted.

"Me neither."

A/N: There it is, the inspiration for the title of this story. Up next, Haley arrives at the arena to a wonderful surprise. Dave will propose, will she say yes?

And then, the final chapter to Becoming A Legacy. Including a summary to No Boundaries and the final bit of foreshadowing.