Author Note: Thanks goes to Slytherin Studios, Leasha Orton, LindaPipeBomb, THE Kid Hardy, Lilygirl95 and DeeMarie426 for the reviews. Thanks also goes to The Simonette254 and Lilygirl95 for becoming followers to this story. I serious love all of your support of this story and encouragement to complete something this complex. This chapter is a milestone and maybe a little bit of a tear jerker. I hope you all like it. There are sections of lyrics from the song 'Fallen Angel' by Poison in this chapter.

"Every rose has its thorn

Just like every night had its dawn

Just like every cowboy sings his sad, sad song

Every rose has its thorn

Yeah it does"

'Every Rose Has Its Thorn' by: Poison

Chapter 38: Reunion

Roman couldn't understand what was really going on. The only thing he knew was that Rydia's lips were pressed against his own. Her tongue swiped against his parted lips, begging entrance to his mouth. His hand reached up to cup her cheek, taking the kiss even deeper. The crowd cheering behind them was a sure indication they accepted the pairing. He broke the kiss and leaned his forehead down on top of hers.

"Rydia..." He whispered.

"Shh..." She soothed.

Within her own mind, was all the memories she thought she had lost. It also meant she also remembered Nick, the man who caused all the turmoil in the first place. Her eyes burned with the heartache of knowing that if she told people that her memories returned, they would all be in danger again. And that was something she wasn't willing to risk.

She stood in the middle of the ring looking up into Roman's eyes, playing her part of the love interest; but in reality she really was the love interest and the one she belonged with. He completed her in more ways than one.

Backstage

Mia couldn't believe what she had just witness. Rydia returning without anyone knowing was beyond words of description. The kiss she shared with Roman couldn't have been anymore perfect; but she had a feeling it would only confuse the man more than he already was. He was already having a hard time accepting the fact that Rydia couldn't remember their relationship.

"What was that? Why didn't we know about it?" Dean asked rubbing his hand against Mia's belly.

"I honestly don't know. Maybe her memory returned and isn't saying anything." She answered.

Dean didn't reply; but his fiance's answer did make a lot of sense to him. Rydia was the type of person to protect the ones she loved despite harming herself in the process. His only hope was that she wouldn't get killed for the effort.

Seth barged into the room without knocking first. The surprise was plainly obvious on his face. Mia could only imagine what he was feeling after seeing Rydia's surprise return only to make out with Roman on live television. She knew the feelings were one sided and they always would be.

"Did you know about that?" Seth asked accusing Mia of knowing and not telling him.

"No, none of us did." She replied.

It then occurred to him that Skye left the office pretty quickly. Maybe she took Rydia in there to hide from everyone else. "Skye, that sneaky little..." Seth commented cutting himself off before he called her something he'd regret later.

"What are you talking about?" Dean asked irritated by his friend's interruption.

"I ran into Skye coming out of the office. She seemed agitated and scattered. I tried to talk to her; but she just pushed me away."

"Do you really blame her for pushing you away? You practically tore her heart out." Mia snapped.

Seth let out a sigh. As much as he hated to admit it, she was right. All he had accomplished in those months of searching for answers was push away the one person that made him feel whole. Thinking Rydia could ever return his feelings was complete insanity and there was nothing left to say about it.

Rydia walked next to Roman. He continued to run the last thirty minutes inside his mind over and over in a rapid replay. The way she had kissed him reminded him of all their previous kisses, before the coma. It was like she felt everything he did. "Rydia..." He called stopping in the middle of the hall. He wanted answers and felt that he deserved them, since her action played a critical role on him.

She turned to gaze at him for a moment, understanding that he was probably confused about what happened. For once in her life, she didn't know what to say to make things less confusing for him. Her eyes burned with the anguish in wanting to tell him the truth.

"What was that all about?" He asked cautiously hoping it didn't sound angry or harsh.

"I wanted to make my return and Hunter squeezed it in for me. I just wanted to surprise everyone." She replied hiding the fact that it really was all about him.

Roman couldn't tell if she was sincere or lying about what her intentions were; but seeing the dreamcatcher around her neck it made him think there was more to her reasons than she was willing to admit. Seeing her wear the pendent gave him hope that she'd remember what they had. A smile crept to his lips, taking her breath away in an instant.

"Come on, I'm sure the others are dying to see you."

"Probably! I hope I didn't surprise Mia into labor."

Rydia laughed for the first time in a long time. Being close to him brought back all the reasons she loved him. He was her rock, the one thing solid in her life that wouldn't crumble before her eyes. The only problem was that she couldn't tell him the truth, it would only put him in danger once again. He was safer not knowing.

Turning the corner, Mia and Dean stood with Seth talking. She could see the smiles forming on their faces the second they glanced in her direction. Mia was the first to welcome her into an embrace. "It was awesome to see you in the ring again. They missed you so much." Mia encouraged.

"You think?" Rydia questioned.

"Did you hear them, Ry? They love you." Dean replied hugging his future sister-in-law.

Seth was the last one to embrace her. He was hesitant in doing so, because of the fact he knew that he really needed to just let go. He needed to focus on something else. She was alive and awake, and that's all he really wanted to begin with.

Rydia pulled away knowing something was different about him. The feeling of guilt overwhelmed her senses when she realized that while in the coma, he had done so much in trying to find Nick. He also made sure her room was always cheery. She never thanked him for any of it; but if she did then he would know that her memories had returned. Knowing she couldn't bring herself to admit it, she opted to say nothing at all.

"I think we should go out tonight." Mia suggested.

"Mia, do you think that's a good idea?" Dean asked.

"I think it's a great idea." Skye stated interrupting the conversation.

They all turned in her direction. Skye smiled at Rydia. Seth closed his eyes in shame after thinking about all he had done to her for the sake of a chance that Rydia would wake up. Now, he wasn't so sure it was even worth it.

Skye's hand was twined with that of Dolph Ziggler's. His semi-long bleach blonde hair was pulled back into a small ponytail. His eyes never moved from Seth's, indicating hostility between them. To make the tension even higher, Emilee stepped out of Dean's locker-room wondering where Mia had gone off to.

Rydia tried desperately not to narrow her eyes at the woman. There was just something about her she didn't like. Feeling Roman tense behind her was only a confirmation that she should feel that way. She only wished she knew what the connection was between them.

"Emilee, come out with us. It'll be fun, I promise." Mia begged.

"I guess so; but only to keep an eye on you. You really need to be more careful."

Roman mentally rolled his eyes at the thought of her going anywhere with them. He hoped that he would get a chance to talk with Rydia one on one. Emilee's eyes bore into his. Her burning jealousy of Rydia was painfully obvious. His protective nature was starting to take over as he gently placed his hand on Rydia's lower back.

His sudden touch sparked Rydia's desire to wrap her arms around him and never let go. Her restraint was quickly crumbling being that close to him for a long period of time. She just hoped that going out with all of them would put some distance between them. "So where do you want to go, Skye?" She asked softly.

"I've only got one place in mind considering we in our home town." Skye replied with a childish smile.

There was only one place Rydia could think of and that was the biggest karaoke bar in the state. It also had a DJ. There were so many memories of the two of them spending all their money doing what they always loved to do. There was no way she could hide her smile and the laughter that followed. "So you remember that I see." Skye inquired wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

"I told you that I had almost all of my memories of my past, including you. Yes, I remember where I made my start in the music industry."

"So we are going show all the amateurs how its done tonight?"

Rydia laughed, loving her upbeat personality despite all she's been through over the last couple of years. Emilee perked at the thought of getting a chance to see her voice in action. She may hate her for stealing Roman's heart; but her liking of her vocal talent was there and the respect for that outweighed the hatred most of the time.

The group started to close the gap around her. The mutual want to hear her once again was more important than anything else in that moment. They wanted her to feel normal and safe. Rydia looked around at all the loved ones surrounding her. "Come on, you need to have fun again. You know you love to sing." Mia encouraged.

"It's been so long..."

"Doesn't matter how long it's been, the talent is still there." Seth stated taking a step closer to her.

Roman held back his aggression. He didn't want to scare her by him telling Seth to back off, because there really wasn't anything he could say since she still didn't remember their relationship. Rydia smiled at him, remembering the day she woke up from the coma. She shifted her eyes from him to Roman. His encouragement was the one she wanted to hear the most.

"I'd love to hear you again." He said with a smile.

"Then it's settled, let's go!" Skye said clapping her hands together.

Karaoke Bar

The moment Rydia walked into the building a sense of remembrance washed over her. Her past was filled with memories of the building they were presently standing in. The place was where she first met Skye. Back then, she was happy covering songs from the 80's decade. It wasn't until she met Skye did her music expand to different decades and genres. Her hand reached up to touch the pendent around her neck. It gave her such comfort knowing who it came from.

"Okay, you've got to do this one song with me." Skye pleaded.

"What one? We did so many together." Rydia asked.

Her best friend laughed. They really did so many songs together over the years, she lost track of them all; but there was one in particular she had in mind. Her heart hadn't forgotten what Seth had done to her when Rydia was gone. She wanted him to know that her feelings were still hurt over the things he did. "I'll do whatever song you want; but I think you already know which one I want to do." Rydia continued.

There was only one song Skye knew her best friend would want to do. Their friends were in for a serious treat. Her eyes caught Roman. Something was definitely bothering him and the guess she had was that Emilee was there; but maybe Rydia's little stunt to return confused him. Either way she felt sorry for him.

Mia made her way to a table close to the front of the stage. She wanted an up close and personal view of her sister doing one of the things she loved most in life. Dean sat down next to her. He wasn't entirely happy about how stubborn Mia was about going out when she should be resting. He was concerned about her health when so far into her pregnancy.

"Come on Em, sit down and relax." Mia said patting the seat on the other side of her.

"You are so stubborn. You should be resting not encouraging your sister's outings."

"She needs this."

Emilee didn't say another word. She felt that Rydia didn't deserve anything. They made such a fuss of over her and she didn't see what was so special. It partly had to do with the fact that she held Roman's heart in the palm of her hands. As bitter as it made her sound, she kind of wished that Rydia would remain without memories. "I'm going to get a drink..." She stated standing up from the chair.

"That's the spirit!" Mia yelled.

Rolling her eyes, she made her way to the bar for a drink. The bar tender handed Roman three drinks and he turned to walk away. She approached him, hoping to talk to him; but like always he kept right on walking, pretending like she didn't even exist. "It hurts doesn't it?" A voice asked.

Emilee turned to look in the direction of a man in his early thirties. He had shoulder length light brown hair and the darkest brown eyes she had ever seen. A small earring was set in both of his ears. She never liked piercings; but on him it looked good. "Are you talking to me?" She asked.

"Of course sweetheart."

"He's my ex-boyfriend and yeah, it's hurts."

The stranger took several steps closer to her. His fingertips moved several strains of her hair out of her beautiful blue eyes. Emilee had no idea who the man was; but her body tingled with sensations she hadn't felt since being with Roman years ago. "My name is Nick and he's a fool for letting someone so beautiful go." He complimented.

"Thank you. He is a damned fool. His heart belongs to someone who doesn't even remember him."

"Such a shame..."

A familiar song started to play. 'Fallen Angel' by Poison. It was Rydia's favorite song from the past. His eyes scanned the stage waiting to see if it was her and sure enough she was standing in the middle of the stage dressed in tight black vinyl pants and lime green tank top with a scoop neckline. It didn't surprise him that she was wearing her favorite pair of black knee-high boots. It also didn't surprise him to see Skye close to her with her body moving up against Rydia's.

"She stepped off the bus out into the city streets

Just a small town girl with her whole life

Packed in a suitcase by her feet

But somehow the lights didn't

Shine as bright as they did

On her mama's TV screen" Rydia sung with a smile plastered to her lips.

The words flowed off her lips without any hesitation at all. She was no doubt singing with all her heart. With Skye at her side it was almost like six years ago right in front of him. He hated the fact that she could still wiggle her way into his heart even after everything that had happened already.

Emilee couldn't believe the talent radiating from Rydia's mouth. She really was one-of-a-kind and it made her hate her even more. Hatred was an emotion she was unfamiliar with; but since involving herself with Mia, it has made its presence more times than she would have liked. "Are you alright?" Nick asked trying to forget about the song and Rydia.

"Yeah...that's the woman my ex wants. I guess I can't blame him. She's got so much going for her than me. I'm just a OBGYN."

"There is nothing wrong with that. You help give life to babies."

"It's not the same as it used to be..."

Roman watched intently from his own table, taking swigs of his beer every so often. Rydia just proved to him time and time again that she really was everything to him. It had been so long since he had heard her voice. It was just as beautiful as he remembered.

"Win big—Mama's fallen angel

Lose big- living out her lies

Wants it all- Mama's fallen angel

Lose it all, rolling the dice of her life"

Rydia held out the last note and hugged Skye tightly. There was so much emotion flowing through her that tears rolled down her cheeks without any warning. The crowd clapped and cheered loudly. It only brought on more emotions within her and she didn't know how much longer she could hide the fact her memories were back.

Seth pretty much got the idea that Skye was still hurt by what he had done to her. He wanted to make things okay; but there was a problem with doing so and his name was Dolph Ziggler. Standing beside Roman as he watched Rydia's tears roll down her cheeks made him realize just how helpless he was and had been the whole time. "She really is amazing..." He commented.

"Yes, she is..."

His hands clenched at his sides, forming fists. The frustration of the unknown was getting to him. Rydia stepped down from the stage and made her way over towards her sister for a comforting hug. His eyes followed her every move, waiting for the right time to approach her.

On the other side of the bar, the DJ was starting his night of music. Skye pulled Rydia by the hand to get into the large crowd, dancing against each other. A smile never left her face as they sang along to each and every song played. It was almost like the were teenagers again. It wasn't until the DJ decided to play a slow song meant for couples, did they realize that they weren't the only ones in the crowd.

Dolph cut in and took Skye's hand. She winked at Rydia as she stepped back onto the floor in his arms. Rydia walked back towards the bar, feeling a little left out and with an urge to find Roman. She tried to remember if she had ever slow danced with him before; but she kept coming up with nothing, which meant they hadn't.

"Hey..." Roman's voice interrupted her thoughts.

"Hey..." She replied almost startled by him showing up right when she was thinking about him.

Her eyes watched him hold out his hand. He was silently offering to dance with her. She hesitated only for a second before placing her hand into his. The warmth of his skin comforted her, easing the longing she had to be near him. The heels of her boots clicked against the floor as they walked side by side onto the dance floor.

Roman wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her ever so close. Her blue eyes shimmered with the flashing lights reflecting off them. She placed her hand on his chest, moving their bodies along with the song. "Are you having fun tonight?" He asked.

"Yeah, surprisingly."

"You didn't think you would?" He asked again.

"It's complicated..."

The song changed to another slow on, dedicated to the 80's decade. 'Is This Love' by Whitesnake. Rydia stared up into Roman's eyes, wishing that she could kiss his perfect lips and feel every last bit of love from him. She began to hum the song to distract herself from doing exactly what she was thinking. "Have anymore of your memories come back?" He asked softly leaning into the nape of her neck.

His warm breath brushed along her sensitive skin. The question was one she didn't want to answer for fear of what would happen to him if she told the truth. Her silence was a warning not to push any further. "I wish you remembered our relationship. I miss you so much. The kiss we shared tonight at work was perfect. It give me hope that someday you'll remember what we had when I see you wear this." He said reached out to touch the dreamcatcher pendent just above her chest.

"I'm sorry if I confused you." She replied hoping her voice didn't sound cracked or weak.

"I just want you back, so I can say I love you again."

The three words she had been dying to hear only made it that much harder to lie. Tears rolled down her cheeks uncontrollably. Her heart completely shattered. He was so miserable and it was her fault. His thumb brushed away the stray tears. "Don't cry, baby girl. This is going to take time and I'm just letting you know that I'm not going anywhere. I didn't then and I won't now."

His devotion to her was mind blowing. Never once in her entire life was someone that devoted to her. The name he called her just reminded her of the night he had asked her out for a drink. It was the first time she really noticed and took a liking to him instantly. Their bond had been unbreakable every since then. It was then that she came to a decision.

"Roman...I...I can't lie anymore..."

"Lie about what?"

Rydia didn't say another word. She let her kiss speak the words for her. Her lips crashed upon his with both her arms wrapped around his neck. The sudden kiss startled him and almost instantly confused him; but he wouldn't deny her attempt to be close to him. He just wanted to know what it meant as he lost himself in all the sensations he hadn't felt for months. "I love you to..." She whispered when they separated.

"Rydia...?"

"I remember everything. I've known for a little while. I just thought you not knowing the truth would keep you safe."

"I don't care about Nick. I only care about you and this...us."

He held onto her, not wanting to let go for anything or anyone. Rydia smiled against his chest, his hair falling into her face, tickling her nose. "I'm sorry I've been keeping this a secret for so long; but I really was trying to protect you." She apologized. His embraced only tightened, silencing her from any more apologies.

"It doesn't matter. You're back and that's all the matters to me."

Nick watched from the upper level with Emilee by his side. The anger was radiating off the woman like a wildfire. He was hoping he could use it to his advantage and against the woman that still plagued him. It was time to stop playing games and get serious about ending Rydia's life once and for all.

Emilee watched as Roman kissed Rydia. Her jealousy and hatred growing by the second. She could feel Nick's hand touch her shoulder in a comforting manner. There was so many things running through her mind all at the same time. It didn't take her long to snap. She threw the glass in her hand onto the floor. "It'll be okay. Shh...I'm here." Nick soothed pulling Emilee into an embrace.

"I hate her..." She whispered.

"I know...I know..."

A smile never left his lips the whole time he was holding the heartbroken woman in his arms.