A/N: Warning: I made myself cry three times while writing this.
It's now early July, and WWE is gearing up for the Money in the Bank pay-per-view. The Shield gets a minute after Smackdown to go out and relax. A selection of slow songs play on the jukebox as couples dance in the small bar. "So who wants to dance with me?" Celeste asks.
""We've been in places with dance floors before and you've never ask." Roman says.
"Wasn't in the mood I guess." she explains. "But I am now."
"Go on Seth." Dean insists.
Celeste shoots him a look, but says, "Yeah, come on Seth."
"Uh..I'm not really a good dancer." Seth mutters.
Celeste stands and takes his hand. "It's nothing fancy. Think high school dance. You'll be fine."
Seth smiles and allows her to lead him out on the floor.
She places her hands on his shoulders as he takes hold of her waist. "I Want to Know What Love Is" begins playing, causing both to chuckle.
"I love this song." Celeste says.
"It's older than me isn't it?" Seth asks.
"So?" she responds.
Seth just laughs. As the song plays they gaze into each other's eyes. Seth fights the urge to blurt out his feelings. Celeste finds her heart racing. No! He's not ready yet. I'm not ready!
She takes a deep breath. "Are you still reading that devotional book I gave you?" she asks slowly.
He nods. "Yeah. Finished it this morning actually. I…think I've actually gotten something out of it."
Celeste smiles. "I'm so glad." She gets an idea. "Hey, we're gonna be in Knoxville next Sunday. Why don't you come to church with me?"
Normally Seth would have protested such a suggestion. However, between reading the book and his feelings for the woman in his arms, he felt compelled to say, "Yeah, I would like that."
Sunday morning, Celeste heads to the hotel to pick up Seth. "Hey." she says when he opens the door.
"Hey." he replies. "Wow! You look beautiful!" he says, admiring her in her bright yellow dress.
"Thanks. You look great too." she says.
Seth looks down at his jeans and blue dress shirt. "Thanks. I wasn't sure if your church was button-down, or more laid back. Thought this was a happy medium."
Celeste smiles, "It's fine. And don't worry about your two-toned hair. One of our youth used to have purple hair."
Seth laughs. "I actually hadn't thought about my hair. I should put it up though."
"If you want. You don't have to." Celeste says. Her heart flutters as she adds, "I like your hair down."
"Down it is." Seth says. "Should we get going?"
"Yes. Come on." Celeste responds.
When they arrive at the church are instantly greeted by many people. Most are not wrestling fans and have no clue who Seth is, but are very welcoming. Celeste is ask by the music leader if she would sing since the person who was supposed to sing the special had an emergency and couldn't make it. Celeste was a bit nervous at first, but agreed and easily chose a song. She showed Seth to a seat in a pew a few rows from the front. She walks up to the pulpit and takes a deep breath. "Recently I have made some changes in my life. I discovered that I had not been following God as I should. I would really like to thank Him for being so merciful and patient with me." She nods to the pianist to begin playing and sings, "Only Hope."
Seth listens as her sweet voice quivers with emotion. Suddenly he realizes tears are coming from his own eyes. When the song ends, he stands to his feet with everyone else giving Celeste a standing ovation. He also notices that he was not the only person crying. When Celeste returns to her seat, she smiles at him. He smiles back. "Your angelic voice got to a lot of us it seems."
She removes a tissue from her purse and dabs his face. "I don't think it was my voice getting to you." Seth listened closely to the sermon. During the closing prayer, Celeste prayed that he would open up to accepting Christ.
After church they went back to Celeste's apartment to change into workout clothes. Celeste comes out the bedroom and sees Seth looking at a picture of her with her mother. "This is nice." he says.
"Thanks." she says. "It was at a local restaurant. One of the last times she got to out go and about before she got so bad off."
"Probably a better memory than the last time you saw her." Seth suggests.
Celeste smiles. "Yeah. She would fall asleep for a few hours and wake up thinking it was a totally different day. So I instead of telling her that I would see her in a few days, I told her I would see her later." She pauses can her eyes tear up. "When John and I were leaving the hospital after she'd passed away, God comforted me by reminding me of my last words to her. So, before I left I said, 'I'll see you later.' Because I know I will."
For the second time in over an hour Celeste had reduced Seth to tears. He chuckles, rubbing his eyes. "You gotta stop doing this to me."
They hike along the trial at the waterfall. Seth takes in the beauty of the scene and realizes something is still speaking to him. His spirit has been stirring every since church. As they cross the street back toward Celeste's car, he says, "Sparky?"
"Yeah?" she turns toward him and stops.
"I…" He stops when he hears a noise that's getting closer.
The next thing Celeste knows, Seth is shoving her across the road. She hits the ground hard, scraping her elbow. She sees Seth flying over the hood of a car and screams!
Roman and Dean decided to check out the hiking trial after learning Celeste and Seth were going there. "This is the right road isn't it?" Roman asks.
"I think so." Dean answers. "Why is that car in front of us in such a damn hurry?"
"No id…" Roman's foot hits the break as they see a body fly over the car up ahead. The car speeds off and the body lands off to the side of the road.
"Is that…?" Dean begins.
"I think so!" Roman replies. They exit the car and race toward Seth.
"SETH!" Celeste shrieks, still sitting on the ground where she landed.
"Star?!" Dean heads toward her, as Roman checks on Seth. He helps her to her feet, but she shoves past him and rushes to Seth. Dean follows. Both are relieved to see he is conscious and Roman has already dialed 911.
Celeste kneels beside of Seth and takes his hand. "Sparky?" he says, weakly.
"Just lay still. You're gonna be okay." she says. "Thank you for shoving me out of the way."
He smiles. "What…what I needed to tell you…"
Dean leans over and says, "Man just be quiet, don't waste your energy."
Seth ignores him and looks at Celeste. He knows this is important. He squeezes her hand. "I need you…to help me…pray."
Celeste knows he means the prayer of salvation and filled with a mix of emotions. "Okay." her voice cracks. "All you need to say is, "Father God, I know I'm a sinner and I thank you for sending Jesus to die for my sins. I ask for you cleanse of my sins in Jesus' name. Amen."
Dean doubts Seth has the energy to say much more, but is astonished when Seth does manage to repeat the prayer.
Seth closes his eyes.
"Look at me!" Celeste insists. Seth reopens his eyes. "I'm proud of you. But just because you're ready to go doesn't mean you can. Wanna know why?" He just smiles at her. "You can't leave me. Because I'm falling in love with you." She leans down and presses her lips against his. He tries to return the kiss, but Celeste feels him go limp. She pulls back and sees Seth now unconscious.