Being a pro wrestler was challenging, and traveling took its toll, as did the constant empty feeling of being alone when traveling. Family was almost a luxury; romance was a gift only a few managed to get and keep hold of. There was also the high of adrenaline when in the ring and meeting fans worldwide, but even that had its downside. When the adrenaline wore off, the wear and tear of taking bumps day in and day out caught up. Sometimes, the pain was bearable, and injuries were just the normal bruise or strain, but sometimes, the injuries could be worse. Sometimes, they were terrible enough to bring reality crashing down on the unfortunate soul to suffer them, bringing them back to reality and reminding them they weren't invincible as they had led themselves to believe. Sometimes, it ended careers.

Despite the risks, (Y/N) loved being a pro wrestler. When she was younger, that was all she wanted to do. Anyone who knew her then could see her passion and love for the dangerous sport. They could see her determination to bring that crazy dream true. She'd adopted a demonic persona in the ring, using her gothic style to her advantage. So when Judgment Day was formed, her fans didn't question if she would join the villainous faction; they asked when she would join them. Their question was answered at the Royal Rumble when she turned on and eliminated her former tag team partner Candice LeRae from the signature match. At first, the WWE Universe and Locker Room thought it was an accident.

Until the following Raw, when she was introduced as the newest TJD member, everything with Damian suddenly made sense. The questions on why he kept appearing around ringside during her matches were finally answered; the backstage segments and encounters made sense. At the same time, another lingering question was responded to. Who was the Shadow Queen Damian had been referring to for weeks?

Since joining Judgment Day, (Y/N) had been having the time of her life; they were not just her stable mates but her family. Rhea was now her tag team partner and best friend. Dominik and Finn were like her brothers, both protective as they were with Rhea; JD also became like a brother when he was finally accepted into the family-like faction. But Damian was something else entirely. Almost everyone could see his undying affection for (Y/N); the only person blind to it was (Y/N) herself.

"You told her yet," pestered Rhea; the two were in the locker room, waiting for the time to pass. The show started in less than an hour. "Awe, come on, you big softie, Demon isn't that scary; you just got to tell her," laughed the Aussie when Damian sent his deadpan look in her direction, just in time for Dominik and JD to return from their run around the arena. Rhea's laugh instantly made both men smile, although their confusion was also on clear display.

"Priest hasn't told Demon he wants to tame her," commented Rhea, quickly moving her from her spot behind the Archer of Infamy, chuckling as he stumbled over his words in an attempt to protest.

"I think it's adorable. Especially the nicknames," added Dominik, oblivious to the I hate you look the New Yorker was throwing at him. "What was it, Shadow Queen and Harbinger of Doom" he chuckled, taking the risk by sitting on the couch near Damian, feeling the heat of his glare but ignoring it in favor of continuing the playful teasing. "But seriously, just tell her. You both deserve to be happy."

"Speaking of the Demonic, where have the duo got to?" asked JD, noticing their absence from the locker room. (Y/N) was normally listening to something in the corner, mentally preparing herself for the show ahead, whereas Finn was normally in Papa Prince mode by now.

"Finn went to see if they had any smartie cookies in catering." voiced Damian, recalling how determined the Irish man was; he wasn't going to miss out on the treat this time.

"(Y/N)'s tormenting Rollins and the New Day," called Rhea as she got to work on her makeup, another chuckle passing her lips upon seeing the expression the three shared reflected in her mirror. "I'll correct that, UpUpDownDown video with Xavier and tormenting Rollins." she continued nonchalantly, a slight smirk appearing on her lips as Damian once again seemed intrigued.

Finn re-entered the locker room as if on cue, smiling like a madman; finally, he'd gotten in his cookie and, for good measure, had debated something with Drew and Cody. Upon looking around, he instantly recognized (Y/N) was missing. However, he didn't say anything about it, instead walking to retrieve his suitcase to finish the previous task of getting ready for the show.

"(Y/N) not back from practicing the stunt yet?" asked Finn, seeing the confusion appearing over the features of those present. "Hunter collared her earlier on. There's a risky stunt set to take place during our tag match against DIY." spoke the veteran; he thought the stunt was dangerous, but (Y/N) had settled his concern. Seth had been helping her due to the stunt being similar to the bump he took back at TLC 2012. It was supposed to set up a TLC match for next year's Royal Rumble between herself and Candice.

"What stunt? I thought she was winding up Rollins again?" asked Rhea, concern appearing in her voice. Normally (Y/N) didn't have to practice stunts; she was a high flyer and risk taker; something was unnerving to hear about the stunt, even more so when no one else had been told of it.

"It's supposed to set up a TLC match between our Demon and Candice for the Royal Rumble. Hunter said safety measures will be in place in case anything goes amiss. He was the one who advised her to practice to limit the odds of something going wrong." explained Finn, his concerns returning, along with the feeling something wasn't going to go as planned.

Without a word, Damian left the locker room, attempting to clear his head of the dread suddenly gripping him. How would he focus on the match if he knew his shadow queen was in potential danger? How was he supposed to keep his head in the game, knowing something could go wrong? Before the New Yorker knew it, he arrived at the stage area, seeing (Y/N) straddling the barricade nearby. She didn't seem to notice; instead, she focused on the towering ladder before her and the stack of tables just behind it.

(Y/N) was no stranger to ladder and table stunts. She'd lost count of how many times she'd gone through the plywood, how many splinters she'd gotten over the years. She'd done ladder stunts before, Money in the Bank was anything but a walk in the park. But those ladders had been at most 15 feet, still big but not as towering as the one before her now.

"Hermosa," softly called Damian, standing at her side, leaning against the barricade. He gently moved some of her braided hair from her face when she didn't respond. "You okay ... with this?" he asked, gesturing to the ladder and how she seemed to struggle with an internal battle. "You know you don't have to do it, right?" asked the Archer of Infamy, reminding the gothic woman before him there was still time to back out of the stunt.

"I asked for this," replied (Y/N), throwing her leg back over the barricade so she could face Damian. "I think I'm just in shock. They agreed to it. Seth was a big help; now all I need is for you and Finn to have faith in me," admitted the gothic woman, confirming the encouragement of her team members meant a lot to her. With it, she could do anything asked of her, no matter how crazy it was.

"I'm just worried, mi amor," worded Damian, wrapping her in a side hug as if to convey his encouragement and belief in her silently.

"By the way, what did you want to tell me?" asked the woman affectionately nicknamed Demon. Confusion instantly painted itself on Damian's features, telling (Y/N) all she had to know and alerting her to the potential setup she and the Archer of Infamy were facing. "Terror twin sent a message saying you had something to tell me," informed (Y/N). Quickly concluding, Damian was none the wiser and likely cursing Rhea now.

"I'll tell you after the show," spoke the Puerto Rican descent, attempting to motivate himself to get through the show and (Y/N) to get through the stunt without anything significant going wrong. "Better get back to the others before they get any ideas," chuckled Damian, refusing to think about what their teammates were imagining. Or the playful torment that was to come. Finn and Dominik would undoubtedly ask him questions throughout the night as Rhea would do the same with (Y/N).

The Main Event

The show had gone as planned. Throughout the night, the small things for the main event fell into place. Starting with the confrontation between Candice and (Y/N), which inevitably led to a brawl between them. In turn, Johnny and Damian had pulled them apart with the help of Tommaso and Finn. General Manager Adam Pearce set up a match between (Y/N) and Candice in the hopes of settling their differences, which ended as well as one could imagine.

Johnny interfered in the match whenever the referee wasn't looking. (Y/N) responded with a suicide dive, with Tommaso holding hands up as if to assure her he didn't intend on getting involved. After Johnny pulled (Y/N) out of the ring during a pin attempt, Damian appeared, finally stopping Johnny's antics. That, of course, sparked Tommaso to come to the aid of his tag team partner, which led to Finn coming down. The brawl outside the ring had distracted Candice enough that (Y/N) could catch her with Demon's End and win the match.

The men's brawling didn't stop at the end of the match. Instead, Adam came out again and ended it, saying if they wanted to fight, they could in a street fight for the main event. Throughout the rest of the night, it showed Judgment Day in their clubhouse, thinking of a game plan. When the time came, Rhea went out with Dominik and JD for their tag match. A segment aired with Johnny going to Adam with concerns (Y/N) wouldn't stay away as he had ordered both her and Candice to do. After all (Y/N) wasn't known for following rules, and being banned from a building hadn't stopped her from turning up before. Adam had agreed but also stated there was a high possibility of Candice reappearing despite also being banned.

When the main event finally came, neither team waited for the bell to ring. Johnny made a b-line for Damian as if he believed he could overpower the much taller man; not surprisingly, The Archer of Infamy got the upper hand quickly. As expected, the fight went all over the area, and when it did spill into the crowd, allies of DIY appeared. Dexter Lumis was first followed by Indi Hartwell, both neutralized by Rhea and Dominik; when Austin Theory appeared, so did JD.

Eventually, they got to the stage area, Corey Graves on commentary saying the arena wasn't big enough to hold the fight or the superstars. At the same time, Wade stated his curiosity about when Candice and (Y/N) would reappear. Commenting, he doubted either would stay away from the excitement. Mere seconds after the comment, the Poison Pixie appeared, helping Indi with Rhea, before attempting to aid her husband.

As planned (Y/N) also emerged from the shadows, performing a dropkick out of nowhere. Rhea had been thankful for the aid, with both women focusing on Candice and Indi, although the plan to keep them from interfering didn't last long, as chaos ensued. Among it (Y/N) had claimed the ladder as planned, Candice following her in an effort to end whatever crazy plan she had in mind. But something had gone wrong. When both were near the top of the ladder, Austin Theory accidentally tripped and crashed into the ladder, sending it and both women toppling to the concrete below.

Despite their best efforts to protect each other, Candice and (Y/N) suffered nasty landings. Candice crashed through the tables, her left knee colliding with a steel chair off to the side. (Y/N) on the other hand, she had gotten her right leg tangled in the ladder's rungs, forcing it to follow her. Sadly, it hadn't ended there, as the back of her head also collided with tables before Candice had crashed through them; the only thing waiting for her after was the cold concrete and the ladder falling on top of her.

Almost instantly, it became obvious something was wrong. Candice had yelled out upon landing, withering in pain while holding her shoulder. (Y/N) on the other hand, didn't move. Instead, she stayed buried beneath the ladder, crumpled up. Those watching the performance quickly realized something was off when those brawling stopped; the Judgment Day was at their fallen team members' side in a split second, with Johnny running to Candice. On the other hand, Austin had frozen, almost terrified by what his simple mistake had caused. The referee was joined by others all of which called for medical aid. At some point, Adam appeared from backstage to formally end the match, not seeing a way for it to continue after things went wrong and the high probability of injury.

Instead, with orders from Triple H, the general manager quickly threw together another match. Drew McIntyre vs. Jey Uso, both men understood their task was to distract from the carnage caused by the catastrophic mistake.

"Mi Amor," called Damian, kneeling at (Y/N)'s side the moment the ladder had been removed; he grabbed her hand soon after, concern flooding his dark eyes when she didn't respond, even when he squeezed her hand. "Come on, Hermosa, wake up," he whispered, terrified by the unknown. Rhea was just behind, her hands on his shoulders in an attempt to give them both some sense of comfort. Finn was close by with JD and Dom, not knowing what to do, just as helpless as everyone else.

Candince was soon pulled from the wreckage of the tables, helped backstage by Tommaso and Johnny, limping but otherwise appeared okay. Still, they were instructed to head to the trainer's room to be safe. Dexter had since grabbed hold of Austin Theory, all but yanking him backstage; all knew the younger star would be facing some music despite the simple mistake injuries had occurred.

"Ow!" mumbled (Y/N) as she regained consciousness, glancing around confused as the pain wracking her body registered. Slowly she realized she was no longer on the ladder but surrounded by her small family on the floor. She tried to remember what happened, but nothing came back, similar to how the blurriness of her vision refused to clear. "Relax, Harbinger of Doom, I'm okay, just a bit banged up." not registering the severity of the situation she was in, or the neck brace one of the medics had placed on her.

"Please don't do that again," worded Finn from Damian's side, concern in his voice as Damian let out a nervous but relieved chuckle. Despite her state, she had still managed to find the will to tell him to relax, similar to how Rhea would wind him up backstage or when traveling together.

"No worries, Papa Prince, I'll be staying away from ladders for a while," commented (Y/N), as the medic at her side deemed she was stable enough to be moved and taken to the trainer's room for further evaluation. For sure, he could conclude she had a concussion, perhaps a neck injury as well; he'd be able to know more once he had given her a proper once-over away from prying eyes.

"Light duties for you missy" spoke Rhea, as Damian and Finn helped (Y/N) get backstage, a small round of cheers escaping the universe as they left the stage area.

"You're being quiet, Priesty; you okay?" asked (Y/N), accepting Rhea's orders of light duties. She knew that meant valet duties and small things while traveling if she was given the clear to be there. If not, it would be a trip back home with calls and texts from those who cared for her.

"Just thinking," he responded, the arm supporting her wrapping a little tighter if only to ensure she was adequately supported. Finn did a similar thing. JD soon ran ahead to open the trainer's door, holding it open. He didn't seem to pay any mind to Candice or those around her, although he did take notice of Austin's absence.

"Thats dangerous" she quickly replied with a cheeky grin, Rhea behind agreeing. "Although not as world-ending as Dom's great ideas," added (Y/N), wincing slightly upon climbing onto the table. Once again, Rhea agreed, adding that Dom's great ideas weren't as terrible as his cooking attempts.

"You mean jacket potatoes aren't supposed to be black and glowing?" asked Dom, receiving a round of wtf looks from his teammates and small found family. Even the other faction had looked over with concern. "Here I thought I'd done something special," he laughed as he ribbed himself.

"I worry for your fiancee," commented JD, chuckling as he tried to imagine the ordinary potatoes burnt to a crisp and glowing an angry red color. "I'll make a note not to let you anywhere near the kitchen or Demon near ladders," he added, seeing the offended looks both sent his way, (Y/N)'s turning into a mischievous one, as if she would purposely tap a ladder to see his reaction.

"Marry me" spoke Damian, eyes wide when he realized he'd voiced the thought out loud.

"Mind clarifying who you were asking?" asked Finn. If only to break the awkwardness to suddenly blanket them with the deafening silence. The trainer assessing (Y/N) didn't say anything. Instead, he continued on quietly, occasionally giving her instructions to help gauge the extent of her injuries and determine if she would need a trip to the hospital and/or time off.

Damian simply turned his attention to his Shadow Queen, silently answering the question while holding back the chuckle threatening to break from his throat. Of course, his little family asked him to clarify who he meant and likely poked fun at him for it later. (Y/N) on the other hand stiffened slightly and paled a little more. Was her mind playing tricks on her, or did she forget something important?

"You haven't forgotten anything Demon, Priesty never told you" commented Rhea, as if to clear up the confusion and settle (Y/N)'s mind, at least after she noticed her best friend and tag team partner struggling to recall if she had forgotten something, wondering if her memory had been messed up from the fall and subsequent landing.

"That's what you were gonna tell me after the show?" asked (Y/N), tilting her head back to focus on Damian and his reaction. He nodded, still slightly shocked by the words that had previously escaped him. Although the awkwardness was beginning to lift, the comfortable family-like atmosphere returned.

"I should have told you before but didn't know how to without you thinking I was ribbing you," replied the Archer of Infamy, noticing the grin to appear on (Y/N)'s lips, briefly dampened by another wince of pain when the trainer's hands pressed against her collar and shoulder.

"Surprise proposal was a pretty good way," commented Finn, holding his hands up when Rhea swotted him, and both (Y/N) and Damian looked in his direction. "Come on Demon, what's yah answer?" asked the Irishman, as if ignoring the sudden attention and redirecting it towards the pair before him.

"Payback. Yes" laughed (Y/N), before blushing. The day was full of surprises, but she was at least willing to run headfirst into the unknown if it meant a chance at happiness and with someone she knew she could trust. "The feelings are natural; just tell me," she commented before pulling Damian closer, unable to contain her smile. However, she did question if what she was experiencing was reality or a dream her mind had created to distract her from what had taken place during the show.

"Anything for you, mi reina Sombra," whispered Damian, placing a small kiss on her cheek as if to seal their future together.