Please play song during chapter, linked above. Song of the chapter: Where I Stand, by Mia Wray
Present: Wrestlemania
Another day.
Another day in the hospital. All their friends had gathered around, visiting and eating tons of food they ordered. Scarlet took it all in. Watching. Observing. She watched how Seth and Becky were sweet with each other when they thought no one was looking. How Artem looked at Nicole but also loved Brie. The way Brie and Bryan were, the couple everyone strives to be. Charlotte and Andrade no doubt being in love. Renee dealing with Deans antics, constantly rolling her eyes at him but still loving him to death. And then Joe. Her now husband. Laughing at Dean and the guys while he stayed by her bedside, refusing to leave. His smile, the way he naturally did when he seen Scarlet. How the skin around his eyes crinkled when he laughed and grinned. His affection towards her. Always holding her hand or leg or something to mostly reassure himself he's with her. But this wasn't what she wanted. She hated the wires, the machines, the beeps, the medicines, the side effects. And today made sense.
She was ready.
"Woah we better go before we're late." Seth said, looking at his watch.
Joe nodded and grabbed his bag. "I'll be back in a few hours alright? You'll be watching with Artem?"
Scarlet wordlessly nodded.
"I love you." He leaned down and softly kissed her.
"Me and Artem will walk you guys out." Charlotte stood up, she didn't have a match until later on and decided on staying with Scarlet until she had to leave to get ready, leaving her with Artem for the remainder of the day.
"You know since we both work for WWE now, me and you can tag team one of these days and have a Wrestlemania moment." Joe smiled, holding her hand while they sat in the ring watching fans start to come in.
"A Wrestlemania moment huh?" Scarlet smirked.
"It'll be... Epic."
"Wait." Scarlet finally spoke. "I.. I wanna go with him."
Everyone turned to her.
"Go where?" Charlotte wondered.
"To— to the arena, I wanna go with him to the arena. Now." She softly said.
"Scarlet..." Charlotte walked towards her bed. "It'd be better if you stayed here."
"Please Char." Scarlet grabbed her hand. "Let me do this."
Charlotte looked down, knowing what she meant. She tried her best to compose herself.
A tear fell from Scarlets eye. "It's okay Charlotte... I really want to."
"Okay."
I have seen a thousand things
A thousand minds and what they bring
To this world and to this home
But where I stand, well I don't know
Joe signed whatever papers he needed to in order to get her released from the hospital. Charlotte and the girls helped Scarlet dress in her favorite red dress, did her hair and makeup. Helping her feel like herself again.
"The oxygen machine is portable." The nurse informed them. "You can take it off once you get there.."
Scarlet nodded. "Thank you."
Despite her pale lips and pale skin, in Joe's eyes she still looked as beautiful as ever.
"Every king needs an heir." Joe stated.
She laughed. "I'd rather run my own empire than be a heir."
"Ah, you wouldn't. You're a good girl." He bit his lip.
She nodded. "If I wanted I could destroy everything, but I'm a good girl." She sent him a wink.
Right then, right there, that very moment. Joe knew, this girl would rock his whole world.
"Joe Anoa'i, I present to you Mrs. Anoa'i," Brie smiled.
"Wow." Joe dazed. "You look... Gorgeous."
"Really?" She shyly chuckled.
He stepped forward and took her hands in his. "You always do. Are you sure you want to do this?"
"Yes." Scarlet replied with no hesitation.
He looked at the others and then back at her. "Let's go."
I'm an open book
I'll tell you everything I know
To the darkest corners of my mind
They arrived the arena, seeing the thousands of fans lined up and entering. Joe parked the car while Charlotte got out and prepared the wheel chair.
My kingdom is wide
So wide-eyed I can't track the time
Between the spaces of my mind
Scarlet got out and sat in the chair, Charlotte pushing her with Joe alongside, holding her hand. Everyone seemed to be surprised she was even there, expecting her not to return for awhile.
"Scarlet." Hunter and Stephanie stood up. "What are you doing here?"
"I wanted to come." Scarlet replied. "I wanted to do this."
Stephanie knew exactly what she was talking about. "We saved a segment for you." She walked over and bent down, hugging her. "You'll get your wrestlemania moment."
'Cause I have seen a thousand things
A thousand minds and what they bring
To this world and to this home
But where I stand, well I don't know
They waited by the gorilla, watching on the tvs, seeing the hyped up fans. Some of her own friends going out there and wrestling, putting on a good show. Soon after Becky and Charlotte's match ended, the ring announcer grabbed the microphone, stepping onto the steel steps, entering the ring.
I have little trouble walking
In directions I don't know of
And I'm walking
And I'm walking blind
Scarlet reached behind her, turning off her oxygen machine. Taking off the wire, breathing on her own, with no help.
Joe grabbed her hands and helped her up and out of the wheelchair.
Charlotte wasted no time reaching for her friend. "Scarlet."
"Thank you for everything." Scarlet rubbed her back. "You keep being the queen on this company okay? I'm always going to be there with you."
"Promise?" Charlotte cried.
"I promise." Scarlet pulled back, hugging the rest of her friends. Once she was done, she turned to Joe.
He grabbed her hand and waist, leading her out through the curtain.
'Cause I have seen a thousand things
A thousand minds and what they bring
To this world and to this home
But where I stand, well I don't know
"Ladies and gentleman, please help me welcome, seven time WWE champion and Hall of Famer. The Diva of the Room, Fallon Gray!"
"Here we see Fallon Gray, accompanied by her husband, Roman Reigns. Walking with her down the ramp, earlier this year we and the WWE Universe found out Fallon is in an ongoing battle, announcing her fight with COPD and lung cancer. But we are so blessed and grateful to have her here today with us on none other than Wrestlemania!" Michael Cole and the rest of the commentary team smiled.
Scarlet looked at the crowd, the lights shining down on her. The fans growing louder and louder as she reached the ring. Corey Graves got up from his chair and walked to the other side of the ring, him and Joe helping her up the stairs and through the ropes.
Suddenly, the crowd got even louder than before. Scarlet looked and smiled, seeing Stephanie, Vince, and Hunter leading the men and women's locker room.
"Are you okay?" Joe began to get worried, seeing her shake.
Scarlet looked back at him. "I've waited my whole life, to feel this." Taking a deep breath on her own. Breathing on her own.
Joe gently caressed the side of her face, leaning down to kiss her.
And people come and people go
People I will never know
But if I did and if I could
I'd wonder when and where they stood
She placed her head in crook of his neck.
"Thank you Fallon! Thank you Fallon! Thank you Fallon..."
'Cause I have seen a thousand things
A thousand minds and what they bring
To this world and to this home
but where i stand
well i...
don't know.
//////
"Why didn't you take the IV when it was time?" Joe wondered as he sat next to Scarlet on her hospital bed.
"That's because it doesn't hurt.." She softly whispered.
"No.." Joe realized. "No–"
"It's okay–"
"Scarlet."
"It's okay, it's okay, it's okay. It's perfect. I'm in the arms of my first love. The first person I ever loved... The person I'll always love..." Scarlet held the side of his face.
Joe began to sob. "Scar..."
"I love you.. Joe... Joe Anoa'i." She breathlessly spoke.
He repeatedly shook his head. "No.. No Scarlet. Don't... Please."
"Promise me, you'll continue to live your life. And.. and take care of Jojo."
"Oh Scar..." He cried into her shoulder. "I love you so much."
"It's okay Joe." Scarlet weakly kissed his cheek. "We got time. We got time..."
The group walked in her room, everyone immediately became silent, seeing Joe cry into Scarlet.
"Scarlet?" Charlotte dropped her bag. "Scarlet?"
Joe lifted his head up briefly, and just shook his head. He seemed to be searching for what to say but nothing came out.
Charlotte walked to her bedside and gently shook her friend. "Scarlet?! No... No! No! Please Scarlet wake up!"
"Charlotte," Andrade tried pulling her back.
"Please wake up Scarlet! No!" Charlotte panicked, she took a breath and kept attempting to wake her friend. "We.. We were supposed to go to Paris together! Remember that Scarlet? We want a picture in front of the Eiffel Tower and go shopping and.. God please just wake up and tell me I'm being a drama queen!"
"She's gone Charlotte." Joe stood up. "She's gone..."
Charlotte and Joe hugged each other, both unable to control their tears.
Brie came by the bed and held Scarlets lifeless hand, crying into Bryan. Becky and Renee held each other, both in disbelief. Artem and Nicole broke down, and for the first time ever... Dean had nothing to say.
"Fuck!" Dean punched the wall while Seth stood off into the corner, crying.
"Please please tell me this isn't happening!" Charlotte whined. "Not Scarlet... Not my Scarlet... Not my Scarlet.."
Joe let Charlotte go and sat on the bed. Holding her, one last time. "Scar."
//////
One week later
"White and yellow was her favorite, I still think that's the color the flowers should be." Charlotte took a drink of her coffee.
Her, Joe, and the others all sat together at his house as they planned her funeral. Everyone was still in the same stage of disbelief and grief. Even though only week had gone by, they all seen her. Charlotte repeatedly told them she seen Scarlet walk in front of her house. But Joe swore he heard her laugh sometimes in the kitchen. He still smelled her perfume lingering on their bed. All of her things still laid, scattered around the house. He refused to walk into their closet, not able to bare the sight of seeing her clothes hung up, more specifically her favorite red dress. But he seen her everywhere he turned. Walking past their bedroom, dancing in the living room, yelling at him in the kitchen for not clearing the countertops. Only once in awhile, he let himself fall into the dream, because reality was too painful.
"I'm thinking we can do it on this day–
ding dong!
Joe sighed and went to answer the door. He opened it, a young woman on the other side. "How can I help you?"
"Hi."
You could tell she was nervous.
"Um my name is Hope Peterson, I was Ms. Rixon's or sorry Mrs. Anoa'i's nurse when she first came to the hospital and I occasionally helped with her chemotherapy."
"H–hope?" He stuttered.
"Yeah." She smiled and reached into her bag, pulling out what seemed to be a scrapbook. "Scarlet always worked on this every time she was in the hospital... At her last chemo appointment she left it and I called her to tell her. She said she'd come back for it but she never did... And that's when I found out.. she passed away. It's for you anyways so I figured why not bring it to you in person instead of mailing it."
Joe took the book from her hands and stared at it. On the cover it had the date Joe and her met, way back in college when Scarlet first transferred. "Thank you... For bringing it, you didn't have to."
Hope nodded. "She was an amazing patient, I'm sorry for your loss." She gave him a sad smile and walked off the porch before turning around. "Scarlet really loved you, she would always watch Raw or Smackdown when she knew you had TV time."
With that being said, Hope walked away. Joe cleared his throat and went back inside, sitting next to Charlotte.
"What's that?" Dean wondered.
"Her scrapbook.." Brie gasped, going over to sit by Joe. "I gave that to her when she first got sick."
Joe inhaled and opened to the first page.
'This is it. I know I'm going to die now. I suppose I've always known that. I just never knew when.
And I'm okay with it, really. I don't mind my disease killing me.
But it's killing my family too.
While everyone was so worried about my oxygen levels, they barely noticed Brie was fighting depression.
I'm sorry Brie. I'm sorry for taking all the attention when you were the one who needed it the most.
Charlotte. You gave up everything for me. Your life. Your job. Your relationships. Missing segments, not being on the main event, skipping big pay-per-views, just to fight my battles for me every single day. I'm sorry you couldn't win.
And to my first love, who has always been my rock. I'm sorry I hurt you. I'm sorry I didn't take care of you. It was supposed to be the other way around.
Nicole. Take the time to find yourself and what you need. But it's also okay to let people in. Stop holding back and let Artem love you.
Artem. Take care of the twins. Thank you for taking care of me when I was a mess.
Renee and Becky. Continue bossing those boys around. Without you two, they'd be lost.
Bryan. Keep Brie away from that dark place. Thank you for keeping an impossible secret when I asked. I know it wasn't the easiest thing to do.
Seth and Dean. Take care of Joe please. Keep being those rowdy hounds. Thank you for being two older brothers, I never had. Seth, you were always my safe place to land. Dean, you were my favorite. Without you, I wouldn't know what to do. I hope every time Katy Perry comes on, you think of me.
When Dean had his birthday, I knew I was dying. But I didn't want to say so.
You have to remember that time is a gift, not something you're entitled to. And no matter how hard you try, you can't control it. There's no making it go backwards, or stopping it. The only thing you can do is choose how you spend the time you've been given.
You don't know how many more days or years or years you have left. So make sure you're celebrating every moment you get.
Even though our time together was short, the stars have been burning for every moment of it.
And the light from those moments will be shining down for the next thousand years.
And if you need me, all you have to do is look up.
And remember,
I love you."