The WWE had enjoyed yet another successful and sold out whirlwind overseas tour. After nearly two weeks abroad, we had finally landed on American soil and were preparing to do an old school live episode of RAW, a tribute to the golden days of the WWF. I had a lot to think about on that long plane ride home. Professionally, everything had gone off without a hitch. The Superstars had been so excited and the fans abroad had been so receptive. Every single show had been sold out and every place we turned, there was some interview that had to be done or appearance that had to be made. It was just another testament to how truly global the WWE had become. It was a busy and chaotic time for me but that was what it was all about, the name of the game. I was my happiest when I was swamped with making travel arrangements, working under the pressure in the Gorilla, running back and forth between Catering and Wardrobe, and solving crisis after crisis in the production booth.

Personally, I was experiencing one of the happiest times in my life as well. PJ and I were back together. The relationship was going great. We had gotten back to our friendship roots. Laughing with him and sharing my most personal hopes, fears, and dreams felt like the most natural thing in the world. I was truly on cloud nine. An end of an era so to speak had come when my divorce had been finalized from Mike. It was like exhaling, letting go of so much but in the process it had set me free. I was now free to move on, free to love PJ completely, free to start over, free to be me. In addition to the busy professional schedule, we managed to squeeze in as much fun as possible while overseas. PJ and I got to do all the wonderful things that tourists do and making it that much more special was that my girls, Liz and Sam had flown over for the tour. We got to hang out as friends and also just as three normal couples. It had turned out to be one of the greatest trips I had ever taken with the WWE.

The first RAW back in the States took place in Hershey, Pennsylvania. I was tasked to run Gorilla that night and for me it was super exciting gettting to be around so many wrestling legends and royalty. The energy in the building all the way from backstage to the thousands of excited fans that filled the arena was absolutely unreal. Every night brought something new and crazy but standing there, I just felt like for some reason that would be a night to remember. As I ushered my boyfriend to his spot behind the Titantron just seconds before the Nexus was due to go out, we took a quick moment, made eye contact and just enjoyed what was going on around us. It was a brief time but it was our time and it was special…we made sure that it counted. Looking into his eyes as he stood there all geared up in his ring attire and that tag team championship strapped securely around his chiseled waist filled me with a pride and a love I had never felt before. He was mine and I was his and that was how it was supposed to be.

After the three hour jam packed show, Vince McMahon had dinner catered in as a chance for all the staff and talent to relax and unwind after all the extensive traveling. It was nice for everyone to eat good food and just sit around and talk. I had been one of the ones in charge of putting everything together but once the food came, one of the RAW PAs stepped in and offered me the rest of the night off. I was exhausted and reluctantly accepted but once I did, I was glad. I spent the remainder of the evening hanging out with the people who were friends and like my family. I blushed and smiled as Dusty Rhodes flirted endlessly with me and sat mesmerized for what seemed like forever as Cowboy Bob Orton shared stories of the "old days" and also cute anecdotes from the Viper's childhood. It was a good time but I was growing tired and when a gorgeous pair of hazel eyes linked with mine from across the room, in just one glance, I knew it was time for me to excuse myself and say my good nights. We climbed into our rental car and drove the short distance back to the hotel. We didn't have much stuff with us and PJ led the way with me trailing just steps behind. We were booked in a small but cozy suite inside the historic Hotel Hershey.

"God, I could fall asleep and stay that way for like the next week," I joked as I kicked my shoes off. "I think I'm gonna take a hot shower and crash."

Giving my boyfriend a quick kiss, I did just that, stepping into the spacious bathroom and disrobing before pinning my hair up and settling underneath the steaming hot water for some relaxation. I was singing badly an old Hootie and the Blowfish song when an unexpected pair of strong arms snaked around my bare and soaped up waist. I let out a little yelp and PJ just grinned at me and finished the last line of the lyric.

"Did I scare you, love?"

"A little," I said, cocking my head up at him. "Hootie, huh? That's like one of my favorite bands ever. I always used to say a man who could sing Hootie And The Blowfish to me is the man I would marry."

"If you think Time was good wait until you see what I can do with Let Her Cry," he teased.

"I'll keep that in mind but besides serenading me, what are you doing in here?"

"Thought you might like some company," he said.

I blushed before I returned his smile. There was a time when I used to feel embarrassed or even nervous when we were naked around each other but those feelings had quickly gone by the wayside. I was now a woman comfortable in her own skin.

"So how was tonight?" I asked as I lathered up.

"Tonight was great," he admitted. "I was in awe being around all those legends in the business. It was truly an honor, Claudia."

"The show was awesome tonight."

"Every show is awesome. I mean that. These last few weeks have put so much into perspective for me. Being back with you, living my dream, facing so many things I hadn't faced yet when it came to losing my dad…"

His voice trailed off.

"Honey, are you okay?"

He nodded.

"Never been better. I'm happy. Everything is working out. It's the way it is supposed to be."

"I'm glad," I looked up at him. "And I agree."

"We're good, right?" he asked.

"Of course we are. We're solid, babe."

"I just wanted you to know that right here standing in this shower in this moment looking in your eyes…I have never been more connected, more in love with another human being."

His gaze was serious and sincere and it gave me chills all over despite the piping hot water that poured all over my body. Nervously I licked my bottom lip.

"I love you, too," I said quietly.

"I could spend the rest of my life with you."

I giggled nervously.

"PJ, where is all this coming from?"

He shrugged.

"My heart. I just want to be honest with you, let you know how I'm feeling, how much you mean to me. I don't want anything to get in the way of us ever again."

"It won't, baby."

"Move back in with me," he stated simply.

"PJ…"

"What? I want you to. Look, I know I messed up last time but I apologized for that and it's all behind us now. I know this is what I want now. In fact, I've never been more sure of anything. What do you say?"

"I say no."

"Claudia…"

"Sweetie, we tried that before. I know it's all water under the bridge but that taught me a valuable lesson. I am crazy about you and I want to be together all the time too but I need my independence. That is good for me and it's good for us. I need to have my own place and my own space and know who I am outside of being someone's wife or girlfriend. It doesn't mean that I love you any less, it just means that I've learned to love myself a little bit more. Do you understand that?"

He stared into my eyes.

"Of course I do. Call me selfish but you're just so damned amazing and beautiful that I want you all to myself every minute of every day."

My face broke out into a wide grin.

"You know, we do work together, travel together and whenever we're in Florida, we're probably gonna be hanging out at each other's places all the time anyway. That's a whole lot of together time. You already have me around an awful lot, what's the point of even moving in together?"

He smirked at me with that knowing look of his.

"Practice," he answered.

"Practice for what?"

"The future…a beautiful, wonderful, exciting, happy future together."

"Amen for that one," I said as I leaned in and kissed his lips.

We finished our shower in peaceful silence before I turned the water off and tossed him a towel. He dried off first and as I turned to follow him, I stopped as my bare foot stepped on something. I looked down to see a Hershey Kiss and my eyes then followed the trail of them that led to the bed. On top of the bed, there was a single long stemmed red rose and the covers had been turned back. On one of the bedside tables was a bottle of champagne and an arrangement of chocolate covered strawberries.

"Have a seat," he patted the bed.

I was blown away.

"What is all this?"

PJ shrugged.

"I just wanted to do something nice for you, make you feel special."

"You always make me feel special," I told him as I took a seat beside him in the center of the bed.

He popped the cork and poured two glasses. We clinked them and I took a sip before he dipped the berry in more chocolate and fed it to me. It was delicious and really brought out the flavor of the bubbly. I left some remnants of chocolate on the corner of my lip and PJ kissed me softly before licking it off. I looked around and noticed that our room was illuminated in soft candlelight. The mood was perfect and my breath caught in my throat knowing what was to come. I knew that this was only the beginning for us. I knew we had a bright future ahead. I knew that this special night would end with him making love to me again and it would change both our lives forever.

"I love you, Claudia," he whispered.

I closed my eyes. I loved it when he called my name.

"I love you, too."

He kissed me again, softly as first, then with more passion and yearning. I kissed him back with every fiber of my being. Goosebumps covered my tender flesh as his fingertips gently touched my shoulders. We made eye contact and smiled before I felt his lips crash into my neck and then the exposed blades of my shoulder. I suppressed a yelp as his mouth came in contact with where my towel had been securely tucked. He looked up at me wordlessly, his hazel eyes begging for permission and my nod gave it to him. He unwrapped the towel exposing me, as he peeled it away from my body and discarded it onto the floor. Our lips pressed together again as he eased me down onto my back. His lips never left me, kissing, licking, teasing and pleasing every sqaure inch of my skin. I moaned out loud in pleasure as he took his time making me feel good, his tongue caressing the most sensitive parts of my body. He knew exactly what to do to drive me close to the edge and when I couldn't stand one more second of pleasure, he knew exactly how to drive me over that edge.

When he was done and my body was limp and weak from the immense plesure he had just bestowed upon me, he held me close and tight in his massive arms. He looked so soulfully, so deeply into my eyes that it brought me to tears. I gasped when I felt him inside me, my body slowly adjusting to his rhythm and to the waves of pleasure it brought me. We clung to each other our bodies entangled in the sheets and in each other as our eyes remained locked. We kissed throughout our lovemaking, only pausing to stare at each other or whisper in the other person's ear how good it felt or how much we loved each other. We had waited so long to share that level of intimacy again, to physically express our love but it had been well worth the wait. When it was over, when we were both breathless and spent, we lay there quietly in each other's arms.

"Are you okay, love?"

I nodded.

"That was amazing, PJ."

"It was."

He wrapped his arm around me just a little tighter.

"Do you…"

"What, babe?" he prodded. "You can tell me."

"Do you think it will always be like this?"

"I think that I love you and that you love me. I think that we've been through hell and back and learned so much and loved that much harder because of it. And most importantly, I think that we're meant to be. I think we're soul mates. There will always be rough roads and rocky patches but you are my best friend. We're a team, Claudia. We can do anything together. So if you're asking if it will always be like this, this incredible feeling, this beautiful moment…yeah, I do."

I closed my eyes. I was the luckiest woman in the world. I had been through so much on that long, lonely search for happiness, now that search was over. My life had come undone in so many ways and the undoing had been a terrifying experience but it had led me down another road, one that had taught me so much about life, about myself. More importantly, it had led me to a safe and happy place. Curling up in the arms of PJ Lloyd, the man I loved, the true love of my life was where I wanted and needed to be. Growing up wasn't the easiest thing in the world but I had finally found myself and that woman, Claudia Mizanin, wasn't so bad after all. And in the process, I had found my Prince Charming. Life was pretty damned good and I knew it could only get better. I was living a real life fairytale and something told me that PJ and I were going to get our happily ever after.

THE END

Author's Final Note:

64 chapters and five months later, this story has finally come to an end and typing those two words was pretty damned hard. This story has been one of my all time favorites to write. So much of my life mimicked the OC, Claudia's, which made her truly personal for me. So thank you all for reading and taking this amazing journey right along with me. Usually at the end of a fic, I give shout outs or name a few of the more consistent reveiwers but I won't do that this time because each review, each PM, each hit from every silent lurker meant more than you'll ever know. Thanks to everyone who read this and thanks to PJ Lloyd aka Justin Gabriel for being an incedible muse. I will miss updating this but as they say, all good things must come to an end. Your interest and response was humbling and amazing and I am beyond grateful. Until next time…

Mal