He had arrived back at the hospital about twenty minutes earlier, ever since receiving her phone call.  He'd even driven his rental car a bit past the speed limit, counting his lucky stars that no police happened to be out to catch him breaking more than one of the laws of the road.

Once he'd gotten to Amy's room, he'd parked himself into the chair beside her bed, and he hadn't budged from that spot since.

The blond man sighed as he remembered what the nurse had told him.  Amy had awoken screaming, alerting her, others and disturbing fellow patients in the process.  She'd claimed to have seen a man standing at her bedside, watching her - a man whom she believed meant to do her harm.

Adam had just about run into his girlfriend's room, frantic with worry and terrified that Levesque had done something more to her - he'd already raped two women, so what was to say he wouldn't want or try to do the same to the redhead?

To his shock, the woman had been deeply asleep.  He'd expected her to be sitting up wide awake with terror.  The nurse had explained to him that Amy had been given an injection of valium, which was why she was so out.

He leaned forward, running both hands through his hair before straightening up to gaze at her with concern again.  His heart nearly broke as he thought about what had been going through his mind on the drive over here, what he knew he should do - what he very well might have no choice but to do.

As Adam thought about this very serious matter, tears filled his eyes.  He didn't want to have to do it.  Hell, he wasn't even sure he could do it.

Damn it... He was in love with Amy.  And the blond man knew she was in love with him as well.  She was his anchor - his angel.  The redhead have saved his life more than once.  He knew without a shadow of a doubt that, had it not been for her, he would not be sitting here right now.

She looked so peaceful in her drug-induced sleep, at least for the time being.  If this had been a natural slumber, Adam had no doubt in his mind that the diva would be shifting around restlessly, plagued by everything that had happened over the last few days.

He lifted one hand to his face, rubbing at his eyes and the tears that had dared to escape, moistening his cheeks.  God damn it... This was all Paul Levesque's fault.  The man was such a sick bastard - which was why Adam was now considering doing the most difficult thing he'd ever have to do in his entire life.  Over the last several minutes, as he'd been sitting here, he'd made his choice, as hard and heart-wrenching as it was.

The blond man nearly sprang straight up out of his chair as he suddenly heard soft moans coming from the woman in the bed.

He edged closer to her, leaning over the railing of the bed as she roused, awakening.  His eyes began to fill up again as he gazed down at her with concern and tenderness.

Amy's hazel eyes opened slowly, and she blinked a bit before realizing that she wasn't alone and that someone was at her bedside.  She shrank back to her left, her eyes wide with fright, her hands clutching the sheet over her body - until she realized who it was that was standing there.

"Adam!"  She calmed down immeasurably, beginning to actually cry with relief as her gaze rose to his handsome face.

"Yeah, it's me, angel...I'm here."  He winced as he realized she was suddenly sobbing, and he reached down for her right hand, holding fast to it as he leaned down to embrace her as best he could without hurting her.

Her gaze scanned over him, her hazel eyes drinking in the sight of him slowly and thoroughly.  Her eyes widened a bit as she noticed the bandage covering his left hand.

"Your...Your hand.  What happened?"

The blond man reddened somewhat.  He cursed himself inside for what he'd done.  He didn't want to tell her - didn't know how to tell her.  Raking his hand through his hair, he decided to just spit it out.

"I...I smashed the window in our hotel room."

The diva's eyes looked sad as she gazed at him.  "Oh, Adam..."  She pulled him down to her again, hugging him against her tightly.

Oh, God... How in hell was he going to go through with this?  The redhead was positively clinging to him as though her very life depended on it.

The Canadian held tightly to the young woman, and he was not surprised in the least when his fresh tears trickled down his face.

Adam made a move to let her go, but Amy held fast to him, her face pressing into his chest, her tears wetting the front of his shirt.

"No, just...please, Adam.  Just hold me.  Don't let go."

"Okay...I won't," he said softly, fighting against his voice becoming choked with all the emotion he felt.  The tall blond managed to move just enough so that he was still holding her, but so that, at the same time, he was able to look down into her face.  He felt even more heartbroken at the expression on her face, the look in her eyes.

"Amy...baby..."  Adam moved one hand to her face, and he gently ran his thumb back and forth over her tear-stained cheek.

Her hazel eyes seemed to widen just a bit as she gazed up into his face.  She reached up, pressing a hand to his cheek, sliding her fingers down to his stubble-covered jaw, surprised to see the tears on his own face.

"Y-you're crying..."

The Canadian managed a soft, sad smile as he gazed deeply into her eyes.  "I can't help it, angel.  I...I love you."

"I love you, too," she whispered.

Adam lowered his face to hers, pressing his lips against the diva's, kissing her fervently.  He never wanted to stop, didn't want to let her go.  He loved her with all of his heart and soul, with his entire being, more than he'd ever loved anyone.

After several minutes, the blond man raised his head to gaze seriously down into her lovely face again.  God... How was he ever going to do what he knew he had to?  It was going to break her heart as well as his own.

Amy wrinkled her nose a little as she gazed up into his red-rimmed green eyes and continued to hold tightly to him.

"I...I'm scared, Adam."

"I know, sweetie," he said softly.  "Don't worry, angel...he's not going to come near you again - I promise."

She winced at the dull pain she still felt from her wound.  "I can't wait to get out of here," she whispered.  "I...I need to get away, and...I need you."

Adam held his breath as a horrible feeling of hopelessness and sorrow overcame him.  He lowered his lips to hers again, kissing her softly, once again nearly overwhelmed by his emotions as he felt her warm tongue slide into his mouth.  He couldn't help the irrational feeling that things would have been better if he'd been run down by that SUV nearly a week earlier - and been killed.  At least that way, he wouldn't be forced to do what he knew he'd have to, sooner or later.  He didn't care about himself - he only cared about her, how she would be hurting.  And this would destroy her...

At this point, nothing else mattered.  Amy was everything to Adam.  He had to think about her and her safety.  She came first, and everything and everyone else was secondary.

As their kiss ended, he lifted his head for a moment, then rested it against her uninjured right shoulder.

And then, as he noticed the wetness on the sheet, he suddenly realized that he was crying again.