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Amy smiled as she steered the rental car and listened to Adam go on about some of the fun times he and Jay had experienced as kids growing up in Orangeville, Canada together.  He was telling her stories she'd never heard before, and it warmed her heart hearing such things.

They'd become so close in the last two days, since the redhead had shoved the tall man out of the way of that speeding SUV.  Amy still felt a bit embarrassed every time Adam mentioned her as being an "angel" or a hero, but she took it all with pride.  She didn't even want to consider what might have happened had she not been there and had thought and acted quickly.

She pulled the car into a parking space in the lot of the arena, pulling the emergency brake to neutral, then turned the ignition off.  She was about to unlock her door and leave the car when Adam's hand suddenly shot out and gently grasped her right wrist.  She stopped and turned around to face him.

The blond man was gazing at her with tenderness, his green eyes sparkling with strange lights, the intensity in them nearly overwhelming to her.  "Ames...again, I want to thank you for everything you've done for me.  You truly are an angel...not only did you push me out of the way of that truck, you also stayed there with me in the hospital when you never had to do that.  You're putting up with sharing a hotel room with me because I still feel damn shaky about being alone after what happened.  I...I owe you one."

Amy smiled and bit her lip.  She briefly cast her eyes down, then raised them to meet his again.  She wondered if she should tell him the real reason she'd seeked him out when her rental car had failed to show up.  She'd actually had a couple of opportunities to ride to the next city with Matt and Jeff Hardy or with Trish Stratus, but she'd deliberately turned down their offers.  It hadn't been a coincidence that she'd asked Adam for that ride.  She'd always had a crush on him and had actually wanted to tell him about it that night, but after what had happened, that had had to wait.  But now...now wasn't the worst time in the world to reveal such a thing.

"I have to be honest with you, Amy," Adam said, his emerald eyes turning serious as he continued to gaze into her beautiful face.  "I...was in a committed relationship for about two and a half years, and it just came to an end three weeks ago."  He cast his own eyes down for a beat upon noticing the surprised expression on the redhead's face.  She'd suspected he must have been involved with someone, but she hadn't been aware that it had ended that recently.

"I broke it off with her," he continued, turning his head away for a moment.  He turned back to gaze at her, wincing at the shocked and somewhat sad expression on her face.  Amy turned her head, facing forward as she suddenly gazed out the windshield.

"Who was she?" she asked softly, no hint of anger or jealousy in her voice.

Adam sighed and ran a quick hand through his long blond hair.  "Do you...do you really want to know?"

"Yeah...of course I do," Amy replied, turning back to face him.  She was genuinely curious.

The tall Canadian took a deep breath, then, exhaling it, said, "Stephanie..."

Amy's expression turned to pure shock as she absorbed the name in her brain.  "Stephanie?  Stephanie McMahon?" she questioned, emphasizing the woman's last name.  "Are you talking about Stephanie McMahon??"

"Yes...yes, I am."

The diva stared at him for several long moments in silence, the shocked disbelief clearly evident on her lovely face.  She felt her heart pounding and felt a bit sick to her stomach.  So, that was why Stephanie had seemed so unhappy and not herself over the last few weeks.  She was obviously still in love with this man, and it tore her to pieces that she was no longer with him.

"I can't...believe this," Amy finally said.  She wiped a hand across her face uncomfortably.  "Why did you break up with her?"

The blond man sighed again as he gazed deeply into the redhead's hazel eyes.  "Honestly," he said, "it was because of you."

"What?" Amy asked incredulously as she stared at him.  "How could it have been because of me?"

"Because I realized that I had feelings for you," he revealed.  "Feelings that were getting so deep, so intense that they made me realize I was never really in love with Stephanie.  When I realized them, I suddenly found myself thinking about you all the time.  I know this sounds crazy, but...it's the truth."

Amy gazed deep and long into Adam's green eyes, her heart still pounding a mile a minute.  She couldn't believe what he'd just said.  "I'm...speechless."  After a moment, she reached out with her right hand and placed it gently on his left cheek.  She stroked it softly, lowering it a bit to the side of his jaw and rubbing his stubble.

Adam smiled as his gaze locked on hers, and he moved his face closer until he could feel her soft, warm breath.  Very slowly and tentatively, he moved ever closer until his lips were on hers, and they kissed gently at first, then more passionately.  He felt a wave of tenderness wash over him as her tongue darted almost shyly and uncertainly into his mouth.  As the kiss lengthened, he raised his left hand and placed it over the hand she still held against his face.

Afterward, they gazed tenderly into one another's eyes, and Amy smiled a little, which caused Adam to smile as well.  He leaned closer again and gently nuzzled her, running a hand over her soft red hair.

Neither of them noticed that they were being watched.  The person spying on them stayed in their own rental car for a few more minutes, then stealthily left with their luggage and made their way into the arena.

*

The man smirked as he took in the sight before him.  He was standing in the arena's buffet room, where a spread was laid out for the wrestlers, and at one table, piling fruit upon her plate, was Torrie Wilson.

He allowed his eyes to slowly scan the blonde's beautiful body up and down.  She was so bodacious, and he'd had his eyes on her ever since she'd joined the federation.  He would love a few quick romps in the hay with her.

The young woman turned, giving a slight start.  "Oh...hi," she said with a smile, her dimples showing as she looked him over.  "I didn't hear you come in."

He smiled.  "How are you, Torrie?"

"Just fine," she replied, allowing her eyes to scan him over.  Her blue orbs lingered on his pectorals, as he was shirtless and already dressed for his match later on.

The man's grin widened as he noticed Torrie's gaze concentrated on his massive chest.  He felt an even greater sense of satisfaction when, a moment later, she licked her lips.

"See anything you like?" he questioned in a softer, raspy voice.

"Oh, God, yes," she said as she raised her eyes to meet his, the smile still present.  The new diva knew as well as anyone that this man was involved with Nora Greenwald, but she didn't care.  Being with another woman's man had never bothered her.

It didn't even phase Torrie when, a moment later, she caught sight of Stephanie McMahon, whom had apparently just entered the room.  As the brunette stared at them, Torrie turned and left the room, her plate in hand.  Ignoring Stephanie, she glanced once more over her shoulder at the man.  "See you later."

The man smiled, thinking of how he would have to run into the blonde later on.  He briefly turned to the brunette whom had been the object of many of his fantasies over the last three or so years.  God, how he wanted her as well.  Thoughts of a threesome between Stephanie, Torrie Wilson and himself flitted through his mind, and he gazed at the boss' daughter with a grin.

"Hey, Steph."

"Hey."  She smiled at him a bit uncertainly, suspiciously, as he walked past her, leaving the room.

When he was gone, Stephanie's smile disappeared.  The man had not only offended her with his obvious come-on to Torrie, he had also unnerved her with his gaze.  She suddenly felt as though she needed a long hot shower.

*

Amy perked up as she noticed, through the mirror, Nora stepping into the locker room.  The redhead busied herself at first, not wanting to startle the other woman.  She fixed her hair and makeup while Nora sat down and got dressed for their upcoming match.

When Amy turned around to face the little blonde, she realized that Nora was now standing in front of another mirror, applying foundation or some other kind of similar makeup to her face - particularly under her eyes.  Her hazel eyes widened as she noted the bruise on the other diva's left arm.  Adam hadn't mentioned this to her.

The redhead came up to stand directly behind the blonde and tapped her gently on the shoulder.  "Hi, Nora..."

Nora gave a start, flinching ever so slightly as she whirled around to face her friend.  "Hi, Amy."  She gave her an uncertain smile.  "Looking forward to our match?"

"Yes, I am," Amy replied, staring obviously at the bruise on Nora's arm.  The other woman noticed immediately and moved her arm closer against her side, blocking the injury from view.

Amy sighed, feeling saddened by the look of stark pain in the young woman's blue eyes, the obvious insecurity in her face.  She decided to just jump right in.  "Nora, I wanted to talk to you..."

"What about?"  Fleetingly, she wondered if Amy was going to tell her about Adam and herself.  Nora had witnessed the two of them kissing in the tall blond's rental car a few moments earlier, out in the parking lot.

"...you have to report him," she stated.  "No matter who he is to you, he has no right to beat you.  Or to take you down a few notches by verbally abusing you."

Nora raised her eyes heavenward, a worried expression on her face.  "I don't know what you're talking about," she said as she desperately tried to meet the other woman's eyes.  She had trouble doing so, her own eyes shifting everywhere and unable to focus on Amy's.  She hated herself for lying, for making up excuses, but she was scared.  And she didn't want to drag her friends, especially another diva, into her own mess.

"Nora," Amy said firmly, "It's me...I know we haven't been the best of friends lately - but we are friends, and I'm worried about you.  Adam told me about-"

"Adam doesn't know a damn thing about me," the petite blonde said sharply, her eyes narrowing in anger.

The redhead shook her head.  "Jay told him about seeing and speaking to you earlier today.  He...he's really worried about you, from what Adam said.  He seems to really care about you.  He's very concerned and wants to help..."

Nora's blue eyes widened slightly upon this news, and she softened a bit upon hearing about the shorter of the two blond Canadian men being so concerned about her.  She had really wanted to confide in him that morning, had somehow known instinctively that she could trust him, but like all her other friends, she hadn't wanted to drag him down into her problems.  He was better than that, and she didn't deserve his sympathy or concern.  She was too much of a coward to stand up to him, so how could she ever deserve that?

"...if you would just trust him, he'll help you," Amy continued.  "I know Jay...he is a very kind, caring, warm-hearted man and he would help in any way-"

"Maybe I don't want his help," Nora interrupted.  "Maybe I don't want anyone's help!"  She winced as she raised her voice to her friend.  Her statement was in fact false, but she was terrified of what he might do - more so to her friends than to herself.  She couldn't take the chance of him harming any of them.

"Honey, I know you're scared," the other diva said, moving a little closer and affectionately touching the smaller woman's long blonde hair.  "But he can't get away with this...don't you see?  There's safety in numbers.  If you just trust us, we can all help."

Nora looked her friend in the eye, absorbing all of her words as she considered that option.  She wanted so badly for her pain to end - until the other night, it had all just been emotional - but she didn't know if she could withstand the physical or sexual abuse a second, third, fourth, or who knew how many more times.  She wanted in the worst way to say to her friend that she did indeed want her help, and the help of the two blond Canadians, but how could she subject them to such torment?

"No...No!" she shouted suddenly, breaking free of her friend's tender hand.  "Why can't you just leave me alone?!"  She pushed past Amy and fled the women's locker room, not wanting her friend to see the tears that were burning behind her eyelids.

Amy stood there, rooted to her spot in front of the mirror, and sighed, running a hand through her red locks.  She felt dejected as she shook her head and went back to her own mirror to finish preparing for their match.