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Adam opened his eyes and blinked rapidly. His lids felt all gummy, as though he'd been in a REM-free sleep for a long time.

He stared up at the ceiling, his eyes slitted against the harsh white fluorescent light, and wondered where he was. He honestly couldn't remember this place.

Then, suddenly, he saw a man's face - a stranger above him, dressed in white. The man appeared concerned, but a friendly smile suddenly came to his face.

"Welcome back, Mr. Copeland..."

As Adam moved his head ever so slightly so as to get a better look at the man speaking to him, he suddenly realized that this was a doctor... He was in a hospital...

He smacked his lips together for a moment, only then realizing how parched they were.

The physician, knowing such a thing would happen, reached over to a small tray by the side of the bed. He proceeded to pur cold water from a carafe into a small paper cup, then handed it to the blond man as he reached for it.

"Easy there..." the doctor spoke. "Don't overdo..."

When Adam had barely quenched his thirst, downing the entire cup of liquid, he surveyed the man.

"Wh-what...?" That single word was all he could manage at the moment.

"I'm Dr. Mathews..." the man said with a smile. "I am the anethesiologist who tended to you prior to your surgery...Your friend brought you here after you'd been shot..."

Adam stared at the doctor, an initial feeling of confusion gripping him. Then, slowly, it all came back to him - Amy... He'd broken up with the redhead out of concern for her safety. He'd lured Paul Levesque to the state fair grounds - where the bastard had shot his angel... And he'd ended up taking a bullet himself...

"I...remember..."

The doctor nodded.

"You gave us quite a scare, Mr. Copeland...You'd actually died on the operating table - but somehow, you came back..."

The blond man arched an eyebrow, his eyes widening. He'd... died...? Despite the shock he felt at learning such a thing, he didn't question this - he felt far too weak to say much more, as the anesthesia the man standing over his bed had administered apparently hadn't worn off yet. And he'd just had surgery - no wonder he felt so numb...

"There is a group of people here to see you..." Dr. Mathews continued. "Fortunately, you are no longer considered to be in critical condition, so they can come to see you...Would you like your visitors - two at a time?"

The blond man glanced wearily up at the ceiling, thinking. The physician had to be talking about his friends - all of whom he'd come to think of as family - some during this arduous ordeal... Jay, his lifelong best friend who'd basically been the brother he'd never had; Stephanie, the woman he'd once loved romantically but still loved dearly as a friend; Kurt, the close pal he and Jay both enjoyed working and bullshitting with; Nora and Torrie, the two women sweeter to him than any blood-related sister could have been; and finally, there was Amy... The most beautiful and loving, kind-hearted woman in the world... Once his angel - but no more because he'd blown it... God, how he hated himself for that, for hurting her... He didn't deserve her - and she deserved far better than him...

Finally, he shifted his gaze back to the man and nodded.

"I'd like to...see them..."