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Amy wrung her hands nervously as she cast what had to be the thousandth glance at the wall clock since she'd been here.

Immediately following her departure from Adam's hospital room as he'd been seconds away from being wheeled into surgery, she'd located the nearest restroom. There, she'd locked herself in and sank to the floor on the back of her heels, the sobs and tears finally breaking free. She'd tried to remain as quiet as possible, not wanting anyone to overhear her and question her. All she'd wanted was to be left alone in her anguish.

She had no idea how long she'd stayed in that small bathroom and cried. Her eyes had been so red and puffy. Her throat hurt from the sobs in spite of her success at keeping them nearly silent. She couldn't stop remembering the expression on Adam's face, the evident fear in his green eyes, just before she'd left him.

It was nearly three in the afternoon. They'd arrived here at nine-thirty that morning, and the blond man's surgery had been scheduled for eleven-fifteen.

Amy stood up, her nerves far beyond frazzled as she wondered why she hadn't heard a thing about him yet. Dear God... What if something had gone wrong? What if something had gone *horribly* wrong? She forced herself to breathe and hoped she wouldn't get sick.

Then, a moment later, as she was again sitting down, trying her best to compose herself, a man in green scrubs suddenly approached her. She realized it was Dr. Youngblood. Hastily, she stood back up, her heart hammering.

"Doctor? How is he?"

"He's doing just fine," the man told her, smiling warmly. He could clearly see how horribly worried the young woman had been. "The surgery was a success. He had a slight reaction to the anesthesia, but he's fine now."

The redhead closed her eyes, a deep sigh escaping her. She could feel more tears, this time of relief, welling up under her lids. Then, opening her eyes and fixing them on the doctor, she nearly choked on her question.

"Can... Can I see him?"

"Yes, of course. He's been asking you for," Youngblood said. He smiled again. "That man of yours is very stubborn - he was asking for you a half hour earlier, but we had to make sure he was stabilized first."

Amy found herself letting out a small chuckle, then followed the doctor down the long hospital corridor and to the room they'd moved her boyfriend to. Tentatively, she followed the man inside. And there he was... Adam was sitting up in the stark white bed, his head propped against a mound of pillows, the bed at a ninety degree angle. A large, hard neck brace was around his neck, and his face appeared slightly drawn, his green eyes lacking their usual brightness.

He looked so very vulnerable... And that broke her heart.

"Hey, baby," she said softly as she edged over to him. God, she just wanted so badly to gather his big frame into her arms and hold him so tightly - but she couldn't do that, not now.

"Ames..." he croaked out. His voice was barely a whisper and was quite raspy and hoarse from the surgery. The doctor had explained that he'd had to move Adam's throat three inches over to complete the procedure. The tall blond man studied her face, only his eyes moving as he did so. "Aww, no... I can't have my girl crying like that."

She swallowed hard, her hand gently reaching for his. He was still on an IV, a clear liquid dripping into a vein in his left arm.

"I was worried about you," she explained. She didn't know how it was that she was able to hold back the tears that had been coming since Dr. Youngblood had approached her in the waiting room. She wanted so desperately to kiss him - but she couldn't risk it - *wouldn't* risk it right now.

"There's something... I need... to do," the Canadian whispered. A look of determination, a fire, came into his eyes. It was a spark of the Adam Copeland the redhead knew and loved, and she arched an eyebrow as she wondered what he meant.

"You and Chris Benoit climbed... flights of stairs on the day of your..." He swallowed hard, the effort to speak actually taxing.

Amy nodded.

"I'm gonna beat your record." He flashed her an exhausted but bright, toothy grin, and it warmed her heart and made her feel somewhat better.