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*September 15, 2003*

"God, I can't stop shaking!"

Adam grabbed hold of Amy's hand at her words, finding it cold. Confidently, he smiled as he rubbed her hand between both of his.

"Babe, you're going to do *fine*," the blond man assured her. "Scratch that - you're gonna do *great*." He winked at her, and she calmed visibly, drawing from his strength and warmth.

"I know," the redhead said, a tiny smile touching her lips. "It's just that I'm nervous as *hell*. You know how long it's been since I've been in a WWE ring." Amy chewed on her lower lip for a beat before continuing. "I'm also excited, of course - I can't *wait* to get out there. But I'm worried about how the fans are gonna react to me after all this time."

"Ames..." Adam silenced her with two fingers to her lips, a confident smile on his handsome face. "... The fans *love* you - you're the most popular diva the WWE has." His smile brightened into more of a grin as he eyed her from head-to-toe and back up again. "You're certainly the only one to have a new T-shirt while still out with an injury. And you know what? You look gorgeous."

The redhead cocked her head to one side and edged even closer to him.

"You really think so? I wasn't so sure how the fans would react to *that*, either." She glanced down quickly at herself... Gone were the trademark low-slung baggy pants she'd always worn with the thong - which, of course, had been Adam's idea ages ago - exposed over their tops. In place, she'd opted to wear shorts and knee socks. It was different, but still her.

The blond man released her hand and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her snugly against him.

"As if you really have to ask that..." He chuckled and moved his face closer to her, placing his lips on hers. He kissed her tenderly, sighing in her mouth as she responded fervently. His heart pounded faster as her tongue slipped between his lips, and he slid his hands up so that they were in her long red hair. He tilted her head to one side so as to get an even better angle - and that was when the sudden knock on the locker room door interrupted them.

Amy smiled almost sheepishly as she pulled back. Adam rolled his eyes, shaking his head in half-mock irritation.

"Come in!"

"Hey." It was Chris Jericho, and the blond man poked his head into the doorway tentatively. "Trish sent me," he continued. "Her match is up next, so you'd better be ready." He winked at the redhead, gesturing at her with a pointing forefinger.

She smiled and nodded.

"Okay. Thanks, Chris." She stood up, and Adam rose along with her, grabbing hold of her hand as they started out of the room.

"Hey, Red?" Jericho said, stopping them both.

Amy arched a brow in anticipation.

"Yes, Chris?" she asked.

"Welcome back," the normally wisecracking blond man said with a grin. "You're gonna do great out there."

"Thanks, Chris." Amy smiled gratefully and felt Adam give her hand a gentle but reassuring squeeze. She turned back to look up at him, their eyes meeting. Her tall, blond boyfriend gave her a soft, confident smile - one that was so filled with love, she nearly burst into tears.

Moments later, they were at gorilla position, still holding hands. And once again, Amy's had gone ice cold, although this time from a cold sweat.

"Hey," Adam said soothingly, "you're gonna rock the roof off of this place."

The redhead cocked her head to one side as she regarded him, her heart filled with tenderness. She didn't think she could love him more than she did at that very moment - but then again, he never ceased to amaze her.

She reached one hand up and placed it palm-flat to his cheek, pressing up on her tiptoes to capture his lips in a searing kiss he more than willingly returned.

After a long moment, the kiss finally broke. The tall blond man noticed that there was no one around - and so, he gave the redhead a loving pat on her ass.

"Looks like you're up in a minute." He gestured with a nod toward the TV monitor right near them. In the ring, Molly Holly and Gail Kim, a relative newcomer who'd debuted with the WWE two months earlier, were brutalizing Trish.

Amy nodded, her hazel eyes traveling back to him. She pulled his head down to give him one more quick kiss, then hurried off. This was it - she was finally making her long-awaited return to the ring - after sixteen long months.

Adam stood there by gorilla, reluctant to budge from that spot, as he didn't want to miss a second of it. And so, he stayed, his gaze fixed to the television monitor. Gail and Molly had just positioned a steel chair around Trish's neck, obviously with the intent of *breaking* it - same as Lita's neck had been broken nearly a year a half earlier. And then, before the two diabolical divas could go any further, they were suddenly surprised by the fiery redhead! Lita ran in, much to the crowd's delight, and knocked them both down. She made quick work of them. With Molly completely out of the way, the returning diva delivered a huge DDT to Gail, then peeled off her T-shirt. The fans went positively nuts.

Afterward, the redhead went to check on her fallen friend. She helped Trish up, the blonde diva getting her bearings slowly, and then, Lita helped the Maple Leaf beauty out of the ring, supporting her with an arm around her.

Adam couldn't help but grin at the entire segment. The fans adored Amy. Her return had been a huge success. Now, they had to do something to celebrate it.

A moment later, his girlfriend and Trish were emerging from the curtain, chatting animatedly. The two women exchanged a big hug, and the redhead laughed. When they parted, Amy looked past the blonde woman to Adam, a feeling of elation taking over her.

"Oh, my God!" she cried. She ran right into her boyfriend's arms, and the tall blond man held her tightly, lifting her up off her feet. "God, that felt awesome!" She raised her head to gaze into Adam's green eyes, and their lips met in another passionate kiss.