Amy turned her head sharply in the direction of the entryway upon hearing the mysterious female voice crooning seductively: "You think you know me..."  She and the Hardys were supposed to look surprised, as the Dudley Boyz were supposed to be the tag team to come out to meet Matt and Jeff for a shot at the Tag Team titles.  Although she knew Buh-Buh Ray and D-Von were not the ones slated to appear at this time, she was unable to take her eyes off the tall blond form of Adam as he and Jay suddenly appeared.

Edge hadn't been on the television shows for a couple of weeks, after having been put through a table by the Dudleys.  The tall Canadian held in a microphone in one hand, and he lifted it to speak.

"Hey, Hardys!  You look a little shocked to see Edge and Christian, but..."  He chuckled a bit as he continued, "...I realize you're scheduled to face the Dudleys tonight, but you know what?  They aren't here.  They blew it!  So, Hardys, if you've got the guts, why don't you put those championships on the line against us - boyz?"

So, there it was - the challenge from the former tag team champions to the current title-holders, and the match got off to a fast and furious start.

Amy tried her best to get into the match as she stood in Matt and Jeff's corner at ringside, and although it may have looked like she was genuinely happy to be there, she wasn't thrilled.  She knew it looked as though she was going on just as she normally did, but her eyes were drawn to the tall blond man every time he was within her line of sight in the ring.  She had to fight herself not to gaze at him whenever he was in his corner.

She was relieved when her spot to act came up, for it meant this was going to end soon.  The referee had been knocked out when the Hardy Boyz had set up Edge for the Poetry in Motion, but the tall blond had pulled the official in front of him, sparing himself.  Christian was now stumbling around in the ring, and Amy climbed to the top turnbuckle, taking him down with a quick hurricanrana.

As the redhead watched the man roll out of the ring, she managed to keep her back to the taller of the blond men, knowing that this was his spot.  And then, she felt him grab her by the hair, quickly moving his hands around her jaw as he slammed her down with the Edge-o-matic.

Amy winced as she felt an unpleasant jolt as her head hit the canvas - hard.  She briefly saw stars behind her tightly squeezed shut eyes, then managed to roll out of the ring.

It all came to an abrupt end as Rhyno slipped into the ring from the crowd, goring Jeff, who had just delivered a Swanton Bomb to Christian.  Edge took the advantage by covering the Hardy Boy, and of course, the referee roused at this particular moment.  E and C got the three count and the Tag Team titles along with it.

Amy kneeled on the canvas with Matt to check on Jeff, holding her head as she watched the two blonds and the bulky Rhyno depart to the backstage area.  Her eyes were instantly drawn to Adam, and she couldn't help but wonder if he realized he'd hurt her - and if he would care if he did know.

*

Amy held one hand to her head, wincing in pain as she and the Hardys returned backstage.

"You all right?" Jeff asked, his warm green eyes filled with concern.

"Yeah, I...ow!" she cried.  In truth, her head hurt like a bitch, and she felt the beginnings of a pounding headache as a result.  She only hoped it wouldn't turn out to be a migraine.  Damn that Adam Copeland!  She wondered how a man who could make love to her so tenderly could be so rough with her in the ring.

She winced again as she stepped into the women's locker room, leaving the Hardys - but it was not from the pain in her head.  It was as a result of the pain in her heart.  The redhead honestly could not think of what she and the tall blond man did as "making love," for she knew he didn't love her.  This knowledge stung worse than salt poured on a raw, open wound.  However, likewise, she hadn't uttered a word to him about how she truly felt about him - and she wasn't planning on doing so, either.

Amy felt a horrible emptiness in her heart.  She considered herself as making love to Adam whenever they got together, but obviously, as she'd realized a month earlier, her nightmares had indeed come true.

She stepped into a shower stall, silently bursting into tears as soon as the water was on.  The hot spray sluiced over her skin, washing away her tears, but she knew she would have to find a way to conceal the redness and puffiness of her eyes later on.

The diva reflected over the last month.  Somehow, she and Adam had managed to keep their trysts - she couldn't call it a relationship - secret from the entire company.  Since she tended to room alone at the hotels, he usually came to her, but there were those odd times when she would go to his room.  Jay often spent hours after shows at clubs or bars with Chris Jericho and Drew Martin, and that gave her and Adam the chance to do what they wanted in the room while he was away.

Jay had almost caught her once as she had been sneaking down the hall back to her own hotel room.  The blond had been returning to his room a little earlier than usual.  Amy had nearly frozen when she'd seen him, afraid that he'd seen her leaving his room.  And when he'd questioned her, she'd lamely said that she'd just come back from her friend Joanie Laurer's room - that they'd been strategizing their next match.  Jay had raised an eyebrow at that, but he had bid her goodnight and continued down the hall to his room.

When she finished with her shower, the redhead grabbed her bag and left the arena alone.  She didn't bother waiting for Matt and Jeff, opting instead to walk back to the hotel.  Fortunately, it was only a few blocks away.

*

Jeff Hardy stood almost uncertainly outside the door to Amy's hotel room.  He raised his hand to knock, then paused, hearing the TV playing softly within.  Making up his mind, he rapped gently.

"Jeff..."  Amy looked surprised to see him there, and the younger Hardy could swear he'd detected a quick flash of disappointment - as though perhaps she'd been expecting someone else.

"Hi," he said, stepping into the room.  As she turned to face him, the young man noticed that his friend looked unhappy - just as she had for the last couple of months now.

"Ames, I...what's wrong?"  He honestly hadn't wanted to push her, not only out of respect for her privacy, but he also didn't want her to snap at him or shut him out - like she'd done to Matt.

"W-what do you mean, Jeff?" the diva asked as she backed up slightly until she was sitting on the edge of the bed.

Jeff came to join her, sitting across from her at its foot.  "I debated with myself about doing this," he admitted.  "But damn it - you're my best friend, and you've seemed so upset lately...something's been bothering you, and when you're upset, I'm upset."

Amy bit her lip, actually relieved that the young man had brought up this subject.  For the last little while, she had wanted more than anything to talk to him.

"I...oh, God, Jeff," she cried, bowing her head slightly.  "I actually wanted to talk to you about this...last month, Matt was right when he guessed this all had to do with a guy..."

The colorful-haired man's eyes widened just slightly, but he didn't interrupt.

"It...it all started back in November.  Adam-"

"What?" Jeff questioned with surprise, his green eyes widening even more.  "Adam??"

Amy began to cry, unable to hold back any longer.  "It started out as one night that never should have happened...but then it happened again in January, and then in February, the night the angle with Dean Malenko came to an end, and..."

Jeff moved closer to her, holding the redhead in his arms and allowing her to sob against his chest.  Amy clung to him, sniffling a bit as she plodded on.

"...and...since the time in February, we've been...meeting each other almost every night...I..."

"Oh, Ames," Jeff said as he stroked her long hair.  He sure as hell wasn't going to judge her, but he was damned curious.  "I don't understand...I thought you and Adam hated each other?"

"We do - did," she replied, pulling back just enough to gaze up into his face.  "But...as crazy as this sounds, I came to this realization about a month ago...I...I'm in love with him, Jeff!"

Admitting those last few words caused a fresh batch of tears to spring to her eyes, and she sobbed on Jeff's shoulder.

"Wow...does he know?"

"No," Amy replied, looking back up at him with tearful hazel eyes.  "And I'm not going to tell him!  The thing that hurts the most is that...h-he's been so friendly with Trish Stratus for the last couple of months.  I know there's something going on between them, even though Adam won't admit it to me!  And it...it tears me up inside!" she cried, her face crumpling with a wince.

Jeff's expression hardened, and the young woman noticed immediately.  "Please, Jeff," she said pleadingly, "d-don't say anything to him about this."

The young man rubbed a hand down her back, amazed at how well she'd read his thoughts and reaction.  He'd just been considering marching to Adam Copeland's hotel room and taking him apart piece-by-piece - but for her sake, he wouldn't do that.

"And please - please...above all, don't breathe a word of any of this to Matt...I know he would end up doing something stupid.  See, this is the only way, Jeff!  The only way...I can be with the man I love."

Jeff studied her sorrowful face for a long moment, his heart nearly breaking.  She was so sad, and her confession was even worse.  Finally, he nodded, solemnly promising that he would not say a word to anyone - he would keep this secret.  He only hoped that Adam wasn't fool enough to realize just how special this woman was - and that she deserved to be loved and cherished by the man she loved.

*

Adam slipped stealthily out of his hotel room a little after one, when he realized that Jay was finally asleep.  His best friend had opted not to go out with Chris and Drew tonight, as he didn't feel all that well, claiming he might be coming down with a cold.  Adam had lay on his bed in the dark, listening to a CD on his Discman with headphones as he'd waited for the other man to fall asleep.  He'd shut off the CD and removed the phones, listening quietly, noting Jay's steady, regular breathing.  A moment later, his belief that his friend was indeed asleep was confirmed when he'd begun to snore.

Now, he stood right outside the door to Amy's room, glancing around quickly so as to be sure no one was around to see him.  He gently rapped on the door with his knuckles.  "Ames!" he called in a loud whisper.

She didn't respond.  After a moment, he knocked louder, and that was when he heard her moving around inside the room.  He grinned as the door was suddenly opened.

His smile disappeared as he took in the sight of the lovely redhead.  She looked very unhappy, her eyes barely open as she looked out at him.  Her hair was a mess, and it was quite evident that she'd been sleeping.  And, if he didn't know better, he could swear she'd been crying as well.

He slipped into the room and she wordlessly closed and locked the door before turning to face him.  "I'm sorry I took so long," he said softly.  "Jay stayed in tonight, and I had to wait for him to fall asleep..."  He frowned as he continued to eye her through the darkness of the room.  The only illumination came from the window, as the drapes were slightly open, light from the street lamp outside spilling in.  She seemed to be in pain as she supported herself with one hand against the back of the desk chair.

"Baby...what is it?"  He reached out for her, touching her arm.

"I have the most awful migraine," she said softly, her eyes slitted.  She lifted a hand to her head.

A quick and nasty crack ran through Adam's mind: "Does this mean we're not doing it tonight?" but he held his tongue against verbalizing it.  Seeing how miserable she obviously was, it was clearly not the time to be making crude jokes.

"Did you take anything for it?" he asked, drawing her over to sit down on the edge of the bed.  He put his arm around her shoulders, gently stroking her.

"Yes...after your match earlier tonight.  I've had it since the match."  She rubbed a hand wearily over her face.

"You mean the whole time you were out there tonight, you had a migraine?"

"No," Amy replied, her hand still pressed against her head.  "It came later on, when our spot came up."

"Oh..."  The tall blond stared at her, feeling a twinge of guilt knowing that she was apparently in such agony because of him.  In fact, he downright felt like shit.  "...I'm so sorry, Amy."  He moved his face closer to hers, nuzzling her gently, but she didn't reply.  She felt too lousy to do so, anyway.

Adam gently lifted her in his arms, almost cradling her a bit.  After a moment, he began gently lowering her to the bed.  "Why don't you go back to sleep, honey?"

The diva turned onto her side, facing him, curling up under the blanket.  She lifted her right hand to shield her eyes, desperate to fall asleep.  Maybe she'd wake up the next morning with this damn thing gone.

The Canadian man stayed seated there on the bedside for a moment, then moved over to sit on the desk chair nearby.  He had no intention of leaving her in this condition.

As he watched her, it seemed the redhead was asleep moments later, but she suddenly bolted up out of the bed.  Quick as a flash, she raced past him, and he went after her.  "Ames?"

She made it to the bathroom just in the nick of time, flipping the light on and then bending over in front of the toilet.  In a hurry, she lifted its seat and purged herself of everything she'd eaten a couple of hours earlier.

Adam stood behind her, gently stroking her back and long hair as she continued vomiting.  It tore at his heart to see her feeling so sick, and he blamed himself for it.

When she was done, Amy flushed the commode, then grabbed a piece of toilet paper and wiped her mouth.  If she hadn't been feeling so horrible, she would have been embarrassed that the blond man had witnessed her at her worst.  "Oh, God..."

Adam put his arm around her, his handsome face full of concern.  He didn't speak a word as he led her to the sink, turning the cold water on.  He put his hands under the faucet and turned to her, gently wetting her face.  He gazed at her tenderly as she allowed him to continue doing this.

He quickly retrieved one of the towels on the rack behind them, then gently rubbed her dry.  Afterward, he turned back to the sink and pulled up a plastic cup situated on one side, pouring her some water to drink.

The woman gratefully took a few long sips of the cool water, her eyes closed.  When she was done, she walked past him and returned to the bed.  A moment later, she watched Adam as he came over with something white in his hands.  She closed her eyes as she felt the coolness of the damp washcloth he placed across her forehead.  Before too long, she drifted off to sleep.  Her last thought before entering that blessed state was a feeling of pleasant surprise that the blond man actually had a sweet side to him.