She couldn't believe it.  She couldn't believe it had happened to him... Not him, oh, please, not him, the redhead thought.  She raised a hand to her mouth as she felt the sob coming, and she tried desperately to stifle it.

Jay had just told her that his best friend had felt a great deal of pain in his neck little more than a week and a half earlier, when he'd been in the ring against Kurt Angle.  The Olympic Gold Medalist had delivered a German suplex, one of his more or less signature moves.  Adam had been the recipient of the maneuver on countless occasions, but this time was different.  This time, the pain he'd felt had not disappeared.  And when he'd gone to see the very same specialist she'd seen nearly a year earlier, Dr. Lloyd Youngblood, the news was not good.  On the contrary, it was quite bleak - Adam needed neck surgery - and, like Chris Benoit, Rhyno, Stone Cold Steve Austin and the redhead herself all had, he would miss an entire year of competing in the ring.

Amy was speechless as she continued to weep over her former boyfriend's predicament.  From what the blond Canadian man sitting beside her had said, Adam needed the exact same very serious procedure she'd had done after she'd broken her neck on the set of Dark Angel.  Oh, God... Why did this fate have to be Adam's?  He didn't deserve it... Hell, no one deserved it, but damn it - the tall blond had definitely been heading toward regular main event status on SmackDown, and now it was all being taken away from him.  It seemed to the diva to all be some sort of cruel joke.  Her heart ached for him.

But it wasn't merely a matter of his career.  She still loved him, and it broke her heart that he would be going through the same ordeal she'd endured.  The unbelievable pain, the agony of having to lay in that special, torturous bed in the hospital, having to wear that hard neck brace so as to avoid movement in that area... She recalled how very miserable she'd been during that very trying time.  Oh, God... How would he deal with all of that?

"Amy...come here, honey," Jay said softly.  His hands had been gripping hers tightly, and, actually, he wasn't sure who was holding onto whom tighter - the redhead's hands were nearly cutting off his circulation.  He managed to pull his hands out of hers and wrapped his arms around her still shaking form, embracing her tightly.

The woman sobbed against his shoulder, and the blond man gently rubbed at her back in a soothing manner.  After awhile, she was making somewhat whimpered sounds, and he realized she was attempting to speak in the middle of her choked cries.

"Ames?"  Jay held the redhead back ever so slightly so he could gaze into her eyes.

"Why didn't he call me, Jay?  Why didn't he...call...?"

Her anguish shone through clearly in her hazel eyes, and the young man felt as though he might start crying himself.  Adam was his best friend, and he felt awful for him.  He didn't know what he would do if he were in the other man's shoes.  At the same time, he felt terrible for Amy as well.  He knew how much Adam meant to her.

The redhead managed to hold the sobs back somehow as a vivid memory began playing out in her head.  The hardest, most painful thing she'd ever done in her entire life was flashing before her mind's eye...

It was not even a full month after her surgery.  Amy was feeling so miserable all the time.  She didn't know how she could go on with everyday life when her world had gone so topsy-turvy.  Damn it, she couldn't do what she loved most - wrestling was her livelihood, but it had also been her dream.

The doctor had told her she was going to have to take a year off, possibly longer.  Although it was still so fresh, she felt so damned useless.  What was she going to do to keep herself busy?  She hated puttering around the house alone.  She'd expressed a desire to accompany Adam on the road, at least once in awhile, but he didn't want her to do that.  It wasn't that the blond man didn't want her company - she knew he would actually prefer her to be with him 24/7, but he was terrified of her moving around too much and possibly putting something out of whack.  She'd insisted that wouldn't happen due to the hard brace she was required to continue wearing until another few weeks - but that man was stubborn beyond belief.  He loved her so much that, for some reason, he had it in his head that she would somehow manage to get hurt even with it.

So, here she was, sitting around uselessly, without him, only seeing him once or twice a week when he had off and returned home - they'd been living together for the last eight months - or else, she would see him when she put on the television set on Thursday nights and turn on SmackDown.  And of course, there was also Backlash, which had just occurred about a week earlier.  She'd felt badly that he'd had to lose against Kurt Angle, but at least she got to see the man she loved.

She sighed sadly.  She had come to a very difficult decision just the other day.  She couldn't do this anymore - couldn't deal with it.  She was pretty much wasting away day in and day out, feeling as though all the life had been drained out of her.  Adam didn't deserve that... He was so vibrant, so full of life - even though he was doing what he'd always wanted to do, he still had so many hopes and dreams he wanted to fulfill - and not only in his career.  He deserved so much better than her, so much better than what she had become.

"Amy!"

The redhead looked up with her eyes only, as she was completely unable to move her head.  She was surprised, as he hadn't been expected to arrive home until early evening - it was now only two-thirty in the afternoon.

Suddenly, his tall, lean, blond form appeared in the doorway of the living room, where she was sitting on the couch.  He gazed at her wordlessly for a moment, his green eyes sparkling with delight as a soft, small smile took form on his handsome face.

"Hi."  The Canadian strode across the threshold and went to her, sitting close beside her on the couch.

"Hi."  She gazed at him for a second, biting her lip as she wondered if she would have the strength to go through with it.  She had to do this - it was for his own good...

"How are you, baby?" Adam asked, reaching around to put his arm around her.  And then, before she could utter a response, he moved a bit so that he could kiss her.  He was so extra cautious about it, not wanting to put too much pressure on her head.

Amy began to kiss him back, but it was half-hearted, and despite her deep love for him, she felt as though she couldn't do it.  She raised both hands, pressing them against his chest as she weakly tried to push him away.

The blond man pulled back, looking into her eyes with confusion.  "What's the matter?"

"Adam, I can't..."  She sighed as she instinctively moved over, slightly away from him.  "We have to talk."

He stared at her for a beat, a look of concern crossing his features.  Then, raking a hand through his long blond hair, he said, "Okay..."  His voice took on a slightly uncertain tone that tore at the redhead's heart.

After a long moment, she sighed again as she began to speak.  "I know this is still so new..."  She pointed at her neck with her left hand.  "But I know how miserable I am and will continue to be for a long time to come...I..."  She paused as she met his emerald eyes, which were intense and unwavering.

"I feel as though the life has been sucked out of me, and...Adam, I don't want to drag you down with me..."

"Amy, what...No," he said, shaking his head vigorously.  "You're not dragging me down..."  He reached out for her hand, grasping it and squeezing it tenderly.  "I love you..."

"I love you, too," Amy said, attempting not to get choked up but failing miserably.  "I know that if we continue going on like this, I will drag you down.  I'm drowning slowly, Adam...I don't want the same to happen to you.  And that's why I..."  She kept her gaze on his, the tears now escaping her, her heart wrenching at the look in his eyes.  "That's why I'm breaking up with you..."