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Dawn Marie took every last painful step, trudging onward. She refused to give in to the blinding, searing aches in her midsection as she saw The Stop just ahead.
The brunette let out a moan so soft, she was sure nobody would have even heard it. She willed herself to keep going, keep moving until she finally reached the door.
Pushing it open, the woman finally collapsed in a heap to the floor, broken and battered.
"Oh, my God!" she heard someone - a woman - shout. She thought she saw Stephanie McMahon's horrified and concerned face peering down at her but blacked out.
Stephanie shot Stacy a look as she approached with worry in her eyes.
"Call for an ambulance!" she ordered. She knelt over more closely to the fallen brunette and moved the hair off her face. She was filled with horror at the thought of what had to have happened to the woman.
*
Lita looked up at the sound of her phone ringing. It wasn't exactly something she could put her finger on, but for some reason, she thought of the tone as ominous. She just knew deep down that something was wrong.
Edge watched her as she rose from the couch to go around to the phone sitting on the small table a few feet away.
"Hello?" she asked, keeping her voice from sounding as shaky as she felt. She blanched and raised a hand to her mouth as the person on the other end gave her some news.
"Oh, God," she breathed. "Okay... Thank you. Bye." She hung up and turned to face her boyfriend, her face still white as a sheet.
"What happened?" the blond man asked. He had a sinking feeling he already knew, though.
"That was Stephanie - my boss," the redhead told him. "Dawn Marie was attacked. She... She's in the hospital."
"Oh, jeez."
Forgetting all about Christian for the time being, the two immediately left and headed for Lincoln Memorial. Edge, who had actually been faring very well, all things considered, couldn't help feeling guilty. Lita hadn't given him any real details aside from the general gist of what happened, but he hoped Dawn hadn't been shot. He would never forgive himself if she had been. After all, he had been the one who'd given her that gun.
They rushed through the building, not quite as fast as they normally would have due to the blond man's healing wound. Lita glanced around frantically as they reached a nurse's station.
"We're here for Dawn Marie Psaltis."
The woman behind the counter asked her to spell the last name, and she did. Then, searching through her computer, the nurse gave her a nod.
"Room 213."
The redhead began to hurry away, calling a quick thank you behind her.
"Come on, Adam!" she cried.
The blond man hobbled just behind her. As he caught up, they made it to an elevator.
"Maybe you should get looked at while we're here."
"Me? I don't need it."
She shook her head and gave him a look of disgust.
"Men," she remarked. What was wrong with them? They always had to play it so macho - even when it was their life and not a game they were dealing with. She shook it off for now as they searched for Room 213. It wasn't long before they found it.
"Dawn!" Lita cried as she stepped inside. The brunette was in a semi-private room with an undetermined roommate who had the privacy curtains drawn around her. She rushed to the bed, wincing at the sight of the other woman. Dawn Marie was thankfully conscious, but she was pale and had bruises covering her face. A thin white sheet covered her from the waist down, and she had a single IV attached to her left arm.
"Oh, my God... Are you... okay?" the redhead asked. She realized it was a pretty stupid question.
Edge came over just behind his girlfriend and drank in the sight of his former girlfriend in the hospital bed. She looked so tiny and fragile in her current state.
"I've been better," the brunette replied with a wince. She tried to sit up a wee bit more but was stopped by Lita, who extended an arm in her direction. "The broken ribs sure don't help."
Edge's hands clenched into fists at her words. Clearly, the woman hadn't been shot but had been beaten. And damn if he didn't know his stepbrother was the fucking culprit. He felt as though he could kill him.
Swallowing down his hatred, the blond man managed to ask one small question - one he knew wasn't exactly important at that very moment but which was vitally so in the long run.
"The gun?" he asked in a whisper.
"I lost it when he attacked me," the brunette explained. Her facial expression was so pained. "He had me on the ground and was kicking me. He saw it and took it." Tears sprang to Dawn Marie's eyes. "I thought he was going to kill me!"
As best she could given her friend's broken ribs, Lita leaned down to give her a hug. She smoothed down some strands of Dawn's hair and swayed her gaze to Edge. Horror gripped her at the knowledge that what the brunette had said could very well have ended up happening.
They left a few minutes later, promising Dawn Marie they would be back. Edge grabbed hold of Lita's arm as they rounded a corridor, his green eyes serious.
"Okay, no more fooling around. We're gonna have to throw together a good strategy."
The young woman eyed him with widened hazel orbs, terrified to ask any questions.