Amy felt lonely as she spent most of the holiday season pretty much alone.  She hated being home all this time and sighed as she wondered how long she, Matt and Jeff would have to endure their punishment.  Mr. McMahon had said it would last as long as it took - until they had learned their lesson.

She turned the TV on to RAW at nine o'clock, thinking that, if she couldn't be there with her friends, at least she could see them.  She was amused by the two separate WWF Christmas parties, one hosted by Vince, the other by Ric Flair, who had joined the company little more than a month earlier.  She smiled when she saw Chris Jericho at the "heel" party.  Her outspoken blond friend had become quite the bad guy after becoming the brand new, first-ever Undisputed champion at Vengeance.

A little while later, the cameras cut to Flair's party of "faces."  She frowned upon seeing Torrie Wilson, who was dressed as a sexy Mrs. Claus.  As the blonde woman moved to sit on the lap of Tajiri, who was in a Santa suit, she thought about how unfair it was that she was home to rot while Torrie had been let off easily in comparison after their fight a couple of months earlier.

Her expression changed to a warm smile as the camera shifted, and she saw Edge hanging out with Kane and Albert.  However, she again scowled as Torrie opened a gift box from the "Japanese Buzzsaw" - a matching bra and thong set inside.  As the blonde held them up to get a better look at the lingerie, Edge looked on with a seemingly appreciative grin.  But Amy knew otherwise - Adam was simply playing his role as he'd been instructed.

The redhead again felt a wave of loneliness wash over her, pulling her into a sea of despair.  How she longed to be there with her friends - especially Adam.  She'd only been home for five days so far, and it was killing her.

She looked down as she felt Cody, her doberman, nuzzle her on the knee with his snout.  Sighing, she reached down and patted him on the head.  As animals typically do, he seemed to understand how she was feeling.

*

Three Days Later - Christmas Day, 2001

Amy sighed as she ate a late lunch.  She had the television on and 'It's a Wonderful Life' was playing for the umpteenth time.  She'd always liked the movie, but it drove her nuts with its redundancy.

She looked up as she heard the sound of the doorbell, Cody barking along with it.  The type of bark the dog emitted told her that someone familiar was paying them a visit.

"Merry Christmas!" Matt and Jeff Hardy both sang in stereo as she opened the door to see them standing on the front stoop.  They each held a bag of gifts, and Matt held a couple of boxes, which evidently didn't fit in his bag, under his other arm.

"Merry Christmas, guys..."  She exchanged a hug with Jeff as the brothers stepped into the house.  When Matt was free of his presents, she shared a hug with him as well.

"We just thought we'd stop by," Jeff stated.  "We exchanged gifts with Dad early this morning."

"Yeah...Ames, you should've taken us up on our invitation to our place for Christmas," the darker brother stated.  "Nobody should be alone for the holiday, and Dad missed you."

"Aww, I'm sorry, guys," the redhead said, feeling lousy.  "I hope you told him merry Christmas for me, at least."

"Of course we did," Jeff said, putting an arm around her.  "Come on, let's get to those gifts."

Amy smiled at how much like a child her rainbow-haired friend was as he and his brother carried the presents into her living room.  Cody jumped up on each of them happily, excited to see his "uncle" Matt and "uncle" Jeff.

"Here, Jeff," Amy said as she grabbed a small box from underneath the tiny plastic Christmas tree she'd set up in the corner.  "This one's for you..."

The young man tore open the festive wrapping paper, and quickly opened the small box.  He held up a silver chain with a multi-pointed star with an inlay of turquoise and onyx.  His green eyes widened as he looked over his gift.

"Oh, Ames, this is great!  Thank you," he said, pulling her into another hug and kissing her quickly on the lips.

"You're welcome," she said with a smile.  "I knew you'd like it."

"I love it."  Jeff undid the necklace's clasp and put it on.

After they went through all the gifts they had gotten for each other, Matt handed the redhead the two boxes he'd carried in that hadn't been in his bag.

"Here, these are also for you...they're not from either of us."

"They're not?" the diva questioned.  She'd assumed they were from Matt, since he'd been the one holding them.

"Nope...they were sitting right out there on the stoop when we got here."

"Hmm...that's interesting," she said.  As she turned her attention to the larger box, the Hardys exchanged a secret smile.

Amy gasped as she held up the contents, her eyes slightly widened.  "Oh, God...this is gorgeous!" she cried, eyeing the smoky gray, obviously expensive cashmere sweater she held.  "Oh, this is so beautiful!  I love cashmere..."  She looked at each of her friends in turn, puzzled.  "...who is this from?"

"Err, Ames - there's a card in the box," Jeff pointed out, gesturing with his head and right hand.

Amy peered down and pulled out a small card which she hadn't noticed because it had been underneath the sweater, in its protective, decorative tissue paper.  As she read the neat, printed handwriting, her breath caught.

Amy,

I just wanted to make sure these got to you in time for Christmas.  I wish we could spend the holidays together, but hopefully, we'll see each other again soon.  Enjoy the gifts, merry Christmas, and have a safe and happy New Year.  Talk to you soon.

Love, Adam

The redhead felt slightly choked up as she finished reading.  God, how sweet a guy Adam was.  They'd actually spoken on the phone a couple of times since she'd been home, but he'd never mentioned this.  He'd never even given her the slightest little hint.

"Well, who's it from?" Matt asked, nudging his younger brother knowingly.

"Adam," Amy said.

"Open the other one," Jeff insisted.  She did as he requested, carefully removing the shiny paper from the small box.  The Hardys waited with baited breath, both their eyes looking curious as Amy opened a black velvet box.

"Oh, my God."  She removed the object nestled inside and held it up at eye's length.  Jeff came closer to see it, and Matt craned his neck to get a better look.

"Wow," Jeff said as he eyed the tiny antique cameo dangling from a gold rope chain.  "That must have cost him a fortune!"

"You can say that again," Matt agreed, his dark brown eyes glued to the beautiful jewelry.  "Man...Adam's gotta have spent more on you than we ever have - combined."

"Isn't that similar to the one that was your grandma's?" Jeff was asking the redhead.

"Yes," Amy answered, a lump of emotion forming in her throat.  "It's almost identical."  She was afraid she might start bawling over her friends' shoulders at any moment.  She thought about what a sweetheart Adam truly was.

Somehow, awhile back, she'd lost the cameo on a gold chain her grandmother had left to her.  Nana had been very sick and had passed away when Amy was eighteen, but she'd left the cherished cameo, which had been her favorite, to Amy.  The diva had mentioned it to Adam a few months earlier, and she couldn't believe he'd remembered.  Her eyes glistened at the near replica, her heart swelling.  She had to remember to thank the blond man properly the next time she saw him.

*

Adam lay asleep in his hotel room when a sudden noise awoke him.  He pushed himself up on one elbow as he surveyed the dark room but couldn't make anything out.

Just as he was about to lay back to return to blessed sleep, the sound came again.  He realized it sounded like someone walking around in the room.  As the floorboards continued to slowly creak, his suspicion was confirmed - there was definitely another person in his room.

He wondered what he should do - pretend he was asleep or put on the lamp on the nightstand by his bed to surprise the intruder.  Since the darkness was so total, he couldn't tell what the person looked like.  He decided to go with the former thought and make believe he was still asleep.

He lay very still on his back for a few minutes, his head turned in the direction of the sound, trying his best to get a glimpse of the intruder.  He briefly was able to make out a silhouette as the person passed by the window - definitely a woman.  He felt momentarily considerably calm until he realized it might be Torrie Wilson - it seemed the pesky blonde was a few screws loose capable of raping him.

Then, as soon as that thought struck him, the woman was suddenly on top of him, kissing him hungrily, her lips hot.  Adam roughly shoved her off, then reached over for the switch on the lamp beside the bed...

...And froze in shock.  Torrie was not the woman standing before him.  The vision he beheld standing over his bed was more lovely than he'd ever seen her, clad in a sexy black and red satin and lace teddy, a red satin robe open and draped over her.  Her rich auburn hair spilled like silk over her shoulders, and her hazel eyes sparkled as they drank in the sight of him laying there.

"Amy??!" he queried, unable to believe his eyes.

She bit her lip almost shyly as she gazed down at him.  "I'm sorry, Adam...I just thought you might want some company - since we didn't get to spend Christmas together."  She turned around to leave, but Adam reached out to gently grasp her wrist.

"Amy...I want that so badly...more than anything..."

The redhead's full lips curled into a smile.

"...actually, I want you more than anything."

She absorbed his words for a beat, then lowered herself to the bed, and Adam held her tightly down against him while they passionately kissed.

Amy ran her fingers through his long hair as she moved her lips to his ear.  While she nibbled gently on his earlobe, her hot breath caressing him deliciously, Adam let out a soft groan of pleasure.  "Oh, God...Amy...I love you."

She raised her head to gaze deeply down into his eyes, a smile coming to her lips.  "I love you, too," she said softly, yet strongly.  She placed her lips on his again, and this time, the kiss was even more passionate, if such a thing was possible.

Adam, totally turned on, was rock-hard against her as she straddled him, a sweet smile still on her face as they gazed at each other.  How long he had wished for this...

"Dude!"

Adam reluctantly roused as he felt a hand shaking his left shoulder.  He opened his eyes, and as they focused, he realized Jay was standing over him.  Confused, he looked around the room quickly, then back at his best friend.

"What are you doing here, Jay?  Where's-"

"She's in the other room," the shorter blond man replied.  "Man, Adam...you were doing an awful lot of moaning in your sleep.  Kept us awake half the night."

Adam sat up in the bed, running a hand through his rumpled hair.  He felt so groggy.  He still didn't understand how Jay had gotten into his room.  Then, it hit him - he, Jay and Trish had gotten adjoining rooms, as this was one of the few hotels that had them.

Suddenly, as if on cue with his thoughts, the petite blonde appeared in the doorway of the room in which she and her boyfriend had stayed.

"Good morning, sleepyhead," she quipped with a bright smile.  "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Adam replied.  He turned to Jay, a puzzled look coming to his face.  "Is Trish the only woman in that room?"

"Huh?"  Now it was Jay's turn to look confused.  "Of course she is.  What kind of guy do you think I am?" he asked, beginning to laugh.

That was when Adam realized it had all just been a dream - a beautiful, wonderful dream, from which he hated having to wake up.  He suddenly felt very empty inside.