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*April 2002*
Somehow, Adam managed to arrive at the right hotel room in Boston before the SmackDown taping. Obviously, he knew the name Torrie always gave for when she rented rooms. He didn't have any trouble despite the fact that the platinum blonde hadn't gotten the room in *both* their names. Luckily for him, the front desk clerk knew who he was because he recognized him.
The tall blond man was exhausted as he hefted his bag in through the door. All he could think of was stretching out on the bed for maybe an hour of sleep, which was all he *could* get - but then he knew it was not going to happen.
A furious pair of blue eyes glared at him as his wife stood just beyond the door. Torrie's body language spoke volumes as well - her arms were crossed tightly under her breasts, her legs spread a few inches apart as she stood and stared.
Before he had a chance to say a word, she began the verbal pouncing.
"Where the *hell* have you been?!"
Adam flinched, hating the accusatory anger in her voice. Torrie was rarely this angry with him, but when she was, it wasn't pretty. She could have quite the temper.
He mumbled something unintelligibly under his breath and told her how exhausted he was, that he needed a catnap.
"What?" she demanded, her blue eyes following his movement sas he tried to step around her. She got in his way, putting her smaller body before him and grabbing his left forearm, preventing him from proceeding. "You haven't answered my question," she snapped.
Adam eyed her blankly, his mouth going dry at the thought of how she would react to the truth zipping through his head. Maybe she would understand - after all, she knew how close a friend Amy was to him. Nah - who was he kidding?
"Sorry," he stammered. "I didn't mean to upset you."
She continued to glare at him but moved her arms so that her hands were on her hips.
"Is that *all* you have to say?"
Adam shrugged.
"Why are you so mad at me?" he asked, trying an innocent tact. "I'm here *now*, aren't I?"
Torrie's eyes flashed dangerously. She cocked her head as she continued to stare at him incredulously. The tall blond man could swear he could see steam coming out of her ears.
"Oh, excuse me," she said sarcastically. "But when my husband doesn't come back to our hotel room *all night*, I get a little concerned." There was a beat of silence as they looked into one another's eyes. Then, "Adam Copeland, where were you all night?" A series of blurs whirled through the blonde diva's mind, all jumbling into one. Her worst fears could be materializing right here and now. Although she never told him, all of those fears she'd had as a teenager suffering from a nasty bout of bulimia had never left her - thus causing her to still hold onto those little insecurities.
The Canadian sighed and ran a hand through his long blond hair. God, he was feeling weary. Actually, that was a vast understatement. He felt as though he could sleep for a solid week.
"I was at the hospital," he finally answered.
"You were-" Torrie halted her speech, her facial expression transforming from anger to confusion, then to recognition and finally back to anger again.
"You *what*?!" she demanded, her gaze hard as it fixed on him. "You were at that damn hospital with Amy *all* night?!"
"Yes, I was," Adam replied firmly, his eyes fixing to hers and not wavering as he stood his ground. When you really got down to it, he'd done nothing wrong - absolutely *nothing*.
Torrie seemed to think otherwise. She shook her head, gesturing with both hands as she spoke again.
"She *does* have a boyfriend to watch over her all night, you know!"
"Jay wasn't there all night - he went back to-"
"That's not the point!" the platinum blonde screamed, practically jumping in her anger. "It's not your place to do that, Adam! What the hell gives you the right to think you can just-" She paused as she caught the look of anger on his face. It worried and scared her at the same time.
"Look," he said irritably. "I fell asleep in the waiting room shortly before she was going in for surgery. The next thing I knew, I'd woken up to see it was after six AM."
Torrie stared at him in silence, her emotions shifting like the tide of an ocean. There was more to it than what he was letting on - she *knew* it. She hoped she wouldn't get completely choked up as she felt the tears welling in her eyes.
"You're lying..." she said sadly, evenly. "... You sure as *hell* didn't wake up to see the time and just leave! I saw it last night - I *saw* it!"
"Saw *what*?" Adam asked, but inside, he knew. His heart started thumping like a kettle drum.
"I saw the way you looked at her..." Torrie said, then shook her head. "It was as though you two were the only ones in the room!" She raised a hand to her left eye, brushing away the first tiny trace of a tear. "Are you in love with her?"
The question actually threw Adam completely off-guard. He'd never expected it. And dear lord, he couldn't answer, couldn't even utter a syllable as he merely stared at his wife.
The platinum blonde gasped and moved her hand to cover her mouth.
"Oh, my God..." she breathed. "You *are*! You *love* her!"