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Amy was visibly shaken as they exited the doctor's office. She clung to Adam's hand, her face pale and drawn as she recalled her session.

She finally remembered.

All she wanted to do was get out of here, go home and crawl under the covers in their bed. She wanted to forget, even if only temporarily. Yet, the blond man seemed reluctant to leave the place where she'd finally gotten to remember...

She looked up at him questioningly.

"Adam...?"

"Wait here," he said evenly.

The redhead's eyes grew slightly wide.

"Where are you going?"

"To the men's room. Stay right here, all right?"

She nodded, and Adam quickly turned and hurried off down the short hall to the restroom.

Once inside, the blond man stood over the tiny sink, examining his expression as he checked his reflection in the small mirror. What he saw was a relatively calm exterior, yet inside was a 180 degree difference. He thought he was going to be sick...

Adam whirled around and rushed into one of the two stalls. Once inside, he bent over and violently purged his stomach of all its contents.

"Oh, God..." the Canadian moaned. It went on and on until he felt as though he had nothing left to give and was empty. That is, he *felt* empty and hollow inside.

He couldn't believe it. Although he known instinctively over the last while that something sinister *had* indeed happened to Amy, he had been hoping at the same time that it wasn't true.

But now, there was no going back, no denying it. The redhead had been abducted, held captive in some sicko creep's basement for nine day and had been raped.

He retched so hard that tears formed in his eyes and dripped down onto his cheeks. As he finished, nothing left in his stomach, he flushed the toilet and wiped at the tears. Then, returning to the sink, the tall blond man rinsed out his mouth and splashed cold water on his face.

He couldn't afford to fall to pieces in front of Amy. He *had* to be strong for her. Damn it, he *wanted* and *needed* to be strong for her.

Finally composed enough to return out there, Adam grabbed a paper towel to dry off. Then, determined to continue being the pillar of strength he'd always been for the redhead, he left the restroom to return to her.

The diva was surprisingly calm, seated cross-legged in the waiting room, flipping through a magazine. She looked up as his tall shadow suddenly fell over her.

"Ready?"

She nodded and put the magazine down, then rose to depart with him. Not lost on him was the way she gripped his hand - tightly, as though she were terrified of losing her hold on him.

The blond man turned to gaze at her as they walked. He had no intention of letting go of her hand, or of letting her slip away physically, emotionally or psychologically. God, how he cherished this woman.

As they reached their rental car, he released Amy's hand, but he hesitated to unlock the doors. Instead, he pulled her into his arms, flush against his chest. Instantly, her arms went up and around his neck as she clung to him.

They clung to each other for a long time before finally going into the car.