________________________________________________

Amy walked almost unseeingly down the hallway of the all-night clinic she'd located in a yellow pages in the hotel.  After viewing the results of the home pregnancy test she'd taken earlier that day, she'd searched the directory for the nearest facility.  Her hands had shook when she'd dialed the number on her cell phone.  A kind woman on the other end had told her to come in when she felt ready to do so, assuring her they would give her nothing but caring comfort and compassion.

The doctor who had examined her had confirmed her fears.

"Well, you're definitely pregnant."

The woman's voice rang through her ears, echoing loudly in the small room.

Amy's mouth had gone bone-dry upon those four words - and then the doctor had told her she should expect to become a mother by November 14th, give or take a day or two.

"Well, you're definitely pregnant."

As she slipped into her rental car, the redhead lowered her head onto the steering wheel in frustration.  She had never felt more helpless in her entire life, and that was frightening.  She didn't know what to do.

There were so many things to consider.  If she had this baby, she was going to be a single mother.  And then, there was her career - which would surely be over.  Damn it, it probably already was over... She was the WWE Women's champion - and she was expected to be defending her title in a triple threat match at WrestleMania in a week.  Well, she could definitely scratch that now.

And then there was Adam.  He deserved to know what was going on.  After all, they had made this baby together.

Amy lifted her head and willed herself not to cry - forced herself not to.  She had to get her wits about her and be strong, no matter what she chose to do or not to do.  And she would do that, but right now, she wanted to get the hell out of here.

She twisted the key in the car's ignition and pulled out of the parking space, driving off into the night.

*

The Following Week - March 16, 2003, WrestleMania X-9

Amy felt more nervous than she'd ever felt in her entire life.  Oh, God... she thought.  How in the hell was she going to pull this off?  She must have been crazy not to talk to Stephanie McMahon - in the week since she'd discovered she was pregnant, she'd done nothing but basically sit on her hands.  And now, she was stuck in a match in which she couldn't compete.  But she had to go out there.

She managed to catch the match between Edge and Chris Benoit on the TV monitor set up in the women's locker room without losing it.  But she felt incredibly guilty as her eyes focused on Adam.  She'd told herself she was going to find the blond man and tell him he was going to be a father - that was a week ago - but she'd lost her nerve and instead had continued to avoid him.

"Hey..." a voice interrupted the redhead from her thoughts.  She looked up to see Trish Stratus standing over her, smiling.  The little blonde sat down near her on the couch.

"Hey, Trish..."

"Ready for our match?"

Amy forced a smile she didn't feel for her friend's benefit.  She shrugged and said, "As ready as I'll ever be..."  She was already dressed in her royal blue nylon parachute pants, a fluorescent green mesh belly baby tee over her black bra, her matching black thong showing over her low-slung pants.  She turned back to face the TV screen, biting her lip as she witnessed the end of the match.  Benoit had slapped the Crippler Crossface on Edge, and after a failed attempt to make it to the bottom rope, the tall blond man tapped out.  The Wolverine was declared the winner.

"Are you all right?"

The redhead turned back to meet Trish's concerned brown eyes and blinked.

"Yeah, I'm fine..."  She managed another smile, hoping her friend wouldn't see through her.  She tried not to wince at the unconvinced expression on the Canadian woman's face.

Straightening up on the sofa, she asked, "Where's Nora?  We're up next..."

"Just went to the ladies' room," the blonde replied.  "Come on, we should get out there by the curtain..."  She stood up and held a friendly hand out to Amy, who took it reluctantly and stood up.

Grabbing her Women's championship belt from the arm of the couch, Amy followed Trish out of the locker room with a sense of dread.  If they went out there now, she would have to see Adam - he would pass her right by - and then she would have nowhere to hide.

The two women were standing by the curtain for a moment or two, Nora already having beaten them there, when the curtain parted and Adam stepped through.  The handsome blond man's eyes instantly caught Amy's, and her breath caught in her throat.  The tall Canadian was all sweaty from his match, but he was gorgeous as always.

As the redhead desperately tried to pry her gaze away, Trish and Nora exchanged hellos with Adam, who appeared to be distracted as he tried to focus the majority of his attention on Amy.

Just then, Chris Benoit stepped their way, and he called her name.

"Hey," he said with a smile.  "I just wanted to wish you luck in your match..."  Then, to Amy's shock as well as that of the two other divas and Adam, the Rabid Wolverine enveloped her in a hug.

The redhead, shocked, noticed the taller Canadian man disappearing down the hallway in her peripheral vision.  As Chris released her, she turned her head to stare after Adam.  Then, Benoit nudged her gently on the chin.  With a wink, he said, "I'll see you later, okay?"  Afterward, he turned to glance from Nora to Trish.  "Ladies..."

As soon as the man was out of earshot, Trish gently smacked her on the shoulder.  "What was that all about?" she asked, an incredulous expression on her face.

"Tell me about it!" Nora agreed.  She ran a hand quickly through her shoulder-length brown hair.  "I thought we were in the Twilight Zone or something!"

Amy didn't reply.  Biting her lip gently, she couldn't help feeling equally as surprised as her fellow divas.

After a moment, Nora made her way through the curtain and down the ramp as she was announced.  Trish was next, and Amy stood awaiting her cue to go out, wondering what in hell's name she was doing.

Finally, Howard Finkel announced her.  "And making her way to the ring, introducing the WWE Women's champion - Lita!"  The crowd erupted with cheers as she made her way down the ramp.  Instead of running to the ring as she usually did, she walked briskly, the Women's title belt around her waist.

She slid into the ring underneath the bottom rope, forcing onto her face a smile she didn't feel for appearance's sake as she showed her belt off to the crowd.

She felt faint as referee Charles Robinson called for the bell.  She couldn't wrestle now!  Before either Trish or Nora could reach her, she approached the official, speaking to him in whispered tones, and then Robinson signaled to the Fink for the microphone.  The announcer, confused, handed it to him, and the referee in turn handed it to the redhead.

As Trish, Nora, and thousands of fans stared at her in shock, Amy held the mic up to her lips.  Her heart was hammering away a mile a minute inside of her chest, feeling as though it were trying to beat its way out - but she had to do this.

As Nora gaped at her in shocked silence, Trish tried to approach her friend, questioning her.  J.R. and Jerry Lawler, from the announcers' table, didn't quite know what to make of this, either.

"I'm sorry, but...I can't compete tonight.  I'm afraid I'm going to have to forfeit my Women's title...Trish and Molly can compete for it.  But I can't."  She dropped the mic to the canvas and slid out of the ring.

"Lita just relinquished her Women's championship!  What is going on?" J.R. asked.

"Why?" the King cried.  "What does this mean?"

"I guess it means the title is now vacant..."

As she made her way up the ramp and back to the backstage area, Amy noticed it was unusually quiet throughout the arena - well, some fans were actually booing her.  She was relieved when she reached the women's locker room.  Once inside, she sat down and burrowed her head in her hands.

After what she'd just done, she knew she was going to have a lot of explaining to do...