Adrian sat in the library curled up in her favorite chair by the fireplace. The library was her room. Rocky had his gym, and Robert had his playroom. No one was barred from visiting the other rooms, of course. The others just didn't happen by often. Right now, Adrian was glad of this. Today Rocky would board a plane for Russia. Even though it'd been a couple of days since she heard about the fight thanks to the mob of reporters surrounding the house, the thought still made her feel as sick now as it did then.

Aside from her wish for Rocky to stay home, what she wanted more than anything was a nap. To her dismay, he was in their bedroom packing. She'd barely spoken to him since their argument a couple nights back. What almost bothered her more than the possibility of his death was the fact he never came to her. Not before, and not after she'd heard it from the media first. She went to him when she heard the car pull into the driveway. He wasn't interested in what she had to say about the matter. It'd happened before with other fights, but now the stakes were higher. Ivan Drago killed Apollo… why not Rocky as well? Sure, Rocky might have a few more rounds in him than Apollo. Rocky was in better shape and had more time to train, but would it matter in the end?

Adrian buried her face into the nearest pillow and let herself cry. As if fighting weren't bad enough, she also had to worry about Rocky going to this country where tensions were high with America. She knew, no matter what she felt, she should be spending every possible moment with him until he took off. Alas, here she was hiding, feeling intimidated. Since the night they shared words on the over the stairwell, whenever she was near him she lost her voice. He talked and she sat staring into space, only looking at him when he said her name so many times in a row.

Last night he kissed her, something she rarely avoided even in a bad mood. She didn't kiss back at first. Soon though, emotion overtook stubbornness and she fell asleep clinging to her husband. So much of her wanted to go to him and give her blessing. If he were to die, did she want this avoidance to be her last memory of him? At the same time, she needed to put her foot down. The only reason he was fighting Drago was in attempts to get back at him for Apollo's death. How, she wasn't quite sure. When Mickey died, Rocky went through a similar, yet, also the opposite response. He lost his will to fight, beginning to lose himself along the way. This time it seemed as though fighting was his only answer. He stood before her and admitted his willingness to die to prove something. Adrian still wasn't clear on what that something was. Was it for himself? For his country? For justice? No matter which, Adrian knew there had to be another way.

Her head lifted from the pillow upon hearing Rocky calling her name from down the hall. She sat still at first. Talking to him now would further complicate her feelings. But, if anything happened to him, she'd regret not having said goodbye for the rest of her life.

"Adrian?" Rocky called again, this time closer to the library door.

"Thought you might be in here," Rocky said when he saw Adrian peer her head around the corner several seconds later. "I just came to say goodbye."

Adrian tipped her head but said nothing.

"Look, Adrian," he said, taking her hands. "I don't mean to upset you or nothin' by leaving. This is somethin' I gotta do. I know you don't understand, but can you at least trust me?"

Again, Adrian didn't say anything. Why bother, she figured. He wasn't going to hear any arguments.

Rocky sighed. "I ain't hear you say this little since you was working in the pet shop and I tried telling you that old knock-knock joke about the orange and the banana."

Adrian had to smile at the memory. She hoped to keep it hidden by letting the ends of her hair fall in front of her face.

"Am I allowed to hug you goodbye?"

Now was the first time she looked up. The first thing she noticed were the dark circles under his eyes. While she still didn't speak, she lifted her hand from his and moved it to his shoulder. Here was Rocky's turn to smile, though, it was laced with sadness. Wrapping his arms around her waist, he pulled her close and kissed her forehead.

"You know I love you. You and the kid."

"We love you, too," she finally said in a whisper.

"You have no idea how glad I am to hear you say that."

Adrian nodded as her arms wound around her neck.

A couple minutes went by. Glancing at the clock on the wall, Rocky loosened his hold on her and took half a step back. With one hand, he reached into his back pocket and pulled out an old business card from the dentist's office. On the back, he had scribbled out an address. Handing it to Adrian, he said, "Here's where I'm gonna be staying. They ain't got a phone there. Maybe you can write or somethin'. I dunno how their mail system works."

"So, this is it? This is what you want?" Sudden anger made speaking an easier task. "Complete isolation… that's the answer?"

"Come on, Adrian. Let's not do this now."

"When then? Time is up."

"I don't wanna have to leave like this. Why do you have to make me feel so bad about going?"

"I'm not trying to make you feel bad, Rocky. I'm trying to talk some sense into you."

"I don't need your sense. I need your support. You think I'm lookin' forward to this? 'Cause I'm not."

"No one is forcing you to go."

"I'm forcing me. I already told you, this somethin' I gotta do."

"I know you feel that way, but think of your family. Think of your son and think of me… think of yourself! Don't you value your life at all?"

In a raised voice, Rocky replied, "Don't you? Why are you doing this to me now, Adrian? Huh? You know I fight lousy without you. I need you!"

"I need you, too!" she cried. "And the thought of losing you is killing me."

Adrian covered her face with her hands as though she were trying to push the tears back into her eyes. Rocky stood feeling helpless knowing the only way to make her feel better would be by staying home.

"Don't cry… you're not gonna lose me."

"You can't be sure of that."

Taking her hands again, he said, "Yes I can. I ain't promisin' I won't get hurt none. That I can guarantee you. But no matter how many broken bones or bruises I got, I'm comin' home."

"Is it worth the risk? You're going to hurt either way. Why disfigure yourself?"

"I'm not Apollo, okay? I know what I'm getting into – he didn't. I've seen how strong Drago is. I'm gonna train longer and harder. This ain't a joke to me."

Hearing him choke on his last words, Adrian hugged him.

"…I told him to postpone the fight, Adrian. I did."

Adrian opted for silence again. She hadn't known this and wondered why he didn't mention it before. Normally he told her everything. Why was Drago prompting him to keep his thoughts to himself?

"Please come with me," he mumbled into her hair.

She shook her head. "I love you, Rocky… but this is one fight I can't watch."

Letting out a long breath, Rocky gave her a light pat on the back as he stepped away. "I gotta go. I already said goodbye to the kid."

The hurt in his eyes made Adrian retake her stance of looking at the floor. "I'm sorry."

With a single nod, Rocky leaned in and kissed her cheek. "I guess I'll see you when I get back then."

He started walking to the stairs, only to stop when he realized Adrian wasn't behind him. "Aren't you coming to the car?" he asked.

Adrian, having not moved from her same spot, once again shook her head.

Rocky looked at her from the other end of the hall for a few moments. Then, admitting defeat, he disappeared down the stairs.

All Adrian wanted now was a cup of tea while curling up in her chair again. Seeing as tea required passing Rocky through the entry way to the house, it would have to wait.

Her destination was the chair, however, instead found herself looking out the window. The library overlooked the driveway, so she could see Rocky loading the last of his luggage into the trunk of the car. Why she watched, she wasn't entirely sure. A knot formed in her stomach when he looked up at her. He knew she was watching and knew all along she would. Neither of them waved before Rocky went inside the car and drove away. What else was there to say?