PART 34

"Now, if we go back in there, do you think you could act like a civilized adult?"

Adam glared at Jay, snorting with annoyance at his best friend's comment. He certainly didn't appreciate being spoken to like a child. Dawn Marie, Stephanie, and Chris gazed after him, a look of utmost concern in all their eyes. It had taken them the longest time trying to calm Adam down after the outburst he had upon seeing Dave, and they still weren't sure he was alright to return to the waiting room.

"I'll be just fine, Jay," he replied through clenched teeth, "so long as that prick smartened up and left."

The group simply shook their heads and continued on their way, all of them in complete silence. As they pushed through the double doors leading back into the waiting room, Adam caught a glimpse of Randy and, of all people, Dave, sitting together in the back of the room. Before he could even think about reacting, Chris and Jay were on him, each man taking a hold of one of his arms and gripping it tightly to restrain him. The two men holding him steady sighed as they approached the two, Adam's eyes locking sternly on Batista.

"Well, isn't this cute?" he quipped bitterly. "Looks like we're only two assholes short of an Evolution reunion."

Randy lifted his gaze from the floor, his fallen blue eyes resting on the Canadian before him.

"Adam, please..." he begged weakly.

He was still in disbelief over what Dave had done, too. But at the same time, neither Dave nor himself had the energy to fight. As far as he was concerned, there were far more important matters at hand.

"Randy, no. Maybe you've so quickly forgotten what this bastard did, but I haven't. Maybe a simple, 'I'm sorry,' is all that's needed for all to be forgiven on your part, but its damn sure not gonna work that way with me," he replied flatly, shaking his head.

Randy sighed, "Of course an apology isn't enough, Adam, but at the moment, I don't give a shit about that. All I care about is Trish's safety... and that should be all that's on your mind as well."

Adam took a step back, the harshness on his face quickly diminishing. His gaze grew skeptical as his eyes rested on Dave, who had - out of fear of what the blonde man would do should he dare to speak - remained silent, his eyes locked on the floor. Randy was right.

The anger, the rage which had been coursing through his bloodstream since Dave's arrival had overshadowed what really matter, and what really mattered was his worry for Trish. Shrugging out of the now lax grips Jay and Chris had on him, Adam walked over to the empty chair to Randy's left, taking a seat in it.

"I still don't want him here," he spoke after a lengthy silence.

No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't stop his heart from freezing over at the thought of the man only two chairs away. "Trish should be my only concern, but she can't be with him sitting here! He's got no right to be here..."

"Adam, who the hell do you think you are?" Jay interrupted suddenly, catching Adam and the others off-guard. "I know how upset you are, but you've got to stop raising your voice. Stop making scenes, or you're going to get us all thrown out of here before we even get a chance to see Trish."

"No, no, he's right," Dave spoke, for the first time since the others had rejoined them. He lifted his gaze to them, his eyes still red and swollen. "I came here to say what I had to say, and now that I've done so, I'll leave. I don't want to cause anymore trouble for you all than I already have..."

"Excuse me..." a woman's voice, coming from behind the group, cut Dave off. Everyone turned around to see a middle aged nurse standing behind them, her soft eyes regarding them in a tentative manner. "She's awake."

--------------------------

"Are you sure you don't want me to go in with you?" Dawn Marie asked once more, eyeing Adam with concern.

After the nurse had revealed the news of Trish regaining consciousness, the group had spoken to her doctor. The younger male physician had given them permission to visit Trish - but no more than two at a time - in her room. He worried that, after such a brutal attack by the group of men who had left her for dead in their hotel room, being surrounded by a large group of people would be too overwhelming for the poor girl. Adam had insisted that he be the first to see her, and he assured them all that he could handle it alone... but Dawn wasn't so positive. The blonde man had been extremely emotional since their arrival at the hospital, and she just didn't think he could handle it by himself. She just wished he would give in and let her join him.

"Yes, Dawn, I'm sure," Adam replied after a brief silence. "I appreciate the offer, but this is just one of those things I need to do on my own."

Dawn sighed, giving Adam a reluctant nod. She patted him on the back and walked away, silently wishing him luck. Adam took a deep breath, exhaling heavily as his gaze ran over the number on Trish's room door for what had to be the hundredth time. He reached out and grasped the door handle, swallowing hard as he realized just how badly he was shaking.

He thought back to a few minutes ago, when they had spoken to Trish's doctor. He had warned them all that she was not a pretty sight; apparently there were more visible injuries than they'd imagined. However, in Adam's mind, there was no way she could look as horrible as she did when they found her in Paul's room. Words couldn't describe the feelings that ran through his stomach then...

Shaking his head a bit to clear his thoughts, Adam pushed the door open, preparing himself for the worst. Her room was dark, except for the strips of light coming in through the curtains. Adam approached her bed, his steps so ginger and cautious that it took him quite awhile to reach her. He paused at the foot of her bed, looking down to see her for the first time in over twenty-four hours. He only caught one glimpse of her before he had to turn away. While she did look better than when he last saw her, she in no way looked healthy, and the sight of her was still too much to bear. He swallowed again, forcing the lump back down his throat.

"A-Adam?"

Her voice was so small he could barely hear her, but Adam's eyes lit up at her speaking, and at the fact that she acknowledged that it was him in the room with her. He moved closer to her, kneeling by the side of her bed. Trish very slowly turned to face him, and he could tell by the grimace she made that she was having trouble doing so.

"Yes, honey, it's me," he said softly.

He wanted to touch her so badly, just to gently take her hand in his and tell her everything would be alright, but he feared making any type of contact would startle her.

"Thank you..." she said, wincing as a terrible pain shot through her body, "...for... for bringing me here. And for staying."

It was all he could do to hold back tears as he gazed over at her. Her eye was black and slightly swollen, her lip looked as though it had been busted open, there were multiple bruises and contusions on her arms... and that was only what could be seen. Adam couldn't even begin to imagine what terrible aching she must have been feeling. On top of the physical pain of her being raped, there was the mental anguish, the feelings of betrayal and sheer violation. The thought alone of what she endured made Adam absolutely sick.

"Don't thank me, Trish," he said finally, placing a hand on her bed. "In fact, don't worry about me at all."

"But you saved me..." she reminded him. "You and Randy, you found me and then you brought me here."

Adam shook his head.

"I did bring you here, Trish, but if it weren't for Randy, I wouldn't have known anything was wrong in the first place. He's the savior here, not me," he replied.

Despite the hard time he gave Orton out in the waiting room, Adam was immeasurably grateful to have him around. Had he not gone to Trish's hotel room in the morning, and had he not acted on his instincts to ask for help, God only knows what would have happened to Trish. He looked down at the floor, suddenly feeling very guilty for the way he had been acting.

His gaze snapped back up to the young woman when she surprised him by taking his hand in hers. Their eyes met, and Adam could again feel the lump crawling its way back up his throat.

"Adam, I love you," she said, her voice strong despite her weakness. "You have no idea how thankful I am to have you, and to have you here. But I need you to do me a favor."

"Name it," Adam replied, giving her hand a gentle, but firm, squeeze.

After all she had been through in the past twenty-four hours alone, he wasn't about to deny her anything.

"When you see Randy, tell him that I love him?" she requested, a glimmer of hope in her otherwise sad eyes.

Adam raised an eyebrow... Trish knew that the two of them weren't exactly friends, but why couldn't she tell him herself? She must have thought that Randy had left, or not come at all. Though he wondered why she would think such a thing, he didn't question her. Instead, he slowly rose from the floor, bringing her hand up to his lips and pressing a soft kiss to it. He reluctantly let go and headed to the door. He paused once he reached it, turning back to speak to her one last time.

"I love you too, Trish... and as far as Randy is concerned... I'll do you one better."