PART 38

Adam glanced up from where he was seated, his gaze falling on Trish, who was just across from him. Ever since Vince had denied Randy the time off he requested - time which Adam strongly felt he deserved - the two of them had been watching over Trish very closely. Randy knew he couldn't leave her alone, and since Vince refused to change his decision, making staying home with her not an option, he decided to bring her on the road with him.

She was nowhere near ready to be around work or people again - in fact, she refused to see anyone but him and Adam - but at least this way, he could be with her at all times. And in the few cases when he absolutely couldn't, he had Adam.

In the few moments he had stopped to think, Trish realized Adam was staring at her, and she frowned.

"What?" she asked, and Adam winced a little at the testiness in her voice.

Shrugging his shoulders, the blonde man replied, "Nothing... I was just thinking is all."

His frown deepened when she didn't respond; not a word, not a gesture. Sighing, he gave up, turning his attention back to the television. Before he could even remember what he was watching, Trish spoke.

"You don't have to be here," she told him bluntly. "I don't need a babysitter."

"Who said I was babysitting?" he asked, a little hurt by her remark. "I want to be here, Trish."

Rolling her eyes, the Canadian diva shook her head. She knew exactly what was going on here, and she didn't like it one bit. Adam and Randy were taking turns with her, passing off the duties as though she were some baby that had been left on their doorstep. She had already lost enough of her independence thanks to Paul Levesque, and now it felt like she was throwing the rest away as well.

Adam drew his gaze back to her. He suspected that she might start acting this way. She had gone from being a very vibrant, fiercely independent woman, to a girl whose everyday existance depended on two other men. Though he knew the rebellious nature in which she spoke to him and Randy was natural, it still stung just a little. He hated seeing her like this.

"Look, Trish, I'm not..."

"Save it, Adam," she cut him off suddenly. "I know you don't have a problem being here with me. But I know you're only here as a favor to Randy, and he seems to have forgotten that I'm an adult."

Adam scoffed, hardening his gaze as best as he could manage. It was hard for him to pretend to dislike Randy anymore.

"First of all, I'm doing this for you, not him. I don't owe Randy Orton any favors..." he began, and despite the fact that he opened his mouth to speak again, Trish cut him short once more, throwing her hand in the air.

"You don't have to pretend you don't like him, Adam," she said, a soft half smile playing on her glossed lips. "I heard you two talking in the hospital, the day I was released. I don't see why you two insist on pretending that conversation never took place."

Adam's gaze dropped as his cheeks warmed, and he only hoped he wasn't blushing.

"The point is, I'm not here to babysit you. I'm only here because I care about you. And the fact of the matter, whether you like it or not, is that you don't want to be alone. And after what happened to you, I don't blame you one bit," he said sincerely, his breath coming out in a loud sigh.

"You just don't get it," Trish replied, and Adam's head darted up when he heard just how choked up her voice sounded. He felt his haert crumbling painfully as he met her eyes, plainly recognizing the tears filling them. "I don't think I even get it. I'm just so damn sick of sitting in these hotel rooms day and night, I'm sick of refusing to step out the door. I can't stand being inside here all the time, and if I see one more TV movie I think I'll snap..."

"Trish, you could change all that," Adam said, unable to hold back a wince as the first of Trish's tears fell from her eyes. "Nobody is keeping you here, honey. You want to leave, just say the word, and Randy and I will see to it that you do, with both of us at your side."

She turned away, the tears falling freely from her blurry eyes. Adam rose from his seat and headed toward her, the urge to comfort his best friend too strong to fight. He gingerly took a seat on the coffee table in front of the couch she sat on, reaching to her. He took her hand in his, his eyes closing painfully when she yanked out of his grasp.

"I'm scared!" she cried suddenly, causing both of them to jump. "I have never been so frightened in my entire life, and I hate myself for being this way! I'm letting myself waste away to nothing. I'm too damn scared to even step out the door of my hotel room. I'm so sick of feeling like shit, Adam... I just can't take it anymore..."

Her words ended in a sob, and Adam instinctively reached for her again. This time, however, she didn't pull away from him. Trish fell into his arms, the air deflating from her like a balloon as she pressed her head to his chest. Hugging her tightly, Adam placed a hand at the back of her neck, pushing his emotions aside, for her sake. He stroked his hand through her blonde locks, his tone matching the soothing manner in which his fingers ran through her hair.

"Shh, everything'll be alright," he promised, holding her close. "You'll get through this, Trish... we'll get through this."

Dawn glanced up at the man walking beside her, an inquisitive look on her face. She had bumped into Jay when the two of them returned to the hotel at the same time - she at a nearby store hoping to find some clothes for the shows, he having just finished working out at a local gym. And of course, gentleman that he was, he had insisted he walk her to her room. Dawn agreed, but only because she hadn't really spoken to him since they had been in the hospital.

"What?" he asked her, suddenly reminding her that she was staring.

"Jay... I'm worried about Trish," she said, keeping her gaze focused on him. "Adam was telling me earlier today that she called him at four in the morning asking him to come stay with her because Randy had run to the store to get something for her upset stomach."

Jay frowned, recalling Adam telling him that same story earlier that morning. He glanced down at Dawn Marie, a concerned look taking over his face.

"She's terrified of being alone, Dawn," he replied, a pang of sympathy hitting his heart for the blonde woman. He couldn't even begin to imagine what it had to feel like to be so scared. "The only way she makes it through the hours when both of them are at the arena is if one of them calls her every fifteen minutes."

"Then why won't she let us help, too?!" Dawn cried in response, a very frustrated look on her pretty face. "Adam and Randy can't do it alone, look at them... neither one of them has had a full night's sleep in the past week. Jay, do you realize I've called her eight times in the last four days, and she's not once returned any of them? I feel like I'm losing her..."

At that point, Jay stopped walking, stepping in front of her and halting her as well. He placed two consoling hands on the distraught-looking diva's shoulders, looking into her brown eyes.

"You're not losing her, Dawn. She's in a very bad way right now, but you know just as well as I do that Trish is a fighter. She'll pull through and when she's ready, she'll come back to you. Don't force it out of her, Dawn... let her come to you on her own."

Dawn looked up at Jay with a small smile, the blonde man seeming very wise at the moment. He was absolutely right. She couldn't force Trish to speak to her or see her, and she'd be a bad friend if she tried to do so.

"God, you're right, Jay," she said, as the two went on their way again. "I hate sitting by and watching, but if that's what's best for Trish, I'll sit by as long as I have to."

Jay sent her a warm smile, linking his arm through hers.

"You're a good friend, Dawnie," he said with a wink.

She giggled just a little, and then she stopped in her tracks. Glancing to the left, she gestured to one of the doors beside them.

"Oh, there's my room," she told him. "Thanks for the walk, Jay... and I didn't mind the pep talk, either."

ay winked at her again, releasing her arms from his so that she could get to her room. He strolled down the hall, tossing one last glance over his shoulder.

"Anytime, Dawn!" he called, and then he disappeared around the corner.

Dawn smiled to herself, pulling the key from the pocker of her jeans. Just as she was about to place the card in the slot, she heard a noise coming from the end of the hall, the end they had just come from. She turned her head in the direction of the noise, her brow raising curiously. Shaking her head, she shrugged it off, returning her attention to her hotel room door.

Then, her head darted up once more... there it was again! She looked to her side, and this time she saw something - rather, someone. Though the person ran past the corridor opening so fast they became nothing but a blur, the keycard fell from Dawn Marie's hand... she knew exactly who it was.