PART 43

"Adam?" Jay called as he pushed open the bathroom door of the hotel room he shared with his best friend.

He had been searching all over the place for Adam, who hadn't been answering his phone. He knew it was probably because he had simply turned his phone off, but Jay's stomach wouldn't settle until he found him. Too much had happened in the past for him to let anything slide.

After calling his name one more time, Jay sighed, deciding that Adam was not in their hotel room. Just as he was about to make some phone calls, he heard a faint noise coming from behind him. He turnd around to find Adam, who was standing out on the balcony. Trish Stratus was with him.

Jay remained still, debating over whether or not he should join them. He didn't want to interrupt if they were in the middle of an important conversations. After a few short moments, he stepped over to the door, sliding it open and joining them.

They nodded hello to him, and before he could even respond to their greeting, Trish spoke.

"I better be going," she said, glancing up at Adam.

Jay frowned... he knew he shouldn't have intruded.

"No, Trish, stay," he insisted, placing his hand in the air as if to protest. "I'll leave if you're having a private conversation. I just wanted to tell Adam that Kurt's been looking for him."

He turned for the door, but Trish cut him off, sliding past him.

"No, really Jay, it's fine. I have to go meet up with Dawn Marie, anyway. I'll see you two later," she said, giving the two Canadians a final lookover before showing herself out.

Once she was gone, Jay send an apologetic look Adam's way.

"Sorry about that, man," he said sincerely. "If I'd known she'd leave I wouldn't have come out in the first place."

"Don't worry about it," Adam replied with a shrug. "Our conversation was pretty much over with anyway."

Jay frowned, his eyebrow raising slightly. Something wasn't right... Adam's tone was so half-hearted, and his expression was so blank...

"Is everything alright?" Jay questioned him with concern.

Adam had been practically overjoyed when he learned of Paul's arrest the previous day. He seemed to have done a complete 180 since then.

"Yeah, everything's fine," Adam responded plainly. He glanced at Jay, elaborating when his friend sent him a look that said his answer was not good enough. "It's just a little weird, that's all. That's what Trish and I were talking about."

"What do you mean it's weird? What's weird?" Jay asked him, puzzled.

Adam sighed, running his fingers through his blonde locks.

"Everything," he replied with a shrug. "For the first time in months, we don't have to watch our backs. There's nothing to guard ourselves from anymore."

Jay's brow raised slightly. For someone who no longer had to be on the defense, Adam sure didn't look very pleased.

"I don't understand... isn't that a good thing?" he asked.

"Well, yeah," Adam nodded in agreement, "but that doesn't mean it won't be awkward. When you've lived one way for so long, a switch isn't easy, even if it is for the better."

Their conversation fell into silence, and Jay studied his best friend closely. Something still wasn't right. There had to be more to it then he had let on to... he looked absolutely lost.

"Come on, Adam, snap out of it," he said, grabbing the taller man's arm and giving it a jerk.

Adam sighed, finally managing to tear his gaze away from the sky. Sometimes he hated the fact that Jay could read his emotions so well.

"I really don't know," he admitted, glancing down at him. "I should be happy - deep down, I am happy - but at the same time something isn't right. With Paul gone, all of this is over. And in the strangest way, I'll miss it."

"Have you gone insane?" Jay asked him, an incredulous look on his face. "You're going to miss the complete hell you lived in? All the shit that Trish had to go through, that Randy had to go through... that all of us went through... you're going to miss it?"

"That's not what I mean, Jay," Adam cut him off, his voice surprisingly calm. Jay took a step back, eyeing his friend as though he'd gone off the deep end. Maybe he had. "Of course I won't miss that aspect. But think about it, all of us - myself, Trish, Randy, you, Dawn, Chris, Stephanie... we were all brought so close because of this. We all needed each other to survive, but what about now? Maybe I am insane... but I don't like the idea of everyone drifting apart now that it's over."

"Adam, that's not going to happen," Jay assured him. "Maybe it took heartache and struggle to bring us all together, but nothing is going to pull us apart now."

"You're probably right," Adam agreed, though his gaze dropping to the floor said otherwise. "But I can't shake the feeling. Even talking with Trish just now, I could feel it. Things are not going to be the same. As happy as I am that it's over and we can all move on, I don't want to lose her."

"Adam Copeland, shut your mouth."

The two men turned around upon hearing a third voice, just then realizing that Trish was still standing in the doorway. Apparently, she had never even left, and had been listening to their entire conversation. She stepped out the door, giving each of the two men a onceover before speaking again.

"Now that I think about it, I would like to finish our conversation... if that's alright with you, I mean," she said, her eyes fixed on Jay's.

A tiny smile played on his lips, and he nodded in an instant.

"It's perfectly fine," he agreed, nodding goodbye to both individuals before making himself scarce.

Adam watched until Jay had completely disappeared from the hotel room. Only once the door had closed behind him did he shift his gaze to Trish, a somewhat sheepish look in his green eyes.

"I thought you were meeting up with Dawn," he said, in what he knew would be a futile attempt to change the subject.

"Nice try," she said with a laugh. "I've made her wait this long, another twenty minutes won't kill her."

"I guess it was worth a shot," he said, stuffing his hands in the pockets of his jeans.

Trish frowned, placing her hands on her hips as she stood before him.

"Now, about what you told Jay... why didn't you say any of that to me?" she asked him, a look almost of hurt laced within her dark brown eyes.

Biting his lip gently, Adam sighed again.

"You have enough to deal with," he shrugged, his gaze once again finding his feet. "I don't want to add any unnecessary stress."

"There has never been a time in my life where I considered you or your feelings to be stressful, Adam," Trish said firmly. "Whatever thoughts are floating around in your head about us drifting apart, get them out. I would hope you know me well enough to know that I would never do that."

"Not intentionally you wouldn't, and I know that," he said, lifting his gaze to hers. "But that doesn't mean it can't happen."

"I won't let it happen," she assured him, pulling his hand from his pocket and wrapping her own around his. "Just because I may not need you to physically protect me anymore does not mean I don't need you. I'll always need you, Adam. Promise me right now that you won't forget that."

For a split second, a smile crossed Adam's lips. Her tone was so firm, so strong. She sounded like the old Trish, the one he loved so dearly. He hadn't heard her speak that way in months.

"I won't forget it, Trish," he said, giving her hand a squeeze.

"I said promise me."

Lowering himself down to her height, Adam pressed his forehead against hers. He couldn't understand why he ever doubted her in the first place. He pressed his lips to her nose, kissing it gently before sending a smile that matched the one she sent him.

"I promise."

A/N: Originally I had planned for this to be the last chapter, and I wrote it as such. Then I realized that I wanted this scene to be more focused on Adam and Trish instead of the story as a whole, so the fic continues! LOL, hopefully that explains the delay, hope you enjoyed this chapter!