Upon arriving at the hospital, the group had been instructed to go to room 349 in the intensive care unit. They had all but rushed to the elevator, but the damn machine seemed to take its time crawling up to the third floor. Practically running, they skidded down the bland peach colored hallways, Mark and Hunter leading the way with Stephanie jogging to keep up with them. Matt and Adam followed after her, and pulling up the rear was John and Jeff.

The kind nurse at the entrance to the hospital had told them to seek out a Dr. Phillips, and the man was not hard to find. He was standing in front of room 349, focusing on a clipboard he held in his hands. The clipboard held several papers, and he was flipping through them, shaking his head slightly as he did so. He was a tall, bald-headed black man who wore glasses, and his face had a stern look to it. Clad in a white doctor's coat, the only reason they knew he was the doctor they were looking for was because there was a bright blue nametag over his chest, and in white lettering it spelled out 'Dr. Phillips'.

"Dr. Phillips?" Mark was the first to enter the doctor's line of sight.

The man blinked his dark eyes—perhaps intimidated by Mark's enormous frame—and he reached up, removing the glasses from his face.

"Can I help you?" Phillips had a surprisingly deep voice, and he was looking at Mark with a mixture of suspicion and surprise.

Hunter and Stephanie reached him then. Stephanie had stopped crying by then, but her eyes were still bright pink and puffy, and Hunter looked like he was about to lose it at any moment.

"Do you mind me asking who you all are?" Phillips asked, raising an eyebrow as both Hardys, Adam, and Cena came into view.

"We're here to see Shawn Michaels…Hickenbottom, I mean." Hunter said quickly.

"Oh." Phillips blinked again, "All of you?"

"We're family," Stephanie replied, pointing to herself, Mark, and Hunter, "And the others are his friends."

"I see." Phillips didn't look convinced, but he shrugged it off. It was visiting hours; he had no reason to turn these people away.

"Is he going to be ok?" Stephanie bit her bottom lip, the brunette looking up at the tall, black man, "Can we see him?"

"He's still under anesthesia from surgery." Phillips said softly, "But he's stable right now."

"So is he going to be ok?" Mark asked, his voice sharper then it needed to be.

"He's stable." Phillips repeated, "But we're keeping him under close surveillance. He was pretty beat up when the paramedics brought him in, so we need to make sure everything from here on out goes smoothly."

"What happened to him?" Mark demanded, his voice tight with emotion.

"Well…" Phillips shrugged a little, "He was in and out of consciousness before we sent him in for surgery. We weren't really able to get a clear answer out of him, but if I had to take a guess, I'd say someone got a hold of him. Someone who wanted to hurt him real bad…maybe even cripple him."

"That's your guess?" Mark scowled.

"I've been working in the ER for over ten years." Phillips frowned, "I know a victim of assault when I see one. His injuries were consistent with assault. In fact, I'd say he was attacked by more than one person. That's how bad he was."

Mark visibly cringed at that, and Hunter and Stephanie both seemed to choke up a bit, so it was John Cena who asked the next question: "What exactly were his injuries?"

"Let's see…" Phillips lifted the clipboard back up, flipping through the pages, "Fractured radius, two broken ribs, four bruised ribs, fractured clavicle, multiple contusions on the abdomen and back, several pieces of wood found lodged in his back…particularly up by the shoulder areas, multiple minor cuts on his abdomen, and his face is pretty banged up as well. Ah, here we go, a single laceration on the side of head."

"Oh my god..." Stephanie mewled, tears seeping out of the corners of her eyes. She turned to the side and Hunter took his wife into his arms, blinking rapidly as he tried not to cry himself. Jeff and Adam both looked ready to start bawling at any second, while Cena and Matt both had similar looks of rage on their faces.

"So…the surgery…" Mark seemed to be fighting for control, his face going very pale.

"I ordered him into surgery almost as soon as he arrived." Phillips continued, his brown eyes softening at the clearly distraught group, "We repaired his broken wrist and broken clavicle, we stitched up the side of his head, and we finished off by removing the splinters of wood in his back."

"Wood? In his back?" Mark nearly choked on his own words.

"Yes. He had several splinters in his back—over ten, actually." Phillips replied quietly, "They were ranging from half an inch all the way to two inches long. None of them were that deep though. They were actually what gave us the most trouble. We fixed up his bones easy enough—they were pretty clean breaks—and his face was stitched up pretty quickly. But the wood fragments were difficult to remove. He's very lucky none of the splinters hit anything important. Judging from the bruises on his stomach, he's also very lucky he didn't suffer any internal injuries."

"So…" Hunter mumbled, stumbling over his words, "Is he…is he going to be ok?"

Phillips smiled widely, revealing a row of white teeth, "None of his injuries were life-threatening. So, off the record since I'm not supposed to tell you this, yes. He's probably going to be fine, just in quite a bit of pain for the next few days."

Hunter breathed a sigh of relief, holding on tightly to his tiny wife. Mark hadn't realized he had been holding his breath, but as soon as the doctor said Shawn was going to be ok he felt himself sigh deeply.

"So can we see him?" Cena asked, his blue eyes brightening.

"By now he's probably waking up." Phillips answered with a nod, "I should warn you though, he's…rough looking, right now. Just a warning."

"Thank you doctor. Thanks for everything." Stephanie reached out, shaking the man's hand.

"Just doing my job, ma'am." Phillips said with a grin, "Now if you'll excuse me, I've got to finish my rounds." He waved goodbye and was off and out of sight.

The group quickly walked over the white linoleum and into the room, the seven people barely fitting into the single-person room. What they saw when they entered struck everyone speechless.

Shawn was propped up on several pillows, clad in an ugly polka-dotted hospital gown. There were several machines hooked up to him, but that wasn't the worst part. The poor man's eyes were both already blackening, and they were nearly swollen shut. His jaw, too, has a nasty looking greenish bruise on it, as well as a small, dried up cut. He had a line of black stitches on the side of his face probably three or four inches long. His arm in a cast and his neck and shoulder wrapped up in gauze, the Heartbreak Kid barely looked like himself. It was a terrible thing to see: someone they cared about so much, hurt so badly.

Letting out a small grunt of effort, Shawn started waking up as soon as they entered. His blue eyes barely squinting open, he silently scanned the room. As soon as his eyes hit Stephanie, Mark, and Hunter, his lips shook a little bit, cracking into a small, painful looking smile.

"Hey." Shawn whispered, his voice barely audible.

That was all it took for Hunter and Stephanie to break down. The brunette woman let out an anguished sob and she bent over, burying herself into Shawn's side, crying loudly the entire time. Hunter took Shawn's other side, his eyes dripping with tears as he knelt next to his best friend and lover.

"Hey…hey…" Shawn leaned over, his shaking fingers pushing Stephanie's long brown hair out of her face, "Don't cry…you know none of us can't stand to see you cry…"

"Shawn…" Stephanie leaned back a little, smiling despite her tears, "I'm s-sorry…"

"Don't be sorry…" Shawn tried to smile at her, his swollen face making it difficult, "It's all…all ok…"

"You scared us there, Shawn." Hunter chuckled a bit, but still crying slightly, "Don't you ever do that again."

"Didn't mean to…Hunter." The Showstopper replied, turning toward his friend. Shawn then looked forward, his blue eyes straining as he looked at Mark.

"Shawn…" Mark mumbled, his voice unsteady, "Shawn…"

"It's…ok." Shawn answered, "I forgive you."

Mark blinked a bit, and that's when everyone realized he was fighting back tears. The big bad Undertaker—turning into a mess over his lover! Leaning forward, Mark did something that was very unlike him: he placed an awkward, stumbling kiss on Shawn's forehead.

"Wow." Cena smirked handsomely, "Didn't know you were such a sap, Mark."

"It's Steph." Mark growled, "Any time she starts crying we all turn to mush."

"Hey…hey…" Shawn winced slightly as Hunter leaned a bit too close, his great hulking body pressing against Shawn's bruised side, "Watch…watch it…"

"Oh! Sorry!" Hunter immediately leapt back, holding his hands in the air, palms out.

"Is that…Jeffy?" Shawn was looking past his lovers now.

"Yeah, yeah it's me Shawn." Jeff stepped forward, pushing his bright red hair behind his ears, his eyes watery from all the emotion.

"Jeff…" Shawn sighed, "I…tried to tell them…to leave you alone."

Jeff laughed, "It's ok Shawn. I know how they can be when they set their mind to something."

"Matty? Cena?" Shawn groaned when he saw them, "Please…tell me there isn't going to…be another fight…"

Matt actually smiled grimly at that, and Cena smiled as well, flashing those dimples like always.

"And…Adam…" Shawn's face fell as he saw the Rated R Superstar.

"Shawn? Shawn, what's wrong?" Stephanie asked worriedly as Adam visibly shrunk back, his hazel eyes glued to the floor.

"Batista…Dave Batista…" Shawn closed his eyes as he said the name, a sickening feeling in the pit of his stomach.

Adam went very, very pale at the mention of his secret lover's name.

"Dave?" Mark's eyes narrowed dangerously, "Was Dave the one who did this to you?"

Shawn nodded as much as he could, "Him and…Masters."

"Masters? As in Chris Masters?" Hunter asked, surprised that Masters was involved. Nobody really knew Chris that well; how the hell had he forced himself into this equation?

"Why did Dave attack you?" Stephanie asked, tilting her head to the side.

"He said… He said…" Shawn seemed to be struggling for words, "He said…that he was going to teach Adam a lesson…that he tried to warn him…said he choked Adam…but that wasn't enough. So he was…he was going to hurt me…that way Adam knew that Dave meant business…"

Adam turned even whiter as Shawn spoke, and he started breathing very quickly, biting his bottom lip as he did so.

"For god's sake…" Mark sighed, reaching up and rubbing his eyes.

"Adam," Matt got a weird look on his face as he turned toward Adam, "Dave choked you?"

All eyes turned toward the Rated R Superstar.

"Um…" Addy trembled a bit, looking back and forth between Mark and Matt. His pale face damp with sweat, Adam slowly nodded, clenching his eyes shut.

"How…how did that happen?" Matt asked quietly.

"He…um…" Adam mumbled, "I told him that things weren't going good between me and Jeff and…and that I thought it would be best if we stopped seeing each other."

"You told him that?" Jeff asked, his voice scratchy with emotion.

Adam nodded, "He…he got mad at me. Grabbed me by the neck and…and choked me."

"Why the hell didn't you tell anyone?" Mark growled angrily, eyes flashing at Adam, "Maybe this whole thing could've been avoided if you let us know that Dave had turned violent!"

Adam didn't say anything, but his hazel eyes darted at Jeff for a split second, and that was the only answer Mark needed.

"Oh, I get it." Mark scowled, his hands curling into fists, "Didn't want anyone to know about your man on the side."

"Mark…" Shawn frowned slowly, "It's not…his fault."

"Adam had no reason to think that Batista would…attack someone like this." Stephanie agreed, pushing a lock of her hair behind her ear, "I mean, who would've thought Dave would go this far?" She finished by indicating towards Shawn.

"You still should've told someone." Matt scolded Adam, giving him a hard, dark-eyed look, "A man threatens you and chokes you? Don't you think that's pretty serious?"

"I…I thought I could handle it." Adam said weakly, "I didn't think he would start hurting other people too."

"Oh, so it's ok if he's hurting you, but not other people?" Matt frowned angrily.

"No," Adam shook his head, "That's not what I said—"

"Look at what Dave did to Shawn!" Matt spat, "That could've been you Adam!"

"I…I…" Adam's eyes suddenly started watering, "I'm sorry. You're right…oh, fuck, he's going to come after me, isn't he?"

"Now hold on," Cena said quickly, "Matt didn't say that, he only means that—"

"No!" Adam shook his head roughly, his wide eyes red with tears, "I…I should go."

"Adam…wait!" Matt stepped forward to stop him, but Adam turned and left quickly—practically jogging out of the room. Matt made like he was going to go after him, but he turned around, looking at Shawn, unsure of himself.

"Go ahead." Shawn murmured, "I'm ok. He…he needs someone right now."

Matt turned to his brother, "Can you catch a ride back to the hotel?"

"I can take him." Cena offered.

Jeff nodded, "I'll go with John. You should probably go help Adam…"

Matt nodded back and turned, quickly exiting the room.

Matt had stepped out of the hospital just in time to see Adam disappearing into a bright yellow cab. He didn't even try to run for it; the cab sped away before Matt even made it down the hospital steps. Cursing quietly to himself, Matt jogged to the parking lot. Adam had gotten a mad look in his eyes before rushing off, who knows what he was going to do? God forbid he did something stupid like try to confront Dave or…or hurt himself or something. Normally, Matt knew Adam would never do something so rash, but he didn't seem to be thinking clearly right now. Feet stepping quickly over the black asphalt, Matt pulled his keys out of his pocket as soon as he saw his and Jeff's rental car. It was a brand new, 2012 blue Mustang GT with white racing stripes. Matt had personally thought the car was a little flashy, but Jeff had fallen in love with it as soon as he saw. And that had been the end of that.

Sliding into the sports car, Matt quickly turned the car on and—as he hurriedly fastened his seatbelt—he slipped into the traffic, heading toward the hotel. Matt didn't really know why he was going to help Adam; the guy had cheated on Jeff, after all. And—no matter what anybody said—Adam did play at least a small part in Shawn's attack. If he had never gotten involved with Batista, Shawn wouldn't be sitting in a hospital bed.

Ok, Matt thought with a frown, maybe he was being a little harsh on Adam. The poor guy had been choked by his own lover. Matt had seen the pure fear that entered Adam's eyes when Shawn mentioned Batista's name…he was terrified of the Animal, whether he admitted it or not. Honestly, picturing Dave choking Adam made Matt want to break Batista's bones. The more he thought about it, the less angry Matt felt at Adam. He had seemed honestly sorry about cheating on Jeff; when they were in Randy's room his apologies had seemed quite sincere. And he looked downright guilty when Shawn said it had been Dave who hurt him. And the whole reason Dave was angry was because Adam had tried to break things off with him…so Adam had been trying to do the right thing.

Good people sometimes made bad choices, Matt thought as he turned left and into the hotel's parking lot. Hell, he knew that better than most people. His own brother—cute, innocent little Jeffy—had been busted for illegal drugs. But did that make him a bad person? Of course not—Jeff had been going through hard times, and he had made some poor choices, but he paid his dues and had been clean for over two years now. Sure, what Addy did was terrible, and it was going to be a long time probably before him and Jeff were cool with each other, but Adam seemed to realize that what he did was a mistake. And that was the important part.

Sliding himself out of the car, Matt hurried toward the hotel entrance, raising the keys over his shoulder and pressing the button to lock the car. As soon as he entered the building, he made a beeline for the elevator, feeling pretty confident that Adam had gone up to his room. It didn't take long before Matt found himself knocking roughly on Adam's door, a grim frown on his handsome face.

"Matt?" Adam's eyes were red and puffy when he cracked the door open, "What're you doing here?"

"I came to make sure you're ok." Matt said, "Can you let me in?"

Adam looked like he was going to protest, but he stood aside, opening the door wide enough for Matt to enter. The older Hardy walked in slowly, and he didn't take a seat. He merely stood, crossing his arms as he faced the blonde.

"You ok?" Matt asked, his brown eyes softening as he noticed how upset Adam seemed to be.

"Look," Adam sighed, "You don't have to do this. I know you're probably furious with me—"

"Adam." Matt held up his hand, stopping him, "Yes, I'm mad that you cheated on Jeff. But he seems to have moved on already…and I'd really rather not dwell on it. You're my friend, and…and Jeff's taught me that everyone makes mistakes, and it's ok to forgive people."

Adam was speechless as his hazel eyes fell to the floor, refusing to look at his friend.

"You ok?" Matt asked again.

"I just…" Adam choked a little bit on his words, fighting back tears, "Everyone's…everyone's going to hate me because of what I did to Jeff…and now Shawn's hurt because of me…"

"They'll get over it." Matt said, reaching forward and placing a hand on Adam's shoulder, "They're used to relationships changing every five minutes. And you know no one's going to blame you for what happened to Shawn. You had no idea Dave was going to go that crazy, and there was nothing you could do to stop it."

"I just…" Adam let out a sob, "I feel…I feel so bad…"

He started crying hard, and Matt couldn't help but feel his heart melt at the sight of poor Addy bawling his eyes out. Matt reached his arms forward and pulled Adam into a hug, his thick arms wrapping around Adam's thinner body.

"Adam…Addy, it's ok." Matt whispered, nuzzling against Adam's blonde hair, "It's all going to be ok."

"I just…I feel so bad!" Adam sniffed, burying his face into Matt's broad chest, "I cheated on someone I really cared about…and then Shawn's hurt and it's all because of me…" A fresh wave of tears started falling across his cheeks.

"It wasn't your fault Adam." Matt said sternly, "Shawn doesn't blame you, and nobody else does either. And Jeff's with Randy now…I guess. Don't even get me started on that."

Adam actually managed a stumbling chuckle at that, "Yeah…you don't really like him much, do you?"

"You can say that again." Matt grumbled.

"Matt…" Adam pulled away slightly, his eyes shining with tears as he looked up at Matt, "I'm sorry I didn't tell you about Dave."

"It's ok." Matt said with a sigh, "We all make mistakes."

"Yeah. I guess." Adam looked back down, his sadness palpable.

"Adam," Matt's fingers wrapped around Adam's chin, and he tilted his head up so he was looking at Matt in the eyes, "I think you should stay with me tonight."

"W-what?" Adam sputtered as his heart started racing.

"I-I mean," Matt blushed suddenly, his cheeks tinged with pink, "Since, you know, Dave seems to have gone off the deep end. It'd probably be safer if you stayed with me tonight."

"Yeah…" Adam gulped thickly, "Yeah that'd be ok. I'd like to stay at your place tonight."

"Oh…ok. Cool." Matt replied awkwardly, not really knowing what else to say.

"So…um, did you…" Adam smiled crookedly, "Did you notice…Stephanie and Mark…and Shawn?"

"They are so totally fucking." Matt smirked.

Adam laughed despite his tears, "Yeah. I bet Stephanie tops all of them."

Matt laughed so hard he could barely nod in agreement.