She looked at the clock. It was ten after five. They told her that she could come back at six, meaning she had another fifty minutes to sit and worry. The only lights in the room came from the TV. Her legs were laid out on the couch, hand covering her mouth, fingers standing up straight as she stared into the oblivion beyond her. They had diagnosed him with a ruptured Achilles tendon they had given him the pain meds he had been dying to have and in minutes the morphine had him asleep. They told him that the doctor would be back in the morning to discuss treatment and that she needed to leave. She wasn't just going to leave. They had already been checked out the hotel. There bags were with the company limo that was on stand by to take them to the plane when the hospital released Adam. She wasn't anxious to hear what the doctor had to say because she already knew what was to be said. She dealt with these injuries all of the time. Surgery, rehabilitation, lots of pain, stress, and for most athletes at least a year before he could be ready to wrestle again. The thought brought a tear to her eye. Not just because he was sidelined, but she knew all of the pain that he was going to have to endure and it killed her to think about. She knew she didn't want to let him go through it alone.

She was alone in the very large room, only the sounds of a vacuum running from somewhere above her. The staff had been kind enough to let her stay there considering her situation, but she hadn't known that she would be alone. Normally she would be terrified about being in an unknown place with the lights off, and no one around. Normally when it would happen she would be so paranoid that at any moment someone was going to come up behind her and she would never be seen again, but, not tonight. She was too preoccupied to hear the man walk up behind her.

Adam sat in his hospital bed. He had just been woken up from his drug-induced slumber to have one of the nurses come in to check his vitals and administer more medication. After she left he dipped into his bag next to his bed and from it he retrieved the promise ring that he had bought for Val. He twirled it around in his fingers, the florescent light above his head accentuating every different facet. He looked at the ring and tried to figure out for himself what the ring meant. He remembered he had bought one for Amy. He had been so excited to give it to her, and she had rejected it. She had rejected him after he had gotten hurt. He didn't want to let himself get hurt again. He thought that Val was different, but what if she left him too? He was going to practically be an invalid for months with this injury. Could she handle it? Plus, he knew he had to go back to Tampa to care for himself, she would never leave her job. They had barely been together a couple of months. He stopped playing with it and just stared it down. He might as well accept that she was the best thing that ever happened to him, and that she was going to be the hardest one to let go. He wanted to make himself mad, so that she wouldn't see the hurt on his face, but whenever he thought about her face all he could do was smile. Realizing the futility of trying to be mad at her he threw the ring at his bag and got mad at himself.

Val never even heard him come up behind her. He set his hand on her shoulder and nearly sent Val scrambling out of her skin. She screamed, but it was only a short one once she realized it was only Jeff.

"You scared the hell out of me!" she scolding him. Shoving his shoulder.

"Sorry, but I thought you were asleep."

"Ah," she swallowed a breath and paused. "So what are you doing here?"

"Matt and I came to check on Adam, and …"

"And what?" She questioned pushing her hand through her and tugging on it to wake her up.

"And apologize," he finished handing her a Starbucks cup.

"What's in there?"

"Chai tea latte, your favorite."

"Thanks," she accepted the cup, but wasn't going to drink it yet. "You said Matt was here too, where is he?"

Looking in the other lounge, we split up once the nurse told us where you went to, but she wasn't sure which one you had stayed in."

"Hmm."

"Listen Val, we, we were way out of line. I'm sorry, but you have to at least understand where we are coming from. I mean after all these years of seeing nobody, then all of a sudden you are secretly seeing somebody, and then that somebody turns out to be Adam? I mean hell that is a lot to take in all at once."

She turned and sat down on the couch, Jeff sitting across from her. "Yeah it was a lot to take in, and I should have told you, but had I told you at home, would your reaction have been in any way different?"

"Probably not, maybe a little more level-headed, but I mean considering the situation that we found out, cut us some slack."

She leaned forward setting the cup on the coffee table. "Fine I'll cut you slack, but I mean he used to be one of your best friends. You guys jumped out of hotel windows together. There are pictures of you two from parties in your old photo albums, and then you turn around and compare him to Tyler. I have never heard you be so mean to anyone."

"You're right. That was beyond harsh, but you have to remember that he has hurt me and Matt in ways that can't just be fixed."

"You're still mad about something that he did five years ago, to your brother whom I know has forgiven him to an extent. Why can't you?"
He looked away for a second. She could tell he was trying to stay in control of his emotions, but it was hard for him, even when it came to Val. "Because he may have only stolen Amy from Matt, not that that was entirely a bad thing in the end, but he broke the bond of trust that we all had together. That takes a helluva long time to heal." He paused again, "and the reason I let my emotions get the better of me earlier is that years ago something happened on my watch. I should have been able to stop it, but I didn't and for that I am sorry," he grabbed her hand and squeezed, "and I will be damned if I will allow something to happen to on my watch ever again."

She stood, walked over to Jeff and gave him a big hug. "Jeff it was not your fault. And you know something? I have come to realize that it wasn't my fault. It was because Tyler was a dastardly, evil pig who got too jealous for his own good and unfortunately I paid for it, but I have found happiness," she whispered in his ear.

"In Adam."

"Yes in Adam, but also in you, and Matt, and Beth, and Shannon, and everybody else in this family. You guys have been the best thing to ever happen to me."

"Thanks Val," Matt came up to the two and gave her a hug.

"It's okay Mattiebot. I'm just glad you understand."

"So how is Adam doing?"

""Last I checked he was okay. His Achilles' is completely torn. The doctor is supposed to come this morning to discuss treatment and recovery."

"So when can you go back up there?"

"Six."

"Would you mind some company while you wait?"

"I would love it. I haven't been able to think about anything else. Hey, one questions. Where is Beth?"

"She's at the hotel. Do you think she would wake up at four in the morning when she didn't do anything wrong?"

"Good point."

The trio sat on the couch, waiting for six o'clock to roll around.