She knew what had been going through the madman's mind after his attack on Stephanie - he'd redirected his focus back on Adam.  In his deranged mind, he'd probably blamed the brunette woman for his "predicament," but soon after, he'd decided to use the man she loved as his number one scapegoat again... Thank God she'd seen the bastard, had acted quickly.  She knew that if she had not done what she'd done, Adam would be dead... It was almost as though he'd been like a cat - had nine lives, but the odds had definitely been against him this time.  Levesque was persistent.  He wanted the Canadian dead, and she knew he would not have settled for anything less.  That was why she had thrown her own body in front of his as a shield - and it was like she'd told Adam immediately after the psycho had run them off the road that day - that anyone trying to hurt him would have to go through her first.  She'd made certain to stick to her word...

She stirred restlessly in the hospital bed as she slowly awoke.  God, it felt as though she'd been asleep, or rather, unconscious, for an eternity.  Her mouth was as dry as a desert.  She smacked her lips together in an attempt to moisten them as her eyes slowly opened.

Oh, God - the pain in her chest.  It all came back to her, little by little - she'd jumped in the path of the bullet.  She'd known Paul Levesque was not through, that he had still wanted Adam dead, even after Mr. McMahon had been seized.

Amy glanced around the small hospital room, wincing at the dullness of the aching in her chest.  The pain was located in the upper leftmost region, almost in her shoulder.  Oh, God... What if she could never wrestle again because of this wound?

No... She wasn't going to think like this right now.  She forced such pessimistic thoughts from her mind.  All that mattered was that Adam was all right - and she was alive.  She had survived this ordeal.

"Well, look who's awake..." a female voice spoke from nearby.

The redhead glanced slightly to her right and saw a kindly-looking nurse standing in her room and watching over her.  The woman appeared to be in her early fifties, and, like herself, had red hair.  She neared the bed as Amy gestured to her.

"I heard that for a little while in the O.R., the doctors were worrying they might have to move you to I.C.U.," the nurse said.

Amy noted that her name tag read 'Nurse McCann.'  She slowly moved her lips, willing her voice to work.  "Water...please..."

"Of course, sweetheart."  The woman reached over for the carafe on the tray beside the bed and poured her a cup of cool water.  Out of a pocket of her uniform, she picked up a straw and placed it in the cup as she held it for the redhead to drink.

Amy sipped the water greedily, her eyes closing with the delicious sensation of her tongue and throat becoming lubricated.  After a moment, she stopped drinking and gazed up at Nurse McCann gratefully.  "Thank you."

"There's a whole group waiting to see you out in the waiting room.  Six or seven people."

"Can they...come and see me?"

The nurse smiled.  "Yes, I think that would be all right now that you're awake.  We wanted to keep an eye on you for awhile - make sure you hadn't slipped into a coma.  We were worried about that happening for awhile," she said.  "Who should I send in first?  You can see your friends in groups of two or three."

There was no doubt in Amy's mind that, although she wanted to see all of them, the most important person, the one she wanted to see more than anyone else, was Adam.  She bit her lip, debating with herself whether to see him first or last.  Finally, she made up her mind.  "I'll see Stephanie first...Stephanie McMahon."

"All right...I'll make sure Miss McMahon gets here..."

A few minutes later, the redhead spotted the brunette and Kurt Angle in her doorway.  Stephanie practically ran into the room, her face full of concern.

"Oh, Amy!  Thank God you're all right!"  She leaned carefully over the railing around the redhead's bed.  Her blue eyes darted all over, taking in the bandages over the other woman's upper chest.  She winced and said, "Do you hurt, sweetie?"

The other diva made a so-so gesture with her right hand.  "A little.  It's not actually that bad now," she observed.  "A very dull ache."

Kurt came to stand beside his girlfriend and gave the redhead a small smile.  "Hey, kid...I knew you'd make it through all right.  You know, that man of yours has been a real wreck all night."

Amy's eyes widened slightly as she felt a tugging sensation at her heart.  "He has?"

"Oh, yeah...for a minute there, I thought he was going to beat me up for saying you were going to be okay."

Stephanie reached down for her hand, gripping it gently.  "Yeah...I had to offer to remind the nurses at the window for him to let us know how you were," the brunette said.  "I know how he gets, and especially when he's worrying about someone he cares about..."  She smiled softly as she gazed into the other woman's hazel eyes.  "Adam really loves you, Amy..."

The diva in the bed managed a tiny smile despite the dull pain she still experienced.  "I really love him, too."

The couple visited with the redhead for awhile longer before everyone else got their turn.  Torrie and Shane visited next.  The dark-haired young man explained that he'd returned after Kurt had called him about Stephanie being attacked.

Amy held tightly to Torrie's hand as the blonde still seemed so shaken.  The young woman had obviously spent a great deal of time crying since finding out her friend had been shot.  Jay and Nora were next, and Jay managed to raise her spirits, despite the bleak situation, with his goofy sense of humor.  Nora, although more serious than her boyfriend, managed to stay cheerful enough and strong enough to not shed any tears.

Amy knew the little blonde had to have been blaming herself for what had happened to her.  She knew how Nora was.  She'd claimed feeling responsible for her crazed ex-boyfriend's multiple attempts to kill Adam and for the rape of Torrie Wilson, and the redhead knew this time was no different.  However, Nora didn't voice a word of this, wanting to lift Amy's mood.

Finally, a couple of minutes after Jay and Nora left her room, the redhead noticed Adam's tall form appear in her doorway.  His handsome face looked morose as he tentatively stepped over the threshold.

"Adam..."  She raised her right arm as if to reach out to him, beckoning to him.

The blond man stepped directly up to her bedside as he gazed down at her with concern-filled green eyes.  Without a word, he reached down and grasped her right hand, squeezing it tightly but not enough to hurt her.

They stared at each other for a moment before he finally spoke.  "Angel...oh, God.  You're all right..."  With his other hand, he reached over to gently caress her cheek, running his fingers over to her forehead, chin and eyelids like a blind person examining one's face.

Amy closed her eyes as his fingertips traveled over her skin, savoring the feel of his touch.  As he removed his hand, she gazed up at him again, noticing that tears had formed in his emerald eyes.

"Amy..."  The tall blond man bent over the bed, lowering his head against her uninjured right shoulder.

The redhead gently slipped her hand out of his to put an arm around him, stroking his long, soft golden hair as he sobbed almost silently on her.