It was about five-thirty in the morning, give or take a few minutes, and surprisingly chilly considering it was summer in Pennsylvania.  Although the air conditioner wasn't on and the only window open was down only a couple of inches, the brunette shivered.

Shane took his eyes off the road and glanced at his sister.  "Don't worry, Steph...it'll be okay."  He reached across the seats and patted her hand reassuringly.

They'd been driving for the last half-hour, and Stephanie had been a reluctant traveler from the start - actually, that had been the case since even before they'd started their journey.

"I'm not so sure this trip is such a good idea," the young woman said fearfully as she turned to glance over her shoulder out the back window.  "Paul is still out there, Shane!  What if...what if he follows us or something?"  She thought about how the madman had trailed after Adam and Amy a few days earlier and had attempted to run them off the road.

"Steph, listen to me," her brother said calmly.  "Look at me..."

The brunette turned around to face him, a look of naked fear written across her features.

"He's not going to do anything to us - even if he does follow us - and that thought crossed my mind, too - he won't touch us...He wouldn't dare do anything to us - not when Vince McMahon is our father.  He does, at least, hold Dad in some regard."

"Shane!" Stephanie exclaimed, her blue eyes widening in disbelief at what he'd just said.  "Do you ever think before you speak?"  The brunette was angry as she went on.  "Are you serious?  Have you forgotten what Paul tried to do to me two days ago?!  The bastard tried to choke the life out of me!" she cried.  "And he probably would have...raped me if it hadn't been for Kurt!"  Her eyes nearly filled with tears as she recalled that horror.

"Oh, God...I'm so sorry I forgot about that," Shane said, mentally cursing himself.  The truth was, he'd been distracted ever since spending time alone with Torrie earlier that night.  Although nothing had happened between them - yet - the dark-haired man couldn't get his mind off the tall blonde diva.

He took his eyes off the road for a brief moment to meet the frightened but annoyed eyes of his sister.

"Sweetheart, I promise you - we'll be okay.  Nobody is going to do anything to us...I won't let anyone hurt you."

The brunette swallowed hard, hoping more than anything that Shane would protect her if something were to happen.

*

Adam awoke feeling groggy, and aching a bit from a stiff neck.

As he slowly came to his senses, he realized why he felt that way - he'd been sleeping in a chair all night.  And then he remembered it hadn't been all night - he recalled how he'd been sleeping for at least a short while in the room next door from Amy's.  Then, the next thing he'd known, the nurse had woken him up, alerting him to the fact that the redhead was apparently in the midst of a horrible dream, and she was screaming.

"Oh, God..." he mumbled as he reached a hand back to rub at his neck.  He gazed at Amy laying peacefully in the bed, grateful she was in this calm state.

The diva looked so beautiful, and her eyes were closed, as she was sound asleep.

The blond man's heart melted as he watched her.  She truly was an angel... Therefore, how could he ever walk out on her?  Damn it... Thinking about this too much would surely bring his eyes to misting over.

Shit... He had no choice.  He had to leave her.  It was for her own good.  Who knew what that psychotic bastard Levesque would do to her?  Certainly, the man was unbalanced enough to try to hurt Amy in order to get to him...

Raking a hand through his long golden hair, Adam rose from the chair and stretched his long legs a bit before leaving the room.  He needed to ask Dr. Roberts, the physician who'd attended to the redhead, a few questions...