"So, that's it?" he finally asked.  "You're just gonna give up?  Just like that?"  He snapped his fingers for emphasis.

"Jay, what choice do I have?" the taller man asked, raking a hand through his long blond hair before raising his eyes back to his best friend.  "My back's to the wall - her safety is at stake here.  I won't let him get to her..."

"Well, too late..." the shorter man reminded him.  "She's already been shot."

"Yes, but she was lucky it wasn't as serious as it could have been - and anyway, the bastard was gunning for me.  Believe me, Jay - if Levesque wants that badly to get to me, he'd do something to Amy in a heartbeat, and he wouldn't even blink!"

Jay shook his head, a feeling of hopelessness coming over him.  Everything Adam had just told him - what he was planning on doing and telling Amy - it all seemed so...wrong.

The way he saw it, if Adam followed through with what he'd just told him, he was basically letting Paul Levesque win.  He understood his best friend's reasoning of doing this to protect the redhead, but damn it - couldn't he protect her by her side?  With her?  The maniac could just as easily harm her when she was apart from Adam, plus the fact that it would crush Amy - and Adam himself as well.  When he thought about himself being in the other man's shoes, Jay knew that he would never do the same to Nora as Adam was going to do to the redhead.  He couldn't do that to her.  Hell, he couldn't do that to himself.

"I don't know..." Jay said.  "I think you're giving up way too easily.  But...do what you think is best, man."  He didn't know what else to say.

The tall Canadian nodded.  "I just wish it didn't have to come down to this..."

Jay noted the anguish in his friend's eyes, the weariness as well, for he knew Adam hadn't slept well or much in the last few days.  "I know, man...I know..."

*

Nora sat on the edge of the Torrie's hotel room bed, the other blonde rummaging through her suitcase for something.  At the moment, Kurt was in the bathroom, showering.  They were in the room Torrie had been sharing with Stephanie since their arrival here.

The tall blonde diva hadn't wanted to be alone after the McMahon siblings had left for their trip.  Nora completely understood that, and, what with her not-so-recent past with Paul, she could relate to the other woman.

Torrie came back over to sit on the bed, and she pushed herself to sit with her back to the pillows, long legs stretched out before her.

"C-can I confied something to you?" she asked, her tone nervous, her large blue eyes uncertain.  She'd never really been close to any of the other divas - other than Stacy Keibler, who went back to WCW with her - in the short time she'd been with the WWF.  Of course, she'd been getting close with Stephanie, but the brunette wasn't here right now.  Besides, she did share a bond with Nora.

"Sure," the petite blonde said.  "You can tell me anything."  She repositioned herself so that she was sitting Indian-style across from Torrie.

The taller woman lowered her gaze almost demurely, and she thought it ironic that she, who had never been shy where anything sexual was concerned, was actually feeling exactly that way.

"Last night...When Shane and I were in here alone..."  She paused, raising her eyes and meeting the other woman's.  "Well...we started kissing, and I thought something was going to happen, but..."

"He stopped because of what happened to you?" the little blonde questioned, recalling her own experience with Jay that first time they'd shared a bed together.

"No..." Torrie said, shaking her head.  "I...I froze."

Nora nodded.  Although the same hadn't happened to her - and she was strongly suspicious that if it hadn't been anyone other than Jay, she probably would have pulled away, just like Torrie had done with Shane.

The tall blonde leaned over a bit to get closer to the other woman.  "Nora, am I...Do you think it's strange that I did that?  I mean...I really like Shane, and..."  She stopped in mid-sentence and sighed, a feeling somewhat akin to hopelessness taking over.

"No, I don't think it's strange at all...Your reaction was completely normal, Torrie.  For God's sake, you went through the worst kind of violation a person could ever suffer...I'm sure Shane understands.  In fact, I know he does."

The tall blonde woman nodded slowly.  "He does...He told me he did, and that he'll be patient with me."

Nora smiled warmly.  "He's really very special to you, isn't he?"

Now Torrie also felt a smile touching her own lips.  "Yeah, he is..."  She couldn't help feeling anxious about his return...