The two of them were sitting in the rental car they were sharing, in the arena parking lot as they were preparing for the SmackDown taping.

"I'll be fine," the redhead replied evenly.  She had decided to suck it all in.  She was going to hold her head up high and walk directly to Stephanie McMahon's office to tell the General Manager what had happened the previous night.  Adam had been kind and asked her if she wanted his company in telling the brunette about Matt's abuse, but she had declined his offer.  She'd been grateful, but she decided this was her responsibility and hers alone.

"You're sure?"

Amy gazed directly into the handsome blond's green eyes, managing a tiny smile.  "Yeah...I'll be fine."

Adam reached across the seat for her hand, giving it a gentle but reassuring squeeze.  "Okay...I'll be nearby if you need me."  He leaned toward her and placed a tender kiss on her forehead.

The diva closed her eyes as his lips touched her skin, holding her breath as she wished he had kissed her lips instead.  God, the effect this man had on her.  He was so very special.  She wanted him in the worst way... She bit her lip as she gazed up at him when he straightened up, then became aware of their still-clasped hands.

After a moment, they exited the car and unlocked the trunk to head into the arena.  Instead of going to the women's locker room first, Amy went directly to Stephanie's office.

The redhead raised her hand to knock, pausing as she thought about how she was going to do this.  Then, biting her lip, she decided that the best way was to just spit it right out.

A second after she knocked, she heard Stephanie's voice calling her to enter.

Amy stepped inside, glancing almost ashamedly over at the brunette, who was sitting behind her mahogany desk, a pen in her right hand.

As the redhead stepped closer, the GM's eyes focused intently on her face, widening as she noticed the bruises.

"Oh, my God..."  Stephanie rose and came over to Amy, peering into her face.  She winced with sympathy as she lifted one hand, gently turning the other woman's face with one finger.  "Who did this to you, Amy?"

For a split second, the brunette thought Adam had done it, but she discarded that idea instantly.  The tall blond man was so obviously crazy about her - and besides, Stephanie knew Adam would never raise his hand to a woman in violence.

The redhead bit her lip as she raised her hazel eyes to meet Stephanie's blue ones.

"Matt...Matt did it."

The brunette's eyes widened as her face displayed her anger at this news.

"Matt Hardy?  Well, believe me, your darling ex-boyfriend will not be getting away with this!"

*

The moment he and Amy went their separate ways for the diva to take care of what she needed to do, Adam had marched down the hall in search of Matt Hardy.  He hadn't passed him by, so he asked other wrestlers if they'd seen the man.  Finally, Billy Kidman had told him he'd seen the elder Hardy brother with Torrie Wilson, on their way to the women's locker room.

The tall blond Canadian man was literally seeing red as he stormed into the proper room, his gaze instantly falling on its occupants.

Matt, with Torrie at his side, appeared to be in the midst of an argument with both Dawn Marie and Nidia.  The two brunettes looked furious as the man shouted at them.

Adam himself was, by this time, so enraged that he barely heard any of the words spoken by any of them.  Dawn Marie pointed an angry finger at Matt and then the blonde beside him, who didn't seem to want to contribute to the dispute.  The Hardy boy made a sudden move, as if to hit the diva's hand away from Torrie, and that was when the Canadian made his move.

"You fucking son of a bitch!"  Adam sprang forward, lunging at the dark-haired man.  Before Matt could react in any way other than the surprise registering on his face, Adam punched him right in the face.

Torrie screamed, and all three women scrambled out of the way as the two men suddenly fell to the floor.

The blond man continued to pummel the former Team Xtreme member, and Torrie continued screaming.

Somehow, Matt managed to get in some shots of his own, even connecting with Adam's jaw.  The Canadian swore, as the blow stung, but he got to his feet, grabbing the shorter man by his shirt collar and shaking him.

"If you ever touch Amy again," he snarled, "I swear, I'll kill you..."  With that, he released Matt, giving him a shove, and the dark-haired man stumbled back a ways, his girlfriend rushing toward him.

Adam briefly exchanged glances with Dawn Marie before looking back at Matt and Torrie with fury glinting in his eyes.  The brunette woman wore a half-smile of satisfaction on her face, and the Canadian was certain she wished he'd done a hell of a lot more damage.

Then, the angry blond man turned and left the women's locker room.  He knew things were only going to get even more intense during the taping later on.

*

Instead of heading for the women's locker room, Amy went straight to Adam's after her meeting with Stephanie.

The brunette had been completely incensed by her news of Matt brutalizing her, and the GM had told the redhead that she did not have to go through with the planned storyline.  Amy, however, had assured Stephanie that it was all right - she would partake in what they'd originally prepared for.  She knew Adam would protect her, and she wanted to see the tall Canadian get his hands on her ex as well.

The door was opened by Billy Kidman, who smiled at her at first, but the young man's smile vanished as he took in the sight of her battered face.

Although Kidman wondered what had happened to her, he didn't pose any questions.

"Hi..." he said.  "...he's not in here right now, but he'll probably be back in a minute or two."

"Thanks, Billy..."  The redhead stepped into the room, and she smiled at Rey Mysterio, its other occupant.

"Hey..."

"Hey, Red..." the small man said cheerfully, unable to hide the wince as he looked at her face.  Since Mysterio hadn't seen Adam at all last night, he too had no idea what had happened to Amy.  However, he wasn't quite so diplomatic as his friend and former WCW tag team partner.

"Christ!  What happened to you?"

The redhead bit her lip, eyes downcast for a beat.  Then, figuring she might as well tell Rey and Billy, as she owed no loyalty to Matt anymore, she spoke.

"Matt Hardy happened to me..."

Both men's faces showed initial surprise, which was quickly followed by anger.

"If you ever need me to kick his ass for you, I'll be more than glad to do it," Billy said, reaching out and touching her arm.

"Definitely count me in on that offer, too," Mysterio concurred.  "I'd love to give that asshole a 619 about six-hundred and nineteen times!"

Amy couldn't help but smile at that.

Just then, the door opened, and Adam stormed in, appearing furious.  He was holding an icepack up against his chin and was muttering obscenities.

"What happened?" the diva asked as she came toward him.  Even as she posed the question, she knew she already knew the answer.

"C'mon, Rey," Kidman suddenly piped in, "we've got that thing we have to do..."  He started for the door, and the shorter man took his cue and followed.

"Oh, yeah...that thing."  A second later, the two friends were gone, leaving Adam and Amy alone.

As the blond man removed the icepack from his face, the redheaded diva gasped as she saw the darkening bruise.  It was on the underside of his jaw, and it was already swollen despite the ice he'd applied to it.

"Oh, God...he hit you?"

Adam tossed the icepack onto a small table at his right.

"Yeah, but only after I hit him..."

"You went after him?"  Somehow, that didn't surprise her.

"He was in the women's locker room with Torrie, and he was yelling at Dawn Marie and Nidia," the Canadian spat.  "He actually looked about a second away from taking a swing at Dawn..."

"Oh, God!" Amy cried.  "I told her not to start with him!"

"Yeah, but you know what?  Even if he hadn't been arguing with two women, I still would've beaten the living hell out of him..." Adam said angrily.  "...he had no right to put his filthy hands on you - none at all!"

The redhead gazed at the tall blond man with concern, then, after a beat, moved toward him.  Despite her regret at Adam having retaliated when she'd begged him not to, her heart tugged at what he'd done.  My hero, she thought as she put her arms around him, hugging him.

The blond man hugged her back, his arms tightening around the diva's slender waist.  He moved his head a bit so that his face was pressed into her fragrant red hair, his eyes closing at the incredible sensation of her in his arms.

After a moment, he released her, gazing down into her hazel eyes, which seemed to sparkle as she gazed up into his face.  He felt the most fierce urge to kiss her, but he suddenly stopped himself.

"You'd better get back to the women's locker room to change..."  He really didn't want her to go, didn't want to let her go, but at the moment, he felt this was for the best.

The redhead peered into his eyes intensely, then reached up with one hand, pressing it against his face before she turned and left.