Adam's birthday was coming up that soon, and she had been planning something for him ever since she'd found out she had become a SmackDown commodity.  Her first idea had been to surprise the blond man, but not necessarily with a party - she had been toying with the idea of telling him about the feelings she had recently discovered she held for him - but after the previous night, the redhead had discarded that thought.  Adam believed she was still not completely over Matt and that it would be a rebound thing.  Even though she knew better, she would wait for that.  After all, patience was a virtue.

The other idea flitting through Amy's head was throwing him a surprise party.  She loved surprise parties and was certain the tall Canadian would as well - especially one she'd thrown for him.

Adam would be at an appearance for the day, which would give the diva a chance to make plans.  It would be perfect.

Her grin widened even more as she turned over onto her stomach on her hotel bed.  She couldn't wait to start planning and telling people about the party.  And what would she get him as a gift?

"What are you so cheery about?"

Amy turned to face Adam fully, her eyes meeting his.  She hadn't realized he was awake, but he looked to have only just woken up, his green eyes half-closed.  He appeared groggy as he rubbed a hand at his face and long blond hair.

"Oh, nothing," she replied.  "Good morning, by the way..."

"Yeah..." he muttered, which caused the redhead to laugh.  He was most definitely not a morning person, although she'd seen him more chipper than this.

"I was just thinking about my upcoming debut on SmackDown," she lied.  "It should be cool."

"Yeah..."  Adam turned over onto his back and closed his eyes again.

She laughed again.  "Do you ever say anything other than 'yeah' in the morning?"

"No..."

Amy's laughter exploded, and she grabbed one of her pillows, haphazardly tossing it at him.

The blond man hadn't been expecting the "attack," so he let out a muffled yelp when the pillow hit him in the face.  He bolted up in his bed, suddenly fully awake and eyed her mock-menacingly.

"Okay, now you asked for it..."  He grabbed hold of the pillow she'd thrown and made his way to her bed.  Amy sat up and moved over to the opposite side, squealing as the blond suddenly hit her with the soft pillow.  Somehow, she managed to grab it away from him, and it landed on the floor by the other side of the bed.  Instead of reaching for another, Adam took the liberty of tickling the diva.

Amy squirmed all over the bed, a fit of uncontrollable giggles overtaking her as the Canadian's long fingers found her sides.

"Okay, I give up!" she cried, kicking a leg out but managing not to get him.

"Say 'uncle,'" Adam said with a big, toothy, yet somehow evil, grin.

"Uncle!  Uncle!" Amy exclaimed, her hands out toward him in a retreating manner.

The tall blond stopped the tickle torture, leaning down a bit to gaze intensely into her lovely face, the smile still there.  His heart softened as he took in her happy laughter, which was decreasing as she focused her hazel eyes on him.

Adam continued to look deeply into the young woman's eyes, a feeling of fierce tenderness coming over him.  He reached down slightly, wanting to caress her soft cheek.  When his fingers were only inches away from her face, he suddenly stopped himself, then straightened up and moved from her bed.

The redhead winced, but the gesture was unwitnessed by the blond man, as he had his back to her.  She bit her lip, unable to push back feelings of hurt.  She knew he was right, that nothing should happen between them while things were still so fresh to her, but it still stung.

"I'm gonna go hit the shower," Adam announced, retrieving some clothing from his bag into which to change.  He headed for the bathroom, stopping to turn back as he reached the doorway.

Amy gazed after him, their eyes meeting, and her heart began to pound in triple-beat as the Canadian gave her a small smile.  She smiled back, feeling as though she might melt.  And when he entered the bathroom, closing the door behind him, the redhead lay back on her bed, and her smile widened.

*

While Adam had his appearance commitments to fulfill, the SmackDown roster had a house show to do.  Amy again was not a part of it, as she was scheduled to make her debut the following week - ironically enough, the day before Adam's birthday.

All of the other divas were to be a part of the show - Nidia had a match against Crash, and her boyfriend, Jamie Noble, would be at ringside to help the little brunette win the match.  Dawn Marie and Torrie had a spot, along with Al Wilson, in a furthering of their current angle.

Although this was a house show, it was being taped, so Amy was able to hang out backstage in the women's locker room and watch the goings on in and out of the ring.  She smiled as she witnessed Nidia getting the three-count and victory after Noble tripped his girlfriend's opponent.  The fiesty young woman executed a suplex as her finisher.  Although the redhead liked Crash, and despite the shady victory, she was happy for Nidia.  She'd taken an instant liking to the brunette way back when Nidia had still been a Tough Enough prospect.  She, Matt and Jeff had made an appearance on one of the shows, and she'd not only liked Nidia as a person, she'd also been impressed by what she'd seen of her inside the squared circle.

Those were the days, she thought almost wistfully.  She, Matt and Jeff had been so tight.  No other "clique" had been quite as loyal to one another - not even the Radicalz.  Well, she and Jeff were still tight.  Her colorful-haired friend had been so upset when she'd called to let him know she wouldn't be returning to RAW.  Amy had subsequently met up with the younger Hardy Boy to see him, but also to explain what his brother had done to her.

Jeff had been furious and volunteered to "beat the living daylights" out of Matt for her, but she turned down his offer.  She'd then explained about Adam, and about how protective the tall blond man was being toward her.

Jeff had reacted with a bit of surprise as he'd questioned her about their Canadian friend.  Amy had practically been able to "see" his eyebrows raise over the phone, just by the tone of his voice.  She'd told the young man that she indeed had feelings for Adam but that she was keeping them under wraps - for now.

Amy's long reverie broke as she suddenly heard Dawn Marie's voice.  She eyed the TV monitor as her friend was standing and speaking on a microphone inside the squared circle, calling out her "love interest."  As Al Wilson slowly walked down the ramp to the ring, he was met by a huge chorus of boos.  The fans didn't like the man, and Amy didn't blame them.  In reality, she hadn't yet met him, and although he might be a nice person, despite having spawned Torrie Wilson, he was certainly now WWE material.  Amy would much prefer having Moolah and Mae Young return to the company - although they, like Al Wilson, were senior citizens, the two women had been legendary in the business.  And even though they would never wrestle again if they returned, they had a lot more business being in the WWE than someone like Al Wilson did.

By now, the man had joined the brunette in the ring, and the fans were booing even louder, if such a thing were possible.  Not for the first time, Amy felt sorry for Dawn Marie.  In the last almost couple of weeks since she'd been around the SmackDown roster, she and her friend had done some light training together - Amy was really not supposed to do that, but she figured that, as long as she avoided any high-flying stuff, she'd be okay - and Dawn had proven that, given a real chance, she could do something in the ring.

But apparently, the WWE writers felt she was more appropriate for this - the brunette was now in Al's arms, kissing the older man, who returned her attentions with glee.  And then, as Dawn turned her focus and her lips to the old man's neck, the crowd suddenly erupted with a round of cheers.

Torrie Wilson rushed to the ring, running at top speed.  Amy watched as the blonde slid under the bottom rope and into the squared circle, instantly going after her friend.  As the blonde's father stepped back, Torrie flung herself onto Dawn Marie, knocking the other woman down and slapping her repeatedly across the face.  The fans' cheers increased in volume.

The redhead shook her head as she wondered what the point of all this was.  This storyline was just about the same caliber of tacky as that of poor Trish Stratus having to feign an affair with Vince McMahon, or the boss himself forcing people to kiss his ass.  It was disgusting - pathetic - and had no right to be in wrestling.  Yes, she knew the WWE was "sports entertainment," but still - if she had been a writer or other creative person for the show, this would never be on TV.  She would instead focus on intelligent storylines.

Amy's attention suddenly shifted to the locker room door, as the knob was being turned.  She shifted her eyes back to the screen, assuming Nidia was returning to the room, but she turned out to be wrong.

The door slammed back into place, and she looked up to see Matt standing several feet away, a look of anger more intense than any she'd ever seen him direct toward her.  She instantly stood up, furious that he'd had the nerve to come here.

"What are you doing in here?  Get out!"

"No...no, I'm not gonna do that, bitch," the man said in a dangerously low voice.  "Not until you explain yourself..."

"'Explain' myself?"  Amy rolled her eyes, crossing her arms under her breasts.  "You have some nerve saying that to me.  You are the one who should explain yourself!"

"Oh, is that so?  So, you wanna go around hitting my girlfriend, huh?"  He took a step closer to her.

The redhead backed up by about an inch, glaring at him.  So, that was why Matt was staring at her like she was the Antichrist - because of nothing more than his stupid blowup doll?  "I suggest you cool off and back off, Matt...goodbye!"

"No!!!  You hit my girlfriend!  You gave her a bruise!  Who the hell do you think you are?!"

Amy took a step forward, not in the least afraid of the dark-haired man, or of his temper.  "I think I am the same woman who was your girlfriend when you started screwing around on me with that slut!  And yeah, I hit her!  She got in my face and started talking trash, so I let her have it!"

She suddenly took a couple of steps backward as she noticed just how angry Matt was.  She had never once seen his this mad.  Her hazel eyes widened as he suddenly lunged at her, and she began to scream, but it was cut short as the man's fist suddenly struck her in the face.