THE LABYRINTH

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"From quiet homes and first beginning,
Out to the undiscovered ends,
There's nothing worth the wear of winning,
But laughter and the love of friends."
(Hilaire Belloc)

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Chapter Thirty Eight

Time passed.

Mac drifted in and out of sleep. His eyes were uncovered once more. After making her final assessment, the doctor had been confident that his sight would slowly return of its own accord - and she was right. Each time Mac left the comfort of his dreams, the room seemed brighter, somehow. Tinged with red, but visible. The darkness was receding. Waking one last time, he yawned... and stretched... and focussed.

"Who's there?"

The dark shadow hovering nearby was blurry but unmistakeable. Adam Ross dropped whatever it was that he had been holding and froze like a statue.

"Um... boss? I wasn't... That is, I saw your phone and... I just wanted to change your... Wait! Can you see me?"

"I can see your outline," he said patiently.

"Awesome." Adam's relief was heartfelt. Mac felt a stab of pity, mixed with joy. His head was free at last - no more pain - and he tried to sit up. At once, the lab tech was beside him, plumping pillows and trying to make him more comfortable.

"How long have you been here?" Mac asked, full of suspicion. For that matter, how long had he?

"Oh - you know," Adam said vaguely. "Stella was here for a while. Then your doctor again. Then Sid and Sheldon... They left about ten minutes ago."

Mac nodded, waiting. He could tell that there was more to come.

"I wanted to talk to you, boss. On your own, okay? To say... well, I'm sorry. You know?"

"Sorry for what?"

"For the terrible night's entertainment." His words were light, but his tone was sad. "My party - it wasn't much fun."

"Oh, I'm chalking that one up to Danny," Mac said grimly. "Let's face it, you didn't invite me. He did."

Adam gasped with unexpected laughter.

"Really? That's so cool - I mean, poor Danny. Okay - then I'm sorry you got hurt. And..."

"And you're wondering whether you made things worse?"

"Well - yes." Adam's face was a shadowy mass, but Mac could picture the anxious expression as though it were clear as day.

"Adam. You're alive," he insisted. "So am I."

"That's what Flack said," Adam commented brightly.

"Flack's right. What about Thorne?"

"Arrested. He went kind of crazy..." The lab tech's voice was filled with a certain amount of awe. It must have been a memorable scene. Mac was almost sorry that he had missed it.

"Everyone out of the tower?"

"Yes, boss."

"And you - you're okay?"

"Oh, I'm fine."

"Really?" Mac frowned. "Isn't that my line? Think you can fool the master?"

"Okay," Adam conceded. "I'm a little sore. And tired. And hungry, come to think of it," he added, startled.

When was the last time that either of them had eaten, Mac wondered?

"Sleep first," he suggested. "Then you're sneaking out of here. That's an order. I want some decent food. Hospital dinners are worse than MREs. Meals, Ready to Eat. That's military food, to you."

"Yes, boss."

Mac watched the shadow settle heavily into a nearby chair. Oh, Adam, he thought. And felt a vague, indefinable sense of guilt. All this time - and Adam had waited. "You did good," he murmured softly.

The only answer was a gentle snore...

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Walking down the corridor with Stella, Danny sighed. "And you haven't seen him either?" he demanded. "He's not answering his phone. Or his door. I can't tell if he's there or not."

"Where else would he be?" Stella asked.

"I don't know..." Danny's voice revealed the true extent of his frustration. Shaking his head, he changed the subject. "How's Mac?"

"Good." She smiled at last, with genuine brightness. "The doctor sounded hopeful. And he's making progress; I can tell. He's been sleeping for a while, but he'll be glad that you've dropped by. He was worried about you. Adam too. It must have been terrible..." Her face fell. Danny strove to reassure her.

"Over now," he said. "I'm only glad that we were there. Imagine Adam in that nightmare, all alone..."

"I know. I've had a lot of time to think about it, Danny. We all have. Lindsay and Don - are they on their way?"

He nodded. "That woman - Grace. She was wicked crazy. Makes Thorne look sane, if you ask me. I hope they lock her up and throw away the key. Cops or FBI - doesn't matter. Poor Anna..."

"What will become of the tower?" Stella wondered.

"Theme park?" Danny said bitterly. "Nah - ask me, those government types have got their eye on it. They've already taken the architect off our hands. Sneaky. Guess they want to crawl all over it and see what they can learn about Thorne's fancy computer and his nasty traps. After that? I hope they raze it to the ground. I, for one, would be glad to see the end of it."

"I hear you. How's your friend, Maya?"

"Upstairs. And recovering, as far as I could tell. Jane shooed me away." He smiled. Such an unexpected change in the pale young woman.

Reaching out, Stella opened the door to Mac's room. Sunlight met them, streaming through the slatted blinds.

"No way..." Danny breathed. A slow grin spread across his face. "Why, that little..."

Slumped in a chair, Adam Ross was sleeping soundly, dark lashes curled against his cheeks. He looked peaceful. Nothing in the world could have disturbed him.

Sitting up in bed, Mac Taylor smiled at them both.

"Nice to see you," he said...

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A/N: The end! I made it!

If you have enjoyed even one small part of this madcap story, then I've achieved what I set out to do. I wanted to write something wild and fun that would appeal to lots of you. I've been amazed by your support. Thank you so much for all the reviews that you have written. I've learned a lot from your comments and you've certainly kept me going!

Adam Ross will return in "Out There".

Just give me a few weeks to recover!

Thanks for reading :D

And thank you, most of all, to 1917farmgirl and Lily Moonlight.

Smuffly.