OUT THERE

Chapter Twenty Seven

"You were sick, but now you're well again, and there's work to do." (Kurt Vonnegut, 'Timequake')

The lobby was grim; a dusty limbo with a single, flickering light and a very unappealing odour. Beer and old socks, Adam decided, darting towards the elevator quickly, just as he always did. Thinking back, he couldn't believe how many months had passed since the last time he ran through here, or smelled that dreadful smell.

Kevin's apartment was on the fourth floor. Once, in a fit of boredom, the two friends had Googled the ugly old building, to find out if it had any kind of exciting historical past - a little glitz to repel the gloom. What they actually found were records of a migrant sweatshop, renowned for its poor conditions. "Figures," Kevin had joked. "Nothing changes, right?"

Rising up in the rickety car, Adam closed his eyes and rehearsed his speech one more time. His left arm itched and he curled his right hand tightly, resisting the powerful urge to rip off his dressing and scratch and scratch, like a dog with fleas.

Ugh - fleas. He stared down at the mouldy square of carpet, full of suspicion. Fed by his own imagination, the itch grew worse. Stop that, he told it firmly.

The fourth floor corridor wasn't much better. Adam's own place seemed like a five star hotel in comparison. Kevin's door, like all the other doors, was a sickly olive green and his number hung upside down, so that 6 became 9.

Adam mustered his courage and raised his right fist. With a sharp knock, he announced his presence.

From two doors down came a string of colourful expletives. Maybe it was kind of early, he realised, backing away, his hand still hovering up in the air. Kevin wasn't much of a morning person... not that his friend was the one he had really come to see...

Adam spun on his heel and began to sneak away. If he had owned a tail, it would have been between his legs by now.

A lock snapped open behind him, followed by the squeal of rusty hinges.

"Leaving so soon?" said a wry voice.

"Oh!" He halted. "I'm sorry. I thought that eight o'clock..."

"Might not be the most sociable time to come calling after all?" Jade finished for him.

Adam turned back and stared at her nervously. Clad in an old hockey top and striped pajama bottoms, with her hair in two wonky braids and her face devoid of make-up, the young woman looked surprisingly plain - yet he liked her better that way.

"Yeah," he said with a grin. "Kevin sleeping?"

"Like a baby. No, make that a baby pig. You ever heard him snore?" She studied Adam closely. "You look like crap."

"Thanks a lot."

"You also look better. Than before, I mean." Peering into his eyes, she smiled. "Go on, then."

He frowned in confusion. "'Go on'... what?"

"Go on - say what you've come here to say." She folded her arms and regarded him archly, waiting.

"Oh, that." He shrugged. No need for a flowery speech after all. As it had been with Sid in the hospital, so it was here. Jade could read him like a book, it seemed. "I'm sorry," he said, and his blue eyes held the rest of his apology. Sorry for judging you. Sorry for thinking that you were the one who mugged me. Sorry for being a jerk...

"So you should be."

That floored him, until she burst out laughing, earning a few more choice expletives - some of them in Spanish - from the apartment two doors down. "Come in," she whispered, mildly repentant. "Have some coffee. We could wake Kevin and show him what morning looks like..."

"No - I can't," he said, sincerely regretful. "I have to go to work. First day back, you know?"

"First day back after what?" She stared at his sling and then held up her hand. "No; it's okay. You don't have to tell me. I've already pried into your life far too much, Adam Ross. Meaning I'm sorry too," she added, far too impatient to wait for his brain to catch up with her twisted explanation.

"Okay..." He nodded and held out his good hand. Jade took it and shook it.

"I'm off home tomorrow," she said. "Guess you could call it an eventful trip. Got myself arrested and released. Foiled a mugging. Made a friend?" Her voice rose in a hopeful query. Adam nodded, and she smiled. "Okay, then. Well, if you're ever in Boston, look me up. You can stalk me back, okay?"

"Sounds like fun," he agreed, and they parted with the ease of two casual friends who knew full well that they would never meet again, but who left their relationship wide open and on the best of terms at last.

-xx-

"Alright?" Stella asked him, as he slipped into the seat beside her.

"Alright," he agreed, as she started the engine. "Thanks for waiting."

"It was the least I could do," she said quietly.

Joining the busy stream of traffic, they headed towards Manhattan, and the crime lab. Adam closed his eyes and listened to the flow of noise around him. The city was full of life this morning and all of it was joyful. Work was before him; bright new challenges and faithful friends. Even Haylen seemed less of a threat. She no longer haunted him, but the echo of Dream-Haylen lingered, and he gave a determined smile as he recalled his foolishness.

No more paranoia.

Well - at least he'd try.

As Adam shifted in the passenger seat, his shoulder gave a slight twinge. He thought of the eye still carved there. Skin grafts were an option, just as Stella had suggested - but these days, he was far more inclined to leave the mark exactly as it was. Kyle's intention, his sister admitted to Flack, had been to scare Adam silly - to make him think that people were watching him, everywhere he went. To fill him so full of fear and paranoia that he would shrink into his own world and never come out, leaving them to finish their business with Elma unhindered. Well, Kyle had almost succeeded; that much was true. But Adam had done a whole lot of thinking lately - not all of it bad - and now, to him, the eye meant something else as well; something Kyle had never considered and probably couldn't begin to understand.

The only people watching Adam were his friends.

And they had saved his life.

-xx-

A/N: To all those people who read, followed and favourited this story - I can't thank you enough and I hope you enjoyed the last chapter. To my kind reviewers - your thoughtful comments and your words of encouragement helped to make the whole thing so much better and I had the best time writing it!

Thanks to lily moonlight, for her good advice.
And special thanks to 1917farmgirl, without whom this story wouldn't have existed in the first place...

Over the next few weeks, I'll be working through the challenge one-shots that I signed up for. And then, a little something special for the festive season... involving Adam, of course!