Complicated

Chapter Fifty Eight: Home

You're giving me too many things
Lately, you're all I need
You smiled at me and said,

Don't get me wrong I love you

Utada Hikaru – Simple and Clean

The crime lab was quiet in the aftermath of Flack's rescue. There was a revered silence spreading through the area like Adam had never seen before. Flack was a respected part of their day to day lives, that this had happened to him was shocking in a way that cut every single person who knew him right down to the core.

Adam raked his hands through his wavy hair as he thought of torment that had been inflicted upon the other man, he couldn't imagine what it must have been like to have spent sixteen hours in the hands of psychopath but Adam knew a thing or two about pain. He knew what it was like to be mentally and physically abused, to see no way out of a situation that would eventually result in death.

The road to recovery would be far from easy even for a resilient guy like Flack, he was looking at weeks in the hospital and long term therapy afterwards to stave off the possibility of PTSD manifesting itself. Adam had seen what post traumatic stress disorder could do to a person and it killed him every time he associated the thought with Flack.

In Grace's mind he knew that was a small price to pay. Her husband had almost died today and Grace always thought she could take whatever fate dished her out and that concerned Adam. Under any other circumstance he would have agreed, she was strong and feisty, she proved it by tackling the Brass and fighting for Flack. But there was someone else to think about now.

Grace wanted that baby, Adam could see in her eyes how much she loved that child and that frightened him. She didn't know how to slow down, he had seen her pull herself in so many different directions over the past twenty four hours it scared him. The amount of pressure she was putting on herself was going to end up harming that baby and the stress that was to come...

It drove him crazy thinking of the possibilities. She had to know what this situation was going to do to her body, she was educated. On that level Adam knew she must understand the risks but she was stubborn, painfully so and that was one of her greatest flaws.

Adam would do his best to help of course, whatever Grace and Flack needed he would step up and help them. The two of them were part of his family and he would support them in anyway that was necessary to help lighten the load that was stacked upon their shoulders. That's what friends did for each other.

Grace was his best friend and that was the only feelings he had for her. He could see why people were attracted to her, she was warm, pretty and caring but Adam had never felt her allure despite his near folly in the ladies bathroom this morning. He hadn't been thinking when he'd reacted to Grace's desperation.

Adam was glad she'd had her wits about her enough to stop the two of them making a horrific mistake. He got that she was upset and petrified. He understood those emotions as if they were brothers in arms and when he'd seen her looking so worn down and pathetic he had responded in the only way he knew how. His chest had ached at seeing his friend so distraught, her pain was his pain and he knew that it worked the opposite way around too. Grace had stepped in many a time for him, just this time there had been too many emotions flying around and he'd gotten caught up in that.

"You ok?" Anna asked the rugged lap tech as she watched him stare vacantly through the glass panels of the crime lab.

She'd been standing in the door way for over three minutes saying his name and it appeared he hadn't heard a thing.

Adam jerked his head towards her as he withdrew from his reveries, he rubbed spot between his tired azure eyes with his fingertips trying to massage away the tension headache that was setting in.

"I just can't stop thinking about it you know." he said helplessly before shaking his head. "I'm glad you were here to separate those samples when you did otherwise we would have lost him."

"Detective Reagen was the one that interoperated the evidence." Anna shrugged. "I just gave him the information, there aren't that many abandoned abattoirs around and Maplin had been spending a lot around Queens even though he lived in Brooklyn so it made sense that he had some sort of holding place around there."

"You helped save somebody's life today, maybe even three people's. I can't begin to tell you how thankful I am for that." he said earnestly as he bowed his head. "I don't know what would have happened if we'd lost Flack."

Anna blushed at his words before pursing her lips together and tilting her to the left.

"But you didn't." she reminded him. "I know recovery is going to be hard but he's got you guys and from what Danny says your all a great group of people to have around in a time of crisis. He's lucky to have you on his side."

Adam nodded his agreement at her words before Anna withdrew from the room, smiling a greeting at a dazzling brunette as she passed her by in the corridor.

"I've come to take you home." Beth announced as she stood in the doorway jingling her keys with a triumphant smile.

Adam couldn't describe the things that glorious smile did to him. His shoulders sagged with relief, her presence drawing his inner self out from behind the mask he wore daily. The real Adam was stepping forward, inhibiting his body now just as it always did when Beth was around. He rose to his feet, his face set in that familiar expression of child like innocence that Beth was used to seeing. Her arms wrapped around his waist as she stepped into his embrace. She knew what he needed, what he craved and longed for. His years of abuse had taught him never to ask for comfort or reassurance but no matter how much he tried to hide it she could always see it in his azure eyes and she gave it freely.

"I love you." he told her for the first time burying his face in her shoulder. "I've never said it before because I was so scared that you didn't feel the same way but I can't keep hiding it any more. I want you to know that you mean everything to me Beth. Your my home."

She understood the meaning behind his words and she was touched. For so long she had wondered and she had hoped. The two of them had a lot of fun together and Adam made her laugh in ways that no other person could. He was the bright shining light of her world and now he had made her happier than she could bring herself to express.

"I love you too." she said quietly, clutching him even closer.