Adam's Night Out.

Disclaimer: All characters from the show belong to the writers.

Mac watched Adam. He seemed oddly quiet and withdrawn today, and had been for the past few days as well.

'Adam?' he asked, stepping into the room.

Adam turned from his computer screen and managed a small smile, but Mac noticed it didn't quite reach his eyes.

'Oh, hey, boss. I'm just running those samples you sent over. They're not quite done yet, but...'

Mac grabbed a chair and sat next to Adam.

'Adam, don't worry about the samples for now. You seem a little...off lately. Is everything all right?'

Adam tried to smile again and failed.

'Yeah, yeah, you know me, Mac, everything's good,'

Mac said nothing, just sat quietly and gave Adam a skeptical look. Adam sighed.

'Yeah, okay, everything's not good. Lianna dumped me.'

Adam's face fell as he spoke the words, and Mac felt a rush of pain for him. Adam had been dating Lianna, a pretty lab assistant from NYU, for almost a year, and Mac had suspected that he was falling for her. He had seemed genuinely happy, and to have an extra bounce to his step, and he got all tongue tied whenever Lianna was mentioned in conversation. Mac had found it both amusing and kind of sweet.

'What happened?' he asked now.

Adam scowled.

'She got back with her ex. He works at NYU too. She told me that he was the one she was meant to be with, and she didn't want to hurt me, but she couldn't fight fate. Fate.' Adam growled the last word and shook his head with a mix of sadness, anger, and regret.

'It really sucks sometimes, huh?' Mac said.

Adam met his eyes and nodded.

'I...I really, really, *liked* her, Mac,' he said quietly.

'I know,' Mac said.

'What do I do now?'

'Well, eventually, you'll meet someone else,' Mac said, 'but it's going to hurt for a while, Adam. Losing someone close always does. But you want to know what might help right now?'

'What?'

'Coming out with Don and I for pizza and drinks tonight. We're going to watch the Jets game.'

Adam almost forgot about his misery over Lianna in his complete surprise at Mac's offer.

He'd never been out with Mac before, except when the whole team got together, but he had noticed, and been intrigued by, the fact that Mac and Don Flack went out for drinks together at least once a month, and that though he never missed a day of work, Mac always seemed at least a little worse for wear the next day, and that aspirin and a bottle of water always appeared on his desk. Flack always seemed suspiciously pale and quiet as well. Among the team, Mac and Flack's nights out were something of a legend. Danny was always whining because he'd never been invited along to one, and neither had Lindsay, Hawkes, or even Jo, though Adam knew she and Mac often had a meal together after work along with Jo's kids. Sid had been out with them a few times and had looked like he ought to be on his own table the following day. Adam wasn't entirely sure where Mac and Flack went on these nights, though they seemed to favour Irish pubs and Weaver's sports bar, but he knew it involved a substantial (to say the least) amount of drinking. All this intrigued Adam. It suggested that there was a whole side to his usually carefully controlled boss, and Adam wanted to see just what exactly that involved. Plus, he knew that neither Mac nor Don would bother him with questions or petty reassurances or condolences about Lianna dumping him. One thing he'd always respected most about Mac was the way he didn't deal in meaningless, over-used condolences or platitudes, he gave you the truth, as gently as he could, but still the truth. Adam admired that. His father had lied frequently, saying his drinking wasn't a problem, and that he would never hurt Adam or his mom again, while his mother had told him his father was really a good man and that their marriage was just a bit difficult and so on. The truth had been something both his parents tried to coat or avoid altogether. Mac's straightforwardness and honesty and his ability to see things as they really were, and not sugarcoat them, was incredibly refreshing.

'You...you're inviting me to go out with you guys? Me?' he said eventually.

Mac's lips twitched into an almost-smile.

'Yes, Adam, you.'

'But you don't even ask Danny on these nights out, and he and Don are really tight, and he's worked here longer and known you both longer than I have...'

Mac leaned closer and said in a lowered voice,

'Don't tell him I said this, but Danny talks too much. And since Lindsay stored his balls in a jar, he's not allowed out as much.'

Adam laughed at Mac's extremely accurate description of Danny. He couldn't help grinning at the idea of being able to wave the fact that *he* had been invited on one of Mac and Flack's nights out in Danny's face, and drive him nuts.

'You seriously want me to come out with you guys?'

Mac smiled and gave him a friendly shoulder-punch.

'I wouldn't ask if I didn't, Adam. Meet us at Luigi's Pizza at 8pm,' he said, and left.

Back in his office, Mac settled in his chair and picked up his phone, dialing a number.

'Detective Don Flack,'

'Don, Mac here. Do you mind if I bring someone else along tonight?'

'Is it the lovely Christine?' Don asked, his voice teasing.

'No. She has to work tonight.'

'Oh, God, Mac, not Danny. He'll talk and whine all night...'

'No, not Danny. You know Lindsay only lets him out if he gives her at least a week's prior notice,' Mac said, 'It's Adam. He's having a bit of a rough time lately, and I thought he could do with a night out.'

'Oh, right. He did seem a little off when I saw him yesterday. Sure, that'd be great. Are we going to get him wasted?' Don asked, a note of glee in his voice.

'Don, I'm the boss of the crime lab, I can't discuss getting my employees drunk.'

Don laughed.

'Ah, but outside the lab, we're just three guys. We're going to get him good and wasted. You just don't want to talk about it over the phone at work.'

'Well,' Mac conceded, trying not to grin, 'There's no rule against my spending time outside the lab with my colleagues or employees. Adam is an adult, and should he choose to drink a little too much while he just happens to be in my company outside of work after he's had a crappy week, well, what can I do about it? I don't own him.'

Don laughed again.

'You are a sneaky, sneaky man, Mac Taylor,' he said.

'Me?' asked Mac, mock-indignantly.

'You.' Don said. 'So, Luigi's at eight, right?'

'Yeah,' Mac said, 'See you, Don.'

Mac leaned on the bar.

'Three beers and three shots of Jack Daniels,' he said to the barman.

Mac paid and carefully made his way through the crowded bar to their table. He was a little unsteady on his feet, and his head was buzzing pleasantly, his thoughts fuzzing a little around the edges. He felt good, free of any responsibilities or worries. Though there were cases and paperwork waiting to greet him in the morning, none of that seemed to matter in the slightest right now, and Mac took pleasure simply in what was happening right here, right now - the buzz of the bar, the warmth of the alcohol in his stomach and chest, the company of his friends. Carefully placing the drinks on the table, and grabbing his own beer and shot, he watched Adam and Don. Adam was still making fun of Don for the Giants having lost the game, he'd been relentless all night.

'I can't believe how much they suck, man. They totally, totally...like...' Adam, who was definitely quite drunk, waved his hands around and a light frown appeared on his forehead as he searched for words.

'Sucked?' Mac said, shooting a wicked grin at Don.

Adam grinned, slapped his hands on the table, and took a rather large drink of his beer.

'Right! See, Don, that's why my man Mac here is the Boss. 'Cause he knows the words for stuff, and 'cause he supports the Jets and not the Giants.'

Don scowled, and drank some of his own beer.

'Whatever,' he said, 'You guys don't know what you're talkin' about. So anyway, Mac, how's Christine?'

Mac felt a slight blush heat his cheeks, and Adam and Don both grinned in a very annoying way.

'She's good. We're good.'

'The Boss Man is in loooooooooove,' Adam slurred, drinking more of his beer, and spilling some of it down his front.

Mac's cheeks burned still hotter, and he scowled at the grinning Adam and at Flack who was barely hiding his delight. But he didn't deny it.

'Yep, Mac Taylor is in love,' Don added, 'He's head over heels for the pretty girl with her own restaurant. Smart move there, Taylor, not only do you get a very pretty lady, but one who can really cook and gives you free food and coffee.'

'Mac and Christine up a tree...' began Adam,

'K-I-S-S-I-N-G,' added Flack, and then together they finished 'First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes baby in a baby carriage'. The last words were lost as the pair of them began laughing. Mac scowled, but he didn't really mind the teasing.

'Okay, guys, that's enough,' he said, trying not to smile.

'At least you have a girlfriend,' said Adam, the happiness and laughter leaving his face, 'I don't. I really thought it was going to work out with Lianna. I really liked her, and since then, I haven't...well, I haven't really had a proper girlfriend. After I had that fling with Stel...'

Adam stopped suddenly, and blushed furiously and looked a little nervous. Mac had always suspected something had happened between the two of them, but he hadn't cared. They were both adults, and whatever had happened hadn't affected their working together, so as far as Mac was concerned, they could do what they wanted.

'Don't worry about it, Adam,' he said, 'Whatever happened with you and Stella happened. It's none of my concern.'

'Really?' Adam asked, surprised, 'I always kinda thought one day you two might...'

Mac choked on his beer,

'What, get together? Oh fuck, no. I mean, Stella was one of my closest friends and my partner, but god, I was never, ever interested in her in *that* way.'

'He wasn't,' Don confirmed, 'Stella's great, sure, but she's not Mac's type. He likes his ladies a little less...intense. See, Adam, you know how Mac's always quite tightly wound and controlled and all that, all Marine officer...'

Adam smirked, and nodded.

'All Boss Man,' he said.

'Riiiiiight. So what my boy Mac needs is a lady to make him chill out and relax and just *enjoy* life. Now, I know you had a crush on Stella...'

'Wait,' Adam interrupted, blushing and frowning, 'You knew that?'

Mac sipped more of his beer and shot a grin at Don. He patted Adam on the shoulder.

'Adam, everyone knew that. Just like everyone knew you had a thing for Haylen,'

'I did not have a thing for Haylen!' Adam blustered.

Mac and Don gave him skeptical looks, and his scowl deepened, but he didn't bother denying it this time.

'Anyway,' Don continued, 'Even though you had a crush on Stella, you gotta admit she's not exactly the person you'd go to to chill you out, right?'

'Well, she was kinda intense and emotional,' Adam admitted. As much as he'd had a crush on Stella, once they'd slept together, he'd realized it was just a crush, he wasn't in *love* with her or anything. That was one reason he had been relieved when they'd agreed to leave their 'relationship' as the one night thing that it really was. Thinking about that made him think about how much *more* Lianna had meant to him than any of his previous girlfriends, and he felt a rush of sadness and loss envelop him.

Mac noticed Adam's face fall.

'Hey, Adam, I know it doesn't seem like it right now,' he said softly, seriously, 'But you will find someone else one day, someone you'll fall in love with. I honestly never thought I'd ever really fall in love again after...after Claire died, but then I met Christine, and I'm happier than I've been since...well, since Claire,'

Adam looked at Mac, and even through the haze of alcohol in his mind, could see how serious he was. He grinned.

'Heh, you really do like her, don't you? Christine?'

Mac nodded.

Adam felt reassured. He'd never got to meet Mac's wife, nor know what he was like before she died, but he'd always noticed how lonely Mac seemed, and how much he missed his wife. Not that he ever said anything, but Adam had read it in a certain look he got in his eye at times, a certain slump to his shoulders, the way he kept himself so tightly controlled, the way he worked ridiculous hours. But all that had changed over the last few months, and Mac had seemed more relaxed and simply *happier* than Adam had ever seen him.

If Mac could fall in love again, Adam actually believed he could as well. After all, Lianna had only dumped him, and as much as that still hurt, it was not like the losses both Mac and Don had experienced. Adam wondered briefly how the hell the both of them had managed to get through day after day, let alone get to where they were now. He felt a surge of respect for both men, and suddenly knew there was nowhere he'd rather be right now than in this noisy, crowded, Irish bar, the Dropkick Murphys blaring on the sound system, with these two. At first, he'd been nervous, unsure of how much to allow himself to let go, given that Mac was his boss. But Mac and Don's easy banter, and the way they simply accepted him, had made him start to relax. Their insisting on buying him several drinks each had also definitely helped him chill out. He'd been surprised at how utterly relaxed Mac seemed, how in-the-moment, how much he'd simply been enjoying himself, knocking back beers and teasing Don mercilessly about the Giants. Seeing Mac so utterly un-boss-like had made Adam enjoy himself all the more.

'Yo, Earth to Adam Ross, Earth to Adam Ross, you there?' Don's voice interrupted Adam's thoughts.

'Yeah, yeah, sorry, just got lost in thought there.' Adam said.

'Hey, Adam,' Mac said, as he tipped his head back, draining his whiskey shot and slamming the glass down on the table, relishing the burn of the liquid down his throat and the way it warmed his stomach and made his head buzz,

'It strikes me that we've talked about my love life, and yours, but not about Don's. Did ya know that he's dating a lovely Irish girl by the name of Colleen?'

'Ooooh, Colleen,' Adam said, grinning, 'That's a pretty name,'

'Well, Don certainly thinks so,' Mac said, chuckling, enjoying the way his friend's cheeks began to redden and he shuffled in his seat, 'Right, Don?'

The evening went by quicker than Mac would have liked, with him and Adam making fun of Don over both his girlfriend and some more over his support of the Giants, then with all three discussing sports, gossip from the lab and the precinct, making fun of Danny and Lindsay, and various other topics -Adam was delighted when he managed somehow to worm out of Mac that he read and greatly enjoyed the Dresden Files books, something Mac would not have let slip had he not been quite so drunk.

When the bartender called closing time, Mac downed his last shot (how many had he had? He couldn't quite remember) and stood. The world spun a little, and he reached out a hand to steady himself. Damn, he was going to regret this tomorrow. He'd be popping aspirin all day, he thought, but the thought didn't bother him much. As Don stood, he stumbled slightly over his feet, but, as Mac had done, managed to right himself. Adam, however was not so fortunate, and when he tried to stand up, he somehow got his feet tangled with the stool and fell over with a crash of the stool and an 'Oooof!'

He lay on his back, looking a little stunned.

Don and Mac exchanged one look, and then burst out laughing. The laughter overtook Mac, until his chest was aching and his eyes were streaming. Adam simply lay, quite happily it seemed, on the floor.

When Mac had got his breath back, he reached down, and along with Don heaved Adam from the floor. Each of them put one of the younger man's arms around their shoulders and half led, half carried him out of the bar.

'oooooh, man, I'm like, so wasted!' Adam said, 'I can't believe my boss got me drunk,'

'You got yourself drunk, Adam,' Mac grinned, 'I just happened to be here,'

'Dammit, you're right, I guess. How come you're not as wasted as I am?'

'He didn't drink quite as much as you did, bud, and Mac's half-Irish and a Marine, and a sneaky, lucky, bastard. He never gets as drunk as the people he goes out with, believe me, I know.'

'I think you have some kind of super-power,' Adam slurred to Mac, 'Like some secret ability to drink lots and not get as plastered as everyone else. It's sneaky.'

Mac laughed. He remembered all too well when he was Adam's age and had gotten even drunker than Adam was now. He hadn't always been *quite* so good at holding his liquor. He recalled the mini-break he, Claire, Christine and her brother had taken to Myrtle Beach, when all they'd done was eat, drink, and party. The hangovers had been epic, he recalled.

'I don't have any secret abilities or super-powers,' he said to Adam now, 'As Don said, I'm just a half-Irish Marine and a lucky bastard.'

'Ohhhhh, um, Mac?' Adam said suddenly. Mac noticed the change in his voice and looked at his friend, concern worming through the warm fug of alcohol.

'Yeah?'

'I'm gonna hurl...'

'Shit!' Mac and Don cursed at the same time. They managed to get Adam behind a Dumpster just before he leaned over and puked. Mac rested a hand on the younger man's back, patting gently and murmuring reassurances while carefully looking in the other direction.

Once Adam had finished, he leant heavily against Mac, 'Thasss better,' he said.

Mac looked down at him and felt a rush of warmth. The moment reminded him powerfully of going out on liberty with his buddies in the Marines and having to take care of the younger officers who drank too much.

He looked at Don.

'My place is closer than his, or yours. Help me to get him back, and one of you can sleep in my spare room, and one on the couch.'

Don nodded.

'Yeah, all right. Might as well. I think I might be a little drunk, too, y'know, might be better if I crashed at yours,' Flack said.

Mac laughed, at Flack so clearly stating (or understating) something so patently obvious, and even Adam managed a snigger.

Mac and Don, Adam supported between them once more, entered Mac's apartment. They lowered Adam to the couch, and removed his shoes. Mac found pillows and blankets in his airing cupboard and gave one set to Don, who headed, somewhat unsteadily, for the spare room, and put the other pillow under Adam's head, draping the blanket over him.

'Mac?' Adam asked. The alcohol was making him tired now, and his eyelids fluttered. Trying not to wince too much at Adam's breath, Mac patted him on the shoulder.

'Just rest now. I'll get you some water.'

Mac got the water and Adam raised himself enough to gulp down half the glass in one go.

He lay back down with a sigh.

'Hey, Mac?'

'Yeah?'

'Thanks for tonight. For taking me out with you and Don, for talking to me about Lianna, and for *not* talking about it all the time, for understanding. It means a lot. You're a good friend, I'm glad you're my friend as well as my boss.'

'No problem, Adam,' Mac said, smiling.

Mac turned to head to his own room. Halfway there, he turned back.

'Adam?'

'Yeah ?'

'The bathroom's to your right. I'll leave the door open and the light on low. If you puke on my couch, or on my floor, not only will I kill you, I'll send you out to every single scene with Danny and Lindsay for the next year, you got it?'

'Got it, boss,' Adam said.

The End.