Adam grabs a towel as he walks out of the shower cells, his jeans hung loosely off his hips as he vigorously rubs his hair with the towel. He lifts his head towards the fogged mirror and his breathe hitched in his throat. There written in a familiar messy handwriting, are five words; "Good bye and be happy."

"Tess!" Adam yells as he ran out of the bathroom and down the corridors. He yells her name as he ran down the corridors and eventually out onto the campus. Students and professors stare as he ran past in the winter snow. His pace picked when he ran spotted the huge oak tree where he first saw Tess's ghost. He collapsed to his knees as he shivered uncontrollably from the cold and the fear that Tess really left him. He dragged himself towards the roots of the large tree where he curled up amongst the snow as his skin turned pale and he closed his eyes.

"You can't leave me Tess..." He whispered to the snow, "I finally got you back... I can't lose you again... I love you Tess... Maybe...Maybe if I die... I'll meet you again." He smiled when he thought of seeing Tessa again, "We'll have picnics everyday... We'll get married... I'll wake up...with the sight of you...sleeping...maybe...maybe...we'll finally be together...and nothing...can stop...us." He trembled as massive spasms ran through his body. It was then he heard her.

"You have to live Adam...for my sake..." her sweet voice traced with sadness and love whispered in his ear."I want to you to live Adam... I love you." Adam closes his eyes when he feels something soft press against his cheek and as fleetingly as the sensation came, it disappears

"Tess..." He whispered as he repeated the name over and over again.

"WHOLLY COW! SOMEONE CALL AN AMBULANCE!" a loud voice screams and then the fast crunch of snow became louder and louder. No, leave me alone! I want to go to Tess!" He yells towards the crunch of footsteps and he felt sudden hotness embrace his body and his limb, are too frozen to fight against it. He felt his body being push against something warm and soft. He heard the hiss as the person felt the cold radiating from his body.

"Are you alright? Stay with me mate! You can't just die!" A male husky voice whispers to him.

"Tess...Tess... Please...let me...go to... Tess... I'm too...tired..." Adam begs through his frozen lips. He felt the person stiffen and wrap his warm strong arms around his shoulders and waist as he pulls Adam closer to him.

"Mate... You have to live... She would at least want that from you..." Adam forces his frozen eyelashes to open and tilts his head upwards to see the person. Should-length, wavy, chestnut blonde hair frames an oval face slightly pink from the cold. Large almond shaped blue eyes looks back at him as his thin pink lips opened slightly to let out a whisper of white.

"Then why... Why does it so much...when she's gone..?" Adam whispered as tears filled his eyes once more, "If... She truly wanted me...to live...why... Why does it hurt so much?" Adam's eyes never broke the contact the stranger's sapphire blue eyes.

"You have to let her go, mate." The stranger whispered, "I know it's hard. But she's not coming back. She never will. You have to move on." The stranger slid one of his hands down Adam's body to clasp the back of his knees, pulls them up so that Adam's full body is folded and resting against his warm strong chest and between his legs. He also moved the oversized woollen coat so that it is covering Adam fully. The faint sound of an ambulance rang through the air as Adam feels his body being warmed and his sense of touch returned.

"Over here!" The stranger yelled towards the two people that got out of the ambulance with a stretcher. The stranger slipped his arms under Adam and lifted him princess style easily and stood up fully to walk down the hill towards the people.

"Are you his guardian?" One of them asked.

"No, I just found him." the stranger gently laid Adam down on the hard stretcher as he addressed to the person.

"Do you know his name, address or anything we can identify him by?"

"He goes to X University. That's all I know." The stranger spoke. "And if you would excuse me, I have to get ready for a lecture."

The stranger took one fleeting look at Adam before he turned to leave. Adam closed his eyes as the stretcher was lifted into the ambulance and just before the doors slam shut, he heard the stranger curse under his breath before climbing into the ambulance. He talked with the people inside in muttered arguments, and then he sat down next to Adam as he took his cold hand in his warmness. Adam opened his eyes and turned to look at the stranger and his breathe hitched in his throat for behind him, he saw Tessa smiling back at him; long blonde hair framed her pale heart-shaped face as her full lips twisted upwards in a smile. Her blue eyes sparkled with happiness as she radiated with warmth and looked healthy. She nodded her head ever so slightly as she looked at Adam and then at the stranger. She tilted her head upwards as she slowly disappeared in a flash of light. The stranger followed Adam's gaze to behind him and slowly trailed them back to person in front of him.

"She's gone...she's really...really...gone..." Realisation clicked in the stranger's eyes as despite the hospital people protested, he lifted the sobbing Adam into his arms and stroked his hair softly as Adam yelled and screamed and cried for Tessa to come back.

10 years later

Adam looked as his chestnut blonde-haired partner cooked breakfast in the kitchen. His hair is pulled back into a ponytail at the back of his head as rectangle spectacles is pushed up the bridge of his nose. Dark washed jeans hung loosely off his hips as the rolled up sleeves of his loose fitting round collared shirt showed off the broadness of his shoulders and the lean muscles in his arms. The dark haired man walked towards his lover and wrapped his arms around his waist.

"Good morning Derek." He whispered in his lover's ear. Derek smiled as he placed a hand on Adam's and leaned back so that he could give a little peck on the cheek.

"Morning Adam." Derek released his hold on Adam's hands and took the frying pan to the already set up table and pushed the scrambled eggs next to the two slices of French toast on each of the two plates. Adam poured two cups of coffee and handed one of the mugs towards Derek who accepted it with thanks. The dark haired man turned around and placed two cubes of sugar in his mug as he bit his lip.

"Derek...today is Tessa's... Eleventh anniversary..." Adam whispered and closed his eyes when the sudden silence floods the room. "I was wondering... If... If I could..."

"Do you want me to come with you?" Derek whispered and Adam let out the puff of breathe he didn't know he was holding.

"If... If you want to..." Adam turned around to see the blue eyed man smile back at him.

"I would love to." He replied, "We'll go after breakfast." Adam smiled broadly as he flung into Derek's open arms and hugged him tight.

6 hours later

Adam walked up the hill towards the tall oak tree. He looked down to see the small mound of earth being covered by wild flowers and he lifted his hand to touch the wooden plague that has rotten away in the rain. Adam swallowed back his tears as he dug a small hole in the mound and slipped the bush of red roses into it before covering up the hole again. The small bush stayed up like a flag against the speckles of colour.

"Hello Tess." He whispered. "I've come back again. How are you? Are you alright, up there I mean... Derek and I are alright... We're planning on adopting a child Tessa...I know I shouldn't think like this... But I miss you Tess... I miss you like a maniac...but, I love Derek. I still love you Tess, I still do. But now...I love Derek with all my heart and soul... Do you...Do you forgive me?"

Of course I do Adam, Tessa's voice faintly whispered in the wind, why do you think I led him to you?

"Of course..." Adam whispered and he leaned closer to the earth where her mouth would be if she was lying on the ground, "Thank you." and he kissed the ground briefly before standing up and with Derek's hand in his, he walked away from the grave of Tessa with a light step.