Disclaimer: I do not own the boys or anything else Saw related.

Lawrence knows that he can never win an argument with Adam. But he tries anyway… A mixture of angst and happiness in this one. Rated T for Adam's potty mouth.

"Please Lawrence…"

He knew that he would crack eventually. Adam would continue to whine and he would continue to resist until he realized that it really was very little that Adam asked for and that when he does ask for something it is usually because it is something very important to him.

But this just doesn't seem so important. Not when he knows that Adam will never take care of it as he promises. Just like that camera lens that he broke one night when he was on a case. He never did tell Lawrence how it had broken- no matter how much he persisted. It still bothered Lawrence, though. Not the broken lens, but the hidden cause behind it.

"Adam, a dog is a lot of work. It's like having a child. Do you really think you're ready for that responsibility?"

He watched as his partner stood up from the floor, where he had been playing with the stray animal that had started this argument. It was a small dog that resembled a mix of a german shepherd and something Lawrence couldn't pinpoint. He'd never had a dog of his own so he knew very little about them. So when Adam brought home this one he was leery and had even tried to get Adam away from it, fearing that it would bite him.

"Yea, why not? I'll take care of him. I swear it." He tried to avoid his stare. Adam had eyes that penetrated him and he always caved when they grew wide with sadness, as he suspected they were now. Instead, he continued to watch the small animal that was now rolling around on the floor for no particular reason.

"What if he's somebody else's dog? I mean, maybe he's just lost." Lawrence turned away from the animal and walked into the kitchen where he took two beers out of the refrigerator. He looked back at Adam who now leaned against the sofa in the casual way he usually did, hands resting in his pockets. Even this caused Lawrence's heart to defrost - like so many things Adam did. He was beginning to forget the validity of his argument. Just seeing him like this made him want to pull Adam into his arms and kiss him. Not willing to give in just yet, he offered the younger man one of the beers.

"Or maybe he ran away from home." Adam looked down at the obnoxious creature with eyes that looked way farther than this room. Lawrence cursed himself for not looking away sooner because now he really did want to take the younger man into his arms – this time to comfort him.

Adam knelt back down to the floor again and the dog immediately padded into his lap. It whined and licked his face a couple of times. "It's rough out there on the streets, isn't it buddy?"

Lawrence closed his eyes and sighed. "Adam…" He paused, choosing his words carefully. "Do you promise to feed him, walk him, train him?"

Adam looked up at him with eyes wide with happiness. Adam and Diana. They both could turn his whole world upside down with their smiles.

"Yea, Lawrence. Of course I will. Somebody needs to." He looked back down at the puppy and laughed as it batted at him with its paws. Lawrence took a sip of his beer and leaned against the sofa in a pose similar to the one his partner had erected moments before.

"Remember that camera lens…the one I bought you for your birthday last year?"

Suddenly, so sudden it caused Lawrence to startle, Adam jumped up from the floor. He ran his hands through his dark hair and paced back and forth like a caged animal.

"Fuck Lawrence, I told you I was sorry about that. What else do you want from me?"

The puppy began to whine at Adam's sudden change of tone and ran to hide underneath the table.

"Dammit." Adam dropped to knees again and crawled towards the frightened animal. "It's ok buddy, I didn't mean to scare you."

Lawrence watched it all with a mixture of love and confusion. He'd never seen Adam react this way towards another living thing. He was protective of Lawrence and Diana, sure, but everybody else could be damned as far as Adam was concerned. He decided that this time he wouldn't drop the subject, not until he got answers.

"I want you to tell me what happened, Adam. The truth. That's all." He said it as calmly as he could fathom- treating Adam much like Adam was treating the frightened puppy. He continued to concentrate on the dog though Lawrence knew he was listening.

"Adam…" His voice was almost a whisper now. He watched as his partner bowed his head and clasped his hands behind it – as if protecting himself from an expected blow.

"Nothing happened Lawrence, ok? It's over and it doesn't matter now." The puppy came out from under the table and was, again, attempting to crawl into Adam's lap. It was nearly a whole minute before Adam released his tensing position and accepted the creature back into his arms.

Lawrence dared to take a step forward – hands still in his pockets. "It does matter to me. You know how I feel about your job…"

Adam continued to ignore him, instead focusing his attention on the ball of fur curling up against him. Lawrence had almost given up on a response when Adam finally spoke again. This time his voice was calm – an effort to protect the dog Lawrence figured. He didn't know whether to be more proud of Adam or angry with him.

"I was following this guy – early fifties, suit and tie, brand new mustang convertible. Typical rich, lying, cheating, asshole. I figured it would be an easy case. Snap a few shots, develop them, show the misses who she really shares her bed with, and go home." He paused, but never looked up. Lawrence knew that if he did look up he would be crying and he hates to cry. "So I waited until he got done with his day at the office and then followed him. We ended up at this motel – one I'd never been to before but it sure looked like a good place to fuck your secretary. He went straight to this room and after he went inside I followed him. There was a hole in the curtains so I took a few shots through it and that was when…"

Lawrence waited and when it was clear that Adam wasn't going to continue on his own he padded towards him. Adam was rigid in this stance and held the puppy close to him, more for comfort than anything. He refused to look up, even when Lawrence sat down beside him and reached out to pet the dog as well. Only then did Adam continue.

"That was when I realized he wasn't just some cheating asshole. They had a guy, in the room, he was tied up and gagged and my guy and this other guy just started…" He had to take a breath again and Lawrence's hand found it ways from the dog to Adam's arm. "They were beating him up. They were going to kill him I think because my guy pulled a gun out of his pants and that's when this woman walked by and shoved me and I fell into the window." He finally looked up and Lawrence looked back at him with all the love he could muster – trying to hide his deep seeded concern for what could have been. "They heard me when I hit the window. They came running outside and I thought I was dead. Lawrence, I really fucking thought I was dead."

He was pale suddenly, so pale. Lawrence instantly knew what Adam must have felt when he had to look at his bloodless face in the bathroom. He pulled Adam into his arms, dog and all.

"You're not dead. You're here with me and you're ok." He buried his face in his partner's hair - trying not to show the incredible amount of relief that was washing over him. The relief that he could still hold him and love him and argue with him over something so menial as a puppy.

Adam spoke between terrified breaths.

"I'm sorry, Lawrence. They broke it. They broke it and they took my film – all of it. I don't know…know how my camera survived…"

He and his camera were one and the same, they always had been.

"Adam, it's ok. I don't care about the lens. I care about you."

He didn't' ask what he was really thinking.

Did they hurt you?

He already knew the answer to that. He remembered that night. He remembered how Adam wouldn't let Lawrence touch him for a week after and how he'd attempted to hide the pain that was so evident on his face whenever he moved. He remembered seeing Adam's shirt rise up once and the huge bruise that covered his entire midsection. He'd never cared about how the lens had been broken – he'd just wanted to know how Adam had been broken.

The puppy whined again and Adam broke free of the embrace to allow the dog some air. He continued to trace his fingers through its hair and a small smile touched his face when he did so. It wasn't lost on Lawrence – who knew what he had to do.

"So, what shall we call this guy?"

Adam looked at him and his smile grew even more. It was so easy to make Adam happy - it was the little things that mattered to him. Lawrence vowed to not put up such a fight next time.

"We can call him Larry Jr. I mean he kinda looks like you…" His eyes were playful and Lawrence sent a pretend glare his way. "No really, I mean his hair sticks up right behind his ear just like yours and…"

Lawrence reached out and gently mussed up Adam's hair. "Hey come on!" Adam shouted in defense.

They both stood up and Lawrence reached for both of their jackets. He threw Adam his and started for the door.

"Well, let's go." Adam look at him in confusion – still holding his jacket. "That dog is going to need food amongst other things. We can pick up our own dinner on the way home."

"Right." Adam smiled and proceeded out the door first – stopping only to tell their new family member to behave himself.

"Hey, your pretty good with that dog. Maybe you could find a job as a dog trainer?"

"Very funny Lawrence. Really, I can't breath I'm laughing so hard."

Lawrence smiled at his sarcasm. He had only been half joking, of course.

But he decided that he would save this argument for another day - a day when maybe he could win for once.