Disclaimer: Not mine.
Adam stared at the computer screen in front of him, straining to keep his eyes open. The words blurred in front of his eyes. "Ugh," he thought, blinking to clear his vision. He hadn't slept in two weeks. Not that anybody noticed; they were all too busy with their own problems to notice how tired he was.
Suddenly, a loud noise startled him. The smoke alarm was going off. Before he had time to panic, Stella walked in and said it was a mistake. Adam nodded. There had been a citywide power outage recently and lots of the electronics were messed up. That was why the results he was looking for were taking so long, but of course nobody but he knew that. She looked at him for a moment and said "Make sure you get those results in to me as soon as possible." He nodded again and she left, then he set his head on his hand and thought about napping.
Unfortunately, Danny had chosen that exact moment to walk in and ask about the trace they had found on a murder victim. Adam didn't have it yet, so Danny walked out, but not without reminding him for the sixty-somethingth time that he needed those results as soon as possible. Didn't he understand he'd get them when they came, not before?
But it wasn't as if there was any way out of it, he was just a lab rat, not a cop. As far as they were concerned, he was there to find things out for them and not cause any trouble. Apparently sleeping at night was a form of trouble, because with all the work they gave him he sure didn't do much of that these days. He knew what the lack of sleep was doing to him. He found himself spending fewer nights at home and more at work. But who was he to complain? It would only irritate them.
Adam looked at his watch. It was 6:30pm, he wanted to go home, but the results still weren't it, so he rested his head on the table in front of him and let sleep close around him. A few minutes later, or so he thought, a loud racket woke him up. The smoke alarm again. He looked at his watch and cursed under his breath. 10:30pm; he had been asleep for four hours. He walked out into the lab and looked around. It was deserted; everyone had gone home. Even Mac had left without asking him if he would be finished work soon. He sighed and got on a chair to turn off the alarm.
Shaking his head, he went back to his work station. Why did nobody understand? Why was he always the last one to leave work, when everyone else got to just leave their unfinished work until tomorrow? Why was he the one who was expected to get the answer immediately, no questions asked? Dropping back into his chair, he decided that what he needed now more than ever was sleep, so he set his head on the table and drifted into unconsciousness.
So, naturally, he didn't take notice of the red-hot flames on the other side of the door.
