An Evening Out

Abe stood in front of the sofa looking down at his father. "You need a break, Dad."

Henry, draped over the sofa like a forgotten old suit, lifted his head from the back of his seat and cracked an eye open. "Fully possible, Abe."

"You've been working on this case night and day for the past month," Abe continued, dropping down onto the sofa next to Henry. "The guy's been caught, so why don't you take tomorrow off?"

"Paperwork," Henry said bleakly. "Lots of it."

"Oh, come on," Abe coaxed. "I'm worried about you. You don't usually look so exhausted."

"Maybe I'll go to bed early," Henry said, exhaustion ringing in his voice.

"If you make it to your bed," Abe cracked.

"I may just stay here," Henry said after a moment. "This spot is perfectly comfortable."

"It'd be good to see you go to bed before midnight for a change," Abe said, getting a blanket and draping it over Henry. "Is Jo doing as bad as you in the sleep department?"

"Worse, I would think," Henry confessed. "She was one of the first on the scene."

"Oh, boy," Abe shuddered, thinking about that. "That must have been awful."

Henry nodded. "She was dead white when I saw her. It was clear she was in shock. I don't doubt that she's been having nightmares."

"What makes you say that?"

"She drinks a lot of coffee during the day."

"I see." Abe turned and looked at Henry. "About bed?"

"Help me up, Abe," Henry said, holding out his hands.

Carefully, Abe guided him down the hall and into his room. In no time at all Henry was undressed and in bed, blissfully nestled in pillows and his comforter. "Good night, Abe."

Abe grinned and switched off the light. "G'night, Dad."

Henry felt a bit better in the morning, and he spent an uneventful day finishing up paperwork related to their latest case. It had been horrendous: a butcher had slaughtered an entire building full of people. There were still some nights when he dreamed about it.

Adam had shown up at the beginning of that case and for some reason Henry doubted he could ever fathom, had drugged him and taken him to his place to sleep for a few days. He did admit to himself that he'd felt rather good after all that rest, but he didn't appreciate Adam just arbitrarily swanning into his life and doing as he pleased.

He hadn't heard from Adam since then. He wasn't sure if he was relieved or worried about that, but he was thankful for the relative peace of the last couple of weeks.

The phone rang, startling him out of his thoughts. Lucas picked it up. A minute later he put the call on hold and poked his head into Henry's office. "Abe's on the line for you."

Henry picked up. "Abe?"

"Hey, Henry, how's things?"

"They're fine," Henry said. "Just filling out forms and so on."

"That's great. Listen, I called to see if you'd mind terribly if I had someone over tonight."

Henry felt himself grin. "Is that someone of the female persuasion?"

"Ummm…maybe."

Oh, this was fun! "Maybe?"

"All right, all right, she is, but she's GORGEOUS, Henry!"

Henry chuckled. "Oh, that's fine with me. I still have some things to finish, so I'll be late. I'll see you when I get home, so have fun, okay?"

"What about dinner?" Abe asked. "You are gonna eat, right?"

"I'll order something," Henry promised. "Have fun tonight."

"Thanks, Henry. See you later."

Henry told Abe goodbye and then went back to his paperwork. Around five o'clock he called and ordered some soup and a sandwich from his favorite area deli and went back to work. Fifteen minutes later, Lucas knocked on his door. "Ah, doc? There's a delivery here for you."

"Excellent, I'm famished," Henry said, getting up and going out to meet the delivery person. He stopped in his tracks when he saw the man holding a black garment bag and a shoebox. "What's this?"

The man turned and looked at him. "Dr. Morgan?"

"Yes?"

"Delivery for you." He handed over the garment bag and the shoebox.

"Ah, I didn't order…whatever this is," Henry said.

The delivery person shrugged. "Not my job, man. I was just paid to deliver it. Later."

Henry stood there, not certain what to do.

Lucas looked over the garment bag. "Looks pricey. What's in it?"

"I've no idea," Henry admitted, placing the garment bag on a table and opening it. Once he saw what was inside it, he stood there, staring at it.

"Nice suit," Lucas said. "Why would someone send you a suit? I mean, you already dress pretty well. What makes someone think you need another suit?"

"No idea," Henry said, opening the shoebox. As he'd thought, it was a pair of dress shoes. What was going on here?

The phone rang, bringing him out of his thoughts. He picked it up on the second ring, dread filling his stomach. "Henry Morgan."

"Hello, Henry. Did you get my gifts?"

"I did," Henry said. "Might one ask…why?"

"There will be a car in front of the precinct in ten minutes. The driver will bring you to me."

"Who says I want to go anywhere?" Henry demanded.

"You're irritable, which is a sure sign you need a break," Adam stated calmly. "I promise, there's nothing nefarious planned for tonight. Just an enjoyable evening."

"What if it's one of my stressors proposing to take me out for the night? That hardly sounds like a good bit of stress-relief."

"Don't be childish, Henry," Adam chided. "Hurry up and get ready, you don't have much time."

"My plans for tonight do not include you," Henry persisted. He could NOT allow Adam to think that he could control his life like this.

"I'll see you soon, Henry. Before I hang up, just think for a moment. It would be bad if anything were to happen that would expose your secret…especially in front of the precinct with all those cameras…the people walking in and out. Just saying."

It was a very effective threat. He felt cold at just the thought of it. Furious, he slammed the phone down in its cradle and swept up the garment bag and box of shoes before storming toward the door.

"Doc, you okay?" Lucas asked.

Henry had almost forgotten that his assistant was still there and he stopped in his tracks, suddenly realizing just how that phone call must have looked and sounded to Lucas. "Ah…just an old annoyance from my past."

"And this person is taking you out for the night?"

Henry didn't blame Lucas for sounding as if he couldn't believe it. "Unfortunately, he insists. He shows up from time to time and sort of…badgers me. It's incredibly annoying because he has the habit of showing up when I've had the longest days. I may as well go and get it over with."

"If you don't like him, why do you…?"

"It's complicated," Henry admitted. "If I don't go, though, I'll hear about it for ages. Not to worry, Lucas. He'll realize that I'm not much for the night life when I fall asleep later, wherever we go. I'll see you tomorrow."

Again, there was that doubtful look. "Okay. Have a good night. Try not to maim the guy if he annoys you too much."

Henry chuckled. "Oh, I have to confess, sometimes it's very tempting."

Henry headed to the men's room, changed, washed his face, and packed his clothes into the garment bag before placing the bag in his office for retrieval tomorrow. He pulled on his coat and scarf (thankfully, both could pass for evening wear in a pinch) and headed outside. There was a large black town car parked right outside, just as Adam had said, and as he approached it the driver got out of the car . "Dr. Morgan?"

Henry nodded.

The driver went around to the passenger's side and opened the door. With a sigh, Henry thanked the driver and took his seat, being careful to fasten the seat belt. He could well remember what had happened when Adam and a car had been involved in his life at the same time. Henry kept his mind busy during the ride, hoping that whatever Adam had planned, he could get it over with quickly.

They pulled up at last to a restaurant that he knew had opened only two months before and was regarded as the present toast of the culinary scene in New York. From what he'd read, it was almost impossible to get reservations. Henry stared at the doors. "Here?" he asked the driver.

"Yes, sir," the driver confirmed. "He's inside waiting for you. Just ask the maitre d' for Mr. King."

As Henry got out of the car, he reflected that he could very well make a run for it, but…no. He had no idea how Adam would react or what he would do in retaliation. Best to go and get it over with. He headed inside and followed the driver's instructions and the restaurant maitre d' led him straight to semi-private table in the far corner of the restaurant.

"Hello, Henry," Adam said warmly as soon as he spotted him. "Glad you could make it."

The maitre d' pulled out Henry's chair for him and Henry took his seat. He waited until the maitre d' provided him with a menu and left. "You didn't give me much choice," Henry reminded him. "Remember?"

Adam's lips twitched in a smile. "Well, I'm glad to see you made the right choice. I hope you're hungry."

Henry reflected that if looks could kill, then Adam would have been obliterated in a second. "It's been a long day."

Adam opened his menu, but Henry still saw the amused smile. Laugh it up, you old relic, Henry thought savagely as he opened his own menu. As soon as he saw a heading stating "Tasting Menu" he wondered just who was paying. Etiquette dictated that the person who'd done the inviting would foot the bill, but still...

"Order what you like, Henry," Adam said. "Tonight it's all on me."

Henry had to quash the urge to throw something at his so-called "host." He turned his attention back to the menu, his stomach suddenly growling and his mouth watering.

Adam looked at him. "Hungry, Henry?"

"You know, calling attention to it is not exactly polite," Henry ground out. "But yes, I am hungry. Like I said, it's been a long day and breakfast was a while ago."

Adam blinked. "What about lunch?"

"I forgot about it," Henry confessed. "I was rather busy today."

"Well, let's get you fed," Adam said chummily.

Their waiter arrived, bearing a breadbasket and a carafe of wine and offered to take their orders for their appetizers. Still furious with himself that he was going along with this, Henry chose the mushroom and brie tartlets and Adam ordered sauteed scallops.

"Here you are," Adam said, pouring some wine once their water was gone. "The wine here is as good as what you'll find in France."

"You're joking," Henry stated, accepting the glass of wine. Cautiously, he took a sip...he remembered the last time he'd accepted a drink from Adam..."Oh."

"That was my first reaction," Adam said, clearly amused. "Good, isn't it?"

"Very good," Henry agreed. "This place, though. I have to admit that I'm curious. Why here?"

"Why not?" Adam countered. "You lived for several years in France, so I knew you would be familiar with French cuisine, and sometimes it's hard to enjoy something that you're not familiar with. Taste adventures are for days when you're well-rested."

"Put that way...yes," Henry stated.

Their appetizers arrived then, and once the plates were taken away, they ordered their main dishes. Henry reveled in the pheasant with mushrooms and fresh steamed vegetables that the waiter brought him...he HAD to bring Abe here! The food was incredible!

"You look like you're enjoying that," Adam said, clearly fighting down a chuckle.

"It's very good," Henry said, calmly breaking off a piece of his bread and buttering it.

The next course was fruit and cheese, and after that, dessert and coffee. All of it was delicious and in Henry's view, a delight to the senses. Once he'd finished the last bite, he sat back in his chair, replete.

"That's a much better expression than what you were wearing when you first arrived," Adam said happily. "Feel better?"

"Much," Henry said. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Adam told him. "Now that we're both fed and watered, I have a surprise for you."

Henry gave him a long, thoughtful look. "I knew I should have trusted my first instincts and run."

There was no little chuckle this time, Adam actually threw his head back and laughed, drawing amused glances from the nearest table. "Oh, Henry, Henry, Henry. Don't be so suspicious all the time! It's nothing bad, I promise you!"

Telling himself to head to the nearest exit if ANY warning bells went off, Henry asked, "What is it?"

"A play," Adam said calmly, still smiling. "Have you ever seen 'After Mrs. Rochester'?"

"I haven't," he confessed, firmly quelling a sudden longing. He'd been trying to see it for years! "By Polly Teale, isn't it?"

"Yes, and it's wonderful," Adam stated. "I have two tickets that are burning a hole in my pocket."

"Why not take your wife?" Henry suggested. He still had no idea about the woman he'd seen in the photos in "Dr. Farber's" office, but...

"She doesn't care for plays," Adam said evenly. "She doesn't care for going out at all, really. Ready?"

"What if I said I'd prefer to go home and go to sleep?"

"Nonsense, you just had coffee," Adam pointed out. "You'll be up for a while."

Adam handed off his credit card to the waiter and paid for the meal and then ushered Henry outside.

Henry waited until they were outside before pursuing the matter further. "Adam, I would like to say thank you for a wonderful meal, but I..." He stopped at the look on Adam's face.

"Think carefully before you finish that sentence, Henry," Adam said, his voice thick with menace. "Get in the car."

The town car was still waiting for them, and Henry took his seat inside, careful to fasten his seat belt.

Fifteen minutes later, the car dropped them off at the Avant Theater, a new venture that had opened the year before. It was famous in the Times' theater pages for being progressive and offering other amenities of which other theaters could only dream. Its soaring glass façade was impressive and as they headed inside, Henry had to pause for a moment in the lobby to appreciate the architecture.

"Gorgeous, isn't it?" Adam said quietly, standing beside Henry.

"Remarkable." He looked around at the finials and the fresco work. "Who was the artist?"

"A team of five, actually," Adam told him. "The main designer, though, is starting to make a name for himself. I look forward to seeing what he does next."

Adam led Henry up the stairs to the first tier, each step revealing more and more architectural splendor. Henry loved every second of it, and he kept looking around until an usher showed them to a box.

"If you're going to see a play, Henry, it's best to do it in comfort," Adam said as he dropped into a chair. "Have a seat, Henry."

Briefly Henry debated breaking for the door, but Adam's eyes on him made him reconsider. It was only a few hours, wasn' t it? Just a few hours; he could endure that long. Henry took his seat next to Adam and stared at the stage. He doubted greatly that he would be able to enjoy a play while sitting next to Adam, but it would be nice to see this one. Every time he'd tried to get tickets before, it had either been sold out or work had gotten in the way.

A sudden thought occurred to him: Did Adam somehow know that he'd wanted to see this play for ages? No, that would be giving him far too much credit. Plus, it would be giving Adam the power to read minds, and that was too scary a thought to contemplate.

He leaned back a bit in his chair, surprised at how comfortable it was. The buzz of the crowd below was a bit soporific and for a few minutes, his mind just drifted and he started to relax a bit. No point in being as tense as a harp string for the whole play. That would be exhausting. Then the usher arrived, offering them both a drink. Adam ordered champagne for both of them and Henry took the glass the usher handed him, careful to take no more than a sip. The last thing he wanted was for it to go to his head when he was in Adam's company.

He didn't have long to dwell on his situation, though, since the lights started to go down, and once they were dim, the curtain rose, and the play began. From the first scene where the author's daughter was knocking on the door, begging her mother to open it, to the last scene where the author had a sudden understanding, grasping hold of her life again, Henry was enthralled. He rose to his feet with the rest of the audience once the curtain came down, giving the actors a standing ovation. Three curtain calls later, Henry sank into his chair, suddenly exhausted.

"Remarkable, wasn't it?"

"Incredible," Henry agreed. "I…thank you. It was…incredible."

Adam grinned and clapped him on the shoulder. "I'm glad you enjoyed it. Let's go."

Once they were in the car, Adam started a quiet conversation about the play, covering the set, the costumes, the actors, and the scenes and dialogue. Henry didn't really have to say anything, and so he set himself to listen politely. After a few minutes, he realized that the drone of Adam's voice and the hum and vibration of the car were pretty relaxing. For the first time since the case started, he actually felt completely relaxed, rather than stressed. Maybe a night out had been what he'd needed.

He had no idea when he fell asleep, but he woke to the sensation of someone shaking his shoulder and hearing his name said over and over again. "Henry...Henry...Henry…?"

Henry cracked his eyes open, reluctant to wake up. He was so comfortable and he'd been so tired for so long…His vision cleared and he saw Adam bending over him, smiling, with his hand resting on his shoulder.

Comprehension hit. "Yaaaah!" Henry yelled, jerking away so quickly that he cracked his head on the car window.

"He okay?" the driver asked, rolling down the partition between the front seat and the back as Adam started laughing.

"He's fine," Adam wheezed, clapping his hands in glee. "Oh, that was priceless!"

Henry was crouched in the corner of the backseat, glaring at Adam. "It's not funny."

"Of course it is!" Adam insisted, still laughing. "Yaaaah! Ha, ha, ha! I'll be chuckling over that for weeks!"

Henry wished he could just throttle him and be done with it. "I fell asleep?"

Adam nodded. "I'm sorry I didn't wake you earlier, but you just looked so peaceful that I couldn't bear the thought of disturbing you. Do you feel better after your rest?"

Henry glanced out the window and saw that they were parked in front of the antiques shop. "How long was I asleep?" It shouldn't have taken them more than twenty minutes to get from the theater to the shop, but somehow, it felt much longer.

"About an hour and a half," Adam told him, still grinning. "I asked our driver to drive around for a while and let you rest a bit. Did you know you talk in your sleep?"

Abe and Abigail had said the same thing to him, countless times, and he'd always found it amusing to hear about it from them. From Adam, it was…disturbing. "What did I say?"

Now the driver chuckled. "You're a big teddy bear, sir," he said. "You were talking to your kid. Did you name the store after him?"

"He named the store after himself," Henry said, fumbling for the door handle. He wanted nothing more than to put as much space as possible between himself and the still-grinning Adam.

"Well, I'm glad you went out with me," Adam said, gripping Henry's shoulder to keep him in his seat. "We'll do it again sometime."

"Oh, a threat, how lovely," Henry said, striving for some equanimity. Ever since waking up and realizing that Adam had been watching him sleep, his composure had felt absolutely shattered. "Thank you for driving me home. Good night, Adam."

"Good night, Henry." This time, Adam let him go.

As soon as the car pulled away, Henry let himself into the shop, locked the door, and headed upstairs. To his surprise, the lights were all on and he could hear Abe on the phone.

"No, I haven' t heard from him," Abe was saying as Henry entered the living room. "It's not like him not to call…and that thing with that stalker around Christmas…I can't help worrying."

"I'm home, Abe," Henry said.

Abe whipped around, startled. "Oh! He's home! "

"Just got in," Henry stated calmly. "Who's on the phone?"

"It's Jo," Abe said to Henry, covering the phone with his hand. He moved his hand and kept talking. "Listen, Jo, thanks so much for helping me out. I really appreciate it. Yeah, I'll tell him. Thanks again. See you soon."

Abe hung up and turned on Henry. "Where were you?! Do you know how worried I was?!"

"I'm sorry, Abe…" Henry began, but he was cut off.

"This is it, Henry, this is the last straw. We're getting cell phones, and you're gonna learn how to use it and keep it with you so you can be found, you hear me? I can't take another night like this!"

"All my arguments against cell phones are still valid, and Abraham, since when do you talk to your father like this?" Henry said, feeling a bit miffed. "May I have a chance to explain?"

Abe fixed him with a glare and stood with his hands on his hips. "Okay. Go ahead. Explain."

"I was shanghaied," Henry said, taking a seat on the sofa. "By Adam. He had a car pick me up at work and he insisted on our having dinner together and then we went to a play. I tried to slip away but he was stuck to me like a limpet all night. After the play somehow I fell asleep in the car and he only just now brought me home and woke me. That's why I'm so late."

"That's…creepy," Abe said, looking thoughtful. "Did he hurt you?"

"No," Henry reassured him. "I'm fine. I'm sorry I worried you. You called Jo?"

"When it got to midnight and I hadn't heard from you, I called her," Abe admitted. "I didn't want to think that something had happened, but she listened to me and had a few of her friends keep an eye out for you. Just in case." At that moment, Abe looked every day of his age and more.

"Oh, Abe," Henry said, giving Abe a hug. "I am so sorry."

"Ah, it's okay," Abe said, returning the hug. "I understand. But Henry?"

"Hmm?"

"Giving me a hug and apologizing isn't going to get you out of going with me to get a cell phone. Just so you know."

Sometimes, Henry reflected, his son could be so stubborn. "All right, Abe."