Chapter 6.
Day 3, back in school things seemed to be going as normal as could be expected. Not as many cops were on campus. But there were still a few people that needed to be questioned. Will Girardi questioned Adam's ex- girlfriend Iris. "I understand you used to date Adam. This must have you pretty upset."
"Not as upset as I was when Adam cruelly dumped me for your daughter." "As far as I know, my daughter and Adam are not dating." "It's only a matter of time." "Well, I don't know about that, they are friends though. But let's get down to business. Do you know of anyone in the school who could possibly have something against my daughter or Adam....no offence, but besides you?"
"None taken, I supposed I'd be considered a suspect, since my heart was ripped out of my chest still beating. But no, I can't think of anyone off hand. Neither of them were extremely popular, but I don't think they had actual enemies that would have them held for ransom." "And, I'm sorry, but I have to ask you this. Do you have any idea where they could be?" "No, but even if I did, I don't think I'd incriminate myself anyway, don't you think?"
"Right Iris. Well thank you anyway. You've been helpful."
"No problem. You know what they say, 'no good deed goes unpunished.'"
"Excuse me? What did you say?"
"Huh? Oh, you know, no good deed goes unpunished...I was helpful, but I still don't have Adam. That is my punishment for being a good girlfriend."
Something in her voice told Will Girardi that Iris was covering for someone. "Ok, well thanks again Iris. A most uneventful day went by for Adam and Joan. Since that breakfast in the morning, neither of them had had anything to eat or drink. The men came back once, they threw towels in at them and told them to shower if they wanted to. Both of them did. Joan felt a little better after that. Adam certainly looked better after that w/o all the blood on him. The men came and gave them robes to wear and took their clothing to be washed. They came back 2 hours later and handed them back their clothing. The blood stains on Adam's hoodie were gone. And the clothing smelled nice and clean. Both Adam and Joan wondered what the purpose was for that. Back at the temporary headquarters stationed in the Girardi household, Will brought up what he thought was an important clue.
"So this Iris, Adam's ex, mentions to me 'no good deed goes unpunished' which incidentally as we all know is exactly what the man on the phone said. Now this could be a coincidence, but somehow, I doubt that. Let's bring Iris back in, and interview her family."
At this, Adam's father piped in. "She lives w/ her mom, but she does have a brother who lives somewhere in Arcadia."
"That could be very helpful."
Will Girardi and his partner knocked on Iris's door at 11:15pm. Her mom answered.
"Hello, I'm will Girardi Arcadia Sheriff's department. This is my partner (name here) I have some extra questions for you and your daughter."
"Why, is Iris involved somehow? I find that hard to believe. After all she loves that boy. Why would she want harm to come to him."
"We think it's maybe because he broke up with her recently. May we come in?"
"Sure. Iris, Mr. Girardi is back to speak with you."
"I'll be there in a minute mom."
Will walked around the house while they waited for Iris. He noticed on the mantle was a photo of a dark hair man in sunglasses standing in front of a black van. He was outside a house that was definitely not the one that they were in now.
"Excuse me, ma'am. Is this your son?" "Yes. He doesn't live at home anymore." "Where exactly does your son live?"
"Why do you ask?"
"No reason, it's just that, I know Iris has a brother, and this obviously isn't your house he is standing outside of, yet he looks rather young to be living on his own."
"He shares a house with some friends of his on Elm Av.' Just then Iris walked in. "You needed to speak with me again, Mr. Girardi?" "Uh, yes. We just wanted to make sure you were doing all right, after all that's gone on. I understand you really liked Adam. I want to make sure you're not going to harm yourself in anyway."
"Mr. Girardi, I loved Adam and he broke my heart, but it doesn't mean I'm going to be all suicidal. Things happen for a reason, you know?"
"Ok. Well, sorry to have bothered you so late at night, take care."
"Will, what was that all about? I thought you were going question her further."
"I think I have all the information I need."
Joan and Adam didn't know what to think in the meanwhile. The men hadn't been back to beat on Adam, and they didn't know what to make of them washing their clothing. Adam was feeling much better, the pain wasn't as bad, Joan noticed that the shaking had stopped, and the color was coming back into his cheeks. She and Adam talked of what they were going to do when they got out of this hellhole. The talked well past midnight, and fell asleep rather easily, despite the fact that they were both starving.
Back at the Girardi house, Will told everyone he think he knows where Joan and Adam were. "While I was in Iris's house, I saw a photo of her brother standing in front of a black van in front of a house. I asked her mom where her son lived, and she told me on Elm Av. I say we stake that place out tomorrow."
"Will, be careful, if they see cops, they might do something rash."
"Helen don't worry. I won't let anything happen to our little girl or Adam."
The following morning, the cops pulled up outside the house Will saw in the photo. Much to their dismay, the house seemed to be impenetrable. The door looked like reinforced steel, there were cast iron bars on all the windows, and a cast iron locked gate in front of both the back and front door.
"Attention, this is Arcadia police department. You are surrounded, release the hostages, and no one will get hurt."
"Cops? How did they find us?"
"HEY COPS! Don't come any closer, or we'll kill the kids."
"You're going to pay for this one." Once again Joan and Adam were separated. One man stood watch, the skinny blond man. The dark haired man was now with Joan, and the bald man was with Adam.
"I don't know how they found us son, but you're certainly going to pay for this." Adam took the worst beating he had so far since he got there. He was thrown against the wall, he was thrown through a table. He was kicked and punched, until he passed out and even after that, the beating didn't stop for a few minutes. Joan received her first real beating, which was not much more than getting slapped around, but it was still worse than merely getting hit with the telephone. And it was enough to make her cry. She was also crying because she once again heard Adam getting beat up. After about 20 minutes however, she was brought back next door. She saw Adam unconscious under a small pool of blood.
"What did you do to him!! ADAM!! Please wake up!! Oh God, don't let him be dead! Why are you doing this to me God, where are you now? What do you want me to do?"
The dark haired man slapped Joan hard across the face, sending her flying to the floor. She crawled over to where Adam lay and brushed the hair out of his face. He was breathing, which was a good sign. The men left again. Joan went to the bathroom and got a wet cloth. She lifted Adam up and started wiping the blood away again. He woke up very groggily. "Oh man, what happened?" He sat up and saw Joan's face streaked with tears, dirt, and blood from a split lip, a result of her getting slapped. "Jane! Oh my God." Adam bolted up, and winced in pain and almost collapsed again. "You're hurt," he said and grabbed the cloth and wiped her face.
"I'm far better off than you are Adam, please calm down, I'm alright. Just rest. You've been through a lot. My father is going to think of a way to get us out of here." "I hope you're right Jane, because I'm starting to get hungry again." Joan laughed a bit at this. "Oh Adam, how can you think of food at a time like this?" At the Girardi house, Helen, Luke, Kevin, Grace, and Mr. Rove were all pacing around waiting for any update. They got one, but it wasn't good news. It basically told of the stand off between the men and the police. They didn't want to advance just yet, they were sure how far these men would take things or what types of weapons were in the house. Inside Iris's brother's house, Joan and Adam sat in anticipation. Another day passed uneventfully. It was just a stand-off. Finally the police got a call.
"Girardi"
"Hey, we just upped the demands. A million each, amnesty, and a private jet to Europe."
"I don't know if that is possible."
"Then I don't' know if you'll see your daughter alive again."
"Wait, wait, we'll see what we can do."
"You have 2 days."
The blond man came into the room. He was armed.
"I'm supposed to watch you two. Make sure you don't do anything stupid." He looked from Joan to Adam, Adam and Joan looked at each other.
"Can I sit on the couch? My back is killing me." "Sure. You sit on the couch too miss" Joan helped Adam up and on to the couch. They stared at each other for a while. Finally Joan broke the silence.
"It's not right the way those two other men are treating you."
"Shut up"
"Jane what are you doing?"
"You have to watch us? And why? Because they think you are too stupid and weak to help them plan out what they are doing."
"Shut up! I'm warning you!"
"Or what? You'll shoot me? You need a gun to make me shut up? A girl? You need a gun to watch a girl and a guy that the three of you have beaten so severely that he can't even walk on his own? What kind of man are you anyway?"
"Jane, please, be quiet, please."
She said under her breath, "Adam, follow my lead."
"What's the matter? I'm right and you know it!"
"Shut UP!" He came over to the couch, and put the gun on the table. He punched Joan in the face.
"DON'T TOUCH HER!!" Adam finally found some strength. He sprang up, and punched that guy square in the face, the man flew over the table, the gun flew against the door. Adam's adrenaline was pumping so fast he forgot about the immense pain he had been previously in. He leaped over the overturned table, and grabbed the gun in just enough time to turn the gun on the blond man. Adam stood up, and kicked the man in the head.
"Jane, go get one of the ties from the robes we were given...Tie his hands tight"
Joan and Adam forced the man lie down and she tied his hands and feet together behind him. Adam and Joan then overturned the couch, climbed behind it, and Adam fired the gun into the air. He collapsed on to the floor gasping for air. Joan took the gun out of his hands. The other two men came in. Adam and Joan peered over the couch and noticed that they were not armed.
"Jane! Lock yourself in the bathroom!! GO NOW!!" Joan ran into the bathroom. Adam rolled out of the way narrowly avoiding both of the men's grasps. He didn't know how much longer he could fend them off. The pain started to flood back. Joan fired through the bathroom window shattering it. "DADDY! DADDY! HELP, THEY'RE UNARMED, HURRY!"
Quickly the police tied chains to the cast iron door, hooked them to a large armored truck, and had the driver speed away. The door was popped off its hinges, but Joan had by this time run back into the other room to divert the attention from Adam, who was trying to fight off the two bigger guys. He wasn't doing so well, the one man was punching him in the midsection, and the other man had his hands around Adam's throat. Adam was doing his best to shield the blows to his sides, while scrunching his neck so to block out the other man's firm grasp. When Joan opened the door, it startled the men who for a few seconds stopped what they were doing to turn and look at Joan. This was Adam's golden opportunity. He mustered up all the strength he had left in him, and gave a hard kick to the bald man's groin that sent him in a pain spiral down to the ground. Joan ran into the living room, followed by the Iris's brother. The front door busted wide open.
"JOAN GET DOWN!!!" Joan ducked just in time for one shot to be fired into Iris's brother's head. He hit the ground like a ton of bricks. Joan threw her gun across the room, got up and ran back into the other room. She hugged Adam and kissed him, despite the fact that he was still coughing up a bit of blood. She was just so thankful he was all right.
"Adam, you were so brave. You held off those 2 men so I could try to escape. You saved my life. Thank you so much!"
"Jane, just because I choose not to fight, doesn't mean I can't. I'd give my life for you, you know that."
"But Adam, I don't want you dead. Who would I talk to in AP Chem.?"
"Grace is there, and so is your brother..."
"It's not the same..." At this point Joan was cut off paramedics were coming in and helping Adam on to a stretcher. They helped her up, she could walk, but they wanted to take her to the hospital for observation anyway. Will called Helen and the rest of them and told them to meet them at the hospital. Joan was ok, Adam was going to have to be admitted. He had some internal injuries, but in the long run he'd be just fine. After Joan was released, she walked down to Adam's room. His father was with him, but he gave the two of them time to talk.
"Adam, I didn't get to finish what it was I wanted to say."
"Jane, you don't have to say anything."
"Yes I do. I love Grace, as a friend. She's a really nice girl, but it's not the same as the feeling I get when I'm with you. We connect on a different level. I didn't realize it until you started going with Iris, just how much I really do love you. Adam, I love you."
"Jane, I've always loved you, and I knew you had to have felt the same about me. I was just biding my time until you came around."
"Oh Adam..." Joan leaned in, she was going to kiss Adam on the cheek, but he turned into her, and she didn't care. She kissed him full on the mouth, and it was just what she had been waiting for. She finally realized that when push came to shove, Adam was every bit as much of a man, as any muscle bound jock was and more.
"Good night Adam"
"Good night Joan." She kissed him on the forehead and left, giving a little wave as she pass through the door. Adam smiled and waved back. While she was walking down the hall, an orderly stopped her.
"Joan"
"Look, I know you're God and all, but bite me, alright? Adam could have died. He had internal injuries, he had a punctured lung and a severe concussion, for God's sake, no offense. Not to mention, broken ribs, bruised kidneys, and numerous cuts and bruises. What in Your name was all this supposed to teach me?" "It was to make you look at Adam in a different light. When you shared that kiss so long ago, you thought it was nice, but Adam wasn't the type of guy you could see yourself with as a boyfriend. I knew, of course, that you wanted a man like you father. Your father is a cop, he protects people; he risks his life for others. You wanted that in a boyfriend, and now you've got that. I wanted to show you that Adam was that type of person all along. Just because he doesn't fight back in school, doesn't mean he is incapable of fighting when it's for a good cause. You wanted a boyfriend, and I had to show you that he was the one you should have been with all along."
"Wasn't there an easier way for you to get me to see that? Did you have to nearly get him killed? "
"How would that have proven how far he'd go for you? Or how far you'd go for him? Sometimes we have to suffer for what we want to get. Look at my son. If he had never suffered for you, where would this world be now? Don't worry Joan, neither of you has anything to worry about. Adam is going to bounce back 110% and you'll have something to tell your grandchildren later on in life at your 50th wedding anniversary. Now run along Joan, your parents are waiting." And as the orderly went back to sweeping, Joan continued down the hallway to meet her family and Grace, waiting to welcome her with open arms.
Day 3, back in school things seemed to be going as normal as could be expected. Not as many cops were on campus. But there were still a few people that needed to be questioned. Will Girardi questioned Adam's ex- girlfriend Iris. "I understand you used to date Adam. This must have you pretty upset."
"Not as upset as I was when Adam cruelly dumped me for your daughter." "As far as I know, my daughter and Adam are not dating." "It's only a matter of time." "Well, I don't know about that, they are friends though. But let's get down to business. Do you know of anyone in the school who could possibly have something against my daughter or Adam....no offence, but besides you?"
"None taken, I supposed I'd be considered a suspect, since my heart was ripped out of my chest still beating. But no, I can't think of anyone off hand. Neither of them were extremely popular, but I don't think they had actual enemies that would have them held for ransom." "And, I'm sorry, but I have to ask you this. Do you have any idea where they could be?" "No, but even if I did, I don't think I'd incriminate myself anyway, don't you think?"
"Right Iris. Well thank you anyway. You've been helpful."
"No problem. You know what they say, 'no good deed goes unpunished.'"
"Excuse me? What did you say?"
"Huh? Oh, you know, no good deed goes unpunished...I was helpful, but I still don't have Adam. That is my punishment for being a good girlfriend."
Something in her voice told Will Girardi that Iris was covering for someone. "Ok, well thanks again Iris. A most uneventful day went by for Adam and Joan. Since that breakfast in the morning, neither of them had had anything to eat or drink. The men came back once, they threw towels in at them and told them to shower if they wanted to. Both of them did. Joan felt a little better after that. Adam certainly looked better after that w/o all the blood on him. The men came and gave them robes to wear and took their clothing to be washed. They came back 2 hours later and handed them back their clothing. The blood stains on Adam's hoodie were gone. And the clothing smelled nice and clean. Both Adam and Joan wondered what the purpose was for that. Back at the temporary headquarters stationed in the Girardi household, Will brought up what he thought was an important clue.
"So this Iris, Adam's ex, mentions to me 'no good deed goes unpunished' which incidentally as we all know is exactly what the man on the phone said. Now this could be a coincidence, but somehow, I doubt that. Let's bring Iris back in, and interview her family."
At this, Adam's father piped in. "She lives w/ her mom, but she does have a brother who lives somewhere in Arcadia."
"That could be very helpful."
Will Girardi and his partner knocked on Iris's door at 11:15pm. Her mom answered.
"Hello, I'm will Girardi Arcadia Sheriff's department. This is my partner (name here) I have some extra questions for you and your daughter."
"Why, is Iris involved somehow? I find that hard to believe. After all she loves that boy. Why would she want harm to come to him."
"We think it's maybe because he broke up with her recently. May we come in?"
"Sure. Iris, Mr. Girardi is back to speak with you."
"I'll be there in a minute mom."
Will walked around the house while they waited for Iris. He noticed on the mantle was a photo of a dark hair man in sunglasses standing in front of a black van. He was outside a house that was definitely not the one that they were in now.
"Excuse me, ma'am. Is this your son?" "Yes. He doesn't live at home anymore." "Where exactly does your son live?"
"Why do you ask?"
"No reason, it's just that, I know Iris has a brother, and this obviously isn't your house he is standing outside of, yet he looks rather young to be living on his own."
"He shares a house with some friends of his on Elm Av.' Just then Iris walked in. "You needed to speak with me again, Mr. Girardi?" "Uh, yes. We just wanted to make sure you were doing all right, after all that's gone on. I understand you really liked Adam. I want to make sure you're not going to harm yourself in anyway."
"Mr. Girardi, I loved Adam and he broke my heart, but it doesn't mean I'm going to be all suicidal. Things happen for a reason, you know?"
"Ok. Well, sorry to have bothered you so late at night, take care."
"Will, what was that all about? I thought you were going question her further."
"I think I have all the information I need."
Joan and Adam didn't know what to think in the meanwhile. The men hadn't been back to beat on Adam, and they didn't know what to make of them washing their clothing. Adam was feeling much better, the pain wasn't as bad, Joan noticed that the shaking had stopped, and the color was coming back into his cheeks. She and Adam talked of what they were going to do when they got out of this hellhole. The talked well past midnight, and fell asleep rather easily, despite the fact that they were both starving.
Back at the Girardi house, Will told everyone he think he knows where Joan and Adam were. "While I was in Iris's house, I saw a photo of her brother standing in front of a black van in front of a house. I asked her mom where her son lived, and she told me on Elm Av. I say we stake that place out tomorrow."
"Will, be careful, if they see cops, they might do something rash."
"Helen don't worry. I won't let anything happen to our little girl or Adam."
The following morning, the cops pulled up outside the house Will saw in the photo. Much to their dismay, the house seemed to be impenetrable. The door looked like reinforced steel, there were cast iron bars on all the windows, and a cast iron locked gate in front of both the back and front door.
"Attention, this is Arcadia police department. You are surrounded, release the hostages, and no one will get hurt."
"Cops? How did they find us?"
"HEY COPS! Don't come any closer, or we'll kill the kids."
"You're going to pay for this one." Once again Joan and Adam were separated. One man stood watch, the skinny blond man. The dark haired man was now with Joan, and the bald man was with Adam.
"I don't know how they found us son, but you're certainly going to pay for this." Adam took the worst beating he had so far since he got there. He was thrown against the wall, he was thrown through a table. He was kicked and punched, until he passed out and even after that, the beating didn't stop for a few minutes. Joan received her first real beating, which was not much more than getting slapped around, but it was still worse than merely getting hit with the telephone. And it was enough to make her cry. She was also crying because she once again heard Adam getting beat up. After about 20 minutes however, she was brought back next door. She saw Adam unconscious under a small pool of blood.
"What did you do to him!! ADAM!! Please wake up!! Oh God, don't let him be dead! Why are you doing this to me God, where are you now? What do you want me to do?"
The dark haired man slapped Joan hard across the face, sending her flying to the floor. She crawled over to where Adam lay and brushed the hair out of his face. He was breathing, which was a good sign. The men left again. Joan went to the bathroom and got a wet cloth. She lifted Adam up and started wiping the blood away again. He woke up very groggily. "Oh man, what happened?" He sat up and saw Joan's face streaked with tears, dirt, and blood from a split lip, a result of her getting slapped. "Jane! Oh my God." Adam bolted up, and winced in pain and almost collapsed again. "You're hurt," he said and grabbed the cloth and wiped her face.
"I'm far better off than you are Adam, please calm down, I'm alright. Just rest. You've been through a lot. My father is going to think of a way to get us out of here." "I hope you're right Jane, because I'm starting to get hungry again." Joan laughed a bit at this. "Oh Adam, how can you think of food at a time like this?" At the Girardi house, Helen, Luke, Kevin, Grace, and Mr. Rove were all pacing around waiting for any update. They got one, but it wasn't good news. It basically told of the stand off between the men and the police. They didn't want to advance just yet, they were sure how far these men would take things or what types of weapons were in the house. Inside Iris's brother's house, Joan and Adam sat in anticipation. Another day passed uneventfully. It was just a stand-off. Finally the police got a call.
"Girardi"
"Hey, we just upped the demands. A million each, amnesty, and a private jet to Europe."
"I don't know if that is possible."
"Then I don't' know if you'll see your daughter alive again."
"Wait, wait, we'll see what we can do."
"You have 2 days."
The blond man came into the room. He was armed.
"I'm supposed to watch you two. Make sure you don't do anything stupid." He looked from Joan to Adam, Adam and Joan looked at each other.
"Can I sit on the couch? My back is killing me." "Sure. You sit on the couch too miss" Joan helped Adam up and on to the couch. They stared at each other for a while. Finally Joan broke the silence.
"It's not right the way those two other men are treating you."
"Shut up"
"Jane what are you doing?"
"You have to watch us? And why? Because they think you are too stupid and weak to help them plan out what they are doing."
"Shut up! I'm warning you!"
"Or what? You'll shoot me? You need a gun to make me shut up? A girl? You need a gun to watch a girl and a guy that the three of you have beaten so severely that he can't even walk on his own? What kind of man are you anyway?"
"Jane, please, be quiet, please."
She said under her breath, "Adam, follow my lead."
"What's the matter? I'm right and you know it!"
"Shut UP!" He came over to the couch, and put the gun on the table. He punched Joan in the face.
"DON'T TOUCH HER!!" Adam finally found some strength. He sprang up, and punched that guy square in the face, the man flew over the table, the gun flew against the door. Adam's adrenaline was pumping so fast he forgot about the immense pain he had been previously in. He leaped over the overturned table, and grabbed the gun in just enough time to turn the gun on the blond man. Adam stood up, and kicked the man in the head.
"Jane, go get one of the ties from the robes we were given...Tie his hands tight"
Joan and Adam forced the man lie down and she tied his hands and feet together behind him. Adam and Joan then overturned the couch, climbed behind it, and Adam fired the gun into the air. He collapsed on to the floor gasping for air. Joan took the gun out of his hands. The other two men came in. Adam and Joan peered over the couch and noticed that they were not armed.
"Jane! Lock yourself in the bathroom!! GO NOW!!" Joan ran into the bathroom. Adam rolled out of the way narrowly avoiding both of the men's grasps. He didn't know how much longer he could fend them off. The pain started to flood back. Joan fired through the bathroom window shattering it. "DADDY! DADDY! HELP, THEY'RE UNARMED, HURRY!"
Quickly the police tied chains to the cast iron door, hooked them to a large armored truck, and had the driver speed away. The door was popped off its hinges, but Joan had by this time run back into the other room to divert the attention from Adam, who was trying to fight off the two bigger guys. He wasn't doing so well, the one man was punching him in the midsection, and the other man had his hands around Adam's throat. Adam was doing his best to shield the blows to his sides, while scrunching his neck so to block out the other man's firm grasp. When Joan opened the door, it startled the men who for a few seconds stopped what they were doing to turn and look at Joan. This was Adam's golden opportunity. He mustered up all the strength he had left in him, and gave a hard kick to the bald man's groin that sent him in a pain spiral down to the ground. Joan ran into the living room, followed by the Iris's brother. The front door busted wide open.
"JOAN GET DOWN!!!" Joan ducked just in time for one shot to be fired into Iris's brother's head. He hit the ground like a ton of bricks. Joan threw her gun across the room, got up and ran back into the other room. She hugged Adam and kissed him, despite the fact that he was still coughing up a bit of blood. She was just so thankful he was all right.
"Adam, you were so brave. You held off those 2 men so I could try to escape. You saved my life. Thank you so much!"
"Jane, just because I choose not to fight, doesn't mean I can't. I'd give my life for you, you know that."
"But Adam, I don't want you dead. Who would I talk to in AP Chem.?"
"Grace is there, and so is your brother..."
"It's not the same..." At this point Joan was cut off paramedics were coming in and helping Adam on to a stretcher. They helped her up, she could walk, but they wanted to take her to the hospital for observation anyway. Will called Helen and the rest of them and told them to meet them at the hospital. Joan was ok, Adam was going to have to be admitted. He had some internal injuries, but in the long run he'd be just fine. After Joan was released, she walked down to Adam's room. His father was with him, but he gave the two of them time to talk.
"Adam, I didn't get to finish what it was I wanted to say."
"Jane, you don't have to say anything."
"Yes I do. I love Grace, as a friend. She's a really nice girl, but it's not the same as the feeling I get when I'm with you. We connect on a different level. I didn't realize it until you started going with Iris, just how much I really do love you. Adam, I love you."
"Jane, I've always loved you, and I knew you had to have felt the same about me. I was just biding my time until you came around."
"Oh Adam..." Joan leaned in, she was going to kiss Adam on the cheek, but he turned into her, and she didn't care. She kissed him full on the mouth, and it was just what she had been waiting for. She finally realized that when push came to shove, Adam was every bit as much of a man, as any muscle bound jock was and more.
"Good night Adam"
"Good night Joan." She kissed him on the forehead and left, giving a little wave as she pass through the door. Adam smiled and waved back. While she was walking down the hall, an orderly stopped her.
"Joan"
"Look, I know you're God and all, but bite me, alright? Adam could have died. He had internal injuries, he had a punctured lung and a severe concussion, for God's sake, no offense. Not to mention, broken ribs, bruised kidneys, and numerous cuts and bruises. What in Your name was all this supposed to teach me?" "It was to make you look at Adam in a different light. When you shared that kiss so long ago, you thought it was nice, but Adam wasn't the type of guy you could see yourself with as a boyfriend. I knew, of course, that you wanted a man like you father. Your father is a cop, he protects people; he risks his life for others. You wanted that in a boyfriend, and now you've got that. I wanted to show you that Adam was that type of person all along. Just because he doesn't fight back in school, doesn't mean he is incapable of fighting when it's for a good cause. You wanted a boyfriend, and I had to show you that he was the one you should have been with all along."
"Wasn't there an easier way for you to get me to see that? Did you have to nearly get him killed? "
"How would that have proven how far he'd go for you? Or how far you'd go for him? Sometimes we have to suffer for what we want to get. Look at my son. If he had never suffered for you, where would this world be now? Don't worry Joan, neither of you has anything to worry about. Adam is going to bounce back 110% and you'll have something to tell your grandchildren later on in life at your 50th wedding anniversary. Now run along Joan, your parents are waiting." And as the orderly went back to sweeping, Joan continued down the hallway to meet her family and Grace, waiting to welcome her with open arms.