A/N: Thanks again to the readers, the feedbackers, and my beta. You all rock. Oh, and I took some liberties with Adam's past here. Hope you guys don't mind.

Adam looked up from his computer when he heard someone knocking on the door to his apartment. Frowning, he glanced down at the clock on his screen and wondered who would be visiting so late. When the knocking continued, though, he got up and hurried across the room to the door.

"Jess," he whispered, when he saw her standing on the other side.

"Hey," she said nervously, giving him a small smile. "I didn't wake you, did I?"

He shook his head, standing aside so that she could come in. "No. I was just checking my email. What's up?"

She shrugged. "I just…I got sick of being surrounded by so many people. I was thinking you and I…" Jess shook her head. "I'm sorry. I should have called first –"

Adam got between her and the door as she tried to leave. "No, Jess. It's okay. I'm…I'm glad you came."

"Really?"

He nodded. "Really." He looked around. "Do you want something to drink? Or something to eat?"

"I've been given more food by my mother in the past three days than I thought my body could hold." She smiled at him kindly. "But I'd love a beer if you've got any."

"As long as you promise to not get drunk," he said, his voice light so that she knew he was only kidding.

"I promise."

Adam grabbed the beers and then led them both to the living room, motioning for her to sit down. Her posture wasn't nearly as guarded this time around, and she leaned back against the cushions of the couch, taking a long drink from the bottle.

"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked suddenly. "Or…we could not talk. We could watch a movie, or…I have a Wii…"

Jess smiled and reached over, squeezing his hand. "I think…I'd rather talk."

"Okay." There was another pause. "How's your family doing?"

Her smile faded as she shrugged. "None of us is really talking about it right now. My mom is just cooking and cleaning a lot, and taking care of all the details. My dad…he hasn't really said a lot."

"And you?" he asked quietly.

"Better than I was." Her eyes filled with tears as she stared down at her hands. "I just…I wish I knew what he was thinking…when it happened. I keep asking myself what I could have done. How I could have helped him…"

"What was he like?" Adam asked slowly.

Jess gave him a watery smile as she turned to face him and rested her head against the back of the couch. "He's…he was a sweetheart. He worked in the HR department of an investment bank downtown. Loved his work. Loved his girlfriend. It broke his heart when Molly left him. But I thought…we all get dumped, you know? I didn't think it would push him over the edge. I didn't even know he had an edge." She wiped at her eyes. "He was a soccer star, in college. Could've gone pro, but he loved his work more." Shaking her head, Jess took another long drink from her beer. "They deemed it a suicide. Officially. The investigation is over."

"I'm sorry, Jess."

She let out a bitter laugh. "It's so screwed up. I almost wish he'd been murdered. It…it would make more sense."

Silence fell over them once again. Adam sipped at his beer, but he saw the empty look coming into his friend's eyes. Reaching forward, he gently took the bottle out of her hands and set it down on the coffee table. He went to lean back again, but Jess grabbed onto his hand, clinging to it tightly. The desperation caught him off-guard, but he forced himself to relax, and to let his thumb trail back and forth across her knuckles.

"When's the funeral?" he asked quietly.

She sniffed. "Tomorrow morning." Biting her bottom lip, she focused on their hands. "Will…Do you think you could be there?"

He squeezed her hand. "Of course I'll be there, Jess."

"Thank you, Adam. I'm really glad you're here."

"You don't have to thank me. We're friends."

Jess sighed, and scooted a little closer, resting her head on his shoulder tentatively. "I'm tired of talking now. If that's okay."

He kissed her forehead. "That's fine."

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Even though he understood it, Adam hated that he couldn't be closer to Jessica during the funeral. He sat a few rows back with the rest of the lab, and watched as she clung to her brother David's hand, tears running down her face as the eulogy was given. The service over, he watched as the casket was carried down to the hearse, and once again wished that he could be there beside her, to tell her that everything was going to be okay, but she disappeared into the limo with her family, and he followed behind in Flack's car.

"This guy was really loved," Don murmured as they stood together in Angell's living room afterward. "There were a ton of people at the funeral."

"And a lot here as well," Stella observed. "All these people, and no one knew how much he was hurting." She shook her head. "I can't imagine what Jess and her family are going through right now."

"She's handling it," Adam said quietly, his hands in his pockets. "It's hard, but…she's handling it."

Stella smiled at him. "You've been a good friend to her, Adam."

He blushed and ducked his head. "I just hope I've been able to help her a little bit."

"You've helped more than just a little." He looked up to see Jess standing beside him, a sad smile on her face as she rested a hand on his arm. "I think I'd be in a lot more trouble if it weren't for you."

She hugged the group, quietly thanking each of them for coming out. When she was back at Adam's side, she rested her hand on his arm again.

"Can I steal you away for a minute?" she asked quietly.

"Yeah, sure."

Nodding at the others, she gently pulled him away, leading him toward the backyard. Jess hooked her arm through his and led him over to the picnic table.

"How are you?" he asked quietly, slipping an arm around her waist.

"Better than I thought I would be," she admitted. Taking a deep breath, she looked up at him. "Can you do me a favor?"

"Of course."

"Let's talk about anything but where we are or why we're here. Anything."

He smiled. "Okay. Um. I'm not really good at coming up with subjects, though."

She thought for a moment, staring out at her mother's garden. "Tell me about your family."

His first reaction was to say no, to steer the conversation elsewhere. But as he glanced over at her, he saw the waiting in her eyes, the need to talk about something other than the pain around her.

"I, uh…there's really just me and my dad."

"No siblings?"

He shook his head. "There was…I had a little sister."

Jess reached out and touched his face gently. "Had?"

"She, um…she died."

"Oh, Adam…"

"It's okay," he said quickly. "It was a long time ago."

"What happened?" she asked quietly.

He took his arm away from her waist, and Jess saw that his hands were shaking. Reaching out, she took them in her own, running her thumbs over his knuckles. Adam stared at their hands for a moment, and then he took a deep breath.

"She…she went missing. Somebody took her. A few weeks later, they, uh…they found her body. She was only six years old…" He shook his head. "It killed my mom. She was gone six months later, and since then…it's just been him and me."

She squeezed his hands and then rested her head on his shoulder. "Losing a sibling…that's one thing I didn't want us to have in common."

He tried to give her a smile. "I was supposed to taking your mind off of sad things."

Jess shook her head. "I like getting to know more about you and your life."

"Even the bad parts?"

"Even the bad parts," she said firmly.

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As they walked up the stairs to her apartment, Jess tentatively slipped her hand into his, leaning against his shoulder.

"I told my family about you. About the way you've been helping me through all this."

Adam raised his eyebrows. "Yeah?

Jess nodded. "And my mother wants you to know that you're invited to Sunday dinner from now on. You don't have to go, but…"

"Do you want me to go?"

She didn't look up at him as she shrugged. "I'd love for you to go. But I also know you probably have better things to do than hang out with my family."

"I don't, actually. I mean…I'm free. And…and I'd like to go. As long as it's okay with you."

They stopped at her door and she turned to face him, a smile on her face. "Every Sunday at noon we meet at my parents' house for dinner and whatever sports game is on."

"I'm off on Sunday. Do you…Can I pick you up?"

"I'd like that."

Leaning forward, she gently pressed a kiss to his cheek before wrapping her arms around him tightly. He didn't hesitate in tightening his hold on her, willing to give her any strength he had.