A/N: Thank you to everybody who has reviewed and supported this story this far. I appreciate every single one of you, it means so much that you enjoy my stories so much. That said, I have to say that there is five more chapters left, including this one, of this story. But don't be sad too long, because he is a brand new chapter! :)

Chapter Twenty-One

Sign the Papers

"Our love is like an open road,

We're not sure where we're going

Or how we're going to get there.

But all I know is if you are here with me,

Then, I am home."

Adam stopped strumming the guitar and quickly wrote down the new lyrics on the notebook sitting in front of him. He read over what he'd just written and his face split into a smile. This was it. He had dreamt these song lyrics last night and he had been trying to remember them all day. As soon as he gotten home from work,only an hour ago, Adam had pulled out his guitar and set to work on figuring out the song. He wanted to have it done by the time his beautiful girlfriend came home from her afternoon classes. He dropped the pen onto the notebook and his fingers found the frets on the guitar again.

"It's all I need,

This thing we call love, between you and I.

We can weather any storm that comes our way,

As long as we do it together."

For the next five minutes, it happened like that. Strum. Sing. Write. Repeat. Playing the guitar was the only thing that Adam could get completely absorbed in, so that the rest of the world slipped away.

"It's us against the world,

This life we call our own."

The song was almost finished as Adam stared at the page, willing the last lines to come to him. He continued the melody he had created and closed his eyes. Adam pictured the notes and the chords, the lyrics and the images that they conjured. He opened his eyes slowly as the new words took shape on his lips.

"And if we have to say good-bye,

I will let you go.

Knowing the love that we shared,

Will carry me through my darkest days."

The front door creaked open and Adam spun around on the couch to see Rebecca enter the house. She put her bag and keys on the table next to the door and smiled at him. "Hey," she greeted as she took off her leather jacket and draped it over the back of the couch. "That sounded great. What was that?"

Adam reached up and took her hand to guide her around the couch. She sat down next to him and he placed the guitar in the case by his feet. "It's just something I've been working on," Adam explained. "It kind of came to me in a dream." He ducked his head, not sure what she was going to think of that.

"It's beautiful," Rebecca told him, truthfully. "It's a—-It's about us, isn't it?"

Adam nodded, looking up at her. "I love you," he said. "More than you'll even know."

Rebecca just smiled, not saying anything. Adam leaned in close to her, his hands coming up to cup her head. Their breaths mingled together and their hearts beat as one. Rebecca's hands slid up his chest, her fingers playing with the buttons on his shirt. Finally, their lips met in a soft kiss.

Adam woke up with a start, his heart beating fast and his head pounded twice as hard. The white, sterile walls of the hospital room surrounded him. He was the only patient in here and that was the way he liked it. He didn't want anyone to see him like this, handcuffed to the bed like some kind of criminal. Then, he remembered, he was a criminal. He'd kidnapped his own son and had almost killed two innocent people.

There was a dull ache in his right leg from where the bullet had been extracted. He had lost a lot of blood and the bullet had torn some muscle tissue, so the doctors had wanted to keep him here for a few days. Adam was in no hurry to leave, because as soon as he did, he would be going right into a jail cell. According to the guard that stood posted outside his hospital room, that's all he had to look forward to.

Adam was being tortured from all sides. For the past two days, there's been nothing to do but sleep. The drugs and the pain making him unable to stay awake for long. Adam didn't want to fall asleep, though, he didn't want to face the painful memories that's plagued his dreams since he got shot. They only served to remind him of what he'd lost.

Adam was nervous; it's been weeks since he's been back at the house. He wasn't sure how Rebecca would feel about him just showing up after he'd left without any notice. After he'd been laid off his job, he didn't, couldn't tell Rebecca, knowing that they've already been having trouble making ends meet and if she'd found out, she would have quit school to work full-time. So, he hid it, but after he had no luck of finding another job, he gave up. He'd started going to bars and getting so drunk, he'd drag himself back to the house when Rebecca was asleep.

It took him a week to figure out that he'd fallen into the same rhythm that his father had. The night that he had accidentally knocked Rebecca to the floor. Adam didn't mean to, she had been questioning him about why he'd been coming home late. Then, she smelled the booze on his breath and this worried, concerned look crossed over her face. She took his arm and started to pull him into the kitchen, saying something about getting him sober. Adam had pulled his arm back with too much force than he'd intended, Rebecca stumbled backward and fell. The look of fear that appeared on her face as she looked up at him, scared him more. He'd become his own worst nightmare.

Adam shook his head, that was in the past now. He was better now. He had checked himself into a rehab facility and he had been nervous about leaving, but everybody there assured him that he was ready. Taking a deep breath, Adam slipped his key into the lock on the front door and pushed open the door.

"Becky! I'm home!" he called out when he stepped inside the house. "I know I left without telling you, but I can explain." There was no answer, but Adam didn't worry about. It was still early, Rebecca was probably still in class. Adam carried his duffel bag to the bedroom he shared with her to unpack white he waited.

Unzipping the bag, Adam took out his toothbrush and razor and carried them into the connecting bathroom. As he put the razor in the drawer under the sink and the toothbrush in the cup with its' purple mate, he saw something else sitting on the counter. It was small and slender with a small screen on its' surface. When he picked it up, one word stood out to him. Pregnant.

Adam went completely still and his mouth suddenly dry. He hurried out of the bathroom and the bedroom to the kitchen, suddenly needing something to drink. His hand was poised over the refrigerator door when he saw a piece of paper hanging on the door by a magnet. He plucked the note off the refrigerator, the magnet falling to the floor with a clatter.

"And if we have to say good-bye, I will let you go."

The song lyrics nearly shattered his heart as he crumpled the piece of paper in his hand. The pregnancy test still in his other one. Dropping the paper, Adam opened the refrigerator, and, bypassing the orange juice, he picked up a brown bottle.

"No!"

Adam's eyes snapped, not even remembering falling asleep that time. Something about the room felt different, though. He blinked several times and that's when he saw what was standing right in front of him. Like a beautiful angel, she stood at the foot of his hospital bed. She came. She was here.

~OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO~

Rebecca hadn't meant to startle him. She had crept into the hospital room slowly and made sure the door didn't slam behind her. He was sleeping, looking just like she remembered him, relaxed with his blonde hair falling into his eyes. When Adam bolted upright, screaming, Rebecca jumped. He was like a coiled spring, wound so tight, his eyes glazed over from sleep and his hands were balled into fists. It seemed to take forever for him to look over at her, and when he did, his whole face softened. His mouth opened a little, like he couldn't believe what he was seeing.

"I'm sorry," Rebecca said as she walked farther into the room, clutching the yellow envelope in her hand tightly. "I didn't mean to-"

"Don't apologize," Adam interrupted, his voice coming out rough and scratchy. "You don't have anything to apologize for, not after everything I've done."

An awkward silence stretched out between them, neither one of them knowing what to say next. Finally, Rebecca spoke up. "How are you feeling?" she asked weakly.

Adam let out a small laugh, but it came out more like a cough. He felt like a worthless loser, injured and chained to a hospital bed. He didn't dare tell her that, though. "What are you doing here?" he asked her instead.

Rebecca stepped up next to the bed and opened the envelope. She pulled out a white sheet of paper and placed it gently on the tray table in front of him. "I came to give you this and to ask if you would sign it," Rebecca said quietly.

Adam stared down at the paper in front of him and swallowed hard. "What is this?" he asked.

"It's a court document saying that you give up all custody rights to AJ," Rebecca answered. It was hard to get the words out, but once she did, she felt like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders.

Adam looked up at her just then, his eyes glistening. "I ruined us," he rasped out.

Rebecca shook her head. "Adam, this isn't about us, it's about our—a little boy," she told him. "A little boy who deserves to grow up happy and to know that he's loved. He doesn't belong in a world full of anger and resentment and...fear."

Now, it was Adam's turn to shake his head, more vehemently. "Becky, you can't do this. He's my son," Adam protested, his voice was starting to crack. "I love...him."

"I know you do, and that's what makes this so hard to do," Rebecca said, truthfully. She could feel herself getting emotional as well, but she told herself to keep it together. "I've been selfish, Adam. I've been holding onto something that no longer exists. It's prevented me from moving on and giving my son a life he deserves. I can't be selfish anymore."

"He's my son," Adam repeated, putting a little force behind the words.

Rebecca blinked back the tears that had been forming. "No, he's not," she said. "Not in the way that counts. Please, Adam, he's happy. I know that's all you want for him."

"Of course, I want him to be happy, Becky, but you can't take him away from me," Adam begged.

"Adam, please, this is the way it has to be," Rebecca said. Slowly, she took a pen out of her purse and set it down on the tray table. "I'm not closing the door to AJ, not completely. We'll see what happens after you've served your jail sentence and gotten some help. But for right now, Adam, please, just sign the papers."

Adam let out a low breath and, to Rebecca's relief, he picked up the pen. It took him a few tries to sign his name on the court document, with the handcuff getting in the way. When he finished, Adam dropped the pen and wiped a tear from his eye that had been about to fall. He pushed the paper over to Rebecca. She picked it up and slipped it back into the yellow envelope.

"Thank you," Rebecca said, gratefully.

"Can I just ask for one thing?" Adam asked, looking up at her. Rebecca nodded, and he continued, "Can I see AJ? Once? I just want to see him one more time."

"I don't think that's a good idea," Rebecca answered truthfully, stuffing the envelope into her purse.

"Becky, I'm headed to prison! I'm handcuffed to this bed, for god's sake!" Adam said, starting to get agitated. "I'm not going to run off with him when you back is turned. I just want to see him."

Rebecca stepped forward and placed a hand on his leg, the one in the cast, to calm him down. "Adam, I don't think it's a good idea because," she soothed him. "I don't think AJ should see you like this. You know, AJ plays with that race car you gave him everyday. In his eyes, you're this amazing, cool guy, who had all these really great ideas to play. That day really meant a lot to him and he's never going to forget it. I want him to keep that image of you, the image of the father you could have been, not like this."

Adam seemed to understand that, because he didn't fight her anymore. He just slumped in the bed, looking defeated. Rebecca became aware that her hand was still touching him, so she slowly moved it away. Adam didn't take any notice, or if he did, he didn't show it.

"I should go, I guess," Rebecca whispered, unable to raise her voice any higher. Adam didn't say anything, so she started walking to the door. It was when she had just put her hand on the door handle when he finally spoke up.

"Becky, I'm sorry," Adam said. Rebecca turned to look at him. "I'm sorry for leaving you, for hurting you and AJ. If I could go back do it all over again, I would. But I would do it right this time. You've only ever deserved the best, and I'm sorry I couldn't give that to you."

For a long time, Rebecca didn't know what to say. Adam was clearly struggling with everything that he's done, and Rebecca wanted to say something to make it better, easier for him. They've been through too much together for her to just toss him aside. He had saved her once and it almost kills her to know that she wasn't able or enough to save him.

"It's ok," Rebecca said at last. It must have been the right thing to say, because a small look of relief passed over his face. The door clicked open before Rebecca could realize she'd even turned the the handle. She slipped out the door without another word.

~OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO~

Rebecca made it to the hospital elevator before she had to choke back a sob. She'd done it, she'd actually done it. Adam was out of her and AJ's lives, and she had the papers to prove it. She wasn't going to lie, it felt like a knife was twisting itself in her chest. Adam had been a big part of her life, for most of her life. Knowing that it was really over was painful. But not as painful as it would have been two years ago.

Straightening up, Rebecca pushed the button, calling the elevator up. She was stronger now, she reminded herself, wiping the tears from her eyes. Rebecca had known for two years that it was over, but today, she finally cut the cord tethering her to Adam. There was no more going back, only forward. The elevator dinged as the doors slid open. Rebecca started onto the elevator, then she realized that it wasn't empty. She quickly stepped back to allow the passengers to get off.

A young man pushed, who Rebecca guessed was his wife from the matching wedding bands they wore, in a wheelchair. The woman was pale and her arms were wrapped around her large, rounded belly. Rebecca smiled as the young couple hurried past her, completely oblivious to everything else but their upcoming arrival. The woman, then, reached her hand up behind her to rest it on her husband's hand. He leaned down to whisper something in her ear. A pretty nurse came over to them, said something and then, started to lead them away. Rebecca turned her attention back to the elevator and stepped inside, pushing the button for the lobby. She watched the doors slide close in front of her.

There was still one more thing Rebecca had to take care of.

A/N: I know, there's wasn't any Tamy in this chapter, but I promise the rest of the chapters will have lots of Tamy in it. Please review and let me know what you think of Rebecca's decision! :)