Disclaimer: I don't own Mutant X.

Adam's Eve

Personal thoughts

Chapter 2 - Interest

The Chairman of the Committee spoke with a seemingly empty tone. "We are sorry, Dr. Kihliya, but this committee does not see enough evidence of successful outcome and substantial benefit to warrant the allowance of funding at this time. Thank you for your time today." The committee stood and exited.

She was heartbroken. How could they have decided not to fund her research? How could they have not seen the evidence?

Adam was shocked along with many others in the room. Whispers of disbelief spread quickly as people left. Evie just sat there, stunned. She couldn't even breathe for a time. Suddenly, she was startled back to reality when a small group of reporters started shooting questions at her all at once. She immediately stood straight and stoically answered as many questions as she could stand. Then, she politely excused herself and walked quickly back to the room as they continued to fire questions at her retreat.

Adam had gotten a little closer to her and was able to hear as she answered their questions. He also thought he heard her voice shake, just for an instant. He knew she was crushed. He exited through a different door and made his way to the room. He found her quickly gathering her things and noticed the stiffness in her stance as she tried to reign in her obvious disappointment.

She sensed him behind her now and remarked with great effort of control, "Well, that's that, I suppose. Thank you for your encouragement, Dr. Kane, and the coffee." Feeling completely rejected and imagining that rejection would also come from Adam, she refused to look at him.

"Evie, I'm so sorry," he said to her back as he approached.

She stood motionless as she sensed him close but refused to turn and look at him. She didn't want to see what she thought would be patronization coming from him as it had come from the committee. "You were kind to listen as I blabbered, just as the committee did. They passed their opinion of my silly notions. If you don't mind, I don't want to hear it a second time." She almost lost it and had to take a deep breath to strengthen her resolve.

"Evie, look at me," Adam said, undaunted by her attempts to chase him off.

Still, she stood straight and stiff, not acknowledging his request.

"Evie," he put his hands on her shoulders.

Her breath caught in her throat for only a moment. Then, feeling the control she had leave her body and mind, she allowed him to turn her. Keeping her eyes closed to reign in her emotions she heard him speak.

"Listen. They were wrong. You did more than prove the validity of your research. You proved more than substantial benefit. Your presentation was perfect. Something else was in play here." He had a pretty good idea who it was that got in the way. "It was not you. And for the record, I don't believe anything you told me was silly." His words were spoken out of admiration and his voice was soft and reassuring. He must have gotten through, he thought, when he saw her open her eyes.

She lifted her head slightly but still was not able to meet his eyes. "Thank you. I think I should go now."

He saw a single tear fall from her eye. He found he was hurting for her and couldn't bear to see her leave, crying.

"May I walk you to your car?" he offered.

"No, I…" she hesitated and reconsidered. His company was so comforting she thought she would like to intrude on it for just a little while longer. "…um…that would be nice." She walked in silence to the parking garage only giving occasional direction to the car.

Once at the car, he noticed her eyes moister than before and her breathing was shaky as he recognized that she was about to break down at any moment. I can't let her go like this. "Evie? Why don't you let me take you to an early dinner? Somewhere quiet where you can relax and eat before you go home."

She looked up in surprise at the invitation. He was just smiling sweetly at her. Was that concern in his eyes? Concern for her? He's already done so much. More than she could possibly tell him. After a brief hesitation she replied, "Oh...Adam, you've already been so kind to me. I really don't think I should impose on you any longer."

Trying to lighten the mood, "You should be hungry. All we had was coffee and I'm starved," he said quickly. Then looking straight into her eyes, "and you are not imposing on me."

She looked away and thought for a moment. I really don't want to be alone and he's so kind. There's something…charming about him. She let a small smile cross her face as she looked back and answered, "Alright, dinner would be nice, but only if you tell me a little about you."

"Ok, a little," he said with a chuckle. He watched as she put her things in the trunk of her car. Extending his elbow, he smiled as she took his arm and he led her to his car. He was glad to see her smile again. Her smile is like sunshine.

After a casual dinner and light conversation, Adam took her back to her car. Again he started to think about her proposal. Adam was increasingly worried as he thought about reasons why the committee would have taken such a "hands-off" approach to otherwise promising research. He was careful not to show her his concern.

At the car he gave her a card with a site address on it. "This links directly to my communications. I can hear you immediately when you key in. If you need to contact me for any reason please don't hesitate. I'll speak to you any time." True to his nature of not wanting to risk anything, and completely without the knowledge of Evie, he attached a small tracer device on the inside of her car. He wanted to be able to find her if his suspicions were true. He hoped for her sake, they were not.

"Thank you for all you've done today," she said extending her hand formally. Will I ever see him again? Then her heart skipped a beat.

Adam smiled and took her hand in his and turned it as he raised it to his lips and kissed it softly. "Have a good evening," he said as he opened the car door for her, then stood there and watched as she drove away.

She drove home on autopilot because her mind was not on the road. He was so charming. She replayed her time with him over and over in her head. I could listen to his voice forever. Yet, he really didn't tell me a lot about himself. He's a little mysterious. She looked at the back of her hand where he'd placed his lips and smiled, putting it to her cheek as she entered her apartment.

After a shower and putting her things away, she sat at her keyboard again. She heard something scraping at her door. As she quickly realized someone was up to no good, she panicked. All she could think of was Adam. Then she remembered the card he gave her. She took it out and went to her computer. Please God, let him be there.

TBC