A/N: Review!

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He knew he had lost all chance of winning this argument the minute he lost consciousness on that motorcycle. Either he was going back the motel in a taxi, or to the hospital in an ambulance. That was Madison's final word. Frankly, he was shocked she even gave him a choice in the matter. There was no reason why she should trust him, really.

So Jayden sat there with his eyes closed, his head leaned back against the leather of the backseat. Droplets of rain raced down the glass of the taxi's windows, aided by gravity. Cravings for tripto and ARI washed over him but he was too tired to care. The more chaotic his life became, the more he longed to slip into that familiar and perfect place where it never rained. Or at least, it was supposed to...

Except it did rain the last time, didn't it?

But now was not the time to think about that. It was not the time to think about what a mess he'd made ot things, or why he was dragging Madison Paige down with him. She could take care of herself, of course. She could make her own decisions. Hell, maybe she should make his decisions, too.

There was no going back now. He'd told her pretty much everything he knew, and there was a very good chance that she was already riding off on that motorcycle of hers to write an article about it. Jayden hoped that wasn't the case; he just would not be able to handle it if something happened to her because of his stupidity.

Madison was already waiting for him by the time the taxi pulled up to the motel. It didn't make sense. Why couldn't she just hate him as much as he hated himself?

"What are you going to do now, Norman?" she asked as they stood side by side, staring off into space over the metal railing. "I mean, eventually you won't be able to afford to stay here anymore. You'll have to do something about money."

"I don't know." he admitted. "I haven't really thought about it." Maybe I could rob banks for a living...

She blinked. "You haven't thought any of this through, have you?"

"Not a damn thing."

"Well, then, you're coming to stay with me." Madison said it in that tone of hers, indicating there would be no argument; he had already lost anyway. It was decided. The woman was out of her mind. There was no reasoning with her.

"You never told me why you were staying at a motel." Jayden pointed out.

"Yeah, that. You never asked either." She looked almost embarrassed. "I...I suffer from chronic insomnia. I only seem to be able to sleep in motels. Whenever I get too exhausted I go and spend a night or two here."

His brain made a thousand unnecessary psychological connections. What could cause such a thing? A traumatic experience was the most likely cause...but that still wasn't really a cause unless he knew exactly what had happened.

"How long has this been going on?"

"Oh, I don't know...eight months, maybe more. It's...hard to keep track after a while." It was clear from her body language that she didn't want to talk about this anymore. Perhaps she figured she owed him after everything he'd shared. But he was about to owe Madison a whole lot more.

Jayden packed up what few possessions he'd bothered to take with him from D.C. and checked out of the Cross Roads.

Madison's apartment was surprisingly spacious. It seemed that newspaper she worked for at least paid her well. There was a nice view of the rained-out city. He wondered why she didn't have curtains. Maybe she actually liked the view.

How was he ever going to be able to repay her?