Adam walked back and forth, wobbling a bit as he did.
"Go slowly, Adam." Lawrence instructed, "You don't need to rush."
Lawrence sat on the edge of the bathtub, arms crossed as he watched Adam walk to and from him.
"I just want to get this right already." Adam said as he turned to walk away from Lawrence.
"You've made excellent progress." Lawrence said, using his "doctor voice" as he stood up from the bathtub and walked over to Adam.
Adam turned around and jumped from the surprise of Lawrence being right behind him. Lawrence moved a bit closer to Adam with a smile. His sheepish photographer smiled back, unable to meet his gaze.
"I wish you wouldn't sneak up behind me," Adam said, quietly. "y-you know I hate surprises.."
"I know, I know. I'm sorry." Lawrence said as he wrapped his arms around Adam.
Adam rested his head on Lawrence's chest and the two of them just stood there until the bathroom door opened. The one who opened the door was revealed to be Tabby. She smiled at the men.
"It's time.." she said, standing at the door way.
Lawrence kissed the top of Adam's head and smiled down at him.
"Time to go see John, Adam." he said, softly.
Shyly, Adam nodded and limped over to his backpack then quickly followed Tabby out of the bathroom before Lawrence had a chance to turn the lights off (Adam and darkness don't quite mix well anymore..) though he waited patiently for his doctor to close the bathroom door.
A nervous Adam held his backpack close as he and Lawrence followed closely behind Tabby. Lawrence noticed the nervousness, took Adam's hand and planted a kiss on it. Adam looked at him, blinked and then smiled just before the three of them reached a door.
Tabby placed her hand on it to open it then looked at her friends, noticing Adam's visible worry look.
"Adam? Are you okay?" she asked, concerned.
"He's just nervous." Lawrence said with a smile. "First meeting. Let me speak to him, you go on ahead. We'll be right there."
Tabby nodded and entered the room, closing the door behind her.
"Adam.." Lawrence said, taking him back in his arms. He could feel Adam shaking.
"I-I d-d-don't.. I-I d-d-d-don't-"
"Slowly, Adam. Breathe." Lawrence said softly.
Adam did as he was told and tried again, "I-I don't want.. to go inside."
"And why not?"
"Wh-what if I get p-punished? Wh-what if I-I didn't do my j-job correctly?"
Lawrence pressed his forehead against Adam's forehead and smiled at him.
"You don't have to be afraid, Adam. I'll be there, right next to you. And so will Tabby." he said.
Adam shut his eyes tightly, trying to calm his nerves.
"Kiss me." Lawrence said softly.
Adam hesitated for a moment before pressing his lips against Lawrence's, letting them touch for quite some time before they both pulled away.
"Let's go." he said.
Adam nodded, keeping close to Lawrence as the two of them entered the room of the waiting.
Tabby entered the poorly-lit, cold, kitchen-slash-dining sort of room. She looked around for Mark who was up against a counter, arms crossed as he waited for the meeting to start. She walked over to him and Mark's eyes lit up for a moment.
"There you are." he said.
"Did you just get here?" Tabby asked after giving Mark a brief kiss.
Mark nodded, tiredly and covered his mouth while he silently yawned.
The coffee maker was up and running, telling Tabby it had just be switched on not too long ago and making hot coffee for the very tired detective.
"Where's Adam and Lawrence?" Amanda asked as she stepped forward toward the couple.
She had been at the meeting table, looking over a few things. She didn't exactly look too pleased with her body language and tone of voice.
"They're just outside the door, talking." Tabby said.
"Go tell them to hurry up, John hates waiting."
"Calm down, Amanda." Mark said.
And, as if they heard the three of them speaking about them, Lawrence and Adam entered the meeting room. Shyly, Adam stayed close to Lawrence as the two of them walked over to the meeting table.
"About time." Amanda muttered, arms crossed as she made her way over to the table as well.
Tabby took Mark's hand and pulled him over to join the others just as John made his way out of another room.
"Are we ready?" John asked as soon as he reached his chair, He sat down and looked at all five of his apprentices, specifically at Lawrence and even more specifically at Adam who had taken out a thick envelope and nervously, after taking them out with shaky hands, placed them on the table.
"I-I have.. I-I took the ph-photos." he said. "Ah, um, ev-everyone is there. Just like you requested, J-John."
A smile formed on John's lips and he nodded a small nod like a bow to the obviously-nervous photographer.
"Thank you, Adam." he said.
Adam gave him a small, nervous smile and crept back to keep close to Lawrence.
Mark grabbed the stack and threw the first photo back onto the table.
"Xavier Chavez, drug dealer." he said. He passed the stack to Tabby.
"Addison Corday, prostitute." Tabby said, doing the same action Mark had done. She gave the photo set to Lawrence next.
"Gus Colyard, businessman." he said as soon as the obese man's photo hit the table. It was now Adam's turn.
"J-Jonas Singer. G-gang member?" Adam said with as much courage he could muster. He placed his photo on the table instead of tossing it like the others had. He gave Amanda the photo set.
"Laura Hunter." Amanda said, tossing the photo a bit too hard and almost caused it to fall off the table, "Shoplifter."
Amanda had the third-to-the-last photo and now the final two photos. She looked at them and then looked at John.
"Who are these people, John?" she asked him.
"One of them is bait and one of them is help." John said as Amanda places the two photos down.
Mark instantly recognized one of the two remaining unnamed people.
"Daniel Matthews?" he said, "What do we need him for?"
"And why do we need help?" Amanda asked, not liking the idea of yet another people helping.
"Daniel Matthews is for bait." John explained, finger on the young boy's photograph. He placed the same finger on the last unnamed person. "Obidiah Tate, also known as, Obi will be helping us."
"Why do we need extra help?" Amanda repeated.
"Because we will all be extremely busy," John explained, calmly. "He will help in retrieving all these players."
"What do we need the boy for?" Tabby asked.
"To lure in a man who doesn't appreciate what he has been given." John said simply.
He looked his five apprentices. "We'll start off the game with the Venus Fly Trap."
"Michael Marks." Amanda said, "I'll go get him."
"Lawrence, Adam," John said, looking at the two of them "Go and get his room ready, then. Tabitha will give you the notes on how I want it done. Be quick about it, too. Your surgical skills are needed for this player, Lawrence."
"Understood." Lawrence said. He looked at Tabby who went to her desk and got out the notes needed for Michael Marks and his game.
"Let the game begin." John said with a dark smile.