Disclaimer: I still don't own any of this. :(

Danny spent the rest of the morning avoiding Adam. He did his work and tried not to think about the horrors the lab tech must be faced with every time he closed his eyes. Finally, he couldn't take it anymore. He had to get some more advice, but from whom? Mac had clearly explained he wasn't very good at this, so who could have a totally unbiased opinion and provide useful advice? There was only one person who came to mind.

"Hey, Sid!" Danny called as he strolled into the morgue. Sid Hammerback looked calmly up from the dead body he was examining, unflappable as ever.

"Why, Mr. Messer, what brings you down to my lair?" Sid asked as he pulled apart his glasses, something Danny had always thought looked so cool. He took a deep breath.

"I need to talk to you about something, and I want an objective opinion." He said, choosing his words carefully. Sid immediately looked serious. There was something in Danny's voice that made him feel this was very important.

Danny felt rather uncomfortable talking about the matter while standing over a body, but he couldn't very well ask Sid to leave. After all, this was his kingdom. Reluctantly, he began, trying to leave out Adam's name wherever possible.

"I've got this friend who was abused as a child. Like, really, badly abused. His dad was um… kind of a drunk and not very… accepting of his kids. And I want to say something to him, to make him feel better, but I don't really know what to say and I don't even know if he's going to listen to me."

Sid smiled. "You're talking about Adam Ross aren't you?"

Danny's eyes widened in disbelief. "How did he know? Adam never comes down here!"

"Stella came down here during the Kaplan case and told me how well Adam related to the boy. There could only be one explanation," Sid explained. Danny sighed.

"Doc, you don't understand. I mean this guy was more than just a bully, he was a monster. The kid's got scars like a Marine. You know his so-called "father" broke his shoulder with a bottle of beer? I've seen scars from bombs that have healed better than what that incident left behind. And his brother... aw man. His brother… he killed himself. Killed himself for little Adam to find. All because of that son of a—" he stopped, not wanting to swear in front of the doctor. Sid was looking at him, a sad smile spread across his face.

Danny shook his head. "Look, I don't mean to unload this on you. But I gotta say something to him, something to show him he's not alone in this world. But I have no idea what to say, because nobody really understands what it's like but him."

Sid let out a sigh, thinking. He really hadn't expected this. As a coroner, he didn't really have much experience dealing with living people. Especially people like Adam Ross, who didn't exactly like to talk about himself anyway. What kind of advice could he give that would help? He tried to think of the times his children had asked for advice.

"I would say… that you can't imagine what he must go through. And that regardless, you will be there for him whenever he needs it."

Danny thought about it. It sounded like pretty good advice. "But what if he doesn't listen to me?" he asked.

Sid smiled. "Just make sure he knows you're ready to listen. That's all you can really do."

Danny thanked him and went back to the lab.

Adam, meanwhile, had been trying desperately to escape the incessant flashbacks that had been plaguing him since last night. His talk with Danny hadn't made things any better; if anything, it had made them worse. He felt like he was living a nightmare, trying to escape and failing.

He stared at the computer screen, watching the thin red loading bar slowly crawl to the right. The technology in the lab could be so slow at times, making him wonder how they ever managed to catch the criminals. Having not had much sleep the night before, his eyes got heavier with every passing minute. Soon, he could not keep them open any longer, and he let them shut.

The sound of a door slam, a woman's scream. He covers his ears, trying to shut out the noise. Daddy's angry again. He's angry but he doesn't say why. There's yelling, the sound of a fist hitting the wall. He wishes he had his Walkman, wishes his brother were there.

"I've got a good-for-nothing wife, a sixteen-year-old son who doesn't do anything and an eleven-year-old who's cracked! Why shouldn't I be angry?" Daddy yells and he's talking about him and his need to make everything right. Mommy's crying, crying that she's trying, what more can she do, she can't bring Michael back. There is the sound of a slap, hard palm hitting flesh. He shuts his eyes and tries not to think about what's going on out there. He wants to run away, far away, and never come back. The bedroom door rattles as something slams into it and there's more hitting.

Adam felt his head drop to the desk as he jerked awake, terrified. The impact nearly jarred his teeth. Gently rubbing his forehead, he looked around to make sure that he wasn't back in his room, reliving that nightmare. He was still in the lab. The computer was finished downloading. He clicked the "Next" button and felt relief. He was safe with the computer.

He tried not to think about the flashbacks as he did his work. He was pushing them to the back of his mind, but one thought kept coming forward. He hadn't told Danny everything last night, only enough to stop his pestering. There was one detail he had left out, a part of the story that was actually the reason why he came to New York. Something he hadn't told anyone.