It was hard when Bret and Adam had to go back to work, but it had to be. They had spent the last day of their "weddymoon" decorating their tree and house for Christmas. It was Adam's favorite holiday season and when he was done, the house was beautiful. Bret loved it, and rewarded Adam well for his efforts, that night in their bed.
Both men were congratulated when they got the their respective work places, they were then questioned about their time in Colorado Springs.
A week later, the Hart's had their dinner with Shawn, Hunter, Wade and Adam Rose. Wade was stunned when the reason for the dinner came to light. When Adam Hart said he wanted Wade to be his Assistant, the Englishman nearly fainted. Never would he have imagined, after all he'd done, that Adam would have asked him to take the job. He'd learned the most valuable lesson in his life, the true meaning of forgiveness and friendship.
Adam Rose loved the idea of being an Emergency surgeon and Hunter fully supported the idea. He told Adam Hart that it would be a lot better, and it would be one less thing to worry about. It would mean Doctor Hart could concentrate on just the Department. Hunter said he'd talk to Heyman and let them know.
Adam decided to be ready and immediately went to the Registrar's Office at the University. He was able to enroll in "long distance" classes in Business Accounting and Business Communications. He would be able to study and "attend" classes on his computer, at his own pace. It would take longer, but he had three semesters before anything changed at work.
Bret and Adam celebrated their first Christmas together on the twenty-seventh of December. Bret took Adam by complete surprise. He gave Adam a beautiful, year old, well-trained Red Husky named Tundra. It made Adam cry. He'd always wanted a dog and Bret had remembered that. Bret told Adam that Tundra could go with him to the Station when Adam had work nights or extra shifts. The dog loved his new family. Adam gave Bret a new, leather biker's jacket, biker boots and a new helmet. Bret loved the gifts and couldn't wait for warmer weather, the motorcycle was almost finished. Bret had one last gift for Adam as well. He'd taken Adam's Mustang and had the carpet that Adam wanted put in. Now his car's restoration was complete.
On New Year's Eve, the Hart's spent a quiet night alone, in front of the fire and with a bottle of champagne. At midnight they kissed then made love on the plush rug in front of the fire. It was a great way to celebrate the new year.
January was a long month. Both Adam and Bret worked nearly every day in preparation for their month off in February, but it was worth it. On February first, they flew to Calgary. Only Owen and his family knew the newlyweds were arriving.
Owen said it would be better to take the family by surprise, and not give Diana a chance to "gang up" on her brother. Owen and the kids picked them up at the airport. It was a happy reunion between the brothers, and the kids loved Uncle Adam from the get go. Owen took his brother and new brother-in-law to his house. Margaret was pleased to see Owen looking so happy. She was responding very well to the chemo and was expected to make a full recovery. She too loved Adam and instantly understood why Bret had married him.
The next day, Owen, Bret and Adam went to the Hart House. It sat on a hill and overlooked the city of Calgary. It was old and well lived in, Adam loved it. Stu was so glad to see his son and meet his new son-in-law. He was in his bed, and he needed constant care. He let Adam examine him at Bret's request. He wanted to make sure his father was getting the care he needed. Adam recommended a daily vitamin shot, and Owen promised to see to it.
Diana was shocked when she came to see her father after work. She found her brothers and a strange blond sitting with Stu and laughing. They were showing the blond the Hart family photo album. She demanded to know what was going on. Bret calmly explained why he was there and introduced her to the newest member of the Hart family. Again she was surprised and at first, said Adam had to be a young gold digger and told Bret that Adam was just after the family fortune from the Sporting Goods stores.
Before Bret could explode on his sister, Adam assured Diana that this was not the case. He told her that he was a doctor and had his own money. He slowly escorted her out of the room and soon, Adam and Diana were on the font porch. It wasn't long before they were chatting like long-lost pals.
Somehow, Adam got Diana to open up about why she was so bitter towards her brother. Diana said it was because Bret did what she couldn't. She wanted to go to college and be a nurse, but she got caught up in the family business and had to vacate her dreams. Adam asked her if she ever told anyone that she wanted to be a nurse. She told Adam no. He then asked her, why not and she had to think about it. She finally admitted it was fear; fear of failure, at least the family business was safe.
Adam explained that it wasn't fair for her to blame Bret just because he did what he did. If Diana had wanted it badly enough, Bret would have helped her, like he had with Owen. With tears in her eyes, she agreed. She said she had some thinking to do and left. Adam hoped he hadn't just made matters worse.
When he went into the house, Bret hugged his husband. He'd overheard a lot of Adam and Diana's conversation. He told Adam that he'd done all he could and the rest was up to his sister. It was her own fault that she never lived out her dream.
They went back upstairs and said goodbye to Stu and his home health aide, and left. Bret showed Adam where he went to school and places he played as a child. He then took Adam to the big hill where they could rent sleds. They had a fun afternoon of sledding and playing in the snows of Calgary.
The next day, Bret took Adam to the main family store. Without Diana around, Bret's other siblings were thrilled to see their brother and meet Adam. They loved the blond doctor and were happy to see Bret looking so content. Bret asked his oldest brother, Smith to call a family dinner.
Two days later, they met at Nick's Steak House and Pizza, a restaurant that was a family tradition in Calgary for thirty-five years, and it was one of the few places that had a private room large enough for the Hart family. This time though, it was just the twelve Hart siblings plus Adam and Stu. The family patriarch was having a good day and wanted to be with all his children again. He too hoped the rift in the family could be healed.
Bret introduced Adam to his brothers and sisters. Adam met, Smith, Bruce, Keith, Wayne, Dean, Ellie, Georgia, Allison, Ross, Diana again, and Owen was also there. They met in the lounge room and all fourteen people were at one huge table. Stu sat at the head and in honor, Adam was at the foot.
Everyone ordered their food and while they waited, the conversation was mostly general chit-chat. They asked Adam about his life and work. He answered all the questions politely. Bruce asked about the beautiful snake-skin belt Adam wore. They listened intently to the story of Adam's snakebite. He also passed around the rattle necklace he wore.
Adam's near death experience led to him telling his new family about what had happened to Bret during the tornado. Only Owen had known and he hadn't said anything, mainly because of their ailing father. But since Stu could see that Bret was fine, the story was told.
When she realized how close Bret had come to dying, Diana knew that she'd been wrong to punish Bret for her own lack of courage. That was finally the opening that was needed to let the healing begin. For the next two weeks, Bret had a wonderful time getting to know his brothers and sisters all over again. To give Bret time with his siblings, Adam spent a lot of time with Stu Hart. He loved spending time with Bret's father, hearing stories about how he and Helen raised twelve children and the struggle to start the family business. Adam also consulted with Stu's doctor. The man was more than willing to listen to the younger doctor and agreed to some of the slight changes in Stu's care. The family was grateful to Adam.
When the newlywed's left Calgary, peace in the family had mostly been restored. There was still a lot of healing to be done. Bret knew they would never be as close as they once were, but it was so much better than it was. Bret thanked Adam for his part in the family healing by treating him to first class seating on the flight home. Tundra greeted them happily when the Hart's picked him up from the doggie hotel.
Bret and Adam spent the last week and half of their vacation at home, but they kept to themselves and spent the majority of their time in bed. No one had even been sure when they had returned to Denver.
Adam Rose's family finally arrived in Denver in early March. Hopes for them arriving in time for Christmas were dashed when Adam's father had a sudden, massive heart attack. Wade bought his Rosebud a first class ticket home to South Africa. While there, Adam was able to move his family to a bigger apartment and see to it that his sisters were safe and well cared for.
He was also able to meet with the immigration officials in person. Adam hand delivered all the forms and papers in person. He showed them pictures of the apartment, the schools for his sisters and the agreement of sponsorship from the Helmsley's. Permission for the Rose family to immigrate was fully granted, as soon as Mister Rose was able to travel.
Adam's mother was so happy about the move and having her only son back at home, that her health seemed to improve overnight. Doctor Rose also made sure his father was getting the best possible care. Adam stayed for three weeks. He wanted to stay longer, but he couldn't fall that far behind in his classes. His mother assured him they would be fine. Finally, in early March they arrived in Denver.
The Rose's were made welcome by the "family" and the girls were so happy to start school. Adam's older sister enrolled in community college, she wanted to be a nurse. Shawn said that she would have a tutor to help her catch up. Adam's parents had done a good job at home schooling them, but they were still woefully behind. However, they were all quick and eager students. They wanted to follow in their brother's footsteps and make something of themselves. Adam Rose was proud of his family. They were happy, and had finally found acceptance.
The next big news came when after many, many delays, Phil Brooks was finally transferred to Station 40. He was then finally able to propose to John. John said yes, and on their next "off" period, they went to the courthouse downtown and got married. They had waited so long, they didn't want to wait any longer to plan a wedding. So with Bret and Adam as their witnesses, Phil and John were married.
Phil's replacement at Station 51 was a young Lieutenant named Colt Cabana. While Phil was missed, Colt quickly became a trusted member of the team. Bret liked him and John did too, that helped. It was always hard to walk into a new station, it helped that he already knew most of the guys. Bret was glad everyone was happy, it had been a long time coming.
Six months to the day from the plane crash, The Lionhearts first CD was released nationally. The record label did as promised and the band was off on an introductory tour. Jason did an excellent job and worked hard to get the band on all the talk shows he could. Adam watched the Today show with pride as The Lionhearts gave a Friday "concert" on both hours of the famous morning show.
Chris' voice was in better form than ever, but he still moved a bit slow and he didn't do quite as much jumping around, but that too improved with each performance The Lionhearts gave.
During The Lionhearts stint in Las Vegas, with Jay and Heath at their sides, Chris and Evan were married. Chris knew it was the right thing. He realized that with Evan, his head never turned and his eyes never strayed to the fan-boys that threw themselves at his feet. Chris knew he would never do to Evan what he'd done to Adam. That had given him the courage to wed with utter confidence. Even knew if he was patient, Chris would finally be his; he was right.
When Jason called his brother and told him the news, Adam was happy for the newly married couple. It was almost a relief to Adam, he was free from Chris, finally free. Oh, he had no romantic feelings for Chris but deep inside, he felt until Chris moved on, a tiny part of his soul was trapped. It was hard to explain, but with Chris' marriage, he soul was free. All Bret knew was that he felt closer to Adam than ever.
The Lionhearts were not quite an overnight success, but close. It was always hard for a new hard rock band to break out and show they weren't a carbon copy of anyone else. Chris' distinctive voice and the bands talent were noticed by the public. However the thing that broke them from the pack was a scathing CD review by Rolling Stone Magazine. If they hated a CD, it became an instant best seller. The magazine was well aware of the opposite effect their reviews had. Insiders knew if the review was bad, the magazine secretly loved the CD. Oh well who could really understand the fickle music industry anyway.
By late spring The Lionhearts were on their way to Europe for the summer concert season. Before they left, "MEET THE LIONHEARTS" was the number one CD on the Billboard Metal Chart and number ten on the regular chart.
Heath was able to fly both with support from Jay and a very mild tranquilizer from Adam. As a matter of fact, everyone had the same prescription, they were all nervous about getting on an airplane, especially Chris and Evan. Soon they all became seasoned travelers, the prescriptions were no longer needed. It was years later, when one day Adam finally admitted all their prescriptions for that trip had been placebos, proof that it really was all about mind over matter.
That summer, while Jay and The Lionhearts were in Europe, the wedding of Wade Barrett and Adam Rose took place. Adam had so loved the Evan's Memorial Chapel, during the Hart's wedding, he knew it was where he wanted to marry Wade. Shawn was also given the honor of being the one to marry the couple. Adam Hart stood as Wade's best man, with Bret as his groomsman. Adam Rose's father gave his son away, then stood as his best man. His sisters made beautiful "brides"maids. It was a small, but very elegant wedding.
The Barrett's were given a two-week honeymoon. Wade took his new husband to England. He wanted his parents to meet Adam in person. Wade's parents had fully intended to be at the wedding, but mother nature had other ideas. A volcanic eruption in Iceland had grounded all flights in and out of northern Europe, just like it had a few years ago.
There was nothing to be done. Lord Barrett and his wife told their son to carry on with their wedding, but he made it up to Wade in a huge way. He bought not only first class tickets, but booked them on a flight that had private cabins. It was a British Airways flight, and it was enjoyed. The couple did join the mile high club, but not in some cramped bathroom. They joined on a bed in their private cabin. Wade was sure it was the only way to fly. The air over Europe had cleared so they were able to fly four days after the wedding.
The newlywed Barrett's had a grand time, and Adam was made to feel welcomed into the family. Mrs. Barrett took her new son-in-law into London for a day of shopping, leaving Wade to have a chat with his father.
For the first time, Wade had the courage to tell his father everything that had happened. He started with Doctor William Regal and ended with Adam Hart's offer to be his Assistant. He left nothing out, not even the file folder and how he had planned to destroy Adam and Bret.
When Wade finished, he felt better than he'd felt in years. He sat back with his cup of tea and waited for his father's reaction. Wade watched his father carefully, so many emotions crossed the Lord's face. Without a word, the older man got up, went into his study and shut the door. Wade sighed, got up and went out into the beautiful flower garden. He sat on a stone bench and watched the Koi fish swim in the little pond. The good feeling he had was gone. He guessed he should have kept his mouth shut. He wished his Rosebud was there.
Wade was surprised when his father came out of the house and walked toward him, he was carrying two glasses each filled with a bit of amber liquid. He handed a glass to his son. His father sat down next to him, raised his glass and swallowed the shot in one drink, Wade followed suit. The Doctor recognized the taste of the extremely expensive Scotch Whiskey, the one his father only drank on special occasions. Next, Wade's father took out two expensive, hand rolled Cuban cigars. He lit his son's then his own.
Lord Barrett told his son he was very proud of him. What he had done to Adam Hart was wrong, but the way he confessed his "sin" to the American was a very brave thing to do. He said that Doctor Adam Hart must be a unique person, Wade agreed. His father told him, while he missed him, he was pleased his son was making a good life and a good career, probably better than he would have had if he would have stayed in England. It was one of the deepest bonding moments that younger and older Barrett had ever had.
On the night before the newlywed's flew back to the States, Wade found that on the day he and his father had their bonding talk, while pouring the whiskey and fetching the cigars, his father had made a phone call.
William Regal was now no longer worked at the largest hospital in London. He'd been transferred to the small community hospital that dealt with the homeless, the drug addicts and drunks. It was a good hospital, just not a good place to work and the pay from the government was much less. Wade's father explained, with a wink and a grin, that sometimes, his "Lordship" paid off.
When Wade returned to the U of C Hospital, he came back to a crisis. Not with the hospital itself but a fight between Doctor DiBiase and Doctor Rhodes. Ted had finally finished his residency and had been officially "white coated" by Hunter at his graduation ceremony. It was after the ceremony when Ted announced he'd made a very important decision.
Ted explained that he'd felt a strong calling to join Doctors Without Borders. It was an organization, begun several years ago in France. There it was called Medecens Sans Frontiers. Doctors would travel, mostly to either third world countries or communities isolated from civilization. The Doctors would treat patients that usually never had a chance to see a physician. It was considered a noble calling and they were always looking for new members.
Cody of course, didn't want Ted to go, even though Ted said it would only be for two years. He tried to explain it was a calling, much like when Shawn was also called to be a preacher.
While they argued, Bret celebrated another birthday. Adam had the Helmsley's, the Barrett's and the Brooks' over for a dinner party. It also started the poker games again. Adam, Shawn and the other Adam didn't play, they instead kept the cold drinks and sandwiches coming. It was a fun time. Bret said he'd go back to hosting a game at least once a month. After all he and Hunter did make out their time schedules and if they all happened to be off on the same Friday night once a month, who was to question.
Adam spent every free moment at his studies. He did manage to set aside an hour a week to paint. He found it helped clear his mind and it made work and study much more pleasant. He was working on a painting of the Garden of the Gods and it was beautiful.
Doctor Hart's studies, however, did lead to the couples first fight or rather, Bret's first experience with Adam's sometimes explosive temper. He was doing his accounting homework. He had to balance a large ledger with a hundred debits and credits. The frustrating part was he was off by two cents. Adam checked and rechecked every single entry. He couldn't find any transposed numbers, so he finally asked Bret for help on his next day off.
Bret and Adam sat down at the kitchen table. Adam watched as Bret added and subtracted the columns of numbers, then balanced them perfectly. He'd caught Adam's mistake almost immediately. The trouble came when he tried to explain the mistake. He pointed out that, by accident, in one of the columns, Adam had added the date to the figures. He even showed his husband where the mistake was made. It was then when Adam threw his fit.
He felt so stupid and idiotic. He knocked his workbooks from the table and let out a string of curses that would have made a sailor blush. Bret told him to calm down, it was just a mistake, one he had made once on the payroll. Adam replied that a doctor shouldn't be that stupid. Bret took Adam to mean that a fireman wasn't as smart and that lead to a real barn burner. Adam threw Bret out of the bedroom and locked the door. Bret huffed to the couch and slept.
In the morning, Adam realized he'd been a complete child and was ashamed of himself. He ran out to Bret in tears and begged for forgiveness. Bret apologized too, he knew Adam hadn't meant that firefighters were stupid. Their make up sex was incredible.
It was nearing the end of summer but the "family" celebrated another happy occasion. The David Smith-Hart Children's Camp opened. It had been built on a plot of ground on the River Platte. It was a beautiful green space on the outskirts of the city. Four cabins that would house ten children and two adults had been built, along with a mess cabin, a girls and boys shower block and a large headquarters cabin that had offices and staff living spaces.
It was a wonderful place. Adam was so proud when Bret made the opening speech. Bret was dumbfounded when a portrait of Davy was revealed. It hung over the huge fireplace in the mess hall and had secretly been painted by Adam. Davy looked so handsome in his dress uniform and the details were perfect. Adam got well rewarded, later at home.
Time marched on, it was the week before Bret and Adam's first anniversary. Adam and Wade were working the second shift. They were in the break room eating their "lunch" when the call to the trauma room came.
When they got to the entrance of trauma room one, there were several State Troopers and guards from the prison in the hallway. The two doctors entered the room. Adam was shocked when he saw the patient lying on the gurney. He instantly recognized the heavily tattooed arms, but the face held no resemblance to the man he knew as Randal Keith Orton.
It looked as if someone had tried to cut Randy's face off, literally. He was also partly scalped, blood poured from the wounds. He had also been stabbed several times and three fingers of his left hand were missing. Adam switched his brain to full doctor mode. He also told Beth to call in the Helmsley's. Randy would most assuredly need Hunter's surgical skills.
Wade and the nurses worked to stop the massive bleeding while Adam talked to the head guard. He told Adam that once again Randy had been caught fucking the Top Dog's bitch. It was all over by the time the guards got there.
Randy was barely breathing as they worked on him. Adam gently placed an oxygen mask over something that was once a nose. It did help but a "crike" kit was on standby. Adam went to work stitching up what he could. It seemed like for every wound he stitched, he found two more. Randy looked like a human Q-tip. Wade had wrapped the prisoner's head with gauze sponges and rolls of gauze. They were already bleeding through.
When the Helmsley's arrived they were just as shocked. Shawn was always dumbfounded by what one human being could do to another. It made him sad, even for someone like Randy.
Hunter and Wade, along with Shawn and Beth rushed Orton to emergency surgery. Adam was going to go, but one of the guards needed some stitches in his arm and leg, he'd gotten cut trying to get to the fight in Orton's cell.
The others came back ten minutes later, Randy had collapsed and died in the elevator on the way up to the second floor. It wasn't that big of a surprise, it would have been more of a surprise if they had managed to save him.
Adam wasn't exactly sure how he felt. So many thoughts were going through his mind. All the horrible things Randy had done to him, yet, in the early times of their relationship there was love. Randy was crazy about Adam, and Adam had felt the same for Orton. That was the Randal Keith Orton, Adam wanted to remember. He wished he could be the one to tell Bob and Elaine about their son, but that was the job of the Prison Warden.
Randy was taken, by ambulance back to the Prison. He as a prisoner of the State and he was officially in their custody. As the first doctor in the room, Adam signed all the prison's papers and the head guard signed the ones for the hospital. Adam then did something he never did; he left work two hours early.
Hunter understood and Wade said not to worry he could cover for Adam. Shawn took matters into his own hands and called Bret. The Captain happened to be at home, it was his last day off of this shift.
Adam just got in his car and drove. For late November, early December the weather was unseasonably warm. He drove up into the foothills. There was a place you could pull over and look down on the lights of the city. Here and there he could make out a few houses that already had their Christmas lights up. They added color to the lights of the city.
Bret was worried; Adam had left the hospital an hour ago. That was more than enough time to drive home. He tried calling his husband, but it went to voice mail. He wished Jason was home, but they weren't back from their North American tour for another week. Jay might have been able to tell him where Adam would go. Bret sighed, all he could do was wait; and pray.
Adam sat behind the wheel of his Mustang and cried. He didn't cry because Randy was dead, he cried because he was free. It was the first time he'd truly let go of all the pain Randy had caused him. All the terrible words and painful punches rolled down his cheeks in the form of tears.
After about thirty minutes, Adam knew where he needed to be, at home, in Bret's arms. He was thankful Bret was off, his Bear would be there. Adam started his Mustang and pointed her towards home and Bret's loving embrace. When Adam pulled into the garage, Bret nearly cried in relief. He patiently waited for Adam to come into the house, and when he did, Adam went into Bret's waiting arms.
Bret told Adam that Shawn had called and told him what had happened. He asked Adam where he'd been. Adam told Bret everything and how that now Randy could hold nothing over his head, ever again. Adam only needed one thing, and Bret gave it to him; they made passionate love.
On their first Anniversary, Bret took Adam out to dinner. He gave Adam a beautiful diamond eternity ring and Adam gave Bret an antique pocket watch. They celebrated at home later with the top of their wedding cake, and a long, long night of rough and dirty sex. Bret was in top form.
On a cold February morning, Cody watched as Ted's plane took off. He was on his way to Paris to train for his two-year stint with Doctor's Without Borders. Ted had finally convinced Cody that this was what he needed to do. Cody saw the passion for the calling in his lover's eyes and he knew Ted was right. However, before Ted left, he proposed to Cody and told him to start planning for a wedding in two years. Cody said he'd hold Teddy to that. So with tears falling, Cody left the airport, knowing two years was a long time.
Back at the hospital, another relationship looked like it was headed to the altar. Doctor Dolph Ziggler had finally noticed that ER Ward Clerk AJ Lee was looking at him. They started dating, Dolph was no longer alone and neither was AJ. Everyone was just waiting for their formal announcement.
In March, Bret gave Adam another fright. Bret was at a fire and he and his crew were trying to pull a family of four out of a burning house. They had rescued everyone but the mother. When the fire in the kitchen broke out, the mother had been in the basement doing laundry. The kitchen was just above the washing area in the basement.
Bret and Jay Uso had found the woman in the basement. As Bret was carrying her out, part of the floor above, fell down on top of them. Jay managed to get the woman to safety but Bret was trapped by his right ankle under a beam.
Adam was trembling with fear. He'd been at home when he'd gotten that dreaded call, Bret was hurt and on his way to the hospital. Adam went to the Emergency Room, this time not as a doctor, but as a family member. Of course, one thing was different, he had a pass-key to the treatment rooms. When he got to where Bret was, Wade was there as the primary doctor. Adam stood by his husband's side and when the X-rays were up, was relieved to see that his husband's ankle was only badly sprained.
With his ankle wrapped, Adam took Bret home to rest up for a couple of days. He spoiled Bret rotten and Bret let Adam fuss over him. He knew it was what Adam had to do to keep his "sanity", so to speak. It was moments like these when Adam realized how dangerous Bret's job was. He knew that when he chose Bret, and most of the time he was fine, but there were times, like this when he wished Bret was a plumber.
Two days later, Wade cleared Bret for work and everything was back to normal, for a while.
In the mean time Adam Rose-Barrett's family was doing very well. His father was feeling better and his mother was back to being the happy woman she once was. His sisters were doing very well in school. They were still a bit behind in school, but with tutors they were rapidly catching up.
Shawn had taken an interest in Melissa, Adam's twenty-one year old sister. She wanted to be a nurse and not only that, a surgical nurse. She had a dream of working with her brother much like Shawn did with Hunter. Adam was all for it. He knew he needed someone he could trust by his side and Missy was his first choice. He told his sister that if she kept her head down and worked hard, she could have the job.
Shawn hired a tutor from the General Studies Department at the Community College of Aurora. They offered a pathway course to a bachelor of nursing degree from the University of Colorado College of Nursing, where Shawn had obtained his degree.
Melissa would do general studies for one year, then it would take six semesters to get her degree. Shawn said if she was willing to devote all her time to her studies, he could fast track her through the general studies. He would hire her as an aide so she could watch and learn from the ground up. She was more than willing and was doing really well, Shawn saw immediately that Missy had a natural talent for nursing. She and Adam would make a great team one day.
Adam's younger sisters were having a wonderful time just being little girls. Hunter adored them and enrolled them in dance classes and Girl Scouts. He bought them each a kitten and tended to spoil them.
The Rose family was accepted, nobody cared that they were racially mixed. Adam was so happy to see his parents laughing and smiling and his little sisters looking well fed and happy. He knew meeting Wade and the rest of the "family" was the best thing that had ever happened to him.
Wade too, was happier than ever. His early time at the hospital was long forgotten. The nurses all loved working with him and the patients liked him as well.
The Barrett's and the Hart's were very good friends. All the bad feelings between Wade and Bret were long gone. The two men found they had a common love for motorcycles and playing darts. After all, Bret did have Wade's blood coursing through his veins, sharing things in common was only natural, or at least they said so, with a laugh.
Adam Hart also found out that Adam Barrett loved to draw. So, often while Bret and Wade were working on their motorcycles, yes, Wade had bought one; the two Adam's were in the attic drawing and painting. Sometimes Hunter joined them and Shawn would visit while the two artists painted.
While Adam Hart's paintings looked like photographs, Adam Barrett had a more impressionist touch. He wasn't as talented or as serious about it as the other Adam, but it was fun and relaxing.
As promised, Chief Lawler's wife hung a few of Adam's paintings up in the fame shop. She had sold one, a painting of the campsite, for three hundred dollars. Adam got two hundred forty dollars for it. He gave the money to Bret for Davy's camp. Bret said he'd earmark it for art supplies.
When ever the two couples had a Sunday afternoon free, and the weather was good, they would go for long motorcycle rides. They often went up into the mountains and had picnics by small streams. Once in a while, Hunter and Shawn would join them, sometimes Phil and John would rent a motorcycle and join them.
Whenever Jason was in town, the brothers would get together for some brother time. Their favorite thing to was either go play mini golf or go for a long bicycle ride, Tundra often went with them.
Heath was usually at the studio. The Lionhearts were in the process of recording a new CD. Jack Swagger, the studio owner had heard a copy of the CD the band had recorded for the Hart's wedding, he loved it. He played it for the record label and they too loved it, so now The Lionhearts were making a more professional version of the CD. It was called, "The Dance of Love".
Adam Hart took Adam Barrett to the studio at Jason's invitation. The blond physician was stunned to learn that his wedding CD was the focus of the bands new CD. He had mixed feelings about it. He felt it was something personal between himself and Bret. However, he wanted his brother's band to be a success and in the end that was what mattered. He was also glad to see that Chris and Evan were very happily married.
The day came when Doctor Robert Backlund retired from his position as the Dean of the University of Colorado Medical School. The next day, Doctor Paul Heyman took his place.
Doctor Hunter Hearst Helmsley was named as the Administrator of the University of Colorado Hospital. In many ways, it was good as it was less demanding physically. It was more of a nine to five job, and he didn't have the responsibility of patient care or rushing to the operating room at two in the morning.
On the other hand it was a more mentally demanding job. He was responsible for the running and smooth maintenance of the entire facility, not just one department. He was very glad now of the few law courses he'd taken in his early days. He understood now why having a doctor who was also a lawyer made the job look so easy.
Still, Hunter was excellent for the job. At first Shawn missed working with his husband, but he adjusted. Shawn still worked his normal shift rotation, but with Hunter on more regular hours, they got to spend more quality time together.
Doctor Adam Joseph Hart, at age thirty, became the youngest Department Head at the U of C Hospital. His formal title was Chief of Emergency Services. He was now fully in charge. As promised, he named Wade as his assistant. He knew he would work well with Wade, and he vowed to keep up Hunter's promise to make the U of C Emergency Department, the best in the State.
One of the first things he did, with Hunter's approval was to start his first test program. Adam was responsible for a new program that he had worked on with Bret. The hospital would automatically dispatch an ambulance to any fire call that went out.
The program was limited to a test of the four fire departments in the hospital's district, one of which was Station 51. Bret and Adam had worked hard on the project. They wanted to show that precious minutes could be saved if an ambulance arrived with the fire trucks or at least in the first five minutes. Minutes saved could mean life or death to a victim. If the ambulance wasn't needed, it would promptly be sent back to the hospital. Better to waste a few minutes of time instead of a human life.
In the month since Adam had been on the job, four lives had been saved because the ambulance was right there with the fire trucks. The Hart's were pleased and proud that the test was working so well. The program test was going so well, that it reached Mayor McMahon's ears. He was very pleased and directed Denver General to adopt the test program as well. That meant Adam and Bret had to work up a formal "instruction" manual.
They were invited to Denver General to present the program, along with the primary response team of Drew McIntyre, Ricardo Rodriguez and Brie Bella. Hunter was there as well, and he was as proud as a peacock of both Adam and Bret.
Adam and Bret had been married five years when the next big change in their lives came along; and it was a big one.
At age fifty-one, Bret Hart became Chief of the Denver Fire Department, Aurora District. This meant he was in charge of ten full stations, three small sub-stations, and the station based at the Denver International Airport.
When Chief Lawler decided to retire, there was only one person he wanted to take his place, Bret Sargent Hart. It was not an easy decision to make. Bret loved his job, his station and his team. Leaving it all behind would be hard. He had everything running the way he liked it.
Being Chief would mean hours behind a desk pushing papers. Bret wasn't sure he was ready for that. Oh, he would still go to major fire calls, but his role would be different. He would be running the command post, not rescuing victims or running a fire hose, the things he loved.
Adam was proud when Bret told him about the pending promotion. He was also privately relieved, it meant Bret would finally be out of danger. He, however, kept that to himself. Adam would not say or do anything that would prevent Bret from doing the job he loved. He would stand behind Bret, no matter what decisions he made.
Bret had a long conversation with Jerry and then with Jim Ross, the Chief of the next district where Davy's old station was located. After he spoke to the two Chiefs, Bret then spoke to his husband. When Bret asked Adam to be honest, and give his opinion on the matter, Adam finally told Bret his feelings. How nice it would be not to have to worry all the time. Adam also said, that if Bret wanted to stay on as Captain, he would support him fully.
Bret thought about it, he talked to Owen and Shawn as well, but the one thing that kept coming back to his mind; the look on Adam's face when he first mentioned the promotion. He saw the worry wash from Adam's face and shoulders like melting ice in the spring.
So on a warm late spring morning, Captain Bret Hart became Chief Bret Hart. Adam had tears of pride and relief in his eyes as he pinned Bret's new rank ribbon on to his formal uniform jacket.
At the same promotion ceremony, Phil Brooks proudly pinned John's new ribbon rank on his jacket; Captain John Cena-Brooks was now the Captain of Station 51. Roman Reigns had been promoted to Lieutenant. It was a proud day for the Denver Fire Department, Aurora District.
That night, after having made love to Adam, he held his beloved boy in his arms. He reflected over the last six years of his life.
He had gone from utter heartbreak at losing Davy, to utter joy with Adam. He gently stroked his husband's long, blond hair. There was only one thing Bret knew for sure; with Adam in his arms, he was a Hart on Fire.
THE END
A/N: We have reached the end of another story. I want to thank all of you who reviewed, read and enjoyed this one. It was fun to write. I do have another story waiting in the wings... a western, set in 1888... it will be called A New Life in the Old West... and will star, Adam, Jason, Shawn, Bret, Wade, Heath, and will feature many other WWE Superstars. Vince, Jericho, Triple H... to name a few. I hope to begin publication in the next week or so. I hope you will enjoy it. Once again THANK YOU so much for all your love and support. My writing helps keep my sane! Till the next story... have a great day! LadyDragonsblood.