Heh, guys. Thank you all for your support, you are truly amazing. Your reviews really made my day.
I hope you will like the next chapter. I know it is short but still ...
Enjoy!
T73.
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Adam is sitting with Chaz at the counter in their favorite bar and picks at the label of his beer while he is watching how Liz is flirting with some strange guy, sighing.
He and she had decided that it would be better when they take a time out from each other one month after he was released from hospital.
He had felt that something had changed between them after the shoot-out and had said that he'd gonna stay in a hotel until they had figured out what to do, she wanted to decline that but he insisted to do so.
That is six months ago now.
Liz had been afraid that they would act strangely around each other when they see at work or in their favorite bar, but Adam had acted like a grown up and talked normal to her and bought her a drink every now and then without any exceptions. The only thing he always wanted to know how she is doing.
She realized that she actually can be friends with him and accepted his proposition to have a run or two together in a week.
It doesn't mean that it isn't hurting him when he sees Liz leaving the bar with some random guy every weekend, though. But he is always sitting tight and hoping that it is just a phase. At least she didn't cheat on me, he is always thinking the nights when she had picked a new one-night stand. The only times he's interfering are when the guys get a little too pushy. But tonight it doesn't seem like he has to step in.
"You okay," Chaz is asking and orders a new beer for himself.
Adam is glancing at him and nods with a weak smile. "Yeah, I'm fine."
"You know, if I would be wasted I maybe would believe you." The other man replies and frowns.
Adam is chuckling and runs an hand over his stubbly beard, opening his mouth to reply something. But he turns his head as he feels an hand on his back.
"Can I buy you guys a drink," Liz asks and sits down on the bar stool next to Adam.
He is blinking a couple of times and furls his eyebrows. "What about the guy you have been flirting all evening?"
"He's a prick," she states matter-of-factly and orders three tequila shots.
Chaz chuckles and shakes his head. "You know that all guys you hooked up with were pricks, right?"
"Well, I didn't plan on introducing them to my parents." Liz replies and hates herself for saying that as soon as she sees the hurt look of Adam. "Hey, let me introduce you to a friend of mine."
Adam empties his bottle and shakes his head. "Nah, I'm good, but thank you."
She sighs and frowns a little. It always takes all of her willpower to not going to him and taking him with her home when she is seeing him, but she is telling herself that she needs to find out if she is really willed to commit herself to a life with Adam. That's why she is doing this. But she doesn't take any kind of colleagues with her home anymore. She doesn't want to be the woman who had slept with the entire BPD before she settled for one man.
She grabs Adam's chin and turns his head. "You should shave your face."
"Nope, I like it that way." He says and is holding her gaze. "And the ladies seem to like it too."
Liz snorts and swats his arm. She has seen that some women had come up to Adam but they always got the brush-off, and somehow she has been relieved about it. "Yeah, no."
"It's true." Chaz says and looks briefly over his shoulder. "Four girls have been hitting on him in the last thirty minutes."
Adam is glaring at him and downs his shot. "So Monday, huh?"
"What is on Monday?"
"On Monday you finally get your golden badge." Chaz says and is grinning like a Cheshire cat.
"It's no big deal." She replies with a smile.
"It is a big deal, Liz. "Adam says and is bumping his shoulder into hers. "You became directly a Homicide Detective and you can be proud of yourself. It is a big deal."
Liz is smiling to herself and takes a deep breath. "Thank you."
He straightens up and claps his hands. "All right, the next round is on me."
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Liz is a little nervous as she enters the bullpen with a box in her hand. It is not that it is her first time that comes into this room, but usual she has been wearing her uniform. Today it is different, she takes a deep breath and rounds the corner.
Frankie turns his head and raises his eyebrows high. "Hey, look at who finally decided to join us."
Jane is about to vacate her desk and is looking up, smiling. "Hey, you are a little late today."
"Traffic." Liz simply says and shrugs.
"Nervous?" Adam asks and put an hand on her shoulder.
"Why would I be nervous?"
Jane chuckles and rolls her eyes. She is glad that the two act civil around each other after they had broken up. She takes a deep breath and is looking at her brother. "So Frankie, it's time for you to take the reins. If you need anything you know where you can find me."
Frankie is nodding approvingly and nods to the other entrance. "Yeah, down the hallway in your very own office."
Jane rolls her eyes once again and is glaring at her. "Jerk."
He is laughing with the others and looks at her. "Everything is going to be okay, Jane. You're gonna be proud of us."
"You better make sure of that," the Italian says and starts to walk. "I know where you are living."
Liz is placing the box on her own desk that once belonged to her Ma and frowns. "I still can't believe that she rather took the lieutenant's exam then to retire."
"I think you have been a great inspiration for your mother and your uncle." Adam replies and is sitting down on his chair.
Liz is scoffing and shrugs without looking at him. "Maybe."
Frankie is standing at the coffeemaker and is watching the bantering between Liz and Adam. He still can remember how Jane sat there and did the same with Frost and how Korsak was sitting at the desk that he's today calling his, and said that he felt like being back in kindergarten.
And all of a sudden he is able to understand how Korsak must have felt like.
"You do look like someone ran over your puppy." Liz states as she sees his absentmindedly face.
Adam snorts amused and turns to look at Frankie. "Or do you have blockage?"
Liz makes a face at that thought. "Ew."
"Shut up, both of you." Frankie says with a smile and is sitting down on his chair. "I just was a little nostalgic. It happens that I knew each of them who sat at those desks before you."
"So you admit that you are old," Liz asks with a smirk and Adam drops his chin to his chest, chuckling.
Frankie's stopping dead in his track and perks his eyebrows up. "God," he groans and laughs with the others.
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Leslie is sitting down next to the brunette and hands her a sandwich. "You look pretty professional now. I have to get used to the fact that we don't wear the same things at work anymore, but I am glad for you."
Liz is taking a deep breath and smiles a little. "Thank you."
"And you okay with the fact that you see Adam every day from now on?"
Liz is nodding and takes a bite from her lunch. "Yeah, I am okay with that. I mean, Adam and I are friends."
Leslie is huffing in disbelief and raises briefly her brows.
"What," Liz asks and turns her head to look at her best friend.
The redhead is chewing and swallowing. "Why don't you go and tell Adam that you still love him? It is obvious that he still loves you too."
"It's not that easy, Leslie."
"It is." Leslie says emphatically and looks with big eyes at the brunette. "I mean, this is your solution, Liz? Sleeping with every guy in Boston until you are over him? Come on, Liz, you are better than that. You won't find a second man like him, and he won't wait for you forever."
Liz has to fight with herself so she won't start to cry right here and right now. "Maybe it is best for us both when he is going on."
"I would believe you if you wouldn't sit here and sniffle." Leslie counter and furls her eyebrows. "Why did you break up with Adam? I never got that."
Liz is leaning back and crosses her legs. She knows that she can tell her best friend why she broke up with him and that Leslie won't tell that anyone else. "When Adam got shot I thought that I would lose him, particularly as he was in coma. I … I realized that I wouldn't survive losing him, that it would destroy me, break me. And I can't let that happen."
"And that won't happen because the two of you are just friends now?" Leslie asks and frowns. "You wouldn't care if something happens to Adam today or tomorrow?"
Liz let her shoulders slump and sighs. "Of course it would devastated me, Leslie. I still care for Adam."
"You still love Adam," the other woman corrects and nudge the brunette with her elbow. "A lot."
Liz is dropping her eyes to her lap and furrows her eyebrows. She knows that the redhead is absolutely right, she still loves Adam, and that she does have one one-night stand after the other to distract herself from those feelings. But it never worked out, though. As soon as she had been with a random guy her mind had tricked her and pretended that the man on top of her or under her would be Adam to make the whole situation more bearable. But that trick didn't work for her either, it only made the things even more complicated.
"You should talk to him." Leslie says and nods encouragingly.
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Adam is entering with his high school friends Noah Driscoll and Craig Verdansky the Greely's and is laughing about one of Noah's idiotic jokes, but then he is freezing as he spots Liz sitting alone in a boot and picking at the label of her beer. "I'll join you in a bit." He says and makes his way to Liz' table. He is flopping down on the bench on the other side of the table and he can see that that the brunette must have been crying. "Whose face do I have to punch?" He asks and looks around in the crowd.
Liz is looking up and has to laugh at his serious face. "Mine."
He looks long at her and furrows his eyebrows. "That is something I will never do. What's wrong?"
"Many things."
"Someone once told me that I am a good listener. You can talk to me."
She has to smile because she has been the one who has told him that. And she looks up into his eyes. She is considering his offer and sighs. "Maybe another day."
He places an hand over hers and has to swallow hard. Acting normal around others or at work is one thing, acting normal when they are alone is another thing. "You know that I you can talk to me, right?"
Liz is holding his gaze and she can see that he is genuine. She smiles a little and nods. "Yes, I know that." She says a takes a deep breath. "You should go back to Craig and Noah."
"And leave you alone in your misery?" Adam and shakes his head vehemently, ordering two beer. "Uh-uh, no chance in this life time. So, how is it to be officially Detective Elizabeth Rizzoli-Isles?"
She tries to ignore the fire that is running through her body as soon as he starts to caress her thumb with his and turns the corners of her mouth downward. "It feels pretty good. I have to get used that everyone is yelling Detective Rizzoli now instead Officer Rizzoli, though. It feels like Ma or Frankie are standing behind me."
He chuckles and nods slowly. "Yeah, I thought so to. Well, beside the fact that neither my dad nor my mom are a police officer. It only has been a month now, Liz. You'll get used to it. I needed two months until I really became Detective Laverty."
Liz is chuckling and shrugs. "Sometimes we still have to call you twice before you turn around."
Adam narrows his eyes and is smirking. "Sometimes it is useful to play deaf."
She is laughing and rolls her eyes. "Sometimes?"
"Careful." He warns but is smiling. "So, you're going home alone tonight?"
Liz is surprised by the sudden change of topic and she can feel the color drain from her face. She licks her lips and heaves a sigh. "I never took one of the men I have been with to … my place."
"Why?" He asks and is frowning a little.
Liz is downing the rest of her beer as soon as the next one arrives. "Because … because it is my place … my privacy. Are you seeing someone?"
Adam is nodding slowly and takes a deep breath. "I think you know the answer, Elizabeth."
She nods as well and licks her lips. "Maybe you … should start to date again."
His heart is dropping and he clenches his teeth, somehow he knew that he would hear those words some day. "Is that what you want, Liz. That I start to date other women?"
Liz isn't answering right away and is considering her next words carefully. "I … I want you to be happy, Adam."
Adam is raising his eyebrows for a second and doesn't look at her as he swallows his remark. "Let's drink and talk about something else."
Liz knows that this conversation isn't over yet, but she is glad that he is offering her a way out for tonight.
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Adam is smiling as he walks Liz to the apartment and stops at the door. He shoves his hands into the pockets of his pants. "Well, I had a good time."
Liz is fishing her keys out of her purse and nods approvingly. "Yeah, me too. Thank you for bringing me home."
He rubs his face with both of his hands and shrugs. "It goes without saying, Liz."
She can see that he is exhausted and furrows her brows. "You can stay and sleep on the couch."
Adam is holding her gaze and something in her eyes is telling him that his exhaustion isn't her only motive that she wants him to stay. He licks his lips and shakes his head. "No, I still can make it to the hotel. Good night, Liz." He is about to turn around and frowns as she is keeping him from leaving by holding his hand.
It has taken all Liz' courage to grasp Adam's hand and to hold his stare. She is tugging at his hand until he has to step into her personal space. "Stay." She whispers. "Please."
He is still holding her gaze and frowns. "I don't want to be just another name on your list, Liz."
The brunette is closing her eyes and a tear is trickling down her cheek. "You are the only one on my list, Adam. I just … I … I needed to figure it out. And I came to -" She raises her eyebrows as she is silenced by his lips and her hand is sneaking up over Adam's shoulder until it has reached the back of his head. Her heart is jumping in delight in her chest because there is no pressure in this kiss. It feels more like he is as relieved as she is in this moment and that he doesn't care about her last excesses. "Stay." She whispers once again as she breaks the kiss.
Adam leans his head against her forehead and keeps his eyes closed. He has told himself that he's going to drop her off and leave immediately before he gets himself into trouble because he knows that he isn't able to turn any of her requests down.
He frowns and nods slowly. "Okay."