"Linds, that isn't what I meant!" Adam said, standing up from the couch to follow her into the other room.

"Okay, then what did you mean? I tell you that Mac yelled at me and all you can say is that he was right?"

"Well honey, he kind of is."

She gave him a grumpy look and turned around, chucking the pillows off the bed and throwing the covers back.

"Hey, now don't take it out on the bed."

"You are on my last nerve right now and your jokes are making it worse," she said, snapping the sheet forcefully and settling it back on the bed. He moved slowly to the other side and tucked the sheet in, hoping his small act of helpfulness would quell the fire that she had come home with.

"And you didn't have to say it like that either," she added, tugging the comforter into place. "Like it doesn't really matter and you have no idea why I'm upset. And you didn't even listen to the whole thing, you automatically just jumped onto his side of it. And that's not fair because we're supposed to be a team here. You and me against the world. You ditched me."

Her tone was accusatory and her eyes narrow as she stood there, arms crossed over her chest.

"Lindsay, I didn't ditch you."

"Oh, then what do you call it? You just decided to bat for the other team for the day?"

"You're talking about this like I cheated on you or something."

"Don't make this into something it's not!"

"Don't make me the bad guy when I'm not!" he shouted back, getting kind of mad himself.

"Adam, you didn't take my side."

"But you were wrong!"

"That's not the point. You could have at least been a little nicer about the whole thing. It wasn't like you even said he was right so much as you said I screwed up. Yes, I know I screwed up. I am very aware of my failure. I'm not four, I don't have to be told what I did wrong. But he already got after me for that and I didn't need you to do it too!"

"Okay, you're right. And I'm sorry. But you have got to chill out."

She sighed angrily and tossed the pillows back onto the bed then sat down, still wanting to be mad but feeling herself cooling down.

"Look honey," he said, sitting down next to her. "You made a mistake. It happens to all of us, but you just managed to do it on a bad day. Mac's been stressed out lately and that's probably what happened. I know it makes the mistake worse, but you can't hold it against him. And you can't beat yourself up for making a mistake."

"I labeled the wrong thing, Adam. That's not just running the wrong test or screwing up measurements. I could be accused of evidence tampering."

"Mac will take care of it. You went to him and told him what happened right away, so no one can say that you were trying to hide something."

"I yelled back at him though."

"What?"

"He just kept saying all these things, about how I messed up and how all my work could be called into question, and how there is no room for error and I already knew it. So I told him that."

"Colorfully I'm assuming."

"In Paramount Technicolor."

"Whoops."

"I didn't mean to, it just shot out before I could grab it and suddenly I was getting on his case for things that happened years ago, like the time he made me jump in a dumpster or all the times he doubled back and checked my work. And he has a good reason for doing those things, and it actually makes me trust him more, but for some reason… it was like I didn't know what to think so I just got offended."

"Now sweetheart, love of my life, mother of my child and resident champion of Mario Kart on all four systems, is it possible that you maybe are experiencing Shark Week?"

"What on God's green earth do you mean by Shark Week?"

"Well… at the risk of… you know, risking my life… it's that special week every month when… well…"

"You don't want to touch me because you think I'm going to go praying mantis and murder you after sex?"

"Yes."

She gave a wry chuckle and dropped her head into her hands.

"It's never this bad."

"Yes it is."

"That was supposed to make me feel better?"

"Well at least you're not abnormal?"

"Thank you for trying."

"Okay, I'm going to put on my brave face and say get over here."

She moved over into his arms with a sigh, turning against his chest and tracing her finger over the plaid design on his shirt.

"I'm sorry, Adam. I know you're always on my side. I didn't mean to sound like you're not. I'm really sorry."

"It's okay. You were upset and we all say things that we don't mean sometimes."

"That's not an excuse."

"No, it's a reason. And it's okay."

"I don't want to hurt you. I don't want to fight with you."

"Then we won't. It's over now, got it?"

"Yeah."

"Look at my eyes Lindsay," he said, tipping her chin up. "You got it?"

"I got it."

"I love you."

"I love you too."

He gave her a little smile and kissed her slowly, running his fingers through her hair, his hand coming to rest at the base of her skull. He pulled her closer ever so slightly and she took the encouragement, settling into the kiss with a gentle sigh.

"Adam?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

"You're welcome. Do you want to veg in front of the TV for a while? Get caught up in an imaginary world where nothing means anything and real life doesn't even touch you?"

"I am not watching Lost with you again."

"Aw c'mon, be a good sport."

"Absolutely not."

"Li-inds!" he whined, wrinkling up his whole face. She smiled and tackled him onto the mattress, tickling his sides because she knew he couldn't stand it.

"Watch out lady, you're worse than I am!" he said, grabbing both of her wrists in one hand and flipping them both over. Her eyes went wide with silent laughter and she shook her head.

"Don't do it," she warned. "I'm serious Adam, don't do it."

For a moment she thought he was going to give up, but then she saw the evil glint in his eye and knew she was in for it. He went straight for the double whammy, running his beard over her neck and tickling her stomach. She squirmed and laughed, trying to get away, but also quite enjoying herself. He just held onto her tighter, replacing the slight beard scratches with soft kisses. He let go of her wrists and leisurely continued his ministrations, trailing up one side and down the other while his hand rested low on her stomach. She reached around and slid her hand up the back of his shirt while his breath left spots of warmth on her skin. She let out a contented whimper and he pulled away a little, brushing her hair back and looking into her eyes to gauge her reaction. She smiled up at him, taking one of his hands and lacing her fingers through his.

"You'd better not be teasing me."

"Do I ever tease you?"

"All the time!"

"I do not!" she countered, mildly and bemusedly horrified. "I never even come close to teasing you."

"Yes you do."

"How?"

"When you do that thing when you're washing the dishes where you stand on one foot and roll your ankle."

"What?"

"Or how you always do this nuzzle stretch sigh combo when you're sleeping."

"Adam…"

"The way you tuck your hair behind your ear or lick your lips or chew your fingernails when we're watching a movie. You do it without even knowing you're doing it. Maybe that's what makes it so… teasing."

"Well I guess if I do that every day, then that means I come through most of the time."

"Maybe when you put it that way…"

She chuckled and pulled him back down to her, but her intentions were cut short by a tiny voice on the baby monitor.

"Dada!"

"I just want to set the record straight, that this was not my fault," she said, as he sat up. He gave her a grin and tweaked her nose before moving off the bed and into the other room.

"Colton, I thought we had a talk about this. Men are supposed to stick together."

"Mmmbah."

"That's what you said last time. I'm beginning to question your allegiances. You're not cutting me a break here."

"Dada," Colton said seriously, patting his face.

"Okay, I'll give you a second shot. Wanna go talk mama into letting us have pizza and popcorn for dinner in front of the TV?"

"That depends on what you want to watch," Lindsay said, wrestling her hair into a ponytail as she came around the corner.

"Okay, well since you are opposed to anything with desert islands and high adventure you're going to have to give me a while to think about it."

"Dude, how did I even end up with you?" she asked with a shake of her head.

He smiled and placed his hand over her mouth.

"Don't question it."

"I never will again."