Abby shifted in an uncomfortable chair in ICU 5 as worry and fear gnawed at her relentlessly. She hated hospitals. Everything about them. The sterile environment, the smell of antiseptic, the despair that leeched from the gray walls...all of it.

Her eyes bounced from one piece of equipment to the next, but it was beyond her. She had no idea what all the numbers, lights and beeping meant, except for one. The heart monitor which had a tiny flashing image of a heart, showed a slow steady rhythm and gave her a little comfort knowing Vivian was at least still alive.

Moving her eyes away from the monotonous beep, beep, beep of the screen, they landed on Vivian. A small sob escaped her throat at the sight of the once vibrant woman lying there. Her skin was an unearthly pale, her face sunken and her mouth distorted from the tube taped to the side of her mouth which was doing the breathing for her. Abby reached out her hand to grasp hers, but there were so many wires and tubes...she was afraid to touch it in fear she would disturb something vital.

"Go ahead, you can touch her. Just be careful of the O2 monitor." A sweet looking younger nurse said encouragingly. "Let her know you are here."

Slipping her fingers under Vivian's, Abby carefully clasped her hand, surprised at the soft, warm feeling of it. "Can she hear us?"

"I like to think she can," the nurse said, finishing up hanging a bag of clear liquid. "Her vitals are stable which is a good sign." Walking over to where Abby sat, she put her hand on her shoulder and gave it a little squeeze. "If you need anything, just press the call button."

After the nurse left, Abby leaned closer to Vivian. "I am so, so very sorry. It's all my fault. Please, Viv...don't die. Stay with us," she whispered urgently in her ear.

"She's tougher than you think," Jo Jo said quietly.

Abby turned her head to see him lingering in the door way. The glimmering gown a stark contrast to the drabness of the room.

"I hope so," she said, giving him a half-hearted smile.

Walking in, he handed her the picture she had saved from the fire. "You forgot this out in the waiting room. Adam asked me to bring it in." He looked down at Vivian's prone figure. "Even with all that stuff attached to her, she looks peaceful...don't you think?" Sitting down on the arm of the chair she was sitting in, he delicately crossed his long legs.

Abby couldn't help but smile. No matter what the situation, Jo Jo was always a lady. Shaking her head, she carefully put the photo on the little side rolling table facing Vivian. So if she woke up...no...when she woke up, she would see it first thing and have Joan Crawford cheering her on.

Turning back to Viv, she slid her hand back into hers. She had to disagree with Jo Jo. Though her eyes were closed, she looked far from peaceful with everything connected to her but the kitchen sink. She looked like she'd been assimilated by the Borg, Abby thought with a grimace.

"She's really going to love it that you managed to save that photo."

Jo Jo ran his nails through her hair, separating some of the tangles. Closing her eyes, she leaned into the comforting touch. It was the same gesture her mother use to do when she was upset, minus the Lee Press-on nails.

"Since I am the one that put her hear...it's the least I could do," she mumbled.

A sharp smack to the back of her head had her jerking her eyes open in shock.

"Stop that right this minute." He crossed his arms over his chest and gave her scowl. "How many times do I have to tell you? This is not your fault," he said, nodding towards Vivian.

Abby let out an exasperated sigh. It was the same argument they'd been having since he arrived. "You heard the doctor, Jo Jo. He said she sustained blunt force trauma." She turned to Vivian's bandaged head, tears springing to her eyes making them burn. Oh God, please don't die.

"So?"

"What do you mean so?" Abby whipped around to face him. "He's here! He's found me and made a point of proving it by trying to kill Viv. How else do you think she suffered an injury like that?" she hissed, tired of having this discussion.

"And they say drag queens are full of drama." He rolled his eyes. "Listen, baby doll, there is no proof he is here. You haven't heard a peep from the asshole in over six months, right?"

"Yes, but..."

"Let me finish," he scolded, holding up a hand to silence her. "For all we know Vivian could have left the stove on in in the kitchen. From what you've said, it seems the fire might have started there. It's not like it's something we haven't had a problem with before." He sighed. "Or do I have to remind you of egg-a-geddon?"

"Aren't you just the Angela Lansbury?" Abby scoffed, turning away from him. "How do you explain her injury then?"

"She could have gotten it from a fall, from the explosion, she could have hit her head from the smoke overtaking her..." Grabbing her shoulders, he turned her to look at him. "I'm not saying we shouldn't be alert, but don't go throwing the baby out with the bath water."

Abby's whole body sagged. He made sense, she'd give him that, but her gut screamed otherwise. This was something her stepfather would have done, she was sure of it. First Rodger and now Vivian. Anger burned deep in her belly. How many more innocent people were going to suffer before he was stopped?

"Doesn't the bastard usually leave you a note or something when he's around and has done something diabolical?" he asked, arching a brow at her.

"Yes." She blinked up at him, not sure where he was going this time.

"Did you see a note?"

"It's not like I had time to look around," she snapped. "The place was on fire. For all I know it could have burned up."

"Every other time, he has made a point of making sure you knew he had found you. He's a sadistic crazy bastard, but he's not stupid, Abby." He gave her a pointed stare. "If he did this...do you think he would miss the opportunity to gloat?"

"No...no he wouldn't." She swallowed back the bile rising up her throat.

Jo Jo wrapped his arm around her and they sat in silence with only the sucking of the machines and endless beeping echoing throughout the room.

"You know...you have to tell him," he said quietly, laying his head against the top of hers.

"I...I can't."

Abby pulled away from him and stood up, knowing immediately he was referring to Adam. Avoiding his disapproving gaze, she straightened Vivian's bed. Her hands shaking as she pulled up the sheets and tucked them around her. An image of Adam laying in a hospital bed because of her, made her stomach lurch and she wanted to vomit.

"Why ever not?" Jo Jo asked, frowning. "After everything you two have been through, don't you think he deserves to know?" He shook his head. "I hate to say this, baby doll, because you know I love you...but that's a bunch of bullshit." He looked down at his nails. "And makes you kind of a bitch," he added under his breath.

"Why? Why should I spill my guts to a man I spent ONE night with?" she asked bitterly. "We fucked Jo Jo, nothing more...nothing less." Agitated, she started pacing in the one little area where there was no machinery, her anger over her life boiling over. "How can I tell him everything and expect him to risk his life based on one night of great sex? Please tell me how to do that because I sure as hell don't know."

"You can try being honest for a change!" He stood up and stepped in front of her with his hands on his hips. The fully fury of Cher and Jo Jo raining down on her. "For once, be truthful with yourself and him. That was no one night stand and you know it! You have got to stop making everyone's decisions for them based on your own fears. It's his choice whether or not he wants to take the risk, not yours."

"I couldn't agree with you more," a hard voice drawled from the doorway.

Abby whipped around only to see Adam standing there with his arms crossed over his chest, his face impassive and gaze icy.

"Oh shit!" Jo Jo gasped.

Holy crap on a cracker! That pretty much summed it up, Abby thought as her heart started pounding so hard, she almost pushed the call button in fear she was having going to have a stroke. Adam stalking towards her wasn't helping the sensation. Snatching Jo Jo, she pushed him in front of her.

"Really? You're going to use me as a human shield?" he whispered over his shoulder. "You're the one that knows self-defense." He looked over at Adam's stormy approach. "You had better be ready to catch me because I think I am about to swoon."

Adam stood in front of them, his hard eyes not amused. "It's time to go." With that, he grabbed Abby's arm, jerking her out from behind her roommate and started steering her firmly towards the door while Jo Jo followed meekly behind.

"What are you doing? Stop it!" Abby hissed under her breath as he practically dragged her out the door. "I didn't get to say goodbye to Vivian."

"She's unconscious. I'm sure she won't mind," he growled.

She was about to open her mouth and argue with him, but he spun around and pulled her tight against him. His jaw jutting out in that aggressive way of his.

"Abigail, it has been a very exhausting evening and now...it's morning. I have given my cell number to everyone involved. If they need us, they can reach us. We are going home, getting cleaned up and then going to bed. And then...we will talk." He ran a hand angrily through his hair. "We will come back this evening if you wish." His eyes narrowed and the warning tone of his voice left no room for disagreement. "Tell everyone goodbye."

Galvanizing herself for a battle which was sure to come later, she quickly hugged her friends and allowed him to continue to tow her out of the hospital out to the waiting car. Erich held open the door and she slipped inside with Adam hot on her heels. Scrambling, she made her way over to the other side as Jo Jo glided into the front passenger seat.

The ride back to the penthouse was in utter silence. Each passenger looking out their respective windows, lost in their own thoughts. Peeking under her lashes, she looked over at Adam. Though he kept her hand captured in his, he had not spoken a word since overhearing her and Jo Jo bickering. How much he heard, she didn't know. Judging by his hard face and stiff posture as he glared stubbornly out the window, refusing to look at her...he had heard enough.

Turning back to the window, she sighed. Not that him not looking at her was a bad thing, those brown calculating eyes of his were rather talented at peeking into places she wanted to keep hidden. Abby leaned her head tiredly against the cool glass. Exhaustion falling over her like a blanket.

But the weariness went further than the long evening constituted. It had seeped into her bones over the years until it had become a part of her. Anonymity was grueling. Constantly being on her toes, protecting herself, was a tedious never ending daily grind and even with all her had work and dedication...the veil between her and exposure remained thin and susceptible. One wrong move...one bad decision...and the gossamer wall shredded.

As much as her brain was screaming at her Adam had been one of those bad decisions, her heart just as passionately shrieked...it wasn't. Who did she follow? Her head or her heart? Closing her eyes, she wrestled with what to do. Should she take Jo Jo's advice and let Adam into her fucked up life or hop the first Greyhound bus and get as far away as she could get?

Her brow furrowed into a frown. Not that she stood a chance of getting anywhere. Her backpack had been in the living room and was probably nothing more than a smoldering pile of ash, along with every penny she'd been saving. He had destroyed everything, just like he always did. Since the moment he walked into her mother's life he had left nothing but a trail of destruction in his wake.

The sensation of being carried, woke her up with a start.

"It's okay, baby. It's only me," Adam said softly as he eased her out of the car.

"I can walk," she mumbled around a yawn.

"I'm sure you can, but why break a habit?" he chuckled as they entered the elevator. "This is how we started, it's only appropriate we continue the tradition."

"As long as it doesn't include you running me over again." Cuddling into his chest, she closed her eyes on a long sigh as Jo Jo snickered.

"Come on Sleeping Beauty...wake up."

Abby scowled and opened her heavy, scratchy eyes. She was still in Adam's arms, only this time, back in the bathroom. By the amount of steam hanging heavy in the air, he had already turned on the shower.

"Where's Jo Jo?" she muttered, sleepily.

"He said something about needing to strip off a girdle before he cracked a rib." Adam shook his head, smiling wryly. "I sent him off with Erich, he's fine." Pulling back, he narrowed his eyes. "You, on the other hand, are in need of a shower and then bed."

"I should stay with Jo Jo," she protested as he set her on the counter.

"You'll stay with me."

"But..."

"No buts, Abigail. The only bed you will be sleeping in, is mine," he whispered into her ear.

His hot words making her shiver as he started to strip off what was left of her ruined dress. His lips brushing soft kisses on each and every cut and bruise along the way as it slid down to her waist.

"What are you doing to me," she moaned, tilting her head back and giving him access to her neck. His lips nibbled behind her ear and she was barely breathing as a shot of pure desire chased away the cold she'd been suffering from since the explosion.

"Getting you ready for a shower," he murmured against her lips before he languidly slipped his tongue into her mouth.

His kiss demanded nothing. It only gave with its gentleness and warmth. She was the one who turned it greedy. Tasting him, slanting her lips and crushing them against his. A wild craving overtook her, descending on her again and again in a reckless rush. The need to have him overshadowing all her worries and doubts.

Abby didn't think, didn't try to reason. She gave into the vivid sensations bombarding her and the yearning for more. God, she craved to have his slick, damp flesh beneath her fingers again, the heat, the oneness...the madness. She longed for all of it. Needed it to wipe away the guilt and dread. If only for one more time.

Letting go of all the caution, she touched his cheek. Running her fingertips over the stubble of his beard and letting the roughness scrape her fingers before inching them up to caress the strands of thick, dark hair at the nape of his neck. Her arms wrapped around him, pulling him tighter to her kiss. Losing herself in the moist heat of his tongue.

Jerking his lips away from hers, he buried his face in her hair, holding her tight for a few moments. His breath warming her neck in short hard pants.

"Shower," he rasped softly. "Then bed."

Stepping back, he yanked his sweater over his head, making Abby gasp. The angry bruise on his shoulder from ramming her apartment door, glowed under the lights. Reaching out, she gently touched it.

"I'm sorry," she said quietly, her shoulders sagging with regret. Shit. It seemed her life had become nothing more than one endless circle of sorry.

He cocked his head to look at it. "It looks worse than it feels." Giving her a little smile and a quick peck, he quickly stripped off the rest of his clothes.

Staring at him, her brain fizzled, lust taking over. Easing off the counter, she boldly walked over to him. Standing on her tiptoes, she laid a kiss on the bruise and then another and another...working her way across his glorious chest.

Peeking up under her lashes, she took in his tightly closed eyes, taunt jaw and the flare of his nostrils as his chest rose and fell.

"Adam?"

He opened them slowly, his eyes near obsidian with heat.

"Make love to me."

He inhaled deeply. His body shuddering under her exploring lips. "You need to take a shower and get some rest..."

"What I need...is you," she whispered, lightly sucking his nipple into her mouth and swirling her tongue around the tip. "Please? Help me forget for a little while?"

A groan vibrated in his chest under her lips. It was the only warning he gave before he whisked her up into his arms and strode towards the shower. Opening the glass doors, he maneuvered them inside, sliding them closed with his foot.

The hot water cascaded over them as he took her mouth in a hungry kiss. Welcoming his punishing lips, she opened to him. When they were both gasping for air, he pulled away, releasing her to let her glide slowly down his body until her feet hit the tiled floor. His thick erection pressing into her belly made her giddy with excitement.

Cupping her face, he drew her lips to his again. Gentle, cherishing and sensual as the water flowed around them adding to her arousal. Easing back he looked down at her, his eyes burning fiercely.

"You are so beautiful," he whispered, turning her in his arms so her backside was pressed tightly to his front.

His hands slipped over her body, up and over her hips, along her ribcage, until they cupped her breasts. Taking her nipples, he tugged and rolled them gently, making her moan. Leaning her head back, he took full advantage. Running his tongue up the side of her neck as he continued to massage the sensitive tips between his fingers.

"I will never let you go, Abigail. You belong to me," he snarled into her ear.

Pleasure coursed through her body as she writhed against him. Desire pooled in her belly and a warm wetness coated her thighs. Just when she thought she couldn't take any more of his exquisite torture, one of his hands swept down her belly, plunging his fingers between the lips of her pussy and thrusting inside her.

"Oh God," she wailed, wrapping one of her arms around his neck to stop herself from falling when her knees buckled.

"I love how wet you are for me."

Pumping his fingers into her over and over, Abby felt the familiar build of an impending orgasm. As if sensing she was trembling on the edge, he pulled his fingers free of her body and lifted her back into his arms.

"Wrap your legs around me," he demanded, holding her with one hand while reaching for a condom with the other.

Abby quickly obeyed as he ripped the foil package open with his teeth, spitting it out onto the floor.

"Hold tight, baby," he growled, letting go of her for a few seconds to roll it on before his hands returned to grip her waist. "This is going to be quick," he warned just before he thrust into her in one quick movement.

The glorious feeling of him filling her to the point of breaking, had her crying out his name. The slid of his skin against hers as he furiously took her body, pounding into her over and over, pushed her up towards the edge...and away from all the pain, heartache and anxiety. It was only lips, teeth, dark whispers and the frenzied moving of two bodies completely absorbed into the other.

Tilting her head back, she let everything go as her body bowed to his will. Pushing deep inside her, he nipped her shoulder and she detonated around him...a purifying orgasm flashing through her body intense and fast. Crying his name, she could only cling helpless to him as she splintered apart in his arms.

Cursing, Adam shuddered hard and collapsed, trapping her between his perfect chest expanding and contracting in great waves and the tiled wall behind her, but she didn't care. Laying her head on his shoulder, she fell asleep feeling safer than she had in years.