DEATH TAKES A BOW

Chapter Thirty Two

"Fair lovers, you are fortunately met."

"Congratulations," the doctor said. "You'll live."

Adam grinned.

"Thanks, doc... ow!"

She looked up, having fastened off his bandage.

"Sorry. Really, Mr. Ross, that's quite some bruise. Should I even ask...?"

Time for a charming smile. Never tell the doctor any details - that was the golden rule. He lowered his shirt. "Um - no. It's not a very interesting story anyway. So, what's the damage?"

"Nothing broken. Your rib is cracked, but that should heal if you take care of it. Just don't get into any more fights. That is a fist-print, isn't it?"

Adam's cheeks turned bright red.

"Thanks, doc," he mumbled again, as he slipped off the bed and headed quickly for the gap in the curtains.

Hospitals. Dangerous places.

Fliss was waiting outside, perched on a plastic chair. She had pulled a notebook from her bag and was scribbling at high speed.

"Whaddup?" Adam said softly.

"Oh - you're done." She smiled. "Everything okay?"

"I'm fine."

She stared at him more closely. "Very well," she said at last. Flipping the notebook closed, she put it away and stood up, stretching. Adam felt a rush of gratitude for her forbearance.

"Whatcha writin'?" he asked her, curiously.

"That? Well, I had this great idea when you were in there making nice with the pretty doctor lady..."

"Hey! She strapped me up, okay? That's all. Besides, she had cold hands..." he added in a plaintive voice.

"I thought she was wearing gloves?"

"Really, really cold hands. Cold enough to pass through latex." Adam folded his arms - and winced. "Go on, then. What's this great idea?"

Fliss looked suddenly nervous. "A play," she said. "A murder mystery, in fact. Let's just say that you've inspired me..."

"I have...?"

"You and your boss. It's been an exciting couple of days."

"You could say that," he muttered. Fliss took his hand.

"It wasn't all bad though, surely?" she whispered in his ear.

Her warm breath tickled his neck and made him giggle. Suddenly, he was very aware that they were not alone.

Standing in a waiting room filled with would-be patients starved of entertainment. Not really the ideal place to make out with your brand new girlfriend.

Tempting, though...

"Come on," he said. "Let's go."

Hand in hand, they headed towards the exit. As they did so, a loud commotion burst upon the scene. Through the double doors came a staggering trio. Two young men were escorting a third - and the third was extremely drunk.

Adam and Fliss ducked into a nearby alcove.

"Oh my goodness." Fliss's eyes were wide.

It was Nathan Howell.

Suppressing the urge to laugh out loud - glee was, after all, rather inappropriate for an emergency room - Adam peered round the corner at the pitiful sight. Clearly, the out-of-work actor had been trying to drown his sorrows. No surprise there. Even more clearly, his behaviour had not improved: somewhere along the way, he had managed to blacken his other eye. The cheek popped out beneath it in a stunning bruise that rivalled the one he had given to Adam that morning. More dramatic still was the mass of blood on his shirt front, running all the way down from his nose, which looked suspiciously crooked.

"Gerroff me!" he slurred, as he wrenched his arms away from the men who were propping him up. Equally drunk, but far less damaged, they stepped back and left him to flounder. One step... then another... and Nathan fell to the floor. A ripple of laughter chased around the waiting room. "Don' laugh... I'm famous..." the actor mumbled, raising his head and aiming a blurry scowl at the world in general.

But the 'world' was losing interest already. Sadly, there was nothing new in the sight of yet another drunken fool on a hospital floor. Nathan tried to clamber to his feet, and failed. No one rushed to help him. His escorts had disappeared already, in the general direction of the vending machines.

"Poor man," Fliss said - but even she hung back.

Adam reached for his phone. Scrolling through the images in his address book, he found the one that he needed and pressed his thumb down on the tiny, grinning face.

"Detective Flack?" he said sweetly. "This is Adam Ross. Um - you might want to come down to the ER at Mount Sinai. There's someone here that you've been looking for..."

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Outside, the evening air was warm and the streets hummed with life. A siren wailed in the distance. Fliss slipped her arm through his. The feeling was... comfortable. Adam took a careful, happy breath.

"What shall we do?" he said.

Fliss grinned. "We could always take in a play..." she said, wickedly.

"Ha ha. I think I might have had enough drama for at least a week or two."

"Good point." She considered - and then gave a bright smile. "Hey - by any chance, do you like playing Guitar Hero?"

Deep down, Adam's heart gave a leap of joy.

Could this be her? The perfect girl?

"I might," he said, with admirable nonchalance...

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"If we shadows have offended,

Think but this, and all is mended:

That you have but slumbered here

While these visions did appear."

THE END

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A/N: Yes, the end! And I'm sad. This story was such fun to write. I hope you enjoyed it too. Thanks to everyone who reviewed, whether it was once or all the way through. I loved your comments and they kept me inspired.

Huge thanks to Lily Moonlight, who read through a number of chapters before I posted them, giving me some valuable tips and advice.

And thank you to Mr. William Shakespeare for the 'loan' of his play!

Adam Ross will return (of course)

in

"The Labyrinth"

Coming soon...

(And also the one-shot: "Lindsay's Revenge")