THE LABYRINTH

A/N: This story follows the Season 4 opening episode, "Can You Hear Me Now?" The event that Adam is recalling in Chapter One takes place at the end of Season 3, in "Snow Day". That incident is retold from Adam's perspective, with added detail, in my earlier story, "The Pawn", but it isn't necessary to read that story before you read this one.

For the purpose of this story, the effects of 'Snow Day', both physical and emotional, have lasted longer than they appear to do in the show itself. Therefore, the damage sustained by Adam and Danny has not yet healed.

Enormous thanks to 1917farmgirl, who kindly donated the original plot bunny.

Oh - and for those of you who have been requesting Mac and Adam in danger together? Time to fulfil my promise...

Disclaimer: Not mine, I'm sad to say. I'm just borrowing them for a while. I'll put them back exactly as I found them... well, almost exactly...

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"A mighty maze! but not without a plan." Alexander Pope.

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CHAPTER ONE

Thorne Tower was a monolith.

It rose up from the street in clean dark lines. Black windows covered every inch of its surface, gleaming with reflected light. Against the evening sky, the tower itself was almost invisible. With haughty scorn - if a building could be said to have emotions - it held itself apart from the more elaborate concrete structures that huddled nearby like kneeling courtiers. Its stark simplicity made them look strangely ridiculous, as though they were trying too hard to impress, with their sloping tiles and their gargoyles; their rooftop gardens and their balconies of stone.

The entrance to this pinnacle of modern architecture was discreet, yet equally forbidding. Two steel doors, in burnished charcoal grey, with just one mark: the sigil of the reclusive Marcus Thorne. A white crown in a ring of twisting black roses.

Hail to the King of Manhattan.

A pair of guards stood motionless on either side of the doors. Their faces were immobile, but their eyes roamed incessantly over the gathering crowd, as though daring someone to challenge them before the hour had struck.

Tonight marked a special occasion. The first time that Thorne Tower had opened its doors to any member of the public since its completion a month ago. Glittering members of New York's elite thronged the streets in the hopes of glimpsing someone famous. Someone even more important than they were - because who else could possibly have won a pass to the social event of the season, pushing debutantes, millionaires and stars aside?

Yet the guests, when they started to arrive, were surprising...

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Adam Ross glared at the mirror and stamped his foot in sheer frustration.

Who was he kidding? This was never going to work.

He should have opted for a clip-on...

His right hand ached with the strain of repeatedly trying to fasten his bow tie correctly. Adam let out a hiss and flexed it carefully, peering at the shiny new skin from the corner of his eye. Four pink circles, creased from repeated bending. Four reminders.

He hated them.

Would they ever truly heal?

Studying them was a constant compulsion - but every time he did, they took him straight back to that warehouse; the fear, the sharp smell of cigarettes, and the pain...

Don't go there.

This was meant to be a night of celebration.

"Yeah, right," Adam snorted to himself. "All by myself, in a room full of strangers. Trying to make polite conversation as they size me up and wonder what I'm doing there, and how I managed to sneak in..."

At first, he'd thought of asking Kendall. She was smart, she was stunning to look at and she was witty - the perfect companion for such an event. Except, of course, for the fact that she was smart, she was stunning to look at and she was witty - everything that he was not. Even Adam had his pride; and for once, just once, he yearned to step out of the shadows and be himself. The real Adam Ross. The one that had to be in there somewhere, behind the bumbling lab tech, waiting to fling off his white coat and show the world that he was a hero all along...

And now you've lost it completely, he sighed.

Some hero.

Who was it that had saved the day in the warehouse? Danny, of course. Which of them had cowered against the wall? Had given up everything? Had cried like a girl...

Adam trembled in shame. Once more, he pushed the memory away.

I don't want to go, a small voice said inside his head.

The tie hung limply around his neck, symbol of his stupidity. He lifted his hand to remove it - just as a confident knock echoed through his apartment.

Who...?

Adam had kept his secret well, or so he thought. There was only one person that he had told, and that was because they had caught him with the invitation in his hand, staring at it blankly as the messenger strode away.

"Danny?" he mumbled.

It took several minutes to undo the locks and bolts that held his door in place. Adam's neighbourhood was not a friendly one, but the rent was cheap, and the building itself was cleaner than most in the area. "Coming... I'm coming," he stammered, as he clicked and turned and slid the barriers aside. When at last the door swung open - sure enough, it was Danny's grinning face that Adam saw.

And one more person behind him.

"Mac!" gasped the lab tech, more stunned by his boss's presence than by the fact that both men were wearing tuxedos, just like him.

"Going for the casual look, hey Ross?" smirked Danny, with a sly glance at his dangling tie. The gaze slid down even further - and froze in silent mirth at the sight of Adam's converse sneakers, peeping out from beneath the hems of his overlong pants.

Mac, of course, was immaculate.

Even Danny cleaned up well, it seemed. Only the tape on his fingers seemed awkward, and out of place.

A flush crept down the back of Adam's neck; past the troublesome tie and his borrowed shirt, becoming a trickle of moisture as it reached the curve of his spine.

Did sweat wash out? He hoped so. This tuxedo was costly to hire, and he had to take it back the day after tomorrow - clean and undamaged. Every stain and every tear would raise the fee by another $10.

Adam didn't plan to eat or drink much tonight. The risk to his wallet was simply too great.

"Can we come in?" Mac said.

"Oh - yes, of course." Adam waved them through the door with a distracted air. As Danny passed him, the lab tech whispered urgently. "What are you doing here?"

"Isn't it obvious?"

They stood in the middle of his tiny apartment. Picturing the scene through Mac's eyes, Adam's cosy home became riddled with flaws. Rubble in the kitchen from a hurried snack. Books everywhere, and a stack of games on the floor beside the couch. "I was just... I'm sorry, it's usually neater than this..." He gave a helpless shrug.

"Adam. This is your home, not the lab. And it's nice." Mac smiled. His eyes were tired, but the warmth was genuine.

"Oh."

Nice. A word that could be taken several ways. Adam's foot slid out and nudged an empty pizza box further beneath the coffee table. His muttered excuse had been the truth - Adam wasn't a careless man. If anything, he tended towards an obsessive neatness. Lately, life just seemed a little... overwhelming. He was a tiny fish being swept along by a vast, relentless ocean. Adam sighed.

"Yo. Buddy. You still with us? You're looking a little zoned out." Danny leaned in, his blue eyes sharp and focussed behind his glasses.

"I know you're afraid... But you are going to do this..."

The echo made him jump. He covered it quickly with words, as he always did.

"You want to come with me?" Adam raised his eyebrows. "That's kind, okay, Danny - but really, I don't suppose it's going to be all that exciting. Just a bunch of total strangers and some tacky ceremony. Maybe some food..."

"You kiddin' me? Adam - you've got the hottest ticket in town. Why do you look like someone just spilt beer on your X-box?"

Ha ha. Adam opened his mouth to protest, but Mac was already stepping in; the voice of reason, as always.

"You're going," he told the lab tech firmly. "Why go alone?"

"Trust me," Danny added, "it'll be much more fun this way."

Fun. Adam quailed. A social event with his wise-cracking colleague - and his boss.

I should have invited Kendall after all...

Too late now.

"No problem," he said. "I'll just get my coat."

"Adam. Come here," Mac told him quietly. Reaching out, he took the ends of Adam's tie. With a few deft moves, he created a neat bow. Danny grinned, admiring the effect.

"Much better."

"Thanks, boss," Adam mumbled. Taking up his coat, he led them back to the door - darting sideways at the very last moment to grab the ticket from his bag. That was close.

"By the way," Mac said, "we took the liberty of hiring a cab."

Adam nodded. Overwhelmed, he thought once more, letting go completely as his colleagues took control and swept him off into the night...

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A/N: Hope you enjoyed it! I'd love to know what you think :D

Next update will be on Friday.