CHAPTER 8

"I can't do this."

Adam turned at the statement. "Yes, you can," he encouraged Rachel. The two of them were standing outside the Angel Grove Police Department. "Jenna just accomplished snapping a board in half," he added. "You can do this."

Rachel glanced up at him as if to see if he was joking, caught the smile on his face, and couldn't help but smile even as she was shaking her head. "I can see why you teach, Adam," she told him. "That was….encouraging."

Adam ducked his head, embarrassed. "So…" he asked, changing the subject, "are you ready to do this?"

She shook her head. "No. But I think I need to…for Jenna's sake." She took a breath and let it out. Adam put a hand on her shoulder and opened the door with the other. He led Rachel in and walked with her up to the reception desk. Rachel swallowed as the woman behind the counter looked up from her computer.

Rachel glanced back at Adam. He met her gaze. She turned back.

"I'd…um…I need to file for a restraining order."

An hour or so later, the street lights were just coming on as Rachel and Adam came out of police headquarters. Rachel was shaking. Adam led the way to his Camaro and held the passenger side door as Rachel climbed inside. The two of them sat in the car for a few moments in silence.

"Are you….are you okay?" Adam asked after he couldn't stand it anymore.

Rachel was staring straight out the windshield down the darkening street. "What do you think will happen?" she asked him quietly. "Will it make Jack change? Or will it make things worse?" She fiddled with her wedding ring, her eyes dropping to her lap. "You know, Jack was a great guy before all this," she told Adam. "He was funny, and he was a great dad. But without his job…it's like a part of him was missing. He loved his job. And no matter how much I tried…" She leaned back against the seat with her eyes closed. "There was a wall. A wall I couldn't get through."

Adam didn't say anything for a moment or two. What should I say? "You're not going to be able to fix him," he said. "He's gonna have to do that on his own. And no matter what happens…" He looked over at her, and she turned her head so she was meeting his gaze, "I'll be here for you. And Jenna."

She gave him a tired, but grateful smile. "Thank you, Mr-Adam."

"So tell us what happened," Amber urged Adam later that night. She and Rocky and Adam were sitting in Rocky's living room. The contrast between Rocky's place and Adam's was striking. Whereas Adam was clean to a fault, Rocky's carefree attitude was evidenced all over, from the mismatched furniture to the haphazard stack of magazines and bills piled on his coffee table. Adam could see where Amber had tried to straighten up before he'd come over…and given up.

"Well, she filed the paperwork," Adam relayed. "They're, ah, gonna serve him in the morning."

"Do you think it'll work?" Rocky asked him as he popped a movie into the DVD player.

Adam sighed as the movie's menu popped up. Amber hit the mute button on the remote. "I hope so," he said. "I don't like seeing Rachel like that. Nobody should have to live like that."

"And what if it does work?" Amber asked quietly.

Adam glanced sideways at her. "I mean," she explained, "look, I see the look you get when you talk about her. It's obvious that you really care for her-"

"She's a friend," Adam defended himself.

"And that's fine," Amber continued. "I just hope that if it does all work out and she gets back with her husband, that you'll be okay."

Adam stared at the TV as Rocky hit play on the movie. "I just want her to be happy," he said after a moment, his voice so low that Rocky wasn't even sure that Adam knew he'd said it out loud.

He didn't say anything, but he was thinking, Yeah, but what about you being happy?

Tommy Oliver was not now and had never ever been a morning person, even when it came to workouts, first hour biology and anything Ranger-related. So when his doorbell rang at 7:45 in the morning on a Saturday morning, his first inclination was to deck whoever he found when he opened the door.

Until he saw it was Adam and remembered his shoulder.

"Hey," he said, blinking. His glasses were still sitting on his nightstand. "Adam?"

"Yeah," Adam replied, scuffing a foot into the deck slats. "Sorry for waking you up."

"No, it's okay," Tommy said. "Um, come on in. I need to find my eyes." He stepped back from the door and Adam came in. "Go ahead and make yourself at home. Coffee maker's in the kitchen," he added, his voice fading as he disappeared down the hall.

Adam parked himself in a kitchen chair and waited, looking around. Coffee was sounding pretty good, so he got up and located a mug with an orange DINO MUSEUM logo on it in a drainer, then dug around the cupboards for the coffee. Coffee was located in with the coffee mugs (Tommy logic). He measured enough out for the both of them and then sat back down. Tommy appeared a few minutes later, in a pair of jeans and a green longsleeve shirt and his glasses. "Can't find my contacts," he told Adam when Adam looked at him questioningly. "So, what are you doin' here?"

Adam ran a hand through his hair. "I need to talk to somebody, and as much as I love Rocky…it's outside his area of expertise."

Tommy snickered. "Well, that narrows it down," he kidded. The coffee maker dinged and Tommy poured two mugs, handing one to Adam. "What's up?"

Adam gripped the mug but didn't drink. "It's Rachel," he said after a moment. "I went with her to get a restraining order against her husband. Afterward, we were sitting in my car. She was saying how he was this great guy before everything went crazy…" He took a breath and let it out. "So here I was thinking I had a chance with her but, she might get back with her husband after all this."

"Oh, man," Tommy said. "Wow." He thought for a moment. "I mean, man, I guess, you be her friend and support her through whatever happens. Whether they finally go through a divorce, or he gets help and they get back together."

"Not exactly the answer I was hoping for," Adam admitted. "Even though I know you're right."

"Yeah, man, I know it," Tommy replied. "We've both been pretty unlucky in that department, huh?"

"You got Hayley," Adam countered.

Tommy couldn't help but grin at the mention of his girlfriend. "Yeah," he replied. "And someday you'll get your own Hayley," he assured him. He glanced at the clock."Hey, speaking of, she should just be opening the CyberCafe now," he noted. "You want to come down and say hi?"

Not really. "Why not," Adam heard himself say out loud.

Maybe it'll take my mind off all this.

Author's Note: Melancholy and sad Adam is not a fun Adam to write. Poor guy.