"How To Save A Life" – Part 10

Summary, Notes, and Rating listed in chapter 1.

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Degrassi!

-oOo-

They stared at each other in wonder. Fiona had a million things she wanted to say but once she looked into his eyes words were of no consequence. She could see his pain, but also love, joy, relief, and desire. In her eyes, he could detect concern, apprehension, relief, and most of all love.

Fiona gently let go of his hand. Adam hid his disappointment and simply watched her. She lowered the side railing and sat next to him on the bed. He scooted over to give her more room. She paused to look at him sadly. She opened her mouth to speak, and then closed it again.

The only sounds in the room were the beep of the machines and their breathing. Adam reached out for her hand. She shook her head.

"I'm sorry," he said dejected.

She suddenly moved to lie next to him on the bed, and rested her head on his chest. Adam was surprised by her actions, but wrapped his left arm around her. It was then that she allowed herself to cry. Adam gently smoothed her hair. While he held her he gave himself permission to cry as well.

"I love you," Fiona cut through the quiet, a long time later.

"I love you too," Adam told her honestly.

"Don't leave me," she protested.

"I never wanted to," he confessed. After gathering courage, he turned to her. "I'm so broken… you don't want me."

"Shouldn't that me for me to decide?" she countered. She held his eyes. After a moment he looked away. "Talk to me," she demanded.

"I don't know how to fix this," he admitted. "I'm not the man I wanted to be. Who I need to be – for myself, for you. Why would you want me?"

She caressed his chin. "Because I see who you are."

Adam considered her words for a long moment. "I spoke to your mom earlier."

Fiona was stunned by the sudden change of subject. "You did?" she questioned. Adam nodded and smiled. "What did she say?"

"That it's never too late to be who you are." He swallowed. "I've been debating for awhile now whether or not that's true. I've been struggling for so long; I'm just tired of it. But whenever I see you… You give me hope. I see the future that I want and it's you. But I'm scared."

"Scared of what?" Fiona asked. He looked away.

"Scared I'll fail. That I'll never escape Gracie," he answered, "Scared you'll go away."

"Adam, we'll never know until we try. Life is a risk but the rewards outweigh it." He looked at her amazed. "Nothing is guaranteed. I could get hit by a bus tomorrow. All I know is how I feel. The question is, what do you feel in your heart?"

"Fire," he said. She looked at him bemused. He leaned back and held her tighter.

-oOo-

"I'm going to go check on them," Mrs. Torres announced. Her husband looked up from his newspaper.

"Maybe you should give them more time. I'm sure they have lots to talk about," Mr. Torres suggested.

"It's been nearly an hour," she countered.

"45 minutes," Drew corrected her. He didn't look up from his card game with Declan.

Mrs. Torres looked towards Mrs. Coyne for help, but the businesswoman was absorbed in her blackberry. Mr. Torres gave her a look.

She sighed. Ten minutes later she got up and travelled down the hall to Adam's room. She gave the door a couple of knocks before entering. A soft smile formed on her lips as she took in the sight before her. The two teens were fast asleep. Fiona had snuggled next to Adam on the hospital bed, and his arm was wrapped around her. Both looked more peaceful than she could remember in a long time.

Again, she was struck by the depth of Fiona's love for her son. She truly loved the person inside. Adam was not dressed in his usual attire. He did not have on any bindings, so he looked more like a girl than he had in awhile. Fiona wasn't fazed. She just wanted to be with him.

Suddenly Audra recalled something her son told her back when they first began dating: Fiona's wonderful, Mom. She's a beautiful person, inside and out, who accepts me for I really am.

Adam was right.

Audra walked back to the waiting room. "How are they, Mom?" Drew asked right away.

She looked at her son and smiled. "They're fine."

.

-FIN-

Q: How to save a life?

A: With love, acceptance, and understanding.

.

.

.

Epilogue-

9 Years later…

"Did you hear what I said?"

Adam Torres hid his face in the book he was reading. His wife narrowed her eyes.

"I asked if this outfit makes me look fat," she repeated in earnest.

Adam hesitated. His wife always looked beautiful to him. In that dress she didn't look fat, simply pregnant which she was. However, it was more snug than it was last month. He regarded these inquiries as trick questions because it was nearly impossible to come up with an answer that didn't upset her. After all, fashion was her life.

Fiona Coyne Torres looked at her husband expectantly. He suddenly stood up and placed the baby book in the chair. He walked over to her and took her hands in his. They were the same height, as Adam had grown a couple of inches in his final year of high school.

"What do you think of the name Rory?" he asked, skillfully sideswiping the question.

She considered his suggestion for a moment, before smiling brightly. "Rory Addison Torres," she said testing out the full name. "I think it's beautiful!"

Adam leaned forward and rested his forehead on her's. "Just like you," he told her. Fiona brought her hand up to her husband's face and gently traced his jaw line, feeling the light stubble on his face.

"You know, I half expected to go into labor without a name. In the nursery they'd label our baby 'Firstborn Torres'," she laughed.

"You know, that name isn't bad," he teased. She playfully hit his shoulder. "Ouch," he laughed.

"Hey, you making fun of me?" she said, pretending to be offended.

"Of you? No way! Only your girly punches," he joked. He pulled her closer and then softly kissed her.

.

-FIN-

Author's Note #16: Thanks for reading my story! I really appreciate all of the reviews and feedback.

This was a difficult subject matter to write about. I didn't originally plan for the title to be a question (got the line from the song by the Fray), but as I wrote more and more, I realized that is what this story is about. Adam's journey from being depressed and ready to give up, to finding hope to continue on. The love, acceptance, and understanding he received from Drew, their parents, Mrs. Coyne, and finally Fiona helped him to see that he could still live the life he always wanted.

I rarely write epilogues, but I wanted to include one for this story. It shows that Adam did complete his transition, and that he's with Fiona – the things he wanted all along. It's a tiny splice of their lives together, and I'm thinking of doing some future fics. I haven't seen many future Adam or FiAdam fics.

Once again, thank you everyone!

Update: Just published the two-shot "Wanted". It's not a sequel, but takes place after "How To Save A Life".