A little more long-overdue Adam bit with his dad.

(note: the name for Adam's dad is by no means set in stone, so I would appreciate it if anyone else had an idea for a suitable name.)

Jacob Ross glanced up as Adam walked in through the door. Adam paused, casting a wary eye to the wiry 70-year -old man hooked up to the ventilator machine before taking a seat next to his bed. An uncomfortable silence hung in the hospital air between them for several minutes, broken only by the steady rhythm of the ventilator, though Adam knew it would've been broken sooner had it not been for the breathing mask on his father. Jacob tried his best to be patient, to wait for Adam's eyes to finally connect with his instead of wandering the room, wait for his mouth to work and form words instead of gaping open and shut in uncertainty. A few more terse moments passed before he started tapping his fingers an the bed in irritation. Adam smirked; his father was never very good at waiting. He forced himself to look into the steely gray eyes boring into him and face the painful memories that came with them.

"Well," Adam began, "I see you haven't changed much."

His father grunted through the breathing mask. No S*&@, kid, he seemed to say.

Adam clocked the glare. "Don't worry, I'm not gonna waste much of your time."

Good.

Adam took a breath, ran his hand through his red hair .

"I wasn't gonna come, you know. I haven't seen you in 10 years and I wasn't planning on ending that streak any time soon. But, I realized that I had a unique opportunity with you in the hospital."

Jacob raised a gray grizzled eyebrow. Oh?

Adam leaned in.

"See, you're not in any condition to move right now after what happened a couple of days ago; so you can't move. And since you're hooked up to this machine," he pointed to the ventilator,  "you can't talk."

Oh, I don't like where this is going...

"So, now I can tell you a few things I've been wanting to say for a while now without you interrupting or walking out on me. Now you have to listen."

Adam got a steely glare as a reply. #@^&ing MAKE me.

Adam leaned back, taking another breath.

"I really don't understand why you came all this way to see me now. You never wanted to see me when I was little and you still lived with us. What changed?"

Jacob snorted and rolled his eyes. Oh, boy.

Adam snorted back. "Well, I guess it doesn't matter. You're here now. You obviously had something important to say or you wouldn't have bothered to find me."

My son, the detective.

"It's about your liver cancer, right?"

Jacob snapped his head towards him. How the hell did he know that?

Adam nodded. "I guess mom was right when she said your drinking would catch up with you someday. I found out from your doctor a few days ago. It's bad, but not so advanced that you can't beat it. But, you've missed your last few appointments to deal with 'family business'," he gave his father a concerned glance, his voice softened by worry, "Dad, you can't afford to miss your treatments."

The old man sighed, defiant, but tired.

His son continued.

"I also came because...well, I wasn't sure I'd have time later...you know, in case..." his voice trailed off.

Jacob nodded.  I know.

"So, I just wanted to tell you....that you're still the biggest jackass I know."

Jacob snorted. I could've told you that.

"10 years and a divorce doesn't change or erase what you did to mom, to my brothers and sisters, or to me."

I know.

"There's a part of me that can't forgive and forget; that wants me to say how much I hate you and that you can go and burn in hell for all I care."

I know. It's a part of me, too.

"But, I can't."

Figures.

"Because you're still my dad. And I love you."

Distant weary eyes gazed past Adam. Just like your mother.

"Yeah, I know it's not something you've ever been able to say to anyone except maybe mom. You never said it to me, that's for sure," Adam gave a half laugh, then softened, "I never understood why that was so hard for you to say."

Oh, go cry to Oprah.

"But, I think I understand you a little better now."

Oh?

"It's hard to talk about a feeling that's caused you pain."

Jacob slowly nodded his grizzly gray head. Yes. Yes, it is.

"So, I don't expect you to tell me that because that's....that's just how you are. I know that now. I just wanted you to know that, even after all you did, I still love you."

Adam fell silent for a moment. His father was looking away from him, somehow much older and frailer now than when Adam had first walked in. Adam sighed as he got up from his chair.

"Well, that's all I wanted to say. Sorry I took longer than you wanted."

As he got up, Adam heard a muffled cry. He turned to see his dad looking up pleadingly at him, his hand outstretched towards his son. Curious and concerned, Adam bent down and took his hand.

He felt it squeeze once. Twice. Three times.

The edge had fallen off of the gray eyes, replaced by a gruff gentleness Adam had never seen before. Then, he understood his father's message. A quiet tear rolled down Adam's face. He choked back the rest and awkwardly hugged his dad who gave an equally awkward hug back.

"Thanks, Dad." Adam whispered.

No. Thank you.

After a moment, they let go. Adam smiled and, though the mask covered most of his face, he could tell his dad was smiling too.

"Goodbye, Dad." Adam said as he waved.

Jacob raised his hand and waved back.

Goodbye, son.

This seemed like an appropriate song for New Year's Eve. :) This is Lostprophets' "Rooftops".



When our time is up,
When our lives are done,
Will we say we've had our fun?

Will we make a mark
This time?
Will we always say we tried?

Standing on the rooftops,
Everybody scream your heart out.
Standing on the rooftops,
Everybody scream your heart out.
Standing on the rooftops,
Everybody scream your heart out.
This is all we've got now,
Everybody scream your heart out.

All the love I've met,
I have no regrets,
If it all ends now,
I'm set.

Will we make our mark
This time?
Will we always say we tried?

Standing on the rooftops,
Everybody scream your heart out.
Standing on the rooftops,
Everybody scream your heart out.
Standing on the rooftops,
Everybody scream your heart out.
This is all we've got now,
Everybody scream your heart out.

Standing on the rooftop,
Waiting till the bomb drops,
This is all we've got now,
Scream until your heart stops,
Never gonna regret,
Watching every sunset,
Listen to your heartbeat,
All the love that we've felt.

Standing on the rooftop,
Waiting till the bomb drops,
This is all we've got now,
Scream until your heart stops,
Never gonna regret,
Watching every sunset,
Listen to your heartbeat,
All the love that we've felt.

Scream your heart out.
Scream your heart out.
Scream your heart out.
Scream your...

Standing on the rooftops,
Everybody scream your heart out.
Standing on the rooftops,
Everybody scream your heart out.
Standing on the rooftops,
Everybody scream your heart out.
This is all we've got now,
Everybody scream your...


Happy New Year's Eve!

Ahhh, cyberspace. Where no one can hear you scream.

Not that I'm in a screaming mood. I'm in more of a let's-procrastinate-a-bit-longer-as-finals-that-I-haven't-really-studied-for-come-up mood.

So, naturally, I'd be online.

Seriously, though, I'm not really bothered or panicky about school right now; I just want it to be done. The only class that really challenges me is my history class, and that's not all too difficult in it of itself. Most of my classes are pretty easy this semester. I guess what it comes down to is that I'm just plain BORED this semester.

Which, I guess, is not a totally bad thing since I can kinda-sorta relax during the school year, which doesn't always happen.

Hmm, let's see...anything interesting to talk about...?

Nope. I think I'm done.

kthnxbai.

Quote of the Day: "Let me bring you up to speed. We know nothing. You are now up to speed." PP2

Disclaimer: I do not own Adam, St. John, or Tabitha. The last two belong to Wingwyrm.

Why do people feel the need to remind me of embarrassing moments?

Why?

I suppose it's because I have the ability to laugh at myself. And I guess bringing up such moments is only second nature to my family, which tends to remember things that make them laugh. 

Like me.

I consider myself to be a pretty normal person. Good looks. Smart. Academic. Keeps a level head more or less. Like to be prepared. Gets good grades. Etc...

I do, however, have a fatal flaw that seems to keep respect for my intelligence just beyond my reach.

I am a comic gold mine,

Not intentional comedy, you understand. I don't force any of my relations or friends to sit down and endure a barrage of jokes and sketches that I made one day when I was bored. No, my kind of comedy is what the English majors like to refer to as situational comedy, hence the term sit coms for some of those popular tv shows.

Of course, in true sit com fashion, the way I get myself into such (though not all) situations is through my mouth.

It's not that I say "the wrong thing". I'm fairly careful about what I say. It's that I tend to get words mixed up in my head and sometimes...that's what comes out of my mouth.

Example: "Any port in a storm" turns into "Any port in a harbor".

...cliches can be a stumbling block for me.

Another way my mouth grants me instant fame is through voicing certain, er, misconceptions.

Example: Did you know Afghanistan is in South America?

My dad and brother went to Borders after that little gem and bought me a few world history books.

Geography was never one of my strong points, I'm afraid...

The third way that my mouth kills my reputation as an intelligent person is by making noises.

Weird noises. 

The kind of noises that typically come out when something is about to happen that I REALLY don't want to happen and I attempt to stop the action before it is too late and the pressure is so great that I can't think of a word or I can't get the words out fast enough...

So I make a noise. Typically a squaking noise of some sort, but I've been known to have variations of it.

Communication. Who knew it was so hard?

You can see my dilemma here. As you're reading this, you probably have a fairly good impression of what my command for the english language is. I'm fine typing things out. It allows me the chance to think of what I want to say and the best way to say it that the flow of normal conversation does not always give (though I am certainly not against a little one-on-one). So, how do I make my opinion heard when certain members of my family are more focused on my speech issues than on what I'm trying to communicate?

I don't know. Sometimes, I just give up. Sometimes, it's just more work than it's worth. I am a smart woman. I am capable of intelligent conversation. I do have emotions and opinions that I'd like to express. I don't mind bringing up a past stumbling because they are funny and I know how to laugh at myself.

What I do mind is having such moments brought up often. And when my friends catch on to my verbal trippings and start to giggle. I'll laugh with them. I'll even make jokes about it myself. But, I can't stand it when judgements of my intellect are made based off of such small mistakes. It's not fair. It makes me feel stupid and like no one respects my opinion. I'm not saying that everyone I meet does this. Truth be told, such things are mostly contained within my family. But, still...it hurts. And I'm not sure how much of my family understands that.

Title: Drama
Rating: G
Pairing: none
Spoilers: none
Warnings: none
Challenge: "True Love" for the patsy_challenge
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters. In fact, Tabitha and Anna St. John both belong to wingwyrm. Thanks for letting me borrow them!
Word Count: 1718
Summary: Adam's gonna have a looong talk with Messer...
Author note: I hope you enjoy this little fic! 

Yes, I know my SN is "ross_a_holic23" and you'd expect all of my posts to be Adam-oriented. But, I do have other interests outside of my dear Adam (GASP!). I just thought I'd share my fav quotes of all time to the world. So, without further ado, here they are!

"Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way, when you criticize them, you're a mile away and you have their shoes."
--anonymous

Every teacher in school says that they want you to have a life. They lie.
--ross_a_holic23

"Your baby is ugly."
--Chad Vader, episode 7

"Q: why did my husband cry when the Red Sox won the Series, but not at our wedding?
A: If you had turned him down for 86 years, he might have."
--Rick Reilly

"Go kiss a spork!"
--From Veggietales' "Lord of the Beans"

"May the Lord reach out to you with His guiding hand and smack you upside the head with it."
--Excel

"The man may be the head, but the woman is the neck, and she can turn the head whichever way she wants"
--My Big Fat Greek Wedding

"And lo, whensoever thou takest a car in, and the mechanic promise the price of $50, but when thou pickest it up, he chargeth $500, he shall be called the Evil One; and whenever the Evil One shall order a burger, he shall be charged 10 times the listed price, and when he asketh why, he shall be told that he ordered a difficult hamburger, and that the lettuce had to be installed by an expert, and that they had to send away for the bun. Thus shall he reap his own reward."
--Brother Bob

Sith Happens.

Procrastinators Unite Tomorrow!

I swear to drunk I'm not god.

Knowledge pursues me, but I am faster.
-Vienna tram graffiti

Those who say that words can never hurt them, never got hit in the head with a dictionary.

"Curses; schooled again."
--ross_a_holic23

And last, but not least:

"I've got skills..."
--Adam Ross, "Down the Rabbit Hole"

"Say my name!"
--Adam Ross, "Down the Rabbit Hole"

"I was right; it was a lugi!"
--Adam Ross, not sure which ep.

"heh, I'm a scientist without the badge, Danny. Trust me."
--Adam Ross, "Wasted"

"'Hey, Adam, when you're done there, I have a pair of slacks for you.'

'I have no comment for that.'"
--Danny Messer and Adam Ross, "Bad Beat"

So I've been spending the last week or so thinking/writing up fanfiction for Adam Ross & Co. when the thought hit me: do you think anyone from CBS or the cast reads this stuff? (ponders)Kinda makes you think, doesn't it... What do you think?

Title: Stronger
Rating: PG
Pairing: none, really.
Spoilers: none
Warnings: mild swearing
Challenge: "You're Stronger than Me" for the patsy_challenge
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters. Woe is me!
Word Count: 1096
Summary: Adam and Danny have a little talk; set during "Run Silent, Run Deep"
Author note: I thought I should contribute a little something on my first day here. I literally just whipped this out, so feel free to comment and critique.

( Danny set down his beer bottle )

Hi to any and all who may stumble across this very rudimentary LJ page. This is my first time doing any of this so please bear with me and feel free to offer any advice! Thanks!