Fic: When The Leaves Fall (1/?)
Title: When The Leaves Fall (1/?)
Author: BradyGirl_12
Pairings/Characters (this chapter): Mike Parker, Adam Flint
Fandom: Naked City
Genres: Angst, Drama, Historical
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Major Character Death
Spoilers: For Today The Man Who Kills The Ants Is Coming (3x21)
Summary: After the fallout from a violent confrontation with a fleeing killer, Adam is broken.
Date Of Completion: July 29, 2024
Date Of Posting: August 6, 2024
Disclaimer: I don’t own ‘em, Screen Gems does, more’s the pity.
Word Count (this chapter): 1572
Feedback welcome and appreciated.
My world is finite,
Walls unseen,
Memories unknown.
Alone.
Thomas Macon
"Screams From The Mind"
1953 C.E.
I
My Little Corner Of The Earth
September 27, 1967
Ocean View was not your typical mental hospital. It was a private hospital with wealthy patients but with slots reserved for members of the NYPD and NYFD, courtesy of Augustus Medfield, who had funded care for these particular civil servants. The NYFD had saved his family mansion from burning to the ground and the NYPD had saved his kidnapped daughter. When Augustus had passed away in 1955, the program had begun, the funds coming from the Medfield Foundation.
Lieutenant Mike Parker of the NYPD drove through lush, manicured grounds. Splashes of orange, yellow and red chrysanthemums, nasturtium and zinnias matched splendid maple and ash trees as autumn was starting its annual show of color.
Mike parked in the visitor's lot and got out of his Department-issued Pontiac. The air was cool and crisp so he decided to keep his coat on but left his fedora in the passenger seat. The NYPD still required its detectives to dress in suit and tie with a coat and hat when out of the office (long coat not necessary in hot weather), but less civilians were wearing hats these days.
He walked up the steps of the veranda of the three-story house, built in 1886, fronted with Doric columns at the entrance. Painted white with dark-green shutters, the slate roof had a widow's walk.
Inside, the lobby contained potted plants, comfortable chairs and sofas, and a polished tile floor in a black-and-white checked pattern. The reception desk was manned by a young woman in a green-and-yellow paisley dress and wearing light blue eyeshadow. Gold bracelets clacked as she wrote on a yellow legal pad.
She looked up. "Oh, hello, Lieutenant."
"Hello, Maxie."
She looked down at a clipboard with the day's notices. "Dr. Eldredge will see you at 2:00." She wrote his name on a slip of paper and slid it into a slot on a visitor's badge. Mike took it and clipped it to his shirt pocket.
"I know, I'm early. I'll go see my friend."
She nodded, her honey-blond hair shining. Mike was trusted to go directly to the patient's room instead of wandering aimlessly.
He took the elevator to the second floor, an old-fashioned one with a latticed door. He stepped out into a corridor with pale yellow walls and potted palms. He found Room 206 easily and knocked on the door.
"Come in!"
Mike entered the room. The walls were papered in a yellow-sprigged pattern, tasteful landscapes and seascapes in wooden frames adding to a pleasant atmosphere. There was a maple four-poster bed with a diamond-patterned gold bedspread, a dresser and bureau. A rocking chair was set in the corner, a straight-backed chair and table in the other corner. A nightstand held a lamp and box of tissues. A small writing desk was stacked with papers, and a short bookcase was crammed with books. A small bathroom was located off this bedroom.
Mike went out to the deck and Adam Flint, formerly Detective First Grade with the New York City Police Department, turned in his chair to greet him. Mike felt mild shock as he looked at Adam.
His old friend wore a white shirt with a V-necked red sweater, tan-colored chinos and polished brown loafers. His dark-brown hair was a little longer than when he had been on the Force and he was finally gaining back a little weight. All that was fine. What shocked Mike was that Adam was smiling and looked happy!
Mike's first instinct was to ask why but decided to just to go with the flow. He would ask Doc Eldredge.
"Please, sit down. Unless you'd like to go to the cafeteria?"
"Nah, I'm good." Mike settled into the other white wicker chair.
He always felt uneasy on this balcony. How could the hospital feel comfortable to allow mental patients to have access to a balcony on the upper floors?
The view of the Atlantic was magnificent. The formal gardens, a legacy from the original owners, were colorful as they stretched out to the edge of the cliff, bordered by a seawall.
They sat in companionable silence for awhile listening to the birds and the ocean splashing on the rocks below.
Mike appreciated the sounds. In the city you mostly heard cars and trucks rumbling by, or an occasional siren from a police car, fire truck or ambulance. You might hear a flock of pigeons cooing on the roof, or other birds, but only if you went to Central Park, and even then they might fly off to avoid the muggers.
Mike used the relative quiet to think. Adam had arrived here at Ocean View in a catatonic state. After six months he had come out of it, but perpetually confused about his current situation. He remembered nothing of what happened to send him here. Sadness clung to him like cobwebs in a haunted house. He ate only when reminded and remained gaunt (until today). He carried a wad of tissues in his pocket because he often quietly cried in the depths of his sorrow. He inevitably asked, "Has Frank come to see me today?" What had changed?
"Adam?"
"Hmm?" Adam was watching a seagull wheeling over the sea.
"Um, are you up for a walk?"
Adam turned toward him, his smile still shining. His eyes were still shining, too, but they were a little too bright, possibly a touch frantic?
"Sure " He stood up. The wind ruffled his hair. He didn't use Brylcreem anymore, and Mike wondered if he was cold, but the sweater was probably enough.
They went outside after taking the stairs down to the first floor. The grass was still green but very soon would stop growing, getting ready for winter. The flowers were in full autumn bloom, and Mike appreciated seeing something besides gray concrete and crumbling brick.
"See, my plot is doing well," said Adam, pointing to a well-tended corner of the garden. The red, orange and yellow chrysanthemums, nasturtiums and zinnias were a part of the overall theme of the estate, but Mike had no doubt lovingly planted by Adam. There was even a sprinkling of purple flowers to add a little individual pizzazz.
"Looks real fine, Adam." Even the previously sad Adam had shown interest in his own garden. "You have a real talent for this."
"It's good soil." Adam bent over, gently touching his plants. "I'm looking through seed catalogues right now. I'm thinking of planting yellow roses in the spring."
"Uh, huh."
Frank's favorite flower.
Mike shivered a little. Whether it was from the sudden breeze or revelation, he wasn't sure. Did it really even matter?
Adam stood up and they walked along the path as the ocean's waves splashed against the rocks below the cliff.
A happy smile made Adam glow with happiness. Mike desperately wanted to talk to Dr. Eldredge but it wasn't time for his appointment. Besides, it would be rude to run off from Adam, who was so eager to see him.
Adam knew the grounds well, pointing out individual plots and fountains. Marble statues were the originals from the 19th century: cherubs, nymphs and angels.
The gardeners were raking up leaves as Mike and Adam passed. Adam said hello to every one of them.
A short, dark-haired man with a bushy mustache stopped raking. "Hello, Adam."
"Hi, Morrie. Morrie, this is Mike Parker, a friend of mine."
Mike shook hands with Morrie. "Nice to meetcha. Hey, Adam, your plot looks great."
"Thanks. Morrie taught me the right way to garden."
"There's a wrong way?" Mike couldn't help his characteristic sarcasm.
Morrie took no offense and laughed. "Adam's my star pupil."
He used to be mine.
"Don't mind him, Morrie. Mike's got a knife for a tongue," Adam said cheerfully. "C'mon, Mike."
Adam waved goodbye and he and Mike resumed walking. They ended up by a bench located near the seawall.
"My bench," Adam said happily, patting stone. They sat on the bench. "I sit here often, watching the ocean."
Dr. Eldridge had mentioned Adam sitting here for hours, as still as the stone. When Adam had worked for him, Mike had never been certain what was going on in his head. He was brilliant at police work, sometimes coming out of left field with astonishing insights and ideas, but now he had no clue. What did Adam think about, sitting on this cold stone bench for hours?
"I think this is a nice spot."
Adam nodded. "I can watch the boats go by. Little boats, big ships, all heading to and fro from New York Harbor. Even up to Boston."
They sat there for a little while longer, then Mike checked his watch. "I gotta go, Adam."
"Okay, Mike."
They left the bench and headed back through the garden.
Adam paused at his plot, picking up a few stray leaves from the ground. "My little corner of the earth," he said with a small smile.
Back at his room Adam shook hands with Mike. "Thanks for coming by, Mike."
"Always a pleasure, Adam."
"I think I'll take a nap before the dinner bell."
"You do that."
Mike watched his friend disappear into his room and close the door behind him.
Now to get some answers.
He marched off to the doctor's office.
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