Fic: When The Leaves Fall (7/?)
Title: When The Leaves Fall (7/?)
Author: BradyGirl_12
Pairings/Characters (this chapter): Julie Sheffield, Frank/Adam, Mike Parker, John Clinton, Sofia Arcaro, Sally Horton, Ruth Orlovsky, Harry Carruthers, William Eldredge
Fandom: Naked City
Genres: Angst, Drama, Historical, Holiday, Romance
Rating (this chapter): PG-13
Warnings: Major Character Death
Spoilers: For Today The Man Who Kills The Ants Is Coming (3x21)
General Summary: After the fallout from a violent confrontation with a fleeing killer, Adam is broken.
Chapter Summary: Thanksgiving at Ocean View: definitely food, and family as well?
Date Of Completion: October 4, 2024
Date Of Posting: November 2, 2024
Disclaimer: I don’t own ‘em, Screen Gems does, more’s the pity.
Word Count (this chapter): 2310
Feedback welcome and appreciated.
All chapters can be found here.
VII
TURKEY, ZITI AND LEMON YOO-HOO!
Is food
For body and soul.
As diamonds
Pressed from coal,
As luminous eyes
Lined with kohl.
Make merry,
Revelry,
Fellowship
And well-met.
Skol!
Ruby Red
"The Sultan's Ruby
And Other Poems"
1096 C.E.
November 23, 1967
Holidays were always low-key at Ocean View. Some of the patients were unaware of what day it was, much less what holiday. Other patients had rocky relations with their families, and holidays were painful reminders of that fact.
So Thanksgiving could be tricky. It was all about family, but focus could be put on food, and football games were on TV after the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on NBC.
There would be a big feast with the traditional fixings: turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, salad, green beans with onion rings, and apple, mince and pumpkin pies for dessert. There was alternate food in case a patient was not into turkey, but most who left their rooms were happy with the traditional meal.
The kitchen staff was busy setting up and cooking, and delicious smells drifted from the cafeteria.
Julie Sheffield found Adam outside his room, looking agitated. "Happy Thanksgiving, Adam. Will you be joining the feast?"
"Can Frank come?"
"Of course." Her voice softened. "I'll make sure he gets a seat right next to you."
Adam visibly relaxed. "Thanks, Julie." His eyes sparkled shyly.
She sighed. Wow, those hazel eyes make me want to weep.
Adan grabbed her arm as she began to walk away. "Mike's coming, too." He let go of her arm as if afraid he had overstepped.
Julie smiled. "Not a problem."
Adam smiled happily.
& & &
As Mike entered Ocean View, he had to admit they had gone all out on decorations: cornstalks, leaves, pumpkins, a cornucopia with real fruit, and other themed displays. His mouth watered at the smell of roasting turkey from the cafeteria.
He decided to visit John. His old friend rarely left his room, taking his meals in private if he ate at all.
The visit went as if always did: a few moments of lucidity interspersed with the endless muttering. He knew John was not coming to dinner. He left quietly and went outside for a smoke out front.
Sometimes it was easy to forget that Ocean View was a mental hospital, but seeing patients like John reminded him pretty quickly.
Thinking about the Thanksgiving dinner preparations inside, he wondered if these people were Adam's family now. He had Frank's family once...
& & &
October 16, 1959
The apartment smelled of rich, redolent tomato sauce and garlic as Mike stepped inside.
"Hey, Mike, glad to see ya!" said Frank as he closed the door behind his boss.
"Thanks for inviting me, Frank."
"Mama will be so happy. Come on into the living room. Adam and I are helping out in the kitchen. I'll be right back with some vino."
Frank hurried to the kitchen. Mike looked around at the living room with its old-fashioned furniture and doilies on the chairs and couch. A polished coffee table, a Magnavox TV set, pretty knickknacks and paintings of Italy completed the decor. A round table held family photographs.
Sofia Arcaro came into the living room and Mike stood. "So pleased to see you, Lieutenant."
"Glad to be here. Dinner smells delicious."
"I've had good helpers."
Sofia was a woman in her early seventies with streaks of gray in her dark-brown hair and careworn hands, but she was wearing a pretty blue-flowered print dress and a warm smile.
That smile continued during dinner in the dining room as everyone enjoyed nice, crisp salad, garlic bread warm and crusty, and ziti with meatballs and sausage.
There was plenty of laughter as Frank told jokes. Adam seemed relaxed though he was the quintessential polite young man, eager for approval from Sofia. In the short time Mike had known him, he had noticed the craving for approval from this bright young man, who did not let that craving get in the way of his principles, but he needed it.
"Adam made the salad," Frank commented.
"You did?" Mike said.
"I did " Adam laughed. "It was just a matter of chopping up tomatoes, cucumbers and onions and handling the lettuce." He took a sip from his glass of wine. "I didn't even have to portion out the dressing. You could do that yourself." He waved at the cruet of dressing on the red-and-white-checkered tablecloth.
"Italian dressing, of course." Frank looked proudly at his partner.
"Of course. Italian's the best," Adam said, his eyes sparkling over the rim of his wineglass.
Mike noticed Sofia watching the two men. She seemed courteous enough to Adam, but what did she really think of him?
There was spumoni for dessert and as Adam and Frank cleared away the dessert dishes and started washing the dinner dishes, Sofia and Mike drank cappuccinos. Sofia put her cup down on the dining room table.
"So, Lieutenant, is this young man who is my son's new partner reliable?"
So that's the deal, Mike thought. Reason for a nice, home-cooked meal on a Friday night. Gotta pay the piper.
"Very reliable," Mike said.
Sofia sipped her cappuccino. "This Adam. He will have my Frankie's back?"
"I believe so." Mike curled his finger around the handle of the cup.
Sofia's brown eyes focused on Mike. "He seems confident."
Most of the time, thought Mike.
"But he also is a little jittery."
Great insight. Leave it to a mother.
"He's new at the Precinct. And he wants to make a good impression on his partner's mother." Mike took a sip of his cappuccino.
Sofia smiled. "He sounds like a good boy."
"Mrs. Arcaro, you needn't worry about Frank. Adam will always have his back."
Laughter came from the kitchen. Sofia relaxed.
& & &
Mike wandered off to a small area with boxed hedges. Surprised to see a trash receptacle hidden away, he tossed his cigarette butt inside.
I'm sure the Arcaro clan is gathering at Sofia's house in that very same dining room. Missing Frank. Mourning that day on that cold rooftop. When I lost a good detective and an even better friend. Lost two of them, actually.
Mike looked at the big old Victorian house looming a few scant yards away.
Thank God for Augustus Medfield's generosity. Adam's in a good place.
Mike had seen other mental hospitals. Some were not good places.
He hitched his shoulders and went inside.
& & &
Sally Horton was upset. "He won't answer my knock."
"Maybe he's just sleeping," suggested Ruth Orlovsky.
The two women were standing in the hall. Concern radiated from their features.
"I don't think so," Sally said firmly. "Mr. Carruthers is a light sleeper. He's said so."
Noises of preparation were coming from the cafeteria. Harry Carruthers's room was on the first floor.
"Maybe we should find Nurse Sheffield," said Ruth.
& & &
Julie jingled the keys in her uniform pocket. The dinner was something to look forward to today. She had no close family, so it was nice to enjoy a holiday feast here. She would have Christmas off and was booked for a Caribbean cruise. She wanted to research the job of being a nurse aboard a cruise ship and have some fun. It wasn't so bad working today. She was certainly getting a good meal out of the deal.
She left the cafeteria after checking on the seating arrangements. Adam's requests were taken care of, and other patients as well.
"Nurse Sheffield! Nurse Sheffield!"
"What's the matter, Sally?" Julie asked the young woman hurrying down the hall.
Sally gasped, "Mr. Carruthers isn't answering his door!"
"Okay, let's go."
Julie's keys felt heavy in her pocket. Suicide around the holidays was not uncommon. She hoped that wasn't the case with Harry Carruthers. She liked the old man.
She and Sally reached Harry's room and Julie unlocked the door as Ruth said, "I tried again. No answer." Adam was standing next to her, clearly distressed.
Julie opened the door. She turned on the lamp on the nightstand to dispel the darkness. The curtains were closed. Harry was stretched out on top of the blanket in his clothes. She looked for any evidence of pills on the nightstand. Despite careful monitoring of medication, somehow patients bent on suicide managed to get a bottle of pills.
Adam went into the bathroom and came back a few minutes later. "No pills," he said softly.
Julie remembered that he had been a cop. Scenes like this were probably second nature to him.
"Nothing on the dresser," said Ruth.
Sally was standing nervously by the doorway. She looked ready to cry.
Julie checked Harry's vitals. There did not seem to be anything wrong. "C'mon, Mr. Carruthers, wake up."
Harry groaned. "Leave me 'lone."
Julie suddenly remembered that he had been given cough syrup for a developing cold. Sometimes that medicine put people into deep sleep. "C'mon, you don't want to miss the big feast."
"Don' care 'bout the big feast," Harry mumbled. "Got no family."
Adam sat on the bed and gently touched Harry's shoulder. "Not true, Harry. You've got a family. All of these people are concerned about you."
Harry looked around at everyone in the room, his brown eyes bright with tears.
"Really care?"
"Of course we do," Ruth said staunchly. "Sally alerted us that something was wrong. Nurse Sheffield came running."
Sally timidly went to the foot of the bed. "You okay, Mr. Carruthers?"
"But...my family..." Harry choked.
"They'll always be with you right here." Adam touched a hand to his own chest. "Please come to the feast."
"Yes, do come," Ruth urged.
They waited for Harry's decision. He looked at everyone and took a tissue from the box on the nightstand.
"Okay, I'll come."
Julie felt relieved. This situation could have easily become a major mess. She was proud of the residents of Ocean View. They really did seem to care about each other.
She glanced up and saw Lieutenant Mike Parker in the doorway. There was a mixture of emotions on his craggy face: sadness, pride, and something else she wasn't sure of.
She and Adam helped Harry to stand. He was a little shaky from his emotional distress.
"We'll go to the TV room. Dinner will be ready soon."
Parker was gone by the time they reached the doorway. Once in the TV room Julie and Adam settled Harry in his favorite front row chair and Adam sat next to him while Sally and Ruth sat behind them. The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade was on.
Julie noticed Mike out in the hall. She went up to him.
"That was so like Adam," he said softly.
"He has good empathy."
"Frank matched him in that. They were my best detective team."
"What was Frank like?" Julie asked, genuinely curious.
"Kind, gentle, funny. Adam was always smiling or laughing around him. He was rock-steady, supportive, loved a good strawberry jelly doughnut."
Julie laughed. "Cops and doughnuts, huh?"
Mike smiled. "Adam's favorite was lemon."
"Any faults in Frank?"
"Occasional griping about overwork but all cops do that." He smirked. "Adam would roll his eyes when Frank was overly generous with ketchup on his food."
Julie's eyes widened. "Interesting. The first time Adam brought 'Frank' to lunch, he poured ketchup on his friend's meatloaf and potatoes."
"That is interesting."
"Even more interesting is that Adam poured ketchup on his own food, though not as much "
"So Frank finally got him on the ketchup front," Mike said to himself.
"Looks like."
Mike roused himself out of his reverie. "No chance of ketchup at the dinner?"
"Well, patients can choose between meatloaf and fish if they don't like turkey, but most will put brown gravy on the meatloaf."
"Frank can only eat a little brown gravy in one sitting. Upsets his stomach."
The rec room, TV room and library were filling up with patients waiting for the call to dinner. When it came, they walked and shuffled and even skipped to the cafeteria.
Mike found his place card and took his seat, noting he was seated on Adam's left. A place card for Frank was on Adam's right. He sighed but greeted Adam warmly when he took his seat.
The cafeteria was gaily decorated with paper leaves on the walls, pumpkins and cornstalks. The round tables had been removed and long tables brought in, arranged in a U-shape. The head table was at one end.
Dr. Eldredge and staff department heads sat at the head table. Other staffers sat at various long tables around the room. Kitchen staff were setting down glass cups of fruit cocktail as an appetizer and filling glasses with icewater. A second glass was being filled with a sparkling golden drink.
Dr. Eldredge stood. "Welcome to our guests. We here at Ocean View strive for good fellowship...and food!" Laughter. "Feasting is good for body and soul, as someone once said." He raised his glass. "I am thankful for everyone here." Applause. "Enjoy!"
He sat down and Mike drank what he assumed might be lemonade. "What is this?!"
"Lemon Yoo-Hoo," said Adam.
"Yoo-Hoo?!"
Adam nodded with a big grin. "No alcoholic drinks allowed, so you can have apple juice or Yoo-Hoo."
Mike narrowed his eyes. "And you put me down for Yoo-Hoo?"
Adam chuckled and sipped his drink.
Mike rolled his eyes and put down his glass.
Salad was the next course, and finally the entree: turkey with all the trimmings. He noticed that Frank's plate held only a light drizzle of brown gravy on his turkey.
Adam always takes care of his partner.
"Mmm, the kitchen cooks outdid themselves," Adam said as he sampled his turkey. He looked relaxed and happy. "Plenty of cranberry, and, yes, Frank, I suggested the Yoo-Hoo."
Mike sighed. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em."
He leaned over. "Frank, drink your Yoo-Hoo."
He and Adam clinked glasses.
Frank's glass sparkled brighter.
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