Fic: When The Leaves Fall (8/?)
Title: When The Leaves Fall (8/?)
Author: BradyGirl_12
Pairings/Characters (this chapter): Frank/Adam (Frank does not appear in this chapter)
Fandom: Naked City
Genres: Angst, Drama, Historical, Holiday, Romance
Rating (this chapter): G
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: There are many kinds of nightmares.
Date Of Completion: October 9, 2024
Date Of Posting: October 10, 2024
Disclaimer: I don’t own ‘em, Screen Gems does, more’s the pity.
Word Count (this chapter): 1392
Feedback welcome and appreciated.
All chapters can be found here.
VIII
DIAMONDS & TINSEL
Tinsel is cheap,
They say,
But it sparkles
Like moonlight on snow.
Nature's diamonds.
My love for you
Sparkles deeply
In my heart.
Whether diamonds
Or tinsel,
My love glitters
For you.
Adam Flint
"Diamonds & Tinsel"
1967 C.E.
December 23, 1967
Moonlight sparkled on the freshly fallen snow surrounding Ocean View Hospital. The sea was peaceful in its eternal rhythms. A freighter silently glided across the waves.
Adam woke with a shout, sitting bolt upright in bed. He shook as he gasped for breath, running a hand through his hair.
Korea, he thought as he wrapped his arms around himself. Pork Chop Hill. He pulled up the quilt, tears brimming in his eyes. Oh, Frank, I wish you could be with me all the time, not just visiting hours. He began to rock as he rested his head on his knees. He trembled as he moaned slightly.
After several minutes he stopped. Throwing the covers off, he put on his robe and slippers. It was too cold to go out on the balcony. He needed to move.
The doors of the patients' rooms were locked at night, but Adam had slipped in a piece of plastic in the doorjamb. The door appeared locked but Adam quietly opened it, checking to see if any staff was around.
The coast is clear.
Adam slipped out of the room and quietly closed the door behind him. He crept along the hall, hearing the occasional moan or shout. Unless the noises were protracted they were ignored.
Adam walked down the stairs, listening carefully for any footsteps. Getting caught would expose his little door trick.
He knew the staff was reduced at night. He could hear voices murmuring in the cafeteria.
Staff and patients decorated several Christmas trees: for the lobby, rec room, TV room, cafeteria and the library. Adam had a tabletop tree in his room but he still liked the big trees.
He hurried to the library and closed the doors behind him. He took a deep breath, smelling the evergreen tree. Its fragrance soothed him. He walked over to the tree and touched a branch. It swayed silently, the glass ornament and tinsel winking in the moonlight streaming in through the window.
All of the ornaments were delicate and beautiful, accented by strands of gold and silver garlands and the tinsel. They had decorated the Medfield family tree in the 19th century. Many were from Europe, Germany and Britain in particular.
Adam knelt on the carpet and crawled under the tree, curling up. He was surrounded by the fragrance of evergreen and the moonlit ornaments. Glitter filled his vision, the tears on his cheeks sparkling in the moonbeams.
Why am I crying? Christmas is supposed to be a happy time of year.
But sadness clung to this place. People were damaged. Mike's old friend John was trapped in his own mind, drifting in and out of lucidity.
I have Frank. I should be happy. He wiped his eyes with a tissue from the pocket of his robe. It must be the nightmare. I barely hung on in Korea. That 'police action' was a nasty little war.
He shivered. He had met good people in Korea, some of whom became good friends, but the war itself had scarred him. When he had suffered nightmares about Korea, Frank had been there to comfort him.
Adam looked up through the tinseled branches at the window. Would they get more snow tomorrow? It was the most magical on Christmas Eve.
He thought of the present he had placed under his tabletop tree for Frank. It was a handwritten poem that he hoped Frank would like. Frank often teased him about his love of poetry, affectionately calling him 'college boy'. Frank loved him, poetry and all.
Maybe he'll gift me with something he baked, he thought fondly. While some Italian men could cook up a mean spaghetti and meatballs, Sofia Arcaro had taught her son many recipes, baking as well as cooking.
There was no fire going in the fireplace. He shivered again. He needed to walk. He reluctantly slid out from under the tree. He touched an angel ornament and laughed softly as the tiny harp it held sparkled in the moonlight.
"Pawn shop," he murmured.
Adam stood at the library's double doors. It was a comfortable room filled with books, couches and chairs. When the fire was going, there was no place cozier. But he felt cold tonight.
He checked to see if anyone was around. Since there was no one, Adam left the library and padded down the hall.
He paused at a door located at the end of the hall. The door was always kept locked. The patients called where the stairs led the Attic, a cramped floor where the servants of the Medfield family had once been assigned quarters. They had been remodeled into padded rooms. Ruth Orlovsky said if you didn't stop screaming or hitting your head against the walls, you were transferred out to permanent residency at the state hospital. That was more frightening than padded rooms or straitjackets.
Adam lingered by the door. He felt drawn to it for some odd reason. Did that mean he was destined for a padded cell? He shuddered at the thought.
Suddenly he heard a sound. Was it coming from behind the Attic door? His heart began to pound and he looked around quickly. No staffers coming his way, demanding to know how he got out of his room.
Another noise sent him running, heedless of any creaks he might have made on the wooden floor. His terror increased and breathing became labored as he ran up the stairs for the second floor.
& & &
He raced up the stairs. He could smell the strong odor of cabbage cooking. Somewhere a baby was crying. Wallpaper peeled off the walls.
& & &
Adam shook off the fragment of memory as he barreled up the stairs. Or maybe it was a wisp of nightmare, or just something his overheated mind had conjured up. He didn't know and right now didn't care. He did not look behind him as panic rose. Was it gaining on him? What was it?
Fear boiled up in him as he nearly sobbed. He reached the second floor and raced down the hall to his room, pushing open the door and slamming it behind him after removing the piece of plastic. He wanted nothing coming in after him.
He threw off his robe and slippers and leaped into bed, pulling up the sheet, blanket and quilt. He curled up into a ball and shook.
A tiny part of his mind was ashamed and knew that once upon a time he was better able to control his fear. Adam was sorry, but he simply did not have the energy to fight the terror nearly strangling him.
He whimpered. If only Frank was here! Frank would come tomorrow on Christmas Eve and then on Christmas Day, but he was not here now. If he could only survive the night.
The fear consumed him. His mind skittered to memories of Pork Chop Hill...
& & &
April 16, 1953
Adam gestured for his squad to move. Reluctantly they obeyed, no one eager to die on this hill. Adam gripped his rifle with his fingers so tightly they hurt. His nerves were jangling madly. They crawled up the hill, listening hard for sounds of the enemy.
Adam's heart pounded. The ground was rocky, making it a hard slog. If they could reach that stone wall up ahead...
Shouts from Chinese voices and blaring bugles chilled the blood. Mortar fire chewed up the terrain and one of his men screamed.
"Up!" Adam shouted as Chinese troops poured over the rise. Rifles fired and still the Chinese came, still pouring over the rise and stone wall in waves. It was hand-to-hand combat with bayonets flashing and blood spurting...
& & &
Adam's body shook so badly, his teeth rattled. Were the Chinese coming for him? They came endlessly like ants flowing down an anthill. Was that what John was talking about? Had he been in Korea? Adam's bones chilled. He listened for footsteps out in the hall.
Exhaustion finally won out over fear. Adam gradually fell asleep as he thought he heard his name whispered and felt his hair stroked.
The tabletop tree's tinsel glittered in the moonlight.
This chapter can also be read on AO3.
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