Medical Center. Emergency Room.
Adam was busy treating a kid whose neck had gotten stuck in a tiger-shaped toy when a familiar face stormed in, clearly on a mission.
"Hold on a sec," Adam said.
The moment he saw her, he knew exactly what this was about. Still, he shot her a quick "calm down" look.
She noticed the kid next to Adam, and her angry expression melted away in an instant. Concern took over as she asked, "Oh no, what happened here?"
"Got caught in something by accident," Adam explained casually.
Once he finished up with the case, he led Lily—who'd flipped back to her angry face—outside the hospital building, all while the nosiest little nurse watched with gossip-hungry eyes.
"Lily, what's so urgent you had to track me down at the hospital?" Adam said, putting on a stern face. "Don't you know I'm working? This doesn't look good, you barging in like this."
"Sorry," Lily mumbled.
She was a kindergarten teacher with a soft spot for kids, and seeing Adam tending to one just now had hit her guilt button hard.
"Just this once. Don't let it happen again," Adam said, secretly smirking inside but keeping his face straight.
He knew why Lily was here, so he figured he'd get the upper hand by putting her on the defensive first.
But Lily wasn't your average pushover. As a master of motivational clichés, she was quick on her feet. She switched back to her angry face, struck a Bruce Lee pose, and pointed a trembling finger at Adam. "Don't change the subject! What did you do to Robin?"
"Ahem." Adam coughed lightly, playing innocent. "What are you talking about?"
He knew Lily and Robin were besties—well, in the original timeline, anyway.
In this timeline, thanks to Adam flapping his chaotic butterfly wings, Robin never got tangled up with Ted. That meant she barely hung out with Lily and the gang, so their bestie bond had definitely taken a hit.
Given that, Adam seriously doubted Robin would've spilled the beans about last night to Lily.
Until he got the full story, he wasn't about to confess anything stupid.
"You know what I'm talking about!" Lily growled, her finger shaking as she spat out each word.
"What?" Adam, who'd faced plenty of scares in his time, had now mastered the art of acting. With his strength backing him up, he kept that innocent look locked in place.
"The marks on Robin's body!" Lily snapped. Seeing her tough-guy act wasn't cracking him, she upped the ante. "Don't tell me you have no idea what's going on!"
"Oh." Adam nodded lightly. "I know about that. But do you?"
"I—" Lily faltered.
Of course she didn't know.
If she did, she'd have screamed it out already.
All she'd seen were the marks on Robin's body. When she pressed her, Robin only let slip that Adam—this jerk—was involved. But no matter how much Lily prodded, Robin wouldn't give up the details.
That drove Lily up the wall.
We're talking indescribable injuries here.
The second Lily saw them, her mind ran wild with a million scenarios. She wanted Robin to confirm them, but Robin just clammed up.
It was the ultimate "pants are off, and this is what you show me?" moment.
Since she couldn't get answers from Robin, Lily marched over to confront the other guilty party—Adam—fuming with righteous anger.
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But let's be real—Lily wasn't here for the juicy details (well, not just that). She was on a mission to get justice for her bestie. How could anyone treat a girl so rough? Those marks—Lily's heart ached just looking at them.
Oof. Like, really ached.
"It wasn't me," Adam said with a helpless chuckle. "Lily, you know me. Do you honestly think I'd do something like that?"
"Hmm, it doesn't seem like you," Lily admitted, nodding. Then she frowned. "But if it wasn't you, then who? Robin's been cursing your name left and right!"
"Uh…" Adam gave an awkward laugh. "It's kinda related to me, but I swear I didn't do it myself… Look, just drop it, okay? Robin doesn't want anyone else knowing."
"Anyone else? Am I just anyone to her?" Lily puffed out her chest, striking a "I'm Robin's number-one bestie" pose.
"Heh." Adam just looked at her, smiling without a word.
"…Okay, fine," Lily muttered, realizing her stance wasn't convincing. She softened her tone. "Adam, seriously, what happened? You know Robin didn't even go to work today."
"That bad, huh?" Adam said, genuinely surprised.
Robin was a total workaholic. Skipping out like this? That wasn't her style.
"You're a doctor, and you're shocked?" Lily's voice shot up again as she rolled her eyes dramatically. "She's hurt so bad she can't even wear a bra. How's she supposed to go to work?"
Adam thought it over and felt a pang of shame.
Normally, he'd have caught something like that right away. But back then, his brain was too fried—too overloaded with everything—to notice the little details.
Now, rewinding the mental tape and unlocking that encrypted memory file… From a pro doctor's perspective, those injuries…
Adam's guilt doubled, and he couldn't help but grumble inwardly, "Alice really lives up to her doctor rep. Way harsher than Robin ever was."
"She didn't see a doctor?" he asked.
"How could she?" Lily shot him a glare. "It's humiliating! She just took some painkillers."
"Hang on, I'll grab some ointment for her. You can go over and help her apply it," Adam said quickly.
"What?!" Lily's eyes widened. "She's in that state, and you're not going yourself?"
"I've got stuff to do," Adam said, hesitating. "The hospital just got—"
"How far is Robin's place from here?" Lily cut him off. "You can't spare a few minutes? What, are you the only doctor in this whole place?"
"Well, no," Adam said with a sheepish grin. "But me showing up right now? Not the best idea. You know Robin's got five big dogs and a stash of guns at her place. You're her bestie—you're the better fit for this. Don't you wanna help her out~?"
His tone and expression turned a little sly at the end.
Lily caught on instantly. Her mind slipped into the scenario Adam painted, and she zoned out for a sec, her eyes taking on a mischievous glint.
Adam snickered to himself.
He knew Lily couldn't resist this kinda bait.
Back in the original timeline, she'd always had a thing for Robin—tons of fantasies included.
Take this classic moment: When Robin and Ted were in their honeymoon phase, the two couples had a chat. Ted and Robin sat everyone down all serious, saying they had something to announce.
Once they spilled it, Matthew immediately teased Lily, "Told you they didn't mean that."
Lily had been mortified.
She'd rambled to Matthew more than once after a few drinks, dreaming up wild ideas about shaking up their little four-friend, two-couple dynamic.
Matthew thought it was hilarious and blurted it out without thinking.
Lily and Ted? Please. They were like left hand and right hand—no chance.
But he'd totally misread her.
With four people, there's more than one combo, right? Lily's real dream team was her and Robin, okay?!
Adam, with his god-tier perspective, saw it all clear as day. So right now, he landed a knockout punch with an offer Lily couldn't refuse.
Truth be told, he wasn't thrilled about going to Robin's himself.
Not because he was scared she'd sic her five massive dogs on him or blast him with a shotgun.
It was more like:
One, he did have stuff to do. Those quintuplets were a high-risk case—he had to stay on top of it.
Two, if he went over, how was he supposed to comfort Robin? To do it right, it'd take forever—and he just didn't have that kinda time.
If he half-assed it, the comforting wouldn't even work, so why bother going at all?
So, nah, he'd sit this one out and nudge Lily into action instead.
The besties could hash it out, slap on some ointment, trash-talk Adam a bit, and boom—negative vibes gone.
That's the winning move right there.
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(End of Chapter)