Night fell.

The surgery was over.

"Adam."

Meredith called out to Adam.

"What is it?" Adam looked at her.

"Can you help me keep an eye on Mr. Harper?" Meredith gritted her teeth as she spoke.

"No problem," Adam nodded.

"Really?" Meredith was utterly shocked.

After spending over two months working together, she had a clear understanding of Adam's personality. He always made a point of keeping professional and personal matters separate, and he never agreed to such requests.

She wouldn't have asked if Mr. Harper's smile didn't send shivers down her spine. And if it weren't for the fact that her only companions at the moment were Liz, Cristina, and George—her three best friends—leaving Adam as the only real man in the group, she wouldn't have even considered making this request.

Plus, she hadn't really expected him to say yes.

But, to her surprise, Adam agreed without hesitation.

She found it hard to believe.

"Don't overthink it," Adam explained. "This is a special case. You didn't really think I was just trying to scare you before the surgery to steal your case, did you?"

"No…" Meredith was touched and quickly shook her head.

"Actually, you were right," Adam cut in. "I was trying to scare you before the surgery."

"..." Meredith felt a lump in her throat, completely speechless.

"But that was before the surgery. Or, more precisely, before I actually met Mr. Harper," Adam said seriously. "Now, it's completely different. Mr. Harper is a dangerous man. You really shouldn't be anywhere near him! This isn't a joke. If you trust me, listen to me."

Meredith shuddered. "I trust you. But what about you?"

"Danger is relative." Adam smiled. "To you, Mr. Harper is dangerous. But to me, he's harmless."

Ever since he started hunting with Juno, Karen, and Heather, he had lost all sense of fear. His other skills kept improving, but anything related to fear—like his reaction speed—remained stagnant. Sometimes, it even frustrated him.

Meredith's expression was complicated. She felt grateful toward Adam, but at the same time, she couldn't help but roll her eyes at his arrogance.

Adam ignored whatever she was thinking and took over watching Mr. Harper until his discharge.

---

Ring ring ring.

His phone rang.

Adam glanced at the caller ID and smirked.

"Rachel?"

"Adam! What kind of gift did you send me?! You've gone too far this time—"

Rachel's voice roared through the phone.

Adam instinctively pulled the phone away from his ear, waited a few moments, and then replied calmly, "I'm sorry. If you don't like it, I'll have someone take it back."

Beep beep.

There was a brief silence on the other end, followed by the sound of the call disconnecting.

Adam wasn't surprised at all.

Rachel's yelling had been loud, but there was no actual anger behind it. She was just putting on an act—trying to insist that she didn't like the gift.

But the truth? She definitely liked it.

Maybe even… really liked it.

Ring ring ring.

Just as he was smirking at the thought, his phone rang again.

Still Rachel.

"Rachel?"

"Adam, it's Phoebe."

The voice on the other end was Phoebe's.

"Phoebe." Adam instantly had a feeling about what was coming.

Best friends were truly mysterious creatures.

Even this was a topic they shared?

Emmm…

"Chandler, Monica, and the rest of us all miss you," Phoebe went on. "You haven't joined us for a get-together in so long…"

"Sorry, being a surgical intern is just so busy," Adam apologized. "How about tomorrow night? Does everyone have time? Let's all catch up."

Friendships took time and effort to maintain, and Adam hadn't joined his old friends in a group gathering for over two months. That was definitely pushing it.

Time was a strange thing—if you really wanted to make time for something, you always could.

"Yes, yes!" Phoebe said excitedly.

"Then it's settled. We'll meet at Monica's apartment, and I'll take care of dinner," Adam said with a smile.

"Awesome!" Phoebe clapped her hands. "Oh, by the way, Adam, my birthday is on February 16th."

"..." Adam's lips twitched.

It was only September.

Her last birthday had been over seven months ago. Her next one was still more than four months away.

What was she trying to say?

"I don't mean anything by it," Phoebe giggled. "I just think you treat Rachel really well. But we're all friends, right? You shouldn't play favorites. Whatever you do for her, you should do for me too. That's fair, isn't it?"

"Alright, I get it," Adam said, half amused, half exasperated.

"I knew you were the best, Adam!" Phoebe cheered.

After hanging up, Adam shook his head.

He wasn't sure what real-life American friend groups were like, but in sitcom universes, things could get really weird.

Friends casually asking each other for an Iron Man suit—who could imagine?

But once the initial shock passed, Adam understood.

Could Phoebe afford a high-end Iron Man suit?

Well… no, not really.

And to be fair, there were all kinds of models—MK1, MK2, MK3, Hulkbuster, even Whiplash's knockoff version, and Justin Hammer's cheap rip-offs.

They were all called Iron Man suits, but the combat effectiveness? Worlds apart.

Adam had his assistant order from the store on 8th Avenue—the one personally endorsed by Barney Stinson.

Forget looks and functionality (since Adam had no idea how good it actually was), just in terms of price—

It was definitely top-tier.

It was completely understandable that someone like Phoebe would want one after seeing it.

"At least Monica hasn't jumped in on this…" Adam muttered to himself.

Thirty minutes later—

Ring ring ring.

His phone rang again.

Adam looked at the screen, sighed, and picked up.

Monica's voice, deliberately lowered, mixed with the sound of running water. After some roundabout conversation, it turned out—

She wanted the same thing as Phoebe.

"Chandler isn't working out in the mornings anymore?" Adam frowned. "Didn't I remind you to keep him consistent?"

"No, no," Monica denied. "We've been keeping up with morning workouts."

"Then why?" Adam asked, puzzled.

"Well…" Monica hesitated for a while.

Eventually, Adam got the message.

In short: Having parents is good, but having your own is better!

It made sense.

If Monica didn't have this kind of curiosity, she wouldn't have come up with the "seven zones of pleasure" theory…

No need to overthink it!

Adam agreed and had his assistant order the upgraded Iron Patriot model as an early birthday gift for them.

Just as he was shaking his head in disbelief, a commotion erupted nearby. He quickly ran toward the noise—only to be shocked.

He found Meredith hiding, peeking out from behind a corner, trembling as if something terrifying was after her…