The Past is Another Land

"I guess so," Adam said. "Though he's not quite as vocal as I am when being protective..." He chuckled.

Elliot nodded, chuckling as well. "I'm quite aware of the extent of your vocabulary in those situations."

"...only it's gotten me in trouble quite a few times..." Adam mumbled, looking away.

Sammy squeezed Adam's hand supportively. "Your ex wife wasn't very fond of your methods of protection, was she?" Elliot asked.

"No...not really." Adam said, going quiet.

"Adam," said Elliot. "Do you remember the first time she struck you?"

Adam hesitated, still not looking at Elliot. He went to say no, then sighed. "Yes..."

"What happened?" Elliot asked, leaning forward in his chair again.

"Um...it..." Adam said, trailing off nervously. He took a breath before continuing. "It was before we were married...." He said quietly. "I just thought it was a once off thing."

"Why exactly did she strike you Adam?" Elliot asked. "Did you anger her in some way, were you arguing, what exactly happened?"

"We...were arguing." Adam said, looking down at his hands, frowning at the memories.

Elliot nodded. Sammy wrapped an arm around Adam and rubbed his back. "Do you remember what you were arguing about?" Elliot asked.

"I...um...think over my choice in wording earlier in the day towards someone who'd insulted her..." Adam mumbled, relaxing a little at Sammy's touch.

"So she struck you, for defending her?" said Elliot.

"No...for the 'disgusting' words I used..." Adam muttered.

Elliot nodded. "And those 'disgusting words' became a common reason for her violence toward you?"

Adam gave a small nod. "Yes, but they were only ever used at first when defending my family..." He paused, taking a breath before speaking again. "But...I eventually started speaking like that to her..."

"It's understandable," said Elliot. "You were trying to defend yourself."

Adam nodded, going quiet again, running a hand through his hair.

Sammy kissed Adam's cheek. "It's okay Bear, you're doin' good, okay?"

Adam made a nervous sound, slowly looking over at the boys, frowning when he saw Lennon watching him with a worried look.

Monte took Lennon's hand, squeezing it. "He's okay Len, Mama's with him, he's okay."

Lennon sighed and nodded, leaning back in the chair, relaxing when he saw Adam smile at him.

Elliot turned back to the boys. "Monte, since you seem to be the most willing to talk, I'll ask you first," he said. "Do you remember the first time your mother hit you?" Monte bit his lip. "She never started with just hits...." Elliot looked confused. "What do you mean?" "She threw me," said Monte. "She'd told me to clean up my room, but I wasn't feeling good, so I didn't, and when I came out of my room, she picked me up and threw me back in and locked the door..."

Lennon frowned again, moving closer to Monte, squeezing his hand like Monte had done just before.