This is my very first Burzek fanfic. I love these two together. Please review and tell me what you think!

Ruzek was sitting at Molly's waiting for Burgess to meet him. He was tired of sneaking around. He wanted everyone to know about their relationship, but he knew she was scared that the relationship would keep her out of Intelligence. He hated that he was the reason she may not reach her goal so he respected what she wanted.

She should have been here by now, he thought. He had texted her a couple of times and was starting to get worried. Had Roman and his ex-partner been such a bad influence that she changed her mind about coming?

The second he saw Halstead he knew something was wrong.

"Hey, Ruzek, we need to get to the hospital."

"Why? What happened?"

"I'm so sorry, but Burgess was shot."

That sentence was like a punch to the gut. Burgess was shot.

"What? No, she just had one more house to check out, and then she was coming here."

"All we know is that she was with Roman. He called it in. Voight told us she was taken to the hospital."

"I have to be with her. I have to go."

Halstead nodded. "I'll drive you."

On the ride to the hospital, Halstead noticed that Ruzek was pale and his hand was gripping the door handle for dear life. He knew that he was definitely in love with Burgess, and there was no way that he was going to be able to hide it after this.

"She's going to be okay right? She has to be okay. She's not going to leave me."

Halstead nodded. "Yeah. She's a fighter."

The truth was Halstead was really scared. He remembered how worried Voight looked when he broke the news, and if Voight thought something was bad, it was really bad. But he didn't tell Ruzek that. He put on a brave face for his friend.

Rusek practically ran into the hospital when they got there. "Where is she?" He demanded.

"She's in surgery," Lindsay told him. "They told us they would let us know when they had more information."

Rusek turned to Roman who was sitting in the corner of the waiting room. "How did this happen?"

"I wasn't paying attention," he said, barely above a whisper. It was clear he was distraught. "I was fighting with my old partner, and she went up to the house. "

"By herself? You let her go investigate something by herself?"

"Yes. She went by herself, and then the shot blasted through the door. I'm sorry. I should have paid attention."

"Yeah, you should have been. You never leave your partner alone! If she doesn't... If she doesn't... This is on you."

"Don't talk like that," Atwater told him, who was pretty upset himself. "She's going to be fine. She has to be."

"Yeah, she has to be," Roman agreed.

"Shut up," Atwater said, "Burgess really likes you. She thinks you're a good cop. But when she wakes up we're going to get her up to Intelligence where she should be. She's my partner. I always have her back."

"Guys," Lindsay said, "This isn't helping Burgess. Why don't we all just calm down?"

Ruzek did sit down, and he stayed silent for a long time. His mind was racing with "what-ifs". Antonio finally pulled him out of his thoughts.

"So you and Burgess, huh? How long has that been going on?"

"A few months. We were trying to keep it quiet."

"No offense, but you guys sucked at it," Halstead added.

"I guess we did. She just wants to get into Intelligence so bad, and she thought if people knew it would hurt her chance. I guess everyone knows now."

"Voight might change his mind about workplace relationships. She's a good cop," Antonio said.

"I don't even care. I'll quit or transfer. I just want her to wake up."

He checked his watch. "We've been here forever. I wish someone would tell us something."

After what felt like eternity, the surgeon came out to speak to them. They jumped up eager to hear the news about their injured friend.

"She lost a lot of blood, and it was touch and go for a while. Fortunately we were able to stop the bleeding and give her a transfusion."

"So she's okay?" Ruzek asked, still holding his breath.

"She's looking at a long recovery and we'll have to do more tests to see if she has a concussion, but yes, she will be fine."

"Thank God. Can we see her?"

"She's still unconscious, but I will let one person see her tonight."

"Go," Antonio told him knowing how desperate Ruzek was to see Burgess.

"Thanks."

He wasn't prepared for what he saw in that hospital room. She was pale and her arm was in a sling. There machines were beeping telling him that she was alive- her heart was still beating.

He had seen people shot before. He had shot people. It was part of being a cop. But this was different. He had never been this close to losing someone he loved.

He sat down next to her bed and gently squeezed her uninjured hand, careful not to move her or disrupt any of the tubes.

"Do you know how badly you scared me today? We didn't know if you were going to make it or not." He realized he was crying. He hadn't cried until now, but his emotions were getting the most of him.

"I love you, Kim Burgess. I didn't know how much until today. Listen, everyone knows about us. You can't be mad... You got shot, and I was so worried... You can still get in Intelligence if you want. I'll transfer- I don't care- I just need you to wake up."

"But when you do get into Intelligence, you have to be careful," he continued. "You can't go off by yourself. I can't take you getting hurt again."

"I'm sorry, " she whispered.

Did he just hear her voice or did he imagine it?

"Burgess?"

"I said I'm sorry."

He jumped up and cupped her face in his hands, tears now streaming down his face. "Oh thank God. Don't ever do that to me again, okay?"

She nodded. "Okay."

"Do you know how much I love you?"

"I love you, too."

"Let me get the doctor."

She shook her head. "Don't. No yet. I just want to sit here with you."

"Whatever you want."

For the next few hours she drifted in and out of sleep while he simply sat by her watching her. She was so beautiful- even lying in a hospital bed- and he would never take for granted how lucky he was to have her.