Chapter 2

The next day

Adam walked through the hospital, passing by nurses and doctors going about their business. He was holding a bouquet of pink, white, and purple flowers in his hand, gripping them like a vice. He had to admit that he was a little nervous. After he watched the ambulance drive away from the bank the day before, Voight brought Adam back to the station. Adam first told Voight what had happened inside the bank from the minute he had stepped in to the minute Kim got shot. Then he had to retell his story to the sergeant who was in charge of the investigation. Apparently the three men who attempted to rob the bank had hit up several banks in just two weeks. The sergeant in charge was very interested in how Adam managed to single-handedly take them down. Adam had to remind him several times that there was nothing single-handed about it. If it weren't for Kim, he would be dead. Adam told them every detail over and over again except for the fact that he was flirting with Kim before he even knew who she was. That would remain their little secret.

It took hours to for Adam to give his statement and to answer all of the questions Voight and the other sergeant had. The whole time Adam kept asking about Kim. He wanted to know her condition. He wanted to know if she was ok. Everyone kept telling him they'd let him know if they found out anything.

What Adam eventually found out was that Kim has suffered large amounts of blood loss and had to undergo surgery. The bullet apparently was lodged inside her body, which wasn't a good sign. Adam desperately wanted to go to the hospital to see how she was, but answering more questions for Voight prevented him from doing so.

Finally, late that night, Adam was allowed to go home. Before he left the station, he found out that Kim had made it through surgery and was expected to make a full recovery. Adam had driven straight to the hospital, but then sat outside in the parking lot. He knew visiting hours were over and Kim was probably resting. After all, she had just come out of surgery. Although Adam could barge his way through, flashing his badge, he had to wonder if Kim even wanted to see him. She had taken a bullet for him after his plan went south. If he had just followed her lead and let the armed SWAT members do their job, she wouldn't be shot. Maybe she never wanted to see his face again. Adam also realized he looked like a mess. He needed a shower, a new change of clothes, and a shave. Deciding that he needed to give her her privacy, despite the fact that he wanted to see her to prove to himself that she was ok, Adam drove home.

The next morning, after a shower, a decent breakfast, and a quick shave, Adam had stopped by the florist before making his way to the hospital. He still didn't know if Kim would want to see him, but he sure as hell was going to try. After getting her room number from a nurse at the desk, Adam made his way through the hospital. When he reached her room, he could see Kim inside lying on a bed. She was sitting up, talking with another attractive woman who was sitting by her bedside. The woman appeared to be only a few years older than Kim. Her hair was the same shade of dark brown. Adam guessed they were sisters. He was about to walk in when he heard the woman speak.

"So...is he hot?"

"Who?" Kim replied.

Even though he couldn't see her speaking from his vantage point, Adam recognized Kim's voice immediately. He didn't think he'd ever forget it. He decided to hang out outside the door, listening to their conversation.

"The cop you took a bullet for," the woman continued.

Adam smiled. Although he knew he shouldn't be eavesdropping, he couldn't wait to hear what Kim's response would be.

"He's...cute," Kim said.

"Cute as in puppy-dog cute? Or cute as in hot-cute?"

"What exactly does hot-cute mean?"

"Oh, come on, you know. Hot-cute is when you want to rip the guy's shirt off and jump his bones."

"I don't know," Kim answered. "He was just...cute."

"You have to give me more than that."

"You're married. Why do you care how hot he was?" Kim asked.

"So you admit it, he was hot."

Kim sighed. "Fine, he's hot. He's so hot that if I hadn't gotten shot, I probably would have ripped his shirt off and had sex with him right there on the floor of the bank in front of everybody."

Adam nearly laughed out loud. Even though he knew she was joking, just the idea that she was attracted to him was good news.

"Well you don't have to make it weird," the woman said. "Was he single?"

"I don't know!" Kim practically shouted. "I was too busy dealing with armed bank robbers to ask."

"Well, you must have at least checked out his ring finger. Was he married?"

"No," Kim answered.

Adam smiled, remembering that he had checked out her ring finger before things had gone to hell. He had been happy to find out she wasn't married. He wondered if she had been happy to find out that he wasn't married too.

"No there was no ring or no you didn't look?"
"You are impossible, you know that?" Kim replied.

"I'm just trying to look out for the well-being of my little sister," the woman said. "Maybe you and this cop are meant to be. Maybe it was fate."

"You think it was fate that we ended up in the middle of a bank robbery together?"

"Maybe. After all, you two were both off duty. How many times do two off-duty cops find themselves in the middle of a bank robbery?"

"I think you're crazy."

"Oh come on, you've been single for a while now."

"While that may be true, I think I'll stick to meeting men in the traditional way."

"What? At a bar or a club? Do you remember the last guy you brought home from a bar? Or how about that guy you went on a date with from that online site? Wasn't he obsessed with frogs or something?"

"It was turtles and he was nice," Kim corrected.

"He was a creep."

"Can we change the subject? I don't even know if Adam is single."

"Oh, so we're on a first name basis with the hot cop now, huh?"

"Shut up."

"You'd be interested if he was, right?"

"Was what?"

"Single. I'm sure you can look up his last name or find out what precinct he works for or whatever you guys call them. You're a cop. You do things like that, right?"

"You do remember that I was shot yesterday, right? You seem more concerned with whether or not I'm going to start dating the hot cop from the bank rather than the fact that I had a bullet surgically removed from my body less than twenty-four hours ago."

"You said you were fine. Maybe if you don't want to date the hot cop, we can find a hot doctor while you're here."

Adam chose that moment to make his presence known. He definitely didn't want Kim looking around for any attractive doctors. Adam stepped into the room, holding the flowers out in front of him.

"Hi," he said. When Kim saw him, she smiled. Her sister did too.

"Adam, what are you doing here?" Kim asked.

"I...wanted to make sure you were ok," he answered.

"And he brought you flowers," Kim's sister added.

"Sorry," Kim apologized. "Adam, this is my sister Lauren. Lauren, this is Adam…"

"Ruzek," he filled in. "We didn't exactly have the chance to exchange last names, did we?"

"No we didn't."

Adam noticed she hadn't stopped smiling. That was as good sign.

"Burgess," Lauren said.

"What?" Adam responded, not sure what she was talking about.

"Kim's last name. It's Burgess."

"I could have told him that," Kim said, clearly annoyed with her sister.

"So you're the guy Kim took a bullet for," Lauren said, walking over to shake Adam's hand.

"Yeah, that's me."

"Don't worry, I'm a feminist," Lauren interrupted. "It's about time women started taking bullets for men." She took the flowers from Adam's hands. "I'm going to go find a vase." With a wink, Lauren left the room.

"I can't tell if she was kidding or not," Adam said, confused.

"Me either. Sorry. She can be a lot to handle," Kim said.

"It's ok. I have a sister of my own."

Adam walked over to Kim's bedside. Even though she had just had surgery, she looked beautiful.

"Thank you for coming," Kim said. "And for the flowers. You didn't have to do that."

"Figured it's the least I could do since you did save my life."

"I did what any cop would do."

He shook his head. "You went above and beyond what any cop would do. You were incredible yesterday. How are you feeling?"

"They've got me on morphine so I feel pretty good," she answered. "The bullet lodged in my stomach, but they were able to get it out without complication."

"That's good."
"Yeah. Have you ever been shot before?"

"I've been shot at more times than I can count, but I've always been lucky. I guess you were my good luck charm yesterday."

"It's like meeting there was fate," Kim said, echoing her sister's sentiments.

"Maybe it was." They both paused, unsure of what to do or say. "So...ah...do you know when you're getting out of here?"

"Hopefully tomorrow," she answered.

"Maybe when you're feeling a little better, you'd want to grab a drink or something."

"Are you asking me out?"

"Well, I figure I owe you for saving my life."

"So, if I hadn't gotten shot, you wouldn't be asking me out?"

"I wouldn't say that."

Kim reached for a piece of paper and pen near her bed. She jotted down her phone number and handed it to him.

"Call me," she said.

"I will." Adam pocketed the number. "I'll let you get some rest."

"Thank you for stopping by. And for the flowers."

"Thank you for saving my life."
"Any time."

Adam turned to walk away. As he made it to the door, he turned back.

"For the record," he said. "I think you're hot-cute, too."

Before Kim could respond, Adam walked out of the hospital room. As he walked through the halls, he immediately programmed her number into his phone. He did not want to risk losing it.

Author's Note: Thanks for reading! Sorry for the delay in posting – life is crazy as always. I'm expecting this story to be about 10 chapters so stay tuned for more!