RIP Nadia DeCotis :(
I really wish I had completed and posted this before the finale...
Okay, I think this is going to be the last chapter. It was only supposed to be a one-shot full of fluff and has morphed into this thing. I do plan on writing another story, not sure exactly what it will include but I am excited. I skimmed over some stuff because I didn't want to draw out minor details and ruin the flow but there a few big things that happen so I hope that makes up for it! Enjoy the last chapter of Adorkable? Really? :)
Disclaimer: I do not own Chicago PD or any of its affiliates.
"I can't believe today's the day we find out what our little guy is gonna be," Adam Ruzek chimed. They were in the car on the way from their apartment to the doctor's office. Four months after the accident, they were both happy and healthy, with barely a scar on either of them. Kim would always have a mark on her leg from where they had had to open her up to repair her femur but, other than that, they were both as good as new.
"Don't say little guy like that, it could be a girl," Kim said, playfully swatting her boyfriend's arms as he drove.
"I know, I know. A guy can hope, can't he?" he turned to smile at the woman he loved. He wanted to steal a kiss but, given their semi-recent driving history, he decided against it. "Doesn't every man want a son born first?" he asked.
"Yeah, yeah, I know. But, you'll still be happy either way, right?" Kim asked tentatively. He lifted the hand he held to his lips and planted a sweet kiss before answering.
"Of course, Darlin'. The little guy, or girl, is gonna be a piece of me and you. How could I not love 'em?" God, she loved this man. "Did you still want to do that reveal party thing you and Lindsey were talking about?" His eyes focused on the road, he absentmindedly played with her fingers.
"Yes, she even said she'd help me plan it. I'm so excited! We should stop and pick up some decorations after lunch before we head home. That okay with you?" Kim asked. She had so many ideas for a gender reveal, it would be hard to decide which one to use. A pinata? A dyed cake? Cupcakes? Balloons? Then there was the food, the different ways guests could show what they thought the baby would be... A lot of options. She planned on having the party in a couple of weeks, then a baby shower a couple of months after that.
Adam nodded and they drove the rest of the way to the doctor in silence. Walking in as normal, they waited before going back for the ultrasound they had been waiting on since they had heard the heartbeat weeks ago. Getting settled in, the couple held hands as they waited on the technician to give them the news. Exchanging pleasantries after he walked in, the cold gel was on Kim's belly in no time.
"So are we wanting to find out the sex today?" the technician asked. Before Adam could finish his answer of yes, Kim chimed in.
"Actually, we were wanting to keep it a surprise from ourselves and do a gender reveal party later on." He'd known they were going to do the party, he just thought they'd be in the know. Maybe he'd misunderstood. He looked to his girlfriend, tilting his head as if to ask what's up? She barely looked at him before continuing. "Could you put the gender in an envelope? I have a friend who is on board to help plan the party, she's going to be the only one to know until the big reveal." That's why she's been so close with Lindsey lately, Adam thought.
"Absolutely, Mrs. Ruzek. Those parties are becoming more and more common nowadays." He typed a few keys before snapping a few pictures.
"Actually, we're not married," Kim said, blushing slightly. Here she was half naked and denying being married to the man she'd love since they'd worked crossing guard duty.
"Not yet, anyway," she heard Adam mumble. Was I meant to hear that? she asked herself. She had to admit that she liked the sound of Mrs. Ruzek, though.
"I'm so sorry, my mistake," the technician apologized hurriedly.
"It's fine," she said. "It's an obvious assumption to make." She couldn't help but think about why he hadn't noticed her name on her chart. "Can we hear the heartbeat?"
"Sure thing." A few more clicks of the keyboard and the room was filled with the warm, comforting sound of their child's heartbeat. The pair of them had never heard a more beautiful sound. They smiled at one another, Adam squeezing her hand before planting a sweet kiss on her cheek.
The rest of the appointment went off without a hitch, the technician wrote down the gender on a small piece of paper before putting it into an envelope and handing it to Adam while Kim cleaned the gel off her belly. They grabbed lunch at Olive Garden, trying their hardest to keep themselves from opening the envelope that held the answer to the biggest question in their lives at the moment, and finally went shopping for party supplies on their way home. Kim had called Erin just after finishing lunch and she met them at the mall.
Waving the couple down when they came into view, Erin Lindsey smiled. They are absolutely meant for each other. "Hey," she said as they walked up.
"Hey, yourself, Lindsey," Ruzek said, pulling his team member into a hug. The girls exchanged hugs as well before getting down to business.
"Well, do you have something for me?" Erin asked as the trio walked through the doors. Kim pulled the envelope the ultrasound technician had given her from her purse.
"Yep, here you go. The envelope that holds our biggest secret," she said. Reluctantly, she let go after a few firm tugs from Erin. She reeeaalllly wanted to know what was written in there.
"I will put this back for safe keeping. I promise, I won't look at it until I get home, Kim." Kim watched as Erin stuffed the folded envelope into her own purse, eyes hopeful. "Well, shall we get to shopping, Lovebirds?"
Adam leaned down to kiss Kim as they walked into the party store. He was too damn excited. "Absolutely, ladies. Let's get this thing started." He slid his arm from around Kim's shoulders to grab hold of her hand, walking the aisles to scour for pink and blue decorations. While they would be doing a lot of double shopping for this party, they would also be keeping half of the decorations for the actual baby shower a couple of months from now.
"Ok, so any special requests, guys?" Erin asked. The couple looked at one another and shared a puzzled stare, pulling that frowning smirk as if to say not really before looking back to their friend. "Alrighty then, I guess we can pick out a few of the obvious decorations and then you two need to scram. I have a lot to do in two weeks. If you want it all to be a surprise, then you can't know too much." The three of them spent the next half hour picking out a few "necessities" for the party, then Adam and Kim were rushed out the door by their friend, laughing as she did so.
"Well, what now, Darlin'?" Adam asked, pulling her in for a hug and planting a kiss on her forehead. They walked towards their car, his arm around her shoulders the whole way.
"I say we go home and talk baby names," she said.
"Don't we need to know what we're having before we decide on anything?" Adam asked. They'd reached his car, he opened her door and waited as she slid in. Jogging around to the other side, he was securely in his seat behind the wheel before they continued their conversation.
"Everybody talks names, no matter what they're having, silly."
"In that case, I still like Adam Junior for a boy." Kim laughed.
"Of course you do. What about Jesse? Or Patrick? Or Jason? Jon? Andrew? Casey?" she asked. She wanted options.
"We can talk it over, I guess," Adam laughed, that stubborn look on his gorgeous face. "What about for a girl? You still like Violet or Francesca?" They were halfway home at this point, the conversation distracting from the drive.
"Yeah, a little. Maybe Violet Grace? Didn't you say something about Amelia?" She waited for an answer.
"I did but not too sure if I still like it. I heard a name I kind of liked the other day. What do you think about Chloe?" He took his eyes off the road for a second as they rolled to a stop at an intersection. He could tell she was mulling it over.
"I like it, Babe. But I like all of our options. We still have a time to figure it out, though. I just can't wait to find out what this little one will be." She smiled and rubbed her growing stomach, Adam following suit and placing his hand over hers. That earned them a hearty kick from the little one in Kim's belly, making a smile surface on both their faces. A honk from the car behind them signaled that the light had changed.
The next two weeks seemed to fly by. Kim and Adam were caught in their romance bubble while still maintaining a professional work relationship; Erin was planning her friends' party with the help of her boyfriend, Jay, even though the other couple didn't know about his input; and everyone else just tried not to gush too much over the pregnant Intelligence detective when she was around. As her bump grew, she'd been restricted to desk duty, semi-reluctantly taking Nadia's spot, and would be shuffled around to various non-life-threatening positions until finally going on maternity leave as her due date drew closer. When the day finally rolled around for the big reveal, Kim and Adam were rushed out of their house so Jay and Erin could set everything up, not that they knew Jay was waiting by the backdoor for them to leave. They went to the park to walk around and kill a couple of hours, walking into a surprise when they returned.
Two banners were draped across the archway separating the kitchen and living room, It's a Boy! & It's a Girl! written on them. Balloons were tied to various objects through-out the apartment's social areas; blue and pink streamers draped across the ceiling and entryways. The refreshment table held blue and pink napkins, cups, and plates, and a few snacks. The table next to it held vanilla and chocolate cupcakes with blue and pink icing and boy or girl written on them, in the center was a white, circular cake with a bow wrapped around the bottom and pink and blue birds and cherry blossom trees on top, He or She? Open to See... written across the top. A chalkboard for guests to cast their votes was settled in the corner along with pink bow-ties for those that were rooting for a girl and mustaches for boys. The expecting couple couldn't help but give it to their friends that they had done a good job. Erin and Jay were still setting out the other snacks and turned to see their friends as they were taking in their handiwork.
"Looks good, guys," Kim said.
"We, uh, we weren't expecting you back for another fifteen minutes," Jay said as he sat the bowl of trail mix on the table, letting his hands fall down beside his legs. The sheepish grin Erin had fallen in love with made its way onto his face - he'd just been caught red-handed since neither of them knew he had been helping. Erin walked up beside him with a bowl of chips in her hands. She stopped in her tracks when she saw her friends had returned home.
"Oh!" she exclaimed. "I didn't realize you guys were back already. We're not quite done yet." She sat the chips next to the trail mix and other snacks.
"It's no problem, Erin. Everything looks great. And, we can help finish up if you'll let us." Kim looked at her watch before continuing. "It's almost two so the guests might be arriving soon."
"Bow ties?" Adam whispered in Kim's ear.
"Don't look at me - I haven't told anyone." She'd actually told Erin over drinks one night about Adam's collection. He didn't have to know that. "Maybe Erin picked them out. I like the mustaches though, it's a pretty cute idea." He nodded in agreement and planted a kiss on her forehead before heading off with Jay to the kitchen. Kim joined her girl-friend by the refreshment table. There would be no gifts, this wasn't a baby shower, so they had plenty of room to maneuver things around the apartment.
"Bow-ties, Erin?"
"Believe it or not, I didn't pick them out. Jay thought they'd be cute." Erin laughed before continuing. "You should have seen him playing with the mustaches in the store." The girls laughed as they finished up the decorations, making small talk.
Just as they were pouring the punch, a knock at the door signaled that their friends had started to arrive.
"Looks like it's time to get this thing started," Adam said as he walked to the door. Sean Roman was the first to arrive with Sylvie Britt on his arm; they'd gotten together a month or so after the accident and his date with Irene - that hadn't worked out because she'd had to move back home to Seattle. Next to show up was Voight, he'd been a little concerned about Kim staying active in the force after finding out about the baby but had come around eventually. Atwater showed up with a date, some girl from high school that he'd recently gotten back in touch with after seeing her at Molly's one night. Olinsky's daughter made him come and he showed up with her in tow; she may have been young but she loved babies at the moment. Jay's brother, Will, even showed up, as did Sergeant Platt and a few more friends from the precinct, the hospital, and even the firehouse. There were a lot of people in what suddenly appeared to be a small apartment with all of them crammed in there.
"Can I have your attention, guys?" Erin bellowed above the chatter. It died down and all eyes were on her. "Thanks. So, here's how things are gonna go down. Everybody mark what you think they baby is going to be on the chalkboard, then pick up a party favour to show what you think the baby will be - bow-tie for girl, mustache for boy. Mingle a little bit, eat some food, then we'll get to the good stuff a little later. We have a few games to play, then we're gonna tally the votes, and finally, the big reveal!" A few laughs escaped the guests as they dissipated and went to grab either a bow-tie or mustache. Kim was surprised when Adam grabbed a bow-tie. Not that she thought it was weird he would wear one, but he had been pretty persistent in wanting a boy.
"Really, Adam? I thought you'd go for a mustache," she said as she grabbed one. She taped the little guy to her face and wiggled her eyebrows at him. He laughed before responding.
"I may have changed my mind. I would love to have a little you running around here, Darlin'," he leaned down for a kiss, allowing Kim to wrap her arms around his neck and secure the bow-tie in question. Erin had gone for the ones that snapped at the back. The mustache currently attached to Kim's face didn't stay that way for long, it came off when Adam pulled away, making them both laugh and she had to reapply tape to put it back into its original position. "Let's go mingle."
Half an hour later, it was time for the big secret to come out. Everyone gathered back in the living room and waited for the announcement. Kim and Adam found themselves next to the refreshment table, cake slicer in his hand.
"I guess this is the moment of truth," he said. "Thanks for coming, guys, and thank you to Lindsey and Halstead for putting this all together." He didn't notice that the two friends he had just thanked, along with the rest of his team, had moved to certain places in the room. He was too excited.
With a smile plastered on both their faces, the happy couple cut into the cake that would tell them the answer they had been waiting on for months. So, it was understandable that they were a little disappointed when they saw it was green instead of pink or blue.
"What the hell?" Adam said to himself. Kim was feeling the same way. "Lindsey, what is this?" He looked up to see a huge grin on his co-worker's face.
"Well, I wanted to do something original. So..." She looked around the room and saw that everyone was in place. "Now!" she screamed.
On cue, the whole of Intelligence popped the balloons they were standing next to. Everyone was in shock as the room was covered in confetti. Pink confetti.
"It's a girl!" Erin and Jay shouted above the cheers. Adam and Kim let out sounds of excitement and pure joy, hugging each other as they heard congratulations from their friends. A girl. They were having a little girl.
"I knew I was right," Adam whispered in Kim's ear, earning a playful smack against the chest.
"Yeah, yeah," she replied. "I'm just happy we finally know! The suspense was killing me!" They leaned into one another for a kiss, blocking out the sounds of excitement in their apartment. Right now, they were all that mattered.
Eventually, people started to leave, stopping to offer their congratulations on the way out. Erin and Jay stayed behind to help clean up.
"Why green?" Kim asked.
"I wanted something to throw you off," Erin replied, not able to hold back the smile or laughter that escaped her.
"And Jay knew?"
"Yeeaah, I may have let it slip while we were putting the decorations up today. To my defense, I lasted two weeks," she ended with a question in her voice. She eyed her expecting girl-friend, partly jealous that she wasn't the one with a little girl on the way. Was she ready for kids?
The four of them managed to get the whole apartment cleaned up in a few hours, save for a little confetti that didn't seem to want to cooperate. As Jay and Erin stepped out the door, Adam turned to Kim and pulled her into his arms. He held her there for too long for either of them to count.
"A little girl," he whispered, his eyes dancing at the possibilities of their future.
"I know," she whispered back, a smile in her voice.
XXXX
At seven months pregnant, it was finally time for the first baby shower in the Intelligence Unit. This time, the party was being held at the park instead of Adam and Kim's somewhat small apartment, the spring weather making for the perfect setting. Kim's petite frame and growing belly made it an odd sight to see, her trying her best to help decorate the section of park that had been designated for their gathering. She was unable to stretch very far and kept toppling over with virtually any move she made. Adam couldn't help but think of how much more comical she would become over the last two months of her pregnancy. He was doing his best not to let a laugh escape as he and Jay took over hanging the streamers from trees, a task at which Kim had attempted and failed.
She mumbled something along the lines of "I got this" before Adam used his hip to bump her out of the way, telling her to go do something less physically demanding. They quibbled a little before she finally gave in and went to help set up the gift station with Erin.
"Did you get kicked off decorating duty?" Erin asked her.
"Yeah. Stupid tall people and their non-pregnant bellies. I love this kid but she's giving Adam all kinds of reasons to treat me like I'm so freakin' fragile." Her hands absentmindedly went to her protruding stomach. Erin couldn't tell whether or not to laugh. Damn hormones.
The small group of friends spent the next hour or so setting up and, shortly before they put out the cake, Jay maneuvered his way over to Erin. He had been keeping an eye on her in the last few months since Nadia's disappearance and ... murder. It was still hard to think about, even if it had been half a year ago. She was family.
"So, uh, how ya doin'?" he asked her. She shot her eyes in his direction.
"Fine," a questioning lilt in her voice. "You?" she shot back.
"I'm good. I was just seeing where your head is, Lindsey. I know you've been back in touch with your mom and I know how she can get to you. I mean, you quit because of her head-games. I was glad when you came back. Planning that party is what brought you back to me." At this point, she'd stopped fiddling with the plates and flatware. She'd turned to face him and had no words. It may have seemed stupid to some but planning that silly little gender reveal party for her friends is what had brought her back to the Intelligence Unit. She'd been in a really dark place for a little while and her friends had, eventually, gotten her to a better state of mind where she felt ready to come back to her real family, her team.
"I got back in touch with her to tell her to leave me alone. And Teddy. He's gotten better since he moved back here and she was trying to butt her way into his life like she did with me. I told her to leave both of us alone, Jay. She's not going to be around any more. I promise." She took his hands and looked into his eyes, trying to convey that she meant what she said. God, she loved this man. More than either of them were ready to admit out loud.
"I believe you." He tilted his head to his left. "Walk with me," he said, holding out his hand for hers.
"Ookaay?" she agreed, taking his hand and walking away from the snack table. "What's this about, Jay?"
"Nothing, I just wanted to spend some time with you before everyone showed up. We've spent all day with the "happy couple" and I just wanted some Erin Lindsey time. Is that a crime?" He looked at the expecting couple and Erin followed his gaze. They were feuding over where to place chairs, Kim's big belly sticking out even more since she had her hands on her hips to keep from falling over again. She was attempting to direct her boyfriend who, currently, was standing with a stack of chairs in his arms. Erin and Jay couldn't help but laugh at the sight.
"So, um, what did you want to talk about?" Erin asked.
"Actually, I wanted to kind of ask you something, Booskie." He'd taken to calling her that as a term of endearment when he was trying to show how much he cared for her, when he was trying to be romantic. All she could think about was whether or not he was about to ask what she thought.
"And that would be..." she trailed.
"I was wondering what you would think about moving in with me." He could bring himself to look at her quite yet.
"Why, exactly?"
Jay scoffed. "Not quite the answer I was expecting."
"I meant, why now, Jay?"
"Well, a couple of reasons. One, I love you and, I assume, you still love me. Two, I can only imagine what it's like after all these months to still be living in the place you and Nadia shared."
"Jay, I can manage living there. I've done it for six months, now."
"Ok, that might have been something I could have left out. What about the number one reason?" He stopped and turned to face her. "I love you, Erin, and I want to live with you."
"Jay..."
"God, Erin, you're so damn stubborn! Why do you have to be so pig-headed?"
"Hey, you're the one that loves me, ya jackass," she quipped, stepping up to kiss him.
She's making light of this, of course. What else did I expect from her?
"Jackass? Really?" he laughed when she pulled away.
"If I'm pig-headed, then you've got to have an animal comparison. So, jackass it is."
"Ya know what?" Jay started. Erin lifted her head to look at him. "Why don't you marry me while you're at it?" he whispered.
"What?" Erin wasn't sure if she'd heard him correctly.
"I said," he got down on one knee. "Marry me." He pulled a small box out of his jacket pocket. Even in the spring weather, he still wore a jacket.
"You're gonna do the whole one knee thing, Jay?" They both knew she was stalling.
"Erin Lindsey, will you marry me?" He was putting it all on the line. If she said no, he wasn't sure what he would do with himself.
What seemed like an eternity later, he got his answer.
"Yes," she breathed. The smile that spread on Jay's lips was almost too big for his face. He slid the ring on her finger before she could change her mind and jumped up to wrap his arms around her, lifting her off the ground and spinning in a circle.
"Seriously?" Jay asked. He couldn't believe she'd said yes. "You'll marry me?" He finally planted her feet on the ground.
"Yes, Jay. I'll marry you. And move in with you." She finally stopped laughing. "I love you, Jay Halstead."
"I love you, Erin Lindsey." He leaned down to kiss her, relishing in the fact that she'd said yes. He was on cloud nine at the moment.
The couple was all smiles for the rest of the afternoon. Everyone from the gender reveal party and more showed up to celebrate little baby Burgess; family, friends, co-workers were all in attendance. The shower came and went, gifts were opened, food was eaten. People voted on names, placed a pool on the due date. A few hours passed, leaving the original four detectives to clean up the mess. This was one time Kim was glad Adam didn't want her doing a lot, she got to skip out on the boring stuff. Erin sat down next to her pregnant friend, letting out a sigh of exhaustion.
"That was a pretty good party," Kim said, her hands on her swollen belly. "I am stuffed to the brim with sugar and calories."
"Yeah," Erin reached her hand over tentatively, silently asking permission to touch her friend's stomach. Kim nodded and she slid her fingers across the bump. "At least you have a pretty good excuse to eat it all, you have a growing baby in there, Burgess." She smiled when she felt a kick against the palm of her hand.
"And it's only going to get bigger. I still have two months to go," Kim sighed.
"Jay asked me to marry him," Erin said quietly, a smile dancing across her lips.
"Yeah, we saw that," Kim laughed. "From his reaction, I'm guessing you said yes?"
"Yeah, I love that fidgety ginger," she said, pulling her left hand from her side to show the ring to her friend.
"It's beautiful, Erin," Kim gushed. She looked over the her boyfriend and her friend's fiance. From the way they were horsing around, it looked like Jay had shared the news with Adam and they were both excited.
"He did a good job picking it out, I was wondering who helped him." Erin eyed the pregnant detective suspiciously.
"Don't look at me, I had no idea." Kim shrugged her shoulders and raised her hands defensively. The girls looked at the two goofy detectives together, trying to see if they could have pulled it off. "You don't think..." she trailed off.
"No. I mean, there's no way the two of them..." Erin stared at her fiance, trying to determine how he did it so secretly.
"Well, congratulations, nonetheless," Kim leaned up to give her newly engaged friend a hug, having to work her way around her stomach situation.
"We didn't say anything earlier, didn't want to take away from the baby," Erin told her friend.
"S'alright, I understand. I guess, now, we just wait for this little one to make her arrival."
"That'll be an event. I can't wait to see Adam Ruzek with his girlfriend in labour," Erin laughed.
"Oh, God, I didn't even think about it like that. Can you imagine?" Kim agreed. The two of them were laughing pretty hysterically when their significant others sidled up to them.
"What's so funny, Darlin'?" Adam asked.
It took a minute for Kim to sober up enough to answer. "Nothin' really." She wiped a few tears from her eyes, grateful she hadn't peed herself this time. That growing baby was putting quite a bit of pressure on her bladder.
Erin stood to join Jay, the pair of them said goodbye before walking back Jay's car. She'd actually let him drive, for once.
"So," Kim started. "Jay picked out a pretty nice ring, ya know, all by himself." Adam lowered himself into the chair next to his girlfriend.
"Yeah, I may have had a hand in that." He picked up her hand and planted a soft kiss on the back.
"Why didn't you tell me? I didn't even know you could keep a secret," Kim swatted at his chest with her free hand.
"I can keep a secret, when it's important." He had a smile that let her think he was keeping one at the moment.
"Like what?"
"Well, Jay's ring, the fact that the first time we said I love you wasn't the first time I said it to you, a few other things." He shrugged it off.
"What do you mean, it wasn't the first time?"
"I may or may not have said it to you in your sleep a couple of weeks before. I was afraid of what would happen if you didn't say it back."
"So, it took me getting shot and almost dying for you to say it to my face?" She was only half joking.
"It took me almost losing you to realize that life is short and that I'd rather live with rejection than live without you at all. Do you know how long it took me to knock on your door that night? The night I came over and told you I liked you? I may be cocky at times but I'm not all that confident when it comes to you, Sweetheart. I haven't been since we met, especially since that day we did crossing guard duty and you told me it was "all in the hips." I love you, Kim." He smiled when he saw that she was doing the same. He'd been holding all that in for over a year and it felt good to get it out in the open.
"All I can say is that I'm really glad you showed up that night. I thought I was in it alone, that how I felt was one-sided. I mean, the fact that you kissed me back the first time I kissed you confused me a little but I know differently now. Still, is it bad to say I was glad when you and Wendy broke off your engagement?"
"It wasn't the right fit, Wendy and me. You and I, though, is the best fit."
"Not sure if that's the best way to put that," Kim laughed. "But I kind of agree. I love you, ya know?" She repeated the words he said to her over a year ago. It may not have been the first time he'd said them but it was the first time she'd heard them directed towards her.
"Yeah, I know." He leaned towards Kim's growing belly and rubbed where her belly-button was starting to stand out. He was the only one allowed to touch without permission, they'd made that much clear over the last few months. "And I'm gonna love this little one like crazy when she pops out in a couple of months."
XXXX
With Kim's due date quickly approaching, she and Adam planned one last date night before settling into their new life. Everything was ready for their new arrival, down to the very last diaper. They had even taken to keeping their go-bag in the trunk of their car so they wouldn't forget it when the time came.
"You ready, Darlin'?" Adam called from the living room. He'd been waiting on the couch for what seemed like forever. With her ever-growing belly, Kim had been taking quite a bit longer to get through the easiest and quickest of tasks recently.
"Almost!" she called from their bedroom. "I just need some help getting my shoes on." Her stomach was visible through the doorway before the rest of her and Adam had to suppress a laugh. She had her flats dangling from her fingers as she waddled to the couch. As tempted as she was to sit, she knew it wouldn't be worth the struggle to get back up and they didn't have that much time.
"Here, I'll get 'em," Adam offered. He knelt before her and helped to slid the only shoes that fit onto her swollen feet. Standing, he held his hand out to take hold of hers. "Ready for some grub, Darlin'?"
"Always. This kid of yours is always hungry," she joked.
"She gets that from her daddy," Adam played along, opening the door for his lady.
"Yeah, yeah. I'm just ready to eat. You gonna tell me where we're going, exactly?" Kim asked.
"Nope. It's a surprise. We don't have too many nights left to ourselves, we have to enjoy it while we can."
In no time at all, they were at the restaurant and waiting to be seated.
"This is the place we had our first real date," Kim said, more to herself than anyone else.
"Well, I wanted to go to Molly's but, since you can't exactly partake in the general festivities, I figured this would be a better idea." Adam pulled out Kim's chair to help her sit. Her stomach had practically exploded over the last two months and showed no signs of stopping. She was just relieved her due date was around the corner.
"Any particular reason?" Kim asked.
"Not really. I just wanted to squeeze in all the Kim time I can before our little one shows up. That, and I love you. Do I need any other reason?" He leaned over and planted a soft kiss on her cheek.
"No, I guess not."
Their server came and took their order, they made small talk about the upcoming big event before settling on a related topic.
"So, are we ever going to settle on a name?" Adam asked, picking at the breadstick on his plate.
"I though we'd already decided, to be honest. I know she's going to have your last name," Kim stated. The sudden stillness of Adam's fidgeting let her know he hadn't been aware of this. "I thought you knew that."
"I mean, I, uh, I hoped, but didn't realize you wanted that for her." He took her hand across the table.
"Well, yeah. She is your daughter. It's only right she has your last name, even if we're not married."
"I love you so much right now, Kim Burgess." It looked like he had tears in his gorgeous brown eyes. Kim couldn't help it when her eyes mirrored his. Damn hormones.
"I love you, too, Adam Ruzek."
A few minutes later, their food was in front of them, their conversation about a name for their daughter forgotten. They were content to just be in each other's company at the moment. Kim dropped her fork when she received a hard kick to her liver.
"You alright?" Adam asked, looking her over with concern apparent in his eyes.
"I'm fine. She's just getting antsy nowadays. I think she's getting a little cramped in there." She laughed it off, waving Adam's hand away from her shoulder.
They finished their meal in relative silence until dessert seemed to appear on their table. Chocolate Lava Cake, over-flowing with chocolate syrup and oozing with chocolate cream when they sliced into it. Adam had ordered a whole cake rather than just two slices: he knew his pregnant girlfriend all too well.
"So," Adam started. Kim looked at him out of the corner of her eye, intent on getting a bite of cake into her mouth. "I've been thinking."
"About?" she said around a mouthful of diabetes.
"Well, we've been together for almost two years now, we've got a baby coming any day now, we live together, we love each other..." Was he getting at what she thought he was getting at? "I love you, Kim, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you." He slid to the floor and pulled a small black box from his pocket. Her breath caught in her throat and she sat back in her chair. Opening the box, Adam asked the question she'd been wanting to hear for quite some time now. "Kim Burgess, will you marry me?"
"Oh, no," she said.
Adam panicked. Wasn't this what she wanted? They loved each other, she was giving their daughter his last name.
"Kim?" he asked, confused.
"Adam, my water just broke." He froze. "We have to get to the hospital. Our baby's coming."
Okay. How was that? It ended up being way shorter than I thought it would be. I do plan on doing a sequel, most likely in the same format at this. I have a name and everything picked out. Their is a link for their gender reveal cake on my profile if you'd like to see it.
Thank you for reading!
MelissaJ