Makayla may have been the bridge, but she was also a road block. She did bring them back into each other's orbit but then they used her as an excuse not to do anything about it. Adam refused to talk to Kim about them while Makayla was around and he made sure she was always around. Kim hid behind her as well, and they were dangerously close to falling into their old pattern. Never resolving their issue and just pretending it never happened. It was a near fatal flaw and yet something was holding them back from letting it go there. Perhaps they were both just as tired.

Kevin was often the third wheel, invited along to the park, for dinner or when they took her to the Zoo. Trudy put a stop to that one day. "You need to stand them up?" She dragged his solid frame into the back office and asked him what he was doing. He was supposed to be helping her sort them out and all he was doing was hindering the process now.

"You know they are using you as a buffer. They are being stupid and they think we are stupid and, well I am not, you I am not so sure." Trudy berated him as only she could. "You are like a bloody butterfly, happily trapped in the net."

"Sarge."

"Stand them up, blow them off." She poked him in the chest. "Be a flake for once in your life."

It wasn't needed though, not this time because Kim only invited Adam to Makayla's Assembly. They were only permitted to have two people come along due to the size of the auditorium. Her class was doing a bit of a show and she had been practising for weeks at home. After one particularly energetic session she knelt up at the table and sipped on the drink that Kim gave her. "Do you think Adam will come?"

"I can ask if you like." That seemed to be the best way to get Adam to do anything, tell him that Makayla wanted it. It used to be her, if Atwater or Platt needed Adam to do something they would get Kim to ask him.

"I think he'll like it. It's his favorite song."

Kim did ask and Adam said yes. He even offered to pick them up that morning. As soon as he did he regretted it when he realised that it meant that once Assembly was done they would be in the car alone on the trip to the District. Yet he couldn't avoid her forever.

They had loved seeing Makayla with her class. Her teacher had told Kim that she was fitting in well and making friends. Things were still a little hard for her and she was behind in her reading and writing and Kim was trying to help her catch up. They read books every night, she was always getting her to practice her writing and Kim was reading anything she could get her hands on about how to help Makayla catch up to her class. Her schooling had been a bit hit and miss over the preceding few months.

It was nice to see how happy she was though and how she was forming those friendships, and she was front and centre with the class performance proudly waving at Kim and Adam when she was supposed to be listening to the teacher.

"Makayla has a very dramatic flair doesn't she?" Adam pulled out into the traffic. "Was she supposed to be up the front the whole time? The other kids seemed to rotate up the back." He rattled on nervously. "The teacher seemed in a bit of a flap. It was cool though, she looked happy."

"From what I can gather, she went a little off script."

Adam slammed on his brakes when someone cut in front of them and cursed before changing lanes to get away from them so he was a little distracted. "That's our girl."

"She's doing great isn't she. I'm glad you came."

He deftly side stepped Kim's response. "Atwater is going to be pissed he missed it. Glad I caught some on video. He's been teaching her some of those moves hasn't he?" Adam knew that Kevin had been spending a bit of time with the two of them when he hadn't been around. He did appreciate that Kevin kept that up, for Makayla's sake as well as Kim's.

"They have had a few sessions." She agreed. Kevin and Makayla dancing had been hilarious. It was a battle of wills, Kevin was trying to infuse some of his signature moves into his little 'home girl' while Makayla didn't think they should change what the teacher taught her. She wasn't a rule breaker, not at least until she got white line fever up on stage, then rules be dammed.

"I recognised some of those moves. He reckons the ladies love it."

"Then why is he single?"

"Because he's smart." Adam responded without thinking. "Sorry."

"Don't be sorry, at least you are honest."

Adam pursed his lips for a moment. "Don't read anything into it. Just because that's what Atwater wants, it's never been what I want. We are two different people."

Kim nodded and responded slowly. "Very different."

"So now you are going to stew on that aren't you? Over think it." He really just didn't know when he fit in to it anymore. Everything he said was twisted to mean something else, it just felt like the mountain was too big to climb.

"I'm going to try not to." Kim looked down at her hands. "I do that a lot, don't listen and then over think everything I shouldn't and then jump in to things without thinking when I should."

"Nobody's perfect Burgess."

He pulled into the parking lot and shut off the engine. Kim put her hand on his arm before he could jump out. "I'd really like to buy you dinner one night, just you and me. Can I buy you dinner? Please?"

Adam pulled his keys out of the ignition and rolled his head to the side to look at Kim. "You can take me out to dinner. Shall I wear something fancy?"

"Yes." Kim was just excited that he said yes, she hadn't even given it any thought about where or when. It just came out and now she had to deliver.

By the time she got inside she was in a fluster. Trudy slid her glasses down her nose as they walked in together, she was surprised that she didn't see icicles dripping off them and Burgess just seemed skittish.

"Burgess." She barked as they headed for the stairs. Adam didn't even stop to look. He avoided her like the plague at the moment.

"Yes Sarge." Kim leant on the desk and glanced quickly at the stairs as Ruzek disappeared up them. "What can I help you with?"

Trudy beckoned her closer. "What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing."

"You look… flustered. Did you just bang him in the parking lot?" She peered over the desk and eyed her up and suspiciously, checking for any signs of dishevelment. "I would've in my day, actually I think I did. Not Ruzek obviously." She looked thoughtful for a moment. "Don't tell Randall, he's a bit of a prude."

"What? No." Kim shrieked and then glanced over her should to make sure nobody was around. She really didn't want to be in this conversation right now so she changed the subject. "I asked Adam out for dinner."

That piqued her interest and got her back on track. "And?"

"He said yes and I told him he needed to dress up and now I need to find somewhere to go that needs dressing up and I need to buy a new dress and it's….oh like what am I going to do with Makayla."

"Let me worry about that."

"This is good…isn't it?" Kim asked hopefully as the adrenaline wore off and the panic set in. "Isn't it?"

"Burgess, don't wig out now." She patted her hand quickly and told her to leave the location to her and let her know what day and she'd take care of everything. "Oh, and I suggest you look hot. Like so hot he's gonna want to slam you there and then."

"Well, that's a visual."

Platt just pointed up the stairs to indicate this conversation was over. "Should've banged him in the parking lot." She quipped as Kim scurried for the steps.

"Ruze has just been showing me Little Mak's moves." Atwater looked up at Kim as she came up the stairs. He was hunched over Ruzek's shoulder peering at his phone. "Little cherub went rogue?"

"Only because you told her to." Kim set her coffee down so she could shrug out of her jacket and hang it over the back of the chair. Kevin noticed that they both had the same coffee mugs. He was assuming that they came separately but maybe not. He filed that away and said nothing. The pieces where falling into place slowly and perhaps that was for the best. Slow and steady wins the race. At least the tension at work had eased off, as far as those two were concerned anyway. There was other tension that Atwater decided to steer well clear of. He could only handle one mess at a time and he had more skin in this game than the other.

"And look at the outcome, star of the friggin' show."

"Not sure her teacher will agree. I am sure I will be hauled up when we go pick her up." The we just slipped out and Kim hoped nobody picked up on it. Adam didn't flinch but Kev had a sly little smile. Because Adam had picked them up that morning she didn't have her car or booster seat so he would take her to pick her up from the After School Carer that Kim had engaged to help out.

It wasn't until they were on their way to pick up Makayla that the topic of their date came up. "So, when are you buying me this fancy dinner?" Adam mentioned it first.

"How does Saturday night sound?"

"Does that give you enough time to freak out?" He smiled just a little.

"It does."

"You know we could just grab take-out with Makayla." He offered her an out.

"No we can't." Kim responded instantly. "Unless you want to of course, it's up to you. I don't want…."

Adam sighed. "Kim….stop."

"Sorry." She was suitably chastised and then spent the next few minutes internally talking herself down off a ledge. He said yes to dinner, and no to having Makayla join them so he wanted to be alone with her and she had to just focus on that.

Everything came crashing into focus for her when they were called out to an active hostage scene and Kim ended up chasing the suspect when he burst out the back door of the house. She had taken off after him in an instant, calling it in as she was crashing through gates in pursuit.

He had taken his family hostage including his wife and three daughters, one being less than six months old. Shots had been fired in the house just prior to his attempted flee.

She was on foot for a few hundred yards and almost copped a plank of wood to the face as she came around the corner. She had crept up on the side of the shed and had pulled back quickly just as the swinging plank crashed into the side of the gate. He dropped the object and attempted to run, but he slipped on some loose gravel and it gave Kim a chance to take him down which she did with a flying tackle and knocked his legs out from under him sending him crashing to the ground, knocking him unconscious in the process.

As Adam came barrelling around the corner, he had taken off as soon as Kim called that she was in pursuit on foot, she was standing over him, he was bleeding from the head and she was already calling it in. Adam stopped, put his hand on her should. "Kim, you okay?"

"Yes." She shrugged away from him. "I'm fine. What about the family?"

"Paramedics are on scene. Mom looks like she's gone and the baby also. Mom was trying to protect her." It was an horrific scene. He'd obviously shot the mother of his children and she was holding the baby and the bullet went through the baby killing the mother and infant. The two older girls were unharmed.

Suddenly Kim lurched at the unconscious man and Adam grabbed her around the waist. "Kim…don't."

"Why?" she pushed him in the chest. "He killed his family, a baby. Why does he get to live? Tell me?" Kim's eyes were wild. It wasn't often that he saw that in her, uncontrollable rage and fear.

"I don't know. Are you hurt?" He noticed a graze on the side of her face. Instinctively he went to touch it and Kim baulked.

"I'm fine."

Adam stepped back a little. "What happened?"

The sound of car tires crunching on the road behind them seemed to snap Kim out of it. "What happened?" she snapped. "He killed his family and ran, tried to hit me with that plank of wood." She pointed to the discarded chunk a few feet from them. "I tackled him, he hit his head, he's unconscious okay. You've made your point." She folded her arms across her chest defensively.

As soon as Voight stepped out of the car Adam walked away. He was tired of this shit, he could see it on her face. She thought he was trying to make a point when in reality he'd said nothing different than what he'd usually do.

The first opportunity he got to leave the scene he did.

Atwater stayed and bought Kim back to the District. Not that Kim particularly enjoyed the trip, especially when she tried to rant to him about Adam trying to score points. "How did he exactly do that?"

"Just 'are you okay? What Happened? Okay, you made your fucking point."

"Kim, I love you, I love you like a sister but you are so stubborn and think everything is about you. Tell me?" Atwater looked at her from the corner of his eye. "When you shot that kid in the back, what did he do?"

"What does that matter?"

Kevin pushed on, she had her walls up but he was about to crash through them. "He asked if you were okay right? Even though you'd split up and shut him out and shagged that Dick weasel." Kevin had spent far too much time listening to Adam's colorful rants about Roman. "Tell me one single time he's ever said anything different? Are you okay Kim? Are you okay?"

"Okay, you've made your point."

"Have I? I hope so because this shit is old Kim, so fucking old. What does he have to do to stop you doubting him and putting up these fucking walls? What did you want him to say? What did you do? Would that have worked for you? Why? So you could justify that you didn't fuck up?"

"No."

Atwater slapped the steering wheel hard. "Bang up go the walls." He bit at her. "What are you so scared of? That somebody will love you and believe in you? That someone wants to be with you?"

"No, that they will leave me?"

"So you just gonna keep doing the leaving, then be miserable all your life and sit at home wondering why you are alone even though you pushed everyone away? Is it so you can sit there and say, see I was right?"

"Well this is a friendly chat."

"Oh I am your friend, that's why I care and that's why I'm telling you this. I don't want to see you miserable and alone. If I didn't care I wouldn't say a damn word." Atwater argued back. "I think you are one of the best people I've ever met, I adore you. You are the sister I always wanted but doesn't mean am just going to agree with every stupid thing you do or not care when I see you blowing things up over and over again."

The news got worse for Kim, by the time she got back to the District the perp that she tackled had made it to hospital but was in an induced coma with a severe head injury and had massive head trauma and the Ivory Tower were already asking questions.

Nobody had seen what happened but what they did know was judging by the size of the guy and the size of Burgess there was no way it was anything other than him hitting the ground when being tackled which caused his injury. He had no other physical signs of assault and his injuries were consistent with hitting his head on a hard surface.

"Blunt force trauma." Kim lamented when Adam found her in the Locker Room.

He leant on the side of the Locker and cross his arms. "Yep, it was a good tackle Kim. It was either you or him and I'd rather it be this way."

"I know." She burst into tears. "I know. It's just… this feels like karma."

"It's not karma. It's just the way it is." He took one step towards her and rested his hand on her shoulder. "You did your job, Kim, that's what you always do."

He left it at that.

Kim didn't though. "After we got back here and the video and all that, I admit that I walked out but not because of you, because of me. I was ashamed of myself, I was angry at myself and was disappointed in myself. I hate that you never get angry at me."

"I was angry at you." He walked away. Now wasn't the time. He couldn't do it here. This place had been tainted enough with bitterness, bad mistakes and heartbreak to last a lifetime. He was starting to feel like nothing good could ever come from being in this place, not anymore.

"Adam…" she called out after him. He stopped and waited. "Thanks. Thank you."

Hours later she sent him a message. 'Are we still having dinner on Saturday night?'

'I really hope so.'