Disclaimer: I own NOTHING except my imagination.

A/N:So this imagination of mine...this idea came to me as I woke up this week end so I had to write it and here it is.

It took her two years and lots of courage, but she only took a few things with the wad of money she had managed to keep out of his grasp, and she had fled. She fled her old life on the California coast for the harsh winters of Chicago. She had a small studio apartment on S Drexel Ave where she could pay cash and have some peace and keep to herself. The only downside was that it was a 45 minutes commute to get to where she worked because owning a car was not an option. She had the late-night shift today, so she took the bus and plugged her headphones in, not wanting to be bothered. The bar was packed already when she slipped in the back and she was quick to take her spot, taking over for Amy, whose shift was over.

"Good luck Hanna, the crowd is rowdy."

"Great, just what I need."

Adam was sitting at his desk, starting to think that they wouldn't close this case on the same day. It was already close to midnight and all he wanted to do was catch the bad guy, grab a drink and then go to bed. The whole week had been absolute chaos and he was looking forward to his day off. They finally caught a heater around half past midnight and about 45 minutes later, they were all out the door and he went to one of his favourite bars on E 33rd. The place was packed but he managed to find an empty stool at the bar. It took about ten minutes before someone acknowledged him and when she leaned and smiled at him, he knew the attention was on him.

"What can I get you?"

"I'll have a Whiskey, double." He smiled back at her.

"Coming right up." She looked down, pulling a glass and slipping in a few ice cubes before she poured him a generous amount and placed it in front of him. "You look like you've been having a rough night."

"A rough week actually." He chuckled, taking a long pull of his drink. "It's the first time I see you here."

"I'm new." She simply said before she took a couple steps left to serve someone else. He watched her as she moved behind the bar as she served customers and ended back in front of him. "I started working here two weeks ago."

"Explains a lot." He downed the rest of his glass and pushed it back in her direction for another pour. "I'm Adam."

"What do you do for a living Adam?" She made small talk with him, making sure not to give him anything about her.

"Officer detailed to Intelligence at the 21st."

"That would explain how you look like you got dragged through the mud." The crowd was starting to show signs of thinning, so Kim leaned against it and gave him all of her attention.

"Yeah." He chuckled. "Some weeks are worse than others."

"You come here a lot?"

"Whenever I'm off. Food's good, company's not bad." He smiled at her. "But I might just have to come here more often now."

"Does that line usually work?" She chuckled.

"What makes you think it's a line?"

"A hunch." She shrugged, taking a sip of the glass of water she always kept under the bar.

"Well I'll let you know that I don't see women that I feel the need to use that line on that often." They bantered on and off like that for the following half hour and it felt as if the two had known each other before that night. "If I'm going to be coming around here more often, maybe give me something, a name maybe?"

"Hmmm, I don't." She was okay being in a public place like a bar with a fake name but actually giving it out to a stranger? "We just met, I." She stuttered, starting to feel overwhelmed.

"It's okay." Adam smiled at her. "I get it. You see a lot of weird people coming through this bar. I say I'm a cop, but you don't have proof of that because I'm off duty." His gun and badge were locked in his glove box and his word was the only thing he could give her, so he didn't push it further.

"Thanks." She smiled gratefully at him. "But tell you what. I'm off tomorrow but I'm opening for the next four after that. If you're not too busy being a cop, you can come have lunch or something, we have great burgers." She was suddenly not so sure of herself.

"I'll ty to make it and I'll sit here until you trust me enough to give me your name." He winked and smiled, standing up and fishing through his pocket, placing some money on the bar. "Have a nice day off."

"Thank you." She watched him as he tapped the bar top and left, the last few stragglers leaving not too long after. She had to close down the bar out of the two busses that made the ride home, only one of them came through early enough in the morning which meant she had to walk the rest of the way home after getting off of it.

Kim took a shower and crashed as soon as her head hit the pillow. This new life was simple but starting in a new state, a new city, wasn't as simple. She had easily slipped into her Hanna Miller persona as soon as she had gotten off the bus at Union Station but it had taken a little bit more effort to get on her feet. She found a small motel where she paid for a couple of days and she went in search of a job and a more permanent place to stay. She had hit it off with Lexie, the owner of the Turtle's Bar & Grill who had agreed to hire her and pay her cash for her hours after she had no choice but to tell her story and she hadn't broken her trust since. So naturally, she guided her towards a place that wouldn't cost her an arm and a leg even if it was a bit far. She had assured her no one would bother her there and so that had proven to be also true. When she woke up later in the day, she did a few groceries and made herself dinner before curling up on her couch and a book, needing to get her stressed body calm again, not having any television or internet to keep her busy.

Adam slipped into his apartment around a quarter past two and he showered to take the grime away from the week and he crashed, the new bartender at the Turtle's bar on his mind. When he woke much later in the day, he woke to the look in her eyes. She had a beautiful smile but her eyes were hiding something dark and he wondered what could have happened to her to make her lose that part of her that was reflected in her eyes. He got dressed and made himself a coffee before heading out for a much needed grocery run. All he had left was beer and some very old pizza and he couldn't keep going like that. There was one not so far from his place so he just walked to get there but the last thing he expected was to run into her there.

"Hey stranger." He watched as she jumped and turned, taking a protective step back. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." He smiled apologetically at her.

"What are you doing here?" Was her first instinct to ask.

"I live a few blocks down." He pointed behind him in explanation. "Is everything okay?" He didn't dare take a step in her direction so he didn't scare her again.

"Yeah, I'm okay. It was nice to see you again Adam." She took her things and walked past him to go pay.

"It was nice to see you too." He whispered after she was gone. Now he was certain that she was hiding herself from people because something had happened to her. He bought what he needed with that on his mind and h couldn't get her out of his head for the rest of his day, even when Kevin showed up at his place.

"Ruz, come on man. Stop spacing out on me brother." Kevin had to knock on the table again to get his best friend's attention.

"Sorry, it's just." He tried to get his ideas in order. "After I left the district, I went to grab a drink at Turtle's and I met their new bartender."

"Say no more, you're sweet for her."

"That's the thing Kev. I can't get her out of my head because I have this feeling she's not all she seems."

"Not used to getting a refusal, I get it."

"Again, not that. She didn't want to tell me her name after I gave her mine. I had this feeling creep in me when I left the grill this morning but I bumped into her at the store earlier and she literally jumped out of her skin, went on the defensive. I don't know man, I just got this feeling that she's hiding something that happened to her, that made her like this."

"What are you going to do?"

"I don't know Kev, still trying to figure it out." He drummed his fingers against the table.

"It's a tough call man." He agreed.

"I told her I'd come back until she trusted me enough to tell me her name. After that, I don't know." They spent the rest of their evening with these thoughts going through Adam's head and the night didn't prove any more insightful so he drove to the 21st, hoping the day would start slow so he could maybe drop by the grill with Kevin to have his take on her.

Kim had a bad night. After going to bed and falling quickly asleep after her encounter with Adam at the store, her sleep was plagued with nightmares. They were random moments from the past two years but she woke up in a sweat with a bad feeling that was creeping in her, all the way to her bones. She knew she had to get ready for shift and she couldn't let her distress show. She plugged her headphones while on the bus and when she got there, the only other car there was Lexie's so she took a deep breath and went inside, hoping Lexie wouldn't see through her.

"Hey Lex." She called as soon as she slipped in the back.

"In here Kim." She was the only one who could call her by her real name and it settled her insides a bit. "Thanks again for having the crazy day and night shifts, I really appreciate it." She said as soon as Kim showed her face in her office door.

"Don't sweat it." She smiled at her boss. "Whatever keeps me busy and paid I'm good with."

"Everything okay?" She could see how tired Kim was.

"Weird evening, bad night but I'm good." Kim assured her.

"My door is always open if you need to talk." She leaned backwards into her chair.

"Yeah." Kim smiled at her. "And thank you for helping me out, you didn't have to."

"Let me tell you something Kim. Nobody should ever have to live the way you did back home and if I can make a difference and lend you a hand, that's always what I'm going to do. So don't hesitate to ask or call me if you need anything."

"Thank You." She smiled one last time at Lexie before heading to the front of the bar to get it ready for opening. She'd be forever grateful to Lexie for the help and the compassion she was showing her even if did she didn't know anything about her. She was there for her, no questions asked.

A/N: So, chapter one...We don't know much but Adam and Kim meeting and Kevin being in the loop can only be a good thing...please take a few seconds to review before you go, first chapters are always nerve racking and I love reading your thoughts. - Sarra