The slamming of a bedroom door told Kim that perhaps things hadn't gone so well for her daughter. Adam's appearance a little later, showered and ready to go to Angus's game also did not fill her with confidence, he had a face like thunder. "So, I guess Polly's not happy."
Adam pulled her phone out of his pocket and waved it in his wife's direction. "Not really."
"What happened?"
"She took it without asking."
"Adam." Kim looked a little exasperated as she handed him a toasted sandwich and grabbed her jacket and bag. It was starting to get a little chilly in the mornings and if they weren't sitting in the sun it could get quite cold. As much as possible they tried to make sure that they got to as many games as they could, even if at times it was only one of them. They could never be accused of not being involved in their children's lives having sat through more ball games, hockey games and ballet recitals than they could count.
Kim had given up the beat a few years ago and was now desk Sergeant at the 21st after Trudy had finally had enough and retired. Briefly she had ventured up into Intelligence but it had always weighed heavily on Kim's mind how dangerous it was when they had two young children at home and she couldn't ask Adam to give it up. He loved it. He'd done a stint at Narcotics and Homicide for a couple of years and then took a posting with the DEA for a year before coming back to Intelligence where Jay Halstead was now his boss. So she went back onto Patrol and eventually worked her way up to her current position as desk Sergeant and it was fortunately more an 8 to 4 job, which worked out well for them and their family with Adam's haphazard hours.
"All she had to do was ask and try talking rather than crying." Sometimes he couldn't bear to see her tears but she'd pushed his buttons last night and he was tired and grumpy which did not bode well for Polly. "Did she tell you why she was late?"
"Something about Abbey not wanting to leave and she didn't want to abandon her. That's not a bad thing."
"Never said it was but she didn't actually tell me that when she finally showed her face at one thirty this morning." Adam grabbed his keys and wallet and handed Kim Polly's phone for her to put in her bag. "Would that have been so hard, rather than all I got was I lost track of time."
"What if we need to call her?"
"For what? She's not going anywhere this morning that's for damn sure." He was starting to look like he was done with this conversation while he tapped his foot impatiently waiting for Kim.
There was probably no point arguing with Adam. He was pretty set in his ways when it came to things like this. He wasn't overly strict with the kids but when he decided to do something he stuck to it and all he ever asked of Kim was to back him up in front of the kids. When they weren't around they would often disagree with each other but together they were a united front. "What are you going to do?"
"Let her stew on it for a bit. I'll talk to her when we get home. Come on, we'll be late." He headed for the door and rolled his eyes a little when Kim told him she was going to tell Polly they were leaving. "Don't give her that damn phone back."
Kim dashed upstairs while Adam started the car and knocked on Polly's door. She was back in bed and pretending to be asleep. "We are going now. We'll be back in a couple of hours. I think your Dad will want to talk to you then so I expect you to be here and out of bed. There is some washing that you could do and I'd appreciate being able to see your floor when we get back."
"He took my phone." It was Polly's weak attempt at getting it back.
"Yes he did, and he still has it so don't bother going looking for it." Kim may not necessarily agree with Adam but it wasn't worth spending the next few hours with him in a foul mood if he found out she gave Polly her phone. He'd made his decision, and they were always pretty final.
By the time they got home Polly was up and had tidied her room and put on a load of washing. She was sitting in the lounge watching TV. Adam picked up the remote and turned it off and sat opposite his daughter. "You want to tell me the real reason you were late?"
Polly twisted her hands in her lap. Even though her Dad very rarely yelled at them he still had a way of making them know that he was angry and annoyed. Polly was bracing for impact and whatever her punishment was going to be. "Abbey was acting weird and wanted to stay. I didn't want to leave her there alone."
"Okay." He nodded. "I understand that, but why didn't you just send me a message or call me and tell me that. I think we have made that perfectly clear over the years don't you? I don't particularly like sitting up waiting for you half the night."
"I'm sorry Dad."
"What's up with Abbey?" At the end of the day Polly was a good kid, she rarely did anything that could be considered terrible but Adam and Kim liked to think that was because of the way they had raised both her and Angus. Angus was definitely going to cause them trouble, they could see that but all in all they were good kids.
Angus was a lot like Adam was as a teenager and that worried Adam. He hadn't exactly been a model child and found himself in his fair share of sticky situations. He always managed to either charm or fight his way out of it and Angus seemed to be heading the same way. Even when he was younger he always found trouble or ways to throw himself into things with little regard for his own safety. They hoped that his sudden interest in taking his sport far more seriously would help rein him in.
Polly shrugged nonchalantly. It was certainly a habit his daughter had developed that he didn't really love. "You can drop the attitude right now." He snapped.
"I don't know. She was in a bad mood."
"Really? And she was drinking?"
"Yes."
"Were you?"
"No, I swear Dad. I didn't have anything to drink." Both Adam and Kim were pretty certain that Polly, or Angus for that matter would not wait until they were 21 to have their first drink. They'd obviously seen their parents drink, as Adam always had a beer with dinner and Kim would often have a wine or join Adam with a beer but rarely did they see them drunk. On the odd occasion they had a big night out the kids were usually not home and if they were it was typically Adam who was worse for wear, never both of them at the same time. Alcohol wasn't this big taboo subject but 17 was way too young and Polly knew it would mean an end to being let out to go to parties if she was caught drinking. Another fun side effect of being the daughter of two cops, it wasn't just their rules it was also the law.
"Why didn't you call me? I would have come and got you both. Abbey could have stayed here." They knew that Abbey's home life wasn't all beer and skittles. Her parents had split up a few years ago and her Dad was now living in New York. Her mother had paraded a variety of different boyfriends through the place since but for the past two years she had settled down though and had the same guy but Abbey still spent a lot of time at their place.
While he'd see a lot of Polly's tears lately these were unexpected and there was something about them that worried him. "She made me promise not to tell anyone." He did not like kids and their secrets; it unnerved him. Having heard more than his fair share over the years he found it hard to not let his mind spin off to a completely unappealing direction.
"Tell anyone what?"
"Nothing." Polly had to think quickly. "Probably about her drinking. Her Mom would lose her friggin' shit."
Adam cocked his head to the side, not appreciating Polly's language. "Really Pol?"
"Sorry. Her Mom would freak out and Simon would be a dick about it. I tried to help."
Adam frowned at her, the language wasn't great but he had no one to blame but himself because in all the years he hadn't been able to rein himself in and Kim had basically given up trying. He reached into his pocket and handed her back her phone. "How long has she been drinking?"
"I think this was the first time." She lied smoothly, she'd already said too much. She just hoped her Dad bought it. "I didn't like what it did to her."
"I am sure you didn't." Adam scratched him rough stubble for a moment. "Promise me you'll tell me if she keeps drinking or you are worried and I don't want you in a car with her or anyone else if they are drinking. That's not an option Polly." He warned her. Drink driving was one of his biggest fears once Polly started heading out with friends more often. He trusted her to be smart because he'd spent the best part of seventeen years drumming it into her, he just didn't trust other people.
"I won't Dad. I hope that last night might make her stop. It was pretty ugly; she was vomiting all over the place. It was horrible." Polly's tears started again and at least Adam was grateful for the fact that it seemed to have frightened the crap out of his daughter. Sometimes words were just words but when you saw it up close and personal it was only then that the lesson was learned.
He tapped the phone in her hand. "Call Abbey. She's been calling you all morning. And Polly, last chance."
"Thanks Dad." She jumped up from the couch and nearly knocked Adam backwards with her hug.
He was such a push over as far as Polly was concerned. He tried to be tough but it had lasted all of half a day. Probably why Kim just let him go, she knew as well as Polly that she would get her phone back and be told she was on her last chance and that would be the end of it. "You are such a softy." Kim teased him when she came into the lounge and found him watching a Cubs game. Kim could tell by the excited running up the stairs and relaxed nature of Adam that Polly had got what she wanted.
"Shhh." He patted the seat next to him. "Come and cuddle me."
"No." Her mouth might have said no but her eyes were giving her away.
"No?" Adam narrowed his eyes playfully and held out his hand.
"Why should I?"
"Because you love me, you think I'm hot and because I am an awesome Dad."
"Oh, Okay." Instead of cuddling him she sat astride his lap and kissed him sweetly. The kids were always complaining about their PDA's, telling them they were gross and disgusting. Adam had roared with laugher when Polly told them to 'get a room' recently although Kim had been mortified.
"Maybe I will take your mother up to our room right now." He had teased Polly as he tried to get his hands under Kim's shirt while she was batting his hand away.
"Dad, you are feral." Polly didn't expect that and the thought made her shudder. Angus just pretended to gag.
Kim slapped his hand away as he tyring to unbutton her shirt. There had always been a lot of love and affection in this house. Adam grew up without it and often thought that his parents hated him as much as they hated each other. No way were Polly and Angus going to ever question whether he loved their mother or them. Even if they now thought it was pretty 'gross' and 'embarrassing'.
"I think my awesome parenting skills have got you a little excited?" Adam was kissing her neck.
"A little." Adam slipped his hand up the leg of her shorts and she laughed and grabbed his wrist. "Not that much though."
"Darlin', don't go breakin' my heart."