The house was quiet when he finally got home. Adam looked at the clock, it was late, almost nine but not ridiculously so and he was surprised that the house was so quiet. Heading straight for the kitchen without turning the light on he checked the fridge for something to eat. He was a little peeved that he'd just done a fourteen-hour day and he'd been on his feet for almost twelve of them.

"Hey Baby." Kim's voice made him jump as she appeared in the doorway and flicked on the light and he squinted against the sudden brightness. "You're home?"

"No, not really. I sent my doppelganger so you wouldn't get lonely and invite the boyfriend over." Kim laughed and stood on her tiptoes to kiss him sweetly. "I missed you today."

"You were busy." Adam stepped back as Kim pulled some leftovers from the fridge to heat up. "How hungry are you?"

"Darlin' I could eat the crutch out of a low flying duck." He grabbed a beer and leant against the bench as Kim started warming up the pasta bake. "How are the kids?"

"Hmmm." Kim nodded at the beer in his hand. "You might want to finish that first."

"What now?" He hated these conversations. Nothing good ever came from Kim telling his to finish his beer. He tilted his head back, staring at the ceiling and blew out a long slow breath. "Do I want to know?"

"Probably not."

"Polly or Angus?"

"Angus." He exhaled again slowly. Polly scared him lately, not because she seemed overly upset or worried about anything. Things were back to normal as far as he could tell, except for the boyfriend thing and that's precisely what worried him. He was concerned that either she was going to break up with him and be a heartbroken blubbering mess or he was going to have to pay for a shotgun wedding. One scenario was certainly preferable to the other.

"What's he done?"

Kim handed him the piece of paper that was sitting on the table. Adam hadn't seen it in the dark. Angus had done his best to hide it and wanted to take it up to his room once his mother had shown it to him but Kim refused to allow it. His father had to see it. "What the fuck?" he read it twice. "How the hell is he failing English and Maths?"

"I asked him exactly the same thing."

"And?"

Kim was actually glad that Adam wasn't home because when Angus finally appeared downstairs and only because Kim basically dragged him from his room. "Is Dad home?" he knew exactly why Kim was pissed with him. The school had wised up to kids a long time ago and had sent her a message, like all parents now got, telling them that the midterm exam results had been uploaded today and could be viewed on the website. Kim logged in at work and was gobsmacked. She printed it off and it was now lying on the table between the two of them. Fortunately for Angus she hadn't seen Adam all day. One look at her face and he would have seen how pissed off she was.

She had asked him what was going on and he just shrugged. "Can you not tell Dad?"

"No."

"What if I promise to get my grades up?"

"Nice try." He reached for the piece of paper. "Uh, not happening." Kim put her hand on top of it. "Your Dad will want to read it when he gets home."

"He'll go nuts."

"Perhaps you should have thought of that before you preceded to get a 35 and 46 on your midterms."

"But physical science, sport and American history are good." He tried to point out the good things he'd done but it sounded pretty weak even to him and he knew it was going to mean absolutely nothing to his parents.

"What's going on Angus? Your grades are never this bad?" He certainly would never be classified a straight A student, that was more Polly but he never struggled either. At times his level of effort reflected his results but he had rarely failed anything and never this badly.

"Nothing."

"So you just decided not to try?"

"No, it's just harder than I thought." When Kim asked him why he didn't tell them he was finding it hard he shrugged again. "I didn't want you to think I am stupid. I don't want Dad to think I am an idiot."

"We don't think you are stupid or an idiot. We would have helped, got you a tutor, whatever you needed."

"Because I am stupid." His voice was starting to quiver a little.

"No Angus. Admitting you are finding some things hard to understand is not being stupid just as having a tutor doesn't make you dumb."

"If we get a tutor can you not tell Dad?"

"Angus, he gets the same messages I do, he can log in and see for himself. Sure today he was busy and didn't get the chance but he knows what's going on. Can you imagine how angry he'd be when he finds out and he realises we didn't tell him?" Angus realised how futile it was to try and hide it from his Dad.

"He won't care, he's always too busy." Kim frowned a little. Sure Adam was busy and didn't always get to do all the things they hoped he would do or be around as often as he would like but the kids were hardly neglected. He didn't get to check the results today because he was out in the field all day but if he were at his desk he would always check his emails, especially from the school. Kim rarely had to tell him what was going on because he knew.

"That's not fair Angus. Your Dad does his best."

"Then where is he?"

"Stop Angus." Kim held up her hand indicating she'd heard enough. "Do not throw this back on your Dad. He busts his gut to get home; he knows what's going on. Who is pretty much always at your games? Who goes running with you three times a week? Who took you to the batting cage on Sunday?"

"Then where is he now?"

"He's at work, you know that thing that pays for this house, your clothes, food, education, baseball gear, holidays and everything else you get."

He folded his arms defiantly across his chest. Kim waved him away. "We'll talk about this when he gets home."

"If he comes home." He mumbled and Kim chose to ignore it as he stormed out of the kitchen and took himself up to his room early in the hopes that he would get home too late to do anything about it tonight.

Kim replaced the empty beer bottle in his hand with a plate of food. "He thinks you will think he is an stupid if he admitted that he was struggling."

"I don't think he's stupid." He mumbled through a mouthful of pasta, he was still leaning against the bench as he shoved the food in. Lunch had been hours ago and apart from a donut and four cups of coffee he'd had nothing since about midday. "I'm not happy though."

"Neither am I."

"It's not just a bad result, that's a big fat F."

They both knew he didn't love school and wasn't as diligent a student as Polly was but with very little effort he seemed to breeze through with few problems. So to be this bad was extra special. "Why now? Why all of sudden is he shit at Maths and English?"

"Your guess is as good as mine."

"What did he say?"

When Kim told him that he just shrugged and didn't really have an answer she could see that got Adam's hackles up. "Well I hope like hell he's thought about it a bit, he could a least put a bit of effort into his pathetic attempt at justifying failing school."

"He also commented about you never being here and not caring."

Kim knew that Adam hated it when they bought up how often he wasn't home. "It's not like I do anything I can to get out of coming home. I would much rather be here."

"I know. Adam," Kim rested her hand on his arm. "Gus was just lashing out trying to blame everyone else for his poor results." He finished off his dinner and Kim took the plate from him and rinsed it before putting it in the dishwasher while Adam went to find Angus.

He knocked on his door and did not even wait for a response before he opened it, turned on the light and told him to get up and come downstairs. No way was he asleep; Adam had seen his bedroom light was still on when he pulled in the driveway. Didn't these kids know by now he was a Detective? He noticed things.

One thing they had never done was bail up their kids in their rooms when they were in trouble. That was their safe place. They were never allowed to hide in there but if they needed to be spoken to or to explain themselves it was always done elsewhere. Adam hated when his parents would burst into his room and tear strips off him for his latest escapade so he swore they would never do it to their kids. Didn't stop him demanding their presence downstairs though and they always did as they were told and once it was done they were welcome to retreat back to their own space and lick their wounds.

"So, how's school?" Adam waited until Angus looked sufficiently nervous.

"Obviously you know." Such a smart arsed answer for someone who wasn't coming from a position of strength. Kim shook her head sadly, bracing herself for Adam's explosion. They would never learn.

"Want to try that again?" He was surprisingly calm and Angus was just as shocked as Kim.

"I didn't do well at English and Maths."

Adam read the piece of paper in his hand. "Well that's an understatement." He looked up and Angus who was just staring into space, looking at anything but his parents. "So I am assuming from that reply you are not even going to try and talk your way out of it?"

"No."

He tapped the folded paper on his leg repeatedly waiting for Angus to say something and when he felt like he had given him long enough he let loose. "Care to explain how the hell you get a 35 in English? What? Did you get that for spelling your name right at the top of the page, because it's bloody near on impossible to get 35. You are not an idiot Angus so I don't understand how you even got this low a score, I mean you have to actually try to be this bad. Can you not tell the difference between Shakespeare and a harlequin romance book?"

"Yes."

"Oh I get it now, judging by you monosyllabic responses you don't understand English at all?" He continued to rant. "Is that it?"

"The book was shit."

Kim looked at Adam when he let out this strange laugh. "Oh the book was shit so you just didn't even bother?"

"I read it, I just didn't understand it."

'Then ask for help Angus, Jesus." He threw his hands up in the air and turned to Kim. "Sometimes I feel like we are just here to pay the bills. They don't really need us to do anything other than annoy the shit out of them occasionally." Facing Angus again he continued. "And I am guessing that's the same excuse for Maths?"

"It's stupid, I'll never need half that stuff."

"I'll tell you something for nothing, I thought that too but I can tell you it helps. Maybe not everything and you may not want to get into maths later on and we don't expect you to get A's but Angus passing all these other subjects means jack shit if you don't pass English and Maths."

"Angus, what can we do to help?" Kim tried to change tack slightly. They could get into a never-ending discussion about why he was failing and how he needed to do better but that wasn't going to help him actually get the grades he needed.

"I don't know." He shrugged, that god damn insolent shrug.

Adam saw it. "Well if you don't know, we'll figure it out for you." He pointed back and forth between Kim and himself. "For starters though. The computer comes out of your room for a month, and there is no paint balling on the weekend."

"But I've already paid to go. It's a waste of money." Suddenly he wasn't quite so smug about it all.

"A bit like the thousands of dollars we pay for your education. You don't seem to mind wasting that." Adam was completely un-moved even when he started to tear up. "The rest we will let you know."

"Okay." Angus muttered quietly.

"One more thing." Kim knew exactly what was coming. "I know you think I don't care about what's going on or don't pay any attention but you are wrong Angus, you are so god damn wrong. I hate not being here every night, I hate it but this is my job, this has always been my job and I bust my gut to get home. If I don't what do I do? Huh?" He waited for Gus to answer. "Huh? Tell me what I do if I am not here?"

"You call."

"Every single bloody time and what do I ask you?"

"How's school and how's baseball."

"And what do I tell you?"

"That you love me."

"Every single god damn time. So don't tell me I don't care."

"Sorry. Can I go?"

"Yes." Adam nodded his head towards the stairs. He was smart enough to kiss his mother goodnight and give his Dad a quick hug. "Love you Bud." Adam told him although it was probably the last thing Angus wanted to hear right now.

"I see why my parents didn't really like me." Adam muttered as he fetched himself another beer. He poured Kim a glass of wine and bought it in for her. Lowering himself onto the couch he stretched out his legs and threw his feet up on the table.

"You can see yourself in him hey?"

"Oh god yes. Kim, he can't fail."

"I know. What do we do?"

"Well he needs a tutor for starters."

"I guess they are really our kids aren't they. Polly is the straight A student like you." Adam tapped her lightly under the chin, "And Angus is the ratbag like me."

"Hmmm. So it seems. It scares me a little."

"It scares me a lot." Adam admitted. He had been pretty wild as a teenager until he decided he needed to pull his head in if he wanted to be a cop. There was only so many times his old man could bail him out before he got himself a record. He was pretty sure Angus wasn't quite that bad but this was a worrying sign. It all had to start somewhere.

"He's proud of you. I've heard him talk to other people about you and what you do."

"I know we've had issues about how much I am not around but I thought we were doing better?" And they had definitely had issues. Apart from the Undercover work they'd had cases over the years that dragged on for weeks and even when Adam was home he wasn't really with them. "You need to tell me if it gets too much for you again."

A few months ago Adam had three weeks when he hadn't been home for either breakfast or dinner and had missed Angus's game. Even at the District Adam had barely spoken to Kim and the pressure built until they had a big blow out when Adam blew off a weekend upstate with Kim's sister at the last minute. Kim and the kids went anyway and when she got home the kitchen was trashed but the final straw was their unmade bed.

"At least I know you still fucking live here." Kim lost her shit and starting reefing the sheets off the bed.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I was starting to wonder if you'd left me."

"Like you did this weekend?"

"I'm surprised you even noticed we weren't here, I mean we've been in this house for the past few weeks and you didn't notice."

"Yes, because I just love working twenty hour days." Kim shoved the sheets at him and pushed past him to get some clean ones out.

"I bet you do."

"Awesome. Perhaps next time I'll just let the drug cartel move right on in. It'll be great when the kids start hitting up bars and doing lines but hey, at least I'll be able to sleep at night because I was home for fucking dinner." He stormed down the stairs, which managed to piss Kim off even more.

"Fuck you Adam." She yelled after him.

They sniped at each other for days until Polly called them on their crap. Yet despite the tension in the house Adam always kissed Kim goodnight and always before he left the house for work. It was hard, they were no different from anyone else and had ups and downs. You didn't make it twenty years without them. You could love someone with every single fibre in your body but sometimes you just didn't like them.

Kim leant on his shoulder and brushed his hair back off his forehead. It was growing out a little at the moment, for what reason she wasn't really sure and she assumed that eventually he would find time to do something about it. Maybe he could take Angus with him on the weekend to get it cut, although considering that Adam had just busted his plans for paintballing she guessed Angus wouldn't be that keen to spend the day with his Dad.

"We are." They were doing better, they'd got over their spat and making up was very satisfying.

"Do you really think that Angus is upset that I haven't been around or is he just trying to blame me for his poor results?"

"I think he's trying to blame you, make you feel guilty."

"Good fucking job then."

"Adam, Baby."

"It's okay Kim." He ran his hand up and down her thigh. "I know I'm not perfect. As much as that might shock you."

"Who is?" she leant a little closer and nibbled on his ear. "But Baby you are perfect for me."

"Watch yourself Darlin', I'm feeling a little toey."

"Before we go any further, what about Gus?"

"I'll make some calls tomorrow, find him a tutor."

"I can do that." Kim started nibbling his ear again.

"Let me, I want to show him that I do know what's going on and that I do care." Adam wanted to do it, he wanted Gus to know that he cared about what was going on with him and that he'd do anything to make sure he had every opportunity to succeed in whatever he wanted to do.

"Ah…Adam Ruzek, you are so hot when you go all Dad."