"Let me know you made it home." Adam had walked her to her car. They had spent a few hours reliving the good times and filling in some gaps and honestly they both could've stayed longer but Kim had to get back to Chicago and Adam didn't want her driving home too late. It was innate the way he worried about her. It had been a long time since he'd felt that sense of protectiveness for someone else and it was a little confronting.

He had grabbed her hand as she went to get in her car and a bolt of electricity shot through her. Why did he still have this effect on her? It felt warm and right and just like she remember her hand just fit in his.

'I will." She leant on him for a moment and when he tucked her head under his chin it felt so right as she absorbed him. "It's good to see you again. You look good Adam."

"It's good to be seen by you." He squeezed her hand and closed the door once she was safely inside. "Be safe." Kim felt a million different emotions cascading through her. Adam could feel himself losing all control, he wanted to pull her out of the car and back into his arms so instead he touched the window and turned away. As soon as he did Kim dissolved into a flood of tears and cried all the way back to Chicago.

Al was waiting for her when she got back and as he opened his door she collapsed in his arms. "Oh Sweetheart, Are you okay?"

"Al, No. I can't believe it's him. I don't know what to do?" Kim sobbed. "It's him. I thought maybe it wasn't going to be him, but it is. I don't know what to think or do."

"Just give it time. Let's not rush into anything. What did he say?"

"He apologised, over and over for all this. He's angry with the FEDS; he's missing his family and worried about his parents. He wants to come home and I can't stop him."

"Why would you?"

Kim looked at him sadly. "Because of Oliver."

"You didn't tell him?"

"No, how could I? Oh Hi Adam, sorry you've been in witness protection for nine years and by the way you have an eight year old son who thinks his Dad is dead. Do you want to be his Dad? He could really use a Dad right now." Kim held onto Al to steady herself. "I know I have to tell him, I want him to know but not yet. What if Adam has changed?" Of course he'd changed, everyone had but Al could understand that she needed to make sure that Adam hadn't changed for the worst.

"Okay, okay." He led her over to the couch. "So what now?"

"I told Adam that I would tell his parents." Kim smiled painfully. "Can you come with me?"

Al was never going to let her go alone, he wasn't going to let her go through any of this alone. So they found themselves sitting in front of Adam's parents two days later. It hadn't been hard to get them to agree to come over. Kim didn't tell them that Al was going to be there but she did tell them that this was about Oliver, which wasn't a complete lie, this was going to change Oliver's life, it was going to change all their lives.

Through the last few months, when things had gone sideways at home both Bob and Janet had been more than willing to do whatever they needed to do for not only their grandson, but also for Kim and Daisy. Daisy may not have been their actual grandchild but they adored her just as much as she loved them and as far as Bob and Janet were concerned they had two grandchildren.

Al held onto Kim's hand. Janet had expressed some concern about Kim's appearance, everyone had lately. She had lost weight, not that she had much to lose in the first place and looked pale and exhausted, the emotional toll wasn't just restricted to Adam. Kim was falling apart before everyone's eyes. "Is Oliver okay?" Janet blurted out, the thought of her Grandson being in trouble or sick had just about sent her over the edge. "Is something wrong with Oliver? What's happened?"

"No, Oliver is fine." Al answered for Kim, who had suddenly lost the ability to speak. She had told Al that she wanted to be the one to tell them so he just had to give her a nudge.

"Okay, this is seriously freaking me out. Kim, what's going on?" Bob Ruzek had never been a man to pussy foot around a conversation. He got to the point and the older he got the less her tolerated double speak.

Kim inhaled deeply and up until now hadn't been able to look them in the eye but she raised her eyes to meet them. They looked panicked. "Last weekend I drove up to Battle Creek." She felt Al squeeze her hand, trying to give her strength. "I went to meet up with Adam." No matter how many times she said it, it still didn't feel real.

"What?" Bob actually reached for his ex-wife's hand. "What?"

"Adam is alive."

Janet leapt from the couch. "Why would you do this? Why? How could you?" She reached over and slapped Kim across the face, stunning everyone with its ferocity before fleeing the house. Kim touched her cheek, the warm sting of the slap radiating through her face, at least it made her feel something because she had felt numb all day.

Leaving Al to talk to Bob she caught up with Janet as she fumbled with her keys trying to get into her car. "Janet, come back inside." Tentatively Kim reached out and grabbed her arm. "Come inside."

Janet shrugged her off violently. "Kim, how could you? Why are you doing this?" The pain in Janet's voice shocked even Kim. She had taken Adam's death hard and still eight years later her grief was her constant companion. She had lost her only child and that wasn't supposed to happen, a parent should not have to bury their child. Now someone was telling her that the grief she was feeling was a lie. "I trusted you. Why would you do this now?"

"Janet. Believe me I know how much of a shock this it to you. It has been for me too. Never in a million years did I think that this was even a possibility. Even in my wildest dreams did I ever think this would happen."

"He's dead." Those words were spoken harshly. Kim took the keys from her hand as she slid down the side of the car, unable to stand any longer. "He died."

Kim crouched down in front of Adam's distraught mother, still holding her hands. "Janet he's not. Adam's alive. I know you thought he was, we all did. I was there, I buried him too, I had his child. But he's not dead I've seen him, I've held his hand and we cried together. I didn't believe it either but when you see him, you'll know too. Please come inside."

By the time she got her back inside Al had filled Bob in on the story as they knew it. He was pacing around the room and listened again as they explained it to Adam's mother. Nothing was making any sense and they had questions that even now neither Al or Kim had the answers to.

"Adam is waiting to come home. He will be here in a couple of days." Al reassured them. "He's just getting his bearings. He wanted you to know first before he came home and he can't wait to see you both."

"How is Oliver taking this?" Bob finally asked the question that Kim was avoiding. She knew it would come up, why wouldn't it.

She looked at her hands, tightly clasped in her lap. Besides the fact that she had thought of Adam constantly she had also thought about Oliver and what this meant for him. She had talked to Al about it, over and over and she felt like they were going around in circles. "Ollie doesn't know. Not yet."

"And Adam is okay with that?"

"I haven't told him." Kim knew that this was not going to go down well. "I know this is a lot to take in and I just want a little more time to find the best way to do this. Adam's been away a long time and he admits that it was really hard on him and he's changed. I want to make sure he's okay and is going to be okay with the fact he has a child. I don't know who he is anymore."

"He's my son, he's Oliver's father. That's who he is." Janet wasn't handling this as well as Bob was.

"I can understand your concerns Kim." Bob started, "but I don't think this is fair on either of them."

"I want nothing more than Oliver and Adam knowing about each other but everything is happening so quickly. Can we please keep this to ourselves for now? I will tell them both, but I need a little more time. Oliver has been through so much lately."

"No Kim, No." Janet was adamant and Bob had to agree with her.

"Janet. It's just for a couple of weeks at most. I want Adam to know but as soon as I tell him he will want to see Ollie, you know he will and I need to make sure Ollie can cope with that." Kim was now convinced, having seen him and spoken with him again that Adam wouldn't walk away from them. He may not feel like he was Adam Ruzek but Kim could see him and feel him. This was the Adam she knew and loyalty and a big heart filled with love was always at the centre of everything he did but there was something just nagging at her, a mother's instinct perhaps that she needed to just protect Oliver for a little while longer.

"All his life he has been told that his father is dead. Imagine dropping this on him while he is still dealing with the fact that Steve and I have separated. You know how hard Oliver took all that, he's only just getting his feet back under him again." She had told no one about Ollie's black eye. It was easy enough, although it killed her to lie to try and protect her husband but everyone had just accepted that it was a baseball injury. In a family full of cops, his goose was cooked if people knew the truth.

Ollie had begged her not to say anything. He was worried that it would make things worse for his mother and he didn't want that. He told her that he hated their life at the moment and hated coming home if he knew he was going to be there and Kim was desperate to give him some stability and suddenly telling him that the father he thought was dead was alive wouldn't give him that. He had been struggling at school and it was only in the last few weeks that he had started getting better grades again.

Oliver had been devastated when he failed a test at school, he'd never done that before and he had tearfully apologised to his Mom for letting her down.

"I don't know Kim." Bob was shaking his head.

Al didn't necessarily agree with Kim but he knew she only had Oliver's best interests at heart. "Adam is pretty overwhelmed by everything. He thought he would never get to come back and see anyone again. We need to let him get his feet under him and come back to Chicago. A couple of weeks, that's all Kim is asking for."

Reluctantly they agreed to keep that fact he had a son from him but not for long. If they felt that Kim was dragging it out and not being fair to Adam they wouldn't keep quiet. "I really want him to know his son but he needs to come back here first and overcome that hurdle, then we will tell them both." Kim explained that Adam did know that she had two children, but that Oliver was a bit younger. It wasn't ideal but it was all she could think of at the time.

"Adam is…" Al tried to explain what he was going through, as much as Adam wanted people to know. "He's looking forward to seeing you both again, it was one of the first things he asked about, he asked about you both. But he's struggling with a lot of things, he feels very confused and overwhelmed. We literally need to take this one step at a time and go at Adam's pace. He's going to falter, and baulk. It's not the same Adam that walked out of this life nine years ago. He's changed, we've all changed."

"Do you have any photos?" Janet asked although she wasn't really sure if she was ready to see them. Kim pulled out her phone and showed them both the few that she had taken and Janet crumpled. "My beautiful boy." She sobbed as she held Kim's phone in her hands. "My Beautiful Son."

Erin took the stairs two at a time. Jay had sent her a message telling her to come up as soon as she got in. Platt had caught her before she could sneak past. "Lindsay, what are you doing?"

"Jay asked me to come up." She pointed to the stairs to Intelligence. She missed that place. Patrol was very humbling and some days the lesser intensity of Patrol was a relief and she had a good partner and she was enjoying it.

"Did he tell you why?"

"No."

"It's not what you think." Platt always sensed that Lindsay was just waiting to be thrown a bone and taken back upstairs. She was a little entitled that way and had Voight still be in charge she probably would have already been back upstairs. Things were different now and both her and Antonio were determined that she was doing her time on Patrol. Special treatment was the old world order.

"Any hints?"

"Oh no." She had nothing, no sarcastic comment to throw out. Her Patrol officers had no idea what had shaken up their Sarge but they were just enjoying the fact she wasn't busting their balls today. It was a rare day indeed at the 21st when Sergeant Platt chose to be nice.

The Bullpen was strangely quiet despite everyone being there. Jay leapt up from his desk and met her halfway. "You need to talk to Burgess." He pointed at the Break room.

"Why? What's happened? Is it Ollie or Daisy?" Erin felt something deep in her gut. Those feelings of panic every time she thought about those kids lately. They had been through so much; Daisy had spent time with them recently when things were rough at home. Daisy and Gracie got on like a house on fire and it was always good to hear them laughing together. Oliver was a little quieter, more subdued and when Erin had talked to Kim about him she had been vague, always telling her that he was doing okay, just a little worried about things at home.

"Just talk to her."

She opened the door quietly, Kim was resting her head back against the small couch and had her eyes closed but she could see that she had been crying. "Kim, honey." Slipping into the seat beside her she grabbed her hands.

"Hey Erin." She slowly opened her eyes. "Did they tell you?"

"Tell me what?"

"That Adam is alive."

"Kim…"

"Erin, Adam is alive. I've seen him, I've talked to him, I've cried in his arms."

"Oh my God. What? When?"

"That's been a pretty standard reaction, except for his mother. She slapped me." Kim felt for her cheek and smiled sadly. Kim explained, for what she felt like was the hundredth time the past few weeks since Al's bombshell. It still felt like some fairy-tale. People did not come back from the dead, except her ex fiancé and the father of her child had done exactly that. Nothing made sense. "Oliver doesn't know yet."

"Does Adam know about him?"

"No. Not yet." Kim told Erin, like she had to the rest of the team that Adam didn't know either and why she was asking everyone to do this for her and for Oliver. Kim was no longer sure if she was doing this all for Oliver or because she was just too scared to let him back in. Was she ready to let Adam back into her life?

"Adam's not the same, he's trying to be but he's been someone else for nine years. I couldn't drop this on him. He needs to come back to Chicago and get his head around things, see his parents. I will tell him, and Ollie."

Erin was the only one who understood and didn't question her. Perhaps being a mother herself she could sense Kim's devastation and the protectiveness of Oliver. Blurting it out would be the easy part, dealing with the fallout should it not go well was harder.

Kim and Adam had spoken a couple of times now. More about planning his return than anything else, they didn't get too deep into his past life and he admitted he was terrified. His world had been violently shaken up on more than one occasion he wasn't sure he was ready to do it all again.

Kim was equally terrified; she was terrified about what this was about to do to her life and her family. She was terrified of what that feeling of being struck by lightening when he held her hand meant. She was terrified about still loving a man who had been a ghost for so long.