Daisy had her tongue hanging out while she was concentrating on getting the scissors to stay on the line. Any chance Daisy got to sit with her mother and do crafty things was a good day in her books. Kim usually loved it, but today she wanted to be anywhere else but sitting at the kitchen table surrounded by a mountain of glitter, stickers, feathers, glue and randomly chopped up pieces of paper. Oliver had decided it was a day for building with his Lego and had locked himself away in his room where Daisy would leave him alone, she loved to help him and he quickly got annoyed with her when she did.

"Mom." Daisy furrowed her brow as she tried to get her mother's attention. "Mom."

"Yes sweetie." It was only when she put her hand on her arm that Kim realised that she had been speaking to her.

"I'm hungry. Can we have lunch?"

Kim looked at the clock on the wall and was surprised that it was almost one. Well past lunchtime, but they had eaten breakfast late so it was no surprise. Shuffling aside a pile of papers she made her a sandwich and cut up some apple and did her best to focus on listening to Daisy while she ate her lunch.

She picked up the phone for the hundredth time and apart from a message from her sister she had nothing.

Last night he had told her that he'd call. He had walked her to her car, carrying Daisy for her who had been completely wiped out. He was so gentle with her and Kim loved the way he had taken the time to get to know her and Daisy had quickly fallen under his spell. When he had bought her home from their date she had been so excited and had clung to Adam for the rest of the day. Steve hadn't loved the news that Daisy had been out with him but Kim just ignored it and didn't even bother to tell Adam about it.

After putting her in the car he let Kim buckle her in while he made his way around to the other side and talked to Ollie. He promised that he hadn't forgotten about his assembly on Friday. Then waited and closed the door as Kim got in. "Be safe and I'll talk to you tomorrow." He squeezed her hand. "We'll get there." She'd had so much hope. He'd turned her world upside down last night and now he was MIA. She always got an early morning message from him, as did Oliver and today they had nothing.

"Hey." He croaked. Kim had finally given up waiting for him to call. She had admonished herself for acting like a schoolgirl; this was ridiculous behaviour for a fully-grown adult. She wasn't this pathetic when she had a crush on Jimmy Cramer in 9th Grade.

"Wow, you sound rough?"

"I am very rough." He sat up and took a quick look at the clock on his phone and lay back down just as quickly when his head felt like it was going to explode. It was well after lunchtime and he'd been out cold for the last six hours.

"Good night after I left then?"

"You could say that. I got home as the sun was coming up." Slowly he forced himself out of bed.

"So I woke you up?"

He just grunted and she could hear that he was moving about and listening to the tap running she assumed he was getting some water. He was a big one for hydration after drinking, annoyingly so at times. "What do I owe the pleasure of this call? You were freaked out weren't you?"

"No." When he said nothing eventually she filled the silence. "A little bit."

"I haven't forgotten."

"Or changed your mind?"

"I haven't forgotten or changed my mind." He muttered finding that talking was almost physically impossible.

As soon as he walked back into the party the shots were lined up. He slipped on the old Adam Ruzek mask and picked up the glass. As the days went on that mask and his old skin was getting easier to wear.

"So Kim?" Halstead had basically asked what everyone else was thinking before he had even swallowed his first mouthful.

He shook his head as the amber liquid stung his throat and burned it's way down to his gut. "What about Kim?"

"You and her?"

"We are not sleeping together. We are just working through a lot of shit. Mainly my shit and then there is Oliver, that's my focus, it has to be." He'd made it very clear from the start that Oliver was all that mattered but as they settled into that rhythm it was getting harder to separate the two. It was getting harder to stay away.

"So things are okay?"

"I guess." He shrugged and slammed down another shot. "She's got enough going on with her ex. I don't need to complicate that anymore than it is."

Steve hadn't got any easier to deal with. He had threatened to take Daisy away from her, knowing full well he didn't stand a chance and so did Kim so she never took it seriously. Talking to his parents had eased her mind somewhat and they did admit that he left her with them a lot of the time on the weekends and they kept a close eye on him when she was around. She did contemplate pulling the pin on that arrangement but Mary and George would be devastated.

But he had just complicated it, big time. They'd spent another hour or so together at the party, close enough to feel each other's presence. The odd touch, smile or quietly spoken word but that was it. They were under scrutiny, every set of eyes in the place was watching their every move and that was pressure that was not needed.

"Are you still coming for dinner tonight?" Kim asked suddenly.

"Sure." He didn't exactly sound enthusiastic and Kim picked up on it. Perhaps she was a little hypersensitive at the moment.

"Don't sound so excited?"

Adam sighed, rubbing his forehead slowly. "Kim. I've just woken up, I've got a hangover that would kill a horse and I need to take a leak. I'll see you tonight." He hung up abruptly.

Adam threw down his phone and gripped the edge of the bench, letting his head sag. "Fuck." He growled to himself. He'd taken the lid off and now there was no way he was getting this genie back in the bottle. He had to pump the brakes; he needed to slow this train down but they had been hurtling down this track for weeks now.

Unfortunately he couldn't help himself. Controlling himself as far as Kim was concerned was like attempting to hold back the tide. He was tired of fighting it and perhaps it was time give in and just go with the flow.

Kim was standing in the kitchen dishing up dinner. She asked Oliver and Daisy to go wash up and Adam came and stood behind her, trapping her against the bench with his body pressed into hers and his hands holding her hips steady, he let his fingers find their way under her shirt and she jumped when they grazed her bare skin. "Need some help?" Kim could barely stay upright. It had been awkward when he first arrived, very much like when you were a teenager and your first ever date showed up at the house. Fortunately Daisy had thrown herself at Adam and he went off with her in search of Oliver, which allowed Kim to disappear into the kitchen and try and calm her nerves. She was doing fine until now, now that he was so close yet still so far away. They had so much to talk about and waiting for that opportunity was god damn painful.

"Umm, you could see if the kids are ready for dinner."

"Smells good." His breath tickled the back of her neck. "So do you."

"Adam, go." She pushed him away with her hip.

Once dinner was done Adam insisted on Kim putting her feet up while they all organised dessert. While the kids scooted through to the kitchen Adam stayed behind of a minute. Crouching down in front of her he beckoned her to lean forward and kissed her softly on the cheek before smiling smugly and leaving her frustrated and besotted.

All Kim could hear from the kitchen was a lot of laughing and carrying on and dishes crashing about. She had missed this, the absolute joy she got from hearing her children happy. She wanted to be in there with them but she had been banished on the threat of death by tickling and Daisy had been very stern when she told her to stay put.

Daisy came bouncing in carrying a bowl of ice cream covered with sprinkles and M&M's. "Where's my Gummy Bears?" She asked after thanking Daisy for her sundae, she had always loved Gummy Bears and never had a sundae without them. Everyone had their favourites. Daisy loved sprinkles, Oliver loved M & M's and Adam had everything.

Daisy looked like she was about to burst, she even put her hands over her mouth to try and stop herself talking to little avail. She looked at Adam and Oliver and they just shrugged. "Adam hid them." She blurted out before she clapped her hands back over her mouth.

Adam and Oliver both rolled their eyes. It was precisely what they expected to happen, as soon as you told Daisy it was a secret she was bound to let it slip, she just couldn't stop herself. "You hid my Gummy Bears?" Adam and Oliver both shook their heads, looking innocent but they shared that same cheeky grin that she adored.

"They are in his pocket." Adam laughed at Daisy, it had lasted less than three minutes. She was literally jumping up and down in front of Kim unable to control herself. The joy in this house at the moment was perfect; it had been a long time since her home felt this light. Laughing happy children were like a drug, she was addicted to it and the fact that Adam was leading them was the icing on the cake.

"Oh, you wanted Gummy Bears on your sundae? Why didn't you say?" Kim was really hoping her children were completely oblivious to his blatant flirting and the insane sexual tension that was filling the room. "Come and get them." Holding his hands out wide he issued her a challenge and was a little surprised when she jumped up from the couch and approached him with a look that he hadn't seen in many a year, a look that suddenly had him feeling all hot and sweaty. If this was pumping the brakes he wasn't very good at it. This was crazy and unbelievably hot and sexy and an unstoppable force.

Oliver and Daisy were too busy shoving ice cream down their throats to care what was going on with them. Kim kept her eyes trained on his face as she slipped a hand into the pocket of his jeans. Holding herself steady with one hand on his chest, her fingers just catching the skin of this throat as Adam sucked in a deep breath "Do you know what you are looking for?" He knew he was playing with fire the moment he stuck them in his pocket.

"Ummm. My Gummy Bears."

Adam leant closer and his breath hot as he growled in her ear, his voice dripping with need. "That's not a Gummy Bear."

"Oh, I know." It seemed like all bets were off at this stage.

Kim suddenly pulled her hand away and he laughed, a little painfully. He shook it off and sat down beside the kids and grabbed his sundae. "It's melting, you might want to get down here and join us." Tugging on her hand Kim joined them on the floor and they continued their little dance as they watched each other eat their sundaes until they were both pulled into the kid's world again.

"Got anymore Gummy Bears for me?" Kim shoved her hands in her pockets so that he wouldn't see how much they were shaking and leant on the doorway to the kitchen. Adam was finishing off the dishes and the sight of him standing at her sink looking like he belonged made her heart beat just a little bit faster. She had put the kids to bed, read Daisy a story and talked to Oliver for a bit. He was happy that Adam seemed better today and so was she. He was so desperate to help his father it sometimes took Kim's breath away at how far they had come and how quickly their relationship had developed.

He didn't even turn his head. "Come and find out."

Adam glanced over his shoulder as she approached and took a deep breath as she slipped her hands into his front pockets. The whole house, the whole world seemed to just stop in that moment. "Adam."

"Yes. Baby." His body reacted to her touch almost instantaneously; neither of them could miss it.

"There are no Gummy Bears in your pockets."

"No, but I do have something for you."

"Oh I can feel that."

Adam took the gloves off and pulled her hands out of his pockets and turned to face her. He dug his fingers into her hips and pulled her flush against his body, he had no idea how he was going to stop this train, or if he even wanted to. "Thanks for dinner."

"That's really what you want to say. Thanks for dinner?"

"No." He slipped his hands into the back pockets of her jeans and made sure there was not a skerrick of space between their bodies.

"Mommy." Kim jumped a little at the sound of Daisy's voice. Adam let her go and he turned back to the sink. He rested his hands on the bench and tried to let his breathing return to normal and his body relax, which was easier said than done. His body wasn't co-operating and it was a very uncomfortable few minutes.

"What's wrong Daisy?" Adam could hear the frustration in her voice and he was glad it wasn't just him that was feeling it.

"I feel sick. I need a bucket." It was a pity that she waited just that little bit too long because no sooner had Daisy asked for a bucket she started gagging and Kim had just enough time to grab a pot that Adam had just washed and catch the contents of Daisy's stomach. Kim rubbed her back while she finished and then cuddled her as she dissolved into tears.

"Oh baby. Too much ice-cream and excitement for you I think."

"Can I do anything?" Adam was hoping she said no, because he was a little horrified. It had certainly sucked all the sexual tension out of the room. It was like having your mother walk in on you when you were sixteen and about to finally nail your first girlfriend. That killed it dead, just as the vomiting four year old had just done. He guessed this was the nasty side of parenting that no one ever talked about. The un-fun side that he hadn't had the pleasure of experiencing just yet. Kim kept telling him that being a parent wasn't all sunshine and roses and he had just found out that sometimes those roses had bloody big thorns. Daisy's timing was impeccable.

"No, it's fine." She handed him the pot and he looked mortified and even gagged a little at its contents. "I'll take her up to bed. Can you just grab me a bucket from the laundry?" He took it up to her room and stood and watched as Kim settled her into bed, stroking her hair softly but when Daisy started gagging again he was out the door and back downstairs like a rat up a drainpipe, leaving her to it.

By the time Kim came back down Adam was asleep in the lounge. "Hey." Leaning over the back of the couch she ran her hand through his hair. "You should go, you're tired. My night has taken a turn for the worse."

"How's Daisy?"

"Asleep in my bed."

"Lucky girl." He pushed himself up and stopped beside her and ran his thumb across her lips before kissing her passionately, so much so he left her gasping for air. And then he left.

He must have barely got home when he sent her a message. 'Do you know how much my whole body is aching for you? Do you know how much my heart, my precious heart is beating for you? Do you know how much I love you?'

He also added 'PS – I hope Daisy is okay? Call me if you need me to wash any pots for you.'

A/N: Daisy's timing was a little off….