Kevin was sitting at his desk when his phone lit up. When he looked down to see who was calling, he noticed Kim's name. "Hey Burgess, what's up? Everything okay with Ruz?"

"I don't know Kev. He's been real moody today. We've been dodging fights all morning and he just made me leave." Kim vented.

"Sounds like Ruz. I'm sure it's nothing personal. He's just going through a hard time."

"I know. But I'm worried about him. Seems like he's shutting down. He's giving up Kev." Kim

"He ain't giving up, Kim. That boy don't give up on anything. Maybe he's just having a bad?" Kevin suggested.

"Maybe." Kim sighed, knowing it was more than just a bad day. "You still planning on swinging by after shift?"

"Yeah. I should be out of here around 3:30."

"Okay, perfect. I don't want him to be alone too long and I don't know if it's a good idea for me to go back today. I think we both need a break from each other." Kim admitted.

"No worries. I'll go straight there. Might be able to get out a little early too if I tell Voight what's going on." Kevin replied.

"Great, thanks Kevin. Please don't tell him about this conversation either. I don't know if it's just me or everyone but the smallest things are setting him off."

"Don't worry, Burgess. I won't say a thing." Kevin said goodbye and hung up before busying himself back in his paperwork.

He finished early, getting everything done just after 2:00. He stood up from his desk and walked over to Voight's door and knocked. "Hey boss, mind if I cut out early? Ruz is alone at the hospital and Kim seems worried about him."

"Kim's not there with him?" Hank asked.

"Nah. He kicked her out a few hours ago. I don't have too many details but I was gonna head over for a visit." Kevin replied.

"Sounds good. Let him know we're thinking about him." Voight said.

Kevin was heading to Adams room when he was stopped by Will.

"Kev, hey!" Will called out.

"Hey, Will. Everything okay?" Kevin asked worried.

"As okay as it can be I guess. Kim said he's been real cranky today. After he kicked her out, I walked by and noticed he was crying. I decided to give him some space and just let him cry it out. He passed out about an hour ago. I went in to check on him after and everything seems to be holding steady so that's a good sign." Will told him.

"Thanks for the heads up."

"No problem. Try not to wake him when you go in there. He's still pretty weak and needs as much rest as he can get."

"I'll go in quietly. Thanks." Kevin smiled.

Kevin quietly opened the door to Adam's room and took a seat. Seeing Adam like this was still hard. Despite him getting better every day, he was still a little pale and looked almost lifeless as he slept.

He was there for almost two hours before Adam finally woke up. "It's about time you opened them eyes." Kevin tried to joke. "I almost thought you were gonna sleep through my whole visit."

"Hey Kev." Adam replied, not even acknowledging Kevin's joke.

"How you feeling?"

"I've felt better." Adam admitted.

"I heard you got feeling back in them legs. That's great news." Kevin smiled.

"Definitely a huge relief."

Once again, Adam didn't seem as excited as he should be, prompting Kevin to ask "Why don't you seem excited about that?"

"I am. It's just hard to be excited when I'm in constant pain, Kev. Sorry I'm not doing cartwheels and somersaults over regaining feeling in my legs."

There it was. The attitude Kim warned him about. Kevin just let it go though. He knew Adam hated being in a hospital. He was about to see if Adam was up for watching the cubs game tonight, when Will walked in.

"Hey man. Feeling any better?" Will asked.

"Not really." Adam admitted. He was tired of acting like everything was getting better.

"Well, it's only been about week." Will reminded him. "It's gonna take some time for you to start gaining some strength back and feeling normal."

"Can I ask you something?" Adam asked.

"Yeah, anything." Will answered.

"This rehab place… Do I have to go?"

Will sighed and pulled up a chair. "It's not mandatory that you go, but it is highly recommended. It'll get you back on your feet a lot quicker."

"If I go…" Adam paused. He was dreading the answer, but he was at the point where he needed to know. "Will I, uh, Will I be able to return to work?"

That was the one question Will was dreading. "I actually wanted to talk to about that." He paused. "I'm not saying no… but it's a lot more complicated than a yes or no answer."

Adam and Kevin just looked at Will, waiting for him to continue.

"As you know, the one bullet is lodged in your spine…. With the location, we weren't sure if you would even regain feeling in your legs. Now that you have, you have a pretty huge decision to make." Will paused again. "You have regained feeling in your legs, and with a lot of physical therapy, you WILL walk again." Will elaborated on the will, but if we leave the bullet, you won't be able to return to the field. Maybe in a desk job capacity, and even that is a big maybe. It would be my recommendation that you receive 100% permanent disability."

Adam felt like he was going to through up. "Permanent disability?"

"One wrong move, Adam… That bullet could shift and permanently paralyze you." Will informed him.

Kevin wished like hell there was something he could do for Adam, but right now, he didn't even know what to say to help.

"And if you take it out?" Adam asked.

"Taking it out would be extremely risky. It would be a very high-risk surgery. Right now, you have feeling. You will walk again, but if we do the surgery, there is a pretty good chance that a nerve can nicked in which case, you WILL be permanently paralyzed." Will warned.

"And if a nerve isn't hit?" Adam questioned.

"If the surgery is successful, there's a very good chance you make a full recovery." Will answered honestly.

"And if I leave it, will there always be pain?" Adam wasn't sure if it was all psychological or if he could actually feel the pain where the bullet was lodged, but he didn't like it.

"Right now, you still have a good amount of swelling, but down the round, if you decide to leave it, it wouldn't be uncommon to experience some discomfort." Will replied. Adam was more than just his patient. He was his friend, so he felt more compelled to be completely honest with him. "There's no rush on making a decision, Adam. Think it over, talk it out, ask me any questions you might think of, then we can decide."

Adam just laid there, taking all this new information in before replying. "Thanks, Will."

Kevin looked over at his best friend after Will left and could see his mind going a thousand miles a minute. "What are you thinking?

"I'm thinking this sucks." Adam retorted.

"It's a tough decision man, but we'll support whatever decision you make." Kevin really wanted to be supportive of Adam no matter what he decided.

"Thanks Kev. Do me a favor and don't tell Kim yet. I don't need her nagging me about this too." Adam felt like Kim was smothering him. Every little thing he did or said she picked up on and had a comment about it. It was driving him crazy. He knew she was worried about him and just trying to help, but sometimes she was just too overbearing.

"Secrets safe with me, bro. I won't say a thing." Kevin replied.