"Adam?" It took about four rings before the sleepy voice answered. "Are you okay?" He squinted at the clock, it was a little after 3am.

"Mr Ruzek."

"Kim? Where's Adam? Is he okay? Kim, Kim?"

She had barely left his side. Once he collapsed she called 911 again and they got her to check his airway and get him into the recovery position, which was no easy feat. Adam was a dead weight. Briefly she rushed to the door and unlocked it so that the paramedics could come straight in. Faintly in the quiet of the night she could hear the sirens in the distance but they sounded miles away. "Adam, Adam. Open your eyes." She was on her knees beside him, watching him struggle for every breath. He was cold and clammy, his breathing shallow and rapid and he was quiet and that worried her the most.

At least he groaned when the paramedics rolled him onto his back and he briefly opened his eyes as they rubbed his breast bone to elicit a pain response. The bruise was getting darker and it was obvious that he was bleeding internally. Kim knew the two paramedics by sight but didn't know their names. "He's a cop, from the 21st, we both are." Kim reminded them hoping that it would get them preferential treatment. Not that they weren't doing their best but it at least made Kim feel better, she didn't know what else to do and had to do something.

"Are you coming with us? You his NOK?"

"Yes. Can I ride along?" Kim did not hesitate with the little white lie. She grabbed his phone, wallet and keys along with her own and followed the gurney out to the back of the bus. Jumping in once Adam had been loaded, he was still struggling to breathe even with the oxygen mask on and was completely unaware of what was going on. They had obtained IV access in case they needed it and hit the lights and sirens, priority one.

"How long have you been together?" Alex, the paramedic asked once they were under way. Kim hadn't take her eyes off his face nor let go of his hand. It was a tactic they all used to try and get people to relax.

"Sorry? What?" It took a few moments for Kim to realise he was talking to her.

"Six years, on and off." She forced herself to smile. "He's been driving me nuts for six years. It's been a bit rocky but we are finally sorting it out so he really needs to hang around so we can get to the good bits." Kim rambled at little. "He's the love of my life."

"Looks like it." Alex chuckled. "I've seen a lot of confessions in the back of this rig." He winked at her and Kim blushed a little. She realised that he didn't believe that Kim was legally his Next of Kin but that wasn't his priority. Getting him to hospital alive was his only job.

Kim was relieved to see Marcel Crockett on duty as they wheeled him through the doors. She stood to the side as the paramedics filled him in on Adam's vital signs and then he turned to her. "What happened Kim?"

"He was shot today, took it in the vest and he was fine, a bit sore. Then he woke up about an hour ago and couldn't breathe and he then collapsed. What's wrong? Is he going to be okay? You need to save him?"

Briefly Crockett rested his hand on Kim's shaking arm as she wrapped them around herself. "We'll do everything we can. You might want to wait outside."

"No, I'm not leaving him." She shook her head. "Please?"

"Okay." He agreed on one condition. "For now but if I need you to leave, you need to leave."

It didn't take them long to diagnose that Adam had a collapsed lung, and an ultrasound of his abdomen revealed some internal bleeding and he had two cracked ribs. The bullet had done more damage than the superficial bruise on his chest.

Crockett spoke to Kim. "He's going to need a chest tube, he has a large pneumothorax, and he will need surgery just to stop the bleeding, we aren't sure where it is coming from. We are sending him up shortly but you can stay with him until then and he'll then probably go to ICU for a few hours."

"Is he going to be okay?"

"He's got a good chance." That filled Kim with no confidence. She didn't want to hear he had a 'good' chance, she wanted to hear that he was going to be fine. "We'll know more in a few hours."

Kim tried to stay and watch them insert the chest tube but the moment they cut into him she had to leave, she couldn't bear to see his blood and look so helpless and lifeless. A world without Adam in it was too hard to comprehend. Not now, not after everything they'd been through, this wasn't over for them.

Adam was sedated for the procedure but as soon as they re-inflated his lung his breathing started to return to normal and when Kim came back in to sit beside him it was a relief to see the steady rise and fall of his chest. It was calming, he wasn't out of the woods yet but his color had returned, his breathing was more regular and he was warm again to the touch.

They were giving him blood to replace the what he'd lost and he still had an oxygen mask on but Kim could touch him and he was alive and that's all that mattered.

When they came to take him upstairs to surgery Kim was reluctant to let go of his hand. She didn't want him to feel like he was alone. Being alone in hospital was one of the worst feelings in the world. Holding onto his hand she bent down and whispered in his ear and she felt the slightest squeeze of her hand and she knew Adam was still with them.

Bob Ruzek hadn't always been a fan of Kim's but they buried the hatchet when she fell pregnant with Adam's baby. He saw how happy his son was and he was looking forward to meeting his new grandchild. When they lost it he was one of the first visitors Kim had. A father knew when their own child was head over heels in love and hurting Adam loved Kim so he could either get on board or miss out.

She had gone back and forward whether to call him now or wait until she knew he was out of surgery and going to be okay, but she had no idea how long that was going to take and eventually being alone got too much for her so she called his father.

"He's going to be fine. Adam's going to be okay." She was trying to convince herself as much as she was his father. "He took a bullet to the vest today and there were some complications and his lung collapsed. He's in surgery right now. I thought you should know. He doesn't want me to call anyone, but you should be here."

"I'm on my way." He paused for a moment. "And you Kim, are you okay?"

Kim felt a little embarrassed when she burst into tears. "He has to be okay, Adam needs to be okay. I can't…."

"He's not leaving you Kim, he's going to fight. I know he will."

He was out of surgery quickly and in ICU within the hour, he had a small laceration to his liver which was quickly repaired and they weren't expecting any problems now. She irrationally checked the machines that were beeping away. It was not like she knew what it all meant but they were steady and regular and nobody seemed particularly concerned so she took it as a good sign. "Kim." He groaned without opening his eyes.

The nurse smiled at her as she stepped forward and reached for his hand. "I'm right here."

Using his free hand to pulled at his oxygen mask. He winced a little and his mouth twisted into a half smile. "Me too."

Kim replaced his mask. "Don't speak, just rest. Your Dad is on the way."

"Thanks."

Kim brushed his hair back, he'd be annoyed that it looked so unkempt. She didn't love it at the moment, it was a little long and she preferred him with shorter hair but it was soothing running her hands through it. "Just sleep hey. I'll be right here."

"Okay." He squeezed her hand again. "I'm glad you..." He drifted off.

Kim put her head down on the edge of the bed and closed her eyes. She dozed off for a few minutes until a hand on her shoulder shook her awake to tell her that Adam's father had arrived and was wanting to see Adam but they weren't permitted to let more than one patient in at a time. Adam was asleep and the nurse informed her that he was still stable.

Bob Ruzek was pacing the waiting room. "Kim…" he rushed at her when she pushed through the door.

"He's okay Bob, he's sleeping and he's okay." Kim was surprised when Bob pulled her into for a hug. They may be on better terms but it had never been an affectionate relationship. "I told him you were coming. Go on through."

"What happened?"

"We were chasing a suspect, Adam called for back-up and they didn't roll. He got shot, took it in the chest, it didn't penetrate the vest and of course being Adam he refused to get it checked out. He got knocked another couple of times but he was fine and he was at home and suddenly he couldn't breath and collapsed. I called 911 and they got him here quick, he's got a chest tube in, some internal bleeding from his liver which they repaired and a couple of broken ribs."

"Why didn't patrol roll out?" She was surprised that was what Bob picked up on. "Was it the Atwater thing?" That shocked her even more, that he knew about it but it made sense. It was all over CPD that Atwater was going up against the blue wall. He'd tried to talk to Adam about it when he first heard but Adam refused to listen. Atwater was doing the right thing and he was going to back him no matter what it cost. "I warned him."

"Atwater was right, he is right. This is not his fault."

"No?"

"No, and don't you dare say that to Adam." Kim wasn't about to cede ground to Adam's father. He was an old school cop and Adam had talked about that with her several times, that while he admired his Dad he wasn't his Dad, he was a different type of cop in a different time. "It wasn't Kev's fault and what you should be proud of is that Adam refused to let another cop and his best friend twist and be hung out to dry. Because I am damn proud of both of them, I'm damn proud of Adam."

Bob held up both his hands. "Am I not allowed to be worried about my son?"

"Why don't you go and see him." Kim didn't want to get into it right now. One thing she did know was that the older Ruzek didn't love the fact Adam was in Intelligence at all and carried more than a few grudges. It was another reason she had only called his father so far. If Bob Ruzek arrived and saw that Intelligence were already there it could've got ugly.

Kim wasn't quite sure what to do with herself while Bob was in with Adam. She thought about calling Kevin but he had enough on his plate and already blamed himself for Adam's injury. Voight was more than she could handle right now and she didn't think anyone else would appreciate a 4am phone call, they hadn't shown a lot of concern to date. Platt was an option but then that would trigger a whole CPD thing that she knew was coming in the morning regardless so decided to put that call off for as long as possible, so she paced up and down instead.

Bob didn't stay long, he spoke to Adam briefly and he hadn't said much as he was still a bit out of it. He would be back in a couple of hours once Adam was out of ICU and he had to organise to take his next shift off.

By the time Kim got back into see him he was a sleep and she touched his arm which made him stir and he was a little more alert when he opened his eyes. "Ah, there you are. Prettier than my old man." He now had nasal prongs in to give him oxygen which were still annoying but better than the mask.

"You must be feeling better." She kissed his forehead softly.

"I am now." He tried to move a little and grimaced, he was uncomfortable but moving was proving to cause more pain so he decided to stay still. "You look tired."

"Well now…" she pulled up a chair close to the side of the bed. "I've been awake all night."

"You know, if I'd known all it took to get you to sleep over and get a confession out of you was to get shot I would've done it myself a long time ago."

Kim chuckled. "Phew." She wiped her brow. "Now I know you are going to be fine. You are flirting with me."

"I am." He closed his eyes and exhaled slowly. "And…" he opened them again. "I heard you earlier." Rolling his head to the side he waited while Kim looked at her hands and eventually lifted her head and stared straight at him. "…me too."

"Yeah?"

"Yes, Kim. Its time stop all this shit." He beckoned her closer and waited until her face was just inches from his. "I've always loved you too."

"It feels good doesn't it?" Kim pressed her lips against his softly, terrified of hurting him.

"And...did you propose to me? Or was I dreaming?"

Kim blushed a little and looked down at their hands which were entwined and lying on the stark white hospital sheets. "I promised you that the next time you asked me to marry you I wouldn't say no. That's all."

He just smiled. "Great my plan worked then."

"What plan was that?"

Adam winked. "Almost get myself killed so you'd finally realise that your life without me in it would be empty and hollow."

Just a quick little two-shot to do what the writers on the show refuse to do...to advance Burzek's relationship. They are sitting on a goldmine with these two & seem too stubborn to do anything about it.