There were sixteen chairs in the waiting room, eight pictures on the walls and it took forty-five steps, give or take to walk the entire room. The coffee was possibly the worst coffee she'd even had in her life. There was a café across the road but Kim couldn't bring herself to leave the building.

She scrolled through her camera roll and deleted all the blurry, crappy photos she'd kept and copious shots of recipes she was never going to cook. Ignoring all but one message on her phone she sent Voight one to let him know that Adam was in surgery and she'd let him know when he was out.

They'd told her between 30 minutes to an hour so when it ticked over an hour and a half Kim started to panic. She'd checked with staff hoping they had just forgotten to come and get her but Adam hadn't come out yet and her stomach fell through the floor.

Forty-five steps and she counted every single one of them over and over again.

"Kim Burgess." She jumped when she heard her name being called from the door.

"Yes." She literally ran across the room. "Is Adam okay?"

"He is." The nurse led her down the hallway. "He bled a little more than they were expecting and dropped his blood pressure but he's stable now and waking up asking for you."

"And, everything else?"

"The Doctor will come talk to you both shortly." That filled her with no confidence whatsoever and her heart started beating rapidly. Kim had steadfastly refused to believe that this wasn't all going to be over today. He'd have his testicle removed, it would come back benign and that would be the end of it. They'd get on with life and joke about this for years to come. She wasn't going to lose Adam, not again, not now.

Adam had his eyes closed, he was still hooked up to a blood pressure machine and his heart beat steadily. More steadily than Kim's was. He filled the bed; his presence was always immense and he filled any room he was in, not only physically but with his personality as well. The thought of a world without Adam in it was impossible. Even when they were on the outers with each other she always felt his presence around and that was strangely comforting. It took her a while to realise that he'd always be under her skin.

Brushing his hair back from his forehead she kissed it softly. It was a little more blond at the moment, the sun always bleached it during the warmer months and she liked that it was a bit longer so she could run her fingers through it.

"Sweet." He muttered with his eyes still closed.

"It could've been Voight." Kim kept stroking his forehead tenderly.

"He doesn't kiss like you do."

"It scares me that you know this."

Slowly he opened his eyes. "See I was right." Kim kissed his lips this time.

He drifted off to sleep again muttering away to himself and as well as asking where his phone was, if the Blackhawks won and that her he loved her and that she was the hottest chick he'd ever pulled. Kim pulled up a chair and sat watching him with a bemused smile on her face.

While he was sleeping he at least looked calm and peaceful and maybe he wasn't worried but Kim was out of her mind.

Kim shook his arm gently when the Doctor arrived.

"Well Adam, you seem like a bit of a drama junkie in surgery. There was a little more bleeding than we'd expect and your blood pressure took a hit so we kept you in recovery a little longer and we will keep you here for a couple of hours." It felt like he was building up to the bad news. "We removed your right testicle and the tumour and popped in the prosthetic so you will feel a bit sore for the next few days. We'll have the pathology results by tomorrow so you'll need to come back in for a follow up, we'll check the site and make sure that's all good and have the results and then look at the next steps."

"Any hints, gut feel?" Adam just wanted to know. This uncertainty had gone on long enough.

"It would be unfair to take a guess. We removed it intact though and I know it felt large to you but it really was a small tumour considering."

Dr Provost may have felt positive but Adam didn't share his thoughts. He felt deflated and mentioned to Kim that he didn't think this was ever going to end and if she wanted to bail she could.

"I'm not going to bail Adam."

"You need to go back to work. I'll be fine."

Kim had already decided she was going to have tomorrow off as well. Adam couldn't drive anyway so would need someone to bring him to his appointment. He wasn't going alone. There was no way he was catching an Uber so unless he suddenly clued someone else in, like his father or sister or heaven forbid his mother then he was stuck with Kim.

Before he was allowed to leave he had to eat something, drink some fluids and pass urine and the nurse also had to check to make sure there was no abnormal swelling or discolouration which would indicate bleeding.

Apparently it looked 'good' and Kim was asked if she wanted to take a look so that she knew what normal looked like. Adam laughed nervously at the awkwardness of it and tried to read Kim's face and by the shocked look he realised it wasn't a pretty sight. "That bad? I know you have issues with its appearance at the best of times but you don't need to look like you are going to puke."

"I am not going to puke." She slapped his leg playfully. "It's never been a work of art to be honest."

"I can see why you became a cop rather than a nurse." He was amused, or the very least trying to be. He had visions in his head of it looking like elephant man and although he had some pain relief on board he could get a sense of how swollen it must have been by the feeling between his thighs, it felt enormous. He couldn't bring his legs together properly. "How bad is it?"

"Well Babe, I'd hold off on the nude photo shoot for the CPD calendar for a while."

The nurse didn't even try to hide her smile. She was used to listening to all manner of conversations as patients were coming out of anaesthetic but these two were cute.

"Hey nurse Rachet." Adam called out to Kim. They'd been home a couple of hours and while Kim wasn't a nurse she took her nursing duties very seriously and had a checklist and followed them to the letter, even setting her timer on her phone to ensure Adam got the ice-pack at the precise moment it was due and was removed promptly when the timer went off. His pain meds were given when they were due, whether Adam felt like he needed them or not. He wanted to push through the pain like the vast majority of men, apparently pain meds were a sign of weakness but Kim refused to listen and just stood in front of him holding the pills in her hand until he gave in and took them. Then his pillows were adjusted, the remote was close, his phone on hand and his game controller. Kim always made sure he had a glass of water topped up beside him.

"A thank you Kim would suffice."

"Yes, thank you Kim." He scoffed. "Does that little book of horrors you are reading from say anything about avoiding coffee because if I don't get a coffee things are going to get ugly."

"Let me look." She actually picked up the book and tried to find something on what he could drink.

"Kim." Adam snapped. "All I want is a fucking cup of coffee, for fuck's sake." He hadn't had one since the previous night when he insisted on having one right before midnight when the no food thing kicked in. He didn't care if it kept him awake all night, it was highly unlikely he was going to sleep well anyway so he may as well be caffeinated.

"Don't talk to me like that." She warned him and he apologised and instantly tried begging instead. He really, really needed a cup of coffee.

Kim allowed it, she wasn't a complete bitch she did have some sympathy for him. Having given up coffee while she was pregnant she knew what he was feeling, those few weeks were horrific. Decaf didn't cut it.

Adam apologised again for being an ass when Kim bought him over his cup and insisted that she sit down with him and rest for a moment, she was rushing around finding things to do just to keep busy and it was exhausting watching her. Kim sat the in chair opposite him and it did feel nice to relax for a minute. "You scared of me?"

"No, I just don't want to hurt you, bump you or anything."

"So it's not…"

Kim shot him a withering stare and Adam took a mouthful of coffee instead of finishing his sentence. He wasn't sure what scared him more, the looming threat of cancer or the fact that Kim might not see him as complete anymore. It was probably irrational but he felt he'd earned the right to be a little irrational at the moment.

"By the way we are having Lamb and Lentil Biryani for dinner." Kim wasn't going to entertain his pity party. "and a salad."

"Can we have it without the lentils? I'm not a lentil fan."

"No. You need a high fibre diet and plenty of fluids, it will help your…"

"Yes, I know." He held up his hand. "Were you like this in school? The model student who followed all the rules. You would've been a hoot in group projects."

"Most people appreciate my effort and enthusiasm."

"I appreciate your effort, I appreciate everything about you and I really appreciate the last few days. You know I would have ignored it if it wasn't for you. I don't want to let you down again." No matter what state he was in or what was going on he always managed to flirt. "As for your enthusiasm, it's one of my favourite things about you." Wiggling his eyebrows suggestively until Kim laughed.

"Well I am your fiancé." She thought now was the best time to bring it up, she didn't want to just drop it in some random conversation but it had played on her mind a little.

"Yeah." He looked a little sheepish. "Sorry about that. Freudian slip, wishful thinking, insanity. Call it what you will."

"Sweet, I thought it was sweet and I really liked it."

He wasn't expecting that. He just assumed that she had ignored it deliberately. "Yeah?"

Kim blushed. "Yeah."

Before either of them had the chance to say anything they were interrupted by a knock on the door. "Please tell me you've ordered take-out?" The last thing Adam wanted was to see anyone. As far as everyone was concerned he was Undercover and not contactable and he was a little annoyed. It also pissed him off that it came right at the moment when they finally were being honest with each other.

"Nope. I swear Adam, I haven't said a word." Kim helped him up so he could take himself into the bedroom until Kim worked out who it was and try and get rid of them. He wasn't ready for visitors, no matter who it was. It was a slow process and walking wasn't the most pleasant of activities.

Kim was expecting Atwater or maybe his father. Kevin was pretty clued into both of them and Kim had gotten several messages from him during the day which she duly battered away. She had stomach flu and that was her story and she was sticking to it.

She never expected to see Voight on the other side of Adam's door. "How is he?"

"He's good." Kim glanced over her shoulder and Adam hadn't come out. "Not ready for visitors yet."

"And?"

"Finds out in the morning. Sorry Sarge." Kim had no idea what she was apologising for. "He's feeling a little sorry for himself."

Voight reached out and squeezed her hand quickly and then put them in his pockets. "Let me know if I can do anything." He turned quickly and left. It was a little bizarre and she closed the door quietly and went in search of Adam.

He was lying on the bed with his eyes closed and smiled just a little when Kim lay down beside him. "That was Voight."

"I know I heard him."

"I wasn't sure if you wanted to see him or not, sorry…"

Adam rolled his head to the side so he was looking at Kim. "You are the only person I want to see."