Kim had been home for twenty minutes, her blood pressure was through the roof and she was furious.

The dishwasher filled with clean dishes did nothing to help her current mood, Adam had promised to empty that morning. He had stopped her from emptying it and told her to go for a quick run that he'd handle it.

Yep, he handled it alright.

He blew it off.

In the grand scheme of things it wasn't a big deal, normally the dishwasher was one of Deacon's chores. He didn't have many but he was required to keep his bedroom clean, to make sure his dirty laundry found its way to the laundry room, and to load and empty the dishwasher. He also was tasked with vacuuming every Sunday, he earned a modest allowance for his efforts, an allowance he rarely spent. He clearly didn't inherit his uncle's propensity for spending, he was careful with his money and only occasionally did he spend his money. His last big purchase had been a hundred fifty dollar pair of soccer cleats, Kim was reluctant to drop that much on cleats when his feet seemed to grow a size with every passing week.

Deacon was gone and Adam offered to do it, only for him to not do it. Which on any other day it would annoy her but she'd get over it pretty quickly.

Not now.

It just added to her anger.

She was still slamming the cabinets when Adam finally walked in.

Kim barely glanced at him over her shoulder as he leaned against the side of the fridge, he cleared his throat

She finally acknowledged his presence. "You're home." Kim grumbled.

"Yeah" Adam shoved his hands in his pants pockets, "I was wrong. I'm sorry. I was a dick. I shouldn't have spoken to you that way, I shouldn't have walked away from you. I feel like I'm drowning.." his voice cracked a bit, "he's slipping away..."

Adam's tears were her kryptonite, seeing the tears as they filled his eyes pushed her anger aside, her heart was breaking for him, "Baby..."

He lost it and was sobbing uncontrollably, Kim grabbed a hold of him and held on to him, "It's okay..."

"I love him...I love him like a son. I don't want to let him go..I don't want to lose him" Adam managed to choke out.

Kim pulled back, "You're not losing him, Adam. He's not slipping away, he's with his mom. Adam, he adores you. You're his rock." Kim kissed his cheeks, "Mia is his mother and he adores her just as much. Despite all her faults, Deacon loves his mother."

Adam dipped his head to kiss her, "I" He kissed her again, "Don't." He held her face in his hands staring intently into her eyes, the eyes that could bring him to his knees and the eyes that soothed his soul, "want to talk about her." He kissed her once more, a kiss that made his intentions known, he pulled her against his chest. "I am so sorry...I love you."

Kim hummed against his lips, "I love you too..."

Kim balanced the coffees in one hand and the bag of muffins in the other, Deacon was scheduled to be the first surgery of the morning but a nasty car accident had bumped him. They'd been at the hospital since before sunrise and now it was pushing noon and Deacon had just gone back.

Adam had vowed to not eat anything in solidarity with Deacon who was absolutely starving as only a preteen boy could be, now that he had gone back it was time to feed the beast that was her husband.

A hangry Adam wasn't a fun Adam.

A chocolate chip muffin and a coffee would have to be enough, while Adam was starving Kim was a nervous wreck. She had no desire to eat, she'd eat when Deacon was out of surgery and his arm repaired.

"Hey Baby." Adam jumped up to help her, "thanks" he took his coffee from her kissing her quickly as he did so. "The nurse just called. Deacon is out cold and they're starting the procedure. Said it take about two hours maybe two and a half start to finish." He took a bite of the muffin, "Shit this is good. Thanks."

Kim crossed the waiting room and delivered one to Mia, "Here you go. I didn't know what you liked so I just grabbed a muffin for you. Adam is picky when it comes to his coffee, I didn't know if you were the same. If it was a Ruzek trait." Kim chuckled nervously. "How was our boy last night?"

Mia picked at the muffin, "Thank you. I'm not much of a coffee drinker. The muffin is perfect but I'm a bit too nervous to eat" she forced a smile, "He was okay, he had a hard time sleeping. I don't think he could get comfortable."

"I imagine not. That splint on his arm was massive." Kim swayed from side to side, "I should get back to Adam."

Mia held the muffin up, "Thanks again."

"She okay?" Adam asked Kim when she returned.

"She's hanging in" Kim ran her hand over his thigh, "you should talk to her."

"Nah I'm good." Adam rested his head against the wall and closed his eyes. He had barely slept the previous night and he still felt like shit for blowing up on Kim. He had done his best to make sure she knew just how sorry he was. It still gnawed at him though, "I'm sorry..you know that right?"

"I do" Kim smiled, "You need to stop apologizing." She paused, "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"How come you never told me about Mia?" He had never mentioned her during their relationship, she had heard all about his mother and she knew Bob. Correction she had been introduced to Bob and had seen him in passing at crime scenes and on the rare occasion they ended up at the same bar or function. Adam always kept him at arms length and Kim never pressed him about it.

"I don't know. She never came up"

Kim glared at him, he knew that wasn't a sufficient reply. "I guess cause I'd forgotten about her to be honest" he could see the doubt in her eyes, "It's the truth. I was just a kid when her mother took off. I don't think she was much more than three or four. I asked my mother about her once and she lost her shit. So I never asked again."

"She was just a little girl, your mother didn't like her?" She still hadn't met Adam's mother and she had given up on meeting her, she had little desire to do so. It didn't help that she had ignored the invitation to their wedding celebration.

Adam sighed, "She's the product of one of my father's numerous affairs. She hated Mia's mother, so she hated Mia. My pops just let them go..so I did too. Until she showed up on my doorstep begging for help."

"You helped her." Kim leaned into his side, "You must've liked her then."

"Maybe. I guess a little bit. It became clear why she showed up on my doorstep. She needed me to fix her mistakes. Like a fool I did it. I did it for my nephew though, that time in my life was awful. I hated myself. I couldn't stand to see my own reflection, I hated being in my own skin." Adam explained, "My father he did a number on her..I thought I could help her..it just got to be too much.."

"I hate that you went through that all on your own." She turned in her chair, "it's all over now. Mia is in a good place, she's sober. She's got a solid job and nice apartment. It's time to let all of that go, put behind us and move forward. Deacon will be going back to his mom, and knowing Deacon as I do. He won't go if he thinks it will hurt you. You need to forgive Mia, Adam."

"Do I?"

"Yes. You do. Don't do it for her, do it for Deacon and yourself."

"I don't know if I can."

"You can. I know it. You're a great man, Adam. You've been an amazing uncle to Deacon. It's time to let go of the past." She knew her husband better than he knew himself sometimes, "you were just a little boy Adam, you did nothing wrong. You couldn't save Mia. You couldn't stop your father from turning his back on her. His mistakes..they're not yours. Please Adam, let it go."

This woman at his side? He adored her, "Thank you." Adam kissed her, "For loving me...even when I'm an unlovable asshole."

"Baby..you're never unlovable..."

Adam laughed, "Ouch..I'm an asshole, eh?"

"Sometimes. You're my asshole though, and I love you."

"Uncle Adam!"Deacon perked up a bit as soon as Adam walked in, "They fixed my arm"

Adam kissed his head, "That's awesome pal."

"It still hurts a little bit." Deacon adjusted the pillow beneath his arm, "I get to go home in a few days, and then soon they'll put a new cast on. I can even pick the color, I want a blue one."

"For the Cubbies?" Adam asked.

"No." Deacon shrugged, "For you. Aunt Kim too. Blue for cops."

"That's sweet of you Deacon." Kim rubbed his foot, "You look sleepy."

"He's still a bit groggy, the doctors said it's expected. It's a side effect from the anesthesia." Mia looked between Adam and Kim, "Well, I should get going." She had already told Deacon she'd be going home, "I will be back tomorrow to visit, if that's okay."

Adam stopped her, "Stay."

"What?" Mia arched an eyebrow at him, "I figured you or Kim would like to spend tonight with him. I will go."

"No." Adam told her, "You should stay. You're his mother. You should be here." Adam felt Kim slip her hand in his, "We will come back in the morning."

"Thank you Adam." Mia smiled, "Thank you."

This was a hard one for me to write hence the delay, it's a bit of a filler and not my best work.