It seems a little strange to post this now considering the last few weeks on the show, but I thought what the hell. It's fiction right, which means I can make this go anyway I want. Maybe it won't be as angsty knowing we can just go & watch the past two episodes to make us happy. It's about damn time. I never thought I'd be in a world were they are happy & together. Wow, such a head spin.

Kevin flipped the toothpick over to the other side of his mouth, he leant back in his chair and placed both hands clasped on top of his head and rubbed it briskly. "I got a vibe and I didn't like it."

He leant forward quickly, laying both his hands flat on the table. "What do you think?"

Adam lowered his voice. "I think we need to be very careful who we talk too going forward."

It had bugged him all night. The moment Kevin mentioned Deputy Miller. "I saw she's back from leave, I heard she's looking to join IA."

"Who told you that?" Jay asked, a little too quickly.

"Word on the street." Adam shrugged, instantly on alert. It was almost a permanent state of his lately, particularly if it involved Kim or anything closely related to that whole incident. "Maybe she wants to sort out shit, the way they dropped the ball with the Roy thing. Her son was murdered as well so I get why she wants to sort them out."

"IA handed it off to the FBI, they closed the case." Halstead tone was clipped and he looked like he swallowed something unpleasant. "Anyway, you going to watch the game tomorrow night?" He changed the subject without a hint of subtlety. "We've got some sweet tickets so hopefully it's not a blowout. Just need nothing to jump off at work, be a shame to waste those prime seats."

Now they'd both stewed on it overnight and came to the same conclusion. There was a reason nobody was looking into this case. Adam started to feel even more uneasy. He'd always thought it was dropped too quickly. The fact Intelligence wiped their hands of it within a day or two had never made sense.

The fact that he'd watched Kim slowly disintegrate had only made it worse. Voight knew how it was effecting her, he'd put her on desk duty and then administrative leave because of it but still showed little interest in pursuing the case. Giving Kim some closure and sense of peace just didn't seem to be a concern for anyone.

Agent North came and went. They were all interviewed and there was some hope that it would mean that someone was interested in finding out what happened to Roy Walton but he just vanished. "Case Closed." With no explanation how or why.

The rumour was that Roy was dead, but that just made Adam and Kevin more curious because the official files were classified and they couldn't confirm it. Were they sorry he was dead, not in the slightest but why the secrecy? Why the half-assed investigation? Why did nobody care about Kim?

She then lost her daughter because the lawyer for her Uncle convinced the Judge that Makayla was still at significant risk because of the unknown whereabouts of the man who attempted to kill Kim and the trauma of Kim's injuries on the young child who'd already seen her birth mother murdered. Yet still nobody wanted to touch the Roy Walton mystery.

That all just drove Adam harder. Kim pushed him away every day for weeks on end, even now she just seemed to tolerate him being around. Slowly she was more willing to engage in life again and they did have some longer conversations but never about Roy or Makayla.

Kevin exhaled. "So what now?"

"I'm gonna have a chat to Deputy Miller."

"Bro, that's risky man, you turn up at the Ivory Tower and hole up with Miller someone is going to talk."

"Never said I was going to the Ivory Tower." He tapped his nose. "I'm a UC cop and a good one. Don't you worry about it. What you don't know won't hurt you."

"Be careful Bro."

Adam was even more determined. The more they learnt or suspected the more it steeled his resolve. "Ride or die. You can walk away at any time."

"Will you?"

"No."

Kevin didn't hesitate. "I'm not either."

He made a quick stop on the way to the District and Kim was already at work when he came in. Kevin was leaning on the edge of her desk trying to engage in conversation while Kim was reading her emails diligently.

"Where'd you get to?" Kevin nodded at Adam as he picked up his coffee mug and grabbed Kim's from her desk. Her mug was still half full but cold and he did it out of habit, he'd make her fresh cup which would also go cold.

"Needed gas man." Adam flicked him off. Kevin knew it wasn't true because he was with him when he filled up yesterday, he got the message loud and clear though. He didn't need to know.

Bringing back both cups of coffee Kevin did comment that he was miffed he never got asked. Kim smiled at Adam just a little. "Thanks." She took one mouthful and pushed it aside. Everyone could see she'd lost weight lately. Not that she had much to lose in the first place but commenting on it was futile, if not a little life threatening.

He dropped a cookie on her desk as well and winked. "Last one." She probably wouldn't eat that either but he never gave up and Kim appeared to tolerate it now, or more precisely, she ignored it. There was not point telling him to stop because he didn't and the only one getting frustrated was Kim so it was like an uneasy peace.

When they grabbed their jackets to head out to a crime scene he noticed that the coffee was still on the desk, a cold mug of dark mud and the cookie was untouched. Adam and Kevin glanced at each other. They'd already had her collapse once on a case from lack of food and dehydration. Fortunately it had only been the three of them on the scene and they kept it quiet as long as she promised never to let it happen again.

When they got into his truck he leaned over and opened the glove box and pulled out a protein bar. "Eat this."

She shook her head. "I'm not hungry."

"Don't care." Adam held it out until Kim reluctantly took it, turned it over in her hand a few times before unwrapping it. "Thank you."

The only other words Kim uttered were to read out the rundown of what they were heading to as far as they knew it. "Home invasion, two victims were inside the house at the time and suffered gunshot. Male, white, early 70's was DOA, female, white, mid 30's is en-route to Med in a critical condition. Found in the upstairs bedroom, house wasn't ransacked, no signs of forced entry."

"So old man is doing a younger woman…. Pissed of ex? Pissed off adult kids? Pimp?"

"I guess that's what we need to figure out."

"What do you think?" He tried desperately to engage her. In the past they could at least speculate about what might have happened. Now every conversation was such a struggle and it was exhausting.

"I really don't know."

Adam decided to keep going and he watched her from the corner of his eye as he drove. "I'm going with old guy, young wife, pissed off kids motive."

Kim didn't even turn away from the window, she just kept staring out at the traffic. "Funny, I thought you'd be more on the hooker pimp angle."

He offered to bet on it but Kim shook her head. She pointed to the upcoming street. "It's on the left here, take the next left."

"You seeing Mack on the weekend?"

Kim shrugged.

"I thought it was all sorted?"

"What's the point?"

"Makayla is the point. If you want to get her back, and you will you have to make the most of every single moment." Adam reminded her again. "She loves you so much, and I know you love her."

"It just hurts Adam."

He touched her leg briefly. "It really does."

"So you said you had to pick Kev up and then arrived without him?"

Adam was surprised she had even taken notice of what he said that morning. More times than he could count that he'd told her things and Kim just didn't pay attention. "Nice detective work."

"So?"

"Had something to take care of, is all." Adam smiled sweetly. "Don't want to ruin the surprise."

Kim rolled her eyes and pointed out a parking space ahead. She barely waited for the car to stop before she was out and striding towards the crime scene tape. Flashing her badge the young cop lifted it for her to step under as Adam jogged to catch up. "She seems nice."

Adam glared at him. "Thanks." He muttered. "You could learn a lot from her."

Kim had already decided that Intelligence would take the case by the time Adam joined her. She ran through the basic details and they interviewed the cleaning lady who called it in before Adam reminded her that they had to let the team in. "Sure. You call them."

By the time they all arrived Kim had basically figured out what needed to be done. It seemed a slam dunk, everything was pointing to the male victims adult daughter, who according to the neighbours was a 'piece of work.' And didn't like her father's new younger wife.

Voight listened to Ruzek run through things while Kim was still talking to a witness. "Okay, you take point."

"Ah, Burgess is all over it. She'd be better to run point." He offered.

"I can do it." Halstead offered. "Burgess….." she stopped when Ruzek glared at him. He wasn't in the mood for a scene. Kim had been all over it from the moment they got here, she hadn't missed a thing and she was just as capable as anyone else on this team. It annoyed him that they treated her like glass at times but still refused to show any interest in dealing with the one thing that was hanging around her neck like a millstone.

So Burgess took it and by the end of the day they had made an arrest, his daughter was caught trying to board a plane out of the state and ended the night in their holding cell charged with two counts of murder as her step-mother hadn't survived the surgery. It was a brutal, but thankfully quick case.

Upton stopped by her desk as she was heading out. "Open and shut cases are nice and easy. If only they were all like that."

Kim smiled tightly. Why did every comment feel like a back handed compliment? Like she was getting a participation award just for turning up and doing her job. It was exhausting. Right now though everything felt like it was loaded and she just didn't have the time or energy for it. Neither did she want to invite conversation, with anyone, she just wanted to do her work and go home and wallow. "I guess that's why you wanted to take it hey?"

Lately she had been happy to work solo, which Voight rarely permitted or just with Adam for as long as possible. She physically baulked at working with anyone else, including Kevin. If she did, if Voight mixed them up she said as little as possible and kept it strictly business. Kevin accepted it but both Upton and Halstead bailed Ruzek up about it and that was fine, but going to Trudy was a wrong move.

Kim had asked him about his foul mood when he got home after talking to Trudy but he mumbled something about her being on his back about his expense reports… 'for the thousandth time.'

"Adam." She called him back as he tried to slip through the foyer unnoticed. "Got a minute?"

"Not really." He tried to brush her off but the look she gave him was pretty obvious that he wasn't avoiding whatever conversation she was about to have with him. "What is it Sarge?"

"Burgess? She okay?"

"Yep."

"It's just…" she leant forward, not wanting the whole District to hear, even if she'd heard it from those very people. "… it's come to my attention that she's a little subdued, a little…" she waved her hand "… not quite on her game."

"She's focussed that's all. Keeping herself busy, ya know. Don't worry about it."

Trudy beckoned him even closer. "It's gonna get back to Voight or the Tower at some point."

"What is?" Adam was annoyed now. He knew exactly what Trudy was talking about and he was pissed that they were talking about Kim behind her back. "I know everyone is worried, but don't do this." He pointed his finger on the desk angrily. "Don't do this to Kim."

Trudy reached for his hand and held it briefly. "I won't, but just know people are talking and it's getting louder." He just smiled sadly and nodded. "I just want you to know what's going on around you while you are focussed on one thing. Look after our girl."

It felt like it was up to him to keep it together at the moment. He really needed this to end, they needed to figure out what went down that night and give Kim some closure. Once that was done perhaps there would be a chance for her to get Makayla back where she belonged. With Kim, with them.

Or at the very least Kim could stop sleeping with the light on.