Kim laughed when Adam finally hauled himself out of bed. "Wow, how does Al look today?" His hair was sticking out at all angles and he was barely wearing his boxer shorts. "Your eyes look like two pee holes in snow." She handed him a glass of water and two Advil's as he staggered out of the bedroom.

"I hope he looks as shit as I feel." He muttered as he lowered himself down on the couch. Even walking from the bedroom to lounge had been a huge effort. His head hurt, his stomach churned disturbingly and he felt like he had slept for about an hour.

She had let herself in and that had woken him up. Adam had given her a key when she was back and forth after his Dad died. Kim offered to give it back to him but he told her to keep it. "So you two had a good night then?"

"Yes, Al looked after your special needs project just fine."

"Well Sweetheart if the cap fits."

"Harsh Burgess, very harsh." He reluctantly accepted the toast that she handed to him. "How was your shift?" He nibbled on the corner of the toast, unsure if it was going to stay down. They had certainly tied one on last night. And if he didn't remember the three empty bottles of red was reminder enough.

"Fairly quiet actually." Kim made a start on cleaning up the kitchen. "I got another new partner."

"And?" He swallowed hard as the toast threatened to make a reappearance. Red wine was not his favourite choice of beverage but Al had insisted. The old man was a creature of habit and loved his Red Wine. Now that Adam's hangover had really kicked in he remembered why he stayed away from the stuff.

"He's married."

"Good." Adam grimaced as Kim dropped something in the kitchen and the sound reverberated through him in his fragile state. "You don't have to do that."

"Well it looks like a bomb went off. Did you actually use every single pan?"

"Al got here early so I hadn't finished cooking and once we started drinking it got a little out of control."

Kim left him to his own devices for a few hours before lunch to go to the gym and run some errands. By the time she got back he was up and dressed and they headed over to his Dad's place to see his Aunt before she left. He was still feeling like utter crap but lying around wasn't helping either.

Adam promised to come up to Minneapolis soon and bring Kim with him. His Aunt had taken a shine to her. He could understand that, he had a particular fondness for her also.

"Have you seen your Mom?" Kim was a little surprised when she hadn't seen Adam's Mom at the funeral at least. She knew that he had spoken to her since his Dad's death but was surprised that he hadn't mentioned seeing her.

They were headed to her place to pick up some clothes. Basically she had moved in with him for a few days or at least was spending most of her time at his place. It was a familiar pattern that they had just fallen back into and now it didn't seem as bad and she almost laughed at how ridiculous it now seemed that she let it get to her.

"No, I guess it would ruin her 'Zen' state."

"What does that mean?"

Kim had met her a few times and knew that she was a little alternative but this seemed extreme. Adam was her son, he'd lost his father and while obviously there was no love lost between her and Bob, he was still Adam's father. "She's just back from her month long Hippie fucking Yoga Retreat and being around Dad's family would 'seriously ruin her vibe.' And we can't have that."

"She did not seriously say that?"

"Of course she did. It's her way. It's always been about her." Since Adam could remember she would only ever do something so Adam if it didn't interfere with her life. She'd often reminded him that she had sacrificed so much of her life and dreams because she'd had Adam and now it was her turn to have a life. Janet, his mother was a lot younger than Bob and her pregnancy had been a shock. She was nineteen and they'd hastily got married and because Bob was just graduating from the Academy she'd put her plans for college aside and been his mother.

Adam often felt like he was more of a burden to her than a son. "My Mom never really wanted me around, I was a burden and a reminder of the life she never got. Then she went all hippie and I was just an annoyance that she couldn't wait to get rid of."

"I'm glad she had you."

"Good to know." He smiled sadly. The scars of his childhood were deep and Kim regretted that it had take all this angst to get to this point, the point where they could understand each other on the deepest level. She was starting to see what made him tick beneath the surface. If she'd known this earlier perhaps they wouldn't have put each other through the wringer, perhaps things would have been different. It was as much her fault as his. Adam obviously didn't like talking about his childhood and she was happy to just to enjoy the Adam he let her see. "Seriously though, I don't need her shoving her crystals, motivational quotes and calming mantra's down my throat right now."

Kim was now hunting around for a clean pair of work pants. Her place hadn't got much attention lately and she would pretty much throw her clean clothes on the pile on her bed and scramble through them at the last minute. "And you had a go at me about my place?" Adam was lying on the spare corner of the bed watching her starting to panic. "Will I see you later?"

"I don't finish until 1230."

"So come and crawl into my bed. It's neater than this." He nudged a pile of clothes with his foot. "And apparently I am on my own tonight." He had talked to Atwater and they had caught a case. "Work has jumped off so my babysitter cancelled on me."

Kim playfully threw a pair of socks at him. "Are you going to be okay?"

"Kim, I'm fine. I am actually looking forward to it. I haven't had more than a few minutes to myself in days. There is a game on and a couch with my name on it, as long I know you'll be there later."

He felt her come in but after his late night with Al he crashed early. Adam remembered asking her about her night and if she was okay before they both feel asleep.

"What's up?" he asked sleepily as Kim sat up quickly beside him.

"I can't find my shirt."

'What?"

"I obviously got hot and took it off, I can't find it." She had the sheet clutched tightly to her chest as her hand searched franticly for her top.

"Soooo…" he opened one eye. "Are you telling me that you are practically naked? How did I sleep through that?"

"I need my shirt." Kim sounded panicked. Adam leant over to turn on the light. "Don't." she cried clutching the sheet tighter around her.

"Kim. Just breathe." He placed a hand on her arm. "Lie down and breathe."

Kim forced herself to lie back against the pillows but kept the sheet pulled up high around her neck. Adam kept what little distance the bed allowed. "Close your eyes." He whispered. "And just breathe."

Gradually her breathing slowed down and they stayed there in the silence until she was calm again. Adam edged closer and she felt his fingers at the top of the sheet and her breathing started to become more ragged. "Don't think about anything. Keep breathing." His voice was soft and soothing.

His fingers brushed over the newly healed skin of her burn. It was barely even a mark anymore but emotionally she felt like it was red and raw. It was an ugly reminder of an ugly time in her life. A breath hitched in her throat and she tried to focus on the sensation of his hand on her rather than the thought of him touching that painful memory. He moved slowly, he didn't try to push her too far or too fast.

Every night they had spent together so far had been the same. Kim got changed in the dark and always wore a t-shirt to bed hiding that part of her from him. If this was going to work she had to move past it. He constantly told her that he didn't care about the scar and Kim would nod and tell him that she was not ready and he would accept that.

When he felt her relax he kissed her softly before letting his mouth wander down and kiss the spot where his fingers had been laying. "It's okay." His breath was warm against her skin and Kim sank down into the bed and let a sudden calm wash over her.

He inched his way back up and found her lips again. It wasn't long before he pulled away. "We should stop."

'We should." Adam flicked on the light and found her shirt. Handing it to Kim she pulled it on quickly and lay back down beside him. "You are so patient with me and my neurosis."

"You are not neurotic."

"I feel like I am especially about this. I mean I can't pretend that it's not there and that it didn't happen but I'm scared that you will see it and turn away. I am scared that I will see that look in your eyes…" Adam silenced her with a kiss. He tugged on the neck of the shirt and looked at the scar before kissing it also.

"Adam. Please don't."

"Please don't what?"

"It's too soon."

"I know." He rolled away. "I just want you to know that I don't care about that, it's part of you, part of what now makes you who you are. We are going to figure this out one day at a time. Some days you are going to want to rush this and some days you won't. I'm the same. Yesterday I wouldn't have been able to control myself waking up and finding you half naked in my bed, but today this is enough."

"Some days I feel like we are never going to get there."

"We will." Kim rolled into his side and for a while they lay together in absolute silence.

"This whole year thing." Kim broke the silence. It had been comfortable and she felt like it was now or never to tell him how she felt about his suggestion about putting off the wedding talk. "I feel like we are taking a step back."

"We are. We have to take a step back."

"Why?"

"Because just a few months ago you were with someone else. You didn't want to be with me anymore. I rushed into proposing to you because I loved you and couldn't imagine a life without you in it, I still can't."

"Are you scared of marriage or scared of being married to me?"

"I am scared of being like my parents. I want to make sure we can do this because I don't think I could stand having my heart broken again." He rolled onto his back and rested one hand behind his head. "And I don't want to hurt you again."

Kim had one hand tucked under her cheek as she watched him. "So?"

"So, you've got a choice to make. I know what I want, I want to be with you but if you can't wait or think that I am not committed to you then you can walk away now before either of us gets in to deep or gets hurt again." The look on his face was one of determination. He knew, without a doubt what he wanted but what happened next was up to her.

Kim closed her eyes for the briefest of moments and when she opened them Adam was looking at her and his eyes were glistening. "I want this. I want us to be together." She scooted closer and rested her head on his chest. "I need to be with you."