Hey, I decided to post this today because I was left broken hearted last night.

Hope you enjoy the update and thanks for your constant support.

Happy reading!

Xoxo,

Nina


The next few days were a real challenge. I had no news. No news at all, about nothing. No update on my suspensión, no update on Voight's case against Willis and no update on the harassment report. NOTHING, and I was begging to get a bit exasperated.

Everyone else had something to do. Hailey was in the middle of her transition between robbery and homicide and Intelligence and she was up to her hands with work, files, applications and everything you could think of. I offered to help her but there wasn't much that she could delegate.

Adam was super busy as well. The unit had taken a pretty difficult case that required them to be working extra hours. I didn't even offer to help him because due to the whole situation I wasn't really allowed to do much, so I wasn't even seeing him as much as I would like.

I was stressed, nervous, anxious and the only one

getting all the benefits from that was Ditta. She loved the fact that she wasn't alone all day and taking her out on walks actually helped me relax a bit, which meant that she was having like ten of those per day. Yeah, Ditta was living the life and I was just trying to survive it.

All that free time allowed me to focus on myself, going to the gym like crazy and really concentrate on therapy, which seemed to be helping control my nerves.

It was late. I was currently sitting on my couch, laptop propped on my legs, scrolling through my email and refreshing the page every few minutes to see if something would pop up, but nothing did.

Changing the focus of my attention was one of the strategies I was trying to use and one of the ads that popped up on my screen reminded me where my head was before the fight Adam and I had. So I decided to take my head back to that place and let life do the rest.

I was so compelled by the research I had going on that I jumped when I heard the chiming of my phone indicating an incoming call.

"Hey." His voice sounded exhausted.

"Hey babe. That case is draining you, isn't it?"

"It is, but we're making progress so I think it'll be over soon."

"That's good news." I left the computer aside for a second and started to pick on a piece of thread popping out in the arming the couch. "Just make sure you rest."

"Yes mom." He chuckled, making me do the same. "I will as soon as I get home. We're still stuck in the district. How about you? Any news?"

"No. Nothing. I'm so frustrated right now."

I heard a deep breath from the other side of the line. He knew how hard this was for me to process.

"I'm sorry darling."

"It's ok. Don't be. I need to learn to be more patient, so it's a good opportunity to practice." I chuckled nervously. I didn't want to practice anything, I just wanted an update.

"Do you want me to stop by your place, have a cuddle?" He trailed off a bit, which gave my head enough time for the dirty thoughts to make their grand entrance.

"Oh god I do. I always do, baby, but even more than that I want you to rest and we both know that's not what you're gonna be doing if you come over." He was laughing now, full on, and that was the reason for the huge smile plastered on my face.

"Okay, okay. How about meeting for lunch tomorrow, then? I miss you."

"Sure. I'd love that."

"I'm gonna go back to check some pods and then hopefully get to my place and sleep."

"Ok. You do that. Dream about me."

"Hmm, that's gonna be one sweet dream."

"Love you."

"Me too."

I stayed in front of my computer screen for as long as my eyes allowed me to. The good thing about that was that my surprise for Adam was finally taking the shape I wanted and hopefully this was going to be a nice break for the both of us.

Ditta sniffing my face was my alarm clock for the day. I was so concentrated on planning the perfect surprise that I must have forgotten to set the alarm in the first place and the fact that my dog was all over the place probably meant that I slept in late and she was dying for a bathroom break. I finally rolled over enough to grab my phone and check the time. It was indeed past Ditta's walk time so I rushed out of bed to the bathroom and got changed, totally ignoring my messages.

The day was beautiful, the sky was clear and it was beginning to get a bit chilly, but be nice kind of chilly not the 'someone please bring me a blanket' type.

As Ditta was happily walking up every tree trunk she could see and peeing in absolute all of them, I took my phone out of my pocket to finally check whether I had any messages or not.

One text message from Adam and an email from the Ivory Tower. Being the coward that I was, I totally ignored the second one and went straight to Adam's chat instead.

Good morning babe!

I know I promised to see you for lunch today, but I don't think I'm gonna be able to make it. Got this lead on the case and we gotta check it out.

I'll stop by your place tonight.

I'm so sorry.

Love you.

He had sent that like three hours ago, which meant that he probably didn't get much sleep last night. Although I was really looking forward to seeing him, this is how our line of work was, keeping our schedules all over the place most of the time and running into most of our plans was a very common thing.

Hey!

I overslept and just got to see your message. Don't worry about it. Hope you guys solve that case soon.

See you tonight.

Be safe and I love you, too.

After replying I put my phone back in my pocket. Yeah, I could have read the email too, but I was procrastinating.

Having to face an answer, whatever the answer was made my stomach turn, so if I had a chance to delay that I was going to take it.

Once in my apartment I left my phone on the kitchen counter and started to do anything I could think of to entertain myself.

I fed Ditta. I cleaned the house. I did laundry and I took a shower. All while actively ignoring my phone, that was until the buzzing made me look at it.

Can't wait for tonight.

His reply made me smile, and to be honest I couldn't wait either. The other thing I couldn't do anymore was act like a little afraid girl. The scariest part was done already now it was time to face it, no matter what the answer was.

With one deep breath I opened my inbox, clicking on the unread email.

As the page loaded I realized that the answer I was expecting was not there, instead I got the time I was expected to show up to finally know what their decision was.

Now, the nerves were real. I wasn't sure if I wanted to call someone one or if I wanted to face this on my own. I had so many expectations and I was terrified that they were not going to happen. I shrugged my shoulders and internally looked for the strength I needed to do this. I owed that much to myself.

-

It was getting dark out and I hadn't talked to anyone since reading that damn email. Well, I exchanged a few messages with Platt but that was all.

I was all over the place, my thoughts were not settled yet and just when I was about to open a bottle of whine and just chill I heard the sound of my doorbell.

"Coming." I screamed out as I quickly ran to the door, opening it without looking through the peephole. "Hello stranger."

His greeting came in the form of a kiss. The arm around your waist, bodies against each other's, wild tongue, having to break away and gasp for air hoping that a freezing shower would pour on top of you to help you regain your normal body temperature kind of kiss.

"That was such a nice hello." I said with still quite some difficulty and he just smiled. His lack of words was making me a bit nervous. "Is that a new shirt?" I asked once I noticed the unfamiliar garment.

"Something like that. I got it a few days ago, but this is the first time I wear it."

"I like it. Dark green looks sexy on you." I added while biting my lower lip. That kiss had definitely set the tone for what I wanted to do for the rest of the night, but apart from that, he looked particularly hot tonight and I was beginning to have trouble keeping my hands to myself.

"I'm glad you think that, because we're going out tonight. I made reservations."

"Oh, wow!" He really took my by surprise. We weren't the typo to go out on dates frequently. We were more likely to hang out with friends, or stay in and end the night tangled up in the bedsheets. "That's a surprise."

"Well, I was bummed I had to cancel my original plans, so I wanted to make it up to you."

"Babe, you know you don't have to do that. I totally understand."

"Yes, I know. I just wanted to take you out, celebrate all the little achievements, show you how extremely proud I am of you." He shrugged. "Is that ok with you?"

"Of course." The kiss was now so much more delicate and short lived. "Give me a few minutes to get ready. You can hang out with Ditta in the meantime."

The restaurant was lovely. It was fancy, but not over the top and I was grateful for that because it allowed us both to be comfortable. We ate, joked, flirted, laughed, flirted a little more until the conversation turned a bit more serious.

"I have news." We said at the same time and looked into our eyes, showing surprise and started to laugh immediately.

"Ladies first." He said gallantly as he extended his left hand forward curling it around as if he was granting me the permission to speak.

"I…" Playing with the fork and the plate I continued speaking. "I went to the Ivory Tower today."

"Oh."

"Um, yeah. They emailed me, asking if I could make it this afternoon. I didn't tell anyone because I felt I needed to go and face this demon on my own. I don't know if that makes sense or not." I shrugged and still avoided his look. "Plus, you were all so busy today that I didn't want to bother you."

"Kim. You don't need to justify your actions. You did what you felt was best for you." His soft voice was drawing me to look at him, and thank the stars I did, because the calmness that he transmitted to my soul was immense. "How did it go?" His hand found mine to squeeze it lightly.

I let go of a breath I had no idea I was holding in and smiled. "It went good." I was overwhelmed. Hearing their veredict today was a lot but repeating it now made it so much more real and I was sure that I was going to start crying in no time. "They revised all the reports, all of the evidence and found him guilty, which granted me full liberty from his chain of command."

Yup, the tears were right there. Lined up to make their grand entrance.

"Oh my god! Kim! This is amazing news. You did it! You fucking did it." He was ecstatic, the happiness beaming out of him. He was celebrating this victory as if it were his own.

"Yeah. It is amazing. I don't even know how to describe what I'm feeling right now."

"Did they say anything about your suspension?"

"It was waived off. They said something about that due to the current state of my bureau, they still didn't know where I was going to be transferred, but that I was going to have an answer in the following days, so I'm still pretty much in the woods regarding that, but I don't care. I really don't. All I care about is that justice finally did its thing."

"You have no idea how happy this makes me. Seeing you like I'm seeing you right now, is everything I wanted. Gosh." He couldn't contain himself. He got up and went straight to kiss me. "You're amazing."

"Thank you, but I don't think I would have done any of this if it weren't for all the support I had. Especially from you. So, it's really me the one who should be thanking you. You are one truly wonderful man, Adam. I love you so much." I reached for his lips and lightly cupped his cheek. I know we weren't making a scene but people were surely watching us.

"I love you, too."

We both smiled until he finally took his seat again.

"So, what are your news about?" I asked intrigued.

"Well, I might have an idea as to what the status of you bureau is." I just started at him quizzically. What was he talking about. "You know? What they told you in the Ivory Tower?" I nodded. "Voight was all over the place today. I mean, apart from being invested in the case we're working on." He made a quick pause to take a sip of his drink and absentmindedly licking his lip, action that made my mind go to dirty places. I really couldn't control myself with this guy. "Anyway, the thing is that later during the day, he called me in to let me know that Internal Affairs concluded that my injury could have definitely been avoided and that Willis' call was intentional since they were able to prove that he had a good visual of what was going on inside the warehouse, which ultimately led to Voight winning the case."

"That's great news! But what does that have to do with Robbery and Homicide?"

"IA is stating that Willis isn't fit to run it, so they stripped him away of his position and they are not sure what will happen to the unit yet. I'm guessing that's why they told you to wait a couple of days."

"Oh wow. I never saw this coming. Kind of feel bad for everyone that had nothing to do with Matthew's lack of judgment and crappy behavior. I am glad though that he finally got what he deserved."

"Me too. And the rest of you will be rewarded, just wait and see. Let life do its thing." I observed him as he spoke and smiled with a warmth that completely filled my heart. I was always in awe of those moments where he sparked wisdom through his words and actions.

"Let's hope so. For now, I decided to enjoy the present, and I think I have plenty to be thankful for today." I took a sip of my wine and searched for his hand. I needed to be in contact with him. "Anyway. How was your day? Were you able to rest?"

"Today was crazy but very productive. We ended up calling Upton in to give us a hand. It was sort of her first official case with us."

"And what was that like? Hailey is the best at what she does. I'm so happy that she made it and is working with you guys."

"It was great to be honest. We got really far, I think will be able to solve this one shortly." He looked down before finding my eyes one more time. "Who knows, maybe now with everything that has happened you can join us too. I can talk to Voight to see if there's any possibility."

"Please don't."

Adam looked at me as if I had just said the most offensive and insane words in the planet. "Don't get me wrong. Being in intelligence is what every cop in Chicago dreams of and I do too, especially after getting a taste of what it's like to work alongside you guys." I took a deep breaths "But look where I'm coming out of right now. I was put in a position where people judged me, without knowing me or my history, because apparently I was where I was because of my relationship with Willis. What are they going to say now if you talk to Voight?"

"People can say whatever shit they want, Kim."

"Yeah, I know. Just like I also know how good your intentions are, but I'd rather let life sort this one out. Whatever happens happens and it'll be for the best." I knew I sounded super confident but I was actually just trying to reassure myself as I pronounced every word.

"Ok. I can work with that. You deserve the best darling, and that's what you'll get." He blew a kiss and was quick to change the subject. "I'm gonna ask for the menu to order dessert. Any ideas of what you may want?"

I was in such a good place right now, that I was thrilled to recognize myself again as I spoke. Wild and fun Kim was slowly coming back to life and I loved the fact that Adam was the one unconsciously motivating me to do that. "Yeah, I know what I want." I leant over the table, putting my face as close as I could to his and whispered out the rest of my sentence, trying to prevent the neighbors from listening to me. "I want to go have sex with you. Right now."

He looked a me with that god dammed lopsided smirk and raised his hand calling the waiter's attention.

"Excuse me? Can I get the check, please?"