Chapter 4 – Reinstated

(Just for reference - this chapter takes place during season 3, episode 4)

It was 8:30 PM. Kim had been working for over twenty-four hours straight. She was pretty sure she was become delirious. With gloved hands, she picked up a small handgun and logged the number on the computer that was written on the tag attached to the gun. She placed the gun aside and started on the next one. She had been working on inputting the information for hours. That was after coming off a double shift. Once she finished typing up the information for another gun, Kim stood up. She needed to stretch. She brought the bucket of cataloged guns that she just completed across the room. She looked back. There were still half a dozen buckets to go. Sighing, Kim was about to go back to her small work station when she heard someone running in. She looked to the door. Before she could register what was happening, Adam had burst through the door, ran over to her, wrapped his arms around her, and began to spin her in the air.

"Adam!" She exclaimed. "What is going on?

He planted her back on her feet and kissed her. She barely had time to react.

"I'm back," he said a moment later.

"What?"

"I got my job back. My gun, my badge, everything."

Kim smiled. "That's amazing! How?"

"Platt. It was all Platt."

"What did she do?"

"I don't know and I don't care. All I know is I'm back, baby."

He twirled her around once more before kissing her a second time.

"I'm so happy for you."

"We're all going to celebrate at Molly's. Come on."

Adam grabbed her hand and tugged on her arm for her to follow him, but she didn't move.

"I can't. Not right anyway."

"Why not?"

Kim looked around the room. "I have to finish."

"The case is closed, Kim. This can wait until tomorrow."

"I'm back on regular shift tomorrow. Besides, Platt wants this done tonight and I don't think we're in any position to ask her for another favor."

"I guess you're right."

Kim wrapped her arms around Adam's neck.

"You know, I could get this done a lot faster if there were two of us."

Adam glanced at all of the guns still waiting to be cataloged. He knew it would take a while and the last thing he wanted to do was sit there and catalog guns. Just as Kim had worked three shifts, he had been stuck at the precinct for the same amount of time,

"I want to celebrate," he stated, almost whining.

"Ok. I get it. Look, why don't you go to Molly's with the guys and I'll meet you there when I'm done."

"You sure?" He asked.

"Yeah. Just give me…an hour."

"Ok. I'll see you later."

He leaned in and kissed her gently.

"Bye," she said.

Adam waved as he jogged out of the room. Kim could see the skip in his step. He was happy, which made her happy. Taking a deep breath, she turned back to the task at hand. She would be lucky if she finished with the guns in an hour.

Ninety minutes later, Kim trudged to the front desk of the precinct, her bag slung over her shoulder. She had finally finished with all of the guns. She dropped the computer on the desk in front of Platt.

"They're all in there," Kim said.

"How come you're not at Molly's celebrating with boy wonder?" Platt asked.

"Because I was finishing with the guns like you told me."

"The case is closed, Burgess. Those guns could have waited."

Kim sighed. "Now you tell me. Have a good night, Sarg."

Kim turned around to leave, but then stopped. She knew she couldn't leave without saying one more thing. She turned back to address Platt.

"Need something else, Burgess?"

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"Adam told me that it was you who got him reinstated. So thank you. It means a lot to him. And to me."

"Yeah, well, don't get too sappy with me."
"Never. Why don't you…join us at Molly's tonight? After all, without you, there'd be no celebration."

"I'm flattered you want to hang out with me, Burgess, but I drew the short straw tonight. Someone's got to man the desk."

"Right, of course. See you tomorrow, Sarg."

Kim turned again to leave.

"Hey Burgess?" Kim stopped and looked back at Platt. "You really going to meet your man looking like that?"

Kim looked down at her outfit. She was in Jeans and a T-shirt. It wasn't the fanciest thing she owned, but it was more than appropriate for Molly's. Kim didn't know what Platt was referring to.

"What's the matter?" Kim asked.

"You look like hell."

"Maybe because I haven't slept in over twenty-four hours."

"Yeah, well, if I were you," Platt began. "I wouldn't show up to my fiance's celebratory party looking like that. You do still want him to want to marry you, right?"

Kim opened her mouth to speak, but then decided it wasn't worth it. She stormed off to the locker room to look at herself. She stopped in front of a mirror. She looked as good as she felt. Her hair was a mess and she had large bags under her eyes. Even her skin looked tired. She dropped her bag, unzipped it, and dug through until she found her makeup bag. After running a quick brush through her hair, she began applying cover-up, blush, and mascara. When she was finally through, she looked back at herself in the mirror and decided she looked as good as she was going to get.

Kim snuck out of the building. She didn't want to run into Platt again and get her opinion about her new look. Kim hailed a cab and gave the driver Molly's address. When she got to the bar, it was packed. The entire Intelligence department as well as various firefighters and other regulars were all drinking and having a good time. Kim spotted Adam sitting at the bar. Halstead was on one side of him while Kevin was on the other. They were all doing shots. Kim approached them.

"Hey, babe!" Adam shouted above the music and noise when he saw her.

"Hey."

"Somebody get my woman a drink."

Kim could tell that Adam was already drunk. She was glad he was having a good time, but she felt too tired to deal with him being drunk.

The bartender produced a beer for Kim. She thanked him and took the beer, sipping it slowly. Drinking it too fast would probably result in her becoming more tired, not buzzed. Halstead gave up his stool and Kim sat down next to Adam. He talked to her briefly before turning to brag to the rest of the team about how he survived a car smashing through the front of a restaurant. It was amazing how in the course of a day, Adam had gone from thinking his career was over to embellishing the thing that almost made him lose his job.

After sitting next to Adam for about half an hour and finishing her beer, Kim could not stop yawning. She was exhausted and she wasn't having any fun. She had made polite small talk with several people in the bar, but she really wasn't interested in being social. Adam had moved on to a high-top table in the corner and had basically ignored her. All Kim wanted to do was to go home.

Kim slipped off her stool and walked over to where Adam was sitting. As soon as she approached, Adam slipped his arm around her, pulling her onto his lap. She could clearly smell the alcohol on his breath.

"Hey, babe," he said, his words slurred.

He gave her a wet kiss on the cheek.

"I see you're having fun," Kim commented.

"I am. Are you? Are you having fun?"

"Actually I think I'm going to go home.
"No. Stay. Have another drink."

"I'm really tired, Adam."

"We're celebrating!"

"I know. Why don't you keep on celebrating and I'll be at your place when you're done, ok?"

"In my bed?" He asked, clearly drunk. "Will you be waiting for me in my bed?"
Kim's cheeks turned pink. Even though everyone in the department knew they were a couple, she was not comfortable with talking about their sex life in front of all of their colleagues.

"I'll just see you later," Kim said. "Don't have too much fun."

"Oh, we're having fun!" Adam shouted, taking yet another shot.

Adam kissed her on the lips sloppily. She wiggled her way out of his grasp before he could try to makeout with her any further.

"Make sure he makes it home," Kim said to Atwater.

"I will."

"Thanks."

As Kim made her way out of the bar, she heard Adam shout after her.

"Make sure you're naked!"

Kim put her head down and raced out.

It was a loud noise that woke Kim up from a deep sleep. She looked at the clock. It was three AM. She had only been sleeping for less than two hours and she was still exhausted from basically working a triple shift. Kim could hear someone talking. She recognized the voice. It was Adam. Kim got out of bed, slipping on a pair of slippers. She walked into the living room. Kevin was helping Adam into the room.

"Hey," she said.

"Oh hey," Kevin replied. "Sorry, didn't mean to wake you."

"Hey, babe!" Adam said loudly, his words more slurred than they were earlier.

"I guess you guys had a good night, huh?" Kim asked.

"Yeah. Sorry," Kevin apologized. "I tried to get him to stay at my place, but he kept talking about wanting to be here with you."

"Naked!" Adam shouted. "You were supposed to be naked!"

"Yeah, that's not going to happen," Kim said. "I got it from here. Thanks Kev."

"No problem. Have a good night."

"You too."

Kevin left, closing the door behind him. Kim went over to Adam. He took a step towards her, trying to kiss her, but she sidestepped him. Instead, she put her arm around him and began helping him to the bedroom.

"I'm not tired," Adam grumbled.

"I know, but it's time to go to bed."

"Why aren't you in bed?" He whined. "I want you in bed. Naked!"

"You're drunk."

"You should be drunk," he countered.

"Let's just get you to bed."

Kim managed to walk him into the bedroom. He fell onto the bed, sprawled out horizontally. She removed his shoes and his pants. Before she could get him to reposition himself, he fell asleep. Sighing, Kim decided to leave him the way he was. She grabbed a pillow off the bed and went into the living room. She settled herself onto the couch, hoping she'd be able to get some sleep. Just as she closed her eyes, she could hear Adam snoring loudly. It was going to be a long night.

After getting only a few restless hours of sleep, Kim couldn't take laying on the couch anymore. Exhausted, she got up and made her way to the kitchen. She started a pot of coffee, knowing Adam would be looking for some when he woke up. She made her way to the bathroom, brushed her teeth, and looked at herself in the mirror. She looked slightly better than she had the day before, but not by much. She still had bags under her eyes. She looked exhausted. Knowing there was nothing she could do about it, Kim grabbed two aspirin and a cup of water. She went into the bedroom to check on Adam. He was still sleeping in exactly the same position he had been in when she left him. After leaving the aspirin and a glass of water on the coffee table in front of Adam, she went back to the kitchen to make pancakes for breakfast. Just as she finished mixing the batter, she heard Adam groaning from the other room.

"Good morning," she said.

"Not so loud," he moaned.

Adam sat up slowly. He saw the aspirin and the glass of water and downed them with one gulp. He stumbled into the kitchen, his eyes barely open.

"How are you feeling?" Kim asked.

"Like hell. What time did I get home?"

"A little after three."

"Ugh," he moaned. "That would explain why I'm so tired."

"Me too," she mumbled.

"I missed you last night," he said.

"I was there."

"You were?"

"Yes, although apparently you don't remember," Kim said, muttering the last part. She knew she shouldn't be, but she was slightly offended that Adam didn't remember that she had made an appearance at the bar.

"Don't take it personally. I can't remember much from last night. I can't remember the last time I had that much to drink."

"Yeah well, I'm glad you had fun and were able to celebrate."

"Too much fun apparently. Are you making something for breakfast?"

"Pancakes. Should be ready soon. The coffee's ready."

Adam joined Kim in the kitchen and poured himself a cup of coffee.

"Did you finish cataloging all those guns last night?" Adam asked.

"Yeah. It took me over an hour after you left."

"That sounds awful."

"It was," Kim agreed.

"Thank goodness I don't have to do that crappy work anymore."

Kim finished pouring the pancake batter into small circles into a frying pan on the stove. She didn't quite know how to reply to Adam's remarks.

"Yeah, no one likes to catalog evidence," she said, turning to face him. Adam was sipping his coffee.

"I just can't imagine doing that day in and day out, you know? Must be horrible. Of course, you already know that, because that's what you do."

"Wait…what?"

"What? I was just saying that it must have sucked for you to have sit there for hours and do all that work."

"But you said, that's what I do," she repeated.

"No I didn't."

"Yes you did," she said. "That's not what I do, Adam. I was helping out. I cataloged those guns because Platt asked me to and she offered me the overtime. But that's not what I do."

"I know. I didn't mean it like that."

"Are you sure? Because it sounded like you meant it."

"I know what you do on the streets, babe. The CPD couldn't run without the little guys on patrol."

"Did you just say the little guys on patrol?" She asked, hoping she misheard him.

"You know what I mean."

"No, I don't," she stated, annoyance in her voice.

"Are you…are you angry with me?" Adam asked.

Kim turned her back to him and flipped the pancakes.

"I just think you guys sit up there in Intelligence and leave all of the…undesirable but necessary jobs to those of us on patrol."

"That's not true."

She whirled around.

"Of course it's true. Who does Voight call when he needs something done that someone on your team doesn't want to do? He calls Roman and me. Every time. So I'm sorry that you think what we do is so boring."

"I didn't say that." Adam took a deep breath. "Look, I know what you do is important. And I know how good you and Roman are at what you do. That's why Voight calls you every time. Intelligence couldn't operate without you guys. You know that. I'm sorry. I'm so hung over, I barely know what I'm saying."

Kim sighed. "No, I'm sorry. I'm really happy that you got your badge back. I really am. I just think…you and everyone else upstairs thinks that what you do is more important than what we do out there on patrol. We chase bad guys, too."

"I know. Come here."

Adam spread out his arms. Kim stepped towards him and he enveloped her in a tight hug.

"Do you remember when we first worked together?" She asked.

"Yeah, out on patrol."

She stepped out of his embrace, nodding. "That's when I realized what I was feeling for you was more than friendship. That was one of my best days on the job, Adam."

"Mine too. Maybe we can request a few more days like that together?"

"Really?" She asked.

"Yeah. It would be fun. Me and you. Taking names and kicking ass together."

She smiled. "I'm sorry I got crazy. That's what happens when I work three shifts and get no sleep."

"Yeah, sorry about that. I took over the whole bed, didn't I?"

"Yeah."

"Sorry," he apologized.

"It's ok."

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

Kim began dishing the pancakes onto two plates. "If I didn't get my job back, would we still be together?"

"Of course," she answered. "I love you. With or without a badge. Ok?"

"Ok."

"Would you love me if I weren't a cop?"
"Of course I would," he told her.

"Well, now that we have that settled, let's eat."

Kim put the two plates of pancakes on the table. Adam sat down and began digging in. Kim watched him while she got herself a glass of orange juice. She couldn't help but think about how their fights had become more frequent. She wished they could just go back to the way things had been early in their relationship.

"Are you going to have some?" Adam asked, pulling Kim from her thoughts. She nodded and joined Adam at the table. Even as she ate her pancakes, she just couldn't stop thinking about their fights. She could only hope that things would get better.

Author's Note: I had a hard time coming up with an ending for this one, but I hope you liked it! As always, thanks for reading!