Disclaimer: I own nothing except my imagination.
A/N: Alright so here is another moment for Burzek. They aren't in chronological order by any means and this one is a scary one for them. Hope you enjoy this long one.
Being cops in the city of Chicago isn't an easy life but raising a four year old in a cruel and dangerous city while trying to protect it isn't an easy feature but Kim and Adam make it work.
"Come on Allie, we have to get going." Kim yelled at her four year old daughter from the kitchen.
"Coming mama." She bounced down the stairs, Adam right behind her.
"Takes after her daddy for being at the last possible minute." She ribbed Adam playfully.
"We have more than enough time darling." He kissed her on the forehead.
"Voight might not agree with you."
"Come on squirt, grandpa can't wait to spend the day with you." He pulled her up into his arms and blew a raspberry on the cheek. Adam was going undercover today for the first time where Allie was old enough to understand what was going on and she was going to spend the day with grandpa Bob as a treat.
"Can he play hide and seek?"
"I'm pretty sure grandpa will agree to anything you want baby." Kim smiled at Adam. Robert Ruzek was as in love with his grand daughter as the rest of her world was. Kim grabbed her bag and keys and the family of three were out the door. The ride was short but Allie was bouncing with excitement in her booster seat.
"Are we there yet?"
"It's just around the corner baby." Kim laughed at her daughter's excitement.
"I can't wait." As promised, Kim rounded the corner and Allie saw her grandpa on his front porch, waiting for them. "GRANDPA! She squealed loudly in Adam's ears as he unbuckled her and she pushed his hands away as he tried to get her down from his truck and she jumped off, running into her grandfather's arms.
"My favourite princess." They shared a sweet kiss on the lips.
"I'm your only princess grandpa." She argued playfully.
"And who's fault is that?" Bob looked at both Kim and Adam.
"Still working on that pops." Adam rolled his eyes and laughed as he made it to his dad, Kim at his side.
"Well we, are going to have so much fun and if daddy and mommy take longer at work, we are going to have a sleepover."
"YAYYY!" All three adults cringed at the level of decibels the little girl could produce.
"You be good for grandpa okay baby?" Kim rubbed her back gently.
"She's always well behaved, right princess?"
"Alwaysss."
"If we stay late we're going to make a face-time before bed okay squirt."
"Okay daddy. You and mama be careful chasing the bad guys."
"Always are." He took her from his dad and squeezed her tight against his chest.
"We love you." Adam let Kim have her for her own hug before Allie slid to the ground and ran into her grandpa's house.
"Thanks for taking her dad."
"You know I love having her. You two be careful out there and come back in one piece." Bob pulled Adam in his arms.
"I'll make sure that he does."
"Good. Now get out of here." Adam and Kim made it back to his truck and drove towards the district.
"I have a bad feeling about this Adam." She had that feeing since the day before but Adam kept reminding her that they'd done this a thousand times over.
"Those thoughts never end well darling. Everything will be okay and besides, you'll be watching my ass so I'll be fine." He trusted the unit with his life but he trusted his wife above all else. She was a damn good cop and they made a great team together. She simply grunted in response when they made it up the stairs to the bullpen.
"Alright, when is the meeting Adam?" Voight asked as he came out of his office.
"Still waiting for the call boss but I'm ready to roll as soon as it comes in." He sat at his desk and shuffled some paperwork around, ignoring Kim's worried stare. He was aware that the rest of the team was shuffling around him but he was trying to get in the right mindset to get the job done and that meant shutting everything out. The time had pretty much stopped but about an hour later, his UC phone rang and the hustle and bustle of the bullpen died down to let him answer it.
"Carter." Kim looked at him expectantly. "Tell me what time and how much and I'll be there." Two minutes later and he was hanging the phone up. "Five hundred large and one hour." Everyone got ready and Adam grabbed his coat from the back of his chair and headed downstairs to get wired. Kim met him downstairs while everyone was getting their things ready upstairs.
Over the years, this was their own ritual. They would help each other get their wires up and running and it aloud them to have a quiet moment before the other was out of reach.
"The minute you feel it's going sideways you just say rainbow and we'll come in guns blazing." He put his hands on her wrists as she set the mic in his shirt, stopping their slight tremor. "Everything is going to be fine, stop worrying so much about this darling." He leaned down and kissed her, keeping her wrists in his firm, comforting grip.
"If anything happens to you when I warned you, I'm going to kick your ass myself." She growled, making him laugh.
"I'll make it up to you when I get back I promise." He pulled on her wrists and let his lips do the reassuring. She melted in his arms as his tongue asked for entrance. They were never strong on PDA at work but during their moments like this before a UC gig, everything was aloud.
"Come on, let's finish getting you ready." She opened her eyes slowly, Adam releasing her wrists and letting her now steady hands secure his mic.
"Hold on to this for me." He slipped his wedding band off his finger and placed it in her palm. He felt naked without it but when she slipped it through the chain that held a locket with a picture of their daughter, it settled him knowing that it was so close to her heart.
"I'll keep it safe." She promised.
"The funds are ready." Kevin pokes his head through the door, interrupting their bubble.
"We'll be right up." Kim offered her best friend her most honest smile, hoping he'd buy it.
"Be careful." She took a step back, trying to form an emotional barrier around her heart with the hope the fear wouldn't overtake her.
"Watch my ass."
"I will." Adam left her alone for a few seconds and after taking a few deep breaths. Everyone took their positions around Adam's meeting spot with the dealers. Kim was sitting in a van with Kevin across the street from the warehouse, Voight and Antonio in an alley out back and Jay with Hailey in the adjacent building.
"You okay Burgess?" Kevin looked at her sideways as her eyes were trained on the screen in front of her.
"Great." She lied, ignoring his stare.
"You're a terrible liar."
"Well I have a bad feeling about this and my husband is brushing my concerns off, how am I supposed to feel Kev?" She growled as she finally looked at him.
"You're scared." He knew her long enough that he could see through her bullshit.
"Damn right I'm scared." She huffed, looking back at the screen. "And we have a four year old daughter that told us to be careful chasing the bad guys. I'm scared for two." She sighed, Kevin placing a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"Keep good thoughts? It's almost over." They returned to the screen, Kevin listening on the conversation between Adam and Corey Edwards.
"Let me see the merchandise." Adam demanded.
"Let's go for a ride."
"That wasn't the deal." Adam was less than happy about this change of plans.
"There's chatter on the streets and I don't like it. We move or there's no deal."
"No no no Adam get out of there." Kim whispered in the confines of the van.
"We need to see the exchange Burgess." Kevin didn't like it either but Adam could hold his own and they needed to trust him to stay safe.
"Fine." Adam was about to sit in his car when he was stopped.
"In here." He looked at Edward's car for half a second before he moved his feet. If he hesitated any longer, he'd be made and he didn't want that. He promised Kim he'd stay safe and that would be breaking his promise.
"These weapons better be legit or my boss won't be too happy." Adam sat in the car.
"Don't worry Carter, they're legit." He chuckled.
Atwater took the wheel and drove at a safe enough distance. "Keep your eyes on the car." His two way came to life.
"On it Sarge." Came Halstead's voice in reply. The car came out from the front so if Kim and Kevin followed, they'd blow Adam's cover and Kim couldn't afford that. Suddenly, Kevin pulled his headphones forcefully under the loud static noise Ruzek's mic produced.
"Damn it, I lost sound." Kevin growled into his two way. "Tell me you still have eyes Halstead." He looked at Kim who was tailspinning.
"We just lost them in the heavy traffic." Kim only had one option left. She jumped down from the van and was already waiting for someone in tech to answer her.
She paced the length of the van and she was slowly losing patience when she got an answer. "I need you to track Officer Ruzek's UC phone." She gave them the number and heard quick clicking on the other end of the line.
"The phone seems to be off, no way we can track it, I'm sorry." Her heart was suddenly pumping faster and the anger was rising in her chest.
"DAMN IT!" She punched the side of the van. "Thanks." She turned her phone off and used her two way. "He's in the fucking wind Sarge." Kevin pulled her into a tight embrace.
"We're going to find him Burgess. Let's go back to the district."
"Everyone back to Intelligence, NOW!" Their two-way came to life and Kevin drove them quickly back.
When they made it up the stairs just as Voight and Antonio came through the back. "I want you to reach out to everyone you know. We need to find him now, his cover is probably blown by now." Kim slumped down on her chair and started making phone calls, desperately trying to find Adam.
Edwards drove out of the building and Adam looked at the van across the street and could only hope that they wouldn't lose his tail. He knew that Kim and Kevin wouldn't be the ones following him because the van was too close but no doubt one of the other two teams would. They drove into some heavy traffic when Adam realized Jay's car was the one following them at a very safe distance. Edwards turned into an alley and stopped the car. Adam help his breath and the second later, had a gun pointed straight in his face. He motioned for Adam to step out of the car. Adam did as he was told and with the gun pointed at his chest this time, Edwards patted him down and found his cell in the side pocket of his jacket, breaking it in half and throwing it on the ground. The mic wasn't hard to find after that and even after putting up a fight, Adam had been knocked out from behind, the world going black.
When Adam finally woke up, the light coming from the window of the room he was in was blotchy at best but he knew the sun was setting. He ran a hand at the back of his head and found some semi dry blood.
Kim was pacing in the break room, trying to get her emotions in order. The sun was setting and she and Adam had promised a face time with Allie if things dragged on too long and she was dreading that video with their daughter knowing she would want to have a good night kiss from her daddy.
"Hey." Hailey came in the break room after debating if she should or not.
"Hey." Kim rubbed her temples. "I don't know what to do anymore."
"We'll find him Kim." She pulled her in for a hug. They had gotten close over the years and the fact that her and Jay's son wasn't much younger than Allie had gotten them closer.
"I'm totally useless."
"You've been looking for him all afternoon Kim, he's going to come back to you."
"I hope so because right now I need to call Allie and she's going to ask questions and when I'm going to say that Adam's not there I don't think I'll be able to do it."
"I'll send you uncle Kevin, that should do the trick." Allie was as much in love with her grand father as she was with her uncle Kevin.
"Thanks Hailey." Kim wiped her tears and splashed a bit of water on her face before she set her IPad on the table and called Bob.
"Mommyyyy." Kim smiled when she saw her daughter's happy face.
"Hey baby, have you been good for grandpa?"
"Yes but he says that I have to go to bed now." She pouted.
"That's because he wants you to be rested when we come pick you up tomorrow morning."
"Will you read me a story mama?"
"Which one do you want?"
"The going to bed book." It was a small cardboard book that Allie absolutely loved and that she requested each night so both she and Adam knew it by heart. Allie said half the words with Kim and Kim refrained from showing any signs of tears as she recited the words. "Can I have blow kisses from daddy now?"
"Daddy is busy right now with a bad man but he wanted me to give you the blow kisses for him and that he'd do whatever you wanted tomorrow." Kim saw the sadness in the eyes her daughter shared with her daddy and it broke her heart.
"Is it my little homie I hear?" Kevin's face made a sudden appearance in the picture and he gave Kim's shoulder a gentle squeeze.
"Uncle Kevyyyyyy." Allie's excitement was the only thing that was preventing Kim from crumbling. "Are you coming over tomorrow? Mama said we'd do whatever I wanted."
"Count me in." He winked at her, making the little girl blush. "You gotta go to bed though and listen to grandpa Bob."
"Okay. Good night mama." She blew a kiss through the screen. "And tell daddy I love him please."
"And I'll give him a big hug." As soon as we find him she thought. "I love you too." Allie waved and Kim pressed the end button.
"Come on, we're getting close. Don't give up."
"We have a location." Jay barged in the break room, Kim and Kevin jumping to their feet. They followed Jay back in the bullpen.
"Where?"
"You know how we lost them in traffic through the industrial part?" Jay put some pictures on the board.
"Than how come it took us so long to find them there?" They had canvassed the city for any spots Edwards had gone to in the last couple of weeks and they had found nothing.
"Well we had to cross reference some things but there's a small mechanic's garage hiding in there that is registered to Rhonda Edwards, Corey Edward's mom."
"That's the best we've got, suit up everyone." Voight said and Kim was the first out the door towards the roll-up and they were out in only a few minutes.
Adam tried to stand but one of his feet was tied to a pole with a chain, making it hard for him to go anywhere far.
"Finally awake." The door opened and closed, Edward's voice piercing through the silence.
"Didn't plan on me putting up that much of a fight did you?" Adam felt cocky but a fist to his jaw made him rethink his strategy.
"I actually didn't think it was that easy to corner a cop and get rid of his tail."
"I'll give you one chance to let me go and we can make this all go away." He wiped the blood off his lips with the back of his hand."
"Like hell I'm doing that."
"Well you better act quick because it won't be long until my team finds you and you're cooked."
"We'll just see about that one won't we." He raised his gun and pointed it directly at Adam's chest.
Kim hadn't sped through the streets of Chicago so fast but she was hell bent on finding Adam and bringing him home. She turned in the Industrial sector on her right and Kevin pointed her in the right direction, the rest of the team right behind them. She hopped down when the car was barely on park and raised her gun, Kevin with a hand on her shoulder, having her six.
"We got the back." Jay and Hailey called in, Voight and Antonio to the front with Kim and Kevin. Kim opened the door and they went inside. That section of the building was big but the garage was in the far end of the factory. They moved silently in teams of two and they cleared every spot until there was just one left. Kevin waited for her signal before pulling the door opened.
"Chicago PD, drop your weapon." Kim yelled, walking across the threshold. Corey Edwards pointed his gun at her and back to Adam's temple.
"Put yours down or I'll drop his ass." Edwards yelled. Kim fired her weapon in a second, the window open for a clean hit. Edwards fell to the ground and she ran towards Adam, not caring about anything else.
"Adam, hey, look at me. Adam?"
"I'm okay."
"You're not okay." She could feel the fried blood in the back of his head and she could hear the faint call Jay was sending to dispatch, requesting for an ambulance and a transport for Edward's body.
"It's dried already." He insisted.
"I don't care, you're getting yourself checked out." Adam wasn't about to start arguing with her now. He could still hear her warning earlier in the day about having an uneasy feeling and he had brushed it off.
"Good job in there Ruzek." Antonio patted his shoulder just as the ambulance rolled in. Adam let himself get checked out and under some protest, they took him over to Med for the gash in the back of his head.
They waiting inside the trauma bay for Will Halstead and Kim was sitting in a chair with her hands tucked under her chin.
"Darling?"
"I'm okay." She looked up at him with a smile but her trembling hands gave her away.
"You're not okay." He got down from the exam table and kneeled in front of her. "I'm sorry."
"I was so scared Adam." She closed her eyes to keep it together. "I was so terrified that I got mad at you."
"You wouldn't be you if you weren't aggravated with me right now." He chuckled, trying to easy the atmosphere.
"And it broke my heart having to tell Allie that you weren't there, I lied to her Adam."
"She's still little Kim, I'm sure she didn't even notice anything off."
"Thanks to Kev and Hailey." She sighed. "They saved my ass during that video. Oh and by the way Kevin is coming over tomorrow, we told Allie she could do anything she wanted."
"That's totally fine by me." He kissed her temple, rising to his feet when the door to the room opened and Will walked in.
"Let's take a look at that head of yours." The exam wasn't very long and Will decided that stitches would be the best solution. About thirty minutes later, the back of Adam's head was cleaned up and stitched back up and they were leaving with instructions to take it easy for a few days.
"Let's go get Allie." Adam decided as they walked out in the fresh night air. "I missed her today."
"Adam it's late." Kim insisted.
"We're off tomorrow, it's fine." He didn't mind taking care of her if Kim wanted to sleep in and he just wanted her close. She agreed and soon they were on the road.
The drive back was spent in silence, Kim running her thumb against his bruised knuckles. "Are you okay?" She didn't like it when he was silent because Adam didn't do silent.
"I'll be better as soon as I see her." Allie was his undoing on most days but in moments like these, his daughter literally glued the pieces back together after long days on the job.
"Are you sure you don't want to let her sleep at your dad's?"
"Please Kim." He looked at her, his left eye battered and tears in his brown eyes.
"Okay." She didn't like seeing him like that and she wasn't about to argue with him. He had already un-buckled himself when she turned on her father-in-law's street. As soon as she was stopped, he was out the door and already walking up to the front door. He waited until she was at his side to knock gently.
"Adam, Kim, what are you doing here?" It was clear that his father had been sleeping.
"We came to pick Allie up." Adam went straight to it.
"I'm sorry it's so late." Kim felt bad but Bob waved them off and moved aside to let them in
"Don't sweat it." When he finally saw the state Adam was in, he gasped. "What the hell happened?"
"My cover was blown." He really didn't want to get into the details. He simply wanted to take his daughter home and move past today.
"I'll go get her things." Clearly he wasn't going to get anything out of his son right now but he simply complied with his demand.
Adam peaked into the spare room where his dad had turned into a room just for Allie. She was sprawled diagonally, her hair all over the place. It made it smile and he walked I to the room, kneeling on the ride of the bed. He watched as her chest rose and fell and he tried to tame her hair. She stirred when he kissed her forehead.
"Daddy?" She mumbled as she rolled on her side.
"That's right baby girl." He smiled at her.
"I missed your blow kisses." She said with her eyes still closed.
"Here's some real ones." He peppered her cheeks with kisses.
"You're itchy daddy." She squirmed under him and her giggles settled his inner turmoil for the time being.
"You have to fight mommy on that one because she likes it when my face is itchy." Kim has told him on more than one occasion that she liked the scruff.
"Mommy never let's me win." She pouted.
"We'll just have to scold her then." He rubbed his nose against hers. "Ready to go home?"
"Can we still do what I want in the morning?" Kim has told him about the FaceTime call that Kevin and Hailey had saved her ass on.
"Absolutely." She let him scoop her up and she put her head on his shoulder. "Thanks for keeping her pops." Kim was running a comforting hand on his back, as much for his benefit as for her own.
"Anytime. I love having her here." Bob patted Adam's shoulder and watched him leave, leaving him with Kim. "Is he really okay?"
"It was a close call Robert." He watched as her body shook ever so slightly.
"Don't let him spiral."
"I'll keep an eye on him but he has the best remedy hanging onto him." Kim smiled. Adam had gone to their daughter time and again for comfort after bad cases and just generally bad days.
"She'll do that to you." He chuckled, her energy always brightening the darkest day.
"Night." She hugged him.
"Good night Kim." She smiled back at him and left. She drove them back to the house in complete silence, Adam sitting in the back, holding onto Allie's hand. Kim looked back at him through the rear view mirror as they made it back home and she let him take care of their daughter, tucking her into bed.
Adam leaned against Allie's bedroom doorframe, his ribs hurting and the back of his head stitched up, a dull thumping pain now the only thing bothering him. He watched as she slept, her world of dreams un-affected by the whole thing.
"You okay baby?" Kim whispered to him, wrapping her arm around his waist and pressing her cheek to his shoulder.
"I thought I was done for it, that I'd never get to come home again."
"You'll always come home, I'll make sure of it." She had never been more scared for him than she was today and she never wanted to feel that kind of fear again.
"Thank god you were there." He turned and cupped her cheeks, leaning down for a kiss. Sweet, soft and filled with fear, want and love. They had come close to losing each other and they hated every second of that thought.
"You're home, that's all that matters."
"And there's no other place that I'd rather be."
"Good." She smiled at him. "Stay with her a bit, it''ll be good for you. I'll wait for you in bed." She raised herself on her toes and gave him a chaste kiss on the corner of his lips before she left him with Allie.
He went to lie down with her and she instantly turned to her side, curling her little body into his. "I love you Allie pie." He whispered into the darkness as he brushed her hair from her eyes.
"I love you too daddy." She mumbled, tears immediately springing to his eyes. No amount of cop work would come even close to his job as a dad. Allie was his whole world and getting to raise her with the love of his life was something he'd never get tired of. He stayed a few minutes longer before going to join his wife in bed. He stripped to his briefs and slid under the covers, pulling her to him.
"Thank you." He whispered in her hair.
"For what?" She looked up at him.
"Everything." He smiled at her. "For taking a chance on me, for giving me Allie, for loving me."
"I'd do it all over again." She returned his smile.
"Would you now." He helped her as she straddled him.
"In a heart beat." She leaned down and captured his lips with hers.
"Then let's get on with it." He chuckled as they parted, flipping them around so she would be under him. Adam lost himself in Kim as they celebrated his return home safely and the new chapter they were trying to write for their family.
A/N: So Adam's cover was blown and it almost blew his whole family apart. I hope you guys liked it and please take a few seconds to review before you go, it means a lot to me to read your thoughts - Sarra