True to her word Kim made it back the next morning. She had called Kevin on her drive home and updated him with the progress Adam was already showing. She had asked him if he wouldn't mind hanging out with Makayla through lunch time. She knew Adam would want to see her but wanted to make sure he was up to it first; recovering wasn't going to be linear. There would be days that sometimes would feel like a set back and she didn't want to set either Adam or Makayla up for disappointment.
As she entered his room she noticed he was sitting in a chair rather than laying in his bed.
"Well look at you"
"Look at me!" His smile was broad and she was just as happy for him. He was going to be out on medical for weeks if not a couple of months and the more mobile and able he was to do anything the easier this would be. "You know you should be proud of me; I got woken up at 5:30 for bloodwork and vitals and all that crap. And I didn't snap at the poor nursing assistant"
"Oh so we're a morning person now?"
"I wouldn't go that far. But aside from this lovely pole that I get to drag around I'm unhitched! They even gave me pants!"
She couldn't blame him for being a bit excited at that part. You never knew how much you took using a bathroom for granted until you couldn't.
"Good breakfast?" She pointed to the empty plate that sat on his tray.
"Good enough? It was food and I guess I missed a few meals yesterday. Doc came in about an hour ago. Likes where I'm at so they gave me some 'challenges' for the day. Says if I can hold up to those I might be able to get out of here in another day or so. One of which is I eat each meal sitting in this chair. Meal 1 check."
"Oh yea? What other 'challenges' do they have for you?" She had made her way over to use the side of his bed to sit next to him. As if it were a reflex he moved his arm over and held his hand up and they linked their fingers together.
He pointed to the whiteboard on the wall of his room "They want me to try and walk a bit more, sit here to eat as I told you and they were even kind enough to include 'not overdo it' just to make a point"
"Seems like you have your missions for the day then. Are you ok? You looked a bit uncomfortable for a second there." She had noticed a small grimace come across his face and his other hand came to rest on his side as if it were trying to act as a brace.
"Been sitting here for about an hour and a half now and I guess things just stiffen up a bit. I wanted to try and walk a bit before heading back into bed. Would you walk with me? They told me not to do that alone"
"Sure, let's move this table here out of the way and see what you've got"
She held his hands as he stood and then looped her arm with his and helped pull his IV pole as they took one of the slowest and most rewarding walks together. He made it about halfway to the same lounge area that Trudy and Hailey had occupied just the day prior before admitting that he thought they should head back. Kim was proud that he was taking the orders to not push it to heart. When they returned to his room and got him back into his bed she met one of the nurses that would be helping him out throughout the day. They were as impressed with him as Kim was. They gave him his next dose of ibuprofen and left the pair with the call button should either of them need anything else. Kim could tell that Adam was a bit drowsy and was fighting sleep a bit.
"Hey you, why don't you close your eyes and rest a bit. You've had a bit of a busy morning. It's not even 10 yet."
"You came here to visit me and not even an hour later I go take a nap? Sounds like a lousy deal"
"After yesterday I'm happy to be able to sit here and watch you sleep. I've got some phone calls and texts to return anyway"
"Watching me sleep huh? Sounds kind of stalkerish" He replied with a wink
"Shut up and go to sleep."
"You're hot when you're bossy"
And leave it to him to flirt not even a day out of surgery while still in a hospital bed. She knew this would be the easy part of his recovery. He hadn't had to deal with any of the fallout yet and had nurses to help him with things he needed. Eventually he'd have to face all of those realities. But for now she was happy that he had this break; he had earned that much with all that this case put him through.
She made herself comfortable in the same chair that she found him sitting in when she arrived; propping her feet up on the edge of his bed and started going through her messages. Kevin and Trudy were the only real people she needed to get back to.
Kevin had sent her a photo of him and Makayla watching Space Jam. He was given the day off as they were still finalizing everything with yesterday's shooting; he was in the clear and on any other day would be in the bullpen doing other paperwork but accepted the day so that he could help his friends and spend time with Makayla.
Makayla took to Kevin nearly as fast as she took to Adam. Both men had a natural protective instinct to them and Kim swore kids had a way to sense it. According to Kevin's update Makayla didn't question anything about staying with him last night and was having a good morning. They agreed that he'd come by after lunch so she could spend some time with Adam that afternoon.
Next up was Trudy. She couldn't thank the desk sergeant enough for being there for them yesterday. Kim knew that had she not been helping to cover the 3 open seats upstairs she'd have been knocking on the doors to this wing right alongside her this morning. Platt said she'd fill in Voight and the rest of the team and not to worry about things for at least the rest of the week. Atwater was expected back tomorrow and being that they were still working through the final details on the case she was only getting away with missing out on paperwork. They did work out that Voight would swing by with ASA Chapman tomorrow to get Adam's official statements on the case. Kim knew this was Platt's way of warning her that Adam had limited time to figure out what he wanted the records to show.
She was able to catch a few moments to relax before Adam's lunch was brought in. As if on cue he woke up; food was usually a good way to get his attention.
"Will wake for food huh? You got a good hour and a half nap in there"
"Hmmm"
She watched as he took his time waking up; joking aside he was still healing. "Take your time, here let's sit you up in this bed first before you try and get up yourself" She said as she adjusted the hospital bed to perch him up a bit so that it'd be easier to get out of it.
"Thanks, I think I'm going to go to the bathroom before sitting down." He announced as he swung his legs over the edge of the bed and took a moment before standing "Doctor says that you should come with me there too." He didn't even try to keep a straight face.
Kim leaned forward so that her lips were level with his "Nice try Romeo" she replied and gave in to the temptation to give him a quick kiss.
They talked about the details she figured out while he ate. Kim figured it'd be best to lead with the work side of things. "So Voight and Chapman are going to come by tomorrow. They need to get a statement from you."
"Ugh; way to bring down the mood" He said with a sigh and small chuckle, he knew it was coming and was determined that he wouldn't take out any of his frustration on Kim. She was just the messenger. "What's your take?"
"I think you need to decide what is best for you; I can have all the opinions in the world but Adam, you were the one in that household day after day."
"Yea but maybe that's the problem. Maybe I AM too close to make a sound decision. I mean, I already trusted Sam once and she left me to bleed out in her attic. She even grabbed my phone so I couldn't call for help. I get protecting your kid but, she was willing to leave mine without a father? She says Callum isn't like his grandfather but has she just been lying to me to protect him?"
Kim took his hand, still mindful of his IV line, "How about we do this. See what Voight and Chapman bring to the table. See if we can get any insight into what Sam and Callum's updated statements are and what deals they want to offer.. My real opinion is that you've tried your best and nearly had to give up everything already. I don't want you to have to push yourself out of your limits any further than you have."
He wasn't sure if it was the tone or her voice or the fact that she had been softly stroking his arm as she talked but Kim brought clarity to this whole situation. What she said made sense and he was so grateful for the level headed thinking she brought to the decision.
"You'll be here?"
"I'm not going anywhere" She said with conviction. She was sure that Chapman would want her to leave but she was determined to stay for Adam's sake. "On the bright side; t-minus about 20 minutes until Makayla gets here" His face completely lit up at the mention of his daughter coming to visit. "I'll go down and meet her when Kevin gets here. He said he'd tell her that he was going to bring her to visit a friend of his in the hospital but would leave the rest up to me. What do you think we should tell her?"
"When you were in the hospital I told her bad guys hurt her mom and she needed the doctors' help to get better. She took it pretty well; said that you would want to see her. I think she'd be ok finding out pretty much the same. Especially given that you already know I'm awake. When I was on the way in with her I had no idea that you were off the vent. I'm happy I didn't have to explain all of that to her."
"I am too." She agreed, squeezing his hand. There was still a lot that they needed to discuss with each other as they started this new chapter in their relationship. Neither wanted to dwell on the past but there were some important chapters they needed to close in order to move forward. They had both agreed though, this felt different; they were different. And it was all for the better. "I'll tell her you got shot and have some sore ribs but that you're doing well. I know you had wanted to try and walk again after lunch; think you'd be up to walking with her for a bit?"
"Oh she'd love that. Yea I think I'm stable enough to be able to shuffle around with her"
"Alright, you hang here and I'll go meet them in the lobby." She got up but stopped and gave him a quick kiss "I love you" She ended her statement with a firmer kiss this time. She made her way down to the lobby of Chicago Med to find Kevin and Makayla approaching the entrance.. Makayla was holding a card she had made and Kevin held a balloon with determination to not lose it due to any sudden gust of wind.
"Mom!" Makayla took off running towards Kim as soon as she spotted her slamming into her with a fierce hug. "Mom, what are you doing here? I thought we were going to see one of Uncle Kevin's friends? I made a get well card and convinced Uncle Kevin that we should bring them a balloon. Balloons make people feel better"
"Technically you are sunshine. Your dad got hurt yesterday and he's here. One of the bad guys he was chasing down shot him. He's ok now and I was with him a lot last night and have been hanging with him this morning to make sure he's going to stay that way. But you know what will really make him feel better? Seeing you."
Kim studied Makayla's face making sure she was processing what Kim was telling her. She bit her lip once she heard that it was Kevin's friend Adam, her dad, that was in the hospital and that he had been shot. Kim spoke to her with her hands on her shoulders offering a steady hold on the young girl. Once she registered that Adam was going to be ok she took and released a deep breath.
"He's really going to be ok?"
"Yes he is. And you know what else? He's excited to hang out with you for the next few hours. He could use some help from you though. Think you can help your dad with something the doctors want him to do?" She knew that Makayla responded to being able to help. Giving her tasks that made her feel like she had some control over the situation was one of the best strategies her therapist had told them about. It allowed her to channel her energy into something productive and positive rather than worry.
"Yes, yes I'll do whatever I'm told."
"Great, he needs to take a walk. They don't want him being Mr. Lazy Bones all the time. Think you could hold his hand while he takes a small walk up and down the hallway?"
"Yes! Yes! I can do that!"
"Awesome, let's go up and see him then. He's really excited to see you." The trio took the elevator up to Adam's floor and as soon as Makayla was able to see Adam she let go of Kim's hand and went right over to him. Kim had warned her that she had to be careful with his stomach and his right side but that didn't mean she wasn't allowed to give him a gentle hug. Kim wasn't sure who would hate it more if she wasn't able to give him a hug; Makayla or Adam.
"Bumblebee! Oh thank you for the hug, I've missed you. You've been having fun with Uncle Kevin? Keeping him in line no doubt?"
"Yup!" She stood at his side for a few minutes simply hugging and leaning into his left arm. Just enjoying the ability to be close to him. Assuring herself that he was in fact ok like her mother had told her. "I made you a card"
"You did? Well this card is super special, it's the first one I've gotten and it's from you"
"We picked up a balloon too"
"I see that; looks good with you Kev, if this police thing ever gets too boring you'd make an adorable delivery guy"
"Oh we've got jokes do we"
"He's been at it all morning" Kim interjected
"Well then I suppose we don't have to worry about head injuries; same old annoying Ruzek is here to stay"
"Dad, mom told me you needed help with walking and that you are supposed to go for walks. She said I can take you"
"Well then, I suppose I should get up?" Makayla nodded enthusiastically as Adam moved his IV pole around the chair. Though Kim had pulled it along earlier he had no difficulty doing it himself. "Alright so what you need to do is hold my right hand and walk nice and slowly with me. We're going to go out the door and take a right. See how far I feel like I can get. Sound like a plan?"
"Yup, let me know if you need me to do anything else."
"I definitely will. You two have fun back here" Kim and Kevin watched the duo walk out the door.
"They really good off on their own? He had surgery like, yesterday?" Kevin asked as he leaned against the wall.
"Yea, Adam told the nurses that he'd be walking with her, there's a CNA at the front desk keeping a close eye on him in case it looks like he needs the help but he's been up using the restroom on his own and getting in and out of bed by himself all day. He'll probably need a nap later but he's doing really good. Medicine has come a long way. He's only on ibuprofen too."
"That's wild but awesome."
"Voight and Chapman are coming tomorrow to take his statement. He doesn't know what to do." Kevin simply nodded. He and Kim were taken back when it was originally agreed that Sam would get immunity. They didn't think she deserved it; and they weren't wrong. But Adam had made a point, she wasn't the one they needed. It was her father who needed to be stopped.
"When I saw those blueprints in that barn I was shocked. I knew Adam had been worried about what this guy was capable of but I don't think any of us expected it would be that. He was a monster."
"He was. I told Adam that he should wait and see what the updates are. Go from there. I just don't want it eating him up inside more than it already has"
"I get that; will you be able to be there with him? If not I'll see if I can be close by. I know I'm supposed to go back but I want to make sure he's being given the choice"
"I talked to Platt who told Voight that I'd be there. I don't care what Chapman says or wants."
"Good on you Burgess; I know he appreciates it" Kevin said as he pointed to the hallway "Everytime he and I would catch up about that case all he said was how he wouldn't have been able to keep going with it if it weren't for you."
"Well he needs to give himself some credit but I'm happy I was able to be there for him. It had been a one sided street for a while there."
"And he'd take this one every time if he could. He seems happier today a day after being shot than any of those times you were in that bed. All joking aside, you both seem really good. In a good spot"
"We are, we've learned to talk to each other. So that's given us a huge shift."
"Love that for you both" Kevin made his way over to Kim to give her a hug. "Don't forget to let us help you too." He said once they parted. It was at that moment that Adam and Makayla came back.
"Oh so I get shot and she gets the hugs. I'm going to pretend like that didn't cut me deep but…"
"Get over here" Kevin said as he wrapped his arms around Adam's shoulders. Adam wasn't really able to return the hug but it didn't matter.
"Ok dad the nurse outside said you could get back into bed now that you walked."
"Yep, I've earned my right to be lazy and watch TV." Adam said, sitting on the edge of his bed and carefully sliding into it. "How about you come up here and sit next to me. Over here on my left" He invited her by patting the side of the bed.
Kim watched carefully as Makayla got in beside him before sitting in the chair Adam had now vacated and Kevin procured a spare chair from the hallways. The 4 talked about the recent books Makayla had been reading, the next dinner menu for when the Atwaters were coming over to the house and just enjoyed each other's company. It hardly felt like they were a mere day from the events from yesterday.