She softly approached her not wanting to rouse her from her sleep. It had been a long 3 and a half weeks but they were now back into … could you call what they had a routine? It seemed like their life never really let them settle down into anything very constant for far too long. But they were adaptable and as long as the 3 of them had each other; none of the rest of it mattered. They always made sure that the moments any of them got to spend with each other would never be taken for granted.

There were pros and cons to being on medical leave. The slow climb back to being in the field would always test a person's determination; time away from coworkers who are like family and time spent at home or at a desk with thoughts that you weren't contributing your part were low points in anyone's recovery. Adam made a concerted effort to try and channel his energy towards his family. He did an admirable job of keeping the 'house husband' comments to himself but Kim knew he was itching to get back to work. His doctors were thrilled with his progress. His incision site healed wonderfully as did his fractured ribs. They all said that he was cleared to be back in the bullpen every other day starting next week. They were well aware that it would be no use trying to limit him to half days; so they limited him to half the week instead. He was also firmly restricted to the bullpen and paperwork: No errands and no venturing out to question witnesses. He'd take what he could get at this point.

Having him home made nights such as this easier on Kim. Intelligence was nearly done for the day when they received a lead on a BOLO they had put out earlier that morning. That meant rather than dinner with her family she'd be sharing a sandwich with Atwater as they rode back from processing the scene, detaining their suspect and sending the car off to the impound lot. She returned to the expectant darkness of their home taking a few moments after closing the door to take a few deep breaths; nothing could replace the smell of home.

"Goodnight my sweet girl" She whispered as she took in the collection of stuffed animals in her daughter's bed. One seemed to be missing - her platypus. At one point in time Makayla couldn't fall asleep without it. Now she didn't even realize it wasn't in her bed. Kim would have searched the house for it had it not been so late. All she wanted was to crawl into bed herself.

She quietly made her way to their bedroom. Sometimes she still pinched herself at the thought of where they were now. Life wasn't perfect; far from it. But as she had been reminded plenty of times; they were stubborn. And when two stubborn people are determined to work through their issues and love each other as hard as they had going on a decade now; perfect wasn't a necessity.

Relearning to live with your partner was one thing. Relearning to share a space with them was another. Adam wasn't big on planning huge gestures. Their schedules made planning anything very difficult as is; plus he was very much a 'go with the flow' type of person. That didn't mean he didn't do some of the smallest things for Kim that made her love him even more. His new thing; leaving her bedside light on when she'd come home late. She got herself ready for bed and managed to crawl in beside him without too much fuss. Just prior to turning her light off she noticed a familiar blue form.

And that's how the case of the missing platypus was solved. It was tucked into Adam's side; his left arm around it holding onto it. The sight was definitely not what Kim expected. She found it adorable all the same and took her spot on the right side of their bed. He barely stirred at the gained contact apart from leaning his head closer to her and shifting his body a bit. She waited momentarily to see if he had woken up enough to say anything but his breath was back to even and he was deeply asleep within moments.

All too soon they were both jolted by their alarm clock. Even though he wasn't going into work quite yet Adam still made sure to get up and help with getting Makayla ready for her day at summer camp. He liked to use the term loosely as it was far from what he would consider 'camping'; there was a pool rather than a lake or pond and the kids came home every day. Kim's retort was that it was nicer to call it that than 'summertime extracurricular activities designed for expanding knowledge and connections'; Adam had to give it to her with that argument.

Adam could be a very lazy morning person. Unless the situation required he liked to take his time and keep the outside world at arms length for as long as he could. He was never the type to get tied up by schedules; sometimes a bit of a contradiction to Kim. In general he tended to roll with things and let them play out. Unless it interfered or put his family at risk he wasn't too uptight. This was probably why he didn't make a big deal about waking up with Makayla's stuffed platypus by his side. He held the toy up as he lay in bed flapping its stuffed web feet in Kim's direction as she moved about their room. She'd no doubt would be pulling the comforter off him in a few minutes forcing him to get a move on.

"Makayla leave that here?" Kim questioned as she moved about the room brushing her hair

"Uhh she must've" He answered as he laid his head back on his pillow; the stuffed toy resting on his chest

"Nope! Up up let's go" She stated exasperatedly but also with a chuckle. She grabbed the discarded plushie when he got up as she went to make sure her daughter was awake and getting ready for her day.

"Makayla sweetheart you up?" She said softly as she knocked on the door before opening it

"Yup! I'm up" She answered exuberantly. Makayla, unlike Adam, was a morning person once she had settled into their lives. School, weekends, summers it didn't matter. Kim wondered if as she got older and grew into her teenage years if that would change.

"I found this in our bed" She stated as she held up the platypus, "Were you watching something with dad? You must have left it there by accident. For the record he didn't seem to mind" She added laughing.

"He didn't? Yay! I was hoping it'd work"

"What? Hoped what would work?"

"We were watching TV downstairs and then he put me to bed. But then I woke up later and heard him having a nightmare. So I figured that it always helped me sleep when I had my nightmares and maybe it would help him too. I was SUPER quiet and careful. I made sure to not make a single noise when I gave it to him" She stated proudly.

Kim nearly fell over. She couldn't believe how thoughtful this beautiful little girl was. How caring she was to give up one of her security items to try and help her father. Simultaneously her heart also broke a bit at that last thought. For both of them. It all made sense now. Adam seemed completely confused as to how the toy made it into his arms last night. He was also so exhausted when she came to bed he hardly moved. There had been some other things that Kim had noticed over the last week or so that she needed to bring up and talk to Adam about. That was not for the here and now though.

"You are too sweet. Come here" She said, extending her arms to give her daughter a hug. "Now let's go see what we have for breakfast!" She added not wanting to dwell on the topic any further. Makayla had made amazing strides but she was still extremely empathetic and Kim didn't want this new development to bring about a regression in their daughter.

The trio enjoyed a nice breakfast before packing Makayla's things for the day and leaving the house. Due to the long night prior the team received the most welcome text saying that they could have some extra time before coming in; provided nothing came up. This allowed both of them to drop Makayla off; and Kim some time to consider if and when she broach the subject about Adam having nightmares with him. The longer she pondered the situation the more she realized that Adam was displaying signs of PTS. There had been small changes in his behavior that she knew all too well could spiral if not treated. They had managed the physical injuries but now the mental and emotional ones needed attention.

He could feel something was up. She rarely was this quiet around him.

"What's on your mind that's got you all quiet?" He asked as they reentered their home.

"That obvious huh?"

"I'm a trained observer; remember" He winked. "Seriously though, you only get like this when something is bothering you."

She sighed. Yes, she needed to have this conversation. However, she thought she would have a little more time to plan out how it would go.

"Do you know you had or are having nightmares?" There. She decided to just put it out in the universe.

"No? I don't think I have? I haven't woken up from any" He turned his gaze to the ground in front of him as he sat next to her on the sofa. It was like he was trying to tap into any library of dreams he may have had.

"Makayla said you had one last night" At this his head snapped up to meet her eyes "Relax; she says she woke up to hear you having one. That's why her platypus ended up next to you. She must have been super quiet and/or you were super out of it because she managed to tuck that thing into you without waking up. If it counts for anything you were fine when I came in later." She finished as she placed a calming hand on his forearm.

"No, no, no. Is she ok? Did she have any?"

"Hey, hey calm down and breathe please" She moved to sit closer to him so that she could move her hand from his forearm to his back and try to ground him before he got too agitated. It was admirable that he was worried about his daughter but Kim was worried he was missing the bigger picture here.

"You know it's possible to have them without remembering. You've been home by yourself for a couple of weeks and when I've gotten home you've said you took naps but have looked exhausted at times. Adam I really think you need to talk to someone"

"If it keeps happening I will"

"Adam. Baby look at me" And if that just didn't bring him back to earth with a crash. She was his kryptonite. He could mount all of the defenses he wanted but she was the one who would always bring them down. "I don't think you need some lecture on how PTS isn't linear. How, you'll be fine for days, months, maybe even years. I know you. I know your habits. And I can already see things changing. Already see YOU reasoning with yourself. "

"I didn't think it was bad…"

"Sweetheart we had Al and Michelle sleeping at our apartment and you slept shirtless. Even though that wound has been healed for over a week you still wear some type of shirt to bed? I bet you don't even realize how often you put your hand over that scar."

There was a momentary pause. His eyes wandered for a moment. As if he were searching for words. But in the end he decided to go with the truth.

"I notice it…" he admitted softly. "Randomly I'll feel like this sensation. Not as painful but like this pull or stab? I can't help it. Yea, I know it's not real and it doesn't make sense. It feels stupid; compared to what you went through…"

"Stop!" She raised her hands up to frame his face to make sure he was back to looking at her, "What we aren't going to do is compare trauma. That's not a thing. Never let anyone try to do that to you; understand?" Once he nodded slightly she continued "I've known you a long time. When we first met you admitted not much stuck with you. But that doesn't mean it can't or won't. It doesn't mean it hasn't been. You were shot by the very person you were trying to protect. Your mind and body are still trying to make sense of it all."

They sat in silence for a few moments. She wanted to make sure there wasn't anything else he wanted to say; wanted to make sure she continued to give him that space to talk without being pushed. But he was done; emotionally spent. Kim moved to lean back against the arm of the sofa motioning for him to join her. Usually their positions would be reversed; but there was something equally as comforting about this. Adam's head lay on her chest, just beneath her chin which made it easy for her to give into the temptation to press a few tender kisses into his soft hair. Her arms wrapped themselves around him; her left hand landing on the very same spot that she had to apply pressure to in the back of an ambulance not too long ago. Her right hand coming to a rest above his heart; it's steady beats further reassurance that he was still here, still hers.

"Will you please talk to someone?"

"Yes" He answered immediately

"I can ask Dr. Hammond if she knows of anyone that she feels would be a good match for you? She's met you, knows a little about you."

He chuckled. And when she angled her head to look at him, wondering what could possibly be so funny about this he replied "I feel like I'm being set up on a blind date but it's for therapy" And there was her Adam again. The one who always tried to find the light in darkness.