Hey guys, happy Thursday!

I hope you're all doing great. Here's a little update for all of you, hope you enjoy it!

Thanks for reading and reviewing!! It means the world and I love to read your thoughts.

Happy reading!

Xoxo,

Nina

The following weeks were just amazing, sometimes it was hard trying to find some time alone with just Kim and Adam, but they managed to have dinner, all three of them, most of the time. Gracie was thrilled that Kim and Adam were together, sure she missed her parents and talked about them every day, to be honest as time went by she missed them more and more, but the safety net her uncle had created for her was what was keeping the little girl afloat.

Adam was good, worried about Kit's case, but good. The relationship with Kim was providing him with the strength and stability he needed to keep going, to keep working hard to get his family back. Everyone around him could notice just how happy and positive he was, and they were grateful to finally see him like that. He needed a break from all the stress and drama that hit his life, and Kim was that breath of fresh air he needed, even with all her issues and trauma, she was without a doubt everything he always wanted and looked for in a woman.

Kim was glowing. She was happy, enjoying the second chance life had given her. Yes, some days were tough and overwhelming, but she learned to reach out to him and find the comfort she needed to find her center again. A hug or a kiss was all it took to anchor her.

She did have dinner at Bob's and it was great. The oldest Ruzek delighted to finally see Adam own up a relationship, he couldn't believe how much his younger boy had matured over this time and he loved that change in Adam. Seeing Gracie flourish during a rough moment like this was also something that he was glad about. It was nice to have some sense of family again, especially now when the Ruzeks were torn.

"This is a surprise." Sylvie said as she walked to Adam's truck, where he was leaning against the door of the driver's seat.

"Is this a bad time?"

"No, it's alright. What happened?"

"I need your help." He confessed while fiddling with his car keys. "But Kim can't know."

"Ummm, okay. Tell me more and I'll see what I can do for you." Sylvie did want to help, but she also wanted to know what all this mystery was about.

"As I'm sure you're well aware, Kim's birthday is coming up and I want to do something special." The blonde was beginning to smile as she heard Adam's words. "I know she hasn't celebrated much since, you know…" He didn't want to say it because it still was a delicate subject sometimes and he never talked about Andrew, let alone his passing, with Sylvie.

"Yeah, since Andrew."

"Uh huh." He looked down, a little nervous. "So I was thinking about something small, her parents, your aunt and uncle, close friends. What do you think?" His sunglasses were doing a great job hiding how nervous he actually was, and Sylvie's silence wasn't helping all that much. Truth is she wasn't speaking because she was moved by how much this man cared about her friend. She liked Adam for Kim since the very beginning, but right now she just knew they were a perfect match. The fact that he was considering Andrew's parents meant the world and Kim was going to love that.

"I think it's a great idea."

"Great!" Adam was so excited. "It can be at my place, maybe I can ask Kim to stay with Gracie while we get everything ready and the people start coming.

"Sure, count on me. I'll talk to her parents and my aunt and uncle and some friends."

"Tell Casey and whoever else you want from the firehouse. But please, not a word to Kim."

"Your secret is safe with me detective." Sylvie said with a smile. "This is so fun! Aren't you nervous? Meeting the family and all."

"Well, I wasn't nervous until you just brought it up. Thanks Brett." They both laughed.

"It'll be fine, they'll adore you once they realize just how much you love Kim."

"I hope so, because I really do love her."

"I know." She squeezed his arm and smiled at him. "I'll call her mom today and I'll let you know."

"Perfect. I have to get going, Grace is waiting for me at my dad's house. We'll be in touch. Thanks again!"

That night it was only him and Gracie having dinner, Kim was staying at her place because she had some errands to run and she wasn't going to make it on time.

"Uncle Adam?"

"Yes, Miss Gracie?"

"We need to talk." Her tone of voice was serious. By now, Adam knew the conversation could go anywhere from here.

"Ok. What's the matter?"

"Do you know it's Ms. B's birthday on Friday?"

"I do know."

"So, what are we going to do about it?" Her little cute face was straight and he tried really hard not to laugh at the seriousness of her question.

"What do you want to do?" Her eyes were shining at her uncle's word.

"I want to bake a birthday cake for her. Pink with sprinkles and sparkles and chocolate chips and a rainbow on top." When Adam saw her face lit up, he knew a crazy idea was about to come out of her mouth. "We can hang a piñata! And we can have balloons and princesses and rainbows everywhere! It's going to be the best birthday ever!"

"I see. And are you planning all that for Kim or for yourself?" He said laughing lightly. He was trying not to call her Ms. B all the time around Grace, just to get the little girl acquainted with the new situation, but the conversation about calling Kim aunt hadn't popped up, and it wasn't something Adam wanted to impose on Grace. If it was going to happen, then it was going to happen naturally.

"For both of us." She giggled with the most adorable smile.

"How about we order a pink cake with rainbows and sparkles and we invite her over for dinner?" He didn't want to tell his niece about the surprise he was planning for Kim; although she was the cutest, she couldn't keep a secret for her life.

"And can we have a sleepover?" She practically begged him.

"Sure. We can have a sleepover."

"We need to buy her a present too." Adam smiled. Excited Grace was a handful, but he much rather see her like that and not sad.

"Any idea on what Kim might want?" He had already bought her a present, a pair of earrings that she had mentioned she liked, but he wanted to get Gracie's insight about it since he was planning on having his niece give her something too.

"Yes! A puppy!" Now Adam was really laughing now

"We're not getting her a puppy, Grace."

"Fine." She didn't complain too much because she knew she was pushing. "Then, can we get her another charm for her bracelet? One that will remind her of us if we're ever apart. I think she'll like that." Adam took a deep breath, that fear she had of being ripped away from her loved ones was still latent and it scared the crap out of him to think that it might actually never go away.

"I think she'll like that, too. We can go shopping tomorrow after school and we'll look for the best charm for her."

"Yeii! And then can we get a puppy?"

"No puppy. At least for now."

The rest of the night went well. Adam managed to keep the subject as far away from pets as he could, and Gracie was quickly entertained when Adam asked her about the new craft she was making for pops.

Sylvie texted him later that night and let him know that everything on her end was sorted, she also offered him help with the rest of the planning.

The week was hectic, and trying to do all of that without raising Kim's awareness was tough, but he was doing his best.

"Hey, what's wrong?" The kids had left already. Kim was in her classroom tidying up and putting some things away when her friend walked in.

"Nothing. Why?"

"You seem weird." Sylvie commented as she dropped some books on Kim's desk.

"No. I'm fine." Kim kept walking around the room sorting books and fotocopies into the correct places.

"Out with it Burgess."

Kim sighed and sat on the edge of her desk. "Adam's been acting strange." Sylvie looked at her and thought carefully about the words she was going to use. "I know, it's stupid but it's like he's backing away."

"He's probably really busy at work or something. I mean, you told me he's been calling you and texting you so that's not really congruent with someone who wants to step away."

"Yeah, it's just… I'm probably just overreacting." Kim ran her hands over her face. "The thing is, we haven't really been together."

"You went out with him two days ago."

"Yes. With Gracie."

"I don't follow." The blonde was trying to figure out what Kim was worried about.

"Oh, come on Syl. I mean we haven't, you know?" Kim opened her eyes wide and moved her head as if what she was trying to convey was an obvious matter.

"Ahh. Oh! You mean you're not having sex?" Kim nodded a bit embarrassed.

"Do you think maybe he doesn't want to be with me? Or that this all got too much and he's trying to draw some sort of limit between us?" Kim was truly worried, Sylvie could see that in her friend's eyes.

"Wait a second. Is he not reaching out, or trying to do anything?"

"No, no. He is. We both are." She scratched her forehead and looked at her shoes before lifting her head up to her friend again. "I don't know."

"Kim, relax. Maybe it's just a matter of finding the right moment. just because Gracie knows about you doesn't mean that both of you are going to be magically comfortable with jumping each other's bones with the girl in the next room."

"No, of course. We haven't even spent the night together when she's home. We really want to respect her space."

"I totally agree. At some point you guys are going to be able to do that. Once Gracie finds it more natural. Right?"

"I guess."

"I think it's just a matter of logistics, I highly doubt that he doesn't want to be with you. Try to relax, ok?" Kim just looked at her friend and sighed. "So, any plans for your birthday tomorrow?" The blonde asked, desperately trying to veer the subject away, she was afraid to screw everything up if she kept talking.

"He invited me over for dinner."

"Good. See? I don't think you have anything to worry about. But you and I are going out for drinks on Saturday to celebrate your life!" Kim smiled and nodded.

"Totally."

"I have to go, but I'll meet you in the gym later, ok?"

"I'll be there." The brunette walked over to her friend to hug her. Once Sylvie left, Kim had to work really hard trying to get her mind to stop. This would happen to her sometimes. It's not that she didn't trust him, it's that fear would still knock on her door now and then, and it would drop all these little venomous ideas that would leave her spinning out. She knew she needed to control that, because deep down she was sure she had nothing to worry about.

At least she was until she got his phone call.

"You're gonna hate me. I know." When a conversation starts like that, you just know there won't be a silver lining.

"What happened?" She asked, trying to keep her cool.

"Something huge popped up at work, we have a big op tomorrow and I'm gonna be stuck all night with the team." She could hear him sigh from the other end of the line. Kim was bummed. She liked her birthday, but she wasn't one to make a big fuss about, she never did. This time, though, it was different, she really was looking forward to spending some time with him. "So, not only I'm not gonna make it to dinner with you, but I also need you to take Grace. If you want to do something else, I can ask pops to change his shift and…" Kim cut him through the sentence.

"No. I'll do it. Sylvie already made plans with Matt, so…"

"I'm so sorry babe. I promise I'll make it up to you."

"It's fine. It's your job. I get it." Hearing her voice so low was breaking his heart.

"I thought I could get my pops to drop her off at school tomorrow and we can have breakfast together. I really want to see you."

"Don't worry about it. It's fine." She was dry, not because she was mad, but because she was sad. This was doing nothing but reinforcing her fears.

"Saturday night?" He offered.

"I made plans with Sylvie. It's fine, Adam. Seriously. I'm going to take a shower and hit the bed, I'm tired."

"I'm sorry. I really am."

"It's ok. Be safe tomorrow, ok?"

"I will. I love you."

"I love you too."

She did as she told him, shower and bed. That night she tried her best to ignore the knot in her stomach and the whole in her heart.

When she woke up she had a bunch of messages and a few missed calls, including one from Adam. Kim left her phone on the night table and went to take a shower and get ready for school.

As she was having breakfast she replied to all the happy birthday wishes she'd gotten so far, leaving his for last. She hit play on his voice note and smiled as she heard him.

"Happy birthday, gorgeous! I tried calling you but I guess you're still sleeping. Enjoy your day, you deserve nothing but the best." His chirpy tone started to get more serious as he kept talking. "Thank you for being the most amazing part of my life. I love you."

There was a second file that she also played.

"Happy birthday Ms. B! I love you! You're the best!"

Kim couldn't help it. They made her happy, even when she was feeling torn and insecure they were there to make her feel better. He could always find a way around it, even if he couldn't physically be there.

Thanks babe. I love you both.

That was the only thing he got from her, and he felt his heart crushed. He knew that behind her kind and understanding words she was disappointed their plans were ruined. He just really hoped everything he was planning was worth this bitter bite.

Lucky for Kim, her kids totally made her day. They showered her with drawings, chocolates, hugs and all sorts of adorable presents.

Spending the afternoon with Gracie was pretty special too. That girl was out of this word and today Kim really needed that.

"Let's go bear. Your uncle Adam's home."

"But I want to stay here with you and have a sleepover. Uncle Adam said we could."

"Did he?" She asked as they were getting ready to leave Kim's apartment.

"Yes!" Gracie nodded enthusiastically. "A big sleepover, with pizza and ice cream, the three of us."

"That sounds like fun."

"Uncle Adam said that too!" The little girl said smiling as she hugged her teddy to her chest. "I'm sorry I forgot your present."

"Oh, honey, you don't have to worry about that. The best present I can get is spending time with you." Grace smiled and went to grab Kim's hand as they walked over to the car.

"Uncle Adam has it. I'll tell him to give it to you when we get home."

"Sure, hon." She said not paying too much attention to her because a strange white envelope coming out of her mailbox was all she was looking at. She yanked it out and didn't think much of it when she read a huge happy birthday on it. Kim put it in her bag and decided to open it later.

"Do you want to ring the door bell?" Kim asked once they were standing in front of his door. Gracie only had to nod and Kim was picking her up and perching her on her hip so that the little girl could reach the button.

"Coming." His voice came from the other side. As the door started to open slowly the sound that came next almost made her jump.

"Surprise!"

"Holy shit!" Kim jumped startled.

"Ms. B! Language!" Gracie's comment made all the adults in Adam's place laugh.