Hey guys! Hope your all doing great!

This story is getting so much love I decided to alter the ort her in which I usually update my stories, not to keep you waiting so much.

I can't thank you enough for taking the time to read and leaving reviews. It means a lot!

Hope you enjoy this next chapter!

Happy reading

Xoxo,

Nina

Disclaimer: I own nothing except my imagination.

"What is so urgent that can't wait until I take a shower after work?" Sylvie asked impatiently as she left her things on Kim's living room couch. Her friend had been pretty quiet the whole day, so she assumed whatever it was that Kim had to say it had to be related to last night's dinner. "Hold up. Did something dirty happen on your dinner date last night? Her mischievous look made Kim roll her eyes.

"Do you ever think of anything besides sex?"

"I think about many things, it just so happens that I believe sex to be a huge part of our lives. You should try it sometime." She closed her eyes as she made a smart assy face and failed to duck the cushion that her friend had just thrown at her. "Ouch."

"Just for your peace of mind, nothing dirty happened. We just kissed."

"Just kissed? You say it like that?! Tell me more." The blonde began the interrogation. There was no way that was the only thing she was getting out of her friend.

"It was good."

"That boring, huh?" Kim was beginning to feel a bit uncomfortable. Sylvie was her best friend, she knew everything about her and her experiences both positive and negative. But sometimes, especially after supporting her through all her pain and suffering, it felt weird to go into specific details; even if it always was Sylvie the one who asked for more information. "Come on, you can tell me. Kim, I truly want you to be happy again, and I want to be there for you every step of the way." Sylvie could read her friend from a thousand miles and always knew exactly when something was off.

"It wasn't boring. It was really great, actually." She sighed and then she saw Sylvie's eyes glittering. "To be honest, I kind of didn't want the night to end."

"You have no idea how happy that makes me." Sylvie's enthusiasm was honest and genuine and Kim was completely sure about that. The brunette smiled shyly and looked down. "What's wrong?"

"Things are a bit more complicated, though."

"Yeah. I know." She walked closer to her friend and squeezed her shoulder. "But Kim, I think this might be really good for you."

"I'm not only talking about that."

"Ok. What do you mean?"

"Things with Grace are complicated. Something about her parents' trip and him and Gracie's grandpa being the ones responsible for her care and DCFS."

"What does DCFS have to do with all of this?"

"I'm not totally sure, the situation is pretty complex and I can't go into much detail. The thing is that now DCFS is asking for someone else to help Adam with Grace because they don't believe the combination of both Adam and his father are the best fit for Grace, considering their schedules, line of work and whatever." Kim walked around the couch and took a seat, her friend followed after. "Do you think I am completely insane if I help them?"

"Did he ask you to?"

"He did, and he felt like crap about it too."

"What happens if you don't?"

"I don't know. He didn't want to tell me. He said that he didn't want that to influence my decision, and that they were already super grateful for how I looked out for Grace in school."

"Aww, that's super nice of him. He seems like a really decent guy."

"He is, but that's not the point. Do you think I'm nuts if I do it?"

Now it was Sylvie the one who sighed, she sat up straight and pulled her hair back. Something she always did when she was being serious. "I think that it would be a challenge and I think it's a lot. But I remember what you told me when you decided on your teacher major, you said that you wanted to make the difference in people's lives. You told me that what mattered to you the most was to make a positive impact no matter how big or little the gesture. So, yeah, maybe you are nuts, but what better opportunity to make a difference than this one? Plus, we're talking about Gracie, you love that kid. And you would definitely spend more time with her uncle which is the biggest plus."

"You had to ruin the whole speech with that, didn't you?"

"We'll, you need to have all your pros listed, my friend." They both laughed. "Listen, all jokes aside, if in the bottom of your heart you feel like this is the move you need to make, make it. I have your back always and I also think this could actually help you be you again. You know? Have a purpose, that desire to change the world, the thrive to live that is a huge part of your personality." Kim just hugged her friend.

"Thank you for not giving up on me, when I gave up on myself."

"Thank you for absolutely the same thing."

Adam was getting ready to go to the district. Worry was invading him, he needed to find a solution regarding Gracie's case and on top of that Kim and him hadn't really talked since Wednesday night. Adam had been super busy on Thursday and when he did manage to text her, she never replied.

He thought that this was going to be too much on her and was certain that the probability of her agreeing to their plan was close to zero, but he thought it was a battle worth fighting, now he wasn't so sure. He had to push all that aside and focus on Gracie, he shook his head as he grabbed his things and left for work, hoping that it would be a busy day to keep him distracted.

Busy was the least that day was, nothing popped up and, miraculously, all his paperwork was up to date.

"Any news on Ludwin?" Kevin asked as he walked to his friend's desk leaving a mug of coffee on it.

"Nothing." He answered as he looked up.

"What did Kim say?"

"She said that she would think about it. But I honestly can't expect her to do this, it's a huge load and now she kind of disappeared. But can I really blame her?"

"I guess not."

"Of course you can." Hailey's voice was firm and angry causing both men to look up at her in surprise. "I'm sorry I couldn't help hearing that. You can blame her, she should talk to you."

"Come on Hails, how would you feel if a random guy asks you to be one of the guardians for his niece."

"You're not a random guy, Adam."

"To you guys. She barely knows me, I'm not even sure if she likes me in the way I like her."

"Well, if she doesn't and she won't talk to you about it she's not worth the trouble."

"Easy there girl." Kevin teased. "We don't know much about her, Hailey. Don't you think she deserves the benefit of the doubt?" Upton rolled her eyes at Kevin, she knew he was right, but protecting her friends and standing up for them was something she couldn't quite control.

"Maybe. I'm heading out to get some food, you want something?"

"Nah, we're good. Kev's mom sent us some of her special sandwiches."

"Ok. Call me or Jay if you need anything."

"Will do." Adam played with one of the pens on his desk and then looked at Atwater. "Do you think I should call her?"

"Who? Hailey?" Adam laughed at his friend's question.

"No, you butt head. Kim."

"I don't know bro, maybe she needs some time."

"I don't get it though. She seemed fine at home, we kissed and all."

"You didn't share that piece of news." Adam laughed.

"We just kissed. Repeatedly. It was great." Kevin smiled at his friend's goofy face. "You still think I shouldn't call?"

"I would wait, and if you don't hear from her then text her. Keep it cool."

"Ok. I'll wait." The phone interrupted them.

"Your turn bro. I already answered Platt's calls the whole morning, not sure I can have her yell at me one more time." Adam chuckled and picked up the phone.

"Detective Ruzek."

"Finally you answer the phone like a respectable member of the CPD. Anyway, you have visitors."

"I'll be right down." He answered and hung up the phone.

"What did she want?"

"Someone is looking for me. I guess it's from yesterday's case. I'll be back in a second, don't miss me."

"Just go."

Adam ran down the stairs to meet Trudy, who moved her head showing his visitor was in the office in front of Trudy's desk.

"Listen boy wonder, this is the last time I call you down to see one of the poor women who fall for your trap. Next time, you schedule your dates outside the district. Am I clear?"

"Who is it?" He asked furrowing his brow.

"A really cute brunette who's totally out of your league." He smiled because he knew exactly who Platt was talking about, just as he was about to head to the door the desk sergeant talked again. "She looks smart, so I really don't know how much longer you have until she realizes what she's getting into." Platt loved to tease him. She would never acknowledge it, but she had a soft spot for Adam Ruzek.

"Thanks Sarge, I really appreciate it." He said in complete irony. When he opened the door he found her standing there, arms crossed and looking at all the pictures and posters that were hanging on the walls.

When she realized he was there, her muscles relaxed a bit and the nervousness she couldn't quite control took over. The words started coming out of her mouth full speed.

"I'm sorry I just showed up like this. I had an issue with my phone, Logan spilled his water bottle on top of it, it kind of died; the phone, not Logan." She explained as she shook her head and pressed her fingers against her temples. "I took it to see if it could be fixed or if I needed a new one and then I figured since you came to my place unannounced, then maybe we could call it even if I came here and asked for you." Adam chuckled, he found her speech adorable, he found her adorable.

"Hi." He greeted with a lopsided smile on his face that made her exhale all the air she had no idea she was holding in.

"Hi."

"Can I?" He walked closer to her and placed his hand on her cheek. She slightly blushed at his question but nodded in agreement. She knew what he was asking for and she wanted the same. Adam took one more step and leaned in to capture her lips with his. "You don't need to apologize, this is probably the nicest surprise I've gotten in a while. Any news on your phone?"

"Not yet. I have to go by the store later today." She started to play with the collar of his shirt without even noticing it.

"Not that I don't appreciate you stopping by, but shouldn't you be in school?" Kim laughed.

"Lunch break. I need to be back in a few minutes, but I really needed to talk to you."

He saw it coming, he knew what she wanted to talk about, so he just stayed there in silence waiting for her to continue. "I know you didn't exactly give me a deadline, but I also know that in this type of situation the more time you have to figure out stuff the better." She let out a deep breath before she continued. "I've given this a lot of thought, Adam. I have no idea what I'm supposed to do, or how this will affect my job."

He interrupted her, he didn't want her to have to explain why not, he knew all the reasons as to why she could say no to this. "Please. Say no more. I'll figure out another way out of this."

"Would you let me finish?" Adam nodded at her question. "I have no clue, but I really want to help and I'll do my best. So, I'm in."

"Really?"

"Yes, really." She nodded again.

"Oh my god. Thank you so much." He hugged her tightly. "I'm gonna let my lawyer know and we will handle everything with the school, you don't need to worry about that." He took a moment to breath and run his hand through his face, the smile and the look of relief was out of this world. "You have no idea how much this means to us. Thank you."

"So, now that I made my choice. What was going to happen if I said no?"

"Child services was going to take Grace away from me. But now, thanks to you, I don't need to worry about that anymore. I could never repay you. You're too good for us."

"Maybe we're good for each other." She shrugged and he just went straight for her lips. "About this." She said as she wiggled her finger between the both of them.

"Too good to be true, huh?"

"I was just going to say that maybe we should keep it quiet around Grace and school."

"That's it?"

"Yeah. We can figure us out, right? And the see what we do about it."

"Couldn't agree more." The smile on his face was hurting his cheekbones. "We need to celebrate this. Grace has a sleepover tonight, and the guys and I are going to Molly's. Why don't you come with us? Maybe Sylvie wants to come too? I'll introduce you to the rest of the gang which I'm sure Grace has mentioned already."

"Sounds great."

"Ok. Should I stop by your place after I drop Grace off?"

"Yeah, I think that works." She kissed his lips before speaking again. "I have to go or I'll be late. See you tonight."

"See you and thank you!"

"Oh gosh, quit thanking me or I'll change my mind." She walked to the door and turned around to kiss him one more time before leaving.

The smile on her face shined as bright as his and the butterflies in her stomach were stronger than ever. She had no clue how she was going to face her first graders feeling like a child herself.