Hey guys, Happy New Year's Eve!

Here's a little something for you, hope you like it!!

thanks for a year pa led with lover and support, you definitely keep the motivation going. Taking the time to read, favorite, follow and review means so much to me!

I wish you all the best for 2023 and let's hope we get some happy Burzek on the show!!

Cheers!

Happy reading!

xoxo,

Nina

She woke up first, as her eyes slowly opened she was able to easily recognize where she was. The dim light that crept in through the shades was bouncing on every corner, wall and piece of furniture on its way, allowing Kim to pay attention to some details of his room that, for obvious reasons, she had ignored the previous night.

It was neat, tidy and very masculine. As her eyes continued to wander around, they met a picture frame sitting on the nightstand next to her. It was a picture of them very happy and close together that she was pretty confident she hadn't seen before, but she assumed it was taken at the resort, right before the accident, before everything went to hell. Her eyes shut themselves tight trying to push that thought away and instantly smiled to the confirmation of how loved she was by this man. The man she wanted to be with and build a future together.

Kim moved closer to him, as if it was even possible, and wrapped her arm tighter around his waist. Her head was softly laying on his chest, moving to the calm and relaxing rhythm of his breathing. She could stay like that for the whole morning and it would be the perfect plan for her, but when she felt his body stir and his hand getting a tighter grip of her body, the butterflies took over her stomach once more. She loved that thrill that she got when Adam was near.

"Good morning, Belle." His voice was full of sleep, but nothing could taint the happiness in it. "Did you sleep well?"

"I did. Last night was incredible." She moved just enough to face him. "And waking up next to you is the cherry on top of it all."

"It was, wasn't it?" He rubbed her cheek with his thumb as he cupped her face with his left hand. "I'll never get tired of telling you how much I missed you and being together like this. Waking up with you in my arms, it's probably one of my favorite things."

She smiled at his sweet words and closed the distance between them and kissed her boyfriend's lips. "How long do we have before you have to get to the district?"

"Oh, we don't have to worry about that. I'm not going."

"What? Aren't you going to get in trouble for that?"

"No. I asked my sergeant to have a couple of days off and he agreed to give me today and tomorrow. So, we can stay in bed the whole morning."

"And you asked for that, why exactly?"

"It thought it was going to be pretty obvious. To be with you."

"Babe, I appreciate it more than you know, but you went above and beyond for me already. I don't want to cause you any more trouble." Adam bit his lower lip and rolled his eyes at his girl's response.

"Kim, you never caused any trouble, if anything it was me the one to blame for all this mess; but regardless, don't you think we deserve this?" He asked as he pulled her closer to his bare chest. "Together, happy, not worrying about anything, just cuddling. I think we do"

"Of course we deserve this, but I'm gonna be here waiting for you even if you have to go to work." She joked, making him chuckle.

"I know hun. Let's just take this as a mini energy recharge. I could definitely use that."

"Yeah, you're right. It's been pretty stressful for us, let's just enjoy it."

"Exactly."

"So, no plans for today? Only staying in bed?"

"Mmm hmm. Do you want to do anything in particular?"

"Well…" Kim trailed off a little. "Maybe we can do a little something to help release all that stress."

"Oh yeah?" Adam asked, rolling on top of her as he watched her nod. "I like that plan." He slowly started kissing her neck while Kim moved her hands to his waist to pull his boxers down.

They couldn't help it, they desperately wanted to be together and luckily nothing was going to stop them.

Kim walked out of the bathroom running her fingers through her wet hair. Just like last night, they had shared the shower but today Adam left before her so he could get some food started. Before stepping out of the bathroom he told her where to look for clothes, her drawer was still full of her things, he never had the heart to give them to Sylvie to see it back in Kim's apartment.

"Oh God, the smell coming out of this kitchen is something else. I'm starving."

Adam smiled without turning to lol ok at her. The food was almost ready and he didn't want to risk losing focus and ruining the whole thing. He knew that Kim had the potential to make him forget about the rest of the world. "It's only natural for you to be hungry after the performance you just gave." He teased, earning a playful slap on the shoulder.

"Shut up." She said as she leant on the kitchen counter and watched Adam move around. "I sure left a lot of stuff here. Did I annoy the hell out of you?" She asked in a good mood but her question was honest. Was she one of those clingy annoying girlfriends?

"Never. Actually we couldn't get enough of each other." He shot back as he turned off the stove. "We really jumped on every opportunity to be together because between my job, yours and Gracie it was a bit hard to find some time alone."

"So, I basically moved half my closet to your place?" She joked.

"Oh, come on, it's not that much." He chuckled, while walking around the kitchen trying to set the table so they could grab something to eat. Once the food and the plates were ready to take to the small table he had at the balcony he stopped and looked at Kim straight in the eyes. "Darlin', what exactly do you remember before the accident?"

"Like, the crash itself?"

"Umm, no. More like why you were with Gracie in the car?"

"Not really. Why?"

"Because that sort of explains why there's a bunch of your stuff here." He noticed how the look on her face changed. She still felt bad about the things she didn't remember and now was no different. "Hey, it's ok." He went closer to her and wrapped her between his arms, kissing the top of her head. "It'll come back when it needs to come back." He felt her arms tight around him and her head nod against his chest. She stood like that for a second before gently stepping back.

"Tell me about it."

"Darlin' we don't have to do that."

"Adam, please. It really sucks to be in the dark and not only for me. It's not fair to any of you, having to pretend like a huge part of your life didn't even happen when you're around me. I don't want that for us, I want us to be exactly like we were before all of this happened." She ran her hand through her face in total frustration.

"Hey, look at me." He waited until he had her full attention. "I get it, believe me I do, and if you want me to tell you about it I will and if you change your mind and just want to wait, I will wait with you too." He held her face between his hands. "But what you said, that can't happen babe. We won't be in exactly the same place because we're always changing and improving and nothing is ever the same, that doesn't mean that it's gonna be worse than before." He paused to take a deep breath and kiss her softly. "Kim, I don't ever want you to feel like you have to mold yourself into the memory of what I have of you or us together. I want you to do what you want and feel without having to check if that's what you would have done before the accident. What happened, happened. We're here now and we're us, we are going to be us in whatever way we want it to be. I mean it."

"I love you." That was the only thing that she managed to say.

"Me too, a whole lot." He pulled her into a hug and she moved her face up to reach his lips. "Let's grab a bite, and I'll tell you a little about the backstory of your clothes here. If that's what you want."

"I would really like that."

"Ok. Let's go."

They went together to the balcony enjoying the sun shining on their skins as they recharged some energy. The food was really good, but what she was enjoying the most was the story Adam was telling her.

He started by explaining about Kit and Anne and why they were really away, followed by how she had agreed to help him with Grace and finishing with his undercover op to end everything and how she ended up in his house with Gracie until he came back. He kept it light. Adam knew how important it was for her to know some more, but he felt like he needed to make the story as friendly as possible.

"And that's basically how you saved my niece's life."

"Oh wow. And you?"

"What do you mean? I'm fine."

"Yeah I know that, but did anything happen to you while you were undercover? How did that feel?"

Adam was surprised to hear her question. This was so like Kim, worrying about everyone and trying her best to take care of them. He took her hand over the table and entwined their fingers together.

"Would you believe me if I tell you this is the first time I actually have to stop to think about how I felt during that op? I guess with everything that happened after, I didn't have any headspace to process any of it."

"Of course I believe that. You were too busy blaming yourself for everything to stop for a second and try to look out for yourself." She leant over the table to look deeper into his eyes. "Babe, nothing about this whole situation was your fault."

"Kim, come on."

"I mean it. We all made our choices, baby. Fine, so you think the first decision made was yours, but Kit and Anne decided too, and I certainly did as well. And if you want me to tell you the truth, I think I would make the exact same choice over again if that meant sticking up for Gracie and supporting you to get your family back. This is not your burden to bear and it's over now. Right?"

"Yeah. It's done and over with." He sighed. "I know what you mean, but I can't help feeling responsible for everything that I put you through."

"What if I ask you to please try to put that feeling behind you. I don't blame you for any of it, you had no choice and I know that you would have done anything to protect me if you had been here. Let's just move on and do what you told me, let's be us again." She stood up and walked closer to him only to press her lips on his. "I'm sorry you felt like that all this time and even more sorry you didn't get the chance to sort out your own experience. I really wish I had been there for you."

"I wish that too. I needed you so much."

"Well…" She sat on his lap and hugged him by the neck. "I'm here now if you wanna talk about it."

"It was intense. I felt like it was a life or death kind of thing and it sort of was. I'm just glad it's over."

"It is, and you brought your family back together."

"I guess you can put it like that."

"In my eyes that is exactly what you did, and don't even get me started on what you did for me. You are my hero, detective Ruzek." The comment made Adam smile.

"I'm gonna believe everything you are saying."

"You should, just like you should stop feeling responsible for my accident. I love you and I don't blame you, not even in the slightest."

"Hug me?"

"Every day." She was quick to move her arms and hold him tight, hiding her face in the crook of his neck. "I'm really looking forward to these two days you asked off. You were totally right. We need this." Both their faces were brightened up with a soft smile and the promise of two beautiful summer days ahead where they planned to cuddle and enjoy each other.