Happy Monday everyone!

Here's a little update.

Thanks for reading and reviewing! It means a lot!

Happy reading!

Xoxo,

Nina

"Aunt Kim thinks I was an adorable baby."

Adam loved when Gracie would say random things that were not at all connected with what they were doing at that time.

"Of course she thinks that. You were the most beautiful baby I ever saw. You're eyes were everything, they looked like emeralds." He answered naturally as he added the finishing touches to their dinner. Gracie, on the other hand, just giggled and blushed.

"She also said that you looked very cute."

"Did she?"

"I did not." Kim protested as soon as she overheard their conversation. She was in the bathroom washing her hands and on her way back to the kitchen she heard their voices. "I said it was a very cute photo."

"What were you looking at, anyway?" Adam turned to look at both girls.

"My baby pictures."

"All of them? There's like a zillion of those." He said playfully, earning another sweet giggle from Grace.

"No, just the ones from when I was teeny tiny."

"Well, your aunt has a point there. Those are very cute." He smiled to the memory of meeting Gracie for the first time. "You were very noisy, though. I never thought such a small thing could be that incredibly loud." Kim chuckled at his comment as she started to get the plates to set the table. She didn't want to interrupt their conversation, it was way too adorable.

"Mommy said that I would only stop crying when you were holding me."

"That is true, and your dad would get super pissed."

"Adam, watch your mouth." Kim couldn't hold back her scolding.

"Sorry. He would get very mad."

Gracie couldn't stop laughing and by the lightness of the whole atmosphere, Adam felt like he was regaining a bit of life back, he loved being with his girls; meanwhile Kim was having her heart filled with new memories that she could swear no accident would ever be able to erase.

They had dinner like they used to do before the car crash, even before Adam had to go undercover and the little girl was having the time of her life.

She was telling them everything that had happened in her class during the week and how she had promised Kim to have fun with the new teacher and enjoy the last days of first grade, but most of all she kept talking about the awesome book they had for bedtime.

"So does that mean that we have no movie tonight?" He asked.

"Hmmm." She scratched her chin with her index finger under the attentive watch of both adults. "I think I just want the story tonight."

"You've got it muffin. Now, why don't you go take a shower and brush your teeth while I clean up?" He offered.

"I'll get your jammies out of your bag and leave them on your bed." Kim added just after her boyfriend spoke. Gracie agreed without complaining and marched towards the bathroom.

Adam got up and started to gather the dishes taking them over to the sink. He didn't want to pressure her into staying, he just waited to see what she wanted to do. Kim knew him well enough to realize that and she found comfort in that action. He respected her so much and that was one of the many things she loved about him.

"I hope your looking forward to reading that book."

"I'm actually very excited I won't be watching Moana or Encanto for the fiftieth time. So thank you for this, you will be rewarded." He answered playfully. "This was nice, don't you think?"

"Yes, it was." Her kind smile was glowing up his house, or at least that's what he thought. "It felt good and familiar. In fact, I was thinking of staying. I mean, if you and Grace are ok with me crashing your party."

"Jeez, I don't know Belle, I'm gonna have to think about it." She playfully punched his chest and he took advantage of the proximity to hold her wrist lightly, pull her into a hug and kiss the top of her head. "You're more than welcome to crash my party." Kim snuggled deeper into his chest and breathed in his smell.

"Uncle Adam, can you hand me my towel, please?" Gracie's voice was audible from the bathroom.

"Want to go and let her know yourself or do you want me to take care of it?" His crocked smile plastered on his face.

"I'll do it."

"Ok, I'll start brewing some coffee for us, after bedtime." The brunette just blew a kiss for him and turned to follow Gracie's voice. Adam's smile only shined brighter when he heard his niece's reaction.

"Yessss! Yes yes yes!"

"Easy bear, you're going to slip and fall."

Hearing both of them so happy and giggling really helped the guilt and pain slowly fade and enabled the the hopes for his future invade his head, well, their future.

It had been happening a lot lately. At first, catching himself daydreaming about settling down and creating a family of his own surprised him. Sure he'd been in relationships before, but they never escalated that much, or maybe he didn't let that happen.

Now, not only would he let those imaginary flashes of his future pop up in his mind, but he would actually enjoy them.

Adam knew this wasn't the right time, and he was in no rush either, he just had no doubt that this was different and what he wanted for the rest of his life.

Kim and Gracie got everything ready for bedtime and when the little one was already tucked in bed she was in charge of calling her uncle to join them.

"We decided to mix it up a bit tonight." Kim announced to the older Ruzek, who was leaning against the doorframe enjoying the view.

"Is that so?" Both girls nodded and he continued to speak. "So what's the plan, then?"

"Well, Miss Gracie is going to read her favorite book to us."

"Really, muffin?"

"Uh huh." Gracie smiled proudly.

"I love that." He sat at the feet of her bed and waited for Kim to hand the book over to their niece.

Her little hands handled the big book with ease and excitement. She read slowly and every time she finished one page she would turn the book around to show both adults the colorful illustrations, imitating her teacher's actions.

"The end." Her sweet voice matched her proud smile as she finished reading the story and closed the book shut, hugging it to her chest. "Did you like it?"

"I did, muffin. The best part was hearing you telling it. I'm so impressed by your reading skills." Her grin was even bigger than before.

"She's the best isn't she? I'm so proud of you, bear." She leant forward and lightly massaged her little foot over the blanket.

"Thank you." She yawned showing just how tired she was.

"How about I tuck you in?" Gracie nodded smiling as she wiggled her way deeper into her bed, waiting for her uncle to cover her. "Good night, muffin. I love you." He presses a kiss on her forehead and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Sleep tight, princess. Have sweet dreams." Another soft kiss, this time on her temple, did its best to let her know how loved she was.

"I love you Uncle Adam and Aunt Kim."

"We love you too, bear."

They turned off the light, leaving the dim lamp on and walked away closing the door just a little bit.

Adam got two cups of coffee ready and took them to the living room, where Kim was comfortably on the couch waiting for him.

"She seems like she's doing better." She let out after taking a sip of her beverage.

"Yeah, I think she is. Finally getting some stability out of this whole mess." He threw his arm over her shoulders, delicately pressing her closer to him. "You seem to be doing better as well."

"I have my days, but I definitely feel better. You know, one thing Gracie and I have in common is that we both have a killer support system." She unconsciously smiled as she thought of all the important people in her life, that had been a steady pillar for her during all the hard moments in her life.

"Sometimes I think Grace is her own support system. It amazes me to see how strong and brave she can be at six years old. She grew up so fast, it seems like it was yesterday that I was holding her for the first time, and now, she's the one reading the bedtime stories to me."

Showing his sensitive side was one of the ways he had to demonstrate his vulnerability. Kim loved to see that duality in him, his strength and protectiveness and his kind soul.

"Seeing her baby pictures today, I was able to

see how that connection you both share has been there since the very beginning. And you did look very cute." He chuckled.

"Well, Grace wasn't the only baby back then. These grays didn't exist at the time." Adam pointed to his chin with a fun yet slightly embarrassed chuckle.

"I find those grays extremely sexy." Her purring voice tried to reassure him into letting him know that she was into everything that he had going on, not that he wasn't aware of that already.

"I find all of you extremely sexy." He never let go an opportunity to hit on her.

He put his cup down to be able to move freely around her, and find her lips pressing soft and delicate kisses on them. Although they weren't intended to be anything more than that, the sweetness and softness of the light brushing of their skin, plus the steady rhythm of their breathing began to send sparks all over Kim's body.

She didn't think too much. She began to move to find closeness to his body, placing both her hands on his chest as they both melted into each other.

Her face roaming over his, with her lips slightly open, doing their best to shift those kisses from light and innocent into intense and purposeful. She was finally able to capture his lower lip between hers, lightly sucking on it and pulling it with her teeth.

His breathing picked up speed as a moan managed to escape his mouth. Kim moved enough to leave her cup somewhere without breaking the contact of their mouths.

Both her hands were now on the sides of his face, as her legs quickly straddled him. The absence of words was taking over that moment, their moaning and desperate sighs were the only protagonists of the night.

Adam wasn't able to stay still for much longer. His arms softly hovered her back, touching over her shirt with the tips of his fingers, craving to slip them under the fabric to finally touch her velvety skin.

Kim's lips started to form a trail of kisses down his jawline, playfully and softly biting his chin before going straight to his neck and unleashing a roar straight out of Adam's chest. His hands were now in the pocket of her jeans, and if it weren't for his phone ringing they would have probably sneaked under her shirt.

"Your phone." Her words were soft and lacking motivation.

"It's a text message. Don't worry."

The device chimed again.

"Babe." She pulled away reluctantly. "It could be important. Maybe Kit or Anne."

He took a deep breath, running his hand through his face, trying to cool down. She had a point. He grabbed his phone and read the message without answering it. "It's just Kev." He went back to kissing her, action to which she obviously responded before backing away again.

"Everything ok?"

"Yeah. He was just wondering if I was going to join him and Jay to watch the hockey game tomorrow."

"Are you?"

"I don't know. Do you have plans?"

"No."

"Then I won't." He moved forward to capture her lips but this time she didn't let him. "What?" It was the first time ever that she had avoided one of his kisses and that worried him. The only thing helping him keep his cool right now, was the fact that she still seemed comfortable with his hand on the back pocket of her jeans.

"Adam, you don't have to do that."

"Am I becoming the clingy boyfriend already?" His question made her laugh, but the next one made her roll her eyes. "Or am I smothering you."

"Neither." She took a deep breath and played with the collar of his shirt. "I… I'm just worried you might be closing off a little to every other part of your life." She was too nervous to look him in the eye, so the rest of her concerns were pronounced as her fingers fiddled with the fabric and her eyes paid attention to that. "Being apart was awful, I know, and I also know that part in particular was probably harder for you than for me. I love you and I love spending time with you, don't get me wrong. But I think it's also important for you to blow off some steam with your friends. I know how much you enjoy hanging out with them." She finally felt at ease to find his eyes. "This is verusolid, baby. I'm not going anywhere. Go with the guys, have fun, have a boys night."

"And you?"

"I'll be fine. I'll make myself a bubble bath, do my nails, get a facial or something. Having some quiet time will be appreciated. I've done a lot lately and even though I've been adjusting, also need some time and quiet to process it all." Cocking her head to the side and giving the cutest puppy eye he ever saw, she got a playful chuckle out of him and understood that everything was alright. "Is that ok?"

"How can I say no to that face?"

"So you're going?" Kim looked like an excited little kid.

"Yeah. I'll text Atwater." He grabbed his phone again and replied to his friend, telling him that they would go over the details tomorrow. He had something else to take care of right now. "I love you." He grabbed her face with one hand and moved her a bit closer to capture her lips, lightly sucking on the bottom one, both of them smiling into their kiss, playing to see who would be to one to kiss the other first.

The giggles invaded the living room, and every now and then Adam would sneak a hand on the curve of her waist only to tickle her and make her laugh harder.

"Adam." She protested unable to control control her chuckling. "Stop it. You're going to wake Gracie up."

"Me? You're the noisy one." He shot back with a playful smile, he loved to hear her laughter.

"Only because of you."

Adam wiggled his eyebrows, giving a double meaning to her words. "Oh, shut up." She slapped his chest lightly, but neither of them stopped laughing.

"Fine, but I didn't say anything. That was your dirty dirty mind at work."

"So, you know what I'm thinking now?" He nodded with a mischievous look. "Ok. Let's see." He moved just enough so his mouth would be right next to her ear and whispered something to her, his warm breath making goosebumps cover her skin and his words causing to blush and giggle even harder.

"Was I right?" He asked with a cocky smile.

"Hmm, I guess you'll never know." Now her eyebrows were wiggling as he threw his head back pretending to be frustrated.

They were having too much fun, both of them feeling like a bunch of teenagers.

"Don't do this to me Belle. I am weak." He moved quickly to peck her lips and tried to get up from the couch. "Let's go to sleep. I can't take this much longer." He joked, pulling her up with him and they walked to his bedroom tied in a hug.