Adam awoke early the next morning. Exactly where he was happy to be in bed with his naked wife he also hated that today they were headed home from their safe haven. He never wanted to leave here but knew it wasn't reality. He felt Kim walking knowing they needed to get moving so they could finish packing up the condo once more. "Good morning wifey!" He whispered with a smirk on his face. "Good morning hubby!" Kim giggled a bit. "I guess we have to get up huh?" She frowned. "Yup! But it's a slower morning but yes. We should start the process at least. They shared a few heart stopping kisses before Kim headed to the shower while Adam striped the bed. As soon as Kim stepped out he stepped in washing quickly. Kim dressed then finished packing their clothes. She headed to the kitchen to pack up all the extras they melt in the storage room. "Morning! You want me to carry that down for you?" Eric asked seeing the tote she had packed up. "Yes please!" Kim was happy for the help.
Adam stepped out of their room seeing Kim working away. "What can I do to help?" He asked kissing her head. "Strip the bed in Eric's room?" He nodded heading right to work. Eric rejoined them briefly before jumping into the shower. "We need to get the kids beach things cleaned up and put in the storage area again." Kim rambled. "Okay no worries that's easy. And I will put your fan down there again too." Adam headed down the stairs with all the toys, small chairs and her fan down to the storage area. It really was a life saver with all it held so they didn't have to pack as much or rent it all. He locked it up before heading back to the condo. The kids were waking at this point so Adam got the kids in the showers while Kim got the sheets washed. After the kids were washed up Adam took the towels down to wash and put the sheets in the dryer. It wasn't even 9 and they had a good start on all the things that needed to get done. "Trash from the bathrooms and bedrooms? And comforters and pillows put back on the beds please." Kim was still in the kitchen cleaning out the last of the fridge items.
They all worked on a good rhythm as the kids played a game. "I also dried off all the bath products and put them in the closet Kim." Adam watched her smile. "Thank you that's very helpful." Kim sighed a bit. "Alright let's get some of the suitcases down the stairs." Adam offered to Eric "Yeah let's do this." Eric grabbed a suitcase and started the stairs to the car. It was just about 10:30 when they were all finally leaving the condo to head to breakfast. The kids were excited for breakfast and the adults were starved. They headed to the usual stop which was a larger restaurant with plenty of free tables. The whole family was seated right away while Allie talked about saying good bye to the beach. "Oh yes I get to see this famous song and dance in person this year!" Adam had her giggling for sure. He knew the video wouldn't do it justice knowing her as well as he does. "You have no idea!" Kim laughed but it was a good show.
They ordered and the food arrived very quickly. Adam was surprised they didn't go to Bobs but apparently this was tradition so he was rolling with it. Neither kid spoke a word as they were so hungry they only focused on the food before them. "So I guess we need to stop for chicken biscuits before we hot golf since neither of the ladies got a protein?" Adam offered knowing Kim didn't eat beef and pork due to allergies and Allie ate the same way. "Yes they will need it before the headaches set in." Eric knew all too well how the girls worked. "Well I will never turn that down." Kim laughed. "Of course we will. It will be an easy stop for sure." Adam was happy to feed her. After breakfast they all headed to the beach to watch the good bye song and dance live. It was beyond adorable watching Allie signing and dancing. She even blew kisses to the beach as they left. The adults cracking up as they watched her. They headed to get the chicken sandwiches next. It was a very quick stop and then they headed to the mini golf course that Kim loved best. It opened at noon so they hoped it would be empty and the kids could take longer.
The girls munched as Adam drove them to the mini golf course. As soon as they arrived Adam was already loving it. It was large and quite nice compared to the other courses they had played. He could see why they wanted to save this one for when no one was playing. It was definitely full competition mode as Kim and Eric took to the first hole. He was also amazed how they both knew every word of the greeting that played as you walked onto the course. It was definitely strange but it showed him why they had been friends and how they maintained being friends. He mostly only saw the bad times but he was happy to see the good times. He could see it now. The whole family was having fun laughing at the craziness around them. Riley laughing every time a cannon ball hit the water or appeared to. The splashing water and noises was enough to have him in stitches. Adam was taking lots of photos and videos of the kids laughing and having fun.
"You guys may want to answer your phone! Mine is starting to blow up!" Eric showed them his phone. "But the bubble! I don't want to burst it!" Kim whined. "Oh please! You just ignoring your phone. You are avoiding the drama. But it has to stop since your mother is blowing up my phone now. And if I talk to her it won't be pretty. You know that!" He gave her a very stern look. "Fine! But it's so much better when I don't have her drama. She has no filter and she's so tactless. I don't want her to ruin this." She started to get teary eyed. Adam pulled her close rubbing her back. "We all know this. But she's your mom. And unless you are prepared to go 5 rounds with her this is what you need to do. So suck it up buttercup." He grabbed her phone handing it right to her. She huffed but answered the phone. She didn't stop playing either. "Sorry mom but we were enjoying the bubble we created here. The peace and quiet time here." Kim sighed her shoulders sagging. "Yes I understand you are not happy about this but this was exactly what we wanted. Getting married in our safe haven. How about I finish playing mini golf with my family and you can yell at me tomorrow?" Kim sighed heavily. "Okay bye mom!" Kim just closed her eyes trying to stay calm.
"Sounds like she was a gem like always." Adam rolled his eyes. "Yup! Let's just keep playing. Our friends get it since they all sent congratulations and said they would see us Monday. They got it!" Kim went back to playing with the kids. Overall they had a fun time for them all. It stayed competitive till the very last hole where once again Kim and Eric sing along with the song before the last hole. Adam was cracking up watching them. "You two are a mess!" Even the kids were laughing at that point. "Let's finish this! We have a plane to catch!" Kim laughed helping the kids tee off on the 18th hole. It was a very hard hole but they were all trying to get their best to beat the other. In the end Eric beat Kim but 2 strokes and was way over the top about it. She literally just stuck her tongue out giving him a raspberry then turned around to walk away. Adam and Eric laughing hysterically at her. The kids were once again loaded in the car and they headed to the airport. The kids napped for a bit on the way which left Kim and Adam time to sit with their feelings.
"Are you going to deal with her tomorrow?" Adam asked knowing Kim was pissed. "Probably not. She needs to grow up some. I'm way too happy to deal with her crap right now." Kim shrugged a bit. "Well can't argue that but don't wait too long it will only make her worse. Maybe suggest going to therapy together for a bit? It can't hurt." Adam suggested knowing it really did need to happen. "I hear ya. I think when we did therapy as a kid it was to deal with the rape. And how they viewed me and like surrounding it. I don't think we ever dealt with the core issues. And I know she doesn't do well with boundaries so that seems to be where we need to work again. But again I'm thrilled with where we are in this life. And next week we get to see Chris again and can see how much more he's grown. I'm good right now." Kim was super happy with life. "I completely agree! I can't wait to see him again. And feel him kick. I'm super excited about that." Adam knew Kim knew these things but he always wanted to remind her that he's here for it all.
"I know it's so exciting. But you being excited makes it so much better. I love that you want to be involved with every aspect of this craziness. You don't mind the cravings, you don't mind shaving my legs, you rub my feet and back. You don't even complain when I change my mind about a craving. I absolutely feel supported for sure. And that's all I ever wanted." Kim cried softly but they were happy tears and hormone fueled. "And I will never complain. This is all I ever wanted. But it being with you has been even better than I could have imagined." Adam squeezed her hand. He wanted to kiss her but he was driving so that wasn't possible. "Let's get this trip finished I'm sure the kids will be excited to get home to Tiger. I'm excited to get home to Tiger. I'm very interested in how he did with Kevin. Like I know Kev said it's been going well but he might just be telling me that." Kim laughed a bit knew it would be fine either way. "I'm sure it was fine. Tiger is a good cat. Kev will probably only complain about the litter box. Hell I complain about the litter box. But not much we can do about that especially with you pregnant. I read up on that and how unsafe it can be. So it's fine. Maybe a vanilla spray for in there to cover the stink?" He asked. "Yeah we can get a plug in thing to help with it. Though I don't think it's bad. And he covers it most of the time so that is very helpful. My boy almost never covered it and he had fire butt. So that was horrible to deal with. Especially when he didn't make it to the box and went on the carpet. That was brutal. Funny thing though he would always sit with you while you cleaned it. Like moral support or something." Kim smiled sadly thinking about him.
"That sounds awful! Poor thing. Was it because of the cancer?" Adam asked. "Not that we know of. He had bad constipation for years. We had him on Miralax for years. So that probably what caused it. Then we changed his food at one point and the poop turned solid again. But then we had the constipation issues again. The last maybe 5 years were rough. We really tried everything we could to keep him comfortable till the end." Kim got really quiet for a minute. "Ever since he left us I see praying mantises everywhere. They saw that it's someone watching over you. I like to think it's P watching me. That same day. I felt him jump in my lap but he wasn't there. I felt his paws on my leg. Sometimes I still feel him in our bed, jumping into it. It's crazy." She smiled a little watery. "Hey we know he's with you, always. But I love that he's sending you signs. He knows you did it for the right reasons. To let him be at peace. He's happy at peace. No more suffering, no more pain, no more confusion, no more cancer. Just happiness and love watching over you always." He knew she needed to hear that. It was always hard talking about him.
"I know but I still miss my boo. Miss him greeting me at the door, miss him sleeping on me all the time, following me everywhere. He loved sleeping under the Christmas tree. He loved to play and loved catnip. He actually got the container open one night. I found him covered in catnip rolling in it looking high as hell. We actually taped the container shut and then he would chew on it. He was nuts that's for sure. But he picked me and wouldn't let other cats come near me. So I brought him home. It was love instantly." Kim smiled remembering the craziness of those days. "Sounds funny. And crazy. Any other craziness?" He knew there was more but she had shared some already. "Oh lord so he was feral for a bit before he was trapped. So garbage cans were always knocked over pulling food out. Loaves of bread taken off the counter top and shredded on the floor. Paper towel rolls chewed on, frozen chicken packages chewed on. He actually got on the fridge late one night and opened the freezer leaving it open all night. You could see the paw prints in the freezer. Burying who.e rolls of toilet paper in the litter box. He was nuts!" Kim shook her head laughing. "Sounds crazy! I hope Tiger doesn't pick up all those crazy behaviors. He's calm and peaceful compared to that." He was shocked how nuts her cat was. He had no idea how crazy cats could be and Tiger was still little so it was possible that the crazy would still come.
"We could still have a crazy boy at home once he's bigger. Only time will tell. But it will be a fun ride no matter what." Kim smiled thinking of their boy at home. "I hear ya. So let's get home. We could all use some home time before work tomorrow." They were arriving at the airport so it was time to start the process of getting their bags inside with the car seats. It was a lot of work but Eric helped out getting the car seats checked and getting the biggest suitcase checked. Thankfully they were able to leave more at the condo for the boys so they actually had less luggage to bring home. They all said their goodbyes inside the airport before Eric headed to return his rental and then getting his drive home started. He had another 6 hours ahead of him on the road. The rest of the family moved towards the gate wanting to relax watching the planes till they boarded the plane.
Luckily they were able to do pre boarding since they had small kids which really helped to get them settled a bit before the plane filled up. They didn't have to buy a ticket for Riley but did for Allie. So they had the whole row to themselves. They got the kids settled watching tv shows and with snacks to keep them entertained while they were on the plane. Kim even had her own snacks that she shared with Adam and the kids. The whole flight the kids were well behaved thankfully. They arrived in Chicago less than 2 hours later. Once again the chaos of getting all their things and getting them to the car began. But they were thrilled to do it and thrilled to be almost home. The kids were cheering when they pulled up at home ready to run free again. "Kids now, luggage later." Adam just wanted to crash and most of the luggage had clean clothes so to him it could wait. "Sounds good. I'm beat!" They headed in seeing Kevin still there waiting for them. "Uncle Kevin!" Allie screamed as she ran into his waiting arms. He picked her up hugging her tight before picking up Riley giving him a hug too.
"Well hello Mr and Mrs Ruzek!" Kevin laughed as Kim blushed and started to cry. "Come here girl!" He pulled her into a hug noticing it was getting harder to hug her. "You are not mad?" Kim asked shyly. "Never! We are all very happy for you both. Are we sad we won't get to see it sure. But we are thrilled for you both." He still held her. "Well we still plan on doing a full wedding in May after the baby weight is gone. Though I'm sure we could do it sooner but May is perfect." Adam watched the two smiling wide. "Do you want to see pictures?" Kim asked seeing the kids playing with the cat. "Of course!" Kevin was happy to see them. "Okay so this is the chapel." Kim showed him. "Another tree? You guys really love trees." He was confused a bit. "Well when we had dates the first time we always went to the park and would have picnics under a tree. It was our thing so we still like to do that. And we want the kids to love it too." Adam explained knowing it seemed strange. "Well that makes a ton of sense." He smiled looking at the other photos. "Nice view of the water. I see why this was your decision. It's really perfect for you both." Kevin hugged them both excited for them.
"Okay so how was your time watching Tiger?" Kim asked very curious. "It wasn't that bad. He actually didn't hang out with me that much. He did sleep in your bed most days. I think he was sad without you but he was fine. He ate, he drank water, he used the litter box fine. That stinks like hell by the way. I gagged the first time." Adam was laughing. "Oh we know but like Kim said at least he covers it most of the time." He shrugged. "Oh I agree! But he was great. We can do it again sometime." Kevin was fine with watching the cat again. "Good to know!" Kim laughed. Kevin stayed a bit longer playing with the kids outdoors while the couple unpacked a bit. After Kevin left the couple ordered dinner for the family who was crashing fast. But they were happy and that was all that mattered. Adam put on a movie and the whole family just sat watching the movie while Tiger slept in Kim's arms. It was clear as day that he missed Kim and wanted the closeness back.
They ate dinner at the table but Tiger stayed close by Kim laying next to her on the floor. He looked like a dog begging for people food. Adam cleaned up dinner and moved the kids upstairs to play for a while. It was just easier since they were already crashing from only having one short nap. Kim followed behind them with Tiger enjoying the laughter that would soon turn to crying. They both knew it. Neither kid making it till 8pm before falling asleep. "What do you think? Go to bed early?" He could tell she was beyond exhausted. "Sounds good but I'm not sure I'm ready to sleep. I just want to relax in your arms for a bit." She watched him smiling. "Well let's go then. I'm sure your feet hurt after a long day." He watched her nod as she headed for the stairs. The couple undressed and got into bed with Tiger close behind them.
"Today was the first time I really saw the friendship you have with Eric. I normally only see the bad times. But today watching you two singing along at the mini golf course to the pre recorded messages was amusing. And the competition between you two was hysterical. I enjoyed it immensely." He watched her smiling. "It wasn't always bad. We just didn't work together well as a couple. You heard him, he's not equipped to take care of her full time. We just wanted different things. Us not being together as a couple actually made things easier. Because I didn't wonder and worry about who he was with and if he was coming home. It was just better to be apart." Kim shrugged but knew he got it. "Sounds about right. I think we will always have disagreements but you two working together as a team is exactly the right thing then and now. To protect our children. All three of them." He rubbed her belly hoping to feel a kick though he knew it was too soon.
"That's why I did what I did. I knew we couldn't work together but we could be a team. And that was what we do. Bumps and all." Kim sighed a bit. "I also like the fact that he doesn't let you get away with crap. And he reminds you to be safe and take it easy. Like with your ankle that you apparently cut at Jurassic Putt." He looked at her wondering the story. "Well you saw the sidewalk there. It's all uneven and cracked. So I tripped falling into one of those big boulders, scratching my ankle badly, but I never hit the ground. But it was scary for sure and a bit embarrassing. I'm sure people thought I was drunk. Though I was sober as a judge that day." She placed a kiss on his neck. "I'm really pleased how this all worked out. It's been amazing." He held her close. "What do you think tomorrow will bring?" Adam asked wondering how the team will handle it. "Not sure I think they will be thrilled and probably razz us some. But it will be better than my mom." She laughed a bit. "Alright! Night time,you and Chris need some sleep. So let's crash out. I love you wife!" Adam kissed her. "Love you too hubby!" She kissed him back curling up into a comfortable position as she fall asleep. Adam was right behind her.
The next morning no one wanted to get up but the couple had work so they had to get moving. The kids were moody but were happy once they arrived at daycare. Getting to play with their friends won out over the tiredness. The couple arrived at work not sure what to expect from their friends. They noticed Platt wasn't at her desk. "Burgess you are upstairs today, per Platt." Garcia called out seeing her walking in. "Thanks!" Kim smiled heading up the stairs with Adam. The couple entered the bullpen seeing all their friends yelling congratulations. Balloons everywhere, signs, streamers. It was overwhelming for the couple. "Thank you!" Kim cried once again getting hugs from everyone. Adam was by herself side rubbing her back. "So tell us, how did this happen?" Erin asked wondering the why behind it. "Well Kim decided she wanted to be married before Chris is born. But she also wanted to have it just be us, in our happy place. She suggested this small chapel at the local church that is water side. It was really beautiful. And we promise in May we will have a full wedding with everyone there to celebrate." Adam explained knowing Kim was to overwhelmed to speak.
"So let's see the photos!" Jay laughed not surprised at all by what happened. "Also before we go any further. What day did you get hitched?" Antonio asked. "Friday why?" Kim asked super confused. "We've had a betting pool going about your wedding so let's see who won." He replied seeing the couple shocked but laughing. "Oh I already know I won!" Jay laughed putting his hand out for the money. The whole team laughed handing over the money to Jay. "Anyway! Here's the photos." Kim handed over her phone letting them look at all the pictures. "A waterside chapel built into a tree! Kim that's crazy perfect for you two!" Erin laughed hugging her friend. "Right? It was just the best place possible for us with just our kids. We did let Eric know ahead of time but it was just us with two people from the church signing off on the license." Adam was just happy seeing their friends excited for them.
"That's really great! So proud of you both. You deserve this, you both do. So let's have some cake and then get to work." Voight offered as the cake was brought out. The couple cut the cake together like it was a real reception. They even fed little bites to each other. Photos were taken of the couple with their extended family. Also photos were taken with just Erin and Jay and photos with just Kevin. It really was the best reception they could have had with their work family. Thought the fun ended as a case came in. Kim stayed upstairs to work the case. Of course the couple would love to live in the fun a bit longer but this was the job. And so they worked the case in front of them. This was just how life worked so the couple just rolled along knowing that life would only get more perfect as the days go on, together and happy.