Kim awoke well rested after having such a horrible day before. She saw Adam was still asleep soundly. She allowed him to sleep as she knew he had been stressed out the day before having no idea how she ended up in the hospital. She saw the fear in his eyes when she had woken up the first time. They still had some time so she headed down stairs to relax only to realize Tiger way on her chest. She had no idea how that had happened. But she was happy to have him close by. She started to pet the little cat loving how he stretched out allowing his belly to be seen. Her fingers ghosted his belly seeing that he loved it so she rubbed his belly more. She closed her eyes are she continued to rub the tiny belly. She had no idea Adam had woken up and was watching them. She felt him moving slightly. She turned her head to see him watching them. "You two look happy this morning." He smiled pointing towards the cat. "Yeah we are. I'm surprised he is loving this. Most cats don't like their belly's rubbed. But my boy did. And I love that this one does too. It makes me very happy." Kim smiled lovingly. "Well he raced to be by your side last night. I had to help him into the bed. Put a step stool so he could get in and out during the night. It was sweet." He smiled at her reaching up to put the cats head.
"How are you feeling this morning?" He asked quietly. "I'm good. I thought we had gotten past all the issues but yesterday was the only thing I guess I never faced." Kim looked over at Adam. "Kim when you said yesterday that you were at that place. And now from your last statement. Am I right that the karate studio is in the same building that was your old dance studio? Is that what triggered your flashback?" He had wondered all night if that's what she meant but he needed to know for sure. "Yeah. I ah never looked at the address just typed the name of the place into the GPS and went. I got out if the car and it was like it was happening all over again. I honestly have no idea how we handle this. If she really wants to do this how do I take her there for classes? And I'm not just going to dump that all on you and Eric. That's not fair to you guys. I'm just not sure where to go from here with this. I think it would be helpful,to go to therapy today instead of work. Then take Allie out if school and spend the day with her. Make sure she doesn't feel pushed aside." Kim looked over to see his reaction. "I think that's a great idea. I also think I will take a half day. Spend it with Ry. I missed our time yesterday as promised so I think it would be good for us. Help with his fears about all the change." Kim smiled loving how his mind worked.
"Should we get moving?" Kim asked seeing they were running out of time. "Sounds like a plan. Tiger buddy time to get up. We need to shower buddy." He watched the kitten yawn in his face. The couple laughed. "Alright my little buddy. I know this is how cats work but I need to get up. We can do this again later my sweet little fur baby." Kim kissed his little nose moving him to the bed as they got up. They watched as he snuggled up where Kim had been sleeping. "Looks like someone fell under your spell too. Just proof everyone loves you." Adam kissed her leading her to the bathroom. The couple brushed their teeth as they waited for the water to heat up. They showered together Kim taking longer than Adam like usual. He got dressed seeing Tiger still on the bed sprawled out this time. "Buddy feeding time." He didn't listen but Adam had learned as soon as the wet food was opened the cat would come running. Allie was already up and moving dressed ready for the day. Riley was waking slowly ready to head the potty.
After the potty Adam brought him downstairs to start breakfast. Allie was already cleaning the litter box. "Good morning Allie Cat!" He watched her washing her hands. "Morning daddy Adam! Where's Tiger?" She asked confused. "Up in our bed. Sleeping where mommy always sleeps. I'm sure he will come running when you open the can." Adam offered her the can of the food. Riley was playing with toys while Allie opened the can. They all watched as they first heard a thud then the cat running down the stairs to get his food. Laughing at the tiny boy. Allie fed the cat and threw the trash out while Adam worked to make breakfast for his family. When Kim entered the room she heard the kids laughing. "Well good morning kiddos!" Kim greeted the kids as the kids ran to get hugs. "Morning mommy!" Both kids were in good moods. "Are you better today mommy?" Allie asked unsure of what really happened. She didn't understand what Adam tried to explain but she was happy mommy had been home. "I'm much better now. Got lots of sleep and lots of love from Tiger last night. So I'm doing great." Kim smiled happily.
"Awesome!" Allie giggled as they all headed to the kitchen to get breakfast. Adam had started placing food in the table and the kids were hungry. Once they all settled Adam decided to tell the kids about the plans for the day. "So kids mommy and I are only working half days and then we are going to get you kids from school so we can spend one on one time with you both. So Allie think about what you want to do with mommy. Riley think about what you want to do with daddy okay?" Both kids cheered. "Well guess that was the right call today. Let's finish up and head out for the day." Kim smiled at both kids. "Okay Riley let's get you dressed for the day." He scooped up his son placing him down so he could walk up the stairs on his own. They loved how independent he was but it also concerned him. Kim was a good influence on him but he still had little to no fear. "Alright buddy. You excited to spend time with daddy later?" He asked as he picked out his outfit for the day. "Yes! It be fun!" Riley giggled loudly. Adam kissed his son's head as he got him dressed for the day. "It's gonna be great buddy!" They headed back downstairs to leave for the day.
"Okay we have to take separate cars so we can go different things today. So Miss Allie Cat enjoy your day at school and your time with mommy. I will see you tonight. Love you my sweet girl." Adam hugged his daughter. "Love you too daddy Adam! See you tonight!" Allie hugged him back. "Riley my love have a good day! Have lots of fun! Be good today!" Kim hugged her son tightly. "Love you mommy!" Riley yelled hugging back. The families got into their cars and headed off in different directions. After both kids were dropped off Kim headed to the hospital to talk to Dr Charles about the incident the day before. While Adam headed to work. As he arrived he saw Platt calling him over right away. "What's going on Platt?" He asked looking at her confused. "How is she doing? She called off today." Platt looked worried. "She's okay. She's going to therapy today. The flashback happened in front of the old dance studio. She's confused as to handle this going forward. Especially if Allie wants to do karate. Kim doesn't want to not support her and not show up for her but can she go there for the classes. She needs advice and help. Then she's taking Allie out for the day. Doesn't want her feel left behind." Adam explained. "Okay. Off to work you go!" Platt dismissed him with no further words.
He arrived in the bullpen last but not late. He saw everyone was waiting for him. "She's good! Slept through the night. Surprisingly with Tiger on her chest. Woke this morning wanting to go to therapy and take the day off. After therapy she was planning to spend the day with Allie." Adam just told them what they wanted to know. "Do you know what caused the flashback?" Erin asked. "Oh yeah the karate place the school recommended is in the old dance studio. Kim saw the building and lost it. She worried about how to handle it going forward if Allie chooses to go there for classes. I was supposed to spend last night with Ry after work but that didn't happen so I'm doing that today. Work a few hours then take him out for the day. We want both kids to be happy and to not feel pushed aside so we are staying ahead of it." He shrugged. "Well I'm glad it all worked out. And I'm happy she had a little friend all night. Sounds like she needed it." Kevin mused. "Yeah she mentioned that her childhood cat never left her side after the rape. And Tiger sleeps on her belly all the time. Almost like he knows she needs him. It's adorable but he never wants to get up. He's a pain in the ass with that but he makes her happy so it's all good." Adam showed them a picture from last night of the two sleeping together.
"Super cute! Hopefully this is the end of the drama for a while." Antonio stars as he headed to his desk. "Not so sure about that." Mouse stated as he walked in. "Why? What's going on?" Adam asked very curious. "Well i looked into the issue Kim was having with Upton. I think I figured it out. It's definitely personal." Mouse paused for a minute before continuing. "Okay so it looks like Upton's parents filed for bankruptcy 12 years ago. The company they owned was sued for negligence." He watched as Adam was putting the pieces together. "Hold up! You are telling me that Upton's family owned the dance studio Kim was raped at. Then Kim's parents sued for negligence causing the bankruptcy?" He asked shocked and stunned. "That's exactly what I was getting at. I would assume she's pretty pissed about it." He confirmed what Adam was thinking. "Oh god. None of this is Kim's fault. Why? I don't get it. Why attack Kim verbally when she didn't do anything wrong." He sat down rubbing his face. "Look I will look into it further but this all lines up with the court records. Other than this I have no idea why. Just take it easy." Mouse left the room after that.
"We will figure this out. Luckily we know why now and have something to go back to her with. But leave Platt and myself to handle it. Focus on the kids, the baby and the new house. Don't worry about this. It will be handled." Voight entered his office after that. The team getting to work on the case from the day before. Meanwhile Kim was in therapy explaining what happened with the flashback and what she learned after flashback. "Kim we knew this would happen at some point. You haven't been to that building in 13 years. Of course you would flashback. That's not your fault. The way the cops handled it wasn't great. The didn't even try to understand before cuffing you. I honestly think you have been doing amazing at healing since last year. These things will happen but it will never diminish your progress. You've done amazing." Dr Charles was really proud of how well Kim was doing. "How do I handle going there if Allie wants to take karate there? I want to support her and watch her classes but how can I do that?" She asked confused and stressed. "I think maybe try desensitizing yourself to the location could help. I wouldn't go alone. Adam seems to help ground you. So bring him with you to check it out. I think you will over come this too. It seems like the last hurdle." He mused.
"Maybe. I hadn't thought about that. But that makes complete sense. I wish I could just think straight about these things instead of over thinking it. But I guess that is the anxiety still messing with my head. It will never go away fully will it?" She asked really lost in her thoughts. "It might not. But you have been doing great. The last 6 months you have been rock solid. The real anxiety is just a flare up. You are good. Just relax a bit. You got this like always." He looked at her like a proud parent. They continued talking for the rest of the hour. Kim left feeling better about handling the situation. She sent Adam a quick message letting him know his therapy had gone. He responded right away that he was happy it had gone well and to have fun with Allie. She left the hospital and headed straight to Allie's school. Getting her daughter for a mental health day. Allie was excited to leave school early to hang out with her mom. "So what are we doing today sweetheart?" Kim asked as she got Allie settled into the car. "I want to go rock climbing!" Allie begged. "Sure we can try it." Kim wasn't sure she would do well with the adult climbing walls but she wanted her to try at least. "Yay! I'm excited!" Allie was dancing in her seat. Kim laughed watching her daughter excited for the day out.
They arrived shortly after, Allie was beyond excited for this. She did really well with the ones at the park so she wanted a bigger challenge. Both Kim and Adam encouraged the kids to try new things and to never give up so they knew this was coming at some point. They headed inside Kim sending Adam a photo of Allie in front of the rock climbing wall. Her smile couldn't get any bigger. She also sent the photo to Eric so he was kept in the loop. Allie lasted an hour and made it half way up the wall which was pretty impressive considering her age. Kim took tons of photos as Allie climbed to share with both fathers. They decided to have lunch with both sets of Kim's parents. They had worked hard to get along so this was a chance for them to continue the progress. As the girls waited in the diner Adam was across town getting Riley from his school. "Hey Ry! What are we doing today?" Adam asked holding his son on his hip. "Jump park!" Riley cheered. "Okay let's go buddy!" Adam helped his son into the car. They headed to the jump park Riley talking the whole way.
Kim's parents arrived excited to see their grand daughter but also confused as to why. "Hey everyone! Thanks for coming!" Kim got up to hug them all as did Allie. "This was unexpected today. Is something wrong?" Her mother asked. "No. Nasty flashback yesterday but otherwise everyone is doing well." Kim assured them. "Flashback? What happened?" Her father asked concerned. "Well Allie wants to start karate. The school recommended a place where other kids from her school go. It happened to be in the old dance studio. I saw it and flashed. It was really not great but it's fine. Went to therapy today just in case." Kim explained. "Anything else we need to know?" Her step father asked. "Mommy and daddy Adam are having a baby!" Allie exclaimed. "Really?" They all asked. "Yes. We are 12 weeks along. We are excited. It's earlier than we would have liked but we are excited to expand our family." Kim explained smiling wide. They all hugged Kim with rounds of congratulations. Lunch continued as the boys played across town.
Riley was having a blast. Adam took lots of video and lots of pictures to show to Kim later but to also add to his photo book. Kim had spent many of hours working to make his photo book even calling the hospital getting a copy of his hospital photo from the day he was born. He couldn't have been happier seeing the book for the first time. They had even started one for the nugget growing in Kim's belly. He felt his phone buzz letting him know she told her family about the baby at lunch. He smiled right away. He knew he needed to tell his family as well he just hadn't gotten to it. He would today though. As Riley started to slow down Adam took him back to the car. They headed towards his dad's place. Riley would be thrilled to see his grandparents when he woke up again. Adam wasn't surprised at all that Riley crashed out already. As he arrived his father was happy to see them and took Riley to the bedroom to sleep for a bit. "Why aren't you working son?" Bob asked confused. "Worked a half day today. Wanted to sound time with Riley one on one. We have lots of changes going on and he doesn't do well with change so we are spending the day with our kids." He explained not giving the full story. "What changes besides the house?" He asked. Adam smiled wide. "Kim's pregnant, 12 weeks. The kids aren't taking it the best." Adam was so excited.
"That's great! I'm excited for you both. The kids will come around. They just need time. It's a lot of changes at one time for both of them. Just keep doing what you are doing." They talked for a while longer till Riley woke up running right into Bobs arms. They stayed for a bit before going to Adams mother's house to repeat the same conversation. Overall everyone was excited for the couple. They all headed home around dinner time to eat as a family. Kim had gotten take out for the family. As they settled around the table the kids talked animatedly about their days. It was crazy and loud but worth every second. They were so hyped up after dinner that Kim decided to have a dance party to wear them out before bedtime. It had been an amazing day with the kids. By 8:30 the kids were out cold and being carried to bed. The kids placed on bed and covered before the adults headed downstairs to spend time together.
They snuggled close together. Enjoying the time together. "Can I ask you something?" He asked quietly. "Sure. What's up?" She asked not sure what he wanted to talk about. "Months ago you said one day you would tell me about the side effects you went through going on to meds. We never actually talked about it. I'm curious as to how that was for you." He explained. "Okay. You are right that I said I would talk about it. So my anxiety got worse, the head aches were the worst pain ever. My joints hurts, my hands shook, my teeth hurt. I was nauseous, I was weak, in the bathroom with diarrhea every day. The hot flashes triggered anxiety but the anxiety triggered the hot flashes. It was endless cycle. But the worst was the insomnia. I didn't sleep for a week straight. I thought I was dying. The hot flashes got so bad I was convinced my brain was cooking from the inside out. I ended up in the hospital. I started sleeping meds for a bit after that. Took about three weeks before I started to feel a bit more normal. I could at least the house again. But it was rough. I wouldn't wish that on anyone." Kim looked over to see Adam's face.
"Wow I had no idea. I knew those medications had side effects but all that was insane. How did survive that?" He was shocked. "I slept on the floor, lived on bagels, bananas, turkey sandwiches and tea. Once the side effects got better I started going outside more. Trying to heal. The support group helped me a lot during that time. Which you know. But it was rough." She paused for just a moment before commenting further. "So as you know I have talked to Dr Charles about going off my meds at some point. He suggested at least two more years." She heard him gasp but held up her hand for her to continue before making comment. "With the weaning process which would probably take about 2 months to fully get off meds I would go through withdrawals which could be bad for the baby if I can't keep food down. And once they are here I have to eat right to be able to breast feed them. So that's a year of breast feeding plus 6 more months of pregnancy. So yeah 18 months. I know it's probably not what you wanted to hear but that's his stance on the situation. So after hearing all that what's your thoughts?" She wanted to be up front and honest. They talked about it in the past about possibly going off meds after the anniversary but this changed things.
"I guess I wasn't thrilled about it at first. I honestly didn't like that you are still on them. Not because I want to control you or because I think I know better. It's just sad that you needed them for so long. But I don't want you going off them if you still need them or it's going to hurt the baby. And if you went off them only to realize you need them again I can only assume the side effects would happen again which would be bad for the baby. So yeah I guess we revisit in 2 years. But know that I appreciate you talking about it and looking into it. I know it's a big decision to make and very scary so I'm proud of you for having the conversation." He was surprised with the conversation but thankful they had it and had a plan. Even if it wasn't exactly what he hoped for. He kind of saw the medicine as a tie to the past. But he trusted her doctors to know what was best for her health and the baby. "I think I knew he was going to saw that. Only because I know people who have gone through withdrawal before, including Erin. And it's not pretty so I can understand not wanting to risk it while pregnant. But I'm also happy he didn't tell me no all together. So I thought that was a positive sign. If he was really worried that I wouldn't be okay without them I think he would have told me I can't consider it ever. And he didn't. So that's good." Kim clung to the hope that one day she would be off the meds but for now she waited. "I agree with that. He would have told you no if he thought it was wrong even in the future so you are absolutely right it's a positive. And keeping this nugget safe is most important." His fingers running over her belly.
"I think it's a boy. I don't know why but I have a strong feeling it's a boy." Kim watched Adam's face light up. "Really? That's interesting. Any name ideas for said boy?" He asked excitedly. "I do have a name in mind. It going super old school here, back to 2009 vacation but Christopher." He looked confused. "It's the name of the street we both stayed at that week. Feels fitting for our love story and our love child." Kim smile wide as Adam realized she was right and that she wanted their child's name to have special meaning. "I love it. It's perfect. Perfect for us and this child if it's a boy. God it's perfect!" He cried happy tears loving how they were planning for this child together. Something he missed completely with Riley. "If only I could figure out a perfect girls name we would be set. But I just can't think of one." She tossed her back on the couch annoyed. "We got time. No rush. I'm just happy I'm here to be a part of this. It's been incredibly so far." He leaned down to kiss her tiny belly. He loved kissing it, touching it. It was magical to him.
"I'm happy you are here too. It's been a dream so far. I know it will get worse as I get larger but right now has been a dream. I have loved every minute of it. All of the tears have been happy tears. No fighting, no yelling. Just love, care and support. I couldn't ask for more than that." She looked back to see him smiling with tears in his eyes. "I think it's time for bed. What do you think?" Adam asked cheekily. "Meet you there." Kim pushed him off running towards the stairs. He scooped her up carrying her to their room. They spent the night naked wrapped up in each other. Enjoying the love they shared and the excess hormones that made Kim overly sexual when they were alone together. They both took full advantage of the good times knowing she might go off sex later on in the pregnancy. But for now they happily indulged in their active sex life. One Kim never believed was possible.
They fall asleep in the wee hours of the morning after a quick shower and change of the sheets but they couldn't have been happier.