Adam awoke the next morning feeling Kim sound asleep. He opened his eyes snuggling closer to her. Kissing under her chin and neck. He felt her squirming under his touch, giggling at being tickled by his beard. "Baby is that time already?" Kim whined. "Well we do have to get moving. Milo is getting his cast off today and I assume you want me there too." Adam watched her. "Oh absolutely! I cant go alone. I feel like someone needs to be brave in this situation. Lord knows I wont be." Kim shook her head knowing she was going to freak out later. "It wont be easy for me either but we have to do it. He needs the cast off so his arm doesnt get too weak. We both know that." He watched her sigh a bit. "Oh I know. Maybe we can get bloodwork done at the same time? Kill 2 birds with one stone." Kim suggested. "Im good with that. We need to do it anyway so why not. Get it over with." Adam was fine with that. He was happy to get the tests done so they could be safe. They knew they were being safe together but they needed the tests to be clear for certain.
"Okay lets get up! We need to get moving. Im slightly horrified to see how dirty Milo's arm is going to be under the cast. The sand, the dirt, the leaf debris. Im going to look like such a bad mom." Kim cringed. "Every kid has that issue. Im not worried about that at all. Its actually not uncommon to have that and to even find roaches in the cast. It happens. So lets just get the cast off and then we can go from there." Adam smiled watching her process everything. "Should we keep it?" Kim asked wondering about that. "Um I dont know. Maybe if Milo wants to keep it. But I dont think we need it. Photos of it are enough I think." Adam had no idea if people did that or not. "Wasnt sure if that was a thing or not. I didn't exactly get a cast when I broke my finger. And as an adult I didnt want to see my arm cast again. I was over it." Kim shuddered thinking about it.
"Yeah I guess its just a splint for the finger. Or just taping it." Adam knew it was a pretty easy fix. "And it was my pointer finger so it was hard to do things and its crocked still." Kim held up her finger letting him see it. "Oh yeah look at that. How come?" He asked looking over it. "So my dad didn't believe me that it was broken. He thought it was just jammed, so he tried popping it out but it never worked. After a week I finally convinced my mom to take to me the doctor when he said it was broken. So it healed wrong." Kim shrugged. "Another thing they neglected. Its just crazy how you turned out so well." Adam helped her up moving her to the bathroom. They could talk as they showered. "That was in 8th grade. So its been messed up forever now. I uh read online about a chronic illness linked to hyper mobility. I was thinking about getting tested for it. It doesnt change much just anti-inflammatory medications and physical therapy. I dont have the stretchy skin but I have so many of the other things." Kim watched him process her words.
"Well I think it would make you feel better knowing if you have it or not. Even if its not a major thing. You need answers so lets get the testing done. Whats it called?" Adam didn't knlw anything about it. "Its called Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. Apparently there is genetic testing that can be done. Not sure if insurance will pay for that or not. But answers would be nice. Knowing for certain one way or the other. I think a life filled with no answers has left me craving them more than ever." Kim knew he would understand completely. "That sounds like the right course of action. I am behind you 100%. Lets finish up and I promise to read up on this syndrome later." He kissed her quick so they could finish up their showers. Adam got out first drying off and starting to dress for the day. Kim was finishing up her shower as Adam started to get the kids ready for the day.
She could hear all the laughter from down the hall. She loved that sound, it made her incredibly happy. She dressed quick before drying her hair just in case the kids ran in on her. "Kiddos outfits please! Milo pick something easy since your cast comes off today." Adam watched Milo cheering excitedly. He was beyond thrilled to be cast free again. Thruthfulky so were his parents. Kim hated looking at it. Adam got Mia dressed while Milo looked over his clothing options. Adam shaking his head watching his son looking through everything. "Bud you have to hurry up some." Adam watching him finally make his choices. "Thank you! Mia go see momma okay." Adam knew Kim could help Mia with her hair at least. Adam got Milo finished up and moving down the stairs with Gunner in tow. "Bud let Gunner out please!" Adam started to make breakfast while Milo played.
"What are you doing Ms Mia?" Kim smiled seeing Mia looking happy. "Daddy sent me." Mia batted her eyes. "Well I guess you need your hair done then." Kim brushed her tying it back into a ponytail. Both enjoying the time together. "Ready to head downstairs?" Kim asked as they were ready for the day. Mia started to head for the stairs finding breakfast ready for them. He tried to make extra fruit on the weekend so it was easier on Monday's. "Thanks babe!" Kim smiled as she got the kids set up and moved to get Gunner back inside. Adam sat to eat as Kim fed Gunner his breakfast. "You are welcome darling!" Adam smiled as she down to eat her breakfast. It was shortly after they finished eating the whole family was headed out for the day. They had a busy day ahead. The car filled with chatter as Adam drove them to the hospital.
At the hospital the small family moved inside the waiting area. They had an appointment to get the cast removed with Will so it was easier this way. They relaxed as they waited. Maggie came out shortly to bring them back. "Hey guys! Ready to get the cast off?" Maggie saw Milo beaming. "We are all ready for this." Kim answered as they followed Maggie to a room. "Okay lets get you up here little man!" Maggie scooped Milo up placing him on the bed. "Hey Maggie is it possible while we are here to get yearly testings?" Adam asked hopimg it would be easy. "Yeah. Any concerns or just being safe?" She asked. "Just being safe. In this line of work you never know." Kim shrugged. "Gotcha. I will get Will to put in the orders. It is easy enough." Maggie headed out to find Will. "Halstead!" Maggie called out. "Hey Maggie whats going on?" He was concerned seeing her running towards her. "Adam and Kim want to do testing while they are here. Can you put the order in so I can get started?" Maggie explained. "Yeah thats fine. Makes sense since they are already here. Do they have concerns? Symptoms?" He asked. "They say no. Kim mentioned in their line of work it makes sense." Maggie was not sure what to believe.
"Sounds like a good plan. Lets go." Will followed Maggie over to the room they were in. "Hey Will! Thanks for the help today." Kim got up to great him. "No problem at all. It makes sense giving you work around blood a lot. So Im happy to help with that. I will have Maggie draw your blood while I work on Milo's cast." They all got to work Kim going first so she could snuggle both kids while the cast was coming off. Kim moved over to the bed with the kids while Adam got his blood drawn. Milo was staying still as the saw worked to cut the cast open. "God Im already embarrassed for what is in there." Kim chuckled. "Im sure its not that bad." Will laughed a bit. "Oh if you only knew how hard he plays." Kim laughed a bit. "Well lets see we have sand, is that leaf debris?" Will pointed. "Yup!" Adam laughed a bit. "Oh little man we need to wash your arm up some. Its dirty." Will had Maggie grab the supplied to wash Milo up. "How is it doing?" Will asked Milo. "Different." He laughed. "What does different mean?" Will asked trying to figure it out. "Lighter, tingling." Milo stated. "Well its going to be lighter without the cast. And the tingling will go away as the arm adjusts to the lighter weight." Will was satisfied things were stable.
"I suggest maybe a sling for a few more days till his arm is used to the new weight again. But for now lets get you washed up." Will started to wash up Milos arm seeing how dirty the water was. "Thank you for that. I could have done it." Kim watched them cleaning Milo up. "Its no issue. This is part of the job." Will finished washing Milos arm then dried it off. Both kids were happy getting a sticker and lollipop each before they headed out. The couple thrilled with how the appointment went. The cast was off, Milo was happy and the couple had been tested. While they waited for the results they headed to drop off the kids. "Okay Milo I would love for you to be more careful at school today and going forward. Neither of us want to see you get hurt again. Just take it easy today. Okay?" Kim asked as they entered the school. "Okay!" Milo headed into class as Mia hugged Kim a bit longer before heading into class. Kim waved bye as she headed out.
"You doing okay?" Adam asked as Kim got back in. "Um yeah. Im happy the kids are okay. So lets get to work." Adam smiled as he drove towards the district. Both their phones buzzed. Kim looked to see who texted. "Oh hospital with the results. Lets look." Kim opened the message seeing everything was negative. "All clean." Kim sighed in relief. "Okay pop my phone open. You are free to check it." Adam had nothing to hide. "Okay lets see. The tests are all negative. Perfect." Kim was happy as they all headed to work. "Perfect. Now we can relax a bit." Adam squeezed her hand smiling wide. They arrived at the district late for work but Voight knew they would be late. "Hey morning." Kim announced as they arrived letting Gunner loose. "Morning! How did it go?" Kevin asked. "It was fine. A bit dirty but it was fine. The kids are back at school ready to play again." Kim had been more nervous then the kids. "Thats great! Did they enjoy the trail ride yesterday?" Jay asked. "They did! Though Mia called Adam out on being sore after the ride. It was hilarious." They all laughed a bit. "It was 2 hours. Thats crazy long for someone whos not used to riding." Adam had been sore and still was but he was happy to have done it. "That is very true. But it was beautiful on the trail." Kim smiled thinking about it.
"It was a nice ride. Im happy we did it. Hopefully the soreness gets lesser over the next day or so. We have tons of packing to do still." Adam groaned thinking about it. Kim smirked moving towards the breakroom when they all heard a loud pop. Kim literally bending over in pain. "What the hell was that noise?" Voight yelled as he came out of the office finding Adam next to Kim. "That was my knee popping. Im okay. I just need to walk to off." Kim started to walk again. "My god that was loud! How the hell are you still walking?" Voight was worried. "Its my normal. Not that loud normally. But Im okay. It doesnt hurt anymore." She made a tea not seeing all the strange looks she was getting. Adam followed her making sure she was really okay. "That was loud as hell. You sure you are good?" He watched her but she seemed fine. "Yup! Im good. It was the knee I hit during the bombing so maybe its worse. But it doesnt even hurt anymore. It was just the moment." Kim kissed him softly heading back to her desk. "Seriously that was crazy loud! How the hell are fine?" Antonio was watching her walking. "Its been like this forever. Its crazy but its just my life. So I deal with it." Kim shrugged really to move on.
"Im definitely looking into that Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. If we can get something to help with it then we need to do that. Even if its just physical therapy to strengthen the muscles to help stop it then we should do that." Adam knew they all heard him but neither cared. "Thats fine. I wanted you to look into it anyway. Michael always gives me shit for looking up medical advice on the internet but this seems more legit and research only." Kim shrugged a bit starting to work on her presentation for the next seminar. The whole team was working away on different things. Adam was pretty shocked by what he was reading. Kim truly had a ton of the things associated with this syndrome. But it didnt seem life threatening. Even the tension in her shoulders was on the list, headaches, joint pain. He was concerned and hoped they could get her tested and fast. He was looking into the home testimg options but it seemed it was nothing offical for at home. It seemed it was doctor only and my genetic testing. That he knew would be expensive. But it needed to happen.
It wasnt long before they all heard the gate opening. They all heard several people walking towards them. Gunner growling right away. Kim went into protective mode knowing this wasnt going to be good. "Detective Burgress?" An older man asked. "Thats me. How can I help you sergeant?" Kim could tell by the badge. "Dropping off some files for you. You want to play sex police go ahead but my people arent playing anymore. Its bullshit so you handle it!" The Sergeant sneered at her. "Well Sergeant Im going to assume by your attitude that you are from Vice. With 1974 syndrome and dont give two shits about what happens to woman let alone hookers. You are a disgrace to the badge and a disgrace to men everywhere. You dont want your men to get better as cops and grow well thats fine with me. You can take it up with the Commander. Now if you will excuse me I have plenty of work to do. And Im sure you have MAGA meeting to attend." Kim whipped around seeing Adam cracking up and the rest speechless. Gunner still barking.
"You are being insubordinate!" He yelled at her. "And shes just calling like it is. You can be excused from my bullpen and Crowley will know about this. I will not stand for this and neither will she!" Voight ordered very loudly from his office. Kim started to open the boxes while an argument broke out behind her. She couldnt care a less at the moment. "You! Boy! The one thats laughing! You should be ashamed of yourself. Laughing like that!" The Sergeant took aim at Adam. "Well Im not. The Detectives job is to protect woman, victims, no matter who they are or what they are. You have neglected these woman and let rapists walk free. That ends now. The only one who should be ashamed is you. And dont ever call me boy. Thats racist." Adam grabbed a file starting to work. "Gunner please calm down and hang out with Erin please." Kim asked calmly knowing they all needed the volume to come down.
After a bit more shouting the vice sergeant left. Kim knew she crossed the line with the MAGA insult but she didnt care. "You know Im going to have to write you up for that? Especially the political comment. I know you dont regret it and really Im not upset but its the rules. We cant attack our superiors. Even when they have done wrong. Lets just move forward." Voight watched Kim nod. "I get it. And you are right I dont regret it. But I will sign it. That ass was out of line. Look at all these open cases. How many have passed the statute of limitations already?" Kim asked still annoyed. "I get it. I really do. But we cant go off like that. More like you cant. Let me fight that battle." Voight headed to his office to work on Kims write up letting her to work the files. "Okay so lets break this down. Erin please take all the cases that have passed the statue of limitations. Maybe some of those rapist are in jail on other cases and that can give our victims some closure at least. Everyone else take a case file, put the information into Via-cap. See if it matches any other cases open or close. Make sure the DNA kits have been processed. If not get it processed right away. If DNA still gives up nothing running against the familial data base. Then reinterview the victim. Say our unit is looking into cold cases, dont let on that it was never looked into at all. Let IAB handle that. But lets get to work." Kim watched everyone taking case files.
"This is a large number of expired cases Kim." Erin had what looked like 20 files in front of her. "Let Voight know. Not that it makes my case any better but hopefully it starts an investigation into that asshole who didnt even bother to introduce himself." Kim was beyond annoyed but took a file and started to work. "Okay so this file, the suspect is in jail. The DNA matches. Im going to call the ADA on the other cases to see if we can get this case added. Its something." Kevin shrugged looking towards Kim. "Hey that's helpful. Better chance of getting charges filed. Awesome!" Kim exhaled hard. "I know. If they took it seriously maybe it would have only been 1 case not multiple. But we got this." Kevin picked up the phone making the call. Kim went back to looking over her case. She was surprised when she saw Commander Crowley walking in. She knew she was in deep shit for running her mouth like that.
"Detective, office please!" Crowley stated as she walked. Kim moved knowing what was coming. Adam watched her worried for her. "What were you thinking? You cant yell at someone like that! I get you are pissed, so am I but you cant act like that. Seriously!" Crowley was stern but didn't yell. "Im sorry but truthfully I dont regret it. Calling my the sex police and referring to it as a game. That his people wont be playing anymore. Yes I lost my shit. But that was disrespectful to victims everyone. To cops everywhere. 20 cases have passed the limitations. And at least one the rapist is in jail already but not charged with this case. All because they never even entered into the system. They treated these woman like they didnt matter. All because some were hookers. Who cares? That changes nothing. He needs to be investigated. Because if he had taken that one case seriously it possible to have had less victims. Thats a huge problem and you know that. I know you know that. Please take a stand for the victims, take a stand for woman everywhere." Kim begged.
"I hear you. And I will look into these allegations. But you are still getting a write up for what you said. Especially the political comment. You cant say that stuff to people. Just sign your write up and go back to work." Crowley sighed. Kim signed the paper before her and headed back to work. It was pointless to say anything else. They all watched her walking out heading for her desk. She sat back down working again. No one said a word till Crowley left again. "How bad was it?" Adam asked. "Honestly not that bad. I was reprimanded for my choice of words and being insubordinate. But shes going to look into my allegations against the other Sergeant. At least I didnt get suspended. I kind of assumed that was coming." Kim shrugged a bit. "Well Im happy it wasnt worse. So lets just move on. We have cases to solve." Adam left her desk heading back to work.
"Hey Kim so I looked over these files. 2 over dosed, 1 was killed in a car accident where alcohol was involved, 2 died from exhuast fumes and 2 hung themselves." Erin looked up wondering their next move. "What about the rest of the files?" Kim sighed heavily. "They are all alive. Not much else so far. I figured we needed to show negligence on the Sergeants point. So I looked into any deaths first." Erin shrugged a bit. "Thank you. He needs to be stopped." Kim sighed knowing it would be a long hard fight. "You are right. Lets keep at it." Erin smiled as they got back to work. "Im headed out to follow up on a victim. Dont worry I will not say anything other than its a cold case." Antonio stated as he headed out. "Good luck!" Kim called out. "This one the DNA wasnt processed yet. I will get on that." Adam headed out to get the forms. "Oh it looks like mine has three other cases involved. And the trial is still pending. I need to make a call." Kim was thrilled to get some justice.
Everyone was coming and going working to try and solve these cases. Or at least put a dent in them. They were all surprised when 3 patrol officers arrived. "Kim these three are here to help enter cases into the system. Hopefully it helps out with matching these cases to current cases or current criminals." Voight explained watching her sigh a bit. "Great. Each take a case file and start entering the information. Let me know if anything pops." Kim shook their hands as she returned to work. It was insane how many cases were neglected. They really could use 50 more people to help out but this was what they had. "Okay DNA is being processed now luckily. Hopefully we get a hit." Adam returned to the bullpen. "Great. Kevin and I both handed our cases to the ADA. To thats great. Its something at least." Kim was happy somewhat helping solve a few cases.
Jay and Antonio both returned looking battered. "You two alright?" Kim asked concerned. "Well we were both told its about time someone looked into their cases properly. And that the fat white detective who took their statements didnt care, nor believe them. And that they complained to his boss who didn't seem to care either. So this has been a wider spread issue for a while now. Hopefully what we are all doing here helps spread the word thats not happening anymore." Jay informed her as they took to their desks again. "Oh and they ate thrilled to hear we have a trained SVU detective here now who is helping to train everyone about these cases." Antonio added knowing that was a bright side to this. "Thats great. I just wonder how many more cases are out there in other units that didn't care." Kim couldnt lament too long. They needed to plow through. An hour later food was placed in front of Kim. "You need to keep your strength up." Adam knew she hadnt eaten in awhile. "Thanks." Kim smiled but it was weak, tired.
Everyone kept working as they ate lunch. It was much needed but work always came first. "Kim, office please." Voight called out but it didnt sound too bad. She followed the request into the office. "Close the door, have a seat." Kim did as told. "Okay so an investigation has been started. Its going to get ugly but we all know this needs to happen. Crowley is bringing in extra officers help work through this backlog. Hopefully we can make headway in it. But its going to happen. I promise you. IAB is going to want to talk to you about what has been found in the case files. You can have an FOP rep if you feel it's necessary, but you dont have to. You are not under investigation at all. Just the facts. Just the details. We know people have been raped that could have been prevented if the first cases had been taken seriously. So just be prepared for the call." Voight knew she could keep it together but it was her passion. "Got it. I promise I will not lose my head again. I will not disappoint you again. I want to nail this prick so I will hold it together for that." Kim nodded taking deep breaths.
"I wasn't disappointed. Slightly frustrated but you werent wrong. So its fine. Lets just keep working on these files." Voight dismissed her. Kim exited the office. "You okay?" Erin asked. "Yeah Im going to be interviewed by IAB in the investigation. Im not under investigation, that Sergeant and Vice are under investigation. Voight just wanted to make sure I was aware and could prepare for it. Could stay calm for it." Kim shrugged a bit though it was the truth. "Well I agreed with you earlier but was also stunned. Not just what you said but the whole situation." Erin admitted. "I hear ya. Just try to relax a bit. Hopefully we get some extra help moving through these cases." Erin patted her back as Kim returned to work. The bullpen full of activity. "Okay so with an investigation started lets start making piles of the files. One pile that has expired, one pile that where the perps are in jail but not charged with our crime, one pile where the perps are still awaiting trial. That way we have the numbers we need. Tonight 12 patrol officers will be here entering files and giving them to the ADA if the cases apply." Voight took a file himself and started to work.
It was hours later Kim engrossed in a case file. It was crazy how many open cases there were. She was exhausted but so was everyone else. "Kim darling wehave been at this 12 hours now. We need to get some sleep. Night crew is here to take over. Lets just try to relax some tonight." Adam saw her sigh lowering her head. "Its okay to rest some. We are making headway, its okay." Adam helped her up knowing she wouldnt go without force. The whole team walked out together making sure Kim left the building. "Kim. Stay away from your car." Torres stated. "What? Why?" Kim was scared. "We need forensics to look it over." Torres pointed seeing a message on her car. They stood staring at the car seeing the message written before them. "Your body my choice!" The rage building inside them all. Antonio ran inside to get Platt and get Mouse to look at the video footage.
"Hey we will figure this all out. Just know we got you!" Adam hugged her tight feeling the tears soaking through his shirt. He rubbed her back trying to calm her. "Why? I dont get any of this. I mean I know I have a habit of ruffling feathers but this, to do this, I dont get it. And that verbage is very triggering. Its rapist language." Kim was shaking as she sobbed into his chest. Neither even noticed the team running around them gathering evidence and trying to get her safe again. Just about 9 the couple was finally heading home. The evidence had been collected and the car washed clean. It looked like nothing happened but they all knew it did. While the couple was scared they would officers posted outside their house the whole night. "Do you think its that Sergeant from this morning?" Adam asked as he drove them home. "Maybe. Hating SVU is one thing but using that language is another. Maybe some one who works for him. I really have no idea. I just hope the cameras caught something. Maybe we should get a dash camera in case?" Kim shrugged a bit. "Thats fine. And easy enough. Anything to make you feel better." Adam felt horrible for her. He couldnt imagine how she felt.
"Are you going to be able to sleep tonight?" He asked watching her. "I doubt it. I feel triggered. I feel sick. Its just crazy. I knew not everyone would love having to learn SVU but I never thought someone would come after me. Like its just insane." Kim shook her head looking out the windows. "You are right thats for certain. Hopefully we get answers quickly. The car was washed not that long ago so their shouldnt be a ton of prints on it. Lets just get you home, in to bed and a xanax." He smiled at her knowing they would need it tonight. "Yeah I will need that for tonight. Im terrified Im going to have a nightmare tonight." Kim looked over with fear in her eyes. "We will be fine. No matter what happens tonight. We will be fine, I promise." He held her hand squeezing it tight. "God thank you." Kim shuddered on the berge of tears again. "You never have to thank me for that. We are a family and I love you so dam much!" Adam knew they could make it through anything as long as they stayed together.
They arrived home putting the car in the garage closing the door right away. They had noticed the patrol officers outside when they arrived. Adam helped Kim out of the car knowing she was exhausted. "Can ypu try to eat a little?" He hoped she would but he also knew she hated eating later in the night. "Maybe just some oatmeal. I dont want to eat too much or throw up." Kim shrugged a bit. "Thats better than nothing. I will start it right now. Thank you." Adam kissed her head softly. The sitter had let herself out quietly not bothering the couple knowing what happened. Kim ate quietly before heading to the kids room. Gunner followed her as they both laid down in the kids room. Adam finished eating and headed up to find Kim. He wasnt surprised to find her laying on the floor between their beds. "Are you sleeping here tonight?" He whispered watching her. "I just need them close to me." Kim looked up seeing him nod. "Okay let me at least get you some water and a pill. While you change your clothes." She nodded and headed to change.
This was new for him. She was sad, tired, scared and so many other emotions. He had never seen her so broken before. He hoped like hell she could bounce back tomorrow. He handed her the medicine watching her take it. "Lets go sleep in the kids room tonight. But only tonight. We dont sleep on the floor every night going forward. Not when we have a very comfortable bed to sleep in." He knew she slept on the floor when she was sick. He didn't understand why but that it felt comfortable for her during those times. So he was rolling with it tonight. He watched her nod as they walked back to the kids room. Kim laid down with her pillow and blankets to stay warm but to also be comfortable. Adam laid down groaning a bit as he got on the floor. "How is this comfortable?" He asked looking at seeing her eyes closed clearly comfortable. "I dont know. Most of my life I have loved sleeping on the floor or in the closet. It akways felt safe especially when sick. You can get hurt passing out if you are on the floor already." Kim couldnt really explain it.
"I think you need to talk about that in therapy. Maybe it was a safety thing? A result of childhood trauma?" He could only imagine all the ways her mind and body came to cope with things. "Maybe. Never thought about it like that. One thing at a time though." Kim shrugged snuggling up with Gunner. "Alright sleep tight my love." Adam watched her nodding off thanks in part to the xanax. He watched them for a short time longer before fallimg asleep himself. He was beyond exhausted so he needed it but he hoped they had a peaceful night sleep. Only time would tell how this all played out.
