Just a quick note, after processing the episode for a bit I've decided to take Surprise Of a Lifetime down a different path. I feel a bit cheated and that we were all played by Eid, he kept going on about exploring how being a single mom on the job would impact Kim. I had thought from the start that this storyline would end in disaster but with Eid's comments I started to buy in a little, though the idea of a miscarriage was still front and center in my mind.

I'm really frustrated by it and I've come up with this idea in hopes of working through it just a bit.

I think there is a lot of story to tell for Kim, Adam, and their living baby. Some really solid meaty stuff, granted none of it is as angsty and emotional as the miscarriage but there is still a shit ton of potential.

The writers went the cliche route and even a bit lazy on their part, so I've come up with this idea.

I'm going to write one shots of things that could go on between Burzek and their baby, some of it lighthearted and fun, some with a bit of angst related to the baby, and some just typical relationship drama. The fact that their relationship was/is so undefined at the moment and the issues and awkwardness that would bring.

There's a ton of story to be told, if only the writers were willing to tell it.

They won't, so I will give it a go.

I don't know how many 'chapters' there will be, it all kind of depends on how it comes together. They won't really be connected of follow a linear timeline, I have a general idea of what I want to do but it all depends.

Only the first 3 'chapters' will be chronological order.

Moving In

Adam groaned as the shrill alarm jolted him from sleep, he ignored it for as long as he could before finally reaching across his bed and slapping at the clock to silence it accidentally sending it crashing to the floor.

Today was a big day and he had a ton of shit to do before Kevin and Jay showed up, he had picked up the moving truck last night and spent a majority of the night packing his shit up and sorting through what he would keep me what would be dropped off at goodwill.

Kim had made an off the cuff remark about his beloved beer stein collection and how they didn't need to make the move, he wanted to show her that he had changed, that he wasn't the same guy he had been during their engagement. He decided to whittle down his collection to just a few of them, it was something he had started when he was a teenager wherever he went he'd always snag a beer stein. He got a kick out of sneaking it out without his pops or anyone at the pub noticing, he had amassed quite the collection and while they all had some level of significance to him there were only a handful that really meant something to him. He had about six that he had collected in the last few years that he well and truly loved, not because of the beer stein itself, but where he was and who he was with when he grabbed them.

There was the one he snagged when his dad took him out for drinks when he turned 21, it was his first legal beer and his pops had made a big deal about it, completely ignoring the fact that his pops had allowed him to drink since he was about seventeen. He had one from when he and Al went out for drinks after Al had kicked him back down to patrol for a shift.

It was then that Adam started fighting his feelings for Kim, and it was fight he would never win.

He had one from the night they he and Kim celebrated their engagement, that one was his absolute favorite.

Needless to say those mugs would be going with him, the others would end up on a shelf at goodwill.

Everything was packed up and ready to go, all that was really left to do was load up his furniture and get that moved out and then they'd start with the boxes. His muscles ached at just the thought of it, he was in nowhere near the physical shape that Kevin and Jay were in, he wasn't out of shape per se but he definitely lacked the muscle mass his buddies had. They were quick to remind him on the daily that he was a bit pudgy, he reminded them that he was more than capable of getting the job done and that he could out run their muscled physiques all day every day and twice on Sundays.

His kitchen was barren, not that it was every really full but it was particularly bad. He never cooked anything more than a frozen dinner or a microwave meal most of the time it was takeout. He kind of regretted getting rid of all the food as he was starving, he double checked the fridge and found nothing but a couple of beers and few slices of cheese. His pantry was even worse, just an old box of stale sugary cereal.

He contemplated running to the bodega down the road but decided to push through it, he wanted this move over and down with. He had this irrational fear that Kim would revoke the invitation and his heart couldn't bare the thought of it, this wasn't what he had envisioned when he finally moved in with Kim, but he'd take what he could get. He would've moved in the day she suggested it but he still had a few months remaining on his lease and the penalty to get out of it was insane and more money that he wanted to spend. So he had to wait, and it was hard as hell to do so, but the wait was worth it and finally over.

He was excited at the notion of living with Kim and his baby, he didn't like the idea of only seeing his baby on weekends, he didn't want to be a part time dad, he wanted to be all in with his kid. He feared some crazy custody arrangement and one where he spent precious little time with his kid, so the minute Kim broached the subject and suggested he move in he jumped at it.

Adam had grown up in the middle of a heated and ugly divorce and ensuing custody battle and he vowed he wouldn't put his kid through that, he would do his best to make sure this arrangement with Kim worked.

It wasn't just his heart on the line, it was his kid's heart and Kim's and he wouldn't break either of their hearts.

He knew not everyone thought this arrangement would work, and he expected that from some people, but he had wished his father would've been a bit more supportive. In fact it pissed him off a bit, and even now just thinking about it got him heated.

Adam grabbed the very last bottle of water from the counter and chugged it, he tossed the empty bottle in the recycling container and got to work on the next task.

Kim was up at sunrise, she was very much a morning person and was eager to do what she needed to do on her end to make Adam and the guys job easier. She was a little bummed to have to empty out the spare room closet of her clothes, she had a ridiculously tiny closet in her bedroom and she had no idea how she was going to get all her clothes from the spare room closet in hers. It was kind of silly as the clothes in what would now be Adam's closet were clothes she hadn't worn in years but she couldn't bring herself to get rid of them. Half of it wouldn't fit but she still hung on to it, she had vowed to go through it and if it didn't spark joy she'd chuck it, but that could wait.

She needed to focus on clearing a path from the front door through the living room and down the hall to Adam's bedroom. She had already given the bedroom set she had in the room back to her mother, it had been Kim's set when she was a teenager and when she first moved out her mom had given it to her until she had gotten on her feet. She ended up replacing it shortly after moving out and moved it to her guest room. It was a very feminine set and Adam balked at using it, his bedroom set was fairly new and he said he'd bring it. Kim's mother wasn't thrilled with the new living arrangement and demanded the set back, it annoyed Kim but she did her best to brush it off.

Kim and Adam's arrangement was very non-traditional and had more than a couple of doubters but Kim focused on what was best for her baby and that was having both its parents under the same roof.

She knew Adam's childhood history and her's wasn't much better and may even have bit a worse, granted she wasn't growing up in the midst of a bitter divorce. Her father had walked out on her when she was merely an infant and Nicole a toddler. She hadn't seen neither hide nor hair of him since she was about 13 when he had a brief return to Chicago only to leave town a few weeks later. He was the very definition of a deadbeat father and Kim wanted nothing to do with him and had no idea where he was or if he was even alive.

It was one of the reasons why this pregnancy had terrified her at the start, that coupled with how it would affect her career. Thankfully the period of fear had been short and now at nearly seven months pregnant she was enjoying the majority of her pregnancy. She was getting more and more uncomfortable as the days went on but for the most part things were good.

They had chosen to not learn the gender of their baby, choosing to be surprised. Kim knew that Adam was desperate to know but she also knew that Adam wouldn't be able to contain himself once he learned the gender and their plan to keep it to themselves would be blown to bits.

They had already picked out names and while it had taken a bit for them to come to an agreement on their choices, they had both wanted to honor Al and the role he played in both of their careers and more importantly their lives.

It wasn't an easy task but they finally found names they agreed upon or to more precise compromised on.

For a girl it was a toss up between Allison or Alice, they agreed to wait until the baby was born and if it was indeed a girl, they'd select the name that suited her. Her middle name would be Grace after Kim's beloved grandmother.

The name for a boy was a bit trickier to, they both knew Al would roll over in his grave if they called their son Alvin, that name was promptly scratched off the list. They had gone through a handful of names that had started with 'Al'. Adam really liked the name Alexander but Kim had an ex named Alex and just the mere mention of the name made her skin crawl, so she put the kibosh on that name. Kim suggested 'Alan' but Adam hated it, he said it all but assured their son would be a nerd and that he'd be the picked on relentlessly once he went to school. They then thought about picking a name that started with the letter A but it didn't fare any better.

Austin

Asher

Axel

Anthony

Atticus

Addison

None of them worked and it seemed the more they tried the more horrific the choices. They ended up switching gears a bit and decided to check out the names that started with O. While Kim absolutely adored the name Oliver, Adam hated it, and said it was worse then naming their kid 'Alan'.

They decided to ignore the topic of names for a bit and see if something came to them and within a week Kim had found what she deemed to be the perfect name. Adam hadn't been quite so sure and he suggested that they give their kid a middle name that he could use in case he wasn't thrilled with his first name.

It was a bit of a trendy name and while Adam was hesitant at first he had taken to referring to the baby by Kim's choice of a name and it soon started to fit and Adam slowly fell in love with it.

Kim had come up with the perfect middle name and when she suggested it to Adam she loved his reaction.

They had finally picked a name for a son and it was perfect, if they had a boy he would be named Oscar Adam.

Adam had seamlessly transitioned Oscar to O, it was perfect. More often than not Al was referred to as O, so this was the perfect way to honor their mentor and more importantly their friend.

All they had to do now was wait for their baby to arrive, which was agonizingly slow.

Kim knew Adam moving in meant they were just a bit closer to that glorious moment so needless to say she was excited moving day had finally arrived. She knew Adam wasn't bringing much, he had the bedroom set, a television, his gaming system, and clothes. He had wouldn't be bringing his living room furniture, or his kitchen table and chairs, she hoped some of his other things wouldn't make the cut as well. He had a shit ton of beer steins that she had already teased him about, and some odd as hell artwork.

Once the guys arrived they made quick work of loading up the furniture and dropping it off a goodwill, while Jay and Kevin did that Adam moved all the boxes to the living room. He packed up what he could in the back of his truck. He then went about cleaning up the apartment for the final walk through with the rental company.

He was dead tired and ready to crash in bed, but first he had to make do on his promise to feed Kevin and Jay. They had a couple of pizzas delivered and scarfed them down pretty quick, Jay took off to meet up with his brother and Kevin hung around a bit longer.

"So, I gotta say I'm proud of your bro." Kevin tipped his bottle of beer in Adam's direction, "I know you'd never cut and run on your kid, but you're really stepping up. Much respect."

Adam shrugged his shoulders, "It's my kid, man. I can't cut and run." He already loved the shit out of the baby, "I'm just doing the right thing. That's all."

Kevin waved him off, "You don't get it cause your Pops was there. Day in and day out you had him. Not everyone has that. So, yeah I'm proud of you." He knew the effects an absentee father had on a kid, Jordan was living proof of that, "this living arrangement it's...different," he chuckled a bit, "...but I like it."

Adam laughed, "Me too," he glanced down the hallway to make sure Kim was still in her bedroom before saying anything else, "It's gonna kill me though, knowing she's sleeping just across the hall." He felt safe talking to Kevin about he felt, Kevin knew exactly what Adam felt for Kim, "I'll take what I can get though. Being here with my baby when it goes to bed at night and when it wakes in the morning. That's..." he felt himself get choked up a bit, "...what I want. I want to be with my kid."

"With your baby mama too." Kevin added, "I think this will be good for you guys, you did this all ass backwards and shit but as long as you and Kim are together. Together, together" he reiterated it, "that's all the matters. It doesn't matter how it happens as long as it happens."

"Amen brother." Adam clinked his bottle against Kevin's, "That's all I want. All I ever wanted." He set his beer on the table and reached out his hand to Kevin, "Thanks for all your help today. I couldn't have done it without you and Halstead. It's much appreciated."

Kevin shook his hand, "Of course man. Now, I'd be remiss if I didn't say this. I'm just gonna say it once and be done with it, alright?" He watched as Adam nodded his head, "Don't fuck this up. Don't hurt her. Don't let her walk out of your life again. I kept my mouth shut when she called off the engagement and I'm still kicking myself for doing so. I should've said something. Made you both fight for each other but I didn't and I'll regret it forever. I won't let it happen again and neither should you."

"I won't."Adam replied, "You've got my word, Kev. I was miserable without her, I did some seriously stupid shit..."

"You said it." Kevin quickly interjected.

"I know. That's done. I'm a changed man. I'm different now, I will not fuck this up. I will never let Kim walk out of my life again. I will do whatever it takes to prove how I feel towards her."

"Good. That's what I like to hear." Kevin set his empty bottle of beer on the table, "Just so you know, I'm going to have a similar conversation with Kim. She fucked up too, it wasnt all you...it was mostly you.." Kevin smirked, "I'm just messing bro."

"I know. I know where your loyalties really lie." Adam hugged him quickly before they walked to the door.

"The patrol struggle was real, man. That's a bond that can never be broken. Tell Burgess I love her and that I'm sorry I didn't wait to tell her goodbye but the ladies are calling." Kevin grinned.

"I will." Adam laughed, "Have fun. Don't follow my lead and knock one of 'em up."

"Ah fuck no." Kevin laughed.

Kim was bummed to see Kevin had already left but she was desperate for a soak in the tub, she hadn't done much in the way of physical work but even the little bit she had done left her feeling achy and exhausted.

"Kev gone?" Kim asked Adam as she sat on the sofa, she watched as Adam flipped through the channels barely stopping long enough on each channel to see what was on.

Adam quickly glanced at her, "He said the ladies were calling, he told me tell you bye and that he was sorry he couldn't wait for you."

Kim shrugged, "Its fine. I'm ready to relax. Today was long, eh?"

Adam laughed, "The fuck it was. I'm shot. It's done though. Have you checked out my room yet?" He had allowed her to think he moved in all of his shit and couldn't wait for her to see that he had only brought a few of his beer steins and nothing else. He did send some of his shit to his father's place for storage. Some things he didn't feel the need to bring but he couldn't bring himself to chuck it or give it to goodwill.

"I haven't. I'm a bit scared." Kim admitted.

He tossed the remote control on the table, "Don't be scared, I only brought the good shit." Adam stood up and offered his hand to her, "Come on I'll give you the grand tour."

"Oh, exciting." Kim replied with mock enthusiasm but happily took his hand and allowed him to pull her towards his bedroom.

He opened the door and ushered her inside, "Welcome to my humble abode." He fanned his arms out, "Halstead hung the TV so you know it's safe, there was no way I was going to attempt that."

Kim was shocked to find the walls barren and just a half dozen beer steins on his dresser, "It looks good in here. Where's the rest of it? Your artwork? The rest of your steins?"

"I've downsized." Adam explained.

"You got rid of them?" Kim was shocked, "You loved them."

"The ones there." He pointed to them, "I love those one, the rest had no meaning. It was time." He rocked on his heels a bit, shoving his hands in his pockets "I really appreciate you letting me move in with you. I can't tell you how happy I am to be here with you and our baby."

Kim smiled at him, "I think I have an idea. I'm happy too."

Keep an eye out for the next part, the first 3 parts will have more of a traditional story feel to them, after that it will be random one shots, all dealing with the Burzek baby and how Adam and Kim's handle parenthood.

I feel as if we were played by the writers, and I'm hoping this group of stories will help me work through the ridiculous level of frustration that I'm currently feeling. I don't think I've ever been this invested in television characters, it really sucks that the writers went down the path they did.

Seriously sucks.