Starting Over

Chapter 6

He hunched over the bar, the shot of whiskey and turned warm he couldn't bring himself to chug it, Deanna's confession had him spinning still.

"Adam, we need to talk" Deanna said, her lips pursed and her eyes narrowed, Adam knew the conversation wasn't going to be a good one.

"Absolutely, of course" Adam answered nervously, he was sure he was about to get his ass handed to him. Out of everyone in Kim's family, he knew Deanna hated him the most, her and Kim were thick as thieves and he knew Kim told her all the sordid details of their break up.

Whatever she had to say he knew he deserved some of it.

Deanna moved him to the front door, "I don't know what your intentions are with my sister and niece, but it's ends today." She saw the expression on his face switch from a look of confusion and bewilderment to something akin to hurt. She didn't care about his feelings, not after the way he had treated her little sister. No, he deserved every ounce of pain he was feeling, actually he deserved more than that.

"Excuse me?" He asked, "I'm not sure you're the one who gets to make that decision" he retorted as he rocked on his heels, he expected this from her.

"Did Kim tell you why I'm here?"

He shook his head no.

Deanna smiled, "She's moving to Kentucky, I'm here to help her pack up and then we are headed down in a few weeks."

Adam felt his jaw go slack and his stomach flip, "What?" He muttered, he could feel his blood turn cold.

"She didn't tell you? Huh, I guess it really doesn't surprise me at all. She can't live in this house anymore and she needs to be free of this city, it's brought her nothing but heartache"

Adam ran his hand along his jaw, "She didn't tell me.."

"I think it's best if you go, Adam" she practically pushed him out the door.

He stood on the steps for a few minutes trying to wrap his head around what he had just been told, and he found it impossible.

Adam felt a hand fall on his shoulder, he looked up to see Jay.

"What's up Ruzek...you look like your puppy just died" he teased as he took the empty stool next to his friend.

Adam curled his lip, "It's nothing I want to talk about" it was true he didn't want to discuss it.

He found it incredibly cruel that she allowed him to get so close to that baby..and to her, for her to only up and leave, and she didn't even have the decency to tell him. He had to hear it from her sister, the nauseous feeling returned, "I'm gonna call it a night..." Adam said abandoning the shot on the bar and tossing a few bills to cover his tab.

SEVERAL DAYS LATER

Adam glanced at his cell phone an alert letting him know he had new voicemail. He quickly listened to the message, Kim's voice filling the room he could hear Madison laughing in the background.

He deleted the message and set his phone on the nightstand and rolled over and tried to go back to sleep.

Kim tossed the phone on the couch, she'd called Adam a hand full of times and she had yet to hear back from him.

She couldn't figure it out, and she had tried to remember if she had done anything to upset him. She drew a complete blank, Madison picked that moment to bump her head on the coffee table and burst into tears. She had just started sitting up unassisted and fell back against the table.

Kim quickly scooped her up and checked the back of heard, pleased to see nothing more than a small bump, "I know baby...it's okay" she soothed her, the little girl sobbing in her arms. Her skin was was just as fair as Sean's was and her face always became blotchy when she cried, tears still streaming down her face.

"What happened?" Deanna asked, "she okay?"

Kim nodded, "she bumped her head" she explained, she wanted to cry right alongside her, "I think she's fine..she's just tired"

Deanna ran her hand over the back of Madison's head, "I don't know Kim, that's a pretty good knot already appearing, "you should get it checked"

"You broke my hand!" The suspect yelled, favoring his left hand against his chest, Kevin had tackled the man from behind after he and Adam had chased him for five blocks.

Adam laughed, "you shouldn't have ran.."

Kevin helped the suspect to his feet, "We will take you to the hospital and then jail" he already knew at the very least the guy's hand was broken and possibly the wrist. He had heard the gruesome sound of the bone as it snapped.

Kim bounced Madison on her knee, "It's alright baby.." She could murder her sister, she suggested that she bring her to the hospital but couldn't sit with her. She had tried calling Adam but it went straight to voicemail, he hadn't returned any of her previous messages so she didn't bother.

She was starting to think that she had it all confused that Adam had just felt bad for her, she couldn't understand why he had suddenly disappeared. She knew Madison missed him, she had seemed off the last few days and she was almost certain it was that.

Adam had a daily presence in her life since the day she was born and now he had just vanished, she didn't know how much Madison understood but she had to think her daughter was missing Adam as much as she was.

Adam had left Kevin in the exam room with the suspect, he needed to take a serious piss, he was almost through the waiting room when he heard a nurse call out.

He stopped in his tracks.

"Madison Roman?" The nurse called out again, his heart jumped in his throat.

Kim rose from the chair, Madison nestled on her hip and the diaper bag slung over her shoulder, babies needed a lot of shit. That was one of the first things she had learned.

Adam couldn't resist, Madison laid eyes on him first.

Kim was surprised to see her daughter's head pop up off her shoulder and she extended her chubby little arms out to someone, Kim had no idea who.

She followed Madison's line of vision, but she heard him before she saw him.

Adam was at her side in less than two strides.

"Mads...what've you've done?" He asked, concern etched on his handsome features, he ran his thumb across the little girl's cheeks wiping her tears away before placing a tender kiss on her forehead, "What happened? Is she sick? You should've called me"

Kim hugged herself, "She's alright, she's sitting up now and bumped her head" she told him as she reached back for her daughter, Madison spurned her and wrapped her arms tighter around Adam's neck.

The nurse was obviously growing impatient, "You can come back to Dad"

Adam glanced at Kim before speaking, "I'm not her dad...not that lucky" he smiled awkwardly. He reluctantly handed Madison back to Kim, Madison crying in protest. "I better get going"

Kim nodded, "Guess so"

---NOTE---

So I carved out sometime and got this done...I was gonna leave it but really needed to get it written before I lost it all together.

Due to time constraints it's not been edited...I figured you wouldn't mind.