Hazel Rain

Chapter 17

THREE MONTHS LATER

"Stop it Elsa! Get down! No couch!" Kim shooed the now sixty pound dog off the couch, it was a never ending battle. "Don't look at me like that...it's not my fault. You've only got yourself to blame, friend."

"Bad doggie!" Hazel furrowed her brow at her four legged companion, "No jumping on the couch!"

Kim laughed at the little girl, she had morphed into a miniature version of herself over the last three months and it seemed Hazel was as big as a stickler for the rules as she was.

"Oh, Elsa's not bad baby, she's just not a very good listener. That's all." Kim went back to folding laundry, "Do you need to potty before we go meet Uncle Adam for lunch?"

Hazel turned her attention back to the television, "Hazel, honey. Do you need to potty?" Kim placed the folded clothes back in the laundry basket, "Elsa, come on...go home" she pointed to the dog crate, "that's a good dog" she coo'ed at her as she locked the crate's door.

"No, Kimmy." Hazel walked along the couch, her pink blanket tucked under her arm, "I want to play at the park."

The weather was beautiful and Kim knew Hazel had plenty of energy to burn, the child was always on the go.

"After lunch with Uncle Adam, alright?" Kim grabbed the small nike sneakers from the closet, "let's put your sneakers on and then we can go."

Hazel jumped from the couch and grabbed them, "I do it by myself." Her determination was adorable but it often led to a meltdown. Hazel would quickly grow frustrated with the task but would refuse assistance of any kind. She was as  stubborn as they came, a trait Adam often liked to blame Kim for.

"Nice work, folks" the commander offered them a rare smile, "The mayor's office is pleased that this one was solved so quickly."

Hank nodded, he was never one for an 'atta boy' but it didn't mean he didn't appreciate the sentiment. "I'm glad he's pleased."

The commander started towards Adam, he groaned inwardly. She was one of his least favorite people, after all she was the one who stripped him of his police powers for a time, albeit brief.

"Officer Ruzek, do you have a minute?"

Adam stood up, "I do."

"As I'm sure you know the detective exam will be offered in the coming months, have you given it any thought?"

Adam shrugged, "Not really, but I've been pretty preoccupied."

Commander Crawley smiled at him, "Ah, that's right. Your niece, correct?"

"Yes, ma'am."

She had found him to be arrogant and bit of hot head in the past but even she couldn't ignore how much he had changed since the accident. She had fond memories of Bob Ruzek, many moons ago they had been patrol partners. "Your father would be proud of you. How is she doing?"

"Thank you for saying that" Adam smiled from ear to ear, "She's amazing, we just got her potty trained." He announced, he was a proud uncle. "She's awesome."

"I understand she's the reason Officer Burgess resigned."

"Yes. Kim wanted to keep her out of daycare." Adam explained. "She wanted to care for Hazel, and I'm forever grateful."

"It must've been hard for her" the commander tapped her fingers on Adam's desk.

"Hazel hated daycare, and it was hard for the three of us." Adam grabbed a folder from the stack on his desk.

"No, that wasn't what I meant."

Adam cocked his head to the side, "I don't understand."

"Turning intelligence down, you didn't know?"

Adam felt the breath leave his lungs, "What?"

Before the commander could offer him an explanation her driver came upstairs, "Ma'am we need to roll out."

She looked over her shoulder at him, "Well, duty calls. Officer Ruzek, consider taking the test, I've kept a close eye on you and I like what I've seen. Which, I won't lie was a bit surprising, I thought for sure I'd end up tossing you out on your ass."

Adam was still grappling with the fact that Kim had turned down her dream job to care for his niece and she never breathed a word of it to him, "Thanks...I think." He grumbled.

"Work has jumped off, can't do lunch. Sorry" Adam sent off the text.

Kim had just buckled Hazel into her car seat when she heard the alert of her phone, "I bet that's Uncle Adam, and he is wondering where we are" she told Hazel.

She grabbed the phone and sighed, knowing Hazel would be upset, "Haze, Uncle Adam can't meet us for lunch."

"Why?" Hazel asked, "gots a bad guy?"

Kim laughed, "He does. How about we go to the park and maybe get one of those hot dogs you like."

"With ketchup?" Hazel asked her. "Can Elsa come too?"

"Yes. With ketchup" Kim replied, she was glad Hazel didn't seem too upset that Adam had to cancel. "That sounds like a great idea." Kim quickly unbuckled Hazel and they made their way back inside the building, to get the dog.

They were quickly outgrowing Adam's small two bedroom apartment, the lack of yard for Hazel and Elsa both was starting to become a problem. They constantly ran around the apartment, the dog having already broke more than her fair share of knick knacks and one Xbox gaming system.

Adam wasn't pleased.

"Go get it!" Hazel yelled after tossing the tennis ball from the hallway, her giggles filled the room as Elsa ran after the ball.

Elsa pounced, her front paws coming down on the shelf of the entertainment center sending Adam's Xbox crashing to the floor.

"Uh-oh!" Hazel stood frozen in place, Kim came tearing out of the kitchen.

"What was that?" Kim asked Hazel, a dish towel still in her hands.

Hazel pointed to the broken gaming system, "Elsa broked Adam's games"

Kim felt her shoulders slump, "Oh, Elsa." The dog looked up at her with sad eyes, it was just another item added to the long list of items Elsa had broken.

Kim glanced around the apartment, and it became even clearer to her. They needed a bigger place, Hazel's things had taken over the small living room. Elsa's crate was in the dining room and it made it practically impossible for four people to sit comfortably at the table.

The dog wasn't even full grown yet, they needed to start thinking about upsizing. The building had a few units larger than the one they were in, but those units also lacked a yard.

She was leaning towards a house, one with plenty of room and a spacious yard.

They needed a few other things to fall into place first. She'd been sitting in it for awhile and perhaps it was time she made her move.

--NOTE---

Sorry for the short chapter, but I'm trying to push through a hint of writers block.

Hopefully this'll do it.