A Sequel to 'Strong Enough' based on the alternate ending of that story

Chpater 4

He leveled with them both, explaining what had been going on with his son, both promptly wishing him well and told him to get off the computer and to go home.

Kim made a sound similar to a laugh but that wasn't quite right, "It's a little late for that Adam, I'm inching closer and closer to full out panic" he reached up and wiped her eyes.

"How's he today?" He asked changing the subject somewhat.

Kim pulled her legs up to her chest, "Another fever, it stayed around 102 for most of the day, he looked sick though" she explained, "All this time he never really looked sick, you know? He didn't even play much, just slept. Thankfully he did eat some of dinner, and he ate all of the sundae I made him"

Adam laughed, his boy always had room for desert, "That's good, right?"

Kim smiled, "It is"

Adam stood up and offered his hand to her, "Let's go to bed, maybe you should let me take your mind off things" he joked.

"Oh yea?" She smirked, "and just how do you plan on doing that?"

"A few different ways, I have a few techniques" he smiled, his smile growing when he heard her giggle, "see, it's already working" he pulled her against his chest and kissed her, the kiss quickly evolving.

"Bedroom, now" Kim whispered as his lips moved to her neck.

In one swift motion, his lips never leaving her neck he had her in his arms.

The sun filtered in through the curtains, he reached out to touch Kim finding only pillows where she should have been.

He tossed the blankets off and grabbed his sweats from the laundry basket and pulled them on.

He wasn't surprised to find Kim staring off into space as she sat at the kitchen table a cup of coffee in her hands, "Hey" he greeted her, "you doing okay?" He stroked her hair before leaning down and placing a kiss on the top of her head.

Kim smiled, "I'm worried Adam, really worried" her hands shaking, "I'm trying to stay calm, and I know I need to for our son, but it's hard" she admitted a solitary tear running down her cheek. She knew she was tough, she had survived what would have broken many. She had apprehended suspects twice her size, brought them to their knees with a well placed kick or punch. Now, there wasn't a damn thing she could do, and it killed her.

She was terrified, her children were her heart and this pulled the oxygen from her lungs. It made her knees weak and her hands tremble, made her stomach queasy.

She did everything she could to keep her children safe, bought the best vehicles, made sure they wore their helmets when they rode their bikes.Taught them 'stranger danger', but she couldn't do a damn thing to protect her sweet little boy from whatever it was that was waging a battle inside his body.

"I'm worried too" Adam told her, "but we need to stay in the moment, Kim. We need to concentrate on our son and making sure he's okay" he knew it was almost impossible to not look in to the future, to not worry about what was going on with his son. He wished he could switch places with his son, that he could reach inside the little boy's body and pull out whatever it was that was making him sick.

"Hey Dad" Adam said, dressed in nothing but a pair of basketball shorts, he turned to open the fridge.

Kim felt her jaw drop when she saw the large bruise on his back, "Adam sweetie, what did you do to your back?" She asked as her fingers ran over the odd shaped bruise just above the small of his back.

Adam tried to look over his shoulder, "I don't think I did anything" he told her.

"You sure buddy, you've got a killer bruise on your back" Adam told him, feeling the heat radiate off the bruise, it was a deep purple and blue. The color varying as the bruise fanned out over his back.

"I didn't hurt it" he told them as he put the straw in the juice pouch, "do I have to go to school today?" He'd missed a lot of time over the course of the month, Kim was terrified he'd fall behind.

"You have a doctors appointment this morning, so no school today" Kim informed him, somehow she had pushed the fear from her voice.

"I'm gonna go play video games for a little while" he explained as he threw the now empty juice pouch in the garbage.

"Sounds good buddy, you need to get dressed first we are leaving in an hour" Adam told his son. He was terrified now, seeing the bruise and the fact Adam didn't know how he got it was enough to push him over the edge. He knew that a bruise that size you'd remember how you got it, he had enough experiences with bruises to know that much.

Kim poked her head into the hallway making sure he had retreated to his bedroom before she spoke, "Adam, something is seriously wrong with our son"  it was undeniable her son was sick, very sick.

He pulled her in his arms, "We're going to figure it out, and we will do whatever it takes to help him"