Eyewitness

I'm Your Back-Up.

"He's gonna do it? He is gonna take that kid home?" Atwater asked during their morning briefing, "am I the only one who thinks this is crazy?"

Rixton raised his hand, "Seems a bit crazy."

"Not gonna do it, he already did it." Al took a sip of his coffee, "Its unorthodox that's for sure. The kid is safe with Ruzek, he's formed an attachment with him I see no reason to put the kid in the system. Especially when we don't have a suspect, let's not forget Cash is a witness." It didn't matter that Cash was a little boy, he was in serious danger. "If Cash is with Adam he's safe."

Voight joined them, "Agreed. It's not ideal but it's in the best interest of that little boy."

Adam juggled Cash in one arm and the keys to his apartment in his other hand, "You hungry?" He fumbled with key for a few seconds before finally inserting it. They had just come from Dr.Charles office, only for Cash's appointment to be cancelled due to an emergency of some sort.

"No." Cash replied, his voice barely above a whisper. Had he not buried his face in Adam's neck Adam wouldn't have heard his reply.

"Okay.." Adam mumbled as he finally unlocked the door, "I'm kinda hungry. How 'bout I make us some pancakes..." he set Cash on the kitchen counter, "You like pancakes?"

"I guess." Cash kicked his legs lightly against the cabinet doors, "Can I go home?"

Adam's stomach dropped like a lead balloon, "Cash, Buddy. I'm sorry, you can't go back to your house..it's not safe."

"When?"

Adam grabbed the griddle from under the counter, "When what?"

"Go home. When can I go home?" Cash jumped down from the counter and went to stand beside Adam, "I want to go see my mommy and daddy, and Skippy."

Adam hung his head, "fuck..." he muttered under his breath, he didn't have the faintest idea on how to respond to his question. He obviously hadn't given much thought to this when he offered to take Cash in.

Dr.Charles had told Cash that both of his parents had died, but it seemed it hadn't quite registered with the little boy. Death was an abstract concept for anyone, but especially so for a child, and they knew it was going to be a rocky road for a bit.

Adam took a deep breath and closed his eyes for just a moment, searching for just the right words to say to the little guy.

"Hank! You got a minute?" Trudy bounded out from behind the desk, stopping the sergeant before he could walk out the door.

"Not really, Trudy. What do you need?" He growled, softening his stance a bit when Trudy arched an eyebrow at him. She was the only one who wouldn't back down to him, he knew it would be wise to give her a few minutes of his time..if he didn't she'd make his life miserable. It was best to just go on and get it over with.

"I saw the request for the patrol unit to sit on Adam's apartment, I have a suggestion."

"What?"

"Burgess. Send Burgess."

Hank sighed, "Seriously? I need Burgess to chase down leads." Trudy would deny it until she was blue in the face, but the woman was pulling for Burgess and Ruzek to reunite, "Now's hardly the time to play matchmaker.."

She held her hand up to silence him. "They're both good police, they work well together you and I both know this. That little boy needs the best care possible and he will get that with Burgess and Ruzek."