Chicago P.D. Season 13: Adam Ruzek's Absence, Explained

Contains spoilers for "Chicago P.D." Season 13, Episode 8 — "Born Screaming"

"Chicago P.D." is back from its winter hiatus, but one important member of the cast is missing — Adam Ruzek (Patrick John Flueger). When Hank Voight (Jason Beghe) calls in both Adam and his wife Kim Burgess (Marina Squerciati) for help in tracking down the murderous Raymond Bell (Barry Del Sherman), Kim has to explain that her husband is busy elsewhere. 

"Adam had an emergency with Bob, so he's at the facility," she explains. Since this was the couple's day off, she also has to make alternate plans for their daughter, Makayla (Ramona Edith Williams). She joins Hank on the case and Adam's whereabouts are not brought up again. 

Adam's father, "Disco" Bob Ruzek (Jack Coleman), has appeared occasionally on the drama going all the way back to Season 2; Adam finds placement for him in a memory care faculty in Season 12. It's an easy plot choice that handily explains where Adam might have gone, but in real life Flueger is attending to some entirely different personal matters.

Patrick John Flueger announced in October 2025 that he'd be taking a leave of absence from "Chicago P.D.," citing personal matters as the reason for his leavetaking. Since he had already been written into several episodes that were scheduled to be filmed while he was gone, the scripts were rewritten to cover his departure. Flueger reported back to work in December 2025, just short of two months after his exit.

There's no hint as to what future storylines might bring Ruzek and Burgess, but the twosome have had an active first half of Season 13. Settling into married life, they contemplated moving to a new neighborhood and learned how to balance their work and personal lives, leading to a variety of touching Burzek moments and allowing fans to once again have their hearts melted by the sight of Adam being a dad to Makayla. The family's future remains unwritten, but with luck, Ruzek and Flueger will both return to a much more copacetic internal landscape.