This is the first thing I've uploaded on here in a while as writing has been pushed to the back of my mind. But I thought it was time to try to get back into it and I love Chicago Fire so I figured that it would be a good way to get back into it. There also doesn't appear to be many Severide/ OC stories out there and I'm a little bit obsessed with him but never happy with who they pair him with in the show. Anyway, I'm rambling. So here's my new story attempt. Don't forget to review please (:

Burning Flames

Chapter One- The new girl

"You can do this...you can do this." She would appear mad to anyone who walked past her right now but she didn't really care. She felt the need to repeat the mantra to herself over and over, genuinely believing that it would help her. She hated first days, nothing good ever came of a first day.

"You got this." The voice of another female caused the girl to jump and turn to the person the voice belonged to. "You're the new EMT right? I'm Gabriella." Gabriella held a hand out and the girl bashfully shook it.

"Alexandria...Ria...sorry about that," Ria flushed a light crimson. "First days make me nervous."

"Then you've come to the right house," Gabriella's smile calmed Ria a little.

"Thanks," she smiled, showing her white teeth and dimples. "I'll follow you then." Gabriella nodded towards the entrance door and the two women fell into step with one another.

"Have you worked a firehouse before?" The petite brunette asked as she pulled the door open.

"Yeah but not in a big city like this, I'm new to Chicago too." She added seeing Gabriella's questioning eyes.

"I have a feeling you'll fit right in." Ria smiled again. "Okay, you want to head down this corridor and the chief's office is the door at the end." Ria nodded her thanks and gave a small wave as she walked in the direction she was pointed in.

Taking a deep breath she knocked on the glass door at the end. "You got this."

Lieutenant Kelly Severide sat at the top of the break room table, absentmindedly listening to all the conversations going on around him and answering questions whenever anything was aimed at him. He loved his job; literally everything and anything that came with it, he loved; well except those occasions where things didn't go to plan. But he knew that no matter what happened in those occasions, he'd done everything he could. His job made him happy, and he wasn't afraid to admit that that was also due to the family he had gained at firehouse 51.

"Beers at Molly's later everyone?" Severide turned at the sound of Christopher Hermann's voice. He smiled and nodded along with everyone else.

"Okay, everyone listen up!" The voices that echoed the room soon died down as everyone turned to Chief Bowden. "Thank you, this is Alexandria Smith, she's joining our house as our new Paramedic in Charge." Bowden moved aside and the newest member of firehouse 51 came into Severide's view. She was slightly taller than Gabi but shorter than Shay he mused. Her hair was pulled into a loose ponytail, the hair brown at her scalp but a vibrant bleach blonde on the ends, she had that perfect hourglass figure that women seem to aspire for and her eyes were a glowing green. The beautiful woman standing in front of everyone blushed a light red and Severide found the sight very appealing.

"Please, call me Ria," her voice sounded like velvet and she pushed a stray piece of hair behind her ear, showing a small tattoo on her left wrist. Everyone started towards her, saying their hellos and welcomes. Severide remained in his seat, feeling slightly uneasy at the bubbling feeling in his stomach.

"Kelly, come say hi!" Leslie Shay, a fellow paramedic at the house called out to him. "Don't be so rude," she nudged him playfully as he reached the two women that were now stood alone in the corner of the room. "Ria this is Kelly Severide, squad lieutenant, my best friend and roommate." Kelly nodded and said a hushed 'hello'.

"Nice to meet you lieutenant." Dimples appeared on her cheeks as she smiled, causing Kelly to smile.

"You too."

She liked what she saw; and that was never a good thing. What was that age old saying? "Don't mix business with pleasure." But right now, those annoying butterflies had decided that that was a good idea. She swore to herself at the fluttering that had started in her stomach as soon as she'd seen his dimpled grin with the small gap in his front teeth. She hadn't even been in the job for five minutes and she was already thinking about an in house romance.

"Oh shut up," she mumbled to herself. How can you suddenly jump to getting into a relationship with somebody after only sharing two words with them?

"Excuse me?" The slim blonde sat next to her quickly glanced in her direction.

"Oh..." Ria blushed a deep crimson. "Not you..." She inwardly scolded herself for speaking out loud.

Shay laughed focusing on the route back to the firehouse. They'd just been called out to Ria's first job of the day and she was relieved that it wasn't a complicated case. "Nice to know my new partner seems just as crazy as I am." Shay laughed again, indicating a left as she turned into the firehouse car park.

Ria laughed realising working with Shay seemed like it could be a good thing. "Nice to know the same." She grinned as the ambo pulled to a stop in its space. Both women grabbed their bags and headed back towards the break room.

"Hey! How was the first one?" One of the older fire fighters, Chris Hermann if Ria remembered his name correctly, called across the room.

"Piece of cake," Shay answered him. "Just a broken arm, typical skater kid falling off." Ria noticed the men around the room seemed to start nodding their heads lightly. Were such calls common in Chicago? "Kid took a bit of a shine to our Ria here though."

Ria blushed for what seemed like the hundredth time that day. "He did not." She shook her head at Shay's comment, inwardly beaming with pride that she had called her 'our Ria'. Maybe she'd easily fit into this family after all.

"What? He did!" Shay laughed as she swung an arm around her new partner. "Can't say I blame him." She winked and Ria's red cheeks glowed brighter. "Can you not take a compliment without blushing?"

"Leave her alone Shay." Ria's eyes widened slightly at the fact that it was lieutenant Severide that had spoken and once more, those butterflies started squirming in her stomach.

"Here's to Ria! Welcome to your new family!" Ria grinned as she tapped her beer bottle against Shay's and Gabriella's. Halfway through her first shift the other two women of the firehouse had invited her to the bar owned by Gabi, Hermann and another fire fighter they called Otis. She accepted quickly wanting to get to know her new colleagues sooner rather than later.

"So this is the local watering hole?" She asked, glancing around the crowded bar. She admired the sparkling fairy lights that hung from the ceiling and the classic feel of the place.

Gabi nodded a smile that clearly showed pride. "Yeah, a lot of fire fighters and CPD come along after shifts." Ria glanced around again, focusing on the group of women at the other end of the bar. Each one appeared to be dressed to impress in a different coloured short dress, sky scraper heels were on their feet and the giggling that was coming from each of them showcased how many 'cosmopolitans' they had already drank. Gabi turned her attention to them too. "They're here each and every weekend, always looking to hook up with a fire fighter or policeman. I've got to hand it to them though; they're really nice, if very flirty."

Ria nodded, taking another sip of her beer. "I can't remember the last time I properly dressed up and went on a night out." She laughed at the shocked looks on her new friends faces. "What? I don't have many 'gal pals'," she air quoted. "Whenever I go out for drinks it's like this, to a nice bar in my jeans and boots."

"Then we have to plan a proper girls night!" Shay exclaimed. Gabriella nodding agreement, she opened her mouth to reply only to be cut off by Shay. "Kelly! Guys!" Ria turned to look in the direction of where Shay was calling to. She watched as a few members of Squad 3 started walking towards them.

"Hey new girl!" A tall, bald man said hugging Ria after hugging the other girls.

"Hey squad guy!" She responded a smile on her face. She was surprised at how much she was enjoying herself. Relaxing for the first time since she had arrived in Chicago; she genuinely believed that she was going to like it here.

"So why Chicago Ria?" The bald man, Capp, asked after everyone had their second rounds.

Ria gulped, taking a long gulp of her beer as she tried to find something to say. "I uh, just needed a new start." She nodded, and turned away, taking another sip of her beer.

"But why?" Capp queried, clearly not sensing the awkwardness that was suddenly in the air.

"Capp, she just told you so move on yeah?" Ria glanced up at the man in front of her, surprised but grateful that it was Kelly that had 'saved' her. He smiled at her, as if he understood her hesitation. Those butterflies were never going to stop now.

Kelly didn't even glance in her direction again for the remainder of the evening which she wasn't too fazed about. Why would he? That didn't stop her green eyes from glancing to him more often than not. There was something about him she just couldn't put her finger on. He seemed to have a calming effect that emanated from him, something that everyone in the small group seemed to feel. He was different to any other man she had ever come across, he gave off this 'big man' persona but with the way he was with Shay and even Gabi at certain times, he was soft... gentle even, and just caring. She wondered if the others could sense the fact she was paying him more attention than anyone else. But she couldn't help it. There was a magnetic force that seemed to pull her to him and that scared her a little, considering she'd only spent one shift with this man. And it was that pull that led her to follow him towards the bar. She leaned over, indicating for a beer for herself.

She took a deep breath and turned towards him. "Thanks," he looked at her with a cocked eyebrow in confusion. "For getting Capp to move on." He smiled out of the corner of his mouth as he handed over his money.

"No problem, I could tell you weren't comfortable with the question." She frowned and bit her lip, a nervous habit of hers. "Don't worry about it. We're complete strangers to you right now, why would you want to share your back story?" He smiled at her, his green blue eyes sparkling.

"Well thank you." She smiled at him. "So what's my tell?" she asked playfully. It was probably the alcohol that was spreading around her system but she wanted more time alone with this man, time that she could possibly spend flirting with him...maybe.

"Your tell?" he laughed lightly, leaning his forearm on the bar next to him causing his body to be fully facing her. She was glad he didn't appear to want to head back to their friends.

"Yeah like poker, like, the tell that told you I didn't want to answer him." Realisation over what she meant covered his face.

"You looked away, eye contact's important...you're doing very well at that right now by the way," she bit her lip to stop the ear splitting grin that wanted to escape as he winked teasingly. "Took a very long glug of your beer...and..." She noticed his eyes looked down as his body language suddenly changed. He reached forward and grabbed her wrist. "You started snapping that band against your wrist." Her breath hitched in her throat as he pulled the black elastic band over her hand, showcasing the now red raw and bruised skin of her wrist. Pulse racing she swallowed slowly, no one had ever noticed her stupid habit and yet this near stranger did so after one time of her doing it. Her green eyes met his own and her breath hitched again, but this time it wasn't because he'd caught her doing something she was ashamed of, instead it was because his face was now a mere inch away from her own and his hand was still clasped around her right wrist, his fingers brushing her bruised skin lightly.

Gulping she moved back and instantly missed his touch as he seem to reluctantly let go of her. "I uh..." Her heartbeat increased and she could feel the colour rising in her cheeks. Biting her lip she forced herself to not immediately start snapping the band again. She looked away from him.

"Hey," his hand was suddenly on her cheek, causing her to glance back at him again. "It's okay," she frowned, her eyebrows creasing together questioning him. "Whatever you've been through..." Her eyes widened, she'd been caught out already... "That's your business but just so you know...you're safe here, you're with family."

She nodded confusion etched all over her face. She couldn't believe how all this had happened. After one week in Chicago...one shift at the firehouse, someone had already worked out her secret. And that someone still had his hand on her cheek, his eyes were still staring straight through her and suddenly she felt those butterflies stop their fluttering and her breathing evened. She suddenly realised that how long she had known him didn't matter, it was how long she would end up knowing him...that was what truly mattered.

So perhaps, good things do happen on first days after all.

So that's my introductory chapter. I'm not entirely pleased with how the ending went so if you could let me know your thoughts that would be very appreciated.

So yeah (: