A/N: First of all I'd like to let you know that this is a Shawson fic, so yeah they will get together eventually. But that doesn't mean they will get together in the very first chapter or that they won't have any issues. I decided to start this fic at Shay's first day at Station 51 as a small introduction.
I don't know much about paramedics or fire fighters, so I don't think I will be writing much about their work, of course I will write about their work since it's a big part of the show, but I'd like to get into the details of their relationship not their work.
I also want to apologize for my English, English isn't my first language so I'm sorry if there are any mistakes.
I love critisism, so if you read this fic, please let me know what you think about it! Reviews really help me to update faster!
Disclaimer: I don't own the show, nor it's characters. All television shows, movies, books, or any other copyrighted material referred to in this work, and the characters, settings, and events thereof, are the properties of their respective owners
"I know some people think that home is just a place. But for me home isn't just a place, it's a person."
I never told you
Chapter 1: I remember
I still remember my first day at Station 51, like it was the day before yesterday. I remember walking through those doors, seeing those huge fire trucks standing there, waiting for their next call, for their next ride. I remember the way the boys would stare at me as I walked around between those huge trucks, hoping one of them would come up to talk to me and show me around.
I remember how they yelled at me from their seats and jokingly asked me if I had gotten lost. Maybe it was because at that time there were only boys working at Station 51 and I was a girl. No, it definitely was because I was a girl and they were all boys. But I decided to just let it go. None of them really knew how to handle this situation, and to be honest, neither did I.
"The new bee is a girl? Really?" I heard one of the boys yell.
"She is a hot girl." Another one corrected him.
I tried my hardest not to blush. I know most of them would probably think it's weird that girls like to do this job too, but I really like my work. And I also know that boys like to joke around in uncomfortable or new situations, because they don't know how to handle them. So I decided to ignore the 'hot girl' comment.
The only thing I could think about to make this situation less awkward, was to just walk over to the guys, and introduce myself. So I did. I walked over to the table where the boys who had just been laughing at me were sitting.
"Well hello my lady." A guy said as he stood up to place a kiss on my hand.
I had to keep myself from laughing. The guy in front of me was already flirting with me and I hadn't even told my name yet. I had to admit he looked pretty good, handsome to be honest. But let's just say he was not my type. None of them really was. But I wasn't going to tell them on my first day that I liked a V where they all had a P. I knew they would give me a hard time about it, trying to make me feel even more uncomfortable than I already did. I wouldn't let them get me that easy.
I started to feel more and more uncomfortable by the way the boy in front of me kept staring at me. But I just thought about how uncomfortable he would feel for hitting on me, once I told him I was a lesbian. "Leslie Shay." I introduced myself. "I'm the new paramedic at 61." I said, as I shook his hand, looking around the table to find more guys staring at me. Really? Had none of them ever seen a girl at this station before?
"Severide, Kelly. But everybody pretty much calls me Severide." The boy said.
I nodded, as I let his hand go. "It's nice to meet you Severide." The other boys at the table greeted me as well. And I kept talking with Severide and the other boys for a short while, until an older man, I guess around the age of 60 walked towards me. "Leslie Shay?" He asked, his voice sounding pretty grumpy, like I was already annoying him, or ruining his day.
I looked up at the old man, as I tried not to show that the grumpy look on his face was intimidating me a little. "Yes sir, can I help you?"
"I'm George Rembers, your partner. Please follow me, I'll show you around." The man sighted as he started walking with his hands in his pockets.
Yep, I was definitely ruining his day. I'm serious was this man having his period or something? Because even my girlfriend is nicer when she's on her period, and she turns into this hormonal bitch. But I didn't want him to get even more grumpy than he already was, so I just followed him inside.
My first day went by sooner than I thought it would go. 24 hours seemed pretty long when I first arrived at the station, but we had gotten a few calls, and Rembers showed me around in between, so the 24 hours flew by and I had finished my shift before I knew.
I had met pretty much all the fire fighters and chief Boden at the station earlier today. I even got to work with most of them and they all seemed really nice. I could get along with everyone pretty well except for my partner. He hadn't talked to me more than necessary. And for some reason he just didn't seemed interested in getting to know me, while the other boys had tried to figure out everything there was to get to know about me.
It frustrated me that my partner barely talked to me, I mean he was the one I would spent most of my time with, right? And well it would have been really cool if we had gotten along really well, but unfortunately that wasn't the case. So I just hung out with the other boys all day, as I tried to get to know them, while they were trying to get to know me. I still hadn't told them that I was a lesbian, but I had told them that I was in a serious relationship, and by that most of them backed off a little.
I said my goodbyes to the few boys that were still in the locker room as I walked by. It was the end of the day, or well the start of a new day, and even though I had already finished my shift I had been called to the chief's office. And even though he had seemed really nice earlier today, I was still pretty nervous about meeting him one on one. Why did he want to see me so soon? Had I done something wrong?
"Chief." I said, as I knocked on the door that was already open.
"Shay, come in." Chief's low voice sounded through the room. He sounded friendly, which calmed me down a little. I walked into the office, as I closed the door behind me.
"Take a seat." He said, pointing to one of the seats on the opposite of his desk.
I did as I was told and sat down.
"I wanted to compliment you on your first day. You kept your head up, and handled the situations pretty well. We're glad to add someone like you to our team." His voice spoke.
"Well thanks for having me chief." I calmed down a little, at least I hadn't done something wrong that would me get fired on my first day.
"You like your team so far?"
The question took me a little of guard, I had only been with them for one day. How could I already answer this question? I mean yeah I had gotten a good opinion about most of the guys, but for some reason, my partner and I couldn't get along. But I decided chief didn't need to know that. "They all seem really nice so far sir." I lied. I mean it wasn't completely a lie was it? I just didn't like my partner.
"Good. So, I saw you and Severide talking at the scene earlier today. I just wanted to let you know that if any of the guys is making you feel uncomfortable around here you should come to me. This is a fire station, we spend a lot of time in here. I want you to feel save Shay. I want you to feel at home in here, just like everyone else does. So please, if anyone is giving you a hard time, you tell me."
"I appreciate that chief. Thanks." I said. I didn't think Severide and I would become a problem. I wasn't interested in him, and even though he had tried to make a move on me earlier today, he still seemed really nice.
"Good." He said.
I wanted to get up from my seat, I thought chief had said everything he wanted to say, but before I got up he spoke again. "And Shay, I don't know if Rembers mentioned it to you earlier today, but he's leaving our station in three weeks. Which means you'll get a different partner by then. We tried to get you both started on the same day, but Rembers' old partner Marcus left earlier than we expected so we had to call you in earlier to cover his shifts. I hope that's not a problem?"
"Not at all chief." I said. Trying to hide my enthusiasm, I really didn't liked Rembers so I was glad I was getting a new partner in three weeks. I could manage three more weeks with Rembers in the ambo.
"Good. You're free to go Shay. I'll see you next time."
I nodded. "Thanks chief." And by that I left his office.
I walked towards the locker room to grab my stuff before heading home. I was pretty sure everyone had already left, but when I arrived in the locker room I found Severide still standing there.
"Severide?" I asked, a little insecure. Why was he still here?
"I uhm- The guys and I are heading to Jensen's for a beer, you wanna join?" He asked a little nervous.
"Yeah sure, why not?" I said as I closed my locker and followed him out of the building.
I had been right, three weeks with Rembers weren't that bad. Or maybe they weren't because every time he would do something that annoyed me or pissed me off, I counted the days I would still have to deal with him, and in the end there were no days left, and we threw his goodbye party.
Severide and I had become really close friends in the last three weeks. We just had this connection from that very first day I walked in, and things just worked between us. Even though he was still trying to get in my pants every now and then. Which worked on my nerves by the way. I knew I had to tell him that I was a lesbian eventually, so one day when he asked about my love life, I just did.
"So you having a little crush on someone at the moment?" He asked me while he sipped his beer. We were forced to be at Jensen's where we decided to throw Rembers' goodbye party.
"Yep, I sure do." I said smiling, as I took the last sip of my beer.
"You gonna tell me who it is?" Severide asked hopeful I would say his name.
"My partner." I said. I tried to be as vague as possible. I really wasn't looking forward to this. Severide seemed like one of those guys who would think it was hot when two girls would make out. But once I said the word 'partner' I realized how wrong that must have sounded. And I was right, because only seconds later Kelly asked me if I had a crush on my partner Rembers.
"What? You're crushing on Rembers? Really?" He asked almost in shock.
"What?! No eww.." I said as I looked disgusted at the group of boys that were standing around the old Rembers. I looked back at Severide who seemed to become more and more lost as the seconds went by. "My girlfriend Clarice." I explained. I don't know if it were the few beers I already had that encouraged me to tell him, or if I really felt comfortable enough to tell him. But anyway, I did and that's what matters right?
"So you're a lesbian?" He asked, a little taken aback.
I nodded. "Yeah. I think that's what they call it."
"Damn, and I thought I had a shot." He said laughing. "Well Clarice is a very lucky woman." He said. That was it, no more. No 'OMG That's so hot.' No other rude comments. He just pretended that it was the most normal thing ever. Like I had just told him that I needed air to stay alive. I liked that he was still looking the same at me as he had done a minute ago. He hadn't freaked out or said anything rude. He just handed me a new beer, and we walked back to the other guys from the station, like nothing had happened.
Maybe that's why I like our friendship so much, we just keep things simple.
I'll never forget the first day she walked in. I was talking to Severide about some stupid girl he had met at Rembers' goodbye party the other day as she caught my eye. She looked so small, as she walked between those huge fire trucks. I'll never forget the way her hair danced by every step she took, or the way her beautiful dark brown eyes, locked with mine for the very first time.
I know it sounds stupid, but for some reason I got a little scared that my new partner was a girl. I mean, I would have to tell her eventually that I'm a lesbian, and let's just say, boys mostly take it better than girls. Girls are always scared you're crushing or perving on them, and you don't wanna be judged by someone you don't even know yet.
She walked over to me, and for some reason I couldn't take my eyes of her anymore. I felt Severide's eyes in my back, but there was nothing I could do. I was frozen, as the beautiful brunette in front of me came closer by every step she took. And as our eyes met for the second time, I noticed the beautiful smile that was on her face. I had to admit, she had a gorgeous smile. One of those smiles that could light up an entire room if she wanted to. Not many people have a smile like that, but she sure had.
She stopped right in front of me, as she reached her hand out to me. "Hi, I'm Gabriela Dawson." She said, still having that same beautiful smile on her face.
And right there in that very first moment our hands touched, I swear she stole my heart.
