Hi Everyone, thanks for reading. This is one of my many stories on this site. I love Chicago Fire, LOVE Taylor Kinney and LOVE Kelly Severide, so this is Severide centric.
I feel bad how Matt always gets the happy ending in the story, so this is Kelly's happy ending in his life.
Please read, follow, favorite, review and let me know what you are thinking.
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Chapter 1 – Reunion
It was the day of their 5-year anniversary when Daniella came into town. She was back in town after years of being away. It was time to come home and face her problems. She had no more excuses to use to stay away.
She was lucky that she found a great job, one she loved. All her schooling finally paid off and got her to a place where she was happy in her life and excited for what was to come.
She knew things were going to be hard and awkward with everyone, especially Kelly. She was nervous and scared of seeing him again after so many years. They parted on good terms, but she hasn't seen or heard from him since. This was not going to be easy by any means.
As she walked up the driveway to the firehouse, her nerves were burning. She could see the truck company in the garage looking over equipment, making her smile. No matter how much you stay away, some things never change. It made her feel a little at home.
She could tell they just got back from a call, so she tried to stay as calm and professional as she could. When she got closer, her heels started echoing in the garage, so they turned her way.
"Hi, can I help you?" one of the truck guys asked.
She probably looked like a nut case. She knew she stood out. Just standing outside the firehouse staring like an awe-struck teenager. The way she was acting, you would never know she grew up around firehouses.
"Hi, I'm looking for Chief Boden" she said.
He nodded, "sure, I'm Otis, just follow me" he replied.
She smiled, "Daniella" she greeted, introducing herself, shaking his hand. "Welcome to Firehouse 51 Daniella" he stated.
She smiled and followed him through the firehouse. As she walked through, Dani was on the lookout for Kelly the whole time. She wanted to be prepared for when she first saw him. With their history, she couldn't just run into him. That would be bad.
Otis, oblivious to her fears and nervousness, led her straight to the chief's office. "Here you go" he indicated for her to go in.
She smiled and nodded at him, "thank you. Nice to meet you Otis" she replied before walking into the chief's office.
"Hi, Chief Boden, I'm Daniella. I'm told you asked for me" she shook his outstretched hand.
He smiled and nodded at her as he indicated for her to take a seat. They needed to get through some business before they got down to business in the firehouse.
"Yes, Dr. Severide, thank you for coming" he greeted.
She smiled and looked down to her folded hands in her lap, "first, it's really nice to meet you. I've heard great things about your firehouse and leadership. I am excited to work with you. Secondly, if you don't mind, I would like to be known as Dr. Taylor. Kelly and I haven't been together since we were kids. I don't think he would appreciate me coming back here and interjecting myself into his life any more than I am already" she stated.
Chief Boden looked her over a minute and nodded. He appreciated her candor. She didn't want to cause any trouble and that was admirable. The Chief respected that.
"That's fine by me. Does anyone else know the truth?" he asked.
She nodded, "just you and Matt Casey. We were barely out of high school when we got married, so Matt and Andy both were there. They are the only ones that know, besides our family of course" she replied.
She didn't want things to be more complicated than they already were going to be. She wanted to be honest with him. He was going to be her boss.
He nodded and handed her a file that had all her personal information she was required to fill out before starting her job.
"If you are ready, I will call in my paramedics" he stated as he processed her paperwork and started her file within the firehouse.
She smiled and nodded, "Yeah, that would be great. I am excited to get started" she said as she stood up, watching as two females walked into the office.
"Chief, you wanted to see us" one of them greeted.
"Yes, come in please" he waved them in. "This is Daniella Taylor. She will be riding along with you for a while. There's a new pilot program that links the hospital with firehouses. I am going to make the announcement to everyone, I just wanted to give you the chance to meet first" he introduced.
Dani put her hand out and shook their hands, "Hi, it's nice to meet you both. I look forward to working with you both" she greeted.
"Hi, I'm Gabby Dawson and this is Sylvie Brett, nice to meet you too" Gabby introduced as she and Brett took turns greeting the doctor.
Once the introductions were over, they followed the chief out to the common meeting room where everyone was waiting for them.
The first thing she noticed was that Matt and Kelly both froze when they saw her standing next to the chief. Kelly glanced at Matt, who shook his head before glancing her way again. They couldn't keep their eyes off her.
As she walked into the room, she could feel their gazes on her. She couldn't help but look Kelly over as she waited for the chief to start his speech. She raked her eyes over him, blushing when she met his gaze. He saw her checking him out. She couldn't help but blush and look away instantly, causing him to smirk and shift on his feet.
He was still hot. He hasn't changed. Maybe older and have more muscles, but he still had the same smoldering, bad boy looks to him. He was still as handsome as ever. More importantly, he still made her heart flutter.
Matt noticed the interaction between the two and smiled. He knew nothing was going to change if Dani ever came back to Chicago. He was glad that his friend was back in town. She would be a welcome change.
He glanced at Kelly, who was staring holes at Dani. He knew from that moment everything changed. Things were going to get interesting.
"Alright everyone quiet down" Chief started. "I would like to introduce Dr. Daniella Taylor, she's a doctor who is going to be riding with Brett and Dawson for a while as a part of a pilot program from the ivory tower. Dr. Taylor, I will let you explain" he gave her the floor.
Before she said anything, she noticed Kelly's eyes widen a little when the chief introduced her as Dr. Taylor instead of Severide. Legally, she was still a Severide, but she didn't want to complicate things.
Dani stepped forward, "Hi everyone, I'm Daniella Taylor and like Chief Boden stated, I will be riding with your paramedics for a while. Orders came down from the ivory tower to reduce fatalities in the field. Dawson and Brett are going to be part of a pilot program where EMT's will learn to perform complex but necessary procedures in the field for the patient's survival in route to the hospital" she explained.
"What does that mean?" Dawson.
"Well, that means that you will be trained by a certified physician to perform live saving procedures that would previously need a trauma surgeon for. Now you won't be trauma surgeons by any means, but the idea is to train you all to do these procedures to bypass a step for the docs when the patient gets to the hospital. This program will teach you to perform the procedures yourself without having to get permission from a surgeon to save the patients life and decrease the chance of a fatality. That's the whole point. We want to increase the survival rate from the scene to the hospital" she said.
"Who is going to be the licensed doctor that is going to be doing that?" Matt asked.
They didn't know anything about her after she left for school. Her brothers wouldn't say anything, and Kelly never talks about it.
"That would be me. I am a trauma doctor who used to work as a paramedic after college, with firefighting training. Have no fear, I am more than qualified for this job" she stated.
Matt nodded with a smirk and put his hands up in surrender. He regresses. He knew she was putting up a brave front in front of everyone and smiled. She was kicking ass. She did everything she said she would with her life.
"Any more questions?" Dani asked. This was their house. She was breaking their routine. She wanted to make sure everyone was on the same page.
"Yeah, I have a question" Kelly called out, making her gasp and suck in a breath, "if you are a doctor, how are you supposed to be training us? Don't doctors usually work at a hospital?" he asked to be a smartass. He was frustrated, and he was taking it out on her.
Matt looked between the two and instantly knew what Kelly was doing. He was trying to get a rise out of her.
"Yes, I will be working here as a liaison with the hospital. We will have a 6-week program trial period for the EMT's who are willing to participate to earn their certification. I will be with them the entire time. As for my qualifications, I am a licensed trauma surgeon from Harvard Medical School. I passed my EMT/Paramedic exam and graduated top of my class at the academy. This program is new. Your firehouse is the first to go through it. The success or failure of it is up to you" she stated.
"As for why me, you can ask your chief why he personally chose me to head it up. That's above both our paygrade wouldn't you say lieutenant?" she added, defending herself causing everyone to smirk and snicker at her reply.
The chief took that as his clue to step in and take over the meeting. He was watching his lieutenants when Dani was explained the program. He knew what they were doing and thought she handled herself perfectly.
"Okay now that we are all more informed, I expect you ALL" he emphasized the all, looking at Matt and Kelly before continuing, "to welcome Dr. Taylor with a big 51 welcome" he said, patting her shoulder before walking out of the meeting room.
Once the meeting was over, they all returned to what they were doing. Dani followed the EMT's out, getting acquainted when Matt came over.
"Dawson, Brett, can I borrow the doc for a second?" he asked.
The paramedics nodded and stepped aside, leaving her with Matt. Once they were alone, Matt dropped the lieutenant act and leaned over to greet her with a hug.
Dani smiled and laughed, hugging him back. Happy to have her friend back. It was nice to see a familiar face that was happy to see her.
"Hi Matty" she greeted.
Matt pulled back but kept her at arm's length to look her over. "It's really good to see you Dani. I'm so glad you are back. I missed you skittles" he teased.
She smiled and let out a laugh at hearing her old nickname. No one has called her that in a while. "At least someone is" she glanced at Kelly over at the squad table.
Matt followed her gaze and waved her off, "Don't worry about him. He'll get off his high horse eventually" Matt tried to comfort her.
Casey was right. From the time he laid eyes on her in the meeting, he couldn't keep them off her. He perked up when Matt walked over to her. He sat even straighter when he saw her laugh and smile after he hugged her. He missed that. He missed seeing her happy.
Dani smiled at Matt. She really missed him. "Thanks Matty. I really hope so" she replied.
"Come on, I'll show you around" he wrapped an arm around her shoulder as he led her through the firehouse. He showed her where her office was, the storage room and left her in the locker room so she could change.
Kelly was standing at the edge of the lockers like a coward. He wanted to talk to her, but he didn't know what to say. He couldn't help but look her over. She still looked the same, only she definitely grew into her curves. Kelly couldn't help but smile when she turned around and he saw her tattoo. She still had it.
She saw him in the mirror and froze. To say she was surprised was an understatement. "Kelly" she breathed out his name.
He walked over and stood across from her, raking his eyes up and down her body. Dani pulled on her clothes blushing. She felt like she did when he first asked her out in high school.
"What are you doing here Dani?" he asked.
She sighed, she knew this was coming. She knew what she hoped their reunion would be was wishful thinking.
"I finished school, got my license, but I wasn't happy. I missed my family. I missed my home. I needed to come home" she said.
He nodded and looked down for a minute before looking up at her. "Does your family know you are here?" he asked.
She shook her head, "Just Bobby. It's complicated" she replied. That wasn't his problem anymore.
He looked at her confused. For as long as he's known her, she's always been close to her family. "What happened?" he asked.
She just shrugged, "long story. Look Kelly, we don't have to do this. I just want to make sure we can be civil. We are going to be working together. I can't be in the same room with you, on the same call and have you hating me" she said.
He looked up at her surprised and moved to stop her from leaving, stepping in her way. "Dani I…" he stopped when he saw Gabby come into the locker room.
"Sorry to interrupt but lunch is ready" she said.
Dani smiled and ignored whatever just happened with Kelly, "thanks Gabby, I'll be right there" she replied as she finished getting dressed.
She tied her hair back and closed her locker, taking a breath before turning to Kelly. "I am only here for 6-weeks, until I figure out what's next for me. I'll stay out of your life, just please don't hate me. I don't think I could take that" she told him before walking out of the locker room.
Matt noticed her looking like she was going to cry as she came out of the locker room. When he saw Kelly come out after her, he knew why. He picked up his plate and plopped down next to her.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
She shrugged, "can we get together for dinner or something later? We have a lot to catch up on" she asked.
He smiled and nodded, "it's a date. We'll get a drink at Molly's" he said.
The date was set. She was going to get together with an old friend and take her mind off what was going on in her personal life, at least she hoped. She hoped she could handle this. That she didn't take on more than she could chew. Only time will tell.
