3: By Chance

Kelly's P.O.V

It's been almost a week since the apartment fire where I met Addison. I had managed to keep myself from going crazy worrying over her for the most part. There was one night where I was almost ready to drive back to her apartment building to get her. I had no idea what I was going to say, but I had this innate urge to just get her the hell away from that place. There was no way that anyone like her deserved to be in such a place.

Today is Saturday, my day off, the first true day off in a while. I'm using the opportunity to try and clear my head. I decided a good way to do that was by slipping on my running gear and getting out of the house. Running has always been a good way for me to block out the world and get some clarity—a break from everything else.

I leave around ten thirty, sleeping in a little longer than usual. I start off by going around my block, but find I need to go further. With that I just let go of any plan of a route and let myself run to wherever I wanted, not giving a second thought as I crossed streets and turned left and right.

Covered in sweat, I stop and sit down at one of the benches in this park I've found myself in. I think it's called High Park, but I can't be sure, I'm awful with names of places and streets.

I spot a water fountain across the park and immediately make a bee-line for it. I guzzle it down and splash some against my face and neck. My heart is slowly returning to its normal rate, coming down from my high pace. I wander over to another bench nearby and sink down onto it. I might have over-done it today. My legs feel like jell-o, and I begin to dread the trek back home.

I look up to watch all the park goers. It's busy, lots of people are out bike riding or running, taking advantage of the sunny fall day just like me. Families of kids are on the playground. Moms sit with their strollers and chat amongst themselves, occasionally calling out to their young ones to not throw dirt and to wait their turn for the swings. I chuckle when I watch one of the toddlers grab a fistful of dirt and sneak it into his mouth. His mom notices in seconds and snatches him up, wiping his tongue and face with a cloth.

My eyes continue across the playground, and I stop short when I see a familiar figure nearest to me, supervising some kids on the see-saw. Her hair is washed, now a light brown, and falls in waves and curls down her back, and her clothes are no longer scorched or charred, but it's her.

"Careful boys, not too fast, Holly and Gracie's legs aren't as long as yours." She scolds them gently, a smile playing at the edge of her mouth.

I shake my head and want to laugh out loud. Seriously, what are the chances?

I look down, running both my hands through my hair. I look at my shoes and wonder what to do. Do I leave before she notices? Shay would tell me to. She'd say it's not my place to follow up and check on her, to get any more involved than I have. But there's a huge instinct in me telling me I should just go and talk to her.

My decision is made for me when I hear her voice approaching me.

"Kelly?" she asks, coming closer. She wears dark jeans and a long sleeved white sweater. I immediately noticed the bruising along her cheek and my stomach sinks as I see it.

"Addison, hey." I greet her. "Weird running into you here." I say and she laughs, nodding.

"Yeah, I bring the kids here almost every Saturday. I've never seen you around before." She says, her eye thoughtful, probably wondering if she had seen me in passing without realizing it.

"Oh nice," my eyes travel to the four kids still on the see-saw behind her. "Another babysitting gig?" I ask her and Addison smile and shakes her head.

"No, I don't get paid for watching these ones. They're my foster siblings, we live together back at the Gregson's." she tells me. "I watch them whenever we're not at school." She tells me, and something in the way she says it makes me think that her services in watching the kids are more forced than volunteered.

"Wow, that sounds like a handful." I chuckle, watching the kids behind her as one of the girls manages to get herself off of the see-saw and comes bounding towards us.

"Addie, Addie!" she calls for Addison who turns to see the little African American girl making a bee-line for her.

Addison bends down and picks up the little one who was reaching for her with outstretched arms. "What's up Gracie?" Addison asks her, situating her on her hip easily.

"I'm tired of the playground. When are we going to go get ice cream?" she asks, her little brown eyes lighting up at the mentioning of the frozen dessert.

Addison giggles and shakes her head. "All you can think about is ice cream today." She smiles and looks behind her to the other children. "If you can convince the others it's time to leave then I'm ready when you are." She says and Gracie wriggles out of her hold.

"I'll be right back!" she promises as she races back towards the other children, calling their names the whole way.

Addison smiles, watching over the kids fondly. I can tell just in the way she behaves around them how much these kids mean to her. How many hours has she spent taking care of them in place of her so-called guardians? I feel that surge of anger again, the same feeling I got when hearing about her slim to none chances of getting adopted.

Addison looks to me, blue eyes scanning my sweaty clothing. "Needed to get out of the house?" she asks, amused with what she sees.

I chuckle, nodding. "Yeah, I've…" I trail off for a moment, eyes fixed on the children behind her before looking back to her inquisitive face. "Had a lot on my mind lately. You know, work and stuff." I say, trying to downplay the sleepless nights and long days.

Addison smirks, her eyes teasing. "Oh, well I would hope you spend so much time thinking about all those people you save from burning buildings. I think you'd be letting them all down in a way if you didn't." she giggles, and I roll my eyes; this girl's got wit, but I like it—it makes for good conversation.

"Yeah, yeah…" I mumble before seeing the kids all approaching us. "Looks like your band of ice cream lovers has assembled." I point out to her just as they get within earshot.

Addison turns to see them all behind her. "Oh hey guys," she greets. "Ready to go for some ice cream?" she asks, triggering simultaneous nods from each of them. The two boys look older than the two girls, but seem well behaved.

"Rocky road, rocky road!" the little one Grace begins chanting excitedly. Addison laughs and shakes her head in amusement.

"Kelly," she says, turning to me. "Do you…Do you want to come along?" she asks with a hopeful look on her face. "The place is just across the street from here, and I feel like it's got the best stuff in town." She shrugs. "As long as you don't have anywhere else to be, I won't want to keep you." Addison's tone is light, but that undertone of undeniable hope makes me feel like turning her down would be the worst thing I could do.

I follow her gaze to look across the intersection to see the sign for the 2 Scoops Ice Cream Parlor. Looking back to Addison and the four young kids all eager to get some ice cream, and I can't bring myself to say no.

"Yeah, I can go for some ice cream." I say and Addison breaks into a grin.

"Perfect, let's go." She smiles, taking the hands of the children on either side of her. Right as she does so, they all link hands together and begin the walk through the park. Clearly they've done this a few times, and Addison has the buddy system down pat.

"Which flavour are you going to get Addie?" one of the boys asks her. "I want the maple walnut if they have it."

"Hm," Addison thinks for a moment before answering. "I think I'll have to go with the chocolate mixed with vanilla with almonds: heavenly chocolate." She gives the name of the ice cream flavor.

"Awe, you get that every time though!" the older of the two girls points out with a look of disappointment.

Addison laughs and shrugs. "It's just so good! How can you turn down a good thing?" she asks them.

As we near the traffic intersection, the two girls and boys break off from her.

"Together!" she reminds them, and just like that, they've linked up again by their hands. The youngest one Gracie and the younger boy take turns frantically pressing the walk request button on the post, having a kind of competition with one another.

"You're really good with them." I tell her, and she crosses her arms over herself, smiling at the scene before us.

"You'd never guess the kinds of homes they came from when you see them like this." She says with a shake of her head, as if she herself can't believe it. "Mason, the oldest boy, lost both his parents in a car accident—hit and run. They still don't know who did it." Addison frowns. "Holly, the oldest girl, got taken from her mom who was diagnosed bi-polar when she was two. Lived with her grandmother until she passed away when she was four." The little blonde was in a heated debate about which flavor was best between bubble gum and rainbow burst with Mason, the oldest boy. "Cole was left at the front doors of a church—no name, no note…They still haven't tracked down his real parents." Her eyes fall on the curly haired boy who is still madly pressing the button. "And little Gracie there," Addison heaves a sigh. "Born in a women's prison. Mom was in there for being an accomplice to her boyfriend's armed robbery heist. Her parents are doing at least fifteen years. She hasn't known a life outside the system."

I look to the four kids, my heart breaking as I hear each of their stories. You'd think with a past like they have, they'd be incapable of feeling any kind of joy. But here they are, looking like a normal bunch of rascals prone to getting into trouble.

"That's…" I struggle to find the words as the signal changes and we cross the street. "I can't believe that—it's so sad." I frown deeply and Addison nods from the corner of my eye.

"It is, but kids are the most resilient people. They have such forgiving hearts, and can forget so quickly. It makes me wish we didn't lose that as we get older, maybe then life wouldn't feel so hard as adults." She chuckles and shakes her head, unsure. "I don't know, but they're the whole reason I do what I do. Even if there isn't a lot of hope for me, there is for them. They still have a chance." Addison says, eyes glazing over as she thinks of something.

I nod. "It's amazing you do things like this for them; taking them out to the park and for ice cream—I bet it's the most normal they get to feel." I say and Addison smiles wistfully, shrugging as she tucks back some of her hair blowing in the fall breeze.

"Well, I get to feel normal too for a little bit. It's for both of us in the end. A win-win situation." She tells me, blue eyes watching them as the oldest boy yanks open the door to the parlor.

We step in and I am met with two massive coolers of ice cream. An old man is behind the counter, wearing an apron and large glasses. He breaks into a grin as he catches sight of the kids and Addison.

"Well if it isn't my best customers!" he greets with a laugh while the kids press their hands up against the glass of the ice cream coolers, eyes full of excitement. "What is it gonna be today kids?" he asks them.

"Rocky road, rocky road!" Grace takes no time in deciding, repeating the same chant she had been on the way here.

"Hey Sal," Addison greets with a smile. "Where is that 'please' little miss?" she asks Gracie, who covers her mouth.

"Oops." She looks back to Sal. "Sorry, please and thank you." She corrects her behaviour right away and Addison nods in approval. I chuckle and wonder how it is Addison is able to get them all to listen so well.

"I'll have the maple walnut please." Mason says before Holly steps up behind him.

"The bubble gum for me please." Holly nods to herself, very sure of her decision.

"Mint chocolate chip please!" Cole declares happily.

"Heavenly chocolate for me please Sal." Addison says as the man nods. "Kelly?" she asks me, and I look to the flavors quickly; I hadn't even been thinking of which one to get.

"Uh…Sweet pecan for me please." I make up my mind quickly as Sal nods and gets to work fitting scoops of ice cream into each cone. I can't help but notice he makes the servings extra generous for them—by the sounds of it, he sees them here often enough to justify it.

Each child eagerly awaits the ice cream, Addison helping the younger ones by taking the cone from Sal before lowering it down to their level carefully.

I pull out my wallet, giving Sal a twenty and letting him know to keep the change. Addison looks up from handing the last of the ice creams off, and catches the last of mine and Sal's exchange.

Her expression softens into a look of true gratitude. "Kelly…Thank you, you really didn't have to."

I shrug. "Not a big deal, happy to." I say simply as she gives me another grateful smile.

Addison snatches up a handful of the napkins just as I'm handed my own cone. We leave the shop, cones in hand, and all the kids waving and yelling thanks to Sal.

We start off back towards the park, each child trying to walk and eat their cone at the same time.

"I still think ice cream in the fall is a little weird." I tell Addison, and she giggles and shrugs.

"It probably is, but they love it way too much to tell them no. I don't have the heart to do it. And oddly enough, it's grown on me." She admits to me, taking another bite of her ice cream. "So you live around here?" she asks me. "Within running distance at least."

I laugh half-heartedly, shaking my head. "Not quite…I live in Westbank." I say and her eyebrows shoot up. "I got a little…Carried away this morning with my run. Didn't really plan on winding up this far away." I admit, and she laughs.

"Wow, you have quite the walk back then." She says with an amused glimmer in her blue eyes and I nod, frowning slightly.

"More of a walk than I'd planned for, that's for sure." I say as we stop at the traffic signal again. Seeing her profile, I catch sight of the bruise along her cheekbone again. "What happened there?" I ask her, gesturing to my own face.

She looks down right away, touching the spot I mentioned. "Oh, right…It was stupid really. I hit my face into a shelf at home…I have really bad spatial awareness." She says before dropping her hand from her face and returning to her ice cream.

"Oh," is all that comes to mind for me to say, and I feel damn stupid for it too.

Again, something feels off about her story. It's this unsettling feeling I get in my gut, that instinct you have that tells you the difference between what was right and wrong…and this felt wrong. If she was being abused at home, maybe there was something we could do—something I could do.

There you go again getting overly involved Severide.

My thoughts scold me as we make our way across the street and back into the park.

"I've heard good things about Westbank. Do you like it?" she asks me as we near the playground. The kids are nearly done their ice creams and talking amongst themselves about whether to go to the swings or the slide first.

"Yeah," I answer, taking the last bite of my cone. "It's close to work, there's a good Italian place down the street…I live with one of my co-workers, so it makes it easy to carpool, and the rent isn't so bad." I explain as Addison also finishes her ice cream.

"Oh nice. Which co-worker? Did I meet them the day of the fire?" she asks me, and I think back, nodding slowly.

"Yeah you did. Her name is Shay, Leslie Shay. She was the one giving me a hard time in the ambo." I recall, and recognition lights up Addison's face as she smiles and gives a laugh.

"Right, right, I remember her…So you live together—Oh. Oh." Her tone changes as she looks to me, brows raised in question.

I laugh and shake my head. It's not the first time I've had this kind of reaction after people find out about us living together.

"No, it's not like that. Shay is much more interested in women than she ever would be with me. She's my best friend." I explain and Addison nods slowly, understanding better now.

"That makes sense now." She smiles before leaning down, pulling some napkins from her pocket to wipe the mouths of the children just finishing their ice cream treats. "I'll give you guys ten minutes to have one last run around, but after that we have to catch the bus to get back in time for lunch." She eyes them all carefully. "Go ahead," she says, and with that the kids take off running towards the slide.

"Somewhere to be huh?" I ask and Addison nods.

"Well, I don't have much money to spend on meals and whatnot. It's better to do it at home—I make just enough in tips each week to keep doing the ice cream with them on weekends." She explains and I knit my brows in confusion.

"Tips?" I ask and she nods.

"I play guitar and sing. Sometimes I'll set up here or at a coffee shop and hope that the generosity of Chicagoans comes through for me." She smiles, shoving her hands in her pockets as a cold breeze blows against us.

"Wow, good for you. Must be half decent at it if people are willing to give you some money for it." I say and she looks down, a blush rising to her cheeks.

She shrugs and avoids my gaze, keeping her eyes fixed straight ahead. "I guess so…Music is just…Everyone gets it. Everyone likes it. It can bring so many people together and I love watching that, you know?" she asks, turning to look at me. Her cheeks have gone a soft pink colour from the cold air and her blue eyes look to me with curiosity.

"Well, maybe I'll stumble across this place again and see you play." I say, nudging my shoulder against hers. "Until then, I'll have no choice but to think you're a little less than mediocre."

She laughs and nods. "Well of course, it's only fair until you've had the chance to properly assess me." She rolls her eyes and giggles. "I hope I can meet the bar you've set for me."

"Hm," I say with a contemplative look. "I don't know, it's a thing very few people manage to achieve." I continue with the joke and she doesn't miss a beat.

"Those poor people, the rejection must have been heartbreaking for them." Addison smirks and I nod.

"It really was, devastating."

"I can only imagine."

"So sad."

"Very sad."

We look to each other and break into laughter. I shake my head. This kid is funny, really funny. Mature enough to keep a conversation going and keep up with my sense of humor. It's easy to forget she isn't even fifteen yet.

We fall quiet for a moment, both watching the kids sliding down to the ground and running back to the stairs to do it all over again. After a few minutes Addison calls them over and they reluctantly drag their feet to us.

"Oh guys, don't give me those looks. We'll be back next week." She tries cheering them up, but they all seem rather dejected.

"I don't want to go home." Holly frowns, looking to her worn shoes. "It's not as fun." She looks up to meet my gaze before looking to Addison.

"I know, I know, it never is." She takes Holly's hand in hers. "But hey, we can have cheesy noodles for lunch. How about that? We haven't had that in a while."

Immediately the kids perk up.

"Cheesy noodles are the best!" Cole says with a grin. "Let's go, let's go!" he urges, grabbing Addison's hand.

The others join the effort, pulling her in the opposite direction of the ice cream shop.

"Oh, you guys, wait!" Addison exclaims as she tries to turn back to me. "It was really nice to see you Kelly!" she calls, trying to resist the tugs of the children. "I hope your walk back is nice!" she giggles, and I shake my head in amusement.

I raise my hand and wave. "Good to see you too, don't let them get away with too much!" I call back and she sends me a look, grinning.

"Never!" she replies before succumbing to their insistence, turning away from me and back to them.

I watch them all go for a moment, the kids all skipping along happily as Addison holds their hands on either side of her. They eventually disappear around the corner of the street and I sigh heavily.

Even when I try not to think about her, and not interject myself into her life, the universe still mocks me—bringing us together by complete chance. Hearing more about her life, the life she shares with those kids, seeing that bruise along her cheek…It all fuels the raging fire inside of me that wants nothing more than to take her away from that place. She isn't even a kid herself anymore. Her maturity, her composure and perspective…It all came from the fact she hasn't been allowed to think about herself, be a little selfish.

All these thoughts create a storm in my mind as I jog back home. I reach my front steps, again, covered in a sweat and breathing heavily. I have no idea what to do about Addison…If I should even do anything. It isn't exactly my place…I didn't even know her up until a week ago.

I drag my feet up the stairs wondering what the hell I'm doing.

A/N: Thank you to all who are reading, please R&R! I love to hear the reader's take on the story! :) Also be sure to follow the story for future updates!

All my love!