When they arrived at Molly's Ashley walked away from the group, quickly scanned the bar and found Mills. As she approached he spotted her and smiled, "I was beginning to think you ditched me girl."

"I told you I'd show up eventually." Ashley said as she gave him a hug.

"I know." Mills replied. "But I know how it goes. You get distracted, lose track of time and I end up getting ditched for some girl."

"Wow, you make it sound like I've done that to you before which for the record I haven't." Ashley replied then added, "Nice to know what you think my priorities are."

"No it's not that, it's just…"

Ashley put her hand up to cut him off, "Just stop talking before I'm forced to take your man card away for being too needy!"

Mills wasn't sure how to respond until Ashley broke out laughing. "Alright, point taken Davies. I owe you a beer for my little needy moment, maybe a few."

"I never turn down free beer." Ashley replied with a smile. As Mills got them drinks she looked around the bar again and she noticed that everyone from their shift was there, even Boden. Unfortunately she also noticed Shay's good mood from earlier had definitely faded.

"Shay why do you look like someone ran over your puppy?" Dawson asked about half an hour after they got to Molly's. In that short time Shay had gone from happy to sullen.

Laughter rang out from the other side of the bar where Ashley and some of the guys were joking around.

The scene made Shay shake her head and down the last of her beer. She turned to Dawson and replied, "I'm gonna head home."

"Come on Shay, it's still early." Dawson quickly said. She knew it was a lame attempt to get Shay to stay but she hoped it would buy her time.

Shay tried to give Dawson a serious look but couldn't hold her laughter in for very long, "That's the best you've got?" She managed to say between giggles.
"Give me a break Shay. You've been silent for like twenty minutes and suddenly you want to leave? We've been drinking so my usual good responses are a little slow in formulating." Dawson said with a smile.

Shay thought for a moment then held up her glass, "You'll be forgiven if this gets filled up."

Dawson nodded, "I can make that happen." Once they both had full glasses Dawson sat next to Shay and said, "Although I think I can guess why your mood changed, I'm asking anyways. Why do you seem so bummed now, when you seemed happy earlier?"

Shay looked her friend in the eye and knew lying was pointless because she sucked at it. "My answer is gonna make me sound kind of needy and pathetic."

"Lay it on me, I don't judge." Dawson said encouragingly.

Shay sighed and blurted it out, "Ashley and I had a good conversation at Hopleaf then when we got here she's at Mills' side, ignoring me."

Dawson nodded, "That's kind of what I figured. What did you guys talk about?"

"She wants to be friends." Shay simply stated.

"I'll admit I'm fuzzy in this kind of situation with women, is that good or bad?" Dawson asked.

"Given my history with women, who the fuck knows." Shay said with a laugh. She let some silence pass before she added with a sigh, "I think I pushed it a bit though."

"How so?" Dawson asked. She wanted to gather as much information as she could before finalizing her impression of Ashley.

"I brought up the friends with benefits idea." Shay said shaking her head. "She said she just wanted to be friends and I jumped right to trying to get her back into my bed. That was just plain dumb!"

Dawson shrugged, "Well you obviously still have a thing for her and that's not dumb, she's hot!"

"Dawson?!" Shay said surprised.

"What? I may not be into women but I can appreciate an attractive person. And from talking to her she seems like a good person too, no dominating ego that I can tell. What's not to like?" She shrugged then added, "As far as you being dumb that all depends. What did she say in response to your friends with benefits idea?"

"She basically said friends with benefits could be good but being friends is all she can offer because she's not in a good place for anything more serious." Shay explained.

"So again I ask, is that good or bad?" Dawson asked because she honestly couldn't read Shay's expression.

Shay shrugged and took a sip of her beer, "I guess it's a good thing I guess given that we now work in the same firehouse."

"Fair enough I guess. But my next question is how do you feel about the situation?" Dawson asked knowing Shay may not want to give her an honest answer.

Shay glanced over at Ashley standing next to Mills, chatting up a couple of women she didn't recognize. She sighed and said with a shrug, "It is what it is Dawson. No more, no less."

After Dawson took in the scene her friend was looking at she just nodded and said, "Give it time girl."

"Time for what?" Shay asked. She figured the situation was pretty cut and dry so she had no idea where Dawson was going with her statement.

"Time for Ashley to come to her senses and realize how wonderful you are, of course." Dawson answered with a warm smile.

"Thanks Dawson." Shay replied with a genuine smile.

When Shay woke up she felt apprehensive about the shift that started in a couple hours. She knew she would be getting a new partner, since Dawson was starting the fire academy, but surprisingly that was the least of her worries.

Foremost on her mind was Ashley. Shay hadn't talked to Ashley since their walk from Hopleaf to Molly's, so she wasn't exactly sure where they stood. It wasn't like she had behaved badly the other night but she questioned if her flirting had been a bit much. Shay thought their conversation at Hopleaf was a positive step but after the silent treatment at Molly's she wasn't sure. The whole night left Shay very confused and very uneasy about her next encounter with Ashley Davies.

Shay couldn't deny that the Ashley situation did affect her anxiety about the new partner situation. If this shift would have been with Dawson, Shay had no doubt her friend would help her through the day. Dawson seemed to have a talent for distracting Shay from her problems, plus Dawson would run interference if any awkward situations occurred. But with a new partner she knew she'd be on her own in dealing with Ashley.

Shay knew she couldn't hide out in her room forever so she went upstairs.

"It's about time," Severide teased as he heard her walking up the steps. When he saw his roommate his expression changed, "You alright Shay?"

She nodded and offered a small smile, "Yeah. I'm fine, why?"

"I'm not sure but you don't seem like your normal self." Severide offered as an explanation.

"You've seen me for all of two seconds Kelly, how can you tell anything?"

He shrugged, "I dunno, just a feeling I guess."

Shay offered a bigger smile, "Well we both know that me and change don't always get along so well."

"Ahhh," he answered with a nod. "You're worried about who you'll get stuck with as a new partner."

"Do you blame me?" Shay replied, playing up this part of her anxiety.

"I guess not," Severide replied. "I remember Dawson felt the same way after your accident then again when…"

Shay knew he didn't want to finish his thought so she did, "When I transferred and went off the rails a bit?"

"Yeah, something like that." Severide said uncomfortably.

Shay walked up to him, grabbed his shoulders and looked him in the eye, "It's okay. We all lived through my freak out so let's call it what it was. I've been doing fine for a while so let's move on. You don't have to worry about me so much, I won't break." She patted one shoulder then let him go.

"Fair enough," he replied then added, "You're my best friend Shay, I'd worry about you regardless of your behavior."

"Point taken." she said with a smile until she glanced at the clock. "But if we don't get out of here soon we're gonna have to deal with an angry Boden."