A/N: Hey everybody! I just want to thank those who have reviewed and to quickly mention that this chapter will be broken into two parts, the second of which should be up within the next few days. I hope everyone has had a good week so far!-Alisabeth
Disclaimer: I do not own any recognizeable material or characters, merely Avalon and Emily.
Paper work and sketches covered every available inch of Avalon's desk as she glanced at the cardboard display that was strung up on her wall. From the moment that she had proposed the 'Taste of the Past' (at the time it was a working title) fundraiser concept to Magdalena everything had moved so quickly. Wholeheartedly agreeing and near bursting with excitement Lena had dove in head first- allowing Avalon to talk her through the concept as she did the writing for the proposal while Avalon worked to gather resources and sketch a rough idea of what the event would look like. Out of the three concepts pitched at the staff meeting the very week that Kelly had given her the idea, the head of the museum, Tessa Montgomery, had fawned over Avalon's.
Listening as Brantley Gilbert's "Bottoms Up" played from her phone Avalon sighed, worrying her bottom lip as she plucked sticky notes from her wall. Nearly all the details of the night had been set in stone- orders had been confirmed, the guest list matched against RSVP notices, the venue set up with the frame work of the displays. Her dress was hung in her closet, her heels and jewelry already coordinated. All she needed in the moment was to find a new babysitter for Emily since Jase and Ariel, her typical go-to, were going to be in Maryland for the weekend. Pacing to and fro as the caffeine of nearly an entire pot of coffee thrummed threw her veins, she jumped, spinning quickly when there was an unexpected knock on the glass of her door. Her heart beat reminiscent of a hummingbird's wings, she held a hand to her chest as she raised an eyebrow in curiosity.
"Mrs. Montgomery?" she asked in surprise. It was very rare for Tessa Montgomery to make a personal visit to Avalon's office. Contact was typically during fundraisers, staff meetings and holiday parties.
Dressed to the nines in a match black business skirt and blazer, Tessa Montgomery wore her pearls proudly like the southern woman she was, despite that her Georgian accent had faded with the twenty plus years that she had spent living in the north. "Good morning, dear. Do you have a moment?"
Scrubbing a hand though her roots and pulling back her hair Avalon nodded, moving to clear a chair. "Of course, please sit. Is there something I can do for you?" perching on the corner of her desk she waited, quickly twisting her mess of auburn waves into a semi-professional looking bun.
"Nothing you Avalon, I just wanted to stop in and see how the final stages of planning are going. Is everything coming together?"
Avalon released a little sigh of relief. "So far so good. The ballroom of The Drake has all the booths and tables; Magdalena is there supervising set up now. The caterer and I finalized the menu earlier this afternoon and the guest list has been verified and submitted to security. All the silent auction items that have been donated have been lined up and the music playlist has already been uploaded to the emcee."
Tessa beamed, her straight white teeth shining behind peach colored lips. "Wonderful. Now Magdalena says that you will be bringing a date this time around? She mentioned he was a firefighter."
Avalon's jaw clenched so tightly that she felt her ears pop as she forced a smile. "She did?" she tried to come up with a lie. "Well he…"
Tessa cut her off. "It is alright dear; she said you were a little shy about the relationship and about bringing him last minute so I took the initiative to add him as your plus one, I didn't put a name down so I do apologize for that." She paused. "I can't wait to meet him, does he get along with little Miss. Emily?"
Avalon's hand clenched into a fist behind her back. "She adores him," she spit out, unable to help herself as her mind conjured the image of Kelly and Emily sharing munchkins and watching Dragon Tales.
Standing with the grace of a life time ballerina, Tessa smiled as she balanced neatly in a pair of conservative heels. "Well I can't wait. I will see you, Magdalena and this firefighter of yours Friday night. Have a good day Avalon."
Watching as her boss strut from her office Avalon swore beneath her breath, cursing Magdalena from here to the end of the earth, reaching for her phone with lightening fast reflexes as she backed out of her music. Scrolling though her contacts she stopped on "Kelly Severide," her thumb selecting his profile and then hovering over the green call button. Forcing herself to press it she held the iPhone to her ear and waited, listening to the generic ring back and praying to get his voicemail so that she would have an excuse to hang up. Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately she wasn't totally sure, the call went through.
"Hello?" Kelly's voice was deep and sounded as if he were out of breath. "Hello?"
Clearing her throat and taking a deep breath Avalon swallowed thickly. "Kelly? It's Ava, do you have time to answer a quick question?" fingers crossed she mentally chanted 'please say no' over and over again.
The smile was obvious in his voice when he answered with, "Of course, go ahead and shoot while I take a quick drink, I just got back from the gym." Images of a glistening, out of breath Kelly played through her mind for a moment.
Shaking herself she plopped into the seat Tessa had vacated. "Right…anyway, I hate to do this, especially at such a last minute, but it seems that one of my friends mentioned to our boss that you helped out with the fundraising concept and now our boss is telling me to bring you as my plus one to the gala on Friday. I totally understand if you have a shift or plans so I don't even know why I bothered calling. You know what, I'll just tell Tessa you're working and hope she forgets but oh damn, she brought up Emily and asked how you guys get along and…" Kelly cut her off.
"You're rambling Av," he chuckled. "You said Friday night? That's perfect- the guys and I usually meet at Molly's for a beer post shift but everyone has plans so it was cancelled. Shift ends Friday morning around ten and then I'm off until Sunday so it is perfect. Is this gala black tie, formal, semi-formal?"
"Just a suit, no tuxedo," Avalon responded. "It is going to be held in the ballroom of the Drake, it starts at seven but I have to be there about a half an hour early so we can just meet there?"
"I don't mind getting there early if you need to help out."
"I'm sure you are going to want to rest post shift though," Avalon countered.
"I can rest when I'm dead."
Avalon was silent and then, "That's not funny Kelly." Her voice was low and hoarse as memories of Katie saying that echoed in her head. "Not funny at all."
"I'm sorry Ava…I can pick you up at six, does that work for you?"
"That works fine. See you Friday…" she trailed off. "Hey Kelly, do you know of anyone who babysits, I'm still looking for someone to watch Em for me."
"My roommate, Shay, loves kids and as far as I know she is free Friday, do you want me to ask her?"
"If she watches Em, my niece won't come home with rainbow hair and multiple piercings, right?"
"No piercings or rainbow hair, I promise."
"Thank you so much Kelly!" Avalon exhaled as her body relaxed against her chair. The tense knots in the back of her next seemed to evaporate temporarily. "I really appreciate this. Can either you or Shay let me know for sure after you talk?"
Getting an affirmative, Avalon thanked Kelly once more and hung up, sitting for a moment before she shot to her feet and began to storm down the hall, remembering that Magdalena had some explaining to do.
Absently nodding and making noncommittal grunts as she half listened to Emily ramble on about her day, Avalon moved about her room in her short robe, which was worn loosely over her black backless bra (complete with straps, thank goodness) and a matching pair of black cheekies with a turquoise lace waistband. Glancing at the clock and noticing how it crept closer to six o'clock, she was once again thankful that Tessa had sent her home an hour earlier than usual so that she could get ready. Having painted both her fingers and her toes a vibrant shade of OPI 'Wharf! Wharf! Wharf!' the night before, Avalon had picked Emily up from Jase and Ariel's as they were getting in the car to leave for their trip, running up to the apartment and walking Castiel quickly before literally hoping into the shower as she stripped of the days clothes. In the midst of shaving she had nicked the back of her knee, biting her tongue as the sting increased every time the baby oil gel she had been shaving with rinsed over the bleeding wound.
Now applying light makeup she sighed as she concentrated on her eyeliner, going for a natural eye and brilliant lips with her trusty evening color- Maybelline's Who Wore it Red-er. Her makeup complete, she finally began on her now dry hair. Bending at the waist and reverse French braiding it, she pinned the braid where she wanted it to end, gathering her hair over her head and smoothing it through with a brush. Twisting it over itself, she secured the loose bun with a few more pins and turned to Emily who was watching in rapt attention.
"How do I look so far?"
"Really pretty Aunt Ava, I like your makeup that way."
Ten minutes and Kelly and Shay would be there. "Thank you. Hey Em, could you get me the shoes from the box on my bed while I put my dress on? Then can you zip me up?"
Emily rolled and crawled as Avalon took her dress from the hanger, slowly unzipping it and stepping in. dipping her head through carefully and then her arms; she held the front as Emily turned back to her. Petite fingers grasped the near invisible zipper, so dark in color that it blended with the black chiffon of the dress. There was a slight hiss as it rose, following the curve of Avalon's spine. Using the back of her desk chair to balance, she secured the black peep toe platform sling back's that she had purchased, automatically elevating her from five foot-five inches to five foot-nine inches, placing her at two inches shorter than Kelly. Choosing a pair of plain diamond studs and a sterling silver feather ring on top of her silver infinity ring for jewelry, she spritzed herself with one of her favorite perfumes, Victoria Secret's Sparkling Citrus which was a blend of tangerine and passion flower. Running a hand over the chiffon she stepped in front of her full length mirror as she twisted on a thin silver cuff bracelet which read "To the moon and back." The cuff had been gifted to her by Emily and her mother on the day of Emily's first communion when Ava had stood up with her as her godmother.
The dress was something she had picked up on a whim a few weeks after she had arrived in Chicago. Comprised of black chiffon material, it had an A-line/princess silhouette and stopped an inch or so above her knee. It had a slight v-neck and embellished straps that lie against the top of her back just beneath the nape of her neck and then further down, equal to about where her breasts were in the front. It was flattering and comfortable. Her shoes were black faux leather, the peep toe shoeing off her pedicure nicely. And best of all, all but one of her tattoos was hidden and even then the 'Believe' that she had scripted on the inside of her left bicep would be relatively difficult to see if she was in motion. She was in the process of double checking the contents of her silver clutch and pulling out her coat when the buzzer went off near the front door. Emily raced for it, listening as Kelly greeted her before she hit the door button to buzz them in.
In the midst of tying the sash on her jacket when Kelly and Shay stepped over the threshold, Avalon was momentarily distracted from seeing her ex, but when she did look up her breath caught in her throat. Kelly Joseph Severide had always been handsome, there was no denying that, but there were few occasions when he had really scrubbed up for her when they had been together. Seeing him now sent tingles running along her spine. He was wearing all black; pressed black slacks with a matching fitted suit jacket, a black button up with the first two buttons undone and shining dress shoes. The golden chain of the St. Florian pendant she had given him upon his graduation from the Fire Academy was just visible beneath his collar. Exhaling sharply and clearing her throat awkwardly she waved as she fidgeted with the clasp of her clutch.
"Hi," she said, painted lips contrasting with white teeth as she began to nibble at her bottom lip. "Thank you so much for doing this." She wasn't sure whether she was addressing Shay individually or the pair as a whole. "I have no clue what I would have done if I hadn't found someone to watch Emily." Shay, she was addressing Shay.
The blonde in question shrugged and wiggled free of a sheepskin lined coat before hanging it in the closet. "It isn't a big deal; I had no plans and Emily seems like a cool kid."
While that wasn't quiet the reaction she had hoped Avalon would take it, checking the time on her cell phone and groaning. "Okay, well thank you. Umm…. Emily knows where everything is and there is a list of emergency contact numbers on the fridge, including my cell number. We will be at The Drake but if you need anything, absolutely anything call or text me and I will be here as soon as possible. It is Friday so bed time is ten, she typically showers before bed. No real TV restrictions, just try and keep nudity and swearing to a minimum. There are a few shelves of VHS and DVD's on the bookcase near the windows and she knows what she can watch. Any questions feel free to call…" her rambling was cut off as Kelly placed a hand on her left shoulder.
"Av, we are going to be late. Trust me; Emily is in good hands so let's go before you get into trouble." His voice was low and smooth, a mere rumble in his chest.
Taking a deep breath she nodded. "Right, you're absolutely right." Stepping towards Emily, her heels echoing off of the hardwood, she dropped a careful kiss on her niece's forehead, using her thumb to wipe away the minuet trace of lipstick left behind. "I will be back later on tonight and I'll stop in to check on you before I go to bed, okay? I love you Emily," she whispered, completely ignoring Shay and Kelly.
Emily beamed. "Love you Aunt Ava, have fun at the party."
Giving Emily one more hug and reluctantly allowing Kelly to lead her out of the apartment, Avalon fought to keep from going back as the butterflies in her stomach swarmed into a fluttering mass, her nerves causing her head to spin. Taking the stairs easily in her heels, she allowed Kelly's hand to remain at her shoulder, guiding her out of the fenced yard and to a beautiful late model, blue with white racing stripes mach one Mustang. Her face flushing when he opened and held the passenger's door for her, Avalon slid into the car with a shyly uttered 'thank you.' Doing up the seat belt and sitting rigidly straight, she stared up at her apartment as the Mustang pulled away from the curb, rock music playing softly in the background.
Shay waited until she heard the Mustang pull away before she turned to Emily, watching the eleven year old kneel in the window seat to watch Avalon and Kelly leave. The smirk that the child wore could only be described as devious and for a moment Shay questioned what she had gotten herself into. Neck craned, Emily popped to her feet and rotated her torso from her hips, getting a pop from her spine as she straightened.
"So," Shay started, "What do you want to do tonight?"
The devious little smirk grew and Emily darted away, leaving Shay no choice but to follow, watching from the doorway as Emily crawled beneath her bed and emerged from the other side of it with a small notebook in hand. "Can we cone up with a plan for how we're going to get Aunt Ava and Kelly back together?"
Shay was speechless.
A/N2: If any one is curious as to what Avalon's dress looks like I while try to have a link on my profile but if that fails to work, please PM me and I can either send the link to you or include it in the next chapter.