"Ladies and gentlemen!" Cruz shouted over the crowd that had gathered at Molly's that night, "Please welcome to the stage Georgia's pride and joy! Miss! Shelby! Tay-lor!"

Taylor stepped into the stage area with a smile on her face and butterflies in her stomach. It had been a long time since she'd sang in front of this many people. A light applause met her entrance, but she quickly spotted Severide sitting at the bar, clapping and whistling louder than anyone else in the room. She looked at her band as she picked up her rarely-used electric guitar. All of them looked to be less than twenty years old. This could end very badly. Too late to back out now, though. Taking a deep breath, she faced the crowd and strummed the opening chords.

"Pour me, pour me
Pour me, pour me another shot of whiskey
Bartender hit me one more time

He left, I cried
I'm lost inside, won't ya help me
Oh fill it to the top 'cause I hit rock bottom this time

Aw, listen up now
Well I don't want to listen to the old jukebox
So don'tcha put no quarters in the slot
I don't wanna talk and I don't wanna dance
I dang sure ain't lookin' for romance

I don't wanna hang out with the crowd
I don't wanna party and get real loud
Believe me when I tell ya that I've thought this through
There's only one thing that I want you to do

Pour me, pour me
Pour me, pour me another shot of whiskey
Bartender hit me one more time

He left, I cried
I'm lost inside, won't ya help me
Yeah fill it to the top 'cause I hit rock bottom this time
Aw, pick it boys!"

The bar was rocking by now. Dawson and Brett danced along to the music as they quickly tended the bar, playing the part of the bartender in the song. This song was pretty upbeat to be a drinking song. It was the only not-depressing drinking song she knew. As Taylor and one of Otis's cousins went into the brief break, she spotted a busty brunette in stilettos and a tight little party dress talking to Severide. Severide kept shaking his head and pointing toward the stage, trying to tell the woman that he was taken and not interested in her. The woman persisted, leaning against the bar in front of him. Severide kept trying to get her to leave, but she wasn't taking the hint.

"Aw, let's go!" Taylor's blood was boiling. How dare she! The woman was openly and repeatedly being turned down, but she just would not leave! She'd better be leaving soon, though, because the song was almost over.

"Well, I tell ya
Here's my story, it's sad but it's true
There's so many things that I never knew
He loved to party and he loved to dance
He loved to get loud every time he had the chance

I always thought he was a simple-minded Okie
Well little did I know he was the king of karaoke
He was everything that a man should be
Problem was that it wasn't with me

Pour me, pour me
Pour me, pour me another shot of whiskey
Bartender hit me one more time

He left, I cried
I'm lost inside, won't ya help me
Oh fill it to the top 'cause I hit rock bottom this time
Oh won't you fill it to the top 'cause I hit rock bottom this time
Mmmm one more
Fill it to the top 'cause I hit rock bottom this time

Pour me
Pour me
Pour me
Pour me!"

The woman touched Severide's arm. He stood and backed away, hands up, telling her to stop. That did it. Taylor's vision went red.

The crowd was still cheering as Taylor returned her guitar to its stand and made a beeline for the bar. The brunette had her back turned to the stage as she took a flirty step toward Severide. Taylor grabbed the woman's shoulder, spun her around, and delivered a vicious sucker punch directly to her nose.

The woman dropped to the floor like a rag doll, blood pouring from her broken nose. Stunned, she looked up at Taylor, who loomed above her, hands on her hips.

"Oops." Taylor said, her accent on full display, "You twisted yer ankle in them six-inch sticks yer wearin'. Fell and busted yer nose right on the bar. Maybe you ought not to be wearin' them things while yer tryin' ta move in on another woman's man. 'Specially when he's sayin' no. Why, there ain't no tellin' what might happen the next time you decide to pull some ig'nert stunt like that!"

The woman started to get up, acting like she wanted to fight.

Taylor put one boot square in the middle of her chest and shoved her back down to the bar's floor. "Go ahead. Make my day."

Again, the woman tried to get up, and again, Taylor roughly shoved her back down. Fortunately, the brunette's friends came to her aid, collecting her from the floor and apologizing to Taylor for her crazy behavior.

"Understand somethin', Yankee." Taylor growled at the brunette, pointing at Severide, "That one right there is mine. I catch you doin' so much as makin' eyes at him ever again and I will mop the floor with your ass."

Before she could respond, the woman's friends quickly hurried her out of the bar.

Taylor turned around and went to the bar, hunching her shoulders as she leaned against the well-worn wood.

Dawson poured her a shot of Jack Daniels and slid it over, "On the house."

In one fluid motion, Taylor grabbed the shot glass, threw back the whiskey, and slammed the glass back onto the bar. She looked up at Severide as the heat from the alcohol crept slowly back up her throat.

He was still staring at her in disbelief. "You just broke her nose."

"She's lucky that's all I did. …I hope you'd do the same for me."

He shrugged as he took his place by her side, "I'd probably be in the back of a cop car by now if some guy had hit on you."

Taylor smiled as she took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. It had been a long, long time since she'd gotten that angry. She suddenly became aware of someone staring at her. Looking to the left, she found Cruz and Otis. "What?"

"Nothin'!" Cruz exclaimed, scooting closer to Otis.

"We're officially terrified of you now." Otis said.

Taylor sighed, "Otis, are you tryin' to move in on my man?"

He shook his head quickly, "No, ma'am."

"Then you got nothin' to worry about."

Herrmann was suddenly standing in front of Taylor, arms crossed over his chest. He waited until she looked up at him before he spoke. "You know the rules. Don't be fightin' in my bar."

"Sorry, Herrmann." Taylor said, looking into the empty shot glass in her hands.

"Yeah, well." He couldn't be mad at her, "Just don't let it happen again, okay?"

"Yes, sir."

"And thanks for the idea."

Frowning, she looked up at him, "Idea?"

Herrmann grinned, "Karaoke."

…

Author's Note: I don't own the song I just used. If you'd like to hear what it's supposed to sound like, here's the YouTube link: /S9H3PfJH3bs. It's called "Pour Me" by Trick Pony. I was torn between that and "Friends in Low Places." Don't get me wrong, I love Garth Brooks, but that song seemed a little overdone for this fic.

Thanks to Sarrabr4 for the review and confidence boost, RBCFCPD7410 for the review and favorite, and TheIrishShipperholic for the review and idea!