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One week later - Haley's POV
For the past week, Adam and I talked about us moving in together. It was mostly logistics because we had doubles of practically everything in our furniture and we had to see what worked in his apartment and what things from my place that we would transfer to his. He would get rid of his kitchen appliances and dishes because he had the most scarce plate set I'd ever seen in my entire life and he owned exactly one pot and one pan, which of course didn't impress me. We had lived the whole of last week at my place and moving what could be moved by car to his place and I packed smaller things in boxes to be transported later. And for the past week, I had spent my spare time in PT and got the go ahead to return to the firehouse and continue the rest of my rehabilitation with drills. The next morning, Adam drove me to the house before going to work. I would also get a new car by the end of next week so I wouldn't have to bother him everyday for transport. I put my duffle bag across my shoulder and kissed him before he left. I walked up the drive and Kelly and the rest of Squad were at their usual table.
"Morning ladies." I teased them.
"Look who's back." Mills got up and engulfed me in a hug.
"It's great to be back." I hugged him back.
"Back on full duty?" Capp inquired.
"Not yet but I got the go ahead to train on drills to get back in the game. One more week."
"Can't come soon enough." Tony added.
"Thanks guys. Everyone else in house?"
"Yeah, Gabby is cooking this morning." Kelly hugged me a I walked past him and they all followed me in, probably because breakfast would be ready soon.
"Does this mean what I think it does?" Matt exclaimed as he saw me.
"Reporting for drills and back on duty in one." I bumped my fist against his and gave him a one arm hug.
"Just perfect." Welch grumbled. "Exactly what we need, drilling a girl on truck."
"I swear I'll make you swallow those words Welch. I think it's time to teach you some manners." I growled. "Tomorrow, dawn, you and me at the academy. I'll teach you how it's done."
"Looking forward to beating you with both hands behind my back." I swear it took every once in me not to rip that smug smile off of his lips.
"Be careful what you wish for." I walked pas every member of 51 who stood paralyzed in he middle of the common room to go change in my uniform. I made my way to Boden's office first.
"Come in Haley." He motioned for me to enter. I closed the door and took a seat. "I got the final report from Lakeshore. They gave you the go ahead to train with us to get you back on track."
"Yes sir. And before you hear it from anyone else, I'm taking on Welch tomorrow morning, teach him a little respect." He only chuckled.
"As long as it doesn't interfere with calls, he's all yours." I got up and shook his hand.
"Thanks Chief." I smiled at him. I walked back to the edge of the common room where I made eye contact with Matt and motioned for him so we could talk. He grabbed his food and made his way to me as I walked back towards his office for some privacy. He got it and sat at his desk, still eating. "I'm sorry about the scene Casey but he was asking for it."
"It's ok. I called it to Kelly when we were waiting for you girls to finish shopping. Did you tell Boden?"
"Yeah. He says he doesn't mind as long as it doesn't interfere with calls. Said he was all mine." I grinned.
"I have no doubt you'll kick his ass. He's been acting way too smug since he's been here."
"I never heard those words coming from your mouth lieutenant." He just laughed and took another bite. "Speaking of shopping. Gabby tells me you haven't asked Kelly to be your best man yet. Do you want to tell me what the hell you're waiting for?"
"For your information, I asked him last week while you crazy chicks were out shopping and he said yes."
"Good. Now, I might have some information that you might be interested in."
"I'm listening." He put his plate aside and gave me his full attention.
"I heard that Gabby only gave you one mission for the wedding, is that right?"
"Yes, she told me the only thing I had to do is pick what I would wear."
"And have you given any thought as to what you'll choose?"
"I really don't know. If only I knew what Gabby wanted, it would make my life so much easier." I offered him a grin and he understood immediately what that meant. "And you wouldn't happen to know what Gabby wants would you?"
"As a matter of fact, I do know what your fiancé would prefer you wear on your wedding day."
"Spit it out Reed, you're killing me." He chuckled.
"She'd love it if you wore your dress blues."
"You are the best friend a guy can ask for."
"So I've been told. I'm just helping you get brownie points with your girl."
"Thanks Hales. So what about you? How's it going with Adam?" To be quite frank, I hadn't been able to see Matt, let alone talk to him this week so I hadn't told the news of me moving in with him except to my mom.
"He asked me to move in with him." I smiled.
"When did that happen?" I could tell he was happy for me.
"Last week, after our dress shopping day. We talked about the accident and about how I was in regards to that and we talked about moving forward together so he asked me to move in with him."
"That's great to hear. When it happened, I was so mad at him for hurting you but when I look back to all the years we've known each other, he's the one that I've seen you the most happy with."
"I am. He treats me right and makes me feel like I'm the single most important thing in the world."
"And that's exactly how it should be." He came to sit next to me and hugged me. "Thanks for the intel by the way."
"My pleasure. Come on let's get out of here so I can work out a bit and kick Welch's ass." I got up from his bed and we made our way to the common room. It was a little bit less crowded than this morning so I made my way outside where Kelly and the rest of squad was.
"I need a favour lieutenant." I leaned against the table where he was reading the paper.
"What's up Reed?"
"Would you mind helping me do drills, get back into shape?"
"Shouldn't Casey help you with that?"
"I'm trying to find a neutral party so Welch doesn't think Casey is playing favourites."
"Tell you want. Ask Herrmann to drill you, he'll probably get great pleasure out of it and I'll give you a hand in the gym. Sound good to you?"
"Thanks Sev, it means a lot to me."
"Happy to." I went in search of Herrmann so he could help me but before I was able to talk to him, they got called to a structure fire. I decided to change in my workout clothes and hit the gym. I put on some music in my ears and I stretched for fifteen minutes before hitting the bag for about 45 minutes and then moving on to weights. The PT sessions helped a lot for the joint pain I was feeling at first but now that that was done with, I was able to do weights without a problem. I put on fifty pounds on each side to start with so I wouldn't hurt myself and started doing reps. I was so concentrated that I didn't notice Severide walk in and he nearly gave me a heart attack when he hovered over my head from the top of the bench.
"Don't EVER do that to me again Severide." My heart was thumping a mile a minute.
"Sorry about that. How's it working out for you?"
"I feel a slight twinge but it's manageable. It's good to be back."
"Good. Now do you think I can add a ten pound on each side?"
"Give it a try." I put my earphones in my pockets before positioning myself again, Kelly spotting me this time to make sure I didn't hurt myself.
"Alright, one rep left, how are you feeling?" He helped me put the bar in it's place before I sat down again.
"Good, the twinge is gone." The twinge was gone but my muscles were still sore, having lost a bit of mass since my accident.
"Alright. Drink some water and we'll do your last rep." I did as I was told and did my last rep before hitting the shower. I heard the bells go off while I was in there so when I got out, I went to cook so it would be ready by the time they were back. There wasn't much left in the kitchen apart from soft taco's so that's what I decided to make. I made a mental note to make a grocery run during the day. I set everything on the tables as the guys came walking through the door.
"Chow's up." I went to sit with Gabby and Shay at the round table. "So Gabs, when do we get to see that wedding dress?" I whispered.
"Next week."
"I can't wait." Shay squealed.
"And what about you?" Gabby and Shay both asked me. "I heard that lover boy asked you to move in?"
"Yeah, right after the make-up sex." I lowered my voice and the girls laughed. We talked about that and badgered Shay with her relationship status. She was claiming she was perfectly fine with sleeping around and not committing while me and Gabby argued that she needed a good one to hold onto. Lunch was done and everyone got their plates to the sink and I started cleaning them. Suddenly, Mills took the spot next to me with a dish rag.
"Need some help drying them?"
"Yeah sure, thanks." He cleaned and dried silently before he spoke up.
"How are you feeling? Ready to take on Welch?" His voice wasn't a whisper but it wasn't loud enough to be heard by the rest of the house.
"I still haven't asked Herrmann to help me do drills yet, I'll get to that after lunch. I just need a refresh because I know them all by heart it's just that I haven't done anything strenuous in a long while, I might be rusty."
"Herrmann will get you back faster than you think."
"Yeah, Kelly said he would take great pleasure in helping me out."
"Yeah and he's a great drill sergeant."
"I'm looking forward to it." I chuckled as we finished cleaning the dishes. I managed to find Herrmann on the couch, watching tv but there were way too many ears around us. "Do you mind giving me a few minutes Chris?"
"Sure, what can I help you with kid?"
"Not here if you don't mind, supply closet, five minutes." I got up and walked in that direction. I waited a few minutes before the door opened again and Herrmann came in.
"Why all the secrets?"
"I don't want Welch eavesdropping on us."
"I'm listening."
"I need your help for a little bit of refresh on my drills before I go in tomorrow with Welch."
"It'll be my pleasure. Meet me on the drive in twenty minutes, I'll school you."
"Thanks Herrmann." I spent the next two hours with Herrmann out front for some drills. It didn't seem too suspicious since that was what this week was about. When he was done with me, my chest was heaving and I had huge sweat marks on my shift. Christopher came back a few minutes later with a bottle of water and a towel. I took one large gulp and poured the rest of it on my head before drying myself with the towel.
"We'll keep at it for the rest of the week, just you and me. I'll whip you back in fighting shape."
"Thanks again Herrmann." He turned around and went back inside.
"How are you feeling." Matt came walking up to me.
"I'm so out of shape it's not even funny." He chuckled at me.
"You'll do just fine and you'll be at the top of your game when you officially come back next week." He patted me on the back as I took a large gulp of fresh air. "Now go change, you stink."
"Thanks." I replied, throwing my towel at him before going back inside. I went for a shower again and when I got out, I decided I'd go lie down and relax since I had trained so much since morning. I had in my mind to go running after diner just to keep my mind occupied but the thought of showering again before dawn didn't appeal to me to all I did was doing some stretching in the small gym. I was minding my own business, music in my ears when I noticed a shadow over me. I removed my earphones and looked up at my new visitor.
"Do you think that with all your training today you'll still be able to beat me?" it was Welch, goading me.
"Trust me, I know I'll kick your ass and believe me when I tell you, the smirk you keep sporting, it'll be wiped off too."
"I can't wait to see that." He chuckled and left me. I finished what I was doing and went back to my bunk to try to calm down the anger going through me. Good think no one came to talk to me after that because I probably would have snapped at them. Diner came and went and I went to nap a little while everyone left for a call. It would end up being a longer nap that I thought because they only returned hours later. I walked into the common room when I heard the commotion of them returning. From the look on their faces, it was a rough one. Everyone quietly headed towards the showers or to their bunks and I plopped down on the couch and browsed aimlessly the channels, waiting for everyone to get cleaned up. A few took snacks, others played card or stayed in the bunk area, probably wishing we'd have a slow night. At some point, everyone had gravitated back to the common room.
"Listen up everyone." Kelly's voice was loud enough that everything stopped what they were doing and directed their attention to him. "Ok so I want all of you to get some sleep because I'll be waking you up at four so we can be at the academy at five to settle this once and for all." Pretty much everyone scattered around to get some sleep but I stayed where I was, my nap having something to do with that. Once everyone was gone, Kelly came to sit with me a bit. "You know, you should get some sleep too."
"I'll head there in a little bit. I slept the whole time you guys were gone on the last call, I'm not quite tired yet."
"Make sure you sleep and drink some water. You'll do great." He patted me on my back.
"Thanks Kelly." I smiled at him before he went to his office to get a few hours of sleep. I went to sleep about thirsty minutes later, my body still needed to recuperate." We were lucky enough to have no calls at all during the night but the wake-up would prove to be brutal. Kelly must have been the first one to wake up and almost killed everyone in the process. He blew Squad 3's horn so everyone would wake up.
"Jeez Kelly, are you trying to kill us?" Shay groaned after she recovered from the shock.
"Well it was easier than that waking all of you up individually."
"Perfect." Otis grunted, less than amused.
"Come on everyone, we're going for a ride." Matt announced and everyone made their way to the trucks, Boden included. It didn't take long for us to drive through the empty streets of Chicago and to the fire academy. Tony and Cruz parked the trucks and the aerials were raised by the front of the building.
"Ok so I made a phone call to Chief Tiberg and he was gracious enough to set up a course for you." Boden told Welch and I.
"So what I want you to do is gear up, bring the hose all the way up. Once you're on the other side, there's a small spaces drill that was set up. Once you did that, you'll mask up with the no visibility equipment that was set up to do the down firefighter assessment so you turn the pass alarm off and I want you to pull him all the way to the other side of the building." Kelly explained the first part of the course to us.
"Then." Matt continued. "You'll have to go though the standard academy drill of going through the container filled with smoke. Oh and we've had fun changing up the inside from the normal exam." He chuckled. "The one of you two that's the fastest to come back down and get out of your turn-out gear will win and the slowest one will be on bathroom duty for the next week. It's as simple as that."
"Is that all clear?" Kelly asked.
"Yes sir." We both replied.
"Now get ready, I'll be timing Welch and Kelly will time Reed." Matt said. I positioned myself next to the turn-out gear that was next to truck 81 until Matt gave us the go ahead.
Adam's POV
Matt had called me in the evening to tell me that Haley was going up against Welch at five the next morning. I set my alarm for four so I could get to the academy on time. I parked my car down the drive, walked up and stood next to Matt when he was ready to send them up.
"Alright, are you ready?" He asked them both.
"Yes."
"Go." He said loudly and both him and Kelly pressed on the time watch in their hands. I watched Haley gear up and take the hose up the aerial. I had never really seen her in action and although this wasn't a fire, she was something else. I watched Welch then and he seemed to be just a few seconds behind her. She went up the aerial quickly and once she was on top and over the wall, I couldn't see her anymore.
"How's she doing?" I looked at Matt.
"Kelly has her time." I knew that looking now wouldn't make any difference since the first lieutenant that would clic the watch would signal the winner. I saw come out of the building first though so I just hoped the rest of the course would go in her favour. Welch came out right behind her and went a little faster than her there. He went into one of the two containers and she went in a few seconds behind but after a few minutes, she came out first. The rest of the way down seemed easy enough. She quickly came down with a jump and removed her turn-out gear in a record time. Kelly clicked the time off first then Matt, maybe three seconds later. She put her hands on her knees, trying to take her breath, not really focusing on anything else. Both her and Welch looked up at the same time in Matt and Kelly's direction. They both checked their respective time before talking.
"Reed by 3.7 seconds." Kelly announced. That means Welch is on bathroom duty until she comes back.
"That's my girl." I smiled as she looked in my direction.
Haley's POV
I never felt so strongly that my heart would come out of my chest than right in this moment. My chest was heaving and my throat wanted nothing more than to down some cold water. My body seemed to be ok with the physical part of the job but the cardio was missing. I'd have to work on that this week. I bottle of water was handed to me by Gabby and Newhouse gave one to Welch. We seemed to both have the same idea because we looked up to Matt and Kelly at the same time to know who had won.
"Reed by 3.7 seconds." Kelly announced. "That means Welch is on bathroom duty until she comes back."
"That's my girl." I followed Adam's voice and he was standing next to Matt, smiling. I downed half the bottle in two swift motions and poured the rest on my head. God it felt great. Next to me, Welch was drinking his, probably not feeling the same effects as me. He came towards me as I was rubbing water all over my face that was no doubt still red from the challenge.
"Nice work Reed." He extended his hand to me. I looked at his hand and then at him to see if this handshake was for real or just a ploy but he looked sincere. I put my hand in his and shook it.
"Thanks. You're not bad yourself." I smiled at him.
"Guess I better take some stuff back. You're one hell of a firefighter and I hope to see you in action someday." He smiled back at me and went back towards truck 81. Adam was next to come up to me.
"That was amazing baby." Adam was now standing a few centimetres from me.
"Thanks but my hearts about to give." I scoffed.
"Not easy being back huh?"
"No but I'm happy to be back in the house and around family."
"Come on. Let's get you back at the house to grab your things and I'll drop you off at your place before heading off to work."
"Shift's not done yet." I tried arguing but he had an answer ready for it.
"I cleared it with Chief Boden and Casey."
"Alright then." He wrapped his arm around my shoulder and we walked back to his car. We made our way to the firehouse and I picked everything up so I could go back home; I was exhausted. Adam dropped me off in front of my building.
"Are you going to be ok today? What's the plan?"
"Yes. I am going to shower quickly, sleep, pack some more and maybe go for a run, get my lungs back in fighting shape until you come back."
"Alright. Rest up, I'll be back tonight."
"And you be careful."
"Always am." I bend down through the window, pulled him by his coat and kissed him hard before he left for work.
a/n so it is, Welch vs Reed. I really hoped you guys liked it and I hope you'll take a few minutes to leave a review. I really like reading what you think.
Next up: Matt, Kelly, Shay, Gabby and Adam help Haley move in plus the girls get to see Gabby's wedding dress for the first time and they finalize what's left for the wedding.
