Hi All, thank you for reading and taking an interest in my story. Sorry the updates have been coming late. I am in graduate school and writing 3 papers a week. It's a lot, but I finally got a break and wanted to update!
So Dani and Kelly are with her parents in Florida for the wedding. How will the emotions that wedding inspire motivate them to get together?
Please continue to REVIEW!
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Chapter 15- Severide
"Come on, this is my jam" she explained.
Dani looked at her and shook her head violently before she was pulled onto the dance floor with her best friend. Dani and Tamara slowly started to move with the music. It took a minute, but Dani was finally getting into the music. She felt Tamara start rubbing against her with the rhythm of the song and rolled her eyes as a smile graced her lips. She smiled and began moving with her.
The song ended and she hugged Tamara as they laughed at their goofiness. She started to walk away when a slow song started, and she felt someone grab her hand. She turned to see who grabbed her hand and smiled when she saw Kelly standing there looking at her.
She looked up at him surprised, "can I have this dance?" he asked.
She smiled and blushed cherry red, "of course you may" she put her hand in his and turned to fit her body against his.
She was trying her hardest to keep her composure. She could tell that he was looking down her dress and giving her a once over. He leant forward and let his lips brush against her ear, causing Dani to close her eyes and gasp, holding her breath.
"You look stunning" he kissed the hallow of her ear, "but then, you always were a breath of fresh air" he kissed the point behind her ear that he knew made her weak in the knees.
She pressed her face in the crook of his neck, pressing closer to him.
From the corner of the room, Tamara was standing with Jules and Joey. "The right people are dancing together, now, it's time to party!" she said nodding to the couple on the dance floor.
Dani couldn't help but look around and see that everyone was staring at them and whispering to themselves. She sighed, knowing they were talking about them and their complicated relationship.
Kelly felt her tense and nudged her head up with his finger, causing her to look at him instead of around at the room.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
"Just keep your eyes on me and I promise nothing bad will happen" he assured making her smile and relax a little.
Dani's heart was racing. She couldn't help but smile as she felt Kelly's going just fast under her palm, from where it was resting on his chest. She grabbed the lapels of his jacket and pressed him closer.
"You look annoyed" he teased, making her glare up at him.
"It's not funny, they are all staring at us like we are going extinct" she pouted.
He smirked and shook his head. He pulled her closer and let his hands rest lower on her back. "Don't worry about those posers. They are just jealous" he tried to cheer her up.
She sighed and rested her head on his chest, just under his chin as he led her around the dance floor. She was finally starting to relax when she felt him tense and go rigid.
"What?" she looked up.
He sighed and nodded to their left, "to your left" he replied, making her think the worst was waiting for her. She glanced around the room to her left and immediately spotted Benny and Beth Severide standing by the bar along the dance floor staring at them.
Dani stopped moving and looked at up at Kelly concerned. "You okay?" she asked.
He never took his eyes off his dad and Beth while nodding. Dani wasn't expecting that as an answer. She cupped his face and tilted his jaw down, so they were staring at each other.
"Are you okay?" she asked again.
He shrugged, "what am I supposed to do here Dani?" he replied sounding defeated.
Before she could answer, she caught sight of Benny and Beth making their way over to them. Kelly froze. He was as hard as stone. She grabbed his hand and interlaced their fingers, smiling at him. "It's going to be okay, I'm here" she whispered in the crook of his neck.
When they got closer, Benny and Kelly just stared at each other. "Hi Benny, it's really good to see you again" Dani started.
Benny smiled at her, "it's good to see you sweetheart" he pulled her into a hug. It was only a one arm hug because Kelly wouldn't let go of her hand.
"Kelly" he greeted his son.
"Hey pop" Kelly nodded his head at them.
"Hi, I'm Dani Tay…" she started only to be interrupted by Kelly, "Severide. Dani Severide. My wife" he stated.
Dani looked at Kelly shocked for a second before turning and smiling at Beth, "nice to meet you" she greeted the woman.
Beth smiled at her, "nice to meet you too. I have heard so much about you, it's nice to put a face to a name" she stated.
Dani smiled politely at her, "you too. Are you enjoying yourselves?" she asked.
Beth smiled and nodded, knowing what the younger woman was trying to do. She was trying to fill the silence with polite conversation.
"Yes, this is a lovely party and dinner. I don't know if you are free, but we are having a barbeque tomorrow at our beach house and we would love it if you could come" she invited the couple.
Dani looked up at Kelly, who was starring daggers into Benny, before turning back to Beth and nodding, "we would love too, thank you" she replied.
Beth nodded and left with Benny when they realized there was going to be nothing said between father and son. It was still hard for Kelly to be around them since his mom.
Once they were farther away from the couple, Dani turned to Kelly to see how he was doing.
"You okay?" she asked.
He pulled her closer to him and nodded, "yeah, just don't leave my side okay" he stated.
She nodded with a smile, "you got it prince charming" she teased.
He looked at her confused, "what? Where did you get that from?" he asked with a laugh.
She looked up at the music and put her finger to his lips, "shsh, listen" she said.
He staid quiet for a minute and listened to the music, finally realizing what she was talking about and laughed. The song that was playing was A Tale as Old as Time from the Beauty and the Beast. It was one of her favorite songs.
He smiled down at her and laughed, "that must be a sign, right?" he asked.
She laughed and smiled really big, shrugging, "it must be" she teased.
They continued to dance and smile at each other. "We should celebrate this moment" he said.
Dani looked up at him confused for a minute before she finally understood what he meant and looked up at him with panic, shaking her head. "No beast, no way" she replied.
He smirked, "come on, just one" he sighed and pouted like a five-year-old.
She laughed, "fine, just one" she agreed.
He smirked as they moved across the dance floor. She braced herself as he shifted and spun her out before extending her hand and pulling her back, causing her dress to swirl and whoosh around her. She smiled with a laugh, feeling like a real princess.
Dani and Kelly made their way to their friends by the table, with drinks in their hands. "That was quite impressive" Joey teased.
"Dani made us take dance lessons before the wedding" he replied watching his girls dancing and laughing with each other, having a great time.
Joey took a chug of his beer and nodded in understanding. "I saw you talking with your dad and Beth, how was that?" his friend asked.
"You know, it sucked. He is trying to act like nothing happened but I can't do that. I mean all that I have been through, graduating top of my class at the academy, getting married, having a kid…nothing from him. He just left. Now he wants me to go and make nice with his new wife, how am I supposed to do that?" Kelly vented, clearly frustrated.
Joey took a chug of his beer and nodded in understanding. He knew the troublesome relationship that Kelly had with his dad. It's been that way since they were kids, since his mom died.
"What did Dani say about it?" Joey asked his friend.
Kelly smiled looking over at the girls, "you know Dani, she tried to play peacemaker, while also trying to be there for me. So she agreed to go to the stupid barbeque they are having tomorrow. You guys want to come after the girls get their dresses fitted or whatever wedding stuff they are doing?" he asked.
Joey looked at him surprised, "are you sure Benny would be okay with it?" Joey replied.
"Yeah, he'll be fine with it. Besides, I am not staying with them at their beach house. I am going to stay in my family house. It's one thing to play nice for my dad and Dani's sake, but I am not staying overnight with his new family" Kelly replied.
Joey smirked at him, nodding his head in understanding. "Does Dani know that?" he asked.
Now it was Kelly's turn to smirk, "not yet" he stated.
Joey laughed, "good luck with that one man" he replied.
The girls were having a similar conversation. Dani was updating Julia on what happened with Benny and the fact that she agreed to go to their house for a barbeque. She also invited the couple to join them, thinking it would be best if there were more people that Kelly got along with there.
The rest of the evening went off without a hitch. Everything was great and really fun. Dani hadn't danced that much in years. She was also enjoying being with Kelly and being able to spend time with him alone.
She was finally starting to feel like there would be hope for them in the future as a couple.
She was getting ready for bed, knowing that Julia wanted them up early tomorrow for dress fitting and trying to squeeze in as much wedding planning stuff as she could before Dani had to be at Benny's.
She was about comfortable in bed when her phone went off.
RING! RING!
She reached over to the nightstand and picked it up without looking at the caller ID.
"Dr. Taylor speaking" she greeted.
"You mean Dr. Severide?" the person asked.
Dani flipped onto her back and smiled up at the ceiling, holding the phone with her ear.
"I guess it depends on who's asking, so who's asking?" she replied.
"Does your husband count?" he teased.
Dani smiled and let out a little laugh. "I guess my husband is acceptable. What's going on? Are you okay?" she asked.
She had a feeling something was wrong and that was why he was calling.
"I just wanted to check in to make sure you were okay after the night? I know you tried to get through it but it wasn't easy for you" he said.
Dani smiled and let out a sigh, "it was okay. You know I had this really good-looking lieutenant with me, he was there for me and kept a watchful eye on me all night, it was quite romantic" she replied.
Kelly smiled, deciding to play along, "really, did you tell him you were married?" he asked.
She laughed, "maybe, maybe not. It depends" she replied.
He sat up curious, "depends on what?" he asked.
"Depends on if I am still married to said lieutenant this weekend so he can go and play nice with his dad and his dad's family" she stated.
"Well, it turns out that I am still married because there is no way that I am going to be able to get through a day at my dad's house without you" he said.
Dani laughed, "don't worry, I'll be there with bells on. What time are we going to get on the road?" she asked, wanting to be ready.
"Well, I have to go help Joey with some stuff for the wedding, so we'll go in the afternoon and just stay overnight, so we can be back for the rehearsal dinner" he explained.
She nodded, "okay, I am going to get some sleep. I'll see you tomorrow. Just call me if you need me okay" she said.
He smiled and nodded, "I will. I'll see you in the morning" he replied before hanging up.
Dani just smiled at the ceiling. She knew it was going to be hard for Kelly being with Benny and Beth. It was going to be hard for him to deal with everything.
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The next day….
It was a crazy morning for the couples. The girls went one way and the guys went another way. While the girls were getting their dresses cleaned, fitted and some dinner stuff organized, the guys were working on some last-minute gift and tuxedo details.
It wasn't until the afternoon that everyone got back together and were able to see each other. The guys were sitting on the deck with beers when the girls walked in. The girls walked up to them with bags and planners, leaving everything at the door before joining them on the deck.
"What's going on with you guys? How was your morning?" Jules asked as she sat on Joey's lap.
"We got out tux's fitted and they are getting cleaned today, should be ready by tomorrow afternoon. What did you ladies do today?" he replied.
"We got a lot of stuff done. We got our dresses fitted cleaned, got some stuff ready and organized for the rehearsal dinner. We just had to make sure that everything was together for tomorrow night" Jules explained.
Dani looked at Kelly expectantly. "You ready?" she asked him.
He shook his head, "no, I'm not. I would rather stay here and eat Julie's cooking" he teased.
That got everyone laughing as Jules threw a napkin at Kelly. "Shut up!" she argued with him.
Kelly sighed and got up to get their bags. They had everything ready for the trip before leaving this morning. Dani grabbed her purse and the desserts she made and put them in a cooler for the barbeque.
She followed Kelly and their friends out to the car. "We'll see you guys tomorrow" she gave each one of them a hug.
Jules hugged Kelly and gave him a pointed look, "at least try to have fun" she stated.
He looked at her like she was speaking a foreign language, "not possible with Benny Severide" he replied before packing the cooler away and getting in the car.
He was not looking forward to this trip at all. He didn't even want to go. He wouldn't be going if Dani didn't accept the invitation to dinner. He would rather just pretend that his dad wasn't there and just be there for the wedding.
On the way there, he looked over at his wife. She was beautiful, dressed in a simple black button-down summer dress, black sandals and aviators. She didn't really want to deal with her hair, so she left it down and curly.
As if feeling eyes on her, she turned to see Kelly stealing glances in her direction. "What?" she asked.
He shook his head, "nothing, I am just glad that you are here with me" he replied.
She smiled and pulled her sunglasses up so she could really look into his eyes, "there is nowhere I would rather be. Now, I need you to promise me something" she said.
He looked at her curious but nodded, "okay, what?" he replied.
"I need you to promise to try and be on your best behavior tonight. If something doesn't sit right or something bothers you, just ignore it and come find me" she made him promise.
He crossed his pinky finger with hers and nodded. "You got it babe" he replied.
Dani glared, "don't be funny" she scolded him, causing him to burst out laughing.
It didn't take very long before they were pulling into Benny's driveway. Kelly parked on the street in front of the house. It looked like there were a lot of people there. They left their bags in the car, but Kelly carried the cooler for her and followed her into the house.
They stood on the porch and rang the doorbell. Beth greeted them first at the door. She opened the door, looking surprised to see them.
"Kelly, Dani, hi, I am so glad you came. Please come in" she moved from the door to let them in.
Dani and Kelly walked in with smiles, "thanks for inviting us. I brought some homemade treats for dessert, I don't know where you wanted those" Dani said indicating to the cooler that Kelly was carrying.
"Oh my, thank you, you shouldn't have. Benny is outside on the grill. Do you need any help with your bags, let me put this down and I'll show you where you are staying tonight" she was trying to be polite.
Kelly and Dani looked at each other before Dani turned back to Beth. "Um, actually we are going to be staying at Kelly's family vacation home" she said.
Beth sighed and looked defeated. "Oh, okay, well, we are just glad that you could make it" she tried to turn the conversation around, leading them into the house.
Dani and Kelly smiled and followed her through the house. The whole time, Kelly couldn't help but look around at all the family pictures and figurines on the wall. Dani noticed him looking around at everything and squeezed his hand.
He smiled down at her and followed the girls through the house. It's when they got to the backyard that everyone froze, turning to look at them.
Benny broke the ice and made his way over to the couple "Dani, Kelly, thank you for coming. Please help yourself. There's food and drinks, make yourself comfortable" he said welcoming them into the backyard.
It took a while, but Kelly and Dani finally started to relax a little, catching up with a couple people from their past and their childhood. Every once and a while, Dani would look over and make sure that Kelly was okay.
They were actually having a good time and she didn't want anything to ruin that.
"Everyone, the food is ready, please help yourselves" Beth announced a couple hours later.
Dani turned to Kelly, "I am going to make a plate, do you want something?" she asked.
He looked down at her and went to stand up, "no, I'll get it" he replied.
She shook her head and put her beer down in front of him on the table, "don't worry about it, I'll get it" she said before getting up and making her way over to the food table.
She grabbed a couple plates for her and Kelly and waited her turn to get some food. While she was making their plates, out of the corner of her eye, she saw the Whaley's come in.
She knew that with these beach parties, everyone was welcome. It was open invitation, but she didn't really think that they would show up. They have been at odds with the Severide's forever.
She looked over at Kelly and saw him tense at seeing Eric, but going back to talking to Ryan, trying to ignore him.
Relaxing a little, she continued to make their plates. It wasn't a couple minutes after they arrived when she felt a presence behind her.
She glanced over her shoulder and sighed, "what do you want Eric?" she asked.
"Can't I just come say hi to my old friend. It's good to see you here but I am surprised Dani Taylor would be anywhere close to this place" he replied.
She turned to him fully and glared, "cut the bullshit" she stated.
"You're gorgeous Ms. Taylor" he ignored her statement.
Before Dani could even reply, they heard, "Severide" from behind them.
Dani looked to see Kelly had made his way over. She didn't even notice him; she was so annoyed by Eric Whaley and their conversation.
"Excuse me but I was talking to Dani TAYLOR" Eric repeated, emphasizing her last name.
Kelly stepped up and inadvertently pushed her behind him, "I think you mean SEVERIDE, because she is still a Severide and will always be a Severide" Kelly pushed his point.
Before either of them could say anything else, or Dani could step in to make sure the situation didn't escalate, Beth made her way over. Not that Dani was surprised. Everyone could sense the tension.
"Everything okay here boys?" she asked.
"Yeah, all good. Just introducing Lt. Whaley to my wife, Dr. Daniella SEVERIDE" he said.
Beth and Dani looked between the two men and nodded. "Good, glad that's taken care of. Now, everyone, go make a plate and mingle" she diffused the situation by separating everyone.