Cindy, your words were really an encouragement. Thank you! Kiwiflea, I LOVE Hermann and Cindy together and wish she was on the show more. She's a treasure. She's going to keep popping up in this story every now and then. Winter kiss, ooohhhh I like how you think! I'm giving your ideas some serious thought!

Chapter 21

Sarah reached in the back of Blake's truck to get an armload of ropes.

"Nope," he said, without pausing. He took the ropes from her and added it to the turnout coats he already had draped over his arm.

Sarah paused, looking over at him.

"You're not lugging equipment into the firehouse."

"Well I'm not sitting back and watching you do it all," she argued.

"Of course not," Blake said with a grin. "You're going to walk with me."

"Blake," she started to argue again, but he cut her off.

"No way. You're not going to overdo it. You were out in the heat at the picnic all day. You're going to go inside with me and get a drink of water while I unload this."

He gave her a light bump to get her moving and laughed at her mock offense. Sarah couldn't hold her back her own laugh.

She followed him into 51 and let him lead her into the kitchen after depositing the ropes and coats. He poured her a glass of water and pulled a chair out for her.

"You're being ridiculous," she said without rancor.

"I'm being a gentleman," he responded with a wink. He dropped a kiss on the top of her head and jogged outside to finish getting the gear from the back of his truck.

Sarah sipped the water. The common room was empty, and there were no trucks in the bay. The air conditioning did feel good after a day in the sun.

The door opened and she looked up. Instead of Blake, it was Hermann and Cindy with boxes of food.

"We got the leftovers for the guys on third shift," Hermann said.

Sarah started to get up, but Hermann shot her a look. "I'm betting someone told you to get off your feet and drink some water. I'm not getting in the way of that plan."

Cindy gave Sarah a smile as she went to the kitchen with her stack of boxed food.

Sarah obediently drank her water, hoping she could avoid Hermann bringing her another glass to force down. She looked up again when Blake came through the doors.

Sarah held up her empty glass for him.

"Do you need another—"

"No," Sarah cut him off. She pushed her chair back and rested her hands on his chest. "I promise I'm drinking enough, I'm taking my vitamins, everything is fine."

And everything was fine. For the first time in what felt like a long time. Hopefully it would be even better once she talked to Kelly tonight.

"Alright, I'll take you home, then." Blake reached for her hand and Sarah called goodbye to Hermann and Cindy, promising to stop by and look at the baby things she had packed away.

Before they left the garage, Sarah hesitated.

Blake looked at her. Sarah took a breath. "Blake, I'm going to tell Kelly about us," she said. She hadn't wanted to ruin the fun of the CFD picnic thinking about it, but now it was becoming the only thing she could think about.

Whatever she expected to see from him, it wasn't the relief that spread across his face.

"You're not mad?" Sarah asked. "Because he's not…" How did she tell him that Kelly was not his biggest fan? She could tell him that her dad seemed to have a blind spot where she and Blake were concerned, but she was going to do her best to convince him that Blake was a good guy. A great guy. Just thinking about the confrontation made her nauseous.

"I don't want to hide," Blake said. His dark eyes were intense, meeting hers and holding them without any doubt. "I'm with you, Sarah. You and our baby. I'm not leaving and I don't care who knows that. I'm not ashamed of us."

Some of the tension left Sarah's shoulders. She stood up on her tiptoes and pressed a kiss to Blake's lips.

Blake responded. He dropped his hands to rest on her hips. Sarah could feel her knees going weak and leaned back against the cement block wall, her hands fisting in the fabric of Blake's t-shirt.

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Blake wasn't sure how he was supposed to breathe when he was this close to Sarah. He lifted a hand to thread through her hair, cradling the back of her head as he kissed her.

"What the hell are you doing?" The words came like a blast through the empty garage, shot right at Blake. Blake jolted. He barely had time to turn, trying to keep Sarah shielded behind him when Severide was in the garage in two strides and hauled Blake away from Sarah by the front of his shirt.

Blake struggled against Severide's hold, just to twist enough and try to see Sarah. He couldn't see her past Severide, but could hear her breaths coming in panicked gasps.

"Severide, don't do this," he said, pushing at the older man, trying to get him to release his hold.

Severide's response was to slam Blake against the wall next to the door, knocking the air from his lungs.

"What is wrong with you?" Severide asked through gritted teeth, his forearm pinning Blake against the wall. "She has a boyfriend and you take advantage of her? Here?"

"That's not…that's not…" Blake wheezed out. He struggled for air and looked toward Sarah again. Her face was white, she was pressing herself against the wall, and she looked like she was ready to run. Blake tried to get enough air gathered to reassure her. "Sarah, it's ok. Don't worry, it's fine."

Severide pressed harder with his forearm and shifted, cutting Blake's view off from Sarah. "Don't talk to her," he ordered.

Blake held up his hands, a sign of peace. "Ok. Let's just take this outside. Not here. Not in front of Sarah."

Kelly grabbed Blake again and slammed him against the wall. His head hit the concrete block wall and pain burst in his head.

"Kelly!" Sarah screamed in terror.

Blake blinked. He had to clear his vision. He had to get Sarah away from this fight. She was skittish under good circumstances, he could only imagine what seeing her father like this would do to her.

"Severide," he ground out. "Don't do this."

"Kelly!" This time it was Stella. And she didn't sound terrified. She sounded mad.

More voices echoed through the garage.

"What are you doing?" Hermann demanded. He was able to pull Severide back enough that Gallo could get a gulp of air. Kidd and Hermann together got Severide all the way back and Gallo didn't waste a second getting around the angry lieutenant.

Sarah was standing, barely, supported by Cindy. Her eyes were panicked and she looked like a scared kid.

Blake went to her. She was trembling all over. Her terrified eyes sought him out. He reached out to her and she nearly fell into his arms.

Behind him, Severide shook off Hermann and Kidd's hold. Gallo turned to face him head on, tucking Sarah against his back, between him and Severide. He could feel her breaths coming in quick gasps.

"Look, you want to step outside and give me a beating, we'll do that," Gallo said. "I'm not going to fight you."

Kidd planted herself in between Severide and Gallo. "Kelly, you need to calm down," she said.

"Calm down?" Severide repeated, sounding the opposite of calm. "Did you see—"

"I saw," Kidd said.

Severide took a step toward Gallo and Gallo tightened his grip on Sarah behind him.

"Lieutenant, I don't know what you think is going on, but Sarah and I have been seeing each other for awhile."

The older man narrowed his eyes, shaking his head.

"I wouldn't do anything to hurt her. Or our baby."

The words hung there in the silent garage. The only sound was Sarah, trying to stifle her tears.

Severide's body was tensed in anger, Gallo wasn't sure he had heard.

"Kelly," Kidd said. She laid a hand on his arm. "Gallo is Sarah's boyfriend."

Severide finally looked away from Gallo. He didn't look like he understood what Kidd was telling him.

Hermann ventured forward. "Come on, Severide. It's a lot to process. Let's get some air."

Severide looked like he was going to go with Hermann, then froze. He looked back at Kidd. Over to Hermann. "You knew?" he said, his voice laced with incredulous disbelief. "You all knew about…this?"

"I'm sorry," Sarah's words were so quiet, muffled as they were spoken into the back of his t-shirt, he didn't think anyone could hear them.

But Severide looked toward her. Sarah ducked out from behind Gallo. She was still shaking, her face was ashen. She twisted together her hands.

"I'm so sorry, Kelly. I didn't want to cause any problems. I didn't want to upset you. I didn't...I didn't…" And then her legs were giving out.

Gallo reached for her and caught her before she went down on the concrete. She was shaking like a leaf. Gallo pulled her against him. He looked at Severide. Sarah's dad was looking at her, a stricken look on his face.

"Sarah," he started, but then didn't seem to know what to say.

"I'm going to take her home," Gallo said. He didn't look at Severide, didn't wait for anymore fallout.

Kidd murmured a thanks to him as he half carried Sarah past them. He didn't stop until he had her settled in the passenger seat of the truck. He leaned over her, framing her in with his arms. The tremors were slowing, but she didn't look at him.

Blake rubbed his hands over her shoulders. She flinched at the touch and Blake jerked away as if he had hurt her.

"Sorry," she whispered, her voice cracking.

"You don't have anything to be sorry about," he assured her. He wanted to kiss her, to put a hand on her, reassure her, but she was sitting with her eyes closed as if waiting for a blow. So Blake backed away and shut the door, careful not to let it slam.

He got behind the wheel and drove her in silence, not sure if he could fix what Leo had broken.

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