Title: Chasing the Future
Chapter 1 – A Chance Meeting?
Summary: AU A chance meeting brings Erin Lindsay and Kelly Severide together under tough circumstances. But will Kelly's past catch up with him and destroy his future with Erin and his son? #Lindseride with some #dawsey
Disclaimer: Chicago Fire, PD and Med and its characters are the property of Dick Wolfe, NBC. I only own my muse (Alice-love her!) and any OCs that might come along. Any names in here that resemble any readers is pure coincidence.
A/N: Hey my fellow #lindseride lovers! Am back with a new little adventure. Always love to be inspired by different things to keep from becoming stale and love to put our favorite couple into new challenges that bring them together. So hope you all enjoy this new adventure!
~en route to Chicago~
It all happened so fast.
One day he was talking with his father, arguing over some kind of money trouble Benny Severide was in but wouldn't disclose, and the next he was trying to give his father's dying body CPR to keep him alive just before Benny's last words to get out of the city hung like a dark cloud over the dire situation and changed his life forever.
'Get…out…Kelly…out of…Phil…l…'
'DAD! NOOOOOO!'
It was a whirlwind of activity that even now made his mind swim with panicked thoughts. As he sat in the darkened back of the Greyhound Bus that slowly carried him and his sleeping son to a new destination, his mind thought back in time to snippets of days before the newest tragedy to mar his and son's life.
The first had been the tragic death of his son's mother – Lesley Shay; murdered in a devious revenge plot against the Philadelphia Fire Department that he used to be a part of.
Damn…10 years of solid service down the drain…and for what? My dad had…his mind spiraled downward as he berated himself for wanting to judge his father without all the facts. But in the past few weeks leading up to his father's death, Kelly would have to admit that Benny had been acting stranger than normal. Money had always been tight between them, and Benny did help out when he can, but after Lesley's death, things got tighter for him and his father, when he needed him most, wasn't able to step up.
He felt his sleeping son shift in his grasp and planted a soft kiss on his head and held him close. Chicago…why the hell am I running away? I left Mac to deal with all that…damn it! He inwardly cursed as he leaned his head back on the scuffed vinyl and closed his eyes. He knew he had to move from the loft apartment that he and Lesley had shared as it was just too big and draining his funds rapidly, but he had hoped his father would be able to put them up for a few weeks until he found something cheaper closer to the school his son would be starting in the fall.
But after he was told he'd have to move voluntarily because he wasn't meeting rent payments on time, or be evicted, he was hit with more bad news that the Firehouse he worked at would be closing due to lack of funding for that area and he would either be reassigned with lower pay or put on casual reserve.
'Sorry Severide…this is bad news for us all. But you have solid instincts and Squad leadership and any house would value that. I just don't know if they can honor the same pay. The union rep will fight for that, but you'll have to consider all options.'
That night he had been in such a bad mood that he hopped onto the net and started to apply to positions out of the city and some out of the state. And that's part of the reason why he was now on a 20 hour bus ride from Philadelphia to Chicago, Illinois. But as soon as the medics whisked his father's dead body of his apartment, he told Mac what Benny told him and Mac concurred with his father's warning.
'What do you mean Mac? I can't leave town. What's going on! Do you know why my father was killed?'
'The house is closing right? You have the perfect excuse to leave.'
'Mac…'
'You have George to think about. Heed Benny's warning. Take what you think is important from here. In an hour this place will be a crime scene and whatever important evidence you think might help your father, might not be submitted to help him.'
'Mac…' Kelly tried again.
'One hour Kelly. Then get out of town. Don't contact me from your phone. Use a pay phone and don't stay on longer than a minute. Once things die down, I'll let you know and you can come back. Time is ticking Kelly. I don't want to see you or George get hurt. Or worse.'
And he did heed Mac's warning. He packed up his father's laptop, cell phone, whatever cash he could scrounge and a few personal items, shoved them all into a small duffle bag and then hurried to get George and get home. But it wasn't long before Mac's warning started to come into play. He had only gotten to pack himself an overnight duffle bag of personal items and then packed George a bag before he heard screeching tires and hurried to the window to see what was going on.
Kelly looked down to the street to see two men get out of a dark sedan and rush toward the front entrance of his building. He was now out of time. Since he had already packed up the most important things, he rushed to his son's room, grabbed him by the arm and carried him to the front of their apartment. With his son in one arm and the two bags in the other, he hurried outside, closed the door which automatically locked and hurried toward the end of the hallway where he knew an empty apartment waited.
He managed to get inside and close the door just as the two men entered his floor and headed toward his apartment. Kelly told his son to be quiet as he slowly opened the door and then peered down the hallway toward his apartment. He heard items being tossed around and the slight breaking of glass.
This can't be happening…his mind lamented as he looked at his son in remorse. George looked up with bright blue eyes and tugged at the bottom of his father's leather jacket. Kelly held his finger to his lips and closed the door. He waited in the cold, dark apartment for what seemed like hours until he was sure the two strangers had left and then dared to see what happened. He left George in the apartment and told him to keep the door closed and then snuck down the hallway back toward the place that been his happy home for the past six years.
As he slowly pushed the door open, he stopped short in horror. Everything had been tossed or broken and it was obvious they were looking for something. He was glad that neither him or his son had been caught up in that but Mac was right, if the people who killed his father thought he had something they wanted or that he owe, he and George would be in danger until Mac had put them away – for good.
He gathered up a few more personal items but knew that they would be looking for his car and he couldn't rent a moving van so he would have to leave most of his personal items behind. He had already packed the personal mementos that he and Lesley had shared together, and most of what he left behind was furniture, clothing and George's toys. But he told himself that, as long as they were alive, he could just buy them all again.
Kelly collected his son, their two bags and headed for a used car lot; sold his car and then headed for the bus station. He used an assumed identity card that Mac had given him to buy the bus ticket and paid cash so there would be no credit trail to trace.
'I don't want to know where you're going Kelly but once it's safe I'll let you know and you can come back. If you want.'
This is messed up…so messed up…Kelly's mind swirled as he tried to get some sleep. But as the bus rattled and bumped along, his mind was too agitated to get any solid rest. He worried about his own life of course and who killed his father, but he also worried about his precious son's life.
'Mac, I can't just leave. I can't just run away!'
'You're not a cop Kelly. So you'd have no say or part in the case at all. If some good cops interviewed you, you'd probably tell them what you told me. You don't know anything. Dirty cops wouldn't let it get that far.'
'You think it's an inside job? You think someone was blackmailing dad?'
'I don't know. If you find anything on the laptop, go to one of those web café's, set up a dummy account and send me what you can. But you gotta leave town Kelly. Trust me to get to the bottom of this.'
He only had a few thousand in his pocket from the sale of his car and he had to use some of that to pay off his credit cards and if he didn't find a job soon, he'd run out of funds fast and that could mean he'd have to give up his son; something he vowed he'd never do – on pain of death.
"Daddy?"
"Hey buddy…sleep well?" Kelly asked as George twisted himself around to look up at his father with a sleepy glance.
"No. Where's grampa?"
"He's…he's not here."
"Why?"
"He uh…he's gone little man. I'm so sorry," Kelly whispered as he hugged his son close. "We're gonna stop soon for a break and some breakfast."
"Where are we going?" George asked with a small moan as he looked out the smudged window as the unfamiliar landscape zoomed past.
"Somewhere new."
"Why?" George asked again as Kelly couldn't help but laugh.
"Well remember dad said that he had to find a new job? So…we're doing that. Just a bit out of town. Don't worry. It'll be fun."
"Why?"
"How about we save that why for after breakfast?"
"Okay," George shrugged as he settled back into his father's grasp and stared out the window.
He regretted the fact that he didn't take Mac's warning seriously at first as he knew he could have packed a few more things but told himself that material possessions weren't what mattered – their lives did.
"Where are we going?"
"Chicago," Kelly whispered as leaned back on the seat and thought back to his somewhat hasty application.
'Squad Lieutenant. Firehouse 51, Chicago. Chicago? Ah what the hell. They'll want to fill in house…' he had reasoned with himself and went to close the page. But instead of closing, he clicked 'apply' instead of 'exit' and his application was sent to one Chief Wallace Boden. But, once again, he thought it would come to nothing and so pushed the thought out of his head. Then a week later, the day before his father's murder, he had received an email invitation for an interview. It wasn't until he stood in the middle of the used car lot that he pulled his phone and replied to the interview request with an affirmative answer.
"By tonight we'll be in Chicago and then tomorrow I have an interview and with any luck…I'll have a new job and we'll find a great new home close to a school," Kelly told George as they sat on a small bench outside the bus station stop, eating their breakfast.
He had to sound confident for his son, but inside he was scared. What if they found him? He had to apply for the job with his real name but figured they were far enough away for it not to matter.
"Wonder what'll happen tomorrow?"
XXXXXXXX
~Chicago~
"Hey April, how's the boy?"
"Hey Erin. He'll be fine, thanks to you."
"And his mother?"
"Just a few minor burns and a concussion. She'll be fine and both have been reunited. Quick thinking saved their lives. Nice work."
"Just don't want to see another child without its parent," Erin mused with a small huff as she watched her partner near.
"Kid okay?"
"You know for a guy with twins you weren't that rattled over this case."
"Your motherly instincts took over."
"Motherly? Hardly," Erin offered with a nervous laugh as her partner looked at her in skepticism. "Could you see me with kids?"
"Yeah…maybe…fine no," Jay chuckled as he earned a swat from his partner. "We were scared before we got married and then when Hailey got transferred out to Vice, and then got pregnant, I was worried even more."
"And you worry less now that she's in IA?"
"Yeah but not about her or the kids…more like my own ass," he tossed back in sarcasm as she laughed. "Did you talk to Rob?"
"I did and I said no. He's just…not my type."
"Erin…"
"Jay, I get that everyone is on the Erin pity party train but I don't need pity. I need…"
"A guy who…"
"A drink and some solid rest. Tell the gang I'll see them next time," Erin stated with a small yawn as they headed for the entrance to Chicago Med and then outside into the cool night air. "See you tomorrow."
"Change your mind, we'll all be at Molly's."
"Alright."
XXXXXXXX
"Where are we daddy?" George asked in a sleepy tone as the bus came to a somewhat jerking stop, which jolted him awake.
"Chicago," Kelly replied as he cast as sleepy gaze outside the window and waited until everyone had filed off the bus, before he gathered up their two bags and slowly shuffled his son toward the front of the bus. As soon as he stepped off, his eyes nervously darted around to see if he recognized the two men who had ransacked his home back in Philadelphia. But no threatening faces appeared so he felt confident in ushering his son toward a waiting cab.
"Where to?"
"Uh…Firehouse 51," Kelly stated as he offered the cabbie the address of the place of his interview in the morning. On the way there, he looked up a nearby drop in daycare and although he winced at the price, he knew he had no one in this strange city to leave his son with and would just have to conserve his money until he had a steady income coming in.
"I'm tired daddy."
"I know buddy. But we're almost there."
He didn't want to presume on the people of 51, even though he could say he was a firefighter from out of town and is sure they'd offer him a room for the night, he didn't want too many to know his current situation until he was ready to tell them.
"Thanks," he paid the cabbie and then got out across the street from Firehouse 51 and stood looking at the place of his interview the next morning. There were no hotels in the area and only one hostel with a small convenience store right around the corner.
"One small room left with a shared bath. Upper floor. Just you and the boy?"
"Yeah. Just the night."
"Stay as long as you want," the older man shrugged as he took Kelly's money and then handed him a small key.
Kelly took his son upstairs and then sat him on the bed and looked at him in concern. "I have to go downstairs for a few minutes okay? Just to make a quick call. I am going to lock the door and I don't want you to open it or make a peep. Understood?" He hated to leave his son alone but wanted to quickly give Mac a call and see what was going on. He had seen an old payphone just outside the structure and figured that would work.
He kissed the top of his son's head and tucked him into the small bed and locked the door when he left. He hurried downstairs and outside into the cool night air.
"Thanks Jerry!"
Just before he was about to pick up the receiver and make the call, he heard a female voice with a husky hue to it and couldn't help but turn to see who it belonged to.
As soon as she exited the small convenience store, Erin headed back outside and into the inky night with a weary sigh. She heard a slight noise and then turned to see someone standing a few meters away. The first thing that drew her in to the stranger was his warm blue eyes; they seemed to instantly sparkle as soon as they locked with hers.
As soon as she smiled at him, Kelly felt his heart skip several beats and cursed himself for being caught out in the open so easily.
"Officer Lindsay!"
Officer? Kelly's mind instantly swirled in a panic as he turned and hurried past the building his son was safely tucked inside. Did she follow me here? Is she with them? That's…too bad…she was beautiful.
Erin turned to see the man who had captured her heart with only a small smile become a figure in the dark before he fully disappeared from her view. She heard a car pull away and assumed it was him and felt her heart sink. Who was that? She couldn't help but wonder…but more importantly…will I see him again?
A/N: Well dear #lindseride readers? How did you like this start? Gotta mix things up a bit for our couple. Lots of challenges ahead for them as their worlds start to come together under very strained circumstances so please do review before you go and let me know what you liked and thanks so much!