Title: Chasing the Future
Chapter 2 – A Second Chance?
Kelly remained hidden in the shadows, pressed against the side of the dark building, until he heard a car pull away and dared to remove himself from his spot and walked back toward the street. He peered out and saw only his faint shadow on the quiet pavement and then dared to remove himself, hurry into the small convenience store and then back out and upstairs to where his son waited. He told himself he'd call Mac in the morning for an update.
When he entered the room, he looked around and instantly his heart rate started to skyrocket when his son was nowhere to be seen.
"George!" Kelly hissed as he rushed toward the closet and pulled the door open.
"Daddy?"
He heard the small voice and quickly turned to see his son squirm out from under the bed and let himself exhale. He quickly scooped up the small boy and held him close as he sat down on the edge of the bed and kissed the top of his head.
"What happened daddy?"
"Nothing sweet boy, time for bed," Kelly whispered as he helped him pull off his sweater and then watched him climb under the covers. "Hopefully tomorrow daddy will have a line on a new job and then we'll find a real place to live."
"Why?"
Kelly just smiled as he ruffled his hair as he too started to slowly get ready for bed. But while his mind wanted to think about his impending job interview the next day, part of his mind was torn as it thought about his father's death, the other part couldn't get the beautiful stranger's face out of his mind.
Who was she? A cop! Let it go…you can never see her again!
XXXXXXXX
"Earth to Erin…"
"Huh?"
"I just asked if you want mustard in your coffee and you said yes. What's…going on?" Jay inquired of his partner, early the next morning.
"Just…tired I guess."
"Yeah? You never came to Molly's so figured you turned in early. Guessing…no? Found a better party somewhere else?" Jay wagged his brows as Erin's lips just twisted upward into a small smirk.
"Yeah me and the news. No just…thinking about stuff," she replied absently; failing to tell her partner about the passing encounter with the handsome stranger in the night. "Did Antonio talk to his CI about Clint?"
"Erin."
"It's nothing. It was…nothing."
"What's his name?" Jay lightly prodded as Erin's stomach tightened.
"It was a walk by sighting, okay? Leave it there."
"A walk by sighting? You don't believe in chance encounters."
"I know. Too practical. That's why…this was nothing."
"And yet this nothing has you very distracted," Jay pointed out as Erin playfully crossed her brow. "Guess that means…I'm not driving?"
"Got that right!"
Erin snatched the keys from her partner's grasp and headed for the door just as Hank Voight excited his office, to which Jay merely shrugged and headed for the stairs to go down and outside.
"So…McGillivray. Who did he say he saw with Checkers?"
As much as Erin wanted to force her mind on the case at hand, she was unable to completely erase the handsome stranger's face from her mind.
Let it go…it was nothing. If it was meant to be he woulda asked your name or something…just let it go. And that's what she did – for at least the next few hours.
XXXXXXXX
At the same time, in a not too distant part of town, the object of her thoughts, got ready for his own important appointment.
"Okay so…Mrs. Greenwich from downstairs says there is a good drop-in daycare for first responders just down the street from here. And we're close to the fire hall. So…you should be fine until I'm done my interview and then I'll come get you and…" Kelly's voice nervously trailed while his son sat on the rumpled bed and played with the only stuffie, Cooper, a stuffed toy Dalmatian that his father had given his son; that he could manage to get into his bad before they had to disappear into the night.
"Why daddy?"
"Well because I can't take you with me to the interview. Doubt these guys would understand," Kelly offered in error, not knowing at that time just what kind of close bonds he would forge with the people at Firehouse 51.
"Why?"
"How about…I tell you later. Do you want to take Cooper with you?"
"Yah."
"Okay, let's go."
Despite the fact that the kind, older man downstairs said that he could stay as long as he wanted, Kelly knew that if there were cops nearby it wouldn't take them long before they started to search all the surrounding area and he wasn't about to leave anything from his father's home out in the open. So he packed up the large and small duffle bag and headed downstairs with George at his side.
"Well you said just the night."
"Yeah, we uh…" Kelly stammered somewhat nervously as his son looked up with large, wondering eyes. "It's just that…"
"Look, if you are in some kind of trouble I don't want to know, all I ask is that you don't bring it in my house."
"That's fair," Kelly nodded. "The problem is…it might come in here and you've been kind to us. I'll probably be back tonight, but if the room is gone, I'll get it."
"Can't make any promises but you never know. Sometimes repairs have to be done," the older man smiled down at George who merely looked up in wonder. "You sure you two are okay?"
"We…will be," Kelly replied weakly as his throat nearly caught. "No other…living family so…yeah…yeah we'll be fine. Thanks again."
Fearing he had already said too much, Kelly shoved his wallet back into his pocket, took George by the hand and headed for the front door. Before he left Philly, he made one bank stop right by his home and withdrew whatever he had left, which wasn't much. But now he couldn't take the chance to use his credit card, which would be the first thing anyone would trace.
He had to use cash, and was running out of that.
"I'm really grateful you're able to take him on such short notice."
"We do our best to help out our first responders," the young woman said with a bright smile.
"And I'm glad for the discounted rate," he replied as he handed over a few more of his dwindling funds. "I'll be back as soon as I can," Kelly told her before he knelt down to George and started to talk to him once more. "Be a good boy for daddy okay? I'll be back as soon as I can. Love you sweet boy."
"Love you too daddy."
Kelly kissed the top of his son's head and then took his leave before he would be caught up in his son's melancholy and be forced to abandon his new mission. He had planned to use a fake name if Chief Boden asked, but he really needed this job and lying wasn't something he could do – not especially if he was applying for the Lieutenant's position. But he had told one other person, he thought he could trust, with where he was going and could only hope that no one would figure to ask them.
XXXXXXXX
"Matt."
Matt Casey looked up as his wife nudged him and let his gaze rest upon the figure that approached.
"That must be our 10 o'clock," Matt mused as his wife, Gabriela Dawson-Casey's warm brown gaze kept pace with her husband's. "Hope this one knows his stuff better than the last."
"Go easy."
"You're saying I'm too scary?"
"Oh…very," she smirked as he playfully tossed something in her direction. "Missed!"
"This time," Matt retorted as he pushed himself up, walked past all the wondering eyes and made his way outside, into the large open truck area.
Here we go…Kelly's mind huffed somewhat nervously as he walked toward the friendly looking face before him.
"Matt Casey."
"Kelly Severide."
The two briefly shook hands before Kelly followed Matt into the strange Firehouse. Most firehouse designs are the same and so that part felt welcoming. But despite all the curious looks and somewhat strained smiles, he felt miles from anything comforting and familiar and wished that he could go back in time and stop all the tragedy before it happened; back to a time when his life made sense.
"You must be Kelly Severide. Chief Wallace Boden. Come in."
"Thanks Chief," Kelly replied as he shook the older man's hand. Chief Boden had a somewhat foreboding presence but he instantly sensed kindness that put him at ease. He kept his answers to a minimum and tried to stick to the truth as much as possible when it came to reasons for him wanting to move away from his current home and anything familiar.
"Current firehouse is closing. Not sure they have a place for me other than relief or temporary and I want to keep my Squad skills up and need something steady. Besides a change is always good."
He hoped that sounded genuine but couldn't tell just exactly what the two men before him were thinking. But then something gave him a bit of pause in his silent optimism.
"We work very closely with Precinct 21. Matt's wife's brother works in the intelligence division. Mouch's wife is the staff Sargent there and we work hand in glove with them on a good number of cases. So if they drop by on a regular basis, just treat them like part of the family."
That made him uneasy but since Boden and Casey were so positive about his chances of joining their team, for a few brief moments he pushed aside his fear that someone on the Philly police force would eventually get to someone on the CPD and track him and his son down.
A few more scenario questions; a few more behavioral questions; some questions about regulations and procedure and pretty soon the interview was coming to a close.
"I'll make that call as soon as I can. Shame that you lost your phone on the way over."
"Yeah, trust me, it's been very stressful," Kelly replied weakly. He had his phone, and his father's but just disconnected the location on each and told himself that as long as he didn't use them to make calls until all this was over, he would be safe. "I can call you…if that's okay?"
"That'd be just fine," Boden smiled as the three of them stood up.
"Casey will see you out."
"Okay, great. Thanks."
He slowly walked outside the Chief's office and waited for Casey who closed the door behind him and then held out his hand once more.
"Think he likes you," Matt smiled as Kelly offered a look of relief.
"Hope so. I need this job. Sorry, that might sound desperate."
"I don't think you have anything to worry about. Come on, I'll introduce you to my wife. You in town long?"
"Guess we'll see how the call goes tomorrow."
"Where you staying?"
"Hotel nearby. Did you interview many?"
"We want the right fit. Had a few that didn't work out. My wife and I co-own a bar called Molly's. Just a few blocks from here. People from 21 and Chicago Med as well as here, all meet there and hang out. Have a few beers and unwind after some tough shifts. We're all kind of extended family."
"That's good to have…to hear," Kelly replied with an inward groan. "I have a few errands to run while in town but um…I'll try. We…I have to try to get a new phone."
"Ah yes, that would be beneficial to have."
We? Ah you idiot! You don't know if you can trust this place yet!
"Want to meet the rest of the team?"
"I uh…you know last place I did, I didn't get the job," Kelly lied, as he offered a fake frown. "Don't want to jinx it."
"Fair enough, at least come meet my better half."
Yeah the one with the cop who's the brother! Great! But he had already turned down one and figured this guy Matt might become suspicious if he turned down another; or it could hurt his chances of getting the job.
"Kelly Severide, my wife, Gabriela Dawson-Casey."
"Nice to meet you," Gabby offered her hand for him to take.
"Yeah likewise," Kelly replied with a friendly pump.
"Hope to see you tonight."
"Thanks again."
With that Kelly turned and headed for the entrance to firehouse 51 with his stomach all in knots.
"How'd it go?" Gabby inquired as the two of them headed for Matt's office.
"Oh I think Boden is drafting up the offer letter as we speak. Kelly Severide will be the next member of Firehouse 51."
"That's great news!"
XXXXXXXX
With each step he took toward the daycare, Kelly's mind swirled with anxious thoughts. Matt Casey…Truck Lieutenant…his wife was a cop's sister…he could get nosy…start to dig around…find out things…like why I'm really here!
Then he thought about Mac back home and needed to find a way to contact him and get some information. So with that he headed for the nearest bus stop and asked where the public library was. They had drop in computers and he would just create a fake email address and email Mac for some answers.
Once he reached the library, Kelly hurried toward the area where public computers were situated and signed one out for the next thirty minutes.
"No I don't want to do that…" he grumbled as he cursed the final time before a younger man at the station opposite him tapped him on the shoulder, which forced him to look up.
"What's…going on? I don't work here but am a bit of a computer geek," he snickered in a whispered tone. "I'm Mouse."
"That's your name?"
"Nickname. What's going on?"
"I want to create an email address from a…ah never mind."
"From a what?"
"An email address that is…I want to prank a friend but I don't want him to know it's me. Stupid right?"
"Ah so you want one that isn't readily recognized."
"Yes exactly."
"Well my nervous friend, I can help with that."
Kelly's eyes darted around as he waited for the younger man to pull up a website and then help him enter all the fake information he could muster, including name, city and birthdate.
"Okay great thanks. I'll just…yeah thanks."
"Hey no worries. I didn't get…"
"Mouse?"
Kelly had been so preoccupied with his discussion that he lost track of things around him. But as soon as he heard her voice his reality snapped back to him. He dared to peer upward and sure enough, it was the woman from the night before. Either I have the worst luck…or best…in the world or I am being followed!
He quickly pressed send on the email, logged out and then closed the window and sunk lower in his chair as his mind raced for an escape route.
"Who were you talking to?"
"Not myself if that's what you're asking. And before you ask, yes I found out that information on Checkers, who by the way…"
"Save it until we get back to the precinct," Jay groaned. "Did he send the information from here?"
"Yes this computer. He didn't cover his tracks very well but at least it puts him here for the time of the incident."
"Good work," Erin smiled. "Who were you talking to?"
"A guy. He needed help with his email."
"What guy?" She asked innocently.
"Hey buddy…" Mouse started only to see that Kelly had already disappeared. "That's odd…he was just…oh there he is!"
When Erin's eyes turned in the direction that Mouse pointed, her heart literally skipped several beats. From behind, it looked like the same man she had bumped into the night before, the one she couldn't get out of her mind.
"Not possible…" she whispered as she pulled away from her partner and hurried toward the stairs to go down. "Hey!" Erin called out just as she reached the top and Kelly reached the bottom.
Without thinking Kelly turned and looked up; and few a few moments, much like the night before, time held them both captive in place, eyes locked and destinies colliding.
Kelly's mind raced with panic. Do I run? That'll really make her suspicious? Do I stop and chat? Do I take this second chance? I want to…so badly…but what if she finds out who I am…I can't…but I want to…I can't…what the hell do I do now?
A/N: oh dear…Kelly your run-ins with Erin are only just starting! Will Kelly stay and finally meet Erin? Will he be totally upfront with her? And what news from back home will have him thinking second thoughts about accepting any kind of incoming offer? Please do review before you go and thanks so much!
