A/N: This story came to me while I was watching the Season 3 finale after reading obsidian-lily's story Of Good Intentions. I've always loved Gabby and Severide's friendship, and wished they'd gotten more focus, but hadn't thought of them as a romantic possibility before. I'm not much of a Stellaride or Dawsey fan, so I loved the idea of Dawseride.
This story is already pretty much done, so I'll be updating frequently. I currently have two different endings written, and am just trying to decide which direction I want the story to go.
"I've seen it a million times. Someone's totally hooking up tonight."
Turns out, Chili was right.
Gabby couldn't stop thinking about Severide. He had risked his life for her in the fire today. She'd thought for sure that they were going to die together, but then Chief Boden had shown up and saved them both. However, in those moments after the water was cut off and Chief showed up, she and Severide had shared something special.
She'd always thought of Severide as a friend, and for the longest time, a brother. But that had all changed after they investigated the arson that had caused Shay's death. Their emotions had gotten the best of them after the memorial and finding out that Shay's murderer wouldn't be charged, and somehow they'd ended up in bed together. They had promised each other that it was a one-time thing and that they'd pretend it never happened, but it had changed things between them; it had brought them closer, but at the same time, made things awkward between them. After all, Gabby had been in love with Casey for years, and although they were on a break, it was only supposed to be temporary.
Severide had started posting up at a table near the end of the bar at Molly's every time Gabby was working, watching her from distance, but never saying anything and always leaving when they did last call. They'd both been doing their best to avoid each other at the firehouse and on calls. It had been made easier by the tension between truck and squad; no one thought anything of it since all truck and squad members were avoiding each other. And, until today, they'd both been doing a pretty good job of it.
Gabby had felt a wave of relief wash over her when she'd heard Severide's voice at the fire today. She'd known there was no way she'd be able to make it out of the building on her own with the victim, especially once she ran out of air. She'd also heard the order pulling everyone out, which meant that no one would be able to come in after her. She'd thought she was going to die. But then Severide was there, calling her name and giving her his mask. She'd felt a wave of relief wash over her when he'd come. But then their exit had been blocked, and they'd been trapped; forced to breath off the hose since they were both out of air.
When the hose had been shut off, Gabby knew that this was the end. Not only would they soon not be able to breathe, but they'd also be boiled alive from the steam of the water from the outside hitting the fire. "I'm sorry," she'd whispered to Severide. His only response was to pull her closer to him.
They'd remained in that position until Boden had shown up with fresh tanks of air for both of them and had helped guide them out. Once they got out of the building, they were immediately swarmed by other members of Truck 81 and Squad 3, but the only person she wanted was Severide. "Thank you," she told him, pulling him towards her. He gave her a tired version of his classic Severide grin and squeezed her arm before they were pulled apart by the others to get looked over.
Gabby was on shift on Molly's that evening, and as had become the norm since they slept together, Severide was posted up in his usual spot. However, unlike usual, he didn't ignore her. Gabby was delivering drinks to him, Tony and Mouch when
"Hey, you- you weren't worried were you, Dawson?" he asked with a mischievous smile on his face
"Oh, no. With the big strong squad guy to save me? Of course not," she replied sarcastically, touching him lightly on the arm. Despite her tone, she meant every single word, although she'd never let that on to anyone. She rubbed his arm with her hand gently and then went to pull away when, to her surprise, he stood up and hugged her.
She closed her eyes and enjoyed the hug. It felt good to be in his arms again. Especially after what they'd gone through earlier. As much as she hated to admit it, she'd missed him, and just being held by him somehow took away the exhaustion she had been feeling earlier. Severide sat back down and Gabby flashed him a small smile before heading back to the bar.
Molly's was busier than usual, so the rest of the night went by quickly, and before long, it was time for last call. Gabby had just finished serving up the last of the drinks when she glanced over at Severide's table and was surprised to see that he was still there. Except for herself and Hermann, everyone else from Station 51 had left already, tired after a long shift. She was about to go over to him when one of the patrons, who'd had too much to drink to drive home, started getting belligerent.
"Where are my keys?" he shouted. "Give me my keys. I ain't takin' no cab home."
"Sir, you've had too much to drink. You can have your keys back when the cab gets here, okay? We don't let people drink and drive," Gabby said, trying not to lose her temper. While this wasn't an uncommon occurrence, she was tired and just wanted to be able to lock up so that she could clean up and get home.
"I ain't gettin' in no cab!" the drunk man insisted again. "I can drive just fine."
Gabby sighed. "Sir, it's late, and I'm tired. All I want is for us both to get home safely. Please don't make me call the cops on you."
The drunk man reached across the counter and grabbed her wrist. "How 'bout you drive me home, sweetheart?" he slurred.
Gabby tried to pull away, but his grip on her wrist just tightened. "Sir, you're hurting me. You need to let go now or we're going to have serious issues." When he didn't let go, Gabby sighed. She was getting ready to punch him when he suddenly yelped and let go of her wrist. Both Severide and Hermann had come to her rescue, and Severide had the man by his shirt and was pulling him away from Gabby while Hermann stood next to him, holding the baseball bat that they always kept under the counter.
"I believe your cab's here," Severide growled. "I suggest you go out and get in it. Hermann here will hand you your keys once you're safely inside. Unless you'd prefer to handle this a different way, of course." The man shook his head, so Severide took a step back. Gabby handed the man's keys to Hermann, who then walked him out of Molly's to his cab.
Gabby gave Severide a tired smile. "Thanks," she said. "I could have handled it, though." She started walking towards the backroom to get supplies so that she could start cleaning up.
"I know," he replied, following her. "But you didn't have to. Hermann and I took care of him for you." He glanced around the room. "Looks like everyone else is gone. I told Hermann to go home to his family once he got that asshole into a cab. I said I'd stay to help you clean and lock up."
Gabby glanced back at him, surprised. "Shouldn't you be going home, too? You're usually gone before now. Aren't you going to turn into a pumpkin or something?" she asked, sarcastically. She was unnerved by Severide being there and acting so out of character for him, so she was hiding behind her sarcasm, hoping he wouldn't notice.
He flashed his trademark grin. "Nah. I thought you want a big, strong squad guy to help you," he replied, quoting her description of him from earlier.
Gabby felt her face flush. She definitely wasn't displeased that Severide was still there. As much as she'd tried to tell herself that he was nothing more than a friend, ever since they'd had sex, she couldn't help but notice him every time he was around, and she had come to realize that she definitely had some feelings for him.
"Looks like someone has an ego problem," she shot back, turning her back to him and heading into the storeroom, hoping that he hadn't seen her face.
"No, I just have a Gabby problem," he replied softly. Gabby didn't turn around, but she could feel him standing in the doorway of the storeroom. She tried to gather the cleaning supplies, trying to ignore him, but she was having a hard time keeping her hands from shaking.
"Gabby," he said softly, coming up behind her. "Turn around. Please. Look at me?"
Gabby shook her head. "I need to get this place cleaned so I can go home. I'm tired, Severide," she replied, purposely using his last name. She knew her voice sounded off, but she was hoping he hadn't noticed.
Severide placed his hands on her hips and gently turned her towards him. He placed a finger under her chin and tilted it up so that she was looking at him. His blue eyes were lacking the usual spark and mischief, and instead were full of emotion.
"I thought we were going to die today," he said softly, "and the only thing that I could think about was that I was glad we were together. I told myself that if we got out of there alive, I wasn't going to let one more day go by without telling you the truth." Severide paused and looked down at her; he brushed her face with the back of his hand before continuing. "I don't want to forget about what happened between us. I don't want to pretend it never happened. I enjoyed it. I enjoyed you. I think I'm falling for you, Gabriella Dawson, and I don't want to hide it anymore."
Gabby wasn't she'd be able to say anything even if she knew what to say. Kelly Severide had just said that he was falling for her. And he'd used her full name, something that no one except Matt had ever done before. She didn't trust her voice, so instead she responded by standing on her tiptoes and kissing him. Severide's arms slid around her and pulled her in close to him as he deepened the kiss.
Gabby wanted more. She'd been dreaming about a moment like this nearly since the morning that they'd woken up in bed next to each other. When a radical terrorist had blown up the ER at Chicago Med and Severide had nearly lost his life, she'd only been able to hold herself together by telling herself that falling apart would only cause more issues for both of them, especially since Casey was there, too. She'd kept herself busy by helping with the other casualties, but all she wanted to do was be in the room where he was. Her emotions had once again taken over, and she and Casey had hooked up that night. Like she'd told Casey at the time, their hook up was just a reaction to the stress of the day. But all she could think of while they were together was Severide.
She moved her hands to Severide's belt buckle, but he stopped her. "No. Not here," he breathed, taking her hands in his and stepping back slightly.
Gabby tried to hide the hurt and disappointment that she felt, but Severide still saw it. He reached his hands up and touched her face. "I want you, Gabby," he reassured her. "But I want to do this right. As amazing as having sex with you on the bar would be, we'll save that for another time." He smirked, and Gabby felt her legs grow weak. "You keep smiling like that and you're not going to be able to stop me," she warned, leaning her head against his chest.
Severide smiled warmly and rubbed his hands up and down her back. "Come on, let's get this place cleaned and locked up so we can head back to my place."