The few weeks before the wedding was chaotic to say the least, all of Kim's free time being consumed by Platt to the point of not remembering to eat on shift. One day doing paperwork, Jay heard Kim's stomach growl while she was on the phone with the caterer and emailing the florist. She didn't notice or acknowledge him when he passed her desk, he was only gone about 20 minutes when he dropped a bag from the deli in front of her.
"I guess I forgot to eat." Kim said both surprised and grateful for the food.
"Why don't you delegate some of this to Sylvie or Gabby?" He suggested helpfully. Kim could be stubborn when she wanted to be, but saw the wisdom in his words.
"That's probably a good idea." She agreed with a small frown showing her reluctance. Nevertheless she picked up her phone and texted the two females from Station 51. She got two instant responses and told Jay, "They are coming over after work."
The next morning Kim went up to her desk to find a bagel and coffee from her favorite place waiting for her. She smiled at the thoughtfulness of Jay, surprised to know that he knew her order. She did feel better with Gabby and Sylvie taking over some of the wedding plans, and knew she owed Jay for that.
Jay had heard about plans for a wedding rehearsal but wasn't sure if he was invited to that. Kim had already taken the day off so he figured he could come and help when shift was over. He tried to help her as much as he could after shift.
"How's the rehearsal dinner work?" Jay wondered as he and Kim were in the party store picking up plates, cups, napkins, silverware, tablecloths and other party goods. It was going to be catered at the firehouse, they just needed to get the decor and paper goods. Gabby was in charge of the dessert, and Sylvie was dealing with the caterer.
"It's a run through of the actual wedding, when people are supposed to walk down the aisle, when to speak, where to stand." She explained as they brought the bags out to his truck.
"I can come if you want…" Jay offered sheepishly, trying not to overstep. "I could help you set up."
"I would like you to come." Kim replied shyly but hopeful.
"Okay, what do I wear?" He asked curiously, "And what time should I be there?"
"It starts at 6;30 and then we eat afterwards. Can you come right after work and then you can change at the firehouse. Wear a dress shirt and pants."
The rehearsal went very smoothly, mostly because of Kim's organization and leadership along with her team of volunteers. Most of the people there were watching Trudy and Randy, but Jay felt his eyes watching Kim most of the time. She was wearing a green dress that fit her perfectly, and her hair up in a bun accentuated her long neck with a beautiful necklace and earrings. He dropped Kim off at her apartment, excited about the wedding tomorrow.
The next day, Jay picked Kim up to meet up at the firehouse to get on the party bus to the church.
"Wow!" he almost whispered at the sight of her. "You look beautiful Kim." he complimented her as she came closer to him. He offered his arm to help her balance and gently guided her to the passenger side door like a gentleman. "Thank you." she blushed wondering how tonight was going to go.
"You might have to help me up into the truck." Kim commented with a laugh.
"What did you say?" He asked, coming back to the conversation. He had zoned out watching Kim walking out the front door of her apartment. She was wearing a burgundy dress, covered by a black shawl, tall heels and her hair pinned back on a cold fall Chicago night.
"I said, you might have to help me into your truck." She repeated with a grin, pointing to her shoes. He hadn't been the only one staring at their "date". Jay looked handsome in his charcoal gray suit, white shirt and burgundy tie. This whole evening should be interesting, she thought.
"If i have to, " he teased her, not minding at all at helping Kim up into his truck. She used the door to push up off the ground and Jay put his hands on her waist and carefully lifted her so she could sit on the seat. He reluctantly removed his hands from the warmth of her body and closed the door carefully before running around to the driver's side.
Kim was in the middle of a toast with the girls, who were brave to be standing while the limo was driving the twenty minutes to the reception hall, when a sudden stop had her chugging her shot to avoid spilling the alcohol and landing on Jay's lap, who didn't seem to mind, until she could reclaim her balance. By default his arm wrapped around her waist while her hand rested on his shoulder.
"Careful there Kim." Jay whispered in her ear, as she lost her balance. There was a seat next to him in the limo, but neither he nor Kim made a move to move her from his lap onto the seat. He kept his arm tight around her as she got comfortable. Way too comfortable for friends. Neither noticed Sylvie and Gabby cackling and taking photos. Actually, they didn't really notice anyone else in the limo much at all.
They stayed that way until they arrived at the venue ten minutes later. Kim rushed off to check on the cocktail hour and see how Platt was faring.
Fifteen minutes into the cocktail hour, Stella, Sylvie,and Emily were having their picture taken in the picturesque foyer when Kim passed by in a whirlwind. She looked like she had seen a ghost.
"Kim, you okay?" wondered Emily Foster, laughing at her blushing friend.
"Well, I just ran into Platt and Mouch making out so that was fun." Kim slowed down to share with her friends, laughing as she rushed off to find the florist to preserve Trudy's wedding bouquet.
"Have you seen Kim?" Jay asked Gabby, as he wandered around the catering hall looking for his date and their table. He was holding their card, which said Table 3. He was pleasantly surprised how much he liked that it said Kimberly Burgess & Jay Halstead together in a fancy font. She shook her head No as she was pulled away by Stella for a picture.
"If you're looking for Burgess, you might try the coat check." Kelly Severide suggested, catching up to the detective. "I heard from Stella, that Platt was unbearable before the ceremony so she might have taken a bottle of vodka off the open bar. " He laughed and pointed towards the main hall of the place with an open beer already in his hand.
Jay chuckled at that and went to save her from a quick intoxication, which he knew she would regret. Plus, he wanted her to be a bit more sober for selfish reasons.
He didn't know where this night could lead, but he had hopes that it might lead somewhere he had never expected. They had grown close in the last few months, grabbing beers, late night phone calls after dates (good, bad, many or few), doing anything to get their minds off of someone else.
Eventually without either knowing it, they had begun to forget about their exes and their thoughts were becoming focused on someone new, something better.
"Kim." He smiled at the sight of his brunette teammate pouring the vodka straight down her throat behind a row of coats. He gently plied the bottle out of her hands, without a drop getting on her dress. "Relax. The hard part is over."
"Do you know what it is like to have your Sergeant's whole life's wishes and dreams pinned on you not screwing anything up? Not the font on the invitations, not the color of the napkins, not the size of the strap on the dress…." Kim ranted, slightly drunk, but more stressed.
Jay was amused, but smiled sweetly as he gazed into her brown eyes. He took her hands in his and gently massaged them. "It was a beautiful wedding, and it's going to be an awesome party. It's time to go and have fun." His gentle voice seemed to calm her. She smiled in return, allowing him to lead her out of the closet.
"We're at table 3." She carried her small black clutch in her left hand with her burgundy wrap draped over her arm and let Jay lead her by her right hand.
She noticed when he let go of her hand and instead guided her gently by placing his hand on her bare back, both of them seared by the heat between them. He pulled out her chair for her, and they sat down next to Will and Natalie, with Jay tucking the bottle safely under the table. The duo settled in quickly with the group, sharing funny stories from work. Their laughter carried around the room, and didn't go unnoticed by a nearby group, sitting at table 6 was Voight, Boden, Al, and Herrmann.
"So Burgess and Halstead?" Herrmann noted smiling as the older group observed the two looking very comfortable with each other. Cindy agreed, "They make it look easy."
"If they are, they haven't told me yet." Hank Voight admitted, sipping his scotch contently and enjoying a rare night out.
No one could expect that Mouch and Trudy's playlist would be so fun, and loud. The rest of their table cajoled them up onto the dance floor with Will pulling Kim out of her seat, and Natalie grabbing Jay.
"Sweet Caroline" pumped through the venue as hundreds of voices echoed back, "Bum, Bum, Bum…" as the crowd crushed on the dance floor. Kim kept being pushed backwards by the crowd, her back pressed into Jay. His hands brushed down her bare arms, keeping her upright and wrapped them around her stomach to keep her close to him as the crowd vibrated around them. He was not willing to have anyone touch her.
His jacket and tie having been abandoned earlier but he didn't seem to mind too much, Will noticed with a grin. It was nice actually seeing him happy. He had known Kim for a while now, and could see what his brother saw in her. He wondered when they had time to start a relationship, Jay had certainly not told him that they had.
Kim was a fantastic wedding date, Jay had no complaints. They had not run out of topics of conversation, and the pair interacted easily with his brother and girlfriend as well as the other couples at the table. She loved to dance, but so far had only danced with Kevin and Al when it wasn't with him. He had been shocked when a twinge of jealousy came over him when Severide asked her to dance. It just reminded him that Kim could have any guy she wanted. Especially when she was in that dress.
"So you and Burgess?" Will asked with a smirk, passing a glass of scotch over to his brother by the bar. At least this way Jay didn't stare at Kim dancing with Kelly.
"We're friends," he answered truthfully.
"So you don't care if your friend, your wedding date is dancing with Severide." Will remarked coyly. Kelly Severide may have dated at least half of Chicago, including Jay's ex Erin Lindsay.
"Dance with me Burgess." Severide said, pulling the officer out of her seat, much to her surprise. She had no excuse with Jay not being around to say no. Not that she had to say No even if he had been there, they were friends who also happened to be each other's dates to a wedding.
"Do you really wanna be dancing with me?" Kim teased Kelly as he held her carefully in his arms.
"Why not?, you're a beautiful woman. We're both single." he replied with his charming grin. He wasn't wrong about her being single, she just wished that she wasn't. The two could flirt easily enough, but there wasn't any real heat between them.
"Just trying to piss off Halstead enough to come over here." He finally admitted with a laugh as Kim blushed. Every single person she had run into tonight had been surprised that they had come together but also curious about their dating statuses.
She giggled just as she spun right into Jay Halstead who swung her easily into his arms instead. "No more dancing with Severide." Jay complained jokingly, as he took her hand in his, and his arm encircled her; her laugh surrounding them.
They started to sway gently to the quiet music" Or what?" The alcohol she had been drinking, making her a little more brazen than she would normally be. The threat having been left open between them.
"You'll see what later." Jay promised with a sly grin and Kim blushed almost to the color of her dress. She tried to convince herself it was the alcohol that was making her buzz and not the closeness with Jay.
Dinner had been served and it was time to dance before the cake cutting and the couple's big exit when she volunteered to get some drinks for their table.
"Here Kim" Al handed her something as they waited at the bar for drinks. She quickly passed the keys to Jay as she didn't have her purse with her and he quickly pocketed them. "Meet me outside in 10 minutes." Kim confirmed with her partner as he joined Kim at the bar. He didn't want the continuous peppering of questions from Will.
It was a cool spring Chicago night, when Kim met Sylvie, Gabby, and Herrmann outside, with Jay following along. Sylvie had a large bag of cans, and Gabby and Matt had toilet paper and Kim had special markers to decorate the windows of Mouch's car. She approached the gray Chevy Tahoe and opened it. The three girls and their accomplices worked on the car in under ten minutes, leaving enough time for Kim to get back for the sparkler exit of the happy couple.
"Is this a good idea?" Kim wondered, as Jay followed her through her door. He wanted her to feel comfortable making any decisions in her own domain. She took his jacket and put it on the couch.
"We've already made a number of bad decisions tonight, don't you think?" Jay joked confidently, as he opened up a bottle of wine Kim had handed him. He poured two glasses of red wine while she played some background music to fill the quiet.
"It was quite a wedding." Kim declared, slipping her wrap off and revealing the skin that had been tempting Jay all night long. "You did a great job,Kim." He toasted her, watching her carefully as she slipped her shoes off , showing her long, athletic legs.
"Platt's family man, wow. Now we know where she gets it from." He said, shaking his head. If it hadn't been for Kim, he would have had to dance with one of Trudy's very handsy cousins like Kevin unfortunately had to, much to Kim and Jay's laughter. But they bought him a few rounds of shots to help him recover. Which may have been part of their bad decisions they had already made that night, including the after party at Molly's. Plus they saw him leave with a friend of Gabby's at the end of the night who had come as Kevin's plus one.
"Did you know that she convinced Adam to pretend to be her fiance once for a dinner with her father?" Kim informed him, spilling information no one on the team knew.
"Stop. You are kidding, right?" Jay asked in disbelief. Kim was doubled over in laughter, shaking her head. "True Story. Cross my heart." He liked watching her laugh, it reached her eyes, making them sparkle. He realized it had been a while since he had seen them that way.
"Speaking of Platt, she asked me to give this to you." Jay finally remembered the envelope from his jacket. "Something about a gift for the maid of honor. Kim eyed it suspiciously as he passed it to her. "It's probably a coupon to IHOP." she remarked, rolling her eyes and placed it on her counter.
The way she said it with such conviction almost made Jay spit out his wine, making Kim laugh harder as she watched him struggle. He had to hurry to the sink to release the liquid from his mouth.
"More wine?" Kim smiled widely, holding a new glass out for him. Jay didn't know Kim had this devilish side to her. He shook his head, taking both glasses from her hands and instead guiding her into the living room, sliding his fingers though hers.
"More dancing is probably safer." Jay reasoned, wanting more time to keep her in his arms as "All of Me" by John Legend came on through her radio, the same song they first danced to at Platt and Mouch's wedding. It should have been awkward, two work colleagues dancing, but the way she had fit into his arms, he didn't want her to leave them any time soon.
He didn't have to convince her much as she laid her head on his shoulder, wrapping one arm around his back, her other hand in his hand and his strong arm wrapped tightly around her waist.
As the wine settled and their bodies got closer, Jay's fingers slowly drifted up and down her bare back, feeling her breathing get faster as her lips started kissing his neck, things heating up between them.
"This is a great dress, it looks great on you." Jay complimented her as her lips finally landed on his. "But it would look even better on the floor." He whispered in her ear, waiting for her consent before continuing, reluctantly giving her space, respecting any choice she wanted to make.
"What if I get cold?" She flirted sexily, feigning being worried, hugging herself with her arms since Jay had let go of her. She appreciated the respect, she trusted him easily; wanted him deeply. It wasn't just tonight that made them close, it was the last few months in totality that had done that.
"I've got a few ways to keep you warm." He promised, "You just have to come over here." He held out his hand for her and when she took it, he twirled her into him, before pulling her closer to his body. Once his lips met hers, it was like an explosion hitting. His hands came around to cup her cheeks and deepen the kiss while Kim's hands inched their way up the back of his shirt. Not wanting to disconnect they shuffled down the hallway towards Kim's bedroom, knocking into walls and doors, and finally collapsing on the bed.
Between kisses and laughter, "Didn't you know after wedding sex was a thing?" Jay teased as he made his way down Kim's body, slowly seducing her. "Lots of drinking, Lots of dancing, lots of fu…" He explained, his breath teasing Kim's bare body as he kissed her neck, making her shudder. She pushed his open shirt off his shoulders as he pulled her to him by her legs.
"Not until now." she managed to gasp out while trying to catch her breath, which he was trying really hard to not let her do, her hands running through his hair to hold him close. She arched up into him until there was no space between them.
"We're still friends right?" Kim worried, tangled up with Jay in the covers. Her hands splayed across his chest as his hands dragged through her hair, the sheets draped over their entwined legs.
"I don't think friends f*ck like that." he commented with a smile, making her blush. It had been quite a night even before he had made her come three times, and he had no reason to complain on his part either. She was so intoxicating, so addicting, so sinful.
"Do you want to just be friends?" He worried, hoping that she felt the same way about him that he did about her. Kim shook her head, her hair falling into her face from the updo she wore at the wedding. "No, I want more than that." She admitted with more courage than she actually felt. "Thank God." he murmured, pressing his lips to her hair.
"So did I pass my trial run?" Kim teased as she slowly kissed her way up his chest to his lips. "Yeah, I would have to give you an A+, Did you like the or what?" He laughed, remembering his comment from earlier.
"So is this your response whenever I dance with a male?" Kim joked as she ran her fingers
"Yep!" He returned cheekily, quickly turning the table and her as he flipped her over and spread her out on her bed for him to prove that they weren't just friends anymore. And he was more than glad that they weren't.
Jay woke up to Kim's arm draped across his chest, her brown hair falling out of her updo and he gently moved it off her face. His hand stayed on her cheek as he watched her.
"Are we telling the team and Voight?" Kim asked seriously, later when they were sitting on her couch eating ice cream.
"Maybe at our wedding." Jay commented happily, not quite willing to share their new found love too quickly.