AnnaBeth was already at the Holiday fair. It was the grand opening of Molly's food truck and Gabby had arranged for their double date with Matt and Jay. She had been out and brought a new white coat seeing as it was a lot colder in Chicago.

"How are you still wearing dresses?" Gabby asked bundled up in her hat and gloves.

"But I do have my new coat" She replied giving a twirl making her curls bounce.

"Very cute" Gabby nodded with a smile.

"No Matt yet?" She asked biting her lip.

"He'll be here" Gabby said looking around "It's been a rough couple of days but…"

"You'll work through it" She said

"He went out with Severide last night" Gabby sighed "I don't know, that makes me worry"

"I heard about Britney leaving" She nodded "They're both good guys I'm sure it was just a few drinks"

"I forget you're still new and don't know Severide that well" Gabby said.

"So what time is Jay coming?" She asked smiling at the kids who were running excitedly up to a stall selling gingerbread houses.

"Soon" Gabby replied "He said he had to stop in at the precinct but then he was coming straight here"

"I may have threatened him a little bit so I'm not sure I'll make a good first impression" She said

"What did you say?" Gabby asked her eyes widening in surprise.

"That he better keep Peter safe" She replied.

"AB" Gabby laughed "I'm not sure that's really a threat"

"I feel like my tone and my eyes conveyed the real meaning behind the words" She replied.

"Uh huh" Gabby said shaking her head "Sure, you're about as intimidating as a teddy bear"

She knew Gabby was right. She had gotten better at standing up for herself, but she still wasn't a fan of confrontation. It wasn't necessarily a bad thing she just preferred peace. Lemon was always worked up about something even if it was small, it seemed exhausting to her.

"Gabby" Matt said putting his arms around her.

"You look like the walking dead" AnnaBeth told him wrinkling her nose.

"So much for one drink" Gabby said hugging him back.

"I'm just going to go look at the stalls and let y'all talk" She said pointing to the nearest stall and walking over.

AnnaBeth was excited to decorate for Christmas. She wasn't sure if she would be able to visit home yet for any of the holidays but as far as she was aware her parents were off on another cruise. She should have sold them Jake's houseboat; they didn't spend much time on dry land anymore.

She picked up a few ornaments ready for buying a tree. Usually she went with a great big real one. She got the feeling this year was going to be artificial and a lot smaller.

She thanked the woman running the stall and was glad to see Gabby and Matt smiling again.

Christopher was there with his 5 children and his wife talking to a news camera about the food truck. Mouch and Cruz were stood proudly next to him with Otis and the food truck behind them.

She waved and smiled supportively as she stood next to Gabby and Matt. Her hand stopped frozen in mid air as the truck began to roll down the road.

"Oh" She said her hand flying to her mouth "They just killed the baby Jesus"

"Oh god" Gabby said looking like she wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry.

Thankfully, no one was hurt but the nativity scene had been crushed.

"He looks like he might fly off the handle" She said grabbing Gabby's arm "Look at his eye twitching"

"Come on" Gabby said "I see Jay we should go"

She had seen Herrmann lose it a few times since she had met him. She did not what to witness whatever melt down he was about to have so she gladly followed Gabby and Matt away from the scene of the crime.

"Hey Gabby" Jay greeted them as they walked over "Matt, what's going on over there?"

"Just the running over of our lord by a food truck" AnnaBeth replied.

"Parking brake trouble" Gabby added "Jay this is AnnaBeth"

"It's nice to meet you officially" He said with a smile

"I'm sorry if I was a little harsh the other day" She said "But you know Peter's my partner"

"You weren't harsh at all" He told her.

"You mean you didn't feel an intimidating presence?" Gabby joked.

"Oh" He said realization hitting him "I did, but it's your partner so I can respect that"

"Teddy bear I get it" She smiled shaking her head "So what is the plan?"

"We could get a drink?" Jay suggested

"Please no alcohol" Matt groaned

"What happened to you?" Jay asked with a smirk taking in the green color Matt was slowly turning.

"I went out with Severide" Matt replied.

"Baby if you're not feeling good, we can go home" Gabby said holding his hand "You two will be fine without us, right?"

"Sure" Jay replied as AnnaBeth glared at her.

Gabby just smiled sweetly and said goodbye giving AnnaBeth a hug.

"He's not a serial killer" Gabby whispered as she hugged her "Have fun"

AnnaBeth had always been good at meeting new people so she wasn't sure why she had felt so worked up about going on a blind date. It was true that she hadn't had the best experiences with them in the past. Lemon had tried to set her up with Jonah in the past and Lemon had ended up on a date with a creepy guy from school that she honestly thought might have murdered her in her sleep. But Jay was a cop and he seemed like a nice guy.

"So how long have you been in Chicago?" Jay asked as they walked towards a bar he suggested.

"Just a couple of months" She replied, "Are you from here?"

"Born and raised on the south side" He nodded "Gabby said you're from a small town, how are you finding Chicago?"

"It's different" She said with a smile "I love Bluebell but despite having my apartment being broken into and my partner having his life threatened I've actually had a great experience. I had a homeless neighbor Bill at my last place, and he was honestly the sweetest man, plus 51 is a real family"

"There's some good people there" He agreed "How is your new place?"

"A lot closer to work, a few maintenance issues but I finished decorating" She said "I love it"

Jay held the door open for her at the bar.

"Why thank you sir" She said as she walked through.

The barman seemed to know him. It was an Irish bar. She was sure Herrmann would feel betrayed that she had drank anywhere other than Molly's, but it seemed like it at a good atmosphere.

She took a seat in a free booth and Jay came back to the table with a beer and a glass of white wine.

"So, you must see some crazy things being a paramedic" He said sitting down.

"Oh, it has it's moments" She nodded "Before that I was a receptionist in a doctors office back home, so I'm already used to the crazy things people come in with when it's a medical thing"

"What's your craziest story for both?" He asked.

"Well I had Rudy Truitt come in when he'd been bitten by his pet racoon Reba and he was convinced he was turning into a wereracoon" She replied taking a sip of wine "And here It was probably a man in a banana hammock high as a kite I had to put to sleep because he got free and attacked Peter, he wasn't injured I just think the cops didn't want to deal with him, so both crazy but very different kinds"

"I'm not even really sure where to start with that" He said running a hand through his hair.

"I don't try to understand" She nodded "I just accept it for what it is, it's a headache trying to break down the crazy, but you must see crazy things all the time"

"We get our fair share" He nodded.

"Well I have a lot of respect for what you do" She told him "It must be hard seeing some of the worst in people"

"So why are you being set up on a blind date?" He asked "You don't seem like you'd have a hard time meeting people"

"Well then why are you saying yes to a blind date?" She countered.

"Fair point" He laughed "Gabby can be persuasive"

"That is very true" She agreed "And the only people I really meet are at the firehouse or in the Emergency Department"

"So, dating in the workplace isn't for you?" He asked

"I've had to deal with running into ex's in a small town" She replied "In the workplace wouldn't be ideal, I mean it works for Gabby and Matt but it's hard"

"You've got some bad ex's?" He asked

"I wouldn't say bad" She replied "But when there's only two places to eat in town and one coffee shop you're bumping into people every five minutes and it's not just your ex, everyone takes sides, you get bombarded with Break Up Pie, it's a lot"

"What's break up pie?" He laughed.

"It's the best part of breaking up" She said with a grin "Baked goods are a staple sympathy gift and Break Up Pie is a slice of heaven"

AnnaBeth had to hand it to Gabby. Jay was kind of cute with his amazing blue eyes and dark hair. He was easy to talk to as well. Even if it turned out to be nothing it was nice to get back out there again and meeting people. AnnaBeth was a people person and she had been spending far too much time at home.

"So, tell me more about you" She said "I feel like all we've done is talk about me"

"I work a lot of unconventional hours" He said "Outside of that I'm either at a bar with friends or I'm home"

"I guess that's something we all have in common in Emergency Services" She nodded "Do you go to Molly's then?"

"I do" He replied "I'm surprised I haven't seen you there"

"I go every once in a while" She said "Herrmann is always saying I need to show more support"

"Maybe if I see you, I could buy you a drink" He said with a half-smile.

"Well then maybe I would stop by" She replied.

AnnaBeth really enjoyed the rest of the date. Jay was a little sarcastic with his humor, but she didn't mind that at all. He was a huge hockey fan which was no surprise, every guy she had met in Chicago so far was a big Black Hawkes fan. He seemed a little taken aback by how much she knew about football. Her dad had two daughters and no sons, so he made sure they knew as much about the sport as he did. Sundays growing up in her household were church and football, no exceptions.

"Wait you've never been to a Hockey game and you've been here how long?" He asked.

"I haven't been here that long" She pointed out.

"Long enough" He said shaking his head "Ok we're going to a game"

"We are?" She asked raising an eyebrow.

"It's part of the Chicago experience" He told her "If you're going to live here it's mandatory"

"Oh well if I have to" She laughed "I guess I can't argue with that"

"Put your number in" He said handing her his phone "I can let you know a time and date"

It was a little forward but she kind of liked that. She would be happy to go out with Jay and take in a whole new Chicago experience.

Jay walked her to where she had parked her car. He told her he would call her later to pick a game date that worked with her schedule.

She called Gabby when she got home throwing her bag down on the side table and hanging up her coat.

"How was your date?" Gabby asked before she could say Hello.

"It was nice" She replied sitting down on the couch " How is Matt feeling?"

"Better than he deserves" Gabby said "So tell me more"

"We went for a drink, talked about work" She said teasing dragging it out.

"Well are you going to see him again?" Gabby asked impatiently.

"He said he'd buy me a drink if he saw me at Molly's" She replied "And apparently I can't live in Chicago and not see a hockey game so he's going to call me later to get my schedule so we can get tickets to a game"

"I knew you'd like him" Gabby said happily "You can't be sat home or just going to book clubs, you are too nice and way too beautiful for that"

"I like book club" She pointed out "But you're right, I do need more than just good girlfriends"

"Yeah you do" Gabby laughed

AnnaBeth sat and thought about the last few days when she hung up the phone with Gabby. She had spoken to Lemon the day before about her trying to set her up. She had realized Lemon was still in love with Lavon and wanted AnnaBeth dating so she could move on guilt free. She had been a little upset at the time. But honestly, she had managed to go on a date and not even think about Lavon. Her whole life was here and not in Bluebell. Lemon may not have had the best motives, but she knew that Lemon ultimately wanted her to be happy and that's what she wanted for her friend as well. She had spent months trying to move on. The only real what to start over was to let go completely, so she text Lemon giving her blessing and demanding that she tell Lavon exactly how she felt about him.

She felt lighter almost. It had been a crazy few days but she was feeling much more at peace with everything.