Liv sat on the other end of the couch, her laptop balanced on his legs as they were stretched over her lap. She sighed in disappointment. "What Babe?" Kelly asked not looking away from the football game.
"Just some minor leg envy, I'll be fine."
"Leg what?" confusion colors his words.
"It's when I envy people with the ability I do not possess."
"Ummm." He sputters because he sees no way any other response will end well. Instead he just waits.
"Did you know you can have sex on a motorcycle?"
Now he does look away from the TV. "What the hell did Jodi give you to read?"
"It doesn't matter." She blushed just a little.
"The hell it doesn't… Gimmie…." He sat up reaching for the laptop.
"No you'll think I'm perverted." She scooted further away sheltering the laptop with her arms.
"It'll just make you hotter in my mind."
She turns the laptop to him. "Don't judge me. Have you ever had sex on a motorcycle? Ya know with someone else? The dirty starts about a third of the way down."
She waits while he reads. A few minutes later. "I watch porn, you just read it." He said in slight awe and Liv rolled her eyes.
"See judgmental much?" She goes to close the laptop.
"Oh no, I'm using this as research." He muttered before he finished reading.
"For what? I can't stand ergo we can't do that."
"Since when has your inability to stand ever stopped me?" he looks over at her blue eyes sparkling in mischief.
"Fair point."
"Question." He said half distracted as he went to leave a comment.
"Answer." She retorted.
"Why the sudden interest? You hate my bike."
"I don't hate the way you look on it." She hedged with a little shrug making him smile.
"So you're shallow."
"Incredibly so."
"Should I feel objectified?"
"Completely." She grinned at him.
He sat the computer on the coffee table. He stood up and walked over to her end of the couch. "Go put on pants and shoes; we're going for a ride."
"It's a eleven at night the babies are in bed and…"
"And nothing, as much as it saddens me to use this sentence in your presence, go put on pants. I'll call one of your siblings." He plunks her into her wheelchair.
She gaped at him for a moment. "Oh we're doing this, you have your fantasies I have mine."
"You still have fantasies about me?"
He scoffed. "Duh."
"Which part of that sentence pained you to say?"
"Telling you to put on pants. Please, don't make me do it again."
She comes back downstairs dressed. "Is this proper attire?" She asked and he turned from locating his bike keys to look at her.
She wore her beloved Northwestern hoodie and jeans. Her hair down and her glasses still on, as she'd already taken out her contacts.
"That's perfect." He gifts her with a genuine smile. There is a knock at the door. "That's probably Liam. I sent a sibling wide text and he volunteered."
Liv's phone buzzes as Kelly goes to answer the door.
Owen: Your husband is an asshole. He woke me up.
Buzz again. Viv: Somebody is trying to get some…
Buzz again and again: Rainey: Romantic gestures are the best. Pincushion says hi!
Lang: Who enacted the phone tree?
She's trying to text each of them back as Kelly scoops her out of the wheelchair. "Put down the phone and let them live in suspense anger and envy. Viv's not wrong through sex would be nice. Apparently Owen included me on his group bitch fest."
They meet Liam on the stairs. "Wear a helmet not even Mommy can love road kill." He kissed her cheek.
"They're down they should stay that way."
"And if not I know how to make a bottle, give medication and give both the baby Heimlich and CPR. Only my heart is gypsy my brain is all responsible and shit."
"Thank you Liam."
"Not a problem. I'm going to go stare at their tiny sleeping faces and contemplate my life choices. Ecology is kicking my ass."
"Siri…Text Weird Hippie Mother. I told Livvy Loser you wouldn't love her with a smashed face and to please wear a helmet just like you asked." They hear him say as he goes into the living room.
-/-/-
Getting Livvy on the bike had been interesting but not impossible and he is totally going to strangle the neighbor who gawked as she threw her leg over to straddle the bike and then honked at her.
This bike is smaller than the newer models and she's right up against him holding on tight. He usually doesn't ride with other people for him the bike equals solitude but Liv always means solace and it's really nice feeling her breath feathering across the back of his neck and her arms tighten around him as he takes the turns fast.
She's not scared one bit. She's laughing gleefully every now and then.
He slows down through the traffic and rolls through Millennium Park before stopping in front of the bean.
Liv takes off the helmet. "That was a blast! It's still an abhorrent death trap but…fun."
"Yeah wanna make it a thing?"
"What like on Wednesdays we roll? I roll everywhere." She points out with a smirk he can't see.
He pulls his phone out. "I think that getting you on the bike of death calls for a picture."
"Do I have helmet hair?"
He twists to look back at her. "No, just sort of windblown but I'm digging it." He took off his own helmet.
"Ready?" he asks and she rests her chin on his shoulder smiling ever so bright. He snaps the picture. He captioned it "Finally got Hot Doc on the bike!" #SomuchhotterthanTaraKnowles #Waylessbitchy
He tagged her and posted it.
"I'm your biker chick?" She squeezed him a little hug.
He threads his fingers with hers. "You're my everything chick. So, the Erin thing you've dodged anytime someone asked but I'm doing it anyway because I love you. Are you alright?"
She sighs but answers. "There's this procedure that can be done when someone is on death's door. You can drain the blood volume and replace it with cold saline it sends them into a hypothermic state where you're neither dead nor alive clinically speaking you're just there. It's like medical suspended animation. That's how I feel with Erin, we're just there and there isn't a damn thing I can do to sway it either way."
"One the procedure sounds gross and very cool and I hope you get to try that out at least once because weird doctor shit makes you happy. Two, Erin is going to stop spiraling and realize Bunny is the devil and you'll be there. Three, I love you and this was fun but we have to work tomorrow we should go home and go to bed."
"Are suggesting sleep or sex?" she joked.
"Could I get sex?" He shot back.
"Sex is still on the table. It's always on the table."
"Then yes, I suggest sex until one of us is no longer capable of being conscious."
-/-/-/-
Liv's phone rings. "Talk nerdy to me." She rolls out of the elevator.
"Hey Babe."
"Oh! It's you, I thought it was Carver we were discussing- You know what? Never mind talk dirty to me!" She says with a snicker/
There is silence. "Or just talk to me. Kelly, Baby I was just joking around with Carver."
"I got demoted." He said flatly.
"What?" Liv accidently rolls into the wall distracted by what he'd just said. "Well that's going to bruise, what did you just say?" She asks inspecting her injured hand.
"I got demoted; too much turn over on squad put my leadership skills into question."
She parks herself to one side of the hall and buckles down for some serious conversation, no one is dying right now and Carver's consult can wait. "Can they do that? Why take your rank? Why not just put someone over you? I don't understand. I'm going to call Benny!"
"Yes baby, they can. Don't call Benny promise me." He pled sounding tired.
"He could help!"
"He can't its department political bullshit."
"None of those turn overs were your fault."
"Yeah well it seems between the guy gunning for commissioner picking me off-"
"Fuck that guy!" She snarls.
"And vouching for a ducker I have more than a few nails in my coffin baby."
"Well, you'll get your rank back I know that like it was the back of my hand. In the meantime, we hate the guy replacing you. We hate him right?"
Kelly snorts back a laugh. "Ok so you can't hate your superior but I totally can, I will loathe him on sight just for you."
"Thank you Livvy." He whispers into her ear.
"For?"
"Making me smile."
"I'll be by on my lunch to hate him and to kiss you, and hug you and love you because you are my squishy." She promises.
"Still have no idea what that is but okay."
-/-/
Liv rolls into the fire station, and immediately hears Kelly's voice. "So I come into the house and it's so quiet literally all I hear is the TV and even that's barely audible. Considering my family's history with weird shit happening to us, I go running, they're all sleeping. Here's the kicker Liv has her ice cream carton resting on Aaron's head spoon half way to her mouth."
"Please tell me you took pictures." Cruz says.
"Of course." The proud way he says it has Liv smiling in spite herself.
"Hey!" She hears someone say. She'd come through the front entrance and is sitting in Connie's office, where she'd stopped to say hello, but hearing him speaking had kept her still. He'd sounded happy despite his bad news. She can't be seen from the truck bay where Kelly sits with his guys at "Squad Table."
"Can I talk to you? It's about Erin," Ah now she recognizes the voice it's Jay Halsted. "And Liv's not answering my calls."
There's a long pause. "She alive?" Kelly asked.
"Yes."
"Okay, then what do you need my wife for?" a chair squeaks and she visualizes Kelly leaned back, arms crossed over his chest.
"Has it really gone that far between them? She quit her job." Jay sounds frantic she should reveal herself. Connie puts a reassuring hand over hers, where its rests on the wheel effectively stopping her.
"That's not Livvy's problem." Kelly said, his voice is clipped and his patience is being worked. Liv can tell by his tone.
"I-"
Kelly cut him off. "Halsted, I get it, I really do. If there was something Liv could do to penetrate Erin's self-hatred grief thing, she'd have done it. She walked away from Livvy too, and it really pisses me off because no matter how hard I pushed that woman away, and trust me I pushed hard, I never walked on her."
"The way I hear it is Liv left first." Jay countered sounding angry on Erin's behalf. Which given he only knows half the story, Liv can understand well enough.
"No, I think Liv just refused to bring her kids around someone who she knew was headed straight for strung out junkie territory. Liv never took herself out of Lindsay's life. Erin did that all on her own and it's slowly killing my wife, day by day, and I don't care how bad you want your girlfriend back, you will not leverage my wife to do it." Kelly is so serious about it Liv doesn't really know what to think, or how to feel.
"See Erin and I we are a lot alike, we get destructive and explode all over everything, not my wife she stuffs it all down. She holds it all, in until her whole world is collapsing around her and she's still smiling so goddamn bright, that you don't have a clue anything could be wrong that's how good my wife is at hiding. The one person who could see through her and not judge her for it walked."
He sighed so deeply Liv's heart hurt. "Now it's just me, I'm keeping her a float. When she's sad because her best friend is going to end up dead if she stays on that road, when she doesn't wanna get outta bed because her brain chemistry is fucked, and she has one of the hardest jobs in the world to top it all off? It's on me , I'm her best friend, I'm her protector, I'm the person who loves her most. She is my priority,"
"Alright man I hear you." Jay relents.
"Good, she'll come back on her own. To both of you, there's only so far you can push someone like Erin. Unlike me doesn't have anything left to loose. Be careful."
There's the sound of the door closing, then a prolonged silence before Capp murmurs "Your play Severide."
She looks over to find Connie staring at her wordlessly. She rolls from her hiding spot into the truck bay.
"Baby! When did you get here?" Kelly asks her.
"Just now, brought you Starbucks, might be cold the line was long." She lies easily handing him the cup. If he catches on to her lie she can't tell.
"Play for me, be right back." He gets up to warm his coffee and drops a kiss on her mouth as he passes her.
"My turn?" she asks and Capp nods. She does quick math on what's in play and slaps down a domino to make twenty points.
"How did you do that so fast?" Tony asked.
"I'm a doctor, I can calculate in my head just how much of which ever drug I give you can kill you and just how fast."
"What she means is don't cross her ever, and don't play mathematical or strategic games with her if you're attached to the idea of victory." Kelly replied.
She looks up at Kelly leaning on the door frame, she wants to be mad at him for airing her business that way, but she can't. He was only being truthful; she is starting to fall apart, just like Erin. The only way she can fix her own issues is to do it herself and lean on her guy. "Want me to finish the hand for you?" She asked.
"Uh huh, I'm losing." He said sipping his coffee. His smile is hidden by the rim of the cup but she can see it in his eyes.
She winks at him. "You won't be for long Kell." The guys groan in defeat and Liv can't help but laugh.
A handsome black guy walks up to where Liv sits in Kelly's spot at the squad table, while playing dominoes. "Guys! Lou Malnati's on me." He looks at Liv "And you are?"
"Olivia Severide. Wife of the guy whose job you took." She said dryly said as everyone froze.
"Ma'am, its uncomfortable situation for all involved."
"Oh so it's uncomfortable for you? What about the man who was blindsided today?"
Kelly leaned over and plunked a slice of pizza down on the plate in front of her. Effectively giving the guys permission to eat. "Olivia, I get what you're trying to do here, and I love you for it, being all possessive and protective and stuff but just don't okay? I'll fight my own battles." He leaned down and kissed her I gotta sign up for the management class, stay eats my slice of pizza so I know you ate something half decent and I'll see you at home." He kissed her forehead.
"Taking thirty." He directed to Patterson.
"Love you babe!" Liv called to his back.
"Back at you sweetheart. Have a good day, and of course I'll be careful."
"Smart ass! Nice ass but still smart." Liv looks around "My innermost thoughts got out didn't they. You're doing the "Liv is weird stare." Again." She took a bite of the Pizza.
"What's your name Captain?" He says nothing. "Look my guy, he's given four years of his life if not more in service to the city of Chicago, to every citizen in this district myself included, ask him how we met when he's feeling friendlier. He has served this firehouse tirelessly, to the detriment of his own health and today? Today? He got screwed. The worst part, you may as well come out of hiding Boden so I can say this to your face. The worst part is you knew this was coming way before the start of shift. had poker night in my house, I always remember face. You had enough time to line your buddy up for the job and not enough to have the decency to take his bugle in a more private setting. It's political bullshit I get that. You could have handled it better and well you should." She took another bite chewed and swallowed the entire room is perfectly quiet.
"Now, Captain whose name I still don't know because you're too dumbstruck to speak, hey its okay it happens to me a lot it's either the brains the boobs or the chair that do it but I digress, you want Kelly to work under you? You want him to work well and hard for you? You want his men to work under you and believe me they're still his guys; they looked to him before eating just now. I think it's safe to say who they trust. You want this to work? You treat Kelly and the rest of them like your equal. Kelly is used to giving the order and taking the lead he knows his squad, so if he tells you something I'd listen because after today? I just don't see Kelly staying for any other reason than the men at this table. He will get his rank back and he might even leave if he isn't given back every bit he earned here and I can't say I'd blame him."
"Damn you must be somethin' else to live with Darlin'."
"I keep it interesting." She returned.
"Dallas Patterson." He offered his hand.
Liv shook his hand. "Not often my tirades win people over I just may like you."
"Hard to argue the truth as you see it Ma'am."
"It's Liv, the only people who ma'am me are scared first year interns about to lose control of bodily functions." She unbreaked her chair. "I gotta go boys, lovely as always be careful! Enjoy Squad Cruz." She took her pizza with her.
"Olivia." Boden called.
She turned back. "Kelly respects the hell out of you. Even when you disagree, he respects you and you saved his life so that means I owe you some respect and you've got it, but you handled this wrong and I had my say to your face the respectable way. You cannot scold me I don't work for you and an apology? It's not going to work, so just let sleeping dogs lie and leave me to my opinion and hope my respect remains when this is over." Liv said dead seriously she hears Mouch whistle lowly behind her.
"Maybe you should refrain from vesting the house until you feel differently."
"Maybe I will."
-/-/-/-
"Listen guys, I'm having a Bar-B-Que tonight on my boat. Would you please all come?" Patterson said as they were all leaving.
"I have a wife and kids at home who I devote my off time to." Kelly retorted.
"My boat isn't wheelchair accessible."
"Then I definitely won't be in attendance. Where I go my wife goes."
"It's mandatory." He replied snappishly.
"Yeah well my wife's my priority outside these walls, no matter what she said, acceptance of her is mandatory for me. So I won't be there."
The guys from squad look on slightly shocked. "He goes out without Liv all the time." Capp said lowly.
"Captain Patterson was being snide. He reacted." Chili said walking by.
Cruz caught up with Kelly at his bike. "Come on man, go to the thing I'll get some IPA and we'll drink ourselves overboard…"
"Maybe, you know how I feel about Liv being treated equally and if Patterson refuses to do that? I got no use for him."
"The things she said? The man has a right to…"
"Did she say anything untruthful? Disrespectful?"
"No, not really."
"Then the things she said have no bearing on his holier than thou attitude. Mandatory? I'm not fucking five years old? No one and I mean no one tells me what to do outside the fire house. "Kelly snarled shoving on his helmet.
He got on the bike and headed home. When he pulls up Liv's already home. He walks in and is hit with a wall of noise and the smell of pancakes lies on the air. "Baby I'm home!" He shouts up.
"Hey! We're up here making a late breakfast. You want some?" he takes the stairs two at a time excited by the prospect of seeing his babies and wife after the days he had. Liv's Sunday Morning playlist plays from the speakers system. He knows the playlist because she sings this particular song to the kids. It's one of her favorites. "Heart like Yours" by Willamette Stone.
Aaron sits at her feet squalling and chewing a wash cloth, while Klaire patiently awaits her pancakes in her high chair.
"Daddy! I want syrup!" She informs him and he ruffles her hair as he walks by her.
"Hi Klaire! I'm not you're going to win that battle."
"I love you!"
He laughed. "I love you too Honey." He kissed the top of her head.
He picks Aaron up. "What's wrong brother? Huh? What happened?" he stops crying but continues to gnaw on the cloth.
"He's teething and wants to be held." Liv said yawning and flipping a pancake,
"I'll hold him. I'm sorry you're hurting brother." He starts doing the bouncy move and Aaron gurgles happily.
He leaned over and kissed Liv. "Hey my love."
"What's her name and how pretty is she?" Liv said smiling having seen right through him.
"What? What makes think there is even a her to begin with?"
"Because honey, you attract women like flies on shit. It's your super power. So…what's her name? And how'd you meet that it warrants buttering me up to tell me about her?"
"Okay so I had to partner up for the management class and it was either her or the guy with social anxiety issues."
"Uh huh…like I said flies on shit. I mean I get it, you're startlingly beautiful for a man and ten kinds of charming but man you're super power is frustrating." She joked.
"She's like an 8 maybe and her name's Jamie but I told her I was wifed up and that she'd need to come here for homework and studying."
Liv starts laughing and can't stop. "What's so funny?"
"I just never thought my husband would invite his study buddy over and then say she was only an 8 like that's ugly or something."
He shrugged. "You changed my standard of beauty."
"You're so full of shit."
"I'm serious a guy doesn't need an 8 when has a 12.5 at home."
"So she's really very pretty huh?"
-/-/-
That night Liv hears the doorbell ring and goes to answer it leaving Kelly to watch Mulan with Klaire. On the other side of the door stands a pretty blonde. She looks like Shay so much it skeeves Liv out. An eight Liv's crippled derriere.
"Is this where Kelly Severide lives?" The lady asked.
"Jamie the brief thrower I presume? Liv Severide, nice to meet you. He's upstairs follow me."
They take the elevator and when they reach the second floor Kelly is launching into "I'll make a man out of you." With a pink fur trimmed and sparkle bedecked tiara on his head.
Klaire marches in place on the couch using a tooth brush holder as kendo stick while sucking on Aaron's pacifier.
"Let's get down to business to defeat the Huns! Did they send me daughters, when I asked for sons?" He turns sharply to face Klaire with a deep scowl that makes Klaire giggle.
"You're the saddest bunch I ever knew, but you can bet before we're through. Mister I'll make a man out of you!"
"Make a man…" Klaire parrots.
"Tranquil as a forest-"Klaire whacks him in the face with her tooth brush holder. "That wasn't very tranquil… Give your brother back his pacy Klairey I'll make a big girl out of you!" Liv's snorting laughter draws his attention.
"Hey Honey. You have a guest."
"Hi Jamie, you've met my wife. This is my daughter Klaire and on Monday's we're the entire cast of Mulan."
"And the tiara?"
"Make shift army helmet. I also moonlight as Princess Anna or Kristoff depending on her mood." He takes off the tiara putting it on Klaire.
He turned to face Klaire. "I gotta do my homework but thanks for being the Mulan to my chesty army dude." She took the pacifier out of her mouth and kissed him. "Give that back to brother."
"You go away." She says her standard response when she doesn't want to do something.
-/-/-
They go into the kitchen and he sets up the baby gate. Klaire sits on the opposite side of it glaring daggers at the pair until Liv takes her for a bath. Occasionally muttering a heartfelt "Go away." At Jamie. Liv need not be jealous; Klaire's got her bases covered.
Aaron doesn't pay them any mind. He's enthralled by the dragon in Mulan.
Kelly listens with half an ear to the baby monitor as Liv bathes them and he can hear happy shrieking Liv's slightly off key singing and splashing.
"What's wrong? You seem distracted. "Jamie asked.
"When you do the job that I do, you learn early to cherish all the little moments and I'm missing the moments by taking a class I do not need for pointless reasons. I'm angry they think its okay to steal away my time with my children."
-/-
"Kell…"
"Yeah…" He said not looking up from his worksheet.
"I can't step over the gate and someone wants her goodnight kiss."
"Shit! I'm sorry baby I forgot."
"It's okay." He gets up and walks over to the gate and plucks Klaire off her feet. The little girl is wearing a Hello Kitty night gown her dark hair brushed out of her face still wet from her bath. "Goodnight Klairey Girl. Love you." He kissed her forehead and cheek.
"Night, night, Wuv you." Is her sleepy mumbling reply.
"Someone is sleepy."
"Go Away." He laughed and kissed her forehead again and set her down to lift Aaron from Liv's lap and repeated the process.
When he hands Aaron back he leans down to kiss Liv. "In case you felt left out."
"An eight?" she whispered back. "Liar, Liar, pants on fire."
"12.5 my friend." He retorts.
"Whatever makes you feel better Kell. I'm going to go get them down for the night. When you're done, I'll be upstairs. Read into that as you like." She flirted rolling away.
"You're mean."
"I'm motivating you."
When he turns back to Jamie he's muttering to himself about pretty women and blackmail. She's watching with a soft smile. "How do you forget your wheelchair bound wife can't step over the baby gate?"
"Because the wheelchair is the last thing I care about. Yes, logically I know it's there I mean I put her in the car, I carry her places, I know her disability is there but it has no bearing on how I see her, it doesn't matter. So yes, I forget." He answered sitting back down to work.
"That's sweet."
"What?" He was honestly confused. Why was loving his wife any sweeter than any other guy doing the same.
"Its sweet that you love like that."
"I love the woman, nothing else."
-/-/-
He walks upstairs and finds Liv lying in bed watching Arrow. Yet another of Rainey's recommendations. He climbed on the bed. "I can't believe I'm going to say this but I do not miss dividing my attention between women. It's tiring and I love you." He crawled up to her laying his head on her boobs.
"Are you hanging it up?" She said smiling.
"Maybe, She left Cruz thinks I banged her but I'll correct it later." He yawned.
"Cruz?"
"Came by to talk me into going to the captain's function. He made it known you were less than welcome. I made it crystal clear there is no me without you. I meant it."
"I've been asked by Boden to keep my distance from 51 until this all blows over."
"What?"
"You weren't the only one who voiced their opinion." Liv says not looking at him.
"Olivia… baby…." Kelly whined this had to be so much worse than he was lead to believe.
"I didn't fight your battle for you and didn't make anyone a villain. They did you dirty Kell there is no two ways about it and I couldn't let it stand, I couldn't you're my guy and you put in so much fucking heart there and no one even realizes it. I love you and I had to speak my mind. I had too."
"Thank you, I'm really proud knowing you'll stand up even though my job is not your favorite thing ever. It means a lot,"
"What can I say? I'm fucking awesome!"
He turned over and yanked her to him and rolled her underneath him. "I could think of other adjectives…"
"Or you could just show instead of tell." He leaned down and kissed her.
AN: I own nothing but my characters and my sections of plot. Mulan belongs to Disney, Chicago Fire belongs to Derek Haas, Michael Brandt and NBC. Heart like yours belongs to Willamette Stone. If You liked it please tell me! Glad to be back -MM