Boy, has it been a long time. Three years since I decided to do a re-write!

So, I was looking through my old emails the other day and somehow came across this account and re-read the first chapter of his story and was hit with so much nostalgia that I just had to write a chapter. Sorry if this is riddled with errors (I'm sure it is, I wrote this in just under half an hour... again, sorry, lol).

I still have the draft to this idea buried in the bowels of my email account, and with the quarantine (I'm not sick, but my daughter isn't in school rn so what a great time to write, right... ;) I figured I might pick back up on this!

I haven't watched Chicago Fire in such a long time I honestly can't remember what happened past when Shay died, so this isn't going to be caught up with the newer seasons, but it's still going to be canon and consistent with the earlier seasons of the show. It might stray off around the end of the story, who knows, we'll see.

I hope you guys are still interested in this little brain fart of mine, and if you're still sticking around, bless you!

Now, without further ado (after three years...) onto chapter two!

II.

Charlotte stood at the whiteboard, her eyes searching the rows of children, watching as a few raised their hands. She quirked a brow and called on the boy in the back, his head resting on his arms.

"Nick," she called out lightly, watching as the little boy's head popped up suddenly. He blinked away the sleep in his eyes and shook his mop of brown hair out of his face. "What answer did you get for number three?"

The boy's eyes shifted from left to right, quite obviously lost on what she'd asked, then he offered her a small, toothless grin. "Umm, six?"

A laugh nearly bubbled from her chest as she tapped the projection on the board. "Close, the answer is actually George Washington. George Washington is the president who's picture is on the penny."

The little boy's cheeks blazed pink and he hung his head. "Sorry, Miss Morgan."

"I need you to pay attention, Nick. Knowing what coin is what is a very big deal," she chided him gently. When the boy gave her a nod she turned back to the board and continued with the lesson.

After making sure sure the students were out of questions, something that only lasted a few minutes at the most, she passed out a few worksheets and made herself comfortable behind her computer at her desk. She pulled her glasses on and began typing up this weeks pop quiz when she heard the clearing of a throat beside her. She saved the document and glanced to the side, smiling at a sheepish face peeking around the laptop screen at her.

"Hello Arden," she greeted kindly. "Did you need something?"

"I can't figure this one out," he told her quietly, pointing at an equation near the bottom. "Can you help me?"

Charlotte nodded and wheeled over closer to him by the edge of her desk. "Of course I can."

She quietly explained the mechanics behind what she was doing, walking him through the problem as simply as she could before asking him to show her what she'd just said. He took the pencil in his grip, his frail hand quivering slightly as he racked his brain for the answer. Charlotte chanced a glance at his face, gaunt and pale, his eyes darting between her and the paper. He swallowed stared hard at the paper on the desk.

"It's okay, take your time," Charlotte encouraged him. "Really think about the process, okay?"

Arden nodded and brought a hand up to shove a lock of long hair behind his ear.

That's when Charlotte saw it. A bruise that wrapped around his wrist beneath his winter coat - mottled dark blue and purple. Charlotte's chest tightened and she immediately found his eyes. He wasn't looking at her, too focused on finishing the problem he was working on. He held his paper up with a ghost of a smile.

"Is that right?" He asked quietly. "Did I get it?"

Charlotte nodded, her voice caught in her throat. She took a sip of the now cold coffee and forced a smile for him. "You got it. Good job, buddy."

He said nothing as he went back to his seat, his head down the entire way.

The rest of the day passed in a blur and, at the end of the school day, Charlotte found herself sitting in the principal's office, worrying her hands together as she waited. The secretary called her into the office. Charlotte got to her feet and strode into the office, her heels clicking on the tile floor. Her head was held high as she sat in front of Principal Peterson.

"Charlotte," the older woman greeted her, not unkindly. "What can I do for you?"

Charlotte cleared her throat and presented her case. "There's a boy in my class, Arden Jones, and I think he's being abused at home."

The principal sucked in a breath and glanced at Charlotte over the rim of her thick glasses. "That's a very serious accusation. What made you come to that conclusion?"

"I saw a bruise on his wrist today," Charlotte said, nearly flinching at the memory of the angry colors lying beneath the boy's jacket. "I've seen a few other stray ones before but I chalked them up to him being a kid but this... this was no accident."

The principal nodded and turned in her chair, going through a file cabinet and pulling out a form for Charlotte to fill out. "I'll submit the report to DCFS, but at this point there's not a lot we can get done. He'll remain with his family until this is looked into."

Charlotte felt uneasy, but nodded. "Do things like this get resolved quickly?"

"Unfortunately," the principal began, causing Charlotte to wince, "it's a lengthy process most of the time. It's really a case by case procedure - if there's a lot of other kids in front of him then it'll take longer. If his family has a good alibi or even a good lawyer he might end up staying with them indefinitely."

"That's unacceptable." Charlotte said back. "He could be seriously injured in the time it takes to get him away from there... or worse."

Principal Peterson nodded. "I understand your frustration, Charlotte, I really do. But there's not a lot we can do right now."

Charlotte sighed and finished up the paperwork. She pulled her bag onto her shoulder and strode out of the office, her mind in a whirlwind. Not only did she have the worry of her student on her mind - she still had to stop and pick her car up from the fire station.

Kelly sat at the table with his squad, cards clutched in his hand as his eyes took in the faces of the men sitting around him. He couldn't tell if they were bluffing - save Vargas, he always cracked a smile when he got a good hand. Kelly lifted the corner of his cards, peering down at the pair of sevens he held in his hand and decided that he wouldn't risk going up against the smiling bald man across from him.

"I fold," he said, tossing his cards down.

Vargas smiled and raked the chips toward him, his dark eyebrows raising at his Lieutenant. "Bad cards, Severide?"

"Yeah," Kelly admitted. "But don't get used to winning, alright. It won't happen again"

Vargas laughed and opened his mouth to say something else, but was cut off by the man to Kelly's right.

"So, Severide, who was that woman who busted her tire this morning," Hadley asked with a wolfish grin. "She was a real looker, wasn't she? What I wouldn't do for a bite of th-"

Kelly cut him off with a glare, but answered anyway. "Her name's Charlotte, and watch what you're saying, she'll be here any time now to pick her car up."

"Wait a minute," Hadley guffawed, still holding his cards from the last hand limply against the table. "You mean to tell me you fixed up the car of a woman you just met?"

Kelly shrugged, a grin quirking the corner of his lips. "So?"

"So," Hadley repeated. "So what's the catch? She sleepin' with you for a free tire?"

Kelly rolled his eyes. "What? No, man, she just needed help. We're firefighters, we help. Isn't that what we're here for?"

Hadley gave him a look of pure disbelief. "Oh sure, and when's the last time you helped a beautiful woman out of the goodness of your heart, Severide?"

Kelly shook his head. "Shut up."

"I've got a new bet for you," Hadley laughed, tossing his cards down. "One I know you won't refuse."

Kelly narrowed his eyes. "Yeah? And what's that?"

"Charlotte," Hadley drawled. "I bet you can't get her to agree to sleep with you."

Kelly rolled his eyes. "Oh, come on."

"Seriously," Hadley urged. "I'll give it.. let's say, a month."

Kelly shook his head at him, and told Vargas to deal him in again.

"C'mon, Severide, don't be a puss," Hadley teased, watching him for a reaction. When he got nothing he decided to sweeten the pot a bit. "I'll clean your boots for a year if you can."

Just then Kelly heard a bus outside the station, it's wheels hissing as it came to a stop. She was here to pick up her car. He rolled his stiff shoulder and stood to his feet, extending his hand out to grasp Hadley's tightly.

"Deal."

With a round of mummers at his back, Kelly turned and walked out onto the sidewalk, squinting in the springtime sun as he made his way toward the woman. She stood with her arms crossed, a look of concentration clear on her face. Her hair was pulled back into a pony tail, curling on the ends, and he couldn't help but think that if this deal went in his favor he'd be a lucky man indeed.

"Charlotte," he greeted her with a smile, his hands in his pockets.

The blonde raised her gaze from her shoes, her eyes meeting his in an instant. "Lieutenant."

"I told you -"

"The pretty girls call you Kelly," she interrupted lightly, a dimple forming on her left cheek as she smiled. "Yes, I remember your name."

"Oh, is that right?" He smiled and fished her keys out of his pocket. He held them out on his finger for her to take. She did, stepping forward and extending her arm, her hand grazing against his as she plucked the keys from his hand. "I'm still working on yours."

"Oh, is that right?" She echoed with a grin. He noticed that she didn't move to back away after she'd retrieved her keys. That was interesting. "And what's so special about me that I've caught the attention of a guy with as much on his plate as you?"

Kelly shrugged lightly. "I like a challenge."

"So I'm challenging," Charlotte countered.

Kelly grinned and scanned her from head to toe and back up again, holding her emerald gaze. "Among other things."

"Wow," Charlotte chuckled. "What a charmer."

Kelly smiled and nodded toward her car. "I'll walk you over?"

"I think I'll be okay," Charlotte told him. "But thank you."

Kelly gave her a solitary nod. "Of course."

"I gotta admit," Charlotte said lowly, blinking back at him, "I kinda hope you figure it out."

Then she turned and walked to her car, her hair bouncing off her back with her every step. She started the car and drove away with a small wave of her hand. Kelly stood there for a moment, watching as she drove away, his hands stuffed back in the warm comfort of his pockets.