Where you used to be, there is a hole in the world, which I find myself constantly walking around in the daytime, and falling in at night. I miss you like hell. - Edna St Vincent Millay

Serena lazily lay across her brothers couch with her feet propped up in Kelly's lap, the two of them were hanging out as per their dinner arrangements which consisted of pizza and beers as Serena couldn't be asked to cook and she didn't trust Kelly to not give them food poisoning. But apart from that it was nice for the two of them to be hanging out like old times and enjoying each others company, it was something that Serena had missed when she had been away. And it wasn't just Kelly that Serena had missed but it was everything else that she left here in Chicago when she had gone to Boston, such as the food - Serena was a sucker for a good old fashioned Chicago hot dog. During the three years Serena had spent in Boston she had missed her friends and family not to mention the sports. Made Serena all the more glad that she was back home where she belonged.

"So guess who I got a phone call from this morning?" Serena asked before taking a swing of her beer and Kelly just looked her with a blank expression, which caused her to chuckle in amusement. "Your dad."

"My dad called you?" Kelly asked in surprise.

"Yes indeed, Benny called me and we had a very nice conversation for twenty minutes and your dad told me that he was very happy to hear that I've come home as I was away for far too long. Also promised to take me out to dinner the next time he's in town visiting which I'm very looking forward to you, as I love Papa Severide he's great…" Serena replied using her nickname for Kelly's dad which he answered to when she addressed him as such.

"Benny adores you too Rocket, in fact my dad thinks that you are the greatest thing to have ever come into my life and he never allows me to forget it." Kelly retorted and Serena just beamed, she liked the fact that Papa Severide thought so highly of her. "I find it amazing that my dad called you today and I haven't heard a peep out of him in weeks, clearly he likes you more than me.

"Well he is right about that, I am the best thing that has ever happened to you and whilst it may be true at least you've made your dad proud, my mom is so disappointed with me and how I turned out. The only thing she's proud of is the fact that I didn't join the fire department in some capacity given that I came from a family that has three generations of firefighters. Frosty knew that there way a good chance at least one of my brothers would follow my dad's footsteps and join the fire department so she wasn't that surprised when Callum and Hayden had announced that they had applied to the academy. Although she was disappointed as she was hoping that she'd be proven wrong however she was pleased that Rory and Finn chose different career paths. Then there's me."

"C'mon Rocket you're a surgeon, what parent would not love to have a doctor in the family?" Kelly questioned as he gently hit Serena's leg.

"A doctor yes but not a trauma surgeon, my mother would have preferred it if I became an oncologist or cardiologist because there's a lot of money in it and she could brag to her friends all about her daughter the world class specialist. If I went into one of those specialties I could make a name for myself, have my own practice and all that jazz. There's no future in trauma surgery according to my mother and I'll end up alone with no money or husband with just my scalpel for company. Whenever my career comes up my mom asks why couldn't I have become something else like an OB/GYN." Serena said with a sigh as she took another swing of her beer.

"OB/GYN really?" Kelly skeptically questioned.

"I know right? I remember one time my mom brought it up over dinner and I said to my mom there is nothing wrong with being an OB/GYN as it's a very worthwhile profession. And my gynecologist is a very nice man but delivering babies and looking after vaginas isn't exactly what I wanted do with my life which is why I didn't become one. My mom went mental that I said vagina over the dinner table and I had to give the Senator the Heimlich as he chocked on a piece of asparagus, it was so terrible but so funny…" Serena said with a small chuckle.

"You are a terrible person." Kelly told her and Serena just rolled her eyes.

"And who's to blame for that?" Serena challenged looking at Kelly as ever since the first day he had come into her life he had become such a terrible influence on her. So if he was calling her terrible person then she was looking right at the person to blame for that as she was much more behaved woman until she met Kelly Severide. He was the guy who convinced her to come on a trip with him, Andy and some other friends to Tijuana claiming that it was going to be a nice fun surfing trip with no trouble. Back then Serena was twenty seven and wasn't immune to the beautiful blue eyes and charms of one Kelly Severide and so she believed him. The trip was fun, Serena wouldn't deny that but the no trouble part? Not so much. Serena didn't speak to both Andy and Kelly for a week after that trip.

"Okay I accept some fault..."

"Some fault? Really?" Serena teased.

"But seriously Rocket, why did you chose trauma?" Kelly asked and Serena sat properly, removing her feet from Kelly's lap but sitting on the couch cross-legged facing him.

"I chose trauma because of the uncertainty it holds, every time I get paged I don't what's going to be waiting for me in the ER could be a stabbing, shooting or flesh eating diseases. But I'm always prepared because the unexpected is what I'm trained for and what I thrive on. I like the blood and the cutting and knowing that I am trained to be able to work not only in traumas but traumatic situations, I've had disaster training and I've been called some harrowing scenes. I remember this horrible five car pile up that happened the day I found out I had passed my final boards and was now a certified acute care surgeon. They needed trauma a surgeon in the field and the Chief of Surgery at my hospital sent me as reward for making him so proud. When I arrived at the scene it was horrific and for a few seconds I froze because I was overwhelmed for some reasons. But then I was fine, I knew what I needed to do–"

"–And then Rocket was off…" Kelly finished.

"Exactly, I'm an adrenaline junkie as you are which is why you spend your days playing fireman and running into burning buildings and being a hero." Serena quipped as looked at Kelly and she couldn't help but smile, being here with Kelly was just like old times expect for the fact that they were at Finn's apartment instead the dives bars that they practically used to spend all their free time at. "I missed you so much when I was gone, you know that right?"

"I missed you too Serena." Kelly replied and Serena knew he was being serious when he called her by her actual name instead of Rocket. In the eight years that Serena McArthur had know Kelly Severide and he had been calling her Rocket, she could only recall him calling her Serena just over two dozen times.

"Then talk to me Kelly, you promised me that if we had dinner together than you'd give me a proper answer about how you've been doing since Andy died. You've been putting on this front for everyone else Kelly but you have never been able to fool me. I have always been able to see you clearly Kelly and I know that you're not fine so talk to me, please…"

"Serena…" Kelly began and Serena saw his Adam's apple bob up and down several times as he swallowed a lump in his throat. She knew this was going to be hard for him given that Andy was his best friend but he needed to actual talk to some instead of giving the fire department's shrink the same old cock and bull story that everyone else gave.

"Take as long as you need Kelly I'm not going anywhere, I've got all the time in the world for you."