A/N: Thank you guys for your continual support throughout this story! It's much appreciated! Please R&R! Every review means the world to me!
"So Kel, when are you gonna ask Lindsay out?" asked KJ, trying to play matchmaker during halftime at the first Bears game of the season.
"What the hell are you talking about?" laughed Kelly nervously, trying to escape the blush forming on his cheeks.
"Are you shitting me right now? You guys are literally perfect together. And I know you have a crush on her. You have ever since, you know…that night," KJ finished off, dying for her uncle to get back in the dating game.
"Hey, you want me to go get you a soda or something from a-"
"Oh, no, no, no. Don't try to change the subject on me Kelly," said KJ, knowing what he was trying to do.
Kelly sighed, knowing that his Junior the most stubborn and persistent person he had ever met, and that he would never win this battle. "So what if I like her, Junior? It'd be stupid to ask her on a date. I'll be gone again in two months, anyway. It wouldn't be fair to either of us," Kelly said, shrugging it off like it was no big deal, even though it really pained him inside.
"But that's exactly why you should ask her out Kelly! You're not gonna live forever, ya know. You have to live in the moment, have some fun before you have to go back to that sandstorm of a war zone," she said, trying to be convincing.
"I don't know Junior. How about I think about it?" Kelly proposed.
KJ just looked up at him skeptically, deciding a compromise was all she was gonna get right now.
Kelly laughed at the absurdity of the situation. "Why am I even taking advice from a teena-"
KJ put her hand up to silence him. "Hold that thought, will you? Go! Go! Go! Go! Go! No! No! No! No! No! Are you fucking kidding me ref! Pass interference!" KJ yelled onto the field, having a true passion for the game. Kelly was appalled when she added the comment, "Hey ref! Does your wife know you're screwing us?"
Kelly just chuckled, smiling at his crazy fan of a niece, but also relieved to have the attention taken away from him and his love life.
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"KJ….KJ, you have to wake up. You have your big race today," Casey loudly whispered as he tried to get his little sister out of bed. As soon as she heard his words, it finally dawned on her that she was going to be late if she didn't get out of bed.
"Oh crap," KJ muttered under her breath as she bolted out of bed, quickly throwing on a pair of black leggings, an old CFD t-shirt, and her Nike running shoes.
"We're meeting Kelly there, right?" KJ screamed down the hall, hoping her brother could hear her.
"Yep!" he yelled back. "In fifteen minutes so you better hurry up!"
As KJ scrambled to get herself ready, she also struggled to contain excitement for this cancer charity race. After she was released from the hospital, and maybe even before she was medically cleared by the doctor, KJ had taken up running, not only to get physically get back in shape, but also as an outlet to allow herself to clear her mind every once in a while and escape her busy life. As soon as she found out that the CFD and CPD would have a tent set up at the race, she immediately asked Matt if she could race, to which he readily agreed. He thought it would be healthy for her to focus on something she could look forward to, especially during her rough patch without Kelly. Jake had agreed to run the race with her, along with Dawson. Kelly, Shay and Casey had decided they would stay back, work the booth, and cheer from the sidelines.
As soon as Casey and KJ arrived in downtown Chicago, they hurried over to the CFD/CPD booth as they were running a tad bit late. Everybody was waiting for KJ so that they could all sign in together.
"Hey babe," Jake said as he pulled KJ into his side, settling with a lingering kiss to the top of her head as he caught Kelly giving him the death stare from across the tent. He knew that Casey and Severide approved of their relationship, but by no means did that stop Kelly from going into overprotective brother mode sometimes.
"Alright guys, we should probably go check in soon," suggested Dawson.
"Yeah, we should," replied Jake.
As the trio began to walk away from the tent, someone started yelling, "Gabby, Gabby, wait up!"
Dawson turned around to see none other but Detective Erin Lindsay catching up to the group. "Hey Erin, what's up?"
"Hey, I was just wondering if I could tag along with you guys. Nobody else from Intelligence really seemed too excited to run this early in the morning, especially your brother," she laughed.
"Yeah, no problem," said Dawson, "I mean, if it's okay with you guys."
"Yeah, yeah of course," said KJ, a little overly excited that her uncle's crush had just joined the group for a long 26.2 miles.
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"So, KJ," Erin said as she pulled her aside for a brief second as Dawson was checking in. "How have you been since I last saw you?" she asked, worry and care etched into her face. Lindsay hadn't seen KJ since the night at the hospital. She knew from her conversations with Casey that night that he and Kelly were all she had. Lindsay knew what it was like to grow up without any role models, that is until Voight took her in. Therefore, she felt it was important to her to show KJ that she had someone else looking out for her and a female figure in her life that she could confide in, especially after all KJ had been through.
KJ was hesitant to answer at first. She wasn't really one for sharing her feelings about anything, really. However, she rationalized that if she opened up to Erin, that the running dialogue and conversation would be a great platform for sneakily slipping in the topic of Kelly.
"It's been alright," KJ started. "The first few months were rough, you know with Kelly gone and everything. I would have nightmares pretty often. But actually, Jake over there was the one who really helped me pull through. I just think that a little closure would have been nice," she said truthfully, trying not to think back to that horrible year.
"Yeah, I know what you mean," responded Erin. "We tried everything to catch Keeler and his men but I think your escape scared them into hiding," she said with sorrowful eyes. Erin gently placed her hand on KJ's arm. "Hey, if you ever need anything, and I mean anything, you just call me, okay?"
As Lindsay reached in her pocket to give KJ her card, everything went black.