Lindsay POV
I walk into the station and am instantly met with the glare of Jay Halstead. Ever since I told everyone in intelligence a month ago that Severide and I are dating he's been giving me nasty looks. I mean I know he doesn't like firefighters but I don't see what the problem is. Whatever it is, its getting on my nerves. He could just suck it up and be happy for me.
"Hey Halstead, got a problem with me? Keep frowning like that and you'll get wrinkles on your pretty little face," I say. He instantly puts his head down and goes back to work. What is his problem?
I'm pulled away from my thoughts by Voight calling me into his office. Walking in, I see Voight sitting on his desk with his arms crossed and a scowl on his face. What is with the nasty attitude in intelligence today? Why is everyone so angry?
"Hey Voight, what's up? What do we have today?" I ask patiently. He doesn't look happy with me, maybe I can try and avoid whatever is boiling up inside him.
"Erin, you know I'm mad at you. Don't try and change the subject" he commands. He's giving me one of those "don't try any bullshit" looks, its making me a little nervous.
"Alright Voight, what's wrong? What did I do wrong now?" I ask furiously. I'm fed up with everything falling on my shoulders around here.
"Look Erin, I know you can't see it with those Severide-colored lenses you wear, but give Halstead a break. The guy has been tripping over his feet for you for years. You can't just expect him to be okay with you dating someone else." He says.
I'm fed up with all this bullshit. Everyone keeps saying that Jay has had the hots for me for years, but I don't know what they're talking about. And if he has, then why didn't he say anything when I was single? Not that it would have mattered because I only see him as a friend, but he can't just not say anything the entire time I've been his partner and then be pissed at me for dating someone else. You snooze, you lose. That's the way it works.
"Look Voight, I'm tired of everyone being mad at me for not dating Jay. He never said anything to me, not once. Whether he actually liked me or not, he didn't act on anything, so he missed his chance. I'm not going to apologize for wanting to be with Severide because everyone in Intelligence knows that he's made me the happiest I've ever been. So would you rather see me with Jay and be miserable or have me with Kelly and be happy? Decide Voight, because I'm tired of being the villain all the damn time." Now I'm screaming at him. I don't care if he's my boss, he knows that he's crossing a line.
Frustrated, I tell him that I'm taking the day off and storm out of his office. When I walk out, Burgess immediately comes over to me and asks me if I'm ok. Nodding, I thank her and get my coat and bag from my desk. I walk downstairs, get in my car, and drive back to my apartment.
I love Voight and I know he's trying to do what's best for Intelligence, but he can't dictate how I live my life anymore. I'm a grown woman, I can make my own decisions and be with who I want to be with.
Pulling into the apartment parking lot, I take a deep breath and relax a bit. Now that that's over, I can have a positive attitude for the rest of the day. Unlocking my apartment, I decide that since today is the last day of Kelly's shift I can make one of the recipes he taught me and bring it to the firehouse to surprise him.
I reach over to the cabinet and pull out the spices needed for lemon and garlic chicken. Thankfully, I have enough chicken for everyone at the firehouse. As I chop up the garlic, my phone starts ringing. Looking at the caller ID, I see that it's Voight. I don't want to answer, but I know that I have to. That man has done so much for me, I can't just disrespect him like that. I reluctantly pick up and immediately start talking.
"Look Voight, I'm sorry. I got carried away because I'm frustrated and I shouldn't have. It was really unprofessional, I'm sorry," I apologize.
"Erin, don't apologize to me. I called to apologize to you. I didn't mean to hurt you, and you're right. I shouldn't be mad at you for hurting Jay, you didn't mean to. The guy needs to toughen up anyway. And by the way, I'm happy for you and Severide. I know it's hard for you guys and you probably get a lot of shit for being together. What I said today wasn't helping things. I hope you can accept my apology."
Crap, now I feel bad. He really is a great guy.
"Of course I can Voight, you know how much you mean to me. It just hurt that one of the most important men in my life didn't approve of me dating Severide. I know this sounds crazy, but I think that I love him. And it would mean the world to me if you would love him too," I say, crying.
After telling me he will always support me, Voight and I say our goodbyes and I hang up. I have some food to make for my firefighter.
Severide POV
That was a tough one. A lot of the time we get called for average-sized fires, but this was a big one. A 50-story skyscraper apartment complex is completely gone, left in ruins. I feel so bad for all of those families, they're all homeless now. Surprisingly, we didn't lose a single person in the fire. Normally a fire that big has at least 15 victims, but not this time. I think Chicago's search and rescue teams are getting a lot better and more efficient now that all of the newbies have been around for a couple months.
Sighing, I slump onto the couch in the rec room. The paperwork from the fire can wait. After climbing thirty of the fifty stories, my body is physically and emotionally beat. All I want is an ice pack, some food, and a nap. As soon as I start to drift off to sleep, my best friend, Matt Casey, calls my name and tells me that I have a visitor in the kitchen. Annoyed, I slowly get up off the couch, my muscles screaming. Who would be visiting me? Erin has work today, so it wouldn't be her.
Surprised, I turn the corner into the kitchen and see my beautiful girlfriend holding a huge casserole dish filled with lemon chicken. On her shoulder she has a bag filled with ice. How did she know that those two things are exactly what I need?
Damn, I really did hit the jackpot.
"Hey babe, what are you doing here?" I say as I stride towards her. "Damn, that chicken smells amazing. Is that the recipe I taught you? Did you make that by yourself?" I ask her as I take the chicken and ice from her and set it on the counter. Giving her a kiss, she smiles and tells me that yes, she made it all by herself and that yes, it is the recipe I taught her.
"I thought I would take the day off of work and surprise you since it's almost the end of your shift and you're probably beat. When I called Gabby to ask if it was okay to stop by, she told me that you guys were just getting back from a really tough call and that I should bring lots of ice for your muscles," she says. Gosh, how did I get so lucky as to meet an amazing woman like her?
"Wow, thanks. I was actually just thinking about how hungry and sore I am, you have perfect timing," I say. The second the words leave my mouth the rest of the guys walk in.
"Damn Severide, you been cooking again? Whatever you made smells great," booms Mouch. His nickname really should be Mooch instead of Mouch considering he always steals my food.
"Actually Mouch, Erin made this for us. It's lemon and garlic chicken." I say, not wanting to steal her thunder.
"It's not poisoned, is it? You never know with CPD," whispers Mouch. I chuckle, laughing at the innocent rivalry between CPD and the firehouse. I tell him he's crazy, grabbing some paper plates and forks from the kitchen and tossing them in front of the group of men eyeing the chicken.
"Eat up, guys" I proclaim. Grabbing some chicken, I pull Erin aside so I can talk to her alone.
"Hey, I really appreciate you bringing us food and all, but I know you well enough that you didn't take an entire day off of work just to cook me chicken. What really happened? You can tell me," I say. She takes a deep breath and looks down, this doesn't look good.
"Don't get mad, but as soon as I walked into Intelligence I got shit about dating you from not only Jay, but Voight," she says nervously. Crap. Are they seriously giving her a hard time? I don't understand what the big deal is if Erin and I are together. "I got tired of getting dirty looks from Jay so I yelled at him, and then Voight yelled at me for yelling at him. Apparently Jay has liked me for a while and so everyone is mad at me for being so insensitive but I didn't even know," she says. Damn, I didn't know that Jay liked her. "And so after yelling back at Voight I told him I was taking a day and stormed out of Intelligence. It probably wasn't the most mature thing to do, but Voight understood and called me to apologize. He told me that he never should have said those things and that he never wanted me to be with Jay, just consider his feelings and don't rub it in his face, even though I never did."
I understand why Voight would be angry, he wants peace in his station, but at the same time he crossed a line.
"Damn, I'm sorry babe. But at least things are good between you and Voight now, so maybe tomorrow you can go in and talk about things with Jay? I don't want you to be upset when you go to work because I know you love your job. Just talk to Jay and smooth things over tomorrow." I say, trying to console her. She nods, and I pull her in for a kiss. Before I can, tones drop and I hear over the intercom "Engine 51, Truck 81, Squad 3, Ambulance 61, Meth lab explosion on the 600 block of East 133rd".Crap, this is gonna be bad.
I quickly run to the bay, getting on all of my equipment. When Erin follows me, I tell her to go home and get out of the bay. She disagrees, saying they might need her.
"Severide, if it's a meth lab explosion then there could be a serious drug bust. Let me come with you and do my job too," she protests. Now that I think about it, she's right. She would have a serious advantage on a drug bust and would probably be able to make some arrests.
"Fine, get in," I say, closing the truck door after her. We speed down the street, tones blaring. When we arrive at the scene, there are people everywhere. It's complete chaos. Pedestrians are holding cloth over their mouths, trying not to breathe in the fumes. Everyone is running and screaming. As we approach the building, we see why. There are about three men holding their guns out at police. They aren't shooting yet, but I know that eventually they will be. I call out for Erin, telling her to get away and run as far as she can.
Running over Boden, I ask him about the building. "Boden, how are we gonna put out the fire and secure the area if we can't get into the house," I ask. The three men are standing directly in front of the building, not letting anyone in or out. I guess they don't want the workers alive to testify because if they don't let those people out they will suffocate from the toxic fumes.
"We can't," he says calmly, looking at something by the police cars. We can't just do nothing.
"Boden, what are you looking at?" I ask before I turn and see a flash of Erin's hair behind the police car. Oh hell. Why is she there? I told her to get away so she wouldn't get hurt. Not thinking, I half crawl, have run to the police car she's behind.
"Severide, what the hell are you doing? Get back! You can't be here. Get away before you get hurt."
Before I can respond, out of the corner of my eye I see one of the three men turn towards Erin. My heart instantly drops when he raises his gun and aims.
Everything happens in slow motion.
Before Erin sees the man pointing the gun at her, I dive on her back, knocking her over but completely shielding her body. As soon as we hit the ground a sound rings out.
My ears are ringing, but I can hear someone screaming. As the ringing fades, I realize that it's me. I roll off of Erin, screaming in pain as my shoulder hits the pavement. All of a sudden, everyone is in my face, giving me oxygen, lifting me onto a stretcher.
"Erin? Where's Erin?" I scream. I try and turn my head to look for her, but they already put a neck brace on me. Where is she? Why won't anyone answer my question? Where's Erin?
The last thing I see before the world fades away is the stark white roof of the ambulance.
AN: Please don't hate me for shooting Severide, I promise I'm still a firm Lindseride shipper. Stay hopeful! Please keep reviewing and following, I really appreciate that you guys like this story and are leaving such kind and positive reviews xoxo