Title: Plan C
Chapter 5 – Taking a Chance

A/N: Thank you to everyone who is enjoying the journey of our little family from their fledging stage to a very happy committed union (hey it won't happen overnight). To the guest asking for Casey whump in a Severide based story – hmm bad form as I currently have a Casey-whump/centric story up and this isn't it and hey I'm more than a one trick pony. To those of you respecting the journey in this story thanks again and please enjoy this update!

"And I get to pick dessert."

So far the evening had been a success, they had talked mostly about their days; Severide's first parent teacher interview, some tougher calls for them both, Severide wanting to avoid the Randy subject. I just don't want to ruin the night. Since she hadn't brought him up, he figures that maybe he was just passing through and that him showing up at the fire scene was a figment of his jealous imagination and it was all over now – Randy Cameron had left town. Good riddance!

The truth of course wasn't that simple, as Randy Cameron was still in town – waiting to cause trouble for the hardworking, single father – the new object of his jealous anger.

"Any allergies?"

"Not that I can think of," Severide shrugs as she points to something on the menu that he can't see. The conversation has been somewhat non-committal after their warm confessions about being there to stay. Wait…only she said it…you didn't, his brain reminds him in truth. You want reassurance but I'm sure she does too. I'll fix that tonight, he tells himself as the waiter comes back with two hot coffee's.

Dessert arrives a few minutes later and Severide looks down at the almost magical presentation – his grin instantly widening. "I can smell the warm chocolate and brandy."

"It said best seller on the menu," Erin adds with a small shrug as both take a spoon and dig in. "And…I can see why."

The two of them finish up the grand finale to their delightful meal; Severide insisting he pay for the first date. "You can pay next time," he tells her as she finally nods in agreement. "Or…were you really going to pay?"

"On a first date? No way," Erin tosses back as he just chuckles and then sends the waiter away very satisfied. "So…"

"Wanna walk outside for a bit?"

"Love to," she agrees.

They both get their jackets on and head for the front door, Severide's hand resting on the small of her back as he gently directs her toward a small nearby Park.

"This place seems magical at night," Erin comments, nodding toward the little twinkling ground lights that beckon them to follow their path into another world.

"Never been here before at night," Severide remarks casually as they walk side by side, comfortably chatting about the surrounding area. Both of them hear delightful laughter and turn to see a couple with a little girl, the man spinning her in the air and the little girl urging him to go faster, the woman watching with a happy grin.

"They look happy," Erin mentions almost in an undertone as they pause in their steps; the lights bouncing off the harbor a few meters away. She looks up into Severide's serious grin and feels her stomach starting to tighten with anticipation. A few seconds later, his hands gently cup her cheeks and bring her lips to his, his mouth planting a searing kiss that both feel all the way down to the ground, warming the cool pavement they're standing on.

"I want this," he confesses in a husky tone, his brow still furrowed and his eyes a mixture of desire and uncertainty. "I'm just don't want to conf…" he starts only to have her press her finger against his flushed lips and bring his mouth back to hers.

"I'm here to stay," she reminds him a few breathless seconds later. "I don't want to confuse Aurora either."

"Nick said a few things…about step families and…and he's right but at the same time he told me not to hold onto fears but…but this all new for me. I want this…I do, I just…"

"Don't want to rush into it yet?"

"Usually it's the women with the cold feet," he huffs nervously.

"And I haven't even asked you to marry me yet," she tosses at him, making him chuckle, his hands cupping her face once more as they seal their growing bond with another heated kiss. "I'm not asking you to rush anything. But if I do see you with another woman, I will kill her," she playfully adds as he smirks and nods. "And…I want you to know I do adore Aurora. I'm not just saying that because it's something you want to hear. I wouldn't be here if I didn't want her to be a part of my life also."

"Really? That's a relief because ni…" Severide pauses as he shakes his head.

"Nick is only giving you good advice for the benefit of you and your daughter. I'm not mad at you for listening to him."

"He said to make sure everyone…you included want this. But not just this…the regular stuff to. Everyday stuff…the boring stuff."

"Hmm think our lives could ever be boring?" She retorts as his hand drops to hers and clasps it tightly. "And with Uncle Matt and Grampa Benny, all of 51…and don't forget the 21 team."

"Except Jay," Severide adds with a small laugh, earning a slap on the shoulder from his date.

But as they continue to slowly walk hand in hand through the twinkling gardens, both blissfully caught up in the company of the other, neither are aware of the set of narrowed eyes watching with dark intent.

"Figured it was him! Mr. Fire hero…yeah we'll see about that…you might think he's wonderful but I doubt he's indestructible!"

XXXXXXXX

"No Uncle Matt…this one," Aurora insists with a small huff as she snatches the small toy from his grasp and then hands him another.

"How about…we try this one?" Casey retorts with a small snicker as she looks at him with a pout, making him playfully tug her bottom lip, earning himself a swat by her little hand.

"No…this one," Aurora insists once more as Casey scoops her up in his strong arms and then places her on his chest as she scoops up her two dolly's and brings them with her; playfully dancing them on his chest. He listens to her story until she finally tires herself out and falls asleep on his chest.

Sometime later, Casey's weary eyes struggle to open as he hears the door opening and then looks up with a soft frown as Severide enters their apartment and quietly closes the door.

"How was it?" Casey asks in a soft whisper as Aurora slightly stirs but doesn't fully awaken.

"It was…" Severide starts as his lips can't help but crack into a wide grin. "It was great. Almost…didn't want it to end."

'I had a wonderful night,' Erin had told him as they sat inside his car outside her apartment.

'I did to,' he whispered as he leaned in for one more searing kiss. 'Erin…'

'And that means it will be wonderful again.'

'Yeah.'

'Goodnight.'

And then the first date came to an end with two very happy people promising to see each other again very soon.

"So…did you ask the tough questions?" Casey asks softly as Severide slowly nods.

"Some. Didn't want to ask them all but…but at one point I swear I was about to get down on one knee," he gently smirks as his fingers brush away a dirty blond strand from his daughter's face. "She wasn't scared off by my parent teacher talk or talking about Aurora's toy collection or her chores But Nick said we should do just regular every day stuff or…I mean help when Aurora's sick? I can't just call her up and say hey Erin, Aurora just threw up wanna come help?" He groans as Casey offers him a small snicker.

"He makes a good point. Why not ask her to come over and just hang…one day?"

"Hang…" Severide sighs as he leans back in the couch. "And do what? I just…ah I don't know what…hang?"

"Not for the whole day. Part of it," Casey suggests with a small shrug. "You two can make dinner and get Aurora to help as she would when we do and…and just go from there."

"I kinda hinted at the boring stuff but…Shay would tell me to stop being so chicken and just go for it."

"And…she'd be right," Casey replies with a small smile. But when he notices Severide's expression strain, his expression instantly mirrors it. "What?"

"You know Shay and I had talked about us all living together…somewhere, where both of us with…whoever we both ended up with and making sure Aurora had her mother and father with her every single day."

"Kelly…"

"I can't take her away from you but…"

"If you have a real chance with Erin, you know I won't ever hold you back."

"I know."

"But I hope you don't use me as a crutch to not move forward either," Casey includes gently.

"Thought about that too," Severide gently groans as he rubs his face. "Dad just got a new place and I know he'll wanna be close. So much to consider…but Shay always wanted us to be together and I want that for Aurora."

Both of them just nod in silent agreement before Severide knows it's time for them all to get some sleep and very carefully plucks his daughter from his best friend's chest and carries her to her bedroom. "Goodnight sweetheart," he whispers as he kisses her flushed cheek.

"….night dadda…" Aurora mumbles as she rolls onto her side and buries her head in her pillow. He turns off the light and leaves her bedroom, heading into his own and getting ready to get some sleep. So much to consider…his mind swirls as he turns off the light and crawls into bed. But as his mind decides to push aside the anxious thoughts for now and focus on his amazing date he falls into dark slumber with a smile upon his face.

XXXXXXXX

"Aurora I said no. Now give…please give that back."

"No daddy! I want that! It's mine!" Aurora argues back as she tries to grab the new object from his grasp. Aurora's kindergarten teacher had told him that she has to work on her sharing and the best place to do that is at home.

'It might seem silly but it'll help her in the long run. You buy a toy and then put it out in the open. You tell her it's yours and if she wants it she has to ask. But if you want it back she has to give it back since it's yours. You might have a struggle at first but don't give in. Be kind, but be firm.'

"That is daddy's toy and I only let you share it," Severide tries again as Casey watches in quiet sympathy. She looks up at Casey as if on cue, wanting to see if she could get another cohort on her side. "Uncle Matt is not involved in this. Now can I have my toy back?"

"No I want it!" Aurora pouts as Severide slumps down onto the floor beside her.

'And remember to resist the urge to compare her at home with what she does at school, she needs to learn to share everywhere, no matter the setting.'

"Can't we share? You play with it and then I'll play with it?" Severide asks weakly as she looks up with a sad, teary face. "Okay then if we can't share, I'm going to have to take my toy back, because it is mine and…" he starts only to have her get up and run into her room. "Ah damn…Shay would have handled that perfectly," he huffs as he pushes himself up onto the couch.

"She would have been trying just like you. You didn't do anything wrong. Aurora needs to learn to share all the toys, not just the ones she doesn't want."

"See…you get it," Severide tosses back with a snicker.

"I'm special that way," Casey chides in return. "She'll come around. She's been pouty all day."

"I know. Could be a growth spurt. Dad will cheer her up," Severide sighs as he picks up his phone and then sends a text, a few seconds later staring at the screen and then up at Casey in wonder.

"What?"

"I uh…I just texted Erin about Aurora's sharing lesson."

"And? That's bad?"

"No, it's just…"

"Normal every day stuff?" Casey interjects with a knowing smile.

"She's gonna think I'm soft."

"And? That's bad?" Casey snickers as Severide tosses one of Aurora's toys at him.

But a few seconds later, Erin texts back 'way to go champ you can do it! ' and his mind instantly settles. It was a fun response and he wasn't expecting anything back other than…well that. He and Casey set about cleaning up a few more things and before long there's a knock at the door and Benny Severide appears holding up a bag of beer and steaks and something for Aurora.

"I know I'm spoiling her," Benny admits as she runs into his arms.

"Grampa! Grampa!"

"But I can't help it," he grins as he holds the adoring little girl in his grasp. This time he had gotten her a colorful wooden puzzle with about a dozen large pieces and her eyes instantly brighten. He takes her into the kitchen, settling at the table with her on his lap and opening the puzzle and watching her trying to put all the child-friendly pieces into place.

Severide holds back from asking his father about Randy Cameron as he doesn't want to bring that up in front of his daughter but at the same time can't help but wonder if his worries were justified at all.

XXXXXXXX

"You're working today? I thought I was the only one that dedicated."

Erin looks up as Randy approaches her desk; her lips uttering a small sigh as he nears. "I'm just finishing up some paperwork for court on Monday. Thought you'd left town by now."

"Guess I'm a sucker for a hard luck case," Randy snickers as he pulls up a chair beside her desk and slumps down. "How was your date last night?"

Despite the fact she knows that she's not about to go into a whole bunch of details into her night with Kelly Severide, she's unable to downplay an automatic smile.

"Well I guess that's kinda telling. Just don't get it. If that was his kid…you always said you never wanted kids."

"Things change Randy. We've changed and now it's over."

"He as committed to you as you are to him?" Randy tosses back with a snort as her jaw slightly sets. "Hey I'm just asking the tough questions. I know you…this guy…"

"You don't know me!" Erin shoots back with a warning glare. "I'm not about to go back in time and try to pick up where we left off. It was over the day you left. I've changed and now I'm asking that you respect that and move on."

"Wow…this does sound serious."

Erin looks at him with a small nod but says nothing more. "So what new assignment did you get? They have a field office here?"

"Doesn't Chicago have everything?" He tosses back as she finishes writing her file, gets up and then takes it to Voight's office and drops it on his desk.

"Guess you're lucky Hank's busy today."

"Never got his issue. Thought he'd be happy with me being in the FBI. Maybe he was jealous?" Randy retorts in arrogant sarcasm.

"I gotta go."

"So what's his name?"

"Randy, I'm not doing this. My personal life…is mine."

"And you don't want me being jealous," he retorts offhandedly with a snicker. But in that moment her agitation gently soars as she knows what he's mostly capable of; Benny Severide's friend would find out more than they could have imagined – or wanted.

"I don't want you wasting your time," she tells him firmly.

"Am I? … wasting my time?"

She looks at him squarely and knows…this isn't someone she wants to consider a future with; even if she wasn't interested in pursuing something serious with Kelly Severide, Randy was the past and the past was to remain the past.

"You are. I do wish you all the best but…I don't want you coming back here again."

"Really…well sounds…final. Right."

Erin watches Randy stand up from the chair and turn to leave. But a few seconds later, he swivels on his heel and glares at her with intense anger. Her frame recoils and within seconds actually feels…afraid? "I just hope you're not making a mistake. These guys…they don't last."

"These guys?"

"Hot shots."

And you're not? Her brain adds silently. "I think you better go," Erin states verbally.

"Have fun with Mr. Fireman," Randy tosses back with an angry sneer as his angry glare holds her wondering gaze a few seconds longer before he turns and stomps down the stairs.

What the hell? I never told Randy, Kelly's a firefighter…what's going on?

She looks at her phone and then frowns…then she reaches for it and dials. "Randy was just here."

"What? What'd he want?"

XXXXXXXX

"Okay I think you have enough fire on that barbeque," Casey laughs as he watches Benny and Kelly trying to get the flames on the back patio barbeque go down.

"That hurt!"

"No grampa! No!" Aurora states in horror as she tries to squirm out of Casey's arms and get to her grandfather.

"Ah love bug I'm okay," Benny smiles as he hoists Aurora up in the air, showing her his slightly singed arm. "But do you have any of that Polysporin for burns?"

"Top left drawer in the kitchen," Severide gestures and then looks at Casey with a small head shake. "I swear he did that just to get her sympathy." Casey merely chuckles and then both go about finishing up the steaks and head back inside. "Alright, let's eat."

The four of them sit down to enjoy their dinner, talking about the day and mostly listening to Aurora talking about her first week at school, some new friends she's made and what subject so far she likes best and worst.

"Math," Severide deadpans as his daughter offers him a mocking pout.

"That's because you were terrible at math," Benny tosses at his son who merely smiles and tries to shrug off Casey's mocking pat on the back and offering of a sheet with 1 + 1 = on it. "Funny," Severide deadpans as the silly banter continues.

After dinner, after they had all helped clean up the kitchen, Aurora included, the four of them head into the living room to watch some TV but play with the puzzle that Benny had bought Aurora and then add two more to the table to see who could do them faster. Of course both Matt and Kelly take turns losing so that Aurora could win but in all fairness to teach her that she didn't have to…or wouldn't win every time, each of them also took turns winning. Aurora of course wanted to pout at first when she didn't win but a tender reminder from her father that it counted most to have fun while playing and she quickly rebounded. After that she crawled onto her grandfather's chest and happily sunk into blissful slumber.

The few times that Benny comes to visit, Severide always lets his father put his beloved granddaughter to bed, happy that he's so involved in her life now.

"You know I can't offer much in the way of parenting advice," Benny tells his son in a quiet undertone as they stand in the hallway of his apartment. "But if you found someone who loves you and your daughter, don't waste time wondering what if or what could be. Make a family for yourself and settle in for the long haul. Looking back…I wish I had done that," Benny confesses as his hand rests on his son's shoulder. He offers a final goodnight and then takes his leave, Severide locking the door and then resting against it for a few seconds.

His eyes glance over at a picture on the table of Shay, Chloe and Aurora all smiling and looking happy and his heart sinks.

'I think this is it Kelly…now we gotta work on you. Get you your woman and all settle down together.'

'Shay…'

'Really? You want to argue with me when I know what's best?'

He remembers snickering as she tossed a pillow at him but now longs to have her friendship and guidance in his life...Aurora's too. Severide flips off the hallway light, his eyes quickly adjusting to the darkness as he slowly heads for his bedroom and then pulls his phone.

He flips to the picture of Aurora and Erin taken the other day, Aurora in Erin's vest being held by her and both of them offering adoring smiles to the camera. That happy smile instantly displays upon his face and an idea starts to form in his mind – an idea that would come to fruition the next morning.

XXXXXXXX

She hears the soft knocking at the door and frowns as she looks at the time. It was about mid-morning but it was still Sunday and she hopes it's not Randy coming to see if there was still some chance she hadn't thought of. Ugh it better not be him…what hint won't he take?

So with a head full of steam, she gently slams her coffee cup on the table and heads for the front door with a grumble. But as soon as she pulls it open, her anxiety fades and a happy smile instantly brightens her mood.

"Erin!" Aurora exclaims as she tries to struggle out of her father's grasp and into Erin's surprised but welcoming grasp.

"Morning sweetheart," she greets with a wondering glance as she looks at the sweet little face before her and then up at the handsome one looking down. "What's…going on?" She asks slowly.

"We um…have to go shopping and…for food and stuff…just thought…wanna do some regular boring stuff with us?" Severide asks with a nervous stammer. It was a big stretch but he knows if he wants them to be a family he'd have to get her involved with his…with their routine. His heart race as he waits, telling himself that she could say no and he'd have to accept it.

'Erin won't know what you do on a regular basis,' Nick had told him, 'so instead of telling her…show her, involve her. Make her a part of your life and your routine and do it early on. In reality, she's the one who will have to make the biggest change. If she wants to at the start, you'll know she'll want to in the future.'

"I would," she agrees happily.

And the day would be set for a happy, would-be family outing. However…danger was still lurking as they'd soon find out.

A/N: so hopefully lots of happy Linderside/Aurora feels as the first date comes to a happy conclusion with the promise for more. But Severide knows he has to get Erin involved in their lives so a grocery shopping trip? Eeks! Haha how do you think it'll go? And yup Randy – course he's bad news but what will Benny's buddy find out? And of course have to get some Uncle Matt babysitting and some broments with Benny as well. A few little justified fears but it only makes things a bit more real and serious. So please review before you go and thanks so much!