Glad you liked the last one! Thank you for the reviews - so much fun to read. Sorry for the late update, RL giving me lemons and I can't seem to remember how to make lemonade (I should ask Cally).
Bunch of stuff happening in this one. It's long because you've had a long wait. :) Hope you enjoy!
"You ready for this?" Mills asked his lieutenant, triple checking all the dive gear for the third time.
"Hell yeah," Kelly answered, huge grin spreading across his face, amused that his guy was actin' like he'd never been on a dive before. Pete refused to let Severide do any of the equipment check, really taking charge like Kelly was a scuba virgin.
Kelly loved Mermet Springs. It was a dream for the recreational diver, clear spring-fed water, tons of toys at the bottom … cars, an ambo, all kinds of junk and the cherry on top - a 727 jetliner that had been used in some movie. He planned on teaching J.P. and Kayla the joys of scuba diving once the kids were a little older and when Erin was on a girls' weekend.
He'd run through a plan of action with Capp, Casey and Clarke. They'd start off with simple drills, going through some of the easier obstacles, a car, check out the rock formations, then head off to the plane.
Severide figured he'd tell Mills to position himself in the way back, playing the role of victim. He'd get himself tangled up in a bungled rescue attempt and Pete would come in for the save. Simple.
"If I can get your ass out of that thing, a car should be no problem," Kelly said, trying to remember the layout of the scattered toys. He remembered a truck trailer being among wreckage positioned before the plane.
"So you don't think we'll ever get a jet in the water rescue?" laughed Pete.
"Never say never," Severide commented, thinking about some of the bat shit crazy calls they'd had. The crap people got themselves into… it never ceased to amaze.
The water was perfect for a confidence building excursion. Clear and warm, temps just right.
They headed in and Kelly figured Casey had been exaggerating, his young squad guy enjoying the water as much as he did. Capp wasn't gettin' any younger so Severide was glad to add another fish to his squad. The three of them not backing off of an underwater rescue… where some guys felt suffocated by the water, they were somehow comforted by it. The rush, the save, a big fire the only thing coming close.
They swam through the trailer with Pete timing Kelly, giving him a thumbs up at the speed. Mills didn't feel any of the panic he experienced on his last rescue attempt, the one that had gone south from the get go.
That all changed when he headed inside the 727, something about the simulation making him uneasy, him being the victim. Mills felt his heart rate speeding up, panic beginning to set in. Calm yourself, this is for fun, gotta help Severide he told himself over and over as he pushed to a corner of the plane. It was dark and he was the only one in the jetliner. He waited.
Kelly saw some cables sticking out of one of the openings and decided that would be a good place to get his tank hung up on. He knew the first rule of dive safety was no screwin' around but he also knew this was gonna help Pete, give him a little confidence.
He looped his air hose over a cable loosely, all was good. He waited.
Both men were in a waiting game, with neither budging. Pete figured Kelly was taking his time, hesitant. He knew his lieutenant needed this.
Kelly assumed Mills was givin' him plenty of time, knowing he'd be rusty. But hell, this much time? Move it Mills, he thought. I ain't 70, it would never take me this long unless something was wrong. Come check on me, he urged mentally.
Hell, maybe Pete was in trouble. Kelly had the sinking feeling that this whole thing may have backfired on him. He'd have to go in for Mills.
He paddled his arms around a couple of times, making his body move up from the cable trying to slip the hose back up and over. He gave a couple of kicks expecting to propel toward the plane. He didn't budge. Kelly tried twisting around to see what had him caught up, a spray of tiny bubbles erupting from nowhere, hitting him in the face.
Shit. He knew immediately he'd blown his LP hose. No big deal, he told himself. Happened before, nothing to worry about. Keep calm, close off the cylinder valve to the hose, plenty of air left.
But those damn bubbles, the reduced visibility was making it hard to see a thing, and the "stuck on the cables" ruse was more reality now. Kelly felt his heart rate increase as he twisted his arm around, fingers fumbling for the valve, feeling like a blind man. Stay calm, stay calm, he repeated in his brain, fingers working furiously now.
Mills' face appeared in a haze of bubbles, closing off the valve, yanking on Kelly's gear, freeing it easily. His motions were like clockwork, all the hours of training kicked in and Peter Mills was back. He grabbed his lieutenant's arm, pulling him to the surface. They kicked furiously to the nearest wooden dock, adrenaline still coursing through both men.
"Thanks, Pete," Kelly said sucking in air, flopping on his back, the irony of the situation not lost on the fireman.
Mills threw off his tank, joining Kelly, hands starting to shake a little. "No problem, Lieutenant."
"Might need a few more of these runs before I'm field ready," Kelly breathed out, smiling.
"I can do that," Pete answered.
"And," Kelly added, "Not a word of this to anyone."
"A word of what?" Mills asked, both men erupting into laughter, the weight of what just happened releasing in nervous roars.
"Pete, you're okay," Kelly managed to get out between laughs.
"You too, Severide, you too," Mills added, feeling like he was right where he belonged.
Erin had suspected. More than suspected. The self-imposed coffee ban, nonchalantly refusing the thing that was a morning ritual. The drinking water at Molly's. Sparkling water. Yeah, Erin knew.
"So, uh, I think Cally's pregnant," Erin said as she dropped in a stud earring, not hesitating for any reaction, getting ready for work. Her rush to get ready, covering for much more beneath the surface.
Kelly sighed heavily expecting as much. Clarke on the phone with his woman constantly, bailing out for this or that, all explained with "Cally's got this thing." The last time they'd gone over to Casa Clarke for dinner, the whiskey replaced with lemonade. Freaking lemonade. Kelly was pretty sure he'd seen Cailin dunk oreos in a glass, a large glass, of Jameson for dessert not too long ago.
"Yeah, thought as much," he admitted stopping in front of Erin as she stepped out of the closet, a light sweater in hand. Kelly took his wife in his arms holding her tight.
"I'm fine," she insisted, not breaking the hold. "You?"
"I'm good," he answered. "We're good," he reiterated, pulling her closer.
"We are," Erin said looking up at those blue eyes she knew she couldn't live without, her dimples promising they would be good.
"Happy for Clarke," Kelly added. "He's wanted this for a long time," the fireman commented remembering the way his friend ogled the baby outfits he'd stashed away. Those outfits… seemed like a lifetime ago. But also seemed like just yesterday.
"Wonder when Cally's gonna tell me," Erin thought out loud, caught up in her own thoughts as well. That quick Cailin confession of a lost baby, a little life gone before they'd even said hello. "They're going to be great parents," she said, Kelly nodding, still holding his girl.
"Well, they got some good role models, Mrs. Severide" Kelly teased, kissing his wife on the forehead before finally releasing her. He still couldn't believe Erin had taken his last name, giving up Lindsay for good. It had been so easy as if it were meant to be. It was.
"Mmmm, I like the sound of that," Erin smiled tip toeing up to kiss her man on the forehead in return.
"Hey, hero, don't forget we have that meeting with the DCFS woman on Wednesday," she reminded. "Take it easy on shift okay?"
"Always," Kelly answered smiling, aware that Erin probably had another word in mind for the "woman." Mrs. Snell was no Sandoval. The case worker for J.P. and Kayla was in the Severide's corner while this Snell woman seemed to be looking for any excuse not to recommend the adoption.
They'd countered every question of their worth as parents the best they could, showing how committed they were to the kids they called their own. Kelly was grilled by the "woman" relentlessly about the Tara Little debacle, finally bringing the other victims into play to prove his point and innocence. Next on the hit list was Erin's non idyllic childhood, the question of drug use coming up over and over. Mrs. Snell was eventually convinced that Erin was not damaged goods and wanted to give J.P. and Kayla all that she never had.
The danger of both their jobs was the sticking point, the thing that just couldn't be talked away. Snell didn't pull any punches saying, "I do not want to see those two end up orphans."
"What the hell are we supposed to do?" Kelly had finally blown. "Give up our jobs?" he asked furious at the woman's accusatory tone. The way she implied they loved their jobs more than the two kids living with them, living in their hearts.
Snell launched into a laundry list of Kelly injuries, the list long and extensive.
"Firefighting ain't exactly a desk job," Severide proclaimed, Mrs. Snell taking it as a slap in the face. When the woman left, Erin let Kelly have it without having to raise or voice or use a harsh word.
"I guess we need to let the kids know that they're our kids with or without those adoption papers," she said, ripping a little part of Kelly's heart out with the words.
"We're not givin' up. I'm sorry, but she can't insult us like that and…" he tried.
"Well, insulting her is not the answer, Kel. She did have a point," Erin admitted, a part of her wishing her fireman would take that always open job with Arson.
"I'll make it better at the next meeting. Promise," he said, feeling like he was fighting for his life. In a way, he was.
Now that meeting was here, and Kelly was going all out. He wore a freshly pressed pair of khakis, hair even styled. He looked more business than badass, hoping his outward appearance would give him a Snell opening.
Erin smiled at the effort, breaking into a husky laugh when she saw J.P. wearing almost the exact same outfit. Even the boy's hair was trying to do a Severide imitation, the coarseness of it not cooperating.
"Don't my boys look handsome today," Erin commented, giving J.P. a quick squeeze as he headed to the bathroom to borrow some aftershave, slapping it roughly on his face in the way Kelly did.
Mrs. Snell was Kelly's this time around, the fireman finally working that charm that had won over a detective and plenty others before her.
He talked about the Arson job offer, how he could see himself there, eventually. Erin's brows raised doubtfully, wondering what the heck he was doing.
"And what about you Mrs. Severide? Do you ever see yourself leaving the PD, that dangerous job? I understand you lost a baby while on the job, miscarried…" she said shuffling through paperwork on a clipboard.
The red in Kelly's face said he was losing the charm and fast. He couldn't believe this woman was reducing their loss to words on a damn clipboard. Before he could speak, Erin jumped in.
"Actually, I'm doing a little side work for Kirkland & Ellis. I can see myself doing more in the future. Easy stuff, pays well," she mumbled, trailing off noticing Kelly's confused look. She hadn't bothered mentioning it, or maybe it was the Ellis, Jr. connection that prevented her from telling him about her off the clock investigation. No big deal, she justified. Tracking down some deadbeat dads, looking into a CI's background, all really surface investigations, all done when Kelly's shift didn't coordinator with her schedule. And then there was Chase Ellis, Jr. not her husband's favorite person.
"Good, good," muttered Mrs. Snell snapping Erin from her thoughts, smiling as she scribbled more notes in that pile of papers. "I've got to say, you two have saved the best for last. And the children… the bond is evident." J.P. had apparently inherited some of that Severide charm even if it wasn't genetic. He was a nervous ball of energy, refilling Mrs. Snell's glass, talking non-stop about baseball with "dad."
"This has been an eye opening visit. I'm going to put in my recommendation, but the wheel turns slowly, so very slowly," she said not looking up from the paper she was still jotting on.
"And that recommendation?" asked J.P. with Kayla giving him a hard elbow to the ribs. "Owww!" he yelped, causing the woman to look up briefly, smile tempting to cross her lips.
"What do you think my recommendation should be, J.P.?" the older woman asked.
"That we stay with mom and dad," he answered, adding, "But dad said we're Severides no matter what."
"I think your dad's a pretty smart man," Mrs. Snell said, letting that smile form. She shook everyone's hand and left not answering the question directly.
"What do you think?" asked Kelly as soon as the door shut.
"I think it's all good," J.P. exclaimed, wondering why everyone broke into laughter, Kayla and Erin not coming up for air, exchanging conspiratorial glances, ones reserved for a mother and daughter. Kelly joining in but wanting to get Erin alone. Soon. That "side job" of hers needing some explaining.
When Scott Rice showed up on the Severide's doorstep, it wasn't completely unexpected. Kelly had been meaning to check in with his high school friend, but his injury coincided with Scott's own tragedy, leaving little time for either to be much of a support. The pair had grown apart through the years, different houses, different lives, criss-crossing once or twice a year.
Erin had met him once at a 100 Club banquet, a brief encounter cut short when the Rice's got a call that the little one was running a fever. Both of them running out like a house was on fire.
"Oh, I want to talk to that one," Erin had teased. "I bet he's got some storieeees," she laughed.
"Yeah, you and Scott are never speakin' again," Kelly said firmly, his jaw set, but something flashing in his eyes. "Just forget you ever met him."
But now, here was Scott looking broken standing outside the condo.
"Hey, man," he said awkwardly. "That job offer…" he ventured.
"It's yours," Kelly answered before his friend could add another word, shaking the man's hand, and just like that Scott Rice had taken the first step to become a part of 51.
"Thanks, man. I really need this," Scott mumbled.
"We'll be lucky to have you. When can you start?"
The wheels were set in motion, Rice was a welcome addition, probably could have run squad himself. Clarke's last day came with Brett and Shay beside themselves with grief. Jeff kept up a brave front, not wanting to leave, but also knowing there really wasn't a spot for him at 51. He wouldn't give up his lieutenant's spot especially not with the baby on the way.
He'd finally confessed to Kelly about little bean sprouting and growing, asking about baseball camps and schools.
"Hey, you don't have to worry about all that for a few years, bud," Kelly said handing his friend a cigar as they leaned against squad's truck. When Matt joined in, Jeff spilled the little bean beans. They were sworn to secrecy knowing that if a certain blonde paramedic found out there would be baby showers daily, maybe hourly.
Kelly bit his lip hanging on to a secret of his own. Shay had been re-bitten by the baby bug and now infected Holly. They were quietly seeking a sperm donor after Kelly let down his blonde best friend as gently as he could.
"You were just so for it before," she stammered, "I – I – thought, well, maybe…"
"Shay, any other time in my life," Kelly began, never liking disappointing her. Hating that look in her eyes when he did. "Just now, I can't do it. I'm finally back, the kids, the adoption…"
"Oh, no, I get it. Just had to ask before we went to choice number two," Shay snorted brushing off the disappointed look in his eyes. "I didn't think you'd say yes, but you're the best guy I know," she added looking down.
"Jesus, Shay, you know I hate saying no," he insisted, grabbing her hand that was nervously pushing hair behind her ear.
"I know, I know, no biggie. I didn't even want to ask but I thought, what the hell…" Shay was rambling now embarrassed she'd even brought up the idea.
"So what's your next step? You lookin' at profiles again?" Kelly asked remembering the list of random men she'd looked at years ago.
"Yep, that's pretty much it. When I narrow it down, I might ask you to give a looksie over and Erin too of course."
"Sure, I'd be more than happy to check out who's givin' his genes to my niece or nephew," Kelly replied, glad he hadn't totally crushed Shay's hopes.
"Man, you and Clarke, what pair! Keepin' your good stuff to yourselves," Shay sniffed before kissing the main man in her life on the cheek and taking off to the common room.
"Wait, what? You already asked Clarke?" Kelly called after her. "Hey, wait!" the fireman yelled taking off in her direction. "I was second choice?"
"You do know April Sexton's at Chicago Med, right?" Rice casually asked Kelly as the two ran through drills.
"Now that's a name I haven't heard in a while… How's she doin'?" Kelly asked thinking back on his high school best friend, the person he credited with getting him through those troubled four years.
"She's great. Beautiful as ever," Scott answered. "She's comin' over for popcorn and movie night Thursday, you wanna join?"
"I would but Erin's off and we're plannin' a 'date night.' Or she's plannin' it," Kelly laughed, looking forward to the alone time with his wife at their favorite place, Joe's. "Ask her to come to Molly's on Friday. It'll be great seein' her."
"Will do," Scott replied, thankful for the reconnect with his high school friends, needing it more than ever.
The date at Joe's was just what the Severide's ordered, the stress of an adoption weighing on everyone in the house. The kids were off at Camp Shay being spoiled rotten, Kelly insisting it was a "no adoption talk" night.
"Now who's this woman again?" Erin asked as Jeanine fussed over her husband, bringing not one but two slices of pie, traditional apple, and an apple crumb. The detective rolled her eyes as he said with a wink he'd eat both of 'em, they looked too good to choose just one.
"Huh? What?" he asked stuffing his mouth with a huge bite.
"This woman I'm meeting tomorrow. At Molly's. You said she's a childhood friend, one that you've never mentioned to me before," Erin questioned, her detective senses snapping into high gear.
"She's my high school best friend. She really helped me out, her whole family was there for me. Benny was whorin' around, mom not handling it, at all. April pulled me out of a bad space," Kelly answered not comfortable revisiting that period in his life, one of his darkest.
"Seems odd that you've never mentioned her before. If she saved your life, you'd think you would've kept in touch, mentioned her. Did something happen?" Erin imagined some teen drama of broken hearts and a flood of tears.
"Nah, I kinda acted like a prick our senior year, distanced myself, ashamed of Benny. He picked up with a teacher at the high school, not his finest hour," Kelly smiled, downplaying the incident, wanting to forget the whole damn thing.
"Wait, a teacher at your school?" asked Erin in disbelief.
"Yup. My school. April and her family really helped me out, showed me what a family could be," he explained.
"And she's a nurse now?" Erin pried picturing the nurses at Chicago Med.
"A nurse. That's it, babe. Why the twenty questions? I think it'd be fun to reconnect, you two might hit it off," Kelly answered, ready to move this conversation along.
"Can't wait to meet her."
"So what's goin' on with your side job, workin' with that asshole again?" Kelly's turn to question, remembering Chase Ellis from a city fundraiser, scrounging up money for after school programs. Chase was there to write a big fat check and try to charm the dress off of Erin. He'd been smitten the second he laid eyes on the detective, not happy when a late fireman arrived as her date. He'd been after Erin to come work for his big fancy firm since that night, promising a fat paycheck. Kelly knew he was after a lot more than a new employee.
"Just some extra cash, Kel. Don't make this a thing," Erin answered, deciding the ban on adoption talk should be lifted. "So, when do you think we'll hear something?"
The fireman rattled on about how it better come soon, he wanted J.P. officially a Severide by next season, so the last name could be put on his uniform. He wanted Kayla signing all her artwork with the Severide name. "Hell, that one's gonna make us rich someday," he enthused, thoughts of a nurse and lawyer banished for the night.
Erin's gaze snapped outward, toward some commotion at the front. It was her. April. Beautiful. The first thing that struck Erin was how beautiful this childhood "nothin' but friends" friend of Kelly's was. The hair, the face, the skin. Erin smoothed back some stray hairs missed by the band currently holding a loose ponytail and felt very … ordinary.
Erin was face-to-face with the woman, as the apparent model posing as a nurse made her way to the detective positioned at the bar. Erin took a quick gulp of her beer.
"You must be Erin," April said warmly a bright smile spreading across her face. A perfect smile. "Kelly told me on the phone how gorgeous you are, and I've got to say, he was right," the woman wanted to go in for a hug, but Erin offered her hand instead.
April was dressed in a black leather vest get up that reminded Erin a little of the contraption she took on her Kelly planned island getaway. She'd felt so self-conscious in the thing. This woman was all bold confidence. Sleek. Sexy. And it pissed off Erin.
Kelly came bounding up, puppy dog enthusiasm at a new level, pissing off the detective further. Her stretched out T-shirt not helping matters.
"Hey, my girls have met," he said a little too loudly, three beers having their effect. "Wow, April. You look great," he said, eyes checking out the black leather barely covering her body.
"Wasn't sure if it still fit," she answered, tugging down a little on hem.
"Oh, it fits," Kelly laughed, oblivious to the daggers coming his way, sent flying by some hazel eyes.
It was all Erin could do not to lunge at this nurse who looked nothing like any nurse she'd ever seen. This best friend of Kelly. Her Kelly. Erin's hand brushed up to where her gun was usually affixed to her body, feeling both relief and disappointment that it was not there, left in the glove compartment of her car.
Erin tried to keep up with the conversation but it was full of tall high school tales, none of which she'd been privy to before this night. April excused herself to greet Scott Rice near the door and offer up a drink.
"Babe, I'm gonna head out. Been a long day," she said kissing her husband on the cheek before taking one more gulp of beer.
"Really? You've barely had a drink, or talked to April." Kelly asked confused at the quick exit. The visions of April and his wife planning a girl's weekend, becoming fast friends had definitely left the building.
"Yeah, really," Erin answered, a tinge of her anger boiling to the surface. "Had to chase down a junkie, put up a fight. I'm done for tonight, Kelly."
It was the way his wife said "I'm done" that clued in the fireman there may be trouble in this old friend meeting his wife paradise he'd envisioned.
"You okay? He didn't hurt you?" Kelly asked running his hands down his wife's back in a move usually reserved for her. That damn job, he thought, the words he could never utter without a fight, but the words he thought often.
"No, no. Biggest damage, to my shirt…and my pride," she laughed, lifting her arm revealing a rip in the seam right by her armpit. "So not really dressed for a night on the town," she said eyeing April's outfit again.
"Let's get you home," Kelly said, taking her arm as she slid off her barstool. "Raincheck?" he asked April who was sitting by Rice at a table now.
"Definitely," she answered, getting up to wrap both arms around Kelly. He returned the bear hug, closing his eyes as he gave one last squeeze. She threw out a hand this time, shaking Erin's quickly.
Erin wordlessly led the way out of Molly's, the drive home a silence not familiar in her car.
"Going to bed," she said kissing him on the cheek the second they landed on the other side of the front door, leaving Kelly a confused mess before he'd taken off one boot.
"Did I do somethin' wrong?" he asked as Erin changed into one of his old tees for bed.
"No, not really," she answered shortly, heading to the bathroom.
"Babe, what is it?"
Erin sighed deeply. "You could have warned me that she was gorgeous. Not cute. Not attractive with a great smile, but 100 percent gorgeous. Also, I'm finding it pretty hard to believe that you two didn't do anything as teenagers. I can only imagine what you were like at 16. And the way she hugged you tonight. Hmm."
Kelly didn't know what to say, where all that came from. He knew in his heart and soul that Erin was the girl for him the first moment he saw her. Shay said some bullshit like "soul mate" that he didn't believe in. Until he did believe in it.
With April it was different. They'd known each other when they were both so young and innocent. It had been a lifetime ago.
"You have nothing to say?" Erin asked, holding her toothbrush like a weapon.
"Thinking," Kelly answered, trying to choose his words carefully for once.
"Well, don't hurt yourself," Erin sputtered out, turning on her heels and slamming the bathroom door, ashamed. I'm sixteen, she thought attacking her toothbrush as if it were the enemy, brushing her teeth until her gums bled. She spit the foamy pink in the sink, rinsing quickly, going back to the door.
Kelly was sitting on the bed waiting for her.
"I'm sorry," she said immediately. "Didn't mean any of that. Being jealous and stupid, just that outfit, her face…"
Erin's hair was out of its band, a brown tangle of the most sensual invitation, one that Kelly was going to accept wordlessly. Now. That hair spilled down over her shoulders in a sexy mess that almost drove the fireman to madness, words forgotten.
The look he gave Erin sent shivers down her spine. She felt his gaze slip from her face lower, skim across the crevice in her collar bone, inching down into the gentler curves of her body. God, how could he make her feel that way with his piercing blue eyes, without one touch of his hand?
Kelly finally stepped forward, sheepishly at first, brushing the lacy tank she had peeking out from his T-shirt with his finger. When Erin offered no resistance, he pulled off both shirts in one move, yanking his off seconds later. She let him take off her panties, remaining almost stationary, not resisting but not helping either. She was a statue of self-control and it was driving him crazy. He made a guttural sound so long and low there was no mistaking it for anything but what it was. Pure lust, more animal than man.
That sound was Erin's cue to explode. She vented the fire and fury of everything she felt, all the anger and insecurities, on the fireman before her. He took it in, savoring every rough kiss, every violent thrust and blew it right back at her, hot and savage. Kelly was crazed with a hunger for this woman, one that he knew would never be satisfied. But he was trying to quench it, giving it all he had.
They fell away from each other, exhausted, drained, but never feeling closer. Thoughts of April gone. Jealousies forgotten. All that remained was love. Kelly closing his eyes, enjoying the warmth of Erin's body so near his, the sweetness of her breath on his face as she rolled over half on top of him.
Erin kissed him softly on his cheek, barely brushing her warm lips against his stubble. He breathed it in, inhaled it, wanting her to deepen the kiss.
"Round two?" he asked, still breathless, mischievous grin spread across his lips, about to get just what he wanted. Everything that he wanted.