Chapter 2

Kelly dropped Sylvie off at her car the next morning. Otis had texted after Molly's had closed that someone had turned her keys in and that he was taking them home with him. Kelly drove her to pick up her keys then took her to her car.

"Thanks Kelly, we need to hang out again soon it's been way too long, this weekend?" She really enjoyed Kelly's company and she felt like she could be herself around him.

"Umm…actually yeah, I wanna talk to you about something too, we'll talk about it on next shift okay?" Kelly sounded unsure of himself. He had thought after last night that maybe Sylvie living with Otis and Cruz wasn't an ideal situation for her. She seemed to struggle keeping them out of her life and finding alone time. He wanted to offer her his spare room. He knew Stella wouldn't have a problem with it and would probably be excited. And, really, he just missed having a roommate, he didn't like living alone.

After dropping Sylvie off, Kelly sent a text to Matt. "Hey can I get Antonio Dawson's number?"

Matt responded immediately with Antonio's number probably figuring Kelly had a police issue he needed help with.

Kelly texted Antonio, "Hey, it's Severide, can we meet up for a beer tonight?"

Kelly needed to talk to Antonio; he wasn't going to break Sylvie's trust he just needed to talk some sense into the guy.

Antonio responded thirty minutes later "Yeah, Molly's, 7? Is there a problem?"

"Sounds good, no problem" Kelly had to be on shift at 6 am tomorrow and knew Sylvie wouldn't be at Molly's because she didn't go out the night before a shift.

Kelly arrived at Molly's at seven and threw two fingers up to Herrmann motioning for him to bring him two beers. Antonio was sitting at a table in the back watching highlights from a Blackhawks game on the TV. Kelly knew he was getting ready to insert himself into something that was really none of his business and really hoped that Antonio's temper would stay in check because even though he was quite a bit bigger than the guy he was pretty sure the boxer could kick his ass without hesitation.

"Hey bro, what's up?" Kelly said as he slid onto a stool across from Antonio.

"Nothing much, so what did you need to talk about?" Antonio kept staring at the TV, clearly not in much of a mood for small talk. Herrmann arrived with the beers and told them to enjoy.

"Sylvie" Severide said slowly trying to gauge Antonio's reaction but Antonio's poker face was good and didn't let anything slip. "What are you doing to her man?"

"I'm failing to see where this is any of your business" Antonio didn't raise his voice but was dead calm staring Kelly in the eyes which worried Kelly more than if Antonio had an outburst.

Kelly sighed, "I'm not here to fight with you or overstep in anyway but she's like a little sister to me. What would you say to someone who was pulling Gabby around? Besides, whatever I say to you, I said to her too. You both obviously care about each other but keep playing this game and she is getting hurt in the process. It needs to stop and you need to talk to her," Kelly just blurted out hoping that Antonio didn't react adversely.

Antonio didn't move or say anything; he just sat there for several minutes staring at his beer. Finally after what felt like an eternity Antonio sighed and slumped his shoulders "I fucked up, I don't know how to fix it." He took a swig of his beer. "The last time we were together I spooked her when she wanted to keep it casual, I stupidly told her she was special to me." Antonio was visibly flustered. "So this time I figured I would tell her I was dating other people and when I did she looked like I had just betrayed her, I knew it was a mistake as soon as I said it." Antonio rubbed his face and stretched his arms.

"Look bro, Sylvie is the first woman I've dated, hell even talked to since my divorce. I was married 16 years, I'm completely lost at this dating thing." He laid his forehead down on his hands on the table.

"Talk to her, I told her last night that you are one of the only guys I trust with her, and I meant that." Antonio looked up at Kelly. "Like I said she's like a little sister and I've seen her with other guys and she is definitely in love with you, she's just too scared to admit it. You're gonna have to be patient with her." Kelly held his beer up for the bartender to see and motioned for two more.

"Gabby keeps giving her advice and honestly I don't think it's the best, I don't think Gabby has a clear head when it comes to you and Sylvie. So instead of letting her get her advice from Gabby please talk to her because she has some stuff she needs to talk to you about but she doesn't think she means that much to you." Kelly was soft-toned as he spoke to Antonio knowing that speaking about Gabby could send him over.

"She means everything to me, next to my kids, I promise you that. And yeah I get it, I was all over Matt when he was letting Gabby deal with fostering Louie on her own. I don't mind picking Gabby's fights if she isn't able too but lets face it Gabby can handle herself." Antonio laughed relaxing more as he understood where Kelly was coming from.

"She is kinda scary when she goes all Gabby Dawson isn't she?" Kelly laughed, relaxed now that him and Antonio were joking around.

"Another thing Antonio...how would you feel about me asking Sylvie to move in with me?" Antonio cocked an eyebrow at him "I have a spare room and I think she might be more comfortable with me rather than with Otis and Cruz who are constantly in her business. I haven't talked to her about it yet but wanted to get your opinion and let you know that I wasn't trying to hook up with her or anything. I'm just trying to look out for her." He looked at Antonio who seemed to be mulling around with the idea.

"I think it's a great idea if that's what Sylvie wants…but don't you have a girlfriend, umm…Kidd right? She's okay with it?" Antonio asked.

Kelly smirked "Yeah she's pretending like it's her idea, she loves Sylvie."

Antonio knew this was true; Stella was one of Sylvie's best friends judging by how much they texted while him and Sylvie were together.

"Hey listen, I have shift in the morning so I better get going, get this taken care of okay." Kelly stood to leave and let out a yawn.

"I'll text her tomorrow, we'll get it straightened out. Don't worry I got the tab for your trouble of having to kick me in the ass" Antonio chuckled and rose to walk towards the bar to pay the tab. "Night"

"Night and thanks for not kicking my ass for inserting myself" Kelly grinned.