Kelly checked his watch as he waited for Gabby near the elevators in the lobby. He'd gotten bored waiting in his room, so he'd come down to the lobby early, but it appeared that Gabby was running late, as she hadn't appeared yet. He looked up as he heard the elevator doors open, and craned his neck to look for Gabby, finally spotting her face in the group of people getting off.
"Sorry I'm late," Gabby apologized as she rushed over to him. "I was having issues with my dress."
Kelly took her in. She was wearing a floor length dark green evening gown with a sweetheart neckline, off the shoulder sleeves, and a slit that went to her mid-thigh. It hugged her curves in all the right places, making his breath catch.
"Wow," he breathed when he could finally speak. "You look…great," he finished lamely, not entirely sure what to say. Come on, Kelly. Get yourself together. You and Stella just broke up, and this is Gabby, your friend; the same Gabby who is your best friend's ex-wife, he told himself silently.
Gabby laughed and took the arm he offered. "Drunk Severide was much more eloquent last night," she teased.
Kelly's face flushed at the memory of how he'd kept telling her how pretty she was. "Drunk Severide tends to revert to teenage Severide," he quipped back.
"So, do you do these events a lot?" he asked as they walked towards the hotel's ballroom.
Gabby frowned. "More than I'd like," she admitted. "I'd much rather be back in Puerto Rico working in my mosquito net fatigues than be dressed like this and working a room full of people, but they tell me I'm good at this. At first it was only one event every three months or so, but lately it seems like I've spent more time in hotel ballrooms sweet talking people into donating than I have on the ground actually making a difference," she sighed. "But this is the last one I have scheduled for a few months, thankfully."
They'd barely been in the room for five minutes before a woman rushed up to Gabby. "Gabby! Do you mind talking to the Larsens? They're at that table over there, and they're tier one donors who are interested in our Caribbean initiative."
Gabby nodded and turned to Kelly, flashing him an apologetic smile, "Duty calls. Go ahead and order us some drinks. I'll be back," she promised before heading off in the direction the other lady had motioned.
Kelly ordered them both wine and then claimed a table in the corner while he waited for Gabby to finish. She began making her way back to him soon after but got intercepted on the way and was pointed to a donor in the opposite direction. He watched her as she worked the room, making her way from donor to donor, easily striking up a conversation and charming them into writing checks.
"Are you here for the fundraiser?" A gorgeous blonde woman had joined him at his table and was now attempting to strike up a conversation.
Kelly nodded. "I'm here with my friend," he explained, gesturing in the direction of Gabby. "She works for the organization."
"If you're here with Gabby, then you're basically here alone," the blonde laughed. "She's our secret weapon when it comes to charming donors. She always spends the whole night working the room." She angled her body towards Kelly. "I'm Angelica, by the way," she introduced herself. "I've worked with Gabby at several of these events."
"Kelly," Severide replied simply.
"So, how do you know Gabby?" Angelica asked. "I never see her with any men!"
That took Kelly by surprise. "Never?"
Angelica shook her head. "Nope; I asked her about it once and she said something about swearing off men, but here she is with you," she replied while her running her eyes up and down his body.
"We're old friends; we used to work together," Kelly explained. "Gabby was a paramedic at the same fire station that I work at."
"Oh, you're a firefighter?" Angelica exclaimed. "Gabby's been holding out on us; she didn't tell us any of her former coworkers were as good looking as you," she flirted.
Kelly tried to hide his annoyance. "It's been several years since we've seen each other. We just happened to both be in the same place at the same time and figured we'd catch up."
Kelly endured making small talk with Angelica and putting up with her attempts to throw herself at him for nearly an hour before he'd finally had enough. He searched the room for Gabby and found her walking away from yet another donor, looking like she was very much over everything. "Excuse me," Kelly told Angelica, grabbing both glasses and wine and heading quickly in Gabby's direction, hoping to reach her before she was redirected yet again.
The relief was evident in Gabby's eyes when Kelly reached her. "Thank you," she told him gratefully as she took the glass of wine he offered her and took a sip. "Sorry, I didn't mean to leave you alone for most of the night." She sighed. "These events are always a nightmare."
Kelly flashed her a reassuring smile. "You're good at it, you know. I watched you. The way you handle people, it's no wonder they always have you doing these events."
Gabby blushed. "Well, it's not what I'd prefer to be doing, but it helps, I guess. Thank you." She took another sip of wine. "What did you do while I abandoned you? You didn't raid the bar, did you?" she asked playfully.
Kelly laughed. "No, I was good. This is the only drink I've had all night," he promised, holding up his wine glass. "Your friend Angelica kept me company for a while. She was quite…interesting."
"Oh really?" Gabby asked, raising her eyebrow. "I'm surprised your still here. Angelica has quite a way with men."
Kelly rolled his eyes. "Oh, she tried her best." He glanced over Gabby's shoulder, then put his hand on the small of her back and motioned towards the dance floor. "That lady is heading your way again," he warned her. "Come on, let's dance. Surely, she won't bother you while you're dancing."
Gabby allowed Kelly to guide her onto the dance floor. Just as they got there, the string quartet providing the music began playing Ed Sheeran's Kiss Me. She took Kelly's outstretched hand and placed her other hand on his shoulder as he placed his on her lower back.
"You're pretty good at this," Gabby complimented him as they began dancing.
"What, providing a distraction, or dancing?" Kelly smirked.
"Both," Gabby replied. "Thank you, by the way; I don't know how much more talking to donors I could have taken."
"Of course," Kelly replied. "I'm a firefighter; that's what I do; I rescue people."
Gabby laughed. "I didn't realize rescuing people at social events was something squad lieutenants did," she teased.
Kelly shrugged. "It is when that person rescues him from an evening of misery and drinking alone."
Gabby's expression grew serious. "I'm glad I was here, Kelly. I'm sorry for what Stella did to you. I just can't believe she would do that."
Kelly sighed. "If I'm being honest, I knew it was coming. The writing was on the wall; she'd been distant for so long and was barely even taking my calls. I just didn't want to believe it. I thought this time it was different."
"I know," Gabby replied simply. They danced in silence for a few moments before she spoke again. "I'm glad we ran into each other, Kelly. I didn't realize how much I'd missed everyone from Chicago until now. I just wish it could have been under different circumstances."
"Have you ever thought about coming back?" Kelly asked suddenly. "Casey's gone now and won't be back until the Darden boys have both graduated. But to be honest, I don't know that he'll ever come back. Brett's already talking about making plans to move out there."
Gabby looked up at Kelly, a quizzical expression on her face. "Where did Matt go, and why would Brett move out there with him?"
Kelly looked at her incredulously. "Wait; you really don't know?" he asked her. "Casey or Brett never told you?"
"Never told me what, Kelly?" Gabby was confused.
"Casey moved out to Portland, Oregon to take care of Ben and Griffin; Heather got herself thrown in jail again after multiple DUIs, leaving the boys pretty much on their own. Casey moved out there to take care of them until they're old enough to be on their own," Kelly filled her in.
"And Brett?" Gabby asked, already knowing the answer, but hoping she was wrong.
"Casey and Brett started dating a few months before he left for Oregon," Kelly told her softly, giving her a sympathetic look. He hated being the one to have to break this to her and silently cursed his best friend for never telling Gabby. "But honestly, things were going on between them long before then," he added, wanting to be completely honest with her.
"Oh," Gabby replied, fighting to maintain control of her emotions. "So when I came to Chicago last time…"
Kelly shook his head. "No, they weren't together yet. There'd definitely been some tension between them, but nothing happened until several months later."
Gabby remained silent for a while, fitting together all of the pieces. It explained so much about why Matt had reacted the way he had when they'd slept together. She just wasn't sure yet if it made her feel better or worse about it. Of all people, did it have to be Brett? Brett had been her best friend in Chicago. They'd have a falling out right before she left, of course, but still.
"Sorry, Gabby; I thought you knew," Kelly apologized.
Gabby forced a smile. "It's fine. Matt and I are history, anyways. I'm glad he found someone." She was; she just wasn't sure if she was glad about who he'd found.
"So, would you? Ever come back to Chicago, that is?" Kelly repeated his question from earlier.
Gabby looked up at Kelly. "I don't know. I miss everyone, but I just don't know if there's a place for me in Chicago anymore. Matt's not the only reason I left; I needed a change. I needed to feel like I was actually making a difference."
"And are you?" Kelly asked. "Making a difference, that is."
"I don't know," Gabby sighed. "When I'm on the ground in areas that need help, sure. But Angela, the woman you rescued me from, is really pushing me to do this sort of thing full time, and I don't know how much longer I can put her off."
"Speaking of," Kelly said dryly as Angela approached them.
"Gabby, I'm sorry to interrupt, but the Andersons are really close to making a large donation; they just need a little more encouragement. Could you go talk to them, please?" Angela pleaded.
Gabby plastered a smile on her face. "Sure; where are they?"
Kelly followed Gabby off the dance floor as Angela directed her to the donors. He found a spot nearby to lean against the wall, determined to rescue Gabby from this gala as soon as she'd finished. He could tell that she was getting tired and was very much over all of it.
Gabby shifted her weight from one foot to the other. Her feet were killing her; she still wasn't used to wearing heels for such a long period of time. She'd convinced the Andersons to write a sizable check for the organization, but now Mr. Anderson just wouldn't stop talking. She glanced over his shoulder and saw Kelly leaning against the wall, watching her. She shot him a pleading glance and hoped he got the hint before she turned her attention back to the Andersons.
"Hi, excuse me, but do you mind if I borrow Ms. Dawson for a bit? I had a few questions about the organization that I was hoping she could answer." Gabby jumped as Kelly's voice came from behind her.
"We've been monopolizing your time; we're so sorry, Ms. Dawson. How rude of us! Of course you have other guests to talk to," Mrs. Anderson apologized. "Thank you again for your time!"
Gabby smiled and nodded at them before walking away with Kelly. "Thank you," she told him once the Andersons were out of earshot.
"Of course," Kelly replied, placing his hand on the small of her back and guiding her towards the exit. "You were looking pretty miserable."
"Kelly, I can't leave yet; the gala isn't over!" Gabby protested once she realized where they were heading.
Kelly ignored her. "You're tired, your feet are hurting, and you're over all of these people. Besides, given the amount of people you've convinced to donate tonight, I'm sure they won't mind you ducking out a little early." Gabby looked up at him in surprise. "What, you think I can't tell when you're tired and ready to leave? I did use to live with you and Casey and worked 24 hour shifts with you at the firehouse," he said, repeating the line she'd used on him earlier.
Gabby laughed. "Fine, you win. Let's get out of here."
They made their way over to the elevators and Kelly pressed the button. "What floor?" he asked as they stepped inside.
"Twelve," Gabby replied. Kelly nodded and pressed the buttons for both twelve and fourteen.
Gabby leaned against the wall as she slipped out of her heels and let out a sigh of relief. "Thanks for coming with me," she told Kelly.
"You obviously needed someone there to rescue you," Kelly replied. He leaned against the elevator wall next to her. "It's the least I could do after you rescued me last night."
Gabby snorted. "I wouldn't necessarily say I did a good job of rescuing you considering we ended up sleeping together and then I puked in your bathroom."
The elevator doors opened onto the twelfth floor before Kelly could reply. Gabby leaned down and picked up her shoes, then stepped off the elevator before turning back to Kelly. "This was nice, Kelly. I'm glad that, out of all the hotels in New York, we ended up at the same one."
Kelly smiled. "Me, too, Gabby."