The Lieutenant's Candidate

Chapter XI

By the time Saturday came around, Jasmine Medina was more worried than she was when she invited Kelly Severide to her younger sister's birthday party.

She was currently in her childhood room, having spent the night last night at the Medina family house to be able to surprise her sister with breakfast on Saturday morning. The candidate stood in front of the body-length mirror that sat opposite of the door in her bedroom and smoothed down her outfit for the unexaggerated fiftieth time.

It's not like she looked bad in her outfit - it was a simple pair of distressed white-washed blue jeans with a black off-the-shoulder crop-top, and a pair of fawn brown ankle boots. She had neatly curled her hair - something that had taken two hours because she had wanted it perfect. The woman had added jewelry - something that she rarely wore - and one of her most potent perfumes.

Jasmine was nervous. Nervous that her family would leave a bad impression on Kelly of her and that he would no longer want to work with her. But there was a more personal element too. She was afraid that if he met her extended family he would think that her family was weird and would no longer want a relationship with her when she was finally ready for it.

"Jasmine, tu novio esta aqui," Elijah says, knocking briefly on her door before pushing it open.

"Already?" she asks, her eyes widening as she glances down at her watch to see that it was indeed two o'clock sharp. "Our family doesn't arrive until at least two hours after the party has actually started. But, of course, he does," she says in Spanish, a groan leaving her mouth as she adjusted the shoulder straps of her shirt and then followed her younger brother down the stairs and to the living room where Kelly was waiting.

Did she hug him? Shake his hand? Just start talking?

"Is this the only time you've actually been on time?" Jasmine teases the man as she takes the final steps down the stairs, Elijah parting away from them.

"I'm always on time, what are you talking about?" Kelly smirks.

The woman couldn't lie, he looked attractive even though he was wearing the same outfit he normally wore to Molly's - dark blue jeans, a plain colored t-shirt, and his black leather jacket.

"You look nice," he speaks up, having noticed the woman checking him out and he couldn't lie and say that he hadn't been doing that as she had walked down the stairs before quickly diverting his attention.

Jasmine glanced down at her outfit before smiling back up at the man. "Thank you." She wasn't going to tell him that she had changed half a dozen times because she was afraid that he wouldn't like the outfit that she had chosen.

"You're nervous that I'm here, aren't you?" the man asks as he watched the woman fiddle with the rings on her fingers.

"I've changed my outfit more times than I can count," she smiles, nervously looking up at the man. "It's the first time you've been around my family and I'm afraid that ... I don't want them to push you away before I have time to be with you."

"Jas," Kelly says, stepping closer to her. "You look beautiful. And no matter what you wore, I would've thought you look beautiful. Your family is not going to drive me away from you, Jasmine. I told you that I would wait until you're ready for a relationship."

The woman smiles, placing a hand on the man's chest as her lips press against his cheek.

"Come on, my mom and siblings are outside, you can meet my mom."

Jasmine grabbed his wrist, leading him through the kitchen and out the back French doors to the backyard.

"A Ma," she calls, turning her mother's attention to her. "This is Kelly. My Lieutenant at Dad's firehouse."

"You look the same as you did when you were younger, mi amor," Valentina says, standing up and embracing the man. "You look just like your father. You remember me, no? Coming to visit my husband and your father at the firehouse?"

"I do, yeah," Kelly smiles as the woman pulls away from him. "You used to bring donuts every Monday shift. Benny would always leave me two or three - one in case they left for a call and I was hungry."

"I remember that," Valentina laughs. "There were times when your father would call me and ask if I could bring you some lunch or dinner since they would be at a long call. Or if it was a night call, I'd take you home and you'd spend the night at my house. That was only a few years before Jasmine was born, though. You would've been around eight when she was born."