The Lieutenant's Candidate

Chapter XVI

Kelly Severide was fuming the next shift.

From the dark purple hickey on Jasmine Medina's neck to the extra touching between her and Chase Adams. He knew something had happened.

His first clue had been when he had gone over to Jasmine Medina's apartment the night before their current shift. He had shown up around 8:30 to find no answer when he knocked on her door, her car was still in the complex garage, and no sign of where she might've gone.

So when Jasmine met Chase by his car this morning just before the shift started with coffee and donuts in hand, smoke was practically coming out of Kelly's ears. He sat at the Squad table, the steaming cup of coffee he had just poured from the pot only a few seconds ago sat forgotten. He stared at the pair.

Just friends, Jasmine had said. Grown up together. Nothing more.

The hickey on her neck that he had seen in the locker room said otherwise. Friends didn't leave hickeys on friends.

But Jasmine and Kelly had made it perfectly clear that they were not dating. They weren't exclusive. They could see other people. Kelly just never thought that just because they could, they would.

"Morning, Lieutenant," Jasmine had greeted him kindly as she changed. His eyes had fallen on the dark purple spot on her neck almost immediately. It had been hidden by the hoodie she had worn into the firehouse but when she was left standing there in only a tanktop, there was no way anyone could see it.

Kelly was petty, he'd admit it. When it came to Jasmine seeing someone else, of course, he'd be petty. So he had ignored her. He grunted in response before loudly closing his locker and leaving the locker room. He had left a very confused Jasmine behind.

With the mirror in her locker, she had seen the problem. The large quarter-sized purple hickey on her neck. She should've known Chase would leave a mark. She should've known Kelly would've been upset. They both agreed that they couldn't be anything. Not with their ranks being so different. Not with them being in two different stages of life.

She and Chase were pretty much the same rank, they were at the same stage in life. They had no reason to not try things.

Jasmine was lucky that the hickey was so low on her neck that it was covered by her Squad t-shirt. It would save her from the embarrassing questions that she knew would come from the other firefighters.

"Late night with Severide?" Dawson's voice sounded from behind her causing the candidate to jump and turn around to face the paramedic.

"What?" She asks, clearly startled.

"The hickey on your neck, Jas?"

"Oh ... uh - no."

"No ..?" Dawson asks, now the confused one. "No, you're denying the dark purple hickey or no -"

"No, it wasn't with Severide," Jasmine interrupts, casting a worried look towards the door of the locker room in case anyone entered.

Dawson gasps, somewhat playfully, and stares at the woman. "Oh, please say it was with Chase? He's so good for you, Jas."

Jasmine nods, guilt creeping into her. She loved last night with Chase, she couldn't lie about it. But she felt guilty about sleeping with someone who wasn't Severide. She had to remind herself that she and Kelly weren't official. They weren't dating. And they agreed to just be friends. But it still felt almost like cheating.

"Why do you look so guilty, Jasmine? This is good for you! You and Severide agreed to be friends, right?" Jasmine nods. "Then there's no reason to be guilty. You need to get out there, get away from Severide."

"I know," Jasmine nods. She felt nauseous. Her stomach was twisting. Kelly didn't want to talk to her, not that she could really blame him. It was obvious to both of them that they weren't just friends.

"Come on, let's go get a cup of coffee," Dawson grabbed the woman by her bicep, dragging her from the locker room to the common room.

Chase was in a conversation with Casey, they seemed to get along well. Severide was nowhere to be seen, likely sulking in his office or out at the Squad table. Jasmine felt almost bad that she didn't try to talk to Severide after. But she knew that nothing good would come from it. Especially when it was the beginning of the shift.