Conquering Chicago (Chicago Fire 1)

What is that supposed to mean?

Until the day of her first shift back on Squad 3, Emily tried to stay inside her house as much as possible. Jay and Will would come and visit he, making sure that they brought food with them - as both brothers where sure that their sister wasn't eating much. It wasn't that people from firehouse 51 didn't come around and want to see her, but Emily didn't answer her door. She was well aware that everyone was wondering what was going on between her and Severide, but it wasn't something that she wanted to talk about at the moment. Her brothers would still ask her what was going on, and if she wanted them to have a word with him - but she declined. And they knew not to push the subject anymore, as the only reason they were able to get into her house was because they had keys. 

Almost every hour, Severide would knock on Emily's front door - begging her to talk to him, just wanting everything to back to how it had been between them. He would shout through the door, telling her that he was sorry. At this point, Emily wasn't annoyed by the revelation from Severide - she was more annoyed that she hadn't seen it before. She thought back to the way he looked at her, all the glances she had noticed during their shifts together. The way he was with her when he had stayed the night. The more she thought about it, the more anxious she became just thinking about going back to the firehouse - as she had no idea what to say to Severide. 

As she arrived at the firehouse, she sat outside for a few minutes. Finishing the coffee that she had picked up on the way in, she heard a knock on her window. Emily turned to look at her passenger side window, and when she saw Severide standing there - it was like her ability to say anything died. From where Severide stood, he could see the worry that was etched on Emily's face, but still he didn't know what to say. On his way in, Severide had formed a speech in his head - deciding what he wanted to say to her. But just looking at her, his whole speech - everything he wanted to say, just left his mind. He jumped into her car anyway, sitting in the passenger seat.

"Hey" He said to her, closing the passenger side door behind him. For a second, the two sat in silence - and for once, their silence was uncomfortable. Just as Severide went to speak, Emily cut him off.

"Listen, I understand what you said and I want you to know that when I spoke to Dawson I meant what I said. You're my Lieutenant and I can't get into anything like that with you. If it becomes awkward between us, I can always move to another house" Emily suggested, taking a sip of the coffee that had now started to go cold. The truth was, she didn't want to go to another house. She didn't want to move again. In the short time she had been at firehouse 51, Emily felt like she had joined a family - and leaving them wasn't something she would do by choice. 

"Don't worry, I've moved on" Severide said to her. In one way, Emily was relieved by this news. But just the idea that he had gotten over her so quickly put a thought in her head - is there something wrong with me? 

"Cool, I quite like it here" Emily said, finishing her cup of coffee and looking down at it. It was clear to them both that there was nothing more that needed to be said, so Severide made the first move - getting out of her car, leaving Emily drowning in her own thoughts. If she was honest with herself, she knew that from the moment she laid eyes on Kelly Severide - there was something there. She didn't know if it was the blue eyes, or his smile. But there was something that made him attractive. Something that seemed to draw her to him, like a moth to a flame. 

It took her a few minutes, but finally Emily walked into the firehouse. "Halstead! Welcome back" Brett said, the second her noticed Emily. "How are you?" She asked, pulling her friend in for a hug. 

"I'm good. Listen, can we catch up later? There is something that I really need to do" Emily said, not giving her friend a chance to reply. Instead she went off, walking straight towards Severide's office. Severide was sat at his desk, trying to focus on the paperwork in front of him when Emily walked into the office. Closing the door and lowering the blinds behind her. He looked at her with curiosity written across his face. "So, I was thinking" Emily started to say, trying to block out the voice in her head that was telling her to turn around and leave the room. "And I need to try something. Now, this may not be the best idea I've ever had - but I need to try it out" She said, Severide stood up from his seat and raised an eyebrow at her. Wondering what she was going on about.