A/N Welcome to the first chapter of the new book! Please relax and enjoy the read!
~Princess <3
Kelly slowly came back into awareness with a cry of agony, pushing a piece of rubble off of himself as the voice of his Battalion Chief boomed over the radio for anyone at all to report. The Lieutenant suddenly sat upright and pulled his mask off.
"Hey, Chief! Severide here. Roof collapsed. We'll need assistance." He explained, urgently.
"What the Hell happened?" Capp inquired as he helped him up.
"Propane tank from the top floor. Squatters cooking on open flames." Kelly elaborated. "I jumped for the stairwell."
"Yeah, me too." Rick panted out, voice cracking a bit.
"All right, spread out. Get eyes on everyone." The Lieutenant ordered, gazing around the area worriedly. "Ana!" He yelled, not getting a response and opting for the next best thing. "Hey, Casey! You copy?"
"Yeah. Down here. I don't see her though." Matt replied just as the sound of two PASS alarms going off rang throughout the area.
"You okay?" Kelly inquired, rushing over to the giant hole in the floor his friend was peering up at him through.
"Think so." The blond nodded.
"All right, we're coming down." The Squad Lieutenant sighed.
The rest of his crew got some rope fixed up and they began rapelling down one by one. Meanwhile, the rest of Truck 81's members began to stir. Otis pulled his mask off and immediately made his way over to Joe.
"You okay?" He wondered, helping him up as Mouch too emerged from the rubble.
"Yeah." The Truck Driver replied, breathlessly.
"OVER HERE!" Herrmann shouted, having found the source of the PASS alarms. "MAN DOWN!"
He began pushing debris off of him until the name on the fallen firefighter's turnout coat became visible.
"Oh, God. Mills!" Otis cried, rushing over to help.
Everyone else joined in just as the former Candidate began to stir.
"Easy, Mills. Easy!" Kelly warned.
"Captain! Help the Captain- Ah!" He groaned, rolling onto his side once there was enough room to do so.
Sure enough, a smaller figure came into view and it had the Squad Lieutenant lunging forwards immediately.
"Ana!" He cried, helping her up just as she fell into a coughing fit.
"K- Kelly. . ." The brunette wheezed out, and it was then that he realized her mask was missing.
"My leg!" Peter hissed in pain, pulling Matt's attention away from his best friend.
"Calm down, Mills. Just breathe. Let's make him a splint." The blond advised, calmly, reaching up to activate his radio. "Dawson? Shay? Come in."
"Hey, Chief. Mills may have a fractured leg. Ana's mask got knocked off during the explosion. She's having an asthma attack." Kelly reported, grimly, rubbing his wife's back comfortingly as she continued her struggle to breathe.
"We got more of everything coming. Can you get them out of there?" The older man inquired.
"I think so. Might be better to get Ana to Dawson or Shay though." The Squad Lieutenant muttered, thoughtfully.
"Ah!" Peter groaned.
"Breathe." Matt murmured.
"Any eyes on Dawson or Shay?" Chief demanded. "I can't reach them."
The two Lieutenants and their Captain shared one quick look before rushing off, helping Ana along when she needed it.
"Shay! Call out!" Kelly yelled.
"Dawson? Shay?" The blond radioed.
The brunette suddenly stopped and leaned against a nearby wall, letting out another series of coughs. The Squad Lieutenant merely wrapped a sturdy arm around her and guided her forwards, knowing he couldn't help her until they located the two missing paramedics.
"Dawson? Shay?" He called as they rounded a corner, freezing at the sight in front of them.
Gabby was performing CPR on an unconscious Leslie.
"Come on, Shay. Come on." The PIC sniffled.
"Go, go." Ana wheezed out, using a nearby staircase banister to support herself.
"SHAY!" Kelly yelled, not needing to be told a third time as he raced over and kneeled down by her head to check for a pulse.
Unfortunately, there wasn't one to be found.
"One, two, three, four." Gabby counted under breath.
"Shay! Shay!" The Lieutenant cried to no avail.
"Blow to the head. Compressions. Switch on three with me." The PIC instructed. "Ready? One, two, three."
Kelly was quick to take over as Gabby moved to breathe for her unconscious partner.
"Sh- Sh- Shay." Ana whimpered, knuckles turning white as her worry for her friend caused her chest to constrict even more.
It was then that the other woman took notice of the Captain's condition and quickly reached into her pocket.
"Here." Gabby handed the brunette a blue inhaler which she gladly took and used immediately.
"Come on, Shay. Come on, Shay!" Kelly growled as the PIC returned to breathing for the injured woman. "Come on, Shay!" Matt had caught up at this point and quickly surveyed the situation. "No, no, no. No. No. No. No."
"Let's get her to the ambulance." The Truck Lieutenant attempted to place a hand on her shoulder only for her to violently shrug it off. "Gab-"
"Let go of me!" She snarled, pushing him away when he tried again.
"Gabby!" He yelled, sighing in relief when a few other firefighters came to help.
"Hang on! Hold on!" Kelly pleaded. "Shay."
"Gabby." Matt yelled, only to be pushed away again.
"No! Shay!" The Squad Lieutenant cried as the members of Truck 81 practically pulled Leslie's body out from under his hands. "Shay!"
Ana crawled over to her husband as the blonde was carried away and the man had just enough time to remove his helmet before he found himself in a tight embrace. As he buried his face into her shoulder, he couldn't help but think back to the very first time he ever met his best friend.
Kelly had been sitting in his chair at the Squad Table, talking to the guys and being completely oblivious to the two women making their way over.
". . .I don't know. It was just a thing. End of story: Manfredi ended up moving out, and we need a new roommate. Hopefully by, you know, before next month's rent's due." The Lieutenant explained, looking over as Gabby came into view with a blonde he had never met before.
"I've been looking for a roommate." She smiled, causing a wave of laughter from the guys. "I'm serious. I just went through a breakup thing, and we could barely afford the place, so, I don't know. . ."
"Yeah?" Kelly smirked, standing up and stepping towards this mystery woman.
"Whoa. Put it back in your pants, Lieutenant." She teased. "You're not my type."
"You never know." He shrugged.
"Do you have a vagina?" The blonde suddenly blurted out, catching him by suprise. "I'm gay. Fully gay. Yeah. My drink's tequila."
A short brunette suddenly appeared next to Kelly and swatted at his arm.
"What?" He rolled his eyes at the scolding look on her face. "Oh, now it's a problem?" Her expression suddenly morphed into a playful glare and she moved to hit him again. "All right, all right." The Lieutenant chuckled, dodging it and wrapping an arm around her shoulders instead. "This is my wife, Captain Ana Benson, and I realize now how weird this looks." He winced, earning himself another glare in return. "She's asexual and doesn't mind me having some fun once in a while. Also, don't mind the silence. She'll actually become quite the talker once you get to know her a litte better." Ana hit him again for that one. "What? It's true." The man laughed, turning back to the blonde upon realizing he never actually told her his name. "Kelly Severide."
"Leslie Shay." She grinned, trying not to let them in on the fact she had been inwardly gushing at their cute interaction.
They had to be the most adorable couple on the planet and the new paramedic had a feeling they were going to get on just fine with one another.
Kelly came back to himself and stared blankly into the dusty air as he tightened his hold around a crying Ana.
*At Firehouse 51: Six Weeks Later*
Herrmann walked onto the Apparatus Floor and over to where a certain Elevator Man was refilling some oxygen tanks with help from Joe.
"Hey, Otis. Can I get you to do the, uh, bank run tomorrow? I got a doohickey at the in-laws." He muttered.
"Herrmann, one thing you'll never have to worry about is asking me to take money to the bank for Molly's." The younger man assured
"From your lips to God's ears." The older glanced up and pointed at the sky, looking back down to see a familiar face walking onto the Apparatus Floor from the other end.
"Ah-ha! Look who's here! Peter Mills!"
Everyone else began clapping and cheering as Herrmann rushed over to give him a hug.
"I have never been so happy to see so many ugly faces." The former Candidate teased.
"I am surprised to see you." Chief admitted, having come out to see what all the commotion was about.
"Cast came off. They cleared me. Hinted I should wait another week, but I am done staring at ceilings." Peter shook his head.
"Well maybe you should listen to them." The older man reasoned.
"I am 100%, Chief. I'm good as new." The former Candidate assured, holding up his fists in a play fighting motion.
He got a few chuckles for his efforts.
"Great to have you back." Chief nodded.
"Any word from Severide or Captain Benson?" Peter wondered.
Nobody gave him a response and their silence itself was his answer.
*A Little While Later*
"Hey." Matt called as he walked up to the Squad Table. "You heard from Severide or Benson?"
"Nada." Capp shook his head.
"Didn't they have furlough stored up?" Peter recalled.
"A month, maybe." The blond nodded. "That ran out a week ago."
"We've all left messages, but nothing." Capp muttered. "Well, actually, the Captain did respond to my texts by saying she was fine. Only the one time though."
"Yeah. Same." Matt frowned, growing increasingly concerned for the couple's wellbeing.
"Lieutenant?" Joe called, walking up beside the blond.
"Yeah?" He inquired.
"We need fuel." The Truck Driver informed.
"Load everyone up." Matt ordered, heading over towards Truck 81.
*In Chief's Office: A Few Hours Later*
"I tried." Matt sighed as the older man closed the door behind him.
"Tommy Welch is not my problem. You are a Lieutenant in my house. I expect better of you. I have one Lieutenant who's out AWOL and another one who can't keep his temper in check!" Chief snapped, taking a deep breath to calm himself down before continuing. "My Captain is at least answering her texts but I can't get anything else out of her other than near constant reassurances that she's fine." He shook his head, unknowingly repeating what Capp had already told the blond not too long ago. "I need leaders in this house, Casey. Now more than ever."
"I hear you." The younger man nodded. "Loud and clear. I'll go find Kelly and Ana."
"Appreciate that." The elder murmured.
Matt proceeded to leave the small room, leaving Chief alone with his thoughts.
*At Benny Severide's Cabin: Sometime After Shift*
Kelly had been outside, chopping some firewood, when a very familiar truck pulled up in front of him.
"Hey!" Matt called as he walked over.
"Hey." The Squad Lieutenant greeted, bringing his axe down on yet another peice of wood.
"How you doing?" The blond wondered.
"Great." Kelly nodded.
"Fish been biting?" Matt inquired.
"Jumping in the boat." The Squad Lieutenant teased, watching as the other man's gaze fell on the cooler sitting a few feet away.
"Can I grab one?" He asked.
"Yeah, sure." Kelly grabbed his beer from where it had originally been resting on top of the container, moving it out of the way so the blond could get his own.
Right as Matt was about to step forwards, a smaller hand appeared and retrieved one for him.
"Hey, you." He grinned, taking the drink from his best friend.
His face fell, however, into a concerned expression when all Ana did was flash him a small smile in return.
"She hasn't said a word since the call and I'm not about to push her before she's ready to either." The Squad Lieutenant reasoned.
"No, agreed." Matt murmured, opening the can and taking a sip from it before speaking again. "So, uh, you guys coming back to 51?"
Kelly took a swig of his own drink and hesitated for a moment.
"That house is cursed, Casey. Nothing but misery and heartbreak there" He shook his head. "There's a guy out near Grayslake who does boat repairs. He said he'll sell me a piece of his business, so. . ."
Ana just shifted closer to her husband as if to say, "Where he goes, I go."
"Pretty quiet up at Grayslake." The blond pointed out. "All figured out then?"
"Yeah." The Squad Lieutenant nodded.
"Well, thanks for the beer." Matt smirked, taking another drink while heading back over to his truck.
"Yeah. Come any time." Kelly offered, swinging his axe down on another piece of wood.
Ana was about to head inside when her best friend's voice kept her rooted in place.
"Hey. One more thing." The blond called, setting his beer down on a nearby tree stump before grabbing something out of his truck. "Boden still writes down all the calls we go on by hand. The date, the call itself, what we did. And do you know what he writes in the column on the far left? The lives we saved. The ones that made it out alive. That we rescued." He explained, walking over and dropping a book onto the larger stump the other man had been using to cut wood. "The badges, on the wall, at the Academy? Andy's. . . Shay's. Don't represent death. They represent the lives we save."
And, with that, Matt returned to his truck and drove off. A tear slowly worked its way down Ana's cheek and she hid her face in her husband's shoulder. Kelly wrapped a comforting arm around his wife and pressed a gentle kiss into her hair, gazing down at the book with a blank expression. The longer he stared at it, however, the more vivid a memory he was suddenly thinking about became.
Kelly had been sitting on the rightmost portion of the couch with his left arm extended over the back of it. Ana was leaning into him slightly, turning to the next page of the book she was currently engrossed in while he eyed Leslie from afar. The blonde was in the middle of kissing her girlfriend, at the time, goodbye.
"See you later." She smiled, walking over and plopping down next to the brunette. "What?" The paramedic inquired at the look on her future best friend's face but he just shook his head. "Oh. Is that what we're doing? Are we being quiet? Are we being serious?" She questioned with a slight lisp, grabbing a botttle of Tequila off the table behind them and taking a drink from it. "What?"
"Fine, you want me to say it? That girl's bad news. Front page. Big headline. Bad news." The Lieutenant warned.
"It's the only kind I know." Leslie scoffed. "It's part of the fun of it. You know? Who wants to go through life without some heartbreak?" She laughed, face falling when both Kelly and Ana slowly raised their hands. "Whatever."
The Captain had closed her book at this point and set it aside, knowing she wouldn't be able to get any farther into it anytime soon.
"I wasn't gonna say anything." The man held his hands up. "I want that on the record."
"Fine." The blonde smirked, putting the bottle back. "Let's make a record. A contract. On video so there'll be no confusion."
Ana grinned and reached over to the coffee table, snatching a camera off of it before handing it to the other woman.
"Do you even know how to work that thing?" Kelly snorted.
"I am the master of working this thing." Leslie giggled, turning it on.
"Fine." He conceded, snatching the liquor and taking a swig for himself. "Let's do it."
"All right." The blonde nodded.
The brunette didn't know what it was but something about this woman just made it so easy to let her walls down for once. The Captain's gut was practically screaming at her to throw all common sense out the window and trust her.
"The contract." Ana spoke almost inaudibly but the two future best friends heard it clear as day.
Leslie's jaw dropped open in suprise and Kelly gazed down at his wife in shock.
"I think that's the fastest I've ever seen you let someone in before." He chuckled, warmly, leaning down to give her a kiss.
The Lieutenant shook himself out of his thoughts and gazed off into the distance with a sigh.
*Sometime After Next Shift*
Ana and Kelly stood side by side, gazing up at the apartment that they used to share with someone else.
"Hey." Matt called, appearing beside them and clapping the other man on the shoulder. "Good to have you two back."
The brunette hugged him in response.
"Yeah." The Squad Lieutenant murmured.
"Come on." The blond nodded. "Let's do it."
A few minutes later had the trio actually inside the building and Matt was carefully placing a very familiar red helmet into a box.
"Her family will definitely want some of this stuff." He pointed out, gently.
Kelly wandered over to Ana, who was staring blankly out of one of the bigger windows, and wrapped his arms around her from behind.
"We can't stay here, man." He admitted, quietly, glancing at the Truck Lieutenant over his shoulder.
"Why don't you guys stay with us for a while?" Matt offered. "We got a spare bedroom."
"I don't know. I-"
"It's fine, Kelly." Ana suddenly spoke, softly, voice cracking a bit from disuse. "Now we get to live with my best friend for a change."
She let out a small giggle and Matt smiled at her in return. Both men inwardly sighed in relief and the blond grabbed another empty box before heading upstairs. The Squad Lieutenant watched him go and glanced off to the right. His gaze fell on a picture of him and Leslie resting on a nearby shelf. He pulled away from his wife and walked over to pick it up, recalling how she had quickly taken it while he had been consoling the paramedic about her first break up with Clarice.
Kelly sniffled and put it back, catching something else out of the corner of his eye. He turned to see a DVD marked "the Contract," and picked it up with a watery chuckle. The Lieutenant hesitated for a moment before popping it out of the case and slipping it into the DVD player. He turned the TV on and leaned back against a nearby chair, crossing his arms just as Ana came up beside him.
"Is it on?" The Kelly in the video inquired.
"It's on." The Leslie behind the camera assured.
"Did you turn it on?" He asked again.
"Okay, shut-"
"Are you-"
"Shut up. Shut up, you idiot. This is serious." The blonde scolded as they started laughing.
The camera panned down a bit and now Ana could be seen in the video as well, giggling right along with the two best friends.
"Okay. Okay." Kelly chuckled.
"Concentrate, all right? The contract. . ." Leslie trailed off.
"Mm-hmm." The Lieutenant hummed in reply.
"Rule Number One." She began.
"We promise to never get into each other's business." He blurted out, immediately.
"Oh, okay. I have- I have that recorded." The blonde scoffed.
"I know. That's why I just said it." Kelly rolled his eyes.
"All right." Leslie laughed.
"Rule Number Two: no matter how much work gets to us. . ." He paused for dramatic effect and the paramedic hummed for him to continue. ". . .We never bring it home."
"Good. Very good." She praised.
"Thank you." The Lieutenant nodded.
"Okay-"
"You know what?" Kelly interjected.
"Mm?"
"That thing?" He motioned towards the camera.
"Yeah?" Leslie giggled.
"Here- give it here. Your turn. Give it here." The Lieutenant laughed, taking it from her and handing Ana the bottle of Tequila. "Here, Honey, you want some?"
"Sure." The brunette smiled.
"Take it." Kelly urged and she did, unscrewing the cap and taking a big swig.
"All right, uh, we should also say that. . . no matter how much life gets to us that we shouldn't bring it to work. Because what we do is so much more important than all this." The blonde reasoned.
"Fair enough." He agreed.
"An addendum." She explained.
"Got it." The Lieutenant assured.
"Yeah." The blonde let out another small giggle.
A tear slipped down present day Kelly's cheek but the pad of a small thumb was quick to wipe it away and he dropped a kiss into Ana's awaiting palm, leaning slightly into her comforting touch.
"Is that it? Any other rules?" The Kelly behind the camera wondered.
"Uh, I have one." Video Ana spoke up after taking another sip of Tequila. "That you- no. That we promise to be there for each other. Always. No matter what."
"Always." The Lieutenant agreed.
"Always." Leslie smiled, nodding happily.
The present day couple held onto each other tighty and nodded right along with her.
A/N I hope you all enjoyed! Till Thursday!
~Princess <3