#severide!sister

The words cut into you and you feel your body turn cold, she’s still got a smile on her face for anybody that might look over to the table and see whether Kelly’s sister and his new girlfriend are getting along. You feel the rage bubbling up in your chest, jaw clenched, you really didn’t understand what this woman’s problem was.

“I didn’t… I’m sorry, what have I done to offend you? What happened earlier was an accident, and I know Kelly has his own life, I would never-” The sound of her grating laughter cuts through the air, and you have no idea what’s going on until you feel Kelly return beside you.

“Kel, Y/N was just telling me stories from when you were kids.” She grins, giving him the doe eyes as you sit dumbfounded. 

“Is that so, huh? Nothing too embarrassing, I hope.” Kelly turns to you, and you realise you’re frozen in incredulity. Seconds pass by, and your brain kicks back in, shoving out your best half-hearted laugh and smile. “Nothing too embarrassing, just the highlights” You jest, but really you just want to throw the rest of your drink in Olivia’s face. Your enthusiasm doesn’t quite land, Kelly gives you a weird look, but he figures you’re tired just like he is from the previous shift. 

“Sorry, it's my turn to pee.” You mumble,  as you get up and make a beeline for the bathroom, your emotions surging through your body, ready to spill out in either tears or a temper.

You shove your way into the restroom, immediately turning on the cold tap to splash some water onto your face, blinking back the angry drops that push their way past your eyelashes. Fist clenched against the counter by the sinks. Breathing hard as you try to corral your anger. Being too much of a nuisance, interference or burden on Kelly has long since been your no.1 fear, and you have always tried to let him lead an independent life without relying on him too much as a younger sibling. You thought you’d been doing a good job, in fact, you were certain that you and your big brother had a wonderful dynamic, and yet Olivia’s words had rattled your cage so thoroughly. 

The minutes pass and you’re finding it hard to get yourself back out there, messaging Sylvie to ask if she could make up some sort of excuse about your shared apartment with her, something that would require you to go back and help sort it out.

Just as you think you’ve rallied yourself back together the bathroom door opens, and the last person you want to stand there is watching you with cold eyes. 

“You’re not sulking in here, are you? I was just giving you some adult advice.” Olivia snips, and you want nothing more than to strike your hand across her face. 

You were in your mid-20s, and you had one of the most serious and taxing jobs around, you knew what it meant to be an adult and you were already sick of this witch making you feel small. If Kelly could hear her now… 

“I’m all good thanks, not looking for any extra unsolicited advice.” You bite, this time side-stepping around her to leave the bathroom.

“You’re not running off are you?” She calls out, just as you reach the door back towards the main area again. 

You take long, quick, strides towards Kelly who’s now got Matt for company. You greet the Captain briefly before giving your excuse to leave to Kelly. 

“Hey, Matt… Listen Kel’, I’m so sorry but I gotta dash. Sylvie called and said the showerhead won’t stop running, it’s making a weird sound. I gotta go help her and get hold of the landlord. I’m so sorry for rushing off.” 

Even to your ears, the excuse sounds weak, but Kelly doesn’t show any signs of disbelief, 

“Oh, no sweat. You do what you need to, we can do this again soon, yeah?” Kelly smiles, squeezing your arm. 

“Of course, see you tomorrow. And nice to meet you, Olivia. Bye Matt.” You hurry your goodbyes, only glancing at Olivia who gets to the table as you start to depart, seeking the fresh air and distance from that situation as quickly as possible. Not noticing the curious look Matt gives you as you leave, grateful that he hadn’t offered to go help Sylvie, seeing as fixing things was his forte.

-

When you get home to Sylvie she’s waiting with some drinks of her own and some snacks, music and a listening ear. You had tried to not let it get to you so much, but in the safety of privacy with one of your dearest friends you felt the angry tears fall. 

“She is so condescending, Sylvie. Jesus Christ… I don’t even know her and yet she’s got under my skin. I have always tried to let Kelly be Kelly and not interfere. And-”

“And what’s changed?” Sylvie queries, eyebrows raised in that big sister, no-bullshit, way.

“What? Nothing’s changed…” 

“Exactly, Y/N. You haven’t changed, you haven’t done anything wrong. You and Kelly are a sibling fortress, and this woman needs to back the hell up if she thinks she can come between you.”

You’re stunned into silence for a moment, this was something you already knew but had let your mind run away from in an evening. You hadn’t done anything wrong, you were there for Kelly always and you hadn’t let your misgivings from tonight get in his way. You had done everything you could to keep the peace for your brother’s sake.

Your eyes filled with “Oh shit” meet Sylvie’s “Uh-huh, I’m right” expression. 

“What do I do, Sylv? I can’t just let her walk all over me, but I don’t want to make a fuss in front of Kelly.”

Sylvie links her arm with yours, “Y/N, listen to me very carefully. If Kelly found out you had let this all happen and kept going, well how do you think he’d feel, hm? What are the chances of him ditching you for a woman he’s known for a minute compared to your lifetime?” 

“Slim.” You murmur. Yet, something about the happy glint in Kelly’s eye told you it may not be as straightforward as telling him and then it all being over. A part of you was still hesitant to shatter the illusion that his new girl was as sweet as pie. 

“Slim to not happening at all, there's no way.” Sylvie corrected. 

“So I tell him?” You ask, needing confirmation that you weren’t crazy and that you had every right to go to your big brother about this. 

“You tell him, you let him know exactly how it all happened, he’s not stupid and he is generally good at seeing people for who they are.”

You nod, resting your head on Sylvie’s shoulder. “You’re the best, Brett.” 

“Only because I am friends with the best kind of person, Severide. Now, what are we getting drunk with, and are we ordering takeout?” You laugh at that, in total agreement with the new plan, squeezing her in a hug as you pick up the remote to find something for you and her to enjoy whilst forgetting about bitchy people snooping around in your life.

-

The next shift with Kelly is a challenge, to say the least. Rather unexpectedly your brother is particularly hard on you, through maintenance, through drills and, rather frustratingly, on calls. For some reason, you couldn’t do anything right in your brother’s eyes and it was starting to piss you off. Things you did that would have been perfectly acceptable or up to standard for him were suddenly done too quickly, or not taken seriously enough on your behalf; it meant that, despite your best efforts to appreciate that you would be treated like any other firefighter, you were starting to get short with your Lieutenant. It hadn’t gone unnoticed by your crewmates either, with Joe, Capp and Tony all giving each other a look as if to say “What the hell is happening?”

The most recent call had been the last straw, on the return journey you had sat next to Joe in the back simmering with rage. Kelly had undermined you and called you out on something in front of the entire scene of responders, for something you were sure had been the appropriate course of action during the call. Kelly’s tirade had been such that even the Chief had to tell him ‘Enough’ and sent 81 and 51 back to the firehouse, making Squad 3 clean up alone. You hadn’t answered back, or protested, accepting your Lieutenant’s words as something to take on board, yet inside it felt like a fire was ripping through you.

You had swept and hauled debris in silence, opting to work next to Capp and away from your brother who was discussing something with Joe. You couldn’t even look at him as you passed him to get into the truck, you were close to ripping into him personally and unprofessionally - even though you considered his behaviour to not have been appropriate. 

By the time you’d got back you were nothing short of having a breakdown, yet you held your head high and chose to simply pack away your gear ready for the next call, electing to find Matt Casey as soon as possible.

Making a beeline to the Captain’s office you knocked, barely waiting for the “Come in” before opening Casey’s door and pushing it firmly shut behind you. Sinking down onto the floor between the wall and his bed. 

“What’s up, kiddo?”

“If you don’t help me figure out how to keep my cool, I am going to strangle my Lieutenant, your best friend.” You muffle a yell into your palms, looking up at Matt with imploring eyes.

“So he’s not your big brother anymore, just my best friend?” Casey’s face carries a hint of a smile, but he senses you’re not in the teasing mood.

“Case, you heard him out there today, he’s been up my ass all day. Did that bitch break up with him or something, because I-”

“Woah, hold up. You don’t know?” Matt’s eyebrows raised in confusion. 

“Know what?” You’re focused on Matt now, your heart hammering in anticipation of what you didn’t know.

“Olivia told him that you tried to start a fight, and called her some pretty uh, nasty things. He came to me asking if you’d said anything, and I said I hadn’t seen you since Molly’s the other night. I figured this whole mess from today was the fallout of that…”

You stared at Casey with what felt like your entire stomach about to fall out of your ass. 

“She, what?” You murmured, your head was pounding and your mouth had gone dry.

He rose from his chair, coming to sit on the floor with you, a hand on your shin in reassurance. “I know, I told him I didn’t think it sounded like you, but he was pretty mad, Y/N. I couldn’t calm him down all that much.”

Your face fell into the palm of your hand, you were so full of adrenaline you didn’t know what would happen to it next. 

“That bitch. That honest-to-god bitch… All I did was accidentally walk into her at Molly’s, Matt. That’s it! I apologised and she in return told me how useless I was, then accused me of leeching off my brother, then she tried to make me feel like a fucking child… All the while I’m doing my best to keep the peace and not upset Kelly. I’m gonna… hoo, boy, I am gonna lose my goddamn mind.” You exhaled sharply, suddenly springing to your feet which caused Matt to scramble back and do the same, not sure where this was all going. 

“Y/N, don’t do anything you can’t take back…” Casey warned, eyeing you with concern. 

You can’t speak, shaking your head, patting his arm as you leave his office without another word. 

Matt cautiously follows in your quick footsteps, watching as you head towards Squad 3’s table. He swallows, scratching the back of his head, waiting for the implosion. 

You come to stand by Kelly’s feet, he doesn’t look up from his newspaper as you stand patiently. “Lieutenant? You got a second?” 

“Can this wait?” He replies, not even looking up at you. You bite your lip, willing your anger and upset to go away. You didn’t want to do this in front of the firehouse. 

“Unfortunately not, sir. It’s an urgent matter.” You bite your tongue, keeping it amicable, waiting for your brother’s response. 

“Alright, my office.” He replies emotionlessly, getting up from his armchair as he wordlessly heads back in the direction you’d come from. 

Matt eyes you sympathetically, and you smile weakly, steeling yourself for the conversation you were about to have. Joe, Capp and Tony eye the captain, looking for extra gossip. Matt shakes his head, “Back to work, or…whatever it is you guys do out here.” ignoring their noises of disappointment as he heads after you and your brother, wanting to be some kind of mediator if it got too heated. 

Kelly stands by the entrance to his office, waiting for you to get inside the space before closing the door and shutting the blinds. Next door you hear Casey's door shut, and you know he's on standby if anything gets out of hand.

You stand in front of your big brother with arms folded, a defiant expression on your face. You weren’t going to take any of this bullshit, and you weren’t going to let Kelly have the wool pulled over his eyes. 

Kelly’s jaw is clenched, he speaks in a deadly serious tone.

“Explain yourself.”

You swallow a scoff, shaking your head as you look at him. “Explain myself? You really think I am nasty enough to make your new girlfriend feel unwelcome? To get physical with her? To jeopardise your contentment for my own selfishness?” You stare him out, daring him to actually say yes to any of those. You can see the faltering in his eyes, he knew you, he knew how kind you were, how strong and loving you were. Yet, Olivia had put on a good show and for some reason, he couldn’t see past it.

“She was crying that night after Molly’s, Y/N. She was really upset at the way you treated her,”

You shake your head in disbelief, eyes closing for a second, searching for composure.

“I accidentally bumped into her on the way to the bathroom, Kel. When I arrived that night, you remember? That’s all that happened, I bumped into her and she called me a “stupid bitch”, and then for the rest of the night proceeded to accuse me of selfishly taking up your time, of being needy, of being a child.”

There’s silence between you, Kelly shifts awkwardly on his feet, he knows when you’re lying and he can’t see a hint of it in front of him. Still, he can’t understand why Olivia would have been in hysterical tears over nothing. You can see the wavering in his decision, you can see that he’s not going to fully commit to seeing your side of the story and your heart sinks. 

“Kelly, I don’t want you to say another word without you really considering what comes out of your mouth next. Just know that if we lose this great family between us because of something she made up… I can’t take that, Kel. You’re my no.1, the one I trust…I thought I was the same to you.” 

Your brother’s eyes are full of emotion, and you swallow, you just want to break down and beg him to believe you. You wanted to be strong though, to be believed because it was the truth and not because you’d made a fuss. And just like that, the cruel hand of fate sounds the alarm, and the voice asks that all units from the firehouse attend. You don’t say another word to your brother as you both leave in a hurry to get to the truck.

-

Sitting in the truck waiting to arrive on the scene gives you enough time to get your head together, as always you had a job to do and there was no room for the racing thoughts in your mind. 

Pulling up outside a three-story home a blaze taking hold comes into view on the west side, you pile out of Squad 3 and head towards Chief Boden, masking up as you go, checking each other’s SCBAs as you listen to who is going where. 

Your Squad is sent to the upper floor and you’re behind Kelly as you march up the stairs, announcing yourselves as you go, looking for any potential victims. Room by room you search, under beds and in closets, the neighbour next door had told you as you were going in that a large family lived there, with two parents and 5 kids. She wasn’t sure if they were home or not, but she knew that sometimes the kids would stay home alone if the parents had to work.

At the same time outside was the eldest child talking to the Chief, they had been found in the basement, crying hysterically as they explained that their 6-year-old brother and 10-year-old sister were still in the house. They had been playing hide and seek. 

As you shut one door and go to open another, you hear what you think is a wail coming from above your head. You look up to see the hatch is partially open, 

“Squad 3, come in.” Your radio comes to life.

“Copy you, Chief.” You answer Boden, still eyeing the gap in the hatch.

“There's a 6-year-old and a 10-year-old still in there somewhere, you have five minutes, Severide.”

“I think I see one or both of ‘em chief, the attic hatch is partially open, I think I’ve got movement.”

“I’m sending you Truck 81 on the East side to assist, can you get to that window?”

“Copy, Chief, I’ll get us to the East window.” You let go of your radio, picking up your halligan as you jump to reach the handle to the pull-out steps. Calling out. 

“Fire department! I’m coming up!”

Over the radio you can hear that Capp and Tony were coming back out to assist below, whereas Kelly was relaying the fact that he’d found the older kid in a bedroom, he was bringing them out too. So that left you with just the six-year-old. 

With a quick climb, you were able to shine your helmet into the smoky confined space, revealing a terrified-looking boy coughing and crying, huddled in on himself by the hatch. 

“Hey, buddy. My name’s Y/N, I’m here to help you, alright? You’re just gonna hold on to me, and then we’re gonna climb back down. Easy peasy, huh?” 

The boy whimpers, shying away as the fire roars down below.

“Listen, sweetheart. I know it sounds scary, but it’ll be scarier if you stay up here, alright? We’ve just gotta get to a window upstairs, and my friends are gonna have a fancy ladder waiting for us, they’re gonna help us too, okay?”

You lean further in, painfully aware of the groaning of the house’s structure beneath you, you beckon the child with your hand-clad gloves.

“Come on, kiddo. You got this, I won’t let you go, and we’ll be okay.” 

The boy wails again but this time shimmies forward, 

“Okay, that’s it, you’re doing great, sweetheart. Just wrap yourself as tightly as you can around my neck, and then I’m gonna climb down with you, yeah?”

He nods frantically, instantly getting a death grip around your neck, it makes you almost want to laugh. “That’s a good job, okay we’re going down now, just stay close to me and don’t look.”

With careful steps you push your body out to allow for the boy’s frame, steadily moving down until you feel the solid floor beneath your boots. Though solid, with each additional bit of your weight you can hear it protesting, prompting you to move a little bit quicker to the rendezvous, the staircase now engulfed in flames. 

“Chief, I have the kid, we’re coming to the East window now.” 

You move quickly, arriving at the window where you can see that Casey had broken the glass to get you and the kid out. You hand off your precious bundle to Matt, waiting for them to descend enough so as not to add too much weight to the top of the aerial. 

Behind you you can hear the fire spewing and latching onto the upper floor, grabbing at the doorframe to the room you’re in. You watch in anticipation as the glow grows stronger behind the door you’d shut. Glancing out of the window you can see that Casey is nearly at the bottom to Mouch, so you start to turn yourself around and climb out onto the aerial too, as you do so you hear the telling sound of the impending flashover, trying to correct your feet fast enough to beat the powerful force of the heat and flames blowing out the windows, but it’s too late. 

With a bang the force of the flames pushes you from the ladder, you try and reach out for one of the rungs as you fall but your gloves slip from the speed and force of your falling body, and your helmet collides with the side of the aerial, your mind going blank as you fall helplessly onto the grass below, ignorant of the calls of your name and the sounds of rushing footsteps as you lose consciousness. 

-

The next thing you hear is an annoying beep, at first you think it’s your PASS alarm but it’s not that annoying. You groan, your head clouded in fog with your body feeling heavy, sore.

There’s a movement by your side, and you decide to blink open weary eyes to find out what it is. Your eyes meet your big brother’s worried ones, and you smile weakly, still feeling weird from the sedation you’d been under. You were very much aware of the fact you had ended up at Med. Again. 

“Mnh, hey.” You murmur. You realise now the weight on your other side was your arm in a sling, your knee was strapped up pretty good and you were sure you could feel stitches on your neck going down into your shoulder. 

“Hey, kiddo,” Kelly murmurs, stroking your hair, mindful of the stitches just under your hairline. 

“Guess I should have taken the aerial rather than just the air, huh?” You quip, a dopey smile from your own joke.

Kelly half-smiles, still looking so morose and only partially relieved. “I would have preferred that yeah. Instead of being scared that my sister had just broken everything in her body. You got so lucky, Y/N.” 

“Feels it, I expected worse…” You sigh. “I’m sorry, Kel.”

Your brother shakes his head, “No, no more apologising from you. You’ve done nothing wrong, and all I’ve done is be an asshole to you.”

His lip quivers, grasping at your hand gently as he feels the tears fall silently. 

“Hey, I’m here. Why are you crying?” You rub your thumb across his knuckles, worried at what had him so upset. 

“Because you’ve done nothing but support me, and I let practically a stranger almost ruin all of that, take my sister away and have her maybe never know how much I love her.”

Your eyes well up now, all that restrained emotion coming to the surface, and your lip trembles too. Relieved that he had seemingly come to his senses in believing you.

“Kel, it’s alright, you’re here and-”

Kelly’s phone rings. He ignores it and you nudge him. “Hey, answer, it could be work or something. I can’t exactly run away.” You grin, he shakes his head with a sad smile. 

As his eyes clock the name on the ID, his face darkens and you frown, you think you can guess who’s on the other end.

He answers, putting the phone on speaker. “Severide.” Voice clipped, in no mood for politeness.

“Kel, are you on your way, the reservation’s at 8pm, you know how many strings I had to pull to get us a spot?” Olivia thinks she’s good at putting on an innocent enquiring tone, but all Kelly can hear now is the controlling and demanding woman that was in front of him all along.

“I’m not on my way, I’m at the hospital with Y/N, she had an accident at work today. I’m gonna be with her overnight and then I’ll be taking her home tomorrow as well.” 

There’s silence on the line, you can feel Olivia’s irritation through the phone and it makes you roll your eyes. Kelly’s jaw is set tight. 

“Kel, really? She can’t be in the hospital for one fucking night on her own? This restaurant doesn’t take kindly to cancellations, not when I called in favours. You have to stop babying-”

Your eyebrows go up at the unmasking of her feelings, and you watch in pure satisfaction as Kelly cuts her off.

“Olivia, I’m going to say this once. We’re done. Take your restaurant and shove it, we won’t be seeing each other again. Lose my number.” With that, Kelly disconnects the call, flicking around in the phone app to block the number. Letting out the biggest of sighs as he looks at you, you try not to smile because you still understand it’s hard to lose what you thought was a good connection, but at the same time, you’re elated that you have your brother alert and seeing that you’d never get in the way of what he wanted.

“Remind me to never lose my mind and believe some witch over my own sister again.”

“Oh don’t you worry, Kel, we’re not doing this again, if there’s a next time the gloves come off and I kick either your or your new lover’s ass.” 

-

The grin on Lily’s face said it all. “Can I?”

You usually didn’t let her answer the door alone even though your five year old had already huffed more than once that she was able to do “big girl stuff” but since you were expecting Kelly and Stella for family dinner you figured there was no harm.

You nodded with a smile and you heard her feet patter out towards the main door, interspersed with her excited yells of “Uncle Kelly!”

You smiled as you heard her reach the door and the click of the door opening. Until it was quiet. Too quiet.

“Lil?” You called, heading out of the kitchen and sticking your head out to check on her.

It wasn’t Kelly.

Instead, it was the last person you expected or wanted to see.

Was it anger you felt first? Surprise? Or disbelief? You didn’t know, and you didn’t care. You headed straight for your daughter, picking her up into your arms.

“Kris, what are you doing here?” Your voice was cold and Lily seemed to have picked that up as she turned to look at you.

“Sorry, Mom. I don’t talk to strangers.” Lily sounded genuinely upset because she thought you were angry with her.

You flashed her a small smile. “It’s okay, baby. Why don’t you go get your stuff ready? Remember, the stuff you wanted to show Aunt Stella?”

Lily shook her head, seeming to sense something wrong and instead rested her chin on your shoulder, turning her back to the stranger at the door.

You glanced back at Kris. He wasn’t just your ex, he was Lily’s biological father. Biological. That was where you drew the line, seeing as how Kris had walked out on you after finding out you were pregnant. Lily didn’t have any memories of him since he’d walked out before you’d even started showing. You’d been devastated but on hindsight, it might have been the best thing that Kris had ever done for you.

“We need to talk.”

You’d almost forgotten the sound of his voice, the gravelly quality of it hitting your ears and triggering a bunch of memories that made your body stiffen despite the effort you were making to not let it.

You stepped backwards, reaching out for the door so you could close it. “We have nothing to talk about.”

There was a dangerous glint in his eyes that you’d seen before. “I think you’ve forgotten…”

“Forgotten what?”

You breathed a sigh of relief before you’d even looked up at your brother who was now striding towards you, pushing you gently into the house as he slid between you and Kris.

“Lily, didn’t you say you wanted to show me something?” Lily raised her head now to give Stella a smile. Stella nodded at you and you smiled back gratefully, allowing her to pick Lily from your arms and bring her inside.

Kris hadn’t said anything, but Kelly wasn’t waiting around for it. “Don’t you come around here again. You stay away from them.”

Kelly turned towards you, pushing you gently further into the house, closing the door right in Kris’ face.

“You okay?” Kelly turned to you.

You nodded and smiled. “Always great to have my older brother around.”

Kelly smiled back, pulling a comforting arm around your shoulders and pressing a kiss to the top of your head, only interrupted with Lily’s excited squeal of “Uncle Kelly!” as she actually spotted him now.

You spent the rest of the night without sparing Kris another thought, surrounded by Kelly, Stella and your daughter. Lily didn’t seem to have been fazed by the encounter, so you were thankful that she didn’t know him. You didn’t know if or even how you would handle a heartbroken five year old if she’d been old enough to understand her father not wanting anything to do with her.

Stella slid a glass over to you as she sat next to you. “Everything okay?”

You glanced up at her before looking over at Kelly who was giving Lily the ride of her life on his back in the middle of the living room now and you smiled. “Thanks to the both of you.”

Stella smiled, leaning over to give you a hug.

You glanced at your watch. It had been a long shift and not exactly a good one so you were dying to just go get Lily who, on the contrary, was probably having the time of her life at the Herrmann household.

Herrmann and Cindy had been a godsend. It didn't help that you and Kelly were on the same shift but despite the hours you held as a firefighter on Truck 81, you tried not to put them out too much. When Herrmann had caught whiff of your thoughts, however, Cindy had marched right on over and stomped that nonsense out of you, assuring you that the kids loved having little Lily around and that family was family.

“Y/N!” The voice was coarse, like someone who was coming to pick a fight.

You frowned as you saw Kris striding up towards the firehouse, heading straight for you.

You glanced behind you, where Gallo and Ritter were walking out, their bags slung over their shoulders. Gallo frowned and you gave him a look, which he knew all too well after working with you for some time.

Ritter nodded at him, staying outside but hanging a little behind as Gallo turned back to the firehouse once again.

You took a breath and headed further out to meet him, muttering to yourself that you were going to kill Kelly for delaying you. “What the hell, Kris?”

“We didn’t finish the talk.”

You rolled your eyes. “And I told you there’s nothing to talk about.”

Kris reached out to grab your arm. “And I told you there is.” The words slid out from his lips and you could hear him gritting his teeth, which was not a good sign.

You narrowed your eyes at him. “What do you want?”

“I need some money to tide me over.”

Your jaw fell open before you snapped it shut again. “You’re kidding.”

“Never been so goddamned serious in my life, Y/N. I know you do that stupid reserve fund shit, so just get me some and I’ll be on my way.”

“Or what?” You challenged.

“You know I could make your life a living hell.” Kris growled.

It was like he flipped a switch, as you felt anger fill your belly once again. “You should just be glad I didn’t ask you for child support. Walk away.”

“I’m not going anywhere until I get what I came from. Do not test me, Y/N.” He lowered his voice again.

“I’m not afraid of you, Kris. Not anymore.” You snapped.

It was a snap second, you’d stepped backwards to put more distance between the two of you, before you felt the impact of his palm striking your cheek. You stumbled backwards with the force as the old emotions roared to the surface again.

You didn’t have much time to react though as Matt’s voice rang out from behind you. “Hey!”

“You son of a bitch!” Kelly was here, too.

You spun around, throwing yourself at your brother to stop him from literally pouncing on Kris and probably beating him to death.

“I warned you about showing your face anywhere around us again.” Kelly yelled, the anger pulsating in his voice with each word.

Anyone who hadn’t left the firehouse was now being brought out by the commotion and soon Kris was facing a wall of firefighters. Your family.

“And what are you going to do about it?” Kris growled at Kelly, and you knew full well he was goading Kelly into delivering the first punch.

“Kelly, don’t.” You whispered, just as another voice interrupted the commotion.

“For starters, we can arrest your sorry ass.”

You glanced up just as Adam flashed his badge.

“Adam?”

Adam just gave you a discreet nod, continuing to direct his words at Kris. “What’s it going to be, big guy?”

You didn’t like how well you could see through the changing expressions on Kris’ face. The only good thing about it was knowing the moment that Kris knew he was cornered and didn’t have much of a choice.

Kris gave you one last look but Adam took another step forward. “Continue down this line of harassment, I’ll arrest you myself.”

As Kris turned and left, you marveled at how this was probably the first time in his life that Kris looked like he was leaving with his tail between his legs.

You glanced back at Adam now that you knew you didn't need to physically hold Kelly back any longer.

Adam smiled. “You okay?”

You nodded as Adam explained that he’d been in Chief Boden’s office with Kelly talking about a suspected arson case when Gallo had interrupted them to tell them you’d been approached by some guy in the front and it looked urgent.

“If he bothers you again, or even if you see him hanging around, you call me. Anything, anytime, Y/N.” Adam said, tapping your shoulder gently and reassuringly.

“Or I could kill him and solve everyone’s problems.” Kelly growled through his gritted teeth.

You smiled, turning towards him. “Settle down. I was holding you back for you, in case you missed the point. Lily doesn’t need the only male positive influence in her life to be thrown in jail for assault.”

“Ouch.” You glanced at Matt, who was looking at you with a smile teasing the corner of his lips.

You let out a chuckle. “I take it back. I take it back. You know she loves her Uncle Matt too." You paused, glancing around at your family again. "Thanks guys.”

You looked back around, smiling at the people that had yours and your brother’s back, as Kelly leaned forward to peer at your cheek where he’d struck you. “Are you sure…”

You rolled your eyes at your brother. “I’ve had worse. Come on, you promised Lily ice cream after shift. And we need to make sure she hasn’t torn Herrmann’s house apart.”

Herrmann let out a small laugh. “Next to Anabelle at that age? Lily’s a model kid.”

You laughed, falling into step next to Kelly and Stella as you headed towards Kelly’s car. “Kel. Thanks.”

Kelly frowned at you. “What?”

“Everything. Being here for me and Lil, for being protective even though you drive me crazy when you treat me like a ten year old.” You smiled, teasing him gently before you continued. “He said he’d make our lives a living hell and I just…”

“Fat chance. Not while I’m around.” Kelly assured you, ruffling your hair gently.

You smiled.

“Come on, let’s go get Lil. I’ll even buy you an ice cream.” Kelly teased.

You rolled your eyes as you climbed into the back seat, Stella shooting you a smile from where she was already seated up front. “Shut up.” You growled playfully back at your brother.

THANK YOU FOR READING!! PLEASE TELL ME WHAT YOU THOUGHT OF THIS!!

Stella was leaning against the bar now, leaning in towards you. “And?”

You shrugged. “I don’t know.”

Stella looked up as Jay walked past, his eyes very obviously lingering on you as if he was deciding whether to approach, before he tore his eyes away and slipped out of Molly’s. Stella smiled, turning her attention back to you.

“What is it?” She probed.

You sighed. “I don’t know, don’t you think I’m a bit… young for him?” You gnawed lightly on your lower lip, a habit you’d had since forever when you had a lot on your mind.

Before Stella could respond, you heard Kelly’s voice near the door and the both of you turned.

“Please don’t tell Kelly about this.” You pleaded.

Stella smiled. “This conversation is not over.”

“Stella…” You whined.

“Girl’s honour.” Stella whispered, crossing her heart with two fingers just as Kelly reached the bar. He reached out to ruffle your hair, an annoying habit he had never gotten rid of, before he leaned across the bar to kiss Stella.

“Kelly, how many times do I have to tell you to quit doing that?” You growled, straightening your hair again.

Kelly chuckled. “As many times as I have to tell you that I don’t care how old you are, you will always be my baby sister.”

Kelly looked from Stella to you. “Something I should know?”

Stella smiled and shook her head. “Not if you know what’s good for you.”

Thankfully, Kelly hadn’t probed further and true to her word Stella hadn’t said anything to Kelly, instead coming by your place the next night armed with girls’ night snacks.

The both of you now sat on the couch as Stella studied you. “You like him, don’t you?”

You shrugged.

“What are you worried about?” Stella pushed a little and you looked up.

“I’m just not sure he really likes me.” You paused. “I know we don’t have like a huge controversial age gap or anything, it’s just… I’m just not sure if he really likes me or he just likes the idea of you know… dating someone… younger?”

Stella smiled. “Do you think he’s a good guy?”

You looked up. “Yeah, I think he’s the best.”

Stella didn’t answer, just continued smiling at you. “Now, I can’t tell you what to do, not really. You have to be ready to take the step forward but will you regret letting him go without trying?”

You bit your lip, the words rolling around in your head.

“You were supposed to make things easier.” You half complained.

Stella chuckled. “If you wanted easier, you would have gone to Kelly.”

You laughed. “That’s true.”

“Y/N, you like him, just go. It’s a first date, go have fun and don’t overthink it.” Stella said, looking back at you, smiling.

Not overthinking was easier said than done.

On your fourth day of ‘not overthinking’, you’d run into Jay at Molly’s.

“Hey.” Jay greeted, his green eyes twinkling like they normally did. You smiled back at him, trying to ignore the sound of your heart trying to leap out of your chest.

Jay hesitated in front of you, almost as if he wanted to ask you something but was afraid to broach the subject first.

You looked up at him. “Okay.”

Jay’s eyes jumped up to yours. “Okay?”

You let a smile creep along your face. “Okay.”

Jay’s face lit up and you felt your gut do a somersault. “To one date.” You stressed.

Jay put his hands up. “All I’m asking for, Y/N. All I’m asking for. Friday?”

You smiled and nodded. “Friday.”

“I’ll come by and pick you up at 7.” Jay said, and you swore you could hear a little triumph in his voice.

You watched as he practically skipped back to his table, casting you another backward glance. Stella winked at you from the bar. You headed over to her and leaned over. “Thank you.” You whispered.

“For what?” Kelly asked, eyeing you suspiciously.

You punched Kelly in the arm, not answering his question. “You better hold on to her, you hear me?”

Kelly raised an eyebrow.

“I’ll kick your ass otherwise.” You threatened.

Stella was right – it would be great if things went well but even if it didn’t, at least you wouldn’t have any regrets.

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