Back to Chaos

C H A P T E R - S I X T E E N

Alyssa Torres wasn't a stranger to surprises. She expected a lot of them, wasn't easily scared when things jumped out at her.

So, after returning from their call, when she saw Squad 3 parked outside of Firehouse 90, she wasn't surprised. She was mildly upset.

"Who called them?" she asked, her voice even as she kept her gaze out the window.

There was silence in the truck as the firefighters all looked at each other.

"I asked a question," she spoke firmly.

"I texted him," Liam King spoke up, looking through the rearview mirror and making eye contact with the woman. "He asked how you were doing, I told him."

Her jaw clenched as she refused to make eye contact with her best friend. The rig came to a stop and Alyssa was the first one out, not bothering to remove her gear as she walked over to Kelly Severide who was sitting at the Squad table on the apparatus floor.

He sent her a small smile as he looked up from his phone.  "How was your call, sweetheart?"

Alyssa had approached him with every intent to send him back to his own firehouse, claiming that she didn't need him there. But as soon as the name left his mouth, the woman melted, falling into the seat next to him.

She was still mildly upset that Liam had thought that she couldn't do her job without her boyfriend there but she would be lying if she said that she didn't want to see Kelly.

"It was okay," she answered, returning his smile. His phone rested on the table as he turned his attention to the woman in front of him. "What are you doing here?"

"Just checking on you," Severide responded, a glint in his eye. "We just got done with a call not far from here and there is that really good pizza place down the block that the guys wanted to go to. If you're lucky, they might've left you guys a box or two." His eyes shifted to the members of Squad 6 as they passed the table. King refused to make eye contact with Alyssa as he went.

There was silence as Kelly held eye contact with his girlfriend. "What's wrong, sweetheart?" He asked, patting his lap to invite the woman to sit on it.

Alyssa sighed, moving to sit on his lap, leaning into his chest as his arms swarmed around her. She kicked off her boots and removed her belt, tossing it onto the table as she melted into his embrace.
 
"Good call?" Kelly asks, placing a kiss to behind her ear.

"It was fine," Torres mumbled in response, her eyes falling shut as the garage doors buzzed shut, hitting the concrete floor with a slight bang. There were a few more sets of footsteps as the members of Truck 23 headed into the common room as well. By the sounds of it - no arguing about who was making lunch - Squad 3 had saved some pizza for the other firefighters.

"You should go eat, baby doll," the man whispered, carefully unbuttoning her turnout pants so they weren't so tight against her waist as she relaxed. "Let's take these off too, hmm?"

Alyssa groaned but stood up, kicking off the turn-out pants before taking her seat on Kelly's lap once more. "I miss staying home with you all day," she sighed, a content groan leaving her mouth. It was silence, just the two of them. As if no one else existed in the world at that very moment.

"I've missed you too," Kelly smiles, kissing the nape of her neck. There was silence again before Kelly decided to speak up again. "So ... I was - uh - I was talking to Boden earlier." He paused for a moment to hear Alyssa hum in response, signaling for him to keep talking. "He's willing to have you join Squad 3 as co-lieutenant."

Alyssa's eyes snapped open and her eyes locked onto the ceiling. It took her a second to process it but when she did, she stood up, turning around and leaning against the table, facing Severide.

"You asked him about me transferring to 51?"

"Just worst-case scenario, sweetheart," he responds, sitting forward in his chair, and looking up at the woman. "In case something else happens and you don't want to work here anymore, you have a position at 51. And, when everything is figured out and we ... and we move on in our relationship, maybe we'd want to work at the same firehouse."

Alyssa nodded slowly, her eyes falling to the floor as she processes what she was feeling. Part of her was upset that Kelly thought she would transfer firehouses just so they could be together all the time. Part of her thought it was nice of him to want her to have a backup plan if she was no longer comfortable not working without him.

"What are you thinking, sweetheart?" Kelly asked, reaching forward and grabbing her hands, making her look at him.

"I don't want to leave 90," she whispered. "Not unless I absolutely have to."

"I know, I know. Sweetheart, no one is making you, okay? It's just a back-up plan. I don't want you to have to be couped up in the apartment again if something happens again."

Alyssa nods as Kelly stands up, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her into him, his chin resting on the top of her head.

"I love you, Lys."

"I love you too," she mumbles, breathing in what only could be described as Kelly's scent. It was slightly smoky - fire smoke and cigar smoke - with a little bit of whiskey mixed in and his cologne.

Their moment was interrupted as Kelly's radio went off.

Squad 3, Ambulance 61, Truck 81. House fire, 3274 West Bellvue Boulevard

The man sighed, pulling away from the woman. "I'll see you at home, yeah?"

Alyssa nodded, a small smile on her face as Kely leaned down, placing a soft kiss on her lips before heading for the apparatus door that led outside as the other members of Squad 3 came running out of the common room. They waved at the woman who waved back, a smile on her face as she watched Kelly pull on his turn-out pants. He sent her a wave before he climbed into the rig which pulled away seconds later.