Her AU Book Two

Defcon 1

The Captain of Firehouse 51 had been wandering around in its various hallways when a very familiar voice had her stopping just short of the command area.

"Ana!" Kelly called, jogging over and placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Hey, look, I- I know I've been really distant lately with Shay wanting to have a baby and then Renee coming back pregnant. I just. . . all that stuff got me thinking and I realized that I don't wanna have any kids. Not yet anyway." He took a deep breath and gazed down, softly, at his wife before continuing. "The only thing I want, no, need right now. . . is you."

The brunette stared up at him with wide eyes. Of all the things she expected him to say, that was not it. Before she could get a word out, however, a certain elevator man appeared around the corner.

"Severide, Benson, hey!" Otis greeted, walking up to the couple nonchalantly.

"Hey, what's up, Otis?" The Lieutenant inquired, turning to face the other man while still keeping one arm wrapped around Ana.

"Nothing." He shrugged. "I was just, uh, talking to Shay, told me the good news."

"Good news?" Kelly repeated, glancing down at the Captain in confusion.

She just shook her head, not knowing where the elevator man was going with this.

"Your new apartment." He elaborated. "Sounds tight."

"Oh. Yeah, thanks." The Lieutenant nodded.

"Yeah, no, problem. She did say it was a three-bedroom, and you guys might be looking for a third roommate to, uh-" Otis paused to click his tongue. "-defray the costs."

"She said that?" Kelly eyed him, suspiciously.

Fortunately for the elevator man, Joe and Mouch came rushing over before he could reply.

"Hey! Yo, Otis! We agreed we were gonna go to them together." The driver for Truck 81 hissed.

"Why do you even need a new place, Cruz? Your apartment isn't bad." He pointed out.

"You spend a night in my neighborhood, lulled to sleep by gunfire!" Joe glared.

"You try living two doors down from my mother." Otis retorted, making the other man roll his eyes and cross his arms.

"Now, guys, this is exactly the kind of drama you won't have to deal with if you choose a mellow, mature roommate." Mouch reasoned, slyly.

"Guys, it's just an apartment." Kelly scoffed in disbelief.

"Yeah, I mean, you haven't even seen the place yet." Ana agreed with a small chuckle.

"I can come by right after shift." Otis offered.

"Me too." Mouch added, quickly.

"Listen, this isn't cheerleader tryouts. You guys need to work this out amongst yourselves." The Lieutenant quipped, removing his arm from around the Captain's shoulders and grabbing her hand instead as he spotted someone else a little further down the hall. "Chief! Hey! You got a minute?"

"Just the one." He nodded, turning to face the couple completely.

"We know who our arsonist is." Kelly revealed.

"Who?" The older man inquired.

The Lieutenant placed a gentle hand on his back and led him over to a nearby wall, decorated with framed photos of many of the firefighters currently stationed at 51. Ana drew his attention to the one of Squad 3 and pointed at a certain redhead in particular.

"Hadley?" Chief asked in disbelief. "No way. I'm not buying it."

"I didn't wanna believe it myself, but I have a really bad feeling about this, Chief." The brunette muttered in warning.