Her AU Book Three

Apologies Are Dangerous

*At Firehouse 51: Inside the Bunk Room*

Matt had been walking by Kelly's Office on the way to his own when the man himself suddenly came out, narrowly missing hitting the blond with the door.

"Hey." The Squad Lieutenant greeted, heading for the locker room.

"If crashing here is your way of skipping out on paying rent. . ." His Truck counterpart trailed off, jokingly.

"No, I lost my key. I didn't want to wake you guys up. 'Specially Ana." Kelly murmured, turning back around and giving Matt a full view of his face.

"How'd you get the shiner?" The blond inquired with a teasing smirk. "Hit on the wrong woman?"

The Squad Lieutenant gazed up at the ceiling before responding.

"Something like that." He muttered before finally walking into the Locker Room.

Kelly had just barely stepped inside when his wife came racing over to him at top speed.

"Hey, Daddy told me what happened last night." She explained, breathlessly, reaching a hand up to lightly stroke at his injury. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. It's just a bruise." He used her own words against her with a soft chuckle.

Ana conceded with a sigh and let her hand fall back to her side.

"I'll let you get dressed then. But first, you should know that Mills is on Ambo now since Gabby's moved over to Truck." The brunette cracked a small smile.

"Lord help us all." Kelly smirked.

*Sometime Near the End of Shift*

Kelly had been silently looking through some magazines in his Office when a knock sounded at the door. He turned to see who it was just as Matt peered inside.

"Listen, I'm prepared to put a 20 into the black eye pool if you give me a hint." The blond teased with a mischievous glint in his eye.

"Not now, Matt." The Squad Lieutenant muttered, turning back to his reading material and looking very much not in the mood for the other man's shenanigans.

"You know, how you spend your time off shift, that's your business." He began, becoming completely serious now. "But people in this house count on you."

"You know what I can count on? One person, one singular person who also happens to be my wife. Ana doesn't need me piling my own problems on top of hers. So why don't you and everyone else in this house just leave me alone." Kelly snapped back with a heated glare. "Really."

Matt stared at him shock before slowly closing the door and walking away.

*Later That Night: At Matt and Gabby's Apartment*

"A toast to your first shift." The blond cleared his throat while walking over and handing the former PIC a glass of wine.

"Thanks." She smiled.

"To your first day as a firefighter." He clinked his own glass against hers.

"And yet, I almost got a guy killed and my lieutenant yelled at me." Gabby rolled her eyes.

Matt chuckled and took a sip of his drink as he sat down next to her.

"Oh, you think that was yelling? Go ask Welch at 105 if that was yelling." He smirked.

"So how was your day?" She inquired and his face fell immediately.

"Lieutenant problems." The blond sighed, choosing to elaborate upon seeing the look on her face. "Severide."

Ana, who had walked into the kitchen right as her husband's name was uttered, tried very hard to make it seem like she wasn't eavesdropping at the moment.

"How bad is it?" Gabby wondered.

"He's slipping away." Matt admitted, quietly.

"You, of all people, know what it's like to lose someone close to you, baby." She pointed out, gently. "What pulled you out?"

The blond gazed down at his lap for a moment, a plan immediately formulating in the back of his mind

"Hey, Ana." He called, tilting his head in her direction.

"Yeah." She replied, turning from the fridge with a glass of water in hand.

"I'm gonna need your help with something. Later next shift." Matt explained, determination flaring up in gaze. "Also, there's something else you need to know."

"Of course." The Captain nodded, instantly. "What is it?"

*At Firehouse 51: Sometime During Next shift*

"Kelly. Can I talk to you for a second?" Matt called, catching the man as he was brushing some confetti off his shoulders from Truck 81's most recent prank on their new candidate.

The Squad Lieutenant turned to see him pulling two cigars out of his pocket and merely let out a sigh before following him back outside.

"You made me listen to you when Hallie died. Now it's your turn." The blond began after a few moments of just leaning back against the Squad rig and smoking. "I loved Hallie. I thought we'd be together forever. I still think I'm gonna bump into her in a store, or she's gonna call me out of the blue or something. Truthfully, as screwed up as that is, I love that feeling." He admitted, quietly, turning to face the other man. "Listen. This house needs you. And whether you like it or not, you need this house. But what you need more than anything, is to talk to your damn wife."

As if on cue, Ana appeared next to Kelly and looked up at him with an unreadble expression. Completely undecipherable to anyone but the two men standing before her now.

"Matty told me what you said to him in your Office last shift." She explained, quietly, watching as he instinctively moved to angle his cigar away from her. "To Hell with piling your problems on top of mine. Kelly, it's what I'm here for. . . as your wife." The brunette stared at him long and hard. "Or did you just suddenly forget that? Did you forget that when you slid this ring on my finger I became the one person you could talk to about anything, at any time?" The Captain suddenly brought a hand up to his face, to the still healing bruise, and cupped it gently. "I will always be that person for you, Kelly, and you can always talk to me. In sickness and in health, remember?"

"Till death do us part." He murmured, softly, leaning into the contact.

Matt smiled and slowly backed away to give them some privacy.

"I love you, Kelly Severide." She breathed out, leaning up for a kiss.

The Lieutenant met her halfway.

"I, uh, I think I'm gonna pick up an extra shift." He confessed, lightly stroking her cheek.

"Okay." Ana conceded with a small sigh. "Use the time to think about what I said and what Matt told you as well."

"I will." Kelly cracked a small smile. "Thank you."

The Captain just kissed him again in response before walking back towards the Firehouse, leaving her husband to finish his cigar in silence. . . or so he thought. The Truck Lieutenant reapeared a few seconds later, wanting to finish his as well.

A/N I hope you all enjoyed! Till Monday.

~Princess <3