Standing Outside the Fire

28 - Between us

I walked into Mollys still in my black cocktail dress I wore to the charity event I had planned that I had to be at to run point as well.

I was meeting everyone at Mollys for a drink afterwards. I walked in and Kelly whistled seeing me.

"Looking good!" He said as I walked up to him. I leaned in and kissed him as I reached him. I then spun and he pulled me against him, between his legs to lean on him. He wrapped his arms around my waist.

"How was the party?" Herrmann asked handing me a drink from behind the bar and I rolled my eyes.

"Well I had about 3 old guys hit on me. Telling me their bank accounts had more money than I could ever imagine...that was interesting." I smirked.

"What did you tell them?" Mouch chuckled.

"Said I was dating a firefighter and the bank account means nothing to me." I smiled at Severide. "They then told me as long as I didn't have a ring on my finger I was fair game." I said and looked at Severide.

"Wow..." Trudy said as she joined the group.

"Alright that's it, you can't go out of the house looking as good as you do tonight anymore." Severide said as I took a sip of the gin and tonic Herrmann gave me.

"So you would rather I go out looking like trash than maybe just putting a ring on my finger?" I asked. He just sat and stuttered through a response. I rolled my eyes, got out of his grip.

"I need to use the ladies room." I said and walked away.

**KELLY POV**

I watched Bailey walk away and once she was out of eyeshot I got a smack on the back of my head from Trudy.

"Hey!" I snapped.

"You basically just told her, hey I don't ever plan on marrying you but sure make yourself look horrible so no one else will want you." Trudy said.

"I did not!" I protested.

"You did." Mouch said.

"Her and I talked after she was in the hospital! We both said we weren't ready for that kind of commitment." I defended.

"Severide, honestly if you were to ask her tomorrow, you know she would say yes. She loves you." Herrmann said.

"And I think you should ask sooner rather than later. I mean she didn't go for the old guys at the party but what's not to say a handsome, younger guy approaches her at one of these parties she is tired of waiting on you." Trudy said.

I got to thinking that Trudy had a point and it scared me. What if something better did come along? What if she picked them over me?

"I guess I just worry about my job. I mean I run into burning buildings for a living." I spoke up.

"And that's a risk you always take but you want to know what always pulled me and got me out of the burn buildings?" Mouch asked.

"What?"

"Bailey, knowing she needed me. Now Trudy is added to that. If you have something or someone to live for, it makes it better." Mouch said. I smiled as I saw Bailey come walking back out. As she was walking back to us she was stopped by a guy.

**BAILEY POV**

I was walking back from the restroom when someone stepped in my path.

"Hey. Can I buy you a drink?" The guy asked with a smile.

"No thank you, just trying to get back to my group." I said and went to walk past him but he stepped in my way.

"Come on it's just a drink. It's not like I'm asking you to go home with me. That will come later." He smirked.

I rolled my eyes, "I said no thank you."

The guy then placed a hand on my hip pulling me close to him.

"Let go of me!" I protested.

"Hey!" Kelly yelled as he walked up to us.

"Back off man I saw her first." The bar patron said.

"Actually I did as seeing as I'm her boyfriend." Kelly said.

"Well not for long." The guy said. Kelly grabbed his shoulder spin the guy to face him and punch him in the jaw.

"SEVERIDE!" I yelled and he blocked a punch from the guy and punched him again. Mouch, Herrmann and Boden came over. Trudy pulled me out of harms way as they broke the guys apart. I just shook my head and stormed out of the bar after grabbing my clutch purse from where I left it on the bar.

"Bailey!" Severide yelled my name as I walked out. I just kept walking. "Bailey! Wait!" Severide yelled reaching me as I got outside. He grabbed my arm stopping me and I spun on him and yanked my arm away.

"Why did you have to do that?!" I asked.

"Do what?! Punch the guy that was bothering you?!" Kelly asked.

"You didn't have to resort to violence Kelly! You could have just pulled me away from him and kept going about our night but no, you go to violence and punch the guy! I love that you wanted to stand up for me but it didn't have to be that way!" I yelled.

"Well I don't like other men thinking that you belong to them when you're mine." Kelly said.

"I belong to no one Kelly. I'm with you but I don't belong to you." I said and he groaned.

"I don't mean it like that Bailey. It's just that you and I are together and I don't want something to come between us. We have had enough of a hard time being together and I just want to be able to be us without issues now." Kelly said and I just sighed.

"Well you punching some guy at Mollys doesn't help that case Severide. I'll see you at home." I said, walked to my car and drove away leaving Kelly standing there in the street watching me leave.