The firefighter's smile

Chapter Thirteen

"Are you going to see Sev ?" Shay asked when she saw Charlotte walking out of the third room this apartment had.

"It's not like I've plenty of things to do" she replied, rubbing her tired eyes.

After yawning a few times, she was able to settle down in order to savor a hot coffee. 

"You alright?" Shay demanded.

"I think I'm gonna get claustrophobic by dint of staying in this hospital every day" Charly answered honestly, "and I have the feeling that all the answers I'm searching for aren't in this hospital's room."

"What do you mean?" Kelly's best friend questioned.

"Since I'm back in Chicago, I had those vision of my past, flashback called them as you want but since Severide's accident, nothing about him or happened to me came back. It's just firehouse related."

"Both of your lives are related to 51. You can't deny it. Maybe it's a sign." Leslie explained.

"It's not helping me!" Smith shouted with all the anger and frustration she accumulated. "I don't give a damn about what flavor Boden prefer, or that a lot of you thought I was a candidate when I first started. I want to know who I was before everything went south. I want to know more than the fact that a son-of-bitch pit his dirty hands on me. I want to know who I was, who I wasn't, who were my friends, why Kelly was my boyfriend, hell, even how he popped the question. I want to remember the day of the accident."

"Easy, tiger!" Leslie half-smiled. "Have you tried to talk about it with Kelly? Maybe he can recount you some moments you shared together." 

She never thought about it, not until the paramedic on the ambo 61 suggested it. It's thinking about what she could say to invite him to share their story, that Chaly got ready and took the bus to the hospital. As usual, she bought two large coffee and some pastries. Though, when she went into the room of the injured firefighter, this one wasn't there. She let the two cups and the box on the tray and went to check with a nurse where he possibly could be. 

"Lieutenant Severide just went to pass an MRI."

"Something happened?" Charly asked, worried.

"His therapist is concerned about his lack of progress in therapy this couple days."

"But a week ago, he was happy."

"The signs of progress were major that's true though lately, Lieutenant Severide had trouble feeling his legs, and taking steps." The nurse explained.

"He's kind of paralyzed that's normal." Charly reasoned.

"The swelling around his spine disappeared completely. According to his doctor, he should be able to walk again, not properly but still reach more than two steps."

"What is he looking for? Sequels? Spinal cord trauma?"

"I'm sorry but I don't know. If you want, I can request him to come and explain everything to you."

"Yes, please. Thanks." She nervously smiled, before walking back into the chamber. 

Then, she let herself fall on the armchair, supposedly beside the bed, and decided to share her concern to Leslie, with who she used to talk when she's the one with the Squad 3 Lieutenant.

to: Leslie Shay

Hey! I'm really sorry to disturb you during your shift but I wanted to inform you of some possible change. They send him passing an MRI because they're doubting there might be something wrong. The nurse said something about the fact that the swelling has disappeared and that he should already be able to walk which it's not the case... I'm a little lost. Take care. See you tomorrow! 

And she waited, playing with her fingers nervously, anxious. Was it how he was feeling when he had to wait for her after her accident? What if something is definitely wrong with him? A lot of interrogations came up in her mind.

Ten minutes after her arrival, Kelly was back in his room and not in the better state of mind. 

"Do you want something to drink? I bought coffee. It is probably cold now but if..."

"I'm not hungry." He cut her off.

"Not eating isn't going to help you."

"Yeah because eating is going to make me run a semi-marathon in no time."

"No, it's not but you need all the strength you can possibly have to your therapy session. I know it's hard..."

"If you know so damn well what I'm feeling, why are you still talking?" He shouted sharply.

"You need me to shut up?" She replied, shocked by the sudden change of emotion of the man in front of her.

"I need you to stop turning everything into an emotional crisis!" 

And suddenly, she was taken aback by his replica. 

"Hey Hot Fireman!" She smiled, entering the Squad 3 Lieutenant's office.

"What can I do for you Speedy?" He asked back, smiling at her too.

"Speedy? Really?"

"You were quick in this building," Kelly explained.

"I can be quick for a lot of things" she added playfully.

"Oh, I see. But, you wanted something right?"

"Your dad's here" Charly finally announced. 

The smiled of the Lieutenant died in half a second. He sighed, stood up, and lay a kiss on the lips of his girlfriend. 

"You smell like smoke," He said.

"I was on my way to the shower when I saw your dad. If you need me, you know where I'll be" she explained, stealing him a last kiss before running away to the showers. 

That's exactly where he found her after a long dispute with his father. She didn't even get surprised when his hands found their way on her hips and his lips on her neck. 

"You alright?" Charly asked.

"Same old Benny," He only responded.

"I'm talking about you," Smith added, turning around to face him. "How are you? I hear a part of your argument and he talked your mom and..."

"Can you stop turning everything into an emotional crisis?" He shouted angrily.

"I'm just worried about you, Kelly."

"You don't need to!"

"You are my boyfriend, of course, I need to, I even have to! That's how it works in a relationship."

"Can you just stop for a second?"

"You must be kidding me! You want me to shut up after you just said?" She retorted, dumbfounded. "You shut up and you listen, Mister I-know-everything-better-than-anyone. I won't let you alone anytime soon so you must be ready to talk to me when something happened even if it's a good thing or a bad thing because if not, I swear to God that I will make you regret it."

"How?" He asked, a small smile on his lips.

She bent over him, and murmured into his ear: "No more cuddles, no more sex during a month."

"An emotional crisis?" Charly repeated. "I already told this to you once and I'm doing to tell it again, Mister I-know-everything-better-than-anyone. I won't let you alone anytime soon so you must be ready to talk to me when something happened even if it's a good thing or a bad thing."

Before he even had the time to had something, a knock on the door cut their discussion off. 

"I'm sorry to disturb you." Kelly's doctor said. "I have the results of the MRI."