thirteen.

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You could say that Sylvie and Maddie considered each other best friends.

Both bonded over the fact being new in Chicago and often went window-shopping. Maddie was game for drinks or just listening to her blonde friend's grievances about her old life in Indiana. Sylvie was also there for Maddie after what happened with Gish and pushed her friend to talk to her husband rather than dealing with the trauma alone.

The two friends also loved food. Which was why they were in a sushi restaurant after an afternoon of shopping for Maddie's office clothes. Sylvie often shoved skirts to her friend's arm and Maddie could only scrunch up her nose. In the end, there were more slacks than pencil skirts.

"How many girlfriends do you think Kelly had before me?" Maddie asks mindlessly as they flip through the menu. "How many girlfriends do you think he'll have after me?"

Sylvie sighs, not really seeing what her best friend was worried about. Her friend had told her about encountering one of Lieutenant Severide's old girlfriends and Sylvie laughed at how Maddie described herself as a dog and Nicki Rutkowski as a bikini model. After that, Maddie had went on and on with her questions about what Nicki meant by "his reputation". 

And that conversation occurred over two hours ago.

"I think I'll have some salmon." Sylvie tells her, trying not to touch the topic of Severide's past lovers.

"She was really pretty, Sylvia." Maddie says, eyes staring blankly in front of her.

Meanwhile, Sylvie kept her eyes on the menu. "Maybe some too."

"Where do you think they had sex? Was it in his office or the coat room?"

"Nevermind, I want tuna instead."

"Do you think he'll leave me because I'm too scared to go inside an elevator?"

"Okay!" Sylvie exclaims as she slams her menu on the table which garnered some attention from the other customers. "I want to break-up with Cruz." She reveals, hoping that it would take Maddie's mind off Nicki Rutkowski.

"What? I thought you liked him?"

Sylvie shrugs, a frown on her lips. "I do. Our worlds are too different, Mads. He wants to stay in for the night while I want to go out. I just feel bad because he's such a nice guy."

"Well, you can't him string him along. But, break-up with Cruz gently, please. He's like a teddy bear."

"Oh, I will. I still want him to be my friend."

Maddie nods. "That's good." She shifts her attention to the sushi menu in front of her as she looks at what would satisfy her appetite more.

"It's okay to feel insecure sometimes." Sylvie tells her, their eyes meeting.

"I just feel like people expect Kelly and I to fall apart because of the whole circumstance. I mean, the whole firehouse had a bet on how long we'll last!"

"--which I did not take part in by the way."

The corners of Maddie's lip curl into a grateful smile. "Thank you, Sylvia."

"And hey, if it really bothers you, then you should talk to Kelly about it." Sylvie suggests and jokingly adds, "Because I am not stalking his whereabouts for you."

"You'd do that?"

"Maddie!"

The morning after their shift, she was waiting for him with her back against his 1968 navy blue Ford Mustang.

"Hi." She greets him, her hands encircling his lower back as Maddie leans in for a kiss.

"Hey, babes." Kelly says once they pull apart. He takes a step back and his eyes roam over her attire from her dark blue blouse to the nude pumps on her feet. "Don't you look fancy on the first day. I think it's the first time I've seen you wear heels."

Maddie rolls her eyes and tosses him the car keys. "Thank you. Sylvie picked them out for me. She says it makes my eyes pop."

"It doesn't do much for your height though." Kelly teases as he comes closer and kisses her again.

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah."

Once they get inside the car and Kelly adjusts the radio station to his liking, they fall into easy conversation. He tells her about the baby they had rescued and how Hermann had punched the father since he was blowing meth into the baby's face. Thus, causing the fire. Maddie held on to every word he said—an occurrence that Kelly adored.

She liked to listen to his stories whether it was about his childhood or his job. Every fire or every gruesome detail Kelly shared, she listened. It had been like that ever since the Gish incident.

Maddie said that the stories helped keep her mind from drifting back to the moment where she was trapped inside the elevator. The stories Kelly told also gave her hope that the world wasn't so bad and that good people (like him, Sylvie, and the rest of Firehouse 51) still existed.

"How'd you sleep last night?" He asks.

"Not as bad." Maddie shrugs, "I woke up around five and, since it was too early, I painted a bit."

That was a habit of hers. After a traumatic event (her father passing away and almost dying at the hands of an arsonist), Maddie found herself waking up in the middle of the night in cold sweat and feeling like she couldn't breathe. She did that within the first few days after Gish and Kelly would wake up to an empty space beside him. Of course, Kelly could only find her in the spare bedroom downstairs which had turned into Maddie's art studio.

"What did you paint?"

"I actually finished what I was working on last week."

"Hey," Kelly says as he exits the vehicle and tucks Maddie underneath his arm. "If you ever need a nude model, just feel free to contact me."

Maddie scoffs and rolls her eyes though she does give him a peck on the cheek. "For sure."

They walk into the diner and the smell of coffee and bacon and Maddie immediately wrinkles her nose at the smell of grease. The was filled with people off to work or just curing a horrible hangover because of last night's drinking.

"Kelly!" A man calls from a booth, "Hey, man, come sit with us."

Maddie didn't recognize the man from Firehouse 51 nor did she recognize the dark-skinned beauty sitting beside him. As they approach the booth, she notices the beauty smile up at Kelly and Maddie pales.

Kelly introduces Maddie to his childhood friends (which makes her sigh in relief). She smiles politely and shakes both of their hands and follows Kelly as he slides into the red-covered booth.

"So, Maddie." Scott Rice starts, "How many times have you and Kelly had a steamy rendezvous at 51, aye?"

The question makes Maddie choke on her coffee. Kelly pats her back a few times and glares at his friend. "He's just messing with you, Maddie."

Meanwhile, April Sexton rolls her eyes and flicks Scott's ear. "And, he's an idiot. Scott just asked that question since our friend here--" She gestures to Kelly, "is the love them and leave them type."

If it was possible, Maddie's face goes paler. She quickly masks this with a closed-mouth smile as she turns to Kelly who was seated beside her. "Is that so?"

Kelly knew that expression. It was her face. "No." He denies which makes Maddie raise her eyebrows, "Okay, maybe I had a few girlfriends--"

"A few?" Scott interrupts which earns him a jab in the stomach from April.

"But, I married you, didn't I?"

"Married?!" April and Scott exclaim, their mouths hanging in shock.

Oh yeah, Kelly hadn't told them yet. Whoops. 

"Why didn't you start off with that?" April asks, a smile on her face.

Kelly scratches his neck nervously as Maddie is silent and continues to stare at her coffee.

Unknown to Maddie, April had caught the way she had paled at the mention that Kelly was quite a Casanova. She looked like she was uncomfortable talking about the subject and would rather talk about other stupid things like why didn't Chicago allow ketchup on their hotdogs?

"Hey, Maddie." April says and their eyes meet, "Did you know you are way outta Kelly's league?"

This makes Maddie smile which makes April smile too, knowing that she was able to help out a newfound friend.

After having breakfast with Kelly and his friends, he dropped Maddie off to her new job. Brighton Builders, one of the most prestigious architecture firms in Chicago, was located at the ninth floor of a building that almost reached the sky.

Maddie had mixed feelings taking the job. Sure, it had normal work hours and she didn't totally hate being an architect (since she still got to draw) but she had to take a freaking elevator. That was why Maddie stood in front of the two elevators in the lobby for a whole ten minutes on her first day.

Tightly gripping her box of materials, Maddie eyes the numbers that signaled that the elevators were coming down again.

In a few minutes, the elevator door opens. Maddie could feel her heart rate quicken but she had to do this for herself (and also for the people who had helped her get through the mild PTSD).

Maddie puffs out a breath and goes inside. "Come on, Madeline. It's just a stupid elevator."