Boundless

Charlotte moved quickly passed the dining room table and plucked the keys from the hanger with a sophisticated grace. Repositioning herself at her doorway, she braced herself against the wall for support and slipped into her favorite pair of flats, they were black with peep toe to show off a coat of freshly painted red. After she made a quick check of her belongings she was out of the house and into the black Volkswagen Jetta that graced her driveway.

"C'mon," she whispered with a mouthful of Pop-tart as she cranked the car to life. The engine sputtered lifelessly, causing her early morning distress to begin a bit earlier than usual. With a quick curse she tried again; a small smile gracing her lips as she felt the vibrations of the vehicle. Glancing at the clock she groaned and backed out of the driveway a little quicker than what most considered safe.

I'm late. I'm so late.

Her morning commute to work was one of pure beauty, each day she was stunned by the sights of Chicago. The springtime sun warmed the air to a bearable temperature, and the quaint little park by her apartment was filled with children climbing on all types of structures. She grinned, thinking back to her childhood, her favorite thing in the park was always the monkey bars. With a shake of her head she glanced back to the road before her.

A stray curl fell from the pin she used to keep her bangs back, so she pushed them out of her eyes with a quick flick of her wrist and returned her focus to the task at hand.

Seemingly out of nowhere a man stepped out of a black car on the curb and stretched his hands to the sky before he dove back inside for a large green bag. He stepped into the road slightly, apparently unaware of her presence behind him. With a quick foot she stopped onto her brakes. The tires screamed against the pavement as she pressed on her horn.

"Watch out!" She yelled.

Quickly she swerved into the driveway of the fire department, her hand pressed firmly onto her rapidly beating heart. Charlotte closed her eyes and reach down into the cup holder to grab her coffee with a shaky hand. After she took a calming sip of the beverage she opened her eyes and turned toward the window to check on the man.

Tap, tap, tap.

She the heat in her face spread to her ears and neck before she rolled the window down.

"I am so sorry," she began. "It's just, I was running late for work- am running late for work, and I guess I wasn't paying attention."

He shook his head lightly, a smug smirk on his face. "Nah, it's good, you all right?"

"I'm fine." Her eyes searched him for any sign of injury, "you?"

He held his hands out to the side, "I'm good."

She heard wolfcalls coming from inside the station, so she glanced to the entry. Men of all shapes and sizes stood by the two trucks, most with their hands cupped over their mouths while others simply shook their heads and re-entered the establishment. One in particular caught her attention-an older redheaded gentleman, who's glasses sat just at the base of his nose, a paper in his hand.

"Listen," he said cockily, "how about we got out later for coffee? On me."

Charlotte looked up to him. "Sure."

"Cool, alright. I'm Kelly Severide." She nodded and glanced to her clock.

"Okay, well nice to meet you Kelly Severide," she began backing out of the drive, "but I really gotta get goin'. I'm late."

"Wait," he tapped her hood lightly. "What's your name?"

After pondering her mind for a moment, a sly grin came across her face. "If you really want to know me you'll find out."

"Wait, what?"

Unable to contain the laughter that bubbled from her chest she waved to him. "Goodbye, Kelly Severide."



Charlotte sat on the edge of her seat, a storybook between her fingers. The students always loved to hear their teacher's version of story time, for she allowed them to bring a special pillow from home and they all sat in a circle in the back of the room. Fifteen sets of wide, innocent eyes latched onto her every word, some kids even going as far as to commentate the words she spoke.

"Wow, Miss Morgan you're a really good reader." A small girl spoke from atop a purple fluff.

Charlotte smiled and pat the child's head. "Thank you, Milly. You can be a good reader as well, you just have to practice."

"Can I try?" Milly asked quietly.

"You want to come up here and read? To the whole class?"

"Uh huh."

"Okay, then!" Charlotte was surprised. "C'mon sweetie, just sit in my chair here." She lifted the girl into the padded seat and sat on the floor beside her. She pointed to the word "at" and told her to begin.

"A-At that mo-", Milly stopped to sound out the word, "mo-moment-"

"Good job," Charlotte whispered.

"-a little dog came up and said to the boy, "Can you take me home? For you see, I'm only a stray"- Miss Morgan, what does stray mean?"

She cleared her throat lowly. "Well Milly, if a dog or cat is stray it means it doesn't have a house or an owner. Stray means single or one."

Milly's bottom lip puckered. "He doesn't have a family."

"Not yet," Charlotte smiled. "But if someone went to the shelter and adopted him he would."

The children began to bumble about how they'd love to adopt a dog and Charlotte began to let her mind wander back to the fireman- Kelly Severide.



Severide sat on the bench in front of his locker a dull ache in his shoulder. After just coming back from a call he felt the numbness coating his entire arm and down onto his hand. He wiggled his fingers in hopes of feeling movement, but instead he only felt pain. He cracked the locker open and popped two of the small white pills into his palm, quickly swallowing them.

He closed his eyes and let his mind roam at it's own will. He found himself thinking of Andy and Heather, of how their boys were holding up. He even thought about Casey and how they hadn't been as close since the incident.

He shook his head and glanced at the clock.

"Severide," Hadley smirked from the end of the hall. "Who was that girl you were talking to today?"

"I don't know, man- wouldn't give me her name."

Hadley blew a stream of air from his nostrils. "Huh, that sucks, buddy."

"Nah, I'll get her," Severide smirked. "No lady can resist this charm."

"You're a piece of work, you know that. I bet you by the end of this month you won't even have got her name, let alone a kiss from the girl."

"You're on," he accepted. "But what's the deal?"

"I'll clean your boots for a year if I'm wrong. Same goes for you."

"You got it," Kelly agreed.

Now I just have to figure out where this girl works.