Hold My Hand

Taylor woke up early Saturday morning and glanced over at Kelly who was still sleeping beside her, before heading into the kitchen. She had just finished mixing the waffle batter, when he emerged from the bedroom and joined her.

“Looks good,” he commented with a small smile as he leaned back against the counter.

“It won’t be long.”

“I wasn’t talking about the food,” Kelly added, catching Taylor’s hand and pulling her towards him as his smile morphed into a grin, “Hey there beautiful.”

“Hey,” Taylor replied, moving her arms to wrap around his neck and kissing him.

It didn’t take long for Kelly to deepen the kiss, turning them and pressing her back against the counter.

“What do you say we have a late breakfast?” he whispered, trailing kisses along her jaw and down her neck.

“That sounds like a great idea,” Taylor agreed, already pushing him away and leading him towards the bedroom.



It was noon by the time Taylor returned to the kitchen, ignoring the knowing look that Shay was throwing her way and making them all some lunch.

“Are we still on for our date later?” Shay asked as they ate.

“You, me, and Chris Evans... of course,” Taylor stated with a grin, “I wouldn't miss it.”

“I see how it is,” Kelly added in mock hurt, checking his watch and grabbing his jacket.

“You’re meeting us at Molly’s after the game, right?” Shay inquired as Kelly pressed a sweet kiss against Taylor’s lips.

“That’s the plan,” Kelly confirmed with a nod.

“Have fun,” Taylor called, waiting for the door to close and grinning, “He has no idea.”

Taylor spent the next few hours making a birthday cake, before heading over to Molly’s with Shay to help Herrmann set up and decorate. The party had been Shay’s idea and despite her initial reservations, Taylor had decided that a celebration was needed.

The place looked amazing by the time they’d finished and everyone had started arriving, when the television suddenly caught her attention. Unable to push away the panic that she felt building in her chest, Taylor snatched the remote off the bar and turned it up to listen as a news reporter appeared on the screen.

‘At the moment nobody seems to know exactly what’s going on,’ the woman said into the microphone as the camera panned to focus on the United Center, ‘All we can confirm is that there have been multiple explosions and that numerous casualties are being reported...’

Taylor’s hands trembled as she stared at the screen, accompanied by moisture that formed in her eyes and rolled down her cheeks without consent. Time passed in silence, until someone rested their hand on her shoulder and every sound rushed back into her world.

“Let’s go,” Boden told her, earning a nod and leading Taylor out to his truck with Shay.

The drive over seemed to take forever, but finally, they arrived and Taylor jumped out. Her eyes scanned the streets for any sign of Kelly or Matt, but there were too many people.

“We’ll find them,” Shay reassured from beside her.

Anxiety swirled in her chest, like a tornado threatening to consume her and the only thing keeping her grounded at that moment was the feeling of Shay’s hand wrapped around her own. People who had been injured by the blasts were gathered in the carpark across the street and numerous fatalities lay behind a cordoned-off area with sheets over them, but Taylor couldn’t think about those people right now.

“Taylor, Shay... see where you can be of use and keep your eyes open,” Boden instructed as he approached them.

“Chief...” Taylor argued.

“We will find them, but there are other people that need our help and we can’t ignore that,” Boden added, “I’ve got the first sweep looking for Kelly and Matt inside.”

With a shaky deep breath, Taylor nodded and switched into what she called firefighter mode. She had just finished helping Shay bandage up a head wound, when Boden called her name and she looked over towards him.

“Kelly,” she shouted as she took off running towards the United Center.