I certainly don't deserve your following if I keep updating this erratically, I'm so sorry for that, huge writer's block and lack of motivation.

Anyway, here it is!

3 Hours Earlier…

Rafferty was zapping through the TV channels absentmindedly. Her mind was busy with opposing thoughts, trying to pick the most reasonable one.

On one hand, she was itching to make an appearance at Molly's special evening, but on the other one she was beginning to fear that it was an unwise decision to lead Shay on without being 100% sure where she wanted to go in the first place. She knew she wanted to get closer to her, but the implications of that scared the living shit out of her. It's been a while since she's been in an intimate relationship with someone…and she never was with a woman before.

There were moments when all these worries dissipated though, mainly when she wasn't thinking too hard about it. She had this problem of always rationalizing everything lately. Like she had detached herself from feeling too much and opted to just think things through like a checklist or a pro-and-cons table, ending up picking the safest option.

Shaking her head and remembering she was still clicking the forward button of her remote, she began noticing a pattern on the content of the channels she was zapping through: people kissing, yet another one with people in bed… "

Oh for God's sake." – Rafferty turned off the TV, threw the remote to the other end of the sofa, proceeded to pick up her house keys and get out of her apartment already with her cellphone calling a taxi central.

Coincidently enough, when Rafferty was already on the taxi heading towards Molly's, she received a text from Hermann:

Aren't you coming to Molly's tonight? Shay's pouting and it's heartbreaking. -H

Rafferty smiled at her phone, glad she made the right choice, and sent a quick reply:

P.I.C Allison Rafferty to the rescue. – R

When she arrived she immediately looked over to the bar, knowing Shay would be serving the drinks tonight. When she saw her busy taking an order from a customer, she felt a sudden tightness in her chest. Ignoring that and despite feeling a magnetic pull towards Shay, Rafferty thought it wise to go greet the crew first, and after she did, she directed herself towards the bar, highly anticipating Shay's reaction upon her arrival.

Two hours later…

The bar was slowly getting emptier as the hours passed by. But although it was almost closing time, there were still some drunk people by the jukebox and random couples sitting at some tables.

Shay was busying herself beginning to wash part of the growing pile of small dishes and glasses when Sarah (the woman who she had been texting for a while) approached the bar and said'Hi', leaning over the counter.

Shay hadn't seen her before that night, but maybe that was because she came with a big group of people and went unnoticed. "Oh, hi there." – Shay said, not stopping the washing.

"You're all talk and no action, I see." – Sarah commented, referring to the fact that they've been trading texts but Shay had been avoiding a proper date.

"Yeah, uh, I'm-"– Shay started, only to be interrupted by a disappointed Sarah.

"Not interested, I get it." Shay was going to contradict her because she was beginning to feel bad for the girl, but then she glanced over to where Severide and Rafferty were sitting, caught the paramedic staring at her and changed her mind.

"I'm sorry. " Sarah nodded, added nothing further to the conversation and made her way back to her group of friends.

Not many minutes after, Severide tapped his hand into the counter to get Shay's attention (she was distracted by her thoughts while drying a glass). "

You're leaving?" – She asked, snapping out of her trance.

"Yeah, it's getting late. Raff said you didn't need help closing up?" – He asked just to be sure.

"Yeah, don't worry." – Shay answered with a smile.

"She also said something interesting…" – Kelly added.

"What?" – Shay asked, her eyes now fixed on her friend, the glass momentarily forgotten.

"She said that she might be interested in you. She was quite blunt about it."

One thing was Rafferty teasing her to no end when they were alone. Another was talking to her best friend and saying she was interesting in her.

"Fuck off man, that's not remotely funny." – Shay said, clearly annoyed.

"I swear I'm not making this up. You'll see." – And then he left.

When the bar was finally empty, Shay decided to play it cool. Internally, though, she couldn't stop thinking about Severide's more she thought about it, the less likely it seemed for her best friend to have made it all up. Why would he? Some kind of bet, or just plainly knowing Shay was into Rafferty and wanted her to take the first step with the new acquired information?

But then Rafferty kissed her, catching Shay completely off guard, and only then she fully believed her friend had not lied. And since Raff had seemed so outspoken about it, Shay saw no problem by sharing with Hermann what just happened.

"Was it so obvious that everyone guessed it? Is there some kind of bet going on?" – Rafferty asked between kisses, after Hermann's call.

"Not that I know of." – Shay replied, gradually losing control of her ability to speak. She dived back into Rafferty's neck but got gently pushed back.

"We should finish the washing and go." – Rafferty suggested, pointing at the window where some people were trying to look through the foggy glass.

"Since when are people from Chicago so nosy?" – Shay reflected out loud, letting go of Rafferty and resuming the washing.

"Probably since there are two women making out in supposedly closed bars." – Rafferty answered.

Half an hour later…

Shay stopped her car right in front of Rafferty's building, turning off the ignition.

"Turning off the engine? Are you expecting a car make out session?" – Rafferty teased.

"In the very least, yes." – Shay answered, taking off the seatbelt and shifting herself so she was facing Rafferty, as a way of provoking her.

Rafferty laughed heartily. Shay was making things so easy for her. She unbuckled her seatbelt too and made her way to Shay's personal space, taking her head with her hands. She stopped as she reached the maximum possible proximity.

"What if I'm not up for it?" – Rafferty whispered, gently stroking Shay's face.

"Then you should write a book on How to Tease a Poor Lesbian's Heart." - Shay answered.

She inclined forward and grabbed Rafferty's lips with her own, finding no resistance whatsoever. Rafferty kissed her back with as much intensity as Shay and delighted in the long minutes of peace she had alone with her, realizing she'd have been an idiot if she hadn't pursued this and stayed home being miserable. She was glad Shay had appeared in her life when she need, and that she gave her enough space to make her own decisions without pushing her.

After many minutes of kissing, Rafferty was starting to want way more than what was happening, and the car parts were definitely not helping any kind of complicated maneuvers. With some effort she pushed back from the kiss, facing Shay and noticing something heavy in Shay's eyes, most likely the lust she was feeling too.

"We should change venues." – Rafferty suggested.

"Sorry, what?" – Shay was having a hard time thinking and didn't get the suggestion.

"To change venues. From the car to my place, dummy." – Rafferty explained, smiling at Shay's inability to think, while placing a blonde hair strand behind her ear.

"Right. You sure?" – Shay asked, suddenly the nervous one.

"Are you questioning my authority as L.I.C?" – Rafferty asked, followed by another look of confusion from Shay.

"Lesbian in Charge." – Rafferty explained right away.

"Sorry, but that title should be mine. More years of experience, you know." – Shay said with a smile.

"I suggest we fight for the title upstairs." – Rafferty said. Shay's face stayed frozen for a couple of seconds, processing this whole new level of flirting. Rafferty was going to be the death of her.

"Let's go." – Shay said, getting off the car in seconds and proceeding to follow a laughing Rafferty into her building's entrance.