This is my first Chicago Fire fic. Enjoy.

Disclaimer: I own Maggie, but nothing else. :)

Chapter 1

Maggie Spencer parked her aunt's car across the street from Firehouse 51. Her uncle Christopher had left his cell phone at home. She didn't understand why he (in her aunt's words) needed it on shift, but she obliged her aunt. 'They all have nicknames or go by their last names at 51. Tell them you're there to see Herrmann.' Aunt Cindy had told her.

She walked across the street. She hadn't walked into a firehouse in a long time. She pulled her coat tighter around her wishing she had remembered her gloves. She pulled out her phone when it beeped. She had a text from her brother Marco. 'Hey Sis guess what! I made lieutenant!' She beamed. She knew how hard he had worked starting out on patrol with the Boston Police Department and working his way up.

Kelly Severide was sitting at the squad table with Capp and Clarke when he noticed a woman with straight dark hair walking towards them. He made eye contact and smiled. "Hi. Can I help you?"

"Hi. Is Herrmann here?" She asked nervously.

"Uh, I don't know. He was." He glanced over at Peter Mills who had just walked out. "Hey Mills! You seen Herrmann?"

"He had to run out for a second." He didn't notice Maggie.

"There ya go." Severide shrugged. "You are welcome to wait." He gestured to an empty chair at the table. "I'm Kelly Severide." He held out his hand.

"Maggie Spencer." She shook his hand and smiled.

"This is Capp and Clarke." He pointed.

"Nice to meet you." She gave them the same smile.

Capp nodded.

"Ma'am." Clarke nodded.

"And Mills is somewhere." He looked around. "Mills! We have a guest." He called.

"Who is it?" He walked around the corner and stared at Maggie. "Maggie?"

"Hey Pete." She grinned. It had been a while since she'd seen him.

"What are you doing here?" He hadn't seen or heard from her in years.

"Cell phone delivery. Apparently Uncle Christopher always leaves home without it." She shook her head.

"You're Herrmann's niece?" Severide asked.

"Mmhmm." She nodded.

Severide, Capp, and Clarke looked at Mills for an explanation.

"Maggie and I grew up together." Mills explained.

"It's good to see you Pete." She hugged him.

"You too. I swear I was going to call you after everything settled, but I…" He didn't have a good reason for not calling.

"That's sweet of you to say, and I appreciate the sentiment but I'll kick your butt if you make me cry. Please don't bring it up again." The loss was still too recent.

"Deal." He took a step back. "So how long are you in Chicago?"

"No clue. I needed a change of scenery. Boston is great, but…" She let her voice trail off.

"Chicago is better." He said.

"So they tell me." She sat down in the chair.

"How's Marco?" Mills asked.

"He's great. He just made lieutenant with Boston PD."

"That's fantastic! How's your mom?"

"She's doing really well. How's your mom? Does she still have the diner?"

"She does. You heard about the fire?"

"Yeah, Aunt Cindy told me about it. I'm glad you're mom was okay." She forced a smile. They both understood the fear.

"I don't understand. I go home and nobody is there and my cellphone isn't there." Herrmann complained.

"Are you sure you left it there?" Otis asked.

"Positive." Herrmann said. "Cindy's gonna kill me." He groaned as they walked into the truck bay.

"No she won't." Maggie held up his phone.

"Oh you are a life saver Maggie!" He took the phone and hugged her.

"You're welcome." She stood up.

"I could have sworn I left it at home, but it wasn't there. I'm sure Cindy was thrilled." He rolled his eyes.

"Oh she was."

"You got a second? I'll introduce you to everybody." He offered.

"Sure."

"I guess you've met these clowns they call Squad." He joked.

"Haha. Shut up Herrmann." Clarke rolled his eyes.

"Yes I did." She nodded.

"They had better be nice to you." He warned.

"They were, and I can still kick Pete's butt." She laughed.

"I always forget that you two were kids together; best buds." Herrmann laughed.

"You kicked Mills' butt?" Severide laughed. "This I've got to hear."

"She is sworn to secrecy." Mills groaned.

"Not necessarily." She laughed.

"Anyway, come on in." Herrmann rolled his eyes and walked inside. "Hey everybody!" He announced. "I want you all to meet my niece Margaret, but she goes by Maggie."

"Maggie, this is everybody. Dawson and Shay are on the Ambo. Lieutenant Casey, Mouch, Cruz, and Otis." He pointed to each of them and they all waved to her. "Chief!" Herrmann greeted Chief Boden. "This is my niece Maggie."

"Wallace Boden. Nice to meet you Maggie." He shook her hand.

"Nice to meet you too Chief."

"So what do you have going on today?" Herrmann asked Maggie as they drank coffee.

"I have to go downtown to CFD headquarters. Something about Dad and his memorial." She shrugged.

"You going by yourself?" He asked.

"Yeah. Why?"

"Do you want me to go with you? Those meetings can be kinda rough."

"I think I just have to sign some stuff. It shouldn't take long." She tried to sound reassuring.

"Maggie. Who was your father?" Chief Boden asked. He had wondered if her father had been a firefighter.

"Captain Charles Spencer." She looked up at him. "House 33."

"I remember you now. 'Little Margaret Spencer.'" He smiled. "Your father was a good man. You are welcome in this house anytime you like." He squeezed her shoulder.

"Thank you Chief." She swallowed the lump in her throat.

He nodded and walked back to his office.

"So I don't know if Herrmann has told you, but he, Shay, Otis and myself own a bar." Dawson changed the subject.

"Molly's." Maggie smiled. "He's mentioned it maybe once or twice."

"Eh, what can I say? I'm proud of what we've done." Herrmann shrugged.

"What did Aunt Cindy say when you told her?"

"She threatened to shoot me." He stood up to get more coffee.

Maggie laughed. "I'm surprised she didn't."

"What can I say? Cindy loves me. I'm a lucky guy." He poured his coffee and sat back down.

Maggie glanced at her phone. "Oh. I've got to go." She hopped up.

"When do you have to be downtown?" Herrmann asked.

"About twenty minutes." She put on her coat.

"Let me go with you." He stood up.

"I'll be fine. Promise." She hugged him. "See you later."

"See ya. Let me know if you change your mind." He called after her.

She gave him a 'thumbs up' as she walked out. She sent her mom a text asking the specifics about the meeting.

"Leaving already?" Mills asked her.

"Yeah, I have a meeting downtown." She glanced at her mom's text. "About Dad's memorial."

"Oh." He didn't envy her. "Sorry."

"Eh." She shrugged and pulled her hair into a messy bun. She caught Clarke staring at her. She cleared her throat. "Anyway, good to see you Pete. Nice to meet you." She smiled at Clarke before walking out.

"I'm invisible." Severide teased Clarke.

Clarke rolled his eyes.

"Well Cindy is pissed at me." Herrmann grumbled.

"What's wrong?" Shay asked. She and Dawson were playing cards in the common room.

"She thinks I should have gone with Maggie earlier." He frowned.

"Is everything okay?" Dawson asked.

"I don't know. Maggie's stubborn like Cindy. 'Never let 'em see ya cry' ya know?" He poured his coffee. "Cindy thinks Maggie got upset at the meeting. Maggie swore to me she was going to be fine."

"So which is it?" Dawson asked.

"Probably some of both. The kid has had a rough go of it. Her dad was killed fighting a fire not long after me and Cindy got married."

"Damn. That's rough." Severide said.

"Yeah." Herrmann said. "Ah, I should have gone with her."

"I'm sure everything's fine." Shay said.

"What's wrong?" Clarke walked in for coffee.

"Cindy is mad at Herrmann because he didn't go with Maggie for her meeting." Shay said.

"Were you supposed to?" He asked.

"Maggie said she was fine. I know to leave it at that." Herrmann shrugged.

"What house was her dad at?" Clarke wanted to know more about her.

"33. That was your house wasn't it?"

"Yeah. Wait, her dad was Captain Spencer?" Clarke put two and two together.

"Yeah."

"They had his picture hanging up in the house. The guy was a legend. Everybody loved him."

"He was a great guy. Today is the first day Maggie's stepped foot in a firehouse in over two years."

"Because of her dad?" Dawson asked.

"Nah." Herrmann shook his head. "That's a story that I can't tell. Thought I could, but can't." He shook his head again. "I'm gonna call her and make sure she's okay." He walked outside.

No one said anything. They had never seen Herrmann like that.

"Maggie has two older brothers: Ricky and Marco." Mills began. "Ricky was a firefighter with Boston Fire Department. Marco just made lieutenant with Boston PD."

"What do you mean 'was'?" Otis asked.

"Ricky was killed in an apartment fire about two years ago."

"Oh my gosh. What happened?" Dawson's heart broke for the girl she had just met.

"Fire was spreading. They started on the roof and worked their way down. Ricky got to the fifth floor. There were four kids trapped in an apartment. He covered them before the ceiling collapsed on top of him. He was killed, but he saved those four kids." He blinked back tears.

"That's awful." Severide said.

"Don't say anything to her because she gets upset, and she will kick your butt if you make her cry. Trust me." He smirked.

"Shouldn't have made her cry." Severide laughed.

"I've never made her cry. I've made her mad, and I learned very quickly that was a mistake." Mills laughed.

Clarke observed their comments and made mental notes. He had just met her, but he knew he wanted to get to know her better. And he knew he never wanted to make her cry.

"Hey Mags." Herrmann left a voicemail. "Just wanted to check in and see how everything went at HQ today. I'll talk to you later. Bye." He hung up his phone.

"Hey Uncle Christopher." Maggie walked up.

"Hey!" He hugged her. "I just left you a voicemail."

"Oh. I guess I still had it on silent. Sorry." She turned the volume up on her phone.

"I just wanted to see how the meeting went, and I'm guessing that's why you're here."

"Yeah. It was fine. I just had to sign some papers. The money they collect for the memorial is given to families of other fallen firefighters. I looked at the wall and saw his badge." She teared up.

"I'm so sorry kiddo. I shoulda gone with you." He hugged her.

"I should've let you. I thought I would be fine. I still would have cried…"

"But it would've been nice if someone was there with you."

"Yeah." She nodded and wiped her eyes.

"Thanks Herrmann." She smirked.

"Yeah? That's Uncle Christoper to you kiddo." He laughed.

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