Here's a new fiction. I'm a fan of the show watching in the UK, so with that in mind I will apologise in advance for any mistakes I make. I haven't decided at what point in the programme that I want to set this from, but hopefully I'll figure it out soon. Thanks for the read and enjoy!

Chapter 1

The firefighters of firehouse 51 were slowly trickling into the recreation room having changed and showered following the last call. Peter Mills was stood in the kitchen area preparing food for his crew mates. Despite no longer being the candidate, he still enjoyed cooking for the firehouse and he trusted his cooking over anyone else's.

"Grub's up." Peter said as he heard footsteps behind him. He turned to put his pasta dish into a large bowl and was surprised to see a woman standing cautiously at the entrance to the room. "Hello?" Peter said slowly.

"Hi." The girl said nervously and Peter couldn't help but think that she looked familiar. "I'm looking for Lieutenant Severide?" She had a quiver in her voice that unnerved Pete slightly but before he could respond, the rest of the crew entered the rec room from the locker room.

"Hi guys, this..." Peter was about to explain what the girl wanted when he was interrupted.

"Is that little Severide?" Herrmann chimed, which was returned with a simple smile from the girl and mutterings of 'no way' from the longer serving guys.

"Ebby?" Kelly said in disbelief as he followed the sounds of excitement.

"Hey Kelly" 'Ebby' responded with the same nervousness as before. Kelly ran towards her with his arms outstretch, sweeping her up into a hug.

As this occurred, the whole room spotted the girl stiffen as she was taken up into Kelly's strong arms and embraced. The room wondered if he had noticed the same, but they weren't going to call him on it now; it had been almost 3 years since they had last seen her.

"Guys, you all remember my kid sister Ebony?" Kelly had the biggest smile on his face as he proudly twisted his sister into a one arm hug.

"You didn't tell us she was coming back?" Herrmann said, smiling at the happiness on Kelly's face.

"I didn't know" Kelly said, realisation creeping across his face as he looked down at his sister.

"Well you know Kelly, after 3 years studying at university, they tend to give you a degree and you graduate." Ebony said sarcastically but still with a smile on her face.

"Check this out, my little sister has just returned with a degree from a British university." Kelly beamed with pride.

"So we now know that she got your share of the brains too, right Kelly?" Leslie Shay appeared behind the siblings smiling as she saw Ebony.

"Shay!" Ebony said warmly and turned to embrace her brother's roommate.

"Hey baby." Shay smiled as she hugged the younger girl. "Man you're looking good girl."

"Put your tongues back in, all of you." Kelly warned pointing at each of his colleagues.

"Never." Said Herrmann holding his hands up, "She's a kid. I still remember her running around in your fire kit and running into a wall because she couldn't see with your helmet on."

"Thanks for that." Ebony blushed as she remembered running around the fire house in her brother's spare fire kit whilst they were on a shout. Embarrassingly, she'd actually been 16 when that had happened "And I'm 21, less of the kid please."

"Come on, let's go and catch up in my office." Kelly smiled as he led her out of the rec room, passing Matt Casey on the way passed.

"Hey was that Ebony?" Casey asked as he came into the room. "Severide didn't say she was coming."

"He didn't know" Herrmann explained. "Did anyone else notice her flinch when Severide hugged her?" But Herrmann didn't really want an answer, the whole room nodded in agreement and that worried them.

"So, why didn't you tell me that you were back?" Kelly said as he shut his office door and held out a chair for his sister, whilst he sat on the bed.

"I've only been back a couple of weeks; my visa ran out not long after I graduated." Ebony explained quietly. Kelly noticed her demeanour, it was different now and that made him wary.

Kelly looked at his sister. He hadn't seen her in 3 years since she had moved to England with a scholarship to study biomedical science. Sure, they had emailed each other a few times but they didn't have the relationship they used to. She looked so different now, she was still shorter than him with brown hair but she was now straightening it and had a toned figure. She was wearing a simple navy university hoody with jeans and flat shoes, a far cry from the tomboy in ill-fitting jeans she was when she left.

"Where've you been all this time then?" Kelly asked, trying to get his head around the change in his little sister. She was a grown woman now, with a degree none the less! It was undeniable that his little sister had received all the brains in the family. Ebony was fast approaching 22 and was 6 years younger than him, but once upon a time that wasn't a problem. As a child, Ebony had rarely left his side, which would annoy any normal sibling but not Kelly; he'd enjoyed his little sisters company as much as she had his. Kelly had missed her more than he thought possible when she left for England, but with the situation at the time, it was best for her to go.

"Ebby?" Kelly looked to his sister for an answer, she'd not given an answer yet and he wasn't going to let this go.

"I've been staying at a storage unit, with my stuff." Ebony said in barely a whisper.

"A storage unit?" He repeated, shocked. "Why? What? Why didn't you come and see me sooner?"

"I had just enough money to store my stuff in a unit. I was kinda hoping to find a job quicker than I have. Except, the owner of the lot caught me sleeping there and has given me 24 hours to get my stuff out." Ebony explained not looking at her brother as she fiddled with her sleeve.

"Where've you been showering, eating? This is mad Ebby. You should have called me" Kelly shook his head, had they really drifted that much that she couldn't talk to him?

"I didn't want to be a burden or anything Kelly. You looked after me when mom died, I couldn't ask for your help again. I didn't want to disappoint you; I should have been able to find a job straight out of uni but I haven't." Ebony sniffed slightly, she wasn't sure what she was getting upset about.

"Hey, hey," Kelly said, moving over to sit on his desk. "You're not a burden."

"I'm sorry Kelly." Ebony said and the tears began to flow now. She knew that this wasn't just about the storage unit, it was moving back to Chicago, leaving the UK and generally everything that had happened in the last 3 years. For Ebony, the last 3 years had been tough. She'd missed her big brother so much, they'd never spent more than a day apart (when he was on shift) and then all off a sudden she hadn't seen him for 3 years.

Kelly gathered his sister up in his arms and held on to her. He wondered what else had happened in the three years since he'd last seen her. She was different now compared to how she was then, it wasn't surprising but it did concern him. As he held his sister, he could feel her weeping into his shirt and he sighed.

"My shift is over soon, we can go and get your stuff from storage and move it into our flat. You're ok living with Shay again right?" Kelly said softly as he glanced across the room, shift would be over in a little over an hour; luckily.

"I'll get a job as soon as I can and pay rent and then I'll get out of your hair." Ebony sat up, desperately trying to make it look as if she hadn't been sobbing into her big brothers shirt.

"No, you will stay with us rent free until you get a job that you actually want. That you're qualified for." Kelly looked her straight in the eyes as he told her this. "Then we'll look at you paying your way, but not before."

"Thank you Kelly, you shouldn't have to still be looking after me." Ebony smiled weakly.

"Enough of that." Kelly laughed and just then there came a knock at the door.

When Kelly shouted to enter, Ebony smiled happily as she saw chief Boden stood in the doorway. Judging by the smile on his face, he was equally pleased to see her. "I'd heard we had a prestigious visitor." He laughed holding his arms out to greet the youngest Severide.

"How you doing Chief?" Ebony smiled, embracing him lightly.

"Not as good as you miss I-just-graduated-college." Boden joked, winking at Kelly. "Mills has cooked up a storm and the others want to see you." Boden said nodding his head towards the kitchen.

"Alright, I get the hint." Ebony laughed and headed towards the rec room. She may have been gone for 3 years but she knew a hint when she heard it; Boden clearly wanted to talk to Severide and she shut the door behind her.

"Herrmann mentioned she was here. You didn't say anything." Boden began as he leaned against the wall.

"I didn't know chief; I'm just as shocked as everyone else. I haven't heard much from her in three years. Now I learn that she's been in Chicago for a few weeks too." Kelly explained.

"Herrmann also said that there was something off about her." Boden looked seriously at Kelly, concern painted across his face. "We all know Christopher isn't the most observant of men but for him to say something..." Boden trailed off as Kelly nodded.

"I know, I felt her flinch as I hugged her." Kelly put his head in his hands. "I don't know what has happened, but I'm going to find out."

"I really hope she's ok, she's been through so much." Boden said remorsefully.

"I know chief." He sighed looking up at Boden "I know..."

There we go! I hope you like it. Please be kind with your reviews!