Title: Feeling the Heat

Summary: Seeing each other again in Molly's kindled feelings they thought were gone but when Kelly gets into some serious trouble with the law, can Erin help clear his name in time? What happen after the case closes? Based on eppy 5.09 'Some make it; Some don't'/CPD eppy 4.09 Don't Bury this Case #Lindseride

Disclaimer: Same as always. I own nothing but my muse and my love for all things #firefighters #Sevasey & #Lindseride

A/N: YAY 2 hours of our #lindseride! I'll take em any way I can b/c the muse can work with even the smallest glance (but we got a hug TWO HUGS!). So of course my dear muse 'Alice' put our own twist on it so this is totally #lindseride centric! (sorry Jay but yeah…not that sorry haha) AND WE GOT TWO HUGS (did I say that already)! And the ending? Her being there and the hug and the small kiss atop the head…come on yeah! Okay…fangurling over…lol please enjoy.

Note: As always "words in quotes and double italics taken from the eppy" single quotes or without are past convo's or thoughts.

He hadn't expected to run into her that night…or any night at Molly's and alone at that for…well he just hadn't. His mind had been wrestling with a serious, possibly life-altering decision and he just wanted to have a drink and…forget about making any kind of tough decisions for a while. Bone marrow donation…this is big…for her and…me. This is…his mind starts to ponder but is instantly interrupted by a familiar face.

But as soon as Kelly opens the door and watches Erin walking toward him and then stop, flashing him that dimpled smile that always makes him go weak in the knees, feelings he once thought long forgotten, dead even, are instantly rekindled and his heart starts to beat faster.

"Kelly…hey," Erin greets as her brain can't help but offer Kelly Severide a wide and emotionally charged smile when he enters Molly and stops to talk. She had thought that once they had broken up that things would remain strained between them; distance possibly a good thing. Sure they had crossed paths on certain cases but seeing him now, especially in that black leather jacket, his husky scent instantly teasing her, her stomach starts to tighten.

"Hey…it's been a while."

"Yeah…too long," she agrees as she leans in for a hug. Oh God he smells good…her brain delights as his strong arms envelope her and hold her pressed tightly to his chest for a few delightful seconds.

Course he was just as much to blame for their emotionally charged reunion as his body just sort of pulled itself to her, his arms closing around her, reveling in the feel of her body pressed up against his. This feels…so good…his mind inwardly sighs as they finally pull apart.

"Stella just told me what you're doing…that's really great."

"Yeah…well Stella's got a big mouth," Kelly sighs not really wanting to talk about his medical decision in a social setting.

"That's great," Erin quickly puts his mind at ease; offering him a look of pride and adoration.

Just…put yourself out of your damn misery already, his brain chides; his lips following suit. "Where's Jay?"

"On my way to meet him right now," she answers with a smile that now turns somewhat strained. "You know we all gotta catch up. Me and Jay…you and Stella…we should all grab a beer or something."

Course he couldn't fault her for not knowing; telling himself she'd never just say something like that to rub in the fact that Stella had basically thrown him under the bus after they had shared a night of passion which was unfortunately disrupted by Stella's then mentally disturbed ex-Grant. Do I tell her now or…nah forget it…why would she care?

"Yeah…sure…" he resigns as his brain inwardly calls him a coward. He watches her push past and disappear outside; his brain cursing him for not going after her when the rest of his body knows he wants to. To what end? She's with someone else now…ah damn it!

But as soon as the door to Molly's closes her, Erin pauses in place and closes her eyes for a few seconds, her brain willing her heart to stop racing and the emotionally charged butterflies in her stomach to just fly away already. But that's not to be; she knows all too well that Kelly Severide can still stir inside her feelings that no other man is capable of – even her current one. You need to let Jay know…you still have feelings for Kelly. Strong feelings.

"He's with Stella now," Erin whispers in quiet sorrow as she heads for her car. But just as she approaches she turns and looks back at Molly's; her breath catching as she notices Kelly appear in the doorway.

She wants to rush back to him and take him in her arms; wanting to delight in the feel of having him close to her once more. However, neither of them realized in that moment that one fateful act was about to force them back together. But…would it keep them in each other's future this time? Or would one criminal act destroy them forever?

CFCFCFCF

His emotions were about to go on an emotional roller coaster ride of personally epic proportions. He met Anna, the young woman he had agreed to be a bone marrow donor for. Then he asked Stella to be his personal contact since Matt was busy with Louie and the whole adoption thing. But fate wasn't about to be kind to any of them and just as he was going to go into Molly's the following night, Clarke told him that they had taken Anna off Chemo and she had backed out of the procedure.

"We had to take Anna off chemo. Without chemo we can't prep her to receive bone marrow. We had to cancel the procedure."

"So…that's it? You just let her die? Does she even have a chance to bounce back? She…uh she wasn't ready to give up."

"Yeah…sorry about that," Clarke offers as he gives Kelly a squeeze on the shoulder as he pushes past; leaving Kelly Severide standing outside in the cold night air in a state of utter shock and dismay.

He left his car…not in the mood to get behind the wheel in such an emotionally devastated state or nor wanting to pound back a few and then crank the engine over. With his bag slung over his shoulder, he pulls away from his freshly painted, vintage car and starts to wander the block – not wanting to go to Molly's and answer a bunch of personal questions. So he walks and walks and walks until the next day starts to dawn and he enters the first bar he sees; not caring that it's early morning but wanting to do anything to drown his emotional sorrows.

Several hours later, having to be literally shoved outside, into the cool, night air; his head and heart buzzing, Kelly is told to go home and sleep off his obviously drunken stupor. Faces pass. Laughter is heard. The night air is ripe with the sounds of the sirens of first responders and blaring horns. His eyes squeeze shut and he wants nothing more than to get home and pass out.

And that's exactly what happens.

"Look at this accident. That's Kelly's car! Kelly Severide. He's a Firefighter at House 51. Put this through to Intelligence."

CFCFCFCF

As they walked down the hallway toward Kelly Severide's apartment, Hank Voight could tell that something was amiss with the detective a few steps ahead of him. "Erin…"

"Let's just…get this over with," she replies curtly as they stop a few feet from Kelly's door.

"I could get someone else to do this," Voight tells her in truth; his eyes picking up obvious signs of emotional distress. He knew about their brief but romantic involvement; how it affected her and for that time, in the best way possible and for that he was happy. The parting was mutual and she never spoke of Kelly to the team. But he knows now…something inside her still stirs for the Firehouse Lieutenant.

Erin's heart rate starts to soar as her fingers land a few knocks on the door; the pace picking up further when she hears his footsteps heading toward the door. But as soon as he opens it, she's instantly taken aback by his roughed up appearance and the telltale bruise on his head – still fresh from what she assumes is the car accident. What happened? She wonders as her heart sinks.

Kelly looks at her and for a split second, his lips want to part into an inviting smile but as soon as he looks at her serious expression and then lift and look at Voight he knows something's not right.

"Hey…what's going on?"

"Kelly…what are you doing?" Erin asks in haste; Voight waiting silently in case he has to verbally interject.

"You better get a jacket and come with us," Voight adds as Kelly's furrowed brow deepens.

"I'm not going anywhere. What is this about?" Kelly tries to protest.

"Kelly," Erin interjects in haste not wanting him to face the alternative which she outlines next. "You can either come with us now or wait for some uniforms to come down here and put you in cuffs."

"What happened? What'd I do?" Kelly asks in haste; his eyes now darting back to Erin and his mind racing with worry.

PDPDPDPD

The ride to precinct 21 was awkward at best for all in the black police issue sedan; Voight with a determined glance in the driver's seat; Erin with a frustrated one in the passenger seat and Kelly in the backseat with a distressed one. What the hell is going on? Is the question on all their minds.

He had walked into precinct 21 multiple times before, but today…it was something he really didn't want; feelings he never had experienced before. What the hell is going on? I didn't do this…I wasn't even near my car, his mind offered; his lips offering the same verbal protest over and over. "Someone must have seen something," he mutters in quiet despair, Erin casting him a sideways glance as she tries to keep her emotions in check.

There's no way he could have done this…not Kelly, Erin's mind insists. He knows better. He wouldn't have gotten into that car…what if he wasn't thinking straight? Am I being biased? Unfairly? Do I still have feelings for…no stop…her mind continues to wage an inner battle as he's taken to a small holding room and shown inside to wait. This is work…but…

Erin pauses at the doorway and turns as Kelly looks up with an utterly broken expression, eyes slightly watery and her heart literally shatters; sitting down before him was pure torment.

"A mother and daughter were hit by your mustang.

"Erin, I didn't do this."

He tries to protest what happened, that he didn't just cause a massive car wreck and walk away. "Erin, you believe me right?" He asks in near defeat as Voight leaves the room for a few moments. "That I didn't do this? Do you believe me?"

She hesitates for only a split second before offering him a slight nod; something that seems to settle his inner agitation. "I…I want to. But gotta say…this is bad."

"I wouldn't have just walked away. I…I drove a block and then walked. My car was stolen or something…I didn't do this," Kelly insists as he shakes his head and then looks at her with an intense watery gaze. "I didn't do this."

Kelly settles into his chair as his brain tries to get his heart rate to come back down to a normal pace but that plan would be rendered moot until his name was cleared of this horrible mess. Can this day get any worse? He inwardly ponders. He shouldn't have tempted fate because shortly thereafter – fate hits back. Hard.

He watches Voight come into the room – his expression even more grim if that was possible.

"The little girl just died…this just went from hit and run to vehicular homicide."

Kelly's eyes water a bit further as he listens to the news and then looks at Erin in shock and dismay. "What? No…no you have to believe I didn't do this. I gave blood. I was on painkillers. I had no food. Too much to drink. I'm not hiding anything. But I didn't do this. I wouldn't just…you gotta believe me."

"You want some coffee or something?"

"No I just want this to be over. So….what happens now?"

"We have to hold you for 24 hours. In that time you better pray we find the person who did this or…"

"Or what?" Kelly asks in desperation.

"You'll be arrested," Erin answers with a small huff. "We're going to get to the bottom of this."

"I didn't do this!"

Voight ushers Erin out of the room and then looks at her; the two of them standing a few meters from the open window to the room Kelly Severide was currently being held in. "You okay with this?"

"It's…yeah I'll be fine," she replies as she tries to pull away; Voight's arm stopping her and making her turn back and look at him with a small frown. "Can I lie?"

"To me?" Voight counters somewhat rhetorically.

"I thought my feelings for Kelly were…done. They're not." With that she turns on her heel and heads down the hallway, disappearing around the corner into the intelligence area; Voight's mind doing circles that she remains objective but at the same time not wanting to see either of them hurt in the way he fears this will hurt them. An arrest? It was a bad as it gets.

PDPDPDPD

Seeing him being bars…in a cell like a common criminal was tearing her apart faster than she could voice. But when he looks up and their eyes locks, something inside slightly settles. She watches him push up from the small padded bench and head toward her – on the other side of the bars. "This…is a bit…"

"Stressing," Kelly interjects with a heavy sigh. "I didn't do this. There was some guy…he hit me and…"

"What did he look like?"

"I…I don't remember. I was upset and angry and drunk…very drunk," he huffs as he rubs his face. "I wish I could remember more. Damn…" he pauses as his hand reaches out and gingerly rests on hers.

"Kelly…"

"I know…I just…I didn't do this. I don't know what else to say but…but I can't be in here."

"I'll let you know as soon as we have something."

He watches her pull away and then disappear form view and walks back to the bench and slumps down in silent misery; his lips muttering curses over and over at himself for not remembering…or the possibility that he actually did do what they are accusing him of – driving drunk, hitting someone and killing their child. This…this can't be…

But when they came with the cuffs…it got real and the light at the end of his personal tunnel – turned dark; darker than he remembers in a long time.

"Turn around. Hands behind your back."

This…this can't be… his mind spirals downward. Erin…help me!

XXXXXXXX

They had a lead, a few, they were solid but not coming together fast enough and for Erin watching the uniformed transport officer, bring Kelly out of the holding area in handcuffs was tearing at her insides. She wanted to tell them all that they had the wrong man…he was innocent and this was a travesty of justice. But she couldn't. Their lead suspect wasn't caught yet and a solid confession hadn't come out. It was close but in that moment it was the furthest thing from them.

She looks at Platt by the door and shakes her head; Platt offering her a small shrug.

"Hey," Kelly stops by Erin. "Anything yet?"

"We're working on it," she answers him and then turns to Platt, asking if she can personally drive Kelly to processing. But Platt reminds her it's against regulations and her heart tears open a little bit more. He tries to put on a brave face and she gets it; heading into a bus full of other male prisoners isn't something he wanted do all weepy and emotional.

But when he tells her that if he's guilty to let him rot, her jaw bites down to keep her own fluid emotion at bay. Watching him climb into the back of the bus and look at her, silently begging for help; it takes everything within her power to keep from rushing up to him, yanking him out and then making up some excuse to Platt so Kelly Severide could be set free.

"I know you didn't so this," she utters, just before the door closes but Kelly hearing and taking some small comfort in her promise. He knows she'll do what she can, but if there wasn't anything…just don't concentrate on that…Erin will find the truth – she'll never let you down. She hasn't yet.

PDPDPDPD

Voight walks up to Erin and knows by her smile that he's not about to send anyone else to pick up Kelly Severide from prison – it was her right. She had pushed for his innocence and seeing her happy smile made him happy as well. "Take the rest of the day."

"Really?"

"Think you've both earned it. Do it while I'm in a good mood," Voight tells her with a small smile. "Tell him for me that I'm glad it worked out and I believed in him."

"I will. I'm sure he'll like to hear that."

Erin doesn't need any further prodding as she turns on her heel, grabs her jacket and keys and heads for the front door, passing Platt as she does and catching the older woman's eye and smile.

"Just don't burn the bacon too much," Platt deadpans as Erin replies with a small giggle and then heads for the front door. By now Kelly would have the news but she just can't there fast enough, not wanting him to be in that vile place any longer.

PDPDPDPD

All he wanted was to get home, have a hot shower and never see another bottle of booze. He grabs his jacket, pulls it on is arms and hurries toward the door to go out and then toward the large metal gate. He had expected Voight or even some stuff shirt union rep or lawyer to be there but when he sees Erin walking toward him, his smile is undeniable.

"How are you?" Erin asks in concern.

"Better now that you're here. Fact that I was in that car for even two blocks. I gotta…get my act together."

"Well…however I can help," Erin volunteers as she gives him a warm smile.

"Thank you for believing in me."

"Never had a doubt," she tells him in truth.

"Puts my mind at ease but still…am glad they got the bastards that did that. To just walk away. Glad I wasn't there. Woulda torn him limb from limb."

"It's over now. Let's get out of here."

"Sounds good to me."

She offers him a warm smile as her arm loops through his and pulls him close, Kelly's left arm encircling her and pulling her close, planting a brief kiss on the top of her head as his heart starts to settle in comfort.

"Wanna help right now?" Kelly asks as she looks up in wonder. "Or…do you have to get going?"

"No, I can help. What did you have in mind?" Erin asks warmly.

"How long do you have?" Kelly counters.

"As long as you need," she answers and his smile brightens.

"Hot shower, breakfast and some strong coffee," Kelly replies with a grin.

"In that order?"

"In that…order," he grins.

"You still like your bacon burnt?"

"Always," he whispers as he pulls her close; not wanting to let go. Ever.

THE END!

A/N: Ah sorry Jay but Erin will always belong with Kelly *sigh* #LINDSERIDE always! well hope you all liked this and please do review before you go…might be persuaded to write a bit more to this….maybe with a little carjacker gang revenge? so lemme know and thanks everyone! These two eppies were my FAVES this whole season so far‼

PS: Yes Till Death Will update this week…hope that's okay! (never too much #lindseride right?)