Epiphany • Severide.

6| WANTED, UNWANTED

─────❝6| WANTED, UNWANTED❞─────

Jo was a particularly calm girl. Things didn't thick her off easily except when people push over the line and become extremely annoying or disrespectful. But things that really pissed her off? Unwanted texts from unwanted people.

Can we talk?

Seeing those three words on her phone screen sent her into a bad mood, which was not something desirable while on duty. She locked the phone and tried to forget about the message, but it was like it was now forever tattooed on her mind.

As she entered the common room, she went straight for the coffee, coincidentally where Matt was. He knew her well enough to know something was bothering her. "Something up? Olga again?"

Jo scoffed but shakes her head in denial. "She loves me enough to know I know what's best for her." She fishes her phone out of her pocket and shows him the message. "Third time this week, and I'm over it already."

Matt reads over the text and sees the name and frowns. "What's so urgent that he's texted you three times already?"

Jo takes a sip of her coffee and shrugs. "Don't know, don't really care."

A whiff of something delicious enters her nostrils and Jo sees Mills cooking something for the team. "I didn't know your side job was the restaurant business, Mills," Herrmann says as he and the others of Truck eighty-one enter the room.

"For now. Phasing it out, though." It was as if Mills hated his job and wanted to get out of it, just by hearing the tone of his voice.

"I think you're the only food-related side job we got in here, 'cause let's see, we got security guard, construction, mechanic," Herrmann said, pointing at Mouch, Casey, and Jo respectively as he listed the jobs.

"What about you?" Mills asks.

"General entrepreneurship," Herrmann answered, making Jo choke on her coffee from the surprise and laughter. Herrmann sent her a dirty look before the woman laughs once more and goes to sit at the table. Herrmann continued talking and Jo tuned him out as she's been doing lately and focused on her drink trying once again to ignore the lingering message.

"Greg Duffy? I guess he was in a car accident the other day that you guys responded to," Nicki entered. Matt perked up at the sound of the name, suddenly interested in what the woman had to say.

"Yeah, what about him?"

"He's outside." With the words, truck eighty-one's crew left what they were doing and followed their lieutenant through the doors to meet the older man. Matt shook hands with him, while the others stood to the side.

"Sorry to barge in on you like this, but my wife made this for you guys." He took the cover of a plate he had to his right, revealing a pretty chocolate cake. "We really appreciate what you did. And we know damn well it could've been worse if the car had tipped over, so thank you."

A chorus of reassurance flew the air bringing comfort to the man.

"How's your son?" Casey was now the one talking.

"Yeah, well... you know. Mikey's got a tough road ahead of him. But we're gonna make it. We're gonna be all right." Jo looked at her feet almost in sadness. She heard that the kid was never walking again and that was a tough blow for the family.

"The other reason I came here is... I don't know if there's anything you guys can do in terms of what you saw, or piece together based on what the accident scene looked like, but the police report came back saying I ran a red light, causing the accident. And that's... that's... that's not what happened." The air around them shifted incredibly, before being comforting and now tense. "And I'm kind of at a loss in terms of how to fight it."

Some sort of silent conversation seemed to happen between Chief Boden and Casey because after Mr. Duffy left, the two ran inside to the office to do something.

———

After the long shift was finished, Jo wanted nothing more than to go to sleep before having to go to the shop for work. But when Matt used his puppy eyes for her to come with him and the rest of the crew to build a ramp for the Duffy family, she just couldn't resist the look and said yes.

Jo wasn't an expert when it came to all things construction like Matt, but she knew her way around the tools after spending so much time with her best friend and learning about his interest and business. They built the family a nice ramp that did its job and was a nice addition to the house they had.

After the nagging from her friends to come with them to watch the game, which Jo had no interest in, and a bribing coming from Mouch that he would pay for her drinks and food, Jo called Frank and asked for the day off. He didn't hesitate to say yes—she's been working her butt off for the last couple of days and deserved some time off.

"I can't believe I'm here with you guys," Jo complained to Matt as they entered a nice restaurant, Mills restaurant. "This much testosterone for longer than twenty-four hours? I will start to despise you guys soon enough."

"You could never," Matt said, bumping his arm with her and approached the nice woman at the bar, Mills mother.

"This is my boss, ma. This is lieutenant Casey. And this is Jo Parsons." Mills did the introductions and Jo smiled at the woman.

"Lieutenant Casey, Jo Parsons, it's so great to have you guys here." Mills' mom pulled them each for a hug, one that was uncomfortable to Jo as she didn't show much affection if it wasn't for the people closest to her. but the warm touch of a mother was something she hasn't felt in a long time and she was grateful to feel it.

"Nice you meet you, ma'am.

"An hey, oh, this is my sister Elise." The young woman made herself known as she handed beers to the first responders all around. Matt was pulled away by Mills' mother for a second before he joined them again and sat beside Jo, sending her a smile and wrapping her arm around her shoulders.

It was seconds after that that Jo felt Matt tense and she looked up at him. "You okay there, Matt?"

His gaze was focused outside, and his body was rigid—like he saw something that made him uneasy. He came back to reality and shook his head. "No, I'm good. I'm great." Jo raised an eyebrow but didn't question any further. If something was going on with him, he would tell her at his own pace.

Her phone chimed and she glanced down, already preparing to delete the message, but it was not from the unwanted number, it was from Severide wanting to meet. Jo sent him a quick response and pushed Herrmann out of the seat so she could slide out. "I'll call you tomorrow," she said to Casey and then gave a quick thanks to Mills and his family before she was on her way to her house.

When she got to the building, Severide was already there waiting for her. Jo parked the car and grabbed her stuff, going to the door as the two locked eyes. "Sorry for taking so long," she said as she opened the main door.

"That's okay." He followed her to the elevator and up to her apartment. "Where were you?"

Jo took her keys out of her bag and started unlocking the door. "With the guys at Mills' family restaurant."

Those were the last words uttered that night between the pair because as soon as they were inside the apartment, lips attached, and clothes flew all over the place until the two bodies were tangled together with the sheets being the only thing to cover them. Their worries forgotten as the night whisked away and the only thing that mattered was each other.