Questions And Answers...

Whose Shadow You Walk In.

S9 E2

This one is for Zosienka, who asked for a Shay conversation following Kelly, putting the Shay memorial decal back on the new ambo.

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It was an emotional moment as Kelly ran his hand fondly over the decal, Leslie, Elizabeth Shay, 1978 - 2016. His heart felt heavy just like it always did when it hit him all over again that she was gone. Forever. He could search the entire planet, look under every rock and behind every hillside, but he would never find her. Except in his head and heart. He smiled to himself, and even now, he could hear the echo of her raucous voice around the apparatus floor.

From a distance, Stella watched the changing emotions playing across Kelly's face. Shay was someone they had never really discussed. Of course, Stella knew the loose details from Gabby and had been intrigued by herself when she had first seen Shay's photograph on the wall of honor inside 51. But Kelly himself had never talked to her about Shay. She assumed it was a sacred thing that he kept in his private world where even she wasn't allowed, and she hadn't wanted to intrude.

"At least you'll know whose shadow you walk in."

As she watched him tell Gianna who Shay was, Stella decided maybe it was time she knocked on the door to his secret world and see if he wanted to let her in.

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"Ambo door worked out. You must have been pleased with that?"

Kelly was making dinner for them, and Stella was sitting at the counter with a glass of wine.

"Yeah. It worked out well."
Slicing tomatoes, his attention was on trying to keep them from sliding under the knife.

"I liked what you said to  whose shadow she walks in."

Kelly looked up at her. "Well....guess people should know about Shay. She meant a lot to everyone."

His eyes were a little distant, she thought as if his mind had wandered.

"Especially to you."

Kelly's attention came back to her, but he didn't say anything before returning to his salad vegetables.

"What was she like?" Stella took a sip of wine, leaning forward on the counter resting her chin on her hand, not entirely sure whether he would shut down on her.

He carried on slicing, and for a moment, she thought that she had done the wrong thing by bringing Shay up because he didn't say anything. But then he looked up, and there was a softness to his face, an expression similar to that he wore when he spoke of his sister Katie.

"She was off the scale.....as a person." He laughed a little then. "Larger than life. And kicked my butt whenever I needed it."

"I bet that was a lot of times." Stella arched one brow seeing him wince a little.

"More times than I want to admit." Kelly agreed, retrieving some arugla from the fridge.

"You lived together, right?" Sensing him relaxing into the subject, Stella took the opportunity to ask him a bit more.

Kelly nodded, sipping from his bottle of beer. "She was easy to live with..... A lot like you."

She felt herself go warm from the unexpected compliment. Being compared to his lost best friend was pretty special in her eyes.
"How so?" She wanted to know. Shay had been ballsy, that much she knew from Gabby and the others that had known her, but in appearance, they had been opposites, Stella's brunette to Shay's blonde.

"She knew me." He said simply.

Kelly threw the salad vegetables he had cut up into a dish and opened up the oven*** to take out the chicken he had been grilling.
"Grab some plates and let's eat.... if you wanna know more about Shay...I'll tell you."