New Beginnings: A Stellaride Story

A Shift in Perspective

Stella had a restless night. So far, pregnancy was a real bitch. It had been a couple of weeks since they had found out, and she felt like everything was moving so fast, yet she was still trying to come to terms with it all. Stella couldn't bear lying there in silence, waiting for the alarm to go off any longer. Trying not to wake Kelly, she slowly and quietly got out of bed and headed downstairs into the kitchen.

Kelly walked into the kitchen and saw his wife standing at the counter. He walked over towards her, wrapping his arms around her quietly, saying, "Good morning" in her ear before kissing her on the cheek. "How are you feeling?" Kelly asked. "Shit," Stella replied. "Didn't sleep again?" Kelly asked, a little concerned. "You should take this shift off and try to get some rest," he continued. "No, I'll be fine," Stella said before kissing Kelly and heading off to get ready.

As she started to walk away, Kelly said, "Stella, I'm not gonna lie, I'm worried about you. I've never seen you like this before," his voice filled with concern. Stella turned around, her eyes filling with tears. She took a deep breath, her voice shaky, and said, "I'll be okay. I promise. Don't get me wrong, I am excited and want to have this baby, but I'm still trying to process it all. But I will be okay." Walking towards her, Kelly said, "I'm here, I'm not going anywhere. We're in this together," and wrapped Stella in his arms, trying to comfort her. "Thank you," Stella whispered before snuggling down into Kelly and holding him tight.

It was a long shift that felt like it was never going to end. Stella's mind was racing, which was not helping and making it hard for her to concentrate on the incident report she had been trying to finish for the last couple of hours. Suddenly, her phone dinged. It was a calendar reminder for a doctor's appointment she had completely forgotten she scheduled. "Shit," Stella thought to herself before quickly making her way to Kelly's office.

She walked into Kelly's office, closing the door behind her. "Hey babe, what's up?" Kelly asks. "Nothing," Stella replies. "I just wanted to remind you that we have that doctor's appointment at 3PM tomorrow, so don't make any big plans for after shift." "I've got no big plans," Kelly says as he grabs Stella's hand, pulling her towards him. "How are you feeling?" he asks.

Before Stella can answer, they are interrupted by a knock at the door. "Sorry, Lieutenant," Gallo says as he opens the door. "Mouch says we're running low on fuel. Should we go fuel up?" "Sure, let's do it," Stella responds. "Round up truck. I'll be there in a minute." Stella leans in and kisses Kelly before standing up and following Gallo to the app floor.

Kelly looks at her with a little worry in his eyes, wishing she had a chance to answer his question. Even though he knew she was only going to fuel up, Kelly squeezes Stella's hip as she walks out the door, just like he does before almost every call, as a reminder to be safe.

Kelly and Stella sat in the reception area of the doctor's office, their hands intertwined, her head resting on his shoulder, waiting to be called. After a few moments, the nurse walks out and calls Stella's name. Kelly looks over at her and asks, "Are you ready?" Stella says, "No." He squeezes her hand, and they follow the nurse into the examination room.

The nurse gestures for Stella to lie down on the bed and says, "The doctor will be here in a moment," before leaving the room. Kelly sat down next to his wife, holding her hand, trying to comfort her because he could sense that she was freaking out.

"Stella Kidd-Severide," Dr. Cooper says as she walks into the room, looking at her paperwork. "That's me," Stella replies.

"Okay, now I understand you're about seven weeks along. Is that correct?" Doctor Cooper asks. "Yes, that's correct," Stella says.

"Well, alright then, let's see your baby. Now, this is going to be a little cold," Doctor Cooper says as she squirts the gel onto Stella's lower abdomen. A shiver races up Stella's spine as the gel hits her skin, and the doctor begins to move the ultrasound wand around her lower abdomen.

"There's your baby," Doctor Cooper says as an image appears on the screen next to her. Both Stella and Kelly turn to look at the screen and see their baby for the first time. That's when Doctor Cooper exclaims, "And there's the heartbeat."

Kelly, still holding Stella's hand, looks over at her and notices the massive smile that is suddenly plastered all over her face. His eyes start to fill with tears because not only is he seeing his child for the first time, but it is also the first time since they found out that he feels like Stella is genuinely excited and happy. In that moment, for both of them, it felt like their whole world has shifted for the better and nothing else mattered but their soon to be family of 3.

Doctor Cooper finishes up the ultrasound, saying, "Everything looks good. The baby looks healthy. I'll see you again in a few weeks." After the doctor leaves the room, Kelly looks over at Stella as she is getting herself sorted to leave and asks, "How are you feeling?"

"I'm good. Really good," Stella says genuinely, leaving Kelly with the biggest smile on his face as they leave the doctor's office.

Kelly and Stella get in the car with smiles that they can't wipe off their faces, both feeling happier than they ever had before. Kelly looks over at Stella and says, "Hey, did you know I love you," with a cheeky grin on his face. With a little chuckle, Stella says, "Huh, well that's funny because I love you too." They hold their gaze for a second before both letting out a little chuckle, then leaning in and tenderly kissing.