New Beginnings: A Stellaride Story

A Rollercoaster of Emotions

"What's all this?" Kelly asks as he walks into the living room where he sees his wife surrounded by paperwork. "Oh my God, Kelly. There are just so many forms I have to fill out for my maternity leave. There must be like a million of them. Who would have thought it would be this hard?" Stella says.

Kelly can't help but let out a little chuckle before saying, "So, have you decided how much time you're taking off?" "I think so," Stella responds. "I mean, I don't know. I don't know if it's enough. Ugh, this is so hard."

Kelly lets out another little chuckle. "Whatever you decide, I'll support you. Is there anything I can help with?" Stella hands him a pile of papers and says, "You can start here. I want to have this to Boden by next shift, so basically, we have today to do it all."

Kelly's eyes widen as she hands him the pile. "Okay," he says as he sits down and begins filling everything out. He looks over at his wife and smiles because he still can't believe how damn lucky he got.

As they sit there filling out paperwork, Kelly says, "So, I know this baby is still like ages away and we don't even know what we're having yet, but I've started thinking about names." Stella can't help but laugh at his excitement, asking, "Do you want to know what we're having?" "I don't know. I guess I do," Kelly replies. "I mean, not that it matters. As long as our baby is healthy, I don't care whether it's a boy or a girl, but I guess I want to know what I have to prepare myself for, if you know what I mean."

Stella couldn't help but smile. It was comforting knowing that Kelly felt the same way she did. "I 100% feel the same way," Stella says in agreement as she places her hand on her lower abdomen that would soon become a baby bump. Kelly smiles back, placing his hand on hers. "So, what's this list of names you have?"

Kelly and Stella walk toward Chief Boden's office, both almost overcome with nerves. Boden is essentially the first person they are telling, and it makes everything feel so real. "Morning, Chief," Kelly says as they walk into the office. "Kidd, Severide, how are we?" Boden asks. "Good. We're good," Stella replies. "Um, we just wanted to give you these leave forms," Stella says, passing them over to Boden.

The Chief looks down at the forms, briefly scanning everything before a stunned look appears on his face. "Wait, are you...?" Boden exclaims, jumping up out of his chair and walking toward Kelly and Stella. "I am," Stella says through a nervous laugh. Boden wraps his arms around the two of them, pulling them in for one of his signature bear hugs, saying, "I could not be happier or prouder for the two of you. Becoming a parent is one of the best things that could ever happen to you."

"Thank you Chief. You're the first person we've told, and we're not exactly telling anyone yet, so if you could try to keep this on the down-low, we would really appreciate it," Kelly says. "Of course. My lips are sealed," says Boden. "Now, go get out of here," Boden says through a giant smile as Kelly and Stella leave his office, feeling a huge sense of relief.

"Aah," Stella exclaims as she wakes up, overcome with panic and pain. "Kelly, Kelly, I think something's wrong," she says, waking up her husband and fighting back tears. "Okay, okay, what's going on?" Kelly asks, still a little groggy. "There was this sharp pain in my lower abdomen, and I don't know. I just don't know," Stella says as tears start rolling down her face. Trying to comfort his wife, Kelly says while choking back tears, "Take a deep breath, Stella. Everything is going to be okay. We'll go to the med and get you checked out. Everything is going to be okay."

When they arrive at Chicago Med, they head straight for the emergency department. Despite it being the middle of the night, it seems to be filled with people. Kelly heads straight to the check-in counter and, struggling to keep it together, says to the nurse, "Uh, my, uh, wife, she's, uh, pregnant, and about 40 minutes ago, she, uh, had this sharp pain in her, uh, lower abdomen." "Okay, who's her OBGYN?" the nurse asks. "Dr. Cooper," Kelly answers. "Great," says the nurse. "I'll page her to come down to the ER. Take this form and fill it out; she shouldn't be too long." Kelly nods, grabbing the form and heading over to where Stella is sitting.

A few moments later, Dr. Cooper walks into the ER and takes Kelly and Stella into one of the rooms. "So, what's going on?" she asks. "Earlier tonight, I, uh, had this sharp pain in my, uh, lower abdomen," Stella says. "We came straight here," Kelly adds. "Okay, let me run a few tests, and we'll see what the cause of this pain is. In most cases, it's not something too serious, but I'll know more once we get the test results back," Dr. Cooper says.

After a stressful couple of hours, Dr. Cooper walks back into the room. "So, I have your test results, and there's nothing to be alarmed about. Your baby looks healthy, and everything seems to be on track. The sharp pain you experienced can be attributed to round ligament pain, which you will continue to experience as your body keeps changing. Even though it's turned out to be nothing serious, you did the right thing coming in," she says. Both Kelly and Stella let out a huge sigh of relief; they are so glad this whole ordeal is over. "I'll get your discharge paperwork started. Head home and take it easy for the next 24 hours, and let your body de-stress," Dr. Cooper says before leaving the room.

By the time Kelly and Stella get home, the sun had already risen. Both exhausted from the stressful night, they sit in the car for a moment before heading into the house. They walk into the house, and Stella heads straight for the bedroom, hoping to go back to bed and get some sleep. Kelly follows his wife into the bedroom, wrapping her in his arms and holding her tight. They both start to cry, letting their pent-up emotions take over. They hold each other in their arms for a moment. "Everything is fine, our baby is fine. Everything is okay," Kelly says reassuring both himself and his wife. "Go get some sleep. I'll call Boden and tell him we won't be in this shift." Stella nods before kissing her husband and heading off to bed. "I love you, Stell," Kelly says as she walks away. "I love you too," Stella says, as she turns back around towards Kelly before heading off to bed.