New Beginnings: A Stellaride Story

The Call

The last month seemed to have gone really fast yet dragged on at the same time. Stella was now three days past her due date and was more than ready to have this baby. That night had been a rough one for both her and Kelly. During the last week, Stella had been having pretty strong Braxton-Hicks contractions, and last night seemed to be the worst of it. By the time they finally seemed to subside, and Stella was finally able to fall asleep, it was only a couple of hours before Kelly had to be up for his shift. Lying in bed, finally taking a breath and feeling a little less worried about his wife, Kelly attempted to fall asleep, but it didn't happen. He was so wired but so exhausted at the same time that he couldn't shut his mind off. After lying there staring at the ceiling for what felt like forever, he finally decided to get up and get ready for shift. Stella looked so peaceful lying there; it felt like it had been days, no weeks, since he had seen her like this. So he slowly and quietly made his way out of bed and downstairs, trying his best not to wake her.

Before Kelly left, he headed back upstairs to check on his wife, but she was still sound asleep. For a brief second, he thought about waking her before deciding that was the worst thing he could do. Not wanting to leave without saying goodbye, Kelly grabbed the notepad and pen that were sitting on the dresser and wrote Stella a note that read, "I've headed off to shift. If you need anything, I'm only a phone call away and will come home if you need me. I'll call you later to check in. I love you more than anything xxx," before leaving it on her nightstand and heading off to the firehouse.

Kelly pulled up in front of the firehouse and just sat in the car with his eyes closed for a few minutes, hoping it would make him feel more awake. Suddenly, there was a knock on the car window that startled Kelly. "You good, Lieutenant?" Cruz asks as Kelly steps out of the car. "Yeah, I'm good," Kelly replies. "How's Stella doing?" Asks Cruz as they walk into the firehouse. "Eh, alright, I guess," Kelly starts to say before he is interrupted. "Severide, what are you doing here?" Boden asks as he sees Kelly and Cruz walk into the firehouse. "Shouldn't you be at home with your wife?" he continues. As Cruz walks off towards the locker room, Boden gestures for Kelly to follow him to his office where they finish their conversation. "You look exhausted, Severide. Go home. I'll get Cruz to cover this shift," Boden says. "Nah, I'm good. I need the distraction anyway. Plus, if I'm home, I think Stella might kill me. She very much over my hovering and constant worry," Kelly says through the slightest chuckle. "Stella and the baby are doing okay?" Boden asks, a little concerned with Kelly's answer. "Yeah, they're both good. Last night was a little rough. I think Stella's body has hit its limit, and it's starting to get to both of us a little," Kelly replies. "Unless the baby decides to come today, Stella is set to be induced tomorrow, which I guess is easing everything a little bit," Kelly continues. "Well, okay then. If you need to go, just go. I've got you covered. Just keep me in the loop," Boden responds. "Will do. Thanks, Chief," Kelly says as he leaves Boden's office.

By the time Stella finally woke up, half the day was already gone. Even though she had been asleep for a while, she still felt like she had been hit by a truck. Not feeling hungry but knowing she needed to eat, Stella slowly got out of bed to head downstairs. As she made her way out of bed, she noticed the note Kelly left and couldn't help but smile as she read it. He always knew how to make her feel better even if he wasn't there.

After finally eating something, Stella sat down on the couch and started flipping through the channels, trying to distract herself from all the worry that was running through her head when she heard the front door open. "Stella?" Kelly called out as he walked into the house. "On the couch," Stella replied as Kelly walked into the room. "What are you doing here?" Stella asks as she sees him walk into the room. "We had a call nearby. I told Tony to swing by the house on the way back to quarters so I could check on you," Kelly replied. Sitting down on the couch next to her, Kelly leaned in and kissed his wife on the forehead, asking, "How are you feeling?" "The same," Stella replied through a sigh. "Still nothing?" Kelly asked. Stella shook her head no in reply. "Mmm, okay," Kelly said, the worry started to set in again. Before they could continue their conversation, they were interrupted by a call over Kelly's radio. "I've gotta go. I'll call you later. I love you," Kelly says before quickly kissing his wife and rushing out the door. "I love you too," Stella says as she watches her husband leave.

The long day was finally over, and Stella was completely beat. Even though it was still kinda early, Stella was struggling to keep her eyes open. Stella was heading into the kitchen to get herself a glass of water before bed when she started feeling pain in her lower abdomen. "Okay," she thought to herself while breathing through the pain. She stood there for a few minutes, monitoring the pain before deciding that it was most likely just Braxton-Hicks again and heading to bed. As Stella tried to fall asleep, the pain seemed to get worse, but she couldn't quite tell. She thought about ringing Kelly but didn't want to worry him, so she just laid there trying to fall asleep. Eventually, the pain seemed to be getting too much for her, so Stella made her way out of bed into the bathroom to get herself another glass of water and try to calm herself down. As she was standing in front of the basin, that's when it happened, that's when her water broke, right as the strongest contraction she had felt so far started. Stella let out a loud moan as she stood there hunched over the basin, trying to fight her way through the pain. Once the contraction passed, as fast as she could, she made her way back into their bedroom, grabbing her phone off the nightstand and dialing Kelly's number. "Pick up, pick up," Stella said as the phone rang out right as another contraction hit. Stella tried Kelly more than a dozen more times as the contractions came and went, and there was still no answer. Her worry really starting to set in. Not knowing what to do, Stella dialed another number, hoping they would pick up.

"Stella, is everything okay?" Jennifer asked as she answered the phone. "No. I don't know," Stella said as she fought through the pain and the tears. "Um, my water broke, and I've tried calling Kelly I don't know how many times, and he's not answering. I don't know where he is or what's going on," Stella continues as the pain started to intensify. "Take a deep breath, Stella. Everything is going to be okay. I'm going to head straight over, and we're going to get you to the hospital. I'll call Wallace on the way over and tell him to get the message to Kelly. Everything is going to be okay," Jennifer says before hanging up and heading straight to Stella.

After speaking with Jennifer, Boden headed straight to the factory fire where Squad 3 was currently located. Boden pulled up and raced out of the car straight to Violet and Brett, who were standing by 61, treating a patient. "Where's Severide?" Boden asks as he approaches them. "Still in the factory, I think," Brett replies. "Yeah, I don't think I've seen him come out yet," Violet adds. Over his radio, Boden says, "Severide, do you copy?" There's no response, just static. Boden tries again and gets the same static response. "Everything okay, Chief?" Brett asks, noticing the concerned look on his face. "No, not exactly," Boden replies. "Stella's in labor, and no one has been able to get a hold of Kelly. How long has he been in there?" Boden continues. "I'd say about 17, 18 minutes," Violet responds. Boden tries Kelly over the radio once more but still only gets static in response, just as they hear a big explosion erupt from the building.