Never Be the Same

Part 20

Stella has spent the past month looking over her shoulder and closely paying attention to her surroundings. Her mom was supposedly released from prison exactly one month ago today. She expected her mom to show up at her door or at the firehouse. But she hasn't, at least not yet. But that doesn't stop Stella from keeping a lookout; rather, she's on shift at home or even at the grocery store. She is always on her toes; she knows that one day, somewhere, she's going to pop up. She is still in Chicago because she's on probation and can't leave the city.

Bo is also trying to reach out to Stella; he's sent four letters in the past month. She didn't read them; she threw them away; she doesn't want anything to do with her so-called father. She wishes that her mom was lying about him being her dad. She would do anything to erase hearing that; he wasn't the father figure she wanted in her life, and she definitely didn't want him around her kids.

Her mind has been on moving out of Chicago and starting over. That way, they won't find her, and she wouldn't have to constantly watch her back. Or be so overprotective of her kids, but she couldn't help it. Knowing her mom knows she has kids and where she lives, she probably knows where the kids go to daycare and that they stay with Jennifer and Bob on the nights she and Kelly are on shift. Voight promised her that he was keeping a close eye on her and Bo, but she's still on edge and can't help it. She doesn't trust either one of them.

Her nerves were shot, and she was jumpy all the time. As she pulled into the driveway, she sighed and threw her head back against the seat. She is driving herself crazy, obsessing over the fact that her mom is lurking around somewhere in Chicago, and she was going to sneak up on her like Michael Myers does just before he slashes his victims.

"Ma-ma down." Benny said it from the backseat. She looked back at him and smiled. She loved hearing her babies calling her mama. The week before Christmas, Benny finally called her mama, and a few days later, Shay did it. She cried like a baby, hearing them say Mama for the first time melted her heart.
She cried all night, while Kelly laughed at how emotional she got.

"I'm coming, baby boy." She got out of the car and opened the backdoor. As she was unbuckling Benny.

"Me, ma-ma." Shay yelled.

"Hold on, baby." She tells her as she lifts Benny out of the car seat. "Look, Daddy is home." She tells Benny as she shuts the back door. She puts Benny down and tells him to go get Daddy.

"Da-da!" Benny yells, running down the driveway. Stella walks around to the other side of the car to get Shay out.

"Da-da." Shay says, as Stella unbuckles her.

"Yes, Dada is here." Stella tells her as she lifts her up. "You guys love Daddy, huh?"

Shay nodded her head aggressively, and Stella smiled. "So does Mommy; Mommy would be lost without Daddy."
She closed the backdoor, walked to the back of the Jeep, and opened the door.

"Hey princess." Kelly said as he took her from Stella and kissed her cheek.

Stella grabbed the grocery bags and closed the Jeep. She watches as Kelly carries the kids inside, and she slowly follows. She went straight to the kitchen and started taking stuff out of the bag.

"I put them in the ball pit." Kelly announced as he was walking into the kitchen.

"Thank you." She tells him as she opens the fridge. "So I think I finally figured out how to grocery shop with two toddlers."

"Oh really?"

She looks at him. "I was being sarcastic." She laughed. "It was a nightmare; thankfully, the deli lady gave them a cookie, and that settled them down a tad."