Never Be the Same

Part 26

Kelly and Mouch were half way through with the recycling. "So what's really going on?" Mouch asked.

"What are you talking about?" Kelly asked as he tossed more bottles in the recycling bin.

"Why did you really come with Stella tonight?" He questioned, knowing it's so unlike him.

Kelly gave him a confused look. "I told you, I was bored and my mom had the kids, so I figured I would come down and help out."

"Ah Ha!" He exclaimed. "See, I know something is up. Because you never come down and help close up."

"What are you talking about? I used to help all the time."

"No, you didn't."

"Yes, I did when Stella and I were dating."

"You would come down and drink and wait for her to get done, but you never wiped down tables or put up chairs. And you never, not even when you guys were dating, would you be here her entire shift. You would come in like four hours before we closed and stay till she was ready to go, but not her entire six-hour shift."

Kelly rolled his eyes. "Whatever man." He couldn't tell him the truth; he wanted to. But he knew it was best not to, at least not yet. No one at the firehouse knew about Bo possibly being Stella's father.

"What was that?" He questioned after thinking he heard glass breaking or something.

"I didn't hear anything." Mouch said looking around.

Kelly swears he heard something. "It sounded like glass shattering."

"I didn't hear it."

Kelly looks around the dim lighted alley. "I swear I heard something; I just can't put my finger on what the sound was."

"It's midnight in Chicago, Severide; there are always strange noises."

Kelly nods, feeling a little uneasy. He walks around the dark alley for a minute or so. "I swear I heard something." He repeats.

"You probably did, like I said it's midnight in Chicago there is always weird noises."

"I'm being paranoid I guess." He picks up the last can emptying it into the recycling bin. "Okay, that's it. Let's go see if Stella is done."

"Hold on, I have to make sure there is nothing on the ground. Herrmann is very picking on the ground being clear."

Kelly shakes his head. "Have fun with that, I'm going back inside to see if my wife is ready to go." He walks away.

"I'm coming." Mouch tells him not wanting to be left alone outta there.

As they walked back inside, Mouch locked the backdoor. Kelly went back out front. "Okay, babe, we did it." He trailed off as he saw the shattered glass on the bar; the bottles of liquor that were on the shelf behind the bar were busted and leaking. Shocked by the mess of broken glassware, but even more so by the sight of a badly shaken Stella huddled on the floor behind the bar, counting and crying uncontrollably.
"Stella!" He kneels beside her; her eyes are closed; she ignores him and continues counting. "Baby, it's me." He tries to wrap his arms around her, but she shakes him off.

"What the hell?" Mouch jaw drops at the mess in front of him.

"Mouch call PD." Kelly yelled. "Stella, baby, it's me. Open your eyes." He begs.

Her eyes open. "Kelly..." She whispered and threw herself into his arms, holding onto him tightly, crying hysterically.

"Shhhh..." He held her and stroked her hair. "Are you hurt?" She shakes her head. He looks around at the mess, seeing the register open. "Baby, what happened?"