#3 Sunshine And Roses

Chapter Twenty

"Guys..." Sylvie stated as she walked into the ER carrying Paul, everyone rising from their seats. "Is that?" Herrmann asked as he walked over and stared down at the baby's face, his eyes widening. "Holy Chaplin. He looks like Casey!" Herrmann exclaimed as Cruz walked over, jumping back a few inches. "He looks so much like him it's scary," Cruz replied as Max and Violet walked over, staring in disbelief. "Wow, he really does look like my uncle from when he was a kid," Violet whispered as the baby wrapped his hand around her finger, Max smiling. "You're going to make an amazing mom," he told her, Violet leaning into Max, looking up into his eyes and kissing him. "You're going to make an amazing dad," she replied just as Kelly walked past everyone and out the doors, Sylvie watching him leave. "I'll be right back," Max told everybody as he walked outside after his brother, Kelly slamming his fist against the squad truck. Max leaned against the truck and crossed his arms, Kelly looking at him. "What're you doing out here Max?" "The question is, what're you doing out here?" Kelly squinted his eyes and sighed, slowly shaking his head. "Alexa's gonna be the death of me. I try my best to give her the world but she doesn't seem to appreciate anything I do for her. All I'm trying to do is look out for her but-" "Kelly..." Max started to say as Sylvie walked out to them, Kelly sighing as she leaned up and kissed his lips, Max smiling. "See man. She is the exact reason why you need to stay strong. She needs you, and so does Peyton. Who cares if your teenage daughter doesn't realize everything you've done for her. She doesn't even know who she is yet!" Max exclaimed as he watched Sylvie snuggle up against Kelly, Kelly nodding his head, changing his attitude. "How is it that I'm listening to my little brothers advice and I'm not the one giving it to him?" "Sometimes Kelly, instead of giving the advice, it's good to receive some" "Shut up Max before I slap you in the head," Kelly joked, Max chuckling. "Seriously though, thank you," Kelly told him, Max shrugging. "It's the least I can do. You believed in me when everybody else didn't," Max replied as they walked back into the ER, Peyton walking out, his eyes all red. "Bud are you okay?" "Does it look like I'm okay?" Peyton mumbled as he wiped his nose with his sleeve, shoving his hands in his pockets. Olivia looked up when she heard his voice, Kelly crossing his arms. "Peyton I-" "Save it dad! All you ever do is run away from your problems. You don't face them!" Peyton exclaimed as Kelly walked over and wrapped his arms around his son. Peyton cried into his chest, Kelly stroking his head. "I'm sorry P," Kelly told him as his sons body trembled, Peyton's tears staining his fire jacket. "Dad, I'm afraid of losing you" "Hey look. I'm not going anywhere anytime soon P" "You don't know that dad. The job you work can kill you" "Just know if a fire surrounds me and I die, remember I died doing what I loved," Kelly replied, Peyton gripping him tighter. "I love you daddy" "I love you too."
*Next Shift*
"Cruz! What're you doing?" Max asked as he walked out to the apparatus floor seeing Cruz sitting by a heated lamp, holding a visor. Cruz turned around and removed his sunglasses. "I'm enjoying a bit of warmth. It's so cold I swear I saw a penguin waddling across the road!" Cruz exclaimed as Max walked over and turned off the lamp, Cruz jumping up. "Just what do you think you're doing candidate?" Cruz questioned as he reached back down to turn back on the light, Max lightly slapping his hand. "Last time I checked this was a work place... Not a vacation getaway to Florida," Max told him as he walked away, Cruz scrunching his brow. "The weather isn't the only thing that got colder," Cruz mumbled under his breath as he sat down and turned back on the light, Kelly quickly running into the firehouse with Sylvie hot on his heels, Kelly rubbing his hands. "Where the heck did this cold weather come from?!" Kelly exclaimed as Mills walked out and laughed. "The weather too cold for you lieutenant?" Mills questioned, Kelly rolling his eyes and walking away, Sylvie laughing. "Don't worry Mills. He's only in a bad mood because he didn't get what he wanted last night," Sylvie replied, Mills looking confused. "What did he want?" Sylvie bit her lip and smirked, shrugging her shoulders. "Put the pieces of the puzzle together. I'm pretty sure you'll know what I'm talking about," Sylvie replied as she took a sip of her coffee and headed inside to see Gabby sitting on the couch holding Paul who was bundled up, Sylvie quickly walking over. "Gabby! What're you doing here?" Sylvie questioned, Gabby sighing. "The heater back at our place is broke so Matt wants us here. He's afraid we'll freeze to death," Gabby laughed, Sylvie bending over and kissing Paul's little head, Paul stirring in his sleep, giving a big yawn. "It's crazy how much he looks like Casey!" Sylvie exclaimed as Matt walked into the room suddenly chuckling. "Yeah, and that's what has me worried," he replied as he took a sip of coffee, Kelly sitting down next to Gabby on the couch. "What's with the double jackets Severide?" Matt asked as he chuckled, Kelly shoving his hands in his pockets. "It's freezing out there!" he exclaimed, Matt shrugging. "You'd think that after living in Chicago all your life you wouldn't need to bundle up like the others," Herrmann told him, Sylvie nodding. "He had a point babe. You basically act like you've never been around the cool air before" "Sylvie! Out there... That's a blizzard! I bet you that the whole city will go on alert and lose power!" Kelly exclaimed just as the alarms went off. *Truck 81, Squad 3, Ambo 61 Reports of a trash can fire. Down the alleyway on Klaxon Blvd* Kelly threw his head back and sighed as he quickly walked towards the trucks, Sylvie grabbing his arm and staring into his eyes, pecking his lips. "Stay safe," she told him, Kelly nodding his head. "You know it," he replied as he quickly threw on his fire jacket, placing his hand on the handle of the door. "Sweet mother of winter that's cold!" Kelly exclaimed as he swung open the door, Sylvie laughing. "You're such a dork" "You're such a princess," Kelly replied as he shut the door, squad rolling out of the garages, followed by Matt's buggy. "Thanks again for filling in for me today Chili!" Gabby exclaimed as they emerged from inside the firehouse, Chili shrugging. "No need to thank me. It's my job!" Chili replied as she hopped into the ambulance with Sylvie, speeding away to the call. "Well it looks like it's just me and you little buddy," Gabby said as she stared down at Paul's face, Paul whimpering. "Oh mommy's sorry, mommy's sorry," Gabby said as she cuddled her son close, walking back into the firehouse.

Matt pulled up to the alley, immediately seeing a trash can on fire. He quickly hopped out of his buggy and placed his firefighting helmet on his head, Herrmann walking over and crossing his arms. "What do you want us to do Chief?" he asked, Matt looking around uneasy. "Whoever started this fire might still be lingering around... Be careful," Matt told him as Herrmann nodded his head and fixed his fire helmet. "Max, Cruz, you're with me-" "Guys we got a body!" Sylvie shouted as the men raced over, Sylvie leaning down and looking for a pulse. When she placed her fingers on the side of the man's neck, she felt a cool rush go through her body. "I... I don't feel a pulse. By the look of things, this body's been in the cold for just a few hours. This person died because of hypothermia. It looks like some of his toes are frost bitten," Sylvie said sadly as she examined the body, Matt walking over and throwing a tarp on it. "He was probably homeless. The shelters are usually full this time of year and all this poor man could do was make a trash can fire to keep himself warm," Matt told them as he sadly hung his head, Kelly walking over and placing a hand on Sylvie's shoulder, helping her up from the ground. "Are you okay?" he asked with both of his hands on her shoulders. Sylvie quickly nodded her head and then sadly shook it, Kelly pulling her close as she cried into his chest, Kelly squeezing her tighter. "You know what?" Matt asked as he took off his fire helmet, everyone looking at him. "I'm opening up Firehouse 51 as a safe haven for those who need a place to stay this winter. I don't feel like getting called out to find more dead bodies lying around" "Chief? It's a great idea but, how will the word get out?" Herrmann asked, Matt scratching his head. "I want Truck and Squad to go down every street in the neighborhood and look in every alley way. The ambulance and I will head back to the firehouse and start pulling out all the food we can find. I'm not going to have anybody else die... Not on my watch."