CHEXTON: My White Butterfly

Running Woman- Chapter 2

She looked in the mirror and for the first time in several months, April looked like herself. Like the her she was before she met him, before she dreamed. She had taken Ethan's death scare to heart, but when she found him with his ex that night, something finally broke and it finally clicked- she had to move on, just like he had.

April found that her forward movement required her to expand her current reality. She needed more for herself, even though she had decided to lock away her dream life, she had to find some kind of balance. And since she was not ready for a love interest, she chose to explore growth in her work. Additional training, increasing her education and skills, opened new opportunities for her; although not how most would have thought. Either way, it was a move in the right direction.

"Dr. Manning! Treatment 4."

Maggie soon noticed Kelly was trailing behind the patient. "Kelly? Why are you here? Are you OK?" she asked. As if like clockwork, Brett reappears and answers for him.

"NO! He needs to be checked for smoke inhalation," she stated while Kelly continued to protest, stating he was fine.

"Mags, don't listen to him. He tried to stop the bleeding and stabilize the victim, before bringing her out. He stayed too long inside and gave away her his mask."

"She's pregnant Mags. I had to try, "he replied.

"Fine. So now you'll get checked out." Kelly hung his head in defeat. "Dr. Choi, treatment 6!"

"Got it Mags. Kelly? How you feeling?" Ethan asked as they walked to the exam room. Just as Kelly turned to say it was unnecessary to be checked out, Maggie's voice rang out over the department. "Possible smoke inhalation complications are non-negotiable Severide!"

Choi chuckled, "You heard the lady," and the two proceeded to treatment 6.

After about 20 minutes, April returned from break. "Maggie I'm back. What's next?"

"Nothing right now, but Kelly's in 6."

"Kelly? My Kelly?" Maggie nodded. "Is he ok?"

"Yeah, just needed to be checked for too much smoke inhalation." April quickly moved to the room, only to find Kelly with an oxygen mask looking as if he was asleep. She quietly stood beside him, touching his head, and his eyes slowly opened.

"Hey lady?" he said as he removed the mask.

"Hi. Are you ok?"

"Yeah, Choi said a little oxygen and I should be fine. Where were you? I expected you to be working with him."

"I was on break, but Maggie hasn't been putting me on his service much anymore. Working with Dr. Manning is easier." Kelly nodded under his mask. "Besides," she began as Ethan approached unbeknownst to her, "working with Natalie allows me to get out on time to meet up with you." Kelly smiled under the mask, but almost immediately the smile faded. She didn't have to look, because she could feel him- Ethan was there. And guessing by Kelly's reaction, April assumed he probably heard her last statement. But then she thought about it- why should she worry about what he thinks? He has her!

So April turned and faced Ethan with the look of concern for her friend. "Dr. Choi, is he going to be OK?"

Ethan's stoic countenance told her he was probably angry, but he wasn't her concern anymore, so she waited for a response. "Well, he should be good after a 30-minute oxygen treatment," Ethan answered looking at his watch, "which just ended. How do you feel Kelly?" he asked quickly removing the mask.

"Good doc, thanks."

"Fine. I'll get your discharge papers completed." And with that Ethan quickly turned and retreated from the room. When she didn't immediately turn back after watching Ethan leave, Kelly took the opportunity to push.