Best Friend To The Very End

Hang On

November 13th, 2007:

Kelly walked into the bedroom as Katherine began packing her clothes into a box
Kelly let out a sigh
"Has Hannah been bugging you to get a dog once we get to Phoenix too?"
He sat on the edge of the bed
"Hey, what's going on?"
"I'm-a" Kelly paused "I'm going to take the placement at 51"
"Come on Kelly, come to Phoenix with Hannah and I and you can get a placement there and -"
"But it won't be on squad" Kelly looked away
"You want to stay? "Kelly didn't say anything
Katherine shook her head
"I should have known, I was that close to not even telling you and you would have come with us"
"Hey, you know this hurts me as much as it hurts you guys' Kelly explained 'I didn't make this decision lightly, I promise"
"What about Hannah?" Katherine said bluntly
"I want to be the one to tell her"
"It will break her heart"
"I know, but I need to do it' Kelly explained 'She'll understand"
Kelly began to walk out of the room. He paused before he got to the door
"Just don't stop me from seeing her"
"Never, you're her father no matter where you are"
Kelly nodded his head and walked out the door.

It was the first time 51 went back on shift since the accident. The first time the waiting room had been empty. Katherine's parents had been away planning their daughter's funeral. Kelly was determined that Hannah would make it and he wouldn't have to bury his own daughter too. There was a knock at the door.

"Hey," Kelly said as Katherine's parents came in
"How is she?" Katherine's father Carl asked
"She's improving, slowly" Kelly replied
"Slow and steady wins the race," Amelia said as she held her grand-daughters hand
"You heard from your dad yet?" Carl asked Kelly
"Not yet" Kelly replied, disheartened
"We're always here for you" Amelia promised Kelly "No matter what happens"
Kelly let out a sigh "Thanks" He said trying not to cry
"I'll um, I've got something to do, I'll be back later," Kelly said walking out.

Kelly pulled up in front of the firehouse in Gabby's car since his was still at the firehouse. It was the first bit of normality for him in the last few days. The firehouse was the one place where he could forget about everything for a moment.
"Hey Lieutenant," Said Herrmann as Kelly walked up to the firehouse.
"Hey" Kelly replied
"How's the grommet going?" He asked
"Getting there, slowly" He replied
"Ah she's a tough cookie, she'll hang on"
"Yeah" Kelly replied "Chief around?"
"He's in his office"
"Thanks" Kelly replied as he walked towards Boden's office.
On his way, Kelly went through the common area where Casey and Dawson were
"Hey Kelly," Dawson said as she went up and hugged Kelly
"Hey" He replied
"How's Hannah?" Casey asked
"She's strong" Kelly replied "The swellings going down but she's still in a coma"
"What about you?" Casey asked "How are you holding up"
"Not as strong as Han, but I'm getting there"
"Just remember, we're here for you" Gabby added
"Thanks" Kelly replied "I've got to go and see chief"
"Yeah sure"
Kelly continued to walk towards chief's office. He knocked on the door frame.
"Kelly" Boden said with a smile on his face "What can we do for you?"
"I just needed a break from the hospital"
"Uh Kelly this is Dallas Patterson, he's filling in for you on squad" Boden said introducing him to the new Lieutenant
"I'm sorry to hear about your daughter" He said to Kelly
"Thanks" Kelly replied
"I'll leave you two to it" Dallas said leaving Bodens office
Kelly sat down in the chair opposite Bodens desk
"So how's everything going?" Boden asked
Kelly shrugged his shoulders and let out a sigh
"I don't know. This just feels like a bad dream"
"What did the tests say?" Boden asked
"There is some brain damage, but we won't find how bad until she wakes up"
"When will that be?"
"They have started reducing her sedation then it's up to her"
"How's Katherine's parents?"
"Their strong"
"When's the funeral?"
"Nothing's set in stone yet, they want to wait until Hannah can go"
Boden took a piece of paper out of his drawer and handed it to Kelly
"What's this?" Kelly questioned
"Take a look"
Kelly began to read the first few lines
"Hannah wrote this?" Kelly questioned
"She wrote a letter to McCloud about 51's possible closure"
"When?"
"The day before the accident. Casey found it in his quarters and sent it to McCloud"
"So are we being closed down?" Kelly asked
"I just heard word from head office this morning" Boden explained "And now you're here I guess it's the right time to tell everybody"

Chief Boden and Kelly walked out into the kitchen. Kelly sat down at the table with Casey and Dawson.
"Everyone an I have your attention please" Boden announced "Early this morning I was called into head office regarding 51's possible closure"
There was a silence
"I'm pleased to announce there will be no further house closures"
"What does that mean for 51 chief?" Otis questioned
"It means Otis, 51 is going to remain open"
The room erupted into applause and cheers of excitement
"What changed McLeod's mind?" Mouch asked
"Some subtle persuasion from someone close" Boden said as he looked at Kelly.
Kelly smiled back at Chief.
The sirens echoed throughout the house.
"Oh how I love that sound" Said Herrmann
"You're going to regret saying that" Cruz laughed

Back at the hospital
"Hey" Erin said as she walked up to Kelly sitting at a table in the hospital cafeteria.
"Hey" He replied
"Don't tell me you've been here all day?" She asked sitting next to him
"No" Kelly laughed "I went to the firehouse for a while"
"Oh yeah, how was that?"
"Good, 51's no longer being closed down"
"Kelly, that's excellent" Erin said smiling
"And I met my replacement"
"Kelly you know that's only temporary"
"I know" Kelly replied
"What are you reading up on?" She asked as she looked at the flyers in front of him
"Just some information Will gave me about Hannah"
"Post-Traumatic Epilepsy?" Erin read from one pamphlet, "Traumatic Brain Injuries"
"I've got to start looking at this logically, she's not going to be the same girl when she wakes up"
Erin looked at Kelly, "She'll always be Hannah though"
"I know, and I know this is going to be tougher for her than it is for me. I've just got to be ready"
Erin started looking through some of the pamphlets with Kelly
"Did you know more people die from epilepsy than they do house fires" Kelly read out. A statistic that scared him deeply.
"Don't think like that" Erin said in an attempt to reassure Kelly
"The only difference is-"
"- Kelly stop" Erin interrupted "She is going to be fine"
Kelly nodded his head.
It was his job to save people from burning buildings, but to now protect his daughter from something that could strike at any moment. That just made firefighting look easy.
"What if she doesn't remember me when she wakes up"
"Kelly"
"What about Katherine? How do I tell her about her mom if she doesn't even remember"
Erin was quiet. She didn't know what to say to Kelly to reassure him.
"We'll get through it" She managed to say "No matter what"
Kelly looked up and saw Wil walking towards them
"Wil?" Kelly questioned
Wil let out a sigh
"Has something happened?" Erin asked
Wil shook his head and smiled, "Not what you're thinking" He said, "Hannah's off the ventilator and breathing on her own"
"That's great" Erin said smiling as she looked at Kelly who was speechless
"And she's off sedation, so she should wake up soon"
"And the drain?" Kelly asked
"We're going to leave it in a bit longer to be safe"
Wil's phone buzzed
"It's Jay, I've got to go"
"Thanks" Kelly said to Wil, "Thanks for everything"
"No worries" Wil said before he walked away

Kelly and Erin walked into Hannah's room, Katherine's parents were still there. For the first time in days they could finally see Hannah's face
"I knew she was a fighter" Amelia said as Kelly sat next to Hannah's bed
"She's a tough cookie" Kelly replied, smiling
"We better go, we've got some," Carl paused "Some things to finalise"
Amelia kissed her grand daughter on the forehead before she left the room with Carl
Kelly paused for a second, then followed after Carl and Amelia.
"Carl" Kelly called out
"Kelly?" He replied, turning around
Kelly could see he was broken
"I'm sorry about Katherine, and I just want you to know how grateful I am that you've been here for Hannah"
Carl nodded his head as a tear rolled down his cheek
"Whenever you want to see Hannah just call me and we'll be there before you can hang up the phone" Kelly said as he handed Carl a card with his number on it
"Thank you Kelly" Carl replied "You make sure you treasure every moment you have with Hannah, there's so much more we wish we could have done with Katherine"
"I will, I promise"