Title: Christmas Baby; Chapter one
Summary: It is Christmas Eve and a baby gets dropped off at Station fifty-one. How do Matt and Kelly handle it? How do the rest feel. Who falls in love with the baby? Does the little baby find a home?
Disclaimers: The show is property of Dick Wolfe, and NBC. I don't own anything. Just borrowing the characters to practice my writing. Only thing I own is Season 1 DVDs and they are getting well worn. LOL
A/N: I got this idea and I thought I'd go with it. It would be AU since this isn't in the show. I just wanted to do a Christmas story and see how everyone would handle a baby at the firehouse. All mistakes are mine. Please do forgive. Everyone here are just friends. I'm not doing any relationships except friendship.
A cold snap has Chicago in it's icy grip. It is going to be a frigid Christmas in the city and surrounding towns. It is evening of Christmas Eve. Station fifty-one is quiet until shift change in a few minutes. A young woman places a big basket at the door of the station. She stands in the shadows dressed warmly in a hooded coat. Making sure no one sees her. She feels in her heart that she is doing the right thing but it still isn't and easy thing to do. Tears run down her cheeks as she slips away into the dark of night.
Matt Casey, one of the lieutenants of station fifty-one pulls up to the curb for his Christmas shift. He steps out of his truck and grabs his bag. His breath puffs out as he breathes. It is cold. He pulls his coat tighter around himself. He has a cap on his head to keep what warmth he does have. He starts to walk toward the station and someone walks into him.
He grabs the person before she falls. "I'm sorry. Are you alright?" Matt asks, the young woman. Her hood fells back and he gets a good look at her. She is of average height and has very curly hair down around her shoulders that shines a ruby color in the street lights. She looks up at him. He notices the tears in her emerald green eyes. "I'm okay. Thank you." The young woman says, taking a step away from Matt.
"Are you sure? I can get help for you." Matt says, looking at the young woman. "I'm fine. Merry Christmas." the young woman says stepping away from him and walking away into the cold lonely night. Matt watches until he can't see her anymore.
He hoists his bag strap up onto his shoulder again and heads toward Station fifty-one. He stops at the door as he sees the basket that the young woman left behind. He looks over his shoulder toward the direction the young woman took. He sees Kelly Severide get out of his car for shift.
He picks the basket up carefully. He heads inside toward his office to drop the basket off onto his bed. He turns to head toward the locker room but stops as the bundle of blankets in the basket start to move. He sets his bag onto the floor by his desk as he checks the basket further. Kelly Severide steps up behind him as he pulls the blankets back to reveal a tiny little baby only days old. Shocked surprise comes onto Matt's face as it does Kelly also.
"Where did you find that baby basket?" Kelly asks. Matt looks toward Kelly as he lifts the baby into his arms making sure to keep the blanket around the baby so the baby keeps warm. "Outside at the door coming in." Matt says heading for the ambulance so Gabriela Dawson and Leslie Shay could check the little baby who for the moment is fast asleep.
Kelly goes to the basket to check for anything else. He finds a letter and some baby care items. He keeps the stuff where it is as he goes to follow Matt to the ambulance. "Hey ladies could you check out our little unexpected visitor." Matt says, as Gabby and Leslie turn toward him and see the baby in his arms. "Oh my." both say as they look at the tiny baby.
Leslie Shay takes the baby from Matt very carefully. She steps back into the ambulance. Both paramedics check the little one out. The baby wakes and starts to fuss. "Hey little one it's okay." Leslie says. The baby has the bluest eyes for a days old new born. As the two women check out the baby they find that the baby is a girl. "It's Christmas Eve so everything is closed until after Christmas." Kelly says as the two paramedics are finished checking the baby out and hand the baby back over to Matt Casey who takes her.
The two lieutenants head to the common room where everyone is gathered. "Hey Casey what do you have there?" Herrmann asks as Matt hands him the little baby. "We have a tiny visitor for shift and we must take care of her. I found her in a basket outside. I still need to change so please watch her Herrmann." Matt says going to his office to get his bag and to the locker room to change and put his things in his locker. Kelly also headed for the locker room to change and put his things away.
Changed and ready Matt heads back to the common room and sees that Jeff Clarke has the little baby. "Hey Clarke. Isn't she a cutie?" Matt asks looking at the squad member. "Yeah. Herrmann went to get Chief Boden so the little angel came to me." Jeff says as the chief makes his appearance into the common room.
"We need someone to watch the baby when calls start to come in." Chief Boden says looking around at the men. "I can call my sister Katie Nolan." Kelly says entering the common room changed and ready for the shift. "Okay you do that Kelly. We need to call child services once they are open after Christmas and Make sure Ms. Gail McLeod does not get wind of the baby. I don't want her darkening this firehouse on Christmas." Chief Boden says, going over and looking at the baby girl in Jeff's arms.
Matt heads to his office to check the basket and sees the letter and the baby care items. He sees some baby formula and some tiny bottles to mix it in. He also sees some diapers in the basket and other stuff. He grabs the letter and heads back out to the common room.
He opens the letter and he reads it aloud:
Dear firehouse fifty-one firefighters,
Please take care of my baby. She needs to find a new home. I can no longer care for her. I tried but this is the best way and I don't know where to take her. Please just love her until she gets a new family. Her name is Mattea Kellie. She was born on December twenty-first. Thank you.
With much love,
Mattea's mother.
"Awe. So sad. Poor baby girl." Leslie says going over to Jeff and taking the baby into her arms. The baby starts to wake. She looks up at Leslie Shay with her eyes open and sucking her fist. She is quiet and content for the moment.
"I called Katie and she is coming in." Kelly says, going over to Leslie. He takes the baby's small hand in his. Just amazed at how tiny she is, "That's good. We don't want Mattea to be all alone." Leslie says rocking the baby in her arms. Matt comes from his office yet again and brings the basket out and sets it beside the couch out of the way of foot traffic. That way if they had to put Mattea down she had the basket.
"Is she getting hungry yet?" Matt asks looking at Leslie. "No she doesn't seem to be yet. She is just checking me out and Kelly here." Leslie says. "When I was coming in I ran into a young woman leaving. She ran into me. She was upset but she kept walking. She could be the one to drop off Mattea." Matt says thinking back.
Fifteen minutes later Katie Nolan walks into the firehouse. She heads to the common room where everyone is gathered for the moment. "Hey Kelly. I'm here for babysitting duty." Katie says going over to her brother who was holding a baby and feeding her. "Hey Katie. This little visitor here is Mattea Kellie." Kelly says seeing his sister come in.
"Awe. She is so sweet." Katie says as the alarm sounds. The overhead paging system goes on. Everyone waits to see what action they take. Ambulance sixty-one, Truck eighty-one, Squad three, engine fifty-one fire at…
"Here you go Katie. I gotta go." Kelly says handing the baby to his sister and making sure she had the bottle. He rushes out toward the squad truck. Katie looks down at little Mattea and sits on the couch as Pouch comes over to her and lays down beside her on the couch.
Katie finishes feeding the baby and burps her. She looks at the baby in her arms. So tiny and sweet and sad to be left on a doorstep even if it is the firehouse of station fifty-one. She places Mattea in the basket as the baby starts to close her eyes. She moves the basket up onto the counter so Pouch would leave the baby alone.
Katie starts warming up milk for hot chocolate for everyone for when they got back from the call. It is quiet at the station. She finds a radio in the laundry room and turns it on low. Christmas music starts to play. She decides to make some cookies as she gets out the ingredients to make them.
Katie looks at the clock as it has been and hour since the call. She turns as she hears them all pull into the hanger. As everyone comes in from clean up and to clean up she pulls the last of the cookies from the oven. She lets the last of them cool. She stirs the hot chocolate as it simmers on the stove.
As everyone settles down, Katie serves the hot chocolate and the cookies to everyone who wanted one. "Thank you so much Katie." Mouch says as he turns on the TV. Matt Casey is the last to enter the common room from cleaning up. Katie sees a sad expression on his face. He goes over to the baby and just looks at her. His troubles melt away for the moment as he looks at the little wee baby. She sets the hot chocolate by Matt and two cookies. He looks at her and smiles. "Thank you." Matt says and nods his head. Katie smiles back as she passes out the rest.
Kelly comes from somewhere and sits at the table and sees his sister handing out cookies and hot chocolate. He gladly takes one when she gets to him. "Thank you, Katie." Kelly says, putting his hands around the warm cup. "You're welcome." Katie says finally sitting down at the table with her brother. All was quiet. Nothing stirring but the baby.