This is my first Stellaride fanfiction (written two other stories, currently unfinished) - great couple/great characters, so we'll see where I go with it! :)

Hope you enjoy it!

Chapter One:

It was almost sunrise.

He'd been sitting on the corner of the bed in Stella's apartment watching her sleep, taking in the details of her face, while contemplating whether he'd made the right choice in omitting the kiss when she'd asked about Renee – either it was a moment, or even just a 'Thank you' on Renee's part, he knew that, it really didn't matter, not for him.

Telling Stella would only hurt her, and that was the last thing he wanted.

The fire; night at Molly's – so much had changed between them.

Can you just –- for once, just tell me what you're feeling?

He couldn't express the words, but he found a way to show her.

They hadn't looked back since.

And when he walked away from Renee at the courthouse, turning down her subtle advances, he made a beeline for Stella's apartment – spending the night on her side of the bed, taking in the scent on the pillowcases and waiting for her return from shift, since he'd been out on furlough.

Kelly told Stella the case was over, assuring her that he'd basically told Renee the same.

Over – as in all of it was over.

She missed him.

He more than missed her – expressing that same sentiment with words of his own.

All I think about - is you.

Words that didn't come easy for him.

Before too many jumbled thoughts crept into his mind around those words or remembering the way they'd spent the remainder of the hours that followed, he quickly caught sight of her movement and the slight groan that escaped when she reached across the bed sheet, realizing he was not lying next to her.

"Hey—"

Stella smiled and lightly yanked the bed sheet a bit closer to the frame of her body, glancing in the general direction of his voice. "What are you doing?" she questioned, noticing the sun was beginning to peek through the drapes that covered the windows.

"Nothing, just couldn't sleep," he answered.

Was that it?

Unsure, Stella pulled the sheet even closer with one hand and gently used the other to lift herself up from the mattress – in silence, she slowly sat back on her heels, exposing her backside slightly, something that caught Kelly's attention rather quickly.

His lips parted slightly as he watched her, barely able to catch a breath.

A part of him wanted to tell her about Renee; the other side of him did not.

Doing so wouldn't actually change anything.

Stella, however, could tell that something was weighing on his mind by the way he gazed at her so intently – maybe it had been the reason he stayed at her apartment after the trial, a surprise when she walked through the door and found him there, waiting on her.

He let her know in his own way that Renee wasn't a threat to what they had.

Kelly's eyes moved to Stella's lips as she smiled at him – barely able to focus anywhere else when she inched a little closer; he also couldn't help but notice the way the bedsheet slid through her fingertips during any movement, exposing a bit more of her bare skin.

And once she was near and in reach, his lips quickly found hers.

The kiss between them began slow.

Both feeling the electricity between them.

Kelly cupped her face, pulling her even closer.

"Stella—" he whispered against her cheek, once their lips slowly parted.

She pulled back for a split second, wondering if he was about to say something, anything.

Instead, he placed both hands on the bed around her, luring her backward until she fell against the pillow beneath her and looked up at him just as he hovered over her. He paused briefly in that moment, knowing his world was beginning to shift.

The job, being a firefighter, it was definitely an important part of his life – however, it was no longer the only important piece in his life anymore.

Stella was slowly beginning to inch up the scale of importance.

They felt it.

Kelly then dropped his face to hers, their lips barely an inch apart, just as the alarm beeped.

Reality.

Smiling – he leaned down, gave her a quick peck, and then moved from the bed.

Kelly Severide walked out of Chief Boden's office, basically shell-shocked at the news of Gabriela Dawson taking a leave from the Firehouse 51 family to go work in the relief efforts in Puerto Rico. No word on when or if she'd be returning.

A worthy cause, but what did this mean for Casey and Dawson – their marriage?

Not to mention the partnership she had with Brett on Ambo.

Had something happened?

Kelly walked straight into his quarters and closed the door gently, sighing heavily, and making his way to sit in the chair near the desk. This news was surreal. His thoughts drifted to Stella almost immediately, knowing that trying to build a relationship between the walls of the firehouse was not going to be easy, not in the least.

And now that Grissom was named Deputy District Chief, there were concerns.

Griz's words stayed with him – You are going to wish you hadn't stabbed me in the back.

His thoughts were broken when there was a soft knock at the door.

"Hey—"

Stella entered with hesitation, and then closed the door from behind before partially lowering the shades for a little privacy. She didn't want anyone to overhear the topic they were about to discuss; however, as she turned around, she could tell that he already knew.

She breathed, "I just heard."

Kelly Severide nodded slowly, stealing a few glances toward Matt Casey's empty quarters.

They both knew this would change the dynamics in 51.

Not just for them either, for everyone.

Stella moved to the edge of the bed, turning slightly. "Have you talked to Casey?"

He shook his head.

"This is – I can't believe it."

Kelly nodded, not disagreeing. If Casey and Dawson couldn't survive marriage and working together in the firehouse, how was he supposed to pull it together and keep what he had going on with Stella? Did they even stand a chance, especially now that Grissom felt like Kelly betrayed him after he backed Boden for the running of Deputy District Chief?

"I don't know any more than you do."

Stella could sense he was distracted.

Just as she stood and moved from the bed to the door, seeing that maybe he wanted to be left alone to process what was going on, Kelly reached for her hand, where the tips of their fingertips barely touched as she neared the door. "Hey—" he called out, standing up as well to stall her from leaving. "I haven't heard from Dawson, maybe Casey can fill us in."

"And Grissom – do you think he had anything to do with it?" Stella inquired, knowing full well that he had been trying to push Kelly up the ranks anyway that he could. Maybe he was hoping that by Dawson gone from 51, Casey would then follow, leaving an opening for Kelly as Captain.

Kelly, however, wasn't interested in Grissom's way.

Not the politics that went along with it.

And he certainly was not about using the way Casey lost his wife, if that is what happened.

What he was concerned about, though, was the possibility of Griz going after Stella in some compacity, just to prove he could. After all, she was collateral damage, now that she was an important part of Kelly's life.

Grissom had more power and Kelly wasn't falling in line with what he wanted for him.

Kelly didn't acknowledge her question vocally, so she reached from behind and locked the door. "Maybe after my shift at Molly's tonight, I can swing by your place and take your mind off all this – Dawson leaving 51, Grissom…all of it." Stella felt his hand against her lower back as she placed her hands on his chest.

Nodding with a slight smile, Kelly leaned to her and brushed his lips against hers.

She felt the grip behind her back tighten as he pulled their bodies even closer, leaving very little space between them as their kiss began to intensify. They had gotten lost in each other for the next few seconds that they barely heard the alarm for truck 81 and ambo being called to a scene.

They pulled apart with reluctance.

He knew she had to go.

Stella slowly took a few steps back toward the door – Kelly never broke eye contact as she did. Eventually, though, she had to turn and unlock the door, step away to do what she was meant to do, which was being a firefighter and saving lives.

Behind the bar at Molly's, Stella was serving more drinks than she could count to an unusually packed crowd. Every table was full, the stools around the bar were filling up as the night went on. However, it also gave her little time to wonder if she'd be seeing Kelly at some point during the shift.

If not, he was probably out searching for Casey.

So, she probably wouldn't see him until later that night.

Breaking free from the thoughts, she noticed a man sitting across from where she stood.

A familiar face that evening.

Oddly, he kept insisting he wouldn't accept a beer from anyone but her that night. Basically, turning down anyone else that tried. Both Herman and Otis watched him carefully through the night, since it seemed that he had eyes for Stella, and both had a strange feeling that he could possibly be the aggressive type.

They thought about cutting him off and sending him out the door.

So far, though, he'd been harmless.

"Hey, beautiful!" the man called out rather loudly, attempting to get another beer.

Maybe he was past his limit.

Moving over to the man rather slowly in annoyance from the other end of the bar, Stella stopped directly across from him with a few beer bottles in her hand. "One moment—"

He reached across the bar, holding out his arm in front of Stella, causing her to come to a complete stop. The look in her eyes told him that she wasn't amused. "I think you could turn back here, give me one of those in your hands."

Kelly Severide walked through the doors of Molly's, passing through groups of people standing around tables engaging in conversation, which almost made it difficult to get a glimpse of Stella.

Once he did, however, he found himself not pleased with what he saw across the bar.

No question about it – Stella could handle herself.

It wasn't about that.

This stranger seemed to have had a few too many judging by the bottles surrounding him; although, he was unclear on what was going on by the looks coming from Stella, just as she knocked his hand away and moved from his reach.

Kelly moved to the bar, sat down in one of the empty barstools.

Stella turned away from a group of guys after opening a few beer bottles for them, and then caught sight of Kelly and the way his eyes were glued on her, just as she began to move over to him.

"Hey stranger—"

Kelly leaned forward when she stopped near him – while he wanted to reach across the bar and kiss her, sending this jerk out of the bar that seemed to be two sheets to the wind and slightly fixated on her, he just smiled in her direction. After all, he planned on closing with her that night, and then he'd take her home.

"Here you go…" Stella drew out, placing a single beer bottle in front of him and leaning into the bar herself, leaving only a small distance between them. "I am a bit surprised to see you in here tonight. I thought maybe you would go and try to find Casey."

He shook his head, knowing that now probably wasn't the time.

Give it a day.

Stella was being called for another drink to the left and right of her, so she placed her hand over his for a quick second and then took a step backward. This was probably as close as they were going to get for the next hour.

Herman was going to close down Molly's, but she offered to do so instead.

He had a family.

Kelly took a swig of the beer in hand and watched her walk up and down behind the bar, serving men and women with beer and hard liquor as the time ticked away. Luckily, the man who seemed to push for her attention earlier in the evening gave up and left, without so much as another word in her direction.

For now, that was a win for him.

The door was officially locked – Molly's was cleaned out.

Finally.

Kelly placed the last of the bar stools on top of the tables, watching Stella closely as he moved back to her from behind the bar, where she had been wiping down the glasses and placing them back into storage.

His eyes shifted around her face and down her body slowly, as the street lights flickered through the windows and hit her face ever so slightly. He began to replay the events from the day – the news of Dawson taking a break from Firehouse 51, the chain reaction he felt to his relationship with Stella, and then catching some boozed-up jerk drooling over her when he entered Molly's.

He walked up from behind, placed both hands on the edge of the bar around her.

Kelly thought about where Casey was with Dawson – he didn't want to be there.

He suffered a lot over the years.

Shay died.

Anna died.

Stella had gotten trapped in a fire – it was then that his feelings for her flashed to the forefront, where bullet sounds were heard from outside the building, knowing that she was trapped inside as the fire continued. He hadn't exactly ignored Boden's orders lightly, but he was willing to handle the consequences and risk his own life to save hers.

He then returned to Stella after the trial with Renee.

His thoughts always led back to her.

They had for a while.

And here they were – alone, back to the place where she confronted him on whatever he had been feeling since the fire, wanting some sort of answer from him. Words, however, just couldn't spill out of him. So, he ended up showing her instead.

Kelly placed his chin on her shoulder, moving up against her backside.

"You almost ready?"

Stella's eyes widened as she set down the glass in her hand, turned around between his arms, and suddenly not only were their bodies inches apart, so were their lips. So close that she could feel his warm breath. There was no denying the feeling between them – just as intense as the last time they had been together when the bar was closed.

"Are you?" She returned, smirking.

His mouth turned up slightly, his eyes darting down to her lips and then back to her eyes. Neither one of them had defined what they were to each other, but he had introduced Stella to Renee as his girlfriend.

Stella placed her hands on either side of his face, pulling him to her until their lips crashed.

He took a step toward her to narrow the gap between them even more, breaking their kiss in the meantime and whispering, "Come home with me for the night." He didn't have to ask twice, as she returned his statement, whether it was a question or not, with a kiss to show him she was ready to do just that.

...