Stella left the common room after talking with Mouch, feeling slightly better about the idea of moving to PR. As she turned to head back to the bunk room, she ran right into Kelly. He reached out to grab her and steady her. "Hey, I woke up to get some water and couldn't help but notice your empty bunk. Everything okay"? She sighed, clearly not knowing what to say to him. "I don't think I'm processing the fact that next shift I won't be working here anymore. I don't know what to think". He looked at her, her expression showing how torn up she was over this. "Stella, we're going to figure this out. Casey and Boden aren't going to leave you there. They'll find a way to get you back". "I hope you're right, because I can't help but wonder what will happen if I am stuck there for more than just a few shifts. What if I am stuck there for years"? She began to trail off, not wanting to verbalize every worse case scenario she had pictured so far. She looked away from him as tears began to form, she was heartbroken over having to leave the only true family she has ever been a part of.
He reached out for her, gently lifting her face back up so he could look into her eyes. "Stella, listen to me and trust me when I say that this is not permanent. I'm not giving up on you that easily, and neither is anyone else in this house". She looked at him and she knew she could listen to him. He has always had her back before, there's no reason to believe this should be any different now. She slowly nodded her head and gave him a soft smile, the one she saved only for him. "Thanks Kelly. I do trust you, I just don't trust that there's anything else to be done". He didn't know what else to say anymore, so he surprised both of them by pulling her into a hug. Despite her initial surprise she couldn't help but melt into him and hug him back. It was over all too soon, broken up by the sound of Mouch making his way back to the bunk room. He raises his eyebrows at the sight of the two of them together, but didn't say anything as he continued to walk past the pair. She pulled away, and he gave her arm a reassuring squeeze as she headed back to bed and he continued on his way for the glass of water that had brought him out of bed in the first place.
Stella went back to her bunk and got back into bed, overcome with a feeling of gratitude. For working with people who she knew would fight to get her back on the front lines were she belonged. For having worked in the best firehouse in the city, even if her time here was finished. And most importantly, she was grateful for Kelly and the friendship the two of them had. After their short lived friends with benefits stage, she was worried about losing him as a friend and was relieved when she realized that wasn't going to happen. She knew that after her first day in PR she would get to go home to Kelly and he would be waiting to here about it and reassure her that everything would be okay. She found her self smiling despite the chaos that seemed to be happening in every aspect of her life. Kelly truly was the one constant in her life, the one she could always count on. Even when everything was happening with Grant and she chose to distance herself from Kelly, she knew if she called him at any hour of the day he would be there. She rolled over in bed, seeing him walk back into his office but not before glancing over at her. With one shared smile between the two, they both fell asleep with thoughts of what could be playing in each of their minds.
The night came and went without any calls, and Stella did her best to hurry out with having to go through any goodbyes. She left the firehouse, finding Kelly leaning on his car waiting for her. "Want to get breakfast? I'm buying". Even though all she wanted was to go home and continue her pity party, she couldn't turn down time with Kelly. Nodding her head in agreement, she climbed into his car. Minutes later, she found herself laughing at a story Kelly told her, somehow he had managed to take her mind off of the chaos in her life. Pulling up in front of their favorite diner, they both got out of the car and headed in. Stella found herself smiling, forgetting how upset she was only hours before. Even though she might not be working in 51 for now, she felt lucky that the person most important to her at 51 was who she would be able to go home to every day. Kelly often wondered about what could've been between her and Stella had Grant not torn them apart the year before, but he knew that now their friendship was stronger than ever which may not have happened had things stayed the way they were. Stella was one person in his life who he could not lose, and if that meant staying as friends he would take it. Both hoped that maybe someday done the road, things would evolve into more than a friendship. But for now, they knew nothing had to be rushed, because anything good was worth waiting for.