Chapter 2
Kelly reached for his water bottle and took a long drink.
It was good to let go…to feel the burn of a good workout…to clear his head.
Sometimes his life felt like it was spinning out of control.
Now was one of those times.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
It was rough going at Station 51…
The men were really spread thin. First they'd lost Capp…after he broke his leg when a staircase collapsed and he fell through the floor into a basement apartment. He'd been out about eight weeks…and he still had a lot of rehab to do before he could come back…if he could come back.
Kelly knew what the man was going through. This was the second serious injury Capp had had…and speaking from experience…every time, it was a little harder to get back on your feet.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Almost all of Truck was out…after that secondary explosion at the Italian restaurant. Otis and Cruz had both been discharged from the hospital…and they were recuperating at home. They had been farthest from the blast…they were in a dining room, getting two civilians to safety rather than in the kitchen area.
The arson investigation had turned up a couple of time-delayed low grade explosives placed strategically around the structure. One was in the kitchen…attached to the stove. It had taken out both the cooking and dishwashing areas…and that's where Hermann had been…trying to get one of the kitchen workers out. The guy had been an undocumented worker…and he was trying to find a back way out…so no one would ever know he'd been there.
Well…now everyone knew he was there. For all it mattered…the man hadn't made it.
Casey had been trying to get to the offices…there was an owner/manager trapped back there…when a second device concealed in the ceiling in the back had brought the whole thing down on top of him.
They were both still in the hospital…
And all the relievers coming in and out…it was like Station 51 had a revolving door. Kelly never knew who was gonna be there from one shift to the next. It was a bad way to have to work.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"Well, well, well…look what the cat dragged in…"
Kelly turned at the sound of the familiar voice.
And a smile broke across his face.
"Darren Chesnick! Long time, no see, man!"
The two shook hands and slapped each other on the back.
"Kelly Severide…good to see you…how's it goin'"
Kelly shrugged.
"You know…same ol' same ol'." He said. "What about you? You staying outta trouble?"
Darren Chesnick was a firefighter Kelly had know off and on for almost the whole time he'd been with the department. They'd never worked together before…Chesnick had been at over half a dozen different houses…but never at Station 51.
But they'd run into each other at the BBQ, at the occasional retirement party, or funeral. Sometimes Chesnick would show up at a softball game or a bowling tournament. And they usually sat down and had a beer together…caught up…whatever.
Come to think of it…Kelly hadn't seen Chesnick in about five years.
"Much as I can…I got a lotta time on my hands these days." Chesnick said.
Kelly detected an edge in the man's voice.
"Whaddya mean?"
"You didn't know?" Chesnick asked. "The department forced me out about five years ago. Long term disability…they said I got emphysema."
No…Kelly hadn't known.
"Seriously? That's a tough break…"
"No shit…I tried to fight it…I mean…I feel fine." Chesnick replied. "But it's all politics…bunch a bullshit if you ask me. They're just coverin' their own asses."
But that's what the department had to do…a firefighter was only as good as the men standing beside him…and one guy who wasn't 100% could put the whole company in danger. It sucked sometimes…but the department was bigger than any one man.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Kelly got home later than he wanted to…he'd stayed to talk to Chesnick for a while.
The guy really was bitter…after he'd failed to gain reinstatement with the CFD, he'd applied at a bunch of suburban departments…but they'd all turned him down.
It was sad, really. The guy still felt like he had more to give…that he wasn't ready to hang it up. Unfortunately his body just failed him.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
He let himself in through the back door and the moment he stepped foot in the kitchen Andy and Jesse came running. They plowed into him at full force and Kelly took a step back to steady himself.
"What'd I tell you guys about runnin' into people like that?" he asked sternly.
They couldn't do that anymore…they were gonna be nine in a couple months…and they were probably gonna pass their mother up in terms of size within the next year or so. As it was, they just about knocked Kelly on his ass when they slammed into him like that.
The boys looked chastened .
"Sorry, Dad…" Andy said
"We forgot…" Jesse added.
"You gotta work harder at remembering…" he told them as he pulled them close.
He couldn't bring himself to stay mad at his boys.
Alyssa came in behind the twins.
"Guys…go keep an eye on your sister while I get dinner on the table…will you?"
"Can we take her out of Baby jail?" Andy asked.
"Yeah…"
The boys ran for the living room to spring Maggie from the port-a-crib they called the Baby jail.
"What'd she do now?" Kelly asked.
Maggie was getting into more and more…she had a mischievous streak just like her brothers.
"She apparently didn't like the new book we got today…" Alyssa said. "I thought she was still too young for regular books…"
Kelly was too tired for guessing games…and he said so.
"She made confetti out of it." Alyssa told him.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Kelly closed his eyes for a second…then he nodded and pulled Alyssa close to him.
"You okay?" she asked.
"Just tired…sore…"
"You gotta take it easy, Honey…" she told him as she began to rub her hands across his shoulders and up and down his arms. "You don't have to keep doin' all these extra workouts."
Training for the Firefighter's Challenge had been one thing…a once a year thing. But she worried about him, especially with all the extra stuff that was going on now. She didn't want to see him get run down…or worse.
He smiled as he hugged her. He knew how much she loved him…and how much she worried about him. They'd been married nine and a half years…and he still couldn't believe his good fortune sometimes.
"What's for dinner tonight?" he asked.
"Maggie's having a hamburger patty…and the rest of us are having Steak Balsamico with the creamy mushroom risotto…and sautéed green beans."
He chuckled.
"So that means I gotta work out at least four hours tomorrow…"
Alyssa smacked his shoulder lightly.
"Smart ass…"
"Ow…" he said as he put his hand to his shoulder, pretending to be wounded. "That's not nice…"
Lyssa rolled her eyes at the bad acting job.
"I'm sorry, Baby…" she said contritely…well…sort of.
"I think I might need a kiss to make it better…" he "pouted".
"You're worse than the kids…" she told him.
"Better make that two kisses."
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
After the kids were in bed they finally had time to hold one another…and talk about all the stuff that was going on.
Kelly told her about his run-in with Darren Chesnick at the gym.
"He had to go on long term disability…and he's pretty pissed about it."
"I can imagine…" Alyssa said quietly. "How many times did you tell me when first got together that Squad was the only thing you had going for you? Even if that wasn't true…"
"It was all I'd ever wanted, Lyssa. It was all I ever thought about doing. I couldn't picture anything else…and I never imagined myself with a wife and kids and all this."
He was quiet for a moment…
"Vargas had a rough time when he first went on LTD. He just made Squad about a month or so before that fire…and he breathed in those fumes…that trip to the hospital's what uncovered all the other stuff. There was one night there…he was ready to jump off the roof."
"But he managed to pull it all together…" Alyssa pointed out.
"Yeah…but he had his landscaping business…and it's not like his friends abandoned him. We still met up for beers and whatever." Kelly said. "And now he's got the kids here…he loves Andy and Jesse and Maggie like they really are his niece and nephews."
And the twins loved to hang out with their Uncle Jose. He had just taken them out for pizza and bowling when Kelly was on shift. He came to all their games…he filled in as an assistant coach…
"And there's all the things he's doing to help Declan…" Alyssa said.
Vargas was part of the team Kelly had put together to help Declan get into the CPFTA. Every day Kelly couldn't, Vargas took the fifteen year old down to the gym and coached him through the same physical training regimen the Academy put every Candidate through.
Even though he'd been out of the department for over ten years, Vargas was still one of them. The team had reached out and kept him afloat in the beginning…but now Vargas was right there for each and every one of them…ready to pitch in, ready to lend a hand…or a shoulder to lean on.
Kelly doubted Chesnick had any of that. He'd bounced around to so many different houses…he probably didn't really have any ties to one of them. The word on the guy was that he was a hot head…and the reason for all the transfers was because he couldn't get along with anyone.
"Maybe this guy just needs a friend, Kelly." Alyssa said. "Why don't you invite him over for dinner some night?"
"Maybe…if I run into him again…I don't have his number or anything. Besides…there's something else I need to talk to you about."
"What's that , Baby?"
"I went by the hospital to see Matt. He's climbin' the walls, waitin' to get out of there."
"It's been almost two weeks now…I know how he feels."
"Well…the doctor's worried about sendin' him home 'cause he lives by himself. Somethin' about how there could be late effects from the concussion…"
Alyssa nodded…she understood full and well what he was talking about.
"Well, you know what the best solution would be here…" she told him.
And Kelly just pulled her close. He loved that they were on the same page with this.
Tomorrow he'd go over to the hospital and tell Matt he was welcome to stay with them.
