Hey guys, thanks for reading! I hope you are enjoying this!

So its surgery day and it all comes down to Kelly…dum dum dum….

Let's see how it all unfolds…

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Previously…

Some wind came in through the small window and the sun reflected off her necklace. Kelly got up to look at her necklace. He smiled when he saw her wedding ring on her neck glistening in the sun. That was the sign he needed. She trusted him to do this for her and he needed to be strong for her.

He walked back into the lobby with a determined look on his face. "Do the surgery. I'll sign whatever you need. Just save her life and being her back to her family" he said.

George nodded and went to get the paperwork. The decision was made. It was now time to act on it.

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Chapter 4- Michelina

Stacey sprinted to the charge desk to get the surgery consent in order. She knew this was going to be a very sensitive case and she wanted everything in order. Once she had all the paperwork she knew she would need, she made her way back to the growing mob in the lobby.

She walked right over to Kelly and handed him the chart. She knelt in front of him and held his hand. "I know this was a tough decision for you. I know that you are kind of lost in all this medical stuff and don't really understand it, but I want you to know that she wouldn't have kept you as her medical proxy all these years if she didn't trust you with her life. She knew you would make the right decision for her and your family" she reassured.

Kelly smiled and pulled her into a hug. He really needed to hear that. He needed to hear that this was the right thing to do. Of course he knew that her medical staff would take care of her and make sure she got the best possible care, but for him, the pressure was weighing on.

He needed to be strong for her and their daughter. She counted on his strength and would need his strength to pull through this. He had to suck up all his feelings and his emotions and be what she needed from him. A strong support and a good dad to their daughter.

After the consent was signed, Stacey processed everything and sent a message to George and the OR team. She told them that all the paperwork was in order and they were ready to take her down whenever the OR was ready for her.

"Make sure Kelly and Katie have a chance to see her before surgery" George said to Stacey. She nodded and made her way back to the lobby.

Kelly stood up anxiously when he saw her. He thought something went wrong already. "Dr. Catalina is prepping for the surgery and they are preparing the OR. If you want, I can take you and Katie back to see her before they come and get her for surgery. You have a few minutes" she informed.

Kelly nodded and grabbed Katie. They followed Stacey back to Michelina's room. Kelly stopped outside and looked at his little girl. "Okay Kitty Kat, remember how I told you mommy is sick and I had to get her out of the smoke?" he asked.

The little girl nodded and smiled, "yeah just like me" she compared.

Kelly couldn't help but smile with her. Her smile was contagious. "Yeah just like you. Except mommy is a little sick. She has some smoke in her lungs so she is going to have a mask on her face to help her breathe better. She needs medicine to make her better, so there is going to be a long tube in her hand so the medicine can get to her faster. I don't want you to be scared okay" he explained.

She looked seriously at her dad and nodded, "mommy is going to be better right?" she asked. Kelly hugged her to him and tried his hardest to keep his tears at bay, "yeah princess, mommy is going to be better" he said before going in.

He kept Katie in his arms as he stood next to the hospital bed. "Hi mommy, me and Lt. Severide are here. We know you have to have surgery with Uncle George and he is going to make you better. I love you mommy and I will see you after surgery" she said.

Kelly smiled and then it was his turn. "Hi Mia, look I know you are probably happy and peaceful where you are now, but me and Katie need you to come back to us and get better so we are waiting for you. I want you to focus on getting through this surgery and coming back ten times stronger. We love you and we are waiting for you" he added.

KNOCK KNOCK!

"Excuse me, we are ready for Dr. De Luca in the OR" the resident said.

Kelly nodded and turned to Katie, "wish mommy good luck on her surgery" he said. "Good luck mama" Katie said and held onto Kelly as he leaned her over Mia to kiss her cheek. "Good luck angel" Kelly gave her a small kiss on the lips before moving out of the way and letting the residents do their jobs.

They followed Mia all the way to the operating room doors and just stood as they watched her get wheeled through. All Kelly could think about was if he made the right decision.

The entire operating room was on edge. George and Nina were standing outside the operating room on edge. "I don't know how to do this Nina? How am I supposed to do this?" he put his head between his knees taking some deep breaths.

Nina rubbed his back up and down in comfort. "George, you have to do this. No one can do this but you. Come on, Scott is just a big shot. He's all talk. I don't trust him because I am afraid he will try to outshine Kelly and mess up. We need you to do this" she said.

He stood up and nodded. He needed to get himself together. "I know, but damn, how the hell did this all fall on me?" he asked as he moved to get scrubbed up. Nina smiled under her surgical mask. Due to the fact that she was in the explosion, she can't operate, but she could still be the liaison between the hospital and the firehouse.

"George, you and I both know you were trained by the best. Michelina didn't spend all her time training you and making you the best damn surgeon in the country for nothing. You can do this" she reassured.

He looked at her and nodded. "Alright, I'm doing this. I'll keep you updated as I go along" he said. She nodded and scrubbed out.

She made her way back to the lobby to see everyone from the firehouse had shown up. "They are just about to start" she informed. Katie was sitting with Shay and Dawson doing some stuff from school. They wanted to keep her preoccupied. She knew her mom was sick, but she also knew that the doctors would make her better.

By this time, Kelly knew that Katie is his daughter. He really didn't know how to tell her. He wanted to know how you tell our 5 year old daughter that you are her father.

"Aunt Nina, is mommy going to be okay?" Katie asked.

Nina smiled and pulled the little girl onto her lap. "Yeah princess. Your mom is going to be just fine. She is strong and she'll pull through this" she reassured.

"Are you sure? Mommy was pretty sick. She's never been in the hospital before" Katie reasoned.

The firefighters smiled and laughed. The girl was too smart for her own good. She was way more mature than she should be.

Kelly leaned down in front of Nina and took Katie's hands in his own. "I have known your mom for a long time. I can promise you that she will be fine. She'll come out of this better than before" he said with conviction.

The little girl smiled and leaned forward to wrap her arms around his neck in a hug. "Thank you for saving my mommy," she said.

He smiled and tried to keep his tears at bay. He wrapped his arms tighter around her and kissed her temple. "Anytime princess" he replied.

After a few more minutes of quiet, Katie looked around at all the firefighters and huffed. "What's wrong kiddo?" Hermann asked.

"Is no one going to tell me that Lt. Severide is my daddy? I already know, so we don't have to pretend anymore" she said. Everyone looked at the little girl shocked.

"Katie, did you just call Kelly daddy?" Johnny asked.

Catherine smiled at her uncle. "Yeah Uncle Johnny. I figured it out after he saved me from my school. Mommy has a picture of her and Lt. Severide on her dresser mirror. When I asked her who that was, she said that he was the second most important person in her life after me. Lt. Severide told me in the hospital that he would always be there for me. He promised. Only a daddy promises something like that, so I just guessed" she explained.

"Well, that definitely makes it official, she got her smarts from Michelina" Casey teased.

That got everyone laughing. "So, you are really okay with me being your dad?" he asked.

She smiled and nodded, "yeah of course. You are just like my superman. That's the best dad anyone could ask for" she said giving him another hug.

Kelly couldn't help but let the tears fall as he stood up with his arms wrapped around his daughter. She wrapped her little legs around him and let him carry her. Nina, Shay, and Dawson were all in tears. That was the sweetest thing anyone had seen in a long time.

By the time the surgery was over, George and Sally were exhausted. That was a really tough surgery. They even had a few close calls on the operating table. No one gave up. Everyone fought through the obstacles.

"Good Job everyone. That was very close and everyone pushed through. I am proud of all of you and I appreciate your support and hard work" George thanked his surgical team.

"Dr. Catalina, you and Dr. De Luca are the one doctors who actually care about us. If we are going to work for anyone, we are going to work for you two. You don't have to thank us. It is our honor to work with you and help save Dr. De Luca" the charge nurse, Annie said.

George and Sally smiled and looked around the whole OR. Everyone had nodded in agreement to what Annie said. They loved Michelina and George. They would fight with them to the death if they had to.

It was time to update the family. Nina stood up instantly when she saw George. She paled when she saw Sally. She's an OR, trauma nurse. She knew the people who worked in her OR/Trauma rooms. She knew what it meant when someone was paged.

"So, how was it doc?" Chief Boden asked.

"Sally, what are you doing here? Did something happen with her heart? Did she code?" Nina started panicking. Her mind was running a mile a minute. The firefighters were bouncing from her to George trying to figure out what happened. Clarke came over and put his hands on Nina's shoulders to try and calm her down.

George let out a stressed breath. "Yeah, she coded twice" George started. "OMG! Did she make it?" Nina asked. Kelly couldn't talk. He couldn't even see straight. His vision was getting blurry. He couldn't even imagine his life without Michelina in it, he couldn't lose her. It couldn't be that easy. Not for a fighter like Mia.

"We were able to revive her the second time," Sally continued, "I was called to observe and watch her heart in case she coded again, but she didn't," she reassured. She knew Nina would understand the double meaning.

"What does that mean? Is she okay or not?" Clarke asked.

"In English please" Hermann added.

George nodded, "Like Sally said. She coded twice but we revived her twice. She made it through the heart trauma. She's been admitted to the CCU. She's not out of the woods yet, not by a long shot. But we are hopeful that she'll pull through and make a full recovery. This whole hospital is pulling for her, so just let us know if you guys need anything. We'll keep an eye on her" he said shaking the Chief's hand before leaving the group.

Kelly fell into a chair and put his head in his hands. He couldn't hold it in anymore. He just let the damn break and started sobbing. No one judged. No one looked at him funny. No one said anything. Nina left Clarke and went to sit by her brother.

She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him as he leaned over and cried in her lap. She just held him until he got it all out. He needed the guys support and he knew he would get it. There would be no question about it. 51 is a family.

After a minute, Kelly got himself together. "I need to see her" he said to no one in particular. Nina nodded and led him into the CCU. She had to swipe her badge to get in.

Nina stood outside the door, "you go in. I'll wait out here for you. We only have a few minutes though" she reminded him. Michelina needed her time to heal.

Kelly let out a nervous breath before pushing open the door and walking in. The room was dimly lighted. It smelled sterile and insanely clean. It was nauseating to anyone who wasn't used to it. Severide couldn't help the gasp that escaped him when he approached her bedside and was really able to see her since he pulled her out of the fire.

She had a bandage on her head and she looked like an angel with her hair fanned out around her on the inclined pillows. She looked pale, but slightly better than before. What really got him was the noise. She had a breathing tube along with all the other tubes and wires connected to her.

The incessant beeping of the machines monitoring her heart were putting Kelly on edge. He just stood there for a minute watching the heart monitor beep as he chest rose and fell with each heart-beat. He's never seen anything more beautiful.

He only had a few minutes until Nina came back to kick him out, so he pulled up the bedside chair and held her free hand in his own. He caressed the back of her hand with his fingers. He needed some contact. He needed to make sure she was really there. He bent forward and kissed her hand.

"I need you to wake up Mia. Please God, let her wake up and come back to me" he cried.

He never wanted anything more in his life than he did in that moment. He needed her to get better. Kelly got comfortable in the chair and kept his hand in hers. His eyes never left her monitors. He couldn't read her vitals, but he knew enough to know if there was rhythm, she was okay. He hoped to God, that she woke up soon.

After what seemed like forever, he heard a soft knock at the door. He turned to see his sister standing there with another doctor. "It's time to go Kell" she said.

He nodded and turned back to Michelina. He stood up and wiped his tears before bracing himself on the bed before leaning over her and kissing her forehead. "I love you Mia. If you can hear me, then hear that. Know that you got the whole hospital, the whole firehouse pulling for you. More importantly, you got me and Katie pulling for you. She needs her mom and I need my girl back. So don't wait too long to come back to us. We are waiting for you" he kissed her cheek before standing up and reached around his neck.

He took off his necklace and gave it to Nina. "Put this on her please" he begged. She could see the desperation in her brother's eyes. She nodded and smiled at him while wiping her tears. "Don't worry, Bobby is going to stay with her tonight until I come back tomorrow. She won't be alone" Nina promised.

Kelly nodded and gave his sister a kiss on the top of her head and walked out. He had to get out of there. The smell, the pressure of the situation, the sight of Michelina lying on that bed hopeless, lifeless hit him all at once.

He pushed his way into the lobby and caught sight of everyone. They watched and knew it was all hitting him at once. He couldn't hold it in anymore. He looked like he was trying to catch his breath. He ran to the closest bathroom and gripped the counter trying to wipe it all away.

Casey ran in behind him. He could see how his friend was struggling. Casey turned the water on cold and held Kelly's head over the sink as he splashed some cold water on his face. "Breathe Kelly. Just Breathe. Everything will be okay" he said over and over.

Kelly took some deep breaths and started to get himself together again. "You didn't see her Matt. She looked so lifeless. Not the like the girl I know. Not my Mia" he cried.

Matt patted Kelly on the back. "Hey, we all love Mia. We are pulling for her to pull through this and she will. She is far too stubborn to let this be the one to get her and you and I know it" Casey tried to reassure his friend.

"You didn't see her Casey. How the hell am I supposed to take care of a little girl? I didn't exactly have a good role model. It's a miracle Nina turned out as good as she did. I can't do this without Mia" he said.

"Kelly listen to me, Michelina is going to pull through this. As for taking care of Katie, that girl is so smart, she can probably take care of you" he teased.

Kelly let out a little laugh and got a hold of himself. "Let's do this" he said. Casey nodded and followed him out.

They were met by an angered Scott Clemmens. "You can't restrict me from her room. I am a doctor at this hospital. I have more power and access here. I can make your life a living hell. You are an intern here" he yelled at the intern.

"I am sorry Dr. Clemmens but I am not your intern. I am Dr. Catalina's intern and he has listed certain people allowed to see Dr. De Luca while she recovers and you are not on that list. She has just recovered from major surgery and if anyone should understand that, it should be a self-proclaimed trauma God like yourself. She needs time to rest and recuperate. If you have a problem with that, take it up with Dr. Catalina and Dr. Adams" she said.

"This is not the end of this conversation" he replied before storming off. He stopped when he saw Kelly. "This is all your fault. If you only would have gotten her out of the building before it exploded, she wouldn't be in the CCU right now" he yelled.

Before Severide had a chance to defend himself, Katie ran to her dad's defense. She didn't have any more patience for this guy. She really didn't like him. Messing with her dad was the final straw. "Hey, you don't get to yell at my dad. My mom was trying to help that lady when the building went down. You weren't here. My mom wanted me to be nice to you but that's enough. You don't get to yell at my dad for saving my mom when you did nothing. You need to respect my mom's wishes and leave her alone" she argued.

Everyone looked on with mixed emotions. They looked shocked and amused all at the same time. Kelly picked up his daughter and held her. "You can't talk to me like that you little brat" Scott argued with a 6 year old.

Clarke took Katie from Severide as Kelly rounded on the doctor and got in his face. "You better listen to me close because I am only going to say this once. If you ever talk to my daughter like that again. If I hear you even thought about coming close to see Michelina or even breathe her name, I will be coming after you and I can promise you that they won't find a hair from your head. Do you understand? Your relationship with my girl ends right now. Am I clear? Anything I need to clear up?" Kelly asked with the guys standing at his back.

They would back him up in a heartbeat. Even Chief De Luca looked on amused. It was about time the young lieutenant fought for his family back. They belonged together. Everyone saw that.

Once Scott took his leave, Kelly took his daughter back and smiled at her. "Are you sure you're 6?" he asked. She looked at him like he had 3 heads. "Yeah I am sure. Why?" she asked confused. Kelly let out a little laugh and gave her a kiss on her forehead, "you are too smart for your own good."

Everyone took their leave. The Chief gave Kelly as much time as he needed. In reality, that was only a few days. Kelly still didn't really know where he fit into Michelina's life, let alone Katie's. He had no idea how to be a dad. This was all new to him.

Johnny and Chief De Luca stood with Kelly and Katie in the parking lot. They didn't know what was going to happen from here on out, but they figured Kelly wanted to be included.

"So, you staying with me or grandpa kiddo?" Johnny asked Katie.

Katie shook her head and looked at Kelly and Shay, "Can I go with daddy and Aunt Shay?" she asked. Really asking her dad. She didn't know if he would be in her life. Her mom told her that he didn't really know how to be a daddy yet. That's why he didn't know about her. He needed time. She figured six years was enough time.

Kelly really didn't know what to say, so Shay stepped in for him. "Of course you can stay with us. But you have to promise to help me with something" she said.

Katie nodded and waited. Shay knelt down to her eye level, "I haven't had a sleepover in a while. You have to help me and show me what to do. You think you can do that?" Shay asked smiling as the little girls eyes brightened up. Katie nodded and launched herself at Shay.

After getting her buckled in the booster seat, he got from Johnny, they headed to their apartment. It wasn't really equipped for a little girl, but Shay helped out. After getting into pj's, Kelly just stood back and watched as Katie and Shay turned their living room upside down.

Katie was laying with her dad against the couch watching Frozen when it was time for bed. "Dad, can you tell me a story?" she asked.

Kelly looked down at her and shrugged. "I don't really know how but I guess I could try" he said taking a minute for her to get comfortable against him as he thought about what to tell her.

"Okay, you ready?" he asked.

"Ready" she replied.

Story

Once Upon a Time, there was a prince and a princess. They lived in a faraway kingdom. This prince and princess didn't really like each other. They had close friends, but personally they didn't really like each other.

One day, word of a magical ball spread through the kingdom. The prince and princess were really excited to go. They wanted to go and spend the night with their friends.

The princess spent all day with her friend shopping looking for pretty dresses for the ball. They were really excited to get dressed in really pretty ball gowns and spend the night dancing away.

The night of the ball, the prince and the princess were standing on the dance floor waiting for a partner to dance with. All their friends were dancing and having a good time. They wanted to join in the fun.

The prince started looking around the room for someone to dance with him. That's when his gaze landed on the princess. She was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. She had a rose colored gown on, silver shoes and her hair was up in curls with little diamonds in it. She looked like an angel.

From that first look, the prince knew she would always be his princess

End Story

Kelly finished telling the story and looked down to see Katie fast asleep curled under the blanket. He smiled and leaned down to kiss her forehead. "Goodnight angel" he said before slowly detangling himself from her.

He found Shay in the kitchen cleaning up, so he made his way over and sat at the island. She handed him a beer and stood across from him.

"That story was about you and Mia wasn't it?" she asked. She had an idea, but she wanted to be sure. She wanted Kelly to open up about him and Michelina. He never has and she doesn't think he ever will.

"Yeah, that's when I first knew that I loved her" he said getting up and grabbing a beer. He wanted to avoid the conversation that he knew was coming.

"You never talk about her you know" Shay observed.

Kelly finished his beer off and turned to lean on the counter. "It's complicated Shay" he replied before moving to the stairs. He just wanted to get his pajama's on and spend as much time with his daughter as possible.

"That doesn't mean you can't talk about it, it just means there's more to the story than meets the eye" Shay added. She wasn't giving up.

"Yes it does Shay. Just drop it" he replied as he continued to move. He knew that if he stopped, she would corner him and make him talk to her.

Shay followed him quietly upstairs, "Kelly it would help you to talk about it" she pressed even further.

Kelly turned around and fumed. If looks could kill Shay would be six feet under. "I don't want to talk about it Shay. Just leave it alone" he said with gritted teeth.

"You never want to talk about it Kelly. Why is that?" she asked.

"BECAUSE I SCREWED IT UP OKAY!" he yelled at her.

Shay was taken aback. She never thought he would actually open up with her. "What are you talking about? You seem to have a great relationship with her" she replied.

He let out a nervous breath and wiped a hand over his face.

"It took us years to get through it. After we got married, I started dreaming of Squad and Mia was looking at Medical Schools. She was graduating from college and she wanted to start with medical school. She applied to a research program for a couple months and she loved it. I was obsessed with Squad. I wanted it so bad. Mia helped me out you know. She worked out with me, pushed me to be the very best. I was taking her dreams away. I was keeping her from her dreams" he held his head in his hands and wiped his hand over his face.

"I saw how happy she was when she came home from the research program. She loved helping people. It was her calling. I couldn't keep her from her dreams. I didn't want to let her go but I had to so I did the only thing I knew would make her leave. I knew she wouldn't leave on her own, so helped her out" he said putting his head in his hands.

This was not something he was exactly proud of. That's why he doesn't like to talk about it. He made a stupid decision and it cost him the love of his life.

"What did you do Kelly?" Shay asked. She knew her roommate and she knew he could do some stupid things without thinking. She cringed thinking about what he could do if he actually thought about it. "I asked her out on a date night. She met me after work, so I met her there. The only catch was that I was with Renee and told Mia that I asked her there" he said.

Shay gasped and put her hand over her mouth. "Are you serious Kelly? I would have killed you if you did that to me" she said.

He nodded, "yeah she almost did. She was about to tear me a new one when she grabbed me for support and buckled over in pain. I picked her up and took her to the hospital. One of the doctors looked at her and said it was just stomach cramps from stress. Now I know that she was stressed and pregnant and having cramps which made her have the pain" he explained before letting out a breath.

Shay could tell he wasn't finished, so she just came over and sat next to him. Anyone could see that this was hard for him, so she patiently and comfortingly rubbed his back. He needed all the support he could get.

"She said she was okay, that they were just regular cramps. She told me that she would just tell people that we wanted different things in life. After what I did to her, she still sticks up for me. She still wanted to look out for me" he cried, wiping his tears as Shay wrapped her arms around him in a hug.

"It's okay Kelly" she tried to comfort him.

Kelly shook his head and got up to get himself together. "No, it's not. I totally screwed her over and she just gave me a pass and let me follow my dreams. I was so focused on Squad and making my dream come true, I forgot about her and her dreams. I couldn't do that anymore, I had to let her follow her dreams and that was what I wanted her to do" he said.

"Kelly, she'll be okay. She turned out great. She's tough and strong. She will make it through this. We are all behind you and we know that you are all behind her" she replied.

He nodded and wiped his tears, "I know. I have to be strong for her because she's my world Shay. I can't lose her" he added.

Shay smiled, "you won't. Now you just have to get yourself together and be a good support system for her and be a good dad. She's going to need you a lot and it's your decision whether or not you are going to be there for her" she said.

She knew that Kelly wouldn't back down from a challenge. It wasn't in his nature. "I am going to be there for her and I am going to win her back. She was my wife and that is my daughter downstairs. They are my family and they are going to stay that way" he declared.

And that was all that needed to be said on the subject. Kelly Severide had a long road ahead of him if he was going to win Michelina back. He knew he would need a team. The guys at the Firehouse would help him out, but he needed someone in Mia's close circle. Nina obviously, but he wanted someone in her trust bubble. He wanted to do things the right way. He needed a game changer in his corner.

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DUN DUN DUN! Who is the game changer Kelly is talking about? Will he win Michelina's heart back? Review and Stay tuned to find out!