Just a few more chapters until the end... and yes you will get a Happy Ever After, I promise...
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Chapter 10
April met them in the hallway. "Kelly,-"
"How is she?"
"We have her on a broad spectrum of antibiotics, but we're not sure what caused this."
Gabby walked with Kelly to the door of the hospital room. Stella was quiet and still in bed but her skin was covered in perspiration. Her skin color was too pale, her expression drawn.
Kelly felt Gabby's hand on his back, but he couldn't just stand there. He turned around and looked at April. "What happened?"
"After you left, Stella told her nurse she was nauseous, and she had pain."
"Pain? Where?"
April gave him a look straight in his eyes. "Her back and lower abdomen. Based on her symptoms the doctor administered medication, believing that the most likely cause were the contraceptive pills they gave her." She must have seen the tick in his jaw and rushed on. "The morning after pill that they gave her doesn't have many side effects, but they fit with known complications.
"Later her heart rate spiked, over 100 beats a minute and wouldn't lower, but her breathing dipped a few minutes later. The doctor put her on a respirator to keep her oxygen levels up."
"Is she sleeping?" He turned back to look at Stella. "She's not moving."
April's expression tightened around the corners of her mouth. "She's sedated."
"Sedated?" Gabby winced at the sound of her own voice. "Why take that measure?"
April reached out a hand and set it on Kelly's shoulder. "She was upset."
"Upset?" He shook his head. "What does that mean?"
"The pain was getting worse and she wasn't able to lie still in bed. She was on the verge of hurting herself." April met Gabby's eyes. "After she was sedated we had more symptoms present themselves and after another round of tests. The doctors are worried that she's on the verge of becoming septic."
Gabby nodded. "Agitation. Sepsis can have an affect on her mental state."
Kelly leaned back against the doorframe, his eyes squeezed shut. "I should have been here."
Gabby spoke first. "They would have kicked you out of the room when the symptoms got worse. You would have been in the way."
"But I would have been here, so she knew that… can't she catch a break?" He looked at April. "So this was from the pill?"
"They don't know."
"What kind of answer is that?"
"The only one we have at this moment, Kelly." April's hand was squeezing on his shoulder. "We're fighting this with everything we have. Until we get some of her blood tests back, we just have to hope it doesn't get any worse. Her symptoms just don't fit one particular diagnosis."
He let out a breath. "I'm not medically trained like either of you, but besides the pill, what else could be the cause?"
The two shared a look and it was Gabby who spoke first. "If it's sepsis, it could be anything that would have given her an infection."
April continued on. "Her other symptoms seem to point to an allergic reaction. We looked through Stella's medical records. None of the medication that we've given her was on her allergy list. We'll figure this out, Kelly. Everyone wants Stella to come back to us."
#
A few hours later, Chief Boden showed up, knocking quietly on the door frame.
Kelly rushed to stand even though the Chief waved him off.
"Stay seated."
Bringing over a second chair, Kelly gestured for the Chief to take his seat. "Thanks for coming."
The Chief gestured toward the door. "I passed Mouch and Trudy in the hall and I saw Cruz and Brett in the parking lot."
Kelly nodded. "Everyone's been coming by in turns. It's good that she can hear their voices. I've run out of things to say."
The Chief shook his head. "You don't need to say anything," he tried to reassure the younger man. "She knows you're here. And I'm sure she feels your touch." He turned his eyes to the bed and Kelly gave Stella's hand a little squeeze. "I'm not surprised that you two are together again."
"Again?" Kelly felt a flush crawl up his neck. "What do you-"
"If you two thought you were hiding anything, you should know better than that." The Chief shook his head. "Stella went through a lot with Grant and you went through a lot with Anna. I know I wasn't alone in hoping that you two would find your way together again."
"I wish I hadn't let Grissom talk us into going along with the transfer, this never would have happened."
The Chief leaned forward bracing his forearms on his knees. "It should have been a good thing, Severide. I know that you and Stella had high hopes for the outcome. The next chance I get, you'll be up for Captain and at 51 Herrmann was next up for Lieutenant. This was her best chance for advancement without waiting in line at 51."
"But how could things have gotten so bad? Stella didn't say anything to me."
"I'm sure she didn't want to bother you."
"No," Kelly sighed, "she didn't want me to be brought up on charges for kicking ass."
Chief nodded. "And likely the entire Second Shift from 51, myself included. No one should have to face the rotten attitudes and behaviors that led up to this, but how it got to the point where at least two men attacked her inside the house on her shift. Grissom is going to answer for this." The Chief gave Kelly a worried look. "You okay with that?"
Kelly nodded. "This is Stella. If it turned out my Dad had information about this I would do everything I had to, to get answers. But my first concern is getting Stella home. Until that's done, I'm leaving this up to Antonio."
The Chief nodded. "He's not going to let this slide."
"That's what I'm counting on, Chief."
Getting up from his chair the Chief walked closer to the hospital bed.
He closed his hand over Kelly and Stella's interlocked hand and leaned over the bed to brush a kiss on Stella's forehead.
Kelly tried to ignore the Chief's worried look that passed over his features as he stepped away from bed.
#
Caldwell and Kellan waited on the front steps of Grissom's home for the Deputy Chief to open the door. When it happened, they saw the cold fury in Grissom's eyes. "What are you doing?"
Kellan pointed at his friend. "He said you wanted to talk to us."
"At my house? Are you both idiots?"
"Look," Caldwell had the nerve to look put-out, "we might as well talk now, I have a feeling this isn't just going to blow over. That cop was back again asking us all kinds of questions."
"Some were the same questions," Kellan looked physically ill. "I don't think I got turned around but I don't know. He kept pushing and pushing."
Grissom glared at him. "You're too soft for this kind of life, Kellan. You don't have what it takes to do the job. Don't waste my time." He pointed out at the car in his driveway. "Get in, leave. Don't come back. Meet me in my office tomorrow. Ten a.m. if that's not too much for you idiots to remember.