Title: Plan D
Chapter 14 – Something Worth Living For

Erin anxiously paces in front of the emergency surgery room with a racing heart. She looks back to see Aurora asleep from all the day's activity and nestled in Benny's grasp and Cameron now asleep in Matt's cradled arms. Sometimes Cameron would be passed to Andrea Casey as she sat beside her husband or to Hank Voight or Wallace Boden. Mills joked that Dawson wasn't allowed to hold Cameron for too long but when it was his turn, the tables turned pretty fast and he quickly handed Cameron back to his mother under a small course of laughter. All of them took turns holding and comforting her children when the doctor had to update her or she just wanted a small bathroom break or had to watch her husband being worked on. For all that she was grateful. She looks at the all the weary faces of their friends and family from 21 and 51 and her heart settles in the knowledge that at least her children were in good hands – safe and away from harm.

Her worried gaze drifts back through the windows and affixes on the oxygen mask fitted over her husband's face. Her eyes drift down to the band of gold on his left hand as it rest motionless at his side. Please God...please let him pull through…

She senses some movement to her right and watches as Jay approaches with a heavy frown. "Norma just came out of surgery. It looks like…she'll be okay."

"Good to hear," she replies softly as she gives her partner a small hug and pulls back with a tight lipped smile. "And…Gary?"

"He…they don't know yet," Jay answers in truth as Erin looks up to see Matt approaching. "Hey man…" Jay greets with a nod as he pushes past Erin so her and Kelly's friend and former roommate could talk.

"Andrea's getting some practice," Matt smiles as Erin glances over at Andrea and smiles before turning her gaze back to Matt. "Anything?"

"Looks like their finishing but…but he hasn't awoken yet," she replies in worry as she turns and looks back into the room. Her lips sharply inhale as she watches one of the nurses pull away a surgical cloth from his chest covered in blood. "Matt…"

"They're stitching him up right?"

"Yes but…yes," she stammers as she watches them continue to clean up his chest and then inwardly breathes a small sigh of relief as the next cloth comes away with a bit less of the crimson sludge. "He hasta be okay," she whispers as she watches them finish up; her eyes fixating on the doctor as he approaches the doors and pushes his way back into the waiting area.

"Is my husband okay?" Erin asks in haste as Benny gently rouses Aurora and then carries her toward Erin to hear the news about his son.

"How's my son?" Benny asks a few seconds later.

"He's…not out of the woods just yet. The stab wounds struck his gallbladder, a small part of his stomach, liver and spleen. He was very lucky he got in when he did but we did have to remove part of his gallbladder and a small part of his liver; there was just too much damage. We cleaned out acidic discharge from the ruptured stomach and spleen just in time, otherwise it could have gotten into his blood and caused blood poisoning. Right now…his body needs to try to recover from the surgery and medication. If he pulls out of the coma on his own…his prognosis will be very positive…with recovery time."

"When…will that happen? When will he pull out?" Erin dares to inquire.

"I don't know, I'm sorry. He could come out of it in a few hours or…"

"Never?" Benny dares to interject in fear.

Erin's hand clutches Benny with a bit more force as she orders her eyes not to water. "Can…I see him?"

"We're going to finish up here and then take him to the ICU. I'll get my nurse to tell you what room he's in."

"Thank you."

Erin watches him leave and then looks up at Benny in misery.

"Hey…come here," Benny entreats as he gives Erin a warm hug; Aurora now sandwiched between them.

"Where's daddy?" Aurora asks in a sleepy tone.

"We're going to see him very soon. They're um…"

"Is he okay?"

"We're going to see him right away," Erin replies softly as she gives Aurora a kiss on the cheek. "Okay?"

"Okay."

XXXXXXXX

"Is daddy sleeping?" Aurora asks in a soft tone as she walks beside Erin into her father's room. Her little blue eyes widen as they slowly enter his hospital room and she sees her father lying silently and motionless on his hospital bed a few meters away. "Daddy?" Aurora asks again as she looks up, Erin looking down in remorse.

"He's in a coma sweetie. That's like…sleeping but we can't wake him up. He'll wake up when he's ready."

"Why?"

"Well because after all the trauma he's been through, his body just…knows," Erin replies with a small huff.

"Why?" Aurora asks once more as they near his bed.

"Just talk to daddy sweetie, he can hear you."

"Can you hear me daddy? Can you wake up?" Aurora softly begs as her little hand slips into her father's larger one and Erin's breath catches in her throat. With Cameron still in his grasp, Benny walks up to the other side of his son's bed and looks down with his own soft, teary gaze.

"Kelly…son we're all here and you're gonna be fine," Benny states firmly as Aurora looks up at him.

"Why is daddy still sleeping grampa?"

"He'll awaken soon sweetheart," Benny replies as he slowly eases himself down into a large chair. "Come here and rest with me."

Erin offers a thank you as she leans in closer, her cheek pressed up against her husband's stubbled cheek, her lips close to his ear. "I love you so much Kelly…you have to fight this…have to come back to us…please…please baby…please come back to us…come back to me…"

Erin's lips offer a small sob as she slowly sags to her knees, her left arm on the handrail of his bed and her right clutching her chest as her body shakes and her lips try to stifle her cries. But she's unable to hold them all back. However, her emotional plight is not unnoticed and within seconds she feels small hands on her arm and looks up to see Aurora looking at her in wonder.

Erin pulls her beloved step daughter into her grasp and holds her tightly; her body still slightly shaking as her brain races to get her emotions under control. But that's not easy.

"He's going to be okay," Erin whispers as she tenderly brushes away a tear from Aurora's face.

"What happens now?" Aurora wonders.

"Right now…we're gonna find a chair for us to sit in and get some rest and…wait." Just as she finishes speaking, Erin looks up to see Matt enter with Andrea right behind him. "Hey…" she greets them both with warm hugs.

"What can we do? Can we bring some fresh stuff for you and the kids?" Andrea volunteers.

Erin's lips purse and her brain races with the words but before she can say 'no he's going home with me tonight…' she finally nods in agreement. "No, we're…you know what? …Yeah…that'd be great."

"Okay. We'll get a few things for each of you."

Erin watches them leave and then looks over at Benny who was trying hard to keep awake, Cameron slightly fussing in his grandfather's grasp. "Here…I'll feed him once more. Can you uh…" she pauses as she looks at Benny in misery. "I can't lose him."

"I know…we won't," Benny offers softly as he gives his daughter-in-law a hug and then hoists Aurora into the air. "Daddy is going to be fine when he wakes up."

"When is that grampa?"

"I don't know sweetie. Your dad is kinda stubborn," Benny replies lightly as he hugs her tightly. "Are you hungry?"

"Sort of."

"Okay how about we go and see if we can't twist Auntie Dawson's arm into making us something really yummy."

"Okay," Aurora answers with a small smile.

Erin looks at her with a tender glance but knows that Aurora is still a bit shaken after the day's ordeal but she's also assured that Aurora would feel safe in her grampa's strong arms and that allows her to sit down beside her husband and look at her son as he awakens.

"Hey silly boy," Erin teases as Cameron's eyes open and look up at her with an adoring gaze. Of course he was still developing his facial expressions but to her…they were all looks of love. She sees some of the reddish marks on his soft skin and feels her anger surge. 'She's at peace now…' that was the only consolation she could give herself about Greta Samuelson and the excuse she used to end the fight for good; Greta's body now on the way to the morgue to be taken care of. Since Warren Sandecker was her only surviving relative and he too was also dead, after their deaths would be ruled as self-defense killings and the bullets removed, they would both be cremated, the bill picked up by the state.

She moves Cameron into position to feed and worries at first when he starts to fuss, his little pink lips not wanting to take in the milk when first offered. But after a bit more caressing and sweetly humming to him, his little frame starts to relax and his lips latch on and start to suck.

'He has some diaper rash and some marks on his arm…'

'Gary said they were scared and he was screaming…'

'She wanted to hurt them. But I wouldn't let them…'

Her mind races as she hears the doctor, her partner and then Norma's voice in her head and closes her eyes. She hears some shuffling and looks up as Boden enters with a concerned expression.

"Don't get up," he whispers as he nears and sits down on the chair opposite him.

"Matt and Andrea have gone to get a few things for us and uh…Dawson and Mills are going to make us some food…well for Aurora and…"

"How are you?"

"Sick. Burgess told me what she found at the uh…the initial scene and Matt and Antonio told me what condition Kelly was in when he was found…he fought for his family…he always said he'd give up his life for those he loved but…he can't go out like this…not now."

"He's going to be fine. Kelly Severide is a fighter," Boden states in a soft but firm tone. Erin can feel Cameron pause under the blanket but since he can't see the face that belongs to the familiar voice, he goes back to eating, resting comfortably in his mother's protective grasp.

But after he's done, Erin hands him to Boden who takes the little baby boy to burp him and give his mother a chance to straighten herself up. She takes her son back as he starts to fuss and offers a thanks and goodnight to Kelly's superior and friend and then turns back to her sleeping husband; her little boy gently bouncing in her arms.

"I remember when we found out I was pregnant," Erin starts in a soft tone as she looks down at Cameron who looks up with a small hint of distress on his flushed face. "I was so scared…wondering what it would be like…how we would raise our child…keep them and Aurora safe…but it was never me doing this alone," she pauses as her hand slips into her husbands. "We need you Kelly…I need you…you have to fight your way back."

In his back of his mind…down in the darkness he hears a voice…'Kelly…' his mind…of course playing tricks because the voice belongs to Aurora's mother – Lesley Shay, his dearly departed best friend. 'Aurora needs you…Erin needs you…your son…your beautiful little boy needs you…'

But his body is slow to respond…his heart having been taxed from physical exertion and stretched to the limit with sheer terror at the thought of his children being taken from him by a medically ill woman with the wrong intent. 'Stay…a bit longer…' he hears himself mutter as darkness starts to cave in around him.

Erin watches the monitors jump and then looks down at her husband's placid expression and frowns. "Kelly…Cameron needs you," she whispers as she lowers their son so that his little soft cheek was next to his father's. Despite the medical aroma, something is still familiar about the stillness of the form and Cameron's little hands reach out and rest on his father's stubbled jaw; little cooing sounds forthcoming.

'Cameron needs you Kelly…' he hears Shay telling him once more. 'I miss you…Aurora misses you…you're missing so much…' he laments his heart rate slightly jumping. 'You know I'm there…with you and her, Erin…Cameron…all of you. I live on through you and Aurora…go back to them. I'll be with you…always…'

Erin slowly pulls Cameron back to her chest, gently bouncing him and watching as his little eyes start to close, dirty blond lashes finally coming to rest on little flushed cheeks. She kisses his soft cheek and then places him in the little tub that the hospital had provided from the maternity ward. 'Your son might have some nightmares…mostly of his sister screaming or calling for help but some loving reassurance from you, rocking, cradling, walking…whatever works will get him back to sleep.' The doctor had told her confidently.

She feels fatigue starting to pull her weary frame toward the sleeping chair – beckoning her to get some rest after the extremely tiring day. She falls into the darkness within moments.

About a half hour later, Erin is pulled from a horrific nightmare and blinks rapidly as she watches a few figures entering the quiet room. Aurora rushes up to her and happily accepts a warm hug.

"Is daddy still sleeping?" She wonders as Erin nods and then tucks a dirty blond strand behind her ear.

"Cameron too," Erin gestures to the little tub where her brother was asleep.

"Shhh," Aurora holds her fingers to her lips and nods.

"Did you get something to eat?"

"Auntie Dawson made her famous lasagna."

"Mmm I love that," Erin replies with a grin as Benny holds out a small padded lunch bag.

"She wanted to make sure you got something."

"Benny…"

"And Voight was there and said it was an order Detective," Benny replies as he tries to mock Voight's low, gruff tone.

"Course," Erin gently smirks as she takes the container that Dawson and Mills had prepared for her. "I just got a text from Matt and they are in the parking lot coming up with a few fresh changes of clothes. I'll get them to take Aurora home and…"

"No! I want to stay with you," Aurora insists as Erin's brow heavily furrows. "Please? I wanna see daddy when he wakes up."

Her heart droops as she contemplates sending her daughter away.

"Okay how about…we all sleep here tonight with daddy and then see what happens tomorrow okay?" Erin half-heartedly promises, her mind silently begging her husband to awaken.

"Okay," Aurora agrees.

Within minutes, Matt and Andrea arrive and a small flutter of quiet activity happens once more. Erin gets the chance to eat while Matt visits with Benny at Kelly's bedside and Andrea reads with Aurora until Erin was finished and could then take Aurora into the bathroom to clean her up before bedtime.

"Can't imagine when you found him…" Benny comments to Matt, whose tormented gaze pulls away from his friend and looks a Kelly's father.

"CPD said…he put up quite the fight with those two," Matt replies with a small huff.

"Glad Hank took care of that piece of garbage!" Benny hisses and then quickly lowers his voice as Aurora looks over in wonder. "Glad you were there," Benny tells Matt in truth.

"Was tough to see but uh…just glad we got there when we did," Matt offers in truth as Aurora comes and sandwiches herself between Matt and Andrea. "Aren't you sleepy?" He asks Aurora with a smile.

"Nope. I'm gonna stay up all night so when daddy wakes up I'll see him first."

All in the room can't help but smile as Lesley Shay's verbal tenacity rings through. Her parents, Don and Pauline, who had remained close with Kelly and Erin would come by in the morning to offer some edible relief and of course moral and emotional support; none of them wanting Aurora to lose both her natural birth parents.

XXXXXXXX

"Alright…come with me sweetie," Erin entreats Aurora after Matt and Andrea had finally left. Benny remained, telling Erin he'd watch over Cameron and sit with his son until she and Aurora were cleaned up, changed and ready for the night. Erin locks the door to the showers and then directs Aurora to an open stall but with panels on either side.

"I'm going to be in this one right here, okay?" Erin directs as she turns on the hot water to get some steamy warmth in the room.

"Is Norma gonna be okay?"

"I hope so sweetie. She really fought hard to keep you both safe."

"Is she your friend?"

"She…sure is," Erin replies firmly. Especially now, she add silently as she starts to slowly undress.

"We're naked!" Aurora laughs as she points at Erin and giggles. "Why do you have hair there? I don't? Will I get some? Do I need it?"

Erin's cheeks flush with some embarrassment but as she looks down at the wondering innocence her heart melts and her she let's go of a bit of natural self-deprecation; not having been this naked in front of Aurora for some time now or with this kind of personal examination.

"Well…" she starts into her explanation, hoping it doesn't sound too odd. But Aurora merely shrugs and says okay and then marches into her own shower stall. Normally Aurora would be chattering away in the bathtub but today she's quiet and Erin can't help but feel her stomach tighten at the thought of how Greta's actions have affected her.

She quickly finishes her shower and then reaches for the large clean towel that Andrea had brought for them. "Come here…" Erin entreats as she wraps the large plush towel round Aurora's frame. "Can I see if you have any cuts or…bruises?"

Her breath instantly sucks in when she sees a purplish bruise on Aurora's pale skin; her upper back. "What happened?"

"I was trying to get away with Cameron. The area was really small."

"Does it hurt?"

"No," Aurora answers with a small shrug as Erin tenderly dries her soft skin. "Does that hurt?" Aurora quickly points to a large bruised area on Erin's shoulder.

"No," Erin smiles as she kisses Aurora on the cheek. "Come on…let's get dressed and let grampa Benny go home and sleep."

"Okay."

After they were dressed, they rejoin Benny in Kelly's quiet room; Aurora giving her grandfather a kiss and hug goodnight and Benny promising, after a hug to Erin, that he'd be back first thing in the morning unless Kelly's condition changed and then Erin should text or call him immediately no matter the time of night. In the end, he too would keep vigil at his son's bedside.

"Okay…we'll sleep right here," Erin whispers as she gets Aurora settled on the sleeping bed and then checks on Cameron, still soundly asleep in his little clear tub. "My turn," Erin tells Aurora in a hushed tone as she nestles herself in beside her step-daughter and turns off the overhead light; the room still slightly bathed in a warm glow from the half open door to the hallway and a small nightlight by the bathroom door, in case Aurora needed to get up and use it.

Just before her eyes close for a few solid hours, Erin looks at her husband and offers a sad smile. "Come back to me Kelly. Please God…please let him come back to us."

'Erin…I love you…I'm coming…'

XXXXXXXX

A few hours pass and Erin slightly stirs, her mind reeling from a nightmare that forces her eyes to snap open and her brain to try to get her heart rate to lower. She looks around and instantly notices that something is missing.

"Cameron!" She exclaims which instantly awakens Aurora and Benny.

"Erin…"

She hears the voice and looks over at her husband, her eyes instantly widening in almost disbelief. There…nestled in his father's strong arms…on his uninjured side, was their son – contentedly asleep, his little heartbeat keeping tandem with his fathers.

"Kelly…"

"Daddy!"

"I'm not…going anywhere…"

A/N: *sniff sniff* So…after all the nail biting its time for some more tender moments, family and friends bonding and of course…a teary eyed family reunion. Hope you all liked the family feels and now it's time for recovery and you'll see how the others fared up next. So please do review before you go and thanks so much!