Hi Everyone! Thank you for the reviews, follows, favorites and just for reading my story. I really appreciate the support.

So, the last chapter was pretty intense and things kicked up with Dani's EX. More on the pickup of their relationship and the healing phase.

Please continue to REVIEW and let me know what you think!

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Chapter 20- Healing

Marks smirked as he pulled his hands out and held them up so they could see them.

"Can you tell us where you were this morning between 8am and 10am?" Jay asked.

Cody shrugged, "I was at home, sleeping before shift tonight" he replied.

"Can anyone verify that?" Adam asked.

"No, I was alone. Why? What is going on?" Cody acted like he had no idea what was going on.

"What's your relationship with Daniella Taylor?" Jay ignored his question.

"I am not answering anything else without you telling me what's going on" Cody stated, crossing his arms across his chest.

"Daniella Taylor was attacked this morning between the hours of 8 and 10am" Adam explained.

Cody had the audacity to look surprised. "Wait, you think I did it? Why would I do that? Just because our relationship is rocky since leaving school, doesn't mean that I would hurt her. I still care about her" he realized they were onto him.

Jay snapped, "you don't have a relationship with Dani. You are the EX and you need to stay out of her life. You come near her again and we are all over you" he warned.

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Everyone was still huddled outside the room, waiting by the desk. Chief Taylor and Maria have now arrived and were getting updated on their daughter.

"Connor, she's ready for radiology" April said to the doctor, who nodded respectfully at the group before taking his leave to put in the order.

"Kelly, she's ready to see you now" she stated.

Kelly just looked between her and the exam room frozen. He was scared to see her. "I don't know if I can do this. I don't want to scare her" he said.

April nodded in understanding and patted his shoulder, "Kelly, she is scared and vulnerable right now. She thinks that you aren't going to want to be with her anymore because of what happened" she informed him.

He looked at her like she was crazy, "there is no way April. I love her, I am not going to leave her because of what that asshole did to her" he said.

She smiled with a nod, "I know, that's why I told her" she replied leading him to the exam room.

Taking a deep breath to calm his nerves, he knocked on the door before walking in. He couldn't help but just stop at the doorway, taking her in.

He raked his eyes over her body, mentally tracking her injuries. Dani was staring down, afraid to look at Kelly. When she heard the knock, the door sliding open, his gasp as he looked her over, she couldn't help but start crying.

At seeing her tearing, Kelly walked over and wrapped his arms around her upper body. She wrapped her arms around him, squeezing his shirt, hiding her face in his neck, balling.

"I am so sorry this happened to you Dani. I should have been there like we planned and none of this would have happened" he mumbled against her ear.

She pulled back surprised. Kelly cupped her face gently and wiped her tears, "this is not your fault Severide. It's my fault for underestimating Marks. I really didn't think he would hurt me, but he sounded crazy. Like it wasn't even him" she stated.

Kelly shook his head, "no, this is nobody's fault, except that psychopath. Jay and Intelligence went after him, so don't worry about it. One way or another, we are going to get him and he is going to pay for what he did to you" he said, wiping her tears.

"Kelly, it's really bad. I mean, Natalie did a pelvic exam and she saw tears and scarring. She said that my uterus looks swollen and damaged. That's not even going into all the fractures and contusions that I have. We won't know that until Connor does the imaging and his trauma exam" she informed him, more tears running down her cheeks.

He wiped her tears and gave her a small peck gently on the lips, "hey, hey, stop. We'll get through whatever it is together. I am not going anywhere okay" he reassured her.

She wrapped herself in him for support. Being in his arms, listening to him reassuring her is exactly what she needed.

"Your family is outside. They really want to come and see you" he broached the subject.

She let out a deep breath and nodded. "Yeah, okay. Let everyone in" she said, sitting up straighter in bed with his help.

Kelly kissed the top of her head before walking towards the lobby. Everyone stood at attention when he walked out.

"She's ready to see you all, but let me warn you. She's in bad shape" he warned. He didn't want anyone upsetting her about her appearance. She was already vulnerable.

Kelly nodded and walked in with everyone following behind him. Kelly walked over to her bedside and sat next to her good side for support.

"Dear God" Maria gasped seeing her daughter.

"I'm okay mom" Dani stated, tears running down her face.

"Oh sweetheart" Maria rushed forward and gently wrapped her daughter in a hug.

"The girls are coming later after work" Bobby informed her.

Dani wiped her tears and nodded, giving her brother a hug. She knew he was at the house and it was hard for him to hear her and see her like that.

"I am going to check in with Voight and see where they are on the investigation" Bobby stated before kissing the top of her head and leaving.

Her parents staid with her and Kelly in the exam room. They looked up when Connor and Ms. Goodwin came in.

"We are ready for you in radiology" he said.

Ms. Goodwin stepped up and squeezed her hand, "don't worry Dani, we are going to take care of you. Whatever you need" she reassured.

"Thank you, Ms. Goodwin. Mom, Dad, this is Sharon Goodwin, she's the brains of the ER" she introduced.

"It's a pleasure meeting you both, I am sorry it's under these circumstances. You should be very proud of your daughter" she said before taking her leave.

Kelly and Connor helped Dani get into a wheelchair. Connor personally wheeled her to radiology where Will was waiting for them.

They had Kelly wait in the viewing room, while they went into the scanner and helped her on the table.

"I am going to start with a head CT, then we'll readjust to do a full body CT. Natalie wants a pelvic" Connor explained.

Dani smiled up at them the best she could and squeezed his hand, since her head was encased in the stabilizing bars.

"Okay, let's get started" he said before securing her to the table and joining Kelly in the viewing room.

Once they were ready, he got behind the screens and up to the mic. "You ready Dani? Okay?" he asked.

"I'm good, let's get this over with" she replied in the scanner.

"You got it" he knew just wanted this day to end and this nightmare to be over with.

Kelly just stood back and watched as Connor and Will periodically told her to hold her breath or breathe deeply while they took the images.

After about an hour, they finished all the CT images and moved over to the MRI machine for a closer picture of everything.

It was another hour before they were finally done in radiology and back up to the ER. Her family still there, with the addition of Alyssa and Lena.

Both girls immediately ran up to her and wrapped her in hugs, wiping their own tears at the sight of her.

"If Jay doesn't get this guy, I am going to kill him" Lena stated matter of factly.

"Intelligence is on it Lena. They'll get him" Dani said confidently.

While everyone started talking and catching up on everything, Connor and Will walked in with Natalie.

"So, what's the verdict?" she asked.

As a doctor, she knew that when a team of doctors walked into a room together looking somber, it was something drastic going on.

"Well, as expected, there is some pelvic damage. I am going to get you a pelvic sling that should help put it back in place" Natalie started with the less bad news.

Dani nodded, "okay, I was expecting that after the pelvic exam" she stated.

"After Natalie does that, I am going to set your arm and facial fracture and get you fitted for a cast" Will explained.

"You also have a concussion since he knocked you out and you blacked out. Luckily, there is no internal organ damage or injury, so everything besides your pelvic floor is superficial. I'll wrap your ribs when everyone is done, luckily, only a couple of them are bruised and not broken" Connor added.

"Thank God" Chief Taylor whispered under his breath.

Dani took in everything and nodded. She had a lot of contusions and wounds that would need stitching up.

Her family stepped to the side while the doctors got to work on their friend. Natalie fitted her for a pelvic sling while Will got started on her stitches.

When her wounds were all stitched, Will and Connor started setting her fracture and putting her arm back into place. It hurt like hell.

Kelly had to help her unbutton her shirt so they could fit her for the sling under her clothes, so she would be able to change later on.

The whole ordeal was starting to hit her the more time she spent in the ER and everyone was beginning to see it. You could see the mix of emotions written on her face.

"Dani, I am going to keep you tonight for observation, but in order to be discharged, you are going to have to have help" Connor explained, starting to wrap things up.

"We'll all rotate shifts staying with her to help her while she needs it" Alyssa stepped up.

"She can just come home with us for the time being" Maria stated. As her mother, she wanted her daughter to comeback to her childhood home so she could take care of her.

"Dani is going to stay with me" Kelly announced, shutting them all up. They all looked at him surprised.

Before she could open her mouth to argue, he stepped in, "I have a loft that's all one floor. You don't need to be going up and down the stairs while you have a concussion" he reasoned.

She huffed, "fine" she conceded. Honestly, she was excited to stay with Kelly. It was like moving things along in their relationship, even if it was under screwed up circumstances.

While everyone else left, Kelly staid with Dani in the hospital. They kept her in the observation unit connected to the ER. She had constant visitors of people she worked with. It never ceased to amaze Kelly how much she touched people.

The one person he was not expecting announced their presence during dinner. They had brought Dani a food tray, while Kelly grabbed something from the cafeteria.

In the middle of eating he got a call. "If it's the firehouse, go" Dani stated. She knew that sometimes, they needed a relief lieutenant or someone to cover.

"I am not leaving. Casey and Cruz said they would cover for me if need be. Boden told me to take as much time as I needed. Don't worry" he replied before answering the phone.

"Severide" he didn't even look to see how was calling.

"Hi Kelly" the person said.

Kelly looked genuinely surprised, causing Dani's interest to peak. "Who is it?" she asked as she dug into her soup.

"My dad" he replied before going back to the phone.

"Everything okay pop?" he asked. His dad only usually called or showed up when something was wrong or he was coming to town.

"Wally told me about Dani. How's she doing? They catch that asshole that did this to her?"

Benny heard through the firehouse grapevine that something happened to Chief Taylor's daughter. They didn't know details, but they said that she was attacked.

Kelly sighed, "yeah, she was pretty banged up, but she's going to be okay. Voight and Intelligence are on it" he explained.

Dani smiled at the phone call from Benny. She appreciated his concern. "Tell him thank you for calling" she said, tugging on his arm to get his attention.

Kelly kissed the top of her head and nodded, "Pop, Dani needs some help with dinner. Thanks for calling and checking on her. We both appreciate it" he said before saying his goodbyes and hung up.

"That was really nice of your dad" Dani stated.

"Yeah, he heard about it through the firehouse gossip chain" he replied, teasing.

They both knew that all the old chiefs got together to play cards and drink every once and awhile to gossip and talk about what was going on with the present generation of firefighters.

Dani couldn't help but smile and laugh a little as she continued to dig into her soup. It was sweet how attentive and caring Benny was with this new family thing.

After they finished dinner, before Kelly could help her get ready for bed, they heard a knock on the door. Both of them looked up to see Dr. Charles peaking his head in.

"Hey there, just wanted to check on you" he said, walking in putting his hands in his pockets.

"Hi Dr. Charles, come on in" Dani held her stomach as she sat up a little and straightened herself out.

Dr. Charles came in and took the chair that Kelly vacated. She really needed to talk and Kelly could tell that she wanted to talk to the doctor, so he excused himself.

"I am going to call Casey and have him get the house ready. Excuse me" he kissed the top of her head and grabbed his phone before walking out of the room.

When he was out of earshot, Dr. Charles turned to Dani and smiled. "How are you feeling?" he asked.

Dani shrugged, "I don't know. I just feel so broken. Dr. Charles, how do I be intimate and move forward with a relationship with my husband when I feel so dirty and unworthy. I don't know how to move on from here" she vented.

Kelly was standing outside the door listening to her talking to Dr. Charles. He knew she felt vulnerable and broken, but he didn't know what to do to help her.

Dr. Charles reached forward and held her hand. "Dani, what you went through is horrible for anyone. You were attacked by someone you trusted and you loved once. That is not going to be easy to get over. It would be ridiculous for you to get over this in a day or week, or even a year. You need to take the time you need to process everything and take steps to heal" he stated.

Dani wiped her tears and nodded, "it's hard. When Connor said that he was going to keep me overnight I was relieved. I am afraid to go to my own home. How do I get over that?" she asked.

"Honestly, one day at a time. Dani you have people around you that love you and are willing to do whatever it takes to get you through this" he said.

She smiled and pulled him in for a hug, "thank you Dr. Charles" she hugged him and wiped her tears after pulling away.

He squeezed her hand for support, "I am here anytime you need to talk" he said before walking out.

He stopped when he saw Kelly standing outside the doors to the room with tears in his eyes. He walked with him to the vending machines.

"How do I help her?" Kelly finally asked.

Dr. Charles handed him two hostess cakes before sighing, "be there for her. Let her lead. She needs to be in control for now" he advised.

Kelly accepted the sweets and nodded, "thank you for being there for her. She loves you all here" he stated.

Dr. Charles patted his shoulder, "I am here for you too, anytime" he said before going to answer a page.

Kelly took a big breath, taking a minute to collect himself before going back in the room. "I brought dessert" he said holding up the cakes for her to see.

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The night was restless for Dani. She was in too much pain to sleep and that got her thinking of everything that happened. She kept replaying everything in her mind over and over like a movie.

She was so grateful for Kelly and her friends at the hospital though. Kelly stayed with her all night, holding her hand, watching movies, filling her in on firehouse gossip and keeping her mind occupied.

Throughout the night she got visits from everyone. Natalie, Will, Connor, Maggie, April, Ethan, even Dr. Becker came to see her, which she could help but mention to Connor the next morning when he came in to check on her.

"How was your night Dani? Emily told me you didn't get much sleep" he said looking over her chart.

She smiled over her cup of tea and nodded, "yeah I was restless. You know me, I am a night owl. Speaking of my night and night owls, you are never going to guess who came to see me last night" she was practically bursting with amusement.

He glared and narrowed his eyes at her, "I don't want to talk about it" he growled.

She laughed, "Oh, we are going to talk about it. She came to see me for at least an hour. Brought me tea and flowers too. Said everyone in cardiology is thinking about me and she would gladly take care of any patients I needed her to while I was out" she added to his misery.

Kelly just looked between the two in amusement. He realized a long time ago that Connor and everyone from the hospital are going to be in her life and he either needs to get on board or get gone.

After everything that happened, he couldn't be more grateful for Connor, Will, Natalie, really everyone in the ER for taking care of her and all that they have done for her.

"Do we really have to talk about this?" Connor argued.

"Yes, after all the grief you have given me, it's your turn. Now, you know I have never been a fan of Ava, but you deserve to be happy Connor" she stated. She was not backing down.

"You know what would make me happy? Getting you recovered and healed up to be back here so I can have my trauma buddy back" he retorted.

Dani chuckled, "but Ava can offer so many more services than I can" she said.

Connor laughed, shaking his head at her. "Smartass" he replied.

Dani burst out laughing as he took a seat on the side of the bed so he could fill out her discharge paperwork.

"You know you love me" she said, scooting up a little so he could go over the paperwork and instructions with her and Kelly.

As a doctor she knew everything already and it was going to suck. She was not looking forward to not being able to do very much for weeks. She was lucky she managed to get Will to bring her some charts from the ER to go over and finish, otherwise she was really going to go crazy.

Once they went over everything and Kelly got her dressed, everyone was waiting for her outside her room.

"Okay, I'll see you in two weeks for your follow up" Connor said.

"I packed a bag of supplies so Kelly can help change your dressings and wrap your ribs" Will said handing the bag to the lieutenant.

"We'll be by to visit over the weekend, we are all off and have already cleared room in our schedules to come and stay with you, so be prepared to be tired of us by the time 6 weeks is over" Natalie said leaning over giving her a cautious hug.

Dani looked up at all of them with tears in her eyes. They were her family. "I don't know what to say to express how much you all mean to me. I don't have the words to thank you for everything you have done for me" she said.

"We are always going to be there for you, no matter what. It's what we do" Ethan said wrapping his arm around her shoulder for a slight side hug. He wasn't the affectionate type, so that was big for him.

"I'll be by later to drop off those charts for you" Will said as he walked them out.

Kelly brought the car right up to the ER doors so she wouldn't have to walk far. He put the bags in the car before leaning over and helping her stand up and comfortably get in the car.

"I'll see you later Will" she said through the window. The pain meds were starting to wear off and she was starting to get uncomfortable.

Kelly was literally going 5mph on the way home. It was cute and amusing. "Kelly, you know I am okay. You can go more than 5mph" she teased.

He glared at her, "I know that your ribs hurt and you are holding your side" he argued.

She smiled and put her hands up in surrender. She just let him do what he needs to do to make him happy.

When they got to his house, Casey came outside to greet her and help Kelly with everything. He helped Dani out of the car and pulled her into a comfortable hug.

"Welcome home Dani" he said, keeping his arm around her while Kelly grabbed the bags and came up next to them.

"Thanks Matt" she greeted, kissing his cheek.

"You guys ready? You okay Dani? Dizzy or anything?" he asked cautious.

Dani rolled her eyes, turning to face Matt, "he's a little overprotective" she teased.

"If you weren't injured right now, I would be making you pay for that" Kelly retorted.

Matt laughed and just followed the banter between the two. He was glad to see it after all this time. He was glad they were getting back on track.

"I am just glad that she is back and she is here safe and sound" Matt stated, pulling her closer to him.

Severide had called him the night before and updated him on Dani's condition. He went out and got some groceries and cleaned up the loft a little so she would be comfortable.

Matt helped her into the loft and over to the couch as Kelly came in and put her stuff down in the living room. He wanted everything to be normal for her, but he was also concerned about her.

Dani sat on the couch and took in her new surroundings. "I would give you a tour, but this is pretty much it besides the bedrooms" Kelly teased.

Dani smiled and shook her head, "no, it's great. So, this is where all the bachelor's stay now a days" she joked.

"It would be if there were bachelor's living here, but now that Gabby has moved in and I have turned over a new leaf, this is more like a lover's den" he teased.

Dani laughed, "lovers' den huh? And what makes you think you qualify in that category?" she asked, a teasing sparkle in her eyes.

Kelly smiled right back at her, "take a look in the mirror sweetheart" he replied, not missing a beat.

He was glad she was up to joking around. He knew it would take time, but she was starting to sound like her old self.

"Hey, let's keep it PG you too. There are innocent ears here" Matt joined in the ribbing.

"HA, innocent my ass. I can't wait to pay you back for all the sleepless nights you and Dawson have given me Casey" Kelly retorted.

Dani just burst out laughing at the two. No matter their differences, they were always there for each other. Like true brothers. It was nice to see them get their brotherhood back. She also knew this is exactly what she needed to be to help her heal.

Dr. Charles words kept ringing in her head, she had people she loved all around her that would be there for her. It was up to her to open up and accept the help.