Disclaimer: All recognizable characters and plots belong to the One Chicago universe, and their creator, the genius DIck Wolf.

Chapter 1

Kelly Severide woke up in his favorite place in the world, wrapped up in bed next to his beautiful girlfriend, watching the sunshine that peeked through the blinds illuminate the features of her face. From the curve of her jaw, her full lips, to her cinnamon-colored skin. He would never, ever get tired of looking at her. Gently, he trailed his hand down the side of her face, entangling his fingers in her long back curls. The gentle motion slowly stirred her awake, and as her eyes fluttered open, she smiled up at him, and damn, that smile alone could bring Kelly to his knees. The things this woman did to him, he didn't know they were even possible until she came along.

"Good morning sunshine," she said to him. He smiled back at her, not wanting their moment of bliss to end. Untangling his hand from her curls, he brushed his knuckle over her cheek, leaning in to kiss her waiting lips.

"Good morning," he whispered as he pulled back.

"How long have you been laying there watching me sleep?" she asked through a grin.

"Long enough to know that you...my gorgeous girlfriend...are just as beautiful when you're asleep as when you're awake." She grinned even bigger at his comment, rolling onto her back and covering her eyes with her arm.

"You are too much, Kelly Severide." Grinning himself, he slid even closer to her, planting kisses up and down her arm.

"Never too much for you, Stella Kidd." She responded with a groan that soon turned into a laugh. Her laugh. Man, he would never get tired of hearing her laugh. In her fit of laughter, she swung her legs over the side of their bed and made her way into the bathroom.

Smiling, he rolled over onto his other side to watch her. She stopped just inside the doorway, bracing her hand on the doorframe, and turned her head to look back at him. "Are you going to join me or not?" she asked, flashing her sexy smirk before disappearing into the bathroom. Damn, what this woman could do to him. Before long, he had her pinned against the shower wall, her fingers digging into his sides, yelling out his name.

#

Later in the day, they were sitting across from each other on the couch, the Blackhawks game playing in the background. Kelly was shuffling through the giant pile of flashcards Stella had created for her upcoming lieutenant's test.

"Ok, next one. What is the name of the tool you would use to extricate a victim trapped in a vehicle?" Kelly asked, reading off the card.

Stella smiled, "Easy! It's the Jaws of Life" Kelly smiled, shaking his head.

"Ok, Ms. know-it-all, can you tell me the less common name for the jaws?"

"Come on, are you even trying to challenge me? Its other name is the Hurst tool."

"Fine, and what is the Hurst tool use.."

"It's used for extrication, most of the time extrication from vehicles," Kelly just smiled and shook his head again. "Come on, give me a hard one!" she grinned. Kelly shuffled through the cards in his hands again.

"Here's one, a pass device is an essential part of a firefighter's equipment, so what is it?"

"You really think I'm not gonna know that one?" she asked. Kelly shrugged, waiting for an answer. Stella sighed, "it's a device all firefighters have to wear when we go into fires, and it's attached to our SCBA. If something were to happen to us during the fire, it can sense it, and then it will let out a piercing noise, letting the other firefighters know that there's someone down"

Kelly gave her a half-smile, acknowledging that she was correct, then looked down and began shuffling the cards again, thinking about the many times over the years he'd heard that alarm go off for firefighters he'd been working with, specifically the time two years ago in the tower fire when Stella had tried to save him and a little kid but ended up going down herself because she ignored her low-air alarm. He could still hear the ringing from her alarm in the back of his head. He never wanted to go through that again. Stella noticed that he was in his head about something.

"What's up?" she asked, sliding closer to him on the couch, taking his hand in hers.

"What do you mean?" he asked, trying to play it off.

"You got quiet all of a sudden," she said. "What's going on in that head of yours?" He sighed.

"I don't know, just thinking about all the times I've heard the ring of pass devices during fires. It almost always means something bad, something that I don't want to think about," he turned to her, looking in her beautiful brown eyes. "Especially the time in the tower fire," he paused, taking a breath, trying to keep his emotions at bay. "When you went down. That day still haunts me, I mean," his voice broke, "I almost lost you…" Stella saw the tears forming in his eyes and reached out, touching his cheek.

"Hey, hey hey, it's ok," she said, pulling him into a hug, "I know it was scary, that day was scary for everyone, but just remember, we're here now, together, and that's all that matters right?" She pulled back to look at him, and he nodded, trying to pull himself together.

"Just promise me you'll never leave me ok?" he asked. She squeezed his hand and looked into his bright blue eyes. At that moment, she fell for him just a little bit harder.

"Kelly Severide, I promise I'll never, ever leave you" then she leaned in to kiss him, further assuring him. He leaned back and took a breath.

"Next question," he said, picking up the flashcards. Stella leaned back, focusing on what he was saying. "What is the purpose of the two-in/two-out rule?"

"Hmm," she wondered, suddenly blanking.

"Come on, you know it, just think a little harder," Kelly coached.

"Oh! It's so that no firefighters go into a dangerous situation alone right?"

"Boom!" Kelly yelled, throwing the index cards up in the air, letting them come raining down all over them. Stella burst out laughing as Kelly got up off the couch, picked her up, and began spinning her around the room.

"Kelly!" she screamed, laughing even harder. He was laughing too, continuing to spin her around the room. Slowly, he lowered her back down to the floor. When her feet hit the floor she slid her hands from around his neck to his waist, pulling herself closer to him. "What was that for?" She asked, smiling up at him.

"Nothing, just the fact that I know you're going to completely ace this lieutenants exam," he said, putting a quick kiss on her lips. She smiled even bigger, kissing him again, harder this time. He returned the gesture and was about to pull her shirt off when the lock clicked and the door flew open.

Casey eyed them as he hung up his coat. "Did I interrupt something?" he asked. Stella smirked at Kelly, waiting for his response.

"No, I was just telling Kidd how she's gonna be the best lieutenant the CFD has ever seen," he said, wrapping his arm around her waist and pulling her close. "Well, after me of course," he added, smiling.

"Ugh!" she laughed, punching him in the arm. Casey just smiled at the happy couple, grabbing a beer from the fridge. They looked at him, immediately knowing something was wrong.

"Case, something wrong man?" Kelly asked.

"Yeah, sure, everything's fine," Casey said. But Severide and Kidd just looked at each other definitely knowing something was up.

Author's Note: Thanks for reading everyone! This is my first attempt at a FanFic, so feel free to leave comments about what you think! This story will mostly cover what I hoped would've happened between Severide and Kidd at the beginning of season 9, instead of all the drama that's been happening. Just so you know, Stellaride is my favorite TV couple ever. I'll also be adding some Brettsey stuff in here as well. Thanks for reading!