A/N: Thanks for being here! This chapter is a bit short, but this is also the third day in a row, whereas the rest of these chapters have had at least a week gap. Please forgive me being a little slower uploading. Life is starting to get a little crazy. I hope y'all are hanging in there. As always, reviews are always appreciated!

04 June 2022

The night passed slowly and painfully for Stella. More than once, a nurse on their hourly rounds asked if she wanted an epidural.

Every time, she said no. She was determined to do this naturally.

By midnight, Kelly's hand was starting to get sore from how hard his wife was squeezing it.

When they checked her progress around one o'clock, she was at 8 cm. "You'll be ready before you know it," the nurse encouraged.

Getting restless, Stella convinced Kelly to take her on another walk around 1:30. She wanted this baby OUT.

They slowly made their way around the halls for about 20 minutes before returning to the room, but over half of this was spent standing still, leaning against a wall or - more commonly - Kelly.

Finally, at about 3:45, Stella was ready. The birthing team came into her room.

Exhausted, she breathed a sigh of relief. The worst part had passed.

Their baby would be there soon.

An hour later, she realized she was naive to think this part would be easy.

Kelly placed a gentle kiss on her head after the doctor counted off her push for what felt like the millionth time. He wished there were more he could do for her. She was being so strong, but someone would have to be blind to miss how exhausted she was.

Finally, FINALLY, at 0513 on the fourth of June, their baby girl was born.

The doctors set the infant on her mother's chest. Tiny blue eyes met her black ones and time froze.

Too soon, though, the doctors snatched her back up to get all her stats written down and check her over. At only 34 weeks gestation, they wanted to keep a close eye.

"Do the two of you have a name?" Dr. Cameron asked.

Stella nodded through the mouthful of ice she'd just taken.

"Elizabeth," Kelly said, "Elizabeth Shaylyn Severide."

"Lizzie," Stella muttered, laying back on the pillow before the doctors were once again bothering her for the final stage of delivery.

The Caseys got to the hospital at a quarter to six. Matt had texted Kelly when they were on their way, and soon got a response that they could come straight to the room.

Kelly met them in the hallway just outside the room.

"Stella's feeding the baby right now," he explained. "We can go in when she's done."

"How are they?" Sylvie asked.

"Both are doing great," Kelly said. "Lizzie's breathing on her own, but they're going to keep her here for a week just for observation since she was a month early. Stella's drained, but doing well. I don't think she's slept since before whenever labor started."

"Lizzie is such a cute name," Sylvie commented. "But I guess we'll have to take that off of our list of potentials, now. What's her full name?"

"Elizabeth Shaylyn Severide."

Matt immediately recognized the name and turned toward his friend. "She would be honored, you know."

Kelly nodded. "I wish she were here for this."

Sylvie observed quietly as Matt put a hand on Severide's shoulder. "She would be broadcasting this to the world right now. There wouldn't be a soul who didn't know her best friend had just become a dad."

"You're right about that," Kelly chuckled. Shay would have been over the moon. She loved kids.

"Hey," called an exhausted Stella, "Get your a-" she cut herself off, remembering the baby in her arms. "Butts in here," she said instead.

Sylvie led the group and made a beeline for her friend. Matt and Kelly stood cheerfully off to the side, observing.

"How are you Stella?" Sylvie asked softly.

"Not gonna lie, Sylvie. This is probably the worst pain you'll ever experience."

Sylvie grimaced. She could handle pain fairly well, but dislocating her shoulder in that mattress factory three years ago had almost been too much.

"But don't worry," Stella said, seeing her friend's face go white. "It's got the best reward." They both looked to the swaddled infant in her arms.

"She's beautiful," Sylvie smiled.

"Lizzie, this is your Auntie Sylvie," Stella cooed to the infant. "And I bet she really wants to hold you so Mommy can take a nap," she said, looking over to her friend.

Sylvie nodded enthusiastically, gently taking the baby in her arms.

"Doc says love her up," Stella said quietly, letting her eyes flutter shut. "Wake me up if there's a fire."

Severide smiled and leaned toward Casey. "You think she'd actually function in a fire right now?"

Matt absently shook his head. He was too busy taking in the sight of Sylvie holding their newborn niece. Suddenly breathless, he took a couple short steps to stand behind her.

Lightly shaking his head, Kelly grabbed his bag off the floor. He was in desperate need of a shower when he got to the hospital over twelve hours prior. Now, he took advantage of everyone being distracted and slipped in the bathroom to clean up.

"Hi, Lizzie," Matt whispered to the tiny human in his wife's arms.

Sylvie looked up at her husband as he wrapped an arm around her. "She's beautiful, isn't she?"

Matt nodded and the couple shared a smile as the newborn drifted off to sleep in Sylvie's arms. "Like mother like daughter," she mused under her breath, throwing a quick glance at Stella, who was already fast asleep on the bed beside them.

Matt smiled and gently pressed a kiss to her temple. In a few months, if all went well - please let everything go well - they would be holding their baby. His free hand absently found its way to his wife's abdomen, his thumb rubbing small circles into the fabric of her shirt. "I love you, Sylvie."

The corners of her mouth tugged upward. "I love you, too," she said, leaning into her husband.