inspired by the prompt "a family outing of Stella, Kelly and Maya to the cabin" from flowerstarslove on Tumblr for the 200 follower celebration (also teased in the snippets chapter)

cabin stay-cation

"The forecast said it was supposed to be sunny," Stella grumbled from her spot at the window. It was early afternoon, but the sky was dark gray, almost black as if it was late at night.

Stella was right. They had been checking the forecast religiously in the days leading up to their trip. The rain had never been mentioned but here they were, stuck inside the cabin as a thunderstorm rolled through with no end in sight.

It was Maya's first trip to the cabin, something Stella and Kelly had been planning for months, practically since the day she was born. Benny's old cabin held amazing memories for Stella and Kelly interrupted honeymoon aside, and they had been waiting for the day they could bring Maya.

Now seven months old now, Maya had recently gotten the hang of crawling, no longer needing to (adorably) butt-scoot everywhere, and was very interested in exploring the world around her. As the weather got warmer, Kelly and Stella started introducing Maya to new places. They'd gone to the zoo the first time the month before and planned the cabin trip for their next available three-day weekend.

That weekend had finally arrived, and Stella had it all planned out. Then the rain came and threatened to ruin it all. They hadn't even gotten to unload the car that first day—the rain had started the second they pulled up to the cabin and they barely managed to make it inside with Maya without getting soaked to the bone.

Kelly walked over to Stella and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her back against his chest.

"I know," Kelly said gently. "But this weekend will still be fun."

"It's Maya's first time at the cabin. It was supposed to be perfect." Stella argued sadly.

"It still can be," Kelly murmured, placing a kiss on Stella's head. "We might not be able to spend a lot of time outside, but we can still make this a memorable weekend."

Stella turned away from the window, still wrapped in Kelly's arms, to look at him. "Yeah? What'd you have in mind?"

"Well," Kelly started, a smile growing on his face.

Before he could finish what he was saying, Kelly was interrupted by a cry from the bedroom. Both parents had to laugh; Maya had managed to sleep the entire drive and throughout the worst part of the thunderstorm, not even stirring during the rainy transition from the car into the cabin. Now that the thunder had stopped, and the pouring rain had lessened to a quiet but steady downstream, she was ready to wake up.

"I'll get her," Stella muttered, moving her hands from around Kelly's neck to rest on his chest. "She's probably hungry."

"And are you hungry? I can go get everything out of the car." Kelly suggested.

"You sure? It's still coming down pretty hard out there."

Kelly shrugged, leaning forward to give Stella a quick kiss before moving toward the front door. "We've gotta do it sometime and I don't think it's going to lighten up for a while."

Stella nodded but anything else either of them wanted to say was interrupted by another cry from Maya. Kelly laughed. "Go feed the monster, I'll handle this."

Heading towards the bedroom, Stella called over her shoulder. "Don't get struck by lightning!"

… … …

Stella was feeding Maya on the couch when Kelly came back inside, his arms full of grocery bags and their duffels. He dropped their bags just inside the door and carried the groceries to the kitchen, depositing them on the counter before shaking the water from his hair.

Kelly stocked the fridge and started getting lunch ready for him and Stella. Once Stella had finished feeding Maya, she joined Kelly in the kitchen with Maya sitting happily on her hip.

After lunch was finished Stella volunteered to take care of the dishes and clean up so Kelly took Maya into the living room. He changed her diaper, then took her to stand by the window and watch the rain.

Despite Maya being fascinated by the falling water and the droplets racing down the window, Kelly moved her away after she flinched at a lightning strike in the distance.

Stella watched from the kitchen as she washed dishes, smiling as she watched Kelly settle on the couch with Maya in his lap. She saw Kelly talking and Maya giggling in response, but she couldn't hear what was being said over the running water. It wasn't until a few minutes later, as she was drying her hands, that Stella heard what her husband was saying to their daughter.

"Kelly Severide!" she playfully yelled. She threw the towel on the counter and walked into the living room. "Stop trying to trick her into saying dada first."

"I'm not trying to trick her," Kelly argued with a smile. "You just want to win the bet."

The two had made the bet a few months ago when Maya's babbles started to be more purposeful. Stella thought Maya would say 'mama' first and Kelly thought Maya would say 'dada' first. Even their friends and teammates at the Firehouse got in on the bet, though most were on Kelly's side, knowing how much of a daddy's girl Maya was.

Since then, Kelly and Stella have been using their time with Maya to encourage her to finally say her first word. Maya was close to saying her first word, but it was nothing more than her usual babbles.

Stella joined Kelly and Maya on the couch, sitting next to her two favorite people. She moved Maya off Kelly's lap and brought her to her own. "Come to mama," Stella murmured as she settled the baby on her lap. "Can you say, mama?"

"Oh, so you can do it, but I can't?" Kelly objected playfully.

Stella just smiled at Kelly and turned her attention back to Maya. Despite her parents' efforts, Maya seemed wholly uninterested in saying her first word.

The rest of the afternoon was spent in the living room of the cabin. Kelly and Stella talked about Maya and what plans they could change to still make the weekend worthwhile. They played with the little girl, eventually moving from the couch to the floor so Maya could crawl back and forth between them.

Another storm surged through later that night, knocking the power out just as they finished cleaning up from dinner. With the wind and rain raging outside and the power still out, the family of three settled into bed for the night.

… … …

It was blissfully quiet the next morning, and they didn't even have to open their eyes to know the early morning sun was shining brightly through the windows. There was a chill in the air, no doubt left over from last night's storm.

Kelly carefully and quietly climbed out of bed and grabbed both his and Stella's dead phones off the nightstand before heading out of the bedroom. He left the door cracked, so he could listen in and grab Maya if she woke up before Stella.

Arriving in the main area of the cabin, Kelly was relieved to see the numbers on the clock flashing back at him. The power was back!

He plugged their phones into charge and got a small fire going in the fireplace. It wouldn't take long to get the cabin warmed up and, judging by the time on the clock, it wouldn't be too long before Stella and Maya woke up, so Kelly made his way back into the kitchen and got started on breakfast.

Forty-five minutes later, their breakfast was piping hot, but there had been no sign of Stella or any sound from Maya. Kelly covered their food, poured a fresh cup of coffee for Stella, and headed into the bedroom. He smiled at the sight that awaited him.

Stella was propped up in bed, still snuggled beneath the duvet, nursing a sleepy Maya. She gave him a small smile when she saw him in the doorway and that smile only grew when she noticed the steaming cup of coffee in Kelly's hand. Stella groaned in happiness. "Bless you Kelly Severide."

Kelly chuckled and handed her the mug. He sat on the edge of the bed. "Power's back on so I have our phones charging. Breakfast is ready, there's a fire going in the living room and a fresh pot of coffee whenever you're ready."

"She should be almost finished," Stella noted, taking a large sip of coffee. She looked at Kelly. "What's the weather look like today?"

"No rain on the radar until later tonight and it should be warm enough for us to spend some time outside," A smile grew on Kelly's face as he shared the news. There was maybe some salvaging for their weekend after all.

Stella smiled as well, clearly thinking the same.

Maya finished nursing and Stella handed her over to Kelly to get changed and a few minutes later, their little family unit was ready to start the day.

By the time they finished breakfast and got ready for the day, the cabin was nice and toasty. It had warmed up outside so the fire was no longer necessary. They laced up their shoes, got Maya strapped to Kelly's chest in the baby carrier, and headed outside.

For hours Kelly, Stella, and Maya played around outside. They took a long walk along the trail in the woods surrounding the cabin, spent some time fishing in the pond, and let Maya crawl and roll around on the lush grass.

It was a beautiful day, a complete 180 from how it was the previous day, and they wanted to enjoy every moment while they could. They only went inside for two reasons—lunch and Maya's nap. Anything other than that went to the wayside as the bright sun continued to shine down on them.

When the storm clouds rolled in early evening, and the rain chased them back inside the cabin, Kelly and Stella weren't even upset. The day had been so peaceful and perfect that not even having to spend the rest of the night in the cabin could dampen their mood.

They spent the rest of the evening like how they spent the previous evening. The rain was unyielding but thankfully the power stayed on, meaning a little more family time could be snuck in on their last night.

Kelly and Stella worked together to make dinner, Maya giggling from her spot in the carrier as they danced around to the music playing from their phones. After eating, the little family cuddled together on the couch to try and get Maya sleepy enough for bedtime. It ended up being a lost cause and Kelly and Stella just let the little girl stay up past her bedtime. The only thing they had on the schedule for the next day was to go back home so it really didn't matter if she slept in later than normal.

Maya did eventually fall asleep almost two hours later and after putting her to bed, Kelly and Stella got to spend some quality time together, enjoying the cabin in their own special way.

… … …

It was early afternoon by the time the Severides left the cabin. Maya had slept in, as had her parents, and it was a slow morning after that. They took their time getting ready and packing, eating breakfast and lunch, and cleaning up the cabin.

The rain had stopped long enough for them to load up the car, only to start pouring again as soon as they started driving away. It was poetic—their weekend ended the same way it started.

Maya's first visit to the cabin wasn't quite what Stella and Kelly had planned, but it was perfect in its own way.