Disclaimer: I don't own Chicago Fire or any affiliated shows, or the characters thereof. This is just for fun.

I hope that you like the sec chapter of An Occupational Hazard.

Chapter Two

Dr McNiccoll had worked in oncology most of his career, yet breaking bad news to patients never got any easier.

So, when he got a page to go see a patient, whose name was unfamiliar to him, in the emergency department, the doctor's heart sunk a little further.

Upon reaching the treatment room where his newest patient lay. Severide was awake, but from the drowsy expression on his face, Dr McNiccoll guessed that his calm facade was due to pharmaceuticals.

The oncologist rapped his knuckles lightly on the door, and made his way into the room. He took a seat beside Severide's bed. "How are you feeling, Mr Severide?"

"I'm okay," Kelly said, his words ever so slightly slurred. "And everyone just calls me Severide, or Kelly."

"Alright then, Kelly. My name's John McNiccoll. You know why I'm here, right?"

"You're the oncologist?"

"That I am. Now, before we get into the gritty stuff, I would like to find out what you've been told so far. Can you please tell me your understanding of what is happening?"

"Dr Halstead said something about there being cancers in my lungs. And then he said that he'd get you to check me over."

"Okay, well that is essentially correct. Based on the scans we suspect that you have multiple malignant masses within your lungs. We will need to get a biopsy of one of the masses in order to confirm the diagnosis, and I would also like you to have a PET scan to establish whether there are any other legions in other parts of your body. To ensure that we can move as quickly as possible to reach a conclusive diagnosis, I would recommend that we admit you to the hospital immediately."

Kelly was stunned, as he had been working just hours earlier... The coughing fits weren't even that bad.

"Kelly? Kelly," Dr McNiccoll noticed that his patient was no longer listening to him. It was a common response. "You with me, Kelly?"

"...If this is cancer, you must have caught it early, right? I don't even feel that sick."

"Unfortunately, based on your scans and bloodwork I would estimate that these masses have been present for a relatively long time, probably months if not years. People don't think to go to their doctor for the early symptoms, and unfortunately that means that we catch it rather late in the course of the disease. We will do everything possible to help you, but you need to have realistic expectations."

"You're saying that I'm dying?"

"I'm saying that we need to run some more tests. For now, I would suggest that you try to get some rest."

Meanwhile, the fire scene was being overhauled. It was a big job for the firefighters, as two floors of the building had been gutted by flames. It wasn't until the crew from firehouse 51 were getting back into their trucks to head off that Stella, amongst others, noticed that Severide was nowhere to be seen.

Stella immediately approached Chief Boden, who was speaking with the rescue squad. "Where's Kelly? Did he get hurt?"

Chief Boden sighed wearily, "Lieutenant Severide fell ill during the preliminary search. He was coughing up blood. Brett and Foster took him to Med."

Stella respectfully requested that she be allowed to leave her shift to go check on Severide, which Boden agreed to, and soon Stella was in a taxi on her way to the hospital.

Ever since her own close call, Stella had hated hospitals. Something about the combination of smells, sounds, and sights made her uneasy.

The emergency charge nurse, Maggie, pointed Stella towards one of the treatment rooms. A flash of sympathy crossed the experienced nurse's face.

What was going on?

Kelly was asleep when Stella walked into the treatment room. It was only as she looked at him as he slept that Stella noticed that he had lost some muscle mass, and his face looked rather gaunt, with dark circles prominent under his eyes.

Without disturbing her boyfriend, Stella took a seat beside his hospital bed.

When Kelly woke up, he honestly thought that he had just had a very strange and vivid dream, but as he surveyed the hospital room, and noticed Stella sitting at his bedside, he knew in an instant that it was all real.

Kelly could feel the panic building again. That's when Stella woke from her own exhaustion induced nap.

"Hey, Kelly! Just breathe, it's okay. It's all going to be okay."

Trying to focus on his girlfriend's voice, Kelly gradually slowed his breathing to a normal rate, and the cardiac monitor stopped alarming.

"I heard that you made a pretty big scene back at that fire. Why didn't you tell me you were feeling sick?"

"I really thought it was just a bad cold, honestly. Did you talk to the doctors at all?"

"I bumped into April when I went to get coffee, she filled me in. I'm so sorry, Kelly."

"It is what it is," Severide replied, trying to sound nonchalant. "And there's still a chance that it's something else. The oncologist said I'll need to have a biopsy and another scan before they can know for sure."

"Well then, let's try not to get ahead of ourselves." Stella paused, "Everyone from the firehouse is sitting in the waiting area. What do you want me to tell them?"

"Nothing yet. Just let Boden know that I might be out for a couple of shifts."

They waited in the emergency department for several hours longer before a bed became available on the oncology ward. When they arrived on the ward, they learnt that Kelly would be sharing a room with three other men. As far as Kelly could tell, the men were all significantly older than him, but that was neither here nor there.

The oncologist stopped by to let Kelly know that they had booked the biopsy procedure for the following day, and also a PET-CT scan to look for other potentially malignant areas.

Stella stuck by Kelly's side the whole time as he spoke to various medical personnel, and she stayed right up until a loudspeaker announced the end of visiting hours.

Stella barely made it out of the room, as a wave of emotions struck her. She slid to the floor of the hallway, and caressed her ever so slight bump.

Stella had planned to tell Kelly after shift that they were pregnant. Kelly would have been so excited, but now as Stella contemplated the thought that her boyfriend might not live long enough to see their child's birth, she thought that this was not the right time for news like this. That was despite the fact that this should be happy news.

The following morning, Kelly was taken to the operating theatre for the biopsy procedure. While the procedure itself took only a short while, they had to keep Kelly in recovery for several hours while he recovered from the anaesthetic.

While she waited for Kelly to be returned to his hospital room, Stella sat in the corner of the room, a magazine in hand, but completely consumed by her own thoughts.

How could life have been so normal just two days ago?

Stella was not alone for long though, as her captain, and Kelly's closest friend, Matt Casey walked in just minutes after Kelly had been wheeled out.

A look of concern flashed across his face, before he could mask it. "Where is he?"

Stella did her best to act casual. "They're just running some more tests. He should be back soon." Stella shook herself mentally, she hated lying, and if the tests were true then Kelly would need everyone possible in his corner. "That's a lie, Captain. I'm sorry. It's just... Kelly doesn't want anyone to know about it yet."

"About what?"

"They found masses in his lungs, and they're doing a biopsy right now."

Matt stumbled backwards to the wall, and slid down to the floor. "Cancer?"

"That's what it looks like."

"Shit," Casey cursed quietly from where he now sat. "Does he know?"

"Yeah, he knows. He just didn't want to worry anyone yet."

"Well then he's an idiot. At least half the guys already think you're hiding something. Honestly, the truth might be better."

"Well, that one's up to Kelly, and we both know how stubborn he can be."

To be continued...