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Chapter Fourteen
"Whoa!" Casey shouted to gain the sizeable crowd's attention. "What the hell are you guys doing?!" Casey moved protectively to Stella's side, as did Sylvie, Susan, and Chief Boden. "Come on guys, give her some space." Casey looked Stella over worriedly, "Are you okay, Kidd?"
"I'm fine, thank you Captain," Stella said albeit shakily.
"I saw Kelly," Casey told Stella bluntly. "I didn't know that things had gotten this bad."
"After being in status for so long it can take awhile to-" Sylvie began, but Casey quickly cut her off mid sentence.
"But not this long, right?"
"It's unlikely," Sylvie replied. She moved to gently rub Stella's shoulder, asking, "Why didn't you tell us that it was getting so bad?"
"I... I don't know I guess I just hoped that- I should have told you guys."
"So he's just like that? All the time?" Cruz asked as he struggled to comprehend what was being said. "Can't the doctors do something?"
"They've already tried everything, Cruz. The chemo stopped working, radiation therapy had awful side effects, and they can't operate on even a quarter of the brain mets without killing him," Stella said tiredly. "And he's not always like this, but it's more often now. I shouldn't have left him home alone."
"Come on, Kidd," Herrmann said suddenly, "You aren't responsible for this, from what I've heard you've been taking care of Severide around the clock, and working to keep a roof over your heads, all while you're growing a baby inside of you. You're only human." Herrmann looked around the assembled crowd of first responders, "We're going to organise a roster. Days, nights, weekends, whatever you need, we'll find someone to help out. Also, as much as we love having you at Molly's, I think I speak for everyone involved when I say that for a while you don't need to work behind the bar for your cut. No one should have to go through all this, Kidd, especially not when you're only just starting out your lives together, but you've got to know that there a lot of good people here ready to help make it just that little bit easier, okay?"
"Thanks, Herrmann. I guess I just... I was being stubborn, I know how much Kelly means to you guys, I know how much you guys mean to him. I should've let you in."
After their conversation with Stella, most of their firehouse family elected to head home, but Boden, Casey, and Sylvie remained with Stella at the hospital to support her however possible.
It was nearly another hour before the intensive care doctors allowed them to go in and sit with Kelly. And as Kelly seemingly looked straight through them, his friends felt like he might already be lost to them.
"Have you called his mom and Katie?" Casey eventually asked Stella. It seemed odd to talk about Kelly as though he wasn't there, but between the effects of the seizures and the cancer, he wasn't even close to lucid.
"Not yet," Stella admitted guiltily. "Kelly didn't want to worry them too soon, now it feels like it's too late."
"How about I give them a call in the morning?" Boden volunteered. "They will want to know what's happening."
"Thanks Chief," Stella replied, smiling tiredly to Boden. "You guys don't have to stay here. It can get pretty rough when he's like this."
As if on cue, Kelly suddenly grabbed a cup of water from his over bed table, and threw it in Stella's direction, missing her head by inches. Instead of dodging or leaving though, Stella was quick to move to Kelly's side, and murmur comfortingly to him.
Once Kelly seemed to calm down, Boden quietly asked, "And what the hell was that?"
"It's from the metastatic cancers in his brain, it's effecting his impulse control, he gets frustrated sometimes. Like I said, it might be better if you don't see him like this. He'd hate if he knew you were seeing this."
"We're still family, and we're not going to walk way just because he's not well," Boden replied firmly, trying to keep the emotion from his words as he thought about his former lieutenant's terminal condition. The pain he felt was better left alone for now.
"That's right," Casey chimed in. "We never should have left you both for so long, I guess we just didn't think..."
"And just think about the baby, Stella," Sylvie added, "I don't know Severide's condition nearly as well as you do, but what if he hurts you or the baby accidentally? And please don't try to tell me that it couldn't happen."
Stella unconsciously put a protective hand to her rounded belly. She knew that while her boyfriend would never intentionally harm her or the baby, the small line of stitches in her hairline was proof that in his present state Kelly could hurt her. Stella took a seat by Kelly's bed, and took his hand in her own. "Not every day is like this. Some days he's his old self still."
"And that's why we want to help, because you know as well as I do that someone is going to suggest that you look at moving him to a hospice if you don't find more support. So, let us help you, okay?" Sylvie offered, gently pulling Stella into a side-hug.
"Okay."
Chief Boden hadn't felt so completely shattered in a long time as he did when he called Kelly's little sister, Katie Nolan, the next morning.
It must have been a bit early, Wallace reflected as Katie answered, because she sounded as though he had woken her.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I should've called later," Boden said in uncharacteristic uncertainty. "Katie? This is Chief Boden, from Chicago, I worked with-"
"What's happened?" Katie was suddenly awake, the hazard of having family in the fire department.
But this wasn't a fire that had taken out one of his best men, and honestly Wallace Boden felt out of his depth as he weakly replied, "Stella asked me to call. Kelly, he's not doing well."
"I'll be on the next plane out. Where is he?"
"Gaffney Chicago Medical Center, ICU room three."
Wallace sighed deeply, he knew that the young woman was probably now terrified, but after a night at Severide's hospital bedside, Wallace couldn't find the words to comfort her, and he still had to call Kelly's mother.
Jennifer Sheridan was busily getting ready to leave for work in her Milwaukee home, when her cell phone rang suddenly. She balanced the phone between between her shoulder and ear, as she buttered some toast. "Hello?"
"Jennifer, it's Wallace Boden." Boden heard a knife clatter to the floor.
"What's wrong? Is Kelly..." Jennifer couldn't bring herself to ask the question that first came to mind.
"Oh no, Kelly, he's still alive," Boden knew that tone. "But he's taken a bad turn, and Stella asked me to call you. Are you able to come to Chicago?"
"Of course, I'll be there in a few hours. Wallace, how's my boy? What aren't you telling me?"
"You should just prepare yourself. The cancer has spread to his brain, and it's affecting him."
"Oh lord," Jennifer exclaimed. "He's in the hospital?"
"Yes. Room three of the ICU at Gaffney Chicago Medical Center."
To Be Continued…
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