like my mother does

Kelly Severide was in a mood.

Everyone on second shift could tell by the way he sulked around the station. Not even Stella entering the room, which always made Severide smile and his eyes shine, seemed to dispel the dark cloud hovering over him.

Stella gave him a playful frown and squeezed his arm as he passed her on the way out of the common room. She watched him go then continued to the coffee maker with a smile and a shake of her head. The others looked at her curiously—Stella didn't seem at all affected by his mood. Granted she was probably use to it more than they were, but gloomy Severide tended to affect them all.

Cruz looked out at the app floor from his spot at end of the kitchen counter, making sure Severide was out of earshot, before turning his attention back to Stella. "Stella, what the hell is going on with Severide?! He has been doom and gloom since you two got here this morning."

Stella chuckled as she finished pouring her coffee, then turned to face the group, leaning against the counter. "It's Maya."

"Is she ok?" Casey asked, his attention peaked at the mention of his goddaughter.

"Yeah, she's fine," Stella was quick to assure. She sighed. "She's just in a really big mommy phase right now and….it's been rough on all of us."

Capp snorted, amused. "So he's moping around because Maya wants you to read her a bedtime story instead of him?"

"It's more than that," Stella argued with a glare aimed at the Squad member. "Maya, who is the biggest daddy's girl, only wants me to do things with her. Bath time, bed time, helping her get dressed, dropping her off at daycare, she only wants me. That shift I had at Molly's a few nights ago? Maya was so upset that Kelly was the only one there to help that she made herself sick."

Capp raised his eyebrows, shocked. The others looked shocked too. They all adored Maya and knew how much of a daddy's girl she was, and they couldn't place what Stella was telling them with the little girl they all knew and loved. No wonder Severide was so moody.

"Hopefully it won't last that much longer," Stella continued, taking a long drink of her coffee.

"Is this the first time this has happened?" Matt asked. He didn't remember the last time his best friend acted like this—life with Stella and then Maya had done wonders for the man.

"No, but this is the first time it's happened since the shooting and the kidnapping," Stella said quietly. "Kelly still has so much unresolved guilt around that day so everything's hitting him a little harder this time."

Stella hated thinking about that day; it was single-handedly the worst day of her life, thinking she'd lost her husband and their little girl. Three months had passed, and life had returned to normal for the Severide family but memories and reminders of that horrible day still lingered, rearing their ugly heads every now and then.

Any humor at the situation went out the window once Stella mentioned the shooting and kidnapping that had rocked their world. It didn't take them long to realize the gravity of the situation.

"Is it really that bad?" Brett asked from her spot next to Violet.

Stella frowned, thinking back over the last few days.

"Mommy! Come pway with me!" Maya called from the living room.

Stella and Kelly shared a look. Kelly had been sitting in the living room, right within Maya's view while Stella was in the kitchen working on getting lunch prepared.

"I'm making lunch baby," Stella replied. "Why don't you play with daddy?"

"No!" Maya yelled. "No pway with daddy! I wanna pway with you!"

Stella looked over at Kelly and she could've sworn she saw his heart break.

Maya had been a daddy's girl since she was born, always choosing her dad over her two had a bond like no other—Kelly was obsessed with her and Maya thought he hung the moon. That bond had only grown after Maya had been kidnapped and Kelly had been shot, the trauma of the day and the relief of the reunion forging a stronger relationship. Stella would've been jealous if it wasn't so damn cute.

Maya and Kelly were practically inseparable.

Until they weren't.

Kelly knew it was normal for kids, toddlers especially, to go through phases of wanting one parent over the other but for her entire life, Maya seemed to be the exception. He could count on one hand (and have fingers left over) the number of times Maya chose Stella over him. It had been a long time, over a year, since

Maya's last 'mommy phase' but each one seemed to last longer and hurt his heart even more.

It had been two days since Maya's most recent mommy phase had started, but Kelly could've sworn it'd been months.

"Pwease mommy?!" Maya asked, her voice taking on more of a whine.

Kelly got off the couch and walked into the kitchen, meeting Stella at the island. "I've got lunch. Go play with Maya." Kelly said, subdued.

Stella looked at him sadly. "Kelly—"

"I know," he said softly, giving her a small smile that didn't make it to his eyes.

Stella gave him a sympathetic smile and squeezed his arm as she passed him on her way into the living room.

Stella rushed into the loft, throwing the door open in her rush to get inside. She had been at Molly's, working a shift with Herrmann when Kelly called. She barely heard anything he said over the wail of Maya's sobs in the background, but she didn't need too. The sound of her daughter crying was enough to have Stella leaving Molly's early, with barely an excuse thrown Herrmann's way, and breaking several traffic laws in her hurry to get home.

The scene Stella walked in on was not what she was expecting. Kelly was staring at Maya from one end of the couch, looking more distraught than Stella had seen in a long time, Maya's favorite purple pajamas next to him. On the other end of the couch was Maya. The little girl's eyes were red-rimmed and swollen, her sobs had lessened to hiccups, and next to her was the small trash can they'd used for her the last time she had been sick.

The door shutting behind her grabbed the attention of the two Severides and tears immediately filled Maya's eyes again. She reached her arms out towards Stella. "Mommy!"

Stella dumped her bag by the front door and quickly walked over to the couch. She immediately lifted Maya into her arms and hugged her close. "What's wrong baby?"

Maya shook her head and buried her face into Stella's neck, using her little arms to squeeze herself impossibly closer to her mom.

Stella ran a hand up and down Maya's back, trying her best to comfort the toddler. She looked over at Kelly, who had slowly gotten up from the couch. His movements were fatigued, not from physical exhaustion but from the mental and emotional toll the night had taken on him.

"What happened?" Stella asked, concerned.

Kelly sighed sadly. "She didn't want to take a bath without you here. I decided it wasn't worth the fight, so we skipped it and I tried to get her ready for bed, but she didn't want me to help her. I barely got her to eat dinner without you here. She was upset and she got even more upset when I told her you were working tonight and wouldn't be back for bedtime."

"She cried so hard she made herself sick. I tried, but all she wanted was you." Kelly added quietly. "That's why I called."

Stella's heart broke for her husband, the devastation in his eyes impossible to miss. It had been nearly a week since Maya started her most recent mommy phase—the longest it had ever lasted—and it had never gotten this bad before. Add the fact that the three-month anniversary of the shooting and Maya's kidnapping had just passed, and Kelly was convinced Maya hated him. Stella had tried, multiple times, to convince Kelly that Maya didn't hate him, but his guilt about the shooting and kidnapping made him more stubborn than usual.

Stella moved her hand from Maya's back to place it on the side of Kelly's head. She felt him lean into her hand and she knew he was trying to hide how much this was hurting him; he didn't want Maya to see it. Soothingly, Stella rubbed her thumb across his jaw a few times. It eventually got the result she wanted—a small but genuine smile from her husband.

A few moments later, Kelly sighed and handed Maya's pajamas to Stella. Stella took the jammies and gave Kelly one last lingering look before turning her attention back to the three year old in her arms. "All right baby girl, let's go get you ready for bed."

"No baff," Maya said sleepily.

Despite everything, Stella chuckled. "No bath tonight, I promise, but it is way past your bedtime."

Stella carried Maya off towards her bedroom. Kelly watched them go, staring after them until they disappeared from sight.

Stella looked at her best friend, finally answering her question. "The night I left Molly's early was the worst but it hasn't gotten much better."

Everyone looked sympathetic. Those who had kids understood the situation better than those who weren't parents yet, but they could all imagine how hard this was on not only Severide, but Stella and Maya as well.

Brett got up from the table and walked over to Stella, wrapping her friend in a hug. "I'm sure things will be back to normal soon."

"I hope so." Stella mused, returning Brett's hug with one arm. "I don't know how much more Kelly can take."

Before anyone could say anything else, the bells tolled, calling the entire station out on their first call of the day.

… … …

Severide and Stella were exhausted when they got off shift, immediately going to the loft in hopes of getting a few hours of uninterrupted sleep. There had been back to back to back calls all shift, including a four alarm fire in the early morning that turned their 24 hour shift into a 28 hour shift.

Maya, who had spent the night at the Cruz house for a sleepover with Otis, had been dropped off at daycare that morning by Chloe, so Severide and Stella wouldn't need to leave the loft until it was time to pick her up.

The second their heads hit the pillows they were out like a light, sleeping for hours without waking up to even eat or use the bathroom. If it wasn't for the alarm sounding on Stella's phone, alerting them it's time to pick up Maya from daycare, they would've easily slept for a few more hours.

Stella silenced her alarm and climbed out of bed. Daycare pick up was something Kelly would do, or they'd do it together, but with Maya's mommy phase it was just easier for Stella to do it alone. She gave Kelly a kiss as he became more awake and headed out.

Sleep after a long shift was great, but there was no better cure than spending time with her husband and their little girl.

… … …

Kelly was in the kitchen, back to the front door, when Stella and Maya returned home. Focused on prepping dinner, he didn't notice his wife's mini-me running towards him until her tiny body collided with his legs.

Surprised, he looked down and saw Maya looking up at him with a smile, her little arms wrapped around his legs. "Hi daddy!"

Severide looked from his daughter to his wife, who was standing by the island with a smile on her face. "Looks like it's over," Stella mouthed.

All the stress Kelly had been holding onto the past few days seemed to melt away at that moment and a genuine smile graced his face for the first time in days. Ignoring the food he'd been working with, Kelly bent down and picked Maya up hugging her tightly against his chest. "Hi baby! I missed you!"

"Me miss you too!" Maya replied sweetly. The three-year-old probably had no idea the emotional turmoil her father had been through the past few days or the true meaning behind his words, but that didn't matter.

Kelly placed a kiss on her forehead and hugged her one more time before shifting her onto his hip. "How was your day? Did you have fun?"

Maya nodded excitedly and dove into an animated retelling of her day as Kelly went back to prepping their dinner for the night. He listened intently, and responded when appropriate, all with a smile on his face because wow did he miss this.

Stella watched her two favorite people with a smile on her face. Things had gone back to normal seamlessly, as if Maya's mommy phase had never even happened. As she walked over to join them and lend an extra set of hands since it was clear Kelly wouldn't be putting Maya down any time soon, her husband smiled at her.

It was a real smile, one that shone in those blue eyes she loved so much, and everything felt right in the world again.


A/N: Maya updates are back! I don't know if I'll be updating weekly, because I'm still trying to finish Forged by Fire (check it out if you haven't) but I'll try to update as often as I can!

got any prompts for Maya? let's chat on Tumblr!