happy birthday to you

Despite the early morning wake up call they would likely be greeted with the next day, and just having completed one of the most grueling shifts, Kelly and Stella were up past midnight, running around the loft to get everything ready for a very special occasion: Maya's first birthday!

The party would be relatively small – only Jennifer, Katie and Lucas, and the members of 51 and their families would be coming. Their friends in Intelligence and their kids had been invited, but they were up to their eyebrows in a big case and most likely wouldn't be able to come. Kelly and Stella were well aware Maya wouldn't remember her first birthday party, but they still wanted it to be special for their little girl.

The proud parents were exhausted by the time they crawled into bed and, despite the excitement for what the day would bring, sleep came easily.

… … …

Miraculously, it was their alarm that woke them up several hours later instead of their child. It was almost as if Maya was giving them a present instead of the other way around.

Kelly silenced the alarm and rolled over to face his wife. "We did it", he whispered, and Stella didn't even open her eyes before breaking into a wide smile. "We survived our first year as parents."

"We did," Stella agreed. She opened her eyes and pressed her lips to his. "We survived, Maya survived, and she's still sleeping. It's like she knew."

"It only took her a year to figure out how to sleep past 6:30am." Kelly grinned, causing Stella to chuckle. Maya was a notorious early bird—a trait not inherited from either of her parents but one they were desperately hoping she'd outgrow.

"Ready to party today?" Kelly asked playfully as he pulled Stella closer. Stella wrapped her arms around his neck and kissing him deeper.

"I am," Stella said. "Brett helped plan it and it's going to be great. I just hope it won't be too much."

Kelly shook his head. "It's going to be perfect."

… … …

As they waited for Maya to wake up, Stella and Kelly took some time to have a private celebration for themselves—commemorating the past year—before hoping in the shower together to prepare for the day ahead.

They had just finished with their shower and slipped on their clothes when they heard Maya wake up over the baby monitor.

"Dada! Dada! Dada!" Maya called sweetly, albeit drowsily. "Dada…"

Stella rolled her eyes with a smile and she and Kelly headed out of their bedroom and towards Maya's nursery. "Still such a daddy's girl."

"She's always going to be a daddy's girl, no matter how old she gets," Kelly declared with a laugh and a bright smile.

Stella didn't doubt that for a second.

Entering Maya's nursery with huge smiles on their faces, they flipped on the lights and found Maya standing up in her crib, waiting. She squealed happily upon seeing them.

"Happy birthday baby girl," Kelly said with a smile as he scooped Maya up and hugged her to his chest, placing a kiss on her head.

Stella used a free hand to move Maya's brown hair away from her face before kissing her cheek. "Are you ready for your party today?"

Maya giggled and clapped her chubby hands, making her parents laugh. She was smart for her age, but Kelly and Stella knew she had no idea what they were talking about. They still found the action adorable.

After a few more minutes, once Maya had been changed out of her pajamas and Stella had tamed her crazy bedhead, the family of three made it out to main area of the loft.

Maya's bright blue eyes lit up as they entered, and she saw the decorations that had been set up the night before. There were ribbons and balloons (with more to be added later) in her favorite colors hanging on the wall and her highchair was decorated with its own set of balloons and a special 'ONE' banner.

A small pile of presents was sitting on the coffee table, waiting for Maya to demolish (although Stella and Kelly both knew that she got more entertainment playing with the boxes and wrapping paper), and the small cake they had made for the party was on full display on the island.

Kelly moved around the kitchen and started pulling out the ingredients for pancakes, Maya's current favorite breakfast food. Meanwhile, Stella got Maya's morning bottle ready.

Bottle in hand, Stella made her way into the living room and sat down on the couch with Maya in her lap. The now-toddler immediately grabbed her bottle and settled into Stella's arms. Maya was more than capable of holding her own bottle and Stella knew that, but she wanted to cherish every moment she could.

Kelly brought Stella her morning cup of coffee and she sipped it peacefully as Maya finished her bottle.

As soon as her bottle was empty, Maya was up and squirming to get down. Stella put her down with her toys, then went to the kitchen to help Kelly get the last little bit of breakfast ready.

… … …

After breakfast came and impromptu (but not entirely unexpected) morning bath for Maya, who got more syrup on her face and clothes than in her mouth and then it was off to one of Maya's favorite places—the aquarium.

Maya's birthday trip to the aquarium ended with lunch at her favorite restaurant and then it was back home for a nap before the real birthday celebration started.

With Maya napping, Kelly and Stella finished decorating the loft and setting up for the party. They didn't have everything and if it was up to them they'd be done, but they knew Brett would be bringing even more over when she arrived. The loft looked as if a Party City had exploded.

Kelly had walked in on one of the many party planning meetings Brett had cornered Stella into having, and tried to suggest toning it down a bit, but the (unofficial) 51 party-planner would hear nothing of it.

"It's my goddaughter's first birthday, Severide. It needs to be perfect!" Brett had argued and that was that.

… … …

Maya was well-rested by the time she woke up from her almost 3-hour nap so after she finished her snack, it took everything Stella and Kelly had to keep her from destroying all the decorations. They finally settled for the three of them watching a movie in their bedroom.

Brett and Casey arrived just as the movie was ending and immediately got to work putting the finishing touches on the loft.

Kelly and Stella got Maya changed into her party outfit and gave her another snack to keep her from getting hangry and by the time they were done, guests had started arriving.

Kelly's family arrived first, Jennifer, Katie, and Lucas bearing several gifts for their granddaughter and niece. Their teammates from 51, and their families, trickled in after that and by early afternoon everyone was there and the party began.

The group had fun just socializing with each other and snacking on the food that Stella and Kelly had prepared, all while passing Maya around the room, taking pictures with her and peppering her with hugs and kisses.

Around 4:00, everyone gathered around Maya's high chair and sang 'Happy Birthday' to the birthday girl. They all got a kick out of Maya demolishing her smash cake and they all enjoyed cupcakes for themselves.

After the cake had been taken away and Maya had been cleaned up, everyone moved into the living room for presents.

Maya, of course, was completely spoiled with all the presents everyone got her and she immediately wanted to play with every single one. She spent the rest of the party playing with her new toys and all of her favorite people until it was time for everyone to leave

Once everyone was gone, Kelly cleaned everything up while Stella gave Maya another nice long bath, getting off all of the remaining birthday cake and sprinkles. When Kelly was finished cleaning, he joined Stella and Maya helping get Maya dried her off and changed her into a fresh pair of pajamas. He gave her her nighttime bottle while Stella finished draining the tub and mopping up all of the water Maya had splashed onto the floor. That done, Stella went to join her two favorite people in the nursery.

Maya was overtired and overstimulated, but it didn't take long for Maya to fall asleep.

As Kelly and Stella watched their daughter sleep peacefully, they couldn't believe how much Maya, and their lives, had changed in the past year.

She was walking, having nearly mastered it since her first steps at 10 months.

She had 8 teeth and ate almost anything her parents gave her (green vegetables were sometimes a battle).

She could say 'mama' and 'dada' and a few other words, though those were two of her favorites.

She loved to laugh and play with her toys.

She loved the water, making bath time was her favorite time of the day.

Playdates with Otis Cruz and/or Ella Halstead were a weekly occurrence because Maya loved her friends.

She loved her family, both biological and honorary.

Her mommy was her best friend, and her daddy was her favorite person.

And as for Kelly and Stella? Well, they loved Maya more than anything in the world. She truly was her daddy's girl and her momma's world.


A/N: I was originally going to post this in October, when Maya's actual birthday is, but it's my birthday today too so I figured why not?!

Hope you enjoyed!