goin' to the chapel and we're gonna get married

It was a sunny morning in mid-April as Kelly and Stella walked through the terminals of the Denver International Airport, Maya walking between them, clutching tightly to both of their hands. The family had just gotten off their flight from Chicago and the three-year-old wanted nothing more than to run around, stretch her legs, and burn off the energy that had built up after the almost 3-hour flight.

As they approached baggage claim, Maya recognized who was waiting for them.

She gasped, excitedly, and pulled at her parents' hands. "Mommy, daddy, look! Aunt Kaykee!"

Kelly and Stella chuckled at the exclamation. Katie was one of Maya's favorite people and had been since she'd met her for the first time. When Maya first started learning the names of her aunts and uncles (both biological and honorary), she had trouble pronouncing T's so Katie became Kaykee. A few years had passed since then, and Maya's vocabulary skills were far more advanced, but Katie's nickname stuck. Katie didn't mind in the slightest—she wore her 'Aunt Kaykee' moniker proudly.

"That is Aunt Kaykee," Stella said with a smile. "We'll go see her in a minute, we have to grab our suitcases first."

"No! Wanna see Aunt Kaykee now!" Maya begged, unleashing the full power of her baby blue puppy dog eyes on her parents. "Pwease, pwease, pwease!"

Stella sighed, but the smile was still on her face. Maya was so much like her father.

Stella looked at Kelly with a raised eyebrow. "Your kid," she mumbled.

Kelly laughed. "You take her to see Katie, I'll grab the bags."

Stella nodded and they parted ways.

As Kelly stood by the baggage carousel and waited for their luggage to arrive, he saw Maya run right into Katie's waiting arms. It was impossible to tell who was more excited and once more Kelly was thankful his relationship with Katie had grown to be as strong as it was despite the distance between Boulder and Chicago.

Grabbing the last of their bags, Kelly made his way over to where three of his most favorite people waited. When he arrived, Maya was recounting every detail of their flight for Katie, who listened with rapt interest. Kelly dropped their bags and put an arm around Katie's shoulder, bringing her in for a side hug. "Not that I'm not happy to see you, but you didn't have to drive down here to pick us up. I'm sure you still have a ton of things to do before this weekend."

"Please," Katie said with a smile. "I needed the break. And I will gladly take all the extra time with this little nugget I can get." Katie tickled Maya's side, causing the toddler to giggle hysterically.

"Well, we're here now, ready to help you with whatever needs to be done." Stella confirmed from her spot next to Kelly.

Katie smiled. "I'm definitely gonna be taking you up on that offer. Mom and Lucas have been so helpful, and everything is pretty much ready to go, but now that you guys are here, we can do the final fitting and pick up for your dresses and tux. Hopefully everything fits like it's supposed to, and it'll be smooth sailing until the rehearsal dinner on Friday."

"I can't believe you're getting married," Kelly said, a hint of disbelief in his voice.

"Babe, you've been saying that since she and Lucas announced their engagement last summer." Stella stated, playfully rolling her eyes. She and Katie shared a smile.

"Yeah, yeah," Kelly said with a smile, waving his hand dismissively. "Let's get this show on the road."

Katie smiled at her brother and nodded, leading them out of the airport to where she had parked.

… … …

Once the Severides arrived in Denver, it was full speed ahead to get Katie and Lucas to the alter. Thankfully Kelly's tux fit perfectly, as did Stella's matron of honor dress and Maya's flower girl dress. All the I's were dotted and T's were crossed and the only thing left to do was enjoy the rehearsal dinner and the wedding itself.

The night before the wedding, the entire wedding party was at the venue for the rehearsal dinner. They'd had dinner already and run through the entire ceremony program a few times and now, the remaining members of the wedding party were scattered throughout the venue socializing. Kelly found Katie out on the balcony overlooking the courtyard where the ceremony would be held tomorrow. He walked over to join her.

"You OK?" He asked, saddling up next to his sister.

"Yeah! Just…. taking it all in before tomorrow." Katie said, flashing him a smile.

"It's going to be a really good day," Kelly replied easily. He smiled, thinking of his own wedding day a few years prior. It was still one of the best days of his life. "The best day of your life. Just focus on you and Lucas and how much you love each other."

Katie's smile grew. She'd heard stories about her brother's dating history before he met Stella and, while she had never met any of the other women in her brother's life, she'd experienced firsthand the change in him since getting together with Stella. Ladies' man Kelly Severide was now married, a father to the cutest, sweetest little girl, happier than Katie had ever known him to be, and Stella had been the catalyst for it all.

She was excited for the future she and Lucas had ahead of them; one she was hopeful would be just as happy and fulfilling as her brother's.

"Is it weird that I wish dad was here?" Katie asked quietly, interrupting the silence that fell over them. The smile on her face fell slightly, turning more thoughtful rather than joyful. "I mean, he was hardly a part of my life…"

Kelly put his arm around Katie's shoulder. "It's not weird. He was your dad, no matter how absent of a parent he was, and this is a big moment in your life. Even I wanted him at my wedding." Kelly sighed softly but continued speaking. "He might not have been father of the year, but he did love us, and he wanted us to be happy. Benny might not be here in person, but he'll be here in spirit tomorrow."

"Thanks Kelly," Katie smiled. She wrapped her arms around her brother, giving him a big hug.

Their hug was interrupted when a tiny but fierce force slammed into their legs. Looking down, the two saw Maya smiling up at them. Katie and Kelly laughed, breaking away from their hug, and Katie bent over to pick up her niece.

Kelly looked in the direction Maya had come from and saw Stella making her way over to them, a soft look on her face. As she reached them, Kelly threw an arm over her shoulders.

"You two ok?" Stella asked, her eyes darting between her husband and his sister.

"We're good," Kelly said. "Just a little brother and sister talk before the big day tomorrow."

Stella smiled. "Speaking of tomorrow, everything's cleaned up downstairs and your mom and Lucas are finalizing things with the caterers and coordinators. The rest of the wedding party is just waiting on final meeting times for the morning."

Katie nodded and the group made their way back inside to where the others were waiting. It was time for them to head out for the night; tomorrow would be a big day and they all needed to be well rested.

… … …

Katie and Lucas's wedding day was magical from start to finish.

Stella and Maya were with Katie, her mom, and the other bridesmaids all morning as they prepped and pampered for the day ahead. They met bright and early at a salon for mani/pedis before heading to the venue for brunch and to start getting ready.

Maya provided non-stop entertainment for the others as they got their hair and makeup done, the toddler easily winning them all over.

As time went by and the ceremony grew closer, everyone started changing into their dresses. It was during that time that Katie and Stella got to share a special moment as they found Maya, dressed in her flower girl dress, standing in front of Katie's wedding gown. She was staring at it with such wonder and focus that the little girl didn't even notice the photographer or her mom taking pictures of her.

Katie smiled. "Kelly's gonna freak when he sees that picture."

"Oh I know!" Stella laughed. "Don't tell him I told you this, but he totally cried when he saw the pictures of Maya in her flower girl dress for the first time."

Katie laughed along with Stella, but she wasn't surprised in the slightest; Kelly was a total softy when it came to Maya.

Once Katie had her dress on, it was full speed ahead to the alter.

From his spot on the front row, Kelly smiled and stared lovingly as he watched Stella walk down the aisle. She looked beautiful, as she always did, and once again Kelly was reminded how absolutely lucky he was to have her by his side in life. He had prepared himself as best he could for the emotional gut-punch that would come with watching Maya walk down the aisle, but it wasn't enough. The sight of his little girl walking down the aisle, expertly dropping flower petals along the path, brought more than a few tears to his eyes and he hugged her a little tighter than usual when she came to a stop at his side.

He'd tried to collect himself, but his efforts were futile when the officiant asked the guests to stand and his eyes landed on his sister. Katie looked beautiful and she walked down the aisle with a confidence that came from the understanding of knowing that the person you were about to marry was the love of your life.

Kelly might not have known Katie her entire life, but he was so proud of the woman she'd become and the life she was making for herself.

… … …

The ceremony was short and sweet, but beautiful, and it flowed easily into the reception.

The guests were distracted with cocktail hour while the families and wedding party took pictures. Dinner was a joyous affair, filled with toasts to the happy couple and speeches from their closest friends and family members, and then Katie and Lucas took to the dance floor for their first dance as husband and wife.

As the music changed, Lucas grabbed his mom for the mother-son dance while Katie, unsurprisingly, turned the father-daughter dance into a mother-daughter dance. What did surprise Kelly was Katie walking over to him and pulling him onto the dance floor for a special brother-sister dance. He might not of known about Katie's plan, but the knowing smile on Stella's face told him that she'd known about it all along.

The dance floor opened to everyone after that and Maya immediately ran to Katie and Lucas, wanting a special dance of her own with her aunt and uncle.

Their daughter had never been shy, but Kelly and Stella were genuinely surprised when Maya became the life of the party. Using the energy only a toddler could possess (and the sugar rush provided by the cake she'd eaten), Maya bounced between her parents, her aunt and uncle, and various members of the bridal party as they celebrated.

… … …

The night was coming to an end and most of the guests were getting ready to line up outside the venue to say goodbye to the newlyweds. Some remained inside, talking with friends or finishing their final drinks of the night. The Severides however, stood just at the edge of the dance floor.

Stella, who had Kelly's tuxedo jacket draped over her shoulders, was pressed against Kelly's side and the two of them (with Maya sleeping off a sugar crash in Kelly's arms) watched Katie and Lucas share one final dance.

The newlyweds were in a world of their own, swaying back and forth and talking quietly as if no one else existed; their love for each other evident in the way they looked at each other. It was a look Kelly knew well; it was the way he looked at Stella.

Kelly had had many flings and relationships in his life, but he'd never loved someone as much as he did Stella. Then Maya came along, and his heart somehow grew impossibly larger and there was enough love for not only Stella, but the new life they'd created together as well.

As he watched his sister and her new husband, Kelly knew that with Lucas, Katie would get to experience the kind of love he was lucky enough to.


A/N: hope you all enjoyed!

Updates are going to be less frequent for a little while. I want to get some more Maya pieces finished and stockpiled before I upload more AND I have a few other WIPs that I'm excited to try and make some progress on!

That being said, if you have ANY prompts you want to see for Maya, let me know! Message me on here or find me on Tumblr (same username)!