I can be your hero baby

The firehouse was empty when Kelly and Maya entered hand in hand. All the trucks were gone, making the station eerily quiet.

Kelly led Maya through the bunk room and into his officer's quarters. He'd been called that morning by one of the C-shifters after someone from the Academy dropped paperwork at the station, thinking he was there. The plan had been for him to just work on the paperwork the next time he was on shift, but Chief Fletcher had called him and stated it was urgent.

Stella had been asked by DFC Hill to speak at a Women in Fire conference in Indianapolis, so she had been gone the past few days and was expected back tomorrow evening. This meant Kelly was on his own with Maya, a task he didn't mind at all. He loved spending one-on-one time with his daughter. Plus, with Stella away and Mother's Day just days away, the two Severides had plenty of time to come up with a plan to celebrate their favorite lady.

Arriving in his quarters, Kelly sat Maya on the bed with some plain paper and some highlighters he'd taken from Kylie's desk. He was sure the Chief's assistant had some coloring books and crayons stored somewhere to give to kids who came to visit but Kelly didn't want to take the extra time to look for them; he wanted to make this as quick as possible.

Besides, Maya didn't seem to care.

With the toddler distracted, Kelly sat at his desk and started going through the paperwork.

Coloring didn't keep Maya distracted nearly as long as Kelly had hoped, but he was nearing the end of his paperwork so when he heard her clamber off the bed he closed the door to his quarters to keep Maya contained and let her wander around the office.

"Dats mommy!" Maya exclaimed, pointing at one of the pictures hanging on the wall. It was a newspaper article from years ago, when one of their calls made front page. It was a memorable rescue—Stella had rescued him after he was knocked unconscious from a jump into the river.

Kelly smiled softly at the memory then reached over, picking Maya up and setting her on his lap. "That is mommy. A long time ago, back before you came along and before mommy and I were married, we were on a call and your Uncle Matt and I ended up in the river."

"You was swimming?"

"No baby, we weren't swimming," Kelly said with a laugh. "We had to jump in the water to try and stay safe. Uncle Matt was fine, but I got hurt."

Maya frowned slightly. "Daddy hurt?"

Kelly nodded with a smile. "I was, but you know what? Your mommy came in and rescued me."

"Mommy saved you daddy!" Maya gasped, her eyes lighting up.

"She did! And guess what?" Kelly continued, speaking theatrically. Maya had a general idea of what her parents did as firefighters, and he wasn't going into too much detail, but talking about rescues could be scary and Kelly wanted to keep the conversation light. "She's saved me and a bunch of other people sooooo many more times than that."

"Mommy's a superhewo!"

Kelly smiled softly and he couldn't help the warmth that spread through him at Maya's words. He'd always been proud of Stella and everything she'd accomplished, especially in her career, and he loved that Maya was now old enough to start recognizing just how amazing her mom was. There were never enough people to love Stella Kidd.

"Your mommy is a superhero, just like all your aunts and uncles here at 51, and in Intelligence and at the hospital." Kelly confirmed. "But mommy's a super special superhero, do you know why?"

Maya shook her head. She was fully focused on Kelly, hanging on to his every word.

Kelly leaned closer to whisper in her ear. "Mommy's a super special superhero because she helps and saves people everyday but she's also the best mommy ever and she loves you so much."

"Mommy wuvs you too daddy!" Maya said very matter of fact.

"You're right, she does." Kelly replied with a smile. "Speaking of mommy, do you know what special day is in two days? Mother's Day!"

"Mudder's day? What's dat?"

"It's a special day where everyone celebrates their mommies and shows them how much they love them." Kelly explained.

"Are we gonna have a party? Mommy needs a party!" Maya asked.

Since becoming parents, Kelly and Stella had kept most holiday celebrations pretty lowkey. However, as Maya got older and started to understand more, they anticipated their celebrations becoming a bit more extreme, even for the more mundane holidays like Mother's Day and Father's Day.

After hearing the excitement in Maya's voice, Kelly didn't have the heart to say no.

"We can have a party for mommy," Kelly promised. "Let me finish this paperwork and then we can go get a few things for her. Sound good?"

Maya nodded happily and hopped off Kelly's lap, letting him get back to work.

It didn't take long for him to finish and about 10 minutes later, the Severides were leaving the firehouse and heading to the store. Kelly had already gotten a Mother's Day gift for Stella a few weeks back, something from both him and Maya, but he let the toddler pick a present for Stella that was just from her.

Finding a gift was easy but trying to negotiate with a three-year-old about an appropriate amount of decorations for a three person party was one of the hardest things Kelly Severide had ever had to do.

He managed to talk Maya out of clearing the shelves, but they still left the store with an inordinate amount of decorations.

Once home, Kelly hid the decorations with Stella's gifts. Maya decided she needed to draw her mom a very special card for Mother's Day, so Kelly let her draw and color to her heart's content. He stepped in a few times when she asked, to help with writing and spelling and the occasional drawing, but for the most part Maya was in control of it all. By the time her afternoon nap rolled around, Maya had over a dozen pictures and cards colored for her mom. Some would be given the next day, when Stella got home, but most were to be saved for Mother's Day.

… … …

Walking through the front door of the loft Saturday night, Stella felt the weight of the past few days melt away. Being home with her family was the thing Stella loved more than anything and the sight in front of her made her heart soar.

The Tangled credits were playing on the TV and Kelly and Maya were cuddled together on the couch, sound asleep under the blanket. There were snacks on the coffee table in front of them and it was clear they tried to stay awake long enough to welcome her home. Her flight had been delayed due to weather, causing Stella to arrive home hours later than planned, so she understood Maya being asleep. Kelly however, usually had no problem staying up late into the night, so it was weird that he was asleep as well. Then again, the three year old sprawled on top of him probably had the same affect of a weighted blanket and put him right to sleep.

Stella smiled but left them to sleep for a little while longer. She quietly moved her bags into the bedroom and changed into something more comfortable before moving back into the living room. She picked up the leftover snacks from the coffee table, putting everything back in the kitchen where it belonged. It wasn't until she turned the TV off, the loft descending into silence, that Kelly finally woke up.

"Hey," Kelly mumbled quietly, his voice thick with sleep. "Welcome home."

Stella smiled at him and walked over to give him a kiss, careful to avoid waking up the still sleeping toddler. "Hi. Looks like you two had fun."

Kelly laughed quietly. "Yeah. She wanted to try and stay up to see you, but she also refused a nap today." He shrugged. "She lasted longer than I thought she would."

Stella snorted playfully. "I think it's time we all get to bed. I'll put her down and meet you in our room?"

Kelly nodded and Stella gently picked Maya up off his chest. The toddler woke briefly as Stella settled her in her arms and started the short walk to her room.

"Mommy?" Maya mumbled quietly. She looked up with sleepy eyes, moving her head from where it was smooshed into Stella's neck.

"Yeah baby, it's me."

Maya gave a content sigh, laid her head back down, and closed her eyes. "Me missed you."

Two simple, sleepy words and the remainder of Stella's heart melted. She placed a kiss on Maya's head. "I missed you too baby girl."

By now, Stella had made it into Maya's room. She lightly laid the toddler in bed and tucked her in, making sure she had her favorite teddy bear within reach. Stella gave Maya one more kiss. "I love you."

The toddler managed to mumble out a quiet "wuv you" before sleep overcame her.

Stella smiled, flipped on Maya's night light, and left the room, closing the door behind her.

Stella was thankful for all the opportunities she'd been able to experience because of her hard work and supportive team, but she was so happy to be home. As she walked across the loft, she thought back to years prior when she spent weeks and weeks traveling around, pitching Girls on Fire to dozens of fire departments.

Stella knew Kelly still thought about that dark time in their relationship from time to time, especially when she went on work trips, but she had no intentions of ever doing something like that again. It was hard being away from Kelly for that long, and they weren't even married at that point. She couldn't even fathom the thought of being away from him or Maya for more than a few days now.

Arriving at their bedroom and seeing Kelly waiting for her in bed, Stella smiled at him and moved closer, ready to show him how much she missed him.

… … …

The next morning, Kelly woke up before Stella and quietly snuck out of their bedroom. It was finally Mother's Day, and the celebration he and Maya had planned for Stella started with breakfast in bed. He made his way to Maya's room where the toddler was just waking up.

"Hi daddy."

"Hi baby," Kelly said with a smile. He turned her night light off and walked over to the bed, picking the toddler up and hugging her. "Do you remember what today is?"

"Mommy's day?" she asked, using a free hand to move the curls away from her face.

Kelly laughed as he walked them into the kitchen. He sat Maya at one of the barstools and worked to tame the toddler's bedhead. "It is Mother's Day. Do you remember our plans for today?"

Maya nodded excitedly, making it very difficult for Kelly to finish the braids he was putting in her hair. He had lots of practice though and was able to get them finished without much fuss. "Bweakfast, pwesents, and den whatever mama wants to do!"

"Very good," Kelly smiled, walking around the island and into the kitchen.

He gave Maya some fruit and toast, something to hold her over, while he started making a bigger breakfast with all of Stella's favorites. The excitement was rolling off the three-year-old in waves and Kelly had to remind her several times that she needed to be quiet so it would stay a surprise. It was a lost cause, there was no containing the joy emanating from Maya.

With breakfast prepared and coffee brewing, Kelly grabbed Maya and the two quickly decorated the loft with all the decorations they'd gotten a few days earlier. They covered the living room in streamers and decorations, and they displayed a few of the many drawings Maya made.

Once the decorations were finished and Kelly had Stella's coffee and breakfast ready, he let Maya grab the gifts and lead the way towards the bedroom. She opened the door and ran inside. Leaving the gifts on Kelly's side of the bed, Maya climbed on the bed and crawled the rest of the way before launching herself onto Stella.

Seeing how Stella had a shirt on, which was not how he'd left her that morning, Kelly knew that she'd woken up at some point. It wasn't surprising; despite his best efforts, Maya was not quiet that morning and Stella always had a sixth sense when it came to their daughter.

While Kelly knew that Stella wasn't really sleeping, Maya was none the wiser so Stella played it up, making a big show of "waking up" and wrapping her arms around Maya for a big hug.

Maya giggled as Stella peppered her cheeks with kisses. "Happy mommy's day, mommy!"

"Thank you baby!"

"Daddy! Come 'ere!" Maya yelled from the bed, moving out of her mom's arms as Stella sat up. The toddler threw a glance at her father before turning back to Stella. "We made you bweakfast!"

Stella smiled as she watched Kelly walk over, breakfast tray in hand. He placed the tray over her lap then leaned closer to give her a kiss. He whispered against her lips, "Happy Mother's Day."

"Thank you." Stella replied. She stole another kiss before turning her attention back to Maya and the breakfast in front of her. "This looks great baby!"

While Stella ate, sharing bites of her breakfast with the toddler, Maya told Stella story after story of everything she and Kelly did while she was gone. Stella told her own stories, but Kelly was more interested in those than the toddler was.

With Stella and Maya both eating off the tray, it didn't take long for breakfast to be over.

"We also got you pwesents mommy!" Maya yelled excitedly. "Wanna open?"

Stella nodded and Maya immediately reached for the present she'd picked out. She eagerly handed the bag to Stella and was practically bouncing up and down on the bed as she watched Stella open the bag.

The confusion was clear on Stella's face as she pulled a brightly decorated cape and mask out of the bag. She flashed a smile at Maya. "Oh wow! Did you make this?"

Maya nodded, a bright smile on her little face. "You a superhewo mommy! You gots to have a cape!"

Stella smiled at Maya but then looked at Kelly for clarification.

Kelly laughed and ran a hand over Maya's hair. "We stopped by the station a few days ago to sign some papers Chief Fletcher sent over. When we were in my office, she saw that newspaper article of you rescuing me from the river after that factory fire. I told her the story of how you saved me and she came to the conclusion that you were a superhero. Who was I to argue?"

Stella shook her head affectionately. She leaned over and gave Maya a big hug. "Thanks baby girl, I love it!"

Maya beamed. "I drawed pictures for you too! I go get dem!"

Kelly, who was sitting on the other side of her, lifted her up and placed her on the ground. The second her feet hit the floor Maya was running out of the room, off to where she'd left the drawings for Stella.

While Maya was gone, Kelly grabbed the small velvet box that had been left at the end of the bed and presented it to Stella. "Your other gift."

Stella took the box and opened it, gasping softly at what was inside. There, nestled safely inside, was a delicate silver bar necklace engraved with a small K on one end and a M on the other. Tears welled in Stella's eyes as she gently ran her finger over the engravings.

"A little something so you'll always have us with you." Kelly explained softly.

"Thank you," Stella gave Kelly a watery smile. "I love you."

Kelly smiled. "I love you too."

He leaned forward and captured Stella's lips in a kiss. Just as she went to deepen it, Maya ran back into the room, hands full of drawings and doodles.

Stella listened with rapt interest as Maya showed her each drawing. She felt so loved.

While this wasn't her first Mother's Day, this was the first time Maya had been old enough to somewhat understand what the day was about and that made it all the more special.