duck, duck, duck, derby

It was early morning, the sun just starting to shine through the windows, when Kelly and Stella were jarred awake by the arrival of a tiny little body jumping into their bed. Kelly groaned when a little foot found his ribs and rolled onto his back, wrapping his arms around the curly-headed invader.

Opening his eyes, Kelly was met with blue eyes and a mischievous grin that were carbon copies of his own. "What are you doing up so early huh?" he asked, tickling the little girl's sides.

Maya giggled. "Hi daddy!"

"Hi baby," he mumbled. Kelly had hoped they would've been able to sleep in but the energy oozing from the toddler told him that they wouldn't be going back to sleep any time soon. He rolled back onto his side and deposited Maya on the bed between him and Stella, who was desperately trying to get a few more minutes of sleep.

Maya was having none of it.

She crawled up the bed, stopping to sit just below Kelly and Stella's heads. The toddler leaned forward and poked Stella on the cheek, the almost two-year-old's new favorite way of getting people's attention. "Mama, up! Ducky day!"

The toddler got a few more pokes in before Stella gently grabbed her hand. Rolling over slightly, Stella moved Maya's hand to her mouth and blew a raspberry on her palm. The little girl squealed in laughter, something that never failed to make her parents smile no matter how tired they were.

"It's too early for duckies baby," Stella said. She sat up slightly and readjusted Maya, lying the toddler down between her and Kelly. "Let's sleep for a few more hours and then we start enjoying ducky day, okay?"

Maya whined. "No sweep mama! Duckies!"

The whining was a new thing for the toddler, most likely a sneak peek into the upcoming terrible twos, as was the love of ducks. Kelly and Stella credited the youngest Halstead for that development; Ella was nothing short of obsessed with ducks and that obsession had obviously rubbed off on her best friend Maya.

Kelly and Stella exchanged a look over the toddler's head. They stared at each other, having a silent conversation about which one of them was going to deal with the still very awake toddler. After a few minutes, Kelly huffed out a chuckle and sat up. He grabbed his phone and Maya, playfully throwing the toddler over his shoulder, and kissed Stella goodbye before leaving the room, Maya giggling the entire way out.

The main area of the loft was still bathed in darkness, but there was enough of the early morning light coming in through the big windows that Kelly could easily see where he was going, Kelly shifted Maya from over his shoulder to in his arms as he carried her across the loft and back into her room.

The toddler's room was covered in toys—toys that had definitely been tidied away the night before—and it was clear that Maya had been awake longer than either of her parents thought. Kelly chuckled and shook his head, carefully stepping over toys on his way to the changing station to change Maya's diaper. He and Stella had made the decision to move Maya out of her crib and into a toddler bed after the little Houdini figured out how to climb out of her crib. They made the transition earlier than they would've liked but it was safer for everyone.

After getting over the minor heart attack Maya's first escape caused, Stella had playfully blamed the toddler's newfound skill on Kelly and all the Squad drills he'd let the little girl watch while Kelly had teasingly blamed Stella and all the days she took Maya with her to Girls on Fire. Their kid was a sponge and the only thing that surprised them was the fact that it'd taken Maya so long to do it. She was their daughter after all.

Kelly got Maya changed and carried her over to the chair they still had in the corner of the room. He sat down with Maya on his lap and began rocking slowly back and forth, attempting to lull the little girl back to sleep. It was useless and after a few minutes, it was clear that Maya had no intention of going back to sleep. He let Maya down, letting her play with her toys but keeping her in her room so she wouldn't wake Stella up again.

As Maya played, Kelly pulled out his phone and sent a text to someone who would probably understand his current situation: Jay.

Maya woke up before sunrise because today is "ducky day"

Ella did too.

I can't prove it, but I know they planned it

Kelly chuckled at the almost instant reply. He wasn't the least bit surprised that Jay and Ella were awake at the early hour. The littlest Halstead and the littlest Severide were best friends and alarmingly similar, much to the amusement of both sets of parents.

Maya played in her room for almost an hour before her attention was back on duckies and the plans for the day. The Chicago Duck Derby was an annual fundraising event for the Special Olympics Illinois. There was a family festival to start the day off, followed by the duck race in the river. This year, the donations led to over 75,000 ducks being involved in the derby. Firehouse 51 had made a donation, as had the 21st District, and many of the families were planning to meet up at the Derby and festival. Maya had heard about the derby from daycare and had talked non-stop about it since.

The day had finally arrived and the little girl couldn't contain her excitement anymore.

It was finally a reasonable hour, so Kelly got Maya situated with cartoons in the living room and then headed into the kitchen to start making breakfast. Stella joined them a few minutes later and bounced between helping Kelly in the kitchen and cuddling with Maya in the living room.

After breakfast, the family took their time getting ready for the day. Maya was practically vibrating with pent-up excitement by the time they left. The Severides met up with the Halsteads, and an equally excited Ella, at Pioneer Court, and the two families joined the fun at the Family Festival.

Maya and Ella got their faces painted and played all the games while their parents enjoyed the live music and conversation. The families grabbed lunch from the food trucks on the scene then made their way to the Columbus Bridge.

Perched on her dad's shoulders, Maya had a perfect view of the two large dump trucks on the bridge. The crowd counted down from 3 and Maya cheered happily as the trucks dumped their load and tens of thousands of rubber ducks rained into the Chicago River.

"Duckies!"

Kelly and Stella chuckled at their daughter's excitement and joined her in cheering with the rest of the watching crowd. They stayed in place for the beginning of the race, watching as the water started carrying the ducks toward the finish line. It was too slow moving for Maya, whose attention had already been locked on the large duck mascot several feet away. "Daddy look! Big ducky!"

Kelly turned his attention to where Maya was looking and saw the mascot posing for pictures. He moved Maya off of his shoulders and into his arms and the Severide family made their way through the crowd over to the picture line.

It was a bit of a wait, and Maya's early morning was definitely catching up with her, but they eventually made it to the front of the line. They posed for a few pictures with the Derby mascot and Maya was given a stuffed souvenir Derby duck, which the little girl kept tightly in her hands.

Within minutes of saying goodbye to the Halsteads and getting in the car, Maya was passed out in her car seat, stuffed duck still clutched in her hands.

Within minutes of saying goodbye to the Halsteads and getting in the car, Maya was passed out in her car seat.

Maya stayed asleep the entire drive home as well throughout the walk from the car to the loft. She only woke briefly as she was laid in her bed for a nap.

Stella brushed the curls out of the toddler's face and moved her blanket to tuck her in. "Did you have fun today?"

Maya nodded sleepily, her heavy eyes already closing again. "I wuv duckies."

"I know you do, baby girl" Stella said with a smile.

Stella placed a kiss on Maya's forehead and left the room. The little girl was fast asleep before her mom even got to the door, her new duck stuffy tucked tightly under her arm.


A/N: The Chicago Duck Derby is one of the Special Olympics Illinois' annual fundraising events. As of today, August 4, 2022, 75,005 ducks were "adopted" for the year's race meaning $332,776 has been raised so far! There are no more ducks available for today's race, but you can still make a donation at the link below:

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