A/N: Hey guys! I hope y'all enjoy this Stellaride-centric and Severide whump filled story! As I've gotten further into the series, I absolutely LOVE Kidd and Severide together, so future stories will most likely involve them being together. But obviously still based around Severide because he is my absolute favorite! Taylor Kinney is adorable! Speaking of… I included a little Taylor Kinney Easter egg in here for all you ultimate fans! Hope y'all enjoy!

Please read and review and let me know what you think so far!

I'm not a medical professional, so anything that is obviously weird or wrong, please forgive or nicely point it out. Thanks!

Disclaimer: I don't own Chicago Fire or it's characters. Those rights belong to Dick Wolf and NBC.

Chapter 1:

"Engine 51, Truck 81, Squad 3, Ambulance 61, Battalion 25. House fire…"

The men and women of Firehouse 51 rushed to their trucks, geared up, and headed out on what would most likely be their last call of this shift.

Kelly Severide would usually be looking forward to going back to his place with his girlfriend, Stella Kidd, but they had been going through a rough patch, so today he'd be going home alone.

Kidd wasn't even here this shift. Casey told Severide it was something about her having to tend to a personal matter. She had barely spoken to Severide in the past couple days. She was upset that he didn't talk to her about his feelings.

He really didn't see the big deal with him being a little closed off. Okay, maybe a lot closed off. But it's his life. He can share as much of it, or as little about it, as he chooses. However, Stella had a different opinion on that.

Severide knows she cares about him and only wants to help him, but he also cares about her—hell, he loves her—and he doesn't want to burden her with his feelings. Sure, he's been going through a lot, but he's fine. He just needs to convince her of that. Or maybe he will start talking to her about his feelings. There has to be a compromise somewhere.

All he knows for sure is that he hasn't been happy, like he is when he's with Stella, in a long time. He wants to spend the rest of his life with her.

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Stella Kidd nervously walked into Chicago Med, headed to her doctor's appointment.

Something was going on with her, and she was determined to get to the bottom of it. She hadn't been feeling right for the past couple of months.

She was worried because she had a lot of medical problems in her family history, but she was hoping they would find everything okay today.

She signed in and sat in the waiting room, anxiously tapping her foot until they called her name.

She went back into the doctor's office, described her symptoms, had some tests done and then was waiting for some of the results to come back before she could go home.

She probably should've told Kelly that she wouldn't be on shift today and why. She was just so upset with him. Why didn't he think he could talk to her? Why was he so closed off with his emotions to her?

But deep in her heart she knows. She knows that Kelly Severide cares about her more than anyone. She knows he loves her and doesn't want to burden her with his feelings.

And truly, she loves him too. She just needs to make sure he knows that, and if he ever does want or need to talk, that she is there for him.

Consumed by her thoughts, she didn't notice the doctor come back into the room until he cleared his throat and said, "Ms. Kidd? I have some results for you.

She looked at the doctor and braced herself for what she was about to hear. Good or bad news, she was as ready as she would ever be to hear it.

At least she thought she was ready. That is, until the doctor shared the first results with her, and those results sent her reeling.

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Firehouse 51 pulled up to the fire and Severide jumped out of the truck and met up with Casey and the Chief, waiting for orders. Boden started to command his men and women, when a woman pushed her way through the crowd that had gathered, running towards the front door of the house.

Casey, being the closest to the front door, grabbed her saying, "Woah! Woah! Ma'am you can't go in there!"

"Please! My kids are in there!!" She pleaded, sobbing.

Casey looked at Severide, eyes wide. Severide looked towards Boden who asked the woman, "what's your name ma'am? what do you mean? How do you know your kids are in there?"

"My name is Julie Garnett. I was at work. My babysitter was home with them, she's in there too! At least she should be. She didn't tell me they were going anywhere and her car is still here. I was just coming home for my lunch break! Please! Save my babies!"

Boden looked at Severide, "Squad 3, primary search. The fire looks like it started on the main floor, so you start there. Truck 81 search the second floor…"

Boden continued giving orders to the others as Severide and Casey put on their oxygen masks, took their teams and went inside.

As they headed in the front door and looked around Severide said "hey Casey!"

"Yeah?"

"Fire looks like it started in the kitchen and it's bad. We don't have much time!"

Casey nodded his understanding as he said, "alright, you heard Severide! Let's move!"

As Casey and Otis rushed upstairs, Capp and Tony went towards the living room and Severide and Cruz headed into the kitchen, they all heard Boden come over the radio, "Alright 51, there are 5 known victims inside. The homeowner's elderly mother, the babysitter, two boys ages 3 and 4, and a 10-month-old baby girl. The baby should be sleeping in her room upstairs. The boys names are Andrew and Noah. They're probably scared."

"Copy, chief." Everyone responded.

"Fire department, call out!" Severide called. "Andrew! Noah! This is the fire department!"

Suddenly Cruz called for Severide from the other side of the kitchen. Severide made his way over there and found the babysitter unconscious on the ground. He helped Cruz start to carry her towards the front door.

As they made their way there he heard Casey over the radio, "chief, we found the baby! The rest of the upstairs is clear. Coming out with her!"

Then Capp's voice was heard, "we found the elderly woman! Also coming out!"

Then Cruz spoke, "and we found the babysitter!"

Severide was very concerned. Both little boys were still missing. As he got to the front door, he told Otis to help Cruz take the babysitter out while he went back in to look for the boys.

A minute later Casey caught up with him just as he found one of the boys hiding under one of the end tables in the living room.

"Hey, buddy! I'm a firefighter, I'm here to help you! Are you Noah or Andrew?" He asked as he pulled the little boy out of his hiding spot.

"I'm Noah."

"Where is your brother, Noah?"

"He went to the basement to get a ball he threw down there. I don't know why he isn't back yet."

"Okay I'll find him. You've been so brave, Noah. My buddy here is going to take you outside to your mom, okay?"

Noah vigorously nodded his head.

Severide passed Noah off to Casey to take him out as he headed towards the basement. "Chief, Casey is bringing out one of the boys. I'm going to the basement to look for the other." Severide called into his radio.

"Copy that, Severide. Be quick and careful, the house is looking unstable." Boden replied.

He started down the stairs and was a little surprised at how bad the basement was already burning. Unfortunately, the kitchen was close to the doorway and stairs of the basement, so Severide knew he had to hurry. If he didn't, he wouldn't have a way out of here.

He hurried down the stairs and was calling the little boy's name, "Andrew! I'm a firefighter! I need you to call out to me!"

After a minute, he heard a small voice off to his left so he spun that way and saw the trembling figure of the little boy. He grabbed Andrew in his arms and said, "it's okay, buddy. I've got you. I need you to be still and hold on to me, okay?"

Andrew nodded and Severide tucked his little body into the opening of his turnout coat to protect him from the flames that were furiously licking at the walls, and now the basement stairs.

Severide cursed under his breath. The stairs seemed unstable, but the basement was going up fast, and Severide couldn't see another way out. There was a pile of junk blocking the exterior door, and it was already on fire too.

He had to try the stairs. He quickly and carefully made his way up the stairs, making sure to stay towards the sides of them the best he could, but as he reached the top step, the stairs collapsed under him.

He was falling, and at the last second he twisted his body so he wouldn't land with his weight on Andrew.

He hit the ground hard and grunted as an audible "pop" came from his shoulder. Andrew started to shift, but Kelly gasped out, "hold on buddy… stay there… my friends… are coming to… help…"

Kelly tried to start to get up. He held onto Andrew with his right arm and started to push off the ground with his left, but as soon as he put any weight on his left arm, he was blinded by the pain in his shoulder and side. This was some of the most intense pain he had ever felt, and it was making him lightheaded.

He laid back down and wrapped his right arm tightly around Andrew, now realizing that it was incredibly hard to even move his left arm, so it laid limply to the side.

Severide finally was able to catch his breath. He heard a sniffle come from the little boy and felt Andrew shaking against his chest and his heart broke. He said, "It's okay, Andrew. Just hang with me buddy, we'll get out of here. Are you hurt anywhere?"

Severide felt Andrew shake his head "no" against his chest. He breathed a sigh of relief.

That's not to say everything was okay. Severide's whole body was aching and he couldn't even move without sharp pains shooting through his shoulder, side and leg. It hurt to breathe.

He closed his eyes for a second, or at least what he thought was a second, then reluctantly opened them again when he heard the annoying, but unmistakeable, sound of his PASS alarm going off.

He knew he had to get up. He couldn't just lay here and let Andrew and himself die.

So again, he tried his best to get up, but now he told Andrew, "hey, buddy. I need you to wrap your arms around my neck and don't let go. Got it?"

"Got it." Severide heard the little boy's quiet, sweet voice for the first time.

So, Andrew wrapped his arms tightly around Severide's neck and was not letting go. This time, Severide used his right arm to push him off of the ground. He sucked in a sharp breath as his left arm and side were jostled, and for a brief second, black spots danced in front of his vision, but he wasn't going to let the pain win. He felt blood dripping down his leg and he wasn't sure where it was coming from, but he ignored it.

He had to get Andrew out of here. He grabbed back onto Andrew with his right arm, as his left hung limp at his side.

He was looking for some way, any way, to get out of here. He limped around the basement and finally found something he could use to climb out, but was so relieved he didn't actually have to use it when he heard Casey's voice calling down to him.

"Severide?! Call out! Can you hear me?"

"I'm here, Casey! I've got the boy! The stairs collapsed as we were coming back up. I guess my radio didn't survive the fall." Severide was actually kind of glad that his radio had broken because now he wouldn't have to explain that he'd been radio silent because he was injured.

He didn't want his crew to worry, but he was rarely ever up front about an injury, so now he had a reason to explain his radio silence. He was more worried about getting Andrew to safety than about his injuries.

"The floor up here isn't too stable, but we're going to try and get you guys out fast! We're lowering down a rope. Can you secure it to you and hold onto the boy and we'll pull you both up?" Casey yelled to him.

Damn. Severide didn't want them to know about his injuries yet, but he knew he couldn't do what Casey asked with only one arm. He couldn't hold Andrew and secure them to the rope with one arm and then be able to hold on while his buddies pulled them up, could he?

He sure as hell was going to try.

"Yeah, let's do it." Severide finally called back.

It concerned Casey that Severide took that long to answer him, but he didn't have time to mull it over now. He had to get his best friend out of the burning basement.

They tossed the rope down to Severide, who had just finished whispering to Andrew what was going on and telling him to keep holding on to him.

Casey watched as Severide awkwardly grabbed the rope with his right arm and was working to put the rope around himself and under his arms as his left arm hung limply to the side.

Damn it, Severide is hurt bad! Casey thought to himself.

"Severide! What's wrong with your arm?"

Severide looked up at Casey from the bottom of the hole with a pained expression on his face. He didn't mean to wear that expression, but his shoulder was throbbing. Just the small movement of slipping the rope under that arm sent shooting pains through his arm and shoulder, and a wave of nausea and lightheadedness.

"We don't have time for this Casey." He grumbled through clenched teeth, frustrated, as he finished slipping the rope under his arms, wrapped his right arm around Andrew, and grabbed the rope and his left arm, holding it firmly against his side with the right.

"Alright, Casey. Let's go!" Severide said when he had a good hold.

Casey was reluctant since Severide wouldn't tell him what was wrong, and he didn't even deny that he was injured. That worried Casey even more. But they didn't have time to worry about that right now. He had to get Severide and the little boy out.

So he said, "alright guys. 1… 2… 3… pull!"

Severide felt the rope tighten under his arms and as soon as his feet started to leave the ground, the pain in his shoulder and side intensified. He didn't even think it was possible for the pain to get worse, but unfortunately he was wrong. Bile burned the back of his throat as the pain threatened to send him into unconsciousness. The way the rope was situated, his shoulders were practically carrying all of the weight when the guys lifted, and he was straining and struggling to continue holding on.

Casey, Otis, and Cruz had all started to pull until a second later when they heard a gut-wrenching scream so intense it felt like it rattled the whole house, come from the basement. Casey knew it was Severide.

They carefully lowered the weight back to the basement, although they hadn't even gotten them that far off of the ground, as they heard Boden come over their radios, "Casey?! What in the hell is going on in there?"

"Not sure, Chief. We were trying to lift Severide and the kid out of the basement and Severide is injured. Us trying to pull him up must've aggravated it."

Boden took a deep breath, thinking for a brief second. The house was definitely unstable at this point. He needed his men out of there.

"Engine 51, get a line in the house and hold off the fire while we get our guy out."

"Copy that, Chief." Herrmann shouted.

Boden quickly put his mask on and rushed into the house.

"Casey! The house is unstable. We have to get Severide out of there now!"

"I know, Chief! Let me just go down to him and get the boy and then I'll have to figure out how to get Severide back up—"

Casey was cut off when he heard Severide yelling to them, "No, Casey!" Severide paused, thinking about if he actually wanted to tell the guys his injuries, but decided to just tell them the bare minimum. The reason he couldn't use his left arm. "I think I dislocated my shoulder. I can pop it back in and then I should be able to lift Andrew to you or get situated on the rope so you guys can pull us up."

Casey sighed, "Damn it. Dislocations are painful. Severide, I can come down and help!"

"Casey! If you come down here, you're just one more person they have to bring up. Just give me 30 seconds. I watched some of my teammates get their shoulders popped back in when I played volleyball in high school. I've got this." Severide said, trying to display confidence.

Casey and Boden reluctantly gave in. Severide put Andrew down, but noticing the little boy start to cough, he took off his mask and put it on Andrew for a minute to give him some fresh oxygen. He then stood leaning his back against a wooden beam in the middle of the unfinished basement, far from the burning walls. He knew this was going to hurt like hell and he might need the beam to help him stay standing. He had failed to mention that all of the guys he had watched get their shoulders popped in had some type of pain meds to ease the pain and it was still almost unbearable.

Severide took a deep breath. He used his right arm to grab the wrist of his left, and pulled it forward and straight. Any movement caused sharp, shooting pains through his arm and he felt the sweat beading on his brow as he clenched his back teeth together. Finally, while unable to stop himself from letting out an anguished howl, he felt the ball slip back into his shoulder socket with a sickening click.

Immediately the sharp pains were relieved, but they left a throbbing ache in their place. Severide was just glad he didn't have unbearable pain shooting through his shoulder and arm anymore. However, he still could barely move his left arm, which was concerning, but he didn't have time to think about that now.

He put his mask back on and picked Andrew back up, tucking him back into his turnout coat, as he told him "alright buddy, we're getting out of here and I'll take you to your mom and brother. Okay?"

Andrew looked up at Severide with his soft blue eyes and nodded enthusiastically, wrapping his arms around Severide's neck without even needing to be told to this time.

Severide yelled up through the hole, "I got it! I'm going to try the rope again. I'm not putting it under my arms this time though. Get ready to pull!"

Casey and Boden grabbed onto the rope along with Otis and Cruz.

"Alright, go!" Severide called.

The guys started pulling, and after a few agonizing seconds, Severide, holding Andrew made it to the top of the hole. They pulled them the rest of the way up, being careful of Severide's shoulder.

When Severide was finally out of that hell hole, Casey reached to try and take Andrew from Severide to carry him outside. Andrew squeezed onto Severide harder.

"I've got him, Casey. I can carry him outside. Let's just get out of here."

Casey nodded and held onto Severide's right arm to help support him. He could tell Severide was unsteady on his feet, and he was limping.

They emerged from the house and Andrew looked around, finally spotting his mom. He wiggled in Severide's arms until Severide put him down and he ran into his mom's arms.

Julie was standing next to Ambulance 61 where her mother and Noah were getting checked out. Another ambulance had already taken the babysitter to the hospital for smoke inhalation. Julie had burst into tears when she saw Andrew tucked safely in Severide's arms.

Boden started yelling orders to Engine 51 to put out the fire as Casey started to guide Severide towards Ambo 61.

Julie came up to them before they made it there. "I don't know how to thank you for saving my babies. They are my whole world. You are our heroes!"

Severide was trying to think of a cohesive response but his heart had suddenly started pounding. He thought it was the adrenaline wearing off, but then he got dizzy and nauseous. He coughed into the back of his hand and was surprised when he saw speckles of blood as he pulled his hand away. He swayed on his feet, then turned to the side and lost the contents of his stomach as he collapsed to his knees.

"Severide?" Casey called to him, but Severide barely heard him. He felt like Casey was a million miles away. His vision turned blurry as black spots danced in front of his eyes. Finally, he gave into the darkness.

Hope y'all enjoyed! Please leave a review and let me know what you thought!