A/N: Hey guys! I know it has been a little longer than usual, but this chapter has given me a hard time. I'm trying to get where I want to go with it, without skipping too much ahead at once, so the beginning of this chapter is going to be a lot of dialogue and filler stuff. It's not my favorite thing to post, but it's the best way I could figure out to do what I want with it. I tried to write the scenes I would want to see if this story was an episode, so, I hope it's okay and not too slow. And it's an extra long chapter so hopefully that will make up for it taking longer to be posted.

Don't worry though! I have plenty left in store for Kelly and the crew in this story!

I want to point out that I am not a medical professional, I've done a ton of research for this story though, so I hope nothing is too weird.

I also want to point out that I do not watch Chicago Med (or P.D. except for the crossover episodes lol), so I am only using Will Halstead from when I've seen him on Fire. So, later in this chapter when another doctor is in the picture, they are a character I've made up, and if you hate them, I totally get it (you'll understand when you read this chapter). Just know that I am only using Halstead for the character and the rest of what happens at Chicago Med in this story is probably nothing like the show lol.

Disclaimer: I don't own Chicago Fire or its characters.

Hope y'all enjoy this chapter.

Chapter 3:

The next day was a whirlwind of visitors. Kidd stayed by Severide's side, encouraging everyone to talk to Kelly and let him know they were there. All the guys from firehouse 51 were there. They all came into Severide's room to visit, the squad members staying longer than the others, clearly concerned for their lieutenant. And after visiting Severide, they all lingered in the waiting room.

Casey ended up having to go tell them they could go home, as there was nothing else they could do in the hospital waiting room. He felt like a hypocrite saying that considering he slept in the waiting room last night.

Kidd had noticed that Casey had shown up right as visiting hours started, and she had a feeling that he didn't even leave the hospital last night.

When Kidd and Casey got a minute alone with Severide, Kidd spoke up.

"Hey, Casey? I think it's time to tell everyone about my pregnancy."

Casey smiled at her, "I think that's a great idea."

"I was also thinking, you know with Kelly still in the hospital and me being pregnant, it might be good for me to take an administrative position, like in the bullpen or something, until the baby is born. I don't want to do anything to risk me or the baby's health."

"I understand, Kidd. We'll miss you on truck for the time being, but I know you're doing what is best for you and the baby, and Severide."

"Let's gather everyone together later today and I'll tell them. I want to tell Boden first though."

"Sounds good, Kidd. I'll let everyone know to all stop by later."

A few minutes later, Boden stopped by.

"Hey, Chief. Great timing." Casey said, looking towards Kidd.

"Yeah, I actually have something to tell you." She paused and looked down at Kelly, grabbing his hand. "I found out yesterday that Kelly and I are pregnant."

Boden's face broke into a huge grin, "that's great news!"

"Thanks. I'm going to tell everyone else from the firehouse later. I'm already around 20 weeks along, but I didn't find out until yesterday. So, I'm thinking it would be best, for me, Kelly, and the baby, if I took an administrative position until I have the baby. I hope that's okay."

"Of course, Kidd. We'll always allow you to do what's best for you and the baby. We've been needing extra hands in the bullpen, so I'm sure it won't be a problem to move you there until your baby is born. We just need to find a replacement for truck until you come back."

"Thanks, Chief. If it would help, I could stay on truck on light duty until you and Casey can find a replacement."

"That would actually be great, thanks Kidd."

Boden talked to Severide and visited with Kidd and Casey for a few more minutes before excusing himself.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Later that day, Kidd walked outside to meet their 51 family. Casey had gathered them all, and offered to sit with Severide while Kidd gave them the good news.

They all exchanged hugs with her and asked for updates on Severide.

"No change so far, but the doctors were talking about weaning him off of the sedation medication starting tonight so he can start to wake up. That's finally some good news. He's not out of the woods by any means, but we're getting there."

She paused and then added, "But I do have some good news," she smiled and looked towards Brett and Foster, her support system. "Kelly and I are pregnant."

Everyone broke into smiles and congratulations.

"Stella! When did you find out?" Brett asked, giving Kidd a huge hug.

"Yesterday. I was actually here for an appointment when Casey called me about Kelly. I'm already around 20 weeks along, but I didn't know until yesterday."

"That's great news! We're so happy for you!" Brett said excitedly.

"Thank you! I appreciate all of you. I wanted to let you all know because I'm going to be taking an administrative position until I give birth."

Boden spoke up, "Yes, Kidd will be working in the bullpen at 51. She has off next shift, so she can stay with Severide over the next few days, since they're going to wean him off of the sedation meds. Then, the shift after that she'll be on light duty on truck to give us some time to find someone to fill her spot. She'll be back on truck after she has the baby."

"Thanks again, Chief. Kelly and I really appreciate everything all of you are doing for us."

"No thanks necessary, Kidd." Boden replied.

"Yeah, Kidd. You guys are family," Herrmann chimed in, "we even have the boot out at the house and we're going to have a fundraiser for you and Severide at Molly's."

Tears sprung to Kidd's eyes, and she half blamed them on the pregnancy hormones. "Thank you, guys, so much. I'll call with any updates on Kelly as they wean him off the medication."

"We're looking forward to hearing from you." Boden said.

"Sending thoughts and prayers to you and Severide. We'll stop by again after next shift." Herrmann added.

Kidd walked back to Severide's room, and she couldn't help but feel a warmth inside of her. The group at 51 were some of the most genuine and supportive people. She was lucky and overjoyed to be a part of their family.

She went back into Severide's room to find Casey holding Severide's hand and talking to him.

Casey's back was to the door, but she could hear bits and piece of what he was saying.

He was telling Kelly how much he was needed, he's Matt's best friend, his baby needs him, he has to fight. And she agreed with it all.

She knew it was tearing Casey up that he had to leave Severide and go on shift tomorrow.

She also knew, based on what a couple of the guys from the firehouse said, that Casey blamed himself for not getting down to the basement and to Severide quicker, especially after he knew he was injured.

She cleared her throat to let Casey know she was back.

He turned and said "Oh, hey, Kidd. I was just talking to him."

"Casey, I know you're beating yourself up for not getting him out sooner. Please don't—"

He cut her off, "I should've gone down there myself. Maybe if I had he wouldn't be laying here right now." He looked back down at Severide, lying motionless in the hospital bed.

"You can't do that to yourself, Casey. I know, and Kelly knows, that you did everything you could to get him out of there. If you had gone down there, it might be both of you laying in hospital beds. Cruz even told me that Kelly specifically told you not to go down to the basement with him."

"Well, yeah, he did. But I shouldn't have listened to him. I should've done more—"

"Casey, stop. Look at me," she waited until he brought his eyes to meet hers, "Severide loves you like a brother, and he wouldn't want you beating yourself up over a call. You know that."

Casey nodded. "Yeah, I know." He paused for a second, then added, "I'm going to stay for a little bit longer, and then I'll head out. I've got shift tomorrow."

"Sounds good, Casey. I promise you'll be the first I call with any updates."

"Thanks, Kidd. For everything."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Overnight and the next morning, the doctors weaned Severide off the the sedation medication.

"We want to let Kelly wake up and see how he feels. The incision site on his abdomen looks good, but we're still worried about some other complications. Taking him off of the ventilator was a great first step." Halstead had told Kidd. "You can expect him to start waking up today, but he might not be fully coherent until the next couple of days. We also don't have him on any pain meds right now. We want him to wake up and tell us what he needs and make sure he feels pain. So when he wakes, he might be agitated and in pain. Just press the call button for a nurse and we'll come check on him."

"Thank you, Will." Kidd said

She sent Casey a quick text, summarizing what Halstead had told her.

Then she sat and waited, talking to Severide. Encouraging him to wake up. She waited, eager to see those gorgeous baby blues that she loved so much. She hoped their baby had its daddy's eyes.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Come on, baby. We need you to wake up."

Severide heard the sweet voice of the girl he loved, and he was trying desperately to open his eyes and see her face.

"Casey is beating himself up about this. I need you to talk some sense into him."

Severide wondered why Casey would be beating himself up. Then he thought for a minute about where he was and what had happened.

It came back in bits and pieces.

House fire. Little boy in the basement. Stair collapse. And then he was here.

Here must be a hospital. And given the way Kidd was talking to him, he'd been out for a while.

"Me and our sweet baby need you, Kelly. Come back to me, baby."

Severide fought to open his eyes, but they didn't want to cooperate. Then he thought about what Kidd had said. Baby? Our baby?

Severide was shocked, but also excited. And maybe a little bit terrified. He was going to be a dad?

He felt Kidd's hand loosely in his and tried to squeeze her hand, but as soon as he moved his left hand white hot pain shot through his arm and shoulder. He flashed back to the basement, when he had fallen with the stairs. Pain. So much pain.

He was able to open his eyes as the heart monitor started beeping.

He locked eyes with Stella and saw a surprised look on her face.

"Oh my god, Kelly." She remembered what Halstead had said about him not having any pain meds yet. "What hurts, baby?"

Severide tried to talk, but his throat felt like sandpaper, and just the little act of trying to tell Stella that it was his shoulder, sent him into a coughing fit.

"Hold on Kelly, they're coming." Stella said as she pressed the call button for the nurse.

As Severide writhed in bed, wincing and groaning, a couple nurses finally came in followed closely by Halstead.

"Hey, Kelly, what's going on buddy?" Halstead said.

Kidd answered, "His throat's dry. He had a coughing fit when he tried to talk. I felt his hand move and then he suddenly opened his eyes and started doing this and his heart rate increased. He tried to tell me what hurt when I asked but he couldn't talk."

"Alright, buddy. We're going to get some pain meds in you right now." Halstead called out to the nurses, letting them know what to give Severide. "You should be feeling better in just a second."

Within the next minute, they all saw Severide visibly relax, and his eyes closed again.

"This might happen a few times, coming in and out of consciousness. It's just his body waking him up. He should be more coherent next time, since we've given him some pain meds now."

"Thanks." Kidd said, suddenly exhausted. She collapsed back into the chair next to Severide's bed, burying her face in her hands. She couldn't stop the tears from flowing down her cheeks.

After composing herself, she checked her phone and realized it was already into the evening. She texted Casey, letting him know she had an update, but told him that it would be easier to explain over the phone.

Then she laid her head down on Severide's bed, still holding his hand in case he came to again, and closed her eyes.

She must've dozed off because the next thing she knew, she heard a knock on the door and opened her eyes to see Casey walking into the hospital room.

"Casey? Did I miss your call?! I'm sorry, I must've dozed off—"

"Kidd, slow down. I didn't call you. I got your text and we were on a call in the area so I told the guys I wanted to stop by before visiting hours were over. I'm sorry I woke you, you look tired."

"No it's okay. I wanted to be awake in case Kelly woke up again."

"He woke up?" Casey eagerly asked.

"Yeah, it was pretty eventful…" Kidd spent the next few minutes telling Casey what had happened.

"Man, I'm sorry you had to be here and go through that alone. Hopefully next time he wakes up he won't be in pain like that."

"I hope not. It was horrible to see him like that."

Casey glanced over at Severide and noticed his eyelids fluttering.

He took a step towards the bed and grabbed Severide's hand.

"Kelly? Hey, buddy, it's Matt. Can you hear me?"

After a few minutes Severide finally opened his eyes. He opened his mouth to talk, but Kidd stopped him. "One second, Kelly. Let me get you some ice chips."

She called the nurse and asked for ice, and when they brought it, Kidd spooned a few spoonfuls into Severide's mouth.

"Better?"

"Better." He agreed, voice still scratchy and hoarse, but at least now he could talk.

Casey and Kidd both smiled at him. "We're glad you're back." Casey told him.

"We were so worried about you, Kelly." Kidd said as she leaned down and gave him a kiss on the forehead.

Severide unexpectedly used his good arm to reach towards Kidd's stomach. "Did I hear you say something about our baby?"

Kidd nodded as tears sprung to her eyes, "yes, Kelly. We're pregnant. I'm already around 20 weeks. I only found out a few days ago, the same day you had your accident."

Kelly was beyond excited. He didn't even know what to say. He carefully leaned over and kissed Stella's belly as tears came to his eyes. "Is it a boy or a girl?" He asked.

Kidd laughed, "I don't know yet. I was so surprised when I found out I didn't even think to ask. I wouldn't want to find out without you anyways!"

Casey spoke up, "we're all excited for you, buddy. Kidd is on light duty on truck until we find someone to take her spot, then she's taking an administrative position until she has the baby. We don't want her doing anything that will risk her or the baby's health."

"Thank you for taking care of her, Matt. I don't know what I would do without you. And can I ask you a favor?"

"Of course. Anything."

"Stop blaming yourself for what happened to me on that call."

Casey opened his mouth to argue when Severide stopped him, "seriously. I made the decisions I did, the stairs collapsed, it was a freak accident. That's all. There's nothing you or anyone else could've done about it. We could Monday morning quarterback every call, but it doesn't help anything. It's done, what happened, happened, and it wasn't your fault at all, okay?"

Casey nodded at him, "okay. Thanks, Kelly. I better get back on shift, but we'll all be back to check on you tomorrow after shift is over. We love you, buddy."

"I love you guys too. Tell everyone I said thanks for everything."

Casey left and Severide looked at Kidd with a genuine smile on his face. "I can't believe you're pregnant. I'm so happy!"

"I know, me too! I wouldn't want to have a baby with anyone but you, Kelly. I love you so much."

"I love you too, Stella."

Severide's eyelids suddenly got heavy, and he was asleep within the next few minutes. Now that Kidd had a chance to talk to him, she was feeling a lot better, and she wasn't far behind him falling asleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next day, everyone from the firehouse went to the hospital after shift.

The doctors had moved Kelly to a regular room, which allowed for more visitors for a longer period of time, and the guys from the firehouse were taking full advantage of that.

They were all so happy and relieved that Severide was awake and seemed to be okay. They were hanging out, talking, and joking around the whole morning and even into the afternoon.

Severide was glad to have his buddies here. They knew how to put him in a good mood and he felt so much better with them around. Except for the fact that doing anything, even walking to the bathroom of repositioning himself, made it difficult to catch his breath and made him exhausted. He didn't want to worry everyone though, so he chalked it up to the fact that he had been out for a few days.

The guys had just gotten done telling Severide a story about something that had happened at the firehouse, and they were all laughing about it. The laugh turned into a deep, dry, rattling cough that sent sharp pains through Severide's chest.

When he got done coughing, he noticed everyone staring at him.

"What was that?" Kidd asked, especially concerned.

"Just a cough, Stel. I'm okay." Severide answered

Stella raised her eyebrows at him as the guys started chuckling. They all knew that Severide would never tell them if something was wrong.

Stella then started scowling at Casey and the rest of the guys, "don't encourage him, guys."

That made everyone laugh harder, even Severide, and the cough came back. He tried to hold it off, but he was struggling.

"You guys need to stop making me laugh." Severide said, holding his hand over his chest.

Stella didn't say anything. She was worried about that cough. The guys, minus Casey, took their leave, sending Severide well wishes and telling him they'd be back later or tomorrow to visit again.

When it was just Severide, Casey, and Kidd left, Kidd brought up the cough again, "Kelly, I'm concerned about that cough."

"Yeah, it sounds pretty nasty." Casey added, and Kidd appreciated him agreeing with her.

Severide sighed, "guys, I'm okay. It's just a cough. I'll tell you if I don't feel right or I'm getting worse, I promise." He gave Stella a genuine smile, and she smiled back.

"Yeah, I'm holding you to it. Me and our baby need you, so no messing around with injuries anymore. Deal?"

"Deal. So, when can we find out the gender?"

This time, Stella laughed out loud. She loved how excited Severide was about them having a baby.

"We will soon."

Halstead knocked and came into the room, "Hey, guys. How are you doing Kelly?"

"I'm good. When can I get out of here?"

Stella frowned at Severide, and Casey laughed.

"He's got a cough. It sounds pretty nasty." Stella told Halstead, truthfully.

"We'll keep an eye on it, but it's normal to have a cough after being intubated and on a ventilator. I wouldn't be too worried." Then he spoke to Kelly, "I'm afraid you aren't getting out of here for the next few days. We need to do an MRI on your shoulder and see what the extent of the damage is after you dislocated it."

Severide sighed.

"That's actually what I came down here to check on. How is your shoulder?"

"It's still a little painful. It's hard to move it a lot, especially to raise my arm."

"How would you describe the pain? Is it better or worse at night or when you're resting it?"

"It's like an ache in my shoulder. Usually it's worse at night, sometimes it makes it hard to sleep. Isn't that common for dislocations?"

"Yeah, it's pretty common, but I'm going to order a shoulder ultrasound and possibly an MRI just to make sure there isn't any more damage. It's common to have other injuries that are associated with a dislocated shoulder. We just want to be safe."

Severide nodded as Halstead started to leave, saying "a nurse should be by soon to get you the ultrasound."

Severide was disappointed. He was ready to get back to work, and he knew shoulder injuries could be nasty. He was hoping that nothing serious was wrong.

Casey put his hand on Severide's good shoulder and said, "hey, buddy, you're going to bounce back from this. You know we'll be here and help you every step of the way."

"I know. Thanks, Casey."

A few minutes later a nurse came and got him to take him for the ultrasound. Stella gave him a kiss on the forehead and, noticing the worried look on his face, whispered to him, "Whatever it is, it'll be okay. I know shoulder injuries worry you, but you are one of the toughest guys I know. You'll make it back to being squad lieutenant in no time!"

"Thanks, baby. Thank you for always being here for me and encouraging me. I love you."

"I love you too."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A few hours later, Severide had fallen asleep, exhausted after just getting up to get in the wheelchair to get taken for an ultrasound.

Kidd asked Casey quietly, "do you think something is wrong with Kelly?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, he's been getting fatigued so easily, and his cough sounds bad. He also hasn't eaten much since yesterday."

"I've noticed that he was struggling to catch his breath anytime he gets up or repositions himself in the bed. I just thought it was the smoke inhalation or from him being on the ventilator."

"I don't know, I'm worried it could be something else. Remember what Will said? It's very likely for him to have some kind of complication. I'm just worried, I guess."

"I think you have valid concerns. We can talk to Halstead if it would make you more comfortable."

"Yeah, that's a good idea."

Kidd used the call button to call one of the nurses. After a few minutes they came in and Kidd asked, "Can we see Dr. Halstead, please?"

"He's off shift for a couple days."

"Then can we talk to the doctor is who's taking care of Kelly, please."

"I'll see if he's available."

The nurse turned to leave, and Kidd spoke up, "it's urgent that we speak to him. We have some concerns about Kelly."

"I'll let him know." The nurse said and left.

"What just happened?" Kidd asked.

"I'm don't have any idea," Casey responded, "but I'll text or call Will if I need to."

Kidd reluctantly replied, "no, it's okay. We can just keep an eye on him for now."

A little while later, both Kidd had dozed off, and Casey was standing leaned against the wall, keeping an eye on Severide.

There was a knock on the door and the doctor walked in, Kidd quickly waking when she heard the knock.

"You wanted to speak with me?" He asked.

"What's your name?" Casey asked the doctor.

"Dr. Jameson."

"Alright, Dr. Jameson. We're concerned about our friend, Kelly. We've noticed some fatigue, trouble catching his breath, and he has a bad cough."

"Right now, that's nothing I would be too concerned about—"

Kidd interrupted, "Dr. Halstead told us that Kelly's injuries have a very high risk of complications."

"Well, as I was saying," the doctor started, glaring at Kidd, "the things you are describing are normal for someone who was intubated, on a ventilator, and in a medically induced coma. I've actually reviewed Mr. Severide's charts, who is my patient now, by the way, and I was planning on discharging him tomorrow."

"What?! No… no way. He's not ready to be discharged. He's still in too fragile of a state." Kidd argued.

Severide was wide awake by now, but he was just listening. This new doctor was giving him bad vibes.

The doctor continued, "That's for me to determine. His incision site is healing and looks good, he's off of the ventilator and oxygen. And he needs to see an orthopedic surgeon about his shoulder, but he doesn't have to stay here to do that."

Kidd started to raise her voice, "but we just told you some concerning symptoms he's having!"

"And I told you that I'm not concerned about those at this moment. Don't make me call security on you, miss."

Kidd was shocked, she started to speak again, but Severide spoke up from the bed, "Wait. An orthopedic surgeon for my shoulder?"

The doctor acknowledged his patient for the first time since coming into the room, "Oh, you haven't gotten your ultrasound results yet?"

Severide shook his head, unable to speak. A surgeon was not good news.

"Well, it seems you have a complete tear of your rotator cuff. In your line of work, surgery is probably the best option, and even then, you might be riding a desk until retirement."

Kidd and Casey watched Severide's face completely fall.

"Hey, man. That is completely unnecessary! You don't talk to a patient like that. You obviously don't know Kelly Severide. He's coming back to the firehouse and we're all going to help him make it back and working. That's a promise." Casey said through clenched teeth.

Kidd was glad they had Casey here and in their corner. He was so protective over Severide.

"I'm just being reasonable. Rotator cuff tears and shoulder dislocations are both difficult injuries to come back from, but having them together would be even harder, especially being a firefighter, but I'd love him to prove me wrong. Anyways, I've got a lot of other patients that I need to tend to. We're going to send you home in a sling until you can see an orthopedics doctor. A nurse will be by in the morning with the discharge paperwork."

The doctor turned and left, and Severide, Kidd, and Casey were all left speechless.

After a minute Casey looked at Severide and said, "Don't listen to him, okay? You're coming back to the firehouse, and I'm making sure of it. It's not even a question. We're going to talk to Halstead when he gets back, and he'll refer you to a great surgeon. We'll do everything we can to help you."

"It's okay, Casey. Maybe I should just transfer to OFI. I've helped them on a lot of cases and Van Meter has been wanting me over there for a while." Severide uttered, defeated.

Tears filled Kidd's eyes. She was half furious at that doctor, and half heartbroken that he was able to bring Severide's future to a halt with two sentences.

"Hey, baby," she said and gently lifted Severide's chin so his eyes would meet hers, "we're going to figure this out, and we don't have to think about the job situation right now. What matters right now is getting you better, and then being the best mommy and daddy for our baby."

"Yeah. You're right."

"I can't believe they want to discharge you tomorrow. There is no way—"

Kidd was interrupted by Severide, "Stella, I know you're worried about me, but I just want to go home."

"We're going to be on shift the day after tomorrow, and I won't be there to make sure you're okay."

"You can send someone to check on me if you need to, but I'll keep in touch with you throughout your shift. I'd feel better at home though."

Kidd was stuck between a rock and a hard place. She wanted Severide to be happy and comfortable, but she really didn't want him to leave the hospital. She looked at Casey, hoping he'd have an idea.

"If we let you go home, you have to keep in touch with us. We'll send Donna or Cindy by to check on you." Casey said.

Kidd added, "and you have to promise to tell us if you feel bad or even if you just feel different. Kelly, we have to know what's going on with you. No more secrets or keeping things from us. I don't care what it is, I need to know stuff."

Severide nodded, "okay, you've got a deal. I promise I will let you know if something is off with me."

That didn't completely make Kidd feel better about it, but it was a start. Kelly Severide always kept his promises. Stella just had to hope that would be enough.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next morning, the nurse brought the discharge papers, and as much as Kidd wasn't comfortable with Severide being discharged, at least she would have the rest of the day at home with him to make sure he was okay.

The drove home, and the rest of the day were uneventful. Severide and Kidd laid on the couch watching their favorite movies. Casey had a few errands to run, and then he stayed with Severide while Kidd went to the grocery store. She wanted to make sure Severide would have everything he needed the next day when he was home alone.

The next morning, Kidd was anxious about leaving Severide.

"Are you sure you'll be okay? Do you have everything you need? There's some stuff you can eat in the fridge and pantry. Make sure you take your pain meds. Does your sling feel okay?" She was shooting questions at him frantically.

"Stella." He paused until she stopped and looked at him, "I will be okay. I have all of your phone numbers, and Donna and Cindy's if you guys are at a call or something. I know where the food is. The only thing is I still have the cough, a little shortness of breath, and I'm tired. The same things I had yesterday, and the doc wasn't worried. I'm good, baby. You go to work and have a great shift, and I'll be waiting for you to get back." He gave her a wink.

She rolled her eyes at him. "I don't really think that I'm going to take that doctor's word to heart, but okay. Oh by the way, I made an appointment for next week to find out the gender of the baby."

"Seriously?!" He exclaimed.

"Yes." She laughed, "I can't wait to find out what it's going to be."

"Me either!" He said as he pulled her in for a quick kiss.

Casey came out of his room and grabbed a cup of coffee to-go. "I'll see you tomorrow, Kelly. Text or call us if you need anything." He told him.

"Don't worry. I already have you and Stella in a group text message together so I can update you both at the same time."

This time they all three laughed, followed by that deep cough from Severide.

Stella looked at him with concern. He shook his head at her, "Don't. I'm okay. I'll let you know if I'm not. I promise. Now, you guys better go before you're late to shift."

He gave Casey a friendly clap on the shoulder and said, "see you tomorrow, buddy. You guys stay safe."

"Will do, Severide. See you tomorrow."

"I expect an update at least every couple of hours. I love you, Kelly." Kidd told Severide.

"I love you too," Severide told her and gave her a kiss on the forehead. Then he put his hand on her barely showing stomach, "and I love you, little one." He said softly.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Throughout the day, Severide mostly stayed on the couch. He got up to get something to eat and use the restroom, but everytime he got up, he had a hard time catching his breath once he sat back down. His chest started hurting whenever he got up and was breathing hard, or when he coughed.

He thought his cough was getting a little worse throughout the day, but then he thought it might all be in his head. What wasn't in his head was the fact that he was coughing up mucus now.

It was in the evening when he decided he would take a nap, and if he felt worse after that he would tell Casey and Kidd.

He let them know that he was going to sleep for a little while, and Kidd answered telling him she loved him and to text her when he woke up.

He smiled to himself. He knew she was trying not to be overbearing, but honestly, it felt good to have someone care about him like Stella does.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was late at night when the men and women of firehouse 51 got done at a call of a structure fire. Luckily no victims were inside and they knocked the fire down pretty quickly.

As soon as they pulled back into the firehouse, Kidd checked her phone, expecting a text or call from Severide. It had been hours since he texted her and Casey that he was going to take a nap.

She pressed the on button on her phone. No notifications.

She caught up to Casey in the common room.

"Have you heard from Severide?" She asked him.

"Not since he told us he was going to sleep for a little while."

"Me either. I'm starting to get worried."

"You know he's been tired and taking a couple hour naps at a time. I'm sure he's alright. Remember he promised us that he would text or call if something was wrong…"

"I know. But what if something happened and he can't?"

"You want me to send Donna or Cindy to check on him?"

"It would make me feel a lot better." She said, truthfully.

"Okay, no problem. I'll call Donna first and ask her."

"Thanks, Casey."

Casey called Donna, who said she'd be glad to go check on Severide, while Kidd tried to call Severide. She got no answer.

She sent him a text asking if he was okay and waited for an answer as a feeling of dread settled in the pit of her stomach.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Severide awoke shivering, but he felt his body and the sheets beneath him drenched in sweat.

He glanced towards the clock on the night table and noticed it had gotten late. He pulled the covers up over him. He was cold, but he was sweating profusely. He knew that meant he had a fever.

He closed his eyes again, until he started coughing and coughed up mucus that he almost got choked on. He grabbed a tissue and spit in it.

Suddenly his phone started vibrating on the night table and he reached to get it. He ended up knocking it onto the floor, and although he didn't feel like it, he knew he needed to get up and get it. It could be Stella or Casey.

He sat up and put his feet on the floor, but before he could even stand, he got nauseous. He stumbled into the bathroom and lost the contents of his stomach in the toilet.

He couldn't stop himself from throwing up, but every time he heaved, he had a harder time catching his breath. He felt his heart pounding in his chest as he started shaking. He was freezing.

He needed to get his phone. He had to call Stella and let her know what was going on.

He barely had the strength to get back up, and he used his good arm and the wall to support him as he made his way back to the bed. He spotted his phone on the floor and grabbed it.

He was able to get himself back into bed as another wave of nausea hit him. He grabbed a little trash can from the floor and dry heaved into it. He didn't have anything left in his stomach to throw up. The dry heaving sent him into a coughing fit.

He turned his phone on and saw a text message from Stella.

It read: Hey. It's been a while. Are you okay?

He started to text back but wasn't able to send it before he got nauseous again and he had to hurry to the bathroom, dropping his phone on the floor again.

He dry heaved into the toilet and then curled up on the bathroom floor. The cool tile felt good against his hot skin, but it left him shivering.

This time, he didn't have the strength to get back up, so he crawled back into the bedroom. It was difficult using only his good arm, but he finally made it back to bed and got in it. He pulled the covers up to his chin and closed his eyes, trying to stop the nausea.

After a few minutes, he cracked open his eyes, looking for his phone, but as he tried to sit up to look for it, the coughing and shallow breathing got the best of him. He was exhausted and couldn't catch his breath after all the dry heaving.

He closed his eyes again, hoping that Casey and Kidd would send in the calvary soon. He hoped that Stella would know that he had tried to tell her something was wrong and that he didn't break his promise to her on purpose.

He was so weak and tired, but he was hoping and praying that he could fight this. He didn't know what was going on, but he knew he needed to be here for Casey, Stella, and his baby.

No one was there to hear it, but he made a promise right then and there that he and Stella's baby would have it's daddy growing up.

And he was going to do everything he could not to break that promise.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Donna Boden knocked on the door of Severide's place for a few minutes, even calling his name a few times. After receiving no answer, she used the key Casey had given her to let herself in.

She entered slowly, calling out to Kelly as she walked through the apartment. She didn't want to startle him if he was sleeping.

She saw a blanket on the couch and dishes in the sink as she walked towards the bedroom.

Upon entering the bedroom, she saw Kelly laying in bed, the covers pulled all the way up to his chin, but she noticed him shivering, even under all the covers. She walked up next to him and called his name.

"Kelly? It's Donna, Matt and Stella asked me to come check on you."

Kelly cracked open his eyes, "Donna?" He said weakly, just that simple word sending him into another coughing fit.

It was then that Donna noticed the sweat glistening on Kelly's forehead. She put her hand on his head and he was burning up.

She went to the bathroom to get him a cool washcloth and a thermometer and noticed the puke in the toilet.

She took his temperature. 104.3 degrees. Way too high. She quickly pulled her phone out and dialed 911. She told them what was going on and they said they'd send an ambulance.

She put the cool washcloth on Kelly's forehead while they waited for the ambulance.

"I need you to stay with me Kelly. An ambulance is on the way. You're going to be okay."

After the EMTs stared an IV with fluids and loaded up Kelly, Donna called Boden on the way to her car.

"Hey, Donna."

"Wallace. It's Kelly. Matt and Stella asked me to come check on him because he wasn't answering their texts or calls. He was in bed when I got here. He was burning up and was sweating, but was also having chills. He also has a bad cough, and he had thrown up. Stella and Matt need to get to the hospital now. They took him to Chicago Med." She said frantically.

"I'll tell them and we'll be there soon. Thank you, Donna. I love you."

"Just hurry. Love you too."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After getting off the phone with Donna, Boden rushed into the common room where most of his firefighters were winding down for the night. Everyone except Kidd and Casey, they were taking turns pacing across the room.

Kidd froze when she saw him enter the room, probably able to read his face.

"Donna called. We need to get to Med, it's Kelly. I'm taking 51 out of service. Everyone load up!"

Kidd felt her knees go weak and she nearly collapsed, but Casey grabbed her. "Let's get to the hospital and find out what's going on."

The rushed to the hospital, only to fill the waiting room, Kidd and Casey pacing until they got some news. Boden had asked a nurse at the desk, only to be told the doctor was still treating him.

Donna came into the waiting room and Stella rushed to her.

"What happened?"

Donna explained what she found when she went to the apartment. She also had grabbed Kelly's phone from the floor, so she gave it to Kidd. Kidd unlocked it and saw the message he had started to type back to her, but never got to send.

It read: Not feeling good. Something is wrong. I love you and our little peanut.

Kidd had tears in her eyes when she finished reading the message.

She showed it to Casey, "he tried to text me. He didn't get to send it for some reason. I guess he got too weak."

"I knew he wouldn't break his promise." Casey told her.

A little while later, as everyone waited in silence, the rude doctor Casey and Kidd had dealt with a few days before came into the waiting room.

Kidd wanted to roll her eyes and cuss him out, but she was desperate to hear news about Kelly.

"I assume you all are here for Kelly Severide?"

"Yes." Kidd said, biting her tongue to stop herself from saying more.

"Mr. Severide has pneumonia and severe sepsis, which is an infection, and in this case it seems to have come from the pneumonia. We have him getting IV fluids, and antibiotics. We have had to move him to the ICU, put him on a ventilator and in a medically induced coma. We've done all we can for now. I'm sorry, but I'm not giving him a good chance to make it through the night."

Casey turned and slammed his fist into the nearest wall, as everyone else looked at each other, stunned silent.

Stella Kidd's whole world fell apart in that moment as she sunk to the ground, tears freely flowing down her cheeks. She had her hand protectively wrapped around her stomach, where she was growing what could very well be the last piece she had left of her true love, Kelly Severide.

Well that's all for this chapter! I hope y'all enjoyed! Thank you for all the feedback so far! Y'all are the best!! :)