After a fitful sleep Kelly clambered out of bed and padded down the hallway, the events of the previous day were still torturing him. He and Matt talked for hours the previous night but hadn't managed to reach a solution, after all this wasn't something you could just stick a bandaid on , helping Sonny was going to be a long hard process but they would never give up on him.

As Kelly headed into the living room once again he was met with the sight of Matt and Sonny perched at opposite ends of the sofa watching cartoons, Kelly wondered if it was Matt who was keeping the distance, as much as it pained him to see Matt so unsure of himself he admired how the blonde always prioritised Sonny's feelings and wellbeing over his own. Kelly wished Matt knew what a great father he was.

"Good morning, watching sponge-bob without me again I see" chuckled Kelly as he placed two freshly brewed cups of coffee on the table.

"Maybe you shouldn't sleep in so late" Casey retorted causing Sonny to grin, the teen offered Kelly a small wave before turning his attention back towards the television.

"It's only six am" replied Kelly incredulously with a big goofy grin of his own. He was relieved to see both Matt and Sonny smiling but he could tell from their worn out appearances that they too were still struggling after their traumatic shopping trip. Unsurprisingly Sonny appeared to be the worst affected, he had dark bags underneath his eyes and he was hugging his knees tightly to his chest as his eyes followed the brightly coloured characters on the screen. While Matt only looked slightly better, his smile was tense and his eyes kept shifting towards Sonny to check the boy was still ok. They slipped into a comfortable silence as Kelly settled down in between them.

"Is Stella coming over again?" Asked sonny when the cartoon was replaced by dull adverts.

"Do you want her to?" Questioned Kelly, he had a feeling he already knew the answer but he wanted to make sure he hadn't got the wrong end of the stick. The teen stared at the tv gnawing at his lip as he contemplated his response, he liked Stella there was something about her that made Sonny feel like he could trust her, he wondered if it was because she reminded him of an older version of Eve and the few memories he had left of his mother. However he wasn't so sure how she felt about him, unlike Matt she had no obligation to stick around, she could leave anytime. At first Sonny hadn't understood why Kelly had stuck around especially after all the trouble he had caused, but in the end he reached the conclusion that Kelly was sticking around for Matt. He hadn't quite figured out the two men's relationship yet but regardless of what they were, he knew they loved each other unconditionally , whether as friends or something more.

"Sonny?" Prompted Kelly as the teen had remained quiet for a long time.

"Does she like coming over?" Wondered Sonny as he looked towards Kelly ignoring the butterflies fluttering around in his stomach.

"Yeah I think she does" Kelly replied honestly, Sonny seemed quite fond of Stella and he was pretty sure she felt the same way. Despite the importance of Sonny having a female presence around Kelly had been apprehensive about involving Stella, he hadn't wanted Matt to think he was trying to replace Hallie. However Kelly's worries were put to rest when Matt suddenly piped up, he'd been watching his son intently and he could see the longing in his eyes.

"How about Kelly gives her a call later to see what she's up to?" Suggested Matt, instantly sonny nodded his head enthusiastically. Kelly smiled and headed into the kitchen to call Stella.

"How long has been awake?" Inquired Kelly when Sonny disappeared off to the toilet, his question elicited a groan from the blonde who looked at him with a tired expression.

"He headed downstairs at 3am, I'm not even convinced he went to sleep Kelly" sighed Matt, he hadn't gotten any sleep either as he couldn't stop thinking about how scared his son had looked. The thing that terrified Matt the most was that there was a high chance that they'd see Sonny like that again. He hated seeing his baby boy so distressed.

"He doesn't look like he's doing so good, I don't know what to do"continued Matt worry lacing his voice.

"Matt I don't think anyone would expect him to be doing great, he's grieving" reminded Kelly, both men shared a deep hatred towards Ryder but they also understood that even though he was a monster he was the man who raised Sonny, naturally the young teen was going to struggle with his death. Kelly wondered if it would have been easier if Ryder was outwardly horrible instead of manipulative.

"You're right, I just hate seeing him so... miserable",

"I know but things won't be like this forever Matt, life's going to get better" promised Kelly and he believed his words with his whole heart, he had to, that belief was the one thing keeping him going.

Stella arrived a couple of hours later carrying an Apple pie made by none other than Cindy Herrmann. Stella had been overjoyed when she'd received Kelly's call even if it was incredibly early, she adored spending time with the little unconventional family, she already felt happier and more at home with them than she ever had with her parents. As soon as she stepped into the room not only did Sonny relax but Matt did too, having the woman around made their conversations feel more natural, unlike Kelly and Matt she didn't have any memories of little four year old Sonny, she met him as a quirky fourteen year old, she never grieved his disappearance.

As they sat at the kitchen table helping them selves to the delicious pie no one mentioned how Sonny practically inhaled his piece or how he stared at the food as if it would disappear, Matt and Kelly briefly shared a concerned look but silently agreed to discuss it later, they seemed to be having a lot of difficult late night conversations recently; Kelly had a horrible feeling that that wouldn't change any time soon.

Once They cleaned up their plates Sonny curled up on the sofa and began doodling contently in his note book, Kelly peered over the boys shoulder to look at the drawing of the fern that sat proudly in the corner of the room, it had been a gift from Stella, she claimed it helped brighten up the place.

"Wow sonny that's brilliant, you should draw me next I'm way more interesting than a plant" laughed Severide, instantly Sonny's head jerked up and he stared at the man in disbelief .

"Really?" he asked in a timid voice, Kelly felt a twinge in his heart as he saw hope lingering in the boys eyes.

"Well yeah of course, if you wanted too" replied Kelly he'd been joking originally but if for some odd reason Sonny genuinely wanted to draw him, he wasn't going to say no.

"I don't know why you'd want to draw him" laughed Stella earning a glare from Kelly, but Sonny didn't notice he was elated by Kelly's offer.

"I haven't been able to draw a lot of people up close before" admitted Sonny trying and failing to push away his excitement, he didn't want to get his hopes because at any point Kelly could change his mind. But little did sonny know that Kelly would never go back on his word, the firefighter would move heaven and earth for the blonde teen.

"Stop moving" urged Sonny in a voice full of happiness as he beamed down at his notebook, he'd been sketching Kelly for the past ten minutes when the man had started laughing.

"I'm sorry I was watching sponge-bob" admitted Kelly sheepishly as he gestured towards the tv, he'd always had a short attention span, staying as still as statue for more than five seconds felt impossible . But the way Sonny poked his tongue out to one side in concentration and the joy sparkling in his eyes made it worth while.

"Don't make me turn it off" joked Sonny feigning annoyance . Matt's heart was bursting with relief and happiness as he watched Kelly goofing around and Sonny laughing. Kelly was right, they were going to be ok.