"Kelly!"
"I'm round the back."
She moved round the cabin quickly carrying as many bags as she could, the woman just returning from the grocery store with the supplies they'd need for the weekend. She'd been gone a couple of hours and was hoping that he'd have gotten the wood chopped before she'd got back. However him still being outside in the snow didn't give her much hope.
"Have you not finished yet?" She asked as she turned the corner, the sight before her stopping her in her tracks. "What's going on?"
"Hey" he said sheepishly, "I hope you don't mind the guys dropped in while you were out."
"Did you at least get the wood finished before you started on that lot?" she said indicating to the bottles of beer littering the ground around them.
"Of course, I even started the fire" he said pushing himself up to standing, grabbing a hold of some of the bags and helping her inside. "Come on then?" he shouted behind him when she'd yet to move.
"So they are?" she asked when she stepped inside.
"Phil, Mark and Pete. They own the cabins down the road, when they heard we were going to be here this weekend they decided to come say hey. You don't mind do you?"
"Of course not babe, they just caught me off guard that was all." She landed a passionate kiss on his lips, the force of it momentarily catching him off guard, his brain needing a second to catch up before he returned the gesture. The two pulling back only when it became absolutely necessary. "As long as they aren't planning on being here the entire weekend, we'll be good." She said, moving away to put some of the groceries in the pantry.
"They won't" Severide was quick to respond, the man leaning up against the counter as he handed her more stuff out of the bags.
"They better not" she spoke lightly, "otherwise you'll be missing out on the new underwear I brought especially for this trip.
"Oh really" he said, grabbing her by the waist and pulling her back towards him, the gleam in his eyes darkening when he saw her teasing smirk. "Maybe I need to tell them to leave now."
"Now, now, that would be rude." she teased, "but play your cards right and maybe later you'll be able to view some of it."
"Is that a promise?"
"Maybe" she said stringing the word out, placing a gentle kiss against his temple before wriggling out of his grip and returning to her previous task. "Now are they staying for lunch?"
"I don't really know, we didn't get much further than opening a couple of beers." "Stella raised her eyebrow at him as she passed, poking her head around the door to where they'd left his friends not long before, all of them still in the same spot as they were when they came inside. "Guys are you staying for lunch?"
The three of them looked between each other trying to gauge what the others were going to do. Stella sensed they were a little hesitant to interrupt the couples weekend break much longer, but she was also keen on not coming between her boyfriend and his friends.
"You're more than welcome to stay" she added when none of them gave her a response.
"In that case, yeah, why not" the taller of the three spoke. "I'm Mark" he introduced extending his hand out to shake hers.
"Hi Mark, it's nice to meet you."
"Pete" a short stumpy bloke spoke, his thick southern accent filling her ears, the two exchanging similar pleasantries as her and Mark had moments prior.
"Which would mean" Stella started turning towards the last man, this one slightly older then the rest his hair almost silver with how white it was, the winter sun reflecting off it making it glisten almost as brightly of the snow, "You must be Phil?"
"It's a pleasure. Stella?" he asked.
"Yeah, I'm Stella, Stella Kidd."
The four of them spent a few moments talking to each other before Stella asked if they'd like to join them inside and she'd whip something up for them to eat. "It's below freezing out here" she exclaimed as the men moved quickly. Mark grabbing the empties as he moved carefully through the snow, Stella stopping back to help him. The two of them chatting about the weather as they worked on cleaning up the outside of the cabin.
"So did you meet Kelly through here?" Stella asked as they moved into the wooden building.
"I've actually know Kelly since we were kids, our dads worked together."
"Your dads a firefighter?"
"Yeah, he worked out of fifty one with Benny back in the day. Me and Kelly here used to get into some mischief back then."
"Oh I don't doubt that" she chuckled, sparing a glance towards her boyfriend who was currently deep in conversation with Phil and Pete. "He causes mischief now too."
"Hey!" Kelly said pretending to be offended by her words. The lads all chuckling loudly at the gesture. "I don't know what you're all laughing about you got in just as much trouble as me and Mark here."
"Yeah, but we didn't get caught as often as you, and our dads weren't half as strict."
"I took the rap for you guys on more than one occasion." Severide said moving towards the kitchen, landing a soft kiss to Stella's temple before pulling some bits out for lunch.
"Sure you did Kel!" Phil said sarcastically.
"All your dads worked together?" Stella asked looking between the four men.
"Oh yes, and we could tell you some stories." Mark said.
Severide shaking his head as he focused his gaze upon the steaks he was currently peppering for lunch.
Kelly opened his eyes, the dimly lit room slowly coming into focus and the busy hospital moved around him. Glancing to the clock on the wall he could see it was just past seven am, meaning he'd gotten a few hours sleep at least. The night had been long between the nurses checking Stella's vitals every hour to the need to change her antibiotics IV and fluids twice in the night, not to mention the numerous times her pressures had crashed again, it had been about three am before he'd managed to drop off into anything more than a doze. The man still sitting vigilantly at her beside since yesterday mornings diagnosis, in the same way he had for just over a week. Adjusting his position on the chair, he felt his back crack multiple times, the man rolling out his sore limbs as he moved to kiss the woman's head.
"Good morning" he whispered. "It was a long night huh? I bet your feeling better now though, after all the antibiotics they gave you and the extra fluids, hopefully when the doctors do there rounds this morning, they'll have some good news for us. What you think?" The man talking to her as he would if she were awake, he had read somewhere that speaking to patients in comas as if they were present could help, and there had been many studies to prove that coma patients responded to normal day to day activity. Kelly had taken to getting the paper each morning for this reason, the man's morning routine being the same for the past few days since he read the article. He'd wake up, say good morning to her, speak about the night before heading down to the canteen to get some breakfast, the man always buying extra of her favorites, before purchasing the mornings paper and returning to her beside. He'd then settle down and read her the headlines, discussing the events of overnight as if she was about to answer him. It calmed him, and it made him feel like he was doing something to help her besides just sitting here. Today marked day nine of Stella's stay and it also marked the day they were going to take her for more intensive testing, the doctor explaining to them all last night that there were some motor response tests they could do to see if she was responding to outside interaction and if they were any closer to her waking up.
"So far we've only done CT scans on Stella as we believed her coma to be a direct response to the trauma her body withstood that night. However like you are aware we would have expected her to wake up before now and because she hasn't we are now trying to work out why. Why her body has shut down, when all her scans are clear. And why she has yet to regain consciousness. If we can work that out, we should be able to work out a plan of how to proceed, right now we are in the watch and wait phase. But patients who are in a prolonged coma, they are more complex, and if Stella doesn't regain consciousness soon we will have to begin to think of long term care."
"She's going to wake up" Kelly said, strongly, the man hating to hear the doctors words, the words that made his heart sink, that made it sound like they were giving up on her already.
"She may, but Kelly she may not. We have to think about that possibility and I know it's hard..."
"No!" Kelly shouted, the man's frustration over flowing. "Stella Kidd is not someone you quit on."
"I'm not quitting on anyone here Kelly." Dr Johnson spoke carefully, "I'm trying to explain the possible outcomes. The tests tomorrow may leave us no choice but to move her to our long term care ward. There is no reason for her to be in the ICU anymore, despite the sepsis infection Stella is stable, she has been for several days now and we need this room."
"So that's what this is about, she's outstayed her welcome."
"No Kelly, please. That's not what I'm saying, I'm trying to do whats best for Stella."
"What's best for her, is for you to do your job and work out why she hasn't woken up!" Kelly shouted.
"Kelly I need you to calm down" The doctor said softly, nodding her head towards Stella's vitals monitor, the woman's heart rate increasing the more worked up he got.
Taking a deep breath he spoke solely to the woman in the bed, stroking his hand along her hairline, "I'm sorry, it's ok. I'm ok, your ok, I'm sorry for getting mad." His focus completely on her, as he watched her numbers return to normal. "That's... that, her numbers moving like that.." Kelly said stumbling over his words, the man struggling to voice the thoughts in his head out loud. "Does that mean she is aware of what's going on around her?"
"Maybe" Dr Johnson said, the woman happy to see that Kelly had calmed down slightly. She knew this was a rough situation, she knew the man was struggling with his own guilt and emotions and everything was piling up on him, his anger wasn't solely directed at her, she knew that but she also couldn't allow him to continue shouting at her in the way he had been. "It may be completely coincidence, but it could also mean she is more than aware of what's happening, and if that is the case then it's even more confusing as to why she hasn't woken up yet."
"What tests will you be doing?" Dawson asked, the woman having sat silently while the doctor and Kelly had spoken.
"Well first off we will do a board source test on her bloods, what we are looking for there is any cause of infection that could be keeping her from waking up. Now obviously we know she has sepsis but that we believe happened during the surgery for her pins, which is why we took her back down earlier and removed them."
Stella had undergone her second surgery in as many days earlier that afternoon the doctors needing the remove the metal wires they had inserted to hold her wrist in place, the team opting for a more synthetic way of holding the bone in place. This surgery taking less time than the one the day previously, but this one having a more mental effect on the friends waiting for her in her room.
"If they come back clear we will have to do a lumber puncture just to be 100% certain that there is no infection. We will also be performing a Electroencephalography to assess Stella's brain activity, alongside another CT and possibly an MRI. Once we have all the data from those tests we should be able to answer the question as to why she hasn't woken up yet, and then like I said discuss the next step in our treatment plan. But for today she's been through enough, so we won't be doing anything until tomorrow."
"Thank you" Casey spoke, the blondes eyes tracing around the room, watching before his wife and best friend become completely lost inside their own heads, as they tried to process the information just given to them.
"How'd she do overnight?" Her voice pulled him from his memory of yesterday, the squad lieutenant looking up to see Brett stood in the doorway.
"Hey" he said smiling weakly at her, "she did good."
"Good that's good, I spoke with Dawson last night. How you holding up?"
"I'm fine" he spoke quickly, the man trying to stay strong in front of the young paramedic.
"Ok" she said, taking the seat opposite him, "So now tell me the truth, how are you doing?" she asked again.
Severide looked up towards her, seeing the concern written all over her face. "Honestly I'm ok. Just hoping for some good news before the end of today."
"She's strong Kelly, she's going to pull through this."
"I know, I just wish this had never happened you know?"
"I do, but I also know that Stella Kidd is as tough as they come and if anyone can get through this it's her. I don't know the ins and outs of everything that went on that night, I don't think any of us will know the full details until she wakes up but she will and when she does that coward of a man will go down for a very long time."
"Thanks Brett."
"What for?" the blonde asked confused.
"For being here, for coming to visit, for speaking like we have hope."
"All we've got is hope Kelly."
"I still appreciate it and I know Stella would too."
Sylvie gave him a short nod, the two falling into a comfortable quiet as they watched the steady breathing of the woman in front of them. The paramedic taking in all the bruising covering her friends body, she hadn't really asked about the physically injuries before today, the paramedic opting to be supportive from a far like most of house fifty one, the guys and girls sending messages throughout the day to Kelly, and opting for getting updates from Matt and Gabby. The family trying not to over crowd not only Stella but Severide, while she was unconscious but after hearing from Dawson how roughly the man in front of her was taking all of this she'd decided she needed to come visit. She needed to see him and her with her own eyes, and if possible she was going to try and attempt to get him to go home for a bit, the two paramedics working it out over the phone last night.
"I'm worried about him Brett, I don't think he's even showered since she was admitted. He won't leave the hospital, the furtherest he'll go is the canteen and even then he is only gone long enough to buy some food and a paper, and I'm pretty sure he doesn't actually eat the food. When me and Matt got there yesterday his breakfast was still sitting in the tray he brought it up on, completely untouched. When Matt asked what he'd eaten he told him he wasn't hungry."
"Do you think it would help coming from someone different?"
"I don't honestly know, I mean it couldn't hurt I'm sure. Why what you thinking?"
"Maybe I could go up tomorrow, offer to sit with her for a bit. I know you said they're going to be doing a lot of tests and stuff but maybe if I ask him to leave he might?"
"It's worth a shot. But it's going to take more than you, me and Matt will meet you there, I'll get Casey to try and convince him to come here, use our shower and change. It's closer to the hospital, so he may be more open to leaving if he knows we're not trying to make him go to the other side of town."
"Sounds good to me, I'll head up first thing and you and Casey come up when your ready. I know you've not been sleeping to well either Gabby.."
"I'm fine." Dawson replied quickly the PIC not wanting her friend to worry about her as well as everyone else. The woman knowing that Stella and Kelly needed to be their first priority.
Releasing a heavy sigh Brett said, "Dawson I'm not blind, I've seen how tired you are. You looked completely wrecked last shift."
The two woman hanging up shortly after, and that's how Sylvie had found herself here today.
"You're thinking awfully loud" Kelly said, his voice snapping her back into focus.
"Sorry, I was just thinking about her and how we didn't see this." She lied, well it wasn't a complete lie, she had been thinking that to begin with before she thought about the conversation her and Gabby had, had. The blonde seeing with her own eyes what exactly her friend meant about the state of their squad lieutenant.
"I know, I've been asking myself that question for the past nine days." He sighed, the pain he was feeling clearly written all over his face. "I just wish I'd done more, now I think about it all the signs were there, they've always been there the entire time I've known her."
"Kelly, I'm sure you've heard this a million times but this isn't your fault. It's not!"
He gave her a short nod, the man pushing himself up off the chair that had become his home, "I'm going to get some coffee and the paper, do you want anything?"
"I'm good thanks."
Without another word he left the room, greeting the nurses as he went. Many of them recognizing the man after his lengthy time here. Pressing the button on the elevator to go down to the canteen, the mans body aching all over. He wasn't really paying attention as the doors open, Kelly moving to the side to let anyone that needed to get off, out. Stepping inside a pressing the button to go down. The people around him all blurring into one as he concentrated on the task he was trying to complete.
"Hi Sev" his voice snapped him back to realization, the man recognizing it straight away. His turning to the said to find the truck lieutenant smiling at him.
"Oh hey, what are you doing here?"
"I came with Gabby." he said, watching as Severide looked round the small space. "She got off as you got in" Matt said answering the silent question his friend had yet to ask.
"Oh, sorry I didn't see either of you."
"Yeah we noticed, so you going to get some breakfast?"
"Yea, and the paper so I can keep her up to date. You know how much she loves to know whats going on in the good city of Chicago."
Casey nodded, the man silently agreeing with him. "Maybe you could get some proper breakfast with me, somewhere other then the hospital canteen?"
"I'm not leaving the hospital Matt so if that's what your about to suggest don't."
"Kelly man" his words getting cut off as the elevator came to a halt, the men staring at each other as they stood side by side. "what the?"
"I think it's broken down" exclaimed a woman to their left, none of the buttons are working.
"Just great" Kelly said throwing his arms up in the air. "Now what?"
"Kel calm down. We'll use the emergency intercom and they'll get us out. You know as well as I do that the have an override." Matt said, seeing his friend getting more and more worked up.
"I know, but you also know that it takes time. They gotta call it in, then someones got to respond and then when they get here they have to make sure it's safe to move the unit. It could take at least an hour if not longer. And there coming to take Stella for her tests soon, the last thing I need is to be stuck in a bloody elevator."
"It's ok man, Gabby and Brett are with her, she isn't alone."
"But I should be there! Damn it Casey.. I should be with her."
Matt could see that he wasn't going to get his friend to calm down anytime soon, the man pressing the alert button inside the elevator and waiting for someone to respond, Casey explaining where they were and what had happened, telling them how many people were trapped and how they were all fairing. After reassurance that help was on it's way Matt focused his attention back on Kelly, the man knowing he needed to do something to keep his friend calm, pulling his cell out and checking his signal. Thankfully he had some bars as well as his phone automatically connecting to the hospitals wifi. The man smiling as an idea popped on to his head. Scrolling through his contacts as he found the right one, waiting for the call to connect before explaining what was going on.
Severide watched as his friend spoke on the phone, the man grunting in agreement as he handed the phone to him. Taking it with a confused look on his face until he saw who was on the other end, Matt had called Gabby, the paramedic turning the camera so he could see Stella, the man insistently calming down as he saw her face pop on to the screen.
"Hey" he whispered, "I'm sorry I've been gone so long, I know I'm not usually this long but I kinda got myself into a situation. Me and Casey we're trapped in the elevator, yeah I know you'd be laughing at us right now making some joke how it could only happen to us two. But I'm not sure I'm going to be back before they take you for your scans, but I know you're going to great. I know that ok baby, because you always do, you're so strong Stella, you are going to get through this. I won't let anyone give up on you I promise."
Matt watched from a far as he witnessed his friends tough outside fade away, the man seemingly only focused on the woman in the bed the other side of the phone, he knew Kelly had been speaking to her, and he also had a good idea of the feelings his friend had for her. But this was the first time he had witnessed it, the first time he'd seen him completely focused on her, completely open to everything, for the first time in nine days the truck lieutenant able to see the pain and anger, the hurt and concern flooding out of Severide's body and words.
"Ok, well I'm going to stay here with you until they come to take you ok, and Dawson and Brett are there, they'll stay there as well. I'll be waiting for you when you get back. It's going to be a long day, but I'm right here, I'm not going anywhere. None of us are."
It was a further twenty minutes before the men had any idea of what was happening outside of this box they were trapped in, both of them focused on the screen in front of them, the two speaking with Stella's doctors through the device not long before, Dr Johnson informing them that they would be taking her down for the first few tests in the not so distant future. Also assuring them all that they would take care of her, although they all knew it was more for Kelly's benefit then anything. The man's tense demeanor reappearing the moment he had heard the doctors voice.
"Hello?" They heard coming out of the emergency phone on the wall, "Anyone there?"
"Yes hello" Matt said pulling the phone off the wall and holding it up against his own ear. "We're here, how much longer, it's getting hot in here."
"Not much longer sir, we just need you to hold on a little longer ok?"
"We can do that" Casey agreed, checking on the other people around him, the firefighters rescue skills kicking in, the man quickly assessing the situation. Up until this point the man had been almost completely focused on his friend and making sure he was ok, but now looking around the small space he could see that a few of the other people trapped with them weren't doing nearly as well as he and Kelly were, especially the little girl that he had only just noticed clutching tightly to the woman he assumed was her mother.
"You ok?" he asked crouching down to her level. The little girl nodding in response, Matt could see her nervousness, the girl radiating the fear through her stance and her fear streaken face. "My name's Matt, what's yours?"
"Milly" she responded, her tiny voice filling the silent room. Everyone's focus on the man and girl in front of them.
"Are you scared Milly?" She nodded, "That's ok, I'm am to. I'll tell you a secret I actually don't like enclosed spaces, never have done. This is actually one of my worst fears here. But we're going to be ok, do you know how I know?"
"No"
"Because me and my friend Kelly here we're firefighters, and we've done the rescue the team are setting up to do out there a hundred times. It is a bit scary but it'll be over really quickly ok."
"I don't like enclosed spaces either" she said, the little girl releasing the grip she had on her mother's leg, "I'm six," she said proudly, puffing her chest out, "and this is my little sister, Hallie, she's still a baby." She said pointing out the tiny bundle attached to her mum's front, Matt having not spotted her before this moment.
"She beautiful" he smiled, the mum smiling back at him.
"Thanks" She said holding out her hand to shake his, "I'm Maureen. Are you really a firefighter?"
"Yeah we both are. It shouldn't be much longer now, I'm going to make sure they get you and your daughters out first ok?"
"Thank you."
Within the next half an hour they were back safely outside the elevator, the men having hung up the call when the porters came to take Stella down to her first test, the man both working together to help the firefighters outside, and now they were making their way back through the hospital towards the room.
"So how about that breakfast?" Matt asked, resuming the conversation they'd been having before.
"I don't know man, I don't like the thought of not being there when she gets back."
"You'll be there Kel, I'll make sure of it. But if you don't get out of this hospital soon they are going to have to bring in a hazmat team to decontaminate you, no offence but you kinda stink."
"Ok, but I'm not happy about it" he finally agreed.
"Two coffee's and two morning platters please." Matt asked as he approached the counter, the woman in front of him flashing him a small smile as she wrote their order down.
"Anything else?"
"No that'll be all thanks."
Matt paid for their breakfast, returning to their table with the two steaming mugs of coffee, Kelly still sat with his head in his phone like he had been since they left the hospital, the man fearing if he put it down he would miss a call from the hospital. He had made both Brett and Dawson promise him they would text or phone if they heard anything before leaving with Casey, the two stopping by the younger mans apartment for Kelly to shower before heading to the cafe down the road. Apart from some pleasantries and telling him what he wanted to eat, the older man had barely said two words in the entire hour they'd been out. Opting for flicking through his phone instead, Matt noticing him focusing for long periods of time at some photos of him and Stella, the two friends having taken a few shots when the firehouse had attended the last cubs match. The two of them caught cheering loudly at what Matt could only assume was one the many home runs they had hit that day.
"You know this is a good picture" Matt said trying to strike up a conversation with the man sat opposite him.
"Yeah, it was a fun day. She was so happy that day... " His voice trialed off as he became lost in his memory of the day, Casey noticing the tears brimming at his eyes threatening to fall, in that moment he didn't think he'd ever seen his friend so broken, so lost, words failing him as he open and shut his mouth several times over.
"You know Grant always said I had feelings for her, he saw it from day one. I just thought it was his jealous possessiveness making him see things, but looking at the pictures from that day I think it's pretty clear that I've always thought of her more than just a friend. I just couldn't see it for myself and now it may be too late. What if she doesn't wake up, what if the last thing she saw or heard me do was fight with that bastard? Did I make it worse?"
"Kelly please, there wasn't anything anyone could have done, none of us saw it."
Matt felt like they were going round in circles, the two men having the exact same conversation over and over again the past nine days, Casey always reassuring his friend that this wasn't his fault. He just didn't understand why he couldn't see what everyone else did.
"There you go my loves, you sure you don't need anything else? Fresh cup maybe?" The waiter asked bring their breakfasts over, the woman sensing that they were here for a deeper reason than just to eat breakfast, she'd been watching them since they came in, the men's bodies telling her all she needed to know about where their heads currently were. And she sensed that neither man actually had any desire to eat the food they'd ordered or drink the coffee's but she'd continue to check just in case. The woman having learnt over her years at this particular cafe that many people came here to escape from the inside of the hospital next door.
"We're good thank you" Matt said flashing her a small smile.
They ate in relative quiet, Casey happy to see that Severide was actually eating something, the man picking at his bacon and french toast but at least it was something.
"We had this crazy call last shift did I tell you?" he asked when the silence became to much but the man across from him gave very little in form of a reaction, but he continued on anyway, explaining how they'd been called to a man stuck on the end of a telegraph pole.
"He wouldn't say how he got up there, but it's crazy right. I mean there was no bridge or anything, and the guy had no vehicle. None of us have been able to work it out yet."
Kelly nodded telling the man he'd heard him, the squad lieutenant focusing on pushing his now cold eggs around his plate. "Are you done?"
"Yeah, I'm done. You?"
"Yeah, can we get back to Stella now?"
"Come on, lets get back to her."
The two men thanked the waitress before heading back down the road and into the hospital building, heading for the elevators before Kelly changed his path, the man heading for the stairs instead while mumbling something about not wanting to get stuck again. Casey following him without question. Just as they entered the stair well Kelly's phone rang, the man stopping in his tracks and pulling his phone out, seeing Dawson's name on his screen.
"Dawson" he breathed out as he answered the call. "What? When? I'm coming?" The man put his phone in his pocket before practically running up the stairs two at a time, Matt jogging behind him trying to keep up."
"Sev what's wrong?"
But Kelly didn't reply he just kept running, the man reaching the forth floor and disappearing round the corner as Matt struggled to keep up.
"Kelly wait" he called down the hallway, the nurses around them watching as they jogged down the corridor, "What's going on? What did Gabby say?"
"It's Stella.." Kelly panted, turning left into the ICU, Matt's heart dropping as he watched his friend frantic movements, apologizing to everyone the man in front of him bumped into.
"What? What happened?"
"She's awake."