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The Next Step

"Can you say something?" Lacey finally asked. It felt like Kelly had just been staring at her for hours, when really it had only been about twenty seconds. She understood though, having about a million thoughts racing through her own head. She couldn't even imagine what was going through Kelly's mind, someone who, until this past summer, seemed destined to always be a bachelor.

"Ok," Lacey continued, maybe a second later. It felt to her like Kelly was taking way to long to answer though, and that was making her even more anxious. "If you're freaking out too, could you at least say that you're freaking out, or something, because I-"

"Hey, hey, whoa," Kelly said, getting her to stop as he stood up, walking over to her. "Don't freak out, all right?"

"Don't freak out?" she repeated, scoffing a bit. "Don't freak out? Kelly, I'm-"

"Pregnant," he nodded, then shrugged a bit. "That's...ok."

"Ok?" Lacey snapped, not sure what she was flipping out for. At least he wasn't running out of the room screaming. "Ok, just like that?"

"Yeah?" Kelly said in questioning, laughing a bit. "One of us should be calm here Lace." He looked her over once with a half smile, taking her hand. "And, it's not you."

"Kelly," Lacey complained. "Seroiusly, I have no idea what to do..."

"You think I do?" Kelly said, trying to assure her that he had no idea what he was doing, and that was ok. "I mean, granted, I've got a couple kids around the city. But, that doesn't make me a good dad," Kelly joked.

"Kelly!"

"Ok, ok, that was bad," Kelly admitted with a smile, squeezing her hand. "But, seriously Lace, it's going to be fine."

"You think so?" Lacey asked, still biting her lip nervously. How could he possibly know that everything was going to be ok?

"Yeah!" Kelly promised, releasing her hand so he could take her face in his hands. "Yes, babe, it's a huge surprise. But who says surprises aren't a good thing?" He kissed her forehead. "Us getting together was a surprise, right? And, that's worked out pretty great."

"Ok," Lacey nodded hesitantly, impending motherhood still making her extremely nervous. Kelly wasn't over the moon about her being pregnant either, but he wasn't running away; he was going to stay with her.

"Hey," Kelly smiled, getting her to look at him; he kissed her once. "I love you, all right? We'll be fine."

Two days later on Monday while he was on shift, Kelly had absolutely no idea what he was doing. Truthfully, he hadn't known what to do since Lacey told him the news on Saturday night. A baby? He was going to be a father? Obviously, he was going to stay with Lacey, they were going to do this together; that wasn't in question. But, what else was he supposed to do now? Would they have to move and find a place of their own to stay? Would they get married?

He had no idea how to be a parent, his father not being the best example, especially once he was grown and his mother was gone. What he would give to talk to her about this right now, she would know what to say to make him feel less nervous. He didn't know the first thing about taking care of a baby. He remembered making the comment to Lacey in the hospital that it was better Shay and Clarice than them; now he felt like an idiot.

Lacey had called Heather to get the name of her doctor, making an appointment for Tuesday afternoon; she was going to get a substitute for the afternoon and Kelly would be off shift anyway. And, even though Heather knew already, they asked her family to have dinner that night so they could tell them the news. He couldn't imagine telling people, particularly telling her father. He knew that Mr. Darden liked him, but no father liked his daughter's boyfriend that much, to be one hundred percent ok with it. Kelly half expected Andy to come back, just to kick his ass.

"Hey, Severide," Casey said, getting his attention. Kelly had been sitting at the table in the common room, staring into his corn flakes. He looked up to Casey who was sitting across from him. "You all right man? You look like you're about to be sick."

"Huh?" Kelly asked, still about half dazed. "Oh...yeah, I'm fine."

"You sure?" Casey asked with a bit of a laugh, never seeing Kelly this thrown off before. They had drawn the attention of the others in the room. Since they hadn't told anyone other than Shay yet, Kelly wasn't sure he should be telling the others at the firehouse about Lacey yet.

"Yeah, fine," Kelly confirmed, getting up now to dump out his uneaten cereal in the sink. "I'm, ah, gonna go finish up the paper work on that last call." Kelly announced this, giving him an excuse to leave the room and go back to his quarters to be alone. Walking through the hall alone, he could hear someone behind him.

"Hey, Kelly," he heard someone saying. He turned to see Hermann coming up to talk to him. "You doing all right?"

"Yeah," Kelly nodded, maybe to enthusiastically to prove his point; Hermann eyed him suspiciously.

"Is Lacey pregnant?" Hermann finally asked; Kelly seemed surprised.

"How did you know that?" Kelly asked in confusion.

"I caught her at the pharmacy last week, having a stare down with with pregnancy tests," Hermann chuckled. "And, I had that same look on my face about nine years ago."

"Yeah?" Kelly asked now. There were few members of the firehouse that had kids, so he didn't have anyone to talk to. He hadn't even thought about talking to his dad about it. Benny wouldn't tell him anything that he didn't already know, that he had to stay with Lacey and take care of her. That didn't tell him anything about actually being a dad though.

"Oh yeah," Hermann laughed. "Cindy and I were married about a year, then she told me she was pregnant with Lee Henry." He shook his head. "And, don't get me wrong, I was excited." Kelly nodded. "But, I had no idea how to take care of a kid." He smiled at Kelly now. "But, having a baby is one of the best things. You'll see," he added.

"Are you feeling ok?" Kelly asked Lacey. He had picked her up at the school that afternoon, taking her to her doctor's appointment. They were sitting in the exam room, waiting for the doctor to come in now, after they talked to the nurse. Lacey was sitting on the table, leaning back against the part that was propped up while Kelly stood off to the side.

"Fine," Lacey shrugged. "I hardly felt sick this morning." She smiled at Kelly, who got up to make her breakfast; he had been extra sweet the last few days. "I think the toast helped."

"Good," Kelly nodded, still seeming nervous.

"Are you feeling ok?" Lacey asked.

"Do you wanna get married?" Kelly blurted out.

"Huh?" Lacey asked in confusion.

"I mean...is that something you want...now, that um..."

"I'm pregnant?" Lacey asked with raised eye brows. "I mean, this is how I always pictured being asked. Laying on a doctor's table in a paper dress."

"I can...ask again?" Kelly offered; Lacey bit her lip.

"Kelly," she said quietly. "I'm really glad..." She wasn't sure how to say it, afraid she would hurt him. "You've been so sweet, and amazing during this. But..." She hesitated again. "I don't want to get married because we think we have to. You know?" She reached over and grabbed Kelly's hand. "I'm sorry, I just-"

"No, no," Kelly shook his head quickly. "It's ok, I just wanted to know...what you wanted." He held her hand tight, smiling at her. "Baby steps." Lacey laughed a little.

"Aw," she giggled at the mention of baby steps. There was then a knock at the door.

"Hi," the doctor smiled as she came in, wearing a lab coat over her scrubs, her blonde hair pulled back in a tight pony tail. "Can I come in?" Both Kelly and Lacey nodded. "I am Dr. Hooper." She smiled as she shook hands with Lacey. "You must be Lacey."

"Hi," Lacey said back.

"And that makes you Kelly," Dr. Hooper greeted him, shaking his hand now as well.

"Nice to meet you," Kelly replied.

"You as well," she said back, pulling a chair over so she could sit next to the table where Lacey was. "So..." She glanced over Lacey's medical chart briefly. "First time parents?"

"Yes," Lacey smiled, letting out a deep breath to calm her new nerves, now that the doctor was here. It all seemed to be so much more real.

"Well, I'm sure you're both very excited," Dr. Hooper smiled at them both. Kelly wondered if she smiled to much to put new, nerve racked parents like them at ease. "And, maybe a little nervous?" she teased. "But, don't worry, that's all perfectly natural. Right now, I just want to go over a few things with you, before we do the ultrasound." She looked at the chart again before looking back at Lacey. "So, Lacey, do you have an idea of how far along you are?"

"Um," Lacey thought about it. "I think...about five or six weeks?"

"Good," Dr. Hooper nodded. "So, at this point, you're baby is about this big." She held up her little finger, pointing at her nail.

"Wow," Kelly commented with raised eye brows, though he hadn't meant to say it out loud. "Sorry..."

"No," Dr. Hooper laughed. "It's really amazing. And, even though he or she is that small, they're heart is already beating."

"Seriously?" Lacey asked now.

"Mhmm," the doctor nodded. "Their arms and legs are starting to form, as well as their little face. Their eyes and ears..." She set the folder containing Lacey's chart to the side. "Do you want to see?" Kelly and Lacey both nodded.

The doctor prepared to do the ultrasound, Kelly and Lacey both quiet. Kelly felt Lacey reach for his hand again and he squeezed back tight, knowing her nerves were kicking in again. He was nervous as well, feeling the knot in his stomach. It was with Lacey though, so that alone made him excited, leaning over and kissing the side of her head.

"All right," Dr. Hooper drew their attention back to the screen. She made a circle with her finger around a small, white shape on the mostly black screen. "Right here, is your baby."

"Wow," Lacey said in amazement, feeling Kelly lean closer next to her to look; she turned her heads towards him. "Do you see that?"

"I do," Kelly nodded in quiet awe, also able to hear the baby's heart beating; his baby. It was more real now than it had ever been. And, just like that, he wasn't really scared anymore.

After the doctor's appointment, Kelly and Lacey returned to the apartment. Shay was home and she wanted to hear everything about the doctor's appointment, thrilled for her roommates that they were having a baby; she couldn't wait to spoil that baby rotten. While Lacey kept gushing to Shay about how amazing it was, Kelly hung up the picture from Lacey's ultrasound on the refrigerator. His baby's first picture.

Soon, they were off to dinner at Lacey's parents' home. Heather was already there with the boys, who were running around the house like crazy. Kelly wondered what he and Lacey would have, a boy or a girl. He loved Andy's kids, but they could be a handful. Maybe a little part of him was rooting for a girl. Once they got there, it wasn't long before dinner was ready. Lacey's parents sat at either end of the table, while Kelly and Lacey sat on one side, Heather and the kids on the other. Heather kept eyeing Lacey, smiling as she waited for the news to come out.

"So, honey," Sarah said to Lacey, not having seen her for a few days. "What have you been up to?"

"Well," Lacey said, deciding this was the right time; she reached over and held Kelly's hand on the table. "Kelly and I...actually have some news."

"What kind of news?" Mark asked curiously. He was happy about the baby, but Kelly still couldn't help but be nervous about Lacey's dad. Traditional man that he was, he probably expected Lacey and Kelly to get married. He wouldn't be too thrilled about their decision to wait.

"Um," Lacey hesitated, still nervous about telling her parents. She wondered what they would think.

"We're having a baby," Kelly stepped in, knowing she was nervous and after all, it was his news too.

"Really?" Sarah asked, an instant grin on her face; Lacey nodded. "Oh, another baby!" she said with delight, getting up to hug her daughter.

"We're going to have a cousin?" Jack was asking Heather and she nodded happily to him and Sean.

"Isn't this great news?" Sarah asked her husband, hugging Kelly then standing behind the soon to be parents chairs.

"Of course it is," Mark nodded, though Kelly could tell that there was something behind that face. He was fully expecting a talk from his girlfriend's father later in the evening, whenever they were alone. "Congratulations sweetheart." He gave Kelly a half smile. "Congratulations Kelly."

"Thank you sir," Kelly nodded. Maybe he wasn't lying to Lacey before when he told her that everything was going to work out ok.

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