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Again
It had been a week, but Lacey wouldn't believe it.
The boys were with their mom again, so happy that she was back. Her parents' home was repaired from the fire and they were back at home now as well; the boys and Heather were staying with the Dardens until Heather got things figured out. Things were a little tense with Kelly and the others from house 51 because of Boden leaving and Benny replacing him in a few weeks. But, other than that, things were fine. Kelly was healed and healthy. Everything was as it should be.
And, to top it off, Lacey was having morning sickness and was now well over a week late.
This time around, she was still in denial about it. Last time, it was because she wasn't ready to be a mom. She thought that she was too young and that Kelly wouldn't be ready for a baby. After being pregnant for two months though, they had both gotten really excited about being parents, only to have their dreams taken away from them. That was why she didn't want to believe it this time, she didn't want to get her hopes up only to have them shut down.
That morning though, while Kelly was out running before his shift, she had stayed home from work, with Kelly convincing her as he thought she just had the stomach flu. Again, he had no idea. Once again, she went down the street to the pharmacy and bought a pregnancy test. Again, she had a stand off with it in the bathroom before finally taking it. She bounced anxiously around the room again, waiting to go back in and check the results.
Positive. Again.
That wasn't enough for her though, she just didn't think that she could be pregnant. It wasn't that she didn't want it, but she was afraid if she got too excited again she would lose it. As if her happiness about her baby actually caused her miscarriage. She couldn't tell Kelly yet, she had to absolutely sure before she gave him the news. No reason to get his hopes up too.
"Hey!" Shay called into the apartment, letting herself in with the key Lacey had given her. Lacey didn't answer, scrambling to hide the test in the bottom of the trash. "Anyone home?!" She walked down the hall, seeing the bathroom door half open and it sounded like Lacey was putting stuff away. "Hellooooo," Shay laughed, pushing the door to the bathroom open the whole way. She caught Lacey with the pregnancy test box in her hands. "OH MY GOD!" she squealed excitedly, then stopped. "Wait, please tell me it's-"
"Positive," Lacey nodded, unable to believe that Shay knew about the baby before Kelly. Again.
"Yes!" Shay beamed. "How excited are you and..." She trailed off when Lacey bit her lip, shaking her head. "Oh come on."
"You have to learn to knock," Lacey said lightly.
"Why haven't you told him this time?" Shay asked.
"Because I don't want to get his hopes up," Lacey tried to explain. "After last time..." She shook her head. "Plus, I read that if you've had a miscarriage recently your test can come back positive so-" Shay flicked her fingers at Lacey's forehead to get her to stop. "OW."
"Are you crazy?" Shay asked her.
"Did you flick me?" Lacey asked back in confusion.
"It was four months ago," Shay continued. "No way that's messing with you now." She grinned at her. "You're pregnant baby."
"I'd rather check before I tell Kelly," Lacey said, still in denial.
"Hey!" Kelly called into the apartment, knowing Shay should be there so he could give her a ride. He heard them talking in the bathroom, going to check it out. "What's going on?"
"Um," Shay said quickly, knowing they weren't going to say anything yet. "I heard Lacey getting sick so I thought I'd check on her."
"Oh," Kelly nodded, believing it. "You feeling all right babe?"
"Oh...yeah," Lacey nodded. "Yep." She gave a half smile. "You guys better get going, before you're late for shift."
"She's right," Shay agreed, pushing him out of the door. Doctor, she mouthed Lacey.
"Hey," Kelly laughed, pushing his way back in to kiss Lacey. "Love you."
"Love you too," Lacey told him as he and Shay left. Once they were gone, she went to grab her phone and made an appointment that afternoon with Dr. Hooper.
Lacey sat on the exam table, this time at the doctor's office alone. She didn't want to tell Kelly, for him to get upset again if she wasn't pregnant. She had seen it last time, how upset he was that she had a miscarriage but how he tried to hide it to be strong for her. All it did was make her even sadder. Anxiously waiting for Dr. Hooper to come in, Lacey sat there, twisting her hands.
"Lacey?" Dr. Hooper said, peaking her head in the door before coming in the whole way; she gave her a smile. It wasn't one of the big ones that Dr. Hooper always seemed to be wearing. It was a half smile that still held some sympathy.
"I didn't think you'd be coming alone," Dr. Hooper observed, looking over the chart that the nurse filled out beforehand.
"Kelly's on shift," Lacey said and Dr. Hooper nodded. "And, um, I wanted to be sure...before..."
"All right," Dr. Hooper nodded, not making her go on. "Well, your symptoms and your test certainly indicate that you're pregnant." She smiled at her, big like she used to. "Let's get you checked out."
Lacey sped the entire way to the firehouse, not able to keep the news to herself much longer. There was no way she could wait until tomorrow to tell Kelly the news. And, the way her luck worked, the longer she held onto the news the more people found out before the father did. Ultrasound in her coat pocket, she parked her car outside the house before speed walking up there. Walking into the common room, she didn't see Kelly among the people sitting there.
"Hey!" Shay grinned at her from the table. "Did you..."
"Uh huh," Lacey nodded quickly.
"And was it..."
"Uh huh," Lacey grinned.
"Yes!" Shay grinned back, no one else in the room getting what's going on, looking between the girls in confusion.
"Where's..."
"That way," Shay pointing, so excited for them. Lacey went to leave the room to walk back the hall, but when she opened the door, she almost ran right into Kelly and Casey as they were coming back from Boden's office.
"Lace, hey," Kelly said in surprise. "What are you doing here?"
"C'mere," Lacey said, grabbing his hand and pulling him back into the hall away from everyone, letting the door shut.
"What's with her?" Casey asked to no one in particular.
"Just wait for it," Shay smirked. Back in the hall, Lacey was breaking the news to Kelly.
"What's going on?" Kelly asked, but laughed because she was grinning, bouncing on the balls of her feet.
"So, there's been some stuff going on with me," she was saying, her words coming out so fast they all sounded like one word. "Don't be mad, but I just went to the doctor first, because I didn't want to make a big deal if it turned out I-"
"Sloooow down," Kelly laughed, looking her over. "What are you talking about?" Lacey didn't answer, but took the ultrasound out of her pocket and handed it to him. "No way!" he grinned, looking between it and her. "Seriously?"
"Yeah," Lacey smiled back.
"Yes!" Kelly cheered, hugging her around her waist and picking her up. Lacey giggled as she hugged him around his shoulders, feeling her feet lifting up. "This is perfect," Kelly told her as he set her back down, kissing her.
"Yeah?" she asked.
"Absolutely!" Kelly told her, kissing her again. "This is seriously the best-" He was cut off by the alarm going off and Kelly groaned. "I'll just see you at home," Kelly told her, not knowing how long they would be. "All right?"
"Yeah, sure," Lacey smiled, watching him rush out.
"Hey," she could hear someone saying as they were all running to their trucks, taking her time to leave after them. "Wanna tell us what all that cheering was for Severide?"
"Lacey's pregnant!" Kelly announced with pure joy. He was thrilled, he couldn't wait to tell everyone the news. He wasn't thinking at all about what happened last time, just that they got to have a second chance this time.
"WOO!" everyone cheered for him, the way they always did if someone was expecting.
The next morning when Kelly was done with his shift, Lacey was already at work. He went to meet her at the school, stopping on his way to get her flowers. He was so excited to be having a baby again. He remembered how Andy had been when he found out about Jack and Sean, never really getting that until now, not even when Lacey had been pregnant the first time because he had been so nervous.
But now, he just found himself thinking good things about the baby. If it would be healthy, if it would be a boy or a girl, what they would name it. While he was thinking all those things, he knew Lacey was going to be thinking about last time. When he got to the school, he went right for Lacey's classroom. Turning down the hall though, he noticed her standing outside of her classroom, kneeling down to Sean who was wiping his eyes as he was crying.
"Hey, what's wrong?" Kelly said as he came up.
"Hey," Lacey said, standing up now, smiling halfway as appreciation for his surprise visit. "Um..."
"I'm moving Uncle Kelly," Sean sniffed, having cried when he told his aunt the news.
"What?" Kelly asked in confusion.
"Heather got a job, in Florida," Lacey explained. "But, we're going to visit all the time," Lacey said insistently, nodding at Kelly to go along with it.
"Oh, yeah," Kelly nodded enthusiastically. "Florida is awesome. Your aunt and me will come all the time."
"Really?" Sean asked.
"Yeah!" Kelly nodded. "And I bet your mom brings you back here a lot too." Kelly would be lying if he said he wasn't going to miss those kids like crazy. He already missed having them around the apartment, taking them to school and going to their games. He got why it would be too hard for Heather to stay here though, that their family needed to start off elsewhere.
That night, they had dinner with the Dardens, sharing the baby news with them. They were thrilled, of course, excited to have another grandchild. After their talk last time, her dad didn't see the need to talk to Kelly again, knowing Kelly was just as excited about the baby, that he would be sticking around and taking care of Lacey. After dinner, Kelly and Lacey were home alone, laying in bed after relaxing and watching a movie. They just laid their on their sides, Kelly holding Lacey's hand.
"I think it's a girl," Lacey said, becoming sleepy now, smiling a bit.
"Well, then I think it's a boy," Kelly teased her, kissing her hand; they were quiet for a minute.
"Are you scared?" Lacey asked him softly.
"Good scared," Kelly promised her. "More excited than nervous."
"What about the other stuff?" Lacey asked, looking at the mattress and not at him.
"Hey," Kelly said, getting her to look at him. "Don't think about that, all right?"
"It's hard not to," Lacey pointed out.
"I know," Kelly agreed, though he avoided thinking about it. It was too hard to think about the miscarriage. "Did you know my mom was pregnant a second time?" Kelly asked her; Lacey was surprised.
"I don't think," Lacey shook her head.
"I think I was eight," Kelly said, so Lacey would have only been three. Lacey nodded and, since Kelly only had his two half brothers, his mom had clearly miscarried. Kelly had never brought it up before, not wanting to upset her. "Do you know what she told me?"
"Hm?" Lacey asked curiously.
"That the baby wasn't ready yet," Kelly explained. "So, they went back up to heaven to wait for the right time." Kelly hesitated. "My brother or sister was never ready but...I think our baby is now."
"I really like that," Lacey told him, kissing him now. Kelly pulled her closer as he kept kissing her, Lacey adjusting to lay on her back. Kelly pulled back a moment.
"It's going to be all right Lace," Kelly promised her. "We'll do whatever we have to, extra doctor appointments, whatever. And I'm going to take you to all of them. All right?"
"Ok," Lacey nodded.
"I love you," Kelly smiled at her, kissing her again. "And..." He moved down, kissing her stomach now. "You." Lacey giggled.
"We love you too," Lacey said back.
The next night, Benny was due to come over for dinner so Kelly and Lacey could tell him the news. Kelly was starting to have some strange suspicions about his father since Beth had come to visit. Benny didn't know it, but Kelly had seen him twice in front of the same restaurant with some girl; she probably wasn't any older than Lacey. He was starting to wonder if this was why his father was spending so much time in Chicago, away from his wife and kids, though he hated to think that about his dad. It did lead him to confront the girl though, finding out some surprising news.
"Hey!" Lacey grinned when she heard Kelly coming in, not knowing what he had been up to since he said he was meeting with the guys. Right now, she was busy setting the table since Benny was due any minute. When Kelly came in though, he slammed the door, making her jump. "Um..." She started off, looking him over, easy to see that he was angry about something. "What's going on?"
"You know how I told you I saw that girl with my dad?" Kelly asked and Lacey groaned.
"I told you to stay out of that," Lacey said and he ignored her.
"She's not dating him," Kelly told her. He was pacing by the table while Lacey watched him, not sure what was going on. It must be bad though, since Kelly never really acted like this. "She's his daughter." Lacey opened her mouth but no real words came out.
"Ah..." She shook her head. "I..." She bit her lip, knowing what this meant.
"She's twenty-one Lacey," Kelly continued, fuming now. "I was nine and...my mom, my dad was married to my mom!" Lacey knew that, the Severides were married up until Kelly's mother passed away five years ago.
"Kelly, I..." Lacey had no idea what to say in this situation. With the worst timing ever, Benny was knocking at the door now. "I can tell him to go," Lacey offered.
"No, I wanna talk to him," Kelly said seriously. Lacey didn't think it was a great idea, but let Benny in anyway.
"Hey," Benny smiled, hugging Lacey. "How are you sweetheart?"
"Uh..." Lacey didn't know how to answer as he handed her a bottle of wine he brought over.
"I brought this," Benny told her as she let him in. "But, since you guys said you had news, I'm guessing you can't drink any."
"Yep," Kelly interrupted now, though he wasn't happy about telling his dad like they had been with Lacey's parents. "And, turns out it's a girl."
"Kelly," Lacey tried to cut in.
"You already know what you're having?" Benny asked in surprised.
"No, that's what you had," Kelly informed him. "Katie, right?" Benny didn't know what to say now, caught. "Well?" Kelly asked impatiently.
"Kelly-" Benny tried to start.
"I'm guessing Beth didn't know about her either," Kelly continued. "Since she came here looking for you last week." Kelly shook his head. "Did mom know?"
He didn't know which answer he wanted. That his mother had no idea who she was married to, or that she had her heart broken because Benny fathered a child with someone else, not just while they were married but so soon after she lost a baby. Then, she stayed married to him all that time, knowing about this girl. No, Kelly thought to himself. The first option was better, a lot less hurt for his mother.
"I just found out," Benny told him.
"Does that make it ok then?" Kelly asked sarcastically.
"I made a mistake," Benny tried to apologize.
"A mistake?" Kelly scoffed. "A mistake was..." He shook his head when he thought of an example. "Forgetting to pick me up from practice, leaving dinner on the stove too long. You..." Kelly laughed cynically. "You cheated on mom."
"You and I should go talk," Benny said, not wanting to have this talk in front of Lacey.
"No, I want you to go," Kelly told him.
"All right," Benny agreed, knowing things would only escalate, turning to go now. He stopped by the door and looked to Lacey. "Congratulations honey."
"...thanks," Lacey said awkwardly as Benny was walking out, the door shutting. She went over to Kelly, setting the wine to the side on her way by. "Are you ok?"
"I don't know," Kelly admitted.
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