Kelly Severide walks into the firehouse at the start of another shift. He sees one of his best friend Matt Casey.
"Last night was epic." Kelly says laughing.
"You are horrible." Matt answers shaking his head.
"What can I say."
After a horrible fire that left his best friend Andy in serious condition but alive. That is the best anyone can hope for. Although his firefighting days are over.
Chief Boden walks into the common room. "I know that everyone is upset about what happened with Andy last shift, but he will be okay. Now we have a class coming for a tour and I expect all of you to make them feel welcome."
Candidate Peter Mills is talking to the class about being a firefighter. Kelly listens in as he notices a boy that is separated from the rest of his class watching with his back up against the wall. Kelly walks closer to the boy and notices that he has a broken arm and is wearing a patch over one eye. Kelly can also tell that the boy also has a black eye.
"Well, I guess that you do not want to be a fire fighter when you grow up. So tell me what do you want to be?" Kelly asks the child.
The child looks up at him with empty sad eyes and responds with, "Kids like me, we don't have dreams. We don't have a future."
Kelly is shocked by that response and what shocks him more is his tone of voice stating it like it is a fact. Kelly walks over to the teacher. "Who is that child?"
"His name is Marty Brandel. He is currently a foster child." She answers before getting her class ready to go back to school.
Kelly watches them leave and all he can think about is what Marty had said. "Kids like me, we don't have dreams. We don't have a future." Kelly goes into his office and shuts the door. But the only thing that keeps playing through his mind is "Kids like me, we don't have dreams. We don't have a future."
The teacher had mention that Marty is a foster child. Kelly wonders. He turns the computer on and begins the research of being a foster parent. But most importantly Marty's foster parent. He has to show this kid that he can have a future. Being a foster child doesn't change that.
Personal references and a background check are required the website had said about the requirement.
"Well that is easily done. If I do succeed and get Marty, what am I going to do with him while on shift?" Kelly says to himself. "Maybe he can be here?"
With a new determination, Kelly went to the common room. "Casey, Dawson, Shay come with me."
Matt, Gabby and Leslie follow Kelly to Chief Boden's office.
"Severide, what is going on?" Boden asks after they all enter.
Kelly hopes his friends and his boss will support his decision to do this. He has to do this. For the first time in his life, he has never wanted anything more.
"You remember the little boy that was isolated from his class." Kelly begins and waits for them to nod. "I am going to apply to be his foster parent."
The four of them look at each other in shock, whatever they thought Severide was going to say. That isn't is.
"This isn't because of what happened to Andy is it?" Matt finally asks.
"No. Actually since the tour, I haven't even thought about him. All I can think about is that child. His name is Marty Brandel. I want to do this. Today, he got to me more than anyone has to past. His eyes are empty, he is so sad. But the worst is what he said breaks my heart." Kelly explains.
"What did he say?" Leslie asks.
"He said, 'Kids like me, we don't have dreams. We don't have a future.' Those words are all I can think about. His teacher had told me he is a foster child. I want to be foster dad and I am going to fight for him. Chief, if I do get him. May he stay here with me when he is not at school?"
Chief Boden considers the request. He can't imagine any child thinking like that; especially one who is so young. "Yes, he can stay here. Connie can watch out for him, when we are out on a call."
Kelly smiled. This just might work, he thought.
"How can we help?" Leslie asks.
"I need a letter of recommendation from each of you. Also Chief, I need the latest copy of my background check to give his social worker." Kelly requests.
Chief Boden nods and goes over to his file cabinet that contains his employee's personal file. He pulls out Kelly's file of background checks that get run every 3 months since the day he started. He has a background file on each of the members of his fire house. Kelly's last background check was dated 3 days ago. Boden makes a copy of it and hands it to Kelly.
"When do you want the letters by?" Matt asks
"End of shift. I am going to go to CPS as soon as shift is over."
Kelly walks into the CPS building and up to the reception's desk. "I am looking for the social worker assigned to Marty Brandel's case. The receptionist puts the child's name into the computer to find out who he is assigned to. "That would be Sheila Wolf. Her office is right there." She responded pointing.
Kelly smiled when he heard the name. He went to school with Sheila and they were friends. Kelly knocks on Sheila open door. Sheila looks up from her mountain of paperwork to see him standing there.
"Kelly, well what are you doing here? Not that I am not happy to see you, because I am." Sheila laughs giving him a hug.
"I am actually here to see about becoming a foster parent. Marty Brandel's foster parent to be more precise."
"Ah, Marty. How did you meet him?" Sheila asks
"His class came for a tour today. What is his story?"
"You better sit down and brace yourself. His story is as hard to hear as it to tell." Sheila warns.
Kelly sits on the couch in her office and Sheila sits down next to him and begins.
"Marty is only 11 and he just got out of the hospital yesterday. He is a victim of child abuse. His father was convicted of domestic abuse and child abuse. Out of sheer terror and desperation Marty shot his father. It was only a flesh wound. I was there in the courtroom when Marty testified. Believe me, there was not a dry eye in the courtroom as Marty told his story of what happened. Strike that, maybe there was a dry eye or 2; Gordon John Brandel and his lawyer. Marty's mother, Teresa is in a coma. She was beaten almost to death the night of the shooting. It only took the jury 5 minutes to find that monster guilty. Marty's testimony was very strong and really all it took to convince the jury that Gordon was guilty of the crimes he is being charged with."
Kelly's eyes were moist as he got even the vaguest detail of this child life. It does explain the emptiness he saw in the child one eye. "Is Teresa going to wake up?"
"Doctors do not think so. Eventually her body will give up. Her doctors would think with this amount of injury to her head, to her brain that it would be better if she was on life support. At least that way they can petition to remove the life support. But she is not. She can breathe on her own and that is all she can do. That is the only part of her brain that is not damaged beyond repair."
"Sheila, I want him. If by some miracle Teresa wakes up and can take back her son. I will give him back to her, but still be a part of his life. If she does die, I want to adopt him." Kelly states
"Kelly, what about your job?"
"Boden says he can stay with me at the fire house when I am on shift. The whole firehouse will love him."
"What if something happens to you?" Sheila asks
"If something were to happen to me. I know that Shay will take him, or Casey and Dawson."
"Do you still live with Leslie Shay?"
"I do and she is completely on board with it. I brought letters of recommendation and my latest background check that was ran 3 days ago."
Sheila takes the background check and reads over it. No red flags. She then reads the letters. They are glowing and maybe a bit embellished. But truth be told, she has never read a letter of recommendation that did not contain embellishment. The fact is that Kelly may be a good match for Marty. She knows how unhappy he is which is understandable considering all he went through.
"Kelly, I will do my best. But it may take a few days to a few weeks before you actually become a licensed foster parent."
Kelly leaves her office hoping that soon Marty will be with him. He goes home and starts cleaning out the extra bedroom that he and Shay have been using for storage. This will be Marty's room. He does as much work as he can on the room before his next shift with Leslie, Gabby and Casey's help. The rest of the firehouse does not know yet.
Kelly walks into the firehouse at the start of another shift. He still has not heard from Sheila. He can think about Marty all he wants, but the minute the buzzer sounds his focus has to be on the job.
Kelly is sitting in the garage at the squad table reading the paper when his phone rings. The caller ID says Sheila.
"Tell me the good news." He begs.
"It went through. Marty gets out of school at 3. I will meet you at his school to pick him up. If you can't make it, I will bring him by the firehouse. Bye and congratulation."
Kelly hangs up the phone. Marty is his and from this day forward he is going to make sure marty has a better life. He heads into the common room.
"Listen up everyone. I have announcement, I have just been granted custody of a foster child. I will be picking Marty up at 3 if we are not on a call." Kelly announces to everyone.
All the people in the house come up to congratulate him.
"I need to move a bed into my office for him. Casey will you help me?" Kelly asks.
Casey follows and soon everything is ready; he just needs Marty.
At 2:45 they are still at the scene of a call. It had just finished.
"Severide, I believe you have a child to pick up. Take squad and go get him." Boden orders.
"Yes Chief. Squad lets go we have an errand to run." Kelly announces climbing on to the fire truck.
Kelly rushes into the school still in his fire gear.
"Out on a call." Sheila asks when she sees him wearing the fire jacket and helmet.
"Just finished."
"You ready for this?" She asks as she already got his things from the foster home she placed him with on Sunday.
"Oh Yeah."
Sheila walks to Marty's classroom with Kelly following. She opens the door and asks for Marty.
As it is the end of the day the teacher announces. "Marty grab your things and go with her."
Marty picks up his backpack and leaves to go with his social worker. He does not know why she is here, but he isn't going to question it. Out in the hall he sees Ms. Wolf with a firefighter.
"Marty this is Kelly Severide and he is going to be your foster dad." Sheila tells him passing Marty's suitcase to Kelly.
Kelly takes the suitcase and the backpack from Marty and grabs the hand that is not in the cast.
"I am on shift today, so Marty you will be hanging around the firehouse with me." Kelly announces as they head out of the school.
Kelly leads Marty to the firetruck and helps him up. He buckles the seatbelt and sits down next to his new son.
Kelly knows that Marty has a rough life but it will get better.