A/N: I know it's been awhile since I've updated; life has been crazy lately and I haven't had a chance to update any of my stories until now. I do want to address some comments I've gotten about the lack of Dawsey and Casey/Sylvie being together. I don't write Dawsey; I never have. So while there are hints of Dawsey, mostly non-romantic, throughout this story, they will not be together. If that's a problem for you, then I'm not the right author and this isn't the right story for you. The main focus of this story was never intended to be on any romantic; it's on Gabby & Kelly's friendship, and I've been clear about that from the beginning.
Kelly had only been home from the hospital for less than an hour, having left only when the nurses had reluctantly informed him that visiting hours were up, when he heard the apartment door open and Stella walked in. He jumped up off the couch where he'd been sitting and rushed over to her, enveloping her in his arms. "I'm so glad you're here," he murmured.
Stella hugged him back. "Me, too," she told him softly. When he'd called her earlier that day to tell her to come, she'd heard the pain and sorrow in his voice, as well the exhaustion that was hiding just under the surface. She knew how much Gabby meant to Kelly; she was like a sister to him. As much as Gabby meant to her, she knew that Gabby meant even more to Kelly. They'd worked together for years, had been roommates, and shared a special friendship. She knew how much of a toll the past several weeks had taken on him, and as eager as she was to get there to see Gabby, she was even more eager to get there for Kelly's sake, knowing that he needed her.
"We might lose her, Stella, and I don't know that I'm ready for that," Kelly told her when he finally pulled away. "I don't know that I'll ever be ready for that. She just…she's so weak, and she's lost so much weight. I don't know how much more her body can take."
Stella reached out and placed her hands on the side of Kelly's face, wiping away the tears that had fallen. "I know," she whispered. She wanted to tell him that it would be okay, that Gabby would pull through. But she couldn't, because she knew they would be empty promises. "What can I do, Kelly?' she whispered, fighting back her own tears.
"Just having you here is enough," Kelly replied, reaching up and taking one of her hands in his. "I'm just glad you're here."
The next morning Kelly and Stella walked into the hospital hand in hand. When they arrived in the waiting room, Kelly was surprised to see Brett and Casey already there. "You're here," Kelly stated, surprised, giving Casey a hug.
"I got in early this morning," Casey explained. "We dropped the boys off at their grandparents and then came straight here."
"I'm glad you made it," Kelly told his friend. "Have you seen her yet?"
Casey shook his head. "We just got here right before you guys," he replied.
Kelly nodded. "Come on, I'll take you to her room." He turned to Stella, an apologetic look on his face. "She's only allowed to have two visitors at a time."
"It's okay," Stella assured him. "You and Casey go. I can wait."
Kelly led Casey to Gabby's room. "She's been sleeping a lot, so she may not be awake," he warned him as they stopped outside of the room.
Casey only response was to nod as he stared through the window at the figure laying in the bed. She barely resembled the Gabby that he knew; she'd lost so much weight and looked so fragile. The Gabby that he knew, that he'd loved, had been stubborn and energetic and full of life. "She looks so weak," he murmured.
Kelly clasped on hand on his friend's shoulder and squeezed. He knew how shocking Gabby's appearance must be for Casey; it had been shocking to him when he'd first seen her six weeks ago, and she'd lost even more weight since. "I know," he replied simply, knowing there was nothing he could say that would make this easier on Casey. He stepped into Gabby's room and walked over to her, taking up position in the chair next to her bed just as he had every day since she'd been admitted. He reached out and stroked her hair, gently moving it out of her face.
"Kelly," Gabby whispered, turning her head towards him and opening her eyes. "Hi."
"Hey, you," Kelly replied, pasting a smile onto his face, determined not to let her see how concerned he was. "You have someone here who wants to see her," he told her softly.
Casey nervously stepped into the room, walking to the foot of her bed as Gabby turned her head to see who Kelly was referring to. "Hey, Gabs," he called softly.
Gabby smiled weakly. "Matt. What are you doing here?" she asked, stretching out a hand to him.
Matt quickly walked around to the side of her bed and took her offered hand. "I came to see you," he replied, fighting to maintain control of his emotions.
"You didn't have to do that," Gabby chided.
"Of course I did," Matt insisted. "I had to make sure Kelly wasn't giving you a hard time."
Gabby tried to smile, but it quickly turned into a grimace.
"Gabby? What's wrong?" Kelly asked, out of his chair in an instant and leaning over her bed.
Gabby shook her head. "I'm fine," she assured him. "It's just the joint pain Dr. Fleishman warned about."
"Do you want me to go find a nurse to bring you some pain medicine?" Kelly asked, concerned.
"No; it's not that bad," Gabby replied. "I'm fine; really."
Casey observed the interaction between his two friends with interest. They'd obviously grown closer over the past six weeks, and he couldn't help but feel guilty for not having been there for them both. "There's someone else here who wants to see you, too," he informed Gabby. He could see that she was starting to tire already, and he wanted to ensure Stella had a chance to see her before Gabby was too tired. "I'll be right back with her," he promised.
A few minutes later Casey was back outside the room with Stella in tow. He and Brett had both warned her about how Gabby looked, but he heard her gasp as she caught sight of Gabby for the first time. "I know," he said simply.
Stella looked at Casey, tears in her eyes. "How could this happen? How could we get so out of touch with her that she didn't tell any of us that Antonio had died or that she had cancer? What the hell did we do?"
"I don't know," Casey admitted. "I've been asking myself that same thing since Severide first called." He sighed. "I don't even want to think about what could have happened if Brett hadn't spotted her, or if Kelly hadn't waited for her outside the hospital."
"Are you two friends of Gabriella Dawson?" Dr. Freidman asked. He'd walked up just as Casey and Stella were finishing their conversation and given how they were hovering outside of Gabby's room, assumed they were friends, although he hadn't seen them around before.
Casey nodded. "Matt Casey and Stella Kid," he replied, introducing himself and Stella to the doctor. "We used to work with Gabby. I assume you're her doctor?"
Dr. Freidman nodded. "Yes, I'm Gabby's oncologist," he replied. "I have to say, your friend is a real fighter. Despite the fact that her immune system is almost totally wiped out, she's holding her own against this infection. I'm surprised."
"If you knew Dawson, you wouldn't be surprised," Stella stated. "She's one of the most stubborn people I know. If anyone can beat this thing, it's her."
"I was about to go in and give her and Kelly an update." The doctor glanced around and not seeing any nurses, lowered his voice. "We normally limit it to just two visitors at a time, but I'll make an exception, just this once. Just don't tell anyone."
The three of them walked into Gabby's room together, Stella joining Kelly by Gabby's side while Casey stood by the foot of her bed. Gabby's eyes were closed, and both Casey and Stella assumed she was asleep, but she opened them at the sound of their footsteps.
"Hey, Kidd," she greeted Stella tiredly. "You came; I'm glad. Kelly needs someone to take care of him."
Stella managed a slight smile. "Of course I came. I couldn't pass up a chance to see one of my favorite people. Besides, I figured you had to be getting a lil' tired of this guy here," she joked, bumping Kelly with her hip.
"You're quite the popular patient, Gabby," Dr. Freidman stated. "Your crew just keeps growing."
"Yeah," Gabby replied softly, smiling. "They're pretty great."
"I have some good news today," the doctor announced. "Your white blood cells are still decreasing, but just barely. This could mean that they're beginning to stabilize and your body's starting to do its job and fight this thing."
"Does that mean the medicine is working?" Kelly asked hesitantly.
The doctor shook his head. "It's too soon for the medicine to be having any affect," he informed Kelly. "But this is a good thing; if Gabby's body is doing this on her own, that gives the medicine an even better chance of working."
"How long until we know for sure whether her count is stabilizing?" Casey asked.
"We'll run another panel this afternoon," Dr. Friedman replied. "If her count remains the same, then that's a good sign. Even better if it remains the same through tomorrow morning." He looked at Gabby. "If we're able to get your white blood cell count up and we get rid of your infection, we can finally schedule that surgery."
"That sounds amazing," Gabby whispered, her exhaustion growing more evident.
"I'll let you get some sleep now, but I'll be by again later to check on you," the doctor promised. He looked at her three friends that were in the room. "The best thing for Gabby right now is sleep; it's what her body needs to help her recover. I'd recommend limiting her visitors today so that she can rest."
The three friends nodded. "I'll make sure she gets some rest," Kelly assured him. "Thanks, Doc."
When the doctor had left, Casey turned to the couple, "I'll go back to the waiting room and give everyone an update." When he'd gone to get Stella, more of their friends had been trickling in, and based off of what Brett had told him, by now most of 51 would be in the waiting room. "Do you want me to send everyone home?"
Kelly shrugged. "You can try, but I doubt they'll listen," he told Casey. "It's like pulling teeth to get anyone to leave before visiting hours are over."
Once Casey had left, Stella turned to Gabby only to see that she was already asleep. "She's asleep already," she remarked, surprised.
Kelly nodded, sitting back down in the chair. "Yeah, she's not been awake much the past few days," he informed his fiancée. "And when she is, it's only for short periods of time. This morning is actually the longest she's been awake since she's been here."
"And what about you?" Stella prodded. "How much sleep are you getting? 'Cause you look rough."
"I get enough," Kelly replied vaguely.
"Kelly…you're not going to be any help to Gabby when she gets released if you're exhausted," Stella chided.
"I know," Kelly sighed. "But I feel bad leaving her here unless I have to."
Stella shook her head. "Kelly Severide, there's a waiting room full of people who would gladly stay with Gabby while you went home and got some rest. Don't give me that."
Kelly looked up at his fiancée, and she was surprised to see tears in his eyes. "The day that Anna died, I was going to skip shift to stay with her, but she told me to go. If Boden hadn't gotten to the scene when he did…I wouldn't have made it on time. I'm terrified that if I leave, something's going to happen and I won't make it back here on time."
"Oh, Kelly," Stella murmured, moving to stand in front of Kelly and cupping his face in her hands. "I'm sorry I haven't been here for you. I'm sorry you've been dealing with this all yourself. But you can't do this; it's not healthy." She paused for a moment before stating, "I'm not going back to Girls On Fire. I can't; not now. You need me here; Gabby needs me here."
Kelly was already shaking his head before she'd finished. "Stella, no. I can't let you do that. And Gabby wouldn't want you to do that. She was thrilled for you when I told her about the Girls on Fire program and what you were doing with it."
"It's not fair for you to do this all yourself," Stella argued.
"I won't be," Kelly assured her. "Now that the rest of the house knows, they'll help however they can. You know that. I won't be doing it alone."
"Okay," Stella said, giving in finally. "But I'm staying until we know for sure that she's out of the woods."