Chapter 11
They were going down that road...and there was no turning back. At least not for Kelly, there wasn't.
He and Alyssa had talked through the whole thing...and they were both on the same page. They were totally together on this. He could feel it.
He called Antonio Dawson the next morning...and he asked how he and Lyssa would go about asking for custody of Lexi.
Antonio had made some calls...and now he and Lyssa were sitting at the table after the kids were asleep filling out a mountain of paperwork. These people had to know everything...
It was mind-blowing when you really thought about it. When two people wanted to have a baby...you broke out a bottle of wine, lit a bunch of candles...put on some soft music and let nature take its course. Or you had a few beers and crawled into the back seat of your old man's car...whatever. The point was, all you had to do was what came naturally. Nobody was going to ask you about three generations of your family history, how much you made in a year, what was the highest level of education you'd completed.
Maybe if they did there wouldn't be kids in the kind of situation Baby Lexi was in...with a crazy mother facing a murder rap.
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Kelly tossed the pen across the table.
"What's wrong, Babe?" Alyssa asked.
"I'm gettin' writer's cramp here..." he grumbled. "I never saw so much paper in my life. We didn't have to fill out this many forms to get our mortgage loan..."
Lyssa took his right hand in hers and began to massage it gently.
"I know, Kelly..." she said softly. "It's pretty overwhelming."
"You still want to do this, right?" he asked, afraid she might be changing her mind.
"Yeah...of course I do." she answered. "I feel just as strongly as you do about it. I'm just saying...it's a lot to bite off."
It was a lot to bite off. Personal histories, financial statements, medical histories...psychological tests...character witnesses. But Kelly was prepared to do whatever it took.
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It took a few days, but they finally got all the forms filled out and got all the necessary documentation together. Antonio personally took the file down to DCFS. He knew a few people...maybe he could grease the wheels a little.
About a week later they got a call from a Mrs. Hillford. She was a social worker and she was assigned to Lexi's case. She asked when would be a good time to come over and meet with the Severides.
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Once the appointment was arranged, Alyssa and Kelly took the boys into the living room.
"We wanna talk to you guys..." Kelly said.
"Are we in trouble?" Jesse asked.
"No...we need to have a family meeting."
"What about Maggie?" Andy asked.
"Dad and I'll talk to her later..." Alyssa told them. "This isn't something she'd understand."
"Did something bad happen?" Jesse was worried now.
Kelly took a deep breath.
"Something bad did happen, Jess...but not to anyone we know."
That sounded strange...
"A couple weeks ago, I got called out to a fire over on Laramie. It was a house fire...and it was a really bad one. There was a little boy trapped inside...and me and the guys...we tried to get him. But we were too late."
"The little boy died?" Jesse asked.
"Yeah...of smoke inhalation." Kelly told him.
They didn't need to know all the details.
"Anyway...this little boy had a baby sister. And their mom's not gonna be able to take care of her anymore."
"Did the mom die too?" Andy wanted to know.
"No." Alyssa answered. "But she can't take care of the baby. That sometimes happens."
"Why?" Jesse asked.
"I don't know all the details, Jess." Alyssa told him. "All we know is that this little baby's got no one to take care of her...and that makes your dad and I feel bad."
"It makes me feel bad too." Jesse said.
"I know it does..." Kelly said, reaching out to put his arm around his son. "But Mom and me...we wanna do something to help this little girl. So we asked if she could come live with our family."
"Who do you ask about that?" Andy wondered. "Did they say yes?"
"They haven't said 'yes' yet." Kelly said. "But a lady is coming tomorrow to meet with us and talk about it."
"We just wanted to tell you boys what was happening." Alyssa said. "The lady will prob'ly be here when you get home from school tomorrow."
"What do we have to do?" Andy asked.
Obviously this was important...and Mom and Dad were letting them be part of it.
This was a really grown-up thing to talk about. To have to do.
"Nothing special, Buddy." Kelly told him. "Just mind your manners when the lady is here. No fighting..."
"This woman needs to see what our family is like...so she knows we'd be able to take care of a baby." Alyssa said.
"We can help take care of her." Jesse said. "Just like we help with Maggie."
"That's why we're talking to you guys." Kelly said. "For this to work...it's gonna take all of us. Our whole family."
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Both Kelly and Alyssa were on pins and needles waiting for Mrs. Hillford's visit.
Not knowing what to do with her nervous energy...Alyssa was fussing in the kitchen...polishing non-existent spots from the granite countertops.
Kelly came in from the four seasons room where he had been watching Maggie play with her castle/dollhouse. He crossed the room to come up behind his wife who was polishing away.
"Hey..." he said, laying his hands on her shoulders.
Alyssa just about jumped through the ceiling.
"Whoa...easy, Babe..." he told her. "My God...you're tense..."
He began to massage her shoulders...but what would normally be soothing wasn't.
"Kelly...don't..." she said.
He stopped.
"What's wrong?" he asked, instantly worried.
Kelly could feel how knotted her shoulders and her neck were. Why didn't she want him to rub them?
"I'm just...too wound up..."
"I can feel that." he said. "I'm just trying to help."
"I know you are...and I love you. "
Alyssa slipped her arms around him and rested her head against his chest.
And Kelly carefully wrapped her in his arms and held her close...but he couldn't help feeling there was something else. Something she wasn't telling him.
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But he didn't have time to pry into it...because the doorbell rang, announcing that Mrs. Hillford had arrived.
He kissed Lyssa gently and went to answer the door.
Maggie came running from the playroom and skidded to a halt as Kelly opened the door.
"Hi..." he said as he held open the storm door so the woman could come in. "My name's Kelly..."
"Brenda Hillford..." the woman introduced herself.
She was in her late forties, maybe early fifties...shorter than Kelly...full-figured. She looked over worked...her manner was brusque.
Alyssa came out from the kitchen to join Kelly.
"This is my wife, Alyssa...and our daughter Maggie." Kelly introduced his family.
"Come in...please." Alyssa said. "Would you like some coffee? Tea?"
"Coffee sounds wonderful." Mrs. Hillford replied.
Alyssa nodded and went off to the kitchen.
Maggie crept closer to Kelly and he felt her snake her arms around his leg. He reached down and plucked her up into his arms.
"Come on and sit down..."
He held out his arm, gesturing toward the living room.
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Mrs. Hillford headed into the front room...walking slowly, studying everything. She took in the pictures on the tables and the walls...the bookcases filled with every kind of book you could imagine. The room was homey...cozy...neat and lived in.
The social worker sank down onto the big leather sectional just as Alyssa came in with a tray of coffee and cookies...and a cup of milk for Maggie.
Kelly set Maggie down and she immediately reached for a cookie.
"Try not to make crumbs all over..." Kelly told her, even though it wouldn't do a bit of good.
If Maggie was eating...she was making a mess. The dust buster was coming out regardless.
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Once all the grown-ups had their coffee, Mrs. Hillford reached into her shoulder bag and pulled out a manila file folder. Kelly saw his name written in black marker on the tab.
The official file...
"Why don't you tell me a little about yourselves..." she began.
"Well...we'll be married eleven years in June." Alyssa began. "We've got three children. Our boys, Andy and Jesse turned ten on Christmas Eve...and Maggie just turned three."
"And you're with the fire department?" Mrs. Hillford directed her question to Kelly.
He nodded.
"Yeah...twenty-five years this fall." he said.
"And how long do you intend to stay?"
"As long as I'm able to." he told her.
He still loved his job...he still looked forward to the challenges it brought.
It's just who he was.
"And what about you, Mrs. Severide?"
"I'm home with the kids, mostly. But my sister-in-law and I oversee the Helping Hands store over on Irving..."
"Lyssa and Kathy started the store with the people at the church." Kelly added.
Mrs. Hillford nodded.
"We had a fire here about four years ago..." Alyssa told her. "You may have read about it...our home, my brother's home...and one of our neighbors? Well, we had such an out pouring of help from the families in the department and the parish, that we decided to start the store as a way to help others in similar circumstances. We work with several organizations that aid women and children..."
"Yes, I'm aware." Mrs. Hillford said.
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Maybe brusque was too polite a word to describe this lady.
She decided to just get down to it.
"I do have some concerns." She began. "For starters...I understand you were injured last year, Lieutenant. Quite seriously."
"Yeah...but I'm totally fine now." he said. "I'm on full duty...no restrictions..."
"That's fine...but I'm concerned about your ability to care for a child after all that."
"What do you mean? I take care of my family just fine."
"What if something happens?" Mrs. Hillford asked. "How will you take care of a child then?"
"The same way I'll take care of the three I've already got."
Kelly was getting frustrated. What was this lady getting at? Just because he'd been injured before, that meant he couldn't take care of a baby? Nobody was concerned with that before...with how they'd manage with the twins and Maggie. But because they wanted to take in Baby Lexi...old wounds were suddenly a major concern?
"Mrs. Hillford." Alyssa broke in. "Last year was really difficult for our family...that's true. But we had a lot of support. We have a huge family...three of my brothers live right here in the neighborhood. Kelly's dad is eight blocks away...my folks are close by. And we have the most amazing friends in the world. All Kelly's co-workers at the fire station organized in shifts to help out when Kelly was hurt. We had so many people helping us..."
"That can't factor into my decision." Mrs. Hillford said. "You are the ones who would be given custody of Lexi...and we need to know how you plan to care for her. And you have quite an extensive medical history yourself, Mrs. Severide."
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Kelly had to bite his tongue to keep from saying something that would kill their chances of swaying this woman.
"We understand that." he said. "The point is, that we were able to manage after my accident...and, yes, my job is dangerous sometimes. But even if I worked in an office downtown somewhere...there's no guarantee I wouldn't get hit by a car crossing Michigan Avenue. You can't base your whole decision on what might happen...otherwise nobody's gonna be able to pass your test."
"It's not a test, Lieutenant." Mrs. Hillford replied tersely. "The state is involved in this child's case, so we have certain protocols that must be followed."
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The rest of the visit was very routine...like she was going down a check list. She looked in the fridge...checking to see what kind of food they had. She looked at the house...the rooms...asked where Lexi would sleep.
"We thought we could put a crib in Maggie's room..." Kelly said. "She's been asking for a sister..."
When the social worker left, Kelly held out his arms to Alyssa and she stepped into his embrace.
They had tried their best. They had met with this woman and answered all her questions the best they could.
But they couldn't change the past...and if their combined medical histories were gonna prevent them from getting Lexi, there was nothing they could do about that.
Kelly couldn't help but feel discouraged.