Chapter 14
Andy and Jesse ran the three blocks from St. Pasqual's. Today was the day Baby Lexi was coming! She might already be there...and they wanted to see her.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
They had whispered about it late into the night, after all the relatives had gone home.
"Whaddya think she's gonna be like?" Jesse asked.
"Like a baby, I guess." Andy answered. "She's prob'ly not gonna do anything."
"That's really scary...what happened at her house." Jesse said.
He remembered the fire at their house. He remembered Mom coming into their room and waking them up. And her remembered that she handed him his Teddy.
He hadn't really seen the fire...not till they were outside. Mom had carried them down the stairs...both of them at the same time. Jesse still didn't know how she did that. Only Dad could ever carry them both at the same time. But Mom did it...carried both of them downstairs wrapped up in blankets. She took them through the kitchen and slammed the door.
Then she broke the glass on the storm door...and she lifted them through the hole. She cut herself...but she got Andy and him out...and they ran out front to the tree where Dad told them to wait for him.
Mom had been really fast...and he and Andy didn't get hurt at all.
"Why do you think the mom didn't get the little boy out?" he asked. "Andy?"
"I dunno...maybe there was too much fire...and she couldn't."
But he had been thinking the same thing. His mom had got both of them out. Why didn't Lexi's mom do the same?
"I wonder why her mom can't take care of her." Andy said.
"Maybe she's sad about the little boy..." Jesse offered. "You think Lexi 'members her brother?"
"I don't think babies remember stuff." Andy answered. "I don't remember stuff from back then. Just what we see in pictures."
"Lexi won't have any pictures." Jesse said. "Dad said her house got destroyed. There wasn't anything left."
He shuddered.
When their house got on fire a lot of their stuff got burned up too. But Uncle Matt had fixed their house so it was better than it was before...and they got all new stuff.
The 'portant thing was that they had each other...that's what Mom and Dad said. Mom said you can replace things...but you can't replace family.
Now they had to be Baby Lexi's family.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
They ran around the back and up the steps to the four seasons room...and they burst through the door.
Their mom was in the kitchen.
"My goodness...you got home fast." she said. "Did you run all the way?"
Andy and Jesse both nodded...and tried to catch their breath.
"Is she here?" Jesse asked. "Is Lexi here?"
Lyssa nodded.
"She's in the living room with Dad and Maggie..."
The twins shrugged off their backpacks and went running for the front room.
They skidded to a halt almost crashing into one another.
"Look who's here..." Kelly said.
He was sitting on the couch...holding Lexi on his lap...watching Maggie play with her Legos on the coffee table.
And Lexi seemed to be just taking it all in.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The boys came closer...and Andy sat down on Kelly's right side...and Jesse sat down on his left.
Maggie looked up from what she was doing.
"I got a new baby." she told her brothers.
"We all got a new baby..." Kelly gently corrected her. "Lexi's gonna be part of our family...so you're gonna have to share. Got that, Baby Girl?"
Maggie's lower lip turned out just a little bit...
"C'mere..." Kelly said. "Let's introduce her to your brothers..."
Maggie took a step closer.
"This is Andy..." he said.
Andy reached out and stroked one finger on Lexis's little hand...
"And this is Jesse."
Jesse reached out to touch her too...
"Can I hold her, Dad?" he asked.
Kelly transferred the baby to Jesse's lap...and kept one hand on her back.
Jesse held onto the baby carefully.
"Hi Lexi..." he said softly.
And Lexi looked up at the sound of his voice.
Her big blue eyes met Jesse's...and he smiled at her.
And Lexi broke out into a big grin...showing everyone that she had two teeth on the bottom.
She made a gurgling sound...and Kelly broke out into a grin of his own.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"My turn..." Andy said.
Kelly lifted Lexi off of Jesse's lap and transferred her over to Andy's.
"Whaddya think, guys?" he asked.
"She's cute..." Andy said. "She's big..."
"How old is Lexi, Dad?" Jesse asked. "When's her birthday?"
"August 31..." Kelly answered. "We never had a summer birthday in this family before..."
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Alyssa came out from the kitchen...and she stopped at the foot of the stairs for a second to just watch her family getting to know it's newest member.
The kids were fascinated by this little girl...and she seemed to be warming to them pretty quickly.
But Kelly...he just looked so happy and content...and more at ease than he had been in a while.
She smiled.
She knew this was going to take a lot of getting used to...but seeing how happy everyone was...she knew they were doing a good thing.
Alyssa joined her family on the couch...reaching out to take Maggie into her arms.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Later that night, after all four kids were in their beds...Lyssa stood beside the crib watching Lexi sleep. She had rocked the baby to sleep...singing softly to her, while Kelly had given Maggie her bath and read her her stories like he did every night.
It was important to keep that ritual intact...so Maggie didn't feel pushed aside. Most families had months to prepare for a new arrival...they'd had less than twenty four hours.
Kelly came up behind his wife and slipped his arms around her.
She leaned back against his strong chest...and sighed.
"One day down..." he said softly. "How'd we do?"
"Better than I expected, honestly." Lyssa replied. "But the real test comes tomorrow..."
Kelly had to be on shift at seven the next morning and she'd be on her own with four kids.
"Yeah...about that..."
She turned around to face him, concerned and confused, not only by his words...but the tone of his voice.
"I called in today...I've got four personal days left...so I'm gonna take 'em. It'll give us a little more time to settle in. And I wanna be here..."
Alyssa slipped her arms up around his neck.
"Have I told you you're the most wonderful husband in the entire world?" she asked.
"Hmmm..." he answered with a playful growl. "The best husband in the world? No...I think I'd remember somethin' like that..."
He leaned down to kiss her.
"Just for that..."she teased back. "If there's a two a.m. feeding...it's all yours, Severide."