Chapter 28

Kelly went out to get the paper and as he bent down to pluck it up off the front walk, he wondered why he even bothered to have it delivered. Most of the time he just got the news off the TV or read it on the internet.

But when he and Lyssa had bought the house when they were expecting the twins, for some reason he thought having the Trib delivered every day was something he should do.

"Hey, Uncle Kelly!"

He stood up to see his nephew Aiden across the street picking up the paper from their front walk.

Severide gave a wave...

"See you in a little while!"

Today was Saturday...Game Day.

Andy and Jesse, Connor and Micah from down the block had a football game that morning at eleven.

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As he headed back inside he glanced at the front page...and lo and behold...there was the Crown Victoria from yesterday on the front page.

He slid into his usual chair and started to read the accompanying article carefully.

"Dad?" Jesse said. "Whatcha readin'?"

"Tell you in a minute, Jess..."

The passenger, Ricky Watts, 25, had apparently gotten shot in a drive-by. His cousin, Tyrone, 22, was driving him to the hospital...and Ricky's six year old daughter Erika was in the backseat. Then witnesses reported a black SUV with tinted windows speeding up to catch the car and open firing an automatic rifle into the driver's side. The car veered out of control and jumped the curb, only coming to a stop when it hit a fire hydrant.

Both Ricky and Tyrone had known gang affiliations.

The six year old had gotten caught in the crossfire. She was in critical condition at Lurie Children's Hospital.

And Ricky and Tyrone were dead. Tyrone was killed instantly by a bullet that severed his carotid artery and Ricky had bled out in the ER at Lakeshore Hospital.

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What a waste...Kelly thought as he folder the paper again.

"Dad?" Jesse persisted.

Kelly sighed.

"That's the call I was on yesterday. It was a big mess...lot of people got hurt...and it didn't have to happen."

"Can I read the article?" Jesse asked.

Kelly tossed the paper to the side and it landed on the counter.

"No...it's nothin' you need to worry about now." he said. "You've got a game in a little while."

Alyssa set a plate of pancakes, sausage, and bacon in front of Kelly, and they shared a long look.

Now that Andy and Jesse were getting older it was getting harder to shield them from the ugliness outside. Their little neighborhood was something of an oddity for the city. It was almost like stepping back in time. Most of their neighbors were cops or firefighters or other city employees. The kids went to either St. Pasqual's or the public school three blocks south on Meade. Everybody knew each other and most of the kids played together. There were always a couple of parents outside...watching what was going on. It was a great place for the kids to grow up.

And the Severide kids were especially lucky...with so many family members close by.

"C'mon...let's finish our breakfast." Alyssa told them as she sat down to help Lexi with her pancakes and sausages.

"Num-num..." the little girl said. "Num-num."

Kelly stifled a chuckle.

Lexi liked to eat just as much as the rest of the kids...she fit right in.

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Andy and Jesse probably had the biggest rooting section of any kids in the whole league.

Kelly and Alyssa, the girls, Benny, Alyssa's parents...her brothers...their families...and half of Station 51 took up an entire section of the bleachers.

"Hey, Stranger..." Casey said to Kelly as he climbed up onto the bench. "Long time, no see..."

"What's it been? A whole four hours?" Severide quipped.

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The team had almost finished their warm up. It was almost time for the kick off.

Kelly couldn't help but feel his chest swell up with pride as he watched his boys. Andy was the quarterback...just like his old man had been...and Jesse was one helluva receiver. He didn't know if it was some kind of twin thing...but Andy always seemed to find his brother downfield and put the ball right in his hands.

It was a pretty exciting first quarter...at least for Kelly and everyone in their section. From the very first drive the boys had dominated the game. And with two minutes to play left in the first half, they were up eighteen to three. Jesse had just scored a first down and they were about twenty yards from the goal.

Piece of cake.

But the other team was getting impatient...and their coach made a substitution on defense. He sent in a kid name Brent Halliway...who at the age of twelve was almost five feet eight and over a hundred and fifty pounds.

And Brent was bound and determined not to let Jesse gain another yard.

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The team lined up in their standard formation and right before the snap Jesse hustled around to the right side. The center snapped the ball and Jesse took off. He was going deep and Andy fired off the ball.

It was a perfect pass...as perfect as any ten and a half year old could throw...and it was just about to land neatly in Jesse's hands.

But Halliway was gunning for him...and just as he reached up to pick the ball out of the air that Yeti of a linebacker slammed into him.

Jesse hit the ground hard...so hard that everyone in the stands could hear it.

And Kelly felt it.

He was already moving before the whistle blew. He handed Maggie over to his mother-in-law and jumped down from the bleachers.

Casey, Mills, Shay, Clarke, and the rest of the firefighters were a beat behind him.

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The firefighters stepped onto the field and moved aside the kids gathered around Jesse, still lying on the ground.

Shay directed everyone back and she and Clarke gently log-rolled the little boy.

Jesse was unconscious.

"Jesse!" Kelly shouted. "Jess!"

He went to shake his son, but Leslie stopped him.

"Easy..." she said in a low voice.

Then she turned back to Jesse.

"Jesse...Jesse...c'mon, buddy..."

The little boy stirred and blinked his eyes.

"Daddy?" he said in a soft voice.

Kelly felt his heart in his throat.

"Right here, Jess..." he answered, his voice choked with emotion.

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He could hear sirens in the distance and he realized someone...or maybe several someone's had called 911.

Alyssa dropped to her knees beside him...and she reached for her son's hand.

"Mommy? I don't feel good..." Jesse said groggily. "I think I'm gonna throw up..."

Shay and Clarke quickly rolled him before he could aspirate.

Ambulance 61, staffed by the team from Gold Watch, pulled up close to the field and ran over with the jump bags.

They were more than a little surprised to find almost half of Black Watch on scene.

"Ten year old boy..." Shay told the paramedic who was appropriately named Gold. "Loss of consciousness, maybe two minutes. Vomited once."

In no time at all, the paramedics, with an assist from Shay, had Jesse on a backboard and were moving him to the ambulance.

"Mommy!" he cried.

"Go..." Kelly told her. "I'll meet you at the hospital."

Alyssa and Shay climbed in the back of the ambo with Jesse and Kelly headed toward the parking lot, only to be cut off by Otis holding out his keys.

"Switch, Lieutenant." he said. "Take my car...and I'll take yours and take Maggie and Lexi back to the house."

That was a good idea...the best he'd heard all day.

He handed Otis his keys and took off.

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As Severide ran through the maze of corridors on his way to the ER he just had vision after horrible vision of what could be wrong with his son. And when he rounded the corner he could hear Jesse crying.

He picked up the pace and soon he was at the door of Trauma One.

"No!" Jesse cried. "Don't break my football helmet!"

Kelly stepped up to the cart where Jesse was still strapped to the backboard.

"Jess..." he said. "Jesse, Dad's here..."

"Daddy! They wanna break my helmet!"

"It's okay, Buddy...we can get you a new one."

"I'm scared!"

"I know...I know..." Kelly told him. "But it's gonna be okay. Mom and I are right here."

They both held onto Jesse's hands as his helmet and then his uniform was cut off. But no words could console the boy. He loved his uniform and he was so proud of it.

Now the red jersey with the number twenty-seven was in pieces on the floor.

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It took forever in the ER...the x-rays...the CT scan...the MRI...

But one by one, things came back clear. No fractures, no subdural hematoma. That was good news.

The doctor diagnosed a mild concussion, and he wanted to admit Jesse overnight for observation and monitoring.

Kelly nodded and slipped his arm around his wife's shoulders.

He and Lyssa were staying with Jesse...no question about it...

Shay or Casey or one of the team could stay with the other kids.

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Jesse was exhausted by the time they moved him upstairs to peds...and no sooner had he gotten into bed, Alyssa began gently smoothing his hair back...and he was fast asleep.

Kelly stood by the window, watching his son, watching his wife, and he finally felt his heart rate start to come back down to normal. He always worried when one of the kids was sick or hurt...but this time...

He'd suffered a head injury before...so had Alyssa. And it was a scary proposition any way you looked at it.

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"Dad?"

Kelly turned at the sound of the small voice coming from across the room.

There was Andy...changed out of his football gear...wearing shorts and a t-shirt. And as soon as Kelly opened his arms, he came flying across the room. He slammed into Kelly...and this time Kelly didn't even care.

Casey came in behind his godson. Severide looked up from Andy, who was clinging to his dad like he hadn't seen him for a year.

The two friends had a silent conversation with their eyes. Casey cast a look at Andy and shook his head. Immediately Severide understood. The rest of the game had been a disaster. Andy had fallen apart without his brother.

"Hey." Kelly said quietly. "Hey...it's okay, Buddy. It's just one game. You were worried about your brother...everybody understands that."

"I couldn't complete one pass, Dad!" Andy cried. "I threw three interceptions!"

"You and Jesse have something special." Kelly told him, as he led his son over to the recliner.

He sank down into the chair and drew his son to him. It didn't matter that the boy was ten, almost eleven years old. Andy curled up in Kelly's lap.

"It's gonna be okay be okay, Andy." he said quietly. "Your brother's gonna be fine. Your brother's gonna be fine..."