A/N: Thanks so much for the reviews! I've reached 40! A lot of you guys have been asking me about KJ's name. Her birth name is Parker Madison Casey. She and Kelly have a very close relationship and he acts as a brother, uncle, father, and best friend for her after her parents' death in a car crash. She looks up to him and she is like his little sister. Because the pair is so inseparable and they are almost always together, the guys at the Firehouse nicknamed her KJ, an acronym for Kelly Junior. The name kind of stuck and that is why everyone calls her KJ!

P.S. I kinda got my inspiration for the second part of the story from the song Waiting for Sueprman by Chris Daughtry.

Casey was dreading this question ever since he found out that his little sister was okay.

"Matty," KJ asked again. "Where's Kelly?"

Casey didn't know if he had the heart to tell her the truth. He didn't know if he could sit there, look KJ in the eyes, and tell her the her uncle, more like her second brother, was 7,000 miles away in Afghanistan. He didn't know if he should tell her that after six months of her disappearance, that same man was falling apart and felt the need to get away, to escape.

"Kelly…he…he…um…" Casey struggled to find the right words, knowing that KJ wouldn't take the news well anyway. "He left," Casey said, releasing the breath he didn't know he was holding in. Still holding KJ in his arms, he closed his eyes, praying that she wouldn't freak out.

"What do you mean he left?" KJ asked. "Left where? To go to the cafeteria? Did he go back to the firehouse?" she continued, completely oblivious to the reality of the situation.

KJ was now sitting up on the bed, facing her older brother. "No, he left left," replied Casey. "Babe, Kelly's in Afghanistan."

"What do you mean he's in Afghanistan? Is this some kind of joke or something?" asked KJ, already denying what she had just heard.

"No, KJ, listen to me. Six months ago, Kelly joined the army. He left, without really saying goodbye or giving us a reason but," Casey was cut off by a very upset KJ.

"No! Matty, stop lying to me!" she screamed, tears now running down her face.

"KJ," he tried to reason with her.

"NO! Kelly wouldn't do that! Why are you lying to me?"

"Babe, I know this is hard, but," Casey started.

"No!" she responded, not ready to accept the absence of her other half. "He's here! And I bet he's standing right outside that door, waiting to come see me!" By this point, KJ was so willing to prove her point that she had ripped her IV out of her arm and had started to walk towards the door.

"KJ! Stop! You have a broken leg!" Casey said, chasing after her.

As KJ walked outside her door, she was met with the presence of everybody from 51. All that is, except for Kelly. She immediately went up to Shay, knowing she would be most likely to know. "Shay," KJ said in between tears. "Where's Kelly? Where is he?"

By this point, KJ was in full hysterics. Shay pulled her into her embrace, holding KJ as she cried. Shay's eyes filled with unshed tears, as she shared in the longing for her best friend. "He's gone, babe. It's gonna be ok," she told her, reassuring herself as well with those words.

The rest of the guys from Firehouse 51 looked on with sorrowful faces, missing their fellow firefighter as well, yet also extremely happy that their favorite teenager was safe and sound.

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The next few months were rough, to say the least.

A couple of weeks after she was released from the hospital and her bones had healed, she was able get her cast removed.

School had been a rough adjustment. She had already missed the last months of junior year, and by now, senior year was almost over as well. KJ struggled to keep up with all of the schoolwork, especially since everybody else in her class was so far ahead of her. Fortunately, Jake offered to help tutor KJ after school. Because she wasn't cleared by the doctor yet, she couldn't play baseball, but she did have a standing spot on the varsity team whenever she was able to return. Therefore, everyday after school, KJ would head over to Jake's house to study. She refused to go to the Firehouse since Kelly wasn't there, similar to the actions of Kelly when KJ was gone.

Slowly, KJ and Jake became closer. Studying calculus would often turn into conversations, about anything really. Sometimes it was about the baseball game the night before. Sometimes it was talking about Kelly and how much she missed him, which often resulted in Jake holding and comforting KJ as she cried. During these occasions, it wasn't rare for KJ to fall asleep on Jake's bed, his protective arms circled around her. Unlike any other parent or guardian, Matt was okay and in fact, glad when this happened. At home, it was rare for KJ to sleep through the night. She often had nightmares not only about Keeler coming after her again (since he still had yet to be caught), but also about Kelly getting injured or killed in Afghanistan. Casey heard her cry herself to sleep at night, but didn't know what to do about it. In the beginning, he had tried to comfort her. However, ever since she escaped, she had become very distant with not only her brother, but everyone else at Firehouse 51. She secretly blamed them for Kelly's departure, mainly because she had no other way to rationalize what had happened. Casey could see that she was starting to fall apart at the seams. He had even tried to get her to go see a psychologist, but he received a very angry response that she "didn't need a fucking shrink". Casey tried to think of any possible solution to his little sister's current state, but the only one he could come up with was the return of Kelly.

Sadly, Casey didn't even know when Severide was due back. He realized that they would just have to wait it out. In the mean time, Jake was becoming worried about KJ. She had been skipping some of their sessions after school. However, he knew Casey had a lot on his plate and didn't want to worry him further, so he decided not to tell him.

On this particular Friday night, Casey was working a night shift at the Firehouse, and assumed that KJ would hang out with Jake just like any other day. In reality, KJ decided that she had to get away for a while, just to clear her head. Everything had been so stressful lately. She was buried underneath all of her schoolwork, and felt smothered by her brother and the other guys at 51 ever since the incident, who constantly checked up on her.

So, KJ heard about a party at one of the baseball player's houses and decided that it would be the perfect way to keep her mind off of anything and everything else in her life.

"Hey Drew. Hey Ryan," KJ said, immediately recognizing of few of her old teammates as she walked into the house.

"Hey KJ," they both said in reply. They offered her a drink, which she gladly accepted, thinking that just a few wouldn't hurt.

A few hours and a couple of games of beer pong later, KJ was completely trashed. She had gotten so caught up in trying to take her mind off of the stress in her life, that she gone a little overboard. At this point, she was struggling to walk upright, and was definitely not thinking straight.

Somehow, she had ended up dancing with Ryan to the music blaring through the speakers. Ryan leaned in, pressing his soft lips against hers, and KJ responded. Somewhere in the back of her mind, her conscience was telling her that the guy she was kissing was not Jake, and that she should stop. However, in her drunken state, KJ couldn't resist and continued to make out with Ryan. Hands started roaming, and eventually, Ryan led KJ into one of the empty rooms in the house. Both of their clothes were gone in a matter of seconds, and KJ began something that she would always regret.

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Ring, ring, ring, ring. Ring, ring, ring, ring.

"Hello?" the groggy voice said.

"Jake, can you come pick me up?"

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Jake was up and dressed in a matter of seconds. He grabbed his keys and ran to his car. On the way to Ryan's house, all Jake could do was worry about KJ and hope that she was okay.

When he arrived, he jumped out of his car and headed straight into the house. He immediately saw KJ sitting down in the corner. As soon as she made eye contact with Jake, she broke down into tears. By now, she was somewhat sober and had realized what she had done. Jake ran over to her, pulling her into his embrace.

"Shhh, shhh. KJ, it's okay. It's gonna be okay," he whispered into her ear as he tried to calm her down.

"I'm so sorry Jake. I'm so sorry," she said as she sobbed into his shoulder.

After a few seconds, he finally realized what she was trying to tell him. He was immediately enraged, not at KJ, but at the thought of some guy taking advantage of her. He looked up to see Ryan talking to a few of his friends, smirking and motioning over to KJ, receiving a round of high-fives. Jake stormed over to Ryan, happily breaking Ryan's nose with his knuckles. As soon as he was done teaching Ryan his lesson, he took a still crying KJ by the hand and led her to his car. He drove them to his house, where he got her some Advil and water, and spent the rest of the night trying to reassure her that everything was going to be okay.