Chapter 6
On Monday morning, Kelly walked the boys to school…then practically ran home to get Alyssa so they could go downtown to Dr. Mabis's office.
They were going to see their baby! It was still too early to know what it was…but Kelly was hoping for a girl. He'd never pictured himself with a daughter before…but somehow he just had a feeling.
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He was practically bouncing with anticipation as they waited in the examining room for the sonogram technician. And Alyssa could hardly hold back her giggles as she watched her husband…who seemed to have all the patience of their six year olds.
Finally…Dr Mabis and the sonogram tech came into the room.
"Okay…"the doctor said. "Are you ready to see your baby?"
She gently pulled up Alyssa's top and Alyssa had already taken off her jeans and had a paper sheet across her lap. As she settled back against the pillow Kelly took a hold of her hand.
Alyssa shivered as the cold jelly hit her bare skin…and slowly the tech began to move the transducer in slow, widening circles.
The tech and the doctor studied the screen carefully.
"Just one in there this time…" Dr. Mabis said with a smile.
And she turned to monitor so Kelly and Alyssa had a good look.
A lot had changed in six years…now the 3D ultrasounds were standard.
And the picture was incredible. Instead of a fuzzy outline that someone had to tell you was a baby…Kelly could actually make out arms and a head…and even fingers.
The baby was actually sucking its thumb!
Kelly looked at his wife…she looked at him…and they both had tears in their eyes.
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The next morning he walked into the common room and headed straight for the bulletin board.
And he pulled a picture from his jacket…and stuck it right in the middle of the board.
Then he stood back with a big smile.
It was the sonogram picture of the baby sucking its thumb.
Everyone gathered around to see what he had just put up…and there were gasps of surprise.
"What is that?" Cruz asked as he took a step closer.
"What does it look like?" Shay said as she smacked his arm with the back of her hand.
Men could be so dense…
She turned to Kelly and enveloped him in a huge hug.
"Do you know what it is?" Hermann asked as he studied the picture.
"Not yet…not till the next sonogram…" Kelly said. "But Baby Severide is due at the end of March…"
He turned to Casey.
"I'm gonna wanna make a few changes with that upstairs guest room!" he said.
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And after shift he rounded up a group of guys to go sneak Mr. Garibaldi his beer.
Late that afternoon he went over to the nursing home with Casey and Capp…Mills, Cruz, Otis, and Hermann…and Vargas met up with them as well. The eight of them went to Mr. Garibaldi's room with a couple six packs and a couple pizzas.
Mr. Garibaldi looked worse in just the three days that had passed since Kelly had been there with Alyssa and the twins.
It looked like the old man was gonna go pretty fast.
But he was happy to see the men. His tired eyes lit up to see these young 'brothers'…to hear their stories from shift…to tell a few of his own. And a couple bites of Chicago style pizza…and a few swallows of cold beer…everything was just perfect.
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The men were still talking about it Friday at dinner time.
And Morgan sat at the table…doing what he was coming to be very good at…listening.
He could see now how much Lieutenant Severide's old neighbor meant…not just to the Lieutenant…but to all the men. He wished he had been invited…just to hear the old man's stories.
He'd started reading some technical materials…books he'd gotten from the Academy…and he was getting a new appreciation for what went into the training. He didn't know how he was going to be able to memorize all the stuff he now knew he had to learn if he was going to play a believable firefighter.
But this was the stuff he'd been looking for for his character…who now had a name…Lieutenant Aaron Whitlock. Here was the camaraderie between the men…the good natured busting balls back and forth…and the underlying respect for a fellow firefighter.
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About a week later Kelly's phone went off in the middle of the night.
It was Charlotte…Mr. Garibaldi's daughter.
Mr. Garibaldi was gone.
Kelly ended the call and set the phone back on the night stand. And he turned to Alyssa…
He didn't have to say a word. She knew.
And she took her husband in her arms. And they both cried.
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Mr. Garibaldi was going to be remembered for his service…and the firefighters at Station 51 were gonna make certain of it.
Kelly called Mr. Garibaldi's daughter and told her what they planned to do.
He knew it was what the old firefighter would have wanted.
The first thing he did was head downtown. There, he went into the shop where all the men and women in the department got their uniforms…and after a quick conversation with the clerk and the store manager, he bought a full dress uniform. Then he took it to the funeral home.
And the next he got dressed in his blues…the wake was today…
For a change he was the last one ready…maybe 'cause he really didn't want to do this. But he had to. He owed it to Mr. Garibaldi.
Andy and Jesse were dressed in their brand new navy blue suits…sitting uncharacteristically still on the couch.
"C'mere guys…" Kelly said.
The twins came over to stand in front of their father, and Kelly knelt down to straighten their ties.
Red for Andy, blue for Jesse.
Satisfied that they were as presentable as they were going to be…
"You guys remember all the things we talked about, right? You're gonna see all the guys from the firehouse…but this is a very serious occasion…you're not gonna be playin' and rough housing and makin' a lot of noise, okay?
They both nodded.
Alyssa came out of the kitchen.
"Ready to roll?" she said.
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When they got to the funeral home, Andy and Jesse hung back…even though Mommy and Daddy had explained what they were gonna see, they were still nervous.
Kelly gently nudged them forward…then he took them by the hands and led them up the aisle to the front.
Mr. Garibaldi was lying in a big box…that looked like a bed. And Uncle Mouch and Uncle Chris were standing beside the box. They had their fancy uniforms on…and their white gloves…and they were wearing their hats…even though they were inside. And they were staring straight ahead, not even smiling a little.
Daddy squeezed their hands and he led them right up to the box. There was a thing to kneel on..just like in church and they knelt down. Mommy knelt between them and slowly they all made the Sign of the Cross…and Mommy nodded to them and folded her hands. And Andy and Jesse copied her.
Daddy was right behind them and he squeezed them on the shoulders.
There were more people waiting to kneel down and say a prayer for Mr. Garibaldi.
Alyssa and the boys made the Sign of the Cross again and after they stood up, Kelly took Andy by the hand and Alyssa took Jesse and they went over to where Mr. Garibaldi's daughters, Charlotte and Sandra were sitting on the couch.
The two ladies stood…these must be the neighbors their dad was always talking about… young firefighter who had saved him…his wife and their two adorable little boys.
"You must be Kelly…" Charlotte said.
Kelly nodded…and the older woman suddenly enveloped him in a huge hug.
After she released her grip…Kelly introduced his family.
"This is my wife, Alyssa…and our boys, Andy…and Jesse."
"We both want to thank you…so much for all of this." Charlotte said as she nodded in the direction of the honor guard. "You were right…this is exactly what my dad would have wanted."
"It's what he deserves." Kelly said.
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After the wake was over, Hadley came up to Craddock…who was standing in the back of the funeral parlor.
"Hey…I'm meetin' a couple buddies for a beer…wanna tag along? It'll be good 'research' for you." He said with a wink and a grin.
Morgan was surprised at the invite…and it's not like he had anything else going.
"Sure…why not?"
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They went to a place over in Bucktown… and Hadley's friends were already there.
"You didn't say 'formal attire'…" one of them said as the two men joined them at the table.
Hadley loosened his tie and unbuttoned the top button of his dress shirt. Then he shrugged his jacket off. He didn't want to accidently spill anything on it before the funeral tomorrow…if he showed up smelling like a brewery Chief would have his head on a plate…and let Lieutenant Severide have what was left.
"Hey guys…this is Morgan Craddock. He's the actor I told you about. He wants to learn how to be a firefighter." Hadley introduced Morgan to his guys…"This is John Mitton…Squad 1…and Todd Horowitz…Engine 12…Royce Callahan…Truck 36…and Dean Lowe…Squad 5."
"And you think Station 51's gonna teach you all you need to know?" the one called Lowe said with a snort. "C'mon over and ride with us…"
"Sounds great…I'm not really gettin' a lot from Lieutenant Severide…I mean, I found all this stuff on line…but he doesn't ever want to talk about the real human interest stuff. All he ever says is 'watch…listen…and stay out of the way." Craddock said. "And what does the guy do, anyway? He just goes to work…then goes home to his wife and kids."
Mitton chuckled.
"There was a time when Severide would close down the bar…he'd drink everyone under the table…then go home with the hottest chick in the whole damn place. Every fuckin' night."
"Are we talkin' 'bout the same guy?" Craddock asked.
"Yeah…" Hadley said before he took a long swallow of his beer. "The Lieutenant was a totally different man…"
"Before he got whipped…" Lowe grumbled. "Before he met his wife…I'd wager he laid down with half the women in Chicago…"
"Don't get us wrong…" Mitton said. "Severide's one of the best firefighters in the whole department…"
"Yeah…he's good." The one called Callahan cut in. "But he changed."
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Charlotte and Sandra insisted that the Severides walk with the family…and sit right behind them in the church.
Andy and Jesse looked around…it was St. Pasqual's, the church they went to every Sunday. But they had never been up so close before…usually they sat farther back and to the side.
They walked behind the big box…somebody had closed it up…down the center aisle. Andy held onto his daddy's hand, and Jesse held onto Mommy's.
Then they stopped.
Father Joe was standing at the end of the aisle…and two big kids…probably from Declan's class stood beside him. One of the boys was holding the little bucket of Holy Water…the one the priest used to sprinkle everybody at Easter time. And Father Joe took the stick and sprinkled some water on the box.
Then the other boy handed him a white blanket…that Father Joe spread out on top of the box. And then he took the smoky lantern…the one that smelled really yucky…and walked around the box.
Then they were walking again…and Mommy led them into the second pew, right behind Mr. Garibaldi's daughters.
Uncle Matt and Uncle Pete and Uncle Chris and all the rest of the firefighters sat on the opposite side of the aisle.
It was weird to be going to Mass two times in one week…and skipping school to do it…but Daddy said this was very important.
Uncle Matt got up to read…a story in the Bible about how there was a time for everything. And Mr. Garibaldi's daughters were crying.
And instead of Father Joe talking in the middle of the Mass, Chief Boden got up and talked.
Chief said a lot of big words…like 'honor' and 'dignity'. He talked about how the CFD was like a family…and how all the firefighters from Station 51 were there to honor their 'brother' even though some of them weren't even born yet when Mr. Garibaldi got retired.
And after the grown-ups went to Communion…Daddy stood up.
He stepped out in the aisle, and he held out his hand. Alyssa gently whispered for the boys to go with Daddy.
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Kelly walked to the front of the church to the silver bell set up to the left of the podium. He positioned Andy and Jesse to the right of the bell…and whispered under his breath for them to stand up straight and tall. Then he walked around to the other side of the bell…and took a deep breath.
He wasn't one for public speaking…but Mr. Garibaldi was his friend…and he owed it to his friend to perform this final honor.
"Throughout most of history, the lives of firefighters have been closely associated with the ringing of a bell. As they began their hours of duty, it was the bell that started if off. Through the day and night, each alarm was sounded by a bell, that called them to fight fire and to place their lives in jeopardy for the good of their fellow man. And when the fire was out, and the alarm had come to an end, the bell rang three times to signal the end. And now our Brother Hank Garibaldi has completed his task, his duties well done, and the bell rings three times in memory of, and, in tribute to, his life and service."
He took another deep breath…and he rang the bell…three times.
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Morgan Craddock sat in one of the last rows…behind the friends and family…watching every move Kelly made…listening to every word.
He knew that the Lieutenant was the one who did all this…the honor guard, the bell ceremony…he was the one who said this was the way it had to be…and no one had questioned him.
When Chief Boden spoke, he talked about how the CFD was a family, and even though Mr. Garibaldi had retired in 1981 he was as much a brother as the men who joined the department in 2001…or 2011. He talked about how Mr. Garibaldi had selflessly put his life on the line, shift after shift, year after year, for the citizens of Chicago...and how each generation of firefighters was proud to carry on that duty. And he said that all the men and women from Station 51 were better firefighters…better people…for having had the privilege to know Mr. Garibaldi.
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After he got back to his hotel room he took out the printouts of all the articles he had found…and he put them in chronological order.
The first ones were about Mrs. Severide…Alyssa…being attacked in her own apartment. The one article said she was in a coma. And the police were looking for leads.
Then they arrested the guy who did it…and there was a picture of the man in court.
And off in a corner of the picture, almost cut off, was Lieutenant Severide.
The next set of articles were about the fire at the Garibaldi's house and the Lieutenant and his dad rescuing the old couple…and getting a special commendation. There were pictures there too…Lieutenant Severide and his old man with the Mayor…and the Commissioner…and the Chief. And one with the Lieutenant and his family.
He thought about what he had just heard the other night. The way Hadley and his buddies made it sound…Severide's little black book was about as thick as the Chicago phone book. It didn't really match with what he'd seen today…especially when the Lieutenant took his sons up with him for the ringing of the bell.
Morgan hadn't missed the way Lieutenant Severide looked at the boys.
All these thoughts were running around in his head…playing leap frog with one another. He grabbed a legal pad and a pen…and started trying to make some sense of it all.