Chapter 10

Craddock and McEwan sat in a booth at the hotel bar.

McEwan had just gotten into town the week before. He's spent a couple shifts with the men…and he was still trying to get the lay of the land.

Craddock, on the other hand, had been around about five…maybe six weeks and he finally felt like he was starting to get his footing. Now he wore the same uniform the rest of the guys did…the blue cargo pants…the blue shirt. When they went out on a call he threw on bunker gear along with the rest of them.

Lieutenant Severide kept drilling him…over and over…timing him with a stopwatch until Hollywood could do it as fast as everybody else.

He'd learned how to handle a Halligan…and now sometimes if he thought there was no real danger…the Lieutenant would call him over to open a door…or the guys would let him help vent. And one day they had hauled a wreck of a car down to the firehouse and Lieutenant Severide had spent a whole day showing him how to use the Jaws of Life, the spreader, the ram…they tore that thing apart till it was nothing but scrap.

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But honestly, he got the most out of the nights he had dinner over at Severide's place. He had to bite the insides of his cheeks to keep from laughing sometimes when Andy and Jesse were trying to teach him something. Not that the two little boys didn't know what they were talking about…it was obvious they did. But there was something decidedly undignified about learning the parts of a fire truck from a pop-up book.

He got to talk to Severide…and Casey…since he was always there for dinner. They were both more forthcoming now…talking about their own experiences. They had both come on as Candidates around the same time…they started on Truck together…and they had some stories to tell.

There were pictures too. Since everything in their house had been destroyed in the fire, Alyssa was collecting pictures from everyone she knew and making copies. She was trying to reproduce all the family albums. So Morgan got to see pictures of Andy Darden, the firefighter who got killed in the line of duty…the one Lieutenant Severide had named his son after.

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"So tomorrow's the big day." McEwan said.

Tomorrow McEwan, Craddock and all the other cast members were starting a three week boot-camp at the Academy.

"Yeah…" Morgan said. "I just hope all that extra cramming I've been doing starts to pay off."

"I took a look over that book you lent me…how in God's name do these fellows remember all of that?"

Morgan shook his head…he had no idea.

"I just keep tellin' myself that if two six year olds can learn everything…maybe there's a hope in Hell I can too."

"I've got to meet these wonder twins someday." Dylan chuckled. "They sound like they'd be a riot."

"Oh…they are. But they're real serious about this stuff. Whatever you do…you can't laugh…no matter how cute it is."

Then he got an idea. He reached for his phone.

"Hey, Lieutenant…" he said when the call went through. "It's Craddock. Would it be okay if I brought McEwan over later? He wants to meet Andy and Jesse."

Hollywood listened for a moment.

"Thanks."

He ended the call.

"Okay, you're comin' with me. Make sure you bring your appetite…Alyssa needs to open her own restaurant. Her cooking is like…insanely good!"

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"Kelly, Dr. Mabis's office called today. They had a cancellation and they wanted to know if I could come in for the ultrasound tomorrow instead of next week."

"But I'm on shift…"

"I know, Honey…but Matt's almost finished with the house…we're gonna be moving…there's so much to do next week."

"I wanted to be there. We're supposed to find out what it is…"

"It's not like I'm not gonna tell you…" Alyssa said.

"It's not the same."

Alyssa sighed. If it was that important to him…

"Okay, Baby. I'll just keep the appointment for next week."

She crossed the kitchen to hug him. She slipped her arms up around his neck…and Kelly folded himself around her and pulled her close…as close as he could. Her pregnancy was pretty obvious now. But he still hugged her tight.

As he held her, he could feel the baby moving inside her. And he really wanted to know if it was a boy or a girl…and Andy and Jesse wanted to know if they were getting a brother or a sister.

"No…" he said. "Take the appointment tomorrow. I can't wait till next week to find out. Besides…once we know, Casey and I can start painting in the third bedroom."

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Kelly looked at his watch for about the nine hundredth time. What was taking so long? Alyssa's appointment had been at ten. And it was after four now. Why hadn't she called?

He reached for his phone.

As if on cue, the door opened and Andy and Jesse came running into the common room with Alyssa right behind. She was carrying two cakes…and Kelly started walking toward her.

But Mouch jumped up off the couch to take the cakes from Alyssa's hands.

"Here…let me help you with these…" he said solicitously.

Alyssa laughed…and Kelly caught the roll of the eyes from across the room.

When Lyssa showed up bearing gifts…okay, food…Mouch moved faster than he did when the bells went off.

Kelly quickly closed the gap between them. The boys threw their arms around his waist…hugging him tight.

"Okay…guys." He said. "I need to talk to your mom."

He opened his arms and Alyssa stepped into them.

"I've been waiting for you to call." He said. "I've been goin' crazy all afternoon!"

She smiled up at him.

"I think they're about to cut into the cake…" she said mischievously.

"I don't give a damn about the cake! What is it? A boy or a girl?"

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But he heard a commotion behind him at the counter.

"What the...?" Hermann said.

"What flavor is that?" Otis asked.

Curiosity got the better of him…and he turned around to see Mills had cut into the first cake…and the inside was…pink?

"It's a girl!" Alyssa laughed. "We're having a baby girl!"

Suddenly everybody got it…pink cake…

Kelly hugged Alyssa tight.

"A girl? Really?"

He couldn't believe it…he was going to have a daughter!