Chapter 11

The next weeks were a whirlwind of activity…for everyone.

Craddock and McEwan and the rest of the actors were in up to their waists at the Academy with their training. Things were coming together…they were scheduled to start shooting the pilot at the beginning of March.

Every day he wasn't on shift, Severide went down to the Academy to help out with the training…especially for Morgan and the other actors on "Squad 4"…two guys named Don Phelps and Dallas Williams. He was now officially a "consultant" for the show…and the extra paycheck was a Godsend.

Casey was working overtime on the houses…doing a lot of the work in Kelly's house himself and overseeing the subcontractors he'd hired for to work on the other two.

Alyssa was starting to shop for furniture…and acquire all the pictures and things to hang on the walls, as well as the little knick-knacks for all around the rooms. She'd picked out the appliances for the kitchen…and those had been installed already.

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One Saturday just before Thanksgiving Kelly and Matt were hard at work in the third bedroom upstairs. That was the room they planned to use for the nursery…and they were painting it a light shade of purple. Lavender…Alyssa called it. Kelly supposed it was all right.

He ran the roller over the wall, spreading the paint. He'd never imagined himself with a little girl before…although he had had a feeling that the baby his wife was carrying was a girl almost from the beginning. But it wasn't real to him…not till Lyssa had showed up at the firehouse with that pink cake.

He chuckled to himself as he pictured his daughter…

"What's so funny?" Casey asked him.

"I was just thinking…God's got a pretty twisted sense of humor…giving me a daughter."

Casey had to laugh at that…

"You were probably every dad's worst nightmare…"

"Oh…I'm sure I was…" Kelly replied with a rueful grin.

"Well…you don't have to worry…there's plenty of us to help you did the moat around the house…"

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"Hey! Anybody here?" a voice called from downstairs.

"Upstairs!" Kelly called back.

Moments later Craddock appeared in the doorway.

"Hey…Alyssa said I'd find you guys over here."

"You know what they say…no rest for the weary…" Casey said. "You know how to paint? Grab a roller."

Craddock took off his leather jacket and laid it over the railing in the hall.

"Is there anything you guys can't do?" he asked. "I mean…firefighting…construction…auto mechanics…"

"Everybody's gotta have some kind of side job." Kelly told him. "We wouldn't get very far on just our firefighters' pay. Especially the guys with families."

"Yeah…we're definitely not in it for the money." Casey agreed. "Not so much paint on that roller. Here…like this…"

He showed Morgan how to roll the paint onto the wall in smooth, even strokes.

Craddock watched for a minute then copied what Matt was doing.

"I guess we can chalk this up to more "training"… he quipped.

The three men chuckled.

"How's it going down at the Academy?" Casey asked.

"I can honestly tell you it's the hardest thing I've ever done." Morgan said. "It's comin' along. McEwan's on everybody's shit list right now.

"What'd he do?" Kelly asked.

"Apparently he's got a bad shoulder…old rugby injury he "forgot" to tell anyone about…"

"Oops…" Kelly said with a grunt.

"Yeah…well it's acting up and he's not able to do a lot of the stuff. And there's already been a bunch of press about the show, I guess they don't want to recast the role. So the writers and the producers are tearing their hair out trying to figure out how they're gonna get around this."

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Kelly and Matt looked at one another. They both remembered another injury…a long time ago.

"They could have him get injured at the fire in the very beginning." Kelly offered hesitantly. "That's like what happened to me."

Craddock stopped what he was doing and stared. Severide still didn't readily share his own experiences…at least not the bad ones.

Severide took a deep breath. Even after all the time that had passed, it was still painful to talk about the fire that had killed his oldest friend.

"The fire where Darden was killed happened a lot like they wrote it in the script…"

Craddock shifted uncomfortably. He was the one who had unearthed the story about the firefighter from station 51 dying in the line of duty. He had gleaned a few details from archived newspaper articles on line and correctly surmised that since Severide had named his son Andy…that there was an important connection. He took that story to the writers…and they had run with it. It wasn't till later, when he had showed Severide the script that he learned how eerily close to reality it had been.

Severide continued.

"We got the call…and we were laughing and joking back and forth over the radio before we got there. And it didn't look like a big deal. But there was no vent in the back…and when Andy broke that window in the attic the door got sucked shut and the thing exploded."

He shuddered as he remembered what happened next.

"I hit the deck…and my tank slammed me in the back of the neck. My whole body went numb for a couple seconds…but then I got up and got the hell outta there." He said. "And then I started havin' problems with my arm. I'd get these burning pains shooting up and down…I figured it was a pinched nerve. But it turned out to be somethin' a whole lot worse."

"What could be worse?" Craddock asked.

"Turned out I fractured my C5 vertebra. The doctor I went to advised me have this surgery…and she was talking a year or more recovery time. But even then…I'd prob'ly still have to take a desk job…or long term disability."

"But obviously that didn't happen…" Craddock interrupted. "So what'd you do?"

"I tried to deal with it…but not in the healthiest way." Severide said hesitantly.

Casey just scoffed.

Kelly shot him a look.

"First…I was getting some Toradol…from…a friend…but then that dried up. So I called this girl I used to date…a drug rep. And she got me some Oxy. But then we all had to take a random piss…and I barely got around it. After that I was scared to take anything stronger than Aleve. That's about the time I met Alyssa…and she helped me…at first."

"How?" Craddock asked.

He was totally caught up in the story…

"She used to be a massage therapist at a physical therapy clinic. She had all kinds of tricks that helped the pain. And it worked…for a while. But then it got worse…and I started stealin' meds from her."

Craddock nodded. He had learned about the injuries Alyssa had suffered…

"Then I started taking morphine from the ambo…" Kelly went on. "But eventually it all blew up and I had to come clean…at least part way…and we started lookin' at surgery. I didn't want to do it…and I thought about just hangin' it up. Then Lyssa found this doctor out in Lake Forest doin' this experimental procedure so we ended up goin' with him. Thank God it worked."

Craddock's mind was churning…this was the perfect solution to McEwan's shoulder problem…but it was such a juicy story line that Craddock wanted it for himself.

But if it helped the show…

"Would you let me try and set up a meeting with the producers?" he asked Kelly. "You can tell them the story…and who knows? Maybe they'll pick it up and run with it…"

Kelly hesitated. He wasn't sure he wanted his dirty laundry aired in public like that…but then, who would know? Casey…Shay…Lyssa…

He shrugged.

"I guess…"

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They went back to their painting….and Kelly and Matt started talking about the upcoming Bears game. But Craddock barely registered a word. He was thinking about the story Severide just told…and he was pondering something for his character. McEwan would get the injury…but the producers had promised that his character, Lieutenant Aaron Whitlock, would have some personal demons to battle as well. And he was thinking what those might be.

He wasn't worried about the series getting picked up. They had a great story…multi-layered characters…top notch writers…and Todd Keller had the Midas touch when it came to long running serials.

He wanted the writers to create a steady love interest for his character…and he had thought about suggesting a few things based on what he'd seen between Kelly and Alyssa…but now he was reworking it in his mind…he'd jot it all down and email it to the writers later.

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Kelly glanced at his watch.

It was getting close to dinner time…

"Hey? Why don't we wrap it up for today?" he suggested. "Lyssa's makin' pork chops tonight…"

"Say no more…" Casey said with a smile as he started pouring paint back into the cans.

"How 'bout you, Hollywood? The least I can do is feed you for helpin' out."

Craddock looked over his wall…and then at the ones Casey and Severide had painted.

They'd probably end up re-doing his…

"If you say so…" he said. "Besides…I've got "training" scheduled with Andy and Jesse anyway. They said they're gonna teach me what to do when I get on scene."

Kelly and Casey both grinned.

"Well we can't get in the way of your "training"…Kelly told him.

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For all his initial reservations about Hollywood, Kelly had to admit he was great with the kids. Andy and Jesse were so serious about teaching Morgan everything they knew about firefighting…which was a lot when you considered that they were a month shy of seven…but there were a bunch of times when Kelly...and Matt...had to leave the room so they didn't burst out laughing.

But Hollywood never did . Maybe the guy really was a good actor.

"There's somethin' else I wanted to ask you…" Craddock said to Kelly.

"Okay…shoot…"

"They're filming a lot of the training exercises…the producers are already lookin' ahead to "extras" for the DVDs."

"Isn't it a little soon for that?" Kelly asked. "I mean…you haven't even made one episode yet."

Craddock dismissed the thought with a wave.

"If you only knew how much un-used footage they have…it's enough to wrap around the world a hundred times." He scoffed. "But I was wondering if you and Alyssa would give them permission to film some of my training sessions with the boys. You know…them showing me their toys…their books…them beating me at drills…it'd be hilarious. And the audience would eat it up."

"You'd look like an idiot." Kelly pointed out.

"Wouldn't be the first time…" Morgan told him. "And I'm sure it won't be the last."

Severide and Casey looked at one another.

"Well…" Kelly said. "I guess if you're willin' to take one for the team…we can talk to Lyssa about it."