Chapter 12

Over the next few weeks Severide felt like he was going non-stop. Between work, his new consulting gig and training the "Squad" actors…and finishing the house…the most sleep he ever got was when he was on shift at the firehouse.

Hollywood did arrange that meeting with the head writer and the executive producer Todd Keller. The two had flown in and took Kelly and Alyssa out to dinner downtown. Severide told them his story…and Craddock had made a few suggestions as well…and they decided to adapt it in order to compensate for McEwan's bum shoulder. And somehow…that had all translated into an extra paycheck.

Kelly certainly wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth. Not with all the stuff they had coming up.

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It would be good to get back into their house, but there was so much to do. First they had to pack up the apartment…and decide what they were going to use in the new house.

They had gotten a ton of stuff from the department wives and from the people at church after the fire…and Alyssa and her sister-in-law had come up with a plan to kind of pay it forward. So in addition to the move…the show…and the new baby, Lyssa and Kathy were opening a thrift shop in partnership with St. Pasqual's. They were going to start with the things that had been donated to them…and then take in gently used items…and people could buy them for a few bucks. They had already made some deals with a bunch of organizations that helped battered women and got homeless people into apartments. The organizations would pay a flat rate…and their clients could get what they needed.

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But as good as it would be for the Severide's and the Boungiovanni's to get back into their own houses, it was also bittersweet. Sadly, the Riordan's weren't coming back. Amy had had a real hard time coping with all that had happened and just walking through the house during the reconstruction had sent her into a full blown panic attack. So Kyle had put in for a transfer…and they were renting a house down in the Homewood-Flossmoor area. They had family there.

Kelly hated to see them go. He knew he'd miss hanging out with Kyle and the boys would miss Kevin and Danny, but he understood.

Amy and her boys had been badly injured. All three had suffered serious burns and smoke inhalation. Danny was an asthmatic to begin with…and the little boy had spent over a week on a ventilator after the fire to give his damaged lungs a chance to heal. But even six months later almost any exertion at all caused him to gasp and wheeze.

Had it not been for his training and preparing his family for what to do in a fire, Kelly knew things could have been just as disastrous for his family. As it was he was anticipating an adjustment period…some anxiety about being back in the house again and he had scheduled two weeks off.

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Moving day finally arrived…and the team was on hand to help the families get back into their houses. Hollywood showed up too with a bunch of the other actors in tow…Phelps and Williams…the two other "Squad" guys…and nearly everyone from "Truck" turned out to help.

Andy and Jesse were so excited…watching their "uncles" troop up and down the stairs…carrying pieces of furniture…boxes of clothes, toys, books…some of them went on the truck that was going to their house…some of them went on the truck that was going to the new store.

The boys kept darting back and forth, running between the men and ducking under and behind the things being carried out. It was a great game until Kelly grabbed them by the arms and hauled them into the laundry room in the back of the apartment.

He picked Andy up…and plopped him down on top of the washing machine…then grabbed Jesse and plopped him down on top of the dryer.

The two boys looked at one another…uh oh…Daddy had his angry face on…

"I told you guys three times to stop gettin' in the way! You can't be runnin' around like that! Someone's gonna get hurt!"

They didn't like it when Daddy got angry. They didn't like it when he yelled. Andy's eyes were wide with fear and his bottom lip trembled.

"Sorry, Daddy…" he said in a tiny little voice.

But Kelly was still going.

"You know, I'm not just talkin' 'cause I like the sound of my own voice! You boys need to start payin' attention!"

Jesse teared up too.

"We sorry, Daddy. We'll be good…honest."

Kelly stopped what he was about to say. He was running on about three hours of sleep and he didn't mean to be so sharp with his sons…that was the last thing he wanted.

The sight of big blue eyes swimming with tears was enough to break his heart.

"C'mere…"

He gathered Andy and Jesse into his arms and held them tight.

"I'm sorry, guys." He told them. "But we've gotta be safe here…we don't want anyone to get hurt. Not you, not me, your uncles…our friends…"

He pulled out his phone.

"Hey…Pop…turns out there's something I need you to do after all…"

And about fifteen minutes later he was packing Andy, Jesse, Connor and Aiden into his dad's car for a trip to the movies and out for pizza.

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That night…after everyone had left…Kelly locked his front door and he had to take a minute to compose himself before he turned around to look at his house.

Matt had done an amazing job…the hardwood floors, the upgraded kitchen and the bathrooms. Everything had come together and it was a real showplace. It was truly work he should be proud of.

But there was a storm of emotions going on. The neighborhood didn't feel the same…at least not to Kelly. His home was always someplace he could go after shift, shut the door, and forget about all the ugliness and devastation he was forced to confront on a daily basis. He could hold his wife and hug his kids and just…count his blessings.

But that ugliness had reached inside his four walls…when a nine year old boy had deliberately tried to murder his family because Kelly wouldn't let Andy and Jesse play with him. Even six months later…the thought that someone filled with that much anger and hatred had lived only four doors down was enough to make him shudder in fear.

There were three empty houses on the block…the Riordan's…the Garibaldi's…and the Murdoch's. Kelly wondered when they'd be getting new neighbors…and what they'd be like.

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He felt Alyssa come up behind him…lay her tiny hands on his broad shoulders…and slide them down his well muscled arms. Kelly took a deep breath…and let it out slowly. All the stress and tension began to melt away the moment she touched him. Just like always.

He took another minute to savor the closeness between them before he turned around to wrap her in his arms.

Alyssa was six months along now…and Kelly swore she was as big as she'd been with the twins. He didn't know if it was just because she was so tiny herself…that things seemed all out of proportion…or if he was remembering things wrong or what. All he knew, was her stomach was huge…and he couldn't even imagine what she'd look like in three more months.

It made hugging her difficult…that was for sure.

But he wasn't about to let that stop him. He wrapped her in an embrace and pulled her as close to him as he could. And he could feel the baby moving inside her.

"What's she doin' in there?" he asked in surprise.

"Baby gymnastics…" Alyssa answered ruefully.

"She must be trying for a gold medal." Kelly quipped as his daughter gave a particularly hard kick.

Poor Lyssa must be black and blue on the inside…

"C'mon…" he said. "Let's get the boys to bed."

Then he could hold his wife all night long…he thought to himself as they climbed the stairs.

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But putting the twins to bed proved easier said than done.

"Guys! Enough!" he said. "It's way past your bedtime!"

But Andy and Jesse were just too excited…checking out every nook and cranny of their room.

"It's the same room you've had since you were babies! Just with a fresh coat of paint!" he told them…unable to keep the frustration out of his voice.

"No it's not!" Andy said as he darted around Kelly. "Look!"

He ran to the foot of the ladder that led up to the loft Casey had built for each boy. Now their beds were about four and a half feet off the floor…and each one had a new desk and bookcase underneath.

Kelly just rolled his eyes in exasperation.

"If you want, I can just go get my chain saw from the garage. I can have those beds on the floor real fast."

"No!" Jesse cried. "I like my big bed!"

"Then get your little butt up that ladder…" Kelly told him. Then he turned to his other son. "And that goes double for you, Andrew Michael."

When Daddy used their full names, the boys knew they were in big trouble. Jesse scampered up his ladder in about two point two seconds. Andy looked at Kelly for a minute…and Kelly crossed his arms across his chest and looked right back.

Andy decided it was better not to take his chances…and he reluctantly climbed up to his bed.

Kelly tucked them in…

"Now you guys go to sleep…or else I'll cancel your "training" with Morgan."

He wasn't sure what had possessed him when he agreed to take Hollywood and the boys to the climbing wall at the "Y" for "vertical rescue training" the day after they moved. But the boys were looking forward to it…and they had the camera crew lined up and everything.

They had already filmed one segment of "training"…another crack at the "down firefighter assessment". Andy and Jesse had wiped the floor with Craddock…again. Not only that, but they'd shaved another three seconds off their time.

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He closed the twins' bedroom door behind him and went down the hall to his own room. He could hear the shower running and he quickly stripped off his shirt and jeans. He carefully opened the shower door and slipped in behind Alyssa.

She sighed as he caressed her body…his hands coming to rest on the gi-normous baby bump in front of her. He leaned down over her shoulder to kiss that one special spot where her neck and collarbone met.

"We should have had Casey put in one of those Jacuzzi tubs…like we had at the Peninsula…"

"You'd have a heart attack as soon as you opened the water bill." She told him.

He chuckled.

"You're prob'ly right."

He reached for the sponge and her lemon scented body wash.

"Here…try this one instead." She said, reaching for another bottle.

She poured some on the sponge and Kelly breathed in the scent of spearmint and eucalyptus. He began to soap her back.

"That's pretty nice…" he whispered, commenting on the scent.

"Um-hmm…" she replied. "You're next, Severide."

She turned and took the sponge from him and before he could protest at the less than manly implications, she began to rub those small, soothing circles across his chest and shoulders.

"It tingles…" he said.

"Um-hmm…" she said again. "I figured you wouldn't mind after all the moving and everything."

She stepped closer to him…as close as she could…and slipped her arms around his waist. She began to soap his lower back.

"You read my mind…" he told her.

"It's prob'ly be easier if you turned around." She replied.

He answered by pressing up against her.

"Easier…but not as much fun."

Alyssa giggled.

"Isn't that how we got into this in the first place?"

Kelly just caressed her stomach again…marveling that his daughter was in there.

"And I can't wait to do this again…" he growled as he leaned down to kiss her. "And again…and again…and again…"

"How many kids are you figurin' on havin'?" she asked when they came up for air.

"Maybe my own baseball team…" he answered. "Or my own football team…"

Alyssa laughed.

"Good luck with that…"