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Glad you're still liking Linseride. Derek Haas has tweeted that there will be more in the final three episodes to come - exciting! At least to me, haha! Hope you enjoy this update.
Looking back on that night, many years later, Kelly would still count it as one of the best in his life. The next morning, now that was a different story.
He was feeling it, his leg and hip really feeling it. And Erin knew it.
He'd gone to sleep as soon as his head hit the pillow...falling into a deep slumber, snoring lightly, out of it in a way Erin hadn't seen in so long. But as the morning wore on the slumber turned to a fitful rest, the cocktail combination of Tylenol 3 and booze wearing off. He'd come down from a pain free high and was hitting the wall hard.
At seven, Kelly was up, looking around Erin's bedroom, disoriented, not sure where he was, what was going on. He got his bearings and headed for the bathroom. His first step, or almost step had him on the floor, Erin at his side in seconds. She could sense him waking up and knew from his light groans that he was in bad shape.
"Let me help you," she said softly grabbing his arm, placing it over his shoulder.
"I'm good," he said trying to get there on his own.
"No, you're not."
The weekend was a long one, the couple waiting for his appointment with Monty. Erin tried to keep him comfortable, tried to find some position that would ease the burning in his hip and leg. She alternated the Tylenol with ibuprofen, but it simply was not enough.
The morning of the appointment came and she had to call Casey just to get him in the car.
"Jesus, he seemed fine at the party," said Matt the second he got her alone.
Erin had no answer. She hoped the doctor would have one.
Turns out the MRI revealed everything Monty needed to know.
"Well, it's no wonder you're in a world of hurt, son. That hip is pressing down on one of your nerves creating that radiating pain...all the way to your toes, right?"
Monty described going in to "tweak" the hip placement, alleviating the pressure, and hopefully the pain.
All Kelly heard was that he was havin' another surgery. He couldn't even call Boden, Erin had to.
He wanted to slip back to that dark place but no one was havin' it this time. Erin took a week off and Voight knew this was some kinda forever thing. She would never take off that much time unless a Caribbean vacation was involved.
Manny came by immediately and wouldn't let one bad thought slip in. He basically shamed Kelly into keeping a positive attitude.
"So nuthin's gettin cut off?" Manny asked, his baby daughter in his arms. She was squirming mercilessly and Kelly couldn't help but wonder how he kept a firm grip.
So we're back to the 'cut off' conversation, he thought wishing he could feel a little sorry for himself. He had no desire to go under the knife again. A little tweaking still meant being put under, scalpel cutting skin, and the worst part...recovery. Enough already. He'd had enough.
Shay, who'd temporarily moved into the second bedroom, was planning on helping Erin take care of Kelly for the next week. She snorted with laughter when Manny dumped the little one in Kelly's arms saying he had to go take a "p-i-s-s." Saying anything close to profanity was a no-no, so they all had to spell out what Manny would find objectionable for his little girl's ears.
The baby settled down immediately and started to doze off, eyes getting heavier and heavier.
"You have got to be s-h-i-t-t-i-n-g me," said Manny glaring at his little angel asleep on
Severide's chest, feeling a sense of irrational betrayal. "What are you? The damn baby whisperer?"
"D-a-m-n. You don't want her first word to be damn," reprimanded Shay, huge smile on her face.
"I'm leaving her for the night. Mama and I need some alone time." They all knew "alone time" was really code for sleep.
"Tell ya what. Once I get this thing fixed for real, I'll watch her overnight. It's the least I can do," Kelly whispered, not wanting to wake up the baby.
"We'll watch her," corrected Erin rubbing Kelly's head and smoothing back his hair.
She was putting on a brave face but probably dreading the surgery more than her man. How much more can he take, she thought. She hated seeing him like this. He was the strongest man she knew, she'd ever met. And having him weak and hurting was too much. Any other guy and she would have cut and run and never looked back. She'd tried, but couldn't stay away. No, I'm in it for the long haul, she thought, kissing Kelly on the forehead and gently touching the chubby cheek of Manny's beautiful daughter.
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The tweaking was just that...it was the shortest surgery Kelly'd ever had. He was out of recovery within an hour, started PT the next day.
"LookIn' good," said Manny coming by to check on his friend. "I'll be hittin' you up for Camp Severide before you know it."
The ex-Marine couldn't believe Kelly was already attacking his PT hard, the surgery obviously doing the trick.
"Little Isabella's never gonna wanna go back home after bein' spoiled rotten at Camp Kelly's."
"So it's Kelly, huh?"
"Yeah, Severide's a mouthful. Uncle Kelly's a h-e-l-l of a lot easier," the fireman laughed as he walked the length of his room again.
"Laugh it up a-s-s HOLE." We'll see who's laughing when she has your ass up all night, thought Manny, shit eatin' grin spreading across his face.
"You should think about havin' one of your own," he continued.
Manny caught Kelly as he stumbled a little heading back to his bed.
"Whoa. Just kidding, Severide. Erin hasn't said anything to mama about wanting kids...or being pregnant." Manny laughed out loud at the white that came over Kelly's face. "You better lay down...you're not lookIn so good." The one sided laughter continued.
"Who let you in here? Remind me why we're friends again?" Kelly sat on the edge of the bed sucking down a full glass of water, giving his buddy the death stare.
"Be nice to those of us who visit your sorry ass, even when you're only in here for two nights. Be patient, I think you'll be able to kick my ass in no time."
Kelly agreed.
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Dr. Monty was officially deemed a God...or maybe just a demigod by Kelly and Erin. The surgery did the trick and Kelly was relatively pain free.
The doc saw himself as anything but a deity. He was feeling a little like a failure.
"I should've seen this, known this. Feel like it's my fault you were sufferin' all these months." he said for the umpteenth time.
"Don't be ridiculous. You saved my life. I'm here today because of you. I never said anything." Kelly replied for the umpteenth time, sick of listening to his doc beat himself up.
"You are doin' great," Monty reluctantly gave in. "I like the way it's progressing." He was smiling now, looking at the increased range of motion, strength. He could see the lieutenant back on the job. For the first time since Severide was initially brought in barely breathing, he could see him back at 51, leading squad...no restrictions.
Kelly also let himself start to believe that it could happen. Before the goals were small... no limp, some running...but now? Now, he could picture leading his men, doing everything he'd done before. It was gonna happen.
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The job didn't care how long you'd been off, didn't care about "easing you back in" slowly...no fire fighting was an unsentimental, temperamental bitch. It had a way of slapping you in the face and waking you up even when you didn't know you were asleep. It was part of the appeal to all the men at 51.
Kelly returned on a Tuesday to the typical welcomes they all were greeted with when they'd been out because of injury. There was a cake, mainly because Mouch would use any excuse to have the house pay for a huge cake they could snack on all day. Or he could snack on for several days. The lunch was always the returning guy's favorite, and there was an extra serving of ball busting. This Tuesday was no exception.
Shay had Dawson make her arroz con pollo for lunch and Mills had a brisket slow cooking for the evening meal. It wasn't meant to be.
The first call came in right as they sat down to devour Gabby's chicken dish. Everyone groaned, everyone except Kelly. He was ready. He'd been waiting for this and had that feeling in his gut he hadn't felt in years...nerves, excitement, a little fear.
He didn't remember being like that since his first day as a candidate all those years ago, his first day of squad the same. And now. He'd passed the test every time...today would be the same he told himself.
The call was a car that thought it was a boat and careened into Lake Michigan. The driver found out pretty quick that his Camry couldn't float. The vehicle flipped and three were trapped inside. It was submerged pretty close to shore, so the water wasn't that deep. Unfortunately, it was deep enough to drown three panicked passengers. The driver had escaped, swimming to safety and then taking off on foot, not wanting his blood alcohol level to come into play.
Water rescue. Everyone was always a little on edge with those. 51 was like a well oiled machine, every call allowing the guys to come together as a team. The water rescues were different...it was usually Severide and one other squad member working to save someone or several someones with the rest of the team watching from above.
Nothing like trial by fire, thought Kelly giving his regulator a quick check. Or trial by no fire.
He was glad to have Clarke going in with him. His friend's last shift at 51 before taking the reins at 29. They'd gotten a rundown of the scene on the drive over and had a plan in place.
"Piece of cake," said Clarke patting Kelly on the back, seeing the nerves, the apprehension. Jesus, it'd been how long? He couldn't even imagine.
Shay was by her friend's side giving him a huge, full on hug...not her usual quick pat or peck on the cheek.
"You got this," she said looking him right in the eyes. It gave him the little extra oomph he needed and pushed him to get moving.
They entered the lake and each took position on both sides of the car. They could see three people inside frantically trying to open the doors, but pressure making it impossible. They were safely encased with plenty of air... at least for the time being. Kelly tried to motion to them to calm down, but they were screaming and pulling at the door handles.
Clarke was trying to signal one of the trapped to roll down a window...that would allow them to open a door, relieve some of the air pressure. They thought the guy in the orange scuba suit was crazy, their heads nodding no way in unison.
Kelly motioned to Clarke that he was going to break the window on his side, be ready. He had a feeling the three were not going to exactly float to the top. No, they'd be earnin' their money on this one.
He broke it quickly and without warning to the passengers, better if they didn't see it comin' he figured. Clarke opened one door, water flooding into the car now...three sets of eyes huge with fear.
Kelly swung open the door on his side and reached his hand out for the two passengers closest to him. One took his grasp eagerly, pulling past him and swimming to the top. Well I'll be damned, he thought. That was easy. The other was not so willing.
She was a twenty something who kinda didn't know where she was. A blood alcohol test would later reveal that she was three times the legal limit. Impaired didn't even begin to describe her condition. She flailed her arms crazily when Kelly came at her.
Clarke could see the commotion, but he was having issues of his own. The guy he had a hold of had a death grip administered to his neck. He wrenched free, but the young man kept coming at him. Jeff grabbed the guy's arm firmly, almost breaking it, and led him to the top. The last he saw was Severide struggling with spaghetti arms.
He handed off "the strangler" to Mills and dove back down to help Kelly. His lieutenant was already on the way up, a limp noodle in his arms now. Severide handed her off to Capp, pulling himself up, back on dry land. Clarke was yanking off the hood to his wetsuit, rubbing his neck, taking in deep breaths.
"You okay?" asked Kelly also pulling off his hood. "Looked like the guy was tryin' to kill you."
"Yeah, just gettin' my breath. I may have lied when I said piece of cake. Is crazy girl going to be okay?"
"Fine...all three of em."
"Way to get your feet wet."
"You did not just say that," laughed Kelly shaking his head.
"Oh yes I did. Did ya miss us?"
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Back at 51, they re-warmed the Dawson dish of wonder and dug in.
"If we're forty and you're still not married, let's get hitched," said Kelly mouth full of the chicken and rice deliciousness. Everyone laughed with Mouch looking like he may need some resuscitation.
"Just eat. Don't speak. You're always at your best when your mouth is closed," Dawson responded spooning another heaping on Kelly's plate.
"That's what she said," Shay called out cracking herself up.
Just when Kelly was about to get sentimental letting himself think how perfect this was...
Truck 81...Ambulance 61...Squad 3... 4701 South Loomis Boulevard...House fire, possible injuries...
"We're goin' to the hood, boys," said Hermann getting one more bite in.
"Let's do it," said Kelly. First day back wouldn't be complete without a fire. Well, he was gettin' one.
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The house fire turned into a three house fire with the blaze threatening house number four. People were outside crying, thinking about going back in. CPD was there in force, usually the case when they had a call in a neighborhood like Logan Square.
Kelly saw Erin immediately. It was funny how he could sense she was there even before seeing anyone from Intelligence. It was also funny how the Intelligence team was called to a house fire. Someone needed to check on her guy.
"Everything go okay? Are you okay?" asked Erin rushing to Kelly the minute his feet hit the ground.
"Perfect. Everything's good, babe. Really. Now, let me work," he said gently, aware of the eyes on him.
"Capp, Clarke, attack the middle house from the outside. Mills, you're with me," Kelly headed to the last house, the one about to be used as a match lighting up the next house on the street. They needed to extinguish that match...and now.
Casey and his men worked the outside of the last house, forming a human barrier between it and the house next door. They were taking a stand, deciding it was gonna take a hell of a lot more than the flames licking at their faces to get them to move.
Kelly and Mills stormed in hoping to quell the blaze from inside and out. When the heat hit Severide's face, he felt like a friend had returned. He realized how crazy that was and decided it was best to keep that one to himself. Yeah, no sharin' that with Erin.
They were surrounded by flames, but little by little the space between the two men and the fire became larger. He could tell they were makin' progress. He kept an eye on Mills, impressed with how far he'd come while he was out. Clarke was a damn good firefighter and a great guy to learn from. 29 was lucky to have him.
It was just a little flicker, maybe not even that. Whatever it was, Kelly flung himself at Mills sending the young guy sprawling on the floor, his lieutenant on top of him. The second they hit the ground, part of the wall right behind Mills fell away...almost simultaneously, a torrent of flames shot through aimed right where Pete's head had been.
Kelly rolled off his man, grabbing his hose and sending water into the flame shooting hole in the wall. Mills joined him. The effect was immediate...the fire was giving up. The hidden flames in the wall were dying under attack, and it was like the heart of a beast being removed. Just thirty more minutes and the two headed out to join the rest of the house. The whole thing was out in another forty five.
"Lieutenant, you saved my ass. Thanks," said Mills the minute he got Kelly alone.
"More like your head, but don't sweat it."
"How'd you know? How'd you know that was gonna happen?"
Severide loved that Mills was like a sponge, always wanting to know more, always absorbing every bit of knowledge to become the best fire fighter he could be. But he had no answer.
"I don't know. I think I saw a flicker, or somethin'." He was trying to articulate what it was that made him fling himself on the younger man. It was more of a feeling.
"So a flicker means flames are shootin' out of the wall? Got it," laughed Mills shaking his head. "I think you've got some sixth fireman sense."
Kelly didn't say anything, but deep inside he agreed. Call it instinct, luck, whatever...he had it. Always had, even from day one as a green, super nervous candidate.
And now, his first day back, the welcome confirmation that it was still there.
Yay, he made it back! Hope you liked it. Next up, relationship drama between Kelly and Erin.
If you love Severide centric stories, check out my new one "The Hotshot," Kelly's helping a friend fight wildfires in Colorado. Also, mom2jlg and I combined forces for "A Deal with the Devil" where Kelly has to help out Voight to pay a debt.
Okay, let me know what you think of this one. What's coming next?