Title: Plan C
Chapter 26 – Something Unexpected?

"CPD! Drop your weapon!" Erin shouts as she starts to pursue their fleeing perp; Jay in tow but starting to catch up. The perp veers to the left and Jay easily overtakes Erin, passing her and then slamming his frame into the perps, the two of them tumbling to the ground in a jumble of arms and legs.

"DON'T…MOVE!" Erin shouts once more as she hovers over them, huffing a bit but keeping her gun trained on the perp as her partner rolls to the side and then gets onto his knees, roughing turning the perp over and then cuffing him.

"What was that?"

"Bad boots," Erin huffs as she looks at him with a small frown; her mind racing to find a viable reason as to why she was forced to slow down due to sudden shortness of breath. Too much fatty, fried food at the fair yesterday…I'm fine.

"You're quiet this morning," Jay mentions as he pulls away from the cuffed perp that he had handed over to Burgess.

"Uh…too much fried food yesterday at the fair," she retorts with a small sigh. "How was your date with…"

"Wendy."

"Right Wendy."

"Erin…"

"I'm fine. I asked Kelly if I could adopt Aurora, Matt got engaged and I ate a gallon of fried food yesterday and feel sick," Erin groans.

"Again?"

"I wasn't sick…"

"You had…."

"It was the fair!" Erin counters as Jay puts up his hands in defense. "Plus I talked to Nick. It was an emotional weekend. Can we drop the talk of my physical wellbeing? Which is…well."

"Got it," Jay nods as they near the car. "Wendy was…she has a pet…parrot."

"And?" Erin prods as they both get in. "You don't like birds?"

"Not…in the bedroom…making…comments."

"Ah," Erin answers with a snicker as Jay shakes his head and pulls away from the curb.

XXXXXXXX

"Daddy! Daddy!" Aurora shouts as she rushes into their home near the end of the day, Kelly looking up from the couch as Pauline enters the living room a few seconds later.

"Hey goo…ber!" Kelly huffs as Pauline looks at them in wonder.

"How are you feeling?"

"Think it was just too much fried food," Kelly replies as he pats his stomach and then slowly sits up; Aurora lodging herself beside her father and trying to show him her latest pre-school project. Pauline sits down in the opposite chair, telling him all about Andrea's first day back and how she handled her absence and Aurora's reaction.

"There were some tears and questions…and then apparently she launched into something fun and it was a great distraction."

"Thank you," he tells her in truth as she tells him to remain seated with Aurora and she'd see her granddaughter in the morning. Kelly hears Pauline close the door and then looks down at his daughter with a tender smile. "How was school?"

"Good. Ms. Andrea was there today daddy."

"Yeah? How was that?"

"Good. She's feeling better," Aurora reiterates what her teacher. "Are you feeling better daddy?"

"Yeah…I'm fine," Kelly whispers as he hugs her close and kisses his daughter on the head. "Okay so…tell me about this little picture frame you made."

"It's popsicle sticks!"

"Did you hafta eat all the popsicles first?"

"No," Aurora replies with a groan as Kelly laughs and hugs her closer.

XXXXXXXX

Erin looks at her watch and curses the time as she lets herself into their apartment; her mind racing as to what she'd make them for dinner. But as soon as she enters, she notices the apartment is quieter than normal and goes in search of her husband and step-daughter.

She rounds the corner into the living room and stops short, looking at Kelly asleep on the couch with Aurora nestled into his strong chest. Her lips twist upward and she can't help but pull her phone and take a picture of the two things in the world she loves more than life itself – her family.

Kelly, sensing some movement, opens his sleepy eyes and looks at his wife with a lazy smile. "Hey."

"Hey," she slowly enters the room, kissing him on the lips and Aurora on the cheek. "I guess you didn't get to the marina today."

"No…how are you feeling?"

"Jay outran me today," Erin retorts dryly. "Think it was too much fried food?" She asks with a groan as she slumps down beside him, Aurora gently fussing as she slowly awakens. "How is it Aurora didn't get sick?"

"Shay's stomach," Kelly replies as his fingers casually intertwines hers. "I remember we went to Six Flags…damn it was so hot out and we figured if kept eating the cold sugary stuff…I was so sick the next day. Matt too…but Shay, nope…she was fine. Called us all wimps and that was it."

"Shay's stomach," Erin repeats as Kelly nods. "So how about…a chicken salad for supper?"

"Sounds good."

"Where's Matt?"

"He had a job to finish up a job at…" Kelly answers as he gently pulls away from his sleeping daughter, leaving her on the couch and heading into kitchen to make their light dinner. The two of them talk about Erin's rather exciting day versus his rather mundane one; Aurora slowly pulling herself from her sleep and then coming to help them with dinner and telling her about their little picture frame project.

But as soon as Erin looks at the picture inside the frame, she feels her stomach tighten; looking up at Kelly in torment.

"Me and Jasmine," Aurora mentions as Erin looks at her with a tightly drawn smile.

"It's beautiful," Erin whispers as she gives the little girl a hug; Kelly's hand resting on her back. But once the emotions start it's hard for them to just stop short so Erin asks Aurora how she came to pic that picture of her and Aurora and where she got it; Aurora telling her from gramma Pauline

Dinner that night is a bit lighter than the past few nights, but it suits them all fine, especially the adults who come away from the table without the uneasiness they had the night before. After dinner they retire to the living room, Matt coming home about half hour later from Andrea's and joining the three of them in the living room to watch the rest of a Disney movie; Aurora curling up on his lap while Kelly and Erin relax on the couch.

XXXXXXXX

Kelly might be able to claim stomach sickness but this isn't… Erin's mind trails off as her eyes dart nervously around the quiet drug mart. You can do this…just pick a box and go…to the pharmacy desk…

"Is that all?" The female clerk asks as Erin hastily shoves the little box into the paper bag and nods. She grabs her credit card and hurries back outside, her fingers shoving the item into her bag and heading for work.

"Erin…" Platt calls as Erin rushes past the front desk.

"Be right back!" She shouts as she races up the stairs and then ducks into the locker rooms. She rushes into the bathroom and then slams one of the stall doors shut. "This…no no…we're careful and…" she mutters to herself as her fingers tremble as she takes the little wand out of the box and then reads the instructions.

"Okay…here goes." Erin takes a deep breath and then…waits. She closes her eyes tightly, her mind starting to spin and her stomach tightening with despair. She opens her eyes and then looks down. "It's…negative. Negative. Negative? Negative…" she repeats once more as she looks at the box and then back down at the wand. "Negative."

With that she shoves the items back into the bag and then rushes toward the garbage, wrapping the items in some wet paper towels and then shoving it into the garbage receptacle and looking at herself in the mirror.

"Negative…not…pregnant…" she whispers as she looks at her strained expression. "We're not ready…I'm not ready…not ready."

She hears Voight's voice calling to the team, grabs her bag and hurries from the room, entering the intelligence area with a firm nod and tight lipped smile.

XXXXXXXX

"How was the…kiddie fair?" Capp asks in amusement Kelly as he slumps down at the Squad table the same day.

"The pony rides were the best," Kelly tosses back in sarcasm as Capp snickers.

"And he OD'd on bear claws," Matt chimes in as Kelly's lips purse.

"Not just…bear claws. Funnel cake too."

"And cotton candy and mini donuts and…"

"Doesn't truck have something better to do?" Kelly tosses something at Matt who disappears with a laugh. "Okay so I OD'd on fried food….and was sick because of it."

"You're just getting old," Newhouse snickers as he pats Kelly on the shoulder as he pushes himself away from the table and heads toward the kitchen area.

Kelly pulls out his phone and is about to text his father when he looks up to see his father heading toward him. "Was just about to text."

"Was out of town for a few days. How's everyone?"

"Doing fine."

"Heard Matt's engaged. Is he here today?"

"Yeah…in the back. What's up?"

"I'm gonna ask Boden if I can borrow you for a fresh perspective on a current arson site."

"Sure," Kelly agrees as his father goes in search of Matt first to congratulate him and then his superior to ask to borrow his Squad Lieutenant for about an hour…or less.

"Erin wants to adopt Aurora," Kelly mentions as he and his father head toward the latest arson site.

"Really? That's great."

"Yeah. I…I was surprised, but in a good way," Kelly admits as they near their destination. "I wanted this but she had to be the one to want it also. I couldn't push."

"Makes sense. I'm happy for you…all of you."

"I know Shay would have wanted this also."

Benny looks over and nods as the two of them get out of his truck and head toward the darkened structure. But just as they near, Kelly notices an odd shadow and pulls away from his father and strays a bit to the right. "Kelly?"

"Yeah I…I think I see…hey…hey!" Kelly shouts as the figure pulls away and starts to race after the figure as it pulls away from the side of the building and heads for the back; Benny calling for the CPD before he starts to pursue.

"Hey! Stop! Cops are on their way!" Kelly slightly pants as he starts to gain ground. He starts to gain ground and literally flings himself at the fleeing perp, taking him down to the ground with an angry huff as Benny catches up to them. The perp tosses his elbow back, clipping Kelly in the chin and making his head snap backward. But Benny joins the fight, grabbing the man's arm and allowing his son to deliver a stiff blow to the man's chest sending him sinking back to the ground.

"STAY DOWN!" Kelly growls as he looks up at his father, wiping away the small smattering of blood on his lower lip. He remains atop the perp a few minutes longer before his father helps him up off his knees, the perp on his stomach.

"Came back to check out your handiwork?" Benny hisses as he nudges the perp in his side; hovering over him with a raised baseball bat. "Huh!"

"No man…whatever."

"Then what the hell were you doing lurking in the shadows? And why did you run!" Kelly adds as they hear screeching tires approaching.

"CPD!"

Kelly looks up with a small huff as Officers Roman and Burgess rush toward them.

"You okay?" Burgess asks Kelly as she notices the blood around his bottom lip and jaw.

"Yeah…this is nothing," Kelly instantly brushes it off, not wanting Erin to worry too much. "Just need to find out why he's hiding at the site of an ongoing arson investigation."

"Hey man I just came back to…see what I could boost. I'm not the guy!"

"We'll see!" Roman growls as he yanks him toward the waiting police cruiser.

"Need someone to wait?" Burgess asks Benny who shakes his head.

"We'll be okay," he replies as he watches her leave and then turns back to his son. "Come on…let's see if he messed anything up," he states with a heavy sigh as the two of them head toward the taped off arson crime scene.

As soon as they step inside, Kelly's stomach tightens from the lingering acrid smell and looks at his father with a heavy frown.

"Body…was burned in a plastic shower curtain. Horrible sight to find."

"No…kidding," Kelly whispers as he starts to carefully wander around the charred interior. He pulls his small flashlight and looks at what was originally identified as the original source of the burn. "Who…called it in?"

"Neighbour. Only said he saw someone dressed in black fleeing and then the House started to smoke."

"So our guy…obviously came back…for something else," Kelly ponders as he slowly pulls away from the burn site and starts to slowly survey the surrounding area. "Wonder what he left behind…" he mutters as he heads for the small back room, his father in another part of the three story townhome. "Look at this…" Kelly draws his father's attention to something else that looks suspicious.

"That…isn't a natural burn pattern," Benny notes correctly. "The shadows show up better in this light. I'll document this."

"But…why this place? Nothing of value here."

"That's what else we need to find out," Benny replies as Kelly pulls away and heads for another room. Benny hears his son muttering something but busies himself taking pictures and then documenting the area.

"What was…" Kelly starts in a louder tone and then stops, his eyes catching something that doesn't seem quite right.

"Kelly?" Benny hears his son's voice stop suddenly; his head snapping up and looking into the belly of the darkened home. "What did…" he starts only to heard a loud bang from a piece of furniture or something heavy falling over. "Kelly?"

"Yeah…fine," Kelly replies as he rapidly blinks away some soot particles; Benny flashing his light into the little room his son's now in. "But I think…I found what he was looking for."

"Son of a…bitch," Benny curses slowly as he looks at the large duffle bag at his son's feet – filled with bags of drugs and bundles of money. "I'm calling Voight."

Kelly steps back and looks down at the items with a heavy sigh. "Makes sense why he was in such a hurry to come back and get this."

XXXXXXXX

"Hey…" Erin pulls away from the scene and heads toward her waiting husband.

"Hey…any ID on our guy?"

"Yeah, name's Ronald McMiller and he's one of the team we're looking for. But I think he's more the patsy…low level middle man," Erin explains as Jay nears them.

"We have an address. McMiller rolled on one of his guys. Guess…no honor among arsonists," Jay quips as Kelly's brows slightly arch.

"See you later."

"Hey…you feeling okay?"

"Yeah…better, you?" Erin counters as Kelly smiles and nods. "Good. See you later."

"Okay."

He watches them leave and then feels his father coming beside him and slightly cocks his head to the right.

"What was that all about?"

"Uh…work," Kelly retorts as he looks at his watch, motioning to his father that he needs to get back to work.

"Erin…not feeling well?"

"Yeah too much fried food…at the fair, what are you…"

"Has it lasted?"

"I was sick too," Kelly snickers as they head toward Voight. With the scene now under the authorization of the CPD, they head outside and then get into Benny's truck. "We're not…trying. I'd be okay with…we're not ready yet. She's not ready yet and I respect that. Just…let it go okay?"

Benny offers his son a small chuckle as they near Firehouse 51 but says nothing more. He thanks his son and then pulls away; Kelly's mind now pondering something else – another family member? It was just too much bad food…that's all…we're both fine now.

"Everything okay?" Matt asks as Kelly enters the Firehouse.

"Yeah…some guy was waiting. CPD got him and he rolled on one of his own. Found a large bag of drugs and money there. It's in Intelligence's hands now."

"Be afraid," Matt mocks as Kelly gives him a small slap on the shoulder; Matt laughing as he takes his leave. They head toward the kitchen but just before they are about to get ready to take some food to enjoy, the overhead paging system goes off and it's all hands on deck.

'Engine 51, Truck 81, Squad 3, Ambulance 61, Battalion 25, grease fire at Al's Diner…'

"Here we go!" Kelly slaps Matt on the back as he hurries toward the front of Squad truck 3. The call is routine and they all head back to Firehouse 51 a few hours later.

But an hour later he gets a text from Pauline and looks at Matt in concern.

"What's going on?" Matt asks as he approaches.

"No it's…it's nothing," Kelly looks up with a tight lipped smile. "Erin's running late so Pauline is going to keep Aurora there until Erin calls her," he concludes with a tight lipped smile. "Nothing out of the ordinary."

However, two hours later, he gets a call that instantly makes his mind and heart race – something out of the ordinary.

"Wait…what? An accident…is she okay? Yeah…I'll be there right now," Kelly states in a panic as he looks at Matt and then up at Boden. "Erin's…there's been an accident…from a um chase that…she's in the ER right now and…Chief…"

"Go," Boden approves.

"I'll drive," Matt volunteers as Boden nods for them to go.

"I hope she's okay."

Kelly shakes his head as they hurry from the belly of Firehouse 51, hurrying toward Matt's waiting truck and then back onto the road.

"She'll be fine," Matt tries to assure his agitated friend as they near the ER entrance.

"Yeah…" Kelly replies with a small huff as the truck comes to a stop. But just as it does he jumps out and races into the bustling area, his eyes frantically scanning for the attending ER physician. "Erin Severide?"

"Kelly!"

"Jay…is she okay? What happened?" Kelly asks, looking at Jay's banged up appearance.

"Yeah we…" Jay starts as Matt nears them.

"Mr. Severide?"

"Yeah Doc!" Kelly states as he anxiously pulls away from Jay, leaving Matt to talk to him and rushes toward the expectant doctor. "My wife…Erin…is she okay?" He asks slowly, his eyes briefly glancing at the title embroidered on his coat and then back up at his serious expression. Obygn? Huh…are they short on medical doctors? Or….

But his silent anxiety is quickly addressed by the next sentence.

"Well…I have news on both of them."

"But…" Kelly pauses as he turns to see Jay talking to Matt and then turns back in wonder. "Both?"

"Your wife…and the baby."

"Wait…what?"

A/N: well….promised you all some angst and…well here we go! Always love to get a little friendly sevasey bromance/banter in there and always love me some Kelly/Benny bonding time and then of course some more progress in our little family's lives! But is their family to grow or...? eeks! Would love your thoughts on this before you go so please do review and thanks so much!