Title: Plan C
Chapter 27 – Rewriting the Future

"Hold on…baby? She's…pregnant?"

"Just over three months. You didn't know your wife is pregnant?"

"Don't even think she knew unless…wait…is…not was? No…I…" Kelly stammers as Matt and Jay near. "Pregnant?"

"She didn't lose the baby."

"Baby?" Jay and Matt both ask at once as Kelly looks back at them and then at the doctor.

"Can I see her? Is everything okay?" Kelly rattles off in haste.

"We're going to keep her overnight…" the doctor gently leads Kelly away from Matt and Jay; taking him toward Erin's curtained off observation room. "Just for some observations."

Kelly pushes his way through the curtain and instantly feels his stomach seize when he sees his wife on the bed with a slightly disheveled appearance and a strained look on her beautiful face; her eyes pleading with his for comfort.

"Hey…" he hurries to her side and takes her hand.

"I didn't know…" Erin shakes her head as her husband grasps her hand, her eyes instantly misting. "I took a test but…it was negative and…"

"Negative?" Kelly asks as he looks at her and then up at the doctor.

"False negatives can happen," he confirms with a strained frown.

But before either can answer another word, the doctor flips on the small monitor and a new sound to both of them instantly fills the space.

"Is that…"

"That…is your baby's heartbeat."

Kelly looks down at Erin who looks up in with a strained expression, their hands grasping even tighter.

"I didn't know," she whispers as both look up at the doctor. "Is it…okay?" She dares to inquire.

"The heart rate is a bit faster than it should be, indicating it's in a bit of distress and that's why we want to monitor overnight. Better to be safe than sorry."

"Absolutely," Kelly agrees in haste as he looks back down at Erin who also nods in agreement.

"Anything else?"

"A few cracked ribs, thankfully nothing broken and no internal damage. Some bruising to the chest cavity from the car crash itself. Luckily you were in the passenger seat or the steering wheel and air bag might have created some other internal issues. You'll be sore for a few days and of course I have to just caution you in your line of work now…to be careful or you could lose the baby. We'll know more about its status in a few hours. I'll be back in a little while."

Both of them watch as the doctor leaves and then look at each other; Kelly instantly leaning in for a hug. He holds his wife's slightly trembling frame close and then pulls back, planting a tender kiss on her flushed forehead.

"I didn't know…I was feeling sick but…Kelly I took the test and…and it was negative. I never would have had I known that…" she starts to state in a panic; the monitors reflecting her agitation. "The baby…"

"Hey…I'm not mad…I'm just…surprised. Worried. How are you feeling?"

"Anxious…nervous…a baby? Kelly…I love Aurora but….a real mother? I don't know if…I'm scared."

His hand tightens around hers once more; Matt and Jay entering the room to see what's going on.

"Is that…the heartbeat?" Matt asks as Kelly nods and gives his friend a weak smile. "Congratulations…" he states slowly as Jay gives Erin a hug; Matt second.

"Voight's gonna…" Jay starts.

"Not find out until…I tell him," she interjects in haste; her weary partner nodding in compliance.

"I'm staying here tonight," Kelly tells Matt as he gives his friend a hug. "Tell Boden Erin is okay and I'll talk to him tomorrow."

"Okay," Matt agrees, wanting to respect the wishes being requested.

As soon as they leave Kelly starts to hover over his wife…her hands instantly seizing his and forcing him to stop.

"I'm just…I don't know what to do," he gently implores.

"I don't either but…Kelly…me a mother."

He says nothing.

"Just promise me you'll not treat me like…I'm gonna break or I'm a china doll or…a mother."

He says nothing.

"What?" She presses.

"I'm worried…about you both," he tells her in truth as his hand rests protectively atop her warm belly. "But happy."

He wants to ask her if she's happy…assumes she would be but is uncertain her reaction right now…but also what if the baby doesn't make it? It's suffered distress. Still in distress. Both are in distress. Kelly looks at his wife's face crunch in pain…her hand tightens around his as her body tenses.

"Erin?"

"Kelly…get the doctor…" Erin gasps through gritted teeth as Kelly hesitates for a few seconds before pulling away and rushing back outside, frantically looking around for the doctor.

"Doctor Giles!" Kelly calls out as he rushes toward the man who had treated his wife earlier. "My wife…she's having contractions…or something."

He hurries behind him back into the curtained room; Erin's gasping subsided and the two heart rates turning to – well mostly normal.

"Are they…going to be okay?" Kelly asks weakly.

"Is this…normal?" Erin asks at the same time.

The doctors gloved hands start to gently feel Erin's belly; Kelly taking her hand and once again clutching it tightly.

"Slow, deep breaths Mrs. Severide," the doctor instructs as she tries to get her body to stop shaking. "Slow and steady…that's it. You and you're baby will be fine…if you just relax. The baby is in distress right now so I don't want to give you anything so you need to get this anxiety under control for both of you. These cramps should slow down but again we are going to monitor until morning."

"It wasn't…planned. I didn't know…" Erin confesses as the doctor pulls her shirt back over her belly and the blanket back up to her stomach.

"I'll let you in on a little secret…unplanned pregnancies aren't that rare," he states as he gives her hand a small pat; Erin managing to give him a small smile. "You'll be fine…if you just get some rest," he explains before he goes on to tell them a few more things about the cramps, their intensity and duration and how they should slowly start to subside.

"Doc…" Kelly states in haste as he looks at the doctor with an anxious gaze.

"If your wife just rests for the rest of the night, everything should be fine. But…she needs to rest."

Kelly gives the doctor a nod and then turns back to Erin, taking her hand and kissing her on the forehead. "Okay baby…you just gotta…rest okay?"

"I can't…I'm not ready but…but I don't want to lose…our baby," Erin softly whimpers as Kelly tries to settle himself on the bed beside her. He holds her close as best he can, her body sagging further into his as silence starts to build between them.

A baby…a new addition to the family…wasn't planned…wasn't expected….but that was life right? Can't plan everything but now that it's here…we're not getting rid of it…

"Erin?"

"Just…that test was negative. When I first found out…saw that Red line…I was disappointed. But then I tried to tell myself it was for the best because I wasn't ready, that we weren't ready. So much going on. Kelly…we have the wedding this weekend and then House hunting and…" Erin starts and then quickly stops as her monitor beep slightly. "Right…deep breath."

"I'm anxious to. Our schedules and Aurora's going to the shrink next week and Matt's engagement."

"We're almost too busy for us much less a new family member…baby Severide," Erin slightly smirks as Kelly plants a kiss on the top of her head. "But…Pauline is Aurora's grandmother, not…how would this work?"

"You know you don't have to worry about me asking you to quit your job right? I'm not that guy."

"Because you know I'd be able to hide your body?" Erin retorts as Kelly nods and grins. "Think I could hire Benny as my babysitter?"

"Damn…he'd do it for free," Kelly replies with a proud grin. "We…definitely need a new plan," he tells her as their fingers intertwine and he brings her hand to his lips and kisses it. "But…we'll figure it out."

Erin closes her eyes and slowly drifts into a slight slumber; Kelly carefully pulling away from her and then looking down to see some dirt on his wife's face. Her eyes flutter as she feels something on her cheek and looks up to see her husband leaning over and tending to her appearance.

"Just don't flirt with any cute doctor's," Kelly smiles as he leans in and kisses her on the lips. He hand slips down and rests on her stomach, her hand resting atop his; the baby's heartrate beating fast but normal rate.

She gives him a weak nod as her eyes water and his expression instantly clouds. "I know I have to be more careful but…I just got Voight to get me out from behind a desk after the school shooting and now…I take chances…I fight bad guys…I…"

"Kick ass," Kelly interjects with a small smile. "I take chances also and now I'll worry if my job will stress you out. I always worried about that with Shay but…"

"But Shay wasn't doing high kicks as a part of her daily routine."

"No," Kelly agrees with a soft whisper as his brow furrows. "We'll figure it out."

"Ok…ay," Erin replies with another small hiss. "Kelly…"

"Should I get…"

"No…I just…" she huffs as her stomach tightens. "The pain….is less. Just…never felt this…before." Her body slumps back down into the small bed as she looks up at Kelly with a distressed expression. "I've had cramps but…it's different now."

"It's gonna be okay," he promises as he kisses her forehead. "Just rest now. We'll go home in the morning."

Erin turns her head and looks over at the baby monitor and feels a lump of emotion starting to form in her throat. Kelly eases himself back down onto the bed, grabs another blanket and then encourages Erin to get some sleep; he wasn't going anywhere.

Due to the sheer physical exhaustion from the day, Erin has no trouble falling into sleep; Kelly, however, remaining awake a bit longer. In the past few days his mind had been preoccupied with starting the adoption process, Matt's upcoming wedding and looking for a new home – all that in addition to his friend/therapists wedding, daughter's therapy session and just daily life in general.

'Kelly…I need to talk to you…'

'Hey Shay…sure what's…you look…'

'Remember Plan B….well it's gonna happen.'

'Wait…what? You mean…'

'I'm pregnant. We're gonna have a baby! So…what do we do now?'

He remembers looking at her nervous expression and feeling the same stomach butterflies starting to grow in the pit of his stomach. 'We need to make a new plan and…we'll make it together.'

Kelly looks at the baby monitor and feels his heart actually skip a beat. He remembers being scared and nervous about Shay having their baby but then remembers feeling happy and excited about the idea of being father. But it was different with Shay. He loved her…but as a friend…a close friend…a sister. But with Erin…the romantic love that swells in his heart for her was something that he couldn't properly quantify with words. We're having a baby…a child of our own…boy or girl? One of each?

XXXXXXXX

"Okay so…I'm gonna take a warm shower and…Kelly say something. Your quiet is starting to make me want to go postal now," Erin quips as they enter their apartment the next morning.

"I want to just…I'm trying to find a balance between caring concerned husband and…cool, understanding husband. I want to tell you to be careful but I don't want to drive you crazy with constant hovering."

"The doctor said if I just take it easy for the next week everything should be fine. I'm…we're going to be fine," she tells him with a firm smile as she leans in and kisses him on the cheek. "Just…don't think you need to wrap me in a bubble or plastic or whatever…"

"A bubble."

"Right…" she agrees with a smile. "Want to make us some breakfast?"

"Yeah."

Erin heads into their bedroom, Kelly excusing himself and stepping out to get a few things from the grocery store and then calling Boden on his way back home; Erin calling Voight at the same time.

"Jay just said you were pretty banged up. But I hear hesitation in your tone. What else happened Erin?" Voight asks directly.

"Okay so…" she starts with a deep breath.

She replays the conversation with her superior …a man she considers the only father she's ever loved and respected and then telling him her news. 'I'm uh…pregnant. I didn't know…doctor told me yesterday. He said I have to take a week to rest and then…'

At first she laughed at Voight telling her that she would be relegated to desk duty but when he reminded her that she would be the one responsible for keeping or losing her baby, it hit her – hard. She closes her eyes as she stands under the hot streams of the shower, closing her eyes and allowing the water to wash away the dirt, sweat and hospital smell. Her hands slide down to her belly and she looks down as warm streams of water pour down upon her.

"Smells good," she mentions as she walks into the kitchen about twenty minutes later, fresh cleaned and dressed in her pajama's and robe. She nears the kitchen and picks up the bouquet of flowers that he had picked up from the grocery store, looking at the little teddy bear card; Kelly watching in adoration.

"For baby Severide," she reads in a soft tone as she looks up with a sparkly smile. "Voight's already making a plan to get me behind a desk," she gently groans as she nears him. "Things…won't change for you."

"Erin…"

"I know. I'm trying to keep that…disappointment at bay. I'm telling myself that it's up to me to keep our baby safe and…"

"Not just you. I'm in this to you know…together," Kelly reminds her in haste. "Desk job huh."

"I'm gonna drive them all nuts," Erin lightly snickers. "Okay so maybe Trudy will be worse to deal with than me," she laughs as she slowly eases herself down onto one of the kitchen chairs. "She'll insist on planning the baby shower."

"Will there be handcuffs?" He flirts, arching his brows.

"It's a baby shower…not a bachelorette party," she groans as he laughs.

"Mmm you smell good," Kelly whispers as he wraps his arms around her and plants a soft kiss on her fragrant neck. But a few seconds later he stomach growls and both laugh; Kelly pulling away to get some food on their plates. "I talked to Boden and he is happy but much like Matt will keep it on the down low for another month or…"

"Until I can no longer blame beer consumption?" She retorts lightly as he nods in agreement. "I'll tell Pauline when she brings Aurora home."

"Okay so I guess that means this place…is off the list," Kelly mutters as the two of them sit at the table, slowly enjoying their breakfast and looking through the real estate ads in one of the real estate newspapers that Kelly had picked up at the store.

After breakfast, Erin slowly wanders into the living room while Kelly finishes up with the breakfast dishes and then joins her on the couch.

"Did you…know?" Kelly asks as his arm drapes across his wife's shoulders and pulls her close.

"I…I've always been irregular and with stress and...I pushed it aside because of the shooting. Figured it was stress and let it go. Just the past few mornings…I guess things are getting a bit back to normal so I'm starting to feel a bit more…I didn't know."

"I'm glad you want to keep it."

"Our child…our family," she sighs as her heads rests on his shoulder, her hands tenderly cradling her belly. "I just hope…I don't want to lose it by something I do."

"I know you're careful at work…well for the most part," he pauses and then adds slowly; her lips giving him a small snicker. "Erin…"

"Right now I'm telling myself that everything is going to be okay but…but it's just a few months right now. But when things really start to change and…yes I'll be more careful. It's the part that comes afterward that scares me Kelly."

"Childbirth?"

"No raising it…our child."

His hand tightens on her shoulder as he plants one more kiss on the top of her head. "That's natural. I'm scared too. I uh…Shay did a lot and while I was in Aurora's life more than my father I still…this will be a new experience for both of us."

"And we'll do it together."

"Yeah…that has to count for something," he adds warmly. "So…this new home…we have to plan…do you want to know what it'll be?" Kelly inquires.

"I thought I did," Erin answers thoughtfully. "I just want it to be healthy. But…if it's a girl then we can use the hand-me-downs from Aurora," she replies with a small giggle. "I mean do we really want another Severide male in the world?" She playfully teases her husband. "Every father wants a son."

"I think mine wanted a daughter," Kelly snickers.

"What if we have twins?"

The two of them laugh together; sitting on the couch talking about future living arrangements until Pauline comes home with Aurora. When she does both of them tell her together the big change coming to their family.

"I'm so happy for you both," Pauline exclaims as she gives a big hug and kiss on the cheek, pulling back with a happy smile and then turning to Kelly to congratulate him.

"What's happening daddy?" Aurora inquires as she looks at all the hugging.

"Well…we're going to have another addition to the family. You're going to have a sibling."

"A what?"

"A brother or sister," Erin replies as she gives Aurora a loving hug.

"Boys are icky," Aurora scrunches up her nose making all three adults laugh.

"Okay so no requests for a little brother."

"Nope."

Kelly just shakes his head as he sees another Shay mannerism in his precious daughter. Pauline stays with them a little longer, asking Erin about the accident and how she's feeling; Aurora bouncing on her father's lap, paying rapt attention but really understanding all that was going on.

Pauline takes her leave, promising to help out as much as she could and both Erin and Kelly thanking her for her loving affection and loyalty to their family. The conversation then turns to Aurora and her day; the preschooler telling them about her new friend Carole and the teddy bear exchange coming up at the end of the week – the flyer already on the fridge.

After supper Erin retires to the living room with Aurora beside her, Kelly looking at them from the kitchen and feeling his heart starting to swell with loving pride.

But as Erin looks up and trades a somewhat strained glace, both are thinking the exact same thing…with this new development in their lives, how will this affect things starting tomorrow? Going forward for 6 months? Beyond? What new challenges would they face and what if any new dangers to their growing addition?

This…was a whole new chapter for all of them.

A/N: so hope this chapter wasn't too boring but I wanted them to really talk as a couple about this new change in their lives and what it might mean going forward for all of them b/c it wasn't planned but now its something new for all of them to deal with. A few laughs, some tears and of course some angsty tension (hey I did promise right? Hehe) so please do review before you go and thanks so much!