Thank you for all the wonderful reviews - they are fun to read and feel like little Christmas presents coming my way. Glad you're enjoying the Linseride love, BUT... a warning. You may want to skip the next couple of chapters if you don't like big drama/tragedy. Those that are sticking with me, keep the faith... you know things will work out and we'll have happy Linseride land again (eventually). So, no coal for me please. Oh, and Happy Birthday to stagediva23 who always leaves amazing reviews/feedback. Sending you a virtual margarita - you may need one after this. :)
Love y'all! Try to enjoy the ride.
"Two more days," said Kelly with ever growing puppy dog enthusiasm as he crossed off a day on the calendar he put on the fridge.
"Yep," replied Erin slurping down some cereal.
"You sure I can't whip you up some eggs?" Kelly asked pulling a carton from the refrigerator.
"Can't. Running late," said Erin in between chews.
Kelly plopped a yogurt and spoon in front of her.
"I'll take it with me." Erin got up and waited for Kelly to kiss her and the baby goodbye. He came over hugging her from behind so tight, running both hands across her still flat stomach. His lips lingered over her neck, traveling up to her ear. He moved in front of her, kissing her full on the mouth.
"Say goodbye," Erin said lifting her shirt a little, small smile forming.
Kelly bent down in what was becoming a daily tradition and kissed her stomach, once, twice, three times. "Take care of your mom today," he whispered, giving one more kiss right on her belly button.
"Tell daddy, mommy's gonna be late. Gotta brush my teeth and get the hell out of here," Erin said, pulling down her T-shirt, rushing off to the bathroom.
"Tell mommy we don't say 'hell' anymore!" yelled Kelly, pulling out four eggs for himself. He grabbed some sausage to fry up first. At the last minute he snatched some cheddar too. This eating healthy was getting old, he thought, smiling as the sausage began to sizzle.
Erin was still in the bedroom in a back and forth texting spree with her CI by the time Kelly swallowed the last of the egg, cheese, and sausage Mt. Fuji he created.
"Thought you were late?" he asked, smirk forming, also knowing he'd probably shower and make it out before she laced up one boot.
"This case is gonna be the death of me. So damn frustrating," she murmured sitting on the bed, not looking up from her phone.
"We don't say damn anymore either," Kelly corrected, lopsided grin enjoying the scene as he stood in front of her.
"Really?" Erin looked up challenging him to do something about it, that grin causing a dimpled one to form on her face.
"Really. And, uh, I think you're gonna be really late."
"Really?" Erin asked again, waiting for the attack.
Kelly just crossed his arms, waiting for her to do something.
She reached out yanking his arms hard. That damn strength always a surprise. He toppled on top of her.
"Hey, watch it!" he called looking down at her stomach.
"She's fine," Erin replied, rolling on her side.
"He doesn't like daddy falling on him." Kelly pushed his weight up on his arms, brushing on top of her lightly.
"I like daddy falling on me," teased Erin thinking she was going to be really, really, really late.
As Erin eased into her car, she felt a tightening in her stomach. It happened a couple times last night, but she chalked it up to the stress of the DePaul drug operation that was turning into a bear refusing to go down. It began having the markings of the Russian case, tons of leads, a bunch of actors, but not much happening. Erin knew it would all start to click eventually, but the build-up was frustrating.
The cramping she felt driving to the precinct opened her eyes that these were in fact cramps. Pulling out her phone as she parked, she cursed the shaking in her hands. This can be totally normal, she assured herself, referring back to a chapter in the What to Expect book she'd been perusing every night.
The office receptionist told Erin to take it easy… rest and relax. Call right away if any bleeding started. Nothing to worry about. Perfectly normal.
Erin headed up to the pit, trying to calm her nerves. "Perfectly normal," she said to herself taking one deep breath. She hurried in knowing everyone was waiting for her.
"Sorry, sorry, won't happen again," she said before Voight had a chance to comment. They all knew that was a lie.
"Nice of you to show up today. What's the CI update. Your guy ready to play?" asked Hank, instinctively detecting something was bothering his detective.
"Caleb's getting there. You know that squirrel from Ice Age?" she asked the roomful of cops. "That's Caleb."
Only Ruzek, Antonio and Cally nodded their heads laughing at her analogy. Cailin had watched all those movies with her nephews but wondered how the heck Erin knew about them. She smirked, picturing Kelly and the detective settling in for a romantic night of animated shenanigans. Just wipe that from your brain, Callahan, she told herself.
"He's running in fifteen different directions, ADHD off the charts, but, yeah… I think he's the key," Erin's hand went to her stomach as she felt another slight tightening. At the same time, she felt her phone buzzing. "Speak of the devil… Caleb. Just thinking about you," she purred, heading to Voight's office.
When she came back out, she definitely looked like she hit the jackpot.
"I'm meeting him in 30 minutes at the University Center. He's been asking his little dorm dealer about his supplier and the guy sang like a bird today."
"This'll just be an intel meet. We'll set up a sting and Caleb can get the ball rolling," Erin enthused. She'd been trying to get her CI to pursue a name, something, but he was more interested in whining about the sad state of his social life than in using his friends for information. When Voight threatened ten years for his illegal gambling operation, mostly high stakes poker in his dorm room, Caleb got motivated. Erin almost laughed out loud at the idle threat knowing he would get a slap on the wrist for the gambling. The high stakes included just a $100 buy in.
Now, little squirrel was coming through for her.
The meet was like pulling teeth… Erin felt more like a counselor than cop. She gave a couple of pointers in the lady department and Caleb gave up the little nuggets of information he gathered from Phil, the laid back surfer dude who always had whatever elixir they were wanting. Two bit college drug dealer sounded like the stereotypical college supplier, full of Zen wisdom, claiming no desire for the material things in life, but also more than willing to take money in return for drugs.
Phil offered an intro to his supplier, a Dr. Moerchen, when Caleb brought up big sis bar owner. He said sister was looking to move some product in her establishment.
"Booze and pills, booze and pills," laughed Caleb trying to think of something else to say.
"Yeah, the doc's lookin' to expand, so this may be just the thing, dude. I'll set up the meet. You can sell him on the idea. Then your sister will be in business."
"Cool," Caleb agreed, eyes darting nervously around the room.
Erin was finally seeing the return on her investment, her stint as life coach was paying off.
"So is he a doctor Phil met at a hospital? An ER?" asked Erin, having seen doctors and nurses thinking it would be easy money to set up a little side business. More often than not it ended with finished careers, the tight inventory systems set up at all local hospitals making a skim nearly impossible.
"Nah, think he said he took a Poly Sci class from the dude."
A professor on campus. Lindsay could see Voight's face. The prof would be lucky to make it to trial. A teacher preying on students. No, Hank would have a field day with this one.
Erin headed back to her car, her stomach now in one tight knot. She made it into PD stopping at the bathroom on the first floor. Spotting. Her heart skipped a beat at the sight of the small drops of blood. Tears sprung to her eyes as she called her doctor. Come in. Now.
"So I'm guessing I'm not invited to the dating sonogram?" asked Shay, her nose in a book identical to the one she gave Kelly when he first mentioned the baby making venture. She was sitting at the dining table alone, the guys spread around the common room.
"I'll call you the second we get out. You good with that?" tried Kelly from the other side of the table, realizing she was far, far from okay with it.
"When's the sonogram?" Casey inquired, overhearing the pair.
"Two days. It's the one where we find out if we're havin' a boy or girl," Kelly's smile could be seen back in Connie's office.
"Oh, if it's a girl that's the hand of God in play," commented Mouch, sitting on the couch watching TV.
"Not you too," grumbled Kelly, the thought of havin' a girl playing more and more through his brain.
"Yes, the ghosts of girlfriend's past are comin' back to haunt you, Severide," continued Mouch, chuckling softly.
"So is it the hand of God or my exes that's in play? I'm confused," Kelly shrugged his shoulders, daring the older firefighter to just keep it up.
"Maybe both. A double whammy so to speak." Mouch got up to attack the oatmeal cookies Brett brought in for everyone not just her favorite lieutenant.
"Don't listen to them. If she has any Lindsay in her, she'll be just fine. I pity the hordes of guys chasing her tail in high school."
Shay's words were meant to comfort. No such luck. That scowl on Kelly's face screaming at her to shut up.
"So what're you hopin' for?" jumped in Casey, tight smile on his face. He couldn't help but flash to the latest argument with Dawson. This one about kids again.
"A boy." "A girl." Kelly and Shay said in unison.
Matt laughed at the pair in front of him. "Was talkin' to Severide, Leslie."
"How can you say boy?" she quizzed Kelly, hitting him on the arm, ignoring Casey altogether.
Matt just rubbed his head watching his friends argue incessantly. Yeah, those oatmeal cookies were calling his name.
Erin sat nervously in the waiting room, starting to call Kelly three times but clicking End each time. No sense in worrying him, she finally settled on. He was already on pins and needles every time she went to work. This would send him over the edge.
She would swing in for this quick visit, find out what was going on, tell Kelly later, after his shift.
Dr. Hirota first listened to the fetal heartbeat, satisfied with the strength of it, saying that was a good sign. She examined Erin, not seeing anything troubling. "I want to do an internal sonogram just to make sure."
"Everything looks good. I want you on complete bed rest for the next couple of days. We have you scheduled for the dating sonogram, don't we?"
"Yes, in two days," Erin said, thinking of that calendar on the fridge.
"Don't look so worried, Erin. Everything does look good. Spotting occurs in over 25% of pregnant women, so this is nothing that uncommon. Just follow these instructions for the next few days, and I'm betting you'll be off bed rest and back at work before you know it." The doctor scribbled all her mandates on a sheet of legal paper – drink plenty of fluids, relax, no stress, lay down as much as possible, not getting up except to use the restroom.
Erin stared at the instructions in disbelief. Total bed rest. Her phone was buzzing non-stop, Voight, Cailin, and Antonio texting. She knew she should call Kelly first, but that need to deny the sheet of paper in front of her won out. She settled on Cally.
Cailin said they needed her "like an hour ago." Caleb called Voight when Erin didn't pick up. He had a meet set up with the professor for later today.
He does nothing for weeks, and now he's just a ball of motivated energy setting up the supplier meeting for now?
Erin flung the yellow sheet in the passenger seat deciding it would be one quick bust then she'd head home and follow doctor's orders. The cramping subsided, the words of the doctor replaying in her mind… "nothing that uncommon." There wasn't going to be some shootout at DePaul. This was going to be a calm, easy take down. She'd coax Caleb into saying the right words, Dr. Moerchen would play his hand to expand the business, and IU would go in and do what they do best.
Caleb screwed up the meet almost before it began. He was jumpy, talking to himself… looking the exact opposite of what you wanted a CI to look like.
Dr. Moerchen, not a pro at this whole illegal side business, was as jumpy as the student.
Caleb didn't even get to explain why his sister was a no show before the professor spotted Ruzek talking into his earpiece. He noticed the way the student was staring straight at Adam. The doc broke out in a run, somehow thinking this made sense.
"Shit," announced Voight to the team, jogging after the older man. Regretting his decision to put Erin in the background, he knew it would've gone down differently if she'd been with Caleb. He didn't want her front and center on anything anymore, and they'd gone round and round before he put his foot down.
"Sister's a no show. That's how we're playin' it. You wanna argue more? I'll send you home," Voight had told his girl in no uncertain terms. Grandpa Hank was in overprotective mode, one that Lindsay realized she'd have to grow used to.
Erin bit her lip hard to keep her mouth shut. She knew Caleb would need her. Now the proof was in the botched bust.
Ruzek was in a full on sprint with Halstead joining him. The guys were all heading in Erin's direction. She'd been pushed back a distance not even in the first peripheral of players. When she saw the team coming, led by a drug dealing professor, instinct kicked in. She ran straight at the doctor in an effort to cut him off.
She hit the patch of ice without warning, her feet losing all traction and control. The slow motion crash to the ground seemed like something out of a movie. Erin's arms moved protectively to her stomach avoiding contact with the cement. Her hip took most of the impact, but her body didn't come to a stop. She slid further and further from the street heading toward a stairwell. She saw her hands reaching out to the railing to stop her slide and impending fall. Grasping desperately, Erin got a hold of the slippery metal slowing down her skid to the awaiting stairs.
The cold months meant more fires plain and simple… the guys at 51 both knew and dreaded that fact. The cold was a biting, penetrating, get in your bones kind of cold and people would resort to desperate measures in that struggle to keep warm. Desperate and oftentimes dumb measures.
The call came in like any other call… Truck 81 … Ambulance 61 … Squad 3… House fire… 2735 Browning Avenue…
It was a two story, brick structure, old but renovated, in a trendy reinvigorated part of the city. Smoke was currently taking the vigor out of the house with flames shooting from the first story, windows blown out.
"Truck, start in the basement. Squad, up top. Quick sweep, this old thing's comin' down," Boden told Casey who commandeered Cruz and Hermann to join him. As they were heading in, a man started screaming from the second story window.
"Mouch, get the ladder up there," yelled Kelly, hopping on truck to start the climb.
The guy was practically hanging out of the window now, screaming at the firemen to hurry up. Severide was climbing quickly, Capp right behind. The ladder and Kelly reached the window at about the same time.
"Hang on, let me get you…" Kelly reached out his hand to help the man to the ladder.
The homeowner pushed the fireman hard, knocking him off the ladder, in his leap to ensure his own safety. He shuffled down not giving a second thought to the dangling lieutenant frantically hanging on. Capp moved around the man, grabbing his collar to shove him down quicker. He shuffled up the ladder reaching his friend, stretching out his hand to grab Kelly's wrist. His fingertips brushed Severide's arm as it headed down in a free fall… one that Capp couldn't believe he was watching.
The team was on Erin in seconds, Voight knowing he just lost those ten years again. Erin was a heap at the bottom of the stairs who claimed their victim after all, her grip not enough to hang on.
Cally'd been the farthest away at DePaul Human Resources, digging for more on their drug dealing professor. She ran onto the scene, horrified as she looked down the stairs. Antonio was on the phone calling for an ambo while the rest of the guys and Cailin tried to squeeze into the small area at the bottom.
"I'm fine," said Erin rolling on her side, clutching her midsection.
Voight was by her side… "Do not move." He stroked her arm, motioning with his head for the guys to go up top and leave room for the paramedics.
"Hank," Erin cried, her voice breaking.
"It's okay, it's okay," assured Cailin brushing back Erin's hair. "Breathe, try to relax," she whispered, trying to keep the panic in her heart from surfacing in her voice. It was an excruciating wait for help as both cops didn't want to move the detective a fraction of an inch. Cally exchanged a look with Voight as the medics stormed down the stairs barking instructions for everyone to clear out.
Kelly didn't panic when he dropped, knew the two story fall wouldn't be deadly. He was more shocked than anything. He'd held on a hell of a lot longer many, many calls in the past. One time he thought Vargas had made a sandwich on the way to a balcony he was hanging onto.
This time he'd blame the sausage, extra weight. Definitely not the wear and tear of years on this job. No, had to be the huge breakfast he thought on the way down.
Minimize the risk of injury he told himself as he relaxed his legs letting them curl under him, tucking into a roll. His shoulder took the momentum like a whip, ending with the snap of his neck and helmet on the pavement.
Shay and Brett were on him immediately watching in disbelief as he eased himself up to standing.
"Kelly, sit, let me check you out," Shay demanded, eyes wide, grabbing his arm to pull him down. He resisted, remaining on his feet.
"I'm good," he said working his shoulder, rotating it round and round.
"Severide!" boomed Boden running to his lieutenant. "Let the ladies check you out."
Kelly followed as they led him to the ambo, hopping up by himself to punctuate his point. All good.
Shay felt around his legs, ankles, knees… "I can't believe you didn't even twist an ankle," she muttered, letting a relieved grin start to form on her lips.
Brett took off his turnout coat, going for the shirt next. "Uh, I got it," said Kelly slipping it over his head. "Aaah," he grunted when she pushed hard on his shoulder and neck.
"You definitely tweaked it," said Brett, focused on her task. She rotated his shoulder round and round. "It's not dislocated."
"You sure? He's done that before," commented Shay doubtfully, the grin gone.
"Was the other one," Kelly corrected, smiling as he reached for his shirt.
Brett moved his head one way, then the other. "One more thing," she said, shining a light in his eyes, having him track it from side to side.
"Damn, if you're not alright, lieutenant," announced Sylvie, smile matching her partner's.
The men were watching all this from outside the ambo.
"So do you leap tall buildings in a single bound too?" joked Mills.
"Just fall from 'em," Severide replied jumping out of the back, throwing his shirt back on.
"He's indestructible, gentleman," called Shay also jumping out, rubbing her hand around her best friend's back.
"Glad you're okay…" started Hermann, then pausing, "but I've seen girl's at Lee Henry's playground hang off the monkey bars for longer, just sayin," he added chuckling.
Kelly's eyes narrowed, as Mouch piped in… "Gettin' old my friend. I remember when you first joined 51, fastest damn candidate I've ever seen."
"Don't be signin' my retirement papers just yet," said Kelly, slapping the older man on the back. He jogged over to squad's truck, moving his shoulder again, not liking the pain radiating up to his neck. He forced that little snap he felt when he hit the pavement from his mind, forced the vague thought that maybe the pain was radiating from his neck.
Kelly was back at 51, grabbing a quick shower, the heat loosening up his sore muscles. Everything felt back to normal. The relief he felt was short lived, extinguished by a few words from chief.
"Severide," he called from outside the shower bay, "CPD just called. They need you at Lakeshore."
Still half wet, T-shirt not pulled all the way down, Kelly looked for his keys for a couple of seconds before realizing he didn't have any. His car had been sent to a junkyard grave after the CSI team was done with it. Shay was by his side.
"C'mon. I'm driving you."
Leslie affirmed that they knew nothing. Nothing at all.
"I just have feeling everything is fine. Erin's fine. Your baby's fine. She's gotta take after you and Erin and be doubly indestructible, right?" she was talking, filling the dead air, the worried spaces of silence sucking the oxygen out of the car.
"Can you just be quiet, Shay?" pleaded Kelly, a dozen scenarios playing through his mind. Voight had said she fell down some stairs, but Severide knew it was bad in the tone of Hank's voice. The gravel was so rough… "She's okay. Don't know anything about the baby yet," the cop answered before being asked.
Kelly had a feeling too. A feeling deep in his gut, and it was the exact opposite of Shay's. Everything was not fine.
No coal, remember? Seriously, have a happy, food, family, and love filled holiday season if you celebrate that sort of thing!