Thanks again for all the reviews and faves. My regulars - love ya! My newbies - so much fun gaining some new readers to this third installment of my Linserideland. Hope you enjoy!
Kelly knew he was staring at Kayla … those J.P. eyes, that hair. She was older, bigger, but she was definitely a female J.P. His chest tightened, the urgency of the situation settling in. He had to act. Now. A scrawny man in oversized jeans and dirty T-shirt had a gun pointed at the front door, at his wife. A woman was sprawled out on the couch flying so high, Kelly doubted she knew she was on planet Earth. Kayla was hunched over in a fetal-like position on the side of the couch, in his direct sight line. He reached a hand up and pulled on the door. It wouldn't budge. Kayla was staring right at Kelly through a tuft of black hair falling over both eyes.
Erin realized it wouldn't take Kelly that long to get up there. He was near, she could feel it. But where? She had the sense he was in that apartment but there was no way. "Where the hell is he?" she said aloud.
Cailin answered by pounding on the door wondering what was taking so long for their backup to arrive. She'd figured out where Severide was … those line of patios greeting them as they rolled up, the fireman approach of always having two ways in or out, that backup plan he'd brought up earlier. She settled her breathing, staying calm for her friend who hadn't put the pieces together yet. Cally didn't want to push in that last piece herself, the one that gnawed at her gut saying she may have played a part in him maybe hanging off a damn patio right now. She was pounding again, losing her voice, when she felt the pulse of footsteps before she actually heard them.
Ruzek and Antonio stormed up the steps holding the Enforcer, a small battering ram packing a mighty punch. Voight right behind. He barked out orders and before Erin could put two and two together, before Cally could wonder if she'd somehow pushed Kelly into action, they were in the living room … met with silence.
Kelly held a finger to his lips and motioned for the girl to unlock the sliding glass door. She got up slowly, clutching that notepad as if it were her lifeline. For a second he thought she was going to dart down the hall but instead she flipped the lever on the lock and started to open the glass.
"Yesss! That's my girl!" Danny yelled, glancing at the retreating girl, his attention scattered from the door to the patio. He backed up, gun raised like he'd seen in so many movies, inching his way toward Kayla and his escape.
He didn't see Kelly crouched down behind a rotted out barbecue pit, now a dumping ground for needles and trash. He didn't see the fireman rise up, fists balled. Danny's wide eyes were on the front door as it came crashing in, a mass of police swarming through. He did turn around in time to see a fist smash into his cheekbone, snapping it like some delicate china, before everything went black.
Erin rushed over to Kayla who grabbed the detective's legs, sandwiching her notebook in between chest and thigh. Lindsay smoothed a hand over the dark hair wanting the girl to keep her face down, not see the commotion of a just coming to Danny being led away or an incoherent Wendy lashing out violently. Voight finally had enough, dragging the woman down the stairs, adding to the trail of purple bruises skipping along her too skinny legs. Erin couldn't believe she didn't call out for her daughter, didn't give one thought to the girl currently clutching her legs. The whole place smelled like cat piss, turning the detective's stomach. She tried prodding Kayla in the direction of her husband, but the kid wasn't budging.
Kelly was shaking out his hand, taking an earful from Cally, but looking none the worse for wear.
"And what gave you the freaking idea that leap frogging patio to patio would be a good idea?" Erin could hear Cailin's voice go higher and higher with each cascading reprimand. "Are we sure you didn't land on your head at some point? They have checked that out, right?"
Kelly tried to cut in but was cut off at every pass. He finally decided to cross his arms and wait.
"Please tell me this did not have anything to do with me getting on you earlier," she whisper screeched, hoping her words hadn't instigated the rescue that ended up a success but could've been disaster. She didn't need anymore Catholic guilt, she'd had enough of that to last a lifetime. Jeff reminded her of that daily, sometimes hourly.
"Say something, Severide!"
"You done?" Kelly asked, matching her low tone, one that Erin was straining to hear. "Instinct kicked in Callahan. That was it. Had to do somethin,' so I did it."
"That is the most incredibly stupid macho bullshit I've ever heard," Cally yelled, to hell with the hushed tones. "And it's Clarke! And you know who would have been dealing with the aftermath of scraping you off the pavement? Me! And that one…" she added, voice trailing off as they both looked at Erin with an attached little girl still affixed to her legs.
"It ain't always about you, Callahan," Kelly said punctuating each syllable of her name, grin spreading across his face as he made his way to his wife.
"I'm done," she said dropping down to Kayla's level, her tone changing instantly. "Sweetie, let's get you out of here."
"Why doesn't she ever use that voice with me?" questioned Kelly holding his now free wife.
"God, Kel. Please tell me you did not do what I think you did," Erin said, burying her head in his chest, not caring that a barrage of cop eyes were watching her.
Dawson carefully bagged some pictures of young girls splayed across a beat up coffee table littered with saucers overflowing with cigarette butts, Ruzek was busy clearing his throat.
"Don't need a lecture, babe. Cailin ripped me a new one, I'm good."
"Tell me you're okay," Erin slipped her hand in Kelly's and squeezed.
"I'm okay. Now let's go make sure the kid is okay." Those pictures, the sad excuse for a mother, the drugs scattered throughout the place, this was a hell no child should have to experience. The only saving grace, the look on J.P.'s face when they brought his sister home. Right now he needed to see that face.
Cally was feeding the girl a squished granola bar she'd scavenged from her purse when her friends made it to Erin's car.
"This one is an artist," Cailin commented stepping out of the car, giving Kayla a quick rub on the shoulder before moving that hair out of her eyes.
Erin saddled into the warm seat, asking to take a look at the notebook that was firmly closed.
Kelly lingered back to see what Cally'd gathered… "She's quiet, way quieter than Javi. Been through a lot but I'd say she didn't catch the worst of what we saw going on up there." Severide let out a deep breath, relief bringing a little calm. He was still on the high of a high rise rescue.
"Well, get in there," she demanded, pushing his arm.
Being ordered around by one woman or another, Kelly thought with a smile, ready to slide into the backseat.
"Hey, we are good, right?" Cally asked before he got in.
"Yeah, we're good Callahan," Kelly replied. "I mean, cupcake." He slammed the door chuckling, particularly pleased with his joke.
"So who's ready to go see her brother?" the fireman's smile was waiting for two matching ones to join his.
"Kel, we hadn't really gotten there yet," Erin said, her eyes telling him he just messed up. His smile gone.
"You… have J.P.?" Kayla whispered before bursting into tears.
Kelly tried to start up a conversation, only to be shut down. He watched as Kayla set her jaw tight, and a look of distrust spread further across her features. The little girl could sense those fireman piercing blues on her. She closed her eyes, feeling the tears flowing down her face and hating herself all the more.
"Kayla, Kayla, Kayla!" J.P.'s voice was reaching a heard by dog's only level. He ran at his sister as she came through the door knocking her over, his little body landing on top. She grinned …the first time they'd gotten a smile out of the girl.
He stayed on top of her, foreheads touching. "I'm sorry, J.P. I'm so sorry," the little girl whispered wishing those two grown ups would leave them alone. There was so much to say but she didn't want to talk in front of them. So much to explain. The broken promise of getting him in a couple of days. It had been how many months?
Erin and Kelly stood hand in hand taking in the scene, swallowing down threatening tears of their own. J.P. clutched his sister like a rag doll, one he would never release. "I'm sorry J.P.," Kayla's voice was barely above a whisper, breaking before she could say anymore.
Watching a seven-year-old wipe his sister's tears from her cheeks, Kelly sucked in a deep breath, feeling a pride for this kid he had no part in raising, not till recently. He squeezed Erin's hand tighter watching her brush at her own cheek.
"J.P., why don't you take your sis to your room? I'll work on dinner and then we'll all talk. Okay? Kayla, we are really glad we found you." Erin was at a loss for words but wrangled up those few that sounded a little anorexic to her ears.
The little girl nodded and without a sound escaping to the bedroom, J.P.'s bedroom.
"Let me help you," Kelly said coming around to the back of his wife as she leaned over half in the fridge, scrounging for something to whip up.
"Hey, settle down hero," Erin said moving his hands off of her butt. She grabbed an ice pack from the freezer. "Sit, relax, and put your damn brace back on," she remarked, giving him a dimpled smile.
"This is gonna all work out, right babe? She seems so quiet, too quiet," Kelly asked sprawling on the couch, stomach down, ice in place.
"She's been through so much. It's for sure gonna be alright, more than alright. Might take some time, but … did you see J.P.'s face?" Erin asked, her own face brightening.
"Yeah, that was pretty damn cute," admitted Kelly. "She just seems sad, so different from J.P."
Erin nodded her head, knowing exactly who the little girl reminded her of. Herself. She'd had to hold it together when mom would go off the rails, drugs and alcohol taking priority over raising a daughter. Hell, I practically raised the woman thought Erin bitterly, pretty sure Kayla had been in the same boat.
"She'll come around… And where exactly is your brace? I'll get it. Where'd you leave it?" Erin asked drying her hands on a paper towel.
Kayla had gone from silent to a non-stop battery of questions, hitting J.P. with one after another.
"Kayla, I like it here. Mr. Kelly signed me up for baseball, we've been practicing," J.P.'s face lit up as he sputtered off all the little Kelly-isms he heard daily, "I've got a great arm, but gotta bulk up some, you know put some meat on my bones, and I can hit anything, Kelly's friends pitch to me and he won't let 'em go easy on me, no pansy pitches." The little boy's face was flushed with excitement.
"What about the wife?" Kayla ventured.
"Miss Erin takes good care of us," J.P. said simply. He wanted to tell his sister that Erin always made sure he had good food to eat, checked his homework, tucked him in. That she gave the best hugs. That she'd been more of a mom to him in the few months he'd known her than the ghostlike figure of Wendy. But J.P. could read his sister better than anyone, and he knew she didn't want to hear that right now.
Her brows knitted together further as the sound of Erin's voice resonated through the small condo.
"What the hell do you mean you lost it?" Erin yelled to her husband, still prone on the couch.
Kayla cracked the door to listen.
"Don't," admonished J.P.
"Ssshhh. Do they scream a lot?"
"They don't scream. And they always make up," J.P. answered, pushing the door shut just as they heard a fireman's words about throwing it to the ground from the balcony.
"Don't worry, we're getting out of here tonight," Kayla said taking in her brother, squeezing so tight, trying to squeeze those tears away.
Kayla remained silent at dinner, only speaking when asked a direct question. Erin explained the journey that led to fostering J.P. How they can't imagine life without him, J.P. blushing, keeping his heavily lashed eyes downward. Kelly interjected a few times to add their baseball adventures, talking strong arm for his size and knocking it outta the park.
"He told me," Kayla said quietly, the unimpressed look on her face like a dark cloud descending on the dining room table.
A silence hung over the four with Kayla finally breaking it.
"So why don't you have kids of your own?" she asked softly.
Erin gulped back the beginnings of tears, while Kelly cleared his throat. J.P. threw down his fork, "Kayla!" his eyes shooting daggers at his sister.
"Hey, it's okay," Kelly said to his little shadow. "It's a fair question. Uh…" he wasn't sure what to say, how much of it to tell. He kept it short knowing J.P. would fill in the blanks that night.
"We were going to have a baby, but it," he struggled. "Uh … our baby died." Kelly reached a hand out to grab Erin's.
"God, Kayla!" J.P. yelled, the closest to cursing he'd come since moving in. The anger in his face unfamiliar.
"Hey. It's all good," Kelly said, his other hand grabbing the little boy's.
Kayla watched as her brother's hand took in the fireman's, as his eyes still flashed anger directed at her, as she felt like the one who didn't belong. It was definitely not all good.
"Do you have a backpack or something to put a few things in?" Kayla asked scrambling around his room, looking in the closet. "Start packing," she said dumping his books out on his bed, emptying his school pack.
J.P.'s fists were clenched tightly together, tears now threatening his eyes. "No Kayla, no," he said under his breath.
"C'mon, J.P. You know it's you and me. These people aren't for us." She was over at her brother's side, stroking his back.
"I'm not goin'," he said between cries, "no… no," he repeated shaking his head.
"What are you talking about? Let's get out of here," Kayla whispered.
"No… I, I'm stayin.' I love them Kayla," J.P. blurted out throwing his backpack on the floor, shaking, and facing his sister.