"Wait what?!"
Sylvie bit her lip. She didn't expect that reaction.
"Yeah, it just happened… We went over to his place and… ugh I don't know."
For a short moment, they stayed completely silent.
"You don't sound very happy", Stella stated after she'd processed the news.
"I know, I'm not so sure about my feelings either. You know, Greg is a good man and I'm sure that I wanted that last night, but…"
"You don't know if it was the right decision?"
"Yes, exactly. I usually don't rush anything with men and we barely know each other. But he texted me this morning after I left, saying that he misses me and that he wants to meet for lunch sometime. What am I supposed to do?"
"I don't know… Do you want to give it a shot?"
Sylvie stayed silent.
"Brett? You still there?"
"Yeah… I don't know Stella. He's such a good man, but I don't know if I'm ready yet. I don't want to hurt him, and I know that I will when I decide to keep it lowkey, but I don't feel comfortable. We rushed it, I rushed it and that's not good."
"Then you know what you have to do. I have your back 100% you know that, right?"
"Sure. Thank you, Stella."
"Anytime Sylvie", Stella replied and ended the call.
"What did you talk about?", Kelly asked curiously as Stella walked back into the living room.
"Girl's stuff", Stella answered and flashed him a smile as he rolled his eyes.
"Alright, none of my business."
She sat down next to him on the couch and placed a soft kiss on his cheek.
"Brett asked for advice. She slept with Grainger and she wasn't sure whether it was the right decision or not. Now she knows and she knows what to do."
"She slept with him?"
"Yes."
Kelly stared at the table.
"Does she love him?"
"I don't know if it's love. I think she's trying to prove that she's not in love with Casey and now she realizes that that brings consequences."
"True… Speaking of Casey and Brett, how do you want to set that up? You still in to play matchmaker?"
"Absolutely! You know, if she decides to be with Grainger, we won't destroy that. But I think she's very uncertain about her feelings right now, which gives us the opportunity to show her why she is uncertain."
Kelly rose his eyebrows in confusion.
"Casey?", Stella asked, pointing towards his room.
Kelly got her point and nodded in understanding.
"So, I was thinking, if you're okay with that, that you ask Casey if he wants to be your best man and I ask Sylvie if she wants to be my maid of honor. Then, we commission them with the wedding planning so that they have to spend time together. Obviously, they won't plan the whole wedding, but the biggest part of it. That should make them spend enough time together to reignite some feelings... What do you think?"
Kelly smiled at her and pulled her in for a kiss.
"I think that you're brilliant."
"Good, then we ask them separately. You don't tell Casey about Brett and I won't tell Brett about Casey. Then, we call in a meeting. Does that sound like a plan?"
"Sure. When do we start?"
"I was thinking on the next shift. You could ask Casey during a cigar chat and I'll ask Brett when I catch the right moment."
"Alright. Do you think it'll work?"
"They'll need some time to get along with the situation, but I know that they'll try to plan the best wedding for us, which means that they'll meet up a lot. We just have to be patient and let the time do its job."
Kelly nodded in agreement and pulled her further into his side. They sat there for a while, before deciding to go out for a walk to the park. After all, next shift was around the corner.
"We should do this more often on our free days", Stella said as they sat on their favorite bench in the park.
He'd put an arm around her back and kept her close. She leaned into his side, resting her head next to his shoulder.
"Sure."
Stella looked at him from the side. She studied his face and wondered what he was thinking about. She loved to do that. By now she knew him pretty well, but sometimes he was still a mystery to her. She hoped that she'd figure out some of his secrets until they're grey and old, but she loved that he wasn't an open book to her. That would be quite boring, and she was a woman who definitely didn't like being bored.
"Do you know how happy I am right now?", she asked so quietly that he almost missed it.
"I can see that. I'm glad that you're happy. You know how much I hate seeing you upset."
There he was again, the sweet romantic Kelly Severide who was going to be the man at her side for the rest of her life. That thought sent a shiver down her spine.
"You know, I thought about something since last night…", she said and shifted slightly.
He turned his head to face her.
"I owe you a big thank you."
He raised his eyebrows.
"Thank you for making me the happiest and luckiest girl in this world. Thank you for having my back on all costs and for your belief in me. I don't know if I was here without your support. And thank you for choosing me."
He smiled and caressed her cheek with his right hand.
"You know that I'll always choose you. And besides, it should be me thanking you for choosing me. I know that I'm not the easiest man to cope with."
Her smile warmed his heart.
"I'll be by your side, every step of the way. I'm all in, I promise", he said, emphasizing the last part.
"I love you Stella, I always have and always will."
"I love you too. Now and forever."
They stayed on that bench for some more moments. Then they walked back home and prepared their bags for next shift. Casey was still out on one of his construction jobs, so they started getting dinner ready for when he'd come home.
The three sat at their kitchen table and enjoyed their dinner over a lazy conversation about their plans for the next few weeks.
Next morning they headed out together, excited for the upcoming time.
A/N: Hey there!
It's been a long time… The chapters are a bit on the shorter side right now, I hope that you're alright with that.
I don't know why, but this damn writer's block is still not gone… Usually I overcome that within a few days or so but this time it doesn't work.
Anyway, I still wanted to ask you guys something: What do you think about how Stellaride is handled on the show right now?
I mean, the scenes from last episode were extremely sweet but I miss the date nights or I was very excited about them going to the cabin… It seems like they're cutting them back and don't get me wrong, I love Brettsey with all my heart, but that drama that is going on right now is really frustrating, because it's at Stellaride's expense… Well, that's the way I see it. Maybe you can explain to me why they are doing this right now.
However, have a nice day and a good week 😊! ~D.