A/N: We're officially halfway through already! I can't believe it. Thank you so much for all of the reviews; they've helped shape this story. I hope you don't all hate me for Gabby and Kelly losing the baby. I hadn't originally planned for that to happen, but once the idea popped into my head, I knew it had to happen. It helps set up a lot of things I wouldn't otherwise have had a chance to include in the story. Besides, a little drama keeps it interesting! I love Casey and Severide's friendship on the show, so I knew when I started this story that I wanted to have at least one chapter that was Casey and Severide heavy and showcased their friendship, and this is that chapter. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it!

Casey found Kelly in the hospital chapel, sitting in a pew towards the front, staring straight ahead. He slid into the pew next to his friend, not saying anything, knowing that Kelly would talk if he needed to.

"I can't lose her, Casey," Kelly said finally. "I can't go through that again." Tears were freely falling down his face.

Casey placed his hand on Kelly's shoulder and squeezed, knowing exactly what Kelly was talking about. It had been six years since Kelly lost Anna to cancer, but he knew that had made a lasting impact on Kelly. He wondered how much of Kelly's character development that they'd attributed to Kidd was actually due to Anna and everything he'd gone through.

"I know, Kelly," Casey replied, fighting back his own tears. "Gabby's strong; she's a fighter. She'll pull through."

"She's not as strong as everyone thinks she is," Kelly retorted. "You know that as well as I do."

"I do," Casey replied. "But I also know how stubborn she is. I know how much she'll fight for those she loves; how she'll do anything for them. That's you now, Kelly. You're the person that she'll do anything for. She's not going to give up without a fight."

The two friends sat there in silence for a while longer, taking comfort in each other's presence. Kelly was once again the one that finally broke the silence. "I never thought I'd be here, Matt. I used to watch you and Gabby and dream of having something like that one day. The love that you two shared was something special. But then when it all fell apart, I kind of gave up hope that I would ever find that. I figured if you two couldn't make it work, no one could." He sighed, rubbing his hand over his face before continuing. "When Stella came along, things just seemed…easy, I guess. We just kind of fell into it. She was there for me through everything with Anna, and then again when Benny died. I just assumed that's how things were supposed to be; that maybe that intense, passionate love that you and Gabby shared wasn't how it was for everyone. I thought we'd get married, have kids, and grow old together. And then it was all over; Stella chose her career over me.

"I was spiraling when Gabby walked back into my life that night," Kelly confessed. "That first night, I was drunk out of my mind. I knew what I was doing, but I couldn't stop myself even though I kept telling myself it was a mistake. Gabby was, she was just Gabby. She was one of my closest friends, but she was always your Gabby. That night, though, was different. She cared about me because of me, not because I was your best friend or her coworker.

"The next morning, I woke up to her puking her guts up in my hotel bathroom," Kelly chuckled at the memory. "Normally I would have ignored it and pretended I was still asleep, but I didn't. I went in there and sat with her. I gave her water, held her hair back, and rubbed her back. Despite the fact that my own head felt like someone was taking a jackhammer to it, I wanted to be there with her. We spent the rest of the day together and, to keep me from killing my liver even more, she invited me to attend the fundraiser gala with her that night.

"When I saw her step into the lobby that evening, she took my breath away. I'd seen her hundreds of times, but I'd never seen her looking like that before. She was gorgeous. She worked the room that night and I couldn't take my eyes off of her. When we danced, she just felt so right in my arms. I tried to leave her that night, but as I watched her step off the elevator and walk toward her room, I panicked at the possibility of never seeing her again. So I followed her, and I kissed her. And then…" Kelly trailed off, deciding that his best friend definitely didn't need to hear about how he'd fucked his ex-wife.

"We said goodbye at the airport, and I told myself that was it. We'd had two amazing nights together, but we were heading our separate ways. I came back to Chicago and tried to drink away my memory of those two nights, but I couldn't get her out of my head. When she showed up on my doorstep that day, just four months ago, and told me that she was pregnant, I was equal parts terrified about being a dad and excited about the chance to see her again.

"I think I fell in love with her that very first night. It took me almost dying to realize it, but I fell in love with her in those first moments together. Even though we were both drunk, I felt like I'd found something that I'd been looking for my whole life. It was like there was this hole in my life that, no matter how hard I tried, I could never find the right fit for. But then she was there, and she fit in it so perfectly."

Kelly took a shuddering breath. "I've held my breath her whole pregnancy, terrified that I would lose her. And now that I'm faced with it, I don't think I can handle it. I can't lose her, Casey."

Casey was too choked up with tears to be able to reply, so he merely squeezed Kelly's shoulder again while he regained control of his emotions. "I know, Kelly." He sighed. "I don't have any words that will magically make it better; I wish I did. But I've been here before. I know how you feel, Kelly. I wish you didn't have to go through this. I wish none of this were happening, that you and Gabby could hold your baby girl and live as a happy family."

"Matt-" Kelly's voice broke, so he started again, "How am I going to tell her? When she wakes up, how do I tell her about the baby? She wanted her so badly. She was so excited to finally be a mom. I-, I wanted the baby, too. But how do we get through this? How does she get through it? I saw how hard it was on you both the first time. How can she go through that again?"

Matt thought back to when Gabby had lost their baby, nearly dying after the surgery that had terminated the pregnancy in order to save Gabby's life. She had been heartbroken to lose the baby, and they'd only known about the pregnancy for a few weeks. This time Gabby had carried the baby for over six months. "She's going to need you, Kelly," he replied finally. "She won't admit it, and she'll try to push you away, but she's going to need you. It's not going to be easy for either of you. But if you really love her, and I believe you when you say that you do, you're going to have to fight for her. She's going to insist that she's fine, and she's going to try to shut you out, but you can't let her."

Kelly nodded. "Thanks, Matt." He chuckled wryly. "You could have been a complete jerk about all of this, about Gabby and me. I'm not supposed to sleep with my best friend's ex-wife, much less fall in love with her. But you've been here for me, for us, and it means a lot to me."

"I wouldn't want to be anywhere else, Kelly," Matt replied honestly. "I'm happy for you; I really am," Casey told him truthfully. "Gabby and I, we didn't work out because she wasn't that perfect fit for my hole. She was strong and independent and stubborn and headstrong and determined; I knew that when I married her, but I thought I could change that; I thought I could make her fit in my hole. But I was wrong, and I hurt both of us before I admitted it.

"But Kelly, everything that made her wrong for me is exactly what makes her right for you. You know me; I hate being challenged. But you thrive off of it. You two are both the most stubborn people I know, and you'll both challenge each other daily. You two just work in a way that she and I never did," Casey stated.

"Kelly?" Brett asked hesitantly from behind them, making both men jump. "Sorry to interrupt, but Gabby's doctor wants to talk to you," she informed him. "Also, Antonio's finally on a flight here."

When Kelly got back to Gabby's ICU room, her doctor was waiting there for him, along with another doctor that Kelly didn't recognize. Boden started to excuse himself, but Kelly stopped him. "Will you stay, Chief? Please?"

Boden looked to the doctor for permission, and she nodded before beginning. "Kelly, as you know, Gabby's body has been through something traumatic. It's going to take some time for her to heal from this. I've asked Dr. Strand here to take over Gabby's care. I promise that you're in good hands with him."

"Hi, Kelly; it's good to meet you, although I wish it were under different circumstances," Dr. Strand introduced himself. "Dr. Cortez has filled me in on Gabby's condition and I've reviewed her medical history.

"As you know, Gabby lost a lot of blood when her aneurysm ruptured and required a blood transfusion. While still in the OR, she developed what's known as transfusion-related acute lung injury, or TRALI. This caused her to go into respiratory distress, and, combined with the trauma her body has experienced, caused her heart to stop. She was able to be resuscitated quickly, but we've decided to keep her on a ventilator for now. Our hope is to be able to start weaning her off of it in a couple of days, but it all depends on how quickly her body is able to recover."

Kelly and Boden exchanged glances. They were both familiar with TRALI, as Herrmann had experienced it several years ago when he was hospitalized after being stabbed by a friend of Cruz. Herrmann had pulled through, but it had been touch and go for a few days.

"But she will recover?" Kelly asked hesitantly.

Dr. Strand gave him a sympathetic look. "I can't promise you anything, but we're hoping for the best. Gabby's young and healthy, which gives her an advantage."

"Can she hear us?" Boden asked.

"We don't know for sure," the doctor replied. "Some patients wake up and tell us that they heard everything their loved ones said to them while they were sedated while others don't remember anything. What we do know, in cases where they did hear their loved ones, they all stated that it helped them, knowing that they had someone there who cared. So, I encourage you to talk to her."

"When will we know if-?" Kelly wasn't able to finish his sentence, not wanting to voice his worst fear.

"It's hard to tell," the doctor admitted. "She should show signs of improvement in the next day or two. But it's hard to tell. With the amount of blood that she lost, and how quickly she lost it, we need to consider the possibility of organ damage. That's why we'll be monitoring her closely over the next few days. We're hopeful that, with how quickly we were able to get her to the OR and start the blood transfusion, we were able to avoid any permanent damage."

Once the doctors had left, Kelly turned to Boden. "Thank you for being here, Chief. It means a lot to me, and I know Gabby would appreciate it, too."

"Kelly, there's nowhere else I would rather be right now," Boden replied seriously. "You and Gabby are family."