A/N: This chapter brings a little drama to Gabby and Kelly's lives in the form of someone from the past.

A little over a week later, Gabby was released from the hospital. Kelly was thankful that it was a day that 51 was on shift, as it ensured they wouldn't have any unexpected visitors stop by.

It had been hard to get much time alone in the hospital with medical staff constantly in and out of the room, Antonio hovering, and their friends from 51 stopping by whenever possible. Thankfully Gabby had been able to convince Antonio that it was okay for him to go back to Puerto Rico, so it was finally just the two of them with no interruptions.

"Are you sure you're feeling okay? You're not in any pain, are you?" Kelly asked worriedly as Gabby sat down on the couch.

"Kelly, I'm fine," Gabby insisted for what felt like the hundredth time that day. "I'm just glad to be home." Kelly sat down next to her and she rested her head on his shoulder. "And I'm glad to finally be alone," she laughed. "While I appreciate how much everyone cares, I feel like we hardly got a minute alone at the hospital."

Kelly nodded in agreement, leaning his head back and closing his eyes. The past week and a half had been exhausting, both physically and emotionally and it was finally catching up to him. He'd slept at the hospital every night except for that one, and hospital chairs didn't exactly make the most comfortable of beds.

"Kelly?" Gabby asked.

"Hmm?" Kelly replied, not opening his eyes.

"When did you know?" she asked hesitantly.

"When did I know what?" Kelly replied, already half asleep.

"That you loved me," Gabby stated.

Kelly opened his eyes, suddenly wide awake. Other than their conversation that one morning in the hospital, they hadn't had much time alone to talk. Still, Kelly definitely hadn't expected this to be the first question she asked now that they were finally alone.

"The movie theater fire," Kelly replied. "When the building started to collapse, the only thing I could think of was how much I didn't want to leave you. My last thought before I lost consciousness wasn't of the baby or even whether or not I'd make it. It was of you. That's when I knew I loved you."

Gabby nodded; her face thoughtful. "When did you fall in love with me?" she asked next.

Kelly laughed. "Do you really want to know?" Gabby nodded, so he continued, "When you were helping me back to my room that very first night."

"Really?" Gabby asked, surprised.

"Really," Kelly nodded, smiling. "You were wearing that blue gown that hugged you in all of the right places, and you were being so patient with me. I couldn't stop thinking about how much I wanted to kiss you, but even drunk out of my mind that thought surprised me. You were Gabby; I'd known you for years and never once wanted to kiss you. But I couldn't stop thinking about it, so finally I did."

Now it was Gabby's turn to laugh. "Really?

Kelly shrugged. "I know; it's crazy. But it's the truth."

Gabby smiled. "For me, it was the next morning. I was puking my guts out in your bathroom, experiencing the worst hangover of my life, and you were being so sweet, bringing me water and ibuprofen and then sitting with me. I'd never seen that side of you before."

"I've never done anything like that before," Kelly admitted. "In the past, that would be my signal to leave, or if they were at my place, to stay in bed and pretend I was still asleep. But for some reason, because it was you, it was different."

"Do you think we would have found our way back to each other had I not gotten pregnant?" Gabby asked softly.

"I don't know," Kelly admitted. "I'd like to think that we would have, but with you in Puerto Rico and me here in Chicago…"

"You know, after New York I actually thought about coming back for a visit," Gabby told him. "Seeing you made me miss everyone from 51. But when I left Chicago last time…the way it ended, I told myself that I was leaving for good. That's why I didn't come back for Cruz's wedding. It was just too hard. There were too many memories here in Chicago. Not just of Matt, but Andy, Shay, Otis…" Gabby grew silent as she thought of the friends they'd lost.

"I'm glad you had a reason to come back, then. Because I can't imagine my life without Gabriella Dawson in it," Kelly told her, kissing the top of her head.

"Are you sure you'll be okay?" Kelly asked worriedly. "I'm sure Boden can find someone to cover for me."

"Kelly, I'll be fine," Gabby insisted. "Now go; you're going to be late for shift." It had been over two weeks since she'd been released from the hospital, and Kelly had been glued to her side the entire time. She appreciated his concern, but she could also tell that he was getting a bit stir crazy and missed the firehouse.

"Okay," Kelly sighed, wrapping his arms around her, and leaning down to give her a kiss. "I'm just a phone call away if you need anything."

Gabby relaxed into his arms, savoring the feeling of his arms around her. She would definitely miss him while he was on shift, but it was time for things to start getting back to normal. She wasn't sure what normal was for her anymore, but for Kelly, normal was returning to shift. "Be careful out there," she told him.

"I will," Kelly promised her. He released her and picked up his duffle from where it sat next to the door. "I'll see you in the morning," he told her, leaning down for one last kiss before walking out the door.

"Look what the cat dragged in!" Herrmann exclaimed when he saw Kelly walk into the briefing room. "Welcome back, Severide."

"Yeah, welcome back, Lieutenant. We missed you," Cruz informed him.

Kelly grinned. "Thanks, guys. It's good to be back," he told them.

Before anyone else could speak, Boden walked into the briefing room. "Welcome back, Kelly. It's good to have you back," he told the squad lieutenant. "All right, listen up everyone. Pelham is going to be out for the next few shifts, so headquarters is sending over a relief lieutenant."

Boden gave a few more updates before concluding the briefing. "Kelly, I need to see you in my office," he told Kelly at the end of the briefing.

"Sure, Chief," Kelly replied, following Boden to his office, and taking a seat in one of the chairs in front of the desk.

Rather than walk around the desk and take a seat in his chair, Boden leaned against the desk in front of Kelly, his arms crossed. "I need to talk to you about the relief lieutenant. I want you to know that I had no say in who we got; because it was so last minute, we had to take whoever was available."

"Who is it, Chief?" Kelly asked, confused.

Before Boden could respond, shouts of "Hey, stranger!" "When did you get back to Chicago?" and "Welcome back!" floated down the hall.

"It's Stella, isn't it?" Kelly questioned, a feeling of dread growing in his stomach. That was the only person he could think of that the rest of the firehouse would greet in that way.

Boden nodded. "I'm sorry, Kelly. I didn't find out until right before the morning briefing or I would have warned you. Like I said, I had no say in who we got." Boden fixed his gaze on his squad lieutenant. "Are you going to be able to work with her? I need an honest answer, Kelly."

Kelly sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose between his fingers. This was the last thing he wanted to deal with on his first day back, and Stella was the last person he wanted to see. "I'll keep it professional, Chief."

Boden nodded. "Thank you, Kelly. I'm working to try and get a different floater for the next couple of shifts, but I can't promise anything."

"I understand, Chief," Kelly replied, standing up from his chair. "I appreciate you trying to give me a heads up."

Kelly left Boden's office and headed straight for his quarters, hoping to be able to avoid Stella as much as possible. Unfortunately, his hopes were quickly dashed when he heard her and Brett enter the dorm area, talking.

"Hey, uh, give me a moment, Brett, will ya?" he heard Stella say. He then heard footsteps approach his door. He waited for a knock, but it never came. Instead, he looked up to find that Stella had simply invited herself into his office.

Kelly turned in his chair to look at his ex-fiancée, leaning back and folding his hands in his lap. "Can I help you, Kidd?" he asked shortly, purposely using her last name.

"I was hoping we could talk, Kelly," Stella replied.

"So talk," Kelly replied, turning back to the paperwork on his desk.

Stella sighed but continued anyways. "Kelly, I'm sorry, okay? I never meant to hurt you. I just-, I was scared. So I ran. And then suddenly you were there, and I didn't know what to say; I didn't know how to tell you. After Grant, I told myself I would never get married again; it was too hard, and I never chose the right guy. But then you were there, and you were different. You were kind and sweet and caring and gentle. And somehow, Kelly, somehow you broke down my defenses. You convinced me that things could be different, that men could be different.

"And then you were proposing, and I said yes. And I meant it when I said yes, Kelly; I really did. But then I got scared; scared of repeating my mistakes all over again, so I ran. It was easier to run than to face the truth: that you were different, that you weren't a mistake. And when you showed up in New York…I don't know, Kelly. I just panicked. So I told you that Girls on Fire was my priority now; that there was no place for you in my life; that I didn't love you. But it was all lies, Kelly," Stella insisted.

"I know I hurt you, and I'm sorry. But I didn't mean it. I didn't mean any of it. There's nothing I want more than to spend the rest of my life with you, right here in Chicago. I know that now," Stella finished. "Please, give me another chance. Please, Kelly. I promise you; I'm not going to leave again."

Kelly struggled to maintain control of his temper. Why did Stella show up today, of all days? She'd obviously been back in Chicago long enough to get put on the floater roster. But, despite claiming that she still loved him, she'd waited until today, when she got assigned to 51, to see him and talk to him.

"Stella, how am I supposed to believe what you're telling me?" he asked finally. "How am I supposed to know that you were lying in New York but telling the truth now?"

Stella shook her head. "I know I broke your trust. I know I need to earn it back again. Give me another chance and I promise you that I won't screw it up this time. I love you, Kelly Severide."

"How long have you been back in Chicago?" Kelly asked, ignoring everything Stella had just said.

"About a week," Stella admitted.

"And yet you're just now telling me this? You're just now coming to me? You claim that you love me, Stella, but you've been in Chicago for a week and this is the first time I've seen you," Kelly responded angrily. "I don't buy it." When he noticed that Stella was making no move to leave, he added, "Close the door on your way out."

Stella sought out Herrmann as soon as she left Kelly's quarters. That had not gone at all the way she'd thought it would. She knew that she'd hurt Kelly, but she'd assumed that once she explained everything, he would forgive her and give her another chance. Or at least want to talk about it more. She hadn't expected him to basically force her out of his office. She hoped Herrmann would be able to give her some insight into why Kelly had acted the way he had.

"Hey, Herrmann," she greeted the older man once she'd found him in the laundry room. "Can I talk to you?"

"Sure, Kidd, what's up?" Herrmann asked.

He'd been as surprised as anyone when Stella had walked into the firehouse and announced that she was the relief lieutenant. While he was happy to see her, he wasn't sure her presence was the best thing for the firehouse, Kelly in particular.

"I just tried to talk to Kelly," Stella began. "I know I hurt him, and I tried to explain to him that I was scared and that's why I said what I did. But he barely even listened to me! He basically threw me out of his quarters."

Herrmann eyed the younger woman, trying to figure out her intentions. While he liked Stella, and had become good friends with her, his loyalty would always lie with Gabby. And the last thing Gabby needed right now was for Stella to walk back into Kelly's life. "Listen, Kidd; a lot happened while you were gone. Severide, he's been through a lot."

Stella cut him off before he could continue. "I know I hurt him, Herrmann. I was wrong for doing what I did. But I want to make it right."

Herrmann shook his head. "The first few months after Severide got back from New York, he was a constant fixture at Molly's from the time we opened until the time we closed. I was stuffing him into a cab every night at close, praying that I'd see him walk into the firehouse next shift and that we wouldn't find him in his apartment, dead from alcohol poisoning. That wasn't a fun time for any of us. But he's finally in a good place now, Kidd. He's happy again," Herrmann informed her, being careful to avoid any mention of Gabby. "For a while there, I thought you'd broke him for good. And I don't wanna see him go through that again."

"That's the thing, Herrmann; I don't want to put him through that again," Stella insisted. "I love him, and I never meant to hurt him."

"But he doesn't love you," Herrmann told her gently. "Not anymore. You had a good thing, but you lost your chance at it."

"But he does," Stella insisted. "I know he does."

"No, I don't, Stella," Kelly replied leaning against the doorframe of the laundry room.

Herrmann excused himself, wanting as little to do with what was about to go down as possible.

"I don't love you anymore, Stella," Kelly told her, pushing himself off the doorframe and walking towards her. "I haven't for a long time. It just took me a while to realize it."

"Kelly," Stella pleaded, but Kelly held up his hands to stop her from continuing.

"When you broke up with me in New York, it broke my heart. I'd seen the writing on the wall, but for some stupid reason, I was still convinced that I loved you, and that we'd get through it. But Stella, I'm not that same man anymore. I'm not the man that felt like he constantly had to change, like he constantly had to fight for his relationship. I'm not going to change who I am to fit who you want me to be. I've moved on, Stella. There's no room for you in my life anymore," Kelly told her. He turned to talk away, but Stella grabbed his arm, stopping him.

"There's someone else, isn't there?" Stella asked, her voice filled with hurt. That was the only logical explanation she could come up with for the way Kelly was responding.

"Yes," Kelly replied simply before removing Stella's hand from his arm and walking away.

When he got back to his quarters, he immediately called Gabby. He wanted to hear her voice; he needed to hear her voice.

"Hello?"

"Hi, honey," Kelly greeted her, a smile crossing his face at the sound of her voice.

"Missing me already?" Kelly could hear the teasing in Gabby's voice.

"Always," he replied. "It's been a rough day already, and I just needed to hear your voice."

"What's going on?"

Kelly sighed, debating what and how much to tell her. He knew he owed her the truth; he just wasn't sure telling her over the phone was the best idea. "Pelham's out, and we have a relief lieutenant for Truck today," he began, but he was cut off from continuing when the tones sounded. Truck 81, Squad 3, Ambo 61. Multi-vehicle accident. Intersection of Ashland and West Lake.

"Gotta go. I'll call you later," Kelly promised, quickly hanging up and jogging towards the squad.