Chapter 2

Kelly and Stella spent the whole day together, from the time they dropped the girls off at school. They went to all Kelly's favorite spots, and Stella would just smile and nod as he explained to her what each place meant to him. They talked about their childhood, their favorite colors, movies, music, foods, places, books, etc.

They shared stories of what it was like the first time they held their daughters, and they laughed at each other's funny stories of what the kids did or said when they were younger. They talked more about Kelly's family and his mom than anything else, and they talked a little about Stella's. Kelly felt bad that Stella really didn't have a family.

About five that evening, Kelly invited Stella and Haley to come with her to her favorite pizza place. He and Madison came here every Friday night.

"So, what did you girls do today in school?' Kelly asked as the four of them waited for their food.

"Nothing really, Daddy, it's just the third day. I think I'm going to love first grade."

"Me too, I like my teacher," Haley grinned...

"Well, I'm glad, baby," Stella said.

Kelly just smiled; he caught Stella's eye and winked at her. At the same time, he did that, the young waitress brought them their food. "Here you go," she said, as she placed everything in front of them. "You guys have such a beautiful family," the young girl said, but before Kelly or Stella could protest, both their daughters said,

"Thank you,"

Causing both adults to look at them, "You guys were not a family," Stella said to them as she watched them take a drink of their soda.

"We know mama," Haley said, then winked at Madison, "but it's nice to say thank you when someone says something nice to you."

"Yes, it's honey, but it's not nice to lie to people. Now you have that young woman thinking we are a family when we are just friends."

"Sorry," Haley said, as she gave her a small smile. "I didn't mean for that to happen; I know we are not family," Haley said as she took a bite of her pizza.

"So, guess what happened on the playground," Madison said happily.

Stella and Kelly both looked happy that the subject was changed. As Haley talked, Stella looked around the place and wondered how many people actually thought they were a family. She bit her lip as she wondered if hanging out with Kelly was going to put ideas in her daughter's head. She doesn't want Haley to think that there's a chance that Kelly could be her dad; Haley has been asking a lot of questions about her dad lately.

"Daddy, can we go to the zoo tomorrow?"

"Yeah, I guess since it's the weekend."

"Can Haley and Stella come?"

"Yeah, mama, can we go? I've never been there." Haley begged, and Stella loved those big brown eyes.

"Um..." Stella began,

"It's fine with me if you guys want to come," Kelly said, as he watched her. "If you can't go, I would love to take Haley with us," he tells her.

"That's sweet of you," she replied. She was really hoping to spend more time with him; today was a good day, one of the best she's had in a while.

"Please, mama."

"Yeah, please, Stella."

Stella looked at both girls, their beautiful eyes begging her to say yes, then at Kelly, whose eyes made her weak; how could she say no to those six adorable eyes? "I would love to go."

That night, Kelly dropped Stella and Haley off at Gabby's and Matt's. "So, I'll pick you guys up in the morning," Kelly said.

"What time?"

"Um, well, the zoo doesn't open till ten, so little after nine."

"Mama hates getting up in the morning. She is sooooo not a morning person, right mama?" Haley said, with a giggle.

Kelly laughs "Yes, baby, mama loves her sleep, but unfortunately, I have a six-year-old who happens to be an early riser. Who would have guessed?"

"Ah, you see, it's different with us. I'm the early riser, and Madison is the sleepy head, so maybe we should switch." Kelly joked.

"Daddy, you want to give me away?" Madison asked in a sad voice.

"Just kidding, baby, you know your daddy's world, right?' Kelly said, as he reached into the backseat and squeezed her knee. "I will see you lovely ladies in the morning, I guess. Goodnight, Stella. Goodnight, Haley."

"Night," Haley yelled, as Kelly pulled out of the driveway. Stella shook her head at her loud daughter. "I like Kelly; Mama, do you like Kelly too?"

"Yeah, I like Kelly too, honey." She sighed as she opened the front door.

Kelly was tucking Madison into bed. "Daddy, I like Stella; do you like Stella? I think Stella is awesome." Madison said as she reached for her bunny, which she sleeps with every night.

Kelly kissed her forehead. "Yes, princess, Stella is awesome; I like her too," he said, as he kissed his daughter one more time. "Night, honey, sleep tight. You'll have a busy day tomorrow."

"Okay, I love you, Daddy."

"I love you, baby girl." Kelly turned off the light and shut the door. Then he walked to his room and lay down on the bed. Today had been one of the best days of his life. He hasn't smiled that much in a long time. It's only been a couple of days since he met Stella, and he's feeling something he shouldn't be feeling. He just met her, and she has a boyfriend, who she didn't even bring up all day. There have been no phone calls from him either; hell, if she were his girl, he would call her every hour, just to hear her voice. He shook his head. His mind wandered off to the letter his ex-wrote. When she left him and Madison six years ago. He reached into his nightstand and took the letter out. He's read this letter over a million times.

Dear Kelly,

I'm sorry; I know that doesn't mean much now, but I am truly sorry. I tried to be happy, and I did, but nothing worked. I loved you, I really did, and you will always have a place in my heart. You were my first love, and a girl can't forget their first love. The last four years were great, and I don't regret the time we spent together. I don't regret having our daughter either; she is so sweet and so adorable, and I know she is going to grow into a beautiful, smart woman. But I can't be a mom, I'm sorry. I try. Yes, I was happy when we found out we were pregnant; I wanted her, I did, but I just feel no connection to her. She is a month old, and I am supposed to be happy when I hold her, but I'm not. Sometimes, when you and your mom are working and she will cry, I will let her lay in her crib and cry, and I will put my headphones on so I can't hear her. A mom is not supposed to do that; a mom who loves their baby would want to comfort them when they cry; I don't want her to stop crying; you seem so right with her; she seems to like you better anyways. So, with that, I know I'm doing the right thing. I'm leaving Kelly. Don't come and try to find me either; I'm not in love with you anymore, I'm not happy, I haven't been happy in a long time, and you deserve someone who can make you happy. When your mom told us we should get married, I cried, because I couldn't picture myself marrying you. I would never want to marry you just because we have a child; I want to marry someone I know I can't live without and to be honest, I know that I can live without you, and I will. Once again, I'm sorry, and one day you're going to find someone, and right way, you're going to know she's the one for you, because, honestly, Kelly, you know deep down I wasn't your one. I hope that one day you will be able to forgive me, and so will our daughter. I hope you both will understand why I'm leaving. Please let Madison know that I do love her; I just can't be her mom. Have a great life, Kelly Severide.

Love Christina.

As he put the letter back and closed his eyes, a line from Christina's letter crossed his mind: One day you're going to find someone, and right away you're going to know she's the one for you. Could Stella be the one for him? He asked himself—it was the last thing he thought of before sleep took over.

Two weeks had passed, and Kelly and Stella were inseparable. They spend every minute together unless Kelly is on shift. It was Friday night, and Stella was at Kelly's dropping Haley off; she was going to spend the weekend there.

"Daddy Madison is here. Can I open the door?"

" Yes." Kelly yelled from the other room.

Kelly was in the kitchen when Stella walked in. "Hey," she said as she leaned over the counter. "Are you sure you can handle both girls all weekend?"

"It can't be that hard."

"Well, don't be calling me when they tie you up to a chair thinking I'm going to come to save you." she teased.

Kelly smirked; he was really falling for her. He wished he could tell her, but he knew that the best thing for them is to just stay friends. "So how come you never talk about your boyfriend?" He watched as her eyes widened.

"Cause I don't have a boyfriend," she said bluntly.

"Really," he said, way too happy tone. "I mean, Gabby said when you first moved here that you were seeing someone. So, you're not seeing anyone?"

"No, I'm not seeing anyone; I haven't been on a date in four years." She said as she wondered why Gabby told him that. She sighed loudly. "Why don't you talk about your girlfriend?"

"Because I don't have one to talk about."

"Of course, you don't. Now it makes sense." She said putting two and two together.

"What makes sense?"

"Gabby told you I was seeing someone."

" Yeah"

"She told me when I first moved here that you were seeing someone." Stella looked at the confusion on his face and said, "She did it on purpose."

Kelly nodded, "Oh... but why?"

Stella shrugs: "She thinks we're perfect for each other. At least that's what she told me last year when she came to visit."

"Yeah, I remember her telling me that too. You know Gabby's intuition is usually right." Kelly tells her as Stella looks at him. They stare into each other's eyes. The sound of Madison's voice breaks their stare.

"Daddy, can we order pizza and watch a movie?" Madison asked as she jumped on Kelly's lap.

"Yeah, we can, baby girl. What movie do you have in mind?" Kelly asked as she played with his daughter's hair.

"Um, I don't know, what do you want to watch, Haley?"

"hmm..." Haley put her finger on her chin, and Stella laughed at her daughter's thinking face.

"What about The Princess Bride?" Stella said to the two little girls,

"What's that?" Madison asked.

"It's a classic; it's got princesses, sword fighting, daring escapes, horses, everything you could think of," Stella said, in a thrilled voice, "we'll expect Justin Bieber; he's not in it, sorry." she laughed.

"It sounds cool, okay. I want to watch it. Mama, do you want to watch it with us?"

Stella sighed, "Sure, sweetheart, if Madison and Kelly don't mind."

"No, Stella, we don't mind," Madison said.

"Thanks for answering for me, Madison," Kelly said to her, then looked over at Stella. "You can stay if you want," Kelly said as he picked up the phone. "Okay, go get the movie ready, and I'll order the pizza."

Stella got the movie ready: "Mama let's all sit on the couch, you, me, Madison, and Kelly."

"Okay"

Stella was about to sit on the opposite side of the couch. "No, you sit beside my dad, then Haley and I can sit beside each other."

Stella was about to protest, but honestly, she kind of wanted to sit close to Kelly; he always smelled so good.

After the pizza got there, the four of them sat on the couch, and Stella started the movie. A few moments into the movie, he asked, "You tried?" Kelly whispered to her. As he noticed the few yawns she kept doing.

"Yeah, it's been a long day," Stella replied, looking at him.

" Well," Kelly began, then put his arm around her shoulder, pulling her closer to him. "My shoulder doesn't mind being your pillow."

She was shocked, and she debated it for a moment, then, without saying a word, she laid her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. Kelly smiled, then he stroked her hair. Hoping to relax her.

"Hmm."" Stella moans as she wakes up to the sound of a phone ringing. It's then that she realizes it's her cell, so she pulls it out of her pocket, "Hello," she said, sleepy.

"Are you okay?" Gabby's frightened voice said

"Um, Gabby, yeah, I'm okay," she said in a low voice, then looked down. She was sleeping on Kelly's chest, then she noticed Madison laying on Kelly's side and Haley laying on her legs.

"Stella, are you there?"

"Yeah, I guess we fell asleep."

"So, you're okay, because I was worried about you."

"I'm okay; we were watching a movie, then we all must have fallen asleep."

"So where are you sleeping at?" Gabby laughed.

"On the couch, it's not what you think," Stella said, as she slowly sat up, "and, when I do get home, you and I going to have a talk about the little lie you told me and Kelly?"

"What lie?"

"Kelly isn't seeing anyone, and neither am I."

"Oh, well, I've got to go. Night, Stella." She said it really fast and then hung up. Stella just shook his head.

"Kelly," Stella said, as she touched his cheek, "Kelly, wake up."

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing; we fell asleep; it's after midnight."

Kelly looked at her confusedly, then it dawned on him. He looked over at the two girls beside him and said, "Wow, we should get them upstairs; they are going to have sore necks in the morning."

Kelly gets up and stretches, and Stella watches as his shirt rises, showing his toned abs. She blushes as she notices he sees her checking him out. Kelly just smiled, then he picked Haley up off Stella's lap. I'll take her up first, then I'll come back down for Madison," he said, as Stella nodded, then watched him walk out of the room with her daughter in his arms. She was kind of wishing that it was her he was carrying upstairs.

She shook her head at that thought; she can't think of him that way; he's just a friend, hell, he is the father of her daughter's best friend; they could never be together, because if they got together and break up, she could ruin the friendship between her daughter and his daughter. So, no matter what she wants or feels, she can't let anything happen between them.

Stella cleaned up the mess in the living room as Kelly tucked the girls in bed. He walked back down the stairs, looking for her. "Well, they're both tucked safely under the covers," he said, as he found her in the kitchen, washing up the few dishes that were in the sink.

"Thanks"

"So, I guess I will go," she said as they locked their eyes.

"Yeah, I guess so," he replies.

"Alright, thanks again, and sorry about falling asleep on you," Stella said as she walked towards him. She really enjoyed being in his arms; it's been four years since she fell asleep in a man's arms.

"I didn't mind," he said, as they both stood in front of each other, and Kelly moved his eyes to her lips. Goodnight, Stella," he said, as he leans over and places a kiss on her cheek. He had to fight himself not to kiss her lips. He wanted to, but he wasn't sure if she wanted him to. But then what would happen if they did kiss? Would they both like it or would it be a big mistake? Would it ruin their friendship? He really liked hanging out with her, and he couldn't ruin what they built together or what his daughter built with her daughter, so staying friends was the best thing for now.

Besides, Gabby told him she was just like him, dating was something she did in the past, and she has no plans of dating or having a serious relationship in the future. He knows Stella must have been hurt in the past. He knows he doesn't have any room to talk because he was pretty much messed up too, but that doesn't mean he doesn't want to know more about her.

"Goodnight, Kelly," Stella said, in a low, hushed voice. She really thought he was going to kiss her. He shocked her by kissing her cheek. She smiled at him as he winked at her before closing the door behind her.

She got into her car, thinking about what it was like lying in Kelly's arms. She wondered if they would have felt a spark if he did kiss her; would she kiss him back? Well, duh, she would; it's all she has been thinking about for the past few weeks.

The next morning, Kelly was making breakfast, and the girls were watching cartoons in the living room when Casey walked in. "Good morning girls," he said, happily.

"Morning, Uncle Matt!" both girls yelled from the floor where they were lying without looking at him.

"Where's your dad?"

"In the kitchen," both girls yelled again, still not looking at him.

Casey walked into the kitchen. "Hey," he said, as he hopped on the stool at the counter.

"Hey, what brings you by so early?" Kelly asked as he flipped the pancakes.

"Well, Gabby and Stella left me this morning, so I got lonely."

"Where did they go?"

"Shopping knowing Gabby, she loves to shop. More now that she's pregnant."

Kelly nodded, and Casey eyed him for a second. "So, Stella fell asleep here, huh?" He smiled big.

"We were watching a movie with the girls; we all fell asleep; nothing happened; Stella and I are just friends."

"But you wanted something to happen." Casey laughed. "So, you like her, right?"

"She's cool, but we are just friends."

" Bull"

"No, not bull; that's what we are."

"Severide, you like her; she's more than just cool. You really like her, and she really likes you."

"How can you tell she likes me?"

"I've tried to read her, but I just can't seem to tell." She never really gave him any vibe that she liked him. Except for last night when she was checking him out. But he wasn't going to tell that to Casey; he would make it into a bigger deal than it really was.

"See you like her," he smiled, "and yes, Gabby and I both know she likes you, so listen up, Gabby, and I think you should kiss her."

"What? Why?"

"Look, kiss her, a simple innocent kiss; I bet you both feel something; then you know where to go from there."

"Look, I like hanging with her; I do, and I don't want to kiss her and mess up our friendship, because not only will we mess ours up, but there is a chance we could mess up Madison's and Haley's."

"I get that, but what if you both feel something? You could be missing out on something really special."

Kelly just nodded and said, "Do you know where Haley's dad is? Is he still in the picture?"

"All I know is that he died when Haley was about two; I think, Stella doesn't talk about it; hell, I don't even think she has ever told Gabby the whole story."

"He's dead" Kelly didn't expect that; he thought they just had a bad breakup or that he just didn't want to be a father. Now he was more curious.

Stella and Gabby walk out of the coffee shop. "So, you fell asleep at Kelly's, huh?" She smiled big.

"We were watching a movie; the girls were with us; we all fell asleep; nothing happened; Kelly and I are just friends."

Gabby rolled her eyes and said, "I wish you two would just kiss already."

"What?"

"Look, he likes you, because I can tell and so can Matt; you like him," Gabby said, as she narrowed her eyes with hers. "Shut up, Stella, you know you do; I can see, Matt can see. So, Matt and I think if you two would just share a simple innocent kiss, you both will realize that there is something between you too and then you can go from there."

"That's not going to happen," Stella said, as she opened the car door. "And besides, how can you tell just by a kiss?"

"Cause a kiss always means something," Gabby said. "Kiss him, just one kiss, and let me know if you feel anything, just a simple little spark; if you don't, then I'll leave you both alone."

"Seriously?" She asked, not believing her. "If I kiss Kelly just one time, a simple peck, and I feel nothing, will you leave us alone?"

"Yes, I promise," she said, as she crossed her heart.

"I'll think about it." She said she knew it was a bad idea because she was already feeling something.

Sunday night rolled around. Stella went to Kelly's to pick up Haley. She rang the doorbell. "H-ee-y," she stuttered. Kelly answered the door with no shirt on. Her eyes raked over his toned chest. Her mouth went dry.

Kelly smiled at her reaction. Hey, come on in."

She took a deep breath and slowly walked in. She felt embarrassed that she kept looking at his chest.

"Sorry, the girls and I were doing an art project, and they wanted to use glitter, and now I'm covered in glitter." he laughed. "That's why I don't have a shirt on."

She nods as she looks down at the floor, hiding the redness on her face. "Where are the girls?"

"Outside, they are learning a new dance move with my mom."

" Oh."

"Stella, are you okay?" Kelly asked because she still wouldn't look at him.

She took another deep breath. "Yeah, I'm good," she tells him, finally looking at him. Her mind went to the conversation with Gabby yesterday. She really wants to kiss him; it's all she's thought about.

He watches her, and he can tell she's a little flustered. She looks more beautiful when she's embarrassed. His mind went to the conversation with Casey yesterday; kissing her was all he thought about all weekend.

"You got glitter in your hair," she laughs, as she reaches up and brushes the glitter out. "Damn, it's on your face too." She touches his cheek and blows on it, blowing the glitter off.

He didn't move; he just enjoyed her touch. She was just an inch away from him. He licks his lips and stares at hers. He's fighting the urge to kiss her. "You are incredibility beautiful." He whispered.

"Whatever," she said, as she broke their gaze. She looked down at the floor and tucked her hair behind her ear.

"What makes you beautiful is that you have no idea how beautiful you are."

She looked up at him. "Kelly," she whispered. She touched his arm, and then a tiny spark flew through his body.

And at that moment, he knew what he had to do. "Now, Stella," he said, as he stood right in front of her, "I'm going to kiss you." He warned her, his eyes scanning her lips. "I'm going to count to ten, then I'm going to kiss you," he said, licking his lips.

"Kelly..." She whispered again so softly that her heartbeat increased as his hands found her waist. She licked her lips too.

"If you don't want me to kiss you," he paused, looking her in the eyes, "well, you're just going to have to stop me." He said, as he pulled her closer, "One, two," he whispered, his heart beating fast, wondering if she was going to pull away, but then he noticed her eyes dropping to his lips; that alone tells him she wanted to kiss him too. So, he skipped a few numbers, because he couldn't wait for another second to kiss her. "Ten," he whispered against her lips, before touching them with his.