Stella woke up to an empty bed. She sighed as she thought about everything that happened last night. She and Haley were officially all moved in with Kelly and Madison, and the girls were excited about sharing a room. Stella was a bit nervous about taking such a huge step so soon in their relationship, but luckily Kelly knew how to calm her nerves. She touches her stomach as she thinks about the life they created, and she smiles as she thinks about all the memories that they are going to make in this house together as a family. Her smile fades as she remembers Christina's pop-up visit last night, which usually wouldn't bother her. She has no issue with Christina; she likes her, and she loves how happy Madison is when she's here.

She wasn't even bothered by Christina moving to Chicago; she thought it was a great opportunity for Madison to get to know her mom. She just wasn't expecting the bombshell that she dropped on Kelly. What right does she even have to ask for permanent custody? How does someone just walk out of their child's life at one month old and have no communication for over five years? Then parade back in thinking they deserve full custody. Who the hell does this woman think she is?

She knew Kelly was going to go off, which he sort of did. He and Christina had words and said some unkind things to each other. Which led to Kelly storming out of the house. She spent the rest of the night worried about where he was; he didn't answer her calls or texts. She knew he needed time to himself, but that didn't stop her from worrying. Plus, trying to reassure Madison that everything was okay and answering their girl's questions was a headache of its own.

Christina didn't help the situation much, which led to Stella telling her she needed to leave, and Madison wasn't too happy about her leaving either.

It was midnight when he did come home. She was sitting up in bed when he walked into the room. She didn't ask him if he was okay; she knew he wasn't. She just opened her arms and held him; they didn't talk, they just held each other.

She slowly got out of bed and put her robe on. Before heading downstairs, she checked on the girls, who were both still sleeping. As she walked into the kitchen, she found Kelly sitting at the island on his laptop. "Morning," she said as she wrapped her arms around him. She kissed his neck and then his cheek.

"Morning, babe," he replied, giving her lips a quick peck.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm looking for a lawyer."

"Do you really think it's going to come down to you guys going to court?"

" Stella, I think she is going to do whatever it takes to get custody. So, I want to be prepared." She kisses his temple before walking over to the coffee pot. "She is already up to something; I don't know what exactly, but after her comment about me being a firefighter, working long shifts, and not being there for Madison because of my job, she has something planned."

Stella poured some coffee into her mug. "Yeah, I thought so too," she says, taking a sip of her coffee. "I honestly don't think any judge in the right mind is going to give her full custody. She abandoned her daughter at a month old with no communication for over five years. I don't see her having a case, I know she'll have a lawyer who will calm she does, but to win full custody. I don't think so. "

"Mom said the same thing." He looked up at her. "That's where I was last night, after the little yelling match with Christina. I just needed to get out of the house, so I drove around for a while and then ended up at my mom's."

"I figured, but I was still worried. I knew you needed some time to yourself."

"I'm sorry for storming out like that."

"You don't have to apologize; I know how upset you were." She sat her mug down and walked around the island. She cups his face. "Just do me a favor; the next time you storm out, please text me and let me know you're okay. I was so worried last night. And it's not good for our baby for mama to be stressed."

He turned around so he could wrap his arms around her. He looked at her with so much regret. " I'm sorry, I definitely don't want you stressing. I won't storm out on you again, I promise."

She pecks his lips. "Good." She sighed. "The girls heard the yelling last night."

Kelly closed his eyes. "I figured." He opened his eyes and noticed Stella's eyes were a little dull. They are usually bright and sparkling, but the sparkle was missing this morning. "What happened?"

"Well, they were standing at the top of the stairs when you stormed out."

" Damn."

"Yeah, they both came running down the stairs as soon as the door slammed, yelling, where is he going? What happened? I already figured they would hear the yelling, so I was mentally preparing myself for what to say to them when they started questioning it. So, after you stormed out, which was something I wasn't prepared for, all of a sudden, the girls were standing in front of me, wanting to know what was going on. And asking millions of questions."

"Stella, I'm sorry," he tells her regretfully.

"My mind was all over the place trying to listen to their questions, worried about where you were going, and before I could even respond to their questions, Christina stepped in, which pissed me off, and I think I overstepped my boundaries with Madison; she was pretty upset with me last night." Her eyes were watery, and he knew she was about to cry.

"Come here?" He pulled her into his lap. "Talk to me."

"Christina told Madison that you stormed out because she asked you if Madison could come stay with her, and you told her no. She said your dad doesn't want you staying the night at my new house, and he doesn't want you around your baby brother. And he doesn't want me to see you anymore."

"Why in the hell would she say that to her?"

"I don't know, Kelly she also told Madison that she is taking you to court so she can live with her because you had her for six years and now it's her turn to have her." She gave him a remorseful look. "Madison told her she didn't want to live with her; she didn't mind spending the night, but she likes her home and she likes being around her dad."

" Really?"

"Yep, so Christina took it up a notch and decided that she was going to bribe her, so she told her If you come live with me, Mike, and I will buy you whatever you want, we will take you to Disneyland and all the fun parks and water parks that we talked about wherever you want to go; we will take you, but you have to live with us for that to happen."

"I figured she would try to bribe her," Kelly replied, knowing how Christina worked.

"Madison was still skeptical, then Christina asked her if she liked getting to spend time with her and her baby brother. Madison told her yes, and Christina told her that the only way they could see each other was if she lived with her. Because you told her that you didn't want her hanging around her anymore, that's when I heard enough. I had to say something. So, I told Christina she needed to leave. Madison turned and said, no, she doesn't. I said, "I'm sorry, Madison, but it's best if your mom leaves."She paused for a second. "Christina told her that I was also against them spending time together. I didn't want her to know her because I was jealous of their relationship. So, I yelled, Get the hell out of my house. And that set Madison off; she was screaming and crying. Mike finally spoke up and told Christina that it was best for them to leave and that they would let the lawyers handle things. As soon as they left, Madison screamed, "I hate you, and ran upstairs."

" Stella." He hugged her as she cried. "I'm sorry, I wasn't here."

"It just hurt hearing her say that."

"She didn't mean it; she was upset. I will talk to her." He kissed the top of her head.

"I didn't mean to overstep by telling them to leave."

"You didn't overstep; this is your house too; you had the right to tell them to leave." Kelly held her closely as he thought about everything.

"Morning Mama and Kelly," Haley said as she walked into the kitchen.

Stella sat up straight and wiped her eyes. "Morning baby."

"Morning pumpkin," Kelly said as Haley walked over to them.

"Are you okay?" She asked her mama. "Why are you crying?"

"I'm a good baby; sometimes pregnant women get emotional and like to cry."

"Oh, are you still sad over Madison yelling at you last night?"

"A tad, but I know she didn't mean it."

"She said she meant it; she won't come downstairs because she doesn't want to see you."

Stella looked at Kelly, who sighed. "I'll go talk to her." Stella stood up so Kelly could get up; he stood and kissed her cheek. And he pats Haley's head.

"Mama, she is really mad at you."

"I know, baby." Stella took a deep breath. "How about you and I fix breakfast while Kelly and Madison have a talk?" She needed to distract herself.

Kelly walked into the girl's bedroom, and Madison was sitting on the bed. She was dressed and putting her shoes on. "Are you going somewhere?"

She looked over at the door. "Yes, mommy is coming to get me."

"Excuse me? Says who?"

"She said last night after your girlfriend made her leave that she was coming to take me to breakfast before their flight back to Maryland."

"First off, my girlfriend has a name, and you will respect her. Stella had every right to ask your mom to leave last night; your mom was upsetting her with the lies she was telling you."

"My mommy didn't lie; Stella lied."

Kelly sat down beside her and asked, "Did your mom tell you I didn't want you around her?"

" Yes."

"That was a lie. Did she tell you I didn't want you around your baby brother?"

" Yeah."

"That's another lie. Did she tell you Stella didn't want you to know her?" Madison nods her head. "Did she tell you that Stella didn't want you to know her because Stella was jealous?"

"Yes."

"That's a lie. Stella is the one who convinced me to call your mom. Stella is the one who said you deserved a relationship with your mom. Stella was the biggest supporter when it came to you meeting your mom. "

"Oh! She really did?"

"Yes, honey, Stella, and I want you to get to know your mom; we want you to have a relationship with her. "

"Why would mommy lie?"

Kelly wrapped his arm around her. "Your mom and I had a little disagreement, and she got upset with me, and I got upset with her. So I think she misunderstood what I said to her. We both were in the wrong, and we both said somethings we shouldn't have said to each other. Sometimes when you're mad or hurt, you say things you don't mean."

"Like I did with Stella?" She said, giving her dad an I'm sorry look.

"Yeah, you hurt Stella's feelings, baby. But Stella understands that you were upset with her, and she knows you didn't mean it. But it still hurt her. She loves you, and she will never do anything to hurt you, she wants you to be happy, and she knows how much having your mom in your life means to you."

"I'm sorry I hurt her feelings. I like Stella, Daddy. I like her a lot."

"I know you do, and I know you're sorry, but baby, I'm not the one you should apologize to." He kissed the top of head. "Whenever you hurt someone's feelings, whether it's purposefully or by accident, You should always apologize when you do wrong."

She hugged her dad. "Mommy said she wants me to live with her, but I don't want to leave you, Daddy. I love living with you."

Kelly tightened his hold on her and silently thanked God. "I know; you don't have to worry; you aren't going anywhere."

"But I want to stay with mommy sometimes too." Kelly wasn't sure what to say to that. The doorbell rang: "That's mommy. I can go with them, Daddy, right?"

Part of him wanted to say no, but he knew that would just cause a scene with Christina. "Yes, you can go."

"Thank you, Daddy." She hugged him.

"Be good; I love you."

"I love you too." She replied before running out of the room.

Kelly sat there thinking about everything. He knows he needs to have a conversation with her about Christina wanting custody, but she's only six. How do you have a conversation with a six-year-old about who she should live with? Would she even be able to comprehend it?

"Why are you in our room?" Haley asked, walking into the bedroom.

"I was having a conversation with Madison."

"But she left."

Kelly smiled. "I know she left; I just didn't get up yet. I was thinking about stuff."

" Oh." She replied as she tried to make her bed.

Kelly laughed. "Let me help." They made the bed and then made Madison's bed together.

"I got to get dressed, then check on Mama; she's sick." Haley said as she walked into the closet.

"What do you mean she's sick?"

"We were fixing breakfast, and Mama was scrambling my eggs, and then she ran to the bathroom. I went after her, and she was throwing up. So I have to take care of her."

"She has morning sickness."

"What's that?"

"It's something that pregnant women get."

"Does it hurt the baby?"

"No, and it doesn't hurt your mama either; certain smells and food are going to make your mama sick, and she's going to be tired a lot, but it's all normal, sweetheart."

"I'm still going to worry; she's my mama, and I love her."

"Me too, princess," he said, kissing the top of her head. "You get dressed, and I'll go check on your mama."

Kelly found Stella standing at the sink. He walked up behind her and kissed her neck. "Are you okay?"

"I forgot how much I hate morning sickness."

"I'm sorry." He kisses her cheek.

"You should be; it's your fault." she teased.

"It takes two to tango, babe." He smirked at her, causing her to blush.

"Madison apologized to me before she left. Which made Christina glare at me, " she shakes her head. "I'm actually surprised you let her go."

He turned her around, so she was facing him. "I didn't want to, but I figured they go back to Maryland today; what harm could be in them taking her out for breakfast? Plus, I don't know what's going to happen in the coming weeks, so I want to keep the peace as long as I can."

Stella traced his jawline tenderly. "Do you really think they had a lawyer? And they filed for permanent custody?"

"I don't know; all I know is that I don't trust Christina."

"I just feel like they wanted to see your reaction like they were testing you. They knew you weren't going to agree with them. It was like she was trying to piss you off like it was her main goal. Something just seemed off to me—the way they popped in last night and how they dropped that bomb on you. I can't put my finger on it, but it seemed planned."

"I got the same vibe; it's all I thought about last night. And her bringing up my broken childhood, and how I was always in trouble as a teenager, and how we fought a lot, and she was scared of me; she was never scared of me. She made it...

"It sounds like you had an aggressive anger problem and that you were abusive." Stella finished for him.

"I swear I never laid a hand on her; I have never hit a woman." He wanted to reassure her, knowing her past he didn't want her to have any doubts about him. "Well, does kindergarten count?"

Stella gave him an amused look. "What did you do in kindergarten?"

"I hit a little girl and pulled her hair because she took my juice box and ate my cookie."

Stella laughed. "My poor baby..." she teased him.

"I got grounded the whole weekend." He pouted.

Stella cupped his face. "Girls can be so mean."

"I know. I think I deserve a kiss for having to relive that tragic experience."

"I think so too." She leans in, and they kiss for a few seconds. "I need to get motivated. I got to get the girls stuff for their lunches for the week, plus Haley needs a new bookbag, and go to the craft store to get supplies for their project. "

" They have to do a project? There in the first grade, I thought projects were years away."

" Apparently they do them in first grade now." She smirks.

"I could go for you, since you're feeling a little nauseated this morning. I don't want you to overwhelm yourself."

She shakes her head and says, "It's just morning sickness; I'm fine. Plus, I told Haley that we could have some mother-daughter time."

"Well, hopefully, Madison will be back soon. I still want to have a conversation with her about stuff going on."

"Are you going to talk to her about court?"

"No, at least not yet."

"I'm ready, mama," Haley yelled.

Stella shakes her head. "Haley, use your inside voice."

" Sorry." She replied as she walked into the kitchen. "Can I go jump on the trampoline till your ready-to-go mama?"

"Go ahead; I just need ten minutes," Stella tells her.

"I can help you get dressed." He wiggled his eyebrows at her.

She laughs. "No thank you; you, my dear, would be a distraction." She kisses him softly. "How about you clean up the kitchen, and I'll let you help me undress tonight?" She winks at him before walking away.

"I like the sound of that."

A few hours later, Stella pulled into the driveway at the same time Christina and Mike were pulling out. As she opened the trunk, Kelly and Madison came out to help unload the car.

"Stella, did you get my jelly?" Madison asked as she grabbed a bag.

" Yes."

"Did you get...

"Yes, sweetie," Stella said, cutting her off, already knowing what she was going to ask. "I got strawberry jelly because I know you hate grape. And I got you apple juice and your soft-baked cookies. And your favorite gum, and green apples because you think green is better than red."

" Wow! You remember all the things I liked."

"Yes, I did, and I got you a new pencil case; it's green, not pink because I know you lost the other one."

"You totally rock, Stella," Madison yelled as she hugged her.

She looked at Kelly, who looked a little bit upset. "I try my best."

"I have two new dresses," Haley said as she was finally getting out of the car.

"I want...

"I got you two dresses to Madison," Stella tells her before she got upset.

" Yay!"

"Come on, you and Haley, grab some bags and take them into the kitchen. For me." both girls grabbed as many bags as they could handle and ran off into the house. Stella waited till they were inside. "What's wrong?"

" Nothing."

"Kelly, it's written all over your face. Baby, what happened?"

Kelly sighed. "I will tell you later." He gives her a peck on the lips, then grabs a few bags. Stella stood there, watching him walk inside. She knows his mood has something to do with Christina.

After unloading the car and getting the groceries put away. She walks into the living room. "I need a nap." Stella said with a yawn as she sat down beside Kelly on the couch.

He pulled her closer to him. "You can nap on me."

"Mama, I want a cellphone too."

"Haley, I already told you no, I think six is too young for a phone."

"Madison has one."

Stella looked at Kelly. "Don't look at me; I agree with you that kids shouldn't have cell phones."

"How did Madison get a phone?"

"My mom and Mike brought me one, so I could call mommy anytime. They brought me a lot of stuff today. It was like it was my birthday and Christmas together."

"Oh, that was nice of them." Stella now knew what was bothering Kelly.

"They brought me a huge clubhouse, but it's for their house. When they move in next month?"

Stella's eyes widened in shock. "Next month?" She looks at Kelly, who just shrugged his shoulders.

"Yeah, Mommy said that they will be living here next month, and I can stay with them whenever I want, if daddy is okay with it. "

Stella didn't know what to say; she could tell Kelly was struggling with it too.

"Madison said she is going to live with her mom and her stepdad; she won't be living with us anymore." Haley told them as she sat down.

Kelly arched his eyebrows. "Say who?" Looking at Madison.

"Mommy told me that you were going to..." Madison's face scrunched up as she tried to remember what her mom said. "I don't know what she said, but she said you guys are going to talk to someone about who I should live with."

Kelly leans forward. "You live with me; you're going to continue to live with me to your eighteen when you go off to college or move out on your own."

"Nope, Mommy said that it's not up to you. It's up to me."

"Madison There's a lot of stuff that's going to come up in the next couple of weeks. You're not going to understand, and we are going to be in a room talking to lawyers and a judge about you and what's best for you. Your best interest is what everyone in the courtroom is going to take into consideration when they make a decision on who you should live with." Stella rubbed Kelly's back, knowing he was getting irritated. "I don't have a say; your mom doesn't have a say; once we go to court, it's all up to the judge."

"Mommy said the judge guy would talk to me and ask me questions."

"That's true," Kelly tells her, as he wonders what all Christina said to her.

"So I'll just tell him I want to live with my mommy." Madison pulled out her phone. "I got to call Mommy; I forgot something."

Kelly felt like he was punched in the stomach. His eyes followed Madison out of the room; he was numb. "Kelly, she didn't mean it," Stella said, trying to reassure him.

"They are buying her; they are stealing her away from me by buying her stuff."

"I know."

"You give a six-year-old whatever she wants; of course, she's going to want to live with you." He put his head in his hands.

"Kelly, it doesn't matter what they buy her or get her. And it honestly doesn't matter what Madison wants; the judge is going to look at the very simple facts. Her mom left her when she was one; she had no communication with her for over five years. You raised her; you were the one there for her. When she had that infection, you took care of her. You never left her side while she was in the hospital. You have been there since day one; you are a great father. You are the best girl dad I've ever met."

" I sure don't feel like a great dad."

"Kelly, you are a great dad; that's why I want you to be my dad." Haley's voice caused both adults to look up at her. They were so lost in their conversation that they forgot that Haley was in the room. "Madison loves you, and I do too."

Stella got extremely emotional, blaming it on the hormones.

Kelly shakes his head and wipes his eyes. "Come here, Haley." She walked over to the couple. He puts her on his lap. "Thank you; I needed to hear that, and I love you too."

" Really?"

"Yes, really," he says, looking at Stella, who was crying and biting her bottom lip. "I would love to be your dad."

Haley's eyes widened. "Are you serious?"

"I am."

She kissed his cheek. "Kelly, can I call you Dad?"

Stella was surprised by her question; the hopefulness in her eyes made Stella's heart melt. "Yes, it would be an honor to have you call me dad."

Haley smiled brightly. "Thank you, Kel... dad."

"I love you, Haley," Kelly said as he hugged her.

"I love you too, dad."

Stella was in a blissful state. She watched as Haley jumped off Kelly's lap and ran into the kitchen. Kelly had a big grin on his face as he turned to Stella. "I love you!"

Hearing her say those words for the first time made his heart sing. "It's about time." He joked.

Stella smiled at him. "I really do. I was scared, but I'm not scared anymore. I love you, Kelly Severide; I do."

"I love you too, Stella Kidd." He whispers before capturing her lips with his.

"Sorry to interrupt this happy moment," Jennifer said, walking into the living room.

The couple pulled apart. "Hey mom, what brings you by?"

But before Jennifer could respond, Madison came walking into the room and said, "Hi Grandma."

"Hey, baby." She grabbed her and hugged her tightly. Both Kelly and Stella noticed Jennifer was acting a little off, and she looked like she'd been crying. "Sweetheart, can you give us a minute to talk? We have some adult stuff to talk about."

"Okay, I have this game on my phone; I wanted to show Haley anyway."

"You have a phone?" Jennifer asked, looking at Kelly.

"Yeah, my mom got it for me."

"Mom, let it go," Kelly said, knowing she was going to make a snarky comment. "Madison, run upstairs and tell Haley we said to stay up there till we call you guys down." Once Madison was out of the room. "What's up, mom?"

Jennifer sat down and closed her eyes. "This is going to be hard to tell you, son, and I'm praying my hardest that it's not true."

"What's not true?"

"Well, I was talking to your dad, and I told him about Christina wanting permanent custody and all that."

Kelly was furious. "Mom, once, I wish you wouldn't tell him anything. He doesn't have to know everything about my life."

"He's your dad, Kelly; he deserves...

"No, he doesn't." He tells her, interrupting her. "I wish you would quit defending him on everything."

"I don't... * Jennifer began but stopped herself. "Look, I didn't come here to fight with you; there is something you need to know. Your dad told me something about Christina."

Kelly sighed. "Dad tells us stuff about Christina all the time, Mom. He practically stalks her by doing those stupid background checks on her every year. It never made much sense to me why he cared so much; it seemed pointless."

"Maybe he has something that can help you in court," Stella added, hoping she was right.

Kelly stood up. "No, I'm not hiring one of dad's corrupted lawyers, no blackmailing, or manipulating her. I'm telling you both right now: I'm not that guy; I have no intention of doing any underhanded shit; if we go to court, I'm going in there with my head held high, and I'm going to be honest and respectful. Answer the questions truthfully, and pray that the judge is on my side. I'm not going in there to throw people under the bus; I'm not that guy."

"We know you're not that guy, babe, and that's why we love you."

Kelly smiled at her. Hearing her say she loves him makes him feel like he's on top of the world. Like he can conquer anything.

"Well, unfortunately, I don't think it will help Kelly's case, but if it's true, it's going to make a difference in the whole custody battle."

Kelly swallowed hard. "What is it?"

Jennifer exchanged looks between the two. "Kelly, I didn't know till last night, and I was up all night crying and praying it wasn't true. I can't believe he never told us; I cussed him out last night. There are things that you just can't keep to yourself, and I'm so pissed he never told us."

"Mom, what are you talking about?"

Stella bit her lip nervously as she looked back and forth between Jennifer, who was crying and shaking, and Kelly, who looked like he was about to go off again. " Jennifer? Whatever it is, it can't be that bad."

"It's going to destroy my son, Stella, so it's really bad." Jennifer looked at Kelly, who was giving her a confused and dejected look. "Your dad paid Christina to leave... She was mentally and emotionally struggling to be a mom, but there was more to her leaving... and why she pushed you away."

"What do you mean he paid her? She left because she didn't want to be a mom; she wasn't stable enough to handle having a baby."

"True, she did leave because she couldn't handle it. And she didn't love you like you loved her; motherhood wasn't right for her at that time. But she planned to take the baby to Ohio."

Kelly rubbed the back of his neck, as he listened to his mom. His mind went crazy as he tried to understand why his father paid her—why did he never told him? "Why Ohio?"

"Her parents were in Ohio."

"She told me her parents were dead."

"I know, I remember that. But Madison has grandparents in Ohio—well, a grandpa; her grandma died a few years ago."

"I'm more curious as to why Dad paid Christina to leave." He was irritated.

Stella walked over to Kelly and rubbed his back, trying to comfort him. She had a feeling that there was more to this story. She kissed his neck. "Relax, baby."

Jennifer was thankful that Stella was in his life, and she seemed to know how to calm him down. Because what she has to tell him now is going to break him into pieces. "Kelly, the reason your dad chose to pay her is because he found out a few weeks before she left that..." she took a deep breath. Stella and Kelly both curiously wait for her to finish. "There's a chance... that you're not Madison's dad."