There is something purposeful about the beginning of autumn. Autumn days fall by as fast as the leaves on the trees. The sun rises and sets as if on fast-forward as if there is some divine hurry to reach winter. Though the sun is still bright in the sky, it is cooler even on days that lack clouds.

If Stella had to pick a season that was her favorite, it would be fall. Unlike the heavy, intoxicating air of summer, fall air is light and crisp-and it carries a signature scent that Stella simply adores-a mix of rain, earth, tree bark, and leaves. It's a scent that always makes her want to take deeper, longer breaths and just fill her lungs with all the smells of nature. Fall is nature's most prolific and imaginative painter, who loves to splash stunning shades of red, orange, and yellow across this canvas we call earth.

As Stella sat on her back deck, enjoying the cool breeze blowing on this beautiful fall morning, watching the trees in her backyard change color, and her twins playing in the sandbox, she sipped her morning coffee and silently thanked God for all her blessings. She couldn't believe how fast the last seven months had passed. She was back on shift with Kelly, back as 81's lieutenant. Gallo, Carver, and Mouch were relieved by her return. Boden switched lieutenant asshole to the other shift, and everyone was happy.

Her marriage was back on track; they had a date night once a week. They went dancing, skating, diving, whatever Kelly could come up with; every date ended in them making love. Kelly made it his daily responsibility to tell his wife how sexy she was, and he made sure to kiss her-really kiss her-every chance he got

They've managed to communicate better and balance their everyday struggles with their babies. Life was pretty good-well, actually, it was pretty amazing. She had the career she had always wanted, a rock-solid marriage, two adorable babies, and a beautiful home. Life really couldn't get any better.

She smiled as she felt two arms wrap around her. "Good morning, sexy," Kelly whispered before kissing her neck.

"Morning, babe." She replied as she leaned back into his arms. "Where's my morning kiss?"

"Right here." He whispered against her lips. He kisses her softly, and she opens her mouth just enough for his tongue to slip in. The kiss gets more intense and passionate every second.

" Wow!" She said this as she pulled away. "You sure know how to take my breath away."

"You know we haven't had sex out here yet." He said it with a kinked brow.

"Add it to your bucket list," she teased.

"Well, let's check it off right now." He smirked before kissing her neck again.

"Oh, no, no, no, sweetheart. Our babies are watching."

Kelly pulled back and looked at her like she was crazy. Stella pointed to the sandbox. He followed her finger and said, "Oh, I didn't even see them." He smiled as Shay filled her flower cup with sand and Benny put his bucket over his head, laughing. "Why are they in the sandbox at eight in the morning?"

"I figured today's their birthday, so let them have some early morning fun."

"Makes sense." He replied as he tightened his hold on her.

"Hard to believe their one today, huh?"

"Yeah, it seemed like it was just yesterday that we brought them home from the hospital."

"Hermann and Cindy were right; they grow so fast." Stella sighed sadly. "Pretty soon they will be talking, walking, starting school, driving, graduating...

"Okay, babe, slow down," Kelly said, interrupting her. "Let's not push them out of the house just yet." He jokes.

They sat there quietly watching their kids play, both enjoying their little family moment. It was moments like these that they treasured the most.

Stella's mind wandered off. As she thought about this time last year, she was in the hospital, worried about her unpredictable future. She went into labor and ended up in a coma. She thinks about life without her babies-a life she couldn't imagine living. Her eyes get watery as she thinks about the what-ifs: what if she didn't wake up? What if she never got to meet her babies? What if she lost one of her babies? Her tears fall as she thinks about how close she came to missing out on this life and how she could have lost Benny.

Her teardrops hit Kelly's arm, which is wrapped around her. He looks over at her. "Baby, what's wrong?" He asked, noticing that she was crying.

"The what-ifs are invading my mind."

"What do you mean? What ifs about what?"

"What if I didn't wake up last year? I would have missed out on...

Kelly puts his finger over her lips. "We aren't thinking about that; you're here, you woke up, and we have this beautiful family together. Today is a day to celebrate, not mourn."

"I don't know why I'm so emotional." She whispered as she leaned into his embrace. "I really can't believe their one already."

Kelly looks over at the twins playing and laughing. "Me either, but it's been the best year of my life."

"Mine too."

Kelly kisses her softly. "We have so much to be thankful for, Stella, so much."

"We sure do." She caresses his cheek. "Thank you for building a family with me; this is something I never thought I'd have until you came along."

Before Kelly replied, the twins ran over to them. "Happy birthday, my sweet prince," Stella said as Benny jumped on her lap. She kissed him on the cheek, making him laugh.

Kelly sat Shay on his knee. "Happy birthday, princess," Kelly told Shay as she hugged his neck. He kept one arm wrapped around Stella's waist and the other holding Shay on his knee. He looked at Stella. "The feeling is mutual, babe; everything I ever wanted is right here in my arms."

"I love you, Kelly Severide."

"I love you more, Stella Severide."

By the time noon rolled around, Stella was ready for a nap. Between chasing two crawling babies and trying to decorate the house for the twins' first birthday party, she was exhausted.

"We're here," Brett said as she walked into the Severide's kitchen. "Where should I put these?" She asked, holding up two big gift bags.

"You can put them on the table in the corner," Stella told her. "Are all those for the twins?" She asked, noticing Casey was holding three big bags too.

"Yep, Sylvie went a little overboard with birthday shopping for them," Casey said as he sat the bags down. "I told her one-year-olds would be happy with one gift; they didn't need hundreds."

"Hell, one-year-olds would be happy with an empty box," Herrmann added as he and Cindy walked into the room.

"You only get one first birthday, so I wanted to spoil them a little. Plus, I am their godmother; it's my godmother giving rights."

"There isn't anything wrong with that." Cindy chimed in. "Where are the bundles of joy?"

Kelly laughed. "Outside with Capp."

"What's so funny?" Casey asked, clearly not understanding.

"Capp is on Stella's bad list again."

"Oh no. What did he do?"

"Hey guys!" Cruz said as he and Chloe, along with Otis and Javi, walked in, "Where should we put the present?"

"Over there," Brett pointed.

"Buying for Benny was easy, but I wasn't sure what to get, Shay."

"As long as you didn't get her or Benny what Capp did, then everything is fine," Stella said as she took the twins birthday cake out the box.

"What did Capp get them?" Cindy asked.

"Capp and his little, tiny brain gave them a puppy."

"Really? Seriously?" Javi asked. "Where is it? Can I see it?"

"They are out back with the twins and Capp."

Javi grabbed little Otis's hand and took him out the back door. "He loves dogs; we were thinking of getting him one for Christmas," Cruz told them.

"Well, we have two; take your pick," Stella said sarcastically.

" Two?"

"Yeah, Capp said every family needs a dog, which Kelly and I agreed on, but we were talking down the road when the kids got older."

"Capp got a boy puppy for Benny and a girl pup for Shay," Kelly said, shaking his head.

" Awe... That's so sweet." Chloe said.

"Sweet, my ass," Stella said, giving Chloe a hot stare.

"Stella, you love dogs."

"I do."

"So, what's the problem?"

"What's the problem?" she asked as she laid the knife down. "The problem is that the twins are too young for a puppy; puppies are a huge responsibility. Kelly and I plan on getting a puppy down the road, one puppy when the kids are older, and they could help train and feed it. It just adds more responsibility for Kelly and me. Not only do we have to deal with everyday life struggles, but we also have to deal with chasing two kids around the house and now training, feeding, and walking two puppies. It's just added stress to an already overwhelming situation."

"I get that," Cindy tells her.

"Tell him to take them back," Herrmann said it was no big deal.

"Hermann, you can give back a gift; that's not right," Brett said.

"We will manage like we always do, babe; stop stressing," Kelly tells her as he wraps his arms around her waist.

"Change of subject," Brett said. "We got news; since everyone is here, expect Violet."

"She's not coming?" Stella added.

"Why?" Cindy asked.

"Because her boyfriend wasn't invited," Herrmann said.

"I invited the whole house, Herrmann, but Carver decided not to come," Stella said as she put candles on the cakes.

"Because he knew he wasn't invited," Kelly added.

"Carver did apologize for the kiss, and he does seem to be happy," Ritter said.

"Yeah, he's not the cocky asshole he was when he first came to 51," Gallo added his two cents to the conversation.

"I think Violet is good for him. I've seen a big change in him." Brett told them.

"I think Violet changed him," Ritter said.

"I don't give a damn if he's a changed man or not. He still kissed my wife, not once but twice."

"But it was a mistake."

"Bullshit, Brett!" Kelly exclaimed. "He kissed her the first time and claimed it was a mistake. Okay, I could have let it go, but then he turned around and did it again, claiming the second time was also a mistake. You don't make the same mistake twice."

"First-time mistake; yes, the second time was a choice," Gallo added. Brett glared at him. "Hey, I like Carver. I'm just stating the oblivious here."

"I agree with Severide." Cruz shrugs.

" Cruz...

"Sorry Brett, I like the dude; he seems cool now. But he crossed the line. Mistake or no mistake, you don't kiss someone's wife, and you can't say he didn't know she was married because he was aware that she was married. He knew what he was doing."

"Happily married too," Kelly added with a smirk. She looked over her shoulder and gave him a kiss and a wink.

"I agree with Severide and Cruz too," Herrmann said. "You just don't kiss someone else's wife; that is for sure a deal-breaker on anything. And I don't want to hear this; it was a mistake crap. That man knew damn well what he was doing, and he knew it would cause chaos."

Brett sighed. "Guys, the kiss happened over a year ago; don't you think it's time to move on?"

Kelly laughed sarcastically. "Are you being serious right now?"

The room went awkwardly quiet; Brett knew he was irritated with her. "I'm just saying, isn't it better to forgive and forget?"

Kelly's eyes narrowed toward Brett. "I'm supposed to forgive a man who left a mark on my wife's body." His heated gaze ripped through Brett. His tone was one of disbelief. "The son of a bitch got aggressive with my wife and pushed her up against the locker, which left a bruise on her back, and I'm supposed to forgive him for that. Are you fucking serious?" His tone went from a disbelief one to a furious one in seconds.

All eyes went to Stella, who was looking down at the cake. Stella never told anyone of them about the bruise. Cruz and Boden knew because Kelly told them.

"He let a bruise on you?" Herrmann was shocked. "And you didn't fire him? Why the hell not?"

"Hermann, let it go," Casey said, noticing Stella's discomfort. "It's not our business."

"Severide, I didn't know about the bruise; I'm sorry for pushing the subject," Brett said, looking at Stella. "I just wanted everyone to get along, but I won't bring it up again."

"He apologized over and over to me; I don't know exactly what he was going through at that time. And maybe I felt bad for him. He got suspended; he paid for his actions, and since I've been back, he's been a hell of a firefighter, and I'm happy to have him on my team. And all of you know that he's a great firefighter, and don't you dare say he's not." Stella said, pointing to them all. "I think the man has changed; he's not the jackass he was when he first came to 51, or even the jackass the night he grabbed me. As I said, I chose to forgive him, I chose to keep him on my team, and I chose to continue to work with him. I believe that he's done like a complete turnaround, and I kind of like the man he turned into, and I think Violet changed him too, and I'm happy for them."

"Okay, the party can start. I'm here now." Mouch yelled as he walked into the kitchen.

"Where the hell have you been?" Herrmann asked.

"I had things to do."

"Like what?"

Stella walked over to Kelly as Herrmann and Mouch continued to throw remarks at each other. She wrapped her arms around his waist. She knew Carver was still and probably always will be a sore subject to him. "Are you okay?" She asked.

Kelly pecked her lips. "I am now." He whispered as he tightened his hold on her. He kissed her forehead.

"Well, since everyone is here now, I have an announcement." She grabbed Casey's hand. "We have an announcement," she began as everyone looked at her. "Casey and I got married!" She yelled out excitedly.

" What?"

" Seriously?"

" Congrats!"

" When?"

Casey smirked. "It all kind of happened pretty fast."

"After last shift, with that couple who died holding each other in the fire," Brett said, as she got emotional thinking about the couple. Everyone takes a moment to think about the elderly couple they found after putting the fire out. They were wrapped up in each other's arms, sitting on the floor in the corner, holding each other tightly.

"Brett and I were talking after shift about how short life is and all that stuff."

"Next thing I know, Matt is down on one knee, and I'm crying and saying yes. And we were both just so happy and excited."

Casey wrapped his arms around Brett.

"So, wait, this happened Thursday morning after shift?" Stella asked curiously.

" Yes."

"And you didn't even text me."

"I wanted to. I wanted to call you all. And tell you guys." Brett said, looking around at everyone.

"We did; you guys are our family," Casey added.

"So, what made you jump and go get married?" Cindy asked as she sat down at the table.

Brett shrugged. "It was me, honestly, after we got engaged and we did a little celebrating." She blushed and looked at Casey. "I was getting ready to call my parents, and then it hit me. This is my third engagement; this would be the third time I called my parents and told them I was engaged. And I got all sad and depressed." Everyone looked at her with questionable expressions.

"Why would you get depressed? You just got engaged." Ritter asked, puzzled.

"I was ecstatic after Joe and I got engaged," Chloe said as she gave Cruz a look. who, in return, winked at her.

"I was over the moon when Christopher finally asked me." Cindy smiled at her husband.

"Yep, she was so over the moon; she ran up and down the streets yelling, I'm engaged! I'm engaged!" Herrmann laughed at his wife's embarrassment.

"I was young, in love, and very happy," Cindy said, defending her actions.

Everyone laughed. "I was overjoyed with happiness, but I couldn't let it show."

" Why?" Gallo was curious.

"Because we got engaged on shift, doing a call. It was a very spontaneous moment for us both." She looked up at her husband, who was looking at her admiringly. "We decided not to tell anyone, so getting through the rest of the shift was a challenge," she laughed. "We kept sneaking glances at each other, and Kelly kept texting me heart emojis and telling me I was glowing. I needed to turn down my glow or someone was going to catch on." She smiled and touched his cheek. "But it was hard to manage; you glow differently when you're happy, and I was really happy."

"Me too, babe." Kelly pecks her lips a few times.

"Trust me, I knew something was up." Casey chimed in. Looking at the couple

Kelly spoke up. "Of course, you did; you were the only one who knew that I was considering asking her."

"True, but you were also so confused that you were going back and forth considering if you should ask her or not, so technically, I didn't know where your mindset was at that time."

"Okay, so what gave it away?" Stella asked.

"When we got back after that fire and we were all sitting around cleaning our gear, and I remember looking around at us all sitting there cleaning, I looked at Stella, and she just had this radiant glow echoing on her face and this big, beautiful smile." He paused. "I remember thinking, Why is she so happy cleaning her gear?"

Everyone laughed and looked at Stella. "Clean gear makes me happy."

Casey laughs. "Then I looked over and noticed Severide's face; he was scrubbing his gear and wearing this huge grin. He kept looking at Stella, who would look up at him. They were winking at each other and blowing kisses at each other. And I just knew something was up with them."

"I remember that day. Severide walked around the firehouse whistling and wearing that huge grin for the rest of the shift," Cruz told them.

"And Stella was being overly nice to everyone. And laughing even, laughing at Capp's lame-ass jokes, I kept thinking, Where's the real Stella, and what the hell has her so happy?" Herrmann smiled.

"It was one of the happiest moments of my life. I just couldn't stop smiling."

"Mine too." Kelly agreed with her. He kisses her softly. Stella caressed his face as they continued to kiss.

"Okay, we didn't come to see you make out; you guys are interrupting Brett's story," Herrmann told them. "Continue, Brett; why were you sad?"

Stella rolled her eyes as she laid her head on Kelly's shoulder. She smiled as he kissed the top of her head.

Brett sat down at the table, and everyone looked at her. "I just thought about my last two engagements-well, my last two failed engagements-and I kept thinking, Here I am again engaged for the third time. You can say the what-ifs started to plague my mind. I believe in Matt and my love, but what if something happens? That would be the third engagement, which turned out to be another failed engagement."

"I tried to tell her it wasn't going to happen, but she just wouldn't listen to me," Casey said as he walked over to her and put his hand on her shoulder.

"I just never been good at the whole love thing, and even though I believe in the love that Matt and I have, more than I've ever believed in any relationship I've ever been in, my mind just kept coming up with all these negative scenarios. It's like I couldn't shake them, and then, as I'm trying to explain to Matt how I'm feeling, he comes up with the idea that maybe we shouldn't have a long engagement and maybe we should get married as soon as possible. At first, I was thinking okay, like in the next two months or maybe even a month, but then all of a sudden, he was like, How about tomorrow morning?"

"And after a long conversation, we both agreed that what we wanted was to get married and not wait, so we went to the courthouse, and we got married." Casey smiled. "Of course, she cried there too when the judge asked us who our witnesses were, and she was hit with the realization that we had no witnesses and none of you guys knew about it, so I had to calm her down again."

"You could have called us; Stella and I would have come."

"Joe and I would have to."

Brett smiled. "I know, I know I could have called any one of you guys, and you all would have been there. It did cross our minds to call one of you guys, and then the judge was like, He could pull somebody in, and it's not like we wanted strangers to be our witnesses, but to be honest, we just wanted to get married; we didn't want to wait a minute more."

"So, we did it."

"Don't get us wrong, we wanted you all there with us, but we figured you guys were all understanding, and we decided that in a couple of months, we would have some kind of party or reception, you know, something to celebrate or marriage with all our family to make up for you guys missing out on the actual ceremony."

"The bottom line is, are you two happy with the way you did it?" Herrmann asked.

The newlywed couple looked at each other and smiled. "Yes, yes, we are," they said together. Newly wedded

"Okay, then that's all that matters; as long as you're happy, we are all happy for you," Herrmann told them, as everyone else agreed.

" Kelly go get the twins and I'll light the candles."

Mouch walked over to wear Stella was light a candle. " Why is there three cakes?"

" Their actual cake is this one." she points to the cake shaped like a fire truck. That read, Happy 1st Birthday Shay and Benny, we love you. " This is the cake that everyone can eat. Then these two," she said picking up the cakes, "Are the twins individual cakes. "

" Why do they need their own cakes?' Gallo asked.

" Because it's a birthday tradition, you give your all dressed up one-year-old a huge cake and they get to sit in it and smash it, rub their faces in it, and eat as much gooey buttercream icing and cake as they like." Herrmann told them, as Stella shakes her head.

" I'm not giving them a huge cake, these are single layer, baby cakes." She tells him as she holds up a blue cake and pink cake, with one candle in the middle." I'm going to light the candle on both cakes...

Capp"s eyes widened. " You're going to lite it? Won't they get burned?"

"She's not going to actually put the flame in front of them." Ritter said.

" No, I'm going to hold one cake and Kelly is going to hold the other cake. While we sing happy birthday to them, then help them blow out the candle. Afterwards I'm going to remove the candle then give them the cake. "

" Won't they get cake everywhere."

" I feel bad for Capp's son..." Herrmann whispered to Stella making her laugh.

" Capp that's the whole point."

" Doesn't make sense to me." Capp replied with a shrug.

Kelly and Jennifer brought the kids in, and put them in their high chairs. Everyone gathered around, as Stella held one cake in front of Benny, and Kelly did the same for Shay. " Brett take pictures, Casey video this for me." Stella asked, before they all started singing, at the end Stella and Kelly blew out the candle. And placed the cake in front of them. Benny poked it for a few seconds trying to figure it out. Shay being the overly curious one put her hand right through it, then dipped her head in it. Everyone laughed and smiled as they watched the twins investigate the cakes.

The party went as well as Stella hoped it would. As she was cleaning up the kitchen and Kelly was cleaning up outside, Jennifer and her new boyfriend Bob were playing in the living room with the twins and the puppies.

"The backyard is back to normal," Kelly said as he walked into the kitchen, closed the back door, and locked it. Stella was bending over and putting dishes in the dishwasher. "Need any help?" He asked as he came up behind her and placed his hands on her ass.

Stella smiled. "Kelly, don't start something you can't finish," she teased.

He rubbed her ass. "I always finish what I start."

Stella stood up and turned around, facing him. She wrapped her arms around his neck. "Your mom and Bob are in the living room with our babies, so now is not the time for a quickie."

"What if I'm really quiet?" He said this as he kissed her neck.

"Kelly, we don't know how to be quiet." She laughed.

"I can be quiet; you are the one who likes to scream out my name loudly."

"That's because..." she started, but was interrupted by the doorbell. She looked at the clock and said, "Who could that be? It's nine o'clock at night."

"I don't know." Kelly kissed her lips quickly. "Let's go find out." He grabbed her hand and walked her out of the kitchen. "Mom, who is it?"

Jennifer had already opened the door by the time Kelly and Stella got there. "Hey guys, sorry to stop by so late."

"It's okay," Stella said as she looked at her husband curiously. "Come on, guys."

Kelly, too, was curious about a late-night visit for Burgess and Ruzek. "Is everything okay?" He asked as the two detectives walked into the house.

"Yes, everything is good. As Kim said, we hate to stop by so late; we just needed to talk." He paused and looked at Stella. "To you, if it's okay?"

Stella gave him a confused look. " Why?"

"Maybe we should do this in private," Burgess suggested.

Kelly and Stella exchanged curious looks. "Of course," Stella said. As she tried to downplay her emotions, her gut told her she wasn't going to like whatever they came to talk about. "Please come into the living room and take a seat. Let us just get the twins upstairs and get them in bed," she motioned to her twins, who were both sleeping on the floor with the puppies. "And then we can talk."

Kim smiled at the sight. "Yes, go ahead. We can wait." She and Adam sat down on the couch as Stella picked up Shay and Kelly picked up Benny.

"Bob and I are going to head out, guys," Jennifer said as she grabbed her bag.

"Okay, mom, you guys drive safe."

"We will, son. I love you guys." Jennifer said as Bob opened the door.

"We love you too," Stella said.

As they get upstairs, Stella takes Shay to her bedroom, and Kelly takes Benny to his. They changed them and put their pajamas on. Kelly kissed Benny's forehead and covered him up. He turned the nightlight on and walked out of the room to Shay's room. Stella was just covering Shay up when he walked in. "Are you okay?" He asked. She turned to walk out of the room, but he stopped her. He knew she was a little confused and worried about Burgess and Ruzek's pop-up visit. He was, too. It was definitely very unusual.

"I just have a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach." She looks at him, and he can see the worry in her eyes. "I don't know why; it's just there." She walks out of the room, and Kelly sighs as he watches her.

Stella took a deep breath once downstairs. "Okay, sorry to keep you waiting," Stella said as she and Kelly walked into the room.

"It's fine; like I said, we are sorry for coming by so late and interrupting your family time," Kim told them. As Stella sat on the loveseat.

"No worries. So, what is going on?" Stella asked as Kelly sat down beside her.

Kim and Adam exchanged glances. "Look, we didn't want to do this tonight, but Voight told us we had to. We knew it was the twin's birthday, and we didn't want to mess it up. So that's why we wait till now to come."

"Our unit has been working undercover for the last couple of months to bring down Bo Finicky. Who happens to be the biggest heroin supplier in Chicago??" Adam spoke as Kelly and Stella wondered what this had to do with Stella.

"As crazy as it might sound, he was a big-time drug dealer in the 90's. CPD was chasing him back then too, but one day he just disappeared. No trace, just gone."

"And now that he's back in our city, he's actually one of the biggest heroin suppliers in Illinois."

"Not just Illinois; a few other states too. If we can bring him down, we're not just helping our state; we are helping a whole lot of other states too, so it's a pretty big deal." Adam added.

"Okay, what does this have to do with you guys needing to talk to Stella?" Kelly was getting impatient.

"Severide, we were giving you guys the details of the case first so you would understand how important her help would be," Kim spoke up.

Stella's eyes widen in confusion. "My help in what?"

Kelly leaned forward. "Forget the back story; why are you here?" Kelly was more interested in what their undercover operation had to do with his wife. "Just give us the bottom line."

Adam rubbed his head. "Fine, we will give you the clip notes. We have someone willing to testify against Bo; this person has enough evidence that can put him away for a long time."

"Actually, put him away for life and get a whole bunch of bad heroin off the streets of Chicago that's killed a lot of teens within the last few months," Kim added.

Stella nods. "That's great; I know Brett and Violet have responded to a lot of those OD calls. Teenagers between fourteen and nineteen, it's horrible."

"Yeah, it's been a nightmare." Kim shakes her head. "Now that we have Makayla, those calls or any calls involving kids really get to Adam and me."

"We understand that, any call involving a kid always gets to me. It doubled after the twins were born." Kelly paused as he thought about hearing all those teenagers overdosing on the news.

Stella spoke, knocking Kelly from his thoughts. "I would love to help get the heroin off the streets and keep it out of the kid's hands. But I'm not sure what you want me to do." Kelly looked at Kim and Adam, who again exchanged looks.

"The woman who is willing to testify against Bo, who is the key to locking this son of bitch up for life, will only help on one condition."

"Which is?"

"You," Adam said, looking at Stella.

Stella's eyes widen in confusion. "Me? Why me?" She didn't understand where they were going with this. Her hands started shaking nervously.

Kelly noticed her hands shaking, so he covered them with one of his. To calm her down. "Who's the woman?"

"Our witness is in prison for drug trafficking, possession, drug paraphernalia, and drug manufacturing. And a lot of other charges."

"We don't know why; she didn't give a reason. Usually, when we ask an inmate for cooperation with a case, we try to get some chargers dropped or reduced time, but when Voight asked her what she wanted, she said something that surprised all of us. " Kim paused. "She said she would tell us everything she knew and promised it would seal the deal on our case. if we met her one condition."

"Which is why we are here? She said she wanted you to come visit her in prison." Adam glanced at Stella before looking at Kelly.

Kelly shook his head before he spoke. "Why would a woman in prison want to talk to Stella?"

"It does make sense," Stella added. "She actually said my whole name, like she knew me."

Kim nods. "Her actual words were, Convince Lieutenant Stella Kidd of Firehouse 51 to come and see me; then we have a deal."

Stella looked at Kelly, who also had a look of confusion. "She knows my name, my position, and where I work."

"Apparently so."

"I don't get it." She bites her lip as she tries to concentrate on who it could be.

"The woman didn't say how she knew Stella. Or anything else?"

Adam shakes his head. "Kim asked how she knew Stella, but she just looked at us and smiled and said, Deal or no deal. She never gave us any more details."

Stella stood up. "This whole thing is just odd; this perfect stranger who happens to be in prison with countless charges against her just randomly asked for me to..." She trailed off as her mind wandered off.

Kelly, Adam, and Kim all looked at her concernedly. " Babe?" Kelly stands up. "Hey, are you okay?"

She swallowed hard before turning to Kim and Adam, ignoring Kelly. "What's her name?" She looked at them deadpan. She already knew the name; she just needed them to confirm it.

Kim gave her a skeptical look before answering. "Sierra Moses is her birth name, but she goes by the nickname...

" Niecy." Stella finished for her; the tightness in her throat left her speechless; her rapid heartbeat kicked into overdrive; she felt completely numb. The room went silent as Stella tried to process everything.

Kelly cups her face, trying to get her attention. "Hey, look at me." She looked at him; her eyes were unreadable for the first time. He was always able to tell what she was feeling, but now she looks so lost and scared. "Stella, what is it? How do you know that woman?"

Adam and Kim stand, both concerned, as they watch her. After what seemed like an eternity, she closed her eyes and whispered. "She's my mom."

Kelly wasn't expecting that answer. "Your mom?"

" Yeah." She ran her fingers through her hair. She looked over at Kim and Adam, who were both giving her strange looks. "I can't help you; I'm sorry."

" Stella..." Kim started but was cut off.

"Please don't try to guilt-trip me into this, Kim." Her eyes watered up, and she shook her head. "I can't do it. I can't help you. I can't..."

Kim looked at Adam dejectedly. "We understand," Kim said.

"Can you at least think about it?" Adam asked her.

Stella glared at him with disbelief echoing in her eyes. "I haven't seen or spoken to that woman since I ran away at fifteen. You have no idea what I've been through or what I have put behind me just so I could be the woman I am today. I left that woman in my past, and in my past is where I plan on keeping her." She was shaking and tumbling. "I need to go check on the twins; you guys should leave. I'm not doing it.'

They watched her slowly walk out of the room. " Kelly...

" No!" Kelly said stopping Adam from finishing his sentence. "I'm not talking her into something she doesn't want to do. She said no, so it's no. That's the end."

" Okay." Kim grabbed Adam's hand. "We understand. Thank you for at least listening to us."

Kelly nods and walks them to the front door. "Look guys, when it comes to Stella's past, especially her mom, I know nothing; she doesn't talk about it, and I don't push her. That's one chapter of her life that even I'm closed off to."

Kim gave Kelly an apologetic look. "It's okay; I understand that sometimes the past is best left in the past. Again, we appreciate you guys just listening to us, and we hope we didn't upset her too much. Have a good night, Kelly."

"You guys too," he tells them and then shuts the door.

"Kim, what the hell are we supposed to tell Voight? You know damn well; he's going to make us pressure her into talking with her mom; he isn't going to give a damn about anything but putting Bo behind bars for life."

"I know," Kim replied as she got in the car. "Maybe she'll come around; at least give her a few days."

"I don't think Voight's going to give her a few days; he'll probably have us back here tomorrow." Adam started the car. "He's going to force Stella to do it."

"Yep, and piss Severide off in the process," Kim said, knowing how protective he is over his wife. "There has to be another way to get Bo without involving Stella."

"Our only witness isn't going to help us without talking to Stella; we have no evidence that would hold up in court without Sierra's help. After all these months of hard undercover work, it's just down the drain now." Adam punches the steering wheel. "I honestly don't see the harm in having a five-minute conversation with your mom. I think Stella is being stubborn."

"She's not being stubborn; she's being cautious. We don't know her relationship with her mom; we don't know anything about her past. And pushing her into something that she's not ready for could be damaging for all that's involved."

Adam nods. "Bottom line, Kim, it doesn't matter what I think; it doesn't matter what you think. Hell, it doesn't matter what Kevin and Haley think. Voight, wants Bo locked up, and you and I know he usually gets what he wants, and he doesn't give a damn who he hurts in the process."