Chapter 3
It seemed like time just stopped as the two stood there staring at each other, and Stella stood nervously up against the door. Watching her husband, she knew he was mad—well, mad doesn't even describe it. It was more like rage had flowed through him like lava. She had seen him upset before, but this was different. His face contorted with rage; his curled lip; his clenched jaw The hostile glare in his eyes scared her the most.
"Stella, move." He demanded, and his tone was an aggressive one. One she's never heard him use before.
"No," she tells him as she swallows hard. "I told you; if you want me to move, you will have to physically move me." She repeated her words, this time a little more forceful.
"Damn it, Stella!" he yelled as he knocked everything off their kitchen island—the papers, the coffee mugs, the plates, and the coffee pot—all hitting the floor.
Stella's eyes widened as she watched everything hit the floor. "Did that make you feel better?' she questioned in a sarcastic tone, as he paced back and forth.
"Beating the hell out of Carver would make me feel better, so move," he said as he stopped to look at her.
"No!" She exclaimed, standing her ground. She knows she is making him angrier, but she doesn't care. She needs him to calm down so she can tell him what happened and reassure him that it meant nothing.
"You can't stand in front of the door all night."
"Try me." She replies. He takes a deep breath and walks toward her. She can feel her heart beating increasingly as he gets closer to her, and she doesn't believe he would actually put his hands on her.
He surprises her by grabbing the small desk lamp by the door and yanking the plug out of the wall, he then turns and throws the lamp against the wall, an inch away from her. She flinches as it hits the wall, and her mind flashes back to when Grant used to get mad and throw things at her. "Fine, you win!" she yells, putting her hands up in the air in defeat. "I don't give a damn what you do," she tells him, her voice laced with anger. She then moves away from the door. She officially surrendered.
Kelly was shocked at first. He didn't move; he watched as she picked up the pieces of the now-broken lamp. She didn't talk to him or look at him. She got up and went to clean up the mess he made by knocking everything off the kitchen island. He was torn between comforting her and going to find Carver. His anger towards Carver outweighed more than his desire to comfort his wife right now.
Stella cried as she heard the door slam. This was not how she thought their conversation would go. She really wished Casey was still living with them; she knew Casey would have stopped him from doing something stupid.
Carver was at his apartment, thinking about everything Mouch said and his conversation with Stella. He wondered if Stella had told Kelly yet. He knew Kelly was going to come after him, but he didn't blame him either; if Stella was his wife and someone kissed her, he would knock the shit out of them. A knock on his door pulled him out of his thoughts. He slowly walked to the door, not bothering to check the peephole. As soon as he opened the door, he was hit in the face with a punch. "What the hell?"
"You kissed my wife," Kelly yelled as he tackled him. "You kissed my wife," Kelly yelled again. "Twice, you bastard."
"It didn't mean anything," Carver yelled as he tried to push Kelly off him.
"You don't kiss a married woman twice, and it doesn't mean anything," Kelly said as he punched him again. "You were fucking aggressive with her!" he yelled as he grabbed him by the shirt, slamming him against the wall. "You put your fucking hands on my wife."
"It's not what you think," Carver screamed. As he pushed Kelly away from him. Kelly stumbled backward and fell to the floor.
Carver stood up and tried to catch his breath. "It was a mistake!" Carver yelled as Kelly tackled him again, knocking him through the wooden coffee table.
"Are you in love with my wife?" Kelly yelled in between punches.
Moments later, as the two continued their altercation, "Knock it off!" one of the officers yelled as he and another officer pulled them apart.
"He attacked me," Carver yelled. "In my home, arrest him."
"And I'll do it again; put your hands on my wife again, and see what happens."
"You're crazy," Carver told him, "And no, I'm not in love with her."
"Yeah, right, you just randomly go around kissing people's wives," Kelly yelled, trying to get out of the officer's hold. "What the hell is wrong with you?"
"It was a mistake; I was testing something," Carver yelled.
Kelly broke loose and tackled both Carver and the officers to the ground. "Stay away from my wife."
"That's enough." The police officer yelled, "We're all going to take a ride down to the station and figure this out. figure this all out." The officer said that as he handcuffed Kelly, who was still glaring at Carver.
It was almost nine, and Kelly still wasn't home. Stella nervously paced back and forth. She was worried and overwhelmed with guilt. She wished she had never told Kelly anything; she should have just kept it to herself. She knew he was going to be upset, but not this upset. He used to tell her she was his peace; she made him want to be a better man. He wasn't self-destructive anymore because of her. She really believed she could tell him what happened and be able to keep him calm and keep him from going overboard.
A vortex of anger swirled inside him—anger she had never seen before, except with Grant.
"Kelly is not Grant." She told herself this as she sat down on their bed. She needed to reassure herself. Grant's physical, emotional, and mental abuse didn't start until after they were married. He threw all kinds of stuff at her—lamps, chairs, knives, bottles, dishes, shoes—anything near him at the time. He didn't care what it was; he didn't care if it hit her. She knows Kelly isn't Grant; he's far from it. But she never saw him like he was earlier. The look in his eyes haunted her.
She lay down, trying to calm herself down. She was stressed out with worry and felt guilty. She closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep. The sound of her phone ringing awoke Stella. She jumped up quickly. "Kelly?" she questioned, looking around their dark bedroom. She was alone. She grabbed her phone and answered it.
"Hello," she said with a little yawn.
"Stella, it's Trudy Platt."
Stella looked over at the clock on the nightstand; it was ten forty-five. "Trudy, is everything okay?" she asked as she slowly got out of bed. Looking around for Kelly.
"My day has been hectic, but that's the life of a sergeant in Chicago. Your night could be better."
Stella arched her eyebrow. "What do you mean?" Stella asked.
"I have something that belongs to you; I figured you would want to come and collect it."
"What do you have that belongs to me?"
"Your husband."
Stella's eyes widen. "My husband, Kelly, is with you."
" Yes, ma'am Kelly was arrested for disturbing the peace and assault and battery earlier."
Stella closed her eyes. "Seriously?" She definitely didn't see this happening.
"As serious as the busted lip he got," Trudy said. " The other guy looks worse though."
"I'm on my way," Stella said as she hung up, she shook her head. "Damn Kelly!" she yelled in frustration. She was heated and beyond pissed. She went to get dressed, and as she bent over to pick up her shoes, a sharp, stabbing pain in her lower left side brought her to her knees. She cried as it did it again.
"What the hell?" she said as she sat on the floor. She was stressed out and now having pain; she needed to calm herself down. She took a deep breath and then started breathing in and out slowly, after about ten minutes of this. The pain subsided. She grabbed her phone.
"Hey, sorry to bother you this late, but I need a huge favor—a no questions asked kind of favor," she said to the person on the other end.
Kelly sat in the small jail cell alone, his head in his hands. Carver was released an hour ago, but Kelly was still waiting on Stella. He figured she was purposely making him sit there because she was upset with him. He knew he shouldn't have gone after Carver, but deep down, he'll do it again if he has to. He doesn't regret it; he was protecting his wife; that's what a man does, regardless of the outcome. He lifted his head as he heard someone coming. He was now mentally preparing for his very pissed-off wife to turn the corner.
"Alright, Severide Someone felt sorry for your sorry ass. You're free to go." Trudy said as she got ready to unlock the door.
"Don't unlock it yet," Boden said as he turned the corner. Trudy looked at Boden. "I want answers first," he said as he stood in front of the cell with his hands in his pockets.
"Yes, sir," Trudy said as she took a step back.
Kelly closed his eyes briefly before saying, "Chief...
"You want to tell me why I'm here at eleven at night bailing my lieutenant out of jail?"
"Chief, I told Platt to call Stella, not you," Kelly said, glaring at Trudy.
"Don't glare at me, punk; I did call your wife; she said she was on her way. What happened after we hung up, I don't know. I frankly don't give a damn; if I were her, I'd let you sit there all night."
"Your wife called me," Boden said, causing Kelly to turn his attention to him instead of Trudy.
" What? Why?" Kelly said the confusion was written all over his face.
"Stella called me and asked me to do her a favor, no questions, I agreed. I didn't expect the favor to be bailing you out of jail. She didn't have any details, and I didn't question her, but I could tell she was crying, and I didn't want to make her more upset than she apparently already was."
Kelly rubbed the back of his neck and leaned against the wall. But didn't say anything.
Boden watched him for a moment and said, "It wasn't till I got here that Trudy filled me in on the assault and battery charger and told me my other firefighter was bailed out already. So, if you want out of here, you must tell me what happened. I can't seem to understand, help me make sense of this situation."
"It was nothing," Kelly told him while looking down at the ground.
"The hell it wasn't; finding out that two of my firefighters got arrested for an altercation is definitely something; don't come at me with that bull. You just got into town a few days ago, and while you were gone, things ran smoothly. We had no issues going on that I was aware of unless people have been keeping things from me, and that pisses me off." Bodem was getting pissed. "I need some insight on what caused this so-called altercation between you and Carver. And I want it now." Boden's tone was a mixture of irritation and anger.
"There is no insight; there is no reason behind it," Kelly said he was not waiting to put Stella's business out there. He didn't want everyone to know Carver kissed his wife.
"The old Severide I would believe that answer. But I don't for a second believe you; the man you are today would just punch someone for the hell of it. " Boden said. He knew he was hiding something. "I'm going to need the truth; when the people over me start asking questions, I'm going to have to have a solid, good answer. Especially when they find out my lieutenant attacked a firefighter from the same house, if you want me to help you, you need to be straight with me."
"I have a little insight on what might be the reason Severide went out after that Carver punk," Trudy said, after realizing Kelly wasn't going to say anything.
Boden eyed her for a second, then looked at Kelly, who was staring at the floor. "Please do tell; I would like to go home soon."
Trudy smacks her lips. "According to my husband, the Carver jerk, a few nights ago he randomly and drunkenly kissed Stella at Molly's." Boden's eyes widened. Trudy went on. "Stella pushed the son of a bitch away hard; he hit the barstools; my hubby picked his drunk ass up and took him home."
Boden looked at Kelly. "So, all this over a kiss?" he questioned. He knew there had to be more to it.
"Hubby said, Carver apologized over and over the next morning. Saying it was a drunken mistake, that he was going through stuff, and blah, blah, blah crap, Stella accepted his apology. And told him it was water under the bridge. Hubby said the shift was going great; there was no awkwardness between the two. That's...
"Seriously, does Mouch tell you everything?" Kelly said, cutting her off.
Trudy looked at him with one hand on her hip. "Yes, even stuff I don't want to know and stuff I don't care about. But that's what you do when you're married: you vent to your other half, and you don't keep secrets. You listen to their stories even if you don't want to."
Kelly rolled his eyes. "This is bullshit. I just want to go home."
"You can, once you tell me what drove you to attack Carver. I get the kiss thing, but there is no way you got that pissed over a drunken kiss." Boden said as he crossed his arms.
"Oh, it sure wasn't the drunken kiss," Trudy said. "I don't know all the details, but according to hubby, Stella was sent to Med for collapsing on a call. When she got back to the firehouse, her husband went to the locker room to check on her, and she was getting her stuff together to go home. Hubby said that as he was walking away, Carver came up and was checking on Stella. He got to the locker room door and heard a crash. He thought it was Stella, so he ran back to her. He found Carver on the floor, holding his eye. Stella was pissed and shaking. She told him she was fine, grabbed her bag, and left. "
"Stella gave Carver the black eye," Boden said in disbelief:
"Yep, I'm pretty sure of it. But why? I don't know. I mean, I can assume that Carver probably ki...
"He kissed her again, and she punched him," Kelly yelled. cutting Trudy off again.
"I thought so," Trudy said.
"So, he kissed your wife twice and...
"He was aggressive with her," Kelly tells them, in a furious tone interrupting Boden.
"What?" Boden asked.
Kelly sighed deeply. "Look, the first kiss did bother me, but Stella made me realize that it was a drunken mistake. We have all done things when we were drunk that we regretted the next morning. I let it slide. Stella was okay with it; she accepted his apology, so I was okay. I was still wondering how he got the black eye, so I questioned her. " He paused. "When she said she gave it to him, I was extremely proud that my wife hit that man. He deserved it. "
" But?"
Kelly sat down. "She told me she punched him after he kissed her again, this time more aggressively. I can't explain, but when I heard those words, all I saw was red. I blocked everything else out and set my target on Carver. Stella tried to stop me. She tried to calm me down. Usually, she can convince me to do anything she wants. But I couldn't calm down; he kissed my wife twice, Chief, and put his hands on her aggressively. I was pissed, and I know damn well if it was Donna, you would have been pissed too."
Boden sighed. " Probably."
"No, probably about it; you know for a damn fact that if the shoe was on the other foot, you would be sitting here right now, not me. I was protecting my wife, and I'll do it again."
Boden thought for a moment as he stared at Kelly. "Carver and Stella seemed to be getting along pretty well, at least to me. And now you're saying he put his hands on her." Boden was confused.
Kelly and Boden stare at each other for a moment. "How aggressive was he? Stella could press charges." Trudy said
Kelly shrugged. "I don't know; as I said, I heard that word and never asked how or what. My only focus was to beat Carver's ass."
Trudy rubbed her head. "You didn't even get the full details before you went after him?"
"No, I didn't care about the details."
"The details mean everything; it's no wonder your wife didn't come to bail you out. She's too pissed off to deal with your stupid ass. Man, if I were you," Trudy said as she unlocked the door. I'll be praying that she's still there when you get home. "
Kelly swallowed hard and looked at Boden. He was giving him a "she's right" look. "Severide, this is not the time to be stressing her out," Boden told him honestly. "She doesn't need the added stress."
"She loses the baby because of the stress you caused. She may never forgive you, and it will haunt you for the rest of your life." Trudy said as she gave him a stern look.
The ride home was hell for Kelly. Boden lectured him about his responsibility as a lieutenant and how his actions reflect the firehouse.
"I'm sorry, Chief," Kelly says as she pulls into the parking lot of the loft. "If the higher-ups want to suspend me, I understand. I'll take whatever punishment. But I'm not apologizing to Carver; he kissed my wife twice and put his hands on her. He deserved what I did; he should be happy he's able to walk."
Boden sighed heavily. "Let's hope the higher-ups don't get wind of what happened. But seriously, I can't have tension in my firehouse. So next shift, you, Stella, Carver, and I will be addressing the matter. I will then decide what the next step is or if some discipline needs to be issued."
Kelly looked at him and said, "Yes, sir, I'll let Stella know."
"Severide, I never get into your personal business, and your marriage is your business, but when a woman is crying and is as upset as she was, it's a sign. Don't miss the signs; it'll lead you down the wrong path—a path I don't want you and Stella to ever have to be on. Take the advice of a man who's been through two divorces. Communication is the key to any marriage; listen to her, let her tell you everything she wants to tell you and try to control yourself this time. Don't get me wrong. I understand completely why you did what you did, and truth be told, if the shoe were on the other foot, you probably would have been bailing me out tonight. "
"Thanks, Chief."
"Stella needs to let someone know how aggressive he was with her. I will not allow any firefighter to put their hands on a lieutenant; he will have consequences for his actions. I'll make sure of that." Boden told him as Kelly stepped out of the car.
Kelly nods. "I will talk to her," he assured him. before closing the car door. He slowly walked up to the loft, thinking about everything—his conversation with Stella, his altercation with Carver, and his time being locked up. And everything Boden just said to him.
As he reached the door, he was thinking of thousands of ways to apologize to her. He unlocked the door and slowly walked inside. It was dark and cold; he figured she was in bed since it was after midnight. He walked to their room, and as he walked in, his heart stopped. Their bed was empty. "Stella?" he yelled. turning around. He walked around the whole loft, saying her name. Just as he feared, she wasn't there.
He checked his phone, hoping she may have called him or sent a text; maybe he just didn't notice. But nope, no missed calls or new messages. He walked back to their room. He knew she was mad, but he didn't think she was this mad.
He laid back on the bed, knowing she probably went to Brett's. She just didn't want to see him tonight, and he couldn't blame her. He lay there, thinking about everything that had happened between them. He doesn't regret going after Carver; he would do it again in a heartbeat. He regrets not staying and listening to her and getting all the details. He flashes back to her standing against that door, refusing to move, knocking things off the kitchen island, yanking the plug out of the wall, and throwing that lamp, and for the first time, he notices in the flashback that she flinched, and he notices the look of shock and fear echoing on her face.
"What the hell did I do?" He groaned. He didn't notice it earlier because he was full of rage, but now he sees it. It's repeatedly playing in his head now. Stella flinched as the lamp hit the wall. The expression on her face was an expression he'd never seen before that he put there. He scared her when he threw the lamp. He didn't throw it at her, but it was an inch away from her. It wasn't his intention to throw it; he was just mad, and he wanted to throw something or hit something. He can't even explain what made him do it. He promised her years ago that he was nothing like Grant and would never be anything close to him. And now he scared her, all because he couldn't control his anger.
He called her, but it immediately went to voicemail. "Stella, I love you; I didn't mean to scare you. I'm sorry. Please come home," he begged. His eyes teared up. "Don't leave me," he said, as a few tears fell.
Stella took a deep breath as she walked up the stairs. She was exhausted from all the crying and very emotional. Trudy had texted to let her know Boden had bailed her husband out. So, she was partly relieved. She was hurt and she was upset, and she knew that seeing him tonight, they would probably just end up arguing all night, and the pains that she was having earlier would probably get worse. So, it's best for her to just go away for the night and give him some space.
She sighed and knocked on the door. She hated bothering people this late at night. But she really didn't want to stay at a hotel. And she couldn't stay at Brett's; that's the first place Kelly would come looking for her.
"Stella"
"Hey, sorry for the late-night visit," Stella said in a cracking voice.
"Are you okay?"
"I need a place to stay for a night or two. if you don't mind." She said as the tears fell,
