They say we kill time. We save time. We rob and get robbed of time; we lose time; and we have all the time in the world. Time flies by so fast, is an old saying, but it seems like time stops for a loved one sitting in the waiting room of a busy hospital, waiting to hear if their loved ones will be okay. Even though you know technically it hasn't caused time doesn't stop for anyone, you might wish it would, just so you can come to terms with your reality and catch your breath.

Even though his reality is something Kelly doesn't want to come to terms with, his reality at this moment is more heartbreaking than any moment of his life. And that's putting it lightly; his first huge loss of his life was just under nine years ago. Losing his best friend was like losing a piece of himself. She left a big hole in his heart, and he pretty much went crazy after losing her. Not a day goes by that he doesn't wish she were still here. Shay would have loved Stella, and Stella would have loved Shay; they would have been great friends. And probably team up against him from time to time. He silently prays that Shay is watching over Stella and his babies and that everything will be okay. His mind goes to Anna; even though they didn't know each other long, she plays a small role in the man he is today. He lost her in this hospital six years ago, and Stella was there to help him through it; she was his and Anna's biggest supporter. He cared for Anna dearly and never wanted her story to end the way it did. She left a tiny hole in his heart. Two years after that, he was back in this hospital when he lost his dad. They might not have had your typical father-and-son relationship, been the best of friends, or even been on speaking terms half the time, but he was still his father and his reason for being here. If it wasn't for Benny Severide, he probably wouldn't be a firefighter. His death crushed him and left him with lots of unanswered questions. At that time, he was so lost and confused. Losing those three souls was undeniably heartbreaking in its own way. But nothing can compare to the soul-crushing feeling he's feeling now at the thought of losing his wife or his babies; hell, there's a chance he could lose all three of them, and that thought alone feels like someone cut his heart out, and tossed it across the other side of the room.

Stella saved him; she loved him even when he didn't love himself. She was his voice when he couldn't speak, his eyes when he couldn't see, and his ears when he couldn't hear. She brought so much beauty and joy to his life. She made him want to be a better man for her. She never gave up on him; she never stopped loving him. Even when he pushed her away, she became his best friend, his lover, his soulmate, his partner, and his world. And somehow, he got her to marry him and share her life with him. The road hasn't always been easy, but all roads have bumps, and he knows that no matter how bumpy the road gets, nothing will come between them. Except for death, death stops everything.

Finding out she was pregnant was the most exciting thing to ever happen to him. He always wanted to be a dad, and now he was going to be one. He made a vow to be a better dad to his kids than his dad was to him and to love them no matter what life choices they make.

Since finding out he was going to be a dad, he sometimes daydreamed about their life together, celebrating milestones with their kids, birthdays, holidays, anniversaries, and other special occasions. He just wants to grow old with Stella and watch their grandchildren run around in their backyard. But now that dream is being tested, his wife is in labor, and he should be with her experiencing the greatest moment of his life, but instead, he is sitting in a waiting room barely holding it together because everything is so messed up and out of his control.

It's been two hours since Kelly watched them rush Stella's lifeless body out of the room. But to Kelly, sitting alone in the waiting room, it feels more like two days have passed. The image of her collapsing into his arms and the color draining from her face as he looks down at her lifeless body in his arms haunts him. He wonders if she heard him screaming, hold on, and don't you dare leave me.

He puts his head in his hands, and as his mind takes him down a dark path, the negativity sets in, and the what-ifs play in his mind like a bad movie. What if that was their last kiss? What if he never gets to hold her again? What if he never gets to see her beautiful hazelnut eyes open again? What if he never gets to see her mesmerizing smile again? Or hear her joyful voice and her contagious laugh. What if she never gets to hold their babies? What if he never gets to make love to her again? What if he never gets to hold his babies? What if he's lost all three of them already and just doesn't know it? His mouth goes dry, and his eyes are so sore and bloodshot from all the crying. His head is pounding, and his heart is so heavy. He feels empty. He lifts his head and sees a woman sitting two seats away from him, holding an infant. That image completely broke him. He stands up, he needs to get away, he needs answers, he needs to know what is going on with his son and daughter, someone needs to let him know if his wife and babies are okay, and he deserves to know he can't wait any longer.

As he approached the nurse's station, all the nurses seemed busy, either on the phone or with a patient. He looked around, hoping to find Dr. Asher. As he looked around, his eyes found Maggie leaning up against the double doors. Her head is down, and his heart drops to his stomach. He knows that something is wrong, but he can't get himself to move now. He just stares at her, and when she looks up, their eyes connect. His legs become Jello, and he hits the floor. He's surrounded by nurses asking if he's okay, but he can't speak or move. His whole world is crumbling around him, and he just wants to yell out "timeout." He wants everything around him to stop and let him breathe; he just wants to breathe again.

At the firehouse

A little after midnight, the firehouse was quiet as a mouse. Casey was in his office finishing paperwork, and Brett was sleeping in his bed when her phone went off. Casey turned to look at her, curious to see who was calling her this late. As he listened to the one-sided conversation, he knew something was wrong.

Brett looks at him as she puts her phone down. Half asleep but well aware of what Maggie just said. "That was Maggie; Stella went into labor a few hours ago." She sat straight up. "She was hemorrhaging and collapsed; they did an IV with intravenous fluids; they had to give her oxygen because she quit breathing for some time. They did an emergency C-section." Her voice was trembling, and her eyes filled with tears.

"Is she okay now? What about the babies?"

Brett took a deep breath, trying not to break down. "The first baby, the girl, there were no complications; baby girl is doing surprisingly well."

Casey walked over to her. "And baby boy?" He asked, knowing that was the one they were all worried about.

"There were complications; there wasn't enough oxygen flow across the placenta for baby boy; he isn't breathing on his own; he is in an incubator. She said he's really small."

Casey swallowed hard. "And Stella?" he asked as his mind went to Kelly. He knows it's bad because Kelly would have called as soon as Stella went into labor.

"She lost a lot of blood; they had to do a blood transfusion." She paused as she thought about the conversation they had with Stella.

Casey sat down beside her. "Is she okay now?"

Brett closed her eyes. " Maggie said she slipped into a coma." She tells him as she starts to cry.

Casey pulls her to him and holds her while she cries. His tears start falling as he thinks about Severide. "We need to wake the others and get to Med; Kelly's going to need us."

Brett pulls back. "Yeah, I was thinking the same thing."

Back at Med...

Maggie walked Kelly to the chapel inside the hospital. As they sat there looking up at the cross, both prayed for healing and a miracle. Maggie watched Kelly closely as he stared up at the ceiling, tears falling from his broken eyes. She wants to promise him everything will be fine, but she knows Stella's situation can go either way.

Kelly clears his throat. "How long do comas usually last?"

"Different time frames could be hours, days, weeks, months, or even years."

"Years?" He whispered.

"It's possible; I've witnessed a few people in comas, some for days, some for weeks, and a few for months."

There was a burning, agonizing pain in his chest. "Did any of them die while they were in a coma?"

Maggie closed her eyes. "It can happen; every situation is different. Some become brain dead, some never wake up, and some don't remember who they are, but sometimes a miracle happens."

"A miracle." He laughed bitterly. "That's a joke."

"I believe in miracles."

"I don't..." He tells her "I don't believe in anything anymore."

"Kelly, you can't think that way; your wife needs you to be strong, and so do your daughter and son."

"I can't." He stands up. "I can't be strong anymore; my strength is laying in a hospital bed, and she may never wake up."

"Yes, you can. Kelly, I'm not allowing you to give up; we have to stay positive. Your family needs you to stay positive."

"Screw the whole positive talk, Maggie; my wife is in a coma, and my son can't even breathe on his own. Where did all the positive talk get us? Nowhere."

"It got your wife to 30 weeks when Dr. Asher thought she wouldn't make it to 24 weeks. And you should be counting your blessings right now instead of feeling sorry for yourself."

"Counting my blessings" He yelled. "Are you kidding me? My wife is in a coma, and I should be counting my blessings for that." He was furious now.

Maggie stood up. "You should be thankful she's still alive, Kelly; she could have died in that delivery room. But she fought a hell of a battle there; she might be in a coma, but she is here with us, and she still has a fighting chance. And she wouldn't want you sitting here feeling sorry for her or yourself. When you have two babies that need their dad," He tossed his head back. " Kelly, I know this is hard, but I need you to pull yourself together. I need you to be strong for your son and daughter. Those babies need their parents, and right now Stella can't be with them, but she would want you with them. Don't shut your babies out; they don't deserve that. Stella would be disappointed in you if you do."

He closed his eyes as the realization of her words sank in. He knew Stella would be pissed, and he promised her he would be there for them regardless of what happened. "I know. I just need to process everything. It's a lot to process."

"I get that; when you're done processing everything, you have a beautiful little girl who wants to meet her Daddy and a handsome little boy who needs his dad." Kelly closed his eyes as her words sank in again. He knew he had to be strong; Stella would want him to be there for their babies, especially since she couldn't. He took a few deep breaths. "I'm ready to meet my babies."

Maggie smiled. "I'm glad."

A few hours later, Kelly walked into Stella's hospital room, holding their little girl. He stared at his wife, all connected to machines. He swallowed hard and took a deep breath. He slowly walked over to her and kissed her forehead. "Hey, baby!" He says this as he sits on the edge of the bed, staring down at her. She looks like an angel sleeping. "Babe, I need you to open those beautiful brown eyes for me. I got our daughter with me; she wanted to see her mom. Stella, she is so beautiful; I swear she looks like you. She weighs 7.1 lbs. and 12oz. I got to feed her a little while ago, and she is so freaking cute." He smiles down at the bundle in his arms. His bundle—he's held babies before, but nothing is better than the feeling of holding your own baby. His tears fell at the thought of Stella never holding her.

"Stella, I need you to wake up; our daughter needs you and our son." He paused for a moment as he thought about their son. "Our son is really small, Stella he's 2.3 lbs. His lungs haven't fully developed; he can't breathe on his own. They connected all these machines to him. It's so heartbreaking to see your son struggling, and there's nothing you can do about it."

He hears the door and turns to see Casey and Brett standing there with Boden and Herrmann. "Sorry to interrupt," Casey said.

Kelly stands up "No, it's fine." He walks over to them, holding the now-sleeping infant.

"She's gorgeous," Brett said as she stared at the little one.

Kelly smiled. "She sure is; everyone, this is Leslie Shay Severide; we were going to call her Shay."

"Shay would have loved that," Herrmann said, and the rest agreed.

"It was Stella's idea, as soon as we found out it was a girl. She knew how much Shay meant to me."

"Is there any change?" Boden asked as they all looked over at an unconscious Stella.

"No," that was all he could say.

Casey clears his throat. "What about the other baby?"

Kelly sighed deeply. "He's so small, guys; he's hooked to all these machines. He could definitely use some of his mom's positive vibes right now."

"I think we all could," Herrmann said. "Does baby boy have a name?"

"No, we were still discussing one; we never settled on just one. He's going to have to wait till mommy wakes up." He swallows hard. "If mommy wakes up."

Boden touches his shoulder. "She will; she's a fighter."

"Damn straight, nothing is going to keep Kidd away from her babies." Herrmann chimed in.

Three days later.

Brett walked into Stella's hospital room. She was surprised no one was there; her room was always filled with people. But today it was just Stella; Kelly was in the NICU with his son. Herrmann and Cindy were with Shay.

"Hey, Stella!" She said as she sat down beside her. She took her hand. "I miss you; it's been three days now, Stella, you need to wake up for me. Kelly needs you, and so do those babies. Shay is beautiful; she has a black fist full of hair on her small, perfect head. She looks just like you. She has Kelly already wrapped around her finger. Your son, little Severide, is what we've been calling him since Kelly won't give him a name. He is so small and fragile, but he gained an ounce yesterday, I heard. So that's good; he's got a little patch of black hair, and... " She trails off. "Please don't leave me; I need you; little Severide and Shay need their mom; Kelly needs his wife," she said as she wiped a couple of tears away. "I love you; please wake up." She leaned over her and kissed her forehead. "I promise I'll take care of your family," she whispered as she kissed her hand. Then walked out of the room.

Casey took a deep breath before walking into Stella's room. "Hey Kidd!" he said as he sat down. He took in the paleness of her skin, which used to glow, the glow was gone. She looks small, tired, and weak. "Stella, I ordered you, as your captain, to wake up." He shakes his head; he wishes it was that easy. "We all need you. Severide is falling apart; he's a mess; he needs you; he can't raise those kids alone; he's going to go insane." He jokes. "Those adorable babies need you. Come on, Stella, I know you can beat this because you are so strong. I believe with all my heart you are going to wake up," he said as he stood up. "Stella, you have fought so hard to get your happiness; please don't give up now." He kissed her forehead. "I promise to be there for Severide and your babies."

Herrmann and Mouch enter the room. "Are we interrupting?"

"No, I was just going," Casey tells them, and not wanting them to see him crying, he rushes out of the room. Mouch and Herrmann's eyes stay on Stella's unconscious body for a moment.

"Listen, Kidd, you need to wake up. I need you; Molly's needs you."

"Seriously, Herrmann?" Mouch gave him an are you kidding me look.

Herrmann shrugged. " What? She's good at making cocktails. I suck at it."

Mouch rolled his eyes. "Look, Lieutenant Kidd, we need you to wake up—your husband, your babies, everyone at the firehouse, and especially me, my favorite lieutenant. And I need you back in that seat beside me. I'm not liking this stand-in Lieutenant.

" What? You said you liked him last month." Herrmann looked over at her questionably.

"Do you mind? I'm talking to my lieutenant." Herrmann shakes his head. "Fine, the man is okay; he really is, but he's no Lieutenant Kidd."

"I agree," Herrmann added. "Seriously, Stella, we need you to wake up. The firehouse would be pretty boring without your loud mouth. Plus, you keep Severide straight; that man would fall to pieces without you."

"The whole firehouse would," Mouch says

"Ain't that the truth?" Herrmann said before kissing her forehead. "You've got two babies that need you, Kidd, so wake up."

Mouch kisses her forehead too. "Those are some adorable babies, lieutenant, waiting on you to wake up."

A little while later, Boden walks into the room. He's not sure where to start; this isn't just one of his firefighters laying in this bed; this is his family, his daughter. His mind replays walking her down the aisle with the look of happiness echoing on her face. "Stella, you've got to wake up. Severide isn't doing so great. None of us are actually." He took hold of her hand. "You have this beautiful little girl waiting to meet her mom. And your son needs his mom's positive attitude. I know exactly what Severide is going through; my son had trouble breathing on his own when he was born," he said in a strained voice. He shivers as he takes in the coldness of her hand. "But he was a fighter in that baby of yours; he's a fighter too; he's just like his mama. So, I need you to come back to us; we can't go on without you. You have been through rougher things, and that's why I know that you can beat this. Because you are one of the strongest women I know, next to my wife, that is." He kisses her cheek as Kelly walks into the room.

"Hey, Chief," Kelly says as he looks at his wife, his eyes were dark, and in full fear, he was barely holding himself together. He hasn't left the hospital in three days; he looks rundown and flat-out exhausted.

"Severide, you need sleep."

"She promised me; she wasn't going anywhere; she said everything was going to be okay." His voice cracks, and as hard as he tries to hold everything in, his tears escape anyway. He spends the days with his son and the nights with his wife. "This isn't how it's supposed to be; a few days ago, she said I was her hero." He smiles as he remembers the conversation. "Some hero I am, huh? I'm supposed to save her, But I can't." He wipes his eyes. "I feel so helpless."

"Feeling powerless because no matter what you do or say, it appears to make no difference. Feeling frustrated and impatient at times, perhaps even to the point of losing yourself, is understandable; you're human. These past few months, you have been a tremendous source of love, strength, and support for your wife. While she battled her preeclampsia, you stood by her, even though inside it was slowly tearing you apart. That takes incredible patience and compassion, but it can also take a toll on you. You need to take some time for yourself."

"I can't, Chief; I can't just leave them here. They need me; I have to be just in case something happens."

Boden sighed; he understood where he was coming from. "Maybe just go home for an hour and...

" No!" He interrupts him. "I'm not leaving this hospital without my family."

He moves the chair closer to the head of the bed. He sighs as he looks at her face. She was still as beautiful as the first day he laid eyes on her. He looks down at her still, cold, and lifeless hand. He picks it up and sandwiches it between both of his. He rubs it soothingly, hoping to warm it up. More tears fall as he replays their last conversation in his head. "My last words to her were, I love you." He whispered.

The door opens. Brett, Casey, Cindy, and Herrmann walk in. Cindy was holding Shay.

"I can't lose her; I can't raise these babies alone. I don't want to raise them without her," he whispered.

"Severide, you've got to have faith," Casey said. "She loves you too damn much to give up on you now."

He moves strands of hair behind her ears. He doesn't acknowledge Casey's words. He stares at his wife. "You're beautiful, you know that?" he paused. "Our babies are three days old, and they want to meet their mom. Our son is getting stronger every day, and our daughter is your twin." He sighs. "I'm going to have to fight the boys off of her," he jokes with a little smile. He kisses her hand. As he thinks about their babies, his smile grows.

But then he looks at his pale, lifeless wife, and his smile fades. He cries even harder as reality hits him again. "Please don't leave me, Stella." He swallowed hard. "You promise me, dammit," he yelled. "You said that we were going to be a family—you, me, and our babies—the four of us. We can't be that family without you; you are the most important part of our happy ending." He cries and holds onto her hand tightly. His sobs were audible from outside the hall. Everything, all of it, is disappearing.

He looks up at the ceiling. "Please God, please don't take her from me. I need her; her daughter needs her; her son needs her. It's not fair; she doesn't deserve this; she's a good person with the biggest heart." His hand is trembling as he brings her hand to his cheeks. "I can't do this life without her; I don't want to do it without her. I need your help, God; please, I'm begging you."

He buries his face down beside her arm. He has no clue that Casey, Brett, Boden, Herrmann, and Cindy are standing in the room. Brett is biting her lip to fight back her tears. Casey is holding her close to him. Cindy is rocking a sleeping Shay in her arms as she cries. Herrmann is looking up at the ceiling, along with Boden, both silently sending prayers up. The room is silent; no one knows what to say, so they just stare at Stella, hoping for some sign of life.

A good fifteen minutes pass by when Kelly stands up, all eyes are back on him, and he kisses her forehead. He walks over to the window; it's dark out; he's not even sure what time it is; hell, he doesn't even know what day it is; the past three days have pretty much blared together. He notices There's no moon or stars out tonight, and he wonders if that's a sign. He starts talking to her again. "Remember when we were in Jamaica, that night on the beach all wrapped up in each other's arms? There is no one else around, just you and me. We talked about our future, things we wanted to do, and places we wanted to go. We stayed up all night talking about our future family; you said you wanted a house with a fenced-in yard, a huge deck, and porch swing, so we can sit together holding each other and watching our kids run around." He rubs the back of his neck. "I made a promise to myself that night to make that dream come true, and I did. I got us a house with a fenced-in yard, and Casey, Cruz, Tony, and Capp just finished building our deck. Casey even put up a swing. So, we can watch our hockey team of kids play in the yard." He cleared his throat and cranked his neck. Something in the corner of his eye caught his attention. It's pitch dark outside, so he narrows his eyes, and he swears he sees a red bird—the same red bird that he and Stella see every morning at six a.m. He felt a sense of relief washing over him; it was like the bird was giving him a sign. A good sign.

"I said no hockey team." A voice whispered through the room. His head snapped behind him, his eyes widened, and his heartbeat increased. He knows that voice...