Stella has spent the past month looking over her shoulder and closely paying attention to her surroundings. Her mom was supposedly released from prison exactly one month ago today. She expected her mom to show up at her door or at the firehouse. But she hasn't, at least not yet. But that doesn't stop Stella from keeping a lookout; rather, she's on shift at home or even at the grocery store. She is always on her toes; she knows that one day, somewhere, she's going to pop up. She is still in Chicago because she's on probation and can't leave the city.

Bo is also trying to reach out to Stella; he's sent four letters in the past month. She didn't read them; she threw them away; she doesn't want anything to do with her so-called father. She wishes that her mom was lying about him being her dad. She would do anything to erase hearing that; he wasn't the father figure she wanted in her life, and she definitely didn't want him around her kids.

Her mind has been on moving out of Chicago and starting over. That way, they won't find her, and she wouldn't have to constantly watch her back. Or be so overprotective of her kids, but she couldn't help it. Knowing her mom knows she has kids and where she lives, she probably knows where the kids go to daycare and that they stay with Jennifer and Bob on the nights she and Kelly are on shift. Voight promised her that he was keeping a close eye on her and Bo, but she's still on edge and can't help it. She doesn't trust either one of them.

Her nerves were shot, and she was jumpy all the time. As she pulled into the driveway, she sighed and threw her head back against the seat. She is driving herself crazy, obsessing over the fact that her mom is lurking around somewhere in Chicago, and she was going to sneak up on her like Michael Myers does just before he slashes his victims.

"Ma-ma down." Benny said it from the backseat. She looked back at him and smiled. She loved hearing her babies calling her mama. The week before Christmas, Benny finally called her mama, and a few days later, Shay did it. She cried like a baby, hearing them say Mama for the first time melted her heart.

She cried all night, while Kelly laughed at how emotional she got.

"I'm coming, baby boy." She got out of the car and opened the backdoor. As she was unbuckling Benny.

"Me, ma-ma." Shay yelled.

"Hold on, baby." She tells her as she lifts Benny out of the car seat. "Look, Daddy is home." She tells Benny as she shuts the back door. She puts Benny down and tells him to go get Daddy.

"Da-da!" Benny yells, running down the driveway. Stella walks around to the other side of the car to get Shay out.

"Da-da." Shay says, as Stella unbuckles her.

"Yes, Dada is here." Stella tells her as she lifts her up. "You guys love Daddy, huh?"

Shay nodded her head aggressively, and Stella smiled. "So does Mommy; Mommy would be lost without Daddy."

She closed the backdoor, walked to the back of the Jeep, and opened the door.

"Hey princess." Kelly said as he took her from Stella and kissed her cheek.

Stella grabbed the grocery bags and closed the Jeep. She watches as Kelly carries the kids inside, and she slowly follows. She went straight to the kitchen and started taking stuff out of the bag.

"I put them in the ball pit." Kelly announced as he was walking into the kitchen.

"Thank you." She tells him as she opens the fridge. "So I think I finally figured out how to grocery shop with two toddlers."

"Oh really?"

She looks at him. "I was being sarcastic." She laughed. "It was a nightmare; thankfully, the deli lady gave them a cookie, and that settled them down a tad."

"You should have waited on me."

"I didn't know how long you were going to be working on Boden's boat. And we have shift tomorrow; we needed food."

"Well...

"I had another little breakdown at the grocery store." She tells him, giving him a shameful look.

"Baby..." He walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her waist. "What happened?"

She looked down at his chest. "I had Benny in the bottom of the cart and Shay up top. They were eating their cookie, and I turned to grab something from the shelf. When I turned back around, there was this woman with black hair talking to Benny, and I just lost it. I pushed her way, and she said I was crazy. I picked up Benny, yelling, Get away. Shay started crying, and then I realized that.

"The poor lady you're screaming at isn't your mom." He finished for her, giving her a sympathetic look.

She looks up at him. "Yep, I'm losing my mind. Every time I see a woman with black or grey hair anywhere near our children, I assume it's her, she's going to kidnap them or hurt them. And my crazy switch comes on.." She lays her head on his shoulder as he tightens his grip. "I'm crazy, aren't I?"

"Yeah."

She pulled back, giving him an applauding look. He smirked. "Joke, you're not crazy. You are dealing with a lot right now, and you are scared. I am too, but you can't continue living like this." He kissed her forehead. "You can't keep constantly looking over your shoulder and being afraid to go out in public. And attacking innocent people who talk to our children, it's going to land you behind bars."

"Well, it's a good thing I have a loving husband who will bail me out." She teased.

"I will always bail you out, but I'm also worried about you. I know it seems strange that your mom told Voight that she was coming to meet her grandkids once she was released, and it's been a month now since she's been out. She hasn't shown up anywhere, not even the firehouse. But maybe she realized that you weren't going to allow her anywhere near them. And she gave up."

"No, that's not how she works, Kelly; she's planning something, I know it." Her eyes filled up with tears. "She never surrenders; she doesn't know the meaning of surrendering, believe me. She will do whatever it takes to get what she wants, and she always gets what she wants."

Kelly pulls her into a hug. "Let me ask you a question, and don't bite my head off, but I'm just curious: is it really a bad idea for her to meet the kids?"

"Yes! It's a horrible idea." She pulled back, yelling. "Kelly, I don't want her anywhere near our kids, or me and you. She doesn't deserve to be part of my life." She pushed away from him, angry that he wasn't understanding where she was coming from. "And don't you dare say she deserves a chance because she's dying? I don't give a damn that she's dying. She died a long time ago in my eyes." She shakes her head as she continues to put the groceries away.

"Stella..."

"Don't, Kelly; just don't. Just leave me alone.."She tells him as she walks out of the room.

Kelly punches the countertop. "Damnit!" He yelled. He knew she wasn't going to respond well, but of course the words came out of his mouth before he could stop them. And now his wife was pissed at him.

Stella slammed the bedroom and went straight to their bed. She sat there steamy, pissed at her husband for not understanding why Sierra didn't deserve to meet their children. It doesn't matter if she is dying; hell, they honestly don't even know if she's telling them the truth; that could be a lie. Technically, it's been two months since she saw Sierra and two months since she told her she was dying within six months. Which means if she's actually telling the truth, she only has four months left, or so. In four months, she should be dead, if that's not a lie. So, four months of acting like an overprotective crazy mother, constantly screaming at innocent people. She can do it; she just needs to stay on her toes for four more months, maybe sooner if she prays hard.

Her mom would be finally out of her life, and she would never be worried about her popping up at her door step. Stella smiled at that thought. She laid down and closed her eyes. As the realization of what she was saying hit her, yes, her mom would be gone. But Bo wasn't going anywhere; his letters weren't going to stop till she answered one or went in person and told him to stop and leave her alone.

Kelly put away the groceries and ordered a pizza since it was after six and Stella never came back downstairs. He figured she was still pissed and it was best to leave her alone. He went into the living room and turned on CoComelon, the kids favorite cartoon, and sat on the couch with them and waited for the pizza. His mind was staying on his wife, wondering what he could do to help her. She was driving herself insane with constant worry and fear of when her mom was going to show up. And with Bo writing to her now, that added to the fear and worrying.

A little while later, after getting the kids in their pajamas, Kelly walked into their bedroom with the kids following behind him. Stella was curled up, sleeping soundly. He turned on the lamp beside the bed.

"Ma-ma." Shay said climbing on the bed.

Benny followed behind her. Kelly smiled as he watched the kids climb on their mom and kiss her.

Stella smiled as her eyes opened to see Shay laid down beside her giggle. "Hey babygirl."

"Ma-ma." Benny said as he tried to lay in front of his sister, both kids wanted their mom's attention.

"There's my baby boy." Stella hugged both kids and kissed them as they laughed.

"They wanted their bedtime story from mommy," Kelly says.

Stella looked up at him with an apologetic look. "What time is it?"

"Almost nine."

"Wow! I don't even remember falling asleep." She sat up straight. "Sorry, I didn't even think about dinner."

"I ordered a pizza, put the groceries away, gave them their baths, and now they are ready for bed. Well, once they get their story.", He hands her a book.

"Thank you." She tells him in a sincere way. He knows exactly what she's thanking him for. "Are you ready for your story?" She asked the twins, who both laughed and nodded their heads. Stella moved to the middle of the bed, Benny laid down next to her left side, and Shay moved to her right side. Kelly sat down beside Shay and wrapped his arms around her. "The cat the hat book again." She gives Kelly a playful look.

"I told Benny to pick out a book, and that's what he grabbed."

"Hmm, sure, it was." She teased. She knows this book was Kelly's favorite book as a kid. "The sun did not shine. It was too wet to play. So we sat in the house all that cold, cold, wet day."

Kelly stared at Stella as she read to their kids; he loved watching her in mom mode.

"I sat there with Sally. We sat there, we two. And I said, "How do I wish we had something to do?" Too wet to go out, and too cold to play ball. So we sat in the house. We did nothing at all." Stella kissed the top of Benny's head, who was leaning over her to see the book. "So all we could do was sit, sit, sit."

"I'll be right back, "Kelly told her as he got up.

"Okay."

After cleaning up downstairs and locking up, he walked back into the bedroom carrying a glass of wine and a plate with two slices of pizza. Shay was asleep, but Benny was still deep into the book. He sat down the plate and the wine glass and sat back down on the bed. As Stella finished reading.

"Have no fear of this mess, said the cat in the hat. I always pick up all my playthings."

"I'm going to go put our sleepy girl to bed." Kelly picked Shay up, and Stella leaned up and kissed her cheek.

When he walked back into the room, Stella was hugging Benny tightly and saying, "Time for bed."

"No no." Benny shakes his head giggling.

"Yes, yes," Stella told him, tickling him. "See, Daddy is going to put you to bed." She tells him as she kisses his face all over.

"No, no, no." Benny giggles again.

"Yes, yes, yes." She repeated this as she kissed him one more time. "Night night, baby boy." She hands him over to Kelly.

"No, no, no." He screams as he throws his head back.

"Yes, yes, yes." Kelly tells him as he carries him out of the room.

Stella slowly got up and headed to their bathroom. She changed into her spaghetti strap satin sleepwear and got into bed. She was eating her pizza when Kelly came back into the room. "Did he fight you?"

"Just a bit." He replied, shutting the door. "He was asleep before I left the room."

"I figured." She takes a sip of her wine while watching her husband take his clothes off. She waited until he was in bed before saying. "I'm sorry."

He looked over at her. "I'm sorry too." He leaned over and kissed her.

"I know, I'm a mess right now, and you're probably questioning why you even married me."

He lifted her chin so he could look into her eyes. "I would never question why I married you; you're my mess, and I love you."

She smiled. "I love you too." She moved closer and laid her head on his chest. "I truly believe our kids are better off not knowing her."

"What about when they get older and question you about your parents?"

Her eyes widen. "I don't know; I never really thought about that." She bit her lip.

"Even if they meet her now, they won't remember her, considering she doesn't have much time left."

"Do you really believe she's dying? Because I don't." She looks up at him.

"I understand your reasons for doubting her, but who would lie about dying?"

"People will typically lie about having a serious illness in particular because it gives them sympathy, attention, and pity. There are three things she loves; she's always been good at getting sympathy, attention, and pity; you wouldn't believe the people who believed her bullshit stories." She sat up. "She's a pathological liar; lying ingrains her; telling lies for her is more natural than telling the truth."

"I don't see the point of lying to her daughter about dying; what is she actually achieving from that?"

"She's hoping to get sympathy from me; she's hoping that I can let everything she did to me go because she's dying and I can finally forgive her. She's seeking forgiveness. She knows damn well I'm never going to forgive her, so she thought if she played the dying card, that somewhere inside of my good heart I would finally forgive her." She sighed. "Let me give you an example of a lie she told, and then maybe you would understand why I'm having trouble processing the fact that she's actually dying and she's not just trying to get sympathy from me."

"Okay." He tells her kind of intrusion by what she is about to say. "

"When I was fourteen, all the teachers at my school, including the kids that I never even talked to, even the ones that have bullied me in the past, all started treating me differently. They were treating me nicer and constantly asking me how I was feeling and if I needed anything. It was very strange and unusual behavior. This went on for weeks, and then one day after school I got really sick, just a typical stomach bug, and I remember my health teacher coming into the restroom to check on me and why she was talking to me. She was telling me a story about her niece who had cancer and how heartbreaking it was for her family to watch her, and I'm thinking to myself, Why are we talking about this?"

Kelly watches her closely, he kind of has a feeling of where this story is headed.

"So I said, Why is everyone acting this way? Why is everyone treating me like I'm dying or something? And she looked at me, and she said, Sweetheart, you have to stay positive during your battle; you have to stay strong. No one's treating you like you're dying; we just want to be there for you while you fight your battle. And that's when I learned that my mother had a fundraiser going where people were donating money to her, excuse me, to me to help with my leukemia battle. I never had leukemia, I never had any form of cancer growing up. She raised close to 10 grand for some surgery she told people I needed. That's how pathetic my mom is. She took their money and probably brought drugs and whatever else she and Bo did. She bought me a pair of shoes, an outfit, and a stereo. That was supposed to be my hush mone for not telling people about her lie, so that's why I don't believe she's dying. Kelly, it's what she does-how she gets sympathy-hell she's probably got some kind of fundraiser going for herself now, for all we know."

Kelly wasn't expecting that. "Damn, I can see where you're coming from now. What kind of mom does that to her own child?"

"A mom that doesn't give a damn about anything but getting a fix, everything was always about her-her needs, her drug habit, her wants-drugs were her life; they took control of her; they changed her. That's why I don't want her in my life; that moment played a big part in why I walked away. Trust me, Kelly, our lives are better off without her, and so are our kids."

He pulled her into his arms and embraced her tightly. "I get it; I do." He kisses the top of her head. They lay there in comfortable silence as they thought about everything; moments later, they fell asleep wrapped up in each other.

Kelly spent half the shift thinking about Sierra; something told him that he needed to trust his wife's gut. Is she capable enough to lie to everyone about her daughter being sick just to get money? No telling what she would do to their kids. "So I was thinking." Kelly said, walking into his wife's office. He saw her sitting at her desk with a distant look in her eyes. "What's wrong?" He asked, but she didn't reply; she just continued looking at an envelope in her hands. "Babe, are you okay?" He says as he walks over to her, still no response. He touches her shoulder, and she jerks.

"What?" She says it in a loud, confused tone. She looks at her husband questionable.

"You were pretty lost in your thoughts."

She sighed and closed her eyes. "Penny, for your thoughts?" He asked as he kneeled beside her.

She gives him a side glance before turning to face him. "Apparently Bo decided, since I haven't replied to the four letters he sent me at home, that he would try the firehouse." She tells him, holding up the letter.

"Are you going to read it?"

"Nope!"

"Okay, if you ever decide to read one of them, I'm here for you."

She touched his face. "I know, and I love you for that." She sighed. "I think we should move."

"What?"

"I love Chicago, and I love 51, and our house and the life we have here is wonderful. But...

He stood up and pulled her out of her chair, then sat down, pulling her onto his lap. "Babe, moving is not the answer." He tells her this as he rubs her leg.

"It could be." She pouted.

"Maybe for a little while, but if your mom or Bo truly wanted to find you moving won't stop them. And I don't want to have our kids get used to moving around. I want them to have a normal childhood. I want to raise them here in Chicago and in our dream home."

"Me too..." She admitted. "I just hate knowing she's out there somewhere getting ready to show up at our door one night. Even though I'm trying to mentally prepare myself for it, I'm still stressing myself out over it. I can't stop thinking about it; part of me wants her to hurry up and show herself so I can tell her she's not welcome, threaten her with the restraining order, and never see her again."

"I know, babe."

She shakes her head. "Let's change the subject. I'm tired of thinking about them."

Kelly nods. "Well, I've been thinking about something, and I am curious what you think about it and if you think I should do it or not."

"What's on your mind?" She asked as she rubbed the back of his neck.

"Well, I've been thinking that maybe it's time I take the captain exam."

Stella's eyes widened in surprise. "Yes, most definitely, babe. It's past time."

"Really, you think so?"

"Kelly, in my opinion, you should have taken that exam years ago. You would make an awesome captain. You have my full support." She kissed. "You got this, Kelly Severide."

"Thank you, babe." He kisses her. No one knows how to lift his spirits like his wife does. He loves how much she believes in him.

"What changed your mind? Because I remember you saying that being a captain was too much of a hassle, too much paperwork, and too much responsibility. You said you loved being a squad lieutenant; you loved the action. Are you tired of the action?"

"Of course not; I still love the action. But I think it's time for me to move up the ladder and try something new. And captains get to do some action calls." He picked up her hand and caressed it softly. "It's more money, which is a plus for us."

"True, I'm happy for you, and I can even help you study."

"I figured you would."

"Did you tell Boden?"

"No, not yet. I wanted to talk to you first."

"He's going to be happy and supportive too, but not as big of a supporter as me. I'm your biggest fan and supporter, and I always will be."

He kisses her. "I'm thankful to have you in my corner."

"I will always be in your corner." They share a few more kisses.

"I'm about to catch my first charge." Violet said, walking into Stella's office. "Damn guys, I'm sorry." She said, realizing that she walked in on a private moment between the two.

"It's fine, Violet." Stella told her as Kelly laughed. "What did the new girl do now?"

Violet sighed dramatically. "What hasn't she done? She's so annoying. And she is so full of herself."

"Is she flirting with Carver again?"

"Don't even get me started on that."

"Violet, you are going to have to quit being so picky. Chief is going to end up picking someone for you, someone you are probably going to hate."

"I know." She tells her sadly. "I hate that Brett decided to move with Casey. Why would she do that? Why would she abandon me?"

Stella shakes her head. "She and Casey are married now, so it kind of makes sense for her to live with her husband. And she didn't purposely do it to you; it was just as hard for her to leave as it was for you. And she didn't abandon you. I'm still here for now."

Violet gave her a skeptical look. "What the hell does for now mean?"

"Don't listen to her." Kelly tells hers. As Stella laughs, "She's not going anywhere."

"You better not; your all I have."

"You have Carver." She teased.

The bells go off, interrupting their conversation. "Truck 81, engine 54, squad 3, ambulance 61, five-alarm fire."

Due to the tiny, narrow road, the firetrucks couldn't fit down the road. "All right boys, let's grab our equipment; we're going to have to leave the truck here." Stella tells them as she hops out of truck. As squad and engine pull up, 81 runs down the steep hill to the scene, where heavy flames and smoke were already pouring from the roof of the three-story wood frame structure. Stella immediately went to where Boden was standing with a man wearing a robe.

"What's the situation, chief?" She asked as Kelly joined the four.

"The building was built in the early 1960s, long before codes required sprinkler systems or firewalls. The apartments are accessed by narrow stairs and walkways. The small rear parking lot is bordered by a heavily wooded ravine, which prevents access by firefighting equipment."

"Yeah, we can't get the trucks down here, which means engine can't run a hose line." Kelly told them.

Stella's eyes widen as she looks at Kelly. "What the hell are we going to do?"

"Do we know how many people are inside?" Kelly asked.

"Everyone on the bottom floor got out; the people on the top floors are trapped. I'm not sure how many people are up there."

Stella and Kelly look at the horrified flames. "The only option is a frontal attack." Kelly tells them.

"What exactly is a frontal attack?" Stella asked, not really understanding what her husband was suggesting.

"It's a military tactic that involves a direct, full-force attack on the front line."

"So what exactly does that mean?"

"I say the whole house charges in full force; we got Firehouse 20 here too; they come in with us; it's going to take all the manpower we have and it's going to have to be fast, real fast."

"Sounds good to me, Severide." Chief tells him.

"51 move in full force. Let's go!" Kelly yelled. "Knock all the doors down. The number of victims is unknown. It's going to be a tight space. Be careful, pay attention to your surroundings, the structure can collapse at anytime."

"Chief, with us going in full force and knocking down the doors like this, and with the flames as heavy as they are, won't the roof collapse? Especially with all the added weight." Stella asked as she watched her husband and the rest of the 51 run inside.

Boden looks at her. "Yeah, I'm afraid so. We just have to hope that doesn't happen."

"How exactly are we supposed to get the fire out if we can't get a hose down here? Where's the fire hydrant?" Stella questioned as Herrmann joined them.

"It's probably in the back; is the road behind the apartment building as tiny and narrow as this one?" Herrmann asked.

"I'm not sure." Boden told him. "Sir, behind the apartment building is the road and parking lot as tiny and narrow as this one?"

The man in the robe gave them a confused and uncertain look. "I don't know; I can't remember. All I know is that I was sleeping, and then my apartment went up in flames. I ran out of the building. Everything I owe is in that apartment; all I have is this robe. I lost everything; I have nothing now. I'm

"Sir, your alive that's what matters," Stella yelled. "Look Chief, Herrmann and I will go behind the building and see what we're dealing with."

"Sounds good to me." He watched as the two lieutenants ran down the hill. His eyes go back to the flames as he sees firefighters carrying victims out. "Severide location?" He says through the radio.

"I got 81 on the second floor, with half of Firehouse 20, Squad is on the third floor, with the other half of Firehouse 20, and I'm on my way to the attic."

"Why are you going to the attic?"

"We were told there was a homeless family living in the attic. Chief, I have to check it out."

Boden sighed. "Severide, I'm giving you five minutes, no more."

"Copy Chief."

Stella, on the other hand, wasn't liking what she heard. She loves her husband's caring heart, but sometimes it scared the hell out of her.

"Kidd, there's a fire hydrant." Herrmann said as they made it around the building.

"Great." She looks at the roads with her flashlight. "This road looks narrower than the other one; hell, it actually looks smaller, parking lots smaller."

"Kidd, I have an idea."

"Chief Herrmann and I have an idea, but it might cause some conflict."

The chief thought for a second. "Kidd, if you and Herrmann agree, it will help; do it. We will worry about the consequences later."

"Copy Chief."

"Herrmann I'll run up and get the truck; you start knocking on the neighbors door and tell them to move their cars."

"I'm on it."

As Stella was running up the hill, "The roof is collapsing." Cruz yelled over the radio.

"Everyone out now!" Chief yelled. "51 evacuate now! 20 evacuate now!"

Stella's eyes widen as the roof caves in. "Chief Severide was in the attic." Cruz's voice echoes through the radio.

"Severide!"

"Severide report!"

"Kelly!" Stella yelled.

"All units Evacuate now!"

"Severide evacuate now!"

"Kelly reported." Stella yelled through the radio. As she runs back towards the apartment building, "Kelly!" she repeated, screaming as she ran towards the fire. "Kelly Severide report now!" She hollered into the radio her voice breaking as her mind went into melt down mode. Seconds later, a loud popping sound was heard, followed by the whole apartment building collapsing. "Kelly..." She screamed as Herrmann grabbed her. "Kelly... Damnit... Don't leave me, Kelly." She screamed as she watched, in absolute horror, the scene in front of her.