Chaper 9: Will She Be Okay?

"Hey Kelly, guess what! I can leave once they give me the discharge papers," Shay happily shared with Kelly as they sat together.

She noticed Kelly seemed preoccupied and distant, so she asked, "Kelly, what's up? Are you alright?" Shay reassured him, "Don't worry about it," as she comforted him by tapping his arm gently.

Kelly expressed his concerns about Erin and the detective, nervously wondering how long it would take to hear any updates. "It's almost 2 in the morning, they should have some news by now," Kelly said with a trembling breath.

Shay tapped him again, saying, 'I know, but they should be done soon, or maybe they are done already.' She could see how worried Kelly was and was shocked by what had happened.

'Hey, let's go ask Maggie if she knows anything,' Shay suggested. 'I can do my discharge papers out there.' Kelly got up from the bed and helped Shay up, saying, 'It was really bad, Shay. I thought Erin was gone.' His voice broke as he spoke.

Shay took his hand and told him firmly, 'Kelly, look at me!' The lieutenant then turned to face Shay, who said, 'Erin is going to be okay, I promise. Just have faith in her strength. We all saw how resilient she is during the blackout, and I'm sure she has faced many challenges growing up. This is no different.' Kelly nodded, realizing Shay was right.

'I guess you're right. I believe she'll be fine and back to catching criminals soon,' he said. Shay smiled, 'There you go,' she said as they approached Maggie.

"Rhodes, any news on Erin?" Kelly asked optimistically, searching Rhodes' eyes for updates.

"Yes, Alec informed Voight and the others. I figured you'd be with Shay, so I came to give you the details," Rhodes replied.

As Rhodes continued, Kelly listened attentively. "Erin will be fine, but she's still in recovery. Probably by midday tomorrow, she'll regain consciousness," Rhodes explained.

Once Rhodes finished, Kelly breathed a sigh of relief, confident that Erin would pull through.

"Erin was shot in the stomach, but we managed to remove the bullet without damaging any organs. It was a bit challenging. We also treated a stab wound on her shoulder, luckily not as severe as the gunshot."

Rhodes said Erin's gunshot wound will take a few weeks to heal completely, but the stab wound should heal in a week or less.

Kelly asked if they could see her, trying not to cry. Rhodes agreed, but only for a few hours, as Erin needed rest and might be in the hospital for four days or longer depending on her healing process.

Kelly thanked Conner and followed Shay to Erin's room in the ICU. Shay reassured Kelly that Erin would be fine as long as they were there for her. Kelly was anxious to see Erin, hoping she would be healthy and awake.

Kelly noticed that the only people in the room with Erin were Voight and Justin. He swallowed hard as he walked in with Shay, took a deep breath, and frowned when he saw Erin asleep with machines and a small breathing tube connected to her nose.

Shay patted his back gently and assured him that Erin would pull through, catching Voight and Justin's attention.

Justin nodded and expressed his confidence that Erin would overcome this. Kelly took a seat across from Voight, held Erin's hand, and whispered to her lovingly, ignoring the others present.

'Hi, babe, I'm here when you wake up, alright? You can't be doing this. I may seem tough on the outside, but inside, I'm not.' He kissed her hand tenderly.

Justin looked at Voight and tapped his shoulder, saying, 'We should give them some time alone.' After Voight placed a kiss on Erin's forehead and whispered, 'I'll be back tomorrow, kiddo,' Justin got Voight to walk out of the room, leaving Kelly and Shay to watch over Erin.

Kelly watched the door shut and turned to Shay, thanking her for being there. 'I should be going as well; I want to get cleaned up and get some sleep,' he said. Shay hugged Kelly and kissed his head.

Shay then looked at Erin and tapped her hand gently, saying, 'You keep fighting, don't give anyone any more heart attacks.' She smiled and joked, 'Because Kelly needs you; who knows what kind of trouble he'll get into without you,' giggling at Kelly's reaction.

Kelly just couldn't help but tease his buddy by rolling his eyes when Shay exited the room. He was relieved to have some alone time with Erin. He gently squeezed her hand and gazed at her lovingly with a little grin before laying his head on the bed and dozing off.

After a while, Alec came in to see how Erin was doing. He noticed Kelly by her side and knew he should really send him home, but he also didn't want Erin to be by herself. Alec checked Erin's vitals, saw they were stable, and then turned to Kelly with a serious expression.

'You've got to keep fighting, Erin. I've already lost my wife, and I can't bear to lose a close friend too.' After giving Erin a gentle kiss on the forehead, he encouraged her to keep fighting before tidying up a few things and leaving the room.

Kelly got slightly stirred from his slumber when he heard the door close, assuming it was Alex or Rhodes checking on Erin. He continued sleeping peacefully, holding onto Erin's hand and brushing her hair with his other hand.