(Disclaimer: I own nothing, they are the property of their respective owners).

(Author's Note: This idea originated as a couple of posts on Reddit, so after some time I decided to turn those posts into a fanfic, so with that said, here's the first chapter, enjoy).

Chapter 1

It's another day at Firehouse 51, everyone is arriving for shift, or is already there, Squad 3 is at their table, the paramedics of Ambulance 61 are at their vehicle, prepping for shift, the driver of Truck 81, Sam Carver, is hitting the punching bag.

Next in line for his turn to hit the bag is Jack Damon, a firefighter from another firehouse, who was recently revealed to be the paternal half-brother of Squad 3's leader, Kelly Severide, but he's only here for a few shifts, filling in for someone on Engine 51.

The team of Engine 51 and the rest of Truck 81 are in the common room, listening to Christopher Herrmann talk about another one of his "Ideas".

Kelly Severide and Stella Kidd arrive at the firehouse, they are approached by firefighter/office assistant, Kylie Estevez.

"Stella, Chief needs to see you in his office".

"Thanks, Kylie".

She nods, and returns to the bullpen.

"Wonder what Boden wants".

Severide responds to her, "I'm sure it's nothing".

He heads over to Squad 3's table, while she heads over to Boden's office.

She's walking down the hallway, heading towards the bullpen, she sees battalion Chief, Wallace Boden, exiting his office, and walks toward him.

"Chief".

"Stella, I….."

Suddenly, the alarm goes off, calling for all units to a fire.

"We'll discuss this later".

They head out to the apparatus floor, everyone heads to their trucks, getting their fire gear on.

Boden shouts out, "All right, everyone. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go!"

The trucks exit the station, and off they go, to their destination.

Stella is in the passenger seat of Truck 81, she's deep in thought, a lot of questions flow through her mind. Her thinking is interrupted by Kylie.

"What did the chief want to talk to you about?"

"Don't know. I'll find out when we get back".

After the fire is taken care off, everyone is back at 51, unwinding, Squad 3 returns from filling up the gas tank. Severide emerges from the truck, followed by the rest of Squad 3, Joe Cruz, Harold Capp, and Tony Ferraris.

Tony is the first to speak, "Now that was a great fire".

Cruz replies, "You said it, we haven't had one like that in a while".

Capp also speaks, "It's like we can't have fires like that anymore".

In his office, Boden is going over reports, there's a knock at the door, he looks up.

"Come in".

The door is opened, in walks Kylie.

"Chief, Kidd is here".

"Send her in".

Stella and Kelly enter the office, Kylie leaves.

"Close the door".

Kelly closes the door.

"May I ask what this is about?"

"It's your ex-husband".

She interrupts Boden, "Chief, if Grant is asking for money to feed his addiction, you can tell him to just forget it".

Boden interrupts her, "Stella, Grant is dead".

This catches her off guard, she is stunned by the sudden revelation.

"What?"

"I'm sorry".

She is still stunned.

"His funeral is tomorrow, if you wish not to attend, I'll understand".

She quickly responds, "I'm gonna go". "I have to go".

"You want me to come with you?"

"Yes, please".

"Understood, I'll have someone cover both of your spots for next shift".

"Thanks, Chief".

They leave the office.

The next day, they are en route to the funeral, Severide is driving, while Stella looks out the window, lost in her thoughts, Severide breaks the silence.

"You never did tell me how you and Grant met".

"We met through a mutual friend back in Junior High, he was a aspiring musician, we quickly became friends, and a year later, we began dating".

"That fast?"

"Yup".

"Sounds like a fun time".

"There were many. But like everything in life, it turned dark".

Severide knows that he's treading in dangerous waters.

"Grant was from a broken home, Father was in and out of the picture, Mother was a basket-case, she cared more for his other siblings than him".

She pauses for a second, then resumes.

"He struggled with anxiety most of his life, and other personal issues, this led to him dabbling with drugs. My family didn't like him".

With those words, she leaves it at that.

They arrive at the service, Stella sees a lot of her former party friends from her past, some look like they're doing better, others look like they're just there for the free coffee.

"I see a lot of the old gang is here".

One of the former party friends gives Stella a look that says "You got some nerve to show up here". Another one gives her an ugly look, while yet another one looks at her in disgust, like they're in the presence of someone who's wronged them.

"You see any of Grant's family here?

"Don't know. But if they are, I doubt they'll be happy to see me".

They spot a familiar face among them.

"Isn't that your friend, Tyler"?

"Yup, it sure is".

Tyler recognizes them, and walks over.

"Stella".

"Tyler".

"I'm sorry about Grant".

"What happened?"

"Drugs. He had been struggling for some time, he just couldn't stop".

There it is, confirmation that her ex-husband had never gotten the help he needed, and that he had gone off the deep end.

"Didn't anyone tell you?"

"Excuse me".

She walks away, leaving Kelly and Tyler by themselves,

"Look, I'm sorry about whatever happened in the past".

"It's okay".

"It wasn't personal, I was just used to looking out for her".

"You mean like when her and Grant would fight?"

"Yeah. One of those times, I had to intervene".

"Really"?

"One night, I was out with some friends…"

Flashback POV:

Tyler is in the passenger seat of someone's car, he's with friends, they're out cruising, someone in the back seat is drinking a beer.

"Hey! Save some for the rest of us!"

They have a laugh. Suddenly, Tyler's cellphone starts ringing, he answers it.

"Hello?…..oh hey, Stella, what's…whoa, slow down, what's going on?….what's that noise?…..alright, hold on, we'll be right over".

He hangs up.

"What's going on?"

"It's Stella. She's in trouble".

He turns to the driver.

"Head over there".

"On it".

They arrive at the apartment complex, all of them get out of the car, and head towards the main gate.

"Over there"!

They look at a nearby staircase, someone is laying at the bottom of the stairs, they rush over there, it's Stella, she's barely conscious, hurt, bruised up, and bleeding.

"Stella"!

One of them checks her pulse.

"She's still breathing".

"Get her to the hospital"!

"What about you?"

"I'm gonna look for Grant".

End of Flashback POV

"My friends took her to the hospital, while I stayed behind and attempted to talk Grant down".

Severide is shocked, "I've never heard about this".

"This particular incident is one that Stella refuses to bring up".

"Must've been a bad situation if she never wanted to discuss it".

"Believe me, it was".

Tyler quickly turns around and sees someone, he turn back to Severide.

"Excuse me, I have to go take care of something".

He's about to walk away, but stops.

"Oh, and one more thing, there's some people in attendance here that Stella won't be happy to see, just thought you should know".

He pats Kelly on the shoulder, and he walks away.

"Hmm".

Kelly is left wondering, what did Tyler mean by that?, why didn't she tell him about this particular incident?, he spots Stella by a table and joins her.

"Hey".

She doesn't seem to notice him, but her eyes are fixated on something,

"Stella"?

He looks in the same direction, and sees that she's looking at a couple, they look like they're in their late 50s to early 60s.

"What is it"?

"We should leave".

"Leave? Why"?

"We need to leave immediately".

But it's too late, the couple spots them and walk over to them, something about the couple reminds Kelly of someone, why do they look familiar to him?

The woman calls out her name, "Stella"?

"Who are they"?

She responds with, "My parents".

End of Chapter One.

(Author's Note: And that's the first chapter, what do you think? Let me know, stay tuned for the next chapter).