#girlinlotsoffandoms fics

[girlinlotsoffandoms]

day twelve - shot

notes: it's day twelve and whew febwhump is KILLING me lol

read on AO3 or below

Quiet shifts were a luxury for the dedicated men and women of Firehouse 51. Quiet shifts during a particularly harsh Chicago winter, however, usually meant that trouble was brewing.

As usual, 51 kept their doors open, welcoming in those who needed to warm up.

From his spot at the Squad table, Kelly noticed someone hanging around near the street. The guy looked to be in his late teens or early 20s and was not dressed appropriately to be out in single-digit temperatures. He knew most people in the area knew that the station was open to the public—they could warm up, grab a hot cup of coffee or hot chocolate, and come and go as they please. Some people didn’t know or didn’t “want the help”, but usually would change their minds with some convincing from the firefighters.

There was something about this guy though; something felt off about him and Kelly couldn’t put a finger on it.

As Kelly was staring at the guy through the bay door windows, Cruz stuck his head out of the common room and announced that there were fresh pots of coffee and hot chocolate.

Capp and Tony abandoned their Jenga game and stood from their chairs, more than ready for a fresh cup. "You coming in for a refill, Lieutenant?"

"Not yet," Kelly said, standing up from his recliner and slipping his beanie on his head. "That guy out there? He's been out there for a while. I'm gonna go see if he needs any help."

Capp and Tony both looked out and saw who Kelly was talking about. They nodded their understanding.

“I’ll be back in a minute,” Kelly stated and made his way to the door.

It was bitterly cold outside, making Kelly shiver and tuck his hands deep inside his Squad jacket pockets. He ducked his head against the wind and made his way over to where the guy was still standing. As Kelly got closer, he saw the guy was more like a kid—no more than 18 or 19.

“Hey,” Kelly called as he approached the kid. “You okay?”

“I’m fine,” the kid grumbled out, his voice agitated.

“You sure? It’s way too cold to stay out here without a thicker jacket. Do you want to come inside the station? Warm up and maybe get some coffee?”

“I said I’m fine!” the kid yelled. He turned to Kelly face to face.

Looking at the kid, Kelly realized that he wasn’t shivering like he originally thought. He was shaking, sweating heavily even though it was freezing, his eyes were wide and crazed, and his agitation was growing. He was high on something, and Kelly recognized it immediately.

“Fine my ass,” Kelly pointed out. “You’re high as a kite. What are you on?”

“NOTHING!”

“It’s not safe for you to be out in this weather, especially in this condition.” Kelly said, trying to reason with the kid. “Let’s just go inside—”

“So you can call the police?” the kid interrupted. “I don’t think so!”

Before Kelly could do anything, the kid in front of him pulled out a gun and aimed it at him.

Pain erupted in Kelly’s chest and abdomen. He felt multiple hits, almost like punches but sharper. The shooting was quick and frenzied, performed at a speed only a drug high could provide. Before Kelly could even try to fight back, the attack was over, and the kid was hurrying away down the street.

Kelly collapsed to the frozen ground, just out of sight of the station's bay doors. He felt a warm wetness spreading quickly over his body. His limbs didn't seem to want to cooperate, but he was eventually able to get his hand onto his stomach. Pulling his hand back, he saw that it was covered in blood.

Kelly was fading fast, and he knew he needed help. Slowly, as if his limbs were made of lead, Kelly tried to get his cell phone out of his pants pocket. He succeeded and even managed to get the phone unlocked and pull up Stella’s contact information but, before he could connect the call, his entire world went black. His phone fell into the snow beside him, Stella’s info still pulled up on the screen.

… … …

Inside the station, almost everyone was in the common room drinking coffee and hot chocolate. It had been about 10 minutes since Severide had gone outside and no one had noticed he hadn’t come back.

It wasn’t until Casey and Boden entered and asked where he was that some of them even knew he’d gone somewhere.

“He hasn’t come back yet?” Capp asked, setting his mug on the table.

“What do you mean ’he hasn’t come back yet’?” Casey asked. “Where’d he go?”

“He saw someone outside,” Tony explained. “He was going to go talk to them, see if he could get them to come inside and warm up.”

“He said he’d be right back.” Capp added.

“Well, he’s not in here, in his office, or at the Squad table.” Casey asked, crossing his arms. “How long ago was that?”

Capp glanced at the time on his phone. “About 10 minutes.”

At this point, everyone in the room was concerned. The temperature outside was in the single digits with a windchill in the double-digit negatives, and it had started snowing again. There was no way Severide would be outside talking with someone for 10 minutes in those conditions. But, if he wasn’t in the station, there was only one place he could be.

Stella sat her mug on the counter and pulled out her phone, immediately calling her fiancé’s number. It rang and rang, but Severide didn’t pick up. Stella looked at the group, moving her phone from her ear to dial Severide’s number again. “His phone’s on but he didn’t answer.”

“Keep calling him,” Casey said. He started zipping up his jacket. “I’m going to go look for him.”

“I’m coming with you,” Stella said.

“We are too,” Capp and Tony added, standing from their chairs.

Soon, the entire shift was zipping up their coats to go look for Severide.

Once outside the station, they all spread out to look for Severide. Stella continued calling his phone, so they were listening for the ringing along with looking for any trace of him.  

It didn’t take long, maybe a minute or two, before a panicked yell from Cruz had everyone running to the side of the station.

Stella didn’t know what she was expecting to find when she made it over, but her fiancé, unconscious in a far too large pool of blood, was not it. “Oh my god, Kelly!”

She immediately dropped to her knees, opposite Cruz, and stared in horror at Severide’s body. She could easily count 4 gunshot wounds, but there was so much blood there could’ve been more.

Immediately, she used her hands to apply pressure to two of the wounds while Cruz did the same to the others. Stella heard someone yell for Brett and Violet to grab their gear and she heard Boden yelling into his radio for dispatch to send CPD and stand them down but her only focus was Kelly.

Brett and Violet arrived and worked together to replace Stella and Cruz’s hands with pressure bandages. They got him hooked up to oxygen, IVs and monitors and loaded onto the stretcher.

From the amount of blood on the ground, everyone knew the situation was critical but the looks on Brett and Violet’s faces did absolutely nothing to calm their fears.

They had just loaded the stretcher into the ambulance when the CPD arrived.

Stella and Brett climbed into the back of the ambo with Severide while Violet hopped into the driver’s seat. Lights and sirens blaring, they rushed off to Med, leaving Boden and the rest of the team to deal with the police and try to make sense of everything.

… … …

Two gunshot wounds to the abdomen that damaged his liver, nicked his large intestine, and tore through his abdominal muscles.

One gunshot wound to his chest that punctured a lung before getting lodged in a rib.

One gunshot would towards the middle of the chest that, miraculously, missed the heart by millimeters.

Massive blood loss and hypovolemic shock, which led to cardiac arrest.

And mild hypothermia, which slowed Kelly’s heart enough to keep him from bleeding out on the scene.

There were several close calls, three blood transfusions, two chest tubes, and Kelly was in for a long recovery, but he was alive and as stable as he could be.  He was going to be OK.

That was the report Stella got from Dr. Marcel after close to seven hours of surgery.

During that excruciating wait, Stella and the rest of 51 learned from Trudy that CPD had found and arrested the kid who attacked Severide. He was an 18-year-old high school dropout with a history of drug abuse and assault (and a warrant out for his arrest), high as a kite and still covered in Severide’s blood when the police found him. He was refusing to talk, but they had more than enough evidence against him.

Kelly Severide had such a good heart. It often got him in trouble, this time though, it almost got him killed.

Stella sighed and stood from the chair beside Kelly’s hospital bed. She squeezed his hand and used her free hand to run her fingers through his hair. They’d started weaning him off the sedation a few hours ago, and Stella was desperate to see his blue eyes open again.

It seemed like Stella was going to get her wish when, after a couple of minutes, she felt him squeeze her hand. “Kelly? Can you hear me? Can you open your eyes for me?”

It took a few seconds, but eventually, Kelly opened his eyes. Stella smiled at him. "Hey."

Kelly hummed a response and it took him a little while to get his bearings and find his voice. "What happened?"

"You were shot outside of the station. By the time we found you, you'd been bleeding out in the snow for ten minutes."

"How bad?" Kelly asked quietly. 

Stella sighed. "Pretty bad. You got shot four times; Dr. Marcel had to repair some damage to your liver and intestine, your lung was punctured, and the fourth bullet came within millimeters of your heart. You lost a lot of blood and were dealing with mild hypothermia but you're going to be OK.”

"Damn," Kelly moaned. "I thought he needed help."

“I know babe.” Stella comforted. She moved a hand to his cheek. “CPD has him now, maybe this will be the thing that helps him get clean.”

Kelly nodded in agreement, but he knew Stella didn’t believe her own words. He didn’t believe them either.

A few minutes passed quietly, the couple just happy to be together, until Stella spoke again.

"You really scared the hell out of me." Stella scolded gently. "I mean it Kelly, it was close this time. You almost didn't come back from this."

“I’m sorry I scared you,” Kelly said, sincerely. “I’m not going anywhere.”

“Good. Because I’m looking forward to spending the rest of my life with you.”

Kelly smiled a tired smile. “I like the sound of that.”

Stella smiled and leaned forward to kiss him. “Me too.”

[lady-rhaesnow]

"Say goodbye"

Saying goodbye is always difficult. She had always wondered what it would feel like when the time came. She just never imagined it would feel like this.

[Upstead family fic]

Read it on AO3 and FFN

A very big thank you to @girlinlotsoffandoms for the wonderful support and loving Ella as much as I do!

[myupsteadheart]

@imjustwritingg @justmypartner @dedeenmarie @fromiftowhen @anniesardors @fank0ne

And ofc @go-to-two (because I love your one shots) and @girlinlotsoffandoms ('one hell of an amen was' 👌🏼)

Upstead fanfiction writers!

✨️ YOUR ART MATTERS! ✨️

Now even more than before! Thank you for giving us the #upsteadforever at least in your beautiful fics! 💜

[justmypartner]

Em’s Summer Reads

I was super excited about my tbr list this summer with an ambitious plan to catch up on all of the fics I’d been itching to find time to read. I wasn’t able to get through my entire list, but I wanted to share the stories I did get to because they are all WELL-WORTH raving about!! Some of them I’ve already yelled about, some of them I haven’t, either way I liked the idea of making one cohesive rec list! They’re in no particular order. I think I’ve tagged all of the authors that are on here (let me know if I’m missing anyone!!)

✐ Nothing Comes Close by @go-to-two

✐ Assumptions by @lunasdonnelly

✐ You And Me, Always by @detectiveupstead

✐ one hell of an amen by @girlinlotsoffandoms

✐ wreck my plans by orphan_account

✐ Tick, Tick…Boom by @agent-bash

✐ A Bolt From the Blue by @dedeenmarie

If you haven’t read any of these, go read them immediately!! They’re all so so good and I would say there’s a little bit of everything on this list depending on what type of story you’re looking for!! *I’m building my autumn (maybe even winter😅) tbr list rn, so feel free to drop some recs in the comments or in my inbox!!

[imjustwritingg]

✨Tag Game✨

Thanks for tagging me @carissalizz! Hope you’re feeling better pal. 💕

Tag 9 people you want to know better: @myupsteadheart @xofeno @girlinlotsoffandoms @shipcago @uptonhalsteads @stellakiidd @agent-bash and anyone else who wants to join in! 😊

Favourite Colour: purple and green

Currently Reading: Upstead fic always, also fell down the rabbit hole again with Dramione fic 😅

Last Song: Flowers by Lauren Spencer Smith

Last Series: Rewatched a bit of season 9 of Chicago PD with a friend

Last Film: Into the Forest

Currently Working On: writing, writing, writing!! 🥰

[girlinlotsoffandoms]

day fourteen - beaten

notes: so this one is just a little late lol but worry not, there will be a double post day coming up to get everything back on track

read on AO3 or below

It was dark by the time Kelly made it outside. He didn’t know how long he’d been held captive; time seemed to have been standing still since the moment he’d been thrown in that trunk. 

He stumbled further into the alley, bumping into walls and dumpsters. Kelly was a Chicago boy, born and raised. He knew his way around the city but with his brain as fuzzy as it was and his vision swimming, nothing looked familiar. Was he even in Chicago still?  

The more he walked the shakier he became. Whatever drugs they had given him earlier had flooded his body with enough adrenaline to escape but now that high was fading and fast.

With his last remaining energy, Kelly forced himself out of the alley and fell to his knees on the pavement.

“Help me,” he muttered to the concerned citizens approaching him before he keeled over, unconscious on the sidewalk.

… … …

Pain was the first thing Kelly noticed as he came too. His ribs ached, his head was throbbing, and he was dizzy even with his eyes closed. Opening his eyes felt impossible but he eventually succeeded, only to be assaulted by a wave of nausea.

In his haze of nausea and pain, it took Kelly longer than it should have to realize he was no longer in the trunk.

As the throbbing pain in his head subsided to a constant ache, Kelly was finally able to take in his surroundings. His initial realization was correct, he wasn’t in the trunk anymore. Instead, he was tied to a chair in the middle of an empty room.

Well, an almost empty room. A few feet away from him, standing around a table, were the men who attacked him in the alley.

“What the hell?” Kelly asked, finding his voice.

The main guy, whom Kelly would later learn was Thomas Campbel, stepped forward. “You’ve cost me a lot of money, a lot of business, and I don’t like that.”

“What are you talking about?”

Campbell walked over to Kelly, pulling a syringe out of his jacket pocket as he did. Kelly’s eyes locked on the syringe. The closer Campbell got, the larger Kelly’s eyes grew.

Campbell smirked and uncapped the syringe. “Don’t worry, we’ll have plenty of time together for you to figure it out and make amends.”

… … …

All concepts of time had gone out the window. Kelly had no idea what day it was or exactly how long it’d been since he was attacked in the alley.

Since initially waking up tied to that chair and drugged, Kelly had been drugged a few more times, each syringe-full seeming to be more potent than the last. He’d also been hung from the rafters by his wrists and beaten like some human pinata. His shoulders ached something fierce, along with the rest of his body, and he’d come to miss the relief he got from whatever drugs they were giving him.

Campbell was no longer there, and Kelly hadn’t seen him since the first time he woke up. He’d left his goons to “teach Kelly a lesson about sticking his nose where it didn’t belong” and so far, the message had been received.

Kelly had finally made the connection between Campbell, his kidnapping, and the drugs in the food truck. He should have known they were all connected; too much had happened in such a short timeframe for them to not be related. 

As Kelly came too from his most recent beating, he looked around and noticed he was alone. From what he knew, Campbell’s guys never left him alone. At least one or two of the men had always been there but Kelly didn’t have time to focus on that little detail. He was alone and they had, blessedly, left him on the floor instead of hanging him up again.

Kelly climbed to his feet, leaning heavily against the cement wall. His body was screaming at the change in position. Had he not been using the wall for support, Kelly would’ve fallen flat on his face. He was weak, and shaky, and the pain was overwhelming, but he tried to ignore it. This was his chance to get away and he was going to take full advantage of it. 

Slowly and painfully, Kelly made his way along the wall toward a door he’d noticed earlier. A quick scan of the warehouse led him to believe he was using an exterior wall and he hoped the door he was walking towards would lead him outside.

After what felt like hours, Kelly finally made it to the door. With newfound energy, fueled by the adrenaline now coursing through his veins, Kelly pushed the door open. 

He barely got the door open a few inches before it was yanked open the rest of the way by two of Campbell’s goons. Kelly’s eyes grew wide as he was roughly pushed back away from the door, the force of the push dropping him to the ground.

"Where do you think you're going?"

The two men entered the warehouse, closing the door tightly behind them.

One of the men kicked Kelly, landing another powerful kick to his abdomen. “You’re going to regret that little stunt.”

Kelly flew backward, coming to rest in a painful heap against the wall of the warehouse. He panted, trying to catch his breath, but nothing helped the pain, nausea, and dizziness threatening to overtake him again. 

The other man knelt down in front of Kelly, grabbing his hair roughly with one hand while the other pulled out a knife. He ran the blade of the knife down Kelly’s face. "We can’t kill you, yet, but you’re going to wish we would."

… … …

Word of Kelly’s kidnapping had spread through the CFD like wildfire so when the paramedics on Ambo 37 showed up for an unconscious patient, they easily recognized who their patient was. As they worked to stabilize Kelly and get him ready for transport, they radioed Dispatch for police officers to be sent to their location.

Once they learned Kelly Severide had been found, it didn’t take long for officers and detectives to arrive at the scene.

The majority of the officers and detectives stayed behind to process the scene and try and figure out where Kelly had been held but one patrol car did escort Ambo 37 to Med as soon as Kelly was ready to transport.

Given the condition Kelly was found in, and whatever horrors he faced while kidnapped, he remained stable the entire ride to the hospital. He even started to come too as the paramedics unloaded him from the ambulance and handed him over to the medical team.

“Severide? You with me?” Dr. Halstead asked as he helped push the gurney into a treatment room.

Kelly couldn’t respond just yet but it was clear to everyone in the room that he could hear them and was trying to wake up.

Will ordered a litany of tests, blood work, and scans. The bruises and cuts coloring Kelly’s body were ugly but didn’t seem serious. However, Will wanted to make sure no bigger issues were simmering beneath the surface. He also put a rush on the tox screen; he knew Kelly would be in pain when he was more with it but Will was hesitant to give him anything until he knew for sure what drugs he’d been given.

… … …

It had been the longest two days of Stella’s life because her fiancé, the love of her life, had been missing for 2 days after being kidnapped at the hands of vengeful drug dealers.

It had been two days of more questions than answers, two days of fear and uncertainty until finally, Stella got the call she’d desperately been waiting for: Kelly had been found.

Stella rushed to the hospital, bypassing the ER waiting room completely when she saw Maggie waiting for her behind the desk. Maggie pointed her towards the treatment bay that Kelly was in, and Stella immediately rushed in, directly to her fiancé's side. 

Kelly was sitting up in the bed, looking a little worse for wear. He was bruised, and bandaged, and he looked exhausted, but he was alive and alert. 

However bad his injuries were, whatever his recovery looked like, whatever the police’s investigation would look like… she and Kelly would handle it together and that’s all Stella cared about.

[girlinlotsoffandoms]

day five - seizure

notes: welcome to day five of febwhump 2024. This storyline got away from me a bit but this is the third and final part. Hope you enjoy!

read on AO3 or below

“He’s having a seizure!” Emily called out. She checked the time on her watch. “Someone page Dr. Abrams!”

The room was quickly bathed in chaos as more medical staff entered the room. Stella had been all but shoved aside in the nurses’ rush to get to Kelly. She knew she needed to give them room to work, room to help Kelly, but she couldn’t make herself move. Maybe it was the shock of how quickly things changed or maybe it was the paralyzing fear that this could be the last time she saw her husband alive but Stella could only stay rooted in place.

Dr. Abrams and his resident Dr.Baker, were the last to enter the room, immediately running to Severide’s side while getting an update from one of the nurses. Dr. Abrams ordered the meds to stop the seizure and soon, Severide was back to being still on the bed. Dr. Baker looked at the monitors while Dr. Abrams used his pen light to check Severide’s pupils.

“Right pupil is still blown, left is not reactive” Dr. Abrams cursed. He started working with the nurses to unhook Severide from the monitors surrounding him.

“Brain bleed?” Dr. Baker asked, helping with the monitors.

“Looks like it.” Dr. Abrams turned to one of the nurses. “Call CT and tell them we’re coming. Have an OR on standby.”

The nurse did as she was told, and Dr. Baker and the other nurses grabbed Severide’s bed and started pushing it out of the room. Stella had finally snapped out of her stupor and finally moved out of the way before the gurney could roll her over.

As she stepped into the hall, Boden put his hands on her shoulders. There was nothing anyone could say or do except watch as Kelly was taken away from them once again.

Dr. Abrams was the last to leave the ICU room, meeting the firefighters in the hall.

“What happened? He was fine and then all of a sudden he’s having a seizure?” Stella exclaimed.

Dr. Abrams sighed. “As part of his treatment plan, he’s been on diuretics to help reduce the swelling in his brain. His most recent scans showed the diuretics were working and the swelling had started to decrease. While we saw no evidence of a bleed on any of his scans, it is possible with the head trauma he received that the swelling was acting as a plug but now that the swelling has lessened, that plug was pulled and there was no longer anything keeping pressure on the bleed.”

“The seizure he experienced was most likely his body’s response to the bleed. The CT will confirm the bleed and we’ll go in surgically to correct it. We’ll take care of him,” Dr. Abrams promised before leaving the group to go to the OR.

Their heads were spinning. Before they could even get their wits about them, Emily stepped in and escorted the group out of the hallway and back to the waiting room. Before she left, she sang Dr. Abrams’ praises and promised that Kelly was in the best possible hands.

Emily’s words meant nothing to Stella at this point. She felt like she was in a never-ending nightmare and the only thing that was going to snap her out of it was Kelly, awake and on the mend.

Stella all but collapsed into the uncomfortable waiting room chairs, burying her face in her hands. Brett and Violet sat on either side of her and rubbed her back, trying desperately to give their friend any kind of comfort they could.

It was then that the remaining members of 51 made their way into the waiting room, Capp and Tony leading the charge. The smiles on their faces from whatever playful conversation they’d had in the elevator dropped when they noticed the looks on their teammates' faces. The energy in the room was so negative it was palpable and they knew something bad had happened.

“What happened?” Herrmann asked, looking from Stella to where Boden, Mouch, and Carver were standing.

Boden sighed. “Severide just had a seizure. Dr. Abrams just took him into surgery for a suspected brain bleed.”

That was not what they were expecting to hear. Severide really couldn’t catch a break.

Herrmann moved closer to Boden, the others following suit. He dropped his voice to a whisper. “He going to make it?”

“We don’t know.”

… … …

The CT had, in fact, confirmed a brain bleed and a large one at that. After nearly three hours in surgery, and one hour in recovery, Kelly Severide was moved back into his room in the Neuro ICU. Stella and the rest of 51 were still in the waiting room, hanging on every update nurse Emily was able to give them.

As the nurses took over getting Severide settled and hooked up to the IVs and monitors again, Dr. Abrams and Dr. Baker updated the group of firefighters.

“The surgery was a success.”

Dr. Abrams started. “We fixed the bleed, and I inserted a drain to take care of any additional blood or fluid that may appear as the swelling in his brain continues to decrease. We’ll continue to monitor him closely.”

“He’s stable now and, if he continues to stay that way, we’re hopeful he’ll regain consciousness as the swelling continues to lessen.” Dr. Baker added. “When he wakes up, we’ll be able to do some neurological tests.”

“Can we see him?” Stella asked. Her heart had been racing since his seizure and she needed to see, with her own eyes, that he was ok.

“Of course,” Dr. Abrams confirmed. “Visiting hours end in a few hours so I ask that you do not linger but one of you will be allowed to stay overnight.”

Everyone agreed and Dr. Abrams led them down the hall to Severide’s room.

Stella was the first one through the door and she immediately went back to her previous spot by Kelly’s bed. She grabbed his hand and held on tight. It was then she noticed the extra tubes and wires that had been added to the already impressive collection and the gauze wrapped around his head, covering his incision.

It was overwhelming and scary but there was a part of Stella that was comforted—all the monitors and bandages proved that Kelly was still with her, still fighting to come back to her.

The others let Stella have a moment alone with her husband before they started their round of visits. They went in groups of two or three, so they wouldn’t overwhelm Stella, but they all wanted to see with their own eyes that Severide was still with them.

Boden was the last to leave a couple hours later. He gave Stella a hug and told her to keep him updated. His parting words were the same as everyone else’s: let him know if she needed anything.

Once everybody had left and it was just Stella in the room with Kelly, the adrenaline from the day, the fear, the anxiety, it all came crashing down. It had been a long, emotional day and Stella was running on fumes. She crashed, and though she tried to fight it, she couldn’t stay awake much longer. She fell asleep with her head resting on Kelly’s bed, her hand wrapped tightly in his

… … …

Stella didn’t know what woke her up at first. The monitors were still beeping steadily and everything was quiet, it seemed as though nothing had changed. It wasn’t until she woke up more and the brain fog cleared that she realized what woke her up; Kelly’s hand was moving! Her first initial thought was another seizure, but after that fear subsided, she realized Kelly’s eyelids were fluttering. Excitement ignited in her bones, driving out the last bits of exhaustion.

Stella stood up and leaned over him. “Kelly, are you with me? If you can hear me squeeze my hand.”

It took a minute and some concentrated effort from the man on the bed but eventually Stella felt a small squeeze on the hand holding Kelly’s.

Stella’s eyes lit up and she smiled her first real smile in hours. She used her free hand to hit the call button before placing it on Kelly’s cheek. She tried to coax Kelly into opening his eyes but he hadn’t quite managed it by the time Emily and Dr. Abrams entered his room. “He’s waking up!”

Dr. Abrams jumped right into examining Kelly. He was pleased to find both pupils equal and responsive and Kelly was responding well to stimuli. There was more prompting for Kelly to open his eyes, this time from Dr. Abrams, and after what felt like a lifetime, Kelly Severide’s eyes opened.

Stella had always loved Kelly’s eyes and finally getting to see them again after so much fear and heartache brought tears to hers. She stepped closer and, sensing her presence, Kelly moved his eyes to look at her.

“Stella,” Kelly’s voice was rough but it was the most beautiful thing Stella had ever heard.

“Hey,” Stella gave him a watery smile. “How are you feeling?”

“Like I got hit by a truck.”

Stella snorted, because he wasn’t wrong. “Fair.”

“Lieutenant Severide, welcome back,” Dr. Abrams stated, drawing Kelly’s attention to him. The doctor asked him some questions to check his memory and awareness and ran him through the gambit of neuro checks.

Dr. Abrams was pleased with everything he’d seen so far but he wanted another round of scans. Emily and a few other nurses began unhooking Kelly from all his monitors and lines to take him down for updated scans.

Dr. Abrams pulled Stella aside. “All things considered, he looks good. We’ll know more from the new scans but I’m not finding any deficits or causes for concern. As the anesthesia continues to wear off, we’ll focus on controlling his pain and starting him on some PT to get him up and moving.”

“So he’s going to be okay?” Stella asked. “He’ll make a full recovery and get back to firefighting?”

“I don’t believe in giving false hope, but I do believe he’s got a very good chance. Recovery will be exhausting and have it’s challenges for both of you but I’m optimistic.”

Stella sighed in relief. “Thank you, Dr. Abrams.”

“The scans will take an hour or so. We’ll bring him back when he’s finished.”

Stella nodded and watched the doctor as he followed behind Kelly and the nurses. Once the elevator doors had closed behind them, Stella made her way back into Kelly’s room with a pep in her step despite the late hour. She grabbed her phone and pulled up the 51 group chat. She knew they’d likely be asleep but even if they saw it hours later when they woke up for the day, it’d still be good news.

Kelly woke up! He’s going to be okay.

[girlinlotsoffandoms]

she's her daddy's girl, her momma's world ‐ chapter 42

schoolhouse rock

It's Maya's first day of school and new traditions are created.

Notes: this was supposed to be posted a little bit ago but life got busy and time got away from me. I hope you enjoy either way!

I have a plethora of story ideas I want to try and pursue so updates on here and loving you is easy might be more spread out than usual. Sorry!

If these stories pan out, I don't think you'll be disappointed though 😉

Read on A03 or below

It was an early morning for the Severide family and, for the first time in a long time, it had nothing to do with the newest member of the family. Nico was an unexpected yet welcome addition to the family but while his sleep habits at 6 months old were better than one-year-old Addie’s, the days of uninterrupted sleep were few and far between.

The early morning wake-up call couldn’t be blamed on Nico or Addie this time. It was all Maya.

No one could blame her. It was an exciting day, one she had been looking forward to all summer: the first day of school.

Kindergarten had been something Maya had been excited about since she learned about it at Pre-K. Since then, every school milestone—Pre-K graduation, Kindergarten registration, back-to-school shopping, meet the teacher—just served to make her more and more excited.

Kelly and Stella were also excited for her, but they felt bad. The transition from one kid to two the year before had been tough on everyone, especially after Addie’s dramatic entrance into the world, and it was quite the adjustment for Maya to share her parents’ attention. The transition from two to three was an entirely different monster, especially with the age gap between Addie and Nico being only 10 months.

Even though Kelly and Stella both made an extra effort to spend special one-on-one time with Maya and make the most of her summer while dealing with a 3-month-old and a one-year-old, it was still hard, and Kelly and Stella felt guilty.

Maya took everything in stride though–she was ecstatic to be a big sister now to a little sister and a little brother and she loved hanging out with her cousins and friends when her parents had to do something with the babies. That only made Kelly and Stella feel even more guilty.

With all the changes over the past few months, Kelly and Stella wanted to make Maya’s first day of kindergarten special. They called Sadie and scheduled her to come over very early that morning to watch Addie and Nico while Kelly and Stella spent time with Maya.

When Sadie arrived, armed with a small gift for Maya, she immediately took Addie from Kelly and took her into the living room to play, allowing him to head to the kitchen to pack Maya’s lunch. The previous weekend, he and Stella had taken Maya to the grocery store to get some of her favorite foods to pack in her lunches and school snacks. It wasn’t necessary because Maya ate almost anything you gave her, but they wanted her to have some of her favorite things as a little treat.

Lunch packed, Kelly checked Maya’s backpack one last time to ensure everything she’d need for the day was inside.

Assured that everything was packed and ready for Maya to take to school, Kelly left Maya's backpack and lunch box on the table by the front door and then headed upstairs to join Stella and Maya. He was surprised to find the 5-year-old still in her pajamas and standing in front of Stella and the two outfits she was holding. Just last night Maya had given them a little fashion show of all of her new back-to-school outfits and she proudly declared she’d already picked what outfit she was going to wear for the first day.

“How are we doing in here?” Kelly asked as he walked into Maya’s room.

Maya whirled around to look at him. “Daddy! Come help!"

Kelly smirked and walked further into the room, coming to a stop between Stella and Maya. “What am I helping with?”

“Which outfit?” Maya asked, pointing at the clothes Stella was holding.

Both outfits were cute in his opinion, and he didn’t see a huge difference between the two, but he was certain that answer was not what his daughter wanted to hear. So he picked one which turned out to be the wrong one, based on his child's sigh and his wife's groan.

It took a few minutes, but Maya finally decided on the outfit she wanted to wear for her first day. She ended up choosing the shirt and shoes from one outfit and the shorts from the other and Kelly just wondered when his little girl became so opinionated.

Once Maya was dressed and Stella had finished fixing her hair, Kelly and Stella got her ready for some pictures. They posed her by the front door and snapped a few pictures of her with a First Day of Kindergarten sign and without. Sadie even took a few pictures of the three of them together and one of Maya and her siblings before it was time to leave.

With Maya being their firstborn, all of the new Severide family traditions started with her. With their crazy work schedules and dangerous jobs, it was a given that Kelly or Stella or both would miss out on important milestones and moments in their children’s lives. Because of that misfortune, they were keen on celebrating every milestone they were there for.

Maya’s first day of school was one of those milestones.

After pictures were taken and goodbyes were said, Kelly, Stella, and Maya loaded into the car and headed out. Their first stop of the day was breakfast and they let Maya pick the place. She chose her favorite diner, one the Severide family had frequented over the years.

Breakfast brought excited conversation about the day ahead and with Addie and Nico at home, it gave Kelly and Stella some much-needed alone time with Maya. The excitement and joy were clear on the little girl’s face and while most of it stemmed from the anticipation around her first day of school, the sparkle in her bright, blue eyes told Kelly and Stella that this time with just them played a part too.

After breakfast, it was finally time for school. Maya was vibrating with excitement on the short drive and Kelly and Stella were barely able to keep up with her on the walk to her classroom. They stayed with Maya while she put her stuff in her cubby and found her seat.

Maya’s teacher, Ms. Hollis, had a ‘first day of school’ photo area set up and all of the kids wanted to take pictures with their friends or the loved ones that came with them. Maya pulled her parents over to the photo booth as soon as it was free and the three of them took several pictures together, with and without the photo booth props that had been provided.

When the pictures were finished it was clear that the time was coming for the families to leave – Ms. Hollis and her student teacher were settling kids into their seats and getting them started on a worksheet. Kelly and Stella walked Maya to her seat, they each gave her a big hug goodbye and headed out.

If they noticed the tears in each other’s eyes on the walk back to the car, they didn’t say anything. Kelly just wrapped an arm around Stella’s shoulders, she wrapped an arm around his waist, and they hugged each other close.

... ... ...

The next six hours were long.

Addie and Nico provided more than enough distraction, and the pictures they received sporadically throughout the day from Maya’s teacher were reassuring, but Kelly and Stella were still counting down the hours until pick-up time.

Thankfully, Sadie was able to come back to watch Addie and Nico so as soon as she showed up, Kelly and Stella headed back to the school to pick up their girl.

… ... ...

Kelly and Stella barely made it through the door of the classroom before Maya was wrapping her arms around them with the biggest smile on her face. She grabbed their hands and pulled them over to her table where everything she’d done that day was laid out.

Maya proudly showed them the work she’d done that day before launching into a (surprisingly detailed) play-by-play of the day.

As they left the school for a celebratory ice cream, Maya continued to talk about the day, all of the friends she made, how happy she was to play with Ella at recess and see Otis in the cafeteria, and most importantly, how excited she was to go back to school the next day.

As Kelly and Stella listened, any residual nerves Kelly and Stella had about Maya starting school went out the window. It was clear Maya already loved school and, whether Addie and Nico shared her excitement when it was their turn for school or not, they hoped their newfound back-to-school traditions would be a treasured experience for years to come.

[girlinlotsoffandoms]

loving you is easy - f is for family

Summary: L-O-V-E is easy as A, B,C...especially if you're stellaride

aka 26 chapters of Kelly and Stella loving each other, A to Z

Notes: Hi friends! Happy Thanksgiving! I had something different planned for this chapter, even had it fully outlined, but I couldn't get it to work out the way I wanted to. Motivation to write anything has been non-existent and right when it comes back, I get sick and slammed at work. Go figure.

Anyways, I wanted to post something and while this isn't as long as the updates I normally post, I hope you enjoy it all the same!

Read on AO3

[girlinlotsoffandoms]

day sixteen - impaled

notes: after an unintentional break - we back baby!

there will either be a few days of double posts OR this will be extended a little into March, still trying to figure that out

read on AO3 or below

Dust was still settling when Kelly could finally force his eyes open. Through the pressure in his head and the pain that skyrocketed as the light hit his eyes, he managed to stay conscious long enough to try and get his bearings. Over the high-pitched ringing in his ears, Kelly heard shifting concrete and the groaning of damaged, overtaxed steel around him.

He couldn’t remember where he was or what happened.

His limbs felt heavy, like they were weighed down by cinderblocks, and it felt like an elephant was sitting on his chest.

As the fog in his brain started to clear and the ringing in his ears started to quiet, Kelly could hear the chirping of his radio. Garbled voices were calling his name, asking for a status report and begging just to hear his voice.

Carefully looking around, Kelly spotted his radio on the ground next to him, just out of reach from where he laid. He made a move to reach for it but was stopped in his tracks by a blinding pain in his abdomen. He yelled out in pain, tears flooding his eyes at the overwhelming pain threatening to send him back into oblivion.

Kelly moved a shaky hand to his stomach, only to immediately encounter wetness. Pulling his hand away, it was impossible to miss the bright red blood coating his hand. He hadn’t noticed the blood before and, lying on his back, he couldn’t see exactly where it was coming from or what had caused it.

Gathering all the strength he could, Kelly lifted his head to look down at the rest of his body. It took him a minute but he finally found the source of the blood. His eyes widened and his stomach churned at the sight of a piece of rebar sticking out of him. 

Kelly tried to say something but he choked on the words. 

He was losing his hold on consciousness and the last thing he heard before the blackness took over was the chirping of his PASS device.

… … …

“Severide, do you copy?” Boden had a white-knuckle grip on his radio, waiting desperately for Kelly to respond. He never got one. “Truck, Squad, what’s your status?”

The call had gone to hell quickly. The firehouse had been called out to an explosion at a parking garage. One corner of the structure had collapsed completely, sending steel, concrete, glass, and metal onto the street. Another section had severe structural damage and looked close to collapsing, and there were multiple small fires. It looked like a bomb had gone off.

Fifty-one was the first house on the scene so they took charge. Herrmann and his Engine crew handled the fires while Squad and Truck headed into the structure to look for victims.

But then, there was another explosion and another partial collapse and everyone checked in with Boden to assure their Chief they were okay—everyone but Severide.

With additional rescue units arriving on the scene to aid with the evacuation, Boden directed the members of his house to find Severide.

“Almost to Severide, Chief!“ Cruz called over the radio. He, Capp, and Tony had been the closest to Severide’s last known location when the second explosion happened so thankfully, they had a good idea of where he could be.

“We’re still making our way over,” Casey radioed. “Second level has a lot of damage.”  

“Be careful.”

… … …

It was less than 7 minutes between the second explosion and when Squad found Kelly. After the rumbling and shifting and creaking in the aftermath of the explosion had quieted and Kelly was the only one who didn’t check in when Boden called over the radio, Cruz, Capp, and Tony had immediately made their way over to where they knew their Lieutenant had been.

They faintly heard what sounded like a scream, but with all the destruction around them, it could have easily been the groan of overtaxed metal. They realized they were wrong when just seconds later the all too familiar, haunting sound of a PASS device could be heard amongst the destruction around them. 

Following the sound, they rushed to the far corner of the garage. There they found Kelly surrounded by chunks of metal and concrete and, most alarming, a growing pool of blood.

The reason for the blood was obvious and the sight made all three men’s stomachs churn. Cruz bent to check Kelly’s pulse while Capp and Tony checked to ensure it’d be safe for paramedics.

“Chief, we found Severide!” Cruz called over the radio. “Second level, southwest corner. We need paramedics!”

“What are we looking at Cruz?”

“Penetrating trauma - he’s got about a foot of rebar sticking out of his abdomen.” 

The radio was silent for a moment as Cruz’s words sunk in. Boden’s voice was gruff when he came back on the radio. “Paramedics are heading in.”

… … …

Once Brett and Violet made it to Kelly, they made quick work of securing the rebar to keep it stable and getting Kelly on the backboard. They were quick but careful in getting Kelly out of the garage, into the ambulance, and on the way to Med. Stella barely had time to climb in the back with Kelly before they were speeding off to Med.

Boden must have called ahead because Dr. Choi and Dr. Marcel were ready for Kelly as soon as Ambo 61 pulled into the ambulance bay. The doctors whisked Kelly away and he was in surgery before the rest of the firehouse arrived. 

Surgery lasted for nearly five hours, stretching the station’s long day into an even longer day. Stella and Casey had taken turns pacing the waiting room and Stella was about to start her next round of pacing when the doors to the waiting room opened and Dr. Marcel entered. Everyone jumped to their feet.

“How is he?” Stella asked.

“In recovery and doing well,” Dr. Marcel said with a small smile. “We had to remove a small portion of his small intestines and we have him on broad-spectrum antibiotics to try and ward off any infections but he should make a full recovery.”

[girlinlotsoffandoms]

loving you is easy - d is for distance

Summary: L-O-V-E is easy as A, B, C....especially if you're stellaride

aka 26 chapters of Kelly and Stella loving each other, A to Z

Notes: back again with another chapter and this one is from an AU I started working on a long time ago after I saw TK in the movie Zero Dark Thirty.

IDK when/if I'll ever get around to finishing and posting the whole story, but hopefully you guys enjoy this little sneak peek.

Read on AO3

[girlinlotsoffandoms]

loving you is easy - e is for elope

Summary: L-O-V-E is easy as A, B, C....especially if you're stellaride

aka 26 chapters of Kelly and Stella loving each other, A to Z

Notes: hi friends! Long time no see (my bad). I had something different planned for E but I watched 10x21 again and this idea popped in my head and would not be ignored. Hope you enjoy!

Read on AO3

[girlinlotsoffandoms]

day thirteen - kidnapped

notes: day 13 and what do you know… another to be continued

read on AO3 or below

He should’ve known better.

Between finding the barrel of drugs and the warning from the scrap yard hanging over him, Kelly should’ve known better than to blindly run towards someone claiming to need help.

Stupid, stupid, stupid.

The word echoed through his mind with each hit and kick from his attackers. Kelly held his own for an admirable amount of time, getting in a few good hits even after he was grabbed and held from behind, but he was outnumbered.

One well-placed hit to the ribs took all the fight out of Kelly as he felt something snap and give way. Kelly groaned and doubled over, allowing the goon holding him to throw him to the ground. His head smacked against the pavement. Through the ringing in his ears, Kelly heard the five words that made his blood run cold.

“Throw him in the trunk.”

Before Kelly even knew what was happening, he was being grabbed and roughly thrown into the trunk of the SUV. His head collided with the frame and Kelly lost his hold on consciousness.

As the SUV sped away, the only evidence that anything had happened in that alley was the skid marks on the road, a few drops of blood, and Kelly’s cracked phone.

… … …

When Cruz walked out of the station, the last thing he was expecting to see was Severide’s car still there. The older man had been one of the first to leave when shift wrapped even though Stella and the rest of Truck hadn’t made it back from their last call. Granted, things between the two lieutenants were a little rocky right now, but they still usually always came in and went home together.

Cruz didn’t seem too concerned until he got closer and saw that Severide’s bag was in the passenger seat and the driver side door was open but Severide was nowhere to be found.

Cruz looked around, trying to find his Lieutenant but couldn’t see him anywhere. He did find Capp and Tony walking down the apron, Ritter and Herrmann just feet behind them.

“You guys seen Severide?”

“I thought he left already?” Capp asked. Cruz gestured to the parked car. “Guess not.”

Before they could say anything else, the sound of squealing tires distracted them. They turned to the street just in time to see a large black SUV peeling out of a nearby alleyway.

It wasn’t overtly suspicious at first—Chicago had some crazy drivers—but then the SUV pulled out into oncoming traffic, nearly causing an accident, and they all took notice. Cruz, Capp, Tony, Herrmann, and Ritter all hurried toward the alley to check on the car that had swerved to avoid the SUV.

The driver was shaken up and angry, but overall fine. As the driver drove off, Cruz and the others turned back to head back to the station and their own cars but something caught Ritter’s eye as they passed the alley.

“Guys, hold up,” Ritter said, moving into the alley. He stopped just a foot or two away from the cracked phone lying unaccompanied on the pavement.

Cruz saw the phone and a pit started growing in the pit of his stomach. Severide’s empty car, the man in question nowhere to be found, a suspicious SUV fleeing an alley, and a cracked iPhone…the pieces were adding up and Cruz didn’t like it. Pulling out his own phone, Cruz dialed Severide’s number. His fears were confirmed when the phone on the ground lit up, Cruz’s contact information visible through the cracks on the screen. “We need to get Boden.”

“Wait, is that blood?” Ritter asked, pointing at the spots of red near the phone.

Tension filled the alley as the four other men realized Ritter was right.

“Call CPD, I think Severide’s been kidnapped.”

… … …

Things happened very quickly after that.

Boden arrived at the entrance to the alley just moments before the first patrol car pulled up. After looking at the scene in the alley and getting initial statements, they called in reinforcements.

Soon the street was flooded with police cars. Officers were securing the scenes (the alley and Severide’s car), a few officers were getting more detailed statements from Cruz and the others, and a few other officers were pulling camera footage from the firehouse and nearby cameras.

With help from the timeframe Cruz and the others were able to give PD, they were able to find Severide on the cameras. There was no sound, so they couldn’t hear what was said, but they watched as Severide took off running behind the clearly panicked man that had approached him. One of the patrol officers pulled up another camera’s footage and was able to find Severide running into the alley, right into the proverbial lion’s den.

“Son of a bitch,” Cruz cursed. “He set Severide up!”

The group watched in shocked silence as the attack on Severide began. With every hit, kick, and punch on screen the men winced; it was a brutal thing to watch but it happening to someone they knew made it even worse.

Their stomachs dropped as they saw Severide drop to the ground and they watched, horrified, as he was picked up and thrown into the truck of the SUV. Their fears had been confirmed.

The officer watching the footage recognized one of the men in the alley and he made the call to request detectives from Narcotics. This was no longer a simple kidnapping.

It was something way bigger.

… … …

“Stella, there’s been an incident.”

Stella shared a look with Mouch in the front seat of 81. There was something in Boden’s usually gruff voice that made Stella uneasy.

Something was wrong. She could feel it.

“What’s going on Chief?”

Stella clutched her radio in her hand, anxiously waiting for Boden’s response. Dread started building in her stomach and her thoughts were racing, each scenario worse than the last.

Mason and Gallo, from their seats in the rear, leaned forward. Everyone in the truck was concerned and wanted to know what happened.

No one expected what Boden said next.

“Severide’s been abducted. You need to get back to 51.”

[girlinlotsoffandoms]

she's her daddy's girl, her momma's world - chapter 41

gather 'round the campfire

Maya goes to summer camp and has the summer of her life.

Read on AO3 or below

A large ‘WELCOME PARENTS’ sign, hand painted and decorated with stickers and doodles, was hung from the trees on either side of the entrance. Other handmade signs and crafts lined the entirety of the driveway, bringing a smile to Kelly and Stella’s face as they got a small peek into some of what Maya had been up to the past few weeks.

It had been a busy summer for Maya. Once schools in Chicago broke for the summer, the Severides headed to the beach for a family vacation before the summer plans and summer camps started. After a few days of fun in the sun and a very long road trip, it was time to pack Maya up for her first camp of the summer—Girl Scout camp.

Girl Scout camp in previous years had just been a week-long day camp since Maya was still young but now that she was 10, she was old enough for the sleepaway part of camp. The little girl was excited, but Kelly and Stella were nervous. Maya had been away from home and her parents before but had always been close by or with friends and family. This time, she’d be three hours away with just her troop and chaperones.

It’s not because Stella didn’t trust Maya or the carefully chosen chaperones to join them at camp, because they did. It was more the idea that their firstborn child was old enough for sleepaway camp. Maya had always been independent and had no fears or hesitation about being away from her family for a full week, even at 10 years old.

It was a fact that made Kelly and Stella sad—and proud. So, they agreed Maya could go to Girl Scout camp.

They packed Maya up, loaded the entire family into the car, and hit the road in early June to drop Maya off at camp.

Addie and Nico gave their sister a short hug goodbye, too distracted by their surroundings (and too young to understand that they wouldn’t see Maya for a full week) to make it a long, drawn-out thing. Kelly and Stella held on longer, letting go only when Maya had to leave for her first activity. They said goodbye one last time and told Maya she could come home at any time, she just had to call.

Maya never called. Not that Kelly and Stella expected her to.

Between hiking, swimming, skill-building, arts and crafts, campfires, and smores, Maya didn’t have time to miss her family. She was making friends, earning badges, and having fun. All of the activities they’d done during the week had been a good distraction for Maya but when her parents came to pick her up on the last day of camp, and she got to hug them for the first time in 7 days, the little girl realized she had missed her family.

On the drive back home Maya chatted Kelly and Stella’s ears off, filling them in on everything she’d done that week. She walked them through all of her new badges, what they meant, and what she had to do to get each one. She talked about the crafts she made (most of which were packed safely in her suitcase to display at home) and how much she loved eating the hot dogs and smores they roasted over the fire.

Kelly and Stella smiled the entire way home–not only were they ecstatic that Maya was back with them, but they were happy she’d had such a great experience for her first sleepaway camp experience.

Were they a little hurt that Maya didn’t seem to miss them at all? A little, but if they were honest with themselves, they weren’t expecting her to.

Kelly and Stella weren’t the only ones excited to have Maya back, as evident by the way Addie and Nico all but tackled her in the front yard as soon as she got out of the car. For as much as the 5- and 4-year-old played the part of annoying little siblings well, Maya did miss them while she was gone.

When they all got in the house, Maya launched into retelling her camp adventures for Sadie, Addie, and Nico while Stella and Kelly ordered dinner. Maya gave Addie and Nico the bracelets she’d made for them during arts and crafts, showed off her impressive collection of friendship bracelets from the week, and after hours of begging, Maya agreed to teach them how to make their own.

The trip to the craft store came a few days later after bags had been unpacked and everyone had gotten some much-needed rest.

There wasn’t much time to rest for Maya though.

After she returned from Girl Scout camp, she had a few days to rest before she dove back into activities. The City of Chicago hosted day camps for kids of all ages throughout the summer. Nico was still too young to go to any, and Addie was very limited on the ones she could attend but Maya? She had over a dozen camps to choose from and since city employees/first responder kids got in with a steep discount, Kelly and Stella let her go to as many as the Severide family schedule allowed.

Since the start of the World Cup spurred Maya’s newest obsession with the sport, soccer camp was the first. Maya liked soccer but was not a fan of all the running so week two of soccer camp had her trying her hand at goalie. She liked that position a lot better but ultimately decided she liked watching soccer more than playing soccer.

Golf camp came next, thanks to the influence of an invite from Ella Halstead. Ella lasted the entire week while Maya called it quits after a few days.

“Golf is SO boring mama,” Maya groaned from the backseat. “I don’t know how Ella and Uncle Jay think it’s fun.”

Stella laughed. “I don’t like it either baby, but you don’t have to do or like something just because Ella does. I know you’re best friends but that doesn’t mean you have to like the same things.”

Maya nodded. “Good, cause I don’t like golf.”

Maya spent the rest of the week at home with her siblings until the next camp started. This one was way more her speed—Camp Boots and Badges.

Much to Stella’s joy, the CFD was using Girls on Fire as an example for one of the city’s summer camps. Between a toned-down Girls on Fire and the CPD’s Junior Police program, a two-week first responder camp was created for those kids interested in becoming police officers or firefighters.

More than sixty percent of the campers were the children of first responders and for its first year, Camp Boots and Badges was a roaring success. The first few days the kids learned about police officers, got to take a tour of the 21st precinct, and even got to sit in and look inside a real cop car. The last few days of camp were spent educating the kids on firefighters. They toured a fire station, got to see all the engines and Squad trucks, ran through training drills, and got to try on some of the turnouts and equipment.

Every other camp paled in comparison to Maya after that.

That was until just after the Fourth of July when Kelly and Stella received the call that rocked Maya’s world. For months, Maya had been on the waiting list for Camp Walden, a sleepaway camp across the border in Wisconsin. It was supposed to be her first sleepaway camp experience, but she got waitlisted after all the spots for her age filled up. She had fun at Girl Scout camp but had been crossing her fingers all summer that she’d get to go to Camp Walden.

Her entire obsession with sleepaway summer camp started after she watched a movie with Sadie over winter break and she’d been begging her parents to let her go ever since. Kelly and Stella were cautious and did a lot of research, even convincing the Halsteads to do a few background checks, before deciding on Camp Walden. They made the call within hours of registration opening but by then all the spots for Maya’s age group had been filled.

Maya was disappointed, but she was at the top of the waiting list and there was still a chance a spot would open up for her. As summer began, however, and the start of camp drew closer the chances of Maya getting into Camp Walden seemed slim.

Until they weren’t.

It was a short turnaround between getting the call and dropping Maya off at camp, just a few days to pack everything up and make the drive up north, but they made it work.

Maya was practically vibrating with excitement the entire drive and squealed as they turned onto the camp driveway. Kelly and Stella smiled at her excitement, déjà vu from earlier in the summer washing over them.

Girl Scout camp had been good practice for Maya and good practice for her parents, but Kelly and Stella were still nervous. Girl Scout camp was only a week-long…. Maya would be at Camp Walden for a month. At this point, they weren’t at all worried about how Maya would handle it; they were more concerned about how they would handle being away from her. Kelly and Stella knew Maya would be safe and having fun, and Addie and Nico would keep them plenty busy, but they would miss her. Four weeks in a different state was a lot for any kid, even crazy independent 10-year-olds.

Before they even finished getting Maya unpacked and settled into her bunk the little girl had already made friends with a few of the other girls. Kelly and Stella managed to pull her away for a goodbye hug before leaving her in the capable hands of the counselors and camp staff.

Over the next four weeks, Kelly and Stella received updates on how Maya was doing and lots and lots of pictures—pictures of Maya horseback riding and learning archery, pictures of her doing arts and crafts and laughing with her friends during meal time, pictures of her swimming, playing sports and games, performing in the talent show, and having the time of her life. They even received a few handwritten letters from Maya and some hand-drawn pictures.

The updates helped relieve any residual nerves Kelly and Stella had about Maya being so far away from home and now, as they parked outside of Maya’s cabin, they were more than ready to get their girl back.

The Maya that ran out of the cabin to greet them seemed like a different kid—her curly hair looked longer, despite being in French braids, and it appeared like she had grown an inch or two—but when she wrapped her arms around them, Kelly and Stella knew she was the same Maya they dropped off all those weeks ago.

Packing the car took three times longer than unpacking did because Maya kept getting called away to say goodbye to the friends she made but it wasn’t too long before they were on the road back to Chicago.

Despite her obvious exhaustion, Maya stayed awake the entire ride home, filling the drive with story after story of her days at Camp Walden. More than once Maya told them this summer had been the best summer ever and more than once, Maya thanked them for letting her go to as many camps as she did.

It made Kelly and Stella’s hearts soar. As nervous as they had been to send Maya off on her own to camp, and despite how they and her siblings missed her while she was gone, it was clear that camp had been a great experience for her.

[girlinlotsoffandoms]

she's her daddy's girl, her momma's world - chapter 38

Easter time is here

it's Maya's first Easter!

shoutout to @backyard-shenanigans1 for the prompt!

Read on AO3 or below

“OK, I think that’s everything,” Stella said as she placed Maya’s stuffed diaper bag with the plethora of other stuff near the front door. “We should be good to go!”

Kelly checked from his spot in the kitchen. His attention was fully on finishing feeding Maya, the six-month-old just having started experimenting with eating solids, but he spared a playful look towards Stella. “I hope so. I don’t think there’s anything else in the loft you could pack.”

Stella rolled her eyes and went back to checking each of the bags.

“Stel, seriously, we’re not even going to be gone for a full weekend. I promise we have everything we need.”

Stella sighed but left the bags alone. She made her way over to the kitchen and leaned against the counter. “What if we forgot something?”

“We’re going to my mom’s house, just a few hours away. If we did forget something, we could easily run to the store and grab it.” Kelly soothed, walking over to stand behind Stella. He put his hands on Stella’s shoulders and started massaging gently. “Relax honey.”

“It’s Maya’s first Easter, I just want it to be perfect.” Stella moaned, leaning back against Kelly.

Stella had never been incredibly sentimental, even for Maya’s first few holidays, but then she got RSV and had to be hospitalized and it freaked Kelly and Stella out far more than they were willing to admit. They weren’t close to losing Maya, something both of her parents knew and were thankful for, but it was a wake-up call for them. Now, Stella was bound and determined to enjoy every day with Maya and celebrate all the holidays and milestones even if Maya wasn’t old enough to remember them.

Kelly was just along for the ride, there to love his girls and keep Stella grounded when the stress of all the “special moments” got to be too much. Times like now. He wrapped his arms around Stella’s waist and hugged her close, placing a kiss on her temple. “We’re going to have a nice weekend together as a family and Maya is going to have as much fun as her little six-month-old body can handle. All of that is going to make this weekend perfect.”

Stella hummed and turned around to face Kelly, wrapping her arms around his neck. “All these years and you still know just what to say.”

Kelly smiled but before he could respond there was a screech from the kitchen and the messy baby currently trapped in her high chair and wanting attention. The parents chuckled and broke away from each other.  

“Do you want to get the yogurt monster cleaned up or pack the car?” Kelly asked playfully, eyebrow raised.

Stella laughed. “I’ll take Maya.”

Kelly nodded, gave Stella one last kiss, and moved away to start loading all of their bags into the car. Stella made her way over to Maya and groaned, noticing the baby had somehow gotten yogurt all over her face and in her hair despite being clean when Kelly fed her.

“How’d you get so messy, huh?” Stella asked, grabbing some wipes to try and clean Maya off.

The only response Stella got in return was a smile, a giggle, and more yogurt.

… … …

The Severides were on the road an hour later than planned, thanks to the needed but unplanned bath Maya needed, but it was still early enough that the roads were surprisingly clear. Thanks to her early morning wake-up, Maya slept for most of the car ride, allowing her parents a few quiet hours to talk.  

They made great time and arrived at Jennifer’s house with plenty of time for Jennifer to love on Maya before the baby went down for her nap. Kelly and Stella talked with Jennifer over lunch and when Maya woke up the real fun began.

A giant spring festival with music, games, Easter bunny pictures, and Easter egg hunts was happening in the city square. Even though Maya wouldn’t be able to participate in too many things, the family decided to go. The weather was perfect and some time outside would do them all some good.  

It was a very child-friendly festival and had activities and egg hunts for kids of all ages, even infants. Maya loved getting to play with other babies her age, looking at the animals at the small petting zoo, tasting the tiny bits of food her parents would share with her, everything….except the Easter bunny. She hated the Easter bunny and every single picture Kelly, Stella, and Jennifer got of their meeting had Maya giving the poor guy the meanest stare she could manage.

Jennifer tsked playfully at Kelly as she looked at the pictures they got. “She definitely got that look from you.”

Stella cackled and soon Kelly joined in. He couldn’t argue—Maya might look like Stella, but she inherited his facial expressions.

Maya started losing steam after a few hours. The family headed back to Jennifer’s so Maya could nap and they could all rest up for the next day’s activities. It was going to be a long day, complete with the long drive back to Chicago, and they all needed to rest.

… … …

Easter morning dawned bright and early with Maya waking up just as the sun was peaking over the horizon. Kelly brought her into bed so Stella could feed her. When she was done, Stella laid Maya in between her and Kelly, hoping the little girl would fall back asleep for a little while longer.

Unfortunately for her tired parents, Maya found playing with her feet and giggling at her mommy and daddy to be way more entertaining.

The little family of three spent a few lazy, peaceful hours in bed before they could no longer ignore the need to get up for the day (and the need for coffee). They met Jennifer in the kitchen and the three adults worked together to make breakfast, Maya being passed between them for cuddles and attention.

They had a few minutes after finishing breakfast before they needed to get ready for church. As Kelly, Stella, and Maya relaxed on the couches in the living room, Jennifer slipped into her room before returning a few seconds later with a large, pink basket in her hands and a huge smile on her face.

“Maya’s Easter basket,” Jennifer answered as if it was the most obvious thing. She laid a blanket out on the floor before moving the basket and setting it up on the ground.

“What’s all that?” Kelly asked as he watched his mom sit the basket down on the coffee table. It was a BIG basket, overflowing with toys, snacks, books, and clothes, with more that Kelly couldn’t see.

Stella, who had Maya on her lap, sat the baby on the blanket in front of the basket. Everyone laughed when they saw Maya’s eyes widen at the sight in front of her and her chubby little hands immediately started reaching for all the contents inside.

Kelly shook his head with playful disbelief. “Mom, she’s six months old…. That basket is three times her size!”

“It’s her first Easter, Kelly,” Jennifer declared, glaring at her son before turning her attention back to her granddaughter. “She deserves a special Easter basket.”

Kelly scoffed but didn’t say anything else, just sipped his coffee and watched the scene in front of him. He knew better than to try and talk his mom out of spoiling his daughter—she’d been doing it since before Maya was even born.

They all watched Maya explore her basket for a few more minutes before they had to start getting ready for the rest of the morning’s activities.

Church wasn’t really Kelly and Stella’s thing; they usually only found themselves in a church for special occasions like weddings, baptisms, and funerals. Jennifer, however, attended regularly and insisted that Kelly, Stella, and Maya join her for the Easter Sunday service while they were visiting. 

Kelly and Stella eventually agreed but it led to Stella having a minor freak out about an Easter dress for Maya. That, in turn, developed into coordinating outfits for the family. 

The sanctuary was packed, as was typical for holiday services, and Maya did surprisingly well at keeping quiet during the service.

Jennifer, ever the proud grandmother, took Maya around after church was over and introduced all of her friends to her granddaughter. Maya thrived at all the attention, smiling and giggling with every introduction.

“Thank god she never went through the ‘stranger danger’ phase.” Kelly joked as he and Stella watched from a distance, smiling at the sight of Maya. “She might’ve withered away from lack of attention.”

Stella snorted. “Stop it. Everyone loves cute babies. She just happens to be the cutest baby ever. And the happiest.”

Kelly couldn’t argue with that.

After Maya’s parade through the sanctuary, they headed out for an Easter lunch before saying goodbye to Jennifer and heading back to Chicago. The trip home wasn’t nearly as peaceful, with Maya fighting her nap and fussing the entire way home.

Even with an overtired baby crying in the backseat and a 24-hour shift waiting for them the next day, there were no regrets about the weekend—Maya’s first Easter was a success.

[girlinlotsoffandoms]

she's her daddy's girl, her momma's world - chapter 39

your shelter in the storm

2 times Maya was comforted in a storm, and 1 time she comforted someone else

Read on AO3 or below

6 months old

Kelly didn’t know what woke him up first – Maya’s cries or the booming of thunder coming from outside the cabin.

It wasn’t storming this bad when the family had gone to bed a few hours prior but the weekend seemed to be full of weather-related surprises.

Stella began to rouse as Maya’s cries continued. Kelly moved quickly, rubbing Stella’s back and whispering assurances that he would get Maya. Stella nodded, eyes still closed, and buried her head back in her pillow. 

With a chuckle, Kelly climbed out of bed and made his way over to the travel crib they’d set Maya up in for the night. The six-month-old was wide awake, face crinkled in fear, and giant alligator tears rolling down her cheeks. It was a truly pitiful sight, but damn was it adorable. 

When another clap of thunder sounded, Maya’s little body tensed and her cries intensified. Kelly quickly scooped her into his arms and cradled her against his chest, moving out of the bedroom to avoid waking Stella again.

Kelly carried Maya into the living room. It was no quieter in there but they were far enough away from Stella so she could at least get some sleep.

“It’s your first big storm baby girl,” Kelly cooed as he paced back and forth, gently bouncing and rocking the infant. “And I know it’s pretty loud and scary but that’s ok because storms never last.”

Leaning down, Kelly placed a kiss on Maya’s head. “I’m here and your mommy’s here and we will always keep you safe.”

As Kelly continued to gently rock and murmur to Maya, she started to calm down. The safety and security of being in her daddy’s arms lulled her back to sleep despite the storm still raging outside of the cabin.

3 years old

Lightning lit up the sky and thunder crashed as a Spring storm rolled through Chicago. Kelly and Stella slumbered away, completely unbothered by the flashes and booms outside their bedroom windows. 

After years of sharing bunk rooms with a dozen other people with different sleeping patterns and habits, the two firefighters could sleep through almost anything–especially when they were off shift. 

However, they had also been parents for three years now and while they could sleep through the loudest of thunderstorms, both Kelly and Stella were wide awake the second their bedroom door opened, and a small sniffle came from the other side. Kelly flipped on the light on his nightstand. In the soft yellow light, he saw Maya standing in the doorway, curls askew and eyes welled up with tears. Before he could say anything, another crack of thunder had the toddler jumping in fright.

Sitting up quickly, Kelly held his arms out. Maya immediately ran to her daddy, practically jumping into his arms and wrapping her arms around his neck. He lifted her into the bed, whispering soothing words and rubbing her back. “It’s okay. Mommy and daddy are here.”

Stella moved closer, sitting up and joining Kelly in rubbing Maya’s back. With the addition of another hand, Maya turned her head to look at her mom. Stella gave her a gentle smile and moved a few curls out of Maya’s face. “What’s wrong baby girl? Did the storm wake you up?”

“Tunder too woud,” Maya said quietly. “Scawy.”

“It is pretty loud, huh?” Kelly asked, placing a kiss on the crown of Maya’s head.

Maya nodded against Kelly’s chest. “I don wike it.” 

“I know baby,” Stella said, her hand joining Kelly’s on Maya’s back. 

“Daddy,” Maya mumbled, moving away from Kelly’s chest to look at his face. “Make it stop peas.”

Kelly chuckled. “I wish I could baby girl but it doesn’t work like that.”

Maya huffed and laid back down on her daddy’s chest. Kelly and Stella shared a look.

“Do you want to sleep with me and daddy tonight?” Stella asked, patting the mattress between her and Kelly.

Maya nodded and Kelly lifted her off his chest and laid her down in between him and Stella. Stella got the toddler situated and then pulled the blanket up to cover her.

“Do you remember what we always say about storms?” Kelly asked as he lay down.

Maya nodded. “Storms neva last.”

“That’s right,” Stella said as she joined them laying down. She started running her fingers through Maya’s hair. “Close your eyes,” Stella soothed. “Mommy and daddy are right here.”

Maya did as she was told, the soothing motion of Stella’s fingers in her hair lulling her to sleep. “Love you, mommy. Love you daddy.”

“We love you too.”

The storm continued to rage for several more hours, but Maya slept soundly with the security of her parents surrounding her.

9 years old

A sharp poke to the forehead woke Maya up, followed by another gentler poke to the cheek. 

With a groan, she moved away from the offending fingers before cracking her eyes open and sitting up. There, silhouetted by the light from the hallway filtering in through the slightly ajar door, Maya found her little siblings standing in front of her bed. She groaned again and collapsed onto her bed, pulling the covers over her head. 

“Why are you guys awake?” Maya’s voice was slightly muffled, but it still rang clear in the otherwise quiet room. 

“It’s stormin,” Addie said quietly. “Nico got scared.”

“You were scawed too!” Nico argued, voice louder than his sister’s.

Under the covers, Maya rolled her eyes at her little sister and brother. The 3 and 4-year-olds were best friends most days but man did they love to argue–especially with each other. “Shush you two! Where’s Sadie?”

“Sadie sweepin,” Nico whispered. 

“So was I,” Maya grumbled. 

From under the covers, Maya heard another clap of thunder, quickly followed by whimpers and sniffles. Peeling back the covers slightly, Maya saw the twin terrified looks her siblings have on their faces and most of the annoyance she felt at the late-night wake-up melted away. 

Despite looking almost identical, she and Addie were total opposites and Nico was just like Addie. One thing they shared, it seems, was their fear of storms. Maya had eventually outgrown hers but Addie and Nico were still too young. 

Scooching over, Maya threw back the covers and patted the bed, inviting her siblings to climb into her bed. 

Addie and Nico didn’t hesitate; they immediately climbed into Maya’s bed and settled in around her, Addie on one side and Nico on the other.

Maya pulled the covers over them and settled into her spot just as thunder sounded again. Her siblings jumped and Maya wrapped her arms around them, shushing them as she did. “It’s OK. I know storms can be pretty scary - they used to scare me too.”

“But not no mo,” Addie mumbled. “Cuz you a big kid now.”

Maya snorted as she shuffled to get comfortable. “That’s not true. I still get scared sometimes, especially when the storms get really loud. But, do you remember what daddy always says?”

“Storms neva last,” Addie and Nico said in unison.

“Exactly,” Maya said with a smile. “It might be scary now, but it won’t be like this forever. I bet it’ll be sunshiny by the time mommy and daddy get home from work.”

Addie and Nico both smiled sleepily at the thought.  Maya, seeing the opportunity, began gently running her fingers through both of her siblings’ hair. It was a tried-and-true trick that would put all the Severide children to sleep. Sure enough, all three were sound asleep within minutes.

When Sadie checked on them a few hours later and saw them all in bed together, saw Maya’s arms wrapped protectively around her siblings, her heart melted. She wasn’t the least bit ashamed of how many pictures she took of the three and sent to Stella and Kelly.

Sadie had been the Severide’s babysitter for nine years now. She’d gotten to watch Maya grow from a happy, independent baby to a fierce, strong-willed toddler to a wicked smart, sassy little girl but her favorite was watching Maya grow to be the best big sister.