Work Text:
It was a rainy morning in Chicago, Kelly had woken up early leaving a still asleep Stella in bed. It had become a habit lately, she was more tired, the nausea was keeping her awake at night so he wanted to leave her in bed as much as possible in the morning.
He was making coffee for him and breakfast for her when he found himself staring at the ultrasound on the fridge. Their beautiful baby was growing up in perfect health. He stayed like that for some minutes, lost in his thoughts, with a big smile on his face. He didn't even hear Stella coming into the room.
"I feel jealous. You don't look at me like that." Kelly turned and saw her standing near the counter, beautiful as ever.
"Morning sunshine", he smiled after kissing her.
"How are you this morning? 16 weeks today... you should start feeling better."
"Not really..." she sighed resting her head on his chest. "But I'm angry so maybe I can try to eat something."
"I'm going to get dressed, you eat." And he kissed her on the head before leaving to their bedroom.
After a few minutes he heard her running to the bathroom. "Babe, are you okay?" He asked knocking on the door.
She went out right after, looking very pale, with dark circles under her eyes.
"Your baby didn't like your breakfast. Or the smell of your breakfast. I don't even know anymore... Anyway, let's go, you can't be late Chief."
"You sure you don't want to stay home today? I could find someone..."
"No Kelly, I'm okay. Don't worry", she tried to convince him. Kelly nodded, he had learnt to trust his wife. He grabbed their bags and they headed to the Firehouse.
"Where's my cup? Has anyone seen my yellow cup? Why are things never in their place in this Firehouse" Violet asked slightly irritated.
"Capp washed the dishes yesterday, you should ask him", Hermann replied while grabbing his plate from the counter and sat next to Mouch who was busy reading the news.
"Of course, it's always Capp. And he isn't even here now, perfect." she complained annoyed.
Squad 3 were out on a call, Stella was hiding from the smell of food, Vasquez hadn't arrived yet and Novak had a shift off. Only Hermann and Mouch were at the table eating breakfast.
"I can't start the day without my cup of coffee."
Mouch and Hermann looked at each other rolling their eyes.
"Just choose another cup, I promise coffee tastes the same." Mouch pointed out adjusting the glasses on his nose.
"Men. You never understand. Fine, I'll find it myself. You're all so helpful."
She started looking everywhere, muttering incomprehensible things and clearly embittered by her friends' lack of help.
"Found it!", she shouted happily from the kitchen.
"Are you kidding me? Capp really put my cup in the highest cupboard?" She could hear Mouch and Hermann laugh at her.
"It's too high for me... can you help me guys? Mouch?"
She received no answer.
"Hermann?"
"Sorry Violet, I can't, you know... my back..."
"Thank you guys for your help. Seriously", and she left grabbing a chair. She climbed onto it hoping to be able to get the cup.
"Damn it, I still can't reach it."
"You're short"
"Thanks Hermann, is this your way to help me?"
"I'm not taller than you, this is all I can offer, emotional support."
"So funny. I'll go find a ladder then."
Stella entered the room as Violet got off the chair. She was hoping to find something to eat that wouldn't make her feel sick again.
"Oh, Stella! You've arrived at the perfect time. Would you help a friend? I need that cup for my coffee but someone put it in the wrong place. Your height would be useful."
"My height? Vi, I'm not much taller than you... but sure, come down, I'll try to get it for you", and she climbed onto the chair without hesitation.
"Got it!" Stella said looking at her friend satisfied.
Squad 3 came in just at that moment.
"Stella! What are you doing? Get off there right away!" Kelly shouted as soon as he saw his wife.
"Okay, okay. Calm down Lieutenant", she got off the chair, handed the cup to Violet and left the room without saying a word. Kelly followed her.
All the others had confused expressions, they weren't understanding what had just happened.
"So... what was that?" Violet asked raising an eyebrow.
"I don't know but it's... suspicious." Hermann said looking at Mouch and they nodded silently.
"Stella, wait." Kelly said grabbing her arm. They stopped by the rigs.
"Before you say anything, I know. Sorry. I didn't even think about it. I just... don't make a big deal out of it. I was helping Violet and..."
"You could fall." Kelly was visibly serious.
Stella got closer to him, smiling, and took his hand. She made sure no one was watching and she kissed him.
"You know you can't shut me up like that right?" He said smiling, he was definitely more relaxed.
"Babe, I think I'm still able to stand on a chair without falling." She had those puppy eyes he loved so much.
"Just... be careful please."
"I will, I promise." And she kissed him again.
Vasquez arrived at that moment, he was carrying a big box with him.
"Hey Lieutenant, I'm sorry to interrupt, CFD sent this for you. I think it's the new equipment we need to try."
"Thanks Vasquez, leave it, I'll take it."
He nodded and went inside, hoping to still find something to eat for breakfast.
"New equipment?" Kelly asked curiously.
"Exactly. What? Are you jealous because Truck finally get new toys?"
Kelly rolled his eyes and hugged her. He was silently thanking that everyone was inside, he loved the possibility of being able to spend even a little time with his wife.
"Kelly wait... Kelly let me go. Your baby clearly doesn't like your smell today", she interrupted the hug and put a hand on her mouth. The wave of nausea was so strong she had to hold on to the truck.
"Hey, hold on to me. You okay? Still nauseous?" Kelly asked with a hint of concern in his voice. "You should feel better now that you're in the second trimester."
"Well, I clearly don't feel better. But I'm Stella Kidd, I will win this, you can bet on it." He smiled at her and kissed her on the forehead. She straightened up, smiled, took the box and went inside.
Kelly ran after her and took the box out of her hands.
"What are you..."
"You shouldn't lift heavy things."
Stella raised her eyebrows confused, looked at his husband in the eyes, shook her head and then left visibly upset.
Stella went to her desk to finish some incident reports, trying to let go of the anger she was feeling towards just husband. She knew she wasn't really angry with him, hormones made everything bigger, but she was annoyed by his behavior.
She was lost in her thoughts when someone knocked on the wall.
"Hey Kidd, Severide wants to see you. He's in Pascal's office." She looked up and saw Mouch. She hadn't even noticed his presence.
She must not have had a good look on her face because Mouch came up to her and asked if she was okay. She just looked at him trying to decide what to tell him.
'My back hurts, I'm nauseous all day every day, I cry for everything, food and smell of food make me throw up, I want some coffee, my clothes are starting to feel tight and my husband treats me like a ceramic doll that might break'
For a moment she thought about telling him all that but she opted for something more simple and less dramatic.
"I'm okay Mouch, don't worry, I'll go see what he wants." He wasn't convinced but he nodded and left.
"Hey, you wanted to see me?" Kelly's eyes lit up at sight of her.
"Yes, close the door and sit, please" he could feel there was some kind of tension between them but he couldn't understand why.
"Do you feel better?"
"If you want to know if I'm okay to work then yes, I'm fine. Why am I here?" She was still irritated. Kelly was genuinely confused but he didn't insist.
"So, I have something to tell you. You know Novak needed a shift off... well, I haven't been able to find anyone to replace her. So I thought you could ride with Violet today, and be with her on 61. I've already told Hermann he'll be the acting Lieutenant on 81 for this shift."
"You did what? Wow... and I thought you wanted to apologise for your behaviour." Stella was visibly angry now.
"Stella, I..."
"Why didn't you choose Vasquez? He already helped Violet on 61. I'm a Lieutenant."
"I thought it was the best thing... You... you're not feeling well today so I thought working on 61 would be easier for you."
Stella was speechless and definitely disappointed.
"Just say it Kelly. You don't want me to be on Truck anymore. You wanted me out of action from the moment I told you I was pregnant."
"What? No, I... I just want to protect you, to keep you... you two safe."
"Kelly. Transferring me to 61 is not protecting me. It's controlling me and I don't like it. Listen, if we want this to work you have to trust me and let me do my job. I promise I will never put myself in a situation where I could hurt our baby... do you understand that right? You... you have to trust me. I love you and I know you're worried but let me breathe ok? Don't treat me like something that could break at any moment." A tear ran down her cheek.
Kelly felt terribly sorry. He had made his wife feel like this... he looked away, trying to process what she had just told him. It wasn't easy for him, but he knew it was even more difficult for her.
He stood up and sat in front of her. He took her hands.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that. It's... it's just... you're my whole life. If something happened to you... especially now..." he sighed. "I'm really sorry. I wish you knew how I feel every time I see you go on a call with 81."
"Oh Kelly, believe me, I understand you well. It's the same for me. I'm sorry for how I reacted, you're just trying to take care of me while my hormones make everything more difficult", she squeezed his hand.
He rested his forehead on hers, one hand on her cheek, one hand drawing little circles on her back. He knew how to calm her down.
"You don't have to apologise. It's not you, it's me... We should be used to this, after all these years. But I fear I'll never get used to it Stella. Just the thought that something might happen to you... I couldn't live with it. You're the most important thing in my life."
"Look at you, my perfect man, opening your heart like that... and I used to say communication wasn't your first language", she joked after giving him a quick kiss.
She got up, a hand on her belly, and looked at his husband with a sweet resigned look.
"I'll do it. If it makes you feel better, I'll work on 61 today. And... I actually feel terrible today so this could be a great solution. But don't get used to that Chief."
"Copy. I won't. Thank you."
"Don't thank me, you will have to pay for that." She smirked.
"Mhh, I have some ideas in mind", Kelly whispered in her ear while brushing her neck with his lips.
"Don't even think about that. Your baby wants strawberries with mayonnaise and I want some crackers. I expect these things on my desk in the next 30 minutes, Lieutenant."
"Strawberries? But it's November, where should I even..."
"Not my business, I make our baby grow and you dad, you get us the food we want. See you later." And she left blowing him a kiss as she closed the office door.
The word dad kept ringing in Kelly's head and all he could think about was how much he loved that woman. That, and where the heck he would find strawberries in November.