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Stella Kidd hated mornings.
It was routine for her to wake up at 7:00 AM for her work at the firehouse, but the little girl in her belly had her waking up at the crack of dawn.
Kelly had tried to soothe her back to sleep (all of the three times she had woken up), rubbing her belly and softly instructing the baby, “Stop messing with your mama.”
It was heartwarming, but her incoming morning sickness didn’t seem to care.
Kelly noticed her nose scrunching up and asked, “Hey… are you about to–?” Stella nodded, unable to speak due to the nausea.
She quickly exited Kelly’s warm embrace to run to the ensuite bathroom.
When Kelly heard the door close, he held his head in his hands.
Stella was a very determined woman, and it’s one of the reasons why Kelly fell so deeply in love with her, but that once-beloved quality had interfered with her pregnancy. She would never admit that she was hurting or not strong enough to be working 24-hour shifts.
This is why Stella and Kelly hadn’t told anyone at the firehouse about her little problem. Kelly begged her to work a desk job for the rest of the pregnancy, but Stella continued to run into fires as the lieutenant of Truck 81 (despite Kelly’s many warnings).
—
At the firehouse, everyone was oblivious to Stella’s newfound sickness.
Every time that Stella excused herself from the table to throw up her meal, Kelly would make constant excuses to cover up their secret. “Oh, she’s just recovering from a stomach bug,” or the classic, “Food poisoning, amirite?”
Kelly tended to hover over Stella during the strenuous days of work, but there was also someone else looking out for the stressed firefighter: Sam Carver.
Carver decided he would be an angel (for once). He cooked lasagna for his lieutenant in an effort to make her feel better. Carver walked carefully to Stella’s quarters and knocked dutifully on the wall.
“Hey Lieutenant, you got a minute?”
Stella lifted her gaze up from her papers and replied, “Yeah, whatcha got?”
As Stella continued filling out a report, she didn’t see Carver inching toward her desk.
“Cooked something up for you, Lieutenant.”
He slowly unveiled the lasagna behind his back and placed it on Kidd’s desk.
The whole room stilled.
Stella’s eyes involuntarily widened, and her heart rate started to quicken.
“Lieutenant–”
Stella quickly covered her nose and walked away from Carver and his terribly timed offering.
“Ya’ know what, Carver, I’m just gonna keep a safe distance. You can have the lasagna.”
Carver looked at her worriedly and urged, “But, I made it for–”
Stella interrupted him swiftly and exclaimed, “Thank you for trying, but I’m still recovering from food poisoning. I’m just scared to eat anything right now.” Carver nodded.
“Well, I’m sorry for the interruption, lieutenant. This’ll be a funny story to tell the guys.”
He walked away, embarrassed.
Stella sighed.
She didn’t realize her lies would impact others too.
As she dwelled on her dishonesty, Stella could hear Kelly’s footsteps down the hall. She smiled at his obviousness. It was clear that he heard the conversation between her and Sam.
“Kelly, you can come out now.” Stella ordered.
Kelly’s footsteps became louder as he entered Stella’s quarters.
“You caught me.” Kelly revealed.
“You heard all of that, didn’t you?” Stella asked; she already knew the answer.
“Maybe I did; maybe I didn’t,” He muttered as he rubbed the back of his neck. “It also made me realize something…”
Stella tilted her head in question.
“What?”
“We should think about telling the others about… y’know?”
“The baby that’s been keeping me awake all night?”
“Exactly.”
“Then, I would have to go on desk duty. And that’s months from now.” Stella explained.
“I know it’s a hard decision, but what if you get hurt on a call? I can’t have your life on the line as well as our girl.”
“Kelly, you know me. Better than anyone ever has. You know I would do everything in my power to keep our baby safe. We just have to wait a few months and it’ll work itself out.”
It was hard to believe, but Kelly knew the truth: Stella was a fighter.
“You promise?”
“I promise.”
—
On a rainy day in Chicago at 3:43 PM, Kelly’s worst nightmare came true.
Stella was unresponsive.
—
Engine 61, Truck 81, and Squad 3 arrived at the scene in urgency.
The firefighters were ordered to a house that was burning at a frighteningly fast pace. The 9-1-1 dispatcher estimated that there were 2 people inside: a mother and a son.
As the firefighters arrived on scene, Stella looked horrified at the burning building. Stella felt a heavy burden. She couldn’t let another child go through life without their Mom.
—
Kidd, Severide, and Hermann gathered around the truck to make a plan.
Hermann asked, “Kidd, why don’t you and your team go through the rear door? 61 can go–”
Kelly put his hand out, silencing Hermann. “How about Kidd and her team secure the perimeter instead?”
Stella narrowed her eyes at Kelly and crossed her arms. “What are you talking about? 81’s going through the back. End of story."
Hermann awkwardly glanced between the two. “Can you guys do your flirty fighting thing another time?”
Kelly glared at Hermann, questioning his authority.
Before long, Hermann replied, “Alright, I’ll give you guys a minute.”
Stella quickly grabbed Kelly’s arm before he had the chance to stomp away. “What’s your problem?”
Kelly looked down at his turnout boots, avoiding eye contact. He knew this was a bad idea.
Stella grabbed his chin and gazed into his distant eyes. She could tell he was upset; it was hard to ignore his tightened jaw.
He shook his head and replied, “You don't know what you’re doing, babe.”
Stella paused. She knew he was talking about their secret: the baby. She wanted this baby more than anything, and it was sad that Kelly doubted her devotion.
“I know what I’m doing.” Stella retorted.
Kelly pointedly looked at her stomach. “Are you sure?”
Stella tried to empathize with Kelly, but he wasn’t the one with his career on the line.
“I’m going to be fine, Kelly,” Stella whispered.
Kelly wanted to believe her.
Stella hurriedly took off her fire helmet and kissed Kelly on the cheek.
“See you on the other side, lieutenant.”
Before Kelly could say “I love you,” she was already gone. Kelly closed his eyes and walked over to the squad.
He already had a clear plan in his head; they would go through the front door and tackle the first floor’s ravenous fire.
Before he could order his squad team to grab their halligans, Kelly heard static on the radio.
“Kidd, do you copy?”
Kelly stilled at the mention of Stella; his whole body felt doused in cold water.
He grabbed his radio and intently waited for Stella’s soft voice to answer.
And for the first time in many years, Kelly began to pray. ‘God, please do this one thing.’ He couldn’t let Stella get hurt or, God forbid, die without her knowing how much he loved her.
Kelly’s hand began to shake as he spoke into the radio, “Stella Kidd, do you copy?”
The silence on the end of the radio became deafening. ‘Oh Lord.’
A few seconds later, a familiar voice responded, “I copy, lieutenant. I have the mom with me. We’re headed out now.”
Kelly released a breath he didn’t know he was holding. ‘Thank God.’
Kelly knew this for sure; he wasn’t himself without Stella Kidd by his side.
—
At the firehouse, Stella felt like absolute hell. Her head was killing her, but as she awoke, she felt a warm hand caress her face.
“You’re awake,” Kelly said.
“Is it that obvious?” Stella countered.
Kelly let out a soft chuckle, but his demeanor quickly changed back to serious.
“You could’ve died today, you know that?”
Stella frowned at his insinuation.
“That’s what being a firefighter is. Every day you go out into the field, not knowing if you’ll make it home or not,” Stella passionately explained.
“Well, maybe you shouldn’t be a firefighter then!” Kelly blurted out.
“At least until the baby is born.”
Stella’s stomach began to knot at his words. If Stella decided to go on maternity leave, she’d be off work for a year. A year without the one thing that keeps her going.
She guessed her lieutenant spot would be taken too; it’s inevitable in a male-dominated field. Chief Pascal having a self-induced issue with her didn’t help her case. He’d get rid of her in a heartbeat.
Stella sat upright in Kelly’s bunk bed and expressed her dismay, “You’re not in the position to make a choice for me!”
“Baby, I’m not trying to, but you almost killed me.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I would've died today, with you in that fire. Without you, I’m nothing.”
Stella’s eyes teared up at his confession. It was heart wrenching to realize how much he loved her.
Kelly immediately went to wipe Stella’s tears.
“I understand, but I can’t just sit as my job gets taken away from me.” Stella spoke groggily, still recovering from her recent crying.
Kelly thought of ways for Stella to keep active without the adrenaline of firefighting.
As he contemplated, Stella tapped her fingers on Kelly’s wooden bed frame. Her ‘Girls on Fire’ program entered his mind.
Kelly offered his thought-out solution, “What if you didn’t have to?”
Stella’s eyes narrowed in confusion.
“You can still work the ‘Girls on Fire Program’ and stay on your feet.”
Stella grinned at his idea.
Without words, Stella cupped Kelly’s face and kissed him fervently. Kelly looked dazed as he admired Stella’s brown eyes.
“Now, this is why you’re my perfect man.”