Malia Ryland has just arrived in Chicago and is starting her first shift as a nurse at the Chicago Medical Center while waiting for a vacancy in one of Chicago's firehouses as a paramedic.
Warning : some chapters contain scenes with sexual content.
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We found out I was pregnant with our second child quite late in the pregnancy. I was a paramedic at 51, and it was my last shift. I was transitioning from Emily Foster to the new Gianna Mackey for a second shift. I was the third paramedic to assist Gianna in her new assignment.
Jaxon was being looked after by Violet, our neighbor, who had no classes that day. I remember that day like it was yesterday.
The day before, we had dealt with an overdose on a guy at the beginning of the shift. As we started to deal with him, his brother came up behind us and threatened us with a gun. Poor Gianna was terrified, but she managed to get through it. Fortunately, Sylvie was there to handle it with her legendary coolness.
The guy died of the cardiac arrest later that day. Kim Burgess told us that her brother, who had threatened us, has a criminal record as long as the arm.
That evening when I got home, I found it very hard not to be at Jaxon's side 24/7 once Kelly and I had picked him. Knowing that a madman was sure to wander the streets of Chicago was far from calming my mommy's nerves.
On the next shift, Kelly found himself trapped in a burning building. Luckily Stella was there to get him out of that mess.
As we went with the ambulance to an operation, we realized that a car was following us. The car started to overtake us. I was behind so that I couldn't see, but the vehicle crashed into us several times, pushing the ambulance over the bridge we were on and making us crash.
Being in the back, I was thrown entirely against the wall of the ambulance with the fall. The force of the blow knocked me unconscious for a few seconds.
"Malia, can you hear us? Are you okay?" asked Sylvie. "I don't feel very well, and are you okay" I answered.
"Gianna is bleeding a little above the eyebrow, but otherwise, I'm fine. We're stuck, though. We're going to have to get out of the front of the car," Sylvie said.
"I'll try the back doors," I explained. "Take it easy if you don't feel well," Gianna said.
While I tried to open the doors, the girls tried to remove the windscreen. They were more successful than me because it was impossible to open the doors from the inside.
As the girls were getting out of the ambulance, I heard Casey's voice. They helped me out of the ambulance. I was barely out when I threw up. I had to sit against the ambulance because I wasn't in my right mind.
Sylvie and Matt checked on the driver who was trapped in his car while Gianna stayed with me to make sure I was okay.
The other firefighters from truck 81 then arrived. "Go check on Sylvie. I think she's going to need your help," I said to Gianna. "Are you sure? You don't look so good," Gianna told me. "Go ahead, and if I ever have a problem, I'll call you," I said to reassure her.
A few minutes later, after the driver left with another ambulance, Casey told us they were going to drop us off at the hospital to get checked out.
"I don't need to," Gianna replied. "I don't either, but Malia should go," added Sylvie.
Not fully recovered, I didn't object, and they dropped me off at the Chicago Med to get checked before they left because they were still on call. I told them it was probably nothing, so no need to worry Kelly.
Meredith took care of me. As she gave me an ultrasound to make sure everything was okay, Meredith stopped after a few seconds. I wasn't looking at the screen, so I didn't understand.
"What's going on? Is everything okay?" I asked, turning to her.
"I seem to have found what you have, look," she said, turning the screen towards me. I saw a fetus that was not in the early stages.
"Is this what I think it is?" I asked as tears began to well up in my eyes.
"I confirmed. You are pregnant. I'll call the obstetrician so she can tell you how far along you are, but I think you're past the fourth month. The baby looks healthy," Meredith told me.
The obstetrician then informed me that I was indeed pregnant and five months along. So I had been in pregnancy denial, probably because Jaxon is still very young. Fortunately, the baby is fine, and she could even tell me the sex of the baby. Kelly wasn't there, so I told her to give it to me in an envelope because I wanted to find out at the same time.
That's how two hours later, I found myself walking through the doors of the barracks with a belly that had doubled in size. I had to wait a few more hours for my belly to reach its size.
When Kelly saw me arrive, he didn't quite understand. I left the barracks in the morning with a flat stomach and came back with a twice as big belly.
"Surprise! It looks like our number two child is on the way," I said with a smile before hugging him.
Kelly had a hard time getting over the news. I had to explain to him several times what was described to me at the hospital before understanding that we were expecting our second child.
We waited until we got home after the shift to find out the sex of our baby with Jaxon next to us. He was too small to understand, but we learned that Jaxon was going to be a big brother to a little sister.
Leana Leslie Severide was born on Friday, 15 January 2021. She was two months old ten days ago. Three weeks ago, we celebrated Jaxon's second birthday. He is walking and starting to speak in complete sentences.
Jaxon had a little trouble at first after Leana was born. Our little treasure felt like he was being taken over in the family and not getting enough attention.
Kelly was unable to take a few days off work after Leana was born. It was hard enough for me to take care of a newborn and, at the same time, meet all Jaxon's demands.
He has never demanded so much attention since his little sister arrived. Luckily Leana is a relatively calm baby. It took a month for Jaxon to understand that his little sister was not there to steal his place and replace him but to make the family bigger.
Jaxon is now adorable with her and wants to help me and play with her all the time.
Kelly and I had to explain to him that Leana was still too small for that and that we had to wait a little while before she could. It's incredible how at only two years old, Jaxon tries to be the man of the house when Kelly isn't around.
It's already been a year since I published the first chapter of this story in the French version and seven months for this version. It's incredible to think that even seven months later, people still discover my story every day.
A huge thank you to you for the comments, the votes, the additions to your reading lists. And thank you for having agreed to let this story in your life for a little while. Indeed, this story is also a little bit of me. ♡♡
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