This Is Just The Beginning

Chapter 15

-next morning-
I was getting ready to leave the firehouse. I was in the locker room, getting my bag ready to leave.
"Hey, you ready?" Kelly came over to me.

"Yea, we have to head by the apartment first, remember?" I asked him.
"Yea, I remember." He chuckled.

We left the firehouse.
We went inside the apartment, I got changed, got my debit card and we both went back to my car.

"I can drive if you want." Kelly told me as I headed to the driver's seat.
"No it's fine. It is my car." I chuckled.
"Ok fine." He laughed.

We got to the store. We got a cart and looked around.
"So... what do you need?" Kelly asked me.
"Like.. everything besides a crib." I laughed.
He laughed too.
"Ok. Let's find everything." He laughed.

We looked around the store.
I found some outfits that I liked so I grabbed them. Then I had to get diapers, wipes, pacifiers, blankets, a breast pump, some bottles, a diaper bag, a car seat, and a stroller.
"Wow, this is... a lot..." Kelly laughed, looking at the cart when we were done.

"Yea I know... man I wonder how much this is gonna cost..." I laughed.
"What about dressers and a changing table?" He asked me.

"I was gonna use the dressers that was already in old room, since that's gonna be her nursery, and I was buy some like mat to put onto of the shorter dresser when I change her." I explained.
He nodded his head.
"Yea, that would work." He said.

I looked at everything.
"Well.. at least I got basically everything. I might need to get more clothes, but I can go to target for that." I said.
"You sure all this stuff would fit in the car?" Kelly asked me.
"Yea, the third row in my car folds down, so the trunk is huge." I explained.

We got to the checkout.
"Ok, Ma'am, your total is $789.56." The lady at the register said.
I grabbed my card and saw Kelly start to give the lady his card.

"Kelly, no. I can pay." I told him, grabbing his arm.
"No, it's ok. I want to." He told me.
"Kelly, no I can't let you.. come on it's so much money." I explained.
"Stella, come on just let me. Just let me do this for you." He told me.

I didn't want to start an argument with him in the store so I gave up and let him pay. Even though I really didn't want him to.
We went out to the car and put everything in the trunk.
"Kelly, you really didn't need to pay..." I told him.

"Stella. It's ok. I wanted to." He told me.
"But..." I said, but he stopped by giving me a kiss.
"It's ok, you don't have to pay me back. You don't have to worry about this. Let it be my treat. For you and your daughter." He smiled.
"Ok... thank you..." I smiled.

We went back to the apartment.
"You wanna get the nursery out of the way already? So do you wanna just do it all right now? All the organizing and putting away?" He asked me.
I thought about it for a moment.

"Ok, yea sure. Thanks." I smiled.
I moved all my clothes into Kelly's room already last week.
So now we just have to rearrange the room, and put all the stuff away.

"How long are you staying off of work for after your daughter is born?" Kelly asked me.
"I'm not sure. Maybe a year? I don't really know. I'll have to see. I would have to get her into a daycare and stuff too." I explained.
"Oh ok." He said.

-one hour later-
"Ok, where do you want this stuff?" Kelly asked me.
I looked at him and he had some of the blankets.
"Um.. let's put them in this drawer for now." I said, opening a drawer.

It took us about another hour later before we finished all we could. Kelly even helped me build the stroller and put the car seat in my car.
We laid down on the couch.
"Oh my god I'm exhausted.." I laughed as we laid down. It was only 3pm.

Kelly chuckled and wrapped his arms around me.
"Herrmann was talking to me last shift. He wanted to know if you would want to work at Molly's. Ambo was out on a call and since he knows we live together, he asked me." Kelly said.

"I've never thought about working there.. but I did used to be a bartender before I became a firefighter." I said.
"Wait, you did?" He asked, really shocked.
I laughed.
"Yea... that's um... that's how I met Grant." I said.

"Wow... would you want to be a bartender at Molly's?" He asked me.
"Maybe... maybe I'll head by there one day and check it out... but the problem is I'm still trying to hide the fact that I'm pregnant." I explained.

"Why are you trying to hide this for so long?" He asked me.
I sat up on the couch.
I looked at him and sighed, wondering how to word this.

"Because Kelly... we're together... but obviously I've been pregnant longer than we've been together. If I tell everyone I'm pregnant, how do I explain that this baby isn't yours, but my ex's?" I explained.
He was thinking for a moment. Then he shrugged his shoulders.

"I... I guess you're right.." he said.
"I can probably still hide it for a bit longer, but I'm 22 weeks now, and I'm getting bigger. The problem is, I can't drink." I explained.

"Then maybe just don't drink?" Kelly asked.
I thought about it.
"Ok... yea sure..." I said.

I thought about something for a moment.
Then I was overwhelmed with emotion and I started tearing up.
"Hey, hey... what wrong?" Kelly got up and sat closer to me. He put his hand on my shoulder and moved my hair to see my face.

"I... my daughter won't have a father... Grant chose drugs and alcohol over his family and now my daughter won't have a father to grow up with..." I teared up.
Kelly brought me closer and I cried to his chest.

"Hey, hey... it's ok... yes, it will be scary for you... but remember, you have all of 51, you got me, you even have our friends down at the district... your daughter will have so much family that is not blood that it will makeup for your deadbeat ex..." He told me, wiping my tears.

I looked up at him and nodded.
"Yea... you're... you're right..." I sniffled.
"Don't worry about that one guy when you have so many other people that will help you with your daughter... and... I'm here too. I will help you guys in any way I can... I love you..." he told me.

I smiled at him and gave him a kiss.
"I love you too..." I told him.

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