Questions And Answers...

Lieutenant Kidd

"The planetarium?! But isn't it closed?" Her head whipped around the empty car lot.

"Yeah... but I know a guy..." He replied mysteriously.

"Oh, Kelly Severide! You are a total keeper!" Stella clapped her hands as they got out of the car and, launching herself at him.

Raising an eyebrow and laughing, her boyfriend swatted her butt.
" I'll consider that a result then, seeing as you're wearing my engagement ring!"

Stella pulled him in for a kiss. "A very good result." Her hands held onto his jacket, her forehead leaning against his, fitting her hips neatly and firmly into his.

" You keep pushing yourself against me like that, and I might get back in the car and take you home instead." His warning was soft and suggestive.

"Oh no, Mr.! You're gonna have to hold that thought till we get home. I've never been star gazing, so we are going in!" Taking hold of his hand, she pulled him behind her while Kelly tried to ignore the rising bulge in his jeans, belatedly regretting his grand romantic gesture.

"Oh god! .. this is so cool! " Stella whispered excitedly as they ran up the stone steps towards the magnificent domed building perched above them like an ancient temple and were ushered in by a waiting spectacled man who gave Kelly a hand shake.

"So you must be someone very special to have Kelly begging me for this at an hours notice." He was of similar age to Kelly, but leaner and taller, with friendly brown eyes behind spectacles." Just so happens that star gazers do their best work at night.' He grinned.

Stella turned towards Kelly, seriously impressed that he had just arranged this. My God, he was so unpredictable and amazing sometimes!

"I'm running the sky show for you. It's really worth seeing." The guy who had introduced himself to Stella as Dan, a friend from Kelly's high school years, led them further into the planetarium and into a darkened auditorium where they took a front row seat and a few minutes later were transported to a long ago Chicago with its lights dimmed and a fairytale of a sky above them. For two people who knew nothing about the solar system, it was awesome, the sounds of their low gasps of surprise and wonder drowned out by the orchestral soundtrack of the show.. The sky was like an inky blue blanket above them studded with a thousand glittering sequins, and all the while, his thumb drew circles on her wrist, and Stella subconsciously felt she could feel his heart inside her pulse.

"Who knew the sky could be so fascinating!" Stella murmured, staring up at the ceiling, the planets spinning in a carefully choreographed dance.
"Do you think there's life up there?" She breathed in, transfixed by the ethereal magnificence of the universe and the hundreds of planets.

"Maybe....sometimes I think so.... sometimes, I don't know. Do you?"

"I'd like to think we're not the only ones here.... it's quite cute to imagine that there's other worlds out there.... doing their own thing.... maybe watching us and wondering exactly the same thing."

He nodded, quite liking that idea.

"Let me show you the observatory. See the real universe above us." Dan was a superb host, clearly loving showing them around.

The night sky to the naked eye versus through the lens of the extraordinary viewer was a phenomenal experience, a veritable universe of lights and formations that Stella was totally unaware existed above them.

"Look at that one, Kelly. Is it a shooting star?" Excitement pierced through her voice, pulling her eyes from the lens and grabbing his arm to point out the strobe that sailed through the night sky in a streak of light leaving a fiery trail in its path.

"I'm no expert, but yeah, it kinda seems to fit the description of one."

" Shall we name it?"

"What do you wanna name it?"

"Stella... " She said with some certainty. " You know why?"

"After you, maybe?" Amusement crinkled his eyes.

"Well, sort of... ......But more because Stella has the middle of Kelly in it, the second third and fourth letters of your name are in the middle of mine. E L L. Three of mine and three of yours. Kinda like we're entwined."

Her face was half joking, half serious. "If we were at high school, I'd be telling you we were meant to be."
He knew she was trying to make light of it, but there was a sweetness about it that was not just all high school.

"I can't say I ever picked up on that........but yeah, I can see where you're going with that...... " Despite himself, Kelly couldn't help but feel a little impressed by that little piece of fact. Just like she was entwined around his heart, he thought with a pull of emotion, taking a deep breath to still the thump in his chest.

On the way out, Dan stopped where the planetarium usually hosted after hours events, an unlit room but with a big moon tonight providing the lighting and with the stunning Chicago skyline in front of them, it was clear why, after hours, adults only planetarium night was a date night favorite.
They stopped at the windows and took in the City on the horizon along the shores of Lake Michigan, a vista of buildings against the sky, majestic, proud, and beautiful. Kelly stepped to stand behind her and put his arms around her, holding her into him, her hands on his forearms. Theirs was a shared silence of awe, the kind that had been felt a million times before by those visiting before them, and in the years still to come would be felt again and again. For Stella, not a native of Chicago, it nonetheless did not fail to stir up emotions of pride and a sense of attachment that she had never felt anywhere else. Chicago had become home.

Kelly?" Stella's hands tightened a little on his arms.

"Hmm? " He turned her around and looked down at her inquisitively.

"Do you think I can handle it?..... Lieutenant of truck 81?" Even in the muted darkness of the room with only the city lights and the moon offering relief , he saw the creases on her forehead, the slight widening of her eyes from anxiety.

"One thousand per cent." There was nothing but a steady conviction on his face.

"Casey's shoes are big ones to fill, you know. The thought of that makes me really nervous. What if I don't measure up?" Her previous euphoria seemed to have evaporated.

"There's no need to be nervous. You'll find your own way of leading your truck." He stared down at her, slipping his hands in hers. " Everyone has their own style of leadership. And you'll find yours."

Stella chewed on her bottom lip in the dark, her fingers squeezing his hands.

"Thank you... not just for tonight... which has been a pretty bloody awesome surprise.."She cupped his face in her hands, eyes shining as bright as that shooting star with love for him. "But also for always knowing the right thing to say."

Kelly smoothed tendrils of her curly waves away from her face and smiled, thinking to himself wryly that there were plenty of occasions when he definitely had not said the right thing.
He was so proud of her. From the beginning of this journey, he had been certain that she would have to leave 51 in order to get a Lieutenant spot, but then Casey had upp'd and moved to Portland and everyone had thought, including him that she would replace him. But Boston and Girls on Fire had derailed that for a while, and Pelham seemed to be the new Lieutenant...... until tonight.

"Can I take you home now so that I can congratulate you properly, Lieutenant Kidd, and you can thank me for this 'pretty, bloody awesome surprise?"

"Yes. Please."
Stella nodded, her heart bubbling over. She had heard it said that maybe happiness was not a constant state of mind, but this was enough for a lifetime.