New Beginnings: A Stellaride Story

A Choice of Limits

"Stella, we need to leave!" Kelly yells up the stairs as he finishes packing his duffel bag. "I'll be down in a minute," Stella yells back before quickly shoving everything into her duffel bag and heading downstairs. "Thank God I only have a couple of shifts left," Stella says as she walks down the stairs. "Why's that?" Kelly asks, a little confused. "The new station gear I got a couple of weeks ago is already getting tight," Stella replies. "Really?" Kelly says as he opens the front door and gestures for Stella to walk out. "Yes, and it's all your fault," she says as she walks out the door. Following her out the door, Kelly says with a cheeky grin, "You do know it takes two to tango, right?" making Stella laugh.

Kelly and Stella sit together in the common room, completing their paperwork and listening to the comings and goings of the firehouse. "For sure, the Blackhawks have a shot at the Stanley Cup next season. Drafting Connor Bedard is going to change everything," Gallo says. "You can't tell me that you seriously think that one rookie player is going to change the whole team," questions Ritter. "Yeah, I'm with Ritter on this one, Gallo. Bedard is good and all, but he's never played an NHL game in his life," Cruz says in agreement. "What they really need is the coaching stylings of Christopher Herrmann," Herrmann chimes in. "Didn't you get banned from youth league hockey again?" says Mouch. "Yeah, but we're talking about the big leagues, not youth hockey," Herrmann says, trying to defend himself. "So, what's that, one ban for every kid, Herrmann?" Kelly asks sarcastically as he stands up to go get a cup of coffee. He doesn't even take one step before Stella grabs his hand and pulls him back down. She discreetly places his hand on her baby bump that's only just started showing, and Kelly's face lights up. "What's going on over there?" Herrmann questions, noticing that they both look a little suspicious. "Nothing, just paperwork," Stella says, trying to divert the conversation. Once everyone goes back to their own conversations, Kelly whispers in Stella's ear, "So, was that the first kick?" "Yeah," Stella says, looking at Kelly with the biggest and cutest smile on her face.

Coming back from a call, Truck 81 pulls back into the firehouse. Gallo and Carver jump out of the truck and start recounting the call to Cruz, Ritter, Herrmann, Capp, and Tony, who are all gathered around the squad table. "So Kidd and Gallo are up on the roof, untangling this guy and loading him into the Stokes basket," Carver starts saying. "Next thing we know, this massive gust of wind comes through. I take cover on the aerial, and Lieutenant Kidd, who's still on the roof, cops the full gust. I get back up, and here's Kidd, one hand on the aerial, one hand on the roof. She pulls herself back up onto the roof like a machine, and then we finish bringing the guy down like she didn't almost go flying straight off the roof and she just kinds brushes it all off like nothing happened," Gallo recounts as Kelly walks out onto the apparatus floor.

"Man, that must have been something," Cruz says in reaction to Gallo's recount. "Damn, we definitely don't see that kind of action on the engine," Ritter adds. After hearing everything that was said, a concerned look appears on Kelly's face as he turns around and heads back into the firehouse. He starts thinking, Stella always tells him what's happened on a call as soon as they get back. Why hasn't she this time? What doesn't she want him to know?

Looking for his wife, Kelly heads straight to Stella's office where he finds her completing her incident report. "Hey, how was the call?" he asks as he sits down opposite her. "Oh, you know, just your stock standard rope rescue. The cable guy was up there fixing the antenna and got himself tangled in the ropes," Stella explains. "Really?" Kelly asks in a concerned tone. "That's not what Gallo and Carver are saying. They said something about you being flung off the roof," Kelly continues. "That was nothing. There was barely even a scratch on me. I'm fine," Stella reassures him. "So, did you go to Med and get checked out?" Kelly asks. "No, I'm good. I feel fine," Stella replies. "Stella, you should go to Med and get checked out, make sure you're actually okay," Kelly insists. "Kelly, like I said, I'm fine. I'm not going to Med," Stella tells him. Kelly starts getting frustrated, and in a raised tone, he says, "Stella, you're pregnant." Before he can finish his sentence, Stella cuts him off and says, "You don't think I know that? I know my body and I know my limits. Today was nothing compared to other things I've been through, and you know that better than anyone else." "Yeah, I do, and I also know all the trauma you've been through and all the times you've almost died. And now I have to worry about the two of you. After what happened today, I think you should take the next shift off and start your leave early," Kelly replies. "No. That's not happening, Kelly. I have one shift left, and I'm going to start my leave after that shift as planned. You had your chance when we discussed this months ago. Kelly, you can't go changing your mind now," Stella asserts. "But, Stella, you almost got yourself killed today," Kelly says, raising his voice. "Both you and I know how dangerous this job is. Today was a freak accident that no one could have predicted. I could just as easily walk out across the street and get hit by a car. I'm not doing this anymore, Kelly," Stella says, getting extremely frustrated. "But, Stella—" Kelly tries to continue. "You're not the one who has to put her career on hold. This is my decision. I need to finish my report," Stella says, hoping to get Kelly to leave her office. "Fine," he says, leaving her office in a huff.

From the minute they found out Stella was pregnant, Kelly promised that everything would be her decision and she would decide when it was time to slow down. But all of a sudden, something has changed, and she can't work out why.