New Beginnings: A Stellaride Story

The Next Chapter

Stella and Kelly had barely spoken for the rest of the day. Unable to sleep, Stella walked to Kelly's office, hoping he was still awake. She knew what Kelly had said earlier was right, but she wasn't ready to admit she was wrong. However, she knew they needed to talk it through. She quietly opened his office door and saw him lying there asleep on the bed. Not wanting to disturb him, she turned around to walk out when she heard a quiet voice say, "Hey, can't sleep?" She turned back around to face Kelly and shook her head. Reaching out his hand and looking at Stella, Kelly said, "Come here." Stella walked over to him, lying down on the bed next to him as she grabbed his hand, and he pulled her towards him. Snuggling into Kelly's chest, all of Stella's worries seemed to disappear, even if it was just for a fleeting moment.

As the morning sun started to peek through the curtains in Kelly's office, and they both awoke from their slumber, Kelly kissed Stella on the forehead, saying, "Good morning." Stella let out a long sigh and replied, "Good morning." "There's only half an hour of shift left," Kelly said, "Let's just stay here and hide from everyone." Stella liked that idea. She snuggled in closer to him, not wanting to let go because letting go meant they had to talk about yesterday, and she still wasn't ready to talk about it just yet.

The last half an hour of the shift seemed to fly by. As they both got up to leave, Kelly said, "Hey, I'm sorry about yesterday. I went a little overboard, and I shouldn't have said what I said. I'm sorry." "Kelly, I'm the one who should be apologizing. Everything you said yesterday was right. I know where you were coming from; you were just worried about me. I worry about you all the time too. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have snapped at you the way I did. I know it's how you try to express your worry, but in the moment, with my emotions all over the place, it just felt like you were trying to control me, like my decisions and choices didn't matter, and I know that's not what you were doing at all." Kelly takes a step towards Stella and holds her hands in his. "Hey," he says, noticing his wife starting to choke up. "Um, I guess it's just really hit me because of the way my father controlled my mother, and we both know how badly that turned out," Stella says, trying not to let her emotions take over. "I know we're not my parents. They were truly horrible people. I guess I just have unresolved issues there that took a while to surface," she continues as Kelly wraps her in his arms, comforting her. Stella hardly ever spoke about her parents, which threw Kelly off a little. Not entirely sure what to say, he held her tightly in his arms and said, "You'll always be safe with me," which helped erase a small part of Stella's worry.

"I can't believe it's really my last shift," Stella said as she and Kelly walked into the firehouse. "It just feels so surreal. I'm really going to miss this place while I'm gone," she continued. "Are you ready for everyone to find out?" Kelly asked as he held the door open for her. "I mean, I guess I have to be. They were going to find out sooner or later. I definitely couldn't hide it any longer," Stella said with a little chuckle.

A hush fell over the briefing room as Boden read out the morning announcements. "And finally, today is Lieutenant Kidd's final shift at 51 for a while. As of next shift, Lieutenant Walback will be taking over on 81. Stella, we wish you and Kelly all the best in this next chapter of life and promise to keep your seat warm while you're gone." "Thanks, Chief," Stella said with a big smile on her face. As Kelly and Stella looked around the room, they noticed the confused looks on everyone's faces when Cruz asked, "What's going on?" Stella looked at Kelly, hesitating just for a second before placing her hand on her small baby bump and saying, "Uh, well, um, I'm pregnant. Kelly and I are having a baby." The room erupted in cheers of congratulations when Herrmann exclaimed, "I knew it! You all need to pay up" "Wait, you were taking bets on this?" Stella asked with a laugh. "Well, yeah," Herrmann said as everyone started to surround Kelly and Stella. As he walked towards them to offer his congratulations with a cocky smile on his face, Carver leaned over to Gallo and said with a laugh, "No wonder she's been such a cranky hard ass lately." "Woah, not cool," Gallo said, a little thrown by Carver's comment. "What did you just say about my wife!" Kelly says full of rage. Noticing her husband is about ready to coldcock Carver, Stella rushes in front of him and looks him in the eyes, saying, "Kelly, stop. It's not worth it." Kelly lets out a huff as Boden cuts the tension by saying, "Alright, everybody's dismissed," and the room dissipates.

After giving Kelly a minute to cool off, Stella heads to his office to check on him. "Hey," she says as she walks into his office, closing the door behind her. "Are you okay? You got pretty riled up in there," she asks. "That cocky son of a..." he starts to say before Stella cuts him off, saying, "Kelly." "Sorry, he just really got on my last nerve. What he said about you was just so..." still a little riled up, he couldn't finish his sentence. Stella walks over to him and sits down on his lap, stroking his head. "I know. I didn't like it either, but I've worked with Carver long enough that I know not to let his cocky attitude get to me," Stella says. "Ha, if only I had as much patience with him as you do," Kelly replies. "We're gonna go run drills for a while," Stella says as she leans in and kisses Kelly before leaving his office.

The rest of Stella's last shift seemed to fly by. "Wow, it feels so strange leaving the firehouse for the last time for a long time," she says as she and Kelly leave for home. "You'll be back before you know it," Kelly replies. Stella smiles as they continue heading to the car.

Not used to having all this time off, Stella tried to keep herself busy. The idea of Kelly being on shift without her felt weird. Stella had thought about calling Kelly multiple times throughout the day but didn't want to bombard him. Flicking through the TV channels, Stella pulled out her phone to give Kelly a call when there's an unexpected knock at the door. Stella gets up off the couch and heads to the front door, unsure who it could be. "Surprise," Stella hears as she opens the front door. Shocked Stella says"Hi, what are you doing here?"