New Beginnings: A Stellaride Story

Miracles

"Kelly," Dr. Anderson says as he walks into the room. Kelly shoots up out of his chair, almost forgetting that he was holding his daughter, and rushes over towards Dr. Anderson. His heart almost stops as Dr. Anderson says, "Your wife is out of surgery. She did lose a significant amount of blood, but we managed to stop the bleed. She's one tough fighter. They have just taken her back to her room, the anesthesia is still wearing off, but you can go sit with her while she wakes up." Without taking a second to think, Kelly carefully places Riley back in the bassinet and rushes to his wife's side.

As Kelly reaches Stella's room, he stands there in the doorway looking over at his wife lying there and becomes overwhelmed with emotion again. As the tears start to flood from his eyes, he walks towards the bed and grabs Stella's hand, falling to his knees. As the tears take over, Kelly leans in and whispers in Stella's ear, "Thank you for coming back to me."

"Kelly," Stella says weakly as she wakes up, still groggy from the anesthesia. "Hey, hey, hey, I'm here," Kelly says as he sits up in the chair he had been sleeping in next to Stella's bed. "Riley?" Stella asks as Kelly moves himself closer to her. "She's good. She's perfect," Kelly replies as he grabs Stella's hand, and once again, the tears start to fall. Looking over at Kelly, Stella notices his tears and says, "Hey," reaching up and placing her hand on the back of his neck. Trying to fight back the tears, Kelly says, "I really thought I lost you this time. I was so scared that you were gone." Trying to stop her own emotions from getting the better of her, Stella leans over towards Kelly and says, "You're not getting rid of me that easily. You're stuck with me for life." They both let out a slight chuckle before Kelly says, "I love you more than anything, Stella," then kissing her as if they had been apart for a million years. "Get some rest. I'll be right here when you wake up," Kelly says as Stella dozes back off to sleep.

"Hey, someone wanted to see you," Kelly says as he notices Stella start to wake up. He stands up and places Riley in Stella's arms, watching her face light up. It was the happiest he had felt in god knows how long, and all he wanted to do was stay in the moment forever. Kelly kneels down beside the bed, his eyes fixated on the two most important people in his whole entire world, and says, "She has your eyes and your nose. She's perfect, just like you," as the biggest smile forms across his face. Stella looks over at Kelly, noticing how smitten he is, and through a massive smile, she says, "She really is perfect. And she has your big, beautiful smile. One of my favorite parts of you." Kelly looks up at Stella and, through a chuckle, says, "Are you sure it's a smile, or is it just gas?" making Stella laugh as Dr. Anderson walks into the room.

"Sorry to interrupt," Dr. Anderson says as he looks over Stella's charts. "How are you feeling, Stella?" he asks. "I'm doing okay," Stella replies, "Just a little tired," she continues. "That's normal. Your body has been through a lot of trauma. It may take a few days for you to start feeling yourself again. Do you have any pain?" asks Dr. Anderson. "Just a little in my lower abdomen, but it's manageable," Stella says. Kelly looks over at her, a little concerned by her answer, as Dr. Anderson says, "Mmh okay. I'll get the nurse to increase your pain medication dosage and monitor the pain. Any pain at all that you have, you have to let the nurses know" he continues, as Kelly looks over and gives Stella a stern look as she nods in reply to Dr. Anderson.

After finally getting to be a family of 3 in between the nurses checking in on Stella's condition, Jennifer walks into the room, saying, "There's a big group of people out there in the waiting room waiting to see you if you're up for it." Kelly looks over at Stella and asks, "Are you ready?" to which Stella replies, "Yeah, I am," before hopping into a wheelchair and having Kelly wheel her down to the waiting room.

As they enter the waiting room, Herrmann yells out, "There's our fighter," before getting a very loud shush from a nurse walking by. Everyone starts to walk towards the 3 of them, gathering around them. "How are you doing, Stella?" Brett asks. "I'm doing okay. Just a little tired, but I guess that's what happens when you become a parent," Stella replies. "I can definitely vouch for that," Cruz says, getting a slight laugh from all the parents in the room. "How long are they keeping you in here?" Violet asks. "Just a few days for observation, and then we should all be able to go home," Stella answers. "How are you doing, Severide?" Boden asks, "We all know that it's been a rough 24 hours for you." "I'm okay," Kelly replies, "I'm just really happy that both my girls are okay," he continues, leaning down and kissing Stella on the head. "You two let us know if you need anything, anything at all. We're all here for you," says Boden. "Yeah, Cindy's already started making a gazillion casseroles," Herrmann chimes in. "Donna as well," Boden says. "Trudy too," Mouch adds. "Thanks, guys. We really appreciate all of you and everything you've done for us. We can't thank you enough," Kelly says as Riley starts to cry. "Well, that's our cue. We better go be parents now," Stella says through a chuckle as Kelly wheels her out of the waiting room.

A few long days pass before Dr. Anderson walks into the room and says the words Stella and Kelly have been waiting days to hear. "Stella, your stats look good. We're ready to send you home. I'll get the discharge paperwork started, and then the three of you are good to go," he says. Kelly looks over at Stella, his eyes tired but full of love, and asks, "Are you ready to do this?" "Yeah, I am," Stella replies with the biggest smile on her face.

After what feels like forever, Kelly pulls up in their driveway. They both just sit there taking it all in for a few minutes. Kelly grabs Stella's hand and kisses it before they both get out of the car and grab the million new things that had now become a part of their daily life. Both with one hand on Riley's baby capsule, they walk to the front door and stop. Kelly looks down at Riley and then up at Stella. Their eyes locking on each other, and in that moment, they both knew that their lives had changed forever, in the best way possible.