#2 The Darkest Fire

Chapter Forty Two

"What do you want Benny?" Kelly asked out of frustration, standing up out of his chair. "I need a favor..." "Well I need one first" Kelly interrupted, Benny listening over the phone. "Why didn't you tell me about my twelve year old brother?!" "What are you talking about?" "Benny, don't act like you don't know. Does the name Max ring a bell? It's already bad enough that a father can't even stick around for more then a month, but what makes it even more sad is how he can't even remember the child's name" Kelly said, silence over the phone. "Maxwell Duarté? Haven't seen that kid in years" "What'd you mean?" "I lost custody over him awhile back. That's what I wanted to talk to you about. I've learned recently his mother was arrested, and because of that the state is offering me full custody of him if I go to a rehab and..." "You're not gonna raise him, I'll make sure of that" "He has a grandmother Kelly" Benny then blurted out, Kellys eyes widening with shock. "She lives in Manhattan" "Is she drugged up too?" Kelly then asked sounding annoyed. "I can assure you she's a wonderful lady" "Yeah, that raised a real...." "KELLY!" Benny then yelled, Kellys face turning red out of anger. "You listen here Benny and you listen well..." Kelly said lowly as everybody from Firehouse 51 walked back inside, drenched in sweat. "If you think that Max is going to live with you or the rest of this messed up family you're sadly mistaken" "You're my blood Kelly. What makes you so different?" Benny then asked, Kelly suddenly closing his eyes, breathing in heavily. "At least I stick around when my kids are born" he replied hanging up the phone just as Sylvie knocked on the door, walking in.
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"Antonio!" Gabby shouted as she jogged into his room, Antonio looking to her sighing. "You didn't have to come" he said and without a warning, Gabby slapped his face. "Quit scaring me like that! You hear me?!" she yelled tearing up, Antonio pulling her into a hug, Gabby crying into his chest. "I'm sorry" Antonio replied running his fingers through her hair, Gabby pulling back and placing her hand on the side of his face, Antonio gulping. "I swear if you do that ever again, I'll be the one to personally put more bullets in you" Gabby joked, Antonio laughing as Voight entered the room, sitting in a chair. "What the heck happened?" Voight asked staring at Antonio, Gabby crossing her arms. "I'd like to know as well" Antonio looked at his sister and rolled his eyes. "You've always been nosy, you know that?" "I'll take that as a compliment"
"Easy, I was shot" Antonio said, Voight standing up, walking over to Antonio, his arms crossed. "You can tell me what happened, or I'll just ask the gunman" "I walked into the back bedroom, where I thought I heard cries for help, but it was just a recording. As soon as I turned around, I was shot" Antonio replied, Gabby sighing. "How could you be so stupid?" she mumbled, Antonio looking at her. "Excuse me?" "If you had any common sense, you wouldn't have just barged into the bedroom. I learned that even at the Fire Academy!" Gabby exclaimed, Antonio sighing. "Shouldn't you be at work?" "Chief let me leave" Gabby replied, Antonio sighing. "I'm glad you came sis" Gabby looked at her brother and smiled, holding his hand. "I'm just glad you're okay" Gabby replied kissing the top of his hand just as Ruzek and Halstead walked into the room, Voight stopping them. "Didn't I tell you to wait outside?" "Well this couldn't" Ruzek said showing Antonio his phone screen, Antonio staring at it, his eyes wide. "What's going on?" Voight then asked snatching Ruzeks phone out of his hands. "Oh my God" he said aloud as he read the title, Gabby looking at everyone with worry. "What is it?" Voight looked up to her and showed her the phone. "Oh no, it can't be" she said covering her mouth, everyone hanging their heads. Voight then had a tear trickle down his face, quickly wiping it away with his hand. "It's Sargent Benson... She's dead"
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"Hey kid, you're in my seat" Mouch said as he stood infront of Max, Max quickly sliding over, allowing Mouch to sit down. "Who are you anyways?" Mouch asked as he kicked up his feet. "Max Duarté, I'm a friend of Kelly's" Max replied as Mouch looked at him, his eyebrows suddenly raising. "You look a lot like him. Are you sure he's not your dad or something because if I know Severide, he well..." "Oh no!" Max replied, making Mouch laugh and nod his head, popping a chip in his mouth. "What are those?" Max asked pointing to the bag, Mouch looking to Cruz before staring back at Max, his eyes wide. "Kid! Are you telling us you've never had Pringles before?!" Cruz exclaimed, Max nodding. "My mom doesn't let me eat anything that she thinks is 'unhealthy'" Max finger quoted, Cruz chuckling. "Mouch, give him one" "But my mom..." "Your mom will never find out" Cruz replied as Mouch handed Max a chip, Max popping it into his mouth. "Whoa" Max said as he reached over and took a handful of chips, eating them one by one. "Welcome to Firehouse 51 kid" Cruz said patting his shoulder, Max grinning. "Thanks!"
"Who's the kid?" Sylvie asked pointing out towards the kitchen, Kelly placing his hands on Sylvie's shoulders, staring her in the eyes. "He doesn't know this yet but... He's my brother" Sylvie looked at Kelly with big eyes, shaking her head in disbelief. "What?! How?" "Benny, once again, hid another child from me. I mean just two years ago I learned about my 23 year old sister, and now out of the blue I learn about having a 12 year old brother?!" Kelly said out of frustration sounding confused, Sylvie locking hands with him. "How'd you figure out he was your brother?" "When I was about his age, maybe a bit younger, I used to write my initials with a permanent marker on the tag inside my hats. I recognized the hat he was wearing, and when I looked inside it, my initials were still there" Kelly explained, Sylvie leaning in and kissing him, Kelly letting her. When she pulled back, Kelly placed his forehead against hers and breathed deeply. "Thanks, I really needed that" he told her, Sylvie hugging him. "Where's he currently staying?" Sylvie then asked, Kelly sighing. "At The Boys Home" he replied, Sylvie nodding. "We should take him in. From what I've heard he seems to be a nice kid" Sylvie said, Kelly smiling. "You would do that?" "Of course! He's family! The only problem is, the state owns him now" Sylvie sighed, Kelly nodding. "I think I know someone who could help us" he replied just as Matt tapped on the door. "Who's kid is that out there?" he asked, Kelly sighing. "Looks like I have a lot of explaining to do" Kelly replied, making Sylvie laugh.
Gabby walked back into the firehouse, a gloomy look upon her face. "Hey Gabby! When's dinner I'm starving?!" Cruz asked, Gabby looking to him and shrugging. "I'm not cooking tonight. I'm not in the mood" she replied, Mills noticing something was wrong. "Are you okay?" he asked, Gabby looking to him and nodding. "Yeah" she lied quickly walking away to Matts office, lying down on his cot. Matt saw this from Kellys office next door and he excused himself, walking into the office and closing the door. "Hey..." he said sitting at the foot of the bed, placing a hand on her leg. "Are you okay?" "Why does everyone keep asking me that?!" Gabby then asked sounding annoyed, Matt backing off. "I'm sorry..." Gabby replied sitting up, Matt nodding, replacing his hand on her leg. "How's Antonio?" "He's fine. He really scared the crap out of me though" Gabby replied. "What's wrong?" Matt asked, knowing there was something else that was bothering Gabby. "Do you remember Olivia? Olivia Benson?" she asked, Matt nodding. "She's dead" Gabby mumbled, Matt pulling her into a hug, rubbing her back.
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*AFTER SHIFT*
"Thanks Kelly for bringing me to work with you" Max said as Kelly pulled up to The Boys Home, Sylvie and Alexa in the back seat. "Oh yeah, and congrats on your baby boy!" Max exclaimed looking back to Sylvie, Kelly smiling. "Thank you!" Sylvie replied sounding flattered, Max nodding before climbing out the car, Kelly getting out on the other side. "I'll see you soon kid" Kelly said hugging him, Max gripping him tighter. "Thanks, for everything" Max replied letting go, Kelly watching him leave. In that moment Kelly felt apart of him leave with the boy. Max had already won over a piece of his heart.