✓VEGAS [CHICAGO FIRE]

twenty-four.

"But!" Kelly exclaimed, moving to stand beside Maddie. "You two have to swear that this goes no further than the four of us. We mean it or else you two won't be the godparents anymore."

Matt gave the couple an incredulous look, shifting his gaze between his two friends. "Blackmail?" 

Maddie nodded, a sheepish smile on her lips. "Blackmail." 

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

The twelfth week of the pregnancy was when the expecting parents were brought to tears. Maddie laid with her small bump exposed and Kelly clutching  her hand as Dr. Corden moved the fetal Doppler around Maddie's belly. The bump didn't look like it was carrying a human inside; it looked more like Maddie had too much to eat and her jeans were about to burst. 

"If there's no heartbeat," Kelly started, his voice tight. "Does it mean something's wrong with Porkchop?"

Porkchop was the nickname he had coined for their unborn child. Why? All because there were three consecutive days where Maddie only craved pork chops and Kelly had laughed when she had told him about the incident. 

"Not at all." Doctor Corden answered, "Maybe Porkchop is just staying in a difficult position for this check-up."

Kelly smirked when he heard the OB used the nickname too and Maddie could only roll her eyes. She pinched his side lightly and chided, "Our child is going to hate us if that nickname sticks."

"What? It's a cute─"

Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh. 

The firefighter fell quiet as the sound flowed through the room. Kelly could feel his own heartbeat ring loudly in his ears as the thought of having a baby with the woman he loved became realer and realer with each swooshing sound. 

"It looks like Porkchop wasn't being difficult after-all." Doctor Corden said, "You can see that you're baby can open and close his hands too." 

They weren't alarmed at the use of the pronoun. Over the course of their check-ups, Doctor Corden had interchangeably used his and her and the couple liked to keep it that way until the birth. 

"Oh, wow." Maddie beamed, tears springing in her eyes. "That's Porkchop's heartbeat?"

"Yes, babes." Kelly answered and leaned over to kiss her, smiling. "That's our baby right there."

And when the evening came, they had made love. Kelly thought she was beautiful but there wasn't anything more beautiful than his wife crying into his shoulder in pleasure and dissolving into a puddle of mess under his touch. Not to mention that her breasts had become tender and grown fuller─Kelly was definitely a boob man. 

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

There was light shake from her shoulder. Maddie debated if it was worth scolding Kelly for waking her up when she had just fallen asleep after using the bathroom for the ninth time that night. Her bladder was out of control. 

"Kelly." She growled in annoyance, keeping her eyes closed. "I'm too tired to have sex. Maybe later, mahal (love)." 

"Maddie, it's Gabby." 

"Oh? Did Matt spill the beans to her? Guess JJ will have to─"

"Gabby's in the hospital, babes."

That was enough to roll her out of bed. 

In under ten minutes, they had managed to get dressed and shuffle out the door. The ride to Chicago Med was silent as worry and fear floated through the car. Maddie's legs wouldn't stop bouncing and she was sure that Kelly was driving way over the speed limit. 

When they entered the hospital doors, Maddie caught sight of Matt sitting among the chairs and Chief Boden pacing. They shared a look and wordlessly went to console their friends. 

Maddie sat beside the Truck lieutenant. For a brief second, Matt had looked up to see who it was and then continued to bury his head in his calloused hands. It was probably  because of the migraine he was having due to all the stress. She knew he didn't need to be told that everything was going to be okay. All he needed were his friends and so she took his hand and squeezed it in reassurance. Matt gave her thankful─though sad─smile and placed his head on her shoulder, closing his eyes for some peace. 

After a few more minutes of silent anticipation, Dr. Will Halstead walked out and his expression had told the crowd of three everything. As Matt left to speak with the doctor, Kelly had taken his spot and it was now Maddie who laid her head on his shoulder. Sensing the stress she was feeling, Kelly started to rub small circles on her back and pressed a kiss to her head. 

Maddie sighed heavily, closing her eyes and dreading the answer. "Did Gabby─?"

"Yeah." Kelly croaked out. 

"O─oh."

"Matt and I are going to finish the investigation she was working on. Are you─"

"I'll stay with Gabby." She told him, "It's my day-off anyway." 

"Mads, are you sure? You hate hospitals." He countered, eyeing her. Kelly lowered his voice, "And, stress isn't good for you or our baby."

Maddie met his gaze. "I can stay with her. She needs someone there when she wakes up."

Smiling gratefully, Kelly kissed her. "Thank you, Mads. You're amazing, you know that, right?" 

She rolled her eyes and hummed. "Yes because you tell me every day, lieutenant." 

"I'm not a lieutenant anymore."

"You'll get it back." Maddie told him in full confidence, "Now, go on and save the day!"