#sevwhump

[girlinlotsoffandoms]

day twenty seven - road rage

notes: in honor of The Tortured Poets Department release....another chapter of me torturing Kelly in some way.

See you soon for part two

read on AO3 or below

Life for the Severides had been nearly perfect for several months. There were many reasons, but the main reason was that Stella was pregnant.

The pregnancy had been a surprise. They’d talked about kids and knew that kids would be in their future, but they hadn’t exactly been trying for a baby when Stella got pregnant. Nonetheless, it was a happy accident and after the initial shock wore off, Kelly and Stella were ecstatic about becoming parents.

Thankfully, Stella’s pregnancy had been textbook and now, at 37 weeks, she and Kelly were waiting on pins and needles for their baby to arrive.

It was the morning after Stella’s baby shower and Kelly was taking Katie to the airport before shift. His sister had flown in a few days before to spend time with the expectant parents and celebrate her first niece or nephew. It had been a wonderful few days, but Katie had only those few days before she had to fly home and return to work.

Kelly had volunteered to drop her off at the airport before heading to the firehouse that morning so he kissed Stella goodbye and he and Katie were on their way.

Neither of them knew how the day would turn out.

The airport wasn’t too busy, one of the few perks of the early morning hour, so it didn’t take long for Kelly to drop Katie off at departures. He still had over an hour and a half before shift started but he didn’t want to risk waking Stella up again by returning home just to leave a little while later. So, Kelly swung by Starbucks to grab a coffee and started the drive towards the firehouse. 

He’d decided to take the longer way to work since he had the time. It’d be a decision Kelly would quickly come to regret. 

Firehouse 51 was quite a ways away from the airport. The drive was quite scenic at this time of morning and with the lack of traffic, Kelly found himself enjoying the drive. That was until he clocked a black sports car in his rearview mirror.  

The driver seemed to be distracted or even under the influence—his car was swerving dangerously and he crossed the line into the other lane several times. 

Based on how quickly the distance between the two cars had been closed, it was clear to Kelly that the man had been speeding and the gestures currently being thrown proved he wasn’t happy having to slow down. Kelly would’ve happily pulled off to the side and let the guy pass but there was just nowhere safe to do so yet.

Kelly could see a parking lot further up the road and was planning on pulling in but it seemed the man behind him did not want to wait that long to pass.

The Mercedes that had been tailgating him relentlessly the past few minutes suddenly swerved into the other lane and came up alongside Kelly’s car. Even through the dark, tinted windows, Kelly could see the rage and frustration on the other driver’s face.

Without warning, they swerved again, slamming into Kelly’s car with a sickening crunch.

The impact of the hit sent Kelly careening off the road and down the embankment. As Kelly fought to regain control of his car, he saw the black Mercedes speeding down the road.

Kelly’s fight for control was fruitless. Just seconds after his car was bumped from the road it came to a stop, head-on into a group of trees. 

The front of Kelly’s car crumpled with the impact and the seatbelt did little to keep Kelly from being tossed around. His head bounced off the window, cracking under the force of the hit. The airbag deployed and stopped Kelly before he could smack into the steering wheel. 

WIth unconsciousness threatening to overtake him, Kelly reached for his phone to call 9-1-1. It wasn’t in the cupholder as it had been previously and with his very limited mobility, Kelly couldn’t feel it anywhere else. 

He couldn’t move, the now crumpled dashboard trapping his legs.

His head hurt something fierce and while he hadn’t checked, Kelly was certain he was bleeding.

He had no way to call for help and couldn’t hear any other cars driving by who could offer help. 

Despite the sun rising higher in the sky, the darkness overwhelming Kelly grew stronger. His last thought before giving in were of Stella and their baby.

… … …

It was just after 8:00 am when Stella made her way into the guest room turned nursery. All of the gifts from the baby shower had been placed there since they’d returned home. Stella took her time going through each gift; she separated the clothes and blankets to wash, she put the toys and books away in the spots they’d planned, and she stored some diapers away in one of the drawers before stacking the other boxes in the closet.

She was so distracted she missed the first call that came through. She caught the second one though and Stella answered when Violet’s name scrolled across her phone screen. “Hey Vi, what’s up?”

“Hey, is Severide running late by chance?”

“No… He left at like 6 this morning because he had to drop his sister off at the airport.” Stella explained. She felt a pit growing in her stomach. The clock on the wall said it was after 9:00 am. Even If there was heavy traffic, Kelly should’ve had plenty of time to get to work. “Why? What’s going on?”

“He hasn’t shown up yet,” Violet said gently. “And we haven’t been able to get ahold of him.”

“Wh-what?” Stella quickly put Violet’s call on speaker and checked to see if she’d missed any calls or texts from Kelly. Nothing. She pulled up his location and couldn’t find it anywhere on the map. “I can’t find his location.”

The sadness and growing desperation in Stella’s voice was easily heard through the phone. 

“Yeah, we tried calling him a few times before we called you but they all went to voicemails,” Violet said gently. “Let’s not panic just yet, there might be a perfectly reasonable explanation.” “Like what, Violet?”

Violet sighed. “I don’t know, but here’s what we’re going to do. I’m going to come pick you up and bring you to the firehouse. We’ll figure out the next steps then but I don’t think you should be alone right now.”

“Yeah, okay,” Stella said quietly, moving towards her and Kelly’s bedroom. “I’ll be ready when you get here.”

Stella hung up the phone and got dressed and ready as quickly as she could. While she waited for Violet to arrive, Stella grabbed her phone and dialed Kelly’s number. She desperately hoped Kelly would answer and tell her he was okay and this was all a big misunderstanding but all she was met with was his voicemail message. 

With a sigh, Stella sat on the bed with her phone in her hand. She blinked back the tears welling up in her eyes and tried to calm down. The pit in her stomach had only grown larger in the past few minutes but she needed to stay calm. Stress wasn’t good for the baby and the last thing Stella wanted was to stress herself into labor when she had no idea where Kelly was or if he was okay.

Kelly had to be okay, there was no other option.

Stella couldn’t do this alone.

[girlinlotsoffandoms]

day twenty six - thrown out of a window

notes: the end is in sight! thanks for sticking around!

read on AO3 or below

Kelly’s repeated involvement with OFI had been the source of many, many arguments between him and Stella in the past. After his time in Alabama put a huge strain on their marriage, Kelly really cut back on full-scale arson investigations and only let his ‘fire cop’ side out when he had Stella’s full support.

Kelly had a natural talent for arson investigation and denying him the opportunity to use that talent was doing him, the CFD, and the city of Chicago (and beyond) a disservice. Stella never wanted Kelly to feel like she was holding him back, and he’d earned her trust again after Arizona, so she tried to be on board with Fire Cop Kelly coming out every now and then.

Things had been going well for Kelly; he was focusing on Stella, their relationship, and his job at the firehouse. Truck was going through a lot of changes and Kelly wanted to be there for Stella as much as he could.

Then the fires started.

At first, they were small. The fires only caused structural damage but it was clear they’d been intentionally set. Chicago had itself a serial arsonist.

Very quickly, the fires got bigger and more dangerous as the arsonist grew bolder. More injuries were reported as the arsonist moved on from abandoned buildings to stores, businesses, and apartments.

Two firefighters died after a collapse at a department store fire, which was a loss felt by every member of the CFD, and others were injured in a fire at an office building but it was the members of Truck 81 getting trapped and nearly dying during an apartment fire that did it for Kelly. The arsonist needed to be stopped so, with Stella’s blessing and a whole lot of anger and determination, Kelly made a temporary jump to OFI. 

Time was of the essence but there was a lot of evidence to get through. The arsonist was careful but the bigger and bolder he got, the sloppier he became. A pattern became noticeable and, whether intentional or not, clues were left behind at different scenes.

The police were helping as well, turning over any recovered CCTV footage from the fires to OFI. Between the camera footage and tips called in, Kelly and the OFI team finally had a lead on who the arsonist was and where he was hiding. 

It was just after sunset when the OFI team rolled up to a rundown motel near the city limits. It was a seedy looking place, just two stories tall and in desperate need of renovations. Half the rooms were boarded up, there were cracks in the walls and rust on the railings and stairs. The motel had closed a while ago but the accompanying police officers said they wouldn’t be surprised if people had taken to squatting in the empty rooms. 

One by one they searched through the rooms. While there were signs of obvious squatting, none of the rooms so far had shown any recent activity. 

Until they arrived at the room on the corner.

Kelly was the first one through the door and right away, he knew they’d found the right room. The walls were covered with newspaper clippings of the fires, those that mentioned deaths and injuries were front and center. Bottles of accelerants and empty gas cans were scattered on the floor, along with boxes of matches, lighters, and other fire-starting mechanisms.  

Seager radioed the others to report what they found while Kelly moved further into the hotel room. He knew PD would come and process the room and hopefully give them an ID on this guy, but Kelly was more interested in trying to figure out this guy’s next target.

As Kelly approached the back of the room, a sudden rush of movement caught his eye. A door on the side of the room burst open and a man rushed towards Kelly. There was a quick fight, but Kelly was soon overpowered. Before he even knew what was happening, Kelly was crashing through the back window and falling to the ground below.

Pain engulfed Kelly’s body as he hit the cracked asphalt below. His vision blurred and he fought to stay conscious but he was in agony. Through the ringing in his ears, Kelly heard yelling and thundering footsteps growing louder as they came closer. 

Kelly’s last thought, before he gave into the overwhelming darkness, was the arsonist’s face and the overwhelming knowledge that Kelly had recognized him.

… … …

It was a slow night at Molly’s, just the 51 crew and a few regulars in the bar. Stella was behind the bar and had just served Violet and Carver another round of drinks when her phone rang. She didn’t recognize the number, which normally meant she wouldn’t answer, but there was a gnawing feeling in her gut that told her to answer it.

“Hello?”

Stella listened for a minute, her eyes growing wider and wider as each second passed. “Is he okay?!”

After another minute Stella threw her dish towel on the counter, grabbed her keys, and started rushing towards the door. “I’ll be right there!”

“Kidd, hey,” Herrmann said, grabbing her arm gently before she made it around the bar. “What’s going on?”

“That was Seager. The serial arsonist OFI was looking for? He just threw Kelly out of a second-story window.” Stella looked at Herrmann and noticed she had the attention of everyone else from 51. “I need to get to Med.”

… … …

It took about an hour for all of the team from 51 to make it to the hospital, where they joined Stella and the OFI team in the waiting room. Apart from the initial update Seager and Van Meter had been able to give Stella when she arrived, they hadn’t heard anything else about Kelly’s condition. 

It was another 30 minutes before Dr. Ripley came into the ED with an update. 

“Lieutenant Severide is going to be fine,” he shared. He gave the group a moment to soak the news in, knowing the group in front of him cared greatly for his patient. “He’s got a pretty bad concussion, some broken ribs and a broken shoulder from the fall, but those should heal up just fine in a few months.”

“Our biggest concern is the fractures on the C5 and C6 vertebrae.”

“He broke his neck?!” Stella cried, the shock and fear making her voice louder than she intended.

“He did,” Dr. Ripley confirmed. “But ortho and neurology have both been in to see him. He’ll be in a neck brace while the fractures heal but as of now, there’s no need for surgical intervention. Neuro has also ruled out any deficits and paralysis. As he heals, Lieutenant Severide might experience some weakness and nerve pain but we’ll get him a referral to physical therapy for the rehab process.” 

“We’ll be keeping Severide overnight to monitor his concussion and get a handle on his pain. He’s being moved to a room now and then you guys are good to go see him.”

“Thank you, Dr. Ripley.” Stella said, sincerely.

Dr. Ripley nodded and headed back into the ED. The waiting group of firefighters and arson investigators all relished in the relief that Kelly would (eventually) be fine.

“That Severide luck strikes again,” Capp murmured.

“What luck is that Capp?” Cruz asked. “The bad luck that keeps getting him hurt or the good luck that has him surviving?”

“Uhh, both?”

Stella snorted and that helped break any remaining tension in the waiting room. Kelly Severide was a lucky guy…whether it was good luck or bad seemed to change in the blink of an eye. 

… … …

Kelly Severide was miserable. The neck brace and sling were uncomfortable, his entire body hurt, and no amount of pain medication could completely get rid of the throbbing ache in his head.

Seeing the team from 51 had been nice. Kelly had missed seeing everyone and while he liked the OFI team, they weren’t his team. They kept the visit short since visiting hours were almost over but they were all just happy to see Kelly awake and relatively okay.

When just Stella and Boden were left in the room with Kelly, Seager and Van Meter entered.

“Severide, how are you feeling?” Van Meter asked as he came to a stop at the foot of Kelly’s bed.

Kelly shrugged (or tried to) his good shoulder. “Not my first time going out a window.”

“Hopefully it’s your last,” Stella said, fixing him with a glare. “Take the stairs next time, hmm?”

“Hopefully there won’t be a next time.”

“The arsonist you were chasing,” Boden started. “Did you get him?”

“We did,” Van Meter answered. “PD is holding him at the precinct but he’s not talking yet.”

“Who is he?” Stella asked.

Before Van Meter could answer, Kelly jumped in. “Martin Carlisle.”

“That’s right,” Van Meter confirmed, raising an eyebrow at Kelly. “How’d you know that?”

“I met him in Alabama. He was an arson investigator from California, I think? He ended up getting sent home early for spouting all this crazy rhetoric. He presented a few times and had the most outlandish takes. Every time he got correct or even questioned he’d get mad and just spew even more nonsense. He got hostile so they sent him home.” Kelly explained. “No one knows for sure what happened to him after he got sent home but rumor was that he got fired.”

“Any idea what brought him to Chicago?” Seager asked.

“None,” Kelly mumbled. “But Carlisle did get into with me and a few others as he left. I’d check and see if there were any suspicious fires in Houston, Atlanta, and Seattle before he came here.”

“You think he’s done this before?”

“Maybe? I wouldn’t put it past him.”

Van Meter nodded and finished jotting something down in his notebook. “We’ll look into it, thanks Severide.”

“Rest up,” Seager added. “The CFD needs you.”

Seager and Van Meter left after that, heading back to OFI to look into the information Kelly had given them. 

Boden stayed with Kelly and Stella for a little while longer before heading out himself. He had things to handle on his end and he had some calls to make: he wanted to find our more about this Carlisle guy.

Once they were alone, Stella ran her fingers through Kelly’s hair. He’d gotten quiet since Van Meter and Seager left and Stella knew he was lost in his thoughts. “You okay?”

“Yeah,” Kelly moved his eyes to look at Stella. “It’s just a lot.”

“You know this isn’t your fault, right? Whatever choices this guy made, the destruction he caused, that’s all on him.”

“I know.” 

And Kelly did know. This wasn’t the first time he’d heard of an arsonist making things personal like this. Hell, thanks to Hadley, this wasn’t even the first time he’d been on an arsonist’s hit list. Their actions were completely their own but innocent people had been injured, good firefighters had been killed, his wife and her team had almost died. The fact that Carlisle could’ve done all of this as some sort of revenge plot against him made the guilt feel worse than the broken neck. 

“It still sucks though.”

“Yeah, it does.”

Stella knew her husband well. If Carlisle had done all of this to get back at Kelly, she knew he’d carry the guilt with him for a long time. He wouldn’t be carrying it alone though; she’d be there, helping him carry it, every step of the way.

[girlinlotsoffandoms]

day twenty two - blood loss

notes: this one might be a little icky for those of you who don't like reading about blood

read on AO3 or below

Fire stations were thought to be a safe place. Between all the rescue equipment, supplies, and trained personnel held inside their walls, few places were safer than a fire station. For the people of Chicago, Firehouse 51 and the other CFD houses were seen as places of safety and security. Sure, there had been moments where Firehouse 51 hadn’t been a beacon of safety—like when protesters swarmed the station, a bomb was left outside, or when someone with a gun broke in (more than once)—but as a whole, the house was safe.

Until it wasn’t. 

The day had started normally with no one suspecting how quickly their day would change. 

The shift had been slow so far, with only two easy calls in the 8 hours they’d been there. Slow days were few and far between for 51 so when those slow days happened, they tried to use them to their advantage. For some that meant resting or cooking, for others it meant catching up on cleaning, organizing, or restocking, but for Squad 3 it meant drills to master new skills and testing their equipment to make sure everything was top-notch. The CFD had just gotten a shipment of new K12s for the Squad teams and Kelly wanted to make sure his team knew their new gear, in and out.

He took pride in his guys and their unit. Squad 3 was one of the best Rescue Squads in the CFD and Kelly wanted to uphold that reputation. That meant staying on top of their skills.

If you asked any of the Squad guys what happened, they wouldn’t have an answer; it all happened so quickly. One minute they were working with their new K12 saw against their prop door and then, in a split second, everything changed. The saw malfunctioned, causing the blade’s safety cover to fall away just as the saw lurched upwards. The spinning blade, no longer protected by the safety cover, made contact with Kelly’s arm.

The blade sliced into his forearm easily, like a hot knife cutting through butter. 

Kelly screamed; a loud, pain-filled yell reverberating through the firehouse.

The contact was brief, lasting mere milliseconds before the saw was pulled away, but the damage was done. 

There was a large gash down the length of Kelly’s forearm, spanning from just below his elbow to a few inches before his wrist, and the cut was deep.

Blood poured from Kelly’s arm, coating his uniform, the door, and the floor beneath him. Kelly groaned loudly and pulled his arm closer to him.

Capp grabbed a nearby towel (thankfully they were planning on washing the trucks later that day), wrapped it around Kelly’s arm, and squeezed tight. Kelly yelled again.

“Sorry Lieutenant,” Capp murmured apologetically. “But we’ve got to slow this bleeding down.”

Kelly understood but that didn’t make anything feel better. The pain in his arm was killer and he didn’t know what concerned him most: the blood loss or the numbness in his hand. Given that the towel Capp had wrapped his arm with just seconds later was now completely soaked with blood, he figured that was the most pressing issue (and probably the cause of the numbness).

That much blood in such a short amount of time was not a good sign.

Tony grabbed a new towel and traded off with Capp to apply pressure to Kelly’s arm while Cruz helped elevate it.

Between the blood loss and the shock, Kelly was really starting to feel the effects. He was lightheaded and feeling weaker by the second. He did get an adrenaline rush, just enough to keep him from passing out, as the sound of running feet signaled the arrival of the rest of the crew.

“We heard a scream, what’s—” Casey cut himself off at the sight of all the blood. “What the hell happened?!”

“Something happened with the saw! It cut Severide’s arm.” Cruz answered.

“Oh god,” Stella groaned, taking in all the blood covering her fiance, his team, and the floor beneath him. She wanted to run to him, be there with him and comfort him, but she didn’t want to get in anyone’s way. 

Brett and Violet surged forward, immediately slipping into paramedic mode. Violet yelled for Gallo to grab their med kits and the truck rookie quickly brought them over. Brett and Violet quickly pulled on a pair of gloves and started their exam.

“Severide, how we feeling?” Violet asked as she grabbed his uninjured arm. She moved her fingers to his wrist to check his pulse and frowned at what she felt.

“Dizzy,” Kelly mumbled. “Can’t feel my hand… wish I couldn’t feel my arm.”

Violet snorted. “I bet.” She traded places with Cruz and took over elevating Kelly’s arm.

The towel Tony had been using to apply pressure was so caked with blood that Brett had to carefully pull it away from the sliced flesh of Kelly’s arm. When she finally got it away and could see the damage, her eyes went wide and she shared a look with Violet. The others got a clear view of Kelly’s arm too, and it made them sick.

The cut on Kelly’s arm was deep with jagged edges thanks to the saw’s teeth and there was still so much blood pouring from the wound. Kelly’s arm was so stained with blood they weren’t sure it’d ever be clean again.

What concerned Brett and Violet the most was the fact that the blood was pumping in sync with Kelly’s pulse.

Brett quickly grabbed a trauma dressing and placed it on the wound. She knew it wouldn’t stop the bleeding, but she was hoping it’d at least slow it a little.

Violet grabbed a tourniquet out of the med kit. She locked eyes with Kelly as she carefully repositioned his arm. “This is going to hurt but I think the saw hit an artery and we need to get the bleeding stopped.”

Kelly nodded and tried to prepare himself but it didn’t help. He groaned and cursed quietly before nearly passing out. Cruz, Capp, and Tony stepped in to hold him up.

With the tourniquet on, the bleeding had finally stopped. Everyone took a breath but it was hard to relax with all the blood still in front of them. Blood aside, Kelly didn’t look good either. His normally tan skin had lost a lot of color, he was sweating, and he looked ready to collapse at any second.

Violet reached for his wrist to check his pulse again. She looked at her PIC. “We need to go. Now.”

Brett nodded and finished wrapping gauze around the trauma dressing. Once that was done, she grabbed the med kit and hurried to the ambulance. Violet followed behind, helping the Squad guys get Kelly safely in the ambulance and on the gurney. Stella climbed in quickly after and Brett was speeding off to Med before the bay doors were fully even opened. 

[girlinlotsoffandoms]

day twenty eight - rescue

notes: here we are, the penultimate chapter! Crazy that there's only one chapter left! Even crazier that I only have 4 days to get it done lol

read on AO3 or below

When Stella arrived at the firehouse with Violet, Trudy was waiting for her with the rest of the team. She was in full Sergeant mode and had her notepad out, ready to write down any information Stella could give her.

Stella told her all the basic information about Kelly’s car and his license plate and confirmed that he left the loft at 6:00 am to take Katie to the airport.

“And are you sure his sister made her flight?” Trudy asked.

Stella nodded. “She texted me about an hour and a half ago and said she landed.”

“What about any of his cards? Can you access the accounts and see if any of his cards were used?”

Pulling out her phone, Stella looked through their accounts for anything that could help them find Kelly. “The only thing I see is a charge for Starbucks. It’s not enough for two coffees so I’m assuming he went after he dropped Katie off.”

“There’s a Starbucks close to O’Hare so that’s a safe bet.”Trudy nodded and wrote the information down. “I’ve got a few friends in the 16th district, I’ll reach out and see if they can track him down on pod footage.”

Trudy stood up and grabbed her stuff to leave. “I’ll file a missing person report, just so it’s official, and get all this information sent over to the 16th. Then I’ll light a fire under all of their asses and keep it there until we figure this out and find that husband of yours.”

“Thanks Trudy.”

Trudy gave Stella a rare smile and squeezed her shoulder in silent support as she passed. As Trudy headed out of the firehouse, she left an entire shift of confused and worried firefighters in her wake.

Stella knew Trudy was good at her job and would give them updates as she got them, but that wasn’t going to make the wait for answers any easier.

… … …

Muffled voices calling out, some close by and others further in the distance.

The whirring of rescue equipment soon coupled with the cutting and groaning of metal.

More buzzing of equipment and the groaning and popping of plastic and the pressure was off of Kelly’s legs.

Hands began touching him, something stiff and plastic was secured around his neck and he was carefully moved out of the mangled car.

Kelly was hovering just below consciousness and despite how badly he wanted to wake up and answer the calls and questions being thrown at him, he couldn’t push through the last of the darkness.

The fresh waves of pain crashing through his body with each movement certainly didn’t help. His head hurt, his ribs ached, and the feeling returning to his legs were like electric shocks.

It was all intense and overwhelming and easily plunged Kelly back into deep unconsciousness.

… … …

It was barely an hour after Trudy left that Stella’s phone rang, an unknown number scrolling across her screen. She’d been all but clutching the phone in her hands since Trudy left, willing a call to come through with information on where her husband was.

The others turned to look at Stella

expectantly as she quickly answered the call. “Hello?”

“Hi, is this Stella Kidd?”

“This is…”

“Hi Stella, my name is Sarah and I’m a nurse at Lakeshore Hospital. We have a patient who was just brought into our Emergency Department and you’re listed as his emergency contact in his records. A Kelly Severide?”

“He’s my husband,” Stella perked up instantly and the rest of the team did as well. “Is he okay?!”

“The doctors are examining him now.”

“I’ll be there as soon as I can,” Stella said, standing from her seat. “Thank you so much.”

Stella turned to face the anxious group of firefighters. “That was a nurse from Lakeshore. Kelly was just brought into the ED.”

“Is he okay?” Violet asked.

“All the nurse said was that the doctors were with him.” Stella started collecting her things. “I need to get to Lakeshore.”

Before anyone could say anything or remind Stella that Violet had driven her to the firehouse, the alarm rang out.

“Go,” Boden ordered. “I’ll take Stella to Lakeshore. Meet us there when you can.”

“Yes, Chief!”

As the trucks rolled out to head to their call, Boden and Stella headed across town to Lakeshore.

When they arrived at the ED, Stella went straight to the nurse behind the desk and asked for information on Kelly. The nurse couldn’t tell her much, only that he was still with the doctors and she’d be updated when they had more information.

The cops who found her a few minutes later were much more helpful.

“Excuse me, Stella Kidd?” At Stella’s nod, the officer continued. “I’m Office Jacobs, this is Officer Winter. We’ve been assigned to your husband’s case.”

Stella nodded again and she and Boden shook their hands. “Can you tell me what’s going on?”

“We can’t tell you everything because there is an open investigation, but your husband was involved in what we believe is a road rage incident. His car was run off the road where it crashed into a tree.” Officer Winters explained. “When Sergeant Platt sent over the missing persons information, we were able to find him on the cameras around O’Hare and followed his car. After leaving Starbucks, he drove for about 10 minutes before the incident occurred.”

“That was what? Around 6:30 this morning?” Stella asked, concern and irritation filling her voice. “We didn’t know anything was wrong until almost 9:00 and it was after 10:00 am when I got the call that he was here.”

“The road he was on when the incident occurred was a more scenic road,” Officer Jacobs explained. “Lots of trees and not a lot of traffic, especially that early in the morning.”

“Was he trapped in his car that entire time?” Fear crept into Stella’s voice. The officers in front of her didn’t even need to answer; their faces told her all she needed to know. “Oh god.”

Boden wrapped an arm around Stella comfortingly.

“A couple of runners spotted his car and called 911.” Office Winters shared.

“What about the car that hit Severide?” Boden asked the officers.

“We got the make, model, and license plate from the camera footage and there’s an APB out for the car and the driver. We’ll get him.”

The opening of the ED doors and the arrival of one of Lakeshore’s doctors effectively stopped any additional questions. He walked over to the group and introduced himself as Dr. Morgen.

“You all here for Kelly Severide?” Dr. Morgen asked.

“He’s my husband,” Stella answered. “How is he?”

“Given the circumstances, he got lucky. He’s got a grade 3 concussion, whiplash, a few badly bruised ribs from the impact of the crash, and some severe bruising on his legs from the dashboard.” Dr. Morgen explained. “He’s regained consciousness and apart from the typical nausea, headache, and sensitivities associated with concussions, there are no deficits we’ve observed so far. There was some confusion when he initially woke up but his memory seems to be intact now.”

“So he’s going to be okay?”

“He’ll be off work for a few weeks and he’ll be dealing with the headache and nausea for a while, especially since his records indicate that this isn’t his first concussion, but I have no doubts he’ll make a full recovery.” Dr. Morgen shared.

“Can I see him?” The news from the doctor had calmed some of the anxiety and fear that had been threatening to crush her the past few hours, but she needed to see her husband.

Dr. Morgen nodded. “Of course. We’re going to keep him for observation for a few hours but unless something happens or his symptoms worsen, I don’t see us keeping him overnight.”

Stella moved to follow the doctor and so did Officers Winter and Jacobs but Boden stopped them. Stella could Boden tell the officers to give Stella a minute with Kelly alone and she, once again, found herself more than thankful for the older man’s support.

When they got to the treatment bay Kelly was in, Dr. Morgen left Stella to go check on another patient. When Stella pulled aside the curtain and saw Kelly reclined on the stretcher looking miserable but alive, all of her remaining fear melted away.

Tears flooded her eyes and Stella all but ran to his side. “God, Kelly!”

Kelly, despite the soreness and dizziness and nausea, sat up immediately and pulled Stella into his arms as soon as she was close enough. “I’m okay.”

“I was so scared. I didn’t even know anything had happened until Violet called and said you hadn’t shown up at work.”Stella sniffled, leaning back in Kelly’s arms so she could look him in the eyes. “I had to file a missing persons report so Trudy could get police at the 16th district to start looking for you and all I could think about was losing you and having to raise this baby on my own.”

“I’m sorry,” Kelly apologized and moved his hands to cup Stella’s belly. “Ever since we found out you were pregnant I’ve been trying to be more careful because there’s nothing more in the world I want than to raise a baby with you. I’m so sorry.”

“I’m just so glad you’re okay.” One of Stella’s hands joined Kelly’s on her belly and the other went to cup his cheek. “I am sorry about your car though.”

Kelly shrugged. He did love his car but if he had to choose between his car and his life and future, the car would lose every time. “It wasn’t the most practical car with a baby coming anyway.”

Before Stella could say anything else, there was a knock on the window of Kelly’s treatment room. After a moment, Boden entered with Officer Winter and Officer Jacobs. The officers introduced themselves to Kelly and took his statement on the events. It didn’t take long and the officers left soon after.

Boden didn’t stay long either. Now that Kelly had been found and was relatively okay, the District Chief needed to get back to work. He promised Kelly that he’d let the team know how he was doing and that they’d come up with a plan to get Stella’s car to the hospital for them to take home later before leaving.

It had been a long, hard day for the Severides but even the longest days eventually came to an end. Kelly was released to go home that evening. The few days after the crash had been the hardest of his recovery but after a painfully long week, he was feeling back to normal.

Just in time for baby Severide to make her grand entrance into the world.

[girlinlotsoffandoms]

day twenty five - burns

notes: so unfortunately febwhump turned marwhump has officially become whumpril oof

but the end is in sight! Thanks for sticking around and continuing to support my sadistic torturing/injuring of Kelly Severide

read on AO3 or below

A firefighter’s turnouts were supposed to be nearly indestructible -- designed to withstand up to 1600 degrees and made to last. Time on the job, dangerous rescues, and frequent prolonged exposure to fires could shorten the lifespan of turnouts but if they were properly maintained, firefighters could go their entire career with the same pair.

Kelly had had the same pair of turnouts since he graduated from the Academy. It was well-worn and well-loved and had saved Kelly’s life more times than he could count. All those years and close calls were likely why it was deemed a candidate for replacement.

Stella had teased him about it after Kylie dropped the turnouts off. “Might be time to put in for a new coat Lieutenant,” she had said playfully. Kelly had, of course, balked at the idea. “Not a chance, this is my lucky jacket,” he had argued.

Hindsight, as always, was 20/20.

He really wished he listened to Stella.

… … …

It had been a busy shift for Firehouse 51. All of the trucks had had their fair share of calls, but they were all relatively minor. It wasn’t until mid-afternoon that they got a call for the entire station. A fire had broken out in an office building downtown and Firehouse 51 was just one of several stations responding to the call.

Arriving on the scene, 51 was met with absolute chaos. The fire had already taken over a third of the building, dark smoke billowing out of the broken windows, and dozens of office workers were rushing out of the building.

Firehouse 67 had already arrived on the scene and were hitting the fire from the outside and starting a triage for the injured. Fifty-One quickly geared up and headed into the building.

Thankfully, the part of the building on fire had been under construction for the last week. All the offices had been emptied before construction started and the construction crew had gone home for the day. That meant there should be no victims in need of saving and they could focus all their efforts on battling the flames.

Engine and Truck led the way with hoses while Kelly and the Squad guys worked to vent and look for any possible victims.

Kelly had just vented through a room when he felt an intense, burning heat on his left arm and all down his back. The heat from the fire had been intense from the get-go, but this heat was different. Turning his head, Kelly saw that his turnout jacket had caught fire.

Turnouts were made to handle fire, they were supposed to handle exposure to flames, but the searing pain and blistering heat Kelly was experiencing told him his turnouts had failed. 

Kelly screamed and dropped his Halligan. Even over the crackling of the flames and the powerful stream of water erupting from the hoses, Kelly’s pained scream rang clear and captured the attention of his teammates.

He collapsed to his knees, the pain overwhelming him.

“Kelly!” Stella yelled, watching helplessly as her husband collapsed to the floor.

Cruz, Capp, and Tony immediately rushed to their Lieutenant.

“Hey! Point that hose over here!” Cruz shouted.

Stella and Gallo turned towards the Squad team and sprayed the flames on Kelly’s back. 

As soon as the flames were out, the damage to Kelly’s turnout coat was clearly visible. Parts of the jacket had melted. It was a nasty sight, one that made Cruz, Capp, and Tony wince when they saw it. They hoped that Severide’s turnout coat, even though it had failed, had still done enough to protect him from the flames but the groans coming from the Squad Lieutenant crushed those hopes.

Capp and Tony carefully helped Kelly up and Cruz led the trio out of the building.

“Chief! Severide’s hurt!” Cruz called through his radio. “We’re bringing him out now!”

“What’s going on Cruz?” Boden’s voice sounded through the radio.

“Something happened with his turnouts. He got burned!”  

Outside the building, Boden shared a concerned look with Brett and Violet as Cruz’s update came through the radio. Brett and Violet immediately sprang into action, prepping their gear and getting everything they would need to treat burns ready.

It was just a few minutes later that Squad rushed out of the office building all but carrying Kelly between them. Capp and Tony sat him on the stretcher and Cruz immediately began taking all of Kelly’s equipment off.

Once Kelly was free of all his gear, Brett and Violet stepped in and began gently peeling his turnout coat off. The coat came off easily, which was a miracle given the holes that had appeared in the melted material. The polo Kelly had on beneath his turnout did not fare as well and parts of it were stuck to some of his worst burns.

Brett began gently cutting away his polo while Violet checked his blood pressure and started him on an IV, giving Kelly some much-needed and much-appreciated pain relief.

Boden asked Cruz, Capp, and Tony what had happened but all they could say was that one minute Severide was venting rooms and the next he was on fire. Turning his attention to Kelly, Boden asked him the same question but Kelly didn’t have a different answer.

When Brett had most of Kelly’s polo cut away, she flushed the entire area with saline and wrapped the area in sterile gauze. 

By the time Brett was finished, the fire had been extinguished inside. There were a few hotspots left but Herrmann and the Engine crew could easily handle them. Stella left Mouch, Gallo, and Carver inside to help Engine when Boden radioed they were getting ready to transport Kelly.

Stella quickly joined Kelly outside, climbing into the ambulance next to him and holding his hand.

… … …

Brett and Violet were waiting in the ED waiting room at Med when the rest of 51 rolled in an hour later but Stella was nowhere to be found.

“How’s Severide?” Boden asked for the group.

“The prognosis is good,” Brett said, standing to join the team. “Second-degree burns on his arm and back and almost full-thickness burns on his shoulder. Recovery’s going to hurt like hell and he’s going to need weeks of physical therapy to maintain full mobility as the skin heals but he should make a full recovery.”

“Thank god,” Cruz said.

Before anyone could ask anything else, Stella walked back out through the ED doors. The group of firefighters and paramedics looked at her expectantly. 

“They’re taking Kelly into surgery to debride the burns and they’ll be keeping him overnight for pain management and antibiotics but he should be out of here tomorrow.” 

“How’s he feeling?” Boden asked. 

Stella smirked. “He’s in much better spirits now that they’ve got him on some good pain meds. He’s annoyed but I think that’s mainly because he has to get a new turnout jacket. He mumbled something along the lines of ‘lucky jacket my ass’ when the drugs for his surgery started to kick in.”

That got a chuckle out of everyone and lightened the mood a bit. 

Severide’s turnout might not have done its full job, but it did save him from a worse fate. Maybe, when Kelly was recovered and back at the firehouse, they’d memorialize his turnout next to Otis’s cane.

[girlinlotsoffandoms]

day twenty nine - fallen

notes: we’ve made it guys! Two months later than originally intended but we’re finally at the last chapter! Thank you all for the continued support as this febwhump saga became Marwhump and ultimately whumpril 😅

This chapter is taken from a current WIP of mine that will hopefully one day see the light of day. Enjoy!

read on AO3 or below

Firehouse 51 had been one of three stations that responded to a gas main explosion that caused a partial collapse of an apartment building. Fifty-one had been tasked with searching for and evacuating any remaining tenants while the other houses worked to extinguish the flames.

The damage was devastating, and Kelly knew, as he weaved through the debris in the hallways, there was no saving the building. It was going to be condemned if not demolished. There was a small silver lining—the explosion happened in the middle of a workday, meaning most of the tenants were at work or school. The few residents that were still in the building were elderly or retirees.

The only downside was, according to the building manager, they were scattered over different floors and a few were in the direct path of the explosion.

Severide was clearing a unit on the second floor, almost directly over the site of the explosion when he found a victim. The victim was elderly and had clearly been thrown by the shockwave. They were obviously injured but the rescue would be dangerous, even getting into the apartment would be dangerous. The structural integrity of the building was lacking in the undamaged parts of the complex but in the area directly affected by the explosion? It was abysmal. If he was going to save this victim, Kelly knew he had to work smart and work fast.

“Fire department! Can you hear me?” Kelly yelled.

The response was muffled, but Kelly could hear it clearly. “I’m here! I need help!”

“I hear you! I’m coming to get you!” Kelly yelled back then radioed Boden about the victim and requested assistance. Severide heard Cruz say he was on his way over the radio and he took that as his sign to enter the apartment.

Severide made his way over to the victim, an older man as he came to find out, and from first glance it was clear that Severide wouldn’t be able to get the victim out himself. The man, Victor as he introduced himself, had a piece of metal protruding from his abdomen. There was minimal blood loss which meant the metal was acting as a stopper, keeping him from possibly bleeding out.

The scene was too precarious to allow Gabby and Brett inside so Severide (and Cruz whenever he showed up) would have to find a way to get Victor outside without moving the metal in him.

“Hang in there Victor. I’m just waiting for my teammate and then we’ll get you out of here.”

Victor nodded and Kelly worked to get the remaining debris off and keep him calm.

Voices from the others filtered through the radio: information on the search, updates on extinguishing the fire, but more urgently, the call from Boden to evacuate the building—the building was unstable and they needed to get out.

The order came just as Cruz arrived at the door to the apartment. Severide stood up to call him over, but he never even got a chance to say the words. The floor gave way, taking Kelly and Victor with it.

—

Kelly was greeted with blinding pain in his head and led when he came to. He'd lost consciousness in the fall but didn't know how long he was out. It couldn’t have been too long as dust and debris were still settling around them. A cough, which quickly turned into a groan, from his left captured his attention. Kelly turned and saw Victor just a few feet away.

Their situation was bad, but the most alarming part of it was the rapidly growing bloodstain on Victor’s shirt. The metal shard had moved during their fall. Victor was bleeding out— he was dying.

Kelly moved to crawl over to him but was stopped short by the blinding pain in his leg. He bit back a scream, and it took several shuddering breaths before Kelly steeled himself enough to continue the agonizing crawl forward.

Time felt like it was standing still as Kelly slowly inched closer to Victor, but he eventually made it to the other man’s side. Victor’s eyes were closed, screwed shut in pain, and his chest was moving, signaling he was still alive. As Severide’s eyes focused on the blood stain on Victor’s shirt, and the dark pool growing around them, he knew there was a very real possibility Victor wouldn’t stay that way for long.

“Victor? You with me?” Kelly asked, rubbing a fist roughly on the other man’s sternum. He only stopped when he heard the man groan. “Come on Victor, open your eyes.”

It took a few minutes, but Victor was finally able to open his eyes. He turned his attention to Kelly. “What happened?”

“The floor gave out on us,” Kelly answered distractedly as he grabbed a nearby piece of cloth and pressed it hard against Victor’s wound. At Victor’s pained yell, Severide pressed a little harder. “Sorry but the fall caused the shard to move. You’re bleeding pretty badly.”

Victor moved his head slightly and saw the blood. He groaned. “I haven’t seen that much blood since ‘Nam.”

“Hey! Victor! Help’s on the way so you gotta stay with me.” Kelly yelled as Victor’s eyes closed again. “Keep talking. Tell me about the Army?”

“Marines. Got a medical discharge after my unit ended up on the wrong side of an ambush.” Victor was quiet, thoughtful, for a moment. “I lost some good friends that day.”

Kelly was the one quiet this time. He knew loss like that as well. “I’m sorry to hear that. And I know you probably hear this all the time, but thank you for your service.”

Victor hummed in acknowledgment and Kelly could see him fading. Still holding pressure on Victor’s wound, Kelly looked around, almost praying for his team to appear and save them. When they didn’t, Kelly pressed harder. “Come on Victor… How’d you end up in the Marines? Family business?”

“Far from it,” Victor huffed out a laugh. “My old man wanted me to follow in his footsteps, groomed me from birth to take over one day. I tried it and it was fine….I was good at it but it wasn’t enough. You know? I wanted to do more, to be more.”

“One of my buddies enlisted and I decided to join him. Pops was mad—boy I’ve never seen him so angry. Everything I’d ever known, my family, my friends, my future, it was all up in the air but joining up was the best decision I ever made. I made my own path. I fought in two wars and I lost a lot, don’t get me wrong, but I found myself and a lot more along the way.”

Kelly didn’t say anything, couldn’t say anything, he just listened. Victor’s story was hitting him harder than the man could’ve known.

Victor kept talking but it was clear he was losing the fight. Kelly tried to keep him conscious and added more pressure to the wound, but the bleeding didn’t stop.

Victor’s eyes closed for the last time just moments before the rest of 51 made it through the rubble to rescue them.

[girlinlotsoffandoms]

oh lawd

febwhump has officially become whumpril 🤦🏼‍♀️😅