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Kelly and Capp were heading back to the hallway, the vent seeming to give them a few more minutes for their search and rescue operation. They'd found an elderly man in a bathroom, rolled into a little ball in one of smallest units. Capp passed him off to Tony who delivered him to the waiting Brett and Chili.

It was a low rent building in a low rent part of town, but that was no excuse for the lack of smoke detectors.

"Chief, things look pretty cleared out, vent working. We're gonna sweep the west side," Severide called out.

"You want Tony back in?" questioned Boden, watching as huge blasts of smoke crashed out of the windows.

"Nah, almost done," Kelly answered. An urgent call from Capp cut the talk. Another old man was slumped over in the corner of his living room near a set of windows with bars on them. "Chief! Send him! We got another one, bad shape."

Capp fireman carried the man down the stairs, transferring him to Tony.

Kelly was yelling futilely, knowing that if more victims remained they were probably in the same shape as the guy Tony just carried out. "Fire department! Call out!" he continued to yell as he kicked in another locked door.

Severide had never seen an actual backdraft. A fireman could go his whole career and never experience one. Those were the lucky ones. Andy Darden hadn't been so lucky. Kelly knew only a couple of firefighters who looked into the eyes of one and lived to tell the tale, but they were few.

The air Kelly brought into the room triggered the explosion … a deadly combination of oxygen with carbon monoxide.

He didn't have a chance.

Erin grabbed her keys, hands shaking as she ran out of her place. Her feet pounding so rapidly on the stairs, they looked a blur.

The phone call. Boden's voice. All of it said her baby would never meet her daddy.

The detective turned on the siren and sped off. Hang on, she thought. Just hang on.

The explosion would have blown Severide across the street if a wall hadn't stopped him. He torpedoed into it with such force the ceiling was threatening to come crashing down. Shards of glass and little bits of wood and metal came at him as if he were on a firing line.

The shock wave from the blast could be felt beneath Chief's feet. He was grabbing for gear and a mask before barking out one order. Tony was back in the structure, not hearing Boden's command to stay back, the building too unstable, looking like a house of cards.

Casey was in the building ignoring the order, rushing in a few steps ahead of Chief. Cruz had tweaked his shoulder and was being treated by Brett when he felt the explosion, looking up to confirm his fears. He grabbed his gear. No way was his lieutenant in this alone.

All the men piled back in. They heard Capp's voice, struggling to form words after getting hit with the tail end of the blast throwing him down the hallway. He shook his head trying to get his bearings, his limbs not cooperating.

"Hey, you okay, bud?" Casey asked pulling at one of his arms. Capp shook his head yes, but his teetering frame said the opposite. Hermann grabbed his squad brother letting the man put most of his weight on him as he led him out.

Matt looked at the unit outlined in black with the missing doorframe, Boden locked eyes with truck's lieutenant. Chief put his head down and charged in. Casey followed, adrenaline kicking in, a sense of dread balling up in his stomach.

They stared at Kelly's still figure on the floor.

The drive to the hospital was twenty minutes of torture. It was the not knowing that made it unbearable. When she rode with Jules, sharing the last minutes of the woman's life, she knew. The blood coming from her neck said things were grim. But it was the look the paramedics wore that told her Jules would not see another day.

She had no details, just Boden's gruff voice telling her, demanding that she get to Lakeshore.

Erin had so much she wanted to tell Kelly. So much she was going to say at 3:00. The 3:00 that stoically ticked by not letting her say one of those words...

First, she missed him, really missed him. That was what she planned to lead with. She'd see how he reacted. If he was halfway receptive, she'd go on.

Second, she didn't want anything to do with the bullshit about keeping it professional, or all baby, or whatever. She could hear him argue that it was her rule. She would say she was breaking it. If they didn't erupt into World War III, she would say the scariest part.

Third, she thought about him all the time. She wanted to see him more. Like date. Or something. That was the most frightening part of her rehearsed speech.

She hoped she would have the chance to try to utter the words. To get another 3:00. To be brave.

Kelly was wheeled in looking more dead than alive. Will Halstead was working the ER, immediately recognizing the fireman. He went to work focusing on stabilizing the lieutenant, the thought of death never entering his mind. He'd made that mistake before.

The doctor was shocked at the lack of burns, Kelly'd turned with a split second's notice letting his turnout coat take most of the flames. The explosion did more damage to his frame, smashing him into the back wall like a rag doll.

Will was the picture of calm as he met the eyes on him with a small smile and an encouraging nod of the head.

"Erin," he said kindly, taking the woman in his arms. He'd gotten to know her well, hearing about her from Jay, then finally meeting her when she arose from the ashes of a dead friend. He liked her. He also knew how much she meant to his brother.

"Chief," he added, breaking free to shake hands with Boden. He glanced around the room, those anxious faces waiting for him. Waiting on what he would say. Waiting for some hope.

Erin wanted Will to just come out with it. She had that feeling in her gut that said it was bad news. The kind of news that could send you back down a rabbit hole of sadness, a knock you off your feet tragedy that she'd felt too many times in 34 years.

"Will. How is he?" she asked.

"He's alive. He's holding his own."

Erin would get the chance to say everything she'd waited what seemed a lifetime to say.

Erin was afraid to breathe. She lightly walked into Kelly's ICU room sure that any noise would disturb the delicate balance between life and death. She didn't want to touch him.

"Go ahead," Will encouraged. "You can hold his left hand, talk to him."

Erin took a hesitant step forward, brushing Kelly's hand with her own.

"He's not gonna break. Go ahead," Will urged.

Erin rushed forward taking Kelly's hand in her own, smiling at the warmth in it.

"You scared us," she said, tears forming, wetting her face as they fell gently on the fireman.

Kelly pulled himself out of the darkness he'd landed in when he hit that wall. He willed his eyes to open. His mouth was moving, but only air could be heard puffing out. Erin drew close, placing her ear right up to his lips.

"You weren't worried, Lindsay? Were you?" the whisper was just above a breath.

Erin would have slugged Kelly in the arm if she hadn't kissed him first.

"Why didn't you call me? Call Voight? You don't need to be here alone," Jay said taking the brunette in his arms. A deep line running between his eyebrows showing how deep his concern. It was that same worry Erin had seen for months after Nadia's death, even when she returned to claim her life. Is she going to slip up? Is she sinking back into her old ways?

"I'm okay," Erin pulled out of his grip. "I'm not alone," she stated looking around the room of firemen.

"Well, I'm waiting with you. Voight's on his way," Jay continued, calling Hank the minute Will called him. They couldn't have their girl disappear from the living again if something happened to Severide. They would reach down and catch her before she had a chance to fall this time.

"No, Jay, please call Hank. Tell him I'm fine. You go home too," she looked into his eyes, a sad smile brushing her lips.

"Let me take you home. You need rest. I'm sure they'll call if there's any change," Halstead tried again, disregarding the look and all it meant.

"I'm staying. I'll text you tomorrow. Jay, go home." The way she said home left no mistake that she meant his home.

He looked at her for a long while, the seconds ticking by, starting to say something then deciding to stop. His eyes were searching hers for some answer.

He didn't like the one he found.

"Okay," he said defeated. "But this isn't over. We'll talk tomorrow." Jay turned to leave, turning back toward the detective one more time. "Whatever you think you're feelin' right now is because of what happened. It's because he's here, hurt. You're feelin' guil…"

"You're wrong," Erin replied, knowing she'd made some life changing decisions in the hours leading up to all this, to Kelly's accident. Life was too damn short to spend one more minute in some shadow of denial. She owed it to herself to step out of that shadow. Owed it to Nadia.

Erin and Jay's someday had come. And it went. Erin knew most of the blame for its demise rested in her hands. Nadia's death, her descent into hell, and yes, she had to admit, the baby. She hoped Jay would stay in her life, be a part of it, maybe someday even play a part in her baby's life. She'd known from the first time she partnered up with him that she loved him. She just wasn't in love with him. That part of her heart belonged to the man lying in a hospital bed just a few strides away.

"I know I shouldn't be surprised," laughed Will Halstead, glancing at Kelly's latest vitals, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Good?" asked Erin sitting in her spot, the one she hadn't left for more than a few minutes in two days.

"Great," Will answered smiling. "You aren't getting out of here tomorrow, but all things considered…"

Halstead detailed Kelly's injuries … "Your shoulder and arm thought they could take on a wall. I'm gonna have to call this one in favor of the wall," he joked. The broken bones would heal, he assured the pair.

"I don't know how you didn't break your back or your neck, but your CT scan and MRI both say no fractures. Now your body looks like one big bruise, so enjoy the morphine while you got it." He talked about monitoring the fireman for the next couple of days, but barring any complications, it looked like Severide was headed for a full recovery.

Will excused himself, letting the couple take in the good news. He had a date with a brother that night, one that involved drinking, maybe a little talking, and more drinking. Definitely drinking.

Erin ran her fingers though Kelly's hair, smiling at how long it was. "You look like a wild animal," she commented, letting her hand run along his beard. She laughed as he let out a low, long growl.

They were on the floor in her kitchen, drenched, both pointing the finger at the other … "You sprayed me first," Erin laughed, still holding the pitcher she used to completely douse the fireman.

"You know this ain't supposed to get wet?" Kelly asked, pointing to the contraption trying to hold his shoulder and arm immobile.

"Really?" asked Erin getting up for a towel.

"Nah, it's metal," Kelly smiled pulling her back down.

Erin's raspy laugh rang out as she slipped, landing half on top of him, "I could get used to this," she said, sliding fully on his lap, taking his face in her hands.

"Me too," Kelly said, running his hand along Erin's stomach. "Gonna keep me around a while?" he asked, loving the feel of her hand back in his hair.

"Maybe for a bit," she teased, laughing again at the grumpy look she got in response.

Kelly let out another low growl, struggling to get back up, pulling the brunette up with him. "A bit huh?" he asked grasping at her hand.

Erin slip-slided in front of him, leading him to the bedroom. "Forty, fifty years. That okay with you?"

It sounded perfect.

She helped him ease gently on the bed. She couldn't help but laugh again at how quickly his expression had changed.

"I like the sound of that," Kelly said, imagining the future they would have, his heart swelling at the thought of years with this woman, with their baby.

Erin smiled, happy.

Happy from somewhere deep within. Happy having a second shot with this man, the father of her baby. Happy that her life was back. Different. Maybe better.

Erin's smile deepened, thinking about the toothbrush she remembered to throw out. Her eyes caught the hands of the wall clock moving into a familiar position. 3:00. Finally, she had her 3:00.

Hope you enjoyed this one! I have a crazy little fic coming next. I'll post it separate from this one. Have a great week, friends!